God's Blessing on this Wonderful Dungeon

By Icura and Special FX

~o~

Chapter 6: Resolution

~o~

"So this is death."

Leon had long given up on having an adventure. For many years, he had tried to level up, but that was something that had been long denied to him despite all his efforts. Somewhere along the line, he had figured out that he had no talent. He didn't quite remember exactly when, but it had been a relief to finally admit it to himself.

Looking back on it, he supposed that the very fact that he gave up like that was why he never amounted to much in the first place. From then on, his recklessness had become cautiousness, and it became harder to justify thrusting himself into unnecessary danger. Too hard for him, in fact.

However, being a dishwasher in a restaurant or a guard in some sleepy town didn't appeal to him either. Even if the Familia weren't going to invest in him anymore, he figured that he should at least give back what he had gotten, even if they never asked for it. With his experience, he became a trainer and a teacher of sorts, mentoring the younger and lower leveled newcomers of the Familia.

It turned out well enough, though sometimes, things didn't go as planned. Just like now. However, in a way, he had already accepted his fate.

"This isn't so bad."

"I'm pleased to see that you think so."

The voice, commanding in its authority, came from the shadowy figure sitting on the throne in front of him. While the rest of the room–if it was even a room–was bathed in darkness, the throne itself was clearly visible. Despite that, he couldn't make out a single feature of the god who was currently perched on his throne.

"What's going to happen to me?"

"All souls must be washed and then reincarnated," the god said without a hint of interest or emotion.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No." The god stared down the mortal soul before him. "The wait is long due to staffing issues, but it is work that must be done. Prepare yourself. You will–wait, what is that noise?"

Off to the side, in the inky darkness, a crack suddenly appeared. Light filtered out of the slit in the crack, shining brightly enough that it seemed like it would pierce through the rest of the darkness in the room.

"Hey, can you hear me?" An angelic female voice spoke through the crack, echoing through the darkness as if there were walls. "Hello? Lenard, you there?"

"Are you talking about me…?" Leon tentatively asked.

"Yeah, you! I'm bringing you back to life so get over here."

"Who dares trespass into my domain?!" The shadowy god stood up from his throne in outrage.

"I dare. As a head goddess, I outrank you," the female voice said arrogantly. "Anyways, Leadon, are you coming or not? I don't have all day!"

"It's Leon… A-and yes! Yes, I'm coming," Leon said with a renewed sense of hope. He began walking toward the crack filled with light. However, black shadow tendrils rose up from the floor, wrapping around his ankle. "Huh?"

"You're not going anywhere," the god intoned ominously before turning to stare at the crack in the fabric of this realm. "And you! You are no head goddess! What kind of goddess messes around with the sanctity of life and death?! Tell me who you are!"

"Hah? Why don't you tell me who you are!? Honestly, what are they doing with the juniors these days? When I get back up there, I'm gonna smack so hard, you'll be demoted to–" The female voice paused for a moment. "Oh, wait. This is a different world, isn't it? Hmm…"

"Mortal…" The god stepped toward the crack of light. "When I find out who you are, I'm going to–"

"Do what? Come down here?" The female voice sounded smug. "Heard you got a waitlist. I'll be long gone by then!"

"You miserable, pile of…"

While the god continued raging, Leon looked hopefully at the crack of life.

"Please, goddess, help me. I'm being restrained against my will."

"Oh, right," the female voice said, "Okay, hang on. Let me–"

"Enough!" The death god roared. "You shall not trespass in my domain any longer!"

The crack of light was forcefully closed, dousing the room back into darkness.

~o~

"So it didn't work?" Kazuma looked down at the still dead corpse. Even though he had only heard one side of the conversation, he pretty much got the gist of the situation, and it didn't look good.

"That stupid god in charge wouldn't let me bring his soul back!" Aqua angrily replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Ohhhh, if he was one of my juniors, I would have smacked him so hard that he would–"

"That means your resurrection spell doesn't work anymore, right?" Kazuma interrupted.

"Huh? Of course, it works. I'm a goddess!" Aqua answered as if offended. "It's just that the stupid god in charge isn't letting Lesoon's soul pass through!"

