An: just to be clear, the Kazuma that saved worlds is the Kazuma with a green-black tracksuit you recognized so much. As for the predecessor? Just a coincidental similar name and appearance. The world is big, not to mention multiple worlds...
"What a pain in the ass..."
Kazuma groaned, trying to ignore the condescending looks from the villagers nearby. Megumin even acted as if she didn't know him, covering her face to let the fact that she was with him remain secret.
His predecessor was quite... Excited, to put it bluntly, by the sight of many attractive girls going around within the village.
Like a hormonal teenager, he bluntly admitted his perversion and let the whole village knows that he is, indeed, a lover of a pair of huge honkers.
...this is not too bad, as reputation could be easily amended as long as he willing to change it, but it was quite awkward. Especially since his beloved is right besides him...
"This won't do."
So, after further consideration, Kazuma concluded that the first thing he has to fix is his reputation. Admittedly, his face could not be considered as unpleasant, no, perhaps it could actually be looked on as a handsome one.
It's just the damn attitude...
"Don't talk to me. You don't know me."
Even Megumin looked at him condescendingly, making him unbearably sad.
What he did not know is that if it was his predecessor, she would probably smack his face to ruin with her staff ruthlessly. Just so that the villagers would consider her not as his companion, but his enemy...
And he probably understood.
His predecessor is so fucking perverted, after all.
But in all, he just faced it all with a serene face. His heart, despite forgetting everything he'd been through, was still something that mere scornful looks could not shake.
It may forget what circumstances it had to withstand, but the hardness from the tempering it resisted in the unknown past still existed.
After all, his strongest aspect is always his heart. An unbreakable, unbending heart.
And with just that, the villagers were taken aback.
"That perverted Adventurer... Now that I looked at him again, isn't he kinda handsome?"
"Nonsense! Don't you remember how he furiously whiffed Mr. Bard's 9-year-old daughter's underwear as he giggled in delight?"
What the fuck?
When he heard the man's words, Kazuma's serene face froze.
He dumbly looked at the man who just said it, and the man shot him a disgusted look.
"What are you looking for, you shameless thing? Do you want a piece of me?!"
He just stood there dumbly, watching as the man rolled up his sleeve to prepare for a beat-up before his wife held him back, preventing him from charging ahead like a mad bull.
"Come here you sick fu%#$–!"
"Honey! It's not worth it!'
Even when the crowd had dispersed, Kazuma was still standing in the same spot.
"...Me? Sniffing a minor's underwear?"
"Unacceptable."
"Unacceptable!!!!"
As he roared the word like a chant to the sky, pouring out his rage and the injusticeness he suffered, Megumin shook her head at her foolish companion, sighing in regret.
"How did I end up with this idiot?"
-0-0-0-
"This is hopeless."
Indeed.
After racking up his brain, Kazuma concluded.
His reputation is beyond help. Beyond abysmal. His predecessor's stupidity is beyond help, beyond the range where one could redeem himself.
He took a glance at his beloved, noticing her disdaining look. His heart wrenched in misery, yet this urge to smash his head to the hardest of rocks served as a reminder of how fucking stupid his predecessor was.
No matter how great he becomes, this stupidity will be forever stamped on his face.
Cruelty could be redeemed. Betrayal, incompetence, ruthlessness...
They could be forgotten with enough merit. But this?
This is too stupid. So stupid in fact, people would still send him strange looks no matter what he does.
'But it doesn't matter.'
Kazuma smiled.
'I'm here to save the world, after all.'
People could see him in whatever way they wanted. What matters the most is whether this world could be saved or not.
Who knows, perhaps extraordinary heroes would defeat the threats on their own...
Kazuma wryly chuckled at this. His heart which has been tempered by countless failures also grimaced. If that's the case, he wouldn't be sent to save hopeless worlds, would he?
"Trashzuma, I've already ordered the breakfast. You wouldn't be so ungrateful as to ignore it, would you?"
Megumin gave him a side-eye glance, her tone flat as she reprimanded him about the food. Kazuma, despite receiving such a cold treatment, felt his heart warmed.
After what it felt like a long time, her voice reminded him again.
"I understand."
Megumin was slightly surprised at his collected countenance, but she brushed it off as a coincidence. Although she couldn't resist the urge to glance at his face. A face of that handsome figure who struggles tirelessly to protect worlds.
