Konosuba Dust Spin Off 4

I grabbed the cowering Keith by the collar and pulled him up to
the front of the coach.
“The wind! The wind is in my face! H-Hey, you! Don’t turn back
while driving at this speed! Look forward! Forward!”
“It’s fine. So, can you see who’s holding the reins?”
Keith, his face a pale green of fear, narrowed his eyes on the
carriage in the distance.
Though, his eyes quickly widened in surprise. Did he see
something shocking out there?
“I don’t really care about the blue-haired one freaking out in the
back, but… Darkness looks like she’s laughing it up out front. Is
she alright in the head?”
“We already know that, don’t we? So that’s why they are running
at such a breakneck speed.”
The only thing I can do for her is pray they don’t run into an
accident. Though, Darkness will probably be happier if the
carriage took a few hard knocks.
I put my hands together and muttered a soft prayer.
“Dust!!! Keep your eyes open! Don’t take your hands off the
reins!”
“Oh, shut up. I can keep these guys under control even with my
eyes closed. See?”

100

Keith’s face turned an even deeper shade of green, before
seemingly passing out from fear and collapsing back in the
carriage proper.
“Hey, Keith just went limp! Did something happen?”
“He’s out cold!”
More panicked voices came from behind me, but I merely casually
waved back and said “He ain’t dead.”
Keith is surprisingly weak at heart.
The two of them forced their way to the front, seemingly intent on
voicing their complaints, but one look at how fast the scenery was
flying past seemed to drain out the fight out of them, for they soon
went back into the carriage without saying a word.
Just as I was starting to enjoy the sudden peace and quiet, the
carriage in front of us started slowing down before coming to a
stop.
It wouldn’t do for them to notice us, so I pulled up by the road and
brought my carriage to a stop too.
“Did something happen? Keith, don’t just laze around, take a look
and tell me if you see anything.”
I grabbed him by the collar and forced him to face in the direction
of Kazuma’s carriage.
“We finally stopped. I never knew steady ground could be so
appealing. I think I’ll forget about chasing women and just chase

101

the ground from now on… What, up front? O-oh!? There’s a horde
of monsters in the way! Kazuma and his party have exited… Why
is the lady being protected going out in front?”
Keith’s words sparked my interest, but no matter how hard I
squint, I couldn’t make out a single detail.
I really want Farsight too. If I had that skill, I could peek all I want
even from a long distance away.
“Wha– Hey, the young lady brought out a sword–”
At that instant, a bright light emerged from around where
Kazuma’s party was.
I have no idea what transpired, but the shocked expression of
Keith certainly did draw my interest.
“Hey, what happened? Don’t just stand there with your mouth
open, tell me.”
“I-I’m not entirely sure either. When the young lady swung her
sword, a bright light emerged from it and split all those cow
monsters cleanly in two… Does she even need a bodyguard?”
I thought Rain was just being polite when she said Iris was strong,
but it seems like that isn’t the case. The blood of heroes isn’t just
for show.
“Well, that’s fine, isn’t it? It’d be easier on us if we don’t have to
worry about them getting taken out by monsters.”

102

This scene repeated itself several times over the rest of the day.
Any time they would run into a horde of monsters, Iris would get
out and take care of them in a flash.

…The princess is being way too flashy. Wasn’t her identity
supposed to be a secret?

Eventually, it started to get dark out. Kazuma’s carriage stopped
and they started making preparations to camp out, so we brought
our carriage to a stop too.

Thus, our first day of tailing them came to an end.

“Now, all we need to do is watch over them from afar. Alice
probably won’t be staying up too late, so this is where we earn our
keep.”

Just as I straightened up and spouted some cool lines towards my
party, a flash of light came from behind me.

I hastily turned around to gauge what happened… and found a
small mansion where Kazuma and co. was setting up camp.

“Was there always a mansion over there?”

“Hey, I saw a flash, and a mansion suddenly appeared!”

“W-What kind of trick is this?”

Lynn and the others were thrown into disarray.

Loli Succubus seemed surprised too, but she was far calmer
compared to the other three.

103

“That’s a high-quality magic item. A portable mansion that can be
taken with you on the go. If I recall, it also creates a monster
repelling barrier when deployed.”
“Ah, that’s one of the items that Vanir-sama wanted to get his
hands on. I thought it looked familiar. Dust-san, did you hear it
from Vanir-sama too?”
“E-err, sure.”
The truth is that I actually saw a similar item in the past, but
there’s no need to tell her that.
“Say, if they have something like that, do they really need us to be
here?”
“I think so too, but that’s not such a bad thing, is it? We’ll be able
to earn a lot of money without having to lift a finger. It’d be
ungrateful to complain about that.”
We don’t even have to keep watch over them at night. This job is
turning out to be far easier than I expected.
Now that there’s no need to worry about Iris’s safety, we started
making preparations for our own camp too.
“Kazuma and his party are probably having a warm dinner in the
safety of their mansion right now, yet we have to camp out in the
open and cook our dinner over a fire…”
“Dust, stop grumbling. This is just what we usually do, isn’t it?”

104

“I’m looking forward to eating out in the open with everyone. It’ll
be fun.”
Lynn and Loli Succubus are strangely optimistic.
Taylor silently started roasting the meat over the fire. As for Keith,
I thought he’d join in with my thoughts, but he’s strangely quiet,
simply staring at the mansion in the distance.
“You’re strangely quiet. What’s the matter?”
“So unfair…”
He was muttering something under his breath, so I leaned in
closer to better make it out.
As I did so, I noticed the smell of alcohol in his breath. This guy
broke out the beer and started drinking on his own. Now that I
look closely, his face is also a little red.
“Graaaaah! This isn’t right!!!”
“Aargh, my ears! Don’t just start shouting out of the blue!”
“What’s wrong, Keith?”
“Did you eat something weird? It’s bad manners to start snacking
just before we eat, you know?”
“What’s wrong? Please calm down.”

