Kazuma dies in a ridiculous traffic accident and is offered reincarnation by the goddess Aqua. But today, Aqua is glowing with a real goddess aura, not her usual useless self. Before Kazuma can retort, he is thrown into the fantasy world of Axel with no cheat weapon or skill.
A mysterious saintly goddess who looks exactly like Aqua appears, claiming to watch over him as a 'savior candidate'. Meanwhile, the usual Aqua is causing chaos in town—debts at the bar, trouble at the guild, and being mis
KonoSuba: If Aqua Was Actually a Goddess - The Cursed Sword and the Crumbling Everyday
The morning light shone white against the stone walls of the Axel branch of the Nornvais Adventurers' Guild. Kazuma stood in front of the bulletin board, the furrow between their brows deeper than ever.
(...The debt isn't shrinking—it's growing.)
The fifteen thousand eris from yesterday's goblin extermination had almost entirely vanished, eaten up by inn fees, food costs, and the extra skewers Aqua had ordered at the yakitori stand. The debt still exceeded four hundred thousand eris. On top of that, yesterday's encounter with Seijoa Aqua—that ominous phrase, "the memories that will be lost"—clung to the corner of their mind like mold.
"Hey, Kazuma, let's take on a big quest today!"
Aqua leaned in from beside them, her long aqua-blue hair sparkling in the morning sun. Her jewel-like blue eyes looked up at Kazuma, brimming with expectation. Just her appearance alone made her look like a goddess straight out of a picture book.
"Look, we nearly died fighting goblins just yesterday."
"Oh, that wasn't nearly dying. That was my beautiful strategy turning the tables magnificently, wasn't it?"
"Your strategy flooded the stream and sent the goblin leader into a frenzy."
"Ugh... that was, well... the water just got jealous of my beauty and acted up..."
"Water doesn't get jealous!"
Kazuma looked up at the sky. This was how the morning was going. But they couldn't afford to stand around forever. At the edge of the bulletin board, a request posted just this morning fluttered in the breeze.
【Quest: Exterminate the Bandit Gang at the Abandoned Church Ruins】
【Reward: 30,000 Eris】
【Recommended Rank: E–D】
【Client: Axel Merchant Guild】
【Details: A bandit gang has set up a hideout in the ruins of an abandoned church 8 kilometers northeast of town. Local traveling merchants have been attacked repeatedly, and the Merchant Guild has commissioned their elimination. The bandits number 7–8. Their combat strength is not high, but beware of concealed weapons.】
Kazuma stared hard at the request form. Thirty thousand eris. Split two ways, that was fifteen thousand each. As a track record for their debt repayment plan, it was a solid number to submit to the guild. They also needed to build up achievements here to avoid the danger-designated quest—the reconnaissance mission to Keele's underground catacombs.
"This is it."
Kazuma pointed at the request form.
"Bandit extermination! Wonderful! I'll purify every last one of those wicked men with my purification magic!"
"Wait. Listen carefully. Here's the plan."
Kazuma grabbed Aqua by both shoulders.
"I'll go in first and lure the bandits out one by one. You wait in the rear. When I give the signal, you fire exactly one really weak spell at whoever looks weakest. That's it."
"What is that? I won't get to do anything at all!"
"Because when you get involved, the whole town usually gets blown away."
"Kazuma, you're so mean! Is that how you think of me!? I'm a goddess! An Archpriest! Can't you have a little faith in me!?"
Aqua pressed on with tears in her eyes. But Kazuma did not nod.
"This isn't about faith. It's about track record. If I started counting your past failures, the sun would set before I finished."
"...That's, well... my power is just too strong, and this world hasn't caught up to me yet..."
"Don't blame the world."
Letting out a deep sigh, Kazuma headed for the reception desk.
The receptionist Luna had her silver hair tied back in a single tail, and as always, she looked at the two of them with tired yet sharp eyes.
"Exterminating the bandit gang at the abandoned church ruins, then. ...Kazuma, Aqua. Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"We'll be fine. I'm going to take this seriously today."
