A/N: Revised as of 4/9/2024.

"Looks like this is the place."

Kazuma said as he looked up from the map that Luna had given him. He then lifted his arm and placed his palm on the cold wall, and just as he applied some pressure-

Shhhrk!

The brick slid into the wall, and a low rumbling could be heard as the rest of the wall seemingly collapsed, revealing a hidden passage.

"Oho~! This should be interesting!"

Naruto exclaimed while marching straight in, followed by Aqua and finally Kazuma who rolled his eyes at the blonde's cliched enthusiasm.

But it was to be expected, as they hadn't run into a single monster thus far, so it was safe to assume that Naruto was itching for a fight right about now.

"This part of the dungeon hasn't been explored yet, right Kazuma? Maybe we'll find some loot and strike it rich!"

Aqua said with a greedy expression as they walked into the first open room of the unexplored territory, which was a small chamber that led to three different pathways.

Keele's Dungeon was a low-level tomb that was popular for beginner adventurers. Having been delved in by so many people, of course there wasn't going to be much inside.

But with this newly found passageway, it opened a lot of opportunities. That's why Kazuma was so quick to snatch the quest just as the guild receptionist Onee-chan was putting it up.

If they were lucky, they might find a treasure valuable enough to pay off the rest of their debt!

"I understand why you're excited, but don't go too far, Aqua. There could be traps."

Kazuma warned when he noticed Aqua venturing towards the right side of the room. If he wasn't mistaken, his Danger Sense skill was-

"Hey, Kazuma! I found something!"

"Yeep!"

Kazuma let out a surprised yelp when Naruto had suddenly appeared behind him by placing a hand on his shoulder, and the shinobi seemed just as surprised by his fellow male's not so manly reaction.

"D-don't sneak up on me like that… Well? What did you find?"

"That!"

Naruto pointed towards the left pathway, which seemed to be sealed off by a pair of stone doors.

As they walked towards the door, Kazuma noticed a metallic level next to the door's frame. If he had to guess, it was probably used to open and close the door. He saw things like this in games all the time.

However, even without his gamer knowledge, a door with a lever like this was obviously a trap.

Why? Because they weren't even that deep in the unexplored territory. Whoever made this dungeon obviously wanted to keep something hidden in here, and surely Naruto had noticed as well-

"I'm gonna pull the lever!"

"!"

With an eager grin on his face, opposite to Kazuma's look of horror, Naruto pulled the lever without hesitation.

The stone doors opened inwards, revealing a pitch-black hallway. At the same time, the two boys heard something slam behind them.

Turning their backs to the hall, Naruto and Kazuma blinked when they found that Aqua was nowhere to be seen.

"…Aqua?"

Naruto's eyes widened and took a few steps forward until he was standing in the middle of the room. He noticed one of the other entrances was now closed.

"H-hey, Aqua! Where did you go? Damn it… I told her not to go too far!"

Kazuma muttered the last bit and used his Danger Sense skill to see if the sound of the doors moving had attracted any monsters. Luckily, there were in the clear for now.

But since they had time…

"Why would you pull a strange looking lever like that!? That thing was screaming: 'I'm a trap'! Are you actually stupid?"

Kazuma barked while pointing an accusing finger at the shinobi, who was making his way towards one of the other paths.

"Hey! That's exactly why I had to pull it! My instincts were telling me that a powerful entity was behind these doors, and the only way to open it was with that lever! Probably!"

Naruto barked back before putting his ear on the stone door.

"Now quiet down for a second… This door wasn't here before, so maybe Aqua's trapped inside?"

"Oh yeah, Aqua was snooping around here earlier… Hey, Aqua! Are you in there?"

Kazuma shouted into the wall with Naruto, and sure enough-

"K-Kazuma!? I was just looking for treasure when this door closed! Now the walls are making a bunch of funny noises!"

Aqua's muffled voice came from the other side of the wall.

"Alright, just hang on a second! We'll open the doors!"

Kazuma shouted back before giving Naruto a nod, and the blonde sighed in relief.

The lever was probably connected to both sets of doors, and the doors to the room Aqua had just walked into must have closed when Naruto pulled it.