105

This isn’t good. If Keith keeps shouting like that, someone from
Kazuma’s party might notice us. Not to mention it would also
attract the attentions of monsters.
The four of us grabbed him and tried to get him to quiet down, but
Keith continued shouting.
“Just calm down already. What’s the matter with you?”
“This is way too unfair! Kazuma is surrounded by beautiful girls in
that mansion of his, while we have to camp out in the cold!”
Seems like all the little things Keith was keeping bottled up inside
suddenly burst out all at once.
“We have women here too!”
“Ha! The only ones here are all Dust’s mistresses!”
And he suddenly said something unbelievable.
“Don’t say such ridiculous things! Who would be his mistress!?”
“Yeah! Dust might have helped me out a lot in the past, but
ultimately our relationship is just professional! There’s nothing
going on! The only person I have eyes for is Vanir-sama!”
That is true, but seeing them deny it so vehemently does piss me
off a little.
“Taylor, you too have gotten along well with a woman lately, so
why am I the only one left out! Damn it all!”

106

He let out an anguished cry, before collapsing to the ground and
falling asleep.
So he was just drunk, huh? I could just leave him as is, but I kinda
feel bad for him.
Lynn and Taylor lent Keith their shoulders and carried him off to
a tent to sleep it off.
As they did so, I motioned to Loli Succubus and whispered into
her ear.
“Sorry, but can you show him a good dream later? I’ll pay for it.”
“He’s quite drunk, so I’m not sure if he’ll actually see the dream,
but I’ll give it a try… You have a kind side too, don’t you?”
“It’s just a dream. I would like him to at least see a good one…”
This isn’t kindness, but sympathy. Besides, if Keith were to
continue to be in such a foul mood, it might end up affecting our
job. We do need his Farsight, after all.
“Since Keith is knocked out, Taylor and I will take first watch. You
two can go to sleep in the carriage. If you feel lonely, feel free to
crawl into my bed and have some late night exercises–”
“There’s no need for that.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you never wake up again.”
Don’t look at me that coldly. Don’t flash that dagger at me either,
Lynn. Why are all the women around me like this?

107

Keith must be really knocked in the head somewhere to envy me.
“Tsk, you girls really don’t understand a man’s kindness at all.”
“That isn’t kindness, it’s…”
“Perverseness!” x2
“Why are you two so in sync!? Hurry up and go to bed already!
We’ll be switching watches in the middle of the night!”
Loli Succubus and Lynn vanished into the carriage, leaving Taylor
and I around the fire.
“So it’s just us two men, huh? How dull.”
“That’s my line. Still, don’t you think this is a little odd? These
dragon carriages and that mansion are extremely highly sought
after magic items that even nobles have trouble getting their
hands on. Is she really just a noble?”
Of course he’d pick up on that.
Taylor was the one who had the most contact with Rain during
this quest, and he’s the most perceptive, and most serious, out of
all of us. It’s only natural for him to get suspicious.
“Well, Rain did say her family is fairly important. They must wield
a lot of influence. That’s probably why she had us tail them from
the shadows like this.”

108

“That’s true… In that case, it might be best not to pursue this
much further. Getting the attentions of nobles tend to lead to
trouble.”
“Let sleeping Axis Cultists lie and all that, right? All we need to do
is tail them and get paid. But nevermind that, more importantly,
Taylor, nothing happened between you and that girl, right? You
didn’t make some sweet memories without us knowing, did you?
You didn’t cross that line, did you? Did you?”
Taylor is a very straight-laced person, so I will be able to easily tell
if he’s lying.
He crossed his arms, fell into deep thought for a moment, and let
out a huge sigh.
“I don’t know what’s going through your head, but it’s just as I’ve
said in the past. All I did was show her the ropes of being an
adventurer. She was making good progress, but it’s really
unfortunate that her mother took ill. I only hope they managed to
meet up.”
“…I see.”
It’d be easy to tell him that the girl was a con woman and he’s
been had, but I can’t bring myself to do that.
I do think it’d be interesting to see his reaction, but I just can’t
bring myself to stoop that low.
It doesn’t seem like anything erotic happened between them, so
there’s no point in talking further on this matter.

109

“Nevermind me, what about you? Lynn and you are just the same
as ever, but you seem to be getting along quite well with that
Lolisa girl and Yunyun.”
“Ha! Leaving Lynn aside, the other two are just kids. I’m not a
lolicon, so I’ll pass. Though, if they grew breasts as large as
Luna’s, I wouldn’t mind copping a feel.”
“I really doubt that’s possible… Oh, sorry, my mouth slipped.
Listen, this is just between us, alright? No matter what, never let
Lynn know I said that. You got it?”
Seemingly realizing he spoke too much, Taylor turned away and
started poking at the fire with a stick.
It’s really rare for me to talk with Taylor like this. Did something
change in him after spending time with that woman?
I would much rather spend the night with a beautiful woman, but
I guess I’ll trade some guy talk with Taylor tonight.

↲

110

Chapter 2: Part 4 ↲

The next day.

We continued tailing Kazuma and his party.

They ran into monsters several times during their journey, but,
just like yesterday, Iris made short work of them.

Keith was the only one amongst us who could see them clearly,
but every time he would say they ran into something, a flash of
light would emerge and the battle would be over.

It’s to the point where I’m beginning to doubt if they actually
fought at all, but whenever we neared the sites of battle, there’d be
the corpses of neatly bisected monsters laying all over it, so it
doesn’t seem like Keith is exaggerating.

