Konosuba Dust Spin Off 5

A few days after that, when I’ve completely forgotten about that
incident, I entered Sir Vanir’s store… Only to see Wiz crying on
the table.
Sir on the other hand seems to be in a jovial mood, and was
restocking the shelves, ignoring Wiz entirely.
“Waaah! I’ve had enough! It’s too much! Waaaah!”
I can pretty much tell what happened, but I should probably ask
about the details.
“Sir, she’s crying really badly. Did something happen? Did it
have something to do with that pretty boy, Duke?”
The moment his name left my mouth, Wiz shivered and began
crying even louder.
“Indeed. It’s merely a simple story where some left on the shelf
woman having a misunderstanding and thinking that she’s
popular, and ended up self-destructing as a result. It’s great
that dark emotions are readily available every day, but her
weeping is rather bothersome.”
“In other words, she thought he was proposing to her, but that
wasn’t the case?”
“Even worse, the other person came to this town to defeat the
incompetent shopkeeper. Do you not think it’s a perfectly
miserable and hilarious conclusion? You should’ve seen it for
yourself. Fuhahahaha!”
As Sir Vanir broke out into laughter, Wiz stood up behind him.

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She had an expression like that of an ogre. It was an expression
I never thought I would see on such a kind hearted person like
her.
“T-This is bad… S-Sir, behind you! I-It’s cold! I’m freezing!”
A bone chillingly cold blast of air started coming from Wiz.
My breath immediately started creating white clouds, my body
trembled in the cold, and my teeth chattered together noisily.
On one side is a former adventurer once widely feared as the Ice
Witch, and on the other side is Sir Vanir whose strength I know
all too well.
If they were to fight seriously, this entire store will be leveled to
the ground.
“What are you up to now? It’s not yet the season where we
require air conditioning. Are you perhaps trying to cool your
body that has been warmed up in the throes of passion for so
long? Still, you should not lower the temperature inside the
store to this degree. It would be most troublesome if my prime
wine were to be breezed by your freezing sneeze… Oh, right, it
was already worthless! My apologies!”
“Even if it’s you, Vanir-san, there are some jokes you shouldn’t
tell…”
The temperature seemed to fall even further.
This is really bad. If I stay here I’ll definitely die!
I forced my trembling body to move and somehow managed to
tumble out of this deathtrap of a store.

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I thought I could hear laughter and someone screaming from
behind me, but I was to busy warming up my body and making
it to a safe distance away to pay attention.
From that day onwards, it became taboo to talk about marriage
in front of Wiz.

↲

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Chapter 1: Part 5 ↲

“–Say, what would you do if I said I was getting married?”
I was rubbing down the body of my dragon when the princess
suddenly sprung that onto me.
“Princess, I’ve mentioned many times that you shouldn’t come
to the stables.”
“It’s fine, so who cares? It’s not like there’s a lot of things for a
princess to do anyways.”
What a willful princess.
Outside of official events, she is always this free spirited.
I’ve lost count of the number of times she sneaked out of the
castle and caused an uproar. If you picture a tomboy princess,
there’s probably no one more fitting than her.
“Say, you’re not thinking of something rude, are you?”
“… Of course not.”
“What’s with that pause… Ah, nevermind. Anyway, back to
what I said earlier, what would you do if I got married?”
“Most likely I would be assigned as a guard for the wedding
ceremony.”
As a Dragon Knight, I’ll probably be assigned to securing the
place from the skies.

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It seems like she wasn’t satisfied with my answer. She didn’t
bother to hide her displeasure as she looked at me with
skeptical eyes.
“You know that is not what I’m asking! Wouldn’t you normally
say something like ‘If I was separated from my beloved
princess, I would shrivel up from loneliness and die.’, right!?”
“If I was separated from my beloved princess, I would shrivel
up from loneliness and die.”
“Why are you saying it in a monotone!?”
The princess angrily stomped on the ground in response to my
poor attempt at appeasement.
She seemed to be frowning, but I think I can see the edges of
her mouth rise a little.
A stiff and humourless dragon knight and a free spirited
princess.
I don’t know if it’s because we have completely opposing
personalities, but she often comes to talk with me. Sometimes
it’s to consult me for aid with serious problems, but for the
most part it’s simply idle chatter.
As for which category that previous question fell under… That’s
not for me to speculate on. After all, I’m only the heir of an
impoverished noble house-

… Again? Give me a break.

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The skies visible through the narrow slit that pass for windows
in the stables is speckled with stars.
So it’s already night, huh?
I recall jumping into the hay to warm my freezing body after
narrowly escaping that deathtrap of a store, but I didn’t expect
to fall asleep right there and then.
For some reason, my memories of that time seem to be
resurfacing.
It really hurts to see what an absolute stick in the mud I was
back then.
“I don’t think I’m ready for a serious development yet.”
Normally I would head out with my friends and party till the
night is gone, but it feels awkward to meet with Lynn right now.
“Guess I’ll go have a drink by myself.”
I’m going to go to some small dinky out-of-the-way bar and get
myself stupid drunk.
Drunk enough that I won’t have any dreams for the rest of the
night.

