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 - A Laugh-Filled, Miraculous Ending
The plaza before the castle gate still smelled of scorched earth. The ground where Beldia's armor had been impaled was deeply gouged, and the area around it had turned white as if touched by frost. The setting sun dyed that frost in shades of orange.
(Is it... over?)
Kazuma sat on the ground, unable to move for a while. All the strength had drained from their body, and even their fingertips were numb. Beside them, the girl with aqua-blue hair sat in the same way, with a blank expression on her face.
"Hey, you."
Aqua tugged lightly at Kazuma's sleeve.
"What was that? The big knight guy fell over in such an uncool way, and then he stopped moving."
Kazuma let out a small laugh.
"That was us. We took him down. You, me, and... well, a lot of things happened."
"Huh. We're pretty amazing, aren't we."
Aqua smiled innocently. She stared at Kazuma's face and tilted her head.
"Hey, you. What's your name?"
That question again. A sharp pain shot through Kazuma's chest.
"It's Kazuma."
"Kazuma... Kazuma, huh. It has a strange ring to it. But I don't dislike it."
She smiled again. It had been the same yesterday, and the day before. She would ask for their name, and laugh. Then, a few minutes later, she would forget. And yet, her smile was always directed at Kazuma.
(Even when your memories vanish, you still don't forget how to laugh, do you.)
Kazuma took Aqua's hand. It was small and cold.
"Let's go back. To the inn."
Aqua gave a small nod. Even though she knew nothing, she squeezed Kazuma's hand tightly in return.
On the way back to the inn, curious onlookers whispered among themselves from a distance. They seemed to want to say something, but many of them had inhaled the death mist earlier and still hadn't recovered their strength. No one approached.
Kazuma turned down an alley and walked with the setting sun at their back.
(Seijoa Aqua. I have to see her again.)
What needed to be done had been decided before the battle.
(I'll ask her how to restore Aqua's memories. Anything. No matter how far, no matter how reckless—I'll do it all.)
First, find a clue to bring back Aqua's memories. That was where everything began.
The door of the Moon-Reading Inn was shut. The innkeeper, Galda, must have locked it tightly in preparation for the battle outside. Kazuma noticed a notice posted beside the door.
"'For safety reasons, we regret that we cannot accept guests today. Depending on the situation tomorrow, we may resume operations. —Galda'"
The edge of the notice fluttered in the wind.
(Camping out, then. Well, sleeping rough at this point is nothing.)
Kazuma made their way through the houses of the citizens who had fled during the day and returned to the fountain plaza at the center of town. Fortunately, there was no sign of monsters around the city for now. Beldia's forces, having lost their master, had apparently scattered.
Kazuma sat down on the edge of the fountain. The sound of the water echoed coldly.
"Hey, Kazuma."
Aqua pressed herself close to Kazuma.
"What?"
"I'm hungry."
Kazuma couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"That's so like you."
"Like me how?"
"Never mind. I'll buy you something later."
Kazuma washed their face with the fountain water. The smell of sweat and dirt, and the caked-on blood, faded just a little.
(Before eating, I need to summon that saint.)
Kazuma took a deep breath. They filled their stomach with air. Then, with all their might, they shouted toward the night sky.
"Seijoa Aquaaaa!!! Get out here!!! It's me, Kazuma! I've got something to ask yooouuu!"
The voice echoed through the plaza. The fountain water trembled. Aqua covered her ears with a startled look.
"You're so loud. What are you doing?"
"Just watch. Your lookalike will be here soon."
A few seconds of silence. The wind whistled through.
Silence.
A few more seconds.
...She didn't come.
"...Huh? That's weird. Shouldn't there be, like, holy light shining down, bells ringing, and her descending from the sky?"
Kazuma took another breath.
"Seijoa Aqua! Come out! Goddess Aqua! Goddess of Water! I don't care what you call yourself, just come out alreadyyy!"
"You're so persistent."
Aqua said with an exasperated look. Then, at that moment—
The surface of the fountain rose up smoothly. The water formed a single pillar, taking the shape of a person. It slowly became the figure of a girl, accompanied by a faint blue glow like a halo.
"...You called, so I have come."
Seijoa Aqua swayed her water garments and landed lightly on the ground. Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're late! How many times do you think I called you?!"
"I apologize. From the earlier battle, I had expended most of my power..."
Seijoa Aqua's face was slightly pale. Even so, she looked at Aqua and smiled.
"Aqua. What a lovely smile. Even without your memories, your soul seems to remember him."
Aqua stared at Seijoa Aqua with wide eyes.
"Beautiful... She looks just like me..."
"Yes. Because we are the same goddess."
Kazuma leaned forward between the two goddesses.
"More importantly, let's get to the point."
Kazuma's voice dropped low.
"Tell me how to restore Aqua's memories. You know, don't you?"
Seijoa Aqua lowered her eyes slightly. Her eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. Then she raised her face.
"Yes, I know. There is only one way."
"Only one?"
"You must make her laugh from the bottom of her heart. Until tears fall, until her stomach hurts. Just like that day, when you first made her laugh in the heavenly realm."
Kazuma swallowed hard.
"So I just have to do that."
"No, Kazuma. That alone is not enough."
Seijoa Aqua raised her hand gracefully. Then, a path of faint light appeared on the ground of the fountain plaza. The path extended beyond the city, toward the northwest.
"Fragments of memory drift faintly in the places where they were lost. You must visit the places of your shared memories and laugh together. And the key to open the final door... lies in that moment when you first made her laugh."