Kazuma couldn't help the frown that came to his lips.

That made sense since Aqua had just bullied Eris into breaking the rules and allowing him to be resurrected over and over again. Unfortunately, Eris wasn't the god overseeing life and death anymore now that they were in a different world. Considering how many times he had died before, he felt a bit uneasy with the prospect of an actual permanent death looming before him. Sure, he had been prepared for a real death when he had fought the demon king, but that had been a one time thing.

Asking a former shut-in NEET like him to readily risk his life on a daily basis was something that was beyond what he was capable of.

If a random monster somehow managed to kill him, he would stay dead. For real this time. No more second chances. But what bothered him more than anything was that it could happen to Darkness and Megumin. Without Aqua's resurrection spell, if those two were to die…

Kazuma didn't like the sudden feeling of dread that he could feel well up within the pit of his stomach. It had never happened to those two before, but it was still a possibility; one that he couldn't readily disregard.

"Wait here, I'm going to grab the magic stone from the infant dragon real quick."

Without waiting for a response, Kazuma left the group behind, running back toward where they had felled the infant dragon. At this point, he didn't really care that much about the magic stone, but he needed a little bit of alone time to think. Once he reached the large monster's corpse, Kazuma pulled out his carving knife and got to work. Even though the monster was a lot bigger, it didn't take him long to open it up and pull out the magic stone.

By the time he had finished, he had finally gotten his thoughts in order.

They still had to level up and gain more divinity for Aqua to jumpstart her own divinity. At the same time, they could continue exploring the dungeon to see if they could find any clues about that red button. After that, hopefully, they would all be able to go back to Belzerg in one piece. The fact that Aqua could not use her resurrection spell anymore changed nothing in the grand scheme of things.

He would just have to be a bit more careful from now on. It wasn't like he was trying to get himself killed; it just sort of happened sometimes. Occasionally. Besides, if he died, he could just simply take the offer to reincarnate into a rich family in Japan.

Oh, wait.

Since Eris wasn't in charge of souls here, that was probably off the table, wasn't it…?

"..."

Shaking the dark thoughts out of his head, Kazuma pocketed the larger than normal magic stone and then left the area.

When he made it back to the group, the adventurer's corpse had been healed and cleaned up, making it seem like he was just asleep. Everyone looked somber, and even Aqua had lost her angry mood and had settled into a vaguely worried one.

When Raul and Aki noticed that Kazuma had returned, they both turned to him and bowed their heads.

"Thank you for saving us," Aki said in a quiet manner.

"It's fine, it's fine." Kazuma waved them off, a bit embarrassed. He still wasn't used to receiving such gratitude. "It's not like I was the only one who helped."

"We already thanked them, but I don't think it's enough," Raul said, his voice filled with emotion. "If you all hadn't helped us, we wouldn't be here."

"We couldn't save your friend."

"It's not your fault. You did far more than you were obligated to." Raul kept his head bowed, though a couple of tear droplets fell to the ground. "When he chose this profession, he knew that death was always just a few steps away. That's what it means to be an adventurer."

Kazuma clenched his fist silently. However, that was only for a couple of moments before he forced his hand open to release the tension.

"We'll bring you both back to Orario."

It was the least they could do. It wouldn't have felt right to force them to carry their friend's dead body back.

"That's okay. You don't have to." Aki raised her head, though she looked unsure. "You've all done so much for us already. We can't impose any further."

"It's fine," Kazuma replied. "I don't think any of us are in the mood to adventure any deeper anyway."

"Well…" Aki hesitantly began. "If you're already heading back to the surface…"

"Alright, gather up. The spell won't work if you all aren't close."

"Huh?" Raul looked confused. "Why are we crowding around Leon's body?"

"Just do it."

"Uh, okay."

"A little closer."

"Why are you grabbing my–hey!" Aqua shouted. "Stop draining me!"

"Teleport!"

~o~

Inside the Pantheon, Rose Fannet stood by idly and watched the seconds tick by on the grandfather clock that resided in the corner of the room. The initial wave of adventurers that stopped by in the morning was done with, and that usually left a lot of downtime until the next wave. Typically, that would occur in the afternoon when everyone would be returning from the dungeon to trade in their drops and monster stones. Sure, a random person would stop by here and there, but those were far and few in between during these hours.

