Yeah! Less than a month update! Honestly a little proud of myself for doing this so quickly, although, it's a chapter I've been wanting to do since I started this story. And now, I want to say thank you for everyone out there who's read, followed, favorite, and reviewed this story. It never fails to bring a smile to my face seeing people enjoy my work.

And in response to one of my reviewer's, hikigaya, the flash backs to Verdia's previous life are completely made up by me. I've only watched the anime, so the only thing I have to go by is that he used to be an "honorable knight." Which is all I need really. I haven't read the Light Novels, so if more information is provided in those, I don't know it.

Quick side note, for those of you who don't know, Dullahen - as far as I know - means "Headless rider/knight." Not the most important piece of information to know, but it does come up this chapter.

Enjoy!


Chapter: 7

"Yes! I've got six so far!"

"Thirteen for me! Now fourteen!"

This is way too easy. Kazuma frowned as he sliced through another snow sprite, making it the seventh one he killed so far. Both parties had agreed to participate in the kill quest with Kyouya's party agreeing to give half of their reward to Kazuma's group. However, the longer the quest continued, the more Kazuma worried something very bad was about to happen.

"Kazuma! Look how many I caught!" Aqua held out the jar – filled with snow sprites – like it was a trophy.

If the reward for each one wasn't so high, I would actually let that Goddess keep them. He rolled his eyes, slicing through another sprite while everyone – save Aqua – did the same.

Darkness wouldn't actually hit any, and Megumin had yet to use her magic yet, so Kazuma was the only one in the group who was actively making money off this quest. Not that he was surprised by this, it was one of the reasons Kyouya's party being here was a blessing.

Wait… what was he thinking about?

"Kazuma, I'm going to use my magic." Megumin called out.

Distracted once again, the Adventurer could now only focus on clearing the area his friend was aiming at. "You're clear, Megumin!" he called out once everyone was behind him.

Streams of magical power swirled around the young Arch-Wizard as she began her chant. She twirled her staff, directing the energy towards the sky where multiple layers of glyphs of varying sizes formed. The spell never failed to mystify Kazuma. It was as if Megumin was putting a different piece of herself into each one.

When she was using it in anger, the magical streams swirled around chaotically, damaging anything they interacted with while the main Explosion itself caused far more fiery destruction then normal. During a moment of joy, the glyphs above gave off a calming yellow glow. If used in a time of pure desperation, the shockwave could hold enough force to knock down every object that wasn't nailed to the ground – even some of those were blown away.

"Explosion!" Megumin declared the spell's name while moving her staff in a downward motion.

Kazuma, out of pure muscle memory, leapt forward, arms outstretched to catch the falling wizard. Megumin allowed herself to relax her body as she fell backwards, knowing the Adventurer would be there in time. The spell detonated, and the shockwave it created launched Megumin's small frame towards Kazuma. Their bodies collided, causing the party leader to let out a grunt of effort as he planted his feet to prevent them from being blown away.

The others raised their arms to prevent any debris to hit their eyes, waiting for the wind to die down before lowering their limbs.

Fio was the first to respond when the chaos finally ended. "Wow."

Clemea followed suit by letting out an impressed whistle as she approached the now decimated land. Snow and grass were replaced with fire and soot, the nearby trees looked scorched and appeared to be partially uprooted, and the remaining snow sprites floated towards the area with a different look on their otherwise blank faces.

The Arch-Priest of the group focused less on the damage and more on the jars that were tied to her belt, making sure the sprites she had caught hadn't been killed by the shockwave. Aqua sighed in relief seeing they were all there.

Darkness wondered what being hit by that spell would've felt like, blushing as she began to fantasize while Kyouya, who was standing next to her, looked away, feeling uncomfortable around the Crusader when she was like this.

"That felt wonderful." Megumin gave a blissful sigh as Kazuma lowered them to a sitting position with one arm wrapped around her waist so she wouldn't slip out of his grasp while she kept one around his shoulders to remain upright. Feeling tired, Megumin moved her arm from Kazuma's shoulder to her lap instead moving her head to rest comfortable in the crook of his neck.

It felt great when one of his party members used their unique skills to the best of their abilities. "Nice explosion." Kazuma complimented, deciding now would be a good time to take a break. "How many sprites did you get?"

"Twelve," she mumbled, leaning further into the warmth he emitted. "I even went up a level."

"Nice!" he moved the hand around her waist to her shoulder where he gave it a gentle squeeze. The joy felt in that moment slowly dissipated as an unnaturally cold mist began to surround the group of seven. It began to swirl around the crater of the explosion spell, preventing the group from seeing anything in it. "What's going on?"

