That night was chill and pretty peaceful. One that I didn't have since my arrival in that world.
I shifted slightly on the bedroll, staring at the top of the tent.
But strangely the sleep was not coming, and I was really trying.
No matter how long I stayed still, my mind refused to settle.
And no matter how I positioned myself, my mind refused to shut down.
After a brief thought, I finally concluded that because of all the events of the day that mostly cause of my insomnia right now.
"…I might as well move a little bit around."
And without thinking much more about it—
My steps naturally carried me toward the only place in this town that still felt active.
The streets are very quiet now, but not completely silent. A few lanterns still burned, and the distant noise of voices guided me back somewhere familiar.
—The Guild.
The guild was silent than before.
Not totally but pretty much the case.
I stepped in quietly, letting the noise settle around me—and almost immediately caught sight of something… unusual.
Two people who were kind of arguing about a some party member, which could be kind of normal considering the place.
But seeing the duo more closely, the brown hair, the green track suit, the blonde girl with her kind of impressive amor.
Which tells me already at who they look like.
( Even though they are both them.)
Image:
( Satou Kazuma and Darkness.)
And seeing them like this is kind of strange, even though I be throw into a new world, the sentiment of unreality is still somewhat persisting.
And while I was procrastinating to how to interact with them, I heard darkness seeing something that chill me to the bone.
"I knew those were your companions I saw earlier with all that goop on them! How did they end up like that? Please let me get…get covered in…"
And recalling her behaviour through the show, this sentence is seriously concerning.
Looking at the despair looks at Kazuma, which is really funny now that I think about it, I decide to make a contact and save him from that embarrassing situation for the night.
And because I know she'll be back tomorrow morning, I don't see any problem in delaying his problems.
So I take a deep breath and make my way towards them, and they move their heads in my direction until I say—
" Excuse me—"
—KazumaPOV—
10Minutes Earlier.
After completing our first quest, I made our report to the receptionist at the Adventurers Guild and received the posted reward.
"All right, I see you killed five Giant Toads within three days, as requested. The completion of your quest is confirmed. Good work, everyone!"
I presented my card to the receptionist along with Megumin's, and the girl simply used a strange box on the counter to check them.
It was true that magic rather than science had been the focus of development in this world, but there was still some pretty amazing technology here.
When I looked at my card again, it said :
-ADVENTURER LEVEL : 4
I found myself muttering.
"So you really do get better just by defeating a few monsters…"
Back when she'd first introduced us to adventuring, the blonde girl at the counter had told us that everything in this world had a soul.
That whenever you eat something or kill something—whenever you put an end to the life of another living thing—you absorb some of that thing's memories.
I could use those points to gain some abilities.
"Now, then. We're buying two Giant Toads from you; along with the quest completion award, that comes to 110,000 eris."
(110,000. Minus the cost of transport, each of those frogs was worth five thousand yen. The reward for actually completing the quest was another hundred thousand.)
"Along with the completion award, they would make 125,000 yen. In a five-person party, each party member would come away with 25,000 yen."
(…That was so not worth it.)
"You'd be talking about a rate of 25,000 yen a day, if the quest took only one day."
(That might sound like a pretty good deal to the average person, but remember we were putting our lives on the line here, If even one more toad had popped up today, for example, I might've been eaten, too, and there would've been no one to help us. Party wipe.)
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up just thinking about it.
I took a look at the other quests on the board:
[-Cut down Egil Trees causing trouble in the woods.
Reward by volume.]
[-Please help me find my lost pet, White Wolf!]
[-Seeking swordsmanship tutor for my son. Note: only Rune Knights or Sword Masters need apply.]
[-Do YOU want to be part of my magical experiments? Note: must have exceptional HP or strong Magic Defense.]
"Phew. This world sure didn't make it easy for you. I'd been an adventurer for only two days, and I already wanted to return to Japan."
"Pardon me, may I have a moment…?"
I was sitting in a chair nearby, nursing a bout of homesickness, when a soft voice came from behind me. I looked up with eyes deadened by the realities of this fantasy world.
"Sure… How can I help…y…?"
And then I saw the owner of the voice and was at a loss for words.
A female Knight. And a drop-dead gorgeous one, at that. She was looking at me expressionlessly; she gave off an almost palpable cool. She was just a little bit taller than I am. (I'm five foot four, so she was maybe, say, five six?)
She wore sturdy-looking metal armor, and golden hair framed her blue eyes. I guessed she was a year or two older than me. Her armor hid just what type of body she had, but something about her was incredibly sexy. Despite her cool look, she gave off the impression of…suffering, somehow.
( Whoa, hang on! I can't go falling in love at first sight!)
"Uh, yes, um…what can I do for you?"
I could deal with someone younger than me, like Megumin, or someone who was (or at least looked) my age, like Aqua, but my voice cracked a little with nervousness as I talked to this obviously older woman.
( That's what I get for being a lifelong hikikomori.)
