Konosuba Dust Spin Off 4

50

“Misfortune? How stupid. Still, perhaps I’ve been a little too
flashy to attract the attentions of someone like that. Maybe it’s
about time I bid farewell to this town.”
Judging from the way she’s speaking, it doesn’t seem like she has
any intention of changing her ways.
Still, despite what she’s saying, when something sounded from
behind her, she hurriedly turned around and scanned the walls
and her surroundings.
“In the first place, what does ‘when the ground rumbles’ mean?
It’s not like there are any volcanoes nearby… Eh?”
Almost as if in response to her words, a loud boom sounded in the
distance, followed by a sudden tremor.
“W-What’s going on? An earthquake?”
The woman sat on the ground and covered her head, but the
people around her went about their business like nothing’s
happening.
“Eh? You’re kidding… Why is no one reacting? It’s like they don’t
even hear that explosion or feel the tremor… Could it be… that I’m
the only one who felt that?”
Her face started growing pale. Seems like she’s remembering the
fortune I left with her.
I made a signal, and at that instant, a large amount of fluid
splashed onto her head.

51

“It’s cold! …What is this? It’s slimy and feels disgusting! Ah, it’s
soaking into my clothes…!”

Yunyun pushed these onto me, saying that she got a whole bunch
of tokoroten slime from the Axis Cult and had nothing to use it on,
but to think that it would come in handy like this…

The woman hastily looked up, but there were only clear skies
above her.

Upon seeing not a single cloud in the sky, the woman hugged her
body and trembled.

“What’s going on? Don’t tell me that fortune wasn’t a fake?”

With a blood-drained face, the woman picked up her pace and
hurried down the street.

Everything is going just as planned.

“Did everything go well?”

Keith poked his head out from a nearby building, holding in his
hands a bucket that was full of tokoroten slime until just a short
while ago.

“Yeah, your timing was perfect.”

“Well, the signal was the explosion that has become this town’s
attraction by now. It’s pretty hard to miss that.”

That boom and accompanying tremor is, of course, the daily
routine of that crazy Explosion Girl.

52

The residents of this town have gotten used to it by now, so no one
would have raised a fuss over it. Though, apparently, Kazuma and
his party were out-of-town the past few days, so it’s been quite
quiet recently.
In any case, that woman has only been in town for a short time, so
she wouldn’t be familiar with Axel’s local attraction. It’d be best if
everything else went just as smoothly… Well, I’ll just have to keep
that in mind going forward.
I hurried off after the woman and spotted her a few meters around
the corner. She appeared to be walking casually, but her neck was
almost swiveling around as she kept careful watch over her
surroundings.
Still, it doesn’t seem like she has taken notice of my presence.
“Right, then, the next point is…”
I’ve looked up the places that she is likely to visit.
Seems like she’s headed for a high-end restaurant. Great, this is
within my calculations.
I entered through the back door and met the gaze of the chefs and
waiters who were there, who returned with a grin.
The truth is, the people who are pretending to be chefs and
waiters are the adventurers who were fleeced by her.

53

The manager of this shop was a former adventurer, and when we
offered him a half year’s free pass to use the succubus shop, he
happily let us use the store.
“Alright, you bastards, your chance for revenge has come.
Everything is prepared, right!?”
“Leave it to me. Let her eat our handmade meal to her heart’s
content!”
The chef enthusiastically declared, before passing the dish over to
Keith who was dressed as a waiter.
Keith offered his full support to this prank we’re pulling. He said
something about being willing to do anything to help Taylor, but
most likely, he’s just bored.
I was a little curious as to how things would play out, so I peeked
into the restaurant from the kitchen.
“Thank you for waiting. Here’s the chef’s whimsical choice for
today.”
“Hehe, I wonder what’s I’ll eat today… What is this?”
The item that the woman was pointing to with a frown was a
simple slab of meat covered in a translucent, brown substance.
“It’s covered in the chef’s whimsical sauce!”
“Eh? When you say whimsical, you mean like this? What is this
sauce even made off?”

54

“Well… It was made on a whim, so I don’t know the ingredients
that went into it. Well, it’ll probably be fine.”
“Probably? …Ah, fine. The chef’s skills are pretty good, so maybe
it just looks bad today.”
In a tone that seemed like she was trying to convince herself, she
sent the waiter away.
Keith bowed before bringing the same dish to a different
customer.
After confirming that the other customer ate the dish without any
issues, the woman let out a small sigh of relief before digging into
her own dish.
“Gurk!? What’s with this sticky and droopy sauce? The meat is
overcooked, tough and bitter, and the smell is even worse! Hey–!”
Just as she threw the fork against the table and stood up, a loud
voice resonated throughout the store.
“Mmmm! This new dish is the best! The smell and aridity is
perfectly blended together with this new sauce! It’s delicious!”
“If I wasn’t such a connoisseur, this blend of flavours would’ve
slipped by me entirely! Anyone who would complain about this
dish is showing just how plebeian their taste are!”
Hearing the words of the other customers, the woman fell silent
and sat back down.

55

It’s a little overblown, the way they are shouting praises while
stuffing their mouths, but as far as acts go, it wasn’t too bad.
Seeing the other customers happily dig into their meals like that,
the woman also helped herself to the food, though it’s obvious that
she isn’t enjoying it in the slightest. Her brow furrowed and her
frown deepened with each and every bite.
“Say, what did you put in that?”
When I asked the chef that, he clapped his hands and proudly
laughed.
“I just threw the meat on the pan without removing the blood
first, and the sauce is made by adding a whole bunch of sugar to
the tokoroten slime you brought.”
So it’s just hard and bitter meat covered in sweet and clumpy
sauce, huh? Yeah, of course she would make that face.
Still, perhaps it’s because of her pride, the woman still forced
herself to finish the dish before uttering a “T-Thanks for the meal”
and leaving, her face painted with the green of nausea.
The moment she left, the adventurers who were posing as
customers stood up as one and made a rush for the toilet.
“Bleegh! Seriously, are you trying to kill us? There’s a limit on how
bad you can make a dish taste!”
“Why did you make us eat the same thing!? You could’ve just
given us something that looked the same! Actually, you take a bite
too!”

