Chereads / The Terror of Option / Chapter 237 - 87

Chapter 237 - 87

Part 1

After returning to Axel and bidding farewell to Yunyun, instead of heading back to the mansion, we headed straight for the Adventurer's guild.

"To think that you actually defeated Moguninnin while I wasn't there. But we are party mates, so you'll split the money even if I was sleeping back then, right?"

Aqua said in high spirits.

She seemed to have completely forgotten about how she was lecturing us just a moment ago.

"W-Well, I didn't expect that you really only did vigorous excercises last night. Sorry for doubting you, Megumin, Kazuma. Oh, I know! Aqua, why don't we buy some high quality ingredients and throw a party for them to celebrate their accomplishments!?"

"It's not a problem at all. I actually think it's a wonderful idea, especially coming from the usually hardheaded Darkness."

Perhaps feeling indebted to Megumin and me, Darkness maintained a smile on her face despite being called hardheaded by Aqua.

"So, Megumin, what do you think? Whose portion do you think we should draw the money to buy the high class ingredients from?"

"Yeah, seriously! After knowing me for so long, you two should know very well that I wouldn't cause trouble just to fulfill my desire to cast Explosions."

"As if." x3

"Kazuma, whose side are you on?"

Leaving Megumin who was starting to get agitated behind, I quickly made my way to the receptionist.

"Yo, Onee-san, it's the large bounty hunter, Satou Kazuma."

"Ah, Satou-san! What brings you here today?"

I showed her the card I got from Megumin…

"I did it again, onee-san. Seriously… If we keep going on at this pace, we'll wipe out all the large bounty targets in no time at all. This will put all the other adventurers out of business, haha!"

"H-Hahaha… So you defeated the Bomber Majin Moguninnin, I see. Congratulations, I'll go prepare the bounty immediately!"

That onee-san doesn't even seem surprised anymore when we turn up with the head of yet another bounty.

However, I don't particularly mind her current reaction.

If you have to ask why, well…

"Umm… Could you be Satou Kazuma-sama?"

A voice called out to me at the absolute perfect time.

Standing next to me was a beautiful lady with an air of maturity about her and a beauty spot under her eye.

She had a body that could give Darkness a run for her money, being round in all the right places.

Her neatly cut black hair extended to her shoulders, and her erotic black eyes were staring right at me.

Just meeting her gaze made my heart skip a beat.

Is she a priest, I wonder?

She was wearing a white robe that seemed reminiscent of a cleric's garb, and a mace hung upon her waist.

Is it her beauty spot that gave me the impression of a cool mature beauty?

Or is it because there was almost no one amongst the women around me that could be considered mature?

The woman in question gave me an elegant bow.

"I have heard a lot about you… I've been awaiting your arrival. My name is Serena… I hope this is not too sudden, but is there any chance you're willing to let me join your party?"

----------------->

She must be the fan that the receptionist told me about before I left for the Crimson Demon Village.

The guild fell silent in response to her sudden words.

"Huh? What are you saying? This party already has an excellent Archpriest, so there's no need for another priest. Now go away. Shoo, shoo."

Aqua's aggressive words echoed throughout the otherwise silent guild.

It seems like she's wary of having her position stolen with the appearance of another priest.

"Satou Kazuma-sama, would you please consider allowing me to become one of your retainers? I swear that I will not become a burden upon you."

Serena, on the other hand, completely ignored Aqua and addressed me with a smile.

Megumin, who seemed like she was about to angrily say something, suddenly averted her gaze.

I'm sure she couldn't bear to say anything after causing so much trouble in the Crimson Demon Village.

Everyone's gaze naturally swivelled to me.

I'm sure they are waiting for my response, but this development is definitelyー

"You must be some underling of the Demon King, right? You want to join my party? There is no one in their right mind who would want to join my party after learning of my infamy. Yup, your true identity is an assassin sent by the Demon King who judged me as a threat after taking out so many of his Generals-"

"Sacred Highness Heal!!"

I was suddenly interrupted by Aqua's spell.

A gentle light enveloped my body, and faded away without anything happening.

If I recall, it's a powerful healing spell that cures not just physical wounds but also any other effects that are adversely affecting my body.

But, obviously, I wasn't hurt at all.

"… Hey, why did you just cast a recovery spell on me?"

"You who has low stats, low levels and the weakest class seem to be under the delusion that the Demon King has placed a mark upon you, so I casted heal on your mind."

