"Good night. Sleep well, Yuujou-san."

"R-right. Good night to you too."

I said to Eris as we both headed to our rooms.

After we grabbed a bite, we just decided to call it a day and rented rooms for the night.

Renting just one room for the two of us would save more money, but…

The bed is too small for two people, and sleeping together after we just met would be weird.

I entered my room, before locking the door and placing my box of equipment on the desk besides the bed.

Afterwards, I took off my shoes and flopped down on the bed. Man, this sure was a tiring day...

We didn't do much, but it was still tiring. To be honest, I still can't believe this – this whole alternate world and Demon King business. But whatever. I'll get used to it, I hope.

Anyway, another thing that bothered me...

I pulled out the paper I got from Eris' catalogue earlier.

She said the power will materialize when I get here, but so far nothing has happened.

It felt like I got suckered. I should've picked another one, like "Cursed Sword Gehaburn"...

Thinking of that sword sent a chill down my spine for some reason.

Yeah, "Excalibur: The Sword of Promised Victory" was a better choice after all…

Ah, whatever. I'm done thinking about it. There's no point in regretting my past choices, anyway. I will just make use of my high magic stat somehow.

With that, I pulled up the covers and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up suddenly, and I think it's the middle of the night.

I was sweating all over.

It felt like I just had a nightmare or a really bad dream, but I didn't.

And I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable right now, for some reason.

…

I turned my gaze at the equipment box from Eris, glimmering under the moonlight seeping in through the window.

It had… some sort of menacing aura to it, for some reason. Yet, it's as if it's compelling me to open it.

I steel myself, and grabbed the box from the desk.

…Nothing happened.

I don't know why I expected anything abnormal to happen.

Yeah, it'll be fine. I'll just open this, take a look, and go back to sleep.

I opened the box.

…It's just a dagger… No, a shortsword, laid on top of some folded leather armor, I think.

I closed the box, and set it on the desk again.

I don't know why I even bothered.

In hindsight, the box seems a bit too big to just contain those two things though.

Oh well, whatever.

I pulled up the covers and drifted off to sleep once again.

The sunlight seeped through the window straight to my eyes.

I let out a loud yawn, slowly getting up and rubbing my eyes.

Ugh.

This old-fashioned room I'm in…

Oh yeah. I died. And a goddess sent me here…

She came with me for the trip, though.

Still really hard to believe all this, but I don't think my memories and what I'm experiencing right now are made of lies.

I reach for the equipment box, setting it on the bed before opening it.

I put the shortsword aside and unfold the light armor.

Alright.

…

With my armor on, I try to take a good look at myself, but there's no mirror in this place at all so I'm just kinda awkwardly looking all over my own body.

To be honest, I don't think I look that different.

I sheathe the shortsword and bounce back on the bed to lie down for a bit.

THUD!

CLANK!

Ow, goddammit!

I felt a surge of pain coming from my right foot.

Shit, the box fell on it.

I landed on the bed too hard, it seems.

I get up slowly. The box is flopped upside down on the floor. I pick it up, sighi-

Wait, what's that?

A golden, ornate-looking arrow was below the box. There's some sort of sculpture on the arrowhead, vaguely resembling an insect. I quickly pick it up.

I pull out the paper I got from Eris, and compared the arrow on it to the one I'm holding.

It looks close enough. Yeah, this should be the powerful weapon I was promised!

…And it's totally lame. And what the hell kind of materializing was that, just appearing near the box that fell on my foot?! It's just one single arrow, too, not even a bow with a set of magic arrows or something!

Not like I know how to use a bow anyway.

My class is Wizard, so maybe I can use the arrow as a makeshift wand to cast powerful spells. Do wizards even use wands? Or is that only in Harry Potter? Pretty sure in most RPGs they use magic staves instead.

Alright, enough joking around.

I strap the wooden box to my back. It's gonna hurt when I fall, but it should work as a makeshift bag until we get enough money. I should be ready now.

Time to rendezvous with Eris.

Eris and I stare at the list of quests available for the taking, presented to us adventurers in the form of something like a bulletin board.

Goddammit, none of them seem easy… There's no trash-tier enemies like slimes available, either.

Giant toads, escort missions, lake purifying – how the hell do you even do that? – and exorcising undead spirits…

The last one seems like the easiest since Eris is an archpriest…

I look at her, and she looks back at me with a puzzled expression.

…I'm really afraid of ghosts though, so I don't wanna do it.

Eris perks up. "Have you found one yet, Yuujou-san?"

I shake my head. "I'm still looking…"

Oh! I think I found one-

"Defeat 1 wood golem in 2 days.
Some novice adventurer's conjuring spell went awry and the golem is now roaming the forest, terrorizing whatever it comes across with! Please take care of it before it can cause any more trouble."

