A/N: Revised as of 4/23/2024.

With their newfound conundrum and destination in mind, Naruto and Kazuma set off to begin their preparations for the trip.

Kazuma had gone back to his mansion to inform his party while Naruto went off to the inn that had been recently reconstructed(by his own funding) to pack some things.

As the ninja was tossing a couple Storage Scrolls into his traveling pack, a thought occurred to him.

It had been a decent amount of time since he'd last seen Morrigan and Maria. They hadn't shown up when he was at the Succubus café that last time. The other Succubi seemed normal, by their standards anyway. He wondered if those two were up to something…

"Oh yeah, I should probably talk to Ero-Senin before I leave. I'm pretty sure his meeting with Alderp was today."

Naruto noted to himself before slinging his traveling bag over his shoulder. He was still bummed that Jiraiya wasn't letting him attend that meeting. After all, he was without a doubt a mature man who had the ability to remain level-headed during stressful times.

'Indeed. You only threw one adventurer through a wall the last time they called you a "player". Compared to that other time when you brawled an entire party in the streets, then proceeded to paint their adventuring gear orange while they were all unconscious. I'd call that character development.'

Kurama commented snidely in the back of the blonde's mind.

'Hush, or you might wake up black and blue.'

Naruto replied, rolling his eyes as he closed the door to his room. He then made his way down the wooden hall and down the stairs. Waving to the friendly innkeeper, Naruto walked up to the desk.

"Hey, old man. Do you know if Yunyun's back?"

"Your Crimson Demon friend? Hmm… Can't say she has. I haven't seen your other friend either. The blonde one with the curves? Didn't scare her away, did you?"

The older man asked with a wiggling eyebrow.

"S-something like that…"

Naruto stuttered while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly at the mentioning of Cecily. He was honestly surprised that the crazy woman hadn't instantly come back from Alcanretia already. Did she get lost in the transship?

Shrugging, Naruto set off into town to hopefully catch his old mentor. He was kinda bummed Yunyun wasn't back from her trip yet, as it would have been fun for her to travel with Kazuma's party.

He decided to check the succubus café, as it seemed to be the old geezer's prime location when in Axel. Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see that the ladies had a much tamer reaction upon his arrival. He still felt their sharp gazes as he walked up to the reception desk, but it was nice to be able to walk into the room without having to bob and weave for his life.

Good progress.

"Hey, is Ero-Senin here?"

"I'm afraid not, Naruto-sama. My apologies."

The Succubus apologized with a formal bow.

Dang, it seemed he'd missed the old sage. Oh well, he'd have to see what intel Jiraiya gathered after this trip.

"Ah, but Jiraiya-sama did leave a package for you! Please, wait here while I grab it, Naruto-sama!"

The lesser devil pleaded as she ushered the boy to a fancy looking table at the center of the bustling café.

Naruto, not really sure as to what was going on, allowed the woman to lead him and sat down without a fuss as a platter was placed in front of him by another Succubus.

The lid was lifted to reveal a gourmet meal that one wouldn't normally find in a café.

"Cabbage stir fry and Duxion soup for sides that are packed with nutrients and XP, and a prime Red Dragon steak for the main dish for protein and a buff against the cold for your trip."

The server said with a charming smile before walking off.

"Th-this is a bit much… isn't it?"

Naruto asked with a bead of sweat trailing down his cheek. He could feel the jealous glares from the men at the other tables.

This wasn't going to start another round of rumors throughout the men in town, was it?

Actually, wait. How did that Succubus know he was going on a trip?

"For your beverage, we have a new flavor of Naruto-sama's favorite Neroid Bubbly! Please, enjoy yourself as you wait."

"Don't mind if I do!"

His concern flying out the window, Naruto took a swig of the wonderful drink that was Neroid.

Some Time Later…

"Crap! I overdid it! Damn you, Neroid! Why do you have to be so good!? Also, what are you made out of!?"

Naruto, his face red from all the drinks, rushed towards the entrance of the town where he was meeting Kazuma's party.

He'd let his guard down… The servers kept bringing him different flavors of Neroid and let him complain about his troubles, which felt nice compared to the teasing and jealous jeers of his fellow adventurers. Before he knew it, two whole hours had passed!

Kazuma was going to be pissed as they were already stressed for time, and he could only imagine Aqua's smug look if she found out he'd been drinking in the afternoon.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear the buzz he was feeling, Naruto almost ran into Chris who seemed to be idly chatting with a carriage driver.

"Ah!" x2

Both cried out as Naruto dug his heels into the ground and sprung both of his arms out to stop himself on the carriage with a thud.

