A/N: Revised as of 4/16/2024.

"Cheers!"

Mugs raised to the ceiling, adventurers filled the noisy eating hall in celebration of Axel's third great victory over a high target bounty.

Specifically, a second Demon King General had been defeated.

Now, nearly a week later, an award ceremony had just taken place.

Naruto and Kazuma had received a formal apology from Sena and the police for suspecting them of being underlings of the Demon King and-

"Twenty-million Eris!"

"A round for everyone! On us!"

Naruto and Kazuma shouted from their spot on top of a table, arms linked as they kicked their legs out in dance.

The cheering roared even louder.

They had received twenty-million Eris with the defeat of Vanir along with a hearty thank you from Luna and the rest of the guild staff.

Their debts cleared, a small fortune in their accounts; things were looking good for the Panty and Bra Thief Brothers.

As for their party members…

"Whyyy!? Why can't I have any more neroid?! I fought hard too!"

"I'm tired of juice! I would have taken out the Demon King General if you hadn't intervened, so I should be allowed to drink neroid too!"

"Ahhh! Why won't people stop calling me by that name! How did they even find out!? I can't take this kind of humiliation…"

The "problem children" were complaining during such an eventful moment. Couldn't they read the atmosphere?

Naruto and Kazuma looked down at the trio that didn't do much, if anything at all, their lips becoming thin lines.

"Kazuma, my friend. Shall I?"

"By all means, my friend."

After their little exchange, Naruto cleared his throat before confronting the girls.

"Aqua, we already gave you your share of the bounty. You paid off your tab and already drank a lot of neroid, so don't beg us for money after spending all of yours when you were basically deadweight until the last minute. Megumin, you refused to join us in the dungeon. While I appreciate you looking after our sack of potatoes, you almost used your unrefined Explosion magic with so many people close by which would have also destroyed the entrance to the dungeon and caused a lot of trouble for Luna-chan. Darkness, I told everyone your name right before we left for the dungeon. Hey, bartender! Another round for the lovely Lalatina!"

"!?" x3

While Aqua and Megumin averted their gazes, Darkness slammed her head on the table.

"This isn't the kind of humiliation I want!"

The noblewoman cried out while hiding her tomato red face behind her hands as she was bombarded by teases from the other adventurers.

Kazuma nodded his head, brimming with pride in his fellow adventurer. He trained his friend well on how to deal with his troublesome party members.

It was safe to say Naruto was now a full-fledged guardian of problem children.

Naruto chuckled to himself as he hopped down from the table. The party was great and all, but he had somewhere he needed to be. It had been nearly a week since he'd been to Wiz's shop. Demon King General or not, he felt guilty for killing someone that was probably her friend and had honestly been avoiding that conversation.

It was time to confront her.

"Want me to come with you?"

Kazuma asked, deducing what was on the shinobi's mind by the growing frown on his face.

"Nah, this is my responsibility. I appreciate it though. See ya tomorrow."

With that said, Naruto snuck out of the guild while everyone continued the celebration.

–While on his way to Wiz's shop, Naruto contemplated what he was going to say.

'Hey Wiz, sorry I've been avoiding you! But I killed your friend Vanir for cash and fame!'

Yeah, this was not going to go well…

"Hey, boss! We have a problem!"

Just when Naruto was considering skipping town, a voice called out to him from a nearby alleyway. He found Dust waving his hand out, ushering for the shinobi to come over to him.

Totally not wanting to be distracted from his impending heart-wrenching conversation with Wiz, Naruto slipped into the alleyway. He just wanted to see what Dust needed and maybe catch up with a former party member.

That was all.

"Yo! I was surprised when you weren't there for the ceremony. Kazuma and I would have treated you to a drink."

"What!? It's not too late, is it? We could probably… No, now isn't the time for such things. We have a serious problem, Boss."

Dust said and leaned closer as if to keep other people from hearing their conversation.

"That brat is onto you. She knows about your secret sexy servants and all of your 'nightly activities'."

