Credit Disclaimer: H3ctic. Helped edited this chapter. Credits to him… :)

'Debt, debt, debt… Coupons? Debt…'

Kazuma was flipping through the letters dropped into the mail slot, mainly reminding them of the debt they had racked up as a result of the destruction caused. Aqua had taught him the hard way that BMWs were not cheap in this world. Even if they only had to pay for the destroyed BMWs, the ones they destroyed retailed for around $28,000 USD, meaning that they owed (at least) a staggering 1.8 million Kronas.

"This sucks!" Aqua pouted, pounding the table with her hands, "They should be thanking us for saving them! But now they have the audacity to demand compensation from their very saviors!"

Aqua was correct on that aspect, and strangely the auto dealership in question did not buy insurance for their vehicles because 'it costed too much'… Yet they still have the audacity to open shop in a warzone, where there was bound to be fighting and hostile individuals hell bent on robbing their possessions.

'Who can afford those vehicles anyways, especially in a farmer village?' Kazuma grumbled mentally.

"Can I blow them up? Can I?" Megumin stated flatly as she was cleaning the barrel of the M320 with a can of WD40.

"Please don't,"

The last thing they needed was a murder charge along with the debt. In hindsight, it may have been a better idea to feed that store owner to the wolves, literally and figuratively…

"So this is all we earned?" Darkness questioned, with a small pile of money on the table.

"Looks like it,"

They were paid around 200,000Ks for their efforts in the town, mainly for their quick reactions- if they had waited for the militia, the chedaki would have stolen all of the vehicles in the auto dealership along with a good portion of their farm harvest, making their war efforts even stronger and potentially causing a food shortage. The hunting had paid much less than they expected however, with bagging a kill amounting to roughly 400Ks, along with an additional 300Ks bonus if the animal was salvageable. The only redeeming part was the bear kill for 2000Ks, given that it was responsible for an animal attack in the past.

On a sidenote, they had discovered that Wiz had connections with the National Party, with her appearance in the village. Knowing that Darkness was friends with her, it was at least reassuring they had some potential friends, or at least people who weren't outright trying to kill them…

"Heh… we risked our lives only to get placed into crippling debt instead,"

"That's the great part!" Darkness exclaimed, jumping up from her chair, "We get threatened with eviction from our home, and in order to make our ends meet, you're going to force me to sell my body to the beasts down at-"

Everyone gave the blonde a weird look at this. It appears that their debt was no longer the most serious issue at hand…

"Huh? Did I say something weird?"

'Damn it all, looks like she is just hopeless…'

"…Anyways, we can't pay everything we have, as we still need a house for now," Kazuma elaborated, glaring at Darkness as she started to blush a little.

"We can all work at my restaurant, the manager is still looking for positions," Aqua suggested, raising a hand.

"You can't be serious Aqua," Kazuma sighed, "You only get paid 15,000Ks a month, and even if we all worked there it would take more than two and a half years to pay it off, and that's without us eating or you drinking us dry…"

"What does my drinking have anything to do with that?" Aqua answered incredulously, "I need my alcohol hard and plentiful in order for me to sleep peacefully at night!"

"And that's exactly the problem," Kazuma continued, "You're drinking away our funds faster than the Hindenburg deflating on a good day*,"

"You're so mean, Kazuma!" Aqua cried, "Does my sleeping bother you that much?"

"It wouldn't have if it didn't drain our funds that much…"

"Meanie!"

"Even if she does drink, I think you're being a little harsh on her…" Megumin stated.

"Nonsense, he should keep his harshness as it is!" Darkness stated in an excited tone, extending her arms, "He can unleash it on me instead, so the harsher the better!"

"Hell no, I don't want to clog the walking toilet with verbal diarrhea…"

"Kuh! You just don't have any mercy do you?" Darkness moaned, swinging her head as she hugged herself.

Kazuma sighed. There was something wrong with their new contractor after all, as to his suspicions. Looks like everything has its drawbacks…

"We're going to need faster ways of earning money…"

….

On a piece of cloth, Darkness laid a wooden rifle on the table, and a scope on the side. It appeared to have signs of use, but otherwise appeared to be cared for.

"What is that?" Kazuma notched an eyebrow, "And where did we get it?"

