Into Infinity (Jumpchain SI) (Dead)

[Drey]

I'm curious, is this an independant fic, or a rewrite of your previous one? They are eerily similar.

Click to shrink...

Closer to a rewrite rather than independant, while I like this one more I'm probably going to do yet another reboot with a more serious tone later.

This version is without the bad sex scenes lol. It's hard not to follow canon's lead, but, I've got something in mind for the 3rd version. This version just doesn't have much of what I wanted from a fic in the end, though I certainly wrote it much faster (In a week! Like, wow.).

 

[Drey]

One day, I decided to go out and eat at the various restaurants with Aqua and Yunyun, leaving Megumin who's conscious about pricing, and Darkness, who was watching her weight, at home.

But when we came back home.

"Really, what a perverted Crusader! Here, you want this, right? Don't endure it anymore, just give up…! … Ah."

"I won't submit for something like that! My honor as a Crusader is on the line, so I can take it even if it's for an hour or two… Ah."

Darkness was rolled up with thick blankets and Megumin was squatting before Darkness and waving an ice cube in front of her. Both of their cheeks were flushed and Darkness was even panting.

After our eyes met with each other, I closed the door.

Megumin then barged out of the door, saying "Don't close the door! It's not what you think!"

"No, no, it's fine. It's fine. We'll come back after dinner, so don't mind us. I can use the Warehouse's function to let us sleep there instead of here so it's alright."

"The Axis Cult accepts love between members of the same sex. Do you need a blessing spell?"

"Megumin was being odd lately, so it was because of that…"

"You completely misunderstand! This is, that, Darkness, she…"

Megumin blocked us from leaving.

"Ugh, to think there'd be an additional shame play…! Even if everyone sees my shameful appearance, I still won't give in!"

"You're making things more complicated, so shut up!"

Ugh, now that I noticed, it was pretty hot inside. What was going on?

…

Why is the fireplace lit? It's almost Summer.

"This isn't any special play; Darkness is just asking me to help her train for the endurance competition. She's apparently the winner in the annual Summer Endurance Competition in this town."

Megumin, her face all red, pressed the ice cube onto the forehead of Darkness, whose face was equally flushed.

"Well, alright… but could you train in Darkness's house instead? You're making the house all hot."

Darkness exhaled blissfully when Megumin pressed the ice onto her head and said:

"Actually, my father's not feeling well recently. If he sees me doing this, he'll be worried about what his daughter who has yet to marry is doing. I have to be considerate about his feelings…"

Hmm? Her father is sick?

"Well, if he's sick, why not let Aqua go see him?"

"That's…"

"Yeah, let's go visit Darkness's home for dinner! If it's there, there should be some good food and wine!" Aqua said.

"Then it's settled. We're visiting your home, Lalatina."

"Don't call me Lalatina…!"

……

Willfully, I brought everyone to see her father. And when we did…

"Sacred Break Spell! Whew! It's a really powerful curse from some devil!"

Ah…

"This is good! Now we can say that I won't die and be able to pay off the debt…!"

"Ah, the debt from who?"

"Alderp, the landlord of this town."

…

The next day, the landlord disappeared, and evidence that indicated his wrongdoings turned up.

How shameful.

In the end, Alderp's assets were confiscated and transferred to the next governing lord of this city.

The next lord of Axel was Darkness's father.

Alderp's son, Walther, was spared since he was unrelated to his father's crimes. He'd be helping Darkness's father from now on. I heard he was a good guy unlike his father.

Currently, Darkness was taking on the temporary role of lord on behalf of her father, who hadn't yet recovered.

So, we were without our Crusader for a while.

Feeling that she needed help I decided to have everyone take a break for a while, while I help Darkness with her duties.

……

"Ah, Jaedin, what does this mean…?"

"This incident is troublesome… how do you think it should be resolved?"

"The Eris Festival is coming up… I hope it goes well as usual."

……

And so, our daily lives kept moving forward, like I wanted.

Still, I wanted to see Iris one day again. Perhaps I should visit the capital after finishing helping Darkness with the rest of her work?

It seems that I'm unexpectedly good at dealing with paperwork, so she's been asking me for help a lot…

After the festival, we could work on doing quests again, so we levelled up slowly.

Eh? Why not just let everyone solo them?

While Yunyun can solo, the rest cannot.

One rest day, I received a letter.

'Dear Jaedin,

I have heard about your efforts to help out Lalatina. Thank you for helping her until her father could recover.

This time, I have a request for you, who has become one of the nation's greatest adventurers.

Actually, I am going to meet with the prince of a neighboring country with whom I have an arranged marriage with, so I would like to hire you as my bodyguard—"

Time to put my Assassin class to use.

 

[anhrefn]

Time to put my Assassin class to use.

Click to shrink...

Protect your imouto! Look what I found: A big, sharp knife~ Here~ *Casually throws the knife* stick that in his guts and let him bleed to death... slowly.

 

[shakeval]

Yeah, time to assassinate a whole royal family and take over as some kind of divine ruler, prior to taking the princess and debasing her. . . . .all over multiple nations, hers and yours etc. . . . . . .prissy knights can't say anything if you're royalty.

