AN: Hi. This chapter took WAY too long for me to write. Honestly Aqua was so hard to counter due to her being so overpowered it's not even funny. I had to rewrite the chapter 3 times already. Once again sorry for the wait, I'll see you all soon!
"Target spotted!"
Me and Eris peeked from inside a bush.
We scoped out a singular Giant Toad that had just emerged from the ground. Its eyes lazily scanned the area before letting out a yawn.
Eris suggested targeting and sneakily killing a lone toad that had wandered too far from the rest of the herd.
"You don't exactly have the best of memories with these guys," she turned to me, "but I'm sure that a singular toad won't give us any trouble."
She pulled out a red dagger that Vanir had given her. The base of it wasn't anything special, but the blade was forged out of nullified red manatite.
"Well, it won't be any trouble for me." Eris sped off, aiming the tip of the blade to the poor toad's belly.
"Grahhhhh!" She rushed it down, spinning the dagger and switching to a reverse grip for more power. The momentum of it would surely amount to a lethal strike.
The poor toad could barely react in time as the blade made contact with its gut.
…
"Krooo—?"
The blade bounced off it's belly, Eris also bounced off from the force and fell on her ass.
Using Foresight I was able to get a closer look on the impact zone.
––It looked exactly the same.
Not a single scratch was made.
Eris quickly recovered, she picked the dagger back up from the ground and started slashing at the toad in quick succession.
A moment later she pulled away and turned to yell at me.
"This crappy thing didn't leave a scratch on it!"
"Roh…?" The toad looked down on Eris. She flinched and looked back at the toad.
The toad started ominously hopping towards her.
"Oh hell no!" Sensing imminent danger, Eris quickly pocketed the Red Manatite Dagger and switched it for her own enchanted dagger. She got into a combat stance and faced off the toad.
"Rib…" The toad in question just blinked.
"Biiiit." Before letting out a yawn and hopping away.
Eris was spared by the toad who didn't think she was worth its time.
She waddled back to the bush in shame and sat next to me.
"Nice, you didn't get slimed." I congratulated her, I even clapped a little.
Eris ignored me and looked at the Red Manatite Dagger.
"This piece of junk couldn't even wound a weakened toad. That devil set me up!" She growled.
Perhaps due to the way Vanir has been acting recently, it wasn't totally out of the question for him to pull a stunt like this.
Thinking past that, I asked for the faulty dagger and she gave it to me.
"It's useless, a toy sword is more lethal than that thing."
To test it out, I tried cutting a twig protruding from the bush. Sure enough it didn't break.
"Pass me your dagger real quick."
Perhaps sensing what I was going to do, she handed it to me without question.
Using my Blacksmithing skill, I sharpened the dagger using Eris's own.
After I was done I tried slicing a twig again—- only for it to fail again.
"You're right, this thing blows." I handed Eris back her dagger.
The fact that it couldn't harm a toad was a testament on how weak this is. The Demon King's buff on monsters being gone further showed how pitiful this dagger really is.
"Hey—" I looked to my side and noticed that Eris was gone.
I spotted her storming off.
"Where the hell are you going!?"
She didn't even bother turning back as she yelled; "I'm going to give that Devil a piece of my mind! You can handle a couple of frogs by yourself can't you?"
She continued storming off.
…
I very much miss the gentle and kind Eris from so long ago.
I was left alone to continue hunting toads.
As for why, I needed their slime as it worked as an ingredient for adhesive and was a vital part of my plan. Also glue was just super expensive and I didn't want to spend an absurd amount for something I could easily get myself.
Unfortunately the first toad we tried to assassinate ended up hopping away without a scratch on it.
Pivoting from that failure, I noticed another toad, relaxing under the shade of a nearby tree. I looked at my replacement bow that was on the ground in front of me.
Eris had a spare bow lying around in one of her hideouts so she lent it to me on the condition that I won't delete the embarrassing photos of me behind her back — not that it would stop me.
With the use of foresight I locked sights on the toad. It was menacingly leering at a tree for no apparent reason. I couldn't help but feel intimidated by its ominous aura.
Is there a bug on that tree?
Suddenly all of those terrible memories of being so close to death by a frog flooded my brain.
I can feel a bead of sweat drip onto my nose.
—I can take on a single toad right?
Of course I can! I single handedly defeated the Demon King! A lonely toad is no match for the 'Hero of Belzerg'!
I latched an arrow into the string of my bow. A clean shot to the head should be enough to kill it.
"…Snipe!"
The arrow zoomed through and lodged itself into the head of the poor toad. It flopped over on the ground. I spotted and sniped the rest of the toads in the field just as quickly.
I left the safe haven that was the bush and retrieved my arrows from the dead toads. Finally it was time to harvest the slime—
Where's the jar?
I ran back to the bush to search for the jar we brought. I couldn't find it anywhere.
I swear I brought one—
Ah…
I suddenly remembered where I left the jar.
With no jar to harvest the slime, I caved in and ended up buying adhesives at an inflated price.
"When I finally stabilize I'll make sure to make your pitiful life as miserable as possible! Divine punishment I say! You'll never make another sale again, ever!"
I was greeted with an interesting sight when I returned to the shop.
"Kazuma! Help me out here will you!?" Eris was pinned to the wall by multiple dirt tendrils, her arms being stuck to her side. She was squirming around pretty aggressively too.
I ignored her pleading like she ignored me.
"Thank you for shopping with us! As a bonus, Moi will throw in this free Vanir Laughing Doll!" A cackling Vanir doll jumped onto the counter.
"Oh my! How generous of you Vanir-san. If there's anything I can do for you, don't be afraid to ask." The customer, a housewife, was charmed by Vanir's great customer service. She carefully let the Vanir doll onto her palm before setting it down on her shoulder.
She grabbed a couple of Eris coins from her bag and dropped them into the jar on the counter, the same one I had forgotten to grab.
It was now a tip jar.
"Moi is grateful for the tip!" Vanir bowed elegantly in response, the doll mimicked this.
"It's the least I can do after you single handedly protected the neighborhood recycling bin from those nightmarish crows!"
"Moi is happy that I was able to provide help. Take this will you? It's thanks for supporting Moi and this shop." Vanir handed her a rose.
The housewife blushed and cupped her cheeks like a meek school girl from a romance manga. "Oh you sly devil, you! You know I'm married! How dare you!" She playfully poked his chest.
They both shared a laugh.
The wall shook as Eris struggled more. "D-Don't believe his lies!" She cried out.
"It's nothing but a scheming con-artist! Before you know it, it would've already robbed you of all your money and worth!"
The housewife stared at Eris in confusion, trying to figure out what she was talking about.
Vanir sighed, "Moi apologizes for the inconvenience, you see, she is apart of the Axis Sect."
"I see… poor thing." She looked at Eris with pity before saying farewell to Vanir and leaving the store. The Vanir doll on her shoulder letting out one last laugh at Eris.
I walked past the rightfully pissed off Eris and into the backroom where I set down the special glue I've bought.
This glue, unlike the ones in Japan, is more resistant. It starts off as slime but any heat will cause it to solidify, creating a tight hold on any surface.
