The next morning, when I woke up in bed, Luna was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone to work at the guild already.
I hadn't been able to tidy up since I was asleep, and the bed was covered in clear evidence of how intense last night had been.
Ugh... I really went overboard yesterday...
I'd been so worked up, and it was like I was making up for everything I'd missed until now. I felt bad, wondering if I'd tormented Luna too much.
First, I gathered up the sheets and blanket that were on the bed and stepped out of the room. On the dining table, a letter and a large plate covered with cloth were placed where I couldn't miss them.
[Taejin, I'm heading to work first. I figured you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I prepared a simple meal. There's a key under the plate, so please lock up for me.]
When I lifted the cloth off the plate, there were grilled sausages, fried eggs, some vegetables, and a little bread.
Aside from my parents, this was the first time a woman had ever done something like this for me. I was genuinely touched.
I ate the meal Luna prepared for me, did the dishes, washed the old sheets and blanket and hung them out to dry, then bought new sheets and a blanket and made the bed.
Haa~ I should learn a Clean spell soon...
I locked up, bathed, and then headed to the guild.
When I entered the guild, Yunyun was sitting in the corner. She greeted me happily.
"Ah! Taejin! Welcome."
"Yikes, Yunyun, were you waiting since morning?"
"Well... yes..."
It wasn't even lunch yet, but given what happened last time and Yunyun's personality, I should've expected she'd come early. I felt bad for not being more considerate.
"Sorry, I had a lot to do this morning, so I'm late."
"It's fine."
Yunyun and I moved to the guild bulletin board to check what quests we could take.
[Water Dragon Subjugation]
[Giant Toad Subjugation]
[Bone Dragon Subjugation]
[Grim Reaper Subjugation]
There were only four quests left. We must have worked too hard.
Water Dragon subjugation was impossible if we fell in the water. Bone Dragon was doable if we brought Aqua, but we wouldn't get any experience, so we'd hold off. Grim Reaper might even be stronger than Verdia.
"Wow~ There's nothing left to do."
"That's true... Should we do the Giant Toad subjugation?"
"No, we can't. Part of why there are no quests is because of the Demon King executive, but it's also because we've cleared too many. Let's not touch anything rookie adventurers can do."
"Okay... Then what do we do now?"
"We'll have to rest until a decent quest shows up."
"How about going to the royal capital?"
"I've thought about that too, but with a Demon King executive camped near town right now, it could be dangerous if the strongest people in townāusāleave."
Right now, that's my biggest goal, so I don't plan on leaving Axel until we deal with Verdia.
"Yunyun, you've got enough spare funds, right?"
"Yes! I've been working hard lately, so I'm not short on money."
"Then let's rest for a while. We'll discuss it again after the executive business is over."
"Understood."
"And can you wait a moment? I have something to talk to Luna about."
"Then I'll wait at the table."
Yunyun sat at a table in the dining area to wait, and I went to the guild reception desk where Luna was.
She was dozing off, sitting at the desk.
Ahem... I feel bad waking her...
I knew why Luna was dozing off, so I couldn't bring myself to wake her and went back to Yunyun.
Since there was still time until lunch, I decided to learn magic from Yunyun.
"Yunyun, can you teach me some magic?"
"Yes!"
Magic in KonoSuba doesn't cost many points to learn.
Basic magic costs 1 point, intermediate magic costs 10 points, and advanced magic costs 30 points. Once you learn it, you can use all magic of that element immediately.
You might think, 'If points cost that little, why not just go full mage and easily beat the Demon King?' But learning it is the easy partāraising the power costs separate points. And if your Intelligence is naturally low, it costs more points, and if your Mana is low, you can't even use it after learning it.
Explosion magic, Detonation magic, and Blast magic each have to be learned separately, and just learning them costs 50, 30, and 30 points respectively.
Like I said before, with [Playful Life] I can increase power without spending KonoSuba points. As long as I can learn it, I can strengthen it.
Yunyun and I went outside town and I was able to learn basic, intermediate, and advanced magic.
"Yunyun, thank you! Let's go back and get lunch. Since I learned magic, it's my treat."
"Yes, thank you."
Yunyun and I returned to the guild and sat at a table in the dining area.
"Alright, Yunyun, order whatever you want."
"Yes!"
Unlike Aqua, Yunyun didn't go crazy ordering. She just got saury set meal and one extra steakāthat was it.
"Yunyun, you can order more."
"This is enough. I couldn't eat more even if I ordered it."
Yunyun really was kind.
After finishing our meal with Yunyun, I told her not to come out early tomorrow and to sleep in. I added that she could come find me anytime if she got bored.
"Then, see you tomorrow. The meal was delicious."
"Yeah, I'll let you know if a decent quest shows up."
"Yes~"
I sent Yunyun off and went back to the reception desk. This time, luckily, Luna was awake.
"Hey~ Luna!"
When Luna saw me, she came out from the reception desk and gave me a smack on the back.
Smack!
"Hyat! That hurts, Luna!"
"You were too much yesterday! My back hurts and I'm exhausted because I couldn't sleep."
"Haha! Sorry~ But it's not like I was the only one who enjoyed it."
"Th-That's... but you went too far!"
Luna's face turned red. I handed her the house key and said,
"And here, the key. I tidied up the house a bit."
"You don't have to give the key back..."
I took the key back from Luna.
What does this mean? Is she saying come live together? Or that it's okay to come over anytime?
"Luna, are you sure?"
"Yes... I heard you're staying at the inn with your teammates..."
She must have heard I was staying with Kazuma and Aqua.