 

[Drey]

And so, using the teleport store, we all went to the capital.

We walked a bit from the store in the capital to arrive at the castle.

There were two guards standing in front of the castle.

"Halt! Those who do not have business here may not enter! This is not a place for adventurers!"

Hmph.

I handed Iris' letter to the guards, saying, "I am Yuki Jaedin, and we have accepted a request from princess Iris."

Seeing the royal insignia on the envelope, the faces of the two guards turned pale, and they immediately readjusted their posture.

"E-, Excuse my manners…! I will immediately go and call my superiors, so please wait a moment! May I be entrusted with the envelope?"

"Sure, sure."

Handing the letter over to the guard, he confirmed its contents, and we were led to the waiting room.

We sat down around the waiting room, when suddenly—

"Yuki Jaedin! Is it true that Yuki Jaedin has come!?"

Ah, that's Claire's voice.

She barged into the room with her white suit, grabbed my arm, and dragged me to a corner of the room.

"What's up Claire?"

"I will give you my thanks in advance. Take this."

She handed the pendant that bore the insignia of her household to me. The proof of her nobility.

"What's happening? Do I need this?"

"Yes, you do. Let's work together since we are both against Iris-sama's marriage."

"Alright. I'm listening."

She took something out of her pocket, saying, "The person Iris-sama will be meeting is the first prince of the neighboring country. However, due to his spoiled upbringing and education, he is a truly selfish brat. He is no equal for Iris-sama, who was born with the talent for battle, and surely, his appearance is also incomparable to her adorableness and beauty. Furthermore, the neighboring country of Elroad looks down upon my nation. Should Iris-sama be wedded to him, those imbeciles will surely speak maliciously of her and look at her with contemptuous eyes… That's why I'll entrust this to you."

She then handed a black bag to me.

"What's this?"

"It is a forbidden poison that is used by nobles to bury their political enemies…"

I threw it away immediately.

"Hey, how much money do you think I spent to get my hands on that!"

"You're turning me into an assassin? Well, while I may be an Assassin, I'm not planning on being hunted by a nation."

She clicked her tongue.

This woman!

This fucking woman!

"I suppose it can't be helped. Then, I have another thing to request of you besides the bodyguard mission. As long as you have the necklace that I entrusted you with a moment ago, you should be able to freely use the authority of my household, Shinfornea, to a certain extent. For this time, and this time only, you will have the backing of my household. How could I possibly hand Iris-sama to such a suspicious person? Do whatever you have to do to dissolve this engagement."

"Roger that, I'll do my best to ruin this whole thing. Also, why is this happening in the first place…?"

She sighed at that, and told me:

"Elroad has threatened to stop its funding, so we need ties with it so it could keep up its funding. But what's more important is that you cancel the engagement with Iris!"

Hmm…

Didn't Kazuma get the right to play in the casinos and get lots of money?

Heheheh.

Seeing my face, Claire relaxed.

"I see you have a plan. I will leave Iris-sama in your hands."

"Leave it to me."

There was also that Prime Minister as well.

Looking over at the doorway I see that someone has come.

A young girl in a white dress, it was Iris.

"It's been a long time Jaedin. I've been waiting for you…!"

……

We were standing before a simple carriage which would be drawn by Lizard Runners. It also didn't have any wheels.

"Hm, will we be using the imperial carriage? I heard that this meeting was supposed to be a secret though…" Darkness said.

So, this is the imperial carriage?

"Using a normal carriage would take too much time. Using a normal, horse drawn carriage would take ten days of travel to arrive at the capital. However, using this carriage that was specifically designed for royalty, the travel time can be greatly shortened."

Claire then raised a hand towards the imperial carriage, and it rose off the ground, hovering less than a foot above the ground, and she said, "I don't know what I might do if I couldn't see Iris-sama for over ten days. A normal carriage would take over twenty days here and back. How could I possibly endure that?"

Ah, she must be busy, which is why she cannot come.

This is from my knowledge from a well-written fanfiction that had her participate in a tournament for Iris's hand in marriage. In other words, if she wasn't busy, she would come and ruin it all herself.

Then Darkness put herself in the driver's seat, grasping the reins of the lizard runners.

Hmm… There's enough space for us, right? If not then there's the Warehouse.

Iris – who seemed like she couldn't wait any longer – was equipped with the armor of the royal family and a dazzling sword. She quickly climbed onto the carriage.

"Please sit here Jaedin! Since the seat beside me will be open, we can play games like before while we travel!"

I nodded at her. "Alright!"

Then Megumin climbed aboard the carriage, saying, "Oi! How gutsy of you to take the best seat despite being a mere underling! Now, hand over the seat behind the driver that has the best view to me, or I won't invite you to go play again!"

"H-How unfair of you! This and that are different problems! Besides, today, I'm not your underling, but a princess! An authority! I will not hand over the seat behind the driver. If you wouldn't have it any other way, then I'm up for a fight as well!"

Hmm? Were they so close?

Though, it seemed that the seats have been decided.

Iris and Megumin would sit behind the rider's seat, while I and Yunyun would sit in the opposite side's seats.

By the way, the carriage had four seats.

