Chapter 6 (1/2)

Overco that past

TL: Cannongerbil

Editing: Ulti, LordVTP, Xenthur

Part 1

“So that’s what happened It was really horrible”

I gestured as I conveyed the events of teeks ago to erated and left out certain bits, but it’s mostly accurate

That said, they’ve just been staring at me in silence since I started Hey, come on, at least react a little

“And then they threw me into the cells for teeks They ave me that sort of horrible treatment afterwards”

I’ve concluded my story, but Lynn, Taylor and Keith didn’t even react at all It’s almost like I’m not even here

“The bugs sure are noisy thisAnyhat time do we head out, Keith?”

“Yeah, they’re ht And it’s about tenany moment”

“He’s a responsible person I’m sure he’ll be punctual”

They’re cost the out of contact for teeks, but it’s not like I wanted that to happen You guys don’t need to get that angry

I thought it would work out since Lynn knew about it, but was I too naive?

“Hey, it’s pretty hurtful to ignoreto start talking about some really obscene stuff! … So, what’s the quest?”

nobody answered uys…

“Oh, it can’t be helped if you can’t see ht? Then let’s start with that pitiful chest—-”

With a dull thud, a dagger slammed into the table, just inches from my hand

Needless to say, the one who did that was Lynn She was looking at ross insect

That dagger is the sa to her in the stables, isn’t it?

“O-Oh, sorry, Lynn Please forgive me”

I placed iveness, but their only reply was “Why don’t you go borrow froh money?”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone! Oh, who’s this?”

A ht suy before

He’s wearing leather arsword strapped to his back He looks like a warrior type

“This is just a blood sucking insect, there’s no need to worry about him We’ll be in your care for today”

“I’ on you”

“Don’t worry too much, just follow our instructions and it’ll be fine”

“Yes, I’ll be in your care too!”

Why are they acting so close with that guy? They are treating thisface as a companion… Wait, don’t tell me…

“Wait, don’t tell me he…”

“This guy is the guy we had filling in for you after you vanished for teeks”

Why does it see true?

Part 2

“Dammit, they actually locked me up for teeks Not only did I lose the reward from the succubi, but I actually ended up worse than when I started Nothing good came out of that”

Leaning into the chair next to the , I sighed

“There are people who are happily earningdeeper into debt no matter how hard they work This world is so unfair God dammit”

My gruhout the store, but no one responded

Even though both Sir Vanir and Yunyun are here

Sir see his store, but Yunyun was just busy building a house of cards by herself

She’s been glancing atto otten sulky after I ignored her

“Ah, I really have the worst luck Is there a kind and generous friend who’d be willing to lend some money to such an unfortunate man?”

“Don’t think that I’ll do anything you say just because you used the word friend”

“If you aren’t buying anything, please leave Moi still needs to find a way to deal with this new batch of defective goods that the inept shop owner brought in”

“Sir, shi+tty brat, come on, at least show me a little kindness”

Sir Vanir continued busying hihest level of her house of cards

My companions all left me behind and went on an adventure by themselves Just who can I spend my time with?

“There’s no need to show any kindness to a man ould call others a shi+tty brat”

In response, I grabbed the table and started shaking it

“P-Please stop! This is about to become my best house of cards yet”

“You wanted ht? Very well, how about we start with collapsing this house of cards? I’ll go first”

“Ahh! This is why you’re so disliked!”

Yunyun screamed as she desperately tried to steady the table At that moment, Sir Vanir slammed a square box on top of it with a loud smack

“AAAAAH! My house of cards!”

“Oh, so you were here, she who has reached the zenith of loners Hey, delinquent adventurer, I’ll give you a irl and leave”

“Oh, you’re giving it toas it isn’t an Axis Cult recruitladly accept it”

I carefully studied the small box that Sir left on the table, but I had no idea of what it is

“Sir, what kind of ic item is this box?”

“It’s an item that resolves the toilet issues that adventurers face on their journeys It’s a portable toilet that is shrunken throughthe box will activate it It also provides running water and a business It’s a wonderful item that even women will be able to use without worries”

“Oh, this is a pretty good item! I won’t return it even if you ask me to!”

