The morning after their promised bet, Kazuma awoke in what was quickly becoming a regular position. Aqua had curled up around him, holding onto him like a teddy bear. He let out a sigh, starting the task of crawling out of her grasp. The day marked their first full week of living in the world and it had just hit him how much his life had really changed. Before, he'd had a dark room with black out curtains, a small bed, clothing all over the floor, discarded plates and the like on his computer desk and more. It had been basically the ideal NEET bedroom with all the entertainment and collectables he needed. This room couldn't have felt more different if it tried. Where his room had been dark and full of 'modern' grays and the like, all bought from a department store for the lowest price his parents could find, this was warm and homey with natural wooden tones throughout the room. The darkest thing in the room was the clothing chest at the foot of the bed, stained a dark rosewood color, likely in an attempt to deter pests. Beyond the bed and the chest, all the room even had was a few coat hooks inside the door, a simple fireplace, and a small table with two chairs for them.

The part that really confused him though? The fact that it already felt like home. It didn't make sense for him at first until he really thought about it: It was because he actually felt wanted here. At 'home' he had been pressured to always do more, be somebody different, or being bothered about where his life was going. Here, so long as he did his best and put in effort, people actually seemed to appreciate his work.

Swapping out his sleepwear for workwear, he made a mental note to see how washing clothes even worked in this world. While magic existed here, it was still a fantasy world, so it might be something as simple as doing it in a wash basin, or might be a spell of some sort.

Aqua let out a small snort in her sleep, catching Kazuma's attention before he left. He looked back at her and could only smile at just how innocent she looked right now. Without him to cling to, she had rolled onto her back, arms spread out. She'd managed to also kick the blanket off of herself and looked like she was already getting cold. Rolling his eyes he turned back around, pulling the blanket up for her first. The content smile on her face as she snuggled back into the bed and blanket made it worth it. She might be a pain in his ass, but at the end of the day she was still incredibly cute.

Leaving the room, Kazuma started going over his to-do list for the day. Luna had told him that he was to cover the job desk today so she could actually have a day off. The fact that she had volunteered to try and work with Aqua was only icing on the cake for him.

In front of the counter there were already a handful of adventurers trying to either turn in a quest or trying to get an early start to their day. "Alright, quest turn-ins first, new missions second. Line up! Not in line, no service" he told them, a smile on his face as he saw them shuffle around.

-Ko-No-Su-Ba!-

Aqua cracked an eye open as Kazuma shut the door behind himself. She had actually been awake before him, but hadn't wanted to let him know she knew she'd been holding him. He wasn't quite as good as the stuffed animals she'd had in heaven, but that was an unrealistic standard. Throwing the cover back, she quickly dug through the clothes chest. She had taken advantage of the fact she'd claimed the bottom of the chest to hide a bottle of bubbly underneath her own clothes. She'd just bought it moments before they'd made the deal, so she hadn't gotten to drink it. Kazuma, thankfully, hadn't seen it yet, but there was no reason to risk it. Popping the top, she froze up as she heard the loud 'POP' of the cork resonating around the room. After a few seconds, she felt safe enough to move again, thinking she was in the clear.

Aqua was quickly proven wrong though as the door was slammed open, Luna at the door. "Stop right there!" the buxom blonde, still in her own sleepwear demands of the azure goddess. "Kazuma was right, you were going to try and sneak it in when he wasn't looking."

Aqua wrapped her arms around the bottle, spilling a bit of it in the process. "I paid for this fair and square from that job I took! Nobody has wanted to go on a quest with me since those losers ran a slander campaign on me and I need to be cheered up, dang it! Let me enjoy my bubbly!" At first it had seemed like Aqua had been close to crying, tears welling up in her eyes, but towards the end, she took on a more unhinged look, madness in her eyes as she started petting the bottle and becoming protective of the bottle.

Luna's eyes softened, slowly walking up to Aqua. "Oh, Sweetie…" she trailed off, taking a seat next to Aqua, being careful not to reach for the bottle. "I think you might have a problem after all." It hurt Luna to say it outloud, but she'd seen enough adventurers over the years try to drown themselves in a bottle to recognize it when she saw it. "I'm not going to force you to do anything, but I want to help you. You made a deal with Kazuma, right? Do you want to give up only the day after making your bet? Prove him right and disappoint us both?"