56

“As if I could eat something this disgusting!”
“What is wrong with you!?”
Ignoring the fight brewing between the “kitchen staff” and the
“customers”, Keith and I exited the store and went after the
woman.
Afterwards, we continued harassing her by changing the
seasonings while she wasn’t looking, or jacking up the prices by
several times its normal price when she tried to buy something,
and other such antics.
At the end of the day, a tired-seeming woman retreated back to
the high-class hotel she was staying at.
“This really is completely different from the inn that I usually stay
at. She is really living a rich life with the money she took from the
others.”
“Well, you occasionally pass out drunk and sleep by the roadside,
after all.”
The person standing next to me isn’t Keith, but Loli-Succubus.
Her abilities will be more useful from this point out.
“This time is a special occasion. I’m only helping out because I
heard that it’d be helpful to Vanir-sama. Don’t get the wrong
idea.”

57

“Yeah, I get it. If you do well, sir Vanir might even get happy
enough to give you a head pat or two.”
“Really? Ehehe~”
I think she’s starting to drool.
“Say, didn’t you tell me that ‘Thinking that girls enjoy getting
patted on the head is the fantasy of a virgin.’ at some point?”
“There’s nothing strange about it. It’s only natural for be happy
when someone you’ve adored is doing it, isn’t it? If you do it, it’d
be sexual harassment, but Vanir-sama is different. If anything, I’d
rather he pat all my important bits too!”
“T-This girl…”
“Oh, I thought of something good!”
I don’t know what’s going through her head, but she crossed her
arms and nodded repeatedly.
“There’s plenty I want to say right now, but I’ll bear with it on
account of you helping me today. You’re prepared, right?”
“Leave it to me! I have the perfect idea of what dream to show
her!”
The reason I called upon her is to give that woman a nightmare.
After going through such a horrible day, she’s sure to have turned
in early. I’ll let her see the ultimate nightmare as a present
tonight.

58

↲

59

Chapter 1: Part 7 ↲

The next day.

I was dressed up as a fortune-teller and sitting back at that street I
was at yesterday, when someone sat down opposite me.

I looked up, and sitting there was the very haggard looking newbie
adventurer.

“Oh, you seem quite tired today. Did you have too much fun last
night?”

“It was an absolutely horrible day. I got drenched in some
mysterious sticky substance, none of my shopping turned out
well, and I saw a nightmare where I got chased by a horde of
blonde perverts… Just remembering it makes me shudder.”

“Well, well…”

Guess the nightmare worked out after all.

Though, the contents of that nightmare seem a little weak
somehow. I’ll ask Loli-Succubus for more details later.

“By the way, do you have some business with me today, lady?”

“I don’t really want to, but I have no choice but to believe in your
fortune after everything that’s happened.”

Yes, she fell for it. Here’s the critical part.

60

“Oh, is that so? Well, then, what would you like me to divine
today? Perhaps the color of your panties? I’ve been practicing
some breast fondling fortune-telling too, so perhaps you would
like to give it a shot?”

“I’ll pass on that. Just give me a regular fortune. Something that
would bring me good luck again.”

“Hmm, good luck, huh. Haaa…Heee…Hooo!”

I placed my hands on the crystal ball and made some strange
movements, accompanied by various strange noises too.

The newbie adventurer jumped a little in surprise, but unlike
yesterday, she’s watching me with interest today.

“Oh, there we go. The magic item shop at the end of this street is
having a sale right now. Apparently, the item they are
recommending is your lucky item.”

“Magic item shop?”

“Indeed. Manning that store is a pale beauty of a shopkeeper, and
a masked store assistant. The item that the masked man
recommends is the key to your good fortune.”

“M-Masked store assistant? That sounds suspicious, but I suppose
it’s worth checking out. Thank you, here’s your payment.”

She gave me more money than I expected, but I simply accepted it
without saying a word.

Could fortune-telling be more profitable than adventuring?

61

“You prodded her quite well.”
Just like yesterday, Sir Vanir emerged from underneath the table.
The condition for getting his help with the fortune-telling was to
get that woman to buy an item from his store.
“With this, you’ll be able to get rid of some of your inventory. She
looks to be pretty loaded, so you should be able to get some
money out of her.”
“Indeed. At this rate, this month’s ledgers would be filled with red
ink thanks to that incompetent shopkeeper. Very well, Moi shall
rush back to the store. Thank you for your assistance.”
“We’re friends, aren’t we? I’ll help you out any time you need!”
Sir Vanir sped away from the table, and I saw him off with a huge
wave.
Now, then, I’ve already directed her towards Sir Vanir, so my part
of the deal is done. Now all that’s left to do is to see how things
play out.
I packed up my fortune-telling store into a bag and headed
towards the magic item shop.
There’s no way I could’ve kept up with Sir Vanir’s speed, and by
the time I reached the shop, he was already dressed in an apron
and welcoming her as a customer.

62

“Welcome, young lady who is apparently quite beautiful by human
standards.”
“Ah, err, was that a compliment?”
Peeking in through the window, it doesn’t seem like Wiz is
manning the store at the moment.
She isn’t crumpled on the floor like she usually is, so she’s
probably outside somewhere.
Just as I thought that, I smelt a faint burnt scent along with
something flowery.
“Is she in the yard?”
I followed that smell, and around the corner of the store, just out
of sight of the street, was a charred Wiz laying in a crumpled heap.
Ah, she probably bought something useless again and got
punished by Vanir. Or maybe he just pushed her here to keep her
from interfering.
Well, in any case, she’ll heal in time, so I turned my attentions
back to what’s happening inside the store.
“I-Is this really the item that you recommend?”
And just in time too. I barely got back to the window before I
heard the newbie adventurer’s incredulous voice.

