My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

"W-wait... Kobayashi, why are you looking at me like that? It's weird!"

Aqua's expression changed. That gaze was too piercing, exactly the same as the look he gave her when she had done something wrong before. She subconsciously took several steps back.

But on second thought, this shouldn't have anything to do with her!

...Probably.

But was that really the case?

Kobayashi, who knew the real situation, knew that this was all Aqua's fault for using magic to surround the nearby cemetery, preventing the ghosts from moving on. This caused the ghosts to linger in the various houses, unwilling to leave.

Aqua's intentions were good, but her good intentions always led to bad outcomes. This was a characteristic of hers that he had long since gotten used to.

During his time in that other world, he had suffered quite a bit because of this.

Of course, there were also many benefits.

Thinking about it, when he first went to find Wiz, the number of ghosts in Axel had inexplicably increased...

No, no, that probably wasn't Aqua. After all, at that time, she had only just been brought to the mortal world by Kazuma and hadn't had the chance to do something like circle a cemetery with magic.

You have to be reasonable. You can't just pin every pot on the idiot goddess, right?

Although the reason this time really was her fault.

Back to the quest.

Luna pointed at the sheet and said, "This quest is perfect for you. Miss Aqua is an Archpriest and can use advanced purification magic. If you can successfully complete the mission, whether you buy it at a low price or get to live there for free, it's an excellent choice. How about it, Kobayashi? Will you accept this quest?"

"Yes, yes! I'll take it!"

Before he could speak, Aqua hastily snatched the quest form.

She giggled foolishly as she looked at the reward listed on it. In her view, ghosts and stuff were just a piece of cake; she could take care of them in two or three moves.

Being able to live in a mansion for free... she loved it!

Afterward, they met with the real estate agent who had posted the quest. According to him, the owner of the mansion had already moved to the Imperial Capital, so the mansion was empty and had been handed over to him to sell and manage.

It was just extremely unfortunate that the mansion had hit the market just as the evil spirit disturbance began. Now, forget selling it; the negative reviews had already turned the mansion into a haunted house. Even with the price dropping to rock bottom, no one would buy it.

It just so happened that Kobayashi and his party had come to take it off his hands.

After some haggling, they successfully got it for the super-low price of 12,000,000 Eris.

At first, the agent didn't want to sell.

But under Kobayashi's persuasion—moving him with emotion (warning that if he didn't sell, it would just rot on his hands and might even affect the agent's reputation) and convincing him with reason (the explosion loli staring threateningly at him with her crimson eyes)—the agent finally agreed to sell.

It was a win-win result. He had no reason not to agree to get it off his hands.

The four of them carried their simple luggage to the suburbs.

Looking at the two-story mansion in front of them.

"Although the price is low, is it really okay that we bought it?"

At first, Kazuma had also been caught up in the lure of the cheap mansion, but after the impulse passed, he came back to his senses.

"At the end of the day, isn't it just a haunted house?!"

"You said it."

"This mansion looks like it hasn't been lived in for a long time. The evil spirit disturbance only started recently, right? It's possible the previous disturbances started because of it. Maybe it's a stigmatized property..."

This was bad. He was starting to get scared.

Kazuma rubbed his arms, seeking the opinion of Kobayashi, who had bought the mansion.

"Kobayashi-senpai, what do we do now?"

"...I don't understand what there is to be afraid of. Don't we have an expert in dealing with the undead?"

Kobayashi stepped aside, putting Aqua front and center.

Although she wasn't good at her goddess duties, you could completely trust her with everything except that.

"Leave it to me!"

Aqua patted her chest confidently, then closed her eyes as if sensing something.

"I see them! I see them!"

She started speaking like a psychic medium.

"This mansion was previously used to imprison the illegitimate child of a noble. That noble had a fling with a maid and had a child named Anna Firlant Esteros. After her frail father died, her mother also disappeared. In the end, she was left alone in the mansion, and died alone without ever seeing her parents' faces."

Aqua looked exactly like one of those fake masters on TV or wandering the countryside. Kazuma looked at her with the expression one reserves for a sneaky-looking con artist.

It was a look full of disgust.

"What do you think, Kobayashi-senpai? I really want to mock her unnecessary backstory, and how does she even know her name? But is this woman really okay?"

"...Kazuma-kun, what would you think if I said I can see them too?"

"Eh?"

Only then did he realize that the crest of the Axis Order had appeared on Kobayashi's forehead. This was the manifestation of him activating the ability of [Spectator].

