The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"Wh...what?"

Darkness stared at the two men, each clinging to one of her legs, looking utterly terrified, and remained silent for a long time.

She never imagined that she would one day be entrusted with such trust.

What she didn't expect was that as the two finished speaking, a series of girls' sobs suddenly rang out!

"What's going on? Could it be that a child has been brought here and is about to...?"

Darkness looked around anxiously, but instead of noticing the little girl, she saw a group of rag dolls surrounding her and Kazuma.

It seems... she's begging for help?

"What is this...?" Darkness looked left and right, finally fixing her gaze on Kiana, who had arrived late.

Their eyes met, and though they were silent, it spoke volumes.

In a split second, Darkness spoke up and questioned:

"Why is this happening! Lady Kiana, are you perhaps a high-ranking officer in the Demon King's army?"

Hearing Darkness's question, Kiana finally came to her senses and realized that she might have overreacted.

She let out a long sigh, then waved her delicate hand, and the raging flames subsided and dissipated under the control of the Plague Gem:

"Why are you suddenly asking this? You've misunderstood, haven't you?"

A Certain Flame's Otherworldly Undercover Mission (Konosuba): Chapter Sixteen: Walk the Adventurer's Path, Leave the Adventurers with No Way to Go!

Misunderstand...

Darkness looked around at the brightly colored flames.

I completely don't understand why things have turned out this way.

But if I had to say, I might have really misunderstood?

"Um, Kiana, Megumin, Kazuma... could you please tell me what happened?"

After hearing her question, the three of them looked at each other in bewilderment.

At Darkness's request, Megumin began to recount how she went out to use the restroom in the middle of the night, followed by Kazuma's account of hearing strange noises in the middle of the night and going out to investigate.

Finally, it was Kiana's turn to tell the story of how she heard screams and rushed out of the room.

It was through the three people's accounts that the truth behind the misunderstanding was finally cleared up.

Huihui and He Zhen, as the parties involved, were truly exhausted.

The two of them slumped to the ground, panting and complaining.

"What? This is all a misunderstanding!"

Neither of them expected that the real reason they were being chased was because their captain was too awesome.

The ghosts of this mansion were so frightened they ran away in all directions...

It can only be said that skill breeds daring; any fear is predicated on insufficient firepower.

However, when the combat power reaches an extremely terrifying level, the situation will degenerate into the absurd scenario of a person chasing a ghost, just like before...

"So that's how it is? Hmm...that's quite unexpected."

Kiana turned her gaze to the ghostly dolls hiding behind Darkness and suddenly realized just how correct the system was.

[Mission Completion Introduction: As everyone knows, there's always something fishy about a creepy mansion sold or rented cheaply. The mansion you're in is clearly one of those, and just recently, your companion's screams echoed down the hallway. Right now, your companion is probably being chased by something ghostly! But don't be afraid, we must trust science, defeat those ghosts, and rescue your companion! But please don't harm these children; they mean no harm.]

Please don't hurt these children; they didn't mean any harm...

I never imagined that I was just being overly nervous.

Kiana scratched the back of her head, revealing a look that was both funny and exasperating.

"If the homeowner came and saw his house like this, he'd probably faint from shock..."

"Uh," Darkness, Megumin, and Kazuma exchanged bewildered glances, both looking completely lost and unsure what to say. "Maybe... hopefully the homeowner will pull through..."

In short, once the dust settled, the ghost dolls dispersed.

Kiana then heard the system's mission notification.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the mission.]

[Reward for completing the mission: 1500 Herrscher Points.]

[Summary: Your actions fully deserve the title of "devil." Well done.]

"Eh... I made such a mess of things, and yet I still got the full reward..."

Although the reward wasn't less, it made Kiana a little happy.

But to be honest, this sudden situation is really puzzling.

She couldn't understand the system's good intentions at all, and at the same time, she didn't understand why the system would use such words to describe her.

