Konosuba Dust Volume 3:

Bestowing the Starry Sky

upon this
Dreaming Princess
TL: Cannongerbil

Editing: Boringbone, Keel the swift, Ulti, Xenthur

epub & pdf editing: einBeo

 Prologue
“W-Wait, Claire, that tickles!”

“W-We’re both women, so there’s nothing to be

embarrassed about. Pant Pant. Come on, let’s go.”

A girl laughing as she twisted her body and a lady who

approaches with heavy breaths.

Both of them have blonde hair and blue eyes. It is obvious

from a glance that they are nobility.

I only just got to know them, but to be honest, I’m really not
great with these types of people.

Darkness is still fine considering her usual behaviour, but I

really don’t want to get involved with royalty and nobility.

Well, this time is an exception.

Regardless of any principles I might have, there’s no way I

can take my eyes off these two girls right now.

I can confidently declare that there isn’t a single man on this

world who can pry their gazes away from two young ladies
wrestling with each other!

The woman who’s trying to forcibly strip the clothes of the

young girl, Claire, and the half naked young girl who resisted
amidst giggles, Iris.

I didn’t think I was into this kind of thing, but this sight isn’t
too bad. Maybe I should get Loli Succubus to show me a
similar dream in the future.

This might seem like a crime from an outsider’s perspective,

but it’s just two girls fooling around in the dressing room, so
there are no problems from a legal standpoint.

… Though I probably would’ve called the cops if I stumbled

upon such a scene without any context.

“I can undress myself, so please don’t stare at me!”

“I-I see. Then I’ll strip too! That’ll make us even, right!?”

After letting go of the half dressed young lady, the older,

more dangerous seeming lady began vigorously tossing
away her clothes right in front of my eyes.

There might be certain issues with Claire’s personality, but

she has an amazing body.

Her chest swelled far beyond what I expected as she

removed her jacket and shirt.

Paying no heed to my intense stare, she quickly took off her

trousers, leaving her clad in only her underwear.

I’ve only ever seen the white suited woman while she’s
dressed like a man, but she sure is packing some amazing
goods underneath.
Iris stripped down to her underwear too while Claire’s sight
was averted.

Her skin is as unblemished and clear as porcelain. She’s a

little too young right now, but she has a very promising
future ahead of her.

“Right, now all the cloth that stood between us has

vanished! Let’s have some skinship!”

“Your eyes are scaring me… What are you doing? You can’t
join us if you don’t take off your clothes, you know?”

Looking at my still clothed form, the young girl pestered me

to hurry up and take them off.

Rather than being suspicious of my clothed state, it’s more

like she’s concerned over being alone in the baths with the
other girl.

“I got… I understand.”

It’d be suspicious if I didn’t strip here. I carefully replied,

making sure to use the appropriate language.

Even while taking off my unfamiliar clothes, I never took my

sight off the two girls struggling with each other for even an
instant.

Author’s foreword
<This segment originally appears at end of the book, but it
reads more like a teaser, so I thought it fits better here.>

I can’t believe it, the third volume is actually here.

This volume has Dust getting involved with the first princess
of Belzerg, Iris.

Dust and Iris previously interacted in the spinoff (Continued:

Gifting this Wonderful World with Explosions!) written by
Akatsuki-sensei, so I’ve always wanted to write about them.
And now I finally have the chance!

She is one of the more popular characters in Konosuba, so

I’ve agonized greatly over how to handle her, but I think I’ve
managed to adequately convey her charm across in my
writings… It’ll be fine, right?

I hope you look forward to seeing her in action. This book

also touches a little on Dust’s past, so I hope you look
forward to seeing that as well. I wonder if this would change
the image of Dust that everyone has in their minds?

Apart from Iris, her bodyguards/educators, Claire and Rain,

also have a time in the spotlight. The two of them are often
toyed around with by Kazuma in the main series, but in this
spinoff, for certain reasons, they end up going on an
adventure together with Dust and get up to all kinds of
hijinks.

Additionally, one of the minor characters who made an

appearance in the main series will be making an
appearance as well. Those who start by reading the
afterword first might have some fun trying to guess who it
could be.

I feel that the most important thing about this series is to

give those characters that aren’t part of Kazuma and the
main party a chance to shine. Every volume should feature a
side character. I hope to maintain this rule in my works.

As for Dust, I want to make him seem more scummy, yet I

also want to show off his cool side… This balancing act is a
hard one to pull off.

I’ve mentioned this before, but this volume will touch more
on Dust’s past that was hinted at in volume 1 and 2, so do
look forward to it.

Now then, this might be a little early, but allow me to talk a

little about the next volume.

The next volume will have a certain special edition, and

according to certain rumours will have a special drama CD
included. And perhaps Hirukuma is currently working on the
script…

And certain other rumours say that Hirukuma is the one

who’s looking forwards to it the most…

It is still a work in progress, so I can’t provide any more

concrete information, but please look forward to it. I’ll give it
my all.
On a different topic, the child of a friend of mine recently told
me “Oji-san, you drew this? You are a really great artist!”.
He ended up really disappointed when I told him that I’m not
the one who drew it. Yuuki Hagure-sensei, thank you for the
wonderful drawings that you always provide for each
volume.

Well, keeping with this flow,it’s time to offer words of thanks

and appreciation to everyone who helped me.

Natsume-sensei, thank you for giving me free reign this time

too. I truly realized how loveable of a little sister character
that Iris is while I was writing this volume, and I had a lot of
fun bringing her to life. I hope for your continued support in
the future!

Mishima Kurone-sensei. I had the chance to properly

examine Iris’s, Claire’s, and Rain’s illustrations this time, and
Rain looks really amazing… Thank you for providing me
with the reference material!

My thanks to all the editors at Sneaker Bunko, Mr M in

charge, and everyone involved in the production of this
book. Thank you very much.

And of course, all of you readers who picked up this book.

I’m satisfied as an author if my works bring even the
slightest bit of joy to you. I hope to see you again in the next
volume.
 Chapter 1: A Trade with that
Tranquility Girl!
Part 1
I was free and didn’t have any money, so I went to Sir
Vanir’s shop to play. However, the only thing that awaited
me on my arrival was a silent glare.

Of course, I’m not the type of person who’d be scared away

so easily, so I took a seat by the window.

Shortly thereafter, the beautiful shopkeeper came by with

some tea and snacks.

It might be surprising to hear this, but Sir Vanir merely works

part time at this store. Wiz is the one who actually owns it.

She’s a beautiful, kind hearted and courteous former

adventurer. A proper spellcaster who doesn’t fire off
Explosions around town.

“Welcome, Dust-san.”

“Oh, pardon the intrusion.”

“If you’re going to intrude, then go home, man who’s

drowning in debts! Moi is desperately coming up with a way
to pay off the landlord at the end of this month. Storekeeper
who’s a genius at wasting money, there’s no need to give
tea and snacks to someone who isn’t a customer.”

It seems like he’s in a bad mood today.

I can sense Sir Vanir staring at me out of the corner of my

eye, though I can’t quite see his expression from behind his
mask.

“How rude, Sir. I’m still a customer. I’ve plans to buy an item
or two when I strike it big, so look forward to it. It’s really a
pity that my wallet is empty right now. I love gold, but gold
really hates me for some reason.”

“Moi is sure everything about you is disagreeable to gold.”

“You can’t say that to a customer, Vanir-san. Take your

time.”

Wiz, who was surprisingly normal by the standards of this

town, cheerfully smiled.

She really is a beauty. I always thought it was weird how

she’s still single despite having both good looks and a
decent personality.

There are even quite a few fans of her amongst the

adventurers.

A few of them have been suspicious of her relationship with

Sir Vanir ever since he started working here, but judging
from how they interact from a day to day basis… That
doesn’t seem very likely.

“Sir, do you know of some easy and relaxing way to earn

money?”

“Moi dissolved into sand when Moi tried to break into the
bank. It’s an easy way to make a lot of money, so why don’t
you give it a shot?”

“It won’t be a joke if I get caught for that! I’ll be tossed into
jail for life… Though, hold on. I’ll get a place to sleep and
three meals a day, so it’s not entirely without merit…”

Jail is like my hotel room whenever I don’t have money.

I’m guaranteed a place to sleep and three meals, so it’s

certainly an option. However, I won’t be able to make use of
the succubus service while I’m in there.

“Unfortunately, I’ll have to reject that plan.”

“You shouldn’t be giving it serious thought in the first place.

Isn’t accepting requests at the guild and properly working to
complete them not what an adventurer ought to do?”

“Sigh, you don’t get it, Sir. Any idiot can work hard and earn
money. I’m racking my brains to think of an easier way to
make money. Isn’t it best to have money pile up even while
you’re sleeping?”

A lifestyle where I’m surrounded by women, drink, and sleep

is the best.
In order to realize that, I require money. But working hard for
money doesn’t particularly appeal to me.

“If such a method exists, Moi would’ve already been making

use of it. This left on the shelf shopkeeper once again
brought in a bunch of useless goods the other day. My head
hurts just thinking about how to pay for it…”

“T-Those items will definitely increase in value! The

merchant even said the price will go up by a hundred times
in a century!”

She’s trying to justify herself with tears in her eyes, but

there’s no way that’ll work. Sir looks like he’s fed up with it
too.

“Wait a hundred years for a hundredfold increase… Well,

that’s fine.”

“It’s fine…?”

Sir put his hands on his forehead and sighed.

That’s surprising. I thought he’d be angry at that.

Then again, I suppose a hundred years isn’t that big of a

deal to a greater devil like him.

“However, how long does the warranty on that magic item

last for?”

“T-Ten years…”
Wiz withered in front of Sir’s gaze.

“Have you forgotten a similar case that happened in the

past? Just what exactly is stuffed into that skull of yours?
Should I scoop it out and give it a good scrubbing!? I’m sure
it’s empty anyways!!”

“There’s no way that can be true! Wait, did you just call me
left on the shelf earlier?”

“Is that delayed reaction a sign of you going senile? Moi has
heard that romance keeps human brains active, but that
level of deterioration…”

“Even if it’s Vanir-san, I won’t forgive you if you continue!”

Wiz actually got angry for once, and Sir doesn’t look like he
has any intention of backing down either.

A fight between a greater devil and a mage who was a

famous former adventurer, huh? It won’t be a joke if I get
dragged into it.

Seeing the writing on the wall, I started sneaking away to the

entrance of the store.

“Hold on a moment. Your talk of money reminded me, but

Moi has heard of a good get rich quick scheme.”

Sir ignored the still angry Wiz and stopped me.

Unlike the storekeeper, Sir does have a talent for making

money, so he’s at least worth hearing out.
“Oh, seriously? Let me hear it. We can hash things out after
you tell me how serious a crime I would be committing. I’ll
have to get my money’s worth if I have to spend more than a
week in jail.”

“Moi knew you’d be interested. Don’t worry, it’s nothing

illegal. A good idea came to me while Moi was telling that
guardian of problem children about the new goods.”

He’s referring to Kazuma, right?

I’ve recently heard some rumours that you can make a

killing by working with Vanir on his money making schemes,
so this should be good.

“Moi has no personal experience with this, but human girls

are often worried about getting fat and frequently go on
diets. Is that not right?”

“Yes, that’s true. Everyone cares about their figure, after all.
For women, beauty and health are always on their mind.”

Wiz nodded after Vanir suddenly directed a question at her.

Come to think of it, Lynn often exercise restraint the day

after we have a feast, doesn’t she?

“In that case, what would you do if there is a type of food

that would not make you gain weight no matter how much of
it you consume?”

“I would love to get my hands on it! But there’s no way such

a convenient item can exist.”

“Fuhahaha! And what if it does exist?”

“Eh? If that’s really possible, it’ll definitely sell!”

Wiz confidently declared.

Judging from how enthusiastic she is, if such a thing really

exists, women will definitely be all over it.

“But, I’m not doubting you, Sir, but does something that
sounds so good really exists? You’ll definitely get fat if you
eat that much, just like that Alderp’s belly.”

The image of the former lord of the town, Alderp, flashed

through my mind.

He never was a particularly likable guy in the first place, but

as it turns out, he truly was a piece of trash that came up
with various schemes in order to force Darkness to marry
him.

He went missing after his schemes were revealed and his

entire fortune was seized. I wonder what he’s doing now.

“But it does exist. Food that will not make you fat no matter
how much of it you consume. That’d be the tranquility girls.”

“Tranquility girls are those monsters, right? Sir, isn’t that a

little cruel…”

“Vanir-san, that’s, err…”

Wiz and I responded at the same time.

Tranquility girls are plant type monsters that have an

appearance resembling that of a young gir.

They are truly abhorrent monsters that attempt to elicit

sympathy from travellers and adventurers with their fragile
looking forms. Once enthralled, you’d be held captive while
you slowly weaken and die. Those who die end up
becoming nutrients for the tranquility girl.

It does sound horrible, but since they kill without pain, there
are quite a few people who willingly seek them out when
they wish to move on.

The guild’s official stance is that they are horrible monsters

and recommends their immediate extermination.

“Moi thinks you two have some kind of misunderstanding.

Moi is not saying to butcher tranquility girls and consume
them. What Moi is after is the fruit that they create.”

“Fruit? … Are you talking about the fruit that is said to

instantly get you hooked from the moment you take a bite?”

“Indeed. Those fruits are delicious and filling, but has almost
no nutritional value. Thus, no matter how much you eat,
you’ll never get fat. If we make some food with that as an
ingredient, it is certain to be a great hit.”

Huh, so tranquility girls produce those kind of fruits. I didn’t

know that.
… I see. Good thinking, Sir. True, if we use that, the creation
of a dish that will not make you fat is possible.

“I have heard that they produce addictive fruits to weaken

their prey and prevent them from escaping, but…”

“Way to go, Sir. That’d be the perfect ingredient. We’ll

definitely be rich.”

“W-Wait, I’ve also heard that those fruits adversely affect the
central nervous system. From what I can recall, they were
called tranquility girls because they can shut off the
sensations of pain, fatigue, and hunger and put their victims
into a dreamlike state before their deaths.”

Wiz, who was totally on board with us, suddenly raised an

objection.

Is it really that dangerous of an item? That changes things. If

we start selling that, the police definitely won’t let it slide. It’d
be a pretty major crime, in fact.

“Isn’t that really bad? If we get caught, we might end up in

jail for life…”

“Selling something that dangerous really brings your

humanity into question, Vanir-san!”

Wiz grabbed onto Sir and violently shook his body.

Vanir pried Wiz off him with an irritated expression and took
a deep breath.
“In the first place, Moi is not human. Secondly, unlike you
two, Moi is not a fool. Moi will not sell the fruit as it is. It is
not my intention to cause the death of humans. The plan is
to process it to remove the harmful components before
selling it. For that reason, it is necessary to acquire a large
amount of tranquility girl fruits.”

“So that’s my part in this.”

“It’s good that you’re quick to catch on. Don’t worry, Moi will
give you the standard fee for taking on this request,
including half in advance. How about it?”

It doesn’t seem like a bad deal. Even if he fails to find a way

to remove the harmful components from the fruit, I would’ve
already been paid, so that wouldn’t affect me.

If things go well, I might be able to help with the selling and

earn even more money that way.

This request isn’t bad at all. In fact, it’s a very appealing,

very profitable proposition.

“Delinquent who’s best suited for evil schemes, let me hear

your answer!”

“There’s no need to even ask! Aren’t we close friends!? Heh,

I shall gladly accept!”

Sir gave a satisfied laugh as I answered while rubbing my

palms.
Though, the storekeeper still seemed to be on the fence
about this idea as she restlessly paced about the store.

Part 2
When I returned to the guild with a heavy heart due to the
looming deadline of my debts, coincidentally, my party
members were all present, so I was able to tell them the
details of the request on the spot.

I’ll just leave out what Sir wants to do with them.

“So that’s the story. He’s offering to pay quite a bit for it, so
you guys don’t have a problem with it, right?”

“Aren’t you the least bit afraid to accept a request from

Vanir-san? Have you already forgotten what happened in
Alcanretia?”

Lynn, who doesn’t quite seem on board with the idea,

stopped eating and twirled her knife around.

She’s eating a salad again.

“Of course not. That only happened because Sir had a

grudge against the Axis Cult. He often works with Kazuma to
run a proper business.”

“I’ve heard Kazuma made a lot of money thanks to that

partnership.”
“He probably bought the mansion he currently lives in with
that money. Man, I’m so jealous.”

Keith and Taylor seem to be a little more agreeable to this

proposal.

Yeah, it ain’t good to be so quick to doubt everything you

come across like Lynn.

“Plus the request is simply to gather the fruits of a tranquility

girl. We could take care of it at the same time and get the
extermination bounty from the guild.”

There aren’t any requests to exterminate tranquility girls up

at the moment, but we can still get paid as long as we bring
back proof of the extermination.

“You’re talking about those tranquility girls, right? I’m fine

with accepting the request, but I’m not really looking forward
to killing one, so let’s just go for the fruits.”

“I’ll pass on the extermination too.”

“Monster or no, I’m not stabbing a young girl.”

It doesn’t seem like my companions are too keen on killing

one.

They might be monsters, but they do have the appearance

of a young girl, so yeah, I understand why they’d hesitant.

“It’s a bit of a waste, but oh well. We’ll just negotiate with

them for their fruits today. Don’t worry, apparently they can
understand human words.”

It’s a pity to give up on the guild’s rewards, but the money

offered by Vanir is more than enough. There’s no need to
risk the ire of my companions.

“Still, where would we find a tranquility girl? I’ve heard

rumours that there was one on the road between the
Crimson Demon Village and Alcanretia, but apparently
someone took care of it a while back.”

“Keith, is that true? A tranquility girl looks like a girl cute

enough to trigger the protective instincts in anyone, right?
Can someone really bring themselves to kill…”

Lynn frowned just imagining it.

An adventurer who can attack and slay a young girl… yeah,

the only image that comes to mind is that of a hardened
criminal.

“Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that too. I just can’t lay a hand on a
kid. It’s impossible for a kind gentleman like me.”

“You mean a brute who’d hit on any woman you see, right!?
The guy who did it must have been someone who has been
constantly rejected by women and picked her to vent his
frustrations on. Even I wouldn’t be able to stoop that low!”

As Keith drunkenly cursed the imagined assailant, I heard a

loud clatter behind me.
Turning back, I saw a trembling Kazuma with an upturned
tankard spilling its contents onto his table.

So Kazuma and co. were here too, huh.

“You know, you shouldn’t criticize him too much. It might

look like a young girl, but it’s still a monster. Even if some
people willingly seek them out wishing for a peaceful death,
it’s still undeniable that it has killed a lot of people. You
should be grateful to someone who does these necessary
tasks that no one else is willing to do.”

As Taylor said soberly, Kazuma, who was quite a few tables

over, got to his feet and made his way over to us.

“This is my treat, Taylor! Go ahead and drink to your heart’s

content! You can order a few more snacks if you want!”

“Oh, I don’t really get it, but thanks. Don’t mind if I do.”

Kazuma left a tankard filled to the brim on the table before

leaving.

“Hey, why only Taylor? Give your good friend some alcohol
and snacks too!”

“No fair! Me too! Me too!”

“Yeah! You can treat an outsider, but you can’t treat your
own companion? Where did your humanity go? Buy me the
most expensive wine in this store!”

Keith and I started making a fuss, and the party priest

seated at the other table joined in as well.

Kazuma looked at us and took a deep breath.

“I refuse!”

Dammit, it’s it because I went wild these past few nights?

Come to think of it, Taylor and Kazuma are pretty close,

aren’t they? Every so often, I would catch them having a
drink together.

Apparently, they have quite a bit in common from being the

leaders of their respective teams. It seems like they often
grumble about their companions over a few tankards of
beer.

“Anyway, going back to the original topic, do you have any

idea where we can find a tranquility girl?”

“We’ll have to ask Luna for that.”

I walked over to the bored looking Luna behind the counter,

but I had to look down for a moment before calling to her.

Her assets are amazing as usual. When it comes to the size

of her chest, she might be the number one in the guild, even
taking all the adventurers into account.

Before I could properly appreciate her twin peaks, they were

quickly hidden from view.

What’s the big deal? It’s not like they’d shrink or anything.
“Do you need something, Dust-san?”

“Those things really are an amazing treat for the eyes. I

really wish Lynn could take after you.”

“If you’re just here for sexual harassment, then please leave
before I call the cops.”

Even though I praised her, Luna covered her chest,

completely hiding them from my sight.

You could just wear looser clothing around the chest if you
really wanted to hide them.

“Come on, the police won’t come for something this minor. I
know from experience. Anyway, do you have any
information on tranquility girl sightings?”

“Could you be going out to exterminate them? Thank you

very much!”

Luna bowed to me, causing her chest to jiggle.

Most of the adventurers who come to see Luna are men,

and this sight is exactly why most of them choose to line up
at her counter instead of someone else’s.

I didn’t have any intention of killing them, but I should just

play along for now.

“Yeah, so I’d like like to know where they are. I’ve heard that
there was one close to Alcanretia.”
“That one has already been exterminated, but there’s been
eyewitness reports of other tranquility girls around here…”

Saying that, she brought out a piece of paper from behind

her counter.

On it is a map of their territory and breeding grounds. Cross

marks probably represents those that have been eliminated.

“As mentioned earlier, the tranquility girl on this road was

taken out by a certain adventurer some time ago.”

“Tranquility girls look almost exactly like a young human girl,

right? Do you know what kind of person took it out?”

“We have been in contact. He’s registered under the Axel

Branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, and is a very reliable
adventurer who took the initiative to do jobs that others
refuse to do. According to them, taking out a tranquility girl is
surprisingly easy, so there’s no need to worry, Dust-san.”

I heard the clattering of chairs behind me. Turning around, I

came across an angry seeming Kazuma trying to make his
way to the counter, only to be restrained by Megumin and
Darkness.

“Don’t joke with me! Do you know how tough it was!?”

His face is bright red… Did he have a few too many drinks?

Luna has a wide smile on her face. A lot of newbie

adventurers get taken in by that smile of hers, but I know
from experience that she is quite a schemer.

“Are you plotting something?”

“Not at all. Now, then, back to original topic, there’s been a

tranquility girl spotted around this lake. It’s one of the water
sources of this town, and it used to have problems with
declining water quality, but ever since it was purified, it has
turned into a beautiful place.”

Another clattering of chairs came from behind.

This time, it’s the blue-haired party priest, Aqua, squatting

down with her hands on her head.

“Inside the cage is best. Outside is scary… Outside is

scary…”

“Ah, that trauma from back then resurfaced! Kazuma, do

something!”

“I don’t wanna. It’s a pain. Just give her some beer and
she’d be back to normal eventually.”

The Explosion Girl was panicking in front of Aqua, who was

muttering something to herself while staring off into the
distance.

Her only good point was being cheerful, so to see her

depressed like this… Well, I guess such things do happen
from time to time.

“So I can run into one if I head to that lake, right? Great,
thanks!”

“Please stay on your guard. Most of the people who left to

exterminate them were taken in by their appearance and
couldn’t follow through.”

“Sure thing.”

My party didn’t have any intentions of taking them out, but

the reward is surprisingly huge.

It’s certainly possible to kill it behind my party’s back and

keep the prize money to myself. I’d be able to get paid twice.
It’s certainly worth considering.

Part 3
The destination was quite close to town, so it didn’t take
much time for us to arrive.

The lake was far larger, and far more beautiful, than I
expected. Apparently, the rivers from the nearby mountains
all end up here, making it an ideal water source.

“Oh~. If only I wasn’t on a job. This place looks perfect for a

picnic and an afternoon nap.”

“Yeah, there isn’t even a single trace of monsters around

here. It’s the very picture of peace.”
“Would there even be a tranquility girl here? Let’s just wash
up and go home.”

My companions are completely in a holiday mood.

Keith let out a large yawn and carried himself almost as if he

was about to lay down on the grass for a nap.

It’s peaceful, and the weather is great, so it’s is indeed a

great day to laze around. If it wasn’t a job from Sir, I
would’ve laid down and taken a nap.

“Let’s get it over and done with. From what I’ve heard, it
lives in the forests next to the lake.”

“Right, let’s hurry up and get a move on. We just need to

convince it, right?”

As we made our way around the lake, we occasionally

sighted a few other adventurers.

It’s not just one or two of them. There are over a dozen in
total, and it seemed like they are coming to and from the
forest.

“Is there a really profitable monster living around here? Or

perhaps this is a good spot to peep on bathing girls?”

“There’s no way they’d be here for something that stupid.

But you noticed it too, huh. There seem to be a surprising
number of adventurers around here… Taylor, do you know
something?”
Lynn directed the question at Taylor, who wordlessly shook
his head.

“Maybe there are Onion Ducks living around here. They like
clean water, right?”

Surprisingly, Keith’s idea might be the most likely of them all.

Onion Ducks are weak, but they give a lot of experience

points. On top of that, both their onions and their flesh taste
delicious. They are a very worthwhile monster to hunt.

The adventurers who are glancing over to us are probably

on the lookout to prevent any Onion Ducks from slipping by.
In any case, there’s no need to keep watching them.

While ignoring the gazes of the other adventurers, we

entered the forest.

We didn’t have to walk long before encountering a sparsely

grown clearing.

Sitting amongst the grass was a slim, green-haired girl who

was looking at us with teary seeming eyes.

Its appearance was cute enough to trigger the protective

instincts even in someone like me.
“A single girl alone this deep in the forest… Could she be
the tranquility girl?”

“She looks just like a regular human. Is there no chance that

she’s just lost?”

“So this is the lure, huh? It’s pretty impressive. If I didn’t

know better, I would’ve been completely fooled.”

It’s understandable for Lynn and the others to be hesitant.

It’s pretty obvious what it is out here in the forest, but if I

were to run into it sitting around in town, there’d be no way I
could tell that it’s a monster.

“Umm, you’re a tranquility girl, right?”

In response to my words, the tranquility girl shyly nodded.

Then, looking up at me with slightly tear-stained eyes, it said

in a halting manner.

“Are you people… here to kill me?”

“No, that’s not why we are here…”

Having her look at me with such innocent eyes caused a

certain part of my heart to throb.

Ugh, so there was still that part of my conscience left…

After hearing such words from a defenseless little girl,
anyone would lose the will to kill her.

I originally planned to secretly take care of her and get the

reward from the guild, but I think I’ll pass on that after all.

There won’t be a problem with leaving a single monster out

here. It’s not like she’s really threatening anyone.

“There’s no need to be scared, we aren’t here to do anything

violent. We just came here to talk.”

“Yeah, yeah, we aren’t going to do anything, so don’t be

afraid. We won’t let this barbarian do anything to you.”

Huh, Lynn’s actually using the voice she uses when she
plays with the stray cats in town.

“Talk?”

She placed a finger to her cheek.

Lynn gave her a kind smile in response. It seems like she

has completely fallen for it.

Keith and Taylor hastily hid their weapons behind their

backs to avoid scaring her. They are kind at heart, so it isn’t
surprising for them to react this way.

“We want the fruits you produce. Could you give us a few of
them?”

“Ah, you’re hungry. Give me a moment.”

Saying that with a smile, she plucked a few fruits from under
her dress and handed one to each of us.

At the same time, an expression of pain appeared across

her features for a brief moment.

“Ah, you don’t need to push yourself.”

“Yeah, we won’t demand the impossible. Your health comes

first.”

Lynn and Taylor hastily moved to stop her, but the tranquility
girl simply smiled.

“No, thank you, kind onii-chan, onee-chan. Please help

yourself if you are hungry.”

Staring at the fruit in his hand, Keith wrapped an arm around

me and whispered into my ear.

“Say, doesn’t her way of speaking sound suspicious to you?

She sounds just like someone who acts all innocent and tells
her customers whatever they want to hear in order to get
every last coin from their pockets”

“You caught onto that too, huh? It works on them because

those two are simple, but it just reeks of an act to me. That
gave is, how do I put it…”

Keith and I are of the same mind.

It sounds just like the ladies at the bar when they are trying
to sell some expensive alcohol.
It might work when we’re drunk and having a good time, but
we’re stone cold sober right now, so we can’t help but catch
onto the act.

I kind of understand why the guild regards them as

dangerous monsters and recommends their extermination.

I decided to spare it, but it might actually be best to kill it

right now.

Still, it didn’t take long to get our hands on them. The fruit
smelt really sweet when I took a sniff.

I haven’t eaten anything decent recently, so it looks

especially appealing, but… I just need to bear with it until I
get the money from Sir.

We were able to successfully communicate with it, and it

doesn’t seem like it’s about to attack us… Though it is trying
really hard to get us to eat the fruit.

I expected it to be harder to complete, but it ended up being

a snap.

“Well, thanks. Seeya.”

“Huh!?”

That tone was completely different from the one it used

earlier.

It seemed like it was too surprised to maintain its facade of a

dainty girl.
“What, is it bad if we bring them back with us?”

“Umm, that fruit doesn’t keep for long, so it won’t be

delicious if you leave it out. I’ve heard that it’s delicious
enough to make your cheeks melt when it’s fresh, so I really
recommend eating it now.”

The tranquility girl seemed quite flustered as it tried to

convince us to stay.

It’s probably because it won’t be able to turn us into nutrients

if we don’t eat them here. It might look like a girl, but it’s still
a monster.

