chapter 4

We got ourselves a mansion.

Therefore the problem of making it through winter that I was 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 am 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 resisting stubbornly.

“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! Whose debt do you think I am doing this to clear? If you continue to get in my way, don’t blame me if I go rough on you.”

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

After I delivered the divine retribution 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:

“Hmmp… 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 similar to chess or shogi.

“Hmmp, witness the power of my army. I teleport my orc soldier to this space.”

“Megumin, the way you use your mage is disgusting… I will move my crusader here, check!”

“Teleport.”

Unlike earth, this world had the concept of magic. That game which looked similar to chess had slightly different rules.

I played with Megumin once, but the moment she teleported her king out of 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 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, than 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 twenty one.

Thinking back, she did take out the demon army’s boss Beldia, and 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…

… Weird?

“… Nah, 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 have already reached 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 arch priest. Comparing me to a normal adventurer you can find anywhere 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, her intelligence would not increase.

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

“Ara? Why did you gave up the place so obediently… Kazuma, why are you crying? Did my level exceeding yours gave 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 to change the mood.

Part 2

The town had already started snowing, and because the weather was cold, few people were walking on the road.

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

Only brutal monsters were active during this season. The only ones who would go out on missions 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!” x2

Hearing me call out to them from behind, 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 ‘hide’ skills like this…”

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

But I didn’t use ‘hide’ 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 great they are not here. Or rather, it’s fine if 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 is 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 like us and had endured much hardship.”

He was saying this from his experience.

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

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

Part 3

When I was young, when 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 different world, I was drinking beer in broad daylight.

I felt I shouldn’t do this in my heart, but the laws and common sense in this alternate 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 3 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 am bored out of my mind. Ara, Kazuma can really drink. Here, have another glass!”

Keith filled another glass for me and laughed out loud.

Keith was the type who would laugh wildly when he gets 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.

For the group known as adventurers, there might be many who wouldn’t lose to me as a Hikkikomori.

As I was thinking about that, I asked both of them 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 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 am about to say is a common secret among the male adventurers in this town; you must absolutely not leak it out. Kazuma, can you promise to never reveal this secret to your female party mates?”

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 in order to not let the people around us hear:

“Kazuma, there are succubi operating a shop in this town, they specialize in gifting wonderful dreams to others, do you know that?”

“Please tell me more.”

— I replied to Dust immediately.

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

“There is 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 are right.

I listened to every word of Dust carefully.

“That’s why they will absorb our energy, but… the male adventurers in this town have a relationship of mutual assistance. Think about it… We are basically staying in stables right? Hence… there are many things that are hard to vent right? But with so many other adventurers sleeping around us, even if you are in the mood, you can’t do ‘anything’ about it right?”

“Yes, you are 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 will 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 Rin has not yet recovered?”

“Shut, shut up! Like I said… At times like this, the succubus comes to mind. When we are sleeping, they will use the chance to show us a wonderful and exciting dream. We will be refreshed and they can sustain themselves. And they know how to hold back, and won’t absorb so much that we become mummies unable to continue adventuring. I have 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 gift of blessings!

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, a lot of the adventurers were hot blooded, rough and liked to drink, and 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 alterations.

Truly wonderful! The workings of this world were 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 them, he said to me:

“And that’s the story… how about it? Want to go tog…”

“Please bring me with you.”

Part 4

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

If it was just me alone, I would definitely not dare to enter that shop.

But I had reliable comrades now.

Just like the need to muster courage to buy porno magazines alone, it’s less scary when you go 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 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 enough for a hard to suppress urge to well up in my chest.

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 me to an empty seat, 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 too… 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.

This meant the succubus onee-san would pick the most suitable candidate based on the survey form to service us?

I looked at the survey form…

“May I ask, what is this part about our own status, gender and appearance in our dream…?”

This part seemed really strange.

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

“The status part means being 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 right in the head?

But, even these settings could be adjusted.

I see, it’s 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 could we be?”

“It could be as detailed as you wish. Personality, favourite phrases, appearance, how much she likes you, any features and anybody. 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 means, 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 rules…”

“No problem, it’s a dream anyway.”

“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 honoured customer chose the three hour session. The fee is 5000 Eris each.”

So cheap!

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

I couldn’t tell since I had never patronised them, but compared to the ‘specialty’ shop 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 gifts love and care to all.

