"Satou Kazuma-san, welcome to the afterlife. Unfortunately, you've died. It might've been short, but your life's now over."
Someone suddenly spoke to me in a pure white room.
The sudden turn of events confused me.
In the room was an office desk and a chair, and the one who announced that my life was over sat on said chair.
If there was a goddess, she had to be it.
Her beauty was beyond the idols shown on television; she had a glamour that surpassed humans.
She had long, silky smooth blue hair.
She seemed to be about my age.
She wasn't too busty nor too lacking, and had a light-purple hagoromo draped over her clothes.
The beauty blinked her eyes, which were the same aqua-blue colour as her hair, and stared at me as I tried to figure out what was going on.
… I thought about what had happened moments ago.
… I usually coop myself up at home, so it was rare for me to go outside.
To purchase a limited first-release version of a popular online game, I got up early to queue up.
Society addressed people like me as a 'hikikomori'.
After buying the game, it was time to return home to play to my heart's content. I was in a great mood as I anticipated this while walking home,, but at that moment…
A girl was looking down on her cell phone and walking before me.
From her uniform, she would've been studying at the same school as me.
After seeing the lights turn green, the girl didn't check traffic and crossed the road immediately.
A large shadow loomed toward her.
It had to have been a large truck heading toward her at high speed.
When I came to my senses, I'd knocked the girl away.
After that…
… Mysteriously calm, I asked the beauty before me:
"… May I ask one thing?"
The beauty nodded in response to my question.
"Please, go ahead."
"… The girl that was knocked away by me, is she still alive?"
That was the most important thing.
That was the first and last time I'd done something worthwhile.
If I hadn't managed to save her in time despite betting my life, that would've been frustrating.
"She lives! But she fractured her leg."
Thank goodness.
--------------------------------->
I didn't die in vain; I did something good at the very end.
Seeing me acting relieved, the beauty tilted her head and said:
"But, she wouldn't have been hurt if you hadn't knocked her away."
"… Huh?"
What'd she say?
"The tractor would've stopped before hitting the girl. I mean, it was just a slow tractor after all. That means that your unnecessary meddling by acting like a hero made things worse… Puhehe!"
What's with this? This was the first time I met this girl.
It might've been rude, but I felt like beating her up.
… Wait, hold it. I thought I heard something more important just nowthat was .
"… What'd you say? A tractor? Not a truck?"
"That's right, a tractor. If a truck had been speeding toward that girl, she would've noticed it and gotten away."
… Huh?
"Eh, but what about me? Did I die after getting hit by the tractor?"
"No, you died from shock. You thought you were ran over by a truck and went into shock. I've been doing this for a long time, but you're the first to die in such a hilarious way!"
"..."
"Because of your close call with the tractor, you lost consciousness and control of your bowels, and you were sent to a nearby hospital. As the doctors and nurses were laughing and saying, 'What's with this guy, how useless–', you didn't regain consciousness and your heart failed."
"Shut up–! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear something so humiliating!"
The girl walked to my side as I cupped my ears and smiled deviously, leaning close to my ears.
"Your family reached the hospital, but before they could feel the sadness from their loss, they couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing your cause of death."
"Shut up, shut up! This can't be real! How can there be such a useless way to die? This is unbelievable!"
Looking down at me squatting with my head in my arms, the girl covered her mouth and laughed.
"… Well, that ends my de-stressing session. This is our first meeting, Satou Kazuma-san. My name's Aqua. I'm a goddess that guides young people who die in Japan. Now, putting aside how funny your demise was, you now have two options."
… This girl!
Forget it, being worked up would just delay the progress of the conversation; I just need to bear with it.
"The first option would be reincarnating and beginning a new life; the other option would be staying in a place sort of like heaven and living the life of a retirement home."
What a lazy way to describe the options.
"Eh, well, how's the place that's sort of like heaven? More importantly, what do you mean by 'retirement home'?"
"Heaven isn't as great as you humans would imagine. You don't need to eat after dying and won't be able to make any food naturally; there aren't any ingredients nor necessities for you to use anyway. I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but there's nothing in heaven. No television, no manga and no games. Only other people that've died before you. Moreover, since you're dead, you can't do anything kinky. You can't since you don't even have a body. The only thing you can do is bask in the sun with your predecessors and chat. Forever."
No computer games and no entertainment? Rather than heaven, that'd be closer to hell.
However, to become a baby and restart my life…
No, that was the only option.
Looking at my disappointed face, the goddess smiled and said:
"Hey… You don't want to go to a boring place like heaven, right? However, asking you to let go of all of your memories and start again as a baby's the same as erasing your existence, since your memories will be gone. And so, I've great news for you!"
For some reason I was skeptical.
Aqua said to the wary me with a smile,
"Do you like games?"
Aqua confidently explained her so-called good news.
This was the gist of it:
In a world different from where I was, there was another world with a Demon King.
In addition, with the attack of the Demon King's army, that world fell into crisis.
There were magic and monsters in that world.
To put it simply, it was a fantasy world like the famous games Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
"The people who died in that world were killed by the Demon King's army and were very afraid, saying that they didn't want to die like that again. Therefore, almost all of the people who died rejected reincarnating in that world again. More specifically, that world will end if this continues since babies will cease to be born there. Hence, we'll solve that problem by sending the dead from other worlds over, right? That's how it is."
