Credits
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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
Chapter 5: The Pride and Determination of a Rookie Adventurer
Part 1
The sound of bells echoed
throughout the city.
Something that the
townspeople have been waiting for a long time.
Many were at work; others
were about to go on a quest.
From NEETs to housewives,
children and even the drunks, everyone rushed to the main gate.
Everyone cheered with
beaming smiles, some were even crying.
Darkness’ father, Duke
Ignis Ford Dustiness, has finally returned.
He walked through the
main gate with a dignified and composed presence, accompanied by a large number
of soldiers, making the crowd erupt in cheers.
The Duke looked slightly
bewildered by the reception. Perhaps he hadn't expected the townspeople were so
fond of him. Embarrassed, he gave a small smile.
“Father!” without
exchanging greetings, Darkness jumped into her father’s arms.
“Oh!? Ahahahaha, what’s
the matter, Lalatina? Were you that worried about your old man?” He beamed with
joy as he gently embraced his beloved daughter with a father complex. “It’s
alright. With the curse lifted, the Demon King Army had no chance against me. I
understand you’re lonely, but everyone’s watching, let go of me… Lalatina, let
go of me! Let go! I can feel my bones breaking! Lalatina!”
Darkness grabbed her
father with such passion he started to scream.
Seeing his face lose
color, Megumin and I hurried to stop her.
“Stop being such a
daddy’s girl and let go! He made it back alive, but you’re killing him!”
“Darkness, your father is
foaming at the mouth! I can’t let you become a Father Slayer!”
Finally being pulled
away, Darkness looked at her father with tears welling in her eyes.
“I’ve been so worried
about you I haven’t been able to sleep at night… I’m so relieved you returned
safely…”
The Duke is way too soft
at her daughter, so he smiled, even though he was seconds away from being
broken in half.
“I see, I’ve heard you’ve
been having a hard time… you mentioned you couldn’t sleep at night, but you
don’t seem particularly stressed—”
“Father! I have to
apologize. I was unable to fulfill my duties as acting lord.” Darkness pleaded
tearfully.
The Duke put his hand on
his daughter’s lowered head, as if to reassure her.
“It's alright, Lalatina.
I've only educated you as a lady. Being suddenly entrusted with the
responsibilities of a lord must have been difficult. That failure is mine, not
yours.”
Educated as a lady, huh?
Ignoring what I and the
rest of the onlookers were thinking, the Duke smiled gently.
“You did well while I was
away, leave the rest to your father. That said, I’m tired from my long journey,
I’ll rest well and get back to work tomorrow. Hehe, I’m sure you’re eager to
hear about your father’s heroic deeds. Of course, I’d also like to hear how
hard you worked, Lalatina,” he playfully winked.
“Sorry to interrupt your
family reunion, but there's something I need to tell you.”
I hate being the one to
do this.
The Duke realized it was
me, and without scolding my rudeness, he smiled.
“If you say it's
important, I'll listen. Did something happen while I was away? I’ve been called
the kingdom’s trusted confidant. I don’t think there’s anything that can faze
me…I don't believe there's much left in this world that could surprise me.”
The crowd immediately
fell silent.
Sensing something, the
Duke slowly lowered his hand from Darkness's head.
“Alright, I’ll start with
the smaller issues. Army locusts are approaching the city. They’re expected to
arrive tomorrow. A horde of undead is also coming from the opposite direction.”
“Army locusts? Yes, I
guess it’s that time of year. And the undead… fine, let’s arrange for an
interception right away.”
He glanced at Aqua for a
split second. Seems he figured out why the undead are coming.
“With cities in the
frontlines occupied, the number of refugees has increased, and that has caused
security concerns. Fights among local adventurers and refugees have become
commonplace. Also, a stupid game called Flash Fireworks using Flash magic
scrolls has become popular. The police can’t do much against them as the jail
is overflowing with Axis and Eris priests.”
“...I see. I’ll do
something about that too.” The Duke’s face twitched slightly, but he answered
calmly.
“Also, thanks to the
brave efforts of a certain adventurer, a mountain qoatlus was defeated.
However, the qoatlus’ mates are seeking revenge for the slayed male, so two
females are circling the skies above, searching for the culprit. She didn’t do
anything wrong, but her life is in danger now.”
“I heard about that. A
mountain qoatlus is a monster with a high bounty that flies through the
continent attacking people and carriages from the sky. It’s good you slayed
one… I’m used to problems in this city. Something like this doesn’t faze me
anymore.”
Seeing his smile, I felt
relieved, and finished telling him everything.
“Also, Darkness became an
Axis Cultist.”
"Bring everyone
responsible for driving my daughter to this point before me immediately."
The crowd scattered like
spiders.
Part 2
All the troublemakers
were assembled in front of the Dustiness manor.
Our party, of course, but
also Cecily, one of the main instigators of the whole satanist incident, Vanir
and Yunyun.
Also, the leader of the
adventurers from the frontlines, none other than Angie herself, who was pale
and shaking.
And all the Eris and Axis
priests.
And a bunch of frontline
adventurers.
Least to say, the mood is
very somber.
The duke looked straight
at me…
“First of all… I
understand you assisted my daughter while I was away. Will you assist me now as
well?”
“Of course, I’d be
honored to.”
In a short amount of
time, he learned of everything that happened while he was gone.
