AN: gotta make the cover, I fear I would get taken down by using others' pictures... well, there's one-

WARNING! This fanfiction took place beyond what anime showed. So if you haven't read the LN yet, Get Out! If you don't want spoiler, that's it.

Prologue

"A Duty."

"Hahahaha~ I, the Future Strongest Mage, has achieved an extraordinary feat... My name would be widely spread… Zzz… A-And they shall realize that such an amazing mage is within the town... If I were them, I would definitely feel proud by just being in this presence… Zzz…"

"What a tiring day, I'll definitely get a pack of those heavenly alcohols… Definitely~ … I deserved such a reward for getting exploited… Zzz…"

"Slime… sharp teeth… hehehe~… Zzzz..."

In a wagon that was getting pulled by a pair of horses, a party was currently resting blissfully, excluding the green-cloaked male.

It was currently dark. The moon was mystically emitting its light-grey light, with stars glimmering surrounding its majestic presence, making the already bewitching view even more beautiful.

Kazuma looked over at his sleeping party members, sighing in irritation while rubbing the reddened skin on his arm. He stared at the swelling arm briefly before shaking his head and snapping the rope to make the horses run faster.

The horses snorted rather loudly before increasing their speed, following what he wished them to do.

"It's been 3 hours… It'd be a waste of time to demand them to replace me. Let's just get this over with."

The swelling on his arm irritated him greatly, he constantly felt sharp pain and jolts that made him tense, preventing him to sleep. That's why he's currently sitting here, watching over the journey.

'That damn Aqua. A priestess who can't even heal her party members… Can she even be considered as a priest if she can't even heal wounds?' He grumbled mentally.

Well, it's not entirely her fault. The swelling can't be healed for some reason. She said about how this wound wasn't a physical one, but a spiritual one. Which preventing her from healing it.

He wanted to retort that the wound was clearly swelling on his arm. But they just look at him with confusion. So he gave up. He thought Aqua was lying, considering how he treated her, which happened because she wouldn't listen and cooperate!

But then he remembered that when it comes to priestess related things, Aqua prided herself as the best. So it was unlikely for her to deceive him.

"Such a weird creature… it looks ethereal, and what made it weirder was the fact that it only came out just to turn into a sphere before ramming itself to me." He mumbled in resentment. Such unluckiness.

Of all people, it had to choose him. Other than Megumin, those two would probably be fine if they got hit. One would even enjoy it!

"Yeah, just keep messing with me, would ya life?"

He snorted in irritation before making a frustrated noise. At last, he just helplessly looks at the road ahead.

Oddly, the wagon peacefully went through the night. Which made him surprised, considering how unlucky he was.

Usually, a monster or two would appear… Especially since they are currently in a forest.

Oh well.

Axel, here they come!

Axel's Entrance, Early Morning.

"...Are we there ye-"

"YES! Yes, Aqua, we have arrived."

"Finally!"

"At last, we're here…"

"Mhhmm…"

As soon as he answered, he pulled the rope to stop the horses. His tired eyes glanced at them before he jumped down.

Landing on the ground dazedly, he immediately stretches the stiff muscles that haven't been moved for hours. It always felt good to do so.

A brief moment later and they later came out with bags and suitcases in their hands. Those things are nuisances because a certain person brought too many things.

Megumin wasn't a problem, with her small form, two packs were enough. And while Darkness is a noble, it seems like she couldn't care enough about it. She only brought 3!

The problem was Aqua.

For some reason, she brought so much stuff. So much they almost took all the space of the wagon. What stuff did she bring anyway? It was only a 5 days trip.

He wanted her to deduct her belongings, but she retaliated and threatened him by spreading inappropriate rumours about him if he won't stop bothering her.

The other two silently agree with him, but if the one Aqua mostly listened to had failed, what chances would they have to make her comply? Less than 10, at the very least.

Haah…

If she wasn't an important component of the party, they'd rather kick her out for this quest.

Magically though, on their way home, her stuff was reduced to a shocking percentage of 75%! So they had enough space in the wagon.

He shook his head, Aqua is weird, as always.

He looked at the side awkwardly as he reminisced when they went to the city to complete their quest. Because of the lack of space in the wagon, two people were forced to sit on the rider seat.

Usually, this won't be a problem, but there's an issue.

