Chapter 21: Party Upgrade 2.0
Early the next morning.
Kobayashi awoke from his sleep, but his body was restrained and he couldn't move. At the same time, a familiar suffocating feeling washed over him.
Is it RyuZU? But she's not this big.
Puzzled, he opened his eyes, and a water-blue figure came into view.
Oh, it's just Aqua.
Wait, it's Aqua???
Something felt wrong. What was the idiot goddess doing here? Ever since they moved to the new base, the "murder-by-chest" incidents had stopped. Why was it happening again now? And how did she get in?
However, he didn't dwell on it, and instead buried his face back in.
As expected, this was more reassuring. There was no agitating rush of blood to the head, only a sense of peace and tranquility in his heart. It was also soft and fragrant. He liked it the most!
"You seem very content, Master Kobayashi."
"I am very conten—RyuZU?!"
Only then did he realize that the soft sensation coming from behind him was RyuZU.
RyuZU was behind him, Aqua was in front of him. Could this be the legendary...
No, no, no, what am I thinking!
Even though both of them were super beautiful girls with stunning looks, Kobayashi couldn't make a move on either of them.
Literally couldn't make a move.
Kobayashi alertly lifted his head from the water-blue land of tenderness and asked, a little strangely, "RyuZU, why is Aqua here?"
"Does Master Kobayashi not know that Lady Aqua paces outside your door every night?"
"Hmm?"
"And even if I send her back to her room, she will appear outside Master Kobayashi's door again after a little while."
"Hmm??"
"Seeing how much she wanted to be with you, and considering your trip to the succubus shop last night to relieve your worries, I thought about it and let Lady Aqua in as well."
"Hmm???"
It seemed RyuZU had just said something incredible.
No, there are too many things to make fun of here.
He didn't even know where to start his retort.
"I never thought Lady Aqua would be so infatuated with you."
"She's simply attracted to the magic in the ring on my hand... Even if I say that, I doubt you'd believe me, RyuZU."
"I hope Master Kobayashi will take some responsibility."
Great, she doesn't believe me at all.
Knowing that now was not the time for explanations, Kobayashi pushed Aqua's embracing arms away, wanting to get up. Unexpectedly, the movement was a bit too big and it woke her up.
The sleepy-eyed idiot goddess had not yet noticed the abnormality. She rubbed her eyes and asked, puzzled, "Hmm? Kobayashi? What are you doing in my room?"
"You're in my room," Kobayashi corrected her.
"Oh, is that so. I'm so sleepy, I'll get up later." Aqua was completely unmoved, even lying back down on Kobayashi's bed, acting as if she owned the place.
The look in RyuZU's eyes from behind him turned sharp. Letting Aqua in was one thing, but her pushing her luck was another.
"Miss RyuZU..."
"I am here. Do you require me to dress you, Master Kobayashi?"
"...Please do."
This was never part of the routine before, and Kobayashi didn't consider himself so useless that he couldn't even get dressed. But it seemed she had been provoked by both the succubus Lorena and Aqua, and had started to become more intimate with him. He couldn't very well refuse in this situation and could only let her have her way with him.
After enjoying some attentive service in front of the goddess, Kobayashi and RyuZU walked out of the room.
Darkness also happened to be coming out of her room. But before he could even say hello, he heard her curse, "Pervert! Scum! Trash!"
Completely bewildered as to why he was being cursed at, Kobayashi was at a loss.
Darkness's cheeks suddenly flushed, and she hugged herself, panting heavily.
"I thought having just RyuZU was enough, but I never thought you'd make a move on Aqua too, Kobayashi! The three of you last night must have, must have been sta-stacking... haa... haa... haa... haa..."
What are you talking about!
Lost in her delusions first thing in the morning. What a hopeless, perverted knight!
She wasn't finished.
Darkness continued to pant, "Aqua has already fallen victim to your vile hands. The next one will surely be me, and then Megumin... No! I won't let you defile Megumin! I will absolutely stop you! Just come at me! I am a knight who protects others from harm, so... just come at me!"
Hey! She's slandering me! She's slandering me!
