Well, Chapter 1 did pretty well. So, here's chapter 2. I do not own Konosuba by the way.

Chapter 2: Controlling Negativity

"That's it, call it a day! See ya tomorrow!"

With that announcement from their boss, Kazuma and Aqua had completed their first day at their construction job. It had been a day of…mixed results. While the teen had always tried to at least make sure he stayed in shape, he was not used to manual labor. Or any job for that matter. So it wasn't a surprise that he'd struggled on his first day to lift the stones and other items he was expected to lift on his first day. Now, this would have been the perfect time to test out his Cursed Energy Manipulation. With the standard ability to enhance his own strength, the job would've been much easier. However…

'I couldn't use it…?' This was surprising. Last he checked, he should have been able to use the blessing given to him by the shitty gods and goddesses the moment he got it. 'So why couldn't I use it?' This was something he would have to ask Aqua when they got back to the stables.

Speaking of the goddess, she had actually fared better on her first day. It had to have been because of her relatively high strength stat, but she was able to do all of the work given to her with ease. Many of the construction workers had looked on with awe and showered her with praise, something she took graciously…if being gracious involved teasing Kazuma with a smug expression all day.

"Those guys were so impressed with my work today. As they should be!" The goddess proudly boasted for the umpteenth time as she and Kazuma walked towards the baths to wash up for the day. The woman turned to the teen, and noticed he seemed troubled. "Hey, what's wrong? Did I tease you too much? I'm sorry."

"No, that's not it. I'll tell you about it after our bath." The brown haired young man promised. The goddess shrugged, and the two headed towards the public baths and cleaned up. They did stink, after all. Afterwards, they went to the guild and quickly paid off their small debt to Luna.

"So soon?!" The blonde woman exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Of course. We wanted to pay it off as soon as possible." The teen said, his deity partner nodding along behind him.

"Thank you. I was a tad worried you would forget to pay it." The woman said with some guilt at her own admission.

"Don't worry about it. Trust me, I know how flaky people can be when trying to pay someone back." The young man assured the well-endowed lady, "And here's the money for that meal you let us have last night."

"Eh? But I said you didn't have to worry about that-"

"Yeah, but we can't not repay the kindness you've given us." Aqua chimed in with a smile.

The woman smiled back, and with that matter settled, the duo decided to sit down and order their dinner. Begrudgingly, the goddess had to sacrifice her alcohol for the second night in a row. She had told Kazuma she had loved booze, but assured him that she could live without it. Hopefully.

"What?!" The blue haired deity exclaimed, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. "What do you mean you couldn't use it?!"

"It's like I said. When I tried to convert my Cursed energy into strength, I didn't…feel anything. I couldn't tap into it at all." The teen confirmed as he dug his fork into his lizard meat.

"That's impossible." The goddess sat back down, a worried expression on her face. "Blessings are given out and approved by the council. They should always work for their user. We give these out to adventurers to kill the Demon King! Why wouldn't it work?!"

"I don't know…" The young man looked thoughtful for a second, trying to rack his brian for possible answers. "Maybe there's something I'm missing. I don't think it's a big deal now, but if I can't figure it out soon, I'm not going to be able to use it on missions."

"And that's the last thing we need! All of the monsters here from what I know can be easy, but can be very dangerous if you're not prepared for them." Kazuma swore he heard the gears turn in the goddess's head again, before she snapped her fingers. "I got it! You were supposed to explain Cursed Energy and JJK's power system to me today, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I did promise you that. I'd have started this morning, but someone decided to oversleep!"

"Hey, you were too!" the woman exclaimed, pointing a finger at the teen.

"You were the one who said you'd wake me up! We're lucky we weren't late!"

"I-Irrelevant!" The deity was red from embarrassment. "What I'm trying to say is if you explain the entire power system to me, maybe you'll be able to figure out what's wrong!"

"Huh." The teen looked impressed. "That's actually not a bad idea."

"See! I can come up with good ideas!" The goddess hummed smugly.

"And yet you're still the same girl that played the wrong Pokemon game."

"T-That's…" The woman's blush returned. "Meanie."

"I'm just teasing you."

"I know." The blue haired beauty smiled. "But kidding aside, we should definitely figure this out quickly. Hopefully teaching me about Cursed Energy stuff will help you. Fair warning, I'm gonna have a lot of questions."

"It's fine. There's nothing wrong with asking questions."

"Thank you." With that, the duo finished their meals and went home to the stables. Once there, after taking their separate spots in their stable, Kazuma began explaining JJK's power system to the woman.

"So, where do you want to start?" He asked, trying to figure out if she needed a full crash course or if she just needed certain concepts explained to her.

"Everything!" The blue haired woman exclaimed proudly. "I don't even know what Cursed Energy is! It sounds like mana, but evil!" Crash course it is!

"I don't think you should be too proud of needing everything to be explained to you." The teen deadpanned.

"But I'm gonna be taught by you. Shouldn't I take pride in that?"

The young man swore he felt his cheeks start to burn from that comment. Compliments from a girl? When was the last time he got that? "Wh-What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know what you're talking about. Since I've never really understood Cursed Energy and all that, I think it's great to be taught by someone who does." The woman clarified. Suddenly, her cheeks turned red. "W-Wait, that came out wrong! I-I'm…" The deity's eyes narrowed when she saw Kazuma chuckle. "Hey!"

"Sorry. I'm just not used to it." The goddess tilted her head in confusion. "I didn't really get compliments like that in my old world, so I wasn't ready for it. And here you go, saying something like that without a second thought. I appreciate it."

"But…I complimented you yesterday, didn't I? What's so different now?"

"Your delivery. Today, you're so nonchalant about it. Yesterday, it was laced with surprise. I think that's what got me." The young man answered as best as he could.