Luna and I had already crossed every line, but strictly speaking, we weren't dating yet, nor were we married. But Luna looked like she'd already made up her mind before giving me the key.
It was like she was saying, 'I'm giving you the key. Whether you open the door or not is up to you.'
So the choice is mine?
"Then... even though the order's backwards..."
I stepped toward Luna, politely extended my hand, and said,
"Would you go out with me, Luna?"
Luna smiled, gently took my hand, and answered.
"Yes! I'd love to."
The moment Luna answered, applause and cheers erupted around us.
Wooooah~
Clap clap clap~
"Congratulations, Silver Flash!"
"If you make Luna cry, you're dead!"
"When's the wedding!?"
"Have a beautiful romance!"
"Damn it! I want a girlfriend too!"
Before I knew it, guild staff and adventurers had gathered to congratulate us. Luna was so embarrassed she didn't know what to do.
That's when one of the female guild staff with long blonde hair said to Luna,
"Sis! I told you the battle panties would work. You should thank me!"
So you were the culprit?
It was great to escape solo status in KonoSuba after 48 years, but until Verdia shows up, there were no quests to do and no monsters to hunt nearby. And going to another town would take too much time.
In short, there was nothing to do.
I could just wait around and fight Verdia, but I wanted to win more decisively.
I should roll the gacha and go to another creation to get abilities.
First, I decided to go back to reality, and I went to find Aqua, who was working part-time, to use my remaining KonoSuba points to learn skills that could solve the radiation problem.
Aqua was working at a food stall.
"They're cheap, cheap! Delicious croquettes~!"
Seeing Aqua suit the job so well made me laugh. That girl could make big money if she started a business with Kazuma.
Ah! Maybe she can't because of Aqua's luck?
"Aqua!"
"Ah~ Taejin!"
"Aqua, do you have a minute?"
"I'm working right now..."
"Got it? Wait a sec!"
I went to find the stall owner who was frying croquettes behind the stall.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Yes? What is it?"
"I need Aqua, so if you let her leave early today, I'll buy all the croquettes you made today."
"Would you really? I make enough expecting to sell all day, but ever since she started working, croquettes are always left over. I was thinking of cutting her."
Aqua worked hard, so I didn't understand why they weren't selling. Did the croquettes taste bad?
"Really? Then since I'm buying them today, please think about it one more day."
"Yes, understood. Let's do that."
I spent 90,000 Eris and bought about 300 pieces, and got 10 extra as service. 200 were still being made, so they said I could pick them up in the evening. I decided to come back later.
I could've waited until Aqua finished work tonight and learned the skills then without spending money, but I'd made a lot of money already, and once I could use the Golden Denden back in reality, money wouldn't matter. And honestly, I was too lazy to wait.
"Wow~! Taejin! Thank you~"
Aqua was overjoyed hearing she could leave early.
I took out 2 croquettes and put the rest in my inventory, then moved to an open area with Aqua to learn skills, sharing the croquettes.
"Huh? These are tasty, so why weren't they selling? Aqua worked hard too."
Inside the croquette, seasoned meat and vegetables were well blended, and the chunky texture gave it a great bite.
When I got curious, Aqua scratched her head, looking awkward.
"That's... a secret..."
"A secret? What secret?"
"If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll tell you."
"Yeah, I won't tell. Go ahead."
"I accidentally dipped into the secret seasoning to taste it, and I purified it, so I had to remake the seasoning. The taste changed, so we got fewer customers."
"You're eating it now and it's delicious?"
"I already sold all the seasoning I hastily remade."
It was absurd. I knew Aqua was a troll, but causing accidents like this?
"Does the owner know?"
"No, he doesn't."
"Then how about telling him the truth and asking for forgiveness?"
"Please don't, I don't have money to compensate right now. I might get sold off somewhere. Instead, I'm working hard to sell them!"
Hearing Aqua use her trademark excuse-making tone after causing a huge accident made me want to smack her. It was unbelievable.
"Anyway, I got it. I promised, so I'll keep it secret. And maybe stop working at places that sell alcohol or seasoning?"
"But... with rookie adventurers all doing part-time jobs because there are no quests, there aren't many spots."
"Then control your ability. If you purify some super expensive alcohol, you really will get sold off."
"Uwaaeng~ I can't help it!"
Aqua started crying pitifully. I almost felt bad for her. Thinking about it, this whole mess happened because Aqua spends too muchāon expensive Shuwa-Shuwa and such.
"None of this would've happened if you hadn't eaten expensive Shuwa-Shuwa in the first place."
"Sniff... That was settled when you taught me the skill."
This girl's logic doesn't work.
"Haa... Fine, I give up. Let's go hunt a Bone Dragon with me and Yunyun later."
"Yay~~~!"
Her expression changed instantly like she'd never cried. Did she plan this?
"Anyway, teach me the skills. (poison cure magic), (purification magic), (revival magic), (magic reflection)āthose four for now."[Detox][Purification][Resurrection][Reflector]
"Got it."
and cost few points, but and cost a lot.[Detox][Purification][Resurrection][Reflector]
After learning the four skills, I only had 5 points left. I wanted to learn [Sacred Exorcism] (purify evil beings) or [Sacred Break Spell] (nullify barriers, curses, etc.), but I had no choice but to just learn (increases luck).[Blessing]
It's a shame, but I'll have to level up and learn them next time.
"Anyway, thanks."
"Um... give me a croquette."
"Huh? You got paid today. Aren't you going to eat?"
"I lent my lodging fee to Kazuma yesterday. So if I give that back, I won't have money for food..."
And so, Aqua became a broke goddess.