Vanir: Fuahaha! Thy negative emotions when thou thought the story was over were quite delicious! Indeed, they were quite tasty! Moi cannot wait until moi's appearance in this blasphemous story... Fuahaha-

A/N: Ahem! Sorry about that… That troublesome devil is getting a little impatient. But we'll all be seeing him soon enough.

Enjoy!

Emergency Quest Complete!

"With the combined efforts of Naruto-san and everyone, the Destroyer has been defeated! On behalf of the guild staff and the citizens of Axel, we thank you all very much!"

Luna cheerfully announced before she bowed deeply, along with the other guild staff members.

The adventurers roared upon seeing this, and the celebration had begun. Everyone began to drink like there was no tomorrow, and dance around like fools.

Kazuma would have done the same, but first he had more pressing matters to attend to.

"What did I say? The Destroyer didn't stand a chance against us with me around! Wahaha!"

Aqua shouted before downing her third mug of ale in one go.

"Yes! I hope we get to face against another foe like the Destroyer soon!"

Darkness agreed and started drinking from her own mug.

"You two didn't do a thing. In fact, you were both more of a handicap this time around."

Kazuma retorted, causing the two women to spew ale from their mouths.

"What!? Say that again you shitty NEET!"

"I-I wasn't useless, was I Kazuma!?"

Aqua and Darkness both yelled at Kazuma, who only stared at the two with a distasteful expression.

That's right, because the one who did most of the work this time around was Naruto.

"I can't believe this is the same brat I met at the hot springs all those years ago… To think you not only mastered the Rasengan, but even combined it with Explosion magic! But not only that! You managed to befriend the Nine-Tailed Fox! The Destroyer didn't stand a chance! As expected of my prized pupil! Gahahaha!"

Jiraiya praised the young blonde with a hearty laugh and slapped him on the back.

"Yeah, Naruto was great out there!"

"I always knew there was something special about that guy!"

"Free cheers for Naruto!"

As the ever-so rowdy adventurers cheered, Naruto scratched at his whisker-marks awkwardly. He wanted to retort and call out their BS, but their cheers made him decide otherwise.

"Don't forget that we were able to bypass the Destroyer's barrier because of the combined forces of our Explosion magic!"

Megumin chimed in while stepping in front of Naruto in an attempt to steal the spotlight.

"That's right! The shopkeeper was there too!"

"Not to mention that shorty who shielded us from the shockwave!"

"Yeah, where is that little shorty? I want to thank her!"

Megumin stumbled on her own feet when the adventurers ran passed her and over to Yunyun, who was now hiding behind Naruto from the sudden attention. How dare that socially awkward girl steal her moment!

"T-t-thank you all…! I-I'm just glad everyone is safe!"

Yunyun stuttered extremely hard as the crowd praised her.

Naruto laughed as Yunyun clutched his vest while staring at the floor. The poor girl… She was probably both happy and terrified right now.

"Ahem… Naruto-san? May I have a word?"

Luna said and poked the shinobi's shoulder, and the crowd immediately quieted down and gave the two some room.

"What's up, Luna-chan?"

Naruto asked the receptionist, who seemed to be troubled over something.

"Oho~? Do I smell a confession? Damn it, I'm so jealous right now but at the same time I'm so proud of you Boss!"

Dust shouted, and in turn his fellow male adventurers started hollering and whistling.

"Eh!?"

Luna squeaked in surprise and grew even more troubled. She was trying to apologize for prohibiting Naruto from doing harder quests, and now they were expecting her to confess!?

Should she!? No… This wasn't the time or place for such a thing!

'Remain calm… Think professional… Professional…'

Luna thought to herself and took a deep breath, and just like that, her professional demeanor returned.

Yunyun stared at the pretty receptionist with calculating eyes. This one might prove to be a problem for Wiz in the future…

"Don't mind them, Luna-chan. They're just messing around."

Naruto said dismissively and gave the adventures a look to get them to stop.

"R-right…"

Luna reluctantly agreed with a twitching eyebrow. Of course Naruto wouldn't bat an eye to a situation like this… What was she even worried about?

