A/N: the following story contains significant spoilers for the LN and the Explosions and Dust spin-offs, read at your own risk.
I do not own Konosuba, any characters from the LN and spin-offs belong to Natsume Akatsuki.
A Visit From That Princess
Today I found myself sitting in the guild.
With me are my trustworthy companions, the kind and pretty mage Lynn, the reliable crusader Taylor, and the spot on accurate archer Keith.
I looked at our party's mage, who was eating a salad as usual.
"Say Lynn, you look well toda-"
"I won't lend you money."
Crap, shot down before I even got a sentence in.
Well surely the reliable crusader drinking a cup of Neroid would help me.
"Taylor"
"Nope"
This hard head….
Then the dependable archer...
"Don't look at me."
You too Keith? I didn't even say anything to you!
It's not like I really need money at the moment, but it's always good to spend other people's money.
"Damn these guys, when I strike it rich I definitely won't give a single eris to any of them!" I thought
"Someone like you would never strike it rich."
Huh? How did Taylor know what I was thinking?
"Yes, even the poor shopkeeper would get rich before Dust."
Keith too?!
"You really shouldn't speak your thoughts out loud." Lynn said
Huh? Did I really say what was on my mind?
Lynn, Keith and Taylor started talking among themselves, almost as if they were ignoring me.
"Hey why are you guys leaving me out?"
Lynn stopped whispering to the guys and said.
"This is important stuff regarding a quest, so we need our party at full power."
"Why are you leaving me out then?!"
"Like I said, we need our party at full power."
This girl…
"You are leaving me out? Aren't I the dependable leader of our wonderful party?"
Keith gave me a look of confusion.
"What are you talking about? We all agreed that Taylor was the leader."
Lynn nodded
"Yep, it's a good thing we have Taylor. If Dust was leading us we would likely have disbanded within the first week."
"Or we would have been wiped out within the first week." Keith added
"Or arrested."
"Or drowning in debt."
"Or- "
"Alright alright I get it! Stop going back and forth talking nonsense!"
"It doesn't seem like nonsense to me.."
Lynn crossed her arms and nodded
"Yeah, actually it sounds more like a bad ending we were lucky enough to avoid."
Well enough of Keith and Lynn's verbal assault, surely the man who has kept quiet all this time has a different opinion.
I looked at Taylor, who had been quietly sipping his neroid this whole time.
"You must have a different opinion of me, right Taylor-sama?"
Taylor didn't say anything.
"I see, it must be hard to speak when you have the unpopular opinion."
"No, I agree with them."
This guy.
"Screw it, forget that crap about trustworthy companions.
Lynn is a petty amateur mage with an equally pitiful chest.
Keith is a very average archer with zero luck with the ladies.
And Taylor is the most hard headed man i've ever met."
"Snipe!"
"Lightning!"
"Gahh!"
I barely had time to duck as a bolt of lighting and an arrow flew over my head and out an open window.
The only one who didn't lash out at me was Taylor, who now looked cross.
"Sorry for being so hard headed, but someone needs to balance out your delinquent behavior."
These guys, how did they know what I was thinking?
Or did I say everything out loud again?
Also, since when could Keith use his bow while sitting down at a table? Don't tell me he's been leveling up behind my back.
Suddenly I felt the presence of a beauty behind me.
"Please avoid fighting in the guild, you will be punished if you cause damage to the building."
It was the pretty guild receptionist, Luna.
With long flowing blonde hair and wonderfully sized twin peaks, she was a real beauty, unlike a certain mage.
"Yeah, you guys really need to control yourself, stop giving Luna-san so much trouble."
Both Lynn and Keith glared at me, but they bowed in apology too Luna.
"We're sorry."x2
"That's right, you should be sorry, how could you attack the great me without any concern for the guild?"
"What do you mean? We specifically chose to sit here out of concern for the guild, this way any attacks aimed at Dust would fly out the window if it missed." Lynn pointed towards the open window.
Wait is that why I'm always seated next to the window?
"Yeah, besides using Snipe while sitting down like this isn't ideal. I can't pull the bowstring back far enough to cause any real damage."