“Nah. If we eat this, we would become addicted to it and

won’t be able to leave, no?”

“Not at all. It’d just be really delicious.”

“Then it’s fine if we bring them back, right?”

The tranquility girl crossed its arms and made a soft, uh-nuh
noise.

“Then, why don’t you take a bite?”

“Eh? Eating my own fruits is a little…”

It grimaced as I shoved the fruit towards it.

Well, I suppose it’d be like eating a portion of your own flesh.

As the tranquility girl made a scared expression, Lynn and

Taylor pulled on the hem of my clothes.

“Don’t scare her. I’ll burn this idiot up with magic later, so
don’t be afraid.”

“You shouldn’t treat a defenseless person so roughly. Don’t

worry, as a Crusader, I’ll definitely protect you.”

The two of them stood in front of me as if to protect the

tranquility girl.

Don’t be so easily fooled.

“Then let Keith take a bite.”

“Why me!? You eat it! You’ll eat leftover fish when you’re
broke, so you’ll be fine no matter what you put in your
stomach!”

“Don’t speak that badly of people! I’ve only ever eaten

leftovers at the worst of times! Like, thrice at most!”

The moment I said that, my companions started inching

away from me.

Not only that, but the tranquility girl too looked at me with
pity in its eyes.

“H-Hey, you don’t need to be that surprised! If you smell

something good coming from a trash bin when you’re broke,
you’d succumb to temptation, right?”

“No I won’t.”
“Makes sense.”

“I’ll at least buy some bread for you if you’re really starving,
so don’t do that anymore…”

“I’ll give you another two of my fruits.”

Dammit, having these guys offer me such kindness just

makes me even more angry!

Ignoring the tranquility girl who offered me another pair of

fruits, we finally left the area.

It might be better to take care of it now to prevent future

adventurers from getting tricked, but right now, Sir’s request
takes top priority.

Part 4
After returning to Axel, I headed off alone to report to Sir
Vanir.

My companions seem to be a little wary of Sir, so I had them

wait in the guild.

When I confidently opened the door, I came across the

beautiful shopkeeper charred and twitching in the corner.
Well, it’s a regular sight by this point, so I paid it no special
heed.
Alongside her was Sir standing there with his arms crossed,
and Loli Succubus dressed in her villager’s outfit.

“I’m back, Sir. And what are you doing here?”

“I had something to discuss with Vanir-sama. I just arrived a

short while before you.”

She said in a sweet sounding falsetto. I’ve never heard her

speak this way before.

… I think I’ve heard somewhere that Loli Succubus was a

fan of Sir.

“Let’s start with the results of my request. You do not object,

yes?”

“Of course, I can go second. I’m a reserved girl after all.”

It seems like Loli Succubus acts as meek as a lamb in the

presence of Sir. She’s normally far more headstrong.

She’s looking at Sir Vanir with starstruck eyes, but Sir

himself barely even acknowledged her presence… My
condolences.

“Ah, well, I managed to get four of them, but that’s enough to

fulfill the request, right?”

I placed the bag containing the fruits on the counter.

“Moi has indeed received them. Very well, the remaining

sum… What’s the meaning of this?”
Sir cocked his head upon checking the insides of the bag.

Turning the bag inside out, Sir dumped a set of wrinkly-

skinned fruits onto the counter. They were less than half the
size they were when I first received them.

“Are these dried fruits?”

“Where they originally like this when you received them?”

“No, they were far more juicy looking. It’s really odd for them
to dry up this much in less than half a day.”

Black patches have even started appearing on the skin. It

doesn’t look the slightest bit delicious at all.

“Gurk! It stinks! It smells just like socks that haven’t been

washed for three days!”

“Eeh? If Dust-san knows what that smells like… do you not

wash your socks?”

Don’t pinch your nose and look at me like I stink, Loli

Succubus! You’ll wear the same clothes for a few days when
you go out on an adventure!

“Hmm, it seems like these fruits degrade extremely quickly.

Was this to make it harder for others to notice anything odd
about these fruits? If that’s the case, it’s highly likely that the
relevant components would’ve have degraded in the
meantime.”

“Seriously? Then didn’t we just waste our time… Say, Sir,

you’re not going to ask me to return the money you gave me
in advance, are you? I don’t have a single eris left from
that…”

I already brought the fruits, so I’d really like to just get the
money and leave.

“Moi is not so petty of a person, but this is useless for my

purpose. It seems like there might be no choice but to bring
the tranquility girl itself to us.”

“Pardon me for interrupting, but is that the fruit of a

tranquility girl?”

“Yeah, I got some on Sir’s request.”

Loli Succubus grimaced as she stared at the fruit.

Why did this girl’s mood turn sour so suddenly?

“What’s the matter? Constipation?”

“What could possibly give you that idea? No, it’s just, I came
here to consult with Vanir-sama on something related to
tranquility girls, so this was a strange coincidence.”

“Oh? Now you’ve sparked my interest. Do continue.”

Sir returned the fruits to the bag as he said that. The entire
store will be filled with the stench of rotting fruits if he were
to leave it in the open.

Though, it doesn’t seem the bag is thick enough to prevent

the stench from spreading.

After thinking it through for a brief moment, Vanir tied up the

bag and threw it next to Wiz who was still curled up on the
floor.

Wiz jumped up slightly upon taking a whiff of the bag, but

otherwise had no further reaction.

… I’m a little curious as to what he’s up to this time, but I

guess I should listen to Loli Succubus first.

“The truth is, quite a few of our long time customers stopped
showing up recently. We looked into it, and apparently,
they’ve stopped showing up at the adventurer’s guild
entirely. The other adventurers said that it isn’t that
surprising for a few adventurers to slack off after the recent
windfalls.”

Yeah, between the bounties from the Demon King’s General

and the Hydra, an adventurer would be able to live leisurely
even without working for quite some time.

In my case, I used up all the money fairly quickly, so I’m still

as broke as ever.

Actually, now that she mentions it, there are a few faces that
have completely disappeared from the guild.

“When we looked a little deeper into it, we discovered that all

of the adventurers who stopped visiting us had something in
common. All of them accepted a request to take out a
tranquility girl!”

“But the tranquility girl is still there.”

“It would appear that all of them failed to carry through.”

Sure, taking down a tranquility girl requires more courage

and ruthlessness than actual skill with arms, but if you send
a dozen or so adventurers after one, you’d think that at least
one of them would be willing to take the plunge.

If all of them really did disappear after heading out after the
tranquillity girl, it would be quite the incident indeed. I should
ask around at the guild. They might be offering some sort of
bonus reward for resolving the problem.

“I’ll ask Luna for more details. I’m not done with this request
yet.”

“You have an admirable attitude for once. Moi shall also

think of a measure to get my hands on fresh fruits.”

“I’ll help Vanir-sama too! I’m a capable girl, after all.”

“In that case, would you mind throwing that large piece of
garbage into the warehouse? It would get in the way of the
customers.”

Loli Succubus started obediently dragging Wiz away to the

back of the store at Sir Vanir’s command.

I do feel a little sorry for her, but considering how often she
wastes Sir Vanir’s hard earn money, I suppose such
treatment is only to be expected.

Part 5
“Tsk, they didn’t wait for me. What a heartless bunch.”

My companions weren’t around by the time I returned to the

guild. They either went back to their rooms or are out in town
somewhere.

I felt stupid for seriously working while they were slacking

off, so I moved to order a drink.

But then I remembered that I didn’t have any money.

The tavern is pretty sparse for once, so there’s no one I can

sponge a drink off of.

“Give me a drink and put it on my tab.”

I said to one of the waitresses as she passed by, and she

snorted in response.

“Huh? Save your jokes for when you’re drunk. You haven’t
even paid up on last month’s tab. We’ve been discussing if
it’s about time to bar you from the premises.”

“You’re joking… right? You’re just joking, right? If I can’t

enter the guild, I won’t be able to take on any quests!”
“Who knows? Hey, don’t try and cop a feel! Just hurry up
and clear your tab!”

As I clung onto the waitress’s waist, she smacked me on the

head with the serving tray and left.

Dammit, I’m a customer, you know!? Don’t get ahead of

yourself just because I can’t pay!

Though, yeah, that’s my fault.

Well, it wouldn’t do much good to just stand there, so I

moved over to Luna who was busy cleaning the counter and
struck up a conversation.

“Oh, you don’t look too bad with your ass sticking out like
that either.”

“You know, I might seriously consider suing you.”

She immediately turned around and glared at me.

“Hey, come on, isn’t it pretty admirable that I didn’t lay a

hand on you?”

“The mindset of a criminal is really scary indeed. Anyway, if

you’re just here to get in the way, then please go
elsewhere.”

Don’t make shooing motions at me.

I really would like to give her a piece of my mind, but it’d be

difficult to continue working as an adventurer if I made an
enemy out of her.

“Don’t be so cold-hearted. I’m here to get more details

regarding the tranquility girl.”

“Ah, now that you mentioned it, how did the extermination
go!?”

Oh, so that got her attention alright.

“Ah, about that, we did find one, but my companions didn’t

want to go through with it, so I had to stay my hand.”

“So you couldn’t go through after all. Given its looks and way
of speaking, it’s hard for anyone who’s kind at heart to take
care of it. I had hoped that Dust-san would be capable of
handling it…”

“Hey, what’s that’s supposed to mean?”

“It’s exactly as I’ve said.”

T-This girl actually said that with a smile.

One of these days, I’m going to make her tell me exactly

what kind of person she thinks I am, but I have more
important matters right now.

“Ah~, and here I was all hyping myself up to take out that
tranquility girl, but nevermind. Sigh. I just can’t get the
motivation to go through with this.”

“W-Wait a minute! I’ll apologize for my earlier statement, so

can you please take care of it!? We are really in a bind here!
On top of all the requests piling up because the adventurers
have taken to slacking off, most of the adventurers who
accept this task don’t return, so we are really in a bind!”

Luna clung onto me, allowing me to enjoy the sensation of

her large breasts pressing against my body. It seems like
she’s really at her wit’s end.

Oh, it might be nice to stay like this for a while.

“Are you really in that much of a bind?”

“Yes, we are! Including the people we sent to check up on

those who went missing, the number of people who don’t
come back just keeps going up… And the female
adventurers wouldn’t take this task…”

So what Loli Succubus told me was true. Did the

adventurers end up getting entrapped by the tranquility girl?

“Lynn was the same. It seems like women won’t be able to

kill something like that.”

My companions too were taken in by its appearance and

speech. The only people who can kill a tranquility girl would
be someone who’s really strong at heart, or a truly horrible
person.

“I appealed to the adventurer who took down a tranquility girl

before, but he turned me down. He said that he doesn’t want
to get involved with them again after psychological wounds
he suffered the previous time…”

“Yeah, it’s pretty tough to kill something that looks that much
like a human.”

She must be talking about the adventurer who killed the

tranquility girl near Alcanretia.

I thought that he would have a heart of steel, but I suppose

it’s still too much to ask him to do it again.

“The one found at the lake is particularly troublesome. I’ve

heard that it’s really good at worming into your heart with
words. Just what should I do…”

During her musings, Luna never took her upturned eyes off
me.

Did she also push her body against mine on purpose?

Come now, I’m not going to fall for such an obvious

seduction attempt.

“If you were to accept the request…”

She pushed her body even closer to me, to the point where
my arm is almost entirely enveloped by the softness.

Gah, this is bad. No man can stand firm in the face of such
softness. It feels like my sense of reason is floating away.

“If you accept…”

I gulped and waited nervously for her next word.

“I’ll tell the tavern to extend your tab for another month.”

“I’ll do it.”

I instantly accepted.

Part 6
“Ah, dammit, what do I do about this?”

I still had the request from Sir to complete, so I thought we

could kill two birds with one stone, but all my companions
said no when I brought it up to them.

It seemed like they had enough after meeting with the

tranquility girl once. They turned a deaf ear upon everything
I said.

Afterwards, I tried broaching the topic to several of the

adventurers I know, but not a single one of them hopped on
board.

And the reasons are-

“Dust’s money making ideas aren’t reliable in the slightest.”

“She looks just like a girl, doesn’t she? No way.”

“Nevermind that, just pay me back already.”

And etc etc. Actually the last one turned from a discussion
into a fistfight.

I wanted to get some beer to ease my mood, but I didn’t

even have the money to do that. I tried searching for
someone who would treat me, but Kazuma wasn’t around.

I can take out a tranquility girl by myself, no problem. The

problem is travelling to where it is. Goblins and such can be
easily taken care of, but it’d be really problematic if I ran into
a Rookie Killer or the like along the way.

Well, just thinking about this isn’t bringing me anywhere, so I

pulled up a chair and called for a waitress.

“Hey, can I make an order?”

“It’s fine as long as you pay up.”

“Tsk, fine, give me some water. That’s free, right?”

“Well, I suppose.”

“You can mix in some alcohol into as well!”

When I said that, she stuck her tongue out and walked
away.

Well, there wasn’t much else for me to do, so I placed my

feet on the table and stared at the ceiling.
“Is there anyone who would go on an adventure with me…”

As I mumbled, I noticed something moving at the corner of

my vision.

The lonely Crimson Demon who pretty much held the

window seat as her own personal territory stole several
glances at me.

She wasn’t here when I was asking around for companions.

She was probably getting into another argument with
Kazuma’s Explosion Girl again.

… It seems I’ve secured a party member. As long as I keep

the fact that we are going after a tranquility girl a secret, I’m
sure she’ll be willing to tag along.

I’ll be able to ensure my safety with Yunyun around. Though,

I suppose I should confirm it.

“I wonder if there’s a kind and strong and cool mage hanging

around who rescues people in trouble~?”

I said that in a voice loud enough for her to hear, and

Yunyun could barely contain her smile as she stood up.

She has taken the bait. It’s so easy that I might even start
yawning.

The person in question seemed utterly ignorant of my

intentions and boldly walked over to my table.

As I tried to keep my face as straight as possible to prevent

her from noticing,

“Did you ask for me!?”

The Explosion Girl appeared at my table.

It seems like she entered the guild at the absolute worst

possible time.

“I didn’t ask for you! Hey, Kazuma, she’s being a bother!”

“What’s with that treatment! As the foremost mage of the

Crimson Demons-”

“Sorry. Hey, I told you not to cause trouble for others!”

Kazuma dragged the Explosion Girl away by her collar.

She waved her staff around and struggled against his grip,
but then she suddenly quietened down.

“Using Drain Touch isn’t fair!”

“Shut up! Your level is so high that you won’t come along
unless I do this! Hey, Darkness, stop giving me such
envious looks!”

“If you want to vent your frustrations, you can use my body
to its fullest. There’s no need to hold back. If you want, you
can even use Bind to restrain me…”

“Hey, can I order the most expensive wine in this store?

Hey. I said hey! Don’t ignore me!”
They were as lively as always.

The guild that was silent just a short while ago turned rowdy
in an instant.

Kazuma sat down a few tables over with an exasperated

expression on his face and ordered something. I’ll go
sponge something off him later.

The thought crossed my mind to let Kazuma and co. help

out, but… let’s not.

It’d be hard to kill it in a party with so many women. Plus, I

get the feeling that something horrible will happen if I bring
them along.

Turning my sights away from Kazuma, I noticed Yunyun who

has been blankly standing there after she lost the chance to
talk to me.

You know, she should really used to calling out to me

already. There really is no need to be so guarded against
me.

“What’s the matter, Yunyun? Do you need something?”

“Umm… Err… you were saying something about an

adventure earlier…”

She trailed off, fidgeting all the while.

She really is a troublesome person to deal with.

“Sigh… If you have time, would you like to help me with a
quest?”

“If you desperately need my help, I wouldn’t mind tagging

along!”

Seeing her face brighten up like that made me want to tease

her.

“Well, I’m not desperate or anything.”

“Eh? B-But, weren’t you troubled over not having enough

people earlier?”

“It ain’t like this task is something I absolutely cannot do by

myself.”

“I-I happen to be free, so I’ll help you out! There’s no need to

stand on ceremony!”

If you’re that desperate, you should’ve just been honest from

the start.

So this is why that Explosion Girl likes to mess with her.

“Well, if you are going to go that far, then sure. Now, let’s
have a party to celebrate! It’ll be your treat!”

“No! If you don’t have money, then just drink some water!”

“Please just let me eat something with flavour already! Ice is

chewy, but it won’t fill your belly!”
“I don’t know anything about that!”

“I do! Oh, and if you put some sugar on it, you can fool
yourself into thinking you are snacking on something.”

The Explosion Girl loudly interjected out of nowhere.

“Megumin!?”

“I thought there was nothing in your head apart from

explosions, but you do get it, don’t you!?”

“You have some guts to think of me who is regarded to have

high common sense amongst the Crimson Demons as a
fool. Why don’t I gift your brain with a dose of Explosions
too!?”

“How did we start talking about this!? Hey, don’t use

Explosion magic indoors!”

Yunyun hastily grabbed Megumin as she started waving her

staff around.

Looking behind her, I saw Kazuma and Aqua nonchalantly

sharing a drink.

“Kazuma, the problem child is going crazy! Please do

something!”

“Don’t worry, she already used Explosion today, so she

doesn’t have any mana left.”

If Kazuma says so, then it should be fine. I’ll just leave her
for Yunyun to deal with.

It’s starting to get late, so I guess I’ll leave the rest to

tomorrow. And Kazuma’s here as well, so I might be able to
get away with ordering a few mugs of beer.

I’ll be able to earn quite a bit of money with Sir’s deal, so a

simple bar tab shouldn’t be a big deal.

Part 7
“Good morning, Sir Vanir.”

“According to my all-seeing eyes, the sun is already far

above our heads.”

“Good morning, Dust-san.”

Having woken up late after drinking my fill the previous

night, I dragged myself to Wiz’s magic item store to see an
apron-clad Sir Vanir and a perfectly healthy-looking Wiz.

“I really slept in after filling my belly thanks to Kazuma.

Anyway, Sir, what should I do about the tranquility girl’s
fruits?”

“Moi has thought of an idea, but before that, tell me about

what you learnt from the guild.”

“Ah, sure. According to what I’ve heard from Luna-”

Sir folded his arms and after I relayed everything to him.

“Now, isn’t this a troublesome situation?”

“It seems to line up with what the small succubus said.”

“Did Loli Succubus say something?”

Sir Vanir let out a huge sigh.

“Didn’t she say that adventurers have stopped coming to her

store yesterday, delinquent whose mind is filled with nothing
but wine and women?”

“Don’t praise me too much, I’m blushing.”

“That wasn’t praise, Dust-san.”

Wiz denied it with a wry smile.

Come to think of it, Loli Succubus did say something like

that yesterday, didn’t she? My memory is a little fuzzy
thanks to all the beer I drunk last night.

“Moi has come across a few more details since then. One of
the adventurers came back and went back to the succubus
store. Apparently, those who were sent out to take care of
the tranquility girl lost their nerve and ended up as
bodyguards for her. What a pitiful fate.”

“Don’t tell me those idiotic adventurers will get in the way if I

try and exterminate her…”
“That would appear to be the case. Now then, Moi has a
wonderful idea. You should visit the succubi. You shall make
a wonderful memory there!”

With a wide smile, Sir Vanir directed me to visit the

Succubus shop.

He probably has some kind of plan, so I’ll do as he says for

now.

Leaving the magic item shop behind, I made my way over to

the ordinary looking cafe that served as the succubus store
and came across the succubi lounging around.

This store is emptier than I’ve ever seen it. It seems like they
are really feeling the effects of the reduced number of
adventurers frequenting the store.

“Ah, Dust-san! We’ve been waiting for you!”

Loli Succubus welcomed me and showed me to my seat,

and started bringing out drinks and snacks before I ordered
anything.

And not only that, but the other succubi crowded around me
and started pouring drinks and massaging my shoulders and
basically giving me a wonderful welcome.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’ll say this in advance: I
have no money.”

“It’s on the house, so don’t worry.”

Loli Succubus was looking at me with a gentle smile that I’ve
never seen her use before.

… Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, so I couldn’t help but be

unnerved.

The other succubi who were fawning over me had the very
same smiles.

They poured me wine I didn’t order and a large-breasted

Succubus tried to get me to drink.

Two others pressed their bodies against me from boths

sides, allowing me to take in the full extent of their chests.

… I should secure my escape route.

“It’s pretty quiet in here today, huh? You’re not in any

trouble, are you? And I really have no money. If you want, I
can show you the insides of my wallet.”

“Why are you so nervous?”

“What else can I be? There’s no such thing as a free lunch

in this world.”

“There’s no need to be so guarded. You’ve already seen me

naked at the hot springs…”

A shiver flowed down my spine.

Seriously, your smile doesn’t reach your eyes at all.

The two of them by my sides whistling and saying “Way to
go.” in such an obvious, practiced manner just makes things
even scarier.

Feeling the breaths of those two as they leaned in close

gave me the flutters, but I just couldn’t get worked up seeing
their eyes.

“Your eyes are seriously scary! I don’t need any strange

persuasion methods, so just lay it on me!”

“Is that so? The truth is, there’s something we would like you
to do.”

The succubi moved in closer.

Normally I would be overjoyed to be surrounded by so many

scantily clad women, but there’s definitely something up with
this.

Part 8
After returning to the guild, Luna told me that the sooner it’s
exterminated, the sooner she can give me the reward, so I
set off early the next morning.

Apart from me, the party included Yunyun, Loli Succubus,

and-

“Dust-san! Who are those people!?”

“You’ve met several times, haven’t you? She’s Loli Suc-…
Lolisa.”

“I know Lolisa, but what’s with that crowd of robed people

behind you!?”

She grabbed me by the shoulders and violently shook me.

This girl loses her composure really easily whenever

something unexpected happens.

There’s just a little over a dozen succubi in hooded robes,

what’s the big deal?

“My apologies, Yunyun-san. These people are my co-

workers. They were planning on returning to the village
that’s close to the lake, and I thought that they’d be safe if
they could tag along with my reliable mage senpai. Yunyun-
san… They are not a bother, are they?”

“N-Not at all! A reliable senpai, huh~? I’m sure no one told

that to Megumin before~. I’ll need to write a letter to Funifura
and Dodonko later!”

Yunyun’s face lit up and she happily wobbled back and forth.

She fell right for it. Loli Succubus has gotten really good at
handling Yunyun.

It’d be difficult for me alone to protect all of them, but it’d be

fine if Yunyun was with us. And this situation is-

“This is a genuine harem party!”

Even Kazuma would be jealous if he were to see this. I’ll
brag about this to him later.

Apart from me, this party is entirely filled with women. And
they are all beautiful with great bodies… Well, not including
Loli Succubus.

It’d be nice if she had a little more flesh around her chest
and butt, but right now she looks no different from a kid.

“I just felt a really unpleasant gaze just now.”

“It’s probably just your imagination.”

That was close, I think she almost noticed that I was

comparing her to the other succubi.

The one bad thing about this situation is that all of the
succubi were wearing robes that hid their figures. If they
were wearing their usual outfits, this entire adventure
would’ve been heaven.

I was worried over what kind of unreasonable request they’d

make of me last night, but I’m really thankful for this.

To think that they wanted to come with me in order to bring

back their customers with their own hands. It seemed like it
brought no small amount of shame on them to have their
customers charmed away by another monster.

Thinking of a way to deal with those other adventurers was

giving me a headache too, so it suits my purposes just fine.
“Oh. Dust-san, here’s the wine you asked for in place of
advance payment. The alcohol content is pretty high, so
don’t drink it on the way, okay?”
“Ah, thank you. I think I’ll be able to see some sweet dreams
tonight.”

I placed the bottle of wine into my bag.

“Leave the monsters to me! I won’t let them lay a single

scratch on you!”

Yunyun seemed much more confident after getting the

attentions of the succubi.

With this, the monsters that we might encounter along the

way would be easily taken care off. Seems like I’ll have an
easy journey ahead of me.

Source @CGtranslations.me

“Light of Saber!”

Yunyun’s more spirited-than-usual magic flashed through

the air, taking out the enemy in a single strike.

This caused the succubi to crowd around her with cheers

and applause and put a slight blush upon her cheeks.

We ran into monsters several times during our journey, but

apart from Yunyun, none of us even needed to fight.

“Man, it’s really relaxing out here.”

“Why don’t you put in a little work too, Dust-san?”

Loli Succubus, who was walking next to me, said something
stupid.

“You just don’t get it. That girl is an eternal loner who does
nothing except play games by herself or read books. I’m
bringing her out to someplace sunny and letting her receive
the praise of the masses. Me giving up the spotlight to her is
necessary for her mental health.”

“That sounds so very suspicious.”

I guess it doesn’t sound convincing when I’m saying it while

snacking.

Still, I suppose I should give her a few words of gratitude

too. It is true that her presence made my work a whole lot
easier.

“Good work out there. Here, help yourself to some snacks.”

“Thank you. You’re pretty thoughtful for… Hey, aren’t these

my snacks!?”

“I just took them out from that bag over there.”

“That’s my bag! How could you just ruffle through a girl’s

luggage!? My change of clothes and underwear are in there
too!”

“It’s just a day’s trip, you didn’t need a change of clothes or

underwear. And I have no interest in a brat’s underwear
anyway.”
I gazed out over at the lake that just became visible a short
while ago while weathering her complains.

There were three men drawing water from the lake today.
It’s a little hard to tell from this distance, but they seem more
like mountain bandits than adventurers.

“Hmm? I think I’ve seen them somewhere before…”

I squinted, but they are too far away to make out any details.

After filling their buckets with water, the three of them

headed back into the forest.

“Hey, are you even listening!?… Did you see something?”

“I feel like I’ve seen those three somewhere before.”

“Those three who are heading into the forest? I can only see
their backs, so I can’t be sure.”

“They… do look a little familiar… hmm…”

Yunyun has no impression of them, but Loli Succubus

seems to have the same feeling as me.

Well, they’re probably long time customers of the succubus

shop.

Letting my eyes scan across the lake, I noticed a few other

adventurers seemingly keeping watch around the banks. A
few of them seem to have noticed us and are looking directly
in our direction.
The surprised look on their faces is probably due to the
troupe of robed succubi amongst us. It doesn’t look the
slightest bit like any adventuring party. We must have
seemed like some weird cult dressed up like this.

“Right, let’s go to where we last met her.”

“Oh, yeah, I totally forgot, but what monster did we come

here to exterminate? A monster that lives around such a
beautiful lake… you’re not hunting Onion Ducks, are you!?
Dust-san won’t do the same sort of stuff as Megumin,
right!?”

Yunyun screamed in a panic.

I have no idea why she’s so worked up, but I probably

should calm her down.

“We aren’t hunting Onion Ducks. It’s, uh, you know, that
plant monster. The vicious ones that entraps humans in
order to use them as nutrients.”

That wasn’t a lie.

“I-Is is really that vicious?”

“Don’t be fooled by her appearance! That’s a cold-hearted

and calculating woman! A bitch in sheep’s clothing!”

Loli Succubus shouted from behind, and the other succubi

voiced their agreement as well.

Well, to them, tranquillity girls are a rival-like existence that

steals their customers.

“Calculating? Cold-hearted?”

Yunyun seems confused about the terms they used to

describe it.

I can just picture her complaining if I were to explain things

to her, so let’s just carry on.

We went around the lake to reach the forest, but just before
we could enter the forest itself, a bunch of people jumped
out onto the path.

“The path ahead is closed.”

Over ten armoured men formed a line in front of us.

“What are you guys doing?”

“Eh? They’re all guys I’ve seen in the guild.”

Well, it’s no surprise that Yunyun would recognise them.

She spends most of her time sitting in the guild, and they’re
all people who didn’t come back after being sent out on the
extermination quest.

Guess Loli Succubus was telling the truth after all.

“Geh, it’s the delinquent Dust.”

“This guy doesn’t know what mercy means. He’ll definitely

do it.”
“He’s the sort of person who’d kill even women and children
if someone pays him enough.”

“I’m standing right here, you know!?”

I’ve remembered your faces! I’ll definitely spread some bad

rumours about you all back in the guild!

I would really like to give them a good thrashing, but there’s

just too large a difference in our numbers. The succubi can’t
be relied upon in combat, so that just leaves the loner.

“Right, Yunyun, blow these guys away with your magic.”

“W-Wait a minute! You guys are adventurers, right? We’re

just here to exterminate a monster, so could you let us
pass?”

“We really can’t let you through after hearing that. If you
insist, you’ll have to go through us.”

These guys are completely in the palm of the tranquility girl.

They’ll be taken care of in an instant if Yunyun uses her

magic…

“What’s going on, Dust-san? Why are those people

protecting a monster…”

“They are being controlled by magic. After falling for the

monster’s enchantments, they’re being used as pawns to
get in our way.”
“H-How despicable! I won’t forgive them!”

I’m a little worried over how easily duped Yunyun is, but right
now, this suits my purposes fine right now.

“Hey, don’t you guys have any shame over being used by a
monster? You’re still adventurers, right? To fall for the lies of
your target… seriously, what kind of adventurers are you?”

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders.

A few of them turned red and raised their voice in response

to my provocations.

“I don’t want to hear that from you!”

“You are the one who’s a bigger disgrace to the guild!”

“Committing sexual harassment and causing trouble

everyday! Just how much pain do you think you’ve brought
to Luna’s huge breasts!”