Since Aqua said that she wanted to sit next to Darkness while enjoying the scenery, everyone fit nicely.

And so, we were seen off by the worried and distraught Claire and Rain.

And so, our leisurely ride to Elroad where I would try to get that Prime Minister who worked for the Demon King killed.

Wait, wait.

I'm an assassin.

If the enemy is truly a monster, I would say that I killed a member of the Demon King's army if I was questioned.

In any case, the speed of the carriage right now could compare to a car speeding over 100.

"WAAAAAAH Jaedin! Jaedin!! I want you to switch seats with me! This is too scary!"

No way.

"It's alright! The carriage used by royalty all have a powerful barrier cast upon them. In the case of an accident, the people sitting at the driver's seat will be the only ones to go 'splat'. HAHAHAHA, wonderful! These lizard runners are truly wonderful! Good, let's go even faster!"

"Stop! Hey, let me get back in the carriage!"

Darkness and Aqua were having fun.

"Hey, what are we going to do if we crash into a monster at this speed!? If a precious existence like myself goes 'splat' in a place like this, this world is going to end! Hey Darkness, are you listening!?"

"It's alright Aqua. This carriage is outfitted with magic tools that repel monsters, so it's unlikely for monster to suddenly come out and crash into us. Yes, as long as our luck isn't bad, we'll be fine…"

"Hey Jaedin, Darkness just raised a flag! I'm begging you, please just let me into the carriage!"

Due to the flag Darkness raised, there was a giant cow monster that blocked the road, but it was taken care of easily by Iris's slash of light skill, Exterion.

I already knew she was so strong, but…

"Why is she so strong…?"

"Iris-sama is a member of royalty you know? Since a long time ago, royalty and powerful nobles have been inheriting the blood of heroes, and as a result, their latent potential skyrockets with each generation. On top of that, they receive the highest quality education in a variety of fields. Adding on to that, they use the highest quality food ingredients without reserve in order to raise their level, and they use weapons inherited from the heroes to fight. Do you know that his majesty and the first prince are currently fighting at the frontlines?"

So said Darkness.

Huh. That makes sense.

Then, with a smile on her face, Iris ran up to me – who had been rendered speechless by her strength – whilst hugging her sword across her chest.

"How did I do Jaedin!? I worked hard!"

I headpatted her. Headpats are the best.

"Yeah, good job."

For some reason, Megumin, who had her moment to shine taken away from her was in a good mood. To Iris she said, "Although you are still my underling, this is what I would expect from my left-hand man. If you see a monster, just slash the same way you did just now."

"Yes, please leave this to me!"

Isn't Megumin too arrogant? And Iris, don't agree with her!

Oh wait, they had formed some kind of thieves' alliance or something in the side stories, didn't they...?

Man, it's been so long since I've read the novels. Since I've been living in this world…

……

There was a portable mansion which was a highest-grade magic tool, so we didn't need to use the Warehouse.

Hmm…

I did not cook much, since the Warehouse had a function of dispensing food, but at this moment, I wanted to at least be a God of Cooking, if only to see how Iris would like it.

That day, we had some of the sweets and foods I saved up in my fridge in the Warehouse.

The next day, we had some of Aqua's tuna-mayo rice ball.

And then, Darkness and Iris were tricked into thinking it was a dish eaten by adventurers.

She also prepared some furikake-gohan and tamago-kake gohan. Which were basically seasonings over rice and raw egg over rice.

…

It tasted good though.

……

The day before we would enter Elroad, Megumin took to cooking.

So we caught crayfish for a while and she would cook them, presenting them as lobster to the ignorant princess…

Crayfish soup, salt-grilled crayfish, and stir-fried shellfish in chili sauce.

Yunyun didn't get a chance to show off her skills in cooking. Ganbatte, Yunyun.

……

Oh yeah.

"By the way, the Prime Minister of Elroad is working for the Demon King, so be wary of him."

Everyone froze at that.

"Hahaha, what are you saying, Jaedin?"

"Hmm… How to make you guys believe me… Ah, right. I also know that Darkness has a child named Sylphina or something along those lines who would call her 'Mama'! And that Megumin released the seal on the evil god Wolbach-"

"Stop Stop! How do you even know these things!?"

"I never told you about her… how did you know?"

"Yunyun?"

"I kept it a secret!"

"It's because I'm from another world."

"That doesn't answer anything…!"

……

"Alright, we'll just agree that Jaedin may be out of his mind, suggesting that the Prime Minister of a country is actually working for the Demon King."

"Hmm? Ah, there was also Alderp and his deals with the demon named… Maxwell?"

"Out. Of. His. Mind."

Come on Darkness, you know it's true!

…

I later found out we were there to get funding for the war against the Demon King's army that was currently reaching its peak since we've defeated so many of their generals.

Hmm…

We better kill the rest of them, then, if it means that Iris doesn't have to get married.

When we arrived there, I ordered everyone to go into pairs for safety.

Aqua and Darkness. Megumin and Yunyun.

Me and Iris.

There. Perfect!

"Somehow I feel that Jaedin is actually a lolicon…"

"Hmm? Wouldn't I be attracted to Megumin, then?"