"Waahh! K-Kazuma! Now the walls are getting closer! Hurry up and get me out of here!"

Just barely hearing the girl's screams, Kazuma halted in his footsteps.

The walls were closing in on her? No, of course there had to be a cliched trap like that here. He'd better hurry and pull the lever again.

"Aqua! Step as far away from the door as you can and brace yourself!"

Naruto suddenly shouted as his hand began to glow a bright blue. The light lit up the room as the shinobi's technique swirled in his palm.

Seeing this, Kazuma's face turned pale. That guy wasn't seriously planning on using a skill to blow the door down, was he!?

But before Kazuma could so much as open his mouth, Naruto slammed the sphere into the doors.

Boom!

The Rasengan ground into the door before exploding in a brilliant flash of blue. The entrance exploded, covering the entire room with dust and debris.

"Cough! Cough! Aqua? Are you okay?"

Waving away the dust, Naruto was surprised when a teary-eyed Aqua emerged from the smoke and wrapped her arms around him.

"Narutoooo! What took you so loooong!? I thought I was gonna diiiiieee!"

Aqua wailed while burying her face into the blonde's tactical vest.

"There, there… You're safe now, Aqua."

Naruto whispered in a soothing voice while gently patting the girl's head.

Resisting the urge to cringe, Kazuma was about to remind the two that it was Naruto who had activated the trap in the first place when he suddenly felt a tug in the back of his mind.

'This feeling… My Danger Sense skill is…!'

Cranking his head to the side, Kazuma looked through the middle entrance and activated his Foresight ability. What he saw next was about a dozen pairs of bright red eyes staring right back at him.

Without wasting any time, Kazuma grabbed Naruto and Aqua's hands and dragged them towards the left pathway.

"H-hey, what gives...!?"

Naruto started asking when he noticed the dark figures lurking just outside of the room.

"That explosive skill of yours attracted a bunch of monsters! We need to run!"

Kazuma roared without looking back, and just as they passed the middle path, the monsters began to flood in. There had to be at least twenty rat-like creatures and undead altogether.

"WAAAHHH! Naruto-san! Do something!"

Aqua screamed when she saw the hungry looking rats and undead that were now hot on their trail.

They had almost reached the left path. Just a bit further-

"Ah! Naruto! What are you…!?"

Just as they cleared the left entrance, Kazuma felt Naruto's hand slip out of his grasp, and he looked back to see the shinobi grinning like a madman.

"Don't worry, guys. I got this."

Naruto said and gave the two a thumbs up before he pulled the lever.

The last thing Kazuma saw was a bunch of monsters pouncing on Naruto before the doors slammed shut.

. . .

"Aqua… Naruto sacrificed himself so that we could pay off our debts. Let's not let his efforts go to waste and strike it rich here."

"Hah? What are you talking about? Naruto promised to make me happy. There's no way that a couple of monsters are going to get in his way."

Aqua snootily retorted while rolling her eyes.

Of course, Kazuma knew that Naruto was going to be just fine. After all, that man had an overpowered cheat that was strong enough to evaporate the Mobile Fortress Destroyer.

But cheat or no cheat, those monsters were going to take some time to kill in an enclosed space like this. So, Kazuma could take advantage of the shinobi's absence to get Aqua back on his side.

"You're right, Naruto promised to protect you. But shouldn't that include protecting you from poverty too? You're not happy being poor, are you?"

Kazuma casually remarked while shaking his head as if what he was saying was common sense.

"Y-you do have a point… A goddess such as myself should be living in a luxurious manor. Not some shabby old apartment. Even that creep Macoroni said something like that."

Aqua muttered more to herself while rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

'It's Mitsurugi, but good… She's starting to come back to her normal senses. Now I just need to get her to turn on Naruto, and-'

While Kazuma was busy plotting his sabotage, the stone doors reopened, and Naruto was found standing with his hands rested behind his head.

"Yo!"

Naruto casually greeted with a short wave.

"Ah! You're injured! Here, let me fix that for you! Isn't it convenient to have a goddess like me around?"

Aqua chirped while spouting something that Kazuma could only describe as "out of character", save for the last part.

"Oh, t-thanks. It's a lot different fighting in a concealed area, so I let my guard down during the battle."

