AN: Hey all! Sorry this took longer to be finished. I had to do some IRL stuff. Nothing new to note, have fun reading.
Afternoon(Kazuma POV):
"I'm so sorry Kazuma-san!" Eris apologized to me privately in a back alley. She bowed to me an absurd amount of times to the point that I lost count.
"I'm so confused right now."
We were out gathering supplies for tonight when she randomly went silent. When we exited the store she dragged me off to a nearby alleyway, much to my dismay.
"Can you please tell me what's going on."
Eris stopped bowing and looked up at me. "Kazuma-san, can you do me a favor?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you please forget about everything I did from the moment I woke up, up until now?" Eris presented her pinky to me. "Promise me okay?"
I outstretched my hand. "Wait a second, what exactly are you saying?" I withdrew my pinky.
"Y-You see Kazuma-san…" Eris' face went flush. "When you woke me up… I was still drunk from all the wine I drank from the previous night… I remember everything I did and it's all so embarrassing!" Eris groaned.
"Ugh- I can't believe I actually did that! Oh and that too! UGH-" Eris groaned harder.
Eris sighed. "Can you please promise- wah?!"
Staaareee
"W-What's with that stare!?" Eris said.
I narrowed my eyes on her. "That's the most bullshit excuse I've ever heard."
"-Huh!?"
During my NEET days I came up with excuses to stay home. I came up with all sorts of excuses, things like my school having an infestation issue so all of our classes were canceled for the next week. I'm practically an expert on making up excuses and the one Eris came up with is something an amateur would say.
"What's with that look!?" Eris returned my stare with one of her own.
"Not buying it." My voice was as stale as week old bread that's been sitting on the table.
"But it's the truth!" Eris pleaded.
"Yeaaah… There's no way you could've been drunk. I doubt wine would've lasted that long and I don't think any drunkard could explain complex concepts without error like you supposedly did." I intensified my stare.
"Well… the wine I drank was extremely heavy, especially compared to the wine down here. A couple of those wine bottles can knock out Senpai like it was nothing." Eris explained.
"And how many of those did you drink?"
Eris turned away from my gaze. "A couple…e.d…" She murmured out the last part.
"What was that? I didn't quite hear you." Sarcasm was present in my voice.
"A-About…w…d…r…e…"
"Spit it out already!"
Eris jumped back. "Fine! Just don't judge me alright!"
I waved my hand at her; 'Continue'
"…About two hundred…"
"What the!?"
I flinched a little.
"Are you…okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. You can stop poking me! I'm not gonna fall over!"
"If a couple can knock out Aqua and you drank that many… are you sure you're not going to collapse on me?"
Eris sighed. "Yes, I won't fall over at random. I'm positive all of it is out of my system by now. So can you please stop staring at me like that?"
Staaareee
Now that I think about it…
"…Hey Eris?"
"Yes?"
"Do Goddesses need to use the bathroom?"
SLAAP!
Shop Backroom:
"Seriously, how does Auto-Dodge not work against you?" I massaged my cheek. "It still hurts even after healing it."
We finished up our shopping and returned back to the shop. Vanir was waiting for us in the back of the store, he prepared a table for us to sit at as well as some tea.
"You can out-luck me Kazutrash. I may be weaker but I'm still as lucky as ever." Eris pridefully said.
"Welcome back brats, Moi takes it the supply gathering went well?" Vanir greeted us with an uncanny smile.
Eris twitched a bit. "I forgot this devil was here. Tell me Kazuma, do we really need this low-life? Now that my mind is clear, I can condemn it back to Hell where it belongs without issue. Just give me the word." Her voice was dripping with venom.
"Oi brat, calm down your hound. Moi is already tired of this bickering." Vanir waved his hand at me.
Crack~
Eris cracked her knuckles.
"Assistant, don't you think we work better together? This thing will just get in our way and blow our cover. I don't even know why you're working with it in the first place."
I put my hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.
"Grrr-" She gave me a death glare and snarled at me!
Vanir stood up from his seat. "Moi has to take care of the customers, please put that Goddess on a leash. Once Moi returns we will begin discussion on the plan." Vanir walked out.
"Go ahead Kazuma-san, put a leash on me. Or do I have to purify you of that Devil's influence?" She eyed me down.
I swear I can see actual venom dripping from her mouth.
"Uhhhh…"
I decided the best course of action was to tell her how I became associated with the All-Seeing Devil.
"Ahah- you see…"
"He's not THAT bad. Trust me on this." I took a sip out of my tea cup.
Eris put down her cup. "That's not really reassuring, at all."
"Look just trust me on this, Vanir won't cause any issues, in fact he's not even going to be participating in the raids. That's OUR thing."
"And I sorta made a deal with him… I can't really break that." I added.
I REALLY do not want to be tormented by him.
"…I admit he doesn't sound as bad as other Devils I've dealt with. By how you described him, it seems he really helped you out. Plus he helped out Darkness with her debt…" Eris massaged her temple.
SLAM!
Eris slammed her head against the table! "Ughhhh… fine. I won't purify the Devil..." She groaned. "Why do I trust you so much!?"
