Konosuba Junior Goddess in Training

Chapter 1: Prologue

? Multiversal Japan Department, Goddess Division, Divine Realm

Aqua POV

"Aqua, you are hereby promoted to Elder Goddess!" Amaterasu, the Supreme Goddess of Japan, told me.

I jumped for joy. Finally, they recognized all the hard work I did. I can even get more minions to send me pizza or the latest games.

"This is all thanks to Eris' upcoming promotion to Senior Goddess; with you as her supervisor and with her strongest recommendation, we reluctantly grant you this position. Under certain conditions."

Damn breast-padder, why is she getting all the credit.

"With Eris' ascension to Senior Goddess, she has to train her own Junior Goddess, one within her world and preferably from her cult. She told us she would find a suitable candidate within three years." Amaterasu glared at me; oh right, the Supreme Goddess of Japan could read the minds of her subordinates if needed.

"You, on the other hand, are required to get your own Junior Goddess immediately; you can choose from the teenagers who end up in your office from the dozen Japans assigned to you or a suitable member of your cult in Belzerg. Regardless of the choice, she must be chosen before Eris selects her candidate, or else you shall be demoted to Eris' subordinate!" Amaterasu's hair turned to black fire; Amaterasu was scary. That small rainbow puddle on the floor is from my sweat; I swear it's too hot here.

I walked to my office and started sifting through files.

"How can I find a Junior Goddess to train when the only people who die young in Japan are either idiots or those without a will to live."

There was a violent heaven quake that only happened when Gods fought violently or died.

What's going on? I was about to rush out of the office when I saw a file.

"Jackpot! This person is perfect for the job."

KO
NO

SU
BA

February 22, 2023, Tokyo, Japan

Orion POV

I never expected to have my 29th birthday in Japan, the pandemic ruined my original plans for Japan three years ago, and I needed a break from my work.

Being a corporate "slaver" made you a bigger slave to the company; I decided to celebrate my birthday away from my family, leading to this hastily planned retreat to Japan.

I wanted to go around peacefully, enjoy the scenery, eat good food and have fun as my birthday approached. So today and the next few days leading to my birthday shall be a blast.

Man, I feel so old.

I followed instructions on my phone's Google Maps to go to the address of my friend based in Tokyo; she volunteered to give me a tour around the city tonight and tomorrow.

I absentmindedly walked out of the bus and felt a strange sensation. I suddenly felt a lot more energetic too.

What happened?

February 22, 2013, Tokyo, Japan

Orion POV

I was at the final Bus Stop, trying to call my friend to pick me up; what the hell was wrong with the internet? I even had a secondary phone with a tourist sim ready for this, I tried turning on the expensive roaming data on my main phone, and it still failed.

It was raining hard, which was strange since the weather was quite good when I was on the bus; maybe the sudden weather shift destroyed the nearby cell tower.

There was a fat and smelly man at the end of the stop; I moved away from him and saw a salaryman in (stereotypical) formal attire, reading a Steve Jobs biography book. It was in English, Jackpot!

I spoke as clearly as possible to the Salaryman and asked: "Excuse me, sir, would you happen to know the directions to 8 Torakku street? I just need to go to the Magonote residence." My internet doesn't work for some reason." I flashed my phone to him. He looked surprised for a reason. Did I judge him wrong?

The Smelly man to the side also arched his head over; I think both of them understand English.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where that street is; I only passed by this stop because the train was out today. Your phone looks odd; where did you get that?" The Salaryman asked me.

The fat man looked like he was trying to say something, but I spoke ahead.

"It's the iPhone 13 Pro Max; how could you not know it? You're reading the Steve Jobs book a decade after his death." I pointed at his book.

"A decade? It's been barely two years since he died; what's this nonsense about an iPhone 13? I have the iPhone 5, and it's the latest model. He brought his phone up; I was surprised, a mint condition iPhone 5. Something's wrong here.

