Chapter 3: Joining This Soccer Team Full of Normies!

Part 1

After the shopping trip, Aqua and I headed home.

"Oh! That phone cover suits you, Aqua-chan!"

"Hehe… I know, right?!"

During dinner time, Aqua showed off her new phone to my family.

I finished dinner then went upstairs to my room to do my homework.

As I was opening my school bag, I saw the book I checked out from the library, 'The Magic Tanuki Girl'.

It was a fairly short book, more of a novella but not a Light Novel.

After all, there weren't any scantily clad girls on the cover.

"...Hmm… I guess the homework can wait."

Call it procrastination if you want, but I decided to read the book first before doing the homework.

The book was about a girl with a tanuki tail who lived in a quiet village.

Even though she was a magician who often helped the villagers, she still faced discrimination because of her tail.

At the end of the story, the tanuki girl saved the village from an evil sorceress. The villagers accepted her, and they all lived happily ever after.

You finished reading the book 'The Magic Tanuki Girl'! You gained +1 creativity!

It seems that reading fiction books increases creativity.

Perhaps reading non-fiction and academic books would increase intelligence instead.

If only there was a comprehensive guide about the way this system works. I was just blindly trying things out to try and raise my stats.

After finishing the book, I went ahead and did my homework.

However, in the middle of my work…

"Oi, Kazuma! I downloaded the app now!"

Aqua started banging on my door.

"Good for you. Now buzz off."

"Tch… Even though guys would usually salivate at the idea of having a beautiful girl like me entering their room…"

"If you change your personality to a tolerable one, you can bring that body over anytime."

"Creep."

With those rude parting words, she left me alone.

Once the disturbance was out of the way, I spent the next hour finishing up my homework.

You have finished your homework! Good job!

Huh?! No stat increases?!

There was more to the message. I scrolled down.

If you continue to do your homework, you will receive an increase to your 'Intelligence' and 'Willpower' at the end of the month.

Academic performance will determine the amount of stat bonuses you earn at the end of every month. Work hard!

It was something like that.

That was why I didn't earn any rewards from simply paying attention in class…

Even though doing schoolwork is harder than drinking a freaking smoothie!

Then again, the smoothie thing is more like an event reward that was limited to once a week.

I put my homework away and thought about how this system worked.

From what I could see, the quest system was personalized for the user. I doubted that anyone else would get a reward for simply going to a trendy smoothie store or going to school.

The fact that I was so out of shape and anti-social meant that I'd get stat bonuses just from doing easy tasks.

Another point was that the Adventurer class also levelled fast at early levels. Maybe, as an Adventurer, I was prone to getting easier quests at the start?

If that was the case, then I couldn't simply rely on doing easy tasks like jogging and drinking smoothies to earn EXP, once I start to gain levels.

That would mean that going to the dungeon was still the most consistent way to grind.

In terms of progression, this would mean that I had to find ways to increase my stats in real life, while also grinding for EXP and loot in the dungeon.

The extra money will be useful.

"Seems like I'll be very busy…"

I said to myself, while thinking about what my schedule would look like in the future.

There was a day-off on Sunday coming up soon. There was also a meeting that I was supposed to arrange with Megumin, Chris and Darkness.

I thought about bringing Aqua along.

Chris and Darkness were collecting artifacts under the orders of a goddess named Eris. They might not react well to seeing Aqua, the one who came up with the idea of giving away those artifacts to the people of this world.

At the same time, there wasn't really any way for them to recognize Aqua

I decided to go ahead and ask first. There was no use thinking about this and that if no one wanted to come in the first place.

The dungeon connected everyone. I didn't have to worry about finding a common meeting place.

I messaged Chris first, asking her if she was free on Sunday for a meet-up with fellow dungeon crawlers.

"Sorry! I'll be busy, so I can't come! Darkness is with me right now and she said she can come, though!"

It was unfortunate that Chris couldn't come, since she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, but at least Darkness could come.

It would be weird if it was just me, Aqua and Megumin meeting up.

I decided to contact Megumin next, going to that message board and sending Megumin a DM.

While waiting for Megumin to reply, I took a bath and changed into my pajamas.

When I came back to my room, I saw that Megumin sent me a reply while I was in the bath.

Megumin: The time has been set… huh? Very well. I will see you there. By the way, how do I know it's you when we meet up?

RNGod: Just look for a girl with blue hair

Megumin: Oh? I didn't think you were a girl

RNGod: Not me. One of the people that will be in the meeting has blue hair

Megumin: There's girls, huh…?

