BAMN: Chapter 42/44

Chapter 42: Darkness

"Rin, Rin, isn't she the one from before…"

"It should be her, yes."

Although Rin often joked in private about Aqua being a useless goddess, he didn't actually dislike her.

In fact, when he first arrived in the Konosuba World, he had even obtained the Duplicator ability, an overpowered skill, from her.

"Is Rin going to make her our companion too?"

Seeing Rin staring at Aqua, Ogerpon seemed to get an idea.

"Huh?"

Rin was first stunned, then looked at Ogerpon with a horrified expression. "No, Ogerpon, how could you have such a terrifying thought?"

"Po?"

Ogerpon tilted her head, her eyes filled with vacant innocence.

She didn't quite understand what was so terrifying about her suggestion.

"Ogerpon, you must never get too close to Aqua!"

Gratitude was one thing, and in the Konosuba World, Rin would naturally look after Aqua.

But turning Aqua into a familiar…

Leaving aside whether he could even capture her as a goddess, just imagining the consequences of Aqua joining his group made Rin's scalp tingle.

One had to understand, this girl wasn't just a simple troublemaker.

If Aqua joined the team, Rin truly feared his budding enterprise would be thrown into complete chaos.

Therefore,

Rin: Stupidity stops here. Idiots disperse. Morons get out.

"So scary!!"

Ogerpon didn't understand, but since Rin said so, it had to be true.

Thus, the already not-so-bright Ogerpon began trembling in fear upon hearing that Aqua could lower people's intelligence.

"Ahem."

Rin took Ogerpon's hand and said, "Let's avoid her for now."

"She's still a goddess from the heavens. If her acquaintances saw her like this, she'd be socially dead."

Rin wasn't planning to interact with the two of them, so he could only pretend not to see them and head straight to the guild.

"Huh?"

"Is that Rin-san and Ogerpon?"

As soon as Rin stepped inside, Luna noticed him.

The golden-haired beauty with an impressive figure walked over and asked with concern, "It's been a while since we last met. Did you leave Axel?"

"Yes, I accepted a private commission and went to a rather distant place."

When Rin traveled between worlds, the flow of time in each remained synchronized.

This time, after leaving the Konosuba World, Rin had stayed in the Cardinal World for about a week.

Naturally, seven days had also passed in the Konosuba World.

"Yo! Rin!"

"Long time no see!"

"Haha, it's good to see you still so energetic!"

After the last banquet, most of the adventurers in the guild were familiar with Rin.

For men, drinking together once meant you were friends.

Not to mention Rin had single-handedly out-drunk the entire group.

Just based on his drinking ability, Rin was already recognized as a powerhouse.

"I'm a bit low on cash right now, so if you're trying to trick me into treating you, forget it."

"How could we make you pay every time?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're not that shameless!"

They were telling the truth. Everyone was already more than happy that Rin had treated them once and could feel his friendliness.

You shouldn't be too greedy. Contentment was enough.

"Two sets of the guild's signature meal."

"Three puddings and three creamy ice creams."

"And sparkling wine."

"Alright, please wait a moment."

After ordering from the waitress, Rin led Ogerpon to a window seat in the corner.

He scanned the guild hall, looking for professions and skills he hadn't seen last time.

Not long after they sat down, a figure in armor caught Rin's eye.

Her dazzling golden hair was pinned with a hairpin. She was tall and curvaceous, with emerald green eyes as calm as water, yet carrying a trace of coldness, perfectly fitting the image of a cold and proud Knight Princess.

'This girl, could she be…?'

Rin didn't even need to guess. Her attire was exactly like in the anime. 'Darkness?'

Darkness, one of the Konosuba heroines, was the MT in Kazuma's party. Her attacks never landed, but her defense and HP were absurdly high.

On top of that, she was a massive masochist.

"First it was Kazuma and Aqua, now it's Darkness."

"Just missing Megumin, and the original four will be complete."

