After leaving the guild and thinking quietly, it occurred to me that with a variable like me present, Kazuma and the others might not recruit party members.
One could think, 'What does it matter?' but if the original story gets twisted too much, I lose the advantage of knowing the future. And if we encounter powerful enemies, we might lose. Darkness's meat shield that buys us time is like that, and Megumin's Explosion magic's firepower, I don't know about later, but right now it's irreplaceable.
So I plan not to touch the general framework of the original story line if possible.
'This is troublesome, isn't it?'
I first went to the construction site where Kazuma and Aqua were working. It seemed work was ending for the day as they were tidying up equipment and such. Looking around, I saw Kazuma and Aqua tidying up in a corner.
"Kazuma~ Aqua~"
"Cassian, what brings you here?"
"I did a guild quest today and earned some money. If there's anything you want to eat today, just say it. I'll buy it all."
"Oh~ Aqua! Cassian's treating today!"
"What, what? Is Cassian treating today?"
"Yeah, today's my treat."
I helped with the cleanup, then we went to the bathhouse and moved to a restaurant. Aqua started ordering a possibly unmanageable amount of food, and Kazuma, curious that I had already taken a guild request and started adventurer work, asked about it.
"You already took a guild request and started working?"
"Yeah, I want to adventure in this world. A life of working moderately and living satisfied isn't bad, but I experienced that enough in my last life, so this time I want to live differently."
"Heh~"
Then Aqua, as if she remembered something, suddenly spoke.
"Ah! That's right! Yeah, if Kazuma doesn't defeat the Demon King, we can't go back, right!"
"Ha... You remember now?!"
The ordered food and Chuwachuwa arrived. We continued talking while eating the food and drinking Chuwachuwa.
"I'm thinking of going to the Royal Capital soon."
"Ehh~~! Isn't that place the front line? Isn't it dangerous?"
"It will be dangerous. So I plan to gain some experience here before going. And honestly, I'm worried about Kazuma and Aqua, so I plan to stay in Axel until you find a good party."
"You don't have to worry about us."
"That's right! This Lady Aqua is not a child!"
"Heh~ Saying that while you drink every day, have no money, and ask me to lend you lodging fees?"
"No, that's... ahaha"
"Without me, you guys would be living in a stable, right?"
"Even if we drink a lot, it's really not that bad!"
"Alright! I've decided. Starting tomorrow, I'll also take requests and be an adventurer! Kazuma! Let's show them we can do it too."
"Oh~!"
"Come on~ Let's drink~~ for our adventure~~!"
...
..
.
Aqua was vomiting in an alley and Kazuma was patting her back as if familiar with it. Although it's fortunate the conversation went well,
'Sigh... I'm worried about the future.'
The next day, we bought a usable one-handed sword for Kazuma at the equipment shop and accepted a Giant Toad subjugation request at the guild. While moving to the plains, the Giant Toad habitat, after accepting the request, Kazuma was fiddling with his one-handed sword, perhaps nervous.
"Kazuma, don't be so nervous. Just believe in this Lady Aqua~!"
"I'm not nervous!"
"We're here. This is the Giant Toad habitat."
Just then, one Giant Toad was visible nearby.
"... Was the meat we were eating that thing? It's big, way too big. Can I defeat that?"
"It's a bit big, but if you stab its head or the spine at the back of its neck in one go, you can defeat it easily. It's big, so you need to stab a bit deep. And its tongue attack has range and is fast, so don't attack from the front."
I demonstrated first. I slowly approached the Giant Toad from behind, then jumped slightly and slashed its spine at the back of its neck in one go. The Giant Toad collapsed powerlessly.
"Whoa! That looks hard for me, though?"
"Then there's an easier method too. One person draws its attention and the other attacks from behind. There's also the easiest method, but... I don't really recommend it."
"Hmm? What's the easiest method?"
"That is... while one person gets eaten, the other one defeats it. Large prey like a human takes time to eat, and it doesn't move while eating, so it's easy to defeat, but the person who gets eaten gets covered in slime, and if you're too late in defeating it, they could die from suffocation."
"Ueh..."
I told them this method on purpose. For now, this is the only way Kazuma and the others can defeat a Giant Toad.
"There's one over there. I'll draw its attention, so try attacking from behind."