These little…

“I wanted to conclude this peacefully, but screw it. Go get

them, Crimson Demon Loner. Use Lightning Saber!”

“Please don’t call me by strange names!”

I pointed at them and shouted my command, but Yunyun

didn’t follow through.

With Yunyun floundering, it ended up as a staring match.

Should I get the battle started so that she has no choice but
to use her magic?

Just as I gathered my resolve and was about to jump in,

someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“Leave this to us, take Yunyun-san and go!”

Loli Succubus said with a determined expression.

Oh yeah, these guys came here to bring back the

adventurers.

“You guys can handle this, right?”

“Yes!”

Well, if they have so much confidence, I can leave it in their

hands.

These guys shouldn’t be able to bring themselves to harm a

Succubus.

“Right, we’re leaving this to them! Let’s go, Yunyun!”

“W-Wait, didn’t you say that those girls can’t fight?”

I grabbed on her arm and started running, but she wasn’t

entirely cooperative.

Explaining things now would just create new problems, so I’ll

just spin a convenient lie.
“Ah, the truth is, those guys are the wives and girlfriends of
those who went missing out here. They came out here to
bring them back. It’s kind of embarrassing, so we kept it a
secret. Sorry.”

“Is that so…? I see, in that case, we need to hurry up and

defeat the monster to free them from the spell!”

Yunyun grabbed my hand and charged straight into the

forest.

It’s fine to have a strong sense of justice, but you’ll get

tricked by some strange men if you aren’t a little more
suspicious about such stories. It really is a good thing I’m
such a morally just fellow.

A few of the adventurers hurriedly chased after us, and a

couple more jumped out to block out path.

“That girl seems kind, so she’s fine, but we’ll never let you
pass!”

True, if it were Yunyun alone, I can definitely see her being

easily won over.

It’ll be really bad if I don’t find a way to shake them

somehow. Should I just beat on the guy in front of me and
make a hole that way?

When I was thinking of that, the sound of cloth being flung

away came from behind me.
“Wha-!?”

… Why are these people staring behind me with their

mouths agape.

I turned around.

Standing right there were the succubi wearing just the bare
minimum amount of cloth needed to cover their important
bits.

“Wooooah!”

A loud cheer rang out through the forest. I can’t help but
raise my voice too.

There’s no way I could tear my eyes off those succubi

striking such erotic poses in that outfit.

“Why don’t you guys stop protecting the tranquility girl and
come back to Axel with us~? Right now, we’ll give you a
30% discount coupon for the next~ half~ year~”

“If you come with us now, we’ll give you plenty of service,
and not just in your dreams either~”

The succubus said such sweet sounding words while

thrusting their chest and ass in all the right directions.

Ah, dammit, I want to drop everything and join them too.

However, even In the face of such seduction, the

adventurers still put up a valiant defence.
“N-No, we have to protect that poor girl!”

Do these guys not know the true nature of the tranquility

girl?

“Never mind protecting, if you stay here, you’ll die. ”

“Huh, what are you saying? We are properly eating the

fruits, so we are as healthy as we can be!”

“Wait, do you guys not know that the fruit of a tranquility girl
doesn’t have any nutrients? Just eating it alone won’t
replenish your energy.”

The damned fools looked at me with a blank look on their

faces.

They were entirely taken in by the tranquility girl’s acting and

the hallucinatory properties of the fruits.

“Don’t say such foolish things. We aren’t stupid enough to

fall for such an obvious lie.”

“You are stupid! Do you guys not know the first thing about a
tranquility girl?”

All of them tilted their heads. It ain’t cute when a man does
it. It’s just creepy.

Well, the tranquility girl is a pretty famous monster, but not

many people run into them, so I suppose this is to be
expected. I myself didn’t know much about them before I got
involved with this case.
“Come to think of it, I have slimmed down recently…”

“Well I did think it’s strange why my body started becoming

sluggish even though I’m getting lighter. Is all that lost
weight because I’ve started losing muscle?”

“And here I thought it was a good thing that I could tighten

my belt by another notch…”

And everyone started noticing the various abnormalities with

their bodies.

Did they seriously not notice it until now?

Still, perhaps because of their lingering sympathies, or

perhaps the remnants of the fruits left in their systems, they
still couldn’t bring themselves to take action.

But they did start slowly moving towards the succubi. This is
probably their instincts as men at work.

After all, they’ve been alone out here for quite some time.
It’d be really hard for them to resist the effects of seduction
right now.

Right, I can leave things to them.

“Hey, wait, do you guys intend to abandon that girl so

easily!?”

The one who screamed that is a passionate looking man

surrounded by two other men who seem to be his
companions.
Wait, those three are…

“You fuckers again!?”

“That’s my line! Why do you have to butt in every time we try

and get some healing time with a beautiful girl!?”

The man sporting a scraggly beard was the former leader of

that band with strange tastes that I happen to keep running
into.

“Hey, Lolicons, you’ll just complicate things, so don’t butt in.

On account on the fact that we once fought side by side, I’ll
let you off today, so hurry up and scram!”

“Huh!? We have no business with a granny lover like you!

Hold firm, everyone! A pure and unsoiled girl is far more
attractive than those women who show off their skin without
shame!”

Those words seem to have struck a nerve with the succubi.

“What’s with this rude man!? Would you like to be

shredded!?”

“A ripened fruit is far more delicious than an unripened one!”

Despite suffering the angry gazes of the succubi, the three

of them snorted without a fear in the world.

“See? Old folks have no time left, so they are quick to lose
their temper! A younger girl would laugh and go ‘you’re quite
amusing, oji-chan.’ I’m sure you all understand the beauty of
a young girl!”

In response to the passionate cries of the three of them, the

other adventurers started slowly edging away.

“No, we’re not exactly lolicons…”

“Yeah, we’re normal.”

The appeal of their boss seemed to have the opposite effect,

and the adventurers who were on the fence before started
shifting towards the succubi.

A few of them are still staying put, but their numbers have
been reduced by about half.

“So you stayed, comrade!”

“We properly received your passion!”

There must be something really wrong with your brain to be

moved by that.

“Ah, Dust-san, those people are the customers who always

request for me!”

Loli Succubus repeatedly smacked me on the back as she

pointed at them.

“Yeah, of course.”

So that’s why they didn’t fall for the succubi’s seductions.

Other than Loli Succubus, everyone else has a properly
filled out body, so they don’t exactly fit their tastes.

That makes things simple.

“Hey, if you make an enemy of them, they’ll make sure to

send you all a dream each night where you are being
pursued by grannies! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“I’m sorry, please forgive me!” x4

Ignoring those who immediately got down on all fours and

prostrated themselves, I ran past them after Yunyun.

Shit, they delayed me at the most crucial moment. If I don’t

hurry, things will get really troublesome.

Part 9
After pushing past the adventurers, I proceeded deep into
the forest and ran back to the same spot where I last
encountered the tranquility girl.

Getting here didn’t pose a problem, but there’s a most

troublesome person standing in front of me.

“Dust-san! How could you bring yourself to kill such a poor

child! I always thought you were scum, but I didn’t think you
were this heartless!”

Yunyun screamed at me through tears.

“Oh, shut up! Just what kind of person do you think I- Tsk,
fine.”

It’s an outcome so obvious that I can’t even bring myself to

be surprised.

When you leave that devious tranquility girl alone with the
easily-tricked Yunyun, well, this is the natural result.

“Aah~, it must have been easy for you to trick this loner.”

“… What do you mean?”

The tranquility girl answered in a halting, uncertain manner.

Yeah, it’s easier to tug at other’s heartstrings if you pretend

to be a child.

“This girl might be a monster, but she merely keeps those

who wish to die company in their last days and sends them
off peacefully! She didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Just assisting suicide is evil enough as it is. Plus, do you

really think she only targets people who want to die? Do
those idiots earlier look suicidal to you?”

“Eh, um, they always seem to have a fun time in the tavern,
but… That’s not true, right?”

Yunyun turned around and addressed the tranquility girl.

The tranquility girl returned with a tearful gaze that just

screams ‘please believe me’. Those tears are probably sap
or something.

“Onee-chan… Do you think I’m lying…? You would believe

that thug-like person with the evil looking eyes…”

“N-Not at all! I’m the idiot for almost believing that trashy
human in the first place. I believe you, so don’t cry.”

Turning her back on me, Yunyun hastily tried to comfort the

girl.

There must really be something wrong with you to believe a

monster’s words over someone you’re familiar with.

I wanted to say a lot of things, but I merely snuck behind

Yunyun and delivered a strong blow to the back of her head.

“Eh?”

It’s not because her earlier words irked me.

I carried the collapsed Yunyun over to a spot a short

distance away from the tranquility girl.

“W-What are you doing!? You raised a hand against your

own companion!?”

“I merely knocked her out. There’d be a lot of problems

otherwise. Anyway, there’s just the two of us now.”

“Eep! What do you intend to do with a defenseless girl!? You

would do such things even with a monster!? Don’t throw
away your humanity just because you aren’t popular with
women!”

“Hell no! And you’re a monster disguised as a little brat. I’m

not like the others, so that sort of appeal won’t work on me.”

It might look like a human, but that doesn’t change the fact
that it’s a monster.

As long as you keep in mind that everything’s an act, there’s

nothing to fear.

“S-Save me! This scum like man is about to force himself on

me-!”

“Who the hell are you calling scum!? There’s no point in

yelling. All those people you’ve charmed are probably
having the time of their lives with the succubi right now.”

“Eh, there are succubi here too? Those things put on a

completely different face whenever men are involved.”

It fearfully looked around. It seems like it is no longer calm

enough to keep up her act.

Just like how succubi have some antipathy towards

tranquility girls, it seems like tranquility girls have similar
feelings about succubi.

It would seem that she is well aware that those men are
customers of the succubi. Right, then, this plan will work.

“You really stepped in it by taking away the customers of the

succubi. I wonder what they’ll do if I bring them here? They’ll
probably be angry enough to turn you into a-”

“Eeeep! U-Um, handsome onii-san over there, if you know

them, could you please get them to let me off?”

“Oh, I wonder~. Well, depending on what you’re offering me,

I might consider it.”

“A-As long as it is within my power, I’ll offer you anything!”

It feels like she’d do anything I ask of her right now.

First up is taking care of Sir’s request.

“Well, in that case, about those fruits of yours, is there a way

to make them last longer? They were completely rotten by
the time I made it back to town.”

“Ah, about that. With a few modifications, I can probably

make them last about a week. How much do you need? I got
a lot of nutrients recently, so I can probably make about 20
of them!”

“… Then give me about that much.”

“Right, no problem!”

With that, it started producing one fruit after another. It

looked like it hurt a little the last time I was here, but this
time it didn’t show even a hint of pain. So that was an act
too.

I tossed them all into the magic item called the cooler box
that Sir gave to me.

“Now then, can you please persuade them to let me off?”

“Hmm? What are you saying?”

“Eh!? You promised me just now! You deceived me!”

“All I promised was to consider doing that. Besides, you

deceived a lot of people too. Anyway, the guild’s offering a
reward for taking you out. It really is killing two birds with one
stone.”

Drawing my sword, I strutted over to the dumbfounded

tranquility girl.

“B-Brute! Pervert! Scum! I bet you’ve never been popular

with the girls! Your pillow definitely smells strange! Ugly
bastard! Your entire existence is an abnormality! I bet your
neighbours are whispering that you’re the one most likely to
commit a crime!”

“Oh shut the fuck up!”

I brought my sword down upon the tranquility girl who finally

revealed its true personality at last.

Source @CGtranslations.me

“Fweeh!? Ah? What was I… Ah, that girl!?”

Yunyun started making a fuss the moment she woke up,

craning her neck in search of the tranquility girl even while
there’s still drool on her face.

“I took care of it.”

“Eeeeh! How could you!? Even if she’s a monster, to

actually kill her… Where did you leave your humanity! And
here I was starting to think better of you! Give me back the
money I lent you!”

“You know… That thing is a monster that lives by luring

people into dying at its feet and sucking the nutrients off
their corpse. Beneath a tranquility girl lies a mountain of
corpses. Don’t get taken in just because it looks like a
human. Seriously.”

“But… But… Huh? Dust-san, there’s an empty wine bottle

over there.”

“I helped myself to a little celebratory drink earlier. Anyway,

there’s no reason to stay around here any longer, so let’s
go.”

Pulling the still complaining Yunyun up, we started making

our way back to where the succubi are.

“Huh? The ground here isn’t wet. And it doesn’t smell like
the scent of alcohol is coming from you…”

After noticing the sound of the ground she stepped on has

changed, Yunyun started sniffing at the air.

“You just woke up. Your nose probably isn’t working properly
yet.”

I don’t know if all the adventurers beneath the tranquility girl

died of their own will, but either way, it’s not wrong to
present them with an offering of wine.
 Chapter 2: An Exploration in that
Capital!
Part 1
“Kazuma-san, now that we have some free time, let’s go for
a drink! It’ll be your treat, of course!”

I opened the door of the mansion in search of Kazuma, but

the only people present were Aqua, stuck halfway into the
heating device known as the kotatsu, and the Explosion Girl
who’s playing with her cat.

“Hey, it’s cold, so hurry up and close the door already,

umm… Trash, was it?”

“It’s Dust! Hurry up and remember my name already! We

just met not too long ago!”

Even after all the adventures and resurrections we went

through, the Party Priest still has yet to remember my name.

Closing the door, I approached the kotatsu thing that I had

been curious about for quite some time and stuck my legs
inside.

“Oh… Oooh, wow, this is…”

The warmth spread up my legs in an instant. A mere

moment inside is enough for me to consider spending the
rest of my life wrapped in its embrace.

“Haah, so you fell into the grasp of the kotatsu, too. There’s
not a single person who can resist this temptation…”

“Aah, no, this is impossible. I’m done for…”

After throwing my upper body under the kotatsu, I felt like

just lazing around for the rest of my life.

“Hey, didn’t you come here to invite Kazuma out?”

“That kinda sounds familiar, but who cares about that?”

I can’t go against the allure of the kotatsu. I really want one

of my own, but it’ll probably cost quite a fair sum.

Plus Lynn will most likely get mad at me if I lazed about any
more.

“This kotatsu is my territory. Normally someone like you

wouldn’t be allowed inside, but I might consider letting you
stay if you tell me some interesting stories.”

“Doesn’t this belong to Kazuma?”

“Kazuma’s items are my items too! My companion’s

possessions are everyone’s possessions, but my items are
still mine!”

“Ahh, yeah, I get that!”

Aqua happily nodded as I voiced my agreement.

“Don’t just agree so easily. If you have nothing to do here,

hurry up and go home. Kazuma has recently picked up
gambling thanks to your influence, so don’t get too close to
him.”

The Explosion Girl shot me an exasperated look.

If you ignore her explosion mania and Crimson Demon

idiosyncrasies, she’d come off as a pretty decent person. Of
course, those two factors are hard to ignore.

“Hey, don’t speak so badly of me. I did introduce him to the

local gambling dens, but Kazuma is far more adept at those
games than I am! In regards to such matters, he’s a genius!”

I don’t know if he’s a good learner or if he’s just great with

his hands, but Kazuma’s results in gambling are just beyond
compare.

His luck is great too, so things almost always end up falling

in his favour. It makes me really envious.

“That’s precisely why I’m so worried…”

“What are you, his mother? If you interfere in every little

thing a man does, he’ll end up detesting you, you know?”

“Gurk.”

Perhaps realizing that she has overstepped her bounds, the

Explosion Girl fell silent.
Great, now I can really put my feet up and relax.

“So, hey, hurry up and tell me something interesting. I’m

getting really bored over here.”

Don’t wave your feet under the kotatsu like that. What are
you, a kid?

I always knew she was self-centered and unreasonable, but

to think that Kazuma had to deal with such behavior every
day…

I could ignore her, but I think she might actually throw me

out.

“If you put me on the spot like that… Well, actually, it’s been
on my mind as of late, but don’t you think that Eris
worshippers tend to be on the smaller side? You know,
chest-wise? The guys at the church, and that thief that
Kazuma stole those panties from too, have ones so small
that I question if they are even there at all. I was kinda
wondering if there’s some kind of reason for it.”

“Well, isn’t that interesting!? Go on, go on!”

Seems like that caught her interest.

The feud between the Eris Church and the Axis Cult is pretty
famous, so it wasn’t completely unexpected, but still, isn’t
she biting on a little too hard?

“I’ve met Goddess Eris once before, so I can state with

confidence that those breasts of hers are stuffed. Natural
breasts have a softness that’s visible even through clothes.
There’s a sort of fluttering that screams at you to fill your
palms with them.”

“That’s kind of disgusting, but nevermind. Continue.”

“I can’t feel any softness or warmth coming from those

chests. She’s always depicted as having a bountiful chest in
the portraits and statues and such, but that’s a lie. I’m sure
the Eris worshippers must have picked up on it somehow. It
doesn’t matter if it’s small, and it’s acceptable to stuff your
chest too. That’s why those with small chests naturally flock
towards her.”

“I see, that’s definitely how it is! In that case, if we start

spreading the rumour that joining the Axis Cult will make
your bust grow, we might be able to poach a few of them
over! I’ll encourage the others to spread this rumour at the
next Axis Cult meeting!”

Aqua excitedly shook my hand.

I’m glad we had a meaningful discussion today.

“But the fervent Eris worshipper, Darkness, has large

breasts, you know?”

And just as I thought we finally wrapped things up, the

Explosion Girl interjected.

“There’ll always be a few outliers. Even amongst the

Crimson Demons, there are some with their heads screwed
on straight, and some that have a pitiful chest and crazy
thought processes.”

The picture of a Crimson Demon who is bad at interacting

with others and always has the aura of a loner came
swimming to my mind.

“Oh, why don’t you tell me exactly whose chest is pitiful and
what part of her thought process is crazy?”

“Hey, wait, Megumin, don’t use Explosion in the house! My

precious wine will get completely destroyed!”

Seeing Megumin’s eyes glow bright red and hearing her

chant, I thought that it might be high time to get the heck out
of dodge and scrambled out of the mansion.

After getting to a safe distance, I turned back and saw no

trace of the telltale signs of explosion magic getting
prepared.

So she picked up on that, huh? I would’ve liked to spend

some more time enjoying the kotatsu, but, ah well. I’ll just
leave it for my next visit.

“What now~ Kazuma isn’t around, so there’s not much to

do~”

I didn’t have much money on me, so all I could do was take

a walk down main street to kill time. Just then, a woman with
a body perfectly suited for my tastes popped into view.
I’ve been hanging out with women with all kinds of
peculiarities recently, so I’d really like to have a meal or
something with a normal girl for once.

“It’s been a while, but let’s go hit on her. Can’t really get up
to anything else without money anyways. She looks to be
the serious sort, so let’s go with this.”

I headed over so our paths would intersect. .

She seemed to be quite preoccupied thinking about

something, so she didn’t notice my approach at all.

I brushed up against her before exaggeratedly throwing

myself to the floor.

“A-Are you alright?”

“Ouch!! I think I just broke a bone in my leg! What are you

going to do about this!?”

“Eh? But we didn’t run into each other that hard…”

She seems a little flustered, but overall, she’s still

unexpectedly calm.

I should turn it up a notch.

“I don’t think I can move like this. You should treat me to a

meal or something in place of the doctor’s bill.”

“Eh? Is a meal really fine when you’ve got a fracture?”

She fell for it. In such a situation, when she’s still struggling
with the guilt of possibly causing a serious injury, proposing
something minor as recompense works surprisingly well as
compared to making a huge fuss.

If things go well from here…

“That suspicious person over there! What are you doing!?”

A brat’s voice suddenly interrupted us. Turning around, I

saw a young girl dressed in commoner’s garb pointing
directly at me.

It would’ve been nice if it was just a brat with a strong sense

of justice, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“This is how it’s supposed to go, right, Claire?”

“Yes, Alice-sama. That’s perfect.”

Beside the brat was a white-suited, short-haired woman

clapping enthusiastically.

“Please, you two, stop drawing attention to ourselves!”

A third person came running up. She was dressed in plain

robes that made her seem like a spellcaster.

All three of them have blonde hair and blue eyes. Are they
nobles?

And I think I’ve heard that arrogant tone of the brat’s

somewhere before. I can’t quite place my finger on it…
“Looks like I’ve got myself involved with a troublesome
bunch…”

“You are the troublesome one! Committing unjust acts that

disrupt the order of the world! As long as my eyes are black,
I, the daughter of the Chirimen store, shall not let such acts
slide! Ah, my eyes are blue, that’s just a figure of speech.
Now, Claire, Rain, get him!”

“What’s a Chirimen store?”

“A Chirimen store is a Chirimen store!”

What kind of incomprehensible stuff is this girl saying?

And why is the white suit just drawing her sword without a
second thought!?

“Wait a minute! I’m just getting some food… Eh, Sir!?”

Now that I look closely, the familiar masked and tuxedoed

figure of Sir Vanir was standing right behind the three.

Why is Sir Vanir together with them?

I don’t really get it, but I’ll have to rely on him to pull me out
of the fire now. It’d be really troublesome if I go up against a
noble.

“This is just picking up girls! Sir, please explain to these

people!”

“Hachibei, do you know this lawless person?”

“No, Moi does not know this person at all.”

Sir, who was addressed by some weird name, denied

without hesitation.

At that, the strangely familiar brat once again pointed her

finger at me.

“I shall correct the unjust and make Onii-sama acknowledge

me!”

“W-Wait, Sir, come on! Hey, damn it, you better remember
this!”

Now that Sir is on their side, my current position is extremely

dangerous.

I tried to dash away from the place as quickly as I could, but

I let my guard down.

That Claire woman struck me in a right spot and sent me

tumbling down. By the time I woke up, I was in a very
familiar place.

That’s right, the jail cells.

“And here I was just starting to feel off without you in the
cells…”

“Were you lonely without me here?”

I struck up the usual conversation with the warden, and he

responded by smacking the bars with his baton.
I’m not the kind of person to be intimidated so easily, so I
simply ignored it and laid on the floor.

“Hey, is lunch ready yet? I haven’t eaten anything decent for

the past few days, so give me something with a lot of
ingredients! And don’t forget the dessert too!”

They didn’t respond, but I know that saying this will get me
just a little bit more food.

Well, I didn’t have much to do right now, so I guess I should

take a nap. They’ll release me tomorrow anyway.

<TL note: This takes place at the same time as the second
chapter of the masked spinoff.>

Part 2
“Seriously, I’m really sorry about our idiot!”

“Haha, he’s a real handful, isn’t he?”

The police officer gave a wry smile to Lynn as she bowed

repeatedly.

This is a very familiar scene to me.

“Thanks for taking care of me, I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t come back again! This place isn’t a bed and

breakfast!”

“You bow too!”

Lynn grabbed me by the head and roughly forced me down.

She’ll probably never vouch for me again if I were to resist

here, so I obediently went along.

I followed Lynn who seemed to be in quite the foul mood as

she walked out the door. I suppose I should try and cheer
her up a little.

“Hey, you’ll put your pretty looks to waste if you scowl like
that.”

“If you’re going to flatter me, at least choose your words

better. Sigh… So, why did you end up in the cells this time?”

“Yeah, about that, a group of three blonde women

interrupted me while I was hitting on a girl. They knocked me
out and handed me over to the cops. I didn’t even do
anything bad this time.”

I laid it out exactly as it is, but Lynn simply gave me a

distrustful look.

It doesn’t seem like she believes a word of what I’ve said.

“I’m serious! Sir was there too, so you can go ask him if you
think I’m lying!”

“Sir is referring to Vanir-san, right? I don’t like him very

much. I always get the feeling that he’s seeing through me.”

Lynn furrowed her eyebrows. It seems like she caught onto

Vanir’s powers somehow.

He does have that all-seeing sight of his, so she isn’t entirely

mistaken.

“Well, I need to catch up on what happened yesterday and

pick up the rewards from the tranquility girl quest, so I’ll head
on over.”

Normally, Lynn or Taylor would be in charge of handling the

money, but in this case, that task falls to me.

They wouldn’t mind if I took some of it for myself, would

they? Actually, if I won a few games and made it grow
several times, the others would be quite happy too.

Just as I was thinking of which den I should gamble today, I

felt someone grab me on the shoulder.

“Not if you are picking up money. Trusting you or Keith with

money would be like trusting an orc to watch over a guy. I’ll
be going with you.”

“You really don’t trust me, do you? Ah, well, I don’t really
mind.”

I’ll still need to get Sir to explain what happened yesterday

anyways.

Even if she doesn’t trust me, she should be satisfied with an

explanation from Sir Vanir.

Source @CGtranslations.me

“Sir, I’m here to pick up the cash~!”

“Can’t you put it in a more courteous way?”

The shopkeeper manning the store jumped up with a start

the moment I opened the door to the magic item shop.

After confirming that it’s me, Wiz breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, it’s Dust-san. You gave me quite a shock. And you’re

with someone cute today.”

“N-Nice to meet you. My name is Lynn.”

Lynn politely introduced herself, a stark contrast to her usual

demeanour.

Also, she’s blushing slightly for some reason.

“Hey, what happened to your usual tyrannical personality?”

“That applies more to you! Do you not know her? Wiz-san is

a powerful wizard who was known as the Ice Witch back
during her adventuring days. She used to hunt down
monsters without mercy, and there’s even a rumour that she
launched an attack on the Demon King’s castle on her own!”

“Well, I knew that she used to be an adventurer…”

I only ever saw her getting berated by Sir, so I completely
forgot about that.

Come to think of it, she was one of the two who blasted the
Destroyer with Explosion magic, wasn’t she?

“That was a long time ago. Do you need something? I

thought you were a debt collector, so I couldn’t help but put
myself on guard.”

“Isn’t this store flourishing thanks to Sir Vanir’s efforts?”

“Well, yes, we are making quite a bit of money thanks to the

products that Kazuma-san thought up.”

“Then there’s no need to fear debt collectors this much, is

there?”

In the first place, I don’t get why you’d be afraid of debt

collectors.

It’s all a matter of planting your feet and intimidating them

until they agree to extend the deadline.

“It’s like a force of habit. I always had a lot of debts in the

past. I can rest easier now that Vanir-san is lending me a
hand.”

Seeing Wiz say that with a smile made my heart skip a beat.

She’s a beauty with a great body and gentle personality. In

terms of chest size, Lynn’s can’t even hold a candle to her.
I can’t help but wonder why she’s still alone even with all of
these qualities.
“… You look like a gormless idiot, you know?”

“Gah!? Don’t elbow me in the ribs!”

I jumped up in response to the sudden ribbing. This girl

really doesn’t know how to hold back.

Just as I was considering grabbing her ass as recompense,

“What happened to the money that Moi worked so hard to

earn, you garbage collecting shopkeeper!?”

The door connecting the store to the back room suddenly

flew open, revealing Sir Vanir in a foul mood.

The storekeeper jumped up and fearfully averted her gaze.

“W-What do you mean?”

She’s really bad at acting casual. She must have purchased

something useless yet again.

Anyone looking at her suspicious behaviour would’ve come

to the same conclusion.

“I’m asking what happened to the money Moi earned. If you

don’t answer me within ten seconds, Moi shall bury you
together with all the garbage goods you bought over the
years. You best prepare yourself.”

“Calm down. Vanir-san. I too won’t make the same mistakes

over and over.”

Normally she would’ve admitted to buying something

useless and get lectured by Sir, but she responded in a
dignified manner today.

It seems like this unusual development was outside of Sir

Vanir’s expectations too, for he simply stared wordlessly in
response.

It’s the first time I’ve seen her so confident. Could she really
have chanced upon something profitable for once?

“Then do share what you did with me. If it is something

acceptable, Moi shall offer an apology.”

“Very well. I learnt this after observing you. The reason I

always end up with unsellable goods is because I always
make purchases on my own. Thus, if I were to consult with
someone reliable before making a purchase, I wouldn’t end
up making that mistake!”

She raised her fist to the air.

Well, that line of thought certainly isn’t wrong. Sir Vanir even
nodded along in agreement.

“Ah, so you finally realized that. So, who did you choose as
your partner?”

“My frequent customer, Aqua-sama-”

“Turn to ash!”
A mysterious light shone from Sir Vanir’s eyes and caused
Wiz to char, crumple up, and start smoking.

I can understand his anger. It’s hard to imagine that

extravagant Party Priest choosing anything decent.

Even Kazuma had a hard time keeping his fortune with her
around.

“Have you already forgotten that time that self-proclaimed

goddess talked you into buying up all that useless land!?
How could you ever believe a word that comes out of that
thing’s mouth!?”

Vanir screamed, but Wiz offered no response on account of

her having lost consciousness.

Seemingly still in a rage, Sir Vanir grabbed a broom and

started sweeping the ashen shopkeeper into a corner.

“S-Say, is Wiz-san okay?”

“This happens quite often. Don’t worry about it.”

“This happens… often?”

Lynn, still unused to this sight, timidly peeked out from

behind me.

I get the feeling that this will just deepen her dislike for Sir.

“And that takes care of the trash. Now, Moi believes you are
here for the reward? Here you go.”
I carefully grabbed the bag stuffed full with coins that Sir
Vanir tossed to me.

He’s trustworthy enough that I don’t need to check the

contents… no, knowing Sir, there might be a chance of him
pulling some kind of prank on me. I’ll check them later.