63

I peeked inside, and in Sir Vanir’s hands was a strangely realistic-
looking doll. It was wearing a dress that made it seem like the
young lady of some noble family.
“This doll is rumoured amongst the neighbours to raise your luck.
Its hair will grow naturally on its own, so feel free to style its hair
whichever way you like. It occasionally moves from where you’ve
placed it, but that is a small matter. Pay it no heed.”
“Of course not! It sounds just like a cursed doll!”
“What are you saying. Let’s leave the jokes there. This doll has
plenty of other useful functions too. One of those functions is that,
if you tell the doll a specific time, it will wake you up at that time.
Why don’t we give it a try?”
Sir whispered something into the doll’s ear and placed it on top of
the counter.
As the newbie adventurer and I watched, the doll’s mouth
dropped open and from it emitted a loud, creepy sounding laugh.
“Kukekekekeke!”
“Eeep! What’s up with this!?”
“Fuhahahaha! No matter how deep in sleep you are, this function
will wake you straight up! Isn’t it amazing? Incidentally, if you
leave it alone for too long, it might attack you with the short sword
it keeps in its bust! Oh, and it also comes fully equipped to brew
tea!”

64

“That makes it sound like I’ll take an eternal sleep if I’m not
careful! Anyway, nevermind that, how do you stop this thing?”
She pointed at the doll, which was still laughing over the voices of
both Sir Vanir and the newbie adventurer.
Just hearing it through the glass is giving me the migraines, so I’m
sure it’d be quite painful for those within the store.
…Thought Sir seems unaffected.
“Hmm, a way to stop it, huh? You’ll have to force its mouth close
with all of your strength.”
“Say that earlier… Hey, this doll is really struggling! Hey, doesn’t
this look really strange?”
From a distance, watching her desperately try to close her hand
over that dolls mouth makes her seem like a criminal trying to
abduct a small child.
“You’ll be able to get some exercise the moment you awaken, so
that’ll perk you up too.”
“Ah, err… forget it. Don’t you have any other items you
recommend?”
“Was that not to your liking? Then, what about the popular Vanir
doll that laughs at night? Apart from that, there’s this necklace
that has a gem that repels monsters embedded in it. What do you
think?”

65

Sir retrieved a necklace from the shelves behind him. It didn’t
look half bad, to be honest.
“Just what’s with you and laughing dolls? Well, that necklace
looks pretty nice, so I’m fine with that. How strong is the monster
repellent effect?”
“It’d repel monsters around the level of a goblin and such.”
“That’s not too bad.”
True, that doesn’t sound too bad. It’d actually be pretty popular
amongst merchants and carriage drivers if that was all it does. Of
course, there’s no way any item sold by this store could be that
straightforward.
“The drawback is that the jewel lets out a sweet scent, but all that
does is attract monsters, so there’s no need to concern yourself
with that.”
“Say, that scent… wouldn’t it cancel out the monster repellent
effect!? That’s quite a major drawback…”
The adventurer doesn’t seem to be too into it, but at the end of the
day, there wasn’t much else of worth in the store, so she left with
the necklace along with a bunch of other miscellaneous knick
knacks.
“Sigh, there goes all my money. Maybe it’s time I bid farewell to
this town and go back to Elroad…”
The woman, clutching a bag full of useless goods, grumbled as she
exited the store.

66

“Elroad is the city of gamblers, right? This girl just doesn’t learn.”
Well, she already decided to leave this town, so there’s really no
need for this, but just for good measure, I’ll sneak by her room
and leave that doll under her bed later tonight.

↲

67

Chapter 1: Part 8 ↲

Three days have passed since then.
The money I’ve gotten while I was working as a fortune-teller was
all gone by now, so I headed into the guild.
Sitting at our usual table was Lynn, Keith, and, this time, Taylor
too.
Looks like they parted ways. I have no idea what their farewell
was like, but a little teasing wouldn’t go amiss.
“Sup. Oh, Master Taylor, it’s been some time.”
“Don’t call me that. It makes my skin crawl.”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with a girl recently, right?
Introduce me to her some time.”
The moment I said that, Keith and Lynn raised their fingers to
their mouths and made shushing motions at me.
What’s with them? This reaction… Oh, I see. He must have been
dumped before they parted ways, huh?
“Oh, what, don’t tell me you were dumped?”
“We weren’t going out in the first place. I was only teaching her
the basics of being an adventurer.”
“Oh, is that so? Anyway, where’s that girl now?”

68

“She went back to her homeland. It seems like her mother
suddenly fell ill, so she’ll be taking a break from being an
adventurer to tend to her mother.”
So that’s the excuse she went with. It’s quite impressive for her to
be able to keep up that pure, innocent newbie image all the way to
the end. Well, as long as he doesn’t find out, it’d just be a happy
memory for him.
She’s no longer in this town, so I suppose there’s no reason to
reveal the truth.
I caught a glimpse of her a couple of days before, and she seemed
genuinely haggard from the two sleepless nights she had before.
She probably won’t be coming back to this town anytime soon.
“It was completely unexpected, and she used up all her money
buying her equipment, so I gave her all the money I had on hand
to help with the treatment. I hope it’d come in handy…”
“…… ”
That bitch! She had him around her finger all the way to the end…
And Taylor too! How could he be tricked so easily!?
“Anyway, I don’t have any money at the moment. I would like to
take a quest right now, so would you join me?”
“I’m always broke, so I don’t mind.”
Keith and Lynn nodded in agreement.

69

These guys always ignore me whenever I’m broke, but they’ll
happily help Taylor out, huh?
…That’s what I wanted to say, but just for today, I’ll lend a hand to
that kind hearted leader of ours.

