The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

Zun Zun relayed the information about the Demon King Army executives' identities and their purpose in coming to Axel to the guild's big sister. After listening, she left with a worried expression.

She probably went to ask the kingdom's high-level adventurers for help. After all, this town only has novice adventurers on the surface, and no one can stop the Headless Horseman.

But all of this has nothing to do with him.

In the following days, Zun Zun was constantly looking for a suitable house to live in.

Generally speaking, adventurers don't buy houses. Those who can afford it live in inns, and those who can't afford it live in stables. Although the gap is quite large, it is already the norm among adventurers.

But Zun Zun can't do that.

He can't make potions in an inn, and he can't always stay in a stable. Ordinary superior potions are fine, but high-difficulty ones require an absolutely quiet and safe environment.

Otherwise, what if a flood occurs next to the stable one day and purifies his potions?

He really wanted to move into that castle after the Headless Horseman was driven away, but Megumin disliked that it was far from town and wouldn't agree no matter what.

"Hey, hey, hey, are the house prices in this town a bit exaggerated?"

Zun Zun looked at the high prices of the houses, and his whole person was a little stunned. Because he needed a workshop and warehouse-like space to make magic tools, it invisibly increased his budget a lot.

He thought he was a small rich man with 2 million Eris in hand, but compared to that, he was still far from it.

Why does it cost 50 million Eris just to have a courtyard, and can you charge double the money just because it has two floors? How exactly are house prices calculated in this world!?

If the house prices in the city are expensive, he wants to go back to the countryside.

Of course, there is still one advantage, which is that there is no public area. The purchased real estate can also be disposed of at will, and even demolition and reconstruction are completely no problem.

The only disadvantage is that he can't afford it.

Just as Zun Zun was thinking about whether he wasn't working hard enough—

"Zun Zun, can I ask you to go on a quest together?"

Kazuma Sato came to find him.

Aqua and Darkness were also following. The three of them seemed to have temporarily formed a team. He didn't know if the three of them had done any quests and been hit by the powerlessness of reality.

But…

"Do a quest?" Zun Zun asked strangely, "Didn't you guys make a lot of money at the Cabbage Harvest Festival? It shouldn't be that you need to do a quest so soon, right?"

"Actually, it's Aqua."

Kazuma Sato explained with a helpless tone.

Although Aqua served as logistics at the Cabbage Harvest Festival, she also caught a lot of cabbages. She thought she would get rich, but she didn't expect that all she caught were lettuce, and she didn't earn any money at all. And because she thought she would earn money, she ran up a lot of debts at the guild and is still in the stage of paying them off.

He forgot that the idiot goddess has terrible luck.

"So, what's the quest?"

"This."

【Purify the Lake】

Looking at the quest request in his hand, Zun Zun fell into deep thought.

The reason for the water pollution was because of a landslide, and the reason for the landslide was because of Megumin's Explosion magic, but Megumin didn't use it much… No, isn't she bombing every day?

Moreover, not only did she bomb, but Zun Zun also did it.

He remembered the time when he was marked by the Bloodsucking Flying Mouse, and the fact that his explosion changed the terrain.

Kazuma Sato pointed to the request form and said, "Look at this, because there are Brutal Snapping Crocodiles living there. Just hearing the name of this monster sounds ominous, so I came to find you."

Indeed, Brutal Snapping Crocodiles are monsters that live deep in the forest, but because the Headless Horseman occupied the castle and drove the monsters away, they were probably forced to live in the polluted lake.

It all adds up, it all adds up.

"So, Kazuma, what do you plan to do?"

"Aqua said she has the ability to purify the lake. I'm planning to borrow a cage from the guild and throw her into the lake like a tea bag. That way, even if she is attacked by the Brutal Snapping Crocodiles while purifying the lake water, it won't matter."

As expected, is that the method?

Zun Zun rubbed his eyebrows and said, "Isn't this a good method? Why do you still need to find us? You know that more people means more people to share the reward money."

"That's what I'm saying, but it's for insurance."

Kazuma Sato scratched his head and said, "You also know that Aqua has no attack power, and Darkness can only be a meat shield. If there are any sudden accidents, I really can't handle it alone. Besides, it's not me who owes money, why would I work so hard?"

Because it's not him who owes money, so he doesn't care about the amount of the reward?

Very much his style.

"Um… okay."