Naruto stuttered when Aqua rushed up to him and started healing the small gash on his arm.

'He's already finished!?'

Kazuma thought with wide eyes. Looking past the two, he felt a shiver run down his spine upon seeing the aftermath of Naruto's "battle".

While his Foresight ability didn't give him perfect night vision, he could see the bodies of the monsters scattered throughout the room behind the shinobi. One of which was laying on the ground in a strange position under a dark trail that led up the wall. A trail that he could only assume was the monster's blood.

'Scary!'

Back at the surface of the dungeon, Cecily and Megumin decided to play a game to pass the time.

"Megumin~! Where are you~?"

Cecily chimed as she walked along the edge of the clearing, peering back and forth between the dungeon's entrance and the forest.

Behind one of the nearby trees, Megumin held her breath when she heard Cecily's footsteps drawing near. The reason she had suggested this game of hide-and-seek was because Cecily was starting to get a little carried away with her "cuddling".

She was turning fourteen in a couple weeks, damn it! That was the marriable age in this kingdom, which made her a full adult!

So why did Cecily keep treating her like a child when she was clearly not!?

"Fooound youuuu~!"

"N-nooooooo!"

The path was quite long, so the trio walked mostly in silence as they ventured into various rooms that were frequently empty. It was rather underwhelming considering they were in unexplored territory.

Kazuma was mapping out where they had explored, while Aqua left marks on the walls so that they could easily find their way back.

Naruto was left on the defense, but the only enemies they seemed to be facing was the occasional horde of undead.

"Hey, Naruto? What's Ero-Senin been doing lately? I thought I spotted him at the trial, but..."

Kazuma asked as he could have sworn he saw the older man's spiky white hair in the crowd. Someone as influential as the famous Ero-Senin could have been helpful.

"Ah, but it wasn't like I was hoping for one of those developments where the old mentor saves the protagonist before taking him on a journey to train, like in anime and manga or anything… Hahaha…"

"I don't know what anime or manga is, but I don't think that Ero-Senin is taking on any more pupils. He was in town for a bit, but it was only to visit that shop. Sorry, Kazuma."

Naruto said apologetically while scratching at the whisker marks. Even if Jiraiya was taking on students, Naruto wouldn't recommend learning under the man anyways. Especially with the way that Jiraiya seemed to be acting nowadays.

The old pervert was mostly the same, but he seemed a lot more… Relaxed, in a way. It was almost like he was enjoying an endless vacation.

Maybe this new world was affecting his old mentor?

'…Nah, there's no way.'

Naruto thought with a slight chuckle when he suddenly heard Kurama snort.

'Are you sure about that?'

'What? Got something to say?'

'No. Just wondering how long it's going to take.'

'?'

While Naruto was pondering over Kurama's nonchalant, yet cryptic comment, the group entered a dimly lit hallway that was decorated with statues along its walls.

"Naruto, I smell more undead coming! Keep them busy and I'll purify them in one go!"

Aqua commanded while glaring off into the distance where there was, in fact, another horde of undead.

Naruto nodded and unsheathed his knife. He didn't have a way to put down an undead for good, as he didn't have a single holy-based skill, so he had to rely on Aqua to deliver the finishing blow.

Well, undead were also weak to fire. But the only skills he had that could potentially kill an undead would also cause a cave in, so that was a no go.

At least there weren't any ghosts in this dungeon… He couldn't even hit those creepy things.

As Naruto and Aqua worked together to defeat the undead, Kazuma stared at the goddess's back.

There was something off about this girl right now, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Not to mention the absurd number of undead in this dungeon.

"Kazuma… Kazuma! I've disposed of those undead! You can praise me if you want."

Aqua chimed while puffing her chest out with pride, demanding praise from her party leader.

What an attention whore.

"Alright, you two. Let's go. I think we're almost at the end."

Kazuma said and brushed passed the goddess of water without giving her a second glance.

"Ah! You just thought of something rude, didn't you!? Admit it! Admit that you would be completely helpless in this dungeon if it weren't for Naruto and me! You Hiki-NEET!"

Aqua threw her hands into the air and basically shouted the last bit into Kazuma's ear like a banshee.

