Chapter 22: Shopping Date With Darkness

"WHAAAT?!! LEVEL 2, YOU SAY?!!"

Eina shouted, staring intently at Kazuma. Adventurers and guild staff inside the building turned to look toward the source of the scream. Once they saw who had shouted, they immediately went back to their tasks.

Hearing Eina yell loudly inside the guild was nothing unusual for the adventurers—it had practically become part of their daily routine. Though, in truth, it wasn't Eina's fault; the adventurers under her guidance just always managed to do things that defied her expectations.

Eina's cheeks turned red as she realized she had caused a commotion in the guild. She stepped away from the reception desk and bowed her head to apologize to those around her. Then, in a hurry, Eina guided Kazuma and Darkness to a separate room to confirm what she had heard.

"Kazuma-san, could you repeat what you just said at the reception?"

Eina leaned halfway toward Kazuma, asking him without blinking.

"You mean about me reaching level 2?"

"No way! It's impossible, impossible—haven't you only been an adventurer for a week? How could you have reached level 2 already?"

"Eina-san, this might sound unbelievable, but I really did reach level 2. Darkness here saw it with her own eyes."

"Is that so? In that case, Kazuma-san, could you show me your back?"

"Huh, why do I have to do that?"

"Of course, so I can confirm it. Adventurers who reach level 2 are granted a title by the gods and goddesses during the Denatus, which is held every three months. Because of that, the guild always announces when an adventurer levels up. But there's no way the guild would announces an adventurer going from level 1 to level 2 in just one week without verifying it."

"Well, I don't mind, but can you even read the writing on my back?"

"I can't read all of it, since it's written in complex script, but I've learned enough of the basics to read an adventurer's basic status."

Slowly but surely, Kazuma took off his shirt. On his back was the emblem of the Aqua Familia, a design formed by a few straight lines arranged in a diamond shape. Though it looked plain and simple, both inside and outside the logo were covered with markings in script unreadable to mortals. These inscriptions displayed Kazuma's skills and magic, etched on his back in the language of the gods. Generally, mortals couldn't read these characters, but with effort and dedication, a few talented individuals had managed to learn the divine language—one of whom was Eina Tulle.

"No way, you're really level 2. Kazuma-san, don't tell me… you received a falna a long time ago but came to Orario pretending you didn't know anything about it?"

"There's no way I'd do something like that. If you don't believe me, you can ask Bell and Hestia-sama. They were there and saw me receive my falna from Aqua firsthand."

Eina leaned back in her chair, resting her chin on one hand with her curled fingers showed she was deep in thought. Her other hand supported the other hand to keep her pose steady.

Initially, Eina didn't believe Kazuma's story. But that changed when he confidently mentioned the name of a goddess—especially one from a different Familia than his own.

"All right, I won't ask any more questions about how you reached level 2. But I will still check with Bell and Hestia-sama to confirm that you really only received your falna after arriving in Orario."

"Sure, I don't mind."

.....

.....

Kazuma and Darkness left the guild right after reporting his level-up and continued with their date.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the guild turned serious as Eina reported that Kazuma had gone from level 1 to level 2 in just one week. This was incredibly important news—if Kazuma really only took a week to level up, it would set a new record for the fastest in Orario's history.

It didn't take long for the guild to instruct Eina to visit Hestia, a key witness, to confirm the truth of Kazuma's level-up. Once everything was verified without any errors, the guild promptly announced Kazuma's level-up later that evening.

Naturally, everyone's initial reaction upon seeing the news was doubt and disbelief. But after thinking it over calmly, they realized the news had to be true since it was the guild itself that published it. There was no way the guild would spread such a sensational announcement if it weren't real.

Nearly every adventurer began speculating about what could have allowed Kazuma to level up in such a short time. However, due to the limited information available, they couldn't reach any conclusions.

Starting that night, strange rumors began to spread that Kazuma had reached level 2 by defeating dozens of adventurers from the Loki Familia—of course, this was in the context of rock-paper-scissors game. The rumors circulated from mouth to mouth; while initially, no one believed them, there were still desperate adventurers willing to challenge strong players to a game of rock-paper-scissors to prove this rumor. Then this rumor made the game become the most popular activity in Orario.

But all of that was just news for the future.

