Day 18 Month Water

  “ALRIGHT YOU BASTARDS! ARE YOU READY TO BECOME A MILLIONAIRE!!??” (Hajime)

  “YESSIR!” (Cssmates)

  “I CAN’T HEAR YOU SHITHEADS! SAY IT LOUDER!” (Hajime)

  “YESSIR!!” (Cssmates)

  “I! SAID! I! CAN’T! HEAR! YOU! WEAKLINGS!!! ARE! YOU! READYYYYY!!??” (Hajime)

  “YESSIR!!!” (Cssmates)

  Today is a bright, sunny day, with the cssmates all lined up in front of Isis-san's castle. Hajime is at the front, giving them a briefing like a drill sergeant addressing his soldiers.

  Apparently, after yesterday's meeting, Hajime decided to train them much like he trained the Haulia throughout the entire night, using the Hour Crystal to extend the training time. Whether it's to prepare them for dungeon delving or for settling grudges, only he and Shallow Vernal-sama know.

  ...Though I heard him say, “I'll make sure to make a profit with your body AND soul to compensate for your idiotic deeds, so look forward to it.” with a devilish grin. However, that may have been my imagination.

  Anyway, now that they're all trained physically and mentally, they stand in line in front of Hajime, with expressions that suggest they've been through extreme hardship. Their eyes are sharp, their gazes fixed forward without looking back, and their posture is so proper that one might mistake them for an elite force of a country.

  …Chih, they wasted my pn of a lovey-dovey night with Hajime, I will remember this.

  Also, we curiously asked Isis-san if she could gauge the cssmates’ strength to prepare themselves for a possible dungeon-delving activity. She said that the Cssmates are mostly Medium-ranked adventurers since they are all capable of casting magics, which not a lot of Humans could, with some of them like the group accompanying the Hero’s party back in Tortus and Aiko’s group as Top-ranked adventurers.

  Incidentally, Isis-san said that Suzu, Ryutaro, and Aiko are around beings that attained peerage title, Viscount rank to be exact. The Hero himself is estimated to be around Count Ranked demon level. Isis-san said they’re pretty amazing since there are not a lot of demons that could even reach a peerage holder status.

  Last but not least, Hajime and all of the Wifie~s with the exception of Remia are all on Duke Ranked demon level which is expected.

  Anyway, Hajime profusely thanks Isis-san for providing the information needed to form the team for dungeon-delving, as we have very few allies here.

  ...There was also a certain opera-masked girl holding a rge, bright neon sign that read 'ACCURATE POWER ANALYSIS FOR 1 GOLD COIN!!!' with an arrow pointing at her. Naturally, all of us ignored her, but Hajime attempted to draw his gun to shoot at her once again, as she had dispyed the same bright neon sign when Hajime was training the cssmates yesterday. Shia managed to stop him, while Alice-san was dragged to Kaito-san's bedroom.

  Seriously, I’m more confused about how the hell she can find neon signs here, Alice-san is full of mysteries as usual…

  Besides that, Hajime has already formuted a pn to maximize the efficiency of dungeon-delving and team member selection, and here we are.

  “As you all know, due to the unnecessary and idiotic actions you all committed yesterday, we find ourselves in a difficult situation. Fortunately, Shia and Tio asked for help. However, this certain help not only took all our money under the pretext of a 'fee' but also left us in debt. I don't know about you, but I have no desire to owe anything to this she-devil who enjoys swindling people as a hobby.” (Hajime)

  “OOOOH!!!” (Cssmates)

  HRMMM!!! HRMMM!!!

  Nn, just like what Hajime said. Since they’re in a really bad situation, we have no choice but to ask Alice-san for help. As a result, not only did she take all of our money, but she also drowned us in a hefty amount of debt.

  “Luckily for us, I had dealt with this so we won’t be in debt anymore, but it still hasn’t solved our monetary issue. And even worse, Kaito won’t be helping us since this is also partly our fault.” (Hajime)

  “OOOOH!!!” (Cssmates)

  HRMMM!!! HRMMM!!!

  “Because there won’t be any help from him, we need to man up and do everything we can to gather our money back so we can at least stay in a decent inn, you understand!?” (Hajime)

  “OOOOH!!!” (Cssmates)

  HHHRRRMMMMMMM!!! HHHRRRMMMMMMM!!!