"Hey, this one seems easy." I point at the poster, facing Eris.

She ponders. "Hmm, golems? Usually they're strong, but these ones are made of wood…"

"Yeah, so this should be easy! We can just, like, set them on fire or something." I rip out the paper from the board, before anyone else can take it.

"Alright, if you're really sure, then let's go with it, Yuujou-san." Eris smiles at me.

God, she's really cute.

Now I can't let her down.

Eris and I make our way through the forest, keeping an eye out for golems.

In a place like this, they should be easy to spot, but we haven't even came across any traces.

We ran out of things to talk about just a few moments after stepping into the forest, so the silence between us two right now is very awkward.

I'm not a very talkative person, and neither is Eris, it seems…

Speaking of, I should figure out how to call her from this point on. I've been avoiding saying her name because of this.

I guess Eris-sama will work since she's a goddess?

I gotta respect divine beings, after all.

…Oh, that reminds me.

The coins, the currency in this world is named Eris, just like her.

Is she that popular of a goddess?

I should probably ask her about it, just to get rid of the si-

"Ah, look over there, Yuujou-san. There's a boar."

Eris spoke up first before I even could.

"Oh, you're right."

I stare at the boar, minding its own business in the bushes.

"The guild said they'll pay us extra if we brought in some boars, right? They said they were running low on meat."

"Yes, they did."

Eris affirmed my doubts.

I pulled out the arrow that was hanging on from my belt, and looked at the boar once again.

"Might be a good chance to test out this thing, too."

With arrow in hand, I approach the boar, walking slowly.

Clearly my stealth skills aren't good enough, as the boar notices me instantly and makes a break for it.

I throw the arrow at it without thinking.

The arrow glows, emitting green and purple streaks of light as it soars through the air.

It manages to pierce the boar's head, emitting larger bursts of energy and blowing away all the dust and leaves nearby.

The boar, motionless, drops dead on the ground.

"Woah, in just one hit!"

I excitedly announce, running to pick up the arrow that landed on the ground.

Eris smiles and claps at my accomplishment. "You did it, Yuujou-san! So maybe it wasn't such a bad perk after all!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing! I didn't say anything!"

Okay, I'll just ignore that for the moment.

I look at the dead boar on the ground, and only then did it hit me.

"Sooooo Eris-sama, how are we going to carry this back to the guild?"

It feels really weird to call someone like that.

Calling her Eris-sama seemed to have caught her off guard, but she regained her composure shortly.

"Ah, now that you mention it…"

In the end, we just decided to leave the boar there since, you know, dragging around a corpse while fighting a potentially big golem isn't a very good idea.

But more importantly, it was because my below average strength meant that I wouldn't be strong enough to do such a thing.

And I didn't want to leave it to Eris – a goddess, mind you – to do something like that.

So I heavily insisted that we leave the boar there.

…Anyway, a while after that, we stumbled across a trail of huge footsteps that lead deeper into the forest, so we've been following that.

I sure hope we find it soon. My legs are going sore, probably because I'm really not used to this much walking.

"Wait, I think I hear something."

"Oh?"

Eris stops her steps, and I follow suit. I try to listen closely, and pick up some faint thumping sounds.

As expected of a goddess's senses, able to notice sounds like this.

A few seconds pass, and—

"Hey, is it just me or is the sound getting louder?"

"Yes, I think so too, like just centimeters—ah, it's behind you, Yuujou-san! Watch out!"

What?!

I turn around, and the sight of a large, blocky golem made out of wood greets me. Its eyes glow a menacing red, staring right down at me.

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

Ah, shit.

The golem rises its arm, preparing to strike me down.

Caught unprepared, and frozen in fear, all I could do was stay still.

"Yuujou-san!"

I close my eyes and weakly put up my arms, as if that'll protect me from the attack.

As I brace for the incoming impact—

It doesn't come, and instead, I feel something grabbing my arm and pulling me away.

I open my eyes, and—

It seems Eris stepped in just in time to save me from impending doom.

As expected of a goddess with maxed stats.

"Are you alright?"

Eris asked me, a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, thanks to you. Sorry, I'll try to not let that happen again."

Now how the hell are we supposed to fight this…?

I take out my Adventurer's Card, and quickly focus on the list of skills I have.

"Tinder", the most basic skill of a wizard, is the only one I can use right now.

I have no idea how to use it, though.

In hindsight, I should've asked the lady on the counter or the other adventurers on the guild for some tips before going on this quest with Eris.

Curse my lack of foresight.

"Eris-sama, how do you use skills?"

"Eh? Um… I think you just say the name of the skill, and think about what you're going to do."

As expected of a goddess. Always so reliable.

That sounds easy enough.

…Actually, never mind all that.

I have this arrow right here, a blessing granted to me by the heavens.

