A/N: Revised as of 3/18/2024.

"Scum! Pervert! Virgin NEET!"

Aqua shouted with teary eyes as she stalked Kazuma down the stairs of their mansion.

"Oh! Kazuma! You've finally decided to come out! Does this mean you're ready to go on another quest?"

Darkness asked from the living room table, a cup of tea in her hands.

"About time you came out."

Megumin added upon seeing the boy enter the room with the steamy priestess behind him.

"I'm still mad about that cheeky writing you scribbled on my dead body… Excalibur my ass…"

Kazuma said and immediately shot Megumin a glare, who was quick to advert her gaze.

"That was Naruto. Anyways, why is Aqua being so noisy? What did you do this time?"

"Hear this! Kazuma finally decided to change his class to pervert! I was on my way to the bathroom to wash up this morning and this fiend suddenly came out of his room and spanked me!"

Aqua interjected and pointed at their party leader accusingly.

"First of all, it's already well past noon. Secondly, I am no fiend. I am a gentleman. As such, if I see such a note on a girl's back then it's only natural that I would follow its instructions accordingly."

Kazuma casually explained as if his actions were entirely justified.

Upon hearing the boy's words, Darkness and Megumin looked at Aqua to find a piece of paper that read "Spank Me!" attached to her back. They then looked back at Kazuma with dull expressions.

Such an act was to be expected of their party leader by now, but it was still low.

Aqua reached behind her and felt the paper attached to her back. Ripping it off and seeing what was written on it, she growled angrily before crumpling the note and throwing it onto the ground.

Because she had returned home so late, she immediately went to bed without even changing into her pajamas. On top of being completely smashed from her late-night drinking, there was no way she could have noticed!

'But who could have…'

Aqua thought when her eyes widened when she remembered the prank a certain ninja pulled on her way home.

"Naruto! Of course that man would know that Kazuma wouldn't be able to resist laying his hands his hands on my divine figure should the chance arise!"

"Aqua is pretty, but calling her figure divine is a little…"

"Shh… Remember, we all promised to go along with her act. Remember, Megumin?"

Aqua began to tremble with anger when she heard Megumin and Darkness whispering amongst themselves. But the breaking point was when she noticed Kazuma smirking at her.

"Mizuru…"

"AHHHH!"

Aqua screamed when Kazuma said the word that she had forbidden her party members from saying. But just as she was about to tackle the shut-in and strangle him, a certain thought came to her.

Today was the deadline of the bet.

So just like that, all of Aqua's anger vanished from her face. It was as if she was never angry to begin with.

This, of course, was unnerving to her party members.

"U-uh… Aqua? Are you okay?"

Kazuma asked politely when the rambunctious girl stopped. Realizing he may have gone too far, he tried to press on.

"Y-you know, I heard the guild had a new shipment of ale from the capital coming in today? I'm feeling quite generous today, so I'll treat you to a glass or two."

"…Fufufu…"

Aqua chuckled darkly, her bangs covering her eyes.

"A-Aqua… san?"

Kazuma stuttered as he stepped away from the goddess who was giving off dangerous vibes. He then looked to his other teammates for help, but they both looked away.

Cowards… He'd make them feel the wrath of his Steal later.

"Let's go to the guild. I have a bet to win."

Aqua finally said and turned on her heel.

"Oh, that's today isn't it? But you seem quite confident, Aqua. Naruto may not be as bad as Kazuma, but he can be as bad as Kazuma."

Darkness said with Megumin nodding her head in agreement.

"O-oi! Why was my name mentioned twice!? That doesn't even make sense!"

Kazuma retorted angrily, but he was ignored as Aqua snorted and began to walk towards the bathroom to get ready.

"Hmph! Please, this is Naruto we're talking about! There's no way he got a girlfriend."

"You actually got a girlfriend!? How! Did he pay you? Threaten you? A girl shouldn't so easily give in to such things!"

Aqua screeched while pressing the girl in front of her for answers.

"The thief girl whose panties were stolen by Kazuma? Color me surprised."