'If not for the similarity, how could I accept this useless pervert?'
As he slowly ate the strangely delectable breakfast, which was a fried frog leg, his eyes roamed the surroundings. An extensive space within deserved to be called the Guild Hall, in addition to its pleasant, cozy ambiance.
And when his eyes landed on the figure in front of him, who was busy peeling off the meat from the thigh bone, the place became cozier.
It was simple. But he wished he could enjoy this moment for a little longer. He wished he could spend a little more time with this girl in such coziness.
"Hey, we're gonna do a simple quest. If you dare to reject it again, I'll throw you out. Do you get me?"
Megumin's indifferent voice called him out, still staring at him with a condescending look.
He inwardly smiled. She threatened him the same way since he became her companion, yet she hadn't dumped him yet. His predecessor is quite lucky to meet her.
Although a certain factor certainly played a major role in her decision...
"Understood."
Kazuma nodded affirmatively, slowly enjoying the juicy breakfast. He was forced to admit, that this strange dish is very delicious.
After finishing the food, the duo went to the Quest Board.
"Let's hope the quest isn't the one with defective information. Eris knows how many times the quest we intended to choose turned out to be more difficult than their initial rank."
Megumin's flat voice explained. But her crimson eyes looked at him for a moment.
"I still couldn't believe your timidness saved us from these defective quests. Count your luck."
Kazuma agreed. This son of a bitch is quite lucky. For some reason, every time he refused to join, an unforeseeable accident would occur when other Adventurers accepted the quests.
Some of them even ended up dead. So in a sense, his refusal actually saved them both. Kazuma sighed, at least his stupid perverted predecessor managed to live up to his strangely high luck.
"Requested quests are unreliable these days. Let's just accept a repeated quest."
Megumin felt indignant. A requested quest is a valuable factor in increasing her rank, which also holds significantly more reward. But the authenticity isn't trustworthy these days.
So even though she's been an Adventurer for a month, she has to take a repeated quest.
A repeated quest, to put it simply, is a quest the Guild established for beginner to build up their level, reputation and power. With reputation, the requesters could judge whether the Adventurers are trustworthy or not to uphold their requests.
As for her group...
Megumin sighed again.
"In the end, we went back to our starting point. The Giant Frog it is."
It seems the aspiration to rise like a meteor isn't within her reach.
Behind her, Kazuma slightly smiled. His memory may have been lost. But muscle memory is almost impossible to be entirely forgotten.
It doesn't seem discernable. But his gait, his posture, his gaze, every bit of scrunched parts of his face... Everything has changed.
Even if he did not do it deliberately, the difference is too great. The comparison of a hormonal teenager and a man who saved worlds...
There's no comparison at all.
"Let's go."
"You got it."
It's time for a warm-up.
-0-0-0-
"So what's the plan?"
The duo observed the Giant Frogs from afar. Their every hop induced a slight, momentary earthquake, even the vast green meadow couldn't quelled it. And their size is as big as a two-story house.
With the extraordinary physique of the Adventurers, Kazuma could see how those Beginners killed these giants. Don't include his. His physique is too terrible for a comparison.
"What for? They're weak against metals. And a spell or two could probably kill them. Let's go!"
Megumin rushed out, her staff blinding as a small fireball shot out. Inwardly, she gritted her teeth.
To think I have to bear the humiliation of casting such a low-level spell!
Kazuma followed her, looking at her with an amused gaze. Her favourite remained the same after all these lifetimes. A means for utter destruction.
With a push, his figure easily surpassed her and a one-edged sword, a katana, was firmly held by his right hand.
His gaze subconsciously become cold and with a jump, he stabbed the katana into the flesh of the Giant Frog, earning him a loud wail.
"ROOOOH!"
But he remained cold. Quickly, he planted his feet on the blade and grasped the handle, pushing his body up while simultaneously took back the katana from the Giant Frog's flesh.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Kazuma, despite his terrible physique, threw himself from the air and stabbed the Giant Frog on its glabella.
"ROOOOHHHH!"
Without a chance to fight back, the Giant Frog could only drop on its side with a loud wail. It was officially dead.
Kazuma slowly stepped aside from the corpse, and he looked over at his katana. It has a couple of dents.
"Even with my light constitution, it couldn't support it. A pity."