"It's a G43, and it's authentic," Darkness elaborated, pointing towards the swastika and eagle stamped on the receiver, "It was dropped by the sniper we took down. We should sell some things in order to make ends meet…"

"That's a great idea," Kazuma said, his eyes lighting up as he grabbed the M320, "We just need to-"

"Don't sell my Chunchunmaru, damnit!" Megumin protested, trying to get the launcher back, "We've been through so much together!"

"Damn that, it's because of those grenades those cars were destroyed!"

"Kazuma, how about this instead?" Darkness pulled out a newspaper, pointing at the posting on the page, "We're bound to run out of things to sell, after all!"

'Escorts Wanted'

"NO, DAMMIT!" Kazuma cried out, ripping up the newspaper in a bout of frustration.

(a few days later)

As per Darkness' suggestions (Disregarding the sexual portions for obvious reasons), the group decided on selling items to pay off their debt. Aqua had claimed that she was going to get another job to supplement her income, one that would enable her to work away from customer service as she was frankly tired of the manager and customers yelling at her for things beyond her control.

As the group went with the plan of selling things, Megumin had convinced Kazuma to drive her to the university in the capital, where she can 'repossess' some hand grenades that were supposed to be refurbished. Apparently many of them get written off, so it comes to no surprise that some of the items were gone from the storage (as they were assumed to be disposed of). Wiz stated that she was willing to trade with them, and while she did not specify a cash value she claimed that they were in short supply, meaning that they could get a good cut out of a trade.

The trip there was largely uneventful, taking about three hours of drive and a fifteen minute wait before Megumin came back with three boxes of grenades from the engineering department. The boxes also came with a separate batch of fuses, as they were the primary culprit for the devices not working (and which the participating students were supposed to rectify). Surprisingly, they were stopped by an officer at this time, but only to inquire about their vehicle license- he quickly let them go after he saw their license plate registration, which was not from the capital (he did remind them to bring bribes in case they were caught again, however).

Halfway back however, the car started to sputter and finally stall out. Kazuma tried to restart the engine, to no avail. He put the hazard lights on and got out of the car.

"What happened?" Megumin questioned, following along, "Are we stuck here?"

"If we can't fix it, then yes," Kazuma stated, popping open the trunk* to observe the engine compartment, "Now what do we have here…"

As the town was small, many of his days were spent either hiking around or reading whatever he could get his hands on to kill the boredom from the unemployment (and lack of internet). He had comprehensively studied his vehicle's owner manual, and was hoping that Aqua's boost to his technical knowledge was enough for him to get the vehicle back working.

'The car sputtered and stopped, and nothing seems out of order under the hood…' Kazuma thought. Maybe this wouldn't be a difficult fix after all…

Removing the feed line into the carburetor*, Kazuma took out the fuel can from the back seat (It was purchased a few days earlier as he was worried that there were not enough gas stations along the roads) and filled the plastic bottle in his cup holder. Using a ripped up juice box as a funnel, he poured a bit of fuel into where the feed line used to be. Surely enough, the engine started up when he turned the ignition. Now came the question of topping up the fuel…

"Megumin!" Kazuma called, "We need your Arch Wizard skills to help the car move. Now just take a seat over by the trunk and top up the carburetor with this can and funnel here…"

"Huh? No way!" Megumin immediately complained, "I'm not going to sit outside handling gas while you get to sit in a proper seat! That's not how you treat a girl!"

"Luckily for you, I'm an advocate of gender equality," Kazuma faux cackled in an evil tone, "Besides, I don't think you can reach the pedals anyways…"

"Huh?"

Megumin moved into the driver seat, and indeed had some trouble reaching the pedals, but can still press them.

"See? I can drive…"

'Damn it, I thought the poor ergonomics would help me this time…'

"What about manual?"

"…"

Eventually, they reached a compromise- Kazuma would drive for this time. He stressed this as comeuppance for 'blowing up the BMWs', something which Megumin had refused to accept. In return however, Megumin would learn to drive Kazuma's car and have it to drive for any three days she desired. Kazuma was mainly concerned that her 'explosion' tendencies would extend to the car if it were in her hands, along with his dread of their goddess banging the gears…

"Kazuma, please slow down!" Megumin cried, "I can't hold on at this speed!"

