KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! - The Truth Beyond Misunderstandings - Peace is best—and yet, only her gaze stings.

The moment he woke up, the first thought that crossed his mind was, "Today's peaceful too." Morning light slanted through the window, stretching long and thin across the rough wooden floor of the cheap inn. The air was a little cold, carrying the scent of autumn. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the creak of wagon wheels grinding against cobblestone. The town of Axel was stirring to life, just like any other day. Satou Kazuma. Seventeen years old. It had been almost a year since he'd come to this world. He glanced in the mirror and saw black hair sticking up from sleep, and brown eyes that tended to glare. He was about five-foot-seven. Slim, but between daily chores and the occasional quest, he'd at least built up some decent shoulders. He threw on his green cloak over a white shirt and black trousers, and hooked the usual battered leather pouch to his belt. On his left wrist was a seven-colored string charm—Megumin had forced it on him at some point, declaring it "a protective charm." Honestly, he doubted it did anything. But taking it off would be a hassle, so he left it on. "Good morning, Kazuma. Lovely weather again today." When he came downstairs, Martha—the proprietress of the Sleeping Lion Inn—called out to him. Forty-five years old. A busybody with a good heart and sharp instincts. " Morning. Martha, that smile of yours is giving me nothing but bad vibes." "Oh, how rude. It's just a greeting." As she spoke, Martha pulled a piece of paper from behind the counter. A bill. His bad premonitions were almost always right. "This is from Aqua. The tab for potion ingredients is piling up, you know." He took the paper and looked at the amount. "...What?" Too many zeros. He didn't even want to count. " What'd she do this time?" "Well, 'do' is one way to put it. Same as always, really. She made a huge batch saying she'd created an 'amazing potion,' and it turned out to be just colored water." Colored water. That useless goddess probably didn't understand the fundamental mechanics of magic in this world. This world had something called "Mana Circulation Theory." You absorb mana from the atmosphere, process it through your magic circuits, and release it. That's how magic works. Potions were the same—you had to extract the mana from herbs and fix its effects into a liquid. You couldn't just mix things together and call it a potion because it changed color. And on top of that, overusing magic could burn out your circuits and cause "Depletion Syndrome"—where you'd never be able to use magic again. Though for someone like him with barely any magical power, that wasn't really a concern. "...So where's Aqua now?" "At the temple. Probably reflecting on her sins with 'Aqua's Blessing.' She's likely asleep, though." Who falls asleep while reflecting on their sins? He heaved a deep sigh. This was his morning. A year in another world, and his daily life was still steeped in chaos. At breakfast, things got worse. "Kazuma! It's terrible! There's a huge hole behind the inn!" Megumin came running in, her red eyes sparkling. Black hair in a short cut, red eyes, fourteen years old, an Arch Wizard. She looked like a child, but the moment she opened her mouth it was nothing but Explosion Magic. " You made that hole! What the hell are you doing first thing in the morning?!" " I didn't! I was merely considering where to cast today's Explosion Magic! And I determined that the empty lot behind the inn was optimal, so I executed it!" "You did execute it!" " Rest assured. No one was caught in the blast. The only damage was to the ground." "The ground is the one that suffers the most!" Megumin puffed out her chest with a hmph. He'd lost count of how many times he'd had to clean up after her Explosion Magic this past year. It was a top-tier spell that could incinerate a hundred-meter radius. She could only cast it once a day, and after casting she couldn't move. And yet she cast it every day. For some reason, every single day. Her magic circuits were apparently a rare "over-output type," which meant she could barely use any other magic, but her Explosion Magic packed three times the normal power. She was proud of it. He just found it annoying. " ...Sigh. I'll go fill in the hole later, so you stay put at the guild today, got it?" " Good heavens, Kazuma volunteering to fill a hole himself! Perhaps it will rain tomorrow!" "How many times do I have to tell you it's your fault?!" As he chewed on his breakfast bread, he pieced together the day's schedule in his head. Fill the hole. Figure out a debt repayment plan. Check quests at the guild. None of it was remotely enjoyable. When he'd first arrived in this world, he'd imagined something more exciting waiting for him. Slaying dragons, being praised by princesses, being popular with beautiful girls. That's the dream he'd had. And reality? Debt, hole-filling, and cleaning up after a useless goddess. Well, but still. This messy daily life wasn't so bad, maybe. If he could think that way now, did that mean he'd grown a little since coming here? No—he'd probably just given up. Before noon, he stopped by the Adventurer's Guild, Axel branch. The town of Axel sat at the eastern edge of the Kingdom of Belzerg. A frontier town of about thirty thousand people, it had apparently once been a staging point for monster invasions. Not anymore. Thanks to the many dungeons in the surrounding area, it thrived as a waypoint for adventurers. And right now, they were in the middle of the "Second Great Monster Outbreak"—monster spawn rates had been skyrocketing for the past hundred years. Demand for adventurers was higher than ever. Thanks to that, even a half-baked guy like him could make a living. The guild was packed with adventurers, as usual. The bulletin board on the wall was plastered with quests. Goblin subjugation, herb gathering, escort missions. All of them life-or-death work. "Hello, Kazuma." From the reception counter, Luna Fernet waved at