Chapter 9: Let's Begin Life as a Devil King Army Leader!

Part 1

I watched Sylvia move in front of me.

Her hips were swaying sensuously.

Although I knew a couple of beautiful women with that curvy figure I prefered, Wiz and Darkness, for example, none of them possessed that mature allure that Sylvia had in abundance.

"Vanir-san, this way."

I was led to a tent behind the stage, where Maouko, the Devil King's daughter, had just performed.

"Since my...moi's memory is still in disarray, um, please remind moi why Maouko-sama was just performing in front of the army earlier…"

"Oh dear, your memory is in a bad state, huh? You don't even remember that Maouko-sama's class is that of a Bard. She regularly performs to the army, even when...the late Devil King was alive, in order to boost morale and distribute powerful status buffs to the soldiers."

The bard class.

In tabletop games, Bards were notorious for being, in most cases, a useless profession.

Proficient in status buff magic and possessing limited spellcasting ability.

A cross between the Priest and Mage class.

But if that was the case, it be more efficient to be a Priest or a Mage.

Though, as someone with the even more useless Adventurer class, I wasn't qualified to criticize.

Arriving at the entrance of the tent, Sylvia pulled the front flaps open.

"Maouko-sama, you won't believe who I...ah, sorry!"

Before I got a peek in, Sylvia dragged me out.

"Geez! You can't just come in like that, Sylvia! I mean, despite what you look like, you're…"

Hm? What was that?

"A-Anyway, Maouko-sama, I have brought someone of great interest to you. It is Vanir-san…"

There was an interval of ten seconds before Maouko responded. She peeked her head out of the tent and looked at me with scrutinizing eyes.

I felt a cold sweat start to run down my back.

I didn't have any illusion magic, and the mask only covered half of my face.

And I was equipped with my usual gear, and my distinctive 'Boots' of Speed.

I would be found out, for certain.

I started walking backwards, glancing around for an escape route. . .

"...Tell me, Sylvia, does this 'Vanir' just happen to 'resurrect into a new body'?"

"Um, yes, that's what he claims…"

"I see. So Feydrick-san's divinations have hit their mark, as usual. Sylvia, what you have there is our enemy, Satou Kazuma, disguised as the Masked Devil, Vanir-san. Apprehend him."

And that was my cue to leave.

"Tinder."

I shot a streak of fire on Sylvia's arm, which reached out to grab me.

For some reason, the magic didn't have any effect. Sylvia didn't even wince.

I dodged her grabbing attempt instead.

And in the same motion...

"Expeditious Retreat! Escape!"

Using the Wizard speed boosting spell, Expeditious Retreat, and the Rogue skill offering a speed buff, Escape, combined with the Boots of Speed and the buffs Aqua had casted on me, I prepared myself for a hasty tactical retreat.

But as I lifted a leg, seconds away from engaging in near supersonic speeds…

"Greater Dispel Magic."

Having all of my speed augmentations cancelled at once, I was propelled by the momentum I had already started to pick up.

I tumbled to the ground.

Sylvia dove after my spasmodically tumbling body, and wrestled with me on the ground, easily gaining dominance, before capturing me in a headlock.

What a precarious situation I've found myself in.

As I struggled against Sylvia, squirming against the bountiful chest pressing against my back, Maouko, fully dressed this time, emerged from the tent.

She stood over me imperiously, with a smug look on her face.

"So we finally meet face to…"

She paused.

She took Vanir's mask off of my face.

"So we finally meet face-to-face, Satou Kazuma."

Sylvia gasped. "S-So it really wasn't Vanir-san?!"

"I don't expect you to know this, as this information was only really available to my father and I, but Vanir-san had formally requested a leave from the Devil King army. We didn't want word to get out, that Vanir-san, who was equal or even greater in power to my father, decided to leave the army. That would create unnecessary unease and doubt among the soldiers. So, instead, we spread word that Vanir-san died heroically...or should I say, demonically."

It was only then that I remembered Vanir mentioning something along those lines.

Well, even if I had remembered, it was inevitable that I'd be captured, anyways.

Even if Sylvia hadn't believed the ruse I came up with in the spot, she would have apprehended me, one way or another.

After all, I didn't sense her behind me, as she didn't have any hostile intent at the time, a prerequisite for the activation of Detect Enemy.

This was the consequence of relying too much on the Detect Enemy skill.