We had to endure the rocking of the dragon carriage for days, but
apart from that, the journey was perfectly smooth.

Well, there was this one time where the Explosion Girl started
catching crayfish in the river. We argued about what exactly she
plans on doing with them, but that’s really the extent of it.

The only thing that concerned me was how annoying Keith’s
endless mutterings and general sullenness was getting.

It seems like watching Kazuma being constantly surrounded by
girls is making him more and more aware of what he lacks.
Though, I can understand where he’s coming from.

“Ah, I can see Elroad!”

111

“Wow~ Is it bigger than the capital of Belzerg?”
Having gotten used to the speed of the dragon carriage, the two
girls jostled for position out at the front of the carriage and
excitedly pointed at the city rising in the distance.
I’m sandwiched between Lynn and Loli Succubus right now, but…
“If only they had a little more stuff up there…”

112

113

“Did you say something?”
“Nope, not a thing.”
Seems like I accidentally voiced out what I was thinking. I’ll need
to be careful about that.
The city in front of us is surrounded by walls far larger and more
impressive than the ones around Axel.
After we passed through the gates on the heels of Kazuma’s party,
the sights of a bustling city jumped out at us.
“Ooh, it’s just swarming with people. And unlike Axel, a lot of the
people here are dressed up. If there are so many people here, you
might be able to pick one or two up. What do you think, Keith?”
“…Oh yeah! If there aren’t any women around me, all I need to do
is get one in Elroad! There are plenty of great women here!”
I grabbed Keith by the shoulders to cheer him up, and Keith
himself seemed to be quite taken with the idea too.
Looking behind Keith, I mouthed “Cheer him on too.” towards my
other companions.
“O-Of course! There’s got to be one or two girls in this city who’d
fall for you!”
“Yeah, yeah. You look fairly decent as long as you don’t say
anything, so if you keep your true personality hidden and only
communicate in writing, I’m sure you’ll be able to pick up a girl!”

114

“As long as you don’t anger them enough to get them thirsting for
your blood, you’ll do fine!”
“…So the problem really is me…”
After hearing that, Keith curled up into a ball at a corner of the
carriage and started drawing circles in the dirt.
The others are trying their best to sing his praises, but that
definitely had the opposite effect.
“Now he’s even more depressed!”
“It was supposed to encourage him.”
“You can’t blame me, he has about as many good points as you,
Dust, so there really isn’t much else to talk about.”
“There’s almost no chance that’ll happen, but if he does manage to
successfully hit on a girl, my business will go down.”
Ah, great, now the lights have completely vanished from Keith’s
eyes. I feel like I’ve been seeing him like this a lot lately.
“You guys need to be gentler! Even a trashy person would get hurt
if you focus on their trashiness! Sure, Keith is an absolute piece of
trash, but even so, he’s the kind of person who practices in front of
a mirror every morning so he’ll be prepared when he gets hit on!
And he makes sure to change his underwear each day so that he’ll
be prepared to take a woman to bed anytime!”

115

Lynn and Loli Succubus immediately started shying away after
hearing my words. Taylor gently placed a hand on Keith’s
shoulder.
“I don’t need that kind of kindness, Taylor! And Dust, stop
spreading lies about me! Dammit, just you wait! I’ll definitely find
a girlfriend in this city and live a happy life together with her!”
Oh, he finally perked up. He’s been sulking non-stop about the
lack of women in his life for the entire journey, so it’d be nice if he
mellowed out a little after this.
After gaining his spirit back, Keith looked towards Kazuma and
his party and noticed them entering a fairly expensive inn. Armed
with this new knowledge, we decided to stay at an inn just a short
way up the street from them.
“Seems like they’ll be able to take care of the carriage and the
lizard runners too. Alright, let’s get down to work, shall we?”
After Taylor dealt with the business of renting two rooms, we
headed upstairs.
The rooms were split by gender, and Keith, Taylor, and I gathered
in our room.
“Anyway, just who is that Alice girl? I’ve never even heard of
someone that strong. Is there even a reason for Kazuma and his
party to act as her bodyguards? Ah, I guess that applies to us too.”
“Does it really matter who she is? Anyway, I’m heading out to take
a look.”

116

Keith has started to get suspicious too, but going down that line of
thought would just invite trouble on our heads, so I forcefully
changed the topic.
We kept watch over the other inn from a nearby alley, and before
long, Kazuma and his party came out.
“They seem to be headed off somewhere, but I don’t see Alice
anywhere. Aren’t they her bodyguards? Is it really fine to leave her
alone like this? What irresponsible people! Are they going to skip
out on their jobs and go visit a casino?”
“They aren’t you, you know? They probably went off to sightsee to
give that girl some time alone.”
“Well, the girl in question is waving at them from the window, so
it doesn’t seem like they are trying to sneak away. It could be just
as Lynn said.”
Keith said, raising a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes.
The Farsight skill really is convenient. I can only just barely make
out the form of a human in that window from here, but he can see
her well enough to make out what she’s doing…
“Say, Keith, can you teach me how to use Farsight?”
“There’s no way a warrior like you can learn it. It’s not like you
have the adventurer job like Kazuma.”
Dammit, if I had Farsight, I would have been able to peek to my
heart’s content! Wait, Keith and Kazuma aren’t off discovering

117

new peeking spots together and enjoying majestic views without
telling me, are they!?
“You traitor!”
“What the hell!? Don’t just start hitting me out of the blue!”
“Now isn’t the time for the two of you to be fooling around. I never
expected that they’d leave their charge alone and split up like this.
We can’t just ignore them.”
“So, what do we do? We can’t all go after Kazuma’s party. There
has to be someone here to keep an eye on Alice.”
“In that case, I’ll stay behind. I’m not well suited to sneaking
around, after all.”
Since Taylor volunteered, we left him here to watch after Alice’s
safety. The rest of us went after Kazuma.
Kazuma and his party acted like stereotypical tourists as they
walked down the streets, gazing this way and that at every new
sight.
If it ended up as just a simple sightseeing trip, it’d be easier on us
too, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.
“Oh, someone’s approaching them. Seems like it’s a group of three
men.”
At Keith’s warning, we quickened our pace and positioned
ourselves just close enough to be able to help out if needed, but far
away enough not to be noticed.

