A/N: Revised as of 10/7/2023

After a quick visit to the town's public bathhouse to wash off the toad mucus, Kazuma and Aqua met up with Naruto at the adventurer's guild.

"So let me get this straight… Just like me, you were sent to this world by a goddess to defeat the Demon King, but you're not from Japan? You do have blonde hair and blue eyes… Are you from America or Europe?"

Kazuma asked as he tried to wrap his head around the situation.

"Nope. Never heard of em."

Naruto said with a wave of his hand as he sent occasional glances at Aqua, who was currently fiddling with a straw and paying zero attention to the conversation.

Kazuma hummed and calmly rubbed his chin in thought. He wasn't the type to overreact to something like this, especially when entities such as gods and goddess were involved. After all, he himself was just reincarnated into another world from Japan. It wouldn't be too farfetched for Naruto to be from yet another world.

How very fantasy-like.

"Where are you from then?"

Kazuma decided to keep the ball rolling to see what kind of world Naruto came from then.

"The Elemental Nations…"

Naruto answered absentmindedly while watching Aqua work on the straw, causing a tick mark formed on Kazuma's forehead.

"Aqua, pay attention and stop distracting Naruto! This has to do with you too!"

"Don't wanna-Ah! No, I'm not finished yet!"

Aqua wailed when Kazuma snatched the straw out of her hands, and she started bobbing at the boy's head comically.

Naruto chuckled as he watched the two fight until Aqua somehow managed to retrieve her straw.

"So I take it you're from this Japan place, Kazuma?"

Kazuma rubbed his head as he sent the priest, who immediately went back to her craft, an annoyed expression before turning back to Naruto and nodding.

"Yeah, but to think there are even more worlds out there besides my old home and this world. It's really just like a video game!"

Kazuma exclaimed in excitement. He was really starting to feel that fantasy world vibe again.

"As expected of Kazuma who's previous life was merely that of a NEET, comparing the real world to a video game is-Hey! No, I'm sorry! Stop it Kazuma! It's gonna break! Kazuma-saaan!"

Aqua mocked when Kazuma lunged for the straw again, and she started pleading with teary eyes.

Kazuma let go of Aqua's strange looking straw before crossing his arms. He was getting sidetracked because of this dumb girl. If she didn't want to listen, then so be it.

"What kind of world did you come from?"

It was a basic question, but Kazuma was curious as to how Naruto's world differed from this fantasy one and Japan.

"I guess it's kinda like this world… But we didn't have a king, and we didn't use magic. We ninja live in hidden villages and use chakra!"

Naruto said, giving a brief description of his world and forming a hand sign as a visual.

"You're a ninja?"

Kazuma questioned incredulously as he appraised the alleged shinobi's attire. The guy was wearing a headband with a strange symbol, but with those orange clothes coupled with his bright blonde hair… Then there was also that bright golden energy power he used earlier-

Nope. Kazuma just couldn't see it.

Noticing the doubt on Kazuma's face, Naruto began to fume.

"I-I'm really a ninja, ya know! I might look like this, but I could hide from some of the village's top ninja when I was twelve! I even stole the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing and learned a jutsu from it in one night!"

Naruto boasted while sticking a thumb on his headband proudly.

"Were you wearing orange back then too?"

"...Yes."

Kazuma gained a sour look. He had grown excited when Naruto mentioned a hidden village of ninja, but that excitement immediately died down when he heard the top ninja of the village couldn't capture a blonde child wearing bright orange clothes.

What kind of ninjas were they training in that hidden village? How could they let something that significant fall into the hands of a child? Were they stupid?

Kazuma was beginning to doubt the man in front of him. Was this person really from a ninja village?

As if hearing the thoughts of disbelief in Kazuma's head, Naruto's face turned red with anger. But before he had the chance to defend his old home, Aqua held something out to him from across the table.

"Sorry for the wait, but it's finished!"

Aqua chirped, and seemed to be very proud of her handiwork.

Naruto blinked in confusion, but ultimately accepted the strange looking object without much thought. It looked like the straw Aqua had been fiddling with earlier, but the thing in Naruto's hands looked so multifaceted that one could not simply call it a straw anymore.

"W-what is this?"

"It's a straw, but no ordinary straw. That straw is an ancient artifact that grants the user entertainment while drinking from it!"

Aqua explained while nodding her head confidently.

'Ancient relic? Didn't you say you just finish making it?'

Kazuma retorted out of reflex, but kept it to himself since he was curious to see what Aqua had made. She was utterly useless most of the time, but this girl had a strange knack for arts and crafts.

"What does it do?"

