Simply catching a few giant frogs had exposed all the weaknesses of the team.
They worked the whole day, and by sunset, though they had encountered no fewer than a dozen giant frogs, they had only managed to capture a pitiful three to complete the quest.
Looking at the state of the team, aside from Kanna, who occasionally let out a small burp, Aqua, Uta, and a now timid and self-conscious Escanor were soaked head to toe, covered in sticky frog saliva, looking utterly miserable.
Even worse, Meowth, Brook, and King had quietly left the group, meaning the team was no longer blessed with the protection of King's Luck.
Without that blessing, the air-headed goddess Aqua's terrible misfortune began to manifest, leading them to wander the outskirts for two hours without encountering a single giant frog!
"How about we head back? I feel filthy, and I really, really want to take a nice, long bath," Uta complained, her long red-and-white hair tangled together, with strange slime dripping from her body.
Though Aqua's water magic could clean them, it wasn't long before the wretched frogs swallowed her up again, subjecting them to a continuous cycle of torment.
This experience had thoroughly disgusted Uta, to the point where she seriously considered abandoning the quest and becoming a pirate.
Doing these quests seriously was far too slow for making money!
Well, it's only fitting that she was Shanks' daughter—this kind of rebellious thinking ran deep…
"Aqua-sama, I think going back is probably the best option right now. We're quite far from Axel City,"
The scrawny Escanor weakly agreed.
Though the idea sounded good, the reality was far harsher—despite having skills granted by their adventurer cards, his current pitifully low level meant he couldn't even defeat a giant frog!
"No! We need to catch at least eight more!"
Aqua, who was infamous for giving up halfway through, now had an unexpectedly firm expression on her face.
When they first set out, she had boasted about her power as the Goddess of Water, claiming she could catch ten giant frogs with ease.
If they gave up now and returned, wouldn't that group of adventurers mock her?
Clearly, her reputation, which Zyhark had once said was "completely useless," mattered more to her than giving up.
Thanks to Aqua's stubbornness, the group "successfully"...
Walked several more miles for nothing.
Finally, they stumbled upon a group of lost giant frogs, but by then, Escanor and Uta were completely exhausted, and could only stand by helplessly.
The air-headed goddess, however, still full of energy, ran off to offer herself as frog bait once again.
"Sigh..."
Watching the familiar sight of two legs sticking out of a frog's mouth, both Escanor and Uta sighed deeply.
Just as they were about to drag their exhausted bodies over to rescue her, they heard the sound of treads rolling over the grass behind them.
Turning around, they saw a roughly built tracked robot with mechanical arms resembling a crane.
"Everyone, the real pros have arrived, meow!"
Inside the transparent cockpit sat the three members who had mysteriously vanished: Meowth, Brook, and King.
"Now it's time to reap the rewards, yohohoho~"
Brook, sitting on the left side of the cockpit, surveyed the controls with excitement.
On the right, King remained as stoic and silent as ever.
Here's what happened: Realizing that the team would never complete the quest using traditional methods, Meowth had sensibly decided to temporarily leave the group. He took King and Brook to the city's junkyard, where they built this giant frog-catching robot using scrap metal.
When it came to catching wild animals, Meowth was definitely a pro among pros!
(Though with skills like these, there was no need to go frog-hunting in the first place...)
"Wow! That's such a cool mecha! Did you build it, Meowth?!"
Uta's eyes sparkled with excitement at the sight of the strange contraption.
After joining the Sea Restaurant, Uta had immediately been thrown into battles against forces like the Land of Gods, so she hadn't yet had the chance to appreciate Meowth's high-tech creations.
"It seems Plan B was a success,"
Escanor wasn't surprised at all.
In fact, if it weren't for his concern for Aqua and the two young girls' safety, he would've left with Meowth's group as well.
"Hey, hey, Meowth, what's the name of this machine?"
Kanna shuffled closer, her purple dragon eyes filled with curiosity as she inspected the robot.