"Hahahaha, I heard wrong, right? Jaedin?"

Hahaha.

She tried to hit me, but my stats were too high!

But Iris said…

"I need to prepare for tomorrow's meeting… since this is my first time meeting the prince, I'm feeling a bit nervous. Perhaps this is the reason I'm feeling stressed. I'll be resting at the hotel, so everyone should feel free to go sightseeing."

And when we tried to get her to come out…

"Y-You can't! Please go and relax. Since we've come all the way to the nation of casinos, I wouldn't be able to rest with peace in mind if I keep you holed up in the hotel!"

Hah…

"Alright, then… rest well, Iris."

"Yes!"

……

And so, I cleaned out the various bars' gamblers.

Feh. I wanted to hit the casinos, but Aqua seemed to want to go there and I don't need her bad luck.

……

The next day, we were in awe at the ridiculously expensive-looking castle.

Though Megumin said something about casting Explosion on it, Darkness stopped her.

"Hey hey, if I do a performance to change the sign on the castle's flag to the insignia of the Axis cult, do you think that they'll be surprised?"

Darkness stopped her as well.

"I wonder if I can make friends with the prince!"

Don't count on it.

"Well, Iris, time to get our financial support."

"Yes! Somehow I don't feel nervous at all with you all here."

Then we heard a boy say, "Geez, this is why Belzerg's commoners are so-… Making a fuss in front of the castle, do you even know what etiquette is?"

Looking at him, he should be the same age as Iris, though he was pretty tall.

Red hair, freckles, and a large number of retainers behind him.

I hate him already.

Then, Iris, who had been behind Darkness, walked in front of her.

"Are you the first prince of Elroad, Revi-sama? I am the first princess of Belzerg, Iris. I came all the way here to see you, so I'm happy that we are able to meet today."

Iris showed a princess-like statue. Elegant, adorable, perfect etiquette.

…

"I-Iris-sama…!"

Darkness raised her voice, moved by the noble appearance of her lord that she once thought of as a little sister.

"So, you're my fiancé? Although I heard that even the female children of the Belzerg clan are militants, you actually look pretty weak. And here I was thinking that I would see a strong and cool appearance. How disappointing."

"Eh-? Ah, uhm… Sorry…"

Oh?

"And why do you have so few bodyguards? Is Belzerg really that poor? Instead of only training your muscles, it would be better to put some effort into training your heads so that you can earn some money you know!?"

Saying that, prince Revi showed a belittling smile. Leading his retainers on, they began to laugh.

Hahahaha.

I smiled along as well, though I think I may have unnerved some of them when I did so.

Then, Revi walked past Iris and walked towards us.

The entourage of retainers that followed behind the prince acted the same as well. The gazes they cast towards Iris showed that they were looking down on her.

And then, some of the retainers opened their eyes wide when they saw Aqua and Megumin and Yunyun.

"On top of that, your bodyguards aren't really anything to write home about either. Their age aside, their equipment looks pretty cheap. I'm actually impressed that you managed to get here safely."

Without noticing his retainer's expressions, the prince continued to make fun of us.

However, this time, not a single laugh could be heard from his retainers.

Thinking that that was strange, the prince turned towards his retainers.

"If you're looking for a fight, then I'll bring it to you."

Megumin, whose eyes were shining bright crimson, took a large step forward. Yunyun stepped forth as well in support of Megumin but she had a worried look.

……

"You're mistaken! Prince Revi is not familiar with your nation and doesn't know about the existence of the Crimson Magic Clan! We weren't trying to provoke you or belittle you at-…!"

"Prince, look at them closely! That is a crimson magic clansman! They're a troublesome group of people that even the demon king is forced to acknowledge. They're a group of people that don't understand jokes, so please don't say any more careless things!"

"I-, I understand. I'm sorry! It was my mistake, so please stop chanting your magic!"

At the advice of his retainers, Revi apologized to Megumin and Yunyun.

"I'll turn a blind eye this time, but don't let there be a second time, alright? My name is Megumin, the one who controls explosion magic, and the one who has buried a countless number of demon king army generals. It would be better for you to not anger me."

"And I am Yunyun, the future chief of the Crimson Demon clan!"

"Understood Megumin-dono, Yunyun-dono. We will work hard to ensure that this never happens again!"

Haha. I chuckled a bit at this. What a ridiculous situation.

As his retainers apologized, the prince seemed angry or frustrated.

Darkness was holding her head. Ganbatte, Darkness.

"I don't really understand this, but the willingness to apologize is a good thing. When you said that 'we're nothing to write home about', I wanted to give you a taste my holy fist, but I will forgive you this time."

This time, Aqua decided to retaliate.

The prince started to insult her, "You imbecile, you're just a mere priest. You dare to…"

"Prince, prince, she is an Axis cultist. On top of that, considering her blue hair and the way she's dressed, she must be an extremely passionate one! Axis cultists are said to be more troublesome than tranquility girls and more tenacious than undead."

Hahahaha!

"Hey, I would very much prefer that you stop putting Axis cultists in the same group as tranquility girls and undead! Apologize! Apologize for putting my children in the same rank as monsters! And Jaedin, stop laughing!"

