Chapter 8: Fem-Kazuma (1)

There wasn't a cloud in the bright blue sky. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhh! Help me! Aqua, help meee!" "Pfft! Hee-hee-hee! This is great! Kazuma, your face is so red! The tears, the desperation—I love it!" Right. I'll bury her in the ground on my way home. Even as he plotted to leave Aqua in the dirt, he ran around screaming for her help as the Giant Toad, a massive frog-like monster, chased him. They were in the vast field surrounding the town. This was where grabbing a quest at the Guild had gotten them... "Aqua! Aqua!! Don't just stand there laughing—help me!" "Maybe you could start by showing me a bit of respect." "Lady Aqua!" The boy screamed even louder as he ran for his life. Satou Kazuma. A young man of average height 5'5" (165 cm) weighing 120 lb (54 kg) with slightly spiky chestnut-brown hair and green eyes. He was reincarnated into the Fantasy World after dying in the most stupid way possible. He was originally a student from Japan who always skipped out of school in favor of lazing around at home and playing video games. Eventually, he died in an accident and was sent flying to the fantasy world alongside the Goddess of Water Aqua to defeat the Devil King. "Well, all right! I guess I have to help you out, then, you hikiNEET. In return, I expect you to worship me—starting tomorrow! When we get back to town, you have to join the Axis Church and pray to me three times a day! At meals, if I ask for something on your plate, you have to give it to me without complaint! And—Hrgh?!" Aqua and all her self-aggrandizing suddenly vanished. The Giant Toad that had been chasing Kazuma had stopped moving. From one corner of its mouth, something blue was sprouting. It was... "Aqua! H-hey, don't you dare get eaten!" Aqua's leg hung out the side of the frog's mouth, shaking. Kazuma drew his short sword—and leaped at the Giant Toad! KONOSUBA!!!! "Sniffle... Waaaaah! Sniff..." Aqua squatted on the ground in front of Kazuma, hugging her knees. She was dripping with slime. Next to her lay the Giant Toad, its head split open. "Sniff...sniff... Th-thank you, Kazuma... Thank you...! Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!" She hadn't stopped crying since he'd pulled her from the toad's mouth. I guess even goddesses don't like being eaten. "I-it's all right, Aqua. Take it easy... Hey, let's go home for today. The quest was to kill five toads in three days, but we're obviously in over our heads. Let's get some more gear first. I mean, I've got a short sword and a tracksuit... I'd at least like to look like an adventurer." Kazuma had been able to kill the toad that swallowed Aqua mainly because Giant Toads stop moving when they swallow their prey. He never would have had the guts to go up against a toad that was happily hopping toward him to attack. But Aqua, her whole body covered in gleaming toad mucus, rose to her feet. "Sniff... How can a goddess just allow herself to be brought down to this level by some frog? I've been defiled! If one of my followers saw me now, they'd lose all faith in me! If it got out that I'd been laid low by a frog, the reputation of the beautiful and awesome Aqua would be for naught!" (She sweats every day as she lugs around construction loads, thrilled to be able to carry more than a bunch of middle-aged men. Every night she slept next to me on a hay bale, drool dribbling down her chin... But covered in a little frog slime, and now she is worried about appearances?) Before he could console her and call it a day, Aqua dashed off towards another Giant Toad in the distance. "Whoa! Hey, wait—Aqua!" She ignored him, closing the gap between her and the monster. With all the energy that propelled her, her fist began to emit a white light, and she slammed it into the toad's belly. "Know the power of the gods! You shouldn't have stood against me—and bared your fangs against us—but you'll have time to regret that in Hell! God Strike!" Kazuma recalled hearing from a Guild employee that physical attacks weren't all that effective against Giant Toads. Aqua's fist sank into the monster's soft stomach with a glug, and the toad casually looked down at her... Aqua met his eyes. "Y-you know, now that I see you up close, I realize how cute Giant Toads are..." For the second time that day, Kazuma set upon a monster immobilized while eating its meal, and for the second time, He rescued a sobbing, slime-covered goddess. They finally agreed to call it a day. Part 2: Kazuma and Aqua, having weathered the day's escapades, returned to the town as the sun dipped below the horizon. The town, a quaint and lively haven, exuded an otherworldly charm. Narrow cobblestone streets and brick buildings stood eave to eave, like a scene straight from Middle Ages Europe. There were no cars or motorcycles, no utility poles, and no cell phone towers. Simply a fantasy world with magic and swords that every otaku NEEt would dream of being in. "Waaaaaaaaah! Waaaaaaaaaaaaah! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" His experience would have been better if he hadn't accidentally brought along a useless goodness. "Hey, keep it down. What'll happen if everyone thinks I'm friends with a crazy lady?" "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!" The goddess grabbed hold of me as she cried. "Wh-whoa! What're you doing?! Stop it! I get it, I get it; It was hard for you, just don't touch me, you're covered in the frog drool!" His hands brushed Aqua's as he tried to free his neck from her grip. "I smell like Fish this is Gross...It's your fault that I've been defiled..." "How was that my fault!!" This girl is useless. The conversation wasn't getting them anywhere, so He stopped a middle-aged woman on the street. In addition to being sweaty and covered in dirt, now Kazuma found himself filled with the slimy residue from Aqua. So they have to know if there was any public bath around. The reason why he chose a middle-aged woman to ask, in his eyes, was better than asking a guy, who might've turned out to be trouble, or asking a young girl—His anxiety would've driven the difficulty of that "quest" through the roof. "Excuse me, ma'am. May I ask you something? Is there anything like a public bath around?" "A public bath? You mean you don't know? You must be new here." He relaxed at her words, knowing there had to be a Public Bath here somewhere. "Yes, ma'am. We've come from quite a ways off. We just arrived a little while ago." "Oh my...if that is the case then." She pointed in the opposite direction they came from, "If you follow that street and turn right, you'll see a sign." "Straight, then right. Thank you very much, ma'am! ...Okay, I am off!" "Wha!" Aqua exclaimed with a gasp, "KAZUMA! What about me!!" "There should be separate sections for men and women, do whatever you want." "H-Hey, don't leave me behind, Kazuma!" As they were about to disappear from the middle-aged woman's view, she called out as if remembering something important. "Oh, By the way, young traveler!" Kazuma halted and turned around. "Hmm?" he responded. "I heard some bad rumors from the men's section, so stay cautious." "Don't worry, ma'am. I've already faced the worst today; nothing could be worse." "Well... If you say so, enjoy your stay in Axel." "I will...I hope..." "Kazumaaaaa!!!" Aqua echoed as she followed behind him. Konusuba!! "Phew! Another day's work finished. Even I could hardly believe I was once a hikikomori" ///////////// **hikikomori: A form of severe social withdrawal that has been frequently described in Japan and is characterized by adolescents and young adults who become recluses in their parents' homes, unable to work or go to school for months or years ////////////// After an exhausting day, Aqua and Kazuma headed for the town's public bath, their day's wages clutched in hand. The baths here were more or less the same as the ones in Japan. The entry fee was maybe a bit higher compared to the average wage, but a hot bath after a long day of work was something he couldn't let fall by the wayside, even if it was a little expensive. After disrobing and wrapping a towel around his hips, Kazuma approached the entrance of the hot bath, only to be greeted by a frowning man offering him soap. "Ah, thanks," Kazuma said, accepting the soap. The attendant, eyeing Kazuma with narrowed eyes, "...I didn't see your face around...are you new to the town?" "Yeah, just arrived today. Still figuring my way around," The attendant leaned in slightly, his tone conspiratorial, as he whispered into Kazuma's ear, "Word of advice, stranger. Don't pick up anything that falls to the ground, whether it belongs to you or someone else," The man murmured, his eyes darting around as if wary of eavesdroppers. Furrowed his brow. "Ahhhh... What?" "Next!" With the line growing behind him, Kazuma didn't have any choice other than to push the door open to the bathhouse. "Well...That was weird.." Seeking not to