"Ho?" The blue haired woman's expression became downright mischievous. "Maybe it's for a different reason. Maybe you've completely fallen for me! It's not surprising, I am a goddess after all!"

"Yeah right, I'm not that easy." The teen said as convincingly as he could, though the blush didn't help matters.

"Neither am I." The goddess said confidently, before she laughed. "Come on. Let's get to my lesson, sensei."

"Sure. Then, since you mentioned it, let's start with Cursed Energy."

"Right. So what makes it different from mana?"

Kazuma shrugged. "Well, I don't know shit about mana, but Cursed Energy is power taken from negative emotions. Fear, hate, anger, loneliness, apathy, boredom, stuff like that. I don't know if the intensity of the emotion affects the potency or whatever, but…" He paused. "You need to be able to feel that emotion and like, channel it constantly."

"So it is evil! I knew it!"

The teen held back a sigh. 'This is going to be a long night, isn't it?'

By the end of the night's lesson, he was completely exhausted. The lesson was made easier when he got to Cursed Spirits, but that was because Ghosts existed in this world, and they were similar enough, along with Undead-type monsters. However, a portion of the lesson was spent convincing the goddess that cursed energy wasn't inherently evil. The rest was explaining the applications of cursed energy, which somehow proved to be an even bigger headache. Teaching Aqua was tiring, but at the same time…fun.

'Despite everything, I can tell she really wanted to learn. She asked WAY too many questions, but it's because she really wanted to make sure she understood everything. It's…nice in a way.' The young man's thoughts were interrupted by the cute snoring of the woman in question. As she turned over to her other side, the teen noticed the smile she had on her face as she nodded off. 'When she's not being a dumbass…she's quite the beauty. Tits to match too. Guess that's why she's a goddess.' It was like looking at a CG from one of his favorite Visual Novels. And then the moment was ruined when he noticed her drooling. 'Why do you have to take two steps back every time I want to compliment you?'

The goddess then turned to her other side, exposing Kazuma to something he hadn't taken the time to notice since he got to this world: Aqua had a nice ass. It wasn't the biggest butt in the world (at least from his very limited experience), but it was round and plump, the cheeks wide enough that if he could get his hands on them, his fingers would sink into the flesh. 'How the fuck have I not noticed that?! Was I so busy with the other shit that I couldn't appreciate the gift that was right in front of me?! How could I have been so blind?! I will now make up for this grave sin: I'll jerk off to it! The post-nut clarity should help me figure out why I can't use my Cursed Technique, so win-win!' And so, the young man turned over to his other side to do just that, taking a glance every so often back at Aqua's rump.

Once he had…finished, he was left panting for a bit, before his thoughts drifted back to his Cursed Technique. 'Okay, I think post-nut clarity is helping. What do I know about Cursed Energy? It's taken from negative emotions. Well, negative emotions shouldn't be a problem; I was plenty frustrated having to lift all those stones! I can certainly feel that emotion. So…why can't I channel it? Does it have to do with control? If it is…why can't I control it? Is there some type of block?' Sleep was starting to overtake the young man. He pulled up his pants, and turned in for the night. 'Bah, whatever. I'm sure this will all settle itself tomorrow. Right now, I need to sleep…' And with that, he was out like a light.

"We're done! Go home! See ya same time tomorrow!"

It was now the second day since Kazuma and Aqua had started working, and their third day in this world. Despite the teen's best efforts, he still could not use his Cursed Technique again, much to his frustration. 'What the fuck am I missing? It has to be the control, right? So how the fuck do I control it?' His thoughts were interrupted by the tug on his shirt from the blue haired beauty.

"Are you okay? You've been making that face since we left work. Is it because you still can't use your blessing?" The goddess had an expression of concern and worry for the young man.

"Mmm." He replied. "I think I know what the problem is. I can't channel the negative emotions into energy right. Something's screwing with my control, but I don't know what it is."

"Did something like this happen in the manga?"

"Not off the top of my head…I remember Yuji having to watch movies for training before Gojo whooped Jogo's ass. Those were simpler times before everything went to shit." Kazuma grimaced. "Come to think of it, everyone in JJK doesn't really have a problem channeling negative emotions. They've all been through some shit."

"Especially after Shibuya." The deity became thoughtful for a moment, before snapping her fingers. "What if it's because you're denying them?"

"Huh?"

"I'm saying it could be because you haven't confronted them properly, or pretending it's not a big deal. That could be what's screwing with your control." The woman clarified, finger pointed up.

"That can't-" The young man stopped himself. "Actually, that might be right. No one in JJK has ever had trouble with it because they never denied the baggage they had. So maybe that's it." The brown haired young man looked towards the woman with awe. "It seriously amazes me how you can be a dumbass one minute, and a genius the next."

"Why thank yo-Hey!" The deity pouted from the comment. Kazuma found it cute.

"Come on, let's wash up." The teen urged as they neared the bathhouse. Hygiene prioritized his Cursed Technique. After washing up, the duo went to guild for dinner again. However, tonight was special.

"Finally! I get to drink some booze!" The woman cheered, holding up her mug in the air.

'My first time drinking alcohol,' The young man was staring at a mug of his own, filled with beer. 'I never had the chance to try it back in Japan. Then again, my parents probably never would have allowed me to, even if they were watching me. Well, I'm gonna savor this now!'

"Kazuma." The teen was caught off guard by the goddess's serious tone. "Word of advice: Don't try to chug it. Take slow, small sips. See how it tastes. If you don't like it, don't force yourself to finish it."

"Oh…thanks."

"Now!" The woman held out her glass. "A toast! To Kazuma's first time drinking! And my first time drinking in Axel!" They tapped their glasses, the goddess taking a big sip from her mug, while the young man took a small sip. He let the taste settle a bit, before he shrugged.

