I immediately asked Luna if what Darkness said was true.
"Luna, is what Darkness said true?"
"Yes. Without Darkness, Kazuma's party hasn't been able to perform well. So I allowed it. What could happen? Just say you're her boyfriend and later say you broke up, wouldn't that work? Please just help her."
"Well, that's true, but... oh well, fine. I'm sure nothing will happen."
The next day, I dressed in a neat suit and prepared. Kazuma and the others also decided to come along, saying they would help.
They seemed more interested in going for fun than to help, so I tried to refuse, but using Megumin's previous incident as an excuse, they insisted on coming, so I had no choice but to let everyone come.
On the carriage, Darkness explained various things.
"Got it? You guys just need to blend in around us."
"Got it."
"And Tae-jin, since we're lovers, I'll allow a reasonable amount of physical contact."
"What do you mean by 'reasonable'?"
"I'm not sure either. I think I'll have to judge the situation."
"I think Kazuma would be better for something like this. Why did you choose me?"
"Well, I think my father would be more reassured if he thought I was dating a somewhat normal person."
Hearing that, Kazuma glared at Darkness and said,
"Hey, hey! So you're saying I'm not normal?"
"Well... Kazuma is quite perverted. He speaks harshly to women and has no manners. That is the reason I chose Kazuma's party and that is also your charm, but to introduce you to my father is a bit..."
"Isn't that a bit too direct? How did my image become like this!"
Kazuma bowed his head and seemed to be thinking deeply about how his image had become so tarnished. But in my opinion, Darkness's assessment seemed accurate. I mean, Kazuma aims for a harem in this world, and it's true that he speaks directly to women.
"And there's something you need to know."
"What?"
Darkness, blushing as if embarrassed, hesitated a bit before reluctantly saying,
"Well... it's my real name... Since we're lovers, I thought it would be strange if you didn't know my real name..."
I already knew from the original story, but since Darkness's reaction was amusing, I urged her to say it herself.
"That's true. What is it?"
"W-well... Dustiness Ford Lalatina... Just call me Lalatina."
"Okay, Lalatina."
"Don't call me La-Lalatina now! Call me that when we get to my house."
Darkness was extremely embarrassed. Honestly, I didn't understand. It's not such a bad name, so why was she so embarrassed?
"Got it. Lalatina."
"Ugh! Tae-jin, I said don't call me that."
Seeing this, Kazuma and the others also started teasing Darkness.
"Hey, hey! The young lady Lalatina seems very embarrassed?"
"That's right. La! La! Ti! Na! young lady~ Pfft!"
As Kazuma and Aqua teased her, Darkness's face turned even redder and she became flustered.
"You, you guys too!?"
Hahaha~
And so, after our strategy meeting, we arrived at the Darkness's family mansion. The Dustiness mansion was quite busy. Seeing this, Darkness, thinking it strange, muttered to herself.
"That's odd. She wouldn't have prepared this much just because I said I was bringing my boyfriend... Is something going on at home?"
To find out what was happening, Darkness quickly opened the door and entered the mansion.
"Father! Is something going on?"
"Oh~ Lalatina, you came right on time! Well, it seems the Prince and Princess are coming. Both of them have known you since you were young, and they were curious about what kind of boyfriend you had. They said they would stop by. They should be arriving soon."
"Excuse me? What did you just say??????"
Darkness, extremely flustered, didn't even introduce us to her father and tried to quickly drag us to her room. Then Darkness's father, Dustiness Ford Ignis, asked,
"That person is your boyfriend, I presume. Won't you introduce..."
"Later!!"
"O-okay..."
When Darkness cut off Ignis and shouted as if telling him not to interfere, Ignis couldn't say anything else. Ignis was a doting father who lived under his daughter's thumb.
We went to Darkness's room and had another meeting. I was also flustered and urgently asked Darkness,
"Hey! What are we going to do now!"
"Sigh... I don't know either. If this lie is discovered, it's a crime of insulting the royal family, punishable by death..."
Just then, Kazuma said,
"Then can't you just really date?"
"As you all know, I'm already married... So, how about you date Darkness this time, Kazuma?"
"No. I also have the right to choose who I date."
Kazuma refused, but I tried to persuade him.
"Kazuma, think about it carefully. If things go well with Darkness and you marry her, it's an opportunity to become a noble of this country. Besides, you said Darkness's looks are to your taste."
"Come to think of it, if I marry Darkness, I become a noble of this country right away."
"Right!"
When I explained the advantages of dating Darkness, Kazuma thought for a moment, then smiled and said,
"Well, I suppose it can't be helped! I guess I'll have to step up!! Hahaha~! Darkness, let's have two kids, no, three~"
Kazuma seemed persuaded and things were about to work out, but then Darkness, with a serious face, said,
"Sorry, but no... I've already told them that you're a famous adventurer, tall, and have silver hair."
"Huh? Really?"
