Chapter 35: A Blind Date for this Nervous Shinobi

Naruto sighed as he thought about the conclusion of Snow Sprites quest, which hadn't gone as he'd planned at all. Not only had the Winter Shogun escaped while he was taking care of the new monster, but Kazuma had shut himself in his mansion and refused to go on anymore quests the moment they returned.

Aqua, having been the one that revived Kazuma, had tried taunting the guy in her usual manner. But she was quickly shut down after Kazuma said he would only come out if she switched places with Eris. The water goddess(self-proclaimed) then stormed off while shouting angrily.

Megumin then made an attempt to be the voice of reason by saying Kazuma was being overly dramatic, which was surprisingly enough to get the boy to open the door slightly. But only Kazuma's arm stuck out as he used "Steal" on Megumin and successfully stole the girl's panties before closing the door again.

While the Crimson Magic Clansman desperately tried to pry the door open, it was then Naruto decided to go back to the adventurer's guild.

As for Darkness...

"What's wrong Naruto-San? Did things not go well with Darkness-San?"

Yunyun asked with a worried expression. She and Naruto were sitting at their usual table in the far corner of the guild, but the blonde had been silent for quite some time.

"Well, I don't want to talk about it..."

Naruto groaned and placed his forehead on the table dejectedly.

"Th-that bad...?"

Yunyun struggled to come up with some words of encouragement, but she couldn't come up with anything because it was the first time she had ever tried comforting a friend. She had to say something, but what if she made it worse?

"Maybe I should just give up on this stupid bet... I was stupid to think I could get a girlfriend so easily."

Naruto mumbled while playing with the straw in his drink. He could put up with Aqua and her unreasonable demands. After all, he was used to it by now. The only thing that bothered him was that he would be going back on what he claimed in front of everyone...

"Y-you can't give up now! You still have two days left to woo Darkness-San! Don't worry, I'll help you all the way!"

Yunyun said while standing up from her seat to emphasize her support.

Naruto looked up from his drink and stared at his party member with a half-baked smile. He appreciated what Yunyun was trying to do, but Darkness was just too much for him.

'Yunyun's such a nice kid... Guess I'll have to explain things to her.'

With that thought, Naruto sat up straight and crossed his arms in a mature manner.

"Listen, Yunyun... Darkness is hopeless. She's a lost cause. That girl has nothing but weird thoughts going on in her head."

"Eh? But I thought Naruto-San said Darkness-San was a kind and noble Crusader?"

Yunyun said and tilted her head to the side, but something suddenly caught her attention and her eyes went wide.

"Darkness is a nice person, but don't let that fool you. Inside that armor is a beast that's waiting to be unleashed! Dust and Kazuma both warned me too. I should have listened to them..."

Naruto said and grabbed his carbonated drink before downing it in one go. Slamming it back on the table, he continued to rant about Darkness' personality.

Yunyun frantically tried to grab the boy's attention, but she found her party member was too lost in his rant to notice.

"N-Naru...!"

"That girl says she goes on daily patrols around the town, but she's actually just looking for trouble! She wouldn't waste a second to jump head first into danger! I can't believe I thought for a second that-"

"Naruto-San!"

Yunyun raised her voice enough to snap the shinobi's train of thought.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the girl's sudden interruption. But then he saw her flustered expression, and how she was looking behind him nervously...

'Uh oh...'

Naruto thought and turned around to find Darkness staring at him, red-faced while griping the hems of her skirt tightly.

"Ah..."

"S-so you two bad mouth me behind my back..."

"N-no, wait Darkness! It's not like that-"

"You probably call me slut too! Oh, and a woman whose only good point is her voluptuous figure! I bet you talk about my future, how I'll be married to a bum who will make me go out and sell my body to make beer money!"

"..." x2

Naruto and Yunyun both stared at Darkness with bitter expressions as the woman continued to ramble about her 'future' with heavy breathing.

"...I didn't think Darkness-San was a good match for you anyway, Naruto-San."

Yunyun finally said, with Naruto nodding his head in agreement.

Darkness gasped.

"Eh? You were trying to seduce me!? I knew you had a devious side to you, Naruto!"

"No! Who would seduce a pervert like you!"

Naruto blurted out without thinking.

"Guh! How could you say something like that to me... In front of all these people! Although this kind of play isn't too bad..."

Darkness hugged her form and looked away from the flustered shinobi shyly.

"What play!? Are you insane?"

Deciding enough was enough, Naruto got up from his seat and left while trying his best to ignore the amused crowd that was watching them.

Not wanting to be left behind, Yunyun bowed apologetically and scurried after Naruto.

In the midst of her delusions, Darkness glanced at Naruto's retreating form.

'I see... That man has potential too.'

