Everyone stared dumbfounded at Kazuma Satou performing a dogeza.
Was this a surrender to the Demon Lord Army?
Was this an outright betrayal of humanity?
It absolutely was, right?!
"Are you serious?"
Dust gaped at him in shock.
The others' gazes quickly turned strange, but after glancing at the Demon King sitting calmly nearby, they muttered a few words under their breath and didn't dare say anything more.
"It's you."
Eiji looked at Kazuma Satou with understanding.
That dogeza was textbook-perfect. Co to think of it, this was the first protagonist who had actively sought to beco his underling—it gave him a strangely proud feeling.
"Yes! Please, let join your ranks, Boss! From now on, I'll follow your lead without question!"
Kazuma was extrely excited, completely ignoring the odd looks around him.
Ever since returning from the mini Demon King's Castle last ti, gumin and the others had grown wary of him, afraid he might actually join the Demon Lord Army, so they outright refused to challenge the Demon King with him.
Without strong teammates, he couldn't even get into the castle alone, leaving him sighing helplessly every day.
Who would've thought an opportunity would present itself here?!
"I understand how you feel."
Eiji nodded slightly.
Any otaku would want to reincarnate into a fantasy world.
As a forr otaku himself, he didn't doubt Kazuma's determination in this matter, nor did he question the loyalty of soone who admired his ability to cross worlds.
"But why should I take you in as my subordinate?"
The blunt words struck Kazuma's ears, making his heart tighten.
Having watched plenty of ani and read countless manga, he knew this was the mont to prove his worth.
Just sharing the sa hotown didn't seem enough to earn the Demon King's favor.
But when it ca to his actual value… he fell silent.
"Uh… I have pretty good luck?"
He pulled out his Adventurer Card and pointed at his Luck stat.
"Your strength is pathetic."
Eiji's lips twitched.
Only Level 8, with the weakest class—Adventurer.
Any random soldier in the Demon Lord Army was stronger than him. Even the cooks were better at cooking, and his stats were completely diocre, with nothing outstanding whatsoever. There wasn't a trace of the overpowered cheat abilities a reincarnator should have.
"Luck is pretty much useless under normal circumstances."
Eiji was losing interest.
From what he knew, high Strength made you a swordsman, high Agility suited you for being a thief, high Defense was for Crusaders, and high Intelligence was the threshold for mages… but high Luck? Utterly pointless.
In a world without drop rates, Luck didn't even affect adventure earnings.
"Hey, that's not entirely true! At least it's useful for business…"
Kazuma stubbornly argued back.
But his voice grew smaller and smaller, betraying his lack of confidence.
"Don't you have any other strengths?"
"I'm honest, kind-hearted, and helpful!"
"..."
"Don't look at like that, Boss! I literally died saving soone! In a way, my noble spirit deserves praise—heck, I should get a bonus for it!"
But that was just standard protagonist material.
Without that basic kindness, you weren't even qualified to be a protagonist. There was nothing praiseworthy about it.
"Anything else?"
"..."
Kazuma was utterly speechless.
He struggled with his thoughts for a long ti before finally sitting down on the ground with a desolate expression.
He couldn't figure it out.
Only now did he realize that there was almost nothing noteworthy about him—no divine artifacts, no special abilities, just average strength, and at best a bit of cleverness. Beyond that, nothing stood out.
Despair.jpg
Before long, the succubus who had gone out returned to the shop and whispered a few words to the proprietress.
The proprietress imdiately sighed in relief, looking reassured, and then began packing up with the other staff.
A "Closed" sign was quickly hung at the entrance.
The adventurers soon cleared out, and even Dust abandoned Kazuma Satou.
"I suppose I could take you under my wing."
Suddenly, a light, airy voice snapped Kazuma out of his deep contemplation.
"Really?!"
"There are conditions."
"I accept!"
"I haven't even said anything yet!"
Eiji rolled his eyes.
"After you go back, help look into sothing. We'll discuss the specifics later."
...
As dusk fell, Kazuma returned to the mansion.
"Are you the only one ho? Where are gumin and Darkness?"
"Daily Explosion ti."
Aqua sat by the fireplace, sipping tea listlessly.
If he rembered correctly, she had been in the exact sa position when he left in the morning.
Had this useless goddess not moved an inch all day?
"Aqua, I have a question for you."
Kazuma casually walked over to the fireplace.
"That feather mantle of yours is a divine artifact, right?"
"Exactly!"
Aqua perked up, nodding proudly.
"You're not thinking of coveting my precious feather mantle, are you? Don't even dream of it! This is the last shred of dignity I have as a goddess, my most treasured possession. I won't allow anyone to lay eyes on it!"
If he recalled correctly, she used to casually hang it on the clothesline in the stable to dry after washing it.
Kazuma silently scoffed but put on an innocent, clueless expression.
"I'm not interested in that. I was just curious—what exactly does that divine artifact do?"
"Haven't I told you before? It grants immunity to all abnormal status effects!"
Aqua looked at him with concern.
"How could you forget sothing so important? This is the feather mantle of the supre and exalted Goddess of Water! What's wrong with you, Kazuma? Did you hit your head?"
A vein throbbed on his forehead.
Who would have thought the day would co when Aqua would worry about his brain!
But this was all for the sake of joining the boss—it was worth it. He'd endure for now and teach her a lesson later!
"Specifically, how far does its power extend?" Kazuma asked earnestly. "I get that it can block sleep, paralysis, dizziness, and the like, but as a divine artifact, is that really all it does?"
According to the boss, those resistances were common even as secondary effects in other divine artifacts.
As a sacred relic of the Goddess of Water, surely the feather mantle had to be more powerful than that?
"Why should I tell soone like you?"
Aqua rolled her eyes, her face full of disdain.
Hey, explain yourself—what do you an "soone like "?!
Kazuma gritted his teeth. He decided then and there—he was definitely going to teach her a lesson later!
"I can help pay off one-tenth of your debt!"
"You said it yourself, don't go back on your word!"
Aqua instantly sprang up like a coiled spring, her face brimming with excitent.
"In short, my feather robe can block all negative external interference! Things like paralysis or charm effects are trivial—even curses can't get near !"
"I see."
Kazuma Satou paused, then cautiously continued his questioning.
"What about things like causality or conceptual effects?"
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