Maybe I really should trade her away.

"To think they would doubt you so… Kazuma-sama, I believe that evaluation to be far below your actual skills. As a great adventurer who has defeated so many tough enemies and acquired vast amounts of wealth at a young age, you might very well be the hero chosen by the goddess to defeat the Demon King…"

Serena clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as if she was in prayer as she said that.

Well, the goddess Aqua did send me here to aid in the fight against the Demon King that's currently threatening this world…

Actually, now that I think about it, yeah, I really should be viewed more favourablyー

 

"Sacred Highness Heal!!"

 

Aqua's voice interrupted again.

This time, the soft light enveloped Serena.

"… Why did you cast recovery magic on me?"

"You were calling our Kazuma a hero or whatever, so I thought to cast heal on your brain."

… …

"Ahem. Anyway, I'm really loathe to say this, but she's technically our party's priest. Sorry, but we are not currently looking for additional party members right now. Could you please look elsewhere?"

"Ouch! Ouch! It hurts! Kazuma-san, it really hurts!"

I pulled upon Aqua's ears as I said that.

However, Serena's smile didn't falter in the slightest.

"… I suppose that can't be helped. I'll excuse myself here. However, Kazuma-sama. If you allow me to join your party, I'm certain I'll be of great help to you."

After saying such words, Serena confidently walked away.

As I was seeing her off, I took a close look at my current party members.

There's Aqua who's currently crying tears of pain and struggling within my grip.

There's Megumin, who popped her head out from behind Darkness and heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing Serena leave.

And lastly…

"… Why are you fidgeting?"

"Seeing Kazuma get led away by a beautiful priest who appeared out of nowhere… I thought this must be what NTR feels like…"

There's Darkness, fidgeting and looking at me with moist eyes while sporting a smile that hid both arousal and shame.

The more I looked at my current companions…

"… Say, can I go chase after her?"

Part 2

Next morning.

Something felt different from usual as we entered the guild.

"Now then, everyone who's going out for the extermination quests, please line up here. I'll be casting long duration support magic on you…"

The adventurers were forming neat lines in the guild.

And at the head of the line was Serena, casting support magic on each of them free of charge.

Generally speaking, priests are very high in demand, but very few people have the aptitude for the class.

Thus, offering to cast support magic for free is a very valuable service for those parties without priests of their own.

"Oh, Kazuma-sama. How about it, would you like to have me cast support magic on you too? Support spells cast by different sects will stack. I believe I'm of a different sect from your priest, so our spells should stack with each other."

Serena greeted me with a smile upon spotting me.

I'm surprised that she could state that so confidently.

…Though, I suppose it's pretty obvious that Aqua is of the Axis Cult.

Still, offering to cast support spells for free… It feels like this is the first time I've seen a proper priest.

"Hey, you're going to cause problems for the other priests if you do that without consulting us. The goodwill towards us is already quite thin, so stop doing such things."

Our party's deliquent… no, wait.

Our party's priest (tentative) shot towards Serena.

The actual priest glanced at Aqua out of the corner of her eye and said,

"It's better to refrain from that sort of behaviour. Otherwise, Kazuma-sama's reputation will be dragged through the mud. Is it because of you that Kazuma-sama has such a bad reputation? …Plus, is it wrong to offer a helping hand to parties without priests?"

"It is not wrong."

The goddess (tentative) couldn't disagree with Serena's reasoning.

"I won't ask you to cast support magic free of charge to everyone. Even though you're a far stronger priest than I am, I won't reproach you for not supporting the other adventurers in the past… However, my actions do not bring inconvenience upon anyone. This is the proper thing to do. I do not believe that you have the right to put a stop to that."

"…Yes."

Aqua looked towards the ground and muttered, completely unable to come up with a retort.

"… I admit defeat…"

What's a goddess doing losing to a priest?

As I looked upon Serena, she noticed my gaze and smiled back.

… No matter how you look at it, Serena definitely seems more priest-like.

Just then.

"… I don't like this."

The one who suddenly said that was the actual, true blooded delinquent, Dust.

The person in question was lazing around on top of his table as he stared at Serena with a suspicious gaze.

"I don't like this… I've never seen such a priest-like priest before… The others might have fallen for your wiles with a simple support spell, but you can't fool me that easily. As far as abilities go, Aqua onee-san who revived me before should have the upper hand. I stand on her side… I don't like this. I don't like this at all…"

An honest person with a pure heart seems to be an incompatible existence to this twisted man.