"...Understood. Just don't do anything reckless. Also, as I've mentioned before, you still haven't submitted your debt repayment plan."
Luna said this without the slightest smile.
"Ah... yeah, I'll figure something out with today's reward."
"That's right! We're getting thirty thousand eris today, so we can pay off the debt in no time! Leave it to me!"
"When you say it, I get the feeling everything's going to fall apart."
Luna let out a deep sigh.
"...The request has been accepted. Be careful."
Leaving Axel through the northeast gate, the scenery shifted into a peaceful pastoral landscape of fields and low hills. The morning air was clear, and birds sang in the distance. White flowers bloomed in profusion along the roadside, and every gust of wind carried a sweet fragrance.
"What lovely weather! A perfect day for adventuring!"
Aqua walked along, practically skipping, her midriff-baring aqua outfit fluttering.
"You're going into battle, you know. Try to have a little more tension."
"But you're with me, Kazuma. As long as I'm here, we're perfectly safe!"
"Where does that baseless confidence even come from?"
"Because I'm a goddess!"
"Right."
Kazuma touched the hilt of the short sword at their hip and sighed.
(Well... if it's bandits, I can just steal their weapons with Steal and manage somehow.)
Kazuma possessed the thief-class skill "Steal." It was a skill that randomly snatched one item from the target without touching them. Its success rate depended on the user's luck stat. For some reason, Kazuma's luck stat was abnormally high in this world. They had a proven track record of turning battles around by stealing weapons even from goblins.
(I'll go with that again this time. If I can just steal the bandit leader's weapon, the rest are basically amateurs.)
After walking eight kilometers, an old stone building came into view. The abandoned church ruins. It had apparently once been a church of the Eris Order, but now all the window glass was shattered, ivy crawled up the walls, and part of the roof had collapsed. An eerie stillness weighed heavily on the surrounding air.
"...This is the place."
Kazuma crouched low and observed the building.
"Hey, this really has that whole villain hideout vibe, doesn't it? I love this kind of thing."
"Your voice is too loud. The enemy will notice us."
"Oh, but I thought I was being quiet?"
"That's what I mean—your voice is loud!"
At that moment, the door of the abandoned church creaked open.
Three or four rough-looking men came shuffling out. They carried rusty swords, clubs, short bows, and the like.
"Hey, what happened to the lookout!?"
A large man who appeared to be the bandit leader shouted from behind. He easily exceeded 190 centimeters in height, with abnormally broad shoulders. His head was shaved, and a large scar ran across his face. At his waist hung an ornately decorated one-handed sword.
"Heh heh, sorry, boss. I went to take a piss..."
"You idiot! We've got enemies! It's that blue-haired woman! Grab her and sell her off!"
"Wait, me?"
Aqua blinked in confusion. Kazuma instinctively clutched their head.
(We've been spotted. And Aqua stands out. That hair is visible from a mile away.)
"Aqua, get back!"
Kazuma stepped forward and faced the bandits.
The men grinned lewdly as they slowly tightened their encirclement.
"Hey, kid. Hand over the blue-haired woman. We'll let you go quietly."
"Denied. She's a walking disaster with more problems than I can count, but she's my partner."
"Kazuma... did you just call me a walking disaster!?"
"Don't just listen to the second half!"
Kazuma's eyes moved to the sword at the bandit leader's waist.
(That sword... the ornamentation is strange. It almost looks like it's pulsing...? No, probably my imagination. But if I can steal the leader's weapon, the battle will turn in our favor.)
Kazuma thrust their right hand forward.
"Steal!"
The skill activated. The space just beyond their palm distorted slightly.
Shunk.
A sensation like yanking something free. Something heavy materialized in Kazuma's hand.
It was a black one-handed sword.
No—not just black. The blade pulsed in a dark purple, throbbing rhythmically. Like the heart of a living creature. Ominous patterns writhed across its surface, and just looking at it made them feel sick.
