I love time travel the most!

I had assumed that the mountain where the hot springs flowed would be covered in sulfur and barren, but this is what it looks like.

Besides, why do we have to climb mountains when we've come all this way for a hot spring trip?

"But after walking for so long, why haven't we encountered any monsters?"

On their way up the mountain, the gatekeeper knight warned them that they might encounter monsters on the road and urged them to be careful.

After walking for so long, there's hardly any sign of life, let alone monsters.

An atmosphere of unease was created.

"Alright, alright, stop scaring yourself and let's move forward."

"Oh, oh... Aqua is right, why scare yourself like that?"

The two walked towards the mountaintop, singing in unison, but at a much faster pace than before.

The path to the top of the mountain is very long.

To the naked eye, it seems even farther than the road from Kratos to the snow-capped mountains.

Fortunately, they didn't go the wrong way.

To transport the hot spring water from its source to the town, the Axis Church built six enormous pipes in the mountain. To reach the source, one simply follows the pipes.

However, the mountain path still covered in snow is quite strenuous to walk.

Gradually, Kazuma Sato started to have the idea of ​​slacking off.

"Senior Kobayashi, do you have any convenient abilities that can instantly take us to the mountaintop?"

"Hmm... no. To get to the top of the mountain instantly requires teleportation, but whether it's magic or an Imperial Arm, you need to set the coordinates in advance. And since I've never been to the top of the mountain before, I can't get there in an instant."

"What a useless person."

"……anger."

Originally a good kid, he spent a lot of time hanging out with troubled kids, which made him become outspoken and even dared to say such things about himself.

I'm a little angry.

“Sato-kun, I’m sorry you’re tired. But look at the others. Even Megumin, who has the weakest stamina, can’t keep up. Isn’t that a bit much? Besides, adventurers’ levels are the easiest to raise, yet you’re still the lowest in the team. And you should have some kind of blessing, constantly improving your proficiency, which should make you much stronger than the average adventurer. Yet you’re complaining about being tired. You… you’re really lazy.”

"I'm sorry! I was wrong!"

Kazuma Sato immediately bowed deeply in apology.

The kneeling was so decisive that Xiaolin lost all interest in saying anything more.

No wonder people from island nations like to kneel; now I know there's a reason behind it.

Seeing that Kobayashi was no longer angry, Sato Kazuma quickly got up, brushing the dust off his clothes and selectively ignoring the disdainful looks from the others.

If we're talking about who's the most shameless in Axel, no one dares to rank first or second.

"Come on, let me carry you on my back."

"No need, Senior Kobayashi!"

"Or do you prefer being carried in a princess carry?"

"...Please carry it on your back, thank you."

To save time, Kobayashi carried Sato Kazuma on her back and continued climbing the mountain. But once she had him on her back, she realized how awkward it would be.

"I never imagined I would one day carry a man on my back."

"I never expected to be carried on a man's back..."

Kazuma Sato was also a little shy.

For a man known for his sadism, such emotions shouldn't exist.

"Speaking of which, Kobayashi-senpai, you were really scary just now."

"Scary?"

"Yeah, both their expression and tone of voice had a kind of suppressed madness about them. Being stared at like that was incredibly stressful."

"That... it was actually an imitation."

The role model was naturally the Bishop of Sloth.

However, Kazuma Sato looked completely bewildered.

Come to think of it, I haven't told them about the story of the other world since I got back. I left them with the words, "We'll talk about it when we get back. For now, let's focus," and ended the conversation.

Another walk.

Suddenly, they came to the end of a water pipe, and in front of the pipe was the source of a hot spring that kept gushing out.

However, the hot springs here are black.

"This is poisonous!" Aqua shouted as she stuck her hand in. "It's so hot—! Waaaaaaaah! It's so hot, so hot, I'm going to get burned!!!"

"You idiot, who would put their hand in the spring? Take your hand out right now!"

"But...! It's so hot!"

Despite her constant crying and screaming, Aqua did not pull her hand back from the dark and murky spring.

They really risked their lives to purify the spring.

Kobayashi quickly cast a freezing spell on her hand. While the hand cooled down, the silly goddess patiently endured the scalding spring water purifying it until it became as clear as water before stopping.