Rose considered the downtime to be one of the perks of the job.

She usually read through the daily newspaper during the downtime, but there hadn't been any real interesting news as of late. Well, except for that one article the other day about the Eris Familia. That had been a surprise; her initial impression of Kazuma's group after her introductory lesson had been less than stellar after all. Perhaps she had finally lucked out. Maybe that party of blockheads really would be the group that netted her an early retirement.

She let out a soft sigh.

There she was getting her hopes up again. Hadn't she learned already? Adventurers die on the job all the time. It was better to not have any expectations and–most importantly of all–not to get attached. Eris Familia might have made a bit of a name for themselves, but they were still just level ones at the end of the day.

It was the height of foolishness to–

A purple light suddenly flashed in front of her counter before a group of people just poofed into existence in front of her. She blinked in surprise and confusion as she recognized the people in front of her. In fact, it was the party of blockheads who she had been thinking of along with three members of Loki Familia, one of whom was unconscious.

"Huh? How did we…?" Raul looked confused, and that wasn't even mentioning Aki by his side who was blinking owlishly at everything.

"There you go. You can take care of the rest, right?" Kazuma's casual voice seemed to echo in the completely silent and stunned room. "We're a bit tired so we'll be going home now. See ya."

"Wait–!"

"Teleport!"

Kazuma and his three female companions vanished in a flash of purple light.

It took a few seconds before the entirety of the room erupted into a cacophony of shouts and movements.

For Rose Fannet, however, she didn't do any of that. Instead, she merely watched the pandemonium with an empty gaze and sighed deeply. It looked like she wasn't going home tonight.

~o~

The members of Eris Familia appeared in the main room of the church in a flash of purple light.

It was the third location set in Kazuma's teleportation skill. The first being the dungeon so they wouldn't lose their progress and the second being the Guild's headquarter because he could tell it would be a hassle walking the few blocks to reach there. Honestly, he wished the skill would give him more slots to mark even more places because he could have kept one for the Far East.

As much as he enjoyed adventures, he sometimes missed Japanese cuisine.

However, food wouldn't be as practical as the Guild Headquarters' marker since it would be annoying to have to teleport home with a large monster drop and then drag it to the Pantheon. It would be like walking to the supermarket to do grocery shopping instead of driving. Even if it was only a few blocks away, who the hell wanted to carry that kind of stuff and walk?

Sure, only magic stones were required to be sold to the Guild, but it was a brother to negotiate individually with different Familias and merchants for just a few extra Valis. Besides, he had never been much of a miser. If he actually needed money fast, he could just go to the casino or reproduce items from Japan using his smithing skills like lighters and condoms. After all, the patents for them had been pretty profitable when he sold them to Vanir, and those sold patents only applied to Belzerg. This was an entirely new market.

"Welcome back." Eris was standing there with a smile on her lips and a broom in her hand. "You're home early. Did something happen?"

"That stupid god messed up my resurrection spell! Listen to this. When I…"

Aqua ranted as she recounted the entire story. However, it wasn't only for Eris' benefit. For Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness, this was the first time that they heard what the god actually said to Aqua. By the end of it, Eris had a troubled look on her face.

"Senpai, while it's hard to think of any god who would let you revive constantly like I did," Eris said. "This would be the first time for this man. Doesn't this mean that the one resurrection per person rule is not implemented here?"

"I guess…"

"Wouldn't this mean that everyone has one life?" Kazuma looked uneasy. "That includes you, Aqua."

"Me?!"

"You're not a goddess anymore. Where do you think you'll go after you die?" Kazuma questioned. "These guys don't seem to know you so they would probably process you in the same way that they do with mortals."

Aqua turned pale.

"We have to decide now. Should we keep going or stop?"

"Stop?" Darkness asked, confused.

"Yeah. Stop adventuring and settle down," Kazuma said somberly. "It wouldn't be a bad life, but we won't ever see everyone again. Family, friends. It's kind of what I did when I decided not to go back to Japan."

"I'll die without explosions!"