"What happens every time a large amount of snow sprites are killed." Aqua answered, surprising Kazuma who hadn't expected anyone – especially her – to actually have an answer. "You asked earlier why no one ever accepts the snow sprite kill quest."

"Huh?"

"You lived in Japan," she started, a knowing smile almost mocking him as the others around him began to get their weapons ready, "so I'm sure you've at least heard the name in the news and weather forecasts."

Both Kazuma and Kyouya shared a look at the mention of their old world, because what did that have to do with anything?

"He is the master of the snow sprites and is said to evoke the image of winter…" she paused dramatically, watching with satisfaction as they eventually came to the correct conclusion. "Yes, the Winter Shogun has arrived."

Her words triggered a flag.

The mist cleared away to reveal a kneeling figure in center of the crater. Its breath came out in blue wisps, and the snow sprites gathered around the spirit, chirping happily as it stood up to prepare to fight.

Kazuma broke the ensuring silence. "This is so stupid!"

Darkness came forward, sword drawn, standing protectively in-front of her friends. "I will not let anything happen to my allies, no matter what may happen to my body in the process!"

She couldn't have picked a worst time to do this! The Adventurer opened his mouth to scold the Crusader for her behavior – which would have made the situation worse in hindsight, only for the Winter Shogun to respond first by drawing its own sword, before charging towards the blonde woman with great speed.

Bringing up its blade to bare, the Winter Shogun prepared to slice through the Crusader with little trouble, but when it was less than five feet away from Darkness, it was forced to bring the blade back down to block Gram as Kyouya placed himself between the spirit and everyone else.

"I don't think I can beat this thing!" the Sword Master called out after exchanging several more attacks with the creature.

Surprising Kazuma once again, Aqua had the answer to this situation. "We don't need too." Pulling the lid off one of her jars, the Arch-Priest held the object high above her head, allowing the sprites to float away in full view of the Winter Shogun, who paused the assault upon seeing the mercy.

Bowing down, Aqua continued her explanation. "The Winter Shogun is very forgiving. Throw down your weapons and bow down, and he'll leave us in peace."

Scrubbing his eyes and taking another look, Kazuma – for the first time since arriving in this new world – smiled on in pride as the Goddess humbled herself. The pride quickly morphed into shock when he turned back around, because Darkness had ignored the order, and was now the only one still standing with her weapon out.

Damn it! Leaving Megumin's side, Kazuma ran forward to grab the back of the Crusader's head, and shove it into the ground in a makeshift bowing position. "Now is not the time to be doing this, Darkness!"

"Kazuma, your sword, drop your sword!"

He looked down towards his other hand, surprised to see he indeed had the weapon out. When did I-?

The Adventurer never had a chance to finish the thought.


Why did it get so quiet?

For some reason, one that would traumatize her, no had said or done anything after Aqua said something to Kazuma. Her eyes remained closed as she tried to play dead – which was a little odd considering she was still in an upright position. Then there was a 'thud' close by her, right next to her actually, and something began to soak her legs.

"Megumin… keep your eyes closed." Clemea said, her voice oddly strained.

Why would she say something like that?

Curiosity won out in the end.

Megumin was slow to open her eyes – the exhaustion delaying her actions. The first thing she saw was crimson stained snow, matching the color of her clan's eyes. Weird, snow wasn't supposed to be red. The girl then looked around, where she saw Clemea and Fio looking at her with wide, shocked eyes, silently conveying something she couldn't interpret right now. What was going on? Darkness and Kyouya were still in-front, the Winter Shogun just ahead of them, sheathing his blade.

It was when Megumin looked down that she felt her entire world shatter.

"K-Kazuma?"

The blood was everywhere, soaking the land while running off just enough to reach her body, staining her white cloak and pant legs. His severed head was facing the horrified Arch-Wizard with a terrified look forever engraved on his face. Tears gathered in Megumin's eyes as she slowly reached out towards her friend, still not comprehending what was in-front of her.

"Kazuma?" It was when Megumin's hand touched the slowly cooling head of her friend that everything became clear.

It started with a heartbreaking sob, growing it both volume and pain until Megumin finally conveyed her despair with an earsplitting wail. Clemea and Fio were around her in an instant, hugging the girl as they desperately tried to comfort the girl. It did nothing to stop Megumin's tears, the cold weather freezing them as they fell.

"You killed him…" Kyouya whispered, the shock slowly giving way to something else. The Winter Shogun turned towards him, slowly drawing its blade once more. "You… BASTARD!" he roared, Gram erupting with purple flames as he dashed forward to slam the large sword down. Their weapons collided, and the force created a shockwave that blew away the nearby snow sprites.