him. Twenty-two years old. Friendly, but a bit sloppy at her job. Still, she was the most competent receptionist in this guild. " Hey. Anything for us today?" "Let me see... Quests for Kazuma's party would be... Oh, that reminds me." Luna stopped flipping through her papers and lowered her voice a little. "Darkness has been taking quests on her own lately. Did you know?" "...What?" Darkness. His party's Crusader, an A-rank masochist in a mask. That woman, acting alone? " What's she plotting? Don't tell me she's going off to get beaten up by monsters by herself?" "Haha, surely not... But she has been acting a bit strange lately." At Luna's words, he tilted his head. Darkness was a well-known eccentric in this town. She was stunningly beautiful, had a great figure, came from a noble family, and was an A-rank Crusader. And yet, her hobby was "getting beaten up by monsters." Her attacks never landed, but her defense was absurdly tough. She'd get surrounded, toyed with, and every time she'd wear a look of ecstasy. That woman was a genuine pervert. But as a comrade, he trusted her. When it came down to it, there was no shield more reliable. ...Probably. "Well, it's her, so she's probably got something in mind. Pervert that she is." "Pervert that she is, huh." Luna smiled wryly. As he scanned the bulletin board, he found himself thinking about his own rank. Adventurers in this world were ranked in eight tiers, from F to SS. F was beginner, and SS was legendary—fewer than ten in the entire continent. He was currently C-rank. A year in, and C-rank. Not bad, he figured. But the rest of his party—Megumin was B-rank, Darkness was A-rank. He felt like he was the only one being left behind, and it stung a little. Well, his combat ability was low. Nothing to be done about it. But he'd use whatever he could to survive. That was his way. He left the guild and walked through town. Axel came alive especially in the evenings. The market stalls were lined with colorful fruits and vegetables, and the smell of grilling meat drifted through the alleys. Children ran across the cobblestones, and from somewhere he could hear the sound of haggling. He ducked into a back alley to buy supplies for filling in the hole. That's when it happened. At the edge of his vision, a familiar flash of gold swayed. Darkness. Her vivid blonde long hair shone in the evening sun. Deep blue eyes. Tall—about five-foot-six—with a knight's dignified bearing. Even from a distance, that presence was unmistakable. He was about to call out to her. In that instant, Darkness looked his way. Their eyes met. ...They should have. But she immediately averted her gaze and disappeared briskly around the corner of the alley. "...Huh?" He stood frozen in place. What was that just now? She'd clearly avoided him. Their eyes had met, and she'd pretended not to notice, fleeing as if escaping. (Why?) Did he do something? Had he said something rude to Darkness recently? No—he had. Masochist in a mask, muscle-head, all sorts of things. But that was normal. She wasn't the kind of woman to get angry over that at this point. (Then why?) Something churned in the depths of his chest. What was this feeling? Not anger. Not sadness. Just a small thorn pricking at his heart, over and over. He stood there for a while, staring at the alley where Darkness had vanished. Night. At the tavern "Drunken Dragon," he sat around a table with Megumin and Aqua. " Tonight I'm treating! Kazuma, drink as much as you like!" "What's with you, that's creepy. You plotting something?" " How rude. I merely wanted to express my daily gratitude in a tangible form." "And yet you were just trying to pick my pocket." " How did you notice?!" "That's exactly what I'm talking about." Beside him, Aqua was already wasted. Her long light-blue hair was spread across the table, her cheeks flushed bright red. She looked like a goddess, but her contents were hopeless. " Kazuma, you're really not popular, huh. It's so reassuring." " Shut up, you're the last person who gets to say that. And don't be reassured." " But like, your cause of death was a tractor, right? A scraped knee gave you a heart attack, right? Someone who died that pathetically could never be popular!" ...This one, when drunk, dug up the past without mercy. Yeah. His cause of death was a tractor. No—that wasn't quite right. He'd tried to save a girl from being hit by a tractor, got a scrape, and the shock gave him a heart attack. He died. Pathetic, even by his own standards. " ...I know that myself. My life was always like that." " Oh, Kazuma, are you actually depressed? Sorry, I didn't mean it like that—" "It's fine. It's the truth." He took a sip of ale. Bitter. Back in Japan, he'd been nothing but a shut-in. He didn't go to school, played games all day, had no hope for his life. And now here he was, in another world, an adventurer, making noise with his companions. That was almost a miracle. But sometimes he wondered. Did someone like him really deserve to be here? " Kazuma." Megumin was looking straight at him with her red eyes. " You are the person who watches my Explosion Magic from the closest distance. That alone makes you valuable enough." "...Is that supposed to be comforting?" " Of course! Explosion Magic is the truth of this world!" "Is your world made entirely of Explosion Magic?" He couldn't help but laugh. How many times had he been saved by that side of her? That's when it happened. His gaze drifted to the window, and a familiar flash of gold caught his eye. Darkness. And beside her—an unfamiliar man. A tall, handsome young man with silver hair swept back. Pale light-blue eyes. He was smiling, but his eyes weren't. That was the impression he gave. The two of them were laughing together, friendly and close. Darkness was smiling in a way he'd never seen before. Something in his chest tightened, hard. (What is this?) I

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Name: KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! - The Truth Beyond Misunderstandings
Author: Novelia

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