Even so, he’s not quite
as mad now that he knows Darkness didn’t actually convert. If anything, he’s
impressed he just used their doctrines to skip work.
Nonetheless, given how
the duke isn’t even trying to hide his anger, there’s no way a feeble commoner
like me could refuse.
Judging by his eyes, he’d
probably have me executed if I did.
"Next. The
adventurers who disrupted public order while I was away."
“YES!” A dozen pale
adventurers answered in perfect unison.
“To those from the
so-called frontline group. I understand your circumstances. Having recently
returned from an expedition myself, I understand the desire to unwind. I also
understand why local adventurers might be annoyed by a group of outsiders
arriving and immediately looking down on them. But…” he suddenly showed a
cheerful smile. “Clean up the mess you’ve made. You will be repaid, as I’ve
returned with more funds than I need, so I’ll give you everything I’ve earned.
If you do a good job, you’ll be rewarded, and you can’t expect what will happen
if you don’t do a good job. Hahaha! It’s a noble joke, laugh if you want!”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
The duke smiled
satisfied, even though that laughter wasn’t genuine at all.
Until he suddenly turned
serious again, the dry laughter disappeared instantly.
"Now then. Let us
all work together to solve these problems."
Just when everyone seemed
ready to submit to whatever he was going to order, something happened.
While most of us knelt
with our heads down, Vanir stood proudly.
“Fuahahahahaha! A
pleasure to meet you, Duke. A hardworking ruler who endured a curse from a
fellow great devil and lived to tell the tale! I am Vanir! I’m aware your
daughter and her subordinates have told you of my true identity,” Vanir’s smile
twisted into a frown as the Duke remained expressionless. “These troublemakers
brought it upon themselves, so I believe they should pay for their crimes. But
I, however, only sold perfectly legal goods. I cannot, and should not, be made
responsible for their actions. As such, I don’t feel guilty nor responsible
whatsoever. However, as a fellow Duke, I cannot simply ignore your authority.”
“By my ducal authority, I
hereby rename the headquarters of the Axis Cult, Arcanletia, to Vanir Mildo.
Starting tomorrow."
Vanir fell silent.
Apparently, having the
holy site of the Axis Cult named after you is really bad.
“Wait a moment! I won’t
let you give the holy city of Arcanletia such a ridiculous name! If you do
that—!”
“In the Kingdom of
Belzerg, there is a nobleman known as the demon noble. I’ll appoint him as the
new acting lord of Vanir Mildo.”
Aqua fell silent too.
Apparently, having your
holy city governed by a devil is really bad too.
"Anyone else
unwilling to cooperate?"
Nobody spoke up.
The duke nodded in
satisfaction, and then turned his gaze to Cecily, who was trying to hide
between the troublemakers.
“To all the released
priests! A horde of undead is approaching the city. You will eliminate it.
Complete this task and all charges will be forgiven. Any objections?”
“No, we’ll gladly slay
the undead,” Cecily and the other priests nodded mechanically.
The duke nodded once
again.
“Next up, the frontline
adventurers!”
“Y-yes!”
So, she really is the
leader of the frontline adventurers. As the pale senior spoke with a trembling
voice on behalf of the whole group.
“Be glad! Your home town
is free once again. There’s no need to bother with the rookies in Axel anymore.
You can go back home, aren’t you happy?”
“We are,” Angie replied
emotionlessly, moving her mouth like a doll.
“But I’ve heard the local
adventurers caused you plenty of trouble. You can’t lose face as veterans. So,
I’ll prepare an opportunity for you to redeem yourselves. You’ll be able to
show off in front of your juniors. Is that acceptable?”
“That is… acceptable…”
Tears welled in her eyes. She clearly wants to refuse, but there was no way she
could.
“You’ll exterminate the
army locusts. Make sure not one of them is left. Show me the pride and
determination of veteran adventurers. Can you do it?”
“I’d rather—! Yes! Yes…
we can do it…”
Seems she was about to
reject the idea, but completely defeated, started to look around as if pleading
for help.
And somehow our eyes met.
Don’t look at me like
that, it’s not like I can do anything for you.
Seeing Angie on the verge
of tears, the duke burst into cheerful laughter.
“Hahaha! Of course I
wouldn’t make you handle the extermination on your own! I have a plan!”
With that, Angie visibly
relaxed.
“Phew… I thought we’d
have to do it all on our own…”
“There are plenty of
frogs living around the city! Use them. Release swarms of frogs and let nature
solve the problem. Anyone with Decoy can help lure the locusts.”
“Wha—” Angie finally
burst into tears. Several of the other veterans followed her lead.
Judging by the
atmosphere, they still don’t believe they have enough firepower to deal with
the army locusts.
“Miss Yunyun!”
“Ahhh! Y-yes!?” Yunyun
was keeping her distance from everyone else.
“Can you use Weather
Control magic?”
“Y-yes, I’ve mastered
Advanced Magic. Oh, I see! Rain is effective against the locusts!”
They can’t fly with their
wings wet, so during rain, they’re just regular grasshoppers.
“Exactly. Please
accompany the veterans. Additionally, large-scale spells such as Inferno or
Tornado are very effective against them. If you succeed, your crimes will be
forgiven.”
“O-Okay! I’ll do my
best!” Yunyun’s face lit up as she approached the veteran group.
Woah, this may be a life
changing moment.