"So, how is it?" The goddess asked in anticipation.

"It's…eh? Not the worst I've tasted, but not the best either. At least it doesn't taste like shit, I guess."

"You'll get used to it." The blue haired beauty shrugged.

"So…I never got the chance to ask this, but…you drink in heaven?" The young man asked awkwardly.

"Yep! You should see the amount of booze all the other gods drink there! But we have basically an infinite supply in the afterlife, so it's nice!" The goddess explained.

"I thought you couldn't do anything in heaven."

"You can't, but we can! What, you think we would follow the same rules that you guys have? We're deities! That'd drive us nuts!" The goddess giggled, cheeks already slightly pink, "Plus, we don't have to stay drunk either."

"What do you mean?"

"We can get drunk like you mortals, but if the situation arises, we can turn that off. This is to make sure we're not too drunk or hungover to do our duties…" The woman's eyes narrowed. "Or to not get taken advantage of."

"Woah." The young man's eyes went wide at that last sentence. "Has that…ever happened before?"

"Not in heaven. Even if there was a god or goddess vile enough to try it, they'd never do it to another deity. The consequences are too severe."

"That's good…I think."

"Enough about that depressing stuff. Have you figured it out yet?" The woman asked, switching the conversation topic.

"Hmm? Oh, no. I agree with you it's because I'm not confronting something, but I don't know what it is." The teen said in an uneven tone.

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe I'll be able to figure it out tomorrow."

"You said that yesterday. We're close on a breakthrough. We should figure this out now." The woman urged.

"C-C'mon. Should we really worry about this so much? I mean, we don't have to-"

"No, we do. And don't act like you're not hiding something. I can tell." The goddess said in a harsh tone.

"I-I'm not hiding anything. I just think that-"

"It's your parents, isn't it?" The beauty said with a much softer tone this time.

The young man's eyes widened, before he bore a look of defeat. "Yeah…"

"Kazuma…you know you have to confront this."

"I know." The teen uttered with shaking fists.

"You know you'll never be able to use your cursed technique if you don't."

"I know."

"And…you'll never find peace with yourself if you keep burying it." The brown haired young man looked at her with surprise. "What, you think I only care about you because you can send me back home and your Cursed Technique? I care about you as a person too. That should have been clear enough last night."

Kazuma looked down in guilt. "Sorry."

"It's okay. If you want to make it up to me, let me help you."

"H-How?"

"By letting me hear all of your burdens, all of your troubles, and all of your worries. And when it's all over, you get a hug from me in the end. A great deal isn't it? Not many can say they've hugged a goddess before." The deity sent him a wink.

The brown haired teen snorted. "I guess not. I should count my blessings then." He then frowned. "Are you sure though? I'm sure you'd grow tired of hearing my shit."

"Kazuma. I get so many prayers a day from my followers begging me for blessings and unloading all their burdens to me all the time. And you might not be a follower of mine, unless you want to change that?" The goddess gave him puppy dog eyes to try to convince him further.

The young man chuckled. "No thanks. I wasn't religious back in Japan, and I'm not changing that now. But I appreciate the offer."

The woman pouted. "Worth a shot."

Kazuma looked thoughtful for a moment, before making a decision. "Alright, fine. But not here."

"Of course. When we get home. Now, let's eat!" The duo ate their dinner not too long afterwards, then headed back to the stables. On the way, Kazuma bought the goddess baby-blue pajamas after she'd complained she was getting tired of sleeping in her clothes at night. As they reached their home, and sat in their shared stable, the young man was feeling anxious, knowing what he was gonna do tonight.

"What's the matter?" The goddess asked. "You look…antsy for some reason."

"I'm nervous." The teen admitted. "I've…always kept this type of stuff buried. I never told anyone my problems with my parents before I was a shut-in, and I sure as hell didn't want to think about it too much."

"Give me your hand." The woman ordered.

"Huh?"

"Just do it." She insisted. Reluctantly, the brown haired young man put out his hand, and Aqua held it in both of her hands, stroking it soothingly with one of her fingers. "How do you feel now?"

The former shut-in was flushed from having a girl like Aqua holding his hand like this, but… "I'm…not as nervous anymore? I guess?"

"That's because I'm comforting you. Or because now you're thinking about how awesome it is that a woman like me is holding your hand like this?" She smiled smugly when she reached that last sentence.

He rolled his eyes. "Can't help yourself, huh?"

"Of course not. If I've got it, I'm flaunting it. Don't think I haven't noticed you staring at my boobs sometimes, or today, my ass."

The young man turned a darker shade of red. "O-Oh."

"It's fine. I can't really blame you after all. I am a being of amazing beauty." The woman bit her lip. "And maybe…I don't mind if it's you who's staring."

"Oh?" The young man smirked, seeing an opportunity for some payback. "What happened to the smug goddess I know? Is it possible you're falling for me? A goddess falling for a mortal, ain't that a trip?"

"Sh-Shut up!" The deity pouted. "Are we gonna do this or what?"

"Mmm." The teen nodded. He paused for a moment, wondering where he should start. "I…don't have a good relationship with my parents. No…I don't think I've ever had a good relationship with my parents." His eyes met the goddess, who nodded for him to continue. "For a lot of my life, I wanted the approval of my parents. To tell me 'Good job, Kazuma!' or something like that. Most of all, I wanted to hear how proud they were of me. Kinda stupid, huh?"

"Not at all. Everyone wants to hear that, right? That's why I wanted to understand Cursed Energy so badly. I was happy when I finally got it, you told me 'Good job'." The woman admitted.

The young man snorted. "I'll admit, teaching you was a pain in the ass…"

"Hey!"

