A Goddess's Champion

A Konosuba One Shot by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Konosuba is the property of Natsume Akatsuki, Yen Press, and Drive. Please support the official release.

Given Aqua's stats, it seemed ridiculous that she could be hurt... But a construction site was still dangerous, no matter what your stats are. And hey... Her intelligence and luck were still shit.

I heard her scream on the other side of the building we were working on. I ran to the sound, fully expecting to find her having dropped some bricks or something, again...

Any thought of mocking her vanished the second I got a look at her. Her foot was smashed under a load of bricks. Some of the other workers were pulling the bricks off as fast as they could. I heard someone yell about getting a priest from the temple of Eris.

It was twenty minutes away.

I dropped down and held Aqua. She was sobbing in her agony. She immediately clutched onto me, desperate eyes filled with tears boring into me.

Goddamnit... I didn't have any spells, she was the healer! But she couldn't do anything, not in this state! Shit, shit, shit, what could I do?! What could I do?! She was a goddess, and she was helpless to... To...

Wait. She was a goddess in human form, but she had to listen to prayers, right? And fulfill them?

"HEY!" I shouted at the nearby workers trying to clear the bricks. "Pray with me! Pray to Aqua!"

"What?" One of the leaders asked in disbelief. "What's that gonna do-?!"

"I'm a follower of Eris!" Shouted the other.

"Aqua's a priestess of Aqua! Pray to her! DO IT! RIGHT NOW!" I shouted frantically. I looked back down into Aqua's eyes. She was in so much pain, pleading with me in silence to do something. I stroked her head. I took a deep breath. I was already on my knees, so I bent my head and closed my eyes.

"Aqua... Lady Aqua," I prayed, "Please heal this woman. Please hear my prayer. Please... Help my... Help my friend. Heal her. I pray to you, please, hear my plea! PLEASE!"

Come on... Work... WORK... WORK DAMNIT!

Aqua's body lit up with magic. In an instant, smacked muscles and broken bones mended themselves. Aqua panted hard, clutching at me tightly. I opened my eyes and smiled in triumph, as the local workers gasped in shock.

"It-It's a miracle!"

"She answered our prayers!"

"Praise be to Aqua!"

"It's okay," I murmured, "You're okay."

She sniffled, and hugged me tightly as she cried. This wasn't loud crying and wailing like she'd usually do. They were quiet, girly sobs of relief.

They were... Almost cute?

NOPE! Nope! Not even gonna go down that route! Aqua has been nothing but an annoyance from day one and that hasn't changed! Not even now!

"Hey! Kazuma, Aqua!"

The foreman walked up. I looked up to him.

"Ah, boss-?"

"Hey," the Foreman said, "You two head home, huh? Full pay today. You've gone through enough."

He shook his head, and dished out a few gold coins.

"Hell, here. You two recover in the inn for tonight. You shouldn't rest in some stables after that!"

"W-Wow, thanks!" I gasped in amazement. The old man was tough but fair, but being generous like this? It was incredible!

"Come on, Aqua," I said, helping her up. "You good to walk?"

"Y-yeah," Aqua admitted, "Um... My boots-"

The foreman shook his head.

"Don't worry about them. We'll get ya some old ones tomorrow. Go on!"

"Er... Kazuma," Aqua said, "You uh... You mind carrying me? Ya know, given my injury, and all..."

I sighed. I pulled her onto my back. She clung to me tightly, as though afraid to slip off. And I could feel... Her breasts... Her thighs-

NO! NO! NONE OF THAT! THIS IS AQUA DAMNIT! YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!

"That was honestly amazing!" One of the workmen who had prayed said. He grinned. "I think I'll join the Axis Temple!"

"Me too!"

"Same here! I mean... I love Lady Eris, but that kind of miracle is astonishing!"

Aqua grinned.

"Well... Seeing as I'm an archpriestess, I'm very glad to welcome you into the fold!" Aqua said cheerfully. "Meet me in the temple this Sabbath and we'll work things out from there to serve the greatest goddess ever!"

I sighed. Well, at least that was the same about her...

Of course we only had enough money for one room at the inn. I sighed, still warm and fresh from the baths.

"Still... Beats sleeping in a stable," I mumbled. I was going to switch to my tracksuit, when the door opened. In walked Aqua, in her magically generated clothes. Her hair was down though, and she was drying it with a towel. It actually looked very nice on-

NOOOOO! SHE'S THE USELESS GODDESS SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP-!

"H-Hey," I managed, keeping my eyes away from her face.

"Hey," Aqua said softly. She shut the door behind her. She walked up to me. "So uh... One bed, huh?"

"Yup, one bed," I chuckled.

Aqua nodded slowly.

"Good," she said.

"Good," I replied.

Silence fell again. Aqua cleared her throat again.

"Um... I... I wanted to thank you."

I chanced a glance at her face-She was blushing, and her eyes were averted. With her hair down I-

NO NO NO SHUT UP SHUT UP STOP! DON'T YOU DARE!

"I... You know... W-We're in this together," I stuttered. "We uh, we have to defeat the Demon King to send you home and all, right? So, no worries."

"You prayed to me," Aqua murmured. "You... You believed in me enough to save me?"

"I... It was a hunch?" I tried. "I mean uh... I thought it would work... I wanted to save you-"

"You believe in me?"

I blinked at her. The question was filled with a kind of anxiety. All this time so far, I thought I'd figured this bratty goddess out. But the way she looked at me, vulnerable, almost desperate...

Look. I'm an asshole. But I'm not that big of a dick.

"Yeah... Yeah. I believe in you, Aqua," I murmured.

She lit up like the sun. Her eyes, as clear blue as the sea, seemed to glow. It was like I could see the sea in its entirety, from the foamy surface down to the mysterious depths. Something truly divine, especially in the warmth of her smile-

NO! NO! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!

Aqua interrupted my mental admonishment by clearing her throat, none too delicately.

"Can you check your Adventurer's Card?" She asked softly.

I blinked. I rummaged for the card in my tracksuit and pulled it out. I looked over my stats. My eyes widened in shock.

"Huh?!"

I mean... They weren't stellar, but everything had jumped up by a few points! My luck and intelligence had also been improved!

"Huh? How...?"

My eyes went down to some text on the card. My jaw dropped.

Divine Champion - You are Blessed by the Goddess Aqua

Aqua rested a hand on my own. She squeezed it. I looked up into Aqua's warm eyes. I suddenly noticed she was very, very close...

She breathed out softly, warm air washing over my face. My cheeks went red at the soft, genuine smile she gave me.

"Kazuma..."

"Y-yes, I'm Kazuma," I stuttered.

"I felt your prayer. You were so... So genuine, so caring for me... How could I not make you my champion?" She asked softly. "I-I mean... The stat boosts will be modest, for now, but you'll grow even more. We'll have better synergy, I'll be able to buff and boost you better... And..."

She pressed her forehead to mine.

"You have served me so well," Aqua murmured, "I should-I want to reward my champion."

I wanted to open my mouth to protest. I wanted to tense my muscles to pull away. A voice in my head was still screaming that this was Aqua, the bratty goddess who had mocked me for my death and been utterly useless so far...

Then she kissed me. My first kiss ever. And... Goddamnit.

I kissed her back.

Maybe later I'll blame her making me her champion for my sudden intelligence drop. It would make sense, why I was pulling her onto the bed with me and kissing her back clumsily.

But not tonight.

Notes:

Inspired by a few other Kazuma/Satou fics. I decided to make a quick one shot because I was inspired.

And I mean it. This will be a one-shot!