If she does well, a party
may scout her!
“...hey, you’re the crazy
member of the Crimson Magic Clan who’s been attacking us, right? You can come
with us, but we won’t be thanking you. With this, we’re just even!”
“!?!?!?!?!?!?!? N-No! I
haven’t done anything like that! That definitely wasn’t me!”
Probably not.
Standing beside me, the
true culprit immediately pulled her hat down to hide her face.
For some reason, Angie
ignored Yunyun’s desperate pleas and stared directly at us.
“So… what about the two
mountain quoatlus? You’re not letting the rookies take care of them, are you?”
“That is the plan.”
Of course, we’ll have the
worst job.
But a proud veteran
adventurer like Angie simply couldn’t accept that.
“Duke, with all due
respect, qoatlus are extremely dangerous monsters. High-level adventurers hunt
them in large groups. Recently I learned that a great wizard capable of
Explosion Magic lives in this city, but even then, the qoatlus will be
cautious. That man may be a pathetic loser, but still...” Angie trailed off,
tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
The other veterans look
equally serious.
I noticed this when I
went on an adventure with Angie, but the difference in enthusiasm between them
and us is just too much.
While this is supposed to
be a town for beginners, we’ve defeated several Demon King Army generals, the
Mobile Fortress Destroyer and Great Spirits without much issue.
Sure, a few people ended
up visiting Lady Eris along the way. But everyone came back eventually.
As I reflected on Angie’s
heartfelt plea, the duke calmly replied.
“Do not be concerned.
They will defeat the qoatlus without suffering a single casualty.”
As Angie looked at him
with a puzzled expression, he grinned.
“The idea that Axel’s
adventurers are all rookies is a complete falsehood.”
Part 3
Cecily and the priests
departed immediately to deal with the undead.
Meanwhile, the qoatlus
continued circling above the city beneath the dazzling morning sun.
Angie looked straight at
me, her group was also gathered, all looking very seriously.
“Right. We’ll do whatever
it takes to defeat the army locusts and come back as quickly as possible, so...
don’t do anything, pathetic loser! Wait until we return!”
With a hint of sadness in
her voice, she turned around and left with her group.
Yunyun shot a resentful
look at the brat standing beside me before reluctantly following them.
Once she was gone,
Megumin finally raised her head.
“Ha! That girl something
I didn’t quite understand. It almost seemed as if she meant to say we were
supposed to wait for her. Ridiculous! It’s clear she wants to snatch our
bounty!”
I don’t think that’s what
she meant, but Megumin is dumb.
Raising her staff towards
the sky, she proclaimed. “The heavens shall not be your haven! You’re gravely
mistaken if you think just because you’re out of my range you're safe! The
moment you come down I’ll become an official Qoatlus Slayer! I’ll show you the
strength of Axel’s adventurers!”
Completely ignoring
Angie’s warning, Megumin began provoking the qoatlus.
Yeah.
“Let’s show those
arrogant veterans what we’re made of!”, “They’re way up here, we need to get
them down!”, “They’re not as big as the Kowloon Hydra, but it’s been a while
since we’ve had such a high bounty target, we won’t let them get away!”
The rest of Axel’s
adventurers joined in.
Everyone is acting full
of themselves, but has anyone considered how we’ll defeat the qoatlus once they
come down?
Of course not, not even
the so-called genius.
There’s two of them, what
if one avoids the explosion?
Everyone here is dumb.
The atmosphere of despair
and seriousness of the veteran group disappeared with them, as all the dumb
rookies cheered like idiots.
“Everyone seems
motivated,” a familiar, dignified voice cut through the group of adventurers.
Turning around, I spotted
Duke Dustiness, clad in armor.
“Father! You can’t
possibly be planning to fight against the qoatlus too!?”
I wasn’t expecting the
duke to join us.
The duke grinned. “It’ll
be good for you to see what I can do once in a while. Besides, I’m not so
irresponsible as to stay back while my daughter fights against high-bounty
targets.”
In response, someone
whistled. And then, one after another, the adventurers began to cheer.
“Long live Duke
Dustiness!”, “Dustiness! Dustiness!”, “The duke is wonderful, but please lower
the taxes!”, “Well done, duke! I can see why your daughter is such a daddy’s
girl!”
“Whoever said that, step
forward!” while first enjoying the cheers, the duke suddenly turned serious and
retorted in a quiet tone.
Everyone averted their
eyes, the Duke glared back with a piercing gaze, as if to say You’re here as
punishment, don’t get cocky.
“Now then, Kazuma. As my
assistant, do you have any ideas for bringing the qoatlus down?” he asked,
almost as if teasing me.
“Well, sort of…”
Seems nobody was
expecting me to answer that way, as the adventurers gasped.
“All the stupid
adventurers here have those Flash Fireworks. Let’s use those.”
“Who are you calling
stupid? You’re one of us!”, “But the qoatlus are way too high up! You’re dumb!
You’re a dumb-dumb pretending to be smart! Stop calling us dumb!”
“Shut up!” I pointed at
the yapping idiots. “I’m still explaining! Listen first, or I’ll use Steal on
whoever interrupts me! I only had one scroll. I’m not like you morons who spend
all day playing with them!”
(He’s really trying to
provoke us today.)
(Should we beat him up?)
(After we kill the
qoatlus.)
