"We're hooome!"
Naruto and Kazuma shouted upon seeing the familiar scenery that was Axel.
The Teleport had taken them to the park in the center of town, and the streets were quite busy. Some of the townsfolk were looking at them oddly, which was fair. People didn't usually appear out of nowhere via Teleport since there were shops that were built specifically to offer that service.
"I thought this park would be the most efficient placement in town, and it's usually not this busy… B-but I guess I should probably move my mark somewhere less crowded."
Yunyun noted as the group shuffled out of the way to let a bunch of playing kids run by.
"That's okay, Yunyun. I think this is a great place for a Teleport marker!"
Naruto commented as he took in the nostalgic sight. This wasn't too far from where he'd first appeared back when Eris first reincarnated him.
'A lot sure has happened since then…'
'Indeed… Yet, here we are. Stuck in the Town of Beginners dealing with wackjobs, and when something interesting does happen, there is always someone to add oil to the idiotic flames.'
Kurama chimed in, and the shinobi could feel the fox's pointed glare towards Aqua through his vision.
As if sensing the implied thoughts, Aqua turned to Naruto and scowled.
"My Goddess Sense is telling me a certain demon fox is speaking blasphemous things. Puhihihi! I'd be grumpy too, being locked up inside there like a smelly caged beast!"
Aqua taunted while giggling into her hand.
To everyone's surprise, a fox head made of golden energy protruded from Naruto's stomach.
"Watch your mouth, woman. This world has been trying my patience since day one, and by this world, I am mostly referring to you."
Kurama growled, prompting Kazuma and Megumin to hide behind Darkness whose eyes were wide with surprise.
But Aqua didn't seem deterred in the slightest and simply pinched her nose.
"So smelly! For a demon fox that was no help against the Orcs, you sure do talk a big game. But it seems you're all bark and no bite, and boy does your breath wreak!"
They stood in silence for a moment, with even the nearby townsfolk hushing down so they could listen in.
A bead of sweat rolled down Naruto's cheek. He didn't know Kurama could manifest himself like this, which was interesting in of itself. But they could talk about it later. He needed to calm the two down before a fight broke out-
"Super Mini Tailed Beast Ball!"
"Reflect!"
A ball of condensed chakra shot out of Kurama's mouth, but it bounced off of the barrier that Aqua had constructed and flew over the town's walls and into the distance.
A low rumbling sound followed, causing the group to flinch.
"Puhihihi! Even Kazuma can put up a better fight, and he has the weakest class!"
Aqua chortled while slapping her knee in amusement, earning a low growl from the Nine Tailed Fox.
"This wench…! I'll ki-!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU STUPID FOX!?"
Naruto bellowed as he strangled Kurama's miniature avatar, which was a comedic sight to behold by the onlookers. Shoving the Tailed Beast's chakra back into his gut, the shinobi's ears burned red as he sheepishly waved to the people who had been watching.
"Sorry to bother you folks, everything's fine! Hahaha…"
Luckily, this seemed to be enough to propitiate the spectators and everyone went back to their business as they wrote it off as rowdy adventurers using magic in town.
Letting out a sigh, Naruto turned back towards his friends only to immediately back up when Darkness was suddenly in his personal space.
"I didn't know your demon could do that! This is wonderful news! Just think of all the benefits…"
The Crusader beamed with excitement, even as the shinobi extended his arms to push her out of his face.
"M-me neither... Although, I hope you're not getting any weird ideas, Darkness…"
Naruto stuttered while leaving a mental note to have a serious conversation with Kurama later.
"Anyways… Leaving aside the fact that Naruto's inner demon could jump out and kill us all at any given moment, I'm going to go to the guild to report Sylvia's defeat to Luna-san."
Kazuma stated and gave the others a thumbs up before turning in the direction of the Adventurer's Guild.
Megumin followed after Kazuma, pulling on Darkness's arm as the knight was no doubt lost in her little fantasies.
"A-ah! Let's all meet up at the mansion tonight to celebrate our adventure!"
Darkness called out while waving back at Naruto and Yunyun.
"That works out, since I was going to go visit Wiz to give Vanir a piece of my mind."
Naruto noted darkly while cracking his knuckles ominously.
"E-eh? What did Vanir-san do? Although I think I can imagine…"
Yunyun asked while muttering the last bit. While the masked man had a kind exterior, his motives were sometimes… Strange.