↲

70

Tailing That Noisy Bunch
Chapter 2: Part 1 ↲

TL: Cannongerbil
Editing: Ulti

“There’s no way I’ll hand over my cute little sister off to some man
from who knows where! Maybe I can use Megumin’s Explosion to
blow away the entire castle… No, wait, I could go behind Aqua’s
back and enlist the help of the Axis Cult! No matter what methods
I use…”
Sitting alone at the table, a drunk Kazuma was muttering some
pretty dangerous sounding things under his breath.
I’m pretty deep into my cups myself, so I only heard about half of
it, but it’s clearly obvious that he’s in a foul mood.
“Eh, it’s quite unusual to find you alone, Kazuma! Don’t worry,
your best friend, that is to say, me, will have a drink with you
today! There’s no need to restrain yourself. Bring on the beer! It’ll
be my friend’s treat today!”
“It’s supposed to be the other way round! Don’t try and take
advantage of me, you drunk! I don’t have the time to play with you
today. And pay for your drinks, I’m not treating you.”
“Don’t be so petty~. Aren’t we the best of friends?”
“Nevermind friends, we are but acquaintances at best.”
“Come now, don’t be shy, you little brat~”

71

I pulled on the cheeks of Kazuma who said something utterly
unthinkable.
“Cut it out, I’m seriously troubled right now. There’s no doubt that
right now, my cute little sister is crying into her mattress as she
waits for me to save her!”
He coldly stared at me as he pried my hands off. It doesn’t seem
like this is a good opportunity to tease him.
Still, did Kazuma have a sister?
Oh, yeah, come to think of it, a certain princess did look up to
Kazuma like a brother…
Hmm, could it be that the entire kingdom is embroiled in some
big incident.
“Oh, sorry. Still, what are you troubled by? You’ve helped me a lot
over the past few months, so feel free to tell me about your
problems. If you do it right now, it’s free!”
“I’d be better off consulting with Aqua or the others than you…
Though, Megumin seems like she’s jealous, Darkness is
technically a noble of this kingdom, and Aqua’s flat out. Dust.
Dush, huh~. There really are no decent folks around me. Sigh.
Well, you probably won’t let me leave until I tell you, right?”
Kazuma let out a huge sigh and shook his head.
He knows me quite well.

72

“Haa… Say, if you had a sister… No, if you knew that someone
really important to you is betrothed to someone you know nothing
about, what would you do?”
“…!”
Kazuma’s words sobered me up in an instant.
Someone really important to him is betrothed, huh. He must be
talking about that princess. Come to think of it, she was
bemoaning something about a betrothal back then, wasn’t she?
“H-Hey, what’s wrong? What’s with that serious expression of
yours?”
“Hmm? I’m just taken aback after being asked such a question out
of nowhere. Are you talking about the Explosion Girl or Darkness?
Or that Party Priest… Nah, forget I said that.”
“No, no. Heck, even if they had such a partner, it’d be fine to leave
them be. There’s no way anyone else will be able to put up with
them.”
“That is true…”
A Crimson Demon that has to fire of one Explosion per day.
An utterly perverted noble.
And a priest of the Axis Cult good for nothing other than
consuming wine, performing party tricks, and causing problems
for others.

73

“I feel like cheering on anyone who would want to go out with
them. Actually, I really want to see that.”
“Right? Besides, those girls aren’t that easy… Nevermind that.
Anyway, what will you do, Dust? You got into a rough spot back
when you thought Lynn was dating someone, right?”
“Please don’t remind me of that. I really don’t want to think about
it.”
The incident Kazuma was referring to was that time I suspected
that Lynn was being pressured by a nobleman and asked for his
help in getting back at him.
Just thinking back to it sends a chill down my spine.
“Say, what happened at the end of the day? Did you really…”
“Of course not! I didn’t stay there very long afterwards! I-It’s true!
Don’t look at me with that pitying gaze of yours!”
Kazuma placed a hand on my shoulder and made an expression
that seemed to say “You don’t have to say anything, I understand.”
…He definitely did not understand.
“Anyway, back to your story, if the person that is really important
to you is out of your reach, letting her go and praying for their
happiness… would be for the best.”
I rested a hand on the sword I wore on my waist.

74

“That doesn’t sound like you at all, Dust! I was expecting you to
say something like ‘I’d punch him and take her back!’ But, what
would you do if that man turned out to be a fiend?”
“In that case, I would just punch him and take her back.
Afterwards, I’d pull my revenge on him.”
Ensuring that the person who is important to me is happy is the
absolute minimum requirement, after all.
After learning that she’s unhappy, it’s only natural to resort to
forceful measures.
“Right!? I knew you’d understand. Right, it’s my treat, so feel free
to order away! In exchange, lend me your aid. You’re great at
scheming, right?”
“Oh, really!? Alright, leave it to me! I’ll teach you all the little
scams and pranks you can pull while just staying out of the hands
of the police!”
I drank wine like water and caused a huge ruckus with Kazuma,
and just like that, the night passed.

↲

75

Chapter 2: Part 2 ↲

“My head hurts…”
Seems like I really went overboard yesterday. Hangovers are the
worst.
Forcing my eyes open, I noticed the sun shining directly above
me.
“There’s no roof. Where am I?”
I thought the ground was a little too hard and cold. It seems that I
fell asleep at the back of a road somewhere.
“I recall talking to Kazuma yesterday, but what did we actually
talk about…?”
I recall it involving a woman at some point, but I’m at a complete
blank when it comes to recalling specifics.
“Oh, well, it most likely wasn’t anything important anyways. I
should go hit up my companions for a glass to wake me up.”
After getting up and working the kinks from my body, I hurried
down to the adventurer’s guild.
Inside the guild, Lynn and the others were seated at their usual
spots… along with someone else seated right opposite them.
Did they accept a quest while I was out and are getting more
details from the client?