↲

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Chapter 1: Part 6 ↲

Things have been quiet in Axel lately.
Part of the reason is that, since the Treasure Island appeared,
all the adventurers in town have been busying themselves with
finding ways to spend their money instead of causing trouble,
but the biggest reason is that Kazuma and his party have left
town.
Without the sound of an explosion going off every day, things
have been quiet around here.
Lady Lalatina, who constantly causes trouble despite being the
sole daughter of the Dustiness family that has taken over ruling
this town after Alderp ran off, isn’t here either.
It feels a little lonely not to have Aqua liven up the tavern with
her party tricks every night, but being able to enjoy a few drinks
in peace and pick up girls isn’t too bad either.
The only problem is that I’m almost out of money.
“I made so much money off the Treasure Island, so how did it
disappear so quickly? All I did was splurge a little, drink, and
gamble…”
I complained under my breath as I walked into the guild.
The guild seemed a little quieter than usual. Also, there was a
woman whom I’ve never seen before.
She was a beauty with straight, shoulder length black hair. In
terms of her figure, she isn’t lacking in that department. She

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isn’t as filled out as Luna or Darkness, but she certainly puts
Lynn to shame.
The main problem is her outfit. She wears a white priest like
robe and had a mace hanging off her hip.
Combined with the gentle smile that she wears, she looks to be
an ideal priest.
Her body and face are both great. In particular I like the
seductive look in her eyes.
Normally I would’ve tried to hit on her by now, but… I have
nothing but bad experiences when it comes to priests!
Every single priest I’ve run into have all been shot in the head
in some way. That girl looks beautiful at first glance, but I won’t
be fooled again!
She seemed to be looking for someone, so I gave her a wide
berth as I walked into my seat.
Just then, some loud voices could be heard coming from
outside the guild.
“As if.” x3
“Kazuma, whose side are you on?”
That’s definitely Kazuma’s party.
Just like I guessed, Kazuma strode into the guild, followed by
the party that has become locally famous by now.
Guess it won’t be quiet in this town any longer.

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Listening in on his conversation with the receptionist, it seems
like he managed to take down some high bounty target and
earned another fat sack of gold. I’ll have to get him to treat me
sometime soon.
Just then, the female priest walked over to Kazuma.
“Umm… Could you be Satou Kazuma-sama?”
Was she looking for Kazuma?
“I have heard a lot about you… I’ve been awaiting your arrival.
My name is Serena… I hope this is not too sudden, but is there
any chance you’re willing to let me join your party?”
After seeing this completely unexpected development, everyone
in the guild, me included, fell completely silent.
What is that priest saying?
True, Kazuma’s party does have a lot of accomplishments under
their belt, but no one in this town is insane enough to willingly
join that party.
It’s not just us who were taken aback, even Kazuma and his
party couldn’t believe it and started suspecting that she might
be up to something else.
Aqua in particular seems especially angry. Is she worried about
losing her place in the party?
In the end, Kazuma refused her, and the female priest, Serena,
left.

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That woman smells particularly fishy.
At first glance, she seems just like some outsider who mistook
Kazuma’s accomplishments for his ability, but something in my
gut is telling me to be wary of her. It’s best to keep a close eye
on her for now.

↲

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Chapter 1: Part 7 ↲

The next day, while I was having a meal with Lynn, Serena
appeared in the guild again.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that priest around before.”
“She asked Kazuma if she could join their party yesterday.”
“… You’re joking, right?”
Well, that reaction is just to be expected.
“I do think Kazuma is really skilled as a leader, but, well, the
other three… She must be really brave to want to join a party
like that.”
Kazuma’s were already famous as a party of troublemakers, but
we know exactly how troublesome they are after closely
observing them in Elroad.
If Serena was just ignorant of that, I wouldn’t have paid her too
much attention, but she seems to be gathering adventurers
around a corner of the guild for some reason.
“Now then, will all adventurers who are heading out on an
extermination quest please line up here? I’ll be casting a long-
duration support buff on you…”
The adventurers who heard that got into a queue without a fuss.
It’s rare for a party to have a priest amongst their members, so
to parties like us, getting a support buff is greatly appreciated.

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“Eeh, she does seem like a proper priest, doesn’t she? I kinda
want to invite her along the next time we go on a quest. Do you
know what sect she’s from?”
“… Well, she’s definitely not part of the Axis Cult.”
It goes without saying that the Axis Cult would never do
something like this for free, and even if they do use magic, they
would definitely go “Praise me more” or “Join the cult” or
“Donate some money to the cult”, and the like.
Serena hasn’t done anything like that so far, so I can say for
certain that she isn’t an Axis Cultist.
She could be said to be the ideal priest that most people have in
their heads… That’s exactly why she’s fishy.
Just as I was looking at her with suspicion, Kazuma and his
party entered the guild.
Almost immediately, Aqua started picking a fight with that
priest, but was easily out-reasoned and soon backed down.
“… I don’t like this.”
I said in a voice just loud enough to be overheard by Kazuma
and his party.
“I don’t like this… I’ve never seen such a priest-like priest
before… The others might have fallen for your wiles with a
simple support spell, but you can’t fool me that easily. As far as
abilities go, Aqua onee-san who revived me before should have
the upper hand. I stand on her side… I don’t like this. I don’t
like this at all…”

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There’s no way such a pure hearted person could exist in this
world.
Especially priests who constantly try to push some strange
recruitment form to you, complain about the Eris church, and
spend all day lazing about in casinos and taverns!
All the priest I met behaved that way! So there’s no way a
proper priestly person could act like a priest!
… Hmm? I felt like I thought something that didn’t make sense
just now…
Before I could pursue that line of thought, one of the guild staff
shouted out towards us.
“All adventurers, I hope you’ll work hard on the extermination
quests today! Now then, today’s situation is somewhat
different…”
That’s odd. Normally this would be about the time the guild
staff started putting up quest notices on the board, but there
doesn’t seem to be anyone doing that right now.
Instead, they took out a piece of paper and continued speaking.
“The truth is, last night, a large outbreak of undead appeared
near the public cemetery, so we would like you all to focus on
exterminating them today. It’s fairly close to the town, so
there’s no telling when the citizens will be threatened. In
particular, we request all priests to please take part in this
extermination.”
A large outbreak of undead?

