I love time travel the most!

Having been tricked by Aqua so many times, if he doesn't learn his lesson soon, he'll really be a complete idiot with Aqua's IQ.

Seeing that everyone looked worried, Kobayashi comforted them, "Don't worry. Aqua is a goddess. Even if something happens, she can be resurrected, so there's nothing to worry about."

If one goddess isn't enough, then have another one!

Aqua and Eris, these two goddesses, can be resurrected even if they are reduced to a speck of dust, thanks to their divine powers. This can be described as an ultimate and abnormal ability.

This is also the source of Kobayashi's confidence.

Aqua confidently assured her, "Don't worry, the [Blessing] I deciphered is absolutely flawless! Even if there are problems, it can revive Kobayashi, so there's no need to worry!"

"Is that so... Senior Kobayashi, if anything seems amiss, you must stop immediately."

"Oh, I will."

For some reason, Kazuma Sato's unease grew stronger.

Every time the silly goddess says that, she always makes a mistake that leaves them scrambling.

Then, Kobayashi, shirtless, sat cross-legged on the bed. Aqua knelt behind him, closed her eyes, and channeled her divine power. The haori, a symbol of the gods, appeared behind her and floated in mid-air.

The group was slightly taken aback by Aqua's goddess-like aura.

So, who exactly is this?

Under the expectant and tense gazes of everyone, Aqua bit her finger, and a bright red liquid tinged with blue, full of divinity, dripped onto Kobayashi's back, then rippled like water droplets and merged into it.

Ding--

A voice that only Kobayashi could hear appeared in his mind, and a feeling of breaking free of shackles surged into his heart.

At the same time, a light blue magic circle appeared on Kobayashi's back. The surrounding text was quite complex yet carried a sense of holiness, and the pattern surrounding it was the emblem of the Axis Church.

Before the group could examine it closely, the light blue glow dissipated, and the pattern on Kobayashi's back disappeared once more.

In the blink of an eye, it returned to its original state.

"Huh? It's over?" Kazuma Sato blinked and blurted out something that would make any man feel ashamed.

The meaning is still unfinished.

These are the expressions on everyone's faces.

The miracle just now was truly amazing; the only regret is that it ended before I could see the whole thing clearly.

"Senior Kobayashi, do you feel like you're getting stronger?" Kazuma Sato asked anxiously.

Kobayashi smiled and said, "Sato-kun, [Grace] isn't something that can make you instantly stronger. It's just a catalyst, a seed on the path to becoming strong. You need to constantly hone your skills to increase your proficiency... cough!"

Before he could finish speaking, Xiaolin suddenly clutched his chest and cried out in pain.

"Senior Kobayashi?"

When Kazuma Sato saw Kobayashi's distorted expression, his unease was finally confirmed.

It hurts! It hurts so much!

Xiaolin felt her heart clench violently, her whole body ached, and a strong burning sensation coursed through her body.

It's not just about the body!

Deep within my heart, even in the very depths of my soul, I am in excruciating pain.

My brain, my brain is trembling!

Could it be that Aqua's solution was flawed?

Or was it that goddess of beauty who secretly set a trap?

The intense pain interfered with his thinking ability. Groans and howls could effectively relieve the pain, but now Kobayashi could not squeeze out any sound from his throat. He was curled up and trembling violently, his face contorted to the point of being comparable to that of the Bishop of Sloth.

"K-Kobayashi-senpai?!"

Kazuma Sato wanted to touch it, but was afraid of causing Kobayashi even greater harm, so he could only turn to the dumbfounded Aqua and angrily yell, "Hey! You idiot goddess! What on earth is going on? Explain this to me right now!"

"I...I don't know either! And please, don't always blame me! My thinking ability is being interfered with!"

Aqua also panicked.

She had followed the instructions on the parchment scroll exactly, so she had no idea why this had happened.

"You still have the ability to think?" Sato Kazuma really wanted to teach her a lesson, but now was not the time, so he could only say, "Then hurry up and use your thinking ability to find a way to alleviate Kobayashi-senpai's pain!"

"I know, don't rush me!"

Aqua quickly used magic to heal Kobayashi, but this backfired.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

Xiaolin screamed loudly in pain.

It felt like water had been poured into a frying pan, and Xiaolin's pain level increased to another level! But fortunately, she could still make a shout, and like releasing water from a dam, she felt a strange sense of relief.

No, I'm not a pervert!