I don’t knohat came over Sir, but this will be worth quite a bit of money Fe to business in the wilds, after all

“I wouldn’t say soh there enerates is a little loud, loud enough to attract monsters Furthermore, it can create water, but the water it conjures cannot be controlled, so the surroundings will be flooded when it’s used”

“So it’s just a defective product… Yeah, I don’t need it”

“Hmm, Moi wanted to foist it on you since it couldn’t be returned Then, what about this?”

Sir picked up the box and replaced it with a large orb

It’s transparent, and little sparkles can be seen dancing within it

“Sir, what’s this?”

“It’s a sphere that holds a powerful lightning spell inside It’s powerful enough to harical creatures”

“True, I do feel a very strong ic from it”

Having recovered, Yunyun regarded the ball with an iaze I suppose I can trust the word of a Cri feels off about this

“And it’s downsides?”

“You’re surprisingly cautious for once Well, it can only be activated by holding it in both hands, and the lightning isn’t fired in front of it, but drops right to the ground That’s all”

“So it can only be used in a suicide attack… I think I’ll pass on this, Sir”

After returning the ball to Sir, he heaved a deep sigh

“So you don’t need it, huh Moi thought that this’d be a good chance to get rid of a few of the unsellable iteht, but that doesn’t see very well Bah, no matter, you can come pick it up whenever you want I’ll provide one to you free of charge”

To be able to reduce the confident and teasing Sir to such low spirits, the storekeeper

“Nevernored me and ran off on an adventure with a temporary member! Can you believe that?!”

“So they finally lost their patience for you You reap what you sow It’s only natural for a human to react this way”

“Yeah Actually, I’”

Even Sir and Yunyun are siding with my companions

“Aren’t friends supposed to stick together through thick and thin? Helpingme when they strike it rich, isn’t that what humans should do?”

“You’re the only one who benefits froht not be the best person to say this, but don’t you think you are a little lacking in humanity?”

“Dust-san talking about how hu that she wouldn’t use Explosion today Friends are very important, you know!?”

Never ahead of herself and lecturing me with all kinds of nonsense

It’s like how I get lectured by Lynn and Taylor whenever I run into thele one of you is way too serious

You’ll just end up wasting your life away by being an inflexible hard head orks themselves to death…

“What’s wrong? Why did you become silent? That kind of listless expression doesn’t suit you”

“Ah, he does look serious for once”

“Leavenow”

A bit of ain I should leave before they start asking questions

I left my seat and went to the door

“Delinquent adventurer who’s still haunted by his past, allow the devil who sees all to give you a bit of advice Don’t let your guard down”

“A-ah, I don’t really get it, but thanks for the warning, Sir”

I offered a word of thanks to Sir before leaving the ic item store

“Did Sir pick up on that? And here I thought I already buried it…”

Sigh… It really isn’t like s

Nevermind the past, what et through today

“I guess there’s no choice but to go make money”

That ood quest

“What a drag”

After spending teeks lazing around and waiting for food to be served, doing anything right now feels like a chore

Bah, now’s not the tiuild

“Sup”

When I boldly stepped into the adventurer’s guild, I could feel the gaze of everyone focusing on me

All the adventurers in the tavern are looking at me with a shocked expression

“Hey, coreat Dust-sarace you all with his presence, you know?”

It’s been some time since I came here I boldly strutted towards the counter

I overheard a fehispered phrases when I passed by a table with a few adventurers I was familiar with, and deliberately slowed my pace down in order to listen in

“Hey, Dust’s in one piece”

“Who the hell said that Dust caught soe disease and ended up hospitalized?”

“I heard that he got arrested by Prosecutor Sena after he tried to cop a feel on her and got sentenced to a year in prison”

“Eh? Didn’t he run away in fear after angering Mitsurugi-san? That hat you said before, right?”

“I mean, there’s no way he’d be quiet for teeks of his own volition, right? All Lynn and the others would say is suggestive things like they don’t want to get involved”

I came to a complete stop

So that’s why they were giving me those looks earlier!

“Hey, assholes, don’t just e rumours! I’m perfectly fine!”

I shouted in a voice loud enough to echo around the guild, and they sunk into silence

“Tsk… If you’re that afraid of pissing e rumours about me behind my back”

“Ah, dammit, Dust’s perfectly healthy!”

“And the guild’s been so peaceful these past few days!”

“I had ten thousand Eris riding on Dust not showing up for a month! God dammit!”