"Anyways, I would like to apologize for my earlier behavior. I shouldn't have kept you from taking on those difficult quests. But if you would allow me to be selfish one more time, I would appreciate it if you could take care of some of those quests for me…"

"Hehe… Why didn't you say so? Of we will, right Yunyun?"

Naruto responded with a toothy grin and glanced at his party member.

"R-right! Please take care of me, Naruto-san!"

Yunyun said and stumbled into a polite bow.

This scene caused an uproar throughout the guild.

"Naruto and the Crimson Demon… They make quite the pair!"

"Don't they have a beautiful priestess in their party too?"

"Yeah, she healed my wounds the other day!"

"Hey! What about me!? I'm a part of Boss's party too!"

Dust shouted and started picking fights with some of the adventurers that were excluding him, and Naruto had to restrain the delinquent to prevent him from going too far.

During all of this, Kazuma sat at a secluded table with a seething Megumin.

Sigh… Wasn't this supposed to his story? His fantasy story of becoming a hero, getting the girl, and striking it rich?

'But all I have is these three…'

Kazuma thought with a scrunched-up face as he looked at his "problem children". Darkness was currently rushing Aqua outside who was spewing rainbows form her mouth, while Megumin was whispering something dark about how she was going to get back at Naruto and Yunyun.

…Stupid fake ninja and his stupid Shonen tropes.

"Forty-million Eris!?"

Naruto suddenly shouted, bringing Kazuma's attention back to the center of the crowd. The receptionist must have told him what the reward for defeating the Destroyer was… But did he just say forty-million!?

"Yes. The guild staff came to an agreement that you deserved a large portion of the bounty, and the adventurers all chipped in as well."

Luna said with a smile and handed the whiskered teen a small slip of paper.

"You guys…"

Naruto said while looking at his fellow adventurers with wide eyes.

"You deserve it, Boss! Though… I wouldn't mind if you spared a little for me-Oof!"

Dust started asking for money when Lynn dug her elbow into his ribs to shut him up.

"What are you gonna do with the money?"

"I say buy a mansion!"

"Mansion! Mansion! Mansion!"

As the guild started shouting suggestions, Naruto rubbed his eyes with his sleeve.

With all of this money, he could probably buy a mansion equal to or even better than Kazuma's manor. He could imagine the look on Aqua's face as he gave her the grand tour, like she had that one time.

But...

"Thanks guys… But I'd like to use this money to pay off Kazuma's debt."

"!"

Kazuma's jaw dropped, along with everyone else's when Naruto handed the slip of paper back to Luna.

His party's debt was forty-four million Eris… So with that money, they would almost be in the clear! But why!?

"T-that's a lot of money, Naruto! You could buy a bigger mansion than ours like you wanted to! You don't have to waste that money on a guy like me! Why are you…!"

Kazuma shouted, and he didn't know why he was suddenly so angry. Something about Naruto giving all of that money away to help him really struck a chord. From day one, the people around him caused him nothing but trouble…

Doing something like this, after he was just badmouthing the guy internally was unfair!

"Kazuma… You were the first person to help me in this world, remember? You helped me start my life as an adventurer, so think of this as my way of finally paying you back."

Naruto exclaimed and smiled brightly, and with that, Kazuma was completely and utterly defeated.

It was at that moment Kazuma realized that Naruto was his one true friend in this shitty world. The blonde wasn't perfect, but he was the only person Kazuma felt he could truly rely on in his time of need.

Jiraiya smiled knowingly before he walked towards the door. This was the part of Naruto that made him stand out. Not his loud and obnoxious voice, nor his flashy jutsu. It was kindness, and with that kindness, Jiraiya was sure Naruto would be able to change this world.

'You're a good kid, Naruto… Don't ever change.'

The sage thought as he walked out the door, but not before glancing back at his prized pupil one last time. The next time they met, he would show him the Succubus shop. Because knowing Naruto and his obsession with training, the boy likely never learned about the joyous service this town had to offer.

"You… Sniff! You selfless bastard!"

Kazuma sniffled and hid his tearing eyes from everyone. But that stop the rowdy adventurers from teasing him.

Naruto grinned to himself, not noticing the longing look he was getting from Luna, who quickly corrected her expression before anyone saw.

