Part 1
"Assistant-kun, Assistant-kun! Look! There's a really big inn over there! Shall we stay there tonight?"
Chris, who has been in high spirits since she joined up with us, said cheerfully.
"Big Boss, do you have the money to stay in such a fancy place? I always got the impression that you're the kind of person who quickly blows away all your money the moment you get it."
Chris and I were sitting in the back of the carriage, looking around for a good inn to spend the night as Darkness handled the horses.
"Of course not. I donated most of my money to the Eris Church and drank the rest."
"That's no good, Big Boss. Then what are you going to do about tonight?"
In response, she gave me a glowing smile.
"Oh, Assistant-kun, are we really that distant? Haven't we ran around the city at night together? We're already close friends, aren't we? Such close friends should of course sleep in the same place!"
In other words, 'please handle my lodging fees for tonight.'
Well, I don't particularly mind doing so, but Darkness interrupted before I could give my reply.
"I'll cover Chris' lodging fees. You did rush all the way here from Axel to help, after all… Still, Chris, it's not bad to be so devoted to Eris-sama, but for the sake of your future, you should at least consider saving up some money."
"Yay! Thanks, Darkness! Yeah, I'll think a little more about my future from now on."
Saying that, Chris hugged Darkness around the neck from behind.
"You don't need to thank me. You're the person I'm most worried about. I have my family estate, Kazuma here has both a mansion and a fortune. Aqua and Megumin can rely on him for their daily fees. But what about you, Chris? You don't have a fixed home nor do you have any savings. Sure, it's very adventurer-like, but maybe you should consider moving together with us…"
"N-No, I'll be fine, Darkness. I might not look like it, but I have plenty of places to stay, so I can get by somehow."
Chris slightly averted her gaze after being lectured by Darkness.
"Tell me how exactly do you plan to 'get by'!? You're not planning on breaking the law again, are you? If you get caught, I can't just let you be. It might be different in the past, but right now I have to use my authority in a just manner. Please don't make me have to do that."
"What happened, Darkness? Why would the hardheaded Darkness say something like that? Hey, it's your fault, isn't it? You were the one who led her astray! Give her back! Return my earnest, hardheaded and easily fooled Darkness to me!"
"Don't blame me, Big Boss. She's always been a little shot in the head."
—While we were fooling around in front of the gates, the sound of a bell emerged from the town, signalling that it was evening.
"Hey, Big Boss, we should go stake the place out soon. And now that I think about it, we don't really need a place to stay. There's a girl who needs the medicine as soon as possible, so we should leave as soon as we are done here."
Now that Chris is here, our next course of action is clear.
Obviously, that would be…
"Uuu, do I have no choice but to be an accomplice to a crime…? Me, personally…"
Darkness, who has been agonizing over this for quite some time, buried her face in her hands and grumbled.
"Now, now, Darkness, this is necessary in order to save a girl's life, right? Then we don't have a choice. I do feel a little sorry for this Lord Zereschrute guy, but we need those ingredients."
Chris patted Darkness on the shoulder.
Regarding why Chris is here…
According to the person in question, it's just because she felt like it.
But I know that Darkness prayed at the Eris church before she left on the journey.
In other words…
"Big Boss, you really do take good care of your flock."
"…? I don't really get it, but thank you?"
By the way, if you are wondering why Chris is so calm even though we are about to infiltrate a devil's castle, that'll be because we still haven't told her the true identity of that penguin.
Darkness mentioned that Chris has this weird tendency to fly into an uncharacteristic rage whenever she sees an undead or devil, so we should try and keep it a secret.
Knowing Chris' true identity, it'd be really troublesome if she were to turn this grab-and-dash into a devil extermination mission, so I agreed.
"Anyway, Big Boss, please stop looking around like that. You aren't a country bumpkin, you know? Plus, your silver hair is really distinctive."
Perhaps because it's been some time since she's been in a party, Chris has been oddly energetic and was looking around with amazement like a person from the countryside who's just caught her first glimpse of the big city.
"I've been curious about it for some time, but when did the two of you get this close to each other? You two even formed some kind of thieving band before I realized it. I don't recall you having that much contact with each other…"
In response to Darkness's probing question, Chris flashed her a cheeky grin and prodded her in the shoulder.
