Megumin's POV
"Hey guys! I can sense something undead coming!"
"I already told you, it's probably Wiz. Otherwise, they would've shown up a long time ago. Ready your magic, but don't cast it until you know who it is."
"Is that onii-sama?"
"Kazuma!"
"Darkness? Wha- why are all of you here? And… Iris?! What are you doing here?"
"I was just visiting to properly thank you in person for defeating the devil king! I hope that my heroics at the capital were good enough for you!"
…It's times like these when I wish I were Iris.
"Of course it is! Onii-sama is very proud of you, Iris! I assume you ran into these 3 somewhere in town?"
"Yes, I did! We went on a one-shot bear kill quest. I actually managed to take it down in one hit! Are you proud of me, onii-sama?"
"Definitely. You really showed that bear, huh? Maybe if you keep training, one day you can be as amazing as your onii-sama."
Still, I can't help but smile at the smile on Iris's face. Plus, Kazuma wouldn't cheat on me, right? Not when we already got into a relationship, right? Hmm… We've been together in secret for a bit now… What would it matter if I told Aqua and Iris?
"It's good to see you again, Kazuma!"
Wrapping him into a hug wasn't the worst idea. I get him flustered, I get Iris to back off, and… I get to hug him.
"U-uh, yeah! It's good to see you as well, Megumin! Uh… You…"
"Are you trying to say something, Easyma?"
"Hey, don't call me that. I… You feel nice."
I stared up at him with a completely blank expression without changing my grip strength.
"Bahahah! That's just like Kazuma, isn't it? You always manage to say the perfect thing to kill the mood!"
"S-shut up, Megumin. We're right in front of the others as well…"
"So what? I can't hug my boyfriend in front of my friends?"
There we go.
"Took you long enough."
"Aqua? I thought you wouldn't have noticed, given your low intelligence."
"Kazuma, need I remind you what stat determines insight and lie-detection? It's wisdom! And I'm a goddess and an archpriest!"
"Figures."
"Onii-sama's in a relationship?"
"D-don't act so surprised about it!"
"I'm not! I just… I didn't know that boss… took the leap."
Iris… doesn't look disappointed. Only kind of… resigned.
"Regardless, congratulations, onii-sama! You too, boss!"
"Thanks, Iris." x2
"Now I can only hope to find someone as capable as onii-sama to take as my partner!"
"Eh, it's still a bit early for you to be thinking about stuff like that, Iris. Eventually, my little sis will find the one, mark my words! In the meantime, you've got your friends and your onii-sama to keep you company!"
"Thank you, onii-chan!"
If her smile can tug on my heartstrings that much, I can only imagine what it does to Kazuma.
"You know what? Why don't we all head out to eat tonight? My treat for all of you. I do feel kinda bad for you getting caught in the rain. Oh yeah, Wiz, Vanir, you 2 can come along too. My treat for helping out."
"Moi is already quite satiated by your negative emotions! Besides, someone is needed back at the store as soon as possible!"
"I'll come though! It's… it's been a while since I've had anything solid…"
Wiz's stomach rumbled right then and there. No way am I letting a friend of mine go hungry.
"Hey Wiz? Whenever you can't find anything to eat, I'd be more than happy to cook something for you to eat. Right Kazuma?"
"Yeah. Of course."
"W-why thank you! I-"
"Could we head back? I'm getting hungry and I want my reward!"
"Aqua, you're so impatient. A crusader shouldn't give into such urges as to scream at her party members!"
"I-I think I've regained enough mana. Teleport!"
With that, Wiz teleported us all to her store.
"Alright! See you later, Vanir-san!"
Vanir waved goodbye as the rest of us headed off to a high-end steakhouse.
Kazuma's POV
Hopefully they like this. It's a Japanese style restaurant that recently opened up.
"Wait, are you Kazuma Satou?"
"Yep. That's me."
"I thought I recognized you!"
"Oh no…"
"Megumin? What's…"
Come to think of it, this girl has red eyes.
"Megumin?! You're here?"
"Hello, Funikura."
"It's Funifura! Anyways, I'll be your waitress for tonight. Your table's over there and you should be able to find your menu and order sheet there. Just place your orders and I'll be there shortly."
She seems… flustered? I guess being in the presence of the hero who defeated the devil king would do that to any reasonable girl. Still, I am taken, so tough luck, I guess.
"Hey Kazuma? That girl's one of the people who we met at the village that one time. Remember? You asked to be her brother?"
"Right. I remember now."
"She's super jealous of me. She doesn't like you in particular, it's just that she's always teased me about not caring about love, so when she sees us, she always runs up to me after."
"So what should I do?"
"Just tell the truth."
Eh. She'd probably be too ashamed to tell any of the other adventurers here.
"So what do you guys want?"
Everyone placed their orders, which a red Funifura took into the kitchen.
"I wonder if this place's fried rice is as good as onii-chan's fried rice?"
"I've never tried beef gyudon before! I've heard that it has quite the explosive flavour. Quite fitting for myself!"
"Kazuma, you won't force me to pay for me and Darkness's wagyu, right?"
"No, I won't. Megumin, you want to share the gyudon?"
"Sure. Would you like me to feed you again~"
"U-uh, maybe not in public."
"I hope that the yakisoba is good!"
Before long, Funifura arrived with our food.
"Thank you."
"N-no problem, Kazuma! Just doing my job…"
Did I ever tell that girl that I have farsight? I mean, it doesn't really matter because even Megumin can see her pretty clearly, but still.
"Woah, this gyudon is amazing! It's description matches perfectly with reality!"
"Really? Hey, we're splitting that bowl, right? There's no way you can eat that all yourself!"
"This fried rice isn't as good as onii-chan's, but it's still amazing! The Japanese really know how to cook."
"Even compared to food in heaven, this is amazing!"
"Agreed! In all my time being a noble, never have I had anything quite as good as this."
"I've never had anything quite as great as this! As an immortal being, I'd say that that's a pretty high accomplishment!"
Looks like tonight's just gonna be a wholesome dinner-
"Hey, give me some of that!"
"No way! You're way too young and this stuff is pretty hard!"
Or maybe not.
After a bit, we finally went home. Megumin and Aqua had managed to knock themselves out with alcohol. (Megumin, may I add, only had a single shot.) Iris, fortunately didn't have any, nor did me, Wiz, or Darkness. Wiz got home just fine, and Iris headed off to her hotel where she was staying.
"Could onii-chan come with me?"
"I'm sorry, but I've gotta deal with Megumin tonight. Hope to see ya tomorrow, Iris."
Iris shot me a dejected look which morphed into a smile.
"Alright. I don't want to get in your way tonight. See you tomorrow, onii-chan."
With that, we split up. Darkness carried Aqua back into her room and I carried Megumin. I'm kinda surprised that Funifura didn't say anything, but hey. It's not like Megumin's never wrong.