"Well, I can't really take all the credit. One of our Devil King army generals, Feydrick-san, is a powerful scryer. He not only prevented Vanir-san, the real Vanir-san, from scrying upon our war operations, but he also foresaw your attempted infiltration, Satou Kazuma.

And that's why I had Sylvia, who is normally a frontline fighter, do the menial task of scouting the grounds at this time, as Feydrick-san had divined that Sylvia would be the one to find the lurking Satou Kazuma."

"I-I don't really get all of this, but I can tell that you did something really impressive, Maouko-sama!"

To plan this far ahead, she was impressive indeed, but this amateur had made the mistake of monologuing to the hero as he was captured.

I made sure to take advantage of this cliched development!

Tinder didn't work at all with Sylvia, which meant that she had high magic resistance.

And with my movement restricted, I couldn't draw my weapons.

To get around this, I used a skill, instead.

My signature skill…!

"Steal!"

I cried, with an outstretched palm.

The skill that worked even on the Devil King.

The skill that had never failed me in battle so far.

My first and favorite skill.

"E-Eh?"

Maouko patted her skirt frantically. She blushed and then glared at me.

I looked in my hands at what I had stolen.

Black lace.

Part 2

I was tied up to a chair as Sylvia supervised me.

"You have some balls, don't you?" she said. "Stealing the panties of the one who will decide whether you live or die."

I didn't mean to steal Maouko's panties.

R-Really, I didn't.

But my high luck stat had this weird effect on my Steal skill when directed against women.

Only women.

The panties I had stolen, as Maouko had just finished her performance, was still damp and filled with her fresh fragrance.

More than my usual sexual harassment escapades, this one could actually get me killed.

"Fufu. You have guts, kid. If Maou-sama allows it, I'd like to play around with a real man like you. After all, I know full well what it takes to be a man..."

"Please treat me gently."

Even in this situation, a real man wouldn't turn down the invitation of a beautiful lady.

And it was a proven scientific fact that libido and the desire to procreate increases during life threatening situations.

That was the excuse I was going with.

"What a man! You said it without any hesitation! It seems that I wasn't wrong about you, fufu…"

Sylvia leaned closer to me, her lips just inches from my ear.

"Hnnnng. You've made me all hard and bothered…"

She probably meant to say that I made her 'all hot and bothered'.

"It seems that you found another plaything, Sylvia."

Saying this, Maouko walked into the tent.

Following behind her was an old man with a grey beard that reached down to his chest. He wore grey robes and in his hand was a crystal ball.

"Feydrick-san, meet Satou Kazuma, the man who killed your previous liege and my father."

He gave me an unreadable gaze.

Despite the 'hermit sage' look he had going, he looked like an old guy you could find anywhere.

"I don't get it. What's a normal human doing in the Devil King army?" I asked.

Feydrick lifted a bushy and white eyebrow.

"I am not a human. I am a Dark Elf."

There was nothing dark or elven about him.

"Aren't elves supposed to have pointy ears?"

"That's a stereotype we wish the mainstream populace would stop labelling on us."

Who ever heard of an elf without pointy ears?

And weren't old aged elves really rare? Elves were traditionally portrayed to have a near immortal lifespan, still maintaining their youthful looks even at the age of 900.

"Just to make sure," I said, "How old are you, Feydrick-san?"

"I am 38 years old."

"In elf years?"

"No, in human years…"

Rather than being hundreds of years old, he looked way too old to be only 38.

Bad genes, maybe?

Once again, this fantasy world had disappointed my expectations.

"Speaking with the enemy so casually. I commend you for keeping your composure, but I wonder how long that will last?"

Maouko looked at me with a cruel smile.

Earlier, Darkness was fantasizing about the creative torture methods of the Devil King army.

Although I was acting tough, I was just one more emotional disturbance away from crying my eyes out.

We should have sent Darkness for this mission, instead, I thought.

"Now, before I enjoy tormenting you, I brought Feydrick-san here for a little task. Feydrick-san?"

He nodded. Walking up to me, he placed his hand on my head and closed his eyes.

I didn't feel anything, but the crystal ball in his hands began to glow green.

After awhile, he took his hand back.

He peered into the crystal ball. I couldn't see anything in it, but I assumed that he could.

"I have properly seen his future, Maouko-sama."

"And? Did you see anything important?"