(At least let him finish
talking first.)
(He’s an idiot, but
sometimes he’s a useful idiot.)
I can hear them very
clearly.
I’m mad because while I
helped Darkness I had to constantly clean after your messes!
“A magic scroll activates
when it’s opened. So, we throw unopened Flash scrolls into the air and have
archers shoot them with Snipe. The scrolls will open and activate. Once the
qoatlus descend, Megumin finishes them with Explosion.”
Everyone fell silent.
“Your plan makes no
sense! Nobody can toss something so far high up!”
“At best someone with
your high luck stat may be able to fire one scroll, you idiot!”
“There are three
monsters, two qoatlus and one Megumin! We need two explosions!”
“Don’t count me as a
monster! Otherwise, I’ll fire an Explosion right here on you!”
“Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal!”
I held out one hand to the yelling adventurers. “...phew, a wallet. Good thing
it wasn’t that.”
“That’s not good at all,
give me back my wallet!”
I tossed the stolen
wallet back and continued. At last, the adventurers fell silent.
“I know pathetic losers
like you can't throw things that high. You see, not only am I a great guy, I'm
also incredibly lucky.”
(Let's just beat him up
now.)
(Wait. He's almost
finished. Let's hear him out and then beat him up.)
(Why is this loser so
lucky? Lady Eris must've made some kind of mistake.)
I can still hear them.
But I think that if I
provoke them anymore, they’ll actually attack me, so I called out to Aqua.
“Aqua! Cast a support
spell to make them stronger, and blessings too!”
“...I see, fine, I’ll
show you what I can do!”
Apparently understanding
my plan, Aqua happily puffed out her chest.
“Where's Vanir?
...Actually, we need Wiz too. She can cast Explosion.”
The city is in danger.
Since Vanir was called in to help, I naturally assumed Wiz would be around too.
“You see, young man, while
I was away, the debt-ridden shop owner nearly bankrupted the business, so I had
her work until she could no longer move. She worked tirelessly manufacturing
the magic scrolls, however, it seems this was an unforeseen consequence. She
was recently engaged in a fierce battle with the ferryman of the River Styx,
but I provided adequate nourishment. She should recover soon but will not be
available during this battle.”
This is all the
adventurers’ fault.
Even those who were
criticizing me a moment ago seemed to realize their mistakes and felt silent.
Meanwhile, Duke Ignis,
who had been watching as if evaluating me, suddenly laughed.
“Hmm. Let's give this
plan a try. If we can bring down even one qoatlus, that's enough. There are two
dukes here, after all. Leave the rest to us.”
“Oh? You’re borrowing my
power? If we succeed, then you’ll legalize the flash fireworks.”
“Absolutely not, all
existing stock will be used today and permanently banned afterward. Last night
I looked out from my balcony and the city was brighter than daylight. At most,
I'll forgive the manufacturing of illegal goods.”
Vanir immediately backed
down, albeit with a very displeased expression.
In the skies above, the
qoatlus were letting out high-pitched cries, perhaps excited by the commotion
below.
Darkness tugged at the
edge of my cape. “What should I do, Kazuma? These were supposed to be my
responsibilities. I'm not particularly clever, but if there's anything I can do
to help, tell me.”
Seeing his brave
daughter, Duke Ignis' expression softened.
Although Darkness
eventually gave up on her job, I know she worked hard.
She can also be rather
smart, she tends to be quite perceptive.
Since the Duke tested me,
I decided to return the favor.
“If everything goes well,
you’ll have to protect Megumin. Get what I mean?”
“Hmm... since they're so
high up, we'll need them to come into her range. Qoatlus are intelligent
monsters, so they'll prioritize Megumin once they identify her as the threat. I
understand. Leave it to me.”
Nice.
It’s endearing to see the
duke happily as he watched his beloved daughter act so mature.
Looking around at the
rest of the adventurers I’ve grown quite familiar with, I saw them all nod in
agreement.
I signaled to Aqua.
“Let’s go!”
Part 4
“Strength! Strength!
Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength! Strength!”
Filled with excitement at
the prospect of a large-scale battle, Aqua ran around casting support magic on
every adventurer she could find.
“Blessing! Blessing!
Blessing! Blessing! Blessing! Blessing! Blessing! Blessing!”
Bathed in a faint golden
glow, everyone grabbed their scrolls.
“Alright! Let the
fireworks show begin!”
At my signal, every
adventurer hurled their Flash scrolls skyward with all their might.
With Aqua’s support
magic, they got really high.
Before they could start
falling, every Archer in the city, including me, raised their bows.
“Snipe!”
Naturally, thanks to my
absurd luck stat, the arrow I fired pierced the flower growing on one of the
qoatlus' heads.
“Kazuma, you’re the only
one who missed! How did you hit the flower!?”
“Those flowers are worth
a lot!”
“This isn’t the time for
arguing, look! The scrolls opened!”
With Darkness pointing at
the sky, all the adventurers raised their voices.
“Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!!”
(Pyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!)
The enraged qoatlus that
tried to catch the flower I hit, had its eyes burned out by the flash.
Unfortunately, the other
qoatlus managed to avoid the trap.
The blinded quoatlus
flapped its wings unsteadily as it descended; soon enough, it was in Megumin’s
range.
Her chant complete, she
raised her staff toward the sky.