"That should do it. But purifying the inside of the water pipes isn't that simple, so this source might have to wait a long time before it can be used again."

After purifying the hot spring, Aqua healed her scalded hand. Normally so excited she was like a fool, she became dejected and looked very sad.

It has been confirmed that someone has poisoned the food.

They quickly rallied and set off towards the mountaintop. Along the way, they passed other water sources connected to pipes, all of which were contaminated, and Aqua purified them one by one.

Four of the six water pipes were purified.

Like the previous water pipe, it will take a long time before it can be used again.

By this time, we had almost reached the summit.

Just as everyone was wondering if there was really anyone here, a figure appeared on the open ground, and it was the man they had met at the bathhouse.

"Look."

Kazuma Sato gestured for the others to be quiet, and then pointed ahead, telling them that the wanted man was right there.

"Hey, is he poisoning us?!"

An excited Aqua rushed over, and the rest of the people had no choice but to follow.

At the same time, the other side also discovered Aqua.

When Aqua ran over, the man asked with a puzzled look, "What brings you all here? Only the hot spring manager is allowed in. How did you get in?"

"What are you pretending for!"

Hearing the man ask this so casually, Aqua pointed at him and shouted, "How dare you ruin this town's hot springs! We're here to teach you a lesson, be prepared!"

"Um... I don't understand what you're saying. Otherwise, you can check my belongings right here and make sure you don't find any poison...?"

The man's voice, which was originally full of confidence, gradually became softer and softer.

And right in front of his line of sight.

Touching his chin and staring at the man in thought, Wiz muttered, "Hmm... who is this? I should have seen this gentleman before..."

Seeing this, the man quickly turned around and said, "In short, I only came to investigate because of the commotion, so..."

"Ah, it's Mr. Hans! You must be Mr. Hans!"

While the man was giving vague answers, Wiz suddenly shouted, "Long time no see! It's me, it's Wiz, Mr. Hans!"

"Who is Hans? I'm just the manager of the hot springs..."

The man, repeatedly called Hans, tried to bluff his way out with a trembling voice, but Wiz, seemingly unconcerned about his situation, kept talking to Hans as if he were reminiscing.

"I don't know what you're talking about. In short, I'm not carrying any drugs, and you have no proof..."

"Ah, speaking of poison, Mr. Hans is a mutant of the deadly poison slime, isn't he? Could it be that Mr. Hans poisoned the source?"

Not only his name, but even his race was revealed. The deadly poison slime named Hans was already drenched in sweat.

However, Wiz still unconsciously moved closer.

“Mr. Hans, why have you been ignoring me since earlier? It’s me, Wiz. So, Mr. Hans can also mimic. Did you come here by mimicking the spa manager?”

"Wait, wait a minute, don't do this, I don't know you at all."

Despite being constantly shaken, the man refused to admit that he was Hans, or rather, he refused to admit that he was the one who poisoned the man.

"Oh, right, I have something urgent to attend to, so I'll take my leave now... Could you please move aside?"

Seeing that things were going badly, he prepared to flee.

however--

"Where do you want to go, Hans?"

"Don't even think about getting through, Hans."

"Do you think anyone would believe that, Hans?"

"A lame lie, Hans."

"Stop struggling, it's time to reveal your true identity, Hans."

"Are you trying to say, Hans, that I'm not a bad slime?"

Six people blocked his way.

"Hans, Hans, Hans... Don't you dare call me by my first name like that! And what's with that last one? Are you trying to disgust me?!"

Enraged, Hans's face contorted as he unleashed a torrent of curses, revealing his true nature as he yelled at Wiz, "Why is Wiz here?! Didn't you say you were going to open a shop in a town after leaving the Demon King's castle?! What are you doing wandering around this hot spring town? Go back to work!"

"Okay, that's too much! I work very hard too! I don't know why I'm getting poorer and poorer, but I work very hard every day!" Wiz loudly defended his bizarre talent.

But now is not the time to worry about that.

"Wiz, I remember you don't assist the Demon King's army except for being in charge of the Demon King's castle barrier, so why are you getting in my way?"