Laziness Is a Crime
The first few days back in Axel passed in a haze of pure inactivity. After everything that happened in Arcanretia—the chaos, the chase, the long walk back—none of them had the energy to do anything productive. Kazuma stayed sprawled on the floor complaining about fatigue. Megumin slept like she was hibernating. Darkness tried to help clean once, got distracted, and somehow made things worse. Aqua declared the house "spiritually exhausted" and said resting was a holy act.
Ruko didn't argue. He felt it too. The tired kind that sat deep in the bones, not sharp enough to hurt, just heavy enough to slow everything down. His body had recovered slightly after the Sha-Obelisk fragment, but the fatigue from constant movement and tension hadn't fully faded. So he rested. One day turned into two. Two into three.
Then the smell became impossible to ignore. "Okay," Kazuma said, standing in the middle of the living room with his nose pinched. "We've officially crossed the line from 'resting heroes' to 'health hazard.'"
Reluctantly, they cleaned. It took most of the day. Dust, old food, damp clothes, broken furniture—everything that had been ignored piled up fast. Ruko worked quietly, efficiently, wiping down surfaces and carrying trash outside. By the time the sun dipped low, the house finally felt livable again. Naturally, the next step was bathing. The bathroom situation immediately collapsed into chaos. Kazuma argued about turns. Aqua claimed divine priority. Megumin threatened explosions if splashed. Darkness volunteered to wait, which somehow made everyone more uncomfortable.
Ruko didn't say anything. He just walked in. No announcement. No hesitation. Just opened the door, stepped inside, and turned the water on like this was the most normal thing in the world. The room froze. "…Hey," Kazuma said slowly. "What are you doing and why are you walking in naked." "Taking a shower, unlike you guys, and I'm not wasting time to put on a towel," Ruko replied calmly. "We just done cleaned. I'm not sleeping like this." "You could've—wait your turn?" Ruko glanced back, expression neutral. "Then wait. Or leave. Or don't. I don't care."
Aqua shrieked, Megumin yelled, Kazuma grabbed a towel and shoved it in Ruko's direction out of pure panic, and Darkness looked way too interested before being dragged out by Kazuma. The door slammed. Water ran. That was the end of it. Later, clean and dry, Ruko sat on his bed feeling lighter than he had in days. Muscles relaxed. Mind clearer. For the first time since Axis, things felt normal again. Then the system message appeared.
[WARNING: DAILY QUEST FAILURE DETECTED] [TIME MISSED: 1 WEEK, 3 DAYS]
Ruko blinked. "…What?"
[PENALTY SEVERITY: EXTREME]
Cold ran down his spine. "No. No, wait—Yew, hold on, I was traveling, I—"
[REASON INVALID]
[USER NEGLIGENCE CONFIRMED]
The room vanished. Ruko dropped into the Simulation Space without warning, feet hitting stone hard enough to jar his knees. The sky above was dark and empty. The air felt heavy with mana pressure. Two figures stood ahead. Beldia and Hans. Together. Ruko exhaled slowly. "You've got to be kidding me." They didn't wait. The fight was brutal. No tricks. No shortcuts. Beldia's cursed blade forced Ruko to stay mobile. Hans' presence poisoned the ground itself, limiting space and punishing mistakes. Ruko relied on raw skill, timing, and stubborn endurance.
He copied movement patterns. Redirected force. Adjusted his stance again and again. Minutes dragged into an hour. By the time both enemies finally fell, Ruko was barely standing.
[SIMULATION CLEARED]
[SECONDARY PENALTY APPLIED]
Pain hit him instantly—sharp, overwhelming, impossible to ignore. "—ARE YOU SERIOUS—. Wait no.no.no.no.no ...AAAGGGHHHH." Everything went black. Ruko didn't wake up for days. When he finally opened his eyes, sunlight was spilling through the window. His body felt like it had been hit by a carriage. Every movement sent discomfort through him, but the worst of it had dulled. Kazuma leaned over him. "Wow. You really slept hard and i wouldn't imagine."
"…How long." "Like four days. We thought you were just… you know. Recovering." Ruko stared at the ceiling. "…Yeah. Sure." Later that day, they went to the Adventurers Guild like nothing was wrong. Kazuma chatted. Aqua complained. Megumin sulked. Darkness listened to quests with far too much interest. Ruko walked behind them, quiet, steady, hiding the lingering pain and exhaustion. He wasn't broken.
But he wasn't ignoring the system again—and it wasn't going to give him time to rest.