Konosuba Dust Spin Off 4

“Ah, yeah, of course. Priests sure are convenient… Hey! Why are
you digging in first!? If you collapse, who’s going to nullify the
poison!?”
Zesta’s cheeks inflated like a squirrel’s as he happily dug into his
plate. It’s almost like he hasn’t even considered that possibility.
“Like I said, stop eating already!”
“Oh, my apologies. However, I don’t detect any abnormalities, so
it should be fine. More importantly, I just noticed this, but isn’t
my plate and yours quite different? There seems to be a lot more
dishes on your plate than mine.”
Now that he mentioned it, yeah, there does seem to be a greater
variety of food on my plate. They even threw in a dessert. My plate
is definitely superior in both quality and quantity.
“That Ragcraft bastard, is this meant to make up for him
accidentally dragging me into this…?”
“Dust-san, there’s something I haven’t told you. I have a rare
disease where if I don’t stuff myself to bursting with food, I’ll die.
And my body grows lethargic unless I have a dessert too.”
“Is that so? My condolences… Oh, this is actually not bad.”
I ignored Zesta who was staring enviously at me and dug into my
plate.
After having my fill, I laid down on the dirty floor and stared at
the ceiling.

200

“My belly is full, so I’ll leave the thinking to tomorrow.”
I told myself that it’s important to recover your spirits in this
situation and drifted off to sleep.

↲

201

Chapter 3: Part 3 ↲

It’s been a few days since then.
“I’m starting to get bored of counting the stains on the ceiling.”
“Indeed. It’s not like anything has changed. Plus, this entire place
smells of demons, so my sense of smell has gotten dulled too.”
At first, I diligently scoured every inch of my cell in order to look
for a way out, but after not finding even the slightest hint, I
eventually gave up and settled into this.
At this point, I was just rolling around on the dusty floor without
even the motivation to find a better position to sleep.
“You’re an Archpriest, right? Cast some high level magic and get
us out of here already.”
“If I could use such spells, I would’ve been acting much bolder
than I did before.”
“You… You were restraining yourself? You’re kidding, right?”
The only person I had for company here is Zesta, so we had a few
chats in my time here, but he’s been spilling stuff that even took
someone like me aback.
His life so far has been the very definition of a free spirit, but even
then, he’s still holding himself back…?
“Plus, there seems to be some kind of enchantment placed on this
place. I can’t use any of my priestly magics at all.”

202

I suppose demons would like to take precautions against a priest’s
abilities.
“Well, I guess that means we can’t… Wait a minute, didn’t you tell
me that you could cure me if I get poisoned a while ago?”
“Hahaha. It’s a good thing there isn’t any poison in it, right?”
I’m never trusting this guy again.
A priest that can’t use magic is pretty much worthless. Seems like
I have to do something by myself.
“So we are completely out of options, huh? If someone were to
bust in here and save me right now, I would’ve rewarded them
with a passionate kiss.”
“I don’t need that.”
“Don’t put on a girly voice. It’s disgusting.”
“How rude! If you are going to be that way, I’m just going to leave
you here.”
That voice is… could it be!?
I sprang back up into a seated position, and standing beyond the
iron bars was Loli Succubus smiling at me.
“Wha– You–”

203

“Oooh! A goddess has descended in this hell! Dust-san, if you
know this girl, I must insist that you introduce us!”
Loli Succubus jumped back in shock as Zesta pressed his face
against the bars and excitedly shouted.
Well, I suppose anyone would react similar upon seeing a face
twisted in ecstasy like that.
“Calm down.”
“She looks innocent, but there’s an extremely erotic side of her
hidden beneath the surface! I can tell! Now, come sleep with me
and tell me all of your hidden desires! I swear, we shall accept you
no matter what kind of deviant interests you’re hiding inside!”
“W-W-What!? Dust-san, just who is this person!?”
Loli Succubus pressed herself against the bars of my cell in order
to get as far away from Zesta as possible.
“He isn’t a bad guy, he’s just a pervert. Don’t worry about it.”
“How could I not worry about him!? Um, sorry, just who are you?”
“Oh, my apologies. I am a fervent believer of the most beloved
goddess in this world, and an archpriest of the Axis Cult. The
name is Zesta, pleased to make your acquaintance, beautiful little
lady.”
His choice of words was a little strange, but if you didn’t know
him very well, his smiling and gentle demeanor would make him
look like an exemplary priest.

204

Though, the blood drained from Loli Succubus’s face almost
instantly.

“An archpriest of the Axis Cult!?”

“There’s no need to be that surprised. The kind and benevolent
Axis Cult holds no ill will towards any humans.”

Yeah, they’re just a troublesome bunch to anyone that isn’t one of
them.

Loli Succubus crouched and waved at me to come closer, so I
moved up to the iron bars.

“Dust-san, make sure you don’t let him find out about my true
identity!”

“Why not?”

“The Axis Cult is famous for their hatred of Devils and undead.
Didn’t I tell you this before?”

Oh, yeah, she mentioned something like that when we headed off
to Alcanretia.

I think I recall the Axis cultists there saying something about
“Devils must be destroyed!” too.

“Zesta threw this entire conversation out of whack, but, Loli Succ-
Lolisa, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help you. Do make sure to thank me.”