Currently, Kazuma and Darkness were walking toward their first destination: Babel Tower. They had heard that various Familia had shops within Babel, selling everything from combat weapons to everyday goods.

Upon arriving at the Babel Tower, they immediately entered and began searching for what they wanted. On the lower floors, many Familia sold affordable adventurer gear. However, since that wasn't what they needed at the moment, they continued exploring Babel.

On the 10th floor of Babel, they found a relatively large shop. The walls and doors were made of glass, clearly displaying the products for sale. A wide variety of clothing was available, but among them, the women's apparel looked particularly appealing.

Darkness's eyes sparkled the moment she saw the shop. She grabbed Kazuma's hand and pulled him inside.

"Kazuma, Kazuma, this store looks great! Let's check it out!"

"W-wait a minute, Darkness! You don't need to rush!"

Kazuma felt flustered, his steps stumbling slightly. He had never imagined that she would take his hand like this.

Kazuma and Darkness looked around, searching for what they wanted. Once they entered, they quickly realized that the atmosphere inside the shop was completely different from what they had seen from outside.

As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by various types of bikinis. Ranging from conservative styles to extremely minimalistic designs that barely covered anything, with some even shaped like a "V."

Kazuma's face turned red. He felt a bit embarrassed—not because he was seeing these types of clothing, but because he noticed that there wasn't a single male figure in sight. It dawned on him that this shop specialized in women's clothing. He worried he might be labeled as a pervert or something similar by the customers here.

"Ka-Kazuma, why are you so shy? Do you want to see me wearing something like this?"

"N-no… I'm not… it's just…"

"I'll try it on!"

Darkness quickly grabbed a bikini at random and pulled Kazuma toward the fitting room.

"Kazuma, then I'll change now. Don't peek, okay?"

"I wouldn't do something like that!"

Inside the fitting room, Darkness suddenly crouched down, her face flushed with embarrassment. She held her head in her hands, questioning her own sanity. How could she possibly wear something like this and show it to Kazuma?

But it was no use crying over spilled milk. As a crusader and honorable knight, she wouldn't back down from what she had said.

Darkness removed her black shirt and skirt. Underneath, she wore a simple white bra and panties. Slowly, she took off everything she was wearing and began to put on the bikini she had randomly chosen.

In the fitting room, there was a large mirror, and reflected in it was Darkness wearing a moderately styled bikini. It wasn't too revealing but also not too modest, with the bikini being orange with white trim along the edges. The combination suited her beautiful blonde hair perfectly.

Darkness took a deep breath for a few seconds to prepare herself mentally. After feeling ready, both physically and mentally, she pulled back the curtain of the fitting room and showed herself to Kazuma.

"Kazuma... what do you think?"

Darkness asked Kazuma, holding back her embarrassment. She tried to cover her six-pack abs with one hand while swaying her body from side to side slowly so Kazuma could see her properly.

"Ooohh... I think it looks great!"

Kazuma felt a bit strange seeing Darkness dressed like that. He wanted to keep staring at her, but he also felt guilty for doing so. Was this what they called a guilty pleasure? Doing something you wanted but feeling bad about it at the same time?

To shake off that feeling, Kazuma tried to change the subject.

"But why did you choose a bikini? We don't have any plans to go to the beach, and I don't even know if there's a beach in Orario. How about buying something more practical, like pajamas?"

"Y-you... you should have just said from the start if you wanted to see me in pajamas! Why do you have to show that embarrassed expression when looking at the bikini? You idiot!"

Darkness immediately closed her fitting room and crouched down, covering her entire face with her hands. At that moment, all the blood rushed to her face, turning it a bright shade of red.

After crouching for a while, Darkness finally stood up and chose a pink pajama set. This time, she opted for something completely normal. The pajamas were just that—normal pajamas, not the naughty, sheer kind that would provoke desire in anyone who saw them.

Afterward, Darkness spent several hours trying on various outfits, making it difficult for Kazuma to stand for much longer. Noticing that Kazuma was already tired, she decided to stop and buy all the clothes she had tried on. Of course, all of this was paid for by the big boss of Aqua Familia—Kazuma.

"By the way, Kazuma, is there anything you want to buy?"

"Yeah, I want to buy a lot of materials for my experiments. Let's wander around Babel and look for them."

(To Be Continued)