"Damn you!" The Sword Master attacked the spirit in a blind fury, each strike sending waves of fire across the field, but despite the vicious assault and elemental boost, the Winter Shogun appeared to be having no difficulty defending itself. Kyouya jumped up into the air, coming down quickly with a battle cry unlike any other.

Sliding back, the Winter Shogun avoided the attack easily, watching impassively as the ground cracked around the teen with fire erupting from within those cracks. Kyouya looked up, ready to continue his assault, only to be forced to block the incoming strike from the spirit. It disappeared from his sight, and reappeared behind the Sword Master, who barely had enough time to whirl around and raise up Gram to block another mighty swing from the Winter Shogun. Growling in frustration, Kyouya attempted to push his opponent back to get some space and come up with a plan, but the spirit proved to be stronger as the Sword Master soon found himself being pushed back instead.

Digging his feet into the ground did nothing to slow down the Winter Shogun as it quickly gained speed, to the point where it was able to run full speed, slamming Kyouya into a tree.

Damn it! Kyouya internally screamed, ducking down to avoid meeting the same fate as Kazuma, ignoring the crash made when the tree toppled over from the spirit's attack. He jumped to the side a good distance and slashed down, sending a wave of fire in the hopes it would land. It was only now Kyouya realized he had yet to land a hit on the creature.

In his anger, the Sword Master failed to keep track of his environment, because when he moved to jump backwards he ended up tripping over an exposed root, falling and losing Gram in the process. He saw the Winter Shogun charging towards him, and prepared for the worse. However, before it could reach him, Darkness jumped in-front of Kyouya, her sword raised in a defensive stance.

The Winter Shogun proved to be too much, however, as it easily sliced through her sword like hot butter, knocking the Crusader back where she landed on top of Kyouya.

"Darkness, what are you doing?!" Kyouya screamed, both in confusion and anger.

"I am a Crusader," she said, the calmness of her voice momentarily snapping the Sword Master out of his rage. "It is my duty to act as a wall to defend my allies. I have already failed one, I will not fail another!"

Darkness reached over and grabbed Gram, discarding her sword in the process, before standing up to face the powerful spirit once more. The purple flames went out the second her hand touched the blade.

"You know you can't use Gram, I'm the only one who can!" Kyouya moved to stand up, only to find his body suddenly too drained to move any further than to prop himself up with his arms. "What the hell?"

"I know that, Kyouya. It wouldn't matter if I could anyway." Darkness looked back at him with a sad smile, "We both know I am incapable of hitting my opponents." She turned back to the Winter Shogun, the determination being displayed betraying the nervousness she felt. "But I do know how to block, and Gram will not break!"

That was all she could say before the Winter Shogun came forward to reengage the Crusader. Planting her feet and taking a more solid stance, Darkness raised Gram to block its strike, and almost cheered when she could successfully defend herself. Now knowing it would work, Darkness worked overtime to stop the spirit from getting past her. The ensuring battle was the very definition of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object as the Winter Shogun unleashed a flurry of attacks while Darkness defended against each and every one, neither opponent moving from their spot.

Then, for no apparent reason, the Winter Shogun stopped its assault, jumping away from Darkness, who blinked in confusion, and sheathing its blade.

"Wha…?" the Crusader questioned. She looked around, thinking something else was coming to attack them, and instead saw the snow sprites floating towards the Winter Shogun.

It raised a palm where one of the adorable creatures landed. They seemed to share a conversation, the larger spirit nodding its head occasionally, before letting the smaller sprite go. It bowed to Darkness, and disappeared from their sights.

"Did we win?"

"No," Kyouya answered looking mournfully in the direction of the crying Arch-Wizard. "We definitely didn't."


"Would any of that be possible?" Kazuma eagerly asked the flustered Eris after listing off the ridiculous requirements for his new life.

"I uh… that might be a little out of my control." Eris finally said, trying to come up with some form of compromise.

"Either way, you have no idea how much of a relief this is for me." Kazuma fell back on the seat provided for him with a light laugh. He gave the Goddess a large smile and continued talking. "This is my reward for trying my best, right?"

"Yes," Eris replied, a soft smile on her face after regaining her composure. "I watched your life from time to time myself. I believe you faced plenty of adversity in your short time here."

"You can say that again! I reincarnated into a new world thinking it was going to be a thrilling adventure, like a game. But I go into with a perk that was as useless as they get, recruited allies who failed to do anything more than cause problems for me, met another person from my world dealing with an identity crisis – made sure to deal with that as quickly as possible, and received a massive debt and annoying companion after defeating my first boss!"

Eris said nothing as Kazuma continued ranting, watching with mild fascination as moisture formed in the corners of his eyes, until they finally fell as tears.