The structure shuddered from the shinobi's impact, but thankfully he managed to stop himself before crashing into the Thief. The driver did his best to calm the spooked horses who were shuffling their hooves and letting out nervous huffs.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief before looking down at the girl and grinning sheepishly.

"Hey, Chris. Long time no see… Hahaha…"

"Sheesh… You nearly gave me a heart attack, Naruto-san. What are you in such a rush for?"

Chris asked while scratching at the scar on her reddened cheek since their faces were kinda close. Memories of the time they pretended to be dating flashed in her mind.

'That was so embarrassing… Ah.'

The Thief thought before she noticed the mischievous look the carriage driver was giving them.

Chris's face turned three shades darker, earning a look of confusion from the clueless boy that was currently caging her against the carriage with his arms.

"Hey, you feeling alright? Your face is a little red Chris."

Naruto asked and placed the back of one of his hands on the girl's forehead, prompting the girl to let out a surprised squeak as they began to draw even more attention.

Was he doing that on purpose?

"Hey, are those two dating again?"

"No way, I thought Naruto was dating that Crimson Demon girl. Those two are always together."

"No, they're just party members. I heard Naruto's real target was some clumsy shop owner. An easier target, I'd say."

The whispers of the gathering group could be heard, and Chris's eyes began to water. Not this again… Anything but these embarrassing rumors about her and her friends!

Chris was about to turn and escape when Naruto grabbed her hand.

"Give em a second."

He said with a reassuring smile and looked back at the now growing crowd.

"Wait guys, those were all just rumors, remember?"

"Yeah yeah, there's even word going around that Naruto-san is going to be announced to be a Hero Candidate!"

"Woah, really!? I guess it makes sense, he did defeat two high bounty targets. We must have mistaken him for that other blonde adventurer. You know, the one with the dangerous eyes."

"Oh yeah, I heard Naruto kicked that guy out of his party some time ago. He must have been spreading those rumors for revenge."

The whispering began to take a positive turn, prompting the shinobi to grin widely.

There were still some weird rumors floating around, and he was a little concerned about those comments regarding Dust, but it seemed his hard work was finally paying off as the town's opinion of him was changing for the better.

Naruto turned back to his friend and gave her a thumbs up.

"See, Chris? I told you there was nothing to worry abou-"

"Wait, so if Naruto-san is a potential hero candidate… then are all those girls after him?"

"Makes sense. Mitsurugi-san has a fanclub, doesn't he? Lucky bastards and their harems."

"Oho~ So that means the Thief girl is pulling a fast one on the others!"

. . .

"W-wait, Naruto-san! Let's go somewhere else!"

Chris pleaded when Naruto started walking towards the group while cracking his knuckles.

–After dragging Naruto away to a nearby alleyway before he could pick a fight in the middle of town, Chris stood with her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

She had been hoping to avoid feeding anymore rumors to the public, but that seemed like a lost cause as it always seemed to go.

"S-sorry Chris… Those guys really don't know when to quit. I'll teach them a lesson later, so don't worry."

Naruto promised while rubbing his hands together mischievously, his head already filled with various pranks and tricks.

'It's words like those that make people think you're a delinquent, you know…'

Chris thought but didn't have the heart to say. Naruto wasn't a bad person by any means, he was very caring and worked hard to prove himself to those who looked down on him. He just… Got a little carried away sometimes it seemed.

"It's fine. I hate to say it, but I'm kinda getting used to it. But you still totally owe me."

Chris said with a sigh, regaining her composure as she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled bitterly.

Just then, a thought occurred to the blonde and he bopped a fist into his hand in remembrance.

"Oh, there's actually something I've been meaning to ask you Chris!"

He perked up and said, but Chris instantly put her hand up to stop him.

"Hold it. You didn't make another weird bet with Aqua-san and you need my help to win or something, did you? Because it's all going to end like it always does. With something really embarrassing happening and me running away to deal with rumors for a couple weeks."

The Thief said in a mock-scolding manner while eyeing the boy with narrowed eyes.

"N-no… I mean, I made a bet with Aqua earlier today. But I already won it and she's going to be my maid for a week. Also, I definitely promise to make it up to you."

Naruto swore while holding his hands over his head, prompting the girl to raise an eyebrow as he continued.

"Anyways, that's not what I was going to talk to you about. I was wondering if you knew anything about the noble Alderp. I've been looking into the guy since that dumb trial and I've found some very… Troubling information."