The prince, frightened by Aqua who acted like a self-righteous monster, cast a frightened gaze towards Darkness and I.

He whispered to his retainer while looking at Darkness, so their look was still wary, but it relaxed when they looked at me.

Heh.

Heh.

Are you mocking me

Then, someone else came.

"What is all this noise about?"

Wearing some fancy clothing, and with an overwhelming presence, this man walked towards us.

"Prime minister-dono! No, this is…"

Oh? So this is the one who's working with the Demon King.

Seeing him, Iris pulled herself together and greeted the prime minister.

"Nice to meet you. I am the first princess of Belzerg, Iris. I am honored to meet you."

"Oh my oh my, from the rumors I've heard about the Belzerg clan, I would've never imagined that they would have such a cute princess. I am the prime minister of this nation, Ragcraft. I shall be in your care."

Everyone followed behind him, but Aqua…

"I don't really get it, but I can't help but feel that there is something weird about you, uncle. However, you don't stink like a devil or have the presence of an undead you see… Hey uncle, do you happen to be friends with any devils? Or are you raising an undead as a pet or something like that?"

"My apologies Ragcraft-dono! This person is well known as a strange person even amongst axis cultists!"

Aqua, who suddenly said some rather disrespectful things, was immediately pulled away by Darkness, who hurriedly lowered her head to apologize.

……

In short, the meeting didn't really end well but it also did.

Their nation was undergoing financial difficulties. The engagement was dissolved by the prince.

And so, Iris wanted to come every day to ask the Prince for support.

Hmm…

"Aqua is not allowed to gamble."

"Why…!?"

Why?

It's because…!

"Your luck is abysmal The lowest out of all of us. You'll lose all the money I'll give you."

"I won't… I won't!"

"Then here's a hundred thousand Eris. Try to at least double it."

"Yay!"

……

Today's negotiations failed. We couldn't do anything.

I didn't know how Kazuma got the funding other than gambling, but…!

"Prince Revi, I'll ask you to give me a VIP pass to the best casino in town."

"What…? No, do as you like."

……

And so, I got a pass.

And so…

At a roulette table.

"Ahahahahaha! We won! We've won again! Because Jaedin has terrific luck! As long as we're in a casino, I will follow you for the rest of my life!"

"Yunyun, prevent Aqua from betting. The funding from Elroad depends on it!"

"Yes!"

"WHY!?"

…

The next day.

"Esteemed customer! P-P-, Please don't gamble anymore!

Hah.

As if.

I'll take away all the funding we need.

I took out the pendant Claire gave me.

"T-That is-!? The insignia of the great noble family of the neighboring nation, House Shinfornea!?"

That's right.

I'm using their name.

I want to use the VIP card a little later.

"Amazing, Jaedin! I heard that your luck is great, but I never would've thought that it would be to this extent! If your luck is this good, rather than being an adventurer, wouldn't it be fine to amass a fortune from casinos?" Iris said.

Hmm…

I don't really need a lot of money, you know?

I already have enough to live.

I like to think I cleaned out the casino, but we still needed more funding.

……

We went to the casino every day.

"Esteemed customer? Uhm, due to your immense ability, our business may be forced to close in the near future. We will give you a reward, so please…"

"I have a VIP card from the prince."

"T-the prince!? No way…"

…

We went every day.

The manager looked as if he was going to cry whenever he saw me, but I ignored it.

In the end, we were begged to stop by the prince.

But we didn't see any reason to stop.

When we asked why they couldn't give the funding…

"My nation intends to make a deal with the demon king army."

Said the prime minister.

Oh shit, I forgot to kill him.

Darkness got all pissed, saying that the Demon King was a terrible existence that kidnaps females, even children, to 'play' for his own amusement, sexually assaulting princesses and female knights.

Then the prime minister defended the Demon King, saying that he was a trustworthy member of the demon race…

"Even if you say that, this saying is actually quite famous… On top off that, I've heard that 'the demon king is a lolicon', 'the demon king is the number one pervert on the continent that likes abnormal play', 'the demon king is a homo', and other rumors like that…"

"Who is spreading such baseless rumors!?"

'By us, the Axis cult! My children are great, aren't they?"

I'll join in too!

"I've also heard that the Demon King is immoral, stealing panties and harassing his female workers into leaving."

In the fanfic, of course.

At that, the prime minister walked over to me, but tripped over nothing.

Then, his form hit my sword, and he was injured!

And split into black goo, which then reformed into the prime minister.

As everyone looked at him in shock, he said:

"Umm… I can explain?"

"A doppleganger!"

Hearing that, he began to run away, but was sliced apart by Iris.

…

"So, uh… Your Prime Minister was a doppleganger."

After invading his workspace, we found letters to the Demon King…

Uwah.

……

In the end, we did get the funding we needed, and Iris's engagement was cancelled already, okay Prince?

So even though you're playing nice with Iris, you have no chance.

Got it?

……

And so, we left Elroad in high spirits and with the promise of funding against the Demon King.

A/N: Disappointed that I wouldn't murder a kid?

Even if the SI knew that the minister was a monster, he couldn't remember what monster it was and it was only due to luck that it was found out.

Bit of a cop-out.

