My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

Chapter 10: If You're Going to Reward Yourself, Please Do It Sneakily

"Ahem, that's enough of the farce. Let's get down to business now," Kobayashi said with a straight face.

Satou Kazuma secretly pouted. He's the one who caused the commotion, yet he's acting as if they were the ones fooling around.

"What is it, Kazuma-kun? Something you want to say?"

"Nope, nothing."

Under the pressure of that glare, he had no choice but to give in.

After handling Satou Kazuma, the only one in the party with a functioning brain, Kobayashi began his explanation.

"Kazuma-kun should have told you all that I want the entire party to live together."

Seeing them all nod to show they understood, he continued, "However, we don't have any money right now, and it's very difficult for us novice adventurers to save up a large sum. To that end, I went out and found us a sponsor."

"...A sponsor?!" x4

Darkness and Megumin didn't understand and had looks of confusion, while Kazuma and Aqua, who did understand, were very surprised.

Satou Kazuma knew what a sponsor was. When he was still a high school student, he had participated in large school events like sports festivals and cultural festivals, and poor high school students would often engage in some simple collaborations with nearby shops. The shops would provide ingredients and tools for free or at a low price, and in return, the students would have to build up the shop's reputation or give the shop a certain percentage of their earnings.

This was a common occurrence in Japan. It's just that Satou Kazuma was a gloomy loner and had never enjoyed that kind of cheerful school life.

It was truly a sad story.

Kobayashi continued, "I've reached a partnership with a certain magic item shop in town. Although we didn't get a substantial monetary sponsorship, we can receive up to 200,000 Eris worth of magic items from the shop for free every month. What we have to do is help her build her reputation. Whenever we use her magic items to defeat an enemy, we must state that it is a 'magic item purchased from Wiz's Magic Item Shop'."

From now on, not only would they have to promote their own party during quests, but they would also have to promote Wiz's Magic Item Shop.

Satou Kazuma thought for a moment and understood.

"Isn't that just running an ad?!"

"Bingo! You got it!"

Kobayashi's explanation wasn't complicated, and combined with their chat, the others also understood the details of the partnership.

"A 200,000 Eris credit for magic items every month..."

"That's great! That's a considerable sum!"

"We can drink so much sparkling liquor!"

A single Giant Toad was only worth 5,000 Eris. After factoring in labor costs and transport fees, they were left with less than half of that. 200,000 Eris was indeed a significant amount. Although it couldn't be exchanged for cash, it would save the party a lot of expenditure in other ways.

But Satou Kazuma wasn't satisfied.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Kobayashi-senpai, don't you think that credit is a bit low?"

"Oh? What do you mean?" Kobayashi raised an eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.

Kazuma went on, "We have Aqua and you, Kobayashi-senpai. Don't you think a mere 200,000 Eris ad fee is too little?"

As expected of someone naturally suited to be a merchant; his nose for money was incredibly sharp. 200,000 Eris was a hefty sponsorship for novice adventurers, but with a party full of advanced classes, a goddess, and a cheat ability, their growth rate was bound to be fast. The impact they would have once they became famous was easy to imagine. At that point, the returns would not be proportional to their efforts.

Kobayashi gave him an approving look.

"You're right. But don't worry, I've thought of that as well. The contract with the shop owner includes a clause for this. The investment will be adjusted according to our fame."

But it will be a very small adjustment, he thought. Wiz was willing to sponsor them less because she valued Kobayashi's potential and more because she trusted him. To not betray that trust, Kobayashi naturally wouldn't push his luck and ask for more.

"In fact, if we agree to help her increase her business turnover and reverse her long-standing deficit, the sponsorship we receive will be even greater... at least double."

"Is that true, Kobayashi-senpai?"

Satou Kazuma suddenly became very excited. He actually had a lot of novel ideas he wanted to try out, but he lacked a suitable opportunity to showcase his talents. If he could help the shop turn its losses around, he could also receive a hefty reward. It would be a win-win.

"I'd advise you not to get your hopes up."

Kobayashi poured a basin of cold water on him. "That shop owner is not someone an ordinary person can handle."

"...Why?" Kazuma was very confused.

