I love time travel the most!

Kazuma Sato then said, "Then why don't we rent another room? We can't stay fully booked again today, can we?"

Well... there's a reason for that.

Kobayashi told him about his plans.

"On the one hand, my savings are almost gone, and on the other hand, I want to save money to buy a house."

"Saving money to buy a house? Why?"

“Look, we are a small team after all, and it’s troublesome to always stay in hotels separately. If our team stays together, we can save a lot of money on hotels, and at the same time, we can get closer to each other and build a deeper relationship. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?”

"Now that you mention it, it's true."

They eat and live together, sharing both good times and bad, creating an adventurous atmosphere that Kazuma Sato longs for.

"So I've decided that starting tomorrow, 3% of the team's mission bounty will be retained, and the rest will be split equally. Of course, there will be no commission on individual solo missions. What do you think of this arrangement, Sato-kun?"

"Well, I don't mind."

Although he didn't object, he was still a little worried. "Although the idea is good, five people living together would require buying a big house, which is probably not feasible in the short term."

What happened today made Kazuma Sato realize that, apart from Kobayashi-senpai, no one in the team was a reliable teammate.

The bounty from the raid isn't even enough to pay for dinner tonight, let alone buying a house—that's a distant dream.

The future looks bleak.

"Don't worry, I already have a plan."

Xiaolin looked very confident.

Sato Kazuma was astonished and quickly asked, "What method is it, Kobayashi-senpai?!"

"Let me keep that a secret for now."

Kobayashi's mysterious demeanor made Sato Kazuma's heart itch with anticipation.

However, he was still considerate enough not to pry, and knowing when to step back and create shining moments for others is one of his strengths.

I turned off the lights again and drifted off to sleep.

midnight.

While fast asleep, Xiaolin felt a tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing. When he opened his eyes, he saw a light blue figure filling his entire field of vision. It turned out that his head was once again being held in the arms of the silly goddess.

"Again?!"

Eyes widened, anger level soared.

He died tragically last time due to carelessness. If he gets involved in another chest-killing case this time, how can he still call himself the team leader? Wouldn't he be ridiculed by the others?

You said you enjoy being held in the arms of a beautiful girl with a great figure and great temperament?

How can it be!

His target is Aqua, whose intelligence is equal to that of the Monkey King. No matter how depraved he becomes, he would never develop feelings for an idiot, much less lay a hand on her!

No, she needs to be taught a lesson!

With that thought in mind, while he still had a breath left, Kobayashi used a basic spell by wrapping his index finger around the back of her neck.

—Freeze!

The effect is to blow out a wisp of frozen cold wind. It is very practical, but not very lethal. It is a kind of basic magic suitable for playing pranks.

A chill ran through Aqua as the air conditioning blew by.

Just when Kobayashi thought she would let go of him, the silly goddess muttered something as if she were feeling cold in her sleep:

"It's so cold~~~"

Then, the hands holding Xiaolin gradually tightened, and even her thighs were wrapped around him, just like when she had a blanket between her legs at night.

Oh no! The power is too weak, it's ineffective!

Kobayashi sensed something was wrong.

At this moment, his breath was being choked, and he could foresee what would happen if this continued.

She immediately increased the power of the magic, but in return, Aqua, who was also freezing, increased the strength of her embrace.

Xiaolin's face immediately turned bright red.

Unfortunately, he wasn't as strong as Aqua and couldn't break free from her embrace, resulting in a stalemate.

Will Aqua succumb to the magic's power and awaken from her sleep first, or will Kobayashi die from exhaustion of oxygen? Who will survive to the end?

Just as Kobayashi had a premonition that she was about to meet Eris, Aqua finally reacted.

"—It's so cold!!!"

Her sleepy eyes and slightly tearful voice echoed in the quiet room. At the same time, her limbs flared in the air, bumping into the table legs and chairs beside the bed. The scraping and colliding sounds woke up Sato Kazuma from his sleep.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Kazuma Sato angrily shouted at the same time, while turning on the ceiling light in the room.