"Let's just say he's the reason we went on that whole trip in the first place."
Naruto replied with a sigh as he recounted the past couple days. With that suspicious devil's All Seeing Eyes, it was obvious he'd set them up for those troublesome events.
"It seems my presence will be greatly needed then. Come on, let's go teach that devil scum a lesson!"
Aqua, who had stayed behind, started making her way towards Wiz's magic shop.
"A-Aqua-san…?"
Yunyun nervously looked at Naruto, since he had a lot of experience stopping the Arch Priest from stirring up trouble.
Noticing his party member's gaze, Naruto sent her a reassuring smile and Yunyun immediately felt relieved.
It would be troubling if another fight broke out between Aqua and Vanir, and the timid mage was glad she could rely on her partner to maintain the peace-
"You've been pranking Vanir a lot lately, haven't you? Do you have any ideas, Aqua?"
"Yes! I've been saving this idea for a while now!"
"Why are you going along with it, Naruto-san!?"
In a small magic shop in a lonesome corner of Axel, a beautiful shopkeeper was reorganizing the merchandise on the shelves. After all, it was an exciting day for Wiz's magic shop.
Why, you ask?
"Vanir-san! I finished with these shelves, so let's open the next box!"
Wiz chirped and walked over to the counter where various sealed boxes were sitting.
"Oh, that actually looks quite nice. Moi was right to have placed thou in decoration duty."
Vanir mused and rested the broom he'd been dusting with against a nearby wall. The Duke of Hell started making his way towards the desk when he suddenly stopped, a devilish smile creeping its way onto the visible portion of his face.
"Say, helpless store owner who has recently been staring at a mirror at random times because of intrusive thoughts of 'getting to that age', what doth thou think of thy friend? The loudmouthed brat named Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Naruto-san? Well, I-h-hey! I do no such thing! Even I can get angry, Vanir-san!"
Wiz fumed as she cut open a box with a small knife, earning a chuckle from her long time friend. With a pout, she started rummaging through the new wares.
"Naruto-san has done a lot for me these past couple months. I'm very grateful for his generosity and his friendship. So much so that I feel like I'll never be able to make it up to him."
"Ah, yes. That is why thou hath been trying to recreate that man's alleged 'Food of the Gods'?"
It was less of a question and more a statement really. After all, Vanir had witnessed Naruto tutoring Wiz to make that compelling human food on multiple occasions. It was too bad that brat didn't accept the offer to open a restaurant. The first thing Vanir would have done is change that dastardly name.
'Food of the Gods? Peh! The only food that lousy pest eats are the snacks she leeches from this modest establishment.'
Vanir thought while chewing on his glove, a certain rabid goddess's smug face in the forefront of his mind. But leaving that aside for now, back to business.
"Moi can see with moi's all seeing eyes, something good will happen in thy future."
"My future? What do you-"
Wiz began to ask when a knock came at the shop's door, and two familiar voices called out.
"Hey, filthy devil! You have some explaining to do!"
"Come on out, Vanir! We know you're in there!"
The voices of Aqua and Naruto rang along with more knocking.
"Wiz, could you get the door? Moi is already feeling a migraine coming along."
Vanir stated while rubbing his temples with a tired expression.
"Of course! I'm coming, Naruto-san and Aqua-sama!"
Wiz replied and walked over to unlock the door with a cheerful smile on her face.
"Eh? Was that Wiz-san just now? No, wa-!"
Yunyun tried to warn her friend, but it was too late as the shopkeeper opened the door and stepped out to greet them.
Splash!
"Ah."
Yunyun and Naruto watched as the bucket of holy water they'd set up above the entrance spilled all over Wiz, and the shopkeeper immediately collapsed on the floor.
"Sigh… It always ends up like this. That devil always sees it coming and makes that Lich answer the door."
Aqua sighed as Yunyun rushed over to dry Wiz off with magic.
"Warn us sooner!"
Naruto barked and proceeded to stretch the girl's cheeks.
"Fuahaha! Did thou really think thou could prank me? Vanir? Duke of Hell Vanir? Moi could see what thou was planning the minute of thy return! Fuahahaha!"
Vanir cackled with laughter as Naruto sat next to a very transparent Wiz, who was now laying on the bed in the corner of the shop's storage room.