“I’ll be able to clear my debts with this. By the way, how’s the
diet food thing going, Sir?”

“Moi has made a prototype product, but there’s still a few

side effects… Oh, what serendipity. Girl who’s worried about
her waistline, how would you like a free sample?”

“I’m not worried at all!”

Lynn angrily protested.

“Oh, so that’s why you’ve been eating nothing but salads! If

you want to lose weight, I can help you get some exercise
on the bed at night.”

“Lightning! I’ll blow you away!”

Lynn narrowly missed my face with a lightning bolt that

sailed out through the open door.

“Gah, that was close! Say that before you shoot, not after!”

That was close. My face would’ve been in a right shape if

that had connected.

Lynn was still glaring at me, her staff pointed squarely at my

face. My life might really be in danger if I don’t change the
subject.

“A-Anyway, does that diet food really work? Not that I’m
doubting you or anything, Sir Vanir.”

“It’s no surprise even if you do doubt me. How about giving it

a try? Moi does not mind giving you a free sample on this
occasion.”

“Well, I’m fine with taking some if it’s free, but didn’t you say
something about side effects earlier?”

Sir Vanir crossed his arms and looked up towards the

ceiling.

Don’t just fall silent. You’ll just make me more worried.

“Hmm, Moi doesn’t quite remember. Still, it simply lifts your

mood and makes you crave more and more of it. There’s no
need to worry. You won’t get fat no matter how much you
eat, after all.”

“… Is that really okay?”

“If it really doesn’t make you grow fat…”

Lynn mumbled in a voice mixed with both disbelief and

optimism.

Seems like she still has quite a bit of interest in the item
despite her natural suspicions.
“Nah, I think I’ll pass on that. Do call me if you need a hand
when it starts selling, Sir. I’ll see you around.”

I already got what I came here for, but Sir Vanir stopped me
with a word before I could leave.

This was the same way he made a request of me the last

time, right?

I have nothing but bad feelings about this. I already got the
money, so I’d really like to get together with my friends and
throw a party or something.

“There’s no need to be so on guard. It’s but a simple task.

You simply need to carry this bag and hand it over to a black
cloaked man with a scar on his face. You don’t even need to
say anything. ”

“What, is that all?”

“Wait, that is suspicious as hell! There’s no other way to

describe it! Aren’t you curious what’s in the bag? Simply
possessing it might very well be a crime!”

Lynn grabbed me with trembling hands and started shaking

me.

It’s just a simple job, isn’t it?

“Don’t worry, it’ll be an easy and very profitable job. Feel

free to invite your friends too.”

“That’s like a standard line in a scam!”

“He’s just having trouble carrying so many things by
himself.”

Rather than anything suspicious, it just sounds like he needs

some help carrying goods.

After hearing the details, it seems like Wiz once bought a

large quantity of high quality manatite. Of course, there’s no
way such high quality goods will sell in a town of beginners
like Axel, and it has since been taking up space in the
storeroom.

It’s too difficult to sell off all of it, but at least a portion of it
can be sold as a package deal along with some of the other
pieces of trash that Wiz picked up over the years.

“Moi would really like to handle this in person, but who

knows what this fool will get up to if no one watches over
her. Worry not, Moi shall cover the costs of transporting it to
the capital.”

Saying that, he glared at the shopkeeper who’s curled into a

ball at the corner of the store.

“It’s a little suspicious, but that does sound like a good deal.
Plus, the fee for the teleport will be covered too.”

“Ah, the capital. Nah, I’m fine. You guys can go on your
own.”

All my motivation disappeared the moment I heard about the

destination.
I’d rather avoid any place where a lot of nobles gather. Me
disliking nobles is a part of it, but it’s best to avoid any risks
where that matter is concerned.

“Ah, about that, there’s no need to worry. Moi so declares,

there’s no chance of you reuniting with that person you’re
concerned about.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t the slightest idea.”

This is why Sir Vanir is so scary. Nothing can be kept secret

from those all-seeing eyes of his.

Averting my gaze from Sir Vanir, my gaze instead met

Lynn’s who was staring intently at me.

“What, did you fall for me?”

“Vanir-san, we’ll accept this job. You come with us too.”

“You’re free to accept, but I said I’ll pass.”

“If you don’t come with us, I’ll give all of this money over to
your debtors.”

“At least leave me enough to buy a drink!”

Lynn wouldn’t budge no matter how much I protested, so in

the end, I had no choice but to agree.
 Part 3
It took a few days after that for the negotiations to be
finalized, but we soon found ourselves headed over to the
capital.

During that time, I’ve sighted that Alice girl or whatever

around town. Somehow, she’s gotten quite close to the
Explosion Girl and Yunyun, though I’m not quite sure what
kind of relationship they have.

“Wow, so this is the capital. I’ve always wanted to see it! It’s
as lively as I’ve heard!”

Lynn immediately jumped out the moment the light from the
teleport faded, letting out an impressed sigh while gazing
around. The very picture of a tourist.

“It’s my first time here too. It really is different from Axel.”

“There’re women dressed up in such stylish clothes all over

the place. I can’t get enough!”

It seems like it’s the first time Taylor and Keith are here too.

“The work comes first. Let’s bring these over to the meeting
point.”

I jabbed my thumb behind me and cautioned my

companions.

The goods are piled on a hand-drawn cart, and they have to

be handed over to the other party by today.

Most of the items in the cart might as well be garbage, so

they aren’t paying a whole lot of money for it.

“Hey, what’s wrong, Dust? Did you eat something bad?”

“Why are you acting so serious? Do you not feel well?”

“There really is something strange with you.”

My companions gave me worried looks.

“Is it really that strange for me to take things seriously?”

“Yeah.” x3

Damn you, you even all answered at the same time.

Even I have times where I treat my work seriously… Wait,

was there? It should’ve happened once or twice, right?
Yeah, there has to be.

“Anyway, let’s get going. If you want to sightsee, save it for

after the work is done.”

“It feels really weird to be lectured by Dust, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get you. It feels really irritating for some

reason.”

“It just makes you not want to do as he says, right?”

These guys sure love to shoot their mouths off.

Just bear with it for now. The sooner I hand the goods over,
the sooner I can bid farewell to this city.

“Did you find her!?”

“My apologies, she is not here either!”

Hearing the footsteps of a large group of people, I turned

around to see a squad of knights and the white-suited
woman named Claire standing right in their midst. And
another person, Rain, was it? Well, she’s there too.

They were the ones who got in the way when I was hitting
on that girl.

I hid behind the cart and waited for them to pass.

After watching Claire hastily walk away with the knights in

tow, I let out a sigh of relief.

“For there to be this many knights running about… Did

something major happen?”

“They did seem to be in quite a panic, but it doesn’t feel like

we’re at risk.”

It piqued Lynn and Taylor’s interest, but to be honest, I

couldn’t care less.

“It seems like they are looking for someone. They started
splitting up into small groups.”
Keith was squinting in the direction they went. He’s probably
observing them with Farsight.

“Who cares? Let’s just finish the job … Don’t just fall silent!
I’m fine! Don’t look at me with such pitiful gazes!”

Lynn gently placed a hand on my forehead and suppressed

a sniffle.

“I’m not sick!”

“Drink this anyway.”

Taylor placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a

hangover cure.

“And I’m not drunk either!”

Following that, Keith palmed a piece of paper into my hand

as well.

I was just about to toss it away, but on closer inspection, that

piece of paper turn out to be a coupon for the Succubus
store.

I quietly pocketed it. Whatever the situation, that’s the one

thing I won’t reject.

Part 4
With my companions being so concerned about me, they put
their all into completing the job, and so the handover was
completed in a snap.

They wanted to go sightseeing afterwards, but I just wanted

to go back to the inn, so we ended up going our separate
ways.

“I’d really like to explore the city too, but it’d just be trouble if
I were to run into them again.”

Claire and Rain are also wandering around the city in search
of someone, and running into them will probably result in a
headache. It really is safest to simply head to the inn and
sleep.

Just as I was browsing around for some wine and snacks to

savour when I get back to the inn, someone pulled on me
from behind.

Turning around, I saw Lynn tugging on the sleeve of my

shirt.

“Didn’t you go sightseeing?”

“What about you? I knew the whole thing about you feeling
unwell was a lie.”

“I’m simply buying some wine so I can sleep soundly later.”

“You know… Sigh. Oh fine. Just for today, I’ll go shopping

with you.”
I have no idea what came over her for her to make that kind
of offer.

Is she actually worried about me despite all of her

complaints?

“Oh, well, thanks. Anyway, let’s go pick up something

delicious-looking…”

I followed my nose to a nearby stall, but it seems like they

already have a customer.

“What kind of meat is this? I’ve never seen its like before…”

A blonde-haired kid was staring at sticks of skewered meat

with extreme interest.

Oh, I definitely remember that voice. Why the hell do we

have to run into each other at such a place?

“Ojou-chan, this is a high quality dish made from meat from

a rare creature.”

“Ah, I see. If it is okay with you, could I have one?”

“But of course~ You’re really lucky, little lady. This one is the
last stick. That’ll be a hundred thousand eris.”

“Oh, that’s quite a bargain.”

This man, is he planning to take advantage of a sheltered

noble girl?
Even after hearing a price that’s so inflated that it isn’t even
funny, she still moved to pay without the slightest bit of
doubt.

“That’s just the meat from a giant frog, right?”

Lynn whispered into my ear.

Making money by fleecing tourists and the naive is the most

basic of scams. I too participate in such from time to time, so
I’m not really in a position to criticise.

I could just leave things as it is, but watching someone else

other than me make easy money really pisses me off!

“Hey, old man, don’t overcharge for your goods. And you
too, don’t be so easily tricked.”

I grabbed the hand the old man extended towards the

money and glared at him, and he hastily pulled his hand
back and let out a laugh.

“Ah, did I fall for yet another trick? I don’t know who you are,
but thank you very much.”

As the kid raised her head after bowing, she thrust her finger
at me in surprise as if she recognizes me.

“Ah, you’re the criminal from back then!?”

“Criminal…”

At the brat’s words, I could feel Lynn’s murderous stare

upon me.

“I told you, that was a misunderstanding!”

“This goes for your criminal actions too, but I especially can’t
forgive you betraying everyone’s expectations back when
we were looking for members!”

“You were the ones who had the wrong impression in the
first place!”

Her cheeks puffed up in anger, but I didn’t do anything

wrong.

It was back when she was with the Explosion Girl and
Yunyun and wanted to increase their number of playmates
that we ended up butting heads.

“To think that I could’ve mistaken this guy for him… I must
have really insulted the actual person.”

“Nevermind that, why don’t you properly apologize to me

first!?”

In response, she tilted her head. I could just about see the
question mark pop up over the brat’s head.

“Say, who is this girl?”

“She’s the one who made you pick me up from jail a few
days back. That Alice or something that sicced her white-
suited girl on me over a misunderstanding!”
“Oh, I see. I’m sorry about that. It seems like he’s caused
you some trouble.”

“No, I should be the one saying that. My apologies.”

The two of them lowered their heads and apologized to each

other.

Such a courteous tone is a complete reversal from the tone

she took with me.

“Still, there’s something that I have to ask, who was the

person you originally mistook him for?”

“That’s a certain person who’s quite famous amongst the

nobility. He’s a noble from the neighboring kingdom and the
youngest person to achieve the rare job of Dragon Knight.
It’s said that he’s peerless with a spear, and on top of that,
he’s handsome, just and could be said to be the very ideal of
a knight.”

I casually started picking my nose as Alice eagerly relayed

the story.

Lynn remained facing her, but her gaze slowly shifted

towards me out of the corner of her eye.

“I have heard a similar story before.”

Yunyun wouldn’t shut up about it after our close call with that
dragon, after all.

<Dust 2, Chapter 2>

“So you know of it! Even though that knight had a wonderful
life ahead of him, he threw away both his titles and lands to
grant the wish of the princess who was betrothed to another,
eloping with her together on his dragon…”

This brat sure loves to talk about him.

“So he kidnapped the princess. How large of a ransom did

he demand?”

“He didn’t do that! It might have only been for a short period,
but even though they know their love could never be
realized, he still tried to grant the princess’s wish of a
honeymoon lifestyle! There’s no doubt about that!”

I don’t know why she’s emphasizing that aspect so much,

but there’s no doubt that story really struck a chord with her.

Also, Lynn has been staring at me out of the corner of her

eye all this time. It’s not something I can easily ignore.

“If that’s true, that knight would be like the main character of
a fairy tale.”

“Right!? He had the resolve to throw away everything for the

sake of his love! There’s not a single girl who wouldn’t long
for such a situation! Even I…”

The way Alice’s eyes glittered as she stared off into space is
the very example of a maiden in love.

As for me, just hearing that story made my back itch.

“So, what happened to that handsome Dragon Knight?”

“He managed to keep his life after he brought the princess

back, but his status as nobility was revoked. According to
the rumours, he’s now an adventurer in Axel…”

“So that’s why you mistook the handsome and just me for
him?”

“No, we thought it might be you because you’re the only

man with blonde hair.”

She just had to lay it straight.

“But, I still have a few doubts… Your name was Trash-san,

right?”

“It’s Dust! Why do you guys keep messing up my name!?”

“My apologies. Dust-san uses a sword, but that’s not the

weapon you originally trained with, right? I’ve received
instructions in martial arts since I was young, so I have
some knowledge regarding such matters, and the way you
carry yourself seems more fitting for someone who primarily
fights with a spear.”

She looked me up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

I do enjoy the attentions of women, but getting stared at is

not something I enjoy.

And don’t say such unnecessary stuff in front of Lynn. I’m

going to need someway to throw her off.
“A spear, huh… It must be because I make frequent use of
the spear in my pants.”

“In your pants? You can hide a spear in such a place?”

“What are you saying in front of a child!?”

Alice tilted her head in confusion, while Lynn exploded at

me.

Still, to think that she has no idea what goes on

downstairs… She might be a kid, but what kind of walled
garden was she raised in?

Darkness would’ve understood in an instant and gotten both

excited and angry at the same time.

This girl might be the perfect example of what nobility should

be, but her peers are just too eccentric.

“So, about that former Dragon Knight, can you tell me more
details about him?”

“Sure, I’d be happy to, onee-san… Hmm? Say have we met

somewhere before?”

“Eh? No, this should be the first time we met.”

The two of them looked into each other’s eyes.

If she finds Lynn’s face familiar, that means… It’d probably

be best to separate them before things get any more
complicated.
“Anyway, who cares about that. I’d really like to go back to
the inn already.”

“Hold on a minute, I’m still talking to this girl. Or, would it be

bad if I were to learn more about this Dragon Knight?”

“Not really…”

Lynn seemed really interested in this topic for some reason.

Alice too seemed overjoyed with being able to talk more on
this matter and happily continued.

“Then, let me start again from the beginning. It’s a pretty

famous story amongst the roya- nobility, the story of a low-
ranking noble from the neighbouring country who is the
youngest to attain the rare Dragon Knight job. That young
man showed extreme talent as a Dragon Knight, and was
loved by dragons even from a young age…”

I tried to subtly observe the two of them as Alice retold the

story.

Perhaps because she’s used to telling this story, she

skillfully recited it without even the slightest pause.

On the other side, Lynn was hanging on to her every word.

Just what exactly is so interesting about this story in the first

place?

“Seems like he’s popular enough to create a fanclub. A stiff

and proper knight… So he eloped with the princess who
held an unrequited love for him?”

“Don’t you think it’s a wonderful story!?”

A Lynn who could barely keep her doubtfulness from

showing on her face and an Alice whose eyes were
sparkling.

Well, I’m sure this story must sound wonderful to a dream-

filled kid.

“Hah, what an unlikable man. There aren’t any decent

nobles in the first place. There’s that female knight who gets
excited the moment she sights an enemy and charges in,
and that perverted guy who had designs upon that knight.
Oh, and there’s the guy that holds sexual feelings towards
me.”

The last one is the worst. I originally thought he had a crush

on Lynn, but the one he had a crush on was actually me.

That was really dangerous for me. I managed to escape, but

just thinking back to that moment made my heart beat faster.

I still remember how Kazuma just left me on my own without

even trying to offer me aid.

“There’s no way such nobles could exist! Stop slandering

them!”

“But it’s all true…”

Lynn muttered under her breath.

“You really are a sheltered little lady, aren’t you? The real
world is very different from whatever padded mansion
you’ve been living in. It’s far larger and more chaotic than
you can imagine, and what you might think is common
sense won’t always apply.”

The outside world is far larger, and far more interesting.

It’s not a world that a noble little lady kept so carefully

insulated from all of it’s darker aspects could understand.

“Y-Yeah, Onii-sama said something similar too. But that is

precisely why I snuck out to explore the city! Ah!”

She hastily covered her mouth, but it’s too late.

“The white-suited woman… Claire, was it? So the person

she was searching for is you?”

“You’re referring to the knights who’re raising a fuss all over

the city, right?”

“You know them!? Don’t tell me you’re here to bring me-”

A fearful expression fell over Alice’s face.

Well, that removes any doubt I might’ve had. This girl really
is the one they are looking for.

“We just happened to see them run down the streets. No,
hold on a minute, if they’re raising such a huge fuss over
you, doesn’t that mean that there’d be quite a sizeable
reward for turning you over?”
A noble family capable of commanding such a large number
of knights must be rolling in gold.

Judging from how desperate that Claire woman seemed, I

could expect quite a sum as a reward.

“I’ve changed my mind. We’re handing you over. Sorry, but

I’m going to have you pay for my drinks.”

“Leaving money aside, they seem quite worried about you. I

think it’d be best if you headed back.”

Lynn and I tried to convince Alice, but she only stubbornly

shook her head.

“Could you please let me off? I only just escaped and

haven’t yet had the chance to explore the city much. If you
let me off, I’ll give you this ring I snuck out from the treasury
to pawn for money.”

“Ojou-sama, please give me your orders.”

I kneeled and took Alice’s hand.

Anyone would’ve done the same after seeing the size of the
jewel atop the ring she’s offering me.

Don’t give me such a disdainful look, Lynn.

Part 5
“Are those two lovers? I’m a little envious.”

Following Alice’s gaze, a well-built man and a woman

wearing thick makeup were talking about something while
hand in hand with each other.

The man had a dreamy expression on his face as he was

being led into a store by the woman.

“That’s just a man being led into a shady bar, Ojou-sama.”

“A shady bar?”

“First, she’ll make contact with a rich and interested-seeming

man outside the bar. If they fall for it, she’ll use her body and
wine to make them lose sight of their better judgement. In
the end, they’ll end up fleecing him for everything he has on
him.”

“He’s gone and fallen for this trick several times, so you can
trust his word.”

You didn’t need to say that, Lynn.

I’m trying to stay on my guard for these sort of tricks, but my

judgment is always the first to go whenever I get more than
a few pints in me.

“So that’s how it is. I should warn Onii-sama so he can avoid

falling for it. ”

I don’t know what kind of person this Onii-sama that Alice is

talking about is, but if someone is vulnerable to this sort of
provocation, no amount of warnings will keep him from
falling for it. A man’s sex drive is a terrifying thing.

“This entrance ticket is originally worth ten thousand eris, but

for a short time only, you can have it for free! There’s only
one exhibition being hosted right now, so feel free to
observe for as long as you want!”

“Free entry to an art gallery? That’s a pretty good bargain,

isn’t it? Why don’t we go have a look?”

I stopped Alice before she could approach the woman

advertising by the side of the street.

“That’s a trap.”

“A trap?”

“There’s no way tickets to such a small exhibition would be

worth ten thousand eris. Humans are naturally susceptible
towards words like free or concepts like bargain. The
moment you enter the gallery, they’ll start pushing expensive
works of art upon you.”

“That’s pretty shrewd. It isn’t against the law, is it? If it is, I’ll
have to relay this to father.”

“There’s no point. The customer willingly walked into the

store by themselves and bought anything they did of their
own will. Anyone who’s fooled has only themselves to
blame.”
“B-but…”

She really is naive.

It’s not a bad thing to be pure, but she’ll probably get tricked
by some bad guy like this.

“Wait here for a moment.”

It’s probably faster to show her in person.

That woman is quite used to this.

She seems to just be calling out to the crowd at random, but

she’s actually searching for those who seem to cave easily
under pressure.

I drew closer to that woman.

“Hey, nee-chan, is it true that you’ll give me an entrance

ticket for free?”

“Yes, of course! It’s only… for a limited time.”

Her jovial smile vanished the moment she met my gaze. She
probably sensed that I don’t make for good prey.

“Oh, that seems like a bargain. I’ll take one.”

“You don’t seem very interested in art, though.”

“You really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Though,

yeah, I don’t care about art at all, haha! But, if it’s originally
worth ten thousand eris, I should be able to get at least five
thousand for it if I resell it, right?”

I deliberately said it in a voice loud enough to be heard over

the crowd.

“Eh, wait , no, I can’t give it to you if you plan to resell it…”

She faltered and tried to distance herself from me, but I

won’t let that happen. The kinds of people who engage in
legally grey activities like such tend to conversely be
vulnerable to pressure themselves.

After some cordial negotiations, I eventually managed to

wring some teacakes and an envelope filled with money
from her.

“Well, there you have it. You want some cake?”

When I returned triumphantly with the spoils of war, the

other two instead slowly edged away from me.

“Why is she crying…?”

“You are really a villain, aren’t you?”

“I just asked her for a ticket and she gave these to me. I
used to do this all the time back in Axel. The ones in the
capital can’t even compare.”

If I did this back in Axel, the store owner would toss me out.

In the first place, such a ploy wouldn’t work in Axel. The

moment they heard the words free, the inhabitants of that
town would swarm over and either negotiate the price down
or not buy the paintings at all. In either case, the proprietor
would end up making a huge loss.

The people of Axel are quite stubborn, after all.

“Still, you seem quite familiar with such activities. In such

respects, you resemble Onii-sama just a little bit.”

Is that Onii-sama of hers more familiar with how the world

works?

Someone that resembles me, huh? He must be a pretty

swell guy.

“I kind of feel sorry for your Onii-sama to be compared to

Dust.”

Oh shut up.

“By the way, are you really having fun with just walking
around the city?”

“Yes, very much so. Taking a walk around the city like a
normal girl is pretty fun.”

Seeing her carefree smile couldn’t help but give pause to

both Lynn and I.

“O-Oh. Well, I’m glad for that.”

“That blush really doesn’t suit you, you know?”

Lynn punched me on the shoulder.

“Being free is nice. You can spend your life freely without
worrying about anyone’s gaze. I wonder if Onii-sama spends
his days like this too?”

I think I have a good idea of what kind of person Alice is

talking about.

That person simply causes trouble according to his own

selfish whims, but he has a certain freedom that Alice really
looks up to.

Perhaps Alice herself desires that too.

Seeing Lynn and Alice happily browse the roadside stalls

brought certain memories to the forefront.

… This ain’t good. This combination really isn’t good for me.

“Ojou-sama, isn’t it best to head back home? I’ll escort you

back as thanks for the ring.”

The sun is almost halfway beneath the horizon and the

surroundings are getting dark, so it’s not a bad time to start
heading back.

“I don’t feel like going home yet. They’ve been increasing

security recently to prevent me from escaping, so it’s not
often I get to enjoy such a situation.”

“So you’re a repeat offender.”

“I have a boss that usually helps me escape, but it seems
like she’s been busy recently, so I had to handle things by
myself. Onii-sama taught me a lot of useful tricks, so I’ve
been able to manage quite well. Though Claire keeps saying
that he’s a bad influence and warning me not to spend any
more time around him.”

He might be her brother, but it doesn’t seem like he’s very

welcome around the household.

Is her Onii-sama born of a different mother, I wonder?

Perhaps her mother is of a higher status than the one who
gave birth to her brother… Well, whatever the case, it has
no bearing on me.

I’d really like to stop playing babysitter, but even though

she’s completely different in both looks and personality, she
still can’t help reminding me of her, so I can’t help it.

And her face’s been bothering me…

-Oh. I see. So Alice was a fake name after all.

“By the way, Tr-Dust-san.”

“You almost just called me Trash, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Dust-san, are you in

hiding too? You have blonde hair as well.. .”

She’s changing the topic because she doesn’t want to go

back yet.
“What about it? There are plenty of guys with blonde hair
outside the nobility.”

“That’s true. I’ve heard that the Dragon Knight has blonde
hair and blue eyes, but, wait, don’t tell me…”

I don’t know what went through her mind, but the moment
she said that, she grabbed my head and moved her face
right up next to mine.
“Hey, wai- what are you doing!?”

“Your eyes are red. It seems I was mistaken after all. My

apologies, Dust-san.”

“It’s fine, just get off me.”

Iris gave me a deep bow after letting go of me.

Well, changing the topic is fine an all, but it’s gotten quite
dark out by now.

“Seriously, if you don’t head back soon, it’s going to become

a major-”

“There she is! Arrest that man besides her! You may cut him
down if he resists!”

Announcing her presence with a scream was the white

suited-woman, a sword in hand as she charged at us.
Following hot on her heels is a small band of knights.

From the looks of things, it doesn’t seem like she has any
intention of listening to anything I say.

“Oh shit! Seeya, ojou-sama! Make sure you properly clear

up this misunderstanding!”

“Ah, thank you very much for being with me today, Dust-san
and… your girlfriend.”
“I am not his girlfriend!”

I really don’t want to find out what happens if I were to be

caught here, so I quickly grabbed Lynn’s hand and ran
away.

Don’t think you can so easily catch up with me who spends

every day running away!

Source @CGtranslations.me

It’s been a few days since I returned from the capital.

I tried to sell the ring that Alice gave me, but the damned
thing had the crest of the royal family on it. Not a single
pawn shop would even give me the time of day when I tried.

So that kid really was the first princess of the Kingdom, Iris.

“This is completely worthless.”

It’s not like I could brag about the incident either. It’s just too
risky, so there’s really nothing I can do with it.

I considered the possibility of exchanging it for gold the next

time we meet, but I don’t intend on ever visiting the capital
again, so chances of us running into each other are pretty
slim.

“Aaahh… I’m so free.”

I let out a large yawn and got off the bed.

The money I got from Sir is pretty much all used up now, so
I suppose I should start looking into getting another quest.

I poked my head into the guild, and standing right in the

middle is a short-haired woman wearing an out-of-place suit
who was observing her surroundings with bloodshot eyes.

I immediately turned around and tried to leave the guild

without drawing attention to myself.

“Ah, that’s the Dust-san you’re looking for.”

I heard Luna’s voice saying my name, followed by the

footsteps of two people hastily rushing towards me.

… Ah, I really want to run away.

 Chapter 3: An Adventure for
those Bodyguards!
Part 1
“Are you listening, Trash!?”

In a drunken stupor, the white-suited woman shouted at me.

“She’s calling you, Trash-san.”

“Shut up unless you want me to smash those small boobs of

yours.”

Taking advantage of Claire’s outburst, Lynn started calling

me strange names as well.

Actually, why the hell is Lynn here too?

“Claire-sama, please lower your voice! You’re attracting a lot

of attention!”

Sitting next to her was a plain-looking girl dressed in a

magician’s robe.

The two of them wanted to discuss things over a drink, but

then Claire started spilling her worries, and now this is
happening.
Lynn joined us before I realized it, and now the four of us are
seated around the table.

“She used to be so precious that she could very easily pass

for an angel or a fairy… Well, even now, she’s still very
cute!”

She’s been gushing about Alice ever since we started, so I

haven’t actually learnt what exactly they’re here for.

“Ever since she met that man, she has started picking up
bad habits. She has become more wilful and acting like
more of a tomboy, using strange turns of phrases and
sneaking away behind our backs… Well, that kind of
innocence is cute too. However, what I absolutely cannot
accept is her calling that man onii-sama!”

“She’s getting more and more inventive with her escape

methods too.”

The two of them heaved a big sigh.

From the sounds of things, this onii-sama isn’t related to

Alice by blood, and is probably the nickname that she gave
to someone she idolizes.

A person whom the crown princess refers to as Onii-sama,

huh? Yeah, of course Claire would be vexed.

“Sure, I was somewhat cold to her back when we first met,

but that was only natural! I wanted to be in charge of
Justice-sama’s education-”
“Aah, yes, Alice-sama’s onii-sama sure does bear a
resemblance with Justice-sama, right!?”

The plain looking woman loudly said in an attempt to pave

over the state secrets that Claire is leaking.

“Justice is the first prince of Belzerg, right? I’ve heard

rumours that he’s really handsome guy and has been
fighting on the front lines for quite some time.

“Tsk, strong, handsome, and a prince. Grah~ I can’t stand

these types of people.”

“Now, now, don’t be jealous.”

Lynn patted me on the back as I grumbled.

I wonder if Lynn is weak to handsome guys too. Come to

think of it, is she even interested in such matters?

Other than that one time I thought she was being pressured
by that nobleman, I’ve never heard any such rumours about
her.

“But I was taken in by that innocence and purity! By now,

there’s no way I can live without her!”

It’s her business to say what she wants, but I really wish she
wouldn’t scream such dangerous stuff in the guild. She’s
starting to attract the attention of the nearby patrons, and I
don’t fancy the kind of looks they are giving us.

“So, anyway, what business do you have with me?”