"Am I in some sort of gag show? Where are the hidden cameras? This looks like the start of a poor joke, and I'm getting late. I'm still going to visit my friend Aoi, and I'm running late." The sun was setting, and the sky was growing darker; I was fifteen minutes behind schedule already.

An odd bunch of high school students argued on the other side of the road.

"Aoi Magonote? Of the 8 Torakku Street residence?" The smelly man spoke raspily, his breath reeked, but I was desperate enough to listen to him.

"Yes, she's about 20 and was someone I met at a conference online last year. Do you know her?" I asked the man.

"That's impossible, I live at 8 Torakku street, and the only Aoi I know is my 10-year-old niece! Stop spewing nonsense! I may have done unforgivable things to her in the past, but I shall not allow anyone to do the same thing again!" The smelly man shouted. Was he a pedophile?

"This is pointless; I'll go back to the Hotel and just figure things out from there." I'll apologize to Aoi, too; these men were insane.

The fat man turned and shouted something in Japanese to the people on the other side of the road; a truck was fast approaching. I jumped back in caution while the fat man ran to the kids.

There was shouting behind me; I got shoved to the road together with the Salaryman; what the hell? I was able to turn back and see a deranged man slide into the road with us.

Wait a minute, wasn't that the introduction to Mushoku Tensei and Saga of Tanya the Evil? How the hell did I get into this cursed crossover?

I got pummeled, and then.

Darkness.

KO.
NO.
SU.
BA.

? Multiversal Japan Department, Goddess Division, Divine Realm

Orion POV

" Orion Revilla-san, welcome to the afterlife. But, unfortunately, you've died. It might've been short, but your life's over now. Your family and friends shall remember your brilliant achievements."

That's a relief, I think. Dying sucks, but at least it didn't end too badly?

I was in a pure white room; in front of me was an office desk and a chair.

This person in front of me was extremely beautiful and managed to make that nearly translucent blue hair color work.

She also looked like an 18-year-old and had that light purple Japanese thing on her; I forgot what that was called.

She had aqua-blue eyes and an otherworldly glow.

"Would I be right to assume you are a Goddess? Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting you." I knelt in caution.

She looked vaguely familiar, but Japanese anime always had some kind of blue-haired woman. Considering the situation, she was most likely a Goddess, and the best way to avoid getting screwed over is not to piss off the deity in front of you.

Considering that I just saw the NEET that became Rudy and Salaryman that became Tanya, I'm just happy I didn't end up with Hitogami or Being X.

"You showed the proper respect and reverence to a Goddess; My name's Aqua, the Goddess of Water. I guide young people who die in Japan, and your actions have proven that you are the right person for the job." She walked from her desk toward me and pulled me out of my kneeling position. She did so with absolute grace and finesse. I guess she's been used to being a Goddess for so long that she knew what to do with perfection beyond human years.

"What job? This isn't anything like the afterlife I expected, so I'm all ears." Despite my many flaws, I still believe in my faith, although a brilliant blue-haired Goddess never represented it. We talked about multiple Gods and Goddesses ruling over their respective domains, but even that's pretty obscure. Did I step out of my domain?

"You have three options; the first would be reincarnating and beginning a new life; the second would be staying in a place like heaven, which is more of a retirement home." She paused, looking at me intently.

I waited for her to continue.

"You are a great listener; normally, the other young guys who died would be panicking at this point."

Well, I believed that one way or another, my family and affairs at home would be safe and settled; maybe I could even bargain with this Goddess to ensure their own protection after I pass on. I also didn't want to get screwed over by a pissed-off Deity.

"I have faith that you know what to do, Goddess Aqua." It might be flattery, but what else could I do in this situation?

"Normal Heaven isn't as great as you humans would've imagined. You don't need to eat after dying and won't be able to make anything naturally; there aren't any ingredients nor necessities for you to use anyway. I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but there's nothing in heaven. No television, no manga and no games. Only other people that've died before you. Moreover, since you're dead, you can't do anything kinky. You can't since you don't even have a body. The only thing you can do is bask in the sun with your predecessors and chat. Forever."