"But…it was also a lot of fun." The brown haired young man smiled. "The most fun I've had in a while."

The goddess in return gave the brown haired teen a bright smile, one that could melt the coldest of hearts. "Thank you."

Kazuma nodded, before frowning. "Back to the main point…I tried really hard to get it, but it never came. Not after achieving high marks in my class or anything like that. It was like they always shrugged it off. Whenever I tried to call them out for it, they always said I was being 'Disrespectful' or 'Ungrateful' to them. That would shut me up."

"I don't think it's disrespectful to want to ask for something like that. You were clearly trying hard for them, right?" The young man nodded. "Then you're not wrong for that. I wouldn't really know what that's like, because I get praised by my followers all the time, but I'd imagine it sucks."

"I wonder what your followers would think if they knew their goddess is a dumbass?" The teen deadpanned cheekily.

"Just keep going!" The woman ordered with a not-so-amused expression.

"Sorry." The brown haired young man chuckled. "I kinda never got the answer why. But from the energy, I don't know if my parents really wanted anything to do with me. If that was the case, I don't know why they couldn't have just let me live with my grandparents or someone else. I thought maybe it was because deep down they did love me. As I grew older however, my doubts started to grow. I became more aware that my parents seemed to view me more as a nuisance than a son. I wasn't the most perfect son either. I fucked up a lot. Then again, doesn't every kid?"

"Well, yeah. Everyone makes mistakes, don't they? Except me, of course!" The goddess put one of the hands holding Kazuma to her chest as she made a pompous pose.

"Uh huh." The young man uttered, clearly not impressed. The blue haired beauty gave him a playful glare, before he continued. "Things became a bit more clear to me after I became a hikikomori. They never really seemed to care that I stopped going to school. I never figured out why, but they left me to my own devices. I then concluded that if they just left me alone, that meant they did love me. That they must have trusted me enough to make that decision for myself, and they did care about me. I started losing belief in that over time, but I was living my best life, so who cares?"

"That's…hard for me to answer. If you're not hurting anyone, then who cares really? But…you shouldn't live your life like that," the blue haired woman answered, clearly troubled.

"Maybe you're right, but it was the only thing I felt like I could do."

"Why did you become a HikiNEET in the first place?" The goddess asked curiously.

"Well…" The teen rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "When I was a kid, I had a crush on this girl. We promised each other that when we grew up, we would marry. Fast forward years later…I see that same girl ride off into the sunset with this dude on a motorcycle. After that, I stopped going to school, and that's how I became a shut-in."

The deity blinked a few times, before she sputtered, then began to cackle. "Pahahahahahahaha! Are you kidding me?! You became a HikiNEET over that?! Hahahahahahaha!" she had let go of Kazuma's hand, and started to hold her sides.

"Stop laughing!" The young man chastised, bearing a ticked off expression. "It's not that funny!"

"I-I'm sorry." She sat back up, wiping a tear in her eye. "I just don't get why that caused it. You couldn't handle the rejection or something?"

"Looking back, it was dumb, but I really valued that promise. I guess as I consumed more anime and manga, I thought my life would be like my favorite romance series, and I'd end up with my childhood friend. Probably was the one thing I had since my parents weren't giving me anything. So, I slowly went from doing stuff for my parents to doing stuff so I could be the best man I could be for my 'future wife'. Looking back, I was a dumbass. I didn't even talk to her about it afterwards, so why should she remember or care about it? But when I saw her on that motorcycle, I just gave up on everything."

"Okay, that makes sense. You're still an idiot though."

"I don't wanna hear you of all people calling me an idiot," the teen deadpanned, before continuing. "As time passed, it became less about that embarrassment, and more about liking it. I could play video games, watch anime, and read manga all day. My parents clearly didn't seem to care, so they were okay with it. They still fed me and everything. So, my life was fine the way it was. Then one day, I died of shock because I thought a tractor was a truck, and now I'm here."

"Hehehe. I still can't believe you thought a tractor was a truck."

"I had gone through three straight all-nighters playing an MMO, cut me some slack." The brown haired young man blushed in embarrassment "Then again, I guess you could say my lifestyle finally bit me in the ass."

"You can say that again." The goddess shook her head. "So…how do you feel?"

"About what?"

"Your parents. Now that you've talked about them, how do you feel about them?"

"I…" The young man frowned. "I'm mad at them. They treated me like a nuisance for nearly my entire life. I'm mad at myself for wanting their approval like an idiot." The brown haired young man began to tear up. "When I…learned they laughed at my death…That fucking hurt…" There was a sudden rush, and arms wrapped around the teen. To his surprise, Aqua was hugging him. "W-What are you…?"

"I did say if you told me everything, you'd get a hug from me right. Let this goddess comfort you. You clearly need it." The woman said in a soft tone, rubbing his back soothingly.

Accepting his fate, the young man hugged back. "Thank you."

"That's 'thank you, O'wonderful goddess'." The goddess teased, with no real seriousness in her tone. "I've never had to comfort my followers in person. So while you're in front of me, I'll comfort you."

"Mmm." The duo sat together, holding each other. A short time later, Kazuma disengaged from the hug, wiping his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"What is it?" The woman asked, concerned.

"I feel it…I can feel my Cursed Energy!" The teen exclaimed excitedly. He felt it, like a primal energy welling up inside him. Like the feelings of his repressed anger towards his parents had become something that he could almost physically grab hold of. 'It's hot…like I'm sticking my hands in an oven. It doesn't hurt though. Is this what anger feels like? I wonder what the other emotions are like…'

"Keep it down!" A familiar voice boomed.

"Sorry!" The young man apologized quickly.

"This is great!" The goddess cheered softly "I'll admit, I was a teeny bit nervous this wouldn't work…but I wasn't worried."

