A Debt Settled & The First Outing:

Maximus and Kazuma were sitting at the table within the Guild eating breakfast after an intense and hard morning's training session. He had taught Kazuma all the things he needed to learn about sword fighting and instructed him they would continue this regimen for three months.

"Oh man, I am so sore from all that physical training before advancing into sword training. Not to mention you didn't have to hit me that hard with the side of your sword every time I screwed up you know." Kazuma said rubbing his shoulder.

"Well, I would have used a wooden sword, but this training idea was a spur of the moment. Not to mention when I was training with the sword on my home world, we used real swords instead of wooden ones. It allows you to get a proper feel to it." Maximus explained.

Kazuma was about to speak when a few words rang loudly in his ear.

"Wait a minute, you said home world." He said feeling a little confused.

"Yes, I did." Maximus responded wondering what he implied.

"Don't you mean Earth?" Kazuma inquired.

"That is not the name of my world, it is called Lorin." Maximus responded taking a sip from the cup of water before him. "I do know of a world by that name, an acquaintance of mine lived on such a world." Maximus took another sip and placed the cup on the table.

"So, wait, are you some kind of adventurer from your world?" Kazuma inquired further, leaning forward a little more with great interest. "If this guy answers yes, it would make so much sense as to why he is so good at a lot of things. But wait, I thought Aqua only ferried young boys from Japan and not anywhere else. This will require further investigation." He thought to himself.

"No, on my world I was a Supernatural Detective. I investigate various crimes committed by the supernatural and deal with them accordingly. This would usually result in their deaths as there are laws the monsters living on my world within the Human Realm had to abide by. Anyone who is found guilty of a crime is punished for their unjust acts. The ones that die usually have committed murder against humans." Maximus stopped for a moment to finish his meal before him and took one last sip. "Anything else is usually them returning to the Monster Realm for a time until they have shown they can behave in the Human Realm." Maximus finished.

Kazuma was a little excited hearing him talk about another world that seemed like a fantasy one and was amazed. He sat there speechless as he began to wonder what that would be like.

"Holy crap, this guy seems like he's awesome in his own world!" Kazuma stopped for a moment as another thought brewed in the back of his mind. "Wait, if you are from another world, then how did you end up here?" He inquired.

"Well, after the battle with the Demon Lords of Wrath and Lust on my world, I found myself waking up from what I thought was my slumber for the night only to wind up in front of a chair." Maximus stopped for a moment waving down the Barkeep for another drink. "Shortly after that Aqua appeared and informed me that I had died despite how my health was. She later confessed causing my heart to stop and brought my soul over in order to help this world. So, I vowed to make her life a living Hell by bringing her here to the mortal realm." He finished explaining and began to drink a little from the new cup.

"Wait, how does you bringing her here qualify as making her life a living Hell?" Kazuma inquired.

"Well think about it," He paused for a moment and Kazuma had a blank look in his eyes as he didn't quite connect the dots Maximus was thinking.

"Uh," Kazuma stalled for a moment.

Maximus sighed feeling annoyed he didn't get the point. "What is Aqua again?" Maximus folded his arms across his chest.

"She keeps saying she's a Goddess, despite how useless and helpless she is." Kazuma replied and waited.

Maximus shook his head side to side. "It should have been so obvious I thought for sure you would have figured it out already." He said feeling his frustration mount. "Think about it further considering her status. She's a Goddess and usually, no matter what world you're from or what deities you believe in from various stories, most of them consider the Mortal Realm to be beneath them. Usually, Hell is referred to by some as a place that is beneath them. Whether it's physical of theological, Hell can be defined as a place where people tend to suffer in the most unimaginable way possible." Maximus stopped to see if Kazuma would get the point.

"So, by you dragging her down here, you have quite literally pulled her into Hell?" Kazuma answered in a questioning manner.

"Precisely," Maximus said with a slight excited smile seeing Kazuma making the connection. "Considering she used to live in a place of purity, she never once had to worry about keeping herself warm, cool herself off, struggle with fatigue, cook, eat, clean herself off, and so on." Maximus continued.