The guild suddenly filled with grus and shouts

“You guys were betting onfor a cut!”

“It really becomes lively whenever you’re around, Dust-san It has been awhile”

Luna greeted me with a wry smile as she sat behind the counter

Her assets are as marvelous as usual My eyes were irresistibly draards them

“Oh, they sure are wobbling today”

“Do you want to be banished frouild?”

She shtest Yeah, she hasn’t lost her touch

After dealing with adventurers day in and day out, a little bit of flirting doesn’t phase her at all

“The guild will suffer a great loss without me, you know?”

“Is that so? We’ve been operating perfectly fine for the past teeks without you around”

Hey, aren’t her retorts harsher than usual? She’s s a lotto ry

“I-I see Are there any easy quests today?”

I think it’s best to change the topic After recent events, I’ered

“H just broke, so there are a few quests, but… Taylor-san and the others already set out with their temporary member, you know?”

Don’t tilt your head and put your finger on your cheek You’re long past the age where that kind of stuff is cute… That’s what I wanted to say, but I choked those words back

If I say anything uild, there’s a decent chance that even et taken away

“It’d be pretty difficult to go solo, you know? Though, there is an Arch on quests alone recently”

“Huh, it’s rare to see a e hack it on their own Kazuma’s explosion maniac definitely won’t be able to do that”

“Yes Noric from the rear”

To be able to handle quests on their own means that they ht be… He that works alone… that kind of reminds me of someone…

I’ht now I need money Now is not the time to be concerned about other people

“It’s still soiant toads… The giant toads that were hibernating oken up by the sound of Explosions in winter, so there probably aren’t any of theht now… There haven’t been any requests for their extermination either”

“Co a din the night I was locked up with Kazuma”

It seems like there was quite a ruckus back then, but I was pretty soundly asleep, so I don’t remember much

The culprit behind that incident was soon identified… well, I say that, but there really only is one suspect behind that incident

The only two people who can use Explosion in this town are Kazuirl and that eternally broke shopkeeper And it’s pretty obvious which one of the

“So, the only quests left are a few odd jobs in town But, well… we can’t really entrust odd jobs to you, Dust-san”

Luna avoided looking atso

“Nor work, but I do need to eat I’ll gladly accept any easy quests that you ht now”

“You still want an easy quest? Beggars can’t be choosers, you know? Rather than that… I think it’d be better to just say it All the requesters told me not to let you accept their quests”

“Huh? What’s up with that?”

“In short, it’s just the natural result of your daily behaviour Everyone’s wary of you after seeing you cause nothing but problems in town every day”

“Hey, what the hell does that mean? What have I done?”

All I did was raise a little ruckus after getting drunk There’s no need todeal out of that

It’s so that anyone would’ve done I really want to find the people who spread those kinds of ru soical dae I suffered

“What did you do? Well, let me just read out the list of co at wo arrest, property dae of modesty… There’s still more, do you want me to continue?”

“Lets just leave it at that for today”

I didn’t think it was a good idea to continue staying here, so I hurriedly left the guild

Still, it’s really troubling that I can’t accept any quests frouild This is all because of Lynn and the others leaving o on an adventure! They better reet back I’ll take away all the et from the quest!

“Ah, I’ry”

My sto for some time now

I’ll have to find soive me free food or loan h today, it’ll be tough to h tomorrow

“Money huh… Speaking of that, don’t I have a good friend who has no issues with money?”

He had been struggling with even greater debts than I a’s General, he’s been living it up!

“I should go look Kazuma up If I tell him that there’s a store with scantily clad female waitresses, he’ll happily visit it withto have, aren’t they?”

And, even if he refuses, I can still team up with him on an adventure I can’t handle those three on my own, but there wouldn’t be an issue if Kazuma’s around

Kazuirls

Of course, I don’t intend to just take froets in trouble, and I’ll definitely return the et rich or not

“Still, Kazuot hiether with three beauties Nor with those three… I wonder how he’s holding up”

A wine and party loving Archpriest of the Axis Cult

An Arch but Explosions on her mind

A masochistic Crusader who can’t land any of her attacks

… Yeah, there’s nothing to be envious about

“Oh, I’ mansion as always Kazuma! Are you in!?”

I loudly called on the doorstep, but no one ca myself three times, there was no response at all Is everyone out?

