17 Chapter 17 Rock You Like An EXPLOSION! Arc Part 1

Schwanhild Report

Dear Honorable Mother, Twinkle Fai Schlagen

It is I, your daughter, Twinkle Fai Schwanhild. My infiltration is going well thus far, but I do require some funds for the week due to unexpected circumstances, as I may not being adventuring as much for a while. 

My current character assessment of the Dark Paladin, Michael Chaser, fills me with anger and disappointment.

In my observations, I have seen that whenever a true challenge presents itself, Michael shows his true self to be that of a coward!

===x===

"Okay, so that's it for the payment plan?" Asked Michael.

"Yes, do you have any question, Mr. Chaser?" Luna the Guild Receptionist asked as she put away the papers, and leaving Michael his copy.

"Yeah, why do you guys have so many different types of detailed complaint forms?"

Michael was met with a dry look. "You do remember this is an adventurer's town, right? Do you honestly think you're the first person to cause mass property damages?" Luna deadpanned.

"...Ah. Right." Michael embarrassed, looked away.

"Admittedly, it usually takes adventurers at least a month before they end up with their first strike." Luna seemed to take please in watching Michael appear smaller.

"I said I'm sorry already." He said.

Luna chuckled. "Still, I'd say you're doing better than most, as you are actively working with the guild to fix your mess, rather than try and shriek responsibility, because 'for an adventurer, these things happen'." Luna glared at a couple of people walking around behind Michael, who quickly tried to appear busy, or not noticing the words directed at them, and scatter away.

"You've been holding that for a while?" Michael chuckled.

"You have no idea." Luna smiled, before looking at him more seriously. "I know you said this is what you wanted, but are you sure about the loan? You seemed to really dislike the idea of one before, paying for everything right away. Also why leave the guild's inn? It's one of the best service in town. If there was a problem with your room, you just need to inform me."

"I don't like being indebted, but I don't like having obligations hanging over my head even more. Especially when it's due to my own mistakes. It's just more," he lost the expression he was going to use, and went with something else. "'Peace of mind' for me to do it this way. Fix the wall, do the community service time, then pay for the loan with quests and the harvest thing when it comes." Michael explained. "As for the inn, there is no problem with the guild's, I just wanted to find something cheaper in order to save money."

Michael had used most of the loan as well as all his saving to pay the party he went with to fight-slash-save Darkness. Buying ingredients and then cooking seven days worth of meals, as he he didn't want a daily meal preparation to distract him from the community service job. The party members seemed okay with that arrangement, so everything ended on a good note before they partied ways. Well, almost everyone left.

Schwanhild, Yunyun and Megumin stuck around. Chris disappeared, so Michael assume she left as well.

"Very well, if you are sure. If only more adventurers acted like that, my job would be way easier." Said Luna, to which Michael just chuckled sheepishly. Luna then gained mischievous smile. "You know...being too easy going about paying the loan, aren't you worried I might spike the interest if you're short on the payday?" Payday being when the cabbage arrive. Unlike what her question implied, Luna was sure Michael would manage to make a lot of money then to pay back his debt and then some.

"Well, since you're the one who manages my contracts in the guild, not really. I trust you, Luna." Michael said with a genuine smile.

Luna was startled, then blushed and looked away. "You are really dangerous in more ways than one." She muttered.

"Hmm?" Michael tilted his head.

"It's nothing!" She said back.

Unlike Gudako, or god forbid, Ritsuka, Michael wasn't dense on how attractive he can sometimes seem, when taking earnestness and charisma into account.

He was not trying to flirt with Luna (he had no plans or thoughts on intimate relationships yet), but he wanted to screw with her a bit and be prankful back.

After laughing off the exchange, Michael said to Luna to have a nice day, and went back to the table his...expanded party was at.

Looking at the table where Aqua, Yunyun, Megumin and Schwanhild sat, it felt less like he added people to his party, and more like they just invited themselves, and now he was stuck with them. Not that such a thing was bad but...

"I need to add some guys in the future." He muttered. Having female companions isn't bad, but he really needed a guy to just shoot the shit with sometimes. "Hey," Michael said as he took his seat. "Where's Darkness?"

"Ah, Chris said that we might not see her for a while, as she locked herself in one of the attics in an Eris Church and was praying constantly for Eris for forgiveness on her actions." Yunyun explained.

Michael frown in annoyance. "Darkness better not think she can spend all her time praying." He shook his head. "If she doesn't show herself tomorrow for construction work, I'll drag her out by force if I have to."

"M-Michael, that's wrong!" Yunyun protested.

"Sorry, but feeling guilty doesn't resolve you of your obligations. Or work." Michael said back.

"Yeah, that's right. You should just break down the door and take all there money. That way all our problems can go away." Aqua said with a dreamy smile, imaging a future full of riches made from the stolen donations of the Eris Church.

"Hell no! Do you think I'm some kind of thug!?" Michael cried out.

"Ah, that's right. I forgot about how things are like between the Eris and Axis priests." Megumin gave a tired laugh, as she recalled her experiences with those priests from those churches.

"Why can you just ask about the Noble Crusader, so she may fulfill her obligations? Also, why not leave her till she was done asking her goddess for penance?"