"First of all, don't say 'nightly activities'. That makes it sound weird. I haven't done anything to those two, who are most certainly not my servants, nor do I plan to. Anyways, who are you referring to?"

Naruto retorted before asking with his head cocked to the side.

"Yunyun! She's been dragging me around town all week to investigate! I didn't think she'd get anywhere because she's just a brat, but we came really close to the succubus shop last night so I decided it was high time you got involved!"

Dust exclaimed through various hand gestures.

During the fight with Vanir…

In the corner of the guild hall, a lone girl could be seen staring at the request board intensely.

Most of the adventurer's had just left to help out with the Dungeon Exploration quest the police had posted, so it was just her and a few others along with the staff.

Naruto was going with Kazuma's party, so she didn't want to intrude. Did she make a mistake? Maybe she could go and say she saw the request and was going to join the group but ran a little late… But that would make it seem like she just didn't want to walk with them to the dungeon! That just wouldn't do!

'I still want to ask Naruto-san about those Succubi too… I heard he's been acting strange as of late, and even rumors that he was responsible for the Giant Toad's appearance in the town. I hope those Succubi aren't controlling him…'

As Yunyun struggled internally, a certain adventurer made his way towards the request board.

"Hey, Yunyun-chan."

Turning around to face the familiar voice, Yunyun found Dust grinning at her.

"Ah, hello Dust-san. I didn't think you'd be sober at this time of day."

"Don't be like that to your former party member, it'll make me sad. Anyways, are you going to Keele's Dungeon too?"

Yunyun wasn't quite sure how to feel about this boy. On one hand, she was happy to have someone to talk to as few people approached her nowadays for some reason. But on the other hand, Dust was a little… How to put it nicely…

"I was going to, but I don't want to get in Naruto-san's way. He seems to be getting along with Kazuma-san's party quite well as of late."

It was true, and it made her feel a little lonely if she was being honest… and worried that Naruto was going to join Kazuma's party and leave her behind.

"My room a the inn was also destroyed because a Giant Toad suddenly appeared, so I need some extra money to find a new place to stay."

Seeing the lonely expression on Yunyun's face, Dust almost felt like he was going to cry.

That situation… It was just too pitiful.

Although she was still under his strike-zone, maybe he'd be a little nice to her just this once.

"My party wanted to go to Keele's Dungeon too, but I convinced them it was pointless since Naruto was going. We're going on another quest if you'd like to join us?"

"!"

Upon hearing Dust's surprising offer, Yunyun's eyes widened slightly.

"R-really? W-well, maybe… If it's not too much trouble."

Dust found it amusing at how readable this girl was. It was a good thing he had spread all of those rumors about her being one of Naruto's girls. With how trusting and eager Yunyun was for social interactions, that put her in danger of the wrong crowds.

Not that he would know anything about that.

'Hehehe… Maybe if I tell the boss about my good deed, he'll put in a good word for me with the succubi.'

"On second thought, Dust-san is making a suspicious expression. I'll just take a solo quest for now."

Seeing Dust's expression reminded Yunyun of this man's true nature.

As she turned from the dejected teen and was about to walk away, a thought occurred to her.

'Wait… Maybe he knows something about Naruto-san and those Succubi.'

Naruto palmed his face.

He'd forgotten about Yunyun. Again!

Yunyun had walked in on Naruto and the two Succubi that one time and he still hadn't confronted her about it. It's been a week and she was probably avoiding him because of it.

Now, on top of breaking Wiz's heart, he had to find Yunyun and soothe things over before she found out about the Succubus shop.

While he didn't care about their services in particular, it would be dangerous if the females of the town found out about the Succubi's existence.

'So you're a coward, a bad friend, and a prude.'

'Shut up.'

Ignoring the obnoxious laughter in the back of his head, Naruto thanked Dust and pat him on the shoulder. His former party member really came through this time for distracting Yunyun and giving him a heads up. He decided to treat the guy to that neroid later after all.

"I'm going to stop by Wiz's shop for something, so go to the Succubus shop to make sure Yunyun doesn't make any unnecessary discoveries until I find her. Okay?"

