A cacophony of noises echoed.
When Zunzun woke, he was lying flat in his cage.
In the corner sat the idiotic goddess Aqua, arms crossed over her knees, a blank expression of doubt in her eyes. He felt something soft behind his head.
Could it be...
He looked up, and instead of seeing the roundness of the sky, he saw a cliff and a delicate chin.
"What? It's Megumin..."
"Why, you didn't think it was Yunyun? What do you want to say? Just say it, I'm all ears!"
"It's Megumin, that's great!"
Zunzun, driven by emotion, immediately turned over and rubbed his face against Megumin's legs, inhaling the familiar scent.
While not as soft as Yunyun's, they were still springy and felt wonderful.
"Wait, wait..."
Megumin gently nudged his head. Although she made a gesture of rejection, she didn't push him away. Instead, she stroked Zunzun's head.
"You're such a spoiled brat."
Huh?
What's going on? Why is my heart beating so fast?
Zunzun suddenly felt a little embarrassed and pulled himself up into a sitting position.
"So, what happened? What about Aqua?"
He hadn't remembered anything since the huge wave threw him underwater. It was like the Crimson King had erased time, leaving him feeling uneasy.
"Actually..."
Megumin recounted what had happened.
As expected, he knew Aqua was behind the huge wave, but he hadn't anticipated such a massive chain reaction. The idiotic goddess's destructive power was immense.
"So what's going on now?"
Zunzun looked outside the cage. Darkness and Yunyun stood on either side, while Kazuma was leading the carriage. In front of them stood a black-haired boy in armor with a magic sword at his waist.
It was none other than Mitsurugi Kyouya.
"Huh? What's going on with him..."
Zunzun was stunned for a moment before realizing what had happened.
Because the Dullahan had taken over the castle, the guild had summoned high-level adventurers to the capital. Apparently, Mitsurugi Kyouya was one of them—but no one expected him to return so soon.
"Kazuma!"
Mitsurugi pointed at Kazuma and shouted rudely, "It's one thing to imprison the goddess, but locking Zunzun in a cage too... Unforgivable!"
He looked very agitated.
"Hey, why are you so worked up? It's not like I forced her into the cage."
Kazuma shouted back, clearly annoyed.
Honestly, it was all the stupid goddess's own fault. He had nothing to do with it. If anything, he was also a victim.
"Not only did you let Lady Aqua sleep in the stable, but you even let Zunzun drown... You... You bastard!"
Mitsurugi grabbed Kazuma's collar with increasing force.
"What do you want from me?!"
Kazuma snapped. If he had a powerful artifact like the magic sword, he wouldn't be sleeping in stables with a deranged goddess.
"It's one thing to have a beautiful Crusader, but you've monopolized the goddess and the lord too... I'm so envious!"
"Hey, your true feelings are showing."
Mitsurugi had every right to be upset. He had endured countless hardships trying to recruit companions—being tormented by chuunibyou in the Crimson Demon Village, harassed by Cecily in Alcanretia—and none of them had joined him.
In his mind, Kazuma was just a lucky amateur who somehow collected five high-ranking companions. That alone would throw anyone off balance.
But Aqua, Darkness, and even Megumin were all more style than substance.
"Kazuma, do you think you're an adventurer?"
"I think I am."
"I see. I understand."
Mitsurugi nodded solemnly, as if he had finally grasped the truth of the universe.
"In that case, how about a duel? If I win, you give me Aqua and the lord. If you win, I'll grant you one wish—anything."
And so it began.
News of the upcoming duel between Mitsurugi and Kazuma spread quickly throughout the town. People rushed to the scene.
"What, Mitsurugi wants to duel?"
"Kazuma? Why are they clashing?"
"Over there—hurry up!"
In a flash, adventurers surrounded the two of them.
Kazuma panicked, muttering, "Hey, hey, why are so many people gathering?"
He had hoped to pull off a sneak attack while Mitsurugi was distracted, but the growing crowd made that impossible.