205

“Normally, this would’ve been a moving scene, but I just can’t get
worked up after what happened just now…”
“Yeah…”
I could only greet her with a wry smile right now.
Still, I’m grateful that she came for me.
“Still, how did you sneak in here? And how did you find out where
I was being held in the first place?”
This place is a secret prison. Just finding out where it is would be
a significant challenge.
To be honest, I find it difficult to believe that Loli Succubus is this
good at gathering information.
“You should thank Vanir-sama. He foresaw that you would end up
in such a situation back when he saw your fortune, so he told me
about it in advance. That’s why I’ve been observing you from the
shadows all this while. I’m a succubus, so the lack of sleep
wouldn’t matter to me.”
“As expected of Sir! I’ll follow him to the end of my days!”
“Seems like he’s doing this as thanks for that time you helped him
pawn a defective item onto a girl.”
She must be talking about that time I tricked that woman who was
planning to trick Taylor.

206

Sir Vanir might be a devil, but his sense of duty is strongest out of
anyone I’ve met.
“I’m glad that you came here to help me, but do you have a key?”
“Yep.”
Loli Succubus cheerfully produced a ring of keys from her pocket,
with which she unlocked the gates to my cell.
“Phew, I’m finally out of that cell. Thanks, you really helped me.”
“It’s Vanir-sama’s order, after all. If you want to save that Axis
Cultist, please do it yourself, Dust-san. I don’t really want to get
close to him.”
She handed the bundle of keys over to me, so I opened the door of
Zesta’s cell.
It’s only natural for succubi to be wary of Axis Cultists, but it
seems like Loli Succubus holds some reservations about the man
himself. Well, considering his personality, I suppose it’s only
natural to be a little wary around him.
“I’m thankful that you saved me, but how did you get in here?”
“Err, um, Dust-san’s companions helped me out and located a
small entrance to the prison. It’s a very small gap, so only I could
fit through it. So, you two won’t be able to exit the same way
either.”

207

Loli Succubus was almost falling to pieces as she tried to explain.
She’s as bad at telling lies as ever, but it doesn’t seem like Zesta
has picked onto it.
“The beauty of women truly is blinding after being cooped up with
men for quite some time. The Axis Cult has a critical lack of little
girls, so what about it? You could join up as a mascot for the
organization.”
“Er, umm, I’ll consider it…”
“What’s there to consider? Such half-hearted placating replies
won’t work on any member of our organization. Now, come on,
put your name on this registration form! W-Well, they took away
all the forms I had on hand, so put your name on my boxers
instead!”
“Eeeeek!”
“You just want to show it off! You’re scaring her, so cut it out.”
It’d probably be a first if he really did end up recruiting her into
the Axis Cult. Succubi don’t exactly get along with religious
orders.
I grabbed Loli Succubus by the shoulder and pulled her away as
she tried to hide behind me.
“Leave this stuff to after we’ve gotten out of here. The tough part
has yet to come. If we can’t get out the way you got in, there’s no
choice but to force our way out the front. There are a few demons
working under Ragcraft in this place.”

208

“Err, when I was watching the entrance, I think I saw several
dozen people dressed as soldiers coming and going.”
“Hmm, that might be a little troublesome.”
Zesta crossed his arms and pretended to fall into deep thought,
but his gaze never left Loli Succubus for an instant.
I took Loli Succubus a little further from Zesta and crouched
down beside her.
“So, how did you actually get in? That gap thing was a lie, right?”
“Eh, you noticed? It was actually really easy. All I had to do was to
reveal my true form in front of the guards and tell them that I was
sent by Ragcraft to give you a sweet dream, and they let me waltz
right in.”
Ah, I see. Well, I suppose it’s only natural for a demon to trust a
devil. There’s no way they would’ve suspected that she was on my
side.
“I originally wanted to bring in your sword as well, but as
expected, bringing in a weapon is really pushing it.”
“I see. Well, it can’t be helped.”
It would really help a lot to put me at ease if I had that sword with
me, but I suppose I should be happy enough that it wasn’t taken
away. I’m really glad I didn’t bring that sword with me back then.

209

“Say, I’ve noticed this for a while now, but you really like that
sword, don’t you? You don’t really care about the rest of your
dressings, but you treat that sword like a treasured heirloom.”
“That’s, well, you know, a warrior’s weapons is something they
have to entrust their lives to. It’s only natural to take good care of
them.
Seemingly unconvinced by my explanation, Loli Succubus stared
at me with a doubtful look in her eye.
She’s surprisingly perceptive when she wants to.
“Nevermind that, seriously, what should we do next? All I can
think of is sending you out to draw the attentions of the guards
somehow before we charge out when they are distracted.”
“Yes, there are way too many guards out there. There’s no way you
can take them out in a straight up fight.”
“I left all my weapons and tools at the inn too. There’s nothing I
can do with just my bare hands.”
As Loli Succubus and I were deliberating on what to do next, I
heard a clattering sound coming from behind me. Thinking that
Zesta might be up to something again, I turned around… only to
see him unlocking the door at the end of the corridor and opening
it.
“Wait, Wait, Wait! Didn’t she tell you that the entrance is
swarming with soldiers!? Listen to me!”

210

“I am well aware, but the soldiers here are all demons, right?
Then, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“What are you talking about!? There’s plenty of stuff to worry
about! Fighting against humans would be… behind you!”
Just as we were talking, a horned demon suddenly appeared
behind Zesta and raised a sword.
Zesta immediately turned around and–
“Sacred Highness Exorcism!”
A sudden magic circle appeared beneath the feet of the demon,
and a pillar of light sprang forth from it.
“Gyaaaaa!!”
The demon that was engulfed by the light was almost instantly
turned into a charred husk.
So Zesta wasn’t just a pervert who talked a big game…
Just looking at Loli Succubus’s blood-drained face as she clung
onto me is enough to tell me just what kind of firepower that old
man is packing.
“I am the highest leveled Archpriest in the Axis Cult. As long as I
can use my magic, demons, devils, and undead are but child’s play
to me.”
For the first time, I thought that Zesta seems like someone I could
rely on.