"Because you were helping me?"

"Of course! With my help, of course you were gonna get out of that funk!" The woman declared smugly. Kazuma had to admit, her confidence was impressive.

He suddenly let out a yawn. "I guess it's about time for me to hit the sack."

"I'm tired too. Let me go change. Unless you wanna lay your eyes on the nude body of a goddess." She said with a teasing smirk.

"Smells like a trap. I'll pass." The young man deadpanned.

"Suit yourself." The woman left the stable temporarily to change, leaving the brown haired teen to his own thoughts.

'Was she being serious? Or was she just messing with me? Crap, did I just miss my chance to become a man? Or look at a real girl naked? Damn her, I'm so confused!' The teen's thoughts raced, before not even a moment later, he saw the goddess in her baby blue pajamas for the first time. They were loose over her body, but they did nothing to hide her bountiful breasts or her ass.

"See something you like?" The blue haired beauty asked with a smug grin. "Of course a NEET like you would be enraptured by a girl in her PJs"

"Sh-Shut it." The young man turned his head away, a visible blush on his cheeks.

"Goodnight, Kazuma." The beauty laid down on her spot

"Goodnight." The young man did the same, and started to doze off. Something that went unnoticed by the two, is now they were a couple inches closer to each other.

"Great job today! See ya tomorrow!"

The next day went a lot better for Kazuma. Now armed with his Cursed Technique, he had converted his energy into strength to help him with work. It wasn't a massive increase, but it was enough to feel a difference. Plus, he no longer had to worry about his Cursed Technique, so of course today was gonna be better.

'Let's see…' He thought as he walked with Aqua. 'Using over half of my Cursed Energy increased my strength by five stat points. If I use all of it, I'll get nine…maybe ten. Not terrible, but also not great. What if I tried to convert my strength back to Cursed Energy? Need to test later.'

The duo completed their routine of taking a bath, and waiting at the Guild. It was the second night in a row Kazuma would be drinking with the blue haired beauty.

"Cheers!" The duo tapped their mugs and each took a sip from their respective drinks.

"I'm so happy you used your Cursed Technique! What was it like?" The woman asked excitedly.

"It was…like channeling a type of heat, and using it. I felt like I was a Fire Force character for a second, only, I wasn't actually using any flames or pyrokinesis. I felt it all around my body, and when I was finished, I felt a bit stronger." The teen explained.

"Mmm." The woman nodded. "Is the effect permanent?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No. As long as I keep it active, I can keep the change, but once I dispel it, it disappears after a bit."

"Hmmm." The beauty put two fingers to her chin. "Is it possible it could become permanent later?"

The young man paused. "Maybe if I get more Cursed Energy or improve my control. It's really easy to maintain the technique. But it costs over half of my reserves just to increase a stat by five points."

"Then we need to start taking quests as soon as possible!" The woman declared standing up, slamming her hands to the table. "How much money do we need for equipment?"

"For the standard JRPG equipment, we'd need to work for another two to three weeks. Maybe longer." The teen estimated. "But, for just a weapon like a short sword…I'd say we need to work for three more days."

"That's all we need." The goddess said confidently. "With an Archpriest like me by your side, and your Cursed Technique, it will be a piece of cake!"

"If you're sure, I'll only get the short sword then."

"Positive." The woman smirked "There has to be an easy quest for us to complete here. This is a beginner town after all."

"One you didn't even know about until you came here." The young man deadpanned.

"Ehehe." The beauty sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

Three days had passed, and Kazuma was able to buy his short sword. The sword was a simple sword, nothing special at all. However, as a starter sword, it was good enough. Hopefully.

Something that the teen had taken notice of last night was the space between him and Aqua. Before, they left a wide space between themselves in the stable. Now, they were practically next to each other. When he asked the goddess about this…

"Do you mind it at all?" The blue haired beauty asked, some uncertainty in her eyes.

"Well…no. I just thought you wanted some space between us before."

"Well…maybe I've changed my mind." The woman gave him a wink.

The young man blushed. "Well, if there's no problem, then it's fine."

"Good boy." The goddess smiled, as she took her new spot next to the teen.

It was the next day, and this was when the duo would finally start their first quest. This quest involved killing five Giant Frogs. They were usually found hopping around in open plain fields. The frogs were beginner type monsters, so the quest should be easy enough, right? Well…

"Damn it!" We now watch as the brown haired adventurer attempted to kill one of these frogs. The frog was fast for its size, but the tongue was a bigger issue. If it caught him, he'd be frog food before he could say, "Aqua, help!" He couldn't even attempt a slash as long as the frog threatened to wrap him up in its tongue and swallow him whole. However, he had one trick up his sleeve.

"Cursed Technique: Conversion!" The teen decided to invest into his agility this time. Using almost all of his Cursed Energy, the stat increased by 9. With an increase of speed, the adventurer attempted a dash toward the frog, blurring across the distance much faster than before (At least from his limited experience). He began to close the distance on the monster quickly. This had to be enough! The slimy appendage lashed out from the frog's mouth, ready to latch on and reel him in. At the last second, the teen threw himself to the side, dodging the tongue by inches; he could practically feel the moisture of its spit spraying past his hair before he righted himself. He was now in front of the monster.

'I'll only get one chance!' He leaped up, drawing back his short sword with a cry to slash at the beast's neck, aiming for the jugular. The slash connected, cutting the monster's neck open. Blood poured from the wound immediately, some drops splattering onto the teen's tracksuit, before he landed on the ground at last. The frog released a pained, gurgling croak, tipping on its side and collapsing, dead. Suddenly, there was clapping.

"Nice job, Kazuma!" Aqua cheered, "I was a bit nervous when you insisted on taking this thing all by yourself, but you did great!"