"Yessir!"

Dust saluted and took off into the alleyway towards the shop that literally held the dreams of all the men in town.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Naruto continued on his way to Wiz's shop. All while thinking about how he was going to break the news to her.

"Fuahahaha! Was thou worried about what to say to this pitiful shopkeeper? Well, worry not! Because moi is just fine! How kind of thee, to wait at the door for thirty straight minutes in contemplation-Oh, such delicious negative emotions! Thank you for this (not so) surprise meal!"

"Son of a-!"

"Oh, is that Naruto-san? How have you bee-Ah! Please don't fight in here! The merchandise! It's going to breeeeak!"

–After a brief game of cat and mouse, Wiz finally managed to calm the enraged shinobi.

Naruto sat at the table in the back of the shop with his arms crossed, a warm cup of tea at his front as Wiz filled him in.

"-and that's how it is. Now Vanir-san can quit being a General for the Demon King and work here!"

Wiz chirped, seemingly in a good mood.

To sum things up, like Wiz, Vanir was only acting as a Demon King General in name. The devil had been telling the truth in saying he had no intention of harming humanity. Upon his defeat, Vanir's contract with the Demon King was considered void.

"This Duke of Hell is a part timer, indeed. Now moi can properly save up for a dungeon to achieve moi's wonderful dream! How about it, boy who cares for little more than noodles and violence? Shall we call a truce for the sake of this hopeless romantic of a shopkeeper? Perhaps do some business?"

Vanir asked and offered his hand with a devilish grin on his face.

"Who would want such a troublesome dream to come true? Also, don't make fun of Wiz. She might actually cry. Anyways, that doesn't explain how you're still alive. I blew you up good, I'm sure of it."

Naruto grumbled and slapped the masked man's hand away.

Vanir's expression altered from playful to puzzled and referred to a number "II" on his mask.

"What dost thou mean? After losing a life, moi is clearly wearing the Vanir MKII."

"Are you making fun of me? I'll kill you again."

Before things could get out of hand again, Wiz hastily brought forth a box of wares and placed it in front of the shinobi.

"A-anyways! Look what I recently purchased for the shop, Naruto-san! I'll have you know that I'm quite confident in this batch! I even got a discount for buying it in bulk!"

Watching Wiz act so bubbly, even Naruto couldn't stay upset for long as he felt his anger fiz away. There was something contagious about the Lich's optimism.

Seeing as she now had the blonde's undivided attention, Wiz merrily picked an item from the box and handed it to the shinobi.

"This is a music box that uses magical notes to make the surrounding area completely silent! I think this item will be quite popular with thieves or adventuring parties that are trying to move around areas without being heard."

The shopkeeper proudly presented, and Naruto nodded along when a thought occurred to him.

"But wouldn't the party members not be able to hear each other? How will they work together if something goes wrong?"

"Indeed. The user wouldn't be able to hear someone attacking from behind either. This merchandise is rubbish."

Naruto and Vanir exposed the weaknesses of the magic item while nodding in unison, causing the Lich to blunder with her words in an attempt to defend her wares.

"I-Umm.. That… This one is a pair of brass knuckles that turns mana into extra power! Naruto-san, you might actually find this one quite useful on your adventures!"

Wiz deftly snatched the faulty magic item from the blonde's hands and replaced it with a pair of brass knuckles.

"Oh! This one actually sounds useful! Good job Wiz!"

Naruto exclaimed while putting his fingers through the holes of the weapon, and Wiz excitedly clasped her hands together in relief at the praise.

As soon as the weapon was properly on his hands, Naruto instantly felt the item pulling on his mana reserves.

"W-what is it? Are they uncomfortable? Are they stuck?"

Seeing her friend's expression fall, Wiz started panicking.

"Trash! Moi can see through moi's all seeing eyes the absurd rate at which mana is drawn from this item! Honestly, woman! Dost thou not realize this is a town for beginners!? Not a soul will purchase this junk! Moi will just throw them out and be done with it!"