“Seriously? Is nobody at home? crap, what do I do now?”

It really changes things if my lifeline isn’t here

Do I really have no choice but to beg Lynn and the others? Going back to the all that is quite difficult Even I have my pride, you know?

After weighingslightly

“I guess I’ll apologize when they come back”

I was in the wrong too I should act like a ize

Kazuma and my companions should be back by tomorrow I’ll just have to secure a place to sleep and find some food for today

I went down the back alleys searching for sos I could beat up for soe to run across anyone

“Today just isn’t ood”

Axel is pretty peaceful co people like Sir Vanir and that oldthe stores, and the citizens here are a little more unique compared to the ones in other cities

Even the adventurers are a quirky bunch… This really is a town you can never get bored of

“I probably shouldn’t have come here”

Now’s not the tiet in the way of our friendshi+p I should hurry up after theize

Just when I was thinking about returning to the guild and asking about where they went, I heard a voice co from behind me

“Dust-san? Is so?”

I turned around and saw Loli Succubus, dressed in that village girl outfit, peeking around the corner

Did I wander over to the succubus store out of habit?

“Ah, did you come to complain about the one week of free service? Devils put a very high value on contracts, so once a contract is made, it cannot be altered no matter what happens”

I had no idea I’d end up in the cells for teeks when I ive me the week of free service now… no, actually, I really want to say that

But a contract with a devil is absolute I guess I should just accept it

“I wouldn’t say such petty things”

Plus, I need to go search for Lynn right now They arewith me, after all Obviously they’d be more important The present is more important than the past

“Is that so? That doesn’t sound like you, Dust-san Aren’t you supposed to be overfloith desires? What happened?”

“Nothing happened I’ else, I’ll be leaving”

The longer I wait, the further away Lynn and the others will get

“Is that so? Then, I’ll get straight to the point We are really sorry that your reward for helping us ended up getting voided, so, as coiving you our fullest attentions, but, if you are busy…”

“Who said I was busy?”

“Eh? Didn’t you just say-”

“It’s just your iination! Hurry up and tell me the details!”

The matter with Lynn still bothers me, but that can wait until they coer or anything Right now, this is more important

“Are you sure? You seemed to be in a hurry”

“Don’t worry about it I’ve got free time in spades”

There ht never be another such chance As if I could let it slip by

I’m sure my friends will understand I’m sure of it…

“Then, please co aover”

“Roger that, I’ll be looking forward to it”

Looks like this day just went from the worst to the best

With this, my food issues are taken care off All that’s left is wait for night to fall Receiving the fullest attentions of the succubi, ah, I can’t wait!

Night service will be included, right? Dreams are fun and all, but if I’m surrounded by those sexy onee-chans in reality too… Daht already

“So-…-did it go?”

Did I just hear the voice of a man just now?

I looked around and found myself in an unfamiliar place See consuinations

“Yes… Seeet in”

And that’s a differentfrom around that corner

Ah well, I have nothing to do until night anyways I can probably observe them to kill so of so to the heavens

I quieted my footsteps and crept closer to the source of the voice Noiselessly drawing my sword, I used it’s reflection to peek around the corner

There are two suspicious looking bastards standing there Judging froood This entire thing reeks of criminal activity

“Still, what’s wrong with this town? Wasn’t this supposed to be a town of newbie adventurers?”

“That’s what I’ve heard, but this place is just full of weirdos Things just don’t work out for us”

“Are they really newbies?”

Thanks to the succubus store, a lot of journeyman and veteran adventurers continue to stay in this town Well, it’s not like I don’t understand their feelings

Still, I feel like I’ve heard this voice somewhere before

“Yeah, the kidnapping fell through I still can’t believe the lady of a noble faet involved with her even with all that money at stake”

“Soot in the way too Even if he didn’t appear, I already lost allhow she acts”

Hey, aren’t these guys the idiots who tried to kidnap Darkness?

Sena said so this town, didn’t she?

I think it’d be best not to get involved for now They know rab rab all their loot, but right now I’m alone

Plus there’s absolutely no way I can ht’s events There’s no reason for h, I suppose I should inform the police about this

Just as I was preparing to creep away from the place-

“Her nairl in that party he infiltrated”

What did he just say? Did I mishear it, or did he mention Lynn?

