KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! — What If Aqua Was Actually Useless? - The Goddess's Miracle of a Single Glass

Morning light filtered through the thin curtains of the cheap inn. Kazuma lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, replaying yesterday in his mind. In the shallow layers of the Abyss Dungeon, he'd barely managed to kill a single goblin. Aqua had been completely useless. No—to be precise, she'd only managed to soak his hair under the pretense of "healing magic." (Is she really a goddess...?) He sighed and sat up. On the next bed over, Aqua slept with a blissful expression. Her long, light-blue hair spread across the pillow, glittering in the morning sun. "Hey. Wake up." " Mmm... five more minutes..." "I said wake up. We're going to register as adventurers today, remember?" " Munya... Kazuma-kun, you're so loud in the morning..." Aqua rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head. (This girl—she's really ten thousand years old?) Kazuma sighed again and yanked the blanket off her. "Wah!" Aqua shot upright. With a sleepy face, she blinked up at him. Her deep blue eyes were clear as gemstones in the morning light. " Wh-what are you doing, Kazuma-kun! How rude can you be to a goddess?!" "What kind of goddess sleeps in? Come on, let's go. We finally saved up the five silver registration fee from killing that goblin yesterday." " Oh, is that right! As expected of Kazuma-kun! The man who's going to be my husband is different!" "Who's your husband. Who." Kazuma scratched his bedhead with a weary look. —— The town of Axel was bustling from the morning on. Stalls lined the cobblestone streets, and merchants' booming voices filled the air. The smell of freshly baked bread, the sharp tang of spices, the sweat of horses. All of it mixed together into the unique atmosphere of this town. "Wow...! So many people! As expected of the trade city Axel!" Aqua's eyes sparkled as she looked around. Her light-blue hair swayed softly, and passing men couldn't help but turn their heads. "You're way too excited. Don't get lost." " Don't worry, Kazuma-kun. If I get lost, you'll come find me, right?" "I won't. I'll leave you." " How cruel...!" Aqua's eyes welled up. Kazuma ignored her and started walking. The adventurer registration office was a large stone building facing the central plaza. A sign shaped like a sword and shield hung at the entrance, and rough male laughter echoed from inside. "Here it is." " Let's go, Kazuma-kun! Our legend begins now!" "Legend... Do you have any self-awareness about how you haven't done anything?" " Huh? I'm a goddess, you know?" "That confidence is the only real thing about you." Half exasperated, Kazuma pushed open the heavy wooden door. —— It was bigger inside than he'd imagined. The ceiling was high, and request forms covered the walls. Counters lined the back, with adventurers queued in front of them. A giant of a man with a sword on his back, a robed mage, a lightly-armored man who looked like a scout. All of them fit right into the atmosphere. (So I'm one of them starting today...) Kazuma felt a strange sense of emotion as he headed toward the reception counter. Behind the counter sat a young woman with silver hair tied back in a single tail. She had a calm demeanor and never let her smile fade. Her name tag read "Luna." "Welcome. How may I help you today?" "Ah, um, I'd like to register as an adventurer." "Certainly. Please fill out the necessary information on this form. The registration fee is five silver coins." Luna said this and held out a sheet of parchment. Kazuma took it and began writing his name and age with the provided pen. "...Alright, done." "Thank you. Here is your adventurer card. You'll be starting at E-rank." What Luna handed him was a palm-sized metal card. His name and rank were engraved on the surface. "E-rank, huh... Well, that's expected for a beginner." " Kazuma-kun, me too, me too! I want to register too!" Aqua leaned forward. Luna smiled and held out another form. "Then please fill this one out as well. Your name and occupation." " Okay, my name is Aqua! And my occupation is goddess!" Aqua said this cheerfully and wrote "Goddess Aqua" in large letters on the form. Luna's hand stopped for just a moment. "...A goddess, you say?" " That's right! Aqua, Goddess of Water! Impressive, right?" " She's crazy, so just ignore her." " Kazuma-kun, that's mean!" Luna smiled awkwardly. "...Understood. Then I'll register Aqua-sama as E-rank as well. ...By the way, will you two be forming a party?" "Well, one thing led to another." " That's right! We're a party bound by an unbreakable bond!" "Unbreakable bond... We just met yesterday." " It's not about how long, Kazuma-kun. We're connected by the red thread of fate." "Who's connected by a red thread. That's gross." Luna let out a small laugh. "You two get along well. Now, let me explain the requests. E-rank adventurers mainly handle odd jobs around town and material gathering in the shallow layers of the Abyss Dungeon." "The Abyss Dungeon—that underground labyrinth, right? I heard floors one through three are for beginners." "Yes. However, no matter how shallow, you must never let your guard down. Just yesterday, several adventurers came back injured." " People are getting hurt?" "Yes. The Abyss Dungeon is said to be the ruins of an ancient civilization destroyed in the Great Collapse about 1,200 years ago. Even in the shallow layers, goblins and slimes can appear without warning." "The Great Collapse... ruins of an ancient civilization..." Kazuma remembered what he'd seen in the dungeon yesterday. Moss-covered stone walls, crumbling pillars, and the light that had spilled from Aqua's body. (What was that light?) "Kazuma-kun, what's wrong? You're making a difficult face." "...No, it's nothing. So what kind of requests can E-rank take?" "Let me see—for example, cleaning the streets, gathering medicinal herbs, slime extermination in the shallow dungeon layers. The reward varies by request, but for E-rank, it's usually a few dozen copper coins to a few silver