Kōichi held Chomusuke in his arms and let out a deep sigh as he looked at his teammates, who had already started playing out all kinds of absurd little dramas in their heads.
He knew that before they set off for Crimson Demon Village, there were a few things they had to deal with first.
"All right, all right, stop arguing! Since we've decided to go, we need to prepare first!" Kōichi clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "First, we're going to the Adventurers Guild to collect Hans's bounty. That's a huge amount of money, enough for us to buy every sweet potato in Crimson Demon Village and hire a few carts to haul them over while we're at it."
The moment Kazuma heard the word bounty, his eyes lit up, and all his complaints and grumbling vanished on the spot.
"Right, right, right! The bounty! I almost forgot about that! We risked our lives for that money! Let's go, let's go. Right now!"
"Hmph. Even if it is a Demon King's General, any crisis that can be solved with money is no real crisis!"
Megumin crossed her arms. Her tone was forceful, but the anticipation in her eyes was hard to hide.
"I'm going too!" Darkness clenched her fists eagerly. "The Adventurers Guild might have more detailed information about the Demon King's Army. I should learn her attack methods and… weaknesses in advance."
Aqua, meanwhile, was completely absorbed in playing with Komekko.
"Come here, cutie. Let your goddess big sister see if your eyes glow like Megumin's too. Wow, they really do glow! You'll definitely become an amazing Explosion Wizard one day, and then you'll use your magic to build the grandest cathedral for the goddess, right?"
Komekko giggled from Aqua's teasing. She tilted her head up and answered in a sweet, childish voice.
"Mm! I'll use the strongest Explosion Magic to blow away everyone who doesn't believe in Goddess Aqua!"
"Hey! Don't corrupt the kid!"
Kōichi quickly separated Aqua from Komekko. Looking into Komekko's innocent, sparkling red eyes, he suddenly felt an intense urge to protect her.
This kid was practically a miniature Megumin, so cute it made his heart melt.
But when Kazuma tried to come closer with a kindly look on his face and reached out to pat Komekko on the head, Kōichi reflexively shifted to the side and blocked his hand.
"Kazuma, what are you doing?"
There was a hint of caution in Kōichi's voice.
"I… I just wanted to pat Komekko's head. She's so cute!"
Kazuma looked innocent, but Kōichi saw danger in the way his eyes were a little too eager when he looked at Komekko.
After all, Kōichi had seen the special feelings Kazuma had for Megumin.
Who knew whether this guy might extend his love for Megumin to Komekko too and pull some twisted loli-raising stunt?
"No! Komekko is still little. You can't just let strangers pat her on the head!" Kōichi rejected Kazuma with righteous conviction, then picked Komekko up himself. "Let's go. We'll head to the Adventurers Guild first."
Komekko stared curiously at Kōichi from his arms, while Kazuma followed behind with a resentful look fixed on Kōichi's back, muttering under his breath.
"What's the big deal? She's just a little loli. Do you really have to guard against me like I'm some kind of thief? I'm an upright Adventurer, you know! …Though Komekko really is cute. I guess Megumin must've been like that when she was little, huh?"
Axel's Adventurers Guild was as noisy as ever, the air filled with the mixed smell of ale, sweat, and cheap perfume.
With Komekko in his arms, Kōichi carefully passed through the bustling crowd and arrived at the counter.
"Hello. We're here to collect the bounty for the Hans extermination quest." As Kōichi spoke, he pushed over the small bag containing the remains of Hans's Magic Core.
The young receptionist, Luna-san, took the bag, put on a monocle, and examined it carefully. Then, on the face that always wore a professional smile, a look of shock suddenly appeared.
"T-This is… the Magic Core remains of Hans, the Deadly Poison Slime and Demon King's General! He was really defeated?!"
Luna-san's voice rose sharply, instantly drowning out every bit of noise in the Adventurers Guild.
In an instant, the entire Adventurers Guild fell silent. Every Adventurer turned to look at Kōichi's group at once.
Then, a thunderous wave of cheers and applause erupted.
"Whoa! Nice work! A Demon King's General, seriously?!"
"That's amazing! These newbies were hiding some serious strength!"
"Heroes! They're heroes!!"
Kazuma was swept away by this sudden hero treatment. He straightened his back, soaking in an unprecedented sense of glory.
Amid the crowd's praise, he felt as if he really had become the Hero who saved the world.
"Hahaha! It was nothing, nothing at all! After all, we're… ahem, the strongest adventurer party!" Kazuma waved his hand in fake modesty, then slammed the table with grand confidence and shouted to every adventurer in the Adventurers Guild. "Come on! All drinks today! All grilled meat! Everything! It's all on me, Kazuma Satou! Drink as much as you want! Eat as much as you want! Fill yourselves up!"
The Adventurers Guild boiled over again. Cheers and whistles rose one after another, and some people even started shouting, "Long live Kazuma-sama!"
However, the tavern owner, a burly middle-aged man with a scar on his face, remained completely unmoved.
He wiped the glass in his hand, slowly walked up to Kazuma, and looked at him with unmistakable shrewdness.
"Kid, I've heard that one before. Last month, a guy named Dust said the same thing. And what happened? He ate and drank his fill, then ran off and left behind a pile of unpaid tabs." The tavern owner gave a cold snort. "Rules are rules. You want to treat everyone? Fine. Pay first. That bounty ought to be enough for you to throw around for a while, right?"
Kazuma's smug, flushed face froze instantly. He looked at the surrounding adventurers, who were still cheering but now clearly watching for the fun of it, then looked at the tavern owner's face, which said he was not leaving unless he paid.
"Uh… fine, fine. I'll pay first!" Kazuma took the bounty bag from Kōichi with a pained expression, reluctantly counted out a large sum, and handed it to the tavern owner.
As the gold coins clinked into the cash box, the tavern owner broke into a satisfied smile.
"All right! Everyone! Kazuma-sama is treating today! Drink to your heart's content!"
The Adventurers Guild burst into another round of excited cheers.
But the moment Kazuma finished paying, something strange happened.
The adventurers who had been crowding around Kazuma and singing his praises suddenly scattered as if they had planned it. They each returned to their seats and went back to drinking and playing games, as if the generous Kazuma-sama had never existed.
"Hey! You guys! What the hell?!" Kazuma stood frozen in place, staring at the adventurers as they resumed their noisy revelry. He felt like a tool that had been tossed aside the moment everyone was done with it.
Kōichi, still holding Komekko, looked at Kazuma's utterly lifeless expression and couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"See? I told you not to get carried away. In Axel, money is the only thing that matters. As for goodwill… what's that?"
Megumin looked at Kazuma with open disdain.
"Hmph. You brought this on yourself. That's what you get for loving the spotlight."
Darkness, standing nearby, wore a faintly excited expression.
"T-This feeling of being used and thrown away… how wonderful! Kazuma, would you like to come outside the Adventurers Guild with me and get pelted with rotten cabbage leaves by drunks? That's a rather nice experience too!"
Aqua, on the other hand, paid no attention to Kazuma's embarrassment at all. She was eagerly competing with Komekko to see who could make the Adventurers Guild's beer mugs cleaner.
"Oh, right, Kazuma. That money is coming out of your assets," Kōichi reminded him as he took the money bag back.
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