Prologue

“Explosion—!”

The calm and peaceful plain was trampled by brutal violence.

The shockwave of the explosion radiated out alongside a loud bang, kicking up a dust cloud.

I picked up Megumin who had collapsed onto the ground after exhausting her mana.

“How, how many points did I get…!”

Although she looked really tired, Megumin’s eyes still looked sharp as she asked me.

“From the volume of the sound and destructive power… 85 points!”

“Urghh! As expected of Kazuma, I would have given that explosion the same score. Kazuma is progressing really fast…!”

“Fufu, after accompanying you to do this daily, my judgement will also improve. It’s fine to address me as the explosion sommelier. Here, let me give you a piggyback.”

“Ugghhhh…”

I propped up Megumin who had collapsed onto the ground.

“Explosions day in and day out, and you are still not sick of it. Don't you wanna do a class change to learn other spells and become an excellent mage?

“Of course not. And how dare you complain after getting me, an excellent mage?”

The excellent mage (self proclaimed) said as she put her hands around my neck.

But I realized recently that this girl is rather dependable if she was used well…

I sighed and put Megumin onto my back.

— Tomorrow is another busy day.

She said that she would not be able to cast her spells during the trip as she needed to conserve her mana, so I am dragged to accompany her so called daily explosion ritual.

Really, she how could she not be sick of this?

On our way back to Axel town.

As the sky was gradually dyed red, Megumin who was on my back mumbled to herself.

“I will get one hundred points next time…!”

Chapter 1
Giving this grave letter a resolution!

Part 1

— I, want to have Kazuma-san’s children.

When I heard these passionate words, I stood stiff on the spot with tea leaking from the corner of my lips.

The blushing Yunyun whose fists were trembling.

I was not the only one who turned stiff.

Everyone else was dumbstruck too.

That was obvious, since Yunyun suddenly blurted that out…

“Hey Megumin, can you hold on and not make your move yet? If you let me take back my move, I will give you this weirdly shaped rock I found in a hotspring in Alcanretia.”

… No, there was someone who couldn’t read the mood or pay attention to the conversation.

And that was the troubled Aqua who was sitting opposite Megumin, with a chess piece in her hand.

I pulled myself together and wiped away the tea from my mouth. Darkness remained still with her teacup tilted, her tea spilling all over the carpet.

I placed my cup onto the table and asked Yunyun seriously.

“... What did you say?”

“I, I said, ‘I want to have Kazuma-san’s children’!”

Yunyun yelled in with a flushed face in answer to my query.

It seemed that I wasn’t mistaken then.

“... I want the first child to be a girl.”

“No, no you can’t, the first born must be a boy!”

I thought she was an introverted girl, but she stood her ground stiffly when she needed to.

But I couldn’t give in either. All men want their daughter to address them as daddy…!

“No you two hold on, why are you talking about boys and girls!? How did the conversation progressed to such a state! And Yunyun, why are you saying such nonsense!? Do you know what you’re saying!?”

Megumin came back to her senses and jumped.

“I, I agree with Megumin. You are Yunyun right!? I don’t know what happened between you and Kazuma, but don’t be rash! You know what kind of man this thing is!?”

Darkness said something unpleasant.

“Hmm? Please wait a moment! Yes, this is it! If I place the originally useless crusader here…!?”

Aqua was unaware of the commotion and mumbled to herself with a chess piece in hand.

Her opponent Megumin was grabbing Yunyun by the shoulders and shaking her violently.

“Wake up! Or rather, you will lose sight of things because you are too rash! Please tell me in detail what is happening exactly!”

“Be, because!! If I don’t have Kazuma’s children the world will—! The demon king will…!”

Yunyun who was being shook by Megumin shouted through sniffles:

“Is that so, the world will… No problem, everyone, you don’t need to say anymore. Leave the world and the demon king to me. I will have a baby with Yunyun, defeat the demon king and the world will be saved right? How can I reject the request of someone in need?”

“Why, you! And you were always so resistant when I asked you to take on quests!”

“That’s right! You refused to listen to others usually, why are you so compliant at a time like this! And why don’t you have any doubts about this sudden turn of events!?”

I said to the two of them who were interrupting me:

“Shut up! What are you two going on about from just now!? This is a matter between the two of us right!? Those not involved just shut up! It’s a rare chance for me to be so popular, so don’t get in my way!”

“This man is twisting the facts and blaming us! And how am I not involved, my friend is going to be abducted by a weirdo, of course I have to sound out!”

To shut the persistent Megumin up, I continued:

“After all, I have been meeting pretty girls and beautiful women all these while, it is strange that there are no developments at all! Aren’t we the heroes who defeated multiple bosses of the demon king army!? Didn’t we resolve many incidents somehow!? It wouldn’t be weird for pretty girls who admire me or adventurers who want my signature to pop up!! Hey Darkness! You’re sort of a noble, so at least give me a medal in recognition of my merits!”

“Y,You! Don’t say it out loud even if that is how you feel! All your hard earned achievements will be ruined if you say it out like that!”

Yunyun watched on as we squabble.

“Please, please calm down! Sorry, it’s all my fault so please calm down!”

“She timidly placed herself between us, but…

“I heard that people will normally get married between sixteen to twenty years old in this country, but it is fine to do so from fourteen! Yunyun and Megumin are classmates, so she is fourteen right!? Then there is no problem! Wonderful, simply wonderful! A blissful life not bound by laws! The joy of not being a lolicon! This is the first time I’ve liked this world!! And what is with the lot of you? You all have a thing for me? Jealous because I’m going to date Yunyun!? Then just spit it out, you bunch of Tsunderes!”

“This guy! Darkness, let’s get him! Let him taste death once!”

“Yes, watch me beat up this useless bum who is only good at yapping!”

“Oh? Oh? What, you want to fight? You girls never learn huh! I can attack by using drain touch, and touching your body is proper self defence! No matter where I grab, it won’t be sexual harassment!”

I opened and closed my hands rapidly to intimidate the two of them as Megumin gradually lifted her brows.

At that moment, someone tugged at the cape of Megumin, who was ready to pounce at any second.

“Hey, it’s Megumin’s turn to move. Look here, this is a move I am really confident of. Hurry up!”

“Explosion!”

“Waaahhhh!!”

Megumin who was being pulled by Aqua shouted explosion as she flipped over the chessboard without even looking at it.

“Uhh… Uhhh… I should have banned the explosion rule…”

I glanced at Aqua who was sniveling as she picked up the chess pieces scattered all over the carpet, as Megumin pointed her staff at me.

“Despite my appearances, I have been training everyday with the goal of being the strongest mage. Scum like Kazuma with weak stats will be defeated easily even if I don’t use magic!”

“Ara, even I will take offence from that. What makes me dangerous is how I defeated so many powerful foes despite my low stats. I will never lose against a dumb explosion mage who can only use one spell. The muscle headed crusader is not even worth mentioning.”

“Muscle headed Crusader!?”

Amidst the atmosphere on the verge of a fight, Yunyun suddenly shouted with tears in her eyes:

“Megumin, listen to me! The Home of the Crimson Magic… The Home of the Crimson Magic is going to disappear!!”

Part 2

“Please excuse our mediocre tea and hospitality.”

“No, it’s fine, thank you very much.”

Yunyun sat on the couch as ushered, accepted the tea from Aqua and finally calmed down.

“... Well then, what is going on? The Home of the Crimson Magic disappearing is bad news. Can you explain it in detail?”

After hearing what Megumin said, Yunyun gave her a letter wordlessly.

Megumin took the letter and took out two pieces of paper.

“... This is the letter sent by Yunyun’s father, the village chief huh. ‘By the time you receive this letter, I probably have already passed on from this world’…?”

Megumin’s expression gradually became serious as she read the content of the letter.

It was understandable for Yunyun to fall into confusion after reading the content of the letter.

It seemed that a boss of the demon king’s army had appeared near the Home of the Crimson Magic, and was building a military base with the large amount of underlings there.

And the boss seemed to have high magic resistance.

And right now, they couldn’t destroy that military base…

The letter emphasized the village chief was placing the pride of the Crimson Magic clan on the line and was determined to die together with the boss of the demon king’s army.

And finally…

“‘I entrust the position of village chief to you… As the last of the Crimson Magic clan, do not let our bloodline die out...’ hold on, isn’t there another Crimson Magic clansman here!?”

“Ignore that for now, look behind! There is another page!”

When the agitated Megumin heard Yunyun said that, she started reading the other letter.

“‘—The diviner in the village foresaw the attack of the demon king army. And visage of despair for the Home of the Crimson Magic. But that same diviner also saw a glimmer of hope. As the only survivor of the village, Yunyun…’ … Like I said, why is Yunyun the only survivor, what happened to me!?”

“No, ignore that for now, continue reading!”

“...As the only survivor of the village, Yunyun hid her goal of defeating the demon king in her heart and focused on training. Some time later, she will meet a certain man in the city of beginners. Unreliable and powerless, that man was her future spouse.”

“... Why are you looking at me? The unreliable and powerless man is referring to me? And Yunyun, you came here based on just that?”

Yunyun averted her eyes when she heard that.

“I am going to read on okay? ‘Time passed in a flash. The child of the survivor of the Crimson Magic clan and that man was already the age of a youth. Just like his father, he became an adventurer and went on a journey. But that youth still didn’t know. He would be the one who will avenge his clansmen and defeat the hated enemy— the demon king…’”

“!?” x3

After hearing this, not just me, even Darkness and Aqua gasped.

“Our, our child will defeat the…!?”

“Wait, wait! What is with this nonsense!? Hey Kazuma, someone as paranoid as you, wouldn’t believe in something as vague as divination right!?”

“Hey, that would be troubling! It would be troubling for me!!”

While I was surprised by the heavy burden of my destiny, Darkness and Aqua started to panic.

… Hmm?

Could it be, they were jealous?

Ah, huh, really?

What a youthful scenario, it is really—

“I don’t want it to be so troublesome, can you hurry up and defeat the demon king!? It will take too long for Kazuma’s kid to grow up! Hey, at what age can one be considered a youth? Is three years okay? If not, let’s pretend that divination doesn’t exist!”

— Not at all.

And what do you mean three years, you want a toddler to defeat the demon king?

“The Home of the Crimson Magic has powerful oracles! Which means that divination is…!”

“I understand, leave it to me. This is for the sake of the world, it can’t be helped.”

“Why you, you, is it really fine!? You are always wishy washy, why did you pick today to be so decisive!?”

Darkness grabbed my collar and leaned her face close to mine. At this moment, Megumin who finished reading said in a soft voice:

“... On this page, the last part says ‘Legend of the Crimson Magic Hero, Chapter 1, Author: Arue.’ ”

“!?” x3

When Megumin said that, Darkness, Yunyun and me all snapped our head her way.

Aqua leaned over and read the letter.

“Let me see. Ara, the handwriting is different from the first page. The first page is written by Yunyun’s father. The second one has the postscript ‘postage is too expensive, so I asked the village chief to send this together with his. I will send chapter 2 over when I finish it’...”

“Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh—!”

Yunyun snatched the letter, crumpled it up and threw it away.

“Waaahhhh, that’s too much! Arue that idiot ahhhhhh!!”

Feeling confused, I asked Yunyun who was kneeling on the carpet and wailing:

“Hey, explain to me what is happening! Who is Arue, what about our children. What should I do? Should I strip here or in the room?”

“You can wash up, go to your room and sleep… Arue is my classmate from the Home of the Crimson Magic. How should I put it, she is a weird girl aiming to be an author…”

Darkness showed a relief expression when she heard what Megumin said.

“Oh, so it is just a story… Hmm? Wait, what about the first letter?”

“The contents of this one should be true. The Crimson Magic clan has been an eyesore to the Demon King’s army for the longest time. This day will come sooner or later anyway. They are probably getting serious about attacking the Home of the Crimson Magic.”

“Hey wait wait, what about my tender heart? Don’t mess with me, I was prepared to take my pants off and now you tell me this? What about Yunyun? Yunyun and I will become sweet lovers right!?”

“It won’t happen. You are in the way, just step aside and play with Aqua… By the way Megumin, why are you so calm? Aren’t you worried about your family and classmates? Your home village is in danger right?”

Prompted by Darkness’ words, the wailing Yunyun lifted her head suddenly.

“That, that’s right. Now is not the time to be crying! Hey Megumin, what should we do!? I think it’s true that our village is being attacked! What should I do!?”

After listening to Darkness and Yunyun, Megumin said:

“We are the Crimson Magic Clan that even the Demon King fears right? I don’t think the people in the village will helplessly await their demise. Also… If Yunyun the daughter of the village chief is here, the bloodline of the Crimson Magic Clan won’t be broken no matter what happens to the village. So, I think it would be better to think about it this way— Everyone in the village will live on in our hearts—”

“Megumin, you cold hearted girl! Why do you act so heartless every time!?”

Yunyun looked towards me with tears in her eyes and blushed cheeks.

“Er, erm… Sorry for saying something weird so suddenly. How, how should I put this, the only man I know is only Kazuma-san…”

“Oh, right. It’s fine. Instead, what are you going to do? Isn’t your home village in danger?”

Yunyun wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes and said:

“Yes, I will prepare to leave for the Home of the Crimson Magic now. After all, it is my home village, my f,fri,friends… are there.”

She probably wasn’t certain if they were actually friends.

“Well then, sorry for bothering you, everyone! Erm, you too Megumin. Good bye…”

We watched as Yunyun walked away lonelily.

“… Kazuma, will it be fine to let this child go alone? I thought you would be driven by your lust and say try to act cool by saying ‘I will go with you’.”

“Didn’t she say the boss of the Demon King’s army is attacking? Even if I went along, I would just get in the way. It’s dangerous and scary, and I’m tired after my journey back… But Megumin, if you are worried about that kid, you can tag along with her you know?”

“This, this guy, you were just boasting about being a hero that took out the bosses of the Demon King’s army! And why would I be worried about Yunyun? She’s my rival okay? Something like an enemy to me.”

Darkness and I smiled deviously as we looked at Megumin who said these strong words.

“Hey, she might be saying that, but didn’t she look really uneasy all this while?”

“Don’t be so mean Kazuma, but I know Megumin is not being honest. Why don’t you give her a way out of this?”

Megumin glared at the two of us who were chatting happily.

“Hey Aqua, say something… Ah…”

I turned towards Aqua.

“Huu…”

And saw Aqua sleeping soundly on the couch.

It seemed that the discussion right now was too difficult for her.

… In the end, Megumin secluded herself in her room on the second floor and sulked.

Darkness who was in the living room with me said:

“Hey Kazuma, is it really fine leaving her alone like this? Erm, isn’t that Yunyun girl Megumin’s friend? I heard that she is strong… But still…”

“It will be fine. She is a real Crimson Magic Clan member and can use advanced magic. Or rather, she would be safer going alone instead of with us tagging along. After all, we have someone deeply loved by the undead in our team.”

I said as I looked towards Aqua who was curling herself up and drooling on the couch.

Also, even though she was being stubborn now, after some time, Megumin would…

— That night.

After dinner, I was mulling away time in the room when I heard a soft knocking sound on my door.

“Please come in.”

Entering after hearing my response was of course…

“… Kazuma, I have something to discuss with you, do you have time?

Megumin who was in pajamas seemed reluctant to speak.

“What are you doing here so late at night? Did Yunyun’s words ignite your competitive spirit, and you’re now here for a night raid?”

“Watch it, I’ll blow you away! I noticed that your verbal sexual harassment has been going nonstop since I turned fourteen!”

I sat cross legged on the bed and urged Megumin whose face was flushed with rage to go on.

Although I have an idea what she was going to say…

Megumin coughed dryly and said:

“Well, you know. I don’t really care what happens to Yunyun, but actually, I have a sister much younger than me back home.”

……

“That’s why, even though Yunyun has nothing to do with me, I am still worried about my sister… Why, why are you laughing so deviously?”

I smiled deviously at Megumin who was making a tsundere-like speech.

Part 3

The next morning.

After getting the map detailing the vicinity of the Home of the Crimson Magic from the Adventurers Guild, I looked at everyone and said:

“Anyway, the situation is like this. This tsundere says she wants to go back to her home village, and I feel that going to the Home of the Crimson Magic to play is a neat idea too.”

“Who is a tsundere! Didn’t I say that I was worried about my little sister…!”

I patted the head of the persistent Megumin and interrupted her.

“The village seemed to be at war with the Demon King’s army, so we will watch the situation in the village from a distance first. If it is as dangerous as the letter suggested, we will go home immediately. If we discover any Demon King army forces, we will also go home. We have to do our best to avoid fights with monsters too!”

“The battle plan is so Kazuma, much depraved, wow! But it’s fine. Even though we just returned from a trip… I will use my power to save the people in Megumin’s home village!”

Aqua who was brimming with confidence after defeating a boss of the Demon King’s army recently said while clenching her fist.

“Home of the Crimson Magic huh. That’s a haven for powerful monsters. And there would be hordes of Demon King’s army forces attacking…! Ahh, what if we get overwhelmed by their numbers and become their prisoners!? Hey Kazuma, if that happens, don’t worry about me, just take care of yourselves!”

“Don’t worry, I will be very happy to dump you there. Please don’t come back.”

After answering decisively to Darkness who was blabbering nonsense, I picked up the bag I hadn’t even unpacked yet and left the mansion with the three of them.

We would normally need to travel by public coach, but I had a better idea.

“Hey Kazuma, where are we going? Aren’t we going to the Home of the Crimson Magic with that Yunyun kid?”

“Yunyun left yesterday afternoon in a coach. We can’t catch up even if we go now. And I have enough of traveling by coach. And also… There is somewhere I want to go.”

— We reached the destination while I was conversing with Aqua.

“... Ugh. So this is the place you want to go… Erm, I am a crusader who worships Eris-sama, so I don’t really want to be here… After all, there is—”

“Welcome! The man who didn’t raise much in levels despite having a job that is easy to level, the little girl who wasn’t of much use aside from relying on the power of her family name! And the delinquent priest emitting annoying light as well as the useless race that is master of a useless spell! Thou came at the right time!”

“This fellow here…!”

“Use, useless race…!”

After the greeting from the shop worker who was cleaning the shop while wearing a strange mask, Darkness and Megumin groaned with frustration.

I came here to finalize my deal with Vanir, and I had some business with Vanir. However…

Vanir ignored Aqua who was trying to intimidate him by swinging her fists, came behind me and pushed me into the shop while saying “Please, come in.”

There was no sign of Wiz in the shop.

In place of her was a sobbing sound from the depths of the shop.

I said to the suspicious worker as he pushed me.

“What do you mean by coming at the right time? Did you import weird merchandize again? I will make this clear now, I won’t buy anything from this shop.”

“Don’t say that! Moi has no intentions of peddling garbage every time. This shalt definitely suit thy taste.”

Choosing the most opportune time, Vanir started promoting his product to us as we entered the shop, showing us a small box with its lid open.

“...? What’s this?”

“This is a magic item to repel the undead. Just by opening the cover, holy air that will keep the undead away will be emitted continuously, and will last for half a day. Well, thee has a strange team member that attracts the undying correct? Thee suffered much in thy previous journey because of that right? With this, thou would be able to sleep peacefully even if thou camp outside!”

“Hey, that weird teammate is not referring to me right?”

Repel the undead huh.

It seemed convenient just from the sound of it…

“Well, what are its demerits? There is definitely something wrong with it right?”

“There are none. The only bad thing about this is its high price and one time usage. But it is very effective! So effective that the clumsy shop owner couldn’t come out of the shop after accidentally opening the box, and has been crying all this while.”

“No, close the box and ventilate the place! So that noise is Wiz crying!? And Wiz too, why did she buy this… But it really is convenient, so give me one. I will need it soon anyway.”

I thought about the need to camp outdoors as I opened my wallet…

“That would be one million Eris! Thank thee for thy patronage!”

“So expensive! At that price, I would rather fight with the zombies!”

Vanir ignored my protest and deftly placed a new box into a bag.

“Oh, this is nothing customer. After all, customer is going to be a very wealthy man soon! All the intellectual property rights thee owned as of now, is to be sold to moi for three hundred million Eris! Will this contract suffice?”

He said as he produced a contract.

“Three hundred million Eris…! If you give such a huge amount to this man, he will really become a bum who lazes around all day! However, that sounds good too…”

Darkness mumbled strangely to herself softly.

Aqua and Megumin pulled on my sleeves from either side with all smiles.

“Kazuma-san, Kazuma-san. I want a pool in the mansion.”

“I want a mana freshener that is said to improve mana recovery rate.”

“Ara, you zombies attracted to the smell of money. A pool and freshener sounds expensive so I won’t even consider it right now. Rather than that, go pick out the items we might need for this trip.”

After telling that to Aqua and Megumin, they started browsing the items in the shop cheerfully.

I chose to let Vanir purchase all the merchandize I developed in one go.

I was always being dragged into troublesome matters.

Hence, I felt it would be better to run with the money right away if there was a need.

After all, this town had been attacked by the demon king army and the mobile fortress destroyer in just one year, and was in danger of being destroyed twice in just one year. It was only right to be extra careful.

“— Well then, just deduct the cost for this undead repellent magic item from the three hundred million Eris. It would be some time before you can raise the three hundred million, right?”

“Yes. Moi must apologize, after all, the loser shop owner who imported unnecessary junk increased our expenditure. Finances were already short before that. But moi will procure a large sum of money next week. Moi has gathered investors in this town.”

Next week huh. Next week, I will be a rich man in this town!

“By the way, I have some business with Wiz. Can you please get her for me?”

After hearing my request, Vanir closed the box emitting white fog with a face of pity.

After opening the windows to ventilate the room, Wiz finally came out.

Fresh from a tiring journey, Wiz who almost ascended to heaven yesterday looked even more pale than usual. She welcomed us with a smile.

“Yo Wiz, are you feeling well? Sorry for bothering you again today. I didn’t come here to buy stuff, but to seek your help.”

“...? Seek my help?”

I nodded at Wiz who tilted her head.

I explained the situation in Megumin’s home village and what my request was.

“— I see. So I just need to send everyone to Alcanretia with teleport, right?”

To travel to the Home of the Crimson Magic, we would need to go to Alcanretia, and go on from there.

This lady who was an undead lich but loved bathing really liked the hot spring we visited on our last journey, and have set Alcanretia as a teleport point.

While I was talking to Wiz, the others were browsing the merchandize in the shop.

“Erm, hey Vanir, how effective is this potion that attracts monsters? What will happen if you get sprayed by this?”

“This is meant to be drunk. After drinking this, not just the monsters, even the people in town, thy family and comrades would detest thee and attack. This is an excellent product that complements thou twisted fetish perfectly. Want one?”

“... Even my family and friends… Ugh, it would be troubling if they keep hating me, but if the effect is temporary, I might consider buying…”

“... Oh, there are potions that increase the effectiveness of a specific spell temporary. Are there any potions that would enhance the power of explosion spells?”

“Right now, the only spell enhancement potions we have in stock are for ‘Curse Magic’ and ‘Marsh Magic’. The Curse Magic potion will increase the area of effect of thy spell, so thyself would also be rendered immobile if thee use it against an enemy. The same with Marsh Magic, it increases the area of effect and will drown the caster in the marsh too.”

“Useless products… And what about this doll with such a strong sense of presence?”

“Those are Vanir dolls, made by embedding fragments of moi mask. A great product that wards off evil spirits out of their fear for moi. This is also the only hot selling product in this shop. It will laugh in the middle of the night, but its effects are splendid. There are no evil spirits in thy mansion, but there is a spirit there… How about getting one?”

“Laughing in the middle of the night is just like having an evil spirit in the mansion. And if there are any spirits in the mansion, our Aqua won’t let it off anyway.”

“Hey wait, Megumin still don’t believe what I said!? Didn’t I mention that there is a spirit of an aristocratic girl living in the mansion!? Because she is a pitiful child, I didn’t purify her and let her roam free!”

“Yeah right. That spirit will occasionally drink Aqua’s wine right? I get it, I get it.”

“Even Darkness! Believe me!!”

How, how noisy…

While I was distracted by the people behind me, Wiz said with a nostalgic expression.

“But, the Home of the Crimson Magic. I went to purchase supplies in that village in the past. I went to visit a famous magic item crafter called Hyoizaburo back then, but he wasn’t home, unfortunately…”

Megumin who came to my side gasped softly.

“Please, please wait a moment. Did you say Hyoizaburo?... By the way, when did you visit the Home of the Crimson Magic?”

“I visited… about two years ago? Right right, when I visited the craftsman’s home, there was a cute girl that resembled Megumin-san very much who greeted me…”

When she heard that, Megumin held her head and squatted down.

“What is the matter? Anything happened?”

“No it’s nothing… Just that my unnecessary judgement disrupted your business trip…”

Sounds of an argument came from behind Megumin who was saying something strange.

“Don’t touch that thee plague goddess! Every potion thou touch turns into water!”

“What kind of attitude is this, aren’t customers goddess!? On top of that, I am a real goddess! Show the appropriate respect for a goddess!”

“Thou art thick skinned enough to say that after destroying moi merchandize, thy goddess of poverty!? Hey Wiz, Moi heard what thee were saying! Thou art sending these bunch away right!? Do it before she destroy all the merchandize in the shop!!”

When Wiz heard what Vanir was yelling, she prepared her spell with a wry smile.

“Hey brat!”

Vanir whispered into my ears:

“Since thee purchased an expensive merchandize, moi will gift you this advice. The devil of prophecy warns… At the destination of thy journey, there will be a time when thy comrade share their doubts and approach thee for advice. That comrade will change her path according to thy words. Thou should consider it carefully and give an advice thy would not regret.”

He said something deeply profound.

Although this guy’s advice had always been dubious.

After shutting Aqua who was still complaining up, the four of us gathered in one spot.

“Well then, I wished you a safe journey…! Teleport!!”

Part 4

I opened my eyes which I closed on reflex because of Wiz’s spell.

Before me was the city of water and hotspring, Alcanretia.

To think that after just one day, I was back in this city I thought I would never see again…

“Hey, hey, Kazuma Kazuma.”

“We are leaving right away. I don’t want anything to do with your religion and cultist anymore.”

“But why!”

After rejecting Aqua who wanted to spend a night in this city, I looked for information regarding Yunyun.

Yunyun set off yesterday.

She probably went by public coach, but the distance from Axel to Alcanretia would require an entire day even if she set off in the morning.

That’s why I figured that we reached before her thanks to Wiz’s teleport spell.

… But, when she heard about my plans to meet up with Yunyun when she arrive—

“Kazuma, I am not going back home because I was worried about Yunyun, but for my sister. So let’s move on. If it is her, she will catch up soon, don’t worry.”

Megumin said with an awkward face.

She seemed adamant about her excuse of being worried about her sister.

… What a tsundere.

In the end, we didn’t stay long in Alcanretia before leaving the city and setting off for the Home of the Crimson Magic.

It would be troublesome if we met with the Axis Cultist. It didn’t really matter to me either way…

However, there was no public coach that heads for the Home of the Crimson Magic.

The way to the Home of the Crimson Magic was said to be dangerous terrain even caravans wouldn’t risk.

Most importantly, the Crimson Magic clansmen could teleport between cities freely.

So there was no need for caravans to risk a visit.

“It would take two days to walk from this city to the village. Many dangerous monsters paved the road there, so we need to rely on Kazuma’s sense enemy skill.”

After leaving Alcanretia, we walked along a smooth road towards the Home of the Crimson Magic.

To be frank, camping in a place full of dangerous monsters sounded scary.

I hoped to close the distance as much as possible during the day.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me. Didn’t I defeat some mob monsters in the previous journey? I raised a level back then. With the excess skill point, I learned the rogue skill ‘escape’. With this, I can run away at any time.”

“Hey, isn’t that skill only effective for Kazuma alone? Do you mean you will escape by yourself if you detect any enemies?”

I ignored Aqua who raised a sensitive topic.

Our formation was Darkness taking the vanguard, followed by me, Megumin and Aqua.

“Kazuma’s job is adventurer, which levels easily right? But after such an intense battle with the demon king army boss, you only raised one level? My level raised to 33 in one go!”

“Hey, don’t flash your adventurers card in front of me, or I will snatch it and throw it away. It can’t be helped, you can steal the kill on the boss and blow tons of mob monsters in one go. On the other hand, my only means of attack is this sword with a weird name and a bow.”

After walking for some time, we reached a forest.

Darkness who was in front suddenly stopped.

“.... Hmm, someone is there?”

When we heard Darkness, we looked in that direction…

At the entrance to the forest, a green haired girl sitting on a boulder seemed to have spotted us and was waving.

What was she doing alone here?

… I shifted my gaze to the girl’s leg.

On her right ankle were bandages that were stained with blood. She would glance at her right feet from time to time with a pained expression.

She then lifted her head and looked our way.

When she did, one of my skills reacted.

… How should I put this.

…... This world, is really cruel!

“Aren’t you hurt. Hey, are you alright?”

I grabbed the shoulder of Aqua who was carelessly approaching the girl to stop her.

When they noticed my actions, not just Aqua, even Megumin and Darkness turned to look at me.

“My sense enemy skill detected the presence of a monster. That is a monster in disguise.”

“Huh?” x3

I ignored the gaze of the girl who was looking this way with a sad expression as I kept my guard up while taking out the map to the Home of the Crimson Magic I got from the adventurers guild.

Information about monsters found along the road was published on it too.