211

After saying that, he picked up the sword that clattered onto the
ground and handed it to me.
“It seems like you are more used to fighting with another weapon,
but make do with this for now.”
This man… He never even saw me in combat before, but he
managed to figure out what kind of weapon I’m specialized in just
by watching my movements and gestures?
This man really shouldn’t be underestimated.
“Well, it’s a different story if we have a powerful priest with us. I’ll
leave the vanguard to you. Lolisa, it might get dangerous, so
follow us from way back over there.”
“Hmm, you know, if there’s a young girl cheering me on, my
courage will be increased a hundredfold. If you would call me
onii-chan, daddy, or papa, the power of my spells will be
increased even further.”
“Never.”
You’re trembling all over, but you can still answer firmly on that
point, huh?

↲

212

Chapter 3: Part 4 ↲

Afterwards, Zesta pretty much cleaned everything up by himself.
This prison is staffed almost entirely by demons and the
occasional devil or two, so there was nothing that could really
stand up to his magic.
I would run out and get them to bunch up before Zesta released
his spells. The spells he used only affected demons and the
undead, so I could stand right in the middle of it without getting
hurt.
“So it really doesn’t affect you at all, Dust-san. I was a little
worried that it might purify you too considering how tainted your
heart is.”
“Of course! In the first place, if it does harm people who aren’t
pure at heart, Zesta would’ve self-destructed the moment he tried
to use it.”
“True… He would’ve been purified by his own power.”
Loli Succubus looked coldly at Zesta as he happily chased after a
female devil.
“Aah, I feel a cold and disdainful gaze upon me!”
Instead of getting depressed, he seems to become more excited
instead.
He is almost like Darkness in that sense, but in his case, he’s not
just limited to that. He also enjoys going on the offensive.

213

“Come on, come on, if you don’t run faster, the spell will hit you!”
“Why are only my clothes being burned off!?”
“That’s the results of my training! Do you have any idea how
difficult it is to only target the clothes soaked in devilish essence
while leaving the rest untouched!? This makes all the time I spent
working on it worth it! Humans are creatures that grow through
effort!”

214

215

“Why did I have to run into such a perveeert!?”
The female devil that screamed that was running around with her
clothes in tatters, while Zesta chased after her shooting spells
every so often.
…If you do this on the surface, you’ll definitely be arrested.
“I can’t let him find out. I can’t let him find out. There’s no telling
what he’ll do if he finds out…”
Loli Succubus, frightened by this sight, repeated those same few
words over and over as she clung onto me. Well, I suppose I can
let her do that for now.
Zesta is all the way up in front, so there’s no need to worry about
him overhearing.
The female devil seems to have escaped after Zesta toyed with her
a little too much, but in her place, a small squad of skeletons
showed up.
They were holding a variety of weapons in their hands, so they’d
be a fairly troublesome opponent to go head to head with, but…
“Hmph, there’s no flesh on your bodies, and it isn’t interesting at
all if you can’t speak. I’ll just make it quick. Turn Undead!”
Zesta’s spell took them all out in an instant.
“Well, this is easy. His personality is a little out there, but this is
really making me want a priest in the party.”

216

“Then, should I send someone from the Axis Cult?”
“I refuse! What I wish for is a sensible, normal priest. I’ve yet to
meet with a decent Axis Cultist! Every single one I meet is shot in
the head somewhere!”
There’s Kazuma’s Party Priest, and the woman that I reunited
with in this town. Plus, the guy at the top is Zesta.
“And here I thought you would be a good fit for the Axis Cult.
What a shame.”
“In what way am I a good fit?”
“The two of you are quite similar, you know? I think you guys
don’t get along because you’re too similar.”
“Don’t lump me together with him!”
Loli Succubus said something ridiculous.
Sure, I’m a free spirit, but I’m nowhere close to the kind
troublemakers that the Axis Cult are.
“If you are interested in the Axis Cult, feel free to visit at any time.
Our doors are always open… Oh, my, this could be troublesome.”
Despite saying that, Zesta had a smile on his face.
I thought it would be a huge problem if he was reacting that way,
so I turned to follow his gaze.

217

What greeted me was a large mass of rocks arranged in a crude
humanoid form.
“Wow, that looks tough…”
“A golem!?”
“I don’t have any problems dealing with devils or the undead, but
golems are a poor match for a priest. Can I leave this to you?”
Zesta retreated to a short distance behind me.
Oh well, I suppose it’s my time to shine.
“Sure thing, just sit back and watch. I’ll take care of this in no
time!”
That thing is almost three times larger than me, but golems tend
to move sluggishly.
I’ll just have to use my speed to dodge it’s attacks while taking out
the joints.
“Grrrrrr.”
The golem slowly raised its arm.
Its movements are large and exaggerated. It would be child’s play
to dodge that attack and head for the thighs.
I easily stepped around the golem’s fist as it brought it down–

218

I first noticed something was wrong when I heard the sound of the
wind. The golem’s arm suddenly shot forward, aiming for Loli
Succubus who was standing at the back of the party.

I immediately jumped towards her.

“Y-You’re molesting me here!?”

“As if!”

After just barely managing to dodge the blow, I rolled along the
ground with Loli Succubus in my arms.

“Kyaaaa!”

“My ears! And my arm too! Dammit, I think I got nicked.”

My sleeves are torn up and my arm is a bloody mess.. I thought I
managed to avoid it, but with its prestigious strength, even a near
miss ended up opening a few wounds.

“A-Are you alright!?”

“This is but a scratch!”

I casually waved my uninjured arm in Loli Succubus’s direction to
reassure her I’m fine.

