Konosuba Dust Spin Off 5

“If you continue to protest, I’ll call the cops in addition to
barring you from the premises. By the way, did you cause some
trouble here in the past? If I recall, you were caught peeping-”
“Okay, fine, I was in the wrong! Alright, let’s head to the men’s
bath together!”
I said loudly, drowning the old man’s words before heading to
the men’s bath.
It’s in the middle of the day, so it doesn’t seem like there’s
anyone else here.
“Clothes are annoying. Going naked is better.”
“It’s fine while we are in the bath, but don’t go naked outside.
Especially not in a town like Axel that’s crawling with weirdos.”
The image of a certain Crusader who would probably stride
through the town nude if given the chance sprang to mind.
No, she probably won’t do it. She does have her position to
consider, after all.
Still, I can’t imagine that Crusader with anything other than
blushed cheeks as she happily strode through town.
“How do you wash your body?”
“Oh, I’ll do it for you this time. You can do it yourself once you
remember.”
“Dust, you sound different, but you’re still kind.”

100 | P a g e

“The great me is always kind at heart.”
Saying that, I started scrubbing her hair.
Seeing such a familiar scene, I couldn’t help but be reminded of
the past.
If I recall, back then, I was…
“… Ah, Luna, you take baths in the afternoon too?”
“Lynn-san, what a coincidence. A part of the materials that one
of the adventurers delivered turned out to have been rotten,
and the odour is…”
I pressed my ears against the wall.
That was Lynn’s and Luna’s voices just now, right? Are the two
of them on the other side of this wall right now?
Dammit, if I knew that, I would’ve forced my way past that old
geezer no matter what the cost!
“Dust, what are you doing?”
“Give me a moment. I’m busy right now.”
Faitfore, her head covered with bubbles, stared at me.
Please stop looking at me with those innocent eyes of yours.
“… Are they getting bigger?”
What!? What part of the body are you talking about! Tell me
more details, Lynn!

101 | P a g e

“Um, could you stop squeezing them with such a serious
expression? Your skin is smooth and springy. It actually makes
me a little jealous.”
“Kya! Don’t suddenly poke me like that~”
What is she squeezing!? Which part is she poking!? Tell me
more! In as detailed a manner as possible!
“Dust, my eyes hurt.”
I was so engrossed with my eavesdropping that I forgot to wash
the soap out from Faitfore’s hair.
This is a really bad time, but I peeled myself away from the wall.
The voices have started to fade away anyways.
“Oh, sorry. I’ll wash them away, so keep your eyes closed,
okay?”
As I was rinsing her off with warm water, I felt a strange gaze
on my back, but when I turned around, there wasn’t anyone
else in the room with me.
“Hmm, that was odd. I was sure I felt someone’s gaze on me.
Could it be that a girl is peeping?”
The small stream of bubbles emerging from the bathtub fell
completely beneath my notice.

↲

102 | P a g e

Chapter 2: Part 4 ↲

After refreshing my body, I once again found myself acting as a
guide to the town.
“That’s a general store that never manages to sell anything.
That pitiful creature manning the counter is known as a miser.
If you get too close, you’ll catch the poverty disease from him,
so watch out.”
“Stop filling a girl that young with crazy thoughts. You are the
one who’s poor all year round. Young lady, if that man does
anything strange to you, remember to cry for help.”
I came across the general store where I occasionally kill time at,
so I told Faitfore about it, only to be met with false charges.
“Old man, do you have any junk that would fit this girl?”
“I don’t have a single piece of junk in my shop! Oh, sorry for
yelling. That must have surprised you. I’ll pick out something
that suits you from the back, so wait for a moment, okay?”
The old man disappeared into the back room of the store for a
moment, before reappearing with a necklace in hand.
“Here, take this. I’m sure it’ll look good on you.”
Saying that, he attached the necklace around Faitfore’s neck.
However, it was clearly designed to be worn by an adult, so it
didn’t fit Faitfore at all.

103 | P a g e

“Oh, dear, the chain is a little too long. The jewel is going to
hang on your belly like this. I can adjust the length, so do you
mind giving it to me for a bit?”
“This is fine. Thank you.”
“Really? Well, I’ll be here, so if you need it adjusted, just come
back anytime.”
“I don’t have any money on me right now, so I’ll pay you back
some other day.”
Judging from the size of the red jewel on the necklace, it must
be worth quite a sum.
Thanks to the appearance of the treasure islands, the price of
precious metals and gems has gone down quite a bit in this
town, but even so, there’s no way I would be able to afford that
with the money I have right now.
It’s a little off for a girl that young looking to be wearing such a
gaudy necklace, but she seems to have taken a liking to it, so I
can’t possibly ask her to return it now.
“You’ll pay me back…? Sorry, my ears aren’t what they used to
me. There is no way that Dust would willingly offer to pay for
someone else’s goods, right?”
“I said I’ll pay for it. She’s very… You know what, nevermind.
Anyway, see you around.”
The old man furrowed his brow upon hearing that.
If you keep worrying this much, your hairline is going to recede
even faster, you know?