“It's truly unfortunate
that I won't be able to demonstrate my power against the locusts! Behold Axel's
signature magic!
Explooooooooooooooooosion!”
A massive explosion
struck the sky above the city’s main gate.
With a qoatlus blown to
bits, cheers and screams erupted simultaneously from the terrified residents
looking up from their homes.
Many of the windows of
the houses nearby were shattered by the shockwave.
As if in response to the
roar of the explosion, the distant sky was suddenly covered in black clouds.
Seems the battle against the locusts is also underway.
The adventurers’ spirits
were lifted with one of the quatlus down.
Meanwhile, the surviving
qoatlus fixed its gaze on Megumin, who was currently lying face-down on the
ground.
“Decoy!” Darkness
activated her skill and stood in front of the collapsed Archwizard. The
qoatlus’ hostility instantly shifted.
“Darkness, I appreciate
your help, but how exactly are you going to protect me from that thing? Even
you’ll have a hard time holding such a massive monster…” Megumin looked up with
a worried expression.
Probably sensing that she
wasn’t going to fire again, the qoatlus seized the opportunity and swooped down
towards Megumin.
Well, maybe she’s
targeting Darkness, but Megumin is behind her.
“Don’t worry! I was able
to protect Kazuma even when the Kowloon Hydra pounced on me! I’m also an
Advanced Class, we’ll be fine!”
“What is that supposed to
mean!? Don’t tell me you plan to do that again!?”
Megumin is being dragged
into Darkness’ fetishes.
The two are right in
front of the main gate.
While she’ll probably be
able to withstand a qoatlus. The monster is huge, but to fly it also needs to
be light. But I’m not sure if the surrounding walls will hold on.
“Kazuma, Kazuma! Darkness
is trying to use me in her twisted games! I’m sorry for making fun of you
Darkness, please come back to your senses!”
Completely ignoring
Megumin, Darkness stood tall.
“With my friends behind
me, I’ll never surrender! I won’t move one step back!”
Damn, why does she need
to be so crazy!?
Parents should look after
their children, so I turned around and…
“Oh! Should I watch my
daughter's heroic moment or help her!? Why didn't I bring a magic camera!?”
And he’s supposed to be
the kingdom’s trusted confidant? Why is Papaness also crazy!?
The surrounding
adventurers began gathering near the gate to support, but…
I remembered the qoatlus
from last time…
Looking up to the qoatlus
swooping down, I repeated what my bratty senior said.
“Qoatlus treasure those
flowers. They become extremely aggressive when they lose them.”
Without hesitation, I
fired an arrow at the descending qoatlus.
“Go! Snipe!”
For once, the luck stat
that had caused me endless trouble actually worked exactly as intended. The
arrow cleanly severed the flower from the qoatlus' head.
With perfect aim, the
qoatlus chased after the flower. And with a heavy rumble, it landed some
distance from the main gate.
At the tip of its
enormous beak, was the flower…
“Don’t let it escape!
Everyone, make sure it stays on the ground! Bind!”
As I shouted orders, I
threw out a steel wire.
Seeing me, others tried
to use Bind to entangle the monster’s wings.
Some used their snipping
skills and aimed for the eyes, while others tried to pierce the membranes of
its wings. Everyone did what they could.
My wire wasn’t long
enough to entangle the giant wings, and even with everyone sniping, we couldn’t
pierce through.
However, the attacks to
the eyes seem to be effective, as the qoatlus raised its head trying to take
off again.
“Do you have more steel
wire?”
Before I could respond to
the voice next to me, I tossed another wire. But even faster than the wire, a
spear pierced through the qoatlus.
(Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!)
The qoatlus glared with
burning rage. Besides me was Duke Ignis, frozen in throwing position.
The steel wire I tossed
was connected to the shaft of the spear impaled on the qoatlus left claw to the
duke’s left hand.
Still gripping the wire,
he ran towards the monster and shouted. “Whoever cuts off the monster’s wing
will get a special reward! Attack!!”
The duke reached the gate
and tried to attach the wire to it, only to realize at the last moment that it
wasn’t long enough.
The gate has a huge bolt.
Duke Ignis grasped it firmly with his right hand and wrapped the wire around
his left arm.
“While the Duke holds it
down, cut off the wings!”
The adventurers swarmed
the qoatlus.
Duke Ignis endured with a
red face, but even the most robust, high-level Duke has his limits.
If this keeps up, either
the wire will snap, the bolt will break, or worst of all, Duke Ignis will lose
an arm!
“That’s not fair, father!
That’s my job!”
“Ugh... perhaps I really
did raise my daughter incorrectly...”
You mean he thought he
did a good job?
As Duke Ignis broke out
in a cold sweat and lamented about her masochist daughter, a voice of relief
rang out.
“I’ll help you, Duke! But
I’m expecting a good reward! My name is—” The blonde thug was suddenly trampled
by the qoatlus and buried before he could announce his name.
Aqua, who had been
wandering around aimlessly this whole time, waited until the qoatlus moved away
and then headed towards the crushed thug.
Judging by the way she
reacted and began chanting, the damage is bad enough Resurrection is needed.
I promised Angie there
wouldn’t be any losses, but if Aqua revives him, that death doesn’t count.
Everyone attacked the
qoatlus, hacking away at its wings, but as expected of a monster with such a
high bounty, it’s absurdly tough.