"Er... it's not..."

"It's just as you think. I can see the ghosts."

—Spirit Vision.

Let's just call this ability that for now.

The ability to see ghosts and other beings that ordinary people cannot see. "Spirit Vision" seemed very fitting.

But when did he get this ability?

[Spectator].

Its abilities were Insight, Farsight, X-ray Vision, Precognition, and Illusion Sight, plus the ultimate ability of Foresight, and now... it also had Spirit Vision...

Ah, could it be...!

He remembered before when Aqua had remodeled the pattern of [Spectator], and it had been strengthened considerably. Could it be that he had gained the ability of Spirit Vision at that time?

So should it be called [Six Sights Omnipotence] now?

Why did that feel so strange?

No, no, no. Just like how the Four Heavenly Kings always have five members, it's perfectly reasonable for [Spectator (Five Sights)] to have six... or seven abilities.

Kazuma became even more scared.

If it were just Aqua, he could totally treat it as the idiot goddess being foolish. But now that even Kobayashi was saying it, he felt a strange chill and couldn't calm down.

"Kobayashi-senpai, what exactly does the ghost look like?"

"Mmm... she has curly blonde hair, wears a little white dress, and although she looks very young, she likes to act like an adult."

"You can see her in that much detail?"

"I can't help it. The Spirit Vision ability became a bit too strong after Aqua modified it."

He didn't know whether to thank her or blame her.

To be able to clearly see ghosts was something even a great Archpriest couldn't do. But to be able to see so many of them that they practically stuffed the entire mansion... that was just too terrifying.

Thank goodness [Spectator] could be turned off, otherwise he would definitely have a massive headache.

Isn't there a saying?

—Out of sight, out of mind.

He comforted him. "Alright, alright, don't be afraid. I'll go negotiate with her. From her appearance, she shouldn't be an evil spirit... probably."

"Probably?!"

The corner of Kazuma's mouth twitched.

Although Darkness and Megumin didn't say anything, from their expressions, they seemed just as uneasy as he was. But the three of them couldn't help with anything. They could only wait obediently.

I just hope this gets resolved smoothly tonight.

He prayed from the bottom of his heart.

The mansion hadn't been lived in for a long time, so they did a major cleaning before moving in.

After dinner, the group simply divided up the rooms.

Kobayashi was semi-forced to live in the largest room in the center of the second floor. Besides the large floor space, the bed was also huge. Coupled with the strange smile Kazuma gave him and RyuZU, he had a feeling he had misunderstood something.

No, it was also possible he hadn't misunderstood.

Late at night.

Kazuma took off his equipment and prepared to sleep.

After all, there was nothing he could do about the ghosts. He could only hope that Aqua, being a goddess, had that special constitution that attracts evil spirits, so they would all gather there, leaving his own room clean, allowing him to get a good night's sleep.

...That's how it should have been.

He didn't know if it was because he was too sensitive or if it was just his mind playing tricks, but as he lay in bed with the covers pulled over his head, he always felt a gaze on him. And it was staring straight at him!

This was bad. He kind of had to pee.

"..."

No matter what, he absolutely could not wet the bed. That would be too embarrassing!

He swallowed hard.

And when he quietly peeked out from under the covers, a small doll floated in front of his face. Its hollow, lifeless eyes were locked with his.

The next second—

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Kazuma's howl, on the verge of tears, echoed throughout the silent night.

That blood-curdling scream almost tore his soul from his body. He shot up from the bed in fear, swatting the doll away, and ran out of the room without looking back.

"Lady Aqua—! Lady Aqua—! Please, save me! Lady Aqua—!"

He howled as he ran towards the living room.

Tonight, the goddess was supposed to be dealing with the evil spirits, so as long as he got to her side, he would be completely safe.

But just as he ran into the first-floor hall, he saw a blue ghostly light illuminating the area around the sofa, which had its back to him. A soft mumbling, like that of a ghost, came from there. Paired with the silent, dark night, the horror effect was maxed out.

He couldn't help but shiver.

But his curiosity was still killing him. He tiptoed closer, his steps extremely light, afraid of provoking the dark shadow on the sofa.

However—

"Who's there?!"

A sudden shout, and the blurry face in the ghostly blue light... Kazuma's heart skipped eight beats at once, and he fainted from fright.

"Kazuma-kun! Hey, Kazuma-kun!"