“The truth is, I had to give Ir-Alice-sama a just so very slight
reprimand over a recent incident and warned her not to see
that man again. Ever since that, she started sulking and
wouldn’t listen to a word I say… No, I’m not doing this
because I want to! It’s for your own gooood!”

At that, she sunk her forehead against the table and started
crying. Is she the sort of person who gets weepy when they
drink?

“She hadn’t even drunk half her tankard. She must really be
weak to alcohol.”

The plain looking girl next to her started patting her on the
shoulder… Say, what was her name again?

“Um, the person who isn’t wearing the white suit-”

“It’s Rain… Indeed, I’m plain and unmemorable, aren’t I?”

She gazed towards her feet and mumbled.

“Er, sorry. But, seriously, why did you come all the way out
here for?”

“The truth is, Alice-sama has always idolized adventurers.

She always said that she wanted to go on an adventure, and
her admiration for adventurers has only increased ever since
she started associating with that person. So, we were
thinking that if we understood what going on an adventure is
like, we could give her a taste of the adventurer lifestyle and
sooth her anger that way.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it! There’s no telling when the Demon
King’s army might attack the capital, so it’s too dangerous to
adventure there. Thus, we’ve come all the way out to this
podunk town of newbie adventurers!”

Having Claire loudly insult the town of Axel drew cold stares
from the surrounding adventurers.

Claire, being completely drunk, failed to notice any of it, but

Rain immediately stood up and started repeatedly bowing to
the nearby adventurers.

“You know, you don’t seem very much like a noble.”

“Yeah. Leaving Darkness aside, nobles generally carry

themselves with more pomp and grandeur, like that Alderp
fellow.”

Normally, nobles wouldn’t lower their heads towards

commoners so readily.

“Err, well, while I’m technically a noble, my house is a minor

one without much lands or prestige. It can scarcely be
compared to the likes of the Dustiness or Claire-sama’s
Symphonia house, so there’s no need to stand on ceremony
with me.”

It seems like Rain is of the more reasonable sort.

Though, Claire on the other hand seems more like the

typical high-ranking noble with zero common sense.
“I’m not really that on board with this plan. Adventuring is
fundamentally a dangerous task, and us deliberately
exposing Alice-sama to danger is a little…”

Claire seems to be all for the idea, but Rain seems a little
more hesitant.

“We wanted to ask that handsome Mitsurugi-dono at first,

but no matter how hard we looked, all we found were sloppy
and poor looking adventurers! It really troubled us!”

This girl just seems intent on drawing the ire of the other
adventurers. It’d probably be best to shut this drunkard up
before she makes things any worse.

“What’s with that blonde woman!? Blonde hair means she’s

a noble… a noble…”

“Ah, a noble. I see. Well, there’s not much we can do…”

“The former lord Alderp is the same way, and Lalatina has
her own quirks too. The nobility sure are a collection of
eccentric weirdos…”

The moment they realized that she’s a noble, the anger of

the surrounding adventurers melted away like a snowball in
summer.

Thanks to Darkness’s daily behavior and Alderp’s

scumminess, the amount of respect the title of nobility
commands in this town is at an all time low.
“You know, you really seem fated to get involved with the
nobility lately.”

“Yeah, and it’s all good for nothing!”

I’ve never had much good memories with the nobility, but it’s
been a parade of weirdos ever since I came to Axel.

The two nobles in front of me are relatively normal by those

standards, but I still want as little to do with the nobility as
possible.

“Oh, Claire-sama, please keep quiet! I’m really sorry about

this!”

At Rain’s apologies, the other adventurers waved their

hands in a ‘don’t mind it’ manner.

It would seem like this girl acts as a sort of diplomatic liaison

for the pair. Well, with her plain appearance and clothes, she
certainly does seem more approachable.

“Err, in any case, with Mitsurugi-dono unavailable, there is

only one other adventurer we know of in this town.”

“And who is that?”

“We had quite a bit of, umm, interactions with him in the
past. But he is a little problematic, and there’s no way we
can let him get close to Alice-sama.”

Huh, they seem to be beating around the bush.

Did they have some sort of dispute with that adventurer?

“We’ve heard rumours that there is a Crimson Demon girl

that Alice-sama has gotten close to in this town, but she
seemed really uneasy when we approached her…”

I think I know exactly who they are talking about.

“So that’s why she has been staring at us all this while.”

Following Lynn’s line of sight led me to Yunyun, who has

been surreptitiously glancing at us ever since we entered the
guild.

I waved her over.

“Why did you drag me into this?”

“That’s not it! I originally suggested Megumin and Kazuma-

san, but they immediately prostrated and begged me to
spare them. The only other adventurer I know is Dust-san…”

So she dragged me into this because of her loner

personality.

Still, why do they hate Kazuma’s party so much?

I recall Kazuma telling me that he went to the capital and

made friends with a princess back when we got absolutely
hammered, but… No, that can’t be. Even he couldn’t be that
lucky.

Still, regardless of the situation, I really don’t want to get

involved with nobility.

“Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be a good fit in a party with a pair
of nobles. I know nothing about courtesy and proper forms
of address and such, and that’d cause some problems,
wouldn’t it?”

“You need not worry on that front. There’s no need to

concern yourself with such matters during an adventure.
Just treat us like you would your companions.”

“You might be fine with that, but I don’t think she’ll accept it.”

Rain will probably forgive any improper behaviour with a

laugh, but the one who’s currently sprawled on the table will
definitely raise a fuss.

“It’ll probably be fine. If it’s for Alice-sama’s sake, Claire-

sama will endure anything. Plus, she has spent a lot of time
dealing with that person as of late, so she’ll be able to
tolerate some selfishness and rudeness.”

Hearing her state such with so much confidence just makes

me more curious as to who that mysterious person actually
is.

A selfish and rude person who teaches Alice bad habits and
strange phrases, and is close enough to her that she’d
address him as Onii-sama…

No, nothing’s coming to mind.

“What kind of benefit would I get out of this?”

“We would prepare a suitable compensation. Will that do?”

Money, huh? Well, these two probably don’t lack for gold, so
I can expect quite a sum from them.

“I know that you dislike the nobility, but that’d clear your
debts, so why don’t we give it a shot?”

“Dust-san, you probably have no money and lots of free

time, right? Then just accept it. Don’t you feel sorry for
them?”

Lynn and Yunyun seem all for it. What should I do…

This Alice must be a really important to Yunyun if she’s

willing to go this far for her.

… Well, I do owe quite a bit to Yunyun. I might get some

divine punishment if I don’t return the favour from time to
time.

Plus, without Alice here, things shouldn’t become too

troublesome.

“Oh, fine. I needed the money anyways.”

[email protected]

Part 2
The next day, Yunyun was the first to appear in front of the
guild

“Eh, why is Dust-san here before the meeting time!? Did I

arrive early by half a day?”

“Is there a problem with me being here early?”

“Is something wrong? Do you feel sick or something?”

This girl is seriously worried about me.

I might be late often, but this is still way too much of an

overreaction.

“I just drank my fill thanks to those noble ladies last night

and found myself here when I woke up, that’s all. More
importantly, why are you here so early in the morning?”

“It’s rude to keep others waiting. Unlike you, I always make

sure to arrive an hour before!”

She says that, but she was probably just looking forward to
adventuring in such a large group so much that she couldn’t
sleep.

“You know, I mentioned this before, but aren’t you packing

way too much luggage with you? We’ll be back in town by
nightfall, you know?”

“There’s no telling what will happen on the journey. I brought

a change of clothes and a portable cooking set and- oh,
yeah, Wiz-san gave me one of her unsold magic items.
There were originally two of them, but one of them broke
and the other one wouldn’t sell. Err, where did I leave it…”

She placed the large rucksack on the ground and started

rummaging through it, pulling out item after item from its
depths.

Seriously, how much did you bring with you?

“I don’t really care, so you don’t need to show it to me. It’s

about time for the meeting… Huh? Hey, what are you doing
here?”

“I accepted this request as well. If I weren’t there, you’d

probably cause some kind of incident with the nobles.”

Lynn said she wouldn’t be taking any jobs for a while, but
she still showed up all the same.

“So Lynn-san is participating too! That’s a relief… I was

worried because there wasn’t anyone who could deal with
Dust-san.”

“If he does anything funny, don’t bother holding back, just

blast him with magic.”

“Stop saying strange things! She’s a Crimson Demon! The

power of her spells ain’t nothing to laugh about!”

The two of them ignored me.

Yunyun seemed quite elated to have a companion that she’s

familiar with and happily welcomed Lynn.
It’s probably worthless to continue this line of discussion, so
I simply left them be.

“Sigh, you guys really don’t trust me. Anyway, those two…
Ah, there they are.”

The two nobles arrived together.

“I’ll be in your care today.”

“Please take care of me.”

Claire stood proudly without even lowering her head, but

Rain gave us a proper, polite bow.

Rain came fully equipped with a staff and a full set of magic
rings. Between that and her robes, she does look the part of
a proper adventurer.

Claire, on the other hand, arrived wearing only her white suit
and her sword.

Does she plan to take up the position of vanguard while

dressed like that?

“We’ll be in your care too!”

“I’ll be joining you as well, so please take care of me.”

“Yeah, yeah, good morning.”

Yunyun bowed numerous times like she always does.

Perhaps because she’s dealing with nobles, Lynn too put on
a polite front. To be honest, it just gives me the creeps.

I just gave them a casual greeting.

A flash of annoyance graced Claire’s features, but at Rain’s

gentle nudge, she simply let out a “hmph” and turned away.

“Dust-san, you’re dealing with nobles here! Please be

mindful of yourself!”

“You’re going to get executed if you get carried away, you

know?”

“It’s fine. Right, Rain?”

“Yes, please treat us as you would each other. We’re here

today to learn how to act like adventurers, Claire-sama.”

“Indeed, I can endure this for the sake of Alice-sama.

There’s no need for any special treatment.”

That’s not at all convincing when you’re staring at me like

that.

Still, I can understand how much she loves Alice after

seeing how she acted last night.

“By the way, Dust-san, what is the plan for today?”

“You just want to act like adventurers, right? I was thinking

of hunting a few goblins and maybe a giant frog or two.
That’s standard fare for adventurers around here. You have
no objections, right?”

Incidentally, I already accepted a goblin extermination quest

from the guild. I’ll be able to get rewarded by the guild while
playing babysitter for these two, so it’ll be a very profitable
day.

The meat of a giant frog can be sold for quite a fair sum.
That’d cover the costs of drinks tonight.

“Goblins and giant frogs, huh? They sound like small fry to
me, but I suppose they’ll do.”

“Those are standard fare for adventurers. I’m sure Alice-

sama would be interested and start listening to us again.”

“I-Is that so? Then let’s put our backs into it!”

It’s obvious how high Claire’s spirits have risen with just
those few words.

I see, using Alice’s name is a good way to get Claire to do

what you want. It seems like Rain has truly mastered how to
manipulate her.

“Right, let’s go. Don’t fall behind now.”

I led the way, Lynn and Yunyun followed behind me, and the
other two took up the rear.

Yunyun repeatedly shot curious glances behind her, but, as

can be expected, she couldn’t muster up the courage to
raise her voice, so the entire party advanced in silence.
Having a party of five people travel in silence bestowed a
really heavy atmosphere around us.

Right, guess I’ll have to break the ice.

“Just to be sure, the two of you can handle yourselves,

right?”

“I’m quite confident in my skill at magic. There won’t be any

problems.”

“Of course. Protecting Alice-sama is my job! A few goblins

aren’t even worth mentioning!”

“Don’t just swing your sword around, you idiot!”

I shouted as she drew her sword and started demonstrating

a few strikes with it, and she shot back with a glare. I feel
like I’ll get stabbed in the back if I piss her off too much.

On the other hand, Rain seems quite reliable.

Claire and I are the vanguard, and the rearguard consists of

the mages Rain, Yunyun, and Lynn. As far as party balance
goes, this isn’t too bad.

There are certain problems with Claire’s personality, but

judging from how she was swinging her sword earlier, her
sword arm is pretty reliable.

Well, they are the bodyguards of the princess, after all. I

suppose it’s to be expected that they’d be somewhat skilled.
In addition, nobles would be able to afford foodstuffs that
contain a lot of experience points like onion ducks, so their
levels should be fairly high.

It doesn’t seem like they have much actual combat

experience, but they shouldn’t be done in too easily.

“Let’s go hunt the giant frogs first. With how it is around

these parts, they can’t hibernate and are active pretty much
year round.”

“Hold on a minute, what do you mean by they can’t

hibernate?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Every single day… Actually, it’s about

time, isn’t it?”

“Ah, it’s the usual time for Explosion, right, Yunyun?”

“Yeah. I heard that she is going with Aqua today, so she’ll

probably let it loose somewhere close to the city.”

Yunyun answered while keeping an eye on her

surroundings.

As her childhood friend, she has been dragged along with

the Explosion Girl whenever she’s free, and it seems like
that experience has given her a firm grasp of exactly when
that girl gets the urge to let loose.

“No, really, what-”

Claire’s question was cut off by a loud boom that originated

from the plains a short distance up the road from us.

Even though we were quite some distance away, the

shockwave was still strong enough to buffet us.

“W-W-W-W-W-W-What is going on!?”

“What was that!?”

Ignoring the two of them who had assumed a combat

stance, the three of us gazed out at the rising fireball in the
distance.

It really isn’t something to get so worked up over.

“That’s quite a sight. It’s been a while since I was this close,
but hasn’t it become bigger than before?”

“You can really feel the power of that blast when you’re this
close.”

“It seems like she wasted her points on raising its power
again. And today seems to be a pretty good day for her too.
I really wish she’d learn some other spells…”

It seems like Yunyun has learnt how to judge the Explosion

Girl’s condition just by the sound of the Explosion.

Come to think of it, I’ve heard Kazuma say that he’ll give it a
rating based off its firepower and provide feedback, right?

“No, wait, why are the three of you so calm!? That explosion
happened not too far away from town! It could be an act of
terrorism or an attack by the Demon King’s army! Please
raise your guard!”

“We need to return to town and inform Lalatina-sama!”

“Calm down, that’s just Explosion magic. It’s an everyday

occurrence here in Axel.”

Seeing those two work themselves into a panic, I let out a

sigh.

There’s no need to raise such a fuss over a small matter like

this.

“Why are you so calm!? And Explosion is a joke spell that

uses so much mana that you wouldn’t be able to do anything
else after firing a single shot! The only people who would
bother to learn that spell are experienced mages with points
to spare! There’s no way such a mage would just let loose
with it every day for no reason!”

Rain shouted in a panic, and Yunyun repeatedly nodded to

her words.

“Yes, but there are two mages in Axel who can use
Explosion magic. The poor one and the crazy one.”

“Eh? Even though this is a town of beginners?”

Rain’s jaw dropped open. Claire didn’t react quite so badly,

but she still seems taken aback nonetheless.

“You know, you guys won’t make it very far as adventurers if

you get surprised by every single little thing. It’ll be tough
going on if you don’t sort out your expectations.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle

smile.

“Why are you treating me like I’m the strange one!? The
residents of this town are really strange! Vanir-sama treated
us like we lacked common sense before too, but it’s
definitely the residents of this town that are strange!”

“Indeed! Not even the authority of nobility holds any weight

here! There must really be something wrong with this town! ”

It seems like they have experienced similar incidents when

they were here before.

Yunyun and Lynn gave me a wry smile.

“Okay, okay, fine, we won’t talk about such matters

anymore. You wanted to do something adventurer-like,
right? Here they come, now’s your chance.”

I thrusted my thumb behind me towards the emerging

bodies of the giant frogs popping up from the ground.

Such monsters don’t do well in the cold, so normally they

wouldn’t be showing up around this season, but thanks to a
certain crazy girl recklessly throwing around magic every
day, the frogs around Axel couldn’t hibernate and are active
even now.
“So that’s a giant frog. It’s the first time I’ve seen one, but
I’ve heard that they are easy prey for knights and warriors.
I’ll handle this, don’t interfere.”

Saying that, Claire drew her sword and stepped out in front
of us.

Rain is clutching her staff, but it seems like she intends on

leaving things to Claire. Well, if she can really handle it on
her own, it’d save me a lot of trouble too.

“I wonder if Claire-san has fought a monster before?”

“Umm, is it really fine for us not to help?”

“It’s fine. She’s the one who wants to do it, so let’s leave it in
her hands.”

My two companions seem worried, but it’s really not a big

deal.

I’ll step in if it looks like she is really in danger.

“Hmph, lowly monsters like them won’t lay even a finger on

me!”

Claire confidently declared.

It’s true that with Claire’s skills, she shouldn’t have any
problems dealing with a single giant frog.

A single giant frog, that is.

Five more giant frogs came running towards us from the
direction of the explosion.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want me to lend a hand?”

“There’s no need. Rain too, just stand there and watch.

Giant frogs might devour livestock and humans, but they
won’t eat knights or warriors!”

Her information isn’t exactly wrong, but it isn’t exactly right

either.

The horde of giant frogs rapidly approached Claire, and one

of them shot its snake-like tongue towards her.

Claire stood confidently in its way… And was promptly

wrapped up in its tongue and dragged headfirst into the
frog’s mouth.

“Bogwah-!”

Claire’s frantically flailed her legs around, the only part of her
that’s sticking outside the frog.

“Yeah, I knew this would happen.”

The reason why giant frogs don’t eat warriors and knights is
because they hate the smell of metal. They wouldn’t have
any issues with eating someone wearing nothing but a suit.

“Claire-Sama! I’ll save you with magic- ah, no, I can’t get a
clear shot-ah!”
Rain too was snatched up in a glup the moment she
hesitated.

The two of them were taken down almost instantly.

“I-It’s slimy in here! Don’t just stand there, help me!”

“Ugh, no, this feels disgusting! Ah, don’t lick there-!”

They’ve managed to extract their upper bodies from the

giant frogs, but there’s not a lot they can do after they’ve
been grabbed like that.

“They won’t be digested right away, but we should still help

them.”

“Hang in there, I’ll cut you free right now! Light of Sa-”

“Hold it. Give them a few minutes.”

I stopped Yunyun before she was able to let loose with her
magic.

It seems like she was taken aback by the serious tone that I
used, and stared at me in surprise.

They were still being slowly swallowed while we waited, but

their slime-covered bodies were jiggling as they struggled,
and they were constantly saying stuff like “C-Cut it out!” and
“Ah, no, not there!”

“Their clothes are getting more and more transparent by the

second!”

Between the slime and their desperate struggles, their

clothes were getting more and more messed up, revealing
skin and even precious flashes of their underwear.

“Are you an idiot!? Light of Saber!”

A blade of light emerged from Yunyun’s hand and flashed

across the giant frogs.

Ah, and it was such an erotic situation too. What a waste.

The two of them flopped onto the ground after getting

rescued, their bodies shiny with slime and saliva.

“How could I have let my guard down!?”

“This feels disgusting!”

“You guys really smell, so keep your distance.”

I pinched my nose and made shooing motions with my hand.

Claire’s face scrunched up in anger, but Rain seemed to

notice the kind of state her body is in and blushingly covered
herself up.

“Dust-san, I really don’t think they should be left like that.

Can’t we take a detour to a place with some water? We
have to wash away the slime… And the smell is really strong
too.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to request we do that too.”

“Please.”

However exciting this sight might be, I too don’t want to

endure this smell for another moment longer if I can help it.

“We aren’t too far from that lake, so let’s swing by there.”

Lynn’s voice is unexpectedly gentle. I guess she feels a

sense of kinship toward them too.

Oh well. The lake where we fought against that tranquillity

girl is pretty close, so let’s head over.

“Okay, let’s head over to the lake. You’re fine with that,
right?”

Claire and Rain followed us without complaint. It seems like

the slime really does feel disgusting.
It is a little bit of a bother, but a bath by the lake… well, I
suppose that isn’t too bad.

“Dust-san, did you imagine something strange just now?”

“I can pretty much guess what it is.”

“There’s nothing but gentlemanly thoughts going on up

here.”

In order to avoid giving away my expression, I took up a

position at the front of the party.

Part 3
I sat by the shores of the lake, my back against a large rock
that blocked my sight of the lake itself.

Well, perhaps seated is the wrong word. It’s more accurate

to say that I’m tied behind the rock. With rope.

The moment we reached the lake, Lynn and Yunyun

surrounded me and bound me up without brooking a single
argument from me.

“Hey, come on, untie me already! Don’t you have any trust in
me!?”

“Just exactly what part of Dust-san is worthy of any sort of

trust? A person who’d charge into a horde of wild beasts
naked is more trustworthy than you.”

“Well said. That’s exactly it.”

No matter how much I asked or begged, all I got back in

return was refusal and cold gazes.

Yunyun and Lynn were supposed to be in charge of

standing guard, but they paid no attention to any
surrounding monsters that might be present and focused all
their attention on me.

I’ll completely miss my chance to take in some beautiful

sights like this.

Falling silent to think of a way out of this predicament, the

only noises I could hear were the two nobles chatting away
in the distance.

“I finally got rid of the stickiness. Guh, it went all the way to
my panties…”

“I need to dry my clothes…”

What kind of torture is this? The nude forms of two women

are just a turn of the head away, but yet I can’t see them.

Two beautiful girls are taking a bath. It’d be an insult not to

take a peek.

“Lynn, you know I’m not that sort of person, right? We’ve
been through a lot together, right? All those obstacles we
overcame-”
“I still haven’t forgotten how you tried to lay a hand on me.”

She flashed the dagger on her waist with a dark smile.

How long ago was that?

And that dagger she’s playing around with is that very same
one she threatened to cut off something precious of mine
back when I tried to play a prank on her, right?

She’s the sort of person who’d actually go through with it.

Thankfully, there aren’t any issues with keeping my urges in

control nowadays thanks to the succubus shop… I should
treat Loli Succubus better when I return to town.

Anyway, it doesn’t seem like I would have any luck

convincing Lynn right now. That only leaves the easy one.

I dexterously stood up while still bound and tried to casually

lean against the rock.

“Say, Yunyun, we’re friends, right?”

“We aren’t friends, just acquaintances. And trying to strike a

cool pose while wrapped up like that just makes you look
weird.”

“Don’t be so cold. Aren’t we close enough to see each other

naked?”

“T-T-That’s… Don’t make me remember weird things!

There’s been a strange rumour floating around that I’m on
good terms with a blond delinquent lately! The people at the
guild even give me pitiful gazes whenever I show up! What
are you going to do about this!?”

She frantically waved her arms and advanced towards me. I

tried to take a step back, but due to the ropes, I lost my
balance and ended up on the floor.

“Gwah… It hurts!”

I could feel a large bump growing around my forehead. I

must have smacked my head on a rock or something.

“Aah, sorry! Are you okay, Dust-san!?”

Normally, I would’ve been losing my temper right about now,

but I need to be gracious in this situation.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. But, seriously, could you untie
me? Something really bad is going to happen if you don’t.”

Yunyun recoiled slightly in fear.

“Y-You won’t scare me with such threats! What can you

possibly do all bound up like that?”

“Oh, you’ve said it now… What can I do? If you leave me

tied up like this, I’ll piss myself for you.”

“Eh!?”

“And it’s not just piss, I’ve drunk quite a bit of wine too, so
my stomach isn’t feeling too good. If the dam breaks, it’ll
cause quite the mess… you know?”

In response to my confident declaration, Yunyun nervously

glanced away.

When I rolled a little closer to her, Yunyun fearfully moved

away.

Ah, this is quite amusing.

As I sneaked ever closer to her, she repeatedly tripped over

herself in her attempts to distance herself from me.

There aren’t any actual problems with my stomach, but

those are some truly amusing reactions. Maybe I should
tease her a little more.

“If you leave me like this, I’ll cling onto you after I’ve soiled
myself!”

“Stop, you pervert! Don’t get any closer!”

Lynn simply looked on at our antics with an exasperated

look as I crawled after Yunyun like a worm.

“Kyaaa!”

Suddenly, Rain’s screams cut through the air.

I turned around, but of course, the large rock blocked my

view of what’s going on.

“What happened!?”
“Eh? Eh? What’s going on!?”

Lynn and Yunyun left me behind and rushed over to the

lake.

“Hey, come on, don’t leave me like this!”

I tried standing up, but I just couldn’t keep my balance while

bound up like this, so what followed was a series of bumps
and scrapes as I slowly shifted my way around the rock.

My vision was somewhat blurry by the time I made it to the

lake, but I could make out the two nobles engaged in
combat with several goblins.

And the sight that greeted me made it impossible for me to

tear my gaze away.

Sadly, they had their pants on, but there was nothing
covering their upper bodies. They were trying to fend off the
goblins while using one arm to cover their chests.

Claire had her sword, but Rain had neither her staff nor her
rings with her, so she had no way of attacking.

Being waist deep in water and having to fight while keeping

their chests covered obviously made moving around hard for
them.

“Damn, how could mere goblins make a fool out of me!?”

The goblins seemed well aware that they couldn’t

demonstrate their full strength in such a condition, and they
taunted them while staying slightly out of their reach.

Claire had a lot of trouble landing her attacks in this

situation. Her vigorous movements while chasing the goblins
made it seem like certain parts might slip out at any time.

Dammit, the reeds are in the way!

On top of that, Lynn deliberately rushed into my line of sight.

“Hey, position yourselves better! Right, you, move a little

further to your left and get that right arm out of the way! And
someone cut these reeds! You too, Lynn, you’re in the way!
Move!”

I unwittingly started cheering on the goblins, and a few sets

of murderous gazes were shot my way.

“Hey, doesn’t it sound like that guy is actually cheering on

the goblins rather than us!?”

“I had a bad feeling when I heard that he was a friend of

Kazuma-sama, but I didn’t think he’d be…!”

“I already knew this, but you really are the worst! Hang in
there, I’ll help you right away!”

Perhaps sensing Yunyun’s magic power, the goblins facing

us immediately started running away.

Lynn hastily scrambled out of the way, leaving only me

surrounded by goblins.
Yunyun’s hand glowed with magical energy.

“Hey, wait, hold on a minute! You’ll get me with that spell

too! Hey, come on, um, Yunyun-sama. Come on, are you
listening to me!? I’m not like Darkness! I don’t have that sort
of tastes!”

Ah, she’s acting like she can’t hear me.

She can’t be still holding a grudge over how I teased her

earlier, can she?

“Lightning Strike!”

At those words, a barrage of thunderbolts swallowed up both

me and the goblins.

Part 4
“It seemed like you’ve awoken.”

“You’re alive. How wonderful…”

I’m still tied up, but my life hasn’t ended just yet.

The two nobles seemed to have wrapped up their bath while

I was out, and looked down at me with wet hair.

Their clothes were dry too. Rain probably used some kind of
spell to do that.
Dammit, I can’t believe I slept through such a beautiful sight.

Still, I’m surprised I managed to take such an advanced

spell without any damage… well, I’m not unharmed exactly,
but it’s certainly less damage than I expected.

“Would it not be best to simply leave this man here?”

“I support that notion.”

“I can’t see him as anything but a detriment!”

Why are Lynn and Yunyun so on board with this!?

I wanted to say that up front, but I swallowed those words

the moment I met their contemptful gazes.

“Now, now, hold on a minute. You’ll lose out on quite a bit if

you abandon me here.”

“Oh? Then why don’t you tell me exactly in what way will
leaving you here be a loss for us?”

Claire crossed her arms and glared down at me.

“First of all, the one who accepted the quests was me.
Without me to handle the paperwork, it will be difficult for
you to get any money for the work you’ve done today.”

“I don’t care for such dirty money.”

“I kinda do want it…”

Claire, being from a family on the same level as the
Dustiness house, doesn’t seem to want for money.

But Rain is a different matter. She’s from a impoverished

noble family, so prospects of fame and fortune are
particularly tempting for her. I’m certain of that after the time
we spent in the bar last night.

“You might even be able to end up with some treasure.”

“Treasure!? Tell me more about that!”

Rain’s tune changed completely. It seems like even the

nobility aren’t free from the concerns of money.

“It’s worth… well, probably not as much as you’re expecting.

Still, if the knowledge that certain nobles are secretly
working on behalf of the commoners were to spread, your
reputation would increase by quite a bit. Darkness…
Lalatina might have her own eccentricities, but she’s widely
loved by the people of Axel because of her actions as an
adventurer.”

“Umm, I’m a little interested in what you mean by Lalatina-

sama’s eccentricities…”

Of all things, Rain just had to get interested in the most

problematic bit.

“I’ll tell you all about it over a few mugs of beer. Anyway,
secretly supporting the commoners from the shadows
certainly seems like it’d strike Alice’s fancy.”
“Let’s untie him.”

Claire untied me in a flash.

She really will do anything if you bring up Alice’s name.

“Fuah~ I’m finally free. Anyway, we technically went giant

frog and goblin hunting, so… what do you want to do now?”

Personally, I’d rather just head back to town, get paid, and
start making merry.

“There’s no way we can go back just yet. We haven’t done

anything great at all. Relaying what happened today to Iris-
sama would just end with her laughing at us.”

“All we did was get eaten by the giant frogs and tormented
by the goblins…”

True, these two didn’t really get a chance to shine.

Still, were there any other monsters lurking around here?

“Hmm, I really don’t think there are any other monsters

within reach. It’d really be best to head back for the day.”