Kobayashi had never been so embarrassed.

Seeing this, Kazuma Sato hurriedly questioned Aqua: "Hey! What are you doing? Why is Kobayashi-senpai in even more pain?!"

"Huh?! I didn't do anything strange, I just used healing magic! And, in order to better heal Kobayashi, I even used divine power!" Aqua retorted indignantly, after all, in her opinion, she hadn't done anything wrong, and had even used divine power.

But Kazuma Sato always felt it was due to divine power.

"That's enough, you'd better not make a move!"

"It had nothing to do with me in the first place!"

As if trying to prove it wasn't her fault, Aqua increased the output of her divine power, but unexpectedly, Kobayashi's howl became even louder.

"--Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

"……what?"

Now even the silly goddess had to admit that it was her fault.

Darkness, who was standing to the side, had his eyes light up when he saw Kobayashi's pained expression, as if he wanted to suffer in Kobayashi's place.

Those who know the truth will think Kobayashi is suffering, but those who don't will think she's enjoying herself.

"Y-yes, this is amazing! Will I experience this much pain later? Is this the price for gaining power? This unbearable, intense pain... Ah! This is the necessary training for gaining power! What should I do? What should I do? There's no other way! To gain power, to gain the power to protect my comrades! I have to endure the pain! That's right! Endure the pain!"

Hiss—ha—hiss—ha—

Unintelligible gasps came from her mouth.

The perverted knight is eager to try!

Kazuma Sato couldn't help but complain, "Please stop adding unnecessary scenes for yourself! You perverted knight!"

Megumin looked at Kobayashi with concern and couldn't help but say, "Aqua, is there really no other way? Kobayashi... Kobayashi seems to be in a lot of pain."

"This, this..."

Aqua scratched the back of her head awkwardly, exuding a strange kind of beauty reminiscent of someone with a missing brainstem.

Everyone looked at Xiaolin with sorrowful expressions.

It seems that Aqua turned on a switch, allowing Kobayashi to relieve her pain by howling, and this continued at a strange frequency.

Five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes...

Huihui couldn't help but ask, "What's going on? You don't feel nervous or worried at all."

"Yeah, indeed."

"Feel the same."

Aqua and Darkness echoed this sentiment.

"You guys should be more nervous!" Kazuma Sato couldn't help but complain, but in reality, he wasn't worried at all.

think carefully.

It's like the kid next door crying loudly because of something. You might feel sympathy or annoyance, but when he starts howling at a subtle frequency, the sympathy and annoyance instantly disappear.

That's how Kazuma Sato and the others felt.

Gradually, Kobayashi's howls weakened, turning into faint moans. Her body still twitched occasionally, but her eyes shone with a different kind of light—clear, bright, and imbued with a divine quality.

Kazuma Sato hurriedly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Senior Kobayashi, how are you feeling? Is there anything wrong?"

"No... rather, this feeling is better than ever before."

Xiaolin unconsciously clenched her hands.

Does 【恩惠】 have this effect?

Although it was very painful, I felt that my whole body and even my soul were completely purified during the process. When it was over, I felt like I had been reborn.

"I'm so incredibly high!"

"Senior Kobayashi..."

If Kazuma Sato hadn't known Kobayashi's true personality, he would have suspected that Kobayashi had some strange hobbies like the perverted knights in the squad.

At this moment, Aqua came closer again.

The foolish goddess, her displeasure tinged with arrogance, said, "I already told you, there's absolutely no problem with the [Blessing] I deciphered! So, now you should believe me, right?"

"...Are you serious?" Kazuma Sato had a new understanding of Aqua's shamelessness.

Aqua retorted, "I already said it wasn't my fault! Besides, in order for Kobayashi to successfully imprint [Grace], I condensed my divine power and infused it into my divine blood, which theoretically makes it easier to grant! So, apologize quickly! Say sorry to me right now!"

"This is it! This is it! Ahhh!"

Kazuma Sato immediately grasped the crux of the matter.

Seeing the goddess's still clueless expression, she couldn't help but yell angrily, "You idiot! It's definitely because you concentrated divine power and merged it into divine blood, doing something unnecessary, that caused Senior Kobayashi to be in so much pain!"

"……Eh?"

"You! You always do this! Why do you always do things that are unnecessary and superfluous?!"

"Eek—!!!"

Aqua then realized that it really was her fault!

"X-Xiao Lin..."