118

Their attentions were taken up by the group of newcomers, so no
one noticed us even though we crept quite close.
“The three men seems to be wearing some really fancy clothes.
Most likely, they are just a bunch of rich kids.”
“Seems like it. Oh, quiet down. I can just barely make out what
they are saying from here.”
The four of us cupped our hands over our ears and focused on
Kazuma’s conversation.
“Oho? What beautiful adventurers. Hey, blonde-haired onee-san
over there, why don’t you leave that boring guy alone and come
with us?”
After hearing those words, we turned towards each other.
Everyone was sporting furrowed brows and frowns. It’s the same
for me too, but it seems like none of us fully understood what that
man was saying.
“Wait, don’t tell me… Is that man actually hitting on those three?”
“Hey, that’s not even funny as a joke, Keith. Just who would be
that reckless?”
“There’s no one in Axel who would do such a thing.”
Just as we shared a chuckle over Keith’s tasteless joke, Loli
Succubus spoke up.

119

“Wait a minute, they aren’t residents of Axel, so they won’t know
anything about those three. And, as far as appearances go, those
three are quite beautiful.”
“Oh, yeah, we know what kind of people they are, so there’s no
way any one of us would hit on them, but they don’t know a single
thing about them. If you don’t know their personalities, they really
do just look like three beautiful girls…”
We were taken aback, but it seems like those three girls didn’t
fully understand what’s going on either, if the way they are
glancing around in confusion is anything to go by.
The residents of Axel pretty much treat them as pariahs, so having
people call them beautiful like this must be a fairly novel
experience for them too.
“You know, I kinda feel bad for them now…”
“Dust, you too, huh? Considering their appearances, it’s only
normal for such things to happen…”
“I think I should pay more attention to my daily behaviour…”
“Me too…”
Everyone present is sympathizing with the three girls that are
getting hit on. Your daily actions are really important things.
They are absolutely gorgeous if they keep their mouths shut, but
their various actions in Axel have put it all to waste.

120

After finally realizing that they were being hit on, the three of
them started hastily tidying themselves. Seeing such a sight
brought tears to our eyes.
The Party Priest then gotten ahead of herself and said something
which put the three men on guard. I didn’t need to hear what she
actually said to get the gist of things.
Next, the Explosion Girl took a step forward.
“Basically, the three of you are saying that – ‘If we could go on a
date with a super beautiful girl like you and these two beautiful
girls, we’re willing to put our assets and life on the line. That said,
why don’t we go on a date?’ – Is that what you wanted to say?”
“Not to that extent.” x3
The three men immediately refuted.
Seems like they finally noticed that they were playing with fire.
The three men turned around and started discussing amongst
themselves.
“Guess it’s a little too early for us to show up. It doesn’t seem like
their attempt will go very well.”
“Besides, it’s not like Kazuma would just let them go. There’s no
way he’ll stay silent while his companions are being hit on right in
front of him.”
Even if Kazuma sees them as more of a bunch of troublemaking
children, I’m sure he’ll step in here–

121

“Please go ahead.”

“Eh?” x4

In response to Kazuma’s unexpected response, both us and the
people over there reacted in unison.

“He’s kidding, right? Ah, Kazuma just sprinted away!”

“He just left his companions behind!”

“Eh? Wait, what!? At this rate, we’ll lose him… Argh, I’m going
after Kazuma! You guys tail the rest of his party!”

“Hey, wait a minute, Dust! Don’t push the troublesome ones onto
us!”

I ignored Keith’s words and hurried to catch up to Kazuma who
was running full pelt away from us.

It was a little surprised by his actions, but thinking on it, I do
understand where he’s coming from. There’s no way he can enjoy
this trip if he’s also having to take care of those three.

He’d rather not have to take care of them even after coming all the
way out here. Those three will definitely cause some kind of
problem.

In chasing off after him, I’ve also separated myself from some
problematic people. This would be the perfect chance to sightsee
and keep an eye on him.

It’s time to enjoy being here in this city of Elroad.

122

↲

123

Chapter 2: Part 5 ↲

“Ooooooh!!” x5

The place was drowned in cheering voices.

For some reason, Kazuma decided to visit a card game store and
participate in the contest being held there with a deck of newly
bought cards.

It’s a card game that I’ve never even seen before in Axel, but
Kazuma seemed to be quite familiar with the rules. So familiar, in
fact, that he brought his opponents to tears with all kinds of
underhanded plays.

…Well, not that I’m in any position to care about him at the
moment.

“How the hell did I lose!? Hey, you, pass your turn and let me
attack you again! Or I’ll make it such that you’ll never hold a card
in that hand again!”

As I threatened my opponent, a clerk hurriedly came over to stop
me.

“Dear customer, violence is prohibited! Sir, you can’t do that!
Listen to me! Everyone, hold this delinquent down!”

“Bring it on! I’ll attack each one of your faces head on! Your turn
will never come up again for the rest of your lives! Come at me
one at a time!”