76

I couldn’t make out their features from behind, but they seemed
to be dressed like a magician.
“Ah, Dust, come over here.”
Lynn waved me over, so I sat down at the open seat.
It was at this point that I noticed that the other person is the noble
lady I met before: Rain.
She acts as the bodyguard and guardian of the princess of this
kingdom, Iris. Lynn and I once worked together with her on a
quest.
What’s she doing at the adventurer’s guild? It’s not another
troublesome matter involving Iris, is it?
“Oh, if it isn’t the plain and poor noble. I ran into a few ways to
make easy money just a few days ago, so, are you interested?”
“I did say to act natural around me the last time we met, but I am
still a noble, so do please watch your words a little… Tell me more
about those matters later.”
A vein popped on Rain’s temple as she forced a smile onto her
face. It seems like she doesn’t agree with being called poor or
plain.
“So, what’s going on? Just so you know, I’m not about to lend you
money.”
“I think a noble would rather consider honourable suicide than
owe someone like you money. Nevermind that, Rain-san asked for

77

us personally for some kind of job. And it sounds like the rewards
would be quite hefty too.”
“Dust-sama, Lynn-sama, thank you for your help the other day.”
Along with those words, Lynn went into a deep bow.
Unlike the other nobles that I’m familiar with, Rain is not above
dealing with commoners. There’s another noble that frequently
works with her, but she has the typical noble’s mindset, so we
don’t get along very well.
“Dust, Lynn, when did you get involved with the nobles? You
didn’t get her involved in some criminal activity, did you?”
“Hey, she’s quite a beauty. Though, she is a little plain for my
tastes… but a beauty is still a beauty. You best tell me all about it
later.”
Taylor and Keith crowded around me and whispered in hushed
voices.
I causally waved them away and said “Later” under my breath
before continuing.
“Quest, huh? Well, I’m fine as long as we get paid. So, what’s it
about?”
“Yes. I can’t tell you the specifics, but I would like you to watch
over Alice-sama’s escorts.”
“Watch over the escorts? Not act as her escort?”

78

I thought it was just a simple error, but it seemed to have caught
Keith’s interest.
“No, it’s not a mistake. I would like you to watch over the escorts
so that they won’t get up to anything unusual.”
“…You’re not saying that there’s a traitor amongst the escorts or
anything dangerous like that, are you?”
If she didn’t misspeak, then that was the only situation I could
think off.
Considering Iris’s position, it would not be strange for her retinue
to be infiltrated by the Demon King or be subject to some kind of
power struggles. Still, would they really come to us adventurers
for such a serious matter like this?
They aren’t hiring us so they could have us silenced if it comes to
it, are they? They are nobles, after all, and ones close to the royal
family as well. I wouldn’t put it beneath them.
“Ah, no, that is not the case. In fact, I would like you to keep an
eye on Alice-sama too so that she doesn’t get up to any stupid…
unbelievable… err, strange behaviours while she’s with them.”
This woman just referred to the royalty of this kingdom as stupid
just now. She tried to cover it up, but she can’t slip by me that
easily. Incidentally, Alice is the alias that Iris is using.
“Hmm, I’m not quite sure what you’re asking of us. I know that
Alice is the daughter of a high-ranking noble family, but, well… In
the first place, is she headed off to somewhere?”

79

“Well, the matter of Alice-sama’s betrothal has been settled, so
she’s headed over to Elroad to meet her fiancée.”
Betrothal? I feel like I’ve heard that term just a short while ago.
I think I talked about that with Kazuma over a few glasses of beer
quite recently, but I can’t remember any specifics.
“Well, she’s at the age where such arrangements are normal. Still,
she’s getting married to some rich noble, right? I really want to
tell this to Luna. She’ll probably start crying tears of envy.”
“Don’t do that, Dust! If Luna heard that, she’ll definitely push
some impossible quest upon us! You know talking about matters
of romance is off limits around her!”
Luna has a good body and is quite popular as a receptionist, but
she has absolutely no luck when it comes to romance, and she’s at
the age where she’s starting to seriously fret about such matters.
It’s not unthinkable for her to give us some really dangerous quest
with a smile on her face if I were to tease her about that.
“So she has a fiancée at such a young age? I always thought nobles
are quite carefree, but I suppose they have their troubles too. Still,
I guess it’s nice not having to worry about finding a partner in the
future.”
“You’re far too young to be worrying about marriage, Lynn.
Besides, you already have the best possible partner right here!”

80

81

I stood up and jabbed my thumb towards myself.
Seeing that, Lynn let out a snort and went “Hah, that’s pretty
amusing coming from you.”
“Ir…Alice-sama is a wonderful person. She is sensible and
understands the position she has… At least, that’s how she used to
be, but she’s been becoming quite wild lately after getting
influenced by that person. Nowadays, she sneaks out from the
cast- mansion almost every day.”
That person she’s talking about is Kazuma, right?
Come to think of it, Claire was complaining about him too, wasn’t
she? Something about her learning all kinds of weird things and
becoming better at sneaking out by the day.
“I’m just guessing here, but those escorts… they don’t happen to
be Kazuma and his party, are they?”
The moment I asked that, my companions shot me questioning
looks.
Yeah, it must seem like Kazuma’s name just came out of nowhere
with what they know.
“That would be the case. Alice-sama looks up to Kazuma-sama
like her own brother, so things might become troublesome. I did
ask Dustiness-sama to try to get him to refuse to be her escort, but
it remains to be seen if she is successful in doing so…”
So the reason why Rain is so worried is because of Kazuma, huh?