“Hey Kazuma, are you not
going to do anything!?” an anxious, and face down Megumin suddenly yelled.
“With my strength? Not
really. Someone has to cut the wings—”
Perhaps those words
served as a flag. Because the very next moment—
(Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!)
“Fuahahahahaha!
Hahahahaha! What a delight! What a delight!” It was Darkness, wearing Vanir’s
mask. “This devout follower of Eris has borrowed the power of a devil to save
her father! Rejoice, Duke! You're witnessing your own daughter being possessed
by a devil before your very eyes! How does it feel!?”
Darkness’ father complex made her unable to
withstand the situation, she literally sold her body to a devil.
It must be really
shocking to him.
“W-W-W-WHAT!? My
daughter! My daughter has been possessed!?”
“That’s right, Father!
(It is true…) But I’ve been preparing for this for a long time! (Wait, I was
just teasing you to get bad emotions. The job is done…) I will use the power of
this abominable devil and, for the sake of the city, I will defeat the qoatlus!
(Stop talking nonsense, you fool! Don’t take the lead!)”
Rather seems like
Darkness took over Vanir.
If the succubi find out
about this they’ll be furious. I absolutely can’t let them know.
“The deal was I’d pay you
to help me cut off one of the wings, but I’ll give you another 5000 Eris if you
cooperate a little longer! (That’s way too cheap!)”
Having unilaterally
arranged a deal, Darkness made full use of her super jacked body and cut off
the other wing of the rampaging qoatlus.
Then, to ensure Vanir
couldn't escape, she grabbed the mask even tighter.
“(I've done enough! I must
return to the shop!) Just a little longer! We're friends, aren't we? Remember
when I asked about the locusts? You humiliated me in front of everyone at the
guild! (I was feeding on negative emotions! Stop saying things that could be
misunderstood!)”
“What is happening…? As a
Duke and a father, what am I supposed to do…?” Seeing his daughter forcibly
exploiting a great devil, the Duke seems to be reaching his limit.
“Papaness' emotional
stability is collapsing! We have to rescue Vanir!”
“No, this is fun, let’s
watch for a while longer! Darkness’ level has increased a lot since the last
time she was possessed, she’s way stronger!”
“Yes. I want to see a
complete Darkness takeover.”
Not only Megumin and
Aqua, but the other adventurers also decided that it’d be better to have the
Vanir possessed Darkness support.
A female adventurer
rushed up behind her.
“Lalatina, hold on to the
mask like that! I’ll tie a string around the back to make sure it can’t come
off!”
“Oh, just give up, Devil!
You can't resist forever! (Stop! Or I'll curse you so your butt makes loud
noises whenever you get flustered!) What's wrong, Vanir? Your mouth says no,
but your body says yes! Stop resisting and it won't hurt! (Don't phrase it like
that, you parasite!)”
And so, Vanir was
securely attached to Darkness.
With the qoatlus finally
powerless, the adventurers charged once more.
“Darkness will take all
the credit! A qoatlus that can’t fly is just a big monster! Surround it!”
“Don't get flattened like
that idiot earlier! Move!”
“If I get the reward,
I’ll eat my fill of grilled meat!”
With no way of escaping,
the qoatlus was quickly defeated by the greedy adventurers and the sexually
assaulting Darkness.
Part 5
“Vanir and Lalatina
helped, sure, but most of the credit belongs to me! I'm the one who tied the
mask on so Vanir couldn't escape!”
“I reduced collateral
damage by cutting off the qoatlus' tail! Duke Dustiness, surely that deserves
recognition!”
“Then we Archers deserve
most credit! If we hadn’t shot the Flash Fireworks then we would've been able
to take down the first qoatlus!”
Next to the qoatlus’
body, the adventurers are fighting among themselves.
“What the fu…” Covered
head-to-toe in frog slime, Angie stared at the scene in disbelief.
The battle against the
locusts must’ve been something.
Except for Yunyun, all
the locust group is covered in slime.
“Great work, slime brat.
But you're too late if you want a share of the bounty.”
“At no point did I say I
wanted any part, pathetic loser… Seriously, what the… Did you really defeat the
qoatlus?”
Angie and the rest
returned about half a day after we defeated the qoatlus.
Yes, the Axel adventurers
have been arguing for that long.
“Move aside, Angie. I'm
going to educate these idiots. Hey! Stop fighting! The credit obviously belongs
to me! This entire operation was my plan!”
“What are you talking
about? Your plan was ass!”
“Yeah! You barely did
anything during the actual fight! You're only lucky! Other than that, you're a
pathetic loser!”
As Axel’s adventurers are
rookies, they all have low intelligence.
“You guys are the losers!
I used my luck to shoot off the flower off the qoatlus! They get angry without
it and chase after it! I didn’t miss at all, that was part of my plan! Hell, if
everyone tried to shoot the flowers, then we wouldn’t have needed to use the
scrolls!”
“What is this dork saying?
You’re just a pathetic loser that can’t do anything on his own!”
“We already defeated the
quoatlus, let’s kick his ass!”
“Oh yeah, we were going
to do that. But the girls should stay back, or he’ll try to use Steal against
them!”
The adventurers who are
refusing to acknowledge my achievements are resorting to violence.
I hid behind Angie.
“I have Angie of the
Scarlet Blade with me! She's an Advanced Class! She'll effortlessly defeat
weaklings like you!”