"What's the matter, Darkness? Does the relationship I have with Assistant-kun bother you? Come to think of it, I still haven't asked how far you got with Assistant-kun, right? I wouldn't mind answering your question if you are willing to answer mine."
Hearing Chris' unnecessary comments, Darkness glanced at me and blushed.
Seeing that reaction, Chris pulled me aside and whispered.
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"Hey, Assistant-kun, Assistant-kun, Darkness is acting really strange. Just what did you do?"
As expected of Darkness's old pal, she picked up on our awkwardness quickly.
"I didn't do anything. In fact, we are so awkward because I didn't do anything. Simply put, Darkness confessed to me, but I rejected her because things have been going well between Megumin and me."
"Eeh? You rejected Darkness!?"
I could see the reins start to tremble in Darkness's hand.
"Big Boss, you're way too loud! We are awkward enough as it is, so why do you need to say that!?"
"But… But…!"
I couldn't see Darkness's face from behind, but I think her ears are a little redder than before.
Yeah, look at what you've done! She's definitely still worried about it!
"Assistant-kun, does that mean you're going out with Megumin?"
Chris excitedly asked as she brought her face closer to mine.
"No, right now we are more than friends, but not yet lovers, I think."
"What does that even mean? How far did you go with her? Have you kissed her yet?"
What's with this goddess?
Why is she so interested in matters of romance?
Darkness must have been interested in our whisperings too. She's been resolutely staring forwards and focusing on the reins ever since we started on this topic, but I still saw her ears perk at Chris's questions.
"I didn't do anything with Megumin yet…"
Though we did share a bath, held hands, and hugged each other in the same futon…
"I'm surprised. I always thought Assistant-kun was more unrestrained, the kind who would eat a girl up if given a chance."
Well, sorry for giving off that kind of impression.
It's just that I don't have the resolve to take responsibility and go all the way with her yet.
"I see, so Darkness still has a chance, right?"
"No, I'm a pretty faithful man, you know? Even if you try and fan the flames like that…"
Yeah, it was really hard for me to reject her.
To be honest, I wanted to cry.
… No, considering the stuff we got up to immediately afterwards, I suppose I really can't say that.
Smiling from ear to ear, Chris said,
"But you are the surprisingly responsible type, aren't you? If you cross a line here, you'll take responsibility, right? Then, if Darkness properly kisses you now, not on the cheek but a proper kiss, then you…"
She said while nudging me with her elbow.
"I have already kissed Darkness. On the lips."
"Wait, what!? Didn't you have a thing going on with Megumin!? You haven't done anything with her, but you have done that with Darkness? What does that mean? I'm still young so I don't really understand what you adults are saying!"
Ignoring Chris' shocked reactions,
"Hey, Darkness, doesn't that spot look like a good place to stop this carriage? It seems to be pretty secluded."
"Yeah, I guess there's fine."
"Hey, don't just ignore me! Tell me! Hey, Darkness, we're old pals, right? So tell me exactly what happened that led to you kissing him!"
"Kazuma, just what are you telling her!? Please don't ask any more about that, Chris!"
Darkness said in a panic as her face once again turned bright red.
Part 2
After stopping the carriage, Chris continued bombarding Darkness with questions.
Then Darkness returned the favour by asking Chris about what she usually gets up to, and thus time passed.
And now…
Under the cover of the night, we once again approached Count Zereschrute's castle.
After sneaking into all sorts of places with with Chris, I think I've gotten used to infiltrating buildings like this.
What is the best way to get into this castle…
Just as I'm considering that, Darkness, who had her face hidden with a handkerchief like Chris, tugged on my shirt.
"Hey, Kazuma, just what are you agonizing over? We have already come this far, so let's go. The children are suffering as we speak… I've already prepared myself mentally, so stop dragging your feet and go."
Darkness nervously whispered into my ear.
Darkness has removed her heavy armour. Clad only in the slightly erotic black bodysuit that she wears underneath, she looks much more like a burglar than we do.
"Okay, Darkness, we are professionals. Regarding such matters, you are a newcomer, so you need to listen to what we professionals say."