Aqua's desire to drink was finally pierced by that final question. She had started feeling more like a burden than anything else to Kazuma after saddling him with all that debt. She didn't want to admit it, but she didn't even have anything she could do to help him around the guild. The part that really stopped her though was the look of pity on Luna's face. It felt like she'd disappointed her own grandmother and it left her feeling a giant knot in her stomach. Shakily, she pried the bottle away from her body, handing it over to Luna. "I… I just want to drink and forget everything I should be doing" she managed to admit, mumbling under her breath.

Setting the bottle off to the side, Luna shuffled closer to Aqua, wrapping her in a hug. The stress pours out of Aqua, the hug enough to ground her slightly. "One day at a time, alright? If you're having an urge to drink, come find me. I won't force you to go cold turkey, but I will help you, alright?" Luna leaned back, waiting on Aqua's response.

Aqua sniffled a bit, longing for her bottle but knowing her friend was right. Nodding, she let Luna make their next move, knowing she'd just dash for the bottle otherwise.

Luna, seeing the position Aqua was in, pulled the goddess up onto her feet. "Alright, idle hands are the Demon King's plaything and all that. I'll take this bottle downstairs and keep it for you. I'll help you keep busy so you're not thinking about it as much, alright? I'll even buy breakfast." She hoped the bit of incentive would cheer the girl up.

It was enough to cause Aqua to perk up slightly. "Can I have eggs and bacon?" she asked, not having had any since she'd been dragged down with Kazuma.

"Sure, I'll be waiting for you after I get dressed." Luna then got on her way, the bottle in hand to keep temptation away.

-Ko-No-Su-Ba!-

Kazuma had quickly paid out all of the adventurers and set the first few up with their selected missions. That had been hours ago and he was now dealing with a trickle of customers as lunch came around. He was only a few seconds away from putting a 'be back soon' sign of some sort up when a group of three younger adventurers showed up.

"Hey! We want to take on this goblin elimination quest" the 'leader' of the group asked, handing his card over along with his teammates' and the mission request.

Taking stock of the trio, Kazuma wasn't particularly impressed. Their jobs were Hunter, Mage, and 'Ninja' of all things. The job called for a nest elimination, which generally meant anywhere from ten goblins to fifty if the nest sat too long. There might even be a shaman if they were unlucky. Their levels weren't even that impressive, with the highest level one being the Hunter at nine. They'd likely be able to take on eight or so goblins without any issues, but as it was they'd likely get destroyed. He had heard other adventurers talk about their missions and the like, so he had an idea that goblins were not to be messed with so casually.

He gave the paperwork back to the three of them, shaking his head. "I will not okay this. You guys don't have a frontliner or a healer. If you can't kill them all in an ambush you'll get rushed down in an instant. If your mage had a barrier spell or a way to keep them at bay maybe, but as it is you would all end up hurt or worse."

That was not what the leader wanted to hear at all, the front member turning an angry shade of red. "The hell? What do you mean you can't? Any adventurer can take any job. Who are you to tell us no?"

"I am the guy trying to keep you from getting yourselves killed," Kazuma deadpanned, not even remotely intimidated at all.

The yelling had the benefit of catching Luna's attention with Aqua in tow. "Is there a problem, Kazuma? We were just coming to see if you wanted to grab lunch with us."

The Hunter cut Kazuma off before he could even get a word out, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Yeah, there is a problem. He isn't letting us take the mission we chose. What the hell?"

Luna turned her attention back to Kazuma, confusion on her face. "Oh? What's the problem, are their cards not valid or something?"

Scoffing, Kazuma shook his head in frustration. "No, these idiots think they can take on a goblin nest. All three of them are glass cannons and would get over-ran in a minute. If they come back with a frontliner or a healer they can go, but I will not okay them as they are."

The terms were a bit odd to everyone else but Aqua, but Luna managed to get the main point. "So, you're telling them no for their own safety?"

"That's what I just said!" he exclaims, frustrated they were all being so dense.

"Well, tough. Any adventurer can take any job." The voice those words came from sounded like it had been smoking for forty years and had just run up the stairs. Behind Luna and Aqua stood a short, rotund man with a set of clothing miles above the quality anyone else was wearing. Even if the buttons on the vest seemed near to bursting. Grayed hair and angry eyes bore into Kazuma, challenging him to talk back.

