Two days later, word reached Axel that Shichen had taken down Hans—one of the Demon King's Generals—in Arcanletia. Felling a Demon King General is a big deal, and the guilds share intel, so Luna in Axel heard as well.
After resting for two days, Shichen had barely stepped into the guild when an excited Luna hurried over and seized his hand. "Shichen, I heard! Over in Arcanletia you not only resolved the crisis there, you even took down the Demon King's General Hans. You're amazing!"
"What?"
"Shichen beat another Demon King General?"
"No way! Wasn't he just off to soak in hot springs?"
"Judging by Luna's face, it's not fake. Shichen's busted!"
"He even outclassed the Dullahan—of course the other Generals don't stand a chance."
"Damn it, when will I be that strong? I want Luna to idolize me too!"
"Keep dreaming. You don't have his looks, and don't forget how long you've been an adventurer. How long has Shichen even been one?"
"Ugh! Why is the gap between people so huge?"
"Could Shichen actually be a Hero?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"He's Axel's very own Hero."
"Shichen, treat us! You must've made bank taking down a Demon King General, right?"
"No treat?"
Shichen ignored the loudmouths at the bar—the same people who called him a lolicon every day and still had the nerve to ask for a treat. Could they keep a little distance?
"Luna, how did you—"
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing? Let go of Shichen's hand!" Before he could finish, Megumin wedged herself between them and slapped Luna's hand away.
Luna shot her a glance, lifted her chest, and chose to ignore her, gaze still soft and starry as she looked at Shichen.
"You… what, you think having extra… padding makes you special?!" Megumin fumed through gritted teeth.
"Megumin, that's rude," Yunyun couldn't help reminding her.
"Right! Yunyun, come here." Megumin pulled Yunyun in front of Luna. "Don't get any ideas. Our party already has a girl with your figure. You don't stand a chance!"
"Eh? Megumin, what nonsense are you spouting!" Yunyun said, mortified.
"Heh." Luna only let out a disdainful little laugh. Yunyun might look older than her at a glance, but she wasn't as tall, and naturally her figure wasn't as good either. Luna still won—by a lot. What's a little girl compared to a statuesque woman?
Although… Shichen did seem to have a thing for lolis—that part worried her. What's so good about kids anyway? She could only hope his public denial of being a lolicon was what he truly felt inside.
"Shichen! Look at her! She's so full of herself!" Megumin tugged on Shichen's sleeve, tattling.
"You three go order something and wait for me," Shichen said helplessly, shooing Megumin and the others away. "Darkness, take them over."
"Alright." Darkness obediently led the two away.
"Hey! You're not planning to be alone with her, are you? She's definitely up to no good! Don't fall for it!" Megumin called back as Darkness pushed her along.
Half the bar was watching. Embarrassing. Good thing his skin was thick.
"Sorry about Megumin—she's always like that. Don't mind her," Shichen apologized to Luna.
"It's fine. She's a kid; that's normal," Luna answered with a gentle smile.
"Right—how did you know I took down Hans? I haven't even shown you my adventurer's card yet," Shichen asked, picking up his earlier question.
"Oh, the folks over there sent word. Something as huge as a Demon King General being defeated—of course the guilds notify each other," Luna explained.
"I see." Shichen nodded, not surprised that they hadn't recognized him over there. Unlike Axel, Arcanletia wasn't familiar with him—many there had never even seen him. Luna, on the other hand, already knew him; the moment she got the news, of course she'd want to share the joy. He'd done something impressive—naturally she was happy.
"Shichen, how did you deal with Hans? Isn't he a Deadly Poison Slime? He should be hard to take down."
"Hard for others. For me, pretty easy."
"Is that so? As expected of you, Shichen. Amazing."
"Ahem, don't butter me up. Got any tough quests lately?"
Shichen had come today to pick up a couple of quests. After two idle days he was getting antsy. Besides, without quests and monster hunting there was no leveling up. This world had tons of interesting skills, many of them useful passives—it would be a waste not to learn them.
"Mm… not for now. Spring's almost here—during seasonal transitions, monsters don't usually show up," Luna said with a shake of her head.
"Got it. Then forget it," Shichen said, turning to leave.
"W-wait a second." Luna suddenly grabbed his hand.
"Hm? What's up?"
"Well… Shichen, are you free today?"
"I'm not sure. Do you need something?"
"It's just… I-I happen to be off this afternoon. If it's alright… could you keep me compa—"
"Hey, Shichen." The guild door swung open and someone cut Luna off.
Shichen turned and saw Satou Kazuma, with Dust beside him.
"Kazuma, where've you been the last two days?" Shichen asked with a smile.
Luna pressed her lips together, reluctantly let go of Shichen's hand, and fixed Kazuma with a terrifying look.
"Uh…" Kazuma obviously felt that stare and didn't dare meet her eyes. "Shichen, over here. I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something."
"Sure… Luna, what were you about to say?"
"It's nothing," Luna said with a warm smile. "Your business is more important."
"Sorry."
"It's alright."
"Kazuma, this way," Shichen said, leading him to a quiet corner of the bar where they wouldn't be disturbed. Dust didn't follow.
Shichen ordered two beers. After Kazuma took a sip, Shichen asked, "What did you want to say?"
"Shichen…" Kazuma hesitated, then finally steeled himself. "C-can I leave your party?"
"Leave my party? Why?"
"I-I know you've treated me well, but I also know I can't keep up with you. Staying with you guys… I'm just dragging you down."
"That's not true."
"No, Shichen, don't be nice about it. I know myself."
"Hmm…"
"After dying last time, I realized… I'm terrified of death. That feeling is horrifying. Even now, when I think about it, I can't stop shaking." As he spoke, Kazuma hugged himself and trembled.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine… I think I've developed a fear of death."
"Pretty much everyone fears death, right? You don't have to fixate on it."
"No. I don't dare take dangerous quests anymore. I'm fine like this—doing easy jobs with Dust and just muddling along."
"'Muddling along' as in going to the succubus shop every day?" Shichen raised a brow.
"Uh… that's therapy for my psyche."
"I see… You've really decided?"
"Yeah. I finally made it to another world—I don't want to live every day on edge. This is fine."
"Sigh, alright. If that's what you want… I'll give you some money. Buy a place or start a little business—just don't waste your life."
Shichen still felt a bit guilty toward Kazuma. Anything money could fix wasn't a real problem anyway. He didn't care about money; it was useless to him.
"I-I can't possibly…" Kazuma said, wearing a lewd little grin.
"…I just don't want to see you living in misery."
"Shichen… you really are the best!" Kazuma said, moved.
"But you're not allowed to blow it at the succubus shop," Shichen warned.
"Don't worry, I definitely won't!" Kazuma thumped his chest in assurance.
"Good."
Shichen stood, patted his shoulder, handed him a decent sum, then left with Megumin and the others.
"Bye, Shichen!" Kazuma waved gratefully after him.
Shichen lifted a hand in reply and walked straight out of the guild without looking back.
From now on, he and Satou Kazuma would be going their separate ways for good.
~~~
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