6 Chapter 6: Want to Form a Party?

"We can't beat the toads by ourselves. Let's recruit more party members."

Kazuma told Aqua with a serious expression.

After a second attempt in fighting the giant toads, the two went back to the guild to come up with a better strategy. They had three days to kill five toads, and they only killed one toad because Naruto had knocked it out.

—Kazuma had gone back and finished the job while Naruto was waiting for them at the adventurer's guild.

Gaining a third party member was the obvious choice to overcome this obstacle.

"Leave it to me! If I make the request form, people will be lining up to join us because I'm an Arch Priest! We're in high demand you know?"

Aqua said and rushed off to gather the materials needed to make a request form.

'Should I really leave it to that girl...? Meh, it's only a party invitation. Aqua should be able to at least do a simple task like that.'

Kazuma thought with a short nod. It was better for Aqua, who held a higher class than him, to make the invitation. Because who would want to join a party with the weakest job of an adventurer?

While Kazuma was reassuring himself, the guild doors opened, and he saw a gloomy looking Naruto slowly walk inside.

'Naruto? What's wrong with him?'

Kazuma thought when Aqua slammed her hands onto their table, shocking the teen.

"Kazuma! I've really outdone myself this time! Just wait, people will be lining up outside the door to join my party!"

"When did this become your party? By the way, you seem awfully excited about this. What happened to the whiny girl that wanted nothing more than to go home? But whatever. Why don't we just ask Naruto to join us?"

Kazuma suggested.

Inviting Naruto into the party should have been a no-brainer. Kazuma couldn't exactly say they were friends because they've only had two conversations, but the guy did save Aqua. Because Naruto had a gift from the gods, it was safe to assume he was strong. Plus, Kazuma had been hearing rumors of Naruto being a solo hunter. So that meant he wasn't already in a party.

"Eh? But I already went to the trouble of making that invitation form... We should wait to see who answers to my call."

Aqua said with a shrug and drank from her cup, which prompted Kazuma to raise an eyebrow.

"That's a surprise, I thought you would be all for asking Naruto to join us. You like him, don't you?"

"!"

Aqua spewed the contents of her drink into Kazuma's face.

"W-who likes who!? How could a goddess such as myself fall in love with a mortal so quickly? If anything, I'm sure Naruto has fallen head over heels over my beauty!"

Aqua stated confidently and gestured to herself while Kazuma grumpily wiped his face with a napkin.+

"Don't give me that crap! When Naruto saved you from being eaten by that toad yesterday, you were acting out of character saying "T-thank you for saving me" all shy like a heroine in a girl meets boy manga!"

Kazuma fired back with an exaggerated imitation of Aqua's voice, causing the girl's face to burn bright red.

"Girl meets boy!?"

While Kazuma and Aqua were arguing, Naruto was dragging his feet to the reception desks. He was too engrossed in his thoughts to hear what they were saying.

'Ramen... No more ramen... Ramen...'

Naruto continuously thought until he stopped at the desk and leaned onto the counter and tapping the bell to call Luna over.

Upon seeing the shinobi when she walked over to the receptionist counter, Luna's eyes flashed with concern. Which was only natural given the state Naruto was in. The boy looked like he hadn't slept in days, which didn't make any sense since she had seen him just yesterday. His typically cheerful eyes looked dead on the inside as if he had just seen the depths of hell.

"U-um... I was wondering why you didn't show up at the usual time this morning, what happened to you? You look awful..."

Naruto strained a smile.

"Do you know what ramen is?"

"Ramen? No, I'm sorry..."

"That's okay... It's a food from my country. But no one knows what it is, much less how to make it. I spent half of my savings on ingredients to try and make it myself last night and this morning, but all my attempts were so bad that I threw up five times doing taste tests. One was so bad I even passed out..."

"I-I see..."

Luna responded and smiled bitterly. This was a little concerning. No, it was more than a little concerning. Naruto was always bright and full of energy, even after completing hard and tedious durian quests. Just what was this ramen stuff to him that it put him in such a state?