He could feel the sweats. But he ignored them. Instead, he looked back at his beloved, her soft lips formed a gape while her spell was still floating mid-air.
"What... What was that?"
For the first time, he did not receive her cold voice. It's nothing to be proud of, but he couldn't hold back a smile.
"5, is it? Let's get done with this and do the real deal."
However, Kazuma had a strange expression on his face when he saw her. Megumin was still shocked by the sheer athleticism and control Kazuma showed, and she did not notice anything strange.
But before she could say anything else, her arm was pulled by his hand. She widened her eyes and looked back, and her intuition was right. A Giant Frog was preparing to devour her.
Recalling the sticky, smelly substance covering her whole body made her tremble.
Without a pause, the spell mid air was released, hitting it right on its face.
"RAAAHHH!"
The small explosion on its face repelled it back for a moment before it furiously hopped to them, its tongue shooting out to lash them. But it was repelled by a katana.
Kazuma pulled Megumin back without a word and rushed out. His hand grasped the coiling tongue despite his disgust and used the reverting force to throw himself towards the Giant Frog.
As soon as he neared the monster, his veins bulged out, stabbing its glabella in rage.
Trying to defile her in my sight?!
With a despairing wail, the towering frog crashed itself into the ground.
"That's too dangerous!"
Megumin was uneasy despite her condemnation towards him. In her eyes, the act of throwing himself by the giant's tongue was too taxing for his insignificant stats.
But her worry was in vain. Kazuma casually jumped down from the towering corpse and propped himself before her, showing her a small smile, "Be careful next time."
"What happened to you?"
Megumin was serious. Although she's not a veteran, the sheer confidence of his outrageous movements is too eye-catching.
Facing her big, watery crimson eyes that glistened interrogatively, Kazuma reminisced for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
"Never told you I couldn't fight, right?"
It's true. His predecessor was so scared his level came from the monster Megumin hunted alone. It's truly sad. So he never really showed his fighting prowess.
Megumin stared at him for a while, her watery eyes scrutinized him from head to toe multiple times. But as if she relented, or perhaps decided to let it go, she turned around and gestured him to follow.
"Let's finish the quest quickly. I'm somewhat hungry."
Perhaps he was now competent in her eyes, but her indifference was gone. It was still flat, but at least her tone was soft now.
Kazuma looked at the lithe yet beautiful form at the front, his eyes showed fondness and perseverance.
Please have enough strength to push forward myself.
He has abandoned the notion of God saving him long ago. After all, isn't those worlds need him to be saved?
In the end, he only has himself to depend on. But at the very least, no matter where he was and what he became, as long as she was with him, he knew she would be at his side.
She has proven to him multiple times that as long as she was there, she'd be there even when the world tell the otherwise.
Smiling to himself, Kazuma rushed out as multiple frogs ambushed Megumin from all sides, her scream was sharp in his ears.
"Damn it! Kazuma, help!"
Inwardly, Kazuma snickered. She's still as cute as ever.
"EXPLOSION!"
Kazuma's face drastically changed.
-0-0-0-
"...Thank you."
They arrived before the Guild Hall's entrance. A pair of menacing doors that easily towered their immature figures.
Kazuma who was carrying her like a princess heard her small, nigh indescribable tone. He let go of her, letting her stand on her own feet.
To preserve her dignity, Megumin adjusted the various wrinkles on her outfit and her flushed face before slowly opening one of the doors, just enough space for them to walk in.
"I'll handle the quest and transportation matter. You could order some food."
Apparently, the Giant Frog was a famous accommodation of the Guild Hall amongst Adventurers. A single corpse could be sold at over 5,000 Eris, the current currency of this world.
Although the transportation fee was imposed, it wasn't significant enough to overshadow the profit.
"Alright."
After seeing her lithe figure walk away to handle the matter, Kazuma entered the Guild Hall, slowly trodding around the place.
He truly liked the atmosphere here. Adventurers were rough and ruffians by nature, but those traits somehow completed the harmonious scenery of this hall.
"Let me tell y'all, it was hot and it was burning! Even my bald head could burn those hay to death!"
"But aren't your ugly face was enough to burn our eyes to death?!"
"Fuck! Let's fight to the death, you skewer-looking monkey!"
"Bring it on!"