coins." " A few dozen copper coins... Isn't that too cheap?" " As your rank goes up, the rewards increase too. For now, gaining experience is what matters." " Don't worry, Kazuma-kun! With me by your side, you'll be S-rank in no time!" "Having you by my side makes me more worried, actually." " Whyyy...!" Aqua protested with teary eyes. Luna watched the exchange with an amused smile. —— After finishing registration, the two moved to the request board. The parchment sheets plastered across the wall each listed a request and its reward. Kazuma crossed his arms and studied the board carefully. "Which one should we take? Something safe like herb gathering? Or slime extermination..." " Kazuma-kun! That one! I want that one!" What Aqua pointed at was the request form at the very top of the board. "...Can you even read that? It says 'Dragon Subjugation.' And it's A-rank or above only." " A dragon! As a goddess, I've always wanted to defeat a dragon at least once!" "There's no way! That's not a request an E-rank can take!" " But... I'm a goddess..." "And that goddess can only produce a single cup of water!" Kazuma's voice echoed through the guild. The surrounding adventurers all turned to look at once. "Hey, did you hear that? A single cup of water, she said." "The goddess can only make one cup? That's amazing." "Haha, what's with those two? Newbies?" The men began laughing in whispers—but clearly audible ones. (Crap, we stand out.) Kazuma cursed inwardly. Aqua looked puzzled. " Kazuma-kun, what is everyone laughing at?" "...It's your fault." " It's my fault?" Aqua's shoulders slumped. Seeing this, the laughter around them grew even louder. "Hey hey, the goddess is looking down." "Poor thing. She can only perform the miracle of one cup of water." "That's not even a miracle. It's just water." Guaffaws of crude laughter erupted. Kazuma gritted his teeth. (These guys, saying whatever they want...) But the truth was, he had no grounds to argue back. Aqua being useless had been burned into his memory from yesterday's dungeon. "...Let's go, Aqua." " Huh? But we haven't picked a request yet..." "We can pick one later. For now, let's talk somewhere else." Kazuma took Aqua's hand and tried to leave. That was when it happened. "Hey, you there. Goddess-sama." A large man blocked their path. His arm was wrapped in bandages. He must have been one of the adventurers injured in the dungeon yesterday. "Wh-what is it?" "You're a goddess, right? Heal my wound. With that healing magic of yours." The man grinned and thrust out his bandaged arm. " Yes, leave it to me! My healing magic will fix you right up!" "Hey, Aqua, don't." " It's fine, Kazuma-kun. I'm a goddess. This time I'll succeed for sure." Aqua said this confidently and held her hand over the man's arm. "Here I go... Heal!" Aqua's palm glowed faintly. (Oh, it's glowing this time?) Kazuma felt a moment of hope. But then. Splash. A small blob of water appeared above the man's head and burst. "...Huh?" The man's hair was soaked. " Huh? That's strange. I meant to cast healing magic..." Aqua tilted her head. The man stood frozen for a few seconds, then his face turned bright red and he roared. "Are you messing with me?!" " Eek! I-I'm sorry! One more time! Let me try one more time!" "Forget it! You useless waste of space!" The man glared at Aqua and spat on the ground. "I don't know if you're a goddess or whatever, but don't think someone like you can be an adventurer. You can only make one cup of water, and you have the nerve to call yourself a 'goddess' without a shred of shame." At his words, laughter erupted around them again. "He's right. The goddess has arrived." "Thanks for showing us the miracle of one cup." "Hahaha, healing magic that just soaks your hair—that's a new one!" Laughter echoed through the guild. Aqua hung her head. Her light-blue hair hid her expression. Kazuma noticed her shoulders were trembling slightly. (...Is she crying?) Something ached deep in his chest. "...Hey." Kazuma glared at the laughing men. "What, you? Got a problem?" "...No, nothing." That was all he said before gripping Aqua's hand tightly and walking out of the guild. "Hey, running away? With that useless goddess of yours!" Mockery flew at them from behind. Kazuma didn't look back. —— They left the guild and came to a back-alley path. There was almost no foot traffic. Two shadows stretched across the cobblestones. "...Hey, Aqua." Aqua didn't answer. She sat against the wall, hugging her knees. Her face was buried between them, so he couldn't see her expression. (What do I do about this?) Kazuma scratched his head. Honestly, it was a pain. Goddess or whatever, the fact was she was useless. Those men weren't wrong. (But they didn't have to go that far.) Kazuma crouched in front of Aqua. "...Hey." " ...Kazuma-kun." Her muffled voice came back. "...I'm sorry. I failed again. I embarrassed you..." "I'm not embarrassed." " But those people were laughing at you too..." "It's pointless to care about that. Adventurers are just a bunch of guys like that." " ...I'm supposed to be a goddess. But I can't do anything. I can only make one cup of water. My healing magic just soaks hair..." Aqua's voice was shaking. "...Hey, Aqua. You said this yesterday too. Do you really not know why you can't use your powers?" Aqua lifted her face just a little. Her deep blue eyes, wet with tears, looked at Kazuma. " ...I don't know. I think I've lost most of my power as a goddess. When I was in the heavens, I could do so much more..." "What could you do when you were in the heavens?" " I could part the seas, make it rain, heal wounds instantly... Now I can't do any of it. One cup of water is my limit..." Aqua buried her face in her knees again. Kazuma let out a small sigh. (She really is useless.) But. (That doesn't mean I can just abandon her.) "...Come on, stop crying f

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Episode 2

Name: KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! — What If Aqua Was Actually Useless?
Author: Novelia

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