I guess she's going to sell me the third option.

"That's horribly dull, and reincarnation is basically death to me."

"Hey… You don't want to go to a boring place like heaven, right? However, asking you to let go of all of your memories and start again as a baby's the same as erasing your existence since your memories will be gone. Once again, you are right about your assumption. You're passing my test. And so, I've great news for you!"

What test? Is there some secret bonus to this?

Aqua said to the curious me with a smile,

"Do you like games?"

Aqua confidently explained her so-called good news.

This was the gist of it:

In a world different from where I was, there was another world with a Demon King.

In addition, with the attack of the Demon King's army, the world fell into crisis.

There was magic and monsters in that world.

To put it simply, it was a fantasy world, and I was going to be sent to some kind of RPG Isekai like Sword Art or Bofuri minus the VR element since I'm dead.

As much as I find Isekai anime to be interesting and cool to watch, these worlds are usually messed up.

"This sounds suspiciously difficult; what's the catch? Why couldn't the people save their own world? Does this mean you also sent other dead kids from Japan to fight the Demon King?" She appreciated my sharp analysis; I might as well continue

"The people who died in that world were killed by the Demon King's army and were very afraid, saying that they didn't want to die like that again. Therefore, almost all of the people who died rejected reincarnating in that world again. More specifically, that world will end if this continues since babies will cease to be born there. Hence, we'll solve that problem by sending the dead from other worlds over, right? That's how it is."

She paused for a moment. This sounds like a serious demographic problem due to the Demon King. I hope it isn't grimdark.

"And since we're sending people over, we should find people that've died young and still yearn to live and send them over with their original body and memories." I looked at myself once more; I felt ten years younger; this wasn't my original body unless my soul restored it to its physical prime. My sports injuries which stopped my budding athletic university life would be gone if I was restored to this age and condition.

"It'll be meaningless if they were to die immediately after going over, so we'll grant a privilege to all of those going to that world, allowing them to take one thing they like. It may be a powerful ability, an exceptional talent, or a god-level weapon. What do you think? It might be another world, but you can live once more. For the people of that world, someone will appear who can fight immediately. How about it? Isn't this great news?"

She was beaming at me; I guess the third option was the only choice I could make without suffering horrific consequences. So I might as well make the most of it.

"Would I be able to ask for a certain power? I already assume that I would also be given the ability to speak and write their language upon arrival." I knew what I'd like to get; if I did it right, it would solve my problems quickly.

"Once again, your assumptions are correct. You've impressed me so far, Orion." Oh, that's great; maybe my request will be answered.

"Would it be too much to ask for even just a tiny sliver of your power and abilities, Aqua, Goddess of Water? As an all-powerful being, I assume that even the smallest fraction of your power would be enough for me to wipe out the Demon King and his army." Please make it work; please make it work.

Aqua was smiling at me. She gave me a folder with a sheet inside it.

"Perfect, you are the right person for the job. I believe you can be my future assistant once you defeat the Demon King. With that, I can trust you with a small fraction of my power; all you need to do is sign this form and follow the instructions written on it. You will be my second apprentice since my first apprentice, Junior Goddess Eris, was promoted to Senior Goddess. I will be promoted to Elder Goddess Aqua after you accept this contract."

Woah, this was a lot more than I was hoping for. An apprenticeship under an Elder Goddess… so does that mean I'm a Junior God now?

I read the form; it was very simple and even had some blanks filled with Aqua's name and a blank at the bottom meant for my name and signature.

The terms were simple.

1. Swear to follow Aqua's guidance and instructions in performing your duties as a Deity.

2. Swear to improve the faith and numbers of Aqua's followers

3. Create a sub-cult under your name in preparation for your ascension as a Deity.

4. (New clause added after Olympus incident) Having sexual relations with the opposite gender is prohibited upon the pain of losing your divine powers.

The first three terms were reasonable; I only needed to heed Aqua's wisdom and instructions; she looked utterly professional and intelligent. Her promotion to Elder Goddess must show she has a great deal of ability too.