It was expensive but it did its job well. It didn't help that I had to buy five jars of these things.
Why you ask? Well, dear imaginary voice in my head, it's because Eris's camera just so happened to have an embarrassing photo of Aqua partaking in a stupid trend saved onto its memory.
The trend?
It involves someone's tongue making contact on the most unsanitary place known to man for at least ten seconds. That's right, it's the stupid trend in which you have to lick a toilet seat that invaded Japanese media not too long ago. It got so popular that it even popped up on news outlets. The Goddess of Water herself caught wind and partook in it herself too!
What an idiot.
Eris had the camera print out copies by magical means. About five-hundred copies of that embarrassing photo were made. I plan to infiltrate the mansion and stick a decent amount of these on the walls to get under her skin. Eris will spread the rest into town.
I'm sure Aqua's public image will take a major hit once the people of Axel get wind of this. For once, it's not MY public image that's getting tarnished.
With my plan of action established, I turned to the stack of photos laying on a box and the glue I've just set down.
…
I'm not doing all that work.
I contemplated releasing Eris from her prison before she could properly cool down.
…Nah.
Before swiftly rejecting that idea.
Instead, I took a page out of Vanir's book.
"Go! My Mini-Kazuma army!"
A horde of clay dolls resembling my image leaped out of a box and started pasting the glue on the back of the photos.
Such efficient workers!
Although they looked like me, their creator was Vanir. Despite my level massively increasing, my mana reserves were still low for any advanced spells. Vanir did reassure me that I won't need to face that issue any longer.
I couldn't help but watch on as the dolls flipped over pictures and pasted glue on the back of each one. It was really mesmerizing.
I ended up watching them until they finished.
"Tinder!" I launched a miniature flame and aimed straight at Vanir!
Instead of dodging like he usually does, he blocked the projectile with the Red Manitite Dagger, the same one he gave to Eris.
The flame didn't disappear upon contact, but got absorbed instead. The once small flame latched on and grew, enveloping the blade in a bigger, more powerful fire.
Vanir smirked and tossed the dagger at me. I managed to catch it, luckily without getting burned.
He turned to Eris, "You see brat! That is the true purpose of the weapon! Why in hell would you think to use it as a regular blade!? Doesn't thou know how horribly blunt Red Manatite is!? There is not an artisan in the entire world that can sharpen it to a usable degree! Moi is questioning your intelligence! Are all Gods this idiotic!?"
Eris struggled against her binds, "That's it! Kazuma get these things off me! This Devil just said something it shouldn't have!"
"Hoho! So be it!" He turned to me, "My dear business partner! Would you please pour a bit of mana and slash towards the dirt binds right after you do? It is very important that the blade doesn't actually touch the target. As for the girl, feel free to aim directly at her if thou wishes!" Vanir stepped aside, giving me a clear shot.
"Hey!" Eris gave me a look that said screamed death.
Fearing her impending wrath, I gave a look to Vanir. He sighed, released Eris and created a dirt clone of himself.
Eris gave a prideful 'hmph!'. "You can't tempt my dear Assistant and side-kick that easy!"
I was going to tell her that it was more out of fear of her enacting divine punishment than out of my own will but I stopped myself.
Facing the dirt clone, I fed the blade some mana from the handle and slashed towards it right after.
In an instant I felt the heat coming from the blade stop. The fire ejected itself and got sent to where I swung at incredible speed. The fire took the form of slash - sorta how they do in video games. It was the same size as the blade.
I managed to hit it square in the center of its body.
"Nice shot!" Eris complimented me, seeing me attack a Devil must've improved my ratings, even if it's just a dirt clone.
The body was charred from the hit. A split second after contact, a small flurry of flames erupted from the spot and charred the entire torso.
Vanir snapped his fingers and the dirt clone regenerated back into its original state.
"Try using more mana this time." Eris suggested, I can hear a tinge of excitement in her voice.
"Good idea."
I poured more mana into my next spell and used Freeze on the dagger. Sure enough, it also absorbed that. The blade was now a pretty snow white.
Another slash later, the ice hit an arm and froze a portion of it. The ice spread to the shoulder before completely shattering and taking the arm with it.
Eris gasped. "Hold on, is it really that lethal!?"
"It's dirt." Vanir said.
"You know what I meant."
"If used against a human, at the least they'll suffer from shivering for some time. At most, they'll feel an intense sensation of sheer cold. No permanent damage. The scale of it very much depends on the type of magic and the amount of mana the boy uses." Vanir flicked my forehead to illustrate his point.
"Would thou like a more complex and in-depth explanation?"
"You can save that for later. For now how about you tell me why you didn't show me how to use it?!"
"Moi tried to, but thou left before I had the chance. You dragged the poor boy along by the wrist too, spouting something about 'I'm raring to go!'" He mimicked Eris by doing a cutesy pose and doing that thing where idols partially cover their eyes.
Eris couldn't say anything, either out of sheer disbelief that he actually did that or out of sheer disgust that he did.
Vanir clapped his hands, "Now brats, I'll explain its functions; the dagger absorbs any magic it comes into contact with and stores it. Once you pour mana from the handle, it causes an overfill and ejects the magic stored within. Preferably thou should swing the dagger as soon as possible. The magic's speed and power is greatly increased and a slash-like formation would benefit it the most."
Essentially, this is a gimmick weapon! Finally! Something that doesn't kill the fantasy video game theme!
"I call dibs!" I swiftly claimed ownership of such a cool weapon.
"But didn't I get handed the weapon?" Eris replied.
"Unfortunately Moi was only able to have one dagger crafted. Red Manatite isn't usually sold at local markets. Moi actually had to chip some pieces from your masks to complete that dagger."
Me and Eris looked at each other.
"Mine." x2
Looks like we were on the same wavelength.
"This thing was made for ME! You don't even have the magic skills to make it work, both as a Thief and Goddess."
"Yes I do!" Eris quickly snatched the dagger from my hand.
"Blessing!" The dagger absorbed the magic and turned a pretty bright yellow.
"Hiyah!"
A split second later she aimed the thing at me and started slashing.
I expected it to only be a singular shot but she somehow ended up squeezing two more magic slashes in. She must've poured a lot of mana into that spell.
However, that wasn't the only thing that surprised me. Eris was able to use Blessing, a skill that wasn't on her skill card last time she showed me it.
"Oh? Shocked? Of course you'd be, I'm full of tricks you know?" She let out a small giggle as she pulled out a mask.
A very familiar mask.
"Some of my power was able to return, unfortunately that Devil over there was the cause of it." I heard Vanir snicker.
With furrowed brows, she continued. "The holy power lingering in the red manatite it gave us helped speed up my recovery."
Looking closely at the mask, I was able to make out a few gems of red manatite embedded under the eyes.
At first I was excited. "That's amazing! How much of it did you regain?!"
Eris let out a sigh, "It's just that one spell."
Then the disappointment came. "Oh."
"H-Hey! Just a reminder that you're entirely at fault here!"
I had no excuse this time since she was 100% right.
