Some brief announcements:
– Gifting: Continued Explosions Next Chapter scheduled for March 1st
– Akashic: May be delayed to sometime on the weekend. I’ve been busier than expected, and haven’t been able to complete the chapter, but I will post it whenever its completed in its pre-edit form.
Consulting with this Masked Devil! – Side Story: Today as a Love Consultant
Shortly past lunchtime, as the customers in the guild began to decrease—
“Oh, to think that you would come to Moi for advice. How unusual of you, laughable clansman.”
“Who are you calling a laughable clansman? Even I have troubles that I want to consult with others about, ok!?”
A girl who belonged to the renowned laughable clan – the Crimson Magic clan – had come to consult with Moi.
With shining, crimson eyes, the indignant laughable clansman said.
“Actually, I heard that your fortune-telling was quite accurate, so I came to have you help me with something.”
Saying that, she sat down in front of me with a serious expression.
“Moi do not mind as long as you pay… So, what would you like to know? Would you like to know the recommended locations for explosion magic?”
“That’s not it. Well, I do want to know, but I didn’t come to you for that today. Actually, I want to know the true face of a certain someone.”
A certain someone?
“Every time I’ve seen him, he’s wearing a mask and has the feeling of a ‘hero from the shadows’. He’s really cool, but um, how should I say this… Since the first time I’ve seen him, I get the feeling that he isn’t a stranger, so it’s been bothering me for a while… No matter what, I’d like to know his true face.”
“So you wanted to know Moi true face hm? Well, Moi have already shown the housewives nearby, and you pleaded to Moi so passionately, so Moi suppose that it won’t hurt to show you Moi true face under the mask.”
“Why would I want to know your true face!? That’s not it. What I want to know is the true face of a certain thieving group.”
Certain thieving group?
“Are you talking about the skillful, wanted thief that wears the same mask as Moi? If that’s the case, then Moi have already been requested to do so by the guild’s employees in the past, but for some reason, Moi is unable to grasp their true face.”
“How disappointing. You act so cocky and confident, but when it comes down to it, you’re just plain useless.”
“To think that Moi would be called useless by you, who can only be used once a day. Even Moi did not foresee such a development.”
“Oi, don’t say it like the only thing I can do is explosion magic… but what a shame. If possible, I would like to see that masked thief again, and I also want to get that cool ma…sk…”
Saying that, the laughable clansman froze.
“Right! That mask! For a while now, I’ve wanted that cool mask! I can buy that from Wiz’s store right?”
“It’s commendable that you have such an interest in Moi mask, however, ‘Vanir Masks’ have already been sold out long ago. To preserve the value of exclusivity, Moi have decided to not restock for the time being.”
“What are you saying? Don’t be so stingy, just give me one! Weren’t you boasting just a moment ago? Don’t be an eyesore, come on!”
“Y-, You little brat, don’t take Moi away, are you trying to kidnap a devil! It will be restocked one day, so be patient and wait!”
The laughable clansman grabbed onto my mask and tried to pry it off.
As I drove her away like a dog, the laughable clansman suddenly clapped her hands and had a eureka moment.
“That’s right, the mask! That masked thief was wearing a mask made by you! If that’s the case, then isn’t that thief one of your customers?”
“Hmpf… Amongst those that bought Moi mask, all of them were slightly strange. Moi don’t think that there were any skillful thieves amongst them…”
From what Moi had heard, that thief had penetrated the tight security of the royal palace, instantly defeated various knights as well as a rather famous adventurer, and finally stole away a treasure.
It’s a shame, but Moi does not remember handing Moi mask to such a powerful adventurer.
“That thief most likely got that mask from someone else. Since they had chosen a tasteful name such as the ‘masked thieving group’, Moi also hope to have a chat with them one day.”
“When the time comes, remember to call me as well. Alright then, I’ll be going, I still have to do my routine work for today.”
Saying that, the laughable clansman stood up. Then, Moi absentmindedly said.
“Is there not something else that you desire to ask Moi? Surely, there must be something else that you are truly bothered about, yes?”
As I led the laughable clansman on, she turned around, and said.
“Right! You still haven’t told me the recommended spots to cast explosion magic.”
Saying that, the laughable clansman reseated herself, but Moi was not talking about that.