Vanir lectured and picked up the box with the intention of walking out the door, but Wiz latched onto his arm in defiance.

"No! They'll sell! My confidence!"

"Thy confidence is worth little more than this rubbish! Unhand me, woman! Moi must do what must be done!"

Naruto watched the pitiful scene play out in front of him while smiling wryly, a sweat drop trailing down the side of face. As much as he disliked Vanir, the Duke of Hell didn't seem like an inherently bad guy. He also couldn't help but agree with what the devil was saying about the products.

At least things seemed like they'd mostly remain the same at Wiz's shop, even with the addition of Vanir.

With the deliverance of bad news taking care of itself in such an unpredictable way, Naruto continued towards his next destination.

That was one problem down, only one to go. Easy-peasy.

'Don't jynx yourself. What did that brat say thoughts like that did? "Raising a flag"?'

'Oh please, it's Yunyun we're talking about. Although I do feel bad for forgetting about her again… I just have to make it up to her! Maybe she'll want to go on a quest and-wait a minute! Don't think I've forgiven you for letting Vanir take over my body!'

'Don't get your panties in a bunch, kid. We both know that self-proclaimed goddess always gets away from rightful retribution at the last second.'

Kurama grumbled, and Naruto could almost hear the beast's massive eyes rolling.

Deciding to pick his battles, Naruto chose to focus on the matter at hand.

But first, he needed to find-

"Oh…"

Before he knew it, he had arrived at his destination.

The inn that both he and Yunyun stayed at, the very same one that Naruto had placed a trap to exact revenge on a certain bratty goddess, retained the gaping hole where their respective rooms had once been.

'I've been staying at another inn, but hadn't even given a thought to where Yunyun was staying… If she even has a place to stay. God, I'm the worst…'

–After checking in with the clearly traumatized inn-keeper and receiving no information on Yunyun's whereabouts, then making a generous donation to pay for the damages, Naruto took to the rooftops in search of his crimson-clad party member.

The sun was beginning to set in the distance, which was troubling for the shinobi. He wasn't worried about Yunyun finding out about the Succubi during the day. After all, their shop was properly disguised as a cafe during light hours.

It wasn't until night when the Succubus would start coming out and be vulnerable to a skillful mage like Yunyun.

Granted, Dust claimed she'd been onto the Succubi's trail for the past week. But the sooner Naruto could confront the mage about Morrigan and Maria, the better.

Deciding to cut his losses and just go to the hidden shop, Naruto landed on ground with a light thud and made sure no one was watching before walking through the secret entrance.

After all, he didn't want people seeing him walking into such a place. He had enough of those stupid rumors.

Upon entering the dimly lit shop, a musky wave of perfume hit the boy's nose. While he was adjusting to the scent that attacked his senses, Naruto heard a collective set of gasps.

"Naruto-sama has graced us with his presence!?"

"Are you here for a "special service", Naruto-sama? Let me be your server!"

"No, me!" x4

A group of scantily-clad Succubi dropped what they were doing and rushed towards him and attempted to latch onto him. This earned the shinobi scornful looks from the men they'd previously been serving.

Naruto was prepared for this and leapt into the air to attach himself to the ceiling. He heard a bunch of "awws" of longing from the women after this action.

Coughing into his hand to retain his composure, Naruto looked down on the Succubi and firmly made his request. He found that this was the best way of dealing with this lot.

"No thank you, I'm just here for 'those two'. Does anyone know where they are?"

Remembering what Morrigan and Maria told him about how sensitive lower class devils were about their names, he figured this bunch would understand what he meant.

In the midst of moans of jealousy and minor curses, one Succubus pointed towards a pair of purple curtains in the back of the room.

Nodding his appreciation, Naruto hopped down to the floor and made his way towards the curtains that likely led to a break room.

The place was mostly void of humans since most, if not all of the adventurers were partying at the guild hall. But there were still some townsfolk and even a few police officers making requests.