"H-hey… Don't you think that's going a bit too far, Aqua?"

Naruto stuttered as he tried to play peacekeeper, but it was too late. The damage had already been done.

The girl's words caused Mt. Kazuma to erupt.

"Are. You. Kidding me!? You and Naruto have been doing nothing but cause me trouble! The lever, the monsters, the undead, and the cheesy rom-com moments! Also, I bet that it's your fault that all of these undead have been showing up because of that 'holy presence' that you keep bragging about! So instead of flirting with your boyfriend, why don't you start taking responsibility for your actions, you useless harlot!"

Kazuma screamed, his voice seething with frustration echoed throughout the cave. When he was done, he let out a few huffs as he caught his breath.

It was kind of annoying that this was the only way to deal with Aqua, but at least he managed to get his point across.

"…"

In a matter of seconds, Aqua's expression went from shocked, to sniffling, to full-blown sobbing before she took off running.

Naruto frowned. He understood that Aqua could get a little carried away at times, but Kazuma had gone too far this time.

"Hey, I think you should be a little nicer to-"

"Wrong! This is the only way to put that woman in her place! If you give her some lease, she'll pull you straight into the deep end in a heartbeat! In fact, she probably ran away like that to make you react like this!"

Kazuma interjected while chopping the air, but seeing the incredulous look on Naruto's face, he sighed before continuing.

"Listen, Naruto. I have high hopes for you, and since you want to get closer to Aqua, for whatever reason, take my advice. As the man who has spent the most time with that girl, I've learned that you have to strike her down from her high horse as hard as you can. Even if it makes you look like the bad guy, you have to do it for your own sake. As I said before, she's the kind of person who will take advantage of another's kindness."

"…"

Naruto wasn't entirely convinced, but he nodded anyway. Arguing while in the middle of dungeon wasn't going to do them any good. For now, they needed to go find Aqua before she found any trouble.

"Kyaaah!"

A feminine scream followed by the sound of rocks crumbling filled the two boy's ears.

Well that didn't take long…

"Better run, Megumin~! Onee-san's gonna catch you~!"

"My level has gone up quite a bit since we last met… and yet… you're keeping up with me so easily!?"

Cecily and Megumin were now playing tag, and it was the former's turn to be "it". But the genius of the Crimson Demons was struggling to gain any distance. Every turn she made, the Axis Cultist would be right there to greet her. It was almost frustrating.

"Ahaha! Chasing a cute loli through the woods is the best!"

"Please don't say misleading things like that! Also, I'm not a loli!"

"Owowow…"

Aqua mumbled as she rubbed the back of her head. After she ran away, she got scared when an unfamiliar voice called out to her from behind a corner. Then the wall she backed into suddenly caved in, which caused her to fall on her back.

"Aqua! Are you okay?"

Naruto asked as he and Kazuma arrived at the scene. He extended out his hand, to which the priestess graciously accepted.

Raising herself to her feet with the shinobi's help, Aqua faced Kazuma for a second before turning away in a huff. But then she saw the open hole in the wall, and her eyes widened in realization.

"Look, Kazuma! Look what I found all by myself! Who's useless now~? Puhehehe!"

'T-this bitch…!'

Kazuma ground his teeth in rage and looked at Naruto as if to say: "you see what I mean!?".

Naruto laughed awkwardly with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. He knew where Kazuma was coming from, but making a girl cry, even if that girl was Aqua, was still a bit too much for him…

"…Are one of you perhaps an Arch Priest?"

"!" x3

The trio jumped out of their skin when an old, raspy voice came out of the room behind Aqua.

"This scent… An undead!"

Aqua sniffed the air before getting into a battle stance, but Kazuma put an arm in front of her before she could do anything stupid.

The only other undead that he had met that could speak was Wiz, a Lich, and she was crazy powerful. So jumping headfirst into battle was not a very smart thing to do.

"Are you a Lich?"

Naruto asked, stepping in front of his two friends defensively. His face was calm but serious at the same time. He was ready to fight, but simultaneously, he wasn't giving off any hostile vibes.

"As expected of a ninja" -is what Kazuma wanted to say, but he could see Naruto's hand twitching ever so slightly towards his knife holster. Upon further inspection, the blonde's lips were also twitching.

