"Okay, okay, I'm here now." Aqua announced dramatically.

"That you are. Welcome to my office." Daniel noted that she wasted no time in taking a seat, in fact, she even laid down on it without any prompting. Fine by him, he had lounged on it himself when on his own breaks. Moreover, he was expecting some form of brazen behavior. Darkness had been much more open about her teammates and how they acted over time.

"Is it safe to assume you are the 'Aqua' Darkness has mentioned in passing?" He didn't want her to think he knew too much about her and had already formed an opinion on her, and really, he did not. Sure, Darkness could talk about them all day but until he met them they might as well be strangers. Not that he held any expectations that anyone else from their group would show up. In fact, he didn't expect Darkness to return after the first, second, third, or nth time. The goal was to get to a point where she didn't feel the need to come to him anymore.

The blue haired woman in front of him laid on her side, facing him, and she raised her palm to the sky. "Yes, that is me, the Goddess of Water Aqua!" She kept an eye open to see what his reaction to her declaration would be.

Daniel had been prepared to hear this. It was commonplace to not allow clients to sit in delusions. Playing into them would only further exacerbate their incorrect view of reality. Still, of the time he has been alive, he has heard all kinds of wacky stories. But he could check to make sure anyway.

"I see. A pleasure to meet you in the flesh, then." Aqua flashed him a big smile. "However, in order to confirm your statement, may I take a look at your Adventurer card for a moment?"

Confused, Aqua passed it to him without thinking about it too much. Daniel skimmed through the basic information such as the height, weight, and other such things. What interested him was the race on the card, surely it would say 'human' on her card if she was truly delusional. Once he found it, he gasped in surprise.

Right on the race portion, it listed itself as 'Goddess'. Daniel may have been shocked, but he did not worship any deity, so this revelation was not something that affected him much at all. He was more of a man who thought good actions were worth far more than any prayer ever could. He handed her card with a shake of his head.

"It seems that your words are true, after all."

Aqua gasped, scandalized. "You didn't believe me?! How could you tell I was telling the truth?"

"Forgive me, it isn't every day someone comes here and proclaims their God-hood to me." Daniel still could not believe he was in the presence of a holy figure though, much less the ones that the Axis cult worshiped. He gained some amusement from the fact that their statues of her were not exactly too accurate. "To answer your second question, I merely took a peek at the race on your adventurer card. Those cards can never be counterfeited with false information, and if it were false, well, you would be the first to accomplish such a thing. So, I'll lean on the side that it is the truth."

Aqua was gaping like a fish out of water. "So-so, you mean to tell me that all I had to do was show my card and people would have started believing me?!" She almost wanted to cry at the unfairness of it all.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, that seems to be the case." Aqua let out a long breath and filed that information away for later use.

"So, what are you gonna do? Are you going to make me talk about my childhood or something?"

Daniel chuckled. "Not unless you want to, Aqua. Really, I just want to hear about you. Tell me about yourself and your dreams."

"That's easy! See, as the Goddess of Water, I am worshiped by the followers of the Axis Order. They may not be that widespread yet, but they're way more dedicated than those in the Eris Order. Eris is my junior, you know?"

"Oh ho, the Goddess Eris is under you?"

Aqua had a smug look on her face as she continued. "That's right! She looks up to me, even if she won't admit it."

Daniel was of the opinion that things that happen in a heavenly realm would be something to keep private, but Aqua was surprising him at every turn.

"Anyway, my dream is to make it to back to Heaven where I belong. I'm only down here because that stupid shut-in Kazuma brought me here."

"From my understanding, you and this Kazuma have known each other for quite a while. Is this moment where he brought you with him down here, is that when you met him?"

"Yeah, and it was easily the worst day of my life! I had been relaxing for centuries when that idiot took everything from me!"

Daniel decided to take things into a more personal direction. He had to probe deeper somehow, and he believed that he found a way to do so. "Do you truly regret coming down here?"

At that, Aqua paused in her complaining, and had the decency to blush. "W-well, I won't say that I dislike being here." She said while looking away from him towards a wall to her right. "It's fun... I guess."

"Do you get along with your friends?"

She turned back to him quickly. "Of course! Everyone knows how good I am as an arch-priest." Aqua's expression darkened immediately. "Except that lout Kazuma, he never praises me when he should, I've revived him multiple times and he doesn't even have the decency to say thank you."

"And why is he the only one?" There had to be a reason for it, conflict does not arise out of nothing. The root was the focal point of all issues, all he had to do was dig.

"Hmph, it's probably because he's just a kid who doesn't know any better. He's only sixteen, so he is a mere boy."

"I know this may be rude of me to ask, but how old are you yourself?"

Aqua merely started at him. "Oh, I'm centuries old. But if I had to convert it to human time, I'd be about sixteen."

Daniel elected not to point out the hypocrisy in her statement. "Is there anything else it could be? Kazuma is said to be your leader, so he must be at least somewhat mature."