What a sloppy immigration policy.
"And since we're sending people over, we should find people that've died young and still yearn to live and send them over with their original body and memories. It'll be meaningless if they were to die immediately after going over, so we'll grant a privilege to all of those going to that world, allowing them to take one thing they like. It may be a powerful ability, an exceptional talent or a god-level weapon. What do you think? It might be another world, but you can live once more. For the people of that world, someone will appear who can fight immediately. How about it? Isn't this great news?"
I see, it did sound great.
To be honest, this made me excited.
I knew I liked games, but I never would've imagined that I'd be able to enter a world that was just like my favourite computer games.
However, before that.
"Um, I have a question, what about the language? Will I be able to speak the language of the other world?"
"This isn't a problem. With the gentle aid of the gods, knowledge of the language will be beamed directly into your brain the moment you head over to the other world. You'll even be able to read! As a side effect, your brain might be wiped blank if you're unlucky… Anyway, all that's left is to choose a powerful ability or weapon."
"Hold on, I heard something important just now. Did you say my brain might be wiped blank if I'm unlucky?"
"I didn't say that."
"You did."
The tension from earlier was gone. I was speaking to a goddess, but my attitude was akin to speaking to an equal.
… Nevertheless, that was an attractive proposition.
It was scary to know that there's a chance in wiping my brain blank, but I'm not bragging when I say that I've been confident in my luck ever since I was young.
At this moment, Aqua showed me something like a catalogue.
"Please choose. I may grant you one and only one power. It may be a powerful unique ability, or perhaps a legendary weapon. Come, it can be anything. You have the privilege to bring this one thing to the other world."
After hearing Aqua's explanation, I took the catalogue and started browsing it.
… On it was, 'Unnatural Strength,' 'Super Magic,' 'Holy Sword Arondight,' 'Demon Sword Murasame,' and all sorts of names.
I got it; choose an ability or weapon to bring along.
How troubling, having too many choices is making me indecisive.
Or rather, my gamer instincts told me that these were cheat-like abilities and equipment.
How troubling, how troubling… Since I'd be going to a world with magic, I really wanted to try using magic.
Hence, I should choose an ability based on magic…
"Hey, hurry up. It doesn't matter which one you choose, nobody's expecting much of a hikikomori gaming otaku. Can you just pick one and be on your way? Anything will do. Hurry up, hurry up…"
"I-I'm not an otaku…! And I died outside, so I'm not a hikikomori…!"
I answered in a trembling voice, but Aqua simply toyed with the ends of her hair and told me disinterestedly:
"It doesn't matter, just hurry up and choose. There are still many dead souls waiting in line!"
Aqua sat on her chair as she spoke, munching on her snacks without even looking at me.
… This girl, mocking my cause of death even though it was the first time we'd met. Acting so stuck up just because she was pretty…
Aqua's can't-be-bothered attitude made me mad.
You want me to choose quickly, right?
Then I'll do just that.
Something I may bring to that world.
"… Okay, I choose you!"
I pointed at Aqua and said.
Aqua looked at me surprised for a moment and continued munching on her snacks.
"Ah, okay, please stand there and don't move out of the magic circle…"
Aqua suddenly stopped talking.
"… What'd you just say?"
In the next moment.
"I understand. Well then, I'll take over Aqua-sama's job from now on."
With a flash of white light, a winged woman appeared out of nowhere.
… Simply put, it was a woman that looked like an angel.
"… Eh?"
As Aqua squealed in surprise, a blue magic circle appeared under her feet, and under my feet as well.
Oh, what was this?
Am I really going to another world?
"Wait…! Huh, what's happening? Eh, you can't be serious! No! No…! Hold on! This is too weird! Isn't it cheating to bring a goddess along? This shouldn't count! Wait! Wait, okay?"
Aqua panicked with tears in her eyes; she was a mess.
The angel spoke while facing Aqua:
"Have a safe trip, Aqua-sama. Please leave the rest to me. We'll send envoys to welcome you back right after the Demon King's defeated. Before you return, I'll handle all of your tasks."
"Wait! Wait! I may have the ability to heal as a goddess, but I have no combat ability to speak of! It's impossible for me to defeat the Demon King!"
The angel who appeared suddenly ignored Aqua, who collapsed on the floor crying, and smiled gently at me.
"Satou Kazuma-san, you'll be heading to another world now and will become one of the hero candidates to defeat the Demon King. You'll receive a gift from the gods the moment you defeat the Demon King."
"… Gift?"
I asked by repeating what she said.
The angel smiled warmly at me.
"That's right, a gift befitting the saviour of the world… You'll be granted a wish; it may be anything you want."
"Oh!"
That means that I could wish to return to Japan if I ever grew tired of that world.
For example, returning to Japan after growing tired of that world, becoming rich and spending all day playing video games while surrounded by ladies! Even such a decadent dream's possible!
"Wait! Giving that cool speech is my job!"
Aqua wailed on the floor after the angel took her job.
I was satisfied after seeing Aqua act this way.