"The previous world's balance was way off if you ask me." Kazuma didn't realize until the second tear fell that he was crying. "Huh?" he quickly wiped them away, but more continued to fall despite his best effort.

The Goddess raised her palm in his direction where a golden light began to emit from it. "May you be blessed once more with kind encounters."

"Um, before you… can I make a request?"

Eris lowered her palm slightly, the light fading partially in the process, and nodded her head with a smile. "You may."

"Can you… can you make sure my party doesn't get into too much trouble? They're horrible at dealing with enemies."

She raised her palm once more, golden light gaining intensity quickly. "I will, Satou Kazuma."

And to think, I was just starting to have fun in that good for nothing world. Kazuma embraced the peace he felt from the golden light…

"Now, come back to us, Kazuma!"

Only for that peace to be shattered in an instant.


Please be ok. Please be ok. Please be ok.

Megumin had never been so anxious in her life as she watched Aqua perform the recovery spell to both reattach Kazuma's head to his body, and simultaneously bring him back from the dead – something she had forgotten the Arch-Priest could do. It was when she watched his eyes flutter open that Megumin felt her entire body nearly collapse in relief. Before anything could be said, she leaned down to wrap her arms around his body, and began to cry once more.

"Uh… this is a little embarrassing." The Adventurer leaned his head back down on Aqua's lap, being unable to do anything else for the time being.

"Ne, ne, you should say something else Kazuma." Aqua looked down at him with a smug gleam in her eyes. "Perhaps along the lines of thanking me for bringing you back?"

Kazuma's lips twitched. "Goddess, change!"

Everyone there blinked in confusion, Kyouya being the most confused of the bunch.

Aqua, however, was furious. "You damn NEET!" she was quick on her feet, taking an improvised boxer's stance while bouncing on her feet. "How about I send you back to your precious Goddess myself?!"

Darkness was quick to intercept the fist while Fio went behind the enraged Goddess to hold her back.

"Are you feeling all right?" Megumin asked while some of the others were dealing with Aqua. She was still worried there might have been some kind of side effect to the spell.

"Yeah." He answered while rubbing his neck.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad."

"Can you move?" Kyouya kneeled down next to the two, his eyes clearly conveying concern. "Or do you need me to help?"

Kazuma waved off his concern, moving to stand up only to feel his legs give out soon after. Both Kyouya and Megumin were there to catch him, placing one of his arms around each of their shoulders.

"Maybe I need a hand." He admitted. "Guess I'm a little more exhausted than normal."

"Here," Clemea held out a bottle filled with green liquid. "This should help."

Kyouya took the bottle, uncorked it, and brought it up to his friend's lips. Kazuma drank the potion quickly, cringing afterwards at the bitter taste. It took a little bit for it to take effect, but once it did, Kazuma felt his strength return, allowing him to stand on his own.

"Thanks," Kazuma said to the three around him. Looking back towards the blood-stained snow, the Adventurer made a face as he rubbed his neck. "I think we're done here. Let's go home."

KO-NO-SU-BA!

"You've certainly had an eventful day." Verdia situated himself on the kitchen counter as Fio, Kazuma, and Megumin prepared dinner for the group. Clemea, Darkness, and Kyouya were heading over to the guild to receive their reward money while Aqua picked and watered the plants outside.

"Yeah," Kazuma muttered, rubbing his neck – a gesture that caught Megumin's attention. "Never going to take that quest again."

"Be happy that Aqua was there to bring you back. Not everyone is as lucky."

The Adventurer looked over towards the former General with a raised eyebrow. "You say that as if it happened to you."

"Of course it happened to me! How do you think I became Verdia Dullahen?!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know you used to be alive?!"

"I'm an undead, every undead on this planet used to be a living person!"

"I'm going to throw both of you out of this kitchen if you keep arguing like this!" Megumin interrupted, causing both men to look down in shame while muttering an apology. "Good. Fio, hand me those carrots please."

"O-ok."

They continued to cook in relative silence, only breaking it when Megumin instructed one of the others or with Verdia as he levitated various ingredients and spices to the group. Eventually, though, Fio was able to start up a conversation between the group of four where Megumin laughed at a lame joke Kazuma made, Fio cooed as the Arch-Wizard described her sister, and Verdia gave a snort when Fio talked about Clemea's secret fear of snakes.

"We're back!" Darkness called out, leaning into the kitchen with a smile. "Clemea will be back later, though. She said she was going to the local potion shop to get some materials."

"Did she say how late she was going to be?" Fio paused what she was doing – slicing the potatoes Aqua brought in in half – to turn around with the knife still in hand.

"Hey, watch where your swinging that thing!" Megumin shouted, eyeing the girl with a dirty look.