  As Hajime mentioned, since we're broke now, we have no choice but to scatter throughout the Demon Realm to find odd jobs and gather money. Additionally, for some unknown reason, Alice-san canceled all our tour subscriptions, including our booking at the super-luxurious inn we were living in. Now, not only are we penniless, but we're also homeless. That’s why the situation is really dire now that we don’t even have a room to sleep.

  “And most of all! Since y’all owe me a shitton of money, y’all better be ready to use all of your body and soul to repay me! You hear me!!!?” (Hajime)

  “OOOOOOOOHH!!!” (Cssmates)

  HHHRRRMMMMMMM!!! HHHRRRMMMMMMM!!!

  …For some reason, I’ve been hearing a weird voice coming from the podium where Hajime was standing. I gnced at it but I didn’t see anything out of pce.

  Weird, must’ve been the weird sound of a wind blowing.

  “PWAAHH!!?? OI NAGUMO! UNTIE ME THIS INSTANT!” (Kousuke)

  All of a sudden there’s a familiar voice coming from Hajime’s behind sounding angry. We then saw Endou wearing pajamas with duct tape hanging on his cheeks, tied up with a rope.

  “Oh? So there you are Endou, I’ve been looking for you, you know? I’ve been reaaaaally worried if you got done in from Isis-san’s magic aura, you know?” (Hajime)

  “DON’T YOU DARE LIE TO ME NAGUMO! YOU LITERALLY DRAGGED ME OUT FROM MY BED AND TIED ME! WHAT THE HELL YOU’RE TRYING TO DO!!??” (Kousuke)

  …Apparently Hajime kidnapped Endou when he was sleeping. Now that I think about it, Endou was not affected by Isis-san’s Magic Power of Death since he was absent to go to the toilet or something. Isis-san also said that he didn’t get affected by her magic aura so it is safe to say that Endou was absent when me and Hajime fought with Isis-san.

  …though Hajime for some reason decided to kidnap Endou out of nowhere, does this have anything to do with the issue he was addressing before? As we were still wondering, Hajime crouched and tapped Endou’s shoulder looking gentle in contrast to his demeanor before.

  “Endou…” (Hajime)

  “Y-yeah?’ (Kousuke)

  “Be strong alright?” (Hajime)

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAAAAAAAT!!??” (Kousuke)

  For some reason, Hajime looked at Endou with a solemn gaze as if to say goodbye to him. Naturally, Endou was flustered seeing Hajime in this unusual state. As me and Wifie~s alongside the cssmates were curious as to what Hajime was up to this time, all of a sudden a shard of ice showed up and gradually turned into a block of ice at a considerable distance from Hajime on the venue. As it shattered into beautiful blue flowers made out of ice, three familiar figures appeared.

  Those figures who showed up were Kaito-san, Isis-san, and Alice-san. For some reason though, Kaito-san is in the middle between his wives, holding their hands like a lover would. This would make sense for Isis-san but he did it to Alice-san too, which makes her face blush like crazy.

  “Good morning… everyone…” (Isis)

  Ah, Isis-san waves her hand cutely toward the Cssmates with a gentle smile on her face, which makes their stern faces melt into soft smiles as if her cuteness has blown their nervousness and toughness away.

  Nn, as expected of Isis-san, her archangel aura is something to behold after all.

  Ah, I haven’t seen my limited edition Isis-san Bromide yet for today. Luckily, since this card is equipped with Information Concealment magic, even Hajime with his magic eye and his skills can’t see through it so I can pull it out on the public safely. Though Isis-san can see them without any issue so let’s be a bit sneaky.

  Nn? Weird, for some reason the card was blinking with a faint light. Does that mean there’s one of the IAA members near me?

  As I take a look around me, all I can see is the Wifie~s alongside Myuu at the sideline watching Hajime giving his passionate speech to the Cssmates. There are also no members of the Pleiades or any of Isis-san’s subordinates here.

  As I looked around again, I saw Kaori holding something that emitted faint light. Hmmmmm, it looks like she’s holding some sort of card.

  Wait… “card”? C-c-c-could it be!?

  “...Oi, Bakaori…” (Yue)

  “Ah? What is it Ahouyue? It’s still morning and you’re already asking for—!!??” (Kaori)

  As I called out to Kaori about the card she was holding, she moved her gaze toward me with an annoyed face which changed to a surprised face when she saw the limited edition Isis-san Bromide I held.

  I see…

  “...「The weather is beautiful, isn’t it?」” (Yue)

  As I tried to test Kaori with the riddle, she widened her eyes looking even more flustered before she answered.

