Bless This World With A Stranger

by RhineWrites

Arc 8: Konosuba Inferno (chapters 37-?)

7. B2-Chpt 1: Meetings

Konosuba

Book 2-Chapter 1:

Advent of the Destroyer arc

- Prologue -

My name is Mitsurugi Kyouya-

Once, long ago in another life, I was your average, everyday high school student.

I led a simply life filled with family, friends, and my never ending love for games, anime, and manga.

My personal favorite genre was, of course, isekai.

I had always loved the idea of being sent to another world; one in which you could become a hero.

I mean, who wouldn't want that to happen to them, right?

I just never could have imagined that it could happen to me, would happen to me.

How did I get the isekai treatment, you may ask?

Honestly, everything happened so quickly that I can't really be sure.

All I can remember is that I died saving someone from an oncoming run away vehicle.

A most noble and heroic way to go out, if you want my opinion.

After I had died, I found myself arriving at what looked like the inside of an air bubble; floating deep beneath a tranquil ocean.

And it was here, in this place, I had met the woman of my dreams. The perfect goddess for my heroic heart-

The radiant lady Aqua.

She had explained to me what had happened and offered me three choices; rebirth, heaven, or to come to another world and become its hero.

As a lover of isekai, the choice was obvious.

She then gave me my choice in a divine power that I could bring with me, to use in order to save this world.

After careful consideration, I chose the cursed sword; Gram due to its power to cut through anything.

It even ignored the targets defense and always dealt critical damage no matter what.

Before sending me off, she gave me a few parting words.

First, she declared me her chosen warrior and branded upon my dominant hand the crest of the Axis.

With this mark, all who worshiped her upon this new world would see me as her chosen knight and would aid me in any way I asked.

And, she had said that if I could succeed in slaying this 'Devil King' who terrorized the world, she would be able to grant me any wish my heart could possibly desire.

I already knew what it was I would ask for as my reward-

To return to her, and stay by her side forevermore; for all eternity.

To be the Kirito to her Asuna-

As I had fallen in love with that beautiful goddess and would do anything for her.

Upon arriving in this new world, I wasted little time in finding the Adventurer's Guild.

Offering up a bit of coin, also given to me by the goddess for this very purpose, I paid the proper fees and was given my Adventurer's card.

I learned that my class would be Sword Master; a high tier job from what I was told.

I then started taking on Quest after Quest, finding them all easy thanks to the power of Gram.

As my levels grew; as my wallet grew, so to did my reputation within the Guild and even across the whole Kingdom.

In no time at all, people began to look at me as if I was a legendary hero of prophecy.

I mean, they weren't wrong exactly, but I nevertheless endeavored to stay humble.

I even traveled to the City of Hot-springs; Arcenretia, the home of the Axis faith, in order to convert and become a true follower of the goddess.

I had been warned that any who joined the Axis would suffer a heavy cost; that being their intellect stat would suffer from a permanent debuff.

I ignored those words as they had been spoken by a follower of some false religion, or so I assumed.

Besides, after joining the Axis, I didn't feel any dumber so it had to have been a lie.

I soon learned more about this false faith; it's followers praying to a lesser goddess named Eris.

But from what I had been told about her; she was a weak, joke of a goddess who wasn't worthy of her status or her number of followers.

And, for reasons I couldn't fathom, this Eris had somehow managed to get most of the known world to bow before her unworthy self over the far more worthy lady Aqua, the true goddess.

Which is why I swore that I would help guide those poor fools who followed that false idol towards becoming part of the faith that was truly worthy of their love and adoration.

Also, it wasn't long after I came to this world that I met two girls who would join my part and become my friends.

I found them while out on a Quest; they had been kidnapped by bandits, along with others from their home, and were on their way to be sold at an underground slave market.

Saving them and seeing them all returned home was easy for one of my ability.

After receiving thanks from the mayor of this town, I told him that I would send a request to the lord who oversaw this land about sending soldier's to this town in order to insure this never happens again.

As I went to leave, two of the girls who had been kidnapped approached me; asking to come with me.

While I had feared for their safety, I had ultimately relented as I believed joining me on my journey would greatly benefit them in life.

Once we returned to Axel, I paid their fees so that they too, could become Adventurer's.

First, there was Clemea; a petite girl with green hair tied in a pony tail.

Her class was Warrior.

The other was Fio; bearing a well developed figure and orange/pink colored hair.

Her class was Thief.

Under my watchful eye, the grew quickly and even joined the Axis faith as well.

Over the next few months, the three of us grew close; very close indeed.

So much so that they both confessed feelings of love for me.

I told them I had already sworn my heart and soul to the divine goddess of water but they nevertheless wished to still be with me; even if it was only in life.

They even said that they would 'help' me to better understand such intimate things so that when it came time to return to her grace's side, I would know all that I would need to serve her fully.

I finally relented to their request. I'm sure the goddess would be fine with this, right?

I mean, odds are that divine beings don't indulge in such mortal urges like those of the flesh so wouldn't it be better to sate those urges so that they wouldn't remain when I did join her, just in case I was right about all that.

Besides, did I really want to be like some of those other isekai heroes who only choose one girl when it was obvious that all the girls liked him and would gladly agree to share him if given the offer.

If I'm gonna be the hero in my own personal isekai life; then might as well enjoy it to the fullest-

Right?

On a side note, it also didn't hurt that the doctrine of the Axis faith, said to have been penned by her radiance herself; pretty much commanded one to indulge in such things in their lives.

Anyways, I soon began to think about seeking out more members for our party.

After talking with Clemea and Fio about this, they had ultimately agreed with my assessment.

While the three of us alone were already powerful, mainly because of me and Gram; if we ever hoped to challenge the Devil King one day, we'll need far more variety in our line up.

I had heard of two potential candidates I considered recruiting.

One was a mage; an Arch Wizard in truth, who I had heard was capable of one-shotting any enemy who crossed her path.

The other was a Crusader who was said to have an unbreakable defense no enemy could crack.

But I chose to rule them out as possible additions to my growing harem-

I mean, my party.

This choice was due to the rumors I had heard about them that was making the rounds as gossip within the guild halls.

The Arch Wizard, while the stories about her were indeed true; came with the caveat that she could only use her one-hit kill attack once before being out of commission and she was beyond stubborn; refusing to learn any other spell.

In other words, she was a literal glass canon and I had neither the time, the patience, or the desire to have to deal with a problem child like that.

Plus, I had heard she was a Crimson Demon and while they were said to be rather OP, they also had what sounded like chuunibyou themed personalities and if I was to be honest, I can't stand chunni's.

As for the Crusader, I had heard her weakness was that she couldn't land a single strike on her targets; even when they are stationary.

Someone like that, I mean; could you be anymore useless to have around?

We decided to put that topic on hold as we set out on a new Quest, one that would see us gone from Axel for the next three months.

The Quest was to slay a Monarch Dragon in the western mountains.

The reward; three hundred fifty million eris. Not a bad haul for those who could do it.

As we left, we all agreed that once we returned and collect the reward, we'd see once again if there was anyone worthy in Axel we could bring into our little family.

Regardless of how that ends up going, we would move on the capital of Belzerg itself as I had now become powerful enough to be considered an elite.

Well, I had already been an elite since the beginning but, like I said; I'm a humble man so I won't brag.

-Part 1: Cielo's Request -

(Chris's POV)

"Um...? Did something happen while I was away?

I asked Darkness as I looked at her and Megumin.

I had finally arrived back in Axel after having been away for the last four weeks.

I was aware of the Dullahan incident, which had made me rush to complete the task I had been undertaking, as well as a few other important things that had come up during that time.

Once I passed through the city gates, I was both surprised and glad to see that the incident hadn't affected anyone's daily routines.

Or if it had, it had been something everyone seemed to have quickly recovered from.

I had naturally wanted to go check in with everyone over at the Guild Hall as soon as possible, but I had a feeling in my gut that I should take a detour over to my favorite supply shop first and restock on all the needed essentials before going to do the whole 'catch up' game.

Besides, I wanted to finish teaching Kazuma the Bind skill; which I had promised to do once I got back.

And to do that, I needed something that could be used to bind with.

Once that had been taken care of, I made my way to the Guild, hoping that my favorite party would be there; either having breakfast or looking for a Quest to do.

If they weren't, I'd simply just hang around until they either arrived or returned; which ever one it would be.

Besides, I hadn't eaten a proper, cooked meal for what felt like an eternity and I can say that I was definitely hungry enough to eat a whole pack of Flying Hawk Kites right now.

Once I arrived at the Guild, I found it to be as lively and active as always.

I was also happy to see the backs of Darkness and Megumin sitting at the table nearest the entrance inside the mess hall.

But something was wrong.

Both of them had their heads hung low; an air of sadness and regret; the air of depression, seemed to be hanging over them.

As I walked towards them, I noticed Kazuma wasn't sitting opposite them.

Worried, I stopped just at point the reception area became the mess hall and looked around.

Like with the girls, I quickly spotted Kazuma who was sitting off at a small corner table over on the far side of the room. As much as I tried, I couldn't quite get a read off of him.

