You didn't expect this, did you? I've time-traveled again!

The female knight strode in, getting close to Suoh Takeshi's face, panting and slightly flushed.

That's more like it; that's the Darkness I remember.

But wait, something's not right?

Not only did Darkness appear earlier than expected, but Suoh Takeshi and the others didn't have that unsightly, slimy appearance either.

The two giant toads from before were sent away by Suoh Takeru and Megumin with a burst spell each, but they weren't eaten.

Regardless, let's get her on board first!

“Miss Knight, please have a seat.” Suoh Takeshi patted the wooden stool to his right. “We’re about to have a meal, let’s eat together and then we can talk more.”

Darkness readily agreed and sat down to Suoh Takeshi's right, exuding a refreshing fragrance.

By the way, the one on the left is Aqua.

After dinner.

Suoh Takeshi initiated the conversation, "This lady knight..."

"Darkness, my name is Darkness!"

"Alright, Darkness, why did you choose to join our team? All the members of our team are novice adventurers!"

"It's alright, I'm a novice adventurer too."

"But your equipment is excellent and complete, isn't it?" Sato Kazuma was also puzzled. Although he was happy that the beautiful woman had joined him, he could not be too careful. 'Being careful is the first principle for an adventurer' had always been his first principle.

"...mucus."

"what?"

Kazuma Sato, who was sitting to the side in front of Darkness, was too far away and his voice was too soft to hear what she was saying clearly.

"Well, calm down first, Miss Darkness."

With his hands propped up on the table and a serious expression, Kazuma Sato said, "If you want to join this team, I advise you to think it over carefully."

"Please choose me! Please let me join your team!" Darkness was thrilled, her voice rising in pitch.

Kazuma Sato said with a slightly bitter expression, "Well, actually, our team still has many problems, so it's not suitable for you to join."

"Why? I am a higher-ranking knight—a Crusader—I should meet your recruitment requirements!"

"But apart from Suoh-senpai, the rest of our squad are all weirdos."

As he spoke, Kazuma Sato pointed at Aqua and Megumin, saying with a look of disgust, "A useless high priestess who doesn't know where she'll be of any use, and a great mage who can only use magic once a day."

Then, pointing to himself, he said, "And I am the weakest, most useless profession—the adventurer, a piece of trash who is completely useless."

Aqua and Megumin were prepared to fight Kazuma Sato after hearing him belittle them, but after hearing him do the same, they calmly sat back down in their chairs.

Although it's true, it's embarrassing to say it in front of outsiders.

"That would be even better! To be honest, I'm confident in my arm strength and endurance, but my hands and feet aren't very agile, so I can't hit the enemy at all."

Darkness gripped Sato Kazuma's hand tightly, as if she had found a comrade, making a painful sound as if bones were grinding together.

"It hurts, it hurts so much!"

Kazuma Sato screamed loudly, "Calm down, calm down!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

Darkness released his hand. "So, you don't need to worry about me at all. I'll charge forward without hesitation; just use me as a shield!"

"No, no, no, we would never use a girl as a shield. Our team is very weak, all the attacks will fall on you..."

"That would be even better!"

"No, no, no, our squad is weaker than you can imagine! We were covered in stinking slime from a giant toad before, and Miss Knight might end up like that too..."

"That would be even better!"

Darkness's cheeks flushed, and she crossed her arms over her chest, her waist twisting like a silkworm cocoon, panting heavily.

?

This question mark doesn't mean I have a problem; it means I think you have a problem!

"Wow……"

“Darkness…”

"Another problem child."

Now, not only Kazuma Sato, but also Aqua and Megumin noticed her unusual behavior.

As expected of you, Darkness!

His level of perversion is no less than that of Kazuma Sato!

"Cough cough!"

Kazuma Sato snapped out of his daze and said in a low, serious voice, "To be honest, we're not just ordinary novice adventurers. Don't let our appearance fool you, we actually have a mission to defeat the Demon King!"

Kazuma Sato tried to scare Darkness away by using the title of 'Demon King', hoping to make her back down.

But he was wrong, terribly wrong!