Naruto saw the appeal to this place, he was a man after all. As Dust and Kazuma had numerously promoted the shop in the past that the Succubus kept the men of this town in check by giving them a consistent form of release. He was just mentally scarred from that time Morrigan had made him dream of doing those… things to some of the people in his day to day life.

The shinobi shuddered in remembrance of that night.

"Ah, Boss! You made it! No sight of Yunyun so far!"

Naruto turned and found Dust sitting at one of the stalls. He seemed to be in the middle of filling out a dream request form himself.

Wasn't he supposed to be on the lookout for Yunyun? How did he expect to do that inside the shop? This would cost Dust that drink.

Giving the delinquent adventurer a thumbs up and making a mental note to prank him later, Naruto walked up to the backroom.

Brushing a curtain to the side, Naruto found Morrigan sitting at a desk. She donned a pair of glasses and seemed to be in the middle of doing paperwork of some sort which gave the mature woman quite a professional aura.

'Oh yeah, she mentioned something about being the manager of the Succubus shop… I guess she's really responsible.'

To his other side he found… Maria passed out on the couch, clutching his precious orange jacket with a massive smile on her face. He'd have to get that back from her at some point.

Naruto let the curtain go and walked up to the desk, gaining the head Succubus's attention. He half expected the woman to pounce on him and prepared himself as such, but Morrigan simply blinked in surprise and smiled gently.

"I'm not interrupting you, am I? Are those the digits for the shop?"

Seeing as he wasn't in any danger, Naruto relaxed his muscles and nodded towards the papers.

"Ah, no. I haven't done those yet. I was making a list of all of the ways that I want to be subjugated to your will. Would you like to read it for some inspiration? Some are quite… Invigorating."

"No thanks. Please don't write such useless things and do your job. Also, give me back the professional perception of you I just had."

Naruto replied without hesitation, and Morrigan reacted similarly to a certain Crusader he knew.

"Ngh…!? Naruto-sama is usually so kind, but this kind of attitude is good too."

The Succubus moaned pleasantly while squirming in her chair.

Letting out a sigh, the shinobi playfully chopped the Succubus on the head.

"Yunyun's onto you guys, y'know? I'm trying to find her and smooth things over after that last time she saw you both, but I haven't had any luck. I don't even know where she's staying after I destroyed our inn…"

Naruto explained, growing more and more depressed as he spoke.

"Ah, what a wonderfully devilish act that was! We Succubi heard of Naruto-sama's retaliation against the foul Axis Cult. To go as far as to sneak a Giant Toad into town and destroy an inn… To think that as a bonus, you even put that nasty Crimson Demon on the streets! Naruto-sama is the best!"

An arrow with the word "guilt" written on it struck Naruto in the back as Morrigan seemingly couldn't contain herself any longer and pounced on the blonde.

Shaking away the guilt, Naruto held the Succubus at arm's length.

"Ugh… Can you guys help me find Yunyun before she does anything extreme?"

"Of course!"

Morrigan chirped, and Naruto nodded before turning towards the exit.

"Ah, about our findings at that noble's mansion…"

The head succubus trailed off, and Naruto pondered in thought for a moment.

The night after Naruto and co had "defeated" Vanir, he'd visited the succubus shop to ask Morrigan and Maria if they'd found anything.

It seemed that noble Alderp was in a contract with a powerful devil.

After a minute of consideration, Naruto shook his head.

"I have some stuff I need to do before I even think about taking on a high ranking noble. Thanks again for finding out that information."

Naruto said and was about to leave when the woman caught his hand and placed his arm in her bosom.

"But of course, Naruto-sama. Now, about the payment for our services…"

Morrigan all but whispered into his ear, a devilish smile adorning her lips.

A chill went up the shinobi's spine at the sight of Succubus's primal expression. For all his bravado and recent developments, he was still weak against these kinds of attacks.

All of his senses told him to run.

But no! He was tired of running and getting pushed around by women! That was the old Naruto Uzumaki, damn it!

It was time to lay his foot down and set some boundaries!

"How about…"

Naruto started, pulling his arm away and holding the female's hands in his own.