I wonder why is he on such good terms with me?

Still, there are quite a few people in the guild who have great trust in Aqua.

After all, they've known Aqua for far longer than some priest who appeared out of nowhere.

Just then, the guild staff started addressing the adventurers.

"All adventurers, I hope you'll work hard on the extermination quests today! Now then, today's situation is somewhat different…"

It seemed like they were waiting for Serena to finish casting her support magic on everyone.

For some reason, the guild staff didn't busy themselves with the usual tasks putting up the requests on the noticeboard.

Instead, they took out a single piece of paper.

"The truth is, last night, a large outbreak of undead appeared near the public cemetery, so we would like you all to focus on exterminating them today. It's fairly close to the town, so there's no telling when the citizens will be threatened. In particular, we request all priests to please take part in this extermination."

…A large outbreak of undead in the public cemetery.

Darkness's, Megumin's, and my gazes naturally fell upon Aqua.

Aqua's supposed to be in charge of purifying the cemetery…

"What? Why is everyone looking at me like that!? I properly purify the graveyard every week! I didn't slack off this time!"

"… Didn't you slack off before?…"

My doubtful gaze merely intensified in the face of Aqua's desperate excuses.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! I properly did my work this time! It's not a lie! Fine, just you wait! I'll show you what an Archpriest can really do! Just me alone is enough to deal with Zombies and Skeletons!"

Almost as if a fire was lit under her, Aqua loudly declared to the guild.

Part 3

"What the hell is this!?"

Someone shouted.

Public cemetery.

This is a place where those without much cash or adventurers who have no known relatives end up getting buried.

That large patch of ground a short distance away from the town is currently swarming with a couple hundred undead.

Faced with a horde far beyond what any of them have expected, the other adventurers wrinkled their faces and cowered.

No, it's not because they are scared.

It's currently cloudy.

That said, even if it's cloudy, there's no need to fear fighting the undead in the middle of the day.

There's no need, but…

"… S-Say… Can I go home?"

"Y-You can't, Kazuma. I too really want to go home in the face of this stench, but I need to show off my cool side here. Afterwards, everyone will once again think that, yeah, the beautiful priest of Axel really is Aqua-sama after all."

You say that again, but they never thought that of you in the first place.

The main problem is that it stinks.

It really stinks out here.

With this many zombies gathered in one spot, the foul odours they emit is the stuff of legends.

"Oh well, go get them, Aqua. If you charge right into them, the undead will all gather around you. Just get them all with a large area purification spell."

"Eh!? I really don't want to be surrounded by an undead horde this large…"

"Then, leave this to me…"

Looking at the hesitant Aqua, Megumin started chanting before Darkness grabbed her from behind.

"Right, Darkness, continue to hold Megumin down. We can't have her blow away the entire cemetery with them. Now, Aqua, let's go!"

All the adventurers apart from us were kept at bay by the horrendous odours, so no one approached the horde of zombies.

Some of them were attacking from range with projectiles and magic, but those don't seem to be particularly effective.

I grabbed onto Aqua and started closing the distance to that horde of zombies.

They should come charging at us once they spot us.

"Hey- Darkness, please let go of me! It would feel really amazing to fire an Explosion right into that horde! At this rate, Aqua would just purify them all! My Explosion will properly take care of them!"

"You'll properly take care of the entire cemetery too! As a Crusader, there's no way I'll just stand by and let you destroy the cemetery!"

As Megumin and Darkness argued behind me, Aqua and I steadily got closer to the zombie horde.

Trusting in Aqua's abilities as an Archpriest, the other adventurers backed me up, swinging their weapons around in the general direction of the horde.

But in the face of that provocation and Aqua's special trait of attracting undead…

"… Huh?"

"… They aren't coming towards me at all."

The undead horde only retaliated against the adventurers who were attacking them.

"What, could it be that your slim glimmer of divinity has finally gone out?"

"Do you want me to deliver divine punishment upon you, you shitty NEET!? You'll definitely fall to hell after you die!"

I mentioned offhandedly, and Aqua snapped back.

"If I fall to hell, I'll just have a party with Vanir and the others."

"Why do you have such a disgustingly large network!? How vexing!"

After saying that, Aqua finally got to work.