"Thank you, Orion; I am the supremely talented Goddess Aqua; after all, I also think you were speaking your thoughts aloud," Aqua told me; I blushed, feeling embarrassed over that slip.

"Why is the fourth rule so specific? And what is that Olympus incident? Does that involve a certain deity that had sexual relations with just about anything he can stick his parts into?" I didn't want to say Zeus; maybe he'd hear me and strike me with lightning.

"How did you know that? It's a thing only deities should know; I haven't even given you my power yet. But yes, because demigods are a threat to the stability of the multiverse, a divine council and treaty were created to prohibit any Deities from having sexual relations with those of the opposite gender." Aqua explained to me.

"Oh, I have to live a chaste life for all eternity. The things I do for ambition." I signed the document and passed the sheet to Aqua. Perhaps Gods and Goddesses can turn off their libido.

"Oh, I couldn't give you my full aspect as your mortal body isn't ready for the power; however, as your level increases, you can use my aspect for longer periods of time. Once you have enough power, that aspect shall fully mature, and you would be a full deity yourself, although limited to the incarnation at Belzerg until the Demon King is defeated and you join the Divine Realm." Aqua told me that as she placed the document on a small table, the document beamed away, and the message appeared in thin air in front of us.

"Goddess application complete, a new Deity is born."

Huh, did I read it wrong? Maybe it meant Aqua's application for my Godhood was approved, right?

"Congratulations, you are my newest apprentice. Treat me as your older sister! In Japan, you call your older sisters "Onee-san or Onee-chan"; you can call Eris, and me that, or call me Onee-sama if you want something serious or Aneki if it's something naughty." She's suddenly treating me like family; I'm surprised. Speaking of which.

"How about my old family? Could I help them out?" I asked Aqua; I hope I could.

"Of course, anyone who ascends to this realm gets their family and closest friends a special place in the heavens; they get to have their own bodies and have the full fun experience in real heaven after they die. They'll also get access to you, and you can all happily have a great time in heaven whenever you aren't busy with your duties. As for their remaining years on Earth, they shall be greatly blessed in their endeavors, with mental messages giving you credit. It's a perk of becoming a deity, you know?"

I was really happy; this whole death thing went far better than expected.

"Thank you for cheering and reassuring me so much, Aqua-nee-sama!" I hugged her and had some tears of joy too.

I definitely owe her one.

"You're welcome, my apprentice. You're part of a bigger family now."

"Now, before I send you down, just remember to look for the Axis cult and talk to my statue often, okay? I'll enjoy hanging out with you there. And if you see Eris, just remember to tell that chest-padding girl that Aqua got the job done like a boss."

A magic circle appeared under me.

I waved goodbye at her.

KO.

NO.

SU.

BA.

? Multiversal Japan Department, Goddess Division, Divine Realm

Aqua POV

"Great! I finally have a junior deity under me in record time. I'm sure nobody else got to work so quickly after that divine quake." I said to nobody as I lounged on the couch in my room.

I munched on some snacks but was bothered by Eris throwing a paperweight at me.

"Hey! What's the big deal, Eris? Can't you see I'm celebrating my success in finding an assistant in record time?" What's up with her today? Did Rista or Hestia prank her again, or was she given another crappy task?

"Aqua, did you ever pause and think about the things you do? I staked my promotion on recommending your promotion. All you needed to do was to get an assistant under you, an appropriate assistant." Eris crossed her arms on her non-existent chest.

"I did. Didn't you hear me proclaim I got a new assistant deity under me in record time? Look at the resume; this person managed to achieve so many things in just 18 years, granted he's two days shy of the 19-year-old limit and was a foreigner who ended up dying in Japan." I told her.

Eris read the resume, and turned red.