"Thanks…I guess." The brown haired adventurer replied, rubbing the back of his head. He looked down at his tracksuit. 'Gonna need to wash this afterwards.' His attention switched to his first kill. 'Strange, I don't feel anything after killing this thing. I just killed a living thing for the first time, shouldn't I feel bad? Then again, these things kill people during their mating seasons, including children.'

Luna had been incredibly thorough with her explanation on the frogs. She had told them about their strengths, weaknesses, and why they were so dangerous. 'She's really good at her job. Even better than some guides in JRPGs. Also helps that she's hot as hell, too.'

"Kazuma, look!" The goddess exclaimed, pointing in the opposite direction. Standing a good distance away from the duo was another frog. It seemed like it hadn't noticed them or really cared. "Can I kill this one?" She added puppy dog eyes to sweeten the deal.

The young man rolled his eyes. "Sure. Good luck."

"Ha! I don't need it. I'm a goddess after all, I can kill a measly toad." The blue haired beauty said confidently.

"Pretty sure that's a frog."

"Just leave it to me!" The woman began to charge at the amphibian monster. A ball of energy began to collect around her fist, the air growing heavier from the intense power. "THIS is the might of a goddess! God Blow!" She cried, as she wound up to launch a punch at the frog.

Kazuma stood back in awe for a second, before a thought crossed his mind. 'Hang on…isn't that a blunt type attack?' Why did that matter? Frogs were immune to blunt attacks. It seemed that that hadn't occurred to the goddess. "Wait! Aqua, stop!"

It was too late. The woman's fist struck the glossy skin of the frog, and in a show of brilliance, the area exploded in a spectacle of light, forcing the teen to cover his eyes. The light quickly died down however, to reveal that the monster was unaffected. "Ummm…now that I think about it, toads are kinda cute." She said as she turned back to the young man with a nervous look. That would not save her, as the frog easily wrapped its tongue around the goddess, and slurped up into its mouth. Only her legs were left sticking out of its maw, kicking about wildly and futilely, accompanied by a muffled squealing of terror and disgust.

"Aqua!" The adventurer immediately went into action. While the frog had something in its mouth, it wouldn't move until it had swallowed its prey. This gave Kazuma a window to save the beauty. He charged right at the monster, closing the distance as quickly as he could, and plunged his sword into its throat, which in turn caused the monster to cough up the goddess from its mouth, letting her spill slowly onto the ground covered in mucus, before quickly dying.

Kazuma checked on the goddess. What he saw hurt to see. Aqua was trembling on the ground, tears in her eyes. He immediately rushed over to her. "Aqua! Are you okay?"

The blue haired woman shook her head, before lunging for the adventurer, wrapping him up in a tight, not to mention super slimy, hug. "Kazumaaaaaa! Thank you! Thank you! I was so scared!" she wailed.

'She stinks!' The teen thought as his nose scrunched up. Turned out that frog saliva had a rotten smell. She was also really slimy too; it was one of the only times he did not want a pretty girl all over him. However, that was not important right now. "There, there." he patted her back gingerly, and returned the hug despite the smell. 'Guess goddesses can fear death too.'

"Why didn't it work?! I was sure my attack would work!"

"You do know the frogs are immune to fists and water magic, right?"

The woman poked her head out, blinking at the adventurer. She disengaged from the hug, before rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "O-Oh…I…Well, you see-"

"You forgot, didn't you?"

The goddess slumped. "Yeahhhhh. I think I dismissed this quest because it was supposed to be easy."

"Don't do that again."

"Sir, yes sir!" The woman exclaimed as she did an army salute.

"Do you have any other attacks?"

"Umm…no." The beauty shook her head. "I only have blunt attacks and water magic…I am the goddess of water after all!"

"Okay. Then support me. Archpriests are supposed to have really strong support skills, so you can still help me that way."

"But…" The blue haired woman seemed troubled. "Is it right for me as a goddess to make you do all the work? All I'd be doing is sitting back and pumping you with support spells. I wouldn't be in any of the action."

'Hmmm…I think I get it. Her pride doesn't want her to sit back and do nothing. She feels like she'll be useless if she doesn't get kills of her own.' The adventurer knew how to fix this. "Don't think of it like that. Think of it like you're giving a blessing to one of your followers to make it to the next day. Who knows if I'll be able to kill the rest of the frogs without your support. I could slip up and get eaten! Your support would ensure that we complete this quest, making you the MVP!"

Once more, literal gears turned in the mind of the goddess, before her eyes sparkled. "Holy shit, you're right!" She now bore a smug smile. "Of course you'd need my help to make it through this. You're a beginner just like me! And since you need my help, as a goddess, of course I'll give it to you!"

'Glad that worked."

"Also, does this mean you want to become one of my followers?" She asked hopefully.

"Nope." The adventurer denied quickly.

The beauty clicked her tongue. "Worth a shot." The woman's gaze shifted to her left. Kazuma followed it, and saw yet another frog a good distance ahead of them.

"Ready?" The teen asked with a smile.

"I am!" She nodded as she put her hand out. "What spell should I cast?"

"I need speed to kill these things, so something that boosts that stat."

"Got it. Haste!" A green beam of light fired from the woman's hand, hitting Kazuma. The adventurer was now covered in a green aura that surrounded his entire body. He felt lighter, and more nimble than before, as if he could run across the field and back in no time at all.

"Thanks Aqua." The young man said, before charging like a rocket at the monster, ready to get his third kill. And hopefully two more after that.

"Congratulations on completing your quest." Luna congratulated as she handed back Kauzma's adventure card.

"Thanks, Luna." The teen stared at his card as he acknowledged her praise. 'I started at level one. I killed five frogs today. I'm now at level five. This world really is like a JRPG.'