"It's not like we can't take a walk outside Orario and do it. Probably would be the same as before," Kazuma commented. "Our lives wouldn't be too different, but we wouldn't be risking them in anything dangerous. However, if we do so, that would mean Aqua will never regain her divinity and we'll never go back home."

Aqua, the subject of the matter, was oddly silent.

"So what will it be?" He looked at each and every one of them. "Do we go on or do we stop here?"

The room was silent with the tension thick in the air.

"...I had never once relied on that spell." Darkness pounded her armored chest with her gauntlet. "Even if I become a prisoner and degrade into a replacement for a succubus, I won't step back!"

"If I can't level up my explosion, what's the point?" Megumin began to smile. "Just like in our home world, I'll show this world what the greatest attack magic is!"

"I never thought of quitting either," Kazuma smoothly lied, though it was said in such a way that nobody believed him.

"I wish I could go with all of you," Eris wistfully said. However, there was determination in her eyes. "But I'll support you with all I have from here. You can count on me!"

Everyone's eyes turned toward the one person that hadn't spoken a word yet. Aqua had her hair over her eyes, hiding her expression.

"...let's just stay here," Aqua quietly replied.

"Oi… Who exactly was the one that was complaining about getting their divinity back the whole time again?" Kazuma dryly remarked. "What happened to missing Axel and Emperor Zell?"

"I-it's not that bad here! T-the drinks are great," Aqua stammered. "And there's a lot of fun people here! I can always adopt another dragon anyway."

Honestly. Who was this stupid goddess trying to fool?

"Aqua…" Darkness said with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "You don't have to lie."

"Are…are all of you stupid!?" Aqua shouted back in response, spreading out her arms. " Don't you get it? If you die, that's it! The end! There's no coming back. Rather than that, even if it's here instead of Axel, as long as it's with you guys… I don't care about my divinity!"

"Senpai…"

"I… I…" Tears gathered into the corners of her eyes. "I don't want it to end…"

"And it won't," Kazuma stated confidently. "We always won when it counted."

"Even if this world's demon king shows up himself," Megumin confidently said. "We'll just blow him up again!"

"I'll even hold him down," Darkness remarked with a big smile.

"Senpai," Eris began as she put a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I believe in them…and you. We're goddesses. We should have a little faith, don't you think?"

"I…" Aqua wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Looking up at their smiling faces, she said, "Okay. I won't let any of you die on my watch so…"

Aqua slowly began to smile.

"Let's go get my divinity back!"

~o~

Kazuma walked down the streets of Orario with his hands stuffed into his pockets, deep in thought.

The sun had just started to set so it wasn't completely dark outside yet. Tsubaki's workshop wasn't that far away from their new home so he didn't have to walk for long. He remembered seeing that her store closed pretty late so it was a good time to stop by and do some shopping.

The fact that Aqua's resurrection spell didn't work still weighed heavily on his mind.

He wasn't some isekai protagonist with a cheat ability nor was he some kind of hero from a fantasy story. When Aqua ran away to face the demon king, he had gone after her because of an ultimately selfish reason. In the end, he fought the demon king for a similar reason.

The reason being that someone he cared about was in trouble.

It was hard to admit it to himself, but he did care about that lazy drunkard of a former goddess. When Darkness and Megumin had gotten themselves into trouble, he had done the same for them. Admittingly, trying to be a hero in his previous life ended up with him dying from shock, but ever since then, his success rate had been mostly positive.

And in the end, Kazuma knew that if he didn't help them, he would come to regret it. Even if it was a pain and a hassle, it was something that he still had to do, no matter what.

By the time he reached the front door of Tsubaki's workshop, Kazuma had a determined look on his face. This was just the first step in that process. The bell on the door rang when he opened the door.

"Welcome!"

A short stocky girl with brown hair that he didn't recognize greeted him. A dwarf perhaps?

"Yo," Kazuma replied. "Is Tsubaki here?"

"She's working in the back room," the girl answered. "Do you have an appointment with her?"

"Uh… No. Can you tell her that Satou Kazuma wants to speak with her?"

