Surprise! I've Transmigrated Again

Faced with the man's challenge to a duel, Kazuma trembled with nervousness.

"You've got to be kidding! I'm the weakest adventurer — how could I possibly face off against a master swordsman?"

"Carter-senpai"

Having no choice, he turned to Adam, his reliable and reassuring team leader.

"No, I can't help you this time, sorry."

"Ca-Carter Senpai?!!!"

His leader's words shattered his hopes like a bitter frost creeping into his spirit, plunging him into despair.

His body betrayed him — cold sweat in this heat, hands and feet turning to ice!

He sighed inwardly. What more did this world want from him? What did Kazuma Satou need to do to satisfy everyone?

Was being an advocate for gender equality such a crime in this other world?!

Tears welled up — this other world showed him nothing but oppression and torment! When would he finally be able to stand tall?!

"Ahem, excuse me, could we discuss tactics first?" Adam said to Kyōya, "Don't worry, Kazuma Satou will duel with you. Adventurers don't run from battles, you understand that, right?"

"Whatever! Discuss tactics all you want." Kyōya agreed without hesitation, showing no urgency to rush the frail-looking challenger into battle. Patting the knight's longsword at his side, he declared confidently, "If my opponent is that man, I'll crush any tricks he tries! My partner and I won't lose!"

In his mind, he had already branded Kazuma as a despicable scoundrel who relied solely on schemes and tricks.

Seeing how the other looked down on him, Kazuma bared his teeth, ready to snap back — but Adam quickly stopped him.

"Wait, Kazuma-kun! Let him be smug for now — we'll make him bow his head in apology later, right?"

"No, I'm going to make him kneel and beg for mercy!" Kazuma's anger boiled over.

Adam seized the moment to explain, "It's not that I won't help you, but since this started with you, if I fight in your place, wouldn't that be admitting you were wrong? Besides..."

He whispered temptingly in his ear.

"That man is ranked third in the kingdom. If you can defeat him, wouldn't that make you effectively third in the kingdom? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the perfect chance to make our party famous. Don't disappoint me, okay?"

"..." Kazuma fell silent for a moment. Then anxiously whispered, "But I'm just the weakest adventurer—how could I possibly beat him?"

Unlike Megumin, who could be swayed with sweet talk, he was rational and knew perfectly well he was too fragile to face Kyōya head-on.

"Well..." Adam knew he was just nervous — after all, in the original story he had easily defeated Kyōya.

But to put him at ease, he decided to tell him how to defeat that Chūnibyō.

"Listen, Kazuma-kun." He whispered in his ear, "His name is Kyōya Mitsurugi, and from that name alone you can tell he's from Japan too — definitely one of the heroes Aqua brought here. See that knight's sword? That's the cheat item he chose from her. If we steal his magic sword, we can easily defeat him, understand?"

The method to easily defeat Kyōya had been revealed.

"Oh, I see, I see..." Kazuma eyed the "justice knight" with ill intent, then whispered, "But is that magic sword really that easy to steal? It's a cheat item from Aqua after all."

Still lacking confidence.

He should know that with his extraordinarily high luck stat, his〘Steal〙skill was unbeatable, and paired with the otherworld's strongest support skill〔Lurk〕, taking the magic sword would be child's play.

He was simply afraid to face Kyōya now that he knew about the cheat item. Time for some reassurance.

"Ahem, in that case, let's use a little trick." Adam raised his right hand, pretending to discuss tactics up close while secretly casting enhancement magic.

◈ Mana Activation ◈

This skill, copied from Beatrice, worked like mana draining and absorption — invisible to the eye. The more mana used, the stronger the effect — making it both useful and discreet.

But it had a drawback!

Once the effect wore off, the body would be wracked with pain, leaving one bedridden for three days. Fortunately, Aqua's recovery magic could fix that.

"Ohhhhh! This feeling!" Energy surged through Kazuma's body.

"Kazuma-kun, you're enhanced now — time is limited, go get him!"

"Oh!" He shouted, charging forward with newfound aggression.

Kyōya was taken aback by Kazuma's sudden burst of spirit but remained confident in his victory!

"Looks like you're ready."

"Of course!"

Kyōya wanted to unleash more pre-battle taunts to satisfy his chūnibyō tendencies, but Kazuma, knowing his brave state wouldn't last, gave him no chance.

◈ Lurk ◈

Without hesitation, he cast his vision-obscuring skill.

The street erupted in chaos as pedestrians were startled by the sudden black mist.

"Waaahhhh!!!"

"What's happening!"

"What's going on?!"

"Eek! Don't touch me! Pervert!"

The street descended into complete pandemonium.

Kazuma's lips curled into a sinister smile as his scheme unfolded perfectly. With the street in chaos and Kyōya distracted, the moment to steal the magic sword had arrived!

Using his 〔Perception〕 skill to pinpoint his target's location, he called out.

◈ Steal ◈

A brilliant light materialized in his right hand, piercing through the black mist.

Adam, certain of success, quickly dispelled the black mist with Wind Magic to prevent further chaos and let others witness Kazuma's victory over Kyōya.

But! Events took an unexpected turn!

As the black mist cleared, revealing both Kazuma and Kyōya's figures.

The chūnibyō stood unharmed, his imposing magic sword still firmly in his grip. The theft had failed!

Kazuma knelt on the ground, his right hand clutching something tightly.

At first, Adam thought the scoundrel had failed completely, but seeing Kazuma's satisfied expression, he knew something had been stolen.

When Kazuma opened his right hand, everyone gasped at what lay within.

It was triangular, pure white, and made of cotton fabric. It was—

"Ah... eh?!" Kazuma stammered.

He had aimed for the magic sword — how had he ended up with underwear instead?!

The street fell into stunned silence.

"What's happening here?" Aqua, who had just returned from the mansion, pushed through the crowd to investigate.

Upon seeing the white garment in Kazuma's raised hand and Kyōya standing opposite him, she instinctively covered her chest and backed away, saying out loud.

"Your level of perversion is unbearable to watch. Going after other party's female adventurers was bad enough, but now you've become so depraved you won't even spare men!?"

"No, wait — you've got it all wrong!" Kazuma protested, but with all eyes on him, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Kazuma-kun, please stay away from me."

"Even you, Carter-senpai?!"

Though he had technically bested Kyōya, he had also permanently sealed his reputation as Kazuma the Scum.

"Just let me explain!!!"

His desperate cry echoed through the now-silent streets of Axel.

✧✧✧

T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!

For just $1 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!

That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)

https://www.patreon.com/mrblackwing