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Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku Wo! Yorimichi 4-Kai Me! by Natsume Akatsuki
Illustrations by Kurone Mishima.
Originally published by Kadokawa on February 28th, 2026.
English translation by H. Berry
Upcoming chapters will be posted on Patreon and Ko-Fi first!
Chapter 1: A Lord’s Duty!
Part 1
To deal with the
scorching summer, we used ice magic to fill buckets and placed them throughout
the mansion, keeping the temperature somewhat bearable.
By noon, Aqua wakes up
and heads into town, where she performs her water tricks. The kids seem to like
it.
By sunset, the sound of
Megumin’s dumb explosion echoes, signaling the end of the workday for everyone
in Axel.
While we were going about
our peaceful days, Hagen, the head butler of the Dustiness house, came to
visit.
“We only have simple
tea.”
Aqua led him in and,
looking nervous, served him tea.
Hagen accepted with a
polite smile.
“Thank you for your
hospitality. I’m sure it’s fine… this… this is hot water…”
“Why do you always serve
hot water!? I’m sorry, this isn’t a prank or anything, she just has the ability
to turn all liquids into water!”
Darkness isn’t around for
now.
In this world, nobles are
strong, and depending on how the war with the Demon King’s army is going, they
may be required to lead their soldiers into battle.
And as the war
intensifies, it seems some towns in the frontlines have been captured.
At least the residents
were evacuated in time.
Darkness' father, now
fully recovered, accepted a request from the royal family and set out to
reclaim one of the captured towns.
As a result, Darkness has
taken over his duties as acting lord…
“I’m sorry! Really!
Anyway, what do you want? I haven’t done anything, I just woke up. And
yesterday I was holed up here all day, drinking and writing new doctrines!”
“Huh? What doctrines? Uh…
but yeah, what do you need?”
Hagen smiled wryly. “I’m
not here for any kind of complaint… actually, I do have one. Please tell Miss
Megumin to stop using our staff on her daily routine…”
“Sorry, it’s been so hot
lately that neither of us want to help her. I’ll make sure to put a stop to
that, my honest apologies.”
I thought some rando was
helping her; to think she’d do that.
“Please see to it, but
I’m getting sidetracked… there’s another reason I came today,” Hagen shook his
head as I apologized. “Please, I beg of you! Help the young lady!”
He bowed deeply.
“...Lady Dustiness,
please sign this document.”
“You need to check this
one for errors. Next…”
“Due to the extreme heat,
the frogs are beginning to expand their range in search of water. I request
permission to issue an urgent quest for adventurers!”
“Ugh… please, one at a
time. I’m not as good as my father…”
Aqua and I could hear
voices through the door.
“We’re
here for you!” We opened the door with a loud bang and stepped into her study.
“Ah! W-what’s with you
two? Why are you here!? Sorry, but as you can see, I’m busy. I’ll hang out with
you once I get some free time…”
Darkness was buried under
piles of paperwork and surrounded by bureaucrats.
Meanwhile, Aqua and I had
confident smug looks on our faces.
“We heard from Hagen. It
seems the daughter of the Dustiness family has taken on unfamiliar lordly
duties in place of her father, who’s away fighting the Demon King’s army. So we
came to help!”
Darkness stared at us,
stunned.
“Give these two sweets or
something and send them away.”
“Hey, we came here to
help you and this is how you treat us!?”
“Yeah! Some sweets aren’t
enough, I better get plenty of sweets! I’ll take Megumin’s share since she’s
not here!”
While Aqua was losing
focus, I picked up some of the documents scattered around Darkness.
According to Hagen,
there’s a shortage of high-ranking government officials. The kind that can make
important decisions. Most of these requests require someone trustworthy and
responsible to approve them.
Which is obviously why
Hagen dragged us here.
So, I started flipping
through the pages.
“Hmm. A swarm of army
locusts are approaching the city. However, the weather forecaster’s predicted
path is wrong, so there’s a request to have a Crimson Magic Clan fortune teller
make a new prediction. I see, but there’s not enough budget for that.”
“Kazuma, these are
confidential documents, don’t just read them like that. Listen, I don’t know if
I’ll be able to go home tonight either. I’ll give you something, just go back
to the mansion…”
Lately, Darkness had been
staying at her family’s estate after work.
It’s her house too, so
there’s nothing strange about that. However, it’s been a while since I last saw
her, and I noticed faint dark circles under her eyes.
She must be working
herself to exhaustion.
“I don’t know how good
that fortune teller is, but there is someone in this town who can see the
future. He’s been working as a consultant in the Adventurer’s Guild for a
while, you know?”
A female bureaucrat who
had been looking at me suspiciously clapped her hands.
“Oh, I’ve seen him! And
considering we’d need to pay a messenger to send the request all the way to the
Crimson Magic Village this would be much cheaper. We’ll save time too!”
As if that set things
off, the other bureaucrats began chiming in.
“That consultant is an
acquaintance of Lady Dustiness, I believe. As long as we offer a fair fee, he
shouldn’t refuse.”
“Then let’s prepare a
request form. Lady Dustiness, could you stop by the Adventurer’s Guild and make
the request. Perhaps bring it up in casual conversation…”
Thanks to the
bureaucrats’ efficiency, the document was completed in no time.
“Darkness, make sure you
don’t get taken advantage of. You should make it seem like Vanir is the one
doing you a favour. Say something like, ‘Well, I could ask the fortune teller
from the Crimson Magic Clan, but seeing how you’ve helped me so many times, we
even became one once. I figured I’d help you out!’”