So Keith didn't get stronger, I knew it.
"Oh, well if that's the case then carry on." Luna said with a smile, a truly terrifying smile.
Wait hold on a second, she was going to let them attack me?
"Wait! What about the guild! They'll damage the guild if this keeps up! Luna-san come back! Lynn stop chanting! Keith drop your bow!"
"You kinda asked for this Dust."
"Taylor, you shut up!"
Dammit I don't have enough arms to deal with all four of them at once.
Who can I turn too here?
I looked towards the corner of the guild, the part known as the territory of the crimson loner.
There sat a powerful and well endowed, but lonely archmage, her red eyes and black hair told the world that she was a crimson demon clansmen.
"Yunyun! Aren't we friends? Come give me a hand!"
Upon hearing my voice, Yunyun stopped playing chess by herself…..
….and bolted out of the guild.
Dammit, see if I ever invite you to eat dinner on your money again.
"Lightning!"
Another bolt of lighting skimmed my head and flew out the window.
"Now now guys, aren't we a party? Lets just all calm down and agree that nobody is perfect."
"I hate to admit it, but he has a point, we still have to discuss the details of our next quest."
Lynn and Keith immediately calmed down
Thank you Taylor!
He really is the leader of our party! Wait why are they all whispering among themselves again?
"Hey don't leave me out! Let me hear what you are saying!"
Lynn raised her voice
"You are right! If we leave Dust out of this quest, we'll have a larger share of the reward!"
Keith followed, raising his voice as well.
"Yeah! Knowing Dust, he'll spend all his reward money in the blink of an eye, so it's better to keep him away!"
These two….
When i'm rich I'll be giving them the cold shoulder everyday.
Ignoring my untrustworthy party, I scanned the guild for someone more trustworthy.
Sadly Yunyun had already left, also Kazuma's party was nowhere to be found.
There was nobody who could buy me a drink.
I sighed loudly and leaned back in my seat.
Adventurers of all sorts were going around the guild, searching for party members or quests, or just drinking and chatting.
It must be nice to have a party that actually cared about you…
Oh? That woman looks new around here.
I had spotted a woman I hadn't seen before speaking with Luna at the counter, she was dressed like an adventurer, wearing robes that made her look like a mage or priest.
I couldn't see her face from here, but she looked pretty good from behind.
Though there were also two others following her one was probably a man wearing armor, the other was a woman in a mage outfit.
If she was alone I could probably have sponged a few coins out of her, but I wasn't about to take on a whole party.
Besides, that whole party had blonde hair, they were probably all nobles.
The lead girl's hair was done in a ponytail as well.
That hairstyle and colour sort of reminded me of Darkness, Kazuma's perverted crusader.
I couldn't be her right? Darkness always wore that fancy armor around, she wouldn't start wearing robes, that would worsen her defense. Plus if she wasn't wearing any metal she'd get mauled by monsters and swallowed by giant toads.
Wait wouldn't she enjoy that?
Maybe it really was Darkness wearing a different outfit…
Actually nevermind, if it was Darkness i'd be able to see her breasts from this angle.
This woman wasn't as busty as Darkness, oh well.
Wait a sec, but she has blonde hair, could she be a noble? She seemed to be looking for someone….
Did the First Princess Iris sneak out of the capital again?
If that was the case, maybe I could make some money off them.
After all, that blonde haired girl did not match Claire or Rain's figures, so she won't know me or my reputation.
I should try and hear what they are saying.
I focused as hard as I could to listen in.
What a pain, if only I had Kazuma's lip reading skill.
Well since most adventurers had left on their quests by now and my party was busy whispering to themselves, I was able to listen in on the conversation between Luna and the blonde ponytail girl.
"I'm sorry, but there is no adventurer registered under the name of Rein Chelka, nor anyone with the dragon knight class."
Wait what?
What did Luna just say?
"Well what about blonde haired adventurers? Is there a male with blonde hair and red eyes working as an adventurer here?"
Don't tell me that blonde girl is...
