Chapter 4: Gifting This Wonderful Shop with Blessings!

Part 1

We got ourselves a mansion.

Therefore, the problem of making it through winter that I was so worried about was solved.

And so, our party of four moved in immediately. Even though there were many issues, living under the same roof with members of the opposite sex still made me happy about my new life here.

"Hey, move away, I'm doing some freelance work now. If it's cold, go back to your room and hide under your blanket."

But on the first day of our new life, a problem immediately surfaced.

Because powerful monsters were active during the winter, aside from hiding in town, we couldn't do anything else.

I still wanted to clear the debt soon, so I took on freelance work through the guild to do. But my hands were stiff from the cold, so it wasn't going too smoothly.

So, I wanted to stay before the fireplace on the first floor's living room, but Aqua decided to claim it as her own territory, hogging the couch and stubbornly resisting.

"I don't wanna. Things like blankets become cold when you leave it. If you want me to go back into it, then heat it up in a microwave first."

"Are you stupid? There's no such thing as a microwave here! And stop being stubborn, move out of the way! Who do you think landed us into debt in the first place? If you continue to get in my way, don't blame me if I get rough with you."

"What, you want to fight? If we're both unarmed, I'll have the advantage with my higher stats. The place before the fireplace is my holy sanctuary, anyone who invades it will receive divine punishment, ahhh!!"

After I delivered the divine punishment named Freeze on Aqua's nape, she screamed and fell off the couch she was hogging.

I sat on the empty couch and put the materials in my hands onto the table.

"Hmph… This is now my territory. If you don't want to help me with work, be a good girl and play with those two over there."

I waved my hand at Aqua who was shivering on the carpet to chase her away.

Darkness and Megumin were in the middle of the living room playing a board game; it was something akin to chess or shogi.

"Hmph, witness the power of my army. I teleport my orc soldier to this space."

"Megumin, the way you use your mage is disgusting… I'll move my Crusader here, check!"

"Teleport."

Unlike Earth, this world had the concept of magic. That game which looked like chess had slightly different rules.

I played with Megumin once, but the moment she teleported her king from the board, I made up my mind to never play that board game again.

Suddenly, Aqua who was nursing her nape while shivering seemed to remember something and stood up, taking out her own adventurer's card and shoving it in my face.

"Kazuma, look carefully at the level column! Right now, I have the highest level among the four of us. With such a high level, I could be considered a veteran! You rookies who are below level 20 know your place! If you understand, then offer the place before the fireplace to the great me!"

I looked at the card she showed me, and her level had indeed received a phenomenal increase.

Right now, it was 21.

Thinking back, she did take out the demon army's boss Beldia, and she purified a lot of undead monsters in the dungeon. She even purified a lich in the end.

While I was happy over Aqua's growth, I felt frustrated that her level overtook mine…

… Hmm?

"… Hey, Aqua. Your level did increase, but your stats are the same as the first time I saw them. Why is that?"

"How ignorant, Kazuma. Who do you think I am? Things like stats were already at the maximum from the very start. My skill points were bountiful at the beginning, enough to learn all the banquet party tricks and all the skills of an Archpriest. Comparing me to a normal adventurer is a big mistake."

I dropped Aqua's card and crumpled down onto the carpet.

Seeing my reaction, Aqua smiled arrogantly, but I didn't have time to be bothered with her.

– This meant that no matter how much this girl leveled up, her intelligence would not increase.

I picked up the card, returned it to her and gave up my place for her too.

"Oh? Why did you give up the place so obediently… Kazuma, why are you crying? Did my level exceeding yours give you such a big shock? Why… Why are you patting my shoulders and treating me so gently? Why are you looking at me with eyes of sympathy?"

I ushered Aqua to the spot before the fireplace for her to sit. I lost the drive to work today, so I decided to visit the town for a change of pace.

Part 2

It has already started snowing in town, and because the weather was cold, few people were walking on the road.

The common sense of this world was to hide at home during winter.

Only brutal monsters were active during this season. The only ones who would go out on quests while wearing armor were the people from Japan who possessed cheat-like blessings.

And those wandering around town when it was so cold were either idle people like me…

– Or the acquaintances of mine such as those acting suspiciously in front of me.

Those two acquaintances were eyeing a shop suspiciously, so I called out to them.

