Chapter 14: Familiar Book

"Please Luna-Chan! I'm begging you!"

"Do you never learn? No means no!"

A quarrel between an adventurer and the beautiful receptionist Onee-Chan in the back of the guild. To the other adventurers, it sounded as though yet another adventurer tried to ask the receptionist out on a date and failed.

But in reality-

"Why!? I've already done so many hard quests by myself, this one should be no different!"

"I know you are strong, but the matter lies in the fact that this quest requires a party of at least four people minimum."

"I saw you add that last part this morning!"

-It was Naruto begging Luna to let him take on an extremely difficult quest.

Naruto growled in frustration before sighing in defeat. There was no use getting mad over this, he knew Luna was only looking out for him.1

"Fine... If I form a party of four, then can I take on that quest?"

"Yes. After all, this is a very difficult quest. The only reason this request is even here is because of the recent movements of the demon king's army, and the royal army can't spare any advanced team to help."

Luna said with tired sigh. It was difficult managing such a quest in a town beginners. Just this morning, she had received complaints from some of the farmers outside of town. The Manticore fighting with the Griffon for territory was causing everyone a lot of problems.+

"Then you won't have to worry for much longer! I'll form a team of four and we'll take care of this fun sounding quest, and you can enjoy a good break!"

Naruto declared with foxlike grin.

"I look forward to it... But you can start by making a recruitment form here in the guild."

Luna responded with an awkward smile. To say an extremely dangerous quest sounded like fun was a little...

"Alright! One badass party coming right up!"

With that said, Naruto ran off to make a recruitment form.

————————————————————

3 Hours Later...

'...Why isn't anyone coming?'

Naruto thought as he sat in the corner of the guild all by himself.

A couple hours had long since passed and there hadn't been a single response to his party invitation!

'My request is perfect! So why isn't anyone showing up?'

Naruto stood up and walked over to the request board.

Requesting Party Members!

Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a super awesome, strong, and cool ninja! I plan to defeat the demon king! But before that, I want to take on a SUPER hard quest to subdue the Manticore and Griffon to help Luna-Chan! No restrictions. Anyone is welcome to join! Let's defeat those giant monsters together!+

"See? It's perfect! So why don't any of you want to join me!? I'll even do all the work!"

Naruto shouted while looking around the guild, and everyone he looked at adverted their eyes. No one dared to look him in the eye, and that pissed him off.

What kind of adventurers were these people? Were they all just a bunch of cowards?

"Guess I'll have to look somewhere else..."

Naruto grumbled to himself and stomped his way towards the exit when the doors swung open and a certain red cloaked mage walked in and flipped her cape.

"Naruto, fellow wielder of the ultimate magic! It is time we test our mettle and see who can make grandest Explo-"+

Naruto walked past the girl as if he didn't notice her.

The doors closed and Megumin just stood there, mid-pose. Her face burned red as a tomato as soft laughter could be heard throughout the guildhall.

————————————————————

Naruto sighed as he walked down the streets of Axel with his hands in his pockets. He wasn't picky with who joined his team but if he could choose, he would form a team similar to Kazuma's party. A vanguard, a ranged fighter, and a healer sounded like a balanced team. Naruto himself could fill in any blanks his team had, like stealth.

But the problem was going to be finding people with those job descriptions and were willing to take on hard quests. So they either had to be ambitious, or crazy. Maybe both?

While Naruto was busy thinking of his recruitment plans, he failed to notice the same red clad mage from earlier catch up to him.

"You've got guts for ignoring a Crimson Magic Clansman! Are you afraid? Surely that must be the case! After all, you are dealing with the genius of the Crimson Magic Clan!"+

Megumin shouted rather loudly, which generated a bit of an audience on the busy street.

Naruto sighed. He didn't have time for this right now. Turning around, he walked over to Megumin and knelt until he was eye level with the girl and smiled gently.

"Listen Megumin, big brother Naruto is busy looking for party members right now. Unfortunately, I think I know a guy..."

"B-big brother... I see you're still mad about yesterday, but I had no other choice. If you give me the adventurer's card of someone who can learn Explosion, of course my finger is going to move on its own! It's automatic function for a Crimson Magic Clansman such as myself! A default option that cannot be changed!"

Megumin explained while clenching her fist with tear in her eyes, as if she was talking about a terrible burden she was forced to bare.

But Naruto wasn't having any of it.