At that, Kazuma looked very disappointed.
"But I'm already married. Besides, the Prince and Princess have seen me before and know I'm married."
"That doesn't matter. In our kingdom, polygamy is allowed."
"Then what will you tell Luna?"
"Well... I'll go and beg her forgiveness..."
After thinking for a bit, I said with a serious expression,
"Honestly, I'm seriously considering just running away to another country with Luna."
At that, Darkness grabbed my pants and pleaded with me. If I actually did that, the Darkness's family would be ruined.
"Tae-jin, please, save my family!"
Seeing Darkness's earnestness, I eventually, unable to refuse, agreed to really date her, and we went outside. Yunyun didn't say anything, but her expression wasn't good.
"Father, this is my boyfriend, Tae-jin."
"Nice to meet you. I'm the adventurer, Tae-jin."
Ignis was moved and welcomed me warmly.
"Oh~ How nice that our daughter finally has such a decent boyfriend."
"And these are my adventurer companions."
Darkness introduced Kazuma and the others, and Yunyun, to her father.
"Nice to meet you. My daughter is always in your care. Please continue to look after her."
Ignis, despite being a great noble, treated us commoner adventurers kindly without discrimination. There was a reason the Dustiness family was so respected by the common people. However, Darkness's father was walking awkwardly and using a cane, seeming quite uncomfortable. Observing with [Eyes], I could see he was under a curse.
"Excuse me, Father. Are you physically unwell?"
At my words, Darkness became flustered. She seemed unaware that her father had been ill.
"Huh? Father, is that true?"
Ignis sighed and began to explain.
"As expected of famous adventurers, I can't fool you. The truth is, for the past few months, my body hasn't been what it used to be. Lately, it's even hard for me to stand for long periods."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to worry you. That's also why I've been rushing your marriage."
Just then, I spoke up.
"The reason Father isn't well isn't due to age or illness, but because of a curse."
"What did you say!!?? Is that true!!??"
Darkness was so surprised she stood up and asked again.
"Yes. Someone seems to have put a curse on Father."
I already knew who. This curse was part of Aldap's plan to ruin the Dustiness family in order to get Darkness. Aldap had done all sorts of things before fleeing.
"Can you remove it?"
"We have Aqua, an Arch Priest. She can easily remove a curse like that."
Hearing my words, Aqua, who always liked to be the center of attention, immediately stepped forward and said arrogantly,
"Hoho! It's time for the great Aqua-sama to step in. Just leave it to me."
Aqua immediately used [Sacred Break Spell] to remove the curse from Ignis, and then used [Sacred Heal] to restore Ignis's body, which had been weakened by the curse.
"Oh~ It's true. I feel so much better. But who would put such a curse on me..."
"I suspect it was Aldap."
"Aldap??"
Just then, the mansion doors opened, and the Prince and Princess entered.
"We greet the Prince and Princess..."
We tried to bow quickly, but the Prince waved his hand to stop us and asked about Aldap. He seemed to have heard our conversation from outside.
"Never mind the greetings. Can you tell me about that in detail?"
I did as the Prince asked and explained in detail.
"As Your Highness and Her Highness are aware, it has already been proven through investigation that Aldap made a deal with a demon and used its power to usurp the throne.
The curse placed on Lord Ignis was likely part of that. There is no explanation for such a powerful curse other than a demon. There's no telling how many other deeds he has committed using demons before fleeing."
Hearing my words, the Prince became extremely angry.
"That Aldap!!! To do such things while His Majesty and I were away!!!"
I continued.
"And this is delicate to say, but Aldap's family may also be victims."
"How so?"
"Given that he was in possession of a body-swapping necklace, I suspect that even the current Aldap's body may have been stolen."
"Hmm... that makes sense. It's possible. But fortunately, we have that item in our possession, so there will be no more body swapping. If we can just capture Aldap quickly, everything will be resolved."
The Prince thought for a moment, then made a suggestion that sounded like an order.
"You have excellent insight and can detect curses at a glance. So, for the sake of the kingdom, I'd like you to serve as the temporary Head Inspector. Root out the evil influence Aldap left behind among the nobles."
I was a bit flustered. Doing such a thing would be a hassle, and it would be more efficient to take quests and earn experience points.
"But I..."
"Ah, don't refuse. The kingdom is in crisis. In exchange, I will give you generous compensation. And I will assign you capable subordinates, so it won't be too difficult. When the work is done, I will support your marriage to Lalatina."
"W-well... alright."
I tried to get out of it, but I couldn't think of a way, so I just agreed.
And so, we dined with the Prince and Princess at the Dustiness mansion, talking about various things. At one point, Aqua, completely out of place, suddenly put on a show using party magic, embarrassing everyone. But fortunately, Princess Iris loved it, so we got past it safely.
After the Prince and Princess left for the palace, Kazuma said,
"Ah~ I think I've finally found a true beautiful girl."