Therefore, I pointed at Aqua and said:
"How does it feel to be companions with a man you look down on? Hey, you're the 'thing' I've chosen to bring along! Since you're a goddess, use your godly powers to make my adventure a breeze!"
"No! Going to another world with a man like this, no way…!"
"Hero, may you be victorious among the many hero candidates and be the one to defeat the Demon King…! Well then, I bid you farewell!"
"Wah! That's my line!"
With the announcement from the angel…!
A bright light surrounded the wailing Aqua and me…!
________________________________________________
A carriage made a loud creaking sound as it drove over the pavement.
"…Another world… Hey, it really is another world. Eh, it's for real. Am I going to use magic and go on adventures in this world?"
Trembling with excitement because of the scene before me, I started talking to myself.
Before my eyes were houses built from red bricks, the streets right out of Europe from the middle ages.
There were no cars, bikes, power lines, or telecommunication cables.
"AHHH! …AHHH…!"
I looked around the street, watching people pass by.
"Animal ears! There's someone with animal ears! Elf ears! Is that an elf? With such striking facial features, she definitely has to be one! Goodbye hikikomori life! Hello different world! If it's this world, then I'm willing to go out and work obediently!"
"AHHH! …AHHH! …AHHH…!"
I turned around and looked at Aqua, who was hugging her head and screaming.
"Hey, you're noisy. What would you do if people think I'm friends with a crazy woman like you? Stop screaming. You should be giving something to me at a time like this. Look at what I'm wearing. A tracksuit? I've finally arrived in a fantasy world and I'm wearing a tracksuit. According to the norm in games, you should be giving me the minimum equipment…"
"AHHH–!"
The goddess screamed as she pounced over to grab me.
"Whoa! What…? What are you doing, don't act this way! I get it! I'll do something about the basic equipment. I should say that I was wrong. If you hate it that much, you can go back. I'll work out the rest on my own."
Aqua tried to strangle me with teary eyes, so I shook off her hands and tried to shoo her away with an annoyed expression.
In the end, Aqua said with trembling hands:
"What are you saying? I'm troubled because I can't go back! What now? Hey, what should I do? What am I going to do from now on?"
Aqua fell into a panic in tears, pacing about while hugging her head.
Her waist-length hair was a mess. She looked crazy right now, although she was a beauty if she didn't speak.
"Hey, calm down, goddess, the first place to visit should be the tavern. Everything starts from collecting information at a tavern, that's the standard in RPGs."
"Huh…? You're supposed to be just a hikikomori-gaming NEET, so why are you so reliable? Ah, Kazuma, my name's Aqua. I don't mind you addressing me as goddess, but do call me by my name whenever possible or else citizens will surround us and we won't be able to go on adventures and take down the Demon King. This might be a different world, but I'm still one of the revered gods in it."
Aqua confidently said as she followed behind me.
All right, there should be a group formed to take on the Demon King or an adventurer's guild made to defeat monsters.
Speaking of which, Aqua was a goddess. Therefore, I could ask her if I had any questions.
"Aqua, please tell me where the adventurer's guild is. Which way should we go?"
I asked Aqua, but she just looked at me blankly.
"…? I wouldn't know even if you ask me. I know the common knowledge of this world, but not the specifics of this town. This is just one of the many existing planets, and just a small town at that! How should I know?"
This girl's useless.
There was no other way, so I asked a middle-aged lady passing by.
I didn't ask any guys for fear of meeting delinquents, and the difficulty of talking to young girls is too high for me.
"Excuse me–may I ask you something? I'm looking for a place like an adventurer's guild…"
"Guild? Oh my, to not know where the guild is, might you be from out of town?"
From what the lady said there really was a guild here, making me relieved.
"That's right; I'm a traveller who came from a faraway land. I just reached this town."
"Oh my… Since you came to this town, you must be aiming to become an adventurer. Welcome to the town of novice adventurers, Axel. Follow the main road and turn right, you'll then see the signboard for the guild."
"Take a right down the road. Got it, thank you very much! … Hey, let's go."
A town for novice adventurers.
I see. This was a good starting point for the dead transported here.
After thanking the lady, I followed her directions while Aqua followed me with respect in her eyes and sighed.
"Hey, you came up with an excuse right on the spot. Why are you able to handle this so perfectly? You seem to be a capable guy, so why were you a hikiNEET without any friends or a girlfriend? Why would you want to stay at home all day and be a hikiNEET?"
"Not having friends or a girlfriend isn't a bad thing. One can't measure the value of a person by the number of friends or by having a significant other. Moreover, don't call me a hikiNEET you damn bitch! Don't combine hikikomori and NEET together…! I'm just sixteen; I'm too young to be a NEET by society's standards…! There it is."
Aqua pounced over to strangle me for calling her a bitch, but I ignored her and entered the adventurer's guild.
– Adventurer's Guild –
A place for adventurers to take up quests which was a staple in games; an organization that supports the adventurers.
The job agency of this world.
There was a rather large establishment before us, and the fragrance of food drifted from within.
Some rough characters would certainly be inside.
They might find trouble with me if they see unfamiliar faces.
After preparing myself mentally and entering…
"Ah, welcome. Please approach the counter if you're looking for quests. If you're here to dine, then please take any empty seat…!"