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We don’t have a single priest in our party, but Kazuma does
have an exceptional one. Only when it comes to her abilities,
mind.
With that in mind, I looked towards Aqua. For some reason,
Kazuma, Darkness, and Megumin were staring at her too.
“What? Why is everyone looking at me like that!? I properly
purify the graveyard every week! I didn’t slack off this time!”
“… Didn’t you slack off before?…”
Kazuma said with an exasperated tone, and Aqua furiously
denied.
Could it be that she did something to create this incident?
“Hey, don’t look at me like that! I properly did my work this
time! It’s not a lie! Fine, just you wait! I’ll show you what an
Archpriest can really do! Just me alone is enough to deal with
Zombies and Skeletons!”
Aqua loudly boasted.
However, it is true. With her skills, she’d be able to take care of
it in an instant.
Seems like this would be an easy job.

Just like the guild staff reported, there was a horde of zombies
at the cemetery.

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After confirming their numbers, all the adventurers present, me
included, frowned.
There must be a hundred, no, over two hundred of them out
there. This is the first time I’ve seen so many zombies. I
anticipated their grotesque appearances, so that didn’t bother
me too much, but there is another, more pressing problem.
“It stinks! The stench you get when you bring so many zombies
together really is something. I haven’t taken a bath for three
days, but I don’t think anyone can notice that in this stench.”
“Dust, don’t come any closer. I can smell the stench of your hair
just by standing here. Oh, hey, that zombie’s body looks pretty
good. Isn’t she your type?”
Lynn said, pinching her nose while looking at Keith and me.
“She’s missing half of her chest! Don’t think I’ll go for anything
just because it’s a girl! And my type is someone whose face isn’t
rotten!”
“Wait, hold on a minute, Dust. If she was revived… wouldn’t she
look pretty hot?”
“Keith, you are… a genius! Maybe I could go talk to Kazuma
about it later.”
“Obviously not!”
Lynn interrupted the serious conversation I was having with
Keith.
I was talking in order to distract myself, but the stench is
starting to become too much for me to handle.

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“Dammit, the stench is making my eyes water!… Crap, I think I
can feel my breakfast trying to crawl out of my stomach.”
“Hold it back, Keith. Still, how did such a large band of undead
appear without anyone noticing? Just what is the
groundskeeper doing?”
Every one of my party members is regretting choosing to take
part in the extermination quest.
Zombies are slow and sluggish, so they are usually treated as
fodder monsters. However, when so many of them are gathered
in one place, their very existence is a powerful weapon.
The awful stench is making everyone present gag.
“Let’s just have Aqua-san purify all of them and head back.”
“That’s just passing all the work to her. But, well, I’m not brave
enough to charge into that mob, so if guess we’ll have to leave it
to her this time.”
All of us looked towards Aqua, only to see Darkness clinging
onto the Explosion girl who seemed to be excited after seeing
the horde of zombies.
She probably tried to fire an Explosion into them. Not only
would that level the graveyard, it would also send rotten meat
flying all over the place and turn this entire region into a
stinking mess.
Kazuma seems to understand that too, as he drags Aqua closer
to the horde.

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“Right, let’s blast the zombies that look like they’d get in the
way with magic. Even if it is an easy job, we have to put in at
least a little bit of work.”
Being able to eat without working is fine and all, but I have to
burn off some calories from time to time too.
“Yeah. I’d feel bad if I don’t at least do that much.”
“Leave the defence to me. That’s what a Crusader is meant to
do, after all.”
“Right, I’ll send a few arrows their way too.”
The other adventurers too sent some support to cover Kazuma
and Aqua.
Everything else aside, Aqua’s abilities as a priest is top notch.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the voice I’ve been
waiting for echoed through the graveyard.
“Turn undead!”
The entire graveyard was covered in a bright light.
I couldn’t help but be impressed with the wide area of effect of
her spell.
“Guess that’s it then. Talk about anticlimactic… hmm? Hey, the
zombies look completely fine. If anything they look more
energetic than ever. ”
When the light disappeared, the zombies that were covered by it
still remained active.

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“W-What’s the meaning of this? Was that part of the plan?”
With that in mind, I looked over to those two.
“HAAAAAH!? Aqua, isn’t dealing with undead is your only
strong point!? D-Do something about this!”
“This is strange! This is really strange! Huh? These guys might
not be undead after all! I’ve never seen red-eyed zombies
before! And, wait, Kazuma, why are you distancing yourself
from me!? Aren’t we party members? Aren’t we friends!?”
Did her spell really not work? Then now isn’t the time to stand
by idly.
The people around me were starting to panic as realization
dawned upon them.
Everyone was under the impression that things would turn out
fine if Aqua was here, but it’s a completely different story if her
spell didn’t work. In a battle against this many zombies, it
wouldn’t be a surprise if a few fatalities were to occur.
Just before the first of the zombies got into melee range, Serena
strode to the front.
Despite the situation, she alone remained calm and pointed
towards the horde.
“Turn undead!”
With those words, a strong wind picked up and blew forth from
Serena’s outstretched hand.

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When it blew over the horde, the zombies that were completely
unaffected by Aqua’s spell collapsed like inert puppets one after
the other.
“Oooooh!” x5
Did Serena wipe out the entire horde with a single spell?
I’m glad that the extermination quest is over and done with, but
somehow I can’t bring myself to be completely happy over how
things ended up.