"Nearly everything we mortals have to deal with on a daily basis, she now has to figure it all out on her own." Kazuma chimed in and paused for a moment. "You're either a mastermind or an accidental genus, I figured I would have to pester her everyday if I was in your shoes." Kazuma began to chuckle a little.

"That would be the literal icing on the proverbial cake, I don't have to lift a finger to torment her any more than life itself is doing to her altogether." Maximus added.

"So, why didn't you leave her behind when you first got her?" Kazuma inquired.

"I ended up taking pity on how helpless she was at that moment and decided I would look after her, but not totally baby her through this life." Maximus replied. "Besides, I'm not that cruel and I thought she might come in handy. So, there you have it."

"Oh, Maximus, there you are," Darkness' voice echoed after walking through the doors. She had turned to them and approached with her armor and clothing repaired. "What do you think of my new armor, isn't it radiant?" She asked wondering if he would either complement or insult her in some way.

Maximus turned around and saw her clothing was the same as before. He felt unimpressed by it and looked down to see his trench coat was neatly folded in her arms.

"It looks the same as the one that was destroyed, not to mention, it doesn't look all that inspiring to me. It's almost the same kind of stuff some rich Lord's son would wear." Maximus responded.

Kazuma had the same unimpressed feeling towards it as well and remembered how she was yesterday. "Yep, totally a rich kid's armor and so extremely weird." He said out loud.

"Oh, honestly, would it hurt the two of you to pay a young woman a compliment at all?" She said barely containing her excitement. The next moment she felt herself going into an orgasmic bliss, hugging herself tightly and began to breath heavily. "Those words coming from you two are so honest and yet so cruel." She hunched over hyperventilating.

"Sorry, I can't hear you, this other weirdo is about to out perv you with her new staff." Kazuma said pointing at Megumin.

She stood there a short distance from the three of them rubbing up against her new magic staff.

"Yep, this day is already starting to get to a sour state." Maximus said to himself.

"By the way Maximus, I have washed your coat you were so kind enough to shield me from being overly exposed yesterday after the harvest. I am grateful you allowed me to take it home to ensure no prying eyes would look upon me with shameful thoughts." Darkness said feeling embarrassed with her face turning red.

"I'm pretty sure that was far too late by the time I was putting it on you." Maximus said.

"Therefore, as a knight I am indebted to you and will look forward to paying this debt off. Whatever wish you desire of me and if it be within my power to grant unto you it shall be yours." She proclaimed to him not hearing a word he said before. At the same moment she had a thought of him wishing her to be his personal slave to torture every day. Her smile was unable to be contained to her thoughts as her face blushed a little more.

"And there is her extremely weird, what was is it Kazuma said, oh yeah, masochistic attitude." He said to himself. "Thank you for taking your time with the care of my coat." He reached for his coat and the two lightly touched their fingers.

Darkness began to smile a little more and he wondered if she did that on purpose.

"He is not usually my ideal man to want after, but I can't help and think how his strong stature would be if he were to torment me day after day. Oh, the things he could do with extreme ease to me, the physical torture he would have me endure would either be shameful or glorious or both!" She thought to herself.

The next moment the they heard Aqua shouting at Luna in disappointment and anger mounting. She was making such a ruckus everyone turned toward her. After a few moments Aqua walked away, nearly skipping, and proceeded to where Maximus was sitting.

"And almost right on queue today we have Aqua approaching the table with something that is most likely a call for help. I can't actually believe I feel bad for Maximus. He said he was going to make her life a living Hell, I bet he now regrets that decision as it seems she's doing that to him. I wonder how far his kindheartedness will take him until he blows up?" Kazuma said to himself.

"Oh Maximus," Aqua innocently said to get his attention.

"What do you want Aqua?" He inquired finishing his drink once more.

"I was just wondering, how much money did you make off the harvest yesterday?" She asked sitting next to him with her arms wrapped around his right arm.

"Why do you want to know that and don't try to beat around the bush, just spit it out." He said looking down at her with a disappointed look on his face.

"Please, I need some money because I owe those guys over there a ton of money. I know we all agreed to split out purses, but I did that because I thought I would have made a killing. But I didn't earn enough money to pay them off and they are threatening me and I don't know what to do?" She cried pointing at two men a short distance away from them.