124

“The hell are you saying!? You think you sound cool saying that!?
Everyone, get him!”
I charged at the first clerk, but there were too many of them, and
it didn’t take long for me to get overwhelmed and tossed out the
back door.
“Grah, it stinks! Cough, cough. Dammit, you threw me into a
garbage bag!”
I wanted to head back there and lodge a complaint or two, but as I
rounded to the front door, I caught sight of Kazuma leaving the
place, and hurriedly hid myself.
Kazuma seemed to be in a good mood as he headed off elsewhere.
“I get the feeling that he’d be fine even if I leave him alone, but I
can’t actually do that, can I?”
Kazuma went to a restaurant to have lunch, and after he was
done, he started wandering the streets seemingly without a
destination in mind, before entering a gift shop that he passed by.
There was no way I could head in without getting discovered, so I
stayed outside. Just then, a soft boom emerged in the distance,
accompanied with a tremor going through the ground.
“Did that Explosion Girl let loose again?”
See, I knew following Kazuma is the right choice.
I faced the direction where I left my companions and gave them a
salute.

125

I tailed Kazuma as he went sightseeing around the city till
evening, when he headed back towards where they first parted
ways this morning. The three men were already there when he
arrived… Or at least, two of them were. The last one was nowhere
to be found, and the other two didn’t look so hot either.

As for Kazuma’s companions… Darkness’s face seemed strangely
glossy as she carried the Explosion Girl on her back, who had a
refreshed expression on her face. As for the Party Priest, she was
sitting on the ground with a sour expression.

“…What did they do this time?”

“Do you want to know?”

“Graah! Don’t surprise me like that.”

A voice suddenly called out to me from behind the wall I was
hiding.

Turning around, the one who tapped me on the shoulder was
Keith. Standing behind him were a tired looking Lynn and Loli
Succubus.

“So, do you really want to know? Do you seriously want to know?”

Please don’t stare at me with your empty eyes like that, they’re
scaring me.

“N-No, it’s fine. I can pretty much guess anyway.”

126

“Yeah, of course. It was really horrible. I even started
sympathizing with those guys… I’ve gained all new respect for
Kazuma for taking care of them all this time.”
“Kazuma’s been keeping them in check all time, hasn’t he?”
“I’ll give him a special service the next time he visits the store.”
Lynn, Keith, and Loli Succubus took a deep sigh at the same time.
They must have seen something really horrible.
On the far end of the alley, Kazuma and the other men seemed to
be talking about something, before Kazuma and his party
suddenly bolted for it.
“Just half would be fine!!!”
The other men shouted as they chased after him. After confirming
that they were headed off in the direction of the inn, we too left
and headed back to our own.
They probably won’t get up to anything else tonight, so I wanted
to quickly fall asleep and get a good night’s rest in preparation for
tailing them tomorrow.

↲

127

Chapter 2: Part 6 ↲

“Right, they’re deep asleep.”
After confirming that Keith and Taylor are fully asleep, I got up
from my bed.
Now that I’ve come to the city of Elroad that’s famous for its
casinos, there’s absolutely no way I could just sleep without doing
anything. That incident earlier today didn’t count.
On tiptoes, I snuck my way to the door, only to come face to face
with Loli Succubus who was coming out from the women’s room
at almost the same time.
We nodded in acknowledgement and proceeded to exit the inn.
“Right, let’s go hit up a few casinos and go wild–”
“We are not doing that. You promised to come with me today,
didn’t you?”
And there goes my fun for the evening.
Well, I had almost forgotten about it, but I did promise to help her
out in exchange for those coupons.
“To scout this city for a new succubus shop, right? But you guys
haven’t decided on a location yet, right? In that case, wouldn’t it
be best to visit a few casinos to get a lay on the types of customers
you can expect to get?”

128

“That’s true… but no betting today. If you don’t help me out, those
coupons will be void too.”
“Yeah, yeah, leave it to me. I’m the kind of man who always keeps
my promises!”
I struck a pose, thrust my thumb towards me, and winked.
And Loli Succubus’s only response was a cold gaze.
“Then, please pay off your tab–”
“Right, let’s get going then!”
It’d be bad for me if she continued speaking, so I grabbed Loli
Succubus by the shoulders and moved her out towards the night
streets.

“How could you break your promise so quickly!? Just what is
inside your skull? Did you sell your brain to the debt king or
something!?”
“Oh, shut up. In the first place, there’s no way I can talk to the
customers without being a customer myself.”
The moment I entered a nearby casino, I bought some chips with
the advance that Rain gave me and sat down at a table.
Loli Succubus was grumbling about something behind me, but it’s
one of those thing where it’s best not to have it enter your head.

129

The person seated opposite me is a middle aged man covered in
almost obscene amounts of fat.
His neck, fingers, and wrists are all covered in gold jewelry, so he
must be fairly well off. He’s the very picture of a rich and creepy
old man.
His eyes weren’t on me, but were squarely focused on Loli
Succubus standing behind me.
Is he a lolicon like those three whom I’ve had the bad luck of
running into recently?
“My, it’s really my lucky day today. Ufufufu. Say, young lady, why
don’t you ditch that man and go get some dinner with me? One
glance is enough to tell that he’s a good for nothing–”
“Uh, err, no thank you.”
Loli Succubus hastily mumbled those words and hid behind me,
seemingly frightened by the man’s lewd gaze.
“Aren’t you a succubus? Someone like him should be a piece of
cake to you. Why are you getting scared like this? Just flash him
your panties or something and he should be under your control,
right?”
I softly whispered, and she replied with a frown.
“Even I have people I can’t deal well with. Sure, succubi enjoy
perverse people, but when someone thrusts their perverse
intentions onto you without warning, it’s, er, how do I put it… It’s
creepy. It’d be a bit like, there’s a difference between an author

130

enjoying writing erotic stories, and the author themselves being a
subject of of an erotic story, right? It’s something like that.”

“Ah, I think I kinda get it.”

