It was now dinner time. Subaru and Sophia were in Kazuma's room alongside Wiz and Kazuma himself. They had decided to send Kumoko out to one of the fields filled with monsters to feed her, rather than risk going through a month's worth of food in a single sitting. They were gathered around something most amazing, most spectacular, most nostalgic.
A Kotatsu Table.
Subaru was gladly digging into his meal while Wiz was gleefully feeding Sophia hers. Kazuma simply sat across from him, a mug of ale in his hands. "This is the best food I've had in months." Subaru said as he paused to take a drink. "Glad you like it, some of the undead still retain enough skills and knowledge to cook good food. But don't worry we made sure they wore gloves." Wiz eased him. "Really, well give my compliments to them." Subaru said as Kazuma just sighed.
"What?" Subaru asked. "When are you going to ask him?" Kazuma asked. Wiz seemed to realise something for a second before going wide eyed. "Ask me what?" Subaru questioned, growing nervous.
"Well you see..." Wiz began. "She owns an item shop in the nearby town of Axel, it's usually staffed by either me, her, or Vanir if he's around. She wants you to join the staff since you're from Japan like me." Kazuma cut her off. "How does that tie into this?" Subaru asked. "Do you think they know how to make Kotatsu tables? I showed them how. She wants you to join so that 'we' can introduce some 'new' inventions to the world." Kazuma replied.
"So, you want me to join... So that I can help you run a shop and make things to sell in it?" Subaru clarified. Wiz nodded as Kazuma leaned back. "What of Sophia?" Subaru asked. "She can be left in my care," Wiz offered. "What if you're busy?" Subaru pointed out. "There's a lot of space in the back of the shop, wouldn't be too difficult to set up a play area to keep her safe in." Kazuma offered. "Ok, so is there any other part of this I should know about?" Subaru pressed further.
"Well, you see." Wiz started again. "We might have to get you a disguise. I have to wear one because most of the Guild in Axel knew me before I died." Kazuma interrupted again. "But why do I have too?" Subaru asked. "You said you came from the country of Lugnica. Merchants and other ships have started arriving at western ports saying to be from such a place." Wiz said. "Only a matter of time before they decided to go straight East rather than North East." Kazuma commented.
"Any sort of guideline for my disguise?" Subaru asked. "You may have to wear it daily, so don't over do it." Wiz answered. "Can I disguise myself as a woman?" Subaru asked. Wiz raised her eyebrows while Kazuma slapped his forehead. "Let's put a pin in that." Kazuma said. "Fine fine, I'll accept, I just need to think of a proper disguise." Subaru said.
"Ok, you two have all night to disguise this, I'm going to get dessert." Wiz said while standing up. She closed the door as she left, and Kazuma turned to Subaru. "Do you make a convincing woman?" he asked. Subaru burst into laughter; "You won't believe it till you see it." he replied.
Kumoko returned from her hunt (massacre) of the native monsters with a full stomach. She hummed to herself as she strolled through the dungeon that Wiz had turned into a home. Any undead she crossed paths with would usually stay clear.
It was the life.
'I wonder what those two weirdos are up too? Probably arguing about women, ot maybe Their fighting while Wiz watches over the baby blood sucker. Yeah, Wiz is a much better care taker than Subaru will ever be.' Kumoko thought to herself as she turned to the hall with their rooms. Kazuma's was sealed shut, but Subaru's had a crack open.
'Might as well check on them, Can't have them kill each other.' She thought before walking up and opening the door fully. 'Howdy, are you two dead?' She asked, only to suddenly widen her eyes.
To the left was Vampy, sound asleep in a crib with some cotton in her ears to plug it the noise. In the middle was Kazuma, his tunic now covered in the contents of his mug. And Subaru was dressed as a woman, a fine looking woman.
'Am I, interrupting... Something?' She asked nervously. "We were talking about disguises, and Subaru said he can make a convincing woman." Kazuma recovered quickly. "That I do." Subaru replied. 'Oh... OK Then...' Kumoko trailed off as she edged out of the room. 'Wait. Disguises?' She stopped.
"Yeah, we're planning on my cover being a new hire in a shop Wiz owns in a town near by." Subaru explained. "We were talking about some options since I also have a cover there, then he asked about disguising himself as a woman." Kazuma chimed in. 'I can see that.' Kumoko replied dryly.