I’m putting on a strong front, but to be honest, this is pretty bad.
There’s the risk of bleeding out, of course, but the major problem
is that my arm is rendered almost useless now.

“Heal! How is your arm?”

219

A warm light covered my arm, and the wound closed almost
instantly.
“Oh, not bad, Zesta!”
To be able to heal such a wound instantly… Yep, he really is
reliable when it comes to his abilities.
With Zesta supporting me, I can afford to play a little more
aggressively. I charged in, dodging a couple of blows, and thrust
my sword straight into the golem’s knee.
“Grah!? It’s tough! Even the joints are well-fortified. And that
speed too. It seems like this golem has been upgraded quite a bit.”
A normal golem would’ve had its knee destroyed and collapsed
under its own weight by now.
“Dust-san, the best way to defeat a golem is to damage the
character on its forehead!”
“I know that, but I can’t reach it!”
Loli Succubus needn’t have told me that. The weak point of a
golem is fairly common knowledge amongst us adventurers.
Most golems have a magic rune engraved on their forehead, and
destroying part of it will deactivate it. However, it’s hard to
accurately target such a small spot while the golem is moving
around, so most adventurers tend to rely on going for the joints
instead.

220

This golem is large enough that there’s no way I can reach his
forehead with my sword.
“Dust-san, please use this!”
Hearing Zesta’s shout, I turned around to see a sharp point
headed for my eye.
“Graah! T-That was close! It would’ve stabbed me right in the eye
if I wasn’t fast enough! Look where you are throwing things!”
“Sorry, I got a little too ahead of myself. Still, will you be able to
defeat him with that?”
The weapon that I barely managed to grasp was a spear. It was
one of the weapons that the skeletons was using.
Zesta really did see through what weapon I was specialized in.
I really don’t want others to see me using a spear, but I suppose a
perverted priest and a succubus is fine… Though she’ll probably
be mad if she finds out.
“D-Dust-san, watch out!”
Loli Succubus’s shouted warning was welcome, but unnecessary.
I slammed the butt of my spear into the ground and used it to
propel myself up, neatly avoiding the fist that slammed into where
I was just moments before.

221

At the apex of my jump, I corrected my posture and thrust my
spear directly at the golem’s forehead, that was now at my eye
level.
With the flick of my arm, the speartip cut right through one of the
runes, and the golem immediately collapsed.
“Well done, Dust-san.”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
I don’t really feel like getting too close with a man, but I could at
least pay him a compliment.

↲

222

Chapter 3: Part 5 ↲

It seemed like that was the last of the enemies, for nothing else
came out to stop us after the golem.
After reaching the end of the facility, we climbed up an extremely
long spiral staircase before finally reaching the surface.
“Oh, it is night out.”
After pushing the thick iron gates open, we found ourselves in the
middle of the city. Looking up, the stars of the night sky glittered
down at me.
This looked like a back alley, but still, to hide the entrance to a
secret prison in a place like this… Seems like Ragcraft is quite a
bold man.
There was a pair of demons standing guard outside the entrance,
but Zesta took both of them out without a word.
“Say, what were you planning to do if they were human?”
“Hmm, that was a possibility, wasn’t it? Still, there’s no need to
worry. That spell wouldn’t have any effect on humans, so the only
ones that would be destroyed are demons and devils.”
Zesta said that to Loli Succubus with a smile, and she hastily
nodded.
…Say, did Zesta figure out her true identity? It’s certainly possible
for Zesta to be deliberately teasing her to see her terrified

223

reactions… Well, as I long as I don’t know for sure, there’s really
nothing I can do.
“Pwuah, the night air feels great.”
“That line fits you really well, Dust-san.”
“Leave me alone. By the way, do you know what happened to
Kazuma and the others?”
I too felt a little guilty for not thinking about them until now, but I
had my hands full.
Though, considering that Ragcraft hasn’t yet come to dispose of
us, Kazuma and his party must still be alive.
“Kazuma-san and the others? The already left Elroad and headed
back to Axel.”
“…Eh!? Hey, are you serious? Say, I don’t think they would do
this, but Lynn and the others didn’t abandon me and head back
on their own, did they?”
When I asked that of the shaking Loli Succubus, she glanced off to
the side and placed a finger on her cheek.
“H-Hey, you’re joking, right? They wouldn’t do something as
heartless as to leave their companion behind and head home,
would they!?”
“W-Well, about that–”
Just as she opened her mouth with an apologetic expression–

224

“The light came from over here! This is where Ragcraft built his
secret prison… Could they be his underlings!?”
A small squad of armed soldiers rushed into the alley.
They seemed to have been drawn here after seeing the light from
Zesta’s spell.
“Aren’t you making some kind of mistake? We were just prisoners
who were locked up here.”
“We? There’s no one else but you here!”
“Come now, what are you saying? You guys say something too.”
Saying that, I turned around… and saw a distinct lack of Zesta and
Loli Succubus.
The only things I saw was the fast retreating back of Zesta as he
ran down a side alley, and the winged form of Loli Succubus
growing every smaller as she flew off into the sky.
“You guys abandoned me!”
“Arrest him!”
“Not this again!”

↲

225

A Great Match for the Sake of That Succubus
Chapter 4: Part 1 ↲

TL: Cannongerbil
Editing: Ulti

“I’m sick of this…”
Just when I thought I’ve successfully managed to escape, I got
thrown into a different jail cell.
Still, Ragcraft isn’t involved this time, so they’ll probably hear me
out.
Speaking of, apparently, Ragcraft met his end at the hands of Iris.
From what I heard, Kazuma did something to drive him into a
corner, and he ran into Iris while trying to force the issue with
violence.
It’s an absurd way to close the curtains on him, but I suppose I
can just be happy to learn that those people are safe.
“This place is much better compared to the cell I was in before, so
I think I’ll just take it easy.”
Now that Kazuma and his party are safe and the conspiracy has
been revealed, there’s no need to worry. I’ll just lean back until
they come to let me out.
Unlike the previous cell, this place had an actual bed, so indulged
myself by rolling around in it.

