Chapter 191: The Fourth World-Crossing
This day, Kobayashi once again came to Wiz's Magic Item Shop. To be precise, he had been summoned by Wiz.
Jingle jingle—
The crisp, pleasant sound of the wind chime rang out.
Just as his left foot had stepped into the shop, Wiz came rushing out from behind the counter. The 'duang duang' sound of her bouncing fullness instantly captured his attention.
A few seconds later, Wiz was hugging his arm and crying. The soft, cool touch flooded his mind, but he quickly suppressed it, because the weak-willed Lich maiden's aggrieved appearance was truly pitiable.
"Mr. Kobayashi!"
"Wiz, what's wrong? You called me here in such a hurry. Did something happen?"
"Aqua... Lady Aqua, she..."
"Aqua?"
Just as he was feeling confused, Aqua burst out of the back room. She kicked the door open with a crash and stormed in, yelling, "Where are you, you damned Lich! Get out here!"
"Eek, eek—!"
Wiz shrank back into his arms in fear, hiding her face and not daring to look at Aqua.
It didn't take a genius to figure it out. The idiot goddess was bullying the weak-willed Lich again.
"A-QU-A!"
"K-Kobayashi?"
Looking up and seeing his dark expression, Aqua immediately stopped in her tracks, not daring to come any closer.
"Tell me what happened."
"W-well..."
Her eyes darted around.
He sighed.
He looked down at the trembling, weak-willed Lich maiden. "Wiz, did she bully you? If she did, I'll definitely teach her a lesson."
Compared to the goddess who loved to lie and make excuses for herself, the Lich was clearly more trustworthy.
"Mr. Kobayashi..."
Wiz's expression was covered with a bit of gloom. Hesitation was written all over her face, as if there was something she didn't know whether she should tell him or not.
"What is it? If there's something bothering you, you must say it. Don't be afraid, I'll back you up. Has your turnover dropped again recently?"
"N-no, that's not it!"
Hearing him say that, she quickly waved her hands in denial.
Then, she began to stammer, looking troubled. "Um, during the Destroyer interception, you gave my shop a shout-out, which brought in a lot of business. I'm really grateful! It's not about that, it's... about Lady Aqua..."
So it really is her.
He also looked troubled.
He had deliberately left Aqua out of it just now, holding on to a sliver of hope, but he hadn't expected it to still be her.
I shouldn't have trusted the idiot goddess.
"Hey! You damned Lich, what did you say?!" Aqua shrieked, and then tattled to him. "She's slandering me! She's slandering me!"
Although she looked very agitated, no matter how you looked at it, she was just threatening the weak-willed Wiz.
He couldn't help but take a step forward.
He brought a hand-chop down on the back of her head to shut her up. The idiot goddess immediately clutched her head, crying, and rolled around on the floor.
He ignored the foolish goddess.
Then he turned his head and asked Wiz, "What's with her? Is it because she comes by from time to time, and that's bothering you? If you're afraid of her, I can tell her to try and stay away."
She may be Aqua, but she was still a goddess. As an undead, this must make Wiz quite uneasy.
"...No, that's not it. It's not that... It's fine if Lady Aqua comes over. It's just that every time she comes here, she finds the customers in the shop and tells them that all the products here are made by the female owner through some... unspeakable... manufacturing methods, and that it's better not to buy them... or something."
"Aqua, what is the meaning of this?" he pressed in a low voice.
Hearing him, Aqua, who was holding her head, trembled on the floor.
It seemed she really had done it.
"I-it's fine! We don't need to pursue this matter!" Wiz, as magnanimous as her ample chest, forgave Aqua, and even said with curiosity, "I don't know why, but it's very magical. After that, the sales of holy water and other items in my shop unexpectedly skyrocketed among the male adventurers, so this matter is just..."
Should I say... it's great that it's selling well?
It must be her inherent divine attribute, which had raised the quality of the holy water by several grades.
But then again, was it really okay for a Lich to sell holy water? Wouldn't she accidentally purify herself?
And, in every sense of the word, were the adventurers in this town really okay?
"But isn't that a good thing?" he asked in return.
Wiz, hearing this, quickly waved her hands. "No, no, no, what's more important... Lady Aqua touches all the products in my shop, so all the medicine for curses and the secret potions used for necromancy are all purified! There are too many products that have to be scrapped..."
"What is the meaning of this, you idiot goddess!"
It seemed that when he wasn't looking, she would come to Wiz's shop to cause trouble whenever she felt like it.