Well, all she really does is create dreams, after all. It’s like a
director enjoying directing a play but not being too fond of being
on stage himself. Still, considering the kind of outfits she wears in
the store, I didn’t expect her to have such sensibilities at all.

“Oh, my, I’ve been rejected. Oh well, let’s continue on with the
game… Oh, it seems like you’ve run out of chips already.”

“Tsk.”

True, I no longer have any chips on hand.

Most of the money I got from Rain have already been used up.
However, I’m not finished yet!

“Give me more chips!”

“Eh? Haven’t you already used up your money? I don’t have any
money with me either, so don’t look at me.”

“I thought something like this might happen, so I got a bunch of
money from the adventurer’s guild this afternoon.”

I took out a fairly large pouch filled with gold and exchanged it for
chips with the dealer.

“How did you get this much money… You aren’t involved in
criminal activities here too, are you!?”

131

“Here too?” x3
The others at the table and the nearby staff all reacted at the same
time in response to Loli Succubus’s words.
“Hey, don’t call in security on the sly! These are from the
monsters that we ran into on the way here. Most of the really
expensive parts have already been taken, but for some reason,
there were still plenty of valuable parts left amongst the corpses.”
“Doesn’t that mean you’re stealing the loot from Kazuma and his
party…”
“What are you talking about? I’m just taking care of the corpses
that they left behind. Even if they don’t thank me, there’s no
reason for them to blame me either.”
I don’t know exactly why, but Kazuma’s party didn’t seem to have
much interest in harvesting the monsters they defeated, so I’m
just helping myself to what they discarded.
“As long as you have the money, I don’t really mind. Now, shall we
continue our game?”
“Sure! Don’t come crying to me after you lose everything
including the shirt on your back!”

“Are you an idiot!? Hey, are you an idiot!?”
Loli Succubus screeched by my ear.

132

After just a few minutes, the only thing left on me were my pants
and the sword I always carry around.
“Dammit! How could I have lost every round!? Isn’t it strange!?”
“I’m surprised too. To think that I didn’t lose a single round… I’m
not trying to belittle you, but perhaps you should really consider
quitting gambling.”
How the hell is my opponent feeling sorry for me?
I thought he might have been cheating or something, but judging
from his reaction, that doesn’t seem likely.
Still, I really can’t win even a single hand. Has luck abandoned
me?
Luck, huh… Yeah, the guys at the guild were surprised at how low
my luck score is when I first went to get my adventurer’s card
made. Though, there’s a priest that showed up recently who has
an even lower luck than me.
Perhaps it’s because of that, but it’s an undeniable truth that I
rarely win in games of luck.
On the other hand, Kazuma seems to have unusually high luck.
He’s played several dozens of hands, but he’s never lost. I’ve tried
several methods to try and imitate Kazuma’s successes, but none
of them have worked out so far.

133

“There are some things men just cannot back down from! After
losing this much, my next match will definitely be a win! This is
how the world works!”
“That’s the thought process of a trashy human! You said the exact
same thing just now and lost anyway, didn’t you?”
“I’ll admit your resolve, but you’ve run out of chips, haven’t you?
Without gold nor chips, there’s nothing you can do.”
It’s just as the old man says. My wallet is completely empty, and
there is nothing else I could offer as a collateral.
The only thing I have left on me is this sword. However, this
sword isn’t something I can use as a wager on a bet.
“Sigh. Very well, I’ll stop here.”
“If you absolutely have to continue, you could listen to a request of
mine. If you do so, I don’t mind lending you any number of chips.”
This perverted old man is definitely going to push some
impossible request onto me. And it’s obvious what he’ll ask from
the smile on this face.
Still, his gaze is squarely focused on Loli Succubus, so…
“Right, count me in!”
I immediately agreed.
“I-I haven’t even explained what I want yet. Are you really okay
with it? Anyway, in exchange for these chips… could you lend that

134

cute companion of yours to me for a night? Yes, I understand that
I’m asking for quite a huge deal, so, let’s go with this. If you win
our next game, you don’t have to–”
“Sure.”
“Eh?” x2
Loli Succubus and the old man both seem stunned by my answer.
Did they not hear what I said?
“Like I said, I’m fine with it, so let’s do this already.”
“W-Wh-What are you deciding on your own! I didn’t agree to any
of this!”
She shook me by the shoulders, but I simply looked casually at my
opponent.
“Ah-is that so? Perhaps you should take a little more time to think
it over? She herself doesn’t seem to be quite on board with it.
Furthermore, she looks quite young. Is she really of age? I do
enjoy having a drink with young women every so often, but even
so, it’s not too late for the two of you to talk things over before
coming to a decision.”
You are the one who suggested it in the first place, why the hell
are you getting cold feet now?
And where did that lecherous old man persona disappear off too?
I didn’t misinterpret his intentions and he’s actually a decent
person, did I?

135

“So all you want from her is to share a few drinks and see a good
dream, right?”
“W-Well, essentially… Though the way you put it is… For some
reason, I’m starting to feel a little guilty…”
Don’t scratch your cheek like that. You’re a grown man. It’s just
disgusting when a grown man does that!
“You should be more confident! No matter what it is, you lose the
moment you get cold feet. Just believe that you are in the right
and act accordingly. Now, come on, puff out your chest and let’s
do this again! Be more forceful in your words!”
“I-Is that so? Okay. Fuhahahaha! Get on your knees if you desire
money, you pauper! Go ahead and lick my boots clean too!
Gahahaha!”
The old man let out a hearty laugh and glanced over in my
direction.
“Don’t just get carried away, you two! What about me!?”
“He just wants a few drinks, so it’s fine, isn’t it? He seems fairly
rich, so if I manage to win, I might be able to get on the casino’s
VIP list. Plus, if you strut your stuff and make an impression here,
won’t your status be higher than the other succubi when you
finally set up a branch here?”
“Ah, I see. In that case… I’ll do my best and cheer you on!”