If this guy was thinking that this was a chance for him to score, I relished the thought of his disappointment once he witnessed Aqua's terrible personality.

After confirming the location and time of the meetup, I logged off and headed to bed.

When I was a NEET, I usually stayed up until 3 am, but now that my days were filled with all sorts of things to do, it didn't take me more than ten minutes to fall asleep.

Part 2

I made sure to pay attention in class the next day.

Since I was working towards a long term reward, I had to make sure to take the necessary steps every day without slacking off.

After class, I went back to the library to return the book. The same librarian on duty from last time, Hinamori Rin, was there again.

"Oh…! Senpai, you're back already! Did you finish the book I recommended?"

I returned the book she recommended, 'The Magic Tanuki Girl'. I said,

"Yeah, it was really good. Although it had a simple plot, like a fairy tale, the prose itself was beautiful and charming without being too heavy-handed."

"I know right?! These days you usually see a lot of inversions and deconstructions of fairy tales. You rarely see a fairy tale story without some kind of layer of irony or criticism in it. It's nice to see a modern story that expands upon age-old tropes and conventions, instead of merely using them as tools for satire!"

"Yeah, I know right?"

I didn't really know what she was talking about, but I nodded along.

"If you liked this one, do you want to read another one of the books I like?"

I only asked her to recommend a book to me because of that quest…

As I was about to decline, I saw the genuine passion in her eyes. She sincerely wanted to share her hobby with me.

"Alright, sure, why not."

Even if I wasn't guaranteed to get some quest reward out of it, I agreed to her offer.

"Great! Then I recommend this one! It's called 'The Banished Dragon Knight'! It's another fairy tale-esque story written by a contemporary writer."

"You seem to like those stories a lot."

"Yeah, I do!"

She went on for quite a bit, gushing about her favorite books.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to take up your time, senpai!"

She gave an apologetic smile while tilting her head down slightly.

That look combined with her calling me 'senpai'...

"No problem at all!"

I responded with an eager thumb up.

When she checked out the book for me, I noticed my phone buzzing.

Congratulations! You have established a bond with the librarian on duty, Hinamori Rin!

Hinamori Rin (Librarian on Duty), Bond Rank: 1

At Rank 1, Hinamori Rin will see you as a friendly senpai that she can talk about her favorite books with. At this stage in your relationship, she will certainly feel repulsed if you ask for her number. If you flirt with her, she'll give you a disgusted look. Have fun talking about books with her!

Why was everything in this app vaguely insulting towards me?

After taking the book from her, I left the library and headed out into the hall.

The halls were bathed with a mild glow from the sun that had begun to set, as wide panels of sunlight shone through the windows and gleamed against the waxed floors. Looking outside the windows, I saw the track team running around.

The only quest remaining was the 'joining a sports team' one.

If I had to choose, I'd probably join the soccer team, since I played a bit during elementary school.

I didn't join a club or anything, but I did play with all the other kids outside during break time and after school.

"Hah… Sounds like a pain, but…"

I figured that I could just join the club, then immediately quit once I met the quest requirement.

If they let me, I'd even stay in the roster as a phantom member.

I didn't want to do it, but I couldn't reset the quest list if I didn't join a sports club.

Damn that Aqua for making this pain in the ass system!

I headed over to the soccer field after reluctantly making my decision.

"...! Watch the cross! Good header!"

The soccer team was hard at work.

"Kyaa! Mitsurugi-kun, you're so cool!"

There were also a bunch of fan girls watching them from the sidelines.

It didn't take long to spot whoever this Mitsurugi was. He was the pretty boy who was getting all the attention.

I decided then and there that I hated him.

I waited for the team to finish practice before approaching the coach.

As for the reason why I waited until they finished the practice, I didn't want to get roped into practising as soon as I joined.

"Huh? You want to join? It's rather late and we're past the recruiting period… You're probably going to have very little chance to play in actual games, you know?"

"I don't mind at all!"

"...! That enthusiasm! Alright, you convinced me! Welcome, young man!"

The coach mistook my eagerness to not play at all as a show of initiative and enthusiasm. Not like I'd correct him.

"Unfortunately, practice just ended, so you can leave and come back tomorrow after we register you into the club."

"What a shame…"

I put on a disappointed face when he said that I didn't have to practice.

As the coach was about to get some forms for me to sign, the Mitsurugi fellow approached us.

"Hey, coach, I have a question about the formation we'll play… Hm? Who's this? Ah, are you applying for a manager position?"

He was already assuming that I wanted a manager position…

Wait… That was actually a good idea!

Joining the soccer team didn't mean that I had to join as a player. I could just slack off as the team's manager…!