The rider's seat was for one person.

'Which idiots made this wagon?!'

No matter how much he wanted to retort, it's not wrong that the only efficient way to solve this problem was for him to be the rider. The seat was flat, and while he was an advocate for gender equality, he couldn't deny that because of their big bottoms, they could potentially shift right and left out of uncomfortableness.

He learnt to be over-cautious. And while a chance for them to coincidentally mess up and fall into a ravine was abysmally low, considering their luck…

He wouldn't risk it, Nu-uh. Say whatever they wanted, but this small risk could be the one that would mess up his life even more.

Plus, with his universal abilities, the only one who could ride a wagon was him, so it further strengthened the agreement.

He complied. If this was the end, then there'd be no problem. But because of Aqua's humongous belongings, there were only two seats available within the wagon.

So… yes, one of them gotta accompany him on the rider seat. Usually, he'd be ecstatic! Having such a chance to feel their bottoms through his thighs. Which male teen wouldn't be excited?!

But he had a plan in mind, and because of this, such a circumstance made him feel perplexed.

At last, because of her small form, Megumin volunteered herself. He sighed in relief, well, at least she was smart enough to know which person was the best for this.

Aqua and Darkness were… heavy.

Of course, having a girl on his lap was awkward, and with 3 days continuously letting her sit on his thighs, he was surprised to find himself getting used to it.

Not for her though.

"Relax, would you?"

"C-Could you?!"

"...Ehem."

Her flushing often made him suspicious of her, but it's only a suspicion, so he didn't put too much thought into it.

An interesting experience, he couldn't help but think.

"Let's go to our beloved mansion, I'm so tired!"

"Seconded."

"Agreed."

He showed his approval by nodding silently. What he didn't realize was a gaze lingering on his back. It was only brief, so it was almost impossible for him to notice it.

As they went to walk through the town, they could see some people opening their shops. The birds cheerily chirped in the sky as the shop owners prepared their shops for the day. A couple of builders were carrying their tools with full energy, ready to continue their postponed task.

He merely smiled when he saw them, so did Aqua. They were their mates when they took a job at the construction site.

After passing many places, they finally arrived at their beloved mansion. A place that had accompanied them for almost a year. This place is filled with memories of them doing silly stuff.

He smiled wryly. Looking at the mansion he mostly spent his time in since he was reincarnated. He might not come back for 2 years, 10 years… maybe even for eternity…

"What are you staring at, HikiNEET? Let's go! As a Goddess, I have to show mercy to my followers. And I shall show you it!"

"...Yeah. And you showing mercy has nothing to do with it."

He blinked and looked at his 'beloved' party member with a disgruntled look. And as always, she'd ignore it.

Looking at her running form, he just shook his head before following them.

"Hey, Kazuma." Megumin suddenly called him out. He raised his eyebrows at that, does she really want to cast her Explosion at a time like this?

"Yes, I'm Kazuma. Oh, yeah, what?"

"Are you okay?"

Huh.

"Other than exhaustion, yes, I'm completely fine."

"...OK."

"Don't forget to meet up with Yunyun. If you forgot about it, I fear that the poor girl would cry in the middle of town. You know, the agreement you made with her before we went to the city."

"As if I'd forgotten it!"

After their conversation was over, he looked at her jogging form and perplexion started to appear. And when she briefly turned around and shot him a concerned look, he-

W-Wait, concerned look?

...Yeah, right.

He chuckled humorously. Such a thing is impossible to happen. He was probably hallucinating. Yeah, definitely. He should forget it. Putting too much hope into something is bad.

He needs sleep.

Entering his beloved mansion, he unequips his boots and unconsciously looks around in melancholy. It's crazy to think that a while ago he was just a guy lazing around while getting scolded and insulted by his party members. And now.

He was going to leave them. To leave this life.

He could potentially leave for a year. A decade maybe? Or maybe he would be gone from their gazes for eternity. He doesn't know.

He loved to laze around, to relax, to play, drink and maybe go to the Succubus Brothel and have his desired dream to indulge himself.

Most said he's just running away from his party members. And yeah, they're right. But-

No matter how annoying, stupid, disturbing, shameless, arrogant, wasteful, useless and burdens they are, over this past year, he couldn't help but form a subconscious kinship towards each of them. They have their imperfections, but he could say that if he played his cards right, they wouldn't be that bad.