"Keith, Dust, what are you doing here?"

"Woah!"

Hearing me call out to them, Keith and Dust jumped.

They were dressed casually and didn't look like adventurers.

"Wh-What, it's just Kazuma, don't scare us like that. Really, I hate people who use Lurk skills like this…"

When Keith saw it was me, he relaxed and told me that.

But I didn't use Lurk just now.

"Hi. What's up? You're not with those three today?"

Dust looked to my side curiously.

Dust suffered greatly during his time with them, so it was normal for him to be on guard.

"Nope, it's just me today, don't worry. Are you that bad with them? I was just bored at home and decided to take a stroll. What are you guys doing here?"

Dust breathed in relief after hearing what I said.

"No, it's… Because we… You understand? Anyway, it's fine that they're not here. Or rather, it's great that there are no ladies around."

…?

What did they mean? They wanted to do something that would be inconvenienced by the presence of a lady?

My thoughts were probably showing on my face as Keith said deviously:

"Kazuma who's usually surrounded by beauties doesn't need such things, but for lonely men like Dust and me…"

"Hey, wait."

Keith only spoke halfway when Dust interjected.

And Dust looked at me with sympathetic eyes…

"Keith… This guy's situation isn't what you imagined. It might look like a harem at first glance, but it's not like that… He's in the same state as us and has endured much hardship."

He was saying this from his experience.

Ahh, I understood… It seems that this guy had it hard back then…

… All right, even though I was shouldering heavy debts, I should treat Dust to a meal today.

Part 3

When I was young and I saw my father enjoying his beer, I asked for some and spat it out immediately. Wonderful childhood memories.

– The young me swore to never drink this thing named beer ever again. But after coming to this alternate world, I was drinking beer in broad daylight.

I felt I shouldn't do this, but the laws and common sense in this world were different.

The laws did not stipulate that drinking was prohibited for those who were underage. Even if something happened, the subject would just be asked to deal with the consequences.

I didn't think beer was nice to drink, but after forcing some down, I felt light headed.

Because this felt nice, people started drinking beer.

The three of us were drinking in the guild in broad daylight. As we drank, Keith started to complain.

"Sigh– there's nothing to do this season. I'm bored out of my mind. Oh, Kazuma can really drink. Here, another glass!"

Keith filled another glass for me and laughed out loud.

Keith was the type who would laugh wildly when he got drunk.

"Sigh… When winter comes, I want to stick close to someone… To be honest, I know how hard it is on Kazuma. But even so, I still envy you this season."

Dust said as he sighed heavily.

They probably had nothing to do during the winter. Other than us, there were many who were in the bar during broad daylight.

Amongst the adventurers, there might've been many who wouldn't lose to me as a hikkikomori.

As I was thinking about that, I asked them about something that interested me.

"Right, speaking of which, what were the two of you doing there just now?"

That's right, the two of them looked as if they were hesitating while considering whether they should enter the shop in the alley.

It made me curious about what that shop was.

Hearing me say that, the two of them exchanged a look, nodded and…

Keith put down the beer in his hand, while making a serious expression.

"Kazuma, I think you can be trusted. What I'm about to say is a secret among the male adventurers in this town. Kazuma, can you promise to never reveal this secret to your female party members?"

Even though I was taken aback by the heavy atmosphere, I still nodded my head.

Seeing my reaction, Keith nodded as well.

Next, despite the noise in this place, Dust lowered his volume to not let the people around us hear.

"Kazuma, there are succubi operating a shop in this town. You know that they specialize in gifting wonderful dreams to others, right?"

"Please tell me more."

– I immediately replied to Dust.

Dust whose face was getting red put down his beer and told me:

"There's a group of succubi living in this town. This type of devil specializes in absorbing the irrepressible lust of humans, which is the energy men use to sustain themselves. Hence, male humans are an absolutely necessary existence for them."

Yes, you were right.

I listened to every word of Dust carefully.

"That's why they'll absorb our energy, but… The male adventurers in this town have a relationship of mutual assistance. Think about it… We're basically staying in stables. Hence… There are many things that are hard to vent, right? With so many other adventurers sleeping around us, even if you're in the mood, you can't do 'anything' about it, right?"

"Yes, you're right."

I nodded my head furiously.

