owlsbooks Chapter 946 The Last Routine 125
Chapter 946 The Last Routine 125
Chapter 946 The Last Routine 125
On this day, in Axel's small theater, Kobayashi was busy at work when Aqua rushed over, looking very unhappy.
"Hey Kobayashi! You've been so busy with things here lately! Going on missions, huh? My wallet's almost empty, and I can't even buy drinks on credit anymore! If this keeps up, I might end up being sold off somewhere to work and pay off my debts!"
Then don't drink on credit. How many times has this happened? Why don't you learn your lesson?
Not only Aqua, but Megumin was the same way. She shouted angrily, "I'm about to too! It's time to unleash an explosion spell on the monster horde! I've endured this for so long, shouldn't I get my due compensation?!"
“Ah, me too…” Darkness, equally unable to contain himself, said, “I want to take a heavy blow! So—”
"Don't go."
“…Eh?” X3
The three of them stared blankly at Xiaolin.
Although they spoke very enthusiastically, as if they would die if they didn't do the mission, Kobayashi didn't listen to them at all and simply refused their request.
Kobayashi crossed her arms and said with a disgruntled expression, "As you can see, I'm very busy. The response to the last stage performance was unexpected. An additional performance has already been decided... Besides, doing missions with you guys never ends well, it was the same before—"
That's right.
His resistance stemmed entirely from the hardships he endured during his previous mission, specifically from just a few days ago—
Aqua yelled at the monster, "Take this! God's Fist!"
"...Quack?"
Despite its imposing presence and immense power, the giant toad remained completely unaffected by striking-type moves, showing no signs of injury. Aqua, realizing her attack was ineffective, paled in shock.
"...It's...it didn't work? It didn't work at all!?" Aqua panicked and tried to run away, but the giant toad swallowed her whole, causing the silly goddess doll to cry out, "Quick, quick, save me, Mr. Kobayashi!"
"You idiot!!" Kobayashi yelled angrily, watching the goddess being slowly devoured by the giant toad. "How many times have I told you? Your tricks don't work on giant toads—"
"Aqua!?" Darkness, her face flushed, looked at Aqua, who was being played with by the giant toad's tongue, and writhed in admiration, "Ku, I'm so envious!"
"Is this the time to talk about this?! Hurry up and go help!"
Kobayashi started hurling insults at Darkness.
But to their surprise, just as the two were about to go to their rescue, countless giant toads jumped out and bared their evil tongues at them.
"Tsk, have they gathered together?"
Kobayashi, seeing the ever-increasing number of giant toads, felt a bit overwhelmed. Their gathering would make movement difficult, so he shouted to the archmage in the waiting squad, "Hey, Megumin! Use Explosion magic on everyone except the one that swallowed Aqua—"
With a loud bang, Megumin's Explosion Magic was unleashed, but its target wasn't the giant toads that were constantly gathering towards them; instead, it was one of them. Although the powerful Explosion Magic blasted the giant toad to ashes, it didn't change the fact that they were in a dangerous situation, and Megumin, to make matters worse, didn't think she was in the wrong at all.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself, I've already fired." Her body slumped weakly to the ground, her expression relaxed and blissful. She said, "But! I don't repent, and I don't regret it!"
"You bunch of idiots, grow up a little bit, ahh ...
Kobayashi was so angry he was about to explode.
-
Kobayashi's recollection ended, leaving the others slightly stunned.
Huihui pinched her chin, looking as if she remembered but couldn't quite recall, and said somewhat strangely, "...That kind of thing happened too."
This guy doesn't remember anything at all!
Darkness nodded with a regretful expression and said, "Ah, it still didn't become slippery... What a pity."
"But in the end, thanks to Kobayashi, we finally got it sorted out, isn't that great?" Aqua said shamelessly, as if everything would be fine as long as Kobayashi was there.
"In the end, I still have to figure it out!" Kobayashi gritted his teeth, utterly despairing of his three unrepentant and unimproving companions. He said decisively, "No matter what, I'm not doing any more missions!"
That's right, that's his determination, and no one can change it!
"Hmph, I've already attained enlightenment." Kobayashi, like an old monk, had no worldly desires. He crossed his arms and said, "If we're talking about making money, working with others is much more efficient than me doing missions with you guys! From now on, I'll dedicate myself wholeheartedly to being a producer!"
Then, citing that it was interfering with his work, he forcibly expelled Aqua and the others from Axel's small theater.
evening.
Aqua and the others huddled together, saying with some concern, "...I mean, what Kobayashi said during the day, was he serious? He won't abandon us, will he?"
Although similar things had happened before, the repeated disappointment of Kobayashi had become unbearable. Over time, the accumulated stress and effort had made it understandable that Kobayashi would abandon them... although, from their own perspective, they didn't want to be abandoned like that.
"It's hard to say..."
Huihui also looked worried. She said with a helpless expression, "Judging from the previous situation, the possibility of an adventurer becoming a producer is not zero."
"How could this be?!" Aqua was momentarily agitated. She initially thought Kobayashi was concerned about Kobayashi not wanting him to abandon his adventurer identity, or that he wasn't going to fight the Demon King, but she was surprised—
"What about my bubble tea? Who's going to pay for it?!"
Fortunately, Kobayashi didn't come back, otherwise he would have been furious upon hearing that.
“You have to pay back the money you owe, Aqua.” Darkness said this with a hint of helplessness. Perhaps her situation was a little better than the other two problem children—that’s what she thought. However, in Kobayashi’s eyes, she was no different from the other two problem children.
"but……"
Huihui said with a hint of helplessness, "We've always relied on Xiaolin, that's a fact, and we've caused him trouble too..."
