Chapter 7: The Interrogation Of This Reluctant Casanova!

Welp, the day certainly wasn't going anything like Kazuma had planned or wanted. They had gotten quite the commission from the two quests that their party had managed to quickly pull off, more than enough to rebuild Wiz's shop. Or at least the building itself, anyway, but it seemed that the rest of it was probably going to go into various other fees, fines and repair costs. So much for being able to pocket the extra cash for himself, er, his party.

"You look like a goblin stole your socks." A familiar young woman with short silver hair and a boyish figure walked up to the Adventurer's Guild bar, where Kazuma was sulking over a mug of… Kazuma couldn't actually remember what he had ordered but it tasted as terrible as his mood. She was clad in her usual belly-exposing blue crop top and shorts.

"Hey, Chris," Kazuma muttered as Axel's most famous Thief took a seat on the empty stool beside him. That was Thief as in the adventuring class, of course, she didn't actually go around stealing people's stuff. At least as far as they knew. "What's up?"

"I was just passing through when I noticed you day drinking over here, which isn't really like you," Chris explained as she motioned for the bartender to bring her a glass of her regular. "At least not in public, anyway."

"Eh, it's nothing." Kazuma took a drink. "Wait, what would goblins do with socks?"

"What do you do with socks?" Chris answered with a question and a sly grin.

"...wear them?" Kazuma asked though he had a feeling that she was referring to something else that he'd rather not admit to and really didn't need the mental image of.

"Yeah, sure, let's go with that." Chris accepted a glass from the barkeeper and took a moment to savor the drink. "So, this about your new Wizard getting arrested?"

"What, how did you know about that?" Kazuma turned on his stool to stare at the girl.

"Word travels fast and I know all of the town's gossips." Chris shrugged. "I also heard that your party managed to get two big dungeon quests done this morning. Congrats, that's quite the accomplishment."

"Yeah, but it was all just to pay off whatever we're going to have to pay because that idiot decided to cast a stupid Explosion spell in public! And I thought that things were hard with just one explosion maniac. Plus, he apparently invited that other Crimson Demon girl into our party without my permission, so I guess now I've got three of them."

"Well, at least Yunyun's finally getting some friends then, I guess," Chris replied. "Don't know her that well but it seemed like she needed some."

"Don't flippin' care." Kazuma took another swig.

"Well, it seems like you need something to keep your mind off things. Want to join me for a job?"

"Probably not," he muttered.

"Sun's almost down and I've got something that I've been hired to… aquire. I could use a second pair of deft hands if you're up for it."

"Eh, sure, why not? Not like I've got anything better to do at the moment." Downing the rest of his mug in one go, Kazuma tossed a handful of Eris on the table and stood up with a grunt. "What're we nabbing?"

"Not here," Chris replied. "Meet me in the alley behind the bakery after sunset. I'll fill you in then."

Ko! * No! * Su! * Ba!

"Do you know what this is?"

Keima found himself in a cold, stone room. He was seated at a small table, with a black-haired woman by the name of Sena sitting across from him, the same woman who had arrested him that afternoon. In the corner behind him was a stenographer writing down everything that was said.

"No." Keima looked down at the small device that Sena had placed on the table. Half of it was white, with a crude depiction of an angel's wing prominently sticking out of an arm-like protrusion, while the other half was black with a demonic wing. Between the two halves, a small red marble was held above a golden bell.

"This is an enchanted bell that rings whenever it detects a lie," Sena explained. "Now, what is your name and where are you from?"

"My name is Keima Katsuragi," Keima replied. "Although in my homeland of Japan, I would be referred to as Katsuragi Keima."

"Strange, I've never heard of Japan before," the prosecutor narrowed her eyes as she seemed to scrutinize the magic bell. "Where is that country?"

"It's a long way away, to the East." Another world was certainly a long way, after all, and he didn't specify what it was East of. It was already clear that making it through this interrogation without revealing sensitive information was going to be a challenge, but Keima felt that he would be up to the task, barring any unforeseen complications.