"Yeah, Darkness, you're a noble lady, so you aren't too familiar with such stuff, right? Don't worry, leave it to Chris-san. After all, Assistant-kun and I were the ones who successfully broke into the royal castle."
We confidently declared, but Darkness gave us a doubtful look.
"Sure, you infiltrated the castle, but didn't you end up getting chased all over the place?"
In response, Chris flusteredly pointed at me.
"That's because Assistant-kun…"
"Big Boss, now's not the time to reminiscence about the past. Even as we speak, the children are…"
"That's true, but I don't want to hear it from you!"
Ignoring Chris making a fuss, I activated Farsight and began searching for a good infiltration route.
The castle is surrounded by high walls, the main gate is tightly shut, and there doesn't seem to be anything that looks like a back door.
We can't possibly dig underneath those walls to get into the castle, so that leaves…
"Big Boss, did you bring a rope?"
"Of course. Ropes are the best friend of thieves."
I nodded with Chris and we both pulled out a rope from somewhere.
"Do the two of you normally walk around with those things? No, I suppose you brought them because you knew we'd be sneaking in…"
"That's not it, a thief needs to have something like this on hand at all times."
Darkness seemed to be taken aback after hearing Chris's words.
"Big Boss, Darkness is a sheltered lady, so what's common sense for us may not seem like it to her…"
"Ah, right, sorry, Darkness."
Darkness doesn't seem fully convinced after hearing our exchange, but she still quietly followed after us.
There are gatekeepers at the gate, but they won't be able to monitor the entirety of the outer wall at once.
We went around to the back of the castle, attached our ropes to grappling hooks, and threw them over the wall. A quick pull confirmed they were properly secured.
Darkness seems to be impressed after observing our actions.
"You seem pretty skilled at this."
Hearing Darkness's compliments, Chris and I each grabbed our own ropes and started climbing…
"Damnit, the rope's too slippery to climb!"
"Assistant-kun, given the strength of my arms, it'd be pretty difficult to get over this wall."
"Big Boss, let's tie some knots into the ropes. That'll give us some handholds and make it easier to climb."
Seeing us fussing over the rope,
"Hey, you two, I think I'll be able to climb up just like that with my strength. Should I go up first and pull you two up?"
Darkness timidly made such a suggestion.
"Hey, Darkness, a newbie like you shouldn't just say whatever comes to mind."
"Yeah, Darkness, a moment of carelessness could cost you your life. You don't have experience, so it might seem easier than it actually is to you. Just leave it to us."
"I-is that so? Sorry, I shouldn't have interrupted."
Still, if she's this motivated…
Respecting her enthusiasm, we ended up sending her up first.
Having climbed all the way up using only her strength, Darkness then pulled us up.
Thus having safely gotten onto the walls, we warily approached the castle.
"Right, then, Darkness, follow behind us."
"Big Boss and I both possess the Lurk skill, but you obviously can't use it, so don't let go of my hand, okay?"
"O-Okay!"
Darkness obediently grabbed my hand.
"Right, since you're my underling for this mission, you can call me Kazuma-senpai."
"Kazuma-senpai."
"Yeah, just like that."
Hey, that actually sounds pretty nice.
"Darkness, can you say that again?"
"Ka-Kazuma-senpai."
"Hey, Assistant-kun, stop fooling around and let's go already."
Chris butted in after I made Darkness call me that several times.
"Big Boss, didn't you ask me to do a similar thing when I first became your underling?"
"This and that are different matters. Anyway, let's hurry on, Assistant-kun."
Having regained my composure, I explained to Darkness,
"Listen up, newbie. Around this time, the master of the place will most likely be at the higher floors. Most big shots and bosses prefer to live in high places."
In response to my flawless explanation, Chris silently nodded in agreement.
"No, I've visited this castle many times before. Lord Zereschrute should be sleeping close to the arena where the monsters are. Let's head there first."
And the newbie Darkness said such a thing…
"Right, Darkness, what we just told you is what to expect in general. Of course, we are aware of where the master of this castle currently is. We have the Enemy Detection skill, after all."
Chris once again nodded along to my words.
"I-is that so? Sorry, I once again said something unnecessary."
Darkness hurriedly apologized.
