Chapter 126 – A Great Welcome
After they had finished eating, they returned to Jupno by boat with Artie, just as they had come.
This time, Menew drew some medicine to help with motion sickness, and so Totto was fine. Still, he had to lie down, as if not feeling well. So it was clear that he just did not like boats.
Eventually, they neared the Jupno port, and Menew looked to the docks with narrowed eyes. There was something dark. Something moving.
“It sure seems crowded…”
“Is there a festival?”
“No, there were no plans for one…”
Artie looked puzzled by Ralph’s question.
By the time they were close enough to see the hundreds of people crowding sound, they could also see that they were large men.
They shouted and waved their hands as the boat approached.
Menew looked dumbfounded but waved back at them. Ralph had a bad feeling about it. But Mofusen and Sety were calm. Totto was still lying down.
The boat arrived at the dock, and the men swarmed around them so that the pier looked like it would break.
They got out of the boat and stepped onto dry land. Menew was the last, and he was greeted with cheers.
“Ah, um…what is happening…”
Menew asked awkwardly. And the men began to explain.
“They say it was you! You treated our wounds!”
“I could not have been more surprised when my arm grew back! Thank you! I owe you my life!”
“Me too! I got in an accident a long time ago at the farm, and had to wear a false leg. But now, I can walk on my own again!”
“The guild master wouldn’t tell us at first, so it was hard to make him talk. But we went in such a large crowd, that he had to tell us. Mister, thank you!”
Apparently, these were the wounded soldiers that Menew had helped. And the guild master had exposed Menew.
(Confidentiality! Breach of confidentiality!)
While he complained in his heart, he was assaulted by words of gratitude and dragged off to the nearest tavern.
Menew had not done it because he wanted to help them. He had done it because it was necessary in order to go to Caprichio. And so he felt odd to be thanked to this degree.
However, he did not think that telling the truth would be a good idea either.
By now, Totto had recovered, and was also surrounded by men. They must be the ones who had been helped by his medicine.
Ralph, Mofusen and Sety were also welcomed warmly and they all sat down together. And then ale and mountains of food was brought to them.
“To the miracle worker!”
“To our saviour!”
The men shouted as they raised their mugs in unison.
After that, it was like a festival.
Someone began to pluck the strings of an instrument, and the others danced and waved their mugs. Others pushed more food and drink onto Menew, and brought him dishes he didn’t even ask for…
By the time Menew was able to crawl out of the tavern, his stomach was full and it was late into the night.
“…I’m going to throw up.”
“Don’t waste the food.”
Ralph said. But even he was rubbing his stomach worriedly. He could barely walk.
“That was quite a welcome…”
“I can’t believe they would make an old man like me drink so much…”
Totto and Mofusen said with a chuckle.
“No!! There is nothing more delicious than a free meal!”
Set was the only one who was cheerful. She stretched her arms with satisfaction.
Menew scowled at her. He has seen her smartly avoid most of the food while drinking only the most expensive wine. And she had been selling the jewels.
“Sety is also happy because her pockets are full…”
“Of course. Soldiers have lots of reward money after a war. It’s good for business.”
After the war, you can get married. You can buy something for your mother. She must have said such things while selling the jewels to them.
There was no doubt that they were special jewels, and Sety understood that. She wouldn’t have been unreasonable with the prices, but it was hard to imagine it being anything but lucrative.
“It’s so late that the guild would be closed by now. Perhaps we should call it a night and meet up here tomorrow?”
Artie said. He had also accompanied them to the tavern and ate until he was full.
Menew and the others didn’t mind, but they turned to Sety questioningly.
“I am fine with that too. This time, I cannot push everything onto Menew.”
They had been allowed to visit a sealed off dungeon due to a special order. As an Adventurer, she had to make a proper report if she wanted to maintain a level of trust.
“Thank you…huh.”
Menew muttered as he looked up at the sky that was filled with stars. Ralph looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“No, it’s just that I didn’t do it to have them say that. It wasn’t really for their sake.”
Menew chuckled with conflicted emotions. Ralph let out a deep sigh.
He was not good at communication and lacked emotion. Menew had shown groth, but it still seemed like he lacked something.
“Menew. It’s not as if doing something for someone else is the only reason to be thanked.”
“Really?”
When we eat, we prepare the food together, don’t we? But each of us is just doing it to eat. Still, we are grateful when someone prepares our plate.”
“Ah…that’s true. I see… So I prepared their plates. That’s why they thanked me.”
Menew seemed to be satisfied by Mofusen’s words.
“I’m going to leave the city after making my report tomorrow. But you lot have it tough. After all, if you don’t talk to the soldiers again, they will be made for the rest of their lives.”
“Gah.”
He had not thought of the possibility of celebrating like that again. And so he let out a sound like a dying frog.
After crossing several bridges and coming out into a narrow road, Sety separated in order to go to her own inn.
Menew and the others walked a little farther, and then they took Artie’s boat to the inn.
He did not want to think about making the report tomorrow.
He had prepared someone’s plate. Somehow, he felt a little proud of it now.
Menew thought as he rocked gently in the boat and looked up at the stars once again.