Simultaneous Travel: Becoming a Legend in the Heavens.

Chapter 496 This is the protection of the goddess!
"No! Absolutely not! The otherworldly life I'm looking for is the kind of life where I fight monsters and engage in thrilling battles, something like that!"

Kazuma Sato excitedly slammed his fist on the table as he stood up, adding in a low voice, "Living in a luxurious palace, surrounded by a group of busty, curvy older women, partying every night until dawn—that's the kind of life a protagonist who transmigrates to another world should have!"

"As a result, they come here and spend all day on construction sites, living in stables, and only have a mentally challenged goddess who can't even be a side dish when they're masturbating! Something's definitely not right here!"

He clenched his fist in grief and anger and slammed it down again, tears almost streaming down his face.

"Damn it, I was fooled by the toilet paper in the light novel!"

Aqua, standing beside her, was also ashen-faced, looking as if she had just woken from a dream and that her life was about to end.
"It's one thing for a useless NEET like Kazuma, but I, the dignified goddess of water, have been reduced to working on a construction site with a bunch of middle-aged men. My most anticipated thing every day is to have a good meal, drink some alcohol, and take a shower after work..."

"I want to go back to the realm of gods and live a carefree, high-ranking life, where I can just laze around and wait to die until the end of the universe!"

"Even if we're really going to use the script of a goddess accompanying a hero to defeat the demon king, at least give me a hero with maxed-out stats, super strong talent, automatic leveling, cautious behavior, and who gives the god a strong sense of security!"

The two became increasingly excited as they spoke, drawing curses from those around them.

"Stop making so much noise! ​​If you speak any louder, I'll kill you!"

The adventurer next to them yelled impatiently, pulling Kazuma Sato and Aqua back to reality, and they bowed and apologized obsequiously.

Lu Ke rested his chin on his hands on the table, took a small sip of wine from his right glass.

This is a good mindset that has been cultivated over a long period of time, spanning twenty years since the time travel. Even after being warned and having their source of income cut off, the "lying flat tribe" remains calm and composed.

However, he really needs to consider a new survival strategy. He can't just sit around doing nothing; he needs a new source of income.

"Since things have come to this, all we can do is carry out the mission. It will be a bit difficult at first, but things will get better once we get through the initial stage."

After the two people opposite him calmed down, Lu Ke made this suggestion.

Even without Luna's reminder, he was prepared to bring Sato Kazuma and Aqua back from the sweatshop, since the main character's team could earn more money than a mere construction site.

Investing in them will naturally allow the bonds to inflate dozens or even hundreds of times. If you maintain good relationships, you're guaranteed to survive until the very end. Isn't that a kind of passive income?

Kazuma Sato's eyes lit up at first, but he quickly slumped onto the table in frustration.

"But Aqua and I don't have money to buy equipment. The money we earn is barely enough to survive, and sometimes we don't even have enough to eat and need you to help us out... In a world where there is no minimum wage and no basic labor law, this other world is so scary!"

Lu Ke's gaze wandered, and for a moment he wondered if he had taken too much of a cut, since in the original story, the two opponents had already raised enough funds to buy equipment at this point in time.

He coughed twice: "Don't worry about the equipment, I can help you buy it, consider it... a gift between friends."

"I can't accept that... Then I'll take a short sword! And while I'm at it, I'll buy Aqua a staff. After all, she's a goddess; it might come in handy."

Sato Kazuma exchanged pleasantries for less than three seconds before quickly stating his needs, as if afraid that Lu Ke would change his mind.

Lu Ke readily agreed: "No problem, we'll go to the weapons shop in a bit."

"How decisive! You're so generous, Lu Ke, are you a god?!"

Aqua was taken aback, her eyes widening like a frightened cat.

This water goddess has beautiful long, light blue hair and eyes, and her features are also very delicate. She is actually quite cute when she's not being silly, but when she moves, she becomes... abstract.

"You are the god, Aqua."

"Since you came here, you're the only one who believes in this kind of thing!"

Aqua angrily gulped down a glass of wine, unable to contain her complaints: "Everyone around here is an evil follower of Eris. Humph, so many people worship that guy whose breasts are all padded. This country is doomed..."

She looked at Luke with a sour expression: "By the way, Luke, you probably don't believe in Eris, right?"

Luke shook his head: "I don't believe it. I don't have any faith yet."

"Then how about joining my Axis Cult! If you agree, becoming a priestess is no problem. And if you make enough contributions to this goddess, you'll have a chance to become a bishop!"

Aqua's eyes lit up as she tried to preach.

In this world, faith is the source of divine power. Every deity pays special attention to believers, and some devout believers can even attract the attention of the gods.