"Very well then." Sena focused her gaze back on him. "What did you do before becoming an adventurer?"

"I was a student," Keima replied, then thought about it a bit more. "You could also say that I was a journalist, but that was really just a hobby. I might have gone into it professionally, though, if I hadn't come here instead."

"Hm, that brings me nicely to my next question," Sena noted. "Why did you come to Belzerg, and become an adventurer?"

Keima had to take a moment to think about how to explain that honestly without revealing the truth. He couldn't take too long, though, or it would seem suspicious. Fortunately, Keima had always been a fast thinker.

"Elsie wanted to, and I ended up coming with her."

The bell didn't go off. Good. Then again, for all he knew at this point, the part about it ringing when it sensed a lie might have been a bluff. Still, he didn't want to risk it.

Sena adjusted her glasses as she glanced through some notes.

"By 'Elsie' I take it that you mean your younger sister, who's registered with the Adventurer's Guild under the name Elucia de Lute Ima?" she asked.

"That is correct." Keima nodded.

"It says here that she's only your half-sister, that you share a mother and her father was a demon. Is this correct?"

Well, this was going to be the moment of truth. Or the moment of lies, depending on how you looked at it.

"Yes-"

The bell went off, and Sena tensed. Damn it, that bell wasn't a bluff after all. Keima was going to have to think on his feat.

"No, that's just the story that we've been telling people since we got here." He didn't want to have to reveal this part but he didn't see any other way out. "It's simpler than the true story, which is more contrived. We haven't meant any harm by lying about it, we just figured that people would be less inclined to believe the truth."

"And what is the truth?" Sena raised a judgemental eyebrow as she awaited his explanation.

"Elsie showed up at our house one day and claimed to be my father's child from an affair he had. He was always a prolific womanizer, so my mom adopted her on the spot and finally split up with the bastard. We've been living as siblings ever since."

The 'true' story didn't really mesh with her being a demon but hopefully, the prosecutor wouldn't pick up on that.

"And do you believe that she is your father's illegitimate child?"

Damn it! Why did this lady have to be the one person in Axel who actually seemed to be good at her job? She seemed to have a knack for asking the hardest questions for him to answer. It was increasingly clear to Keima that he was going to have to switch tactics if he wanted to get out of this. It looked like it was time for the God of Conquest to resurface.

What did he know about Sena? She was a prosecutor working for the kingdom, stationed here in Axel. She seemed serious, stiff and maybe a bit bookish. Couldn't have been much older than Keima himself, maybe 20 at the oldest. Her long, straight black hair and purple-framed glasses gave off the impression of the 'class rep' archetype. That should make for a relatively straightforward conquest.

"No, but she was a girl who needed a place to stay and people to care for her," Keima answered as he shifted into a new persona, that of the diligent older brother-type figure. "Even if we aren't related by blood, she's still my sister."

"I see." Sena didn't seem convinced, which wasn't good.

"I'm sorry, but before we continue, I'd like to ask you something," Keima improvised. "Where did you get your glasses? I'm new in town, as we've already established, and I still need to find somewhere to go in case I need mine fixed or replaced. They suit you quite well, so clearly whoever made them does good work. Those frames really bring out the violet of your eyes."

"Oh, um, there's a shop in the capital." Sena was clearly taken aback by Keima's sudden interest, blushing slightly as she avoided eye contact. "I can give you the address after we're done here, depending on how this goes."

"Of course." Keima gave a warm smile. "Now, what's your next question?"

"Right, where was I?" Sena had to stop and think for a moment. His plan seemed to be working. "Ah, yes. From what you've told me so far, it sounds like a mysterious demon, or half-demon, showed up at your family's home one day and ingratiated her way into your lives under false pretenses, then brought you with her to Belzerg for her own reasons. Is this correct?"