"You idiot! Did you ever pause to think how suspicious this is? This person managed to study through several courses, work in several companies and have high positions in them, has a ridiculous set of extracurricular activities, and has over a decade of work experience." Eris shouted at me

"Hey! There are child geniuses and actors that do that. And aren't these attributes perfect for a budding junior deity with a talent range like mine? I can do arts, architecture, engineering, healing, singing, and all those other things perfectly. So Orion is a great match for me!"

"Just because Orion was born on February 1994 and died before their birthday on February 2013 doesn't make that person an 18-year-old. Look at the attached file: Orion slid into an alternate universe and was turned from a 28-year-old to their 18-year-old self, died in the incident leading to the latest divine quake. You'd be in serious trouble if it weren't for that loophole."

Eris drew an X on my head

"Strike One!"

"Next, how many times do we have to tell you that you need a Junior GODDESS! GODDESS, for crying out loud, ever since the Olympus incident, Gods and Goddesses have been forbidden to interact outside of tightly monitored diplomatic zones directly. The essence you gave poor Orion is the Essence of a Goddess; we have no authority to give an Essence of a God! If there is any rejection of the essence, the consequences vary from the total destruction of his soul to the destruction of the Goddess Realm if the newly ascended Goddess… Is a God!"

Eris drew another X on my head, as I was dumbfounded by my mistake.

"You're lucky the heaven quake caused so many problems in the other rooms, nobody read what you sent, and I managed to approve it before anyone saw it. However, you need to make sure Orion willingly accepts his fate to become the next Junior Goddess, or we will all be doomed!"

"Remember, Orion shouldn't know about these conditions, or else the contract would also be void; we must convince him indirectly to accept the essence of a Goddess one way or another."

Eris left the room, muttering about cleaning things up in Belzerg again.

I cried in the corner

Was I such a useless Goddess?

KO
NO

SU
BA

Day 1 - Axel City, Kingdom of Belzerg

Orion POV

I was on the outskirts of a medieval-looking town, with carriages, people dressed in old-fashioned clothing, and no signs of modern technology. Man, this is gonna suck.

As someone who prefers modern-day comforts and a healthy dose of computer gaming after work, I'll be in serious need of an outlet to pass the time in this world.

I saw a small, dilapidated church, but I was drawn to it. It looked abandoned and stale, yet there it was, the statue of Aqua in the middle of the church. I might as well clean this place a little before I talk to her.

I forgot to ask her a couple of questions, such as where I would find a job, how to get or access my powers, and some money or equipment to start out. I'm sure I can sort it out here.

I took off my coat and tie as I dressed down for the task; I wouldn't want to be mistaken for a butler cleaning the church, right?

After two hours of clearing up the dust from the most accessible parts of the church and finding some lost items, the church looked somewhat presentable, and I had three gold coins with a girl's face on them. It doesn't look like Aqua; I wonder what it's called.

I went to the statue and called Aqua out.

"Hi Aqua! I hope you appreciate the cleanup. I have a couple of questions I wanted to ask if you can spare the time."

A beam of light went out from the statue, and Aqua came out wearing a veil. She looked around the church and saw nobody else around.

"Is the coast clear?" She asked me

"Absolutely, in fact, I was wondering where your worshippers are; nobody visited this place in the last few hours, or even weeks, if the dust buildup was any hint."

Aqua took off her veil; two slightly faded X marks were on her head.

"What happened?" Why would anyone do that to her head?

"I can't tell you, but that isn't the point. Despite our connection, I am not allowed to interfere too heavily in your quest, as I have a lot of duties to uphold in the Divine Realm; however, I will help you whenever I can. I can answer some questions." She shook her head slightly

"Sure, First, how would I find a job? Second, how would I access my powers? Third, do you have any instructions for me and your cult?"

I had many more questions, but Aqua looked like she was pressed for time. I also didn't want to appear incompetent and lose my shot at Junior Godhood.

