Chapter 530: The Second Troublesome Party Member Goes Online
Three days later, as winter gradually approached, the temperature dropped significantly. Leaves by the roadside began to yellow, and weaker monsters started hibernating.
Eiji and Airi arrived at the guild early in the morning.
"Seems pretty empty," Eiji remarked as they entered the guild hall and took seats on nearby chairs, glancing around.
The hall was sparsely populated—aside from the staff who had just started their shifts, only seven or eight adventurers were present.
Their arrival drew quite a bit of attention, with several adventurers coming over to greet them.
"Do any of you know who the guild's external support is?" Eiji asked them directly.
"No idea. Miss Luna's kept it pretty well hidden," one replied after exchanging glances with the others, shrugging helplessly.
"By the way, Mr. Nangou, are you two here to join the subjugation team?"
"That'd be such a relief!"
"Everyone knows how strong you two are!"
They looked at him expectantly.
"Just here to observe," Eiji shook his head, neither confirming nor denying.
After all, this was his subordinate—he couldn't just sit back and watch him get taken out without a clear reason. If word got out, the Demon King would lose all face.
"Is that so? I heard joining this subjugation team comes with a hefty reward! That's why we're here. Are you here for that too, Mr. Nangou?"
"Idiot, does Mr. Nangou look like he needs money?"
"Oh right, I forgot!"
They laughed among themselves.
The fact that Eiji was a noble playing at being an adventurer was common knowledge in Axel.
Wealthy, powerful, and handsome—this combination made him incredibly popular among the women of Axel. Every morning, the inn where he stayed was crowded at the entrance, and people would hand him flowers whenever he walked down the street.
"Kazuma, you guys came too?"
Before long, another party entered the guild, immediately drawing greetings from the adventurers.
Looking over, it was Kazuma Satou and his harem of three strikingly different beauties—an impression only newcomers would have. The adventurers of Axel all knew just how hard Kazuma had it, carrying those three.
"No choice. This idiot gave all his money to a scammer, and we still have debts to pay. We had to take on some jobs," Kazuma said, looking even more haggard than before as he slumped into a chair.
"If we don't find a way to earn money soon, we'll freeze to death in the stables this winter!"
Oof.
Even Eiji had to admit—that was rough.
Unlike other reincarnators who arrived with overpowered cheats and rose to prominence immediately, Kazuma truly started from zero—and with three troublesome party members to boot.
"Speaking of which, isn't that Kazuma Satou a reincarnator? Why doesn't he have any cheat abilities?" Airi asked, puzzled. She'd been wondering about this for a while.
Reincarnators were all extraordinary in their own ways.
Kyouya Mitsurugi and others like him were obvious examples, while Eiji was even more absurdly strong.
Someone as ordinary as Kazuma was rare—no, in fact, she'd never seen one like him before.
"Are you sure he doesn't have any cheats?"
Eiji narrowed his eyes, his gaze settling on the blue-haired priestess.
"That woman claims to be the goddess Aqua."
"This is a limited first-edition portrait! I'll give you a discount—twenty million for it!"
"Who would buy that?! And isn't it torn to pieces?"
"I glued it back together with rice paste! Wait, that means this portrait now carries my masterful craftsmanship. I'm raising the price—twenty-two million for you!"
"Get lost!"
"This is too stupid. How could it possibly be real?"
Airi looked at the blue-haired idiot aggressively peddling portraits to passersby and instinctively shook her head in disbelief.
"..."
Eiji was left speechless.
Logically speaking, it made sense that Satou Kazuma had brought the goddess herself as his cheat into this world. But this goddess was so utterly moronic that it was impossible to believe she was actually divine.
Clatter!
The guild hall grew livelier.
Just then, the guild doors swung open again, letting in a gust of cold wind that hit everyone in the face.
"Sorry, am I late?"
Eiji's eyes sharpened.
Entering through the door was a beautiful woman with slightly wavy, chestnut-brown hair.
She wore a purple robe with an apron, appearing to be in her early twenties. Her figure was tall and voluptuous, the buttons on her chest straining tightly as if the "blessings" inside might pop out at any moment.
Her face was just as exquisite as Airi's, though her features were softer, exuding a more gentle and refined aura.
"It's the shopkeeper!"
"The broke shopkeeper is here!"
"Is the shopkeeper joining the subjugation team too?"
The adventurers immediately swarmed toward her with enthusiasm.
The chestnut-haired beauty was clearly very popular, instantly becoming the center of attention as everyone gathered around her, chatting and laughing.
"Is that Miss Wiz?"
Airi recognized her at once, her face filled with surprise.
"You know her?"
Eiji's gaze swept over Wiz like an X-ray.
Her measurements were instantly logged into his "blessings" database.
"She's one of the Demon King Army's executives."
"Excuse me?"
Eiji froze.
"Her name is Wiz. She's a lich, and incredibly powerful. She's also an old friend of King Barnier."
Airi's tone was casual, as if she didn't particularly care.
"Father thought she was strong enough, so he specifically recruited her as an executive for the Demon King Army."
"Then why is she here?"
"She only handles maintaining the barrier. She has no interest in the Demon King Army, so she came to Axel to open a shop."
I see.
That's why those people just called her the shopkeeper.
"You're interested in her?"
Airi shot him a look, her expression subtly displeased.
This guy's tastes were so blatant!
In terms of looks, she was just as stunning as Wiz, yet he never showed her any attention. Now, the moment Wiz appeared, his eyes were glued to her.
"Wiz has terrible business sense. She once embezzled over two billion from the Demon King's Castle to open shops and lost everything. She still hasn't paid it back."
Airi's tone was icy.
Back then, Father had cried rivers, regretting for the first time that he'd recruited Wiz as an executive. She'd also been stuck eating nothing but greens and tofu for a month—Airi remembered it all too well.
"...Don't you have any proper executives in your Demon King Army?"
Eiji took a step back, putting some distance between them as if to say he wasn't associated with them.
How could two billion be squandered so easily?
"Am I not one?"
Airi Yasaka retorted indignantly.
"Oh, isn't this Miss Yasaka?"
As the two were talking, a delighted voice suddenly rang out beside them.
"Do you remember me? I'm Wiz! Wiz! We used to see each other often at the Demon King's Castle!"
What a troublemaker!