I feel like there's a hidden meaning in those words...

Kiana had no idea what the system was hiding from her.

Helpless, she could only silently accept the situation, telling everyone to go back to their respective places and get some sleep.

In the days that followed, the dolls seemed to have vanished into thin air, so much so that Kiana, who wanted to apologize to them, searched for a long time but couldn't find them.

Even after asking Megumin and Darkness for help to find the person, they ultimately returned empty-handed.

Occasionally, I would hear them say they had found something, but most of the time I would also hear that the other party had fled at top speed.

Kiana felt utterly overwhelmed by the task, so she had no choice but to throw herself wholeheartedly into the adventure missions.

As a result, her speed was too fast and her strength was too formidable.

This resulted in a sharp decrease in the number of tasks that were originally backlogged at the Adventurers' Guild.

Those adventurers who didn't receive any missions simply took a long vacation.

"Why are there never any missions?!"

"Hey, they're starting to demand repayment again. If I don't take on the mission soon, I'm going to get beaten up."

"Hey, miss, why is it so peaceful here lately..."

The adventurers were full of complaints.

Kiana, the one who started all of this, was happily taking Megumin and Aqua on all sorts of dangerous but rewarding missions around the town.

This includes, but is not limited to, wiping out goblin tribes, dealing with rampaging monster hordes, and hunting down high-ranking soldiers of the Demon King's army.

Etc., etc.

The emergence of these missions actually symbolizes that the dangers surrounding the town are constantly increasing.

However, when faced with a highly skilled handler, these dangers cease to be dangers.

For Kiana, these tasks are not only a pastime to pass the time, but also a great opportunity to stretch her muscles and get some exercise.

Furthermore, it is an excellent way to obtain Herrscher Points.

"System, when did you become so generous? You give extra rewards for every task. Although they're not much, they seem quite considerable when added together."

This is a reward the host deserves; just accept it.

Okay, since the system has said so.

Kiana didn't say much more.

She then devoted herself to the great cause of punishing evil and upholding justice, honing her skills through daily adventures and monster slaying.

In the end, they succeeded in making all the adventurers in the city lose their jobs...

...

In an unnamed tavern in Axel, a thief named Chris picked up his glass and took a satisfying sip of wine.

"Ah! It feels so good to have a drink after a hard day's work. Speaking of which... why is it so deserted here?"

Wearing a green jacket, but only a leather vest and shorts, she tugged at the slightly loose cuffs of her pants.

A beautiful blue eye surveyed the deserted tavern, and she rested her chin on her hand, looking rather speechless.

"We've heard that all the monsters and potential demon king's army in the vicinity have been wiped out, so why can't everyone be happy?"

Despite being a goddess, she was unaware of the reason behind it.

Or perhaps her true identity is that of a local deity and currency unit.

I have absolutely no idea what the idiom "when the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away" means.

However, this actually has nothing to do with her now.

The reason this goddess descended to the mortal realm again is, in essence...

To get that very important thing back!

Eris put down her wine glass, regretfully lifting her own pitiful silhouette, and recalling the shameful oppression she had felt when the other party had bullied her.

I immediately felt humiliated! Deeply humiliated!

"You rude woman, just you wait... If I see you again, I'll definitely teach you a lesson—!"

Just as this kind-hearted goddess was secretly fuming...

The tavern door was suddenly opened.

Kiana looked around and, with the system's prompt, instantly spotted the disguised goddess Eris.

"Yo!"

She smiled and approached him like a long-lost friend, startling him so much that he scrambled to his feet and hid in a corner of the tavern.

They stared with utter terror at this woman, who was more terrifying than a demon...

A Certain Infernal Affairs in Another World (Konosuba): Chapter Seventeen: Before the Traveler, the Goddess is utterly defeated.

Chris had recalled the face of the white-haired girl countless times and hoped that one day she could teach her a lesson and make her understand that the goddesses of this world are not so easy to deal with!