 

[shakeval]

Oh yes, very dissapointed, what better way to debase a princes then upon the corpse of her fiance and most of his family, or at least in the same castle as such.

 

[Drey]

We came to Belzerg having defeated the prime minister of Elroad that was actually a doppelganger infiltrator and received the funding from Elroad.

And Iris's engagement was also canceled.

"Well done Jaedin‑dono, I have truly misunderstood you! What you've achieved this time was far beyond my expectations!"

After we returned to the castle with Iris, we went to the audience room where we reported the results of our journey. After that, Claire greeted me in excitement.

"We did it, somehow."

"I felt like I didn't do much, however…" Iris said with a complicated expression.

"That is not true, Iris-sama! I believe it was your presence that allowed Jaedin-dono to do so much so freely! To be honest, I wouldn't have cared if the funds were completely cut as long as Iris-sama's engagement was called off. To have it called off while also getting the funding and saving Elroad and getting them to owe us a favor is absolutely incredible!"

She said, while pouring her heart out.

"Claire! Which is more important, my engagement or the nation's funding!? If we weren't able to get these funds, then we wouldn't be able to fight against the demon king army, you know!?"

"Of course the matter of your engagement is more important, Iris‑sama. As long as you are safe, the demon king army can do whatever they—OWOWOW! Iris‑sama, have you become more violent since returning!?"

Iris pounced on her, twisting Claire's arm. Either way, she was probably playing around, as she had the time to talk to us.

"Either way, it's a job well done. You can have whatever you like for your rewards, just name it."

"Hmm, I'm not sure. What does everyone else think?"

"The greatest staff for my Explosion!"

"Ah, I could use a new staff for my spells too…"

"I do not need anything. I'm happy that we could help the nation."

"Serve me!"

Everyone was lively.

"Let me treat you all to a banquet as well to commend your efforts."

So said Claire.

But…

……

Claire couldn't hold her liquor at all, becoming drunk after only half a cup of alcohol.

The venue of a banquet gave off a Japanese feel, probably because of the influence of the heroes. There were tatami mats and everything.

Ah, but I was alone in a corner as usual, while everyone else was being chatted up with.

This is due to my Sneak skill or Lurk.

Quite frankly, I wanted to be alone and enjoy the atmosphere. Though, somehow, Iris still found me.

"Jaedin, what do you plan on doing after this banquet? Are you going back to Axel so soon?"

She asked me with a cup of juice in hand. I on the other hand had a cup of a sweet cocktail. I didn't get drunk so…

But, is she lonely?

"We could stay here for a while," I decided to say. "Aqua would be happy, and we could rest while we relax… Maybe even help out with the defense."

And so, we decided to live in the castle.

……

For some reason, Claire seems to respect me now.

It's because I ruined Iris's marriage.

Despite being at the capital, we went out for Megumin's daily explosions.

Iris somehow could come along as well, and has been getting along with Megumin, calling her 'Big Boss' sometimes.

In any case, I wish to spend more time with Iris, but…

"Please! Show us those movements once more!"

"Teach me! Sensei!"

"I have never seen such movements even from that Sword Master, Mitsurugi!"

Sometimes, when I would be strolling around, I would be asked to show off my swordsmanship by the soldiers.

It was just one time that I showed off to Iris in the middle of the training area, but now they all want to see more of it.

… Is it alright for you guys to revere an Assassin?

So, while Iris had her lessons, I instructed the soldiers at the capital while having sweets.

A fine life, if I do say so myself.

……

A week at our peaceful life at the capital has passed.

Aqua keeps on playing around, Megumin still does her daily Explosions, Yunyun still can't make friends and we have to watch over her to make sure she doesn't get taken advantage of, Darkness is… attending parties.

And me?

"Jaedin-sama! I have completed the training you put forth for me!"

"Let me see your slash, then. Whether it's perfect or not."

I've been training the soldiers one by one.

"A-amazing! I heard that the soldiers trained by Jaedin would improve in their swordsmanship after watching him and being trained by him, but this is too much!"

Somehow, I'm teaching them random swings, but it seems that they took my performance well.

I'm not a God of Teaching, but it seems that others can derive some inspiration from my sword swings and knowledge of Swordsmanship that my body knows.

But after two weeks of playing at the capital…

"Let's go back."

"Why?"

At the reception room, Darkness requested that we go back to Axel.

With her were Aqua, Megumin and Yunyun, who had already packed their bags, the former sobbing about not wanting to leave.

Darkness sighed.

"Haven't you noticed? The castle's residents have gotten significantly less thankful over these two weeks. And… your respect among the soldiers here is too much."

Hm?

At my confused look, she explained, "They are staring to worship you as a God of Swordsmanship, you know? It's troubling the others who haven't seen your skills."

Ohohoh.

Maybe seeing my self-conceited smile, she looked as if she was annoyed and shoved a whoile pile of letters to me.

They were letters telling me about how great I was from kids.

I looked at Darkness, and gave a sad smile, as Aqua said, "Let's think back to our roots, shall we? That's right, our hope was to defeat the unholy Demon King and bring about world peace! These children's letters reminded me of my true duty! Alright, Jaedin, let's go level up back in Axel! Guiding you, the weakling, from zero to hero is my obligation as a goddess! It's time for the Goddess of Water to cast light upon these children' future!"