  “...「The weather is beautiful since the Archangel of Kindness blesses it every day.」” (Kaori)

  “...As I thought…” (Yue)

  Kaori replied with that specific answer, then it can only lead to one truth.

  She is… one of the IAA members…

  Judging from Kaori’s flustered expression, she also thought the same as me being one of the IAA.

  “... So, when did you join the IAA?” (Yue)

  I was so shocked that Bakaori joined the prestigious IAA that I can only ask her that. Since the jigs were up, she scooted closer to my ear and whispered just like I did.

  “I received a letter from Poris-san when we ate our lunch yesterday to visit the garden in the evening.” (Kaori)

  I see, after my interview with the IAA members, they also decided to invite Kaori. But I’m still confused as to why she joined the IAA. She was one of the people who was affected by Isis-san’s magic aura, probably more than Shizuku, so it was weird, to say the least.

  “... So, why did you decide to join? I thought you were still afraid of her?” (Yue)

  As I expressed my curiosity, Kaori looked at me dead in the eye with her clear eyes.

  “I know, and even now, I’m still afraid of her. But you know, when Isis-san apologized to us all yesterday, I realized that she must’ve suffered from loneliness for so long because of the condition she never even wished to be in the first pce. Yet, she didn’t give up, she still kept her kindness inside her heart. Knowing that I also realized that even to reach the point she’s in, she needs to have extraordinary will.” (Kaori)

  As Kaori continued, she looked at Isis-san with admiration behind her clear eyes.

  “That’s why… I thought Isis-san was really… amazing.” (Kaori)

  …I see. She’s also serious about this huh?

  “...Well I’ll give you a passing grade as your senpai I guess.” (Yue)

  “Ah? What senpai? Clearly, you joined The IAA after me! So I should be the senpai!!” (Kaori)

  I see, so she didn’t know it huh?

  “...Fuh, you want proof? I’ll show you my Bromide but you have to show me yours too.” (Yue)

  “Fine by me! Here!” (Kaori)

  As Bakaori held her card in front of me, it changed from a bnk white card to what I presume is also a limited edition Isis-san Bromide. The art is different with her wearing a pure white sundress with a myriad of sunflowers in the background, looking extremely cute.

  Then… I looked at the number engraved at the top middle of the card, and it shows “43”.

  Fufufu, just like I thought. She joined IAA after me. Upon closer look, I can see Bakaori take a reaaaaaally deep stare at my card with an expression as if she had bitten a bitter bug.

  “...Fuh, now you believe me?” (Yue)

  “Gunununu!!! To think that the board member accepted you, despite what happened several days ago.” (Kaori)

  “...Fuh, the me before I became one of the prestigious IAA, is the inexperienced and inferior me. The present me is superior to you, now bow down and lick my feet, my kouhai.” (Yue)

  “In your dream!!!” (Kaori)

  As Bakaori said this, she pinched and pulled my cheeks and I proceeded to do the same.

  “Munyiiiiiiii, Ahouyueee!!!” (Kaori)

  “Munyiiiiiiii, Bakaoriiiiiii!!!” (Yue)

  As we still make a funny face, all of a sudden, I feel another gaze. Rather than the usual exasperated gaze from the Wifie~s and the Cssmates, this one felt lukewarm and gentle.

  As me and Bakaori slowly move our gaze towards the source of the stare, we can see Isis-san cutely smile while waving her hand at us.

  …needless to say, we immediately straightened our posture and waved her back accordingly with a sincere smile on our faces.

  “...Let’s not do this in front of Isis-san. We as part of the IAA should be respectful and mind our actions in her presence.” (Yue)

  “Agreed.” (Kaori)

  As me and Kaori make a temporary ceasefire, we proceed to stop fighting against each other and behave properly in front of Isis-san. That’s right, to not make the IAA alongside Isis-san lose face, we shall look over our differences and work together and admire Isis-san from afar without interrupting her daily life.

  Oh? It looks like a scene was unfolding when me and Bakaori were having a small scuffle before, let’s see what’s happening.

  “So, you’re done with that?” (Hajime)

  “Yeah.” (Kaito)

  “PWAAAH!!?? Jeez! This is the second time you have done this you know!!?? Please shower this transcendental beauty Alice-chan with more love!!??” (Alice)

  “Unn? You want me to shower you with love like yesterday again?” (Kaito)

  “N-n-n-n-n-n-not that!? I mean like cuddles… and kisses…” (Alice)

  “Alright enough with this love talk, I can taste the sweetness just from hearing you both talk. Let’s get into the business right away.” (Hajime)

  As Hajime prompted Kaito-san and Alice-san for the so-called “business”, both Isis-san and Kaito-san walked towards us.