"You know, seeing you stare at women like that really makes you look like a criminal."
Huh? Lynn?
I turned and saw that Lynn and the others had finished their little group whisper.
"What is that supposed to mean? Whatever, you guys don't need me for your quest right? I'll just head off then."
I was about to run off, but Lynn grabbed my arm.
"What did you fall for me?" I began, but then I saw Luna point this way. "Well sorry but I'm not feeling too good, yeah my stomach hurts so i'm heading back to the inn."
"Who in their right mind would fall for you?! And how could your stomach hurt? You haven't eaten anything."
"Well who knows, maybe my stomach is digesting itself."
"That is ridiculous, what did you do this time? Does it have something to do with that noble lady heading this way?"
Crap she caught on.
Why does Lynn have to be so sharp in times like this.
"Let go of me Lynn, I promise I'll pay back what I owe you."
"Yeah sure."
Don't just say that sarcastically! Let go of my arm!
"It's been a while Rein-kun! I'm so happy to see you."
Gahh! Too late!
I turned around, confirming my suspicions.
It was her, the girl who's face looked far too similar to Lynn's.
I recognised the two others with her too.
Why are they here?
Stop ruining my delinquent reputation I worked so hard to get.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The woman stumbled back in shock
"Ehhhh?! Don't you remember me Rein? I came all the way here to meet you!"
For Eris' sake why do you keep saying that name!
Do you have any idea how much effort it's going to take to throw off Lynn and the others again?
"Why do you keep calling me Rein? Look I'm a busy adventurer, unless you are here to lend me money, get lost."
I didn't want to say that to her of all people, but I really needed to get her away from my party.
"What are you saying Dust? You really are shameless aren't you?" Lynn said, still refusing to let go of my arm.
"Umm, I think you've confused someone else for Dust" Keith jumped in
Shut up Keith
"No, there is no mistake, he is Rein-kun, the kindest, most gentlemanly knight I had ever met."
Hearing this, Keith stared wide eyed and open mouthed.
Well she did call me "gentlemanly" and "kind" such words are the opposite of me now.
Also, stop eying me so suspiciously Lynn.
There was a time where I was ready to tell you everything but you fell asleep, I'm not telling you a thing now.
Actually if it's her she might have figured it out already.
Lynn is pretty sharp after all.
"She's talking to you, Rein-kun." Lynn said mockingly
Don't call me that!
"I have no idea who this Rein guy is, I'm Dust, a famous adventurer around here."
"You mean infamous."
Quit running your mouth Lynn.
"Well anyways, I don't like dealing with nobles, unless you are here to loan me money then leave, I have stuff to do."
Come on! Take the hint and leave! I'll make things up to you later!
"You don't like nobles?… Ahh right money."
No I want you to leave! Not open your purse to me.
"I owe you quite a bit! Forget loaning think of this as me paying you back. In fact, let me become your guarantor."
"Pfft, cough" Apparently what she had just said was so shocking, it made Taylor of all people spit out his drink.
Well it was the first time someone else had ever said they owed me money.
And Lynn still wouldn't let go of me.
"Hold on a second here, you shouldn't be giving money to Dust, this thing has as much debt as a city."
Do I? I mean sure I might owe some people a little bit of money.
"Oh? He does? I'll pay it off then, how much do you need?"
"I don't need anything."
I just need Lynn to let go of me!
I yanked my hand as hard as I could, then I left the guild as fast as I could.
"Hey wait! Rein-kunnnnn!"
I hope I'm not making a mistake here.
But I really don't want Lynn and the others finding out about my past.
I don't want to go through a life of responsibility, let me laze around and sponge off of other people in peace.
Please don't hate me for this, princess.
Well I couldn't go back to the guild anytime soon, not when she's there.
I wandered around aimlessly until I noticed a familiar sign.
Oh I see, I unknowingly wandered to the succubus store.
I have the money and the prices at that store are cheap, maybe I should...
Nah, not today.
Besides she might be following me around.
Her or Lynn, since Lynn is definitely suspicious of me now.
Well then, where else can I go?
