Iris's POV
As I headed out the door, tears began to fall from my face.
So onii-chan's found someone, huh? I… I was hoping that he would remember the rule about the slayer of the devil king having to marry the princess… I'll ask him to return the ring on his birthday. At least boss is happy. I should probably go find Lalatina.
You know, maybe it's not so bad! The reason I wanted him was because he would treat me like anyone else. I guess he's stopped teaching me those weird things, but he's still mostly the same. It looks like he's started treating me like my age, huh? Royalty's just never gonna mean anything to him, huh. At least I can rest assured that he won't leave boss for someone else. Oh, there she is!
"Hi- Alice-sama?! What are you doing in the adventurer's guild?"
"Hey Alice! Are you finally going to join the Axis sect?"
"Uh… no. I was actually going to talk about onii-chan with Lalatina-sama…"
Lalatina's face went flush and she donned a shocked expression.
"Huh?! W-what is there to talk about, Alice-sama? I mean, he defeated the devil king! Do you want training or-"
"How'd you react when boss and onii-chan began their relationship?"
Why isn't she responding? She definitely heard me…
"Darkness? Do you want to tell her, or am I gonna have to tell her?"
"F-fine! I… I didn't take it well. Knowing that, do you still want to ask me?"
"At least I'll know what not to do."
Lalatina took a deep breath.
"I… Megumin told me that I could express my feelings towards Kazuma. That day, I accidentally got handcuffed to him- Yes, it was an accident!"
Lalatina went flush at my skeptical look.
"We went to sleep together and I asked… him why I couldn't be what he wanted. If what he wanted was a woman to screw, then why couldn't I be her? Now I see, that's not what Kazuma wanted at all. Well, maybe a little, but not as much as just… a relationship."
"That doesn't seem too bad."
Lalatina and Aqua looked at each other before Lalatina began crying softly.
"I may have done… Other things to Kazuma. I think that we've both moved past it by now, but I'd rather not talk about what happened that night."
I see. It looks like I shouldn't attempt to get into any sort of "situation" with onii-chan.
"Thank you for your time, Lalatina. I'll be heading off with Rain and Claire. See you next week!"
"See you next- Oh, right! I completely forgot!"
I giggled to myself as Aqua and Lalatina bolted up and out of the room. You know, it's almost liberating, knowing that I'll never have a chance with onii-chan. And if I never have a chance with him, that'll mean that both he and boss will live happily ever after…
Megumin's POV
"M-Megumin? What do you mean by fun?"
"I… I was hoping that… You know."
Why am I getting cold feet now? I was so confident a few seconds ago, where'd it all go?
"I know, but are you sure? I kinda wanted to save our first times for… a special occasion."
"Yeah, now that you say that, I'm not so sure anymore… Hang on a second, when were you so concerned with waiting? We've come pretty close a few times before!"
"Hey, I chickened out that last time at the village, remember? And we were only going to before we set off for the devil king because we… might not have made it back! It was so we wouldn't worry about never being able to do that!"
"I guess you're right. Well, if we're not doing that, why don't we do some cooking?"
"Sure. Let's do that."
I know that I banned Kazuma from that bar, but maybe I should ask him about the details. Just for research purposes. Hmm, I wonder if that special occasion is his birthday? It could also be mine or our marriage… Hm. Well, we'll get there when we get there.
"Megumin? Don't you want to learn about a delicacy known as pizza?"
"Coming!"
Kazuma spent the entire afternoon teaching me how to make pizza. From the composition of the dough to the amount of tomato sauce, to the type of cheese and what toppings to use, nothing was lost on me.
"And of course, while those toppings might be more popular, don't forget that your pizza should fit your preferences! It might take a bit of time to figure that out, though. Oh yeah, anyone who uses anchovies or broccoli on pizza should be hanged."
"Jeez and I thought I was the hardcore one."
"You still are! If you knew just how terrible anchovies and broccoli are on pizza, you'd say the same! Heck, you'd probably personally explode them!"
"Fine then! The first pizza I make shall be a broccoli and anchovies pizza! Prepare to have your pizza swept aside as I, Megumin, the greatest cook in Axel shall completely outmatch you!"
"You know what, I'm feeling nice! If you list 5 things you love about me, I'll let you have some of my pizza!"
"That's not even a challenge! Are you that compliment starved that you'd have me compliment you as a punishment?"
"Think of it as a prize."
"Alright, Kazuma~ Same goes for you!"
I'm gonna destroy this guy! Then, I'll be showered in compliments! He's going down!
"Woah, that smells so good!"
"No thanks to your broccoli and anchovies!"
After a few minutes of waiting for the pizzas to cook, Darkness and Aqua walked in.
"O-oh! Why hello there, Kazuma?"
"Hi, Kazuma!"
I watched as Darkness sneakily handed something to Aqua. Crap, I think Kazuma saw it!
"Hey, guys. Darkness, what did you just hand to Aqua?"
"Nothing! I'll see you later, Kazuma!"
The 2 of them headed upstairs, leaving us alone. After some more awkward silence and sitting next to the kotatsu, I reached for his hand which he took without hesitating. Wait, what's this…
"Kazuma? Why are you rubbing my hand like that?"
"Oh gee, I wonder why. Is it too cold? Am I keeping you warm?"
"I-I see-"
"I'm doing it because I like doing it! God, you read too much manga."
This guy!
"H-hey! Don't say that about me just because I took you at face value!"
"Anyways, the pizza's ready. Ready for dinner?"
"You bet. Hey Aqua, Darkness, Dinner's ready! Kazuma and I made pizza!"
Just wait and see, Kazuma! My broccoli and anchovies pizza shall destroy yours!"