The words hung in the air for a moment as Chris pondered the information, which made Naruto a little nervous.

One of the warnings Jiraiya had given him about his investigation on Alderp was that the teen needed to tread lightly. Nobles were very powerful in this world's society, with some having bad reputations of being corrupt. Alderp was one of those nobles, and if word got out that Naruto, some "lowly adventurer" was looking into him, the wealthy man would most likely use his influence to turn society against him.

With that being said, Naruto felt like he could trust Chris. She was friends with Darkness, and helped him out a few times in the past. With her being a Thief, she might have some information on his target.

Needless to say, he didn't think Chris would turn him in for conspiring against a noble. He just wondered how she was going to react.

"Against my better judgement, I really want to know more about that bet you made with Aqua-san. But you seemed to be in a hurry earlier so tell me about it later, okay?"

Chris finally said with a cheeky grin, earning a nod from the shinobi. She then turned more serious and continued.

"Alderp, huh… That's a dangerous person to get involved with, Naruto-san. Even if Darkness and her family backed you, I wouldn't suggest a face-to-face confrontation with that man. I'm sure you would be fine given how strong you are, but a corrupt man like that would find… Other means of getting to you."

She explained while rubbing her arm anxiously.

"Yeah… I figured that would be the case, and I understand if you don't want to get involved Chris. I won't go into detail, but just know that I can't standby with a man like that remaining in power in this kingdom."

Naruto declared while staring at the ground and balling his fists. Darkness once said Alderp tried to court her, multiple times, which was terrifying in its own right.

A knowing smile grew on Chris's face.

"You seem to care a lot about the people in this world, Naruto-san. Even if they didn't accept you right away and spread such troublesome rumors."

"Well, yeah. It's only natural to help people in need, right?"

Naruto replied while nodding to himself, earning a chuckle from the other party.

"It is, isn't it? Well, I'll tell you what Mr. Hero Candidate. I think I know a way we could help each other out."

Chris leaned forward and declared with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Hm?"

Naruto hummed and tilted his head in confusion. Help each other out how? Did she have some intel on Alderp?

"We'll talk about it when you come back from your trip. You're in a hurry, right?"

Chris said dismissively, and giggled when the blonde's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh yeah! Kazuma's going to yell at me for sure… Sorry again for troubling you, Chris! We'll talk when I come back for sure! Bye!"

Naruto shouted and waved goodbye before he quickly ran off to find his other friends who were waiting for him.

Chris waved back while chuckling to herself. She was looking forward to working with the strange, but enthusiastic boy.

. . .

"I am definitely not going to be the butt of a joke this time."

"Eh!? The last carriage to the tamer village left!?"

Naruto shouted in disbelief upon hearing the news from his traveling companions.

That was it? Their journey came to an end before it even began? But their merchandise… Their loan…

"It's all my fault…"

Naruto sank to his knees in dismay.

"It's okay, Naruto. I'm sure you had your reasons. You were probably helping someone who was in trouble, weren't you?"

Darkness said and pat the teen on his shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up, but Naruto's guilt only proved to stab deeper from her words.

"No Darkness, that man was probably plotting something nefarious with that monster he keeps. He's probably training that beast to conduct various forms of sexual harassment throughout town. Axel is no longer safe…"

Megumin said from behind Kazuma, who had been tapping his foot impatiently until he heard what the mage had to say.

"I know you're still brooding over the fact that Chomusuke was completely and utterly defeated, but that's going a little far don't you think? Also, how can Naruto train a giant toad to do such ridiculous things? He's not a monster tamer, and giant Toads are not that intelligent."

Kazuma retorted in a dry tone.

"Chomusuke only lost because Naruto cheated! There was a lack of transparency with the information going into that battle! Had I known that monster frog grew so much, I would have prepared a ritual to draw out even more of Chomusuke's latent powers!"

Megumin, who was clearly grasping at straws, was shown mercy as Kazuma decided to let it go and stepped over to Naruto.

"Yes yes… So? Care to explain why we missed our one and only chance to salvage our sales?"

Kazuma inquired, and Naruto averted his gaze while mumbling something under his breath which was suspicious as hell.

"Hey, hero-san? I didn't quite catch that. Come again?"

Kazuma pressed while holding a hand behind his ear to emphasize that he was listening intently.

"Y-yknow… I was gathering information for a top secret mission. Anyways, where's Aqua? Did she bail out on us because of our bet?"

Naruto quickly changed subjects and stood to his feet while searching for their missing party member. There was no way in hell he was going to admit the truth. Kazuma would never let him live it down.