  “Umm, Isis-san, what’s going on there?” (Shizuku)

  “Unn? I don’t know either… I heard from Kaito before… that Shalltear has something to do… with Hajime…” (Isis)

  “Hoeh? What’s that about then Kaito-san desu?” (Shia)

  “Well just wait and watch.” (Kaito)

  Nn, looks like even Isis-san didn’t know about the matter either while Kaito-san wouldn’t be saying anything, so we can only look at the podium curiously.

  Upon hearing Hajime’s words, Alice-san composed herself and approached both Hajime and Endou who was still trying to wiggle his way out like a worm as Hajime grabbed his feet preventing him from escaping.

  “So, this is the merchandise then?” (Alice)

  “Yep, take him and do whatever you want with him.” (Hajime)

  “...Hey, did she just said “merchandise”? Oi Nagumo? What is she saying? There’s no way it’s what I’m thinking right now, right? We’re friends, right?” (Kousuke)

  “Endou… the days of adventure with you had been fun.” (Hajime)

  “DON’T SAY IT LIKE THAAAAAAT!!??” (Kousuke)

  I see, it looks like Hajime decided to “lend” Endou to Alice-san to pay off the debt. Alice-san seemed curious about Endou’s mysterious Abyssgate power alongside his unusually forgetful presence judging from her curious eyes that looked at Endou as if he were a b rat. It even makes him jolt a little while trying harder to escape still.

  Naturally, we all looked at Hajime with a dumbfounded and exasperated gaze with Kaito-san pcing his hand on his face. However, he ignored our gazes and continued talking to Alice-san.

  “So, why don’t you clear our debt then?” (Hajime)

  “Well, since you kindly presented him to me, I’ll do just that.” (Alice)

  As soon as Alice-san said that, she took out a paper out of thin air and showed it to Hajime.

  “This contract right here decres that if you lend Endou-san here for three days I will free you all from any debts as you live in Trinia for a year.” (Alice)

  Alice-san said that, though Hajime still looked at her with disdain and prejudice, as if he didn’t believe her a single bit.

  “Are you sure that will free us from any debts at all? Even in the future?” (Hajime)

  “I can assure you that’s the case~, I made it with Kuro-san’s assistance so it can’t be tampered with by anybody but Shallow Vernal-sama~, plus I’m not the kind that loves to scam the poor~” (Alice)

  “...You’re seriously the most irritable person I ever met, and that’s impressive given that I met the most annoying person in the world before.” (Hajime)

  “Oya~? I wish I could meet such a person~” (Alice)

  “...” (Hajime)

  Hajimeeeeee, Keep yourself together! Don’t pull out Donner-san! Otherwise, Endou’s sacrifice will be all for naught!

  “Huuf, Keep yourself cool me, I’ll just keep my grudge until the spar and unleash hell onto her.” (Hajime)

  Ah, it looks like Hajime hasn’t given up on fighting against her huh…

  Since Alice-san gives Hajime a good look at the contract, she gives it to him and carries Endou like a sack.

  “Yosh, let’s go Endou-san! I can assure you will be a whole new person after this!” (Alice)

  “P-put me down! I don’t consent to this!” (Endou)

  “Sadly the contract is already in effect and I can’t ri—erhem, I mean provide them with my service so I’ll resort in experi—erhem, observe your special constitution for now.” (Alice)

  “Did you just say you want to experiment on me!? The st thing I want is to be a b rat by someone who is even worse than Nagumo!!?? KENTAROU!!! JUUGO!!! AMANOGAWA!!! ANYBODY!!?? HELP ME!!???” (Kousuke)

  As Endou screams for help towards his friends, the cssmates can only salute towards him as if they are soldiers saluting towards their deceased comrade with tears running down their cheeks.

  “Kousuke, we will never forget your sacrifice.” (Juugo)

  “I’ll name my future child with your name for this sacrifice, Kousuke.” (Kentarou)

  “Endou-kun, please don’t worry about Rana-san and others, we will make sure they’re fine.” (Kouki)

  “DON’T SAY IT LIKE I ALREADY DIED!!! SOMEONE!!! ANYONE!!! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!??” (Kousuke)

  “Yosh, let’sa gooo~” (Alice)

  Alice-san opened a portal in front of her and walked into it and disappeared with Endou who still cried out his plea for help on her shoulder.

  A moment ter, a dead silence surrounded the atmosphere.

