KONOSUBA VOLUME 16: SHORT STORY 1
The Famous Goddess of Axel
TL: Cannongerbil
Editing: Striker, Ulti
As I was walking down the streets of Axel to pick up dinner, an older lady I didn’t know hit on me.
“Pardon me, may I have a moment of your time?”
She had a small bottle in her hands and seemed quite troubled.
“You’re one of Aqua-san’s companions, yes? I really want to buy Aqua’s delicious water, but is she not selling today?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not following you at all.”
No, scratch that, she wasn’t hitting on me after all.
“No, usually, Aqua-san would bring out her sparkling and delicious water around this time, but…”
She was doing such things?
“Well, due to certain events, she’s not in town at the moment.”
“When I use Aqua’s water for my cooking, my children don’t get any allergic reactions…”
The woman drooped her shoulders as she made to leave.
It’s rare to see that girl be of actual help to others.
And, just when I was mildly impressed for a moment, I heard a voice coming from the main street.
“Come one, come all! I, Pierre, one of the great street performers competing for the number one spot in the capital, shall amaze you all!”
Looking towards the source of the voice, I saw that quite a sizeable crowd has gathered.
“The town of Axel is famous for making street performers run off in tears! Will my acts be fit for your discerning gaze!?”
The great street performer Pierre gave an exaggerated bow.
This is the first time I’ve heard about this town driving street performers to leave in tears…
A small smattering of applause met Pierre, and the entertainer reached into his bag.
“Now, first off, a greeting! What could be in this bag, I wonder…!”
A few children within the crowd started excitedly shouting.
“A rookie killer! A rookie killer bigger than the bag will jump out!”
“No, a flock of crows will fly out! They’ll fly out and draw a picture in the sky! Aqua-nee-chan did it!”
Pierre suddenly stopped moving after taking stock of exactly what his audience expected.
“… No, this is just some candy I’m giving out as a greeting. I haven’t started my act yet. This is just a candy box. Here, little lady, a sweet for you.”
He took those sweets out of his bag and tried to smooth things over.
“It would seem that the residents of this town are no strangers to street performances! Very well, I shall skip straight to the eighteenth act! Behold, the disappearing act!”
At Pierre’s words, a lady dressed in a bunny girl outfit strode up next to him.
“Disappearing act? Don’t tell me…”
“He’s joking right? There’s no way he’s being serious, right?”
Hearing the astonished response of the crowd, Pierre cheerfully raised his voice.
“Oh, seems like that sparked some interest! Behold! When I cover her with this cloak, she’ll disappear in an instant! Of course, this is just an ordinary cloak! No tricks or magic here!”
At those words, screams erupted from the crowd.
“Stop it, what are you trying to do to that lady!?”
“This guy is crazy! Go call a policeman or an adventurer or someone!”
Seeing the children wailing, and the adults running off to find the police, Pierre seems to have picked up on something odd with the crowd.
“I-I don’t know why everyone’s so agitated, but… Well, why don’t you see it in action before judging!? Now, is everyone prepared!? One, two, three!”
The moment Pierre covered the lady with the cloak, the crowd cried out in shock.
At the same time, the cloak floated gently to the ground…
“N-No! O-Onee-san is–!”
“She disappeared! This guy is really crazy! He’s definitely dangerous!”
“Get someone here, this guy is a criminal! He’s a murderer!”
Seeing the panicked crowd, Pierre’s mask of composure finally broke.
“Please wait, this is just a show! Why is this happening!? What is wrong with these people!? Everyone’s reactions have been completely odd!”
After the policemen who rushed here heard the explanation from the crowd.
“… Great street performer Pierre, could you please accompany us to the station?”
“Why!? What is wrong with this town!? I just performed an act in the streets! For what reason must I be arrested!?”
“That’s obviously because you caused that woman to vanish! You just said there aren’t any tricks or magic!”
“There really is something wrong with this town! Of course there’s a trick to it! That’s a woman that just knows how to use teleport-!”
As I saw Pierre getting surrounded by the police, I finally understood why the residents of this town were reacting like this.
It’s probably because of that party trick using goddess who can really make stuff disappear without tricks or magic.
“What, so it was a trick after all. Well, once you’ve seen the real thing…”
“What, it’s just teleport? What a boring trick…”
“Come to think of it, I don’t see Aqua-san anywhere. She usually shows up long before now to break the performer’s heart.”
Selling water and performing party tricks.
I thought that I knew Aqua pretty well, but it seems like there’s still plenty I’ve yet to know about her.
With that on my mind, I did my shopping and walked back to my mansion…
“Ah, Kazuma, it’s good that you showed up! It seems like Aqua racked up a pretty huge tab at the bar! They just sent us the receipt…”
When I bring her back, I’m going to have to keep a much closer eye on her.
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