Blessing this Wonderful World with more Competent Teammates!

by Gatemion

What if Kazuma's team was not composed of women with crazy personalities? Want to see that? Well then sadly, this is not your story! We all love our chaotic characters after all! So instead we'll see how Kazuma fares with his teammates slightly better at being useful. I know. Sounds crazy, But let's just see if this more 'Competent' heroes can manage to save this Wonderful World!

3. Is this actually a 'Beginner' Town?

Is this actually a 'Beginner' Town?

Part 1

"Have you heard? Rumor says that a General of the Demon King's army has taken over an old castle on a hill a short distance away from town."

Currently n the corner of the bar operated by the guild, Kazuma was listening to a man sitting at his table and drinking during the day.

But since Kazuma was still a minor (in his world standards anyway) he hadn't any alcoholic drink yet. A complete opposite from the self-proclaimed goddess who had taken a big liking to any alcoholic beverages. Still, he didn't want to end like her, so Kazuma wasn't drinking beer, but Neroid Swish.

What was Neroid? What was Swish?

Kazuma had only tried it out of curiosity since the people told him this was the non-alcoholic beverage of choice among patrons. Kazuma didn't want to drink alcohol, as he was only 16, and he had to deal with a certain goddess who had taken a liking to alcohol herself, ruining his image of the act.

So if someone would go and ask him if it was good, he could only answer it in this way:

… Um, I don't know.

But Kazuma did know what swish meant. It was the texture you felt when you drank it. This wasn't a carbonated drink. Kazuma didn't really get what the swish texture was, but that feeling he had could only be described as swish.

He finished the Neroid and placed the cup on the table.

"A Demon King's General. That sounds bad, but thankfully it has nothing to do with us."

"That's right."

The man before him agreed with Kazuma's negative and quite irresponsible words.

There was an unexpectedly huge crowd of people chatting in the guild, and Kazuma could hear many interesting topics.

For example, the places to avoid taking quests in because dangerous monsters have been spotted there.

Kazuma had a hard time just surviving since coming to this world and had never gathered intelligence in this way before.

But since he did have the knowledge of RPG's and dialogues from his time in Japan he was able to adapt quickly. And surprisingly so considering he was a shut-in with almost zero social skills not to long ago.

For him, collecting information was the most important step to avoid raising flags, specially of the dangerous sort. And talking about such things in a bar had an adventurer-like feeling, so it made him happy.

The man sitting opposite him continued:

"Anyway, it's better not to approach the abandoned castle to the north of town. This isn't the capital of the kingdom, so who knows what a Demon King's General is doing here." That's definitely not ominous at all…

"But since it's a general, it's probably an ogre lord, vampire, arch-demon or dragon. No matter what it is, it'll be a monster that can kill us instantly. It'd be best not to take any quests around that place for now."

After thanking the man, Kazuma left his seat and returned to the table his party was at…

"… What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Aqua, Darkness and Megumin took small mouthfuls of the vegetable sticks in the cup at the center of the table as they stared at him.

"Nothing. I wasn't worried about Kazuma joining another party or anything."

Aqua said as she looked at him with uneasy eyes.

"…? Eh, this again? I was just gathering information. That's what adventurers do."

He took a seat at their table and reached for a vegetable stick.

But it dodged. The vegetable stick dodged his outstretched hand.

… Hey!

"What are you doing, Kazuma?"

Aqua slammed the table, making the vegetable sticks jump in surprise. And while they were momentarily in the air, Aqua grabbed one and stuffed it in her mouth.

"… Hmm. You looked so happy. You were really having fun chatting, Kazuma. Were you that close with members of the other parties?"

Megumin slammed the table with her fist, picked up the vegetable stick that was too scared to move and shoved it in her mouth.

"… What's this refreshing feeling? Seeing Kazuma being on good terms with the other parties, the melancholic feeling's mixed with something good. Could this be the legendary NTR…?"

The crazy pervert who was spilling nonsense flicked the edge of the cup with her finger and grabbed a vegetable stick nimbly.

"What's with all of you? Isn't collecting intelligence in such a place what adventurers do…?"

Kazuma hit the table as he spoke and reached for a vegetable stick…

But it dodged again.

"… What's with this dodging–!?"

"S-Stop–! What are you doing to my vegetable sticks!? No, don't destroy the food!"

An anger filled Kazuma grabbed the cup containing the vegetable sticks and prepared to throw it against the wall, but Aqua, who was on the verge of tears, managed to restrain his hand.

"How dare a mere vegetable look down on me! It's a little late to say this, but… But how can the vegetables run!? Can you please serve food that is already dead!?"

"What are you talking about? Be it fish or vegetable, it tastes better if it's fresh, right? Haven't you heard of killing it and serving it on the spot?"

Then kill it before serving it!

Kazuma gave up on eating the vegetable sticks.

"Right… Forget it, let's ignore the vegetables for now, I've got something important to ask you. I was thinking about what new skills to learn after leveling up. To be honest, the composition of this party's too unbalanced. While together we make a surprisingly pretty good team, we all still have spaces we can't fill as of now."

Indeed, Kazuma's party members all did a good job at performing at their jobs, but they were also the contrary of 'versatile'. So in order to take on more difficult quests, it was important to consider the teamwork of the party before learning any new skills.

"So I'm thinking of making up for our weakness since I have the most flexible job. I already know some of yours, but please tell me what skills have all of you learned?"

That was Kazuma's task for today, to discuss things with them.

"You've already seen most of them, so I'll just give you the gist of it. In terms of defense, my skills are centered around Physical Defense, Magical Resistance and Abnormal Status Resistance. I also have a skill called Decoy that's used to taunt the enemy. And on offense I focus only on skills that increase my hit's accuracy like Two-handed Sword."

"I thought you would be the kind of person that would attempt to miss on purpose… Anyway don't you have any skills that increase your attack strength?"

"No I don't have any. It might sound like I'm boasting, but my stamina and strength really are great. As you've seen, I can easily defeat weak monsters without much issue. And it's not good to hold back intentionally. But don't worry, this is how things should go: Attacking with all my might and dealing great damage or losses to the enemy. So much that it'll infuriate them, specially the stronger ones who should resist my attacks. Being stronger than your normal enemy, and more angry too, then the punishment will be exceedingly greater when finally my strength wanes and I get captured. That's the best."

"Enough you, shut up."

"… Hahaha…! You're the one who asked, but to treat me like this…"

An annoyed Kazuma decided to ignore Darkness and her rambling as she panted with a red face. He instead looked at Megumin, and asked with a curious face:

"I know you should have many Detonation series spells, so could you please tell me about them?"

She had only used the spells Blast, Detonate and Explosion since the first facing with the frogs, so any other spells or variations had never presented themselves.

Megumin tilted her head and put on a smug face as she said:

"Well let me illustrate you on the art of the Detonation series! First, while I have an incredible knowledge of the Detonation series, I don't actually have all of the spells unlocked…"

Megumin who had started strong faltered for a moment, but returned stronger than before:

"Just like beginner to advanced tier elemental magic, the Detonation series has three tiers. But unlike the many elemental series, they don't actually get unlocked by obtaining those skills."

"Wait wait! So if I learn Intermediate Magic I won't actually have any spells from the Detonation series?"

Since Kazuma had unlocked Beginner Magic, he had obtained many elemental spells at once. But he still had more spells that had to be unlocked separately from the main skills. So the Detonation series is like that…

"You're correct Kazuma. But the Detonation series goes beyond some elemental series in terms of this. In fact is really special. The first tier spells are the Blast spells. You've already seen the normal Blast spell, but it has many variations, all of which cost individual skill points to unlock."

Eh… Wouldn't that cost an excessive amount of skill points?

"So there's Air-blast and Earth-blast, as well as Canister-blast and Bombard-blast."

"So it's five Blast spells in total? They all sound like they have a different variation each."

Megumin answered to Kazuma's mumbling. "That's right. The normal blast spell is launched on the ground, and then the attack comes from that place. The other spells are a variation of the basic Blast spell."

Megumin stood up and cleared her throat. Kazuma thought that if she had glasses, she would do the cliche move of raising them.

"Air-blast and Earth Blast, as they both say, are the detonation series mixed with elemental ones. Just like the normal Blast spell, Air-blast has to be launched, but instead of the ground it gets launched somewhere on the air. It then explodes there, meaning that it has a longer range, but less power."

Kazuma thought to the Blast spell that had once one-shot the frog. Air-blast probably wouldn't have enough power to do that without some luck.

"Earth-blast on the other hand is an ever closer range and more powerful spell. It can crack even bedrock! But I'm afraid it's not much of an offensive spell… It works only on the ground were it's cast, and the explosion only affects that: The ground. I heard that many mages use it in the capital to help with construction projects, but few use it as an offensive tool proper."

"Haven't you considered becoming and construction mage instead?" Kazuma also wanted to deliver the thought of 'Why do you have that spell if it's virtually useless' but delivered the lesser of two insults.

"Shut up! You're not even the first one to tell me that! And that still doesn't make it funny!" Megumin calmed herself and continued:

"Finally there are Canister-blast and Bombard-blast. Unlike the others, they take effect immediately and are launched after being cast, instead of having to reach the ground first."

Kazuma compared them to his Tinder spell. They were cast directly from her staff(he presumed), instead of activating when reaching the target.