As I went to start walking forward again, I feel a tap on my shoulder; making me turn to see that it had been Luna who had tapped me.

"Oh, Chris. I'm glad to see that you are back. Maybe you can do what I can't and help those three mend that broken bridge that now divides them."

She asked me, being surprisingly vague about the whole thing.

I asked her what she even meant by that but she simply replied with-

"It's better you hear the details from them yourself."

I have to admit, I hated when someone does that; telling you about something big that had happened, or implying that fact, but then opting the pass on the explanation to others as they didn't want the burden on doing that themselves.

Or maybe she just felt it would be better for me to hear the details from them; seeing as they were here and all.

I still hated it though.

And it made me wonder; had I done that myself in the past?

If so, then I had no right to complain about stuff like this.

At first, I planned on going ahead and getting the details from the girls; I even walked up to them and positioned myself so I could see the looks on their faces.

But my gut told me to check in on Kazuma first; that seeing how he looked with a closer inspection would be crucial knowledge to have going into this.

I walked over to Kazuma; still finding myself unable to get a read off of him which was weird.

I was always so good at doing that in the past; even with those who hid their emotions well.

When I finally was close enough to see his face, I finally understood why I couldn't read him-

He looked terrible; more than just exhausted but dead tired.

Almost like he would collapse at any second.

There were dark, and I mean DARK, rings under his eyes, which were half closed and he had an almost lifeless like look about him. In fact, he had the look of a zombie about him.

His skin was all pale and pasty looking.

And his hair was an uncompromising mess.

Judging from that, as well as the smell coming off him, it was obvious he hadn't bathed in a few days.

There was a small plate of food which he seemed to almost absentmindedly played with before taking a bite, then repeating the process.

I wanted to call out to him but I doubt I would get any sort of response beyond base recognition.

And so, I turned back and headed back over to the girls; planning on getting my answers from them.

As I arrived and sat down opposite them, I recalled the words that I had told Kazuma before; about being the better man and forgiving.

There was a small part of me that was upset that he hadn't taken those words to heart.

Or rather, I wanted to be upset but something told me what I was about to learn would reveal the situation to be not so easily rectified.

"Hey, Darkness? Megumin? It's me, Chris. Do either of you want to explain just what has happened here between you two and Kazuma while I was away?"

Neither of them spoke, nor showed any sign of recognition at the sound of my voice.

Clearly, whatever had happened had effected them too; leaving them looking down in the dumps.

Sorry, you two, but I know I will have a better chance at finding out what happened here from you both than I will from Kazuma over there.

I mean, for one thing, neither of you two look like you're about to kill over on me like he does.

With that, I bawled both my fist together as tightly as I could and sent them slamming down onto the table; creating a rather loud rattle that filled the hall and get a lot of eyes locked onto me.

Despite that, it had the desired effect as both girls sitting opposite me jerked back into reality; finally giving me the attention I was demanding from them.

I allow them a moment to get their heads back in the game; turning my attention back to the others in the mess hall and giving them a look that made one thing clear-

"You'd all be wise to just ignore us three and go back to doing what you were doing before."

And luckily for them, they did. Well, they at least turned away nervously which was something.

"Chris? How... When did you get back?"

Asked Darkness as I turned my attention back to the two of them.

"I got back about an hour ago, give or take. But we can talk all about that later. Right now, I want to know what's going on here? Why are you two looking so gloomy and why isn't Kazuma over here with you two instead of sitting off in that corner like he is? And on that subject, just why does he looked like he hasn't slept for a week?"

As I await a reply, Darkness clearly shrinks back while Megumin once again lowers her head while grabbing the rim of her large hat and lowers it down to help hide her face as much as she could.

I sigh as I begin to tap the table with a finger.

"I'm waiting, you two."

After another moment, Darkness finally relents and, following a regretful sigh, begins her explanation-

"It all begin when we went to receive the reward from taking out the Dullahan. The three of us were understandably excited as we would be getting three hundred million eris. With that, we could go and buy ourselves a nice sized home here in Axel. In fact, we believed we had already found one and were planning on going to check it out right after."

"It was then we received the bad news. Instead of being rewarded, we were gifted with a bill; repair cost brought upon us for damaged done to an old abandoned castle; caused by Megumin's Explosion magic."

"I didn't know that would happen. I admit, I lied when I said I had checked ahead of time to make sure it was safe but.. I mean, the place was in the middle of nowhere and was in a bad way already. I was confident that no one would mind or care if I helped put the place out of its misery."

Megumin cried out in defense of herself. Once she was done, she realized how flimsy her excuse was and she went back to hiding her face beneath her hat.

"Anyways, the cost of repairs came to nine hundred million eris. Our reward was only three hundred million which meant we were stuck with a six hundred million eris bill."

Nine hundred million overall? Six hundred left to deal with? No wonder they all were so down in the dumps.

Wait though, even knowing that doesn't explain why Kazuma looked so shitty while Darkness and Megumin, despite having looked all sad and depressed, were still in far better shape than he was now.

"Upon hearing the nine hundred million part, we both panicked and I suggested we should make a run for it while we can. We'd leave the kingdom and start over fresh in some far away land, with new names and such; a place where the kingdoms debt collectors wouldn't be able to touch us."

Said Megumin, letting go of her hat and rejoining the conversation.

"And while I knew that such an act was the wrong one to make, I couldn't help but agree with her in that moment. And so, we ran. We ran as fast as we could. We made our way over to the Eastern Gate and from there, we made a beeline for the nearest coastal town to charter a boat and escape to freedom."

Yes, that was the wrong choice to make; though I guess I can't blame either of you two. After all, a moment of panic can lead one to do something rash; to make a foolish choice as I had said to Kazuma beforehand.

Wait, then why is Kazuma... Oh no.

"I'm not sure just how long we had been running before we took notice of something important; realized that something, or should I say someone, was missing. Kazuma wasn't there with us."

"Naturally, me and Megumin began to panic all over again, wondering if he had been stopped and detained by the gate guards or just any guards in general."

Megumin then cuts in and adds-

"Maybe he didn't hear us when we had talked quickly before making a run for it? Looking back, his attention hadn't been focused on us but on what we had all just heard."

Darkness then continues her explanation of events-

"We planned on turning back and returning to find him immediately but by then, it was already well into the evening and we were close the small city; one that would make for a good rest stop."

"As much as we wanted to return to Axel, I wasn't a fool as I knew traveling the road at night would be dangerous and while I was fine with that, I didn't want to put Megumin at risk just because of my fetish so we went ahead and rented a room to stay the night. This also allowed us to better reflect on our foolish actions."

After hearing what Darkness said, I nodded; now having a better idea on what had been happening while I was away. Still though, that didn't explain why Kazuma was like this now? Surely he would forgive them for just running away; being away for just a single night.

"Unfortunately, things only got worse. We were awoken the next day with the sound of a warning siren going off; a large group of monsters had been spotted near the town and a request for all guards and any Adventurer's currently present was sent out to help defend the town. The call was mandatory, obviously."

"Beating back the initial wave was easy but a Priest with long range area sensory abilities had detected that a much larger group was nearby and it was feared it would also descend onto the two if not dealt with quickly. And so, we ended up spending the next three days assisting the local Adventurer's and town guard in dealing with the situation and a fourth and part of the fifth recovering as it had been a ferocious battle. And seeing as there weren't a lot of healers there and even their best only had access to intermediate level healing magic, it took us a while to recover enough to make the trek back here."

Megumin then cuts back in and wonders aloud-

"I wonder if the goddess Eris had done this to punish us for what we had done?"

Darkness gasped as she turned to Megumin; telling her to not say such things.

I agreed with her; at least about thinking that a goddess would be so petty as to do that. Even more so as it would only further delay their return and make the act of making amends harder.

"Anyways, we finally got back to Axel last evening; just as the sun finished setting and quickly made our way over here to the Guild and asked about Kazuma. What Luna told us in response was like a punch in the gut; making us both feel a thousand time worse than we already did... which I know we deserved."

Megumin then breaks in, wanting to finish the rest of the explanation herself.

"She told us about how, after we had ran off, she had informed Kazuma that the royal family had taken some pity on us; cutting the bill down from nine hundred million to just four hundred million. It was their way of acknowledging our unexpected success against the Dullahan. That meant that after using our reward as a starting point, we only owed one hundred million now which was far more reasonable."

"If only we hadn't been so rash and waited a few more seconds, we could have heard that and have been placed into a much better frame of mind for our patience. Instead, with us MIA and a big debt needing to be paid, Luna said Kazuma went over to the board and started doing Quest after Quest all by himself. And for the last six days, that's all he's really done. He'd come and knock off a couple of Quest, then come into the mess hall to rest for an hour or so before going right back to it. He never took time to sleep, or so Luna believes, nor would he order and food though Luna would have the waitresses bring him something whenever he returned. He never ordered anything but would slowly eat what he was given. He also hasn't said anything to anyone for the last three days as well from what we're told."

With their explanation of this series of events done, I lean back and rub my temples as I think on the matter.

While I could understand their actions, and understand why it had taken them so long to get back, I couldn't help but also ask myself the question of if I would forgive them if I was in Kazuma's shoes?