104 | P a g e

“It’s a little gaudy, but a red jewel doesn’t look too bad on you.
It’s valuable, so keep it under your clothes when you go out,
okay?”
“Okay.”
Her expression hasn’t changed much, but I can tell she’s in a
good mood.
After that, we proceeded down the back alleys.
“Oh, hell, when did we arrive at this store? Let’s get going.”
“Dust-san, the store isn’t open yet.”
Loli Succubus, sweeping out the front of the store, noticed me
and called out.
I fell into my usual habits and made my way to the succubus
store before I realized it.
“A young girl and Dust-san…”
She wandered over even though I didn’t respond to her, and
immediately started scrutinizing Faitfore.
Unlike the others, she didn’t immediately assumed that I am
committing some kind of crime. It seems like she is a better
judge of character than I thought.
I think I’ve gained some newfound respect for Loli Succubus.
“So, you moved from big breasts to the direct opposite and
dangerous genre, huh? Even though you knew you’d be judged

105 | P a g e

harshly for it. From big breasts to flat chests, and now even to
young girls. I must really admire your drive to plunder the
depths of erotism.”
“Hey, cut it out! Stop treating me like a pervert!”
She doesn’t seem to bear any ill will, but it still doesn’t mean
I’m happy to be talked about like that.
Faitfore, meeting Loli Succubus’s eyes, tilted her head and
pulled on the hem of my clothes.
“Yes?”
“She smells weird. Not human. Can I eat her?”
“W-What is with this girl? She’s saying some really dangerous
stuff!”
Oh, she saw through her with just her scent, huh?
Loli Succubus quickly jumped back in shock and distanced
herself from Faitfore while maintaining eye contact.
“No matter how hungry you are, eating something like this will
give you a stomachache, so don’t.”
“That’s where you start!?”
“Plus, look carefully. She’s all bones in her chest and butt. Even
if you eat her, she won’t be filling at all.”
“Okay.”
“She agreed!?”

106 | P a g e

Even though I convinced Faitfore not to eat her, Loli Succubus
looked like she was about to cry instead.
I just helped you there, so isn’t this the part where you say
thanks?
“This girl is harmless and peaceful, so pay her no mind.”
“Okay.”
“Um, sorry to interrupt you, but who is this girl?”
“I’m Faitfore.”
“I-Is that so? Er, my name is Lolisa. Pleased to make your
acquaintance.”
Loli Succubus replied nervously.
It’s a little weird to see her bowing and scraping before a young
girl, but she seemed to be serious about it.
“Something feels really off about her. My devil’s instincts are
telling me that going against her is a really bad idea.”
“That’s just your imagination. This girl is the child of a friend of
mine. I’m guiding her around the town right now. I’ll pay a visit
to the store later tonight.”
“Ah, wait a minute. It’s really sunny out today, so.”
She went back into the store and came out with a wide brimmed
hat, which she placed on top of Faitfore’s head.

107 | P a g e

“You have such beautiful pale skin, so you need to watch out for
sunburns. Oh, my, it really looks good on you.”
“Thank you.”
“Good girl.”
Even without me doing anything, she’s picking up clothes and
accessories as we go along.
At this rate, she’ll probably get given a house before too long.

After bidding goodbye to Loli Succubus and returning to the
main street, Faitfore started saying she was hungry again.
As a result, we went into a nearby restaurant, but her appetite
isn’t anything to scoff at. Before too long, a mountain of plates
were piled up in front of me.
“You sure eat a lot.”
“Yes. It was tasty. Dust, aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’m not hungry. Just water is enough for me.”
Come to think of it, she has always had a huge appetite, hasn’t
she?
It’s good to see her happy and all, but at this rate, my wallet is
going to be empty within two days.

108 | P a g e

I could make them run a tab or borrow some money, but… I
don’t want to do that in front of Faitfore. That means I have to
work.
I looked at Faitfore who was blissfully eating in ignorance of the
financial troubles I had.
She was eating with her bare hands without touching the
cutlery at all, so her hands and mouth were covered in sauce.
“Hey, I’ll wipe you off, so don’t move. There, it’s clean now.”
“Ah, I can’t stand it anymore! Just who are you!? It’s really
creepy!”
“Waaah!? Who the-!?”
A sudden loud voice exploded from behind me.
I turned around, only to be met with the figure of Lynn, Keith,
and Taylor.
“Were you guys following me?”
“We were worried about Faitore. But nevermind that, Dust,
what’s with the way you’re treating her? You’re acting almost
like she’s your daughter. It almost feels like a completely
different person. What did you do with the real Dust?”
“I was keeping watch in the bath ready to jump out in case
anything happened, but nothing did happen. All I could see was
a regular, ordinary family.”
Taylor nodded in response to Keith’s words.

109 | P a g e

So these guys are the weird presence I sensed back then?
“Say, I’m just spitballing here, but… That girl isn’t your flesh
and blood daughter, is she?”
“You think so too, huh, Lynn? I was starting to think that it
might really be the case.”
“For someone who hates kids, you seem to be really enjoying
your time with her.”
Just what the hell are these guys saying?
There’s no way Faitfore can be my daughter. This isn’t funny
even as a joke.
“I’ve always been kind to women and children.”
“The moment you see a beautiful girl, you’d be all over her.”
“That’s just me paying my respects to beautiful women.”
“Just who exactly was the guy who tried to force a kid to pay his
laundry bill when he accidentally spilled a drink onto you?”
“Back then, I was just broke and happened to be in a bad
mood.”
My companions gave me a doubtful look.
I’m used to such gazes from them, but I really don’t want to face
the innocent eyes of the girl sitting next to me.
“Be honest with me… You were secretly laughing at me behind
my back, weren’t you, you traitor! And you’ve been getting

110 | P a g e

along well with other women recently even though you’re
already married! Dammit all! All the couples in this world
should break up!”
“Stop hitting me while crying!”
“Calm down, Keith! I understand how you’re feeling, but it isn’t
confirmed yet.”
Taylor grabbed Keith and pulled him away.
“There’s no way you who might as well be the epitome of scum
could treat someone else’s child so kindly…”
“Yeah, yeah! Just admit it already! She’s your kid, right!? I bet
you have a ton of other children hidden away too! Just say it
already!”
“Any burden will be made easier if you talk about it.”
These guys don’t believe a single word that I said.
At this point I’m thinking it would be faster to just tell them
that she is my daughter. It’d prevent them from investigating
too deeply into Faitfore, so it’s worth a shot.
“Well, you see-”
“Are you really married? Did you hide it from us all this time?
Tell us the truth.”
Seeing Lynn’s suddenly serious face staring at me, the words
that were on the tip of my tongue died on my lips.