"I saw that, in the future, after torturing him to your heart's desire, you will finally avenge your father and brutally kill this man."

"E-Eh?!"

I cried out with a shrill voice.

I was destined for such a tragic fate?!

This was worst than simply dying, wasn't it?!

Dying wasn't really that big of a deal.

I died before, and was resurrected shortly after.

B-But something like torture is…!

I couldn't take it anymore, I began to cry.

"Uwaaaaaaah! Aqua, Megumin, Darkness, save me!"

Losing my inhibitions, I made that shameful declaration while hollering and crying.

Maouko looked at me in disdain. "To think this gutless fool managed to kill my father. How shameful! Let's kill him already!"

"...Wait! I see more! In the event that you kill this man, his comrades and friends from his hometown will soon find out. They will chase us no matter where we go in this world, until they can exact revenge. E-Even that Vanir-san and Wiz-san will come to hunt us down and avenge him…"

It was heartwarming, to know that my friends would go so far to avenge me.

But that wasn't really much of a consolation, as I'd still meet a tragic outcome.

At this point, I considered calling out to Eris-sama. We still had that wish we were owed, and she said that we could call her anytime to grant us the wish…

But until the very last moment, I didn't want to use such an ultimate power.

And it seemed that my captors weren't planning on doing anything drastic yet.

"I see. So the future in which we kill Satou Kazuma will turn out like that," Maouko said. "And I can't count on your perceiving the other alternate routes of this man's fate, can I?"

"Correct. My powers are limited in that I can see only the unaltered, original route of one's fate. What happens after one alter future events after receiving a divination, I can not see that far ahead, or I will lose my sanity in the attempt of peering into infinite possibilities."

"I see. If that's the case, then we will have a change of plans."

She stared into my eyes, not with a look of hatred, as I expected her to, but one that was purely calculating.

"In fact, doing it this way might prove more interesting. Dominate Person!"

Part 3

"Do a pantomime of the Mobile Fortress Destroyer."

I instinctively knew the movements, even if I couldn't recall how or from whom I learned them.

"Oh! That is indeed how the Mobile Fortress Destroyer moves! I assume that the spell worked?"

"Of course, Feydrick-san. I am especially proficient with the Schools of Charm and Illusion magic," my master, Maouko-sama, said.

"How long does the spell last?" Sylvia said.

"With my spell casting level, only about three hours. But I can keep casting it on him, though it will be harder to do so consecutively. And that's why we will pull through with our plan in the next three hours. It's too bad that we couldn't do it at nighttime, while the Crimson Demons are sleeping...but this guy took a lot more time to succumb to the spell than what I expected."

"It is an ingenious plan, Maouko-sama," Feydrick said. "To have Satou Kazuma attack the village, causing chaos and confusion, and once their defenses have been lowered, we will come in for the strike!"

"Fufu! I know, I'm a genius, right?! Now, it's a pain to maintain a constant mental control over him, so I'll set him to auto-pilot, so to speak. Go and take care of your allotted duties, while I take care of business here."

I was left alone with my master.

"Ahem. Listen, Satou Kazuma. You are a Devil King army leader under my employ. I will now send you on a solo-mission to attack the Crimson Demons who have caused me infinite amounts of frustration these past few years. You will go to their village, and the first thing you will do is destroy that magic telescope of theirs that the village perverts use to peep on me. Aside from causing as much of a disturbance as you can, this will be your primary directive, OK?"

For some reason, I felt my head clear up a bit, only for a surge of information to fill it.

A torrent of thoughts began to flood in.

I was...Satou Kazuma...a leader of the Devil King army…

Attack...the Crimson Demon village.

"Hm. Since it's that kind of scenario, we should put this on you," Maouko-sama said.

She placed a mask over my face.

"Now, do you understand your orders?"

My master looked upon me expectantly.

"Fufu. For my beautiful master, Maouko-sama, I will even drink your dirty bath water if you command me to!"

That was just how far my devotion to my master was!

My master…

I thought back to my fond memories of my master.

"…"

Huh?

That was strange.

I couldn't recall anything.

"Hm? Is there something wrong, Satou Kazuma?"

"Nope! Nothing wrong! I will set about to do my mission right away~!"

"...I know that you're dominated and all, but where did this creepy subservience come from?"

Now that I had my orders from Maouko-sama, I went out from the tent. Outside, my fellow soldiers were bustling about, preparing for the assault.