Everything was perfect right now… His reputation was cleared, Kazuma's debt was nearly paid off, and most importantly, the town was safe.

Nothing could ruin this moment-

Slam!

The guild doors suddenly slammed open and a woman with long black hair wearing glasses, along with a blue vest, skirt, and a matching constable's hat marched inside with a small platoon of police officers behind her.

"Naruto Uzumaki! You are coming with us!"

The woman shouted while pointing directly at the shinobi.

"…Huh?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion and turned to Luna for an answer, but the receptionist seemed to be equally befuddled.

"You are under arrest for the suspicion of being a demon that is affiliated with the Demon King's army. If you would follow us-"

"Bullshit! Naruto just saved this town!"

"Yeah! This man also gave up forty-million Eris to help a friend!"

"Are you telling us such a man is a demon!?"

The adventurers quickly jumped to Naruto's defense.

"If I may, Naruto-san is a valued adventurer of this guild. He has been helping us out with durian quests that have been causing us trouble for quite some time. His power is a bit of a surprise, but on behalf of the guild staff, I do not believe he is affiliated with the Demon King's Army in any way."

Luna calmly stated, but the policewoman simply straightened her glasses.

"This man once claimed to have a demon sealed inside of him a few weeks ago, yes? After such a bold statement was made, the authorities have been keeping an eye out on this man should make any suspicious moves. With that display of power earlier today, who's to say that demon isn't the one speaking to us right now?"

"Yes, but…"

"If he proves his innocence, then he's innocent. But for now, we're taking this man in for some questioning. Anyone who makes this arrest anymore difficult will be treated accordingly."

"…"

When Luna and the adventurers failed to think of a response, the police began to advance towards Naruto again.

"H-hey, wait a second! I can explain! I did say that I have a demon sealed inside of me, but Kurama wouldn't hurt a-Actually, that's not true… B-but I promise you're all safe around me!"

Naruto tried to defend himself, but the officers already had him in cuffs and were leading him out the door. He tried to look around the guild for help, but Jiraiya was nowhere to be found and everyone else was averting their gazes. Even Dust was sending him an apologetic look.

It was to be expected though, as even Naruto knew that adventurers were well known for not getting along with the authorities.

'Oh well… Guess I'll just go with them for now and clear things up later.'

Naruto relented a sigh and sent Yunyun a reassuring smile when he saw her flustered state. He was about to be led through the doors when Kazuma suddenly stepped in their way.

"My name is Kazuma Satou! I am the adventurer who led the defense against the Demon King General, Beldia the Dullahan! By my name as an adventurer, I insist that Naruto is, by no shape or form, affiliated with the Demon King Army!"

Kazuma shouted with his arms crossed and feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Kazuma…"

Naruto eyes grew wide. He knew Kazuma wouldn't let him down! Even against the authorities, his friend was backing him up!

Kazuma smirked at his friend. Exposing flaws in the system was one of his strong suits, so now it was his time to shine!

"Is this how your system works? You just arrest someone because you think they're a demon without any hard proof? Well let me tell you. Naruto has been working himself to the bone to help this town! Just ask anyone in this room!"

This got a few positive murmurs in the crowd, which caused Kazuma's smirk to grow. Just a little more and he'd revive everyone's courage.

"But if that's not enough, then you'll have to take me too!"

It turned out the other adventurers had no intention helping them, so Naruto and Kazuma now sat inside of a stone cell together.

"…"

"…I appreciate you trying, Kazuma."

Naruto tried comforting his friend, but the boy continued to stare at the wall emotionlessly.

"…Those guys just abandoned us. After everything we did for them. Why should we even bother risking our lives to defeat the Demon King anyways? When I get out, I'm just gonna stay in my mansion and live a safe life of leisure. Let's see what happens next time a Demon King Army General shows up!"

Kazuma finally said and started ranting about becoming a fulltime NEET again.

Naruto chuckled awkwardly, but he knew Kazuma didn't really mean any of that… Hopefully.

—After a few hours, night finally came and the two were beginning to grow bored. All they had was a thin mat to lay on the stone-cold floor, so forget sleeping.

