civilwarnovels Chapter 932 The Last Routine 111
Chapter 932 The Last Routine 111
Chapter 932 The Last Routine 111
Hey, when did we make a bet like this? But it's okay, even if we don't make a bet like this, I can just leave as long as Aqua agrees.
"I don't care what the outcome is," Aqua waved her hand dismissively, saying, "Show off your skills however you like, just let me have some bubble tea already—"
"Roar----!"
Before he could finish speaking, a monster's roar came from afar; a mid-level assassin had appeared.
The moment Aqua saw the mid-level rookie killer, she instinctively hid behind Kobayashi in fear. Darkness, who tried to draw her knight's longsword to shield the group, and Megumin, who drew her staff as if to unleash an explosion spell, also had the same subconscious thought. However, both were stopped by Kobayashi, who then turned to look at the protagonist of this mission.
"Hey—! Sword Master!" Kobayashi shouted at the Demon Sword Hero, "It's time to show us the true strength of the candidate hero—!"
"No need for you to tell me, I'm already ready for battle...!" Mikami Hibiki, of course, wouldn't desert his post. He stood decisively in front of everyone, raised his demonic sword, and shouted imposingly, "Come on, you lot, follow behind this demonic swordsman!"
"I understand. I'm really looking forward to your performance, Master Swordsman?"
Kobayashi grinned, standing to the side with Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin, watching Mitsurugi Kyouya fight the mid-level rookie assassin. Their smug, self-satisfied expressions were almost identical to those of the idiot goddess at that moment. However, Mitsurugi Kyouya didn't care, or rather, he was hoping for this outcome, because it allowed him to showcase his superior abilities and make Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin see the difference between Kobayashi and him.
"Bring it on!" Yūken Kyouya gripped the demonic sword tightly with both hands and shouted imposingly at the ferocious-looking mid-level rookie assassin, "I will make you die under this demonic sword, Gram!"
"Hooohoooooo————"
As a monster, and a brutal and mindless one at that, it didn't care about anything else and naturally opened its foul-smelling maw to pounce on Mikami Hibiki. Mikami Hibiki swiftly blocked and deflected it, and then began to fight it off.
Despite being a demon swordsman capable of instantly defeating an ancient dragon, dealing with a mere mid-level rookie assassin would be a piece of cake for him. However, Mitsuki Hibiki seemed to be putting on a show, constantly parrying and deflecting without choosing to retaliate. Even after seeing Aqua and the others' focused gazes, he still tried to act cool and stylish.
"What a formidable opponent, but this is where it ends!"
Seeing that things had progressed sufficiently, Mikami Hibiki prepared to finish him off with a single blow, but at that very moment—
"Wait, wait a minute!" Darkness suddenly called out to stop her, her face flushed and her expression somewhat regretful. "I'm starting to think it's a bit of a waste to defeat it before we've even had a chance to get a beating!"
"Ok?"
Mikami Hibiki didn't understand the meaning of those words. What did they mean?
Another problem child, Huihui, asked, "I haven't released my Explosion spell yet. Can I do it now?"
"Um???"
Mikami Hibiki was even more puzzled. They were about to defeat the monster, so why did he release the Explosion Magic that weakened him?
Seeing him like this, Kobayashi knew that this guy had no idea how difficult Darkness and Megumin were, so he decided to help him out and put a hand on the shoulders of the two eager problem children.
"Alright, alright, it's rare for this guy to say he'll help us defeat the enemy, so let him clean up the mess."
This calmed the two restless individuals down.
As for Mikami Hibiki, not wanting any further complications, he decisively raised his demonic sword and shouted, "Take this! This is the Demonic Sword Hero's strike!!!"
With an incredibly cool pose and dazzling special effects, the sword energy, unparalleled in its power, sliced the previously ferocious mid-level rookie assassin in two with a single strike.
"Huff...huff..." Mikage Kyouya wiped the sweat from her forehead, then said with a beaming smile, "A-Aqua-sama! As a swordsmanship master, I've beautifully defeated the monster!?"
however--
“…Ah, the tea is so delicious.” Aqua took a sip of her black tea, then said leisurely to Kobayashi, “Mr. Kobayashi, another cup, please—”
"Okay, okay, I'll be right there."