"Hey guys, good work out there. Another day another Eris, eh?"

I tried to raise the morale of my co-workers, but they just looked at me strangely.

Not paying it any heed, I made my way to exit the encampment. I took a moment to look fondly at the encampment I spent the last few weeks stationed in…

I thought about my happy memories with my Devil King army comrades.

W-Well, for some reason, I had trouble recalling anything at that moment.

Not paying it any heed, I moved on.

Walking through the route heading to the Crimson Demon village, I took account of my equipment.

The quiver and bow at my back, and the sword...which had a name I couldn't exactly recall...was sheathed at my belt.

I was ready.

Following the route, I soon made it to the entrance leading into the forest.

I crouched behind some foliage and activated Lurk.

Peering out through a gap in the leaves and branches, I made out an incomplete but accurate image of the village.

I could see people already up and about. The businesses were already opened, and there were some patrons entering in and out of the store.

I used Foresight to further survey the village, looking for that telescope Maouko-sama asked me to find and destroy.

I found it in the town center. It was displayed as a tourist attraction.

Destroy the telescope first and then cause mayhem.

I could do the first step without having to move from my spot, but to do the latter would prove more complicated.

Crimson Demons were strong, and facing a village full of them, by myself was unfathomable, even if I relied on hit and run tactics.

But my personal safety wasn't as important as the success of this mission.

Well, before all that, I needed to take care of the first stage of the plan.

I drew my quiver and slid an arrow to the notch. Still using Foresight, I aimed for the telescope.

In the time I've spent deliberating, a Crimson Demon fellow, a somewhat haggard looking young man, walked towards the telescope while frantically looking around.

He pointed the lens of the telescope towards the camp, probably intending on peeking on my master.

The direction also happened to coincide with my position in the foliage.

This was a good as time as any to cause a commotion.

"Snipe!"

I shot an arrow at the telescope lens.

It shattered and the young man pulled back in surprise.

I used the Lip Reading skill to perceive what he was saying in his panic.

"Eh?! Who was that masked guy?! Is it the Devil King army?!"

He ran from the telescope, but I didn't fire another shot at him. I needed him to spread the word and cause as much panic as possible.

With my position now compromised, I proceeded into the village itself.

My intention was to use the houses as cover. I would lose vision, but with Lurk, I could keep hiding in the shadows of the houses while causing as much chaos as I could.

I started off with a reliable means in achieving just that.

"Tinder. Wind Breath"

Using Wind Breath to propel the flames, creating a flamethrower like effect, I ignited the curtains of the homes I passed. My Detect Magic registered the activation of fire detection runes setting off alarms on the houses I set on fire. Crimson Demon families began piling out.

I repeated this pattern, setting fires to homes while staying in the shadows.

Then, to prevent them from gathering in one place, I took everything I could find that was flammable, lit them ablaze, and then laid them all out in the open spaces, including the town center, to prevent the Crimson Demons from grouping together.

When I started running out of mana, I took out a Manatite crystal from my carry bag and replenished my reserves.

Looking at the chaos I caused, I deemed my mission successful. I decided to retreat.

"Nature's Beauty!"

The flames I had painstakingly created, strategically connecting flammable materials to create a fiery maze throughout the town, was easily doused by streams of water produced by one individual.

A girl with blue hair.

Part 4

My head throbbed at the sight of her and my blood boiled.

For some reason, I started developing a headache as I caught sight of this stranger.

"Amazing, Aqua-sama! That's an Arch Priest for you!"

"How beautiful! And the way she's twirling around and distributing the water is a majestic sight, indeed!"

"One more time, Aqua-sama, do it one more time!"

The blue haired girl, 'Aqua', puffed out her chest in pride. "OK, I don't normally repeat my tricks, but...Nature's Beauty!"

"Uuooooooohhh!"

What a pain in the ass.

As if she hadn't ruined my work enough already, she started sniffing around like a dog, with her nose up in the air. "Hold on, I smell the stench of a devil! It must be the work of that retched lot hiding away like cowards in the forest! So those guys finally decided to attack, huh?! Crimson Demons, follow my lead!"

"Yosh! Aqua-sama!"

For some reason, the sight of the Crimson Demons obeying this Aqua girl's commands irritated me greatly.

The Crimson Demons were banding together under this Aqua' girl's lead.