Darkness was not afraid at all; on the contrary, she was very excited, just like Megumin back then.

"That would be even better! From the beginning until now, being harassed by the Demon King has always been the job of female knights! Just for that reason alone, it's worth the trip!"

"Ah?"

"Huh? What's wrong? Did I say something strange?"

Kazuma Sato and Darkness looked at each other, both with blank expressions on their faces.

"Pfft hahaha!"

Just then, a clear, cheerful, and energetic laugh came from the side, "Darkness, you scared them."

"You are……"

The one who laughed was a girl. She wore light leather armor, had short silver hair, and a small scar on her cheek, making it easy to tell that she was a thief.

Because she was just like a thief, whether it was her clothes, her appearance, or even her personality.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It wasn't that I wanted to eavesdrop, but I was just too worried about my friend, so I eavesdropped."

The silver-haired thief girl apologized to everyone with great enthusiasm.

“Friend… Oh! Your friend is Darkness!”

"You guessed right!"

The thief girl lay on top of Darkness, very close to her.

Darkness then introduced herself to the group, saying, "Let me introduce you. This is my friend Chris, a thief."

Hello everyone~

Chris greeted everyone, and everyone introduced themselves in turn.

"Hello, I am Kazuma Sato, and my profession is adventurer."

"I am Huihui, and my profession is Grand Magister!"

"And I am Aqua, the great water... cough, the high priestess!"

"Hello, I am Suoh Takeshi, and my profession is a sword master."

After everyone finished introducing themselves, Chris's eyes lit up. "Wow, your team is of such high quality! They're basically all high-level professionals!"

"Now that you mention it, that's true."

"Then, wouldn't it be great to add another higher-level class? And it could be a Crusader, who can also act as a vanguard!"

Chris tried her best to promote her friends.

After hearing this, Kazuma Sato whispered in Takeshi Suoh's ear, "Suoh-senpai, even though Darkness is a high-ranking Crusader, you've noticed her problems, haven't you? We really can't add another problem child to our team!"

Kazuma Sato's meaning was clear: he wanted Takeshi Suo, the provisional squad leader, to refuse Darkness's offer to join the squad.

"Sato-kun, while Darkness is certainly lacking as a novice Crusader, our team does need a forward-type character, doesn't it? How about we test Darkness's skills first and then make a decision?"

"Since Suoh-senpai has said so..."

Suo Takeshi held considerable prestige within the squad, leaving Sato Kazuma with no choice but to obey. However, he secretly resolved to refuse Darkness's offer to join, regardless of his performance!

"Without further ado, let's go test Darkness's skills now!"

At Suoh Takeshi's command, the six men rushed out in a flurry.

Chapter 012 Problem Children (Added to the List)

"Hoo-ha, hoo-ha, hoo~ha~"

Darkness's panting was so lethal, and the panting became increasingly perverse, causing Sato Kazuma to clench his thighs, pull his buttocks back, and even lose his balance.

This innocent, nerdy guy is a little overwhelmed!

"Darkness, it's just a wild boar, how long do you want to keep fighting it?" Suoh Takeshi was also getting impatient and loudly signaled to Darkness to finish off the wild boar quickly.

That's right, it's a wild boar!

It's not a giant toad!

The reason Suoh Takeshi didn't hunt down the giant toad was because he was afraid Darkness would take advantage of the situation and start playing with the slime, so he chose the lowest-level task—driving away the wild boars that were ravaging the farmland.

The task was simple: to drive away the wild boars that were damaging the fields.

This is the lowest-level quest in the Adventurers' Guild, usually only accepted by novice adventurers acting alone. Because the reward is so low, it's not worth the effort for Suoh Takeshi and his group, who are in a small party, to make the trip.

However, this mission is perfect for testing Darkness's team.

However, Darkness's performance...

"Ha, ha~ This wild boar is quite troublesome~ I underestimated you!"

Darkness wore an excited expression, having met a formidable opponent, and praised him lavishly: "As a wild boar, I'll acknowledge you! Be proud, wild boar! You are my equal, just like Darkness, who is of the higher class of knight—a cross knight!"