111 | P a g e

“You know, you guys have some really impressive imagination.
Do I look like I’m a married man? And look at her. Just what
age do you think I would need to get busy to have a child this
old? There’s being quick on the draw, but this is just
ridiculous.”
Judging from Faitfore’s apparent age, I would’ve had to have
sired her when I was about ten. That’s just physically
impossible.
“Ah, yeah, that’s right. Thinking about it calmly, there’s no way
someone would be strange enough to marry Dust. Yeah, that
makes sense.”
That’s going too far, isn’t it? And why do you sound so happy?
“Dust, I believed in you.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“That’s the second time I heard those lines today. There won’t
be a next time.”
I don’t want to pick a fight with them in front of Faitfore, so I’ll
let them go for now.
“Anyway, it doesn’t seem like we’d be able to go on any quests
when we have to take care of that girl too. But with the money
from the treasure island and the zombie graveyard, we’ll be fine
for a while.”
“Ah, bout that, can we pick up a quest?”
“Dust, you’re acting really strange, you know? Normally you
think of nothing except how to spend your money, but now

112 | P a g e

you’re actually asking to work? Are you sure you don’t have a
fever?”
Lynn placed a hand on my forehead.
“I’m fine. This girl is a big eater, you see. If I don’t earn some
money soon, I’ll starve to death.”
Faitfore stared forlornly at the empty plates that are now
stacked from the table to the ceilings.
I ordered enough food to feed five grown men, and it’s already
all gone.
“Dust…”
“Yes, yes, I get it. I’ll order whatever you want.”
“Okay.”
Her slightly sad expression changed to a smiling one. Though
I’m probably the only one who could notice the difference.
I waived the waitress over and ordered the same meals again.
… I might run out of money today.
“Can you really eat that much? You’re not forcing yourself, are
you?”
“Yes.”
“If there’s too much, you can leave the rest to us.”
“It’s not too much.”

113 | P a g e

“Eat up and grow up fast.”
“I’ll do my best.”
My companions have a soft spot for children, so they quickly
got along with her.
In the middle of this, Lynn, with a curious expression on her
face, wandered away from the table into a corner of the store
and waved us over.
When we went over, she drew us into a huddle and started
whispering.
“Anyway, back to the original topic, I don’t mind paying for this
meal if you need it.”
“I’m never treating Dust to a meal, but a kid is fine.”
“I can’t bear to see a child go hungry.”
Well, I was expecting them to say something like that, but…
“I’m thankful for your concern, but I can handle paying for her
food myself.”
“… …” x3
“What’s with that look?”
The three of them gave me looks of wide eyed surprise and
gaping mouths.

114 | P a g e

The only sounds that could be heard from the store is the
sounds of Faitfore digging into her meal.
“Let’s go to the hospital.”
“I’m not sick.”
“Then let’s go to the church.”
“I’m not cursed either.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Dust!”
How many times are we going to go through the same motions
again before you’re satisfied?
“You know, is it really that strange for me to say something
proper for once?”
“Yes it is.” x3
“You guys only show your team coordination at times like this!”
I really wish they’d show that level of teamwork when we’re
fighting monsters.
Even though we raised our voices, Faitfore was still digging into
her meal without a care in the world.
Really, nothing moves her.
“Anyway, you said you’ll handle the food bill, but can you really
afford it?”

115 | P a g e

“Don’t make fun of us. Unlike you, we… Taylor and I properly
save our money up.”
“There’s no telling what awaits us in the future. We have some
money saved up to account for that.”
“Hey, why am I not included? Well, I don’t have much saved
away, but unlike Dust, paying for a child’s meal is a piece of
cake for me.”
Oh, well said.
You guys have been so distracted by what’s going on with me
that you haven’t noticed just how terrifying she is.
“Take a good look at that table.”
I pointed at Faitfore who was still eating at the table.
My companions who followed my finger took one look and
gasped.
Several dozens of plates were piled up on that table to the point
where Faitfore was barely visible.
Even so, Faitfore still wasn’t satisfied and was currently
ordering yet another round from the waitress.
“Eh, you’re kidding, right? One person ate that much? In such a
short time? Isn’t there a massive disconnect with how much she
eats and how small her body is?”
“T-This is outside of my expectations. I know that children have
huge appetites, but this is…”

116 | P a g e

“What a terrifying appetite. If a girl eats that much food at a
mixer, no matter how beautiful she is, nobody would go with
her.”
It seems like that they understand what I’m getting at.
If we keep talking here, Faitfore will probably end up ordering
even more food, so we decided to cut our conversation short
and left the store.
With this, my wallet is now empty. If I don’t find a good paying
quest soon, nevermind tomorrow, I wouldn’t even have enough
money to pay for dinner tonight.
Looking back at Faitfore who was placing the last dish on top of
the pile, she still seemed a little unsatisfied.

↲

117 | P a g e

Chapter 2: Part 5 ↲

I was planning on heading back to the guild to pick up a quest
or two, but the sun is starting to set and the surroundings are
getting dark, so I have no choice but to give up on it today.
My companions ordered dinner in the tavern, but I’m
completely out of money. Seems like I’ll have to spend tonight
in the stables.
Personally, I’m fine with that, but the problem is the girl
currently waving her legs through the air while seated next to
me.
Despite having eaten so much, she still seemed to be
unsatisfied, and gazed longingly at the menu with her finger in
her mouth.
I could approach my companions to borrow some money, but
after putting on airs just now, my pride won’t… Hold on, I still
have something as uncertain as pride within me?
“Gragh! Arrrgh!”
“What are you doing? Why are you making strange noises with
your arms crossed?”
“No, I’m just surprised by something that I thought I’ve long
lost.”
“Dust, you really are acting strangely today.”
Is she seriously worried about me? Keith and Taylor were
looking at me with a concerned expression too.

