My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

"The number of quests at the Guild has increased again."

"Well, it's because the Dullahan was subjugated."

The group was gathered around the Adventurer's Guild notice board, searching for quests suitable for them. Aside from ridiculous quests like "Potion Tester" and "Meat Target," the number of herb-gathering, ore-mining, and monster-slaying quests had increased significantly.

But at this point, is there any meaning in doing quests?

Satou Kazuma's brow furrowed tightly.

He thought for a moment, then said to them very seriously, "Hey, Darkness, Megumin! I have something I need to tell you."

"...What is it? Why so serious?"

They all looked at him, puzzled.

Kazuma suddenly made his trash-otaku declaration: "From now on, I want to reduce the number of adventures we go on! Since we got such a huge amount of money from defeating the Dullahan, I want to live a leisurely and safe life!"

"Wait, what do you mean by that?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've never heard of such a thing!"

He had barely finished speaking before Megumin and Aqua objected.

The chuunibyou loli raised her staff excitedly, "Not being able to fight strong enemies is a huge problem for me! I have to obtain the title of the strongest mage, after all!"

"Give it up. That's impossible in this lifetime."

Kazuma mercilessly extinguished her enthusiasm.

Aqua also said anxiously, "No! I absolutely disagree! If you don't go and defeat the Demon King, Kazuma, then I can't go back, can I?!"

Originally, she would have been a member of the lazy-bum club. But Kobayashi had pointed out that the Dullahan was just the vanguard of the Demon King. It would be a long, long time before she could return to the heavens. This had instantly ignited her desire to fight.

"Wait... what's this about defeating the Demon King?" Megumin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly leaned in.

Darkness was also excited. "That's right, I don't know anything about this!"

Oh, right. I forgot to mention that.

"Actually, our original goal was to defeat the Demon King," Kazuma said, offering no preamble.

If anyone else had heard this, they probably would have laughed their heads off. Just a few novices, and they were already thinking of defeating the Demon King.

But there wasn't a single normal person in this party.

A crimson light shone in Megumin's eyes—proof of her excitement. She shouted, "I'm going! I'm going to defeat the Demon King! If I can successfully defeat the Demon King, I will definitely become the strongest Explosion mage!"

"The Demon King... defeating the Demon King... a captured female knight, being freely toyed with in a dim, secret room... Although defeating the Demon King is an incomparably noble ideal, being freely toyed with has also been my dream all this time! Hiss— hah— hiss— hah—"

Darkness was getting worked up again.

Although in your average toilet-paper light novel, it wouldn't make sense if there weren't a few female knights kneeling at the Demon King's feet, the Demon King would definitely not want a knight like her. Not only was her physical defense ridiculous, but she was also a complete pervert. She would absolutely be disgustedly thrown out the door.

Kazuma shook his head, throwing these strange thoughts out of his mind, and said to them seriously, "In any case, I'm the type who just wants to live a leisurely life here. I am absolutely not doing anything dangerous!"

After witnessing the Dullahan's power, he was even more convinced of this.

Just imagine: there were seven more as strong as the Dullahan, plus a Demon King who was probably even more ridiculous. How could a few small fry like them possibly fight that?

"By the way, Aqua, hurry up and give me your skills!"

"...Party trick skills?"

"I mean your Archpriest skills!"

Kazuma cursed in anger and said with disgust, "The only thing you're good for is your Archpriest skills! Hurry up and teach them to me, and then you'll be completely useless!"

He was being extremely cruel and heartless. But he was just that kind of man, so it was normal for him to act this way.

But Aqua disagreed.

Her large, azure eyes filled with tears, and she whimpered, "I don't want to~ Don't take away my reason for being, don't~~~"

"This woman...!"

Kazuma clenched his fists in anger.

He hated it when she was like this. Not only was she always useless, but she also hogged her powerful skills and wouldn't share them, excessively demanding that he take her along on adventures.