"Well enough of that… What do you think?" She proudly donned the masquerade-like mask and struck a pose reminiscent of the character she based the mask off.
During our time slacking off and avoiding responsibility, me and Eris would play a fighting game on her console. She would cheese me with a character entirely dependent on luck. Frankly it pissed me off whenever I died within the first 10 seconds of the match due to some .001% bullshit she hit me with.
…
Back to the topic here, she would play as a righteous thief that would steal from the corrupt system and fight for those powerless against them. Eris told me that she was an inspiration to her. Apparently to the point hat she even used the same name while piss drunk and talking to Rain.
That being, Astar.
"I uh…" Faced with the sight of the already cute Eris doing her best to imitate her inspiration had me stumble over my words.
Eris giggled.
"I personally think it's a 1:1 replica, but I'm a little biased. Soooo…"
She closed the distance between our faces in an instant.
I could feel her breath with every word she spoke. "I want your honest opinion. What do you think, Kazuma? Will I ever live up to her name?" She said in a low and slightly seductive voice. A cheeky grin plastered on her face.
…
My name is Kazuma Satou and I refuse to be made a fool by Eris of all people.
"The hue is slightly off, the mask you have on is a darker shade of purple which works better for stealth but still isn't accurate to the character."
"Eh…?" Eris backed off.
"The edges of the mask are also pointier instead of rounder, for example the very corners are jagged instead of smooth. There's also less frills on the edges of it."
Eris took the mask off and started running her fingers through the edges.
"Essentially, you made a more evil looking mask instead of an actual 1:1 replica. Each design pointing to her being a kind hearted vigilante was basically erased. The mask looks like one of a black hearted thief who steals to fulfill their greed. It fits a villain instead of a hero."
"I-I…" Eris looked down at her mask, her voice wavering.
"I'll be lenient since you're doing this off memory. I give you a 4/10 in terms of accuracy, please try harder next time."
"Excuse Moi, but perhaps this is more accurate?" Vanir suddenly stepped in front of me. He handed me a 1:1 replica of Astar's mask.
"Oh wow, this is a perfect copy. You got the colors, designs, size, and texture all right. It even has that obscure detail of the right eye being slightly smaller than the left one. A perfect 10/10 score. Are you a fan of her? Actually, you can't be, you guys don't have video games in this world."
"Moi recalls seeing that character in your memory months ago. I sculpted this mask solely out of that memory."
"I see… well done in that regard." I clapped for him, specifically how a rich snotty nobleman would clap.
I looked behind Vanir to see Eris shaking a bit.
"Sniff…"
I walked up to her and started comforting her. "Hey, cheer up!"
She looked up at me with moist eyes. "I-Is it really that bad?" She whimpered.
"I was just exaggerating!"
"Y-You're not just saying that to make me feel better right…?" She waited patiently for my response, the dam holding tears back threatening to break at any moment.
"I would never. But, if it makes you feel any better…" I gave her the biggest smile I could muster.
"It's an honest 5/10 at least!"
Eris broke.
"I already said I was sorry!"
I admit I took the joke way too far. I would've thought someone like her would be way less sensitive when it came to my jokes. I fully expected her to play along.
"You're a real jerk!" She pouted and turned her head away.
It really does feel like a second Aqua. Are all Gods this bratty!?
"I demand an offering for my troubles!" She even started sounding like Aqua. I can never truly rest can I?
"Fine! What do you want?"
"Rightful ownership of this fancy dagger of course!" Eris dropped the Aqua act entirely and took the dagger out of her pocket. "Oh! And I get to name it too."
This damn faker!
"I refuse! No deal! That's mine and you know it!"
"Aw c'mon! It's only fair, right? You insulted my craft so I get to take this craft as compensation. Might I also remind you that I'm still the boss?"
"I don't give a rat's ass that you're still the boss! I deserve that dagger for all the shit I've been through! You probably get to play with all sorts of badass cheat items back in your room, meanwhile I'm stuck with a lame ass katana! Spare me the mediocre weapon Princess!"
"P-Princess!?"
"That's right-"
"Ahem." I felt a tapping on my shoulder.
"May I speak with you in private?" Vanir suddenly dragged me out and into a corner of the room, just barely out of Eris' earshot.
"Does thou remember the emotions I specifically requested?"
"Uh…" I forgot.
"Shame, embarrassment, and frustration." Vanir sounded irritated.
"I'll get them tonight, be patient."
I turned to walk back to Eris but Vanir stopped me.
"Moi has tolerated the nonsense of both of you brats long enough. The negative emotions you both release aren't enough for Moi. You've grown stale. The purple brat fakes her negative outbursts and isn't prideful enough for Moi to use that against her. I require something more potent, the nobles and blue one would make an excellent meal for Moi."
"I'm going to plant the photographs tonight, you can just wait until then. And for the nobles… I still have time to get something ready."
"When thou says 'still time to get something ready' does thou mean argue with the other one? You've wasted enough time with her. Perhaps Moi has to experiment and find the most effective way to get the most out of your negative emotions." Vanir just said something scary.
Vanir pondered something before closing the distance between our faces.
"How does thou feel about blue balling?" He said in a perfect Megumin impression.
"Y-You don't have to go that far! I promise I'll speed up the process!"
"Is that a deal?"
"Yes…"
I couldn't really say no under the threat of getting turned into Vanir's personal food bank.
I walked back to Eris, she was tossing the dagger up in the air and catching it by the blade.
"What was that about? You have this strangely determined look on your face. What exactly did it say to you?"
"I-It's nothing. Anyways, I have an idea on how we decide who gets to keep the dagger."
"Oh? I'm interested." She stood up from the chair she was sitting on and placed the dagger on the "dining" table, which was just a box. She looked at me with expectation.
"Rock paper scissors."
"Eh, that's kinda lame and cliche, don't you think?" She dismissed my idea. "Oh! I know! How about arm wrestling?"
"I uh."
I have no doubt that Eris would absolutely destroy me in any test of strength. Arm wrestling is off the table! Well… cardboard box in this scenario.
"How about a game of chance?"
"Lame."
"A game of wit?"
"Cliche."
"A card game?"
"Boring."
"You're not making this easy for me, you know!"
She giggled. "I have an idea, how about we share it? That way we're both happy. That'll be pretty nice, right?"
"No."
"Really, not even a second thought?"
"Because I refuse to-"
I suddenly felt Vanir's glare piercing the back of my head.
"Actually sharing is a great idea! Let's share it!"
"Great! I knew you'll come around! Now let's shake on it." She brought her hand out.
I stared at her hand for a moment. I looked up at her, she smiled at me.
…To be frank, I hesitated to shake it, I wanted that dagger all to myself! I don't want to share it at all! This is the first time I get to use something that's just as unique as a cheat item! And I have to share it! What a scam!
With a sigh, I grabbed onto her hand, but before we can make it official, she added one last thing; "Oh and I get to name it." She then proceeded to forcefully shake our hands.
"…Please pick a normal name."
"I can't promise that! You can suggest some names if you have a good one."
"Murumasa?"
"You're really cliche, you know that right?"
She ended up naming it; "The Crimson Tide."
