Just as Kazuma stood up Claire stomped over to him looking like a tea kettle about to burst.

"You have absolutely no honor whatsoever!"

Kazuma sighed and looked at her with annoyance. "What is it now, White Suit? I have a lot bigger problems to deal with than your usual complaints."

"This is no mere complaint!" She snapped and pointed at Walter, who was still on the ground and moaning. "You participated in a sacred duel before men and gods and you… you…"

He grinned at her. "I what?"

"You struck him in the… the…"

"You hit my boy in his family jewels," Lord Alderp came over to stand beside Claire. He was frowning but didn't look near as upset.

Kazuma shrugged. "There a rule against that?"

"It has always been the tradition for duelists to face each other blade to blade!"

"Yeah, he's a Knight I'm an Adventurer, there's no way I'd win in a fair fight."

"So, you fought underhanded?!"

"Obviously," he said with a smirk.

Claire's face went beat red and she was gripping her sword.

"I used a skill. Are skills not allowed in a duel?"

"They are," Darkness was standing at his side holding his arm. "Both magic and skills are permitted. Participants in duels are expected to fight to their utmost even if it results in death. You broke no rules, Kazuma."

"Using a skill is not the issue here!"

"Then what is the issue, White Suit?" Feeling his arm being mashed into the side of Darkness's boobs was making him nervous, but he couldn't exactly push her away right now.

"The fact that you fought an honor duel in such a disgraceful and devious manner!"

"Well, what would you expect from a commoner like me? Aren't you the one always going on and on about how I'm a peasant without any noble blood? Why would you expect me to duel like a proper gentleman when you're always harping on the fact, I'm not one."

"I was under the mistaken belief that any man, even a greedy, arrogant, low-born one, would have at least a basic sense of fair play."

He stared at her. "You've never seen a single bar fight in your entire life, have you?"

"You smug, conceited, shameless coward!" She began pulling her sword out.

As this was happening two people approached them.

"Onii-chan! That was amazing! I've seen duels before but never one like that! Onee-chan was right! You truly are a scoundrel!"

Those exact same words from someone else, say Claire or Alderp would have been a clear insult. However, they were spoken by Princess Iris. As she came over her cheeks blushed, her hands clasped together, and her eyes were practically sparkling.

"I can see why onee-chan can't resist you. You're so… so… wicked!" The little princess began twisting from side to side.

Lain looked on amused. "Congratulations on your betrothal, Kazuma, Dustiness-san. I look forward to the wedding."

"Thank you!" Darkness replied.

Kazuma forced himself to smile. "Uh, thanks."

"Princess, you can't possibly approve of this!" Claire hurriedly slammed her sword back into its scabbard and rushed over to the princess. "We can't let this abomination stand! Kazuma can't possibly marry Dustiness-san!"

Hearing that, some hope sparked to life inside Kazuma's heart. He was suddenly Claire's biggest fan.

Princess Iris frowned. "What do you mean? Onee-chan swore to her goddess Eris to marry the winner of the duel. No matter how he did it, onii-chan won without breaking the rules. Lord Ignis, who was the judge, declared him the winner. Claire, you're not suggesting that onee-chan, a Crusader, break a sworn oath to her goddess, are you?"

"Uh…" Claire suddenly looked nervous.

"Because if you are," Lain added helpfully. "Won't everyone see you as the dishonorable one?"

"Uh…"

"Claire," Iris sounded nervous. "Wouldn't encouraging a Crusader to break a holy vow be a direct insult to the goddess Eris? Aren't you worried about getting cursed for that?"

The blood drained from her face and Claire gulped. The gods were very real in this world and so were their blessings and curses.

Claire promptly turned to face Darkness and bowed to her. "Congratulations on your betrothal! I look forward to the wedding and promise to bring a most valuable gift!"

"Thank you, Claire-san!"

Darkness's father came over and placed a hand on Kazuma's shoulder. Tears were leaking from his eyes. "Let's have a family dinner together, son. I'm already looking forward to playing with my grandchildren."

Kazuma's knees went weak, but he managed not to faint.

As all this was happening, no one noticed Lord Alderp staring at Kazuma with cold eyes.

XXX

Eventually, a priest was summoned, and Walter had his precious jewels repaired. He wasted no time leaving with his head lowered. After Kazuma got free of Darkness's death grip he searched for Chris, but she seemed to have already left.

He couldn't help but notice that other than a few of the young ladies, all the guests were giving him disdainful gazes and keeping their distance. Most of them shared Claire's opinion that how he'd fought the duel had been completely dishonorable even if it was technically legal.

One young man actually challenged him to another duel.

"Fine," Kazuma said. "Hold on a minute." He began searching.

"What are you doing?" the young man asked.

Kazuma found a loose brick and held it in his hand as he sent his challenger an evil smile. The brick had to weigh at least fifteen pounds. "Okay, we can duel now."

The young lordling blanched, and his eyes went wide. "I… I withdraw my challenge." He quickly ran away.

No one else challenged Kazuma.

Since he couldn't find Chris, Darkness kept trying to be clingy and discuss flower arrangements for the wedding, Megumin was trying to eat and drink the place dry, and most everyone else was giving him the stink eye, Kazuma decided to head home. Darkness couldn't accompany him as she had to continue acting as hostess.