Maximus turned to look at the two men and they seemed to be unfamiliar with him.

"I wonder if they are from somewhere else, since they aren't running away screaming like anyone else who would know about me end up doing." He wondered.

Maximus stood up and Aqua began to wonder what he was going to do.

"Wait here." He commanded her.

She nodded her head and sat at the table eyeing him the whole way.

The two men felt a little unnerved by his stature and began to be afraid.

"Fellas, I couldn't help but be notified of the debt my party member has with the two of you or is it your employer you're representing whose wanting to collect?" He inquired.

"Sorry, that's confidential information." One of them spoke.

"As it always is," Maximus sighed, feeling annoyed. "I must unfortunately inform you that I will not be handing over the amount due unless you take me to your employer so I can be sure the money gets to them without fail. Will that be a problem?" He informed them.

"Very well, we'll take you to them." The other man said.

The three of them turned to walk out the door and Maximus gestured to his party to wait. After arriving at a place not far from the Guild they entered in and Maximus saw another man who was sitting at a table filled to the brim with money. Maximus quickly recognized the man as being a Loaner as evident by the many papers with numerous names on them. Each had explained a person's debt and how much they owed to him.

"Who is this?" The Loaner asked the other two feeling a little angry.

"He's,"

"I am representing one who is seemingly indebt with you and have come to pay it off in full. So, to insure the money gets to you, I instructed them to take me to you and here I stand for you to see. Is that going to be a problem for you?" Maximus explained to him.

"Hmm, I guess we will see how this encounter fairs. So, who is it you are representing so I can look up what they owe me?" He said with a curious gaze upon Maximus. "He's even taller than I expected from all the rumors about his exploits thus far." He said to himself.

"Her name is Aqua." Maximus replied.

"Ah, yes, the so-called Goddess as she claimed to be. I remembered when she first walked in here to ask about a loan." The Loaner said as he flipped through a lecture which held pages of people who seemed to be in debt with him.

"Could this be a reason why everything is so expensive within the marketplace and maybe a reason for adventurers to stay?" Maximus wondered to himself after keeping a sharp eye on one of the pages that had names and certain amounts next to them. "I wonder if I could strong arm him into getting the prices to go down a lot. No, you're not here for that, just pay off Aqua's debt and be on your way. There would be too much repercussions if I were to do such a thing." Maximus finished his thought.

"Here we are," The Loaner said with a cheer in his voice. "Now, according to my records here, she owes me two-hundred fifty-thousand Eris,"

"Done." Maximus had instantly counted out the money and dropped it on the table.

The Loaner looked over with an unsightly grin still on his face. "Now hold on my good sir, there is still some fees which need to be applied to her final count." He informed him and began to chuckle a little.

"So, you wish to tack on some 'extra fees' to her tab?" Maximus inquired. "I should have known it wasn't going to be this easy, but I wasn't going to get on my hands and knees in order to beg him to forgive this debt of hers or at least extend the deadline." Maximus thought to himself.

The Loaner began to point at the two men behind Maximus who were still at the door. "You see,"

"I already know the score and how this is going to play out, but I am willing to give you a chance to allow me to walk away from this place peacefully and you go on about your daily life. I have her debt here and now and that will be all you will receive." Maximus informed him and felt annoyed by the Loaner's behavior.

The next moment the two men at the door motioned their hands on their daggers.

"Oh, I'm afraid you will have to pay the amount that I will tack on no matter what you say, because my men have their fees to consider and they are expensive. However, I am willing to work out a deal with you, should you wish." He said to him.

"And what deal would that be, just to humor you a little before I leave." Maximus inquired already knowing what his response would be.

"Consider being under my employment." He responded.

"Called it." Maximus said to himself.

"Your friend's debt would be forgiven and I will seek her out no more. You would be paid handsomely, after the rest of her debt from the fees are paid off from what you earn, and you won't have to sleep in the stables every night from then on. I'll see to that myself even, you could essentially live like a king compared to what you are in now. That is if you decide to join my little operation." The Loaner informed him.