“I’d rather die than do
something so stupid! But… But I suppose I should negotiate. Aqua, come with me,
with you by my side Vanir won’t be able to see my true intentions.”
Bringing her is a good
idea, she usually nerfs Vanir.
If he sees through
Darkness he’ll likely ask a bit more of what Soketto would ask, after torturing
her for a bit.
“Kazuma is oddly useful
at times like this, right Darkness?”
For some reason, Aqua
looks smug, despite not having done anything.
“Oh yeah, Kazuma has high
intelligence. I remember you were an important member of the Aqua Appreciation
Festival committee. I’d love to help too, but I’ll need an incentive, you know
what I mean?”
Darkness gave a wry smile
and scratched her cheek awkwardly.
That reminds me of a
certain thief who does the same thing when she’s troubled.
“I won’t leave you alone
of course, you’re pushing yourself too hard. We’re friends, so I don’t care
about the reward. But as for how long…”
I don’t really want to
work until her father’s back. Still, I thought of what that cheesy line-loving
thief would say in a moment like this.
“We’ll work until those
dark circles under your eyes are gone. We don’t want that beautiful face of
yours ruined, right?”
Darkness blushed.
“I can’t believe a
cynical person like you would call me that…” then, she froze, her cheeks
turning even redder. “D-dark circles!? What do you mean!? Hagen! Do I have dark
circles under my eyes!?”
She looked genuinely
flustered.
Not from her usual
embarrassment, more of a ‘I don’t want to be seen like this!’ kind of
embarrassment.
“Didn’t I warn you,
milady? Just because your official duties are piling up doesn’t mean you should
keep drinking Ultra Hard Z[1]! That is
meant to be a virility tonic! If you drink too much, your body overheats at
night and—”
“Don’t tell them
thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!! Fine, I get it, don’t say more! You win
Kazuma, you can help!”
“...What exactly have you
been doing every night to end up with those dark circles? Give me back my
concern, you pervert.
When I shot back a cold
stare, Darkness blushed.
“I’m sorry.”
Despite that, she looked
a little happy…
“You really notice
everything Kazuma! You’re right, it’d be a shame to ruin that face! I’ll cast a
healing spell on her to restore her beauty!”
Both Darkness and I
blushed at Aqua’s insensitive remark.
The perverted masochist
usually gives me a hard time, but this is an excellent opportunity for my
intelligence and modern knowledge to shine!
I was given my own desk,
along with a mountain of documents.
Aqua sat next to me,
while she has a desk of her own, she’s quietly munching on snacks.
Time to get to work.
[The idea of making the
daily dumb explosions a local attraction received mayoral support in a resident
survey, largely because the sound is used to signal to end the workday.
However, since the timing varies, residents have requested it be fixed. Preferably
around 5pm. As for the explosion site, the location will be designated by the
tourist information association…]
I read up to that point
and quietly placed the document on Aqua's desk.
“What’s this for? Do you
want me to do some paper crafts or something?”
“Of course not! All these
documents are to be reviewed."
Aqua nodded and took the
papers.
“Some of these are
difficult, so we’ll bundle them up for Darkness.”
“Got it! I’ll stack them
into a neat pile!”
It’s a pointless job, but
I know she’ll be up to no good if she has nothing to do.
Thinking that, I grabbed
another document.
[A large number of undead
have suddenly appeared and are inexplicably marching towards the city. We
request the dispatch of adventurers to investigate the cause and repel them.]
[Rainwater collects on
the craters around town, forming watering holes for wild animals. Monsters have
begun targeting them…]
“Yeah, this goes on the
Darkness pile too. Oh, this one as well. Aqua, make sure they’re all on the
same pile.”
“I’m on the job!”
“Kazuma, I really don’t
want to read whatever Aqua is piling up…”
Hey, you’re the acting
lord!
“There have been
conflicts between refugees from captured towns and the local residents. We need
to take action as quickly as possible…”
Just like back on Earth,
why can’t people get along?
Even if there are
differences in race or culture we should be able to work things out…
“The reason is because of
Axel’s local specialty, fried frogs are seasoned with salt… but the refugees
insist it should be seasoned with soy sauce.”
I was taking this
seriously, so I crumbled the paper and threw it away.
“You know, the other day
we argued whether to use salt or soy sauce on our fried eggs. It’s such a silly
thing to fight over…”
Ridiculous, really.
“Obviously. Fried eggs go
with soy sauce, anyone that thinks otherwise is just wrong…”
We did little work after
that.
A heated argument broke
out, the bureaucrats were in on it too.
Part 2
The next day.
“I was really childish
yesterday. I was supposed to help, but only got in the way. I’m sorry,
Darkness.”
“That’s alright, let’s
just not talk about food anymore. Someone almost died yesterday.”
We agreed not to make
public what happened.
To make up for lost time,
I immediately grabbed a document.
[Crop growth has been
poor this year, we’d like to request some kind of countermeasure…]
Alright, this is what I
was looking for.
There are three main
reasons why crops may not grow well. It’s either because of the extreme heat,
the lack of water, or poor soil condition.
However, Axel is a city
where the self-proclaimed goddess of water lives, no way there’s a shortage of
water.
That means the cause is
either the heat, or the soil…
“Hey Darkness, do you
know about crop rotation?”
I brought up a basic
farming method that shows up in pretty much every fantasy novel.
It’s where you cultivate
different kinds of crops, letting the soil rest and recover.
“I’ve never heard of
that. What is it?”
Even a highly educated
noble doesn’t know about it. The bureaucrats also shook their heads.