Luke recalled the group of believers in the Axis cult who were even more abnormal than Aqua herself, and politely declined Aqua's application.

The water goddess, angrily glared at him after being rejected, refraining from her usual loser-like pronouncements like "you'll definitely be begging me to join your cult in the future." However, after a couple of drinks, she forgot everything and happily ate her meal.

After a satisfying meal, the three went to a weapons shop to make some purchases.

Kazuma Sato is the most ordinary "adventurer," which can be simply understood as "fighting against the heavens" in "Rebirth Warriors" or "a free spirit" in "The King's Avatar."

Simply put, they can learn almost any skill, but they don't learn any skill in depth.

When facing enemies of the same or greater strength, unless the corresponding class gains a specialization bonus, the power of various spells is hard to expect, the buffs are not significant, the debuffs are easily negated, and there is a risk of failure for skills that have a probability of activation.

If it weren't for their exaggerated luck, such adventurers would undoubtedly be the worst of the worst. However, in the beginner stage, everyone is pretty much the same, so there isn't much difference.

Aqua is quite powerful; after all, she's a goddess. Aside from having lower-than-average intelligence and incredibly bad luck, all her other attributes are maxed out. As the highest-ranking "High Priestess," she possesses powerful healing abilities and has extremely high special attacks against all evil creatures.

After acquiring the simple weapon, Kazuma Sato excitedly brandished it in the air, feeling like he was finally starting to fight in another world. He looked surprised when he saw Luke with empty hands.

"Lu Ke, aren't you going to buy yourself a weapon?"

Before Lu Ke could answer, he suddenly realized, "Could it be that you chose some powerful weapon when you were reincarnated?"

"No, I don't intend to fight, that's too dangerous."

Lu Ke looked helpless and calmly shrugged: "Besides, I don't have any cheat codes. Immortality, the ability to materialize illusions, a magic sword, unlimited stamina... those things only exist in my dreams."

Transported away by a dump truck, Luke found himself in Axel the moment he opened his eyes, becoming a native baby of this world. Unlike Kazuma Sato, Luke had no chance to choose his cheat ability.

After learning that this was the world of Konosuba, he protested and complained about the statues of Eris and Aqua many times, but to no avail.

Well... part of the reason I became a "lying down" person is because I don't have any cheat codes.

For someone like me who can't even find a job in the real world, being reincarnated into another world without any special abilities makes the idea of ​​transcending social classes seem incredibly unlikely.

Although Konosuba is a comedy anime, the world is still quite cruel when viewed outside of the main characters. The Demon King's army and monsters launch fierce attacks, and even the powerful Belzeg Kingdom needs the aid of other countries to survive.

The number of adventurers who die each year could circle Belzegu three times, and even the numerous transmigrators with cheat-like abilities have not been able to defeat the Demon King...

Anyway, Lu Ke doesn't believe he can make a name for himself on his own. Even if he were divided into many parts, there probably wouldn't be many Lu Kes who could start from scratch and live a good life in this world!

"What the heck, Aqua has failed in her duty again, you useless goddess." Kazuma Sato couldn't help but complain.

"Hey, don't blame everything on me!"

Aqua puffed out her cheeks, but actually shrank her neck a little guiltily. There were too many reincarnated heroes, and she had indeed been a bit of a slacker. There was no doubt that such a mistake might have actually happened before.

"At worst, I'll protect Lu Ke from now on. Being protected by the great water goddess like me is much better than any cheat code!"

Luke remained noncommittal, smiling as he smoothly transitioned the conversation: "From then on, I'm grateful for your care, Aqua." ...

Half an hour later.

Under a clear blue sky with not a cloud in sight.

"Aaaaaaah! Help! Aqua! Luke! Help me—"

On the plains outside Axel Town, a giant frog over three meters tall leaped and chased after the frantically running Sato Kazuma, causing the reincarnated man, who was preparing to make a big splash in the other world, to let out a terrifying scream.

Just now, the trio accepted the simplest task at hand: [Defeat five giant frogs within three days].

The total reward is 10 Eris.

The giant frog is a relatively low-level magical beast, but its strength should not be underestimated. It is large enough to swallow an adult goat whole. It enters its breeding season in the summer, preying on large numbers of animals to store energy, causing many children and farmers in settlements to go missing.

Such prey is nothing to a skilled adventurer, but it was still too difficult for Sato Kazuma, who was only level 1 and had no skills, to deal with. He was chased around in all directions.

Seeing her teammates' disarray, Aqua let out a triumphant laugh:
"As expected, Hikikomori can't live without this goddess, huh? Fine, I'll save your life then. But in return, starting tomorrow you'll have to worship this goddess! After returning to town, you'll have to join the Axis Cult and pray to me three times a day..."