"You do penance by work, not sitting on your ass." Michael said back.

"Ah, right, you only just got inducted into the Axis Church, right Hilde?" Megumin placed a hand on Schwanhild's shoulder, and gave an encouraging smile. "You're still inexperienced. You have a long road ahead of you."

"Why are you acting sorry for me? And what is this 'Hilde'?" Schwanhild blinked in confusion at the Crimson Demon's actions.

"Well, ignoring Darkness being so devoted to my brat of a junior, what are we doing today, Michael?" Aqua said excitedly, bringing the focus on the conversation back on Michael.

"Nothing," Michael said, to the shock of the party. He rested his cheek on his hand, and looked at the three new members. "Look, while I would happily welcome you three in the party, we're in a bit of a bind right now, due to fixing the damages and the community service time. New week, when we are done with the community service, I would happily welcome you so we take missions then. If you join us now, you...would be kinda stuck doing nothing till then."

"Wait, why don't I take them on quests, till you and Darkness are done with the penalty stuff?" Aqua suggested.

"Oh? Didn't you hear me Aqua?" Michael smiled. A pure innocent smile. Nothing sly about it at all. "'We' are fixing the damages and doing community service work."

Aqua's eyes slowly widened. "Wait, why? I didn't break anything."

"Aqua," Michael placed a hand on the goddess's shoulder, giving her a serious look. "A true party that works together," then grinned widely. "Also suffers together."

"Noooo~ Just because I'm finally debt free, you're trying to make me do work anyways. How vindictively petty can you get?!" Aqua shouted.

"Me? Petty?" At first Michael looked shocked at the accusation, before teasingly smirking. "Very!"

"Waaaaah, noooooo!" Aqua cried out, before realizing something and switching gear. "Wait, if I'm doing the community service for being int eh party, what about them?" She pointed at the three girls who stiffened at the possibility extra labor being throw on them.

"Well, they are new to the party. We haven't even gone on our first quest yet. So they get a pass. No, dealing with Darkness doesn't count." Michael replied with a smug smile.

"How's that fair!?" Aqua objected.

After joking around for a bit, the first new party members agreed to meet again with Michael, Aqua and Darkness when they could, and that they would wait on Michael, Darkness and a reluctant Aqua to be done with their penalty, before they headed on their first adventure together.

Yunyun and Megumin when to a nearby forest, a different one than the one Michael and Darkness fought in, in order for Megumin to practice her Explosion Magic. Schwanhild took a simple Giant Toad kill quest in order to practice her Holy Magic, by beating toads up, then healing them, and doing it again.

As for reason why Michael wanted Aqua to work on the construction fixes with him, it was because he saw her talent in their previous construction work, and in a way to say sorry, wanted to rebuild the wall and gate he broke in a better condition.

The town officials didn't agree to him just retransmutating the part of the gate he broke from his new sword, due to worry that he might get the internal structure wrong. Officially at least. The real reason was probably because they thought he would put some magic bomb or the like on the gate if he fixed it with magic, because he's "eeeeeeevil~" or something. 

The greatsword he got to keep as it was too heavy for most adventurers to even lift, as Michael didn't change it's density from the material he made it from. He did have to pay for it though, and it cost as much as fixing the gate would.

After the party went their separate way, leaving the guild behind, two important events took place.

The first being...

"Excuse me, Miss, but do you know where I could find the Dark Paladin, being accompanied by the Lady God--I mean, the Arch Priest Aqua?" Mitsurugi Kyouya asked one of the receptionist in the guild.

"Umm, I'm afraid I don't know." Said a random receptionist as she looked at paperwork for quests taken that day. "He hasn't taken any quests today, although usually he takes two to three kill quests a day. So maybe if you wait, you might see him when he comes back."

"I see, thank you, miss. I'll be sure to do that." Kyouya said chivalrously, then went and took a seat, waiting for Michael to arrive. Kyouka didn't see Michael that day.

The second important event that happened hours later was...

"DEMON!" A pair Crimson Demon girls slammed open the guild doors, screaming in terror.

They reported their sighting of a Greater Demon in the forest where they were practicing their magic.

There was an initial period of panic before Luna managed to calm people down.

"Please, you do not need to worry. We will construct a raid party to take out this Greater Demon. Even more than that, we have a Dark Paladin fighting on our side. Some of you may have saw what the fields next to the west gate look like, as well as the gate and the wall itself..." Luna started to realize she was painting a bad picture of the good mannered Dark Paladin and switched gears. "Anyways, that was due to him, and he's on our side. The damage he did was while fighting an ally, so imagine what he'll do to our enemies!" Luna pumped her fist upward, already realizing she really ruined Michael's image in her attempt to inspire hope.

Still, her announcement was met with equal cheer and enthusiasm, as some adventurers went about trying to find Michael around town.

None of them did, because not a single adventurer actually thought Michael would be working on fixing the property damage he caused with Axel's construction company team.

Thus on the day a Greater Demon took residence next to Axel, the Dark Paladin was nowhere to be found.

Or the next day.

Or the day after.

For a whole week, Michael hadn't been seen in the guild, because he and Aqua were working on their wall and gate reconstruction, along with their community service.