  “ALRiGHT YOU SHITHEAD! Y’ALL BETTER NOT LET ENDOU’S SACRIFICE GO TO WASTE YOU HEAR ME!!?? STARTING TODAY Y’ALL WILL BE GOING TO GATHER ME MONEY LIKE YOUR LIFE'S DEPENDS ON IT OTHERWISE I WILL SOLD Y’ALL TO THE SHE-DEVIL!!! YOU HEAR ME!!??” (Hajime)

  “YESSIR!!!” (Cssmates)

  …As Hajime hyped up the cssmates, they all saluted him with tears flowing down from their determined faces as if they would not let Endou’s sacrifice go down the drain.

  “Ermm, Kaito-san.” (Shia)

  “Haaaah, don’t worry I’ll tell Alice not to go overboard.” (Kaito)

  Nn, luckily since Kaito-san is here, we can at least assume that Endou is not in immediate danger, Hajime should’ve known this but he just used Endou’s sacrifice to motivate the cssmates in making money.

  …Looks like Lily’s bad habit rubbed off onto him.

  Anyway, the whole Endou fiasco is over, though it seems like Hajime hasn't done talking yet.

  “ALRIGHT YOU SHITHEADS! NOW TURN YOUR BODY TOWARDS ISIS-SAN!” (Hajime)

  “YESSIR!!!” (Cssmates)

  All of the sudden Hajime instructed the Cssmates to turn towards Isis-san, who is next to us the Wifie~s with Kaito-san beside her.

  “WHAT DO WE ALL SAY WHEN SOMEONE OFFER US PLACE TO STAY!!??” (Hajime)

  “HA! WE SHOULD SAY OUR GRATITUDE!!!” (Cssmates)

  “THEN SAY IT OUT LOUD AND CLEAR!!!” (Hajime)

  “HA!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LETTING US STAY!!!” (Cssmates)

  As Hajime yelled at the Cssmates, he then commanded them to bow down towards Isis-san and Kaito-san while expressing their gratitude with a graceful bow.

  Nn, I see I see, what Hajime said was true, Isis-san has not only given a great hospitality during the time we stayed at her home but also helped us so we should be thankful to her.

  “...It’s as Hajime said, thank you for the help and hospitality, Isis-san, Kaito-san.” (Yue)

  “It was fun staying here desu! Thank you for the stay, Isis-san! Kaito-san! Next time I’ll cook you all a full meal alongside Iris-san desu!” (Shia)

  “It is our utmost gratitude for not only letting us stay in your home but also for the help during the incident several days ago.” (Tio)

  “Unn, thank you for the stay, Isis-san! I hope we all can visit here again. I still want more of Eul-chan’s fluffy tails!” (Kaori)

  “Thank you very much for the hospitality, Isis-san. Maybe next time we can come with just the Nagumo household.” (Shizuku)

  “My deepest gratitude for saving my students Isis-san, hopefully next time we can stay here longer, your home is beautiful and also warm with many ughters.” (Aiko)

  “Ara~ we will come back to py with Isis Onee-chan again right Myuu?” (Remia)

  “Yes Nano! Isis Onee-chan is kind Nano! I can’t wait to stay at Isis Onee-chan’s castle again!” (Myuu)

  As we all expressed our gratitude towards Isis-san, she looked at all of us with extreme kindness radiating throughout her entire being, as if her Magic Power of Death changed into Magic Power of Archangel, it was so blinding it almost purified the nd she stepped on.

  “Unn… You all are welcome… to come visit again.” (Isis)

  Isis-san said that with an angelic smile on her face, she looks so radiant that it makes all of our hearts skip a beat.

  We’ll definitely visit Isis-san’s castle again, definitely, absolutely.

  “Looks like we will be in your care again Kaito.” (Hajime)

  “Well, if you all behave then I will welcome you all again.” (Kaito)

  “O-o-ou, we will.” (Hajime)

  For a second I felt like I’m seeing a teenager being warned by an older man to behave well in him and his wife’s house but that’s probably just my imagination.

  Anyway Hajime decided to teleport us all to the pce between the forest and the Land of Death with the Crystal key and say goodbye to both Isis-san and Kaito-san.

  Afterword:

  Serious-senpai: D-Did you just sell Endou to Alice!?

  Author: To be honest, I’m also shocked by this development, I guess my mind just straight up thought that Hajime will do exactly that to save his ass.

  Serious-senpai: Your mind is just so weird…

  Author: Well, you’re not wrong.