At least it's not "Chunchumaru mk2."
"Oh? You're already back? It hasn't even been that long." Darkness nervously chuckled.
She came out of the kitchen, hearing all of the commotion.
"What are you doing here? You said you were going back home." Megumin asked.
"Is this mansion not my home?"
"You know what I meant."
Darkness took notice of her sour mood. "Did you find Kazuma? I'm sorry I couldn't-" Darkness came to a stop, noticing a pair of handcuffs on Megumin's hands.
"Why are you handcuffed?" She sounded a bit angry.
"We had to restrain her." Claire and the rest came through the entrance. "She tried casting Explosion on a castle."
"An abandoned one!" Megumin snarled.
"Abandoned or not, we can't let you destroy it, sorry Boss." Iris surprisingly came forward. "Also we didn't find Onii-sama."
"Please refrain from being a terrorist, otherwise we'll have to take more drastic measures in order to stop you." Rain added in.
"You're all traitors! I was one of the heroes who slayed the Demon King! You can't do this to me!" Megumin declared.
"Technically it was Onii-sama who slayed the Demon King, not you." Iris said bluntly. "Father asked me to keep you from casting Explosion as well."
"What!? You too!? What about the deal we had?! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!"
"Deal…? Casting Explosion was a part of the deal? I didn't really pay attention to that part… Sorry Boss." Iris awkwardly looked away.
"I've made that part very clear! So the rumors are true! The Royal Family are a bunch of-"
"Megumin!" Darkness rushed forward and covered her mouth shut, stopping it from spouting any nonsense that would get her executed.
Not really executed, she's just overreacting.
"Teehee, it's fine Darkness. I don't mind Boss's slander towards my family, I find it kinda funny. Although I am curious about this rumor…"
"I-It's nothing!" Darkness said. Her grip on Megumin's mouth tightened.
Claire and Rain didn't know what to exactly do in this situation.
Megumin straightened herself back up and looked at Iris with an annoyed stare.
"I apologize for not letting you cast Explosion, however, we do have somewhere else where you can cast it without any issue." Claire said.
"The engineers at the Capital are working on building explosion-proof architecture that'll certainly boost the defense of the city's walls in case another evil rises. We were hoping you could help us test its durability." She continued.
Megumin rolled her eyes at 'explosion-proof'.
"The blast should have zero effects on the surrounding environment as well, thanks to magic. You're free to go all out with zero restrictions." Rain added in.
Megumin's eyes glowed slightly.
'Do they think a bribe will make me forgive them? Ha! As if! No magic will be able to contain my Explosion magic! Hmm… the look on their faces when my Explosion completely decimates their magic barrier would be priceless… No harm in trying I suppose'.
"Ah…!?" Darkness's hand quickly retracted after feeling something wet on it.
"Very well, I accept your offer! However I would like a giant supply of manatite to use! That way I could truly unleash my power without any limitations. Also will there be lunch given? Am I getting paid? How many can I cast at a time? Hypothetically will I have to pay for any damages I might cause? Can I…"
Darkness watched in horror as her demands became more and more unreasonable.
"Ahah, we'll tell you about the finer details later. Until then, please restrain yourself from casting please." Rain had to stop her.
"Hrk…! Fine, I'll agree on your terms for now." She was hoping they'd forget about that.
"Oh you guys are back!" Aqua came downstairs. "I'll get started on dinner then! Just let me grab some tea first… Huh!? All out!? But I just brewed some this morning!"
"I'm sorry! Let me help you with dinner as an apology!" Darkness rushed to the kitchen.
"…What exactly is this?" Claire asked, poking at a strand of ramen with her fork.
Rain was also confused. Iris on the other hand was eating the ramen delightfully.
"It's instant ramen, a food from Kazuma's homeland. He was able to recreate it here. It only takes a couple of minutes to prepare while still being pretty delicious and filling." Aqua answered.
"…I'm sorry, I had forgotten to buy ingredients to cook with, this was all we had." Darkness shamefully looked down.
"Why are you apologizing! This dish is amazing! I wish I could eat it everyday!" Iris happily scarfed another bite of the ramen. A moment later she asked for seconds.
Darkness whimpered a little.
"Huh, I would've figured Kazuma would've been back by now. Usually he stops being mad after a day or so." Aqua said.
"...Just how often do you fight with him?" Claire asked, putting some emphasis on it.
"Just on a daily basis, nothing extreme."
"Daily basis!?" A surprised Rain asked from across the table. "Has it escalated like this before!?"
"Once, and that was when he decided to stay over at the Capital right after we came back from Elroad. We ended up kicking him out when he came back. He said he couldn't remember anything. After a while he got his memories back and started apologizing to us, so he got what he deserved I guess." Aqua sipped some ramen broth.
"Do you guys know what might've gotten his memories wiped?" Aqua questioned them both, causing them both to flinch.
"I-I apologize but we were both deployed elsewhere at the time." Claire lied.
"I-If you want I could ask the guards…" Rain muttered, her face a little pale.
"Oh it's fine. I personally think he's just lying so we'll go easy on him. He'll probably be back tomorrow so I wouldn't worry about it." Aqua flashed a sincere smile. "That NEET needs me after all, who else would heal him when he gets a boo-boo?" She smiled.
Iris stayed silent, before standing up from her seat, "Hey, can I get a third serving?"
"Save some for the rest of us please!" Megumin served herself more.
"Wha- but that's your fourth bowl! Don't be unfair!"
"I didn't eat anything today so I'm excused!" She lied.
Darkness hadn't touched her serving at all.
"Oh would you look at the time! It's getting pretty late, we should all turn in for the night. Feel free to leave your dishes here at the table. I'll take care of cleaning up, you three are guests here. It wouldn't be proper to have you clean up."
"Oh you are? Thanks Darkness! I'm going to bed!" Aqua hurriedly took off.
"Nonsense Lalatina, you don't have to be so formal. I would gladly help you with the clean up." Claire started collecting all the dirty dishes.
"M-Me too." Rain did so too.
"Oh I'm fine really! I don't need any help, please go rest, you three must be awfully tired from running around town all day."
They both ignored her and continued.
Meanwhile Megumin and Iris fought for the last serving of ramen. After a heated argument, they decided to split it 7:3.
Megumin got the larger portion.
Nightfall
"This is surprisingly easy to move in." I jumped and did all sorts of wacky movements. Not once did I feel restrained.
I stood outside the mansion gates, feeling up my new outfit.
Eris did a really good job sewing this outfit up, especially with the materials she was working with. It was jet black with small, dark purple highlights embroidered on the wrists, sleeves, and leggings. The hood was reused and touched up from that old cloak. The original scarf from my thief outfit got some new purple embroidery. One thing bothered me though, how did she get my measurements? I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing.
Eris had sewn up thieving outfits for the both of us, although I'm the only one who's wearing one as Eris isn't actually infiltrating the mansion. I stuck her with the lame job of sticking pictures out in the streets while I get to sneak into the mansion and do the exact same thing.
Besides if Eris came along I wouldn't be able to-
"Nice purse you got there Kazuma."