The plan apparently wasn't working well enough. Sena was surprisingly sharp compared to what Keima was used to seeing from a denizen of Belzerg. Perhaps he was wrong for assuming that his party members and their associates were the baseline for what people here were like. Regardless, he was going to have to lay the charm on even thicker. He straightened his posture, relaxed his shoulders and clasped his hands together in front of his face in a show of contemplation as he stared Sena directly in the eyes with a look that should hopefully come across as if he were staring right through her.

"If you are asking if I think that Elsie is here to try and stir up trouble, in league with the Devil King, or evil in any way, then I am afraid that you are mistaken," Keima said seriously. "While my sister may be a ditz and a bit clumsy, she's also the most well-meaning and kindhearted girl I know. She's here because she thought the idea of adventuring would be fun and I think she genuinely believes that she can make a difference in the fight against the Devil King."

Keima made sure to keep eye contact until Sena finally glanced down at her bell. The fact that it didn't go off seemed to satisfy her.

"It appears that we may have gotten off track," she said. "Do you deny having cast Explosion magic within the confines of the city, knowing the damage that it would cause?"

"It was an accident," Keima replied.

"You accidentally cast Explosion in the middle of a populated city?" Sena asked skeptically.

"I was out on a shopping trip with our party's other Wizard, Megumin, who for the record added Explosion to my spell list without my knowledge or permission, and we ended up in Wiz's shop. While there, I saw a particular magic item that… triggered some repressed trauma that I didn't realize I had. By the time I'd even realized that I was casting the spell it was too late."

That seemed to catch Sena's attention, to Keima's internal dismay.

"What was this item?"

Keima started to fight back a grimace before realizing that expressing his distaste would probably be in his best interest at the moment.

"A… magic choker. I was told that people make a wish while putting it on, then it slowly chokes them until they accomplish that goal, to provide motivation."

"I, uh, know what item you're talking about. I've… used one myself before, once."

*Ding*

"A few times." Sena blushed and refused to make eye contact.

This was stupid but Keima had to press any advantage that he could.

"Really?" Keima feigned surprise. "I find that hard to believe. I was told it was mainly used for weight loss but I'm sure you've never had a need for that."

Keima spared a nervous glance at the bell when Sena still didn't meet his gaze. Thankfully it didn't go off but he was worried there for a moment. He needed to think about his wording more carefully.

"Um, t-thank you." Sena quickly recomposed herself. "Right, you said that… the choker… triggered some sort of repressed trauma. Elaborate, please."

Damn it, he was hoping that she would drop the subject after that. He needed to be selective with the truth.

"My sister and I were once forced to wear similar collars after making a bad deal. We had to… hunt some ghosts that were haunting the city where we lived, and if we didn't then they would explode."

That seemed like it would be a reasonable enough explanation. Now, hopefully, she wouldn't ask too many follow-up questions that would lead to the more embarrassing details.

"I see…" Sena gazed at him with a bit of pity in her eyes. "Then how did you get them off without dying?"

Keima gave a pained expression, which he didn't even have to fake. Much.

"We…" he stared down at the table, "didn't."

"Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry."

"I'd rather not talk about it." Keima looked back up to her. His eyes started turning red, allegedly because he was holding back tears but actually because he hadn't been blinking for a while so that he could fake the look. "It's still rather painful to think about."

"Of course." Sena took a moment to review her notes. Keima took a moment to sniff the air a few times while she did so.

"Is that lavender I smell?" he asked.

"It's a new perfume," Sena replied. "Luna from the Adventure's Guild recommended it to me but it's a bit stronger than I realized."

"It suits you." Keima smiled. "Now, I believe we were talking about the explosion. As I've already said, I cast it by accident and did not intend to cause any destruction. I didn't even know there was an… embassy, was it?"

"The Elroad Embassy," Sena confirmed, looking back up at him.

"Yeah, I didn't know that was there and I certainly didn't mean to cause any kind of international incident."

