[ "W-why—I didn't break the cage, so why do I have to pay for it?!"]
Early the next morning, Aqua's loud voice echoed from the guild. She was tearfully grabbing a guild receptionist, Luna, refusing to let go.
Aqua dragged her heavy feet, sitting next to Kazuma, utterly dejected: "After paying for the broken cage, I only have 100,000 Eris left. I didn't even break it."
Aqua then slumped over the table, growing angrier the more she thought about it, and let out an unwilling wail: "That man… Next time I see him, I'll definitely hit him with my God Blow!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"It just goes to show, you get what you pay for. A 300,000 reward for the quest, but the cage repair alone costs 200,000. No wonder it was so sturdy."
"Hahaha, what a pathetic hero. He bent the iron bars to save Aqua, and now Aqua resents him for it."
Even people from other worlds felt a bit of sympathy for Mitsurugi Kyouya. He wanted to save Aqua from her misery, but Aqua just wanted to hit him with a God Blow and beat him up.
For a goddess who was short on cash, Mitsurugi had accurately stepped on Aqua's landmine.
After all, Mitsurugi Kyouya's bending the cage was truly an unexpected disaster for Aqua, costing her 200,000 for no reason.
A 300,000 quest, but she only earned 100,000 Eris. Not even enough money to see a psychologist. It would be strange if Aqua didn't hold a grudge!
.....
[ "I found you, Satou Kazuma!" Just then, Mitsurugi Kyouya, the main culprit, arrived, panting and accompanied by two girls: "A certain thief girl told me about your past deeds."
"I heard you love to randomly pull off girls' underwear and have a hobby of getting girls covered in slime. There are quite a few rumors about you! You perverted Kazuma!"
The two girls Mitsurugi brought with him were currently huddled together, trembling, fearing that the perverted Kazuma would suddenly strip their underwear in public.
Mitsurugi ignored the enraged Kazuma, turning to the goddess and softly saying: "Aqua-sama, I swear I will defeat the Demon King, so please, form a party with me…"
"GOD BLOW—!!" Aqua's eyes glowed red as she delivered a punch, sending Mitsurugi flying on the spot.
Before Mitsurugi could even react to why he was hit, Aqua grabbed him by the collar: "Hey, quickly pay me for the cage repairs, 300,000! 300,000!"
Kazuma watched speechlessly as Aqua took the opportunity to extort him. Didn't she just say 200,000?
As if intimidated by Aqua, Mitsurugi obediently took out his money pouch and handed it over. Only then did Aqua pick up the menu again, satisfied.
Mitsurugi then regained his composure, bowing to Kazuma and pleading: "A-although I know this is selfish, please, I beg you, return my Cursed Sword. As compensation, I can buy you the best sword in the shop."
Megumin suddenly tugged on Mitsurugi's sleeve and pointed to Kazuma's waist:
"First, let's talk about the fact that the Cursed Sword is no longer on this person."
Hearing her say that, Mitsurugi finally noticed the incongruity, cold sweat breaking out on his face: "Sa-Satou Kazuma. Where's the Cursed Sword? W-where did my Cursed Sword go?!"
Kazuma naturally raised the money pouch in his hand, his expression calm: "Sold it!"
"Damn it…" Mitsurugi cried and rushed out of the guild. He had to redeem it before it was bought. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"As for the rumors about Kazuma, there's really nothing to say, since they're all true! I just didn't expect the name 'Perverted Kazuma' to have spread so widely."
"Speaking of which, how much does Aqua hate the hero Mitsurugi? She just goes straight for a punch, without any hesitation, and even manages to extort him in the process."
This hero can no longer be described as pathetic; it's just sad. Who told him to encounter such an abstract party as Kazuma's?
Selling a cursed sword just like that, Kazuma felt no guilt at all. After all, you can't expect someone who can perform such perverted actions in public to have a high moral bottom line…
.....
〜Type-Moon World, Fifth Holy Grail War Worldline〜
Seeing Mitsurugi burst into tears and run off, Tohsaka Rin laughed so hard that tears came to her eyes:
"Haha…haha…I never expected it to be sold!"
What a pathetic, cursed sword, what a pathetic hero! First, he was beaten up by the goddess he admired, and then he learned that his strongest equipment had been sold. He probably suffered a complete mental breakdown at that moment.
It's as if the Knight King's holy sword, Excalibur, was sold as scrap metal. Who could endure that?!
Emiya Shirou looked at the screen with some pity:
"Kazuma's lack of integrity is well-known."
After all, for a hero who goes to learn thief skills, how much integrity can you expect him to have?
One can only silently hope that this somewhat normal hero, Mitsurugi Kyouya, doesn't go insane. Otherwise, this world is truly beyond saving. There's no help for it… Who told him to be the only one doing things properly!