Adventurer, in its essence, is a profession where one will face death all for a couple of coins for them to live. So their lack of manner is understandable.
After all, isn't it right to do whatever one wants when death keeps coming for them?
Perhaps only Adventurers who truly have confidence in their abilities could act like refined people.
Unfortunately, even amongst these unbridled lots, his reputation was too much. Even these guys disdained him.
From his place, he could feel the similar gazes, although not as apparent as those stable villagers.
"I wonder if that guy has done anything to the Crimson mage?"
"Probably sniffed around here and there. Not to mention him, even I wouldn't dare to make a move against her."
"It's still weird, isn't it? Just why did she even accept that thing?"
"Who knows? Perhaps a personal preference or something."
Kazuma unknowingly glanced at the girl, who was taking care of the quest. Not to his surprise, she only glanced at them coldly before turning around.
"Let's order something."
Reputation could be fixed, following his upcoming deeds. Currently, he just wants to eat his fill.
"Can I get the fried frog please?"
The waitress, who he called, paused. She recognized his voice and glanced at him in disdain, but she blinked when the lecherous gaze was nowhere. Instead, a pair of steady, green eyes met her own.
"I want two, and also, could you get me two of those also?"
The man gestured to the mugs of the nearby Adventurers that were filled to the brim. But his gaze never left hers.
The waitress was stunned.
This kid, he actually looked quite good?
She could only nod in her stupor. Kazuma was satisfied and sat on the nearby bench.
In his boredom, the entrance was suddenly opened, revealing an eye-catching group of people. At first, Kazuma ignored them, but a striking trait of someone piqued his interest.
A big stature along with a pair of eyes filled with arrogance and a mop of blonde hair, although it was quite superficial and was obviously retained through the dye.
A gorgeous blue-haired woman was by his side, endlessly chattering like a jukebox. She seemed to be mad, continuously fuming and screaming at him.
At a distance, a refined, beautiful young lady modestly stood inconspicuously, at least she tried to. Her blue eyes were calm. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail, like a heroic heroine. Her white armor only enhanced her noble exhibition.
And finally, at his other side stood a young girl with silky black hair. Her beauty didn't lose out. She was arguing with the woman in blue, swinging her staff everywhere.
They piqued Kazuma's interest. Because the man amidst this all...
He's the reason his predecessor gave up his own life and live like a perverted, hormonal piece of shit.
The reason his predecessor let himself rot and has no desire to fight.
After all, in his predecessor's eyes, why bother when he's more qualified than he could ever be?
The young girl at the man's side was his predecessor's childhood sweetheart who was stolen by the man when he was just a student.
In Kazuma's memory, the blue-haired woman is a Goddess who introduced his predecessor and these two the chance to reincarnate to save the world from the Demon King.
They were given three choices. To be reborn in their original world, go to heaven or reincarnate in this otherworld.
Unsurprisingly, all of them choose the third one. And when the blessings were given out, the man arrogantly chose the Goddess herself while his predecessor's childhood sweetheart chose a blessing of 100x mana capacity.
As for himself...
He was busy being mad dog and screaming at those two and chose a random blessing at the last second. He doesn't even know what he choose.
Kazuna cringed at his predecessor.
As expected of you, the one who screamed that he loves huge honkers to the whole damn town.
In the end, an angel sent them to this world. After arriving, the Goddess, the man and the childhood sweetheart left him at the side of the road, leaving him to fend for himself.
Kazuma was silent when he discovered this. But in the end, he could only smile bitterly.
The world is always unfair. So I'm not blaming you for your downfall and foolishness, my dear predecessor.
Kazuma never blamed his predecessor for what happened. After all...
He suffered worse than this. He reacted more extreme than his predecessor.
He didn't remember how, but he knew he suffered way worse than just an abandonment.
What the man has done to his predecessor was nothing but a child's play to him. Still, when children don't understand the immensity of heaven and earth, it's his obligation as an adult to teach them.
I'll need to show you what heartlessness truly means. Just leaving a person to fend for himself in a foreign world isn't gonna cut it.
It's not really revenge. It's just a veteran teaching a lesson to an amateur.
I could only hope you survived.
"Kazuma, they're here."
But a soft voice filled with concern easily filled his eyes with warmth. Kazuma saw Megumin propped herself on the opposite, throwing a pouch filled with gold coins on the table.