"Your offer is quite tempting, such a thing only a madman would refuse. However," Maximus paused for a moment standing up, and began to look down at him with disgust. "After building such a reputation where everyone cheers when seeing me, I believe that would put quite a stain on my image. I feared this moment was going to happen no matter what I do, so I must regretfully decline your offer." Maximus explained.

The next moment the Loaner's body sat there, aged to the point where the skin was shriveled up. His skeleton was completely visible and dried. The life drained entirely from its cold husk and the two men behind him were in the same state. Their bodies were decayed, drained, and on the floor. Maximus had used his Demonic Powers rather quickly to surround the room with his dark aura and drained the life from them without them knowing it had happened.

"It's such an interesting thing to explore my powers now I have full access to them." He said looking down at his hands. "My ancestors, 'The Nephilim', were quite the powerful beings. I sure hope another situation comes along where I can use my Angelic Powers again, soon. Maybe I can purify unholy beings with them." Maximus said out loud within the dark quiet room. "I'm going to hang this debt over her head until she pays me back, which may be a long time from now, but it would be well worth the wait."

Maximus took his money back and placed it in his pocket. He exited the building and stood at the door feeling sorrow for a brief moment. "What's wrong with me, I usually am not like this at all. I feel as though the more I use this Demonic Power within me, I begin to lose a part of myself. It frightens me to feel more energized after absorbing their souls." He paused for a moment to turn around slightly. "I do wish negotiations could have worked out for the best. I wonder if this will come back to haunt me in some way." He turned around and made his way back to the Guild. "Oh well, I will deal with that when it happens." He whispered out.

He rejoined the others and put on a brave face before meeting with them. He did not want them to know anything was wrong with him at all. The five of them sat at the table and began to discuss what to do next. The three girls each came up with an idea that didn't coincide with each other. Both Maximus and Kazuma were annoyed they couldn't come up with a common agreement.

Aqua had wanted a quest with a huge payout after being informed by Maximus she owed him a lot of money. Megumin suggested a quest in an open field so she could test out her new staff. And lastly, Darkness wanted to go on an extremely difficult quest where they could have the chance of being capture and tormented in many twisted ways.

"I am all for the very difficult monsters, however, I'm not so sure how the others will be able to manage that." Maximus added.

"Well, if nothing else, they still need the Giant Toad population to be taken care of. I am confident I could handle them now after what you taught me." Kazuma said confidently.

"No, anything but that!" Aqua protested and began crying.

She held onto Maximus and he felt annoyed but at the same time thought it was hilarious how she was acting. Megumin was trembling in fear after her first encounter with a Giant Toad.

"What's wrong with them, why are they acting in this manner?" Darkness inquired.

"Last time I informed you about our Kill Quest to slay a bunch of toads. We fought against some and these two were snatched by some and nearly digested. It may have left an emotional scar on their minds." Maximus briefly explained.

"I must experience this," She shouted and quickly stopped herself after realizing what she was admitting. "I-I-I mean if I was there things would have gone much different." She said beginning to panic.

"I rather doubt that." Kazuma said.

The day ended with them not deciding on a quest they all could agree on. Both Maximus and Kazuma felt the day was wasted and turned in for the night. The next day Maximus awoke to Aqua once again wrapped around his arm and he was beginning to be accustomed to it. He also felt a little fatigue wear on him and decided to ignore it. Later that day Maximus walked up to the board and noticed there were hardly any good quest to go on.

"What's the deal all of a sudden, why has the quest board been nearly emptied of all the good quests?" Maximus asked out loud.

"Oh, unfortunately one of the Demon King's Generals has set up residence nearby the town. This has caused all of the weaker monsters to go into hiding for now." Luna stepped up to inform him.

Maximus turned to her, noticing her gentle smile and she stood next to him. They both looked at the board once more and she saw nothing was enticing him.

"It doesn't appear to be any good quest for you to go on, no?" She asked. "Maybe this will be a good chance to possibly go on an outing with him." Luna thought to herself.

"You're right about that, at least this way I can have a little more time to plan some things out." He said and rest his chin on his hand. "After viewing some places around town there are a few things that come to mind for the two of us to visit for our outing." He began to think.