Megumin said while rubbing her chin in thought, causing Chris to cringe internally at being remembered in such a fashion.

"Chris…? Ah! Is this some sort of play, Naruto? Are you trying to make me jealous by dating my best friend? Wait, is this what they call NTR!?"

Darkness demanded with heavy breaths leaving her mouth.

"D-Darkness, come on… You know Naruto-San isn't that kind of person. Also, that would require the two of you to be dating for it to be… You know what, never mind."

Chris stopped herself as she struggled to continue smiling. Not even a minute had passed since Aqua and her party's arrival, so why was it that she already wanted to go home?

Naruto scratched the back of his head as the three girls eyed him with various expressions.

"So? When did this happen?"

Kazuma asked his fellow male adventurer. Due to his position in the bet, he had no choice but to be suspicious. There was no way in hell he would be able to pay off an additional four million Eris on top of the forty-million Eris he already owed. It was time he took this situation seriously.

He felt bad for Chris, but Naruto was going down.

"W-well, you see… I was actually on my way out of the Eris church when I bumped into Chris."

Naruto started and looked to Chris. Since they had a little time to kill before Aqua and them showed up, they came up with a little backstory that the girl would believe. But with Kazuma against him again, it may be a little harder than he thought.

"I-I was on my way to the church and we bumped into each other. So we decided to go for a walk and talk… I guess you could say we kinda clicked then?"

Chris finished while scratching at the scar on her cheek. She had a feeling this would fool Aqua, but Kazuma was a lot sharper than he looked. She was worried he might see through their plan.

"O-oh… Is that so? Well I wish you two the best…"

Kazuma said through ground teeth.

The stuttering, the awkward glances, the blushing! They were acting just like a newly formed couple! He was so jealous! He was-

Broke.

'I'm never getting out of debt…'

Kazuma thought and was about to leave to get wasted when Aqua suddenly spoke up.

"Hah! I can see right through your little scheme! You must have gotten on your hands and knees and begged for Chris's help! What a hopeless man."

Aqua deduced with a smug smile on her face, and it grew into a smirk when the pair in front of her widened their eyes.

Naruto began to sweat. He thought they were going be fine since Kazuma seemed to have given up. But what was with Aqua all of a sudden? Did she know about their plan? Why was her intuition suddenly so sharp!?

He looked to Chris for help, but found that she seemed to be in the same predicament as he was.

'Those reactions… Aqua's right!? How did she know when even I couldn't?'

Kazuma thought when he saw the panicked looks on Naruto and Chris's faces. Could it be that Aqua was actually experienced in love? After all, despite how she acted she was a goddess.

Seeing as the two weren't going to say anything, Aqua puffed out her chest victoriously.

"Fufufu… So it seems I was right. I am an expert in love after all. Well then, it looks I-"

"You're wrong! I asked Chris out and she said yes! So that makes us a couple!"

Naruto shouted for the whole guild to hear, but not before wrapping one of his arm around Chris's waist and drawing her close to him.

'Please just go along with this, Chris… I'll do anything you want later!'

"…"

Chris lowered her head in embarrassment, her ears burning bright red. But she knew there was no going back now so she kept quiet.

"Wh-wh-wh-wha…!"

Aqua stammered as she stumbled backwards.

"Oh~! Such a bold act of affection! In the middle of the guild too! I never knew you were into this sort of thing, Chris!"

Darkness balked with a hint of jealously in her voice, causing the thief's face to turn an extra shade darker.

"N-n-no! I'm not like that! I-I… I actually like Naruto-san…"

Chris said in an attempt to go along with Naruto by looking up at him, but she quickly adverted her eyes when she saw that he was looking at her in surprise. She really hoped he didn't misunderstand her just now.

It was all just an act! An act!

"As a Crimson Demon, it's killing me to hold back my urge to one-up this and take the spotlight. But even I know it would be bad to get in the way of a moment like this."

Megumin muttered to herself before she placed a hand on Aqua's shoulder. It was time the girl admitted defeat.