"Welcome! Delinquent who lives by a fake name!"
"Don't say that out loud sir!"
I decided to visit sir Vanir's shop.
Well actually I wanted to see the well endowed shopkeeper but she was nowhere to be found.
Standing in her place was the Duke of Hell, rumored to be even stronger than the demon king himself.
Although the pink apron he wore while working in this shop made him look much less intimidating.
What was the all powerful future seeing devil doing? working in a place like this?
Also where did the beautiful shopkeeper go?
Actually I think I know what happened.
"Umm, is Wiz.."
"The broke shopkeep is extra crispy today, after being roasted with moi murder ray!"
Ahh I see.
Wait, that means sir is going to try and sell me something useless.
I need to get out of here.
"Now hold on, delinquent who is worried that I might sell him something useless."
Sir's foresight ability is really troublesome at times.
"Moi can smell the scent of money on you today."
In other words he used his foresight to peek into my wallet.
"May I recommend a few wares, for example this potion that makes you bald but raises your level, or this potion that makes your hair grow but lowers your level along with your base stats."
Someone would have to be very desperate to buy those.
Also why is there a fine print that says "benefits may be canceled out by other potions?"
"If potions do not interest you, then what about this?"
Sir held a piece of paper.
Why would I want that?
"This is a contract that guarantees that moi will not reveal thy identity to anyone in this town."
"How much?" I instantly replied.
With that woman visiting this town, there is a good chance that someone would ask Vanir to confirm her story of me.
"Only 51,387 eris! A real bargain!"
"Hey! Don't charge me for exactly how much I have at the moment!'
I had 50,000 eris from my last quest and 1,387 eris I managed to strong arm from a few other delinquents.
"Ahh, but a contract with a devil is absolute, thus the price is actually quite cheap! Perhaps I should raise it.."
"Ahh wait no, I'll buy it right now for 51,387 eris!"
"Thank you for your patronage!"
Sir Vanir smiled as he took all my money.
This thing really was a devil.
Well at least now I had signed a contract that kept my identity safe.
Actually, knowing sir there would probably be a loophole somewhere.
Dammit! Why did I come here? I won't be able to sleep at night thinking about this contract.
"As thanks for your continued patronage, I would like to offer you a bit of fortune telling! Oh what's this? I see a person with many negative emotions in your future, a shame I cannot come with you and taste it for myself, thy should beware, this person will end up endangering all those you love and care about!"
Sir stopped.
"Wait don't just stop there! Tell me who is this guy?"
"The free foresight has ended, if you would like more, you would have to pay a fee."
"But you just took every last eris I had! How can I possibly pay you now?"
"Perhaps your party members would loan you some, ahh but things are complicated so you are avoiding them for the time being yes? Ohho! Your negative emotions are wonderful!"
I was about to give Sir a piece of my mind when a bell rang, signaling the arrival of a new customer.
"Good morning! Die!" came the cheerful of a self proclaimed goddess.
"Moi refuses, besides it's already afternoon."
Kazuma's party priest showed up and immediately fired high level purification magic at Sir Vanir, who easily managed to step out of the way.
"Say, where's Wiz?" Aqua asked, acting as if she didn't just try to kill Sir Vanir.
"The failure of a shopkeep is out at the moment, please go loiter somewhere else you goddess of debt."
"Oi what did you call me? First Kazuma and now you? Fine then, I was being merciful with that last shot, this time I shall purify all your lives in one go!"
"Try it if you dare! you goddess of violence! after moi hath beaten you black and blue, moi shall pocket every coin you have as compensation for disturbing moi business."
"Scared Highness Exorcism!"
"Shred!"
Did sir just call Aqua a goddess?
Meh I don't care, it's not wise to get caught up in a battle between an Axis cultist and a Duke of Hell.
Well only thing to do now is sulk and leave the store.
"Please come again!" sir called out to me as I left.
Well I guess I could come back, but only when Wiz was here.
As I walked away from the I heard both Sir Vanir and Aqua exchange attacks
"Vanir style death ray!"
"Reflect!"