I searched for a monster that matched the description of this girl…

And found it.

‘Tranquility girl’... That’s her name.

Aqua said to me while I was reading the details:

“Hey Kazuma, I think she is looking at you with very sad eyes. I feel the urge to cast healing spell on that child.”

I kept on grabbing the shoulder of Aqua who was saying that and read the explanation panel of ‘Tranquility girl’.

“Tranquility girl. This plant type monster won’t harm people physically… However, it will give travelers a strong urge to protect it, luring travelers to its side. The temptation is hard to resist, and if become emotionally attached, you will be trap until death. It is rumoured that this monster possess high intelligence, but that is still inconclusive. It might sound cruel, but any adventurer team that encounter this monster must exterminate it.”

“Hey Kazuma. I think she is watching us with an expression that is on the verge of tears. Is that really a monster?”

It was uncharacteristic of Darkness to sound so worried.

“As the monster will smile with relief when the traveler stays by its side, it is hard to leave her. It will show a crying face if you want to leave. The kinder you are, the more likely you would be trapped by this monster, please use caution.”

“Ka, Kazuma, that child is smiling while doing her best to hold back her tears. She is waving as if to say good bye. I really feel like going over to give her a hug.”

I unhand Aqua and turned to grab the collar of Megumin who spoke just now.

“Once you are trapped, it would cling on to you, so it would be hard to get away. Also, when the traveler tries to leave because of hunger, the most dangerous thing is that this monster will pick the fruit it bears and offer it to the traveler. It taste delicious and give those who eats it a sense of being full… However, the fruits contain no nutrients, so whoever eats it will slowly wither away no matter how much they eat. The traveler would be stricken by their conscience when they see the girl cutting and offering the fruits it bore itself. In the end, they wouldn’t even eat, and die of malnourishment.”

“Ugh…! Even if she is a monster, ignoring a casualty is…”

Darkness who couldn’t bear it any longer approached the Tranquility girl.

As the map state that the monster won’t attack physically, I didn’t stop Darkness and continued reading.

“Eating the fruits of the Tranquility girl for long periods of time will result in the danger signals sent by your body of hunger, fatigue and pain being cut off. The fruits might contain something that affects the central nervous system. Hence, travelers will stay close to the girl and grow frail in a dream like state. There were many cases of old adventurers seeking a peaceful and tranquil death, which is the origin of the name ‘Tranquility girl’... After that, the Tranquility girl will enroot itself on the body of the dead traveler, using it as nutrients—”

… I stopped after reading to this part.

I released my hand unconsciously. Megumin and Aqua then ran to that girl.

Everyone was hesitant about touching it after learning it was a monster, but they all showed an uneasy expression.

The Tranquility girl seemed to be asking ‘Are you going to stay by my side’, looking at the three of them with eyes filled with expectations.

The protective instincts of the three of them were probably stimulated by her gaze and their hands kept opening and closing.

“It is a type of vegetation monster that won’t deal physical damage, but it will stop travelers by stimulating their protective instincts, starve them to death and enroot them.”

When they heard what I said, they seemed relieved and walked to the Tranquility girl’s side.

… Didn’t they hear the part about starving travelers to death!?

“I will heal your wounds! … Huh? These are not wounds. It’s not bandages either, just something that looks like that.”

After hearing Aqua, I went closer to observe the girl.

The Tranquility girl was wearing clothes that were common for girls in town.

She was bare footed and was smiling happily as we surrounded her.

Looking carefully, the boulder under her butt was also a part of her body that was mimicked.

Behind the boulder was something like a branch, small fruits were growing on it.

Be it the clothes she was wearing and the blood stained bandages, all these were mimics to draw the attention of people.

Disguising herself as a girl who couldn’t move due to her injury, how evil.

The three of them didn’t care about what I was thinking and started doting on the Tranquility girl.

Megumin reached out her hand gently, and the Tranquility girl showed a hesitant face that seemed to be saying ‘Can I hold your hand?’, and took Megumin’s hand.

After holding Megumin’s hand tightly, her expression changed to that of happiness from the bottom of her heart.

… The three of them was completely taken in by that expression.

I heard that the Home of the Crimson Magic was in crisis, but this thing was a danger in another way.

I remembered the warning about the monster.

‘The kinder you are, the more likely you would be trapped by this monster, please use caution.’

And ‘any adventurer team that encounter this monster must exterminate it’.

I stood before Tranquility girl and drew out my katana ‘Chunchunmaru’.

“Hey, what are you thinking Kazuma! Are you going to use this child to earn experience points!?”

When she saw me do that, Aqua hugged the Tranquility girl as if to protect her.

No, hold it, that is a monster.

And that kind that kills people.

“I heard about Tranquility girls before. However, we can’t hurt a monster with an appearance of a girl right? Although Kazuma is renowned for being an evil bastard, I know Kazuma has a side that cares for his comrades, a kind and gentle side. Kazuma won’t do something like that… You won’t, right…?”

Megumin held the hand of Tranquility girl and looked up at me with pleading eyes.

Just like a kid pleading her parents not to send a kitten she picked up off to animal control.

… I, I wasn’t doing this because I want to.

Darkness seemed hesitant just now, but seemed to remember that this was a monster—

“... No. If Kazuma decided to exterminate it, then it should be done. I came over because I thought it was injured, but it wasn’t hurt at all. Judging from this, this monster must be a very cunning mimic. If we leave it alone, there would be more victims in the future.”

She drew out a great sword while saying this, and took a stance against the Tranquility girl.

At this moment, the Tranquility girl said with a lisp like a child, with a voice that was soft and vague:

“... Want kill… me…?”

The Tranquility girl held onto Megumin’s hand like a drowning man grabbing at straws as she raised her head and looked up at Darkness. Tears filled her eyes as she quivered nonstop.

So it could talk…

The great sword in Darkness’ hands started shaking intensely, and she looked at me with an expression completely identical to the Tranquility girl.

Even you? Looking at me with such eyes? What the hell.

I pushed the immobile Darkness aside and walked forth with my unsheathed katana.

Aqua stood before the Tranquility girl to block my way, waving her fists as if she was a boxer.

… This girl was an actual goddess, why was she charmed by this monster so easily?

The Tranquility girl looked at Megumin who was holding its hand, then said to me timidly:

“... Want kill… Me…?”

Seeing the teary eyed girl tilting her head to express her doubt, it felt like a knife was tearing away my insides.

The three people and one monster stared at me.

Pull yourself together, this monster will kill people.

If left alone, someone else might fall victim to it. I didn’t want to say anything grandiose, but leaving a monster alone would be wrong, right?

Or was exterminating it wrong?

Uwwwaaaahhhhh!

Seeing me stab the katana into the ground and scratching my head in dilemma, Aqua said:

What logical thinking, just like that of a bum.

But wait, there was another reason why I couldn’t let the Tranquility girl off.

The things that was happening in Megumin’s home village.

The place we were going has a boss of the demon king army and minions waiting.

I don’t plan to fight them, but to be on the safe side, I still want to raise my level as much as I could.

Tranquility girl was a monster found in such a dangerous habitat, it should yield quite a bit of experience if I defeat it.

The three of them looked at me with complicated expressions.

And so did the Tranquility girl who had a face of unease.

I had a proper reason to do this.

If I don’t exterminate this monster, there might be victims in the future.

… Ahhhh, damn it, it couldn’t be helped, so please forgive me!

That’s right, even though its appearance was human, it was still a monster on the inside, a monster, monster…!

… Seeing how conflicted I was, the Tranquility girl said in a soft voice:

“You look painful… Sorry, because, I live…”

The Tranquility girl said as she showed a fragile smile.

“Because, I, monster… live, will, cause trouble…”

Specks of tears appeared in her eyes.

“Since born, first time, talk with humans…”

It clasped its hand before its chest as if in prayer.

“First, and last time met with you, wonderful… If, another life… Next time, not monster, will be wonderful…”

After saying its piece, it closed its eyes in resignation.

… No way I could do it.

Part 5

We let the Tranquility girl off and carried on walking down the road.

I didn’t want to care about that anymore.

Someone might fall victim to it in the future, but I was not so persistent in the belief that human lives were the most important, and would kill a monster with an appearance of a girl.

… That Tranquility girl would definitely charm someone who was going to pass through there.

After all, even after we agreed to spare it, everyone was still reluctant to leave. Aqua and Megumin was hesitant to leave, making me spend a lot of effort to herd them forth.

Ahhh, how annoying, be it kill or spare, both options leave a bad taste in the mouth, this monster was really evil.

However, it said this was the first time it spoke with a human, so no one had fallen in its hands yet.

So, sparing it would be…

Fine…?

“— But I am so glad that Kazuma still have some shreds of humanity in him. I thought you would say ‘become my experience points!’ and murder it, then burn it away with fire magic.”

“I think there is a need to talk with you about how you normally sees me. All of you should know very well that I won’t do something like that right?”

I said as I looked towards Darkness and Megumin…

“......” x2

The two of them averted their eyes in silence.

I really want gentle comrades who could really understand me.

… Eh?

“Hey, wait. Isn’t it bad if there is a Tranquility girl on this path?”

Speaking of gentle comrades, I remembered Yunyun who would be right behind us.

If that kid with no friends, fear loneliness and pay extra attention to her surroundings was to pass this way.

The Tranquility girl said that we were the first humans we spoke to.

In that case, Yunyun was definitely behind us.

“Your face is the same colour as Wiz, what’s the matter? Your stomach hurts? There’s some trees there, we will keep away so go there and settle it quick.”

“That’s not it! Hey, you girls go first! I will go back to the Tranquility girl, I have something to discuss with it!”

“Huh, wait, wait Kazuma!?”

I ignored the confused voice of Aqua and charged back the way we came.

Part 6

It had not been five minutes since we parted with the Tranquility girl.

I will reach soon if I ran there.

It might be a bit thick faced of me, but let’s try asking that girl.

Asked it to not smile or wave at a girl with red eyes that might passed by this road.

I thought about it as I ran.

Right, if talking worked, I could try asking her not to seduce travelers.

… Yes, that’s right!

I could request the Axis cultist in Alcanretia to send it things that could serve as nutrients periodically, so that gentle monster won’t attack humans anymore…!

I would be a rich man after going back to town anyway.

It won’t be a problem even if I foot the bill to feed it.

I came up with a plan as I charged back to its place…!

— In the place we were just now, I could see someone talking to the Tranquility girl.

I immediately used hide and observe the situation with farsight.

The one talking to the Tranquility girl was a lumberjack.

Someone living in Alcanretia?

The lumberjack approached the Tranquility girl with an axe.

Was he planning to exterminate that child…?

Without dismissing my hide skill, I moved closer with my body crouched to eavesdrop.

And so, I heard the man’s voice.

“Ahh… Damn, why must it be so… Sorry, I am sorry! Forgive me! It is the rule of the lumberjacks which dictates that I must exterminate you upon discovery…!”

The lumberjack was on the verge of tears.

So he was planning to murder this child!?

I was about to dismiss my hide skill…!

“Because, I, monster… live, will, cause trouble…”

Just when I was about to dismiss my hide skill.

“Since born, first time, talk with humans…”

Word for word.

“First, and last time met with you, wonderful… If, another life… Next time, not monster, will be wonderful…”

The Tranquility girl said the exact same line as before.

“Ah… Ahhhhh… I can’t do it. Damn, I can’t do it!”

The lumberjack screamed as he turned and ran.

I did not cancel my hide skill and just stood in the shade of the trees speechless.

… Hmmm?

I thought it said to me that I was the first one it talked to.

“Ahhh~, failed again. That lumberjack looked quite meaty and would have been great fertilizer…”

… After the lumberjack was out of sight, I heard the voice of the Tranquility girl speaking smoothly.

I sneaked to the back of the Tranquility girl and cancelled my hide skill.

But the Tranquility girl didn’t noticed that I was behind it.

“Uwaahhh… Damn it, no fertilizer is coming… It is a bit cloudy, but let’s photosynthesize a little… Sigh— What a pain.”

It mumbled and stretched itself to expose its entire body to the sunlight…

Leaning back, it locked eyes with me who was behind it.

“......” x2

After staring at each other wordlessly for a moment, the Tranquility girl finally said softly.

“Just now, those words, could you, pretend you, didn’t hear them…?”

“So you could speak fluently, and was playing me like a damn fiddleeeeeee!”

— I caught up with Aqua and the others, and found them taking a break at the same spot, probably waiting for me.

Seeing my face as I ran over, Aqua smiled.

“You looked refreshed, what happened? What did you say to that child? And why did you have to go back anyway?”

In response to Aqua, I showed them my adventurers card with a brilliant smile.

“Look everyone! I raised three levels in one shot! This way, I would be of some use after going to Megumin’s place!”

After hearing what I said, the three of them stood there stiffly.

And then…

“Wah… Wahhhhhh! Kazuma you demon! Evil demon! Compared to you, Vanir is much cuter!”

“Ah… Ahhhh… Ahhhhhh… It’s all my fault… All because I mocked Kazuma after raising so many levels…! Kazuma laid his hands on that child because I agitated him…!? It’s, It’s all because of my arrogance that I did all that…!”

No, all of you wait.

… I was about to explain to the two of them who were crying when I noticed Darkness who was standing stoically at the side.

I turned and looked at her.

“It must be painful right?... You fulfilled the obligations of an adventurer. Sorry, I left such an unpleasant task to you…”

Darkness said with a pained and serious expression…

— I spent an entire hour to explain what happened to them.

Chapter 2
Adding these boisterous animal-eared girls into my harem!

Part 1

As night was about to fall, we cleared large pebbles and pieces of rocks from the side of the road and laid a piece of cloth over it in order to sleep more comfortably.

A cloth big enough for a picnic blanket— Well, from the way we were using it, it was a picnic blanket.

The monsters in the vicinity were very strong.

It would be troublesome if we attract monsters if there was light, so we didn’t start any fire and chose to stick close together to sleep in the darkness.

After opening the lid of the undead repellent magic item I purchased from Vanir, everyone placed their bags into the center of the wide blanket. Resting our backs onto our bags, we leaned on each other.

Probably because it was cloudy today, we couldn’t see any stars at all.

With my night vision from my farsight skill and my sense enemy skill, I could detect enemies even in the dark.

Therefore, I would be staying up all night to keep watch.

It might be too much for me to handle alone, so the other three decided to rest in shift.

Megumin and I took the first watch.

“... Kazuma, are you really fine with not sleeping? It is true from the type of skills you have, it would be better for you to be awake, but…”

Darkness said to me in the darkness.

“Don’t worry. I have the characteristic of being strong in staying up all night. In the country I was from, staying up all night was nothing to me.”

Megumin asked after hearing that:

“By the way, where did Kazuma and Aqua live in the past? I am curious about Kazuma’s country. From the merchandize developed by Kazuma, that country seemed to have plenty of convenient magic items. I wonder what kind of life Kazuma lived there too. Just what kind of lifestyle could train up the characteristic of ‘being strong in staying up all night’...”

Darkness seemed intrigue by the topic Megumin brought up and glanced at us from the sides.

What kind of lifestyle, huh…

In the quiet darkness, I thought back to my peaceful life back in Japan.

For some reason, conversing in the dark like this felt like a night during a school excursion. Feeling melancholic, I started to recount my past memories.

“I see… I was a Ranker in my country.”

“...? Ranker?”

Megumin and Darkness asked at the same time.

It was normal for the people in this world to not know about Rankers.

“If I have to explain, it means someone with a high ranking. I was known to my comrades as ‘Kazuma-san who is only lucky in getting rare drops’, ‘Kazuma-san who is always online no matter what time I log in’, and so on… Anyway, I had all sorts of nickname and was trusted by everyone. We raided fortress, hunted powerful bosses, those times were really enjoyable… Staying up all night was a norm. I didn’t eat proper meals and only slept two hours a day before returning to my quest to hunt monsters…”

After hearing this, gasps came from beside me.

“How, how amazing… Attacking fortresses and hunting bosses…! I see, Kazuma react so quickly to any changes in situations because of the experience you accumulated…! How, how amazing…!”

Darkness said to me excitedly, with respect written all over her face.

“It is hard to believe those words since I know how Kazuma usually is… But why, why do I think Kazuma is not lying? Just now, Kazuma was brimming with confidence and nostalgia…”

Even Megumin was saying something like this.

Aqua who was right behind me said:

“... Hey Kazuma, can I strongly retort you about online gaming?”

“Please don’t do that.”

Part 2

I promised Darkness who said ‘if anything happens, wake me up even if you need to be a little violent’ that I will use an amazing way to wake her up in one shot, and started the watch with Megumin.

“... Erm, what is that amazing way to wake her up you mentioned? Let me make this clear first, you can’t cross that line with comrades okay? You understand right?”

“That’s the kind of creature men are, if you tell them it is a wall they can’t climb over, they would want to scale it… That’s right, the higher the wall that in life, the higher the mountain, the more one would want to overcome it. These are the same things.”

“No, that’s not it! Don’t mix that up with such positive motivational speech! I’m starting to feel that taking a watch together with Kazuma is really dangerous!”

After Megumin said her piece agitatedly, Aqua turned in her sleep with a moan.

“......” x2

The two of us fell silent, thinking it would be bad to wake her up.

Finally, the sound of her rhythmic breathing started again.

We sighed in relief when we heard that sound.

“Speaking of which…”

Megumin whispered—

“The topic we discussed before they slept… Kazuma came from a different nation right?... Erm. Kazuma, you never thought of going back?”

She asked timidly.

“I can’t go back even if I wanted to. Even if I do, I would just live a busy and meaningless life once again. I feel my current life isn’t too bad. After the trip to the Home of the Crimson Magic is done, I would be able to get three hundred million Eris from Vanir and be a rich man. After that, I will live an interesting and peaceful life with everyone.”

There wasn’t much difference in being a NEET here and being a NEET in Japan.

The only difference was whether I would trouble my family.

There were games and computers in Japan, but not things such as Succubus service, that’s about it.

Defeat the Demon King and return to Japan.

I didn’t know why, but that felt really reckless to me recently.

I thought about seeing my family again, but I am dead in Japan after all…

I was promised that any wish would come true if I defeat the Demon King, but could they really fine tune these details?

— Megumin sighed in relief after hearing what I said.

“Is that so… I like my life right now too, so this is good. We get into danger often, but everyone will work together to get through it, I am very satisfied with my fun life right now.”

How could a life of falling into danger frequently be fun? I was about to say that when…

Megumin leaned on me and exhaled, holding my left hand tightly in the dark.

The sensation of Megumin’s smooth hand.

The touch of our hands.

— For some reason, I became very nervous.

Oh no, what was with this bittersweet feeling!?

What should I do, what was this kid doing?

Why did Megumin suddenly held my hand?

Yunyun’s announcement about having my child, and now this. Is my popular period really here?

My past bittersweet memories flashed in my mind.

My first crush was my childhood friend who told me in primary school ‘let’s get married after we grow up’.

In the summer of middle school, I saw her sitting on the back seat of a delinquent sempai's bike. I couldn’t describe the feeling that came over me, and I didn’t go to school anymore, spending my time in online games.

After that, I forego sleep in order to exterminate monsters day and night, and reached a status where the people who didn’t know about me were in the minority…

I spent the most important time of my life in self torture, wasting my youth and school life. And now, I am sitting shoulder to shoulder to a beautiful girl and holding her hand.

Oh no, what should I do, what should I do about this?

Is she tempting me?

Should I say some lines that match the mood?

I had never thought anything about Megumin before, and of course, I don’t have any romantic feelings for this loli now too.

But for virgins who have no immunity against women, we will be very conscience if a member of the opposite does something like this so suddenly. Don’t you even know that!?

I steeled myself to say a line that matches the mood…

I noticed at this moment—

“... Zzzz……”

— With no regards for my nervousness and conflicted feelings, she was making deep sleeping sound.

…… This kid!!

Part 3

“... Really, it’s all because Kazuma and Megumin were so noisy last night that I didn’t sleep well.”

“Sorry for the disturbance, but this loli fell asleep mid way through her watch. Also, when it was your turn for the watch, you won’t get up no matter what, so how dare you complain. In the end, Darkness took your watch too.”

“No, I heard that Megumin was woken up in an amazing way by Kazuma when she dozed off, so I was wondering what would happen to me if I fell asleep mid way through my shift. My heart was pounding all the time and I couldn’t sleep…”

“Ughhh… He, he did something really ridiculous to me…”

There was a bit of commotion last night, but we still welcome the morning safely.

After settling breakfast casually, we argued about things as we proceed without any tension…

“This is really…”

I stopped in the middle of the road and muttered to myself.

And surveyed the endless plains stupendously.

If we walk in such a place without cover, I won’t be able to use my hide skill.

We could only rely on Megumin, but unleashing a spell in a place with such a clear view will attract other monsters because of the noise, so it was useless.

But this was a path we had to take in order to reach the Home of the Crimson Magic…

Even if I could detect monsters with my sense enemy skill, it was too open here and we would be discovered before the skill had any reaction…

There was no choice but to rely on my farsight skill at a time like this.

Instead of the sensing skill, I just need to see the enemy before they see me.

“Hey, I will walk ahead alone, so you all be prepared to run away at a moment’s notice. Aqua, cast a speed buffing spell on me so they won’t be able to catch me.”

If I got detected by a monster, I could use the ‘escape’ skill I learned recently. With Aqua’s buffing support, I could act as a decoy to lure the enemy away from the three of them behind me and hide somewhere.

I took off my chest plate, gauntlet and greaves, handing them over to Aqua.

In a situation like this, I would prefer not to be weighed down.

After passing all my bags to Aqua. To make it easier to run, the only weapon I kept was a dagger.

“You are all ready to run at any moment, just how thick skinned are you?”

I replied to Aqua:

“Well, I couldn’t fight the monsters around here head on anyway. The monster names listed in the information column all looked really tough. And they won’t come one at a time, so I have to try my best in avoiding battle and adopt the policy of running away.”

The information listed names like ‘One strike bear’, ‘Griffon’, ‘Fire Drake’ and so on, monsters with really strong names.

No, there was one exception.

There was a name that could be found everywhere, a type of mob monsters common in games and manga…

I prayed that if we meet any enemies, it would these guys, as I walked far ahead of the others.

“Well then, all of you keep a distance from me. Remember, don’t stay so far behind that you will lose track of me. If anything happens, I will give you all a signal. If you see it, run immediately.”

“I understand, leave it to me.”

“I understand very well you don’t know hand gestures at all. Darkness, Megumin, I will be counting on the both of you.”

Darkness and Megumin nodded their head.

Part 4

The road extended through the vast plains.

Alone and lightly armoured, I walked along the road.

Surveying my surroundings restlessly, watching for signs of any monsters.

Advancing cautiously on the open plains, I turned back periodically to check if the three of them were following me.

Things had been proceeding smoothly so far.

The monsters I had to be extra careful of would be those flying in the sky.

The monster listed included Griffons, but even if I raised my head and watch the sky, I don’t see anything circling in the air above me.

We had already detected several large sized monsters and evaded them.

Smooth.

I just need to pass through the plains, and then I would link up with everyone.

… At this moment.

I saw a lone figure standing in the middle of the plains.

That figure didn’t notice me yet.

Logically speaking, it was impossible for someone to be standing in a place like this.

That’s right, it was probably a monster.

I was only watching from afar, but I could take a stab at the monster’s identity.

The only name that didn’t fit in with the list of dangerous monsters.

‘Orcs’.

A pig faced bipedal monster, highly reproductive and in heat all year round.

As they could mate with most humanoid creatures, I heard that you would suffer a tragic end if you got caught by them.

It was better to kill yourself on the spot than to get captured by them.

In games, they were on par with kobolds and goblins, a mainstream mob monster.

But why were the names of these guys published in the monster information list of this map?

I felt that there was no need to avoid them, compared to those large sized monsters.

I only had a dagger on me, but it seemed like the opponent was unarmed.

Well, I had drain touch that could absorb its life force, and most importantly, there was only one of them.

I just need one hit after getting close to finish it off.

After judging so, I walked towards that figure in the distance.

I didn’t hide my presence and walked forth openly.

Or rather, there was no place to hide in the vast open plains.

When I got really close to the figure, it probably noticed me and started walking my way.

Naturally, I gripped the hilt of my dagger tighter.

“... Ka… Zuma! Ka…!”

I heard a voice coming from far behind me.

I turned back confused, looking at Aqua and the others who were shouting something at me.

From here, Aqua and Megumin seemed to be making some kind of hand gestures.

After watching for a moment, I understood their message.

“Run away.’

That was what they were signalling.

No, the enemy was just a mere orc, I looked to the front once again.

That fellow was already very close to me, and stared at me right in the eye.

Because of the attitude and signal by the two of them, I felt a little uneasy and to play it safe—

I chanted a spell softly.

“Create Earth.”

I secretly created sand to blind it in my left hand, preparing for a sneak attack.

After glancing behind, the two of them were waving their arms in a panic after seeing me approach the orc.

They made lots of ‘run away’ gestures desperately.

I should be the one telling you girls that.

The orc would definitely target women like you okay?

Never mind, there would be no need to run if I defeat the orc here.

I faced the front once again, I was close enough to make out the face of the orc.

The orc looked more human like than I imagined.

It had pig nose and ears, but the shape of the face resembled a human.

It was even wearing a set of clothes it probably robbed from some traveler.

And its most striking feature was its hair.

With its unkempt hair and green skin, the orc seemed really human at a glance.

“Good day! Hey, handsome onii-san, want to have a good time with me?”

It spoke to me with a high pitched and fluent voice, so it was probably female.

… What was that, I didn’t expect that.

There were female orcs?

No no no, I heard they were really fertile, and could cross breed with other races…

Even though it looked human at a glance, it was still a monster.

I felt bad about rejecting the orc that went out of its way to invite me, but my strike zone wasn’t wide enough to see it as a woman.

So obviously—

“I refuse.”

I flat out rejected an invitation from a female for the first time in my life.

Even though I said that, the expression of the orc didn’t change much.

“Ara, is that so, such a pity. I was hoping you would do it with me willingly.”

After saying that, it revealed its teeth in an evil smile.

Disheveled hair, yellow teeth and a round body shape.

Even without its pig ears and nose, I will flat out reject it.

‘Willingly’? What was it talking about?

“Since we can communicate, let’s talk about this. Please let me through. If you do that, I will share some of my food with you as thanks… What say you?”

If I use food as a condition, maybe it would let me through easily…

I held on to this faint hope.

Ah, what kind of meat were those jerky made from?

Might it be pork?

If it was pork, letting it eat them would be cannibalism.

While I was thinking about that, the orc wiped away the drool from its mouth.

Mentioning food seemed to be really effective.

… But that thought was shattered by its next sentence.

“That sort of things doesn’t matter. This is the territory of orcs. We will not let any males passing by go… How interesting, onii-san. For some reason, I sense powerful survival instincts from your seemingly weak body. My intuition has always been on point. Our child would definitely be strong… Come, let’s do something fun.”

…… Eh.

Seemed like this thing wasn’t joking.

Immensely troubled by these, I turned and looked at the girls behind me.

The two of them were still making the ‘run away’ signal.

Only Darkness appeared to be confused, wondering if she should come over and join the fray.

The orc seemed to have noticed the girls behind me from my movements.

“Ara, those over there… What, all of them are females. I don’t care about them. But for you, let me think… Three days. How about going to my village for three days or so? Hehehe, it’s a harem for you there. You will learn what heaven in this world is. Well, the men we capture do go to heaven for real!”

Looking at orc saying all this with an evil smile, I felt fear instinctively and chanted my spell.

“Wind Breath!”

“!?”

I used wind magic to blow the sand I hidden onto the orc.

The orc bend over and groaned after the sneak attack blinded it.

I rushed forth, not with my dagger, but my bare hands and grabbed that orc!

Part 5

After using drain touch to absorb the orc’s life force until it was on the verge of death, I left it right there without dealing it a final blow.

I just pull an all nighter, so it was just the right time to absorb some life force.

That thing said something about village.

It would be troublesome if the other orcs came to avenge its death if I killed that orc.

I spared its life based on this judgement…

After defeating the orc and walking a bit further, I noticed a presence behind me.

I turned and saw Aqua and the others running to me in a panic.

“... What is it? It would be meaningless for me to walk in front if you all are so close to me. Keep some distance away from me.”

When they heard me say that,

“What are you saying Kazuma!? Kazuma defeated an orc! This plain is the territory of the orcs. Which mean Kazuma will be their target until we cross this plain!”

Megumin said with a strong tone…

… No wait.

“Isn’t it good if I am being targeted? Just why do you think I am so lightly armoured? To attract attention and be the decoy! And I don’t want to see your tragic outcome if you get caught by the orcs.”

Orcs had high libido.

The scene of these girls being ravaged after being captured, I don’t even dare imagine it.

While I was thinking that, Aqua said to me:

“Speaking of which, Kazuma is an idiot who don’t know the common sense of this world. Can’t be helped, let me tell… pain pain pain!”

I pulled on the cheeks of Aqua who was acting arrogantly as I urged Megumin to explain.

“... Kazuma, listen. There are no male orcs in this world.”

“Ah!?”

When Darkness heard what Megumin said, she screamed tragically for some reason.