"Wuah-!?" A small yelp escaped my lips.
Eris swiftly clasped her hand over my mouth. "Quiet down will you? I just came here to see you off, that's all." She uncovered my mouth.
I quickly checked the mansion and luckily there wasn't any activity.
I sighed, "I thought I told you not to sneak up on me anymore."
"Sorry, I can't help it. I find it really adorable seeing the prideful and oh-so manly Kazuma get spooked from such a small thing." She giggled and gave the satchel I was wearing a light push.
"Please stop teasing me Eris-sama."
She giggled some more before unlatching something from her belt.
She handed it to me.
It was a sheath fitted for a dagger. The red manatite dagger from earlier was already inside.
"You forgot to take it with you. I think you'll be needing it more than I will."
"Oh thanks." I latched the dagger, still in its sheath onto my own belt.
"You never used a dagger so you don't have a sheath for one, so I'm letting you borrow mine for tonight. Please don't lose it, it's really special to me."
I tightened it even more on my belt, "It's safe and secure." I gave a thumbs up.
She returned a thumbs up of her own and smiled, "Thank you."
"…No problem. Well, I'll be going now."
She's far more sweeter and acts like her old self whenever she's away from Vanir. Maybe getting her involved with him was a bad idea.
…
Right now wasn't the best time to analyze her behavior.
I started rummaging through the grass to look for the key we keep hidden here.
I found the rock it was hidden under and unlocked the gate.
SCREEECH*
Stealth was out of the equation when it came to rusty metal.
I held out my hand and stared at what was on it.
The Vanir mask that I was given long ago had been altered. Embedded with red-manatine under the eyes, causing it to look like it was crying tears of blood. The streaks were thin and had cracks chipped into it.
Megumin would love to have a mask like this.
I asked Vanir on how safe it was and he reassured me that the mask's immunity drastically increased after being exposed to holy energy for extended periods of time. Combined with the already resistant red manatite, he was confident that I will face no issues.
He even powered up the mask for me, enhancing it with more demonic power. It now gives me a larger mana pool to pull from alongside heightened senses, all without needing a full moon. My physical strength didn't change at all but that didn't stop me from being confident and a little bit excited.
I'll finally be able to use advanced spells without manatite.
"Are you okay? You've been looking at it for a while now," Eris cut off my train of thought, "did that devil do something bad to it?" A hint of anger appeared in her voice.
"Huh? No, Vanir didn't do anything bad to it. You can stop looking so pissed off now."
"Okay…" Her face relaxed from the position it was in.
"Why are you still here? I thought you left already."
"I said I was seeing you off didn't I?"
"Well then, cya." I squeezed past the rusty gate and placed the modified mask on my face. It fit perfectly.
A wave of energy coursed and washed throughout my entire body. I felt like I could do anything.
Feeling confident, I immediately activated Lurk and made a mad dash to the bushes.
"Wait!" A shout shattered the silence. Eris quickly realized her mistake and covered her mouth.
"Keep it down!"
She had a worried look on her face. She tried to hide it, but I was still able to tell.
"A-Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" She sputtered out.
"I'm fine."
"Y-You sure you won't need my help?"
"No thanks."
"Oh-" Now she looked dejected.
"…Ah I get it, you want to have an even bigger role in destroying your senpai's public image and reputation. I never took you for such a vengeful person. Quite honestly you scare me, please never try to do something like that to me, or I won't hesitate to retaliate."
"That's not it!"
"Mind your voice will you? You're being awfully sloppy."
Eris let out an annoyed sigh, "Look Kazuma, last time we snuck in you ended up losing consciousness. If I wasn't there to help you, you would've been in big trouble, or even worse-" She shook her head. "Just be careful in there and don't be reckless please."
"It's fine I'm really lucky so I doubt I'll run into trouble." I pridefully smirked.
"That's not how it works!-" She couldn't control her own voice.
"Too loud."
She groaned a bit.
"Calm down, I'm just teasing you. Of course I'll be careful. In fact I think this new skill will help a lot."
Eris went silent.
"I'll see you later." She walked away without looking back.
Maybe reminding her about it wasn't a good idea.
Devils and Goddesses don't mix.
I'm not even surprised at this point.
I checked to see if the front door was open and it was. We would've been robbed blind if Aqua's barrier wasn't there 24/7.
I entered the mansion and thankfully no light was burning. Every torch on the wall was out cold. My night vision came in very handy.
I dug into my satchel and took out a lighter alongside a handful of embarrassing photos portraying the blue alcoholic at her lowest.
Essentially the plan was to paste these photos all over the mansion. I'll work from the ground floor all the way to the second floor.
No wall shall be left untouched.
I didn't feel like wasting too much mana just in case so I brought a lighter with me. I flicked it and a small flame was born.
I began heating the dried adhesive on the back of each photo until it began melting.
Now it's the fun part.
I spread the photos on my fingers and held them at a different angle from each other, like how a dealer at a casino would hold playing cards.
"Snipe!"
I threw the photos at the wall.
Each photo stuck to the wall - all on different parts of it. Some were higher while others were lower. I made sure to stick some on the ceiling too where Aqua can't reach them.
After sticking some more photos all around the walls and ceiling, I arrived at my first stop; the kitchen.
The first thing I checked for was alcohol. After a not-so thorough investigation of the trash bin and kitchen cabinets I concluded that no alcohol was consumed in the kitchen while I was gone.
I flicked the lighter on and got to work.
Two minutes later the entire kitchen walls were covered with embarrassing photos of our local toilet kisser.
I opened the cabinets and stuck some photos in there as well. The cups had photos under them, the plates had photos on top of them, and even the food had some on it.
I couldn't help but notice that all the tea I've bought was already used.
I looked inside the trash bin again and found countless tea leaves sitting inside. Some packaging for my instant ramen prototype was also there.
Just how glutinous can these people be?
Looking past that, I stuck some photos on the empty wine bottles inside of the cabinet.
'Care to use a bottle instead?' I wrote that on a photo and stuck it on there.
I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at my own joke.
I looked at the trash bin and cast a new spell I've learned from the library; "Repel Touch." I tried putting my hand near the bin but it just slide across the floor and away from me. It should last till tomorrow night.
Chuckling at my work, I made my way to the living room, plastering more photos on the way there.
"Nyaw…?" Chomosuke, napping on the couch, had woken up. She looked at me with perky ears before letting out a yawn and going back to sleep.
Wondering why she isn't sleeping with Megumin, I carefully approached her. I looked around the spot she was sleeping on and found nothing out of the usual.
"Meow…?" She woke up and stood up from her spot. She looked at me straight in the eye for a moment before laying back down, this time she stayed awake. She looked up at me with anticipation.
Remembering the last time I tried to pet her, I carefully outstretched my hand. Seeing this, her tail starts wagging. It gets faster as my hand gets closer to her head. Slowly but surely my hand makes its way towards the back of her ears.
I successfully make contact and start scratching the back of her ears.
"Purrr…" She nuzzles against my hand. The low and calming sound soothes me.
"Did you miss me girl?"
"Maow…" She fell asleep again.
After failing to resist the urge to pet her again, I resumed my work.