If I don't use it, then it would be like disrespecting them, wouldn't it?

And "Tinder" doesn't sound that strong anyway.

"Step aside, Eris-sama. I'm going to use the arrow."

Goddamn, I bet I sound really cool right now.

Eris seemed a bit surprised, but she complied. I ready the arrow in my hands, and take a throwing stance.

My inner chuuni tells me to add in a bit of flair, like a chant, but I decided against it.

…Never mind, I'll indulge just a little bit.

"With this arrow, I respectfully ask for the divine protection of the goddess Artemis! I offer thee this calamity... Phoebus Catastrophe!"

After saying such an embarrassing thing, ripped straight out of a series I liked, I threw the arrow at the golem.

I was aiming for its head, but I missed a little bit and the arrow ended up hitting it in the chest instead.

Just like before with the boar, the arrow emitted a burst of energy that caused the golem to fall over in one shot.

"You did it again, Yuujou-san! There's no way for that golem to recover now!"

Eris said in joy, but I'm afraid she just triggered some flags—

As if following her que, the golem slowly got back up.

"A-ah… I shouldn't have said that…"

N-no, it's probably my fault for not using the arrow properly.

The golem pulls out the arrow stuck in its chest, and throws it to the ground.

"Sorry, Eris-sama! I screwed up! Please lend me some assistance so that we can overcome this hurdle together!"

"R-right!"

I didn't want her to get angry at me. Divine punishment is the last thing I want right now.

Eris casted a spell, and in an instant I suddenly feel much stronger and faster. A buff?

Well, no matter. The arrow is over there, not that far away. If I can just grab it and do another shot-!

I pull out my shortsword just in case, and make a break for it.

I slide on the ground, and while doing so, I grab the arrow from the ground with my free hand.

As I prepare myself for another throw—

My body suddenly stops moving.

"W-what—?"

I struggle, but it doesn't matter, it's like I'm bumping into something.

No, it's as if something big is pinning me from above, restricting my movements.

But I don't see anything. I'm just lying here, unable to move, facing the golem.

…In a panic, and with no other choices left, I throw the arrow at the golem again.

But unlike last time, instead of lodging in into the golem's body, the arrow just… bounces off.

It bounces off the golem's body, and flies into my direction.

In panic and fear, I start flailing my arms, like a newborn baby.

The arrow pierced my right hand, causing me to drop the shortsword I was holding and yell in pain.

The burst of energy from it knocked me down even further, and I hit my head on the cold hard ground.

Ouch.

ゴゴ"That evil spirit…" Eris started speaking – in a really scary tone – while walking slowly to where I am. "Get away from it, Yuujou-san."ゴゴ

T-the golem might be scary, but I'm sensing a much more menacing aura coming from her.

"I-I can't…!"

I could only reply weakly.

ゴゴ"Very well, then I'll make it get away from you!"ゴゴ

I close my eyes, not even wanting to see what'll happen next.

I stare in disbelief at the aftermath of Eris's… uh, "divine wrath".

The only thing remaining from the golem is a piece of its right arm, lying in the center of a crater almost 15 meters wide. The ground looked like someone just dropped a bomb on it.

And don't even get me started on the surrounding plants. The blast that emanated from that attack either burnt away or sent the leaves flying, so the trees around me right now look like the equivalent of a bald person.

Eris, pleased at her work, turned to me.

"I may have overdone it a little bit… Are you unharmed, Yuujou-san?"

Ah yes, just a little bit.

She claims to be "just a goddess of fortune", then she pulls a stunt like this. Amazing.

I look at the back of my right hand, seeing the wound that I inflicted upon myself earlier.

"Just a scratch, but mostly fine thanks to you, Eris-sama."

"Oh! Let me heal that."

Eris casted Heal on my hand, causing the wound to instantly heal itself.

I wish the medicine in my world worked as well as this.

"There, it's all better!" Eris looked at my now healed hand and smiles.

"Ah, I can't thank you enough…"

What a kind, yet terrifying, goddess.

Oh right, which reminds me…

"An evil spirit… What did you mean by that, Eris-sama?"

"Oh, you didn't see it, Yuujou-san? Something like an undead came out from the golem and prevented you from moving."

Something like that did?

"I don't think I saw anything like that…"

Yeah, to me it just felt like an invisible wall was standing in my way.

"Ah, now that I think about it, I didn't sense any evil energy coming from it at all, so it may not have been an undead after all…"

A golem with… some sort of guardian angel?

This world sure is weird.

"Oh well, in any case, we finished the quest, right? Sorry for being useless."

"N-no, you weren't useless at all, Yuujou-san! You did, uh… you…"

Eris tried to think of something to say to make me feel better, but she couldn't.

Can't blame her, all I did was kill a boar.

Which I'm sure she could've done easily.