"Tell me, was it your party that posted this for recruitment? Are you by any chance still recruiting?"
The female Knight held out a piece of paper. I'd forgotten we hadn't taken down the recruitment notice since adding Megumin.
"Oh, that. Yes, we're still looking for more members, but to be perfectly honest, I can't recommend it—"
"Please! Oh, please let me be in your party!"
I'd been trying to put her off gently, but the Knight suddenly grabbed my hand. …Huh?
"Wh-wh-wh-whoa, hold on. I should warn you—we have a lot of problems. Neither of the other members is even slightly capable, and I'm in the lowest class! In fact, just a little while ago, both my friends wound up covered in slime —Ow ow ow ow!"
She'd squeezed my hand extra hard the moment I said "covered in slime."
"I knew those were your companions I saw earlier with all that goop on them! How did they end up like that? Please let me get…get covered in…"
"What?!"
What did she just say?
"W-wait, let me try again! What I mean is, how could I, a Knight, overlook two tender young women in such a state? How about it? I'm a Crusader, an advanced class of Knight. I believe that fits your requirements."
What was with this girl? She was giving me the crazy eye. She'd seemed so calm just a moment ago! A red flag went up in my mind. This girl had something in common with Aqua and Megumin. I hated to turn down a looker, but I had no choice.
"Wellll, I'm sorry, but as I said a moment ago, I really can't recommend this party. One of our members has yet to be of any use to anybody, and the other can cast only a single spell per day. And, again, I'm the lowest possible class. We're one dysfunctional group, so I really recommend you look elsewh—!"
Her grip on my hand tightened further.
"That's even better! The truth is… It's hard to say out loud, but I'm really… I'm confident in my defensive abilities—I am! But I'm a bit of a klutz, and my…my attacks never hit, so…"
Good old reliable intuition.
"So I'm an advanced class, but it's not a big deal! I want you to send me right out front—use me as a shield!"
(image Here)
The female Knight brought her face, with its graceful features, close to mine as I sat in my chair. Very…very…close… Because I was seated, she stood above me, but she'd gotten so near that her long golden hair brushed my cheeks and set my heart pounding.
(Now I was really paying for that hikikomori life…! No! No, I wasn't.)
This was just too much stimulation for an adolescent virgin, and it was throwing me off.
(Stay calm! Don't get taken in by her wiles!)
"Now, now, how could we use a woman as a shield? We really are an extremely weak party, ma'am, so I think you'd wind up as a monster's punching bag on every single quest."
"Yes! That's perfect!"
"N-no, it's not! Just today, my two companions were eaten by Giant Toads and ended up all slimy! Seriously, that's likely to happen every single day…!"
…Now I get it. The female Knight gripping my hand and blushing? As I looked at her, it finally dawned on me. It wasn't just her abilities that wouldn't help us. Like the rest of my party, she was useless to the core.
And while I was pondering off a ways to get myself out of this situation, a calm and melodious voice breaks my chains of thought.
And then I saw the owner of the voice and was at a loss for words.
—A beautiful female Elf, precisely a beautiful female dark Elf. ( Which I didn't know I was in before today).
She looked at me quite a bit helplessly ( strange) but she gave me the feeling of a caring and responsible Onee-San!!!!!
( If only he knew.)
Strangely enough, she wore a modern short-sleeved white button-up shirt, a red tie hung loosely around her collar, a pretty cool dark harness straps around her shoulders and waist, as well a simple orange band at her arms.
Golden hair, cut just above the shoulders, eyes—red, vivid, almost glowing.
And she also look a bit taller than me as well. ( WHYYYY I'm still five foot four !!!!!)
Overall, she looks like a sportive girl from those expensive academy in Tokyo!!!
( Whoa, hang on me! I can't still falling in love at first sight again!)
She stood there like she didn't belong in this mess at all. Relaxed posture, steady eyes—like she had everything under control just by being her.
Compared to the lunatic currently crushing my hand, the difference was night and day.
" Is there everything alright there ?" she asked.
Simple question, but it was my call to liberty.
"I—yes! I mean—no! I mean—" I shook my head quickly, trying to get the attention of that elf girl.
"Help. Please help."
"W-wait!" the knight cut in, flustered. "This is an important discussion!"
"It doesn't look like one," the elf replied calmly.
Direct hit.
The knight stiffened.
"I—I was merely offering my services as a Crusader to this new adventurer!"
( Service ????, I was thinking liability!!)
"By asking to be covered in… something?"
"…That was taken out of context!"
"It didn't sound like it."
I had to bite my tongue.
Then her gaze shifted back to me.
"Is that true?"
"Technically yes," I said quickly, "but I haven't agreed to anything. At all. Not even a little."
"Because he's being modest!" Darkness insisted. "He simply doesn't understand my value yet!"
"I understand it too well and I think that I don't merit this!!!" I shot back.
The elf raised a elbow slightly up.
And somehow, we both stopped talking.
(…What is this pressure?)