A couple of minutes have passed and soon the ceiling, sofa, walls, windows, and even the fireplace had all been covered with photos.
…Ah!
For extra measure I took all the fire wood from the fireplace and cast Repel Touch on them too.
It's not that cold anyways.
Once I finished up I headed to the dining room, plastering more photos throughout the hallways.
The first thing that came to my attention was a bowl of ramen sitting on the table, plastic covering the top of it so that nothing gets in it.
There was a note next to it;
'Dear Kazuma-san
So you finally came to your senses and came back huh? At a rather late hour too! But you're used to being up so late aren't you.'
I was tempted to shred the note right on the spot, but I persisted.
'We had to eat some of your ramen because Darkness forgot to buy some food and it was too late to go out.
Sorry!'
There was a drawing of a chibi Aqua winking at me with an apologetic look on her face.
'I made you some just in case you came back. It's in the bowl.'
I felt the bowl.
It's cold.
She wants something doesn't she?
'I already allowed you in my barrier-'
Allowed?
I don't think Aqua would lie about something like that.
I steeled my nerves and took off my mask.
…
I looked at my mask on the palm of my hands. It looked normal — it wasn't under any strain. I waited just in case.
I waited and waited.
Nothing happened at all. It seems she really did allow me back in. It explains why I don't have that red veil around me from last time.
I looked back at the cold bowl of ramen.
…
I wondered if it's even worth going through all this effort anymore.
…
'-allowed you in my barrier even though you somehow got in last time. I don't even know how! All I know is that stupid devil has something to do with it! I demand an apology as soon as you see this! An apology for tainting this home with horrible and stinky power from a devil! I'm expecting 5-6 bottles of Axel's finest wine. And don't even think you're excused from your chores! You're going to have to clean the whole mansion and do the laundry for the next month! Oh and you're going have to help me spread the word of the Axis Faith! No longer will you be tainted by that padded Goddess's gospel of lies! Enlightenment draws near-'
I tore up the note.
"Unlock."
I quietly opened my door, hoping to God that it wouldn't creek and make a horrid amount of noise like the front gate.
I needed to reclaim a priceless treasure that had slipped my mind last time because of the absurd amount of pressure I was under. Also to make sure that Aqua didn't actually destroy my room.
Creeeeek!*
The door still screeched at me no matter what I did.
I was prepared to see an empty room at worst, but what I saw left me speechless.
My mattress was laying down on the floor and the bed frame itself was stripped bare and propped up on its side, leaning against the wall for support.
My wardrobe was thrown onto the floor, each drawer detached from it. My clothing spilled out of each one.
It took a moment to snap out of my shock before I started investigating.
One drawer laid on the ground right next to my feet. A look inside revealed that not all of my clothing was tossed to the ground. Some of it was still inside, only shoved aside to a corner. It's as if someone was hastily digging through it in search of something. The others were similar to this one.
There were open boxes in my closet, all of which I've made sure to seal beforehand. My products — which I've stored in said boxes — were scattered all over the closet floor, some were still in their respective box. A large majority of them were still on the floor.
Renovation? This is just plain destruction.
Being the reasonable guy I am, I took a deep breath to try and calm down.
It didn't work.
"Lurk."
WIth lurk active I was able to quietly move throughout the mansion quick and easy. It wasn't long before I reached Aqua's door.
My thirst for vengeance has skyrocketed and the only person suitable for enduring it was-
"Sacred Exorcism!"
My body instantly jerked to the side. A bright beam of light wooshed past me and crashed into the door, leaving a slight burn mark.
"Well, look who it is. If it isn't the lowest piece of scum in the world." Aqua's voice came from behind me.
I was about to give her a piece of my mind but I noticed something different about her.
There was a powerful and bright aura around her. Her eyes were sharp and they were glaring at me. For the first time in forever, she looked like a Goddess.
A Goddess ready to smite the sinful and rain down heavenly punishment.
"H-Hey… It's me!" I tried taking off my mask but was interrupted by another blast.
"As if! I know you're lying you damn devil! You won't fool me again, especially after last week."
"What are you talking about!?"
"Don't act like you forgot!" The aura around her got stronger. I took a step back and prepared to run if needed.
"I already figured out how to sniff you out. You may be able to change your form but you'll never be able to get rid of that horrible smell, and right now you reek of it." Her fist started glowing in a bright blue and yellow light.
"C-Calm down Aqua, it's really me!" I tried taking off my mask.
"Don't you dare move!" Only to be interrupted by another blast. This time the blast was aimed directly at my mask.
"Gah-!?"
I felt a burning sensation on my forehead, an intense one. But that sensation only lasted for a second as the beam of light was reflected on impact. The reflected beam hit Aqua square on the nose.
"Owwww, that hurt!" She started massaging her nose, the aura behind her dying down a little.
"…pffft." I accidentally let out a snicker.
Almost instantly Aqua's aura flared back and she glared at me with hatred.
"First you break into my home, then you mock me with these."
She presented a handful of the embarrassing photos to me before shredding them and tossing the remains on the ground.
"I don't know how you got those, but I have a hunch that a certain Kohai of mine was involved and needs to be put back in her place now." She cracked her knuckles.
"But that's not the worst part, haha… You actually had the guts to attack me. I simply can't pardon that, no can do. A punishment fitting for the likes of you, is purification."
Enemy detection started blaring in my head.
"…However." She paused, the aura around her died completely. "Since you are Kazuma's business partner…" She sighed, "I'm willing to give you a second chance. As long-"
While she was giving her little speech I quickly scanned my surroundings, trying to find anything I can use to escape. As much as it pains me to say it, Aqua is a genuine threat when she decides to go all out. I can't afford being risky here.
I looked to the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and even past Aqua, there was nothing.
Nothing at all.
I had no choice but to run, run once I got an opening.
"-That's why I'm being so nice, so long as you hear me out." She pointed to the shreds of paper on the ground. "My Kohai wouldn't have given this photo directly to you, a Devil. The only person she's willing to give this to is Kazuma. So, how did you get your filthy hands on it?"
I couldn't think of anything to say.
"Kazuma gave it to you didn't he?"
"…"
"Not talking anymore huh? Heh… so how about it, do we have a deal? You tell me where he is and I'll let you live." She had a sly grin.
…As much as it pains me to admit it, Aqua has me cornered. I can't move an inch without getting blasted, and I don't think this mask was designed to endure this much. I can't escape her detection range without an opening.
…A very risky opening.
"Very well, I reject this offer." I snickered.
Aqua had a look of surprise, did she not see this coming?
"Oh well, I tried." She shrugged. "Plan B it is! Now Darkness!"
I quickly turned behind me and was faced with a bull-like crusader in the armor I gifted her blindly charging at me.
I just sidestepped her and she zoomed past me.
"I've got him…? Where'd he go? I swear he was right-"
"Quick behind you!"
"Create water!" I splashed the floor below Darkness and Aqua with a layer of water.
"Guh…!" Some water splashed Darkness on her face.
"Really? Water? Did you forget who I-"
"Freeze! And now Wind Breath!" I used more mana on my Wind Breath which amplified its power!