"He wanted to see if I could make a convincing woman, so I showed him." Subaru said. "Definitely not the disguise we'll be going with, but it's a good option for some other plans." Kazuma added in. 'So, what you're telling me... Is that Subaru is getting a job and I'm not.' Kumoko stated, her eyes tearing up. "Hey hey, you already have a job. It's mostly to keep any nosy Lugnican citizen off his back since we had to break out of a prison." Kazuma explained.
'Still...' Kumoko said. "Don't worry, I checked with Wiz and it's safe to keep Sophia nearby with her own little spot." Subaru shut it down. 'And when not?' Kumoko asked. "Then Wiz is keeping watch over her." Subaru answered.
'Operation Care Giver is still a go.' Kumoko thought.
'So what you're telling me... Is that Subaru gets to live in the city while I have to live in this Dungeon?' Kumoko asked. "No, just that he'll have a cover identity and a stable job." Kazuma said. "We'll still be living together, Kazuma just has to show us to his house after some Demon General named Sylvia is done with whatever she's doing." Subaru said.
'Boo... I have no one to support, no one who will pamper me with all I deserve.' Kumoko started while raising an arm to her head in dramatic fashion. "Kumoko." Kazuma said, leaning forward. 'Yeah?' Kumoko stopped her speal. "Your little 'dinner trip' just left seven different monster species decimated." he said. 'What??!, How could you know?' She asked. "I spent almost three weeks listening to you eat, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how much you'll eat for each meal based on how much you've already eaten." Kazuma replied calmly. "Also Wiz had one of her other magical undead send me a message when she heard what you did, kudos on eating several Rookie Killers by the way." he added.
"You have telepathic Undead?" Subaru chimed in. "Nope, just ones who can use sending and message spells." Kazuma replied. 'But what does that have to do with me not being allowed near town?' Kumoko asked. Kazuma breathed a deep breath; "The pressense of those monsters is one of the driving factors for adventurers to go and do things. The fact that you mearly eating effects the social and economic status of whole towns attracts a lot of attention. Both from the Adventurer's Guild and the Demon King Himself, I'd rather you not get more attention over the minimum." he finished.
"You're so over powered, that people will start asking questions, or just seek you out for a fight." Subaru summarized. 'Just great, my amazing power is too much for the world to handle.' Kumoko moped. "Don't feel too back, Axel is full of Rookie and moderate Adventurers. There isn't anyone in that town capable of fighting, much less killing, you. Darkness is a good example of that." Kazuma said. 'Fine, just take care of Vampy won't you' She said while pointing to the still sleeping child. "Of course I will, who do you take me for." Subaru said. Kazuma just shrugged and raised his hands; "I make no promises." he said.
'Good enough, well goodnight.' Kumoko said as she left the room.
The two boys breathed a sigh of relief. "That was stressful." Subaru said. "Yep, managed to veer the topic away just long enough." Kazuma replied. "Still, seven different species?" Subaru asked. "Relax, it was only three, and monsters in this world reproduce like rabbits. They'll be back to normal numbers in no time." Kazuma answered. "Also, while we're still talking about adventurers, What's the deal with this Girl named Darkness?" Subaru asked. "Oh, she's a kinky Masochist looking to get some release. Not really what you'd call an adventurer." Kazuma said.
"That's it?" Subaru asked. Kazuma just nodded. "Now, where were we?" Kazuma asked. "Disguise attempt fourteen." Subaru replied. "Ah yes, fourteen. Let's get this over with." Kazuma said as Subaru walked behind a think curtain and began to change.
"Still can't believe it works so well." a young man said. "Yep, we don't even have to get you a merchant's registry to let you sell things." His friend said. A small child rustled in the first man's grasped as they followed behind Wiz as the sun rose on the horizon.
The first young man wore a Dark Blue tunic that came down past his waist, giving way to plain white trousers and simple shoes. A Blue grey cape traveled down his back and ended at his knees. Two elbow long gloves covered his arms and a travel pouch rested on his right side. His hair was a dark brown, one eye was covered in an eyepatch decorated with stars, the other a brilliant blue.
The other man had a plain white shirt with a green vest over top, and green pants which ended with ankle high boots. A large bag slung over his back filled with unknown contents. A pair of black glasses over his green eyes, black hair threatening to get in the way of it all. The symbol of the Eris Cult can be seen peaking out of his shirt
The small girl being held by the first man wore a large bonnet to hide her white hair and red eyes. A baggy blue dress covered the rest of her body from the neck down.