"There's an adventurer's guild in Axel; it's the best starting point for beginners. At the guild, you can get an adventurer's card where your stats and skills will be displayed; you can choose your class and skills once you arrive. As for instructions, the person assigned to the church shall face the consequences for abandoning his duty; I'll send you one of my most loyal Priestesses to assist in his stead; it may take her a week or two before she arrives. She will teach you the specifics of the Axis church; for now, just go on an adventure and adapt to the city. You can sleep in the special bedroom of this church, one they reserved for me. I don't sleep there anyway; here's the key." She passed me a nice-looking key; I guess that's the room I couldn't open earlier. It had a fancy-looking door and felt different too.

"I have to leave now; I have a huge backlog of souls to process; please ascend soon; I need an assistant in my office badly. Before I leave, if you want to access the essence, I gave you, just think about it. However, if you do it in the presence of other people, make sure you say cool lines that would praise me. See you!" Aqua gave a quick hug and jumped into the statue, and disappeared.

I guess I'm off to the Adventure's guild.

KO.

NO.

SU.

BA.

A large establishment with an obvious fragrance of food, the Adventurers Guild looked like a lively place.

A handful of people were inside, seated and eating breakfast. I arrived at Belzerg at the start of the day and, after my conversation with Aqua, managed to get here between Breakfast and Lunch.

"Ah, welcome; you look like you want to post a quest for the adventurer's guild; please come this way." A brown-haired waitress approached me. Why did I have to die wearing formal clothes? I was supposed to change when I went to my friend's house—stupid Truck-kun.

"Sorry, I'm looking for a job at the Adventurer's guild. Could you show me the way, please?" I always made it a point to be nice to the service crews at an establishment or on the plane; they had a hard time doing their jobs.

Some people were looking at me, perhaps because I stood out like a sore thumb. I should check for clothes in the Axis Shrine.

"Thanks for leading me to the counter." I was gesturing to ask her name; I hope I didn't break a social norm here.

"Kate."

"Thanks, Kate!" I turned to the counter and saw a smiling Blonde lady who was… well endowed and shamelessly showing it off.

"Good morning! How may I help you?" I kept my attention on her face, I wish someone had told her she was showing way too much with that angle, but a part of me realized that it was probably for the sake of the male adventurers. Thinking about the no-boinking clause made it easy to ignore such things.

"I want to become an adventurer; I come from a land far, far away." I wanted to add "a long time ago," but now's not the time for obscure jokes

The woman at the counter was staring at me; I blamed my clothes.

"Oh! I'm just checking the way you look and speak. You're not from here, are you? Are you one of those special item users from? What's that place again? Japan?" Looks like she's a well-informed guild receptionist, another anime meme.

"Ah, sounds like you know a bit about that faraway land; while I am not exactly from there, I also come from that world, even though I don't know if I should keep that a secret or not," I told her. "Orion Revilla at your service, unlike them, I use my first name first instead of reversing it. I wasn't given a special item, but I have a special ability, even though it is quite limited at the moment." I wasn't sure how to bring Aqua's aspect up, so I'll keep that quiet.

"Well, if that's the case, you wouldn't need to sign the fast-track contract to get to the capital immediately. So the registration fee is 1,000 Eris." I took out two coins, which had 500 Eris each, and handed them over to the counter lady.

I was down to 500 Eris; I wonder what I could do with that.

"Since you said you want to be an adventurer, I'll give a basic explanation of what an adventurer is. First, adventurers are responsible for the extermination of monsters wandering outside the town, people who get rid of dangerous creatures that might harm the citizens. They're also jacks-of-all-trades, taking odd jobs that require their talents. Collectively known as adventurers are people who earn a living this way. And among adventurers, there are different jobs."

"Please place your hand on the machine." I followed her instruction, and a strange magical scanner created an adventurer card.

It looked like an ID, around the size of a driver's license card. At least I didn't need to take a test to be an adventurer; some RPGs had that kind of boring introduction or tutorial.

"Please look over here. Do you see the word "Level"? As you know, all things in the world have souls no matter what form it takes. If you eat or kill a being, you can absorb part of the soul's memory, known as Experience Points."