"Canister-blast is specifically great against large hordes of people. Think of it like an anti-personal spell of sorts. It's a large blast of fire that launched towards the crowd of monsters, and erupts into a load of small fiery projectiles, that all scatter into the enemies. They are quite strong against big groups of small or even medium monsters, but not large ones. That's why I didn't use it much against those frogs."

So it's something like the shot of a shotgun… useful.

"And Bombard-blast. It's an even larger blast of fire than a canister-blast, and as expected it's more powerful that it. It's even stronger than a normal Blast spell, but it's slower too, so some enemies may dodge it. It's most used on single large monsters who are thought to take down. It packs a punch, but it's not as powerful nor affects large areas as Explosion or Detonate even."

But also doesn't disperse damage that much. Not that Explosion needs it. It's already to overpowered in terms of strength.

"You know Megumin? The Blast spells sound quite versatile and useful. I'm surprised. I'll be sure to implement them on some battles."

Megumin puffed her chest and flicked her cape, obviously quite happy of Kazuma's praise, but continued undisturbed:

"Anyway, next is the second tier. It has technically two spells groups, but for now I only have the Detonate spells group, and only the basic Detonate spell. And if I had to explain it… well it's a less strong version of Explosion that also cost less mana. But I really mean it when I say that it cannot compare Explosion in power."

So we might as well go all in is what you're insinuating…

"And of course, I learned Explosion. It doesn't need more explanation. You've already seen it's incredible power firsthand!"

Kazuma fought the urge to roll his eyes. Megumin kept on:

"There's also more spells in tier three, but my focus is currently full on Explosion!"

At least her determination is commendable.

"And in terms of other skills, well they're all Detonation series related skills… Blast, Detonate and Explosion Damage Increase, Fast Chanting, etcetera. All the skills needed to cast from either a beautiful Blast spell to the most perfect Explosion spell. It's the same as before and will be so in the future."

"… Do you have no intention of learning something like mid-tier magic?"

"I don't plan to. But I do plan on eventually mastering all of the spells of the Detonation series. But right know my beloved Explosion spell is the top priority."

This girl won't do either…

"As for me…"

"Don't include party tricks on the list please."

"Ahem?"

At a dead-serious tone, Kazuma said "You heard me well. Now tell me your actual useful skills."

Aqua pouted, visibly irritated, but continued nonetheless:

"I have basically mastered about every healing spell. Including Resurrection!" She exclaimed with pride.

When Kazuma raised an incredulous eyebrow but nodded pleased Aqua was overjoyed with even more pride (if that was even possible), so she kept listing her abilities:

"I can purify souls, and cast spells based on dealing with all and any creatures that posses a threat to the will of the heavens, like Turn Undead for example! I can purify basically any liquid back into pure water, as long as it was water from the start. I can also summon water in the first place, and of course cast the buffs I've shown you! Though they are minor buffs…"

"Don't worry Aqua. If you keep your points from being spent in useless abilities well reach more advanced buffs pretty quickly."

And so Kazuma crossed his arms and looked quite satisfied.

"While I would like if you changed somethings, I'm proud to say that you're all doing pretty great in the paths you're walking…" Kazuma tried to sound like a boss would encourage their employees to work harder on their assignments. Emphasis on 'tried'.

"Still, surprisingly our party is keeping their stuff together quite well. Keep it up and I maybe will stop thinking about switching parties!"

"!"

Even though it was an obvious jest, his statement surprised the three of them, something that went over his head. He did notice that at least they seemed quite pleased with the approval and praise they got.

Part 2

It had now being a few days after the emergency cabbage hunt quest. Much to the joy of Megumin, they had finally decided to end the frog hunting quests for now and instead decided to focus on other quests.

In that time all the cabbages captured back then had been sold, so the adventurers got their bounties.

"Kazuma, look! I earned a lot, so I upgraded the armor I sent in for repair. How does it look?"

Inside the adventurer's guild filled to the brim with people collecting their bounties, Darkness happily showed Kazuma the armor she just got back from the repair shop.

If I want to put it simply…

"Well, it fits you quite well but… That armor also looks like something the upstart son of nobility would wear."

"… Kazuma's merciless regardless of the situation. Even I want to hear just an honest compliment from time to time."

Darkness said with a mixture of flustered and dejected expression.

How could I tell?

Anyway…

"There's someone even worse, so I don't have the time to play with you. Could you please take care of that pervert before she drops lower than you?"

"Huff… Huff… I can't, I can't take it! The magic of this manatite staff, the color and glister… Huff…Huff…"

Megumin was hugging her decked out staff and grinding her face against it.

Manatite was a rare metal said to have special properties. Utilizing it in building a staff would increase the power of its spells. So Megumin had been acting this way ever since she upgraded her staff with her earnings.

Kazuma had heard from her that the power of her best spell, the Explosion spell, would increase by a dozen or so percent.

Why are you increasing the power of explosion magic which is already overpowered?

Instead of doing that, shouldn't you be learning magic from series that can be more convenient? Kazuma had plenty of similar questions on the tip of his tongue, but he really didn't want to bother with Megumin as she is currently, so he decided to ignore it.

He was after all, already satisfied after collecting his rewards.

Darkness who attracted the monsters towards her, Megumin who destroyed those monsters with a single spell and Aqua who'd chased the cabbages on her own without caring about the two most of the fight.

They decided to not split the earnings from the cabbage hunt and each collect their own bounties instead. The one who suggested this was Aqua, whose harvest was only second to Kazuma's. And currently that girl was waiting her turn to collect the bounty.

"What did you say? Wait, what's this?"

Aqua's voice reverberated through the guild.

"Hey…! How could this be…!"

Apparently things weren't going as she planned, if Aqua arguing with the person manning the counter was anything to go by. She grabbed the collar of the counter lady and was protesting something.

"Why's there only 75,000 eris!? Do you know how many cabbages I caught!? It's more than 30!"

"Um, this is hard to say…"

"What!?"

"… What Aqua-san turned in was mostly lettuce."

"… Why was lettuce mixed in there!?"

"Even if you ask me that, I wouldn't know!"

From their conversation, there seemed to be a problem with the bounty. Aqua probably realized there was no use in arguing with the counter lady. She put her hands behind her and approached Kazuma with an obvious fake smile.

"Ka~zuma-san! How much did you get from this quest?"

"About over a million."

"A million!?"

"Almost a million five-hundred thousand."

Aqua, Darkness and Megumin were stunned beyond words.

Indeed, I earned a small fortune from this sudden quest.

The cabbages he'd caught were mostly high-grade cabbages that yielded plenty of experience points.

This is the difference in our luck.

"Kazuma-sama! Erm… How should I put this, I always thought you were such a great person!"

"Don't push yourself if you can't think of any ways to compliment me. I know you can do better than that on how much you complement yourself. But I guess there's no choice…"

Kazuma passed a hand through his hair and let out a sigh, attempting to look like a cool guy.

"Tell me how much you owe and on what you spent it on and I'll give you some of my cash."

Aqua was about to thank him and sing him all of the praises she could think of when he interrupted her.

"But let me say this first: I've already decided on how to utilize the money. So if you're just going to spend it on something dumb I won't give you any."

After hearing him interrupt her, Aqua's smile stiffened.

"Kazuma-san! Well I thought I'd earn a lot from the quest, so I spent all the money on me these past few days! I estimated I'd make a killing, so I owe nearly 100,000 eris in this bar! I can't pay it off with the bounty!"

"Oho? The bar? And might you mind telling me on what did you spent you money there?"

"W-well, y-you see it was…"

"It was booze wasn't it?"

Kazuma looked at Aqua with dead eyes. She launched on him and began begging for his help. He never the less just pulled Aqua who was now crying as she clung on him off. As he pressed on his temples, beginning to wonder why Aqua couldn't think things through carefully.

"I don't care, you're the one who wanted 'everyone to keep their own earnings'. Anyway, I should find a place to invest this money. Maybe I'll buy a house. It's better than to keep staying in the inn for so long, right?"

Normally, adventurers wouldn't buy a house because adventurers didn't seek stability and traveled a lot.

The reason why there were so few successful adventurers were due to most of them making only enough to get by.

Kazuma had been on the verge of making a new plan to take down the Demon King. He really thought that the job of fighting the Demon King's army should be left to the people sent here before him who had gotten powerful abilities and equipment.

After all, he had the basic job anyone could take, the weakest job, Adventurer. And unlike those who'd trained to be adventurers from the beginning, all his stats were considerably low. And while in his case that meant that they were quite well balanced and average, he was exactly that: Average. He was really a well trained commoner you could find anywhere.

He would probably find a place to stay until the Demon King's Army was weakened significantly, probably training and living leisurely taking down easy quests. Then they would join the fray and attack the Demon King, and hopefully(though unlikely) take him down.

Hence, he was planning to find a small house to rent and buy if it was cheap enough. He could stay in the in yes, but the inn wouldn't allow him the possibilities of setting a base of operations for the others plans he had. That added to the fact that he had been renting a room with Aqua all of this time, and he was quite missing having some privacy. But he couldn't just tell her that…

Aqua looked like she was about to cry as she grabbed onto him even more tightly.

"Why did it turn out like this? Ahhh! Please, Kazuma, lend me money! Just enough to pay off my debts! I know Kazuma's a boy and you'd do sneaky things in our inn room sometimes, so I understand why you want a private room! 25,000! Just 25,000's enough! Please–!"