"I wonder if he is thinking about an outing for the two of us, it would be nice to settle down with someone like him." She thought as she kept her hopeful gaze upon him.

"Well, since there is nothing worth taking for the day," He stopped to turn to her. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind going on that outing with me?" He asked.

Luna began to brighten up her smile feeling overjoyed with him asking her out. "Sure, I'd love to." She responded.

"I guess I will pick you up later tonight then." He said.

"Uh-huh." Luna nodded and quickly hugged him for a moment before giving him a smile and winking at him. Maximus was a little surprised by what she did and smiled back.

The day pressed on as Darkness informed the party, she was returning home for a while. Aqua began to work at the marketplace and Kazuma and Megumin went off somewhere.

The curtain of the night's sky was beginning to sail across the open air. Maximus returned from watching the farm from the Giant Toads and managed to trade the few that were in the open field in for a reward. He stopped by the board to wait for Luna to arrive and when she appeared out from behind the desk, she waved him down. The two smiled at each other and locked arms.

"I hope you don't mind we start out here for something to eat and move around the town from there." He said.

She kept her smile on while she was standing next to him. "It's alright, I don't mind at all." She replied. "As long as I am with you this won't be bad at all." She said to herself.

The two sat at the table and one of the waitresses approached them. "Can I get you two anything?" She inquired.

"I'll go with the pork special and a grape juice to go with it." Maximus informed her.

"I'll have the same." Luna quickly responded.

"Alright, I'll get that out for you two." The waitress giggled a little at Luna and gave her a wink and a thumbs up.

Maximus couldn't help but notice the gesture. "I guess she's really rooting for her in this endeavor. Considering her looks and her personality, I wonder how she hasn't run, into someone already. I wonder what she was waiting for." He thought to himself.

The two continued to gaze into each other's eyes and after a few more moments Maximus decided to break the silence.

"So how has your day been so far?" He inquired.

"It's actually rather sad," Her smile turned into sorrowful expression which soon turned into fear. "It was discovered this morning that a man, who is known by all as a the one who really runs this town from the shadows, was found dead in his place of business." She stopped for a moment and began to feel cold from what was described at the scene of the crime.

"I somehow knew this could come back, but not this fast." Maximus said to himself.

"The authorities who were there said it was an unsettling scene. The bodies of not only the Loaner, but two men who I saw leaving with you the other day were found as well. They were identified by the clothing they wore." She paused for a moment longer as an unsettling thought popped in her head. "I know I am not officially working right now, but I have to ask you, did you see anything unusual while you were there?" She inquired. "Please tell me you didn't do anything so horrible." She said to herself.

Maximus kept his gaze upon her and she noticed he went from a joyous look into a serious one. "No, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary while I was there or after I left the premises." He responded.

She kept her eyes focused on his and saw nothing that indicated he had any involvement. She began to sigh feeling relieved.

"That being said, I wonder what will become of everything now he has passed away in such a manner?" Maximus inquired.

"Oh, well, everyone's life will be able to go a lot smoother now since he has passed. When he was around, he would cause the fees of everyone's loans to hike up to an amount that is unobtainable. He has made it so everyone would stay in his debt for their entire lives." She explained.

"So, that's the reason why everything is so expensive and why there may be no space available because he, I assumed, owned nearly everything?" Maximus inquired.

"Yes," She nodded her head. "But now he has passed, everyone is able to have the deeds to their places returned to them and all debt erased since he has no one to carry on his unjust business. On top of that the money has been divided among everyone." She informed him feeling a little excited. "Even my place, which was so expensive, I am able to not worry about paying it off."

"The scene of the crime," Maximus interrupted her briefly.

"Uh, yes, what about it?" She asked.

"Did they figure out what had happened?" Maximus leaned forward placing his hands in front of his mouth.

"Last I heard they had assigned someone who is very sharp in investigative work to look it all over. That person is due to arrive from the capital in a month's time from now. But nothing else as far as I am aware." She informed him.

"It may be too much of a bother to go and clean up the place, but I have to be more careful about using my Demonic Powers from here on. There's no telling how thorough this person can be, so I will have to see about cleaning up after myself. I'll have to give this world some credit, I didn't think they would be this fast in order to respond." Maximus said to himself.