The goddess rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I guess it could be because I get us into debt... only sometimes though! And may~be because I might draw some unwanted attention from undead monsters to ourselves during quests... maybe."

It was at this point that Daniel made a revelation. Aqua, for all of her supposed years, was a child. Perhaps not in years, but in mental faculties this seemed to be the case. Common traits of childish behavior is attention-seeking, poor financial decisions without thinking of what comes after, among others. It seemed that he would have to treat her like one, not as a insult to her intelligence (though he noted that stat on her card was lower than average) but more so in how he went about this.

Lady Dustiness was a noble at the end of the day, and there was a level of maturity he could expect out of her. She was also eighteen, seemingly the oldest of their group technically. But Aqua, it seemed, was not the most mature. That isn't to say he thought she was so young as to not know right from wrong, but she lacked the impulse control to avoid making those bad decisions. Had she anyone to teach her how to use her money? It as unlikely, being that she was a Goddess, worldly possessions like money were probably something she never had to worry about. Hmm... it was a unique case, this one.

"Aqua, before you met Kazuma, who did you grow up with?"

Aqua seemingly contemplated the question at hand with her hand grasping her chin. "Huh, now that I think about it, I didn't grow up around anyone really."

Daniel let himself have a pitying look. "What about any family? Maybe parents or siblings?" He had to tread carefully here, he wouldn't want to poke at old wounds if they existed but it was necessary.

"Well, I guess all the other Gods and Goddesses would be my siblings, except the higher ups, of course. Although, we all have different jurisdictions, so we're rarely around each other. And um, I don't really have 'parents' like humans, we just kind of... come into existence." She said it so simply, so uncaring about the fact she had no semblance of friends or family that it almost threw Daniel for a loop. "I guess that when I was a kid, the bosses would help guide me on how to pass on souls through the afterlife!"

However, it did make things fall into place more. Aqua, without any real constant supervision to keep her in check, acted out whenever she wanted. "What about teaching you how to speak? Or walk? Any of that sort of thing?"

"I can't really remember, it was so long ago for me at this point." She looked a bit bothered at the realization that she had little recollection of her early life.

"Can I get more personal with you, Aqua?" It was high time he cut the preamble. Prodding Aqua with questions on the surface could only do so much, he wanted to make some leeway. She did not seem to have any issues in her own mind, at least none she realized.

Aqua looked at him with an indecipherable expression. "I guess so..."

"Does it bother you when you see a father and mother with their child?"

"I... well... I feel something when I see that."

"What do you feel?"

Aqua's eyes turned a bit glossy. "My heart kinda hurts sometimes when I see that. But I don't think it's a big deal."

"Do you wish you got that sort of treatment?"

"I... wish I had something like that. I think it would be nice to have someone care for me like that..." She sniffled a bit. Daniel felt bad for making her upset, but he had to do this.

"And since you don't, you want to get it from your friends?"

"That's all I really want."

"Is that why you want Kazuma to praise you so much, because he means so much to you?"

Aqua tried to hold in her tears, she really did, but it wouldn't work anymore. She went on a long tirade.

"It isn't fair! I'm always trying my best in Heaven but Eris gets all the praise for her work. There is never a 'good job, Aqua', it's always 'great job, Eris' or whoever the heck it is. I try to grow my influence in this world but it never happens! Why do they even have to be here!? I rule over a completely separate land than this country, and yet I have no followers there! Why does Eris get it so easy, huh?! She gets to watch over this land and her followers at the same time! It's a handicap, I tell you, a handicap!" Aqua's voice hitched multiple times before continuing. "A-a-and then Kazuma never wants to tell me I did good, he always tells me how useless I am! I know I make mistakes! I know it's hard to live with me! You don't have to tell me all the time, I know that already! You think I haven't been told that enough times?!" She yelled.

Aqua slammed her fists down on the seat as she went through her tantrum. Daniel stayed silent.

"My own followers didn't even recognize me! They spat at me, called me a heretic, and ran me out of the city! I lost my followers! And the worst part is.. is..." Aqua went silent. Her sobs the only thing being heard. "Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness are the only people I can call my friends. They're what I think family is like, or what it's supposed to look like. What do I know? Maybe I did have parents and they didn't want me anymore." She brought her knees up to her chin on the couch and put her face down. "They'd all be better off without me. I'm a worthless Goddess who can't even get a decent following, I'm nothing but a hack."

Finally, she was finished. It was hard to listen to, Daniel could admit. Although, it took him mere moments to figure out what he should say to her.

"You want to know what I think, Aqua?" She lifted her head at him with a red face, tears flowing down her cheeks, still sniffling here and there. "I think that you really are foolish."

Before Aqua could explode at him or cry more, he elaborated. "I think that you have to be really foolish to believe that your friends would be better off without you. Maybe you don't see it, but Kazuma wouldn't tell you how he felt about what you do unless he wanted to see you be better. After all, if he didn't care, why would he bother?"