A waitress with short red hair received us warmly.
The slightly dim interior seemed to double as a bar.
Seen congregating inside were groups of men in armor, but they didn't seem to bear ill will.
However, unfamiliar faces seems to be rare, as everyone was focusing on us.
… I realized why they were looking this way.
"Hey, they're looking this way too blatantly. It must be the holy aura coming from me; they must've discovered that I'm a goddess."
The reason was the appearance of the goddess speaking dumb words.
She was a beauty as long as she didn't speak, after all, so everyone's eyes were attracted to her.
For now, I ignored their gazes and went about my original objective.
"… Listen carefully, Aqua… They'll give us a tutorial if we register, enabling us to earn a living; that's the kind of place adventurer guilds are. We should be able to take out a loan to prepare ourselves, complete simple jobs to get by and introduce ourselves to a good tavern. Most games start out this way. Normally, preparing the minimum essentials to live in this world should be your job, but never mind that. For today, let's register with the guild, get some equipment and money, and find a place to sleep."
"I don't care about that. My job's sending the dead to this world, but I get it. I'm not familiar with games, but what you said seems to be common sense for this world. So I just need to register to be an adventurer too, right?"
"That's right. All right then, let's go."
Taking Aqua with me, I made a beeline for the counter.
There were four counter staff members.
Two of them were female.
I queued up at the counter with the prettier lady.
"… Hey, the other three counters are empty. Why are you queuing here? We won't have to wait if we go to another counter… Ah, because this counter worker's the prettiest, huh? Really, I was a bit impressed and thought that you were reliable just now, but you're really doing this?"
Aqua, who was following me, didn't seem to know anything, so I whispered to her quietly:
"Building a good rapport with the guild's counter staff are the basics, and the pretty counter lady definitely has plenty of flags to raise. This means that there'll be more shocking hidden side quests waiting for us. For example, the counter lady might be a powerful adventurer or something."
"… Now that you mention it, I saw something similar in a manga. Sorry, I'll wait in line obediently."
Because we didn't approach the other empty counters and intentionally queued here, the other staff people were looking at us curiously. Nevertheless, I decided to pretend not to notice.
It was finally our turn.
"Good morning, how may I help you?"
The counter worker was a gentle beauty.
Her wavy hair and large breasts made her look mature.
"Eh, I want to become an adventurer. I come from the countryside and don't know anything…"
If I tell the counter worker that I come from the countryside or a faraway nation, they'll give a more thorough explanation.
"I see. There'll be a registration fee, will that be okay?"
That's right this was the basic tutorial.
I would just need to follow the instructions of the counter worker…
… Registration fee?
"… Hey Aqua, got any cash on you?"
"I was transported here suddenly, so how would it be possible for me to have any money?"
… How can this be, shouldn't they loan some money to us or put it on a tab for now?
I moved away from the counter and discussed strategy with Aqua.
"… Hey, what now? We're in a pinch right from the beginning. In games, you'll normally get starting equipment, as well as some money for living expenses."
"You suddenly become unreliable. However, there's no helping it, since you're a hikikomori after all. All right, it's time for me to shine. Just watch, I'll show you the capability of a goddess."
Seated at a table wearing the loose and cumbersome clothing of a priest was a man.
Aqua approached the man confidently…
"Man of the cloth, please state thy religion! I'm Aqua. That's right, the goddess Aqua worshipped by the religious order of Axis! If thou art a believer…! … May you give me some aid by lending me some money?"
With an attitude that seemed lofty yet humble, she asked him for money.
"… I'm from the Eris Sect."
"Ah… I see, sorry…"
I didn't get it, but they seem to be from different religious orders.
As the dejected Aqua was preparing to come back, the priest stopped her.
"Ah… Madam, you must be a follower of Axis. There were stories about Goddess Aqua and Goddess Eris being close, so this must be fate. I've been observing you. Might you be having trouble paying the registration fee? It's just a small fee, so please take it as a blessing from Goddess Eris. But no matter how devout you are, you shouldn't use the title of goddess in vain."
"Ah… Okay, sorry… Thank you very much…"
The eyes of Aqua looked dead as she returned with the money.
"Ha, he didn't believe that I'm a goddess… By the way, Goddess Eris's my junior. I was pitied by the believer of my junior goddess and received his money…"
"What matters is that you completed the task. Think about it. If he really believed that you were a goddess, there'd be a different kind of trouble!"
Aqua had an expression that seemed to say she lost something important, so I half-heartedly encouraged her.
"Eh, we're back with the registration fees."
"I… I see… The registration fee is 1,000 eris…"
Aqua received 3,000 eris from the priest.
According to Aqua, one eris was about one yen. Therefore, she received about 3,000 yen.
The counter lady didn't interfere with the commotion we stirred up, but was unwilling to look both of us in the eye.
It seemed that I'd broken the flag between this lady and me.
"All right. Since you said you want to become an adventurer, you should have some level of understanding, but I'll explain it from the start… First, adventurers are responsible for the extermination of monsters wandering outside the town, people who get rid of dangerous creatures that might harm the citizens. They're also jacks-of-all-trades, taking on odd jobs that require their talents. Collectively known as adventurers are people who earn a living this way. And among adventurers, there are different jobs."