Kazuma grumbled in frustration, but still reduced the speed. They were barely going past 20 kilometers per hour yet they were still running into trouble, with Megumin nearly being flung into a tree when he was making a sharp turn half an hour ago. It was going to take a good few hours for them to get home, for something that shouldn't have taken more than an hour…

"Ok… that's good!"

The car started to sputter again, meaning that the carburetor was going to be empty soon and that the engine was going to stall. They had stalled well over five times already, and Kazuma was afraid of busting the starter at this rate (Something which he was not equipped to fix at hand).

"Megumin! Top up the carburetor! We're going to stall again!"

"Huh? Got it…" she returned, topping up again and stopping the sputtering.

(two hours later)

"Dear god… Never again…"

It started to rain for the last part of the trip, forcing both of them to get wet for the next hour (As Kazuma had to keep the window open to yell at Megumin when she forgot to top up the carburetor). This was followed by a rash evasive maneuver on Kazuma's behalf, as he swerved to avoid a reckless driver, accidentally forcing Megumin to drop into the mud in the roadside drainage ditch (And stalling the car again when he got out to look for her). But none of that mattered- they were home now, meaning that they can get dry and clean again.

Climbing up to the fifth floor and approaching his unit, he heard an apparently intense dialogue going on inside.

"-I can't take it!" A voice ragged, sounding to be Darkness.

"-cred create water!" Another voice, this one sounding like it belonged to Aqua.

"Kyaaah!" At that, an audible thud was heard.

'This cannot end well, is it?'

The first thing that Kazuma noticed was an opened box on the floor, with bubble wrap strewn everywhere. Then he noticed Aqua sitting next to what appears to be a pair of telephones by the table, with Darkness passed out on the floor. He had also taken note that Darkness was blushing and smiling deliriously, with drool coming out of her mouth. Something tells him that the situation was grave again…

Aqua noticed Kazuma at this moment, and quickly pressed a button on the phone (presumably the speaker button), "Oh no! Your wife and kids just walked in on you jerking off!"

There was a loud clang at the other end of the line, presumably by the person dropping their phone. This was followed up by a series of a woman screaming a list of profanities before the line finally went silent. At this, Aqua started to laugh hysterically as she placed the phone down, much to Kazuma's immediate confusion.

"Aqua! What is the meaning of this?" Kazuma barked, pointing towards the passed out contractor. Despite his disdain for her masochistic tendencies, he was still unwilling to throw her under the bus, for whatever the hell just happened.

"Why is it always my fault, Kazuma?" Aqua quipped, wiping away some of her tears from the laughing, "Darkness and I just found a job and this is how you congratulate us?"

"I'm going to take a bath…" Megumin stated, trying to excuse herself as she realised that things were going downhill.

"Well she's all flustered and passed out, so something is obviously wrong!" Kazuma retorted, "And what job?"

"We get paid to answer phone calls from customers!"

'Huh? Is Darkness that excited about verbal abuse from customer service? But what was that thing about jerking off?'

"So you guys just went out to get more minimum wage jobs?"

"No Kazuma, why do you always consider us as wage slaves?" Aqua retorted, wagging a finger, "This one is special, we get paid 10Ks per minute for these calls!"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow at this. That was equivalent to about 600Ks per hour, and if Aqua and Darkness were working together for eight hours a day, they could pay off their debt at around 8 months. It literally sounded too good to be true…

"What is this place, anyways?" Kazuma questioned, "Because I heard something about 'jerking off' and 'Sacred create water'. Not to mention how Darkness looked all excited and stuff…"

"Terms and employment…" Aqua produced a paper, which Kazuma started to read immediately.

"…"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"COCKROACH-SAMA!" Kazuma shouted, using her legal surname again, "WHY DID YOU GUYS APPLY TO A PHONE SEX HOTLINE?!"

"We didn't know that it was until I got to the interview! I thought it was just a 'casual conversation' thing!" Aqua cried, "Besides, I decided to just go through with the interview, because I was already there"

(three hours earlier)

"So… what experience do you have in making these phone calls?" interviewer asked, each word dripping with suggestiveness.

The two applied for the job openings, upon hearing that it was merely talking to customers and keeping them satisfied (And the fact that it required no paperwork on Darkness' side). Of course, the sexual innuendo simply flew over their heads, even as the interviewer was talking…

"Oh, I have plenty," Darkness stated confidently, "When I was five years old I'd call my grandma and talk with her for three hours straight."