"As long as the Devil doesn't hurt anyone I won't purify it…" She mumbled.
"Deal?"
With her head still planted on the table she held her pinky high and out towards me.
I took my own pinky and interlocked it with hers.
"Deal."
I've officially recruited Eris to the cause.
Properly this time.
"I'll go get Vanir." I went to the curtain that connects to the front of the shop.
"No need!"
I turned around and saw Vanir emerging from the shadows.
"Moi never left in the first place! Hohoho!" He sat back down in his chair. "Now, shall we start the discussion?"
"I'm already regretting my decision…" Eris groaned.
Me and Eris both took our seats across from him.
Snap!
Vanir snapped his fingers and a large piece of paper appeared on the table.
Hey!
"What the hell!? Why do you have this!?"
On the table was a map of the mansion. The entire layout was drawn out! There's even little drawings of me and the girls in our rooms!
"Moi is taking this very seriously so cease your whining." Vanir hushed me down.
"Hrk-" I sat back down with a huff.
"Moi will now explain the task, listen carefully children."
He pointed to my bedroom, a crude drawing of me was present.
"Thou's target objective is located in that room." Vanir moved a dirt flag to my room on the map.
"Wait hold on!" Eris interrupted. "What exactly are we stealing here?"
"Moi will explain it later as it is more relevant to another point."
Eris sat back down. "Fine…Continue."
"Thou's goal is to infiltrate the mansion and into the degenerate boy's room where a multitude of depraved and perverted activities take place on a daily basis."
Eris side-eyed me, her gaze filled with discomfort and disgust.
I too am already regretting this decision.
With a newly formed smile Vanir pointed to the backside of the mansion. "Through experience Moi has concluded that the best point of entry is the back of the mansion."
"Hold it!" Eris slammed her hand on the table. "How are we even going to get past Senpai's's barrier!? Kazuma over here told me that he almost got turned into fried toad food when he touched the thing."
"Moi is glad you asked, hound dog of heaven!" Vanir laughed.
Eris' eye twitched but she stayed silent.
Vanir turned to me. "Does thee remember the red manatite thou had been forced to wear?"
I nodded; yes.
"The other hound dog of a Goddess used her abilities to overcharge the thing with energy to the point that it unlatched from the psychotic mage and made its way onto your own neck. Now I ask thee this; Does thou remember the secondary reason on why thou bought it in the first place?" He extended his hand to me.
"Remember." He urged.
"…To give the land the time to repair itself." I answered.
"Does thou remember anything else that caught thee's attention about the environment?" He smiled.
"Uh- how it's not entirely burned down to oblivion? And-"
"And how the tarnished environment repairs itself so swiftly?" Vanir cut me off, his smile morphed into a grin.
The grinning devil continued. "You see brat(s), a lot of things present in nature had adopted the trait of swiftly building immunity over centuries of constant destruction. This just so happened to include red manatite." Vanir's eerie smile reached its peak.
"When that alcoholic forcefully unlatched the product with her filthy magic, the red manatite embedded inside naturally started forming a resistance to her power, and at a rapid pace at that."
Me and Eris exchanged stares.
"When Brat#1 brought it back to Moi, it had already built a resistance to her power, all Moi needed to do was fine tune it and bring out the most of it."
Vanir brought his free hand forward and presented us with two bracelet-like objects, two pieces of red manatite present on each one. "Here is the final product, one for the boy and one for the girl." He laid them down on the table.
"This also relates to the topic of thou's target."
"Huh? Is it more red manatite?" Eris questioned.
"No, rather it's a devilish item you've become quite accustomed to." Vanir answered.
Eris stared at me, her expression showed slight irritation.
"It's my thieving mask… please stop staring at me like that."
Vanir turned to her. "The boy is correct! The same stylish mask that has helped thou a number of times through-out your various play sessions in the shadows of corrupted homes of nobles! How does it feel knowing that thou's success was due to my intervention?"
Vanir smugly smirked at Eris.
Eris took a sip out of her tea cup. "Oh? So you were the shopkeeper who sold him that children's mask? Fufufu~ I never would've guessed the Legendary Crow Slayer was actually just a lowlife Devil." Eris giggled, putting a hand over her mouth.
Vanir intensified his stare and Eris turned hers into a glare!
SLAM!
"Hey! Quit the damn fighting! Stay on topic idiots!" I slammed my hand against the table.
"Fine…"
"…My apologies-"
Vanir cleared his throat. "Back onto the topic. Yes, the boy is correct, thou's target is the Limited Edition Vanir Mask. The reason Moi desires it is because Moi believes it will be a great asset for our future endeavors as business partners."
Vanir moved the map towards us. "That is all Moi has to say about the infiltration. Both of you may look over the map and plan as much as you need."
"Great, got it." Eris snatched the two red manatite bracelets and handed me one. "We use these to break through the barrier, right?"
"Yes- oh Moi forgot to mention. You two would only have a limited amount of time before the red manatite embedded within gets overwhelmed and shattered by the holy energy from the barrier, Moi foresees that you have approximately twenty minutes before that happens."