"No, that's fine. You're new to this, so it's to be expected. And there are times when a newcomer can offer a fresh perspective on things. It's fine to voice out if you think something amiss. Right, then, let's head to the basement… Wait, before that…"
There's a door barring our entry into the castle proper.
While there's a gatekeeper at the main gate, I can't detect the presence of anyone behind this door.
Is it because there's no need for such stringent security measures when you are in a remote town like this? Or is it because there's no need for a devil to be so guarded?
"This is my turn to shine. I'll have it open in a jiffy with my Lockpicking skill."
Chris confidently said as she approached the door…
"Assistant-kun, this is bad! There's no keyhole on this door!"
"Are you serious, Big Boss? What should we do now? This isn't a magic door that can only be opened with a password or something, is it?"
Having run into such an unexpected obstacle, we discussed in whispers.
Just then,
"No, for these kinds of doors, you need to do this…"
Moving past us, Darkness lifted the door.
"It's a lifting door commonly found in old castles. It's extremely heavy and requires someone strong enough to lift it in order to enter, so it's quite efficient at deterring thieves… W-what's wrong, you two?"
Seeing that the two of us have fallen silent, Darkness gave us a puzzled look.
"Hey Darkness, what would you have done if there was a trap? It's only because of my high luck that it wasn't trapped this time, but…"
"Yeah, Darkness. What were you thinking, just carelessly opening that door like that? It's only because you're with the luckiest person in Axel that it isn't trapped."
"S-sorry. I really didn't think of that."
Darkness apologized.
"No, it's fine. You are new this this, after all. But, maybe you should lead the way from now on."
"Yeah, you're the newbie, but we'll let you take the lead just for this time. Don't worry, we professionals will be supporting you from behind."
"R-really? If you say it's okay…"
Darkness tilted her head and moved to the front.
Afterwards, relying only on the faint lights and her memories from past visits, Darkness steadily lead us towards the basement.
"Assistant-kun, Assistant-kun, aren't we just in the way?"
"Big Boss, there'll still be chances for us to shine. At the end of the day, Darkness is still a little bit of an airhead. As pros, we need to properly support her."
Though I feel like I've been the one being supported thus far.
And, at that moment, Chris and I immediately froze in place.
That's because we could detect the presence of monsters ahead of us.
Come to think of it, that penguin was ordering the monsters around back then.
The security outside the castle is being handled by normal human soldiers, but it seemed like the inside of the castle is being guarded by monsters.
"Hey, Darkness, monsters are guarding the staircase ahead of us. You won't be able to hit them, so Big Boss and I will handle them. You keep an eye out for anyone else approaching."
"I got it! Let me see what you can do!"
We gave the excited and expectant Darkness a thumbs up before activating the Lurk skill and slowly creeping forward to where the monsters were hiding.
And what awaited us was…
"Assistant-kun, Assistant-kun! Those are orcs! They are the male orcs that were thought to have been exterminated a long time ago. Is it really okay to kill them?"
These are probably the very same ones who were traumatised by female orcs in the past.
Two orcs who are bad with dealing with humanoid women are standing in front of us.
"If possible, I'd really want to avoid killing such noble creatures."
"Noble creatures? What's up with that? … But I get it. I'll deal with them. You told me those orcs have trouble dealing with women, right? Then I'll go ahead and use bind on them, Assistant-kun and Darkness, you two keep a lookout. "
Saying that, Chris retrieved a rope from her waist…
The moment she appeared in front of them, the orcs pounced upon her.
"Assistant-kun! Help me, Assistant-kun!"
The orcs who caught her quickly got to work stripping her of her equipment.
"That wasn't what you told me, Assistant-kun! Weren't these orcs supposed to have trouble dealing with women? Wait, don't! Stop! Assistant-kun! Darkness! I'm getting stripped!"
In order to save Chris who had been stripped down to her shirt and pants, Darkness and I charged in.
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"Uuu… Thank you, just a little more and it would've been…."
Having been stripped down to her undies, Chris quietly sobbed in a corner. Next to her, the orcs lay trussed up after having been subdued by my Bind skill.
