The moment Aqua saw him, she sprinted towards him at full speed, pouncing like a kitten seeing its owner.
With arms spread wide, she shouted, "You're finally back, I missed you so much!"
"Wait, wait a second, Aqua!" Adam tried to stop her pounce. But of course, such weak protests had no effect on her.
What happened next wouldn't have been a problem — except Aqua jumped with too much force and, after leaping high into the air, completely overshot him!
How in the world did she miss when he's 1.85m tall?!
"Aqua!" Even Adam became flustered.
He jumped backward, trying to catch her before she hit the ground. However, as Aqua flailed her limbs wildly in mid-air, he couldn't get into position.
Then — driven by some mysterious force — she delivered a diving headbutt from above, crashing right into his forehead!
He couldn't catch her after all!Bang!A dull impact sound rang out where their foreheads collided.
Fortunately, Adam was tough-skinned and felt only a slight pain, but Aqua, being the delicate 「High Priest」 she was, had much more sensitive skin.
"That hurts!" She clutched her head, tears welling up as she knelt on the ground.
Hurt the enemy a thousand, hurt yourself ten thousand.
With such an impulsive personality that made everyone want to laugh, this was truly typical of Aqua. Who could have predicted such a unique welcome ceremony?
"Sigh." Looking at the red mark on her forehead, Adam felt a bit sorry for her. He sighed, helped her up from the ground, and asked gently, "Are you alright, Aqua?"
"Yeah, it just hurts a bit." She stood up crying, wanting him to heal her.
While casting his healing spell, he looked into her pure blue eyes and said, "Aqua, I'm back."
"Mm, welcome back, Adam!" Aqua hugged him again.
A familiar pure aura washed over him — the scent of Aqua, like fresh water.
To be honest, after being away for so many days, he had missed the party members too.
"Hey! Aqua, let go of Carter-senpai right now!"
The commotion had drawn attention.
Kazuma noticed the adventurers staring and yelled, "What are you doing, you idiot? Don't cause trouble for Carter-senpai!"
He rushed over, trying to pull Aqua away from Adam's embrace.
"That's right, Aqua." Adam gently pushed her away, "We're being too conspicuous. Let's separate for now — we shouldn't disturb the other adventurers."
"Mm, if Adam says so." Aqua released her arms obediently.
"Oh! Isn't this Adam Carter, the leader of the Hero's Party!"
"Carter, welcome back!"
"Come have a drink with us!"
The adventurers in the guild had noticed him and called out warm welcomes, inviting him to join them.
"I'll have to pass! I just got back, and the party needs my attention." Adam replied, "Not today — let's drink another time!"
"Alright, it's a promise then!"
"Don't forget your word!"
After he finished greeting the welcoming adventurers, Darkness and Megumin approached to welcome him back.
"Adam, welcome back."
"Yes, I'm back." Adam turned to see Darkness and Megumin looking energetic, "Seeing you all so lively, you must have been doing well lately."
"Of course!" Megumin's eyes glowed red as she dramatically swished her cape, striking a theatrical pose. She declared proudly, "I've been working very hard to improve myself lately, and my Explosion Magic has had a breakthrough!"
"But because of that, the party has racked up quite a few compensation bills." Kazuma cut in mercilessly, tattling to Adam, "Destroyed farms, ruined fields, damaged historical sites — it all adds up to almost ten million eris in damages."
"Uh!" Hearing his words, Megumin immediately deflated.
"I see." A gleam flashed in Adam's eyes as his tone grew dangerous, "Megumin, it seems you haven't been behaving while I was away, causing quite a bit of trouble."
"I'm sorry." The little demon girl apologized sincerely, lowering her head and closing her eyes, anxiously awaiting her punishment.
But instead of being struck, she felt a gentle pat on her head. Then, a warm large hand rested there.
"It's alright, Megumin."
Megumin looked up at Adam in surprise, hardly believing it. To be honest, she had prepared herself to be expelled from the party.
After all, ξ10,000,000 was truly a massive sum! It would take at least 20 low-level quests and countless Giant Toad battles to earn that much!
Most parties don't even earn ξ10,000,000 in a whole year, yet she had cost them that much in just half a month!
But Adam hadn't scolded her!
Instead, he said: "Listen well, Megumin! The power to surpass perseverance comes from the will to persevere. Magic isn't some miraculous force — it's the flow of energy within us. Only when it merges with the natural flows of the world does it manifest as true power. So just be yourself, Megumin! Believe in yourself, for you are the strongest Arch Wizard!"
At this moment, the party leader before her seemed to shine with light, absolutely radiant!
"Adam!" Megumin's eyes grew moist.
Ah, why are my eyes always filled with tears?
Because I love this party so deeply!
"Well said! Only by facing our flaws can we become stronger! Unleashing our true nature is what makes the strongest adventurer!" Darkness nodded in complete agreement, showing her strong approval of his words.
But her next words were rather hard to agree with.
"So, Adam, let's raise a modified tentacle monster! Please, I really want to keep Laika!" She pressed close to him, raising her flushed face and looking at him expectantly.
So she had already named her third modified tentacle monster?
"No way. If we kept a tentacle monster in the mansion, I'd blast it with an Explosion spell and obliterate it immediately."
"Nngh! Explosion... hah... hah..." Hearing his firm rejection, Darkness hugged herself tightly, moaning as she imagined the scene, "Explosion Magic is so wonderful!"
Our party's 「Crusader」 lady was as perverted as ever. It was good to see her so energetic.
"Um, Carter-senpai, your outfit is quite unique — could it be knight's garments from another country?" Kazuma asked, his eyes filled with admiration.
This noble-looking knight's uniform had clearly captured his imagination.
Darkness finally snapped out of her fantasy and examined his clothes, "Indeed, though different from our kingdom's style, these must be knight's garments."
As a nobleman's daughter, despite her peculiar personality, she had an eye for such things.
"These are the knight's garments worn in a kingdom called Lugunica." Adam spread his arms, displaying the outfit, "What do you think?"
"As expected of the hero I chose, a thousand times cooler than Kazuma!"
Though their responses varied, they all agreed that Adam looked handsome.
"Thank you for the compliments." He bowed with graceful courtesy.
"Whoa! So cool!" Kazuma exclaimed.
Megumin murmured, "Just like a real noble!"
Darkness nodded in agreement.
"As expected of the hero I chose, ten thousand times better than Kazuma!" Aqua declared proudly, as if everyone was praising her instead.
But Kazuma's mood soured.
There was Aqua again, comparing him to his mighty senpai. He knew he couldn't match their leader, but who wouldn't be frustrated being used as a constant comparison?
"Hey, Aqua, are you trying to pick a fight?!"
"Eh, why is Kazuma angry?" Aqua tilted her head, genuinely oblivious to how she had offended him.
"Kazuma, calm down. You know what Aqua's like — let it go this time." Adam stepped in, hoping to prevent a fight so soon after his return.
He held Kazuma back as his friend moved to teach Aqua a lesson. Turning to the confused-looking Goddess, he said:
"We're companions, Aqua. Don't hurt your party members."
"Eh? What did I say wrong?" She blinked, still completely unaware.
Faced with Aqua's cluelessness, Kazuma looked ready to burst!
This couldn't continue — if it did, the 『 Hero 』 Party's reputation would suffer!
Adam swiftly changed the subject, "Are you all heading out for a quest?"
"Yes, we're deciding which quest to take."
"We haven't decided yet."
Darkness and Megumin gratefully followed his lead.
"Then let's go accept a quest!" He raised his hand high and declared, "The Hero's Party sets sail again!"
Everyone cheered loudly.
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