“Male orcs died out a long time ago. Even when male orcs are born occasionally, it would be squeezed dried by the females and die before adulthood. Thanks to that, the orcs cross breed continuously and gained the excellent genes of various races, becoming monsters that could no longer be considered orcs. Right now, orcs are known for infiltrating the turf of other races, kidnapping the males and bringing them back to their village, making them suffer terribly, the nemesis of men… Also, erm, Kazuma you…”

Towards the end, Megumin lowered her volume and became hesitant to speak.

“Wait, wait, orcs should be the nemesis of female knights! Driven by their strong libido, they will pounce on any woman they see, the male of these orcs…”

“Are extinct… Kazuma defeated a female orc. All of them want powerful male with excellent genes. So, they won’t let Kazuma who defeated their comrades go… Look, just like that.”

Darkness was depressed by this news. At this moment, Megumin pointed in a certain direction.

In that direction, with the orc that was rendered immobile by me in the lead, a large number of female orcs were forming ranks.

They might have the excellent genes of various races, but to think that orc recovered its life force in such a short period of time.

As there were cat eared and dog eared orcs, they must have cross bred with various animals.

I stared at these animal eared orcs and remembered the saying ‘reserved for pretty girls only’.

The orc I knocked out earlier said:

“You are a good man. To think you can knock me out! … I won’t let you go. I’m mesmerized by you, how are you going to make it up for me? I definitely want your child!!”

After making such a chilling declaration of wanting a child, the orcs pounced at me while panting!

“Wha!? Wait…! Waaahhhhhh!”

Why must I meet with such a tragedy?

Because I was rude to a real goddess and this is my retribution?

Because I treated the weird rock Aqua treasured so much as trash and threw it away?

Oh God, you are mistaken. That girl will bring back any weird things she finds.

Because I placed her holy relic Hagoromo together with my underwear in the wash?

Oh God, you are mistaken. I just thought that clothes which are washed together with the Hagoromo which had a cleansing effect would become cleaner.

I am already repenting this.

Ahhh… Please, my God…!

“I want the first child to be a boy!

I want sixty boys and forty girls!

I want to live in a white house overlooking the sea, and you making love everyday together with me!”

God! From the bottom of my heart, I repent! Please forgive my sins!

Spare me! No, if I don’t kill them, I would be raped!

I stabbed with my dagger without hesitation, but that orc had the gift of excellent genes and evaded my dagger easily…!

“Alright! It would be over soon. It would be over in no time so close your eyes…!”

It then knocked my dagger away easily and pressed me onto the ground.

I was too foolish.

I underestimated the strength of the orcs that survived in this dangerous region!

“Save me! Megumin, use that! Use that and finish all of them in one shot!”

“If I use explosion at a place so close, even we would get dragged in! Darkness, stop being depressed and rescue Kazuma…!!”

I screamed while being pressed down by the orcs!

“Talk! Let’s talk first!!”

“I would love to talk erotic things with you! Go on, say it! Tell me all the embarrassing fetish you have! Huff huff huff!”

The orc panted as it tugged at my shirt!

Drain touch!

I immediately used drain touch to sap away its strength!

I struggled to reach out with my hand, but was dodged by the orc numbly, my hand was caught instead.

What’s more, that orc even licked my palm.

Please, please spare me ahhhh!!

I could feel all the hairs on my body stand and my pleading was just like a howl…!

“Stop, stop ahhhhh! Name! I still don’t know your name yet! This might be my first time! So let’s start with self introduction ahhhh! My name is Satou Kazuma!”

“I'm Swatinaze, a young and energetic 16 year old orc! Come let your lower half introduce himself too! Introduce the son you are so proud of!”

“My son is a little shy! We already exchanged names so let’s call it a day ahhhhhh! Aqua! Aqua! Save me!”

“Ka, Kazuma!”

Just as I was screaming like a teenage girl and Aqua was shouting,

“Bottomless Swamp!”

I heard a familiar voice along with screams.

While being pressed down, I twisted my head towards the origin of the sound and saw that the orcs were struggling in a giant swamp.

And behind that was…!

“Yunyun! Isn’t that Yunyun! Ugh, uwahhhhh!”

After seeing that girl from the Crimson Magic Clan, I was so relieved that I cried.

“!?”

The orc riding on me gasped.

It seemed to be at a loss after finding its comrades trapped in the quagmire that appeared out of nowhere.

Orc slowly got of me while being guarded against Yunyun.

I rolled and crawled to Yunyun’s feet.

“Yunyun! Yunyun! Thank you so much ahhhh!”

I hugged Yunyun just like that.

“Hya…! Wait, wait Kazuma-san!? It, it’s fine now, it’s fine, so… Don’t cry… Er, erm, my important robes… is being stained… with snot…”

The orcs who was targeting me stared at Yunyun, checking their comrades who were struggling in the swamp from time to time.

They wanted to save their comrades, but didn’t dare to move out of fear of Yunyun.

Aqua stood beside me who was squatting on the ground and said:

“It’s great that you are fine, Kazuma! … What, what’s the matter Kazuma!?”

I hugged the legs of Aqua in tears as she spoke to me.

I had never experienced such fear even during the battle with the bosses of the Demon King Army.

“There, there, you must be terrified, Kazuma. It’s fine now, don’t worry. Everyone will protect you.”

I felt at ease when Aqua said these while patting my head, how shameful.

After glancing at the orcs who were guarded against her, Yunyun felt embarrassed, but still flicked her cape and strike a pose with her staff lifted and announced:

“I am Yunyun. One of the top mages of the Crimson Magic, an Archwizard that wields advanced magics. I am the one who will be the next chief of the Crimson Magic…! To the orcs who had built a village near the Home of the Crimson Magic. I will spare you on the count that we are neighbours. Take your comrades with you and go!”

After hearing what Yunyun said, the orcs tore their shirts and threw it to their comrades trapped in the swamp in place of a rope.

“Kazuma-san, let’s use this chance and go.”

Part 6

After passing through the plains controlled by the orcs, we entered the forest and chose a spot rest for a moment.

“With Yunyun around, there is no need to fear monsters. Really, this is too easy.”

Aqua said something that will raise a flag again.

However, I could understand what she meant.

With Yunyun who could use advanced magic around, it was much more relaxing.

… Since just now, I had been unwilling to leave Aqua’s side.

Staying besides Aqua who I was spent the most time with made me feel at ease.

Aqua seemed a bit troubled by me, but it was rare to see her not complaining one bit and just stayed by my side. Thank god for that.

Really, thank god.

Experiencing that just now left a deep mental trauma in me.

After changing out of my tattered clothes and putting on the equipment that Aqua was holding on to me, I thanked the saviour who reached out to me in my time of need.

“Yunyun, once again, thank you. Really, thank you. If I have to describe how thankful I am, it is like— If anyone asks me who I respect the most, I will answer ‘Yunyun’ immediately.”

“Please, please don’t do that, it will look as if you are mocking me!”

I held tightly to a corner of Aqua’s hagoromo and expressed my gratitude to Yunyun, but she was shy when she heard that.

“By the way, why is everyone here? Megumin is coming home because you are worried about everyone?”

“Yes, right, it’s my sister! I am a bit worried about her, after all, she is always doing reckless things.”

“Yup, that’s true. A child that can’t use magic is so eager to fight.”

Yunyun agreed with Megumin’s explanation.

“... Why, why is everyone smiling deviously?”

Aside from Yunyun, the three of us looked at her deviously while Megumin averted her face.

I held the mug filled with coffee in both hands.

Sipping it slowly I could feel my heart wounded by the chase of the orcs gradually healing.

Hiding in my cloak, I looked at everyone and said from the bottom of my heart.

“... All of you are beautiful.”

Inside the forest by the road… Everyone was stunned after hearing what I said.

“What, what is it? Kazuma he, he has always been talking strangely, but it’s worse today!”

“Calm, calm down! This fellow must have an ulterior motive. We can’t let our guard down around him. We will regret it if we become happy about it!”

Aqua and Darkness said something rude.

Megumin kept her head facing away from me while pouting, looking at me from time to time as if to day ‘what are you up to now’.

Yunyun seemed to be at a loss, her face completely blushed.

After making it to safety from the hands of the orcs, I was completely relieved. Looking at the four of them, I exhaled and said:

“All of you are real beauties.”

“What is happening!? Someone tell me! Kazuma is weird, what is going on!”

“Calm down Aqua! First, cast a healing spell on Kazuma!”

“...—!”

Looking at the panicking Darkness and Aqua, the guarded Megumin— And Yunyun who was lowering her flushed face, I am filled with the joy of escaping from the hands of the orcs.

Part 7

“— Megumin was always the top of the class in magical studies and mana capacity… The villagers all think of her as a genius and had high expectations of her… If they knew Megumin had fallen and became a flawed mage that can only use explosion…”

“Hey, don’t call me a flawed mage. In terms of magical destruction, I am without a doubt the best in the Crimson Magic Clan, that’s a fact. Please don’t speak ill of the explosion magic I had devoted my entire life to.”

After the short break, we set off for the Home of the Crimson Magic once again.

“What’s the use of Explosion magic! It is too powerful, and can’t be used in dungeons lest it cause a collapse! Even with though it has the longest attack range, but it would hit the caster and allies if you use it on enemies who had gotten near! Even very high level mages couldn’t fire it twice in a row, the mana consumption is too great! No matter how you look at it, it's too overkill right!? Isn’t explosion magic a useless spell and waste of skill points that no one will bother to learn!?”

Yunyun had been picking on Megumin since just now.

The fact that Megumin could only use explosion magic seemed to be a secret to the villagers.

Hence, Yunyun had been warning her not to let it slip…

At this moment, Megumin stared down Yunyun from the front.

“... How dare you, Yunyun. You said something you definitely shouldn’t. Something more serious than making fun of my name, the biggest taboo—!”

“Wha, what, want to get it on? I will accept your challenge. I will not lose to Megumin anymore!”

Yunyun heightened her guard and pulled some distance from Megumin.

Megumin glanced at Yunyun…!

“Kazuma, let me tell you Yunyun’s shameful secret. All Crimson Magic Clansman will receive a tattoo after birth. The placement of the tattoo is different for everyone, and Yunyun’s tattoo is at…”

“Shut up, what are you telling Kazuma-san! And why do you know the position of my tattoo! You can’t use explosion magic in a place like this right!? It is easy to subdue Megumin who couldn’t use magic!”

Yunyun who was about to cry pounced over, but was dodged by Megumin nimbly.

“Aqua, give me a buffing spell! I will teach this kid a lesson!”

“Des, despicable! Megumin is so sly! You have always been so sly!”

“— Hey, this way! I hear human voices from this direction!!”

A loud and shrill voice came from the depths of the forest!

“Hey you two, we are going to be discovered by the enemy! Keep it down!”

Darkness crouched down and lectured the two of them.

“It’s all because bad tempered Yunyun gets so loud!”

“Yunyun has a worse temper than me! You have been doing things without regards for the consequences since long ago! See, even Chomusuke don’t dare to come out from the hat now!”

“What did you say!?”

“The two of you shut up! I already told you we will be discovered if you talk so loudly! Hey Kazuma, tell it to them!”

Darkness pressed down on the head of the two of them and hid into the trees.

I shouted at the two of them who were wrestling with each other quietly:

“Hey, that doesn’t matter, tell me where is Yunyun’s tattoo!”

“Found them, over there! There is someone there!”

“Why, you! You really…!!”

Part 8

“Found two Crimson Magic Clansmen! The rest looks like human adventurers! Hey, this way, quick! There are two Crimson Magic kids! This is a chance to earn some merits!”

It was an armoured monster.

Sharp ears and dark skin, a slim and muscular demon.

On its head was a single horn. It was glaring murderously at Megumin and Yunyun.

When she saw that figure, Aqua who was hiding in the trees stood up…!

“Hmm—? You seem to be pretending to be a low level demon, how annoying! You can’t even become a low level demon, just a ghoul like half demon, what’s with that? What do you want to do? Exorcism magic won’t even work against low level monsters like you. Isn’t that great news, the guy who can’t even become a demon!? Pfft! I don’t have time for half baked demons like you. After you become a demon properly, I will be your opponent. I will spare you today, so scram. Go on, shoo!”

When it heard Aqua’s words which might be a taunt or a threat, the supposed demon monster ground its teeth.

Seeing this, Darkness drew her great sword and walked forth in silence.

Since it was wearing armour, this guy was probably a part of the Demon King Army that was at war with the Crimson Magic Clan.

We were not far from the Home of the Crimson Magic now, it was no surprise to find the Demon King Army patrolling around here.

The face of the guy with a short spear turned a darker shade as it glared this way in wrath.

Suddenly, a group that had a similar appearance to it appeared behind it.

Their weapons might vary, but they were all armed demonic creatures.

Things were going bad.

And there were many… Too many!

“You want to spare us? Hey, that priest over there, what did you say? …There are two kids of the Crimson Magic Clan that gave us so much trouble over there, how can we let you go! Hey, tear them to pieces!”

More than twenty monsters similar to that demon appeared behind it.

Yunyun took a step forward…!

“Light of Saber!”

She shouted as she chopped the air with her hand.

Following the path of the chop, a beam of light flashed.

A few of the demon’s body were sliced off when the light passed through and they dropped to the ground.

“Sur, surround them! She can’t do anything if we surround and charge her, kill that Crimson Magic girl first!”

The demon shouted agitatedly after seeing its companions fell.

To stop the demons who were attempting to surround Yunyun, Darkness placed herself between Yunyun and the demons.

Aqua casted buffing magic to Darkness who took the vanguard.

“Yunyun, you said explosion is a useless magic right!? I will let you witness the destructive power of this useless magic!”

“Eh!? Wait, wait, are you going to!?”

“Explosion—!!”

Megumin ignored the panicking Yunyun and let loosed an explosion spell, engulfing a large number of minions of the Demon King Army in the distance.

The trees in the surrounding were uprooted and blown away, dumbstrucking the demons who witnessed the destructive power.

After the dust settled, there was nothing aside from a large crater left.

“Did you see that, my ultimate move— Explosion spell! Do you still dare say it is a useless magic!? How is that Kazuma, how many points for that explosion!?”

“Minus ninety points! What are you trying to do, exhausting your magic like that you big idiot! There are still enemies left, I can’t piggyback you and run!”

“Ka, Kazuma-san! While you were talking, more enemies had been attracted over by the noise!!”

I forcefully picked up Megumin who had collapsed onto the ground after exhausting her mana.

“Hey, what are you doing!? Can you even fight these guys!?”

I shouted at Aqua who was trotting up confidently as I shared some of my mana with Megumin.

When she heard me, Aqua tilted her head back and forth.

… Seemed like she was trying to make cracking sound with her neck.

She kicked the ground, lowered her stance and lifted her fists.

“Fufuu, please remember it well. You don’t think I am a woman who can only use recovery magic right? I am Aqua-sama whose stats are at the limit! With these mobs demons as enemies, I just need one hand to settle them. Watch, I will show you a side befitting a goddess occasionally too!”

… This was bad.

I could foresee what the future development would be, so I stopped pumping mana into Megumin’s body and lend her a shoulder to lean on.

Even though we had Yunyun with us, we were terribly outnumbered.

I didn’t know how far I could carry Megumin who had exhausted her mana, but it was a better bet than fighting the innumerable Demon King Army forces.

“Aqua, we are running! Stop intimidating them with those weird poses and come here!”

Aqua was striking all sorts of pose to frighten the minions of the Demon King Army.

With Megumin on my back, I was planning to tell everyone to withdraw when Aqua said in a soft voice.

“...Ah”

I turned after hearing her voice and saw the underlings of the Demon King charging this way.

They didn’t take any battle stance, simply abandoning their weapons and ran this way.

……!?

As I was wondering what was going on.

— Suddenly, a group of four men in black robes appeared out of thin air.

No, not all of them were in black robes.

Two of them were dressed like bikers with their black full body suit, wearing fingerless gloves.

Some of them held wands, some were bare handed.

There might be more hiding elsewhere, and only these four were revealing themselves.

Their weapons and costumes might be different, but they had one common point.

All of them had a pair of scarlet eyes.

The group of black clothed men had scarlet eyes just like Megumin and Yunyun.

That’s right, they were from the Crimson Magic Clan.

Their appearance out of thin air was probably because they were hiding themselves earlier with invisibility magic.

And so, the Demon King’s underlings were not attacking us because they noticed our presence, but were running away from the Crimson Magic Clan’s assault.

The proof was that they were stopping before us at a loss, alternating their gaze between the pursuing Crimson Magic Clan and the four of us.

In the end, these guys judged that the four of us were easier targets.

They planned to charge our way—

— At that instant.

“Disappear without even a trace of your flesh, burn in the dark flames from the abyss of my heart!”

“Oh no, I can’t suppress it anymore! Become the sacrifice to pacify my destructive urges!”

“Come, fall into eternal slumber… In the embrace of my ice cold arms…!”

“Please rest in peace. I won’t forget you all. That’s right, your existence will be engraved forever… In the memories of my soul…!”

Those… Were not chant for spells.

They were lines they said to act cool?

They probably enhanced their physical abilities with magic and caught up with the underlings in an instant.

In the end, they all chanted the same spell.

Seeing that, the underlings blocked their bodies with their hands in an futile effort…!

“Hey…! Wait…! Stop…!”

One of the minions wanted to say something, but the spells of the Crimson Magic Clansmen were already done.

“Light of Saber!”

“Light of Saber!”

“—Of Saber!”

“—Saber!”

As they shouted one after another, light flashed from their slashing hands.

The beams of lights cleaved the minions consecutively.

Finally…

There were only the shattered remnants of the minions’ carcass left.

What the hell, the Crimson Magic Clan was super scary!

No wonder the large group of minions were running away!

It was so terrifying that it made one hesitates to retort and ask them where the dark flames and ice cold arms went to.

… At this moment, one of the Crimson Magic Clansman looked towards us.

It was the men who said ‘Disappear without even a trace of your flesh’.

“I heard the sound of explosion in the distance, so I came with the members of the anti Demon King Army guerilla unit… But isn’t that Megumin and Yunyun? What are you two doing here?”

He said to us in a casual tone.

When Megumin heard that, even though she was still staggering, she stood up.

“Aren’t you the son of the shoe shop owner Buzucoily? Long time no see. We heard that the village was in danger and rushed back.”

After hearing Megumin’s reply, Buzucoily said “Danger?’ and tilted his head in confusion.

… Hmm?

Meanwhile, the other Crimson Magic Clansmen looked this way curiously.

That man named Buzucoily—

“By the way Megumin, are they your adventuring comrades?”

Asked such a thing.

In response Megumin nodded a little shyly.

Seeing her like this, Buzucoily showed a serious expression and flicked his cape.

“I am Buzucoily. Son of the number one shoe shop owner of the Crimson Magic Clan. Archwizard that wields advanced magics…!”

Buzucoily suddenly made a self introduction.

Normally, I would respond with silence, but I had grown immune after my interaction with Megumin and Yunyun.

“Well met, I am Satou Kazuma. Master of many skills in Axel town, one who battled with the boss of the Demon King Army. Please take care of me.”

I nonchalantly introduced myself to match him.

“Ohhhh!” x4

The Crimson Magic Clansmen shouted suddenly.

“Awesome, so awesome! Normal people will have weird reaction after we introduce ourselves…! I never thought there is an outsider who will reply in kind!”

The other Crimson Magic Clansmen nodded their head in agreement with Buzucoily.

“... Kazuma seem really friendly with Buzucoily and the others! And you didn’t react this way when I made my introductions!”

Megumin started throwing a fit.

Oh no, how should I react?

Logically, I should assume she was being jealous and my heart would pound a little.

But the other party was an older man, so there was no reason to be jealous.

… However, going by the common sense of the Crimson Magic Clan, something was angering her.

What was that about.

There was no feeling of jealously, and my heart didn’t skip a beat.

There was no romantic atmosphere like those love comedy light novels.

As I was wondering about the situation,

“I am Aqua! An existence worshipped by the masses, the one who will defeat the Demon King! My real identity is the goddess of water!”

No one asked her, but Aqua suddenly introduced herself.

She must have been influenced by the Crimson Magic Clan.

“Is that so, that’s amazing!” x4

“Wait! Why! Hey, why am I the only one who gets such reactions!?”

The Crimson Magic Clansmen shifted their eyes from the shouting Aqua to Darkness, showering her with gazes filled with expectations.

Under their gaze, Darkness was a little hesitant but…!

“I, I am Dustiness fon Lala… Ti… Na… From Axel town… Ughhhh…!”

She wanted to meet their expectations, but Darkness’ voice grew softer from embarrassment.

Why were you trying so hard?

Buzucoily grinned at Darkness whose eyes were growing teary from embarrassment and her face blushing red, and started chanting a spell loudly.

“Megumin, I am glad you have such wonderful comrades. There’s still some ways to go to the village. Come, we will show you in, outsiders. We will send you there with teleport!”

After saying that, Buzucoily started chanting his teleport spell.

The scenery changed suddenly because of the teleport, making me dizzy, and the surroundings were completely different.

It was a small village that could be described as ‘peaceful’.

Buzucoily smiled as us as we looked around the Home of the Crimson Magic dumbfoundedly.

“Welcome to the Home of the Crimson Magic, outsiders. Megumin and Yunyun too, welcome home!!”

Chapter 3
Making a temporary stop in this village that makes my balls hurt!

Part 1

“Well then, we will resume our security patrol.”

Buzucoily said and pulled away from us.

Then the three of them gathered together and started chanting something…!

“Goodbye then!”

After chanting their spell softly, Buzucoily’s group vanished just like that.

Amazing, they felt like real wizards.

Did they return to the battlefield with teleport…!

“I think these guys are cool. Like a group of combat experts.”

I stared at the spot where they disappeared and said respectfully.

“Is that so, the four of them must be smiling gleefully nearby after hearing that.”

Megumin who was being supported by me said…

“... Nearby? Didn’t they leave via teleport?”

It was Yunyun who spoke this time.

“They turned invisible by using light refraction. Teleport consumes a lot of mana, they will run out if they use it so frequently after a battle. I think they just want to show off a cool exit… it hurts!”

Suddenly, a pebble flew from the spot they were standing in and hit the head of Yunyun who hadn’t finished speaking.

As if to warn her not to say too much.

… So they were there.

“On the side note, light refraction magic deploys a barrier a few meters around a specific person or object, obscuring the view of the inside of the barrier from the outside… And so, you can see them if you go nearer.”

Aqua took a step forward silently when she heard Megumin’s casual explanation.

“...!”

Something backed away with a gasp.

Aqua stared in that direction without moving when she heard that…

“......”

“......”

Suddenly, Aqua charged forward.

“!?” x4

The sound of multiple people running away could be heard.

Don’t, don’t do that…

Leaving Aqua who was chasing something invisible with a bright smile on her face, we entered the village.

Anyway, in order to understand the situation, we need to go to Yunyun’s home.

Aqua probably got tired of chasing them around and rejoined us.

“Say, these guys are really something. I can’t catch them even with my speed.”

To think Aqua whose stats were all high except for brains and luck couldn’t catch them.

The way they made their exit was a bit off, but I remembered they called themselves the ‘anti-demon king army guerrilla unit’.

They must be the elite of the Home of the Crimson Magic.

But Megumin made her explanation, and my impression of them…

“They ran away by doping with body strengthening magic. I don’t think that group of NEETs who laze around at home would have such stamina.”

… Was shattered by words I couldn’t ignore.

“... NEET group? No, aren’t they the anti-demon king army guerrilla unit? They left because they have to perform patrols.”

In response to my query,

“They are idle people who can’t leave their parents or find jobs. If they go to other cities as adventurers, they would be in high demand, but they refuse to leave the village. Idling around all day with nothing to do, in order to not let others think they were just lazing around, they claim to be the anti-demon king army guerrilla unit and wander around the vicinity of the village.”

Megumin told me something I really didn’t want to know.

What did that mean?

Even the specs of NEET were that high?

As if she could tell what I was thinking, Yunyun said:

“All members of the Crimson Magic clan could learn advance magic in adulthood. Everyone in the village are Archwizards. After learning advance magic, we will master all kinds of spells with the skill points we earned. This is common sense…”

She said as she glanced at Megumin.

Megumin ignored her gaze as if this had nothing to do with her, looking around the home village she was so familiar with.

The Home of the Crimson Magic was a village sized settlement.

The faces of the Crimson Magic residents weren’t tense at all. Maybe it was because of the gentle sun in spring, there were people yawning casually.

To be frank, it didn’t seem like they were fighting with the demon king…

“... Eh, this griffon statue looks so realistic. Is that a work of a famous sculptor?”

Darkness said suddenly as she marvelled the statue right in front of the village entrance.

I see, the griffon was so real that I thought that it might move any moment now…

“That is a Griffon who wandered into the village and got petrified. It looks cool, so it was preserved as a scenic attraction. And now, it is mainly used as a landmark to meet up with people.”

What, what a reckless attraction.

After hearing what Megumin said, Aqua was curious about the statue and started chanting something while placing her hand on it.

“... What magic are you planning to use?”

“A spell to cure abnormal status. I have never seen a life griffon before.”

After we restrained Aqua, we went to Yunyun’s home to understand the situation.

Part 2

— A large mansion in the middle of the village.

The middle aged man sitting opposite us on the couch burrowed his brows.

After entering the reception room of the village chief, we learned from the middle aged man before us, Yunyun’s father, the impactful truth.

“No, that is just a letter to my daughter about how I have been doing. I got a little carried away when writing it. My Crimson Magic bloodlines make it impossible for me to write normal letters…”

“I don’t really understand that.”

I immediately retorted the village chief, while Yunyun besides me was still stunned.

“... Eh? Erm, Da, Dad? Well, I am happy you that you are okay dad, but can you explain it in detail? First of all, at the beginning of the letter you wrote ‘By the time you receive this letter, I probably have already passed on from this world’...”

“Isn’t that the standard greeting for the Crimson Magic clan? Didn’t you learn that in school?... Ah, now that you mentioned it, Megumin and you graduated early because your results were excellent.”

“... And the part about unable to break through the military base built by the demon king army…”

“Ahh, that part? Those guys built a very extravagant base. Should we destroy it or keep it as a new scenic attraction? We couldn’t decide.”

“Hey Yunyun. Can I punch your father?”

“Go ahead.”

“Yunyun!?”

Darkness raised a question to the shocked village chief.

“... Hmm? Wait, so the demon king army did build a military base here. So the part about the ‘boss of the demon king army coming’ is…”

“That’s correct, it is as stated on the letter, they sent a boss with high magic resistance here. Right right, it is almost time. If you are free, want to come take a look?”

The village chief invited us casually and at this moment—

“Demon king army alert, demon king army alert. Everyone who is free please gather before the Griffon statue at the village entrance. We have visuals of the enemy, they number about a thousand.”

The broadcast echoed throughout the village with the ringing of the bells.

“One thousand!?” x2

Darkness and I exclaimed loudly, while the three Crimson Magic clansmen was calm as usual.

Didn’t they hear the number ‘a thousand’?

From the scale of this settlement, there were at most three hundred villagers.

What was with their easy attitude in the force of the demon king army that outnumbers them three to one?

“A thousand soldiers of the demon king army. Seems like it is time to show the real power of a goddess.”

It was rare to see Aqua drinking tea so obediently when she suddenly said that.

I think the Home of the Crimson Magic was a bad influence on her.

Please don’t do anything stupid.

Turning towards Darkness who was preparing for battle in a panic, Megumin said in a calm voice.

“Don’t fret, this is the village of powerful mages, the Home of the Crimson Magic. Let’s go and take a look, shall we?”

Part 3

… Amazing.

“Wahh!! Uwahhhhh!!”

“Sylvia-sama! Sylvia-sama!! Please retreat! Please retreat— Even if it is just you!”

“Damn, damn it! We can take our revenge if we are a little bit closer to these vermin…!”

“That’s why I object the attacking the Home of the Crimson Magic, that’s why I didn’t want to come…!”

Before they even reach the entrance to the village, the minions of the demon king fell one after another.

Compared to the thousand men strong enemy, we only had fifty odd people on our side.

Those fifty odd Crimson Magic clansmen…

“Lightning Strike!”

“Energy Ignition!”

“Freeze Gust!”

“Cursed Lightning!”

They pelted the vanguard of the demon king army with a rain of merciless high level spells.

“Amazing… It feels terrifying for them to be so powerful…”

This was no longer a battle, but a one-sided massacre.

Some of the demon king army soldiers were struck by lightning that descended from the sky while others burst into flames spontaneously.

There were ones that turned into ice sculpture after being engulfed by white fog and those with a hole blasted in their chest by dark lightning.

… At this moment, the army parted in the middle and a beautiful lady in a dress walked forth.

“Everyone! I will block them from the front so follow me! The gap between casting two high levels spell is large. Let’s use this chance…!”

Was that beautiful person the boss of the demon king army?

Wearing a low cut dress, she looked like a tall beauty at a glance.

The blue earring on her right ear was sparkling, which contrasted with her luscious dress and gave her a pure image.

A man and a woman walked forward as if to oppose her.

I saw that man before.

He was Buzucoily who gave us a lift here.

Buzucoily’s eyes shone and he put both hands before him.

After knowing Megumin for so I long, I know very well.

When the eyes of the Crimson Magic shone, it meant they were very hyped up…

“Tornado!!”

Or they were channelling large amount of mana to activate powerful spells.

Buzucoily unleashed a colossal tornado into the midst of the demon king army.

A huge number of troops were thrown helplessly into the air.

They would probably die after they crash onto the ground.

At the same time, the eyes of the pretty lady besides Buzucoily also shone, and she reached forth with her left hand.