Aqua looked on with confusion as their interviewer laughed like a velociraptor. They still ended up with the jobs however, when Darkness 'got her act together' upon realising what type of a position they were applying to. She had reasoned about how she doesn't mind being abused by difficult customers (something which would be good for business), while elaborating how Aqua's water knowledge of water would create interesting situations to exploit. They ended up getting their own call extensions (And home phone numbers) by the end of their efforts, regardless.

…

"I can't believe we actually applied for something like that," Aqua stated flatly as they were sitting by their telephones, waiting for their first call.

"Neither did I, but it was a pleasant surprise indeed," Darkness stated as she hugged herself, shuddering with excitement, "Just getting insulted at all day by frustrated young men, because of your inexperience on the job…"

"…"

Aqua just stared at Darkness. Sometimes it was too awkward, even for her. That wasn't even including her speech on how phone sex operators were doing a noble cause, as they would be plugging the holes in delivering 'spicy' content to people without internet…

At this, the phone began to ring, indicating their first customer. With some hesitation, Aqua and Darkness answered the call.

"Who is this?" a voice on the line husked. It sounded like he was breathing heavily, and oddly… familiar? It almost reminded Aqua of her manager…

"This is Aq- I mean Squirt God," Aqua quickly corrected, switching over to her 'job title', "How can I help you today?"

Aqua was more than a bit nervous at this. She had no idea if she was handling the means correctly, mainly because there was nothing 'exciting' in heaven after all as a form of comparison. She felt that she wasn't being paid enough for this…

"I was told there were two women on this end, where is the other?" the man demanded.

"Oh, uh…" Aqua stammered, looking over at Darkness (Who was getting way too excited for her own good), "Meloness is still in the basement right now, because she's not ready,"

"Just getting into business right off the bat? I like that!"

"So… how can I help you today?" Aqua continued, trying to recite some lines from a telemarketer movie she saw once.

"You see, there's this new kid around town, and everywhere he goes there's these two beauties following him around," the man ordered, "One has blue hair while the other is a blonde. I want to be that kid for this round just to know what I'm missing out on,"

"You got it, now give me a second to get Meloness out of the basement,"

"Don't take too long, these calls are expensive dammit!"

Aqua covered her speaker for a second, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow. This was far too uncomfortable for her. Yet it was probably the least of her concerns right now, as Darkness appeared that she was ready to burst at any moment. It did give her an idea however…

"Darkness!" Aqua bellowed, "Darkness, put the phone down for a second, I have an idea…"

"What's going on?" Darkness questioned, still breathing deeply and blushing over the interaction, "I thought we were going to get abused by that stud on the end of the phone…"

Aqua rolled her eyes, in spite of her good standings with Darkness she was not interested in trying to deal with the inconvenient bursts of masochism right now. She gave Darkness a quick overview of the situation, explaining how her jerk-ass manager had a pay dispute with her, effectively reducing her paycheck by half. She also elaborated that he was probably home along with his wife, and that his reason for calling was probably because his wife had 'blocked' him again (She claimed to have known this from his outbursts at work due to his temper problems, whether it was his wife visiting or an employee stepping out of line). She then stated that they could get back at him by causing him to lose his temper on the phone, thereby drawing his wife's attention over and catching him in the act.

"As much as I enjoy getting hit and insulted, this is one of the few moments I want to hit back," Darkness said, clenching a fist, "That man's treachery will have to stop with my party members…"

"Alright, then get ready," Aqua replied, to which Darkness nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright, we're back," Aqua reminded her manager on the other end, "It took me a while to find a proper name tag for Meloness here,"

"Master, look at my new dog collar!" Darkness rasped. It was hard to tell if she was turned on by the remark, was incredibly good at acting, or a mix of both…

"Obedient and subservient, just like how it was supposed to be,"

"Indeed, she's now ready for your banana," Aqua coughed, trying to wash down that previous line. It made Kazuma's mean streak look like choir children, as their party leader was at least an egalitarian when it came to his degeneracy…

"Heh… heheheh…" Darkness drooled, much to the concern of Aqua. She was getting too into it again, and too soon…

"That's right, it's not just any banana," Aqua said to Darkness with a faux chuckle, "Once you have it, your body will crave more of it, until you eventually can't go on without it…"

"J-Just give it to me already, dammit!" Darkness blurted out, probably being too deep in the act. The manager was audibly excited, as well…

"Relax Meloness, there's plenty of where that came from," Aqua 'reassured', deciding to go ahead with the killing blow to her manager's temperament, "Even though sweet bananas are rare, 11-mart only sells them for 80Ks per bundle. You can always have seconds with that when you're done…"

Even Darkness took a pause at Aqua's unexpected play. The line was silent for a moment before it exploded back into their ears.