"Humph, I call it the 'Giant Frog Catch-Catch-Catch Machine,' meow!"
Meowth, sitting in the cockpit, puffed out his chest, clearly proud of the overly straightforward name.
"Ugh..."
Kanna, who had just been excited about the cool machine, immediately lost interest.
"Hahaha, it's certainly a name that says it all,"
Escanor chuckled. "So, how does it work?"
"Hehe, just watch and see the power of the Giant Frog Catch-Catch-Catch Machine, meow!"
Meowth grinned mischievously. "Brook, could you press the red button in front of you, meow?"
Brook, hearing the instructions, squinted his eyes with a mysterious look.
"This one? Alright, I'm pressing it now."
Brook, who was operating the machine for the first time, couldn't hide his excitement.
After taking a moment to calm his nerves, his skeletal fingers slowly reached forward and pressed the nearest button.
Whirr!
The sound of gears turning echoed, and Brook's seat quickly folded.
After a dizzying spin, when Brook opened his eyes again (despite being a skeleton), his view had shifted from the enclosed cockpit to the wide-open plains.
A sturdy rope tied his skeletal body firmly in place—he had been hung from the machine's mechanical arm!
"Wait, wait, what's going on here?"
Brook suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Shouldn't giant frogs have zero resistance to bones?"
Meowth smirked slyly. "Brook, I'll leave it to you to serve as bait, meow."
"It's dogs that can't resist bones, you idiot!!"
Brook protested, his dignity shattered.
So that enthusiastic invitation to join in the action was just part of this devious plan!
Damn it, Meowth! Even old bones have feelings, you know!!
King, sitting silently on the right, shifted his seat ever so slightly.
Ignoring Brook's futile complaints, Meowth shoved the control lever forward.
The engine roared to life, and with Brook-as-bait hanging from the mechanical arm, the Giant Frog Catch-Catch-Catch Machine moved toward the nearest giant frog.
Brook swung back and forth from the mechanical arm, successfully attracting the attention of the giant green frog.
With a powerful kick from its hind legs, the frog leaped high into the air, its flexible tongue extending toward Brook, swallowing him whole in one gulp.
Wait, this thing actually eats bones?!
Seeing the prey take the bait, Meowth immediately pressed the capture button.
In the next instant, the mechanical arm swiftly retracted, pulling the saliva-covered Brook from the frog's mouth, while a hidden cannon fired a metal net, easily trapping the giant frog!
"Wow! That was so easy!"
Seeing the giant frog wriggling in the custom-made net, Uta couldn't help but marvel.
Compared to this, all their previous efforts seemed utterly worthless.
"Uta, that's the power of the Inventor class, meow,"
Meowth bragged.
"...Wasn't that always your ability?"
Uta retorted.
"At this rate, we should have no problem reaching Aqua's goal of ten frogs,"
Escanor remarked seriously.
"Speaking of Aqua, where is she? I haven't seen her, meow."
Meowth's curious question plunged the scene into an awkward silence.
Oh no! Aqua!
Realizing their blunder, Escanor and Uta immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
As they hurried to rescue her, they spotted Aqua, who had been swallowed by a giant frog, now sitting dejectedly on the ground, knees hugged to her chest, surrounded by sticky saliva.
Next to her was the lifeless body of the frog, while Kanna poked at its belly, confirming that it was indeed dead.
Once again, the sensible baby dragon had saved the day.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they didn't think a goddess like Aqua could die in her own world, it was still a close call.
However, after everything that had happened, it seemed the air-headed goddess was mentally defeated.
No matter how much her companions tried to cheer her up, she sat there with a dead-eyed expression.
"It's over, I'm done for. As a goddess, I was swallowed by a dirty, ugly frog."
"I'm finished, completely finished."
Aqua muttered to herself, her once "wise" eyes now dull and lifeless.
Covered in indescribable sticky saliva, the entire scene could easily be misinterpreted.
Meowth and the others had never seen Aqua like this before. Left with no choice, they abandoned their frog-catching quest and decided to take her back to Axel City.