“Don't drag me into your
pathetic fights!”
While the battered and
bruised Angie tried to push me aside. Yunyun approached cautiously.
“Um… Where’s Vanir? I
don’t see him anywhere. Did he return to the shop?”
“The defiled devil
trudged away looking miserable.”
“What happened while I
was gone!?”
I could see Darkness with
a radiant, satisfied look on her face.
And then…
“There are the priests
returning from the undead extermination. Good. That resolves everything at last,”
Duke Ignis was ignoring the adventurer’s disputes, but he gazed into the
distance and declared. “Regarding the credit for this… Yes, all of you caused
problems while I was away. However, in the end, everyone contributed to
protecting this city. Therefore, in recognition of your efforts... I shall
overlook every crime committed during my absence.”
The adventurers fell
silent at the generous declaration.
“That’s not fair! You
said we’d get a reward!”
“Yeah! That’s tyrannical!
I already decided I was going to treat myself to grilled meat as a reward!”
“What happened to all the
money you earned!?”
The greedy adventurers
booed.
All adventurers in this
town, except us, of course, are pretty rough around the edges.
Duke Ignis smiled, until
suddenly changing his expression.
“...Twenty million.”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion. So, the Duke elaborated. “The
Explosion used to slay the qoatlus shattered the windows of nearby homes. The
estimated repair cost is twenty million Eris. And if we include repairs to the
main gate, as well as medical expenses... the total completely offsets the bounty
for both qoatlus.”
The protests of the
adventurers who were seconds away from a fistfight disappeared completely.
“And regarding the
mountain qoatlus. It is said that once it takes flight, it won't return to the
ground for days. Naturally, it also flies throughout the night… They cherish
the flower on their head as it allows them to see in the dark. Perhaps, they also
guide themselves with the stars, as they always head in the direction of
twinkling lights.”
All the adventurers who
played with the flash fireworks at night turned their heads and looked away.
“Do you understand,
troublemakers!? Shall I also explain why the Dustiness family, which is
rightfully a duchy, are poorer than lower ranking nobles?! Don’t you dare look
away, commoners!”
As everyone endured Duke
Ignis' lecture in silence, Angie leaned closer and whispered.
(Is it always like this?
I mean, I told you not to do anything, pathetic loser. Weren’t you listening to
me? How did the fight even start?)
(The moment you left, the
adventurers started provoking the qoatlus. They thought your frontline group
was planning to steal the bounty.)
Angie grimaced.
(Regardless, monster
attacks like this aren't uncommon here. We've defeated two Demon King Army
Generals, including Vanir. The Mobile Fortress Destroyer too. Also, apparently
the Great Spirit of the Storm visits every year.)
Angie’s expression
changed to one of utter disgust.
She shook her head
violently.
(That’s ridiculous! Your
victory today wasn’t more than a pathetic fluke! If you are as dangerous as you
claim, then you should come to the frontline towns! Defeating the Destroyer and
Demon King Army Generals, that’s a pathetic lie—!)
“Alright, that’s enough!”
Megumin crawled to us
while glancing at Angie.
“Look at my Adventurer’s
Card. It’s proof I’ve defeated several Demon King Army generals! Look! LOOK!”
Angie let out a small
whimper when Megumin forcefully pushed her card to her face.
After I used Drain Touch
to share some of my mana, Megumin stood up.
“So, you’re the bratty veteran
who stole Kazuma on an adventure! This pathetic loser is essential to this
city, and very important to me! If you want him, you’ll have to defeat me,
Megumin, the top fighter in Axel!”
“Why would I want this
pathetic loser? …wait, why are you calling me that even though we just met!?
And what did you say his name is!?”
While first intimidated,
Angie suddenly realized something.
“I'd rather not brag, I
won’t repeat myself…”
“Why are you blushing?
And I didn’t ask about the bragging! Did you just call this pathetic loser,
‘Kazuma’?”
Oh yeah, I never
introduced myself.
“I’m Kazuma Satou.”
“You’re the infamous
panty thief!? The beast incarnate, Thrashuma!?”
What hell are people
saying about me? I don’t steal panties that often!
“T-then, really?
Considering what the pathetic red-eyed girl showed me, and the fact that this
town is so unusual—”
“So unusual that for us
it’s usual.”
The frontline adventurers
had begun listening intently.
“But don’t worry, there’s
an Archpriest in this town that can use super powerful healing magic. I see
some of your guys got injured in the fight, why not have them healed? She can
even use Resurrection, she had to use it during the fight with the qoatlus.”
“Resurrection!?”
Angie is my brave senior
who, despite complaining, dragged me along on an adventure.
“Make yourself at home.
It’s a nice town once you get used to it.”
“I won’t stay in this
pathetic town! I’m going back to the frontlines! You pathetic rookies! You
pretended to be weaklings and fooled me! I wasted my time worrying about you!
This town is filled with pathetic rookie scammers, don’t mess with me!”
“What!? You were acting
all high and mighty thinking we were a bunch of weaklings, but it was you who
got beat up by the locusts!”
“W-what did you say?! I
won’t forgive you, I’ll show you why I’m a veteran! Everyone, let’s do this!
Don’t look down on those who fight in the frontlines!”
“Go ahead and try, you
bratty senior who acted all high and mighty and missed the big boss fight!”