"Just because it has built a resistance doesn't make it immune to the effects of the barrier. That is main reason why both of you need to infiltrate today as if thou doesn't, the mask would get overwhelmed by the energy that it will shatter, it's devilish power can't withstand it for long, even if it already built up a resistance due to the amount of time it had laid dormant there."
"Why didn't you bring that up earlier!?"
"It had simply slipped my mind."
"Let's just plan out our infiltration for now."
"Good idea."
After some time we finished up our final planning.
"One last thing, Eris?" I turned to her.
"Hmm?"
"Hand me your adventurer card."
"Oh yeah, here it is." She handed it to me it. "It's a good thing I remembered about my secret stash I kept in this town. Too bad none of my spare clothes fit me anymore… ugh." She seemed conflicted.
I took a look at her card. "Yep, just as I expected. Your little hybrid-thing situation affected your stats too."
Her adventurer card was a mess! Her stats were constantly changing numbers, it was stuck in some sort of limbo, never repeating the same number too. Some stats were jumbled messes of text. It had letters and characters that didn't belong in there.
One thing that didn't change was her luck, it was still as broken as it used to be.
Guess that'll never change.
Her skills were no different. The slots were they would usually be were replaced by rapidly flashing colors. There was only two skills that weren't a total mess.
Lurk and Steal.
"Looks like you're pretty much back at being a newbie in terms of adventuring skills." I handed the card back to her.
"Yeah… but you'll help me get through it right..?" She asked.
"Wouldn't be much of a team if I didn't…"
"See? This is why I trust you so much!" Eris playfully punched me.
"Yeah-yeah, but before all that, we need to get you new clothes, or at least something you can use to sneak around in."
Her new outfit isn't really helpful outside of looking like an idol. A very out of place idol. I swear she's bringing more attention to us with such a unique outfit!
"What's wrong with this one? Don't you like it?"
"I-I do! It's just that it won't really be any use when it comes to thievery, that's all. Please stop looking sad! You're going to make me sad!"
"…I guess you're right." She walked over to a couple of boxes in the corner and picked out a mirror from it. "Honestly I don't even know what I was going for when I was designing this. I think I was going for something cute and adorable because that's how I usually design all the outfits you wear from back in my room."
"That smiley face isn't helping either." I pointed out.
"Hey! At least I did a good job! Frankly I think I outdid myself with how well designed this outfit is! Just look at the way it compliments my hair! But yes, I agree, I need some new clothes. I'll go buy some right now, hopefully they have some darker clothing."
"I have to buy clothes in general, I'm locked out of my wardrobe. Hopefully I won't get manhunted again…"
We made our way to the exit.
"Ah- Moi forgot to mention this but the red manatite may retain some of its original mana sabotaging characteristics. Moi has tried to dull it out as much as possible."
"Why do you keep forgetting things like this!?"x2
AN: Italics in quotation marks indicate whispering. EX: "Look how cool I am!". Not Whispering: "I am not cool!".
Night
The sun had set two hours ago and the night sky was dark. Me and Eris were in front of the mansion gate.
"Remember, we're running on limited time here. If we take too long the red manatite will die on us and we'll probably get fried in there." I explained to Eris.
She fidgeted with her bracelet. "Don't say it like that! I'm trying not to think about the potential consequences!"
Speaking of Eris, she swapped out her idol outfit for something that'll let her sneak around easier. Unfortunately Chris' outfit didn't fit her anymore, specifically the chest and thigh area. She had to buy new outfits.
At least people won't confuse her for a boy anymore.
I turned to Eris. "Scumzuma…"
"W-Wait what did I do!?"
"I know that look. You really didn't change after all that happened?" She sighed. "It's strangely comforting…" She smiled.
Anyways, Eris was wearing a simple black sweater and pants. Her hair was tied into a bun to avoid any potential problems with her long hair. I decided to just use my black cloak as it did its job well enough. We both wore black face masks that covered our mouths.
Eris complained that we couldn't go with some more stylish outfits because of the timing and that we just look like common thieves instead of the Legendary Chivalrous Thieves.
I can sympathize with her on that.
"You ready?" I asked.
"It's been a while since we've been out and about like this, but I think we'll be fine!" She winked at me.
"Glad to hear it!"
I went to the bush in front of me and started fishing around inside it.
"Got it." I pulled out the hidden key I used this morning and unlocked the gate.
Screeeech!
The gate opened with a screech despite my efforts.
"We're going to need to wear the red manatite if we want to proceed any further. And just a heads up, judging from personal experience, Aqua would probably be making the other two stand guard. We just have to get the mask and leave, we can deal with her another day." I warned.
Eris nodded to my words.
We opened our red manitite bracelets and latched them onto our wrists.
Click!
They snapped into place.
"Remember we are on a STRICT time limit. If we don't get out within twenty minutes we're screwed! We have to be as fast as possible while also making sure we don't get caught."