I went in front of the Giant Toad and waved my hands wildly. The toad approached and started flicking its tongue, but I dodged them all and bought time.
"Now's the time. Kazuma!"
Kazuma jumped from behind the toad and stabbed its back with his one-handed sword, but perhaps he stabbed the wrong spot, as the toad didn't die and started shaking its body. Kazuma held onto the sword handle stuck in it and hung on, doing a rodeo.
"Whoaaaa~ Help me, Cassian! Aqua!"
Aqua saw that and started laughing while holding her stomach.
"Pfft~ It's so funny! Kazuma's face is all red and desperate!"
"Stop watching and help me!"
"Well, can't be helped. I'll save you! Hikineet. In return, from tomorrow on, you must revere me! When we return to town, you must join the Axis Cult and pray three times a day! At mealtimes, if I ask for it, you must hand it over without resistance! And..."
Then the Giant Toad stopped shaking, looked at Aqua, flicked its tongue, grabbed her, and instantly put her in its mouth.
"Now's the time! Kazuma, attack its head!"
"Uoooooh~~!!"
Kazuma stabbed the toad's head a few times, and the toad collapsed. Aqua, covered in slime, crawled out of the toad's mouth. Then Aqua, for some sad reason, sat down and started crying.
"Ugh... Sniff sniff"
"Hey... I think we really need to get more comrades..."
Aqua suddenly stood up and lamented like a jilted woman.
"I've already been defiled..."
"Huh?"
"If an Axis Cultist sees me defiled like this, their faith will hit rock bottom!"
"Huh??"
"Moreover, if it gets out that I was defeated by a frog, the dignity of the beautiful and lovely Lady Aqua will be trampled into the ground!"
"Huh???"
Aqua suddenly, as if to avenge this grudge, screamed and ran towards the Giant Toad.
"Uwaaaaaah~~~~!"
"Hey, wait, Aqua~~~!"
"Feel the power of a god to your bones! For blocking my way! And for defying a god! Repent with regret in hell~~!" "God Blow~~~~!!"
Light came from Aqua's fist starting and struck the Giant Toad's stomach.
Thump~~~!
"..."
The Giant Toad's stomach resonated like beating a drum, but nothing happened after that. As nothing happened, Aqua laughed awkwardly and looked up at the Giant Toad.
"...Looking at this frog closely, it might be kinda cute?"
The Giant Toad looked at Aqua like that for a moment, then chomped down and started eating her.
"Aqua~~!"
Kazuma rushed to the Giant Toad that was eating Aqua and stabbed its head with his sword numerous times.
Kazuma, perhaps tired, sat down to rest, breathing heavily, and Aqua was crying again, her whole body covered in slime. Having seen the original, I knew this, but realistically thinking, if it weren't for protagonist buffs, I wondered, 'Can these guys really survive in this world as adventurers?'
"... Let's call it a day here."
We went to the bathhouse to wash up and received 15,000 Eris at the guild for the three toads we hunted today. And we decided to sit in the guild dining hall, order Toad Tofu and Chuwachuwa, and rest a bit before leaving.
"5,000 Eris per frog, we hunted three, so that's 5,000 Eris per person, risking our lives for it... It's no different from construction work..."
For now, since Kazuma has started adventurer life and needs to recruit comrades, I should probably cheer him on.
"It's like that because it's the beginning. If you gather comrades and keep hunting, you'll be able to hunt more easily."
"Y, yeah, right? But will there be anyone willing to party with us, rookies without even proper equipment?"
Then Aqua spoke confidently.
"I'm a top-tier job, 'Arch Priest'! Any party would desperately want me! If someone like me recruits, there will be mountains of guys begging to be taken along!"
"Heh~"
The next morning, Aqua was looking at the masterpiece she had worked on until late last night.
[Urgently Wanted!] This is a cheerful party with a homely atmosphere. Adventurers who want to travel with the beautiful and noble Arch Priest Lady Aqua, come here.
Since joining this party, every day is happy. I even won the lottery. Thanks to joining Lady Aqua's party, my illness was cured and I became super popular.
Recruitment Conditions Limited to advanced job adventurers only.
The kids were still sleeping, tired, so I forced myself to suppress my laughter and went outside. Today, since Kazuma and Aqua said they would be at the guild to recruit party members, I decided to separately take requests to earn money and experience.