Aqua's voice abruptly stopped. The giant frog that had been chasing Kazuma Sato had somehow changed its target and came to the water goddess who was talking incessantly with her eyes closed, and then bit her.

"How did you get eaten?!"

Seeing the legs twitching inside the giant frog's mouth, Kazuma Sato panicked, drew his short sword, and rushed over, attacking the giant frog frantically while it was unable to move because it was eating.

Luke, who was observing the two through binoculars from a short distance away, smiled with pleasure:
"Sure enough, seeing this scene in person is incredibly stress-relieving; it feels like I'm coming back to life..."

Several slight tremors came from the ground, but Lu Ke, engrossed in watching, did not notice until a huge shadow enveloped him and he came to his senses.

He stiffly twisted his neck and, as expected, saw the giant pink frog right in front of him.

Curiosity killed the cat.

As expected, I, a member of the "lying down" group, should never have been on the battlefield.

"Alas!!!!"

With a scream, adrenaline surged through his body. Luke deftly rolled away from the giant frog's tongue, pulled out a healing potion, gulped it down, and ran towards Sato Kazuma and Aqua without looking back.

"Help! Kazuma, Aqua!!!"

Kazuma Sato had just finished dealing with the giant frog and rescued the slimy, crying Aqua when he turned around and saw Riku running towards them with the giant frog.

"grass!"

The three of them ran as if they were going to a funeral. One was a reincarnated being, another was a reincarnated being from a higher dimension, and the third was a goddess. They were chased by a low-level monster, a giant frog.

"Aqua, weren't you going to protect me? Let this lowly monster see the power of the goddess!"

The exhausted members of the Lying-down Clan, panting heavily, used "Incitement" on the goddess covered in slime, with remarkable effect.

"Uh, ah! That's right, I am Aqua, the goddess of water!"

Aqua, who was fleeing in panic, suddenly sharpened her eyes, turned around and ran towards the giant frog. Using the momentum of her charge, she raised her fist, which was glowing white, and punched the giant frog in the abdomen.

"Let me show you the power of a god! How dare you stand in my way, how dare you oppose a god! I will make you regret and repent in hell! Divine Light Fist!"

"The so-called Divine Light Fist is the ultimate iron fist that carries the anger and sorrow of the goddess!"

A punch that purifies undead creatures lands on a giant frog with thick fat, causing a powerful effect that reduces its HP by one.

Aqua and the giant frog locked eyes, and she spoke softly:
"Actually, if you look closely, frogs are quite cute~"

"Gulu——"

The goddess of water was eaten for the second time.

Lu Ke stopped to catch his breath, staring thoughtfully at the two long, white legs twitching outside the giant frog's mouth.
"I guess this counts as protection for me? Kazuma, why don't you just make the most of Aqua and use her as a tool to hard-control the giant frog? If you abandon your conscience, you can complete the mission today."

Giant Frog's Prison.jpg
"All you need to do is flatter her a few times, and Aqua's physique is such that she won't get hurt. From a businessman's perspective, this is the way to maximize profits."

"How can you be even more perverted than me?" Sato Kazuma's lips twitched a few times.

"If I get paid today, I can stay at a hotel and have plenty of food and drink..."

"Ok, deal!"

So, the rescued goddess, covered in slime and crying, repeated the process three times.

……

"Hey, can we reconcile?"

……

"Don't come over!!!"

……

"There's nothing left to be afraid of..."

……

As the last rays of the setting sun slowly faded, the trio who had successfully completed the subjugation mission returned safely to Axel. Apart from Aqua, who was covered in slime, delirious, and looked like she was "unmarriageable," there were basically no casualties.

After sending the poor water goddess to the bathhouse, Kazuma Sato and Riku made an appointment to recruit teammates the next day.

After today's mission, he realized that it's impossible to do without teammates. The useless, idiotic goddess and the lazy, crazy sugar daddy are not the good teammates he imagined!
We must recruit more normal teammates next time!

…………

In the hotel at night.

Lu Ke was extremely exhausted after completing a year's worth of exercise, so he washed up and went to bed early.

Even though I was incredibly sleepy, I could still recall the fear of being dominated by the giant frog when I closed my eyes. The memory of being startled by the giant frog during the day was quite stimulating for those who prefer to lie down.

"I feel like I haven't been able to eat fried frog legs for a long time."

Muttering to himself, Lu Ke, under the influence of his tired and relaxed body, unknowingly fell asleep.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, he suddenly felt his body lighten, his vision rose, and a faint gray-white mist appeared before his eyes.

(End of this chapter)