Then it really must be
the soil.
“Different crops need
different nutrients. Crop rotation involves growing different crops in
different seasons, allowing the soil to rest between cultivation periods.”
In a shitty other world
like this, my modern knowledge is my greatest weapon.
As someone with only a
high luck stat, I have to rely on the wisdom from Earth.
Darkness gave me a
completely unreadable look, like she was thinking, What is this guy even
talking about?
“...if the soil isn’t
good, they can just move to a better place, you know? Crops that can’t move
lure in monsters and use them as fertilizer…”
Oh yeah, I forgot how
plants work in this shitty other world.
Plants shouldn’t move
around! They might as well be animals!
“Summer is when animals
and monsters become more active. The poor crop growth is likely because of the
increased monster attacks on the farms. The crops are exhausted, so they can’t
properly perform photosynthesis .”
One of the bureaucrats
said that with a completely serious expression.
What the hell is this
place? Why am I even here!?
Weren’t we walking about
agriculture?
As the bureaucrats
seriously discussed the cause of the poor harvest. I, feeling utterly
disgusted, gave a half-hearted
suggestion.
“Why not just spread
poison in the fields then? That should get rid of the monsters.”
“Great idea! There are
many toxins that affect animals and monsters but are harmless to plants. And
before harvesting them we can hire a priest to purify them…”
“Hold on. If we do that,
then the crops won’t be able to fight back and gain experience points.
Low-level crops are useless…”
Aren’t bureaucrats
supposed to be smart?
They should spray
pesticides at the very least. Organic farmers in my world would be furious if
they heard this.
But come on, crops need
to level up? Give me a break.
“Let’s just have Aqua
cast some support magic on the fields…”
“Excellent idea!”
Is it? I was just
thinking out loud.
And how come she’s not
against that plan?
“...yes. If we use
support magic to enhance the crops, then they’ll only get stronger with the
monster attacks. We’ll have food with even more experience!”
Come on, is it seriously
such a genius idea?
Darkness should be
shutting this down. There’s no way she’s agreeing with this nonsense.
“As expected of you,
Kazuma. Your knowledge is always valuable. Keep up the good work.”
“Okay…”
Whatever, I don’t care
anymore.
Later.
“A massive hornet
infestation has resulted in nests appearing all over the forest. The
lumberjack’s guild has requested their extermination. However, since hornet's
nests fetch a high price, it seems adventurers are fighting to take the job…”
“This one’s easy. Instead
of having one big quest, split this into several small ones so many parties can
complete them. Hey Aqua, this job is going smoothly.”
“I’ve been taking good
care of Darkness’ pile. I’ll hand it over now.”
Aqua neatly placed the
stack of documents on Darkness’s desk.
Without even checking
them, she said. “...hey, how about we swap? This is supposed to be your
specialty, isn’t it?”
“These requests are too
much for a commoner like me. The acting lord should handle them.”
Honestly, all the names
on those documents belong to people connected to her anyway.
“Then, as acting lord of
the city of Axel. I command you, commoner, to review these documents.”
The tyrannical lord
suddenly made an unreasonable request.
“As expected of Lalatina,
the bride of Alderp Alexei Barnes. Her tyranny rivals that of her ex-husband.”
“I’m sorry. Just… never
call me that ever again!”
Having immediately
yielded to the commoner, Divorceness obediently picked up a document.
“...hey Kazuma. I know
you work hard, but try to be a little more careful.”
“Be more restrained then…
by the way, what’s that document about?”
Nice to hear she
appreciates my efforts, but I’m curious.
“A group of satanists
have come to this city after hearing a devil lives here. Since the kingdom
guarantees freedom of religion, we can’t just expel them, but a conflict with
the Axis cultists is inevitable—Ah! Aqua, where are you going!? They haven’t done
anything yet! K-Kazuma, help me with her—!”
Ignoring the sudden
commotion, I got back to work.
Part 3
It’s been three days
since Hagen asked for our help.
Using the efficiency
skills I picked up from MMOs, I streamlined unnecessary work and earned the
bureaucrats’ admiration.
I’d gotten used to this
world’s absurd problems, and before I knew it, a sense of camaraderie had
formed among my coworkers.
“There are some strange
documents mixed in here…” Darkness asked with a puzzled expression.
It was a request titled:
[We want a recreational area in Axel.]
It included plans and a
budget proposal for building a swimming pool.
I put it together after
staying up all night.
Recreational areas are
difficult to make here.
It’s not like there
aren’t any, there are museums and what not in the capital, I’ve been to them
several times.
The art museum displays
monsters turned to stone as sculptures. Aqua almost made a huge issue when she
nearly undid the petrification.
Other museums house
replicas of divine treasures supposedly used by heroes, as well as some cursed,
forbidden items. Aqua also caused trouble when she tried to break the curses.
There were also plans to
build aquariums and zoos, but those got scrapped due to the difficulty of
securing high-level staff to manage the animals.
An amusement park was
proposed as well, but ran into technical issues.
And the ski resort
project was canceled after snow sprites decided to settle on the construction
site.
“I want to build
something that will heal the hearts of the people of this shitty world.”
“I see. I suppose that’s
a good thing… but the town has many recreational areas like parks and public
baths. What’s wrong with those?”
She doesn’t get it.
“Allow me to explain.
Say, how does a duke’s daughter normally spend her time in a hot summer like
this?”
She probably has a summer
villa or something. Somewhere she can host elegant parties with expensive food.