"Well, you appear to be telling the truth when you say that you didn't intend any harm and none of the affected landowners have pressed charges against you," Sena summarized. "You will need to pay for the repairs for all of the damaged buildings but that should be it."

"Then it's a good thing that my party have spent all day earning the funds to do so," Keima sat back in his chair. "Hopefully, we should have made enough."

"You will be sent the bills in a few days after the damage has been more thoroughly assessed and an estimate for the cost of repairs has been made." The prosecutor set down her notes. "Other than that, you should be free to go for now. However, you won't be allowed to leave the area again until this has all been finalized. Any questions?"

"No, I think that should be fine." Keima should have left it at that and would later regret not doing so. Unfortunately, however, he was still in full conquest mode. "Although there is one thing. Would you perhaps care to join me for dinner? To allow me to make up for wasting your time?"

That earned a stunned stare from Sena, her mouth hanging open slightly before she recomposed herself. Meanwhile, Keima could hear the stenographer's pen suddenly scratch loudly against the parchment.

"What, no, that-"

*Ding*

"-that would hardly be appropriate." Sena grew flush and was obviously flustered. A loud cough came from the back corner.

"Right, of course," Keima stood up. "My apologies. You said that I was free to leave, right? Then I'll be going."

He made to leave as Sena stood there, shifting her weight back and forth between her feet. Just as he was about to head out the door, she turned on her heel.

"Wait, I know a nice café over by the shopping district. I-I'll meet you there in an hour, after I'm off for the day. Don't write that down, Charlez."

Ko! * No! * Su! * Ba!

Kazuma walked around town concealed by his Lurk skill, which made him nearly undetectable to those around him. Whatever it was that Chris wanted his help with, it seemed important to keep it a secret and he didn't want anyone tailing him. Not that he expected anyone to but it was best to be cautious.

He stepped into the alley where he was supposed to meet up with his mentor in the way of Thief skills but it was no sooner than he did so when he found himself pulled in by another invisible figure.

"You're late," Chris's voice hissed in his ear.

"No, I'm not," Kazuma protested. "You said after sunset."

"At sunset," she corrected him.

"Well, I'm here now. What do you want?" Kazuma changed the subject as Chris released her surprisingly firm grip on his arm.

"You see that building there?"

"What building? I can't see where you're pointing." Kazuma looked around anyway.

"Ugh, that one." Chris grabbed Kazuma's head and pointed it directly at a house down the street. "Blue roof."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"The owner's a mid-level thief who's been using his skills to go around stealing… valuables… from people around town."

"That sounds like a job for the city guard," Kazuma pointed out.

"Maybe, except, well, let's just say that my clients would prefer not to have the authorities find out about this," Chris explained, growing oddly flustered.

"Wait, it isn't anything dangerous, is it?" Kazuma suddenly grew concerned. "Are you sure about this?"

"No, it's not that, it's just…" Chris sighed. "Alright, fine, the guy's a panty thief."

"Oh, a fellow man of culture, I see." Kazuma nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, let's-"

"And before you try anything, we are returning all of the stolen panties to their owners." Chris hissed angrily. "No exceptions and no funny business, or I will make you regret it."

"Fine, fine," Kazuma relented, his shoulders drooping. "Not sure why you asked me to help with this, though."

"Because, while you may be a huge perv, I know I can count on you to get the job done," Chris sighed. "Or else I'm not teaching you any more Thief skills."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it." Kazuma walked closer to the house they were about to rob, or perhaps un-rob? "So, what's the plan?"

"The thief found a letter pinned to his front door this morning, claiming to be from a secret admirer who wanted to meet him at the park on the other side of town at sunset. There is no secret admirer, obviously, but it should keep him distracted long enough for us. We would have had more time if you had shown up when you were supposed to but we should still be able to make do. I'm going to pick the lock on the window and we'll climb inside, then search the place for the stolen panties. Once we find them, we're going to take them back and replace them with this." Chris held up a suspicious bag, which Kazuma could just barely make out through the effects of Lurk. "Then we hightail it out of there before he comes back. After that, a couple of guards should be showing up to investigate an anonymous tip they've just received regarding the whereabouts of some very expensive jewelry that recently disappeared from Lord Alderp's mansion."

