Chapter one got a bit added to it to make it more 'in line' with the quality of my other chapters. Not much was added if you're familiar with the series, but it gives a decent amount of context otherwise.

-Ko-No-Su-Ba!-

While the thawing of the lands and the freedom of Missy were to be celebrated, not everything was going nearly as nicely. While the tentative allowance of one demon could be accepted, the fact that she'd been one of an unnumbered many had left many people, both nobles and peasants, feeling uneasy. An unease that was only compounded as the fracturing Axis Order started to butt heads once again, the warming sun reigniting their holy war.

The more obvious effect of this to our heroes was the return of Aqua's mood swings.

Since the trial, she had started to become more affectionate towards the succubi, treating them as friends and actual followers instead of 'filthy demons.' By the time tempers started to flare in Arcanletia, her attitude took a turn for the worse, her mood swings worse than ever.

Somehow, Kazuma and their friends at large had managed to shield her from the ongoings of her own church, even Eris not having mentioned the holy war brewing in Arcanletia. It wasn't until Royce decided things had gotten beyond salvaging that he decided to bring it to Aqua's attention.

Aqua was bent over a builder in the Eris church that had managed to break his foot, a block of stone having fallen on it. Her community service had been extended indefinitely on account of her repeated poor attitude towards the Eris sect members and at Royce's suggestion so he might best keep an eye on her. "And with that, your foot is fixed. You may thank me now by joining the Axis Order at your leisure. We're even accepting dual memberships now as a sign of good faith."

The thankful, but not that thankful, young man made his escape, a rushed 'thank you' all he offered as Royce joined Aqua. "So, how has your day been, dear?" He asked, taking a seat on one of the beds normally reserved for patients.

Aqua huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and puffing out her cheeks. "These people are so ungrateful. I haven't gotten more than a simple thank you all day for all of my hard work!"

Royce could only chuckle at that, having become used to her eccentricities by now. "How unfortunate. I have to be the bearer of bad news now, I'm afraid. Have you heard of the goings on in Arcanletia at all?"

"No? Why? Should I have? It's the home of the Axis Order, so I should have heard if anything was wrong with it."

"Unless your friends were trying to protect you" he pointed out, letting that settle in for a moment. "Have you noticed your mood swings Aqua? Think carefully before you answer."

Aqua had been ready to immediately deny any such thing having happened until she started to think over the past half year. She'd gone from crushing hard on Kazuma to wanting to kill him in almost a moment, only to be sweet to him the next. That she'd have simply chalked up to her being unable to properly express how she felt about him. Then her mind wandered upon how she'd act around the succubi. Her first instinctive response was to curse them out for being unholy abominations, only for her to think the next about how much good they'd done for Darkness and how nice Missy was to her. Maybe the priest had a point about her unstable emotional state after all. "Um, let's say I did? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, as an Arch Priestess, or Arch Priest in my case, we both have much deeper connections to our gods than most. You are aware of this, yes?" He prodded, not knowing that she actually is the goddess she 'worships' instead of just an Arch Priestess.

"Well, yeah."

"Then are you also aware that when there is division within the church, it causes turmoil within its god? Turmoil very similar to what you've been experiencing yourself" he elaborated, allowing her to put the pieces together herself.

"Wait, there's division within the Axis Order? How come I am just now hearing about it?" She demanded, standing up in a rage, only to be forced back down by Royce's steady hand.

"Because I asked them to keep it from you. I had hoped the conflict would be short and you would be fine. I was wrong. It seems that the schism has only deepened now, with battle lines firmly drawn on where the sides stand. To summarize, there are the traditionalists who follow the original teaching of Aqua to a disturbing degree, to the extent they've even executed some of the reformists for speaking blasphemy. The reformists, on the other hand, have been much more peaceful in nature, much to their detriment. They have offered an olive branch to the Eris Sect and have been much more kind, stable, and understanding than the Order's reputation would lead one to believe. That has led to the more zealous traditionalists taking advantage of the more pacifistic reformists. I am sure you can see why this is more than slightly bad, yes?" He finished, quirking a brow for her as he let her soak all of that information in.

"Bu-But, they're still Axis members! They shouldn't be fighting each other regardless!" She cried, tears swelling up in her eyes as she now understood why she'd lost connection to so many followers since last year. "They're still m- I mean, Aqua's children!"

Royce could only nod sadly, closing his eyes for a moment before standing. "I don't know if you should get involved, to be honest. It might do you more harm than good, but I felt you should know what is happening now that it's obvious it won't resolve soon. I can only advise you to reflect on your choices and pray for guidance." Giving her a pat on the shoulder, he left her to her thoughts, the goddess's brain almost shut down from the raw emotion she was going through.

One of those emotions being rage at this all being hidden from her.

-Ko-No-Su-Ba!-

Aqua ran straight back to the guild, indignant and holy rage boiling just under the surface. She knew part of it might be her followers acting up, messing with her. The things was? She was still furious with Kazuma for hiding this from her. He knew how important this was to her and he'd said nothing!