"No, no, Mitsurugi-kun! This young man here wants to be a player! I can sense the enthusiasm in him! Even if he doesn't look especially talented, I'm sure that he's bursting with potential!"

Actually, according to the app, my potential was pretty low. Are you fine with that, coach?

"A-Ah! My mistake! I'm Mitsurugi Kyouya, the team's captain! I'm happy to have you onboard, um…"

"Satou Kazuma. Nice to meet you."

After signing up and registering, I made sure to leave as quickly as I could.

Quest Completed! You have gotten over your complex over successful alpha males and joined the soccer team!

Quest rewards: +1 to all 'Physical' stats

I ignored that incredibly insulting message.

This was the biggest quest reward I had. It was worth the trouble of joining the soccer club.

Your quest list has been updated!

Kill 6 monsters in the dungeon! Quest rewards: Random loot box

Attend soccer practice! Quest Rewards: +1 to all 'Physical' stats

Ask Hinamori Rin for her number! Quest Rewards: +30 exp, +1 'Charisma', +1 'Bravery'

Just like I predicted, it was getting harder to gain experience with the quests alone.

The difficulty of the quests themselves were also getting harder.

Especially that last one.

The only quest I could do at the moment was the dungeon quest, but that was fine since I already had plans to explore the dungeon with Aqua after school.

With that said, I headed back to pick up Aqua.

Part 3

"Alright! Time to show off my greatness!"

Aqua said, once I picked her up.

When I got home, I changed into my tracksuit and also brought a big duffel bag with me.

My father used this bag when he used to go to the gym. He only went to the gym once before cancelling the membership.

Due to my limited inventory storage, I brought the bag to store monster drops and loot in it. I would reserve the inventory for weapons and special items that I couldn't afford to lose.

"Remember to follow my lead… I'm your senpai when it comes to exploring."

"...Are you forgetting that I helped create this dungeon?"

Aqua said, giving me a blank stare.

I ignored her and headed inside the dungeon. She followed me in with a hop in her step.

When we went inside, I showed her the map to the dungeon. She said,

"...Huh? You only explored this much? You haven't even discovered the wide areas yet!"

"The wide areas?"

I had only seen narrow hallways so far.

"Yeah! There's different biomes and stuff! Some monsters can't function in places that they aren't used to."

Apparently, the goblins, kobolds and giant bats I encountered were used to the cave-like environment of a dungeon, which was why I had only been encountering those types.

If I came across one of these different biomes she was talking about, that would mean that the monster species I'd encounter would diversify.

"Since you know so much about this dungeon, why don't you just tell me where these wide areas are?"

"I don't know the specifics of every single area of the dungeon! It's a big place and there's entrances that are open everywhere across the world!"

"Eh? It's that big?"

I figured that it was only limited to Japan, but she was saying that this was an international dungeon.

Did that mean that I'll meet a foreign beauty one day?

When I thought about it, the blonde and blue eyed Darkness was certainly not Japanese.

Although she did speak Japanese fluently. Maybe she was actually a halfu?

When I mentioned it to Aqua, she said,

"Oh, that? We give every app user the ability to understand other languages. That girl you were talking to was probably speaking another language and it got translated to Japanese in your mind."

"That's pretty convenient…!"

"I know, right? It's totally worth the risk of your brain melting if it gets overloaded with data!"

"...What was that?"

"Nothing! Let's go!"

"I definitely heard you say something suspicious!"

Aqua ignored me and forged ahead.

While she was walking in front of me, I looked at her outfit.

She was wearing the outfit she wore when I first met her, a blue outfit that looked like something an idol would wear. She also wore that pink hagaromo around her neck.

"...How come you have an outfit that fits the RPG mood, while I'm stuck wearing my tracksuit?"

"If you weren't a broke ass student, maybe you can afford to buy some cool-looking cosplay."

"I'm not talking about cosplay! And every student is pretty much broke!"

"There are those with part-time jobs, you know?"

"Then why don't you get one instead of leeching off my family's finances?"

"L-Let's not be hasty now, Kazuma-san!"

While we were going back and forth, [Enemy Detection] told me that there were some monsters nearby.

When I told Aqua, she grinned and said,

"Finally! Make sure to give me the killing blow!"

"Does all the EXP go to the one who deals the killing blow?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

I didn't like the idea of letting Aqua get all the kills and the EXP, but if I wanted her to be useful, I needed to let her catch up to me in levels.

[Enemy Detection] was telling me that there were multiple enemies ahead, five of them.

When I peeked around the corner to check what they were, I saw five cute rabbits hopping around.