Finally, it was coming.
This was a norm for adventurers. Be it jobs, class, or whatever it's called, you had to choose the way you fought in this world.
Compared to the blunt warrior profession, flashy jobs like mages should be better.
The counter lady handed Aqua and I one card each.
It was about the size of a driver's license and seemed to be a kind of identification card.
"Please look over here; do you see the word 'Level'? As both of you know, all things in the world have souls no matter what form it takes. If you eat or kill a being, you can absorb a part of the memory of the soul, known as 'Experience Points.'
"Experience Points are normally intangible things, but…"
The counter lady pointed to one part of the card and continued.
"With this card, the Experience Points the adventurer absorbs will be shown here. At the same time, the level corresponding to your experience points will be displayed here. This shows how strong an adventurer is. How many enemies you defeat will be recorded here. With the accumulation of experience points, all creatures will grow stronger rapidly at some point, known as leveling up. Simply put, leveling up will grant you all sorts of benefits, such as skill points to learn new skills. So please work hard to increase your level."
After listening to the explanation, I recalled something Aqua said.
She asked me, "Do you like games?"
I got it. After listening to all that, this world was just like a game.
"First, please fill in your height, weight, age and other details in the blanks."
I filled in my measurements on the form given to me by the counter lady.
Height was 165 cm (5 ft., 5 in), weight 55 kg (121 lbs.). Sixteen years old, black hair and eyes…
"That'll be fine, please touch this card. This will display the strength of each of your abilities for reference when choosing your job. After accumulating skill points, you can learn skills that are available for your job. This is one of the key points in choosing occupations."
Oh, it was time for this.
The time to show my amazing potential and create a big commotion in the guild.
With tense emotions and a heart full of expectation, I touched the card.
"… All right, thank you. Satou Kazuma-san, right? Let's see… Strength, vitality, magic, agility and speed… All of them are average. Intelligence is slightly better than average… Huh? Luck's very high, but it's not very relevant for adventurers… This is troubling. From the numbers, you can only choose the most basic Adventurer job! Since your luck's so high, I suggest you give up being an adventurer and be a merchant instead… What'll you like to do?"
Hey, denying my life of adventuring right from the very start!? What was this?
The corners of Aqua's lips were high in a smile, tempting me to punch her.
My being weak doesn't help your cause, you know.
"Um… I'd like to become an Adventurer…"
The counter lady said with a face of worry:
"I-It's fine. After levelling up and raising your stats, you can change your job! In addition, the Adventurer job is just what it sounds like; it's a combination of all jobs. That's right, it might be a basic level job, but it doesn't mean it's worse than the others! Adventurers can learn and use the skills of all jobs after all!"
"On the other hand, you'll need more skill points to learn skills. Without the bonus attribute of the actual job, your skills will be weaker when compared to them. It's a jack of all trades, master of none."
After the counter lady pointed out the good points, Aqua immediately shot them down.
I should find a place to throw her away.
It seemed that I would be taking a basic job, a beginner job.
Anyway, it was the weakest job.
However, I was still an adventurer that appeared in this world.
As I received my card with my name and the job 'Adventurer' written on it with a heavy heart…
"Eh? Huh? What's with these numbers? Leaving the lower than average intelligence and rock bottom luck aside, the rest of your stats drastically exceed the average! Especially your magic, it's abnormally high! Who in the world are you…?"
The counter lady screamed after looking at the card Aqua touched.
The place was in an uproar.
… Weird, shouldn't that be happening to me instead?
"Ah, is that right? Therefore, it means I'm amazing. Oh my, it's normal by my standard."
No matter how useless, she was still a goddess.
However, Aqua being so happy that she became embarrassed pissed me off.
"This… This is way beyond amazing! Mage-type jobs that require high intelligence aren't available… However, you may choose any other job! The holy knight with its strongest defense, Crusader; the swordsman with the strongest attack, Sword Master; and the top-tier cleric, Archpriest. You may choose from most of the top-tier jobs right now!"
Slightly troubled by the counter lady's exclamation, Aqua said:
"Well, it's a pity that goddess isn't available as a job. It'll be Archpriest for me then."
"Archpriest! Archpriests can use all kinds of recovery and support spells. They can even take the role of vanguards, a strong all-rounder job! I'll register you now… Done. Welcome to the adventurer's guild, Aqua-sama! All of our staff look forward to your grand exploits!"
The counter lady said with a pleasant smile.
… Strange, what was this?
As I said, this should've happened to me…
Ah, forget it–
With that, my life as an adventurer began in this world.
"All right, good work everyone–! That's it for today! Here, this is today's salary."
"Thank you! Good job today, boss–!"
"Good job–!"
After the boss announced the end of the workday, Aqua and I received our salary, bowed and thanked him.
"Everyone, we'll make a move first–!"
"Goodbye–!"
"Oh–thanks for your hard work! I'm counting on you tomorrow too."
I bid farewell to my seniors while Aqua followed my lead.
After hearing the reply from the seniors, Aqua and I left the workplace.
Ah, I worked the whole of today too.
Even I was beginning to doubt that I was ever a hikikomori.
Aqua and I took our salary for the day and headed for the public bath.