226

Just as I was beginning to get comfortable, a bunch of soldiers
appeared before my cell and unlocked the door.
“Finally! So it took you this long to be convinced of my
innocence… Hey, why are you covering my head!? Don’t tie me up
too! Ow! Don’t pull on me! What kind of play is this!?”
The soldiers ignored my anger and wordlessly pushed me ahead.
Even if I wanted to resist, I couldn’t see anything, and my hands
are also bound, so any such efforts wouldn’t amount to much.
After walking for quite some time, one of the guards forcibly
grabbed me by the shoulder and made me sit down.
Then, they removed the blindfold and my bindings, and the first
thing that greeted me was a light bright enough to make me see
stars.
“Grah! It’s bright! Eh, why have you brought me to the casino?”
The took me out of the cell just to bring me straight to a casino. I
don’t get it at all.
“You are Dust, an adventurer from Axel. Am I right?”
With an arrogant sounding tone, a brat spun around in his seat
and looked at me.
The brat was wearing some stupidly expensive looking clothes.
Standing by his side were several well-armed soldiers, along with
several hanger ons that seemed way too stiff for me to ever be able
to get along with.

227

“Didn’t they ever teach you to introduce yourself first when asking
for someone else’s name, young master?”
“Hey! What kind of tone do you think you are taking against
Prince Levi!?”
The one who shouted wasn’t the kid, but a member of his
entourage.
Oh, so this is the prince of Elroad that Iris was betrothed to, huh?
The reason he brought me here must have something to do with
the Ragcraft matter. Either that or he found out about my
connection with Kazuma. In either case, I don’t have a good
feeling about this.
“So, what business does the prince have with little old me?”
“Still with that tone!?”
“It’s fine, step back. I can speak for myself.”
The man took a step back after one look at prince Levi’s face.
“First off, I should apologize. It seems like Ragcraft has unduly
troubled you. While it’s true that you have committed some minor
crimes, those aren’t serious enough to have you be locked up like
that. I promise to release you after we are done with this chat.
Give his stuff back to him.”
Oh, well, this is certainly unexpected.

228

They blindfolded me and brought me all the way out here just to
see the prince of this country.
I put on a brave front, but internally, I was thinking that this
would end up pretty badly for me.
I checked the bag that the soldier handed over to me, and
everything was in order.
“Well, you’re a pretty sensible person. Anyway, seeya.”
I tried to stand up and leave, but the soldier standing behind me
once again grabbed me by the shoulder and forced me to sit back
down.
“That’s only half of it. There’s one other matter apart from the
issue with the imprisonment. We caught a female devil. Does that
ring a bell?”
At those words, Levi snapped his fingers, and from behind him
appeared Loli Succubus, escorted by a pair of guards.
“Tsk. What the hell are you doing here? You are the one who ran
and left me alone.”
“I’m sorry! But I couldn’t help it!”
Loli Succubus cried through teary eyes as the soldier behind her
pushed her forward.
“Nevermind that. More importantly… Why are you dressed like
that?”

229

“Please don’t stare at me too much. It’s embarrassing.”
Her cheeks were bright red and she’s fidgeting around. She’s
seriously embarrassed.
I can’t help but feel a certain sense of wrongness seeing her like
this.
She usually boldly parades about in clothing that might as well be
lingerie. Compared to that, what she’s wearing right now is
nothing to be embarrassed over.
Her current outfit leaves little skin exposed, though I suppose it’s
small and form fitting enough to make out her full bodyline.
“Say, what’s so embarrassing about that outfit? Those are the
same ones that the priest of the Axis Cult wears, right?”

230

231

“Yes, that’s exactly it! Wearing these clothes fills me with a sense
of wrongness and shame that prevents me from using my powers!
I never thought I’d be subjected to such humiliation!”
She was covering her face and shouting for me not to look at her,
but to be honest, I really don’t get where her line is.
It’s tight enough that I can probably make out what size of
underwear she wears if I squint, but even so, it’s far better than
the kind of clothes that she usually wears.
“I’m being forced to wear the clothes of our natural enemy, the
priests! Think about it the other way! A priest would be
embarrassed if she had to dress like a succubus, right!?”
“Isn’t that line of reasoning a little off?”
I don’t really get the reasoning behind it, but at the end of the day,
wearing the clothing of a priest seems to be really embarrassing to
succubi. I’ll just nod along like I actually understand and move on.
“So you do know her. I’m sure you are aware that she’s working
under Ragcraft as part of the contingent he brought from the
Demon King’s army. Considering the circumstances, there’s no
way we could just let her go. We’re considering either forced
labour or throwing her to the Axis Cult.”
“T-Throwing me to the Axis Cult!?”
Loli Succubus was already teary-eyed, but now her face grew stark
white and she started trembling.