118 | P a g e

Well, leaving them aside for now, my first priority right now is
to secure enough food for this girl.
I cast my gaze across the guild, looking for a way to accomplish
that without spending any money, before a strange idea popped
into my head.
“Right, can you see those four people raising a fuss over there?”
“Where?”
Faitfore looked around, seemingly at a loss.
Most adventuring parties tend to consist of three to five people,
I guess it’s only natural for her to be confused. Besides,
everyone present was making a lot of noise.
“You see that table with the three girls? The one with the blue
haired priest doing party tricks? If you walk up to the guy in the
middle and say ‘Onii-chan, I’m hungry.’, he’ll probably let you
eat your fill.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He’s rich, so there’s no need to hold back.”
“… I’ll go see him.”
Faitfore made her way over to the most famous, or perhaps
most infamous, party in Axel.
It’s well known that Kazuma is soft on women and children. On
top of that, he seems to have a thing for little sisters. Iris and
that explosion girl are proof of that.

119 | P a g e

It’s also clear from back when that explosion girl’s little sister
came for a visit… though I suppose that applies to everyone in
the guild.
Faitfore pulled on Kazuma’s sleeves and said something to him.
I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying from this
distance, but it seemed to be working pretty well. Kazuma and
the other girls gave her quite a bit of food.
With a platter full of food, Faitfore came back with a satisfied
look on her face.
“They gave me a lot.”
“Oh, that’s good. Go ahead and dig in.”
“One of these days, Kazuma is going to lose his patience with
you.”
“It’ll be fine. Kazuma is happy to get thanked by a young girl,
and she is happy to get a full stomach. In the words of Kazuma,
this is called a ‘Win-Win’ situation.”
“No matter how you look at it, they are the ones on the losing
end. Though, I can’t really complain while seeing her eat so
cheerfully.”
Lynn looked at Faitfore digging into her meal without a care in
the world and smiled.
Seeing that brings back some memories. If I recall, she also
smiled the same way back then when we were watching Faitfore
eat–

120 | P a g e

“Faitfore-chan, what part of Dust do you like so much? To be
honest, there’s plenty of things to complain about when it
comes to him, and he has barely any good points.”
“I want to know about that too. Even goblins are less hated than
this man here.”
“It’s hard to think of something praiseworthy about him.”
“Come on, I at least have one or two good points, right!? If you
are my companions, you could at least try harder to think of
something!”
Faitfore stopped eating and thought for a moment.
Her expression shifted slightly. I think she’s frowning.
“Dust saved me. He broke me out of the cage I was trapped in.
He said ‘It’s fine now, you’re safe.'”
That was a long time ago. You still remember the moment we
first met, huh?
I remember that time clearly too. You were injured and kept in
a cramped cage, so you were really on guard.
“Sorry for bringing back such unpleasant memories. But… Are
you sure the Dust you saw back then wasn’t an illusion?”
“Hey, wait.”
“Are you sure it was Dust? Take a good look at this slovenly
face. Are you sure you haven’t mistaken him?”
“Hey, I said wait.”

121 | P a g e

Lynn grabbed ahold of my face and pulled it infront of Faitfore.
When I’m this close, I could see the colour of her eyes slowly
turn red.
Ah, this is bad.
“C-Calm down! This is just our usual ribbing. There’s no need
to get angry. This is a common sight amongst companions this
close.”
I hastily patted her head and tried to calm her down.
Fortunately, it seemed to have done the trick. Her eyes are
returning back to her original colour too.
“I hate people who say bad things about Dust.”
Lynn, seemingly receiving too large of a shock after hearing that
she’s hated, staggered backwards.
“Aah, she hates you because you spoke badly of me. Maybe you
should consider your manners in the future.”
“Oh, shut up! I mean, no matter how you look at it, what she
said just now doesn’t sound anything like the Dust I know. It
sounds like a heroic knight in some fantasy story or something.
It must be a mistake. Are you sure it’s Dust…”
“Grrr.”
“I won’t say it any more.”
Lynn fell silent after seeing the glare that Faitfore was giving
her.

122 | P a g e

Rather than believing her, it feels more like they are just playing
along in order to not anger a child. But, well, I don’t really want
to dwell on this topic any further, so that suits me just fine.
“This girl is really scary when she gets angry. I just felt a
pressure that you wouldn’t expect from a child.”
She was covered in cold sweat. I think she might have really
been scared by her.
“You really think so? Well, she did create a pretty big mess
when she lost her temper that one time. I had a really hard time
soothing you back then.”
Faitfore disappeared behind the tower of piled up dishes after
hearing that. Is she embarrassed, I wonder?
“Anyway, nevermind that. More importantly, I’m planning on
taking a quest tomorrow. You guys are free, right?”
“I guess I’m free.”
“I don’t have any plans, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Me neither.”
Seems like I won’t have any issues with forming a party
tomorrow.
The only problem would be finding someone to take care of
Faitfore while we are out on a quest.
She’s pretty smart, so maybe I can leave her here at the guild?

123 | P a g e

“Faitfore, we’re heading out to earn money tomorrow, so can
you wait for us here?”
“No, I want to go with you.”
“Don’t be selfish. It might be dangerous out there tomorrow..”
“I hate this girl.”
“Gurk!”
She instantly rebuked Lynn.
It seems like she really dislikes her, to the point where anyone
would be able to tell at a glance. She’s gotten better at
expressing her emotions.
“Young lady, it’s really dangerous out there, you know? What
would you do if a monster pounce on you?”
“Defeat them.”
“Oh? Well, that’s really brave of you. Hahaha.”
Taylor is treating it like a joke, but she’s serious when she says
that.
“I don’t mind taking her along.”
“Hah!? What are you saying!? We aren’t heading out to play,
you know? What are you going to do if something really does go
wrong!?”
Even after being told that she’s hated, Lynn is still seriously
concerned for the girl.

