The Adventurers Guild was boiling with excitement over the news that a General in the Demon King's Army had been defeated. Adventurers crowded around Kōichi and Kazuma Satou, slapping their shoulders and offering toast after toast, until the place was so chaotic it nearly looked like a cult gathering.
Just as Kōichi was enjoying this hero treatment, noisy though it was, a resentful voice drifted up from behind them like it had crawled out of a crack in the floor.
"Well, well. If it isn't Axel's great heroes, sadistic captain Kōichi and the shining light of shut-ins, Kazuma Satou. What's this? You come back filthy rich and won't even look at your poor buddy still chewing on black bread?"
Kōichi and Kazuma shuddered at the same time and turned around.
There, crouched in the shadowy corner of the Adventurers Guild, was Dust, a scruffy young thug with messy blond hair and shabby armor. He held half a shriveled sweet potato in his hand, his eyes more bitter than an abandoned wife's.
"D-Dust." Kazuma guiltily wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Come on, don't say that. We came to the Guild the moment we got back into town, didn't we? Besides, Crimson Demon Village was rough on us too. We got chased by Beastmen, tortured by Sylvia..."
"Quit lying! I heard everything!" Dust sprang to his feet and pointed at the heavy subjugation certificate in their hands, shouting in grief and rage. "Three hundred million Eris! Three hundred million! Do you have any idea how I've been living lately? To pay off my debts, I even pawned my underwear! The pair I'm wearing now came off a Goblin! You two money-grubbing bastards, does your conscience not hurt?!"
Kōichi looked at Dust's miserable state, then touched the certificate tucked against his chest, the one that would soon turn into a fortune. For once, he felt a faint twinge of something called conscience, though only for an instant.
He turned to Kazuma and saw the same conflicted expression on his face.
"Tch. Yeah, we have been treating this guy a little badly lately."
Kōichi sighed, then boldly swung an arm around Dust's neck.
"All right, all right! Stop acting so pitiful! Dust, listen up. Everything you order today, whether it's the finest liquor or the most expensive dragon steak, is on us. Even if you want to go to the Succubus Parlor and order the full Supreme Dream package, we'll cover it!"
"Really?!" Dust's despair-filled face instantly shone with holy light. The speed of his change in expression left Kōichi in awe.
He tossed away the sweet potato, threw his arms around Kōichi and Kazuma, and grinned so widely his mouth nearly split to his ears.
"I knew it! You two might be scumbags most of the time, but when it counts, you're the most loyal men in Axel! Hahahaha! As expected of the Axel Three Musketeers! Boss! Bring me a barrel of your most expensive ale! Ice-cold!!"
"Hey! You're taking advantage of us way too naturally!" Kazuma complained, though he could not help laughing too. "Whatever, we're celebrating today anyway. Luna-san! Please settle the bounty for us soon, or this guy's going to drink the Guild into bankruptcy!"
Behind the counter, Luna-san, nearly buried under a mountain of paperwork, accepted Sylvia's subjugation certificate with trembling hands.
She adjusted her glasses and stared at the absurd number on it, her entire body going faint.
"Th-three hundred million... Um, Kōichi-san, Satou-san, regarding the payment of such a large bounty, we need to... we need to request an emergency transfer from the bank first... Please wait a moment. I'm going to faint for a little while..."
With that, Luna-san really did collapse behind the counter with a thud, while the cheers inside the Adventurers Guild nearly blew the roof off again.
The Adventurers Guild lights were dim but lively. Dust had an arm hooked around Kazuma Satou's shoulder, and both of them wore the kind of filthy grin only veteran degenerates could understand.
"Hehehe, Kōichi, Kazuma Satou, now that the bounty is almost ours, how about we celebrate tonight at that paradise all men dream of?"
Dust waggled his eyebrows as he made the suggestion.
"I heard from the Succubus ladies there that they just released a new dream theme: Reincarnated Hero from Another World and the Secret Garden of Five Princesses. It'll definitely let you experience the true peak!"
"Ooohhh! As expected of Dust! This intel came right on time!" Kazuma Satou's eyes lit up, and he immediately raised his hand in support. "We're going! We have to go! To reward myself for all the mental trauma I suffered in Crimson Demon Village, not even knives raining from the sky will stop me tonight!"
But just as the two of them looked at Kōichi with eager anticipation, Kōichi calmly set down his wine glass and waved them off in disgust.
"I'll pass. You two can go on your own with your heads full of dirty thoughts. Can't you see Yunyun over there is so embarrassed she's about to bury herself in a crack in the floor?"
Kōichi pointed at Yunyun, who had been hiding behind him the whole time. After hearing words like Succubus, princesses, and secret garden, her face had turned bright red, and steam was practically rising from her head.
As the only normal person in Crimson Demon Village, Yunyun clearly could not understand Axel's open, and filthy, way of celebrating.
"Huh?! Kōichi, you've changed!" Kazuma stared at him in shock, as if he were looking at a traitor. "You're giving up the Succubus Shop for a girl... no, wait, you're giving it up to look after a teammate? Are you still the same Kōichi who could go without underwear without batting an eye? Don't tell me you're actually going through with the village chief's love competition and trying to make the first move?"
"Shut up. I just think a real mansion's big bed is more comfortable than a dream."
Kōichi ignored Kazuma's sarcasm, then turned to Yunyun, his tone softening a little.
"Come on, Yunyun. I'll take you back to where we're staying. There are lots of rooms, so you can pick whichever one you like. Besides, I need to calm down and sort through what I gained from leveling up this time so I can learn some new skills."
"Ah... Yes! Of course, Kōichi-san!" Yunyun looked as relieved as if she had been pardoned, her beautiful eyes full of gratitude. "Um... I'm really sorry. Because of me, Kōichi-san can't join the celebration..."
"No, don't think that. That absolutely wasn't a proper celebration."
The corner of Kōichi's mouth twitched. He took Yunyun by the arm, dodging Dust's dirty hand as it tried to drag him back in, and strode out of the noisy Adventurers Guild.
Behind them, Dust and Kazuma's sour jeering followed.
"Tsk, tsk. So this is the captain's privilege? Taking a pretty girl back to his mansion to 'learn skills.' I'm so jealous I could curse him!"
Under the moonlight, Axel's streets felt much quieter.
"Kōichi-san, will I really be able to become your teammate from now on? Can I really live here too?"
"Of course. This will be your home from now on."
Kōichi said it casually, but Yunyun's face turned red all the way to her ears again.