"Devious," Kazuma nodded, "I like it."

"Okay, here we go."

Ko! * No! * Su! * Ba!

If there was one place that Keima didn't want to be at the moment, it was in jail. Being on a date with his prosecutor, however, was a good honorable mention.

He was still stuck in his dirty adventuring outfit, a set of red robes with black, gold and white accents that was similar in aesthetics to his old school uniform, complete with cravat, but designed more for active wear. It made him feel like a character straight out of a Dumas novel but it was fairly comfortable and allowed him to blend in with the citizens of Belzerg more than his preferred clothes. Sena, meanwhile, had changed from her civil servant uniform to a more casual though still modest purple dress. They were both seated at a small round table on the balcony of the quaint little cafe that Sena had suggested.

"It's quite a lovely view, isn't it." Sena took a sip of coffee as she stared out into the darkening sky.

"Yes, it is." Keima kept his gaze on the woman that he now very much regretted trying to seduce but was too far along at this point to stop without having to suffer the consequences.

She turned back to him and realized what he supposedly meant, blushing.

"I must admit, it has been some time since I've been on… well, a date." Sena set her cup down gently. "I know that it was improper to ask you here given the circumstances but, well… most of the men around here aren't so interested in getting to know the woman responsible for handling their trial the moment they do anything wrong. And, I know that my personality can be quite… frank. Terse, some have said, among other more colorful words."

"Really, that's not what I get from you at all." Keima took a calculated pause to sip his tea before continuing. "From what I've seen so far when I look at you I see a woman who's focused on what she wants and knows what she needs to do to get the job done. I feel like I can rest a bit easier now, knowing that Axel has such a diligent and hardworking woman to watch over it."

"Thank you." Sena smiled. "But I wouldn't be able to do my job so well without adventurers like you. You're the backbone of this city."

"You flatter me." Keima took another sip, making sure to keep eye contact. "So, we've already gone over why I came here but what about you? What made you decide to settle down here in Axel? Certainly an independent, skilled and dare I say it, lovely young woman could have her pick of any city in this great country."

"Well, that's, um…" Sena stared down at her coffee, clearly embarrassed about something. "I'm originally from the Royal Capital, which is where I first started my career as an assistant prosecutor. Unfortunately, I kind of grew a reputation for my… well, that's not important right now, but because of that when it came time for me to be promoted to a senior prosecutor I was assigned to the city of Arcanletia, the capital of the Axis Order. You have an Axis priestess in your party, so I'm sure that I don't need to tell you why it's considered the worst city in Belzerg to be assigned to and is usually seen as something of a punishment. It was an awful place to be and I took the first transfer out that I could get, which happened to land me here."

"Interesting," Keima nodded along, not interested in the slightest. Though now he knew what city to avoid at all costs. He didn't want to imagine what an entire town of Aqua's followers would be like. "Well, I must say that I'm glad. Even if the road along the way may have been rough, Axis is certainly better off with you here and I hope you enjoy working here as well."

"It certainly has its moments." Sena blushed again. "Like now, and I do have some friends here. Though to be honest, I'm hoping to get transferred back to the capital at some point. I suppose you could call me homesick but there's just something about that city that I love."

"Understandable, I wouldn't mind returning to my hometown if circumstances would allow it," Keima said, and it wasn't even a lie. "But I suppose that life has a habit of putting us where we need to be, not where we want to be."

"Perhaps so." Sena looked down at her cup as she sipped her coffee, her cheeks a rosy pink. After a moment of unbearable silence, she spoke again. "So, you're living with your party members, correct?"

"That's right." Oh, no. She didn't think that there was anything going on between him and any of the girls in his group, did she? This whole thing could go very wrong very fast if she did.