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"How surprising... I didn't think Darkness-San was that kind of person."

Yunyun said as she and Naruto walked along the busy streets of Axel.

"Yup... Me neither."

Naruto agreed, his arms rested behind his head. It wasn't like he hated Darkness now that he knew she was an M, that wasn't it at all. He just didn't think he'd be able to handle that... Dark side of her personality. But he'd still be friends with her.

Putting her quirk aside, Darkness was still a nice person.

"S-so, what now?"

Yunyun asked. Seeing as Darkness was no longer an option, that meant Naruto had to find another girl to go after. But with only two full days left in the week...

"We go on a quest!"

Naruto said and ran over to a nearby alleyway and peered inside.

"Eh? B-but the deadline... What are you doing, Naruto-San?"

Yunyun questioned as she watched her party member move from alleyway to alleyway.

"I'm looking for Dust... Knowing that guy, he'll be hiding in one of these dark places. Do you know where Cecily is?"

Naruto said without looking back. The bet wasn't exactly something he could rush, and while he had two days left to get a girlfriend, he figured it would all work out in the end. So for now, it was quest time!

Yunyun sweatdropped.

"I don't think you're going to find that failure by just looking in random-"

"There you are, Dust!"

"Eh? What are you doing here, Boss?"

"He actually found him!?"

Yunyun's eyes bulged out of her skull as she watched Naruto pull Dust out of an alleyway. She had been searching all day yesterday, and that blasted delinquent was just sitting in such a place!?

"Come on, Dust! We're going on a quest today. I think you guys are ready, so let's go on a really hard quest now! I want to fight the Winter Shogun for real this time!"

Naruto said with an eager smile as he dragged his fellow blonde towards the staggered mage of their party.

'Not only did I fail to help Naruto-San with Darkness-San, but I couldn't even help him find Dust-San...'

Yunyun thought and hung her head down dejectedly.

"The Winter Shogun...!? A-actually, I was just looking for you Boss."

Dust suddenly said, causing the whiskered teen to stop and look back at him.

"What's up?"

"You see... I think I found the perfect candidate for your bet."

Dust whispered into Naruto's ear so Yunyun couldn't hear.

"Really? Who is she?"

"She's a real cutie, just the way you like em. Best part about this, she's interested in you too. I set up a time and place for you two to meet today. That's why I was looking for you."

While setting Naruto up with that girl was part of Dust's plan, it was only half. The other half involved getting some alone time with the cute Yunyun while their leader was away.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to meet this person... Though I'm not sure if-"

Naruto started while scratching his whisker marks awkwardly, but the delinquent adventurer started ushering him forward.

"That's the spirit, Boss! Now get going! I told her to look for you at that café at the end of the street. Don't keep her waiting!"

Dust said with a wink and pointed towards a certain building.

"Eh? Now? But what about Yunyun..."

Naruto said while looking back at the girl who seemed to be lost in thought. He didn't want to leave her behind again...

"Oh, don't you worry about Yunyun! I'll keep her company while you go and enjoy yourself!"

Dust said, causing the Crimson Demon in question to snap out of her depression.

"Huh?"

Hearing her name, Yunyun couldn't help but get a bad feeling. What did she miss and why did she feel the urge to run?

"Okay, I guess that's fine. Hey, do me a favor and look for Cecily. I want to hunt down the Winter Shogun after this."

Naruto said, and after sending Yunyun a farewell wave, he took off towards the café.

"Y-you want to... Of course! Oh, and her name is Lynn!"

Dust shouted, and upon seeing his boss' thumbs up, he turned back to the still very confused Yunyun and grinned.

"Now then, shall we go find that crazy priest? It might take us all day to find her though. But don't worry, I'll keep you company the whole way!"

"...Huh?"

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Naruto walked inside the café and looked around. He felt nervous meeting someone in this fashion, but Dust said this girl was interested in him, so it wouldn't hurt to at least meet her.

...Right?

'I can't believe Dust went out of his way to help me like this, and with only two days left in the bet too... I wonder what she's like?'

He thought and took a seat towards the back of the room. He'd gotten used to picking secluded seating areas away from people for Yunyun's sake.

'You do realize where you're at, right?'

Kurama suddenly asked.

'What are you...'

Naruto stopped mid-thought when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, sir. What can I get for you?"

"!"

Naruto stiffened when a familiar busty waitress walked up to him, and in turn, realized he was sitting inside the café that was secretly run by succubi.

'How did I not notice this!? No wait, why didn't you warn me Kurama!?'

'Obviously, because I'm bored out of my mind in here. This place is quite amusing, especially when I-'

'I swear to god, if you flare your chakra I will come in there myself and kick your ass!'

'Keh...That's sounds promising. Switch me for a second.'