"I don't know all that much about you and your village, but that's probably just you who thinks like that! Everyone I ask says Explosion Magic is useless!"+

Naruto shouted heatedly before turning the opposite direction and waving behind his back.

"Go play with Kazuma or something."

"W-wait! Kazuma and Aqua are working at the construction site today since there's no easy jobs on the board!"

Megumin pleaded and grabbed onto the ninja's jacket in attempt to keep him from leaving.

Naruto stopped when he heard the stitches in his worn-out jacket begin to stretch.

"Stop pulling on my precious jacket! Jeez, you almost tore it... Why don't you just work at the construction site with them instead of bugging me?"

"...I was, until I was fired for picking a fight with the construction foreman."

"...Why did you fight with your boss?"

Naruto said with a sweat drop, and Megumin stomped her feet.

"He had it coming for calling me 'little boy', and saying 'oh sorry, I thought you were a boy because you're so flat and talk so rough'! So, I did the only thing an offended lady could do and kicked him right in the-"

"Alright alright! You can tag along while I search for party members!"

Naruto said before Megumin could finish her little story, and the two walked down the streets of Axel together.

—After a couple minutes of just walking down the streets...+

"Personally, I would love to test my Explosion magic on a powerful monster like a Griffon. But Kazuma quickly rejected the idea..."

Megumin said before taking a bite of crepe she had talked Naruto into treating her to.

"I don't blame him. You guys are complete beginners, with or without your Explosion magic. You're not ready for super powerful enemies like that."

Naruto said while nodding sagely, and Megumin fumed.

"Oh yeah? I bet we'll defeat a high bounty monster before you do!"

"Is that a challenge? Alright then, if you guys manage to defeat any high bounty monsters before I'm able to form a party and take on the Griffon quest, then we can have a showdown of Explosion magic."

Naruto said with a smirk and raised his fist for an agreement fist bump, to which Megumin punched without a shred of thought.

"Oh, well if it isn't Boss Naruto and his little girlfriend! On another date I see?"

"!" x2

Naruto and Megumin turned to see Dust waving at them with a knowing grin, and they both responded accordingly.

"She's not my girlfriend, and stop calling me boss!"

"Who are you calling little, do you want this man to beat you up!?"

...

"...Why didn't you deny it? This guy is quick to misunderstand things. Also, why would I fight him for calling you little!?"+

Naruto asked with a twitching eyebrow. Was this girl trying to cause another misunderstanding with Dust again?

Megumin's expression turned sly.

"Hoho~ What's this? Is Naruto getting all flustered? I may just have to tell Wiz and Aqua..."

"Who's getting flustered!? Besides, why would it matter if you told them? Aqua wouldn't care, and Wiz isn't the type to misunderstand things."

Naruto said and folded his arms impatiently. He was already regretting his decision to bring this kid along.

"Wiz? You mean the beautiful and unfortunate shopkeeper? So the rumors of people seeing Boss Naruto leaving her shop every morning is true!?"

Dust said with wide eyes.

Unfortunate? Was that how other people viewed Wiz? It almost made Naruto want to cry.

But more importantly-

"I wanted to ask before, but what kind of rumors have you been hearing Dust? But before you say anything, no, I'm not a stalker trying to steal Wiz's underwear, and I'm not a delinquent trying to get on her good side to steal her defective products!"

Naruto said, and Megumin sweatdropped.

"Wiz would probably cry if she heard you say that..."+

"S-shh! If you keep your mouth shut, I'll buy you another crepe on the way back to the guild!"

Naruto frantically whispered to the mage, and the girl slid her finger across her lips like a zipper.

Sighing a breath of relief, Naruto turned back to Dust to find the boy laughing.

Seeing the annoyed look he was receiving, Dust ceased his laughter and told the ninja what he knew.

"There's nothing serious compared to the cabbage hunt, but there are rumors floating around that Boss Naruto is a real player. People see Boss leaving Wiz's shop with a satisfied look, as well as flirting with Luna-Chan and having lover's quarrels with Aqua at the adventurer's guild on a daily basis. Now they're talking about your dates with this little lady right here."

"All lies! Is that what people think of me!? They're jumping to conclusions too quickly! I admit I'm a little rough around the edges, and most of my friends happen to be girls right now... But to label me as a player just because I freely talk to the girls I know is a bit too much!"+

Naruto shouted quickly when Megumin's gaze on him turned cold. If those rumors weren't even serious in Dust's eyes, he could only imagine what the rumors of him from the cabbage hunt were about.