After she read the letters from the children.

Or should I say Darkness.

"These are fake, aren't they?"

Darkness froze up, saying:

"W-what could you be talking about…?"

"Don't play with me. I have knowledge of some happenings that happen in the future, so I remember something about fake letters from children…"

"H-how could he have seen through it! I worked so hard on those letters!"

"Shut up, Yunyun!"

I sighed and scratched the back of my head.

"Well, we can leave tomorrow, I guess?"

Darkness nodded at that, so I was left alone at the capital for one more day.

……

Iris wanted me to tell her stories before I left, so I obliged.

"It's been a long time since onii‑sama came to my room. Make yourself comfortable, I'll go fetch Claire's dessert."

After dinner, I came to Iris' room.

Mmmn. Dessert. That sounds nice.

And so, I told her even more stories that I could scrounge up from my world…

"And so, I told her, 'You shouldn't be with him anymore if he and his friends are bullying you all the time. Though when I look back on it, I regret that I said such a thing."

"Why?"

"Because the right decision would have been to tell her to talk to him about it. Let it all out in the air and settle it from there. But I may have inadvertently destroyed a relationship with my advice…"

I decided to tell her stories from my gaming days.

"Hmm, well. Ah, how about this one? When I was in my school's vocal ensemble… Oh, we sing, I used to be able to sing very well, you know? Anyway, there was this performance, and since I was tired that day, I decided to take close my eyes during the midway point and the teacher found out…"

At some point, I noticed something in her hand.

And seeing my gaze at it, she bashfully handed the item to me.

"Uhm, please take this. Big Boss…I mean, Megumin taught me how to make it. She says it is a traditional crimson demon lucky charm. Since Jaedin is often going up against Demon King's Generals, I thought I might try and make one…"

Huh. A crimson demon lucky charm?

I took it, saying, "I'll cherish it. Maybe I'll be lucky and manage to defeat the Demon King?"

"If you do, then I would be happy…"

Ah, it's so that she could then be able to go outside, right?

It must be lonely here at the capital as a princess.

……

Later, past midnight, I prepared to go to sleep, saying 'good night' to Iris.

But…

"Please, stay here."

She said to me with upturned eyes.

Guh!

I already promised to go to Axel tomorrow, no, today!

"Don't worry, Iris, I can visit often. I've been well-received, you know? I'll visit every week to tell you stories…"

"No! That's not good enough! I know you could take the charm along in my stead, but I want to go adventure with you and experience all the world has to offer!"

This girl, saying such things.

I tried to headpat her, but she dodged me, saying, "I know you have a habit of headpatting when you're trying to comfort someone but please, I want you to stay! Please don't leave me!"

As if realizing that she said such an embarrassing thing, she dropped her head, and said, "Excuse me, I let it get to my head… I can't help but be childish when with you. I'm still the princess of a nation. I have an obligation to protect the people."

How lonely.

"It's okay to be childish. Remember what Aqua said?"

"Do what you want today and regret it later?"

"Yes, that one!"

She sighed at that, shaking her head.

"Jaedin, just for tonight… could you tell me more stories?"

So I told her more stories from my dark past.

"So even you had a crush when you were young…!"

I was young, okay? Wait, no, I was your age then!

"You don't seem like the popular type; are you lying to me, Jaedin?"

I'm not lying. People really did think I was going out with the girls I'd hang out with.

By the way, I know for sure that they weren't interested in me.

One was already part of a love triangle of my friends, another it's just that I would whisper and laugh together with her while in class, another I actually liked, but it amounted to nothing, and the last was probably just using me.

…

How sad.

I pity you, past me who thought any of them were interested.

 

[shakeval]

. . . . .debase the princess. . . . .she needs it, desperately and you could use the excuse to slaughter your way through powerful people who try to punish you......let the streets run with noble blood, blood for the blood god

 

[Drey]

One day, Funifura and Dodonko from Megumin and Yunyun's village came with Komekko, saying that Megumin's home was thrashed and that the Demon King's army was attacking the Crimson Demon village.

So, we were to take care of Komekko until it all blows over.

As for the reason that the Demon King's daughter's army was attacking their village…

It was because of a watchtower that can spy on the Demon King's castle.

Specifically, the bedroom of the Demon King's daughter.

…

Yunyun left with them, since there was a gathering of people who could use Advanced-level magic and Teleportation.

Still.

"So much food!"

With Komekko here, we have to shop for more food now, so Aqua and I went out to buy the necessary items.

When we came back home…

"So, I'll share my bed with Komekko. It's been a while, you must have felt lonely. Here, let me compensate you with some long-awaited bedtime companionship."

"Onee-chan must have been lonely without me…"

"K-Komekko!"

And when she saw Chomusuke…

"Looks tasty…"

"Komekko, eating Chomusuke is forbidden."

"Aww…"

I sighed.

"Well, let's have a feast for Komekko's welcome. It should be fine to bring out all the food we can!"

"Onii-san is so handsome!"

As Komekko cheered, she took out a small notebook.