Kobayashi crossed his hands under his chin and said with a dead-serious expression, "Because that shop owner possesses the 'talent' to earn 2 billion Eris, and then, if you're not paying attention for just a moment, spend it all on high-quality magic crystals that absolutely cannot be sold in a beginner's town."

"Can you even call that a talent?!" Kazuma retorted loudly.

Kobayashi shrugged. "In a certain sense, it is a talent."

Hearing this, Kazuma also dismissed the idea of using this opportunity to show off his skills. After all, he didn't want the money he earned to be spent by the shop owner on all sorts of ridiculous things, only to experience the soul-crushing feeling of being back at square one overnight.

"Alright, let's go check out the house now," Kobayashi suggested.

"The house?" x4

The group was puzzled.

"That's right. The contract includes a house for us to use for free. Otherwise, how could I be fobbed off with a mere 200,000 Eris?"

Kobayashi gave a slightly smug thumbs up. "But the house isn't that great, so it's best not to get your hopes up too high."

"No way!"

"Having a house is already amazing!"

"That's right! It's better than living in a stable!"

Everyone was incredibly excited. They couldn't believe that just after talking about living together, Kobayashi-senpai had already secured a house. His efficiency was just off the charts!

However—

"Better than living in a stable... even if you say that, a dilapidated warehouse isn't much better than a stable!"

Satou Kazuma couldn't help but roar, "That thing I said earlier was just me being polite, you know!!!"

At that moment, the group was in the northern suburbs. On the way there, they had argued endlessly, discussing what the layout would be, how many rooms there would be, even how many floors it might have, and which rooms they each wanted. They had all fallen into a beautiful fantasy of a mansion.

But the dilapidated warehouse before them had its roof torn off and a large hole in the wall. The breeze could even swirl inside and pass through another large hole on the other side. To call it a warehouse was being generous; to call it a ruin was more accurate!

Right, how could that lich shop owner, who's so poor she has to eat vegetable leaves to survive, possibly let them live in a mansion?

"Don't be so angry."

Kobayashi smiled as he soothed the disgusted group, simultaneously encouraging them, "As the saying goes, work with your own hands for abundant food and clothing. Let's build our own mansion!"

No problem. There's no shortage of building materials on the mountain behind us; we can find whatever we need. I'll let you natives see what a true infrastructure maniac is capable of!

Next, under Kobayashi's command, the group rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Aqua and Kazuma got to experience the masonry work they had missed out on at the city wall construction team, and Darkness and Megumin experienced jobs they had never even imagined. What's more, it was a super-intense work schedule of adventuring on quests in the morning, and being infrastructure maniacs in the afternoon and evening.

This went on for seven whole days, finally stopping amidst the incessant complaints of the group.

The mansion was not built.

But after patching up the torn-off roof and the holes in the walls, it was barely livable.

"Mmm, not bad."

Kazuma stood with his hands on his hips, admiring the warehouse he had built.

Kobayashi also patted him happily. "Now you won't have to be so secretive when you reward yourself at night. You have your own room, you can do it whenever you want."

"W-w-w-what... are you talking about? I don't understand."

Kazuma awkwardly turned his head away, pretending to be an innocent young boy, but his back had already unconsciously stooped.

A wicked smile formed on Kobayashi's lips. "Did you know, Kazuma-kun? Apart from not knowing how Aqua gets close to me, I basically know everything that happens at night."

"?!"

"And Aqua probably knows too. After all, even in the dead of night, it's like broad daylight in her eyes."

"?!!!"

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm very understanding of the restlessness of youth."

"Please, I'm begging you, stop talking."

Kazuma covered his face in embarrassment and shame, absolutely not wanting Kobayashi to see his destress look.

Megumin and Darkness asked with confusion, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's fine. He's just overjoyed to have his own room."

Kobayashi deliberately teased him. He then shouted to the rest of the party, "Alright, the house is built! Let's go out and celebrate tonight!"

"Yay!!!" x3

"Yay... hehehe..."

The young boy didn't seem very enthusiastic.

It looked like someone was going to be too conflicted to sleep tonight.

(End of Chapter)