↲

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Chapter 1: Part 8 ↲

The moment we made it back to the guild, the air became busy
with the sound of invitations. It seems like every single party
wanted to get Serena to join up with them.
However, it seems like she’s dead set on joining Kazuma’s
party, and rejected all such invitations.
“Hey, aren’t you going to invite her? Normally you’d be first in
line.”
Lynn gave me a suspicious look.
Seems like she still has a lot to learn about me.
“Hah? I mentioned it when Aqua came up, but I just don’t like
priestly behaviour or anything of that sort.”
“That doesn’t sound right. Weren’t you always going on about
wanting a priest in the party?”
“If we get someone like that in our party, it’d be too stifling for
me to even breathe. I’d rather have someone easier to get along
with.”
I’m fine with her as far as appearance goes, but the problem is
the personality.
“If that’s the case, perhaps an Axis Cult priest would be more
fitting?”
“… Please don’t joke about that.”

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At Taylor’s words, I glanced over to the blue haired priest
hanging by Kazuma’s side.
“Now, now, I’ll throw this pinecone into that cup on the table.
Then, from the cup…”
She’s trying to pull of some party trick.
… An Axis Cult priest, huh? Nah.
However, that woman doesn’t sit well with me. She’s
pretending to be charitable, but I bet she’ll say something like ‘I
defeated all the zombies, so I should have the entire bounty to
myself.’
Just then, I overheard the conversation Serena was having with
another adventurer.
“ーStill, is this really okay, Serena-san? This extermination was
pretty much handled entirely by you alone, so giving up all of
the rewards to spread amongst ourselves…”
“I’m a woman of the cloth. As long as I have enough to pay for
food and shelter, that’s more than enough.”
Serena said with a smile.
“… I was wrong about her.”
“Eh? What did you just say?”
I got up and walked over to Serena.

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“I thought you were different from the moment I laid eyes on
you! Unlike a certain disappointing Archpriest, you truly are a
wonderful person! Especially how you don’t lust after money!”
My wallet is feeling really empty right now. Anyone who is
willing to increase the amount of gold coming my way is my
friend.
What a great person. Yeah, this is what a priest should be like!

↲

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A Full Stomach for That Hungry Little Girl
(Part 1/2)

Chapter 2: Part 1 ↲

TL: Cannongerbil
Editing: Striker
Coloured illustrations: Kasen

[TL Note: My apologies, but I really have to split Chapter 2
into two parts. As it stands, it’s the longest chapter I’ve ever
come across in a konosuba book, taking up almost half the
entire volume. Even split in two, each one of them is easily
longer than any other chapter I’ve released.
Fortunately, that chapter also naturally splits into two parts,
so it shouldn’t prove too disruptive a reading experience. Part
2 should be going up next week as usual, so, I hope to see you
then. Till then, enjoy this chapter.]
On this day, I didn’t have any of my companions with me, so I
was planning on enjoying a lazy breakfast by myself.
I went down to my usual seat at the first floor of the guild and
tapped on the table to call a waitress over.
“It’s a little annoying, so can you please be quiet? It’s getting in
the way of business. The exit is over there.”

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“I just came here! I’m a customer too! I want to order
something!”
The waitress with short red hair strode over with a frown.
“The Eris church is handing out soup today. If you go now
they’ll probably allow you to have two bowls. Isn’t it great?”
“Why do you automatically assume that I don’t have any
money!? I have money from time to time too! Hurry up and
give me the menu already!”
“Come now, there’s no way that’d be true. Right?”
The waitress said, barely hiding her laughter.
“Yeah, there no way he would have money. Dust wouldn’t be
Dust if he wasn’t poor. Otherwise he’d be just a regular
adventurer.”
“That’s not even funny as a joke! If you want to earn money as a
stand up comedian, you’ve got to get some better material.”
The other adventurers seated around the area chimed in.
Dammit, these guys are completely looking down on me.
“Hey, even I occasionally come into money too. Here, take a
look. What does this seem like to you?”
I pulled out a few coins from my wallet and let them clatter to
the table.

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“Eh, this… doesn’t seem to be fake. What is with this money? I
won’t become an accomplice to a crime if I accept it, right? You
can spend time in jail by yourself.”
“I didn’t get the money illegally! It’s the prize money I got from
those zombies at the graveyard. You guys got the same money
too!”
Since Serena graciously refrained from taking any of the prize
money, the rest of us got a bigger share, and thus I had enough
money to pay for breakfast today.
Most of the other adventurers gained plenty of money during
that incident too, which is why, even though it’s still early in the
day, there are plenty of adventurers lazing about the tavern
enjoying lavish meals.
“Anyway, enough about that already. Bring me something
filling. Hurry up. And you guys, stop checking if it’s raining
spears!”
The people sitting near the windows immediately opened them
and gazed into the sky.
[TL note: “Is it going to rain spears” is the japanese equivalent
of “Did hell freeze over” or “Did the sun just rise from the
west”]
Ah, well, they do say that the rich care not for petty concerns.
Now that I’m rich, I won’t lose my temper over such a small
matter.
“Oh, this is rare. To think that you’d be here before us. It…
doesn’t seem to be raining.”

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“There’s hardly a cloud in the sky today. I guess miracles do
happen from time to time.”
“Is it going to rain spears? Or perhaps the sky is about to fall
down?”
All three of my companions who finally arrived peeked out a
window and gazed into the sky.
This place really is filled with just the most disrespectful people.
“Nothing is gonna come falling down! Is it really that strange
for me to be eating breakfast-”
Almost as if in response to my words, the sound of something
breaking suddenly resonated through the guild.
As we looked around in a panic for the source of that noise,
something landed with a heavy thud in front of me.
“Wha-What’s going on!?
The thing, no, the person that landed on my table is a young
girl.
Her pale skin and long, flowing silver hair seemed to shimmer
in the sunlight streaming in from the windows.
In about ten years, she’d probably turning heads whenever she
walks down the street.