Megumin leaned over to see what she was writing, and said, "mm/dd/yyyy: successfully seduced onee-chan's friend. I seem to have shifted his target to myself… Komekko! What do you mean by 'seduce', who taught you these words!?"

"Buzucoily."

"That damn hikikomori huh!? That NEET really has zero redeeming factors!"

Ah, that guy.

"By the way, I'm not Megumin's boyfriend."

"Eh? But my mom tells me that you should be…?"

Really?

I fidget a bit.

"I'm not really looking for anyone right now…"

"That's right. Komekko, this guy is relatively safe as he's impotent-"

"I'm not important!"

What the hell, Megumin!

…

She is such a glutton.

No matter how much she eats, she doesn't get fatter or seem full.

A black hole.

Well, we have lots of money, so we can afford it.

……

"Onee-chan, can we go to the guild?

I want to visit the guild to see how strong onee-chan is."

Huh? I mean, I guess so?

We do quests every day, so…

"In her recent letters, onee-chan told me that she is well-respected within the guild. People would often compliment her and bow down at the mere sight of her."

Oi.

Perhaps feeling the intensity of our piercing stares, Megumin sent her off to play with Chomusuke.

Megumin went into a seiza position at the middle of the room in front of me, Darkness and Aqua.

"It's not what it looks like."

After some explanations from Megumin, it turned out it was exactly what it looked like.

Megumin just went a little overboard while bragging to her family.

Not too bad.

Especially since she explained it was to keep her family from coming over and taking her back home.

"Still, you should tell the truth to your sister now than later. It'll hurt more the later you put it off…"

The other two nodded at my explanation, but Megumin rebutted, "B-but my pride as an older sister…!"

"It's a pride built upon lies."

"…No, you're right. Originally, I wanted to lie about my conditions to keep my parents calm, since my mother was too overprotective… There's no reason to take me home at this point. I'd better come clean with Komekko."

That's right.

Apologizing early on, while difficult and gut-wrenching to do, will have benefits in the form of less troubles to deal with.

When Komekko came back in, Megumin called her over.

"Komekko… I have some serious matters to discuss with you."

Hearing Megumin's words, Komekko was aghast.

"Could it be… you don't have enough food?"

"No! Something far more important! It's that… what I wrote to our family was mostly me posturing and had some over exaggerations in there…"

"Uwah, so onee-chan lied in her letters?"

"Gah!"

One hit K-O!

"So you aren't the strongest party in Axel?"

Hmm?

"Huh, we are."

"Isn't onee-chan a super-duper mage that can kill any monster in a single hit and she's well-respected by other adventurers because of it…"

"That's true," I said.

"And the blonde onee-san never backs down before any monster, she's a reliable crusader who can withstand any attack. The blue-haired onee-san is a priest that never loses to any undead or devils; she can even revive dead people like a goddess."

Ah, she did revive Dust that one time…

As Komekko continued, Megumin stood up in a hurry.

"Yunyun is your precious friend and can take on most of the monsters you face, while the onii-san is the strongest and most reliable of you all?"

"That's true! That's true!"

At my exclamations, Aqua said,

"Most reliable? Aren't I the most reliable? Hey, hey, Megumin. It's me, right?"

When I laughed at that, Aqua came over to pummel me.

"I want to see the adventurer's guild!" Said Komekko.

So we went over there.

Seeing Megumin's little sister, everyone doted on her, but in the end…

Everyone was saddled with durian quests!

Quests that nobody would take!

……

…

It was boring, so I'll just say.

I don't want to see a manticore ever again.

He had a wife, but he said some really homo things…

The good news, however, is that Komekko was impressed with everyone.

However, I think Komekko was more impressed with the loads of food we brought back home.

……

"I'm back, everyone!"

"Welcome back."

"Did you bring any souvenirs?"

"I'm glad to see you are safe.

Megumin was playing with her sister at the moment.

"Mmmn. Thank you. Where's Megumin?"

"Playing with her sister, why?"

"Ah, that child will be picked up by their parents tomorrow, since we've successfully repelled the Demon King's army."

Ah, that's a shame.

"Alright! Today's gonna be another feast!"

…...

So we sent off Komekko with Yuiyui.

She certainly brought along some excitement. It hasn't even been a week since we've left the capital.

But one day, a young girl with lbue eyes and blonde hair came up to our door.

And when we opened it, she ran up to hug Darkness, yelling,

"Mommy-!"

…

As expected. It's uh, Sylph-chan.

A/N: I already wrote this, but man...

 

[shakeval]

Gonna have to go into town and commission a bunch of leather bondage gear for darkness. . . . .she obviously isn't yet proper submissive mother material.

 

[Sksk4128]

The only way outside of actually dating one of the girls is to hire the succubuses to pay you a visit.

 

[Brenden1k]

What about visiting a sci fi or grimdark setting with the party companioned. The look on a inquistors face, big brother face or grunt face as the main characters run around and cause chaos. The look on Palpatine face as his unlimited power meets a explosion or a halo setting that features the characters working with Spartans. Actually a Sci-fi setting can be a challenge as on foot might can only do so much forcing the MC to figure out how to win the war not just the battle.