Chapter 101: The Succubus Shop's Free Pass
Satou Kazuma had been very happy lately.
With Kobayashi-senpai back, the heavy burden was off his shoulders, and he had relaxed a lot. When he thought about all the troublesome things that had left him heart-tired and haggard recently, he was sincerely grateful for the care Kobayashi had shown him. Only now did he finally feel the weight of his senior's kindness.
Thank you so much, Kobayashi-senpai!
With a heart full of gratitude, Kazuma took a huge gulp of sparkling liquor, let out a long, full burp, and collapsed into his chair with a look of satisfaction.
His useless-looking behavior earned him a disgusted look from a passing waitress.
Just then, a man appeared.
"Oh, Kazuma, you're slacking off here? That's a rare sight."
A drunken Dust came over.
Kazuma pushed him away with disgust and said, annoyed, "Look who's talking. Is it really okay for you to be drinking in broad daylight?"
"It's fine, it's fine."
Dust waved his hand nonchalantly and chuckled. "We're on break today. My team members all went home, so I'm having a drink. You, on the other hand, are still here slacking off. Aren't you being lovey-dovey with those beautiful girls?"
After Kobayashi and Aqua had formed their party, Dust had been extremely envious, believing that the two, surrounded by beautiful girls, must be living a very enjoyable and happy life every day.
However—
If their roles were reversed, he would know that Kazuma was not only unhappy, but was living a painful life in the depths of hell every day.
One day, I'll let him experience it too.
Kazuma looked at him with malice and said casually, "They've gone to bother Kobayashi-senpai."
"Meaning you've been left out in the cold?" Dust raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not!"
Kazuma was very grateful to Kobayashi for allowing him to escape from the encirclement of those problem children, so he would no longer be tormented by those idiots.
Dust, however, had completely misunderstood.
He patted Kazuma's shoulder and comforted him, "It's okay. Even if you've been left out, you have your own unique charm."
"...What are you suddenly talking about?" Kazuma looked at him with disgust.
But Dust didn't mind. Instead, he leaned in again, sneakily took out two tickets from his pocket, and tempted him in a low voice, "Speaking of which, since we're both being left out, want to go and seek some comfort together? A free pass to the succubus shop. How about it? Want to go together?"
"A free pass..."
Kazuma subconsciously swallowed. The succubus shop was a great place to relieve stress and get rid of excess energy, but the price of 5,000 Eris per visit left him, who was in dire financial straits, quite helpless. The money Kobayashi had left behind had long since been paid out as compensation for the destruction Megumin had caused. So he had been looking forward to the succubus shop for a long time.
He looked at Dust with some uncertainty.
"Is it really okay for you to treat me..."
"It's fine, it's fine. Didn't you help me explore that dungeon before, Kazuma? Consider it a return gift. How about it? Want to go?"
"Yes, I want to go!"
Kazuma agreed without the slightest hesitation. It would be too much of a pity to pass up such a good thing.
The two drank some sparkling liquor and, with their arms around each other's shoulders, happily arrived at the succubus shop.
The usual warm-colored sign and the blurry figures of succubi visible through the window instantly piqued their interest.
"Alright, let's let loose tonight!"
...Or so Kazuma thought. The moment he entered, he saw Kobayashi.
His leader was sitting in a seat directly opposite him, his arms crossed, with a very serious expression on his face, as if he were thinking about something.
"Er... Kobayashi-senpai?"
Kazuma suddenly felt very guilty.
And Kobayashi, upon hearing his voice, opened his sharp eyes, shot them in his direction, and said one thing: "Kazuma-kun, Brother Jie... ahem, I am very disappointed in you."
"W-well..."
His eyes darted all over the place.
Kobayashi continued, "You said that Dust was going to repay you tonight, so you wouldn't be coming back. But the way you said it, no matter how I thought about it, felt off. As expected, I've caught you."
"W-well... it's not what you think, Kobayashi-senpai!"
Kazuma's brain started working at high speed.
Imagine this: the leader of your party has just returned, only to catch you playing around at the succubus shop. It would surely lower his opinion of you. He didn't care about the other problem children; it didn't matter if they disliked him. But not Kobayashi-senpai!
To be seen as an unreliable junior... I don't want that!
What should I do? How can I save this situation?!
In his panic, Kazuma's heart began to race, and a few beads of sweat trickled down his cheeks.
At this moment, a succubus waitress walked over.
"Excuse me, here is your order form. Please mark down any requests you have, and the succubi will do their best to fulfill them."
A bewitching and seductive voice echoed by his ear.
In the past, this was his favorite line, because next he could let his imagination run wild and create his ideal woman.
But could she not read the room? The atmosphere right now was very awkward!
But the waitress had done nothing wrong, so he couldn't get angry. He could only force an awkward yet polite smile and say, "Thank you, just put it... huh?"
He saw that the succubus waitress had not given the order form to him, but to Kobayashi, who was sitting in front of him.
"Kobayashi-senpai..."
Kazuma was instantly speechless.
He stared with dead fish eyes at the man who had just been scaring him. He felt that all the tension he had just felt had been completely wasted.
"Ahaha—"
Kobayashi laughed, patted his shoulder, and said, "Sorry, sorry. Seeing you so scared, I couldn't help but tease you a little. Relax, relax."
"Haah..."
But Kazuma couldn't relax at all.
He thought for a moment and asked again, "Kobayashi-senpai, what are you doing here?"
"That's a strange question. I am a man, after all. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to come here?" Kobayashi shrugged casually.
Originally, he wouldn't have come here. But perhaps because he had "eaten meat," his energy had suddenly become very abundant. On top of that, Aqua had been fiddling with the mecha recently. Unable to calm down, he had thought of coming to the succubus shop to burn off some energy.
Most importantly, he wanted to know just how big the gap between fantasy and reality was.
"No, that's not what I meant..."
Kazuma looked at him, seriously suspecting that he had snuck out. If he were like him, with no one to answer to, it would be fine. But there was clearly one other person who was supposed to be watching him...
Just as he was thinking this, an elegant maid appeared before them. Kobayashi, who was deep in conversation, did not notice her presence.
"Kazuma-kun, although it's not really my place to say this, you're still young. It's better to come to these places less often."
"Does that mean it's okay for you to come here often, Master Kobayashi?"
"Of course. I'm an adult, after all... eh?"
A familiar, cool voice came from his side. His neck seemed to rust over as it creaked to the left. Seeing the silver-white figure, his body instantly stiffened.
"Miss... Ryu-RyuZU...?!"
"Yes, Master Kobayashi. Do you have any orders for me?"
"Why are you here?"
"Because there are remnants of you inside my body, so it was very easy to find you."
"It's mana! You mean mana, right?!"
Damn it! I never thought the [Magic Circuits] also had a tracking function!
"Master Kobayashi, if a master were to abandon his own attendant to go and play at a succubus shop, what kind of punishment do you think such a master deserves?"
RyuZU's smile made Kobayashi shiver.
He said, as if pleading, "Please show mercy to such a master, won't you?"
"Yes. I will try to be as gentle as possible."
RyuZU smiled elegantly again.
The next second, she and Kobayashi disappeared.
And Kazuma, left alone, could only silently pray for him, hoping he wouldn't be squeezed dry by RyuZU.
"Guest, your order form."
"Thank you!"
Hearing the succubus waitress's voice, he immediately pushed the matter of Kobayashi to the back of his mind.
The Axis Order doctrine stated that you never know if you'll be happy in the future, so you have to live in the present.
So, compared to praying for others, Kazuma was more focused on the present.
(End of Chapter)