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“Eh? Eh? Where did this girl come from? Did she break in
through the window?”
Lynn seemed totally confused by this situation as she
repeatedly looked between this girl, the broken window, and
back.
Keith and Taylor were in similar states.
However, this girl doesn’t seem to be in pain at all, and stared
resolutely at me.
“That was a pretty flashy appearance. Are you injured?”
Regardless of her reasons for doing so, jumping through a
window like that is bound to cause a cut or two.
The girl was barefoot and was wearing only a simple one piece
dress. Despite that, as far as I can tell, she hasn’t suffered a
single wound at all.
“I found you.”
She said in a soft voice.
“Huh? What was that?”
“I’ve found you, master.”
… What?
What did this girl just say?
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Can you say it again?”

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“M-as-ter~”
The girl repeated in a far louder voice than before.
A silence fell upon the guild.
Did she just call me master?
“Hey, what kind of joke is-”
“Eeeeeeeh!?” x3
My companions let out a disbelieving scream, and just like that,
the guild erupted into a cacophony of voices.
“Dust you bastard! You would even make a move on a girl that
young just because you can’t get a woman!?”
“And she’s calling him master too. I’m sure he’s blackmailing
her somehow.”
“Aaaah, Dust sank his poisonous fangs into a defenceless young
girl. I always knew he would do this someday!”
I gave the surrounding adventurers a stern glare to shut them
up and turned towards my companions, who had been silent all
this while.
It’s good to have such reliable companions. I knew they would
trust me enough not to believe-
“Dust, so you were only pretending to like big breasts, huh?
You’ve been spending a lot of time with the flattest girl in that
store, Lolisa, recently, so I thought that was a little suspicious.”

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“If you turn yourself in, they’ll be less harsh on you. Don’t
worry, I’ll go with you.”
Keith and Taylor grabbed my shoulders.
“Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow! You’re digging into my shoulder! Dammit, I
can’t get free! Hey, come on, this is obviously a prank by that
kid! Listen to me! Lynn, don’t just stand there, say something
too!”
When I appealed to my last shred of hope for aid, she gave me a
cold gaze that felt like it could stop a charging monster dead in
its tracks.
“L-Lynn-san?”
“I always knew you were scum, but I didn’t think you’d be this
bad. If you have any last words, I’ll hear you out.”
“Eh? Am I going to die?”
Lynn raised her staff and steadily drew closer.
Even if I wanted to run, Keith and Taylor had a death grip on
my shoulders. At this point I couldn’t even get up from my seat.
A soft glow started gathering at the tip of the staff.
Ah, I’m going to die.
“Don’t bully master!”
The young girl leap in front of the staff and spread her arms.

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“Don’t do that, it’s dangerous. I’m going to do something really
grotesque, so it’d be too much for a little child.”
Lynn said something really dangerous sounding, but the little
girl just repeatedly shook her head.
“No bullying.”
“… Sigh. Oh all right, I won’t bully him, so relax. If you have any
objections, I’ll hear you out.”
Seems like my life was saved thanks to her.
… No, wait a minute. In the first place, the only reason why my
life was in danger was because of her saying all those weird
things.
“Objections, well, in the first place, who is this kid? Say, have
we even met before?”
“Playing dumb even when you’ve been caught red handed, you
really are gutsy, aren’t you?”
“Don’t point your staff at me! I really don’t know!”
If I ran across such a unique girl before, even I wouldn’t forget
about her. But I have absolutely no recollection of her.
Still, there’s something off about her. What’s with this sense of
nostalgia whenever I look at her, I wonder?
Silver hair and pale skin. Hmm. I feel like I’m missing
something.

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“Even if you are going to lie, you could’ve at least picked a more
convincing line.”
“I’m not lying! Hey, brat, are you sure you haven’t mistaken me
for someone else?”
The little girl got up to her feet and stared closely at my face.
“Have you forgotten?”
Even if you say that while looking at me with tearful eyes, I
can’t remember something I’ve never seen.
And I definitely don’t recall ever meeting a young girl with
silver hair.
“Have you forgotten how you rode me and went wild?”
And she said something even worse than before.
“You told me it feels good to let it all out.”
“H-Hey… Please say you’re lying! Otherwise, I’ll be joining all
those corpses we defeated yesterday! I’ll forgive you for that
joke, so… Wait a minute, could you be… Faitfore?”
I grabbed her shoulders and desperately tried to get her to
correct her statement. Just then, a nostalgic name suddenly
popped into my mind.
As I looked into her eyes, I suddenly felt an immense bloodlust
coming from behind me.
Slowly turning around, I was greeted by the monstrous gazes of

my companions and every adventurer present. ↲

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Chapter 2: Part 2 ↲

“Oh, is that it? You should’ve just told us that from the start.”
“Yeah. Though I always believed that Dust wouldn’t be this
awful of a fiend.”
“Indeed. It’s only natural to trust in your companions.”
I glared at my companions who were telling complete, bold
faced lies, but none of them looked my way. Instead, they were
fawning over the girl, Faitfore.
“I already told you, I didn’t remember! She’s someone I knew
from back before I became an adventurer. I owe a lot to
her…parents.”
After getting beaten black and blue by everyone in the guild, I
managed to convince one of the priests to heal me in exchange
for a glass of wine, and somehow managed to get back on my
feet.
After that, I managed to remember exactly who this girl is and
quickly explained it to everyone.
If I hadn’t remembered, I’d be either in prison or dead by now.
“But, it would’ve been fine if you just told us about her…”
“You were the ones who didn’t listen! The reason I didn’t
recognise her right away is because… she looks very different
from when I last saw her.”
The subject of the conversation, Faitfore, was sitting on my lap
and waving her fingers around. She seems to be fairly happy.