"Huh?"
Aqua and Darkness looked at me with confused stares.
"…"
My plan was to have them slide across the ice covered floor while I got away, but their extraordinary defense completely negated it.
Darkness turned to Aqua, "Are you sure this is Vanir? That attack had Kazuma written all over it, he e-even intentionally splashed my face in a provocative manner in order- wait! Where are you going!?"
It didn't work out but Aqua still got distracted! I made my getaway from this embarrassing scene!
"Plan C! Go! Go! Go! G- Hey! Stop spreading more photos…! I'll get you for that!"
Suddenly!
"We're here!" Claire and Rain blocked the hallway in front of me!
Claire was in her usual white suit, her sword being drawn and pointed directly at me. She had a look of determination.
Rain was wearing a modest nightgown with some boots on, her staff was in the air glowing, her concentration keeping it bright. Her hair was disheveled and messy.
"Halt Devil…!? Wait…" Claire gasped and all color instantly drained from her face.
"Kazuma-dono!?" She made a face of both terror and shock. Her combat stance wavered and soon her sword started shaking.
"W-What?" Rain's concentration was broken and the catalyst of her staff dulled.
I screeched to a halt in front of them. "Good afternoon ladies." I elegantly bowed.
"W-What are you doing here…?" Rain asked.
"None of your business." I quickly pulled myself up and threw my hand forward.
"Flash!"
I saw both of them close their eyes. Instead of wasting the spell on them I instead turned around and aimed it at Aqua and Darkness. They never saw it coming.
"Guh…! Oh, that's it? How disappointing…"
It didn't even do anything to Darkness.
"I'll kill you!"
It pissed Aqua off even more.
Claire and Rain were still covering their eyes which gave me the perfect opportunity to use Drain Touch. Disabling both of them would spare me a lot of trouble.
"Sacred Highness Exorcism!"
"Gah-!?"
A pillar of light appeared right in front of me. It engulfed both Claire and Rain, alongside my left arm.
I clenched my teeth in pain. A strong burning sensation completely filled my mind.
I yanked my arm out of the light.
A thin purple veil appeared on it.
Tink!*
A small crack had formed.
"It got hurt by my exorcism spell! It's not the real Kazuma! Go all out!" Aqua's voice echoed from behind me.
"Understood!" Claire and Rain shouted back.
I tried to move ahead but the pain in the arm was too agonizing for me to ignore. I casted heal over and over on it until it subdued into a manageable level.
"Quick he's staggered!" Rain shouted.
I looked up from my arm and saw Claire shaking the sense back into herself before raising her sword, aimed directly at my mask.
"Rain!" She signaled.
In the blink of an eye, Rain's staff quickly started glowing again.
"Paralyze!"
A small bolt of electricity formed from the staff and swiftly moved through the air straight towards my mask.
I made an effort to dodge but…
"Guh! I've got you now!" A flushed blonde clung onto my feet.
I kicked her but she just let out a moan.
"…"
Oh well, I'm screwed, my revenge scheme is over.
I accepted my fate and braced for impact.
…That's what a LOSER would think!
Fufu, I made sure to prepare as much as I can before the raid, and so I learned some new handy skills. Vanir himself actually insisted on learning some skills in his arsenal.
But for this situation, using them will just be overkill. Instead I'll use another set of skills I've learned like…
Swift-Swipe!
Swift-Swipe allows for fast hand movement for a couple of seconds in exchange for a moderate amount of mana. This skill is exclusive to the thief class but I've seen some bartenders actually use this skill.
In almost unnatural speed I swiped the Red-Manatite Dagger out of its sheath and held it in front of my mask in a very stylish way!
The small bolt of electricity was blocked and absorbed directly into the blade.
"He absorbed it into his weapon! Don't let it cut you at all costs!" Rain shouted, her voice reaching Claire causing her to slow down and lose some of the edge she had.
"W-What!?" I easily parried her sword thanks to her taking a more defensive approach.
Claire quickly jumped away and gained some distance.
"Here take these! Empowerment! Blessing! Speed Up! Defense Up!"
Aqua casted support spells on everyone.
I turned back and shot her a glare.
She gave me a smug smile, "What? Feel like surrendering? With my help they're practically unbeatable! Fufu!~" She started giggling.
God she pisses me off so much!
I'll have to play dirty if I want to get out of this.
"Blehhhhh!!!" Aqua pulled on her eyelid and stuck out her tongue.
I looked down at my injured arm, the purple veil had an enormous amount of cracks around my hand, another attack like that and I'm certain this veil would shatter. The pain was still there but I was able to tough it out. I looked at Aqua, and then back down at my hand. I don't think I'll feel guilty after this.
I began charging an absurd amount of mana, planning to release a portion of it into the Red Manatite Dagger.
"Careful, he's charging up an enormous amount of mana! I don't know what he's about to do!" Rain shouted.
"It's okay, it's probably some weak spell, the Demon King isn't here to buff it anymore! Even if he does hurt you guys, I'll just patch you right up!"
Hearing that, everyone went into defensive positions, except for Darkness. She just looked up at me with a flushed face.
I took a deep breath, raising the dagger - still imbued with the paralysis spell - into the air. I pushed past the pain and held my left hand close to the ground.
"Create Water!" I used half of my stored mana and put it all into that one spell.
The girls made sounds of confusion.
The spell was a beginner level one but it still covered the floor in a small layer of water that reached our ankles - in Darkness' case, her mouth - just like I needed it to.
Moving as fast as possible, I used the confusion to free my leg from Darkness's grasp and quickly jumped onto her back. Well I tried to, I ended up accidentally stomping my right foot on her head and dunking her face in the water. I felt her back quiver in pleasure.
"L-Lalatina!" Both Claire and Rain were taken aback.
Ignoring that, I used the leftover mana I had and quickly channeled all of it into the blade. I made an effort to waste no time so they don't retaliate.
I slashed the air and launched the stored spell towards the water. The light-yellow slash made a buzzing sound as it traveled.
Once the spell made contact with the water, it instantly transformed my slightly hazardous kitty pool whose only danger was slipping and banging your head against the floor into an electrified paralysis-inducing kitty pool.
I was in danger of getting paralysed myself if I just stood there, so I used Darkness as sort of a safety raft. Her normal armor would've been an issue but she was instead wearing the black armor set I've gifted her. It's protection shielded her from the paralyzing water - not that it would've done anything to her anyways - including me. The poor girl in question was in high heaven. She buried herself in paperwork so she didn't have any time for herself and now uses any moment she can instead, no matter how bad it is.
"Quick! Get out of the water!" Rain quickly realized what I've done and tried escaping.
She was too late, the spell quickly traveled to their feet and soon they were struggling to stand. Claire and Rain leaned against the wall, using whatever they can to support themselves.
"How dare you…!" Claire muttered out, catching herself on nearby furniture.
The spell was strong but since it never actually made direct contact with their bodies, its effects were lessened. That and their high defense helped them resist the paralysis.
"Really guys? It's just a tiny bit of paralysis! Don't tell me you need my help?" Aqua was completely unaffected by it.