"N-no way…"

Aqua hunched over dejectedly. How could this be happening? Naruto was Naruto! He was a hopeless man-child that was in desperate need of her guidance! With the small price of a drink, she would have showed him the way to a woman's heart! Without her help, there was no way he could…!

'…Wait! That's it!'

The goddess thought when it dawned on her that Naruto likely had no experience with women. No, he definitely had no experience with women! It was her win!

"Aqua…"

Kazuma said sadly when he saw the girl started laughing.

What a pitiful girl… She must have realized how stupid it was to make a bet with the guy she liked to get a girlfriend. Her mind must have snapped.

Chris sighed in relief. With Aqua's hysterical laughter in the situation she was in, it was a sign that she had given up. It was finally over…

"Fufufu… Ahahahahah! Naruto! You fool!"

Aqua yelled and started walking towards the duo.

Naruto let go of Chris so he could step back as Aqua got up in his face.

"Did you really think that would be enough to convince me!? There's only one way I will accept defeat! You want to know what that is?"

"W-what?"

Naruto gulped as he felt a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"If you two are really a couple… Then you'll have to do the one thing that all couple do! Kiss! Right here and now!"

Aqua demanded such an outrageous thing, and the guild roared.

"A-Aqua!? You-"

Kazuma tried to stop Aqua, but his voice drowned in the sea that was the adventurers cheering.

"Do it!"

"I wanna see a good one!"

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

The adventurers surrounded Naruto and Chris and began to chant the same dreaded word over and over again.

Naruto frantically looked around and found the girl that was responsible for this mess standing on top of a nearby table performing party tricks that only boosted the crowd's energy levels. He then looked at Chris, who clearly looked like she wanted nothing more than to leave.

'I guess that's it… I can't ask Chris for more than she's already done for me.'

Naruto thought and was about to holler out to Aqua when Chris suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Naruto, I…"

Chris started, but the cheers of the adventurers skyrocketed.

"Ohhh! The girl's taking the initiative!"

"What a bold woman! I'm so jealous!"

Were some of the things that were being said within the crowd.

"Ch-Chris?"

Naruto asked, a blush forming on his own face. She wasn't seriously going to kiss him for the bet, was she!?

Chris was frozen with a boiling smile plastered on her red face. That's not what she was doing at all! She was going to tell Naruto that she was done! But now what was she supposed to do!?

No, the answer was obvious! She had to tell Naruto that she couldn't go through with the act any longer!

"…!"

Just as Chris looked up to say what she wanted to say, she found Naruto looking down at her with an equally embarrassed expression. Because of the surrounding adventurers, they had been pushed closer together than before. She looked at his lips, and felt his breath…

"I'M SORRY!"

Chris exploded before pushing her way through the crowd and out of the adventurer's guild.

"Ah~! She chickened out!"

"How boring…"

The adventurers grumbled about having their show cut short before dispersing and going back to what they were doing.

'These guys…'

Naruto thought with a twitching eyebrow. He was definitely going to properly apologize to Chris later…

"Hahahaha! Looks like it's my win, Naruto! But that was to be expected. You really don't know how sensitive a woman's heart is."

Aqua cackled with laughter as she walked up to Naruto's side before leaning in and whispering.

"I'll give you one last chance… Dedicate yourself to making me happy, worship me, revere me! Do that, and I'll drop the whole bet."

The goddess finished before bursting out with laughter unbefitting that of her title.

As angry as Naruto should have been at this girl, he couldn't help but sigh. Awua was supposed to be a goddess, right? Then why was she acting like a villain from one of Ero-Senin's novels?

It was almost comical at the length she was going to get him to become one of her devotees.

"I'd rather join the Eris Cult."

Naruto finally replied, causing Aqua to fall flat on her face.

"Y-you…! You monster! Demon scum! You will learn what it means to disobey a goddess's wishes-Gah!"

Aqua winced in pain when Kazuma suddenly chopped her on the head.

"Give it up already, would you Aqua? You lost."