This guy was itching for a fight! Just how battle-hungry could one man be!?

The cloaked figure was sitting in the back of the room next to what looked like a small bed.

"No need to be alarmed… I don't mean any harm. My name is Keele, the creator of this dungeon."

—Long ago, there an Arch Wizard named Keele. After doing many great deeds for the kingdom, he was rewarded by the king. He could choose anything his heart desired. "Choose any bride, and she will be yours!", the king said. But the mage's heart already belonged to the daughter of noble, who had been married off for political reasons. His wish was for his beloved to be free. So, he eloped with his beloved and escaped from the capital, making enemies with the entire kingdom. In order to protect his wife, Keele had abandoned his humanity and became a Lich. He created the dungeon so that the monsters he controlled with his undead powers would protect them from those who would do them harm.

"That is her body there… My wife. Doesn't she have the most wonderful clavicle? Kehehe!"

Keele chimed while gesturing towards the bed next to his chair. Rested upon the bed was the skeleton of a woman, if the white dress was anything to go by.

Naruto was almost disappointed that he wouldn't get to face such a powerful undead, but after hearing the Lich's story, he agreed to ask Aqua to purify Keele so that he could reunite with his deceased lover.

'He was injured while protecting his wife…'

Kazuma thought while looking at the undead mage, who was saying his last prayers to his beloved.

'He turned into a Lich so that he could continue to protect her…'

Naruto thought and looked at Kazuma, who returned the look.

At this time, Aqua was drawing a magic circle on the floor to amplify her purification spell.

'This Lich is a pretty cool guy…' x2

Both Kazuma and Naruto thought in unison.

"Okay, everything's ready!"

Aqua stood up and smiled, bringing all three boys out of their collective thoughts.

After a few moments, Keele was kneeling within the circle in front of Aqua.

"Arch Wizard Keele, who forsook god's law and willingly became a Lich… In the name of Aqua, the Goddess of Water, your sin is forgiven."

As the girl continued to chant her purification spell, Kazuma squinted his eyes.

'Again, who is this beautiful girl? She looks like a goddess you could take out in public and not be ashamed of!'

But it wasn't just Aqua he was worried about… Kazuma turned to Naruto and found that the boy looked like a high school boy staring at his crush from across the classroom!

'Shoot! I said I was going to keep them apart, but not only did I give Naruto advice on how to handle Aqua, but now he looks like he's become completely gaa-gaa for her!'

While Kazuma was having a mental crisis, Naruto's eyes were glued on the very object of his fellow adventurer's turmoil.

At the center of the dark room stood Aqua, shrouded in the faint light of her purification circle.

Seeing this, the shinobi was hit by a massive wave of nostalgia.

'That's right... This is kind of like the night I first saw Aqua, isn't it?'

Naruto thought back to that night when he was hiding from that Zombie Maker. A beautiful girl had shown up and purified the ghost with an elegance that he had never even thought possible for a human being.

Unlike the usual bratty girl he had come to know, Aqua's expression was calm and radiated a divinity befitting that of a goddess as she purified the Lich. On her face was the gentlest of smiles that had a hint of sadness. It reminded him of the smile that Eris had when he had died.

But the deific figure standing before him was not the Goddess of Luck. This was the real Aqua, the Goddess of Water.

Naruto clenched his vest above his heart.

What was this feeling? His chest felt tight, and his face was hot.

'…Tch! You've fallen hard for that self-proclaimed goddess, haven't you brat?'

Kurama spat while rolling his eyes hard enough that the beast's host could almost hear its massive orbs.

The fox decided to have a nice long chat with Eris about the part of Naruto's brain that was likely left behind when she transported them to this world.

'Ah… So that's what this is…'

With the help of his nine-tailed companion's kind words, Naruto realized he might just have a genuine crush on Aqua.

A/N: Oho~! Kazuma, ma boi! You aren't doing your job correctly!

T/N: Umm, Kurama, please hurry up and have that chat. I keep begging the author for Naruto to get that part of his brain back, but he declines, saying that a more mature Naruto wouldn't work. :C

A/N: Fuahahaha! See you in the next one!