The public bath was no different from the ones in Japan.
Judging from the average salary, the entrance fee was higher than Japan's. However, I couldn't change the habit of taking a bath after finishing work.
"Ah, I'm alive again…"
I soaked my shoulders in the warm water, leisurely relieving my fatigue from work.
This place seemed to be from the middle ages, so I thought it would've been luxurious to take a bath here, but that was just me.
I was grateful, so grateful…!
After leaving the bath, I saw Aqua waiting for me at the entrance.
Bathing longer than a girl was a bit off-putting, but that was the nature of the Japanese.
"What would you like to eat today? I want some smoked-lizard hamburger steak and the heart-freezing crimson Neroid!"
"I want to eat meat too, so let's go to the tavern and get two smoked-lizard steak set meals."
"Agreed!"
After finishing our meal, Aqua and I didn't have anything to do and went to the stables.
After picking hay not stained by horse manure to make a bed, we laid down immediately.
Aqua was sleeping beside me as usual.
"Well then, good night."
"Good night. Phew… I worked hard today too…"
With that, I drifted off into dreamland…
"No, wait a minute!"
I suddenly sat up.
"What is it? Did you forget to go to the washroom? It's dark out there; do you need me to accompany you?"
"No way! Hold on, it's not that. I just realized that we've been living the life of manual labourers so far."
Indeed.
For the past two weeks, Aqua and I have been working on the walls outside the city.
We were construction workers.
That was too far off from the adventurer life I was aspiring to live in this world.
Or rather, why'd Aqua get so used to this lifestyle without any complaints?
Weren't you a goddess?
"You don't work, you don't eat, isn't that obvious? HikiNEETs are fussy. If you prefer to, you can work as a store clerk too!"
"No! It's not that. How should I put this? What I'm after is exciting battles against monsters! A life like that! Moreover, isn't this world in a crisis with the invasion of the Demon King? Isn't it amazingly peaceful here? There are no signs of demons at all!"
I got worked up as I spoke. As my voice grew louder, our neighbours lectured me.
"Hey, can it! Be quiet!"
"Ah, sorry!"
Adventurers who were just starting out were poor.
It was normally impossible for us to rent a room in the tavern every night.
Usually, adventurers would share the rent with other adventurers and sleep in the communal room.
Alternatively, they could do what we were doing and sleep on the hay in the stables.
Yes, this was different from the adventurer lifestyle in an alternate world that I was looking forward to.
Staying in the tavern daily was the same as sleeping in a hotel every day in Japan.
It was impossible for adventurers with an unstable income to do so.
… Indeed, our income wasn't stable.
No simple herb-picking or monster-hunting quests that appeared in games were available.
Monsters didn't burst into loot and money when you killed them.
In addition, the forest near town has long since been cleared of monsters.
The forest had turned safe after the monsters were gone, so no one would hire people to harvest materials for them.
This was obvious.
The outdoors was so safe that the children could roam free.
There were guards manning the gate, but instead of maintaining round-the-clock security, it was easier to exterminate all the dangerous monsters since the forest wasn't too large.
It was the most logical method, but I'd rather not know this.
An adventurer who was just slightly stronger than normal people spending half a day harvesting herbs that were easy to spot and earning enough for food and lodging.
There was no way such an easy job existed.
Japan was a prosperous nation on Earth, but even so, no laborer could live in a hotel on their daily pay.
Minimum wage? Labour laws? What were those? Could we eat them?
That was the kind of world this was.
"It's useless even if you tell me these things. This is the town furthest away from the Demon King's castle after all! Who would come all the way to attack a town of beginners at the borders…? Anyway… Kazuma wants to live more like an adventurer, right? You don't even have the proper equipment!"
Aqua went straight to the point, and I couldn't protest.
That was right, Aqua and I didn't even have a full set of basic equipment. We were hoping to buy them, which was why we were working so hard at the construction site.
"I'm getting bored of construction too. I didn't come to this world to be a labourer; I came to this world with no computers and games to adventure. And didn't you send me here to challenge the Demon King?"
After hearing what I said, Aqua made a 'what are you talking about' face, pondered for a moment, and then responded:
"Oh! There was such a thing! I forgot, immersed in the happiness of working. I can't go back if Kazuma doesn't defeat the Demon King."
Listening to her dumb reply, I recalled the counter lady's words. It seemed that this girl's intelligence really was below average.
"All right, let's go challenge the Demon King! Don't worry; it'll be a breeze with me here! Look forward to my performance!"
"That makes me uneasy… However, you're a goddess after all, so I'm counting on you! Okay, we'll buy some basic weapons and armor with the money we saved and go grinding tomorrow!"
"Leave it to me!"
"Didn't I tell you two to can it? Do you want me to beat you up?"
"I'm very sorry!"
As we apologized to the other adventurers, I got ready to sleep with a heart full of excitement.
– Under the clear blue sky.
"Ah! Help! Aqua, save me…!"
"Puhehe! This is hilarious! Kazuma, your face is all red and you have tears in your eyes! You look really desperate!"
Okay, I'll bury this girl before going back.
As I made up my mind, I continued to run and scream for help as a giant frog-like monster chased me.
This was the open plain outside of town.