Before Kazuma could scold Naruto for being irresponsible, a voice spoke up from behind the group.

"I have found an alternative route to our destination, master. Please, come this way."

"...Huh?"

Naruto turned to face the source of the voice to find Aqua wearing the blue maid's outfit she had worn when they were at the Dustiness Manner. The frilly white hairband on her head fluttered as she bowed upon Naruto acknowledging her arrival.

Earlier…

"Why do I have to go!? This is a mess that I didn't cause for once! Why can't I just stay home and relax!?"

Aqua complained as she and the others awaited their final member.

"For once she says… Listen, Aqua. Who helped repay the debt YOU brought upon our party? Naruto. Who won the bet that YOU agreed to partake in? Naruto. So, suck it up because you're coming with us and deal with the consequences of your actions!"

Kazuma scolded the bluenette while sticking a finger in her teary face.

"Nooooo! I don't wanna be that man's maid! He's probably going to take advantage of the gracious me and ask me to do various outrageous tasks that a goddess like me shouldn't have to do!"

Aqua further complained while collapsing to her hands and knees.

'This good for nothing bratty goddess…!'

Kazuma, already stressed about the fact that there was only a single carriage that was going to their destination left for the day, was at his wits end. It was only thanks to the efforts of Darkness who was currently convincing the carriage driver to wait a little longer that they still had a potential ride.

Aqua's antics were giving him a headache, but he had a plan. After all, one must always be prepared when partied with crazies like he was.

"You know, Naruto seems like he'd be the kind of master who would take good care of his servants. I bet if you did a good job as a maid, he'd reward you quite generously… and feed you too."

The boy said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Aqua froze in her tantrum and looked up at her party leader with wide eyes.

"You mean-"

"Yup. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that you could even ask for that."

Kazuma said with a nod, and that was all Aqua needed to hear. It was as if a switch had been flipped as the goddess's mouth clamped shut and she slowly stood to her feet.

As the girl dusted herself off, Kazuma pulled a scroll out of his backpack and handed it to the girl.

Already knowing its contents, Aqua nodded to her comrade who returned the gesture in full.

Aqua now had a mission-

"-to be master Naruto's number one maid. So please, let me know how I may be of service."

Aqua said in a pleasant voice while tilting her head and kneeling slightly, gently lifting the edges of her skirt as part of the curtsy. It was an elegant gesture, that it caused her party members to gawk at the normally snobby girl in disbelief.

'If only she always acted this gracefully. I almost mistook her for an actual goddess for a second there…'

Kazuma thought with a bead of sweat trailing down his face.

Wait, wasn't this actually a really bad miscalculation on his part? The last time Aqua acted like this, Naruto started acting like some love stricken puppy for whatever reason. There was no way in hell he was letting his friend go down that road again!

The world didn't need another Eddy!

But to Kazuma's surprise, Naruto simply nodded and started making his way toward the carriage Aqua was gesturing to.

"Perfect timing, Aqua. Good job finding us a ride! Alright guys, let's head on out."

The shinobi said and beckoned the others to follow him with a wave of his hand.

"Hm… I could have sworn the last group had left earlier."

"I'm impressed, Aqua! But why are you wearing that outfit?"

As Darkness and Megumin followed suit while voicing their concerns/comments, Kazuma shook his head and chuckled to himself.

"I guess even Naruto can experience character development."

Although, his gut was telling him to stay home for some reason. Was a flag just raised? Should he still be concerned?

The party situated themselves into the carriage, with the boys sitting on one end, and the girls sitting on the other end. The lead driver announced that they would be departing soon. This caused the surrounding passengers to board their own carriages.

The voyage was about to begin!

Naruto sniffed the air and swore he could smell something burning. It seemed to be coming from what seemed to be luggage that was covered by a tarp on the seat next to him and Kazuma.

"Say, you didn't go back to our mansion and steal Chomusuke for Kazuma did you? That child needs to rest."

Megumin suddenly asked Naruto, to which the boy scoffed and shook his head as his attention was drawn away from the tarp.

"Why would Kazuma need that weirdly named cat when he can partner with Jerry? I swapped him into this Scroll Ball if you wanna battle with him later by the way."

Naruto said while offering an orange ball to his fellow adventurer.

"No thanks. Also, why is it orange? The only colors I made were green, red, and blue…"

Kazuma asked while eyeing the magic item incredulously. After all, he colored them after the games he stol-was inspired by.

"Because, Jerry is a beautiful orange toad-H-hey!"

Naruto boasted as if it were obvious when Megumin suddenly snatched the ball from his hand.

