Aqua, being a goddess, naturally opposed Wiz, who was a lich. Ensuring their peaceful coexistence posed quite a challenge.
Adam, however, seemed unperturbed by this. The timid Wiz would never actively provoke Aqua, and her peaceful, non-confrontational demeanor allowed her to tolerate the water goddess's minor whims.
Given enough time, even with Aqua's limited intelligence, she would surely recognize Wiz as a benevolent lich. Eventually, the two would likely get along well.
After departing from the magic item shop, the group visited the public bathhouse together before disbanding for the day.
The three returned to the stable, removed their equipment, and changed into their sleepwear.
"It's late. We should rest early — we have a quest tomorrow." Adam laid out the three bedsheets on the straw mats and, after lying down, urged the others to do the same.
"Yeah~ We've been out all day. I'm exhausted." Aqua yawned drowsily and lay down next to him.
Seeing the two of them settle in, Kazuma suddenly felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling he'd forgotten something important. Try as he might, he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"Oh well, I'll sleep on it." He muttered, preparing to doze off.
But just as he was about to drift off, he bolted upright, staring incredulously at his already-slumbering companions.
Aqua had nestled into Adam's embrace for warmth, and for some inexplicable reason, Kazuma felt a surge of indignation.
"Wait just a minute!" He growled under his breath, a sudden realization dawning on him, "Why are we still living in this stable?!"
"Huh?" Aqua stirred, roused by his outburst. She turned, bleary-eyed, to face his scowling visage, "What do you mean? We've always lived here, haven't we?"
Her drowsy mind struggled to grasp the point of his frustration.
"That's not what I mean!" Kazuma snapped, exasperated, "I'm asking why we're STILL here! Didn't we just earn a hefty reward? Why haven't we moved out of this stable?!"
At last, he'd remembered what had been nagging at him.
Moving out of the stable — it had been his long-standing wish to have a room of his own!
When Adam had informed him of their substantial reward from the cabbage quest, Kazuma had thought his dream could finally become reality. At the very least, they could have stayed at an inn for the night, couldn't they?
So why on earth were they still bedding down in this stable?!
Adam, now also awake thanks to Kazuma's outburst, wore an expression of sheepish embarrassment.
It was, he realized, an oversight on his part. The thought of staying in a spacious, well-lit inn hadn't even crossed his mind — he'd instinctively led them back to this dirty, cluttered stable.
As for the exact reason why, Adam was too embarrassed to explain in detail. It certainly wasn't because he couldn't bear to part with his large body pillow!
Definitely not! He swears!
"Kazuma, just bear with it for one more night. We'll move tomorrow." Adam said, gesturing outside, "It's already very late. The inns in the village must all be closed by now."
"That's true." Although Kazuma also wanted to leave right away, he realized it was too late to find an open inn. It was better to endure for one more night.
"But Satou-kun's words have inspired me. We should not only move out, but the party members should also live together."
In Adam's mind, party members should eat and live together. This wasn't just convenient and time-saving — it would also help build rapport. The benefits were numerous.
"Let's do this: we'll cancel tomorrow's quest for now." He decided after a moment's thought, "Since we've got a lot of reward money from this quest, let's go buy a house tomorrow."
Aqua, who had been in a daze, immediately perked up at the mention of buying a house.
"Buy a house? Shouldn't it be a mansion or a castle? Only a mansion or castle would befit my status as a goddess!" She fell into a fantasy, imagining her future noble life in a castle.
"Stupid Aqua, buying a mansion or castle requires a lot of money! Even with our reward, we still can't afford it." Kazuma poured cold water on her fantasy, mercilessly extinguishing her delusion.
With her dream shattered, Aqua's excited mood deflated, "I... I guess you're right."
It seemed she also knew that the party's reward money wasn't enough to buy a mansion or castle. She immediately gave up on the idea.
But in the next second, her mind perked up again as she heard Adam speak.
"A mansion... it's not impossible. The future is uncertain, but we might as well look forward to it with optimism."
The two looked at him with bewildered expressions, not understanding his meaning.
Realizing his words were vague, he explained more directly, "We will live in a mansion. I promise."
"Is it true, Adam?!" Aqua looked up at him, her eyes shining brightly.
"Could it be that Carter-senpai already has a plan?" This time, not just Aqua but even Kazuma widened his eyes expectantly.
"Mm, you could say that."
Reassured by his guarantee, the two little adventurers drifted off to sleep contentedly. In their minds, Adam was a man of his word — if he said they could live in a mansion, it was as good as done.
The next morning, Kazuma rose early, and even the usually sluggish Aqua woke without delay. Both looked at Adam expectantly, awaiting his instructions.
"Alright, alright, I surrender." He said, raising his hands in mock defeat. He gestured to their nightwear, "Let's change first. We can't exactly go house-hunting in our pajamas, can we?"
The trio changed at lightning speed and made a beeline for the Adventurers' Guild.
They arrived so early that Megumin and Darkness hadn't yet shown up. Aqua and Kazuma waited for them off to the side while Adam went to accept a quest on his own.
"Exorcise evil spirit... exorcise evil spirit... Ah, found it!"
Amidst a stack of quest notices, he finally located the one titled {Exorcise Mansion's Evil Spirits}.
He had first spotted this quest a few days after returning from the " Demon Slayer " world. Initially, someone else had taken it on, but it had been reposted days later with a change in reward — from ξ1,500,000 to Free Residency.
As Adam pondered, he realized — wasn't this the mansion belonging to that unnamed noble from the original story?
If Aqua hadn't brought up the word "mansion" the night before, he might have overlooked it entirely.
Without hesitation, he accepted the quest and headed to the counter to complete the paperwork. Once all party members had assembled, they set out to exorcise the spirit.
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