"I get it, I get it! 25,000's just chump change! I really get it, so please shut up!"

Part 3

"Kazuma, let's hurry and find a quest! One with lots of weak monsters! I want to test the power of my new staff!"

Megumin suddenly said.

"You're right, when we were hunting the zombie maker, I didn't have time to test out my new skills. Let's find a safe and simple quest."

"No, let's find a quest that can earn lots of money! I cleared my tabs, so I don't even have money for food today!"

Kazuma wanted to tell her that he'd pay the food and inn until she made some money, but he wanted to see her struggle just a bit more. He'd show her how charitable he is later. At least it takes out her working spirit…

"No, let's find one with strong enemies! One with monsters that have strong attacks and are tough as nails…!"

Hey, there should be a limit on how disunited a party could be.

"Anyway, let's decide after looking at the bulletin board."

Everyone followed his suggestion and moved to the bulletin board. And there…

"… Weird? Why are there so few requests?"

Indeed, the board was usually full of requests, but there were only a few today.

"Kazuma! Pick this one, this one! A giant bear showed up in the mountains, its name is Black Fang…"

"Rejected! Hey, what's this? Why are there only high-difficulty quests left!?"

Precisely, all the quests left on the board were beyond their capabilities. If they attempted to take them down they might have a slight chance to find success, but they would probably fail miserably.

As they were filled with doubt, a staff member came to them.

"I'm sorry… A Demon King's General seemed to have moved into a small castle near town… It might've been the influence of the general, but the weak monsters in the region have all lain low, resulting in a drastic drop in quests. A band of knights dispatched from the capital will be here next month to take out the general. But before that, there are only high-difficulty quests left…"

When she heard the staff member say that, the penniless Aqua screamed.

"Why–!?"

… Now I'mreally feeling sympathetic toward Aqua. Maybe I'll invite her to a dinner in good faith. She better pay what she owes me though...

"Really… Why did he pick this moment to move here!? I don't know what this general is, but it'd better watch out if it's an undead!"

Aqua complained in tears as she browsed through the employment magazine. The other adventurers were feeling the same and seemed down. There were more people getting drunk in broad daylight.

Kazuma didn't know why the general chose to move here. Frankly speaking, most of the adventurers in this town were about their level, if not lower.

There were also many parties stronger than them, but their powers were still limited. This was the first town novice adventurers visited after all. A place for beginners to learn the basics.

In gaming terms, a Demon King's General should be a character that appears toward the end.

They had a hard time fighting frogs, but eventually grew both in level and in experience so that they weren't as much of a threat. That was the way of the Tutorial Town to teach them the ropes of fighting and leveling up.

But if even simple frogs were still somewhat of a threat, there was no way they could take on a general no matter how many of them there were.

Part 4

"That means that before the powerful adventurers and knights from the capital arrive here next month, we can't work as usual."

"That's how it is… During this period when we can't do quests, I'll need you to accompany me…"

Kazuma had came with Megumin to the outskirts of town, but there were no dangerous monsters around town right now. When the Demon King's General arrived, the weak monsters all hid themselves in fear.

Kazuma came along with Megumin, who couldn't use Explosion because they couldn't take on quests, for a walk.

Megumin had something she needed to do every day, which was casting her Explosion. Why?

Since she used her spells on most of their quests, Megumin usually was left satisfied with that much. But on days that she didn't use any spells she would cry around saying how she needed to cast an explosion at least once a day.

She sometimes did that when she hadn't used that many spells, though she settled for casting only a Detonate spell in those cases.

Will I need to accompany this fellow out here every day for the entire month?

Kazuma had thought about simply ignoring Megumin and asked her to go alone, but she countered that no one would be carrying her on the way back.

"Here should be far enough, right? Hurry up, cast your spell so we can head back."

A short distance from town, he rushed Megumin to cast her spell. But Megumin shook her head and said:

"No, the guards will lecture me again if we do this too close to town."

"You said 'again' just now, right? Because it was too loud?"

Megumin nodded to acknowledge him. I guess it can't be helped.

Kazuma felt a bit uneasy without his weapon, but there were no monsters around anyway. And so, they decided to hike a bit further.

Now that I thought about it, I didn't have many chances to walk around outside leisurely like this.

It was true. His trips outside were usually for hunting monsters or quests. Not a casual stroll like this one.

"…? What is that, an abandoned castle?"

On the hills some distance ahead, an ancient, dilapidated castle was erected there. It looked just like a haunted house.

"It feels creepy… As if there are ghosts residing in there…" Kazuma mumbled to himself.

"Let's pick that place! No one will complain even if I destroy a ruin like that."

Megumin happily prepared the spell after she finished. A breeze blew through the hills, making Kazuma feel refreshed.

And the chanting of the explosion spell that didn't fit in with the comfortable atmosphere was just carried off by the wind…

… And so, Megumin and Kazuma started their new daily routine.

The penniless Aqua was working hard every day. Kazuma eased the grip of debt by paying for food and stay, but she still had to pay him.

Darkness said she would return home to train. They would miss her, but she said she'd return quickly, before the capital knights even.

And the equally idle Megumin went to the abandoned castle to cast her explosion spell daily without fail.

Whether it is a cold evening with icy rain…

… Or a lazy afternoon after lunch.

… Or a refreshing morning when she went for a stroll.

But no matter the time, Megumin would cast her spell at that castle every single day…

And Kazuma watched Megumin's spell every day, and was even able to judge whether the condition of the explosion spell was good or bad.

"Explosion–!"

"Oh, that seemed pretty good. The impact of the explosion could be felt through my bones, followed by the air tremors which trailed immediately after. It's strange that the abandoned castle remains intact but… What an explosion!"

"Great explosion! Kuku, Kazuma understands the way of explosions more now. I should do this with my other spells too. But really, your comment today hit the mark and was poetic, so… How about it? I'm not just talking about this casually. Kazuma do you want to seriously consider learning Explosion magic?"

"Yeah, the path of explosions is interesting… But from the composition of our current party, there's no need for two mages. But when I retire from adventuring and have leftover skill points, it would be interesting to use them to learn explosion magic."

Megumin discussed such things with him with a smile.

Just like this, they had conversations about explosions. They'd rate them based on things like their sound (not just the volume, but other factors like the pitch as well), and just chatted about the path of explosions in general.

On some days Megumin broke the norm and used other spells in search of his approval and rating. He obliged of course, even though with the exception of Detonate, none of the spells reached the castle. Still, Kazuma enjoyed rating the spells, and Megumin certainly enjoyed showing of about her favorite thing ever to another person.

Part 5

It had been a week after they started the fabled explosion stroll in the morning.

"Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! Attention all adventurers, please prepare for combat and report to the main gate of the city!"

The familiar emergency broadcast could be heard through the entire town.

After hearing the broadcast, the team put on their gear and rushed onto the scene. A lot of adventurers were gathered at the main gate. When they reached the scene, they saw an intimidating monster standing before them, and they could only blankly stare at it.

Dullahan.

A monster that brought despair and the premonition of death to men.

After turning into an undead, its physical strength was stronger than it was in life, and it gained unique powers as well.

The knight in black armor standing at the front gate held his head on the left side of his body. Before the eyes of the gathered adventurers, he presented his head that was covered fully in its helmet before everyone.

The head said in a distorted voice:

"… I'm a Demon King's General, and have recently moved into a castle nearby…"

Not the most grand of introductions, but it looked like that hadn't been the point anyway. Since as he spoke, the head started trembling…!

"Every day, every day, every DAY! Where is that crazy idiot who comes to my castle to cast Explosion every day!?"

This General of the Demon King's army was seriously angry. The yelling Dullahan seemed to be suppressing his anger until he couldn't hold back anymore, making the adventurers around him chatter.

… Or rather, everyone present didn't seem to get what was happening.

Anyway, the reason for the emergency summons was probably due to the Dullahan going mad from fury before them.

"… Explosion?"

"The one who knows explosion magic is…"

"If you're talking about Explosion, it would be…"

One by one, the gaze of the people around us naturally fell on Megumin.

… Megumin, who was the center of attention, turned her head sharply at a girl mage standing beside her.

Affected by her action, Kazuma looked at that girl. Everyone else was also influenced and stared at that girl.

"Huh? M-Me? Why are you all looking at me? I can't use explosion magic!"

The girl mage being framed denied in a hurry.

… Wait, could it be…? The abandoned castle where we cast explosion magic every day!

Could it be…?

Kazuma peeked beside him at Megumin, and saw her sweating.

This fellow noticed too.

Finally, Megumin sighed and walked forward with an annoyed face. The adventurers reacted to her movement and opened a clear path to the Dullahan. Megumin stood about 10 meters from the Dullahan and faced him.

With Kazuma in the lead, Darkness and Aqua also followed behind Megumin.

Aqua, who would aggressively attack whenever she saw an undead, probably thought the sight of an angry Dullahan was a good thing and was expectantly watching what would happen.

"So, it's you…! Are you the moron who cast Explosion on my castle every day? If you knew I was a general of the Demon Army and wanted to challenge me to a fight, then enter the castle! If not, then just hide in town and tremble! Why are you bothering me with such evil means? I knew there were only low-level adventurers in town! I even wanted to leave such minor characters alone, but you can't catch a clue and come 'boom, boom, boom' with your spells every day…! You even leave me alone on some days, building my hope you finally left for good, only to return every day! Why can't you leave us alone? Is there something wrong with your head?"

