Chapter 178: The Evil Desire Amplifier
In the magic item shop, Kobayashi and Wiz sat opposite each other. Between them was the magic item, a ball of chaotic, multi-colored light.
That's right, it was "Narrator-kun"!
Wiz pointed at the crystal ball on the table and said awkwardly, "In other words, its real ability isn't to grant a buff?"
"That's right." Kobayashi nodded, his heart weary.
In the days after getting it, he had been testing it, and finally confirmed its true function yesterday.
After absorbing mana and spiritual power, a "Narrator-kun" would appear in his mind. It would amplify the user's evil thoughts and then absorb that energy. During this time, it would continuously say lewd things to encourage the user to be more evil. And when it had absorbed enough evil thoughts, it would control the user's body, forcing them to complete the final evil thought.
It should have been considered an evil magic item, but some people had used it to complete their confessions and had succeeded, so it had turned into a strange rumor that it gave people a buff.
"Besides, even if the confession succeeded, it wasn't the magic item's doing! It was clearly a situation of being on the verge, and it just happened to give some cowards enough courage, which is why it succeeded! Why is it getting credit for such a coincidence!"
He was very angry, because it had caused him a lot of suffering.
But the sharp-tongued attendant beside him exposed him. "But didn't you also use it to do some things that a coward wouldn't dare to do, Master Kobayashi? For example, in the bathroom with Lady Darkness—"
"Ahhhh!!! Stop! Stop!"
He quickly interrupted her. Although he could have used the excuse, "Weren't you the one who pushed me in?"... in front of others, anything he said now would just be a pale excuse. Not to mention, he had indeed used the magic item to get handsy with the other members of the party.
The simple Lich maiden—Wiz—blinked, not understanding. Her bright, large eyes were filled with confusion. "Um... what's wrong? Did the magic item cause you trouble, Mr. Kobayashi? If that's the case... then I'm really sorry!"
She promptly stood up, like a primary school student who immediately admits their mistake, and then gave him a deep, apologetic bow. It was just that her magnificent body didn't match that of a primary school student, especially with the shocking feeling of them almost ending up in his face when she bowed. He had the urge to use the magic item on her one more time.
"It's not your fault, Wiz. My curiosity was just too strong, and I underestimated it," he said, taking the initiative to admit his own fault. At the same time, he leaned back slightly, moving away from the fragrance that was making him lose control.
"Really? Is it really okay?"
"It's... it's fine!"
Wiz continued to press forward, her huge chest continuously crowding the small space. He, leaning back, had no way to dodge.
It seemed this Lich maiden with no sense of personal space still didn't understand how tempting she was.
Hearing him say that, she finally let out a sigh of relief. She was always like this. The weak-willed shopkeeper couldn't accept a customer being troubled by an item from her shop, even if it wasn't her fault.
She even proposed, "How about... you return it?"
Of course, he refused.
It was better for a dangerous thing like this to be in his hands than to be out in the world. If it fell into the hands of someone with ill intentions, it would probably cause a lot of trouble.
But there was also a point of concern. The problem children in his party were also troublemakers of the first order. If it was left in the mansion and discovered, it would surely cause immeasurable trouble.
Looking at it this way, maybe it would be better if someone else got it?
No, no, no, he couldn't think like that.
After thinking it over and over, the only way was to destroy it. It was an evil magic item in the first place, so there was no psychological burden in destroying it. And it would solve the worry of those idiots getting their hands on it, and also eliminate her guilt. Two birds with one stone.
He told her what he was thinking.
Wiz was slightly surprised, clasped her hands together and said, "Y-you're going to... destroy it...?"
That pitiful expression... don't tell me she's reluctant?
He rubbed his temples and explained helplessly, "Wiz, I understand you're sad to see an item from your shop destroyed because a customer is dissatisfied, but you have to know, it's an evil magic item. If it falls into someone else's hands, it could harm others. Do you want to see that happen?"
"Th... alright, I understand. Please destroy it, Mr. Kobayashi." She hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
Between a magic item and the safety of others, she chose the latter. As expected of the kind-hearted Lich.
"Well then..."
He picked up the magic item and then slammed it on the ground.
Crash—
With a crisp sound, the crystal ball-style magic item shattered on the spot. Multi-colored orbs of light drilled out from the broken parts, disappearing into the air.