"What... is this?"
Their voice trembled.
Something cold flowed from the sword into their body through their palm. A sensation like black water seeping from fingertips to arm, shoulder, chest. A sharp pain stabbed deep inside their body.
"Amazing! Kazuma, that looks expensive! If we sell it, we can pay off the debt!"
Aqua ran over, eyes sparkling.
"Hey, wait. This sword is weird. Don't touch it."
"It's fine! I'll appraise it for you! With the Eris Order's appraisal magic... hup!"
Aqua held her hand over the sword. In that instant, her expression changed.
"...What is this? It's cursed. A really, really nasty curse. Kazuma, throw that away right now!"
"What did you just say?"
"It's cursed! It's called the Cursed Magic Sword Grim Edge. It drastically lowers the luck of whoever holds it!"
"Whaaaaaaaat!? You just said we could sell it and pay off the debt!? Literally two seconds ago, you said it looked expensive!"
"Well, it did look expensive..."
"Don't judge by appearances!! And if you knew it was a cursed sword, tell me to throw it away sooner!!"
Kazuma frantically tried to hurl the sword away. But their hand wouldn't move. Their fingers clung to the black hilt as if glued there.
"...What the hell? My hand won't let go!"
"Kazuma!? Are you okay!?"
Aqua desperately pulled at the sword, trying to wrench it from Kazuma's hand.
"No, wait—if you touch it, you'll get cursed too!"
"If it's a curse, I'll erase it with my purification magic!"
Aqua held both hands over the sword.
"I'll show you Aqua-sama's purification magic! Sacred Clean!"
A soft light spilled from Aqua's hands.
But the black pulsing of the curse showed no sign of stopping.
"Huh? Huh? Why? This is strange—my purification magic isn't working!"
"So your purification magic really is useless!?"
"That's so mean! I'm trying my hardest! ...Oh, I know! We can just remove it physically!"
"How do you remove it physically!?"
Before Kazuma could finish speaking, the bandit leader clapped his hands with a smirk.
"—Now, boys. Get them."
The bandits attacked all at once.
"Tch, damn it!"
Kazuma had no choice but to swing the sword stuck to their hand. But the sword was unnaturally heavy and wouldn't move the way they wanted.
"Steal!"
Kazuma fired Steal again at Bandit A, who was closing in.
Shunk.
Something strangely lukewarm appeared in their hand.
It was Bandit A's underwear.
"Why underwear!?"
"Whoa! My loincloth!?"
"I don't care about that! Fight!"
But the next moment—
Kazuma's own feet tangled with Bandit B's legs.
They fell spectacularly.
Face-first into the ground.
Thud.
"That hurts!?"
"Kazuma! Are you okay!?"
"I'm not okay! And why am I tripping at a time like this!?"
The moment Kazuma shouted, Bandit C's club swung down and grazed their head.
The wind pressure sent a few strands of hair flying.
"That was close!?"
"Kazuma! Behind you!"
Kazuma turned to see Bandit D drawing a short bow.
The arrow was loosed. Kazuma twisted their body desperately.
The arrow grazed their ear and embedded itself in a tree behind them.
"This is bad—my luck is clearly dropping!"
"It's the curse! Hurry and throw that sword away!"
"I keep telling you, my hand won't let go!!"
At that moment, the bandit leader slowly walked over.
"How long are you lot going to mess around? Finish them."
The men closed in on Kazuma all at once.
(This is bad... at this rate, I'm done for.)
Kazuma tried desperately to swing the sword stuck to their hand. But their movements were sluggish, as if wading through mud.
"Enough! Kazuma, get back! I'll handle this!"
Aqua stepped forward.
"No, don't! Get back!"
"I'm a goddess too, you know! Don't you dare bully Kazuma! Take Aqua-sama's lightning magic—Lightning Strike!"
A pale blue light shot from Aqua's hands.
But the lightning didn't hit the bandits—it struck the ground right at Kazuma's feet.
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