Chapter 15: Secrets of the Night (Part One)

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Kobayashi was somewhat surprised upon arriving at the base. After seven days of relentless early mornings and late nights, the renovations had only just made the place barely livable. The entire warehouse had been a chaotic mess, piled high with rubbish. Yet now, it was clean, tidy, and transformed—taking on a semblance of order and purpose.

“Those two turned out to be quite useful,” Sato Kazuma admitted, his impression of them slightly improved since they had always seemed of little help before.

“Yeah, we should praise them properly later,” Kobayashi said. She had planned to give them a break, and since Darkness and Megumin had taken the initiative themselves, it was only right to reward and commend them.

“Is that really enough to earn Kobayashi-sama’s praise?” Ruzu tilted her head in confusion. “Even if it’s a bit more refined, it’s still just a warehouse, no different from the small houses where commoners live.”

“That’s their hard work,” Kobayashi said, gently ruffling her hair.

Then the group entered the base. Right at the entrance, they saw Megumin perched on Darkness’s shoulders, holding a glowing magic stone intended for illumination, trying to fit it into a small hole chiseled into the wall.

“Darkness, a bit higher… higher!” Megumin urged.

“Oh, okay.”

“Just a little more—almost there…”

“Umm…”

Darkness stretched onto her tiptoes with effort, but Megumin’s height actually lowered their average, and even with her arms fully extended, she couldn’t quite place the stone inside.

“What are you two doing?” Sato Kazuma asked, unable to hold back.

“As… you can see… we’re putting up… the… lighting stones…” Megumin blushed deeply, sweat dripping from her brow, frustrated at just missing the mark, evoking a desire to help her.

Rubbing his temples, Sato sighed, “You two, if you can’t reach, why not stand on a stool?”

“...Oh, right!”

“We totally forgot!”

The two women, embarrassed after their futile effort, were at a loss. Their intelligence was starting to worry him.

“Alright, alright. Everyone has their scatterbrained moments, especially when engrossed in tidying up. Forgetting is normal,” Kobayashi reassured them. “Take a short break first; we’ll organize together later.”

Given the chance to step back, the two gladly agreed.

The six of them then gathered around the large table in the main hall, a piece of furniture serving multiple important functions—meals, meetings, rest. If Kobayashi had to pick the one place she was most satisfied with in the base, it would be here.

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Everyone took their seats.

Ruzu naturally slipped into the kitchen to prepare steaming hot tea for the group, and after serving, she returned to sit beside Kobayashi as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Megumin blinked, pointing at Ruzu. “I’ve been meaning to ask since earlier—who is she, and why is she here at the base?”

Though Darkness didn’t speak, the curiosity in her eyes showed she was just as interested.

“I was just about to introduce her,” Kobayashi said to the two. “Her name is Ruzu; she’s my attendant, and from today on, she’ll be joining our squad.”

“Attendant?”

“Like a maid.”

“Oh, I see.”

Satisfied with the explanation, Megumin and Darkness didn’t press further, showing little interest.

Kobayashi found that odd.

“Don’t you want to know more about her? Feel free to ask,” she encouraged.

“No need. I trust your judgment,” Megumin replied.

“We both have our own issues; who are we to judge others?” Darkness added, humbly placing herself at a lower position.

…It was surprising how self-aware they were.

Sato Kazuma didn’t say anything, but his expression seemed to agree.

Still, to avoid any resentment, Kobayashi continued, “Ruzu is very strong. At present, she’s the most well-rounded member of our squad.”

“Oh? Stronger than Megumin?”

“Please listen carefully. I said well-rounded.”

Megumin and Darkness each excelled in different areas—one focused on offense, the other on defense. Ruzu’s strength lay in speed.

Her ability, the “Imaginary Motion Mechanism,” allowed her to accelerate herself to a near time-stop state. The downside was that once the power ran out, she couldn’t stop until her spring energy was depleted, and she had to rewind the spring to activate it again.

“But she can’t showcase it now; it’ll have to wait for battle… hmm, the Cabbage Operation in three days.”

“Oh, it’s that time of year again?”

“Looks like something to really look forward to.”

Suddenly, the group’s spirits lifted.

“What’s the Cabbage Operation?” Sato Kazuma felt left out of the conversation.

Being someone who had just arrived from another world, he wasn’t familiar with the festival.

“I’ll explain…” The others eagerly began to describe it.

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In short, ripe cabbages would be flown over from Axel.

Because of their rich, sweet flavor, each cabbage would fetch a price as high as 10,000 Eris, and many adventurers planned to make a fortune that day.

Of course, Kobayashi was no exception.

The cabbage harvest day was the perfect opportunity to gather startup funds.

Hearing the explanation, Sato Kazuma grew excited.

Kobayashi said, “Don’t get too eager; it’s still three days away.”

“Oh, okay.” Sato’s enthusiasm was prematurely dampened.

Once everyone calmed down, Kobayashi turned to Darkness and Megumin. “Though it’s a bit late, I want to thank you both for tidying up the messy rooms.”

Megumin snorted, “If you want to thank me, treat me to a fancy meal.”

Darkness replied shyly, “It was nothing… just killing time.”

Their answers couldn’t have been more different, but Kobayashi agreed to Megumin’s request.

“All right, just a little more to go. Let’s finish it together.”

“Oh!” they all responded in unison.

The squad was invigorated.

Ruzu approached quietly. “Kobayashi-sama, let me handle the rest. It’ll take just a moment to finish. Of course, I expect you to praise me properly afterward.”

“No, no need. But if you want to help, feel free to join,” Kobayashi declined with a shake of her head.

Ruzu looked puzzled. “Why? Using my gear abilities, I could finish instantly. There’s no need for you all to lift a finger.”

“Well… how to put it…” Kobayashi thought for a moment and said, “I’d rather do it myself than have a servant do it. Because we’re not just tidying rooms; we want to enjoy the process and create shared memories.”

“…Humans are truly strange,” Ruzu murmured.

“Right? Humans are creatures full of complex emotions.”

Ruzu seemed to have her own way of interacting with others, but her understanding of human emotions was still shallow. It looked like she needed to experience more to grasp the subtlety of human feelings.

Before long, the rooms were tidied.

But now, a serious problem confronted them—

There weren’t enough rooms!

Although the warehouse was large, there weren’t many rooms, because no one had anticipated new members joining the squad. As a result, there was no room prepared for Ruzu.

The group exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of what to do next.