“But, I don’t know what Alice-sama will say if we

shamelessly dragged ourselves back without going on a
proper adventure…”

“It doesn’t have to be hunting monsters, isn’t there anything

else adventurer like we could do? I don’t mind paying more
money, so isn’t there something you can do? Even if it’s just
an everyday task for you…”

It seems like they won’t want to go back without going on a

proper adventure.

If they are offering to pay me more money, there’s no reason

for me to refuse. Let’s see, something that’ll satisfy them…

“What I did yesterday… Well, I tried to sponge some food

from the old man at the general store, but he said some
petty things and drove me out when I tried to use some of
the products as collateral for a loan. I didn’t have money, so
I went to the guild and ordered some water. They threw me
out after I stared a little too long at one of the barmaids’ butt.
Then, I went to a nearby cafe to take in the sights, but they
threw me out because I didn’t- ”

“Umm, isn’t there something more adventurer-like that you

can talk about?”

But that is plenty adventurer-like.

In my time as an adventurer, I’ve done monster hunting and

been a bodyguard. Oh, and I’ve also gone dungeon delving,
haven’t I?

“The only thing that comes to mind is dungeon delving.”

“A dungeon!? That’d be great!”

“Alice-sama really loves those kinds of stories.”

Oh, that’s caught their interest alright.

The dungeons around these parts are…

The dungeon where we fought the mini-destroyer has

completely collapsed. There were a lot of books in there, so
it really is a waste, but there’s nothing I can do about that.

We could go to Keel’s Dungeon. It’s a beginner’s dungeon,

so it’s relatively safe with the only monsters we’d run into
being gremlins and the occasional undead.

Oh, wait, that dungeon was cordoned off after Sir Vanir did
something there.

“Just any dungeon would do. Hey, Yunyun, do you know…

Nah, nevermind. There’s no way a loner would’ve gone
dungeon delving.”

“What exactly do you mean!? Sure, dungeons are dark and

kinda scary and not a place I want to enter on my own…”

So what I said was completely accurate.

There are other dungeons in the area, but none of them

would be reachable before sundown. Is there really not a
single place close enough…

“Dust, what about that castle the Demon King’s General

turned into his base?”

“Oh, that’ll do. You two would love it. That place has ties to
the Demon King’s army.”

“Please, lead us to it!”

That place isn’t exactly a dungeon, but as far as providing
material to spin a tale out of, it should do just fine.

Part 5
“So this is the castle that Demon King’s General was living
in.”

“It was the dullahan, Beldia, if I recall. The one that Kazuma-
sama and his party defeated…”

The two nobles gawked around like a pair of tourists.

In the red rays of the setting sun, this old castle certainly has
the atmosphere befitting that of the castle of a headless
knight.

“I have seen it from a distance before, but this is…”

It seems like it was Yunyun’s first time here too, if the note of
wonder in her voice is anything to go by.

“It’s a lot more sturdier than I expected.”

Lynn was tapping against the walls as she moved along,

seemingly checking their structural integrity.

This castle was abandoned for a long time before the

Demon King’s General, Beldia, turned this place into his
hideout a few months ago.
He didn’t make any moves on the town of Axel, so the
adventurers were happy to leave him be, but that situation
didn’t last thanks to a certain crazy Explosion Girl and her
penchant for casting Explosion every day.

“From what I’ve heard, the Crimson Demon in Kazuma’s

party lured Beldia all the way to town with her magic, where
the combined might of the adventurers managed to bring
him down.”

Claire nodded, her voice brimming with admiration.

Well, that isn’t exactly wrong, but it isn’t exactly accurate

either.

Not only did I not get any rewards from that incident, the
flood that the party priest called down caused me to lose a
small fortune. It’s not a pleasant memory.

“There may still be a few remnants of the Demon King’s

army skulking around, so don’t let your guard down.”

Well, I say that, but that is very unlikely.

Treasure-seeking adventurer parties have swarmed all over

this place after the defeat of Beldia. Not only that, but the
guild has also posted multiple missions to try and get
information on the Demon King’s army.

Every nook and cranny has been thoroughly scoured clean.

There’s no way a member of the Demon King’s army
could’ve stayed hidden here.
By now, it’s simply become a spot for the local residents to
test their courage. Well, it does have a spooky atmosphere,
so it will serve just fine for the purposes of those two nobles.

“Doesn’t this just get your heart pumping!?”

Yunyun is definitely enjoying this.

She happily chatted away as we proceeded down the

corridor, excitedly poking her head into every room we came
across.

Nothing particularly exciting happened, but Claire and Rain

seemed content with simply exploring the castle. I haven’t
heard a single word of complaint from either of them.

“This castle is really well put together. The surrounding earth

has been almost completely churned up. A truly fierce battle
must have taken place here for the land to be scarred this
badly.”

“I suppose so. I can feel traces of high level magic all over
the place. The adventurers of Axel and the remnants of the
Demon King’s army must have clashed here. It seems like
there was a mage capable of controlling some really
powerful magic amongst them.”

It’s your prerogative to let your imaginations run wild, but this
are all marks left by that Explosion Girl.

After receiving an Explosion each day, even a sturdy castle

would be reduced to such a state. The childhood friend of
the culprit of such destruction was shrinking and blushing as
if it was her that was being talked about.

Come to think of it, I wonder if Sir Vanir knows the dullahan

Beldia. He’s an Archdevil, after all.

I think I recall seeing a similar mask to Sir on a wanted

poster with a bounty rivaling that of a Demon King’s
General, but that must’ve been someone else who wore a
similar mask.

“Still, unlike the exterior, the interior seems pretty well

maintained. It’s hard to imagine it being the home base of an
army of undead at one point.”

“There are traces of people passing through here, but apart

from that, this place seems to have been kept pretty clean.”

The room that we entered seemed to be an old parlour of

sorts, complete with a long table and a dusty sofa.

It’s covered in a thin layer of dust right now, but it seems to

have accumulated after the dullahan was defeated.
Normally, you’d expect things to be far more run down in an
old abandoned castle like this.

Taking a closer look, I noticed a bucket and a set of rags in

the corner.

… Do undead sweep and clean too? It’d be quite a surreal

sight if that was the case.
“Beldia was going on about being a knight and whatnot
before he became a dullahan, so maybe he still liked things
clean even after he died. At a glance, it seems like he took
pretty good care of this place.”

“Even though he’s an undead? There’s no way… Umm,

maybe it’s time we took a break? We could have some tea
in this room…”

The prospect of enjoying a tea party inside a castle must be

quite appealing to Yunyun. She retrieved a teapot from her
bag along with a seemingly endless stream of teacups.

Is this why her bag is so huge?

“Well, we did run around a lot. I shall gladly take you up on

that offer.”

“Allow me to lend you a hand, Yunyun-san.”

Claire sank down deep into the sofa, and Rain busied
herself with preparing the tea alongside Yunyun.

Lynn helped out with arranging the cutlery and teacups on

the table.

I would really like to take a seat on the sofa too, but

somehow I get the feeling that sitting next to Claire wouldn’t
end too well.

Instead, I took a seat on the end of the table furthest from

her.
Once the preparations were done, Claire and Rain ended up
sitting next to each other, and Lynn and Yunyun took up
seats on either side of me.

Yunyun fidgeted nervously as the others helped themselves

to the tea and snacks.

You really should just come out and say it if you have
something to say, but this loner…

“This tea is quite delicious.”

“That’s great~ I got it from a highly recommended shop in

Axel.”

“It must have cost quite a bit. It has a great fragrance too…”

“W-Well, it is from a high-end shop…”

Thanks to Rain speaking up at just the right time, Yunyun

didn’t have to stew in her discomfort for very long.

Though, listening to such a stiff conversation makes me itch

for some reason. There’s nothing pleasant hearing two
people tread so softly around each other.

Lynn simply enjoyed her tea in silence. She’s being

unusually quiet today. I would’ve expected her to start up a
conversation with someone, but I guess she has times when
she’s shy too.

Or perhaps she’s simply nervous about interacting with

nobility.
Feeling bored, I rummaged around Yunyun’s bag that she
left by the sofa.

It isn’t long before I felt a something against my hand.

Taking it out, it turned out to be a wooden box just about the
size of my fist.

“Say, what’s this?”

“That’s the magic item that Wiz-san gave me… Hey, you
went into my bag again!?”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. So you got this for free?”

Yunyun’s face turned red as she started complaining at me,

but I ignored her and opened the lid of the box.

Inside is a large crystal orb with countless glowing sparkles

floating within its depths.

It might roll off if I simply placed it on the table, so I

improvised a cushion out of the nearby rag before placing it
on top.

“Seriously, what is this? It looks like something a fortune

teller would use.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen what’s inside, so don’t ask
me. Umm, I’m pretty sure the manual is in the box… Ah,
there it is! It says that something will happen if multiple
people pour their mana into it… Hmm? I feel like I’ve seen a
crystal orb like this before…”
Yunyun trailed off.

“You probably just saw it when it was on display at the store.

This orb seems interesting, but will it really not work unless
you pour mana into it? I won’t be able to make use of it in
that case. Why don’t you give it a try, Yunyun?”

“Wiz-san gave this to me, so it shouldn’t be anything weird,

but I swear I’ve seen this somewhere before…”

Yunyun continued making strange faces as she stared at the

crystal orb.

“What about you, Lynn?”

“I’m not interested.”

How cold. Why is she in such a bad mood? I’ve even made
sure not to cause too many problems today. At least, not
compared to my usual days.

I’ll just get burned if I try to engage with her right now. It’s
best to leave her alone.

“Alright, then, why don’t you two give it a shot? It might

make for a good story to tell Alice when you return.”

“I suppose so. We still don’t really have much to tell her.”

“I don’t mind giving it a try.”

They said it in a carefree manner, but they certainly do seem

more into it than I expected.
The two of them placed their hands on the crystal orb and
started pouring mana into it.

After a short moment, a dark purple glow came from the orb
and the surroundings suddenly turned dark.

“H-Hey, this isn’t dangerous, is it!?”

The sudden change caused shivers to flow down my spine,

and Yunyun’s eyes lit up like she just made some sort of
realization.

“Oh, I remember now! This is the friendmaking crystal!”

“Huh?”

Before I could do anything more, several rectangular boards

of light appeared around the crystal orb.

“What is this? There’s something moving on those boards…”

The one closest to me showed a scene of a plainly dressed

girl, Rain, repeatedly bowing to an angry-looking old man.

“Ah, that’s from when I got chewed out for giving Vanir-dono
all that money!”

Another screen showed a heavily breathing Claire laying on

an expensive-looking bed as she stared at Alice’s sleeping
face.

“What’s with this image!? How do you know my nightly

routine!? Staring at Alice-sama’s face before sleeping gives
me the most wonderful dreams!”

… She does this every day?

I’m seriously worried she might actually cross the line

someday.

“Um, this item exposes the embarrassing memories of those

who provide mana to it in order to deepen their bonds of
friendship towards each other… supposedly.”

Yet another screen showed a somewhat younger looking

Rain walking into an expensive-looking restaurant alongside
a few other nobles. As the others were ordering, she
reached into her wallet…

“Er-My stomach doesn’t feel so good.”

She muttered, before satisfying herself with only a cup of

water.

I knew she was fairly poor as a noble, but I didn’t expect her
to be this hard pressed.

“Don’t look! How do you stop this!?”

She has stopped supplying it with mana, but the various

screens don’t seem to be fading away.

Pretty much all of the scenes that Claire appears in involve

Alice in some way. Most of them depict her staring at her in
a dangerous way or spoiling her rotten, but one of them has
Claire looking coldly at a younger looking Alice.
There isn’t even a hint of a smile on her face. It’s hard to
imagine Claire ever being capable of looking at Alice this
coldly given her usual behavior.

Claire noticed where I was looking and let out a small sigh.

“That’s from when we first met. All I felt back then was
bitterness from being passed over for the position of her
brother’s educator. It’s really nothing to be proud of.”

I seem to recall her saying something about Alice not being

her first choice back when she was drunk.

So she had a time where she wasn’t head over heels with
Alice.

“Becoming Justi… Her brother’s educator was your dream,

wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was. I had high hopes of being in charge of that

person who had extreme potential in both looks and talent,
but when my appointed position was made known to me… I
was stuck with a fragile-looking girl. My eyes were really
clouded back then… I couldn’t see how wonderful Alice-
sama was.”

Well, I suppose anyone would be just as disappointed if they

were lead to believe that they’d be in charge of the first
prince of the country.

“How could I have been so blind!? No matter how little time

she could spend with her family who are constantly at the
front lines, no matter how much she’s hurting inside, she still
kept smiling without showing any of it! It’s that strength that
won me over!”

Watching her enthusiastically declare that with such

exaggerated movements honestly kind of annoys me.

As I started searching for some other interesting scene to

focus my attention on, I noticed one that doesn’t seem to
feature either of the nobles.

“Hmm… wait, this is…”

Drawn by my surprised voice, everyone else turned to look

at the same screen.

That screen depicted a black-armoured knight holding a

helmet under his arm- A dullahan.

“So this will be my residence from today onwards… Terrain-

wise, the hill makes it easily defensible, and the view is great
too. Let’s start with a little spring cleaning.”

The dullahan placed his head on the desk, pulled out a rag
from the bucket and started scrubbing the walls and floor.

He happily hummed along as he worked.

“This will take some time. Undead knights, lend me a hand!”

The knights with rotten bodies and tattered armour followed

his orders, quickly picking up brooms and rags and getting
to work.
The next scene depicted the dullahan contentedly walking
around a much cleaner looking castle.

He brushed his fingers against the windowsill to check his

work, and it came away without a single speck of dust.

“Well, this has turned into quite a nice place, hasn’t it? Now
that I’ve secured a base of operations, I suppose I should
focus on building up my forces-”

His musings were suddenly interrupted by a loud boom.

The screen shook violently, and pieces of rubble fell from

the ceiling. The dullahan was so shocked that he almost lost
his grip on his head.

“What the!? What’s going on!?”

He hastily thrusted his head out a nearby window. Scorch

marks have been left along the wall, along with several
newly made holes. Furthermore, the interior has been turned
into a complete mess from the shockwave.

This… looks like the work of that Explosion Girl.

“Just what was that…”

The dullahan seemed rattled, but he quickly regained his

wits and started assessing the damage, repairing what he
could alongside his undead knights.

“Could that have been the work of the adventurers of Axel?

Hmm, no matter, that town of newbies probably did this as a
test of their courage. It would be unseemly to get angry over
such a small matter. As the general of the Demon King’s
army, I shall be the bigger man and let them off this time.”

He moved his head in a nodding motion, even as it was held

under his arm.

“That sound was Megumin’s Explosion, right? … As her

rival, I’m really ashamed of her. On the other hand, the
dullahan seems like a real gentleman. He’s a Demon King’s
general, but he’s completely different from what I imagined.”

“I agree, but why is it showing the dullahan’s memories?”

“It’s just my speculation, but perhaps this item is picking up

some residual magic from the rag beneath it?”

I don’t really get it, but I’ll just nod along to Rain’s
explanation.

The rag the crystal orb is resting on does seem to be the

same one that the dullahan is holding.

“This one shows the dullahan too. We might be able to get

some good information on the Demon King’s army.”

Claire ignored the screens that showed images of the nobles

and focused squarely on the ones featuring the dullahan.

It certainly seemed more interesting than delving in the past

of these two, so I joined her as well.

One screen showed the dullahan dropping a vase in shock

as a loud boom interrupted him while he was carrying it. The
vase shattered into pieces.

Yet another screen showed him standing in front of a newly-

repaired piece of wall, wiping the sweat off his helmet. At
that exact moment, a loud explosion turned it into rubble yet
again.

And the next screen showed him just about to sink into the
sofa after a day of hard work, when the sky outside his
window glowed red and the tremors started.

He leapt off his seat just in time to watch a large segment of

wall be reduced to rubble.

“Just what kind of grudge do you have against me!?”

His anguished cries echoed throughout the castle as he

threw his own head against the ground.

“… This is horrible…”

Claire and Rain muttered at the same time.

“Even I can’t bring myself to do something this nasty.”

“I’ve never put much thought into this before, but Megumin is
really…”

“I feel like I want to apologize to dullahan-san…”

I never thought there’d come a day where I would

sympathize with a General of the Demon King’s army.
The next few scenes showed the dullahan trying to keep up
with the repairs as the castle gets ever more dilapidated due
to the daily explosions, until he finally lost his patience.

“Every day, every single day they blast the place with magic!
That’s it! And here I thought I’d let them off easy because
they’re a town of beginners!”

The dullahan hefted his greatsword and dashed out of the

room.

A different screen showed the dullahan back in the room, a

spring in his step as he busied himself with cleaning up.

“After casting Premonition of Death on her, that crazy

Crimson Demon girl will surely come charging in here with
her friends. I have to prepare a few traps as well as a few
rounded hit squads to face them. Still, I shouldn’t make
things too difficult. It wouldn’t do if they were to die before I
have the chance to entertain them myself.”

Saying that, he called out to his undead knights and began a

strategy meeting.

It might just be my imagination, but he seems to be really

enjoying it.

The next day, the dullahan went about setting traps and
cleaning up, but the castle shook again just like it had in the
days before.

Dashing outside, a new hole has been blown into the walls
of the castle. In addition, the tremors from the explosion has
ruined all of his traps.

“They-They’re still doing this…”

The scene ended just as he dropped his head in disbelief.

All of us sat on the sofa in silence. None of us could say

anything.

Yunyun rested her face in her hands and let out a huge sigh.

“… So, did this give you any ideas on how to deal with the
Demon King’s army?”

“No comment.”

It might’ve been a Demon King’s general, but it seems like

even they held some reservations about the Explosion Girl’s
methods.

“But, um, she has her good sides too. Like being thrifty with
money and willing to eat anything…”

Yunyun hastily tried to cover for her friend, but at this point,
it’s hard to tell who exactly is the subordinate of the Demon
King.

Lynn was staring intently at the screen with a frown, even

after it faded to white.

“What’s wrong?”
“That showed the dullahan in this very room, right? He was
doing something at that pillar next to the wall. Isn’t it this
one?”

She said before moving over to that pillar.

I followed her because it piqued my interest, but it just looks

like a normal pillar to me.

“If only we had a thief amongst our party… There isn’t any
dust around here. Did someone touch it recently? There’s
something sticking out…”

I heard a clicking noise, and the floor in front of the pillar

slowly shifted away, revealing a stairway leading further
below.

“This must be a secret passage. Well, it’s not unthinkable for

such a thing to be in a castle.”

“Indeed. It might be an escape route or a passage that leads

to a hidden panic room for use in case of emergencies.”

The two nobles appeared behind me before I realized it,

commenting on the stairwell as though it was an everyday
fixture.

“Wow, it’s just like the story I recently read! The princess
and her imperial knight used a similar passage to escape
from a burning castle, hand in hand!”

Ignoring Yunyun who was off in a world of her own, I peered

into the depths of the stairwell.

It’s hard to see very far in the dim lighting, but it seems to
stretch on for quite a while.

“If the dullahan was using this passage, it wouldn’t be

surprising for there to be documents or treasure hidden
away here! Treasure would be best!”

What an unexpected chance for some extra income!

If I land a windfall here, I wouldn’t need to concern myself

with money for quite a while.

“Then we have no choice but to head in! If we recover some

important information here, Alice-sama will surely be
overjoyed!”

“If we get our hands on something important here, we might

even be able to get rewarded by the king himself!”

Claire and Rain seemed to be on board too.

“I-I’m interested too!”

Yunyun excitedly raised her hand in support.

“Hmm, I’d rather not let those two nobles do anything too
dangerous, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any chance of
convincing them otherwise.”

“There you have it. I’ll go prepare the lantern.”

Lynn’s probably nervous because we don’t have our full
party here. It’d be great if Taylor and Keith were with us, but
there’s nothing we can do about it now.

“I’ll go first. Don’t make too much noise now.”

Normally, the heavily-armoured Taylor would go first, but in

this situation, I have no choice but to take the lead.

Claire is too ill-armoured to be the vanguard, and the rest of

the party are mages.

Furthermore, if I was at the lead, I’d be able to get first pick

of anything valuable we happen to stumble upon!

Taking the lantern in my hand, I carefully headed down the

stairs.

The marching order is me, Lynn, and Yunyun, followed by a

small gap before Rain, and Claire bringing up the rear.

The walls and ceiling look to be made out of solid stone, so

it doesn’t seem like it’ll collapse on us. The fact that the
stairway keeps going down makes it highly likely that it leads
to a treasure room instead of being an escape route.

Looks like I can expect to get something out of this.

“I wonder what kind of treasure they are keeping here?”

It’d be boring just heading down in silence, so I tried starting

some small talk.
“It’s the hideout of a Demon King’s general, so wouldn’t it be
arms and armour and the like?”

“You don’t have a sense of romance at all, Lynn. What about

you, Yunyun? What do you think?”

“Um, couldn’t it be a friend dullahan-san had while he was

alive? Like, he was hiding a girl away in such a place…”

If the dullahan really did have someone hidden down here, I

can’t imagine her being anything other than a prisoner. One
kidnapped for unsavory purposes.

From his appearance alone, he certainly gives off the

impression of being capable of something like that.

The spiral staircase eventually led to a small, circular room.

There’s only a single door on the walls, and it’s locked with a
heavy padlock.

I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear anything coming from

the other side of the door. Doesn’t seem like there is
anything living here.

“Well, we don’t have any thieves with us, so we’ll have to

force our way through. Don’t let your guard down. There
might be monsters or traps lying in wait.”

Part 6
It took awhile, but the lock eventually broke apart after
repeated blows from the pommel of my sword.

I carefully inched the door open and peeked into the room.

Inside was a tuxedo-wearing, masked devil sitting on a chair

that resembled a throne.

“Fuhaha! Moi is glad you brave heroes made it here! Those

dark emotions of having your expectations betrayed are
quite delicious indeed!”

“Vanir-san!?”

“… Sir, what are you doing?”

I stared blankly at Sir as he rose up from the throne.

It’s so far outside of my expectations that I couldn’t even act

surprised.
“Well, after hearing that there is an abandoned castle out
here, Moi visited this place multiple times to check if it’d be
useful in my goal to create the ultimate dungeon. This
hidden room was discovered during one of my visits, and it’s
low humidity and temperature made it perfect for storing
foodstuff, so that’s what Moi has been using it for. ”

So that’s why there are crates stacked up all around the

throne.

“Umm, you’re Vanir-dono, right? It’s been some time.”

“You helped us out a lot the last time we met.”

Oh, yeah, come to think of it, Claire and Rain knew Sir,
right? The three of them were together when I first ran into
them.

“Oh, if it isn’t the plain girl with barely any presence and the
girl who would make a move on her master if it weren’t for
her sense of loyalty.”

“P-Plain…”

“T-That’s not true at all! My affections towards her are

completely platonic! I posses no such ill intentions!”

Rain fell into a depression whereas Claire hastily refuted

that label.

That’s definitely a lie. The way she conducts herself towards

Alice is far beyond that of simple protectiveness.

“Just what are you, Vanir-dono? You’re clearly not an

ordinary person, and you don’t strike me as an adventurer
either.”

Toward Claire’s question, Sir simply stroked his chin and

laughed.

“Has my master not said that Moi is Hachibei? Is there truly

a need for any other explanation?”

“I… suppose so. My apologies.”

Seriously, you’re convinced with that?

“Sir, what is a Hachibei? And master?”

“That is a secret. Everyone has one or two things they want

to keep to themselves. Isn’t that right, delinquent adventurer
who hides his past?”

The last part was said in a whisper just loud enough that I
was the only one who can hear it.

Well, if you put it that way, there really isn’t much I can say.

“It must be some sort of fate for us to meet here, especially

for your team to be mostly women. Would you care to try the
new product that Moi created?”

Sir retrieved a small paper bag from one of the crates.

The words “Diet pills” were written in large letters across it.

Wait, could these be the products made from the fruits of the
tranquility girl…

“This is a miraculous snack that will never make you fat no

matter how much of it you consume. Despite that, it’s both
filling and delicious. It truly is the ultimate snack!”

“Vanir-dono, do you work as a merchant? Even though you

are strong enough to easily brush away a knight!?”

“I think I recall him saying that he runs a consultation corner

and works part time at a magic item store before we parted
ways…”

Rain seemed extremely surprised, while Claire folded her

arms and fell into deep thought.

“Sometimes, Moi is Hachibei. Other times, Moi runs a

consultation corner. And yet other times, Moi is a part timer
at a magic item store. That is the sort of person Moi is!”

With that sort of explanation, I can’t help but think of him as

a suspicious person.

He didn’t say it, but he’s also an Archdevil, so that just

makes it more suspicious.

“Leaving that aside, Moi shall offer you a special discount,

so why don’t you buy a few? As a snack that would go well
with tea, it’d be the perfect gift to offer to your master. It’s
also perfect for people who are worried about their waistline
due to their security duties preventing them from getting
much time to exercise.”

“Uck.”

Rain and Claire gulped at the same time.

Seems like that comment struck pretty close to the mark.

“It certainly sounds appealing, but it’s hard to imagine that

such a remarkable item really works as advertised. ”

“Indeed. Though, if it’s real…”

It seems like they are still unable to take the final step of
putting down money for it.

Sir shifted his gaze towards Lynn. Changing targets, huh?

“What about you? Even though you’ve been skipping out on

adventuring recently, haven’t you still been eating the same
amount of food? Have you been taking care to make use of
all the calories you’re taking in? Have you been slacking off
just because you don’t have anyone to show your body to?”

“Wha!? O-Of course not.”

You don’t sound convincing at all if you say that while

covering your belly, Lynn.

Nodding contentedly, Sir turned his attention over to

Yunyun.
“I-I’m not buying them no matter what you say!”

“This product hasn’t been released yet, so no one is really

talking about it, but there is no doubt that it shall become a
great hit. The stocks will soon run out, and the town will be
full of girls who are looking for this product. What do you
suppose will happen then if, say, someone were to have a
large stock of it on hand?”

“T-They would ask that person for some of it…”

“Indeed! Even if you do not use it, by simply buying a box of

my product, you shall surely become very popular. The
amount of friends you have shall surely exceed your ability
to keep track of them. On account of our friendship, Moi
shall offer them to you for a very special discount.”

“F-Friends…”

Yunyun floatily walked towards Sir.

It’s too late for her. She’s completely done for.

Sir really is amazing at this. If he didn’t shackle himself to

that eternally broke shopkeeper, he would surely be far
richer than he is now, but he must have something in mind.

“Of course, it’s merely natural to have some doubts when

faced with such a convenient-sounding item. Moi shall
provide a sample, so go ahead and dig in.”

The items he retrieved from the bag are a series of bite-

sized manjus, each bearing an image of Sir’s mask.

The girls all looked at it with interest, but none of them

reached out to grab it. Well, I understand where they are
coming from. It certainly does smell fishy.

“Good grief, are you still suspicious of it? Moi has confirmed
that it is safe for consumption, so there’s no need to worry
on that front. That useless shopkeeper sung its praises
when she ate one a few days back. Now she always eats
one before every meal. It’s to the point where Moi fears that
she might finish all of it, so Moi decided to move the stocks
over here.”

The girl’s frown deepened after listening to Sir’s story. It

doesn’t seem to have eased their distrust at all.

If what he said is true, the addictive effect from the original

fruit might still be active… Is this really safe?

Putting some distance between me and the rest, I moved

over to Sir and whispered into his ear.

“… Sir, this is really harmless to the human body, right?”

“That has already been tested. It causes cravings for more

of it, but apart from that, there are no other side effects. The
hallucinative effects have been completely removed. It is
indeed good for dieting, but it still contains enough nutrition
that one cannot die from starvation. The cravings will fade
away within about a week, so there’s no need to worry about
that either.”
If that’s the case, then there shouldn’t be… no, there is a
problem.

I still have a few reservations, but while Sir enjoys tricking

humans, he doesn’t kill them, so I can put my trust in him.

“Ideally, Moi would like to spread it all over the town and get
a lot of people addicted to it before it sells out. Five days
later, Moi shall acquire new stock, and the women in town
will rush to get their hands on it. Just as Moi starts selling
the stocks of these products, a mysterious explosion shall
turn all of them into ash. Don’t you think Moi will be able to
taste the best dark emotions in that situation?”

“You might be able to obtain dark emotions, but I really

doubt you’ll be able to make it out safely after making an
enemy out of all the women in town.”

The obsession that women have to become beautiful is a

terrifying thing.

You can’t complain if you get killed after doing something

like this.

Glancing over to the side, it seems like the others are still on
the fence about this issue.

“Moi does not know what you’re concerned about, but if you
are not buying it, Moi shall move on to some other product.
Moi has plenty of other appealing products on hand.”

As Sir moved to stow away the items, the hand holding the
manjus were instantly grabbed by everyone else at the
same time.

“Could you please wait for a moment? F-Fine, it’s for the
sake of my waistline! I’ll have one!”

“I-I understand. I’ll do this together with you, Claire-sama!”

“I suppose I’ll have one too.”

“I-In that case, I don’t want to be left out, so I’ll eat one too!”

After getting one manju each, the four of them looked at

each other and brought them to their mouths at the same
time.

“It’s delicious!!”

They exclaimed.

“This sweetness and rich fragrance! It even goes down

easily! I’ve only eaten one of them, but I can already feel a
sense of fullness!”