Zun Zun agreed, after all, he also had a responsibility for the lake being polluted. Megumin and Yunyun also had no objections. Megumin even expected her Explosion magic to play a role.

Afterwards, the six people walked towards the lake.

It was a place a little far from the town. There was a vast lake. The lake was one of the town's water sources. A small river flowed out of the lake and led all the way to the town.

And the lake was adjacent to a mountain. Water was constantly flowing into the lake from the mountain, and there were still several deep pits blasted out by magic on that mountain.

The lake water looked a little turbid, and there was also a phenomenon of siltation.

"I say, are we really going to do this?"

Aqua looked a little uneasy and said timidly, "I feel like I'm a rare monster that has been caught and is about to be sold off."

The goddess imprisoned in the iron cage looked a little miserable.

"Um… how about this?"

Zun Zun suddenly said, "Since Aqua doesn't like being locked in a cage, then let's lock Darkness in the cage."

"…Eh?" X 5

The five people were stunned.

Kazuma Sato waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, the person who can purify the water source is Aqua. What's the use of locking up Darkness?"

"But can't Aqua purify just by touching the water? It doesn't matter if she's on the shore, right? It's also good to protect her from monster attacks," Zun Zun said.

"Is that so…?"

"Besides, Darkness has a taunt skill, right? As long as the Brutal Snapping Crocodiles appear, let Darkness use the taunt skill to attract the monsters away, right? And she's still locked in a cage, so the monsters can't attack her at all, right?"

Hiss—————

Kazuma Sato took a deep breath.

This was also an excellent method, but his heart couldn't get over it. After all, Aqua was the initiator of this quest, and everyone was accompanying her to do the quest.

"But is this okay…?"

"What's not okay? Aqua and Darkness, they both seem to agree."

Zun Zun signaled him to look at the two of them.

Darkness shouted with a flushed face and panting, "I'm willing! Being locked in a cage, with a group of crocodiles outside who are endlessly craving my body, wanting to tear me apart but unable to bite me… What kind of play is this, it must be great!"

"Me too! Besides, what's with a goddess being locked in a cage? That's too stupid!" Aqua complained loudly.

Zun Zun signaled Kazuma Sato with his eyes.

They both agreed, so what reason was there to refuse? Darkness got to enjoy a special play, and Aqua didn't have to be locked in a cage. It was a win-win!

"O-okay, since you two agree…"

Kazuma Sato reluctantly agreed.

Subsequently, Darkness sat inside the cage. Her cheeks flushed, she said in a trembling voice, "I'm like a sow on display, about to be attacked by ferocious alligators, while you all watch my pathetic state from the shore... This feeling is wonderful!"

"D-Darkness-san..."

Yunyun looked at her with a complicated expression.

Although she understood that she shouldn't interfere with other people's hobbies, Darkness's hobby was just too bizarre.

Soon, the cage containing Darkness was thrown into the lake, while Aqua sat on the shore, soaking her feet in the water to purify the source, which she said would take about half a day.

Thinking that the residents of the entire city would be drinking her foot bath water, Zun Zun decided to use magic to create water to drink during this time.

Two hours passed after that.

The ferocious alligators still hadn't appeared.

Megumin and Yunyun were playing shogi, and Kazuma was chatting with the idiot goddess.

Zun Zun was getting a little bored waiting.

He thought about it and decided to practice water walking here. Since leaving the Crimson Demon clan, he had been neglecting his training, and he couldn't continue to be so lazy.

Zun Zun controlled his magic, effortlessly strolling on the water surface.

Kazuma was stunned when he saw it and said, "To be able to walk steadily on the water surface, is it some special magic?"

"This isn't magic, but simply attaching magic power to the soles of your feet and stepping on the water surface. It's a kind of training method," Yunyun explained.

"I see, so that's how it is."

Kazuma nodded.

Then, he looked at the idiot goddess beside him, who had a dazed expression, and said, "Aqua, compared to you, Zun Zun is more like a goddess who controls water."

Aqua instantly bristled, she shouted, "What do you mean!? Are you saying I don't look like a goddess?"

"Isn't that the case? Tell me, where do you look like a goddess? More like a tea bag."

"Uu—! Fine! Since you want to see my power, then I'll show you, the power of me, the water goddess!"

Tears welled up in Aqua's eyes in grievance.

But her actions weren't ambiguous at all.