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“In addition, Claire-sama is against the betrothal as well, so there
is a possibility that she might hatch some scheme to sabotage the
whole endeavour. If she and Kazuma-sama were to work
together…”
Say, is it really alright for a vassal to work against the goals of
their princess?
Claire is another noble who works as Iris-sama’s bodyguard and
guardian, much like Rain.
She was quite smitten with Iris last I saw her, and I thought she
was a pretty dangerous person, but to think that she’d put Iris
over the country…
Elroad, the country where Iris’s fiancée comes from, provides
massive financial aid to the Kingdom of Belzerg.
I recall witnessing Iris being distressed over them sending lesser
amounts back when I accidentally spied on her through the power
of Sir’s mask.
Getting involved in the betrothal of a princess, huh? To be honest,
it sounds like nothing but trouble, so I really don’t want to get
involved, but I can’t just refuse after remembering how she was
that night.
“It will probably turn out fine, but it’d be a big deal if something
were to happen to the princess, so I would like you to keep an eye
on Kazuma-sama and his party. Just in case anything goes
wrong.”

83

It’s only natural to take all precautions for a princess that’s
visiting a foreign country. Moreover, the people escorting her are
Kazuma and his party. They have plenty of accomplishments
under their belt, but if you ask me if Kazuma is well-suited to
being a bodyguard… I might be his friend, but even I wouldn’t
vouch for him on that front.
“Um, I’m happy that you would offer us such a job, but wouldn’t it
be better to hire actual bodyguards rather than adventurers for
this job?”
“I’m of the same mind as Lynn. If you really want to guarantee
Alice’s safety, it’d be best to seek help from bodyguards.”
“It’s not like you’re lacking money like Dust here, right?”
I generally agree with what my companions are saying, but I kept
my mouth shut.
Rain seem to hesitate for a moment before replying.
“T-That is true, but this trip is supposed to be a low-profile visit,
so we cannot mobilize entire troops of soldiers to escort her. The
bodyguards need to be small in number and not stand out. They
would also be using dragon carriage to reduce the chances of
running into enemies en route, and, in the first place, Alice-sama
is quite strong…”
“Eh? Is she really that strong with how cute she looks? Still, a
dragon carriage, huh? Those things are pulled by lizard runners,
and I’ve heard that their speed is incomparable to regular horse
drawn carriages.”

84

Lynn seems to have a hard time believing that Iris could be that
strong.
The reason why Iris is strong is probably because she’s been
eating high-quality food that provides experience points when
eaten every day. It’s a common thing for noble families to do.
Plus, I’ve heard that the royal lineage of Belzerg traces their way
back to many heroes in the past, and they are blessed with many
abilities from the moment they are born.
“So, basically, all we need to do is to keep an eye on them to
prevent Kazuma and his party from teaching her anything
strange, ensure her safety, and prevent anything from interfering
with the betrothal talks, right?”
“Yes, that’s the gist of it. Ah, but, when you reach the town, simply
keeping an eye on Kazuma and his party would do. If anything
happens, please write it down in this notebook. We’ll arrange for
any necessary compensations afterwards. Oh, and, err, Alice-
sama’s father is a fairly influential noble in this country, so she
might end up visiting the royal castle. If that happens, please just
wait at the gate!”
Rain was putting some serious emphasis on that last point. Well, I
suppose it’d be problematic if Alice’s identity as the princess of
this kingdom was exposed.
The rewards she offered were huge, and our lodgings would be
paid for. On top of that, a dragon carriage would be prepared for
us too, so that’s travel arrangements taken care of.

85

There’s really no reason for us to refuse such a good deal, so we
eventually accepted.
Truth be told, I really don’t want to get involved with the royalty,
but it’s a different story if I’m being paid to visit the country of
casinos, Elroad.
We even got a nice amount of money up front, so I’ll be able to
gamble to my heart’s content.
After Rain left the guild, Keith and Taylor started pressing me
about the details of our relationship.
When I told them about the adventure I went on with Yunyun,
Lynn, and the two nobles, Keith became overcome with envy and
started drinking. It wasn’t long before he was sprawled out on the
table.
“Why does Dust have all the luck with women?”
Keith mumbled while resting his head on the table. I think it’ll be
best to let him be for now.
“So Alice, who those two nobles serve under, is on good terms
with Kazuma, which is why she asked him to be her escort. Is that
right?”
“Kazuma’s party is quite powerful, but all of them are too
specialized. Being bodyguards don’t really suit their skills.”
“The Explosion Girl would retire after a single blast, and Darkness
seems like she’ll happily ignore her ward and charge into a mass
of monsters at the earliest opportunity. Well, that’s why they

86

asked us to watch over them from the shadows. All we have to do
is to pick up after them, so it sounds like it’d be a pretty easy job.”

“True. It’s dangerous to let your guard down, but it does seem like
a pretty good deal. I’ll go secure the tools we need for our journey.
You guys rest up.”

Seems like it’d be fine to leave the preparations to Taylor.

Lynn looks like she’d be staying here for a while longer, so I said
my goodbyes and left the guild.

“I don’t really have anything to do right now… so I guess I’ll head
over to Sir’s shop.”

Recently, I’ve been heading over to Sir’s magic item shop to kill
time… Well, it’s technically the shop of the beautiful and eternally
poor Wiz, but from what I can tell, Sir Vanir is the one who’s
actually keeping the shop afloat.

“Sir, I came over to play~

As I opened the door, Sir Vanir, who was sweeping the floor,
twisted his mouth into a grimace.

“You came here again? Unlike a certain delinquent, Moi is busy
today. If you have no business here, it’s best you leave quickly.”

“Yes! Don’t get in Vanir-sama’s way!”

“Those words apply to succubi like you too.”

Loli Succubus was standing by Sir Vanir’s side.

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Is it just me, or does she seem to spend more time in this shop
than me?

“Hey, Loli Succubus, why are you lazing around here in the
middle of the day? What happened to your job?”

“My job only starts at night. Besides, to think that Dust-san would
say such a line… Did you bring a mirror with you?”

“I’m heading out on some long-term work tomorrow.”

“Hmm, it doesn’t seem like you are lying. Moi shall offer to divine
your fortune for a discount if you accept it now. How about it?”

