"Aqua-sama, Kazuma-sama, the King's Election is about to begin. If you need anything, please be sure to tell me. Meeting the candidates' needs is my duty, as well as the other officials'."
Miklotov bowed deeply to Aqua, saying with utmost respect.
"Speaking of which, there is indeed something we need to trouble you with, Miklotov-sama."
Satou Kazuma said immediately.
.....
Several hours later, Satou Kazuma and the others arrived at a mansion in the capital.
This was the thing he shamelessly asked Miklotov to help with.
After all, they didn't have a reliable place to stay in the capital.
Felt and Rom's hideout was too small to accommodate everyone.
So Satou Kazuma could only ask Miklotov to help them find a suitable place to stay, and the latter directly helped them find an incredibly luxurious mansion. The cleaning work had already been taken care of by the servants in advance.
"My head hurts..."
The thug trio sat crookedly on the sofa in the hall, and Satou Kazuma immediately shook them awake:
"Hey, hey, meeting time! I'm going to give you three new tasks!"
Now that they had arrived in the capital, they had to prepare for the future.
Although they now had a place to stay, they didn't have any money. All the money had been lost by Aqua.
As for the wallet that Satou Kazuma stole from Miklotov, he secretly returned it when the other party left, just to be safe.
And the other party was initially blinded by Aqua, but still helped him arrange a place to stay, so Satou Kazuma's conscience felt a little guilty.
But at this moment, their group could be said to have no money at all.
Not to mention the King's Election, they would probably starve to death in the capital soon.
The first and only candidate to starve to death...
So, Satou Kazuma had to find a way to make money.
And just now, watching the drunk thug trio and the scattered church application forms beside them, Satou Kazuma had an idea.
After hearing Satou Kazuma's words, the thug trio immediately went from a drunken state to sitting up straight in front of him.
"You all passed the test of willpower earlier, and now I'm going to give you a new test!"
A meaningful smile appeared on Satou Kazuma's face.
"Please tell us, Kazuma-sama! We will do our best!"
The three of them looked at Satou Kazuma impatiently, waiting for his instructions.
Satou Kazuma then slowly said:
"Go make money."
That's right!
The best way to solve a problem is to pass it on to others!
Now that he had these people under his command, Satou Kazuma could assign them tasks.
"I want to test your ability to act, so your task is to do everything possible to raise enough funds for our group during this time – not because we're short of money, it's just a test for you! Understand?"
"Understood!"
The three of them asked in unison, and then stood up to prepare to act –
"Wait a minute, let me make it clear, you can't use any deceptive means, especially robbing people in alleys!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the thug trio sat back down at the same time.
"No, is robbing people all you can think of?"
Satou Kazuma frowned as he looked at the three people in front of him.
"Uh... we three are more familiar with that business."
"You can't describe it as a business! We have to be ethical in what we do!"
Satou Kazuma said to the trio in a serious tone.
"Ha, I didn't expect to hear such words from your mouth."
Aqua, who had already changed into her pajamas, lay on another sofa next to him, looking at Satou Kazuma with a disdainful expression.
"Hey, I'm still very ethical, okay? Although the actions I take are a last resort, I don't want to do that either, after all, it's a matter of our lives, and of course I'll try to make it up to them afterward – it's you who is the direct reason we're in this situation..."
"Kazuma-sama is working so hard! Let me give you a back massage!"
Aqua instantly changed her face, came behind Satou Kazuma, and reached out to massage his shoulders.
However, her above-average strength gave Aqua considerable power, causing Satou Kazuma to scream a few times in the next few seconds.
"I just wanted to help!"
Soon, Aqua, who had been scolded and beaten by Satou Kazuma and now had a bump on her head, sat back in the corner with a wronged expression.
The thug trio looked at the two people in front of them in a daze.
This seemed to be different from their previous impression...
Satou Kazuma clapped his hands, turned to look at the trio, and quickly caught the confusion in their eyes, immediately smiled and said, forcibly changing the subject back:
"Don't worry, I've already prepared a few methods for you."
"What?"
"The first method is – performing arts!"
"Oh... ah?"
The trio looked at each other.
They never thought that Satou Kazuma would say such a thing.
"Um, Kazuma-sama, we three don't have any special talents!"
Rachins shook his head.
"Don't worry, you have them now."
An unkind smile appeared on Satou Kazuma's face as he turned to look at the table next to him. Scattered on it were the application forms that Aqua had tricked them into filling out earlier.
They were now members of that Axis Church.
According to Aqua's methods, her followers would become multi-talented, so –
"Aqua, go prepare that thing."
"It's already prepared."
Aqua also showed the same meaningful expression as Satou Kazuma.
The trio followed Aqua's gaze and found that various props were placed in the hall.
Hammers, bricks, gongs and drums...
All the props needed for street performances.
A look of confusion and surprise appeared on the faces of the trio.
They never thought that Aqua and the others had prepared these things.
And... how did they move them all here?
Even Gaston would have a hard time moving so many things.
"How will you know if you don't try?"
Satou Kazuma said as he handed a guitar-like instrument to Rachins .
"I don't know how to play it at all..."
Rachins said this, but his hands moved as if they had a mind of their own.
A beautiful melody actually came from the strings.