She had a weapon in her right hand, which was rare among the Crimson Magic.

Looking closely, it was a wooden sword with a dragon engraving on it.

Since the one holding it was a Crimson Magic clan, so that was probably a magical weapon.

With her left hand extended, the lady swung the wooden sword in her right hand.

“Inferno!”

In the midst of the tornado, a storm of powerful flames appeared!

Part 4

After spectating the battle of the Crimson Magic, we decided to go to Megumin’s home.

Yunyun said she wanted to deliver punishment to her friend Arue who sent that letter and went off.

I thought back about the magic I saw earlier and said:

“Ara~ what a show. So that’s the real Crimson Magic clan huh.”

“When you say real, you are implying there are fakes. Hey, tell me where are the fake Crimson Magic clan.”

As I supported Megumin who looked as if she was about to bite, we came to a small wooden cottage.

How should I put this. It was impolite to say this, but it seemed much more run down than normal families.

Maybe Megumin was tired from exhausting her mana, she knocked the door with a face of fatigue.

A short while later, the soft sound of someone running came from inside.

The door into the house was opened gently.

A little girl who looked very much like Megumin, about grade school age came out.

“Oh, Megumin’s sister huh? Such a cute kid.”

Darkness smiled brilliantly.

“It feels like a mini Megumin. Nah, little Megumin, want some sweets?”

Aqua took out sweets from somewhere…

“Komekko, I am home. Have you been a good girl?”

Megumin said to the child gently while leaning on my shoulder.

Komekko…

That Buzucoily just now too, I am probably numbed to this and didn’t retort the names of the Crimson Magic clansmen.

Komekko turned stiff as she stared at Megumin.

This must be a touching reunion.

Komekko widened her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Dad! Sis brought a man back with her!”

Wait Imouto-chan, please let big brother explain!

Part 5

“Watch closely. The mug I placed upside down on the low table will move around like so!”

“Amazing! Amazing!! How did you do that? Nah, how? Blue hair onee-san, how did you do that!?”

“It’s magnet! It must be moved by the magnets under the table! Right? Am I right, Aqua!?”

The living room in Megumin’s house.

Aqua was performing a show with a glass.

Darkness and Komekko were watching attentively.

Darkness’ guess of magnet was right.

The mug moved by Aqua was metallic.

By using magnets under the table, she could move it…

I speculate the gimmicks behind it as I listened to their conversation. After peeking their way, I was momentarily speechless.

Aqua was sitting properly in the middle of the living room with both hands on her knees.

Just by staring at the mug on the table, she could move it around freely.

……!?

What was happening? I started doubting my own eyes. While I was focusing that way…

“Ah— …! Cough cough!”

The person before me coughed dryly.

Oh no!

I was sitting on the rug in the living room by an oppressive atmosphere, and before me was Megumin’s father who was staring at me with a stern expression.

At a glance, he looked like a normal middle aged man with black hair, but his sharp eyes had been emitting an oppressive pressure since just now.

He was Megumin’s father whose name I have heard before, Hyoizaburo.

“... Thanks for taking care of my daughter. I express my sincere gratitude for that.”

Hyoizaburo said as he bowed lightly to me.

Besides him was a beautiful lady who resembles Megumin, with a head of black hair and slight wrinkles on the corner of her lips and eyes.

“My daughter has troubled you much… I learned much about Kazuma-san from the letters she sent back… So we know you quite well…”

Megumin’s mother, Yuiyui-san bowed deeply towards me.

What should I do?

I sent begrudging glances at the one who should be picking up the mess.

Megumin exhausted her mana because of that explosion spell, and was sleeping in the set of beddings in the corner.

After looking emotionally at Megumin for a moment, Hyoizaburo stiffened his face and asked:

“... Well then. What is your relationship with my daughter?”

He asked me the same question for the third time.

“... I already said many times, we are just normal friends and comrades.”

After Hyoizaburo heard that, he looked as if he couldn’t bear it anymore, moving quickly to the table where Aqua was performing and reached out.

“What did you sayyyyyyyy!!”

“Hubbyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Stop! Don’t flip and damage the table! Our finance is really tight this monthhhhh!”

There were many weird people among the Crimson Magic.

— Hyoizaburo sipped the tea his wife made for him and sigh.

“Pardon me, I was too agitated. All because you keep playing dumb and say you were just friends.”

I swallowed my words ‘We are really just friends’ back, and took something out to change the topic.

Those were snacks I bought in Alcanretia after the hot spring trip there a few days earlier.

I didn’t have a chance to take them out yet as we set off from axel immediately after coming back.

“This is… just a simple gift for your hospitality…”

At that instant, Hyoizaburo and his wife grabbed the package I was handing over at the same time.

“... My dear, this is a gift from Kazuma-san to me. Let go.”

“Ara ara, really now hubby. You were just addressing him rudely as ‘you’, and you suddenly change it to ‘Kazuma-san’ after seeing the gift, just how thick skinned are you? This will be dinner tonight, I won’t let you eat it as snacks for your wine, alright?”

The madam made a joke I couldn’t laugh at.

No, those were just buns. You can’t eat that for dinner or as snacks to complement wine.

I endured my urge to retort, and Komekko cheered.

“Food!? Nah, that is solid food right!? Not porridge so thin you can’t even see the rice, but something that will make you full!?”

… I took out all the rations in my backpack and spread them before me in silence.

“Really… It isn’t much…”

“You came at the right time Kazuma-san! My dear, serve him our best tea!”

“There is only one type of tea in the house, I will brew some right now, a moment please!”

— As I drank the tea prepared by madam, Komekko held the buns I brought in each hand, stuffing it into her mouth like a squirrel.

Komekko chewed quietly as she stared intently at my profile.

Komekko looked at the two buns in her hands, gulped, and…

“... For you. It tastes good.”

She offered me the bun she wasn’t eating.

Komekko stared hungrily at the bun she was offering.

“Komekko, don’t get any closer! Come to Onee-san, quick!”

“That’s right Komekko! That man always plays obscene pranks on your sister. Come here before he lay his claws on you!”

Komekko looked at me with her head tilted despite what Aqua and Darkness were saying.

I will punish them later… Komekko was really an angel.

“Thank you, Komekko can have it. Onii-san is already full.”

When she heard that, Komekko said ‘I see!’ and sat beside me, munching on her buns again.

I smiled when I saw such a cute scene.

Hyoizaburo said to me with a serious face.

“... No matter how much food you bring, I won’t give you Komekko!”

“That’s a misunderstanding! Please don’t listen to those two!”

Aqua sneaked to my side as I desperately tried to explain and grabbed Komekko away as if she was trying to protect her from me.

… I will remember this, you two.

Komekko paid no heed to being grabbed and taken away by Aqua, munching on her buns and letting Aqua do as she please.

Finally, the madam smiled warmly at me as I was drinking tea and said:

“By the way, I heard Kazuma-san has a huge amount of debt isn’t it? I won’t object since I feel that Kazuma-san is a good person… But if you want to be with our daughter, shouldn’t you do so after clearing your debts…?”

I spit the tea in my mouth out.

“What do you mean by ‘be with your daughter’!? Didn’t I explain that we are just friends!?”

In response to my strong response, the madam looked at me confusedly:

“From the letters sent by my daughter, I think the two of you are really close right…?”

“No, wait, may I ask what was written on the letters?”

I calmed down and looked at Hyoizaburo and madam in the face.

The madam finally spoke:

“For example…”

Admiring the scene of my daughter being covered in goo.

Saying things like ‘did your bust grow bigger’ while piggybacking my daughter.

Bathing together with my daughter.

When my daughter was napping defenceless on the couch, you will squat down with your hands on your knees to peek under her skirt.

When feeding Chomusuke, you will put panties before him and say ‘listen up, it looks like this, if you can steal this for me, I will treat you to better food’, teaching him to do bad things.

“... And so, your relationship is so close that sexual harassment becomes commonplace…”

When I heard that, I got on my knees and prostrated myself before Megumin’s parents.

Hyoizaburo continued after his wife—

“Even so, my daughter still thinks you are an important comrade she couldn’t just ignore. She even wrote that even though you are a pervert full of debt with poor combat skills, vulgar language and lacks common sense, she couldn’t leave you alone because you will die easily if she doesn’t keep an eye on you. My daughter already said this much, I think there must be something…”

He said with a heavy heart.

There were many parts that were strange, but I was happy that she thinks of me as an important comrade.

That’s right, our bonds were strong enough to accommodate each other’s flaws, just hearing her badmouthing me would not shake the trust I have in her…

“According to my daughter, she is the main damage dealer in Kazuma-san’s team, the team won’t be able to function without her. And she was the one who defeated the demon king army boss Vanir, forced another boss out from his castle by bombarding his castle every day, and made huge contributions in subjugating that boss…”

… Eh, that’s not wrong.

We defeated the boss Hans recently too, but we were not so dependent on Megumin that the team won’t be able to function without her...

“Hmm. And she was the one to deal the final blow to the mobile fortress destroyer! Ara, my daughter really made a name for herself!”

Continuing from where his wife left off, Hyoizaburo added happily…

It’s not wrong, but…

I glanced at Megumin who was sleeping soundly.

Megumin who was breathing deeply turned her back on me…

Was she actually awake?

The madam looked at me with suspicious eyes while I watch Megumin—

“The letter also state many things about you and your comrades… Well, do you still have a lot of debts? This concern the team my daughter is in. We want to help too, but my family is not that well off…”

She said apologetically…

“Ahh, no, the debt has already been cleared. I should be able to get a large amount of money after this trip, so there is no problems, don’t worry.”

After hearing what I blurted out by accident, Hyoizaburo reacted strongly.

“... Oh. Pray tell how much you will be getting…”

Feeling a bit nervous in Megumin’s home, I didn’t question too much and answered truthfully.

“About three hundred million Eris.”

“Three hundred million!?” x2

… Hmm? Did I say something unnecessary?

Hyoizaburo came close to me.

And smiled gently as he clapped his hands.

“Ahh, Kazuma-san, that’s right, how about staying here for the night? You are my daughter’s comrade, we have to treat you well! How about staying here from now on!? As an adventurer, you are probably wandering around without a fixed home right!?”

“Yes! Komekko, sleep with me and dad in the living room tonight! Those two can just sleep in our room! But our house is small, so there is only our room and Megumin’s old room… It’s a bit cramp for so many people to stay here… Nah, Hubby, how about re…”

I was terrified by the incredible words of the two of them—

“No, no need… I, well, have a mansion in Axel…”

— And told them this fact timidly.

“Mansion!!” x2

Oh no.

I shift my gaze from the glowing eyes of these two and seek help from Darkness and Aqua…

“Next! Something amazing will come out from this box!”

“Something will definitely jump out when she opens it! That’s definitely it, Komekko!”

“Amazing! Amazing!”

The three of them seemed rather busy.

Part 6

It was already evening, but Megumin was still sleeping soundly.

That was to be expected.

She might be the most down to earth person in the team, but she was just fourteen.

Right after finishing the trip to Alcanretia, she came on this journey right away and exhausted all her mana with her explosion spell.

And her family who she had not met for so long…

“Mum! Meat! Meat!”

“My dear, I hear that vegetables are good for your skin, so leave the meat to me. I wish for you to be beautiful forever!”

“Ara ara, hubby, your hair is thinning, eating the seaweed salad should be enough for you!”

… were not concerned at all about their soundly sleeping daughter, the family fought to eat the ingredients I bought.

Dinner was hotpot.

Aqua sipped on the wine I bought together with the ingredients, while Darkness seemed a bit nervous, maybe it was her first time eating together with everyone at a short table.

She glanced at me from time to time, checking if her manners were proper as she ate gracefully.

Komekko finally ate finished and said with sparkling eyes.

“Nah, Dad, Mum! The blue hair Onee-san is amazing! She made a big Neroid come out from a small box!”

That piqued my curiousity.

Darkness noticed that I was listening to this conversation.

“It was amazing, Kazuma, something physically impossible happened. A Neroid physically larger than the box came out, and flew away through the window. I had been thinking about that all this while…”

When I heard that, I told Aqua who was drinking wine happily:

“... Say, this has been bothering me for a while now, can I watch your tricks carefully?”

“Don’t wanna. Performance are not done by request, I will do so only when I feel hyped up. If you want to see it no matter what, then prepare a party setting that would make me want to perform.”

She said while nimbly squeezing peas out of a pea pods with one hand and flicked it onto my lips.

“How dumb… I already aimed for your mouth, so catch it properly… Stop, stop! You don’t even drink much, don’t take all of my peapods!”

Dinner was harmonious.

It gave me nostalgia of my time in Japan eating together with my family, making me forget my nervousness of camping out these few days and enjoy a proper meal happily.

— It happened when I was returning to the living room after my bath.

“What nonsense is this!? Aren’t you concerned about your daughter!? What you are doing is sending a delicious lamb into the cage of a beast that had been starved for a week!”

Aqua and the others bathed before me, so I was last. I could hear Darkness’ accusations from the entrance.

What were they arguing about? I peeked inside and saw Hyoizaburo lying in the middle of the living room snoring.

He was still awake when I took my bath, wasn’t that a bit too fast?

I don’t see Aqua anywhere, she probably went into the room she was assigned to sleep.

“Even if you say that… They have been living under the same roof all this while, and nothing went wrong correct? Then there are no problems. My daughter is of marriageable age, and Kazuma-san is a sensible adult… Even if something did happen, wouldn’t that mean both parties are willing? If that is the case, I can’t say anything even if I am a parent.”

Seemed like Darkness was protesting letting me sleep with Megumin.

I am fine with sleeping anywhere though.

A devious smile appeared on madam’s face.

“... By the way, Darkness-san, why are you so against this? Would it be inconvenient for you if Kazuma-san sleeps together with my daughter?”

She asked something I am a little concerned about…

“Huh!? That’s like saying I am jealous, it feels unpleasant, please don’t say that…”

… Hmm.

“Is, is that so, my apologies. I seemed to be mistaken. But it would be too cramped to move my daughter to the other room. If no one sleeps in the same room as Kazuma-san…”

Darkness said to Madam:

“Just let Hyoizaburo-san sleep with Kazuma, problem solved.”

“Eh?”

After hearing Darkness’ logical statement, Madam was surprised.

No, that was a good way, but couldn’t you read the mood…

“That is not lewd at all— Eh, no, from what I understand about my daughter’s letter, letting Komekko sleep with him is out of the question, and I feel uneasy if the head of the family do that too…”

Hey Madam, what did you say? What kind of person did you think I am?

I will ask them to let me see all the letters Megumin sent them tomorrow.

Darkness seemed to be getting excited as she exclaimed loudly—

“In that case…! I will sleep besides him! If it is me, even if that beast tried anything, I will definitely resist to the end…! No, maybe resistance would be futile, and I would become a playtime for his abnormal lust and do something incredible. That, that’s right, he must have accumulated a lot of lust during this journey. He even stayed up all night! I heard that boys would become agitated after staying up all night…! He might forcefully press me down despite my resistance, cover my mouth and say to me threatening ‘you will wake Komekko, keep quiet unless you want everyone to hear this’ and…”

“Sleep.”

Madam chanted her spell and Darkness who kept rumbling on collapsed.

How fierce.

… I unconsciously looked at Hyoizaburo who showed no signs of waking up in this din.

Could it be, Hyoizaburo was also…

Suddenly, Madam noticed me peeking into the living room, and picked up Komekko who was dozing off with one hand.

“Ara, Kazuma-san. Just finished your bath? Darkness-san fell asleep, could you help me carry her to the room?”

She said with a smile.

Part 7

“You have been a great help. Darkness-san must be tired from her tough journey, and won’t wake before morning. My husband, Komekko and me are all deep sleepers, so we won’t wake even if it is a bit noisy… Kazuma-san, you must be tired, do retire early for today.”

Madam said as she forcefully pushed me into the room Megumin was sleeping in.

“Eh, well… I won’t hold back and sleep… Just to let you know, I have known Megumin for a long time so there won’t be any accidents alright? Please don’t believe what that pervert crusader who had been holding it in said.”

“I know, I know, so no problems! If something does happen, you will take responsibility properly…!”

You don’t get it at all, Madam.

I was pushed into Megumin’s room.

“Both of you, enjoy yourself…!”

I heard Madam uttered behind me.

I shrug and looked into the dim room.

Sleeping in the middle of the room was Megumin, who was brought in while I wasn’t paying attention.

Just from her sleeping posture, Megumin looked really pretty.

The dash of gentle moonlight shining through the windows illuminated Megumin’s sleeping face.

Seeing her luscious black hair, I felt a strange attraction between the two of us…

… I lost myself looking at her.

Being attracted by Megumin who I have gotten used to might be the result of the psychological trauma those orcs left on me.

After I return to town, I will ask the succubus onee-sans to heal my soul.

It was tiring for me too, I should sleep early.

… At this moment.

“Lock!”

I heard this sound coming from outside.

That’s probably Madam locking the door with magic.

It was my fault for spilling the money I would be getting, but Madam was really pulling all the stops.

Even when her daughter already wrote so much about this man, was it really fine for a parent to act like this?

She seemed really confident in her female instinct and judgment of people.

… Forget it, I will just sleep.

Stopping my train of thought, I surveyed the cramped room restlessly and realized.

Aside from the bedding Megumin was in, there was no other place for me to sleep.

Part 8

I stood there stiffly for a moment under the dim illumination of the moonlight.

Before me was Megumin deep in slumber.

There was just the two of us in the room right now.

Aqua who was drinking had fallen asleep, Hyoizaburo who might interfere had been knocked out by Madam.

… Also, no one could exit the room since the door was locked by magic from the outside.

It was a feast laid right before me.

Only one set of bedding in the room.

It may be spring, but the weather was still cold.

Even if we were indoors, we might catch a cold if we don’t use a blanket.

What if the flu worsens and led to pneumonia?

I heard that healing spells couldn’t cure disease in this world.

Dying from illness was viewed as death from natural causes, and resurrection wouldn’t work.

Which meant that dying from illness was worse than falling in battle, a cold was a terrifying thing.

And so, there was no problem with me snuggling into the bedding with Megumin…

“......”

I pondered about it for a moment.

If I do anything to Megumin who was asleep, I wouldn’t be able to deny Darkness and Aqua if they accused me of being a demon and an evil natured being.

I am a gentleman, not someone like that.

But the situation right now was that I had the blessings of both her parents.

If that was so, I would win the court case even if Megumin was to sue.

No no no, could I really win?

Anyway, how does the judicial system in this world works?

Damn it, I should learn the laws of this world seriously!

If I knew…

No, that’s not it.

Thinking about what I should do if I was sued, the logic was wrong.

No way, this situation was making me panic too.

Calm down, I need to calm down, Satou Kazuma, calm down and think!

No matter how I see it, the nights in spring were very cold.

I couldn’t think in such a cold condition, allow me to snuggle in the beddings to regain my composure.

Careful not to wake Megumin, I cautiously got inside the bedding, feeling Megumin’s warmth and peaceful breathing besides me as I think…

……

Wrong!

What a cunning trap, I was sleeping besides Megumin before I realized it.

I was about to get up when I noticed.

What would I do next after rushing out of the bedding?

If I did that, I would definitely wake Megumin right?

And then, it would be just like the typical development in manga and anime.

That’s right, it would be the beginning of my sentencing trial I have no hope of defending.

If that happens, even if I argue I was set up by the parents and didn’t do anything, no one would listen.

How unjust.

Just like the sentencing of an innocent man accused of being a pervert on a train.

I won’t make the same mistakes as my predecessors.

Since I knew I would be treated unreasonably despite not doing anything…!

— Going by this logic in reverse, I chose to make this not a crime.

Megumin’s steady breath blew into my ear.

Oh no, my heartbeat was rising.

I was going to do something incredible right now.

However, I am not a holy man without lust, but a sexually frustrated man you could find anywhere.

Allowing a healthy boy to sleep in the same room with a pretty girl, something would definitely happen.

Most importantly it was Megumin’s parent who set up this situation.

It’s okay, I can win.

With so many things going for me, even if I face Sena in the trial, I will definitely win…!

When I was making up my mind to put my thoughts into action.

Megumin opened her eyes wide, looking at me with sleepy eyes as if she wanted to grasp the situation.

“Morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Hmmm… Morning Kazuma… Erm, how long did I sleep…?”

It was already midnight.

It wasn’t too late into the night yet, but it had been about eight hours since Megumin said she would sleep for a while and fell into deep slumber.

“I see…”

After that, she suddenly reacted to the situation she was in.

“... So, why am I sleeping in the same bedding as Kazuma?”

She said as she stared at the ceiling.

I looked up at the same ceiling and said.

“... Don’t make me say it, it’s embarrassing.”

“What did you say!?”

Megumin jumped when she heard my words.

“Hey, don’t pull the blankets, it’s cold. Calm down first.”

“Why are you so calm!? The first thing I noticed after waking up was that I was sleeping with Kazuma in my nostalgic room!? How can I stay calm…!”

Megumin said as she charged out of the blanket and patted her own body.

She seemed to be checking if anything was done to her.

She then breathed a sigh of relief…

“Hey, you really think I am a lowlife who will do something to you while you were sleeping? I had been wondering for a while now, what do you all think I am? We have been living in the same mansion for over a year now and nothing happened right? Darkness too, treating me like some sort of beast when she heard I would be sleeping with Megumin.”

I pulled back the blanket that was opened when Megumin got out. It was cold, so I only showed my face from the blanket.

In response, Megumin answered awkwardly.

“... Ugh. You, you… have a point, sorry… I’m a bit confused seeing this straight after waking up… you, you are right, Kazuma might sexually harass others when you crack jokes, but is not someone who will do it for real.”

Megumin said as she smiled and relaxed.

I maintained my position of keeping only my head out of the blanket and said to Megumin:

“Of course, don't look down on me. After all, your mother was the one who pushed me into this room. She even locked it with a spell, so I have no choice but to hide in the blanket.”

Megumin sighed deeply when she heard that.

She seemed to be expressing that she finally understood the situation.

“Really, she...”

She muttered in a relaxed voice. I opened the blanket for her, patting the space besides me.

“That’s how it is. It’s cold outside, so get in. Don’t worry, I won't do anything.”

Megumin’s expression stiffened when she heard that.

She lowered her head and said in a disappointed tone—

“... You really won't do anything? It’s just the two of us here.”

She said something that stirred my imagination.

Hmm?

What, what is this? Is it fine to do something?

Holding my hand when we were camping outside and the current situation, spring has come!

I immediately dismiss what I just said.

“Don't be stupid, it’s such a rare chance for the two of us to be alone, how can I not do anything! I have even gotten permission from your parent!”

Megumin dashed for the window when she heard that.

“I knew that would happen! I will sleep over at Yunyun’s place tonight!!”

“Ahh!? Damn, it’s a trap!!”

Megumin leapt out of the room through the window and disappeared into the night.

Chapter 4
Gifting a proper excuse in this restless night!

Part 1

The next morning.

After finishing breakfast, we bid farewell to Megumin’s parent who had to go for work, and lazed around the living room.

“Megumin, Megumin, it’s a rare chance for us to visit, so take us sightseeing around the village.”

Aqua said to Megumin who returned from Yunyun’s house early in the morning.

“Sightseeing… You do know this village is at war with the demon king army?”

I retorted, but after seeing how the Crimson Magic clan ravage the demon king army yesterday, it was understandable why Aqua said that.

“No problem. Since the village is safe, we can teleport back to Axel if you want to. Since Aqua proposed so, let’s spend the day relaxing in the village and stay another night.”

Even the subject in question said so.

“Hmm, so there are people here who could teleport us to Axel. The journey back would be much easier.”

That was great news for me.

I didn’t need to pass through the orcs’ territory again.

“Trashzuma¹ seem really happy. I will be sightseeing together with Megumin, what about the others?”

“Alright, I don't have anything to do anyway, so I… Hey, what did you just call me?”

I turned to Aqua, who tilted her head puzzled.

“Did I say something strange?”

“No, no… Just my imagination… right…? Never mind, what about you, Darkness?”

I toss the topic to Darkness, and she stopped cleaning her armour for a moment.

“There is somewhere I want to go. I heard the blacksmith here are really skilled, so I want to visit as an armour enthusiast. Scumzuma², go ahead with your sightseeing without me.”

“Well, okay… Hey, what did you just say?”

“So it would be Aqua, Lowlifezuma³ and me sightseeing. There are many scenic places in the village, I don't think it would be boring—”

“Wait a minuteeeee!”

I started yelling. Aqua still looked confused.

“What is it, Trashzuma who wanted to make a move on the sleeping Megumin?”

“I am very sorry…!!”

I covered my face with hand and slumped weakly.

Megumin seemed to have told everything to the two of them before I got up.

However, I am a healthy boy, it would be hard not to go with the flow when I am placed in such a position.

Or rather, it would be rude not to make a move to the girl sleeping in the same bed.

After my passionate speech.

“I hope the orcs attack you again.”

Megumin looked at me as if I was trash.

Part 2

Some time later, after I treat her to all sorts of food in the only cafe in the village, Megumin gave in and finally relented, taking us sightseeing.

“What is this?”

That was my first impression.

She brought me to a building that looked like a shrine and said “this is the holy relic of this village…”

“No matter how I look at it, this is a figurine of a cat ear girl in swimwear.”

A figurine of a girl was placed deep within the shrine in deep reverence.

“A long time ago, our ancestors saved a traveler who was attacked by monsters… As thanks, the traveler gifted this holy relic to our ancestors. The traveler said this is a relic even more important than his own life. We don't know what goddess this was, but good things might happen if we pray to it, so we placed it here in deep reverence. I heard the way to construct these buildings known as shrines was taught to our ancestors by this traveler.”

That traveler was definitely Japanese.

“Hey Kazuma, it displeases me that figurine is being treated as well as me, a goddess.”

“As the one who sent the guy with this thing here, you should be the one apologizing to the Crimson Magic clan.”

— Megumin was baffled by our reaction, and brought us to the second scenic attraction.

“This is the holy sword that is said to grant immense powers to the one who pulls it out.”

“As expected of the Home of the Crimson Magic! Such an amazing thing!”

Before me was a sword in a boulder.

Whoever draws this sword would be the chosen one and received legendary power… A cliché setting in games.

“Hey hey, can we try?”

“That is fine, but it will take some time, you need to pay a challenge fee to the old blacksmith first. You can challenge this after paying, and each person will have only one try.”

Megumin poured a cold bucket over the excited me...

Take some time?

And challenge fee?

“Isn’t this a sword only the chosen hero could draw? Ah, maybe the seal will grow weaker after some time, and it would be easier to draw…?

“The old blacksmith made this sword to attract tourist. A spell had been casted on it, only the ten thousandth person could pull it out. There have only been a hundred or so challengers. After all, this sword has only been here for four short years.”

“Hey, isn't the history of his holy sword too recent?”

I retorted.

Aqua admired the holy sword from up close.

“Hey, I can probably break the seal with my magic, can I take this sword with me?”

“Please don't do that. This is one of the attractions in this village, don't pull it out!”

— Next we went to a fountain under the shade of a tree.

“This is known as the ‘Wishing Fountain’. There is a legend about this fountain. If you give offerings such as axes or coins, you can summon the goddess of gold and silver. Even now, there are people who throw axes and coins in.”

This sounded like a messed up versions of a tale from my world.

“I don't know who spread this legend… If not for the kind blacksmith who clear the fountain periodically, this place would have become a realm of unlimited blade works.”

“... By the way, what did the blacksmith do with the coins and weapons he fished out?”

“He recycles them into new weapons and armour of course.”

I think I have an idea who started this legend.

“Well then, off to the next attraction… Hmm? Where did Aqua go?”

Now that she mentioned it, Aqua was gone.

Suddenly, a ripple appeared in the still fountain—

“... Hey, what are you doing? I can't let my guard down with you around.”

The goddess of water (self proclaimed) pokes her head out of the water.

She dove into the water when I wasn’t paying attention.

“I heard there are people who threw their coins in, so I dove down and picked them up… Hey, when it is the tourist season, I will allow you to hire me as the goddess of this fountain.”

“Okay, I will throw an axe into the water, catch it and turn it into money for me.”

While I was looking around for something to throw, Aqua started swimming away.

“Let’s go to the next attraction, next one!”

The next place was an entrance underground that didn't look aesthetic at all.

In a word, it was like the entrance to a nuclear shelter...

“This is the underground facility that seals the ‘weapon that might destroy the world’. No one knows when it appeared here… I heard that this facility was built at the same time as that mysterious facility over there…”

There was a giant mysterious facility in the direction Megumin was pointing at.

What was that thing for? It looked like a building made from concrete.

“What do you mean by mysterious facility? What is that building used for?”

“I mean it is literally a mysterious facility. Even after going inside to investigate, we still don’t know who built it, for what purpose or even when it was built. So we call it the mysterious facility and it has been like this all this time.”

What was with this village?

“By the way, the ‘weapon that might destroy the world’... sounds really scary. However, everyone in Crimson Magic are experts in magic, the seal won’t be undone so easily. It is a good choice to seal it away here.”

I said to myself.

“Hey, Megumin, are there any other amazing things being sealed here?

“You came too late, there were the ‘tomb of the evil god’ and ‘place where the unknown goddess was sealed’. But something happened and their seals were broken.”

“Isn’t your seals here too unreliable!? Hey, is it fine to put the ‘prohibited weapon that might just destroy the world’ in this place!?”