The shinobi grumbled to himself as he channeled mana into the woman with his newly added Drain Touch, but he didn't let his anger get the best of him. After all, while Vanir was a hellish troll that irritated him to no end, the Arch Devil wasn't a killer.
Also, Kazuma wouldn't take it too kindly if the person he was doing business with suddenly disappeared.
"Hey, hurry up and fix Wiz. These snacks are good, but they're too dry and I could use some tea."
Aqua complained while beckoning towards them from the other room.
'That girl… She instantly goes back to her old ways the moment I let her off the hook.'
Naruto thought as his eyebrow twitched. Ignoring the bratty goddess, the shinobi looked at Vanir and frowned.
"Hey, you knew what we were getting into when you sent us off to Nuzloft. What gives?"
"Whatever doth thou mean, boy who is considering taking the advice of a friend in regards to a certain useless shopkeeper?"
Vanir asked with a genuinely confused expression on his face, causing Naruto to nearly choke on his spit as Yunyun chose that moment to reenter the backroom.
"W-w-what does that mean, Naruto-san!? W-w-were you actually awake during that time!?"
Yunyun demanded and covered her scarlet red face behind her hands.
"O-of course I was asleep! I don't even know what that guy's talking about! Don't listen to him!"
Naruto responded, clearly flustered by what the masked man had said.
"Ah, thank you for this meal of delectable negative emotions! Yes, this flavor is quite tasty indeed. Well worth the wait."
Vanir bowed to the two shamefaced teenagers, a devilish smile on his pleased face.
'This guy…'
Naruto thought while gnashing his teeth, but quickly changed the subject.
"W-whatever… We defeated another Demon King Army General, so all's well that ends well I guess."
"Ah, yes. Sylvia. It is too bad moi was not present to taste the negative emotions that must have manifested when thou shared such a… touching moment in that bunker."
Vanir commented with a cryptic tone, causing the shinobi to flinch at the memory.
"I forgot to ask, but why did Naruto-san stay inside the Orctron for so long? With your destructive capabilities, you could have easily broken free. I wrote it off as you just giving us a chance to resolve things with our own power, but…"
Yunyun trailed off, her eyes growing suspicious at her party member's reaction.
"N-no, Yunyun… Whatever you're thinking, you're absolutely wrong. Sylvia was a Chimera with both."
Naruto replied and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was dreading tonight's night terrors. Maybe he would ask the Succubi to influence his dreams.
To a completely normal dream, of course. Just to keep Sylvia out of his head.
"Hmm… Interesting. I would have thought thou would be used to such contact with other males, considering the memory that magic item revealed from thy childho-Ahah! Didst moi strike a nerve, brat who wishes to hide such embarrassing memories!?"
Vanir was cut off when a dozen kunai were flung at him, and the cackling demon sidestepped before jumping back and onto a desk to avoid being sliced in half by his livid attacker.
"One more word out of you and you'll be upgraded to Vanir Mk III!"
Naruto growled and leveled his kunai at the grinning Duke of Hell.
"What, what? Are we ganging up on that devil trash now?"
Aqua, who had previously been ignoring the conversation in favor of eating her snacks, entered the room to investigate the ruckus.
"N-no, but Vanir-san said something really interesting just now! Megumin mentioned something about a magic item that her father made that almost revealed something amazing about Naruto-san's past… What magic item was it?"
Yunyun asked with owlish eyes, and this seemed to peak the goddess's interest as well.
"Oh! That's right, it broke! Hey, crummy devil! I'll let you off the hook this time if you give us one of those magic items!"
Aqua stated and reached her hand out expectantly, but Naruto suddenly started laughing.
"Hahaha! I destroyed the rest of those troublesome items and blamed it on the Orcs! You'll never find one-"
"Ah, thou is referring to The Crystal of Crucial Secrets, yes? Moi has a batch that the shop owner brought back from her last trip. I was just going to throw that trash away, but I suppose I could give one to you for fifty-thousand Eris."
Vanir cut in and revealed a familiar glass orb in his palm, causing all of the color to drain from Naruto's face. The Duke of Hell sidestepped a desperate attack from the shinobi who tried to grab the magic item.
"I-I'll buy them all!"
Naruto pleaded as Vanir reached the very eager looking Yunyun.