"That moment..."
Kazuma stared at the path of light.
The path seemed to lead toward the Kamui Forest.
"I see. So something's been set up in the forest beforehand? If we go, things will naturally flow that way."
"Indeed. I will watch over you from the shadows. Until we meet again."
Seijoa Aqua bowed quietly. Then her figure melted softly into the night air and vanished.
"She disappeared..."
Aqua reached out her hand, but there was no one there anymore.
"Come on, let's go. To get your memories back."
"What's wrong with my memories? I remember perfectly well what I ate yesterday."
"Where does that confidence come from? I know the truth. Yesterday for dinner, you ate all the grilled skewers I bought at the market—including my share."
"That's impossible! There's no way I would do something so shameless!"
"Yes you would! You did!"
Kazuma took Aqua's hand and started walking toward the outside of the city.
To the northwest of the city stretched a dense forest. The Kamui Forest. A training ground for rookie adventurers. The place where Kazuma and Aqua had gone on their first quest together.
Moonlight illuminated the forest entrance in pale blue.
The sound of a mountain stream reached their ears. The roar of water pounding against rocks. Kazuma remembered that day.
They walked through the Kamui Forest for a while. The night forest was cool. The scent of grass, the smell of damp earth, the distant cry of a nightjar. Aqua, still holding Kazuma's hand, walked barefoot through the water channel, splashing softly. Before they knew it, her footsteps were making the same water-splashing sounds as in the old days.
It was when they approached the stream. The water's surface, illuminated by moonlight, suddenly began to glow, and countless tiny particles of light floated up.
"Wow... so pretty..."
Aqua stopped in her tracks. The particles of light began to dance around the two of them, like fireflies.
"What is this? Look, Kazuma. The lights are gathering around us."
Kazuma watched as the particles of light gently touched Aqua's hair and shoulders.
"Yeah, it's beautiful. Those are probably fragments of your memories."
Kazuma gently dipped a hand into the stream water.
"Right here, you went berserk with purification magic. To drive away the goblins, you slammed that ridiculous magical power of yours into the ground. And then the stream flooded, and everything around got covered in mud."
"Purification magic... went berserk...? Me? Doing something so clumsy?"
"You did. And on top of that, you sank into the mud up to your waist and couldn't move."
Aqua puffed out her cheeks.
"That's a lie. There's no way I'd do something so embarrassing."
"You did, I'm telling you. You should've seen your face back then. You were screaming in a voice on the verge of tears: 'Kazuma, help! I can't pull my legs out!'"
Kazuma imitated Aqua's voice from back then, putting on a pitiful tone. Aqua's lips twitched.
"...Pfft."
"And then. We went back to the inn covered in mud, and this time, while climbing the stairs, you slipped and fell right through the wooden floor. Crash! Right down to the floor below."
"Hehe."
Aqua laughed out loud.
"Stop it. My stomach is cramping."
"There's more. At the yakitori stand, you said through tears: 'I want to be more useful too! It's frustrating that only Kazuma gets to look cool!' And then, right after that, you ordered ten more skewers. With my money."
"So I'm actually a serious person at heart."
"No, you're just shameless. What part of that is serious?"
Aqua burst out laughing. The light on the water's surface burst softly in time with her laughter.
"...Huh, that's strange. Tears are coming out."
Aqua wiped the corners of her eyes while laughing.
"I'm laughing so much it hurts. Hey, Kazuma. Tell me more. More stupid stories about you and me."
"You just called them stupid stories yourself, you know."
Kazuma laughed. But inside, different emotions were swirling.
(Just a little more. So close. Aqua, you're one step away from getting your memories back. But something's still missing.)
Kazuma stared at Aqua's face.
"Hey, Aqua. There's something I want to try."
Kazuma suddenly started striking strange poses by the stream.
"Huh? What's this all of a sudden?"
"Just watch. That day, I was climbing the inn stairs like this. And on the third step, my right foot went—twist. Then my body tilted to the left. Yeah, this angle. This hopeless angle. I fell spectacularly. While falling, I thought: 'Ah, I just heard the sound of my brain coming out of my ears.'"
Kazuma reenacted the moment with exaggerated gestures. They mimed hitting their head on a nearby rock.
"And then, when we lost our house to the Grim Edge curse, it was even worse. I slid off the roof, crashed into the chicken coop, got covered in chicken droppings, and then the landlady beat me with a broom."
Kazuma imitated a chicken. "Cluck cluck cluck," they clucked, flapping their arms like wings. Then they scolded themself in the landlady's voice.
"You clumsy fool! I'm leaving! You filthy idiot!"
Aqua was laughing so hard she was coughing at first. But when Kazuma desperately recreated the flapping of chicken wings, rolled around on the ground, tripped over a tree root, and took a spectacular fall, she finally burst into loud, uncontrollable laughter.
"Ahahahahaha!!! Wh-what is that!? A chicken!? What are you doing!? Stop, my stomach hurts! I'm dying! I'm going to die laughing!"
Aqua clutched her stomach and rolled on the ground. She was wheezing and crying tears of laughter.
"Finally, you laughed."
Kazuma, covered in mud and fallen leaves, let a smile soften their face.
"You've always been like that. Laughing at other people's failures like there's no tomorrow."
That was the moment.
Aqua, who had been rolling with laughter, suddenly froze. Her eyes widened as she looked at Kazuma.
"...Kazuma."
The moonlight was being drawn into her eyes. The particles of light floating on the w
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.