While the receptionist tried to think of a solution, Naruto sighed. Wiz closed the shop for the day because she was going to visit the magic item maker she had mentioned, so Naruto had been searching for any leads on ramen. This was the last place in town he could think of that might have his favorite food or at least someone who knew of it.

Not being able to stand seeing the normally energetic Naruto like this anymore, Luna was about to ask if there was anything she could do when the boy's face suddenly lit up again.

"Well, looks like I have no other choice than to make it myself! But first I need to regain the funds I lost... Hook me up with another quest, Luna-Chan!"

"H-hai! There have been sightings of a Rookie Killer a couple miles north of town, but it's in the mountains, and the terrain is volatile..."

Surprised by the sudden change of emotion, Luna blurted out a random quest off the top of her head.

"I'll take it! In the mountains to the north, right? I'll hurry up and be back by tonight!"

Luna's eyes widened when Naruto made such a ridiculous claim.

"Tonight!? It almost takes an entire day to get there by foot, and hunting a rookie killer is no joking matter! Even with your high stats, it's still dangerous! I highly suggest forming a party for this quest Naruto-San!"

"No way! If I form a party then I'll have to split the reward, right? I need all the money I can get for ingredients to make my ramen! Understand? Good. See ya later Luna-Chan!"

Naruto explained before he turned around and left, leaving a very confused Luna behind.

Snapping out if her confusion, Luna ran after the teen. She knew Naruto wasn't going to back down so she would help him out the only way she could: By giving him information!

"Wait! At least take this! It's a book containing information on the monsters around this part of the kingdom."

Naruto took the offered book. Flipping through the pages, he stopped when he saw a familiar man-eating plant. There was an entire page of information regarding the Venus-Fly traps, and Naruto assumed the book also contained information on the Rookie Killer.

Naruto sent Luna a flat look.

"This would have been useful yesterday..."

"New members usually form parties with experienced adventurers and learn about the monsters from them. But since you've been solo hunting this entire time..."

Luna trailed off and apologetically clasped her hands.

Naruto sighed and waved the apology off.

"It's okay, I already have experience with giant monsters anyway. Those Venus-fly traps were nothing compared to some of the beasts I've seen."1

As Naruto left while laughing heartily, Luna found herself wondering just what kind of country the boy was from.+

Just as Naruto was about to open the guild doors and leave, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Hey, Naruto! Hang on a second!"

Turning around, Naruto found Kazuma and Aqua walking up to him. Kazuma was waving at him while Aqua was looking away for some reason. Perhaps they got into an argument?

"Hey guys, what are you doing here? I thought you would already be continuing your quest by now?"

"We were, but the quest we took is a little rough for just the two of us, so we're recruiting more members... Would you like to join our party?"

Kazuma said while averting his gaze awkwardly. It killed him to have to ask his kohai for assistance, but he was left with few options. Still, he'd rather swallow his pride than be consumed by giant toads.+

Naruto's eyes widened slightly before they went back to normal. Forming a party with these two sounded like fun, but Naruto had already taken a quest from Luna.

"Sorry, but I already took a quest for today and was just about to head out. Maybe next time!"

"A-ah, I see... Guess there's no helping it!"

Kazuma said and laughed while rubbing the back of his head. He was just rejected by his kohai...

—No, it was only natural for someone powerful to reject a party invitation from amateurs like them. They would probably just hold him back in the quests. Kohai? Kazuma felt stupid for thinking that he was this man's superior for even a second.

Naruto may be new to this world just like him, but if what the blonde said about coming from a ninja village was true then he was no amateur.

It was then Aqua stepped forward and looked Naruto straight in the eye, causing the boy unconsciously took a step back feeling flustered from the sudden movement.

"I guess I have no choice! Naruto, will you join our party to defeat the giant toads-"

"Uh... No. Why would Aqua asking this time would change my answer?"

"!"

Naruto's words fell on Aqua like a cement block, and she dropped to her hands and knees dejectedly.

"N-no... I guess it wouldn't..."

'She got rejected too... P-poor fellow.'