She might act this way, but she's still technically a goddess.

I like to call her the goddess of toilets or party goddess and such, but her abilities are top notch.

Just hearing her start chanting is enough to put a relieved expression on the surrounding adventurers.

And then, when she finished chanting,

 

"Turn undead!"

 

Along with Aqua's voice, the entire cemetery was bathed in a soft light originating from Aqua.

The undead that came into contact with that light…

"Huh?"

Aqua and I said at the same time.

The undead didn't seem to be affected by that light at all.

They must have taken that light as an attack.

All of them turned their attention towards Aqua…

"HAAAAAH!? Aqua, isn't dealing with undead is your only strong point!? D-Do something about this!"

"This is strange! This is really strange! Huh? These guys might not be undead after all! I've never seen red-eyed zombies before! And, wait, Kazuma, why are you distancing yourself from me!? Aren't we party members? Aren't we friends!?"

Aqua grabbed onto my clothes with a death grip as I tried to escape.

After seeing Aqua's attacks bounce off, the adventurers who were calmly watching from the sidelines started panicking too.

Just then,

 

"Turn Undead!"

 

Serena's voice echoed throughout the area.

At the same time, a shockwave-like wind expanded from her.

The horde of undead collapsed like puppets with their strings cut the moment they came into contact with the shockwave.

"Ooooh!"

The adventurers on the sidelines let out a cheer.

The large horde of undead that were clogging up the cemetery were reduced to unmoving corpses with a single spell.

 

ーThe extermination quest ended up being over in a snap.

The guild expected it to take the better part of the day, so they didn't make any preparations for any other extermination requests today.

Thus, all the adventurers essentially had nothing to do after noon.

And, those people who received an unexpected day off…

"Oh, my, you're really amazing. Would you like to join our party? We do have an advanced class amongst us. Just the one, though."

"No, no, join my party! Our party has quite a few accomplishments, you know!?"

"Please join our party! Our party is all female, so you can put your mind at ease!"

"… No, um… I have my sights set on joining Kazuma-sama's party, so…"

At the centre of the guild, a somewhat troubled looking Serena is being surrounded by pretty much all the adventurers.

Why did Serena's spell work on those zombies while Aqua's failed to affect them?

It's still a mystery to me now, but I know one thing for sure…

"Now, now, I'll throw this pinecone into that cup on the table. Then, from the cup…"

"You know, I don't think your tricks would really work right now."

Aqua was setting up some kind of party trick, but everyone was too busy welcoming Serena to even give her the time of day.

"… From the cup… high quality matsutake mushrooms will… shoot up … "

Her voice steadily grew smaller.

"… one after another… They'll grow from the cup…"

Getting absolutely no attention from anyone, Aqua gloomily threw the pinecone into the cup.

And from the cup grew…

"… Hey, how did you do that? Having freshly grown matsutake mushrooms growing in this season is really odd. And there's even a second and third shoot…"

After grabbing the first mushroom that grew from the cup, a second and third one quickly sprouted out to replace it, but…

Aqua wordlessly flopped onto the table and stopped moving entirely.

Megumin gently patted Aqua on the head.

Darkness was standing next to the table with her hand against her chin, seemingly deep in thought.

 

"ーStill, is this really okay, Serena-san? This extermination was pretty much handled entirely by you alone, so giving up all of the rewards to spread amongst ourselves…"

A certain adventurer is saying that to Serena.

"I'm clergy. As long as I have enough to pay for food and shelter, that's more than enough."

Watching Serena say that with a smile, the adventurers let out a sigh.

A beautiful lady with a great figure, a great personality and high skills as a priest.

"… …"

I looked away from Serena to Aqua, still motionlessly flopped over the table.

"… Hey, you're losing, you know? Is that really okay?"

"... Leave me alone. I'm the goddess of a minor cult. It's fine if I can't become a major goddess, I'll just look over those who worship me fervently. That delinquent Dust said it earlier, didn't he? That'll he is on my side? There might not be many of them, but there are people who're supporting me. That's why I don't feel like I lost…"

"I thought you were different from the moment I laid eyes on you! Unlike a certain disappointing Archpriest, you truly are a wonderful person! Especially how you don't lust after money!"

The voice of a certain delinquent could be heard by Serena's side.

Being always troubled by matters of money, he seemed to have completely defected over side after receiving a large payout.