Yep I should definitely get out of here.
I doubled my pace.
I kept wandering around town aimlessly, hoping to avoid that girl.
Not that I dislike her, despite her somewhat selfish personality.
It was that selfish side of her that brought us together in the first place.
It was also the reason I was exiled.
Oh well, the past doesn't matter.
Right now I need money, maybe I could find a thug or two to mug.
Nobody would blame me for robbing a thug.
As I thought about this, I noticed a few familiar faces in the distance.
Oh no, it was her again.
Time to turn around.
She didn't see me right?
I hope she didn't
This place was too close to the guild, maybe if I was in another part of town it would be fine to speak to her.
I'm the only blonde haired male adventurer in this town, so anyone passing by would know who I am.
I should get further away from the guild and avoid the places I normally wander around.
Making myself appear lazy as usual, I casually walked down the street with my hands behind my head, whistling a merry tune and yawning every now and then.
Honestly it felt like someone was watching me.
Seriously who was staring at me?
It was probably Yunyun, it has to be, she was probably too shy to come and speak to me.
Well then, I should help her level up her social skills.
I ignored the person staring at me and continued to a more secluded part of town.
There we go, now there is barely anyone around, so it would be fine if she found me here.
Also I still felt that stare.
Someone was getting closer.
"Good job Yunyun! you had the courage to come up and speak to me for once."
I felt something poke my cheek.
"Please stop hanging out with Yunyun."
I turned around in surprise.
It wasn't Yunyun, it was the crazy explosion girl, who was poking me with her staff.
Why wasn't Kazuma properly taking care of this problem child?
"What do you want? Are you here to lend me money?"
"Lending you money would be the same as tossing it away."
Normally i'd respond with "are you picking a fight?"
But this girl actually has some pretty high stats so I should keep quiet.
"Then what do you want? I'm very busy at the moment."
"Looks to me like you are just wandering around aimlessly."
"Aren't you doing the same? If you are looking for someone to carry you back from your explosion routine go ask Kazuma."
"I have already done today's routine with Aqua. Besides Kazuma locked himself in his room with freeze magic and Darkness won't let me blow away the door."
Ahh that's right, I did hear the usual explosion at noon today.
Lucky Kazuma, being able to freeze himself in his room on this hot summer day.
Good thing that was done and over with, otherwise she would have definitely freaked out.
"What about those strange nobles going around town asking about you?"
So that's why she was following me.
"Oh that's nothing, they've probably just mistaken me for someone else."
"Really? Because they are looking for a blond man who fights with a sword, but is accustomed to a spear."
"Well then, it can't be me."
"I'm not so sure, after all you seem pretty adept at spear fighting."
Huh? When did she?
Oh wait, I used a spear in front of a few people now, namely Loli Succubus, Lynn and Yunyun.
Yunyun probably blabbed about me to her.
"Well then, maybe it's because I frequently use the spear in my pants. OW."
"What are you saying to a pure maiden like me!?"
Pure maiden? Oh please, that's only because explosions are the only thing in your mind.
Still that hurt quite a lot.
"I've actually been meaning to ask you this for quite some time now. But what happened during that time when the former dragon knight escaped with the princess of another kingdom?"
"How would I know?"
"I saw you using a spear, it was around the time when my thieving group was following the rumor of the dragon knight being in Axel."
Why is an Archwizard part of a thieving group? Explosion is the loudest spell there is, she'd be the least competent thief ever.
And why did a thieving group need a dragon knight?
I remember that time though, I was filled with nostalgia after Alice, no Princess Iris asked me about being a spearman.
Also I was hungry, so I offered some tips to a newbie adventurer with the Lancer class to get a free meal out of him.
Maybe I shouldn't have done that.
"So I want to ask you, what happened during that week with the princess."
Seriously, what is with everyone and their interest in that boring story.
It really isn't anything special, knight and princess fall in love and are divided by societal status.
A very generic fairy tale if you ask me.
Besides that was not at all what happened, that story was probably something she made up to make me look better.
Or maybe something that trash of a king made up to gossip about with other members of royalty.