Naruto asked as he continued to look at the supposed straw in his hand. Upon further inspection, it had the shape of a person, which baffled Naruto. The straw had only been a couple inches long, so how did she manage to make this thing?

"Fufufu… Order us some more drinks and find out!"

Aqua answered with a gleeful expression then downed the rest of the drink Naruto had ordered for her earlier.

Naruto called for the waitress and had her bring them more drinks. Upon their arrival, he then stuck the straw into his neroid juice and drank from it.

"W-wha… How is that even possible!? Aqua, you… This is actually amazing!"

Kazuma shouted at Aqua, shocked that the girl was able to make such a thing.

Naruto's eyes were wide as well. He swallowed his beverage and looked at Aqua in awe.

"How did you make something like this!?"

"It's amazing, right? You can praise me more!"

Aqua soaked in the compliments with a smug look of self-satisfaction.

When Naruto drank from the straw, the neroid juice gave it a yellow appearance, and they were able to see what the shape was more clearly. The straw seemed to be shaped like Naruto, and it very closely resembled his chakra form due to the yellow/orange nature of the beverage.

But something like this shouldn't have been impossible with a regular straw.

Shaking his amazement away, Naruto put his drink down.

"Thanks for this, but why?"

"To thank you for saving me... Of course, that artifact is probably worth at least a hundred drinks! So I wouldn't mind if you treated me to a couple more."

Aqua mumbled before adding the last bit haughtily.

"R-right…"

Naruto said and looked at Kazuma, who merely shrugged. Aqua was a lot different than Naruto had imagined her to be. When he first saw the girl at the cemetery, and how elegantly she'd purified the Zombie Maker, he thought she was going to be a kind girl with a gentle personality. A classic personality for a priest.

Boy was he wrong.

'Oh well, this Aqua isn't so bad. She may have a weird personality, but I can't really hate her for that. Plus, she seems to get along just fine with Kazuma.'

Naruto thought, a small smile growing on his lips.

Kazuma watched Naruto's facial expression change from troubled to a look of acceptance, but then it went back to troubled again when Aqua told the waitress to put the bill for the drinks she had just ordered onto Naruto's tab.

Did he just accept Aqua's personality?

No no no. That was no good. As someone who had spent more than a week with the girl, Kazuma wouldn't let his kohai fall into that trap.

'Aqua's the kind of person that takes advantage of other people's kindness. Naruto seems like the kind of guy who would easily fall for such traps. So, as any kind and thoughtful senpai would do, I'll make sure that doesn't happen.'

Kazuma thought while staring at the self-proclaimed goddess who was getting drunk off of booze in the afternoon with contempt. She was even being treated by the person that saved her…

"Neh, Kazuma… *Hic!* Why are you looking at me like I'm some hopeless problem child? I haven't done anything wrong… *Hic!* Yet..."

Yet?

Kazuma bowed his head slightly to Naruto apologetically, and the blonde merely tilted his head in confusion.

After Aqua got sick from drinking too much and ran outside, Kazuma said he and the "thing" he brought to this world would be doing more hunting quests for the guild and that they would probably see each other more often before chasing after his party member.

The reason they hadn't seen each other at the guild at all was because of the nature of the construction work that Kazuma and Aqua had been doing. The two would wake up at dawn, and finish by sundown.

Naruto stood up and was about to go turn in his quest from earlier when he was stopped by a waitress. She was looking at him with a smile that almost seemed apologetic. As he wondered why the girl was looking at him that way, he remembered the bill.

"Ah, right…"

The cost of the alcohol that Aqua had ordered was the same as an entire reward from one of his solo hunting rewards…

Naruto grumbled and reluctantly pulled some Eris out of his new wallet that was coincidently made to look like a giant toad from this world. With Gama-chan now retired as an heirloom, Kaeru-chan was born.

That was the last time he was treating that girl to alcohol.

'You see, brat? Gods and goddesses are nothing but trouble. You should just forget about that woman and go to the next town already.'

'And leave Wiz behind with all that debt? Not gonna happen.'

Naruto responded in his mind and walked towards the receptionist desk.

"Hello, Naruto-san! Thank you for your hard work today!"

Luna cheerfully said when Naruto stopped in front of her desk.

"Of course! You can leave any of the unwanted quests to me, Luna-chan!"

Naruto claimed in a voice loud enough for the rest of the guild hall to hear, and he could already feel the heated glares from the other adventurers on his back.

He felt like letting out some steam and decided to annoy the adventurers while teasing Luna.

"M-my goodness! You look like you had a rough time all by yourself, Naruto-san."