232

Though, considering the Axis Cult’s reputation for hating Devils, I
suppose that kind of fear isn’t entirely unfounded. My time with
Zesta has told me that that reputation is not just empty words.
“Come on, could you not do that? Who knows what kind of state
she’ll end up in if you hand her over to the Axis Cult.”
In response to my words, Loli Succubus aggressively nodded even
as she was trembling.
“Of course, I’m well aware. And that brings me to my main point.
Do you have any idea what the Axis Cult are doing in this country
as of late?”
Prince Levi frowned and heaved a deep sigh.
“N-Not really. I’ve been stuck in a cell for quite some time, after
all.”
“Siiiiigh. Those guys… With the guy who claims to be the head of
the cult, Zesta, and a female priest leading them, those bunch
have been conducting constant recruitment drives in front of the
casinos and important government buildings! They keep saying
stuff like ‘Reparations for being unfairly imprisoned! Make the
Axis Cult the official state religion or we won’t leave!’ ‘If you don’t
accept our requests, we’ll head to the casinos and hit on every girl
who comes out every hour and every day!’ ‘I’ll focus on lolis and
handsome guys!’ and so on!”
“Wow~”
Zesta is probably venting all of his frustrations after getting locked
up in that prison for so long.

233

As for the Axis cultists, they’re probably doing it partially because
they find it enjoyable.
“As such, I’m planning to hand her over to them as a gift of
appeasement.”
“Y-Y-Y-You can’t! Who knows what they’ll do to me if I fall into
their hands!? I still haven’t risen to the top of the shop yet! W-Will
they spare me if I join the Axis Cult!? B-But, Vanir-sama will hate
me if I join them!”
Loli Succubus seems to be completely caught in the throes of
panic. I never thought I’d hear those words come out from the
mouth of a devil.
“Well, they do seem to have a weakness for little girls. If you deal
directly with Zesta, it’s certainly possible that they will do as you
ask. Though, she will suffer a fate worse than death…”
Zesta will definitely happily play with Loli Succubus. I know him
that well.
“I’m sure they’ll push all kinds of chores onto me, and give me
nothing but holy water for dinner. Ah, I can hear them now. ‘Oh?
Are you saying that you can’t drink the water I graciously poured
for you?’ And they’ll fill the bath with holy water and other such…”
It seems like picturing what would happen to her is too much for
Loli Succubus to take, she seems like she’s on the verge of
collapsing completely,

234

Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep well at night if I leave her
like this.
“Can’t you do something about this? She might be a devil, but she
has no connection to the Demon King’s army. If anything, she’s
been very helpful to us humans so far. You can go ahead and bring
out the lie detecting magic item if you doubt me.”
“If you are willing to go that far, I’ll take you at your word. But
even if what you say is true, I think you understand that we
cannot simply let a devil go at a whim… Hmm, well, if you want
me to release the devil, I have a condition.”
A condition?
I could’ve sworn I seen a smile on Prince Levi’s face just now.
I have a bad feeling about this, but I don’t have any other choice
right now.
“A condition, huh? This is starting to sound fishy, but I’ll hear you
out anyway. I do owe quite a bit to her after all. I can’t just
abandon her here.”
“Dust-san…”
Loli Succubus stared at me with wistful eyes, clearly touched.
“According to our research, you seem to share a close relationship
to Kazuma-dono that Princess Iris seems to regard as a brother.”
“Yeah, he’s a close friend of mine.”

235

“In that case, tell me everything you know about Kazuma,
especially any weaknesses he might have. Additionally, I would
like you to regularly report on his actions and daily activities,
especially when it comes to his relationship with Iris.”
“…Kazuma’s weaknesses? Really?”
I couldn’t help but say that after being confronted by something
completely unexpected.
“We do owe him for revealing Ragcraft’s true identity and saving
this country, but… Thanks to him, I’ve lost Princess Iris!”
Prince Levi angrily shouted through clenched fists. Seeing his
anguished form, I couldn’t help but voice the first thing that came
to my mind.
“What, did Iris dump you? Even though you two were betrothed?”
“Gurk!”
Prince Levi clutched at his chest and fell to his knees.
“Hey you, you’re being too rude! Try and imagine how our prince
feels after toying with her with the intention of breaking off the
bethroyal, only to unwittingly fall for her but get rejected
anyways!”
“The woman he loved told him ‘Let’s be friends forever!’, you
know! How could you even understand a fraction of the pain that
the prince is going through!”

236

The entourage surrounding the prince immediately erupted, but
Prince Levi seems to be suffering even more upon hearing their
words. I think they are doing more damage to him than I am.
“T-That’s enough. I don’t think my heart will hold if this
continues.”
Levi somehow managed to crawl to his feet while clutching his
heart.
“Are you alright?”
“T-There’s no need for concern… So, let’s hear your answer.”
It isn’t a bad deal. I can save Loli Succubus just by telling them
information about Kazuma.
However–
“I ain’t selling out my friends. Especially not towards royalty or
nobility.”
I haven’t fallen low enough to betray my close friends.
“So you’ll be giving up on the devil, then?”
Loli Succubus once again shivered in fear upon hearing the
prince’s voice.
What are you making such a pathetic looking face for?

237

“Of course not. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t think twice
about taking away other people’s stuff, but hate it when it’s done
to me.”

I confidently puffed out my chest as I said to the prince.

“W-What a bold confession… But, I already have Vanir-sama, so, I
wouldn’t mind being your friend…”

Loli Succubus started blushing. I think she’s misunderstanding
something.

She’s muttering something while playing with her fingers, but her
voice is too soft for me to make out.

“So, what about this? We were in the city of casinos, Elroad. It
seems merely fitting for us to settle this with a game.”

“Oho? To think that you would propose the same thing as
Kazuma-dono… It would seem it’s true that the two of you are
close friends after all. Very well, I’ll promise to release the devil if
you win. However, what are you betting? There’s no point to this
game if we both don’t wager something of similar value.”

The prince smiled confidently. It doesn’t seem like he’s even
entertaining the idea that he might lose.

His demeanour completely changed the moment I brought up the
game. I guess it’s only fitting for the heir of a family who earned
their fortune through gambling.

