Chapter 167: Kobayashi's Guidance
It has to be said, being with Aqua was the most pleasant. The pure aura of the water element healed his wounded heart.
Coincidentally, the remaining two had also returned.
When he saw the female knight and the little loli she was carrying on her back, he knew that this chuunibyou explosion archwizard, in order to vent the heat in her body, had begged Darkness to take her out, and had only just returned now that it was evening.
It was just that the meeting between the two sides was a little awkward.
He was holding Aqua, and Darkness was carrying Megumin. There was a strange sense of immorality in the air.
Darkness clearly felt it too.
Seeing the two of them so close, she scratched her cheek and said with some embarrassment, "I'm sorry, it seems we've come back at a bad time."
But unexpectedly, he held out his left hand and made an inviting gesture to them. "No, you've come back at just the right time."
Unfortunately, these idiots didn't understand romance. He didn't get to experience the joy of having a girl in each arm.
The simple-minded Aqua still hadn't figured out what was going on. The perverted knight, Darkness, looked like she wanted to be hugged but didn't dare to step forward, and could only pant heavily and generate electricity on the spot.
Megumin got down from Darkness's back. He supported her and at the same time used [Drain Touch] to transfer some stamina and mana to her.
"Thank you. And, welcome back, Kobayashi."
"Ah, I'm back."
To come home and be welcomed by someone... this feeling was really great.
"Alright, let's go inside."
"Yeah!"
Aqua shouted, and then rushed into the mansion. He supported Megumin and the still-generating Darkness and followed.
Wait, I feel like I've forgotten something.
He looked back at Kazuma, who was still lying motionless on the ground, and his expression instantly turned to apology.
He hadn't expected to have actually forgotten him.
"Hey, Aqua!" he shouted to the goddess who had already entered the house. "Kazuma-kun is still lying on the ground! Aren't you going to help him and resurrect him?!"
"Ehhh—"
The goddess let out a long, disgusted sound, but in the end, she still made a move to resurrect him. "Because it's your request, Kobayashi, I'll resurrect him this one time."
What is this idiot goddess talking about? Wasn't it your violent charge just now that sent the frail adventurer Satou Kazuma to see Goddess Eris on the spot?
After the light of the magic circle dissipated, Kazuma climbed up from the ground. His fists were clenched, and the veins on his forehead were bulging. He looked like he was on the verge of exploding.
And as expected.
"You idiot Aqua! What were you thinking? It's one thing not to heal me, but you actually ran me over and killed me! I died over such a small thing! Just because of such a small thing! You hopeless, useless, idiot goddess!"
"Huh?! What does that have to do with me? It's because your body is too fragile, right!"
"What did you say—?!"
"It's the truth! I've already resurrected you, so you should just be grateful and thank me! Besides, what right do you have to yell at a noble goddess like me, Kazuma? You, a pervert who spends every night at the succubus shop!"
"Wh-what are you talking about? I don't know what you mean," Kazuma said, turning his head away, sweat beading on his forehead, too guilty to look at her.
This man, who had always believed in gender equality and would definitely strike back if he was wronged, to have such a reaction... it meant that everything she had just said was true. He had never thought he would really become addicted to the succubus shop.
Hold on a minute! If you think about it carefully, this is also my fault.
A trip to the succubus shop costs 5,000 Eris. Although it wasn't a huge sum, for Kazuma, who wasn't very strong and had no other channels of income, it should have been a considerable expense.
Logically speaking, Kazuma, who could only rely on his own two hands, seemed to be going to the succubus shop every night for pleasure after he had left. So, where in the world did he get so much money?
The answer was—the huge deposit of over 100 million Eris that he had left behind.
It must be because of this that he had become so weak and haggard. Since that was the case, then he had to take responsibility. As a senior, he absolutely had to correct his mistake.
"Kazuma-kun..."
"Kobayashi-senpai, let me explain!"
"It's alright, Kazuma-kun. You're a boy, after all. It's understandable that you have those kinds of needs. But no matter what, please try to restrain yourself a little. After all, for an adventurer, the body is the most important thing."