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

We started worshipping the succubus onee-san, mumbling:

“Goddess… ah goddess…”

“Don’t, don’t act like that, how inauspicious! Well then, please leave the address you will 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 the customers 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 our 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 I slept, but I wanted to return early to prepare for bed earlier.

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

Part 5

“Kazuma you are back! Here’s something you should be happy about, tonight’s dinner is going to be splendid! It’s crab! Darkness’ folks sent someone over, saying that if Darkness is going to stay here from now on, they should sent a gift, and that’s the super extravagant snow crimson crab! And a magnificent top class wine too! They want 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 didn’t have a proper meal of crab back in Japan, 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 am 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 asked curiously.

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

“Of course! I will give you a simple example, if someone told me ‘If you want to eat this crab, then you are prohibited from using explosion’, I will endure it, and wait until I eat my fill before using explosion. That’s how valuable it is!”

“Oh, that’s impressive… Hmmm? What was that last part again?”

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

Aqua cheerfully brought four wine glass over.

After everyone was seated, we took the snow crimson crab…

Snapped the crab legs, took out the meat with white and pink stripes, dip 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 can’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 will 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 roast the shell, picking it up when it was slightly charred and sipped the warm wine…

“Fuu…”

She sighed as though it was really delicious.

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

— It’s a trap!

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

Didn’t that onee-san say I couldn’t dream if I get dead drunk?

Calm down, I am a man with great endurance.

I have iron like will and could withstand the temptation.

“This is great, splendid!”

Don’t be tempted!

Darkness’ voice of satisfaction won’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 must 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 would 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 have never drank before? Or… Does my crab not suit your taste?”

Her expression became uneasy as she spoke.

No, that’s not 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 in the day. And I can’t tell the deliciousness of the wine yet, so I will pass today… Tomorrow then! I will 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 so purely at me. 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 will 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, alright. Have more crab then, thank you for taking care of me all this while.”

I felt I have done something terrible to her when she said that and my chest stung.

Right, drink with everyone and forget about that thing.

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

I will drink with the three of them tonight, and work hard tomorrow onwards.

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

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

I looked at Darkness’ and everyone’s faces.

And weighed which side was more important to me.

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

…… That’s right, it wasn’t a contest from the very beginning.

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

“Alright, it might be early, but I am retiring to bed. Darkness, thank you for your treat. Good night everyone!”

I returned to my room early 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 correct time. But the timing I specified should be coming.

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’m nervous from anticipation, too excited to sleep!

I don’t know how long I will be like this.

I got out of bed, 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 courtyard that was white from snow, I noticed the tombstone of an unknown person being covered by snow in the corner of the yard and felt troubled by it.

I walked towards the tomb 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 need not be so concerned, but…

I still need to follow the correct etiquette.

At this time when everyone should be sleeping, I headed towards the shower room of the mansion.

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

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

The magic item does not require a lot of mana, so normal people could use it too.

Perhaps it was due to the mana that would be used, it made one feel a bit tired after usage. But such a trade off 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.

That’s right, in order to avoid the scene common in mangas, I was very careful.

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

Since we were living under one roof, I want 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 am really caught in such a situation, I would resist to the end.

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

“But such scenarios only happens in mangas.”

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

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

I sighed deeply, felt a bit sleepy and closed my eyes.

Part 7

I didn’t know how long I was in such a state.

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

I thought it was just my imagination, but how could I have misheard that in such a quiet place.

Did the sign hung outside the bathing room drop?

But I should have hung it properly…

I thought it might be Aqua playing a prank and removing it. But it’s already so late, she should be sleeping.

Never mind, no one would come in this late in the night.

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

It should be obvious 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, similar to the spirits appearing in the mansion a few days ago…

But my detect enemy skill had no reaction.

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

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

As I was thinking about that leisurely…

— I heard the door to the dressing section being opened.

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

Hey, the timing was too weird.

No, although 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 am 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.

“… No choice. Fortunately the moon is out tonight, so just like this…”

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

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

This was a setting designed by someone.

If not for this, 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 use 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.

“……” x2

Both of us were naked of course.

Under the faint light of the moon, Darkness’ 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 really 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. Help me wash my back.”

“?”

I got out of the bath tub and sat on a wooden stool with my back to Darkness. Maybe my actions were too unexpected, Darkness just sat there covering her chest and her mouth 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 appeared in my dreams?