“No, no problem. To unseal the place, you need to solve the riddle and input the correct answer. The riddle is written in an ancient language no one understands… So there are no problems, so trust me on this!”

— Megumin said there was a place she wanted to go and brought us to a certain shop.

This should be a tailor shop.

The entrance of the shop had an old signage with a clothing logo. I could see the shop owner through the glass’ door wearing long black robes and a stern expression.

Megumin entered and the shop owner shot a glance at us…

“Welcome… Hmm? Megumin, are these two outsiders?”

He asked while studying us with sharp eyes.

Aqua was a frightened by his gaze and hid behind me.

What, what? Was something wrong?

Could it be, some of them have prejudice towards outsiders?

My heart rate increased. Megumin nodded her head.

The shop owner suddenly jumped up and flicked his cape nimbly inside the cramped shop.

“I am Chekera! Archwizard that wields advanced magics! Shop owner of the number one tailor shop in the Crimson Magic clan!”

So the people in the village couldn’t make self introduction without going through the whole motion?

After stating his name and title in all seriousness, the shop owner smiled with satisfaction.

“Once again, welcome to my shop! Ara, it’s been so long since I saw an outsider! How long has it been since I made my grand introduction!? Thanks to you, I am much more relaxed now.”

… So this is a way to relieve stress.

“I am Satou Kazuma. This is the top tailor shop of the Crimson Magic, that’s impressive.”

The shop owner smiled happily because of my praise.

“This is the only tailor shop in the Home of the Crimson Magic after all.”

“Are you messing around with me?”

I retorted on reflex.

“There aren’t many shops in the village anyway. This is the only tailor and there is only one shoe shop. All the other shops are one of a kind too.”

That Buzucoily guy also said he would inherit the number one shoe shop of the Crimson Magic.

Megumin averted her face awkwardly under my gaze of disgust.

“Putting that aside… What brings you here? You want new clothes?”

Megumin answered:

“I want to buy a spare robe to wear, do you have the same type as the one I am wearing? Yunyun gave me this robe, but it isn’t convenient if there is only one.”

She said as she showed the robe she was wearing to the shop owner.

“— This type… I have a batch that had just been dyed.”

We were brought before a row of robes hanging from a laundry pole.

The robes on it were all the same type as Megumin’s.

“I will take them all.”

“All of them? Oh, that Megumin is now a bourgeois… Seems like you are doing well as an adventurer.”

“Of course, it is about time the people in the village learn about my exploits outside. And this robe is my battle wear, it would be good to have more of it… And so, Kazuma who is going to be rich soon, lend me money.”

“Ah, you… Sigh, forget it, we will probably not visit this village ever again, I will lend you some.”

After making a tidy profit, the shop owner was all smiles as he took down all the robes from the laundry pole.

I yelped when I saw the thing that I thought was a laundry pole.

“... Hey.”

“...? What is it?”

Megumin seemed to be asking what is wrong with the laundry pole.

“You, this… Hey wait, how can use this terrible thing as a laundry pole!?”

“Ara, you know what this thing is used for, customer? This laundry pole had been passed down my family for generations. It won’t rust, so we treat it like a treasure.”

The shop owner said with a peaceful face…

Aqua looked at the laundry pole and said curiously:

“No matter how I look at it, isn’t this a rifle?”

That’s right.

It was about the size of a laundry pole, but looked dangerous like an extra long rifle. And it was actually being used as a laundry pole.

The villagers must not have known this was a weapon.

Cat ear shrine, holy relic, this rifle and the mysterious concrete building… What was wrong with this village?

Part 3

After leaving the shop, we walked around the village and rested on the grass of a small hill.

“The view here is really great. If I knew, I would have brought our lunch box and picnic here.”

“If you want to see the view, there is an observation platform at the top of the hill. The magic telescope is powerful enough to see the demon king castle. I heard the most recommended watch spot is the room of the demon king’s daughter.”

“You guys are really worthless, even the demon king's castle has been commoditised by you.”

Aqua who was lying casually on the grass said:

“Hey Megumin, the view is nice here, but didn’t I told you I wanted to visit somewhere romantic?”

“This place is romantic. This is known as the ‘hill of the demon god’, legends say that if you confess here and become a couple, you would be bounded together by the curse of the demon god, and can never break up. This is a romantic attraction made for lovers…”

“What a depressing love story! It is not romantic at all...! What is that?”

The entire village could be clearly seen from the top of the hill.

There were black figures squirming outside the wooden fence, near Megumin’s home.

Feeling that it was suspicious, I looked with my farsight skill…

“Hey Megumin! There are demon king army people there! Isn’t that near your house!?”

Megumin’s home was in a corner of the village, further away from the homes of the others.

These people who were probably from the demon king army was gathering in the place that could be considered the outskirts quietly.

Since the alarm wasn’t raised, it means the Crimson Magic clan didn’t notice them yet.

“Let me take a look. They are really relentless. I don’t understand why they keep attacking despite us beating them up so thoroughly. If they are sneaking around, their objective is probably not to attack the people, but the something like the facility inside the village?”

Facility inside the village…?

“Isn’t there a tomb sealing an evil god? An objective that matches the demon king army would be the revival of an evil god… But isn’t the seal broken?”

“It was broken. What else would the demon king army want… Could it be the holy relic inside the cat ear shrine…!?”

“If the demon king really wants something like that, I think it would be better for him to be wiped out along with this village.”

Well then, what was their goal then?

“Maybe they are aiming for the prohibited weapon that might just destroy the world or something?”

“That is impossible. After all, that facility is sealed differently from the other places, and no one knows the way to use that weapon.”

Why was this village keeping so troublesome?

“Anyway, no one in the village discovered them yet, the village will be invaded! Let’s hurry down and tell everyone that the demon king's army is here!”

“As expected of Kazuma, skillful in using the influence of others to intimidate people.”

So what if I am!?

Part 4

I asked all the villagers I ran into along the way to join us as we went to Megumin’s home and found…

“What is with this woman!? Where did she come from!? What is your goal!?”

“Sylvia-sama! She didn’t run for help and lack any means to attack powerfully, that is too suspicious! This might be a trap, let’s retreat!”

After breaking in through the wooden fence, the demon king's army was facing off against Darkness who was wielding a greatsword.

“You shall not pass! You will have to defeat me if you want to go any further! However, I will definitely not be defeated by the likes of the demon king army!”

“What a troublesome woman! Her attacks are pathetic, but her defence are incredibly tough! Why can’t she just run after learning the difference in our prowess!? Sylvia-sama, let’s ignore her and complete our main objective!”

Darkness who made it back to Megumin’s home after hearing the sound of the wooden fence breaking was stalling time for us.

The demon king's army was blocked by Darkness and couldn’t make it further.

I was moved by Darkness’ growth after seeing her performance that exceeded expectations.

“Darkness, good work in hanging in there for so long! We are here to save you!”

“Ka, Kazuma!? What, why are you here so soon…”

Darkness mumbled in regret…

I was an idiot for feeling moved just now.

“I was disappointed when I heard the orcs I had great hopes for were all female, and now, even the demon king’s army boss is a woman! Hey, if you have any pride as an underling of the demon king, show me your might! If you have the guts, make me submit to you and scream ‘Master~❤’ or something!”

“Just shut up, you just mess up your chance to put up a great performance.”

Seeing the Crimson Magic clansmen I brought along, the demon king army boss turned purple from fear.

To protect her subordinates, the boss stood in front of them. This one was Sylvia right?

“Hee… Did you miss your attack on purpose to make us underestimate you, but your real purpose was to buy time? With the defences powerful enough to stop us for so long, you must be a high leveled crusader… Not hitting my minions with your attack was just an act to hide your real skills huh… Not bad…”

“... Ah ah, since, since you saw through it… It can’t be helped…”

The aristocratic lady who was being overestimated and not good at lying, glanced my way seeking help.

The powerful Crimson Magic mob was behind me though.

Since they had the wrong idea about Darkness, I will use this chance to scare them a little.

“You are Sylvia right? That crusader is my comrade, and the hero who took an explosion head on in the battle with demon king army boss Vanir. To understand her true abilities in so short a time, you are pretty good…”

“Hey Megumin, the way Kazuma is putting it seems weird.”

“Shh! It looks interesting, so let’s observe for now. Maybe he will boast about us too.”

The two of them whispered besides me.

The Crimson Magic clansmen were also watching the development with interest.

Alright, I will do just that for Megumin this time.

“... Vanir, you say? I heard he went to Axel and never came back… Could it be you all…!?”

Sylvia and her minions retreated a few steps with a shocked expression.

“That’s right, the one beside me— Megumin, dealt him the final blow.”

After hearing what I said, not just Sylvia, even the Crimson Magic clansmen was surprised.

My words made Megumin stiffen her lips, trying hard to suppress her smile.

“Not just that, the four of us even faced the dullahan Beldia, the deadly poison slime Hans, and the Mobile Fortress Destroyer which had a high bounty… and defeated them all!”

“What, what did you say!...? I heard about the defeat of Beldia, but when did Hans—!? His periodic report from Alcanretia stopped, so it might be true…!”

I see, the Home of the Crimson Magic and Alcanretia was rather far apart, so having checking in periodically made sense.

She probably found my words very convincing, Sylvia clicked her tongue with hate.

“... You are the leader of your team right, can you tell me your name?”

My, my name? I don’t want a boss of the demon king army to remember my name…

“...... Mitsurugi Kyoya. That is my name.”

“Mitsurugi...! So, I understand, I heard about the Magic sword user Mitsurugi… You have a weird sword with you too, so it is you. You are my type you know...? But for the Crimson Magic clan and a powerful character like you to be here, this is troubling. Can you let me off this one time?”

Sylvia probably mistook my katana for the magic sword and started pleading for clemency.

Mitsurugi would not have any problems even if the demon king army marked him.

And from what Sylvia said, the demon king army already knew about Mitsurugi.

“... This jerk got scared at the crucial moment again. He just had to state that fellow’s name.”

“He was arrogant because of the mob of Crimson Magic clansmen behind him, but he is backing off right now.”

The audience sure was noisy.

“That’s true, it would be my victory if we fought. It won’t feel right even if I do so, since it would be like I am borrowing the might of the Crimson Magic. I will grant you leave this one time… If, the Crimson Magic clan behind me is willing to let you go of course.”

I said with a brave smile…

“My deep thanks, Mitsurugi, farewell, we will have a proper match next time! My name is Sylvia, a boss of the demon king army...! Retreat!”

“You can’t escape! Lightning Strike!”

"Light of Saber!"

“Catch her for magic experimentation ahhhhh!”

Sylvia turned and fled with her minions while the Crimson Magic mob chased behind.

Seeing off Sylvia who was leading her underlings in flight, I said while pondering something:

“— Boss of the demon king army Sylvia huh…”

“Hey Kazuma, you are not done with your act yet?”

Part 5

“That Onee-san was amazing! She was fine even after being hit by magic and arrows!”

— That night.

We decided to spend the night at Megumin’s again. After dinner, Darkness earned rave praise for her performance earlier today.

“Haha, it’s nothing… As a crusader, this isn’t much…”

Darkness who wasn’t used to being praised sat gracefully in the living room. Komekko’s words made her feel shy.

“I heard about it too, Darkness-san. You are the one who stopped Sylvia’s infiltration right? This team is really dependable, I can leave my daughter in Kazuma-san’s care without worries now. Oh right, about the room allocation tonight, Kazuma-san…”

Madam leaned this way as she spoke. I noticed something at this moment.

“Eh, where did Hyoizaburo-san go?”

“My husband said he had plenty of work to do and decided to sleep over at his workshop… I will heat the water up then.”

Madam said nonchalantly and left the living room in a hurry.

When we were eating dinner together just now, Hyoizaburo-san was throwing a fit, saying ‘I am worried about my daughter, so I will sleep with Kazuma-san tonight’.

… Did Madam do something again?

“By the way, your taunts are great, let’s settle things with Sylvia next time!”

“That’s a great idea, I already ordered a popular model of armour from a skilled blacksmith and it will be done in a few days. Hehe, I am looking forward to the armour and the duel with Sylvia…!”

Megumin and Darkness clenched their fists excitedly.

I made it clear to the both of them:

“What nonsense are the two of you saying? We are going home tomorrow. We finished sightseeing and have no reason to stay in this village. We will rush home with haste tomorrow and spend our days lazing at home.”

“Ah!?” x2

When they heard what I said, Megumin and Darkness shouted in surprise.

Aqua who was drinking wine and eating pod peas chipped in:

“Running away after saying such a cool line? Didn’t she ask you to settle things with her next time?”

“Fighting a beautiful boss would weigh on my conscience, so let’s adopt a more conservative strategy this time. We can enjoy a bubbly NEET life after going home, so why should I wait here for that demon king army boss to find trouble with me?”

“Why you! After making such a grand scene, you are going to run away!?”

“You are not planning to meet them ever again after intimidating them so much!? That’s going too far!”

Their reactions were intense.

“Not really, I was just thinking that we will be going home tomorrow, so I acted cool for fun. The chance of us meeting again would be very low. Or else, why would I say something like that to the boss of the demon king army? I only did so because the Crimson Magic mob got my back in the Home of the Crimson Magic.”

“This fellow is too much! What a jerk!”

“And you call yourself a human being!?”

I covered my ears and ignored their complaints.

“Everyone, the water is ready… Ara, what is the matter?”

“Nothing, let me take the bath first.”

“Hey wait, don’t run!”

“We are not done yet!”

I rushed into the bathroom with curses coming from behind me.

— After my bath, I came back relaxed and found Aqua who seemed all steamed up heading to her room.

“Hmm? Why do you look as if you just had a bath?”

“I bathed outside, they told me there is a bathhouse nearby called ‘mixed hotspring’.”

Hey, why didn’t anyone tell me. We would be heading back tomorrow, what should I do?

While I was deliberating whether to stay for another night…

“Megumin, where are you going so late at night!? I won’t allow my daughter who is in her delicate age to stay outside! You came back from somewhere early this morning too!”

“For me who am in my delicate age, my own house is the most dangerous, so I will sleep over at Yunyun’s! You are scheming to make me sleep with Kazuma, right!?”

“Ara, it would be fine if it is Kazuma-san. Trust your mother’s judgement. He definitely would not let me down…”

“You are turning against your daughter for an outsider! No, you only said that because you understood his true nature right? ‘Not let you down’ means exactly that, correct!”

I heard Megumin arguing with her mother at the entrance.

“I don’t care what you are quarreling over, I am going to sleep… After my bath, I see that even Darkness is sleeping, I should turn in too…”

Aqua stretched tiredly and walked towards her assigned room, she probably drank too much.

Looking carefully, Darkness sleeping posture looked unnatural.

Without doubt, the madam must have…

“No point talking about this further! I am sleeping over at Yunyun’s place!”

“I won’t let you escape! Ankle Snare!”

“Wha, what!? You used magic on your own daughter, are you really a mot…”

“Sleep.”

I heard something hitting the floor after Madam uttered her spell.

Finally, Madam showed me a gentle smile.

“I am sorry, Kazuma-san, my daughter fell asleep at a strange place… Could you help me carry her into her room?”

Part 6

— What should I do?

How should I handle this situation?

“Hey Megumin, stop pretending to sleep, you are awake right!?”

I said to Megumin who was in deep slumber besides me.

And of course, Megumin didn’t answer at all.

I was the type that would go easily with the flow.

Could I really go all the way for this?

I thought back to how Megumin suddenly grabbed my hand at the camp site, and held her hands as I listened to her steady breathing.

Her hands were a bit cold, so it felt really comfortable holding them.

… My mind raced.

I would just be a criminal if I carried on.

First, I need a proper reason for me to lay my hands on Megumin inside the bedding.

… And suddenly, inspiration struck.

When Megumin woke up last night, I snuggled into her bedding by saying that it was too cold outside. I just need to turn this excuse into reality.

I just needed to lower the temperature of this room until it was necessary to hide inside the blanket.

That’s right, my powers probably existed just for today.

Holding Megumin’s hand with my right, I put my left hand and hand outside of the blanket and casted a spell on the window.

“Freeze!”

A blow that used up almost all the mana within me.

This spell froze the surface of the window, encasing it with several centimeters of ice.

And the temperature in the room dropped drastically.

Oh, that was the effect I was after!

With the window frozen, Megumin couldn’t escape by the window like she did yesterday!

Perfect.

I am really a genius to have thought of such a flawless plan!

… While I was impressed with my scheme…

“... Ugh…”

Maybe I was too loud in chanting my spell, Megumin seemed to have woken up.

“Morning Megumin, did you sleep well?”

“... Morning. Hmm? Is this my room?”

Megumin held hands with me as she looked around the room in a daze. She was probably still half asleep.

Finally, she realized she was holding my hand.

“——!! You finally crossed the line you beast! Kazuma you animal! I thought the most you can do is sexual harassment, but is a coward who don’t have the guts to do it when the time comes!”

Megumin charged out of the beddings with tears in her eyes.

“Hey hold it, I didn’t do anything! It’s just handholding, don’t make such a fuss! Look, isn’t it much colder than yesterday!? I only held your hand unconsciously because it was too cold.”

Megumin realized the room was exceptionally cold after I said so. She shivered.

She then checked her body carefully and finally said with a blushed face.

“You, you really didn’t do anything!? And with the lesson from yesterday, I won’t trust you so easily.”

“Idiot, how long did you think you have been sleeping? I had been staying by your side honestly all this while.”

“Is, is that so? Sorry Kazuma, I misunderstood you again. That’s true, if Kazuma had the guts to cross the line, you would have took a gamble and made a move on Darkness… I said something rude, I apologize.”

Megumin said apologetically under the vague moonlight.

“Ah, it’s fine. However, it would be nice to thank me once in awhile right? You all keep getting caught up in troublesome matters, I have to keep cleaning up after you. Don’t you think I deserve some thanks?”

That’s why such a scene that made my heart skip a beat was my just reward.

I wanted to say more, but I couldn’t continue when I saw Megumin’s face that was lit up under the moonlight.

“... Gratitude right? You have a point.”

Megumin who always looked at me with wrath, resignation or pitiness, had a rare smile that match girls her age.

Hmm?

Her straightforward expression made me feel uneasy.

“... Thank you for taking me in when I had nowhere to go in Axel, even though I am a troublesome mage that could only use explosion spell. Thank you for carrying me home after I exhaust my mana. Thank you for letting me stay on the team despite all the troubles I caused you.”

The Megumin who was always picking a fight said something out of character for her.

Her white porcelain skin contrasted with her black hair, had a hint of red.

The signs of the Crimson Magic— her red eyes glowed with mesmerizing light.

“What is the matter? I am just thanking you right? Weren’t you the one who asked for this? Why are you acting so shy?”

Megumin said to me mischievously as I just stared at her dumbfounded.

Ah, I feel so embarrassed right now.

She always gave me attitude, but being gentle with me so suddenly caught me at a loss.

I hesitated on what to say.

“... Well, erm, I was saved by you all numerous times too. According to your customs… I am Satou Kazuma, the one who get dragged repeatedly into troublesome matters, holder of the weakest job in Axel. My goal is to earn big money and live happily ever after with all of you… Please, please take care of me from now on!”

I became more embarrassed as I went on. Megumin giggled.

“Me too, please take care of me from now on… By the way, it is really cold today. The house is run down, so maybe the cold got in from somewhere… Erm, Kazuma really won’t do anything to me right? It’s too cold, so I will go back into the blanket.”

Megumin said as she snuggled into the bedding with a red face.

Getting into the bedding under such an atmosphere would make me more nervous.

But it was really cold today.

It couldn’t be helped…

… At this moment, I noticed the ice on the window.

What excuse should I make if someone saw them?

If Megumin saw that, the Kazuma stock that rose after so much effort would definitely plummet.

What was I thinking when I did something that dumb?

I might have acted a little too desperate.

At this moment, Megumin leaned towards me.

She was much closer than before, when we were lying side by side.

“... Me-Megumin, aren’t you a bit too close…”

Megumin said as if she was teasing me.

“You are always sexually harassing me, and now you act all timid? And didn’t you say you won’t do anything right? It would be fine then.”

My nervousness was totally different from just now.

It would be fine.

That’s right, that wasn’t much.

After all, I did say something really embarrassing and she became really trusting.

If she saw the frozen window, her wrath would reach historical height.

All of a sudden, my right hand was covered by something cold.

Seemed like Megumin was holding onto my hand willingly.

“... Hey hey, don’t be so proactive, young girl. That time at the campsite too, if you do something like that out of the blue, my heart won’t be able to take it… Last night, Darkness even told your mother that letting you sleep with me was like putting a lamb into the cage of a beast that had been starving for a week.”

The room was cold but I started sweating, my voice was one pitch higher because of nervousness.

In response, Megumin laughed.

“Did Darkness said that? But she also said that even in a situation where you can do it for real, you would be too timid to act and brush it off with a joke.”

That bitch!

“Hey, what do you talk about with Darkness when you are alone with her? Tell me, I promise I won’t get angry.”

Megumin panicked a little when she heard me and averted her head.

“... Hey, you two must have been speaking ill of me.”

“It’s a secret. Be, besides that, let’s tuck in early. We are returning to Axel tomorrow right? Let’s go back to our peaceful days there.”

She was trying to brush it off.

… At this point, Megumin who was hiding in the blankets said shyly:

“... I feel like visiting the washroom.”

With that, she climbed out of the bedding.

… Hey, wait!

“Ah, but your mum locked the door today—”

— Before I finish, Megumin smiled wryly.

“She really… Never mind, I will go out from the windows tonight…”

Megumin looked at the windows and stood there stiffly.

… I covered my ears and hid my head back under the blanket and curled into a ball.

That’s right, this was the perfect chance to activate ‘hide’.

While I was doing that, Megumin stared at the window blankly.

“... Kazuma, what is going on?”

“... Jack Frost passed by just now, and left after freezing the window.”

Megumin pull my blanket off immediately!

“Kazuma! What happened just now!? This must be Kazuma’s handiwork! I knew Kazuma did this, but I don’t understand what your objective is! Why did you freeze the window!?”

So cold!

It’s really cold after she took the blanket.

I curled into a ball and evaded Megumin’s gaze.

“...If I tell you that honestly, will you promise not to be mad?”

“If you don’t tell me, I will get everyone to treat you in a crueler manner than today.”

— I confessed everything.

“... Are you an idiot? Is Kazuma someone who can react according to the situation, or an idiot? Give my gratitude just now back!”

“You are absolutely right. I think it is strange too, why did I act so dumb for two nights in a row.”

Maybe I had been traveling too much recently and my brain had burned out.

Megumin knocked on the frozen glass gently.

The freeze magic that used up all of my mana left a thick layer of ice on the window, it won’t break just by knocking it a little.

Seeing that, Megumin rushed to the door:

“Open the door! Hey open it...! Mom, mom!”

She kept yelling as she banged on the door.

However, the house was silent and no one showed any signs of waking up.

It was too cold, so I sneakily picked up the blanket and covered myself.

“... How should I put this, it’s cold so let’s sleep for now. It will be fine, I won’t do anything, trust me. If you can’t hold it in… There’s an empty bottle over there.”

“Let me ask you again, what do you want me to do with that empty bottle!? And I trusted you until just now, but I feel a sense of danger like never before! Ahhh, this is really…”

Megumin yelled at me as she held back her anger.

The warm atmosphere earlier was completely gone.

“It’s my fault, I guarantee you that I won’t do anything. I must have been possessed by an evil spirit to have frozen the window with magic. I’m really sorry.”

When she heard that—

“At least say that when you are out of the blanket…”

Megumin gave up on doing anything to me and returned into the bedding. She probably couldn’t stand the cold anymore.

“Yahoo!”

“Kazuma, you will get it from me in the morning.”

In response to my exclamation of joy, Megumin announced this to me with red glowing eyes.

A certain great man once said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

And so, I decided to follow the teachings of my predecessors and live in the present.

Megumin who proactively held my hand earlier was sleeping in a corner with her back towards me.

This felt like a married couple who were tired of each other.

“... Hey, aren’t you cold? I am really cold, so come closer.”

“... I really want you to give back the nice atmosphere just now…”

Megumin said in resignation. I chanted as softly as I could.

“Freeze.”

“You just complained about it being cold, and you are casting freeze!? Just how much do you want to stick to me!?”

After I was scolded by Megumin,

“Sigh… There is only one pillow, so Kazuma use it. I will sleep on your arm.”

Megumin mumbled and leaned over.

“Hey hey, I will feel troubled if you lean over so obediently.”

Megumin ignored me and placed her head onto my right arm, her face touching my chest.

“Just like Darkness said, ‘even in a situation where you can do it for real, you would be too timid to act and brush it off with a joke.’”

Megumin said as she giggled inside the blanket.

… Hmm?

Could it be, Megumin wasn’t unwilling?

So it is my period of popularity…!

Just when my faint hope was gradually growing.

“Demon king army alert! Demon king army alert! A portion of the demon king army had infiltrated the village!”

… Yeah yeah yeah, I know it would be like this.

Part 7

Madam opened the door with a face of pity after hearing the alarm.

I took my sword and dashed out together with Megumin.

Once outside, we met with Sylvia who was covered in wounds.

“Ah… ahhhh! Just a bit further! A little more…! … Sigh, why must I meet you at a time like this!? As expected of you, my subordinates’ diversion attack didn’t work on you at all! Did you rush here after realizing my true objective? Mit—”

“You are noisy, shut it.”

Wearing pyjamas and bare footed, I drew my sword and approached Sylvia slowly.

When she heard me, Sylvia—

“Asking me to shut it? You might be a magic sword user, but a mere human dare—”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut it!? Are you looking for a beating!? Interrupting me when things are going so well, who do you think you are!? What time do you think it is, you think the neighbours don’t need to sleep!?”

I cut Sylvia off and roared at a boss of the demon king's army as if I this was my first time being so mad.

“Sor, sorry…”

Faced with the explosive wrath of the human, Sylvia started to panic. But she regained her composure in no time.

“Hey, how dare you yell at me, you have got guts. Come at me together with that girl there, I will finish off both of you at one go!”

Prompted by her, I turned to my back.

Before I realized it, Megumin came to my back with a staff in her hands.

Sylvia squinted her yellow feral eyes.

Just what race was she— At first glance, she looked like a beautiful woman.

If she could move around in daytime, then she was not a vampire.

Her ears were a little sharp, was she some type of devil?

She didn’t have any weapons with her, what was that rope like thing on her waist for?

Steeling myself, driven by the fury of her messing up my night, I stood before Megumin as if to protect her from Sylvia.

When Sylvia saw this, she licked her lips and smiled lewdly.

“Ara ara, were you having a good time with that kid there? I really did something that spoiled the mood then.”

Sylvia taunted as she lowered her guard towards me and Megumin.

From the way she glanced at my katana from time to time, she was probably still mistaking me for Mitsurugi.

“Hey! Why is so noisy in the middle of the night! What is happening? Did Megumin sleep too much and cast an explosion?”

Aqua seemed to be wakened because of the commotion and poked her head out from the entrance.

“Hey Aqua, a boss of the demon king's army is attacking! Get Hyoizaburo-san or Madam to come here!”

Aqua retreated back into the house immediately.

I really felt like slashing Sylvia who disrupted my happy times.

“I won’t hold back because you are a beauty! I am all for gender equality, a man who will not hesitate in dropkicking an evil woman!”

“Ara, I was hoping you will show me some mercy. Thank you for calling me a beauty! I have the urge of eating you up!”

I was thinking of using earth and wind magic combo to blind her, but unfortunately my mana had been used to do those stupid things, so I couldn’t even use them now.

I threw a bag I took when I charged out of the room at Sylvia.

“Hmm what is it? A gift for me?”

Sylvia didn’t dodge, catching it with one hand.

At the same time, I slashed at her, but she caught it easily with her other hand.

Hey, what the hell was with this boss!

Sylvia who caught my katana easily refused to let go.

In the end, she showed a confused face.

“... This is a magic sword? The craftsmanship is too rough… Are you really Mitsurugi? Is the magic sword Gram something like this?”

Oh no, because the quality of the weapon and my swordsmanship was too poor, I got found out immediately.

No, it’s not over yet, I will—!

“It’s Chunchunmaru.”

“... Ah?”

I was planning on intimidating her with lies, but Megumin spoke before I did.

“I said this sword is Chunchunmaru, this is a really normal named sword Chunchunmaru. Don’t compare it with Gram, some name that sounds like the bones of a horse.”

The culprit who gave my sword this weird name said passionately.

“... Fufu, hahahaha! You are not the magic sword user Mitsurugi right!? Can you tell me your real name, and why are you pretending to be Mitsurugi?”

Sylvia started laughing heartily. What's so funny?

“... My name is Satou Kazuma. I pretended to be Mitsurugi because I don't want you to know my real name and target me.”

“Ah hah! Hahahahaha! That's amazing, your idea is too wonderful! I like it!”

When she heard my answer, it flipped a strange switch in Sylvia and she started laughing like a maniac.

The entrance door opened once again and Aqua poked her head out.

“Hey, I already told Madam who is waking Darkness, she will be right here!”

It happened in an instant. Sylvia pulled the katana she was grabbing towards her.

Still holding on to the katana, I lost my balance and was pulled towards Sylvia.

I let go immediately, but it was too late.

My face fell right into Sylvia’s breasts.

Sylvia threw the katana aside and held me close to her chest.

