| tried a bite of the stir-fried cabbage they were serving up at the Guild.

“| don’t get it. How in the world can a regular cabbage stir-fry be this good? It

|”

makes no sense

The harvest was safely over, and all around town, people were trying out different recipes using the stuff.

In the end, I’d forced myself to be part of the cabbage hunt because the money was good, but | felt a twinge of regret. | didn’t come all the way to a fantasy world to fight with a bunch of vegetables.

“Way to go, Darkness!” Aqua was saying. “You really are a Crusader. Those vegetables didn’t stand a chance against your iron defense!”

“Oh, no,” Darkness replied, “I’m just tough. I’m clumsy and not very quick, so | can hardly hit anything with a sword. Acting as a human wall to protect my party is my only real talent.” She paused. “That’s why Megumin impressed me so much. She’s the one who brought down in one magnificent explosion all those monsters who'd followed the cabbages into town. You sure took all the adventurers there by surprise!”

“Heh-heh-heh. None can stand against my Explosion spell.” Megumin took a breath. “Really, though, Kazuma was remarkable. After I’d collapsed from my spell, he rushed out, collected me, and brought me back.”

“True,” Darkness said. “When | was surrounded by monsters and cabbages all making me their punching bag, it was Kazuma who appeared and harvested the vegetables. You saved me, Kazuma. | thank you.”

“| saw him hide with his Ambush skill, track their movements with Sense Foe, and finally hit them from behind with a powerful Steal attack,” Megumin said. “It was like watching a master assassin at work.”

Finally, there was a clink as Aqua set down a plateful of the conquered cabbage. The useless goddess had spent the entire harvest running this way and that by herself, just going after whatever cabbage was nearest, accomplishing nothing. Now she wiped her lips daintily.

“Kazuma... By my name, | hereby give you the title ‘Beautiful Cabbage Thief.’”

“That’s ridiculous! If anyone ever calls me that, I’ll pop ’em right in the mouth! Arrrrgh, how did things come to this...?” | leaned on the table with my head in my hands.

This was an emergency.

“Anyway... My name is Darkness. My class is Crusader. | carry a two-handed sword, but please do not expect too much from me in battle. I’m so clumsy my attacks rarely land. But I’m very good at being a human shield. | look forward to adventuring with you all!”

That’s right...1 had another new party member.

Aqua, looking quite pleased, said, “Hee-hee! Our group is starting to look pretty impressive, huh? There’s me, the Arch-priest. Megumin, the Arch-wizard. And Darkness, a Crusader who specializes in frontline defense. How many parties are there where three out of the four members are from advanced classes, huh, Kazuma? You are so lucky! You ought to be grateful!”

Sure, lucky. I’ve got a spell-caster who can use only one spell per day, a frontline fighter whose attacks never hit, and the world’s dumbest, unluckiest Arch-priest, who—by the way—still hasn’t done a single useful thing!

Aqua and Megumin had really hit it off with Darkness during the cabbage hunt, and all of a sudden they’d invited her to be in our party.

Normally, I’d have no reason to refuse. | mean, she was gorgeous.

But Darkness—when she said her attacks never land, she meant it. Like, never.

She really is gorgeous, though.

Because she put every one of her skill points into defensive abilities, she’d never learned things like Two-Handed Sword—in other words, the offensive skills that give you basic competency in the use of a weapon.

What a waste for a girl who was so cool and so hot at the same time.

This Crusader of ours also had a weird habit of jumping right into the middle of a horde of monsters. | appreciated that a Crusader, whose whole duty was to protect the weak, would want more than anyone to leap into the fray and help others, but...

“Ergh... Ohh... When those cabbages and monsters were beating me up, | could hardly stand it... It looks like I’m the only frontline defense this party has, so don’t hesitate to offer me up as a hostage or use me as a human shield. If you decide you must sacrifice me to an awful fate to save yourselves from danger, please feel free to do so... Mm! J-just imagining it has me shaking...with excitement...” Her cheeks had turned a pale red, and she was shivering a little. Wait—! get it. She’s just a garden-variety masochist. Now when | looked at her, | didn’t see a hot girl—just a sexual deviant.

“So, Kazuma. | might—no, I’m sure | will—be an albatross around this party’s neck at times, so when | am, please, please punish me mercilessly for it. | look forward to working with you!”

An Arch-priest who knew every healing spell. An Arch-wizard who could use the world’s strongest magic. And a Crusader with an impenetrable defense.

It sounded perfect on paper. And yet right now, the only feeling | had about the future was a bad one.