"Bai Luo, Bai Luo, isn't she the one from before…"
"It should be her, yes."
Although Bai Luo always joked about Aqua being a useless goddess in private, Bai Luo didn't dislike Aqua.
Moreover, when he first arrived in Konosuba, he even obtained the Learner ability, an overpowered skill, from her.
"Is Bai Luo going to make her our companion too?"
Seeing Bai Luo staring intently at Aqua, Egui Peng seemed to understand something.
"Huh?"
Bai Luo was first stunned, then looked at Egui Peng with a horrified expression: "No, Peng Peng, how could you have such a terrifying thought?"
"Boné?"
Egui Peng tilted her head, her eyes filled with clear stupidity.
She didn't quite understand what was so terrifying about her idea.
"Peng Peng, you must not get too close to Aqua!"
Gratitude was one thing; in Konosuba World, Bai Luo would definitely take care of Aqua.
But transforming Aqua into a familiar…
Setting aside whether Bai Luo could even capture Aqua, who was a goddess, just thinking about the consequences of Aqua joining the team sent shivers down Bai Luo's spine.
One must know that this girl was not just an ordinary troublemaker.
If Aqua were to join the team, Bai Luo was truly afraid that his nascent enterprise would be thrown into utter chaos.
Therefore,
Bai Luo: Stupidity stops here! Idiots disperse! Morons get out!
"So scary!!"
Egui Peng didn't understand, but since Bai Luo said so, it must be true.
Thus, Peng Peng, who wasn't very smart to begin with, immediately trembled in fear upon hearing that Aqua could lower others' intelligence.
"Ahem."
Bai Luo took Egui Peng's hand and said, "Let's not meet her for now."
"She's a goddess from the heavens, after all. If acquaintances see her in such a sorry state, she'll surely be socially dead."
Bai Luo wasn't ready to interact with the two of them. He could only pretend not to see them and head straight for the guild.
"Huh?"
"Is that Mr. Bai Luo, and Peng Peng?"
As soon as Bai Luo entered, Miss Luna noticed him.
The golden-haired big sister with an impressive figure walked up to him and asked with concern, "It's been a while since we last met. Did you leave Axel?"
"Yes, I took a private commission and went to a rather distant place."
When Bai Luo completes a traversal, the time flow rates of different worlds are synchronized.
This time, after leaving Su Qing, Bai Luo stayed in the Cardinal World for about a week.
Upon his return, seven days had naturally passed in the Konosuba World as well.
"Yo! Little Brother Bai Luo!"
"Long time no see!"
"Haha, it's great to see you as energetic as ever!"
"…"
After the last banquet, most of the adventurers in the guild had become familiar with Bai Luo.
Men, once they've had a drink together, they're friends.
Not to mention Bai Luo had single-handedly out-drank everyone.
Just based on his drinking capacity, Bai Luo was an undisputed strongman.
"I don't have much money lately, so if you're trying to trick me into treating you, just give up."
"How could we make you pay every time!"
"Yeah, yeah, we're not that shameless!"
What they said was true. Everyone was already very happy that Bai Luo could treat them once, and they felt Bai Luo's warmth and friendliness.
One shouldn't be insatiably greedy; one should be content.
"Two sets of the guild's signature meal."
"Three puddings and three creamy ice creams."
"And sparkling wine."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Bai Luo finished ordering from the waitress and led Egui Peng to a window seat in the corner.
He surveyed the guild hall, looking around for professions and skills he hadn't seen last time.
Soon after the two sat down, a figure clad in armor appeared in Bai Luo's line of sight.
Her brilliant golden hair was pinned up with a hairpin. The girl was tall and curvaceous, looking quite feminine at first glance, especially her emerald green eyes, which were as calm as water yet held a hint of coldness, perfectly showcasing the image of a cold and proud Knight Princess.
'This girl, could she be…?'
Bai Luo didn't even need to guess; her attire was exactly like in the anime: 'Darkness?'
Darkness, one of the Konosuba heroines, is the MT in Kazuma's party, with a setting where her attacks never hit, but her defense and HP are incredibly high.
Furthermore, this girl is a super masochist.
"First it was Kazuma and Aqua, now it's Darkness."
"Just missing Megumin, and the original quartet will be complete."
Although he saw another character from the original work, Bai Luo had no intention of going up to talk to her.
This isn't to say Bai Luo disliked Darkness.
To be honest, compared to the idiotic Aqua and the chuunibyou girl Megumin, Darkness's problem was, at most, her perversion.
A Knight Princess, having a bit of the "Gukoroshi" attribute, is quite normal, right?
At least while watching the anime, Bai Luo never saw Darkness randomly giving fan service to characters other than Kazuma.
All in all, if he could train Darkness to be a masochist who only felt something for him, Bai Luo thought it would be quite interesting.
"What a pity."
"Bop?"
Egui Peng curiously looked up, not knowing what Bai Luo was regretting.
"What I mean is, there are only so many Familia slots, and I can't use them carelessly."
Bai Luo explained to Egui Peng, "Even if I meet a character I like, I still have to first determine if they have value."
Compared to protagonists who can casually bring girls across worlds, Bai Luo's Traveler is really a bit underwhelming.
Even if Bai Luo wanted to take Darkness with him, he would first have to convert her into a Familia.
However, the problem lies here.
Familia slots are limited, and using one on Darkness is clearly not cost-effective.
'So, I'm sorry, my XP.'
Without any extra Familia slots, Bai Luo could only silently apologize to his desires.
However, Bai Luo not planning to provoke Darkness didn't mean she would ignore his existence.
Just now, the girl who was talking to Luna suddenly cast her gaze towards Bai Luo and Egui Peng.
"!!!"
The next moment, Bai Luo and Darkness's eyes met.
"Uh…"
Caught peeking, Bai Luo felt a bit embarrassed.
But before he could look away, he saw a look of surprise immediately burst forth in Darkness's eyes.