"…WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?!"

"Hnnngh!"

Darkness moaned so loudly at the backlash that even Aqua had to distance herself from the phone receiver due to the noise volume. There was a click on the end of the line, yet it did not appear that the call was ended…

'Bingo,' Aqua thought. That was probably his wife checking on the line to see what the noise was about. Looks like Darkness unintentionally outdid herself by blocking out the background noise and keeping the scumbag distracted…

"W-what an unexpected turn of events!" Darkness blurted quickly, seemingly with all restraints off, "Instead of offering me banana, he has decided to take out his frustrations on me with verbal insults instead!"

"…Huh?"

'Looks like even the manager is surprised at this development…'

"I can feel his breath down my neck, just threatening me with alcohol poisoning with his mere presence!" Darkness continued, "I don't know what type of weird foreplay this is, but this is absolutely fine as well!"

"…It looks like Meloness is having a bit of a moment again," Aqua said, in a mix of self-noting and trying to keep her opponent distracted, "I'll just use my magic and create some water, to help her snap out of it,"

"Don't do it, Squirt God! I can't take it!" Darkness bellowed, as indirect encouragement.

"Quiet! Sacred Create Water!"

"Kyaaaah!"

After exhausting her voice, Darkness collapsed dramatically onto the floor from her stool with a distinct thud, smiling deliriously in her self induced fantasy. All while Aqua's manager was listening to the development in a speechless stupor as his wife made her way up the stairs…

(present time)

"…and then you guys showed up," Aqua concluded, "I thought I heard something in the background again, so I tried to spoof him with his wife entering. Turned out that it was closer to reality than I expected…"

'As much as I hate to admit it, that was an extremely elaborate plan, even by normal standards…'

"…Can I ask you a question, Aqua?"

"Huh? What is it?"

"You said something about not having experience because you're from heaven," Kazuma questioned, "Does that mean you don't actually have a body?"

Aqua blushed, "I do now, but in heaven, no. That is merely the image you mortals just perceive us as… why do you ask?"

"…Heh," Kazuma chuckled, "That sort of explains the banana route. Still find it hard to believe that even the gods have no experience…"

"Quiet you!" Aqua returned sharply, pointing a finger on his forehead, "At least I didn't die as some virgin shut-in unlike you, things be damned!"

"Yet the said virgin still knows better than to use bananas as placeholders…"

"Well, that's because you're a guy after all! Of course you knew!"

"Ok then," Kazuma questioned, gesturing a hole with his finger in it, "What is this called, then?"

"…"

"Hah! Even I knew that, and that was female terminology!"

"Hmmph…"

"Chin up Aqua, I was just trying to tease ya," Kazuma chuckled in a mix of sincerity and trying to cheer his compatriot up, "That was a pretty elaborate plan, and for all intents and purposes, the piece of lard deserved that…"

"You bet your bottom-fricken dollar he did!" Aqua jumped back up, her usual spunk returning in full swing, "He should be grateful that a goddess like me would let him off so easily!"

'There it comes with her arrogance again…'

"Hey Kazuma, want to take the plan a bit further?" Aqua questioned, producing a key, "I managed to nab this when he was off drinking again the other day…"

"What's it for?"

"The food storage,"

"Oh, it's on!" Kazuma chuckled.

'So even Aqua has her witty streaks, hopefully it persists for when we need it…'

(the next day)

"I hope we got all of the boxes," Kazuma exhaled, setting down one of the boxes next to the front desk, "Now where is Wiz…"

As per Darkness' suggestion, Kazuma decided to take their group for a visit with Wiz. One reason was to sell the various items they acquired to help pay off debt, while another reason was to see if she had any jobs/opportunities that would pay for them. Main reason was her contacts with the National Party, one of the most powerful third parties in the ongoing civil war.