"Aw… How cute…!"

Aqua said, gushing about the appearance of the rabbits.

I knew better than to trust their cute appearance. It was a classic trap for a cute monster to turn out dangerous in some way.

I thought about how to deal with these monsters, while letting Aqua take the final blow.

Using [Snipe] would ensure that I kill or at least heavily injure one, which meant that there were four others we had to deal with, but I didn't have any way to deal with multiple targets at once.

I remembered that there were still the basic magic spells I learned.

While I was thinking about how to use the weak magic spells I unlocked, Aqua stood up from her crouching position.

I thought that her legs were just cramping, but she proceeded to walk out from behind the corner and walked straight to the rabbits.

"...?! What are you doing, idiot?!"

I called out to her, as she walked into dangerous territory without a care in the world.

"Oh come on, dummy. There's no way these harmless little rabbits can do any harm…"

"You don't know if they're dangerous or not!"

"I told you that I helped create this dungeon, remember? There's no way I'll be fooled by a simple trick like that…"

I breathed out in relief, finding sense in her words. She kept going and said,

"Besides, the only rabbit-like monsters who lure people in with their cuteness are Horned Rabbits. They hide their horns and wait for the perfect moment to strike their target's jugular!"

"...Eh?"

Didn't she realize what she just said?

"But those rabbits could be…"

"Like I said, there's no way these cuties are dangerous! Horned Rabbits will immediately attack once they see the target's exposed neck, but they haven't attacked yet! Therefore, these are just normal rabbits!"

I looked at her outfit, namely the hagaromo around her neck.

"Aqua, of course they won't attack yet. Your hagaromo is hiding your neck. That's the only reason why they're not attacking…"

"..."

Aqua's smile began to crumble.

Using slow, robotic movements, she made her way back to me.

Only to break into a sudden sprint midway.

"Kazuma! Help me?!"

"Hisss!"

The rabbits that were once cute and cuddly started hissing. Large horns emerged from their heads and they hopped towards Aqua.

Once Aqua made her way around the corner and hid herself behind me, I held my hand out.

"[Create Water]! [Freeze]!"

I released a stream of water from my hand and created a puddle on the ground, then froze it just as the Horned Rabbits made contact. They slipped and fell on the frozen puddle.

"O-Oh! They're ripe for finishing off! Take this [God Blow]!"

Aqua started gathering bright energy in her hand before pummeling the Horned Rabbits to death.

Since the Horned Rabbits had slipped on the frozen ground, they couldn't defend themselves from Aqua's attack.

"Take this… And this…! Eeek! Kazuma…!"

Aqua cried for help again when she slipped on the ice and fell on her ass.

Part 4

"Oooh! I gained a bunch of EXP just from that! It seems Horned Rabbits are worth a fair bit of EXP!"

Aqua said, once the encounter that almost turned deadly was over.

Even though she was crying earlier, she seemed to have forgotten all about that already.

"..."

"Hmm… Which class seems good? I can unlock a whole bunch of them… I know! Since I'm a goddess, I should choose the Arch-Priest class. Heh… I unlocked an advanced class from the start! Are you jealous, Kazuma…?!"

"..."

"Oi, what's wrong with you? You've been silently staring at me the whole time."

I thought that she'd be useful in the dungeon since she was a goddess who helped create the whole thing.

Based on the fight I just saw, wasn't she completely useless?

"Mind explaining what happened back there?"

"...Obviously since this is my first time in this dungeon, I got ahead of myself and made a couple rookie mistakes! It's understandable, isn't it?"

"I didn't have any troubles when I came in here alone…"

"That's because you were probably facing beginner mobs like goblins! Horned Rabbits are tougher than the monsters you were facing so far, and I still killed them with [God Blow] despite not even having a class yet! Impressive, right?!"

What she said made sense, but…

I still had my doubts.

"Whatever. What do we do about these rabbits?"

I said, looking at the rabbits on the ground.

"From what I remember, their horns sell pretty well. Just cut those off."

"You do it."

"Why me?! Don't you know that I'm a goddess?! There's no way I can dirty my hands doing stuff like that!"

I didn't want to do it, but at the same time, I didn't trust Aqua with any sharp objects.

I took out my iron sword and started cutting off the horns from the rabbits.

It was a gruesome sight, but for the sake of getting money, I did it.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Cutting off the horns of all five horned rabbits depleted my sword's durability all the way down to 1/10.

Although I could recollect arrows after a fight, it wasn't as simple to regain durability for the sword.

After collecting the horns, I put one of them in the inventory to see info about them.