124 | P a g e

Keith and the others tried to persuade Faitfore, but she simply
angled her head up and remained deaf to their words.
Even in this form, her mannerisms doesn’t change.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely protect her. Besides, it’s not like you
guys are planning on abandoning her when the fighting starts,
are you?”
“Of course not. I don’t mind leaving you to fend for yourself,
but there’s no way I can abandon her like that.”
“In that case, there’s no issues with taking her along. We just
have to take on some less risky quests. Even if you leave her
here, knowing her personality, I’m sure she’ll sneak out after
us.”
“I will follow you.”
She nodded in agreement as though it was the most obvious
thing in the world.
“In that case, it might be safer to take her along from the start.”
“But, Taylor, having a child running around underfoot would
get in the way, and getting a child to play nice won’t be easy,
you know?”
“True, but we can’t just leave a child alone and let her wander
off into danger.”
Taylor and Keith seem to be seriously racking their brains for a
solution, but there’s really no need to be that worried about her.

125 | P a g e

Just then, Lynn, who had been silent all this while, suddenly got
to her feet.
“I have something in mind, so I’ll go make some preparations.
See you tomorrow.”
And immediately left without waiting for our reply.
I’m a little curious as to what she’s up to, but the more pressing
issue is… how will I pay for the food that Faitfore just ordered?

↲

126 | P a g e

A Full Stomach for That Hungry Little Girl
(Part 2/2)

Chapter 2: Part 6 ↲

TL: Cannongerbil
Editing: Striker

“–Seems like she’s sleeping well.”
I stroked the body of Faitfore who was laying beside me.
She was terribly on edge back when I first met her, but at her
core, she really is a gentle soul.
It’s really a relief to see her sleeping so soundly like this.
“It feels like we are just making use of her. My heart does hurt a
little, but this is all for the sake of the princess.”
I muttered such excuses in part to convince myself.
Ever since I rescued Faitfore, I’ve been taking care of her. I ran
into a lot of problems at first, but after spending so much time
together, we are practically inseparable now.
Currently, she’s the most important thing in my life, second
only to the princess.
Speaking of which, recently, the princess has been pestering me
to give her a ride on the dragon.
I’ve always rejected her because there’s no way I could do
something like that without permission from the king.
Even though she understands this very well, she still constantly
pesters me to give her a ride.

127 | P a g e

Especially recently, she makes that request almost every day… I
know why she’s asking this, but considering my position, there’s
no way I can grant that request. All I can do is feign ignorance
and continue with my daily life.
“Marriage, huh? As a princess of a country, it’s only natural to
have a fiance arranged for you. It’s only natural.”
I can only protect her as a knight–

I shook my head to clear the fogginess of sleep.
… That dream was probably because of Faitfore’s influence.
“Alright then, time to earn some money.”
Sleeping next to me in the stables is, of course, Faitfore.
Even though my companions and several of the adventurers in
the guild offered to pay for a room for her, she rejected all of
them and joined me in the stables instead.
If she was a beautiful lady, I’d be elated, but this isn’t good.
“If someone were to walk in on us right now, it’ll only create
more misunderstandings.”
Having one person in this town branded as a lolicon is enough
for me. If such a rumour were to spread, it’d make approaching
women even harder.

128 | P a g e

After waking up Faitfore, we went to the guild only to be
greeted by a strangely quiet guild hall.
The quest notices are usually placed on the noticeboard early in
the morning, so there’d usually be a bunch of early birds
gathered here hoping to grab a juicy quest before anyone else.
I’ve seen several of their kind show up on those occasions when
I drank till morning.
“Dust, there you are.”
Lynn, who had disappeared without a trace last night, called out
to me.
“Stay still for a bit.”
“Hey, wait, what are you doing? What is this rope? What are
you planning? Don’t just silently start tying me up!”
After wordlessly tying a harness around my waist, she stood
back with a satisfied look on her face.
No, really, what are you planning?
“Heh, it suits you pretty well, this piggyback rope.”
Hey, wait, why did you snicker while saying that?
“Piggyback rope? What do you mean?”
“It’d be faster to show you. Faitfore-chan, come over here. Ow,
stop biting my hands!”
“Grrr!”

129 | P a g e

Faitfore bared her teeth at Lynn, causing her to shy back.
These two really don’t get along.
“Come on, just behave yourself! Stop biting me already! See,
like this, you can be together with Dust, right?”
After a short struggle, Lynn lifted Faitfore onto my back.
Even though she didn’t cling onto me, it doesn’t feel like she’s
going to fall anytime soon.
“With this, you can make use of both hands while she’s on your
back. And it’d lessen the load on you too. Though, it might be a
little heavy.”
“No, this weight isn’t a problem. Thanks, Lynn. Come on, you
should say thank you too.”
“Ngggh… Thank you, bad girl.”

130 | P a g e

131 | P a g e

She is a little reluctant, but she still gave her thanks. Lynn
responded with a wry smile.
The weight of Faitfore on my back is nothing compared to the
full body heavy armour I used to wear.
I’m a little concerned over how lame this harness made me
look, but oh well, I guess it’s just the cost of doing business.
“Taylor and Keith aren’t here yet? And here I woke up early for
them.”
“Ah, about those two, apparently something suddenly came up
for them, so they won’t be joining us.”
“Whaaaat!? Didn’t we make a promise yesterday? Leaving Keith
aside, what could possibly crop up for Taylor too to break a
promise?”
“I tried to ask them for the reason too, but they wouldn’t tell me
anything.”
Keith is fairly flippant, so it isn’t unexpected for him to flake out
like this, but it’s unthinkable for that hardheaded Taylor to also
follow suit.
For the two of them to pull out together, maybe they are up to
something? I’ll ask them if I run into them.
More importantly…
“So, what are we going to do? It’s going to be pretty tough
taking on quests with just the two of us.”