"Peh! With what money, boy who squanders all of his funds to pranks and noodles? Now if you'll cease your prattling, moi has business to attend to."
Vanir pocketed the money he received from Yunyun and straightened his suit before exiting the room.
Naruto began to sweat profusely when the girl's eyes turned on him. They were predatory in their approach, which triggered a form of fear in his gut that was becoming quite familiar to him now.
So, he did the one thing he could do in this situation-
"Ah! Yunyun, use your magic!"
"I-I can't! He's too fast!"
-he ran.
'So much for not letting women push me around anymore… I think that trip traumatized me.'
Naruto kicked a rock as he walked down the streets of Axel. In his narrow escape, he blindly ran in the opposite direction of the adventurer's guild.
'You'll get over it.'
Kurama bluntly replied, prompting a bitter smile from the shinobi.
'Thanks… By the way, since when were you able to manifest yourself like you did earlier? Usually you just take over my body and speak through me.'
Naruto asked as he rounded a corner, figuring he'd visit the Succubus shop to see if Jiraiya was still in town. That, and check on Maria and Morrigan. They'd been out on a scouting mission the last time he was at the shop.
'I got the idea during your tournament. I figured if I can manifest parts of my body in your defense or to attack, then why not on a smaller scale to simply communicate.'
Kurama replied with a mental shrug.
'Communicate, you say… Is firing a Mini Tailed Beast Ball in the middle of town your idea of communicating?'
Naruto thought back while his eyebrow twitched irritably.
'Super Mini Tailed Beast Ball, and it's not like it would have affected anyone other than my target.'
The fox corrected, which wasn't the point and Kurama knew that. The beast was just trying to get under the shinobi's skin, and it was working.
Instead of falling for the bait, Naruto relented strained sigh and walked down the alleyway that held the hidden entrance to the Succubus shop.
Opening the door, he was immediately hit by a musky scent. It was like a mixture of perfume and… Well, dreams. The dreams of lusty men, of course, as the place was filled with males who were in a long line waiting to be served by the beautiful lesser devils that were prancing around in what was basically lingerie.
Didn't these guys have jobs?
Granted, Naruto recognised most of the clients as adventurers. Their pockets were probably still full from the back to back high bounty targets this town has had to face in the last couple months.
No… It wasn't just that. There seemed to be an event of some sort going on.
Eyes narrowing, Naruto walked past the line towards the backroom where Morrigan's office was. Being the manager of the Succubi, she held a lot of responsibilities. He didn't see her helping out on the floor, so she was probably crunching numbers in the back.
"Ah! Naruto-sama has returned!"
The shinobi flinched upon becoming the center of their attention. He'd expected as such, but the way they swarmed him while offering services and other such things with eyes gleaming with such desire... It was still so overwhelming. He bit back his growing panic and raised a hand while flaring a bit of his chakra.
This halted their advances, giving him an immediate sense of relief.
Great, he really was traumatized… But at least he knew how to handle this bunch.
"No thank you, I'm just here to talk with the manager. Please, take care of my comrades who are waiting patiently in line."
Naruto replied while gesturing towards the adventurers who were no doubt glaring at him with jealousy. But upon hearing his response to the buxom beauties, they shamelessly averted their gazes.
'There, now they won't start spreading rumors about me being a player out of spite.'
The shinobi thought with a bitter smile as the Succubi happily followed his instructions and went back to work. But a single Succubus stayed behind. She bowed to him respectfully as soon as he turned back towards her.
"I apologize, Naruto-sama… But the manager and the young one have actually been absent for about a week now. We assumed they went to follow you on your trip."
The lesser devil replied while retaining her bow. Her expression was neutral, but there was a faint sense of worry in her tone. A worry that Naruto himself was now beginning to feel.
'They've been gone this entire time? Did the devil Alderp is using catch them?'
Naruto crossed his arms as he considered the possibility. He had told them not to get too close to the mansion, and to definitely not go inside… If those two were captured because of the mission he'd sent them on, or worse… he'd never forgive himself.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine. I'll look for them, okay?"
Naruto eventually stated with a reassuring grin on his face.
"Naruto-sama…"
The Succubus rose from her bow and clasped her hands together, tears in her soft eyes. It was enough to make the shinobi grow sheepish.
"A-anyways, what's all of this about an event going on?"