After maybe fifteen minutes of waiting later, the ever familiar woman emerged from the door behind the counter, "Ah, Kazuma! Good to see you again!"

"Hello Wiz," Kazuma greeted casually, "We're just seeing if we can sell some things here."

"Those?" Wiz pointed at the boxes and wooden rifle stacked together, to which Kazuma nodded, "Of course, I'll take care of those,"

"Thanks…" Kazuma smiled, "I was also going to ask for something else, if you don't mind…"

"Oh? What is that?"

Kazuma explained their financial situation to Wiz, and how they were looking for potential work to help them get out of their predicament. Wiz nodded in understanding, leading the group to a table in a corner of the store they didn't explore properly yet before producing a pan of Buchteln and some cups of tea for them.

"Huh? What's this for?" Darkness and Kazuma perplexed.

"Oh, it's a new business model," Wiz explained, "I figured out if the customers feel more relaxed and at home, they would be more tempted to buy things from the store, and return more frequently."

'In a weapons store, out of all places?'

"…And how much are you charging these for?" Kazuma questioned.

"Free tea, and 10Ks for the Buchteln"

Kazuma choked on his own spit for a moment. That was literally half the price of a regular bread loaf at the 11-mart…

"Is something wrong?" Wiz asked with concern, "Because you guys don't have to pay. It's on the house for your efforts and being my friends…"

"No, it's fine…" Kazuma waved off, "What about that 'solution to our debt' thing?"

"Oh, that!" Wiz lit up again, seemingly remembering her previous task, "Give me a moment…"

'So this is what those free toaster offers actually look like…'

Kazuma idly took a portion of the peach Buchteln, along with his other team members. It was easily better than the cafeteria stuff by a mile and it was being sold for a fraction of regular store bread. It almost reminded him of the food court at a Costco he once visited back in Japan, yet she does not appear to be selling nearly enough guns to have a meaningful return on the incentive she's providing. Not that Aqua seemed to care anyways, as long as she had her share of dessert…

"Kazuma? Can you come over here?" Wiz now called from the front counter.

"Alright,"

….

Wiz had led Kazuma into the back room behind the front desk, and down a flight of stairs at the end of the shelves. There they entered an open area, of what Kazuma guessed to be some form of a conference room, complete with a furnished table, television and a computer.

"Please, take a seat," Wiz gestured, pulling out a chair.

"Why are we down here?" Kazuma questioned.

"It's the conference room," Wiz elaborated, "It's the secret place where we discuss our plans."

'Not so secret anymore, actually…'

"We?" Kazuma asked.

"Ah, there's usually more people around when we use this room," Wiz stated, "Actually, I think Chris may still be around… Chris?"

'Chris? That almost sounded western, and even normal, perhaps…'

"Right… here!" a new voice proclaimed. Kazuma turned around and found himself face to face with another individual, almost causing him to fall out of his seat.

"Gah! Where did you come from?"

Upon closer inspection, he noted that 'Chris' was a silvery haired girl wearing a green camouflage hoodie and black handkerchief lowered around her neck. He was a bit disappointed, as he was both expecting a man and something more 'Western'…

"I just came down the stairs," Chris chuckled, "betcha didn't hear that one coming, did you?"

Kazuma shook his head. Chris smiled.

"Looks like my skills are still sharp then," she said, extending a hand, "As the boss lady said, my name is Chris. I'm something of a saboteur, with specialization in stealth, as you just saw back there."

'This one actually looks competent… why are my party members not like this?' Kazuma thought, shaking her hand. Darkness actually filled that role partially, if it wasn't for her excessive outbursts of masochism…

"It's good to meet you,"

"Likewise," she returned, before focusing towards Wiz, "Either way, you called me?"

"Ah yes," Wiz nodded, bringing out a folder, "My friend Kazuma here was looking for a job, and I was thinking of having him join up with you on the upcoming raid."

"Raid?" Kazuma questioned with some concern, but still maintaining composture. The last action put their lives on the line for a load of debt…

"Ah, I wouldn't mind him tagging along for that raid," Chris reaffirmed to Wiz, "Stuff like that should be easy sauce under my lead."

'What a confident leader,'

"Great!" Wiz beamed, clapping her hands, "I'll be getting back to my shop now."

"Right, now back to business," Chris stated, opening the folder and singling out some photographs, "Take a look at this."

