With the huge bounty, Axel's economy had been stimulated considerably — even the Succubus ladies' business improved.
Though they didn't charge money, Mencius's saying about "when well-fed and warm, one thinks of other desires" perfectly described these wealthy, idle adventurers.
{T/N: Mencius was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. I decided to keep this because learning is good in any culture. Xing ling are only bad when it comes to xenophobia.}
It's the same in any world: money and consumption drive economic prosperity.
The adventurers in Axel were getting a bit too full of themselves. Rather than immediately dampening their enthusiasm, Adam formed his own guard unit. Working with Sena and following kingdom law, they firmly arrested those unruly adventurers who were committing crimes without restraint.
This method proved very effective. After a few deliberately spread cautionary tales, the adventurers became well-behaved again.
Now, Adam was forced to move out of his mansion and stay at an inn in Axel.
As a newly appointed Lord, his lifestyle had to match his status. Living too modestly would make him appear pathetic and easily dismissed — such was the troublesome nature of Noble's Honor in this world.
Most importantly, it would damage the reputation of the 『Hero』 Party.
"Boss, let's go with this design."
"Is this really okay? Besides adding one more floor, there isn't much difference. With all that bounty money, don't you want to rebuild it into a luxurious mansion? Given our previous relationship, I can give you a discount."
The foreman before him was the same person under whom Adam had first worked.
He was responsible, never allowing workers to cut corners, and showed genuine care for his workers, often helping those in need — he was a good foreman. That's why he was chosen for this job.
"This is fine, being too showy would only invite jealousy." Shaking his head, he declined the foreman's goodwill.
Though he didn't expect to remain a Viscount forever, he would follow Viscount standards for now, leaving other matters for later.
Indeed, the huge bounty could have funded a luxurious mansion — one nearly rivaling Roswaal's, not counting all the expensive antiques displayed there.
After all, the bounty for intercepting the Mobile Fortress Destroyer was a whopping ξ500,000,000! Even after sharing with other adventurers, the 『Hero』 Party still received over ξ300,000,000.
The bounty even exceeded what they'd received for defeating the Dullahan, one of the Eight Generals of the Devil King's army!
Adding to their previous savings, the party's funds now exceeded 500 million Eris! The 『Hero』 Party had achieved financial freedom — none of its members would ever worry about money again.
But there was a downside!
The enormous wealth had turned Aqua and Megumin into complete shut-ins.
Megumin at least ventured out daily for her Essential Explosion ritual. Aqua, however, just lounged around the inn all day, leaving Adam or Kazuma to accompany Megumin.
This wouldn't do! How could a goddess be so lazy? She needed to be forced to do some quests!
Thinking this, Adam returned to their temporary inn lodgings to find Aqua — true to form — lazily curled up on the sofa, playing a chess-like game with Megumin.
"Oh, Adam, you're back!" Seeing him return, Aqua threw down her chess piece and pounced towards him, ignoring Megumin's loud accusations of cheating.
One had to wonder if she'd done it on purpose.
"Adam, welcome back."
"Mm, I'm back." He greeted both Aqua and Megumin.
"Adam, how's the mansion construction going?" Aqua asked eagerly, "Will it be huge?"
Megumin chimed in, "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too."
But his next words shattered their fantasies.
"No, it's the same size as before, just with an extra floor and a few more rooms."
Though both girls seemed unsatisfied with his decision, they didn't press the matter.
Adam shook his head with a smile, then noticed Kazuma's absence, "Where's Kazuma?"
"That Pervzuma ran off to another party again." Aqua said resentfully.
Well, he must have gone to flirt with Chris (Eris) again.
Her nicknames for Kazuma were quite telling. If it was 'Scumzuma', he'd joined Taylor's party; 'Pervzuma' meant he was with Chris; and 'Degeneratezuma' meant he was just wandering around.
Still, something puzzled him — hadn't Kazuma promised to explore the dungeon with Taylor yesterday? Why was he with Chris instead? Perhaps Taylor hadn't returned yet?
Well, with Chris around, there was no need to worry about his safety.
Come to think of it, now that all adventurers were wealthy, only Chris still took on quests — after all, being a goddess, she had no need for money.
"Hey, Aqua, even Kazuma is doing quests, you..." Adam left the sentence hanging, but his meaning was clear.
"Ehh! No way! Let me rest for one more day — just one last day!"
"And tomorrow you'll say it's the 'last day' again?"
At this, Aqua threw a tantrum, clutching his arm and shaking it vigorously, begging him to let her be lazy for just one more day. Her little trick was immediately transparent.
"Aqua, if you keep going on , when will we ever defeat the Devil King? When will you be able to return to the Heavenly Realm? Even Kazuma is working hard — how can you be so lazy?"
Adam scolded her directly, not minding Megumin's presence.
"But... I really think living in the Mortal Realm with you is nice! I don't want to return to the Heavenly Realm anymore!" Aqua blinked her pure blue eyes, looking straight at him as she spoke her heart.
"I'm just a mortal, I can't accompany you for long."
"..." Aqua fell silent.
"Hey, wait! I can't pretend I didn't hear that!" Megumin jumped up from the sofa, "I've been wondering for a while — whether it's Adam's way of addressing her or Aqua's self-references — you're always talking about Aqua being the Goddess of Water. What's that all about?"
She had noticed something was off.
Aqua tensed up, trembling as she looked at Adam, remembering his previous warnings about revealing her identity.
But he gave her a slight nod — the signal to tell their companion about her identity!
"Hmph, listen well, Megumin! I am the goddess worshipped by the Axis Cult, the Goddess of Water — Aqua!" Aqua proclaimed proudly, expecting admiring looks from Megumin.
But the girl's expression didn't change at all.
She blinked and nodded understandingly, as if finding a fellow chuunibyou, "I see, so that's the setting?"
"But you know, rumor has it that the Axis Cult is full of unreasonable and frighteningly stubborn weirdos, so it's probably better not to set yourself up as their worshipped goddess."
"Why are you talking about my cute followers like that! Why do you and Wiz both have such prejudices! They're not like that at all!" Aqua shouted, desperately defending her followers' reputation.
Forgive Adam for his discourteous laughter. It was just too funny!
Indeed, with Aqua's flighty personality, she didn't show a hint of goddess-like behavior, so it was natural for Megumin not to believe her.
"Adam..." Aqua looked at him with teary eyes, seeking comfort.
Adam had no intention of clearing up this misunderstanding — it was better to let Megumin continue with her misconception.
He had to admit, these perception gaps could be quite entertaining.
"Well, Megumin, you've got it right. Aqua believes she'll become a goddess after defeating the Devil King, and naturally, she's been working hard toward that goal, hasn't she?" After explaining this to Megumin, he gave Aqua a meaningful look.
Catching his hint, she could only nod tearfully in agreement.
Shortly after, spurred on by Megumin's pointed criticism, the three of them headed to the adventurers' guild to accept a quest.
They completed the quest without any issues.
Notably, Aqua took the lead. Determined to prove she was the Goddess of Water, she gave it her all.
Yet even after her impressive display, Megumin remained unconvinced.
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