Even though he had spotted another character from the original series, Rin had no intention of striking up a conversation.

Not because he disliked Darkness.

In fact, compared to the brainless Aqua and the chuunibyou Megumin, Darkness's problem was only her perversion.

A Knight with a bit of "perverted" tendencies was still relatively normal, right?

At least in the anime, Rin had never seen Darkness throw herself at anyone other than Kazuma.

All in all, if he could train Darkness to be a masochist who only responded to him, Rin thought it could be quite entertaining.

"What a pity."

"Po?"

Ogerpon tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what Rin was lamenting.

"What I mean is, there are only so many Familia slots, and I can't just waste them."

Rin explained, "Even if I meet a character I like, I have to first determine if they have real value."

Compared to protagonists who could casually bring girls across worlds, Rin's Traveler ability was honestly a bit underwhelming.

Even if he wanted to take Darkness along, he would first have to turn her into a Familia.

But here was the problem.

Familia slots were limited, and using one on Darkness was clearly not cost-effective.

'So, I'm sorry, my XP.'

Without any spare slots, Rin could only silently apologize to his desires.

However, Rin not planning to provoke Darkness didn't mean she would ignore his presence.

The girl who had just been talking to Luna suddenly shifted her gaze toward Rin and Ogerpon.

"!!!"

In the next moment, Rin and Darkness's eyes met.

"Uh…"

Caught in the act of looking, Rin felt a little embarrassed.

But before he could look away, he saw a look of surprise flash across Darkness's eyes.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 43: Request

"What's going on? Is she looking for me?"

Rin didn't remember ever having any interaction with Darkness.

"H-hello, are you Mr. Rin?"

Darkness stood beside the table, keeping a polite distance. "I am Darkness, a Crusader."

"Oh, hello."

Rin pretended not to know her and asked, "May I ask if you need something from me?"

"Th-that, p-p-please, please allow me to join your party!"

"Sorry, I refuse!"

"Huh?!"

Darkness did not expect such a sudden refusal and was momentarily stunned.

"Why?!!!"

"I, I am a high-level profession, and I saw how bloody and sticky you all were before…"

"Ugh! What on earth happened to end up like that."

"Just thinking that I might also become like that, I just, just…"

Watching the female Knight, who had just been cold and proud, suddenly become teary-eyed, flushed, and squirming, the beef Ogerpon was holding with her chopsticks fell onto the table.

'This big sister is so scary!!'

Ogerpon's danger radar was flashing nonstop.

She looked at Rin, only to see he seemed to have anticipated this scene all along.

'As expected of Rin!'

Indeed, her Rin could remain calm no matter what.

'Hmm.'

Ogerpon chose to shut off her brain entirely, leaving all thinking to Rin.

"Well, calm down first."

Rin had Darkness sit down, then ordered her a glass of iced fruit juice.

"Thank you."

Soon, the juice was brought to Darkness. She politely thanked him first, then looked at Rin expectantly. "I am very confident in my arm strength and stamina, but my hands and feet are not very agile."

"Although my attacks completely miss enemies, if I'm just used as a shield, you don't have to care about my feelings at all, just use me however you like!"

"It's fine even if I break!"

In fact, the thought of being broken made Darkness short of breath, every cell in her body trembling with excitement.

"Well, calm down first."

Rin gestured for Darkness to drink some juice and calm down.

"My situation is rather special. My party doesn't actually lack a vanguard."

Rejected again, Darkness not only didn't feel discouraged, she seemed pleased.

"However…"

Rin thought for a moment.

He had to admit, Darkness was very beautiful.

Golden hair, emerald eyes, an impressive figure, and a noble temperament.

As long as she didn't speak or show her perverted tendencies, she completely fit Rin's XP.

Moreover, Darkness was different from Aqua or Megumin.

The former was too reckless and prone to causing trouble.

Megumin's obsession with casting Explosion Magic once a day was something Rin had no interest in managing.