"Sorry!" the pigtailed girl quickly apologized.

"Why didn't she invite me?" Aqua demanded, appearing out of nowhere to get within Darkness' personal space with a pout on her face. "She knows I need to stock up on my own supplies!"

"I… erm…" Darkness took a step away from the Arch-Priest as she racked her brain for a proper answer.

"You could ask her yourself." Kazuma answered for the Crusader.

Aqua agreed with the Adventurer, leaving for the potion shop immediately afterwards.

Verdia shook his head with a sigh. "That woman is like an over…grown… why am I cold?" he looked to his side and blinked. "Why is there a snow sprite inside?" The winter spirit stared back at the General with a happy look, surprising him greatly.

"Aqua." Both Kazuma and Megumin answered with matching deadpan expressions.

"Ah." Verdia watched the creature as it floated around his helmet.

Fio was trying her best not to squeal with glee. Watching the snow sprite interact with Verdia was too cute. "It seems to like you."

"Which is odd considering I'm an undead." This somehow felt more humiliating than everything else so far. Which was saying a lot.

The snow sprite perched itself atop Verdia's helmet with a delighted chirp.

What have I done to deserve this?


"Hmm…"

Clemea looked at different ingredients and herbs while enjoying the pleasant aroma floating around the store. The little potion shop was hidden down an ally way while the sign for said shop was stuck between two other, more extravagant, ones. Despite that, the store was relatively well stocked with common, uncommon, and sometimes rare ingredients sought after by people dabbling in alchemy.

I have been meaning to try out making poisons, maybe I should invest in a poison kit today. I do have quite a bit of pocket change after that snow sprite quest after all. She moved over to where the gear was, and checked out prices and descriptions. Oh, this one looks go-

"Clemeeaaaaaaaa!"

The high-pitched cry startled the woman out of her investigation. She turned around just in time to see Aqua right before she tackled her to the ground, a large, exaggerated pout on her face.

"Aqua?!" she yelled out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you invite me?!" The Goddess answered with a question of her own, tears streaming down her face. "You know I needed to resupply!"

"But the last time I did that you complained that I took too long." Clemea said, trying to push the Arch-Priest off, only for her to cling on even tighter. "Aqua, please let go." Clemea felt her ears burn in embarrassment as the other shoppers watched the interaction.

"That doesn't mean I don't like hanging out with you!"

Blowing the blue strands of Aqua's hair out of her face, Clemea was able to pry the clingy girl off and stand them both up. "Then how about I promise to bring you with me every time from now on?" She raised a hand when she saw Aqua open her mouth. "However, you have to promise me you won't complain. Deal?"

The Arch-Priest nodded excitedly.

"Great."

They spent the next twenty minutes gathering various ingredients, and left together with smiles on both their faces. Until Aqua remembered an important fact.

"We're going to be late for dinner!" She grabbed Clemea's wrist and ran as fast as she could back towards the house with the protesting woman in tow.

KONOSUBA!

The next day found Kazuma in the mage shop where he was about to make a very important purchase.

"Finally buying the staff I see." The old woman said with a smile, watching as the Adventurer brought the black-ringed staff up to the counter. "I was getting worried you were never going to get it."

"Yeah… took a while to save up enough money again."

"And I'm glad you decided to spend it here!" She took the item, and tapped the butt end on the ground a few times. The staff began to glow bright white for a moment, fading away quickly afterwards. "There we go, ready to use."

Kazuma handed over the money, and took the item. "What was that?" he asked, looking over his new staff.

She shrugged. "A simple protection charm I made. It comes in handy when someone tries to steal something."

"Huh, neat."

The shop owner clapped her hands together. "Now, since this is your first big purchase, I'll throw in a free mananite crystal as well!" She procured a small, red crystal from the glass display to her side, and held it out for him to see.

"Mananite?" Kazuma asked, leaning the staff against the counter to get a closer look at the crystal that was no bigger than his pinkie. He picked up the object and examined it for a bit, before looking back at the old woman. "What does it do?"

"Nothing much, just adds a little more mana to whoever is using it. At least, that one will. There are bigger ones that you can get, but they aren't cheap, some are even more expensive than that staff."

"Seriously?" He glanced over the object one more time, before handing it back after having an idea. "Can you make this into a piece of jewelry?"

The shop owner took it back with a questioning look. "I can, but you don't seem like the type to wear accessories."

"That's because I don't plan on wearing it. Megumin has a nasty habit of casting Explosion magic without having enough mana for it, so she keeps falling over every time she uses it. Even if this doesn't mana boost it by much, hopefully it will be enough so she can at least move on her own."