"And there's another man in your party, um, Kazuma, if I remember correctly," she continued, growing even more flush and fidgeting slightly as she refused to make eye contact. Good, maybe she was just more interested in Kazuma than Keima. He could work with that. Try to set them up. Wait, scratch that, Kazuma was too much of a sleaze for that not to backfire. "Has anything… you know, happened with the two of you."

What.

Keima nearly choked on his tea. "What… what do you mean?"

"Well, living together, the two of you must be… close…" Sena fidgeted more, cupping her cheek with one of her hands as an uncomfortably salacious look gleamed in her eyes and he could see her rubbing her thighs together vigorously under the table. "Maybe one of you might have accidentally walked in on the other taking a bath, or something… and… and… one thing could have led to another, and…"

No, nonono, nononononono! NO!

WHY WAS EVERYONE HERE SUCH A PERVERT? Was the whole 'reincarnated in another world' thing just a hoax and he was actually in the second circle of hell? Was this his punishment for seducing so many girls at the behest of a demon? He didn't even want to do that!

This was not what Keima needed to deal with. Was that drool sliding down her chin? What perverted thoughts was this crazy woman conjuring up in that twisted head of hers? Keima was barely even interested in women, he certainly wasn't going to be interested in men. And with Kazuma? Part of him wanted to throw up at the mere suggestion. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't happening, was it?

Abort! He needed to abort this conquest immediately! But if he did that, he would risk upsetting her or worse, and potentially make things worse for himself after putting so much work into reducing his sentence to almost nothing. But continuing this line of pursuit would certainly rob him of his dignity at the very least.

GOD!

DAMN!

IT!

Ko! * No! * Su! * Ba!

Kazuma and Chris sat together on the roof of one of the nearby houses, watching as a couple of guards dragged the panty thief off to jail or whatever.

"Man, I can't believe that went off without a hitch," Kazuma noted with a sigh of relief. "You know, I thought for sure that something was going to go wrong."

"Yeah, well that's what happens when you're working with me," Chris smirked.

"No kidding. With my party, it's impossible to get anything done right."

"Oh, it can't be that bad," Chris argued, as woefully naive as she was to the ways of the three useless maniacs. "Darkness is pretty capable and I'm sure sen- Aqua must be a great Arch Priest."

Kazuma let out a snort at that. "Darkness is a masochistic perv who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if it had a target on it and tried jumping onto her sword, and Aqua's just a useless drunk that could make a goldfish look smart."

"They can't possibly be… that… bad…" Chris trailed off as she turned to face Kazuma, an indescribable look of embarrassment and rising anger building up on her face. "What is that?"

"What?" Kazuma asked defensively reaching up to his new silky smooth headwear.

"Are you… wearing a pair of panties on your head?" Chris' fury reached a boiling point as she clenched her teeth and balled up her fists.

"...no?" Kazuma replied unconvincingly.

Less than two minutes later, Kazuma was lying face-down in the muddy alley below while Chris ran off with a sack of underwear to return to their rightful owners. He was just glad that no one else was around to witness his moment of indignity. He'd likely never be able to live it down.

Ko! * No! * Su! * Ba!

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Elsie was nervously pacing back and forth through the hallway. While normally pretty easygoing, it was hard for her to relax when her brother was, as far as she knew, in jail. She was halfway through brainstorming a plan (which would have been unsuccessful if she had tried it) to break him out when Aqua walked up to her and she was pulled from her thoughts.

"Heya, Elsie!" Aqua said cheerily, leaning towards the girl with a smile on her face as she conspicuously held something behind her back.

"Oh, hey, Aqua," the demon girl replied halfheartedly. "What's up?"

"Well, I wanted to apologize for ruining your raiment the other day and I was going to wait until later but you look like you could use some cheering up right now, so I just wanted to give you this!"