I mean, yeah: I had said those words to him, to be the better man and all but I said that thinking they would return to him within a few hours, not the better part of the week passing.

I finally let out a sigh before asking them-

"Have either of you two tried taking to Kazuma since seeing him?"

"We did but he never acknowledged our words to him. He just looked at us with that dull, lifeless stare he has now before returning to eating his meal. In fact, we hadn't been sitting here more than ten minutes; wallowing in our guilt before you showed up and got out attentions."

Hearing Darkness's words makes me think again. I then look back over to Kazuma and recall the look I saw him have on his face.

He looked dead tired. Maybe all he needed was some-

"Excuse me; miss Darkness, miss Megumin?"

The voice brings me out of my musings as I join the two girls mentioned as they look at the newcomer standing beside our table.

"Oh, Cielo. It's been a few days. How's your training at the cathedral going?"

"It's going very well, thank you. I've already learned a lot of things from mother Clerica and the other teachers. In fact, they often praise me over just how quickly I'm progressing in my studies."

Darkness and Megumin smile happily at her; probably the first smile they've been able to have since this whole thing started.

Megumin then ask Cielo-

"So, what brings you down here? Was there something you needed our help with?"

Cielo nods as she explains-

"Mother Clerica has asked me to go investigate the commoner cemetery located to the southwest of town. Over the last few weeks, mourners there have said they has been weird activities going on that need to be looked into. While I am still the new girl around here, she felt this might make a good training mission for me. She also said that while the path to the cemetery was a safe one, it would be fine if I brought some back-up with me, just in case."

"Thus, you came seeking us out; to ask us to be your back-up I take it?"

I asked which earns me a confused look from her.

"Yes, that's right. But, forgive if I'm being rude here, just who are you, miss?"

"My names Chris, I'm a thief by trade and an old friend of Darkness's here."

"She's also a potential party member as well; right Chris? Do you have an answer to Kazuma's request from when we last saw you yet?"

Asked Darkness.

Oh right, he did ask me that, didn't he? I had forgotten about that. I wonder what I should do?

"Nice to meet you Chris. I'm Cielo and... Wait, where is Kazuma, anyways?"

Cielo then begins to look around, quickly spotting him.

Before we could say anything to her, she had already pulled away and gone to join him, quickly asking him for help as well.

When he turned his attention to her, she clearly was taken aback by how he looked; turning to look at us, her eyes clearly asking what had happened to him.

Before we could respond to that to, Kazuma slowly got up and began walking to the door.

"...Quest.. must do more Quest... Earn eris... pay off debt..."

We heard him say in a low, drone like monotone voice.

As he didn't turn to check the board; he either had already had a Quest he was intending to go do or he was responding to Cielo's request and was heading out to the cemetery.

Regardless, we would be with him this time as I, Darkness, and Megumin quickly grabbed our stuff and got up and, along with Cielo quickly joining in; we four swiftly followed after our poor wreck of a friend.

- Part 2: Witch in the Cemetery -

It was early into the afternoon when we finally reached the turn off from the main road, walking down the side path that led to the cemetery.

As we had walked, Cielo had taken the time to further elaborate on the situation.

Apparently, visitors here, wanting to pay their respects to their deceased loved ones, had been met with what they believed to be ghost wandering the grounds and a strange mist that would often fall every so often without warning.

And once this mist had formed, they would hear a haunting voice calling out to them from an unknown source; calling for all to leave for their own safety.

Cielo's job here was simply to investigate and, if possible, to resolve the matter. If things became to serious however, she was to return and inform mother Clerica of what had happened so as to send more capable people to alleviate the matter.

"Say, I feel kind of dumb for asking this, but why is the cemetery located so far outside of town?"

I looked at Megumin, who had asked the question, and told her-

"To be fair, there is a cemetery located just passed the north gate of Axel, but if memory serves; that cemetery is a bit more exclusive than the one we're heading towards now."

Darkness then cuts in, adding-

"That cemetery, located just outside Axel's north gate, is for the personal use of those who have a little something called eris to spend. The one we're going to is considered the 'poor man's cemetery.' Basically, this is where those who can't afford the price to bury the dead in what is considered 'worthy ground.' The families of the people buried here can't even afford a proper coffin or a tombstone for the dead; instead everything here has to be hand made and done without the help of people trained to do this."

Cielo then adds one final bit of information.

"Mother Clerica has told me that members of the faith; generally the newest recruits like myself, will often come out here to perform special rites to help the poor lost souls that rest here to find a sense of fulfillment thus allowing them to ascend to the heavens as their sorrowful status in life caused them to not be given the proper rites as their families couldn't afford the cost to see it done."

"But isn't it the Eris faith that's suppose to do that? Why wouldn't its members want to help send the dearly departed on their way for free?"

Megumin asked. I place my hand on her shoulder and say-

"Even among the Eris faithful, there are still those who expect to be properly paid for services to be rendered. As annoying as it is, and I'm sure a personal shame felt by Eris herself, that's still how it ultimately is. And I really hate to say this; but everyone, even the Eris faith, needs money in order to function in this world. That's simply how it is."

I really did hate that, but even I couldn't deny this one simple truth.

I do hope that one day, someday, things will change for the better in both this and all other like worlds.

"Wait, is it just me or does it suddenly feel like its getting colder around here?"

Darkness's words makes us all stop in our tracks.

Well, almost all of us as Megumin and I had to grab onto Kazuma to get him to stop.

Regardless, Darkness was right, it was suddenly getting colder around here.

After a moment, we continued on up the stair like path and soon we noticed a mist flowing down towards us from the end of the path.

Once we had reached the end, we saw that the mist was coming from a dome of mist that seemed to be swirling around the whole of the cemetery.

I slowly move my hand into the mist, finding it to be something we could walk into.

One thing was for sure, it wasn't a barrier to keep people out.

Rather, it looked like it was more about concealing whatever it was that was going on inside.

"OK, we're here. What do we do now?"

Asked Megumin.

"I guess we should just go inside and see if we can find the source."

Suggested Cielo who begins to move into the swirling mist, but is quickly stopped by Darkness.

"Wait, Cielo, let's hold for a moment. We need to make sure we're ready for this. We have no idea what we'll find in there. I know we came all this way just to check on things here but I feel it may be better if we went back to Axel and see if we can recruit a few more people to help us out."

"I really doubt we'll get any help; at least in enough time to be able to get back here and still be able to find out what's going on."

After a moment, everyone agrees with my assessment.

Like it or not, we had to see this through here and now.

"Hey, where's Kazuma?"

We all freeze at hearing Cielo's question.

We all quickly look around, not seeing Kazuma anywhere. Just where did he run...?

Oh no, please don't tell me he..."

It seemed the others must have had the same thought as I did as we all looked towards the swirling dome of mist.

I curse under my breath; with the way he has been acting since I saw him earlier and add to the fact that Cielo had asked him for help, it was obvious he would just walk into the mist without a second thought.

Because his current state of mind, or the lack there-of, wouldn't let him be rational at the moment.

Without wasting another moment, we moved into the mist as well.

As we begin our search, we all took the hand of one another in order to make sure we didn't get separated while in here.

Not that it wasn't really needed as, despite how it all looked outside the dome, the inside while still pretty foggy wasn't nowhere near as bad as it could be.

And thanks for that, we quickly noticed a blue light, just barely noticeable, a little bit deeper into the mist.

Hoping that we'd find Kazuma already there, we went deeper towards the blue light.

As we drew closer, we could notice two figures start to take shape.

One was clearly Kazuma.

The other was hard to tell exactly, beyond the fact that whoever or whatever it was, the figured was draped in a dark cloak.

And flowing around them in a clockwise rotation, where the glowing forms of restless spirits.

"What the heck is that?"

Asked Darkness.

"It appears to be some sort of soul gathering ritual. Is that person possibly a priest?"

Wondered Cielo.

"That cloak doesn't match up with anything I've seen worn by either the Eris sect of the Aqua sect. Either this person doesn't have any affiliation with a particular faith or belongs to one of those underground religions that are rumored to exist across the world."

I pointed this out though I couldn't help but feel something about this person was irritating me.

"First, let's get Kazuma back. Then we can ask this person who they are and what's going on."

Megumin's words make us nod as we continue to move forward-

Only to stop in our tracks again as the figure turns to look at Kazuma; appearing to study him for a moment then raises a glowing finger up to meet his eyes.

"I see, you poor thing. Here... Let me do something to help you. First, Sleep..."

With those words, the light around this person's finger moves off and into Kazuma's eyes.

After standing there for a second more, Kazuma's eyes close as he collapses to the ground.

We immediately shout out his name, running over to them as the figure catches Kazuma and places him gently onto the ground.

Another shout from us finally gets this persons attention, making this person jump back in fear as we take up positions between it and Kazuma.

"What did you do to him?"

Yelled Megumin, who had bent down to check on Kazuma along with Cielo.

"You heard what she said, speak if you know what's good for you."

Demanded Darkness; her sword drawn and aimed the the figure who's face we could now see.

She was a woman with brown hair and large breast that even her cloak failed to hide.

"Wait-wait, please wait a moment. I didn't do anything bad, I swear. I just wanted to help him."