We took a quest from the guild in the morning and headed there.
As for the bare minimum weapon needed, I chose a short sword.
Aqua was acting dumb, saying a goddess wielding weapons was unglamorous and wasn't equipped with anything. She was leisurely watching the frogs chase me.
Don't look down on them just because they're frogs.
They were bigger than bulls. It was their mating season, so they were accumulating nutrition to lay eggs. They roamed around human settlements where food was more plentiful, swallowing goats raised by farmers in a single gulp.
If they could swallow a goat whole, swallowing Aqua and me would be easy too.
In fact, children and farmers often went missing during their mating season.
Even though they looked just like frogs, they were still dangerous monsters, stronger than the small and exterminated monsters near town.
By the way, their meat was a bit tough, but it was pleasant and refreshing. A rather popular ingredient.
Their thick fat was effective against blunt attacks.
They hated metals, so they wouldn't hunt you if you were fully equipped. It was an easy foe for normal adventurers.
That was why skilful adventurers like to hunt them, but…
"Aqua–! Aqua–! Stop laughing and save me–!"
"For starters, add a '-san' when you address me."
"Aqua-sama–!"
I'll bury this girl all the way, only leaving her head above ground. I'll let her know the horror of frogs targeting you.
I was on the verge of tears, looking back at the frog hopping behind me.
At this moment, I realized that the frog was heading in a different direction from me.
Before the frog was…
"Can't be helped–! All right, I'll save you, hikiNEET! However, you'll need to worship this goddess from tomorrow onward! You'll have to join the Aqua sect in town and pray to me three times a day! You can't object if I take any side dishes from you during meals! In addition… Ugh?"
Aqua, who had been puffing her chest out and rambling on about something, disappeared.
I turned my head and saw that the frog had stopped moving.
Something blue was dangling from the corner of its mouth.
That blue thing was…
"Aqua–! You…! How could you get eaten–?"
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Aqua, eaten by the frog, had one spasming leg dangling out of its mouth.
I drew my short sword and charged at the frog!
"Sob… Ugh, ugh– WAHHH…!"
Covered in sticky frog fluid, Aqua was hugging her knees while sitting on the ground before me, sobbing.
Beside her was the frog, its head smashed in.
"Ugh… Sob… Thank, thank you… Kazuma, thank you…! WAHHH…!"
Aqua had been crying non-stop ever since I dragged her out of the frog's mouth.
Even a goddess couldn't stand the horror of being prey.
"Are… Are you okay, Aqua? Be strong… Let's go back for today. The quest we took on was exterminating five frogs in three days, but they weren't opponents we could handle. Let's try again when we've got better equipment. Look, I only have a short sword, no armor, and I'm still wearing my tracksuit. Let's come back when we're dressed more like adventurers."
To be honest, a novice like me only defeated the frog because it stopped moving as it tried to swallow Aqua.
If the frog had attacked me without hesitation, I wouldn't have had the courage to face it.
Aqua stood up with the glossy fluid all over her body.
"Ugh… For a goddess like me to be humiliated by a frog; how can we retreat? I'm already defiled. If a believer sees how dirty I am… Their faith will most certainly plummet! If people knew that I ran from frogs, it'd be a disgrace to the name of the beautiful Goddess Aqua!"
You didn't have worry about that. You carried several times more construction materials at the work site than the men did, whilst looking happy working. Your greatest joy was eating dinner after taking a bath; you were sleeping so soundly that you even drooled while sleeping in the stables beside me. After seeing the way you conduct yourself, being covered in goo isn't too much.
However, before I could stop her, Aqua charged toward another frog in the distance.
"Ah! Hey, hold up, Aqua!"
Aqua ignored my voice, drawing closer to the frog and using her momentum to throw a punch at its belly.
"Feel the wrath of a goddess! You dare to oppose a goddess!? Repent in hell! God Blow!"
I remembered the staff member in the guild telling me that physical attacks weren't effective against giant frogs.
Her fist sunk into the soft abdomen, while the frog seemed unaffected…
Aqua meekly looked the frog in the eye and said softly:
"… Looking closely… frogs are actually quite cute, right?"
… I defeated a second giant frog that stopped moving as it attempted to swallow its prey. The adventure for today ended with me bringing a wailing goddess covered in slime back to town.
"I get it. Just us two isn't enough, so let's recruit more members!"
After returning to town, the first thing we did was head to the bathhouse to wash up. We then ate fried frog meat in the adventurer's guild and discussed our plans.
Apart from being a meeting place for adventurers, the adventurer's guild also doubled as a bar. It allowed adventurers to sell the monsters they hunted, and serving tasty monsters was also a bit of a selling point for them.
We sold the meat of the two frogs we hunted to the guild and earned some allowance in the process.
The frog was too big for the two of us to carry, but, if you turned in a request to the guild, they'd provide delivery service, transporting the monster you defeated.
Selling one frog and deducting the transport fee earned us 5,000 eris.
The earnings were about the same as doing construction work.
However, the slightly tough fried frog meat was unexpectedly tasty, which surprised me.
When I first came to this world, I was a bit hesitant about eating lizards and frogs.
However, after having one prepared and served to me, I found it to be delicious.