Probably irked by the daily explosion magic, the helmet of the Dullahan trembled with rage.

Megumin was intimidated and a bit scared, but she still flicked the cape she wore and:

"I'm Megumin. As an Arch-mage, I'm the one that has mastered Explosion spells…!"

"… What kind of name is Megumin, are you mocking me?"

"No, that's not it!"

Despite the Dullahan's retorts, Megumin composed herself and continued:

"I am a Crimson Demon, and the elite mage of this town. I cast magic continuously to lure you, the Demon King's General, out…! As I planned, you came to town alone after being tricked! Your end is near!"

Seeing Megumin pointing her staff at the Dullahan excitedly, Kazuma whispered to Darkness and Aqua behind her.

"… Hey, this girl actually said that. She was playing around, saying she would die if she didn't cast her detonation magic every day, so I brought her to the area around that castle. When did it turn into her plan?"

"… Yeah, and she used the chaos to declare herself as an elite mage of this town."

"Shhh–! Don't say that out loud! She hasn't used her explosion spell yet and a bunch of adventurers are backing her from behind, so she's adopting a strong position. She's still talking, so let's see how this goes!"

Megumin probably heard what they said. Even though she maintained her posture, her face turned red. Somehow, the Dullahan accepted what she said.

"… Oh, a Crimson Demon. I see, so that weird name wasn't a lie."

"Hey, if you have any comments about the name my parents gave me, spit it out!"

Megumin became angry after hearing what the Dullahan said, but he paid her no heed.

… Or rather, he wasn't bothered after seeing the adventurers of the entire town gathered here.

As expected of a Demon King's General. He probably doesn't think anything about us rookies.

"… Hmph, forget it. I didn't come here to mess with peasants like you. I'm here to investigate something. I'll be staying in that castle for the time being, so don't cast Explosion on it anymore. Understand?"

"That's like asking me to die. Those of the Crimson Demon clan need to cast explosion or detonation spells once every day, or we'll die."

"Hey, I've never heard of this before! Stop spouting bull at me me! Are you taking me for a fool?!"

What should I do? I want to see Megumin and that monster chat some more.

Kazuma looked at Aqua. She was happily watching Megumin messing around with the Dullahan. The Dullahan placed his head on his right hand and shrugged.

"You don't plan on giving up explosion magic no matter what? Even though I have taken the side of darkness, I was a knight before and have no interest in slaughtering the weak. But if you continue to bother me with such things, I have my way of handling things too."

The Dullahan emitted a dangerous aura, making Megumin take a few steps back.

But Megumin still has that cocky smile…!

"We're the ones being bothered, alright!? Because of you staying in that castle, we couldn't even do our work properly! Hmph… You can only act high and mighty now. We have an expert that deals with the undead here! Master, I leave it to you!"

After throwing out big words, Megumin left everything in Aqua's hands.

… Hey.

"I guess it can't be helped! I don't know if you're a Demon King's General or what, but you're unlucky to come here when I'm around. An undead coming out in broad daylight when your powers are at their weakest. You're just asking to be purified! It's all your fault that I couldn't take on any quests! Okay, are you ready to face the music?"

After Megumin addressed her as master, a prideful Aqua cheerfully stood before the Dullahan.

The adventurers gulped nervously as they wondered how things would develop. Under the eyes of the masses, Aqua extended her hand out at the Dullahan.

Seeing that, the Dullahan offered his head to Aqua excitedly. This was probably the way for the Dullahan to express that he was 'watching seriously'.

"Oh, impressive. You're not a normal priestess… but an Arch-priest, right? But no matter what, I'm still a Demon King's General. I have not fallen so low that I would be purified by a low-level Arch-priest in a place like this. I have my ways of dealing with Arch-priests too… But I'll start by torturing this Crimson Demon girl!"

As Aqua was preparing to chant her spells, the Dullahan moved and pointed his index finger at Megumin, and then shouted:

"I shall predict your death! You will die one week from now!"

As the Dullahan cast his spell, Darkness grabbed Megumin's collar and hid Megumin behind her.

"Huh? D-Darkness!"

As Megumin screamed, Darkness's body glowed with a faint dark light.

Damn, she was hit! Was that a proclamation of death?

"Darkness, are you all right? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Kazuma asked in a hurry, but Darkness stretched her hands a few times to confirm it.

"… Yeah, I didn't feel anything."

She said casually. But the Dullahan did shout that she would die one week from now.

As a desperate Aqua was touching the cursed Darkness everywhere, the Dullahan announced delightedly:

"That curse won't harm you now. My plans were foiled a bit, but since the camaraderie among adventurers is so deep, this must hurt more… Listen carefully, Crimson Demon girl… If this goes on, that Crusader will die in a week. Hmph, your important companion will be tortured by the horror of death in the meantime… That's right, this is all your fault! In the following week, you will see the pain of your companion and regret your actions! Hmm… Hahaha, you should've obediently listened to me!"

As Megumin's face was turning pale because of the Dullahan's words, Darkness shouted as she trembled:

"There… There is such a thing!? That means you have cast a death curse on me, and I must do as you say for you to release said curse! That's what you meant, right!?"

"Huh?"

The Dullahan which seemed to be getting into his role as the 'big bad boss' enemy suddenly stopped, as he didn't seem to get what Darkness was saying and reacted plainly.

Kazuma didn't understand what she was saying either… No, he didn't want to understand.

"Ugh…! Just a mere curse, don't think you can make me submit…! I won't yield…! But, what should I do Kazuma!? Look at that Dullahan, look at his evil lustful eyes under his helmet! No matter how I see it, he wants to bring me back to his castle and do as he pleases if I want him to release the curse. A pervert that wants me to do hardcore perverted play!"

The pitiful Dullahan who was accused of being a sexual deviant in public said:

"… Huh?"

How pitiful.

"Even if you can do what you want with my body, you will never have my heart! I'm going to become a female knight imprisoned in a castle and let the henchman of the Demon King do unreasonable things with me! Ah, what should I do…? What should I do, Kazuma!? This situation is more thrilling than I expected! I don't want to go, but I have no choice! I'll resist to the very last moment, so don't stop me! Well then, I'll be back in a jiffy!"

"Huh…? Huh?"

"Stop right there, you can't go! Look how troubled the poor Dullahan is!"

Darkness was in a hurry to leave with the enemy. When Kazuma grabbed her collar from behind, they could see the Dullahan breathe a sigh in relief. He attempted to recover from the low hit that the perverted crusader delivered and returned to his role:

"A-Anyway! If you have learned your lesson, stop casting Explosion on my castle! And the Crimson Demon girl! If you want me to release the curse on that Crusader, then come to my castle! If you can make it to my room at the very top, I'll release her curse! But… My minions are everywhere in the castle, and it is full of undead knights. Can you rookie adventurers make your way to me? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Hahaha!"

After saying his piece, the Dullahan laughed loudly as he rode his headless horse and went in the direction of the castle.

Part 6

This sudden cruel development made the gathered adventurers stand stiff with a blank face.

Kazuma was the same. No. He was worse.

Beside him, Megumin tightly gripped her staff and trembled, her face green. She herself, looked even worse than Kazuma, which was an accomplishment,

She planned to head out of town alone.

"Hey, where are you going? What do you plan to do?"

Kazuma tugged on her cape.

Megumin's dry reply came without turning her head:

"I'm responsible for this incident. I'll head to the castle and cast Explosion on that Dullahan directly to dispel Darkness's curse."

There was no way Megumin could do it alone.

… That was why…

"My… you really are troublesome…"

Kazuma's reply surprised Megumin enough for her to turn her head. Kazuma could tell that she was fighting desperately to hold her tears from flowing out.

"Do you really think that I'll let you go alone? I'll go with you. If you ran into some minions and used your big spell, that would end right there. I didn't realize that was the castle of the Demon King's General either, even though I was with you all this time."

Megumin attempted to ignore him, but Kazuma kept on:

"Obviously it would be best to get up a team… many would probably like to help us but… this is a mess we both brought upon us. And while we may have to do it alone, we will triumph. You have my word Megumin."

Megumin made a heavy expression when she heard him. In the end, she drooped her shoulders and gave up her original plan.

"… Well then, let's go together. But he said that there would be a bunch of undead knights there. If that's the case, then weapons will be useless. My magic will be more practical… So, you have to rely on me when the time comes."

Megumin said with a sad, but full smile.

From the name 'Undead Knights', they should be enemies wearing full armor. In the face of such foes, Kazuma's cheap weapon would be useless.

But he still had other ideas.

"I can use my Detect Enemy skill to search for monsters in the castle and conceal myself with Lurk and sneak in. Or we can visit the castle every day and defeat the enemy on each level with your spells, one day at a time, before coming back. We'll reduce enemy numbers slowly… And since the time limit is one week, this plan should work."

Megumin probably felt that there was hope after listening to his suggestion and cheered up. Megumin and Kazuma both turned and looked at Darkness.

"Hey Darkness! We'll break your curse! So, don't worry…"

"Sacred Break Spell!"

Just when he was encouraging Darkness, Aqua's spell interrupted him as Darkness's body glowed faintly.

Darkness then looked as if she had missed a chance for something and was down. In contrast, Aqua was happy as she said:

"With me around, breaking the curse of the Dullahan is easy! What do you think? I look like a priestess sometimes, right?"