Even though she was completely useless!

...He had completely forgotten that the Dullahan had been sent to heaven in the end only thanks to Aqua's powerful [Sacred Purify] skill. It was probably just that Aqua causing trouble had left a deeper impression on him.

"Besides..."

Kazuma sighed and looked at Kobayashi, who was standing to the side pretending not to exist so as to avoid the trouble. "If you guys want to defeat the Demon King so badly, why don't you just have Kobayashi-senpai lead you?"

He was smart, caring, and had a cheat ability. The things he had brought back from the other world had greatly increased their strength. If they just continued like this, they would soon defeat the Demon King. They didn't need his help at all. To put it excessively, they were the ones dragging him down.

Hearing his name, Kobayashi pointed to himself, puzzled. "...Eh? Me? Why?"

"Why... aren't you one of the heroes sent to this world, senpai? Isn't defeating the Demon King your ultimate goal?" Kazuma said.

"That's awful, Kazuma-kun, just passing the trouble onto someone else. Besides, I never said I was going to defeat the Demon King."

"Urk..."

Kazuma was suddenly dumbfounded.

He thought about it carefully. Kobayashi really hadn't ever said he was going to defeat the Demon King. It was just his subconscious assumption that the heroes sent by Aqua all had the goal of defeating the Demon King.

Have I misunderstood?!

"Kazuma-kun, not all heroes have the goal of defeating the Demon King. In fact, most of the heroes are just troublemakers for this world. As far as I know, there was one person who created a machine that could destroy a country, and it's still out of control, running rampant on the continent."

"N-no way, hahaha..."

Kazuma laughed awkwardly. But seeing his expression, which didn't seem to be fake, and thinking about how unreliable Aqua was, he had a feeling it was very possible.

No! Even if you say that, you absolutely won't shake my resolve!

Kazuma said stubbornly, "In any case, I am absolutely not going on any more dangerous quests! After I get the bounty, I'm going to live a comfortable and happy life here! What's more, maybe I should just quit the party?!"

Just at this moment—

"Excuse me! Kobayashi! The bounty for your subjugation of the Dullahan has come in!"

Luna's voice reached their ears.

Even though her voice wasn't loud, it instantly quieted the noisy guild, and everyone's gaze gathered on her.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you, Kobayashi, for helping everyone repel the Dullahan and saving this town."

"Oh, it was nothing. It was just what we had to do."

He said modestly. After all, the reason the Dullahan had attacked in the first place was because of their party. If they hadn't dealt with him, he would have dealt with them.

"Well then, next, I will distribute the bounty to everyone."

"Ooooh!!!"

Kazuma was incredibly excited. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

300 million Eris! Enough for me to live a happy life in this town!

However—

"Eh?"

Kazuma looked at the shriveled coin pouch in his hand. Compared to Aqua's, which was the most bloated, Megumin's second, and Darkness's third, his skinny little pouch barely made a sound when he shook it.

And compared to the several checks Kobayashi got, it was pitifully small.

"Wait! This isn't right!"

Kazuma couldn't take it. He yelled, "Wasn't it 300 million Eris? Why is mine the smallest?!"

"How should I put this... Actually, this was given out based on the contribution made during the subjugation of the Dullahan."

Luna explained awkwardly. Because of Kobayashi's intervention, Kazuma had only shot one arrow. He hadn't had a chance to show off at all, which was why the bounty he received was pitifully small.

"How could this be..."

Kazuma hung his head, looking incredibly depressed. But before anyone could comfort him, he crisply raised his head, snatched a quest form from the bulletin board, and said, "Everyone, let's go do a quest!"

"Waah—"

"Kazuma?"

"What a scumbag..."

The rest of the party looked at him with disgust.

But this was Kazuma's style, wasn't it?

Author's Note: Although the anime didn't show it, the light novel did indeed state that rewards are paid out according to contribution, just so you know.

(End of Chapter)