She looked between us again, then gave a small, thoughtful nod—like she had come to a conclusion.
"I see."
A short pause.
Then—
"You don't already think that It's already quite late?"
"…Huh?"
Both of us blinked.
The elf continued, her tone even.
"If that discussion is still about joining a party, it's not something that needs to be decided right now that late at night."
Darkness opened her mouth—
"And—"
—and stopped.
"…What?"
She looked at me up and down, which made me conscious that I'm still covered by the toad smile.
" He really seems tired," the elf went on calmly. "You've just come back from a quest, haven't you?"
I flinched slightly.
(How did she—?)
"I can already see and smell the toad slime from here," she added flatly.
"…Fair."
"Discussions like this are better done properly. Not in the middle of the night, not while standing in the middle of the guild."
She turned slightly toward Darkness.
"If you're serious about joining, you can come back tomorrow."
Then her eyes shifted to me again.
"And you can think about it without being rushed."
Darkness hesitated.
"I… That is…"
For the first time since this started—
She didn't immediately push forward.
I stared at the elf.
(…She's my saviour.)
The elf stepped slightly to the side, just enough to break the tension between us.
"Take your time," she said. "There's no need to decide everything tonight."
That was my cue.
"Oh—yeah. Right. Tomorrow. That sounds good. Great, actually."
I finally pulled my hand free.
I almost wanted to cry.
Darkness slowly lowered her hand, still looking a bit conflicted.
"…Very well. If that is the case… I will return tomorrow."
"Please don't," I muttered under my breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
The elf gave a small nod, like the matter was settled.
And just like that—
"…Oh. If that settles it, I might take my leave."
The dark elf turned calmly, already heading toward the exit as if nothing unusual had just happened.
"…Wait."
(My ONLY ESCAPE ROUTE IS WALKING AWAY—)
My body moved before my brain could catch up.
"W-wait a second!"
She stopped.
Just slightly.
Then glanced back over her shoulder.
"…Yes?"
Her red eyes looked somehow more cold.
(Oh no no no.)
(Abort. Abort. Abort mission.)
(Why did I call her?)
"I—uh—" I scratched my cheek, suddenly very aware of the dried toad slime on me. "I just… wanted to say thanks. Properly."
A pause.
Her eyes lingered on me for a moment—calm, unreadable.
"…You already did."
(Yeah, she's right. That's fair. Conversation over. Leave. Sit down. Accept your fate—)
"Y-yeah, but—" I hesitated, then pushed forward anyway. "Still. You saved me back there and I'm still a man with honour."
( Author Note: Kazum with honour, really a good joke.)
A faint laugh escaped her.
More like… accepting something amusing.
"…You looked like you needed it."
"Yeah," I said, a bit too fast. "Yeah, I really did."
(Too eager. Dial it back. Dial it back.)
I stepped a little closer.
(Okay. This is good now. End here. Don't push your luck.)
"Are you… heading out?"
(WHY AM I STILL TALKING?!)
"Yes."
(That's it. That's your cue to stop.)
"…Same here."
"That good, and you better take a bath soon, or you might actually accidentally attract some strange people."
—CRACK—
And just like that, she simply turned again and resumed her walk.
And I was standing there completely stunned about the realisation that comes to my mind.
And quickly go to the public bath.
—Behind Them—
Silence lingered for a few seconds in the guild after they left.
Still—
"…I see."
Darkness stood still, staring at the now-empty space where Kazuma had been.
Her hand slowly curled into a loose fist.
Her breathing… shifted.
"He… left."
A small pause.
"…In front of me."
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
Not with anger.
Not with sadness.
But something else entirely, and also pretty devious.
"…Ah…"
A huge flush spread across her cheeks.
"To chase after another woman… while I was right here…begging for be….. recruited.."
—🩶🩶HUMMMM🩶🩶—
Her grip tightened seriously more firmly.
"…How cruel…"
Another pause.
—🩶🩶🩶HUMMMM🩶🩶🩶—
Then—
"…How wonderful…"
She took a slow step forward, then stopped herself, pressing a hand lightly against her chest.
"No… I mustn't interfere…"
Her voice dropped, almost reverent.
"If this is the kind of man he is… then I must see it through…"
A small, shuddering breath escaped her.
"…Tomorrow."
Her eyes sharpened with renewed determination.
"I will return tomorrow."
And this time—
There was no hesitation left in her expression.
And all of that spectacle had been seen by the newly formed receptionist who was given a huge amount of inspiration to her passion for writing.
—Later that year a new 'spicy' book, will be popularised though the world, portraying a love triangle between a mysterious dominant dark elf scholar, a masochism crusader, and a weak willed man.
Obviously with a little mention in the end of the books.
" This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to characters that really existed would be purely fortuitous. "
-—END—-
And give me your thoughts about the chapter. I was thinking about creating a discord but I think that a bit too early for that now.
Now that the chapter is finished, give me YOUR STOOOOOONNNNNNNNE.
—WORD COUNTS : 2940 words.