Aqua held out a long stretch of silky purple fabric that seemed to sway in the wind even though they were indoors and there was no draft. It was nearly identical to the pink one draped around her shoulders, save for the color.

"I made it just for you last night!" Aqua explained happily as Elsie absently ran her hands along it. "I even made sure to make it match your adventuring outfit. It's not quite the same as your old one, but I hope you like it."

"I don't like it." Elsie took the raiment from her and tried it on. Then her face broke out into a radiant smile. "I LOVE IT! Ooh, it looks almost just like my old friend Haqua's. I'll make sure to take extra good care of it. Thank you, Aqua!"

"Don't mention it," the goddess replied in a rare show of humility. "Anything for a friend."

Eslie practically pounced onto Aqua, pulling her into a tight hug which she returned. The moment was cut off, however, by the sound of a door abruptly slamming shut and angry stomping coming their way. Kazuma turned around the corner, fuming, covered in mud and with a noticeable black eye.

"Kazuma!" Aqua gasped, letting go of Elsie and running over to him.

"Yes, I'm Kazuma," the boy replied unenthusiastically.

"What happened?" Aqua raised her hand up to heal him but it was quickly swatted aside by the irate adventurer.

"I don't want to talk about it," he groaned. "I'm just going to take a bath and head to bed."

The two girls watched as he shuffled down the hallway. Not long after he turned around the corner, they heard the front door slam again and more heavy footsteps approached. This time it was Keima, who was in significantly better shape than Kazuma but in just as foul a mood. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were ruffled and there was something smeared over his face that she couldn't quite make out.

"Keima!" Elsie skipped over to him. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"They let me go." Something about the tone of his voice made it sound like that somehow wasn't a good thing, which Elsie didn't understand. "Just going to have to pay for damages but that should be fine. God, I need a bath."

"Kazuma's in there." Aqua pointed out.

Keima's unfocused gaze seemed to sharpen as a look of horror passed over him.

"Nevermind," Keima said quickly as he shook his head violently. "Going for a walk."

With that, he turned around and rushed back out of the house.

"What happened to him?" Elsie wondered aloud as she weakly held her hand out to where he had been.

"I don't know but judging by the lipstick on his face, I'm guessing he had a good time," Aqua said with a smirk.

"...what?"

Ko! * No! * Su! * Ba!

In the next exciting chapter of God's Blessing, God Knows: A Lesson For This Nervous Teacher

It felt a bit strange, to be on the inside looking out. She'd spent countless nights waiting outside this mansion waiting and biding her time to challenge her best friend Megumin to duels and challenges, the only way that she could get the shorter girl to hang out with her these days. But now, she was living here as a part of the party. Life could not have been sweeter.

"W-what are you doing?" Yunyun stammered, shaking as Keima grabbed her tightly by the arms and held her tightly.

There were already two piles of plates stacked up beside each girl and the waiting staff were continuing to bring more and more food to the ravenous goddess and demon. At the other end of the hall, Luna watched with a mixture of awe and revulsion as she idly finished some paperwork that she'd been meaning to get to. Also maybe more than a slight bit of envy, wishing that she could eat that much without having to worry about gaining weight. Was that one of the perks of joining the Axis Cult? Maybe she should consider joining… No! She was not repeating that weekend in Elroad.

Author's Notes: Fun fact: This chapter was not actually part of my initial outline for the story. I just had a blank space between chapters 6 and 8 (which is now getting pushed back to 10, from the looks of it, and may also be expanded into a two-parter depending on how things go) where I knew I wanted some filler-y content. Then, as I was writing the last two chapters, the idea for this one popped into my head and I decided to go for it. I got through all of Keima and Sena's scenes for this chapter, which turned out to be harder to write than I was expecting, but felt the chapter seemed a bit short so I added the subplot with Kazuma and Chris. I knew I wanted to introduce Chris into the story around this point, anyway, before certain plot stuff happens later, so this worked out. Tune in next time for a chapter that was completely improvised and written in only two days.