Sir is a devil that can see the future, and his predictions have a
very high accuracy rate.

I myself made use of his power while planning that prank on that
girl, so I am very much aware of how accurate it is.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’ll have to decline. Sir’s fortune
telling’s are more predictions than fortunes, and nothing good
have come out of them thus far.”

His predictions were certainly on point back during the trip to the
hot springs town, but Sir seems to find joy in omitting certain
information in order to trip me up.

He’s a devil that feeds on dark emotions, after all. You’d just be
setting yourself up for pain if you trust him completely.

“That’s not my fault, you merely reaped what you sown.”

88

“That’s right! Vanir-sama isn’t at fault at all! You should take a
good look at yourself and reflect on your behaviour!”
T-This girl… She becomes really annoying whenever Sir Vanir is
involved.
Why the hell are you getting more angry than the person himself?
“Oh shut up. What are you, my mother?”
“I wouldn’t want a childlike Dust-san even if you begged for it.”
“Hey, I was plenty cute when I was a child!”
“Even if you were cute in the past, in the end, you still ended up
like this.”
Loli Succubus glared at me with a disdainful look on her face.
“Don’t say that! Don’t point at me either!”
“Oh shut up! If you want to perform a comedy skit, go do it
outside! You might even attract a few customers that way!”
“There’s no fun taking part in a comedy skit with her. Even if I
accidentally touch her chest during a skit, there’s no enjoyment to
be gained from a chest a flat as hers.”
I looked at Loli Succubus’s pitiful chest and shrugged my
shoulders, and she narrowed her eyes.

89

“It’s really rude for you to be poking fun at a girl’s assets like that.
It’s not like you’re packing anything big down there in the first
place.”
She glanced down at my trousers and let out a meaningful grin.
“Hey, hey, what are you saying? You’ve never even laid eyes on my
longsword.”
“I saw it back at the hot springs, remember? It really looked more
like a shortsword to me. Ah, no, wait, that’s wrong, I think a knife
is a better term to describe it.”
“Right, if you are going to go that far, I’ll let you confirm it again!
Hold your eyelids open and take a good look at– Ouch!”
The moment I placed my hands on my belt, I felt a sharp rap
against my head.
Turning around, Sir Vanir was there with a displeased expression
on his face.
“Cut this out if you do not wish me to toss you out for obstructing
business, ones who are poor in assets in the chest and trousers.”
“I-it’s not like that! Mine are still growing! I’m a late bloomer,
that’s all! Please touch them and confirm it for yourself!”
“Seriously, mine isn’t small!”
Before Loli Succubus could remove her coat or I could undo my
belt, Sir Vanir hit us on the head once more.

90

“Stop pulling out strange stuff in the middle of the shop! There
are already too few customers as is. I’ll give you a fortune as a free
service, so hurry up and leave.”
“No, there’s no need…”
Sir stared intently at me before I could voice my objection.
“Oh ho, my my. Good for nothing fool, Moi sees you losing big at a
grand casino! Indeed, you seem to be blessed with the fate of
drawing the worst hand possible at the most important game!
Fuhahaha!”
“Seriously? I knew I shouldn’t have had my fortune told. Isn’t
there a way to make sure I win big at a casino?”
“Anything beyond this isn’t free. If you really want to know, you
best pay up. I heard about this from that brat, but this method is
apparently a great way to make money.”
“What an underhanded method… I don’t have any money on me
right now, so I’ll pass on that.”
I really want to know, but there’s nothing I can do about my lack
of funds. Still, Sir’s predictions do occasionally end up being
wrong, don’t they?
“Um, was there such a grand casino in Axel?”
“There’s no such thing in this town. We are heading off to Elroad
that’s famous for its casinos. That part about me losing big must
be taking place over there.”

91

“You’re heading off to Elroad!?”
“Y-Yeah, that’s the plan.”
Loli Succubus was looking at me with sparkling eyes.
Was it really that surprising?
“Please take me along with you!”
“You’re interested in casinos? Right, I’ll take you to a gambling
den today. If you lend me some money, I’ll give you back twice as
much.”
I thought that succubi didn’t care for anything other than Sir
Vanir, but to think that she would have an interest in gambling.
As her senior, I’ll have to teach her about the joy of gambling.
“I don’t really care about gambling.”
But she shot me down instantly.
“Then, why do you want to come with me… Ah, is that it? Sorry for
noticing your feelings, but, I’m sorry, I just can’t see a kid as a
woman.”
“I’m not interested in you! Even if it does feel bad to be rejected…
Anyway, in the first place, I’m not a kid! I might look like this, but
I’m older than you!”
“Yes, yes, that’s amazing~ I’m sure you’ll look very sexy once your
boobs have grown.”

92

I pulled some random soothing words on a whim and patted her
on the head, and Loli Succubus angrily stomped her foot on the
ground.
“Graaah! Vanir-sama! This man is really infuriating!”
“This delinquent’s talent at getting on people’s nerves is the best
in the world, so don’t engage with him. More importantly, do
enlighten us on the reason why you wish to visit Elroad.”
“Well, you see, there are some plans amongst the succubi to set up
a shop in Elroad. We’ve been planning to pay it a visit soon, and
this seems like the perfect chance to do so.”
I see. In truth, this is the first I’ve heard that there isn’t a succubus
shop in Elroad. Dammit, that’s one less thing to be looking
forward to.
“Setting up a succubus shop in a town of casinos isn’t a bad idea.
Once people have their wallets filled, they’ll naturally seek to fill
their other desires. There’s no end to the greed of humans, after
all.”
“It’s strangely convincing when it comes from someone who might
as well be a mass of desires like you.”
“Yeah.”
Both of them nodded in unison, but I’ll just ignore that for now.
Loli Succubus, huh… Well, there’s no issue with just taking her
along.