Rin knew a bit about Darkness.

Her real name was Dustiness Ford Lalatina, the daughter of the Dustiness family, a prestigious noble house of the Belzerg Kingdom.

Darkness lost her mother when she was very young, so young that she didn't even remember her face.

Being an only child and lacking maternal love, her father Ignis spoiled her without much discipline, which ironically made her crave discipline, ultimately turning her into a hopeless masochist.

In other words, what Darkness wanted was strict discipline.

That was far too easy for Rin.

"Alright, I agree to your joining."

Rin had his own reasons for letting Darkness join.

First, he didn't plan to use a Familia slot to turn her into a Familia right now.

He also wanted to test if there was a way to bring people to the Cardinal World without a Familia contract.

Darkness was a good candidate.

As for forming a party in the Konosuba World…

Rin had decided to roleplay as a Level 100 Martial Artist here.

As long as his secrets didn't go beyond that, he could reveal them to Darkness without worry, and there was no danger of leaking information about other worlds.

"Really?!"

Darkness hadn't expected Rin to accept her.

She didn't think Rin was unaware of her eccentricities.

"So, so, so, so, so, are you willing to discipline me?"

"No, no problem."

"No matter what kind of perverted request, I, I will persevere and show you!!"

"..."

Rin somewhat regretted agreeing to let her join.

She spoke too loudly.

Didn't she notice the surrounding adventurers were already looking over?

Hey, hey, hey.

What was with those looks?

He wasn't some pervert who enjoyed bullying Knight Princesses.

However, this told Rin one thing.

Almost no adventurers knew about Darkness's fetish.

Clearly, this was her first time exposing her eccentricities in public.

Normally, although she was a clumsy idiot who couldn't hit monsters, her public image was still positive.

"Ahem, well, we are friends."

Rin nudged Darkness, hinting for her to explain.

Fortunately, Darkness didn't make things awkward. She directly stated that she had joined Rin's party, then apologized for speaking too loudly.

"What, so it's a game for a young couple."

"As expected of Rin, he managed to win over the aloof Knight Princess as soon as he arrived."

"Darkness… I hope Rin can handle her."

"What, what? Is there gossip?"

"Ah, no, it's just that when I teamed up with Darkness before, she was clumsy and couldn't hit monsters at all."

After learning it wasn't a conflict between Darkness and Rin, everyone turned back to their own business.

"It seems I need to make some rules with you first."

Rin said, "Unless you agree, I will not accept your joining."

"Is, is it starting already?"

"You're going to do this and that, and that and this to me."

Darkness grew more and more excited, but Rin quickly raised his hand to interrupt. "Wait, wait, calm down first."

"I agree!"

Darkness said, "As long as I can be your teammate, I'll do anything!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 44: Conditions

Rin sighed, then looked at Ogerpon, who was already staring blankly beside him. "Ogerpon, don't learn from her, got it?"

"Poniii!"

Ogerpon nodded seriously.

"First, I agree to you joining the party, and I can also understand your strange habit."

"Strange, strange or whatever, ahn~"

It was a very ordinary word, but when Rin said it so calmly, Darkness felt as if she was being treated like an insect.

That forcibly suppressed her excitement, making her think her choice had indeed been correct.

As long as she stayed by this man's side, she would definitely feel more pleasure!

"Although I can't understand, but..."

"Forget it."

Rin rubbed his forehead helplessly, then continued, "First, you can only accept discipline from me. If you start showing that side of yourself to others, I will punish you."

He stopped pretending and laid his cards on the table.

Since Darkness had come to him, Rin wasn't going to let go of such a beautiful girl.

It was just that Rin was selfish. He would never allow Darkness to…

"I understand, I will be obedient."

"This, this is my first time, my first time telling someone these things. I've always hidden it very well before."

Darkness had already made ample preparations.

So she didn't feel there was anything wrong with Rin saying such words so seriously.

