A Breeze Through the Window
Life had finally returned to normal in Axel. After the chaos in the Crimson Demon Village, the familiar town felt almost peaceful. Adventurers moved through the streets again, merchants shouted from their stalls, and the guild buzzed with loud chatter and cheap laughter. For the first time in days, nothing was unexpected happen. Inside the mansion, steam filled the large bath room. Kazuma leaned back against the wooden wall with a satisfied sigh. "Man… this is the life." Beside him, Ruko splashed water over his hair and shook it back lazily. "Yeah, it quite a good peaceful time," he replied. "No demon generals. No giant chimeras. No explosions. Just peaceful." Kazuma closed his eyes. "Just two brothers enjoying a peaceful shower." Ruko snorted. "You make it sound weird enough." Kazuma shrugged. "It's called bonding." The warm water poured over them quietly while the evening light filtered through the small bathroom window. For once, everything was calm.
Then—CRASH.
The window suddenly slid open. Both of them jumped. A girl landed inside. Kazuma screamed. "WHO THE—" The girl froze mid-step. They froze. She froze. All three stared at each other in complete silence. The girl slowly blinked. "…Oh." Kazuma and Ruko were still completely naked. Steam filled the room. Ruko pointed slowly. "You picked the worst possible time but you got guts to walk in here seeing two man naked." The girl immediately spun around, covering her eyes. "I-I didn't know you were bathing!" Kazuma grabbed a towel in panic. "THEN WHY DID YOU BREAK INTO THE BATHROOM WINDOW?!" The girl peeked through her fingers. It was Chris. Her face was red with embarrassment. "I was trying to surprise you! But that didn't turn out." Kazuma groaned. "Well congratulations." "You succeeded." Chris cleared her throat awkwardly. "Anyway… Kazuma, I need to talk to you." Ruko raised a hand. "Excuse me, I exist too." Chris glanced at him briefly. "…Yeah." Then she turned back to Kazuma. In which Ruko is nothing but a paper who left within the breeze. "Meet me outside after you finish." Kazuma blinked. "…Just me?" Chris nodded. "Just you."
Ruko slowly sank back into the bath water like a ghost fading into mist. Kazuma scratched his head. "…Alright?" Chris hurried back out the window. SLAM. The room went quiet again. Steam drifted across the bath. Kazuma looked at Ruko. Ruko looked at Kazuma. "…Well," Kazuma said. Ruko stared blankly at the wall. "I feel like a piece of paper blowing in the wind." Kazuma shrugged. "Don't be dramatic." "Go meet your mysterious thief girlfriend," Ruko muttered. Kazuma grabbed a towel and stood up. "Yeah yeah I'll be back later." Ruko waved lazily. "Sure." Kazuma get out the bath and start put on his track suit. The room became silent again. Ruko sat alone in the bath. The water slowly cooled. "…Brotherhood shower ruined," he sighed.
Outside the mansion, Chris waited near the garden fence. Kazuma approached cautiously. "So what's the big secret?" Chris crossed her arms. "I need your help." Kazuma tilted his head.
"With what?" Chris leaned closer.
"I need your help to collect the Divine Relics."
Kazuma blinked. "You mean the cheat items you told me when we went to Arcanretia?" Chris nodded. "Exactly." She explained quickly. "These relics were brought into this world by reincarnated people. Some of them are extremely dangerous." Kazuma scratched his cheek. "So?" "So I've been collecting them quietly." Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "And you need me because…?" Chris face-palm and pointed at him. "You have absurd Luck." Kazuma smirked proudly. "That is true." "And you have the Steal skill." "…Also true." Chris nodded. "With those two things combined, we can retrieve relics without anyone noticing." Kazuma thought about it for a moment. "…So it will be Night missions?" Chris smiled.
"Night missions." Kazuma grinned. "…I'm in." They shook hands. "And I'll start change to my clothes." "Yeah... you do that." Inside the mansion, Ruko walked into the hallway with wet hair and a towel over his shoulder. The house was quiet. Kazuma was gone. The girls were somewhere else.
He walked slowly toward his room. "…Yeah." He flopped onto the bed dramatically. "Definitely a thin piece of paper." He covered his face with a pillow. "…Unbelievable of how lonely this is." Then— Knock knock. Ruko lifted his head. "…Huh?" Another knock. A girl's voice came through the door. "Excuse me… is someone named Ruko here?" Ruko froze. That voice. His eyes widened. He shot out of bed. Then he ran forward like a cartoon character sliding across the stairs and floors. The door burst open so fast it almost flew off the hinges. Standing outside was the girl he had met. The same girl from the succubus shop. She looked slightly nervous. "…Hi." Ruko stood there stunned for a moment. "Y-You found me." She smiled shyly. "Yeah… I guess i did."