"… He's saying that sort of things, you know?"

"… Say, Kazuma-san… Kazuma-san, you'll always be on my side, right?"

Aqua started softly sniffling.

 

Part 4

It's been quite some time since Serena came to this town.

"Serena-san, I got a couple of scrapes while out on a subjugation quest. Could you heal it?"

"Sure, that's not a problem. Could you show me the wound?"

"Serena-san, please do me next!"

"Serena-san is like a real goddess!"

Inside the bar of the adventurer's guild.

Wounded adventurers gathered around the table that has more or less been given over to Serena.

"This is so vexing…"

Aqua, who entered the staff section of the receptionist table without permission, poked her head out from behind the counter.

"Aqua-san, it's quite troubling for you to keep coming over here…"

The receptionist onee-san warned, but Aqua didn't react at all.

The other staff members looked over to me, silently pleading for me to do something.

"… Aqua, you're in the way over there, and I'm pretty sure everyone's already noticed you, so come on out already."

"… How dare that woman steal away my popularity. It should've been me who is getting fawned over by the adventurers as the goddess of healing."

ーHave you actually done anything like that in the past?

Darkness said she had something to look into and vanished early this morning together with Megumin.

And it's not just today. They've been doing this ever since Serena arrived in this town.

As for me, I was ambushed by Aqua while lazing around the mansion and got forcibly dragged along…

"You know, you're not going to find a weakness to exploit no matter how long you spend stalking her, so let's just go home and sleep."

Well, in short, that's why she's here.

Despite by exasperation, Aqua stubbornly refused to step out from behind the counter.

"No way. In the first place, she really grates on me. She's way too perfect. She's beautiful with a great body, charitable personality, and kind to everyone. And she's a pretty powerful priest on top of that. She's way too perfect. Yeah, it's like she's on the same level of perfect as me or Eris."

"I'm not going to dignify that."

I looked over to Serena as she treated the adventurers.

When she noticed my gaze, Serena returned with a smile and a cheery wave.

The adventurers crowded around her patiently waited in line for their turn.

Actually, most of them barely had anything more serious than scratches, and some of them were even just here as fans.

"Hey, Kazuma, I have something to ask of you."

Aqua suddenly said, standing up from the counter.

She then thrust her finger at me.

"Could you prick my finger with your dagger? I'm going to go get treated by her."

"…You can heal it yourself, can't you? What, you going to go pick a fight? You really shouldn't. At the end of the day, she's very highly regarded amongst the adventurers right now. If you do anything untoward to her, you'll be making an enemy out of the entire guild."

I tried to warn Aqua, but she wouldn't have any of it.

With her finger still pointed directly at my face, I reluctantly took out my dagger…

"… Hey, you were the one who came up with this, so stop moving your finger."

"It's still scary. It's might not be much, but it's still my own blood. Make sure you just prick it a little. Just a little."

Aqua's finger was wriggling all over the place as she tried to dodge my dagger.

Perhaps to calm her own nerves, she grabbed her right hand with her left and steadied her finger.

Just why is she going so far, I wonder? Carefully, I brought my dagger to her fingertip…

"Oh, my finger has disappeared~! Which one are you supposed to stab, I wonder?"

Aqua cheerfully said that and covered her finger just before my dagger made contact.

I wordlessly shoved the tip of my dagger into her hand.

"…! …!"

Aqua recoiled, covering the wound with her hand, barely making a sound due to the pain.

"There, now get going."

At my words, Aqua glared at me through tearful eyes before lumbering over to Serena.

 

ーAs she went, for some strange reason, Aqua began stumbling and moving strangely.

It felt a little like she was pretending to be drunk.

Then, as she approached the adventurer at the front of the line,

"Sorry. As you can see, I'm heavily injured… Could you let a weak and injured young girl go first?"

Wait, so she was trying to act the part of a heavily wounded person?

The adventurer being addressed turned and frowned.

"No, wait, you can heal your wounds by… Okay, I get it. I get it, so stop threatening me with those weird movements!"

He fearfully said before giving up his spot to Aqua.

 

"Please wait a moment."

 

The adventurer was stopped by Serena.

And Serena stared at Aqua…

"I don't know why you won't just heal your wounds yourself, but… But aren't you a priest? Healing the wounds of others is supposed to be your job, so what are you trying to do by pushing someone else aside so you could be healed first? Don't you think that's not something a priest should do?"