Xiaolin poured her a cup of black tea.
"H-Goddess!?" Mikami Hibiki forced a smile, seemingly unwilling to admit it, and asked cautiously, "Um...did you see my heroic figure...?"
"Oh dear, you've already defeated it?"
Aqua looked surprised, as if she was just realizing what was happening. Seeing her like this, Mikami Hibiki was utterly disappointed and sighed dejectedly.
"Yes, yes...that's right, it seems you weren't looking."
This is what they call "flirting with someone who's blind," and Aqua always unintentionally squanders other people's good intentions, which is truly infuriating and frustrating. Of course, Kobayashi has experienced this kind of thing many times, so he naturally doesn't care anymore.
"You're doing great!" Aqua patted Mikami Hibiki's shoulder happily and praised, "Because you don't seem to have any problems on your own, I'll go rest now."
From the very beginning, the silly goddess had been lying on the roadside stone slab, leisurely basking in the sun, and naturally did not witness the display of power by Mikami Hibiki.
"Oh, I see! I'm so thrilled to receive such high praise from you!!"
Mikage Hibiki said this, but he didn't seem too happy, because his plans had all fallen through. Kobayashi patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, then said to his companions, "Well then, shall we go back to Axel to collect our reward?"
"Yeah, and then we'll use the reward to drink lots of bubble tea!"
Aqua exclaimed with delight, her highly anticipated bubble tea session was finally about to begin.
Return to the guild.
Led by Mikami Hibiki, the group went to submit their quest. Luna, the guild clerk at the counter, greeted them with a beaming smile and said in a cheerful tone, "Thank you for your hard work on the raid. Has anyone been injured?"
"It's nothing." Kobayashi flicked his bangs and said smugly, "Monsters of that level are a piece of cake for me to deal with..."
"Ah ha ha……"
Luna, the guild counter clerk, looked awkwardly at the adventurer card belonging to Mikami Hibiki, unsure how to react to Kobayashi. Mikami Hibiki, on the other hand, was equally speechless and disgusted by Kobayashi's shameless attempt to take credit.
"Honestly, you men..."
Then, a tray containing a money bag was placed in front of everyone.
Ms. Luna, the guild counter clerk, addressed the group, saying, "Please accept the reward for this mission."
"Wow!" Huihui exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the large bounty, "No wonder it's a high-difficulty mission; the reward is quite generous!"
"Great! Let's celebrate tonight with some fine sparkling wine and crab hot pot!"
Aqua cheered and shouted with joy.
“That’s a great idea,” Darkness agreed readily, adding, “If you’ve decided, let’s go buy the materials right away.”
Hearing the three of them make a pact, Kobayashi naturally didn't object and said to Mitsuki Hibiki, "Alright, that's settled then. Goodbye, Mitsuki."
Saying goodbye to the heroes who made the greatest contribution to this mission.
"Ah, goodbye..." Mikami Hibiki said subconsciously, but quickly stopped him angrily and asked loudly, "Wait! Why did you take all the rewards from the mobile game!?"
He was the one who did all the work on this mission, while Aqua, Kobayashi, Darkness, and Megumin were just watching from the sidelines!
However, Kobayashi said with some doubt, "Because you just said, 'What nonsense are you talking about? It's an honor to go on a mission with Lady Aqua! Not to mention the reward, I'd be willing to pay even if you asked me to... right? We don't need to pay you, but we'll accept the reward.'"
"W-How could this be...!?"
Mikage Hibiki had never seen such a shameless person, but it was indeed what he said, and it was so logical and convincing that no one could refute it. Therefore, there was no way to blame Kobayashi—especially in front of Aqua, if she were to argue, she would definitely be disliked.
The unwilling Demon Sword Hero hadn't given up. He said, "Then... then! At least let Lady Aqua, who's watching from the sidelines, decide who the true hero is—"
"Ah—um, I'm sorry." Aqua scratched her head awkwardly and said apologetically, "I wasn't watching your fight, so..."