let the odd encounter ruin his mood, he took a moment to glance around. This world looked a bit like the Middle Ages, so he'd assumed baths here would be a luxury as in the fantasy stories, but apparently, he'd been wrong. Dimly lit with feeble lanterns. Fragile, old walls held numerous cracks, and peeling paint hinted at neglect. Wooden benches bore the wear of countless patrons. The communal tub, stained and worn, promised warmth in a simple setting. No mirrors escaped cracks, or tiles that weren't shabby. The state of the bathhouse wasn't the only thing that made him uneasy. "What's with this atmosphere..." Since he stepped into the place, so many eyes were on him. Probably because he's a new face here, but still, that wasn't the atmosphere he was anticipating. But that wasn't enough to make him simply give up and leave. As a bath-loving Japanese person, he couldn't. "I put my money here; hell, a few glances won't make me leave without my enjoyable bath!" Taking a step ahead, he headed toward the shower area, cleaning himself before sinking into the sink. He didn't know if that was a normal thing to do in this world, but as a Japanese person, he grew accustomed to such a tradition. Taking the tower off and with the soap clutched in his right hand, he embarked on cleaning himself beneath the rejuvenating flow of the shower. "Ah, that's the life~" Amid his reverie, the unexpected greeting echoed, breaking the tranquility of his private moment. "Yoo, Bro, how are you doing?" (Shit, How tall is that guy?) A man stood tall in front of him. "Oh...Hey?" "You're new around, right?" "Oh, yeah, how did you know?" The man smiled as he gazed down at Kazuma, "You have that special thickness, that's why I can tell." He started laughing, and Kazuma awkwardly followed, not understanding what he was talking about. Amidst the weird situation, something happened...an event that would casually be considered normal on any given day occurred, but today was not... Something slid out from his hand... "Oops, I dropped my soap...huh?" The noise of the soap hitting the wet ground was louder than it was supposed to be. Maybe because everything suddenly went deadly silent, as if watching every moment of the soap dropping toward the ground. Kazuma didn't grasp the whole story, but he felt something was wrong. The way people were glancing, scrutinizing him, was enough for him to recall something. Don't pick up anything that falls to the ground, whether it belongs to you or someone else. "Oh my, look at that, you dropped the soap..." The man's voice echoed behind him. Kazuma didn't glance nor change his gaze away from the soap on the ground. "What are you waiting for, Bro, pick up the soap." Kazuma was speechless, sensing the dangers behind the innocuous command. "Are you gonna just leave it down there?" The man's voice grew more aggressive, "We don't waste any motherfucker soap in here." Kazuma slowly turned around, facing the man. Now he got a better look at him; the guy had three legs. "I-I am finished!" "Nah, Nah, you ain't finished yet, not until I tell you when." Kazuma realized he had unlocked a new fear. Glancing around, the people already started to leave. He knew one thing for sure. It's either his life or his butty; one of them he would lose today. "You see, in this place, we've got some rules," the man said, his voice dripping with malicious glee. "You drop the soap; you pick it up. Simple as that." Kazuma, trapped between fear and the absurdity of the situation, stammered, "I-I don't think this is necessary." "Look at me, N...Bro The average size in this world was 5.1, but when I was born, it became 8. You know what that means?" Shit, that's not a third leg... "It means there are no bitches for me Bro; I need man butt! Now, pick up the damn soap." In a twisted mixture of dread and bizarre realization, Kazuma reluctantly bent down to pick up the soap, "Yeah, Yeah, go ahead, c'mon..." As his fingers brushed the slippery bar "You ain't taking MY BUTTY!!" Kazuma blurted out In a split second, Kazuma seized the soap, flinging it at the man's face. With surprising agility, he turned on his heels, slipping through the door like a phantom. The man, momentarily blinded by the soapy assault, roared in frustration. "You chose the hard way, huh, you ain't running from me. Your butty is Mine!!" Meanwhile, outside the public bath, Aqua grew increasingly perplexed as she waited for Kazuma. "Akh...What takes him so much time!" As she