"… Huh?"

… And to think Megumin and I were debating so passionately. Give my motivation back to me.

Kazuma really wanted to be annoyed at his goddess, but he couldn't in the end. Megumin finally gave up and her tears flowed as she launched herself at Darkness, hugging her as if her life depended on it.

Darkness, who had been down for losing the chance to satisfy her masochist fantasies, did a complete 180 and hugged Megumin back, her face the one an old sister would have when conforming the younger one.

Even Aqua, who had been boasting of her prowess, sat behind her and also entered in a hug with Megumin. The girl didn't waste any time and also pulled Aqua deep into a group hug.

Even the fact that one was an arrogant goddess, another was a detonation maniac, and the other a perverted masochist didn't prevent Kazuma's from smiling at the heartwarming scene.

I guess Aqua won herself a full dinner with wine included on my behave. She deserves it…

…

...

Hey, why can't they always be like this…?

Part 7

It had been a week after the Demon King's General incident was resolved peacefully. It had been a week of full inactivity and boredom. No quest nor jobs that would pay enough to go out of the way to take them.

"I want to take a quest! It's fine even if it's a bit hard, let's take a quest!"

"Huh…"

Megumin and Kazuma both expressed their displeasure when they heard Aqua say that.

Except for Aqua, everyone's wallets were very full. And there were only high-difficulty quests left Kazuma didn't want to go out of his way to take those jobs.

"I'm fine with it… But I alone won't have enough combat power and Megumin…"

Darkness glanced at Megumin and Kazuma while saying this.

Even if you look at us, Megumin and I have no reason to force ourselves to take on a dangerous quest.

Looking at how disinterested they were, Aqua cried out loud.

"Please, I beg you! I don't want to work anymore! The store owner gets mad if I don't sell all the croquettes! I'll work hard! I'll do my best this time–!"

Megumin and Kazuma simultaneously looked at each other.

"All right then… Then look and see if there are any quests that look fine. We'll go with you if the quest isn't too bad."

Aqua rushed to the bulletin board after hearing they say that.

"… Kazuma, shouldn't you look too? If you leave it to Aqua, she'll probably pick an incredible quest…"

"… You're correct, but I won't mind even if the quest is a bit hard…"

After listening to Megumin and Darkness's comments, Kazuma suddenly had an ominous feeling.

He came to the bulletin board and stood behind Aqua as she was thinking about which quest to pick.

Aqua didn't seem to realize that he was behind her and browsed the quests seriously. After some time, she tore a paper from the board.

"… Good."

"Good your head! What quest are you taking!?"

Kazuma snatched the client request from Aqua's hand.

'– Hunting the Manticore and Griffon– The Manticore and Griffon are fighting for territory. It is dangerous to leave them alone, please hunt them both. Bounty is 500,000 eris.'

"You crazy idiot!"

Kazuma shouted as he returned it to the bulletin board.

I was right to follow her. I was almost dragged into an incredibly dangerous quest.

"What's the problem? What we need is to let Megumin hit them with an explosion while they're together to settle it in one shot. Why are you so timid…?"

"Hey what's this? You know, that plan is is actually quite good. I'm honestly surprised Aqua!"

Aqua smiled and was already going to self indulge on her own praise, but Kazuma's serious face discouraged her from it.

"I would accept it if it weren't for the fact… We're to low level. If we fail, which is very possible, we would all be wiped out."

It was true. Kazuma and Megumin both were still under level 20. Darkness had the highest level of them all, but still didn't surpass 30, in fact was surprisingly far from it. Aqua had the role of support and healer ever since coming to this world. And while it did grant exp, it wasn't as much, and she still was under level 10.

Aqua begrudgingly accepted, and returned to the quest board.

"This one! Look at this one!"

Listening to what Aqua said, he looked at the request form she was pointing at.

'– Lake purification– The lake which was one of the water sources for the town has been polluted. Brutal alligators have moved into the lake. We request for someone to purify the lake. The monsters in the lake will leave after purifying it, so there is no need to fight these monsters. *Requirement: Priest with purification magic. Reward is 300,000 eris.'

"… You said you can purify water. Can you purify an entire lake?"

Aqua snorted and said:

"Who do you think I am? From my name and appearance, you should be able to tell what kind of goddess I am, right?"

"Aren't you the goddess of banquets?"

"As if, you shut-in NEET! I'm the Goddess of water, all right! Didn't you see my beautiful blue eyes and hair?"

I see. Earning 300,000 just by purifying the water, it was a great deal.

For Kazuma, not needing to fight meant it was worth it, even if they didn't get any exp.

"Let's take this one. Or rather, wouldn't you alone suffice if it's just purifying the water? You can hog all the rewards this way, right?"

But Aqua didn't agree with him.

"Well… the monsters will harass me while I'm purifying the water, right? Before I finish the purification, I hope you all can protect me from the monsters."

So that was the plan.

Just from the name 'Brutal Alligator,' one could tell it was a scary alligator-type monster.

That sounds dangerous…

"By the way, how long would the purification take? Five minutes or so?"

If it was just a short while, they could wing it with Megumin's more powerful spells.

Aqua tilted her head and said: "… About half a day?"

"That's too long! Are you sure you want this dangerous quest?"

"Yes! Please, I beg of you–! There's no other quest that's as good! Please help me, Kazuma-san–!"

"Fine! But I still think it's too dangerous. With Megumin, Darkness and me assisting you it could probably be done. But if they swarm us for half a day we won't be able to protect you entirely!"

Still, Aqua grabbed his right hand and begged him for help. Looking at her, he thought of an idea.

"… Hey, how does the purification process work?"

"… Hmm? To purify the water, I just need to touch it with my hand and continuously cast purification magic…"

I see, so she needed to touch the water.

Kazuma had an idea, but he wasn't sure if Aqua would be up for it.

But then he saw again how desperate she looked…

"Hey Aqua, I think there's a way to purify the water safely. Do you want to give it a try?"

Part 8

There was a large lake some distance from town. This lake was one of the town's water sources. A stream that flowed out of it lead straight into town. The lake was beside a mountain, and water flowed endlessly down from it into the lake.

I got it now.

As stated in the request, the lake water appeared a bit murky and showed signs of stagnation.

Kazuma thought monsters preferred clean water, but it doesn't seem like that's the case.

As he looked over the lake, he heard a timid voice behind me.

"… Hey… Are we really going to do it this way?"

Aqua sounded uneasy.

Of course, anyone would feel uneasy if they were to be in the same situation.

Still, my plan is flawless. So what is there to worry about?

Aqua spoke:

"… I feel like a captured rare monster that's going to be sold…"

The 'rare monster' was locked in a steel cage, hugging her knees in the center as she spoke.

They planned to throw Aqua along with the cage into the lake.

In the beginning, he was planning to let her stay inside the cage some distance away from the lake. But since purification required contact with the water, the plan had evolved into this.

As the goddess of water, Aqua could stay at the bottom of a lake for an entire day without breathing and wouldn't be uncomfortable.

From what she claimed, even without purification magic, there would be a purification effect just by immersing her into the lake.

That was her godly nature. Kazuma thought that no matter how lousy of a goddess she was, it was still impressive.

Darkness and Kazuma had already moved Aqua's cage to the side of the lake.

It was a steel cage that they had the guild loan to them.

As some quests included capturing monsters, these items were meant for such quests.

They didn't come here to throw the goddess into the lake, so they didn't need to carry it too far. All needed was to put it by the lake so Aqua could touch the water.

This way, she would be fine even if the brutal alligators attacked her while she was purifying the waters, giving them enough time to take them out.

It was a cage meant to transport captured monsters anyway, so it should be able to keep Aqua safe while they defeated them

Kazuma heard from the guild staff that the monsters would leave the lake after the purification was completed. But just in case they refused to leave Aqua after that, and that they were too many of them, they attached a strong chain to the cage.

Because the cage was heavy, they had to drag it there using the horse they borrowed from town.

In the event of such an emergency, they intend on using the horse to drag the cage to safety.

The cage had been lowered into the edge of the lake, soaking Aqua's feet and buttocks in the water.

All that's left is to wait and observe from a distance. Aqua hugged her knees and said softly:

"… I know I propositioned the quest an accepted this idea but… I can't help but feel like a tea bag being drained of its flavor…"

Part 9

Aqua had been placed in the lake for two hours, and so far there was no sign of any monsters attacking her.

Darkness, Megumin and Kazuma stayed on land about 20 meters from Aqua to watch over her. If things got rough they would go there immediately. The cage would protect Aqua until then.

Kazuma yelled at Aqua who had been soaked in the lake for some time.

"Hey Aqua! How is the purification going? Is it cold staying in the lake? Give a holler if you want to go to the restroom! I'll let you out of the cage!"

Kazuma yelled from afar, and Aqua yelled back.

"Purification is proceeding smoothly! And I don't need to go to the restroom! Arch-priests don't go to the restroom!"

She said something idols in the old days would say just now.

Kazuma was worried about her since she had been in the water for quite a while, but by the looks of it she seemed to be doing fine.

"There seem to be no problems. By the way, Crimson Demons don't need to use the restroom either."

Megumin said without anyone asking.

Kazuma felt like saying 'You and Aqua are always eating so much, where does all that stuff go…?' but he refrained from it.