"Experience points are normally intangible, but with this card, the Experience points the Adventurer absorbs will be shown here. " She pointed at the "Experience Points" part of the card.

"At the same time, displaying the level corresponding to your experience points will be here. This shows how strong an adventurer is and how many enemies you defeat will record here. The accumulation of experience points will make all creatures grow stronger in the process of leveling up. Leveling up grants all sorts of benefits, such as skill points to learn new skills. So please work hard to increase your level."

I was given a pen and then asked to fill in my physical details.

Height : 173 cm

Weight : 66 kg

Age: 18? Years old

Black hair, Brown eyes.

"Please touch this card. This will display the strength of each of your abilities for reference to choosing your job. After accumulating skill points, you can learn skills that are available for your position. This is one of the key points in choosing occupations."

Let's see the results.

"Hmmm, Strength, Vitality, Magic, Agility, and Speed are slightly better than average. Your intelligence is very high. Are you sure you're not a Crimson Demon? Ah, you don't have red eyes after all. Your luck is abysmal, but it's not relevant for adventurers. What'll you like to do? You can pass for an Archmage with your stats or any other normal jobs; I wouldn't recommend a mere adventurer job because that's a waste of ability, and a merchant job would be awful with your luck stat."

Hey! I was a businessman before I died; how on Earth can I be an awful merchant?

"Wait, that's odd; the machine at the counter said you can also choose an Archpriest role; it seems like you have a natural affinity for the role. It normally wouldn't show this option."

"So I can choose to be an archmage or an archpriest? Offense or support, which way should I go."

Some people around the place were eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Both are extremely rare jobs in a starter town like Axel; you won't have any trouble joining a party with those classes." The counter lady added.

"When in doubt, flip a coin. Heads for Archpriest and Tails for Archmage." I said a little bit louder than usual since I knew the eavesdroppers were listening anyway.

"Hehe, Eris-senpai, we might not have met yet, but Aqua told me you're my senior; please give me some luck and advice," I whispered to the coin, I'm not sure if it was a trick on the eyes, but the engraved Eris winked at me and gave a thumbs up. The counter lady didn't notice, so I flipped the coin.

Heads and Eris gave a thumbs up.

I swore not to use that lucky coin.

"Looks like it's decided; I'll be an archpriest." The eavesdroppers started gossiping, and some tried to invite me already, but the counter lady pulled me back to the counter.

She borrowed my card and placed it on the machine. It printed out my role

"Done! Welcome to the Adventurer's guild, Orion! All our staff looks forward to your grand exploits." She gave me a pleasant smile.

I stared at my card; it was awesome.

I saw a whole host of skills written down on it; however, the mana costs for many of them were insane. Even though it's available, I couldn't use some of them more than once with my current stats; other skills even go beyond my current mana capacity. Maybe the skill "Aqua's aspect" is what she told me my cheat skill was; perhaps I'll temporarily have the stats needed to use them during the ten-minute period. I guess it's a trump card.

I need to level grind seriously.

Wait a minute; there's something wrong with this card.

Why does it say "Archpriestess."

"Hey, counter lady, I think there's a misprint on the card." She wasn't busy and the crowd near me was back to their usual antics.

"My name is Luna; you can call me that." She corrected me

"Alright, thanks, Luna. Here, please look at this; I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be called an ArchpriestESS." She looked at the card and stared at me, up and down.

"That's impossible; this machine and the public baths in the guild have been crafted with the finest magic possible to prevent mixups. It was even recently blessed by the head priest of the Eris church." Luna told me; she also pulled me in closer to whisper something.

"Look, if you're hiding your true identity from the public, you aren't the only one around. So I'll keep your secret for you. But please, DO NOT go to the wrong bath. Or else something embarrassing might happen." Huh! I'm pretty sure I'm male.

"But I'm not hiding that kind of thing at all. And what do you mean you're hiding other people's identities." I told Luna

"The Adventurer's cards don't lie; however, the counter ladies swear to keep confidential information secret. When something goes above their pay grade, they report it to me. You aren't the only person with a secret identity around." She winked at me

Ughhh, I'm not secretly a girl. I'm secretly a God candidate, apprenticed under Aqua.

