He had to leave the kingdom.

Kazuma knew this.

If he stayed in Belzerg, he would eventually get caught.

The only question was, where to?

From the few times he looked at a map when looking at quests, he knew Axel was somewhat close to the border that lead to another kingdom.

That was his goal.

If he ran into another kingdom, he could be free! They wouldn't be able to arrest him if he was out of their reaches.

So he was heading east, and only straying when necessary, but always going back to east.

But of course, wandering about would take a toll on the poor boy. Switching from a shut in to an adventurer left his body more weak than most average adventures, even with the levels he's gained over time. Plus, hunger was an actual thing.

He trekked in the decided direction, eventually clearing the trees and making it to an open field.

As he walked along the field, he found a path that looked much different than the rest of the field. The grass looked tramples, dead, or burned. He noticed the oddly shaped marks on the path as well.

'This must be where the Destroyer walked on its way to Axel.' Kazuma thought to himself.

He cringed slightly at the thought of the machine.

'I shouldn't have even bothered with the Coronatite core since we ended up needing to blow up the whole thing. My suffering is all because of that stupid inventor!'

Kazuma could only sigh as he continued on his path.

Day passed and night fell.

Kazuma managed to stop by a tree, using branches and other things he could gather to make the beginning of a campfire.

"Tinder!" Kazuma chanted.

A small fire ball formed in his palm and lit the campfire. He sat down with the tree against his back, allowing him to lean back and relax more.

Kazuma looked into the night sky, observing the stars that shined brightly.

Suddenly, his stomach let out a rumble. He could only sigh in response.

'I'm gonna have to do something about food... I won't last long if I don't eat... But just what am I going to eat?'

Kazuma had to eat sooner or later. He was only able to stay hydrated by using "Create Water", but food is another issue.

'Guess i'll have to figure that out tomorrow...' He thought as he prepared for another night of sleeping.

When Kazuma slept, he always had his skill "Detect Enemy" on passively, in the event that an enemy would attack him in his sleep.

As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but think about Axel.


...

Kazuma opened his eyes and saw he was standing in his mansion.

As he took in his surroundings, he heard someone call him.

"Kazuma Kazuma!" A female voice called out.

He turned around and gave his usual response.

"Yes, I'm Kazuma." He said in a monotone voice.

Once he turned around he saw that the person who was calling him was Aqua.

"Let's go on a quest! I need more money for some alchohol!" She said with an excited look on her face.

Kazuma looked away from Aqua to see Megumin and Darkness looking at him with anticipation, they seemed to agree with Aqua.

He let out a sigh and responded.

"Alright alright, let's check out what quests they have at the Guild."

The other three cheered.

They exited the mansion and made their way to the Adventurer's Guild.

As they exited, a woman with black hair and dressed in some formal clothing watched them from a distance.

Kazuma was ahead of the group as the girls talked about various things.

Things were going well until a topic about Kazuma came up.

"Ehhh? That Hiki-NEET? No way! He's so unreliable though!" Aqua said blatantly, which annoyed Kazuma.

"OI, THE HELL YOU BITCH?! WHERE DO YOU GET OFF INSULTING ME?!" Kazuma shouted.

"EHHH? WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?! YOU CALLED ME SUCH A VULGAR NAME! ME, A GODDESS?!" Aqua retorted.

"YEAH, DEBT GODDESS FOR CERTAIN!"

The two bickered while Darkness and Megumin just looked at each other with exasperated looks.

As the group walked through the town, Kazuma saw in the corner of his eye the black haired woman, but just as he noticed her, she seemed to have just vanished.

'Odd' Kazuma thought to himself.

As they got closer to the Guild, the two finally managed to calm down.

"So, what kind of quest should we be taking?" He asked the girls.

"One of the difficult jobs that will earn us loads of money!" Aqua exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"One that involves a strong monster that can deal a lot of damage" Darkness said, blush forming on her face as she wrapped her arms around herself, squirming at the thought.

"One that can let me use my explosion magic so I they can feel the power of the greatest mage from the Crimson Demons!" Megumin said as she struck a pose with her staff.

"ARE YOU ALL IDIOTS?!" Kazuma said as he smacked all of them in the back of the head.

"ITA!" The three cried out as they put their hands on their head where Kazuma hit them."What's your deal Kazuma?!" Aqua cried out.

"Are you trying to get us killed?! For one moment can't you all be sensible?!" Kazuma shouted.

Letting out a sigh, he relaxed a little as he glanced at the quest board. As he glossed over the many quests that were posted, he noticed a strange post that was buried under the ones infront of it.

Shifting some of the quests aside, he could make out a portion of the post that said "WANTED".

"A wanted poster? On the quest board? Strange."

Just as he grabbed the poster to see who was on it, a voice spoke up.

"Stop right there!" Called out a female voice.

He turned around to see the black haired woman pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"W-wait, me?!" Kazuma asked, clearly confused.

Before he could process anything, he was tackled by some royal guards.

"H-hey! What's the big idea?! You can't just-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the wanted poster he was holding flew by his eyes, but he saw who was on it.

WANTED

SATOU KAZUMA

Kazuma, was shocked.

'Wait! The girls should he able to help me!'

"Oi! Darkness, Megumin, Aqua! Help me!" Kazuma cried out.

He looked over to the three.

They were...

Smiling?

'Wait, why are they smiling?!'

"Help you? Ha! Yeah right. As if I'd help a Hiki-NEET like you! You're finally getting what you deserve!" Aqua said with a smug look.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-" Kazuma was cut off by a punch to the gut.

The guards put hand cuffs on him and one lifts him over their shoulder. As they made their exit, he saw the three laughing.

"Bye-bye Kazuma!" Megumin waved at him.

"Have a wonderful time in prison!" Darkness said next.

"Don't come back..." Aqua said in a low tone.

As Kazuma's vision was fading, only one thought crossed his mind.

'Why?'

A tear rolled down his cheek, falling down to the ground.

Drip

The moment the tear hit the ground, everything stopped.

And then everything became nothing.


Kazuma's eyes opened once again, except this time he could see the the faint glow of of the sun rising.

Infront of him was a burned out campfire.

Taking in his surroundings, he let out a sigh.

"Just a dream, huh?" He spoke in a low tone, grimly chuckling to himself a moment afterwards.

He slowly stood up, and remembered the direction he needed to go in.

Just as he was about to set off, he noticed that there was a town on the horizon.

He needed food, fast, perhaps he could go there? Question is how could he get there without getting caught.

He thought for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, let's do this."