I didn't feel guilty at all, but a bead of sweat still fell down my cheek.

Really, I didn't feel guilty at all.

"But we can't lay a hand on the female adventurers sleeping near us. If you did that, you would be discovered by the other female adventurers who would gang up on you. Or your target might be hiding a dagger and you would risk getting castrated. Things like that do happen."

As he went on, Dust's face turned pale and shivered.

Keith saw his reaction and said:

"Your trauma when you made a move on Lynn has not yet recovered?"

"Sh-shut up! Like I said… At times like this, the succubo comes to mind. When we're sleeping, they'll use the chance to show us a wonderful and exciting dream. We'll be refreshed and they can sustain themselves. And they know how to hold back and won't absorb so much that we become unable to continue adventuring. I've never heard of any adventurers falling into danger because too much of their energy was taken… How about it? Everybody wins, right?"

After hearing Dust's words, I nodded my head repeatedly.

How wonderful, this was truly a wonderful gift!

The succubus would have no reason to attack humans, and the adventurers in the stables would be able to vent.

This would indirectly contribute to a drop in sexual crimes.

Speaking of which, the security of this town was very good.

In my imagination, adventurers are hot blooded, rough, liked to drink, and would they would pick a fight over anything.

That was my impression all along, but there were few violent incidents in this town, and crimes were seldom heard of.

If everyone was always in sage mode, there would naturally be less altercations.

Truly wonderful! The workings of this world are so harmonious!

I was really touched. Seeing my reaction, Keith said:

"Actually, I only heard about this shop from others recently. We were planning to visit that shop for the first time today, and then we met Kazuma."

Dust took a large swig of beer.

And then, he said to me:

"And that's the story… How about it? Want to go togeth-"

"Please bring me with you."

Part 4

After leaving the guild's pub, we nervously went back to the shop in question.

If it was just me alone, I wouldn't have dared to enter that shop.

But I had reliable comrades now.

Just like the need to muster courage to buy porno magazines alone, it was less scary when you went in a group. It was that kind of strange psychology.

A short distance from the main road, we could see a tiny shop in the alley.

At a glance, it looked like a normal restaurant, but…

"Welcome–!"

The one greeting us was an onee-san with a body all men dreamed of.

Ushered in by the beautiful onee-san with such a tempting body, we entered the shop and found all the patrons to be men.

There were several other onee-sans with alluring figures moving around inside. To be frank, this was causing an urge to well up in my chest, one I could barely suppress.

It was a restaurant, but there were no food or drinks on the table of the patrons.

All the customers were staring at a survey form intensely at their table, concentrating hard while writing something down.

After the onee-san led us to empty seats, she held a menu and smiled at us.

"Dear customers, is this your first time visiting us?"

The three of us nodded.

The smile of the onee-san became more brilliant.

"… Well then, do you know what kind of shop this is, and who we are?"

We nodded in silence once more.

That onee-san seemed satisfied and laid the menu down on the table and said:

"Please place your orders. It's fine if you don't order anything either… And please fill in the necessary information on the survey form and hand it in to the cashier when paying your bill."

We took the survey forms.

Did this mean that the succubus-oneesan would pick the most suitable candidate based on the survey form to service us?

I looked at the survey form…

"May I ask, what's this part about our own status, gender and appearance in our dream…?"

This part seemed strange.

I could understand the status part, but what was this about gender and appearance…?

"The status part means being, for example, a king or hero in the dream. As for gender and appearance, there are occasionally customers who want to experience how it feels like to be a woman; there are some who want to be a young boy and be forced upon by a strong female adventurer."

Are the adventurers in this town alright?

But, even these settings could be adjusted.

I see, it was just a dream after all.

Keith timidly raised his hand and asked the onee-san:

"… Excuse me, for the setting of the target, how detailed can we be?"

"It can be as detailed as you wish. Personality, favorite phrases, appearance, how much she likes you, any feature and any figure. It's fine even if you asked for a fictional character."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious."

I couldn't help saying, and the onee-san answered immediately.

That meant, be it that famous girl, the girl I knew; and, that's right, even my 2D waifu would be fine?

"… Excuse me, but wouldn't we be violating any copyrights?"

"No problem, it's a dream after all."

"I thought so."

The onee-san answered without hesitation, which put me at ease.

