" ": You talking

' ': You thinking

* *: Narrator/Voice-off

Your POV:

Celestina: Wh- What ? Weren't you under my power ? What happened ?!

"Oh, dear, you have a thing or two to learn about scheming and acting. Your facade just breaks way too easily under pressure for it to be convincing. I might have to teach you about that."

Celestina: B- But that feeling, you were thankful to me for telling you all of it, weren't you ?! You should've felt like you owed me for that !

"... Why should I feel any sense of gratefulness towards someone so utterly rotten as you ? All that I feel is pity for you, as it seems you came all this way only to die at my hands."

Celestina: Y- You... Are you physically incapable of feeling gratitude, you absolute sociopath ?!

"Well, when you combine how insufferable you are and the debt you already owed me, I think you're the problem here."

Celestina: Debt ? I owe you no debt ! What are you... Huh ?

"Here, a little something for you, the fleeced one."

Celestina: ... Gurk...

"To think I went out of my way to give you money, and you didn't even bother repaying that debt, I'm hurt. But I guess the intel you gave me about pays it off. So all that's left is a foolish Demon General who isolated herself from the rest of the city."

Celestina: ... I should've gone with your friend right away... Such an easy target, all of my troubles would have been resolved...

"Allow me to doubt that. Kazuma is probably the absolute last person you want to puppet, believe me on that. But enough talking... You're going down !"

Celestina: Gh... Fine ! i'm not much of a fighter myself, but I'm not stupid enough to come here alone ! I have an army of adventurers under me, what can you do ?! Attack now !

Adventurers: ... .... ... H- Huh ? Hey, what are we doing here... What's happening ?

Celestina: ... W- What ? How come the puppeting came undone ?!

"You said it yourself. Should the puppet receive an order they strongly disagree with, the spell could wear off. And as you can see... All of you are in my way, so scram !!"

Dust: Gah, he's unhinged ! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES !! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID THIS TIME BUT I'M SORRY !!

"... As you can see, attacking me is probably the last thing they would try to do."

Celestina: M- My puppets...

"And now all that you have left is this pestering curse that you'd lay upon the town. Well..."

*POP*

*POP*

"That is, only if the town is around."

Celestina: Wh- What happened ?! Where are we ?! ... Why are there craters everywhere... ?

"Welcome to what I call my 'test lab'. You should be grateful, you'll be the first to test out my Anti-Demon King weapon ! You who lived her life by bowing to a God... Why don't you go meet your God then ?!"

Celestina: What-

Eris: ... I won't say anything this time.

"Hey, I didn't do it because I wanted to, I had no other choices to end this matter quickly. Aren't you at least happy, only Wiz's left now ! And apparently, the Demon King's daughter is also a General, as it seems."

Eris: So it's possible there's more than 8 generals in the end... Or maybe one of them wasn't an actual General, but rather just an agent... Probably that shapeshifter.

"Also, I'd appreciate if you could look over some things more carefully, like the heroes that are sent here. Seriously, we could use the reinforcements. Well, I'll see you then..."

"Ahh, the smell of victory is in the air... Well, that and charred summoner, but I like both equally."

Darkness: What... exactly happened ? First you walk out with that priest, and all of a sudden a massive light descends from the sky in the distance, and you pop into existence here, in the midst of being burned alive...

"Let's just get Kazuma at the police station once he wakes up."

"So yeah, that's about the gist of it."

Kazuma: ... An orbital laser canon. You made an orbital laser canon to fight the Demon king.

"Let's not focus on the details, what's important is that we're one step closer to our goal! So get your ass out here and let's get to work."

Kazuma: ... No.

Aqua: Get out of bed !

Kazuma: No. i'm going to sleep until afternoon as protest for how I'm being treated.

Aqua: You already sleep past noon anyways ! I need your help to defeat the Demon King !

Kazuma: ... We're talking about the Demon King, you know? There's no way I can defeat someone like him. Do you really think I look like someone who can defeat the Demon King ?

Aqua: of course not; Even I'm not that delusional. I've put some thought into it myself too, you know ? All I need you to do is bring me close to the castle, that's all.

Kazuma: ... Well, if you have a decent plan of sorts, I don't mind hearing you out.

Aqua: Listen well. There was a time when we wanted to head straight for the Demon King's castle, didn't we ? But then they told us that there's a barrier around the castle. A barrier maintained by his generals. And another general was neutralized, right ? That means that the only generals left supporting the barrier are... How many of them are left now ?

"There were originally eight of them. The first one you angered and threw after us was Beldia. After that, Vanir, Hans, Sylvia, Wolbach and now Serena. So including Wiz and the daughter of the Demon King, that leaves two of them."