Naruto asked while averting his gaze while scratching at his whisker marks. He noticed a banner that was hung up in the back of the room that said "Special Event!", but nothing else.
"Ah, part two of the special collab with Jiraiya-sama started today! We're offering discounts on copies of the new volume of Icha Icha Paradise that come with special illustrations of some of the most popular scenes! Would you like a copy, Naruto-sama?"
The Succubus explained before flashing a copy of the familiar orange book in her hands.
"N-no thanks… But do you know if Jiraiya-sensei is still in town? I need to talk to him."
The shinobi declined before asking another question, and the woman tapped her chin in thought.
"Jiraiya-sama said he was going to stay in town for the duration of the collab… Ah! He mentioned something about staying at a friend's house for a meeting."
"A friend, huh…"
That friend was definitely referring to Alderp. So Morrigan, Maria, and Jiraiya were all last heard going to that corrupt noble's mansion before essentially going missing for the past week. This didn't bode well.
Thanking the helpful Succubus for the information, Naruto left the dream cafe and took to the streets again.
'This is starting to get out of hand… I wish I could just storm into that mansion and take that guy out. It would be so much easier.'
'Naruto… You're a ninja. An assassin. Just sneak in at night and kill that man in his sleep.'
Kurama commented flatly, but Naruto shook his head.
'I know I could, but it wouldn't sit right with me. They're calling me a Hero Candidate, ya know? I wanna be that hero and take the high road, even if it'll be difficult.'
The path to becoming a true hero didn't involve sneaky assassinations in the dead of night.
Besides, simply killing someone as corrupt as Alderp wouldn't be enough. A man like that needed to be exposed and brought to justice.
The problem was, Naruto had close to no experience in the noble world… With the closest thing being that one time he'd acted as a "butler" at the Dustiness residence.
'I wonder if Darkness would help me out… Although I'd feel bad asking for her family's support after she helped us in the trial.'
'True. But if I recall correctly, wasn't Alderp pining after that perverted Crusader?'
'Hey, that's right… I heard Alderp proposed to Darkness multiple times in the past, but her father intervened each and every time! She would totally want that guy out of the way!'
Naruto thought and picked up his pace towards the Adventurer's Guild.
"Absolutely not."
Darkness sternly said with a sense of finality that took Naruto by surprise.
"Why not!? The man's corrupt and he's obviously interested in you! It would be a win-win situation!"
Naruto barked, and he was about to say more when the female knight clamped an armored hand over his mouth.
"S-shh! I am fully aware of that man's reputation, but he is still of nobility with an increasingly high standing in this kingdom! So stop unless you want to get hung, then keep your voice down!"
Darkness hissed and didn't remove her hand until she received a nod from the shinobi. Relenting a sigh, she watched Naruto plop onto his seat with a scowl.
"I appreciate your concern, but the noble world is nothing like that of an adventurer's. One false move can really get you into trouble."
"I get it… Ero-senin and Chris both said the same thing. It's just…"
Naruto hesitated, but decided he felt like he could trust Darkness with this information. He wouldn't go too much into detail though.
"I can't really prove it yet, but that guy is contracted with a high ranking devil… But I don't know how to approach this situation since the only nobles I have experience with are you and your father. If you can train me to act like a noble, and maybe get me into that mansion, I'm sure I'll be able to find something."
They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound coming from a very heated argument between Kazuma and Megumin at the bar. The mage was apparently furious that her party leader still wouldn't allow her to drink the hard stuff.
"I was planning on visiting my family's home tomorrow, so I will speak with my father on this matter. I won't ask how you came to that conclusion, but do not make any open allegations against that man."
Darkness finally broke the silence as she stared into the boy's eyes sternly.
Naruto looked away and rested his chin on his hand.
"Naruto… Please."
Darkness pressed, this time softer.
"...Okay."
Naruto finally replied with a pout, and Darkness nodded in content before walking off to her party members.
Well that was a bust.
Sighing, Naruto stood up and walked over to the receptionist desk. For once, there wasn't a line to Luna's desk. It was a long shot, but maybe she could teach him how to act like a noble.
"Hey Luna-chan."
"Oh, welcome back Naruto-san. What can I do for you?"
Luna looked up from her paperwork and smiled upon seeing the shinobi.
"Are you busy? I was wondering if you could teach me proper etiquette…?"