It wouldn't cause any problems since it was just a dream.

Dust timidly raised his hand and asked:

"… That means, there are no age restrictions on the targets? No, I'm not thinking about any specific age group, but, how should I put this…"

"None, please choose as you please."

The onee-san answered without a second thought.

I couldn't help asking:

"Is, is that really okay? What about laws…"

"No problem, it's just a dream."

"That's true."

There were no problems with just dreaming.

The wet dream service of the succubus was perfect.

The three of us wrote on our survey forms in silence.

Yes, just like the other patrons in the shop.

"Well then, all three honored customers chose the three-hour session. The fee is 5,000 Eris each."

That's cheap!

I was taking out my wallet and was shocked by the price.

I couldn't tell since I had never patronized them, but compared to the 'specialty' shops in Japan, this was a bargain.

Onee-san probably read my thoughts from my expression and said:

"…To us, we just need enough money to live on in this town as humans. Apart from this, we just need to absorb a little energy from our customers."

She said with a faint smile.

Really, there were no other businesses that could bring happiness to everyone.

I had submitted wholeheartedly to their policy which gifted love and care to all.

Now I had to become a regular and aid them as much as I could.

We started worshiping the succubus-oneesan, mumbling:

"Goddess… Ah, goddess…"

"Don't, don't act like that, how inauspicious! Well then, please leave the address you'll be spending tonight at, and what time you plan to sleep. Around that time, the succubus from our shop will go to the side of the sleeping customers and let them see their desired dreams. Please don't drink alcohol if possible. If you get dead drunk or sleep too deeply, even we won't be able to let the customer dream."

After hearing the onee-san's warning, we left the shop.

It was still evening, but we came to a silent consensus to part ways.

"Well, let's meet again."

"Yeah, will do!"

"See you next time!"

The two of them seemed a bit uneasy and anxious to return.

I felt the same way too.

There was still time before it's time to sleep, but I wanted to return early to prepare for bed earlier.

I didn't go anywhere else and went straight back home.

Part 5

"Kazuma, you're back! Here's something you should be happy about; tonight's dinner is going to be splendid! It's crab! Darkness's folks sent someone over, saying that if Darkness was going to stay here from now on, they should send a gift, and that's the super extravagant Snow Crimson Crab! And a magnificent top-class wine too! They wanted to thank us for taking care of their daughter!"

Back at the mansion, Aqua welcomed me with a big smile.

Crab seemed to be a high-class item in this world too.

I never had a proper meal of crab back in Japan, and I never imagined I could eat it here…

"Wahhh… In an impoverished career as adventurers, I never thought there would be a day I would see a Snow Crimson Crab…! I'm glad I joined this party…"

"Is the crab that great in quality?"

Seeing Megumin putting her palms together and praying to the Snow Crimson Crab, I curiously asked.

And so, Megumin, who thought I was being an idiot, raised her fist in an exaggerated manner and made her speech.

"Of course! I'll give you a simple example, if someone told me, 'If you want to eat this crab, then you are prohibited from using Explosion', I would endure it, and wait until I eat my fill before using Explosion. That's how valuable it is!"

"Oh, that's impressive… Hmm? What was that last part again?"

As I was chatting about idle things with Megumin, Darkness placed the cooked crabs onto the dining table.

Aqua cheerfully brought four wine glasses over.

After everyone was seated, we took the Snow Crimson Crab…

Snapped the crab legs, took out the meat with white and pink stripes, dipped a bit of vinegar and put it into our mouths.

"!"

– I was surprised by that unusually wonderful taste.

It was slightly sweet, and the strong taste of crab meat spread in my mouth.

I looked at the others, and the three of them were eating crab without making a sound.

No way, I couldn't stop eating this!

I peeled off the shell and was about to eat the crab paste off it…

"Kazuma Kazuma, use Tinder here. I'll show you the most delicious way of drinking this top-class wine."

Aqua, who had eaten the crab paste clean, put charcoal in a small pot, and placed wire mesh on top of it.

Simply said, she made a roasting pot.

I followed what she said and lit the charcoal on fire. Aqua placed the shell that still had a bit of paste onto the wire mesh.

She then poured the clear wine that looked like Japanese sake into the shell.