Claire’s eyes sparkled as she sung praises about it.

For a noble used to eating good food every day to regard it

this highly, it must be quite delicious indeed.

I’d really like to give it a taste myself but…

“Aah, I can’t get enough! It’s so delicious that I can’t stop!”

“What is this!? Oh my god, I can’t get enough.”

“I really want to give Megumin a taste too, but I have to get

my fill here first.”

After seeing the women frantically snatching bun after bun

from the bag, I gave up on that notion.

The were going after it with the same ferocity that the
undead would go after the living. Is this really okay?

“Okay, that’s enough! Moi is not running a charity! If you

want any more of it, you’re going to have to pay!”

Lynn and the others tried to move on to the other boxes in

the room after cleaning out the bag, only to be kept in check
by Sir.

Yunyun and Lynn ended up buying quite a few bags.

Claire and Rain bought an entire crate.

“I knew my gaze wasn’t mistaken. Allow me to present you

high rolling customers with a special Vanir-style mask. It is
certain to make your master happy. You may have one too
as thanks for introducing such generous customers to me.”

Sir produced a pair of identical masks and gave one of them

to me.

“Ahh, how nice~”

Yunyun sighed longingly as she looked at the mask in my

hand.

I’ve heard that this is a surprisingly popular item. I’ll sell it to

Yunyun if I ever run into problems with money.

“Alice-sama will probably be happy with this, but is it really

okay to give it to her? She’s gotten really fond of chivalrous
thieves ever since that incident, so this might just make
things worse.”

“Indeed. It seems like she has been quite interested in

imitating a chivalrous thief as of late. It’d be quite
problematic for someone of her position to head down the
path of a thief.”

The first princess of a nation getting involved with thieves,

really? You two should really do a better job as her
guardians.

… The chivalrous thieves they are talking about is that pair

of silver-haired thieves that only target nobles with bad
reputations that I’ve been hearing a lot about recently, right?
They were using a mask similar to Sir Vanir’s to hide their
faces or something.

Not too long ago, the Explosion Girl and Yunyun formed a
group to support that thieving band and tried to recruit me
into it.

If I recall, Alice was with them too… Oh, I see. I finally

understand how they are all linked together.
Anyway, this seemed to satisfy their desire for adventure, so
after helping them move the crate back to the teleport
station and seeing them off, the request was finally
complete.

They properly paid me for my services, so I have no

complaints, but are they really satisfied with that? It feels like
they had nothing on their minds other than Sir’s products.

Lynn and Yunyun too quickly headed home with their bags
of newly purchased products in hand.

I moved to head back home too, but Sir stopped me.

“There is no doubt that this will sell. There is also no doubt

that Moi shall be short handed. You shall be properly
compensated, so what do you think about lending me a
hand?”

“Ah, sorry Sir, I’ve gotten my hands on some money, so I

intend to spend my time relaxing leisurely for the
foreseeable future.”

“Is that so? That is a pity. Moi was thinking of giving you an
employee discount and preferential purchase rights. Once
this item becomes a hit and sells out, the girls in this town
would not stand idly by if they learnt that a certain man has
gotten his hands on a large amount of stock in advance. It
truly is a pity, but Moi would not force you into this.”

“What are you saying? There’s no need to be so distant.

We’re friends, aren’t we? Of course I’ll help!”
I firmly grasped Sir’s outstretched hand.

After helping Sir Vanir move his products back into his store,
I’m currently enjoying a cup of tea that Wiz thoughtfully
provided for me.

“Hmm, what would you say to some cheap wine to go with

that?”

“Wine? Hmm, I’m sure there’s a good bottle lying around

here…”

“You really are the ideal of a delinquent, as usual. If all you

want is alcohol, you can get it from a hand wash. More
importantly, the products I left here seem to have gone
missing…”

Seeing Wiz avert her gaze and start acting twitchy, I finished
the last of my tea and stood up.

There’s no doubt that she did something and is about to get

yelled at.

“Sir, I’ll swing by tomorrow to talk about the business stuff

again.”

It’s best to get out of here before I get dragged into it.

Wiz was pleading at me with her teary eyes not to leave, but
I ignored her. Usually, I’d at least try to entertain the request
of a beautiful lady, but I’m not foolish enough to go up
against Sir.
“What did you do with the two masks I left here!? Those are
special, high grade items that can swap the spirit of those
who wear them…”

I heard Sir’s angry voice start up the moment I stepped

through the door, so I quickly made haste from the store.

A small flash lit up the shop as I left. That must be the

mysterious beams that Sir shoots from his eyes.

With the image of Wiz burnt to a crisp in my mind, I hurried

over to the guild.

My pockets are bursting with gold today. I’m going to drink

my fill!

Part 7
My vision is blurry.

It feels like my eyes are covered in fog, and I can’t be sure

of where I am right at the moment.

Furthermore, it feels like my field of view has been

narrowed. It’s almost like I’m wearing a mask of some sort…

I felt my hands impact something hard when I moved them

towards my face.

Oh, yeah, I remember getting drunk and crawling into a bed

somewhere.

The lights were too bright, it was too bothersome to

extinguish them, so I used the mask that Sir gave to me as a
blindfold. At least, that what I think my thought process was.

“Isn’t that the souvenir we brought back for Iris-sama? What

are you doing wearing it, Rain? Ah, well, I guess it’s fine.
She might be more inclined to listen to us if you have it on.
Anyway, let’s hurry up and go.”

This voice is Claire, right?

Why is Claire in my room… And she just said Iris just now,
right? Wouldn’t there be a lot of problems if she leaks the
secret to me?

While such thoughts crawled through my mind, I followed

after Claire in a daze.

My vision was gradually becoming clearer, so I could get a

better grasp of my surroundings.

A very expensive-looking carpet was laid on the hallway I

was walking down.

Looking up, the ceiling was needlessly high, and sported an

extremely extravagant chandelier that illuminated our path.

“Huh!? Where is this place!?”

“Why are you shouting all of a sudden? Did you sneak in a

few drinks or something? It sounds stupid to point out the
obvious, but this is clearly the royal castle.”

… What?

Just as my face turned pale, the surroundings suddenly

became clear.

Countless high quality items furnished the hallway I was

standing in. The hallway itself extended far enough that I
couldn’t make out the end of it.

It was still dark out, but the lights from the houses were so
numerous that they rivaled the stars twinkling in the night
sky.

Wow, so this is how the city looks like at night from the
castle.

… This feels quite realistic, but this has got to be a dream.

“What’s wrong, Rain? Iris-sama is awaiting us. There’s no

time for you to stand around in a daze.”

So in this dream, I’ve turned into Rain, huh?

I don’t remember it, but I must have stumbled into the

succubus shop in a drunken haze and told Loli Succubus all
about what happened today while ordering a sweet dream.

I still regret not being able to see them naked at the lake,
that’s why I asked for a dream with them in a lewd position.
Yeah, that must be it.
That’s some pretty good deduction, if I do say so myself. I
didn’t get myself blackout drunk all those times for nothing.

In that case, I’ll play along in my role. I want to see exactly

how good Loli Succubus has gotten with her dreamcrafting.

“Please wait for me, Claire… sama.”

This is how Rain spoke, right?

Heading down the corridor, we eventually came to a stop in

front of a very expensive-looking set of double doors. This is
Iris’s room, I suppose.

Still, when did Loli Succubus get such detailed knowledge of

the interior of the imperial castle? Everything from the
design of the hallway to the decorations on display seemed
quite authentic for such a castle.

Ah, she must have based it off an old castle or something

she studied. Not bad. I’ll give her ten points.

Claire softly cleared her throat, but took no further action.

It seems like she’s hesitant to call out to Iris because she’s

angry with her.

She didn’t slack off on the mundane build-up. I don’t mind

immediately starting with the erotic stuff, but taking the time
to set up the scene isn’t bad either. I’ll give her another five
points.

Seems like my criticism has finally borne fruit. This must be

how a master feels when he sees his disciple grow. I’ll take
stock of your full capabilities today!

“Are you not going to call out to Iris-sama?”

“I know! But, whenever I think about her rejecting me

again…”

“It’ll be fine. Iris-sama is simply sulking. I’m sure she’s

looking forward to hearing Claire-sama’s voice too.”

I encouraged her with a gentle smile.

… That acting is perfect! It’s good enough that anyone

looking on would think it’s a pity that I became an
adventurer.

Since Loli Succubus prepared such a great stage for me, I

shall give her the best Rain act I can pull off in response.

“I-Is that so? Yeah, of course. Right! … Iris-sama, it’s

Claire.”

She knocked against the door.

After a short silence…

“What is it…?”

An annoyed-sounding voice came from the other side of the

door.

There is a little anger in her voice, but it really does sound

like a child throwing a tantrum than anything else.

“I went too far the other day. I apologize for that.”

“Then you’ll let me meet with Onii-sama?”

“No, I cannot sanction that. That man is a bad influence on

you!”

“I hate you!”

Oh, she sure doesn’t hold back, does she?

And now Claire has collapsed onto the floor.

I suppose she set this situation up so I, as Rain, could pick

up after her and reach a better payoff once the erotic stuff
starts.

“Iris-sama, we went to visit Axel today.”

“Eh? Axel!? Really!?”

I heard a loud smack on the other side of the door. Did Iris
hit her head after getting too excited?

“Yes. Claire-sama and I went down to do some research so

we could preten… give you the experience of what being an
adventurer is like.”

“I can become an adventurer!?… You aren’t lying, are you?”

“It’s the truth. Isn’t that right, Claire-sama?”

“Yes, indeed! We can’t move freely right now due to that
issue with the neighbouring Elroad, but once that has been
taken care off, we should have some free time for that.”

The door opened a crack, and Iris popped her head out and
looked at Claire with puppy dog eyes.

“It’s… It’s a promise, okay?”

“Of course! I swear on the name of the Symphonia family!”

“Then, I’ll forgive you.”

Iris broke into a wide smile.

It’s an innocent smile, yet it has a certain royal elegance to

it. Seeing that, Claire took a step back.

“Pant pant… What is this overflowing emotion…”

… That’s called Lust, I’m pretty sure.

There really aren’t any normal folks amongst the nobles.

“Ah, it’s almost time for my bath. I’ve been so cooped up in

my room all day that I almost forgot about it.”

And here’s the standard bath event.

It really is a great set-up for erotic scenes, like having the

guy and the girl end up in the mixed baths without realizing
it.

It’s a cliche, but it’s the good kind of cliche.

You really do get it, Loli Succubus. I’ll add another 20 points
for that.

“Yes, it is. It’s been some time, but how about we take one
together? We can talk all about the adventures we had in
Axel.”

“That’d be great! You can also tell me why Rain is wearing

such a cool-looking mask too.”

“We ran into Vanir-sama as we. I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Then, let’s make haste! Claire, too, stop trembling by the

wall and come with us.”

Iris grabbed onto Claire’s hand and pulled her along.

Claire, her face wrought with barely contained glee, turned
back and gave me a thumbs up.

Now, all the setup is done. I can join them in the baths as
Rain too.

I followed the two into the dressing room, and they have
already started undressing.

“W-Wait, Claire, that tickles!”

“W-We’re both women, so there’s nothing to be

embarrassed about. Pant Pant. Come on, let’s go.”

A girl laughing as she twisted her body and Claire,

approaching her with heavy breaths.

You really can’t see her as anything other than a suspicious

person. But, right now, I’m thankful for that.

I can confidently declare that there isn’t a single man on this

world who can pry their gazes away from two young ladies
wrestling with each other!

“I can undress myself, so please don’t stare at me!”

“I-I see. Then I’ll strip too! That’ll make us even, right!?”

Iris and Claire both started stripping down right in front of

me.

I never got a good look at Claire’s assets because of the

white suit she usually wears, but she’s really packing some
nice goods underneath.

Her breasts practically popped right out the moment she

unbuttoned her jacket.

Iris started removing her clothes too while keeping an eye

on where Claire was looking.

Her skin is as unblemished and clear as porcelain. She has

a very promising future ahead of her.

The three stooges would probably get excited upon seeing

this, but I personally still prefer someone with a more filled
out body.

Just as I was thinking that, the two of them grabbed their

towels and pushed past the door separating the dressing
room from the baths.

“Right, now all the cloth that stood between us has

vanished! Let’s have some skinship!”

“Your eyes are scaring me… What are you doing? You can’t
join us if you don’t take off your clothes, you know?”

Looking at my still clothed form, Iris pestered me to hurry up

and take them off.

Rather than being suspicious of my clothed state, it’s more

like she’s concerned over being alone in the baths with
Claire.

“I got… I understand.”
It’d arouse their suspicions if I didn’t strip here. Keeping my
current role as Rain in mind, I made sure to use the same
polite language that Rain would use.

I’ve never worn women’s clothing before, and it’s actually

quite tricky to remove.

Furthermore, I’m still wearing the mask that Sir gave to me,
so my field of vision is narrow and it’s actually a little hard to
see.

Well, this mask came with the setting, so there’s no need to

keep it on. I also want to take a good look at Rain’s body
that Loli Succubus made for me.

Right, I’ll just take it off-

Part 8
“Eh?”

The people at the familiar guild tavern were in extremely

high spirits as they raised a toast.

What the hell? Was I woken up from that dream?

I was this close from the best scene!

Come on, don’t show me a dream while I’m passed out at

the bar. Wait till I climb into a proper bed!
But, hold on, I’m pretty sure I went back to my room after
drinking my fill. Was that part of the dream too?

Don’t tell me this is part of the dream?

I punched myself to test that theory.

Yeah, it hurts. This is definitely reality.

“Why did you suddenly start punching your face? Are you
alright?”

The one who said that was Taylor.

He seemed to be a few cups deep too, if his beet red face is

anything to go by.

“It’s too late to say you’re joking now. Well, you already paid
up, so even if you back out, you ain’t getting it back.”

Keith patted me on the back in a jovial mood.

Lynn isn’t here, but it seems like I was having a drink

together with my companions and the rest of the folks in the
tavern.

“Ah~ I was having a weird dream. I was wearing Sir Vanir’s

mask…

“You’re still wearing it, aren’t you?”

Keith pointed at my face, and just as he said, I was wearing

a mask.
I took it off, placed it on the desk and stared at it.

What’s with this nagging feeling? Hmm, after I got drunk, I

went back to my room and collapsed on the bed. The next
thing I knew, I was at the capital.

And when I woke up from my dream, I’m right here.

“Say, when did I come to the tavern?”

I asked my two comrades a simple question.

“You are acting really funny today. We came here to catch

up over drinks after hearing that you made it back, and you
were here acting all strange while wearing that mask of
yours. That’s when we called you over to join us.”

“You were really polite and feminine sounding for a while. It

was uncanny. You really should take care when you drink in
the future. After you had a few drinks, you said ‘Ah, so I’m
dreaming! I’ve always wanted to know what it feels like to
have so much money to spare that I can treat others!’ and
declared that tonight’s drinks are on you.”

So I got blackout drunk, huh.

Wait, hold on, did Taylor say something weird just now?

“Wait, what did you say?”

“You were really polite-”

“Not that part, the bit at the end.”

“What’s with you all of a sudden? The part where you said
tonight’s drinks are on you?”

Taylor gave me a puzzled look.

Keith on the other hand was giving me an exasperated one.

The patrons at the bar made toast after toast and freely
ordered more drinks and snacks.

“You’ve been really generous recently, Dust! Don’t mind if I

indulge myself tonight!”

“Give me every single item on the menu! Drinks bought on

someone else’s dime always tastes better! Food you don’t
have to work for is the best!”

“Bring me the most expensive alcohol in this store! I’ll going

to drink till I drop!”

Wait, you’re kidding right? If I’m paying for everyone here, all
the money I earned today is going to go up in smoke.

“Hey, no, don’t drink anymore! Don’t bring out anything else!
Wait, let go of me!”

I tried to rein in the damage, but it seems like all the money I
paid up front was already used up.

Never mind my profits being wiped out, I actually ended up

in the hole.
 Chapter 4: A Dreamy Night for
that Princess
Part 1
“Sir! What the hell is up with this mask!”

The magic item shop.

I ran back here to lodge my complaints, shifting Wiz who

was collapsed in the middle of the store to the corner as I
ran in.

Sir Vanir took one look at the mask I was holding and placed
his hand against his forehead.

“So it was the mask Moi gave to you yesterday after all. Is
this useless shopkeeper fated to always do something
unnecessary?”

Sir gave Wiz whom I just shifted an intense glare.

“Don’t keep it to yourself, tell me about it too. Just what is

this mask?”

“That’s an item I came up with after observing another magic

item. It’s an interesting item that comes in a set of two and
switches the spirits of two people if both masks are worn at
the same time.”
In other words, my spirit ended up in Rain’s body, and hers
ended up in mine.

“So what happened yesterday wasn’t a dream… Dammit! If

only I knew, I could’ve done some much more amusing
things, like fondle my breasts or strike erotic poses in front of
a mirror, or hit on a handsome looking man before spurning
him just as things get heated!”

I fell to my knees and repeatedly punched the ground to vent

my frustrations.

There were so many things I wanted to try out. If only I had

known!

“From what the songbirds told me, you did do some pretty
interesting things regardless.”

“Don’t laugh! Thanks to this mask, all my earnings went up

in smoke, and the erotic stuff didn’t go anywhere either!”

“Vent your frustrations towards that left behind shopkeeper

laying over there. She’s the one who misplaced the
complimentary gift masks and replaced them with high
quality magic ones.”

Even if you say that, her eyes are rolled into the back of her
head and she’s charred to a crisp. I can’t really do much
more to her.

“Even for me, when she’s in such a state… Hmm, wait, if

Rain unwittingly puts on her mask again, then I would switch
positions-”

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. For crime prevention

purposes, that item can only be activated once. Someone
who is strong in magic might be able to activate it one or two
more times, but it’s impossible for you.”

So it’s a once in a lifetime item?

I really want to get even with Rain for spending all my

money, but I most probably won’t ever see them again.

I patted my empty wallet. Before thinking about filling it back

up, I first needed to tackle the issue of filling my belly.
Without money, I could either hit up the Eris Church’s soup
kitchen or steal some food from that old man at the general
store.

Just as I was considering which side I would rather deal

with, I caught sight of Yunyun heading into a cafe.

Well, she showed up at just the right time. She might

complain, but she’d definitely treat me to a meal if I prostrate
myself before her.

Entering the cafe behind Yunyun, I spotted her jittery form at

a seat by the window.

And the person seated next to her is the Explosion Girl.

Crap. She has no reservations about speaking her mind and
is quite protective of Yunyun, so she’s really troublesome to
deal with.
I made to leave, but then I caught sight of the two other
women at the table. One was in an attention-grabbing white
suit and the other was a plain-looking girl.

What are Claire and Rain doing here?

“Pull yourself together, Rain. You’re acting like you have a

hangover. You did act pretty strange after wearing that mask
yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, Claire-sama. Perhaps it’s because of the dream I

had. I recall dreaming I was an adventurer and drank a large
amount of beer, but… ”

I’m a little curious as to what this strange combination are

doing together, so I stealthily took a seat at a neighbouring
table in order to listen in.

“We called you over here today to discuss the issue of I-

Alice-sama.”

“Megumin-sama, it has been some time. Is Kazuma-sama

doing well? You didn’t bring him along, did you?”

“He seems to be busying himself with lazing around the

house today, so no.”

Rain cautiously asked, and heaved a sigh of relief upon

hearing Megumin’s answer. Claire, too, relaxed her posture
almost imperceptibly.

… Why are they so guarded towards him? Just what did

Kazuma do? I should ask him the next time I have the
chance.

“Hearing that puts me at ease. We’re here today because

we have a request for you. I’ve heard that Alice-sama
considers the two of you her closest friends amongst the
adventurers of Axel.”

“Ehehehe, close friends…”

“Please stop laughing so creepily. Alice isn’t a friend, she’s a

member of my band and I’m her boss. And she’s also my
rival of sorts. Did she make some selfish remarks that
troubles you because of her position? She hasn’t been
coming over to play recently.”

So all of them know Alice?

Judging from the way she’s speaking, Megumin knows

Alice’s true identity. As for Yunyun… Nah, she doesn’t know.

“The family is particularly busy right now, and the

neighbouring country is sending a delegation to us too, so
Alice-sama can’t be away for long at the moment. Though,
even if that wasn’t the case, it’s quite troubling how easily
she sneaks away.”

“We know that Alice-sama has an accomplice helping her

from the outside. Whenever she sneaks away, someone
always sets off an Explosion nearby to draw men away from
the capital… Do you two have an idea about that?”
Yunyun and Megumin stiffened upon hearing Claire’s
question, didn’t they?

“There’s someone who’d do such a thing? There really are

some shameless people walking around.”

“Y-Yes. I-I know nothing about it. I’m not being forced into it
by Megumin or anything.”

Yunyun is just absolutely horrible at lying. She’s definitely

involved somehow.

Anyone who saw her nervous figure as she tried to play it

cool would naturally become suspicious.

“Claire-sama, let’s leave that issue to some other day. We’re

here to make a request of them today, after all.”

She’s really good at this. With this, the Explosion Girl and
Yunyun won’t be able to refuse any request they make.

It’s not strictly speaking a threat, but it certainly gives them a

lot of leverage.

“So, about our request, a few days ago, we got into a little bit
of an argument with her. Ever since then, she has been in a
bad mood and refuses to speak with us.”

“Though she looks really cute when she puffs up her

cheeks.”

“Claire-sama, please keep quiet for a while. We managed to

raise her mood a little last night, but it seems like she’s been
accumulating a lot of stress recently.”

“As both her educators and her bodyguards, there are some
things that are hard for her to say to us. So, as her friends,
we were wondering if you know of anything that’d be great to
help her de-stress. ”

Well, that kid does have to deal with the pressures that
come with being the first princess of the country.

A princess who desires to fly free, huh…

“Umm, can I ask why is Alice-chan so stressed?”

“My apologies, I suppose that was too little information. I

can’t go into much detail as it concerns family affairs, but in
short. In truth, Alice-sama has an excellent older brother, but
he’s currently at the front lines in order to fight against the
Demon King’s army. As such, as the first pri… lady of the
house, most of the responsibilities of running the estate falls
to Alice-sama.”

“Well, someone in Alice’s position is sure to run into a lot of

troubles. Ah, no, I shouldn’t say that in front of Yunyun.”

“I’ve always had this feeling, but what exactly are you hiding
from me!? It’s odd how little common sense Alice-chan has,
and isn’t it strange for her to have two nobles as her
educators!? Don’t tell me…”

Seemingly the only one out of the loop, Yunyun grabbed

Megumin by the shoulders and started shaking her.
“There are some things in this world you’re happier not
knowing.”

“Saying that just bothers me even more! Rain-san, Claire-

san, you two are hiding something too, right?”

“We are not at liberty to disclose Alice-sama’s secrets. And if

you are aware of the secret, your life might be risk… Even
after knowing that, do you still wish to find out?”

Yunyun vigorously shook her head.

Rain bowed apologetically, but I think it really is for the best

for Yunyun to remain ignorant.

If she ever found out that Alice is the princess, she’d be to

nervous to even hold a proper conversation with her.

“May I turn back to the original topic?”

“Ah, sorry. Please continue!”

“So, if you two know of her favourite foods or anything she is

interested in, we would appreciate it very much if you could
tell us.”

“Hmm, well, she likes hearing about adventuring stories.

She does enjoy listening to Kazuma’s tales, almost like she
looks up to the adventurers who live freely.”

“We are aware of that. In preparation to allow Alice-sama to

live the lifestyle of an adventurer for a day, we’ve already
experienced some adventuring work. Thank you very much
for the other day, Yunyun-dono.”

“T-There’s… Please raise your head! I had a lot of fun too.”

“Say, hasn’t your circle of friends gotten larger without me

noticing?”

The Explosion Girl wrinkled her brow.

That’s definitely jealousy. They do quarrel and fight every so

often, but it’s common knowledge amongst the adventurers
of Axel that those two are actually pretty close.

“Apart from that, well… I suppose it’d be the story about that
Dragon Knight. That story really is quite romantic.”

“The story about that useless Dragon Knight who kidnapped

the princess and threw away his rank and status? What’s so
appealing about that story?”

My thoughts exactly.

“Why do you think this way, Megumin!? That’s a wonderful

story!”

That story is really popular amongst idealistic girls, but

Megumin is a girl who has no interests in anything other
than Explosion.

Claire and Rain made a complicated expression.

“That story is pretty famous amongst the nobility too. I’m

sure that story resonates deeply with Alice-sama.”
“Claire-sama, speaking of Dragon Knights, didn’t the
neighbouring kingdom send one to the capital as a
delegation recently? Couldn’t we make a request of him to
give her a ride?”

“No, wait, isn’t that way too risky? Plus, considering our
positions, there’s no way they’ll allow that.”

They continued talking about various other matters, but I

don’t get the feeling that I’d be able to sponge a meal off
them, so I made my leave.

“If a princess were to make such a request, it’d cause no

end of problems. I can sympathize with her on that front.”

I said to no one in particular. In order to get rid of the clawing

feeling in the pit of my stomach, I headed over to a tavern.

Part 2
Great, what’s going on now?

I couldn’t find anyone I knew at the tavern, and predictably,

they wouldn’t agree to put it on my tab, so I had no choice
but to head up to my room and collapse onto my bed.

To ease my boredom, I placed the mask Sir gave to me on

my face, and found myself standing in a completely different
place.
A blonde-haired, masked girl is standing before me.

She’s wearing a set of expensive-looking pajamas, and, for

some reason, she has a blanket tied around her neck like a
cloak.

I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before, but I can’t quite
make out her features through the mask.

“Alice of the Silver-Haired Thieving Band is here!”

She dramatically fluttered her blanket-cloak back and struck

a strange pose.

So this is Alice, aka Iris, the first princess of the Kingdom.

I thought our spirits ended up swapped again, but that

doesn’t seem to be the case.

I had absolutely no control over Iris’s body. Furthermore,

neither my words nor my thoughts seem to be reaching her.
It seems like I’m merely an observer here.

“This mask is really cool. If only I could join Onii-sama with

his chivalrous thief activities while wearing this mask.”

Her voice sounded incredibly lonely.

The princess wants to become a chivalrous thief. Anyone

who hears that would think of it as an impossible dream.

“Right, enough with such fantasies. I still have some work I

need to do.
She pulled out one of the drawers of her desk and retrieved
a stack of documents.

Looking at the papers on top of the desk, she placed her

hand on her forehead and sighed.

“This really won’t work out. If we don’t agree to Levi-sama of

Elroad’s request and secure their financial assistance, the
battle against the Demon King will…”

The document on top of the desk seems to document the

amount of money Belzerg is currently receiving from the
other nations.

This country serves as the bottleneck against the forces of

the Demon King. If it were to fall, the other countries would
be at risk.

The other countries are very well aware of this, of course,

and as such provide military aid to this country. However,
countries with poor military strength instead support the war
effort with funds, and the country that provides the most in
financial assistance is Elroad.

That is, if I recall correctly.

That country is famous for its casinos which attract the

fabulously wealthy to spend their money there. According to
rumours, they have gotten extremely wealthy through that
alone.

“If I’m betrothed to him and make an appeal in person, I

should be able to guarantee the funds.”

So this must be why Iris is so stressed.

The betrothal itself isn’t particularly odd. Getting married to

secure political alliances and seal deals is almost like the
duty of royal born women.

Falling in love with someone in a different station and

marrying them is something that only happen in stories.
Most royal marriages are devoid of such dreams.

“I wonder what Onii-sama is doing right now… He’s always

surrounded by women, so I’m a little uneasy. It’d be really
unfair if Boss makes a move on him just because I’m not
there! … Will he be angry if he finds out about the betrothal?
Or maybe he’d be jealous instead… I’d be really happy if he
did get jealous…”

She really does seem her age when she clutches her
blushing cheeks in her palms and dances around like that.

“If he were to swoop in and steal me away like that Dragon

Knight… I wonder what that princess was thinking when she
threw away everything to be with the one she loves…”

That only happened because that person ordered him to

abscond with her. I really wanted to say that right now.

“Sigh… No, there’s no way I can be this selfish.”

Selfish, huh? It’s really cute that you’d use that term to
describe someone who would merely entertain those
thoughts without going through.

A truly selfish princess would be someone who wouldn’t

listen to anyone and drag a straight laced knight with her to
live as she wishes.

“If I were to run away, this country will definitely be

destroyed at the hands of the demons. I can’t possibly do
something so irresponsible… But, if I can fly freely in the
skies like that princess on the back of a dragon…”

She’s bearing a responsibility far too big for her tiny body.

It’s really admirable that she hasn’t collapsed under that.

That’s what I genuinely think.

Walking out onto the balcony, she gazed upon the dragon
sleeping in the middle of the courtyard and let out a lonely
sounding giggle.

The dragon is fitted with a riding saddle. One I’m very

familiar with.

It can’t be from Elroad… It must be the dragon that the

delegation from the neighbouring country rode here.

“Iris-sama, it’s almost time for your bath.”

“I understand, I’ll be down shortly.”

That’s Claire’s voice.

Iris started moving towards the door before she remembered
that she still had the mask on. She stopped and briefly
admired herself in front of the mirror before raising her hand
towards the mask.

Part 3
When my vision came back to me, I was staring up at the
aging ceiling of the inn.