"Here's your reward. Twenty five Thousand Eris for killing five frogs. And one hundred thousand for completing the quest. Subtract that from the transportation fee, and your total is one hundred and Ten Thousand Eris."

"Thank you." Kazuma put the money away in his bag pouch. After taking a final glance at the cleavage of the busty woman, he headed to the table where Aqua was waiting for him to deliver the news.

"Holy crap! That's a lot of Eris!" the woman exclaimed excitedly. "We would have had to work almost a whole month to earn that much! This is gonna be a piece of cake!"

"Maybe. Split between us, it's fifty five thousand Eris a piece. But, when we get more party members, that share's gonna decrease." The teen said, not looking as excited at that number.

"Huh? Why would we get more party members? We did so well with just the two of us!" The goddess questioned as she took a sip from her mug.

"Think about it: I had to save you when you got yourself eaten. What if our positions had flipped?"

A look of horror etched onto the face of the beauty as she quickly put down her mug. "I…wouldn't have been able to do much to save you. I could resurrect you, but if you're stuck inside the stomach of a toad…"

The adventurer nodded. "That's why we need more people. And this isn't just about the frogs. If we encounter a monster the two of us can't beat by ourselves, we're finished. So we need to start recruiting more members as soon as possible."

"How many do you think we need?"

The young man paused, stroking his chin. "A standard rpg party is four people, so two more should do."

"Okay!" The goddess bounced up from her seat, an excited grin on her face. "Then I'll start recruiting people tomorrow!"

"Sure you can handle it?" The brown haired young man asked, slightly worried.

"Of course! Just leave it to me!" The woman declared with a fire in her eyes that Kazuma hadn't seen before.

"I'll leave it to you then." The two toasted, then talked about other matters throughout the night. They decided that tonight would be the last night they would spend in the stables, and they would start looking for a tavern or inn to stay at for the time being. It would cost money, but they could deal with the cost. There was a limit to how much one could tolerate the smell of horse shit after all.

Later that night, the two made it back to the place they had called home since their first day in this world. Kazuma prepared himself for bed while Aqua changed herself into her baby blue pajamas. He heard a knock at the stable, and turned to the source of the noise. Standing in the doorway was said goddess in her PJs, but the young man took notice of the look of contemplation on the woman's face.

"Is something wrong?" The teen asked worriedly.

The blue haired beauty bit her lip. "Can you…hold me tonight?"

The adventurer's face became bright red. "E-Eh? W-Why?"

"Well…I don't think I'll be able to sleep too well after what happened today…so I wanted you to comfort me."

Kazuma's blush faded, his gaze softening. "Oh." He looked unsure for a second. "Are you sure?" The goddess nodded. "Alright." The teen sat on his spot in the hay, waiting for the archpriest. The woman sat down next to him, holding out her arms while averting her gaze from the young man. He had to admit, it was really cute. 'Guess she's nervous about this too.' Awkwardly, the young man wrapped his arms around the beauty's upper back.

Aqua returned the hug, burying her face in the shirt of Kazuma. He was a few inches taller than him, so she had to bend her head slightly to do this. The young man could feel her bosom on his chest, putting a visible blush on his face. They stayed like that for a few moments. Finally, the goddess broke the silence. "This is…really nice."

"Mmm," the young man replied, his head on her shoulder, giving him a whiff of her freshly cleaned scent. There was no evidence of that foul saliva anywhere. She smelled…nice. 'Now THIS is when I'd love to have a girl all over me. Thank you to whatever god or goddess made this possible! Nothing could make this better!'

"Can you…hold me like this while we sleep?"

'I take that back! Thank you fate!' The young man thought excitedly, although his blush did darken just a smidge. "S-Sure."

The adventurer didn't need to look at her face to know the goddess had a teasing smirk on her face. "Oh? Is the HikiNEET nervous about holding a real girl throughout the entire night? Should I be worried he's gonna die of embarrassment?"

"O-Oi!"

"Just relax. You'll be fine. I'm…nervous too. I've never done this before." The beauty admitted.

Now it was the adventurer's turn for revenge. "Ho? The goddess is nervous about a man holding her throughout the entire night? Are you as much of a virgin as I am? Should I be worried you'll die too?" The woman's response was to lightly pinch the side of the young man, the teen letting out an "Ow."

"It's not like that! It's…well…I never thought of this stuff before, so…" The teen's response to the goddess's rambling was laughter. "Hey, don't laugh! I can pinch you again!"

"Sorry!" The young man apologized quickly. Even if her pinches were light, they still hurt. "It's just nice to have someone as inexperienced with this stuff as I am. So, thank you."

"Hmph! You're welcome. Take pride that this goddess is allowing you to hold her throughout the night, HikiNEET!"

"I will. Come on, let's sleep." The young man urged, starting to feel tired. The goddess nodded, and with that, the two flopped down on the hay, holding each other in each other's arms, waiting for sleep to take them.

The feeling of sunlight in his eyes forced Kazuma to open his eyes, blinking multiple times as he tried to process his surroundings. He was holding something in his arms. The source was Aqua. He nearly freaked out until last night's events caught back up with him. 'Thank you again to whatever god or goddess made this possible!' Speaking of goddesses, the woman in his arms began to wake up herself. Her eyes fluttered open, the beauty taking a moment to take in the young man who was currently holding her close to him, her head looking up at him. The events seemed to catch back up to her, as she gave the teen a smile.

"Thank you for holding me."

"It wasn't much. Plus, I benefited from it too. I got to hold a beautiful girl all night." The young man realized too late he made a mistake.

The woman gave the adventurer a teasing smile. "Ho? I'm beautiful huh?"