"What do you mean?"

I asked her.

"Well, I could tell from just a look that he appeared to be very tired. Upon looking into his half lidded eyes, I could sense just how tired he really was. From what I can venture, he's been using special waking pills that the Adventurer's Guild can provide its Adventurer's in order to help them with staying awake for long stretches. In fact, I believe he may have been relying on them non stop for what appears to be nearly a week."

Of course, I should have realized that before. It was impossible for any human to keep themselves awake for such a long period of time without some form of external aid.

"But why would Kazuma even have something like that to begin with? And why would he need to use pills like that anyways?"

Asked Cielo, her attention turned to Darkness.

"Those pills come standard issue with all pouches given to now Adventurer's. It allows them to stay awake overnight for watch duty but they were never meant for continuous usage like this. The could have bad consequences on the user if they did that."

"As for why he's been using them like that; I'm afraid that's our fault. Mine and Megumin's, that is."

Megumin then gets Cielo's attention and continues where Darkness left off.

"We did something really stupid and left Kazuma hanging at a bad moment. It wasn't our intention to do that but that doesn't change the fact that we did do it. He's probably been working himself ragged, without sleep and very little rest time to eat just so he could clear the one hundred million debt we now find ourselves in. Dammit, Kazuma, why did you have to force yourself to do this? Why... why weren't we there to keep you from doing this to yourself...?"

Judging from the look on Cielo's face, she was shocked and maybe even a little hurt from hearing this.

I had a feeling her opinions on Darkness and Megumin may have been hampered by this news.

I decide that I will have a talk with her later about this matter.

I return my attention to the woman in the cloak and ask-

"So, will that sleep spell you used on him help him to get better?"

She shakes her head sadly, then says-

"I wish it could be I'm afraid he'll need something more potent than any Sleep spell cast upon him. A long time ago, a friend and fellow party member of mine also did what this Kazuma person is doing now; go way overboard with taking those pills. This caused him to develop a case of crippling insomnia. Even if you cast the strongest sleep spell on him, he'll wake up within an hours time; no better than what he was before he went to sleep."

"So, what can we do to help him then?"

Asked Darkness.

The woman goes to rummage through her pouch and soon pulls out a vial of lavender colored liquid.

"What is that? What will it do?"

Asked Megumin.

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Wiz; I own and operate a little shop over in Axel. Goes by the name of Wiz's Magical Curio's. Have any of you ever heard of it?"

{Insert Image 1}

We all shake our heads; causing her to slump down sadly.

"No one has, which is why I never get any business and I'm always strapped for cash."

After a moment, she recollects herself then continues her explanation of this potion she was holding.

"Anyways, this potion I am holding here is called Deep Sleeper REM; its a powerful sleep potion created by a skilled potions master that hails from the Crimson Demon village. In fact, all my products, both potions and magical items, are made by this man and they are quite powerful, even if they have a few quirks to them too."

I noticed Megumin react when it was mention that this potion, as well as the entire stock of items Wiz sells from her shop came from her home town.

And I saw her flinch when it was mentioned that they had a few quirks about them, too.

Does this mean Megumin may know who makes these items Wiz sells?

I'll have to remember to inquire about this later.

"Now, Deep Sleeper REM here can cause a person who's made to drink it to fall into a deep sleep that will last for a full twenty four hours. Once they awaken, they will be cured on their crippling insomnia and will feel right as rain again; fully energized and ready for action."

"You said that it will have a few quirks to it. What did you mean by that?"

Asked Darkness.

"There are two quirks that this one could cause. One, the one made to drink the potion has awakened following the twenty four hour rest, they may experience amnesia going back to the moment they started forcing themselves to stay awake. In the case of this boy here, he may be unable to remember anything that has happened over the last week or so. This is because his brain has basically gone into a form of auto-pilot, one in which any new memories gained while in that state can't be retained and all that one can know and recall is whatever it was that's driving them to do what they are doing this for."

"The other is that once under the effects of DSR, you'll want to be careful with handling them. While the deep sleep they'll be under is hard to wake up from until its over. If the person sleeping suffers a hard enough blow and/or senses something their body perceives as a danger; then it will momentarily awaken and enter a sort of berserk mode. If that happens, then for the next ninety seconds following their waking up, they will relentlessly attack anything and everything they see as a threat. Once that ninety seconds as elapsed, they will fall back to sleep and continue their restful recovery."

I hear Megumin groan and look over to her and see had smacked a hand against her head,

"Yeah, that sounds like one of 'your creations', idiot father."

So, this was made by her dad, then. Maybe it would be better if I didn't ask her about this later.

"So, is it OK if I give this to your friend, then?"

Asked Wiz.

After a moment to discuss this with each other, not getting any objections, especially from Megumin which meant she trusted this stuff enough to feel comfortable with having it used on Kazuma, we give Wiz the go ahead.

She goes and pops the cap off the vial and opens Kazuma's mouth, pouring the liquid down his throat.

Looking at him after, he did seem to look far more peaceful than he had just a minute ago.

We then turn our attention back to Wiz and Cielo ask-

"OK, do you mind telling us what you're doing here right now? Word has reached us that weird things have been going on here; thus we were sent to investigate it."

"Are you with the Eris faith, then? I can feel a strong holy aura coming from you."

Asked Wiz, her eyes studying Cielo closely.

"I am a priestess in training. Seeing as you can sense that about me, I'm guessing you too must be a priestess?"

Wiz shakes her head, then hesitates for a moment before saying.

"No, I'm not a priestess. I'm actually an Arch Wizard... or at least I was back when I was alive."

"What do you mean by that?"

Asked Darkness.

Wiz became more nervous; even more hesitant to reply now.

But I had already figured it out. From seeing what sort of spell she was performing, her dark cloak, and the fact that all my instincts were commanding me to strike her down where she stood.

But I ignored those impulses as I could also sense warmth and kindness within her.

I could sense the free heart and soul of a human inside her being.

"You're a Lich, aren't you?"

I asked her, making the others jump back.

She nods, asking us to not strike her down. Instead, she asked us to hear her out; to listen to her story.

I convinced the others to do as she asked and we listened.

Once upon a time, she had been known as the Ice Witch; a name Megumin had heard of as the Crimson Demons had made this person an honorary member of the clan. I truly high honor to be given indeed.

She was as feared as she was dangerous out on the battle field. With her, and her party around, it had one time been believed that the war with the Devil King could finally be brought to an end.

But then, one day, they had vanished; never to be seen again.

"We found a dungeon, said to be the hiding place of a Hell Duke summoned into this world; one that the Devil King had hoped to bring into his forces. We decided to would take him out and further weaken the Devil King's grip on the land."

"Getting to the deepest part of the dungeon was easy. At that point, there wasn't anything we believed could exist that could stop us. The fight with the Hell Duke proved otherwise. It showed me, in particular, just how naive and foolish we had let ourselves become."

"This Hell Duke was a master of foresight; easily able to see through all of our attacks and strategy's. In the end, my party mates lay on the ground, dying. And me, I had exhausted all my mana and could only glare at our enemy, awaiting that killing blow."

"But it never came; instead he surprised me by saying that didn't like killing humans. He then offered me a deal; if I agreed to become a Lich, he would spare my friends and would even heal their wounds for them. With the only other choice being for me to watch them die from their wounds, I accepted."

"After drinking a special potion he gave me, I found myself becoming a Lich though I was shocked to discover I was allowed to retain both my mind and body and even my heart as well. As for my party: they were healed by the Hell Duke and sent to a nearby town though the potion he gave them induced permanent memory loss. While I was sad that they wouldn't remember me or our times together, I was glad at least with knowing that they would live out their rest of their lives happily."

"And as for me, I wandered for a time before... well, before I was offered a new opportunity in life which I decided to take, for certain reasons. And more recently, I came here to Axel and opened my shop. The rest is history, as they say."

With her explanation finally finished, she looked at us and asked us if we would please overlook this little reveal about her and let her keep on living, at least for a little while longer.

"Do you really think we can just ignore this? I mean, we're all grateful for what you've done for Kazuma but..."

I hold my hand up, stopping Darkness from going any further. I then look at Wiz and say-

"As far as I'm aware, there aren't any bounties placed upon you. Alright, while I too think you should be terminated right here, right now. I'm willing to let you go for now; as thanks for helping Kazuma but know this. If it turns out that potion you gave him isn't what you said it was, we will find you and we'll make you wish we had ended you here."

Wiz nods quickly, thanking us for sparing her today.

"I do have a request for you though, as part of this deal."

Wiz cocks her head to the side, asking me what sort of request.

"Once Kazuma here wakes up and seeing as you are a Lich and all, I will be sending him your way so that he can ask you something. I would like for you to help him with his request; a request that can only be fulfilled by someone like yourself who has a particular set of skills he could learn."

Darkness and Megumin both ask me what I'm talking about and I reply that I will tell them later.

Cielo then ask Wiz what's she's doing here.