In my hand was a cracked mask. It seems like it was pushed

past its limits and broke.

It must have activated because of the vast amounts of mana

that Iris, as a royal, possesses. That’s the only explanation
that made sense.

The hardships of the royalty.

In the past, I’ve seen exactly what that means first hand…

“No, no, cut it out! Don’t make me remember it now!”

I knew I shouldn’t have have gotten involved with Iris.

Betrothal and the hardships of being a princess. Everything
about her just reminds me of that other person.

I can’t help but see the image of a certain woman whenever

I close my eyes.
“I should try and get Lynn to buy me some beer.”

I definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight without some

alcohol. I leapt off the bed, put on my jacket, and left the
room.

In the end, I couldn’t get a wink of sleep at all.

Despite her complaints, Lynn did buy me a few drinks, but I

didn’t get drunk at all, and before I knew it, it was morning.

“This really isn’t like me. Guess I’ll find a friend and get a stiff
one to go.”

As usual, I made my way to the tavern of the guild. I couldn’t

see Kazuma anywhere, but I did spot Yunyun and Megumin.

They were seated at her usual table by the window and

were loudly talking about something.

I took a seat at a nearby table, but they were too involved in

their conversation to notice my arrival.

“I really think a walk would be best to de-stress! She could

head to my house or go shopping together. What do you
think?”

“Sigh~. Well, I personally don’t mind, but as I’ve said before,

the security around Alice’s house is pretty tough. We won’t
be able to bring her out easily. A frontal assault is so
hopeless that it’s not even worth considering.”

“Say, can’t we just ask her out to play normally? Why are
you talking about dangerous things like frontal assault right
off the bat? You really are hiding something important from
me, right!? Don’t leave me out! Tell me!”

Yunyun pleaded with tearful eyes, and Megumin placed a

hand on her forehead.

It seems like she’s keeping Yunyun ignorant partly to tease

her, and partly out of consideration for her personality.

“Do you really want to know? Are you really fine with me
telling you? You won’t regret it, will you?”

“Eh? If you put it that way… It kinda scares me.”

“If you really want to know, I don’t mind. I already warned

you, so even if you cry and whine afterwards…”

Suddenly assuming a gentle tone, Megumin grabbed

Yunyun by the shoulders, preventing her from running away.

Probably unnerved, Yunyun desperately struggled against

her grip, but it seems like she isn’t able to get free.

“W-Wait, Megumin! I think it’d be best if I didn’t know!”

“No, please listen. Actually, listen! It’s too late for regrets
now!”

“No, don’t, stop! It’s fine! I don’t want to know!

Just as I was watching the antics of those two while helping

myself to some water, someone took a seat opposite me.
“Seeing you stare at girls really makes you seem like a
proper criminal.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean!?”

The one who made me out like I’m some sort of villain was
Lynn.

Normally I would retaliate with some moves of my own, but I

do owe her for treating me to a drink last night, so I’ll hold off
this time.

“Waitress, one salad please!”

“I’ll have a beer and something deep fried.”

“Why are you piggy backing off my order? Just so you know,
I won’t be treating you.”

“Don’t be so petty. Why don’t you help yourself to some

meat too? Isn’t it because you always eat salad that you’re
so flat?”

I stared directly at Lynn’s chest. She really isn’t developed at

all.

And yet Yunyun managed to grow a fine pair even at such a

young age.

“One of these days, all the victims of your sexual

harassment are going to gather together and have you
thrown in jail. Just so you know, yesterday wasn’t a treat. It’s
a loan.”
“Ah, you little! That’s unfair! You said it was a treat
yesterday! Is your personality as petty as your chest!?”

“I don’t want to hear that from you! … Say, haven’t you been
acting weird lately?”

Her face suddenly turned serious, and she moved her face
closer to mine while staring me directly in the eye.

She was close enough that our foreheads were just a hair’s
breadth away from each other, so, to get out of this, I rolled
my lips into a kiss.

Lynn smiled… and poked me in the eye.

“Gyaaaa! You almost destroyed my eye! Wouldn’t you

normally lean in for a passionate kiss!?”

“Why do I have to do that with you? Anyway, why don’t you

give them a hand? It really bothers you, right? You’ve been
acting strange ever since you met with those nobles.”

I don’t even need to ask who she’s referring to.

Turning my attentions back to the Crimson Demons, they

were currently discussing a plan where Megumin attacks the
gates with an Explosion before Yunyun boldly walks through
the wreckage and announces her name.

“It feels like they’ll do something really outrageous if you

leave them be.”

“Even they wouldn’t actually go through with that… They

won’t do that, right?”

I thought I was confident no one would actually do such a

thing, but looking at them…

Megumin angrily stood up and left the guild, and Yunyun

chased after her while screaming ’I’m begging you, please
stop!’

“… I think it’s best if we were to watch over them.”

“… Y-Yeah.”

It’d be one thing if they were pulling such antics in Axel, but
they would be arrested instantly if they were to do it in the
capital.

Iris will probably be able to get them off the hook, but I really
don’t think it’s a good idea to put more stuff on her plate right
now.

I really want to just drop everything on her guardian,

Kazuma’s, lap, but I don’t have the time to go fetch him at
the moment.

The two of them headed immediately for the teleport station

and left for the capital. Using Lynn’s money, we followed
after them.

“Hey, this is a loan, alright? You hear me? Don’t cover your
ears.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back when I strike a fortune. I’ll just
need to get on my feet first.”

“Yeah, and how long will I have to wait for that to happen?
There is nothing less trustworthy than your word.”

She really is a naggy woman.

We’ll lose sight of the Explosion Girl if we get into an

argument here, so I bit back my reply for now.

The two of them headed straight for the castle. I really doubt
that she’d be foolish enough to force her way in during broad
daylight. With that in mind, I tailed them from a respectable
distance away, but…

“Right, I have a perfect shot from this square! My Explosion

will blow the gates wide open, so I’ll leave the rest to you!”

She really is a fool.

The crazy girl stood in the center of the square, pointed her
staff at the castle, and started chanting. Next to her, the
loner was just waving her hands around in a panic and being
completely useless.

“Please stop! They’ll definitely get angry!”

“As if you’ll stop her with that.”

I snatched the staff out of the Explosion Girl’s hands in the

middle of her chant.

“What are you doing!? Give that back!”

I held the staff high above her reach, and she repeatedly
hopped in place in her attempts to grab it back.

She looks kinda cute when she does that. Still, I wonder if all
Crimson Demons think the same way.

I heard that Yunyun was considered strange by Crimson

Demon standards. If there was an entire village full of people
who think the same way as this Explosion Girl… Nah,
there’s no way that can be the case.

“You two should really stop doing stupid things.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a delinquent!”

“Such words have no persuasive power at all when they

come from Dust-san…”

I drove my knuckles into Yunyun’s temples.

“Uuu, this is horrible. I’m getting sexually harassed by Dust-

san.”

Right, leaving her aside…

“What are you doing here? If you’re here to get in our way,
the future chief of the Crimson Demons, Yunyun, won’t
stand idly by!”

“Why do you only acknowledge me as the future chief during

such situations!?”
“I’m not here to stop you or get in your way or anything.”

“Eh, you’re not going to stop her!?”

“Now, now, just hear me out. You need to use your heads
when you’re up to no good. Just charging straight in is the
actions of a fool. You need to look deeper and find out what
they really hate. That will lead you to the most efficient
method.”

Saying that, I stepped back with a smile.

These guys are too straightforward, and they’re thinking too

small scale. If we are doing this, we are going to go all out.

“You really are a villain, aren’t you?”

Lynn might be saying that, but she doesn’t look the slightest
bit displeased right now.

Part 4
Everyone stared at me when I brought up who should be the
one to sneak into the castle. I tried to protest, but it became
clear that there isn’t anyone else suitable for the role, so I
reluctantly agreed.

We didn’t have enough materials for the operation, so I

alone went back to Axel.
Returning is easy enough, but the real problem is actually
finding him.

Lynn told me of a method that will get him to show up, or so

she claims, but I wonder if it would really be that easy.

“Well, there’s no harm in giving it a shot. Ah~ I want to have

a drink with a fellow man today~! I wonder if there’s a rich
noble young master who would give me a treat~!”

I said loudly as I walked down the main street.

Several of the passersby pointed at me and whispered

amongst themselves, but I’m not the type of person to be so
easily discouraged.

“If he really would come out with just this-”

“If it isn’t Dust-san. Pant, Pant. It’s been some time.”

“Guwah!?”

When did he!?

Standing behind me was a noble wearing a helmet.

… He really appeared. I first ran into him when he helped

out the succubus store when they were in a spot of trouble.
Ever since then, I’ve been mentally calling him ‘Helmeted
Bastard’.

Lynn told me that he’d be hanging around the tavern facing

the main street around this time of day, but I didn’t expect to
find him so quickly.

“Yeah, it’s been some time. If you are having trouble

breathing, why not take off your helmet?”

“N-No, it’s fine. This is a very important helmet, pant pant.

Pay it no mind, pant pant.”

“Well, if you say so… Oh, yeah, it must be some kind of fate
for us to meet here. There’s a favour I would like to ask of
you.”

“What is it!? I’ll do anything you ask of me!”

The hand he used to accept mine is covered in sweat.

He might have been in the middle of a jog, what with the

sweat and his heavy breaths and all.

“Well, see…”

As night fell, we decided to put the operation we discussed

this afternoon into action.

Well, I say operation, but it’s really a very simple strategy.

Encamped near the castle, I gazed up towards the sky.

Unfortunately, it’s completely overcast tonight, so not a

single star was visible to me.

“It should be about time.”

The moment I said that, a streak of red light shot into the sky
and exploded with a loud boom.

I’m quite some distance away, but even I can feel the
shockwave from that blast.

That explosion chased away the clouds covering the sky,

revealing a blanket of shimmering stars.

The capital is a place where even casting low grade magic

in the streets would result in a large commotion. It should be
obvious what would happen in such a city if Explosion magic
was unleashed.

The castle gates flew open, and a large amount of soldiers

stepped out at once.

“There is no doubt that whatever unleashed such powerful

magic in the city is an ally of the Demon King’s army!
There’s no need to bring them in alive, so use your own
judgement!”

The one standing in the middle and giving out such

dangerous sounding orders is Claire. Her white suit really
stands out at night. Additionally, it seems like Rain is with
her too.

Well, this would be the way a castle guard would normally

react. At this rate, there is a chance that Yunyun, who’s
currently running away with the drained Megumin in tow,
could be captured.
Thus, there’s a need to sow confusion into their ranks.

“The Silver Haired Thieving Band appeared at that nobles

mansion!”

The voice of a young woman emerged from an alleyway.

This is echoed by not just one or two other voices, but the
voices of almost everyone in the neighborhood.

Seems like Lynn did a good job spreading the story.

“Hey, did you hear!? They’re holding a sale for those new
diet pills that lasts only for today!”

“That highly popular product that even the nobility and

royalty make use of!? If we don’t hurry up, it’ll be all sold
out!”

This time, the voices of two men emerged from an alley

directly opposite the first.

That’s the voices of Taylor and Keith who agreed to help out
even though they weren’t told the full details.

My companions really are something… I’ll have to treat them

to a mug or two later.

Hearing those voices, Claire and Rain fell into a panic.

“They must have made use of the commotion to slip in!

We’re splitting up the troops. I’ll go after the one who casted
the magic, Rain go after the Silver Haired Thieving Band.”
“I understand. Be careful… Claire-sama, aren’t you heading
in the opposite direction from where the Thieving Band
appeared?”

“O-Oh, yeah. It seems I’ve gotten turned around.”

She’s playing it off, but the diet pill sale definitely weighted
heavily on her mind. From the looks of things, it seems like
she already finished off what she bought.

Splitting them into three groups would be ideal, but having

them split into two is fine too.

Still, that’s not all. I still have one more card left to play.

I acted like I was drunk and wandered into their path.

“Oh~, if it isn’t the nee-chan from the other night. How have
you been doing-”

“You’re Trash, if I recall. What are you doing here… No,

now’s not the time for that. We don’t have the time to spend
dealing with a drunkard! Get out of the way!”

“My apologies, it’s an emergency!”

They’re panicked enough that they aren’t even trying to

conceal their impatience.

Still, they haven’t lost their sense of judgement. I should sow

a little more chaos into their minds.

“Oh, I see. Sorry for getting in your way while you’re in a

hurry. By the way, have you seen Kazuma around?”

At that instant, the blood drained from their faces.

“What did you just say? Kazuma-dono is in the capital!?”

“You’re kidding, right!? Claire-sama gave strict instructions

that he’s to be prohibited from using the teleport station!”

The two of them immediately wheeled on me.

I’ve heard that they don’t get along well with Kazuma, but I
didn’t expect that just dropping his name would be this
effective.

“Ah, so that’s why he was covering his face with a hood

when he came here with us. I thought it was a little strange.”

“I slipped up. So he slipped in together with other

adventurers…”

“W-What should we do? If Kazuma-sama came here to meet

up with Alice-sama, there’s a chance that all this is just a
distraction…”

“In that case, we can’t allow the security of the castle to be

thinned. However…!”

I kinda feel bad for Kazuma, but dropping his name here
really did have the desired effect. Far more than I expected,
in fact.

Giving up on one of their leads, or dividing their soldiers into

three groups. It’s certainly not an easy decision.

At an impasse, the two of them started bickering over what

course of action they should pursue.

The soldiers couldn’t take action without orders, so they

simply waited restlessly while the two of them tried to reach
a solution.

All of them had their attentions fixed squarely upon Claire

and Rain.

This is my chance. I slipped into the alley and put on the suit
of armour and helmet that the Helmeted Bastard lent me.

I always felt that his helmet looked familiar, but as it turns

out, he bought the very same helmet that I sold to the
general store quite some time ago.

This operation wouldn’t work without that helmet, so I had to

ask him to lend it to me, just for today. Not only that, but I
also had to request a fitting suit of armour to go with it.

He immediately agreed, but before he handed the items

over, he said,

“You don’t have to wash or wipe it down before returning it!

No, really, it’s fine!”

When I asked him why he’s so readily agreeing to my

requests, he said

“I’m the sort of person who can’t speak normally without

wearing that helmet, and I have no friends either. That’s why
being relied upon like this makes me really happy.”

Well, he seems genuinely happy, at least.

So he’s basically like a male version of Yunyun. I should

have a drink with him sometime, but for some reason, that
person really rubs me the wrong way.

He had a bag on his head when he handed the helmet to

me, in order to avoid having his face exposed.

“Ah, well, I guess it’s fine. I’ll have a drink with him sometime
later. On his dime, of course.”

It’s been a while since I’ve been clad in proper armour.

With this, my form is completely hidden.

I’ve made all my preparations, but here’s where the main

event lies.

Stepping out of the alley, I boldly walked up towards Claire

who was still deciding on their next course of action.

“What’s the matter? It’s quite noisy out here.”

“You must be the delegation. My apologies for the noise!”

I casually waved Claire’s apologies away.

Great, she didn’t notice. The design of the armour is a little

different, but the helmet is the real deal. It might’ve been a
different story if I was standing in broad daylight, but in the
dim light of the moon, it’d be hard to pick up on those
differences.

Not to mention, with their current panicked mental state,

they weren’t in the right frame of mind to pick up on such
inconsistencies.

The helmet also muffled my voice, so they couldn’t tell that it

was me.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“No, we cannot ask such a thing from a guest! The

commotion should die down soon, so please relax in your
room.”

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. With my dragon, I

can easily provide an aerial view of the area.”

Rain didn’t catch on to me either.

Accepting their apologies, I executed a perfect bow and

walked through the front gates of the castle.

Yes, step one is clear!

I’ve heard about the layout of the castle from Megumin, but
it’s not like she knows every nook and cranny of it, so there’s
no time for any unnecessary detours.

I headed straight for my destination.

I ran into several maids and soldiers, but all of them
gracefully bowed to me as I walked past and none of them
got in my way.

Acting as though I belonged here, I made my way down the

stairs and emerged in the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard is a dragon, curled up into a ball as it

slept.

I looked around, but it doesn’t seem like its original rider is

here.

The dragon woke up and raised its head at me when I

moved closer, so I removed my helmet and looked it right in
the eye.

Instantly, the dragon lowered its head and closed its eyes.

“Good boy. Can I get you to give me a little help tonight?”

The dragon flared its nostrils and rubbed against my face. I

got onto the saddle and grabbed its reins.

“Right, let’s go!”

I could see Iris standing on the terrace, staring sadly into the
night sky.

It is late enough that most kids would be in bed by now, but

she was wearing a dress instead of a set of pajamas.

“Sigh~ The meeting got extended, and I hadn’t the chance to

take a bath… Ah, I’ve been so swamped with work these
past few days that I haven’t even five minutes to myself. I
want to go play with everyone in Axel… If only Onii-sama
would take me awa-… Eh?”

Iris stiffened in surprise as my dragon and I emerged from

beneath the terrace.

While keeping one hand on the reins to make the dragon

hover in position, I extended the other hand towards Iris.

“If you’d like, would you care to join me on a nightly stroll?”

Recalling my old manner of speech, I offered in a gentle

tone.

“Umm, err, you’re the delegation, yes? I’m happy that you
made such an offer to me, but wouldn’t this cause problems
for you?”

“There won’t be a problem as long as no one finds out.

Fortunately, there’s been a commotion nearby and most of
the soldiers have been sent out. If I recall, the two Crimson
Demons were talking about storming the evil castle to save
their captured comrade or something of the like.”

“Is that… Boss, I wonder…”

A troubled expression flashed upon Iris’s face for an instant,

but was instantly replaced with a smile.

“I bring a message from those two. It’s fine to just let loose
every once in a while, just like Kazuma. So, would you like
to join me on a journey to the stars?”

“Gladly!”

I firmly grasped Iris’s hand, pulled her up on the dragon, and

placed her on the saddle behind me.

She wrapped her arms around my waist.

With a little tug on the reins, and a strong flap of the wings,
we quickly shot towards the stars.

Between the darkness of the night and the commotion within

the city, there isn’t a single person who’d be looking up at
the skies. Certainly no one who’d notice us.
“Uwaah~ This is amazing! The city and the castle look so
tiny!”

Hearing Iris exclaim in wonder, I couldn’t help but be

reminded of the first time I gave a ride to her.

… Would she be angry if she knew about this? Or would

she…

I wouldn’t get an answer no matter how much I think about

it, so doing so is just a waste of energy. What’s important
now is to see to the happiness of the princess seated behind
me.

Besides, what she told me was:

“You’re my knight, so you shouldn’t use a spear unless

you’re protecting me or someone you really want to protect.
Do your best with that sword instead.”

So there’s no problem with this… probably.

I drove the dragon to move a little faster to give the princess

a little more thrill.

“Uwaaaah! This is faster than even the lizard drawn

carriage!”

Hearing the excited voice behind me, I drove the dragon

onwards.

We crossed mountains, valleys, and saw the vast plains

sped by below us. After a few laps around the area, I judged
that this is more than sufficient for a night stroll and brought
her back to the castle, dropping her off at the same terrace I
picked her up from

Though, it seems like she is still bursting with excitement as

she got off, clutching her hands towards her chest and
looking at me with sparkles in her eyes.

“Today was really fun! Thanks to you, all my stress has been
blown away! I think I’ll be able to sleep well tonight.”

“There is no greater joy for a knight than to become the

strength of such a wonderful princess.”

We haven’t been away for very long, and it doesn’t seem

like anyone has noticed her disappearance.

Saying something so pompous makes my back itch, but I

suppose I can put up with it for today.

“Now then… Oh, if it’s not too presumptuous of me, allow

me to offer a few small words. There’s no shame in relying
on others. Just as you think of them as important, so do they
too share the same thoughts towards you.”

“Rely on others… I see. It’s true, perhaps I did try to bear too
much upon myself. Heh. Thank you very much, Dragon
Knight-sama.”

Unlike a certain someone, I have no interest in kids.

But seeing her smile like that makes me sort of understand
why Claire became so smitten with her.

If she can make such a genuine smile, it seems like things

will be fine.

I gave Iris, who was giving me a wide exaggerated wave, a

slight bow, left the terrace, and guided the dragon back to
the courtyard.

“Thanks for your help today. You did good.”

I patted the dragon around the neck, and it comfortably

closed its eyes.

I did push him in the middle of the night, so I really wanted to

pamper him a little more, but it’d be real troublesome if
Claire or the others were to return.

I retraced my steps and left the castle.

Giving the saluting soldiers a bow, I snuck off into the

nearest alley and removed my helmet and armour.

“Now then, all that remains is to see if those two managed to

escape.”

I stuffed the armour and helmet into the large luggage I

borrowed from Yunyun and made my way to the rendezvous
point.

The only other person who was there was Lynn. She gave
me a wave as she saw me approach.
“My side went off perfectly. How did it go for you?”

“No problem at all. Megumin and Yunyun hid in an Axis Cult

church, so the soldiers shouldn’t be able to get close to
them.”

“Well, even the Demon King’s army avoids them. It definitely

is the safest place in town.”

I don’t know why, but the two of them seem quite familiar
with the Axis Cult. Perhaps it’s because the Axis Cult and
Crimson Demons are both a little shot in the head, so they
find some kinship in each other?

“I won’t ask you for details, but was Alice-chan satisfied?”

“Oh, she is very satisfied. You could say she’s been blown
away, in a lot of ways.”

This is Lynn we are talking about, so she might have

guessed who Alice really is.

And, what happened in my past too…

Lynn, who was walking in front of me, suddenly turned

around and looked at me with upturned eyes.

“You’ll tell me someday, right?”

“Yeah, eventually.”

“Right, I’ll let you off for today.”

I didn’t ask what exactly she referred to.

I’m sure there will come a day where I must reveal what
happened today and my past to her.

As for when, well, who knows?

 Epilogue
A very familiar trio is standing in front of the mansion.

Megumin, Alice, and Yunyun, huh. Their ages are pretty

close, so they must find it easy to get along.

The fact that she’s playing around in Axel probably means

that her business as the princess must be concluded.

Seems like Megumin and Alice are quarreling, and Yunyun

is trying to stop them.

Poking my nose into the middle of a quarrel between women

never results in anything decent.

I’ll just pretend I didn’t see them and pass by.

“Stop fighting, you two! Megumin, stop chanting your

Explosion magic! Alice, too, stop showing off the ring you
got from Kazuma-san! Aah! Dust-san! Please help me stop
these two!”

Damn, she saw me.

I made shooing motions at Yunyun who approached me with

teary eyes.

“Don’t drag me into this. They say that friends who fight with
each other are closer, don’t they? Just leave them alone.”
“If these two really go at each other, it’ll be a catastrophe!
Are you really fine with that!?”

The power of Megumin’s explosion is certainly something to

behold.

The royalty of this country are rumoured to be pretty strong

thanks to the blood of heroes flowing in their veins.

If the two of them were to seriously go at each other…

“Hey, you two. If you want to go wild… go do it in front of our

usual tavern.”

“What are you saying!?”

“What? If the tavern were to be caught up in it and

destroyed, my tab would be wiped clean too.”

“Do you even listen to yourself!? Don’t you have a single

shred of humanity within you!?”

I thought it was a pretty good idea myself, but it seems like

Yunyun disagrees.

Perhaps hearing Yunyun and me quarrel soothed their

anger, but Megumin and Alice turned away from each other.

Apparently, Megumin had an errand to run or something, for

she wandered off somewhere else, but Alice walked over to
me.

She was staring directly at my waist for some reason.

“What, are you interested in a man’s ass now?”

“Of course not! That sword just caught my interest. I’m sorry
for setting Claire on you in the past.”

Even though she’s royalty, she’s honestly apologizing.

That’s quite impressive. Normally, nobles and royals would
never admit their mistakes, instead stomping off back home
to make some unreasonable demands.

“If you feel sorry, then treat me to a meal or something the

next time you’re with Kazuma.”

“Hehe, very well.”

I thought that was the end of our conversation, so I moved to

leave, but Alice jogged up to me and pulled on the sleeve of
my shirt.

“What, was there something else?”

“Keep this between us, but a Dragon Knight-sama once took

me on a night stroll together with him. Afterwards, I thanked
the Dragon Knight-sama, but he claimed that he knew
nothing about that. And now that I think about it, I feel that
his physique was slightly different as well.”

She actually went and thanked him in person?

… I miscalculated. Given her personality, it would’ve been

natural to expect her to do that.

“Dragon Knight? What are you talking about?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just talking to myself. If you ever run into
that Dragon Knight somewhere, please relay this message
to him. ‘Thank you for giving me such a wonderful night,
Dragon Knight-sama.’”

I waved my hand without turning around and left the place

without saying anything.

There’s no need to confirm or deny that. As long as it was a

happy memory for Iris, that would do just fine.
 Short story: A serious day
“I think I’ll go on an adventure.”

I declared as we were having a meal at the guild.

My companions froze for a moment, but resumed eating

their meals after giving me the barest hint of a glance.

I’m not one to be so easily discouraged. I stared at the

ceiling, grabbed the hilt of my sword, and launched into a
fervent speech.

“I don’t have any money. Normally I would laze around and

think of ways to easily earn money. But I recently had a
revelation. If I want money, all I have to do is to work hard
for it.”

I personally thought that was pretty good.

I’m a little concerned over the silent reactions of my

companions, so I lowered my gaze… To find all three of
them silently eating their meals.

“… Hey, aren’t you going to say something? ‘Well said,’ or

‘I’m actually moved,’ or any words to that effect? It’s fine to
praise me, you know?”

Towards my question, Lynn said in an exasperated manner,

“Aren’t you just stating the obvious?”

“I’m just guessing here, but you’re not going to say you saw
a woman caring for a cat caught out in the rain and fell for
her, and decided to raise your standing so you can woo her
or something as cliche as that, are you?”

“Well, just work seriously from now on.”

These guys… They saw through my perfect strategy!

I tried to put into action one of the tips for raising affection
that I came across in one of the books I read at the general
store, but it didn’t have any effect at all.

Dammit, it’s because you stock such useless books that

your store isn’t crowded. That old man really should treat his
work more seriously.

“Right, then, let’s go on an adventure.”

“Why are you deciding things by yourself? Before we talk

about adventure, do we even have a quest?”

“Oh, I found a quest that really caught my eye earlier and

brought it with me.”

Saying that, I energetically slammed the request against the

table.

After confirming the contents of that quest, my companions

turned to look at me with doubtful eyes.
“What’s with this quest?”

“It’s just as it looks. Capture a giant frog alive. It shouldn’t be

a terribly difficult task with our party.”

“Well, it’s certainly possible, but, say, Dust, what exactly is

anyone going to do with a live giant frog?”

Keith exasperatedly and repeatedly slapped the request.

Taylor didn’t say anything, but he nodded along. It seems

like he shares their opinion.

“Well, that piqued my interest too, so I tried to get in touch

with the person who put that quest up. As it turns out, the
original requestor was a certain noble lady.”

“A noble lady? What exactly is someone like that going to

want a live giant frog for?”

“Maybe she’s interested in the food that commoners eat and

wants to try some? But there’s no reason to request a live
capture in that case.”

“Hmm… Perhaps she is particular about the freshness of

ingredients?”

My companions discussed amongst themselves.

I was similarly confused when I first got the information, but

everything clicked together the moment the guild gave me
the name of the requestor.
“Yeah, you’d think so, right? But, what if I were to say that
the certain noble lady was Lalatina?”

“Ah…”

“Why would Darkness…” x2

Lynn instantly caught onto it, whereas Taylor and Keith still
seemed a little confused.

Come to think of it, Lynn experienced Darkness’s…

peculiarities first hand, but Taylor and Keith have yet to see
her in action.

“Well, there are a lot of uses for one.”

I wouldn’t mind enlightening them, but Taylor does look up

to Darkness as a fellow crusader. There’s no particular
pressing reason to shatter his illusion of her.

There are quite a few adventurers who remain ignorant of

her true nature. They’ll probably fall into despair if they learn
of it.

“Darkness probably won’t stiff us on the pay, but before we

actually go out and grab one… wouldn’t it be better if we talk
with Kazuma first?”

“There’s no problem as long as we get the money, right?

Why do we need to confirm everything with my friend?”

“Hearing that she wants a live monster brought before her

gives me nothing but bad feelings.”
Actually, yeah. I didn’t think too much about it because she’s
a pervert, but… What exactly is she going to do after getting
her hands on a live giant frog?

The last time I saw her fight, she threw away her armour and
charged into that horde of goblins…

“… Yeah, maybe it’s better to run this through with Kazuma.”

“Right? It’s not like we would lose anything if it turns out to

be nothing. Kazuma is the leader of that party, after all.”

“Alright. We’ll head over to Kazuma’s house after lunch.”

When we eventually met up with Kazuma, it seems like it’s

the first time he’s heard about this request, so he called
Darkness out to give her a lecture.

“It’s not because I’m jealous because you guys are the only
ones who get eaten! I just want to get all slimy with that
saliva…”

She tried to keep a straight face while spinning all kinds of

incomprehensible excuses for Kazuma, but receiving
Kazuma’s scoldings just seems to make her more excited.

This girl is absolutely beyond help.

The quest was retracted, but we did receive a cancellation

fee. I guess it’s not too bad to live seriously every once in a
while.