I love time travel the most!

However, to be able to make money, and such an astonishing amount at that, Kazuma Sato truly deserves to be called a born businessman; his luck is terrifyingly strong.

Just then, the others arrived in the hall.

No, it's more accurate to say that I was drawn here by Kazuma Sato's loud shouting.

Aqua, her clothes slightly wrinkled and her hair rather disheveled, staggered out, scratching her stomach, and complained irritably, "What are you howling about, Kazuma! You ruined my afternoon nap! How are you going to keep me company?!"

Then, still half asleep, she stumbled into Kobayashi's arms.

Darkness and Megumin also asked questions one after another.

"Kazuma, what do you mean by making money?"

"That's right, and it's such an outrageous number of 3 million Eris. It's just unbelievable no matter what."

Neither of them really believed it.

Although Youyou didn't speak, the inquiry and curiosity in her eyes revealed her true thoughts.

After all, 3 million Eris is equivalent to a Demon King's military officer, so it's understandable that they would have doubts.

...What?! How could that be!

Just how little trust do these guys have in me?!

Kazuma Sato clenched his fist, but quickly puffed out his chest smugly and said arrogantly, "I've made a deal with Mr. Barnier. The patent for the product I developed using the knowledge I learned on Earth is worth a whopping 3 million Eris! How about that, are you shocked? You can admire me, though. If you want to curry favor with me, I suggest you start now. I'll give you a little something extra, wahahaha~~~~"

After saying that, he started laughing loudly, leaning back more and more as he laughed, almost breaking his back.

As expected of Axel's most notorious scoundrel, he perfectly embodied the despicable nature of a villain.

The others looked disgusted.

The goddess, who was nestled in Kobayashi's arms, suddenly woke up upon hearing the name of a certain demon. At the same time, a powerful divine force surged from her body, so strong that Aqua's hair and clothes began to sway.

Aqua asked with a smile, "Mr. Kazuma, you just mentioned making a deal?"

"Barnier. What's wrong?"

"Divine Light Fist!"

"Puhaha—"

Then, Kazuma Sato, who had taken a heavy punch to the jaw, spun around and flew out.

Amidst everyone's astonished expressions, Aqua angrily rebuked, "Kazuma, are you an idiot?! You actually made a deal with demons! Those guys are nothing but filthy worms in the gutter! How could you, a member of the Axis Cult, make a deal with demons?!"

"When did I join the Axis Cult?!" Sato Kazuma, clutching his chin and staggering to his feet, immediately burst into a tirade: "If I had to choose between Mr. Banir and the Axis Cult, I would undoubtedly choose the former, you brain-dead idiot goddess!"

"What did you say?!"

"I knew it!"

The two started arguing again.

This has become the same as Huihui's daily bombshell, something everyone has gotten used to.

However, Aqua's resistance this time was particularly irritating, especially given that it occurred while Kazuma Sato was smugly showing off.

That stupid goddess dares to be so smug...

"Besides, why are you so angry? That's 3 million Eris, 3 million!"

"So what? Kobayashi will soon receive a bounty from the kingdom too! It's only 3 million Eris, I don't care!"

"Aha……"

Don't care? How dare you say that? You come to borrow money from me all the time, yet you dare to say you don't care.

Kazuma Sato knew that no matter what he said, Aqua wouldn't listen, so he simply shut his mouth and ignored her.

Kobayashi couldn't help but purse his lips.

If you don't care about money, are you some well-known philanthropist who isn't interested in money?

But don't be fooled by Aqua's current boastful words. In a while, she'll definitely be crying and begging Sato Kazuma for help because she's out of pocket money... no, she might even come looking for me.

Kobayashi sighed, rubbing his forehead.

At this moment, Kazuma Sato said, "Senior Kobayashi, there's actually another option besides this one. There's another one where I retain ownership, but I only get 10% of the profit each month, which is about 1 million Eris. Which one should I choose?"

"...It's up to you to decide."

"Eh?"

"To be honest, I know nothing about business and can't give you any advice on that. I'm sorry, Sato-kun."

Kobayashi doesn't intend to get involved.

Kazuma Sato is incredibly lucky; he's a born businessman. Rather than letting the inexperienced Kobayashi interfere, it's better to let Kazuma Sato make the decision based on his intuition, since he'll inevitably end up on the side that benefits.

"Phew, I'd like to add more savings to the team."

"There's no need to do that."

"what?"