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“Well, it’s not uncommon for girls her age to change
dramatically in appearance in a very short time. It’s
understandable that Dust didn’t recognise her immediately.”
“Yeah. I’m really regretful over my actions, so stop glaring at
me. I’ll treat you to a drink, so cheer up already. We are
companions and friends, aren’t we?”
I’m going to bleed Taylor and Keith dry later.
“Still, I wonder where her parents are. No one should leave
such a young girl alone like this.”
“Who knows? She’s always been a little carefree. Maybe she saw
me and decided to leave her in my care for a while. Faitfore has
always been quite fond of me, after all.”
I quickly spun a tale to smooth things over. For now, I need to
extract myself from this place.
I patted Faitfore on the head, and she craned her neck to sniff
my palm.
“This smell is nice. Hey, Laine-”
“Aaaa! You were only this big when I saw you, so you probably
don’t remember it. My name is Dust. Go on, try saying it. And
don’t call me master or anything either, okay?”
That was close, I completely forgot about that. Just what is she
saying all of a sudden?
No one heard that, right?

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“I didn’t forget. Dust, no, Laine.”
“Oh, you managed to say it. My name is Dust, you got that?”
She fixed me with an unblinking gaze.
Don’t look at me like that. I understand what you’re trying to
say, but for now, please just go along with me.
I met her gaze and subtly nodded.
“I got it. Dust.”
That was a little more direct than I would’ve liked, but she
seems to understand it. It’s good that Faitfore is so quick on the
uptake.
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like anyone picked up on what she
just said.
“Anyway, what are you going to do with this girl? Are you really
going to take care of her? Even though you can barely take care
of yourself?”
“Well, I don’t have much of a choice. I don’t even know where
to start looking for her parents.”
The fact that her parents are in this town at all was a lie in the
first place. Even if we were to search for them, it wouldn’t turn
up anything.
Now that I’ve been reminded of Faitfore, I can’t possibly leave
her to fend for herself.
“Dust, are you okay? Can you really take care of a child?”

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“Well, I’ll manage somehow. She’s a pretty smart girl, after all.”
I took care of her back then, so it should work out somehow.
When I patted her lightly on the head, Faitfore grabbed a hold
of my sleeve and tugged.
“Dust, I’m hungry.”
“Oh, right, food. Lynn… is impossible. Come with me for a bit.”
I held her hand and brought her over to the reception counter.
Spotting Luna polishing the counters, I decided to head over to
her.
Her bountiful assets are wobbling nicely today too.
“Luna, are you busy now?”
“Not particularly. Is that girl the one who caused all that
commotion earlier?”
“I’m Faitfore.”
Faitfore bowed, and Luna’s expression instantly softened.
“Oh my, what a well mannered girl.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty smart. Anyway, I have a favour to ask of you.
Her stomach is grumbling right now. Can you please give her
some?”

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“Don’t say such pathetic things in front of a child. But, oh, well,
I can spare a meal at least.”
Luna, completely misunderstanding me, waved a waitress over.
“Ah, no, that’s not what I needed help with… Can you give her
some breast milk? With juggers that huge I’m sure you have
some, right? Ah, don’t worry, I’ll keep a close watch so that no
one will interfere- Gah! Who the…who hit me!?”
Behind me was a displeased looking Lynn with her staff in
hand.
“If you keep fooling around, you’ll get your adventurer’s card
confiscated. And, more importantly, you looked at my breasts
just now and said it was impossible, right? Just what did you
mean by that?”
“Ah, well, you know, if they aren’t big they are not going to
produce anything, right? And,for someone around Luna’s
age…”
It was at this point that I realized that I brought up the taboo.
“What was it about my age? Were you going to say it’s expected
for them to be married and have children by now? Don’t you
think that’s discrimination against working women?”
She said that with a jovial tone, but there’s nothing jovial about
her expression. Is today a bad day for her?
As I was looking for a way out from between these two, Faitfore
looked closely at Lynn and tilted her head.
“Why is the princess here?”

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“H-Hey!”
“Eh? Princess?”
Lynn’s rage disappeared in an instant after being faced with
such an unexpected question.
“She’s saying that you look as beautiful as a princess! Isn’t that
great, Lynn!?”
“T-Thank you?”
If this girl stays here for any longer, she’ll probably say
something even more damning.
“Right, I’ll buy a meal for you, so let’s go outside!”
Without waiting for her reply, I picked Faitfore up and rushed
out of the guild.
“Hey, wait up!”
I heard Lynn’s voice behind me, but I ignored her and escaped
from the guild.

Once I’m a fair distance away from the guild and made sure that
no one I knew was around, I put Faitfore to the ground.
“Hey, hey, Dust. Why was the princess there?”

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“That’s a different person. You’re a good girl, so don’t say that
to Lynn ever again, okay? And don’t tell anyone else about my
past either.”
“Yes. But she looks just like her.”
“Ahh…Yeah.”
So she thinks so too, huh?
I didn’t want to talk about this matter any more, so I took
Faitfore by the hand and walked around the city.
I bought a few pieces of food from a nearby merchant, and
Faitfore greedily stuffed her cheeks with them.
“Say, why did you come here?”
“I wanted to talk with you, so I came here. Also… I was lonely…”
She felt lonely, huh. Well, I do feel a little bad for leaving her
behind.
“Is that so. In that case, I guess I’ll have to stick with you.”
Now that I take a good look at her, she has really changed a lot.
Long silver hair that extended all the way to her ankles and
pale, unblemished skin.
As for clothing, the only thing she was wearing is a single white
one piece dress, which is dirty and torn in many places. She
didn’t even have a pair of shoes on.
“I’ll be really troublesome if we don’t get you new clothes, in a
lot of ways.”