Urgh, just thinking about that king made me pissed.
I want to complain, I really do.
Maybe I should, after all Megumin wouldn't spread the word would she?
"Why are you so interested in that boring story?"
"I'm not, rather I'm just interested as to why a former dragon knight is so busy running from a group of foreign nobles."
Oh come on! I wanted to retell the story and complain about my past for once!
Why did you have to be so uninterested.
Whatever, you wanted to talk to me so i'm going to complain.
"First off, that story you heard is fake, it's not at all what happened."
"You didn't kidnap the princess?"
"Of course not, who would do such a thing. It was all her idea, she ordered me to give her a ride even though I knew the kingdom would go into panic, but no she tells me everything is going to be fine. Then I hear that the kingdom started hunting me down so I decide to return her as quick as possible, she even told the king it was her idea yet I still got punished. See, nobles are all trashy individuals no matter what country they are from."
Surprisingly the explosion girl agreed.
"Yeah I agree, after all we have people like Darkness who is in heat all year round and that fat landlord Alderp."
Wow, sometimes I really see eye to eye with this girl, there was even a time when she understood eating bugs, fruit peels and ice.
I had more example of trashy nobles in mind
"Not to mention the white suit-chan who is head over heels for the first princess and the nobleman who turned out to have a thing for me, eurghhhhh"
That last one was the worst, I thought he was after Lynn at first, but it turns out he was using Lynn to get closer to me.
Thinking about that makes me shudder
I wonder where he went after that, I hope he isn't still in Axel.
I may as well answer Megumin's initial question now
"So anyways yeah we hugged, we kissed and rode around on a flame dragon that's about it."
"Hehehe."
"?"
What was with that laugh
Was she planning something?
Actually there was nothing she could do after her mana was exhausted right?
She flicked her cape and did pose.
"Well well, now that I know your greatest secret! You must promise to keep your negative influence away from Kazuma and Yunyun if you don't want it slipping out! Former dragon knight!"
Oh right! She was really protective of Yunyun, so naturally she wouldn't want me hanging around her.
She also didn't like me hanging out with Kazuma, jeez what was she? His wife or something?
She probably planned to blackmail me from the start, her intelligence stat really isn't just for show.
But I didn't spend all that time being a delinquent for nothing. It wouldn't matter if Megumin talked about me, nobody would believe her.
I wasn't worried at all, I just snickered
"Go on then, tell everyone, see if they believe you."
"Huh?!"
For some reason Megumin seemed surprised
"What? Did I say something strange?"
"Yes you did, you just got very out of character for a second! What was that whole "See if they believe you" line? You said it looking so calm and cool too."
Oh did it tug at her crimson demon heartstrings?
Yeah I did go out of character didn't I? Guess I was too caught up in the past.
"Have you fallen for me? Too bad, I prefer someone with larger breasts- Hey stop! Stop that! You already used explosion today right?! Stop chanting!?"
I waved my hands in panic as the crazy girl begun her incantation for the explosion spell.
She stopped
I knew she was out of mana after all, but still that was terrifying.
Megumin flicked her cape.
"If I hadn't used my explosion earlier you would become a crater right now, dragon knight or not, don't think you can get off with harassing the number 1 archmage of the Crimson Demons!"
"Ahh yes I get it, i'm sorry."
I immediately lowered my head in apology.
I really should avoid pissing her off.
"Besides there is no way I'd fall for you, I'm already with Kazuma and I'm not the unfaithful type."
Wait what?
"Hey what did you just say? You just said something unbelievable right?"
"What? Kazuma and I live under the same roof, it wouldn't be a surprise if something happened."
When did this happen?
I mean sure Kazuma had three beauties in his party, but they were all shot in the head I can't believe he really fell for one!
This can't be true, well I guess Kazuma was a bit of a lolicon but to think he'd do the explosion girl.
Did he do her?
"Hold on, just to be sure, you are just referring to the bond you have with Kazuma as adventurers right? Nothing has happened between the two of you."
"Well not yet, I mean we have bathed together and slept in the same bed several times."