So it's definitely not because they were merely an annoyance to him.

...They're still annoying though.

'Ah, forget it, forget it. I want to fill this last moment with nice things…'

"Kazuma, mind sharing your thoughts? You're looking quite thoughtful since leaving the city."

Darkness, who was the only one left in the main room, asked him relaxedly. She was leaning on the handrail of the stairs while looking at him with a casual gaze.

"Eh, nothing. I just thought about how troublesome the quest was. The 'monster magnet' Aqua who kept screaming, the 'One-time-one-use' Megumin who did everything her way, and you, who kept running and ramming yourself into the horde of monsters.

And as a mere Adventurer with the most basic class while having the lowest level here, what qualification do I have to force you all to do as I told you?"

While he mostly looked shameless and confident, he did acknowledge his shortcomings. And his abilities are definitely one of them.

He could force them, but they'd retaliated, well, not Darkness. And while he too could continue what he was doing currently. By fulfilling Megumin's desire to cast Explosions, making an 'achievements system' for Aqua and forcing the heck out of Darkness...

He's tired.

Will there be a day when Megumin would cooperate with him so they could create an ultimate momentum with Darkness and Aqua?

Well, it's not like he would change them. No, it's rather that he couldn't.

They enjoy whatever the heck the weird things they do, at the very least.

Even though he didn't show it often, he was oddly happy when they're happy. When Megumin expresses her joy at her Explosion, he'd smile at her. When Aqua just showed some genuine laughs, he'd laugh with her. And when Darkness showed appropriate attitudes as the oldest out of them all, excluding Aqua, he could relax that the girls wouldn't cause any casualties.

He wouldn't mind their enjoyment. But that's what they did almost 90% of the time

Maybe he's just holding them back? Maybe he's just an anchor for them? Without him here, while Megumin would get arrested for her Explosions tendency, she'd still enjoy it. And while Aqua would be pretty much in debt, there's Darkness. So he wasn't worried much.

Darkness? She's weird, but she's reliable. She will take care of them. And boom, problem solved.

And without him here, they wouldn't have to experience constant harassment from him. He's not selfless, but isn't it a relief for everyone else to see that the source of their uncomfortableness is gone?

...Yeah.

Perhaps it's time for them to spread their wings and be free. And he wouldn't be there. Because he was the cage that has been holding them back.

He'd be out there, with a duty he has to uphold.

'Excuses...'

"Well, I don't have any reliable solutions for them or for… err… myself. But I could tell you that I was quite thankful to have you as my leader."

"Thank you for your compliment, Darkness."

She nodded at him before going up the stairs, with her room as the destination in mind.

He sighed, maybe he should give them gifts with the rest of his money. He developed a kinship towards each of them, so did they.

What did they call it? 'Parting gifts'? Yeah, whatever that is.

'Let's get this over with…'

Yeah, he could feel that it wouldn't be as simple as he hoped for.

It's only a feeling. So maybe he's wrong.

"Ugh…"

A combination of extreme headache, a ray of sunlight scorching his eyes, and sore muscles certainly would make him go screaming in irritation. Fortunately, he's already used to such a feeling.

Considering how uncontrollable his party members were.

With a surprising amount of perseverance, he managed to control himself from going mad and immediately stood up from his bed.

"Wasn't sleeping supposed to be blissful?"

Is this a sign? A sign of a bad day?

"Argh…"

The headache keeps coming over, and it feels awful. He could confidently say that this headache is several times worse than a hangover. He attempted to open his eyes but oddly, a ray of sunlight still penetrated his eyes.

He merely groaned before taking a deep breath, attempting to control his raging annoyance and anger. Calmly striding to the curtains, he intentionally closed them with extreme force.

A tinge of a certain feeling soon appeared within his calves.

"SON OF A-"

It spread to every inch of his calves and an unimaginable amount of pain started to surface within his calves. And with a loud thud, he landed on the floor with his shoulders, it wasn't his face, thankfully.

"W-what kind o-of t-torment i-is this?!"

Cramps are painful, specifically on calves. For some reason. And both of his calves coincidentally got it at the same time. Can this morni- noon get even worse than this?

Suddenly, the headache came back with full force. Maybe even worse than what he had before.