Yes, just like this!

Treat her as a hopeless case and discipline her without holding back!

"Second!"

Considering his own circumstances, Rin said, "Ogerpon and I usually have our own things to do, and we will only stay here two days a week."

Coming to the Konosuba World to relax every seven days, that was Rin's plan.

"As for the remaining days, you can act freely."

"I only have one request, and as I said earlier, you are not allowed to expose your true nature in front of others."

At this point, Rin released a trace of majesty toward Darkness.

In an instant, she felt an unimaginable sense of oppression.

Her pupils constricted slightly, and the scene before her blurred.

The Rin who had been sitting beside her transformed from a harmless young man into a bottomless abyss.

Of course, this pressure didn't make Darkness feel fear.

On the contrary, it made her even more excited!

"I understand."

Darkness felt Rin's request was entirely reasonable.

Since she wanted the other party to discipline her, she could only recognize one master.

This was different from the Darkness in the original work.

Perhaps because Rin was too strong, she began to accept this wonderful persona of being aloof on the surface and wanton in private.

"Ahem!"

Seeing Darkness lost in her own imagination, Rin felt a pang in his chest.

'I mean, I clearly released such strong pressure.'

'Why aren't you afraid, but instead getting more excited, what the hell is that?'

He had thought Darkness's physical and magical resistance would be very high.

But this terrifying mental resistance made Rin overturn his earlier judgment that her potential was limited.

'With this willpower.'

Rin felt that if Darkness could go to the Cardinal World, the probability of her becoming an Awakened Hero or Awakened Saint would be very high.

"Third, and the last request."

"Our relationship will only be maintained in private. Normally, we are still teammates."

Rin didn't actually want to turn Darkness into some kind of submissive servant.

For such things, he wouldn't refuse to play around as a hobby.

But to truly treat Darkness as less than human, Rin couldn't do that.

"This..."

Darkness didn't expect Rin to make such a request.

Her restless heart calmed in that instant.

"Rin, you are a good person."

If she had been wary of him before...

Even if she acknowledged that kind of relationship, at a critical moment Darkness would still refuse without hesitation.

She only liked being disciplined, but she wasn't truly promiscuous.

Darkness would never give up her most important chastity.

At this moment, she developed a slight fondness for Rin.

And as that fondness grew, she might truly turn the fake into reality and surrender herself completely to him.

"You can keep the 'good person' card."

Rin placed a pile of eris coins on the table, then motioned to Ogerpon and Darkness.

"Let's go, Ogerpon."

"And Darkness."

Rin stood and led the two out of the guild. "Let's talk somewhere else."

"Poniii!"

"Okay, I, I'm ready!"

"..."

The corner of Rin's mouth twitched slightly. He knew without asking that she must have thought he was taking her to a hotel.

"Forget it, as long as you like it."

Rin ignored her imagination, leading the two out of the guild and straight to Axel's real estate agency.

"This is?"

Seeing the signboard, Darkness asked, "Rin, are you going to buy a house?"

"Hm, pretty much."

Rin had agreed with Darkness.

Normally, they were proper teammates.

Only when Darkness needed it would she call him Rin-sama.

Then, Rin would become the strictest master and discipline her severely.

But now was clearly not the time for such things.

"Staying in an inn all the time is too much of a loss."

Rin said, "So I plan to buy a villa in Axel."

Yes, a villa.

Rin wouldn't settle for an ordinary house.

He had plenty of money.

Even without taking quests, just by reselling materials from the Cardinal World, Rin could live more lavishly than a king.

Adventuring, at most, was like fishing—a hobby.

"I don't know much about this."

Rin said, "Can you help me with it, Darkness?"

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Darkness came from a noble family and was quite knowledgeable about such matters.

So, accompanied by her, Rin and his companions visited several properties.

Ultimately, they settled on a villa spanning several thousand square meters, featuring a main building, two side buildings, and a massive courtyard.

(To be continued.)