My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

"Yo, Kobayashi, so you're questing with us today!"

The Crusader, Taylor, slapped him hard on the back.

The archer, Keith, also said helplessly, "We have to bring a newbie along again. It's been a long time since I've had this feeling."

"We're in your care, Kobayashi," the mage, Lynn, said with a shy smile.

How in the world did it end up like this?

It all had to go back to last night.

Because the bounty for the Dullahan had arrived, Kobayashi, to reward the adventurers who had held the line in the rear, had specially offered to treat everyone to drinks. Moreover, he had generously said that it was an open bar.

"I can't believe Dust drank himself unconscious..."

"And we even told him he had a mission today."

"I know, right?"

That was the reason. Dust had the same delinquent personality as Kazuma. He would naturally never pass up a freebie. He had drunk himself into a stupor, which meant he couldn't go on today's mission.

And even though it was the simplest of quests, the entire guild, including Aqua and Kazuma, had also gotten drunk. Somehow, it had turned into Kobayashi having to go on the mission with them.

"It's fine, it's fine. You just have to carry the luggage, Kobayashi."

The three of them were looking down on him a little.

But it was also normal. After all, back when he was a rookie being trained by Dust, the three of them had often stood by and watched the show. It wasn't unjustified for them to treat him as a newbie.

However, they didn't seem to understand the principle that "a scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes."

"Hey, hey, hey, I helped subjugate the Dullahan too, you know."

"What are you talking about? Wasn't it that Archpriest who purified the Dullahan? What does that have to do with you?"

...He couldn't argue with that.

In everyone else's eyes, it was indeed Aqua who had purified the Dullahan. At most, he had just discovered its weakness and reminded everyone.

"So, you just need to carry the luggage, Kobayashi. Leave the fighting to us."

"Haah... I understand."

He wasn't angry. After all, they didn't have any ill intentions. And he was more than happy to get a share of the money just for carrying luggage.

"Taylor, what quest are we doing?"

"Goblin subjugation."

"Er..."

For some reason, Kobayashi fell silent for a moment, looking at Lynn with an inexplicable pity in his eyes.

"Wh-what is it?"

Being stared at made Lynn a little uncomfortable, and she asked cautiously.

"Lynn, going to subjugate goblins must be hard work for you."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because goblins, by their nature, are monsters that have a special effectiveness against women. They will plunder women and tie them up in their nests, tear off their clothes, and do this kind and that kind of bad things. The girls' screams will only make them more excited. And then, after making them give birth to many little goblins, they will..."

"Ah—!"

Lynn let out a frightened scream, rubbing her shoulders and covering her ears as she hid behind Taylor.

"Kobayashi, don't scare her," Keith glared at him, annoyed.

He, however, said with a gratified expression, "I'm sorry. Although I feel bad, I'm also very moved!"

"Moved by what?"

The three of them couldn't help but get a little angry at his malicious personality.

In reality, they had misunderstood him.

Seeing Lynn have a normal girl's reaction, he was truly moved. After all, if the problem children in his party had heard that, one would have been screaming to blow them up with Explosion magic, and the other would have been panting with excitement and charging into the goblin nest looking for thrills.

If this kept up, he was going to start doubting if his own cognition was the problem.

He tilted his head up as two tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes.

Taylor, Keith, and Lynn looked at each other but didn't say anything more. They just felt that he seemed very world-weary.

They continued toward their destination.

As they walked, Taylor explained the intel. "According to the report, we'll see the goblin cave once we cross this mountain. They're all gathered there, so we need to be on high alert from here on out."

"Roger!" x4

"Wait."

Kobayashi suddenly stopped them.

"What is it?"

"Shh—"

He put a finger to his lips, signaling for them to be quiet. At the same time, he closed his eyes, his ears twitching as he activated his [Probe] skill.

A monster was wandering ahead.

"We have an enemy."

Before they could ask, he quickly pressed down on their shoulders, hiding them in the bushes by the roadside, while his eyes scanned a location further away.

Although they didn't know what was happening, the three of them didn't ask, and instead quickly entered a battle-ready state.

As expected of battle-hardened adventurers. I guess Dust must have taught them quite a bit in secret.

Suddenly—

A large feline beast burst into their line of sight. It was larger than an adult tiger or lion, its body covered in black fur, and two sharp, long fangs like a saber-toothed tiger's protruded from its mouth.