"These guys started shivering in fear after seeing Darkness charge in to rescue you, so they are definitely still afraid of women. Is it because Chis resembled a boy that they…"
"Shh! Don't say anything more, Kazuma! Come on, Chris, it's okay now, so let's get dressed."
While saying that, Darkness started gathering up Chris's equipment.
"Uuu… Darkness… I can't get married anymore…"
"Don't worry, Chris, those are monsters so that didn't count. They don't count."
The slightly envious glances that Darkness was giving the bound up orcs while she said that does bother me somewhat, but leaving that aside…
"Anyway, thanks to Big Boss's sacrifice, the path to the basement is open. So, come on, let's hurry on."
Part 3
Even though it's in the middle of the night, the basement seemed brighter than it was when we were here in the afternoon. Additionally, I could detect the presence of monsters wandering all over the place.
"Hey, Assistant-kun, isn't this castle a little strange? You two mentioned that he's a nobleman who enjoys keeping monsters, but isn't it odd for him to let orcs guard his doorways? And I've been detecting the presence of monsters wandering all over the place. This really doesn't feel like they are being kept in cages…"
Well, yeah, that's because this castle is owned by a devil.
"There's a reason for that, but I'll leave it for later. Anyway, we should avoid getting into conflicts from here on out."
Most likely, the penguin is hanging out all the way at the back like a proper dungeon boss.
After confirming that Darkness acknowledged my suggestion, we proceeded to sneak along the hallway.
"Even with Enemy Detection telling us their position and Lurk allowing us to hide, I didn't expect to be able to slip through without fighting a single battle…"
Darkness whispered in an amazed voice.
"Things are progressing smoothly, aren't they? What do you think, Darkness? This is what happens when Big Boss and I work together."
"Right, Assistant-kun, with our high luck, it's only natural that things will progress like so when the two of us are together."
…
"… But didn't you run into problems climbing the wall? And when you ran into that door, and when you tried to fight those orcs, and…"
"Hey, Darkness, don't say anything more. Everybody makes mistakes. You too have been staying awake at night because letting Sylphina contract that disease on the journey to Axel and spreading that disease to the other children has been eating away at you, right? Yeah, everyone makes mistakes. The question is whether you let those mistakes get you down or you pick yourself up and fix those mistakes like we do."
"Yeah, Assistant-kun is right! It doesn't matter if you make mistakes along the way as long as everything works out in the end. So you shouldn't let it get you down, Darkness."
In the face of our encouragement, Darkness teared up.
"You two… Yeah, now's not the time to wallow in my despair. Bringing back the ingredient comes first…"
…
"… Hey, wait a minute. Yeah, I was a little depressed over making such a mistake, but I don't think that is really relevant to what we were talking about…"
"Darkness, quiet down. Seems like there's only a single path ahead. Could it be that the penguin count's room lies at the end of this hallway?"
"Yeah, it certainly feels like there's a boss room ahead. That's what my intuition as a veteran thief is telling me."
"Indeed, Lord Zereschrute's room should be right ahead… Still, I can't shake the feeling that you two have been playing tricks on me…"
Leaving the Darkness who was mumbling about something incomprehensible to cover our backs, Chris and I activated our Lurk skill and snuck forward.
Eventually…
After passing through the sinister feeling hallway, we wound up face to face with a large, pitch black door that had an extremely ominous air around it.
Darkness and I nodded at each other and pressed our ears to the door.
Chris pulled on my shirt and whispered.
"Hey, Assistant-kun, is this really the castle of an evil aristocrat? Between the door and the hallway, I can't help but feel like this place is more suitable for a general of the Demon King's Army…"
Being still ignorant of Lord Zereschrute's true identity, Chris casually voiced her opinion.
"Well, it's not really accurate to call him an evil aristocrat, but… In any case, if we don't retrieve a certain item that this lord has in his possession, the life of the girl will be at risk. That hasn't changed."
"It's just as Kazuma said, Chris. The goal of this mission is bring back the ingredient we need to brew the antidote. Just focus on that, Chris… Really, please, don't lose your head here."
"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you warning me so many times? Just what's behind this door?"
Ignoring Chris who had a worried expression, Darkness and I nodded…
We kicked open the door and rushed inside!