Aqua happily roasted the shell, picking it up when it was slightly charred and sipped the warm wine…

"Fuu…"

She sighed as though it was delicious.

Her series of actions was like a middle-aged man, but everyone gulped as they watched her, and emulated her actions. At this moment, I noticed.

– It was a trap!

The crab was so good that I almost forgot the succubus-oneesan would be coming tonight.

Didn't that onee-san say I couldn't dream if I got dead drunk?

Calm down, I was a man with great endurance.

I had iron-like will and could withstand the temptation.

"This is great, splendid!"

Don't be tempted!

Darkness's voice of satisfaction wouldn't bewitch me!

That's right, I probably couldn't stop after drinking that wine.

I would probably just keep going and drink on, thinking nothing else mattered.

With how delicious the crab was, this wine had to be the same.

"Darkness, I want some too! It's fine, just for today! I want to drink some wine!"

"No, they say those who start to drink when young will grow up and become useless adults."

When Darkness said that, Megumin looked at Aqua who was drinking happily. Darkness also looked silently at Aqua.

"…? Why are you looking at me?"

I ignored their interaction and endured silently. Darkness looked at me and asked:

"… Are you okay, Kazuma? You've never drank before? Or… Does my crab not suit your taste?"

Her expression became uneasy as she spoke.

No, that wasn't it, the crab was great.

"No, the crab was delicious, there's no problem there. It's just that I had a round with Keith and the guys during the day. And I can't tell the deliciousness of the wine yet, so I'll pass today… Tomorrow then! I'll drink tomorrow!"

Hearing me push the issue aside, Darkness said 'Okay', and sighed in relief with a brilliant smile.

Don't do that, don't smile at me so innocently. You were always saying useless things that turned me off, why did you pick today to be so…!

Well then…!

"Oh–? You think there will still be wine left tomorrow? I'll drink it all! How could I leave any behind! That's great, I will drink Kazuma's share too!"

Damn it, that idiot who refused to change was so infuriating!

Darkness smiled at me again.

"… Hmm, all right. Have more crab then; thank you for taking care of me all this while."

Hearing her say that, my chest stung as though I had done something terrible to her.

Right, drink with everyone and forget about that.

The succubus-oneesan would have to make an empty trip, but I would just apologize tomorrow.

I would drink with the three of them tonight, and work hard tomorrow onward.

That's right, it was just the thing I wrote on the survey form turning into a realistic dream, that was all.

And I would not forget about that dream in the morning. That was all.

I looked at Darkness's and everyone's faces.

And weighed which side was more important to me.

And I thought about what I wrote on the survey form!

… Indeed, it wasn't a contest from the very beginning.

After eating my fill of the crab, I stood up.

"All right, it might be early, but I'm retiring to bed. Darkness, thank you for your treat. Good night everyone!"

I returned to my room without hesitation.

Part 6

After going back to my room, I locked the door and unlatched the window.

They didn't ask me to leave the windows unlocked, but I decided to play it safe.

They had to make a trip down, it would be embarrassing to give them more trouble.

There were no clocks here, so I didn't know the exact time. But the time I specified should be soon.

I had to go to sleep before that, but the excitement and tension kept me awake.

Oh no, my heart was beating faster.

Ahhh, what should I do? I was way too excited to sleep!

I didn't know how long I would be like this.

I got out of bed, thinking of going to the courtyard to exercise and cool my head.

If I moved my body for a bit, maybe I could sleep easier.

As I was thinking about that, I walked out of the mansion in my pajamas and came to the courtyard.

While everyone was sleeping, I used the moonlight and my Farsight ability to exercise in the courtyard.

Standing in the pure white yard, I noticed the tombstone of an unknown person covered by snow in the corner and felt troubled by it.

I walked toward the tombstone and swept away the snow, revealing the name 'Anna' engraved on it.

I was satisfied, but was concerned with how sweaty I was.

The succubus would only make me dream, so I didn't need be so concerned, but…

I still needed to follow the correct etiquette.

Now, when everyone should be sleeping, I headed toward the bathroom of the mansion.

It was the villa of nobles, so the baths were equipped with special magic items.

In simple terms, it was a water heater powered by mana.

The magic item didn't require a lot of mana, so normal people could use it too.

Perhaps it was due to the mana it drans, it made one feel a bit tired afterwards. But such a tradeoff couldn't be helped.