Aqua dropped her feet back toward the soft, carpet flooring. "I-I guess."

"I usually don't speak about other clients with others, but I feel Darkness would allow it for your sake. She loves you, you know?"

"What?"

"She's told me a lot about you, and how she is very happy to have you around. Darkness tells me that she sees you and Megumin as the dear sisters she never had. She's an only child as you know, so that is high praise."

Aqua managed a small smile as she looked towards the floor. "That makes me really happy."

"You may think that you have only bad traits, but I assure you, Darkness told me all the good things about you. How you always will heal a person in need, even if they are a stranger, or you'll run yourself ragged on the battlefield helping the injured. That's not what a useless person does, that's not what a bad person does." Aqua blushed at the compliments.

"While I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Megumin or Kazuma, if they are as good a people as Darkness says they are, then I assure you they likely feel the same way. They would never want to replace you with anyone else, each of you complete the group in your own special way. You matter, Aqua, and you are irreplaceable." Aqua cried.

But this time, they were tears of happiness.

Daniel made his way to where Darkness had said she and her friends lived. Aqua had cried herself to sleep, and he felt it okay that she get some rest and he felt no need to move her from the couch. She would leave when she woke up.

Walking up to the massive mansion, he knocked on the large front door. He waited a few moments as he heard murmuring inside, and he huffed with a bit of amusement as he swore he heard two people go back and forth about who would be opening the door. Finally, it seemed someone won out and the door was opened.

It was a boy, of which he could only assume was Kazuma, given that he was the only male of the household.

"Yo, who are you?"

"Hello, my name is Daniel, you may know me as the man who has provided therapy to Darkness, and as of recently, Aqua as well."

The boy gave him a look of recognition. "Ah, well, thank you for helping them out, name's Kazuma, by the way. Would you like to come in?"

"If only for a moment."

"So, is he the guy that Darkness visits all the time?" Megumin asked.

"Megumin! I don't go to his office that often!" Darkness chastised as she set down the tea.

Daniel chuckled. "Yes, I am the man in question."

Kazuma piped up from the dining table they were all seated in. "If I can ask without sounding rude Daniel, what brought you here? Shouldn't Aqua at least be with you?"

The man didn't speak for a bit as he tried to find the right words. The tea sat cooling in front of him as he pondered. "Aqua is resting in my office. And well, after sitting down with Aqua and letting her talk about what has been actually bothering her, I must ask for your help."

"Our help? Did something happen to her?" Darkness asked worriedly. Daniel shook his head in reply.

"No, nothing terribly serious. However, I learned some worrying things about how she feels about herself." A sip of his tea was taken. The trio around him looked at him with worried gazes. Yes, they truly did care for her, no matter what they may say. "She has quite a low self-esteem, if you didn't know. The constant praises she seeks may be due to a lack of parental, or at the very least, familial affection. Quite frankly, it seems like she practically had to raise herself, which may explain why she acts rather... juvenile." He cleared his throat. "So, I would like for you all to just keep that in mind when dealing with her. She is someone who is attention-starved, and knows not the proper way to act."

Megumin looked a bit sad at that. "Aqua never had a family? Oh wow, I never knew that. That's really sad. We should treat her nicely when she comes back."

Darkness nodded at her words. "I agree, you have our word to help her, Daniel."

Kazuma looked conflicted, but relented. "Mine too."

"I'm glad to hear it, then. Well, I'd hate to overstay my welcome. As far as Aqua is concerned, I was never here." He finished his tea, thanking Darkness for it, before walking to the front door with Kazuma.

"I appreciate you giving us the heads up, Daniel."

Daniel turned back at him with a mere nod. "It's nothing at all. Oh, here," he fished around in his pocket before coming upon what he was looking for, "this is my card with my address on it. If you or anyone else you know is interested, this is where you can find me on weekdays in the morning and afternoon. Have a nice day."

As the man walked away, Kazuma stared at his retreating back for a bit before going back inside. He gave the card a good look.

"Hm, well I guess it couldn't hurt..."

And that's chapter 2. Thank you guys for the kind words. And specifically to Swood Guy, I'm glad you enjoyed the Darkness chapter. To be honest, this was meant as a one-shot focusing on Darkness as I felt that I was neglecting her character in my other series, so I'm glad a Darkness fan enjoyed it. As the end of this chapter alludes to, Kazuma will be next. I'm thinking of doing Megumin just to complete the group before moving on to the side characters, but I actually never read her spin-off series in full (at least that which occurred prior to the series), so I would need to do so to actually be able to deep dive with her. So the fourth chapter with her may take a bit longer, but it'll come. Lastly, I hope no one minded that while the first chapter leaned on Darkness' thoughts, this one I made more around what Daniel was thinking. Just to change things up a bit, but if you really prefer it from the canon character's thoughts, I can keep it that way.