Our opponent is a devil.
Even this late at night, there's no way that he'd be asleep.
That means that the best way to deal with him would be to take him by surprise and resolve things before he could gather his wits.
The moment we barged in, we found the penguin standing in the middle of the room, waiting for us. Perhaps some devilish skill has warned him about our coming in advance.
"Welcome, mysterious intruders! I'm sure you are well aware of what this place is! Fufu, you mysterious intruders who I'm meeting for the first time."
This was a little outside my expectations.
I expected him to at least remove his suit when he was resting alone in his room. Was I naive in thinking so?
In this case, we'll have to find a way to force him out of his costume before trying to chip off a piece of his nails.
And judging from his words, he most likely…
"Dammit, he knows who we really are!"
Chris let out a scream upon seeing the penguin.
"Hey, Assistant-kun, what do I do? Is this what you were repeatedly warning me about? It's impossible! There's no way I'd be able to attack something this cute! Just no way!"
No, that's not what we meant at all!
"Hey, Chris, don't let your guard down! It may look cute, but there's something truly horrific hiding inside! Our goal is to get a fragment of his nail! His nail is a vital ingredient in creating the antidote to Colorin disease!"
Hearing that, Chris suddenly stopped moving.
"Nails that are used in the creation of the antidote to Colorin disease…"
As if she realized what that ingredient is, a solemn expression suddenly appeared on her face.
"Oh yeah, Chris, use bind to restrain Lord Zereschrute! I'll block all his fierce attacks with my body!"
Saying that, Darkness stepped in front of us.
"As expected of the intruder who looks just like a certain shield of this country! Your resolve is admirable indeed! But how long can a mere human withstand my true strength, I wonder…?"
Just as the penguin confidently said that and struck a dramatic pose.
Before Darkness or I could react, the penguin–
–Was set upon by Chris, who closed the distance within the blink of an eye and drove her dagger deep into the penguin's body with both hands.
"AAAAAAH!? Wait, don't—!"
The screaming penguin battered Chris off his body, before hastily pulling the dagger out and tossing it aside.
Instead of blood, black smoke hissed from the rip in his suit where the dagger had been.
"He-Hey, Chris, what are you doing? Just use Bind on him! We just need a piece of his nail, we don't need to kill him! Actually, no, if you kill him, his body will be sent back to hell. If that were to happen, we won't be able to retrieve that all important nail fragment that we need."
Oh, yeah, Aqua mentioned that Eris hates undead and devils even more than she does.
Despite having been sent flying by the penguin, Chris leapt to her feet.
I grabbed both of her arms from behind.
"Hey, Assistant-kun! What are you doing!?"
"What are you doing!? That's my line! Don't forget what we came here for! What we need is his nail!"
Hearing my words, Chris seems to finally snap back to her senses.
"Oh, right! We need to remove one of his nails before killing him!"
No, that's not it! We don't need to kill him at all!
Ignoring my thoughts, Chris kept her eye focused on the penguin.
"What's with this berserk little kid!?"
"I'm a woman!"
Hearing Chris's spirited reply, the Penguin shuddered.
"Who cares if you are a guy or a girl! Is that a magic dagger? Or is it a cursed item? I can feel an extremely strong bloodlust towards devils emanating from that dagger! Just touching it causes me to go numb!"
"I would prefer to say that it has received a divine blessing! This is a powerful dagger specifically enchanted to deal with devils like you!"
Saying that, Chris picked up the dagger and got back into a combat stance.
"You crazy girl! Why do you have such a strong hatred for devils?!"
The penguin turned his back on us, and reached for his zipper.
"Crap, he's trying to reveal his true body!"
Seeing that, Darkness threw herself at the penguin's back and wrapped her arms around its neck, covering the zipper with her entire body.
It's almost like seeing a girl play with a stuffed doll, but this is far from a game.
"I'll restrain him with Bind! Big Boss, can you cut off the tip of his flippers!?"
Knowing what's hiding inside, I know that it'd be extremely dangerous to allow him to pull his true body out of his suit.
I prepared my custom-ordered wire.
"Don't worry about me, Kazuma! Restrain him along with me!"
"Bind!"
I restrained the penguin as Darkness instructed.