At this point, when Maouko-sama gets here, she will not be facing a disorganized, frantic village of Crimson Demons, but a united and alert one.

I couldn't let that happen.

Even at the expense of my own life…!

I emerged out of the shadows in order to take down the enemy's apparent leader!

"Drain Touch!"

"Gurk!"

My plan was to disable this Aqua person, then hold her hostage.

That was the plan.

"Ouch! What the heck is this?! Oh, Kazuma, it's you? You're back? It's good to see that you're safe, but listen to this! The Devil King army has already begun to attack! Quick, we have to convene with Darkness and the others! Owie! W-Will you stop that already?! What, do you need to refill your mana or something?! It hurts!"

This Aqua person was not only talking to me as if we were familiar, she also knew my name.

Well, I was a Devil King army leader, after all.

My name was known and feared throughout the lands.

She was probably just playing mind tricks with me.

I increased the output of Drain Touch, earning another 'Gurk!', and then turned to the Crimson Demons.

"Nobody move! If you do, I will kill this girl!"

They looked at me, then at the Aqua person, and then at each other.

"Perhaps Satou-sama is roleplaying?"

"I see. So he's roleplaying. I didn't know that Kazuma was into that sort of thing."

"That's a cool mask! I see, so he wants to roleplay as a sort of Masked Devil, huh?"

Somehow, they came to that conclusion.

I waved my free hand around. "No, listen to me. I'm not roleplaying, or whatever. I am a leader of the Devil King army! I came here to attack your village! I was even setting fires to your homes earlier!"

Having explained this, I assumed that they would all scream in fear.

"T-To think that Satou-sama is so passionate in his roleplaying that he will even set fire to the village! How wonderful! As expected of the man who is dating Megumin, he shares the sensibilities of the Crimson Demons!"

"Eh? Satou-sama is dating Megumin?"

"Yes, I heard this from Buzucoily-san."

They were all idiots.

Couldn't they see the danger I presented?

Were they really fine with me setting their village on fire?

And regarding this Aqua girl, with the amount of mana and vitality I should have taken from her, she should have already been a lifeless corpse.

Yet she was just looking at me with a confused expression. "I don't really get it," she said, "but if choking my neck like this is something Kazuma is into, then I guess I can indulge him a bit? Don't worry! As your friend, I will support you, even if you have all sorts of depraved, sadistic fetishes! Though I do believe that Darkness is more suited to this sort of thing?"

This girl was useless as a hostage. I released her and drew my partner.

"T-This is the legendary Chunchunmaru! To think that I'd have the honor of being in the receiving end of its majestic blade!"

They still didn't get it!

To drive the point home, I started slashing at them with my partner.

But…

"That's the spirit, Satou-sama! Let the violent tendencies of the Crimson Demons consume you! Blade Ward."

"Although while you're doing a good job so far, it'd be better if you could say some cool lines before attacking, Satou-sama. Skin of Stone."

Without the element of surprise, I couldn't use the powerful Sneak Attack skill. My sword skills were useless against their magical defences.

Not only were they unmoved by my aggressive display, they even encouraged further exhibition of it.

If swordplay didn't work, then...

I shot an arrow.

"Protection from Arrows."

I tried the Create Water and Shocking Grasp combo.

"Magic Barrier."

Nothing worked.

How infuriating.

Even though I was a leader of the Devil King army, to think I'd be this powerless.

Or perhaps this was merely the superiority of the Crimson Demons in effect, rather than a demonstration of my inability.

Still, I was frustrated.

Between this Aqua girl who seemingly had infinite amounts of magical power and vitality, and this gathering of Crimson Demons who weren't even taking me seriously, but was countering every move I made, it would be foolish to stay any longer.

"Escape!"

I made a tactical retreat.

I merged into the shadows once more, using Lurk.

I had to attack without being seen. One could only defend against an attack they could see coming.

And rather than fighting whole groups, I needed to pick of straying individuals.

Two lone girls. A strange feeling overcame me as I looked at them, but I ignored it for the sake of my mission.

One wasn't a Crimson Demon, a blonde haired one, but she looked like she a Crusader, certainly not a pushover.

The other girl was a Crimson Demon.

It was common sense to take out the caster before focusing on the front line fighter.

"Snipe!"

I shot the arrow at the Crimson Demon girl.

The Snipe skill depended on one's Luck stat.