Thank you for your hospitality…

No no no, it’s a trap!

That's right, even if she was a big breasted woman with smooth skin, tall and slender built, a beauty with all the right curves, now was not the time to feel happy about — thank you for your hospitality!

I buried my face in Sylvia’s breasts and resisted futilely...

“Stop resisting! Bind!”

This was a skill which restricts the movement of an opponent, I have seen this before.

This should be something only adventurers with rogue jobs could learn!

Is she a boss with the skills of a rogue!?

Sylvia bounded my body to her waist while I maintained the situation of having half my face buried in her breasts.

With my body close to Sylvia and a rope around us, I wondered if I would be able to live here anymore.

“This man is my hostage! That girl over there, I don't know why you didn't cast any spells, but this man would be dragged in if you do!”

“What…! Ka, Kazuma! Are you… Alright? You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

Megumin looked at me with cold eyes.

I couldn't help it, hurry and save me!

Well, don't rush on my account, but do save me!

“Hmm? You look like a devil! I won’t let you escape, the one panting heavily in your chest right now is my important… important… Hey Kazuma! What is my relationship with you!? What should I say to look cool!?”

Aqua who wanted to cast some spells to stop Sylvia shouted.

It seemed like this girl stayed here for too long and was influenced by the Crimson Magic clan and refused to cast her spell without saying a cool Chunni line.

Just shout ‘comrade important to me’ will do, so hurry up— I wanted to shout, but with my head caught between Sylvia’s breasts, I couldn't say anything.

… Just what was with me recently?

Since that day when Yunyun said she wanted to have my baby, until this night.

Yunyun, orcs, Megumin and Sylvia.

I will classify the orcs as a punishment game, but even so, on the whole, my luck was pretty good.

This was my popular period after all.

Or was it my only strong point— My high luck stat was working brilliantly?

I buried my face into her breasts and let her do whatever she wanted to.

“Hey boy, don't breath hot air into me, it's making me excited. Be a good boy and I will give you a reward later.”

My popular period was definitely here!

“But, but I can't breathe like this…”

It was a joyous feeling for me, but I couldn't breathe like this.

While I was squirming to change my posture,

“Sacred Exorcism!”

Sylvia lowered her guard because she was facing my way, and Aqua used this opportunity to cast her spell.

A large column of light shot up from beneath me and Sylvia.

And of course, I was caught in it too…!

“!? Ahhhhhh!!”

Sylvia screamed loudly.

I was also engulfed by the purification spell, but was unharmed.

In contrast to the unharmed me, Sylvia’s dress was all torn up after she was hit.

“You, you have done it now…! Even my leather one piece dress made from the skin of low level devils is torn…! But too bad, I am not a pure devil. It might hurt, but it is not lethal. Listen up, if you attack again, I will kill him!”

The half naked Sylvia threatened Aqua as she undid my bounds, turned me around, and pull me close. The back of head was squeezing her breasts.

She had solved my breathing problem compassionately.

“I am Sylvia! Director of the monster enhancement division, the one who will keep modifying my own body! That’s right, I am a chimera, growth chimera Sylvia! I will take this boy with me. My cute boy, become one with me again, Bind!”

… ‘I am Sylvia’ huh... Seemed like she had been poisoned during her repeated battles with the Crimson Magic clan.

While Sylvia was announcing her title, she planned to tie me up with bind once again.

Frankly speaking, I don't have any weapons on me and had my back to the enemy. I had no means of fighting back.

And so, I didn't resist and lifted my hands up cooperatively and allowed her to bind me with ropes.

“Ka, Kazuma! Give Kazuma bac…! … Kazuma, you didn't resist just now, are you doing this on purpose?”

“No.”

With the back of head deep within Sylvia’s giant breasts, I denied it clearly.

Because Sylvia was tall, I couldn’t reach the ground when my head was on her breasts. After being tied up, I was hanging in the air.

What was with this soft and serene feeling?

It was like finding the home I had been searching so hard for all this while.

Megumin was looking down at me with an ice cold glare. At this point—

“Ugh…! I was too careless…!”

When I heard this familiar voice I turned to find Darkness in casual clothes without armour panting as she ran over.

She was wearing a thin black shirt and tight skirts, with a great sword in her hands.

She probably came here in a panic after Madam woke her.

Darkness whose hair was still a mess stood in front of Aqua and glared at Sylvia.

“Demon king army boss! The people in this household had gone off to get the other Crimson Magic clansmen! It is only a matter of time before reinforcement comes. Throw that hopeless man who is closing his eyes blissfully while putting his head into your breasts, and disappear! If you want a hostage no matter what… Pick me… ! I will take his place! Please let me be the hostage in place of Kazuma!”

Darkness said suddenly. Sylvia laughed cheerfully after hearing that.

“Ara, hey, you are quite the ladies man! Two lovers? But no. I like him. Hey, you are Kazuma right? How about joining the demon king army? I think you and I will get along well.”

She caressed my head gently as she said that.

“... Hey, Kazuma has gotten really close to the enemy before I knew it, she is even patting his head.”

Aqua didn’t know what else to say, and Darkness continued—

“... Hey Kazuma, why are you stuck in a place like that...? Sigh, I really can’t let my guard down. You must have been seduced by the breasts of that woman. Can’t be helped, I will save you now, so stay still…”

“Don’t bother.”

…...

“Huh?” x4

My instant reply made the four other person shout out harmoniously.

I laid back as if I was lying on a high class couch, rubbing my head as much as I pleased against Sylvia’s bountiful breasts.

“I said don’t bother. You all— especially Darkness. Your attitude towards me recently had been terrible. Sylvia-san here is treating me very nicely. You all had been treating me terribly all the time, I was just thinking of switching my allegiance to the demon king army instead. Apologize, it is about time for you to apologize for making me clean up after you girls! Megumin thanked me just now too, so apologize!”

I said to Darkness.

Darkness was stunned when I said these wilful words just like Aqua.

“Hey… Hey Kazuma, don’t joke like that. You are really convincing, it don’t feel like a joke at all. Erm… It’s true, we were a bit mean to you… Erm, I went too far when I was introducing you to Megumin’s family, sorry. Oh right, didn’t you say you want a medal? I understand, your accomplishments are exemplary, when we go back to Axel I will…”

“Can you act more sincerely?! It’s too late to tempt me with money now, show me your sincerity! Look closely at the situation right now! Sylvia-san is showing me her bountiful peaks! And what about your strong point? Say it! Say it now!”

I talked over Darkness and said all that in one go.

Darkness was a bit uneasy and squirmed as she said:

“My, my defence…?”

“Wrong! Isn’t your strong point your slutty body that can seduce men!? Why are you saying stupid stuff and pretending to be a pure girl!?”

“Hey, this man is beyond saving. He is talking strangely, let’s leave him to the demon king army.”

“No, we can't, even so, he is still useful during crucial moments.”

Megumin and Aqua whispered quietly to each other.

They must be discussing how best to rescue me.

Darkness covered her body shyly and said:

“I, I…! Never, did seduce…!”

She furrowed her brow as she blinked away tears, planning to refute my accusations.

“Yes you did! Really, your body is so slutty! Tonight! My luck stat is at the max! This is probably the most popular period of my life! Apologize now! If you don't want me who is at the most popular period of my life to leave with Sylvia-san, then apologize! For example… Let me think…”

I let my arrogance got the best of me and uttered these words, which made Darkness speechless. At this moment, Sylvia put her hands on my head and said.

“Good good… as expected of the man I set my eyes on! I will let you join the demon king army! But don’t bully that crusader girl too much alright? You have to treat the delicate hearts of girls with care.”

Darkness glared at Sylvia when she heard that.

“You are a demon, but you could empathize with the feelings of young girls huh… It is impossible to discern the age of demons from appearance, could your empathy stem from experience of being a thousand years old woman?”

Darkness taunted with a sword raised. Sylvia answered matter of factly.

“Ara, of course I understand, be it the heart of young girls or boys.”

Hoho, as expected of a beauty of the demonic race, she understood the hearts of both men and women.

Sylvia continued as she caressed my head.

“After all, half of me is a man.”

She added nonchalantly.

“...... What?”

I couldn’t understand what she just said and turned back to face her.

Some parts of the village were probably on fire, which illuminated the sky behind her back. I noticed something at this moment.

Sylvia’s lower jaw.

Not just her jaw, there was faint tint of blue around her face…

“Hmm, didn’t I tell you?”

Sylvia answered.

The blue earring on her sharp right ear was sparkling…

“I am a chimera. These breasts you like so much are not natural, but added after the fact.”

She was speaking as if it was nothing important.

My brain was working hard to reject what I just heard.

Doing all it could to not understand that sentence.

After all, that would mean…

I had been getting excited over the breasts of a man all this while, that…

Ah...? Hmm?

“... Ka, Kazuma!? Erm… you, pull yourself together...! Hey! Snap out of it! It, it will be okay, calm… calm down…”

I heard the soft voice of Megumin and recalled a rumour I heard long ago.

Men who wore their earrings on the right ears were—

“By the way, you really are a nice man… Just caressing your head like that makes my breasts and lower body excited.”

Because of our height difference, my butt was at the height of Sylvia’s nether region.

There…

“Sylvia-san, Sylvia-san, there is something hard pressed against my butt, that is my imagination right?”

In response, Sylvia said that popular Japanese phrase shyly.

“I did that on purpose.”

— My brain froze.

Trashzuma ⇒ Kuzuma (Kuzu mean trash

Scumzuma ⇒ Kasuma (Kasu mean scum)

Lowlifezuma ⇒ Gesuma (Gesu mean Lowlife)

Chapter 5
Sending Explosions to This Damn Ruins!

Part 1

“Hey, hey, wake up.”

After my body was shaken violently, I woke with a start.

It seemed that I had a nightmare, I dreamed that a transvestite was teasing me…

“... Waahhhh! Stop it Sylvia, don’t come near me! Or I will kill you!!”

“Hey, calm down. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything weird. The Crimson Magic Clansmen have retreated, so I will let you go now. After all, you let me off once before.”

After hearing what she said, I was still a bit worried, but managed to keep my cool.

I realized now that there wasn’t anyone around me.

Looking around, I felt I had been here before…

“This is the entrance to the underground warehouse of the Home of the Crimson Magic, which is the place they sealed the ‘Weapon that might destroy the world’.”

Sylvia said as she took out something like a magic item.

“... What is that?”

“You are a smart man, you should be able to guess it right? ‘Barrier Killer’— If you gave you this hint, you should be able to understand.”

Which means…

“Your group kept trying to infiltrate this place in order to steal that weapon right?”

“Correct. There is a powerful magic item placed inside that warehouse. According to rumours, it is a nemesis of the people in this village.”

Just, just what was placed inside?

“However, I heard that the seal is very unique and no one can open it. Also, no one can understand how to use that weapon.”

“Hmm? No problem. The magic item I have with me is an extremely powerful barrier killer in the demon world. It can even break the seals of the gods… Huh? How, how queer…”

Sylvia squatted in front of the warehouse with her magic item in hand, and said with a baffled voice.

“The magic item is not reacting at all! This seal is not magical in nature, just what…! What, what should I do…”

Sylvia held her magic item in hand and was at a loss.

I looked at the seal from the side. On it was a touch screen keyboard complete with alphabet, numbers and arrows.

I found something very familiar written on the touch screen.

“‘Konami code’...? What does it mean, it wants me to input the Konami code?”

“You, you can read the ancient language!?

Sylvia gasped.

Ancient language? I don’t know what you are talking about.

Wasn’t that Japanese?

The Konami code was just the Konami code.

It was something from a famous game company— Konami.

“No, this is a language from my country. The Konami code is a cheat code everyone knew, and it is asking me to enter the code here…”

I realized what I was saying and wanted to cover my mouth mid way, but was caught by Sylvia’s hand.

“You are really a man beyond my expectations. To think you could undo the seal neither me nor the Crimson Magic Clan could break...”

“I, I am also an adventurer, don’t think that I will submit to the demon king army so easily. You saw that arch priest earlier, she could use resurrection, so it is useless to threaten to take my life…”

“Violence is not the only way to pry open the mouth of someone alright? Hehe, my skills are on par with succubus, I wonder how long you can last in such ecstasy?”

Before Sylvia even finished, I keyed in the Konami code without hesitation.

With a mechanical clang— The heavy doors opened.

“... Really, can you even call yourself a man? Sigh, never mind, time is short. It’s dark in there, I wonder what’s in front?”

Sylvia looked inside as she searched for something that could serve as a torchlight.

At this moment, her unguarded back was facing me.

… I might not have any weapons with me, but that is still too careless.

Well, my only means of unarmed attack was drain touch anyway.

“Hmm? Did they turn off the lights when they were running away? No choice, although my night vision is not too good in total darkness…”

I suddenly realized that I didn’t need to fight in such a situation.

I sneaked to Sylvia’s back.

“Hey, do you have anything that can be used as a light source…”

From the back—

Pomf.

“Eh?”

— I pushed Sylvia into the dim underground warehouse.

Part 2

“—!? —! ——!!”

Sylvia was screaming something inside.

On the other side of the warehouse door that closed once again, I could hear banging sounds.

“Kazuma! Are you alright!? Where is Sylvia!?”

I turned back and saw Megumin rushing over in a hurry.

Yunyun and Buzucoily were here too, Megumin probably dragged them along.

“You came too later, I locked Sylvia inside with an elegant counter attack. It seems that the door can’t be opened from the inside. Let’s trap her in there for a couple of weeks, that should tame her down.”

Megumin was a bit fearful when she heard the soft curses coming from inside.

“You, you trapped her in there!? Guess that is fine, she probably can’t activate the weapon. After all, no one knows how either. But really, to think Sylvia could undo that seal.”

… I won’t mention the fact that the seal was undid by me for now.

“T-to lock a boss of the demon king army inside… Such, such a cruel way of fighting…”

Darkness stared at the door that was being knocked continuously and said sympathetically.

“To capture Sylvia that escaped from our hands so many times, way to go outsider!”

“This gang of people have already taken down three bosses of the demon king army, defeating Sylvia is nothing strange.”

The Crimson Magic Clansmen congregating over showered me with praise.

“Hey Kazuma, isn’t that the place with the dangerous weapon? Is it really fine trapping that damn transvestite in there?”

The Crimson Magic Clansmen answered when they heard what Aqua said:

“It’s fine, it’s fine, even we can’t comprehend how to use it, it is impossible for Sylvia to understand.”

“Yeah, that’s right. If Sylvia can activate the weapon, I will circle the village one round on my hands.”

“Alright, let’s go have a drink.”

“... Hey, are they doing that on purpose? Is the Crimson Magic Clan full of people who won’t feel happy unless they get into trouble? Will they feel uneasy if they don’t raise such flags?”

“Don’t, don’t say that, I don’t deny that the Crimson Magic Clan likes to find trouble, but it will be fine this time. See, it’s getting quiet in there, maybe she suffocated?”

Listening carefully, I couldn’t hear the curses anymore.

I had an ominous feeling about this, would it really be fine?

Even if they say that no one could activate the weapon inside…

“Hmm? … Hey, Kazuma, can you feel the ground shaking?”

Darkness stamped her foot and asked.

“Hey, this is bad! I have a bad feeling about this! Let’s get out of here and…!”

“What are you scheming, Kazuma? We managed to take out the demon king army boss right? Hey, even though Kazuma did it alone, but we are a team, so we should split the bounty huh? Hehehe, what should I buy with Sylvia’s bounty money?”

Seeing Aqua counting her eggs before they hatched, I realized immediately that— things were going to be bad.

“You dumbass, why must you raise a flag every time! Hey Megumin, Darkness! Let’s retreat! No, we should get the Crimson Magic Clansman to send us back to Axel…!”

Before I even finish, the ground suddenly rose and dust spread everywhere.

Under the glow of the moonlight, the one who appeared from the cloud of dust was…

“Ahh hahaha! You have got guts, boy! You think I came here just to steal the weapon? My name is Sylvia! As you can see—”

With her body turned into that of a giant snake with metallic glow…

“I am a boss of the demon king army that can combine with weapons or any other things! Growth Chimera Sylvia!”

With a loud laugh, Sylvia flaunted her victory—

“It’s the ‘mage killer’! She absorbed the ‘mage killer’!”

The Crimson Magic Clansmen cried.

Mage Killer?

“Aahhhh, oh no Kazuma! Things are a mess! Let’s run away, now, immediately, run!”

Megumin whose face had turned green pulled on my sleeve in a panic, totally different from just now.

However, I still had the Crimson Demon mob behind me.

They definitely had an ace in the hole—

“Hey, that’s the ‘Mage Killer’!”

“Abandon village! It’s hopeless!”

“Teleport!”

Or maybe not.

“Hey Megumin, explain to me! What is a mage killer? Is it really that scary? Is that the weapon that might destroy the world!?”

I looked from the corner of my eyes at the Crimson Magic Clansmen scattering away as I shook the shoulder of Megumin who wasn’t good at dealing with a crisis.

“The weapon that might destroy the world shouldn’t be like that…! However, the thing Sylvia combined with was equally dangerous, something called a ‘mage killer’...!”

Yunyun said with a green face.

“It’s something that is completely immune to magic, the nemesis of the Crimson Magic Clan. A weapon that specializes in killing mages!”

— This is the end.

Part 3

To seek refuge, the Crimson Magic Clansmen all went to the hill of the demon god, the popular spot for couples, and watched the Home of the Crimson Magic ravaged by fire below.

“The village… is burning…”

I heard someone said softly. Turning back I found a girl who was wearing an eyepatch with the same design as Megumin, watching the burning village as she spoke sadly.

Sylvia who had taken the form of a lamia breath out fire, flooding the Home of the Crimson Magic in a sea of flame.

Most of the Crimson Magic Clansmen could use teleport magic.

There were almost zero casualties, but their residences were up in flames.

My heart ached when I saw this scene.

Is, is this because I undid the seal?

No, I was forced by the circumstances.

Also, I only undid the seal because I heard that no one knew how to activate and use the weapon…

“By the way, how did Sylvia break that seal?”

When I heard this question, I shivered.

“Did she use a magic item to break the barrier? But no matter what kind of barrier destruction item it may be, it shouldn’t work on that seal…”

After hearing that, my heart pounded madly as I looked down at the village being razed…

“No matter what it is, we can only abandon this village. It is frustrating for the demon king army to get its way, but we can always make a comeback if we still have our lives.”

The village chief said in a serious tone.

… What should I do?

This atmosphere was too heavy.

Oh no, is this all because of me?

Did I give in too easily and undid that seal.

“Hey Megumin, is there really no way to fight that mage killer?”

I asked Megumin besides me bitterly.

“As explained earlier, as the name implies, mage killer is a weapon specializing in exterminating mages. It is immune to magic. I heard that when the mage killer went on a rampage long ago, our ancestors used another weapon that was sealed away to destroy it. After overcoming that crisis, they repaired the mage killer as a memento and sealed it again…”

“Why did they repair such a dangerous thing with such an unrelated reason! ...No, wait, you said there is a weapon that could fight the mage killer?”

When using poison, make sure to prepare the antidote.

To prevent a weapon from rampaging, there must be another weapon that could take it out in the place of storage— This was a common precaution. Thinking about it now, it made sense.

As a safeguard, the ancestors of the Crimson Magic Clan must have kept the weapon that could defeat the mage killer should it rampage again.

In that case, with that thing—

She probably guessed what I was thinking.

“... Kazuma, unfortunately, no one knows how to use the weapon that could fight the mage killer. The instruction manual is left behind, but even the village chief couldn’t read it…”

Megumin said as she stared at the burning village.

The smart Crimson Magic Clansmen must have already considered this method.

If magic was useless, it would be hopeless.

Compared to the gigantic snake body, the tall Sylvia seemed so small.

Except Darkness, anyone else would be turned into mush if they got hit.

… Were there no other way?

At this moment.

“Hmmp… I will be the decoy and lure Sylvia away. With the support of all the Crimson Magic Clansmen, I won’t die so easily.”

The one saying such foolish words was the muscle brained crusader from my team.

“What are you saying? Don’t you know we are totally helpless here!? Are you stupid? Even a goblin know better than to fight a futile battle, are you dumber than a goblin?”

“You, you really—! We will settle this after we go back to Axel! I still remember those horrible words you said to me back then! Also, I am not doing this without any plans!”

… Plan?

“While I am aggroing Sylvia, Aqua and you who have night vision can use hide to sneak into that destroyed underground warehouse, and retrieve that whatever weapon.”

“... But no one knows how to use the weapon in question! Weren’t you listening!?”

I didn’t know what I should say to her. Darkness rebuked:

“Of course I heard, I also understand that. But thinking about it the other way, won’t the problem be solved if we know how to operate it? Taking action would be better than standing idly around here. Don’t worry, I don’t know what weapon that might be, but as a noble, I am rather familiar with magic items. I even fixed my father’s magic camera by knocking it in the past.”

I felt dizzy after hearing the words of the aristocratic lady who was more retarded than I imagined.

“... Alright, let’s give it a shot.”

What surprised me was that Megumin, the one most likely to protest intensely, agreed.

“I don’t hate a situation where life and death depended on one single move!”

“In fact, I like it! You are outsiders, but that’s pretty cool!”

Not just that, even the Crimson Magic Clansmen were standing up.

Seemed that speech moved their hearts.

Normally, I would reject in participating in such a dangerous mission. But the scene of that lonely expression of that girl with an eyepatch was impressed deeply into my mind, and I couldn’t shake it away.

Damn it, it was just sneaking into the warehouse to retrieve a weapon, if I could redeem my sins by doing so…!

“Hey! The demon king army boss is still rampaging in the village, why are we doing something so dangerous like sneaking into the village!? Don’t wanna! My specialty is providing support to everyone from a safe spot!!”

“Stop messing around and come with me! I can’t sift through it all alone!”

I pulled the unwilling Aqua with me, and headed towards the underground warehouse in the mysterious facility…!

Part 4

In order to lure Sylvia away, the Crimson Magic Clansmen unleashed all sorts of spell at it from a distance.

Whenever Sylvia came near, the Crimson Magic Clan will pull away. A classic retreating battle.

However, the magic was ineffective and Sylvia was not hurt at all.

“How long is this futile struggle going to last? I thought the Crimson Magic Clan was smarter than this!”

Sylvia squirmed her body that was glowing metallically, mocking the Crimson Magic Clan.

Sylvia who switched from defence to offence looked determined to ravage the land to vent the frustration she had been accumulating all this while.

But the Crimson Magic Clansmen kept their distance as they taunt Sylvia, so Sylvia couldn’t hurt them too. She seemed to be really frustrated.

She probably haven’t gotten used to her snake shaped weapon, her movement was really slow.

The anxious Sylvia glared at a group of Crimson Magic Clansmen with murderous intent.

She took a deep breath and spit blazing flames at them.

“Teleport!”

The group disappear moments before they were engulfed by the fire.

Attackers formed teams with teleporters. After one of them finished chanting a teleportation spell, he would stand by at the side and use it during a pinch to save everyone.

The scene of Sylvia’s near miss attack kept on repeating, grinding away Sylvia’s patience. She then targeted one woman.

Even when the others attacked her with magic, Sylvia did not change her target, making a beeline for that woman.

Sylvia had changed her tactics to taking out one opponent at a time.

At this moment, a man watching this happening from afar screamed in despair.

He was the leader of the anti demon king army guerilla unit, Buzucoily.

“Stop, stop Sylvia! Please! Don’t harm her!”

Sylvia was targeting a woman with a wooden sword. I remember her.

She used a powerful spell together with Buzucoily to drive away the demon king army that attacked the village…

Was she a lover of Buzucoily?

Buzucoily screamed at Sylvia, kneeling on the ground and crying for mercy as he watched Sylvia move closer to that woman.

Sylvia smiled happily when she heard Buzucoily’s screams.

“You all killed my subordinates too, it is payback time! Don’t worry, not just that woman, you, your family— everyone and this entire village will burn! ...Prepare yourself!”

Sylvia who was going insane from the torture of the Crimson Magic Clansmen was elated that she could have her revenge. She ignored Buzucoily’s pleas and close in on that woman.

The edge of the wooden sword woman’s lips raised in a smile, and she shouted at Buzucoily with an extremely sad expression:

“Run, even if it is just you… I will give everything I have to fight Sylvia, so you must use this chance to run!”

Hey, don’t act like this!

Just how much tragedy would my action cause…!?

That woman stared with determined eyes at the advancing Sylvia.

“Sylvia, this is my trump card! Watch carefully! And…”

The woman said as she glanced at Buzucoily.

“Please, Buzucoily… Forget about me, you must live a happy life…”

“Soketto! Please Sylvia, stop! Soketto, I will never forget you…!”

Hey stop! Damn it, nooooooo!

“You are really resolute! Come, let me see your final trump card! No matter what spell it is, I will take—”

“Teleport!”

Before Sylvia finish—

Soketto had disappeared.

Buzucoily who was showing a pained expression one second ago got up as if nothing happened, dust his knees and looked at Sylvia calmly.

At the climax of the drama, the target suddenly escaped.

Sylvia muttered in solitude.

“I, absolutely hate the Crimson Magic Clan.”

… I could empathize with you on this.

Part 5

A Crimson Magic man stood before Sylvia.

He had a sad expression…

“Sylvia, it’s so pitiful of you to end up like this… At least, let me use my ultimate ahhhhhh! That burns! It’s rude to interrupt when saying is delivering a cool line, Sylvia!”

He didn’t even finish before Sylvia spew out fire. The man jumped away in a panic.

“I don’t want to drag this on anymore! If you don’t want to fight, then scram!”

After being played by the Crimson Magic Clan repeatedly, Sylvia was losing her cool.

She was far away from the warehouse, a good chance.

I actually wanted to escape, but it couldn’t be helped as I was the one who caused this.

“Alright, let’s go! Hey Darkness, if things look dangerous for the Crimson Magic mob, I will be counting on you! No matter how strong they are, they are just mages after all, they can’t escape if they exhaust their mana.”

“I understand, leave it to me!”

Darkness nodded firmly. Megumin who was beside her—

“What, what should I do? I can’t use teleport, so I can’t even stall for time…”

She said with an uneasy face.

“You are the trump card during our critical moment. The mage killer only has high resistance to magic right? Advance magic might be ineffective, but no one had tried fighting it with explosion yet right? Maybe explosion would be able to deal some damage to it.”

I used this excuse and lied to Megumin.

To be honest, I didn’t plan to let her use her spell.

I heard from Yunyun that things would be bad if the villagers knew that Megumin learned explosion.

Right now, the Crimson Magic Clan was engaging Sylvia…

“Ahahaha, what’s the matter!? Come on, use your teleport magic!”

“Damn, the chanting is not…! Hey, things are getting dire! Sylvia’s movement is becoming more agile!”

… After getting used to that body, Sylvia was no longer being led on by the Crimson Magic Clan, and started to actively attack.

“Kazuma, I will guard the entrance into the warehouse, so don’t worry and search inside.”

“You are still speaking nonsense, come with me!”

I dragged Aqua who was stubborn til the last moment, and used hide to advance through the crossfire of spells.

We finally made it to the warehouse, and entered through the hole made by Sylvia.

I looked back at Sylvia, and she was still chasing the Crimson Magic Clansmen around.

It was almost dawn, the other side of the hill was gradually getting brighter. However, the warehouse was still pitch dark.

Both Aqua and I could see the dark, and we jumped in to search for that weapon…

“... Hey, are we going to dig through that big pile over there?”

In the center of the underground warehouse, there was a mountain of magic items with unknown way of using it.

The weapon was probably here, but how do we determine which ones were weapons…

“Hey Kazuma, look, look!”

“I was wondering what I should do when Aqua picked something up excitedly and showed it off to me.

This is…

“Isn’t that a Game Girl! Why is such an ancient game console doing in a place like this!”

This portable game console was popular before I was born.

Aqua placed the game console on the ground and started going through the mountain of magic items.

“Since there is a game console, there must be game cartridges. Hey, if you find Tetris, give it to me okay? I will lend it to Kazuma to play too!”

“Did I say that I am here to find games!? What I want is weapons! Where is that weapon like thing! ...By the way, what is with this? These are all things from earth…”

The mountain of magic item was actually game consoles that were sold on earth.

It was hard for a gamer like me to ignore, but I had a job to do.

And these things looked really pirated.

As if an amateur forcefully crafted the shape of a game console out…

At this moment, Aqua found something in a corner of the room and waved to me.

“Hey Kazuma, I found something.”

Aqua said as she showed me a notebook.

I came to her side and peeked at the contents of the notebook.

It was in the so called ancient language according to the Crimson Magic Clan.

… That’s right, it was written in Japanese.

Aqua started reading out the contents of the notebook—

“— O Month X day. Oh no, the secret of the facility had been discovered, but fortunately, they don’t seem to know what I was making. If they found out that I was using the national research funds to make games, I wonder how they would punish me…”

I see, it all made sense now.

This facility was built by a Japanese who was sent to this world before me.

That’s why the passcode at the entrance was the Konami code.

If so, there might be some clue in this notebook.

“— O Month X Day. A high ranking guy entered my sanctuary and asked me the purpose of these game consoles. There is no way I can honestly tell him it is a toy. And so, I made a serious face and lied to him that these are weapons that might destroy the world. My female colleague turned on the power supply of the game console timidly, and was startled by the sound of the console starting up. She always acts so fierce, so why was she so afraid of a game console?”