"Just remember, my name is Ross Autigan and your's is-" "Lance Rogers, I know I know." Lance Interrupted Ross. "I'm just glad that Sophie is enjoying the sights of the city." Lance said, moving his arms to let the small child see more of the city. "This place is the farthest away from the Demon King's army, so it's extremely peaceful." Ross said.
"Come on you two, the shop is just over here." Wiz said. The two picked up the pace as The sun rose higher. "Just keep in mind, some of the stuff here is pretty worthless." Ross whispered to Lance. "Dude, you spent half the night just explaining everything to me, I'll be fine." Lance responded. "Rule number 1?" Ross asked. "Keep an eye on Wiz so that she doesn't order more useless junk." Lance responded. "Correct." Ross said.
Lance just shook his head as they reached the store and Wiz took out a key.
Lance finally rubbed the dye out from his hair and let the illusion disappear as his hair and eye returned to their old colors. Sophia was playing with a small collection of blocks Wiz had in the back of her shop. They had apparently been magic at one point until the warranty expired and the wizard who enchanted them removed the charms. So he was content to let her play with them.
Kazuma was not lying when he said that most of the items in the shop were useless. The few he showed to be worth value were sold at low prices, the rest were all literal bargain prices.
Yet they barely sold any of the junk.
"Finally closed up, might as well enjoy the night." Kazuma said as he walked into the room. His glasses now resting in his collar as his hair and eyes were back to their old colors. "Any place you have in mind in particular?" Subaru asked. "Maybe a tavern, might just enjoy the calm of he night here." Kazuma answered. "Yeah, no harm in that." Subaru replied.
Then he noticed something, the orb just to the left of the room. He hadn't paid much attention to it before, being far too busy having to learn the ins and outs of the shop as quickly as possible, but now. Now he could inspect all sorts of random things in here without much worry.
The fact that people seemed to avoid getting close to it was also telling.
"Say Kazuma, what is that?" he asked. "Oh that, it's an Orb that supposedly makes it easy to forge friendships." Kazuma replied. "Then why were people avoiding it?" Subaru pressed further. "Apparently it works by having two or more people share all their embarrassing memories." Kazuma answered. "Embarrassment...?" Subaru clarified. "Mutual embarrassment." Kazuma stated.
"Does it even work?" he asked. "Doubt it, Wiz has a habit of buying magic items that don't even work." Kazuma said while gesturing to Sophia playing with her blocks. "True." Subaru remarked.
"How does it activate?" he asked. Kazuma paused for a second. "You put your hand out and let it absorb your mana, it just needs two people to activate." Kazuma answered. "Why would she buy it though?" Subaru asked.
"Vanir asked her too. it was supposed to be part of this big plan of his to build the greatest Troll dungeon ever." Kazuma answered. Subaru stopped for a second, considering what he had heard from Kazuma about Vanir while out on the ocean. "Everyone's going too hate it." he said. "That's what he's hoping for." Kazuma replied.
"Is the Demon army even a threat?" Subaru asked. Kazuma just shrugged. "We're a chaotic bunch, but the gods are afraid of the Demon King. It's just that we're all so disorganized and everywhere at once that we don't really seem that bad on the small scale." Kazuma replied. "Still no threat here." Subaru said. "Yep, the closest two generals are Wiz and Beldia, but you've met Wiz and Beldia's gone on a vacation after the Mobile Fortress Destroyer wrecked his new castle." Kazuma replied.
"Oh, so no issue... Wait the What?" Subaru inquired with worry. "The Mobile Fortress Destroyer. Some ancient super weapon that went rogue and destroyed the whole civilization. Been running around uncontested for centuries, the town was technically lucky that it just went for the castle." Kazuma said calmly. Subaru's eye just twitched. "Relax, last time someone saw it it was heading as far west as possible, the castle was north of here, so there's nothing to worry about." Kazuma said while waving his hand.
Subaru just groaned, resting his face into his hands. "Do worlds ever come with a warning?" he snarked. "In my experience, no, no they don't." Kazuma replied. "And about Beldia, his exact wording when he was leaving for vacation was, and I quote. 'I'm going to the Farm, don't try to find me.'" Kazuma said. "What does that mean?" Subaru asked. Kazuma just leaned in and smiled.