She must be too bored, this idiot!
He pulled Aqua up and pressed her head down, apologizing to Wiz. "I'm sorry, Wiz! For those scrapped products, I'll take responsibility and pay for them with this woman's allowance!"
"Wait, Kobayashi!"
"Hey, Aqua! You'd better apologize properly too!"
"I don't want to!"
Aqua stubbornly raised her head and shouted her twisted logic, "Why does a goddess have to bow her head to a Lich! Besides, water gets purified when it touches my body. It's because of the sacred aura that naturally radiates from me! It can't be helped! Just like how a plant photosynthesizes when it touches sunlight, I just automatically purify water when I touch it! I really can't control it!"
No! The point is you shouldn't be touching the products!
But the idiot goddess's head just wouldn't be pressed down. It seemed not bowing to a Lich was her bottom line. Her coming here to find fault was most likely also due to her natural aversion.
It couldn't be helped.
He could only bow deeply to Wiz on behalf of Aqua, who would rather die than bow her head.
At the same time, he couldn't help but think to himself:
I feel like, recently, I've been forced to bow my head to a lot of people because of her.
"P-please raise your head!" Wiz anxiously rushed forward to help him up, and at the same time pleaded, "It's fine, it's all in the past! I just hope that she can try not to purify my products in the future...! I've already troubled Lady Aqua with so many things, like going to the cemetery to help the lost souls ascend, and purifying other houses that are troubled by evil spirits...!"
With that, Wiz also hurriedly bowed her head.
Hearing her speak so frankly, the main culprit who had just recently, out of laziness in purifying the cemetery, caused the evil spirit commotion in numerous mansions—Aqua—also looked away in embarrassment.
Returning to the mansion.
"Listen up, Aqua! You're not allowed to go to Wiz's magic item shop and cause trouble anymore!"
"I didn't go there to cause trouble!"
"Hmm?"
"...I... I get it!"
Aqua pouted. It was unknown if she had actually listened.
Honestly, has this idiot goddess forgotten what I said before about having Wiz's back? Or does this yakuza goddess have a vicious nature and just likes to bully her own underlings?
Seriously, you two should just swap classes.
He let out a deep sigh.
Apologizing to Wiz and listening to her complaints was just a microcosm of his day.
Yesterday, he had been forced to apologize, compensate, and make repairs because Megumin had blown up a farm. The day before, Kazuma had used an expired free succubus pass, and he had to go and bail him out.
—Being called to the principal's office.
This was his daily life during this period.
Because Darkness wasn't here, Aqua and the others, using this as an excuse, were lazy and idle every day, which meant the energetic idiot children were always causing trouble.
Am I their old man? Damn it!
My heart is so tired. I really want to retire.
Thinking this, his desire to escape this world grew even stronger.
Coincidentally, he had received a letter this morning.
Thinking of this.
"Alright, I've decided. I'm leaving."
"...Eh?"
"I said, I'm leaving here."
"W-wait! Kobayashi! Don't tell me you're abandoning me?! No! Don't leave me, ahhhh!!!"
The idiot goddess, mistakenly thinking he didn't want to be in their party and wanted to go solo, was so scared she pounced on him, hugged his legs tightly, and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard he tried to pull her off.
"L-let go! You've misunderstood!"
"I won't let go! I'll never let go!"
"Aqua!"
He hadn't expected her to have such a big reaction to his words.
What he'd expected even less was for Kazuma to coincidentally return from outside. When he saw the whimpering Aqua hugging his leg, and even wiping her snot on it, he was completely stunned.
Seeing him, Aqua called out, "Kazuma, Kazuma! Hurry up! Kobayashi is abandoning us! Hurry up and stop him!"
However, he did not panic when he heard this. Instead, he put on an expression as if he had already expected this.
"Has this day finally come?"
"Kazuma?"
"It's only natural that he would want to abandon us. After all, there are so many problem children in the party. If he had gone to another party, he would have surely become a top-class adventurer long ago and would be shining brightly, just like Mitsurugi Kyouya. It is precisely because of this that we should sincerely give him our heartfelt blessings."
"What nonsense are you talking about, Kazuma?! It's obvious that he can only shine with us, with me, the Goddess of Water! That's how it should be!"
Kazuma's resigned expression made her angrily emphasize her own importance.
And Kazuma, at this goddess who he had never seen be so shameless, revealed a look of contempt and let out an extremely disdainful snort.
"—Heh."
This action instantly stimulated the idiot goddess's nerves. She climbed to her feet and was about to wrestle with him.