Hidden Horn (Common)

Dropped by a Horned Rabbit. Can be used for crafting into daggers or spears.

Sells for: 1,000 yen

Since it was a common rarity crafting item, it wasn't worth that much.

Still, even if I kept one horn for crafting purposes, I could still get a good 4,000 yen profit from selling these horns.

I sold four of the horns and placed one in my inventory box. 4,000 yen appeared in my hand and Aqua watched it like a hawk.

"Hey, since I was the one who killed them, I should get the money, right?"

I knew this would come up.

"What are you talking about? Weren't you the one who fell for such an obvious trap? It was my moves that saved your ass."

"F-Fine! But I still dealt the final blow! We should at least split it!"

I was reluctant, but I didn't want to have her whine as we explored the dungeon

After splitting the money in half, we kept moving.

"I suppose we should have you unlock some skills first. How do we get you to unlock healing skills? Do you know any first-aid?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Since I'm a goddess, I already know healing skills."

"...Then what's the point of you getting levels?!"

Even though I really wanted to kill those rabbits, she was telling me she already knew a bunch of skills without having to level up.

"Don't yell at me! I'm not at my full power, remember? Just because I have the spells unlocked, it doesn't mean that they're maxed out! They're all still at Rank 1! I'll need to earn levels to put some ranks into them!"

"...I suppose you make sense sometimes."

I still wanted the EXP for myself, but for the sake of making Aqua useful, I had to let her catch up to my level at least…

If it was just earning EXP, there were still her quests she could do. If I could help her do them, she might level up.

"You want to see my quest list? Here it is!"

I took a look at her phone…

Quests:

Steal 3 kills from Satou Kazuma! Quest Rewards: Random Loot Box (Completed!)

Make Satou Kazuma have a temper tantrum! Quest Rewards: +15 exp, +1 'Bravery'

Take at least 1,000 yen from Satou Kazuma! Quest Rewards: +15 exp, +1 'Cunning' (Completed!)

"Why the hell are all of your quests only about antagonizing me?!"

Quest completed! You have successfully made Satou Kazuma have a temper tantrum!

Quest Rewards: +15 exp, +1 'Bravery'

Congratulations! You have reached Level 2!

You gained 10 Skill Points!

Aqua snatched the phone back and smiled.

"Ohh…! Thanks, Kazuma! You helped me get enough points to reach the next level! I only needed a few more since you helped me kill all those rabbits earlier! You're really useful, you know that?"

"Unlike you."

I couldn't believe that she gained 10 skill points when she levelled up.

That was already more skill points than I had in total.

Since all of her previous quests had to do with antagonizing me in some way, I was curious to see what her new set of quests would look like.

"...Let me look at your phone again."

When I held my hand out, she shook her head and pocketed her phone.

"L-Let's keep going, Kazuma! Surely there's some more monsters ahead…"

"Let me see your phone!"

"Nooo! You'll just get mad again, and this time I won't get any EXP for making you mad!"

Aqua ended up overpowering me, which meant that I couldn't see what was on her phone.

…If she's hiding it this much, it must be really bad.

"Oh, there's that loot box I got from stealing kills from you, right? Let's take a look!"

She summoned the loot box from her inventory. Just like mine, it was a blue gift box with a pink ribbon around it.

She happily opened the box and looked inside.

"...Huh? This is trash!"

Aqua threw away the popsicle stick with the word 'loser' on it.

I didn't even know that Loot Boxes could have worthless trash inside it.

Since I got a rare item last time, I was expecting Aqua, who is a goddess, to have similar luck.

Part 5

Aqua's excitement took a hit after the failed loot box, but eventually we kept going deeper into the dungeon.

After turning a few corners, I sensed three enemies ahead.

Looking at them revealed that they were skeletons equipped with spears.

"...Since they have spears, I guess I'll have to shoot them from afar."

I said, drawing my bow.

Before I could do anything, Aqua stepped up and cracked her knuckles.

"Pfft… Unlike you, I don't have to rely on such cowardly tactics… [Turn Undead]!"

"Grahhh!"

The skeletons let out a harrowing cry as Aqua dispelled them with a holy light.

"Fufu… I'm useful aren't I? Those skeletons are nothing but fodder to me!"

Skeletons are usually fodder, regardless.

I looked at the spears they dropped, putting one in my inventory.

Crude Iron-tipped Spear (Common)

Dropped by skeletons. Melee reach advantage against enemies not using polearms.

