For a few days, I did quests with Kazuma and the others in Axel Town. Yunyun was also happy to be able to do quests with Megumin. At first, I checked how much Kazuma's skills had improved by fighting a Giant Toad; as expected, his skills definitely improved while I was teaching him, but recently, since we've been mostly doing separate activities, there hasn't been much time to teach, so his skills haven't increased that much.
So, I decided to take on quests where Kazuma could fully participate while simultaneously providing swordsmanship guidance. As expected, once I started teaching again, his skills began to improve rapidly. I thought that if only Kazuma grew stronger, Kazuma's party would become quite a good composition. So, Kazuma needed to put in a bit more effort.
After a few days, we all headed to a dungeon that was some distance away. Kazuma had quickly accepted a quest for a dungeon where a new passage had been discovered.
"For a beginner's dungeon, it's unnecessarily far away. How arrogant."
Since it was far, Aqua had many complaints.
This time, since Megumin, who only knows [Explosion magic], couldn't enter the dungeon, Yunyun decided to stay with her. This dungeon was one created by an archwizard who was once called the strongest. The lich living here had some circumstances and was a good fellow, so dealing with him was on my mind.
It would have been easier to just eliminate him, but since he was someone I wanted to properly send off, I waited for Kazuma and the others to come here. With Aqua's help, I could deal the finishing blow and steal his abilities, and also send the lich off. So, on this occasion, while heading to the dungeon, I learned [Sacred Turn Undead] from Aqua.
"First, Cassian and I will go and come back, so you all wait here."
"Let's take Aqua too. Dungeons like this have a lot of undead."
"Hearing that, you're right. Okay, Aqua, let's go together."
I guided it well, so Aqua also decided to come along.
Kazuma, me, and Aqua—three of us—entered the dungeon exploration. I took the lead, Aqua in the middle, and Kazuma watched the rear as we moved. This dungeon was built underground, so a staircase going down first welcomed us. It was very dark, but Kazuma also had the [Clairvoyance] skill, and since Aqua is a goddess, there was no big problem seeing ahead.
Upon entering the dungeon and starting the search, Aqua found a box, checked it, and said with a disappointed face.
"Eh... only empty boxes."
"Many beginners have come here. If we enter the new passage, there might be good stuff."
"Is that so? Treasure, treasure~"
At my words, Aqua became excited. We looked at the map provided by the guild and continued forward, arriving at the newly discovered passage.
"This must be it."
Kazuma pressed the protruding brick on the wall as informed by the guild to open the new passage.
Dududud~
"This ahead is an unknown area! Isn't it full of treasure?"
"If it's not, it'll be troublesome. Because of the last incident, all the clothes and furniture in the mansion flew away, and there are more than one or two places where money needs to go."
Unlike Aqua, Kazuma was worried about reality.
We entered the new passage and began exploring. On the way, undead monsters appeared, but they were low-level undead, so Aqua and I quickly dealt with them using [Turn Undead]. I don't know if it's because I was there, but both of them didn't seem tense yet.
Then, another passage going down appeared, and we slowly went down while touching the wall.
Grrr~~!!
At that moment, a loud roar of a monster was heard from the underground we were descending to. From what I could see, since it was an underground cave, the sound echoed loudly, but Kazuma and Aqua seemed surprised by the sound and finally began to tense up.
"Hey, Cassian, isn't this dangerous? Kazuma is also trembling and following behind me?"
"What are you talking about? Aqua, it's clearly visible that you flinch every time a sound is heard, a pitiful sight."
I sighed and said to the tense ones.
"Guys, this is just because it's underground, so the sound echoes and seems loud."
Hearing my words, Kazuma and Aqua seemed embarrassed and laughed awkwardly.
"That must be it? Hahaha..."
"Right, hohoho..."
We continued forward. Low-level demons and undead appeared, but we handled them well and advanced. The disappointing thing was that the regular [Turn Undead] that Aqua uses is more powerful than the one-step higher skill [Sacred Turn Undead] that I use.
'As expected, a goddess is a goddess...'
As we went further in, numerous undead appeared. Aqua used [Turn Undead] continuously, and Kazuma and I handled the undead that Aqua missed. Certainly, Kazuma's swordsmanship skills had improved, and as his level increased, his strength and agility also rose, so he could easily handle such low-level undead. There was some reward in teaching him.
"Let's rest a bit."
"Yeah."
We decided to take a break after clearing all the undead. Kazuma, who thought it was strange that so many undead were appearing, talked about it.
"But isn't it a bit strange? The number of undead seems too many."
"Yeah."