lingered, the distant sounds of chaos from within the bathhouse piqued her curiosity. "Huh?!" Before she could fully grasp the situation, Kazuma appeared, stark naked, grabbing her hand and pulling her along in a hurried sprint. "Kazuma, what on my name is going on? Why are we running, and why are you—" He cut her off before she could finish, his urgency evident in his eyes. "No time to explain! Just trust me; we need to get out of here!" "GET YOUR ASS HERE AND PICK THE SOAP!!" A chill slid down his spine as he heard the familiar voice getting closer behind his back. "Eh!! Kazuma! A naked man is running after us." "Shit! I signed up for an Isekai adventure, not this!!" Panicked, Kazuma led Aqua through a series of abrupt turns and narrow alleys, desperately trying to shake off the pursuing menace. "Kazuma! I am tired, Let's take a break" "And risk my butty getting ruined? Hell nah" As they took a sharp turn into an even narrower alley, they were met with a brilliant flash of light that seemed to come out of nowhere. "What the hell is happening now?!" "Is this another one of your crazy plans, Kazuma?!" He shielded his eyes from the brightness. "I swear, I didn't plan for any of this!" As the brilliant flash of light subsided, "FINALLY! I GOT YA... huh? Where did he go?" he exclaimed, looking around in bewilderment. The perverted man found himself alone in the narrow alley, blinking in confusion. Part 3: The smell was the odd thing he felt first in the dark. It smelled sweet like a flower or soap. It clearly didn't belong to him but, it suddenly tickled Shido's nose. "Hn......." He stirred around while making a small groan before taking a stretch while lying down. This time after he did that, he felt a warm and soft feeling at the back of his hand, and a soft [Kyaa] could be heard at the same time as well. "Heh......?" After Shido forcefully awakened his cloudy consciousness, he rubbed his eyes while slowly raising his body. His familiar bed was the first thing that entered his view. On top of the white sheets, there were wrinkled blankets and bath blankets covered on top. But, it was clear that the feeling he felt on his hand was not that, and more importantly, clothes don't give out voices. Shido slowly raised his sights. When he did that, "Uh...It's Monday..." A girl in her underwear was snuggling beside Him. She had a characteristically delicate body that looked like it would break if hugged too tightly. Her eyes were closed, a sign the girl was still asleep enjoying her dreams. She should be in her late teens. Her orange hair, casually braided up was a mess, spreading on the bed behind her back; she had slender limbs and voluptuous breasts. She was a beauty with prided proportions that would make even models feel shame. Reaching for his head, it seemed he suffered from momentary memory loss. His head was in a hell of pain. "Akh... Oh yeah, they sneak into my room in the middle of the night..." The reason why he said they were simple. Raising his eyes ahead, he could see the other twin, her body resting above his wardrobe with a drooling smile on her face. He had no idea how she ended up there. Both girls in his room held the same facial features, with only a little difference in sizes in some areas of their bodies—Yuzuru Yamai and Kaguya Yamai, aka the Yamai sisters. Taking a last glance at the chaotic room around him, "........I guess I'll wash my face." He ya-re ya-re made a tired sigh before slowly standing up from his place on the floor, moving as if he were a ninja so he wouldn't wake up the sleeping girl beside him. He washed his face, changed his clothes, and went down the stairs toward the living room. With a 'sniff,' he smelled something good coming from the kitchen, "It's still 6:30 AM in the morning, and she's already awake. As expected from her." He entered the living room to find Shirou, the culinary dynamo of the house, in the kitchen surrounded by ingredients and pots. "Oh, Master," the little girl noticed the presence of Shido in the living room, "Good morning." "Oh, good morning, Shirou. You're early as always," Shido replied, eyeing the kitchen's organized chaos. "Yeah, I am trying to sit in a fixed routine." "I see." His nose moved once again, sniffing an unfamiliar smell, "You're trying something new for breakfast?" Shiro nodded enthusiastically, "Oh, you bet! Today, I've prepared a special breakfast, Shakshuka" Shido's curiosity peaked, "Shaksh—what?" "Shakshuka, a Morrocan dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper," She exclaimed proudly. Shido hesitated for a moment before taking a seat, "Well, I've never tried something like that before. Let's give it a shot." "Oh, by the way, Master." "Hmm?" "Who will be here for breakfast, so I know how much I should prepare?" Shido scratched his head, "Well, there's me, you, and... let's see, possibly Yuzuru, Kaguya, Tohka, Kotori, Natsumi, Yoshino, Nia, and Origami. Miku said she had a stage to attend. Kurumi is still busy with a case to solve... and Mukuro." "Ah... Mukuro-san..." Shirou narrowed her brows. "I am still not sure why you guys end up fighting till today..." "She was the one to start the fight; I didn't do anything wrong..." Long story short, because Mukuru heard Shirou calling Shido 'Master,' she ended up angry, claiming she was the only one who had the right to call Shido by that nickname. Shirou refused to drop calling him by that nickname, and both of them ended up fighting. The good thing was that Shido was still around and stopped them before things ended up ugly. From that day, which was the day Shido sealed Shirou's Reiryoku a week ago, both Shirou and Mukuro ended up in a bad relationship. Sighing as he watched Shirou going about her duty, he rested his head on the table, his eyes still on Shirou. There was that charm he enjoyed watching. A charm of a girl clad in your typical housewife outfit, preparing breakfast for him. It was a routine for him to be the one to take care of the kitchen, but it changed as Shirou took on that role. He didn't have to wake up that early anymore to prepare breakfast, but he still did just so he could watch Shirou cooking. As the dim light of the rising sun found its way through the window, there was a sound of whistling from the coffee maker, announcing the readiness of the morning coffee. The sound pulled Shido's eyes away from Shirou's culinary dance. He watched as Shirou prepared an empty cup, sipping the hot coffee there, and immediately headed toward him. "Here," "Thanks, Shirou," Shido said, taking a sip. The coffee was perfect, just the way he liked it—He had to explain his taste to her just once, and she already had it nailed down. "Enjoy, Master" His eyes once again were pulled to the coffee maker. It was one of the things they obtained on their date that day, alongside other devices, and it seemed she had already made use of them. He was kind of happy about that. As Shido continued to enjoy his coffee, he felt a total sense of satisfaction. There was still about an hour and a half for the other girls to wake up, which meant he had all the time to relax in peace. "Nothing should ruin this morning~" That would be true if he didn't speak up... "Huh?" He felt a sense of weightlessness. "Oh no...don't tell me..." A sense he would feel every time he would be about to get transferred. "Oh, By the way, Master. Do you prefer spices in your breakfast or—Master?" As Shirou turned around to ask Shido something, there was no trace of the blue-haired boy in the living room. Part 4: "Welcome back, Big Brooo~~" A cheerful voice echoed through his ears as he lay motionless on the solid floor. He didn't bother to answer; his face remained unreadable as his eyes fixed on the airship ceiling. "Kotori..." "Yes, Onii-san~" "No more sweets for three days..." "EEHH!!!" A gasp, an exclamation that painted surprise on Kotori's face. She rose from her captain's seat with the reflex of a startled bird, before an 'Ahem' sound echoed toward her, making her hastily but gracefully, reclaim her seat. The familiar noise captured Shido's attention, and he bent his neck back, taking a look at who was beside Kotori, without bothering to get up. To his surprise, "Kannazuki!" It was none other than the masochistic blond-haired man, the Vice Commander of Fraxinus, Kyouhei Kannazuki. The tall guy standing beside the captain's seat gave a light bow like a butler, "It has been a while, Shido-san." "Ah, N-No time no see..." Now that he thought about it... the place wasn't as dimly illuminated as the last time he was here. The place felt more lively, just like 2 years ago. Rising to sit on his butt, he glanced around. "Guys... You're all here!" All the Ratatoskr crew members were present, each in their designated casual seats (except for Rienne, who had been temporarily replaced by Elen). Amidst the familiar faces and the resurfacing nostalgia, Shido's moment of reflection was abruptly interrupted by Kotori's urgent