Naruto asked hopefully while tapping his fingers together sheepishly. This was a lot harder to ask than he thought, and it didn't help that the woman's expression didn't change the entire time he spoke.
"Proper etiquette? I suppose I could coach you… But what for? Are the rumors of you secretly being a noble true?"
Luna replied, resisting the urge to giggle when the adventurer frantically shook his head.
"No no no, I am definitely not a noble. I just, umm… You know the rumors going around about me being a potential Hero Candidate? I-I just want to be prepared in case I need to speak to the royal family or something like that! Hahaha…"
Naruto explained while rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, deciding to take a different approach than he had with Darkness.
Luna tapped her chin in thought. It was true that such rumors have been floating around town. Even people from the other adventurer's guilds had requested information on the adventurer known as Naruto Uzumaki. Not to mention the report the royal family had requested on him after the events with the Demon King Army General Vanir.
Honestly? She wouldn't be surprised if the boy was summoned to the capital for an audience with the royal family any day now.
"I see… Well, I do have a lot of work to do, but-"
"Luna-san is free tomorrow!"
One of the other guild members interrupted, starting the head receptionist.
"Why don't you two meet at The Golden Chalice? That would be the perfect place to practice!"
Another member suggested, causing Luna's character to break a little.
"W-what are you talking about!? Leaving aside the fact that I have not had a single day off for the past three months, The Golden Chalice is the hardest restaurant in town
Luna stuttered, her ears burning red when she realized she just had an outburst.
"Actually, the owner said I was welcome anytime after I asked him to try out my ramen."
Naruto revealed, surprising the three guild members.
"He offered me a job on the spot, but obviously I declined. I could never sell my ramen in a place like that. Ramen has to be sold in an unassuming food stand, ya know? A place with the right atmosphere that just screams 'ramen!'."
The shinobi explained while nodding his head sagely.
'I… Have so many questions.'
Luna thought while staring at the boy strangely. She vaguely recalled Naruto asking her about that dish in the past, as well as asking for contacts that would be willing to teach him the Cooking skill… Just what had happened in between then and now to make the boy such a sought after chef?
"Anyways, I'm gonna go set up our reservation. Let's meet there at noon, okay? See ya tomorrow, Luna-chan!"
Naruto said before taking off with a wave of his hand.
"Ah…"
Luna reached out to the fleeting boy, but realized she was now locked in. Was this a… date?
'No no no… Naruto-san is asking for my help. Best not get carried away like last time…'
The head receptionist thought while clasping her rosy cheeks, prompting the other two guild members to snicker. But one sharp glance from Luna was all it took to get them back to work.
The real question was… What was she going to wear?
"Hey, Yunyun?"
"Yes?"
"Should I just sneak into that corrupt noble's house and silently take him out?"
"...Are you stupid?"
The sun was setting as Naruto and Yunyun made their way towards Kazuma's mansion for dinner. They were both wearing their semi-formal outfits.
Since his old orange suit had been destroyed in Alcanretia, Naruto now wore a black jacket with an orange tie and a pair of dark orange pants.
Yunyun was wearing a new outfit as well, having picked out a black one-piece dress that faded into frilly dark pink trims at the edges.
Naruto burst out laughing at the normally timid mage's bluntness, causing the girl to become rather flustered.
"S-s-sorry! I just didn't expect something on a Megumin level of stupidity to come out of your mouth!"
Yunyun stammered out an apology while waving her hands out in front of her.
"No, you're fine… I'm just happy you're talking to me like you would your childhood friend is all. Anyways, I don't actually plan on assassinating that guy. Because I have a plan!"
Naruto boasted while gesturing to himself with a thumb. He had filled Yunyun in on everything he knew about Alderp, including the missions he'd sent Morrigan and Maria on, as well as Jiraiya's meeting with the noble.
"I-I don't know how much help I'll be in the face of a noble, but I want to help you get two back!"
Yunyun declared with a fierce expression on her face.
"D-don't you mean three? I mentioned three people who are potentially being held hostage, ya know?"
Naruto corrected with a crooked smile, but the mage simply tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you mean? Naruto-san mentioned the two friendly Succubi and a thing. Of course I'll do what I can to help you save those two people."
Yunyun casually responded, prompting the shinobi to laugh awkwardly.
'Oh yeah… Yunyun was actually the one who made the chief create that law against Ero-senin. I'd better keep those two apart.'