"Hah!? How did I lose? They didn't kiss!"

"Of course they didn't! They only just became a couple today, you moron! Then you suddenly put them in a situation where they had to kiss in front of a whole crowd! Not even some married couples like to do that!"

Kazuma scolded the girl, making her retract a couple steps.

Naruto scratched at his whisker marks. Kazuma sure knew how to deal with these girls. He could learn a thing or two from the guy.

"Sorry about that, Naruto."

Kazuma said while looking away awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what to say to the guy. As jealous as he was, he had no intention of actually interfering Naruto's romance relationships. Bet or no bet, it really seemed like Naruto and Chris had chemistry, and he'd feel really bad if their relationship ended because of Aqua's stupidity.

"You sure you don't want to run after her?"

"That's okay, I'll apologize to her later. I'm sure Chris wants to be alone right now anyway…"

Naruto said with a sweatdrop, and the two boys chuckled a bit at that.

Kazuma turned to look at Aqua, who was now being consoled by Darkness and Megumin. Those girls were causing him nothing but trouble lately… But he guessed it wasn't anything new.

"Well, it looks like my party will be taking on your debt as well…"

"Hm? Oh, okay. But don't worry, I'll go on quests with you guys to help pay for the combined debt."

"…Eh?"

Kazuma looked at the blonde in confusion.

"What? You didn't think I was coldhearted enough to leave my friends with forty-four million Eris on their tab, did you?"

Naruto said with a cheeky grin, causing Kazuma to widen his eyes.

. . .

"Damn shonen protagonist."

"What?"

"Nothing! I'm looking forward to working with you, friend!"

"Seriously… What is up with that guy, trying to act all cool. I can be like that to, you know!?"

Kazuma grumbled as he and his party walked back to the mansion. Because of how late they had gone to the guild, and Aqua's little fiasco with the bet's conclusion, it was too late for them to take on any quests.

"Sure sure. We all know what a brave leader you are, Kazuma. Thank you for taking care of us."

Megumin said while idly pointing her staff in the air.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm being looked down on?"

Kazuma said while eyeing the Crimson Demon suspiciously.

"But it'll be reassuring having Naruto joining us for some quests!"

Darkness added with an excited look on her face.

"Don't ignore me."

Kazuma said when the girls changed the subject.

"Though, I wonder. What about his own party?"

Megumin asked, ignoring Kazuma's complaints.

"He said it's hard to get them all together anyway, so it'd be fine. But anyways, if you have complaints about my leadership then let's hear it."

Kazuma said and tried to reel the conversation back.

"Oh! With someone like Naruto in our party, Kazuma will have no choice but to let us go on harder quests! Hah… Hah… I wonder what kind of beasts I'll face!"

Darkness pondered, her breathing growing ragged.

"…"

A vein bulged on Kazuma's forehead. He was already mad at these two for not helping him this morning. If they were just going to ignore now…

"Steal! Steal!"

"AH! Aqua was right! Kazuma really did change his class to pervert!"

"Guh…! To suddenly steal the underwear of two women in public…! Kazuma really is a man worthy of the title 'Kazuma the Brute'!"

"Huh!? Tell those things to my face! I got plenty of mana to spare! Steal! Steal! Steal!"

As Kazuma chased Megumin and Darkness around, Aqua trailed behind at a slower pace. She had been keeping quiet the whole way, deep in thought.

'…Things can't keep going this way. Looks like I'll need to call upon THAT person.'

With that thought, Aqua began to chuckle to herself darkly.

A/N: Poor Chris… But with this chapter, the bet is now behind us. Thank goodness… lol

I'm sure all of you were expecting Naruto to help out Kazuma with the debt if he won. I mean, 44,000,000 Eris is a lot of money…

Oh, and just to clarify. Naruto will still have his own party with Yunyun, Dust, and Cecily. But as we've seen, it's very difficult to get them all together to actually go on a quest.

Next time, we're going to see how some of the other characters are doing outside of Axel. I wonder what Jiraiya's been up to these days~

See you all in the next one!