Kazuma thought and stifled his laughter when Aqua started mumbling to herself. Oh well, this outcome was to be expected. It's not like they were friends with Naruto anyway, and they still had their party invitation on the board.

Aqua sprung back up with teary eyes.

"Why!? I was the one who asked this time, so Naruto should have instantly changed his mind and accepted! Apologize! Apologize for declining a request from a goddess!"

"W-what!? But I already said I accepted another quest... Returning it would be rude!"+

Naruto responded while putting his hands up in defense. He felt kinda bad about rejecting their offer, but what was this girl going on about? Actually, was this girl really a goddess? She had the same holy feeling to her as Eris, but she sure wasn't acting like one...

"Well I'm sorry I can't join you guys this time, but I gotta go if I wanna complete my quest by tonight. See ya!"

"Ah! He ran away! Wait!"

Aqua said in a failed attempt to stop the fleeing blonde, but he was already long gone.

"My charms as a goddess had no effect..."

Kazuma patted the girl on the shoulder.

"There there."

"No! It's impossible for my divine charms to fail! He's probably just shy! Yeah, that's it! Poor man, he couldn't muster the courage to be in the same party as the beautiful and kind Arch Priest Aqua-Sama!"

...But wasn't it the other way around? Just how self-absorbed could this woman be?+

These were the thoughts in Kazuma's mind as he continued to listen to Aqua's little rant. He hoped the person that responded to their request wasn't as troublesome as this girl.

————————————————————

A Few Hours Later...

"Well, that was easy..."

Naruto said as he leaped through the trees in the direction of the town. With a bit of hustling, he managed to get to the mountainous region within an hour.

A day's trip by foot in an hour was nothing for the son of The Yellow Flash!

Finding the target had been simple enough too. The book said Rookie Killers herded mobs of goblins to lure in newbie adventurers, then attacked the unsuspecting prey. Hence the name 'Rookie' Killer.

After finding a group of goblins in the mountains, Naruto killed a few to draw out the Rookie Killer. When the beast finally showed up and attacked him, Naruto killed it by knocking it off the cliffside with a single Rasengan.

Then, all he had to do was cut off its fangs to prove that he killed it.

With the teeth of the Rookie Killer in his shinobi pouch, Naruto was nearing the town when he heard a shout.

Coming to a stop, Naruto scanned the area for the owner of the voice. He eventually found a woman with long blonde hair clad in heavy armor facing off against a silver wolf. She wielded a broad two-handed sword tightly in her two hands as she kept her distance from the growling beast.

This woman was obviously an adventurer.

Naruto debated whether or not to jump in and help. Since this woman was an adventurer, she was likely out here training. He didn't want to steal away her experience points by killing the wolf.+

Deciding to wait and see how things played out, Naruto leaned against the tree and watched. If the woman needed help, then he would jump in.

The silver wolf decided to attack and rushed in for a bite. The blonde-haired woman slid her foot back in preparation to slash.

Swoosh!

Naruto raised his eyebrows when he heard the sound of the two-handed sword cut through the air from where he was. To be able to swing a sword that massive with that much speed was impressive.

But the wolf managed to dodge the blade and charged in again for another bite attack.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Ching!

...

"Argh! My sword got stuck! Ah! D-don't come near me with those beastly eyes!"

Naruto sweatdropped as he watched the scene before him unfold. The woman had missed another couple swings with her sword before it became lodged into a tree.

Naruto was no expert in kenjutsu, but even he could tell this woman had no swordsmanship. He must have been blinded by the speed she was swinging the sword to not notice the first time.

When he saw the wolf close in on the girl, and she had yet to pull her sword from the tree, Naruto moved out.

"No! Stay back you foul beast! Damn it! If only my sword hadn't gotten stuck, then I could have avoided being ravished by this beast!"

'...What?'

Naruto thought as he landed on top of the silver wolf's head, killing it instantly. He then looked up at the girl who had just braced herself to be attacked and found a small smile creeping on her mouth.

The woman opened her eyes when the attack never came and saw Naruto staring at her.

Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"U-um... Were you smiling just now?"

"No, I wasn't."

She denied it?

Naruto sent his fellow blonde a flat look.