"I can't trust you not to prank us girls with this fiendish monster, so I'm sealing it away until we get there."

Megumin said and stashed the orange orb in her bag then proceeded to tuck it under her seat.

"B-but…!"

Naruto moped, his hand still outstretched as he watched his friend get tucked behind the little girl's legs.

"Come now, Megumin. Surely my gracious master wasn't going to stoop to such levels during our long, tiring trip. Right, master…"

Aqua said in an attempt to defend the blonde to score some points, but her words fell silent when the shinobi averted his gaze.

"Sealed." x2

Aqua and Megumin confirmed in unison and nodded firmly.

Naruto slumped in his seat in dejection. He already missed the little guy…

"There there, master. Here, have some tea before we depart. It'll soothe your nerves."

Aqua counseled the sulking ninja before offering him a warm glass of tea.

'Aqua sure is taking her role seriously… Also, when did she have time to prepare tea?'

Kazuma thought in bewilderment. But then he remembered something about the goddess of water.

"Thanks, Aqua… E-eh?"

Naruto said and took a sip of the offered tea, but there was something off about it.

"Hm? What is it, master Naruto? Is the tea not to your liking?"

Aqua asked with an innocent tilt of her head.

"N-no… Thank you, it's delicious."

Naruto graciously thanked the girl for the glass of hot water in his hands, taking another sip so as to not offend the girl.

"Alright, you lot! It'll take us two days to arrive at our destination! So get comfy! We're setting off to Alcanretia!"

"!?"

Naruto nearly choked on his "tea" upon hearing the lead's announcement and scrambled to the door. It took the combined efforts of Aqua and Darkness to keep the shinobi seated.

"N-no…! Need to… *Cough!* Get off!"

Naruto choked on his words as he struggled against the two girls.

"Naruto! What has gotten into you? Did Aqua put something in your tea? Don't worry, I-I'll taste test it for any poisons!"

Darkness asked, a mix of concern and curiosity on her face.

"What's the… matter… master!? Did you really not like my tea!?"

Aqua asked, sounding offended as she struggled far more than Darkness to get Naruto away from the door.

Seeing as the girls weren't going to give up anytime soon, Naruto switched tactics and turned to the only other sensible person on the carriage.

"K-Kazuma! For all that is good in the world, you have to listen to me! I've been to Alcanretia… We have to escape before it's too late!"

Naruto pleaded as Aqua started tying a rope around him to keep him from leaving.

Could he break free from the rope and the carriage? Yes. Did he have the funds to pay for the rope and the carriage's repairs? Nope.

"Hey, Aqua? Why are we going to this Alcaretia place?"

Kazuma, slightly unnerved by the normally fearless shinobi's reaction, asked the one responsible for their choice of destination.

"Because, the Beast Tamer village is actually not too far from the Crimson Demon Village. The closest human settlement to both of those villages happens to be the greatest city in this world. Alcanretia, the city of hot springs. Headquarters of the Axis Order."

Aqua explained with a smile on her features as she finished tying the knot that now held her "master" in place.

"Okay, we're going."

Kazuma instantly responded and flashed the girl a thumbs up.

"Kazuma NOOO-MMMF!"

Naruto screamed but was ultimately gagged by Aqua who placed him back in his seat and leaned him against the tarp covered luggage.

"Shhh… Cecily said you'd be against going to Alcanretia for some reason. She sent word that there's trouble brewing in the city. You don't mind if we scope things out, right, my most gracious master?"

Aqua whispered into the shinobi's ear before returning to her seat.

Naruto's eyes turned into saucers upon hearing about that crazy priestess's involvement before finally going limp from the stress. His head hit the tart, pulling it off of its contents to reveal a ghastly sight.

"...!?"

The shinobi's face paled when his eyes laid upon Wiz, who had been the source of the burning smell he'd noticed earlier. The poor woman was burnt to a crisp, likely from one of Vanir's weird lasers.

"Oh, so that's where Aqua put Wiz. Yeah, Vanir asked if we could bring Wiz with us. I guess she used the money he was going to use to make the magic item ideas I'm selling him to buy something… Well, you know. I gave her some life force with my Drain Touch earlier, so she'll wake up sooner or later."

Kazuma absentmindedly said when he noticed Naruto's mortified expression.

"MMMMFFFF(WIIIIIIIIZZZ)!"

A/N: Just a quick little update to set some more things in motion so I don't leave you guys hanging for too long.

Yes, we're going to Alcanretia. But rest assured, it will not be the same as the canon events. ;)