"As a Crusader, I also don't… Need to go… Ugh…"

"Darkness, you don't need to compete with these two. And as for you two, don't go saying things like that so easily. Maybe I'll accept a quest that can't be completed in a day to confirm if they really don't need to use the restroom."

"Don't… Don't do that, okay? Crimson Demons really doesn't use the restroom! But I apologize, so don't do that… By the way, the brutal alligators aren't showing up. It would be great if things end peacefully like this."

You literally said something that could raise a flag.

And as if on cue, ripples appeared on the lake.

In terms of size, it was about the same as alligators on Earth. But it was a monster after all from a fantasy setting, so there was some difference with Earth's alligators.

"Hey Kazuma! Something's coming over! No, lots of things are coming here!"

It seemed like the alligators of this world moved in a group.

"Alright everyone! Let's go."

The team got ready and rushed to Aqua. Megumin's Canister-blast would probably be too weak on the alligators, so Kazuma just told her to use a normal Blast spell.

Megumin stopped to chant Blast while Kazuma and Darkness kept rushing. The alligators were already on the cage, some even munched on the bars a little, but some directed their attention to them.

"Blast!"

The bright light that signaled the spell launched itself, went through the body of one alligator, and reached the ground. Immediately after two alligators got pushed out of the ground and landed on their backs. The closest one had been killed by the spell, but the other was only slightly hurt.

Kazuma noticed that the top part of the alligators was filled with thick scales, probably as strong as knight armor. But it's underside, where their stomachs probably were, apparently was also their weak point.

Kazuma confirmed his theory when he slashed at the alligator that had been launched by the Blast spell right on it's belly. Perhaps due to the fact that Megumin had weakened it, he penetrated the flesh and reached all the way inside, killing it.

Darkness hit one of the alligators right on it's head, but even with Darkness strength the hit didn't pierce the thick armor. It still was hit from the hit nonetheless, thanks to Darkness crazy force. But it manged to counter-attack, as the alligator slashed it's tail against Darkness and pushed her back slightly.

"Darkness, their underside is their weak point! Try to turn them upside down and strike there!"

"S-sure thing Kazuma!" Darkness was already panting, likely because of the fact that she had just been hit. Kazuma just ignored it.

"Megumin! Keep launching Blast! Try to hit more than one if you can!"

Megumin nodded from afar and began to cast once more. The alligators didn't seem to notice, instead launching themselves at Kazuma and Darkness. Kazuma took the chance and stabbed at one of the alligators who had jumped on the air. Darkness took one by the head and turned him around, delivering the finishing blow to the monster, all while painting heavily from the thought of getting hit by the alligators.

Her thought became reality as one of the alligator lunged to bite her. She attempted to dodge, but was instead hit by another alligators tail. She avoided a bite, but the hit was strong enough to send her flying back, so Kazuma was surrounded by two, soon to be three brutal monsters.

"Blast!"

As if on cue, Megumin's spell came through and landed at the feet of the two alligators. One had been hit, but the other avoided the attack entirely.

For big monsters, they sure are agile. Alligators from Earth were already harsh, but these are worse!

He managed to kill the fallen alligator, but the other one launched itself at his arm. He blocked the attack with his sword, and placed it across the monsters jaw, but abandoned the weapon on the alligators jaw due to the strength in the grip of the monster's mouth. Now he was unnamed, and the alligator had his sword on it's mouth, thankfully it hadn't snapped in two, but the jaw was once again fully functional.

That gave Kazuma an idea.

"Steal!"

He opened his palm at the alligator and shouted the skill. Normally nothing would've happened, as the monster shouldn't have valuable items if any items at all. But now…

Kazuma's hand gripped the hilt of his sword once more. The alligator seemed stunned due to the lack of the sword in his mouth, but resumed his attack on Kazuma.

He managed to dodge being bitten by the monster, who was now fixated on his legs instead of his arms. He delivered a pair of jabs but none could pass through the alligator scales. Thankfully, Megumin delivered her spell one more time.

"Blast!"

The alligator attempted to dodge once more, but he couldn't escape the recoil and was turned around, giving Kazuma enough time to finish it.

Darkness had overpowered the last alligator and managed to turn it around. The desperate beast attempted to bite Darkness with all the force it could muster. It bit Darkness right on, but as expected of her, the bite didn't perform Darkness defenses.

It did managed to make her blush and pant uncontrollably as the alligator kept it's vicious grip on her. Darkness stopped when he saw Kazuma giving her disapproving looks, and she(while unsatisfied) dispatched it too.

Megumin ran to them and they all checked on Aqua, who had been seeing the battle from the cage. Since they had been detected by the alligators, there was no reason to back out again. So they remained by Aqua's side.

It had been five hours since the purification began.

Aqua simply soaked herself in the water in the beginning, and used the passive skill of a goddess to purify the lake. But she probably wanted to finish the purification sooner and head back, so she had started chanting purification magic nonstop.

"Purification! Purification, Purification–!"

They had fended off the attacks of some more alligators, but none of them managed to pose much of a threat after the initial assault.

The purification was almost finished, so the remaining brutal alligators left the hard task of attacking them and moved upstream.

Kazuma checked on Aqua, she was resting on the cage. When he approached her she gave him a thumbs up, signaling the mission was complete.

"Good job, the purification is done. Let's go back. I've discussed with Darkness and Megumin, and since we don't need the money as much as you do, you can have the half of the 300,000 eris."

Aqua smiled, but was too tired to indulge herself on her own accomplishments.

---

They had returned to town. Aqua, who while didn't participate in the fights had been working for almost six hours straight, said she was too tired to walk to town. She said that since he carried the mana depleted Megumin around, that he carry her this time.

He refused of course, so she instead decided to stay in the cage. She even fell asleep. If it was because the goddess was too tired or because she could sleep anywhere was a mystery to Kazuma.

And so the horse dragged the cage containing Aqua, who had a snot bubble as she snoozed.

They completed the quest safely and returned to town. Under the gaze of the townsfolk, they headed for the guild.

Because of Aqua, their speed was slow despite the horse helping to drag the cage.

And due to the planning on their part, there was no damage worth mentioning.

Kazuma didn't get the chance to test all of his spells, but he still felt satisfied with everyone's performance.

Completing quests without any grave issues is great…

Maybe it was because he raised a flag with his thoughts that…

"G-Goddess-sama! Isn't this goddess-sama? What are you doing in such a place?"

A man suddenly shouted, rushed to the cage and grabbed the bars.

And to the shock and amaze of everyone, the bars that held up to the bites of the brutal alligators were easily bent by the guy who offered a hand to Aqua, who had been awaken by the loud sound of the man.

Ignoring Megumin and Kazuma who were dumbstruck, the unknown man reached for the speechless Aqua…

"… Hey, don't act familiar with my companion. Who are you? If she knew you, why is Aqua not reacting at all?"

As the man was about to take Aqua's hand, Darkness stopped him.

Unlike her lustful eyes when she had been surrounded by brutal alligators, Darkness was again a shield protecting her comrades. A proud Crusader.

It would be great if she acted this way in battle…

The man glanced at Darkness, sighed and shook his head. His demeanor seemed to be saying he didn't want to create trouble but he had no choice.

The man's attitude clearly pissed off Darkness who didn't normally show her emotions that weren't her masochism openly.

As the tension rose, Kazuma went to Aqua who was shaking of her sleep and whispered:

"… Hey, it's someone you know, right? He called you goddess-sama just now. Go and handle that man."

After hearing what he said, the still shaken Aqua made a 'what are you talking about?' face and…

"… Ah! Goddess! That's right, I'm a goddess. And? What problems do you want this goddess to settle? You guys are really helpless!"

Aqua finally came out of the cage.

Did this girl really forget about being a goddess for a second?

After exiting the cage, Aqua tilted her head at the man.

"… Who are you?"

She didn't know him.

… No, she probably does.

Because the man opened his eyes wide in surprise. Aqua probably just forgot about him.

"Why are you saying this goddess-sama! It's me Mitsurugi Kyouya! I received the magic sword, Gram, from you!"

"…?"

Aqua still tilted her head, but Kazuma finally got it.

His name might've sounded like the protagonist of an anime or manga. But since it was a Japanese name, he must've gotten a powerful weapon from Aqua and came here before him, Kazuma thought.

That brown haired man seemed to be the cool type with a strong sense of justice. He was wearing expensive looking armor that had a bright blue sheen. On his waist was a sword in a black scabbard.

Behind him were a beauty with a long spear that seemed to be the warrior type, and a pretty girl wearing leather armor with a dagger on her waist.

This fellow claiming to be Mitsurugi was about Kazuma's age.

To describe this man in one sentence: He looked like the main character of a manga.

"Ah! Yes, there was such a person! Sorry, I totally forgot about you. I sent a lot of people here, so it can't be helped if I forgot!"

After an explanation from Mitsurugi and Kazuma, Aqua finally remembered.

His face was a bit awkward, but Mitsurugi still smiled at Aqua and said:

"Eh, it's been a while, Aqua-sama. As your chosen hero, I've been working hard every day. My job is Sword Master. I'm already at level 37 and… Oh right, what is Aqua-sama doing here? Or rather, why were you locked in a cage?"

Mitsurugi said as he stole glances at Kazuma. He wasn't really being sneaky about it.

When Aqua sent him to this world, she made up something irresponsible about him being a hero chosen by the gods. But she didn't even remember this person existed, which showed how irresponsible her words to Mitsurugi were.