"Y-You little—!"
Being bound together with Darkness, the penguin desperately tried to reach for his zipper with his flippers.
At that moment…
"Ah!….Ah!"
Darkness couldn't bear it and let out such a voice.
A black tentacle-like thing emerged from the rip left by Chris's dagger, and spurted some kind of liquid onto Darkness's back.
The sound of something burning could be heard from the moment it made contact with her bodysuit, accompanied by a whole lot of smoke.
I pulled out the shortsword that I hardly had the chance to use after buying it from my waist and slashed at it.
The tentacle that was burning Darkness's back was severed and started flopping all over the place like a lizard's tail.
"Assistant-kun, this devil is really disgusting!"
"It's best that you don't see what's inside, then! It's far more disgusting!"
Actually, where does this demon keep his nails?
Looking at the severed tentacle flopping around, I couldn't see anything that resembled a claw.
"Darkness, please hang in there for just a while longer. I'll get his nails-!"
Saying that, Chris slashed at the tip of the penguin's wings with her dagger!
"AAAAAAAAH! Curse you! Would you stop using that dagger!?"
A pair of black tentacles emerged, one from the old tear in the suit and one from the freshly made hole at the tip of its wings, and shot towards Chris who went to pick up the severed wing tip.
But…!
"Hey, the only things tentacles are allowed to attack are Crusaders! This has been a rule since ancient times!"
Darkness, who was still bound to the penguin, trust her hands into both openings.
The sound of something burning can be heard.
At that moment, Chris, who went to check on the contents of the severed wingtip…
"Darkness, we have it! The nail of a devil! Assistant-kun, how long do you think your Bind will last?"
Chris joyfully exclaimed.
"I-I put my all into that Bind, so it probably will last for quite some time…"
"Darkness! I'll cut that wire with my dagger, so hang on!"
Chris threw the severed wingtip to me in a panic, and slashed at the wire with her dagger-
"Sorry, that's the special mithril alloy wire that I commissioned…"
"Aaaah, come on, why!?"
As the sound of something burning continues to fill the air, Darkness smiled at Chris who seemed to be on the verge of tears,
"Chris, I'll be fine! More importantly, the two of you, take that nail and go!"
And suddenly said something so unsuited to her.
"Don't worry, the Count knows who I am. He might vent his frustration on me, but he won't kill me. Forget about me, hurry up and go!"
Darkness desperately said while sweating heavily from her forehead.
On the verge of tears, Chris raised her dagger.
"If I stab it with this dagger…"
"The more you stab it, the more tentacles he will be able to bring out! Just listen to her, Big Boss. Go bring the carriage over, there's something I want to try."
Saying that, I retrieved something from my bag.
It's something that Aqua gave me after hearing that the guy is a diabolic acquaintance of Vanir.
"Assistant-kun, Darkness! Hang in there! I'll be back very soon!"
Saying that, Chris flew out of the room!
"Darkness, I don't care which one, just pull one of your hands out. I'll take this chance to pour Aqua's juice down the hole!"
"I-I got it. But you shouldn't force yourself to stay! Hurry up and go! Even I won't be able to hold out against such a strong opponent for long…!"
"Wha—Stop! What is this!? It hurts! My body is melting!
Even under such circumstances, Darkness still had an elated expression on her face.
And me who stayed behind to pour Aqua's water into the suit…
"Darkness, show me your resolve! Show me that your stamina will not lose to any devil!"
"Leave it to me! Now, Lord Zereschrute, I might have lost to you this afternoon, but allow me to show you my true power!"
"Hey, why is this girl feeling elated? Is she crazy!? She's crazy! She must be knocked in the head somewhere!"
Part 4
After returning to Axel, we headed straight for the orphanage without taking any detours.
"Assistant-kun, Assistant-kun, Senpai's at the orphanage, right? I have, you know… something urgent to attend to…"
Ah, I see.
There would be some kind of problem if you met up with her.
Though I find it extremely unlikely for that airheaded girl to figure out your true identity…
"Alright, I'll pass your regards to everyone. You really helped us out, Big Boss."
"Yeah, I'll be going now.. Make sure this girl doesn't push herself too far. And…"
Chris gently patted the soundly sleeping Darkness on the head.