Aqua: Yes, there are only two generals left! With my amazing goddess power, I can probably destroy a barrier maintained by only two generals if I put some effort into it! It'd be best if I can take down the barrier entirely, but even if that's impossible, I should be able to open a hole big enough for someone to go through.

Kazuma: Well, that's good and all, but how exactly are we going to defeat the Demon King ?

Aqua: Once the barrier is down, the rest is simple ! I'd recruit the help of my precious Axis Cult, the Crimson Demons, and the people running this country ! We'll use those connections you forged in this world and tell them that the barrier around the castle is down !

"That would almost make me feel sorry for them... What if you can't completely break through the barrier ?"

Aqua: Then I'll have to leave it to you.

Kazuma: ... How ?

Aqua: Using Enemy detection and Lurk, you can sneak right up to where the Demon King is sleeping and assassinate him.

Kazuma: Screw off.

Aqua: Hey, Kazuma, can I have a moment ?

Kazuma: ... What's wrong ? You have a really serious look on your face.

Aqua: please listen to me ! I really don't think it's good for us to remain like this !

Kazuma: What do you mean by that ?

Aqua: This self indulgent lifestyle ! Are you really okay with this ? Sleeping until noon and doing nothing but eating and sleeping ! You've changed! You really have changed, Kazuma-san !

"... Isn't that pretty much what he's already been like ? I fail to see any difference with regular Kazuma."

Darkness: The fuss from that priest just got resolved not long ago, so I understand not wanting to go on any quests for a while... Just what brought this on, Aqua ?

Aqua: That's... well, you know, the duties and responsibilities of an adventurer... or something... As adventurers, we have a responsibility to the people of the world... Gurk... Waaaaahhh !!

Megumin: What's up with Aqua ?

Kazuma: Don't worry about it. She just got bitten by a strange bug that makes her want to defeat the Demon King, that's all.

Megumin/Darkness: Demon King ?!

Megumin: The Demon King, huh ? Very well, in order to cement my status as the strongest, let's go defeat the Demon King. You pretty much defeated Serena on your own, and the battle against the Ninnin was over too quickly. Plus, the victory felt somewhat hollow anyways.

Darkness: the Demon King, huh... He must have a really strong attack... Perhaps strong enough to destroy my precious armor in a single blow...

Kazuma: I'll just say this up front, I'm not heading out to fight him. Don't misunderstand me just because we happened to take out a few of his Generals. If I have to say, our party is more on the useless side, so... Even if you give me those puppy dog eyes, I'm still not heading out.

Aqua: Hey, Kazuma, please take a look at this.

Kazuma: ... "What do you think of the demon King ?" Survey results...

*... The title of Demon King sounds kinda cool (Baker). Seems like the sort of person who'd feed stray dragons while keeping it a secret from his underlings (Pet shop owner). Nevermind that, I'd rather you just lend me money (Delinquent). When I told him I'd be leaving the castle to set up a shop, he said it was a good idea and lent me some money (Pale-looking Shopkeeper). Nevermind him, Moi is stronger (Obvious). My god is the Demon King (Tired-looking man).*

Kazuma: ... What the hell is this ?

Aqua: Ahh ! That's not the right one ! That's the one with the answers that shouldn't be shown to him !

"You told me you wanted the survey answers. You never said which ones."

Aqua: Look at this one ! This one holds the opinions of the residents of this town who are suffering and fearful of the Demon King !

*... We set up a store in this town, but business just isn't picking up. I don't really understand why, but the Demon King probably has something to do with it (Owner of a skeevy shop). I'm too afraid of the Demon King to sleep at night, so I have no choice but to sleep during the day. I can't hold down a proper job thanks to that, and it's all his fault I'm still living with my parents. (NEET). Because the Demon King exists, our god just isn't popular at all (Worshipper of the god of destruction). Yeah, yeah, he's totally scary. He's just as scary as a cup of chilled neroid (Person in the theatre). It's the Demon King's fault that I can't get together with her (Middle-aged man). It's the Demon King's fault that I can't get a boyfriend (Guild lady).*

Kazuma: ... I'll repeat what I said. What the hell is this ?

Aqua: How could you say that ?! Kazuma, do you really not feel anything ever after hearing about all the troubles the people in this town face because of the Demon King ?! Don't you feel any shame as an adventurer ? Even as you are fooling around here, the people the world over are living in fear of the Demon King ! Apologize ! Apologize for calling yourself an adventurer ! Apologize to everyone in the world !

"... They'll be at it for a while. Now, I wonder if I could make any use of these forbidden potions Vanir sold me..."

Darkness: C- Can you give me the one that attracts monsters ?

"Absolutely not."