I used Tinder to light the lantern in the bathing room, and hung the 'In Use' sign outside the dressing section.

I put my clothes in the laundry basket, letting the others know there was someone in the bath.

I was very careful to avoid the scene common in mangas.

Such wonderful developments just needed to happen in the dream I asked the shop to give me.

Since we were living under one roof, I wanted to avoid my relationship with anyone turning awkward.

In such a situation, even if the girl was the one who stumbled in accidentally, the guy would still be treated as the one at fault.

If I was really caught in such a situation, I would resist to the end.

I would scream before the girl did, and accuse her of being a perverted woman.

"But such scenarios only happen in mangas."

I used mana to create hot water in the bathtub, and soaked my entire body into the water.

Under the dim light of the lantern in the dressing room, I stretched my limbs in the water and relaxed.

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes.

Part 7

I don't know how long I was there.

I heard a Clank of something dropping from outside the dressing section and opened my eyes.

I thought it was just my imagination, but I couldn't have misheard that when it was this quiet.

Did the sign hanging outside the bathing room drop?

I should have hung it properly…

I thought it might've been Aqua playing a prank and removing it, but being this late, she should be sleeping.

Ah well, no one would come in this late at night anyway.

My clothes were thrown into the laundry basket and the lantern was lit.

It should've been obvious that someone was in the bathing room. As I was thinking about that…

Even though it was inside the mansion, a sudden gust of unnatural wind blew out the lantern.

I felt the presence of someone else, like the spirits appearing in the mansion a few days ago…

But my Enemy Detection skill had no reaction.

… Never mind, even if the light was out, it was no big deal for me with my night vision ability.

The moonlight shining through the bathing room window was bright enough.

As I was leisurely thinking about that…

– I heard the door to the dressing section open.

The sound of the door opening made me jump in panic.

Hey, the timing was too weird.

No, I didn't know who it was, but that person was holding a lamp.

If that was the case, after seeing the clothes in the laundry basket, she should realize I was in here. Since she was holding a lamp, this meant it wasn't Aqua who could see in the dark. It was either Megumin or Darkness–

Suddenly, the lamp on that person's hand was out.

"Wahh! Why did the lamp suddenly…?"

The confused voice from the other side of the glass barrier belonged to Darkness.

"… Oh well, fortunately, the moon is out tonight, so this is…"

As she spoke, Darkness started undressing behind the glass barrier… Hey hey hey!

As I was about to sound out, I realized something.

This was a setting designed by someone.

Otherwise, there was no way this sort of thing would happen.

That's right, the timing was too good for me, no matter how great my luck was.

… No, hold on.

Before the situation evolved to this stage, I felt sleepy and closed my eyes.

I see now. This meant the current situation was…!

"Hmm… The moon tonight is really…"

Darkness used both hands to push her hair behind her head, and was mumbling to herself when she walked into the bathing room–

And in the dim room, she locked eyes with me who was in the bathtub.

"..."

Both of us were naked of course.

Under the faint light of the moon, Darkness's skin looked exceptionally white.

I had always thought her body was alluring, but looking at it right now, her figure was better than expected.

Because she trained her body, I thought she would be stouter, but her shape was great…

No, maybe this was the service of the succubus, adjusting her figure to my taste.

Darkness stood there blankly without even covering herself. I lifted a hand and said 'Hi' while still soaking in the tub.

Seeing my reaction, Darkness opened her mouth, covered her chest and squatted down onto the floor.

"… Why…? Why, why…? Why, why, why…!?"

"…? What's the matter, Darkness? Come over here and help me wash my back."

"?"

I got out of the bathtub and sat on a wooden stool with my back to Darkness. Perhaps because my actions were too unexpected, Darkness just sat there covering her chest, her mouth silently opening and closing.

What was with this Darkness?

This felt refreshing, not bad, as expected of the Darkness created by the succubus.

But why did Darkness appear in my dreams?

Should I have written more details rather than just 'a beautiful onee-san with a great figure'?

I'll remember to be more descriptive next time.

"You, you, you, what are you saying!? No, that, why, why are you so calm, and what do you mean by washing your back!? Too many things are happening, it's overloading my brain…!"

Impressive, it entirely realistic.

Great work Succubus-oneesan! Superb!