"Y-yes..." Hearing this, Aqua awkwardly tugged at the corner of her mouth, acknowledging the statement, but quickly made an excuse, saying, "But in that case, there's no way to stop Kobayashi from becoming a producer, right?"
"No, there is another way."
That's what Darkness said.
Aqua's eyes lit up, and she said, "Really!? What's the plan? Darkness, tell us quickly, let's go stop him!"
"How about trying to convey my gratitude to Kobayashi?"
"I see. Thank you for your help all this time."
"Great idea! Kobayashi will also confirm our charm again, and maybe he'll come back!"
Darkness offered her opinion, and Megumin and Aqua seemed to agree, thinking that this would let Kobayashi know that they were changing, and then she would change her mind.
"But how can I express my gratitude in a way that will make him happy?" Huihui wondered, then said thoughtfully, "Say something that Xiaolin would like..."
"It's money."
Aqua's unequivocal statement left Darkness speechless.
"Yes, that's true, but wouldn't it be better to choose something else this time?" Darkness said somewhat tactfully, after all, if it really came down to money, they couldn't possibly provide it, could they? And money is something that has no upper limit.
Huihui nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, it's really boring to give someone a thank-you gift like that."
She never considered that they couldn't afford the money, and instead felt that this method was unsuitable as a gift.
Aqua was slightly taken aback and said, "Then, what about bubble wine?"
"That's your preference, Aqua, isn't it?" Megumin shrugged helplessly.
Darkness thought for a moment and said, "Speaking of which, I once asked Wiz for a lap pillow."
That's true. There were several times when Kobayashi couldn't stand the stupid kids in the team anymore, so he went to Wiz for comfort. Plus, there was the ear-cleaning business they did before, so it's true that he likes it.
"Ara!" Aqua clapped her hands and said, "In that case, it's Darkness's turn to appear!"
"W-why-why-why...why me!?" Darkness stammered, her cheeks flushed a frightening red. She whispered, "It's not that I don't want to...it's more like I really want to—"
"I reject."
"What……!?"
She never expected that Huihui would refuse such a suggestion. Darkness was both happy and disappointed, and her complicated feelings left her somewhat at a loss for what to do.
However, Huihui didn't care about any of that. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Making Xiaolin happy... it's really difficult. Maybe I should ask other people tomorrow too."
They completely ignored Darkness's suggestion, leaving the other two feeling helpless. However, since Megumin had said so, they could only respect her opinion.
However, the next day arrived.
Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness went to the street to ask how to make Kobayashi happy, and their target was naturally someone who had a great connection with the team and Kobayashi.
The first ones are Duster and Lynn.
Hearing the three's request, Lynn said with some surprise, "To express our gratitude to Kobayashi...? You really think of your companions. What should we give him?"
"Of course it's that store!"
Duster said this without thinking, but before he could finish, he realized that he seemed to have accidentally said the wrong thing, and the rest of the words got stuck in his throat.
"...A shop!?" X4
Not only Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin, but even Lynn looked at him with suspicion, her probing gaze making Duster stiffen.
"W-nothing!" Duster forced the rest of his words down, then said in utter despair, "What my brother wants... I know, but I can't tell you!"
Then, fearing being questioned, Duster turned and ran away into the distance, looking as desperate as if he couldn't choose between his brother and his male comrades.
"Wait, where are you going?! Wait for me!"
Lynn quickly followed after her.
"They're gone." Huihui watched the two disappear quickly and said with some curiosity, "If they have any clues, I really hope they can tell us. Should we chase after them?"
"Forget it, it looks like they won't tell us anyway, let's just ask someone else."
"agree."
Darkness and Aqua thought it would be better to ask the guild, so the three of them went to the guild and met Chris, who had a very good relationship with Kobayashi.
Explain your intention.
Chris nodded and said, "Thanks, Kobayashi..."
“Is there any clue that would please Kobayashi?” Darkness said. “If Chris knows anything, please tell me.”
Aqua suddenly said, "For example, things like Kress always having things stolen from him."
"Ah!? No way! Absolutely not!" Chris immediately bristled. "How could I possibly give away something like that? Even if Kobayashi really likes it, I won't hand it over!"
That's right, they were talking about the thief girl's underwear.
"Well..." Huihui said considerately, "We can't exactly turn Kobayashi into a pervert, can we? Are there any other options?"
However, neither Chris nor the other members of the guild knew anything about the shops they wanted to send items to, let alone what they would buy. Their knowledge of other items was even more pitiful.
"Aha……"
The three of them sighed deeply as they left the guild.
Huihui said somewhat helplessly, "Although I've already asked everyone, but..."
"I just can't find a good solution," Darkness said, equally frustrated.
"The most important thing in these kinds of things is perseverance." Surprisingly, it was Aqua who said this, encouraging the two of them: "Don't be discouraged, keep asking!"
Afterwards, Aqua and the others kept asking how to express their gratitude to Kobayashi. Considering that Kobayashi often went to Wiz's magic item shop, they thought that he might know and came to ask.
"Is it a thank-you gift?" Wiz asked curiously, knowing the three's purpose, but his eyes quickly lit up as he said, "Then, we have some new products to recommend!"
As a qualified store manager, you are always promoting your products.
“This is a new item that just arrived a few days ago.” Wiz took out a magnificent crown from behind the counter and said, “Wearing this will make you feel like a king. It’s a truly magnificent crown!”
"Yes, it's definitely something that makes me happy."
"Although I don't like it to always be like this, it's nice to have a good mood once in a while!"
Darkness and Aqua thought this magical item was quite nice and suitable as a thank-you gift. However, they forgot that Wiz's magical items all had side effects.
(End of this chapter)