When he arrived home a certain sempai was waiting outside his gate.

"Chris, where did you get to? I was looking for you after the duel."

She offered him an awkward grin and scratched at her scar. "Sorry about that, but I had to take care of something. Anyway, I wanted to ask you again about your help."

"Oh! Would you believe that when I passed out after the duel I had a vision of meeting Eris-sama."

"You don't say? That's amazing! Divine revelations are incredibly rare, you should probably listen to everything Eris told you."

Kazuma sighed looking a bit unhappy. "Yeah, that's what I've come to realize. Anyway, she told me I should help you without asking for anything in return. So, what do you need my help with?"

"Ah, I need you to help me steal something."

Kazuma had a confident laugh. "No problem!"

Chris looked embarrassed and scratched her cheek again. "From Princess Iris."

"Wait, what now? You want to rob the princess?"

"That's right."

"Okay, that's a big problem! Chris no matter how valuable this treasure is there have got to be safer targets to steal from."

"No, I'm not trying to steal for her to get rich, it's for her own safety."

He narrowed his eyes. "Uh-huh."

She sighed. "Why don't we go inside and talk? I'll explain everything."

XXX

Lord Alderp went alone to the sub-basement of his residence. He'd already passed through two locked doors that only he had the keys to. No one else was ever permitted to come down here. Now he came to his destination, a thick wooden door with three heavy iron locks. He took the key chain from his belt and one by one unlocked them. Then with a slight effort he pushed the door open.

Within was an empty cell without even a pot to piss in. Lying there asleep on the cold stone floor was a handsome 'man' with glasses.

"Useless," he muttered and stomped over to the being and started kicking him. "Wake up, Maxwell!"

Despite the vicious beating Maxwell opened his eyes and smiled up at the man, apparently not bothered in the least. "Oh, Alderp, how nice to see you again. Did you come down here just to say hi?"

"Idiot!" Alderp began kicking him some more. "Who would waste time with that?! I came because I need you to do something for me!"

"Really? How nice! You finally have a task for me! Let me complete it so I can collect my reward."

The playful smile remained, but there was something in the 'man's' eyes that made Alderp shiver. It was momentary and passed quickly. Alderp reminded himself that no matter how powerful this creature was it was also just as pathetic. It was just a tool he'd used for many years to gain power and wealth. Now he had another job for him.

"There's a man named Satou Kazuma. I want him dead inside of a week! And I want him to suffer! He's taken something from me, and I won't forgive him. Cast a Death Curse and make it as painful and gruesome as possible!"

"Is that all?" Maxwell laughed. "Fine, in seven days this Kazuma will be a rotting corpse begging for death."

XXX

"Okay," Kazuma said as he sipped some ale in his dining room. "I think I got it. Princess Iris has gotten a magical necklace as a gift that's got an incredibly dangerous power to it. And you need to steal it, so it doesn't cause her or anyone else harm. That about, right?'

"It's a divine item crafted by the gods, but otherwise yes," Chris sipped from her own ale.

"Okay, if it's so dangerous why don't we just tell her about it and have the royal family get rid of it?"

Chris frowned. "Because its power is too great. This item has the potential to grant someone a form of immortality. If others found out, even the king and the crown prince, the temptation may be too great to resist. It needs to be sealed. The fewer people who know about it the better."

"Immortality?" Kazuma gave a low whistle. "That's impressive I admit. I don't suppose you could tell me-"

"No," she was shaking her head. "You don't need to know. Please just trust me. Since the goddess Eris gave you a divine revelation I hope that will be enough."

"Fine, fine," he said. "Now that you mention it, Iris was wearing a really expensive-looking necklace at the party. Was that it?"

Chris gave a glum nod. "Yes, I was surprised to see it."

"Why didn't you try and steal it then?"

"You need to ask?" She took a long pull of her ale. "Kazuma, I think of myself as a great thief, but there are limits. Rob a princess in the middle of a room with dozens of witnesses including you, Darkness, Megumin, Ignis, Walter, Claire, Lain, Iris herself, along with all the nobles there who are warriors? It was completely impossible!"

"Yeah, I guess it was," he stopped and thought about it. "So, you need an opportunity where there'll be fewer people and a decent chance to get away with it?"

Chris nodded. "It would also help if we could keep our identities hidden. I'd like to continue my career in Belzerg and I'm sure you would too."

"Depends on the circumstance," he muttered and once again wondered if Wallachia would have been that bad.

"So, the first problem is figuring out a way to sneak into the royal palace. That will be tough as the security there is very tight."

"Sneak into the palace?" Kazuma said in surprise. "We don't need to do that. I can just invite her here."

"What?! You can do that?! Kazuma, how well do you know the princess?"

He laughed. "Are you kidding? She's my patron and calls me onii-chan. If I invite her, she'll be more than happy to pay a visit, and I'm sure she'll dress up including the necklace."

"Well, that sounds good. It'll definitely be easier to steal it if she's here rather than in the palace surrounded by all her guards and knights."

"Yeah, but I think we'll need one more person to join us."

"What?" Chris sat up looking nervous. "Kazuma! We can't ask for anyone's help! Robbing the princess is an act of high treason! Who could we possibly trust with that?"

Kazuma laughed. "Someone who goes by the name of Naughty Kitty."