"No, now's not the time to feel moved. I didn't add the setting of being unwilling, so hurry… No, I did request for a beautiful onee-san with a great figure, a little shy and unworldly. If that's the case, then she's acting properly, right?"

"!"

After hearing me talk to myself, Darkness had a panicky expression.

This felt refreshing and nice, but I had to take the initiative to make things progress.

"Can't be helped. I know your settings are to be naive, but please wash my back now."

"! Could, could it be… Under such circumstances, me helping you wash your back is common sense?"

Despite falling into a panic, Darkness was still approaching my back hesitantly.

I looked toward Darkness without reservation, and she covered her body and squatted down.

"How refreshing and nice, but please hurry up. It's hard to restrain myself, in more than one way."

"You, you little…! Do you understand the situation? If Aqua and Megumin find out about this, what would they say…?!"

"If that happens, let's just all take a bath together."

"What's with you!? What's wrong with you today!?"

"Hey, you're being loud. Do you know what time it is? You'll disturb the neighbors, you know? There should be a limit to how much common sense you lack."

"Why are you bringing up common sense in such a situation!? Am, am I the one who's wrong? Because I lack knowledge about the world? Do I lack common sense? Am I… Weird?"

"In a way, you've always been weird. No, since this is a dream, being a little noisy is fine… All right, I'll be troubling you with this."

"Ugh… Why, why did it become like this… But, ordering me so haughtily, I can't resist; I really hate my fetish right now…"

Even though she was blushing and murmuring about something, Darkness still came to my back.

With a towel in hand, she knelt behind me, who was sitting on a stool.

Finally, Darkness followed my instructions and clumsily scrubbed my back hard.

"You, you little…! You're acting just like a middle-aged man today! Done, this should be enough. I can go now, right…?"

Darkness averted her eyes from my bare body and timidly said. She felt so innocent and pure, but I still told her firmly:

"What are you saying. Even with the settings adjusted, you still lack common sense. Don't you know what to do next? Without using the towel, you…"

"That's too weird, too weird! No matter how ignorant I am, I know this is definitely not normal!"

– As Darkness was resisting me with her blushing face and teary eyes.

"Intruder–! Everyone come quick! There's an intruder in the mansion–!"

Aqua's voice sounded out from within the mansion.

Hey, I was just getting to the good part! I didn't ask for this to happen!

I grabbed the towel from Darkness's hands, tied it around my waist and dashed out.

I stole a glance at Darkness. She was still covering her chest with a red face, sitting on the floor while looking up at me with teary eyes.

Damn it, I really wanted to carry on, but that girl was even interrupting me in my dreams. I had to give her a piece of my mind!

When I reached the living room with a towel around me, I saw a succubus girl, seemingly a bit younger than the succubus-oneesan, being pinned down by Aqua.

And Megumin was also there, holding her staff in a menacing manner.

"Kazuma, look! A villain was stopped by my barrier and couldn't move… Wait, there's another villain!"

"Who are you calling a villain…! Wait, what's this? What's a succubus doing there?"

As I retorted to Aqua who called me a villain just because I was clad in a towel, I realized that there were way too many people here. Something is off.

Or rather, seeing a succubus here was too weird.

"I've set a powerful barrier in this mansion. I rushed over because there was a reaction in the barrier, and found this succubus that was trying to sneak into the place! Succubi will attack men, so she must be here for Kazuma! But don't worry, I'll perform an exorcism and dispose of her!"

Hearing Aqua say that, the succubus gasped.

This was wrong.

What was this, it was too weird, too strange.

Which meant the Darkness I saw in the bathing room was…!

No, now was not the time for that; I had to deal with the succubus before me!

Setting up a barrier without telling me, Aqua really liked to do unnecessary things. She moved some distance away from the succubus and thrust her index finger at her.

"All right then, accept your fate! I'll use my super skill for killing devils… Kazuma, you're a guy, so don't come too close! The succubus might control you…"

I silently stood before the succubus, took her hand and ran toward the main door.

"Wait, wait! Kazuma, what are you doing? She's a devil, she's here to suck Kazuma's energy!"

Aqua shrieked at me.

Megumin, who was slow to react to my actions, raised her weapon and looked at the succubus with sharp eyes.