"I treat you and Maria to dinner as thanks for a job well done?"

He wasn't sure this sort of reward would suit the lesser devil, given past precedence with Morrigan. But to Naruto's surprise, Morrigan began to tear up.

"S-such tenderness… Never would I expect such genuine kindness from a high ranking devil towards a lesser devil such as myself. Naruto-sama really is the best…"

"I-I'm not a devil, but I see… Then, let Maria know that we're having dinner together and it'll be my treat! Anywhere you want to go!"

Happy that things didn't turn to a lewd outcome with these succubus in the end, Naruto grinned a fox-like grin.

With information exchanged and plans made, Naruto made his way to the exit with a skip in his step.

'Well played, for a prude.'

'That's an awfully nice thing to say, for a traitor.'

Naruto responded with a smirk, and instantly regretted it as a surge of Kurama's chakra radiated from his gut.

It only lasted for a moment, but the effects were devastating as every Succubus in the shop dropped to their hands and knees as though the wind had been knocked out of them.

"Yes… YES!"

"Such power… I need it inside me!"

"Please! Give us more, Naruto-sama~!"

Face drained of all color, Naruto unconsciously took a step back as dozens of predatory gazes fell on him.

'You damn fox! Not this again! Also, one of them said something really dangerous just now! What is it!?'

Naruto thought as he backed away from the leering eyes. If he didn't escape right now, he felt he would lose something very important.

Two pairs of hands grabbed his arms from behind.

"We won't let you escape this time, Naruto-sama."

"Why didn't you wake me up, Naruto-sama… That wasn't very nice of you."

Morrigan and the newly awoken Maria held his arms with vice-like grips, their eyes glowing like wild animals in the dark of night. It was honestly terrifying.

The hunt was on!

"Heh… That's the boss for you."

Dust mused as he watched the shinobi tried, and failed, to escape and all of the Succubi pounced on him.

After narrowly escaping death's embrace, Naruto slowed to a walk on the darkened streets of Axel. They were in the last stretch of Winter, so it was quite cold now as tiny snowflakes were falling from the sky.

His casual outfit was in tatters, as the Succubi had tugged, pulled, and clawed at him in an attempt to draw on his "power".

'I really hate you right now.'

'Ah, don't be like that. Any other men would kill to have been in your place. Besides, if it weren't for my chakra, those lesser devils wouldn't pass you a second glance. Keh...'

Kurama chortled at the teen's expense, prompting Naruto to grumble to himself.

He'd deal with the dumb fox later.

Seeing as he probably couldn't count on Morrigan and Maria's help right now, what with them being in that state, Naruto decided to call it a night.

With his luck, Yunyun probably skipped town because of what he'd put her through.

'She's a powerful mage, after all. It's not like she really needed to stay in this beginner's town anyway.'

Naruto moped to himself and began to think back to everything he and Yunyun had been through.

Their meeting at the Crimson Demon Village, the compatibility test, their travels as a newly formed party to Axel, the Nido-Rabbits, the battle with the Destroyer, the festival, all the quests they'd gone on together…

Naruto chuckled when remembered the time he'd introduced Yunyun to Wiz. Those two got along so well…

Wait a minute… That was it!

It was a longshot, but maybe Yunyun was staying at Wiz's shop!

Naruto cursed himself for not asking the Lich if she'd seen Yunyun and took off running, praying to Eris that he was right.

A short time later, Naruto turned a corner and saw the little shop in the distance. Just as he took his first step up the little stairs, the door creaked open.

"Ah." x2

Yunyun, wearing a dark cloak that shielded her in the night, stared at the shinobi with bright red eyes. Her crimson orbs were wide with surprise. She clearly hadn't expected to see him.

"Yunyun… Ah, wait!"

Naruto started, but Yunyun suddenly moved to walk past him so he reached out in desperation and grabbed her arm.

The two stood in silence for a moment before Naruto hastily let go.

"S-sorry… Um… Can we talk?"

The shinobi stuttered his request hopefully. Yunyun continued to face away from him, but made no moves to leave so he took that as a yes and continued.

