My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

Chapter 9: Please Dress Like a Person During Cutscenes

While Kobayashi was off dealing with Wiz, Satou Kazuma was dealing with the other two members of the party.

"So, in other words, Kobayashi wants us all to live together? That's a great idea, I approve."

Darkness nodded in agreement. A big reason she became an adventurer was to make friends, and living together with her companions was something she had long looked forward to.

Megumin approved even more enthusiastically, raising both hands.

"Living together is great! To be honest, I'm out of money. I'm not just eating grass; in a little while, I'll probably be living in a stable with the horses."

She sounded truly miserable.

How did an Archwizard who could cast Explosion magic end up in such a state? Other adventurers would surely not understand the reason. But Satou Kazuma knew. It was because she only knew Explosion magic!

Therefore, in his eyes, Megumin being so broke that she had to live in a stable was not worthy of sympathy at all!

After handling those two, Satou Kazuma looked at the useless goddess.

"Hey, Aqua, do you have anything to say? Not that your opinion matters, of course."

This wasn't a tsundere comment; he was genuinely trying to confirm her opinion. Aqua was the type who, if you didn't consult her for her opinion, would suddenly back out at the last minute, even if the final outcome was good. So, to avoid her causing a fuss later, it was better to ask first.

But Aqua didn't respond.

She sat there quietly, her head bowed in contemplation and her fine brows furrowed as if pondering something profound. A serene and gentle aura emanated from her, making her look very much like a proper goddess.

Satou Kazuma was stunned.

A Goddess of Water like this isn't Aqua at all!

He remembered when they first met; he had been deceived by this very same goddess-like appearance.

"Hey, Aqua..."

"I've figured it out!"

Aqua suddenly shot up, slamming the table and startling the other three. Then, with her eyes shining, she said to Satou Kazuma, "The reason I sleepwalk at night is because Kobayashi's ring contains my divine power! A ring containing high-quality, water-attribute divine power is the reason why I hug him in my sleep at night!"

"You're still hung up on that."

Kazuma rubbed his forehead in frustration and said helplessly, "We're talking about the house right now. Can we talk about this later..."

"Wait a minute! I'm very interested in what Aqua is talking about!"

Megumin suddenly moved closer to Aqua.

Darkness also leaned in, her cheeks flushed, and said breathlessly, "Y-yesterday night, you and Kobayashi hugged... hugged, hugged, hugged... you hugged each other?! Why? What did you do afterwards? Are you two in that kind of relationship?! And the three of you live together, right? What exactly happened last night? Explain it, quickly!"

For some reason, the two of them were also very interested.

Aqua, with her meager brain capacity, was very proud of the conclusion she had reasoned out and was eager to show it off to others.

"Actually, last night..."

"Actually, last night Aqua really was sleepwalking! Right, Your... Goddess... ness?!"

Satou Kazuma clamped a hand over Aqua's mouth, simultaneously glaring at her fiercely as a warning not to speak nonsense.

"Mmphh mmphh mmphh..." Aqua was unable to speak.

They were currently discussing the party living together, but the "murder-by-chest" incident had just happened last night. Coupled with Aqua's tendency to blame her own mistakes on others, it was highly likely she would make Darkness and Megumin distrust him and Kobayashi-senpai, causing the proposal to live together to be aborted.

This is the first mission the leader has given me. How can I let it fail just like that?!

He absolutely would not allow it!

However, Satou Kazuma didn't realize that not letting Aqua speak would make it even easier for others to misunderstand.

"Was it really sleepwalking?"

Megumin's gaze was full of doubt. "Could it be that you two were up to something last night?"

"It was really sleepwalking!"

Satou Kazuma was completely unfazed because he was telling the truth.

Darkness panted heavily and gripped his hands tightly. "I believe you! Sleepwalking at night, is this a regular party activity?! Excellent, truly excellent! I want to join too! No, you must let me join!"

Hiss—

"It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

Satou Kazuma cried out in pain, wailing, "It was sleepwalking! I told you, it was really sleepwalking! It's not what you think!"

While the few of them were making a scene in the corner, at some point, the noisy Guild had suddenly fallen silent.

Satou Kazuma had experienced this before. When he was still in school, the students in the classroom would be talking in small groups, and the whole room would be like a noisy, low-decibel vegetable market. But in a single instant, the classroom would fall deathly silent as all the students shut their mouths at once.

This usually meant the homeroom teacher had arrived, or... someone eye-catching had appeared.

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out continuously. At the entrance at the end of the Guild's corridor, a bizarrely shaped tin can appeared.

It had an iron bucket with two eyeholes for a head, a tattered piece of cloth for a scarf, a heavy breastplate for its upper body, leather pants for its lower body, and a pair of long, studded boots on its feet.

Add to that the longbow on its back, the longsword in its left hand, the dagger at its waist, and the hidden weapon at the crook of its leg... it looked strange no matter how you looked at it.

"Everyone, sorry to keep you waiting."

A muffled voice came from within the iron bucket.

Satou Kazuma and the others looked at each other.

"Who's that? A friend of yours?"

"Don't know. Never seen them before."

Everyone shook their heads, indicating they didn't know this person.

"It's me!"

The tin can took off its helmet, revealing a handsome face.

"It's Kobayashi(-senpai)?!" x4

The person who had arrived was none other than Kobayashi.

Darkness was incredibly excited. "Is this some kind of humiliation play?! I want to do it too!"

"No, you've misunderstood. This isn't a 'play'."

Kobayashi shook his head, denying it.

Kazuma also asked, "Kobayashi-senpai, why are you dressed like that?!"

"Actually, I prepared this equipment a long time ago. I was just a lone wolf before, so now I finally have a chance to wear it."

Kobayashi explained enthusiastically to the group.

"Don't judge it by its looks. It's actually very powerful.

For example, the helmet not only effectively protects against stray arrows and hidden weapons, but it also has a magic circle engraved inside that can resist mental attacks to a certain extent.

And the scarf can increase mana recovery, the armor can form a protective barrier, and the boots can even walk on vertical walls freely.

And also, also..."

The more he talked, the more excited he became. His fervent appearance was just like that of an internet-addicted youth who couldn't stop showing off the super-powerful equipment he had gotten in a game.

Satou Kazuma could understand, but this outfit was just too bizarre.

"Don't you think it's too conspicuous, Kobayashi-senpai?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I don't care at all!"

Kobayashi said with considerable pride, "I am a loyal Monster Hunter player!"

Monster Hunter players never care if their fashion is cool; they only ever focus on practicality and stats.

It was truly strong, but it was also truly ugly. This led to a phenomenon where the characters in the game looked bizarre and not at all like people.

Plus, Kobayashi was the kind of madman who could walk down the street carrying a stinking Giant Toad, so naturally, he wouldn't care about what others thought.

He didn't care, but someone else did.

"Kobayashi-senpai, dressed like that, you'll easily be mistaken for a member of the Demon King's Army and get subjugated by someone!"

"How is that possible? I'm a human."

"But your clothes don't look like it at all!"

There's a common saying in games: "Could everyone please dress like a person during the cutscenes?" This is because character models and clothing that clash with the game's environment can lead to hilariously comical scenes during plot-heavy cutscenes.

"Do I look more like I'm from the Demon King's Army?"

"You could say that."

"But this is really great equipment."

"You should at least wear a matching set!"

After all, reality wasn't a game. Dressing so bizarrely could really cause people to misunderstand.

"How could this be..."

Kobayashi was dealt a huge blow. Satou Kazuma didn't say anything, just gently patted Kobayashi's shoulder as a sign of comfort.

So Kobayashi-senpai is a problem child too.

(End of Chapter)