"What is that?" Kazuma asked, perplexed. It looked like a normal coffee shop, or something innocuous…

"It's the Succubus Café, located in Berezino," Chris elaborated, "Looks like a normal coffee shop or something on the outside, yet hosts a variety of… services to satisfy their customers in other ways as well, if you get what I mean, hehe…"

Kazuma tensed. Apart from the innuendo, Berezino was deep inside hostile territory, after all.

"Recently a high profile chedaki individual called 'Beldia' was reported to go there frequently with his men," Chris continued, switching to another photograph showing men moving crates and a field radio outside the compound, "Big boss suspects that the stud has decided to set up a base or something over there, and wants us to raid the compound for anything of value."

"Big boss?"

"His name is actually Vanir, and he's the backbone of our intelligence board," she explained, bringing up an image on her smartphone, "Wears the mask to contain his handsomeness, but is otherwise known for his 'trade deal offers' around here."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow at this, "What type?"

"Well, what do you want it to be?" Chris stated, scratching her cheek idly, "There are many things in this world, after all."

"So something like a drug dealer?"

"I mean, unless you want illegal items, then sure," the girl shrugged, "Although it's not unknown for him to be selling things like Pokémon cards, or even sardine tins for that matter…"

"I see," Kazuma nodded in comprehension, and deciding to switch the topic, "So what's in it for us then, if we decide to participate in this raid?"

"Enough for you to buy out the local bar, if you're up to caliber," she chuckled, patting Kazuma on the shoulder, "But seriously speaking, I think you'll be looking at around 300,000Ks for doing a decent job, with room for extras if you do better. Big boss is quite fair on his payouts, despite his trollish tendencies…"

Kazuma bit his lip at this. It was risky, without a doubt. Yet this was probably the fastest way for his team to claw out of their debt pit, along with the possibility of securing powerful allies should their situation deteriorate.

"Very well, I'll do it," Kazuma affirmed, "I'll talk with my team to see if anyone wants to join in."

"Good, I can see that you're into it!" Chris smiled, giving the boy a thumbs up, "I'll see you guys around for the raid, and feel free to drop by the dock or something if you want to hang out!"

"Sure thing," Kazuma smiled.

'Faith in humanity restored, now we just need more of her in this world…'

….

Back at the store front, Kazuma noted Wiz taking a stack of bills before walking away from the doorway, and his group waving her off. When he emerged from the doorway he noticed Megumin carrying what appeared to be an oversized revolver with a stock.

"Kazuma, check this out!" Megumin stated excitedly, "It's like Chunchunmaru, except it holds six explosions at a time!"

'Not again…'

Kazuma's eye twitched, "Guys, how much did that cost…?"

"Oh, that thing?" Aqua waved dismissively, "It just costed those grenades, the old rifle Darkness got, along with 44,000Ks"

"…"

'Along with additional debt, we have to deal with more explosions as well…'

"Don't be so down Kazuma, that job opening is still up!" Darkness nudged, bringing back the stitched up 'Escorts Wanted' ad Kazuma ripped up previously.

"NO"

Reinforcements:

Chris (AS Val)*

Items Acquired:

1x MGL

60x 40mm M433 Grenades

Items Lost:

3x Crate

48x RGD-5 Grenade (unfused)

48x RGD-5 Grenade fuses

1x G43 (Zf 41)

43,550Ks

(break)

Technical Components (Denoted with *, Can be skipped)

Hindenburg on a good day- See Hindenburg disaster

Opening the trunk- The Skoda 120/L is rear engined, with the engine found in the trunk. Storage space is behind the back seats, with spare tyre in the front.

Carburetor- It is a device that pre-mixes a fuel/air mixture before sending it into the cylinders for combustion (Induced by a lower pressure from the throttle valve). Replaced by Electronic Fuel Injection as they are more precise with their mixing, leading to higher fuel efficiency.

Chris (AS Val)- A quick way of denoting a character and their primary weapon in the story, when they join Kazuma as an ally.

….

Other Notes: Not too much to say here, other than more characters have been added to the fray (And tweaked a bit for the different universe). I do plan to add more down the line (Yunyun and Alderp almost certainly).

Also with regards to Vanir, I do have plans down the line for him; he's going to have a more neutral stance throughout the story, when compared to the original universe.

Once again, please review!