“Sato-kun, I told you before, the money earned by each team member belongs to that individual, so you don’t need to pay any money to the team.”

This was a rule set by Kobayashi, so he never questioned the bounties Aqua and the others received for taking on private missions. The same applied to Kazuma Sato when he made clothes for nobles.

I can understand why Kazuma Sato wanted to contribute to the team after making money, or perhaps he wanted to take the opportunity to show off to the other team members.

But rules are rules.

All I could do was apologize to him.

"Aha……"

Somewhat disappointed, Sato Kazuma sighed, stroked his chin thoughtfully, and left. Seeing him like this, Kobayashi felt a pang of regret, wondering if she had hurt his pride.

"I hope he wasn't hurt."

Kobayashi couldn't help but think this.

A few days later, another good thing happened.

—The kingdom's bounty has been awarded.

Furthermore, to commend their outstanding achievements, Sena was specially arranged to hold an award ceremony at the Adventurers' Guild in Axel.

Today is the day of the ceremony.

"Adventurer, Mr. Kobayashi!"

Under Sena's serious and loud voice, and under the enthusiastic gaze of the other adventurers, Kobayashi stood in front of the guild counter.

"On behalf of the town, I would like to issue this letter of appreciation to commend you, and at the same time, to give you the highest recognition for your outstanding contributions to the Kingdom, and to offer you my sincerest gratitude!"

After saying this, the prosecutor, known as the "Demon," bowed deeply to Kobayashi, who then accepted the certificate of gratitude from her.

"And Lady Dustinis Ford Lalatina! Your sacrifice and dedication in this battle were truly great! For your performance in living up to the Dustinis family's expectations..."

As another key figure, the kingdom awarded Darkness a certificate and a very fine suit of armor.

Darkness's face was flushed, and she was even trembling. To an outsider, it would seem that the female knight was excited about her achievement, but in reality, the young lady was simply trembling with excitement because she was thinking about the possible consequences of her deception of the kingdom if it were exposed.

Congratulations, Kobayashi!

Suddenly, someone started shouting in celebration, and then, as if it were contagious, the excited shouts quickly spread throughout the entire guild.

"As expected of Kobayashi!"

"I knew he could do it!"

"Hey, Lalatina made a contribution too!"

"You're right!"

"Lalatina is so cute, Lalatina!"

It's unclear where the rumor started, but Darkness's real name became known to everyone, and that's what people began calling her.

The perverted female knight covered her face, which was already red to her ears, with both hands, and slumped onto the table again, saying in a weak voice, "This...this feeling...is not the kind of humiliation I wanted...!"

"Don't say that, Darkness."

"Aqua?"

"I think the name Lalatina is very cute, so you should be more confident!"

The innocent, foolish goddess chases after Darkness, who is sprawled on the table.

The female knight buried her face even deeper.

Then Huihui, who had deliberately come to the seat next to mine, was trying to hold back her laughter so hard her shoulders were shaking. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me violently. It looked like she was trying to comfort me, but it was more like she was just laughing.

Seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Sena spoke again: "--Well then! Let's begin awarding Mr. Kobayashi's bounty!"

With just one sentence, the noisy guild returned to calm. They stared eagerly at the Kingdom Prosecutor in front of the counter, anticipating the high bounty that filled them with envy, admiration, and blessings.

Immediately afterwards——

"Adventurer Kobayashi and his party members! You have made great contributions in defeating the Headless Horseman and intercepting the Mobile Fortress Destroyer, and you were also extremely active in this battle against Banir. It can be said that without you, the town would have been plunged into war! Therefore...!"

She drew out her words, as if deliberately trying to pique people's interest.

It must be said, she succeeded.

The adventurers stared intently at her, swallowing nervously, their hearts pounding.

coming! coming!

Sena nodded in satisfaction and announced loudly again, "The kingdom has decided to add 100 million Eris as a bounty! Combined with the 400 million bounty for Banir, a cadre of the Demon King's army, the total is 500 million! And your achievements are commended!"

Then she handed over two checks.

Upon seeing this, the guild members erupted in excited cheers. The adventurers kept urging Kobayashi to treat them to a meal or congratulating him. The atmosphere reached its peak, becoming as lively as a banquet.

Kobayashi was also caught up in the enthusiastic atmosphere and waved his hand, saying:

"Okay! My treat today!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!"

The cheers were deafening.

In such a joyous moment, a voice deliberately dragged out its tone, as if to highlight its evil, arrogantly and rudely interrupted.