In a daze, he heard someone calling his name with concern.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

When he woke up from his coma and saw the doll floating in the blue light, he screamed in terror on the spot.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Unexpectedly, the other party also screamed along with him.

"Huh?"

Since both of them were screaming, Kazuma, on the contrary, didn't feel as scared. After his eyes adjusted to the dim blue light, he finally saw the person's face clearly.

"—Kobayashi-senpai?!"

Then he let out a long sigh of relief and complained, "Honestly, don't scare me like that! I'm really a coward."

"You're the one who scared me! Why did you suddenly scream like that?!" he retorted, annoyed. He had really been startled by the sudden shout just now, and had unconsciously started a screaming match with him.

"By the way, what are you doing here, senpai?"

"I told you, didn't I? I'm negotiating."

"Negotiating? With who?"

"Her."

He pointed to the doll that was approaching Kazuma. Seeing it, Kazuma jumped in fright and quickly hid behind him, not daring to peek out.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. She's not actually an evil spirit."

"Really?"

"Really. Look."

Kobayashi held out his hand, and the doll floating in mid-air obediently landed in his palm.

"Her name is Anna. She's the daughter of the original owner of this mansion. Because of her frail body, she eventually died of illness and became the resident spirit of this mansion."

"Haah..."

A resident spirit (jibakurei). A special character that often appears in novels and anime. Most of them are harmless and become good friends with the protagonist.

Hearing this, Kazuma was no longer afraid.

But then he thought of the ghost who had been face-to-face with him just now and immediately asked, "...Wait, then the other dolls?"

"Those are possessed evil spirits," he said.

"Urk...!"

Kazuma was speechless. Then he asked, baffled, "Kobayashi-senpai, why is your forehead glowing with a ghostly blue light?"

"Because I need it to see Anna."

"And the soft muttering was..."

"So our talking wouldn't wake you guys up."

"So it was all just a coincidence?!"

Kazuma clenched his fists. He couldn't believe he had just been scaring himself.

This was bad. The urge to pee, which he had ignored when he fainted, suddenly surged.

"K-Kobayashi-senpai, I think I need to go to the bathroom."

"Be my guest."

"Um..."

"Don't tell me you want me to go with you?"

"Of course not!"

His teasing tone made Kazuma a little agitated. He didn't know if it was because the little ghost loli was present, but he didn't want to look so pathetic, so he decisively refused.

But as soon as he refused, he immediately regretted it.

"Oh, right."

"Kobayashi-senpai!"

"When you come back, Kazuma-kun, grab a bottle of sparkling liquor. This child quite likes listening to adventure stories and drinking sweet wine."

"Kobayashi-senpai?!"

His agitated expression instantly froze. After a brief daze, his shoulders slumped. He agreed dispiritedly and began to edge his way out, as if hoping he might change his mind.

Unfortunately.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Don't be fooled by how he looks; he's actually very reliable," Kobayashi said to Anna. "Right, where were we? Ah, I had the idea of establishing an Axis Theocracy, right? And then..."

I'm not reliable at all! And before you tell her stories, shouldn't you be educating her on just how terrible the Axis Order is?!

Kazuma was endlessly slandering him in his heart.

After a brief departure, he returned very quickly.

"That was fast."

"Haha... hahaha..."

He could only laugh awkwardly. He couldn't very well say that he had run right back after using the bathroom because he was too scared, could he? That would be too embarrassing.

After that, Kobayashi began to tell vivid stories about his adventures.

As Kazuma listened, his eyes darted back and forth. When he saw the ridiculous number of dolls pressed against the window, he visibly trembled in fear and moved closer to him, as if only this could bring him a sense of security.

And it was true. Those possessed dolls couldn't get close to them at all; they were all blocked by a protective barrier.

It was the blue crystal necklace Kobayashi was wearing.

So that thing actually works!

Kazuma felt deeply apologetic for badmouthing Aqua before and decided that he would sincerely apologize to her later.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Just as he was thinking this, Aqua's panicked howl was heard, followed by a series of crashing sounds, and then the annoyed voice of the Goddess of Water.

"You detestable evil spirits! How dare you steal my high-grade sparkling liquor! Watch me purify every last one of you!!!"

"Er..."

Kazuma looked at the sparkling liquor placed in front of him [that he had just brought], quickly hid the empty bottle [that Anna and Kobayashi had finished], and wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

Sorry, evil spirits. Just consider this punishment for scaring me. You'll have to take the fall for this one.

(End of Chapter)