“Such trifling matters are unimportant. More important than this, dost thou not want me to foretell the future of the man that resides in thy heart?”
“!”
Hearing what Moi said, the laughable clansman visibly shook.
“That man’s future is not yet decided. Oh, to think that there was such a thing… Moi never thought that that man was so incredibly popular. Moi couldn’t tell by looking.”
“W-, What is it? Even if you try to bait me by saying that, I wouldn’t fall for it… but, it’s fine if I listen in for a little bit, I guess. Just a little bit ok?”
“You must pay to hear what comes next.”
…Hearing that, the laughable clansman opened her purse and stared at its contents.
Then, she extracted its contents in a grand fashion, and cautiously handed it over to Moi.
“…No matter what you say, Moi cannot take almost-complete point cards and coupons as money…”
In response, the laughable clansman’s face flushed in embarrassment, and then she said.
“My name is Megumin! As the number one magician of Axel and the one who forges her own destiny, I tread a thorny path! There is no way that I have a man in my heart, nor would I consult you on such girly feelings!”
Saying that, she dashed out of the guild.
The abashed feelings of a young girl, that would cause anyone to reflexively smile, were truly delicious negative emotions.
Side Stories PDF updated
http://www.mediafire.com/file/p8r18su5oaqa4co/
Thanks for updating!
No LN cover for this side story.?
None since these are just a collection of short stories found in magazines and what-not.
If anyone would like to post images you think I should use for a LN cover for this side stories collection, post them here.
It’s funny chapter…but isn’t it a little bit short?
Its side story
Thanks for the chapter.
Vanir actually didn’t know that Kazuma was the Masked Thief? That’s surprising.
Megumin is still poor? She probably sends funds home but I would have thought she would have kept a little for herself… unless her Dad keeps squandering it all on usefully useless gadgets again…
In volume 7 Kazuma was being paranoid and hiding out near Aqua since he was afraid Vanir would divine that he was the thief from the capital. It seemed like “lol paranoid Kazuma” at the time.
In the Vanir spin off novel it was revealed that Vanir was actually contracted by the police to divine the thief but couldn’t see him because of that.
Megumin doesn’t get a lot of money because as per agreement, she doesn’t get a lot of the money the group earns.
She blows through the rest of the money buying upgrades to make Explosion even more powerful and whats left over is given to her family (whose father likely squanders most of it away on worthless magic items).
I remember whenever Vanir tries to look into Kazuma since that incident, a white light blocks his sight – it must be a counter measure Eris made.
Its because coincidently, he’s always near Aqua when Vanir tries to use his foresight on the Masked Chivalrous Thief.
Aqua nullifies Vanir’s foresight.
thanks brah
Thanks for the chapter!!!
This why galaxy note 7 is best girl
Fite me IRL
Dude… Note 7 best girl… I lol’d
Was there not a similar entry where Vanir was a consultant? How many volumes are there for the main story? how many spin offs are there? and how many side stories are there? I’m sort of confused so can some one clear it up for me. Thanks and great work on your translation.
I’m leaving this here because I want to know how many spin offs and side stories are there too (〜￣▽￣)〜
Eyy!! ^_^
There are 10 volumes of the main story currently, with the 11th coming out soon.
There are 4 Explosion spin-offs, with 2 more on the way. These 6 are divided in two lots of three volumes, with the second lot being called Explosions Continued. There is also a single Consulting spin-off novel, and several spin-offs that are crossovers with Re:Zero are coming up.
No idea how many side stories like this there are, because they aren’t really grouped up in any way.
Thanks for the clear up.
Much appreciated.
A cross-over with Re:Zero? These shows don’t seem to mesh well in my mind. Like, i guess the premise of both of them is similar (MC getting thrown into a fantasy world), but that’s where the similarities end.
Konosuba is a comedy satire of any show that use the premise of “Mc is taken out of the real world into a fantasy world” by making all the characters and events be hilariously polar to the cutout characters and events of generic fantasy adventure shows.
Meanwhile, Re:Zero is a far more “brutal” approach, using shock factors and psychological themes to point fingers on aspects of fantasy shows that are rarely getting covered. Focusing more on character and plot developments.