132 | P a g e

Depending on the type of quest, it might be possible for just two
people to handle it, but Lynn will definitely object on the
grounds of it being too dangerous.
In that case, perhaps we should just accept a little bit of risk and
just send someone out alone to complete the quest?
“Don’t worry, I managed to secure a few helpers earlier.”
Almost like they rehearsed this, two people walked up behind
Lynn.
“S-Sorry for intruding! I’m hope that you’ll allow me to join you
and your party on an adventure-”
“Oh, get used to it already. Thanks for the greeting gift.”
The girl who nervously gave such a stuffy greeting to us is, of
course, the loner Crimson Demon, Yunyun.
We’ve been together in the same party several times now, but it
seems like she’s still unused to being in a group.
“You look like a hapless dad carrying an infant daughter
around. It suits you well.”
And on the complete opposite end from Yunyun’s uptight
nervousness is Loli Succubus.
I feel like I’ve been seeing a lot of her recently.
“You didn’t need to say that, but I’m thankful for your help. I’ll
go see what quests are available, so wait here for a bit.”

133 | P a g e

Browsing the notices put up on the noticeboard, I noticed that
most of them tend to involve hunting down monsters. There
were almost no requests for safe chores.
Luna happened to be passing by at the moment, so I called out
to her.
“Say, Luna, aren’t the quests available a little biased today?”
Luna seemed taken aback for a bit upon seeing Faitfore on my
back, but she took a deep breath and composed herself.
“So you’ve noticed? The adventurers haven’t been taking very
many quests recently. In fact, most of them have stopped
coming to the guild altogether.”
Luna said with a sigh. Just as she said, there are very few
adventurers in the guild today.
“Where did they go?”
“Apparently, they’ve been hanging around the priest who came
to the town a few days ago. She’s been offering to cast support
magic at no cost to the other adventurers, so she’s been really
popular… Are men really such simple creatures that they’ll fall
for any girl that is graceful, beautiful, and kind!?”
“If a girl has all three traits, it’s only natural for her to be
popular. Why are you crying!?”
Luna suddenly clung onto me. I quite enjoy the sensation of her
breasts pushing against me, but seeing such a desperate woman
is a little scary.

134 | P a g e

“Don’t you think that’s odd!? Having men fall so easily for her is
really odd! I really want her to teach me some of her
techniques!”
“Then stop grumbling behind her back and go ask the person in
question!”
I knew she was popular, but I didn’t expect her to be this well
loved.
When talk of priests come up, I can’t help but be reminded of
the ball of troubles that is Aqua, but Serena seems like the
proper sort. Especially how she doesn’t seem attached to
money.
I had my hands full with Faitfore, so I didn’t have time to pay
attention to the changes in the guild.
“I understand why the guys are all infatuated with her. She has
both bountiful breasts and hips-Grah, my neck! Stop strangling
me! I get it, I get it! More importantly, let’s talk about the
quests!”
Perhaps being grumpy because she’s hungry, Faitfore started
strangling me from behind.
“You will accept a quest!? With our current situation, our quests
are piling up and we are having a real headache over it. Thank
you! I’ll give you an additional 30 percent on top of the regular
quest rewards and allow you to eat for free too!”
She must have been really troubled to offer such generous
terms.

135 | P a g e

The party I’m working with today is mostly comprised of
mages, so we won’t be lacking when it comes to firepower.
Depending on what monster we are hunting, we might be able
to pull it off.
I picked several quests that sounded reasonable and left the
guild along with Lynn and the others.

So far, the subjugation quests have been going smoothly.
I’m performing the role of the vanguard, as usual, but whenever
we run into a monster, the others will let loose their magic out
of concern for Faitfore, and everything will be over before I get
the chance to do anything.
We’ve already cleared three quests, and it seems like the
remaining two will be done in a jiffy at this rate.
“Having things go so smoothly is actually kind of scary, don’t
you think?”
“What’s there to worry about? If you keep concerning yourself
with every little thing, you’ll get old real fast, you know?”
“Leave the monsters to me. I won’t let them lay a finger on
Faitfore-chan!”
“Yunyun-senpai, you seem really reliable!”
Yunyun wiped out the enemies before I could attract their
attention. In the event where several monsters would attack
from different directions, Lynn would blast them aside, or Loli
Succubus would stop them in their tracks.

136 | P a g e

It’s a weirdly balanced party, but a party of three mages seem to
be working out pretty well.
“Hmm? My shoulder feels wet for some reason… Hey, you’re
drooling!”
“That looks tasty.”
Faitfore was looking at the body of the giant frog that we just
defeated with a hungry look in her eyes.
“Yunyun, can you roast that giant frog over there?”
“Sure, I can, but what are you planning on doing?”
“It’s this little lady’s mealtime. If I keep putting it off for any
longer, I’m going to be absolutely covered in drool. Though if
someone else were to take over carrying her for a while, I don’t
mind.”
When I extended my drool covered hand towards Yunyun, she
immediately jumped away.
“Eeek, don’t get close to me. I have really bad memories when it
comes to gooey stuff! I’ll get it roasted in a jiffy!”
Immediately after the frog has been roasted, Faitfore practically
pounced on it.
We did cut a few pieces off for everyone else, but it seems like
most of it will be devoured by Faitfore.
A large boom echoed from the distance, followed by a pillar of
smoke. Seems like that crazy girl is out on her explosion walk.