"Come on, everyone, place your bets!"
Zunzun, using the cage floor as a counter, yelled at the onlookers to start betting. The idiotic goddess Aqua, having recovered from her funk, eagerly joined him.
Darkness, sweating profusely, panted and said...
Kazuma and Mitsurugi faced off, surrounded by pointing adventurers muttering about the duel.
"Hey, who did you pick?"
"Of course Mitsurugi!"
"Same here!"
"Heh, Kazuma may be clever, but how could he beat Mitsurugi?"
"Right? Kazuma's a good guy, but he's just clever."
"Zunzun must be doing charity at this point."
Everyone was pessimistic about Kazuma. That would be fine, if not for how they kept mocking him afterward. It made him feel like life was unfair.
A shout came from the distance.
"Kazuma—!"
"Zunzun? Are you trying to comfort me right now?"
"That's right—! Kazuma, focus on the duel! Don't let them distract you. Just think of them as barking like a stupid dog!"
This guy... I thought he was cheering me up, but he's just messing with me!
Seeing this, Mitsurugi scoffed. "Seems like you're not very popular either."
"What do you care?!"
Kazuma snapped, but it only made him look stubborn.
"Alright, let's begin—"
"Steal———!"
Before Mitsurugi could react, Kazuma launched a surprise attack, using the most despicable, shameless, and vulgar skill in his arsenal.
A brilliant flash blinded everyone. Mitsurugi instinctively took a defensive stance, but when the light faded, his sword was gone—and appeared in Kazuma's hands.
"Eh… Eh!!!?"
The onlookers gasped in disbelief. Mitsurugi stared at his empty hands.
Kazuma didn't waste the opportunity. He smashed the heavy sword onto Mitsurugi's head, sending him tumbling to the ground, eyes rolling comically.
"How, how could this be..."
"Mitsurugi actually lost!?"
"To Kazuma!?"
The crowd roared.
Unable to take it, Kazuma shouted, "That last one—what the hell do you mean!?"
Still unconvinced, some of the adventurers shouted at Zunzun and Aqua, who were crouched in the cage, leaving them helpless.
"It was a rigged match, no doubt about it!"
"Give us our money back!"
"I can't accept this—absolutely not!"
Zunzun didn't care. The facts were there, and denial wouldn't change them.
Meanwhile, Kazuma used his newfound reputation to scare off Mitsurugi's two companions, effectively acquiring a magic sword that boosted his strength and could cut through anything—though only Mitsurugi could wield it.
He used underhanded tricks to win, terrorized girls to get his way, claimed to be a true feminist, and wasn't above delivering flying kicks to women.
Before long, Kazuma's reputation as a brutal and shameless adventurer spread throughout Axel.
With the duel over and no way to confront Zunzun and Aqua, the disgruntled bettors departed.
"Hurry up, hurry up! Look how much we made!"
"I know you're excited, but hold on."
Zunzun pushed away the idiotic goddess, who had lunged at him like an overexcited puppy, tongue out and scratching at his chest—where all the money was stashed.
"Hurry up! Hurry up!"
To outsiders, it might have looked like she was hitting on him.
"Wait, you two!"
Kazuma approached, magic sword in hand.
"I want a cut too! You used me as a betting piece, that's too much! And this whole mess was your fault! I want emotional compensation!"
"No problem, Kazuma. You get a share too."
Zunzun, grateful for Kazuma's contribution, gave him a thumbs-up.
"Thanks to your despicable behavior and scumbag image, no one thought you'd win. We made a killing!"
"Heh. I'll take that as a compliment."
Kazuma smirked, and his smile widened when he received his 300,000 Eris share.
Aqua also got 200,000.
Thanks to the Cabbage Harvest Festival, adventurers had some spending money—now all of it belonged to Zunzun.
News of Kazuma defeating the third-ranked adventurer Mitsurugi Kyouya quickly reached the capital.
Everyone was shocked and asked...
Who is Satou Kazuma?
-End Chapter-
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