"Are you forgetting who you're talking to? I'm the Legendary Chivalrous Thief! This isn't my first rodeo Assistant and it isn't yours either. Stop worrying about it too much, we'll be fine." Eris calmly and proudly said.
I remembered the castle raid I did with Chris. In terms of danger, infiltrating the Royal Castle was far more dangerous than what we're doing now.
"…Good point. We should start the infiltration now."
I entered through the gate and Eris followed through. My wrist started shining with a red light. I turned around and saw Eris covered in a veil of red light, her wrist also shining.
"Woah…"
We stuck to the outer sides of the mansion and traveled near the bushes, careful not to make any noise.
Eventually we made it to the back of the mansion.
"The barrier is at its weakest here, that should buy us some more time." I whispered to Eris.
"Hey! Look over there!" She pointed to an open window. "Let's sneak in from there."
"Hold it!" I yanked Eris back.
"OW! Watch it will you!?" She hissed at me and massaged her head.
"Doesn't that look at tiny bit suspicious to you?"
Ding!
"Yep, trap detection is going off."
"…Wow. You're really getting the hang of this thief stuff huh? Who knows, maybe some day you'll get a promotion. Ugh, I've been relying too much on my skills, now that they're voided I'm being too reckless. Thanks anyway Assistant." Eris gave me a thumbs up.
"Where to infiltrate…ah! Say Assistant, follow me. I know exactly where to get in from." With a wink Eris ran to the far side of the mansion wall where there were some overgrown plants covering a part of it.
"Psst! Give me a hand with these things!" Eris started clawing and ripping the plants off the wall and I started doing the same.
"Ah! There it is!" With one final tug Eris tore off one large piece of moss covering something.
"Ta-da!" Eris shone the red light to wall and revealed a window!?
"I didn't even know there was a window here! How the hell did you know!?" Eris avoided my stare.
"We're so talking about this when this is over!"
With a sigh I approached the now exposed window and gave it a slight push.
Creeeek
The window surprisingly opened without issue.
I took a peek inside and luckily there were no traps.
"I'm going in. Can you see in the dark?" I asked Eris.
"Not as much as I used to but I can still make out things as well as you can."
"Just stay close to me. I don't want us getting separated in the dark."
"Maybe I should promote you right now with how serious you're taking this." Eris teased.
"I don't want to get fried again!"
With that final statement I climbed up and hopped through the window. I landed in a… closet? A small one at that.
I waited for Eris to join me.
"Hey Assistant, any idea where we are? It's pretty cramped in here and I don't know how I should feel with you being this close to me."
"I'm not going to do anything! But we're probably in a storage closet of some sorts?"
I shone my bracelet around. The red light illuminated our surroundings.
"Is that a mop?" Eris said.
"Hey, raise your bracelet up high." I told Eris and she did so. I raised mines as well.
With both our wrists held up high we were able to see our surroundings, albeit in a crimson red light.
Turns out I was right, we are in a storage closet, a very very cramped one. There was a mop and a bucket in a depressing corner, with the bucket being ontop of the mop, sorta like a helmet, definitely the work of Aqua. A couple feet in front of us was the door.
I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Creeeeek
"You guys seriously need to grease your door hinges."
"I definitely will. No door should be this squeaky."
The closet opened up to the kitchen.
"Seriously? The kitchen had a closet? We just use the cabinets to store dry food."
"I'm surprised that got your attention and not the fact that the lights are still on."
"Ah, that's important too."
Eris was right, the candles were still lit and likely the whole mansion was too. On the window was a trip wire hooked up to a bell.
"Really? That's their uber deadly trap that activated your skill?"
"Apparently so."
We made our way out of the kitchen and just as I expected, all the lights were still on.
"Looks like sticking to shadows isn't an option anymore." I sighed. "Seriously, how does Aqua know how to screw me over whenever we're on opposing sides!? It's past midnight! There's no way anyone would've been awake unless they knew we were coming!"
"Ahah… Senpai always had this knack of being extremely perceptive and tricky to deal with whenever she put her mind to it." Eris nervously laughed.
We continued down the hall way until we reached the living room.
I grabbed Eris' arm. "Boss, they might be hiding in here. We have to use lurk. The stairs are past here, we don't have much longer."
Eris nodded.
With lurk active we stuck to the walls of the living room.
Suddenly Eris stopped. She looked back to me and yanked me down. "Stay down, cover your bracelet, and don't move."
TIP-TAP! TIP-TAP!
Footsteps can be heard from the hallway! Someone is coming!
Aqua marched into the room with her pajamas on. She was mimicking a soldier's march, she was even carrying a baton, albeit a rubber one instead of a real one.
"Oi Darkness!" She yelled.
"Yes!?" Darkness' voice rang out from the hallway behind her, she was upstairs by the sound of it.
"I'll be getting a snack from the kitchen! Keep patrolling! I just know that NEET is going to try something today, my Goddessie instincts are tingling!"
"Roger that!" Darkness responded.
Aqua stepped forward into the living room. "Ugh… So tired… That NEET can be real annoying to deal with." She put her rubber baton down on the sofa and then laid on it herself. She yawned and stretched. "A little nap won't hurt…Zzzz…"
Seconds later snoring filled the room.