"Satou Kazuma?" The dwarf girl's eyes lit up in realization. "So you're the one who Tsubaki forged a contract with, huh? Just head on over to the back then."

"Alright, thanks."

Kazuma walked past the dwarf girl toward the back room where he had met with Hephataeus last time. Tools and equipment lined the walls that he walked past, each meticulously organized, reflecting the dedication and precision of their owner. The air was filled with the scent of metal, wood, and something else—something distinctly magical. The workshop was bustling with a lot more energy compared to the last time he was here, though that was probably because they were actually open right now.

When he finally made it to the back room, the first thing that caught his eye was the woman hammering away at a weapon on an anvil.

Tsubaki still wasn't wearing a shirt while sweat glistened on her bare shoulders, droplets flying with each swing of her hammer. Sparks flew with the loud 'clang' of her strikes echoing all the while. She was so focused on her work that she hadn't even noticed him come inside and take a seat at the table. He didn't really want to disturb her while she seemed so focused on her task so he decided to just sit there and watch until she was done.

Maybe he could even learn something or level up his [Smithing] skill in the process.

Tsubaki's eyes sparkled with a mix of determination and curiosity as she inspected the half-finished sword, the blade glinting under her scrutinizing gaze. Her hands moved with grace and purpose, as if the hammers and tongs were extensions of her very being. The sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the workshop like a symphony of metalworking as he continued to watch on.

Kazuma wasn't a real blacksmith by any means, but even he could tell that Tsubaki was someone that was a master at her craft.

After a good ten minutes or so, Tsubaki finally stopped hammering away at the weapon and inspected it. There was a serious look in her eyes as she examined the half-finished sword before she nodded to herself enthusiastically.

"Phew!" She wiped some sweat off her brow and turned toward him with a smile. "Hey, Kazuma. Thanks for waiting. What can I do for you today?"

"Yo," he raised his hand in greeting from his spot at the table. "I wanted to cash in on our deal and get some equipment made."

"Oho?" Tsubaki's eyes lit up in response. "What have you got in mind?"

Kazuma blinked at that.

That was a good question. What did he have in mind? He had so much on his mind recently that he hadn't even really thought everything through. Now that Aqua's resurrection spell was off the table, he knew that he needed better equipment to compensate. There weren't going to be any more second chances for him so he needed to take whatever advantages he could get if they were going to keep dungeon diving.

Kazuma put a hand under his chin and leaned back on his chair in thought.

"Hmm…" he mused. Survivability came first for sure, and then weapons could come next. He thought back to all the other adventurers he had seen and many of them had armor of some kind or another.

"Maybe some armor?" Kazuma vocalized his thoughts aloud. "And some other kind of protective gear?"

Tsubaki walked over to his side of the table with a serious look in her eyes. Her hands suddenly clasped onto his shoulders, feeling them out, before they began sliding down his arms. She prodded and squeezed with her fingers. It wasn't long before she moved on to using her hands to explore the rest of his upper body.

Oi, oi, oi! Just what was this woman thinking?!

He could feel his face flush red in response as her hands continued to explore every nook and cranny. Didn't she know she still wasn't wearing a shirt!? It wasn't like he disliked it, but he could barely even handle Darkness when she flirted with him in her nightgown! So for an even more alluring woman to suddenly feel him up like that, it was too much for a former shut-in NEET like him to handle!

Was he finally going to graduate from virginity here!?

"You're kind of a bean sprout, aren't ya, Kazuma?" Tsubaki asked with a contemplative look on her face. "Heavy armor is no good. Needs to be something lightweight and mobile for sure."

Hah…?

"Maybe leather then? No, dragonhide?" Tsubaki mumbled to herself as she sat down on an empty chair at the table. "With that mage you guys have in your party, maybe something fire-resistant…"

Ah.

She was just measuring him. That was a bit disappointing. At least, he didn't say anything, otherwise that would have been embarrassing.

"...yeah, that'll work," Tsubaki said before she clapped her hands together. "Okay! I'll have some armor ready for you to pick up in a week."

"That fast?" Kazuma asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?" Tsubaki replied, as if offended. "I owe you guys anyway so putting your order at the top of the list is the least I can do. Oh, by the way, can you make sure to give Aqua my thanks again? That eye injury was really troublesome because it was messing with my depth perception when I was smithing so I'm really grateful for what she did."