But it was time to change things! No more bad rumors, no more false accusations! It was time for Naruto Uzumaki to make a difference in this world and prove himself!

"Dust!"

Naruto suddenly shouted seriously, causing the boy the jump in surprise.

"Y-yes Boss Naruto?"

"First off, stop calling me that. Now listen, what I'm about to ask might sound crazy. But I wanted to ask if you want to form a party with me and-"

"I accept!"

"...Eh?"

Naruto was caught off guard when Dust accepted his party invite before he could even explain the details.

"N-no... The quests I want to do are going to be super difficult-"

"I don't care! I already decided I wanted to follow Boss Naruto for two reasons! First, I would join Boss' party and earn lots of money! Second, I would learn Boss' secrets in getting girls!"+

Dust said while saluting properly.

Naruto sweatdropped and whispered to Megumin:

"This guy is completely hopeless... But I'm not going to find anyone else who would want to fight a Griffon, am I?"

"No, probably not..."

Megumin whispered back before zipping her lips again. The crepes must have been very good if she was being this obedient to get another one.

Naruto sighed. He was definitely going to regret this, but a grin split his face despite it all. Dust didn't seem like a bad person overall, he was just a little misguided. Kind of like how Naruto himself was back before old man Sarutobi put him on the right path of wanting to become the Hokage.

"I still need to look for two more members, but welcome to the party Dust!"

"I still need to look for two more members, but welcome to the party Dust!"+

"Thanks Boss! I'll go let my party members know I'll be leaving the team soon."

"Wait, you're in a party already? I don't want to force you to leave your teammates..."

"Nah, it's cool. They've been ignoring me the past couple days for some reason and I can't figure out why. Maybe they're still mad about that time I said I was the carry of our party during our last quest? Which is completely true."

Dust said as he rubbed his chin in thought.

'...Was this really the right decision?'

Naruto thought as the three began to walk back to the adventurer's guild.

————————————————————

"Wahhh~! Naruto, you jerk! And here I was thinking of keeping the fact that you snuck into the stables to play with my hair one night a secret!"

Aqua whaled while slamming on the table loudly, and Naruto's face heated up when the group looked at him weirdly.

Naruto had just introduced Dust to Kazuma and the rest of his group. Dust and Kazuma apparently already knew each other, they were apparently drinking buddies. But when Naruto decided to treat Dust to a drink for joining his party, Aqua began to complain spout out nonsense for some reason.

"I-I wasn't playing with your hair! I was trying to dye it orange, but the dye kept turning into water for some reason!"+

He didn't deny it.

"So that's why the blanket was soaked. I thought Aqua went in her sleep because she was too drunk to walk to the bathroom... But was that really you Naruto? I didn't notice at all. Maybe you really are a ninja..."

Kazuma said while looking at Naruto with a perplexed expression. Naruto was the epitome of the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'.

"That's what I've been saying this whole time! What made you think otherwise? Also, you were awake during that time Aqua!? I could have sworn you were completely passed out from drinking all that wine I treated you that night!"

Naruto said, but Aqua ignored him and turned her attention to Kazuma.

"Is that what you think of me, Kazuma!? Apologize! Apologize for thinking I'm some helpless child that can't go to the restroom by myself! Such a small amount of wine is nothing to the great me! But that's besides the point. A goddess such as myself doesn't use the bathroom."

Aqua said while gesturing to herself pridefully.

Naruto and Kazuma both stared at the bluenette with flat looks before they looked the other way, and the goddess panicked.

"D-don't ignore me! It's the truth!"+

Ignoring Aqua for the time being, Naruto and Kazuma turned their attention to Dust who slammed his mug on the table loudly.

"Sheesh, Kazuma! I didn't know you hung out around so many beautiful ladies now! I wish I was in your party!"

Dust said with a flushed face while looking at the girls at the table. Apparently, he was on his fifth mug and was starting to get drunk so his mind was speaking for itself.

Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness seemed to take the compliment rather strongly and either looked away bashfully or started playing with their hair.

"Trust me, no you don't. But if you want to trade places with me so badly you're more than welcome to. In fact, you'd be doing me a favor."

Kazuma responded, and the grin on Dust's face widened.

"Hey!" x3

Unsurprisingly, the girls took offence to this and looked at Kazuma angrily.

'No mercy as usual...'

Naruto thought with a sweatdrop. He was honestly amazed at how Kazuma was able to speak his mind so freely, and that he would always fight back with his all to defend himself, even from girls. It was one of the reasons Kazuma was the leader of his party.

