"Stop crying, Kazuma." Adam placed his right hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
Seriously. I really don't understand — why am I the one who paid, yet you're the one who's devastated?
Although he knew Kazuma had put in a lot of effort, having to comfort another man while suffering the greater loss himself left Adam feeling incredibly conflicted.
"Adam... senpai." Kazuma knew he had let down his party leader.
Although it wasn't his fault, he had failed to properly supervise the troublemakers in the team. If only he had checked the ingredients more frequently, if only he had kept those two away from the start — would this have happened?
The thought made his blood boil.
"Look what you've done, you idiot Aqua and stupid Megumin! What were you thinking?!" He roared, "Don't either of you feel even a shred of guilt?!"
He had initially wanted to stop Kazuma from being too harsh, but upon hearing the word "guilt", he felt there was no need to intervene.
Talking about guilt with Aqua — are you new to the party or something, Kazuma?! Updates are released by novel[f]ire.net
As expected, that goddess showed not even a hint of remorse. While Megumin seemed somewhat apologetic, Aqua acted like everything was perfectly natural.
"Huh?! What are you saying, stupid Kazuma!" She flipped her aqua-blue hair and declared to the kneeling young man, "I am the Goddess of Water and Wisdom, and Adam is my representative. As my follower, isn't it only natural to offer tributes to the deity you worship?"
"But those ingredients were what I worked so hard to get — why did you have to eat those too?!"
"You're the one who's wrong! As my follower, what's wrong with eating some offerings?!"
"Who's your follower, you stupid goddess!"
"W-what did you say?!"
"I said, who's your follower, you stupid goddess!" Kazuma trembled with anger as he berated the troublemaking goddess.
"Uu... uu, Adam—! Waaaaaah!" The offended Aqua burst into tears and dove into Adam's arms, seeking comfort from her beloved follower.
In reality, this was just her strategy to weasel her way out of trouble.
If Adam didn't hold her accountable, Kazuma would let her off out of respect for the party leader.
When it came to avoiding responsibility, her intelligence certainly got a boost.
However... What happened next wasn't what she had expected.
"I see. Aqua didn't mean it, so let's forgive her this time... is what you thought I'd say?!" Adam pinched her cheeks mercilessly, not letting go even as she wailed in pain.
He was truly angry! With the previous ξ22,000,000 debt in mind, there was no way he could easily forgive her!
"You better reflect on your actions, Aqua!"
After the scolding, he passed judgment on her actions:
Considering her outstanding contributions in the {Dullahan Subjugation} and {Mobile Fortress Destroyer Interception} missions, she would only need to compensate Kazuma for emotional damages and ingredient costs, totaling ξ2,000,000.
Her punishment included: no allowance for 3 months, no alcohol for 6 months, mandatory completion of one quest every 3 days, weekly ghost purification at the nearby cemetery, and a strict ban on consuming any rare ingredients the team obtains.
Most importantly, she was forbidden from borrowing money using the 『 Hero 』 Party's name.
Only after Aqua signed these harsh terms did Adam's anger subside.
This was already the biggest concession possible — after all, there was still the ξ22,000,000 debt to repay.
Even knowing she wouldn't fully comply, he'd be satisfied if she just behaved for a while.
Though Kazuma felt she shouldn't be let off so easily, since the party leader had spoken, he could only suppress his frustration with the idiotic goddess and accept her foolish actions.
After all, the rare ingredients had already been eaten — it's not like they could make them throw them up.
"Um... I was also at fault, please punish me too." After Aqua's disciplining, Megumin tremblingly raised her hand and said fearfully, "But please don't expel me from the party, I'll do anything else!"
Hey, what can you do with that flat chest of yours?
Having realized her mistake, Megumin didn't avoid responsibility but actively admitted her fault, hoping Adam would issue her punishment.
Of course, she also hoped he wouldn't expel her from the party — that was the last thing she wanted.
"If you're afraid of punishment, you shouldn't have done it in the first place." Adam remarked sarcastically.
She had clearly known it was wrong but still chose to act foolishly with Aqua, knowing full well it would be discovered.
"Megumin, this isn't like you at all, but you were led astray by Aqua. I'm curious why."
"Because, because... it increases Explosion Magic's power, doesn't it!"
"These rare ingredients give experience points, and when you level up from collecting enough, you can use the Skill Points to enhance Explosion Magic's power!" Megumin's eyes sparkled as she spoke with flushed excitement.
Oh... So even the problem children like that flat one understood the importance of rare ingredients. He had underestimated them — they did have some brains after all.
But this wasn't praise — punishment was still necessary.
"In that case, you can take on half of Aqua's 2 million Eris debt, right?"
Following the principle of equal treatment, Adam split Aqua's ξ2,000,000 party debt in half for Megumin, giving her both a serious punishment and a profound lesson.
He really worried himself sick trying to keep her from overthinking things.
Megumin waved her staff and loudly responded, "Yes, I'd be glad to!"
Though it was punishment, she seemed happy.
Darkness, who had been watching from the side, suddenly got excited.
Pointing at Adam with a flushed face, she exclaimed, "As expected, Adam is the type who acts proper on the surface but secretly threatens female party members like an evil noble!"
"To make Aqua and Megumin repay the debt, he'll surely say things like 'Hey, use those lewd bodies of yours to earn money for me!'"
This time it wasn't just Adam — everyone else in the team also thought Darkness had serious issues.
But she showed no signs of remorse and continued her delusions.
"As a Crusader, I of course cannot stand by while they suffer, but because of that, I'll fall step by step into your trap, into your clutches to be toyed with at will. Not just me, but Aqua and Megumin will also be caught in your grip, and this team will become your harem, with everyone being played with..."
Darkness grew more excited as she spoke, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Ha... ha~ haa... amazing—!"
"I'm telling you, I don't have those kinds of thoughts—!"
Adam's brain was trembling too.
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