So, in Mitsurugi's eyes, am I the one locking Aqua in the cage?

… Well, normal people would think so.

Even if I were to tell him that she was the one who didn't want to come out, this guy wouldn't believe me.

Even I, who saw it with my own eyes, wouldn't believe there was such a weird goddess.

Kazuma told Mitsurugi what happened to Aqua and him after being transported to this world…

"… Preposterous, this is too illogical! What were you thinking, bringing goddess-sama to this world? And you locked her in a cage and threw her in the lake for this quest?"

Mitsurugi grabbed Kazuma's collar in righteous fury.

Aqua restrained him in a hurry.

"You, what are you doing? This is nothing. I'm living every day happily, and am not angry about being brought to this world! And I can go back after defeating the Demon King! Today's quest was a bit scary, but it was resolved smoothly. No one was hurt and the reward is 300,000. 300,000! And everyone said they would let me take the bigger part of it!"

Mitsurugi looked at Aqua with pitiful eyes after hearing what she said.

"… Aqua-sama… I don't how this man talked you into this, but you're being treated too illogically. After such a sacrifice, you only earned about 300,000…? You are a goddess! For a goddess to be treated this way… By the way, where do you stay at night?"

Kazuma felt like telling Mitsurugi to stop with calling Aqua a 'goddess' when they were by the side of the road, but he seemed to be on the verge of losing it, so he decided against it.

This guy is really rude. He doesn't understand Aqua at all.

"I stay at the inn with Kazuma. He even pays for my stay when I don't have money!" Aqua did something out of normal from her and she praised him. Kazuma was slightly happy, but Mitsurugi was not amused.

"Huh? How do you dare let goddess-sama run out of money. You should always pay her stay, not only when she has nothing!"

Mitsurugi grabbed Kazuma's collar with more force.

Hey, that hurts!

Darkness grabbed Mitsurugi's hand at that moment.

"Hey, watch yourself. You've been unreasonable all this while. This must be the first time you've met Kazuma, so there should be a limit to how rude you can be."

Darkness, who was usually quiet when she wasn't spouting nonsense, had gotten angry, and Kazuma knew of what she was capable of…

On a closer look, Megumin had picked up her upgraded staff and seemed to be chanting explosion magic… Wait, stop! Not even a Detonate spell? Straight to explosion?!

Mitsurugi let go of his hand and excitedly observed Darkness and Megumin.

"… A Crusader and an Arch-mage? And… They look rather good too. Seems that you had great luck in finding companions, but that doesn't make sense. Don't you feel ashamed in letting Aqua and these two excellent members down by taking quest so easy? You mentioned your job was the weakest Adventurer, right?"

From the way this guy described it, his situation seemed great. From the people who didn't know them, he seemed rather lucky. Which to be true, he was, and he did felt like it, but it probably wasn't a good idea to say it now. Instead he whispered to Aqua:

"Hey, isn't staying in the inn the norm for adventurers in this world? And in games too? And it's not like we take only super-easy quests. So why is this guy so mad?"

"Well, I think he was granted a powerful sword when he was transported to this world, and completed a bunch of high-difficulty quests from the beginning. He probably had no worries about money… But that's the usual case for people with special abilities or equipment."

A flame of anger burned in Kazuma's heart after he listened to Aqua's answer. The guy who didn't undergo any hardship because of a powerful sword gifted to him… Why was he acting so high and mighty to him who had to work hard from the very start? That was what Kazuma thought.

But he didn't realize his seething anger and said to Aqua, Darkness and Megumin with a sympathetic smile:

"It must have been hard on you all so far. Please join me from now on. Of course, I won't let you all down with taking low difficulty quests, and will buy the full set of premium equipment for you. The balance of the team is great. Me as a Sword-master, my Warrior comrade and you as a Crusader. Along with my Thief comrade, this Arch-mage and Aqua-sama. What a perfect combination, it's a match 'made in heaven'."

Oh my, it didn't include me.

Well, I didn't want to join this guy's party anyway. But…

After hearing Mitsurugi's proposal, his three companions started talking among themselves.

Mitsurugi might've been a self-centered hero, but the terms he offered weren't bad.

And compared to acting alongside Kazuma, going with Mitsurugi offered an easier route for Aqua to take down the Demon King.

The Demon King needed to be defeated before Aqua could return to heaven. Although Kazuma only thought of her as a the item that he obtained for moving to this world, the heavens would probably allow for her to return if she finished the job of defeating the Demon King with another hero.

In the end… they are going to leave me, aren't they?

Kazuma thought Aqua and the others would be moved with such excellent terms, and he couldn't help but feel down about the situation.

After all, who'd want to stay with a… a shut-in NEET like me...

They might have been weird and honestly troublesome companions, but he had truly enjoyed the time he spent with them. He had fun times to accompany the enraging ones, and in time those too became fun. but now…

They'll all leave without a second thought… And I'll be alone… again…

Kazuma closed his fists and his eyes, least tears come from them. Just when he was beginning to think that the new world was becoming enjoyable, he was going to get everything taken from him. He was just waiting for the blow, so he strained his ears behind them to listen.

"It feels wrong. The self righteous way in which he talks made me cringe. And his narcissistic tendencies frighten me."

… Eh?

"What should we do? I feel physically repulsed by this man for some reason. I prefer active people over passive ones, but somehow that guy makes me want to beat him up."

… EH?

"Can I cast my magic? Can I throw an explosion spell into the face of that elite who's talking down to us without ever experiencing a day of hardship?"

Kazuma opened his eyes and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Followed by a smirk.

Oh, seems like they don't think that highly of you, Mitsurugi-san.

After that, Aqua, who hadn't noticed how he almost shed some tears, tugged at his sleeve and said:

"Hey Kazuma, let's hurry to the guild, okay? I might've been the one who gave him the powerful sword, but I think it would be better not to get too close with such people."

To be honest, his actions are infuriating… But it would be for the best to leave as Aqua suggested.

"Well,my companions don't seem keen to join your party. We still need to report the completion of the quest, so we'll take our leave…"

After saying that, Kazuma led the horse dragging the cage and prepared to leave.

…

"… please move out of the way."

Kazuma said in an annoyed, and slight angry tone to Mitsurugi, who blocked hos path.

What should I do, he obviously is the type that doesn't listen to others.

"Pardon me, but Aqua-sama is the one who bestowed this sword to me. And seeing my benefactor who granted me power fall to such a state, I can't simply ignore it. You can't save the world, the one to defeat the Demon King will be me. It would be better for Aqua-sama to follow me… You said you chose Aqua as the item to be brought along to this world with you, right?"

"… Yes."

Going by the cliche developments of a manga, I can predict what will happen next.

This guy will most certainly…!

"If that's the case, then how about making a bet? You chose Aqua-sama as the 'thing' to be brought along with you, right? If I win, you must give Aqua-sama to me; If you win, I can promise you one thing, anything."

"Okay, I accept! Take this!"

Just as he predicted.

Kazuma was almost at his limits in terms on annoyance and anger. He had the perfect opportunity to vent out both, so he just attacked without saying anything more.

Kazuma moved his left hand out of the way and used his right to swing his sheathed sword at him immediately.

Fortune favors the bold, there is nothing unscrupulous about it!

Kazuma thought to himself that maybe he should face Mitsurugi as one would in a manga, but his reasoning and anger lead him to do otherwise.

If anything, a high-level sword master with a powerful sword challenging a novice adventurer with weak gear is the unscrupulous one!

Mitsurugi didn't expect for him to attack the moment he'd answered him.

"Eh? Wait! Hold…!"

Mitsurugi seemed to be in a panic, but as expected of a high-level adventurer he drew his sword and braced it horizontally to fend off Kazuma's.

As the sword in Kazuma's right hand was about to hit Mitsurugi's sword, he reached out his left hand…!

"Steal!"

The moment he yelled, Kazuma felt the weight of a sword in his left hand.

Oh, I hit the jackpot!

The sword Mitsurugi was planning to block Kazuma's blow with disappeared from his hands.

"Huh?"

I wondered who uttered such foolish sounds.

Probably everyone present, except for me.

With his skill working together with his attack, Mitsurugi couldn't do anything except receive a hard blow to the head from him.

"Scumbag! Scumbag! Scumbag! Scumbag–!"

"How dirty! You're the worst, scumbag! Can't you fight honorably?"

Mitsurugi's two female companions lectured Kazuma.

To him, that had been fueled by rage over being insulted and thrashed by Mitsurugi, their words were music to his ears.

Although it was with the scabbard, Mitsurugi was still hit by a rather heavy sword on the head and laid on the ground with the white of his eyes showing. It was almost comical.

Kazuma announced to the two followers who were protesting:

"No matter what, I won. This guy said he would promise me anything if he lost, right? Then I'll be taking this sword."

After hearing what he said, one of the followers became agitated.

"What!? What absurd thing are you saying!? Only Kyouya can use that magic sword. That sword chooses its owner, and it chose Kyouya as its master! The blessing of the sword won't work on you!"

After listening to the girl's confident words, Kazuma turned toward Aqua.

"… Is that true? I can't use the spoils of war? I was thinking that I had finally gotten a strong piece of equipment."

"It's true. Regrettably, the sword Gram is the exclusive weapon of that unpleasant guy. It bestows one with arm strength beyond the human limits when equipped, and the sword is a sharp weapon that can cut through steel like a vegetable. But in Kazuma's hands, this would just be a normal sword."