137 | P a g e

It’s an everyday occurrence, so anyone who had lived in this
town for any amount of time would’ve gotten used to it by now.
“Just looking at her eat makes me feel full.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t want to get fat- Hey, stop attacking me out
of the blue!”
“If you stop saying such stupid things, I might consider it.”
It was only a little joke. You didn’t need to start blasting me.
“Still, it’s really good that you two happened to be in the guild
just then. Otherwise we would’ve been really in trouble.”
“It’s not a coincidence. I’ve been worried about Faitfore, so I’ve
been keeping an eye on you. She doesn’t seem like just an
acquaintance, so how do the two of you know each other?”
“I’m really curious as to exactly what relationship the two of you
have. Don’t worry, even if it’s a forbidden romance that
transcends age, I’ll be fine with it. So, what exactly is the
relationship between you two?”
Yunyun and Loli Succubus asked me with eyes brimming with
curiosity.
Everyone’s interested in that. Is it really that unusual?
Lynn kept silent, probably because of what happened yesterday.
However, despite her trying to put on an air of indifference, I
can tell she’s listening intently.

138 | P a g e

In situations like this, it’s easier to spin a believable lie if you
base it on a kernel of truth.
“In the past, I happened to run across her while she was being
kidnapped by some villains, so I helped her out. Ever since
then, she’s been quite taken with me.”
“That situation is something that every girl admires! If someone
as young as her were to go through such an experience, it would
be easy to develop some misunderstandings. I think I
understand what happened now.”
“A captured princess scenario, huh… Seems like there might be
a demand for it…”
I really want to respond to what Yunyun said, but whatever.
Lynn heard a similar story yesterday, so she doesn’t seem to
react much.
“Dust-san, I’ve been curious for some time now, but what did
you do before coming to Axel?”
The moment that question left Yunyun’s mouth, Lynn drew
closer to us, all the while still acting disinterested.
“I’m curious too! You’re usually scummy and unscrupulous and
an utterly lost cause, but you can demonstrate proper courtesy
at times. And you know a lot about nobility and royalty too.”
Did I ever talk to her about nobles or royalty before?
No, wait, wasn’t that…I gave her some tips about how to act like
a noble or princess back when I was drunk, didn’t I?

139 | P a g e

Seems like I told her a little more than I should.
“Ah, about that. You see… Ah, wait, now is not the time for
that!”
Before I noticed it, we were surrounded by countless monsters.
“What’s with their abnormal numbers!?”
“And there are all off different types too! We aren’t that far from
Axel!”
“Wait, don’t tell me, are these monsters all startled by the
explosion earlier and came running this way?”
So it’s that damned explosion girl’s fault!
Did all the monsters that have been proliferating because of the
lack of adventurers come charging out here?
“Faitfore, come over here! Quickly!”
“Okay.”
I didn’t even have the luxury to comment on how she’s already
picked the giant frog to the bone.
With one hand on the piggyback rope, and the other on my
weapon, I tried searching for an escape route, but we were
completely surrounded.
“Yunyun, take care of the enemies behind us! Lynn, Lolisa, hold
off the monsters on the left and right! I’ll handle the ones
straight ahead!”

140 | P a g e

“That’s where most of the monsters are! That girl is with you
too, so don’t push yourself!”
“I can’t afford not to push myself with her present. If you are
worried, then hurry up and take care of your end.”
We didn’t have the time for any further discussion, so, with
sword in hand, I started taking care of the monsters.
A small horde of goblins and kobolds are facing me. Those two
types of monsters don’t normally work together. They must
have bolted in the same direction after being startled by that
explosion.
“Dust, Dust.”
“Sorry, I’m a little busy right now. If you have something to say,
please save it for later.”
“You aren’t going to use a spear?”
“… Well, a lot of things happened…”
Oh, yeah, I’ve always used a spear in front of her. If I had a
spear on hand right now, I would’ve happily made use of it, but
there’s no use pining for weapons I don’t have.
As I was thinking of such things, the monsters started
launching their attacks.
“Uwoah, that was close!”
I dodged that attack and retaliated with a slash of my own,
easily cleaving a goblin in two.

141 | P a g e

Keeping that momentum, I easily separated the head of a
nearby kobold from it’s shoulders.
… They might be small fry monsters, but aren’t they a little too
weak?
Even their attacks are slow and easily dodged.
“Seems like you are in tip top condition today.”
Lynn’s voice called out from behind me.
So it isn’t that they are weak, but I’m just doing really well
today.
“Dust, leave it to me.”
A slightly prideful voice came from my shoulder.
“… Yeah, with you here, there’s no way I can lose!”
With that, I charged straight into the horde of monsters.

↲

142 | P a g e

Chapter 2: Part 7 ↲

After a tough fight, I managed to wipe out the monsters facing
me relatively quickly, and so moved on to help Lynn and the
others.
After some time, we managed to wipe out most of the monsters
present and put the rest to flight.
“*Pant, pant*... I feel like I’ve worked more than enough for my
entire life. I can take the rest of my life easy, right?”
“I-I’m done. I’m completely out of mana.”
“Sorry, I’ve used up all of my magic.”
“If I go any further, I won’t be able to work tonight~”
Seems like everyone has reached their limit.
To think the effects of the adventurers slacking on their work
would show up here. It’d be nice if the monsters would lie low
for a while after this.

Barely forcing our exhausted bodies to move, we somehow
managed to drag ourselves back to the guild.
I wanted to have a meal and rest my body, but there’s a more
important matter that I have to attend to first. Seeing Luna over
at the counter, I walked over to her with Faitfore in tow.
“I’m back. The quest is completed, so hand over the money.”