"Uhm, yeah, sure, please keep it a secret; I wouldn't want anyone to make the wrong assumptions about me and my job class; you're the best, Luna!"

"Say, how do I start."

Luna gave me instructions on how to choose a quest, claim rewards, and the like. She also showed me some parties looking for members.

"Jackpot! A Thief and a Crusader are looking for one frontline fighter and two rear guard supports. How do I contact them?" Luna smiled when she saw me ask

"What a perfect coincidence; out of all the people you ask about, you picked someone in the same situation as you. It's not my secret to tell, so you heard nothing from me. I'll set the three of you together if you show up at dinnertime."

Like me? How? Someone misgendered on the Adventurer's card?

Or a secret goddess?

What would my abysmal luck give me?

Author's Note

1. Since most of my Konosuba knowledge is from the Anime, LN vol 1-8, and Manga Ch up to 9, I won't go too far into the project yet, and I will write this more seriously after I finish the first volume of the Saga of Rudeus the Evil. I read the explosions manga but haven't finished the LN version. Depending on the reaction, I may release chapter 2 sooner than expected.

2. I won't Japanese suffixes unless the situation specifically calls for it.

3. The MC is based on me, with personal details and some secrets and traits obviously edited out for the sake of privacy. Despite first impressions, the MC has some serious nerfs balancing their story.

4. Original Pre-Isekai Rudy and Tanya never had their names revealed, but it's pretty obvious that the MC is talking to them. Truck-Kun has a massive haul in the Isekai Cinematic Universe.

5. Mushoku Tensei fans would know just exactly who that ten-year-old niece is; if you don't, look at the first twenty seconds of Anime Episode 2. You'll find her there.

6. Aqua implied that she disrespected Kazuma because he was a waste of her time and that his decision didn't matter. Considering how nice Aqua can be when she wants a favor or tries to scam someone, she wouldn't be OOC.

7. Aqua is extremely talented in a range of skills that would make her a renaissance legend and has the emotional stability to match any of the great artists and scientists of the era combined too.

8. Goddesses don't need the toilet? But puke rainbows and can sell "holy water" of dubious origin, sure. The manga interpretation of the lake purification would be how I'll interpret Aqua if/once she ends up in Belzerg with Kazuma. It's holy rainbows, anyway even if it's sweat.

9. The MC knows a bunch of Anime, Manga, and LN, including Saga of Tanya the Evil and Mushoku Tensei. However, the only exposure he ever has of Konosuba is from Isekai Quartet, and speaking as someone who watched Saga of Tanya the Evil, AND THEN Isekai Quartet before any of the other shows, I couldn't recognize half the jokes in the series. I needed to watch the four different anime series before I rewatched Isekai Quartet.

10. That heaven quake in the omake is a big hint of the Saga of Rudeus the Evil Vol. 1 ending; that's all I would say about it for now.

11. There's an Axis shrine in the suburbs of Axel, sometimes, I wonder why Aqua never chose to sleep there, especially during the times she and Kazuma were dirt poor. I guess there may be room reserved for the Goddess Aqua, but due to the events of the LN 4, the Archpriest and the higher ups pretended to not acknowledge Aqua. Plus Aqua got the mansion with Kazuma early in the story, so by the time she had influence in the Axis church, she didn't need to stay there.

12. Goddess Aqua, when she isn't cast out of the Divine Realm is far more capable than the version sent to Belzerg, although she still comes with her usual limitations. The MC has only seen the best face of Aqua so far. Since she has access to the resources in the Divine Realm, she's able to read up on Belzerg a bit, in order to even the odds for the MC.

Excerpts From

Rifujin na Magonote Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Light Novel) Vol. 1

Konosuba/ God's blessing on this wonderful world! Volume 1 & 8

Natsume Akatsuki

Carlo Zen, "The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1" Deus lo Vult