Rachins looked at himself in shock, never expecting that the music had come from his own hands.
"This is Aqua-sama's blessing to you!"
A smile appeared on Satou Kazuma's face as he looked at Aqua in the distance.
Water Goddess ×
Talent Goddess √
Satou Kazuma trusted Aqua only when it came to talent-related matters.
Aqua had mentioned earlier that if you became her follower, you would become multi-talented. It seemed that it was true!
Street performing is also a talent!
"Besides performing arts, are there any other methods?"
Hambali asked.
"Do household chores."
Satou Kazuma narrowed his eyes slightly.
Similarly, blessed by Aqua, their followers would also have incredibly clean toilets!
That's why doing household chores or treating sewage was also a good choice.
"That feels like performing arts is more suitable."
"That's your own choice. I require you to earn a thousand holy gold coins within a week."
"O-one thousand?! That's a bit too much!"
An unbelievable expression appeared on Rachins ' face. One hundred holy gold coins was not a small number. They had been hanging around in the slums for so many years, and their total income was less than a tenth of that number, let alone Satou Kazuma only giving them a week.
This was simply an impossible task!
"People need to know how to break through their limits! Only then can they grow. I need to see more possibilities in you!"
Satou Kazuma said with a smile.
"Kazuma, isn't this a bit too much..."
Aqua returned to Satou Kazuma's side and said softly.
"Don't worry, this is my way of encouraging them, and if it's them, they might be able to do it."
Satou Kazuma said meaningfully.
While the trio were racking their brains thinking about what they should do, Satou Kazuma pulled Rachins aside.
"Is there something you need Kazuma-sama?"
"That person today, you know him, right?"
Satou Kazuma asked with a smile.
"Who?"
"That guy named Rikert."
Satou Kazuma had noticed the change in Rikert's expression when he looked at the trio, and his attitude towards him had also changed as a result. He then determined that one of them must be related to him.
Most likely, they were relatives.
Hambali was a dwarf, so he could be ruled out. Gaston was too tall, so he could also be basically ruled out.
As it stood now, the most likely was Rachins , who looked no different from a normal person.
"I, I don't know him."
Rachins shook his head immediately.
Although he had lost consciousness when he was drunk at first, Rachins had also seen Rikert later when he was a little sober.
The moment he gave a negative answer, Satou Kazuma caught the subtle change in Rachins ' expression.
"That's the smell of a lie!"
"What?"
"Rachins , don't lie to me and Aqua-sama! Aqua-sama has the ability to see through all the lies in the world. Do you think such a clumsy lie can deceive us! If you're not willing to be honest with us, then it means you're not helping our group at all."
Satou Kazuma deliberately raised his chin, imitating Roswaal's tone to make himself look more imposing.
"I... now that things have come to this, I can't hide it anymore. Rikert is my father."
Rachins sighed and then revealed his true identity.
He was originally the eldest son of the Hoffman family, the future heir to the family.
Although not as good as Karsten's, the Hoffman family still had a very high position in Lugunica.
However, Rachins couldn't stand the way his father and family acted – in their eyes, class was an insurmountable gap, and they had an undisguised contempt for the common people.
Due to various conflicts, Rachins ultimately chose to run away from home, eventually arriving in the slums and hanging out with the other two for many years.
"... That's my relationship with Rikert. Satou Kazuma-sama, why are you smiling?"
"N-no, it's nothing. I'm happy for your honesty!"
Satou Kazuma's upturned mouth was very obvious.
This is too great!
Rachins really had such a background!
If he had a noble backing, everything would be easier!
Judging from Rikert's appearance, he was still worried about his son! Even if he ran away from home, he was still the eldest son of his family!
With Rachins , maybe he could get a lot of financial support from the Hoffman family!
Not bad, not bad!
I went to a lot of trouble, but the final goal was this!
"Kazuma-sama, if it's you, you must understand me. After all, Kazuma-sama is able to value us from the slums, so I'm sure you won't agree with what my family does –"
"Rachins , that's not right of you."
Satou Kazuma reached out and patted Rachins ' shoulder, saying earnestly,
"Although there's a gap between you and your family, it's no use running away. You need to take the initiative to communicate with your family and exchange your ideas with them! The more you run away, the more it will deepen the conflict between you!"
Satou Kazuma then talked a lot about family and generation gaps to Rachins , including many lines that he had seen in games and anime before, after all, such characters and storylines weren't uncommon.
Hearing Satou Kazuma's words, Rachins was a little surprised, but he still nodded seriously:
"Kazuma-sama, what you said is indeed reasonable."
"So, during this time, you have to work hard to repair your relationship with your family! You can come to me directly if you have any difficulties or problems!"
A smile appeared on Satou Kazuma's face,
"It's getting late, you and them should go back and rest early!"
"Okay!"
.....
After finishing all kinds of things, Satou Kazuma, who looked tired, returned to his room.
He didn't sleep well yesterday, and he had been traveling all day today, and he had drunk so much wine, so he was already sleepy.
Satou Kazuma lay directly on the bed, and soon fell asleep.
In his dream, his identity became incredibly noble because of Aqua, and he was surrounded by countless noble young ladies.
And at this moment, a figure leaned against him from behind.
----
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