"Still the same as ever…" Eris whispered.
Me and Eris carefully crossed the living room and made it to the hallway, once we made it we deactivated lurk.
The staircase was right in front of us.
I tried to go up but Eris stopped me. "Assistant, look at our bracelets."
The shine from the red manatite was significantly duller. The veil protecting Eris was thinner as well.
"I don't think we have that much time left. We have to hurry and get out before we get fried!" Eris urged me.
…
"Screw the stealth! I'm not going through that hell again!"
In a heartbeat I ran up the stairs.
"Huh!? Wait up!" Eris called out from behind.
Me and Eris were running through the mansion halls, completely discarding the idea of stealth. Frankly I care more about not being in horrible and excruciating pain than looking cool.
"Hey! Where's your room!?" Eris yelled.
"Just…*huff* around the…*puff* corner!."
We turned the corner at lighting speeds!
"There it… *puff* is!"
My room was in reach!
"Maow?"
We screeched to a stop!
"MAOW!" Chomusuke jumped away and avoided getting ran on.
"Hey…*wheeeze* girl… *Cough* give me a second… urk!"
"You really need to start exercising." Eris said.
Chomosuke tilted her head in confusion.
"Did you… *puff* miss me?" I extended my arm to pet her, the dim glow of the bracelet catching her attention.
"HISS!" Chomosuke jumped back and started hissing violently! Her hair was all standing up and her hissing showed no signs of stopping.
"Huh!?" I tried again to calm the ferocious feline.
"HISSSS!" Same result.
Chomosuke ran away!
"Huh? What's wrong Chomosuke? Do you want me to follow you?" Darkness voice echoed through the hallway!
"KAZUMA! Where the hell are you!? You're not supposed to be here!" Aqua yelled out!
Footsteps were coming from both sides and they were quickly closing in!
RATTLE! RATTLE!
Eris was desperately trying to open the locked door to my room!
"Do something already!" She urged me!
"U-UH! Open lock!"
Click!
The door unlocked and Eris dashed in.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Aqua voice echoed through the hallway! Her voice was quickly getting louder and louder as she closed the distance between us.
In a split second I dashed into my room.
SLAM!
Click!
Eris locked the door and pressed her body against it!
"Hurry up and get the mask! I'll hold it shut!"
BANG!
"OPEN UP KAZUMA!" Aqua's angrily yelled!
"Kazuma?! He's in there!?" Darkness asked Aqua.
"GO CUT HIM OFF FROM OUTSIDE! HE'S NOT LEAVING HERE IN ONE PIECE!"
"On it!" Darkness obeyed. Footsteps indicated her exit.
I hurriedly ran across my room and shoved the chair hiding my stash out of the way. I started desperately pulling the floorboard out.
Creeek!
One down!
Oooh… I'll save this for later…
Creeek!
Ah ha!
I uncovered the final floorboard protecting my secret storage. The limited edition Vanir mask inside was glowing with a bright purple light. It was as bright as a flame.
I grabbed it along my thieving outfit and stuffed it inside a sack I brought along.
"Oi! Boss! I got it! Now let's bail!" I presented the sack full of treasure to her.
"You brought a sack!? Now we actually look like common thieves! Screw the promotion, you're getting demoted! Hey! Are you even listening to me!?"
I was too busy opening my window to escape this hell to care.
Suddenly!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Multiple footsteps came running to the door.
"A-Aqua! Stop! W-Wait!" Darkness' voice desperately called out.
"NO CAN DO DARKNESS! I'M NOT LETTING THIS NEET GET AWAY FROM ME THIS TIME!"
"GOD-"
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
"Onii-sama! *huff* I'm here to visit! Huh!? Aqua-san what are you do-"
Iris..?!
"BLOW!"
As is on instinct I ran to Eris as fast as possible and grabbed her arm.
BLAM!
Aqua's God Blow knocked the door off its hinges and sent it flying straight through my window! What the hell?!
Luckily I reached Eris in time for Auto-Dodge to activate and swerve both of us to safety.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Aqua pointed to me. "Huh? Who the hell are you!?" She looked at Eris. "Ooh, I like your hair!"
"Uh…" Eris opted out for a proper response and just looked away.
"Anyways, any last words?" Aqua cracked her knuckles and gave me a maniacal glare.
"Onii-sama..?"
I'm so sorry Iris…
I quickly wrapped my hand around Eris and covered her eyes, she flinched but didn't resist. I closed my eyes as well.
"Flash!"
A bright light engulfed the room and seconds later…
"MY EYES!"
"Guh!"
"MAOW!"
"OW! OW! OW! It burns! It burns! Onii-sama what the H is wrong with you!?"
Cries of pain can be heard.
Heavy fatigue suddenly dragged me to the ground.
Eris grabbed my arm and put it around her shoulder to help me maintain balance.
"We need to get out of here now!" With Eris' help we reached the shattered window.