“Well, before I met you,
I’d usually go to a lake near the capital at this time of year. We used to hire
members of the Crimson Magic Clan to build an ice castle where we’d spend most
of the time. My family would also call a chef from a top-class restaurant…
W-what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that!? Isn’t that normal…?”
“Now I know all nobles in
this world are corrupt.”
An ice castle? And I
thought filling buckets with ice was pushing it. And they bring in a top chef
too?
The bureaucrats stopped
working.
“...you know that if the
nobles just hoard their wealth the economy will stagnate, right? A minimum
amount of luxury is necessary. Powerful nobles often fight on the front lines,
which means they earn a lot. They use that money to soothe their minds and bodies.”
“I’m not saying you’re
wrong. I’m just saying your story isn’t helpful. Putting aside nobles wasting
their money, summer means water activities. Which means a pool, we need a
pool.”
Darkness tilted her head.
“Why bother building that? There’s a lake near town.”
“Where monsters gather.
We have to regularly drive off brutal alligators just to keep it usable. We
can’t hang out safely there. Not everyone is as tough as you.”
She still looked
unconvinced. “Then what about the river running through the city?”
“Again, not everyone is
as tough as you. Crawfish live there; they can bite off the toes of low leveled
adventurers.”
I learned that the hard
way after I had to help catch crawfish on our trip to Elroad.
At this time of year,
reckless children apparently jump into the river and level up by catching
crawfish and tadpoles, but I’ve heard drowning accidents aren’t uncommon.
“What I want isn’t
something where you need a guard or constantly be on the look out. I want
something where I can just relax, splash around, and have fun.”
“Hmm. Personally, having
more water around sounds good. I’m with Kazuma.”
Unsurprisingly, the
goddess of water agrees.
Darkness thought for a
moment. “Well, the city… or rather the entire country’s finances aren’t that
great. Princess Iris had to go to a neighboring country to ask for financial
assistance. We can’t afford to spend money on something that won’t turn a profit.”
“The noble girl said, not
long after explaining how the nobles have to waste money. You have no
credibility. That aside, it will be profitable, that’s not a problem.”
Even Darkness was
interested now.
“If we can make a profit,
then I’m willing to allocate the budget… but how will it work exactly? If you
require an entrance fee, won’t that discourage a lot of people?”
No, that’s no problem.
“It’s simple, swimsuits
must be restricted in size and coverage. Women enter for free, but men have to
pay 2000 Eris.”
“Rejected! Your idea will
only disrupt public order and morals, you idiot!"
My carefully prepared
proposal was instantly denied and tossed aside.
However, one of the male
bureaucrats picked it up.
“The construction costs
are quite low… in fact, far below market rates. How did you manage that?”
“I have a lot of friends
in the construction company that works on the outer walls; we occasionally go
drinking. When I told them about my plan, everyone liked the idea and happily
promised to help.”
Naturally. Everyone likes
pools.
The chairman of the
shopping district and several others showed interest too.
“I see, they must’ve been
moved by Mr. Satou’s enthusiasm. Hmm, it really looks like we can make a profit
from this,” the bureaucrat placed the document back on Darkness’ desk, trying
to persuade her. “Lady Dustiness—”
“No.”
He was dismissed before
he could say more.
“We haven’t even
discussed this! I mean, what good is the government if it won’t invest in
public works, profitable public works at that! I’m supporting Mr. Satou!”
“Yeah! His plan is
supported by the shopping district to open a restaurant inside the pool
facility. We can approve that and have them cover part of the construction
costs!”
“On top of that, citizens
benefit, merchants profit, and the city gains revenue. It even has health
benefits, water is more effective at preventing heatstroke than resting in the
shade. And giving young people more places to gather could help with Axel’s
declining marriage rate! Why are you so against this!?”
Except for the one female
bureaucrat who also had an icy stare, Darkness was overwhelmed by the
enthusiasm of her male colleagues.
“You all got close to
Kazuma without me noticing… B-but… Listen, at least let’s leave out the rules
about swimsuits. Otherwise, it’ll go against the public code and morals of the
city…”
I finally snapped, she’s
really not getting this.
“But that’s the most
important part! And you saying that it’s like saying you’re very existence is
against the public code and morals!”
“Don’t call me that!
Besides, this document only covers construction costs! What about
maintenance!?”
Don’t underestimate a
former MMO guild manager, I’m very thorough.
“Aqua, if you use Sacred
Create Water in the pool, you’ll get unlimited drinks at the restaurant by the
pool.”
“Leave it to me, I’ll
make sure the water is clean!”
As if anticipating this,
Darkness raised her voice more. “Then where!? Have you secured land for
construction!? Space inside the city walls is limited! Finding a large enough
plot of land won’t be easy!”
I was waiting for this,
so I unfolded a map.
“This place is available.
It’s next to a former haunted building and it’s currently vacant. The residents
who moved to the haunted building are considered troublemakers, so nobody goes
near it…”
“Isn’t that right next to
our mansion!? I see what this is! You just want to stare at women in swimsuits
all day!”
The usually airhead
crusader managed to notice some troublesome things.
“There are a lot of empty
houses around, and nobody wants to live there! I just want to be woken up by
the cheerful voices of women in swimsuits! I want to drink on the balcony while
watching cute girls having a great summer! I’m helping you out for free, I
deserve at least something like this!”
“Absolutely not! We’re
not spending taxpayer money on something so stupid! Even the corrupt Alderp
only went as far as using a magic mirror in his own home! Building a pool so
you can ogle at girls is completely unacceptable!”
“Hey Darkness, Kazuma is
a real pervert, isn’t he?” Aqua joined in, grinning.