But she was stopped by a chop from Kobayashi.
"Ouch!"
She cried out in pain and squatted down, holding her head.
He sighed. "You... can't you let people finish talking?"
"Kobayashi-senpai?" Kazuma blinked. He seemed to have understood something.
"Actually, I just wanted to take advantage of the time while Darkness is away to travel to another world. Who would have thought this idiot would misunderstand?"
"...So that's how it is."
The two of them lowered their heads at the same time and glanced at Aqua with disgust.
She was always like this.
She couldn't grasp the main point, and she wouldn't listen to people. She always single-handedly dragged the rest of the party down.
The party's recent bad reputation was all her doing.
"Going to another world?" Kazuma nodded, then asked, puzzled, "But what if Darkness comes back?"
"I've already prepared for that."
He took out a letter from his pocket.
This was what Miss Luna had given him when he went to the Adventurer's Guild this morning.
It was a handwritten letter from Darkness.
It said that she had to go to the Royal Capital with the head of the Dustiness family recently and would most likely not be back for a short time, which was what had fueled his desire to go to other worlds.
"So that's how it is."
After reading the letter, he and Aqua nodded. It seemed they had indeed misunderstood just now.
"You idiot Aqua!"
"What did you say?!"
The unprovoked scolding made Aqua's eyes widen in anger, but he was in no mood to deal with her and turned to Kobayashi.
"Since that's the case, then you can go with peace of mind, senpai. I'll watch over Aqua and Megumin and not let those two idiots mess around."
"Oh! How reliable, Kazuma-kun!"
To have such an outstanding junior... he was very moved.
If one day he really had to leave the party, if he had to choose only one person as his teammate, then without a doubt, the choice would be him.
"How long do you plan to be gone this time, senpai?"
"It's hard to give an accurate time. But I'll be back as soon as possible. After all, Darkness's matter is the highest priority."
He was still waiting for her to bring back good news, and then to give that vile lord, Aldarp, a big "gift."
"Mmm, I understand," he nodded, and at the same time said, "Well then, this time when you cross to another world, you'll be able to wear the clothes I specially designed, right? I'm really looking forward to the effect!... Although I won't be able to see it."
He couldn't help but complain. It was the first time a fashion designer couldn't see the final display.
"And me, and me!" Aqua also chimed in. "The goddess ribbon I made! You have to wear it properly!"
Before he could speak, Kazuma shot back first, "What are you talking about, you idiot Aqua! How could he possibly wear women's clothing!"
"What did you say?! Although it's a replica of a goddess's ribbon, it's still a divine instrument! Hey! You idiot Kazuma, don't you understand the power of a divine instrument?!"
"Hehe. If the 'divine instrument' you're talking about is like Mitsurugi Kyouya's magic sword, then I'll really have to laugh my head off."
"Wait! That was an accident! Besides, whether a divine instrument is strong or not is linked to the user, you know! The divine instrument I made has super-strong defensive power! It was made from the Destroyer's magic device! The ability to nullify magic! Do you understand how powerful that is!"
"Ahhh, I can't hear you, I can't hear you."
Kazuma covered his ears, unwilling to listen.
Just as he was about to tell him not to believe her, he turned his head and saw his senior's eyes shining with excitement.
I forgot. In a certain sense, senpai is also a problem child.
"It's fine, Aqua."
"Kobayashi..."
"Your feelings... I'll accept them!"
"Thank you, Kobayashi!"
Seeing him accept the goddess ribbon, Aqua was incredibly moved, and then she shot a smug look at Kazuma.
He didn't pay her any mind and asked, "When are you leaving, senpai?"
"Now."
He held out the hand with the ring to Aqua, letting her charge it with energy.
And this time, the acknowledged goddess did not deliberately ask for benefits, but readily charged the ring.
"Well then, I'm off!"
Holding RyuZU's hand, his figure disappeared.
Kazuma and Aqua, who couldn't stand the sight of each other, were just about to return to their respective rooms when the figure that had just disappeared suddenly reappeared in front of them.
The two of them looked in surprise at him, whose clothes were flapping, looking rather pathetic.
He stuck out his tongue and complained, "Ptooey, ptooey, it's all sand! I can't believe I ran into a sandstorm just as I crossed over. Good thing I ran fast!"
He couldn't help but feel grateful that his world-crossing ability didn't have a cooldown. Otherwise, he would have been lost in the desert.
That's right. The place he had crossed to this time was an unknown desert!
(End of Chapter)