My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

"Let's move. Let's buy a big house!"

In the evening, while everyone was chatting after dinner, Kobayashi suddenly said this in front of everyone, catching their attention.

"Move?"

"Why?"

"Isn't it nice living here?"

Kazuma and the others looked at each other in surprise.

Kobayashi pointed at the room and said, "Don't you all think the rooms we live in are too small? And the base itself was just a remodeled, dilapidated warehouse. Even if most of it has been repaired and rebuilt, there are still some inconspicuous places with holes, right? Besides, it's about to be autumn. It wouldn't be good if we caught a cold."

Kazuma thought for a moment and said, "Come to think of it, my room is a bit drafty."

Like Megumin, he lived in the outermost room. They didn't have the time or energy at the time, which meant the outer wall wasn't sturdy and was very thin. Small holes had already broken open in some of the corners.

"Getting a new house..."

"I'd be a little sad to leave."

Darkness and Megumin looked slightly dejected.

This warehouse-turned-base was mostly tidied up and remodeled by the two of them. And since they were both sentimental people, the sudden talk of moving made them a little sad.

"Rest assured, we're not selling this place," Kobayashi promised.

This place held their memories and their laughter. Even as a memorial, he would not sell it or abandon it.

Most importantly—

"If we become famous later on, we can also turn this place into a tourist spot for them to visit!"

"That's a pretty good idea, Kazuma-kun!"

It had to be said, Kazuma had a sharp sense for business; he was a born merchant. To even think of using the celebrity effect to turn their former residence into a tourist attraction to make money...

"New house! New house! New house!"

Aqua cheered excitedly.

If there was anyone in the party who wanted to change houses the most, it was her. From the moment she had arrived at the dilapidated warehouse, she had been disgusted. Although she had stopped complaining after it was remodeled, now that he was talking about moving, she was the most jubilant of all.

"Kobayashi! Are we moving?"

"We're moving. To a big one!"

"A castle? A divine palace? Or a villa? No matter what, it has to be a mansion at the very least, right!"

"Mmm... the first two are a bit of a stretch, but a villa or a mansion is possible. With our current savings, it's not a problem."

"Really? That's great!"

Aqua and Kobayashi linked fingers and jumped around the room. Their happy, cheerful appearance was a stark contrast to the stable, reliable image he usually projected.

Even Kazuma couldn't help but retort, "Kobayashi-senpai, you have a really deep obsession with houses."

When they first formed the party, he had been yelling about saving money to buy a house. Now that they had a huge sum of money, the first thing he thought of was still buying a house. It made one wonder if he had some kind of special feelings for houses.

"Er..."

He froze on the spot, then couldn't help but cover his cheeks with his hands and say in a low voice, "I'm sorry. At a time like this, please just think of me as an ordinary person without any grand ambitions."

That ashamed and embarrassed look made Kazuma sense that there seemed to be a hidden story. But seeing that his leader was unwilling to talk about it, he was also considerate enough not to ask.

A wise choice.

"In any case, let's go to the Adventurer's Guild tomorrow and ask. There should be a suitable house."

"Got it!" x4

Early the next morning, the group headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild.

At the table, Kobayashi was the first to speak. "Before we go and ask, we must first confirm everyone's needs. I will do my best to satisfy them. After all, I am very democratic."

"Democratic..."

The corner of Kazuma's mouth twitched.

He hadn't forgotten what "democracy" meant to Kobayashi-senpai. It definitely meant that no matter what requests they made, they would all be rejected in the end.

"I want to raise a tentacle monster!"

"Rejected!"

"I want to cast Explosion magic in the yard!"

"Rejected!"

"I want to build an Axis temple on the back hill!"

"Rejected!"

See? All rejected.

...Although he really wanted to say that, what kind of requests were you idiots even making? You could tell just by looking at them that they would never be approved!

After that, more nonsensical requests were made, and he rejected them just the same.

Looking at Kazuma, who was sitting silently to the side, he asked, "Don't you have any requests, Kazuma-kun? If it's reasonable, I'll do my best to satisfy it."

"No, well... if it's a big house, wouldn't it be better if there were maids or something... of that sort?"

Kazuma thought about it and finally said it.

His real intention was to live the noble life of having his clothes handed to him and his food fed to him, and being able to do "this kind and that kind" of bad things when he saw a maid.

However, he had already vetoed it in his heart. There was no way Kobayashi-senpai would agree.

"This proposal is approved."

"...Eh?"

He never thought that his senior would actually agree. So does that mean he was about to start living the life of a noble?

"Rejected."

A cold and impersonal voice suddenly interjected.

Who?! Who was it that vetoed my life as a noble lord?!

The angry Kazuma was just about to speak when he saw the automaton girl place a large scythe on his neck, her threatening gaze and the cold chill from the blade instantly dropping his body temperature to the freezing point.

"O-on second thought, maids... don't seem to be necessary?"

He chickened out. Completely.

"Kazuma-kun..."

"Master Kobayashi, I also believe that maids are not necessary."

Before he could use Kazuma's mouth to express his own desire to hire maids, RyuZU cut him off.

"Master Kobayashi, whether it's food, clothing, or cleaning, I can do it all. So there is no need to find other maids."

"But I'm worried you'll be overworked, RyuZU..."

"Have you forgotten, Master Kobayashi? I am a mechanical automaton. I do not get tired."

"Oh yeah! I actually forgot! Hahaha, haha... ha..."

Kobayashi laughed awkwardly, trying to gloss it over. But from the unwilling expression on his face, one could guess what he was really thinking.

The two men with ulterior motives were extremely disappointed.

After his little plan failed, Kobayashi also lost his enthusiasm. He jotted down a few hard requirements.

First, it had to be big, with many rooms. After all, RyuZU still didn't have a room and was living in the same room as him. It wasn't that he disliked it, but that he wanted to treat her as a companion, not a tool. So even if she didn't live in it, she had to have one. As for the reason for the large rooms... if you know, you know.

Second, it had to be remote. Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin were all problem children. If he wasn't careful, they would blow the house up. So, being far away from the town was good for both the residents of Axel and for them.

Third was the price. It wasn't realistic to spend all 300 million Eris on a house. He had to reserve a portion as start-up capital, so he had to keep the budget as low as possible.

"How about it? Is there a house that fits these conditions?"

"...Please wait a moment."

He and the others nervously watched as Luna quickly flipped through her files. Before long, she pulled out a single sheet.

"I found it! It's perfect. There's a quest posted here. It says that in a noble's mansion on the edge of town, there are evil spirits that, no matter how many times they are driven out, immediately reappear. So, the owner is selling it at a low price and has also posted a quest. If someone can solve this tricky problem, they can live there for free."

"Hiss—"

He couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. Why did this sound more and more... wrong?

Kobayashi's suspicious gaze turned towards a certain idiot goddess.

(End of Chapter)