Then, Aqua suddenly sniffed the surrounding smell and said.
Sniff sniff!
"There still seems to be undead, I smell it?"
"Huh? As a goddess, can you smell that too?"
"Of course, as a goddess, this is my specialty!"
I was a bit absurd, but I let it be. If you become a goddess, you might even get a dog's nose. Looking beside, Kazuma also heard that and seemed equally ridiculous.
Aqua sniffed the surrounding smell and went to a dead end. Kazuma, who was watching, said.
"Isn't there nothing?"
"Weird? It's definitely there..."
Then, the wall at the dead end suddenly disappeared, revealing a hidden area, and a voice was heard from inside the hidden area.
"Is there a priest there? I am 'Kill', the archwizard who created this dungeon and kidnapped the noble's daughter."
Kill, who introduced himself as the lich, rambled on about his story.
To summarize roughly, 'Kill', who was a hero in an old kingdom, fell in love with a noble's daughter who was offered to the king to curry favor, received no love, and was only abused in the castle. He asked for her freedom, but when the king refused, he escaped with her, even waging war against the kingdom, married her, and lived happily.
"So, the person lying on that bed is that noble's daughter?"
I asked, looking at the female-dressed skeleton lying on the bed.
"That's right! How about it? Isn't the collarbone line beautiful?"
"But why did you become a lich?"
"That's because I received a fatal wound from the kingdom's soldiers while protecting her, so I had no choice. So, as a request, won't you purify me? I want to go to her side now. In return, I'll give you the treasures I collected."
I pretended to be moved and stepped forward to talk.
"I'm moved. Can I purify you? No, I really want to do it."
"If someone who is moved by my old story does it, I'd be even more grateful. Please."
I asked Aqua for support and decided to purify him myself. My acting must have worked well, as Aqua readily agreed to help. Aqua drew a large magic circle where the lich was and informed that the preparation was complete.
"Well, preparation is done."
"Iya, thank you so much. Undead can't do incomprehensible things like suicide, so I was just waiting to rot away, but it's really fortunate that you came."
Before I used the magic, Aqua spoke to Kill as a goddess. Then, Kazuma, unfamiliar with this sight, watched curiously.
"Archwizard 'Kill', who abandoned divine providence and became a lich on his own, in the name of the water goddess Aqua, I forgive your sins. After Cassian's purification, before your eyes will be the goddess Eris, who has unnaturally large breasts. Even if there is an age difference, even if it's not between a man and a woman, even if it's any form, if it's good, ask her. Once again, you want to meet the young lady. She will surely fulfill that wish."
Hearing Aqua's story, I thought something was off, but upon thinking, even if the noble's daughter has already been sent off, if it's not between a man and a woman and any form is good, then they could meet as a monster and a human. This might somehow become a curse if done wrong. Instead, the hopeful thing is that ultimately, Eris will listen to that request, so I believe she will handle it well.
Anyway, I prepared to use [Sacred Turn Undead], and Aqua activated the magic circle while infusing me with divine power to assist.
"Sacred Turn Undead!!"
As I shouted, with Aqua's powerful assistance and the power of the magic circle, the lich began to disappear and be sent off.
"My wife, I'll go to meet you now..."
With those words, the lich disappeared.
Ding~!
You have acquired [(S) Explosion magic], [(A) Konosuba advanced magic], [(B) Konosuba intermediate magic], [(C) Konosuba basic magic], [(C) Undead Summon] abilities.
[(A) Explosion magic] is absorbed into [(S) Explosion magic].
[(A) Konosuba advanced magic] merges with [(A) Konosuba advanced magic] and upgrades to [(S) Konosuba advanced magic].
[(B) Konosuba intermediate magic] merges with [(B) Konosuba intermediate magic] and upgrades to [(A) Konosuba intermediate magic].
[(C) Konosuba basic magic] merges with [(C) Konosuba basic magic] and upgrades to [(B) Konosuba basic magic].
[(C) Undead Summon]
Can summon undead from corpses.
Certainly, I gained a lot. Now I can use magic with sufficient power, and moreover, [Explosion magic] might be more destructive than Megumin's. Plus, the lich was sent off well, so it seems I got everything I wanted from this dungeon.
"Let's go back now."
"Yeah, that lich named 'Kill'. I hope he meets the noble's daughter again."
We were about to go back outside, but Kazuma continued to have doubts and talked about it.
"But you know, besides the lich named Kill, undead keep appearing a lot, this strange phenomenon of encountering many undead in this dungeon, isn't it because of Aqua being with us?"
As Kazuma seemed to catch on, Aqua panicked.