"I've… been a terrible friend to you. I went on the dungeon quest with Kazuma's party and ended up fighting a Demon King Army General without even thinking to invite you. Not to mention I destroyed our inn without even giving you a heads up, and didn't bother to check in on you afterwards."

Naruto said and grit his teeth as he stared at the floor in shame. He felt awful. Yunyun had helped him so much these past few weeks, and hadn't complained once.

"I understand if you hate my guts right now, but I just want you to know that I'm truly sorry… and I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you. I swear on my nindo-"

"Naruto-san's ninja way…"

Naruto snapped his head up to find Yunyun smiling at him sadly.

"I forgive you, Naruto."

Yunyun continued, and Naruto perked up.

"Then-"

"But I can't be in your party anymore."

The moment those words left the mage's mouth, Naruto felt like the world was collapsing on top of him.

"Naruto… You've been getting along quite well with Kazuma's party, and I… Think it would be for the best if you joined them."

Yunyun said with a solemn expression on her young features.

Naruto couldn't believe this was happening. He was feeling guilty, panicked, and angry all at once. Angry at this situation, the world, but mostly at himself for ruining his friendship.

"Instead of being party members… I-I think I want something else."

The mage stuttered, and the shinobi was finding it hard to concentrate so he almost missed the fact that the girl was now standing right in front of him.

Cheeks burning, Yunyun grabbed Naruto's shaky hands into her own. Immediately, he felt a sense of relief. Like the girl was washing all of his negative emotions away.

"W-what do you want? It can be anything! Anything to make it up to you, Yunyun!"

Naruto found himself saying in all attempts to keep his friend.

"A-anything? Are you sure you're prepared for that, Naruto? You shouldn't make a girl a promise you can't keep…"

Yunyun asked while looking away shyly, and the shinobi found his breath was caught.

Was he… Did he…

"Naruto?"

"Y-yes? I mean, yes! O-o-of course I'm prepared! Anything means anything!"

Naruto stammered in response, earning a few giggles from the girl.

"Then… What I want is…"

Now his cheeks were heating up? Seriously, what was wrong with him right now?

Wait, was she getting closer to him now?

Why did Yunyun's lips suddenly look so soft!?

Was he going to let this happen?

He was going to let this-

"Thou was expecting a smooch from thy party member, but too bad it was just moi! So sad!"

"..."

"Yunyun's" face shifted until a familiar suspicious masked figure took its place.

Naruto's lips became a fine line as Vanir laughed in his face.

"Oh, thou is more disappointed than moi was anticipating. Such a refined flavor of negative emotions… I thank thee for this delicious meal! Fuahahaha!"

Flicker!

The shinobi's form was suddenly enveloped in a golden hue, and it almost seemed as though he were covered in strange markings.

"You're going to become Vanir MKIII when I'm done with you! C'mere!"

Naruto barked and swiped at the masked man with a golden chakra appendage, successfully cleaving the devil's body in two. But Vanir simply absorbed the earth around him and reformed his lost lower half.

"Fuahaha! Moi seems to have struck a nerve! Then, moi shall take my leave! Ta ta!"

"Oh no you don't!"

Vanir cackled and leapt backwards into a nearby alleyway that was shrouded in darkness, and Naruto was about to give chase when he heard wood creaking behind him.

Turning sharply, Naruto found a beet-red faced Yunyun peeking out from behind the door.

Naruto's chakra cloak vanished in that instant, evaporating into the air like a fading light.

Yunyun, having been caught, slowly stepped outside and onto the steps.

Still suspicious, the shinobi marched up to the girl and poked her cheek.

"Are you the real Yunyun? You're not that stupid devil trying make a joke out of me again, are you?"

"Y-y-yes, it's me! The real me! P-p-please stop poking me!"

Yunyun stammered and willfully shoved the blonde back, but her eyes almost instantly went wide and she began to panic when she realized what she'd done.

"Ah! I'm s-sorry! I'm just a little worked up over… What just happened."