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“Faitfore is fine as is.”
“Even if you are, we can’t leave you like this. If other people
were to see me bringing you around like this, they would think
I’m an abusive father, or some pervert. Either way, the police
will get called and I’ll end up in prison.”
There are a lot of cops in Axel who have it out for me. If they see
me dragging a little girl dressed up like this around, they’ll
definitely arrest me without a second thought. Definitely.
“Lets just buy some fitting clothes at some nearby store.”
“Oh, Dust-san. Good morn… O-Oh, were you that desperate for
money that you finally crossed the line? I had faith that you’d
do it someday.”
“I don’t need that kind of faith!”
See, I knew someone like that would show up.
I pretty much knew who it was from her voice, but just to be
sure, I turned around, and of course, standing right there was
Yunyun looking at me with a fearful expression.
Those are definitely the look you’d give to a criminal.
“Police! There is a criminal here!”
“Hey, cut it out! It’s not what you are thinking! Every one of you
say the exact same thing. This is the child of a friend of mine.
Go on, introduce yourself.”
“I’m Faitfore.”

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“Waaaah, so cute! She’s like a doll! Hmm? She doesn’t seem to
dislike it even though she’s together with you. If you knew her,
you should’ve told me. I thought you finally resorted to
kidnapping. I was almost about to call the policemen over.”
“You already called them! Do you really think I would commit
such a serious crime so easily!?”
Yunyun smiled at Faitfore while she chewed on a skewer.
Women really are weak to young children, huh.
“Anyway, nevermind me, how are you doing with that
chieftain’s trail or whatever it was?”
“That matter was safely… safely? I mean, it’s done with.”
What’s with that suspicious answer?
“So you asked Kazuma for help, huh?”
“How do you know that? Did you hear it from Kazuma-san?”
She sounded surprised, but really, it’s quite obvious.
Given Yunyun’s personality and relationships, there aren’t that
many options available. In fact, there’s only one.
“The only people apart from me you can talk to normally is Sir
Vanir and Kazuma. If you brought Sir to the Crimson Demon
Village, it’d definitely blow up. Plus he’s not a vanguard
anyways.”

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“I did consider asking Vanir-san a little bit. But I can’t see any
other outcome other than him teasing everyone back in the
village and causing a catastrophe…”
A greater devil who enjoys pulling pranks on humans, and an
entire village of combative archmages.
… Yeah, that’ll definitely result in quite the incident.
“Well, that’s a wise decision. He might be lacking in combat
power, but he is pretty quick witted. Asking him to be your
partner is probably for the best.”
“Yeah, yeah. Kazuma-san is kind, unlike a certain someone, so
he happily agreed to come along!”
She’s putting a lot of emphasis on that certain someone, huh.
She’s definitely referring to me, but, well, I’ll let it slide.
However, there is one point that I couldn’t stay quiet about.
“Just who are you calling kind, exactly?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s Kazuma-san.”
“Haaah? Don’t you know that he’s known as Scumzuma and
Trashzuma and the like on the streets?”
I’m often referred to as trash and scum or that bastard behind
my back, or even to my face sometimes, but Kazuma’s
reputation isn’t that far from mine.
“O-Of course I know. But he’s kind to me.”

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“He obviously has an ulterior motive. Most likely, he wants to
appear cool in front of Crimson Demons that are known for
their beauties. Kazuma and I are best buds, you know?”
As I declared, Yunyun froze up.
“Dust’s best buds… ”
Seems like my declaration sounded more convincing than I
expected.
Even Kazuma only says ‘he’s an acquaintance’ when confronted
about our friendship. I’m pretty sure he’s just being shy.
That’s why, when I run out of money, I have to get him to treat
me to another round.
Yunyun is spending the time to talk to me, so she probably has
nothing to do like usual. It’s worth asking, at any rate.
“Oh, yeah, you are kinda a girl, right? In that case, do you know
of a place where they’d sell clothes that would fit her?”
“The kinda part bothers me a little, but alright. I know a lot of
tailors around here. I frequently go out to window shop! …
Though I’ve never gone in with anyone else before…”
She just said something really sad, but in terms of finding ways
to kill time by themselves, there’s no one in this town better
than Yunyun.
This girl spends every day either hanging out in the guild,
playing with the explosion girl, or wandering around town.
Though she occasionally does go on a quest by herself.

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“I would like to entrust a task to you, as someone who has
mastered the path of the loner. Please pick out a set of clothes
for this girl. Just something that would look good on her would
do.”
“Can I really!? I’ve always been good at playing with dolls, so
leave it to me! Aah, to think that the day that I can go out with a
girl to pick up a cute outfit is finally here!”
I was fully prepared for her to reject me, but it seems like she’s
far more elated with the idea than I expected.
I really shouldn’t say this considering I’m the one to ask her to
do this in the first place, but I don’t get what is so enjoyable
about picking out clothes for another person. Besides, if she
really wanted someone to go with, she could always ask her out.
“Couldn’t you go out together with that explosion girl?”
“Megumin always wears the same dress, so she doesn’t spend
money on clothes very often. Plus, her fashion sense is, you
know.”
“Ah, I see.”
Come to think of it, Kazuma did tell me that Megumin rarely
accepts money earned from their quests. Something about her
being happy as long as she can use her Explosion.
She often shows up with an eyepatch even though there’s
nothing wrong with her eyes, so I understand where Yunyun is
coming from about her fashion sense.

