Up close, I could see a small golden crown decorated with gems of multiple colors resting on top of its head.
There was no doubt this was the King of the Giant Toads. As ridiculous as it sounded. But then again, what wasn't ridiculous in this absurd world?
I swung my weapon and delivered a horizontal slash across its enormous belly, taking advantage of the fact that it was completely unprotected.
But then I immediately noticed the blade hadn't cut through any flesh.
No, it hadn't even managed to cut its skin.
"What the hell?" I complained, unable to process what was happening.
With Aqua's support magic and all the extra points in my stats from equipping the sword she had given me when I came to this world, my stats should have been through the roof.
I took a great leap, trying to find some weak point, but the Giant Toad King, as if it had guessed my intentions, attacked me with one of its gigantic front legs. It hit me squarely in mid-air, like swatting away an annoying fly.
I fell onto the grass and immediately rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the giant amphibian's second attack, which was trying to crush me against the ground.
THUD!
"You can do it, Kaizer!" the goddess shouted from the safety of her hiding spot behind the tree. "Just pretend it's the boss of some RPG!"
Are those supposed to be words of encouragement?
Thanks a lot, Aqua.
Without realizing it, I let my guard down for a moment and didn't see that the Toad King had attacked me with its tongue. It shot through the air, wrapped around my waist, and began exerting tremendous pressure. If I hadn't been wearing armor, it probably would have crushed me.
The creature must have gotten irritated when it realized my body wasn't yielding to its strength, because suddenly everything around me became blurry. The next thing I saw was the sky and a couple of clouds.
Aqua, who now looked like an ant from up here, stared at me with a stunned face from the comfort of her hiding spot.
"Watch out, Kaizer!" I heard her scream. "The Toad King wants to eat youuuu!"
"Thanks for the information! I hadn't noticed—AAAAAAAAAH!"
Absolutely refusing to become the king's dinner, I clenched my fingers tightly around the hilt of my sword, which fortunately I still had.
I aimed the blade at my opponent, who was already waiting with its head raised, ready to devour me.
Sorry, but you'll have to wait until your next life.
"SLOW!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. As I descended, the Giant Toad King froze in place. Or rather, its movements became so slow that it was like watching it in slow motion.
Its mouth, wide and large like a mailbox, had begun to open, eager to swallow me.
But that never happened. Because by the time I landed, the Giant Toad King was already dead. My sword Kronos (which allows me to manipulate time to a certain extent) was now buried to the hilt in its enormous right eye, piercing through its skull.
I see. Its skin worked like some kind of armor, which was why my normal attacks hadn't worked.
The king's corpse collapsed in front of me, shaking the entire plain.
"You defeated it!" the goddess exclaimed, happy that she wouldn't have to become the banquet for a family of giant toads. "Well, it was to be expected with all the help I gave you."
I let out a deep sigh, feeling somewhat relieved.
"I guess you're right. Looks like we actually make a pretty good team, huh?"
"Of course. Especially when you have a goddess on your side. There's no way you can lose! What do you say we split the reward like this: eighty percent for me and twenty for you? That would be the fairest."
"Not a chance."
"Buaaaah! But at this rate I'll never pay off my debt! Stop being so stingy and let me keep ninety percent of the reward!"
And just like that she had gone from eighty to ninety percent. The shamelessness of this woman knew no bounds, I swear!
"No," I repeated firmly. "We'll split the reward equally, just like we agreed."
"WHYYYYYY!? You don't even have anything to spend the money on!"
"And you only want to spend it on alcohol."
I started walking toward the city of Axel. Night would fall soon, and staying out in the open with the risk of being attacked by who-knows-what didn't appeal to me at all.
However, Aqua continued throwing a tantrum, insisting I give her the majority of the reward.
"You should be grateful to be able to team up with someone as beautiful as me! Just for that privilege, it would be normal for you to give me fifty percent as a divine tax! Hey! Are you even listening to me?"
Divine tax? Seriously?
Tired of listening to the shameless goddess's hysterical complaints, I turned around and said:
"In that case, I'd rather cancel our agreement."
"What!? What did you just say, you stupid hikikomori!? Did I hear correctly? You're going to get rid of me after I helped you defeat the Giant Toad King? You're the worst!"
"If you're going to make so many demands, I'd rather continue alone."
"Fine! Whatever! Do what you want! But don't come crying when some monster wants to eat you and you don't have this amazing, beautiful, and talented priestess by your side to help you!"
Aqua continued hurling all kinds of insults at me while I kept walking toward the city of Axel, which looked increasingly beautiful under the light of the setting sun.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"
"Aqua, could you please stop screa—"
Just as I turned toward my companion, I saw a huge shadow looming over her. And then everything around us went dark.
Aqua's blue eyes widened as she gave me a terrified look.
And then she was gone.
A monstrous mouth had appeared out of nowhere and swallowed her whole.
Shit! I had completely forgotten about the Toad Queen!
"KAIZEEEEEEEEER!"
Suddenly I saw half of Aqua's body emerging from the depths of the gigantic amphibian. A viscous, transparent substance covered her entire body.
"HELP ME, KAIZER! HELP ME, PLEASE!"
"Calm down a bit, will you? I'll try to get you out somehow. Just stay calm."
"Stay calm!? How do you expect me to stay calm when a giant toad is about to eat me!? BUAAAAH! WHY DO I ALWAYS END UP IN THE BELLY OF THESE ANIMALS?"
What kind of quests does this woman usually take? I wondered, unable to process what my ears had just heard.
"Ah…!"
At that moment, a strange moan escaped the goddess's lips. She was still trapped inside the queen's enormous mouth.
"Aqua!? What's happening!?"
"Ah… ah…! AH! This toad…! This toad is licking me in a place no living creature should ever lick a goddess! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Don't just stand there, you shitty hikikomori! Do something!"
That's what you get for not wearing panties, I guess.
For a moment I considered returning to Axel alone and letting the Toad Queen eat her.