'No!'

Before the fox could do something stupid, Naruto placed a hand on his gut and twisted the seal shut.

With Kurama out of the way, Naruto looked back up at the clearly interested waitress and chuckled.

"H-hey... You're not going to... attack me or anything, right?"

"Fufufu... Now why would I do such a thing? Activities like that are not done in front of crowds. That is, unless you're into that sort of play?"

The succubus in disguise said with a wink.

Naruto was already feeling a little hot under the collar, so he looked down at his table and gulped.

'Keep it together, Uzumaki! Just state your business and she'll (hopefully) go away!'

"Um... I'm just waiting for someone."

"I see. Shall I bring you some drinks?"

"Y-yes, thank you..."

Why was talking with this lady so hard!? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was getting closer to him as they spoke, to the point where her chest was basically touching the side of his face. He could feel her warmth through the thin layer of cloth...

But just as Naruto's mind was beginning to wander, he felt another presence moving towards him. Only this presence was that of a human, which was enough to snap the shinobi back to his senses.

"Hey, mind if I take a seat?"

A girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail and green eyes said as she pulled out the chair opposite to Naruto, all while looking at the waitress with a calculating eye.

The succubus stepped away from Naruto and smiled.

"It seems your company has arrived, sir. I shall go and get your drinks."

As the waitress disappeared to the back if the store, Naruto let out a breath of relief.

"Th-thanks... You saved me back there."

Naruto said as the girl took the seat opposite of him. But after getting a good look at her, his eyes widened in recognition.

"Hey, you're Dust's party member! What was your name again... Rin?"

"It's Lynn. But that waitress was acting rather strange. Do you know her personally?"

Lynn asked while looking across the room to find that the pink haired waitress was in fact stealing glances in their direction.

Naruto sweatdropped. His only interactions with the waitress succubus was when he had come here with Jiraiya, and the time the succubus had snuck into his inn room... But he couldn't exactly tell her that out of the blue.

"I don't really know her, but that waitress is weird isn't she? Hahaha..."

"Is that so...? Well anyways, that's not why I'm here. Ah, thank you."

Lynn thanked the waitress when the woman left a couple of drinks at their table and left.

'Oh yeah... Dust said the person's name was Lynn. Does that mean this girl here is interested in me?'

Naruto thought as he watched Lynn take a sip of her cold beverage. With her thin frame and childish face, she looked a little younger than him. But Naruto remembered Dust mentioning his party members all being the same age as him. That would put Lynn at sixteen, which was surprising to Naruto.

"You're older than you look."

"!"

Choking on her drink, Lynn shot Naruto a heated glare.

"Ah, sorry. I meant that you're more mature than you look... as a compliment! It was a compliment! I swear! Please stop chanting that spell!"

—Having successfully convinced the girl not to fire off a magic spell in the café, Naruto let out a heavy sigh.

"Honestly... Who says stuff like that out of nowhere? No wonder Dust follows you so loyally."

"Please don't compare me to that guy..."

In a way, he and Dust were in fact similar. But to hear it from other people was painful.

"Anyways, back to what I came here for. I just wanted to make sure Dust wasn't causing you too much trouble. If he's too much for you to handle, then you can always send it back to us. As troublesome as that fellow is, he's still our party member."

'She just called him 'it', didn't she?'

Naruto thought with a sweatdrop. According to Luna and the other guild staff, Lynn was supposedly Dust's caretaker. The way they had explained it sort of reminded him of Kazuma and his party members.

"Dust isn't that bad so long as you keep an eye on him. So I'm still sticking to what I said to you before, and I won't abandon Dust just because he's a little troublesome."

The shinobi said with a firm nod.

That's right. He still believed Dust could be changed wit a little guidance, and Naruto would be the one to give him that push.

Lynn smiled. That was all she really needed to hear. It was just nice to get a confirmation was all. Dust may be human trash, but he was human trash that she felt oddly responsible for. And it seemed this Naruto person really wasn't a bad person after all.

"You know, I'm beginning to think all those rumors about how you're a lady-killer and a lolicon are all just a bunch of baloney."

"A loli-what now?"

Naruto asked with his head tilted to the side, surprising Lynn.

"Y-you know, someone who-"

"Umm... Excuse me."

Naruto and Lynn looked to their side when a young girl with short white hair and dark pink eyes pulled them out of their conversation.

"Hello there, do you need something?"

Lynn asked the girl with an awkward smile.

"Y-yes... I'm here to meet with Naruto-Sama... My name is Lynn..."

The girl mumbled while poking her fingers together, all the while looking at Naruto shyly.

'This little girl is the Lynn that Dust was talking about!? Is he trying to get me arrested!?'