At this moment, it was low to the ground, its nose twitching as if it were sniffing for something.

—The Rookie Killer!

The timid Lynn, upon seeing the beast, quickly clamped a hand over her own mouth, forcing herself not to make a sound, as if terrified that a scream of fear would attract its attention.

The fact that the three of them were so nervous was a testament to its danger level.

Something's not right.

Normally, a goblin habitat shouldn't be this strange. But if the Rookie Killer was involved, then it all made sense.

That creature liked to hang around near weak monsters, because they were the targets of novice adventurers. So, it would drive the weak monsters out and use them as bait to lure adventurers in, then come out and eat them.

Many people had already been killed by it. Unfortunately, the monster was very cunning, highly intelligent, and very strong. The novice adventurers of Axel simply couldn't fight it. So even though the subjugation quest for it was permanently on the bulletin board with a ridiculously high reward, no one dared to accept it.

Taylor was covered in cold sweat. Keith gritted his teeth, holding his breath. Lynn was trembling with fear.

"Honestly, I can't watch this anymore."

Kobayashi suddenly spoke up.

"ROAR—!"

A human voice had sounded in the silent jungle, and the Rookie Killer's cold roar immediately followed.

The three of them jumped in fright.

"Why did you make a sound! All we had to do was hold our breath and let it leave!" Taylor scolded excitedly.

"It's useless. The smell is too strong."

If they hadn't been with a bunch of drunks all last night, it might have been possible. But the stench of alcohol and their body odor couldn't be concealed. It was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

"Damn it! What do we do now?"

Keith also understood this. He angrily ran his hands through his hair, but then immediately raised his longbow and aimed it at the enemy.

"Um, I actually have an idea."

"What idea?"

"As everyone knows, if you meet a tiger, don't be afraid. All I have to do is go up and slide tackle it...!"

"Slide tackle it, and then what?"

"The tiger will be full, and everyone else will be safe."

"...Is this really the time for jokes?!" x3

His flippant remark made the three of them turn and glare at him.

"Sorry, sorry. I just saw you were all so tense and wanted to lighten the atmosphere," Kobayashi said, slowly taking off his backpack. He cracked his neck and said confidently, "Leave the rest to me."

"W-wait... what do you mean, leave it to you?" Taylor still hadn't grasped the situation.

"Obviously, I'm the one who's going to kill it."

"Huh...?! Are you serious? Aren't you a beginner-class adventurer? How are you going to defeat it?"

"I'm telling you, stop thinking of me as the rookie I used to be."

As he spoke, he drew his longsword and deftly dodged the Rookie Killer's pounce.

When facing a feline beast, you must always pay attention to its first three attacks. As long as you dodge its pounce, its swat, and its slash, once all three miss, most of its stamina will be spent. So he had to exhaust it as much as possible.

Taylor and the others couldn't help. If they rashly stepped in, they would most likely be more of a hindrance. So they could only watch as he continuously dodged through the forest, their hearts in their throats.

However, as time went on, apart from his clothes being dirty and him looking a bit disheveled, he wasn't injured at all.

Their worried hearts began to settle down.

"ROAR—!!!"

Under normal circumstances, the Rookie Killer's agility and dexterity were a cut above any novice adventurer's. But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't catch the little bug in front of it. Gradually, its patience and stamina were worn down.

"Roooar~"

It was already planning to retreat.

But he wasn't going to let it go. Otherwise, all his effort would have been wasted.

"Now it's my turn."

A purple light array flashed. His figure instantly disappeared and reappeared behind the Rookie Killer.

His sword plunged into the main artery in its neck. The next second, crimson blood spurted out.

The Rookie Killer went berserk, thrashing wildly. After knocking down several large trees, it finally collapsed on the ground, lifeless.

"H-he actually killed it...?!"

"And with just one blow?"

"So strong!!!"

Taylor, Keith, and Lynn cried out in surprise.

And Kobayashi enjoyed their worshipful, shocked, and admiring gazes, feeling secretly pleased.

He finally understood why, in those third-rate toilet paper light novels, they always loved to stage this kind of plot where the protagonist is looked down upon and then turns the tables and slaps them in the face.

Because it really does feel good.

(End of Chapter)