"Hey, why do you want to defeat the Demon King anyways?"

Kazuma suddenly asked since he nothing better to do.

"I don't know… I just want to help people, ya know? Oh, and fight strong opponents too! Yeah, the Demon King is probably strong right?"

Naruto responded and grew excited over the talk about the Demon King. He wondered how powerful the leader of army that threatened mankind was. What kind of skills did they possess?

"Why are you so battle hungry? I know you have that "cheat" from the gods, but aren't you scared when facing strong monsters?"

Kazuma asked while smiling bitterly, because that was something he could never understand about the blonde. During the fight with the Dullahan, he was terrified until they started winning the battle in that ridiculous manner. He thought he was going to shit his pants when the Winter Shogun appeared, and he probably did when that abominable snowman showed up and tore him in half…

Just thinking of his second death sent shivers down his spine.

"Hm… I guess fighting is just second nature to me. I've been fighting all my life, so I don't know any better."

Naruto responded after giving it some thought.

Kazuma frowned. If Naruto really was telling him the truth, and the guy really was from a village of ninja with a "ninja academy", then that would make him a child soldier. He felt relieved to have been born in the safe Japan.

"Why do you want to defeat the Demon King?"

Naruto asked, causing his fellow prisoner to snicker.

"The gods promised to grant me a wish if I defeated the Demon King! You know what that means? Anything I want! Power, wealth, real harems! Hahahaha… Hah…!"

Kazuma explained and started laughing, but his laughter died down when he felt the strange look Naruto was giving him.

"…Fine. I guess I haven't really thought about it. Maybe I'd like to become a hero, or something…"

God, saying that out loud was lot cheesier than he thought. He could already feel Naruto's cheeky grin without even looking.

"A hero, huh? That wouldn't be so bad-"

Boom!

A familiar sound caused the two boys to sit up. The cell lit up for a few seconds before everything went back to normal.

"Was that… Explosion magic?"

Kazuma asked, earning a shrug from Naruto. At the same time, a whisper came from the bared window.

"Ptts! Naruto! Kazuma! I've come to rescue you!"

Aqua whispered as her face popped up in the window.

"Aqua…? Rescue us? Why would we want to escape? Wouldn't that only make things worse?"

Kazuma asked, but Aqua simply rolled her eyes.

"Silly Kazuma... It's common knowledge that people who are accused of being demons are executed. They'll twist the truth to make you look guilty and that'll be it. So being the kind and merciful me, I've come to get you out! You can praise me now if you want."

This new piece of information caused Naruto and Kazuma to share a look. On one hand, they didn't know much about this world, so what Aqua was saying might actually be true. On the other hand… This was Aqua.

"What do you suppose we do then?"

Naruto asked to see what the goddess had in mind.

"Fufufu… I knew you'd be helpless without me. As a token of my appreciation, I'll let you spoil me all you like when we get home before we skip town. By the way, Cecily gave me the extra key to your room at the inn."

Aqua passively added the last part, causing a tick-mark to form on Naruto's forehead.

"She what!?"

Did he even have an extra key? That would explain how she got in his room that last time.

"Shhh! Do you want the guards to hear us!? Anyways, Darkness and Megumin are distracting the authorities with Explosion magic. Use this time to break out with this!"

The priestess hissed before tossing something into their cell, and a small metal pick landed on the floor with a clank.

Naruto looked at the bared door, to which he and Kazuma previously discovered was locked by a combination lock.

"…Wow, thanks Aqua! We'll meet you at the front when we get out of here!"

The shinobi said with an exaggerated tone, and Kazuma cringed when Aqua's smile actually grew.

"H-hmph! Of course! I'll be waiting for you then!"

Aqua huffed before hopping down from the window.

While Naruto snickered to himself, he noticed Kazuma was giving him a flat look.

"What?"

"Nothing… I'm going to bed."

"…?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, sensing that there was more to Kazuma's look than he was letting on. But he shrugged and tossed the lockpick out the window before laying down himself.

Their questioning was being held in the morning.

A/N: In case you didn't already know… The police in KonoSuba are actually dressed like modern police officers for whatever reason. XD