"About a month ago, I started to hear the cries of the dead coming from here. Upon arriving, I was shocked to discover that no priest or priestess has been out here to give final rites to any of the poor souls resting in this place. Some have been waiting so long that their remains were beginning to show signs of turning undead. As a result, I have been coming out here every so ofter and doing what I can to help souls find release from their earthly shells so they could move on to the heavens. As a Lich, I have the power to do this but when compared to a priest or priestess, my ability to free them is limited to only a few dozen at a time which is why I have to make so many repeat trips. There are hundreds upon hundreds waiting salvation and I fear I may not be able to save them all before some actually turn undead."

Cielo gasped at hearing that; saying that the mother Clerica had told her she had been sending young trainees here for that very purpose; to help send souls onwards as a way to help grow their skills.

"I'm gonna have to have a talk with mother Clerica. I know she's gonna be furious when she hears about this."

I agree with Cielo on that one. I was also furious to hear this news.

Cielo then approaches Wiz and says-

"On behalf of the Eris faith, I thank you for your due diligence here, Wiz. I give you my word that I will personally make sure this matter gets taken care of; even if I have to come out here and do it myself."

Wiz smiles, thanking Cielo for that.

She then goes ahead and finishes up her current sending ritual, then says her goodbyes as she releases the cemetery from the mist surrounding it.

"It's to bad this has to end now. I was looking forward to being possessed by ghost and finding my body controlled and molested by perverted undead."

We all look at Darkness as she breathes heavily; her cheeks a shade of pink.

"You're really hopeless, you do know that right?"

I asked her.

Once done, she uses teleport to return to her shop; asking us again to stop by from time to time as it would help her out.

With that matter resolved, Darkness puts Kazuma onto her back and we begin to walk home.

"It's to bad Wiz couldn't have teleported us back to Axel as well. You know, saved us all the trip."

Megumin's words make us all pause for a moment before we all say the same thing-

"Sonnuva bitch!"

- Part 3: That Isekai Ego -

Once we had reached Axel, it was decided we would head back to the Guild as quickly as possible.

I would go ahead and rent out a small room; someplace where Kazuma could be allowed to rest for the remainder of his 'down time.'

After that, Cielo would go to make her report to mother Clerica.

And me, Darkness and Megumin would go ahead and see if there was any Quest we felt comfortable with doing, despite the fact evening was well into effect by now.

"Hey, Kyouya, over here."

We see the owner of the voice, a girl with maroon colored hair as a man and another girl come into few from a side street.

The man, dressed in a rather stylish set of armor that looked to be rather expensive, begins to look us all over in a rather creepy way.

He scratches his cheek as he talks-

"Hm, let me see. A Crusader, and Arch Wizard, a Thief, and... can't quite place that last one. Yes, apart from the thief, which we already have with you, Fio, I believe the rest will be perfect for our party."

There was something in the tone of his voice I didn't like.

And the way he was eying us up, even if he was merely assessing our classes, also seemed to hit a nerve.

And judging from the looks on the faces of the others, I wasn't the only one thinking these thoughts.

The man then takes a few steps forward before swishing his hair back and giving us all a cocky, confident grin.

The sort of grin you'd see from a guy who had never failed to get anything he wanted before in life and had no reason to believe he'd ever NOT be able to do so in the future.

"Greeting's, my friends. My name is Mitsurugi Kyouya; my class is that of a Sword Master. No doubt you all have heard of me before?"

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"Should we have?"

Asked Darkness.

Her words clearly caught this Mitsurugi guy off guard as he was clearly taken aback by that comment.

Behind him, the two girls that were with him began to talk.

"Wait, is that Crusader serious? Has she never heard of Kyouya before? He's the most famous Adventurer to ever come out of Axel."

"Perhaps they only became Adventurer's after we had left on that Quest? With us being gone for so long, I guess it would be understandable that Kyouya wouldn't be the talk of the town for a while."

As they continued to chatter, this Mitsurugi guy recovered from Darkness's words and continued-

"I'm surprised you haven't, if I'm being honest here. No matter, I'm sure you all will come to know me quite well in the coming days, assuming you accept that which I plan to offer you all. Not that there's any doubt that you will, I mean."

Man, I know having confidence is a good thing but this guy was surely laying it on thick. So much so that his confidence was bordering on conceited arrogance.

Just what could make-

I then notice it, hanging proudly around his neck, as well as the necks of his two female party members.

Pendants that bore the crest of the Axis; the cult that worshiped Aqua.

Now all of this made sense.

"And what is this offer, if I may ask?"

I decided to play along and ask the question though I had already figured out his intentions.

"I would like to offer the four of you a spot in my party. Alongside myself, we have Clemea; a Warrior, and Fio; a Thief. Together, the three of us are currently undergoing intense training so that we may one day save this world from the tyrant Devil King and his forces. If you join us, I can give you all the best gear and a great experience, as I'm sure my two party mates her can attest to."

Behind him, the two girls blush as they fidget nervously.

I wasn't sure if the others caught that, or had an idea on what it meant, but I did and that didn't make his offer any more appealing. Not that his offer had any sort of appeal to it in the first place.

"By the way, what is your class? I can tell the classes the other three have, but I can't quite get a tell on yours."

Mitsurugi addressed Cielo with that question.

She took a step back, hesitant to respond for a second before saying.

"Um... I, well... I-I'm a Monk... and a Priestess."

Her words clearly caught the three faces before us off guard as they all staggered back. Just a bit.

"She's a multi-class. Do you have any idea how rare that is?"

"We can't afford to let Kyouya miss out on adding her to the group."

Mitsurugi smiled again, showing off those pearly whites of his before saying-

"Amazing, that is an unexpected find we have made this day. Please, I must insist you four join us. If you need time to ask around at the guild about us, I'll understand. But come on, we all already know what your answer will be. Join us now and begin the next amazing chapter in your lives."

He was certainly brimming with confidence, that's one good thing I suppose.

I then wave the girls over to me; the four of us huddling in a circle to 'discuss' his offer.

"Well, I already know I'm going to turn him down; what with my personal responsibility. But what about you three?"

I already knew what they were going to say as well but I still wanted to hear them say it anyways.

"Hm, that man has the air of a high and mighty noble; one who takes himself way to seriously. Normally, such a man would line up with my own personal taste and yet I can't help but feel repulsed from just looking at him."

"I can't accept, even if I wanted to. Just looking at him makes me want to lash out and punch him into the next kingdom. And in this case, I honestly don't want to hold myself back from doing it."

"I want to blow him up. Can we lure him outside the city so I can use him for target practice?"

Hearing that, even if I had already knew that they would say that, still warmed my heart a little.

We pull away and look back at him as I say-

"While we appreciate your... offer and all, I'm afraid we'll all have to pass. You see, we already belong to an existing party; led by our friend here."

The three of them gave us a confused look with the green haired girl asking what I meant.

I then pointed to the sleeping Kazuma, still resting on Darkness's back, and said it was him.

"What, you mean that rather crude looking thing is actually a human?"

Cried the green haired girl.

"I thought he was just some poor homeless drunk they were taking down to the shelter?"

Said the maroon haired girl.

"That weak looking guy? HE'S the leader of your team. You have to be joking with us. You can't seriously expect us to believe that you would be led around by a guy like that? I mean, what leader would even consider using his own team as a means to get in some extra sleep time? Is he both lazy and worthless?"

This, naturally, made us all mad and Megumin was the first to respond.

"Hey, don't you dare look down on Kazuma. Despite what you may think, he's far better than you in every way."

"And you don't even know the reason he's even like this. He's been working hard, for all of us, to help clear a debt we are currently suffering under. Going nearly a week without sleep just for our benefit. Would you do something like that?"

Added Darkness.

Mitsurugi was taken aback by their words though he is quick to recover.

"No, of course not. That's because I wouldn't be stupid enough to drag my party into such a situation as that to begin with. Why would you even want to stay with such a leader, one who would get you into debt to begin with? Has he done something to make you want to stay by his pathetic side?"

"Yes, he has. He accepted us when no one else would. That's all the reason we need."

Said Darkness and Megumin in unison.

"And he saved me from being a prisoner of the Dullahan, a General of the Devil King himself. I will never forsake such a valiant soul for any reason."

Adds Cielo.

I smile at them before turning again to Mitsurugi.

"There, you have both an answer and a reason. You and your party may not see his worth, but we can. We've seen it first hand. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have somewhere we need to be."

With that, the four of us continue walking; passing by the shocked Mitsurugi and his party.

My ears then catch them talking; picking up concerning words from their conversation.

"That didn't just happen, right? I mean, there's no way anyone would turn down an offer from you, Kyouya. Something isn't right here."

"That lazy guy; I'm betting he did something to them. Maybe its some kind of manipulation potion or a spell. I mean, there's no other explanation for it, right?"

"I hate to say it but I must agree. There for, there is only one course of action open to us."

Oh crap, please tell me they aren't going to-

As I turn to confront them, while trying to yell out a warning to the others, this Mitsurugi guy rushes forward; faster than I had expected. Perhaps some sort of speed skill a Sword Master can learn?

He grabs onto the back of Kazuma's collar and easily pulls him off Darkness's back; which makes her turn back in shock.

Megumin and Cielo also turn, preparing to go onto the offensive as do I.

"Fio, strategy 14."