"Too bad. I wanted to test if muscles were on a giant frog's menu, meow," Meowth sighed quietly.
King's eyebrow twitched: Dude! You were really planning to launch me next, weren't you?!
Thank goodness for you, Aqua!
As the group trudged back, none of them noticed a figure hiding beneath a nearby tree, panting heavily, with eyes filled with a burning desire, watching them intently!
…
Back in Axel City, the night had fully set in, and the once-bustling streets had grown calm.
Thankfully, with fewer people around, their sticky, disheveled appearances went unnoticed.
The lights at the Adventurer's Guild were still on, and apart from the ever-dedicated Luna, a few adventurers were scattered around, drinking and celebrating their day's earnings.
After tallying the number of giant frogs, Luna promptly handed over the bounty.
"So, what exactly happened to you guys? Aqua-sama doesn't seem to be doing too well,"
Luna, leaning on the counter with one hand, looked at Aqua curiously.
"To be honest, we ran into a few setbacks,"
Escanor adjusted his comically outdated glasses and briefly explained the situation.
"I see. It's really no big deal, getting eaten by a giant frog is normal for beginner adventurers,"
Luna nodded slightly before glancing at the dejected Aqua. "Usually, a bit of alcohol and a good night's sleep will fix things, but I'm not sure about Aqua-sama..."
Alcohol?
Alcohol!
Those two casual words hit Aqua's mind like a bolt of lightning, instantly reviving her spirit.
"Alcohol! After a long, tiring day, of course we need to drink some good wine!"
And just like that, the freshly earned bounty turned into bubbly drinks, all downed by Aqua and the other adventurers.
—Because, well, drinking is only fun when everyone joins in!
The rejuvenated goddess declared with a big smile.
While it was a bit of a waste, Meowth and the others had no intention of stopping her.
At that moment, they all had the same thought: It doesn't matter, as long as our goddess is back to normal.
Money? With the Giant Frog Catch-Catch-Catch Machine, they didn't need to worry—they could just earn more tomorrow!
And so, with Aqua's unique song-and-dance performance stealing the show, Uta and Brook provided the music, and everyone enjoyed a lively party.
Unfortunately, happy times are always short-lived.
Aqua, who had run off to vomit rainbows in the alley, and their all-too-familiar home in the stables reminded Meowth and the others of the cruel reality.
Tomorrow, they vowed. Tomorrow, they would sleep in a proper inn with big, soft beds!
Meanwhile…
Under the cover of darkness, the headless knight Beldia, an officer in the Demon Lord's army, rode his equally headless black horse, leading a group of demon soldiers to the outskirts of Axel City.
After some searching, Beldia set his sights on an abandoned castle with no residents.
The task given to him by the new Demon Lord was to investigate a strange group of newcomers who were gathering around the beginner town, Axel City.
As an upright and honorable knight (self-proclaimed), Beldia had no interest in bullying the weak.
But he couldn't refuse the Demon Lord's orders, so he pretended to follow through, bringing his subordinates to take a vacation and slack off here.
Satisfied with the size of the abandoned castle, Beldia immediately decided to make it his temporary base and secretly observe Axel City.
And so, a group of demons moved into the abandoned castle in broad daylight.
Ever the neat freak, Beldia rallied his subordinates, and together they cleaned the cobweb-filled castle until it was spotless.
After completing the task, Beldia poured himself a glass of wine and leisurely admired the beautiful night.
…
The next day, the seven-member team, full of confidence, gathered once again and set out toward the outskirts in pursuit of their dreams.
However, they had barely left the city gates when a beautiful woman clad in armor suddenly appeared on the street, blocking their way.
"I'm sorry if this sounds sudden, but you guys are headed out to catch giant frogs, right?"
Her blonde ponytail swayed as her curvaceous body reddened, her gaze intense, and she exhaled heavily.
"Please, I beg you, let me join your team!"
(End of Chapter)