Kazuma was about to do just that too, only to be stopped by Luna interjecting. "Oh, Guild Leader Gerald, how nice to see you on the floor. How are you?"

The angry, old man waved off her question, his eyes still focused on Kazuma. "Yes, yes, nice to see you too Luna. Now, approve their mission and send them on their way." He waddled forward, getting between Kazuma and Luna, looking for a fight.

Kazuma was ready to tear into the old man, only to be stopped by Luna shaking her head behind him, a sad look on her face. Gritting his teeth, he retook the paperwork from the trio, approving the mission. "Very well then. See you when you return adventurers."

Gerald nodded in acceptance of the exchange, feeling he'd won the entire confrontation. The three adventurers certainly felt that way too based on how excited they looked on their way out.

Once all three were gone and out of ear shot, Kazuma turned to Aqua, fire in his eyes. "I need you to tail them and bail them out. If you don't do it one or more of them are going to end up dead. Can you do that for me?" While he was worried about the 'little shits' this was more a matter of pride for him at this point. He needed somebody to see it go to hell just like he'd predicted and he was hoping that Aqua would cause that to happen just by being there.

"But I was about to-" Aqua was cut off by Luna elbowing her, looking serious.

"Aqua, go. I'll buy you dinner for the week afterwards, alright? Kazuma, give her some travel bars to eat on the way and tell her where she's going." Luna's voice seemed to have a sense of command to it, feeling more like a general sending a soldier into battle than a receptionist.

The aura was enough to get Aqua to nod and book it, a sense of urgency in her step as she moves.

-Ko-No-Su-Ba!-

Almost eight hours passed before Aqua returned, the three rookies in tow. In a word, all four of them looked like a wreck. Clothing was torn, blood splattered, dirt, mud, and even more questionable substances caking all four of them. Aqua was the only one with any energy left in themselves, the others borderline dragging themselves into the hall.

Tossing a lazy salute after they entered the cafeteria, she slurred through her next sentence, giving her exhaustion away. "Butt-saver Aqua, reporting for duty." She swayed on her feet for a moment longer before collapsing onto the seat next to Kazuma.

"Um, we're… sorry, for not listening to you" came the voice of the Hunter, defeat pouring off of him. "There were well over thirty of them goblins. We only took out, like, five of them before they rushed over us. They stabbed me in the heart in the first ten seconds and… killed me. If it weren't for Aqua, I'd still be dead…" Judging from the looks on the other two, it was clear their stories aren't much different, just varying in how long they lasted and the like.

It was at this moment Kazuma noticed that other than the bare minimum of clothing, they didn't have any of their gear remaining. "Oh… she found you guys after they had already looted your corpses, right?" Kazuma feels terrible about having to be their wake up call, but at least it happened when they had a safety net.

"You're fine now though, right?" Kazuma asked, standing up to make room for them to sit down. "You guys take a load off for now and try to collect yourselves. I'm going to get you guys some food and see how we're going to go about paying you out, alright? I know the mission didn't get finished, but literally dying has to be worth something."

The three of them quickly slumped over the table he'd been sitting at, joining Aqua in exhaustion.

It took him a few minutes to track her down, but eventually Kazuma managed to find Luna talking with some of her waitress friends. "Hey, um, Luna? Those three from earlier made it back… sort of. All three of them got killed and Aqua resurrected them. I know we aren't supposed to do partial payments, but they did die trying to finish it. What can we do?"

Luna was about to answer when she was cut off by Gerald. "You can do nothing. The mission wasn't completed so there will be no pay, as per policy. They took the mission on and knew the risks. Just because they 'tried' doesn't earn them a single Eris."

Gerald didn't even wait for a response, going off to do whatever it is he did when he wasn't making life miserable for the guild workers.

After the man was well gone, Kazuma turned back to Luna, with outrage on his face. "How the fuck is that asshole in charge of this place? It's like he doesn't even care if people die or not!"

Luna let out a sigh, shaking her head. "He doesn't. He doesn't care who is doing missions so long as they're getting done and he gets paid. He is a nobleman and effectively bribed his way into his position… not that I told you that, of course."

Kazuma rubbed his head in frustration, trying to think of what to do. It took a minute, but the smirk on his face as he realized what to do made it clear he had a devious plan in mind. "Luna, have you ever heard of a worker's union?"