He knew the girls could be a handful, but to say he didn't mind swapping places with Dust was a bit much...

"Say, why don't we do that? Boss Naruto said we're not going on a quest until we find two more party members anyway."

Dust said and Kazuma rubbed his chin in thought.

'If Dust takes the girls on a quest or Megumin to do her daily Explosion, then that could give me more time to finish reading my book! I haven't had any time to read it because the construction job leaves me too exhausted to even pick it up! I was at a really good part too!'

While Kazuma was thinking to himself, Naruto leaned over to Dust.

"Hey, are you sure you want to do this? These girls are pretty, sure, but they're quite a handful. Well, at least Aqua and Megumin are. Darkness is just a little weird."

Naruto whispered to his future party member, but Dust waved him off.+

"Are you kidding? Being the only guy in a party full of girls is a man's dream! So what if they're a little weird? I'd take a weird harem over no harem any day!"

Dust exclaimed when Kazuma suddenly slammed his hands on the table.

"Alright Dust, I guess I can let you borrow these ladies for a couple days. But only if you take Megumin on her daily Explosion on the days she doesn't use it."

Kazuma said stuck out his hand, to which the other boy immediately shook.

"Deal! By the way, what's a daily Explosion? Does it have anything to do with the tremors we've been getting every day?"

Dust said while he shook Kazuma's hand, and the latter glossed it off as a scenic walk with the Crimson Magic Clansman.

"I'm a little annoyed that we don't have a say in this, but just so you know... If I don't fire off Explosion magic once a day, I'll explode."

Megumin said with a dark expression, her eyes glowing crimson.

"I don't mind, since it would only be for a couple days. I was going to go back to my home to do some weight training since Kazuma doesn't want to do any hard quests, but you wouldn't mind doing a difficult quest, do you Dust?"

Darkness asked their new(temporary) party member, an eager expression on her face.

"A hard quest? Right off the bat? Also, you're a bit close..."

Dust asked a bit nervously and pushed Darkness away when she got up in his face excitedly.

"You also have the great me, so you don't need to worry so much! A difficult quest is nothing with my support!"

Aqua boasted and gave Dust a thumbs up.

"Th-thanks... I'll be in your care."

Dust said awkwardly and looked to Naruto for help, but the ninja merely shrugged as if to say: 'you reap what you sow'.

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The Next Morning...

'Since Dust is going on a quest with Kazuma's party, I guess that means it's up to me to find the other two members.'

Naruto thought as he walked to Wiz's shop, a box containing two bowls of ramen in his hands.

Dust was a warrior, so he filled the vanguard role for the party and Naruto would be able to back him up if needed. So all he needed now was a priest and a ranged fighter. But he would prefer a mage for the ranged fighter because magic was cool.

"Too bad Wiz is retired... Huh?"

Wiz's shop was just around the corner when Naruto noticed a small crowd in front of one of the stores. Naruto recalled it was the general store across from Wiz's magic item store, and knew they sold things like travel snacks, lanterns, books, and other small items necessary for adventuring.+

But what caught Naruto's eye was the tall man standing in the middle of the crowd, or more specifically the man's long white hair. The man was facing away from the ninja, but Naruto could tell he was signing books the people in the crowd were handing him. Perhaps he was a famous person?

Naruto spotted a man walking away from the crowd holding a small orange book with a happy expression. Walking up to the person, Naruto pointed towards the crowd.

"What's with the crowd? Is that guy famous or something?"

"Oh, you don't know? That's the famous author of this amazing book series! See? Check it out!"

The person said while showing off his signed book proudly.

*Crash!*

"W-woah! You okay kid!?"

The man said when Naruto suddenly dropped the box he was holding, the ramen spilling all over the floor.+

Naruto just stood there, eyes wide, starting at the little orange book he was all too familiar with. He then looked at the crowd and started walking, then slowly picked up his pace into a sprint.

Skidding to a stop at the edge of the crowd, Naruto frantically began to push his way to the front. The people were shouting at him angrily, but Naruto ignored them and kept pushing forward. He had to know for sure.

Once he finally broke through, Naruto put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. When he looked up he found the tall man with long spikey white hair was looking down at him strangely.

The man's face was a little red, no doubt he had been drinking. His outfit was different, but there was no doubt Naruto knew this person.

Naruto's eyes began to water as the man's face lit up in recognition.

"Ero... Senin?"