"I'll jump down first and then you go. I'll catch if you anything goes wrong." And with that Eris jumped out of the window with ease. I looked outside and she landed without issue.
I cleared away any shards and climbed on the edge of it.
I tried to jump but something grabbed my cloak!
I looked behind me to see Aqua grabbing onto me. She was wincing in pain, one eye was red and slightly open with tears leaking from it while the other was shut completely.
"I'm… Not… Letting… You… Go..! I… Won't..!" The teary girl said in between pained cries.
I brought my mask down.
I gave her a snarky smile. "You.Lose."
I unlatched my cloak and jumped out.
[Third Person] Meanwhile During the Raid:
"Great." A hooded figure hid in some bushes on top a hill, observing the mansion of the local delinquent and hero.
"It took a while to shake those adventurers off me. Seriously, can they take a damn hint!? I had to get rid of my influence on them just so they'll leave me alone!" The girl sighed. "I can't get close to the stupid mansion without getting creeped out… As soon as I get remotely close, I get overwhelmed with fear and dread. It's as if every part of my being is screaming at me to get away. Is it the barrier? I never saw a barrier ensue that much power to the point of affecting me to this degree."
"Well, this is the best I can do. I just have to observe and learn more about him. If I can gather enough information about him and his party, I should be able to carry out my plan without issue."
"Eh? What's this?"
A carriage arrived at the mansion gates, a pristine and beautiful one at that. A moment later a small blond girl stepped out and made a mad dash to the front door with the biggest smile on her face.
It took a while before the stalker could realize the identity of the girl.
She flinched. "No… It can't be! The Princess!? What is she doing here?!" She snuck deeper into her bush."That brat was strong enough to stand up against me, so what is someone like her doing here, and at such a late time as well?"
"L-Lady Ir- she's already gone…" The driver, a woman with a floppy hat, got off the carriage and called out to her.
"S-Should we follow her..?" Another woman, this one oddly being dressed in a white suit asked.
"Escorts… Huh? Is she… shaking? Wait, both of them are. Strange…" The bush lurker took note of their strange behavior.
"D-Do you think he'll be mad that we bothered him at such a late hour?! We tried to stall but that just made things worse for us!"
"P-Please don't make think about it!"
Both of them started panicking.
"This is strangely amusing to watch, heheh."
Just before the Princess reached the door, a tall blonde woman in a pink nightgown opened it and ran outside. Unfortunately she didn't get far as she quickly took notice of the carriage and the girl running straight at her.
Her expression stiffened and paled. "P-Princess Iris!?" W-What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit of course!" She scooted past her and ran inside.
The extremely baffled blonde shook her head and ran back in. "Wait! It is far too late for a visit! Please come back tomorrow!" She shouted.
The bush girl was confused.
A breeze blew right into her face.
"Achoo…" She sneezed and her expression immediately changed into one of annoyance.
Despite the sneeze being almost entirely silent, it didn't go undetected from one of the woman's heightened hearing.
"Rain!" She called out to the driver.
She flinched. "Y-Yes?"
"I heard someone from a top that hill! I'm going to investigate, for the safety of the Princess." White Suit took out her sword and began trekking to the Bush Monster's hiding spot.
"I'll go with you!" The driver quickly went to the carriage's driver's seat to retrieve her staff and followed suit.
Both were relieved to avoid having to talk to Kazuma, frankly they rather charge into battle than have to face his wrath.
The Bush Monster in question booked it as fast as possible. "I'm too weak to fight! Those two would definitely recognize me and it'll all be over!"
A few moments later, after all three of them were long gone.
"Irk!" Kazuma landed outside of his bedroom window and was barely able to stand up, exhaustion plagued him. The red veil protecting him was at its thinnest. The red manatite on his wrist was barely able to illuminate his own hand, it constantly flickered on and off.
Kazuma fell to his knees and used his arms to support himself.
CLINK!
A crack formed on the veil.
CLINK!
And then another.
More and more cracks appeared, threatening to shatter the only protection keeping him alive.
Eris quickly noticed and rushed to help him. She took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, helping him stand.
"*huff* I'm… *puff* tired…" The thief passed out, his body going limp and dropping the sack to the ground.
"S-Stay with me!" Eris grabbed the stolen goods with her free hand and rushed to the entrance.
CLINK!
With each step taken, another crack would appear.
CLINK!
She started running, opting to carry him on her back.
CLINK!
Another crack.
CLINK!
One.
CLINK!
Two.
CLINK!
Panic overwhelmed her.
"What would happen if he were to die? I wouldn't be there to revive him. He'll be reincarnated and I won't be able to do anything..." Eris started running faster.
CLINK!
"There it is!" The exit was several feet away!
"Sorry Kazuma!" With no other choice she threw the sack of goods out of the barrier.
She grabbed both of her Assistant's hands and started spinning in place. "Here goes nothing! Hiiyah!" With a mighty throw she launched Kazuma's unconscious body out of the barrier!
His body stayed in the air for a solid 3 seconds! A brand new personal record for the Silver Thief! Although, after those three seconds, his body hit the ground with a sickening thud that made her cringe.