"Th-that, I think... there's no way..."
"Now that you mention it, back when the Dullahan attacked, you were also targeted by the undead summoned by the Dullahan, right?"
I explained the reason to Kazuma. After all, Kazuma's level is high now, and since he doesn't hunt Giant Toads alone, he should know to avoid danger.
"That, I thought about it, and it seems because Aqua is a goddess. Wandering souls or undead might gather to Aqua seeking salvation, don't you think?"
Kazuma, who heard my explanation, seemed to have realized now.
"Then, the reason undead have been flocking to our party until now is because of that girl?"
"Maybe? But we gained a lot of experience points, right?"
"Damn it! No wonder, last time in the forest where skeleton groups appeared or in the swamp with ghouls, undead chased us like crazy and we suffered, all because of Aqua."
Kazuma's party, unlike in the original, has done many quests besides Giant Toad, so it seems they often faced undead. Remembering that undead flocked each time, Kazuma was very absurd. As such talk went on, Aqua sweated cold sweat and looked elsewhere, whistling as if it wasn't her business. Seeing that, Kazuma got even more angry and earnestly begged me.
"Hey, Cassian, can't you take Aqua with you? I decline suddenly appearing undead."
"No, as I said before, Aqua is Kazuma's special perk, isn't she?"
Where is this guy trying to pass the bomb?
"Ouch~! Damn it! Can't I return her and get a different perk?"
Kazuma tousled his hair with both hands, regretting his choice and suffering.
"Anyway, let's get out quickly. Megumin and Yunyun are waiting."
We moved with me in the lead as when we entered, but this time also, quite a lot of undead attacked, so it took some time to deal with them, but we all managed to exit the dungeon without any injuries.
When we came out of the dungeon, Megumin and Yunyun came over and welcomed us.
"You're a bit late. We were worried if something happened."
Certainly, we left around early lunch, and it's already evening, so it took a lot of time. Kazuma sighed and talked.
"Aqua has a constitution that attracts undead, so undead flocked, and it took time."
"What does that mean?"
When Megumin asked, Kazuma explained.
"Huh??? Then, all the suffering from undead last time was entirely..."
"Yeah, because of Aqua."
When everyone looked at Aqua, Aqua tried to evade the crisis with her unique way of speaking.
"It's innate that I am noble and full of life force, so there's nothing I can do! And instead, as Cassian said, we gained a lot of experience points. Plus, today we got the treasures collected by the lich, so it's not bad!"
I said to Aqua. I don't know if it will be fixed.
"But it would be good to control it a bit. When there's leisure, it's fine, but if undead rush in when there's no leisure, it's dangerous."
"Cassian is right! Control it a bit."
Then, Aqua pointed at Kazuma and made an absurd defense.
"Then, do you want me to reduce this sacred aura to Kazuma's hikikomori level? If I do such a thing, how sad would all the devout Axis cult followers in the world be!"
"This girl, she doesn't reflect at all! You should learn a bit from that lich Kill, receive some of that purity!"
"A hikikomori telling a goddess to learn from an undead!!"
I mediated as it didn't seem like it would end.
"That's enough, let's go back. It's getting dark. There's some distance to Axel, you know."
"Ugh... okay. Let's go back for now."
We returned to Axel Town, bathed in the bathhouse, and received quest rewards. Plus, with the treasures, today's income was quite good. Aqua saw that and said let's have a drink, so we ordered food and Suwa Suwa at the guild and were having a drink.
Aqua drank a glass of Suwa Suwa and looked at the treasures, talking.
"Gulp gulp, Ah~ If we keep earning like this, it would be good. Now we can take quests comfortably."
"Yeah. If someone hadn't blown away the house, such things wouldn't have happened."
Hearing Kazuma's words, Megumin flared up and said.
"And whose fault is that!"
Starting with that, Kazuma and the others began to bicker and argue. I just gave up on mediating and quietly drank alcohol and returned home. But from the next day, a problem arose. Darkness came dressed neatly and visited me, making an absurd request.
"So, you want me to date you with marriage as a premise to persuade my father a bit?"
"Yes, I originally planned to ask Kazuma, but no matter how I look, Kazuma is a bit..."
Hearing that, Kazuma flared up and said.
"What's wrong with me!!"
Darkness's father didn't like his daughter continuing dangerous adventurer work, so as soon as Darkness came home, he kept arranging matchmaking meetings, she said. So, Darkness had no choice but to lie to her father that she was dating someone among the adventurers.
"Even so, I'm already married..."
"Don't worry about that. I've already talked to Luna about it."