"Uuu… sniff… u-uuuwaaah—!"
Aqua curled up on her side, hugging her legs and sobbing pitifully. She was still covered head-to-toe in the slimy mucus of the toad, giving off a strong, fishy stench.
Beside her lay the charred body of the Giant Toad.
Big and small, side by side—the scene was strangely familiar, and Shichen almost burst out laughing.
"Th-th-thank you… hic… thank you, Shichen! Bwaaahaah—!"
Aqua finally broke down, bawling like a little kid—nothing goddess-like about her at all (not that she'd looked divine to begin with).
"A-are you okay, Aqua?" Kazuma called, though he kept a healthy distance.
"I-I'm… sniffle… f-fine…" Aqua answered through tears, her nose running.
"Maybe we should stop for today," Yunyun suggested gently. "Aqua really needs to get cleaned up."
"Agreed," Megumin said solemnly.
She'd almost jumped in with her staff a moment ago; good thing Aqua had moved first. Just imagining herself covered in that slime gave her chills.
"All right, we'll head back. Aqua probably needs a rest," Shichen nodded and started toward town.
"Eh? Shichen, aren't you going to help me up?" Aqua asked.
"Uh… well…" Shichen paused and looked back. "You're, uh… kind of a mess."
"How can you say that?!" Aqua stared in disbelief.
"It's not just me—any normal person would keep their distance. Ask everyone else."
When Aqua glanced around, the others all averted their eyes.
"Y-you guys… We're teammates, aren't we?"
"Teammates, sure," Kazuma said bluntly, "but don't make us suffer for it."
"I'm a goddess! How dare you turn up your noses at me?! I'm traumatized—you have to carry me back! Carry me!"
Aqua threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground.
(Oddly her skirt ignored gravity, so only a glimpse of thigh showed—though, slime-covered as she was, no one felt the urge to look.)
"Aqua, can't you summon water? Wash yourself off," Shichen reminded her.
"Oh, right!"
Aqua sat up and shouted, "Water, come!"
Whooosh!
A torrent poured from the sky, drenching Aqua like a waterfall even though there was no source.
"That's… a lot of water."
"Step back, everyone!"
"Is Aqua always this impressive?" Megumin asked, stunned.
"Don't forget—she is a High Priestess," Shichen replied.
"…Right, I almost forgot."
"Haha, Aqua's behavior makes it easy to overlook, but she really is powerful," Kazuma added.
"I can see that now."
The water column vanished as suddenly as it came. Miraculously, every drop on the ground evaporated and Aqua herself was spotless—clothes perfectly dry. Truly the work of a Water Goddess.
"All clean, Shichen! Now you can carry me!" she chirped.
"Why should I carry you? You're fine now."
"Because you failed to protect me!"
"…Fine."
Shichen sighed, crouched with his back to her, and said, "Climb on."
"Hehe—knew you were a good guy!" Aqua leapt onto his back.
Feeling the softness against him, Shichen was suddenly glad he hadn't refused. He stood and headed toward town.
"Let's go home."
"Shichen, I want a piggyback, too!" Megumin grabbed his coat.
"How exactly am I supposed to carry both of you?"
"Not my problem—figure it out! Why does Aqua get a ride but not me?"
"Heh, ever heard of 'first come, first served'?" Aqua said smugly.
"You hardly did anything—worse, you got in the way. Why should Shichen carry you?"
"Well, you didn't do anything either!"
"Then… let Shichen carry Yunyun!" Megumin declared.
"Eh? M-me?"
Yunyun pictured herself on Shichen's back, saw Aqua there already, and blushed furiously.
"Come on, you three," Shichen groaned. "The quest's done. Let's turn it in first, then argue later. I'll give everyone a turn, okay?"
"You'd better keep that promise," Megumin said, eyes narrowed.
"Carrying you isn't exactly hard labor," Shichen shrugged.
"Good!"
"Big Bro… do I get a turn?" Kazuma asked hopefully.
"…What do you think?"
"Sorry, my bad."
"Then move it."
"Wait—what about the toads? Their meat's edible, right? We're just leaving them?"
"Guild staff will handle the carcasses," Shichen said.
"Won't they charge us?"
"Actually… they do charge a fee. Maybe we should haul them ourselves," Shichen recalled—they weren't rich yet; every coin counted.
"But there are so many. Even one per person is impossible."
"Leave it to me."
Releasing one hand from Aqua's thigh, Shichen waved toward the dead toads. His mana rippled over them, and every toad corpse lifted off the ground, lining up in mid-air.
"Telekinesis?!" Kazuma's eyes sparkled.
"Not quite—just manipulating objects with mana."
"That must take tons of power."
"It does. So don't even think about copying it."
"Ugh…"
"Come on. Let's cash in, gear up, and start making real money."
"Right!"
…
On the way back, the procession of floating, truck-size toads turned every head in town.
Some villagers even followed them to the guild just to see what kind of adventurers could pull that off.
Inside, the place erupted. Staff and patrons alike were stunned—except Luna, whose eyes gleamed as though she wanted to devour Shichen. She knew perfectly well who had done this.
They had bagged twenty-five Giant Toads. Standard pay was 5,000 Eris each, but because Shichen delivered the bodies intact the guild added a 2,000-Eris bonus per Toad.
Total reward: 175,000 Eris—35,000 each after splitting five ways.
("Eris" is this world's currency—and also the name of a certain goddess.)
Thirty-five grand wasn't a fortune, but it was plenty for starter gear in a beginner town—and better equipment meant bigger payouts later.
With money in hand, Shichen carried Aqua back to the inn.
Megumin and Yunyun went shopping together to celebrate their first earnings.
Kazuma headed off to buy gear—Shichen even lent him his own share of the reward. Not pure generosity: the faster Kazuma powered up, the sooner he'd become useful. It was only a loan, after all; Shichen wasn't that nice—except toward Megumin and Yunyun, maybe.
There was another reason he'd been so "kind": on the walk home he discovered Aqua actually possessed a Divine Fragment.
~~~
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