Durability: 10/10

Weapon Accuracy: Dexterity Modifier (41% chance of hitting)

Weapon Damage: 1 thrusting damage + Strength modifier (+4) = 5

Sells for: 1,000 yen

Spears were very useful in these narrow areas…

Although shooting enemies from afar was still the ideal combat scenario, there were bound to be occasions when I had to fight at close range.

The only problem was that my inventory space was completely full with the shortsword, the bow, the horn and the spear in it.

I'd have to put all the other loot in the duffel bag if we came across any.

There was also the option of selling the shortsword, since its durability was almost out, but I wanted to wait until the very last moment before I sold a weapon.

I had always been a loot hoarder in the games I played…

As for the other two spears, I sold them and converted them to 2,000 yen, which I had to share with Aqua.

"Alright, let's keep going! Surely there's more monsters ahead!"

Aqua said, after I divided the money between us.

"...Say, you've already got the kill on the last two targets. How about you let me have the next one?"

"Isn't the point of this expedition to help me raise levels?! Just let me kill the next one and I'll reach the same level as you!"

What an unreasonable girl.

I wasn't happy about it, but considering how she one-shotted those skeletons, she clearly had more firepower than me, even with my [Snipe] aimbot hack.

We kept going, making some more turns.

Eventually, the narrow corridors started to widen, until we came upon an open area with a completely different environment.

"Ohhh…! This is the wide area I was telling you about!"

Aqua said, as she rushed into the lush grassland.

It was disconcerting, having to go through dim corridors to suddenly see natural light all around you.

I looked up at the sky, only to see that there was none. It was clear that there was a roof above us, one that looked like an artificial blue sky. There was some kind of light coming from somewhere and I felt heat from it, but I didn't see the sun. It was more like a general radiance that washed over the area.

The environment was unnatural, like it belonged in a movie set rather than actual nature. Even the cool breeze that swept through the grass and blew against my skin didn't seem real, like there was an industrial fan somewhere creating it.

Speaking of unnatural…

Thud!

The ground shook and when I turned my head to the source of the shaking, I saw the biggest toads I had ever seen in my life.

"...?! What the hell are those things?!"

They came in a variety of colors, pink, yellow, light blue and green. They hopped around the field, occasionally sticking their tongues out to catch what appeared to be equally big insects that were flying around.

Aqua raised a finger in a lecturing manner and said,

"Those are Giant Toads. They were known in the other world as troublesome pests. Whenever their breeding season comes, they come out and hunt for more food. A lot of livestock and even children go missing during this time…"

They sound more like a national calamity than simple pests.

That other world sounds scary.

Aqua confidently stepped forward, rotating her shoulder blade as she got ready to face these things.

"Fufu… Don't worry! You already know how this is gonna go. I'm gonna go over there and beat these things up with my [God Blow]...!"

Since I saw Aqua destroying the other monsters in the dungeon, I didn't have any reason to doubt her.

I stepped back and let her handle the Giant Toads.

She sprinted forward, fist winding up for a big punch.

"Face the divine wrath of the gods! [God Blow]!"

The punch connected.

"..."

"Gero…"

The Giant Toad looked down at Aqua with its empty eyes.

"...Shit."

Those were Aqua's last words before she got vored.

Part 6

"You know, Kazuma-san… Life is beautiful…"

For once, on the train ride home, there was a lot of space around me.

Even in the packed, rush hour train, no one wanted to go near the slime covered Aqua.

As for Aqua, she had an introspective look on her face while she said vague, poetic musings like this.

"...We shouldn't take life for granted, Kazuma-san. It can all end in the blink of an eye."

"Or with the croak of a toad."

"Haha… You're so funny, Kazuma-san!"

She was completely broken.

I managed to kill the Giant Toad using the shortsword, which depleted its durability. Even though I lost the shortsword, I managed to get the slimy Aqua out from the toad's stomach.

The good news was that I got +10 exp out of the encounter, as well as some toad meat that I stored in my inventory.

The bad news was that Aqua took a -10 to her sanity points.

Even though Giant Toads weren't something that I'd consider boss level monsters in normal RPGs, they were quite terrifying in reality.

They were heavily resistant to physical damage, even rendering Aqua's [God Blow] useless.

Not only that, they could swallow enemies whole and even catch them from afar with their long tongues…

It wouldn't surprise me if they were the area boss. I said,

"Next time, we just have to be more careful. We should grind more levels before fighting those things."

"...They just took me off guard! [God Blow] isn't even my most powerful move! I'll give them a taste of my true power next time!"

Aqua pumped her fist in determination, which made a bit of slime trail down her face.

…Even though we tried to clean off the slime, it was very sticky and unlike any substance I had ever seen.