"Huh? Who?"
"The Princess. Isn't she the perfect little sister type, a beautiful girl?"
"Well, that's true..."
Just like in the original story, Kazuma had taken quite a liking to Iris. When we returned home, Darkness prostrated herself before Luna and begged for forgiveness. After hearing what had happened, Luna was dumbfounded, but since it involved the royal family, she had no choice but to accept Darkness.
The next day, Inspector Sena and two knights came to the house. Sena was a well-proportioned woman with long black hair, wearing the kingdom's inspector uniform. When she saw me, she blushed and handed me some documents.
"Head Inspector, these are the documents and operating funds sent by His Highness."
I took the documents from Sena and read them. They included my appointment as Head Inspector, orders authorizing me to investigate the nobles, and letters of cooperation.
"I see. Very well. You must be tired from the long journey. Rest today, and we'll start tomorrow."
"Understood. Then, I'll be in your care for the day."
Just in case we encountered a curse too strong for me to handle, I decided to take Aqua along. Instead, Yunyun would stay behind and work with Kazuma's party.
I, along with Aqua, Sena, and the two knights, traveled around the Royal Capital and other places, solving the problems Aldap had left behind.
"Hey, Tae-jin, can't we go back now? I didn't know this job would be so annoying."
"If you go now, you won't get paid. Still want to go?"
"Tch! Fine!"
Aqua kept grumbling, but I calmed her down each time by reminding her she would get a third of the reward money.
Instead of laboriously investigating each noble one by one, I read their memories and only identified the problematic ones, so it was very fast. But even so, there were many nobles, so it still took a lot of time.
Aldap had not only targeted Darkness's family but had also engaged in corruption in many places, using demons to manipulate memories.
There was a lot to deal with. Furthermore, beyond Aldap's problems, during the investigation, we uncovered various other instances of corruption and wrongdoing among the nobles, which we also handled, making the workload even heavier.
Of course, we left the small things aside and only dealt with the major issues.
"As expected, there's a reason His Highness appointed you as Head Inspector. To finish in a week what would take our regular inspectors half a year... you are truly amazing."
Sena praised me every day, but I was working quickly, barely sleeping. Because I wanted to return quickly and gain experience points. As a result, Sena also had no time to rest. She had to prepare reports to send to the palace.
Among us, only Aqua, aside from occasionally removing curses, spent her days idling, yet still whined about how tedious and boring it was.
Fortunately, the kingdom's mages supported us with Teleportation magic, so travel time was minimal.
"Finally, it's over."
"Indeed. We were finally able to investigate all the nobles as His Highness commanded."
"Then, Sena, I'll leave the follow-up to you."
"Understood."
After fifteen days, the work was finished, and Sena and the knights returned to the palace. Aqua and I immediately returned to Axel Village.
"Phew~ It's been a while."
"I know. It feels like I'm returning after ten years."
Aqua, who had spent her days visiting restaurants and playing around, saying that was a bit ridiculous, but I let it slide. I went home for the first time in a while and looked for Luna and the others.
"Huh? No one's here?"
"You're right. Maybe they're at the Guild?"
Aqua and I went to the Guild to find them again. At the reception desk, I saw Luna sitting there.
"Luna~!"
When I called out to Luna, she spotted me, rushed out from behind the desk crying, and hugged me. I patted her on the back.
"Why are you so late~"
"I tried to finish as quickly as I could. More importantly, are you feeling okay? You're back at work?"
"Yes, my morning sickness has subsided a lot, so I thought it would be fine to work."
"I see. That's good to hear. Still, take care of yourself. By the way, where are Kazuma and the others?"
"They went out on a quest. Yunyun has been doing really well lately. So they've been trying to work hard and have been handling a lot of quests."
Now that Aqua was gone and Yunyun had joined his party, Kazuma seemed to be taking this opportunity to try to earn a lot of money with her.
"I see. Then Aqua and I will go home and just rest today."
"Okay. You must be tired, so get plenty of rest."
Aqua and I went home and decided to just laze around in bed. By evening, Kazuma and the others returned home after finishing their quests.
"Tae-jin, can't we trade Aqua for Yunyun? Please, I'm begging you!"
The first thing Kazuma said upon arriving was to ask to trade Aqua for Yunyun. That's how capable Yunyun was, even though she was treated like a side character in the original story.
Hearing that, Aqua became very angry and said,
"What did you say!!!??? Are you saying you don't need me anymore!!???"
"Aqua would be more comfortable with rich Tae-jin. Didn't you get a lot of compensation this time too?"
"Well, that's true, but this feels like I'm being sold off, it doesn't feel good!"
Yunyun also added,
"I've enjoyed working with Megumin lately, but I still prefer working with Tae-jin."
"See? That's what she says!!"
Kazuma sighed and eventually gave up.
"Sigh... I suppose it can't be helped..."