"Please let me join your party!"
The lady knight strutted up to Adam, getting all up in his face. She was breathing heavy and her cheeks were a bit pink.
Now that's the Darkness I know and love!
Hold up, something's fishy here.
She's shown up way earlier than he thought she would, and Adam and the gang aren't even covered in slime. They took out those two big toads with just one explosion spell each from him and Megumin, and didn't even get swallowed.
Ah well, let's just roll with it and get her to join. We can figure out the rest later!
"Lady Knight, please have a seat." Adam patted the wooden bench to his right. "We're about to have a meal. Why don't you join us? We can discuss details after eating."
Darkness obliged, sitting down to his right with a fresh scent about her. Aqua was on his left.
After the meal, Adam initiated the conversation. "Lady Knight—"
"Darkness, my name is Darkness!"
"Alright, Darkness, why do you want to join our party? We're all novice adventurers, you know!"
"That's fine, I'm a novice adventurer too."
"But your equipment is of high quality, and you seem to be fully geared," Kazuma chimed in, puzzled. Though he was pleased about a beautiful woman joining, he couldn't let his guard down. 'As an adventurer, caution comes first' had always been his primary rule.
"...slimy." Darkness mumbled under her breath.
"Huh? What was that?"
Kazuma, sitting diagonally across from her, couldn't quite catch what she said. Her voice was too soft, and he was too far away to hear clearly.
"Well, let's take a moment to calm down, Lady Knight Darkness." He then leaned on the table with both hands, his expression turning serious. "If you're considering joining this party, I urge you to think it through carefully."
"Oh, please choose me! I beg you, let me join your party!" Darkness exclaimed, her excitement building as her voice rose in pitch.
Kazuma said with a slightly bitter expression, "Well, actually our party has a lot of issues. It's not suitable for you to join."
"Why? I'm a Crusader, an advanced class of Knight. Shouldn't I meet your recruitment criteria?"
"But everyone in our party except for Carter-senpai is a weirdo." Kazuma said while pointing at Aqua and Megumin with a look of disdain, "We've got this Arch-Priest who's about as useful as a chocolate teapot, and an Arch-Wizard who's a one-hit wonder with her magic."
Then, jabbing a thumb at his chest, he added, "And yours truly? I'm stuck with the lamest job ever — Adventurer. Basically, I'm as useful as a screen door on a submarine."
At first, Aqua and Megumin were all fired up to give Kazuma a piece of their mind for trash-talking them. But when he started roasting himself too, they just kinda shrugged and chilled out.
Sure, it was all true, but man, spilling the tea like that in front of a stranger? It's a no-no.
"That's even better! To be honest, I'm confident in my arm strength and endurance, but I lack agility and can't hit enemies at all." Darkness, as if she had found a kindred spirit, tightly gripped his hand, causing a bone-chilling grinding sound.
"Ow, ow!" Kazuma yelped, shaking his hand, "Easy there! You're gonna crush my bones!"
"Ah, sorry!" Darkness released his hand, "You needn't worry about me at all. I'll charge in recklessly — just use me as a shield!"
"No, no, no, we can't use a girl as a shield, no matter what. Our party is very weak—all the attacks will fall on you..."
"That's even better!"
"No, no, no, our party is weaker than you can imagine! Earlier, we were covered in foul-smelling slime from Giant Toads. You might end up in the same state..."
"That's even better!"
Darkness's face turned bright red as she hugged herself, wiggling like a fish out of water and breathing all heavy. She was totally fangirling!
Okay, this girl's got some issues. And I don't mean the good kind!
"Great, another weirdo."
By now, even Aqua and Megumin were giving her the side-eye, not just Kazuma.
Dang, Darkness! You're giving teenage boys a run for their money in the creepy department!
"Ahem!" Kazuma cleared his throat, snapping back to reality. He leaned in, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "Look, I'll level with you. We're not your run-of-the-mill newbies. Appearances aside, we're actually on a quest to take down the Demon King!"
He thought dropping the 'Demon King' bomb would scare Darkness off, but boy, was he in for a surprise!
But he couldn't have been more wrong!
Far from being scared off, Darkness grew even more excited, rivaling Megumin's initial enthusiasm.
"That's even better! Throughout history, being harassed by the Demon King has been every female knight's dream job! This alone makes it worth joining!"
"Huh? Did I say something weird?"
Kazuma and Darkness just stared at each other, looking totally lost.
At this moment, a clear, cheerful, and energetic laugh came from the side.
"Darkness, you've scared them."
The laughter came from a girl wearing light leather armor. She had short silver hair and a small scar on her cheek, instantly marking her as a thief. Everything about her — from her clothes and appearance to her very demeanor — screamed "thief," as if she'd stepped right out of a storybook.
"Sorry, sorry!" The silver-haired thief apologized, her voice brimming with energy, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just worried about my friend, so I couldn't help but listen in."
"Friend... Oh! Your friend is Darkness!"
The thief girl leaned on Darkness, showcasing their close friendship. Darkness then introduced her to everyone.
"Let me introduce you. This is my friend Chris, and she's a thief."
"Hello~" Chris greeted everyone, and they introduced themselves in turn.
"Hey there, I'm Kazuma Satou. Just your average Joe with the job Adventurer."
"Megumin here! I blow stuff up for a living. I'm an Arch-Wizard!"
"I'm Aqua. I'm the water... I mean, uh, just an Arch-Priest!"
"Adam Carter's the name. I'm an Sword Master!"
After everyone's introductions, Chris's eyes lit up. "Wow, your party's got some serious firepower! Almost everyone's rocking an advanced class! So, wouldn't it make sense to add another advanced class? Especially one that can act as a vanguard Crusader?"
She was clearly trying her best to promote her friend.
Hearing this, Kazuma leaned close to Adam's ear and whispered, "Carter-senpai, you've seen her issues, right? We can't add another problem child to the party, even if she is an advanced class Crusader!"
His intention was clear: he wanted Adam, the acting party leader, to reject Darkness's request to join.
"Kazuma, while she may have some shortcomings as a novice Crusader, our party does need a vanguard role, doesn't it? Why don't we test her abilities first, then make a decision? How's that sound?"
"If Carter-senpai says so..."
Adam held considerable sway in the party, so Kazuma had to comply. However, he thought to himself, 'No matter how she performs, I'm gonna reject her joining!'
"Time's a-wastin'! Let's go test Darkness's skills now!"
At Adam's command, the six of them dashed out in a flurry.
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