It was more like liquid glue than digestive fluids…

If I had to guess, it was to keep victims from escaping the toad once they were swallowed.

What a dangerous creature…

When we got home, Kazuto stared at Aqua as we walked into the house.

"A-Aqua-nee?! What happened to you?! What is that sticky stuff…?! Don't tell me… With nii-san…!"

Kazuto assumed the worst about his crush when she walked in while covered in a suspicious, sticky substance.

Since he was a little brat, I let him believe whatever he wanted as I led Aqua to the bath.

"Kazuma! You'll help me, right?! You won't let me wash this sticky stuff off by myself, right?!"

"Yeah, yeah… Whatever…"

We went to the bathroom and I had to hose her down with the shower head, while she sat in the tub.

"Kazuma… You're oddly reliable…"

Aqua said, as I sprayed her with water.

"...Of course I am. When was I ever not reliable?"

"Yeah, sorry for doubting you! I figured that you only agreed to help me because you like watching me in such a pathetic state…"

She figured me out.

"Don't worry, Kazuma! Next time, I'll beat that thing up for sure!"

"...I'm sure you will."

"How come you don't sound certain?!"

Did she already forget that she was crying in the train while covered in frog slime not that long ago?

Where did she get this confidence?

It took a total of thirty minutes to get the sticky slime off.

I left the bathroom to let her properly bathe.

Once I was out of the bathroom, I noticed that there was a new notification on my phone.

You have gotten closer with Aqua!

Aqua (Goddess of Water), Bond Rank: 2

At Rank 2, Aqua will sometimes act reasonable if you beg her to. She will still resist everything you ask of her, but occasionally she will listen to your commands. She sees you as a surprisingly reliable HikiNEET that she can manipulate and exploit for her benefit. If the chance to leave you behind comes, she'll take the chance if she has a better option.

Bond Rewards:

Rank 2: You learn the skill [Nature's Beauty]

Aqua's bond rank-up gave me a new skill…

Perhaps I should treat Aqua a bit more kindly?

I checked the skill description, and…

You gained the skill [Nature's Beauty] from deepening your bond with Aqua!

[Nature's Beauty] Skill Rank: 1, Active Skill (10 mp cost)

Impress an audience with a wonderful party trick! Your 'Charisma' stat (22) will determine the effectiveness of your party trick!

…This skill is useless!

Why would I want some stupid party trick?!

And why is the mana cost so high?!

"Phew…! That was a good bath! Are you gonna take a bath, Kazuma…? Gack! What are you doing?! That's cold!"

"[Freeze]!"

I made sure to punish this useless goddess who gave me this equally useless skill.

Part 7

It was Saturday, the last school day of the week.

It sucked knowing that Saturdays were a day off in other parts of the world, while it was a normal school day for us.

Thankfully, I still had the once-a-week day off I get from my family's bond rank-up reward…

"Hello? This is Satou Kazuma's father. He will need a day-off due to health reasons… Yes, that's why he was a NEET… I mean, why he stayed home for so long. Yes… He'll likely need an extra day off every week for a while…"

My father came up with that BS excuse for why I had to miss school before and why I'd have to take a day-off every week.

…Even if my sensei didn't fall for the obvious lie, they were probably thinking that it was better to let it slide if it meant I'd actually come to school for a majority of the week.

With that, I had a Saturday all to myself.

Unlike Aqua's dumb skill, the benefits I got from the 'Satou Family' rank-up were actually really useful.

"...Nii-san is back to his NEET ways again, huh? Couldn't even last a week?"

It didn't do much to change Kazuto's rude behavior, though.

"Leave me alone. I'm doing something."

"Yeah, yeah. Unlike you, I have better things to do."

Kazuto said, as he went off to go to school.

Once he left, I took out the toad meat.

Aqua was still sleeping. Apparently, she got up late at noon. What a lazy slouch.

Although I was the same before, so I didn't really have the right to criticize her.

I didn't know what to do with the Giant Toad meat, so I just marinated it in with some soy sauce, sake and mirin after tenderizing it.

Even if Giant Toads seemed to have high defense, their meat itself wasn't too tough. It was just their skin that was resistant to blunt force.

It still needed a fair bit of tenderizing and a couple hours of marinating to soften it up, though.

I cursed myself for not having the foresight to marinate it the night before, but I had lots of free time to wait, anyway.

While I was waiting, I headed over to the living room.

I made the spear come out from the inventory, as well as the rabbit horn.

From what the horn's description said, it could be crafted into a spear.

Since I had a spear to use, I wanted to experiment with crafting a new item by combining the spear and the horn.