It takes every single ounce of his will to not scream. Veins started to bulge on his forehead. To show how awful the pain he is currently tormented in.

He gritted his teeth with as much force as he could. This never happened before. How could such an occurrence possibly happen on someone who just awakened?!

Tears of pain started to swell within his eyes. But they only swelled, they haven't fallen yet. His breaths were heavy, shakily even. He looks like he just caught a seizure

To make it worse? He had to endure this for a full hour.

'I-It was supposed to occur f-for just 5 m-minutes…!!'

Calves numb, head's spinning, and muscles still sore from constant stiffening. Such a misery.

When his body could finally relax, he immediately passed out on the floor.

Like, who wouldn't?

He slowly opened his eyes and what greets him is a familiar place.

The chair, the mysterious light, the darkness in the ceiling… and soon a certain goddess would appear.

"Greetings, Kazuma."

Ah, there she is.

It was still quite weird for her to appear without any indication. But he got used to it.

"So… Eris-sama, what's the need for you to call me through such torment? Are you a sadist?"

After he politely asked her, he immediately brought out a sharp tone. She just smiled bashfully while coughing in embarrassment, with a clear red hue painting her face.

"E-Ehem, well, just to remind you about the d-duty."

The topic affects the mood greatly. As soon as she brought it up, the joking atmosphere was gone. It was replaced by a quite depressing and serious ambience.

She looked at him sympathetically, mixing within it was a great amount of sadness.

"You know, I-I could bargain with them to lessen the punishment. After all, I was directly related to him-"

"It's okay, Eris-sama. You constantly convincing them to revive me has already made this self a great amount of debt towards you. If you yet again bargain with them to lessen such a punishment, then do you think I'd still have the face to be in your presence?"

She slowly looked down, muttering about something. He could see her tiny white hands clenching on her dress.

"Stupid punishment… why didn't they notice me immediately after it happened…"

He merely smiled in bashfulness. Truly, this goddess before him has done so much for him and yet, what could he do to repay her? No matter how shameless he was, such kindness could certainly affect him. And perhaps changed him.

He was always confused why she had done so much for a guy like him who only met her a couple of times. And all she said was "This is my first duty as a Messenger, and I wanted to have the best result."

All he could do was a head shake.

"Are you sure you're okay with it, Kazuma? Y-You could possibly… died, for real."

Her concerned voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Kazuma pondered a bit before letting out a sigh.

"When you already experienced many deaths, what's so scary about it?"

"But you could be tortured before you meet your end, o-or maybe your soul somehow got captured?"

He chuckled at her.

"Your imagination is really wild, Eris-sama. Perhaps it's not only on this topic?"

It took a moment before she realized what he meant and her face turned red. Which resulted in him grinning cheekily at her.

"Y-You, this was supposed to be a serious conversation!"

"It's too tense. How about we lessen the intensity?"

"Yeah…"

Silence soon engulfed the space. Eris merely looked down while pondering about something while he just looked at the ceiling covered in darkness while having his own thoughts.

Finally, his voice broke the silence.

"You know, about this topic, while I indeed could potentially meet my end, it doesn't necessarily mean that I'd be dead, you know that right?"

"Of course I do, of course…"

"So, have faith in me, would you? Same with the believers having faith in their gods, gods too, have to possess faith towards their believers."

She nodded silently, still looking down despite his attempt to lessen her concern. Soon, a blurry, shining white figure descended from the ceiling of darkness and a vague, booming voice shook their eardrums.

"Time is up. Goddess of Fortune Eris, go back to your palace. Mortal Kazuma Satou, go back to where you came from."

They obediently nodded at the vague figure. Soon, tube-shaped lights descended from the ceiling and covered them both. As if the gravity wasn't there, they went up and before they completely reached the ceiling, he sent her a smile, which she replied with a beautiful smile of her own.

"It'll start tomorrow, Kazuma. Prepare yourself."

Before he was completely gone, he squinted his eyes and a determined feeling appeared in his heart.

'I have a duty now, huh?'

He probably wouldn't make it. But he will try his best. So he could repay her by letting her see that what she had struggled for would come true.

By letting her see him. Alive, and well.

To think he gotta meet a person like this...

For the first time in his first and second lives combined, Kazuma Satou felt determined.

How could he not, really?