“...You’re one to talk!
You did whatever you wanted during the Aqua Appreciation Festival!”
This is a waste of time.
I snatched the document
before Darkness could throw it away again.
“We all agreed a profit
is assured, and you’re the only one against this! Just sign it already!”
“Speaking as a woman, I’d
never go to this pool, even if it’s free!”
I grabbed Darkness’ hand,
trying to force her to sign it.
“Stop resisting already,
just sign—! Owowowow! Stop! You’re breaking my arm!”
“Did you really think an
adventurer as strong as a noodle was going to overpower me!?”
Just as Darkness was
about to break my arm—
“I’ve heard everything!”
Someone gently knocked on
the door and slowly opened it.
“Megumin, help me! This
tyrant is oppressing the people!”
“Megumin, perfect timing!
Take Kazuma and leave!”
Megumin appeared on the
back of a maid.
At some point, the window
turned orange with the light of the setting sun.
I hadn’t even heard her
explosion over all the arguing. She must have just returned from her dumb daily
routine.
Megumin’s eyes were
shining brightly. “I heard Darkness was struggling with unfamiliar political
duties! I thought it was unusual she wasn’t coming home lately, so this is
what’s been going on! It’s unfair I’ve been left out!”
“Sorry about that, but I
figured it’d be better if you stayed out of this…”
Megumin raised her voice.
“Now that I’m here, everything will be alright! The Crimson Magic Clan is known
for our high intelligence! It’s only natural for an Archwizard to lend her
wisdom to a lord. And I am the greatest genius of the Crimson Magic Clan. I’m
here to lend you my strength!”
“...Kazuma, can you take
her and leave… forever?”
Darkness was no longer
hiding her anxiety about us helping her.
Part 4
The next day.
Despite her usual
eccentric behaviour, Megumin was surprisingly efficient at paperwork.
“A swarm of black wasps
is approaching the forest near the city, seemingly targeting the hornets’ nest…
Let’s lure their natural predator, a hawk-eagle. Hawk-eagles like attacking
sturdy objects, that’s where Darkness comes in.”
“I see, you’ll use Lady
Dustiness’ abs, which are harder than adamantite, as bait.”
“...it’s fortunate that
we’re so short-handed right now. Otherwise, I’d send you to the frontlines.”
Darkness shot a resentful
glare at the male bureaucrat as I passed documents to the person on my right.
“Here you go, stacker…
phew. I’m done with all my tasks. Got anything else? Preferably city issues,
I’m tired of problems about animals and monsters.”
Aqua has inexplicably
been having a good time stacking the documents.
I don’t get it.
Megumin dropped another
batch onto my desk. “Take these Kazuma, I’ll handle cases outside the city… by
the way, what is a ‘stacker’? I’ve never heard of that job. You’re usually
clueless, but you tend to know strange things.”
“A stacker is someone who
stacks documents. Once the pile gets big enough, it gets sent to the crying
Darkness.”
“I see… stack this
document too please.”
Megumin seems to have
figured out what I’ve been doing.
She then lowered her gaze
and began muttering.
“Hmm… the leading
meteorologist in the capital has expressed concern about this city’s unusually
high temperature…”
“Um, could you please not
stack that one?” Darkness pleaded in a voice that sounded like she was about to
burst into tears, her face turning more and more grim as Megumin kept reading.
“The likelihood of the
Great Spirit of Summer being responsible is very low. The concern is that a
Fire Dragon is sleeping beneath the city… a dragon, huh? My time has finally
come.”
“Settle down Dragon
Slayer. Let me see… the meteorologist is coming with a team to investigate, and
they want skilled adventurers to escort them… well, speaking of—”
“Yes, there’s the Clumsy
Legion, which is more of a mercenary group that overwhelms opponents with sheer
numbers. There’s also the White Lily, a four person, all female party. And of
course, the Three Swords, a three-person party led by a sword master wielding a
magic sword. And there’s also the solo party, The Crimson Loner.” Darkness
rudely interrupted me. “Of course, there are several more skilled parties, but
considering their conduct, those four are the most appropriate. I believe the
Three Swords are based in the capital. The Crimson Loner is the most balanced
in terms of skill, she’s reliable, but…”
“No! When talking about
skilled parties, you’re supposed to think about us!”
“That’s right! You should
rely on us, not some random party! Besides, guarding someone from the capital
should get us some good money!”
Hold on.
“Wait, other parties have
names?”
“Hmm? Now that you
mentioned it, we never registered ours. We formed this party under unusual
circumstances…”
Seriously? Everyone else
is going on adventures with a cool name?
And the Crimson Loner is
definitely Yunyun. She really registered herself as a solo party…
“We shouldn't be wasting
our time on politics! After everything we’ve done, we don’t have a party name!”
This is the first time
I’ve heard about this name system.
Now that I think about
it, it’s a common trope for isekai protagonists to give their party a name.
“It’s unacceptable that a
party led by a goddess doesn’t have a name! The guild members can’t keep
calling us ‘Lady Aqua and her minions’ forever!”
“I’m pretty sure most
people call us ‘Kazuma’s Party’. But I’m not too sure.”
“Well… it’s strange
coming from me, but I think ‘Dustiness Party’ sounds pretty good…”
Even Darkness joined in,
completely abandoning her work.
The bureaucrats, bored
with the paperwork, became interested too.
“When it comes to naming,
leave it to me. I have many ideas. I’ll think of an incredibly cool name that
will make your souls tremble just by hearing it!”
Megumin’s declaration
marked the end of the day’s work.