A smile made its way onto the woman's face, because although he tried to play it off casually, she could tell the young Adventurer worried about his Arch-Wizard companion. "In that case, if you don't mind waiting around for a bit, I can have this done in a jiffy."

Kazuma nodded and made himself comfortable on a nearby bench.


"Again!" Verdia's rough voice demanded as a purple glow surrounded the former General.

Kyouya wiped away the sweat gathering along his brow while watching three new skeleton warriors appear in-front of him. Garbed in an ordinary set of armor with an equally plain blade to boot, the young man was currently training with Verdia as his instructor to gain a better understanding of what it meant to be a Sword Master. He was quickly realizing he didn't know a damn thing.

Blocking the first skeleton's blade, Kyouya pushed the creature back with a huff before slashing it across its ribs. The creature stumbled but didn't dissipate like it would have if he was using Gram. He moved in to finish it off, only to be forced to block the club of another skeleton while stepping to the side to avoid being skewered by the third skeleton's trident.

Kyouya maneuvered both weapons down, pinning the club under his sword, and slammed his shoulder into the creature to knock it off its feet. He kicked the club away, moving forward to stab the downed undead, but at the last minute, Kyouya felt something tackle his side. Falling to the ground, the Sword Master rolled over to see the first skeleton rising, moving to do what he was about to do to its ally. He tried to move his sword to block, only to realize the third skeleton had come forward to press its boot on his wrist, preventing him from moving the appendage.

The two undead held up their respective weapons, ready to stab through Kyouya without any difficulty.

"Enough!" Verdia commanded.

The creatures vanished in a puff of purple smoke, allowing the young man to stand back up and sheathe his blade. "Are we done?" he asked between breathes.

"For now, yes." The undead levitated himself closer to Kyouya. "Do you know where you made your first mistake?" he felt something cold rub against his side. "Go away," he told the snow sprite as it floated next to him. It didn't listen.

"Was it when I was pinned to the ground?"

"No, that was your last – shoo, go away you little pest – mistake, your first mistake was blocking the creature's attacks." Verdia instructed as he attempted to get away from the little spirit. "You are not a Crusader, your job as a Sword Master is to overwhelm your enemies with powerful and precise strikes. When you are unable to avoid an enemies attack, the action required is not to block, but to redirect instead which you successfully performed on one of them. That way, your enemy still wastes energy and time on the attack while opening them up for a retaliating strike."

Kyouya processed the information in his head, nodding once he felt like he had a basic understanding. "Can you summon another skeleton for me to practice?"

Verdia nodded, shrouding himself in dark magic once more to summon a single undead. "Once you have a grasp of how it's done, we can move on to applying it to multiple opponents." Seeing the glow around Verdia, the snow sprite surrounded itself in a bright blue glow to match. "What the-? Why won't you leave me alone?!"

"Right." Kyouya, ignoring the shouting right next to him, prepped himself, knowing it would take several tries before he could perform the action successfully. But that's what I get for bringing a cheat item into this world. For all the power it grants me, Gram doesn't bestow its user with the skill needed to use it to its full potential.

The skeleton ran at him, holding the sword high above its head.

This training will be worth it if it allows me to protect my friends. Kyouya charged forward as well, wishing to meet the monster halfway.


"Nature's beauty!"

Everyone within the guild erupted in cheers as a tiny plant grew out of the cup atop Aqua's head. The Arch-Priest bowed to the group, keeping her head up to prevent the cup from falling off.

"Why doesn't she just work here? With the amount of effort she puts into every act, it's surprising to think she does it for free."

Darkness turned towards Fio, who watched the Arch-Priest with her head resting on both hands, and offered the other woman a shrug. "Aqua puts her all into whatever she cares about – it's never consistent, but when you make it into actual work, well, she does everything she can to get out of it."

"Ah," Fio didn't really get it, but maybe that was for the best. Aqua was a paradox wrapped in a mystery; impossible to figure out and difficult to understand. "Do you think they'll get bored at some point?"

"Probably not," Darkness smiled as the crowd cheered once more.

"You girls don't plan on causing another bar fight, do you?"

The Crusader jumped at the surprisingly loud voice, but her smile returned once she turned and saw who it was approaching them. "No," she felt heat creep up her neck at the thought even as Arakuremono sat himself next to her, cheering along with the rest of the guild as Aqua continued her tricks.

"Too bad," the man commented settling back down while turning to face the bar. "That was one hell of a brawl!"

Masochistic pleasure was quickly replaced with shameful embarrassment as the blush that decorated Darkness' cheeks turned a few shades darker. "It wasn't my fault…" the woman muttered, folding her arms across her chest.