"Wha-what!?"
Kazuma did say things were going well between him and Megumin-san, but not this well!
Megumin made a blushy face, bringing her hands to her cheeks.
"We have come so far that I am okay with him carrying me and undressing me if I fall asleep before reaching my bed."
Damn that guy, why does he get all the luck?!
"If we get the chance we may as well go all the way."
Gahhh! I can't take this! Why does Kazuma have so much success with the ladies!
I want to ask for details! I want to know what Kazuma and Megumin do at night! But if I do Megumin will get pissed.
Megumin looked at me with a puzzled expression, no she acted puzzled but I could see that she was hiding a smug looking grin.
"Why do you look so shocked? It's only natural to have such a relationship at this age. Besides don't you also have a girlfriend searching for you at this moment?"
"T-that's"
I never made it that far with her!
I mean I don't have any problems with her figure, she isn't as big as Luna or Darkness but she's still fine.
It's just that she was a bit selfish back then, yeah that's it, not too much of a deal breaker.
Besides she even offered to become my guarantor earlier, that means she's changed right?
For the first time ever, I started wishing I wasn't exiled from that kingdom.
"W-well my past is too complicated to explain, so I'm just going to leave before those guys find me."
I left in a hurry.
Actually why did I leave?
It's not like i'm jealous of Kazuma or anything.
If I was i'd be looking for the girl from my past.
Which I wasn't doing right now.
I was definitely still avoiding them.
I slowed down, going back into a casual walk.
I had travelled to an area that I didn't visit often, after all there was no trouble here.
Nobody to solicit and thus no reason to be here.
It was just a peaceful lake, with a small bridge going over it, leading into a quiet neighborhood.
Peaceful huh.
With all that happened today I wouldn't mind a bit of peace.
"Sigh"
I sighed loudly as I leaned on the side of the bridge.
What a day, forget my companions being so untrustworthy, why did she of all people have to show up?
I'm perfectly fine with my life in Axel, I don't need some selfish princess to show up and drag me back into the affairs of nobility.
Huh, it almost sounds like I hate her, I don't though, I just think her personality needs some improvement.
Truth be told, I was glad to see her again.
It reminded me a lot of my past life.
Back when my name wasn't Dust, but Rein.
Rein of the Chelka family….
My family wasn't noble by birth, we bought into it, basically we were an upstart noble family.
That's why I didn't have the blue eyes and blonde hair that all normal nobles had.
Well my hair was naturally blonde, but my eyes were red.
It's a good thing that dragon knight story told the tale of a blue eyed youth, otherwise I'd definitely have much more people suspecting me.
I did have a way with dragons, not that I wanted to become a dragon knight, I just didn't want my talent to go to waste.
Since I happened to be the same age as the princess, the king made me her personal bodyguard.
Well that was what I thought at first, it was actually the princess herself who asked for me because she liked the idea of a dragon knight of the same age as her being her personal bodyguard.
And because she admired me.
That girl did whatever she wanted and didn't take no for an answer.
Not that i'm complaining.
It wasn't until much much later, when she revealed her crush on me, that I realized I had somehow fallen for her as well….
Probably because I was ambitious back then, I did all that I could to become the perfect knight and fulfill my duties.
Since my duties included watching over the princess, I spent a lot of time with her, I guess that time was enough to make me fall for her.
Then there was that night, the night when she told me she couldn't stand life at the castle anymore.
She was a princess who always got what she wanted, yet was still weighed down with responsibilities.
She wanted to fly free in the sky, so she ordered that I elope with her.
I guess she didn't know that the disappearance of a princess would put the nation into panic.
Even though I brought her back, even though she told the king it was her idea, the king still made a big show about banishing me from the kingdom and removing my family's noble status.
That old fart probably wanted us to be an example.
It pisses me off just thinking about it.
"H-hey Rein, no your name is Dust now right? Do you want me to call you Dust-kun?"
Oh great, she's here.
How did she find me?
"Thank you for your help young archmage-san"
"No problem, helping the lady of a noble family is part of my duty as an adventurer."