I carefully dismantled the spear, separating the iron blade from the tip.

After that was removed, I inserted the spear into a cavity in the bottom of the horn.

"...Something like this?"

You have unlocked a new skill!

[Smithing] Skill Rank: 1, Passive Skill

You are proficient in creating and repairing items! The success rate of this skill is determined by your 'Creativity' (61). At Rank 1, you can combine and repair items of the 'Common' variety. Combining compatible items of the 'Common' variety might yield an item of 'Uncommon' variety.

Just like I expected, I unlocked a new crafting related skill when combining the two items together.

I placed the new item in my inventory and checked its info.

Horn-tipped Spear (Uncommon)

Made by Satou Kazuma. Melee reach advantage against enemies not using polearms.

Durability: 15/15

Weapon Accuracy: Dexterity Modifier (41% chance of hitting)

Weapon Damage: 2 thrusting damage + Strength modifier (+4) = 6

Sells for: 5,000 yen

It was worth quite a lot...

I was tempted to sell it right away, but it seemed like a useful item.

…

…

After a few hours, the Giant Toad meat was ready to cook.

It was also around this time when Aqua came down from her room.

"Oh…? What's that? It smells pretty good?"

She started sniffing around and ended up in the kitchen.

She was only wearing a tanktop and short shorts, but I felt no arousal from seeing her like that.

…I guess it's true when they say that having a good personality is more attractive than just having good looks.

Before frying the toad meat, I coated it in some flour. Soy sauce tends to burn easily, especially if mixed with sugar. I made sure to fry at low heat and make sure that the sugar in the mixture didn't burn at the bottom of the stove.

Once it was ready, I took out the fried toad meat and served it on a plate, garnishing it with some chopped lettuce.

"Oh…! You're not a bad cook, Kazuma! You're becoming more useful everyday! Thanks for the meal!"

She took some chopsticks and was about to take one, but I snatched the plate away from her.

"...Who said I was sharing? I'm the one who killed the toad, didn't I?"

"Y-You wouldn't have been able to kill it if it wasn't occupied with digesting me! I helped, too!"

In a roundabout way, her logic kind of made sense.

I set the plate down and let her have some of the fried meat. She cheered and took a bite.

"...? It kinda just tastes like chicken karaage."

"I do hear that frog and toad meat kind of tastes like chicken."

I gave it a try myself. The meat was a bit chewier than chicken, but it still tasted similar enough.

Eating the 'Fried Toad Meat' has given you +2 Health points!

It seems that this dish gives quite a bit of 'Health' bonuses, just like the cabbage stir-fry I made the other day.

It also gave me an extra 5 EXP.

We drank some tea after finishing the meal. Aqua rubbed her tummy as she leaned back on her chair.

"That tasted so good! I would have preferred to have some beer to drink, though…"

"...You drink beer?"

"Yeah, I drank beer all the time back in my realm."

I looked at Aqua. She looked about the same age as me, but since she was a goddess, there was a chance that she was actually way older than she looked.

At the same time, I could also imagine her ignoring minor drinking laws and just guzzling down a bunch of beer.

After eating, I remembered that I still had the book Rin recommended to me.

If I wanted to finish that quest about asking for her contact info, I needed to get closer to her.

I went up to my room and took the book out, laying on my bed as I started reading.

The book was longer than the previous one, but I had the whole day to finish it.

After spending the afternoon reading it, I ended up finishing the book.

The story was about a misunderstood Dragon Knight who risked it all just to fulfill a princess's request.

The princess wanted to see what life was like outside the castle walls and the Dragon Knight helped her escape to show her.

In the end, the Dragon Knight was charged with treason, but since he didn't harm the princess, the country didn't execute him and exiled him instead.

It was a simple story, but the writer did a good job in making the reader sympathize with the characters.

Since it was an open-ended story, it was up to the reader to come up with their own conclusions based on the clues given.

I was sure that the Dragon Knight went to a foreign country and used his skills to good use, becoming a top adventurer who was admired by all.

You finished reading 'The Banished Dragon Knight'! Your 'Creativity' increased by +2!

Since my 'Creativity' score was related directly to the [Smithing] skill, I had incentive to raise it.

At the start, I figured that some of the stats were useless, but it seemed that a lot of useful skills relied on specific stats.

After finishing the book, I looked for things to do around the house to try and gain another new skill, but it seemed that just randomly doing things wouldn't work.

For example, just going to the toilet wouldn't unlock a [Shitting] skill.

Once I ate dinner, I went to my room to relax.

It took a bit longer to fall asleep, since I had a day off, but I still fell asleep at a reasonable time.