So, there was such a thing…

But since I got something great, I should take it with me.

"I'll be on my way then. Tell that guy when he wakes up that he was the one who wanted the duel, so no complaints… All right, let's go to the guild for the bounty everyone."

After finishing, he turned to leave. Mitsurugi's female companions raised their weapons against him.

"Y-You, hold it right there!"

"Give Kyouya's sword back! We won't acknowledge your win!"

Kazuma just lifted his hand and pointed a finger at the two ladies.

"It's fine if you want to bring it on… But I'm a believer in gender equality, a man who dares to use drop kicks against girls. Don't think I'll hold back, specially against the companions of the guy who just insulted my teammates! So maybe I'll knock some manners to you. Or worse…"

The two girls looked at him as he entered a fighting stand, and since they didn't seem to be to convinced so:

"Maybe I'll use Steal on you… I wonder what would happen then?"

Kazuma treacherous and confident smile made both girls scared and they backed off with an uneasy face.

"Ugwahh…"

Kazuma's companions also looked at them with scornful eyes which made both of them insecure. They also looked at Kazuma, a mixture of gratitude and unease in their eyes. Probably because he just said he drop kicks girls, and could do worse… Still, they looked happy he'd stood up for them, but not as happy(and relieved) Kazuma felt for them sticking with him.

---

Dragging the borrowed cage with them, they finally made it back to the guild.

Since they decided that half of the reward would go to Aqua, they left the task of reporting the completion of the quest to Aqua while Kazuma returned the borrowed horse. He took his spoils(that magic sword) to a certain place and reached the adventurer's guild a bit later than the others.

… But…

"W-Why–!?"

Aqua's loud voice could be heard from inside the guild.

Does this girl not feel at ease without creating a commotion everywhere she goes?

Kazuma entered the guild and saw Aqua grabbing a staff member of the guild with tearful eyes.

"Didn't I tell you, the cage I borrowed from you wasn't damaged by me! It was that Mitsurugi guy who bent the bars! Why do I have to pay for it!?"

I see, so that guy did bend the bars in attempt to save Aqua without getting the full story.

And Aqua had to compensate for the broken cage. She insisted for a moment, but she finally gave up, taking the reward and coming to their tables with heavy footsteps.

"… The bounty this time, after deducting the compensation for the broken cage, was only 100,000 eris… The staff said that the cage was made from a special process and material, so it cost 200,000…"

Seeing how dejected Aqua was, everyone felt a little sorry for her.

"D-do you want to split it o-or…"

Even though she was like this, she attempted to divide it with everyone. Something very out of character for her, which proved how down she really was. They politely refused of course.

Meeting Mitsurugi was an unexpected disaster for Aqua.

"Next time I meet that man, I'll definitely give him a God Blow! And get him to cough up the compensation for the cage!"

Aqua said through gritted teeth, tightly holding the menu as she sat down.

As for Kazuma, well… he didn't want to ever see him again.

… Just as Aqua was grumbling grudgingly.

"So that's where you are! I had a hard time finding you, Satou Kazuma!"

Speak of the devil, Mitsurugi showed up with his two female underlings at the entrance of the guild.

Shouting his full name which Kazuma had never told him, Mitsurugi rushed to their table and slammed both hands down.

"Satou Kazuma! I asked a female thief about you and she told me everything immediately. She said you like to strip woman of their panties. Other than that, your interest is to cover girls in slime. Many people are talking about you, devilish Kazuma."

"Hold on, who's the one spreading this? Tell me properly."

He knew who the thief was, but the problem was the other parts.

Spreading such rumors from somewhere and adding the title 'devilish' before my name…!

As Mitsurugi closed in on Kazuma with a serious face, Aqua stepped before him.

"… Aqua-sama. I swear to you, after I get my sword back from that man, I will defeat the Demon King. So please join me and form a party- Puah…!"

"Ah! Kyouya!"

After being punched by Aqua, Mitsurugi flew out.

Mitsurugi's two female companions rushed to the fallen Mitsurugi.

Mitsurugi showed a baffled face, not understanding why he was hit. Aqua took large steps toward him, grabbed his collar and said:

"Compensate me for the cage you destroyed! It's all your fault that I had to pay for that cage! Because that cage was made through a special process and material, it cost me 300,000, okay! 300,000! You hear me? Pay up!"

Didn't you say the cage cost 200,000 just now? Not that I care… In fact, go for it Aqua!

Mitsurugi, who hadn't even stood up after being sent flying by Aqua's punch, dumbly forked out the cash. After getting the money from Mitsurugi, the satisfied Aqua picked up the menu once again.

Mitsurugi composed himself, watching Aqua happily calling for the waitress with a menu in hand as he said to me begrudgingly:

"… Even though I was defeated in that way, it was still my loss. Although it is shameless and selfish of me to say this after promising to do anything you wish… I beg of you! May you return the sword to me? That sword wouldn't be of much use to you, it's just sharper than normal swords if you wield it. That's the most you can get out of the sword… How about this? If you want a sword, I can buy the best one in any shop and give it to you… May you please return it to me?"

He said it himself that it was a selfish request.

No matter how bothersome she could get, Aqua was still the gift he was bestowed with when he came to this world, and she had been quite helpful… Something he should get when he made up my mind to come to this world.

In other words, the thing he'd gambled was of equal worth with Mitsurugi's sword.

"Using me as a prize without my permission, and asking for your sword back by offering to buy a good one in exchange… There's no way this deal would work! Or do you think my worth is equal to the most expensive sword in a shop? Insolent fool! I'm a goddess! A goddess! To use me as a betting chip, what the hell are you thinking? I don't want to ever see your face again, shoo. Hurry up, scram!"

Aqua held the menu in one hand while waving the other, gesturing for Mitsurugi to leave as she said it out loud, which made Mitsurugi turn pale.

Well, nobody asked him to cause trouble, so he only really had himself to blame. After everything he did, of course Aqua would get angry.

"Please! Please wait, Aqua-sama! I'm not looking down on your value…"

As Mitsurugi started explaining, Megumin tugged on his sleeve.

"…? What is it little girl…? Hmm?"

After getting Mitsurugi's attention, Megumin pointed at Kazuma. To be precise, she was pointing at his waist.

"… Just a heads up, the sword is no longer with this man."

"!"

Mitsurugi noticed after hearing Megumin say that…

"S-Satou Kazuma! Where is the sword? You, where did you take my sword to?"

He was breaking out in cold sweat as he pressed him for an answer.

He replied in just three words.

"I sold it."

"Damn you–!"

Mitsurugi rushed out of the guild in tears.

"… What's with that guy… Speaking of which, he had been addressing Aqua as a goddess all this while, what's up with that?"

After Mitsurugi left the guild the commotion drew the curious eyes of many adventurers. Under these circumstances, Darkness asked about the 'goddess' issue.

… Right, the word goddess was mentioned so many times. It was normal for her to ask.

No, should I use this chance to tell both Megumin and Darkness?

Kazuma looked at Aqua who had a face saying that she knew what he wanted to say as she nodded.

Aqua then faced Darkness and Megumin with a rare serious expression from her. Darkness and Megumin also noticed that Aqua felt different, and were listening carefully to her…

"I've never told you this before, but very well… I'm Aqua, the patron goddess of the Axis Cult, goddess of water… That's right, I'm that Goddess Aqua…!"

"… So, that's the backstory you're going by?"

"That's wrong! And why did both of you say the same thing!?"

… So, it turned out this way…

Just at that moment.

"Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! Attention all adventurers, please prepare all your equipment and gather at the town's main gate ready for battle–!"

The familiar emergency public announcement resonated throughout the guild.

"Again…? There are so many of these 'emergency summons' recently."

I'm honestly burnt out. Could I not go?

He knew he probably couldn't, but after that incident with Mitsurugi, Kazuma felt without energy to do anything…

As he rested his face lazily on the table.

"Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! Attention all adventurers, please prepare all your equipment and gather at the town's main gate ready for battle! Especially Satou Kazuma-san and his companions, please head to the scene as soon as possible!"

"… Huh?"

What did the broadcast just say?

…

… Why do things always go like this?

---

So if you've read the Explosions spin-off then you'll know that the Explosion and other spells are kind of a 'special' case among magic. Not to get into too many details but I decided to group these spells into one single category and expand upon it. I may also change ever so slightly other kind of spells or magic groups, be it how they work, how they are obtained, or just add new spells entirely. Though I will try to leave them just how they originally are for the largest part.

Oh and what's that I smell… a slight hint of… feels? In my Knosuba fic? Well I though that originally Kazuma doesn't show his emotions so easily, specially the most 'crucial'(?) ones, partially numbed by the crazy new world and his even crazier companions. But maybe they are doing better this time? Let's hope they are.

Cheekiserval: Well the story will definitely follow closely the events of the original. Of course I have planned new events and ideas, as well as the team and how they interact over time. Maybe even some backstory? I did change(or plan to) some things there. Anyway thanks for the review!

Benthino: Thanks for the support! Yes, other character will definitely have their chance in the spotlight, and maybe even remain there. I did 'upgrade' the team, but who says that others won't join it? Of course not all characters will be as important, but that's just how it goes. Still. I'm glad you like it!

And thanks to everyone else for reviewing and just reading the story! I'll see you next time!