"I can barely move…!"
"Me too…!"
"I can't as well!" Darkness was a terrible liar.
Aqua sighed, "Ugh! Fine, I'll help but I want some wine after this! Dis-"
"Bind!" I quickly threw my rope at her.
"Dispel!" At an inhuman level, she quickly reacted to it and cancelled the spell out.
"Flash!"
"Dispel!"
"Screw you!"
"Is that everything you got!? You can't beat me at all! A pathetic little Devil like you has nothing on me!"
"Lightning!"
"Eeek!" She didn't react in time for that one.
Aqua quickly pat downed her nightgown before it burned off, she herself didn't show any signs of injury.
I looked behind me and saw that the effects of paralysis were wearing off as Claire was moving faster towards me, Rain's staff was glowing now. I had to get past Aqua otherwise I'll get caught and my joyride will be over.
"I'll kill you!" Aqua shouted.
"Flash!"
"Dis-GAH!?" A rope suddenly flew from behind her and quickly binded her legs together, she fell face first into the water.
A hooded figure was stumbling from where Aqua was just standing, she was desperately rubbing her eyes. She wore a jet black outfit with dark purple embroidery on her sleeves and leggings. A scarf dangled in front of her, it too had dark purple designs embroidered on it. Two streaks of silvery hair escaped her hood and leaked out and onto her shoulders. She looked up at me and I was able to see she had a dark purple masquerade mask on, the right eye was slightly bigger than the left one.
"Stop spamming that annoying spell! I hate it!" She scolded me but I couldn't care less, I was just happy for some back up.
"Who the hell are you!?" Aqua yelled. The trio of nobles looked at Eris, observing her every move.
"It's not important, I'm just here to help my poor… servant?"
Did I just get demoted?
"Servant!? Who the hell!?" Aqua was even more confused. The nobles were also confused but just not as much.
"Alright, let's bounce." Eris picked my rope off the ground and tossed me back one end. I grabbed it and she quickly pulled me out of the paralysis-inducing kitty pool.
"You're not leaving until I get answers Devil!" Aqua quickly dispelled the rope and jumped back on her feet.
"Bind." Eris threw my rope back at her.
"Dis-hmph!?" A small ball flew into Aqua's mouth.
The rope tied itself around her body and arms. She tried spitting it out but it just stuck to her tongue and the roof of her mouth.
At first I thought it was a really big piece of gum, but the evil smile on Eris's face said otherwise.
"Neither of us are Devils so I would prefer if you would stop calling us that."
"Mmph oomph yuuuu mmmm…" Aqua tried speaking but the gum-like ball in her mouth didn't let her, but it was obvious she didn't buy what Eris said.
She shrugged, "I tried."
Eris picked her own rope up from the floor and used it to tie Aqua's legs together.
"One last thing…" She dug around in her pockets, taking out one of the embarrassing photos and tightening it around the ropes.
In the end Aqua was tied on the floor with a giant piece of mystery gum in her mouth all the while a picture of her licking a toilet seat was put proudly on display in between the ropes.
I stifled a laugh while Eris started laughing uncontrollably.
"Sceww you!" Aqua struggled more.
"Pffft!" In the end I couldn't contain my laughter any longer.
"H-Hold on a second!"
She quickly dug into her bag and pulled out the digital camera.
"Say cheese!"
"Nice job using the Crimson Tide, by the way! Really proud of you for thinking of a way to stop them without actually hurting them!" She gave me a thumbs up, almost smacking a potted plant midway.
"You couldn't have picked a better name for it? What are you even doing here? I thought I stuck you with Axel duty."
"Not even a thanks for saving you? And for your knowledge I followed you because I was worried about your well-being! You're still a rookie thief you know! My instincts just so happened to be right… which reminds me. Give me your hand real quick."
We stopped running and she grabbed my injured hand.
"If Senpai's spell can hurt you this much… just what exactly do these masks do?" She shook her head to clear her head before casting Heal. The lingering pain disappeared instantly.
"Thank you for taking such good care of your servant." I jokingly bowed in gratitude.
Eris froze, "I supposed I did call you my servant, oopsies."
"In all honesty I thought it would've been funny… and it was. Did you see their reactions!? It looked like their entire world just got flipped upside down! Which makes me think they genuinely believe that we're Devils. Is that a bad thing? Eh, we can decide that later but for now… did you think my entrance was cool? Sure you kinda ruined it with that stupid spell but I think I still looked cool! Just imagine the unexpected arrival of a hooded figure clad in pure darkness! And then revealing herself to be the master of the "Devil" you were just fighting! How terrifying would that be! I'm sure they think of me as a super mysterious person now! I can't wait to make my next big entrance! Do you think I should surprise them from the shadows or should I just walk up to them menacingly? What do you think… huh? Hello? Kazuma? Where'd you go?"
I already made it outside.
"Gah! Damn it!" I massaged my head after bonking into an invisible force.
Me and Eris are directly in front of the gates, we tried leaving but an invisible wall blocked us.
Eris pressed her hand to the wall and the veil protecting her slowly got more and more visible. "It's a holy barrier. I guess I'm still not considered holy if it won't let me pass through."
"Who the hell needs walking when you can just teleport." I started chanting the spell and casted it immediately.
It didn't work.
"We can't leave at all, even with teleportation." Eris explained.
"Bullshit."
I took my mask off and tried walking through but got bonked instead.
"I told you."
I massaged my head some more, "I thought the devilish properties of the masks were making us unholy, so what's stopping us this time?" I banged my hand against the barrier.
"We spent too much time wearing them, it'll take a while before the effects leave our body."
I sighed, "Great, can we at least collapse the barrier?"
Eris shook her head and kicked some dirt, "Only way we can do that is if we exhaust the caster to the point that they don't have any magic left to keep supporting it."
"Which is impossible with Aqua's bottomless mana pool."
"Wrong!" Eris had a smug look plastered on her face.
"You can always destabilize her like you did with me."
"That's overkill, denied." I crossed my hands into an X.
"I'm being serious here, look if you manage to temporarily destabilize her using that skill you learned from the Devil and Drain Touch, it'll bring the barrier down and we'll be home free. Just don't use too much magic like you did with me, THAT will be overkill."
Eris has a really good solution here, however the problem is obvious. "How do we even get close to a really pissed off Aqua without being killed?"
As if on queue, "Did this trash-can just move!? Stay still damn it!" Aqua's enraged voice echoed from the mansion behind us.
"I guess we have to find a way to immobilize her again, and I'm all out of rope." Eris shrugged.
We stood there thinking for a moment. the wind blowing our scarves in the wind.
"I feel so cool right now…" Eris whispered under her breath, admiring her thief outfit.
…
"How about we try that one move we practiced up in your room?" I broke the silence.
"Ohhh, that move? That takes a lot of teamwork for it to work, but it might just be what we need." I could tell that she was excited.
"Well then…."
I took out a scrap of paper from my pocket.
"SHAME."
"EMBARRASSMENT."
"FRUSTRATION."
"Round 2?"
AN: So sorry, this chapter is way too long for me too keep delaying it.