The succubus said to me in a volume only I could hear:

"So-Sorry esteemed customer! Please leave me alone, I'm just a monster! I didn't expect a barrier to be here, but getting to the side of the customers is what we are good at. Things turned out this way because I was too immature and failed to infiltrate. I can't let the customer embarrass themselves, so let them dispose of me as a random wandering succubus. Customer, you just need to pretend you know nothing at all!"

I turned to face Aqua and the others, hiding the succubus behind me.

I pushed the succubus toward the door.

I then lifted my fist, taking a fighting stance against Aqua and the rest.

"Customer?"

As the succubus was whispering.

"… Hey, what are you doing? I'm a goddess, after all. I can't let that devil get away so easily. Kazuma, get out of my way if you don't want to get trashed!"

Aqua frowned and said something that was no different from a delinquent.

"Aqua, Kazuma might be bewitched and under the succubus's control! Kazuma's has been acting weirdly for awhile! And he was saying something about dreams and settings, so that's probably it! Damn, that imposturous succubus, letting me taste such… Humiliation…! I'll kill her!"

Without drying her hair, Darkness rushed out with only a simple shirt and a tight skirt and shouted at the succubus.

Hearing her shout something so dangerous with teary eyes, I almost took a few steps backward.

"Kazuma, are you insane? No matter how cute she is, she's still a devil. She's a monster. Get a hold of yourself, that's an enemy we need to defeat."

Megumin looked like she had enough, and said that with a cold gaze and a strong attitude.

Her gaze hurt me a little, but I won't back down.

I extended my hand behind me and waved at the succubus, gesturing for her to leave quickly.

When she saw me do that, Aqua took a step forward, lowered her body and took a stance.

"Looks like I have to fight seriously…! All right, bring it on! I'll give Kazuma a good beating and send that succubus to meet her maker!"

She then yelled and charged at me.

When the succubus saw this, she screamed softly.

"Cu-Customer–!"

There were things I couldn't betray.

And that was the trust my friends had in me when they told me the secret.

There were things I had to protect.

And that was the kind succubus who was willing to satisfy us men when our pitiful lust got roused.

I clenched my fist.

"Bring it on–!"

I let out a determined yell, loud enough to shake the entire mansion.

Part 8

"..."

I could feel the silent stare on my back as I squatted in a corner of the courtyard.

I was cleaning the tombstone, a job I had been doing everyday recently.

"Hey, say something. Or rather, you were also at fault for going along in the heat of the moment."

"…! ..."

Behind me, Darkness seemed to have something to say, but swallowed her words.

She had been silently standing with her arms crossed, making it hard for me to work.

Of course, I couldn't win against the three of them and got my ass handed to me, but I succeeded in allowing the succubus girl to escape.

Darkness thought I was under the succubus's control, which gave me a way out of that situation.

"… You really don't remember what happened last night? You were under the control of the succubus, so you forgot everything, right?"

Darkness finally spoke. Seems like she wanted to confirm it.

"Yes. Regrettably, I can't remember anything. I only remember having a nice dream."

Since she gave me a way out, I naturally took it.

That was the best for the both of us.

"I-I see. That's great… Um, it can't be helped. It was just an accident, so I should forget about it too… But, your attitude was so firm back then… it was a bit scary, but not bad either. But saying strange things to the naive me is wrong."

"I should say, you're not a real gullible daughter from a wealthy family, so you should really learn more about the world. No matter how you look at it, I didn't do anything wrong this time. I lit the lantern and hung the 'In Use' sign. If not for the prank pulled by someone…"

"… Wait, you actually do remember what happened last night, right? Didn't you act that way because you were under the control of the succubus?"

Darkness grabbed my shoulders from behind and violently shook me, but I ignored her and continued cleaning the tombstone.

I didn't know who pulled that prank, but I was a little thankful for it too.

In the end, we were set for the near future.

With food, shelter and clothing settled, the other problems would be resolved in one way or another.

After coming to this world for so long, I finally got a place to live in.

I should be able to sleep well tonight.

That's right, if not for that broadcast that shook the entire town and broke the mood–

"Destroyer alert! Destroyer alert! The mobile fortress Destroyer is approaching this town! All adventurers please prepare for combat and report to the adventurer's guild! The citizens in town, please evacuate immediately–!"