…?

I have an uneasy feeling about this.

“— O Month X Day. They increased my research budget, and asked me to create a weapon to fight the demon king army. Sigh, even if you say that, it is hard to do it. Didn’t I already create all sorts of things with the cheat powers I got after coming to this world? My contribution to the nation was already tremendous. I won’t be able to take it if you keep pushing me like that. I tried telling them with a serious face ‘War begets nothing…’, but my female colleague slapped my head hard, and said that I only got this job because the demon king exist. That is true, but a weapon to fight against the demon king… What should I make?”

Definitely uneasy.

I felt that I had heard this happy go lucky tone somewhere before…

Aqua continued reading.

“— O Month X Day. I want to make a giant robot. Something that can transform and combine. After I submit my proposal, they thought I was making fun of them. I was lectured. But I was actually serious. Out of spite, I said that we just need to build a huge weapon with super powerful magic resistance. Unexpectedly, that proposal was approved. What the hell, is that really fine? Even if you ask me to draw a design, what should I use as reference… Oh? There’s a stray dog right there. You then. I will name the dog-form weapon ‘mage killer’.”

… Dog-form weapon?

“— O Month X Day. After I submit the design plans, they praised it and said ‘I see, a snake huh, much better than something with legs. A great idea.’ Eh, I actually drew a dog. I know my drawing is poor, but please look closer, this is a sausage dog… On closer inspection, I really drew a snake!”

……

“— O Month X Day. Experimentation began. Hmm, it is moving. Although it is moving, that thing doesn’t have spare batteries. We tried bringing it to attack the demons, and found it out of battery in no time. But those fellows were scared out of their wits. Using this chance, I said ‘this weapon is still early for humanity’ and sealed it here. It can’t move since it doesn’t have batteries, but it could be used as material to create chimera as a living weapon. It won’t need batteries that way, and is really cool.”

Ah, I got it.

The owner of this notebook was probably the guy who created that thing.

“— O Month X Day. The new anti demon king weapon was created. Even though I said that, they were actually modified humans. We tried recruiting volunteers who were willing to undergo modification surgery, and we gathered so many that we had to choose the volunteers by drawing lots. Does this bunch really understand what modified humans are? After explaining to them that this surgery was a simple experiment to raise their suitability of being a mage to the limit, the volunteers even made strange request like ‘I want a pair of red eyes’, ‘I want a unique call sign’. Is everyone in this nation idiots?”

Or rather, I will find it troubling if there were multiple people who could write such nonsensical notebooks.

“— O Month X Day. The modification surgery is finished. Those bunch even said something stupid like ‘Master, please bestow us with a new name’. What Master, just how far are you guys going with this? It was troublesome, so I picked a name at random. They seemed so happy, are their aesthetic sense fine? However, these bunch are strong, super strong. The high ranking people gave me plenty of praises, and wanted to give me an important post. From tomorrow onwards, I will be the director of the research and development laboratory. To be honest, I don’t want the status and would rather have more benefits. Sigh, it’s a rare chance so I will give those fellows a clan name. Since their eyes are so red, I will call them the ‘Crimson Magic Clan’. My female colleague retorted that the name was too casual and rolled her eyes. Damn it, that bitch.”

“Hey!”

I couldn’t help shouting. Aqua stopped reading out loud and turned to look at me.

“Ah, sorry, please continue.”

The Crimson Magic Clan were modified humans?

Such a heavy fact was mentioned so suddenly…

“— O Month X Day. The Crimson Magic bunch kept yapping to me about creating a nemesis that could fight against them— some kind of ‘mage killer’ weapon. Sigh, didn’t I already tell them that thing can’t move? Also, that wasn’t made to be your nemesis, its batteries are flat… No matter how I explained, they just won’t listen. They are already so old, and yet they are still in their rebellious stage. I couldn’t stand them anymore, so I sloppily made a… I was thinking of making it sloppily, but somehow, I created something powerful. This thing is probably the real weapon that might destroy the world. Its appearance was just like a railgun, although its operation principle had nothing to do with electromagnetic acceleration. I couldn’t think of a good name, so for convenience sake, I will name it ‘railgun (fake)’.”

… It wasn’t heavy after all.

“— O Month X Day. The railgun (fake) was amazing, too amazing. So amazing that it scared me. It was meant to be a light weapon that compresses mana and shoot it out, but after those bunch tested one shot with it, the power even surprised me. What the hell, this is scary. That might be so, but it won’t last long. It was crafted from random parts, so it will break after a few shots. It would be terrible if someone uses it for evil, so let’s seal it here… By the way, this thing is rather long, just the right length for a laundry pole… Oh no, this is bad, the high authorities seemed to be encouraged by the success of the Crimson Magic Clan project and wants to invest a large amount of money to create a super sized mobile weapon. You think it is so easy to build such a thing!? Did water got inside your brain? Never mind, it’s not my problem anyway.”

… I was very certain.

The owner of this notebook was—

“The notebook ends here… Hey, I think I have seen this handwriting somewhere before.”

It was the scientist who built the mobile fortress Destroyer and was turned into a pile of bones inside.

From the content of the notebook, his next work would be the mobile fortress.

“By the way, didn’t you read a notebook in the mobile fortress too? Is the handwriting the same as this one?”

Aqua clapped her hands as if she just realized something.

This fellow, did she had some useless skill like handwriting forensics?

… No, hold on a minute.

“Hey, that notebook inside the mobile fortress, was it in Japanese too?”

“That’s right.”

“Right your head! Why didn’t you tell me something so important!?”

“But, but you didn’t ask!”

Aqua’s words made me hold my head in pain.

“Damn it, so that’s how it is! The one who created this series of mess, was another cheater you sent to this world! Mobile fortress, mage killer, all this is the work of this moron ahhhh! Hey you! Don’t keep sending people to this world so irresponsibly!... Ah! Wait!”

I shouted and stopped. Aqua tilted her head puzzledly.

“...Eh, I didn’t notice this issue but— Just how old are you? Are you already a goddess before the mobile fortress was built?”

Pomf— Aqua’s notebook dropped onto the ground.

“... Hey, Kazuma, how could you ask a goddess her age? You will receive divine retribution alright? ...Let me make this clear, time flows very slowly in the room you and I first met. Which means my age is different from your understanding of age. If you get it, don’t ask this question again. You will really receive divine retribution if you don’t, Satou Kazuma-san.”

Aqua said sternly. I groaned in a soft voice.

“Tch, grandma…”

“What did you say! Are you kidding me who is a grandma didn’t I tell you that time passes slowly in that place so change the way you address me I have just lived a bit longer than you ahhhh!”

— In front of me were things that give me, a gamer, the urge to bring them all back. However, now was not the time for that.

“Damn it, where is the railgun!? Since it is as long as a laundry pole, I should be able to find it immediately—!”

I searched through the mountain of home appliances for the railgun (fake).

“Hey Kazuma, the time flow in Japan, heaven and this world are all different. For example, one month in Japan is just an hour in heaven, but is several months in this world. And so, my age… Hey, are you listening?”

Aqua had been explaining since just now.

“That’s not important! We need to find the railgun! Railgun! Help me find it! It’s something as long as a laundry pole…”

… As long as a laundry pole?

Gun?

Wait, didn’t I see something similar somewhere in the village a couple of days ago?

That’s right it’s at the tailor shop of that guy named Chekera—!

“Hey Aqua! I understand, that weapon is at…!”

I shouted and turned back.

Ding ding!

“Ha, this still works, I tried using magic to substitute batteries, and it really works. How many game cartridge works with this? I will bring as many back as I can…”

I picked up the game console wordlessly and pulled my arm back hard...

“Get lost ahhhh!”

“Waahhhhh! My Game Girl!”

Part 6

In the village that was blazing in fire, I ran with all my might.

… I could hear Aqua’s noisy voice in my ears.

“Give it back! Give my Game Girl back! You can’t find another one in this world! Compensate me! When we go back to Axel, compensate me with all the bounty you have! Judging by its rarity, three hundred million is cheap for you!”

“Are you done yet!? Now is not the time for this!! And that thing is not yours anyway! You are so much older than me, so why do you keep saying such childish things!?”

“You have done it now, I already said that goddesses are forever young! I will make you regret aggravating the goddess of water! I will curse you, your toilet won’t flush and your warm bath water will turn cold!”

As I kept Aqua who was shouting strange curses at bay, we finally reached the entrance to the tailor shop.

In the courtyard, the silver rifle was placed on the laundry rack, glimmering metallically.

I felt murderous intent for the person who created the mobile fortress, mage killer and this thing.

And what is such a dangerous thing doing here, at least keep it properly!

And the villagers got guts too, I really want to lecture them for an entire day for using such a dangerous item as a laundry pole.

This thing was longer than three meters.

I wanted to pick it up, but I couldn’t do it alone, so I got Aqua to help me.

There was something really heavy at the back of the gun, it was probably some mechanism that absorbed mana.

He came up with the name railgun casually, but this thing really felt like some futuristic weapon.

“Alright, now to bring this thing to the Crimson Magic Clan… Hmm?”

Something was off and my heart started pounding.

All of a sudden, the sound of explosions disappeared.

I surveyed the surrounding bafflingly.

No matter where I was in the village, I would be able to spot Sylvia’s colossal body.

In the distance, Sylvia stood unmoving.

Part 7

I sneakily carried the railgun to somewhere near Sylvia...

And saw her staring at a spot motionlessly.

Before her gaze was—

“Isn’t that Yunyun!? What is she doing there…!”

Watching closely, I could see Yunyun standing on a boulder and facing Sylvia.

Seeing that she was alone, I understood immediately.

The other Crimson Magic Clansmen had exhausted their mana.

However, this was not the only reason why the Crimson Magic Clansmen were staring at her.

“Yunyun…!”

“Yunyun she…!”

“The daughter of the village chief Yunyun she…!”

As if they were watching a hero they adored, the Crimson Magic Clansmen were admiring Yunyun with sparkling eyes.

At this moment, a Crimson Magic Clansman said:

“Is the sun rising from the west? That weirdo Yunyun who don’t even dare introduce herself is…”

I gulped and watch the situation with Aqua quietly.

Sylvia had a haughty smile as she drew nearer.

She must have had enough of the taunts by the Crimson Magic Clansmen, so why was she taking the bait again?

My doubts were dismissed by Sylvia’s words and the thing Yunyun was showing Sylvia.

“... So it’s true that your adventurers card don’t have the teleport spell… Is it a good idea to tell me voluntarily that you can’t use teleport to escape?”

I didn’t hear the entire conversation, but I could guess the gist of it.

Sylvia must be fed up after being toyed by the Crimson Magic Clansmen who teleport away just before her attacks could land.

All of a sudden, Yunyun offered the information that she couldn’t use teleport magic voluntarily.

And Yunyun was standing on a tall cliff, with nowhere to run.

If she jump down or dash towards her companions in the distance, Sylvia could very likely intercept her.

Even if she wanted to attract Sylvia’s attention, there was no need to go that far…

I wanted to shout at Yunyun when I felt my shirt being tugged.

I turned back and found Megumin who was holding Komekko’s hand and a depressed Darkness behind me. When did they come over…

“Kazuma, did you find the weapon? We noticed that Komekko wasn’t at the shelter, so Yunyun volunteered to attract Sylvia’s attention. We used this chance to rescue her from the house…”

Komekko looked sleepy and unsteady on her feet.

Despite the commotion outside, she was still sleeping soundly at home.

This kid will definitely be a great person in the future.

“It’s great that all of you are safe. I also found the weapon. By the way, what’s with Darkness? Did something happen?”

“I tried to lure Sylvia away… It was working well at first, but in the end she said ‘I can’t be bothered to fight a woman with weak attack and tough defence’...”

Aqua patted the head of the depressed Darkness gently.

After being found out that she was only good at defence, the other party couldn’t be bothered with her.

But instead of this…

“I understand, it couldn’t be helped. But right now, let’s find a way to rescue Yunyun…”

“No, we will only get in the way if we go now! She must have planned something! It’s fine, from the way the grass around the boulder was trampled, someone is already sneaking there to save her, let’s just watch from here!”

Megumin said excitedly, as if she was looking forward to something.

Someone was rescuing her?

But I don’t see anyone.

Under the gaze of everyone in the village, Yunyun raised one leg and balanced herself on the tall and narrow boulder, striking the pose of a crane.

“I am Yunyun… An arch wizard... User of advance magic…”

At this moment, she glanced at Megumin who was standing beside me.

“The number one mage in the Crimson Magic Clan, the one who will become the village chief!”

“Aahhhh!?”

Megumin shouted in surprised when she heard Yunyun’s announcement.

Seemed like she was unhappy about Yunyun claiming to be the number one in the Crimson Magic Clan.

With the entire Crimson Magic Clansmen watching her—

“Demon king army boss Sylvia! As the daughter of the Crimson Magic chieftain…! I will show you the taboo spell that is passed on through the generations of the chieftains!”

With one hand held into the sky, Yunyun chanted.

Those should be the words to invoke lightning type magic.

A flash of blue lightning streaked across the bright morning sky and thunder resounded from behind Yunyun.

Just like the special effects of a super hero making her appearance.

The Crimson Magic Clansmen all cried passionate tears after seeing Yunyun strike her pose.

Huh?

“… Ugh…… Ugh……!”

Sobbing came from my side. Turning my head, I saw that even Megumin was crying.

… Eh?

Before I understood what happened, the Crimson Magic Clansmen had erupted.

“Yunyun! Yunyun she! Yunyun she has finally awakened!”

“The daughter of the village chief Yunyun, has finally broken out of her cocoon!”

“Too cool! Yunyun is too cool!”

“Her powers within her have finally awakened!”

“That’s my student! I taught and trained her with so much care!! Well done Yunyun, you have used the knowledge I taught you well…!”

It seemed that for the Crimson Magic Clan, her appearance just now was too cool for school.

This way, Yunyun who was always alone will finally become a part of the village.

At the same time, this was the moment a perfectly normal girl had fallen.

She must have made that embarrassing speech because of her drive to save others.

However, we need to keep a close eye on her so she won't try to kill herself after recalling this moment a few days from now.

Yunyun who looked as if she had burned all that she had faced Sylvia motionlessly.

Yunyun glanced at an empty space besides her.

“What is the matter? Little girl who can't use teleport. Little girl, aren't you a typical Crimson Magic Clansman who merely put up a facade by saying secret technique, certain kill and trump cards? If not, why don't you show me your so called taboo spell?”

Sylvia taunted Yunyun, but Yunyun remained still.

Sylvia then approached Yunyun slowly.

Even so, Yunyun was still unmoved.

Finally, Sylvia lowered her posture like a spring storing energy, squirming her lower snake like body like a drawn bow and prepared to launch herself at Yunyun.

Yunyun suddenly leapt off the boulder and ran.

Sylvia who had enough of being toyed by the Crimson Magic Clan said with bloodshot eyes:

“I won’t let you escape, I won’t let you escape, I won’t let you escape, I won’t…!?”

She chased Yunyun manically and spring onto the boulder. At this instant, she suddenly stopped her pursuit.

As if she had discovered something in the direction Yunyun was running to.

A man and a woman appeared out of thin air before Yunyun.

It was Buzucoily and Soketto.

One of them was using refraction spell to hide and sneak here, and dismissed the spell at this point.

And the other had already finished chanting teleport of course, and was standing by.

Yunyun ran to their side. Sylvia reached out with her arms when she saw that…!

“Hey…! Wait…!”

“Teleport!”

That was too cruel.

Sylvia was trembling with rage. The Crimson Magic Clan also gulped nervously.

“...... Fufufu, hahaha! This is the strongest group of mages!? Aren’t you all just bastards who can only talk big! Everyone who are involved with you must be third rate people!”

It wasn’t clear if she was laughing because of anger or the absurdity of the matter.

Sylvia trembled as she laughed out loud.

We were keeping some distance from Sylvia and hiding ourselves—

“Hey Aqua, prepare to attack while she let her guard down. Compress that clothes destroying spell into this thing. Our mission is just to bring this back, but we might as well go for gold!”

“Hoho, it’s finally time for a professional like me to take the field. No problem, leave the final attack to me!”

We don’t need to greet her at all.

It’s Sylvia’s fault for being so careless.

At this moment, Aqua nodded, her spell was ready.

I used hide to conceal my killing intent, and aimed with snipe.

The target was Sylvia who was still laughing loudly.

I feel just like a sniper. I will show them my skill I mastered through countless sniping games.

“Sacred Exorcism!”

The moment Aqua cast her spell, it was absorbed by the tail end of the railgun.

“Snipe!”

At the same time, I aimed at Sylvia and squeezed the trigger without hesitation. The compressed magic spell—

— Did not fire out.

“Hmm?”

I clicked the trigger several times, but nothing happened.

“Hey, what the hell!? Is it broken? Or did I left the safety on…”

I shook the railgun in a panic, but it remained still.

“Sacred Exorcism! Sacred Exorcism!”

While I was checking the weapon, Aqua casted several spells, she was probably amused by how her magic was absorbed.

Hmm, it was used as a laundry pole all these years, it might have broken down.

“Here here, let me try. You can fix machines by doing this!”

Darkness said as she knocked the railgun hard.

Was she really an aristocratic lady who received education as a noble?

“Hey Darkness, knock somewhere higher… yes, right there. Maybe the mana is stuck there.”

“By the way, that's the so called weapon? It looked like laundry pole Chekera treats like a family heirloom… Maybe some dirt is stuck inside? Let's clean it with something like a stick.”

While Darkness kept smacking the railgun, Megumin got up to search for a stick.

“Hey… Hey, hey…!”

Aqua said as she tugged on my sleeve while pointing to the distance.

“What!? Try casting your spell again! Maybe the spell just now is not compatible with the railgun, try another spell…!”

I said as I looked in the direction she was pointing.

Sylvia was looking this way with bloodshot eyes.

“Ara ara, what are you all doing there!? Hmm, what's that? You are holding something interesting!!”

Sylvia in the distance locked on to me as her target!

Part 8

“Wait a moment boy! Put that thing onto the ground slowly. It looks dangerous, that is what my intuition as a boss of the demon king army tells me!”

Sylvia squirmed her huge silvery body, ignoring the Crimson Magic Clansmen who were trying to delay her as she head straight for me.

Seemed like she knew very well the railgun I was holding was dangerous.

What should I do, could I throw this hot potato to someone else!?

“Wait! Really, Kazuma, your stats are so much lower than me, but why are you so fast at running away!? Did you learn the ‘Flee’ skill just for this!? Don’t leave me behind!”

Aqua who was carrying Komekko was right behind me.

Komekko who was in Aqua’s arms let Aqua do as she pleased, and was hugging Chomusuke that appeared out of nowhere.

This kid would definitely be a great person in the future.

“Stop wasting time and hurry! Quick! Hey, Darkness is falling behind! She is too heavy!

“Don’t, don’t say I am heavy! It is my armour that is heavy!”

Darkness who put on her armour when I wasn’t around couldn’t run fast because of her heavy armour.

Sylvia was gaining on her.

No choice, I had to abandon this heavy and stupid weapon…!

“You can’t escape, Satou Kazuma! And listen up, Crimson Magic Clan! From this day forth, I will be your nemesis! No matter which corner of the earth you run to, I will seek find you all and wipe you out! I will crush your village no matter where you build it!”

In the village that was burning in a sea of flame, Sylvia announced loudly.

If I hand the railgun over to her, maybe she would let us off…

“Cowardly Crimson Magic Clansmen! All of you, and anyone who are related to you, will live a life of running til the end of your days!”

Despite Sylvia’s taunts, the Crimson Magic Clan didn’t move or react to her speech.

This bunch were really smart.

If possible, I really hope they could use their smarts properly.

“Onee-chan is not a coward!”

The shout echoed throughout the village, and was even louder than Sylvia’s mocking.

With Chomusuke hugged tightly in her arms, Komekko was held in Aqua’s arms when she shouted at Sylvia.

I was also curious about Chomusuke who was trembling and had teeth marks on its head, but—

“I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that. This is an affair between the Crimson Magic Clan and the demon king army. If Kazuma hand the weapon over, can you let the three of them go?”

The reckless mage from my team said defiantly.

I really don’t get whether her boiling point was high or low.

She suddenly stopped herself from running and pointed her staff at Sylvia.

Sylvia also stopped and observed Megumin carefully. Finally, she smiled disdainfully.

“Ara, aren’t you that little girl with a weak sense of presence? Speaking of which, I haven’t seen you using magic yet. What kind of ‘port’ would your spell be?”

When she heard Sylvia’s sarcastic words, Megumin said in a clear voice.

“I have yet introduce myself. My name is Megumin. Also, I am the real number one mage in the Crimson Magic Clan.”

Seemed like she was really concerned about Yunyun claiming to be the ‘number one mage of the Crimson Magic’.

Megumin didn’t make a ‘spectacular’ entrance as usual, made uttered her name calmly.

Sylvia was very surprised by her self introduction.

“You are really a unique Crimson Magic Clansman… So you won’t introduce yourself in a weird way? For the Crimson Magic Clan, isn’t acting cool important to you?”

Sylvia appeared to be toying with Megumin. But Megumin didn’t take the bait, not even batting her eyes once.

Suddenly.

“Onee-san is amazing! Her spell is so powerful she even destroyed an evil god!”

Komekko who was still in Aqua’s arms shouted.

Megumin glanced at Komekko and smiled.

“I will leave Komekko to you. A new born calf doesn't fear the tiger, she will make a lot of enemies that way. I will destroy that thing with my certain kill spell.”

Megumin said—

“Hey!”

Ignoring me, she removed the eyepatch covering one of her eyes.

Wouldn't it be bad if the village learnt that you know explosion!

Sylvia taunted after hearing what Megumin said.

“Ara ara, this again, certain kill magic! I am tired of hearing that!”

I could hear the Crimson Magic Clansmen whispering to each other.

“What’s wrong with Hyoizaburoi’s daughter? She has always been boisterous.”

“She needs to build more tension if wants to use a certain kill spell!”

“The opening speech is too plain, too plain!”

The Crimson Magic Clansmen did not know that Megumin was serious about using certain kill magic.

I soothe her by saying she was the trump card for crucial moments, but I only did so to stopped this short fused mage from using spells inside the village.

Megumin was motivated, but if she used her spell, the village would find out her secret. Furthermore, it was doubtful whether the spell would really work. Using explosion so recklessly was a bad idea.

I couldn't guarantee that I could escape with Megumin who exhausted her mana in tow.

“... Hey, Megumin, I have something to tell you.”

“Kazuma you—”

Before I could attempt to convince her, Megumin cut me off softly.

“I heard from Aqua earlier… Kazuma can read the ancient language in the underground warehouse right?”

My entire body quivered.

That girl, saying unnecessary things again!

However, if she was telling me this now meant...

Megumin’s lips rose in a smile.

“... Sorry about clearing up after I made a mess. This time, I will clean up after Kazuma.”

… The Crimson Magic Clansmen were smart.

I realized once again at this moment.

— Megumin’s eyes glowed vermillion.

Intrigued, Sylvia taunted her:

“Little girl, are you done? You won't take the initiative anyway right? When I attack, you will teleport away at the right moment huh?”

However, the reckless mage in my team just stood there quietly after hearing these taunts with her staff raised.

Not just Sylvia, all the Crimson Magic Clansmen were surprised.

… Oh no.

She was serious.

I knew very well the power of Megumin’s explosion.

From the position of the Crimson Magic Clansmen watching the show, they were just outside the blast range.

But being outside the blast range only mean they won't die from the blast.

Since no one will die from the explosion, she could use her full power without hesitation.

“Hey you guys! Get away from Sylvia! As far as you can!”

For some reason, the Crimson Magic Clansmen who heard my roar started cheering—

“As expected of Megumin’s comrade! He is an outsider, but he knows how to set the atmosphere!”

“He is pretty good… That anxious face is like he is being serious.”

They kept talking about irresponsible things.

“Idiots! She's really gonna use a certain kill spell now! Run away! Run away quickly!”

Not just the Crimson Magic Clansmen, even Sylvia was laughing.

These, these guys were all thinking that I was kidding them…!

I gave up.

I stood together with Darkness and the others by Megumin’s side.

“Megumin, don’t worry, even if explosion don’t work, I will stall that snake woman. Just imagining being constricted by that metallic body makes me, ahhh…!

“You are still so persistent in your fetish even under the threat of death!”

“In order to protect Komekko, I will just stand far away.”

I grabbed Aqua who wanted to run away with a random reason, put the railgun at my feet and drew my katana.

Megumin watched our interaction with a faint smile.

After which, she confidently and calmly chanted her explosion spell.

The Crimson Magic Clansmen turned silent immediately when they heard this chant.

As expected of professional mages, they already understood—

—That Megumin wasn’t bluffing.

The Crimson Magic Clansmen started escaping panically, while Sylvia turned her head and watch, not understanding what was happening yet.

During the one year we spent together, I listened to Megumin chant this spell every day.

After knowing her for so long, I could roughly gauge when her spell would be ready.

Sylvia finally noticed from the flow of mana in Megumin’s body and the reaction of the Crimson Magic Clansmen that her ‘certain kill spell’ was not a joke.

Megumin had never acted seriously before, so she seemed scary when she does.

“Certain kill spell? ...I, I don’t care if it is Implosion spell or Explosive spell, it won’t harm me since I had merged with the mage killer, try it if you don’t believe me! It is futile, time to die…!”

Sylvia shouted as she crossed her arms before her like Ultraman.

Megumin opened her crimson eyes wide and shouted her spell after channeling all her mana into it.

“Explosion—!!”

Overwhelming mana expanded and burst out from Megumin’s staff!

“Huh!?”

Realizing what spell Megumin was using, Sylvia’s expression turned to panic. Megumin’s magic flew straight towards Sylvia—

… Midway there, it was sucked into the mana absorbent part of railgun I threw on the ground.

“Huh?” x4

It happened so suddenly, not just us, even Sylvia and the Crimson Magic Clansmen all groaned in surprise.

At the same time, Megumin fell like a piece of paper after exhausting her mana.

Sylvia was probably angry from the short instant when she felt afraid—

“Scaring me for nothing, you little brat! Watch me tear you into pieces!”

Sylvia whose voice turned masculine charged this way with a scary face!

An angry transvestite was scary! Really scary!

At least keep your feminine tone—!

“Damn it! Because of this junk, the situation became worse!”

“Ka, Kazuma, Sylvia is charging this way! I will leave Megumin who exhausted her mana to you! Don’t worry about me, let me enjoy myself for a few hours before rescuing me…”

“Kazuma! As a goddess, protecting a frail life like Komekko is my obligation so I will make a move first!”

Why is every single one of you so useless!?

“Hey, that thing is beeping.”

Besides me, Komekko who was in Aqua’s arms said suddenly.

I took a look—

On the side of the railgun placed on the ground, a ‘FULL’ gauge was blinking.

I remember now that the notebook said this was a machine that compresses mana and fire it out.

It wasn't broken, it's just that there wasn't enough mana for it to activate.

I lift the railgun in one fell swoop and aimed at the approaching Sylvia…!

“Demon King Army Boss Sylvia! Remember my name! Send my regards to the other bosses in hell! My name is Sa—”

Boom!

I wanted to squeeze the trigger after stating my name cooly, but Komekko who was in Aqua’s arms pulled the trigger before I did.

With a powerful recoil, the front of the railgun emitted a bright beam of light.

This bright beam pierced through Sylvia’s tail which she rose in the nick of time to protect herself. Not only that, the beam opened a large hole in Sylvia’s chest.

The beam of light did not weaken at all, hitting the hill behind the Home of the Crimson Magic, right at a protruding corner…!

Amidst the blinding light and deafening boom, a corner of the hill disappeared.

The moment I threw the remnants of the railgun that deformed due to the intense heat, Sylvia crumpled to the ground with a loud bang.

The dying Sylvia collapsed onto the ground vomiting blood still unable to believe what just happened.

“...Hmm? Could, could it be, that I…?”

After witnessing this scene, we and the Crimson Magic Clansmen who fled further away stood stiff on the spot.

Komekko who was in Aqua’s arm got onto the ground and struck a pose.

“I am Komekko! The number one demonic sister in the Crimson Magic! The one who is stronger than a demon king army boss!”

She stole my kill!

Part 9

The Crimson Magic Clansmen took care of Sylvia’s corpse.

I heard that Sylvia whose body merged with the mage killer could be used to craft defensive gears with high magic resistance.

This must be what ‘blessing in disguise’ meant.

Also—

The Home of the Crimson Magic that was being ravaged destructively until dawn was now…

“What the hell.”

Seeing the village being rebuilt with terrifying speed, I was dumbstruck.

The debris was blown away by a spell, the stones cut from boulders turned into golems, and walked to the construction site by themselves.

A six-armed demon that was probably summoned by magic was wielding a large construction tool in each hand.

“... Hey Megumin, what’s with this? How come the reconstruction is proceeding so fast?”

I asked Megumin.

Once again, I learned how broken the Crimson Magic Clan was.

“What do you mean? I don’t know how long reconstruction takes in other cities, but you shouldn’t use them as a standard to compare.”

“... Just tell me, how long does it take to return the village back to the way it was?”

“Three days?”

It would just take three days…?

The village ravaged by a demon king army could be rebuilt in just three days.

“... I saw a girl saying sadly ‘the village… is burning…’ or something like that, and felt really guilty about it.”