Naruto thought before coughing into his hand to keep the conversation moving.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to a fancy restaurant with Luna-chan so she can teach me proper etiquette! Then I just need to find an excuse to get into that mansion so I can investigate… The sooner the better, too. Because if those two were captured, I want to get them out of there as soon as possible."
Jiraiya too, but somehow Naruto had a feeling the old sage was just fine in that mansion.
"O-oh… I see. That's a good… idea…"
Yunyun replied in a monotone voice, her expression neutral. But internally, she was panicking.
'I knew Luna-san was a potential threat! What am I going to do!? I need to talk to Wiz first thing in the morning!'
The Crimson Demon thought just as they walked through the gate and stepped onto the property of Kazuma's mansion.
After knocking on the front door, a thought suddenly occurred to the blonde.
"Hey, I know I asked this last time, but… Are we overdressed?"
Naruto asked as he looked down at his own attire. They lucked out last time, as Kazuma had been acting weird and business-like. But they were just celebrating their return home… He just couldn't say no to Yunyun, who had been excited to be invited to the mansion for dinner again.
"This is how you're supposed to dress when being invited over for dinner! Or at least, that's what it said in the book I read…"
Yunyun confidently replied, but now she was beginning to second guess herself.
Unfortunately for them, it was too late as someone opened the door to reveal Aqua who was in her pajamas.
"Oh my… You were so excited to have dinner at my mansion that you dressed up so formally? How adorable… Puhihihi!"
Aqua chided while snickering.
Naruto sighed and crossed his arms.
"To think I was going to keep my promise and make you a bowl of The Food of the Gods tonight, but if you're just going to make fun of us, then maybe Yunyun and I will just have dinner by ourselves."
"W-wait! I wasn't making fun of you! In fact, I think your outfits look perfect! P-please, come on in~!"
Aqua quickly pleaded while fully opening the door and beckoning for the two to enter.
Upon walking inside, Naruto spotted Darkness and Megumin playing a board game in the living room. They seemed to be very into their match, as neither looked away from the board.
"Oh, is that Naruto and Yunyun? You guys can go sit down at the table, I'm almost done with dinner. Hey, Aqua! Did you set up the silverware and get the drinks like I asked?"
Kazuma shouted from the kitchen, causing the goddess to stiffen.
"O-of course! Who do you think I am? Kazuma-san, you worry wort…"
Aqua replied before scurrying off to the dining room.
Naruto chuckled before walking over to the table where Megumin and Darkness were playing.
"Hey, this is the game Yunyun likes to play. How does it work?"
"Oh, you guys are here. Welcome in-ah! Megumin you sneaky little…!"
Darkness began to greet the newcomers, but her eyes snapped back to the board game when Megumin made her move.
"Hah! I was just waiting for you to lower your guard to activate my Thief's Steal! Now your Arch Wizard is on my side of the field… Do you know what that means!?"
Megumin stood on her chair and declared while striking a vicious pose.
"There is no such ability for the Thief in this game. Megumin is cheating."
Yunyun chimed in while staring at her rival flatly, causing the other Crimson Demon to nearly fall off her chair.
"Y-Yunyun is here…!? I-I mean, we're playing the ruleset for players who aren't loners!"
Megumin argued when all eyes fell on her.
"L-loners…!? How rude! Megumin is always like this when we play games! Every time I'm about to win, she'll spout some nonsense like 'Feh! You activated my Arch Wizard's Explosion!' and flip the board!"
Yunyun barked and stamped her foot in frustration.
"Ah! Megumin did that last round when I almost won! Is that really not a rule!?"
Darkness asked, and once again, all eyes fell on Megumin whose ears were burning red.
. . .
"Explosion!"
"Ah! Don't flip the board, you brat!"
A/N: Oh Megumin… The lengths she'll go to win or look cool rivals that of Kazuma when he's trying to get out work.
Just a light-hearted chapter to get things set up for the next couple chapters. Hope the interactions were fun~
On a side note, I'm going to start posting this story on AO3, in case anyone prefers that website over FFN or Wattpad. Same pen name as always if you wanna support. :)
I'll try to post again next Wednesday if time permits, but we'll see. I'd love to keep the streak going because these chapters have been so fun to write.
What do you think is going to happen next? Let me know what you think!
Spirit out!