"It's fine. Why don't we go back to the guild? We can get one of their staffs to pick up the boar for us."

Eris nodded, still looking unsatisfied since she couldn't come up with anything.

The price of the pickup is pretty much the same as the value of one single boar, so they let us have half the meat for dinner for free instead.

And apparently the arm of the golem that we turned in had some sort of expensive gem embedded inside it, which the guild let us kept. I guess she really is a goddess of fortune and not a goddess of fury after all?

With dinner done, and the moon replacing the sun in the sky, we decided to head to our respective rooms and sleep.

…But I can't sleep. At all.

I'm getting really restless, for some reason.

Which is weird, considering all the physical activity I did today.

Maybe I'm not used to not looking at dank memes on my phone before I sleep?

Nah, I can't be that pathetic.

In the end, I decided to go downstairs, and maybe get a bit of fresh air.

The first floor is as barren as I expected.

Well, except for a lone little girl in red clothes, sitting on one of the tables. She had a cartoonishly large wizard hat on her head and a black cloak draped over her back. On her side is her magic staff, with a large blue gem in the shape of a ball floating between the curved ends. It seems taller than even its user.

Basically, I'm saying that she's short.

I sat in a table besides hers, not wanting to intrude on her personal space.

After staring at the table pointlessly for so long, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a small talk with her.

That said, I should try to start a conversation…

I clear my throat.

"C-can't sleep, miss?"

Great, I probably sound like a creep right now. A pervert. A lolicon. A borderline sex offender. Someone call 911—

"Yeah." She answers, straightforward. "This is where I usually sleep though."

Wait, what?

In the lounge?

…Well, I guess not everyone can afford to reserve a room every night.

I wanted to give her some money, but I entrusted the pouch of money to Eris, and I don't want to wake her up or enter her room in the middle of the night like a burglar.

Well, I guess the least I can do is ask for her name.

"So… My name's Yuujou. I just arrived here in Axel recently. What's yours?"

The girl smirked proudly, and grabbed her staff.

"My name is Megumin!"

With staff in hand, she struck a pose. Her shoulder-length hair swings with her movements. Her crimson eyes, and her red eyepatch reflects the light, making it look like her eyes are glowing.

"My class is that of an arch-wizard, one who controls explosion magic… That's right, only the strongest of all offensive magic!"

…

This girl…

This girl is a chuunibyou! A really bad case of it, too!

My inner chuuni thinks that she's awesome, the coolest of all wizards, but the rational part of me does not.

That being the case, I clap at her chuuni self-introduction anyway as a form of respect.

"Thank you."

She sits back down on her chair.

She's an archwizard, a class above mine.

I could probably use this chance to learn some skills—

"Hey, you said you were an archwizard, right?"

"Yes, one who controls explosion magic, the strongest of all offensive magic!"

She proudly repeats herself.

"Right! You see, I'm a novice wizard myself, and maybe you could teach me a few spells…"

I handed her my adventurer's card.

"Ah, so you wish to pursue the arts of explosion magic as well?!"

"Y-Yeah… Something like that."

Levelling up from that quest earlier gave me some skill points that I could use.

Megumin here takes a glance at my adventurer's card, and frowns.

"With a low level like this, I can only teach you the most basic of explosion spells."

"It's alright, that's fine too!"

Megumin stands up, and grabs her weapon.

"Very well! Watch this, my young disciple!"

She points her staff at a cup sitting on the table.

"By my efflux of deep crimson, topple this drinkware of white! Detonaaaation!"

A small explosion happens right where the cup is located. It was strong enough to make a hole on the table while also eradicating any traces of the cup.

Oh, and the sound was really loud too. I'm worried, since at this hour, everyone should be sleeping—

"One more time! Deto-"

"Stop, I think once is enough already!"

In the end, we really woke someone up and I had to pay for the damage she caused to the furniture.

At least I learned a new spell, though.

I finished telling Eris my story over breakfast, and she let out a good chuckle.

"Hehe, what a funny girl. I hope our paths can cross again soon."

"No, I really hope not…"

Right after I finish saying my thanks for the food, the guild lady – the one usually at the counter – approaches us with a piece of paper.

"I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but all the other adventurers seem busy right now, and we seem to have an emergency quest…"

Oh, more job offers.

I sure hope it won't be as hard as last time.

"Okay, tell us more about it."

A/N: Took me a year and a month to finish this lmao. This was sitting in my WIP folder for way too long.

Problem is I wrote the first chapter on a whim, basically, and I got stuck – I had no idea how to progress the plot further. So I procrastinated, and kept procrastinating.

But I've found my answer for now at least. I hope the next chapter won't take as long.

HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and I'm sorry that it took so long!

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this! As always, thanks for reading, please leave a review (to make me feel less lonely) and have a nice wheeee~!

Next: VS Ranbu Escalation