“Something to wager, huh? Something suitable to secure the
release of Loli Succubus…”

238

There’s only one thing that I possess that has that much value.
“What about this sword?”
When I placed my favoured sword on the table, I caught a brief
glimpse of surprise splash across Prince Levi’s face.
“Are you aware of the true value of your sword?”
“Seems like you’ve a good idea about it yourself. Of course, I’m
well aware of its true value.”
I know better than anyone the value of this sword. That’s precisely
why I brought it out as my wager.
“Very well, that sword will suffice. Let’s begin with our game.”
I got this very precious sword from that person. I was betting that
Prince Levi, as royalty, would know its true value, and it seems
like that paid off.
“W-Wait a minute! Dust-san, aren’t you really bad at gambling!?
You’ve lost so badly every time you’ve played a game in this city,
so where are you getting your confidence from!?”
“After losing so many times, my next round would be a victory,
right?”
“That’s the way all those people who got destroyed by gambling
think! P-Plus, that sword is very important to you, right? No
matter how troubled by money you are, you never once tried to
pawn it, so to wager it for a devil like me…”

239

I placed a hand on the head of the distraught Loli Succubus.

“You’ll be showing me erotic dreams in the future, aren’t you?”

“Dust-san… I’m really disappointed. Seriously, you have no idea
what women want at all. You should be saying something much
more touching here. I’ll give you another chance, so do it again!”

“Oh shut up. The great me is saving your ass, so just keep quiet
and be grateful. Just make sure to tell the other succubi in the
shop about how cool I am here.”

I gently patted the complaining Loli Succubus on the head.

“Do you remember, Dust-san? Thinking that girls enjoy getting
patted on the head is the fantasy of a virgin, you know?”

“Yeah, of course I do. You were the one who told me that.”

I did it precisely because Loli Succubus told me that before.

Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but she certainly seems quite
happy about it to me.

“So you’re fine with that, right? Let’s get more spectators before
we get started. I can’t bring myself to get motivated without a
crowd of onlookers.”

Prince Levi snapped his fingers, and from behind him appeared
Lynn, Taylor, and Keith.

“What are they doing here?”

240

“After you went missing, they came to the castle and police station
multiple times. It would’ve been troublesome if they realized that
I had you in my custody and met up with the Axis cultists, so I had
them confined to the rooms. There’s no need to add more fuel to
the fire.”
So this is what Loli Succubus was struggling to say back when I
asked her about my companions.
I thought that they would’ve gone back together with Kazuma and
his party, but to think they’ve been under house arrest all this
time.
“Hey, Dust, what’s going on here!? Who’s the kid? And what’s
with all these soldiers!”
“We went looking all over the place after you vanished, but we
ended up locked up in the inn and dragged all the way here on top
of that! You better give me an explanation!”
“Say, what did you do this time? And why Lolisa dressed like a
priest over there? I won’t get angry, so tell me the truth.”
My companions were really striking up a fuss behind me. It’s quite
annoying.
I just brushed over Loli Succubus’s situation, and gave them a
brief explanation regarding my imprisonment and explained away
Prince Levi as a major noble of this country and Alice’s fiance.
They seemed to be satisfied with that.

241

“So that means it’s all your fault, right? Sneaking out to a casino
without telling is is your fault, and so is rampaging and getting
caught. So isn’t it weird for us to be placed under house arrest
too!?”
“Companions are meant to help each other, right? They talk about
all for one and one for all in a team. I was stuck in a cell, while you
guys were stuck in an inn. Even if we are in different places, we’ll
always be together.”
I let out a little laugh.
And my companions reacted with their fists.
“Hey, cut it out! Ow! Learn to hold back a little!”
I dived under the table to get away from the barrage of fists
thrown my way.
Those guys were really going at it…
The only one who didn’t join in, Loli Succubus, was standing on
the floor, constantly gazing between me and my companions and
at a complete loss for what to do.
“I don’t really know what Alice’s fiance is doing here, but, we don’t
really care about this guy, so just let us go.”
“Dust, we weren’t able to complete the request because of you.
There’s no way you’ll be able to cover the fees this time. You can
slice him up or boil him alive or do whatever you want with him.”

242

“And to think I actually was worried over you. Just go spend a
year locked up.”
Is there no one who even cared about my wellbeing?
True, going on a rampage was my fault, and so was getting caught,
and breaking out, but… wait. Don’t tell me, Loli Succubus’s
current situation is also my fault?
“Incidentally, the reason I’m here is because this man damaged
the casino that is run by my family.”
It seems like Prince Levi has decided that it wouldn’t be
advantageous to him to reveal his identity and played along with
my story.
“Huh? Don’t get the wrong idea. I’ll have a game with this guy to
secure Lolisa’s freedom, but you guys are just spectators, so it
doesn’t matter to you if I win or lose. Right, young master?”
“Indeed. It seems I wasn’t thorough in explaining things, but the
only one who will be released if I lose this game is that… Lolisa,
was it? Only that girl will be released.”
As expected of a prince, Levi is really good at reading the
atmosphere and quick on the uptake.
“Eh, wait a minute, I never heard anything about this. Properly
explain this!”
“I don’t care about Dust, but it’s a different story if we are talking
about Lolisa.”