As another heated
argument erupted, involving the bureaucrats again.
Part 5
After exchanging morning
greetings with everyone, I made a declaration.
“Sorry about yesterday.
Our party doesn’t need a name. Let’s keep things the way they are.”
“No more fighting, let’s
just focus on work.”
We agreed to drop the
subject.
Someone almost died…
again… if not for Aqua’s healing magic…
Anyway,
“What happened? Why is
Darkness crying?”
“We stopped by the
Adventurer’s Guild on our way here. Darkness wanted to ask the masked devil
about the fortune telling job. But as a condition, he made her say ‘Well, I
could ask the fortune teller from the Crimson Magic Clan, but seeing how you’ve
helped me so many times, we even became one once. I figured I’d help you out!
…that sounds familiar.
“It’s what we told
Darkness to tell him! That wicked devil, even though I was besides her. He used
his powers to the limit to see through Darkness! And after that he told us he
depleted his powers and wouldn’t be able to use his foresight for a while. But
he did say he’ll tell us about the locusts some other day.”
“He seriously went all
out just to make Darkness cry?”
Well, we got fortune
telling for free. That’s something.
It’s admirable for a
noblewoman to sacrifice herself to a devil for the sake of the people.
“How does my father
manage to do anything with such a tiny budget…? Now I can finally understand
why Alderp imposed such outrageous taxes…”
“Don’t even joke like
that! If you raise taxes more, there’ll be riots! Taxes are ridiculous enough
as they are!”
Taxes are insane in this
world.
I understand income tax,
that makes sense. But why is there a level tax?
It’s like they’re saying,
‘level up so we can tax your higher rewards, but if you don’t level up, we’ll
tax you for being too weak.’
It almost feels like the
guild wants adventurers to just become normal people.
“Okay, let’s get to work!
The first document is…” While she tried to lighten the mood, Megumin became
silent as she picked up the document.
“Hey, give me that.”
“Huh? I’ll handle this,
you have your own work!”
Oh, now I’m very
interested.
“Steeeeeeeeeeeeeal!!”
“Ahhhhhh! I’ve been
wanting to mention this for a while, but that skill is unfair! You’re not
supposed to be able to steal what you want every time!”
I dodged Megumin as she
tried to snatch the document back.
“There have been numerous
incidents of adventurers from other towns being attacked by a local adventurer.
According to the victims' accounts, the perpetrator is a brunette girl with red
eyes…”
“What? You can’t just
assume that’s me! I shouldn’t need to say this, but every single member of the
Crimson Magic Clan is short-tempered. Even the usually quiet Yunyun will fight
if provoked! That description fits plenty of people!”
Megumin rattled off
pathetic excuses.
“It also says the
perpetrator often declares, ‘I am Megumin, top fighter in Axel! To be defeated
by a fledgling adventurer from another town shows how much of a weakling you
are!’, then she does a stupid pose and flees—”
Megumin felt silent.
“Aqua, stack this one.”
“Right. You know, I’m
starting to worry about Darkness. She got reduced to tears by a part-time
masked devil this morning.”
“Let me explain!
Adventurers coming from the front lines were looking down on Axel’s
adventurers, saying things like, ‘We’re veterans, so we’ll teach you rookies a
lesson’. Of course I had to beat them!”
As I handed Aqua the
documents, Megumin started spouting nonsense.
Just as everyone was
ignoring her, one bureaucrat spoke up.
“I’m not trying to defend
Miss Megumin, but there have been tensions between locals and visiting
adventurers. If we don’t address this, it could escalate…”
“Most adventurers here
are well-behaved, but I guess there are a few hot heads. I hope those coming
from other towns won’t cause trouble… ugh…”
Darkness groaned,
clutching her head.
Thanks to the succubus
shop, most male adventurers are in a good mood most of the time.
Say you get in trouble
and you get banished from the city, you won’t be able to go there anymore, so
male adventurers, barring some exceptions, are usually pretty chill.
“I’d guess the foreign
adventurers are acting wild because they don’t know about that shop. Once they
go there, they’ll calm down.”
Hmm…
“What’s with that look,
Kazuma? Why are you staring at us like that? What shop are you talking about?”
“That face of yours means
you’re thinking of something perverted. If you have something to say, say it!”
As you can see, the
hot-blooded adventurers in this town are the women.
The succubi won’t solve
everything of course, say the foreign male adventurers start to calm down, that
may cause the female adventurers, who already don’t get much attention from
men, to get even more aggressive.
Darkness suddenly tilted
her head.
“There are some strange
documents mixed here again…”
She showed me a request
titled: [We want a watchtower in town.]
“Even though this town is
known for rookie adventurers, we have major monster attacks all the time. While
the barrier wall is helpful, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to request a
watchtower. We’d be able to detect incoming threats much earlier.”
Megumin inexplicably
began to argue about the necessity of a tower, even though nobody asked her
about it.
“Well, that’s fine, but
the problem is…” Darkness pointed to a section labeled ‘Planned Construction
Site.’ “Why is it next to our mansion?”
“A watchtower needs a
watchman. To cut costs, I volunteer. For some reason, not many people live near
us, so it’ll be a good use of the vacant lots. And with the tower so close, I
won’t have to commute.”
Oh, so it was her idea.
“I won’t ask for a
salary. But seeing how it’ll be my workplace, I should be allowed to name the
tower.”
“I can see through you,
Megumin! You want the watchtower next to our house so you’ll be able to do your
stupid daily routine from inside the wall!”
Megumin does love high
places.