143 | P a g e

“Thank you for your hard work. Yes, the request has indeed
been completed. Please take this with you.”
Checking the bag of money that Luna passed to me… I found
there to be a little more than I expected.
It’s not often that Luna makes such a mistake, but I think I’ll
keep that to myself this time.
I tried to leave, but someone grabbed my arm.
“What are you doing, Luna?”
“That pouch contains the advance fee for yet another quest.
Another troublesome matter has cropped up, so I would like to
request your cooperation.”
She’s looking at me with her usual smiling face, but there’s
something else hiding behind that expression this time.
I have a really bad feeling about this, so I think I’ll refuse.
“Say, can I refuse this request? Why don’t you ask Kazuma for
help instead? He’s used to dealing with troublesome matters,
after all.”
He’s a man that deals with his troublesome companions day in
and out. If you have a troublesome matter on hand, he’d be the
first guy to ask.
“Kazuma-san seems to be busy with some other matter, so the
only adventurers I can rely on is you and your party. Resolving
this matter would also reduce the load on you, so please lend
me a hand.”

144 | P a g e

Her words are delivered in a gentle tone, but the sounds of her
fingers tightening their grip on my arm is clearly audible. She
doesn’t seem like she has any intention of letting me go.
“Okay, fine, I’ll hear you out! But that doesn’t mean I accept
just yet!”
“Thank you very much. The truth is, there are a lot of
adventurers who’ve been acting strangely throughout town
recently. We’ve gotten a lot of complaints from the residents
too.”
Acting strangely?
I was planning to tune it out after listening for a little bit, but
that does pique my curiosity.
“Strange as in, how strange?”
“Apart from the adventurers who are doggedly following
Serena-san around, there are also some who have been running
around rampaging and shouting strange things and generally
acting strange. A few of them have even been arrested and
thrown into prison.”
“What’s that? Isn’t that just typical drunken revelry? Come
nightfall, guys like that are a common sight around bars and
taverns.”
The folks around here practically throw a drunken party every
night.
It isn’t strange to see people drink themselves into a stupor.

145 | P a g e

“Well, it’d be one thing if they kept their actions to the bars and
taverns at night, but these people have been running wild even
in the middle of the day. The adventurer’s guild can’t simply
ignore the problem. And we are already short handed as it is.”
“Well, that is strange. Is there anything in common amongst
those who got arrested?”
“Hmm, I can’t say much about that. Oh, by the way, the one
who happened to stop these people rampaging around was
Vanir-san.”
“Sir, huh? Right, I’ll go pay him a visit later.”
If I’m paying Sir Vanir a visit, I best take them along too.
If I go to see him behind her back, she’d give me an earful later.

Before heading to Sir Vanir’s place, I got a more detailed story
from a few eyewitnesses.
Lynn is as uncomfortable with Sir as ever, so she decided to
wait for us back at the guild instead of coming along.
According to the information I gathered, the people who have
been acting strangely consists of not just adventurers, but
regular residents of the town too.
“Err, the symptoms appear to be losing their sense of reason,
going on rampages, and shouting in random directions.”
Yunyun, as expected, came along, a notepad in her hand.

146 | P a g e

Apparently, she’s been reading a lot of detective stories recently
and seems to be in the mood to play detective herself.
“Rather than getting drunk, this sounds more like some kind of
hallucination. Perhaps it might even be a curse of some sort.”
The other person who came along, Loli Succubus, is well versed
with mind affecting magic, so it seems like that expertise
allowed her to make some kind of connection.
Plus, a devil would have some knowledge when it comes to
curses. We might be on the right track here.
“So, either some bored mage is running around casting spells
for fun, or it’s some kind of spreading curse. Someone who’d
cast spells indiscriminately within the town of Axel… that does
remind me of someone, but she only knows that one spell.”
I glanced at Yunyun, who shrank away in embarrassment as
though we were talking about her herself.
“So that leaves a curse. We should probably visit a church about
that. The Axis Cult church is closer, but… let’s go to the Eris
church instead.”
Everyone nodded in agreement
There’s no need for discussion. I know full well that nothing
good comes out of getting involved with the Axis Cult.
As we drew closer to the building, Loli Succubus stopped
following us. It seems like she doesn’t intend on going any
closer.

147 | P a g e

Well, both the Axis Cult and the Eris Church are famous in their
dislike for devils, after all.
I knocked on the door, and a short while later, a woman
wearing priestly robes opened it.
“Is something the matter… ah, everyone, come quick! That
incorrigible thug has come here to repent!”
“There’s no need to shout…Aaaaah! He’s the one who insulted
Eris-sama!”
The moment they saw my face, she raised a scream and the
other priests came at me with fist swinging.
“What are you doing!? You sure have guts to assault an
upstanding citizen for absolutely no reason!”
“Who are you calling an upstanding citizen!? I won’t let you say
you forgot about those blasphemous words!”
What has gotten them so angry? They were saying something
about blasphemy or whatever, but I have no recollection of that
at all.
“Hey, come on, it isn’t good for priests to make false
accusations.”
“This man, have you really forgotten? You’re lying, right?”
“Hold on a minute, I’ll try and remember. Ah, you’re angry
about the time I took multiple bowls of porridge back when I
was broke and complained about the taste, right? Or are you
angry about the time I told that head priest to make me the

148 | P a g e

patron of the church because I met the goddess Eris first
hand?”
“Dust, you really are…”
Yunyun shot me a gaze of pure scorn.
Now is not the time for that.
“… That’s not all you’ve done, right?”
“The guy who teased you about how the devotion of an Eris
priest is inversely proportional to the size of their chest is Keith,
not me.”
“… The one who hit you back then was Maris, not me. There is
more, right?”
The fact that she replied with a smile somehow made her seem
even more fearsome.
Was there anything else? Nothing’s really coming to mind.
“Nope, that’s pretty much it.”
“Back when Darkness-sama was with me, you said ‘I’ve heard
rumours that the goddess Eris pads her chest. For a follower of
Eris to have such huge knockers, aren’t you afraid that she’ll
excommunicate you? In the first place, are those real? You two
aren’t padding your chests, are you? If they are real, then strip
and show me the proof right here.’ I won’t let you say you forgot
about that.”
She went out of her way to imitate my voice and mannerisms,
but that isn’t ringing any bells.

149 | P a g e