And with my high Luck, I was certain that my aim would hold true.

In terms of my Luck stat manifesting in strange ways, the Steal skill was just an exception.

After all, with Snipe, there was no way that…

"E-Eh?! Something fast just flew between my legs?!"

The Crimson Demon girl shouted as she patted the hem of her robes frantically.

On a wall behind the girl, I could see my arrow lodged there.

And pinned against the wall, pierced by the arrowhead, was a pair of black panties.

"T-That arrow, it has to be Kazuma!" The taller girl said.

"Geez! And we were all worried when he didn't return last night! And what kind of advanced sexual harassment did he pull just now?!"

To think that probability would break it's fundamental principle of randomized outcome just for the sake of trolling me.

This time, I aimed with Foresight, not leaving the trajectory completely up to chance.

"Snipe!"

And I aimed for the taller girl, instead, just in case my original target was just jinxed, or something.

And the shot hit true, this time.

"Kuh! K-Kazuma, this kind of play should be reserved for when we're alone!"

It didn't do any damage at all.

In fact, was this female knight enjoying this?

At this point, I lost control of my composure.

"Snipe! Snipe! Snipe!"

I fired my remaining arrows at them.

The arrows that didn't hit the increasingly ecstatic female knight only served to rip the Crimson Demon's robes in a provocative manner.

Soon, she was pretty much fully naked.

She was holding up the shreds of what remained of her clothes to hide the most intimate parts of her anatomy.

"...I've been violated. I can't marry anymore."

"Scum! Scum-zuma! You were going on and on about how cute Princess Iris was when we were in the capital, but now you're happily harassing another young girl, huh?! You lecher! If you want to abuse someone, then keep it restricted to me! Keep Megumin out of this!"

I had enough of this farce.

Casting all of my speed enhancing spells, I readied my sword for a Sneak Attack.

This move would take almost all of my mana, but I would have enough to use Drain Touch immediately after on the Crimson Demon girl, effectively disabling her, too.

"Sneak Attack!"

The world blurred in my vision as I dashed to attack.

I ran.

And ran.

And kept on running.

Even after I missed my target.

I couldn't stop my momentum.

I collided with the wall behind the two girls.

The impact was great.

I felt something in my head crack.

The last thing I saw, before blacking out, was the black panties pinned to the wall with my arrow.

Part 5

"K-Kazuma-san…"

I had found myself in Eris-sama's domain.

"..."

"I-It's not that bad, Kazuma-san. Please don't look so depressed. You weren't exactly in your best mental state, at the time."

Even though I knew that she was just paying me lip service, I let the gentle Eris-sama comfort me.

"I might as well to ascend to heaven. Those girls will kill me even if I resurrect."

"Please don't be discouraged! The chief has examined your corpse and identified the work of Dominate Person on your being. Your comrades shouldn't bear you any ill will. In fact, right now, they are more concerned about the Devil King Army's machinations rather than your, uh, exploits."

This was the expectation of Eris-sama, the kind hearthed orthodox heroine.

It was natural for her to lean on the side of forgiveness.

The others, however...

"I-I know! While Aqua-senpai is resurrecting you, would you like to keep me company as I perform my duties as a goddess? Normally, doing so would be against the rules but...just don't tell anyone, OK?"

Eris-sama gave me that coy wink of hers.

It almost sufficed to heal my emotional scars.

Eris-sama made a second seat appear beside hers. I eagerly accepted her offer.

"So, I guess that I will get to meet my kouhai who will reincarnate into the world, huh?"

"Oh, no. With the Devil King's defeat, we have already stopped reincarnating souls into that world."

"But there's still the remnants of the Devil King army left?!"

Eris-sama looked away and scratched her cheek. "Um, my bosses all agreed that it would be better to leave that matter in your hands."

I had a couple of things to say to those irresponsible bastards.

"A-Ah, it appears that we have a soul ready for our assistance."

In a shimmer of light, a body appeared on the chair across from ours.

A middle aged man with a balding head.

Eris-sama gave a somber smile at the newcomer.

"Perished soul, welcome to my…"

In the middle of Eris-sama's speech, the man made a 'Tch!' sound.

"I die and I have this breast pad wearing slutty goddess to greet me? Oi, I don't want you, where's Aqua-sama, hah?!"

It was one of Aqua's delusional followers.