Naruto thought when he noticed Lynn staring at him. She wasn't glaring. In fact, there wasn't a shred of emotion on her face.

'Uh oh... She clearly misunderstood something here, didn't she?'

But before Naruto could say anything, the first Lynn stood up from her chair.

"Oh, then I must be intruding. Here, have a seat."

She said while gesturing the little girl to her seat with a sweet smile.

"W-wait... This isn't..."

Naruto tried, but clamped his mouth shut when the girl looked at him. Years of man-killing experience went down the drain when he saw the passive smile she was giving him.

"I trust you will treat this girl kindly, Naruto-San?"

"Y-yes!"

"Good. Then I will be taking off. My party just found a temporary member and we'll be going on a quest today."

With that said, Lynn walked out of the café.

When he felt that her presence was gone, Naruto let go of his breath. He could face off against man-eating monsters, demons, or even demi-gods, but an angry woman was something that would forever be beyond him.

"S-so, um... How are you feeling today, Naruto-Sama?"

Oh, right. Onto the next challenge.

Naruto looked at the new girl sitting in front of him and had to fight back the urge to sigh. Dealing with all these girls back to back was exhausting.

Now that he got a closer look at the girl, he had to admit she was kind of cute. But in the same way he thought Yunyun was cute of course, as they seemed to be about the same age. She was wearing a casual village girl's attire, which consisted of a simple green strapped dress coupled with a while blouse.

"Dust didn't force you to do anything, did he? Cause if he did, you can be rest assured that I'll beat the crap out of him."

Naruto had to make sure Dust wasn't forcing this girl to meet with him, she was just a young girl after all.

"N-no! I'm here on my own accord! In fact, I'm grateful to Dust-San for giving me the opportunity to meet you!"

Lynn said, clearing all the shinobi's suspicions.

That was good. Naruto was worried he'd have to beat some decency into that man.

"What made you want to with me here? I don't believe we've met before, and you don't look like an adventurer..."

Naruto said as he dug through his memories to see if he had met this girl somewhere. Because from the way Dust had described her, it seemed as though she knew who he was.

"That's... Well, to be honest, I witnessed your display of power the other day. You destroyed that entire mountain all by yourself! Yet, you pinned the glory on that Crimson Magic Clansman. Why is that?"

Lynn asked with curiosity pouring out of her eyes.

"Ah, you saw that...? Well, it was kind of a prank, you see..."

Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He was surprised she wasn't freaking out over the fact that he had power way beyond that of a rookie adventurer. But then again, there were rookie adventurers who wielded powerful spells like Explosion and priests who could revive people from death in the same town.

"You destroyed a mountain... For a prank?"

Lynn's eyes grew wide as saucers at this knew piece of information.

"Well, yeah. Megumin was long overdue for a good prank, so I took her pride for Explosion Magic, and turned it against her! When I spread the rumors of her destroying a mountain with her magic, she had no choice but to claim the accomplishment. Hahaha!"

Naruto explained, and he couldn't help but laugh as he remembered the pitiful look on Megumin's face. Next to his goddess prank on Aqua, it was one of his favorites. Although, he didn't know why he was telling her all this information. Not that it really mattered.

"I knew it... Naruto-Sama is the greatest..."

"Huh?"

"N-nothing! I was just thinking that was a really good prank! The Crimson Magic Clan is well known for their intelligence, to trick one is no easy feat!"

The little girl said with bright eyes, igniting a fire in Naruto's mischievous side.

"You think so...? Well if you think that was good, then wait till you hear about this one! One time, I made Aqua..."

————————————————————

After about an hour of boasting about all his past pranks, Naruto realized that he might have rambled on a little too long.

"Whoops! I'm sorry. I get a little carried away when it comes to pranks... Are you bored?"

"Not at all! Learning about Naruto-Sama's mischievousness was really fun!"

Lynn quickly said before poking her fingers together shyly.

"But I do have another question..."

"Oh, you had another question? Well, I think I've done enough talking. Ask away!"

Naruto said and grinned a cheeky grin.

"O-okay... But if possible, could we go someplace a little more... private? I feel as though I'm being stared at from all around the room."

The younger girl almost pleaded in a hushed voice.

Naruto scanned the room and sweatdropped when he found that every café employee adverted their gazes. Didn't those Succubi work here!?

"Yeah, let's get out of here..."

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A/N: Alright folks, since there's no succubus name in the LN/Anime, I shall give them...

(The pink-hair receptionist succubus name is Morrigan) I decide to make her name.

On the other hand, (The white-hair loli-succubus name is Lynn) Just wanted to clarify that the little girl "Lynn" is the newbie Succubus, and that is not the name I decided for her. It's just the cover name Dust gave her. That's all.

See you on the next chapter!