"Ah, sure," he answered with a nod. "Thanks."

"No problem!" Tsubaki flashed him a victory sign. "And how about a weapon? I can forge you something better than what you got there."

Kazuma glanced down at his sword that was hanging from a strap on his waist.

It wasn't like it was a particularly amazing weapon, but it did its job well. While he half-hated the name Megumin gave it, he couldn't lie and say that the weapon didn't have some sentimental value to him. Still, it was just a normal, plain katana. He would eventually need to get it replaced so why not?

"Sure, but can you also make me a bow?"

~o~

By the time Kazuma stepped out of Tsubaki's workshop, the moon was already out, shining overhead in the night sky.

He ended up chatting with Tsubaki for a lot longer than he originally intended. Most of it had been focused on his equipment order, but he had also asked if he could stop by and use her forge sometime for his own smithing purposes. That conversation ended up going on for far longer than expected because of how excited Tsubaki had been to learn about his [Smithing] skill. She was a pretty cool person though, aside from her almost fanatical level of obsession with smithing.

The fact that she almost never wore a shirt was also a plus in his book.

As Kazuma made his way back to the church, he made sure to keep an eye on his surroundings with his [Enemy Detection] skill. With the looming threat of a permanent death floating over his head now, Ardee's warning about Evilus' attacks at night carried a lot more weight. Fortunately, Tsubaki's workshop was close enough to the church that even if he stuck to the main road, it wouldn't take very long to make it back.

"Kazuma!" A familiar voice called out to him.

He turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw the redhead he had met at the pub the other day, Alise. He nervously began sweating. Why was she calling out to him like this? Had she finally realized that he had fed her complete bullshit the last time she had questioned him about the pantry incident?

Should he run away?

No, wait. Wouldn't that just make him even more suspicious? Damn it, just play it cool, Kazuma! She didn't look like she wanted to arrest him so it was fine. Probably. He hadn't done anything wrong anyway. Megumin was the one who blew up that stupid crystal.

Yeah, he was completely innocent here!

"H-hey, Alise," he weakly greeted in response.

"What are you doing out so late, Kazuma?" Alise asked with a curious tilt of her head. However, her eyes suddenly lit up in realization. "Oh! You must be going out on patrol as well! I knew it, you truly are a fellow seeker of justice!"

No, he wasn't. However, he didn't want her to realize he had been bullshitting her the entire time either…

"Y-yeah! I was just out doing my patrol!" Kazama lied, completely and utterly. "I'm going to make those Evilus bastards pay for what they did!"

"That's the spirit!" Alise excitedly replied. "I knew you had the same idea as me. We're just like two peas in a pod, haha!"

"Y-yeah. Definitely. Well, don't let little old me get in the way of your patrol."

"Hmm…? Oh, I just had a wonderful idea!" Alise threw her arm over his shoulder. "We should patrol together!"

No, that was a terrible idea! Why did he keep getting dragged deeper and deeper into this mess!?

"No, no, no. Don't let a measly level one like me drag you down," he replied as he tried to wiggle out of her grasp. "I'd just get in your way."

"What? Don't be so humble, Kazuma! You might only be a level one, but you're already a hero in many people's eyes."

This damn woman…!

What the hell was this? She was just as stubborn as Darkness with the same grip strength to match! Take the hint already, damn it!

"No, no, no. That was all because of my companions," he said as he continued to try to slip away. "I barely did anything at all!"

"Mmm… Humbleness is good and all, but you need to value yourself more, Kazuma," Alise replied with a slight frown. "Oh, I know! I'll take you in as my junior and show you the ropes. I'm the great Alise Lovell, the captain of the Astraea Familia after all! I'll show you everything you need to know to be as great of a captain as me!"

No, damn it!

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Why did he bother giving her that bullshit story in the first place!?

~o~

Authors' Note:

Special FX: Baldur's Gate 3 or writing and keeping the schedule. Tough decisions were made, lol.

Icura: Bet you looked twice when you saw smithing and condoms in the same sentence.