Turns out, the curse of finding proper housing is much more powerful than I expected. Even with enough money we can't seem to find anywhere to stay. Either the inn is overpriced, full, under maintenance, or we just can't seem to check in for all sorts reasons.
I almost gave up and buy ourselves a tent when a kind adventurer told us about the option of sleeping in the stables.
For someone who thought he'll be forced to sleep on the streets like common beggar, sleeping in the stables is a luxury. The hay makes a soft bed and the smell isn't that bad once you get used to it. Aqua did throw a small tantrum until I pointed out that most adventurers do start out this way
So there I was sharing a room with literal goddess, she's not as bad as Paradox described her to be. Yes, she can be a childish and slow sometimes, but she's a very nice companion. She's very carefree, cheerful, and innocent. Like a living distraction to my disastrous circumstance.
"Kazuma, you're zoning out again,"
I looked at Aqua who's currently munching on some fried frog legs in front of me. We're currently having breakfast of fried toads and vegetable sticks in the guild.
"Sorry, I just have a lot in mind," truly, intelligence is both a blessing and a curse. "It's not right for me to force you to sleep in the stables…"
Aqua's face reddens a little before she put on a proud look. "O-of course, I'm a go-Archpriest after all, I deserve much better than sleeping in the stables," she said.
I could only give her a guilty look. I kinda feel bad for putting her through my punishment too…
"Well I mean," she averted her gaze and played with her hair a bit. "I don't mind staying there a bit longer… So no pressure, okay?"
"Thank you, Aqua."
I went back to my breakfast. Some fried toads and dancing vegetables. Yes, those names meant literally, these vegetables dances away from my grasp. "Say, why don't we look for mission? I want to test out my strength, see how weak I am."
"Eh? How pessimistic can you be Kazuma?"
"I'm not pessimistic, it's just that… I showed you those curses didn't I?"
Yes I showed Aqua my curses. She even tried to break it, almost killing me in the process, before giving up.
"I still don't believe that 'Useless Teammate' part. I can't be useless now, can I?"
I shrugged a little. "You won't know until you have tried," I said before standing up from the table. "Come on Aqua, let's look for some missions…"
With that, we look around for a mission. I asked the nearest adventurer which one is the most profitable and easiest there is. Some say goblin extermination others say frog hunting. So we have that going for us, which is nice.
Though goblin extermination is not recommended without a team of four, so we decided to go after the frogs.
---
Under the bright blue sky, a giant frog the size of a small house jumped after me. My puny sword felt like nothing against this mighty beast, but somehow…
"Aqua, speed!" I exclaimed before making a sharp turn. A sense of lightweight ran over me, and my hand started to glow. I ran towards the frog, narrowly dodging its tongue. "TAKE THIS!!!" I sliced the sword with all my strength through its neck before jumping back.
The frog fell over with a thud.
I dropped down, gasping for breath.
Okay… I am weak, but at least I can kill them… I can do this, yeah…
I looked back towards Aqua, who's staring at me with her staff in hand. She has that intense and focused look on her face as she waited for my command. She was so focused that she didn't even notice a frog jumping in her direction.
"Aqua! Behind you!" I exclaimed before running after her. I don't know if she can die, but I have no plan to find out. "Aqua!!!"
The girl turned around and froze. She was snapped out of it when the frog caught her with its tongue, but it was too late. The frog swallowed her whole, with only her feet sticking out of it. "Don't get eaten!!" I exclaimed.
Thankfully, the frog seems immobile when eating, so it's not that hard for me to deal with it. I smashed its head, with all my might. After it fell, I dragged her, feet, and leg first out of the frog's mouth.
Apparently, she didn't wear any underwear, so I'd be lying if I didn't take my sweet time.
"Sob… Ugh, ugh– Wah…!" Aqua was covered in sticky toad fluid, hugging her knees while sitting on the ground sobbing. "Ugh… Sob… Thank, thank you… Kazuma, thank you…! Wahhhhhhhhh….!"
She's been crying nonstop since I dragged her out of the toad's mouth. Even a goddess couldn't stand the horror of being preyed on.
"Are, are you okay Aqua, be strong…" she's sticky and smelly. But she's done much better than the supposedly 'useless teammate' curse is leading me to believe. "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I'll do better next time…" I carefully embraced her into a hug.
Aqua hugged me back, sobbing in sadness as she did so.
After a moment, I let go of her and smiled encouragingly.
"Let's go back for today. The mission we took on was exterminating 5 toads in 3 days, but they are not opponents we could handle. Let's try again when we have better equipment. Look, I only have a short sword and no armor, I'm still wearing my gym clothes. Let's come back when we are dressed more like adventurers."
Aqua stood up with the glossy fluid all over her body.
"Ugh… For a goddess like me to be humiliated by a toad, how could we retreat! I am already defiled. If a believer saw how dirty I am, their faith would definitely plummet! If people knew I ran from toads, it would be a disgrace to the name of the beautiful goddess Aqua!"
But before I could stop her, Aqua charged towards another toad in the distance.
"Ah! Hey, hold up, Aqua!"
Aqua ignored my restraint, drawing closer to the toad, using her momentum to throw a punch at the toad's belly.
"Feel the wrath of a goddess! You dare to oppose a goddess? Repent in hell! God Blow!"
I remembered the staff in the guild telling me that physical attacks weren't effective against giant toads. Her fist sunk into the soft abdomen, while the toad seemed unaffected…
Aqua looked at the toad meekly in the eye and slowly said. "… Look, looking closely, toads are actually quite cute right?"
It didn't take a genius to find out what will happen next. The frog chomped on its free meal, and I found myself running towards the frog.
"Aqua!!!"