At the same time, the crystal ball was now useless.
"Alright, it's been destroyed."
He felt a little regret in his heart.
—An item is not evil; it is the person who is evil.
This sentence applied to any magic item, even the "Narrator-kun" with its negative effects.
But who told him to be surrounded by hopeless problem children?
He had no choice but to destroy it.
"Um..." At this moment, Wiz suddenly spoke up. "Why doesn't Mr. Kobayashi choose another magic item? Just consider it as compensation for the unnecessary trouble it's caused you these past few days."
She had seen his regretful expression and had mistaken it for reluctance.
"Forget it."
He refused.
"But..."
"No need. Besides, you're in the red again this month, aren't you? I've heard all about it. The kind-hearted magic item shop owner in town is picking up rotten vegetable leaves to eat every day."
"——!!!"
Wiz's body stiffened, and her unique, pale Lich face turned slightly red. She said shyly, "Th-that's not being in the red! I just... stocked up on some items. It... it has nothing to do with me! It's just that those items were too tempting! I have a feeling they'll definitely be big sellers! They definitely will!"
The explanation she gave was as pale and weak as her face.
But in order not to strike down her confidence, he still gave a perfunctory agreement. "Yes, yes, I'm sure they'll be big sellers."
However, she heard the lack of belief in his tone and repeated with more emphasis, "Please believe me, Mr. Kobayashi!"
"Yes, yes."
What replied to her was still a disbelieving, perfunctory agreement.
What a headache.
He subconsciously rubbed his temples. He had made an agreement with her before: his side would help her build her reputation, and in return, she would provide him with up to 200,000 Eris worth of magic items for free each month. It wasn't that he hadn't helped her, but ever since winter, her shop had been as cold as the weather. If he didn't do something useful, he would feel bad about taking her items.
Think carefully! Is there... is there anything that can help her? Something or some event to build her reputation?
Just as he was thinking, the large speaker on the railing outside suddenly blared.
[—Destroyer Alert! Destroyer Alert! The Mobile Fortress Destroyer is currently approaching this town! All adventurers, please arm yourselves immediately and head to the Adventurer's Guild! In addition, all residents of the town, please evacuate immediately—!]
"...Eh?"
He blinked blankly.
He had wanted to show off in some quest and, at the same time, give Wiz's shop a GG (shout-out/advertisement). But he had never thought it would be in this kind of ridiculously difficult, large-scale team quest!
And... why was the Destroyer here? Hadn't Goddess Eris led it away?
Actually, long before, based on the idea that "one less thing is better than one more," and using the excuse that Axel was a beginner town and no one could stop it, he, who met with the goddess every night, had asked Eris to lead the Destroyer away.
Eris had readily agreed, and a few days later, had clearly stated that its route had been changed and it would not be heading for Axel.
But why?
Wiz's soft voice rang in his ear, shouting frantically, "Mr. Kobayashi! Mr. Kobayashi!"
"Yes, it's me." He sobered up from his daze.
He saw the hidden boss of Axel, the former martial-artist ice Archwizard, and current General of the Demon King's army, Miss Wiz, had already prepared herself. She urged him, "I'm sorry, it seems the town is in danger. I'm going to the Adventurer's Guild now. Mr. Kobayashi, you should also quickly gather your companions and prepare to meet the enemy."
To be anxious because a human town is about to be destroyed... what is with this Demon King's general?
Then, the two of them split up.
When he returned to the mansion, it was already filled with chaos and screams.
"Run! Run as far away as possible!" The panicked Aqua was running all over the hall, knocking over many things.
And Megumin, who had already packed her luggage, was sitting leisurely on the sofa, looking as if she had completely accepted her fate, leisurely drinking hot tea. By the way, the small package on her back was all her worldly possessions.
At this time, Kazuma, who had heard the broadcast, also ran in from outside. Seeing Aqua and Megumin's panicked state, he was very puzzled and asked him, "What's wrong with them? Why are they so flustered? Is it because of the Destroyer? And the guild broadcast... shouldn't we be getting fully armed and going to the Guild?"
Aqua was dumbfounded. She hugged a pillow with one hand and asked blankly, "Kazuma, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't tell me you want to fight the Destroyer?"