Of course, the goddess before me ate anything without hesitation.
"But… Even if we want to recruit comrades, do you think anyone would want to team up with novices like us who don't even have proper equipment?"
With a mouthful of frog meat, Aqua waved the fork in her hand.
"Wiff mi hare, I juice node…"
"Swallow. Swallow before you speak."
After Aqua swallowed, she said:
"With me here, I just need to holler and people will line up to join us. I'm an Archpriest after all, a top-tier job! I can use all sorts of healing spells and support magic, and I can relieve poison and paralysis statuses. I can even perform resurrection, a talent any team would want. I might've fallen into the mortal world, causing my powers to be far from my peak, but I'm still a goddess… Ahem! I'm Aqua-sama after all! I just need to put up a notice and a bunch of people begging me to 'bring me along on quests' will show up! If you understand, then give me another piece of fried frog meat!"
After finishing, the self-proclaimed goddess grabbed a piece of fried frog meat from my plate as I watched her with worried eyes.
– The next day, at the adventurer's guild.
"… No one's coming…"
Aqua dejectedly mumbled to herself.
After displaying a recruitment notice, we sat at a table inside the adventurer's guild and waited for companions to show up. It had been half a day.
The other adventurers saw our notice.
Besides us, several adventurers were recruiting members; they conducted interviews, talked with them and went off.
I knew very well why no one was coming.
"… Hey, let's lower our standard. Our goal's to defeat the Demon King, so such conditions were necessary… However, 'only recruiting top-tier jobs' is a bit too gruelling."
"Ugh… But…"
In this world, adventurer jobs were divided into tiers, with some of them being top tier jobs.
Aqua's Archpriest was one of those top-tier jobs.
It was difficult for normal people to qualify for this job. She could very well be a hero candidate.
Moreover, it was normal for such hero candidates to enjoy a privileged life in other teams…
Aqua probably wanted to recruit powerful companions to take down the Demon King.
However…
"If this goes on, no one will apply! You might have a top-tier job, but mine's the weakest. I'll lose my place if elites suddenly surround me. How about lowering the entry requirements…?"
As I was preparing to stand up…
"I saw the notice recruiting adventurers with top-tiers jobs. Are you the ones who posted it?"
She regarded us with red, sleepy eyes.
Her smooth black hair reached her shoulders.
For us, she was a girl in classic witch attire with a black cloak, dark boots, pointy hat and a staff.
Her features were delicate like a porcelain doll–it was a loli.
It wasn't surprising for children to work in this world…
The small, frail girl who looked to be about 12-13 had an eyepatch covering one eye. She flung aside her cloak hard and said:
"My name is Megumin! My calling is that of an Archwizard, and one who controls the strongest offensive magic, Explosion…!"
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"…Are you here to tease us?"
"I-I'm not!"
I couldn't help retorting at the self-introduction of this girl as she denied in a panic.
Moreover, what was with the name Megumin?
"That red eye, are you a Crimson Demon?"
The girl nodded in response to Aqua's query and presented her adventurer's card to Aqua.
"That's correct! I'm an elite mage from the Crimson Demon Clan, Megumin! My magic's powerful enough to split the mountains…! … That's how it is. Do you need an excellent mage? … By the way, I've a favour to ask. I haven't eaten in three days; may you give me something to eat before the interview…?"
Megumin looked at us with sorrowful eyes.
The heartbreaking 'ugu' sound came from Megumin's stomach region.
"… I'm fine with treating you to a meal, but why are you wearing an eyepatch? If you're injured, do you need this girl to heal you?"
"Humph… This is a magic item to restrain my overwhelming power… If you pull it off, a gigantic disaster will befall the world…
"Oh… So it's something like a seal?"
"I made that up. This is just a normal eyepatch. It just looks nice… Ah, sorry… Please don't pull on that, stop!"
"Eh… Listen Kazuma, Crimson Demons are born with high intellect and strong magic power, with most of them having the potential to become powerful mages. They're well known for their red eyes and their strange names."
Aqua explained as I pulled on Megumin's eyepatch.
… I understood. Just listening to her name and seeing that eyepatch, I thought she was teasing me.
I released the eyepatch and she said sternly:
"It's rude to say that our names are weird. From where I stand, the names of the people in this town are the weird ones."
"… Right, may I ask for your parents' names?"
"My mother's Yuiyui, and my father's Hyoizaburo."
"…"
Aqua and I were silent.
"… Anyway, this girl's race produces many powerful mages, right? Could we recruit her as a companion?"
"Hey, if you've got a problem with the names of my parents, say it to my face!"
As Megumin leaned forward, Aqua returned the adventurer's card to her.
"It should be fine, right? The adventurer's card is real; she has a top-tier job with the ability to use powerful spells–Archwizard. The magic stat on the card's very high, so she has a lot of potential. If she really can use explosion magic, that would be amazing! The explosion spell's the highest-tier spell of the detonation-series magic and is hard to learn."
"Hey! Stop addressing me as she, use my name!"
As Megumin protested, I handed the food menu to her.
"Don't mind the details, order something to eat. My name's Kazuma, and this is Aqua. Pleased to meet you, Archwizard."
Megumin seemed like she had something to say, but in the end she just took the menu quietly.