"Hey, you idiot goddess, what's wrong with you... going crazy... huh???"

The bright lights illuminated the entire room, dispelling much of the sleepiness, but Kazuma Sato felt he wasn't fully awake yet.

He saw Aqua in her pajamas riding on top of Kobayashi-senpai, whose face was flushed (from holding her breath) and whose clothes were disheveled as she gasped for air. His eyes widened in disbelief.

Muttering to herself, "Aqua, weren't you satisfied with just joking around with those adventurers in the guild? You actually dared to secretly attack Kobayashi-senpai in the middle of the night. Are you really a pure water goddess?!"

"It's not what you think!"

Aqua, of course, would not admit it.

But Kobayashi beneath her looked like she'd been forced by the goddess, and no matter what she said, no one would believe her.

"Then how do you explain what happened yesterday?"

"I drank too much yesterday! And of course, I drank too much today too! So that's it!"

"You seem pretty smug, huh?!"

The two quarreled again.

Kobayashi opened his blurry eyes, reached out his hand to the two of them, wanted to say something but ultimately didn't, and then his right hand suddenly fell.

"Senior Kobayashi!!!"

Kazuma Sato pressed hard against Kobayashi's chest, shouting anxiously, "Kobayashi-senpai!! Kobayashi-senpai!!! Aqua, look what you've done!"

As Xiaolin's consciousness gradually faded, the sounds around her gradually drifted away.

Ugh, I have to see Eris again.

Wait, why did you say "again"?

Chapter 8 Wiz, the Sole Designated Partner

Early the next morning.

Kobayashi and Sato Kazuma tidied up the messy bed and made arrangements for the day's schedule.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Aqua said, "Listen to me, I don't sleepwalk! I'm a goddess, a goddess! There must be a reason why I'm not in bed at night. I guess it's some evil lich causing trouble in the dark! Yes, that must be it. Let's find the evil lich and destroy it!"

This guy went crazy early in the morning, blaming all his mistakes on a fictitious lich, not behaving like a goddess at all.

Kazuma Sato made no attempt to hide his disdain.

But in order to shut Aqua up, he complied with her.

"Yes, yes, you're right. Now, please get out of bed, Goddess. What's the point of going back after sleeping on the floor all night?"

It must be said that Kazuma Sato's words were quite sarcastic.

"Generally speaking, apart from the strong water-attribute aura, there is nothing that can attract me!"

Aqua was extremely anxious and hurriedly protested, "I'm serious, I'm not joking!"

"Ah, yes, yes, you're right."

"Hello--!"

Although she kept explaining, Kazuma Sato was too lazy to pursue the matter further, since Kobayashi hadn't said anything.

Thinking of this, he said, "Senior Kobayashi, can we just wait for you at the guild?"

"Yes, as we agreed before, please tell them that I want to buy a house," Kobayashi replied.

"No problem, I'll take care of it."

Kazuma Sato patted his chest to assure her, and also gave her a thumbs up: "We'll be waiting for your good news, Kobayashi-senpai!"

"No problem, I'll take care of it."

Kobayashi also gave a thumbs up.

Then the three of them split up.

"Listen to me, I really don't have sleepwalking!"

"Okay, okay, I believe it."

On the way to the guild, Aqua was still trying to justify her actions from the previous night, and Kazuma Sato just gave her perfunctory answers.

After seeing the two off, Kobayashi left the room.

Arriving at a remote corner of the town, we walked into an unknown alley and, after many twists and turns, came to a prop shop that looked somewhat dilapidated, but whose sign on the roof was still spotless.

“Every time I think about it, she runs a prop shop, not a fortune-telling shop, so why does she have to be so secretive?”

That's right.

Kobayashi was looking for none other than Wiz, one of the hidden big shots in Axel's starting village.

Push open the door and go inside.

The bell hanging on the door rang out crisply, signaling to the shop owner that a customer had arrived.

"welcome!"

A soft, quiet voice came from the counter in front.