Seeing Kobayashi make no move, Darkness grew anxious. "Come on, come at me! Don't be polite, I can take anything you can dish out!"
Why is she the one getting worked up?
Darkness lunged forward and grabbed Kobayashi's arm. Her grip was strong, and her breathing was ragged. Although she didn't say it explicitly, between the lines, Kobayashi could tell what she really wanted to say was—
—Why did you have a party without me!
"W-wait... don't come any closer!" Kobayashi pressed his hand against her face, stopping her advance, and explained loudly, "You've misunderstood! We didn't do anything last night!"
"You think I'll believe your one-sided story?"
"If you don't believe me, then ask RyuZU!"
Hearing this, Darkness turned to look at the serene and elegant maid.
RyuZU said with her sharp tongue, "As much as I would like to say that Master Kobayashi was magnificent last night, the sad truth is that he was unable to recover after one setback. It was truly a pathetic sight."
"Kobayashi, can you even call yourself a man?" Darkness suddenly calmed down.
Wait, why am I the one being scorned by you? And what's with that disappointed look? If we ever get the chance, I'll pound you until you can't recover!
Kobayashi secretly vowed to make her pay sooner or later!
Three days later, at the Adventurer's Guild.
"Everyone, the earnings from our cabbage harvest have been calculated."
Kobayashi held up a list and said to the group, "To be honest, I never expected it to be this much."
"Is it a lot? How much?"
"I'm getting excited!"
"Tell us, tell us!"
Facing their expectant gazes, Kobayashi slowly opened his mouth. "—11,810,000 Eris!"
"Oooohhhhhh!!!" x3
"Eleven million, eight hundred and ten... eleven million, eight hundred and ten thousand?!!!"
"Sparkling liquor, so much sparkling liquor!"
"Does this mean I can be a shut-in at home and not work anymore?"
Hearing this absurd number, everyone except Darkness, who was a noble lady to begin with, went into a frenzy. Megumin's eyes were vacant as she muttered heart-wrenching things like, "I'm rich, I have money, I'll never have to go hungry again."
Clap, clap, clap—
He clapped his hands to bring them back from their fantasies.
"Everyone, there's a saying: 'A craftsman must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well.' If we want to take on higher-level quests, we need better equipment. So... let's use this money to buy new gear!"
"My armor is broken and needs to be repaired anyway," Darkness's armor was in tatters after withstanding so many impacts.
"I also feel like my staff can't keep up with my current strength," Megumin's staff was also falling behind.
"I'm still in my starter gear! This time I'm going to buy some cool equipment that highlights my aura!" The hot-blooded youth Satou Kazuma naturally wanted more stylish gear.
"Let's go!"
"Yeah!" x4
With a cheer, the group headed straight for Bill's weapon shop.
Adamantite armor worth 1,200,000 Eris, an intermediate magic staff worth 120,000 Eris, an intermediate thief set worth 150,000 Eris, and a completely useless but beautiful blue crystal necklace worth 80,000 Eris.
And.
"I'll take everything I'm wearing."
When Kobayashi appeared again, everyone's eyes and mouths were wide open in shock.
On his head was a headband with some kind of bird feather stuck in it. On his upper body was a tight-fitting windbreaker suited for night operations. On his lower body were shorts, and on his feet were a pair of slippers.
The jumble of different styles looked more and more bizarre the longer they looked.
"I've been wanting to say this for a long time, Kobayashi-senpai, but your fashion sense is terrible."
"What kind of novel outfit is this?"
"Are you going to a costume party?"
"A party? Where's the party?"
"Master Kobayashi, you will lower my reputation looking like that."
The party members roasted him without mercy.
How cruel! To say such things about me!
A circlet for warning, a windbreaker that increases stealth, shorts that increase agility and movement speed, slippers that can walk on water—which one of these wasn't practical equipment?
He was just a loyal Monster Hunter player. What did he do wrong?
Amidst the group's disgust, the equipment was not purchased. Kobayashi was forcibly dragged away, wailing.
In the end, they spent a total of 550,000 Eris on equipment.
(End of Chapter)