136

Loli Succubus took off the villager’s dress she was wearing with a
flourish, revealing the succubi lingerie she had underneath.
This girl has a strong desire to be recognised as a succubi, so she
folds really easily when I play that angle up.
“Uwoooah!” x5
My surroundings erupted into cheers from the patrons who were
keeping an eye on the game.
Seemingly not satisfied with the reactions she got, Loli Succubus
smiled and started blowing kisses at a few of the closest patrons.
Her bat-like wings are sticking out, but it seems like everyone
thinks of it as just a costume.
“Hey, did you just say that you didn’t like putting yourself in the
spotlight?”
“Did I say that?”
“T-This girl…”
Don’t tilt your head like that. It might be cute, but you’re not
fooling me.
Ah, well, nevermind that. The old man I was facing off against
seems to be getting excited by what he’s seeing, so I doubt he’d be
able to make rational decisions right now. I should be able to win
easily in this case.
Right, here’s where the real show starts.

137

“How could this be!? I lost every match again!? You are cheating,
right? You have some kind of trick up your sleeves, right!?”
“N-No, it’s just luck…”
Despite having decisively won, the old man seated opposite me
was covered in cold sweat.
Next to him was Loli Succubus, pouring out a glass of wine with a
smile.
“Please give it up, Dust-san. I’ll be having a lavish meal with him,
so feel free to head back first.”
“Y-You little…”
Halfway through the game, it was revealed the old man is quite
rich and owns a fair amount of land in the area. The moment she
learnt that, Loli Succubus switched over to his side and started
cheering for him instead.
“What do you wish to eat? Go ahead and order whatever you
want.”
“Kya~ That makes me so happy. Thank you for your treat!”
What obvious flattery! Hearing the two of them spout words laden
with such obvious ulterior motives makes my skin crawl, though I
suppose it might just be a side effect of me being clad in only my
pants.

138

“I won’t accept this! There’s no way my luck is this bad! You must
have pulled off some kind of trick!”

“Yeah, yeah! There’s something really strange with this place!
They have to be up to something shady in the back! You’re
planning on tricking a beautiful priest like me and going ‘Hehe,
I’m sure you know what’s going to happen if you can’t pay up,
right?’ and forcing me to do some erotic stuff! If you admit it now,
repent, return my money back to me, and donate all your earnings
to the Axis Cult, I might forgive you!”

Someone was saying some really strange things in an even louder
voice next to me.

I turned around, and the source of that voice turned out to be
woman wearing a blue nun’s habit.

…I think I recall seeing her before. She’s that crazy priest who
tried to interfere back when I bought that magic sword from that
Mitsu-whatever fellow.

I don’t know her name, nor do I want to, but I know for a fact that
nothing good will come out of getting involved with her.

“Hey, what’s a priest doing in a casino in the first place?”

“The Axis Cult does not prohibit gambling. ‘Even if you restrain
yourself and live a serious life, there’s no telling what comes
tomorrow. Thus, instead of living for the uncertain future, you
should live for the concrete present!’ This is written in the Axis
Cult scriptures!”

It doesn’t seem like she remembers me.

139

“I mean, I kind of agree with that philosophy, but is that really
something to be enshrined as doctrine…?”
I know full well that the Axis Cult is a problematic organization
from living in the same town as that party priest for so long, but
they really are a rotten bunch. It’s rumoured that even the Demon
King’s army gives them a wide berth.
“H-Hey, who was the one who let such a problematic customer
in?”
“I told you plenty of times not to get involved with the Axis Cult!”
“I’m sorry! She seemed pretty sensible at first, so…”
The dealers and staff started making a fuss upon learning that
she’s a member of the Axis Cult.
“More importantly, you’re a poor victim of this malicious casino
too, right!? Why don’t we join forces and defeat this evil
together!? Let’s take back the money we lost through these unfair
wagers! Actually, I won’t be able to afford tonight’s rent if I don’t
get it back!”
“You bet the money you were counting on to buy
accommodations? Come on, at least show a little bit of restraint.”
“…Do you want a mirror so you can take a good look at yourself?”
Guess that’s not too convincing when I’m clad in only my trousers.

140

“I’ll let you off this time, so just return my money to me.
Otherwise, the budget I forcibly raised to go search for Zesta-sama
who just vanished one day would be entirely gone!”
“Y-You…”
I have no idea who this Zesta is, but what kind of person would be
gambling while they are searching for someone?
“If you don’t return me my money, I’ll turn this casino into a
meeting spot for the Axis Cult from tomorrow! Everyone will be
recruiting customers while picking up any coins that fall onto the
floor! It’ll be fun!”
“That’s horrible! Please, anything but that!”
A man who seemed to be the manager started sweating profusely
in the face of the Priest’s threats.
Should I join forces with her and stir things up too? They might be
the fearsome Axis Cult, but everyone else will be scared if they
were on my side.
…To be honest, I really don’t want to join forces with the Axis
Cult, but it should be fine if it’s for just a short while.
“Yeah, yeah! This place will become a gathering spot for all kinds
of weird folks! If you don’t want that to happen, give us back our
money! And do something about all my games in the future. You
get what I mean, right!?”