Yelled Mitsurugi as he jumps clear with a captured Kazuma being held in one hand.

"Group Bind."

It all happened so fast; much faster than what I was use to react to.

The maroon hair girl had pulled out multiple wires from her Adventurer's pouch as she called out her skill; those wires quickly shooting out and entrapping us all and sending us fall onto the ground, unable to move.

Around us, the citizens in the area had finally taken notice of these events and were debating aloud whether or not that should call for the Knight Guard.

"Please everyone, please calm down. We are merely taking action for their sakes. We believe that man currently sleeping in our leaders grasp has somehow bewitched them into being his slaves."

"That's right, our leader is the great Mitsurugi Kyouya; Axel's most famous Adventurer. No doubt you have heard of him?"

Once Mitsurugi's name had been mentioned, the citizens talked among themselves for a moment before they acknowledged him; some even cheering him on for his 'virtuous' actions.

Terrific, this was another thing that was going to added to the Kazuma gossip going around now.

At this rate, I wouldn't blame him if he packed it up and left not only this town but probably this whole kingdom for greener pastures.

I looked and saw the others struggling to free themselves. But I knew that that would be impossible as the wire used was made of mythil which none of us could break; either with our brute strength or our weapons.

They also screamed out; yelling at Mitsurugi to let go of Kazuma and begging the ever growing crowd around us to step in and stop this.

Those pleas were ignored, obviously.

"Hey, you four. Just relax. Kyouya will get the truth out of that Kazuma guy and then we'll be sure to have whatever he's done to you reversed. We promise"

Said the green haired girl.

Mitsurugi then brings Kazuma close and says-

"OK, now its time for you to wake up."

- Part 4: Berserk -

Mitsurugi shakes Kazuma; lightly at first then harder and harder, yelling for him to wake up in between each successively violent shake.

"Wake up. Wake up, you. Damn it, I said wake up."

He then adds his other hand; gripping Kazuma's collar to increase the force behind the shaking.

Still, Kazuma refused to awaken.

I notice, off to the side, a pair of female Adventurer's had arrived and had caught the eyes of Mitsurugi's party who had moved over to talk with them.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but this was making me all the more nervous.

"Stop it, just leave him alone. No matter how hard you shake him, he isn't going to wake up. It's because he's currently..."

Cielo cried out, trying to explain the situation but before she could finish-

Mitsurugi took one hand off of Kazuma only to then backhand his face, hard, using his armored hand.

"KAZUMA!"

Shrieked Megumin, tears falling from her eyes.

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT."

Roared Darkness though their words were ignored.

After a few more shouts from Mitsurugi and another backhand slap to Kazuma's face, the damn fool became really angry as he balled his free hand into a fist, preparing for a full on punch as his next action.

"Kyouya."

Yelled out both his party mates, stopping his forthcoming action to give them his attention.

"What is it? Have you two learned something important?"

They both nod in unison as the green haired girl says-

"You aren't going to believe this but both the Arch Wizard and the Crusader are the ones we heard about before we left Axel three months back. Do you remember the one shot glass cannon and the can't even land a hit to save a life duo? Turns out its them."

Mitsurugi look back at Darkness and Megumin with a shocked expression, then back to his party.

"These are those two embarassments? Have either of them actually improved since we've been gone?"

The two said girls began to really fume now as their struggle to free themselves increased further.

Both of Mitsurugi's party members shook there heads, then the marooned haired girl said-

"And that multi-class girl is apparently a follower of Eris as well."

Mitsurugi then looks to Cielo; a look of both disgust and pity appearing on his face.

"What a pity. I had such high hopes for you three. Hey you, multi-class, I don't suppose you wouldn't be willing to switch over to join the Axis cult? It would be a far better calling for you to serve."

Cielo gives him an angry, disgusted look. Probably the first time I seen that look on her face before.

"If joining the Axis means I'd become someone like you, then I'd rather be dead than accept such an offer."

As all of this is going on, the ever growing crowd began to mummer amongst themselves. I could hear a few; saying that they weren't so sure of Mitsurugi's supposedly virtuous actions now.

Perhaps because of his implying the the Eris faith was a lesser following which was an insult as pretty much everyone here in Axel was of the Eris faith; if they chose a faith to follow that is.

"And get this, that 'guy' you're holding has a reputation around here as well. Things like sexual harassment, engaging in disgusting games with his Arch Wizard, and even rumors that he's secretly allied with the Devil King too."

"Yeah, he apparently allowed himself to be captured when one of the Generals came to town."

You all can't be serious about that one? Hasn't the disgusting games part already been explained?

Don't they know that the sexual harassment wasn't intended, but an accident caused by a more effective than expected Steal skill usage?

And the whole being a secret ally of the Devil King? Is everyone who actually believes that really THAT dumb? First, why would a spy help to end the Dullahan's life and second, why would he even send a spy to a town for beginner ranked Adventurer's? Wouldn't he send them someplace like the capital?

God, this town was full of idiots.

A sentiment obviously shared by the other girls as they were all screaming my thoughts aloud to everyone present.

"Such a pity..."

Said Mitsurugi as he breaths out a disappointed sigh. He then looks at Kazuma once last time before tossing him like a bag of trash into a nearby stall.

We all cry out while the owner of the stall yells about the damage done.

Mitsurugi looks at him, promising to repay him for the damage, then walks over to stand before the crumbled Kazuma, who still amazingly hadn't woken up from all this abuse yet.

I had thought Wiz had said that he would awaken if he felt anything threatening come upon him?

"It's funny, when you think about it. Someone with such a bad reputation as you have, having a party made up of the jokes in the Adventurer's society. They are clearly weak, especially as they allowed themselves to become your servants. But even without seeing you in action, I can see that you are the weakest of all."

"In any event, I don't even care if you did something to them to make them want to follow you around anymore. A pathetic man who leads a party of the rejects in our line of work that no one else would ever bother with. Go ahead and keep them as you all deserve each other."

Mitsurugi the turns away and calls out to his party; saying that they were leaving.

But that wasn't what had really had my attention; it was Kazuma.

From the moment the bad mouthing of the girls had begun, I had felt it; something inside him that was beginning to boil to the surface. Mitsurugi's final words, calling them rejects, had been the final bit of fuel needed to bring forth whatever it was that was boiling within him.

And clearly Mitsurugi had sensed it too, in some form or fashion as he came to a stop and looked back-

To find Kazuma standing; raising his head upwards to reveal wide, blood shot eyes, with his irises and pupils having shrunk down; becoming almost impossible to see.

"So, you FINALLY decided to wake up, huh? Sorry, but I no longer have any time to play with..."

His cocky attitude comes to a quick end as Kazuma suddenly chucks a ball of mud; created through a combination of Create Earth and Create Water skills that Mitsurugi fails to react to in time; allowing the mud ball to hit him right between his eyes.

As Mitsurugi is momentarily blinded and quickly tries to clear the mud away so he can see, Kazuma lurches forward and hits Mitsurugi with Create Water, completely soaking him.

"Damn you, launching a sneak attack against one who wasn't even prepared for a fight. Have you no honor, kid?"

He hollers out. I had wanted to point out his actions held even less honor than this but before I could do that-

Kazuma surprisingly dodges Mitsurugi's first attempt at a counter attack with his weapon before pushing the palm of both hands into Mitsurugi's stomach.

While that alone wouldn't have any effect, given the armor Mitsurugi was wearing and all, its what Kazuma did next that made something very clear in my mind.

"Shock Palm."

He blast Mitsurugi with beginner level lightning magic which, combined with the fact Mitsurugi was wearing a suit of metal armor and the fact he was also soaking wet, has a massive effect on Mitsurugi as he dropped his weapon and just barely managed to not fall to his knees as well.

"Kyouya."

Cried his party; the marooned haired thief girl then going to us Bind on Kazuma.

Kazuma, seeing the action, somehow manages to dodge clear at the last second, then grabs the mithril wire in hand and does a quick spin before saying "Bind" himself and sending it flying at Mitsurugi, entrapping his legs tightly which finally causes him to fall onto his back.

When had Kazuma learned Bind?

Mitsurugi's party then try to run forward, either to attack Kazuma themselves or to help their leader but Kazuma then uses another Create Water quickly followed by Freeze, making the two girls slip and fall on their butts before they could react.

Yep, no doubt about it-

Kazuma was a total bad-ass when he needed to be. And this was that 'berserk' thing Wiz had mentioned before was about.

And judging from the amazed looks the others were giving him, they all felt the the same way.

And even better, some of the people gathered around agreed aloud; giving him actual praise.

Mitsurugi, on the other hand, was looking quite pissed as he grabs his sword and uses it to easily cut the wire; an act I noticed that Kazuma had noticed as well.

Once his legs were free and he was back onto his feet, Mitsurugi roared at Kazuma for attacking his party.

Really buddy, after what you had done to him and your thief binding us up, you really had no right to talk.

"I'm ending this, and you, with my next attack."

Shouted Mitsurugi as he brings his sword back; the blade beginning to glow.

Kazuma then rushes forward as I yell at him to not let himself be hit or else it will all be over.