“That is strange. If it is just a fire, it would be simple to rebuild, everyone in the village should know that… How does she look like?”

Her appearance?

I remember she had the same eyepatch as Megumin…

“... That’s her.”

I pointed at the eyepatch girl who just happened to be strolling before us.

“What? You have some business with me, outsider? Hee, Megumin, I was just looking for you.”

“Hey Arue, long time no see.”

Seemed like they were acquainted.

Eh, Arue?

“Megumin, can you take a look at this, I just finished the ‘Legend of the Crimson Magic Hero’ chapter two. The scene about the burning of the Home of the Crimson Magic is really descriptive, I am really confident about it.”

The scene about the burning of the Home of the Crimson Magic…

Arue…?

Wasn’t Arue that…!

That weirdo who sent that letter out of nowhere.

“Hoho, let me read your masterpiece…”

The one who forced me to come to this village!

“So it’s you ahhhhh!!”

“Ahhhh!?”

I grabbed the stack of paper from Megumin and tore them in half.

“Ahhhh… My, my masterpiece… The crystallization of my effort after staying up all week…”

“This is the first time I see Arue who is usually cool and collected acting like this.”

Arue hugged the torn pieces of papers and collapsed onto the ground. Megumin patted her shoulder.

“It’s your fault…! All because of you! You know how much I was looking forward to it and how happy I was!? Do you know how depressed I became!? Stop toying with a man’s heart!”

“Me, Megumin, what is with this rude man!? Doing something so mean to someone he first met! I was really scared!”

“You created a series of misunderstanding that almost scared me to death! You even said something like ‘the village… is burning…’! And what was with your new work! While we were risking death in battle outside, you were snuggling at home and writing that!? You know how much trouble I went through because of the doodling you mailed to Yunyun!?”

“Doodling!?”

“Hey, both of you calm down, this is the first time both of you met, why are you two so… Hey! ...You two! If you keep on fighting, I will use my super high stats to taste some suffering!”

Part 10

After witnessing the abnormal reconstruction speed of the Home of the Crimson Magic, we spent our last night here.

“— Kazuma, what’s with you? You were in a good mood when all of us were having dinner, but your face looks bad after going out for a while.”

Megumin didn’t know why I was sulking and asked.

“What’s with me!? Your ‘mixed hot spring’ is that ‘what’! Is that name a joke!? It’s not mixed gender and it’s not a hot spring, so why use such a name!”

After understanding why I was angry—

“Oh, so that’s where you went. That is one of the attractions in this village, a place all visitors should visit.”

“This village is too much! I can’t even take a bath without being toyed with! Really, this is the worse vacation!”

Sylvia was defeated and her minions wiped out.

The reconstruction of the village was also progressing smoothly, the entire incident had concluded.

“I’m very satisfied with this vacation though.”

Megumin who was sleeping beside me said.

I wanted to have a good rest on the last night in the Home of the Crimson Magic, but I never thought I would be forced to sleep with Megumin again.

Rather that been put to sleep by a slumber spell and pushed by madam, Megumin opted to sleep with me willingly.

Since she adopted such an attitude from the very start, I lost the drive to even sexually harass her.

Darkness objected as usual, and was put to sleep just like Hyoizaburo.

Right now, I was sharing a bedding with Megumin.

“... Really, I was targeted by orcs, then Sylvia these few days— people I rather not have anything to do with.”

“What a coincidence, me too.”

“I, I’m really sorry…”

Thinking back on my actions these past few days, I averted my eyes guiltily.

Megumin’s mischievous laugh came from the side.

“If Kazuma feels guilty about, then… Right, tell me something fun. I want to hear about stories from the country Kazuma lived in.”

Megumin said as she looked my way—

“— And so, I reacted on the spot and asked the girl next door to use the money to buy chocolate and send it to me by today. I even promised that she could keep the change. In the end, the plan proceeded smoothly, so my younger brother only got a chocolate from my mother, but I had my mother’s as well as the one bought by that girl. This moment, the long competition between my brother and I was concluded, and I defended my pride as the elder brother.”

Megumin who was listening to me seriously all this while said:

“So you hired a helper to win the battle. I’m relieved that Kazuma was like this in the past too… But that is such a strange custom, is it really that bad to not receive any chocolate on that day?”

Megumin asked about that annoying day curiously.

“Bad is not even close to describing it. If I can go back in time, I will kill the guy who invented such a damnable culture. That’s how pitiful any man who doesn’t receive any chocolate was. And overcoming that wasn’t the end. We have to return the favour to the girls.”

“... Return the favour? What’s that?”

I explained this evil practice to her.

“If you receive chocolates from a girl, you will have to give something three times as expensive to the girl one month later as thanks. That’s how evil it was. If you don’t, you would be completely shunned by the girls. You will be mocked if you don’t get chocolate, and even if you do, you will still need to break the bank. This day is that sinful and dirty.”

After listening to me, Megumin tilted her head curiously.

“Why didn’t Kazuma receive any chocolate? Kazuma might lack some basic manners as a person, but from my observation after spending so much time with you, you still have some good points too. For example, you are very… very…? Gentle… Not. Down to earth…? Wrong too… Hmm? ...Hmm? Have your life in order? But you are in debt… Eh, how should I put this…”

“Put this my ass! Work harder in stating my good points!”

Come on, I have plenty of good points right!?

“... Eh, you are not very honest about it, but you are always concerned about your comrades…? I don’t hate this part about Kazuma.”

Concerned about comrades?

That’s the catchphrase of girls, the classic line to indicate there are no romantic feelings for someone, the same thing as ‘you are a good person’.

I didn’t really care about these, so I didn’t feel resentful.

Because of my encounter with the orcs and Sylvia, I am so vulnerable that I would harbour positive feelings for any woman with normal looks.

And so, I wasn’t dissatisfied by such praises that didn’t sound like praises at all!

“If I go to the country Kazuma lives in… When it is Valentines, I will give Kazuma chocolates. You can show it off to your brother then.”

This girl was cruel too, saying such things so nonchalantly.

“Didn’t you hear what I said? That whatever-tines is a day when you give chocolates to someone you like. If you give chocolate recklessly just because you are a bit close to a boy, that boy will misunderstand immediately and end up miserable. Don’t do that, if you do something like that in my country, you would be labeled an easy woman.”

After hearing my reply—

“But I do like Kazuma?”

She said nonchalantly.

“What did you just say? Please repeat it exactly again.”

My ears didn't have weird problems that filter out such key phrases.

Megumin poked her head out of the blanket and giggled mischievously.

“I don't dislike Kazuma.”

“Hey, that's different from what you said just now, you think my memory is that poor?”

Megumin laughed again.

She then said in a calm tone.

“Kazuma, if…”

“What? What is it? I am all prepared and ready to go!”

Was she influenced by the atmosphere and will go with the mood and confess?

Is that it?

Sylvia was defeated. No one will get in our way tonight.

Megumin resolved herself—

“Kazuma if it was possible…”

What was it?

Say it!

Say it now!

As I waited full of expectations, Megumin asked quietly:

“— Do you want an excellent mage?”

Chapter 6
I want to be the strongest Mage

The next morning.

Megumin and I were strolling around the Home of the Crimson Magic.

We met Yunyun on the way, so all three of us stroll around together.

I thought Yunyun would be staying here a while, but it seemed that she would be returning to Axel immediately.

However, it was understandable why she wanted to return so anxiously.

After the battle with Sylvia, the Home of the Crimson Magic changed.

“Ah! It’s ‘the one with azure lightning on her back’, Yunyun! Long time no see, I am going for breakfast, want to join me?”

A girl about Megumin and Yunyun’s age said to Yunyun.

Yunyun shook her head with a blushed face.

The girl who chatted up Yunyun wasn’t unhappy about Yunyun’s reaction, said ‘is that so, such a pity’ and left with a smile and a wave.

“... How popular, ‘the one with azure lightning on her back’. It’s just a meal, why don’t you just join her?”

“Don’t say it! Stop using that name! Why, why did I do something so stupid…!”

Megumin words drove Yunyun to the verge of tears as she covered her red face with both hands.

After the battle, everyone’s attitude towards Yunyun changed.

They always treated her as the strangest person in the Home of the Crimson Magic, and thought of her as a girl with weird taste. All of a sudden, she became the most popular person in the village.

A guy passing by said to Yunyun:

“Oh, it’s ‘crackling thunder’ Yunyun! I am just going to eat…”

“Not going! I’m not going!!”

After Yunyun who was about to cry rejected him, the guy didn’t really mind, said it’s a pity and left with a wave.

This could be considered a new type of bullying.

“... How popular, ‘crackling thunder’. Just let him treat you to breakfast.”

“No! Please don’t say it! Don’t give me weird nicknames!”

Yunyun shook her head while covering her face.

Megumin suddenly used the tip of her staff to poke Yunyun’s cheek.

“What are you saying, number one mage of the Crimson Magic Clan! You ignored me and used that name, and now you say you don’t want one, how selfish! Come, show me that cool pose again!”

“Don’t, don’t say it! Megumin is still bothered by that!? I only borrowed it for a while!”

Yunyun rebuked Megumin who was poking her face with a staff.

I couldn’t help chipping in:

“The two of you are so close.”

When she heard that, Megumin just threw a glance at me--

Then she swung her staff around and looked unhappy.

“Let’s go! The teleporter already registered the destination to Axel! We need to hurry up and get ready for the teleport!”

“Ahh, wait for me Megumin!”

I smiled as I watch Yunyun chasing Megumin in a panic and walked slowly behind them.

… This time, the two girls about Megumin’s age appeared before us.

“Ah, Funifura, Dodonko.”

They were acquaintances huh.

The two of them pointed at Megumin.

“It’s been a while, Yunyun and useless mage! How have you been?”

“Ahhahaha! The number one genius of the Crimson Magic Clan became the number one useless mage! You are now the talk of the village!”

Megumin who was being teased pounced on the two of them without a word.

“Hey, your greetings are really special for meeting a classmate you haven’t met for so long!”

“It’s, it’s just a joke! Sorry, I’m sorry! It’s been so long, so why are you still so aggressive!?”

“Stop, what’s with your grip power! What level are you now, it hurts, violence is prohibited!”

The two of them lift the white flag in no time after Megumin’s attack.

… I don’t know what their relationship with Megumin was, but they were bad at handling Megumin.

One of the girls then said to Yunyun:

“... Erm, you were very cool yesterday. Up til now, I have always thought of you as a weirdo… Many things happened too.”

She averted her eyes in embarrassment after finishing.

“Yeah, I have changed my opinion of you too! Yunyun is so cool!”

The other person said…

“No,” Yunyun covered her flushed face on the verge of tears. “Please don’t say anymore.”

“The two of you are a bit off in some ways, so we were worried about you.”

“That’s right, Megumin acts childishly sometimes and Yunyun looked like she would be targeted by bad boys easily. But we are relieved that the two of you are doing well.”

I felt a sense of warmth in my heart after seeing their smiles.

This was great, even if Yunyun got left alone in Axel, her friends would be here for her.

At this moment, Yunyun smiled and said to me:

“Kazuma-san, allow me to introduce. This is Funifura and Dodonko. During my school days, they are my… fri-friends!”

After Yunyun made the introduction happily with a little bit of boastfulness, I bowed towards the two girls once again.

The two who were named as Yunyun friends returned the bow shyly.

“How do you do, my name is Satou Kazuma. I am one of Yunyun’s friends, and I have been in her care. Please take care of me too.”

“Please, please take care of me too!” x2

Speaking of which, there were plenty of beautiful girls in the Home of the Crimson Magic.

And that made me a little nervous.

However, the two of them seemed a little tense too, or maybe it was just my imagination.

Megumin who was watching our conversation suddenly threw a bomb.

“Hey, I understand you don’t have much chance to meet guys and are lonely, but please don’t flirt with my man.”

“!?” x3

When they heard that, all three girls except Megumin were shocked.

“Hey, hey, what did you say…!? So you were serious when you said you like me last night!?”

“!!” x3

This shocked the three of them even more.

Dodonko and Funifura were at a loss and asked in a fluster—

“Ma-ma-man!? That Megumin who didn’t care about anything other than magic has a man!? Is that a lie? It is right? You like him as a boyfriend?”

“That-that-that’s right, it must be. Megumin who isn’t concerned about such thing, suddenly having a man… is impossible huh?”

The two of them said.

What.

What is this?

Yunyun asked in a panic:

“Ka, Kazuma-san? Is this true? Me-Megumin made such a confession…”

She asked softly.

I asked Megumin with eye contact, ‘would it be fine to tell the truth?’

“Don’t think too much about this-- Kazuma already met my parents and gifted them with snacks. We even bathed together before, and had been sharing in the same bed and blanket with our bodies rubbing against each other. That’s how simple our relationship is.”

“!!” x3

The pale Funifura and Dodonko took a few unsteady steps back.

Megumin wasn’t lying though.

The corner of her lips rose in a smirk as if she was showing off.

“... Pfft.”

“!!” x2

She chuckled.

“... Wah, waahhh! So, so what if you have a man ahhh!”

“I, I am not envious! I am not envious ahhhh!”

The two of them uttered such lines before running off.

Next, Megumin said to Yunyun who was blushing and at a loss.

“Yunyun, there is a place I want to go with Kazuma. Sorry, but can you help me ask the teleporter to get ready?”

“Huh!? That, that is… Erm, I can do that…! So you two are really…?”

Yunyun timidly looked at Megumin and me.

Megumin she—

Used a tone like a highschool girl which she normally wouldn’t use and said:

“Even if one of us found a boyfriend, we will still be friends forever!”

“Wah, waahhhh! You normally won’t say I am a friend! I don’t feel like I lost to Megumin at all!!”

Following behind Funifura and Dodonko, Yunyun ran away too.

-- Megumin brought me outside the Home of the Crimson Magic.

We entered the forest and came to a quiet place with no one around.

Only the chirping of the insects could be heard.

At this moment, Megumin turned her head and looked at me.

… Hmm, what was this situation?

Eh, what?

A confession?

No, she already did.

… Did she?

No, was that really a confession yesterday?

No no, she said just now that I was her man too!

However, she probably just wanted to show off before her friends just now…!

Don’t be careless Satou Kazuma, if I say ‘I like you too, please go out together with me!’, her answer would definitely be ‘I don’t mean that kind of like’ or something like that.

In the end, do I really like Megumin?

No, I will fall easily when a member of the opposite sex treats me gently.

I didn’t expect to be such an easy guy to score with!

Such thoughts flashed across my mind and made me uneasy.

Megumin stared at me and said:

“Kazuma… I asked you yesterday, and I will ask you again. Kazuma, wants an excellent mage right?”

… What was this?

She asked me the same last night too, so what was the meaning of this?

I gave the same answer as before.

“If you asked if I want one, then the answer is yes, of course.”

I answered matter of factly.

Was Megumin satisfied with this answer?

“Is that so… Hmm, I made up my mind.”

She suddenly smiled.

… When facing a virgin boy who had never dated before, it was foul play to attack with such a smile.

In a quiet place with no one around, saying ‘I made up my mind’, and asking ‘Do you want an excellent mage’, wouldn’t that make my heart skip a beat?

“I, plan to start learning advance magic.”

Megumin’s thinking was too extreme, she was asking too much to a virgin… What did she say?

“... Hey, what did you say?”

My voice turned shrill.

When I told her I would cut her meals from three to two if she wanted to cast explosion, she would choose to cast the spell without hesitation. What did such an explosion maniac say?

Megumin took out her adventurer card.

And showed it to me.

“I have been feeling troubled. Even before Yunyun said I am a useless mage. Maybe I wouldn’t consider such things if I never met Kazuma, Aqua and Darkness, and keep on raising my explosion level. It was evident from meeting Funifura and Dodonko that everyone in the Home of the Crimson Magic must be utterly disappointed in me… I will not be a burden for Kazuma anymore. I will be of help to Kazuma and everyone… So, that’s why, from this day forth, I will seal my explosion magic.”

After finishing, she smiled at me again.

Wrong.

Wrong, wrong.

“Hey, wait a minute. It will be a big help if you can use advance magic. That might be so, but there is no need to seal away your explosion magic. We won’t be doing quests every day, so you can cast your explosion spell every day if you are free. Also, instead of using it every day, it can be a trump card during crucial moments…! And didn’t you tell Yunyun earlier that you put all your skill points into increasing the power of explosion and raising the chanting speed?”

Megumin broke out in a laugh after hearing what I said.

“You remember it well. In order to learn this skill at any moment, I had been saving up my precious skill points… After chanting explosion and exhausting my mana, I won’t be able to use other spells for the day. On the other hand, if I use advance magic, I won’t be able to use explosion which requires all of my mana. When I learn advance magic, I need to keep on casting it to increase my proficiency, and I would need to keep on practicing it.”

Megumin stared at the adventurer card in her hand.

… I suddenly remembered.

When I left Axel, Vanir said to me:

“At the destination of thy journey, there will be a time when thy comrade share their doubts and approach thee for advice. That comrade will change her path according to thy words. Thou should consider it carefully and give an advice thy would not regret.”

I see, so he was referring to this.

Damn it, that cheating devil, he already foresaw this far?

After I go back, I will rub holy water on the door handles of that shop.

But I could only imagine a future where Wiz scalded her hands badly.

As if she was holding over a treasure full of precious memories, Megumin stared longingly at the card.

She then closed her eyes quietly.

Took a deep breath, and opened them again.

She then turned her backs towards me, and offered her card as if she was enduring something.

Megumin’s shoulder was trembling slightly.

“Sorry Kazuma. Can I ask you to do something mean?”

“... You can’t press the button to learn advance magic yourself, so you want me to help you press it, right?”

Megumin nodded her head.

What an idiot…

“How about thinking over it again? We already got a huge sum of money in the bank right? We don’t need to do dangerous quests anymore. We can live a carefree life in that mansion, you can wipe out some small fries with explosion every now and then, and all of us could live happily ever after.”

Megumin blurt out a laugh.

“When I said I don’t plan to learn intermediate magic last time, Kazuma kept nagging me about it.”

Her shoulders were quivering as if she heard some joke, but still pushed the card in front of me insistently.

I took the card silently.

“... You won’t regret this?”

I said to Megumin’s back.

“I won’t. I don’t want to get in the way anymore. If I am a normal Crimson Magic Clansman, Kazuma would definitely not be chased by orcs and forced into tears, Sylvia wouldn’t be able to kidnap Kazuma too… I am the number one mage in the Crimson Magic Clan, the one who wields the power of advance magic! ...I will say that from now on. I have more mana than Yunyun, if I can use advance magic, I will definitely be the strongest mage in the Crimson Magic Clan. I won’t let Yunyun take my number one spot.”

Megumin said determinedly.

With a forced smile on her face.

… What an idiot.

She liked explosion so much, and gave her everything to explosion magic.

I operated Megumin’s card in silence.

But to think it was possible to use other people’s card.

If only I knew that earlier.

For example, when I first met with them, I would be able to steal Darkness and Megumin’s card, and allocate the skill points on their cards against their wills.

After I was done, I handed the card over to Megumin.

Without taking another look at the card, she casually took the card and stuffed it into her chest.

She then turned around.

“It is about time to go back to the others! Together with Aqua and Darkness, lets go back to Axel. Oh right, the bounty for Sylvia is really high right?”

“Hmm, is that so!? Let’s go back and have a party then.”

When Megumin was about to return to the Home of the Crimson Magic, I stopped her.

“Oh, that’s right. Megumin, try casting an explosion spell.”

I asked her suddenly.

When Megumin heard me said that,

“... You are really… I already steeled myself, and not five minutes later, you want me to cast explosion, just what are you thinking?”

She didn’t know what else to say.

“From where I was from, there is a saying ‘I will work hard tomorrow.’ Also, I have yet to see a one hundred points explosion from you. The explosion that defeated Sylvia borrowed the power of the weapon too. Are you fine with your final explosion being so lackluster?”

“... You really don’t hold back do you? Alright, this will be my final explosion spell. I will show you a powerful shot!”

After finishing, Megumin aimed at a boulder some distance from us with exaggerated movement.

“... Wait, Me, Megumin. Hold on. Don’t aim so close, set your target further away. You will be giving your all for this ultimate blow right? Then aim at that boulder over there.”

I pointed at a giant boulder beyond the forest, situated right in the middle of a plain.

Megumin tilted her head when she heard my sudden request.

“I don’t mind, but that is barely within my range though… Well then, let me show you, my final explosion with my full power!”

The elation on her face right now came from the bottom of her heart, not that fake smile she was forcing earlier.

The giggly Megumin was enjoying herself as she began chanting her explosion spell…!

“Explosion--!!”

On the tip of her raised staff, an intense light was shining, the beam shot straight at the boulder.

Without question, it was the best explosion I have seen so far.

Along with the deafening roar, a wind blast that was bigger than I imagined blew towards me.

If she unleashed this on Sylvia, she might just defeat her without relying on that weapon. That was how powerful it was.

After witnessing the power of the spell she casted, Megumin was shocked, and took out her card in a hurry.

After checking the content, she stared intensely at me, unable to suppress the joy in her heart as she showed a complicated expression that was a combination of resignation and happiness.

A moment later, she flicked her cape and had a smile freed of doubts as she introduced herself.

“I am Megumin! Number one mage in Axel, an arch wizard that uses explosion magic, the one who will reach the peak of explosions spells!”

The usual Megumin was before me.

I went against Megumin’s will and put all of her skill points into increasing the power of her explosion.

She asked if I would want an excellent mage.

But there wasn’t any mage more excellent than our Megumin.

After all, she just need one explosion spell to make a fool of the bosses of the demon king army and defeat them.

If there were any mages that had better results than her, I would like to meet them.

And what I wanted the most wasn’t an excellent mage, but…

The arrogant Megumin puffed her petite chest out and asked:

“How many points was that explosion?”

And of course, it is…

“One hundred and twenty points.”

Megumin smiled brilliantly when she heard these words--

Epilogue

“My own home is the best after all! I don’t want to go on anymore trips for now! And something is wrong if a hikikomori like me keep traveling around!”

Once I return to my home that I had been away from for so long, I felt at ease from the comfort of this place.

I had been running about recently, but it was strange for a hikikomori person like me to be so earnest.

I will be getting a huge sum of money from the business deal with Vanir soon anyway.

I probably won’t need to travel any time soon.

No, I might as well stay inside the mansion all day for a while.

Luckily, the Crimson Magic Clan was fine with us taking the entire bounty for defeating Sylvia.

And so, I suddenly got a large amount of cash.

I decided. I won’t find any more trouble.

Even if someone came crying to me, I will still chase them away.

“Really, Kazuma, showing your bum nature immediately. But for some reason, seeing you like this makes me feel at ease. It’s like I don’t need to work hard anymore.”

“Aqua, you are just relieved after seeing your own kind! Don’t be depraved and be like that guy, he is a negative example!”

Darkness said something rude after listening to Aqua.

“Don’t say that. In the end, Kazuma performed quite admirably this time. He deciphered the ancient language and found out how to use the weapon. He even defeated Sylvia.”

Megumin seemed to have forgotten her medicines and was speaking up for me.

“We only defeated Sylvia because of Megumin’s power. I merely directed it.”

“No no, if not for the weapon that converts magic into pure destructive power, I wouldn’t be of much use. This is all thanks to Kazuma who brought the weapon there.”

Megumin and I pushed the credit to each other.

“... Hey Aqua, what is with the two of them? I think something is different about them after the trip… Could, could it be, when they were sleeping in the same bed, they…!?”

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense, I didn’t do anything wrong! Hey Megumin, we didn’t… Hey, deny it properly! They will become suspicious!”

Even though Darkness gave us suspicious looks, Megumin still didn’t deny anything, and started walking towards Aqua.

Seemed like she was very concerned about the thing in Aqua’s hand.

By the way, Aqua would normally be the first to say something, so it was a rare sight for her to be quiet.

What had she been doing on the sofa…?

Ding ding.

……

“When did you bring the game console back!? Hey, let me play too, this is the most suitable item for a gamer like me!”

“If you want to borrow it, you need to pay the price! Specifically speaking, clean the bathroom for me tomorrow!”

As I was fighting for the game girl Aqua brought back.

There was a knock on the door and the voice of a man came from behind it.

“Excuse me, is anybody there?”

Aqua and I looked at each other and nodded at the same time…

We sneaked to the door.

“Is someone there… Oh, greetings sir. Are you the owner of this mansion… what, what are you doing sir! Stop…!?”

“I don’t know where you came from, but it is probably some troublesome problems! Go back, you harbinger!”

“Kazuma, use drain touch! Suck his life force and knock him out! Then throw him outside and pretend he never came here!!”

“What are the both of you doing all of a sudden!? Hey, Kazuma! Stop it!”

“I can empathize with you on why you don’t want to get involved with any trouble, but you can’t assault someone you just met!”

Darkness and Megumin subdued me after I pounced on the guest, and my hands were bonded.

The visitor was a man dressed like a butler, about fifty years of age.

He panted hard as he watched Aqua and me cautiously.

After Darkness got a good look of that butler dressed man, she suddenly said loudly:

“What, aren’t you Hagen? Didn’t I tell you to not come to this mansion unless there is an emergency? I am not worried about you giving me trouble, rather, like just now-- I was afraid that you will suffer inhumane treatment…”

Seemed like this butler was an employee of the Dustiness house.

And what do you mean they would suffer inhumane treatment if they visit?

… Although he did suffer inhumane treatment.

That butler coughed dryly and regained his composure.

“Young lady, naturally, I am here for a matter of grave importance. Actually…”

Enough, I don’t want to be involved in more troubles!

I covered my ears to ignore the butler’s words, but Darkness grabbed my wrist and pulled them away from my ears, forcing me to listen together with her.

“No, don’t wanna! This has nothing to do with me, so don’t make me listen, don’t involve me! I don’t want to go anywhere or go near danger! I want to stay safely at home!”

“I am concerned about the hygiene of the toilet after the trip, I will go clean it!”

Darkness grabbed me who was resisting intensely, captured Aqua who was attempting to slip away and asked the butler.

“What is the matter? Did something happen at home?”

In response to Darkness’ question--

“It’s really terrible young lady! If this goes on, your only good point will disappear!”

The butler said something we couldn’t ignore.

“Hey wait, what happened to Darkness’ only good point!? Is it sagging!? Is her slutty body going to sag!? I have always found it strange, her body is way too sexy! She must have used her money and authority to get magic items that makes her boobs big!”

“What are you talking about!? My strong point would be defence… That’s not it! Hagen, you are too mean, I should have more strong points...! Say it, Megumin, Aqua, I should have other strong points too right!?”

Darkness was on the verge of tears.

“Instead of that, does the breast enlargement magic item exist? If there is, please…”

“Kazuma and the old man are too mean! Our Darkness has many good points! She is soft hearted, and agrees to anything if you plead to her in tears. She believes everything that you teach her, so it doesn’t feel boring hurts hurts hurts! Stop it Darkness, my head is going to explode! I am praising you, so what are you doing!?”

Darkness grabbed the temples of Aqua, making her scream. The butler said:

“That’s wrong! If this goes on, the old master might be stripped of his nobility and the young lady will become a peasant! The unworldly young lady would only be able to make a living by selling her slutty body-- Young lady! Please don’t do that to my old bones, I will die!”

While Darkness was strangling the butler in tears, a letter dropped to her feet.

“...? What is this?”

“It’s a letter from the royal palace. Young lady, after you read it, you will understand the crisis impending on house Dustiness. And this is related to Satou-san over there…”

The butler glanced at me.

Stop, don’t drag me into this!

After opening the letter, Darkness’ face became more and more pale before finally kneeling onto the ground.

The content seemed really serious.

“... What is it about?”

I asked timidly, and Darkness snapped back to her senses.

“No-no-nothing at all! This has nothing to do with Kazuma! Please don’t mind it!”

Darkness suddenly used weird honorifics in her words, making me feel that something was off. And so, I reached my hand out.

“Show me the letter.”

“No, I refuse. No, I apologize for dragging you in every time. Hey, that’s what you said right? You don’t want to be involved in troublesome matters anymore! And so, this matter--”

“Steal!”

“Ah!”

After I stole the letter, I read it quickly along with Aqua and Megumin who were peaking from behind. It wrote…

“To the one who defeated many demon king army bosses, a great adventurer who made exemplary contribution to the nation, Sir Satou Kazuma. I have heard about your marvelous accomplishment, and hope to meet with you face to face. May I enjoy a meal together with you?”

At the end of the letter were the emblem of the kingdom and the name of the author.

The name was Iris.

Even though I was unfamiliar with this world, I still knew that she was the first princess of this country.

A royal princess.

“Kazuma, let’s reject this invitation! If anything happens to the first princess Iris, we will lose our heads! It will be a big problem if one of us did anything rude! You don’t know the ceremony and etiquette right? You hate such restrictive events right? Am I right? Lets reject it! Yes, that’s right, the Dustiness house will book a good restaurant and we will only invite close friends to hold a party that commemorates your achievements! So…!”

I exchanged looks with Aqua and Megumin, and we all nodded our head together.

“Our time has finally come!”

Darkness shook her head with tears in her eyes, grabbing onto my waist and refusing to let go.

Credits

Author
(暁なつめ) Akatsuki Natsume

Illustrator
(三嶋くろね) Mishima Kurone

Publisher
(角川書店) Kadokawa Shoten

Translator
Skythewood

Editor

Darkdhaos

Nate

TaintedDreams

Book designer
Armaell