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Her dedication to Explosion magic that leads her to spurn even
money is somewhat impressive, in a way. That said, I still don’t
feel like teaming up with her anytime soon.
“Faitfore is fine as is.”
“No, no, a girl needs to look cute! We are starting with a good
base, so I’m sure you’ll look cute no matter what you wear.”
Yunyun is surprisingly passionate for once.
Faitfore seems confused by what she’s saying and merely stared
at her in a daze.
I can probably leave this matter in the hands of Yunyun.

↲

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Chapter 2: Part 3 ↲

Why do women take so long while shopping?
I don’t even want to think about how much time has passed
since I entered this store.
Faitfore has been dressed up in countless outfits by now, but
she still had the same expressionless face. No, actually, I get the
feeling that she’s getting a little fed up now.
“I knew it! I thought this set of clothes would go well on you!
Though that was looked really cute too!”
“Right!? Have her try this set next. Oh, my, how cuuuute! I
almost want to take her home!”
I didn’t know when that happened, but Yunyun and the clerk
seemed to have bonded over their mutual enthusiasm for
dressing up Faitfore.
… The look in that clerk’s eyes feels a little dangerous, so I think
I’ll pay a little closer attention to her.
Yunyun is normally shy around strangers, but she’s getting
along really well with the clerk today. She must be so excited
with dressing up Faitfore that she completely lost track of her
surroundings.
Eventually, after spending an inordinate amount of time in the
store, they finally settled on what they wanted to buy.
“We bought two sets of clothes and shoes, but you’re broke as
usual, aren’t you, Dust?”

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“Hey, don’t look down on me. I can afford to pay for a set of
clothes or two… What is with this ridiculous price!? Are
women’s clothes made out of gold!? I’ll be lodging a complaint.”
I think these cost more than I normally spend on food in a
month.
“Please stop! This price is normal. If anything it’s actually
cheaper than usual. Oh fine, this is for Faitfore’s sake, not
yours, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
Yunyun said with a proud smile.
“Oh, thanks… You know what, nevermind. I’ll pay for it.”
This girl took great care of me way back then. Paying for her
clothes is the least I can do.
I carefully counted out the money and paid for the clothes, and
she changed right on the spot.
Faitfore is wearing a one piece dress, but unlike the one she
wore before, this one is vibrantly coloured and clean.
With this, people won’t be giving me strange looks on the
streets anymore.
“Oh, that looks pretty cute on you.”
“Ehehe.”
Faitfore let out a rare blush.
“D-Dust-san is actually spending money for someone else’s
sake… And he’s even giving a compliment to a child even

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though it wouldn’t benefit him the slightest… The same Dust
who wouldn’t spend money on anything other than beer or
gambling… Just what happened to you!? Did you pick up some
strange disease, or received a strong blow on the head…?”
It’s not that surprising. Don’t point at me with a trembling hand
like that.
“Just what happened to you!? You aren’t the kind of person who
would treat a child this kindly for no reason! You aren’t some
strange monster wearing the skin of Dust, are you!?”
“What kind of monster would that even be!? By the way, I don’t
have any skin down there! If you want I can show it to you! Oh,
don’t you dare cast magic here. If you do, Faitfore will be
dragged into it too.”
“I can’t believe you’d even use a child as a shield!”
Ha, say whatever you want.
“Anyway, I no longer have any need for you today. Thanks for
the help, seeya.”
“Thank you very much.”
Faitfore bowed before quickly tottering after me.
Glancing back, Yunyun was standing there with a glum look on
her face.
“Now then, what should we do next? Do you have something in
mind?”
“I want to know what Laine… Dust does normally..”

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“What I normally do, huh? Well, the order is reversed, but since
you’re wearing clean clothes, let’s give you a clean body to
match too. Let’s head to the bath.”
“Okay.”
I can think about what to do with her after a good wash at the
public bath.
Faitfore seems to have the same expressionless face as usual,
but I can tell that she’s quite happy right now.
“Is walking hard on you?”
“It’s a little tough, but it’s also fun.”
Even I can tell this isn’t like me, but slowly I stopped caring
about that.
If this was just a regular kid, I would’ve pushed her onto
Yunyun or one of my companions and went out to drink.
“What’s a public bath?”
“It’s, well, it’s a large place where you can play in the water.”
“I like water.”
Come to think of it, I always go wild whenever I go to the baths.
… No, wait, given my current circumstances wouldn’t that
work?

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Arriving at the public baths, I handed over a handful of coins
over to the elderly man manning the counter.
“One adult and one child, huh? Thank you very much.”
“Thank you. Right, let’s go.”
When I grabbed Faitfore’s hand and tried to go through the
door, someone grabbed me by the shoulder.
This elderly man is surprisingly strong for his age.
“What are you doing? I already paid, haven’t I?”
“That’s my line. That path leads to the women’s bath.”
“I know, but I have to help her wash up. I’m really sorry about
this, but please let me enter the women’s bath together with
her.”
Indeed, this is a compromise for the sake of Faitfore who looks
too young to be able to wash up by herself.
“Hahaha, you make a good joke. At her age, you should bring
her with you into the male bath.”
“Don’t you think it’s odd that a girl can be allowed to enter the
men’s bath? Old man, do you know what gender equality is?
I’ve never let go of the child in my heart. In other words, I’m
just like a child. You can trust me on this.”
“No, I don’t think I will.”
Dammit, I thought I managed to sell myself pretty well, but this
old man just won’t let go.

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