Luna's smile became a bit strained when she noticed the tears in Naruto's jacket.

"Man, I underestimated those Venus-flytraps! One nearly chomped my arm off! Hahaha!"

Naruto said and rubbed the back of his head with a hearty laugh.

"I remember suggesting that you should form a party…"

Luna mumbled while averting her gaze slightly, and Naruto felt like he had her on the ropes.

"Yeah, but now that I know more about those dumb plants, they won't get the drop on me."

"…"

One final pull-

"Too bad my favorite jacket is ruined, but I guess it's better than losing my arm or-"

"I'm sorry I didn't properly warn you!"

Luna suddenly shouted, stopping Naruto stopped midsentence.

Wait, what? He was only teasing her a little... Why were her eyes tearing up?

Luna bowed her head and continued.

"I had a feeling you didn't know about the abnormally large Venus-flytraps in this area, but you just left, and I thought you would be okay since your stats are so high... What a foolish thing!"

"W-wait, it's not a big deal-"

Naruto said in an attempt to stop the receptionist who was starting to break character, but Luna just kept shouting with teary eyes.

"But then I began to worry that Naruto-san wouldn't come back, and it would be all my fault! But all I can do as a receptionist is wait here and pray for your safety!"

"…"

Naruto fell silent as the stares around him began to turn into scornful ones.

"Now Naruto-san probably hates this irresponsible receptionist who makes such dangerous assumptions-"

"I'm sorry! You don't have to apologize anymore!"

Naruto sighed as he walked down the street towards Wiz's magic shop. Luna had completely turned the situation around in her favor, and Naruto couldn't do a thing about it…

The power of a woman's tears were frightening.

Walking up the steps to the shop and opening the door, Naruto spotted Wiz organizing some of the merchandise on the back shelves.

Wiz didn't seem to notice him, and Naruto didn't want to surprise her while she was handling such dangerous potions, so he leaned against the door frame to wait until she was finished.

Wiz began to hum peacefully, which caused Naruto to smile. The scene in front of him just seemed to fit. This clumsy shopkeeper may have atrocious business tactics, but she enjoyed what she was doing, and Naruto didn't want to see that happiness torn away from her because of some red digits.

Seemingly satisfied with her work, Wiz turned towards the front of the little shop and jumped in surprise when she finally noticed the blonde.

"N-Naruto-san!?"

"Sorry, I was afraid you would drop a potion if I startled you. You should really get a bell for the door."

Naruto apologized and pulled the table from the corner of the store to the middle of the room.

Wiz pouted with puffy cheeks. If her heart was still beating, it'd probably be throbbing right now.

"Honestly… You shouldn't tease a girl like that. We may look cute and helpless, but take it too far, and you'll be sorry."

"I believe you. Now then, what can I do to help?"

Naruto laughed and took a seat at the table.

Wiz smiled, remembering the things Naruto said before and tapped her chin in thought.

"Hm… Could I ask you to sweep the front of the store? While you're doing that, I can tell you about some ideas that I've come up with!"

Naruto nodded and looked for the broom, spotting it behind the counter. Grabbing it, he started sweeping the front of the store. While he was cleaning, a nostalgic smile stretched across his features.

"This kinda brings back memories, ya know? I used to sweep for my favorite food shop when I didn't have any money."

"Really? What kind of food was it?"

Wiz asked curiously as she grabbed a notebook she'd been jotting her ideas in.

"Ramen, of course!"

Naruto revealed with a toothy grin, and that got him thinking. He hadn't had ramen at all since I came to this world. Maybe tonight I'll ask the waitresses if they-'

"Eh? What's ramen?"

Wiz asked with her head tilted, and Naruto face-faulted.

Supporting himself on the broom, Naruto looked at Wiz with a crooked smile.

"Um… Noodles, miso soup, you know? Ramen? The food of the gods?"

Wiz tilted her head the other way and hummed.

"Mmmm... Nope! Even back in my adventuring days, when I traveled all over the country, I never once heard of such a food."

Naruto's blood ran cold. He had been so caught up in learning about this new world that he hadn't even thought of the possibility…

That this world might not even have ramen.

Wiz, oblivious to Naruto's twitching form, began to flip through her notebook.

"So, the first idea I came up with was ordering a specially made set of magic items. I know an Arch Wizard from the Crimson Demon Village who-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Wahhh!"

A/N: Sorry for the delay, life has not been giving me a break. ^^

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anyone knows how to make Ramen in the world of KonoSuba. Aside from maybe a couple Japanese 'players' who have knowledge of the food. ¯\_ツ_/¯

Until next time, Spirit out!