Kazuma then uses a combination of Create Wind and Tinder that Mitsurugi fails to notice in time, as he was focused on preparing his attack. While these two together weren't enough to harm him, it did create enough of a distraction to cancel out Mitsurugi's actions just long enough as Kazuma jumps into the air-

And then uses Steal on Mitsurugi; making the sword Gram appear in Kazuma's hands which he then brings down onto the stunned Mitsurugi.

But before the blade could slice through Mitsurugi, Kazuma turns the blade onto its side and bashes Mitsurugi atop his thick skull; the blow being a one hit KO that makes Mitsurugi's body crumble onto the ground.

"KYOUYA?"

Scream his party as they seemingly pass out from shock.

Around us, the gathered crowd of citizens and Adventurer's begin to chatter from themselves; not sure if they should either be cheering or booing what they had just seen transpire.

But their opinions didn't really matter to me; at least no where near as much as-

"Amazing, I didn't know Kazuma was that skilled?"

Said Cielo.

"Indeed. I was aware he had a mind for strategy based on past actions, but I never could have guessed he was this capable."

Adds Darkness, her words brimming with pride.

And as for Megumin? Her eyes shined with a crimson light as she jubilantly said-

"That was so cool, Kazuma. You are were really super cool just now, like an Explosion."

I close my eyes, a warm smile forming on my face as I say-

"You really are amazing, Kazuma."

Kazuma looks down at Mitsurugi, confirming that he was out, turns his attentions back to us as he drags Gram with him and uses the blade to cut us free from the wires. Once we were all standing again, he drops Gram and then does something unexpected.

He gives me, Darkness, and Megumin all head pats and even goes to do the same with Cielo though he stops before touching her; an action Cielo understands as she smiles at him, understanding why he stopped yet is still happy all the same.

Kazuma's eyes then slowly close as he falls forward, being caught by Darkness who confirms that he had once again fallen asleep.

"Well that was a thing. Let's hurry and get back to the guild now."

Said Darkness as Megumin and I help get Kazuma back onto her back.

"Hey, stop... all of you. We won't accept this outcome."

"Yeah, there's no way a guy like that could ever beat Kyouya. He obviously cheated somehow."

Shouted the two hanger-on's at us.

I sigh as I look over at them, seeing that they still wanted to fight.

I was about to say some rather choice words to them when Megumin steps forward and says-

"Do you really want to go? Fine, go ahead and risk waking Kazuma up again. But just be warned, you have already heard the rumors about him, remember? If he decides to use Steal on you, things could get rather drafty for you both, especially considering how short and revealing your skirts are."

Darkness then steps forwards as well and adds-

"You two should know that every time he uses Steal on a woman, there's always an embarrassing return as a result... well, embarrassing for the woman that is. You could lose your panties or he could actually Steal either of you, getting a free groping of your chest as his reward."

I give the two of them a deadpan look; wondering if either of them even considered that saying that to those two, and to the gathered crowd around us, would likely make his reputation around here even worse than before?

Nevertheless, it had the desired effect as the two girls grew more and more freaked out at hearing those words, finally making them turn tail and flee in terror.

Well, at least that was over with.

We then continue to head towards the Guild, but are once again stopped.

"Wait... this isn't over yet. I can still..."

Mitsurugi had regained consciousness and was trying to stop us. But he ended up making one big mistake in his attempt-

He tried to stop us by grabbing onto Cielo's shoulder, resulting in-

"AAH, DON'T TOUCH ME."

She screamed as her body went into auto-pilot; sending a fist slamming into Mitsurugi's stomach.

The impact was so strong that it left a visible dent in his armor as he was sent flying back a few blocks before he was again crumbled onto the ground unconscious.

"OK, we now know the dangers Kazuma or any other guy will face if the touch you in the present, good to know."

I said to the panicking Cielo.

Megumin calms her down, reminding Cielo that Mitsurugi had it coming.

With that taken care of, hopefully for good this time, we finally made our way to the Guild for some much needed R&R.

- Part 5: A Debt Paid -

(Kazuma's POV)

I opened my eyes and found the first thing I saw was something abstract; due to my eyesight being blurry.

That cleared up after a few moments and I found myself staring up to an unfamiliar ceiling.

After another moment to process this, I sat up.

I yawned, I stretched, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I smacked my lips hungrily as I looked around my surroundings.

It was a foreign room to me.

Noticing my stuff laying on a table besides my bed, I turned and placed my feet onto the ground, then I stood up, stretched again, and collected my things before leaving the room.

It took me a few moments to get my bearings but I soon found a set of stairs and followed them down, then passed through another hallway line with doors, much like the hallway I had entered into at the top the stairs.

I soon emerged again, finally realizing where I was; the Guild Hall.

Thinking about it, I must have awakened inside one of those rent-able rooms Adventurer's could get here.

Question now was why was I in one of those rooms?

Oh crap, please tell me I didn't waste my eris on renting one?

As I man with both standards and principles; to find that I had tossed them away just for a few hours of comfort. I would have to hit myself multiple times as punishment for doing something I had sworn not to do, especially as I had both a debt to clear and a proper place to purchase sometime after that.

"Kazuma."

Came two familiar cries; making me look around for the source.

I didn't need to look hard as a moment later, I found myself being hugged by Megumin and Darkness.

Boy, this sure felt familiar. It reminded me of that moment back at the Erisia Cathedral.

Except this time, Chris was here too. Wait, when did Chris get here?

No matter, while she didn't hug me herself; her face still showed great relief at the sight of me.

I wonder why?

"Oi, what's going on here? I mean, I don't mind having two girls getting all clingy with me out of the blue but I'm still a little confused as to the why part of this scenario."

After another few moments of getting their unexpected affections, they finally pulled away.

Which actually annoyed me; as they pulled away when I was starting to shift from being confused to enjoying it all.

Megumin and Darkness then looked at each other for a moment then back at me before they both suddenly bowed down and said in unison-

"Kazuma, we're so sorry for abandoning you like that."

Eh?

I cock my head to the side; giving them a confused look.

"Huh? What are you two talking about? What do you mean when you said abandoned me?"

That caught them both off guard as they now gave me a confused look.

"Kazuma, What are you...? The other night; seven nights to be exact. Don't you recall what happened?"

Seven night ago? Did something happen seven night-

"Kazuma, what's the last thing that you can remember?"

Said Chris from out of the blue.

I think about her words for a moment then say-

"Well, me and Megumin and Darkness were here in the Guild, having lunch. They were also looking through a home buyers guide while I was flipping through my Adventurer's Guide Book. We had a good laugh at Darkness's expense..."

Darkness blushes bad as she looks away while Megumin smirks, also recalling what I was talking about. Chris, meanwhile, looks at the and ask them what I was talking about.

"... then Luna asked to see us about the reward money. She then gives us the bad news about the debt. I can recall Megumin and Darkness suddenly going missing; I assume it was a sudden bathroom run as they had been drinking a lot during lunch. After that-after that, things start to become hazy."

Chris nods for a moment before grabbing Megumin and Darkness; pulling them off to the side as they have a little pow-wow session or something.

I wanted to poke my head in as well, but it must have been a girls only chat as they would have included me otherwise.

Still, what was up with them anyways?

I mean, what did they mean by ab-abandoned-

"So, there you are. I have been looking for you, Kazuma."

Yelled a voice from the opposite side of the mess hall.

We all look and see an unfamiliar face; well, he was unfamiliar to me that is.

The girls seemed to recognize him though as they quickly got in between him and me.

"You again, why don't you leave Kazuma and us alone. We already turned you down so just give it a rest already."

Said Chris.

"You caught us off guard with your actions before. But know if you try to start something now, you won't get off so easily."

Adds Darkness, already preparing to brandish her sword.

"Make no mistake; if you try to lay a finger on Kazuma again, you will not only face off against us but I will have the entire Crimson Demon clan hunt you down like a dog as he's considered an honorary member for us."

Eh? What was Megumin going on about? Since when did I become a... OH, I get it.

She was bluffing; trying a scare tactic to get rid of this guy, whoever he was.

He raises his hand to silence them before saying-

"Relax, I am not here to start another fight. I came here to... I want to... Damn it, I apologize, alright."

His sudden outburst catches everyone in the guild off guard; not just us.

And judging from the faces of the rest of the guild, this guy was well known to them and from the looks on their faces, they were shocked at seeing this person was humbling himself before me of all people.

I then step forward; pushing past the girls to face him, despite their protest and asking me to get back behind them.

"OK, apology excepted, I guess. But, mind telling me who you are and why you're even apologizing for?"

He stops and looks at me for a second; giving me a confused look.

"Wha-what do you mean, who am I? Don't you recall our fight from before?"

Fight? Fight? Did we have a fight I can't remember?

As I think on this new revelation, Chris steps forward and tells him that I had been under the effect of some sort of sleep drug at the time we had apparently met him.

And that the me he had 'battled' had been a side effect of that drug that was triggered because this guy had done something I didn't like.

After hearing that, this guy seemed quite taken back for a few moments; probably thinking.

Behind him, two girls whom I guess were friends of his had also been shocked by the explanation as they began whispering something between themselves.