Eris-sama, ever the unassertive one, waved her hands about in a flustered manner. "I-I'm sorry. But Aqua-senpai can't serve you right now. You have to make do with me…"

"No, no, no! I want Aqua-sama! Give me Aqua-sama!"

He stood from his chair, picked it up over his head, and broke it in half!

This guy was nuts!

Somehow, after a while, we managed to calm him down.

Eris-sama proceeded to assist the man. He chose to resurrect back to his original world, not choosing to ascend to heaven.

"At the very least, I assure you that in your new life, you will continue to be a loyal follower of Aqua-senpai."

"Tch! I don't need you telling me that. I will be Aqua-sama's devoted follower in all of my lifetimes!"

As the soul was sent away, Eris-sama gave a weary sigh.

"It's always tough when Aqua-senpai's followers come through here. I know that she wants to stay in the living world, but I hope that she can come up to heaven once in awhile, even just to help me with her, um, overly dedicated followers."

I felt a bit guilty, as Aqua was staying with us just to fool around, and Eris-sama was taking on Aqua's workload.

"Eris-sama often comes down to the world of the living in her spare time, right?" I said. "If you don't mind, just to take a break from work, you can come and pay us a visit in Axel, once our mansion is repaired...and after we deal with this Devil King business."

I attempted to make that offer as casually as I could.

Obviously, I had more selfish reasons for wanting Eris-sama to come over to the mansion.

I didn't have lewd intentions, or anything.

I just wanted to better my relations with the gentle Eris-sama, who never fails to heal the wounds of my heart.

"Hmm...that offer doesn't sound too bad. And I have to hide out a bit in Axel, anyways…"

She said something mysterious at the end there.

But, it seemed that she was interested in the offer?!

Having a goddess...a real one, unlike Aqua...visit my home, was an exhilarating development!

I began to think of all the lovey-dovey scenarios I could have with Eris-sama.

Accidentally catching the sight of Eris-sama changing.

Having Eris-sama's laundry mixed up with mine.

Having late night talks while sitting under the kotatsu, and then…

And then…?!

I was about to continue the conversation further, but above us, the voice of another goddess penetrated the quiet of Eris-sama's domain.

"Oi, Kazuma! I'm done healing you! It was disgusting having to clean up your brain juice, so you better treat me to some alcohol later! Geez, your head exploded like a watermelon when it collided with the wall!"

Leave it to Aqua to provide stark details about a traumatic event.

A column of light descended upon me, and I was slowly propelled upwards.

Eris-sama smiled as she looked up at me.

"Well, then, expect to see me soon, Kazuma-san."

"Yeah! I'll make sure to unlock your route, this time!"

She pouted and stomped her foot on the ground. "Geez! You shouldn't tease a goddess!"

Eris-sama would always be my main heroine.

I didn't even mind if they were padded.

Part 6

"Ah, he's back."

I was lying on a bed.

From the sides, leaning down to watch over me, was my party.

"We were so worried," Darkness said. "I mean, your head really did blow up like a watermelon!"

"Enough with the watermelon analogy already!"

I sat up and rubbed my head. Aqua's powers were amazing. I didn't feel any complication or the slightest indication that my head had, well, blown up like a watermelon.

"What happened to you last night?" Megumin said. "The chief told us that you were being controlled by the Devil King army, but...is that all they did to you?"

A gloomy mood settled on the girls.

I thought about what had almost happened to me.

If it wasn't for the lengths the girls would have gone to after I died, as Feydrick foresaw in his vision, I would have faced a more tragic outcome.

I was overtaken with a mix of emotions I couldn't describe.

A mix of gratitude and overwhelming relief.

"E-Eh?! Is Kazuma crying?! So did something happen to him after all?!"

"Quick, Megumin, do something to cheer him up!"

"Why me?! Uh, t-tell you what, we can sleep together in the same bed again tonight! You seemed to enjoy that, right?!"

"S-So you two did sleep together that night, huh?! Kazuma, how could you?!"

As Darkness proceeded to strangle me, and as Aqua tried to hold her back, I couldn't help but let out a deep sigh of relief.

Everything was back to normal.

But this state of serenity didn't last long at all.

I remembered that the plan was for me to cause a distraction, and for the Devil King army to follow up with an assault later.

Eris-sama said that the chief was already expecting an attack, but I didn't think that they were prepared for a full-on assault.