She plunged both hands into the water, and then ripple-like things spread outward from her location. The water ripples deepened continuously, and the lake water became turbulent, causing Kazuma to feel obvious unease.

"Aqua, what are you going to do? Hey!"

"Watch, I, Aqua, am a goddess who controls water!"

Then, Aqua flipped her hands, and a tidal wave appeared and rushed outward, heading straight for Zun Zun in the center of the water, soon stirring up a giant wave hundreds of meters high!

Even an idiot would notice such a big commotion.

Zun Zun turned his head, and what came into view was an endless, towering wave, even the sun was completely blocked.

"...Eh? Really? You're kidding, right! You're kidding, right!!!"

By the time he noticed it was too late, the water was flowing too fast to maintain the magic power of stepping on the water surface, and he was soon slapped into the water by the surging wave.

"Did you see that! This is my power!"

"—Idiot! Look what you've done!"

Aqua had just triumphantly flaunted when Kazuma scolded her severely.

After a brief daze, Megumin didn't even realize that the magic staff in her hand had fallen to the ground. Her face was filled with panic and anxiety, and she wanted to run towards the lake.

"Zun Zun, Zun Zun!"

"Wait, Megumin! Don't act rashly! You can't water walk, can you!"

Yunyun grabbed her.

However, just as Yunyun was about to run to save Zun Zun, Zun Zun instead floated back along the water current. He lay on his back on the water surface, his stomach bulging as if he were ten months pregnant, and there was even a small shrimp constantly jumping out of his mouth.

"Zun, Zun Zun!?"

"Are you okay, Zun Zun!"

Megumin and Yunyun hurriedly rescued him, and the two kept pressing on Zun Zun's stomach, and his mouth spurted out water like a fountain.

Megumin shouted angrily at Aqua, "What exactly are you doing! Are you an idiot, how can you use such powerful magic!?"

"S-Sorry..."

Aqua apologized foolishly.

Kazuma knocked her on the back of the head in anger and apologized along with her.

But it wasn't over yet.

Because Aqua's giant wave had turned the lake upside down, the alligators at the bottom of the lake were exposed. They immediately locked onto Darkness, who was still in the cage, and regarded her as an enemy invading their territory, and soon pounced on her.

"G-Great! What enthusiastic monsters, even though they're so close, I can't touch them no matter what... Again, give me more!"

Darkness shouted excitedly.

"This idiot!"

Kazuma clutched his head in pain, speechless at Darkness, who was still enjoying herself. He said to Yunyun, who was still pressing on Zun Zun's stomach, "Yunyun, please use magic to eliminate all the monsters gathered around Darkness."

"Eh? O-Okay."

Yunyun was also flustered by a series of unexpected accidents. Without much thought, she stretched out her hand and aimed her magic at the alligator group around the cage.

"Light of Saber!"

"Eeee— — — — — — — —"

When the lightning struck the center of the alligator group, Darkness in the cage shouted excitedly.

"Ah, I forgot! Water conducts electricity!"

Kazuma slapped his forehead.

It's common sense that water conducts electricity. Under normal circumstances, only pure water doesn't conduct electricity, but a polluted lake is definitely not included.

"Waaaaaa! Darkness-san, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!"

Yunyun was about to cry in anxiety.

And Darkness in the cage, after enjoying the violent stimulation of the lightning, slumped to the ground with a flushed face, and still trembled slightly from time to time, muttering softly:

"...Wonderful."

She was completely hopeless.

Kazuma had a painful expression on his face. After a brief silence, he said to the idiot goddess beside him, "Aqua, take responsibility and squat in the cage."

"Huh? I don't want to! I say, why don't we just abandon this quest first and come back tomorrow?"

Aqua was stunned for a second.

She resolutely shook her head and refused.

However, Kazuma didn't give her any room to refuse, pointing at her forehead and scolding, "I don't want tomorrow! It's because you used magic recklessly that Zun Zun suffered, and Darkness was also attacked by the alligator group. Now no one can protect you, quickly go squat in the cage!"

"I don't want to! I don't want to!!"

Aqua shouted, crying and making a fuss, but she was still forcibly thrown into the cage by Kazuma and sent to the lake to become a tea bag goddess.

Before long, the alligator group surrounded her again, opening their bloody mouths and constantly biting at the cage.

"No... no way!!!"

Aqua wailed loudly in the cage, while constantly chanting purification magic. Now she no longer dared to be lazy or slack off.