“Yeah, that girl with the pretty face is Lynn It’s a party of two irl One of their party members was indisposed, so he was easily accepted into the party”

“He looks like a proper good guy after all, so it’s easy for hi the uys, but be gentle with the girl That loli face of hers is very valuable”

“If only she was a little younger Still, looking younger than her actual age is worth quite a lot of points”

“Having a younger-looking body is , but I won’t ask for too irl who’s hundreds of years old but still looks like a child”

“A loli hag? Really? Personally, I don’t think it counts as a loli unless her personality and mental state lines up with each other”

“That’s why you’re uncultured The definition of a loli isn’t fixed, you know? You should broaden your ap moe is?

“Gapto it, but what does it mean?”

I wasn’t able to clearly hear the conversation, but, isn’t this a bit weird? They were talking about kidnapping and stuff awhile ago, right?

It sounds like they regard Lynn quite highly It’s certainly so I wouldn’t expect to hear from the mouth of criminals

“If it wasn’t the request of a valued client, I wouldn’t hand her over, but we can’t live without money”

“Yeah, boss, but we can properly entertain her before we reach the drop off point It’s like our mission of sorts, after all Anyway, isn’t it about time to head to the rendezvous point? The others went on ahead of us, but we still need to make some preparations for the ambush”

Right, there’s no longer any reason for me to let them be

Taylor and the others really are idiots That’s why I keep saying that if they look handsoood

There’s sosa kidnapping Now that er any reason for me to hold back

“Yeah, it wouldn’t do to be late”

“Hey, wait up”

Thecalled boss earlier turned around at the sound of ht into his face

The other man was slow to react to this developut

“Gurk!”

Yeah, this is how a sneak attack should go

Now then, leaving aside the guy who’s foauy who seee first In place of a rope, I used the belt of the guy who see

Right, noon’t be able to run away If I have to tie someone up, it’d be better if it was a woman… Lets leave that aside for now Time to pump him for the details

“Wake up already Hey!”

I lightly kicked the guy in the gut, and he sat up with a gasp

“Did you have some sweet dreams?”

“What are you doing? What do you want?”

“Can’t you tell? Hurry up and cough up your valuables”

The henchman really doesn’t havethat’s worth et? At this point, I ht as well strip the clothes from their back and sell them

“Taking my clothes too? Are you even human?”

The boss seenored it

Right, now that I’ve gotten what I want, I s around the back alley on the floor

Oh, I’ll be taking those shoes too Now even if they run away, I’ll be able to catch up easily That’s if they have the guts to run barefoot across broken glass

“You guys really should learn to save money… No wait, that’s not it Tellabout earlier”

“I don’t knohat you are talking about… Why would you want to knoay? It has nothing to do with you”

So you’re playing du

There’s plenty of ways to make people spill the beans, but time is of the essence, so let’s use the most direct method

“The people you were planning to ambush sounded like my party o”

“Wait, you’re talking about that? Not the loli discussion?”

The boss’s face paled He probably just peggedsense of justice No one would expect me to be that closely involved

“Right, noerfunny…”

“Tsk, you’re not going to say that you’ll beat ht? An adventurer wouldn’t lay a hand on a defenseless opponent, right?”

“I wouldn’t do soh… we could have so of yours”

“Eh?”

Judging from the way his jaw dropped, it doesn’t see my response

“Why don’t we start with a passionate kiss between the two of you? Then we’ll rub your face into his crotch”

“Hey, stop! Y-You’re joking, right?”

“Whether it’s a joke or not is up to you”

There’s no need to use violence when there’s a peaceful way of getting what I want

With a bright s over

As I lifted hiaze of the boss as desperately shaking his head with tears in his eyes

Part 3

“This warmth is… This warmth is…”

“You’re pretty stubborn, aren’t you? I didn’t expect you to hold out this far”

After extracting all the details for hi to show my appreciation

I hope it doesn’t awaken soe in you

Still, to think there’s an organization that kidnaps people in Axel This is o easy on outsiders

“Still, I messed up”

The boss doesn’t knohere the rendezvous point is The one who knew that is the henchman, and he’s completely out of it No matter what I do, he won’t wake up

But, there’s a way to learn where they are headed

I remembered that the Succubus shop was close by It’s a little out of the way, but I decided to pay it a visit There’s still sohtfall, but I opened the door without reservation