"I see, I think I understand now. Again, I apologize for my actions before. I allowed myself to act out in both haste and foolishness and paid the price for the action with humiliation. As for my name, I am Mitsurugi Kyouya and these two behind me are Clemea and Fio, my party members."

"I see; well my name is Satou Kazuma. I guess I'm the leader of my group though we have yet to take a proper vote on that subject."

When he heard my name, Mitsurugi was clearly taken aback. I had a feeling he wanted to ask me something us but refrained as he filled me in on what had transpired before.

When he was done; I found myself unable to hide a smirk that oozed smugness.

"Wow, sounds to me like I gave you quite the ass kicking back there. Guess that's what you get for the way you treated my friends. Anyways, I'll accept your apology as you, a high ranking warrior, getting his ass handed to him easily by a rookie like me is more than enough punishment."

I then can't help but laugh aloud; filled with pride at knowing that the other Adventurer's here had something new about me they could spread around as gossip. Something I was fine with for once.

His two hanger-on's wanted to say something to me, I could tell. But Mitsurugi stops them as he says.

"Don't get to cocky and ahead of yourself, kid. You only caught me unawares at that time, I promise that the next time, it won't go so easily for you."

Megumin then steps forward and throws his words back at him.

"Indeed because the next time; our Kazuma here won't be running on auto-pilot. If you think what you experienced before was his true power, you will be surprised at just how much you're wrong on that assessment."

While I'm happy to hear her speak so confidently about me, I really wanted to grab her and cover her mouth; yelling at her to not be tossing me into fights when she should know I can't be sure I can back such a claim up.

But, he retort seemed to work or so I assume.

"As tempted as I am to accept that challenge, I'm afraid I'll have to decline that offer for now. We have a carriage awaiting us to see us escorted to the capital. Not to be rude, but I hope we never come face to face again, Satou."

Mitsurugi turns to leave, but stops and turns back to face me once again.

"By the way, after that meeting we had before, I encountered a familiar face from around these parts; though he's also a man of mystery too. Goes by the name of Ruffian; I believe you may know of him?"

We all nod at his question.

"Well, he informed me a few interesting things. These things include how you all were the ones who took down the the Demon General; Verdia the Dullahan which I have to confess is an impressive feet. He also told me how, instead of being rewarded, you have been forced to cover the cost of repairs to a place no one here even knew was still being cared for by either the Royal Family or the High Council."

"As such, and as part of my apology for before, I have asked Luna to transfer one hundred and fifty million eris from the reward from the Quest we had just returned from into your personal account, Satou. This should not only take care of your debt, but give you and your party a little spending money to have fun with."

To say this sudden news didn't leave us all stunned would be a lie.

In fact, everyone inside the guild were left speechless at those words.

"Wow, are you being serious right now? Sorry, I mean thank you for doing that-"

"Don't thank me."

He sort-of yells back in response.

"I-I just don't like when hard work and a heroic action is rewarded in such a cheap, unforgiving way. I did what any REAL MAN would do to acknowledge another rising star, regardless of the things said about them or my own personal feelings about them."

He then continues to leave with his girls but stops one final time and say without looking back-

"If we ever do meet again though, let's reminisce a little about our shared homeland of Japan."

And with that, he was gone.

So, I was right. He had also been sent here from Japan.

"Hm, perhaps we had that guy all pegged wrong before? Maybe, deep down, he is an OK guy after all?"

Said Chris though Megumin and Darkness quickly shake their heads in protest.

I then turn back to them; to Chris to be exact and say-

"Say, when did you get back anyways, Chris. Did you ever make a decision about my offer?"

Darkness and Megumin also look at her; I guess they were waiting on me to be here before she would answer that question.

"Actually, I kind of forgot about that after I left those few weeks back. Still, I owe you an answer so give me a moment to think here..."

She then closes her eyes and leans back and forth for a few moments.

"Sorry guys, but I'm afraid my current line of work prevents me from joining a party full time. I would like to but there are things I have to get done; things only I can do that I can't ask anyone else to risk getting involved with."

Hearing that makes Darkness slump her shoulders a little and even Megumin looked a little sad too.

I guess she had gone from not liking Chris to being cool with her while I was sleeping like a baby.

"However, if its OK with you all. I'm willing to join the group on a part time basis for right now. Whenever I'm around town, resting between doing my 'special' missions, I can join you all in doing Quest as well as hanging out and having fun."

Hearing that makes the girls light up as I give Chris a smile.

"Well, I guess that will have to do for now. Welcome to the party, part timer."

"We should have a celebration meal to... well, to celebrate her joining us."

Said Megumin as Darkness places a hand on Chris's shoulders and thanks her for joining as well.

"Sounds good to me. You all go ahead and order the meal. I'm going to go check in with Luna and see if our debt really was cleared by that guy."

They nod; asking me what I wanted as I begin to walk away. I respond with "Surprise me."

As I approach the receptionist desk, Luna takes notice of me and gives me a warm smile.

"Mister Satou, you've finally awakened. I'm glad to see that you're fine. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, I wanted to check and see if that Mitsurugi guy was telling the truth about clearing our debt for us, as well as giving us a little extra."

She nods, saying that he did at that. She then rummages through some paperwork so she could tell me how much eris I had left after paying that debt.

"Adding what you had earned over the last week from all the Quest you did, you have sixty three million eris left in you account. Does that seem right to you?"

I scratch the back of my head, thinking for a second.

"I think so. My head's still a little foggy about what all went on over the week.. Anyways, I better get back to my party."

I turn to leave; moving to rejoin the girls when Luna says something that makes me stop.

"Kazuma, I-well, I'm surprised that you still want to party with them after they left you like that. I mean, I'm glad you're being so forgiving but I would have understood if you had decided to leave them as well. Honestly, I had even expected it to happen."

I sigh; waiting a few moments before I respond to her words.

"It's because they apologized. I don't know where they ran off to or why it took them so long to get back, but they did come back. And I made a promise to myself that if they did come back and they apologized, then I would forgive them. If they still wanted to be in a party with me, then I would also stay with them. For now though, I will act like I don't remember for their sakes, as they did apologize to me."

Yes, I had already remembered, thanks to all the call-backs everyone seemed to be sending my way.

Luna smiles at me, saying-

"I wish though that the people who believe the rumors about you, spread those rumors, and see you in a negative light could see and hear this side of you, Kazuma. I'm sure they would finally be able to see that under all that they can see on the surface hides your one great truth; that you are a GOOD man deep inside."

I smile a little as I look back at her, saying-

"I'm not sure about all that... but thank you for saying that to me anyways."

I then head back to the girls.

As I walk, I think about what Luna said.

Honestly, I don't really see myself as a good guy at my core; not with all that heavy baggage born from past choices, regrets and mistakes, that I carry. And besides-

I said that I forgave them, which I have.

I just don't know if I can ever forget about it either; forget the feelings I felt when I realized they had ditched me.

Yes, I did remember all of that, even how I had felt.

And how can I see myself as a good person when I'm not sure if I can't still trust them fully in the future?

Seeing them sitting at the table, chatting away happily; I banish those depressing thoughts from my mind.

I may not be able to fully trust them right now, but I was sure that one day I would be able to again.

I mean, after all-

"This IS my life now, might as well get use to and enjoy it, right mom, dad, little brother..."

"Erika?"

next time: Mother Clerica has yet another request for the party. They then set out on a Quest to kill snow sprites and soon after, an Adventurer named Dust approaches Kazuma and the girls to make an unexpected request; to switch places with Kazuma for a single Quest.

Image 1: A shot of Wiz; a group and spirits flying around her in a circle.

Image 2: Mitsurugi, holding out a hand while smiling; Clemea and Fio behind him with stars in their eyes.

AN: As you surely noticed, I handled a few things a little differently this chapter; a detail that will continue through the rest of arc 2. Tell me if you prefer what I'm doing in arc 2 better than what I did in arc 1 or if you prefer the arc 1 style more as it could affect how I handle arc 3 and beyond.

Now, about Mitsurugi's characterization this chapter. I know he's probably a little OC here (hell, I'm sure all the characters are a little OC, if only because of the lack of Aqua as an MC) but I saw him as the guy who's living the isekai dream and knows he's living it, thus he's living it in the most extreme way he can. I mean, wouldn't any of us be any different if we were ever isekaied?

It also doesn't help that the intellect debuff he got from joining the Axis has essentially dropped said intellect down to the same levels Aqua has in cannon and, combined with his isekai fantasy viewpoint, is a very dangerous mixture to have.

And for anyone who has played the Konosuba Fantastic Days mobile game; you may have noticed a particular name mentioned this chapter. Even more so, you may even have an idea on how this character is going to play into the larger story going forward. And even if you don't now, know that this chapter won't be the only time we'll have this character mentioned. Not by a long shot.

Finally, there was one final scene I planned to have in this chapter, between Luna and Ruffian, that I did cut do to the length of the chapter that I will be putting in at a later point, probably in chapter 3 as it should be a shorter one than this. I could just drop it all together but I can't as the content in this short bit is actually important, both in the short term and the long term; especially the long term.

So look forward to that. You'll know its the scene I'm talking about here as it will be a rare Luna POV moment.