I saw the knight accompanying the princess hand a bag of cash to Megumin, who was behind them.
That girl, I can't believe she sold me out that quick!
Did I mean nothing to her?! Actually don't answer that….
I watched as the girl from my past took my hand.
"Rei-Dust-kun, please don't run away again."
"I don't mind you calling me Rein here."
There was nobody around here that knew me well enough.
This was the more secure area of Axel, where police patrols were more common due to the number of families with children.
And we were standing on a stone bridge with nobody else nearby.
"Rein-kun, I-I want to say I'm sorry."
"?!"
Was it just me, or was her personality different from before?
"So please don't run away again! I know you have every reason to hate me and I don't blame you. But i've changed, I really have, I don't want to be the same princess who got you banished!"
She looked genuinely sad.
I hadn't seen that expression ever since she ordered me to elope with her.
"because-"
There were tears in the corners of her eyes.
I could also feel her pressing my hand against her chest.
It was a nice feel, but that wasn't what I'm focused on this time.
"Despite everything-"
Her face was getting closer, her blue eyes locked on to mine.
"I love you, whether you are Rein or Dust."
This…
It felt so refreshing.
Maybe noble life wouldn't be so bad.
How could I even consider that?
This doesn't change my mind about nobles, they are still all trash, selfish people acting only according to their own desires.
Yet she was here apologizing to me.
If this hadn't yet changed my mind, maybe it should.
Because…
"All this time I didn't mind your bad self. But to hear you say all that for a change, it really brings me joy."
Oh great i'm completely out of character now.
Ehh whatever, it's not like anyone can see me.
It's true, I didn't mind her selfish behavior, but deep down I really did want her too apologize.
"Soooo…. You aren't mad at me anymore?" she looked at me with upturned eyes.
Looks like there was a bit of a misunderstanding.
"I was never mad at you, I just didn't want to reveal my past to my party members. Sorry about brushing you off earlier."
She smiled
A sweet gentle smile.
Suddenly she lept onto me and gave me a kiss.
I wanted to yell that I was about to fall off the bridge, but my mouth was sealed shut by her lips.
Well this wasn't too bad.
I could feel her entire body pressed up against mine.
Maybe we could end up like Kazuma and Megumin now.
Or we could go even further beyond, hehe.
I noticed that the two that were accompanying her had turned around to give us a semblance of privacy.
How considerate of them.
I don't know how long it had been before she finally let go of me.
I guess she really did miss me that much.
I looked at her.
The girl from my past.
The one who's face looked all to similar to Lynn's.
I hadn't realized it before but I guess I really did want to see her again.
The mage accompanying her tapped her shoulder.
"It's getting late, we really should get going."
"Ahh right."
Was she leaving already?
"Are you leaving already?"
"No, not yet, we are checking into an inn tonight, so I'll see you again tomorrow Rein-kun."
Well then I guess I should get going too.
Tomorrow I'd have to meet up with my party and see how much damage was done to my reputation.
At least I'd get to see her again.
I executed a perfect bow to the knight and mage accompanying her.
"Zorn, Amelda, thank you for looking after the princess during my exile."
The knight bowed "Just doing my duty."
While the mage laughed "Well someone had to pick up where you left off."
I knew those two from before.
They were both nobles and both older than me, yet I was the one assigned the their current position in the past.
Zorn was a strong and upstanding knight and Amelda was a smart and talented mage, as expected of nobles.
And the one they had to protect was the woman I loved.
I admit there were times where I thought I wouldn't see her again and tried to find a new girlfriend.
But who can blame a man for wanting a harem?
I kneeled and kiss the princess' hand
"I'll see you tomorrow, princess Liana."
It's been a while since I acted like that.
Now how was I going to throw off Lynn, Taylor and Keith?
A/N: I wanted to try writing in the style of Konosuba: using a single character's point of view and almost never changing it, so I wrote this. I intended for this to be a one shot, but after finishing this chapter I realized it was pretty fun to write this way, so I might end up adding to this story. For now this is going to be listed as an unfinished story.