Maouko didn't explicitly say so, but the whole camp had been active and involved in the war time preparation.

And a Devil King army leader, Sylvia, who had high magic resistance, would participate in this attack, too.

This wouldn't just be a contained skirmish like the other day.

As if to punctuate my thoughts, a booming crash echoed from outside.

It was followed by music.

And then a melodic singing voice.

"Rush, rush! Go to the finish line~! Clap, clap! Glowing hearts~! Snow Halation!"

An appreciative roar of what seemed like a thousand voices followed Maouko's singing.

A high levelled Bard like Maouko with an army under her command was a deadly combination.

And with our link severed, Maouko would know that I was no longer under her command.

Bluffing her was out of the question, then.

All that was left now was to fight her head on.

"As I'm still recovering from my injury, I'm thinking of just resting here," I said.

Maouko was a fearsome opponent. And she had a powerful diviner on her side, as well as the perfect counter for the Crimson Demons, Sylvia.

I wanted to avoid such a one-sided confrontation.

Megumin grabbed me by my collar. "Oi! I'm tired of this pattern of having to convince you to fight every time! We all know that you're going to end up fighting anyways after whining and sulking, so why don't you just skip to that part, huh?!"

I shook myself from her grip. "Help! This little girl is attacking an injured person like me!"

In the end, like always, I was pulled along with the flow.

The girls worked to equip me with my gear.

I expended all of my arrows earlier. I only had my partner to work with.

With my primary means of dealing damage taken away, I'd have to rely more on my partner than usual.

No, rather than forcing myself to take on a damage dealing role, I would have to focus on providing support in this fight.

"OK, it looks like we're ready. Let's go!"

The others reciprocated Aqua's cheer.

Meanwhile, I was praying to Eris-sama for protection.

We ran outside. They had been nursing me in Funifura's house, but there was no one home. I assumed that Funifura and Sakunori-san already went out to gather with the others.

It wasn't an aerial assault this time. The Devil King army used the warded route in the forest to infiltrate the village.

This made it easy for the Crimson Demons to take potshots at the front liners, but…

The one leading the incoming Devil King army was Sylvia.

She easily absorbed the initial volley of spells.

I couldn't find Maouko's location within the flood of Devil King army soldiers. As she continued to sing, an almost tangible aura was rising from the army, especially so with Sylvia.

The army was about to approach the boundaries of the village. I turned to Darkness.

"Oi, Darkness, who hasn't contributed in any meaningful way in our recent battles, it's time to do your job as a Crusader."

"I-Is that what you really think of me?! Kuh! I'm not going to reply because actions are more powerful than words! Here I go! Decoy!"

Using Decoy on herself, Darkness made a linear charge to the army.

I didn't tell her to do that at all.

In fact, I was going to provide more instructions.

"Aqua, follow after that muscle for brains idiot and provide support. Despite how she is, she's going to get herself killed if she takes a whole army on by herself."

"Got it, Kazuma! Leave it to me!"

With those two gone, I still had one more impulsive person by my side.

Already, the orb on her staff was glowing a dangerous red.

And her eyes followed suit.

"Kazuma, there's no way that I, a master of Explosion magic, can ignore a mob of Devil King army soldiers just begging to be hit by my Explosion!"

"Yes, you can! Ignore them, please!"

I knew full well that Megumin spent all of the SP she gained from defeating the Devil King on Explosion power and casting speed.

With an emphasis on the former.

Not to mention all those magic items she purchased that increased magic power.

When we practiced in the outskirts of the capital, she had aimed the Explosion at the sky, which not only obliterated an incoming storm front, but still managed to destroy a portion of the forest below, just from the after shock.

She had a veritable nuke in her hands.

"You'll blow up the whole village, or even the whole continent, for all I know! Explosion magic is banned from now on!"

"F-From now on?! Then I might as well cease to exist! You've taken my only reason for living, Kazuma!"

She grabbed my collar and shook me from side to side.

With Megumin having an existential crisis.

With Darkness charging recklessly into the enemy, and Aqua tearfully following her.

With the Crimson Demons behind me content in executing flamboyant poses and catch phrases rather than engaging in actual battle.

"I surrender, Maouko-sama! Please have mercy on me!"

I cried a plea of surrender to the enemy.

Chapter 9 END

Next Chapter: Gifting this Girl with Screws Loose with the Ultimate Explosion!