Should I had written more details instead of ‘a beautiful onee-san with great figure’?

I will 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, why was it so realistic!

Great work succubus! Superb!

“No, now is not the time to feel moved. I didn’t add the setting of being unwilling, so hurry… No, I did wrote in the survey form for a beautiful onee-san with a great figure, and a little shy and unworldly. If that is the case, then she is acting just right.”

“!”

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

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

“Can’t be helped. I know your setting is 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 panic, Darkness was still approaching my back hesitantly.

I looked towards 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 all sorts of ways.”

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

“If that happens, then let’s all take a bath together.”

“What’s with you! What’s wrong with you today!”

“Hey, you are being loud, you know what time it is? Didn’t you know you would disturb the neighbors? 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 is wrong? Because I lacked knowledge about the world? Do I lack common sense? Am I weird?”

“In a way, you have always been weird. No, since this is a dream, being a little noisy is fine… Alright, I would 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.

She had a towel in her hand, and knelt behind me, who was sitting on a stool.

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

“You, you little…! You are 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 said timidly. 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 is an intruder in the mansion–!”

Aqua’s voice sounded out from within the mansion.

Hey, I am just getting to the good part and someone interrupted me, I didn’t ask for such a setting!

I grabbed the towel from Darkness’ 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 that was a bit younger than the succubus onee-san 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 is this? What is a succubus doing there?”

As I was retorting Aqua who was calling me a villain because I was clad in a towel, I realized the number of people making an appearance was too many, and there was something wrong.

Or rather, seeing a succubus here was too weird.

“Actually, I have set a powerful barrier in this mansion. I rushed over because there was an reaction in the barrier, and found this succubus that was trying to intrude trapped here! Succubus will attack men, so she must be here for Kazuma! But don’t worry, I will perform an exorcism and dispose of her!”

Hearing Aqua say that, the succubus gasped.

This was wrong.

What was this, it’s 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 I knew nothing about, Aqua likes to do unnecessary things like usual. She moved some distance away from the succubus and pointed at the succubus with her index finger.

“Alright then, accept your fate! I will use my super skill for devils… Kazuma, you are a guy, don’t come too close! The succubus might control you…”

I silently stood before the succubus, took her hand and run towards the main door.

“Wait, wait! Kazuma, what are you doing? She is a devil, she is here to suck Kazuma’s energy!”

Aqua shrieked at me.

Megumin who was slow to react to my actions raised her weapon, looking 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 am just a monster! I didn’t expect a barrier to be here, but getting to the side of the customers are 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 lose face, 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 who was saying this behind me.

I then reached behind me and pushed the succubus towards 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 am a goddess after all, I can’t let that devil go so easily. Kazuma, if you don’t want to get beaten up, then get out of my way!”

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

“Aqua, Kazuma might be bewitched and controlled by the succubus! Since just now, Kazuma’s has been acting weirdly! And he was saying something about dreams and settings, so that is probably it! Damn, that imposturous succubus, letting me taste such… humiliation…! I will kill her!”

Without drying her hair and wearing a shirt and tight skirt, Darkness rushed out without wearing shoes and shouted at the succubus.

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

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

Megumin looked like she had enough, saying this with a cold gaze and strong attitude.

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

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

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

“Looks like I have to fight seriously with Kazuma…! Alright, bring it on! I will 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’s 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 yelled hot bloodedly with a volume that shook the entire mansion.

Part 8

“……”

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

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

“Nah, say something. Or rather, you were also at fault for going along in the heat of the moment.”

“…!……”

Darkness who was behind me seemed to have something to say, but swallowed her words.

Darkness had been standing with her arm crossed behind me silently, making it hard for me to work.

That night, I couldn’t win against the three of them and was beaten up, but I succeeded in allowing the succubus girl to escape.

Darkness thought I was under the succubus’ 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, and wanted to confirm this again.

“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… Erm, it can’t be help. 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 too. But saying strange things to the naive me is wrong.”

“I should say, you are not a real gullible daughter from a wealthy family, knowing more about the world is a good thing. 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 remembered what happened last night don’t you? Didn’t you act that way because you were under the control of the succubus?”

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

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

In the end, we were set for our life in 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 moving fortress destroyer is approaching this town! All adventurers please report to the adventurers guild with all your gear on! The citizens in town, please evacuate immediately–!”