"It'd be nice if I could tell her my true identity someday…"
Saying that, Chris shyly stood up and left.
—As Darkness held him down, I poured Aqua's juice into the suit and somehow managed to pry her off the penguin after she fell unconscious.
At that moment, Eris-sama arrived and gave the devil the beating of his life.
It's really hard to described what happened next. To be honest, I'm not sure what exactly took place.
Though there's one thing I can be certain of; Eris-sama is really scary when she gets mad.
Lord Zereschrute was so eager to escape from the suit earlier, but the moment Eris-sama showed up he crawled back in and desperately tried to prevent his zipper from being opened, only for Eris-sama to casually pull him out. I could only watch their battle with amazement.
Even though Eris-sama consumed countless numbers of that devil's lives, in the end, his only sin was being born a devil. Since he has not performed any evil deeds, Eris-sama eventually spared him from being completely erased from this world.
Then, Eris-sama turned back into Chris, and after loading the sleeping Darkness onto the carriage, traveled with us back to Axel-
—With the exhausted Darkness on my back, I opened the door to the orphanage
"I've brought back the ingredient we need! Hey, Aqua, please see to Darkness's wounds! Is Sylphina still…."
What greeted me after opening the door was…
"Welcome home, Mommy!"
What is going on?
Sylphina came over to greet us with a bright smile on her face.
"Hey."
Wait, just what is going on?
Why is this girl so energetic?
…At that time.
"Ah, Aah, Aaah!"
Darkness let out a joyous voice and I felt warm tears start rolling down my back.
It seems like she regained consciousness some time ago, and upon seeing this situation…
She leapt off my back and wrapped Sylphina in a hug.
"Well, Darkness seems to be pretty happy, so I guess it's a good thing, but…"
Aqua emerged from under a futon in the middle of the room, which was surrounded by all kinds of offerings for some inexplicable reason.
"Oh, you're back! Come and see how energetic these children are!"
Just what happened while we were gone?
Why is Vanir carrying a child on his back, why is Wiz slightly translucent and lying on the ground, and why is Megumin collapsed lifelessly over one of the tables…?
"You're back. Welcome home."
Megumin tiredly said as she lay on the table, just barely raising her head to face me.
"I managed to bring back the ingredients, but what's up with this horrible scene?"
"Well… This is the result after Aqua got serious and repeatedly cast her healing magic trying to save the children. They were given far more vitality than they needed to beat the disease, and ended up far more energetic than anyone expected. As you can see, the results are…"
Hey, if that's the case, wouldn't things be fine even if we didn't get the ingredient?
As I was thinking that, Vanir, who was piggybacking a child and entertaining him with some kind of rattle, said to me.
"Seems like all the ingredients have been assembled. If it weren't for this woman's efforts, most of the children in the orphanage would've been half dead by now. That muscle lady's daughter might look healthy, but her body is still in a dreadful state, so it's best to start brewing immediately. If it weren't for this woman, you would've been cutting it close… Hey, storekeeper, it's your turn to shine!"
Hearing the news from Vanir, I immediately retrieved the nail I got from the penguin and handed it over to Megumin.
"Great work, Darkness, Kazuma! Leave the rest to the number one genius of the Crimson Demons. Don't worry, I spent many nights studying the recipe!"
–Brewing in progress–
"That's wrong. You need to put this in first. I learnt that in school, so there's no way I could be mistaken!"
"Nonsense! The knowledge of devils are the most accurate thing in this world! You can't go wrong with following Moi's instructions… Hey, you trouble-making woman, what did you just put in?"
"Don't get in my way, you strange devil. What I just added it the Axis Cult's Aqua water. With that, the effectiveness of the antidote will be massively boosted."
"Why? Why do you always do something unnecessary!? Actually, what would you do if you accidentally touched the potion as it's about to be completed and turned it into water!? Hurry up and get lost, you goddess of misfortune!"
"Everyone, as the owner of the magic shop, my recipe is obviously correct. Don't worry, there aren't any mistakes, so just follow my instructions!"
I opened the door of the orphanage,
"I don't care what you guys do, just hurry it up!"
And angrily screamed at them.