A huge fight broke out
between the local and frontline adventurers.
One that barely ended in
a draw…
Angie and her group
returned to the frontlines, cursing us until the very end.
Part 6
“I’m home!”
(Meow)
The moment Megumin
entered the mansion, Chomusuke came running over.
I noticed a letter stuck
to her back.
“What’s this? …looks like
someone came while we were out. Hey, it’s for Darkness.”
With the letter gone,
Chomusuke began grooming herself.
“...it’s from Chris. She
left on a trip. Seems she couldn’t find whatever she was looking for.”
I wonder what she’s up
to.
“‘After searching
everywhere, I realized Axel is where the truly devout followers of Eris live. I
forgive your sins.’ ...When I see her again, I'll have to scold her. Lady Eris
would never approve of something like this.”
Seems Chris really
believed Darkness converted to the Axis cult.
Megumin picked up Chomusuke,
and then lazily jumped onto the couch.
“Well, a lot happened.
Today we had a great adventure. Chomusuke, my dear familiar, listen to your
master’s exploits.” Lying down on the couch, she lifted Chomusuke up in front
of her with both hands.
“Everyone must be tired,
so I’ll go get a bath. I’m hungry too, but it’s early for dinner… I guess I’ll
have some tea snacks to tide me over while the water heats up.”
Aqua happily rushed off
toward the kitchen, with Darkness after her.
“N-no, let me make the
tea. It’d be a waste to waste the tea leaves.”
“Are you implying I’ll
turn the tea into hot water!?”
Listening to their usual
argument, I filled the bathtub and returned to the main hall while waiting for
the water to heat. But then I noticed an extra serving of tea and sweets.
“Hey, dinner’s soon, if
you eat those you won’t have room for anything else. You’re just like the rest
of adventurers in this town, completely consumed by greed.”
“What are you talking
about? This is for everyone. The ghost girl also likes adventure stories, she’s
waiting naked by the table, the sweets are for her!”
“I don’t care if I can’t
see her, tell her to dress! It’s distracting!”
I really need to talk to
that naughty ghost one day.
“Okay, she says she’ll
put socks on. I wonder what ghost clothes are made of. What do you think?”
“Just socks? And don’t
change the topic! Seriously, even the ghosts in this town are so weird…”
If anything, interacting
with the frontline adventurers made me realize just how odd the people here
are.
I’m starting to think I
may be the only normal person in this entire town.
“Well then, where should
I begin?” Lying on the couch, Megumin began. “After I blasted the mountain
qoatlus from the sky with my magnificent magic, victory was inevitable! Those
monsters were so terrified of me that they spent days circling the city instead
of attacking directly—”
“Hey, Megumin. I did most
of the work. Without my support magic, nobody would've been able to launch
those Flash Fireworks. If not for me, the qoatlus would've never come down. I
deserve most of the credit.”
As Aqua nibbled on
sweets, Darkness, perhaps recalling what she did, had a somewhat dreamy
expression.
“Then I did most of the
work. For my sa—everyone’s sake. I, a noble, and moreover, a devout Eris
follower, had to offer myself to that devil, which allowed us to defeat the
qoatlus. But dabbling in a devil’s dark powers, and everyone’s praise might’ve
been too much for me…”
“You had no business
mingling with dark powers. That was too dangerous, even for you. I’ve never
seen the masked devil so exhausted. But what will you do if he leaves town
after all your sexual harassment?"
As soon as Darkness was
put in her place, Megumin spoke up. “That’s right! After seeing you I thought,
why am I not using Vanir’s dark powers? Imagine what I could do
with that mask! Next time I go to the shop, I’ll rip off that mask of him. I’m
more suited to his dark powers after all.”
“There she goes again,
just mentioning ‘dark’ gets you, Megumin. Darkness was barely able to withstand
that. If you do it, your body would be taken over in no time. That masked devil
would make you undress or something.”
Vanir is suffering
terribly for all the information that has leaked. But then I suddenly realized
something and put flowers in a vase.
It’s loot from the
battle, another Helios Brom.
Now that I think about
it, I was able to lure the qoatlus with it thanks to my beloved bratty senior
Angie. She’s probably back in that frontline city by now.
If anything, the true MVP
was her, but I won’t tell them that.
“Hey, Kazuma’s doing
something weird. I fully expected him to sell that flower. But brought it here
instead of giving it to the guild.”
“Well, it’s another
memento, a trophy if you will. Since I want nothing to do with the Demon King,
I’ll never see what those frontline towns are like. But I figured I’ll use them
to remember our bratty senior.”
Megumin gasped. “Hey, now
that you mention her, I was supposed to kick her ass! I can’t get a supreme
victory unless I beat all those frontline adventurers!”
“Why do you hate her so
much? You were clearly intimidated when you first met her. And you’re way
brattier than her, if anything I think you two would get along.”
“Who did you call a
brat!? I’ve always been honest and straightforward! Who do you think it’s to
blame that I’m so openly hostile!?”
I ignored the rambling
Megumin.
Hopefully, that arrogant,
strong-willed, overly ambitious and bitchy senior will be safe.
As safe as you can be in
a frontline town.
So that we can continue
enjoying our carefree lives here.
As I used Create Water on
the vase, I quietly prayed that one day, a superpowerful hero with a good cheat
will defeat the Demon King.
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