At no point does these two even fit together. Heck, how does these two universes even collide? It feels like a director was all like “You wouldn’t believe who i got on the phone Natsume! It’s the author of Re:Zero! He’d love to do a crossover collab with you! And I do not take no for an answer ;)” While the author wipes his cold sweat from his forehead trying to come up with a way to connect both worlds.
There are no many shows that would manage to work well with konosuba in both tone and setting, The best i can think of right now would be GATE, and even that’s a stretch :/
Not saying you’re necessarily wrong, but you do realize that the authors of ReZero and Gifting are friends right? They even compare notes and such.
As for similarities, while you are right in that they handle the genre differently, they are in fact part of the same “isekai” genre of light novels. Both designed to play with the premise in different ways. Gifting is indeed a comedic take on it (specifically the basis was parodying the idea of the “cheat” thing common in many similar stories), but it has its fair share of brutality. There’s a good reason why the fanbase nicknames it Fantasy Australia, it’s just the horrific nature is largely in the background and mentioned offhandedly for comedic effect.
And cross-over stories like this are pretty simple to handle honestly. All you have to do is contrive a reason for them to happen, and to contrive a story for it to make it inconsequential to the canon of the main stories. And the first part is frankly already done since the idea of crossing over worlds is already a factor in both stories.
After taking my time to think how these two world can mesh, i came up with this:
In konosuba, the concept of changing worlds is possible through the act of dying and being sent by a god to another world. But in Re:zero only Subaru went through worlds, and that was against his will, with no indication of a simple cause and effect (I haven’t read the LN so if i’m wrong on that part, don’t bother correcting me). So I can only imagine kazuma dying and aqua not coming in time to revive him, causing him to be reincarnated in Re:zero’s world, there he will meet some characters, do cross-over stuff to please the crowd, then die, and return to the konosuba world like nothing happened to preserve the cannon. But for a cross-over to only include kazuma would feel like a wasted opportunity.
P.S, no I didn’t know they were close buds, nice to hear it actually.
Now just to elaborate on what you said.
As much as the cheat joke gave basis to the entire show, the “cheat” gag is long gone and forgotten after two or three volumes, it’s only reappearance was at the capital talking about all the other “cheaters” from japan, and at the crimson clan village, i think this LN spread it’s range of satire to the entire genre, and to many other sub genres that tends to stick close to isekai stories. That’s why I considered it far from Re:Zero.
Also, brutality can be a very versatile tool, it’s not about if you use it or not, it’s about how you use it. While, as you said, konosuba uses it for comedy’s sake (ex. killing kazuma in many horrific ways only for him to be revived again), Re:zero uses it to shock it’s readers (ex. Subaru getting gutted, getting his throat slit open, losing limbs, and of course, Petelgeuse). Both can be considered brutal, and rightly so, but the tone they are served, and reaction of the characters who live in that world determines just how horrific or disturbing the event truly is. That’s why i worry that as soon as the cross-over would need to deal with adversity, the contrast of the reactions between both casts would clash in a bad way.
P.P.S, on second thought, GATE would be a BIG stretch >.>, but it could be hilarious, especially seeing megumin react to the man made explosives the army has on their disposal. And the fact that some characters hold some funny parallels and contrasts between each other
Let’s see… Every spring monsters capable of eating human whole appear, winter is dangerous enough to not leave the city unnesessarily, huge amount of undead riaming aroung like it’s normal – while not that hostile, they indicate the number of people dieing in the open, farmers live by from trouble to trouble caused by monsters treated like natural disaster, the term of “party wipe” is common enough and resurrection is exceptionally rare, there is even monster specialised on hunting adventurers, freaking capital of the state is periodically under attack. And more of it if you read between the lines.
I say the world is pretty terrifying – enough for people to not want to reincarnate there in mass, it’s just Kazuma is very lucky in finding brilliant party for himself. Despite him always complaining about them being useless, white suit was right about those girls being great.
you can find it here tho https://crimsonmagic.me/konosuba/
am i wrong or do you mean Jibril by your name?
Yes the one and only.
Thanks for the chapter
So vanir indirectly admits that he failed with the adivination of kazuma in “today as a harem consultator”
Kinda, I think this becomes a technical issue of phrasing. Kazuma wanted to know why he wasn’t popular more than if anyone liked him. It irritated Vanir so much that he just refused to say anything else.