The mage admitted, her gaze falling to the ground.

Realizing this was the real Yunyun, and the fact that she'd just witnessed that entire scene with Vanir caused Naruto's face to turn green. He fell to his hands and knees in dismay.

"So you saw all of that… Ugh… I've never been so ashamed in my life."

"I-it's okay, Naruto-san. I was a little surprised when Vanir-san transformed into me and walked out the door. Ah, Wiz-san introduced me since I've been staying here after my room was destroyed. W-w-w-wait, please don't cry! I've been having fun here, I promise!"

Yunyun stammered when tears began to pour from her friend's eyes, a storm cloud forming over his head.

"It's… It's just so sad! I'm the worst friend ever!"

"It's okay! Really! I mean, I was a little lonely again… but I've been working hard to find those Succubi that have been manipulating you and Dust-san!"

Yunyun suddenly blurted out with newfound determination.

. . .

"Heh?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side and made a strange sound. He could see why she might have thought he was under the influence of the Succubus, but why Dust?

"That's right! Dust-san admitted that the Succubus had you both wrapped around their fingers. I don't have any skills or spells to break curses, so I took him to the Eris church to get purified. But they kicked us out for some reason after seeing Dust-san…"

Yunyun began her wild explanation.

'That guy...'

The shinobi thought with a twitching eyebrow. He could only guess why the Eris church wouldn't want Dust around.

"I tried to look for Cecily-san for help, but she's been missing this past week. I hope she's okay."

"Hm. I see."

The girl continued, which caused Naruto to nod his head robotically. He wondered if Cecily was back in Alcanretia causing trouble for her fellow cultists.

Probably.

Come to think of it… Maybe he should have kept her around. If anything, just to keep an eye on that crazy priestess. If she racked up anymore debt, he had a feeling it would fall onto his lap some way or another.

Being a guardian of problem children was rough.

"A-anyways, I haven't found any concrete evidence… But I did notice Dust-san was trying to keep me away from a specific part of town. I'm going to try looking there tonight. I'm sure they're the reason Naruto-san did something as outrageous as sneaking a Giant Toad into town as a prank. Honestly, that's on the level of Megumin's stupidity. Surely Naruto-san wasn't thinning straight because of the Succubus's influence."

Yunyun finished and nodded to herself in satisfaction, each claim striking the ninja with an arrow of guilt.

Naruto remembered the Crimson Demons were widely known for their high intelligence stats. If he hadn't caught her now, Yunyun might have actually done something outrageous herself.

"Actually, Yunyun. Let me explain…"

–After filling Yunyun in on his situation with Morrigan and Maria, about how his learning their names had bound them under a contract, and how they were helping him gather information on the corrupt noble that was responsible for his and Kazuma's incarceration and would-be execution, the mage's eyes became saucers.

"That's the gist of it… I'm sorry for not telling you anything until now. Kazuma and Dust told me women hate Succubus, so I didn't know how you'd react."

Naruto finished his explanation while scratching at his whisker marks sheepishly.

Of course, he left out the part about the succubus dream service shop that was the home base to a large group of the lesser devils. But Yunyun didn't really need to know about that.

But the real question was… How did Yunyun feel about all of this?

After what felt like an eternity, the girl let out a sigh.

"Thank goodness… I thought Naruto-san was in danger. But if that's the case, then I don't have anything to worry about!"

Yunyun said and smiled brightly.

Naruto's lip began to quiver… This girl was just so kind, forgiving, and trusting he could just-

"Yunyuuun!"

"!?"

The shinobi couldn't hold himself back anymore and lunged forward to give his friend a hug. But Yunyun, her memory flashing to the interaction she'd just witnessed, panicked and launched an intermediate spell out of reflex.

"Lightning!"

"Gah!"

Yunyun sputtered apology after apology as Naruto's charred form twitched on the ground.

It seemed things were mostly back to normal for these two adventurers.

A/N: With this chapter, we have concluded the events of KonoSuba volume 3. Hopefully our hero will stop forgetting about his first and only remaining party member.