"N-no... don't say that to me with that 'mother lecturing her child' tone!!!"
Kazuma held his head in his hands and let out a long howl.
...Hmm? It seems things aren't what I thought?
"Well then, please explain to me what in the world is going on, Kazuma-kun."
This was not the place to talk. Under his lead, the group returned to the mansion. The decoration of the living room had not changed; it was as warm and comfortable as ever. And he sat on the large sofa, with Aqua on his left, RyuZU on his right, and Megumin to her right.
"Here, black tea."
"Thank you, Darkness."
The housewife, Darkness, served everyone fragrant, high-grade black tea, and then sat down to Aqua's left.
With that, the large sofa was filled with five people.
And Kazuma sat opposite them, on a small, single sofa.
"—Hey! Don't treat me like a criminal!"
The perverted boy still wouldn't admit his mistake. But seeing him trying so hard to defend himself, he decided to give him a chance to explain.
"Actually..."
Kazuma slowly opened his mouth to explain the reason.
In the end, it was still that noble who had requested clothes. Because the clothes he had made had deeply captured his heart, he had become even more demanding, asking him to make even better clothes.
Even he couldn't help but sigh. An entire world had passed, and there was still a plot involving that bizarre noble.
He asked, puzzled, "Since that's the case, then why not ask Darkness? I think if it were her, she would be more than happy to wear those unsightly clothes."
"Wait! What do you mean, I'd be happy to wear unsightly clothes!" Darkness immediately retorted, as if she were very serious.
As for her, he just let out a contemptuous and disdainful snort.
The perverted knight was not angry at being treated this way. Instead, as usual, she began to generate electricity, panting heavily and falling into a delusion.
This is no good. This woman is a lost cause.
"No," Kazuma said, shaking his head. "That vice-captain's figure is far different from Darkness's. And Megumin, who is similar, is quite resistant because of what happened before."
"I'm not going to be a test subject! And you're making me wear such shameful clothes!"
Megumin looked very resistant. It seemed that the clothes and the骚操作 from before had really made the chuunibyou girl dislike it.
"You see," Kazuma shrugged helplessly.
He pinched his chin and thought, "So that's why you go to the succubus shop?"
"That's right." Speaking of this, Kazuma suddenly glared at Aqua and spat, "This idiot goddess! Just because the reward money wasn't enough to buy her sparkling liquor, she deliberately ignored my request. It's not that I'm reluctant to part with the money. If it was just cheap sparkling liquor, it would have been fine. But she actually wanted high-grade sparkling liquor that cost more than half of the reward... Kobayashi-senpai, don't you think she's being too much?!"
"Er... indeed."
In this matter, he was more inclined to side with Kazuma. Even if Aqua had helped, taking away more than half of the reward was still going too far.
And the idiot goddess, knowing she was in the wrong, turned her head away and whistled, not daring to look at his expression. It seemed she also knew she had gone too far. He had thought she would use her status as a goddess to forcefully say something like "believers must offer tribute to the goddess."
"But if you're in trouble, then just refuse. Even a noble can't force you to work for him, right?"
"No, how should I put it... after all, the reward is very high. You see... right?"
Kazuma put on an expression of being unable to refuse.
I get it. They offered too much.
"I already know the specific details. But to buy sparkling liquor for Aqua, why didn't you use the money I left?"
"How could I use that? That's the money you worked so hard to earn, senpai. How could it be used for extravagant eating and drinking and reckless waste?"
"Kazuma-kun..."
Kobayashi was slightly moved.
Although he was a scumbag, a pervert, and a lecher, he really was a good boy.
"It's fine! Money is meant to be used for enjoyment! Otherwise, it's just a string of useless numbers! If I can't even satisfy everyone's needs, then I've failed as a leader!"
"Kobayashi(-senpai)!" x4
Hearing his words, the four of them were also extremely moved.
"Alright! Since that's the case, then tonight we'll go to the Guild and splurge!"
"Yeah!" x4
As I thought, I like them the most.
(End of Chapter)