At that, Arakuremono let out a boisterous laugh that rang throughout the guild, gathering the attention of a few curious guildmates, who quickly turned back to the Arch-Priest's performance once they saw who it was. "Is that so?" He asked with a wild look, one that Darkness had grown accustomed too, but not Fio if her wide, frightful eyes were any indicator.

"It is." Darkness replied with an upturned nose, her noble upbringing leaking through due to her anger, something Lalatina was quick to reign in. "But I'm sure you didn't stop by just to check in on me." She continued, her cold shoulder melting back into its usual warmth filled smile.

He nodded, leaning over the counter to refill his drink – the staff were with the rest of the guild to watch Aqua perform. Looking back to Darkness, Arakuremono gave her a serious look, surprising the Crusader and filling her with a strange sense of dread. "I heard what happened to your party leader," the man took a long, drawn-out sip of alcohol, "and I want to know if you're interested in taking up my offer?"

Both girls looked away uncomfortably at that – Fio cringing at the memory of Kazuma's severed head while Darkness looked down at her lap, her hair casting a shadow over her eyes.

"Darkness?" Fio questioned after turning back to her friend. The young Hunter placed her hand on the woman's shoulder, trying to prompt some kind of reaction.

"It is my duty as a Crusader to act as a wall for my allies, protecting them from any harm that may befall them." Darkness raised a hand to her breast plate, running it over where it used to be cracked – she remembered where it had been damaged the most throughout her many battles. "I come from a long line of Crusaders, all of whom have protected and saved countless lives, and in the end, they either live a long, relatively successful life, or they sacrifice themselves for another's sake."

The two next to her listened to the story, Fio completely enraptured by the tale while Arakuremono remained silent, taking the occasional sip from his drink.

"However, never, in my entire line has a Crusader been the cause of another's death – direct or otherwise. And yet…" her voice hitched as a single tear rolled down her cheek, "because I refused to follow my leader's orders, I forced him to act in a way that ended his life prematurely. Kazuma… Kazuma died because of me."

"Darkness, it wasn't your-"

"Yes it was!" The Crusader looked back up in anger – though not directed at Fio directly, before turning her gaze to the brute next to her, who returned her look with one that was designed to evaluate her resolve. "I want to honor my family by being a Crusader who does not falter against innumerable enemies. I want to hold my head up high with pride as people describe my accomplishments. I wish to act as a wall that will never break! Arakuremono, train me so that I can protect my friends to my final breath!"

At the last statement, Arakuremono stood up and gave the woman before him a vicious smile. "Now that's what I like to hear!" He offered Darkness a hand, which she gladly took, standing up as well. "I ain't a Crusader, which is a damn shame since I would love to train you myself, but as I said the first time, there many friends who owe me a favor. Come on," the man turned and began walking towards the exit with Darkness right behind him. "Let's go get you a trainer!"

Fio remained behind, looking to her sides while twiddling her thumbs. "I… I guess I'll see you back home?" she chewed on the corner of her lip and turned around just in time for one of the waitresses set out a plate of food.

"Sorry about the wait. Here are your toad legs."

"Ah, thank you." She took the first piece out of the large stack, only take a few nibbles here and there, having lost some of her appetite.

"Ahhhhh…" Aqua sighed happily as she plopped onto the seat next to Fio, taking two of the toad legs and taking a huge bite out of both. "Oh, theth are fooooo good!" Swallowing, the Arch-Priest looked around the area. "Where's Darkness, did she leave already?"

"Yeah," the Hunter replied quickly, unsure if she should tell her friend what just transpired – it seemed like something Darkness should explain herself.

"Too bad. Oh well, more toad legs for us!"

"Yeah…" Fio repeated, her mind elsewhere. "Hey, Aqua…" the mindless daydreaming consolidated into a crazy idea.

"Hmm?" Aqua questioned through another mouthful of toad meat.

"You know how to enchant things, right?"

The Goddess placed a hand on her chin while looking up to appear deep in thought. "As an Arch-Priest, I know a few, mostly involving undead." Just mentioning the enemy made her growl.

"Do… you think you could teach me how to do that?" Fio figured this feeling welling up inside must have been like what Darkness had been feeling – though not to the same extent.

"Really?" Aqua's eyes shined with excitement at the thought of someone else wanting to be taught by her.

Fio smiled. It wasn't much, but it would help her improve, and hopefully that would pay off in the long run. She never wanted to see Megumin cry like that ever again.


Her movements were slow and methodical; honed through weeks of performing the same action. Pulling the weed that tried to hide between two different plants was easy, she knew how it needed to be handled to reduce the effort required. There wasn't a need to count when watering the plants, her body having an acquired muscle memory that pulled back when the right amount of water had been distributed.