call. "Okay, back to work now, Shido. I think you already figure out why you're here now." "New spirit?" "Correct, but..." With a click on the main control panel, the airship's main screen shifted to display a holographic image of something akin to a celestial water planet. The image, captured from space, showcased the sheer magnitude of the object compared to Earth. Shido gasped in shock, not just at the enormity of the planet-like structure but also at the absence of blue in the image. The holographic representation revealed something unsettling—the image of Earth lacked the familiar blue hues associated with oceans and seas. "W-What is that? Is that a real image of the Earth right now? And what is that thing floating beside the Earth?" "The image is from one hour ago..." A heavy silence settled in the command center as the implications sank in. Shido's mind raced with questions, concern etched on his face. "Is the new spirit behind this?" Kotori nodded, and with another click, the image shifted. This time to a zoomed picture inside the watery planet. Shido could see a girl inside, seemingly sleeping peacefully. "T-That..." "The new spirit, Code name: Aqua. She just disappeared from inside the watery planet, probably to the void. We don't know when she will reappear, but we just pray she will not bring another Spacequake with her." "Another?" "Unlike Shirou," Kotori shifted the image on the screen display, and Shido's eyes widened. "What the...." "That's the image of the Spacequakes she caused after she appeared for the first time... There were no victims as we were lucky; the Spacequakes happened in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after it was drained." Shido's expression darkened as he took in the destruction caused by Aqua's previous appearance. "It was as big as the one that was caused by Mio 32 years ago..." Kotori added, as Shido's eyes were fixed on the giant hole of destruction, bigger than the whole of Japan. Seeing Shidou like this, Kotori closed her eyes halfway, " The governments are on high alert, and the media is speculating on the worst. The absence of water in the oceans, and the Spacequakes—they're triggering a global crisis. We need to act swiftly and decisively." Clutching his fist, as he fixed a determined gaze on his little sister, "What are we going to do, Kotori?" Returning the gaze with a confident smile, "That's my brother for you. Now, let's start our War—Date!" -------------------------------------------- (A/N): I am here again!! Let's get straight to the main point about the series' power system. I don't have a clear idea of how things will work yet. Currently, I'm considering a concept where all the new spirits share the same power source. In simpler terms, it means it doesn't matter how a character uses their power or the specific concept it relies on; they all draw from the same source. For instance, Shirou would use her Prana through the Magic Circuits. Similarly, characters like Naruto would utilize chakra through the chakra points, and Goku would harness Ki. These are different ways of using the same underlying power source. If Goku were to use his Ki sensing, he would detect the chakra in Naruto's body as Ki. When it comes to sealing power, what Shido seals is not the spirits' skills but their new boost abilities as a spirit. For Shirou, Shido sealed a significant part of her Prana, the source of her magical power. She can still use her power, but not as effectively as at her full capacity, similar to other spirits in the series. While there are still some holes in this system, I can manage with it. If anyone has ideas on how to manage the power system in the series, I hope you'll share them with me. For the power scale. Well, the weakest spirits are already a Multi-universal threat. for the weak characters that i will bring. They will have a huge power boost to keep up with the already broken characters. i will explain more about that in the next chapter. Lastly, regarding omakes in this story, it seems challenging to integrate them into a normal chapter. The average word count per chapter has already exceeded 4000 words which is already too much. So I'll probably just write a whole chapter for the omakes stories, and also, like that, i will have more freedom in writing make bigger in terms of words and better. For the time being, we have just one make, which is FGO. We'll see what more omake topics we'll have in the future. That was for today, see ya!