There’s a saying here
that only fools and demon kings like high places. Megumin definitely qualifies
as the former and she has mentioned she’d like to become demon queen more than
once. She probably wants her own tower to feel important.
“If you understand that
much then just approve it. I know that the townspeople already use my
explosions to signal the end of the workday. If I cast my magic from the top of
the tower, it’ll resonate even louder through the city. Every wizard wants
their own tower. It’s a fair deal, if you want to use my magic, build me a
tower!”
I guess she’s right, I
also picture evil wizards hiding in towers, or dungeons.
“I agree, if you agree to
build the pool next to the tower! With the tower there, I’ll no longer have to
carry these dumbo on my back anymore.”
“What the hell are you
talking about? You will still be required to help me, tower or not! Lately,
some maids have been carrying me, but there’s no love in the way they do it.”
“Both of you, shut up! We
are not going to use taxpayer money on your frivolous nonsense! No watchtowers
and no swimming pools. Rejected, rejected, rejecteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!! Megumin,
I’ll designate a point outside town for your dumb explosions, you’ll have to
make do with that!” Darkness threw the documents into the trash.
“There’s nothing
frivolous about it! I’ve talked to the tourist information association, and
they agreed it’d be a great attraction!”
“And why can’t we have a
pool!? If we have tourist attractions, then we also need places to relax!
Everyone loves pools!”
As Megumin and I
protested, Darkness covered her ears and started shouting.
“Aaaaaaargh! Stop it, you
two are so selfish! Why can’t you be like Aqua? She’s been quietly helping! For
once, she’s been the most useful one here!”
“If you hadn’t added that
‘for once’ I might’ve been happy to hear that. But this tyrant needs to be
taught a lesson!”
“Yeah! Go get her, Aqua!
In the meantime, we’ll work on estimates for Megumin Tower and the pool.”
“That’s a terrible name.
We need something that’s both awe-inspiring and cool, something that will
strike fear in the hearts of children!”
“Now I understand why the
king trusts you so much! Father, please come back soon!”
With tears welling up,
Darkness let out a desperate scream.
Part 6
Later.
“The army locusts are
expected to reach the city by the end of the month! We need countermeasures!”
“A mountain qoatlus was
spotted to the north. It’s thought to have flown here in search of the frogs,
but we cannot confirm that yet…”
“A conflict is about to
break out between the Eris cultists and the satanists! It appears the Axis
cultists are provoking them!”
“Something called ‘flash
fireworks’ has become popular among adventurers. Apparently, it’s a game that
uses magic scrolls with Flash spells sealed in them. They come from a
well-known magic tool shop. The mage guild has requested a ban, but the shop
insists there’s nothing illegal about them. Residents have also complained
about them being used in the middle of the night.”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
The constant stream of
problems finally pushed even Darkness over the edge.
“Darkness!? Tearing up
the documents won’t make the problems go away!”
“I can fix them, just get
me some rice.”
As tearful Darkness
shredded documents and tossed them everywhere, the bureaucrats remained
completely unfazed.
“Here are some more, Lady
Dustiness. There’s still a lot of work to be done, if you keep this up your
workload will only increase.”
“Your father handled this
in his spare time. Stop crying and go back to work.”
“Miss Aqua, could you
help me gather the scattered documents?”
“I’m on it! I’ll fix
these up and stack them for Darkness!”
While not as useless as
the useless goddess, Darkness is the muscle-brained in our party.
This kind of work is
probably too much for her.
…to be honest, I’m close
to my limit too.
We may be known as a
problematic party, but we’re far from the only source of trouble.
I’ve been thinking about
it, people in this city are pretty weird too.
They’ve gotten used to
explosion magic and attacks from Demon King army generals. Strange incidents
happen here all the time.
The ever-growing piles of
documents are proof of that.
“It seems we’ve
overworked our masochistic crusader. As her incredibly well-defined abs
suggest, Darkness is someone who thrives on physical activity. She needs a
break.”
Darkness didn’t react to
Megumin’s comments about her ripped abs. Instead, she remained face down on her
desk.
She then lay flat across
it, probably to block more documents from being placed there, but a bureaucrat
simply set another stack on her face.
Aqua diligently gathered
the torn pages, patching them back together with rice.
While she was mostly
annoying at the start, she’s proven to be quietly useful.
However, if Darkness gets
any more stressed, she might run away from home…
I’d like to go out too,
for something other than Megumin’s dumb daily routine.
Well… I did sign up for
this. And it’s for a friend, so I can’t complain too much.
“Hey, Darkness. I heard
the meteorologist’s team is arriving tonight to investigate. They requested a
well-behaved party as escorts. Why don’t we take the job? Save some money.”
Darkness shot upright,
sending the papers on her head flying, and immediately ran out of the room.
“I’m perfectly happy here
stacking documents. I’m not the outdoorsy type.”
“What are you talking
about? Even a shut-in like me is going. We’ll need a priest anyway, what if
something happens. We need someone that can cast Resurrection.”
“If we need to use
Resurrection then we fail as escorts! Well, with Darkness with us, it’s
unlikely it’ll get to that…”
The meteorologist
believes that a Fire Dragon is sleeping beneath the city.
But if that were the
case, the dumb daily explosions would’ve woken it up ages ago…
“Sorry to keep you
waiting! After the battle with the Kowloon Hydra I had equipment prepared in
case we needed to deal with giant monsters again!” Darkness burst through the
door, clad in unusually heavy armor.
The meteorologist is
arriving tonight, why is she ready already?
