Minor City Quests
Axel had a strange way of returning to normal after near-apocalyptic events. One day: Demon Generals, possession, explosions, financial trauma. The others day: a full fledged between Ruko and Vanir about curse items. The next day Ruko sat at a wooden table inside Wiz's shop, earbuds on, phone-cyclopedia floating in front of him through a projection seal. Modern lo-fi beats filled his ears while a medieval city argued about turnip prices outside. Vanir leaned over his shoulder. "What a strange sound I'm hearing are you listen to sounds that repeat every eight measures," the devil observed. "Is this a ritual?" "It's called music you dumbass," Ruko replied. "You wouldn't get it since you won't see it anyway." "I understand suffering in all forms," Vanir said. "This qualifies to me." Across the room, Wiz was apologizing to a customer for selling a cursed kettle at a loss. Kazuma burst through the door holding a stack of quest forms. "LOW-RISK JOBS," he announced proudly. "Finally! No demons! No death! Just simple exorcisms and undead cleanup!" Aqua appeared behind him instantly. "DID I HEARD EXORCISM." Ruko sighed. "Of course you did."
Quest 1 – The Crying Well
Their first job was a well that "sobbed at night." Kazuma expected horror. Megumin expected an explosion. Darkness expected trauma. Aqua expected to be worshipped. Ruko expected a low-tier emotional residue. He was right. A faint blue spirit hovered above the well, repeating the same motion over and over—dropping an imaginary bucket. "Huh... seems a residual memory loop," Ruko said. "Not hostile i see." Aqua raised her staff dramatically anyway. "Sacred—" "W-W-W-Wait," Ruko interrupted. He stepped forward, placing a small basic seal on the stone. The loop broke gently. The spirit looked up, confused, then faded peacefully.
Yew logged:
[Micro-Purification Technique – Successful] [Soul Interaction Framework – +0.2%]
Aqua froze. "…You stole my job." "I prevented you from flooding the village... like you always do," Ruko replied. Kazuma handed in the quest and received minimal pay. "WHY ARE LOW-RISK JOBS LOW-PAY," he cried.
Quest 2 – Undead in the Barn
The next request involved skeletal chickens. Yes. Skeletal. Chickens. Megumin tried to cast Explosion. Everyone tackled her. Ruko walked into the barn alone. Three minor undead constructs, poorly bound, animated by leftover curse energy. He didn't even draw a full basic seal. A flick of his fingers. Three compression glyphs. Done. Vanir, who had followed purely for entertainment, clapped slowly. "You continue to destroy profitable curiosities, I'm speechless." "They were pecking farmers," Ruko replied. "Pecking skeletons have niche market value too y'know." Kazuma dragged the bones back for the reward. It barely covered lunch.
Quest 3 – The Soul Ledger
Back at the shop, Vanir introduced a "new business model." A ledger. "If we quantify low-tier hauntings," Vanir explained, "we can assign standardized pricing." Ruko glanced at the pages.
Name. Cause of curse. Emotional density. Resolution cost. "…You're building a soul economy spreadsheet aren't you," Ruko said. "Efficiency is the highest form of evil hehehe," Vanir replied proudly. Ruko made a correction in the margin. "Add a column: voluntary release probability." Vanir paused.
"…Why?" "Some curses dissolve if you talk to them instead of binding them. Like seriously which universe you come from!" Vanir stared. Wiz smiled brightly. "That sounds nice!" Vanir grabbed his mask. "I am surrounded by philanthropists." Slice of Life – Phone-Cyclopedia Later, Ruko sat outside the shop steps while the others argued about dinner. His phone displayed archived data from his old world—music libraries, forums, random encyclopedic entries. Megumin peeked over his shoulder. "What are you doing with the air?" "I'm in a library," Ruko said. "Of explosions?" "…No." She lost interest. Kazuma sat beside him. "You're weirdly calm lately, no like seriously... everywhere" Kazuma said. "And there's no demon hunting, no rage, just… chores."
"A cooldown arc i perfume," Ruko replied. Kazuma didn't understand but nodded anyway. Brotherhood silence settled between them. Aqua's Competition. Aqua had taken the minor exorcism jobs personally. Every time Ruko resolved a spirit without flashy purification, she became more dramatic. "I WILL SHOW TRUE DIVINE POWER," she declared at a haunted broom. She blasted it with holy light. The broom disintegrated. So did half the storage room. Wiz apologized to the building. Ruko wrote in the ledger: Property damage: Aqua. Vanir added a profit projection for repair fees. Darkness' Fulfillment: One quest involved guarding a graveyard at night. Nothing happened. Darkness called it "emotionally devastating." Ruko sat on a tombstone listening to music while Yew processed new data.
[Pattern Analysis: Low-tier undead behavior] [Seal Efficiency: Improved]
[Progress: 2%]
"I don't understand the percentage for but eh?" Kazuma's Plan (Failure) Kazuma attempted to use Vanir's ledger system to negotiate higher quest rewards. Vanir predicted every argument. Every loophole. Every bluff. Kazuma ended up signing a contract agreeing to pay "consultation fees." "WHY DO I OWE MONEY FOR MY OWN PLAN?!" he screamed. Ruko didn't even look up. "Just read the goddamn contracts. Why does it seems like you can't read." Evening at the Shop. As the sun set, the group gathered inside Wiz's shop. Wiz made tea. Vanir calculated hypothetical profits. Aqua pouted. Megumin slept. Darkness glowed with quiet disappointment. Kazuma dropped into a chair. "You know what? No demons. No death. Just small jobs. I like this." Ruko nodded slightly. "It's quite a stability builds system for sure." Vanir leaned back. "You are quite getting use to this world in increments. How dreadfully efficient."
Yew flickered.
[Environmental Integration: Ongoing]
[Soul Interaction Framework: Stable]
[Modern-Fantasy Cognitive Sync: Improved]
Ruko put his earbuds back on. Music from another world filled the small shop. Vanir watched him carefully. "Augh... you been playing that noise for days by exist between economies," the devil said softly. "Souls, gold, and data." Ruko didn't respond. End Beat – Calm Before the outside, Axel laughed, argued, and survived as always. Inside, the balance held: Wiz's kindness. Vanir's profit. Kazuma's chaos. Aqua's noise. Megumin's explosions (pending). Darkness' suffering. And Ruko— silent, calculating, protecting in small, efficient ways. No Demon Generals. No major battles. Just relaxing growth. Yew logged one final line for the day:
[Progress: 2.00% – Phase Stable]
Ruko closed his eyes, letting the music play. For once, the world wasn't trying to kill them. And that was suspiciously peaceful.