"120.000 Eris."
Kazuma nodded. That's hefty.
"Kazuma," Megumin gestured with her eyes, pointing at the man's group. Kazuma just indifferently glanced at them.
"What's up?"
"Don't you feel angry every time they pass by?"
"Who gets angry every time who passes by?"
Coincidentally, perhaps not, the group heard the conversation and came over. The man's eyes are filled with apparent disdain and sneer, not taking them seriously at all.
"Don't you learn from your mistake? Why are you still trying to make a girlfriend, you sack of shit?"
At his side, the Goddess reverted her gaze from him, while his predecessor's childhood sweetheart pursed her lips. The noble lady merely stood at a distance, indifferent to her surroundings.
"In the end, they'll come to me. So what the hell are you doing?!" The man laughed mockingly, smashing the table in front of him.
"Fuck off if you keep talking nonsense!" Megumin's face was red from anger. She felt humiliated.
"Be quiet! You'll be here like these girls sooner or later."
In response, the man just smirked arrogantly, his hand holding up Megumin's chin forcefully.
"Wait, why don't you do it now? Instead of being with this useless pervert, isn't it better for you to be with me, a being with the class Hero?"
Megumin actually wanted to laugh as she shoved the hand away, looking at the 'Hero' in contempt.
You? A Hero? Don't defile that title!
That figure in her dreams single-handedly took the burden of a whole world on his shoulders.
That man, that majestic, handsome figure faced hundreds of thousands of demons alone. Other than him, no one deserved to be a Hero in her heart.
With this 'Hero' who only killed dozens of monsters, is there even a need to compare?
Perhaps her companion is just similar in physicality, but even then, in her heart, he's still above any other man. The fact that he looked similar to that incomparable figure is enough.
"Don't call yourself with that title if you don't want to embarrass yourself. How long have you been an Adventurer? 1 month?"
In the past, she had been indifferent to Kazuma's misery. But today he's different. He's gentle, composed and more importantly, he's capable.
Albeit short, her impression of him undoubtedly changed
Megumin continued, albeit with a contemptuous sneer, "Not to mention a Hero, you couldn't even compare with a farmer who has been farming for a decade! Bah, what a trashy Hero you are!"
The man took a step back, his face showed apparent anger. He immediately lifted his hand to slap her.
"You bitc–"
"Say, my food has arrived. Why don't you go away?"
The man's hand was smacked away by a chopstick. Kazuma, who was preparing to eat his fil, was annoyed.
Yes, I'm a sack of shit. Yes, I don't learn from my mistake. Yes, my companion will be snatched away again.
But what's your opinion of me has anything to do with me?
Do you think I give a damn about you?
"Now fuck off. Do you have to be reminded twice?"
The man was taken back at Kazuma's casual yet brutal remark. His bulged eyes stared at Kazuma for a while, but that's his mistake.
Because the chopsticks immediately poked his eyes.
"GAHHH!"
"Damn, so noisy."
It's good enough that he did not decimate the hand that touched his beloved. He only pokes his eyes out.
"I'll fight you to death!"
Kazuma only sneered, "And what does that have anything to with me?"
Damn predecessor, how could you be ruined by such an idiot? And how in the world did your childhood sweetheart get stolen from you by this bastard?
Maybe he was too smart? Or perhaps these people are too stupid? Kazuma was puzzled.
Megumin blankly watched as the man stumbled by Kazuma's outstretched leg, landing on his face.
The Goddess also looked at the spectacle, she was clearly speechless. The black-haired girl besides her already turned around, perhaps she was too embarrassed to be recognized as his companion.
The noble lady only watched silently, her blue eyes glinted when she looked at Kazuma.
"How brutal..."
"Fucking bastard, you think my time isn't precious? I clearly wanted to eat, but you have to spout so much shit. Tell me, isn't your butthole jealous of your mouth because of how much shit it spouts out?"
The Adventurers strangely looked at the spectacle. The infamous pervert was scolding a crying, curled-up 'Hero' while kicking him continuously.
It's clearly his fault, but I couldn't help feeling a little bad.
Their gaze turned into pity. A big burly man who entitled himself as the 'Hero' curling up on the floor while being scolded is too tragic.
"Mercy! Mercy!"
"Damn bastard, I'll beat you to death..."