"W-How could this be...!"
Now, Yujian Xiangye was truly on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry about such a small thing." Aqua waved her hand dismissively, but looking at the teary-eyed Mitsurugi Kyouya, and remembering that the other had indeed made her a fortune today, she took a small trinket out of her pocket and handed it to him, saying, "I really can't do anything with you... I made this especially for you, so here you go!"
"This...this is...the Demon Sword Gram...!?"
When Mikami saw this strange little gadget, she exclaimed in disbelief because it was so incredibly realistic—almost identical to the Demon Sword Gram. The texture, the shape, even the wounds on it were all perfectly replicated. If it weren't for the color and the fact that the surface was made of ordinary clay, it could easily be mistaken for the real thing!
"My goddess, how did you do that?!"
"I made it out of clay," Aqua said with a slightly smug smile. "I put a lot of effort into the decorations on the hilt. How about it, are you satisfied?"
"Wow, this level of realism is even better than the real thing!"
"Hey, hey, hey, even this guy wouldn't be fooled by something like this that's meant for kids—"
"This is wonderful!!! I'm so happy to receive such a gift from the goddess!!!"
Miken Hibiki was quite satisfied.
Of course, he wasn't bragging; it really did look incredibly similar. It's hard to imagine how Aqua managed to create such a lifelike figure in such a short time. Yes, a figure. Kobayashi actually quite liked it too, because it was so incredibly realistic. But this also explains why Mikage Hibiki treasured it so much.
"seriously?"
Kobayashi was utterly speechless at Mikami Hiyori, but Mikami Hiyori himself didn't seem to care at all, and was even overjoyed as if he had obtained a gem.
"It's unbelievable that this is made of clay... It feels like it could cut a dragon in two with just a light swing."
"I find it unbelievable that you're so happy for me." Kobayashi twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "No, no, no, its attack power should be lower than that of a club. You absolutely mustn't use it to fight a dragon."
"How could I possibly do that!?"
"That's good."
"Of course I'm going to treat it like a precious treasure! I'll cherish it just like the Demon Sword Gram; it's the most precious thing I own in my life!"
Isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill?
Seeing the overjoyed Mikami Hiyori, Kobayashi gained a deeper understanding of what a simp is. Mikami Hiyori, still excitedly shouting, "Lady Aqua, thank you so much! Ah, to receive something so amazing, it's so great to be on a mission with you...!"
"seriously……"
"He seems really... happy..."
"Looks like he has a cute side too. That being said, I don't want to team up with him again."
Not only Kobayashi, but Megumin and Darkness were also speechless at his behavior. It seems that their sycophantic attitude was unacceptable to them.
"Anyway, as long as he's happy."
In the end, Kobayashi came to terms with it. After all, everyone has their own preferences. Even if Aqua casually gave Mikami a used tissue, Mikami would probably carry it with her and treasure it, let alone such a beautifully crafted Nendoroid figure. Most importantly—
"Thanks to Mikage Hibiki, we've had a lot more money on hand because of this lucrative job."
"Everyone's happy, that's wonderful!" Aqua was equally delighted, but then she inexplicably asked, "By the way, who is Mitsurugi Hibiki?"
"Hey, that's enough!"
Even Kobayashi almost couldn't hold back. Aqua had accepted such a huge favor, yet she hadn't even remembered the other person's name. Didn't she think that was going too far? Besides, Kobayashi couldn't let Mitsurugi Hibiki know about this. He was afraid that Mitsurugi wouldn't be able to handle such a blow.
Aqua ignored all of that and shouted, "To celebrate the mission's success, we'll have a good drink tonight! Ohhhhhh—!!!"
That evening, Kobayashi and the others' party lasted until morning, and the boisterous Aqua refused to go back to sleep. Meanwhile, Mitsurugi Kyouya, clutching her clay-made magic sword Gram, drifted off into a sweet dream—
(End of this chapter)