Luna could tell he was in deep thought. "Is there something wrong?" She inquired.

"Oh, sorry, I was lost in thought about this situation and didn't really mean to bring it up to have a bad start to our outing." He said and began to think of a way to change the subject but couldn't help but think he needed to insure he cleaned up his mess.

The next moment before they could continue the waitress brought their food and drinks. "Here you two go." She said with a cheerful tone.

"Well, let's not dwell on such a sour moment. How about we restart our outing once more and eat. Then we can go from there." He said to her.

Luna nodded with a small smile forming as she returned to thinking about their time they were going to spend together. After they finished, the two began to walk around the town at the places he had scoped out before meeting. They stopped at the bridge not far from the Guild and looked down at the water's reflection. Luna turned her head towards the sky and saw the brightest display of shining stars. It was so magnificent; she had never seen such beauty before.

"It's been so long since I last look up at the night's sky, I almost forgot how glorious it is." She said and Maximus turned up to the stars. "The skies tell of the Gods and Goddess' glory. I often wonder, whenever I look up, are there any worlds like ours hanging up there." She said to him and leaned up against him.

Maximus moved his left arm around her back and took hold of her shoulder. "You'd be surprised how many of them are like this one," He said and leaned down a little still keeping his gaze upon the stars. "In fact, you would be amazed to find out some of them are filled with life." He said pressing his cheek next to hers.

She became flattered with his talk about the stars above, she felt drawn to him a little more. The next moment he turned down to look her in the eyes.

"But the brightest stars in all the known cosmos radiates within you and rests upon your face." He said gliding his hand down her cheek.

She felt taken in by his words and thought they were impressive. "The way he uses his words is unlike most men here. The way he acts seems otherworldly at times. I wonder could you be from one of those worlds within the night's sky?" She said to herself.

The two began to lean towards each other and kissed. The sensation of their first kiss tingled through her mouth and into her head. Maximus felt the same passion go through him; it was the first time he was this close to someone in this manner since his last lover. After they released each other's lips the two breathed heavily and at the same time opened their eyes to look into them. After a few moments he motioned to her about moving on and she locked her arms around his.

The two slowly made their way to her place and she waited at the door for a moment. Maximus looked down upon her and wanted to lean in for one more kiss. Luna felt herself wanting to receive one more as well but held herself back.

"Well, I had a wonderful time tonight, thank you for taking me around town and spending time with you. I really appreciate it." She said.

"I am glad you enjoyed yourself." He paused for a moment. "I guess I will see you around tomorrow?" He inquired.

Luna nodded her head with an excited look wearing on her face. "I would like that a lot." She responded.

"Until then, I bid you a good night." Maximus said.

"Good night." She said and turned around to open the door and turned in for the night.

Maximus turned around and felt ashamed he had to lie to her at the beginning and he needed to close the night with cleaning his mess. He wondered around town until he was close to the Loaner's place of business. He noticed there was several guards posted around it and thought of a way to get in without being detected.

"Can't be helped they most likely have the place under tight security. I bet there is all manner of spells cast around it to prevent entry. Not to mention I doubt my Lurk Skill I acquired from Chris would work at all against magic. Only one way to find out." He said to himself.

He approached the building using the skill to scope all around it and saw the guards were everywhere.

"This is going to be hard, but here goes." Maximus said to himself.

He threw a rock at a nearby building's window and a loud crash sounded through the streets. Several of the guards went to explore the commotion and he noticed only a few were left behind. He used the skill once more and was able to enter the building easily. He was disappointed they didn't think to lock the doors and no detection spells were activated. Once inside he focused his Angelic Aura to clear the Demonic Aura out of the room, he had killed the three men. Once done he noticed the bodies were moved elsewhere.

"I'll give them credit for this, they definitely are slightly thorough. No telling where the bodies are now, I'll cross that bridge when we get to it one day. For now, I better get out of here before those guards return." He said to himself and returned to the stable using Lurk to remain undetected.

He noticed Aqua was fast asleep and wondered if she waited up long for him knowing how clingy she had become since Chris and Luna were showing interest in him. He turned in for the night and awaited for the next day to arise.