Finally the thief herself walked out the barrier, completely unharmed.
"Oooh that's a nice carriage. Probably belongs to Iris." She admired the beauty of it for a second before continuing on.
After exiting the barrier the red manatite veil vanished, all strain put on the red manatite was seized and she was no longer in danger. Luckily it didn't shatter on her when she was still inside.
Eris bent down and grabbed the now dirty sack. Kazuma's unconscious body lay a couple feet away from the sack, she checked for any bruises before giving him a piggyback ride.
"Sorry about that Assistant, I just hope you don't wake up with a sore and aching body. Now let's get out of here before they start chasing us."
And thus began her somewhat short walk to Vanir's Shop.
Once she arrived she gave Vanir the sack and set Kazuma down on a futon he brought out. She gave the Devil a subtle threat to keep him from hurting Kazuma before booking an inn for herself and calling it a day.
Meanwhile at the Mansion:
"Onii-sama! Why did he attack us?!" Iris sniffled and cried.
Everyone was in the living room, including the two escorts and Kazuma's party.
"Psst! what did the both of you do!?" Megumin asked in a low whisper.
Megumin already knew what happened as she was there to witness it herself. She was hiding in Kazuma's closet as she was searching for her staff and was able to witness how cool he had been. But she figured she would ask them anyway to lower any suspicion of her slacking on patrol duty.
"Shhh!" Aqua shushed her. "I got this!"
Aqua stood up. "You see." She cleared her throat. "Kazuma has fallen under the control of an evil Devil!" Aqua cried out, faking some tears and going all out on the theatrics.
Both Claire and Rain stiffened. The Princess started paying full attention to her words.
"That Devil forced him to turn against us and start attacking us! We tried to snap him out of it but he got away!"
Darkness and Megumin yanked Aqua back. "What are you doing!?" Darkness whispered.
"I'm getting them on our side, that's what! If we can get them to help us catch Kazuma, it'll make our job a lot easier! Screw blowing up his porn stash, I just want to mess with him a bit now." Aqua said.
"Oh! That might just work, although, I don't think deceiving the Princess is a good idea." Darkness warned.
"Don't worry about that! I'll make sure she doesn't find out!" Aqua winked.
Darkness stood up. "It is true! Our leader has fallen victim to a Devil's influence and h-has…" Her face grew flush. "H-He has struck me!" She lied. Her face was entirely red for a moment before she realized what she was doing, sat back down, and apologized.
Megumin stayed silent.
The two escorts were shaking too much to even keep focus.
Iris stood up and wiped her tears. "I will help you all capture and save Onii-sama! After all it is my duty as his b…" Her cheeks grew rosy. "A-As his little sister to save him!" She sat back down, her cheeks still bright red.
Staaaaare
Megumin looked on with suspicion.
"Great! Glad to have you three on board!" Aqua welcomed them all, truly impressed with how much her genius had tipped the odds in their favor.
"You three must be tired from such a long trip, you are all welcome to stay the night here. I doubt there are any inns opened at such a late hour, so please, make yourselves at home." Darkness kindly said.
Too bad Darkness didn't know that there were, infact, inns that are still open, she just didn't know where to look.
"Thank you La-Darkness! I'll make sure to help you out with the house cleaning!" Iris excitedly exclaimed.
"Eh? There's no need for that Iris, it's no problem for me! You can just relax!" Darkness tried to avoid having the Princess sweep the floors at all costs.
"I don't want to intrude in your home without doing my fair share of chores! I don't mind- huh? Claire? Rain? What's wrong?" The Princess took notice of her two escorts, both were shaking and looked paler than ever.
"Kazuma… controlled by a Devil… not holding back..!" Both of them were thinking the exact same thing.
"Here, I'll show the three of you to your rooms, maybe some rest will help." Darkness led the three upstairs, choosing to avoid the route that led to Kazuma's room and the destruction inside.
"I'll go bring their luggage inside." Megumin said before walking out.
"I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight!" Aqua ran back upstairs!
"Oi! Help me out will you!?" Megumin called after her.
[Kazuma POV] The Next Morning: At Vanir's Shop:
"GAH- Cool it will you!?" I awoke to a very sore and tired body. Eris was hugging onto me tightly. I can't even enjoy it with my body aching everywhere.
"How was your little nap sleepy head?" She teased me.
"I'm sorry but could you maybe hug me later? OW!- My entire body just hurts! It has nothing to do with you!" She squeezed me one last time.
"Hmph!" She let me go and stood up with a pout.
That pout didn't last for long as she smiled at me. "You really gave me a scare last night. You just collapsed on me out of nowhere! Your veil started cracking too! If I didn't carry you out, you would've been a goner…"
"I never want to experience that much stress ever again."
Eris breathed a sigh of relief. "Honestly I'm just glad you're okay, I couldn't do much to help you at that time of night. I just hoped for the best and let the Devil watch over you. It told me you just had mana exhaustion from over exerting yourself. It didn't really help calm me down…"
"Mana exhaustion? I barely used any skills for that to happen!"