"…I do…"

Serena launched into a lecture, and Aqua obediently agreed.

Of course, there's no way she can argue against that.

"I'm not saying that I won't heal you just because you are a priest, but everyone else is suffering too. So, please properly follow the line, okay?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

After apologizing to the adventurer, Aqua obediently went over to the end of the line.

… Seriously, how's a goddess getting lectured by a priest?

After a short time, it finally became Aqua's turn.

She took at seat in front of Serena and showed her the wound on her right hand.

"Sensei, a passing shitty NEET dealt a serious wound on me. Can you heal it? Or am I going to die from this wound?"

Serena took that hand into her own and let out a small chuckle.

"It's just a small scratch. I'll heal it right away… Heal!… There, now it's fine…"

As she removed her hand, Aqua's wound was still bleeding without any sign of being healed at all.

"…!?"

Serena seemed taken back upon seeing it, and Aqua started crying.

Well, I say that, but it's fairly obvious that she's forcing herself.

"Sensei, am I really going to die? Is it a wound that even you can't heal? Or are you not healing me because you dislike me? Just what is happening, Sensei!?"

It seems like she's resisting Serena's healing magic.

Yeah, come to think of it, she did the same thing to Wiz back when I was trying to get her to teach me Drain Touch.

If she was able to resist a Lich's skill, a simple priest would be easily…

"Heal! Heal! What's going on? It isn't taking effect…"

"Sensei, why aren't you healing me? Don't tell me, you're not healing me because you're afraid that I might usurp your popularity and reputation as the number one priest in this guild!? Or can you not heal me because you suck? Aaa…! I'm going to die at this rate! The wound will get infected and I'll die…! Kazuma-san! Kazuma-san! This woman won't heal me!"

After she shouted my name across the entire guild, I had no choice but to approach her.

In the first place, poisons won't work on you, and any germs would get purified upon touching you.

I'd really like to say that to her, but I kept that in my heart.

"If I die, please build me a grave that suppasses even the pyramids in the center of town. Please put all of the treasures in my room that Kazuma has been treating like trash within it. Emperor Zell will be its guardian, and prepare delicious drinks and snacks three times a day in front of it. On the gravestone, write here lies the great-"

I lightly smacked that stupid head that was loudly spouting stupid things with the pommel of my dagger.

"I'll write here lies a great idiot. Sorry, Serena-san. Come on, let's go."

"…! …!"

I dragged Aqua who was rolling around in pain by the back of her collar and moved to leave.

The gazes of the adventurers around me really hurt.

This is so embarrassing.

Just then-

 

"Um… Kazuma-sama, there's something important I'd like to tell you, so may I have a moment of your time?"

 

Serena called out to me.

Hearing that, Aqua casted heal upon her wound and her head and angrily stood up.

"Hey, give it a rest already! You're being very persistent to our Kazuma-san! Just stealing the position of the number one beautiful priest in the guild isn't enough for you, now you want to take away Kazuma-san with your erotic charms too!? Our Kazuma-san is a weak-willed man who'll easily fall if a girl younger than him were to call him onii-chan, so would you please stop that?"

"Right, get over here, I'll teach you a lesson."

Just as I was about to drag Aqua away from the guild, one of the adventurers suddenly said,

 

"The number one beautiful priest in the guild…"

 

"Pfft!"

"Who was the one who laughed just now? I can hear you from over here, so come on out! Ah, weren't you the one I revived some time ago!? If you're going to laugh, then pay up! Resurrection is originally a super high level spell that demands a large remuneration, so pay up!"

"Hey, it wasn't me! I didn't laugh… Hey, don't put your finger into my beer, Aqua-san… Wait, this is just water! Why did you use my beer for a trick!?"

"It's not a trick, it's a property of my body! Fine, I understand you all now! Even after all the support magic and healing and resurrections I provided when you guys were hunting those strong monsters and high bounty targets! Fine, as payment, I'll turn all the beer in this place into water!"

"Please stop, Aqua-san. If you do that, the guild will be the one most troubled! Please, stop!"

The guild staff and adventurers hastily moved to stop Aqua before she could stick her hand into the wine barrels.

------------------->

In the midst of that chaos,

"Should we go somewhere else, Kazuma-sama? It's a little too noisy here. If possible, I would prefer a less crowded place…"

Serena said with a small chuckle, ignoring the current chaos in the guild.