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
Watching Kazuma's actions, Frieren's dot eyes showed some confusion:
"Uh… selling the cursed sword isn't very good, is it? If they're all heroes, why can't they work together?"
After all, in her world, there wasn't just one hero. It was through everyone working together that Himmel was finally able to defeat the Demon King.
Compared to this perverted hero, Kazuma, Frieren realized that Himmel's minor habit of calling himself a handsome man, despite also being a hero, was absolutely childish!
Fern, however, thought Kazuma did nothing wrong. After all, the cursed sword was his spoils of war, and he couldn't use it. It was too heavy to carry, so selling it was a good idea.
"And Hero Mitsurugi… seems a bit too reliant on the cursed sword."
It's not that those who possess a holy sword are heroes, but rather that the sword wielded by the hero who defeats the Demon King is called a holy sword! Although Kazuma is a bit perverted, he at least started from scratch and worked his way up.
.....
[ Just then, the familiar broadcast voice sounded again: "EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT, EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT!! ALL ADVENTURERS ARE TO IMMEDIATELY ARM THEMSELVES AND GATHER AT THE TOWN'S MAIN GATE!!"
"Especially, adventurers Satou Kazuma and his accomplices, please rush to the scene!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"…Here it comes again. How many emergency gatherings have there been? This beginner town certainly has a lot going on every day!"
"Wait, what did the broadcast just say?! 'Especially Satou Kazuma and his accomplices'… Did they cause trouble again?"
Everyone almost burst out laughing. Being singled out by name was one thing, as they were used to it by now, but… what kind of strange designation was that?
Being called "accomplices" instead of companions, did Satou Kazuma's insane party rob a bank or hijack a princess?
.....
[ By the time Kazuma arrived at the main gate, many adventurers had already gathered there, gazing at that familiar figure from afar.
"It's this guy again…" Indeed, it was the Demon King Army executive, the Headless Undead Knight, who had come calling again a week later.
"You bastards, why didn't you come to the castle… You… you're not even human!" Verdia could barely suppress his inner rage, his entire body trembling slightly.
As the Headless Undead Knight's anger flared, black flames engulfed his body, and crimson eyes peered through the flames, staring intently at Kazuma and his group.
"Eh…" Kazuma asked, puzzled, addressing the Headless Undead Knight: "Why? We haven't used Explosion magic again!"
Hearing Kazuma say that, the Headless Undead Knight couldn't help but smash the head he was holding in his left hand onto the ground… then, remembering it was his own head, he quickly rubbed his left side.
"You say you haven't?! That red demon girl with a few screws loose in her head has been showing up every single day since then."
Kazuma looked at Megumin beside him, who, along with Aqua, quickly averted their gaze. So Kazuma angrily grabbed Aqua's face: "So it was you!"
Aqua quickly pointed at the Headless Undead Knight, shifting the blame: "It's all because of that guy! He made it so I couldn't find any decent quests, so I wanted to get back at him!"
The Headless Undead Knight was beyond furious, emanating a terrifying aura:
"Listen well, fools! My name is Verdia!"
"The real reason for my rage is, don't you have any intention of avenging your comrade?! Though I have fallen into demonhood, in life I was a proud and honorable knight!"
"If you ask me… that Crusader who was cursed to protect her comrades, to be indifferent to the pointless sacrifice of such a model knight…"
At this point, the Verdia froze, because he actually saw Darkness alive and well. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"They've been bombing his castle every day behind Kazuma's back?! This is seriously messed up…"
"The three of them probably forgot about the curse, didn't they? I didn't expect this Demon King Army executive to be quite humane. The reason for his anger was actually because he thought they were abandoning their comrade."
Everyone from other worlds looked at Verdia with admiration. What a righteous knight he was! His noble character made everyone a bit skeptical—was he really a Demon King Army executive?
.....
〜Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious World〜
Ristarte was also dumbfounded:
"Your reason for being angry is this?! You've got it wrong, you're a Undead Knight, not a Holy Knight!"
What to do? This Verdia is outrageously righteous. Even she, a goddess, felt reluctant to harm him. Could these truly be words spoken by a Demon King Army executive?
Continuing to have his castle bombed daily wasn't the reason for his anger; instead, he was furious at Kazuma for being indifferent to Darkness, who was suffering from the curse.
"This Verdia, Sir, he wouldn't have really just waited patiently in the castle for a week, would he?"
And it seems he didn't even intend to make things difficult for Kazuma and his group if they dared to come. He just wanted to see their attitude before lifting Darkness's curse…
His temper was unbelievably good. Could all Demon King Army executives be like this?
Honestly, Ristarte felt at this point that Kazuma was more like the villain. There wasn't a single member of their party who wasn't a handful.
.....