243

“Yeah. Though Dust can go hang for all I care.”
“Y-You assholes…”
What’s with this difference in our treatments?
My companions completely ignored me and crowded around Loli
Succubus with concern written on their faces.
“You really have no friends, do you…?”
“Don’t look at me like that, it’s embarrassing.”
Prince Levi was looking at me with a pitying gaze.
“U-Um, well, see…”
Loli Succubus repeatedly casted pleading glances at me. She’s still
as weak under pressure as ever.
I guess I’ll just have to make something up to satisfy these bunch.
“Sigh, fine. I’ll just lay it out. Come here for a bit. Sorry, young
master, please hold on for a while.”
I lead Loli Succubus and my companions over by one of the
pillars.
I lowered my voice to prevent others from overhearing, and gave
them the story that I worked out over in my head.
“The truth is, there’s a noble who has his eyes on her. In order to
make her his possession, he tricked her into playing a few games

244

and landed her into a ton of debt. I coincidentally ran across them
when he was bullying Loli Succubus after she was unable to return
the money, and I punched him in anger, which landed me in jail.”

“…Didn’t someone say you lost a game and ended up rampaging
over it just now?”

“That’s, well, you know, we can’t just say that Lolisa ended up in
debt because of gambling, right?”

“Er, ah, yes. I didn’t want you to learn about something so
embarrassing, so I begged Dust-san to keep it a secret.”

Loli Succubus managed to catch where I’m going with this and
started playing along. It ain’t too bad for something I cooked up
on short notice, if I say so myself.

“So, about the person I punched… well, it’s really more of a light
tap, but that person is… that kid over there.”

“Eh!?” x4

Not just my companions, even Loli Succubus was taken aback by
that. Hey, come on, don’t waver now.

“This is just between us, but that brat got rejected by Alice. In
place of her, he set his eyes on Lolisa who was about the same
height and seemed easy to pick on. After binding her with debt, he
was going to use her as a substitute for Alice and toy with her.
Isn’t that right, Lolisa?”

“Y-Yes, that’s exactly it. He was saying ‘You are Alice’s
replacement! Now, crawl up on stage and lick my boots while

245

saying ‘I’m Alice, my fiancée is the best in the world” when Dust-
san got involved.”
Heh, that wasn’t half bad. She’s pretty good at thinking on her feet
at times.
“What a pervert! Taking advantage of your weakness to do
something like that, as a fellow woman, there’s no way I can
forgive him!”
“What a spoiled brat! Even I haven’t managed to do that sort of
play!”
“Forcing a girl to do such a thing… Even if he’s a child, that’s over
the line.”
My companions glared in Prince Levi’s direction after hearing that
story.
…I get the feeling that I might have overdid it a little, but I’m
really glad that my companions are so easily fooled.
We returned to our original spots, though this time, my
companions were giving Prince Levi a glare of death.
“Say, why are those three glaring at me like that?”
“Sounds like what they ate this morning didn’t agree with them.
They are having stomach aches right now.”
“…Oh fine. Let’s start the game, shall we?”

246

“I’m fine with it. Though, just to confirm one last time. If I win
this game, you’ll release Lolisa. If you win, Lolisa becomes your
sex slave. You’re fine with thar, right?”
“Wait, what were you saying?”
“Of course not!” x3
Levi’s surprised voice was drowned up by the angry sounding
chorus that my companions raised.
My three companions rushed over to me.
“Stop interfering. You three just stay quiet and leave it to me.”
“No way!” x3
They are in perfect lockstep only in times like this.
“Aren’t you really weak when it comes to gambling!? I’ve never
once seen you win! I don’t really care what happens to you, but
Lolisa is on the line here!”
The other two nodded in agreement with Lynn’s words.
“Even I am a man who get things done when everything is on the
line. Just leave it in my hands, I’ll steer us to safety.”
“When have you ever steered us to safety!?”
“Indeed, nothing good ever comes when you are at the helm!”

247

“If I’m ever in a boat where you are the captain, I’d probably be
safer just jumping out and swimming!”

[The original line here is 大船に乗ったつもりで, which is a
Japanese turn of phrase that means “having a stern foundation/
leave it to me”, but literally means “boarding a large boat”, which
is then followed by them complaining what a shit boat Dust is.
This is naturally untranslatable, so I’ve had to take some
liberties.]
I tried to persuade my companions who raised all kinds of
objections, but they didn’t seem to be of a mind to listen at all. At
this rate, we won’t even be able start the game.
“It seems like the terms of this game have been altered somewhat,
but nevermind. Anyway, it doesn’t look like your companions
trust in your skills very much… Say, what about this? You and
your companions can face me one at a time. If any of them win, I’ll
release the girl. I’ll also pay a small compensation fee for all the
troubles to the one who wins.”
Perhaps he’s tired of seeing us squabble, but Levi proposed a
really ridiculous deal.
“Hey, hey, are you serious? There’s four of us here, you know? You
need to win four games in a row, you know?”
“Of course. I have no intentions of losing in a gambling match. No
matter what tricks you use, I will not go back on my word!”
Levi proudly declared.

248

People who act this confident usually have some kind weakness to
exploit, but he doesn’t give off that impression. He’s just a kid, but
I can feel a strong determination in his eyes. Was it just my
imagination?
Just as I was thinking that, Loli Succubus scooted closer to me
and whispered in my ear.
“I heard about this in the casino, but apparently, Prince Levi lost
consecutively to Kazuma-san. Ever since then, he frequently
shows up in the casinos to play games, and he’s never lost since.”
I see. So that’s why he’s so confident.
After losing to Kazuma, he’s rethought his approach, and has
refined his skills at gambling, huh?
“So, what will you do? I don’t really mind what your companions
offer as a wager… The sword that you are offering is just that
valuable.”
That last bit was said in a whisper just loud enough for me to
make out.
And here I thought that he was offering us such an advantageous
deal. So that is what he’s after.
My companions, a little suspicious over this deal that seems too
good to be true, huddled around to discuss amongst themselves.
“I offered this deal as a concession, so is there really a need to
mull over it this much? …Good grief, I’ve heard that adventurers

249