Megumin did all of this in silence with Clemea doing the same tasks, but with the added action of watching the girl with worried looks. The Thief knew her little sister – in all but blood – had a nightmare last night, more than likely reliving the horrible events that transpired not long ago, and the effects were starting to show the longer the day went.

"Megumin…" Clemea quickly came up with an excuse to do something else, "would you like to take a break and get something to eat?"

"I'm fine." The Arch-Wizard replied, it being the same response to damn near everything the other girl suggested.

Shit. Clemea cursed internally. Megumin had been working on the garden for over six hours. That wasn't a problem in of itself – most of them had done so as well, what was a problem was that Megumin had been working for six hours straight. No break to eat, rest, or even drink.

"Did you do something different with your hair? I think it looks great today!" It was a lie. The girl's hair was disheveled, unkempt, and dirty from working outside all day, but it was meant to get a different reaction out of her.

"I didn't."

Double shit. The Thief had failed to get more than two words out of the girl in the last three hours. Compliments and questions weren't working, Clemea knew being direct was the only option left, but that didn't make it any easier for her. "Megumin, talk to me. I know what happened yesterday was awful, but Kazuma's alive. All of us are, and I want you to be ok too."

She kneeled next to the girl, placing an arm around her shoulder to bring her in for a hug, which Megumin provided no resistance too.

Clemea licked her lips as she thought of what to say next. "There wasn't anything we could do to prevent it, his death." She clarified even though it was probably the only thing on the young Arch-Wizard's mind. "It wasn't you're fault either." God, she really had no idea how to comfort people, this was a task for Fio, hell, Kyouya was better at this.

"I know," Megumin said, sniffing back the tears that were threatening to come, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop them if they came. "But, but… he was dead." She choked back a sob.

"I know Megumin." Clemea began rocking both of their bodies back and forth in the hopes in would act as another level of comfort. "And I'm so, so sorry you had to see something like that, and I know it's not easy to deal with something like that, but there isn't a doubt in my mind that you'll be able to handle it in time. Now promise me you won't do it by yourself, even though I know you can, because your friends are here for you, no matter what, ok?"

Wiping away the moisture in her eyes, Megumin nodded her head much to Clemea's relief. "Ok."

"Good. Now, how about we take that break I mentioned earlier and get cleaned up as well?"

"That sounds good." Megumin said, making the Thief mentally cheer. "Can we eat at the guild? I don't feel like cooking today."

"Sure thing. Let's grab a change of clothes, head over to the bathhouse, and then we can go to the guild tonight. Sound good?" When she got a nod as an answer, Clemea stood up and used both hands to help up the Arch-Wizard, the two of them heading inside to prepare for the evening.


"-not even sure if it will give you enough mana to walk on your own, but that's why I got you an earring." Kazuma finished explaining as his companion examined the piece of jewelry. "So, what do you think?"

"I love it!" Megumin smiled as she clutched the item close to her chest, feeling a small amount of blood rush up to her cheeks.

"Good," he said, relieved more than anything. "Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Ready to head back inside?" the Adventurer gestured back towards the door they exited not too long ago, eager to go to bed so he could try out the new staff tomorrow.

Megumin hesitated. An action that caught Kazuma's attention easily. She felt a need – more like an urge – to do… something. "Umm…" even in the dark it was easy to see the blush on her cheeks as it continued to grow darker and darker.

"Is something wrong, Megumin?"

"N-no, it's just…" she breathed in, and mustered up all her courage to take a single step closer to him, close enough to be just within his personal space, and lean up on her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad you're ok." Megumin whispered, their faces so close that she could feel the warmth from his now rapid breaths.

Then the embarrassment kicked in.

"I-I-I'll see you later!" The Arch-Wizard squeaked, rushing past her friend with a face that felt like it was on fire, leaving the young Adventurer alone.

"Hmph, well that was unexpected."

Well, almost alone.

Verdia, along with the little snow sprite that refused to leave his side, much to Aqua's chagrin, had watched the entire sequence of events transpire without interrupting for their sakes, but now that Megumin was back inside, the undead felt like he had permission to speak his mind.

Kazuma's response was fall flat onto his back, his face stuck with a look of shock that probably wasn't going away anytime soon.

"Now that, that I expected."

The snow sprite chirped next to him in agreement.


Yeah, I'll end right about here.

So, I've never done this before, but I would like to make a request. Would anyone be willing to draw any of the scenes involving Verdia and the snow sprite? I don't know why, I just got this stupid grin on my face every time I imagine it. If you want to do it just send me a private message, or if you don't want to do that, just send me the picture. Any one can do it, and I'm ok if no one wants to as well.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time!