141

“Yeah, yeah! You say some pretty good things! I’m not doing this
for you or anything, but I don’t mind giving you a special spot in
the Axis Cult if you join!”
Why are you suddenly blushing yet getting angry at the same
time?
And don’t push that recruitment form onto me.
“Huh? I heard that adopting such an attitude would make any
virgin fall for you…”
“W-Who’s a virgin!? Just so you know, I’m the victor of a hundred
conquests back in Axel, to the point where I’m constantly lacking
sleep due to how much attention I’m getting!”
“Eh? Dust-san, don’t you make use of our store because you’re
lonely? And you never have had any trouble sleeping either.”
This damn brat, she didn’t have to say that.
Just focus on keeping that old man happy!
“By the way, have we met before? I feel like I’ve seen that thuggish
and sullen face somewhere before… If you were handsome, I
would’ve remembered instantly.”
“Who cares about that? Anyway, what do you guys think? Either
give us our money back or have this place turned into a gathering
spot for the Axis Cult! Pick whichever option is more palatable!”
“And you can join the cult while you’re at it.”

142

Faced with our verbal barrage, the manager heaved a deep sigh,
raised his hand, and forcefully jabbed it in our direction.
“Throw these two out of here!”
Before long, we were surrounded by black suited men who
wordlessly tossed us out into a small hill of trash bags.
“Trash bags again!? I think I might have gotten used to the smell
at this rate.”
“How could you throw such a beautiful girl out into the trash!
You’ll definitely get your payback! …A dirtied beautiful priest
sounds a little erotic, doesn’t it? Ah, this lunch box…. It’d be a
waste to leave it out here.”
The priest looked happily the leftovers she found amongst the
trash… She’s not going to eat it, is she!?
The Axis Cult really is a crazy organization.
“There’s nothing wrong with the smell. The lost delinquent wolf
over there, if you are hungry, I don’t mind selling you this lunch
box at a cheap price.”
“Are you crazy!? Who the hell would pay for that! You can have it
to yourself!”

143

144

“There’s no way a clergyman like me could do that. Don’t you have
any common sense?”

“A priest with common sense wouldn’t try selling leftovers in the
first place! This is why I hate the Axis Cult!”

I felt this keenly when I made the trip over to the Axis Cult’s
headquarters, but there really is nothing to be gained from getting
involved with the Axis Cult. I know that, but I still got swept up
and got involved with her anyway.

“By the way, why are you holding on to that sword even though
you’ve been almost stripped bare? You could’ve gotten quite a bit
of money for that sword. Ah, I thought of a great idea. Why don’t
you leave that sword in my care? I swear on Aqua-sama that I’ll
definitely pay you back several times over!”

“Of course not! Who the hell would trust a vow made upon your
goddess!? Besides, this is a treasure bestowed onto me by a very
important person! There’s no way I’ll hand it over to a woman like
you!”

I protectively covered up my sword to prevent the woman from
snatching it.

“That’s surely an exaggeration. That sword isn’t your lover, so
there’s no need to hold it like that… No, don’t tell me, you bend
that way too? The Axis Cult accepts homosexuality, familial love,
and love between species, but love for objects is a little too out
there, even for us.”

She seems to be misunderstanding something, but I can’t be
bothered to correct her right now.

145

“I’ve completely run out of money. Should I search for a fellow
Axis Cultist, or go harass the Eris church? Ah, what a dilemma.”
“Stop thinking about that. More importantly, didn’t you say
something about coming to Elroad to search for someone?”
I don’t remember his name, but I think I recall her saying
something about that earlier.
The priest folded her arms and tilted her head. After a brief
moment, a spark of recognition emerged in her eyes and she
brought her hands together.
“Of course I remember! I definitely didn’t forget about it! I came
here to search for the man at the top of the Axis Cult, Zesta-
sama!”
“You totally forgot about it, didn’t you?”
I leveled a questioning gaze at her, and she immediately looked
away.
She definitely forgot about him entirely and went off to play.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I got information that
Zesta-sama might be soliciting recruits from those who are at low
spirits after losing a few games, so I started watching the casinos,
that’s all!”
“Please stop recruiting people like that.”

146

“What are you saying? Not many people join up if we use normal
recruiting methods, so we have to use more innovative methods.”
“Say, aren’t you guys innovating in the wrong direction…?”
“What do you mean? You say some really strange things.”
There are some parts of the Axis Cult mentality that I agree with,
but I get the feeling that some part of me will die if I get recruited
in such a situation.
“In that case, you should stop gambling and start searching for
that Zesta of yours or do some proper missionary work.”
“To be honest, no one in the cult is particularly hurting without
Zesta-sama. If anything, things actually run better without him.
And if I want to recruit anyone, I would rather recruit someone
handsome with a lot of money. That’s why I’m frequently hanging
around the casinos!”
I already knew this, but this girl really is useless.
“Anyway, I don’t have time to talk with someone as poor as you. I
need to find a rich person to recruit and replenish the money I lost
today.”
The self-proclaimed beautiful priest, bits of dirt and trash still
clinging onto her, disappeared into the streets.
There’s no way she’ll be able to solicit anyone while still smelling
of trash, but I didn’t want to get involved with her any more than I
already have, so I just let her go.

147

“…I guess I’ll head back.”
I’m tired and out of money, so, without anything else to, I headed
back to the inn.

↲

148

Chapter 2: Part 7 ↲

“Hurry up and get up already. Kazuma’s party is on the move.”
“It’s still morning, you know?”
“Morning is when you wake up.”
Taylor was saying something ridiculous.
I sat up in my bed and squinted at the early morning sunlight
streaming through the window.
Also by the window was Keith.
“They sure are up early. And they are dressed up pretty well too.
Are they heading off somewhere?”
I narrowed my eyes in the same direction Keith was looking at,
but the only thing I could make out were dots.
As I headed over to the girls’ room to wake them up, I ran into a
bleary-eyed Loli Succubus.
Ah, yeah, of course. It’d be stranger still for such things not to
happen when you put a succubus and a perverted old man
together.
I lowered my voice to make sure that we couldn’t be overheard
and asked her about what happened yesterday.
“Did you have fun last night?”

149