"Yes, you were. I saw you smiling when I jumped in."

"Thank you for helping me. I was in quite a pinch there. Who knows what might have happened if you hadn't been around."

'She changed the subject...'

Naruto thought with a sweatdrop as the woman finally pried her sword from the tree with a minimal effort.

...Was that sword actually stuck?

"I was on my way back from a quest when I heard you're shouting. Were you out here training? Sorry if I took your kill."

"Yes, I was training with a friend. We were supposed to be heading back to the adventurer's guild when we got separated, and I was attacked by that silver wolf. My name is Darkness, what is your name?"

"My name is Naruto... So are you a beginner adventurer?"

Naruto asked the now named Darkness while eying the woman's sword.

Darkness seemed to have noticed his stares and blushed.

"Although I am ashamed to say, my swordplay is close to nonexistent... But my defense is second to none! I hold the holy vanguard job of Crusader!"

'Ah, so I was spot on...'

Naruto thought as Darkness rambled on about her defenses. She seemed like a nice girl, but there was something about that smile Naruto saw earlier that bugged him.

Who smiled when they were about to get bitten by a wolf? Did she have a secret plan that he didn't notice?

Deciding it would be better not to delve on it, Naruto angled himself towards the town.+

"Well, it was nice meeting you Darkness. But I gotta get back to the guild and turn in my quest."

"Ah, yes of course! S-sorry for keeping you for so long! Perhaps we'll see each other at the guild?"

Darkness stuttered and tapped her fingers together nervously.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. Why was she nervous? Was this girl not used to talking to other people? This must be what people called an uncivilized person.

Putting on a cheeky grin, Naruto gave the girl a thumbs up.

"Sure! If you see me, just give me a shout! See ya Darkness!"

Naruto said and took off towards the town to surprise a specific receptionist with his record timing once again.

Darkness watched the friendly shinobi until he was out of sight.

"Naruto, huh? What a nice person..."

...

"How disappointing! He didn't even ask for anything in return for saving me! The least he could have done was ask for money, and when I would say "I don't have any money" and "is there was any other way I could pay him back?" He would look at my body with lecherous eyes and say "how about you pay me back with that slutty body of yours"! But that man didn't so much as look at my breasts!"

Darkness yelled with a dangerous smile plastered all over her face, panting a few times between sentences.

It was then she heard someone cough.

Whirling around with red cheeks, her entire face turned crimson when she saw her white-haired friend.

"C-Chris!? ...How much did you hear?"

"All of it. I always knew Darkness was an uncivilized person, but someone you just met? In the middle of the forest?"

"Guh! You're mistaken, and d-don't say it like that!"

Darkness said with teary eyes, and Chris stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Just kidding. So, who was that guy?"

"His name was Naruto... He's an adventurer, like us."

"Naruto... Huh?"

Chris said with a knowing smile.

Noticing the look on her friend's face, Darkness raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know him?"

Chris scratched the scar on her left cheek.

"No... But I've heard a couple rumors floating around town that he's a bit of a player. They say he's always flirting with the head receptionist at the guild, and that he's already seduced the owner of a magic item shop."

"I see... But those rumors are surely false. Although I only just met him, that man doesn't seem like to type that shamelessly plays with a woman's heart."

"Oho~? Perhaps Darkness has already fallen prey to 'Naruto the player' after all?"

Chris cooed and looked at Darkness with a playful smirk making the female knight blush.

"O-of course not! How could I fall for someone who only looks at me in the eyes?"

'Isn't that a good thing to do?'

Chris thought with a sweatdrop as Darkness pouted.

"Well, I think we should start heading bac-"

*BOOM!*

A sudden tremor violently shook the ground, threatening to knock the two girls off their feet.

"W-w-what was that!?"

"There was an explosion over there..."

Chris said and pointed towards the town. A large cloud of smoke could be seen just outside of the town's walls.

"...Hey. Wasn't that the direction Naruto went?"

Darkness said when she realized the explosion was in the same direction the boy had run off to.

The two girls looked at each other and gulped.

Was Naruto okay?