“Kazuma, Kazuma. I have a
bad feeling about this,” Aqua said, stacking more documents.
What a coincidence, me
too.
“This is a very strange
city,” the meteorologist said the moment she arrived.
“You are aware I’m in
charge of things here…”
“Oh, I didn’t mean it
like that! I mean strange in a good way!”
With her large glasses,
she looked more like a scholar, but the twenty-something meteorologist was
surprisingly cute.
And it seems she did her
homework about this place.
“Seriously, I meant it in
a good way. It’s weird in a good way!”
“Huh…?”
Darkness, who’d been
looking displeased, tilted her head.
Don’t be fooled, adding
‘in a good way’ doesn’t undo an insult, it’s not a free card to say anything
you want.
“Now, according to our
Elemental Master, this area is full of powerful waterways. It’s likely this
city will never have to worry about water.”
This town has been hit by
massive floods and been attacked by powerful Storm spirits. If anything, it’s
plagued by water disasters.
“Furthermore, our priest
says that he can sense a divine presence coming from here. There must be some
exceptionally powerful priests here…”
Yeah, and they’re getting
ready to fight some satanists.
“Above all, there are no
negative emotions emanating from this place. For a city of this size, that’s
unprecedented. Not even lust! What is going on here? Every man we’ve seen walks
around with a sparkle in his eyes, as if dreaming of a hopeful future!”
Many devils live here;
there’s no negative emotions because they eat them all.
Personally, I’m hoping
for a nice dream tonight too. Already made a reservation.
“This city just isn’t
ordinary. Whatever is altering this place is not ordinary. Everyone, make sure
to be respectful to our guards!”
“Yes, leave protection to
me! I promise, in the name of the Dustiness family, I will not allow any harm
to come to you!”
Responding to the
meteorologist’s earnest request, Darkness gave a confident smile.
***
“I’m, truly, truly sorry
for making you come all the way from the capital!”
“N-not at all! We were
able to gather some interesting data…”
We found the cause in
minutes.
While Darkness profusely
apologized, the person responsible for the heat proudly puffed her chest with
pride.
“So, I’ve finally grown
strong enough to affect the environment itself! The day a massive bounty is
placed on my head can’t be far off!”
“If there’s a bounty for
you, I’ll be the one to claim it!”
Yes, the heat was caused
by Megumin’s dumb explosions.
Why didn’t I think of
that?
I mean there couldn’t be
a dragon sleeping underground, otherwise there wouldn’t be frogs.
Darkness somehow managed
to hold herself together until the meteorologist and her team teleported back
to the capital.
Then she collapsed to her
knees.
“Ugh… I can’t take this
anymore… I thought I’d at least get a break from the paperwork…”
“C-come on Darkness,
don’t look so down! Think positively, this means there’s no threat to the city!
The crisis has been averted—Ah, what are you doing!?”
Having reached her limit,
Darkness lunged at Megumin.
I sighed and took out a
document.
“This is a request that
would normally go through the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Megumin and Darkness both
stopped and turned toward me.
“It’s a quest nobody can
do… nobody except Darkness.”
“No one but me? What do
you mean…?”
I showed her the
document.
“It’s a request to
eliminate a pervert slime.”
“A what!? Pervert slime!?
Give me that!” with a serious expression, she grabbed the paper and started
reading. “...I see, this is serious. No time for paperwork!”
“You want us to hunt down
slimes known to attack female adventurers…? These monsters are weak, but most
female adventurers hate fighting them, and the reward is basically nothing.
Male adventurers also dislike them because they think it is inhumane to kill
them for some reason…”
The exhaustion in her
voice vanished.
With renewed energy,
Darkness raised her head.
“We can’t leave such
despicable, enemies of women free like that! Let’s go Kazuma, we must play
wi—defeat those slimes!”
“I’m glad you’re feeling
better. Once we’re done, you’ll go back to your duties as acting lord—Hey, stop
covering your ears, that won’t make your work disappear!”
I had a bad feeling when
I first read about this quest, but I kept it hidden in case Darkness needed to
blow off some steam.
Aqua gently placed a hand
on Darkness’s head as she crouched there, covering her ears.
I don’t know what she’s
planning, but Aqua looks like a goddess for once, with a smile full of
compassion.
“Whether you suppress
yourself and live seriously, or take it easy and go with the flow, you never
know what tomorrow will bring. So instead of worrying about an uncertain
future, focus on living comfortably in the present.”
“Stop. Your nonsense is
going to make things worse.”
Darkness must’ve been
weaker than I thought, because she looked at Aqua like a lamb pleading for
help.
“If something’s bothering
you, just focus on being happy now. Go with the flow. Take it easy. It’s okay
to run away from things you don’t like. Running away is perfectly fine!”
“Don’t listen to her,
cover your ears again! Your father will die if he finds out his daughter join
the Axis Cult!”
“Megumin’s right! You’re
a devout Eris follower, Darkness! Chris will be heartbroken if you convert!”
Darkness hesitated.
She’s the most reliable
member of our party, things will go out of control if she converts to the Axis!
“Darkness, I’m not trying
to make you convert. I’m just worried that if you keep going like this, you’ll
wear yourself down completely. Just borrow a little of the Axis way of
thinking, just until your father returns. I’m sure Eris will forgive you.”
“Lady Eris will forgive
me…”
…That’s debatable. She’d
definitely be shocked, at least.
“Darkness, trust your
father. Leave the work to him, or your future self. Rest now. And if you can
rest tomorrow, then rest tomorrow too. Leave everything to your future self.”
“...”
Darkness decided to believe in her future self.
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