93

The only woman in our party is Lynn. She didn’t say anything, but
it’s only natural to feel a little uneasy to be the only woman
amongst men when taking a long trip.
“I don’t mind taking you along. The others probably won’t have
any complains either.”
“Thank you very much! I’ll give you a coupon for the succubus
shop as payment, so share it with everyone, alright?”
“Ooh, thanks.”
Oh, there’s ten of them. I’ll make sure to make good use of these.
After all, she wouldn’t be coming with us at all if it wasn’t for me!
“Do come over here for a moment. Allow me to give you a little
piece of advice.”
“W-What is it!? Don’t tell me, it’s a confession…”
Just as I moved towards the door, Sir Vanir called Loli Succubus
towards him.
I turned around to see Sir whispering something into Loli
Succubus’s ear. I can’t make out what he’s saying from here, but
judging from Loli Succubus’s expression, it’s definitely not a
confession.

↲

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Chapter 2: Part 3 ↲

We gathered together on the outskirts of the capital on the day
Kazuma’s group was supposed to set off.
The ones heading on this journey would be me, Taylor, Keith,
Lynn, and, as a late addition, Loli Succubus.
“Once again, thank you very much for having me. It’s not much,
but please help yourselves to these snacks.”
“Welcome aboard. There’s no need to stand on courtesy.”
Loli Succubus was welcomed with bright smiles as she repeatedly
bowed and offered up a box of snacks.
We’ve been on the same party several times before, so they are
already used to her.
I wanted to invite Yunyun to join us to ensure a smooth journey,
but her loner powers must have activated because I couldn’t find
her anywhere, so I gave up on it.
“So this is a dragon carriage, huh? It’s really pulled by lizard
runners. Though it seems a little plainer than I expected.”
“I was expecting something flashier for a noble’s vehicle. What say
we spruce it up ourselves?”
“Don’t be rude, Keith. We are supposed to tail them from the
shadows, so it’d be foolish to ride in a vehicle that stands out. I’m
sure Rain removed the furnishings so that it’d blend in easier.”

95

Keith seemed somewhat disappointed when Taylor admonished
him.
“Yes, ultimately, we would like you to keep a low profile, so the
exterior is deliberately arranged so that it doesn’t stand out.
However, while the exterior is stripped down, the furnishings
inside are still fully intact, so rest easy. There aren’t any wheels,
but…”
Rain, who came alone to hand the carriage over to us, moved her
hands and muttered something at the carriage.
At this, the carriage began floating a short distance above the
ground. With this, the weight will be reduced even further, and
the entire vehicle would be able to move even faster.
“Ooh, it’s floating off the ground! How is it doing that!?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen it in action.”
“As expected of a noble.”
As I watched my companions start to fall all over themselves
marvelling over the dragon carriage, I felt Loli Succubus pull on
my sleeve.
“Dust-san, you don’t seem impressed at all. Isn’t this a rare sight?”
“Well, this isn’t my first time I saw something like this, after all.”
It’s rare for most noble families to own something like this, but it’s
a common sight amongst royal families.

96

Rain then proceeded to explain the various things to look out for.
I can leave matters like that to Taylor.
Soon after, she bowed and said “I’ll leave the rest in your hands.”
before heading back to where Kazuma was.
From this distance, Kazuma and his party are but a small speck on
the horizon, but that’s within my calculations.
“Keith, can you tell what’s going on over there?”
“Don’t worry, with my Farsight, they are crystal clear to me. ”
As an Archer, Keith has access to the skill Farsight, allowing him
to see distant objects as though they are right in front of him.
“Wait, doesn’t Kazuma have Farsight too?”
“Ah.” x3
Lynn’s innocent question stopped us in our tracks.
Come to think of it, he did mention that before.
“B-But, we have the map and know what route they’ll be taking, so
it’ll be fine… probably.”
“Surely it’ll be fine if we keep our distance, right?”
“My Farsight is superior to his, so if we stay far enough back that I
can only just barely see them, it’ll work out.”

97

Those responses don’t exactly put me at ease, but it’ll probably
work out.
“It won’t do us any good to get all worked up over it. Look, they
seem like they are about to set off, so hurry up and get on. I’ll be
the driver.”
“Oh, thanks. The lizard runners seem to have taken a liking to
you, so I’ll leave them in your hands.”
“Women constantly treat you like trash, but animals and monsters
really do take a liking to you.”
“You’re not releasing any kind of strange pheromones, are you?”
“You little… stop waddling around and get on!”
After chasing my companions onto the carriage, I patted the lizard
runner closest to me on the back before settling into the driver’s
seat.
“I’ll be counting on you.”
“D-Dust! Don’t you think this is a little too fast!?”
“This is way too fast, eeep!”
“C-Can’t you slow down a little!? Isn’t this dangerous!?”
The wailing of my companions coming from behind me is quite
annoying.

98

It seems like they’ve gotten a little freaked out by how fast we are
moving.
“Don’t worry, have a little faith in my skills.”
“We can’t!” x3
It’s only at times like this when you all speak in unison. This kind
of speed is nothing to write home about. It’s nothing compared to
the speed of a dragon in flight.
I found it a little strange that Loli Succubus was the only one not
freaking out, so I briefly looked back and found her glued to the
window and happily seeing the world pass by.
“This is so much more relaxing than flying myself~”
I guess she’s less afraid of speed than my companions because
she’s able to fly under her own power.
“Remember what Rain told us? There’s a powerful barrier placed
on this carriage, so even if we get into an accident, we’ll be fine.
Plus, if we slow down, we’ll lose sight of Kazuma.”
We’ve managed to keep pace with Kazuma’s carriage so far, but if
we slow down for even a little, we’ll lose track of them instantly.
Just who is driving their carriage? It’d take a veteran not to lose
their nerve when travelling at such speeds.
“Hey, Keith, can you see who’s driving Kazuma’s carriage?”

99