Kazuma blushed, but he would not back down. "Y-Yeah, you are. Happy?"

"Very." The woman bit her lip, then averted her eyes away for a second. She stared at the teen with a look of resolve. There was something else there, something he had seen in anime/manga before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "You know…I don't think I can just say thank you and leave it at that. I think you deserve a reward~"

"Reward? What-" His answer came in what felt like an instant. The woman had shifted her body up, crashing her lips to his. Kazuma's eyes were wide open, unable to process this turn of events. 'Oh. Now I remember. That's the look of the heroine when she's about to kiss the one she loves. HOLY SHIT THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING! WHAT DO I DO?!'

There was only one thing he could do at this moment. Taking everything he had learned from porn, hentai, and kissing scenes from his favorite series, he kissed her back as best as he could. He was inexperienced, but the giggle and pleased moan from Aqua seemed to indicate he was doing something right. Their lips stayed connected, the couple finding a rhythm quickly, their make-out session growing more and more intense by the second. And then, the woman tapped her tongue against his lips, indicating she wanted to enter.

'Tongue play? I can do this! Hentai, don't fail me now!' The young man gave her entrance, and a battle of the tongues began. The fight was fierce, as the tongues fought for dominance with the other, neither side giving an inch. However, Kazuma began to take the advantage, much to the pleasure of the goddess. His tongue explored every orifice of her mouth, leaving no corner unattended. The woman tried to counter with her own exploration mission, but it was no use. She couldn't take back the advantage. Eventually, by instinct the young man began to explore her back, rubbing his hands over it, while the woman mirrored his action, touching his lower back. 'Is this really going where I think it's going?'

Before that question could be answered, there was a new problem that arose: lack of air. While the pair wanted to continue on, oxygen was an unfortunate necessity. The two ceased their kissing temporarily, panting rapidly, trying to catch their breaths. Eventually, the beautiful archpriest broke the silence. "Wow."

"Yeah." The young man replied dumbly, having no words for what just happened. "So…you like me?"

"Yep."

"When did this start?"

"Today."

The young man raised an eyebrow. "You mean you woke up, decided you liked me, and…made out with me?"

"Well…" The woman averted your eyes, "I felt like I was starting to feel…something for you after you told me about all your past and everything. You had been incredibly reliable and helped encourage me when I got banished from heaven. I think when I saw that vulnerable side to you, I think that's when it started. It felt…relatable I guess. Then, when you encouraged me after I had gotten eaten, I felt like I needed to sort them out somehow."

"Wait, so that's why you wanted me to hold you last night?" The young man asked with wide eyes.

"Well, I did want you to hold me after I had gotten eaten. I thought that if I liked being in your arms, that meant I did like you. I could kill two birds with one stone." The goddess grinned. "Pretty clever, huh?"

"More like insane, but I think I like it." The young man returned the grin with his own.

"Good. I wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. I've seen too many anime and manga where the love interests waste so much time."

"I know right!" The young man exclaimed in anger. "Just confess already! Give me my happy relationships now! Stop dragging shit!"

"Exactly!"

"I'm more surprised by the kiss."

"Well, I was probably gonna wait a bit before kissing you, but…the stars aligned." She averted her eyes in embarrassment. "I thought that for your first kiss, since you were a HikiNEET, that you'd like a kiss like that. I hope I did well. My only experience with this is porn, hentai, and anime/manga."

The young man blinked. "Marry me."

The woman's eyes widened "E-Eh?!"

The adventurer blushed. "S-Sorry, I just blurted that out."

"Oh?" The teasing smirk on the goddess returned. "I give the HikiNEET one kiss and he wants to marry a goddess. Careful Kazuma, I might be more than you can handle~"

Not wanting to lose to her, he countered back. "I'll take my chances." He tried to sound as suave as possible, but it came out awkwardly. This made the woman laugh.

"Just for making me laugh, I think you deserve another reward." She leaned in for another kiss, however, she froze, as she felt something poke her thigh.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Kazuma blushed, trying to shift away, worried he killed the mood. However, Aqua held onto him tighter.

"Ho? Is this because of me?" The woman rhetorically asked as she pointed a finger at her thigh. "So this is what you were stroking when you were jerking off in that corner days ago."

"Y-You saw?!"

"Yep!" she chirped. "Listen, I'm not mad about it. Just next time, don't do it in the presence of someone who has night vision. They might not be as lenient as I am."

"Sorry." He apologized as he averted his eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Again, I'm not mad."

"You're sure you want it to be me?" The adventurer asked, still unsure about…all of this.

"Of course. You may be perverted, but you have good qualities. You're also inexperienced, but so am I. We can figure this out together. Just let this goddess lead you, and you will stay on the right path." The goddess replied with sincerity in her eyes.

The young man paused for a moment, before nodding. "You're right. I'm…nervous about his relationship stuff. But I'll get through it, one step at a time."

The blue haired woman smiled. "Good. Now, I think I owe you another reward. And if you're a good boy, I can help your little 'problem'." She gave him a wink.

'Holy shit! Is she teasing me, or is she being serious?!' Unfortunately, Kazuma would not get the answer to that question. It turned out that horse shit was really good for cockblocking. Just when the make-out session was gonna resume, the smell penetrated the noses of the couple. Their noses scrunched up, then they immediately separated and sat up to hold their noses.

"Yuck!" The goddess exclaimed in disgust. "What does that guy feed his horses?!"

'I got cockblocked by a horse.' Needless to say, horses were now Kazuma's least favorite animals.

End Chapter

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Man, a bit longer than I had anticipated, but I like how this turned out. I like how I wrote Aqua this chapter. As for our new relationship, the flow of the story determined the stars aligned. See you guys next time for chapter 3.