Megumin kindly explained, "Kazuma, the thing that is currently approaching this town is the most vicious of bounty targets, known as the Mobile Fortress Destroyer, of which it is said that after it passes, not even a blade of grass will be left, except for the Axis Order believers. If you want to fight that thing, it would not be an exaggeration to say you are being reckless and arrogant."
"...Even if you say that, I have no concept of it," KazTatsumiuma shrugged and retorted.
He hadn't been in this world for long, and he always spent his days eating, drinking, and messing around, so he didn't know the terror of the Destroyer.
"Wait! Why did you have to speak of my believers like that, Megumin! They are all good children! You don't have to be so afraid!" Aqua shouted from the side.
Ignoring the idiot goddess who was angry because her believers had been slandered, Kazuma turned to him and asked, "What is the Destroyer? I've heard the name from time to time, but what does 'Mobile Fortress' mean? It sounds really big."
"It's not just 'big,' Kazuma-kun." He spread his hands wide to draw a big circle. "It's the size of a castle on top. That's why it's called a 'Mobile Fortress'."
"That big?!"
Kazuma was also shocked, but he immediately reacted and asked, "Doesn't Megumin like big things the most? Can't we just solve it by having her hit it with one shot?"
To this, Megumin said, "No. The Destroyer is engraved with a powerful magic barrier. If it's Explosion magic, it's no problem for it to block one or two shots."
"Then just hit it with more. If we rely on magic crystals..."
As he was speaking, Kazuma shut his mouth.
Because he remembered: the hundreds of magic crystals he had bought had long since been squandered. And the culprit was this little loli in front of him, who didn't know how to control herself.
Whew, whew, whew—
Megumin turned her head, not daring to look at him, and whistled, pretending to be ignorant.
This girl...!
Kazuma was furious, but he was in no mood to scold her right now.
Because there was something more important at hand.
"What do we do, Kobayashi-senpai?"
"Mmm... in any case, we have to go to the Guild first," he replied after thinking.
Although the arrival of the Destroyer had caught him unprepared, no matter what, running away was not the right choice.
Neither for him, nor for Darkness.
"...By the way, where's Darkness?" He looked around and found that the perverted knight of the party was missing.
Don't tell me she's already gone to the Guild?
"...Sorry, I was too slow." Darkness's figure appeared on the stairs of the second floor. When she saw him and Kazuma, she said, "Mmm? What's wrong? Hurry up and get ready. With Kobayashi's personality, he'll definitely go to the Guild, right?"
At this moment, she was wearing heavy armor that none of them had ever seen before. In addition to her usual pure white armor, she was also wearing a heavy cape woven from chain mail, and even her left gauntlet was fitted with a detachable shield. It was just that she wasn't wearing a heavy helmet. This was probably the last shred of stubbornness she had as a female knight.
As expected, she would not run. After all, she was the young lady of the great noble Dustiness family. How could she abandon the people and flee alone?
Kazuma was also infected. It was just that he mistook it for the "way of the knight" and howled at Aqua and Megumin, "Hey! You two, take a good look! We've been living in this mansion, in this town, for so long! Don't you have any feelings for it? Quick! Get ready to go to the Guild!"
"...Kazuma, you're a little too hot-blooded today. The light in the depths of your eyes is a little too bright. And... we've only lived in this mansion for a month. You're the one who's reluctant to part with it."
Aqua had seen right through his true thoughts. As expected of a goddess, her retorts are sharp.
After getting ready, the party members arrived at the Guild.
As soon as they entered, Dust raised his hand and called out, "Yo! Kobayashi! You really came! I knew you would!"
"Isn't that a given? I'm an adventurer," he said, high-fiving him. Kazuma did the same.
They were companions who had gone to the succubus shop together. Although they often dug pits for each other and slung mud, at critical moments, they were companions who trusted each other.
Keith, Taylor, Lynn... all of Dust's party members were here.
Not only that, but looking around the entire guild again, various adventurers had all appeared here with their best equipment.
The aura emanating from them was quite powerful.
Well, well. The strong adventurers you don't usually see have all been flushed out by the Destroyer.
...And so, after the atmosphere was just right.
"To everyone who has come, thank you for answering the Guild's call! Next, let's begin discussing how to deal with the Mobile Fortress Destroyer!"
At Luna's call, the numerous adventurers rolled up their sleeves. It seemed the opportunity to make a name for themselves had arrived!
(End of Chapter)