"Yeah… it was sorta the red manatite that caused that."
"-Eh?"
"The Devil tried to block out the mana blocking trait of the red manatite. It succeeded in doing so but in return, the cost to use skills to their full effect required a lot more mana. So when you used all those skills to protect me, it drained you to the point of unconsciousness. Your overuse of skills and the close call we had with Aqua's attack must've drained the durability of your veil too. Mine didn't crack at all despite me being so close to her attack." Eris explained.
"Speaking of her attack, you really saved my skin back there. I flinched a little when you covered my eyes, but after a while… I felt safe." Eris' face went slightly pink.
"Please don't scare me like that again. I don't think my heart can take one more of those." She said.
"Here." She extended her hand to me and I took hold of it. She pulled me up from the futon and almost immediately my head started pounding.
"Gah!" I clutched my head.
"My head hurts like hell! Did you drop me or something?"
"Aha…" Eris sheepishly looked away.
I turned my head down to try and calm down the headache. "Oh, you dropped this." Her adventurer card was on the floor. "W-Wait!"
"Hmm? What's up?"
"Look at your card! It changed!" There were now three new skills available for her use! Open Lock, Bind, and Heal were present now! Even the glitchy mess has calmed down, going at a much slower pace.
Eris sat down next to me and I showed her the card.
"Woah! This is so cool! I can use skills from both sides! Wait a minute, why did this even happen?" Eris looked to me for an answer.
"Why are you looking at me for? Just ask Vanir." I looked around the place, the back room had no sign of him anywhere around. "Where even is he?"
"It went off to work on the mask, when I gave the mask to it, it started getting all excited and ran off to do whatever it wanted to do with it. It also took your red manatite bracelet with it. I can even hear it cackling at times."
"Sounds just like him." Frankly that worried me.
H-Hold on!
"Wasn't Iris there!?"
"She was, I even saw her carriage. Too bad you blinded her." Eris said with a shrug.
"How did she get past the barrier?" I asked her. "You should know how these things work right?!"
Eris put a hand to her chin. "Hmm, Aqua most likely allowed her access subconsciously, as she sees her as a friend instead of a foe."
"In that case, can't you just walk in without the bracelet?"
"Maybe..? I don't want to try it though. I think the remnants of the Devil and the Lich skill you used would get me fried."
"Great, another issue that's in our way."
"Oh don't be so grumpy, it's not like Iris is our enemy or something." She poked at my cheek.
"I guess…"
"Can you help me up please."
"Up you go!" With Eris' help I was able to stand up and lean against the table.
"Hey, where's my sack?" I asked Eris.
"It's right over there." She pointed to a box in the corner of the room. "I still can't believe you brought a sack, did you really learn nothing? Hey, are you ignoring me?!"
I reached my destination and opened the sack. Inside was my thief outfit and the one item that would keep me sane.
I missed you so much! I smirked.
"What's that."
"GAH!" I turned around and saw a very peeved Eris looking over my shoulder.
She used lurk!
"Honestly Assistant, I thought you were better than this! Even with all the pressure, you still had time to grab that?!"
She took a step back. "Give me the magazine." She said like a mother disciplining her misbehaving child.
"Hell no! This is my lifeline for who knows how long! If you want it, COME AND GET IT!" I hugged my favorite magazine to my chest, determined to never let it go.
"Tisk-tisk, Why would I ever do that when I can just STEAL it!" The room was filled with a bright light, once it subsided I opened my arms and was relieved to find my precious magazine still in my possession.
I looked at Eris and noticed her face was entirely red, the redness reaching the tip of her fingers. Hell, I swear I can even see some steam exit through her ears.
I was suddenly overcome with the feeling of pure joy. Few men ever experience this, and I'm proud to announce that I am now one of those men!
In Eris' hands were my boxers! She stayed silent, the only noise she made were some slight squeaks.
"Wow, you could've just asked and I would've taken them off for you myself!" My voice was full of joy.
"I can't believe this actually happened! A girl took off my boxers without me initiating anything! And a Goddess must I add! I'm the luckiest guy alive!"
Eris' face went even redder, to the point that I thought she was going to pass out.
"You can keep those if you want. Next time just ask me whenever you want to strip me. I'll be happy to oblige." I gave her the most pure smile I can manage, my voice was as pure as snow, lacking any signs of anger.
"Assistant… let's make another deal…" Eris kept her head low. "I'll… let you keep the magazine… if you promise to never mention this again…" Eris looked up at me, her face practically a tomato! With one hand she held my boxers, and with the other she held out her pinky. "D-Deal?" She tried to make eye contact but couldn't hold it at all.
"D-Deal..? Please..?" She whimpered.
"Absolutely not." I swiftly rejected her offer!
"I'm not losing this moment of pride!"
I awkwardly waddled out of the back and into the front of the store. "Make sure to frame them!"
I left the store in search of new boxers, truly happy with this turn of events.
AN: Honestly writing the raid part took the longest as I wanted to get the descriptions down. Anyways, that's all. Feedback is appreciated and I'll see you next upload.