"KAZUMA SATOU!" She shrieked, slamming open the door of the hall and causing the fun to come to an abrupt halt. Dust and Kazuma had been goofing off, drinking and talking about the last quest Dust had gone on. That came to a crashing halt as she stormed the hall.

"Good luck, you're on your own" was all Dust said, running as fast as he could from the blast radius.

Kazuma couldn't even begin to ask what was wrong before he was getting throttled by the irate goddess. "Why didn't you tell me my followers were in a bloody religious war? This is the worst possible thing that could have happened, you damn hikiNEET! What do you think will happen if they kill too many of themselves off? Where do you think that would leave me?" Her rage collapsed, her head and shoulders slumping as she started crying. "What kind of goddess even am I if I can't protect my followers from themselves?" She choked out, making a mental note to have words with Eris the next time they spoke. They might have been on better terms, but this was almost unforgivable.

Kazuma, seeing her pain, wrapped her in a hug, Aqua going stiff for a moment before she let herself relax, letting his familiar arms relax her. "Do you want to stop them? If you think we can, we'll go with you. You know that."

She didn't verbally answer and nodded her head, not trusting her voice.

"Okay, you go take a nap. I'll rally the troops. I think you're going to find we'll have a bit more help than you'd expect" he assured her, gently getting her to stand back up. "I just need to clear it with Luna and we'll try to leave at first light, okay?"

Aqua just nodded again, trudging her way up towards their room to try and relax.

Kazuma immediately got to work, rounding up the two friends (not Dust) he could actually rely on to help. Megumin had taken on the role of 'annoying little sister' to him and she was usually willing to help him out, so she was definitely in. Darkness would be a harder sell. The Eris Crusader had become much more competent and focused since Missy had started helping her out, but she was more in demand because of it. Deciding to deal with Megumin first, he went to hunt her down, the loli-mage likely in the target range, messing with Mana Bolt.

Megumin had been painfully opposed to learning any offensive magic (or even more utility magic), but had conceded to learn Mana Bolt after a prolonged, over the top chuuni debate between her and Kazuma. The final selling point? If she could learn to imbue it with explosive mana, she could get away with blowing stuff up without getting into trouble. It took her only two weeks to get the hang of it. Now she just blew lots of targets up to get her 'fix' of Explosion on a day to day basis.

"Oi, Megumin. I need you to go and take a teleporter to Arcanletia. I need you to find out whatever you can and then teleport back so you can take us there tomorrow. Are you up for that?" He asked, leaning against the wall practice range, well out of the way of the line of fire.

"Can I use Explosive Bolt on stuff when we go?" She asked, having been chomping at the bit to get some action beyond blowing up random targets.

"I mean, we're going to be getting involved with a holy war, so maybe?" Kazuma honestly answered, shrugging.

Megumin just stared at him for a moment, hoping she'd misheard him. "Maybe I don't feel like going after all" she eventually concluded, attempting to turn back to her targets.

"Oh no you don't! Aqua's followers are going through a schism and we're going to help dang it. Now, are you in willingly, or do I have to get Luna to make it a quest?" He asked, hoping she'd do this for him and Aqua instead of being obligated to.

Letting out a frustrated groan, she slumped dramatically, trying to make it as obvious as possible she wanted to do literally anything else. "Oh, fine. But only because you're my arch nemesis and I can't have you going around getting killed by some fanatics!"

Kazuma just rolled his eyes, materializing a small bag of Eris from his pocket bank for her. "Yeah, yeah. This should be enough for you to take the trip there. Remember, don't get into any fights, recon, then port back. Got it?"

Megumin only huffed, striking a pose as she started to rant, "Of course I have it under control! I am the genius of the Crimson Demon clan! This will be easy for an Arch Mage of my caliber!"

Kazuma mockingly bowed, moving out of the way for her to leave the range, a smug smile on his face. Sometimes, it was just too easy to manipulate that explosion obsessed loli.

Once Megumin was on her way, he went off to find Darkness. She had just come back from a mission earlier in the day, so she couldn't have gotten too far. Usually, if she wasn't busy, she could be found with either Chris or Missy. Today he seemed to luck out, the Crusader was in the bar, hanging out with the succubus.

Since the trial, Missy had started to hang out openly in the hall, no longer needing to worry about being caught. She still tended to keep her wings and the like away though, finding it easier to blend in.

"Hey, Darkness, need you for a bit of an emergency mission of sorts" Kazuma said, plopping down next to Missy, forcing her to scooch over a bit.

"I just got back this morning though! Are you sure it's important?" Darkness complained, having hoped she could take the day off and relax. Since she'd started getting her 'itch scratched' she had been quite a bit more laid back when not on the clock.

Kazuma nodded towards the stairs, where Aqua was hopefully relaxing in their room. "Have you heard about the schism in the Axis Order? Aqua just found out today and we're going to go help mediate it in Arcanletia. I want you to go along because… well…"

Darkness sighed, leaning on her elbows with a bemused smile. "You want me along as a noble and as a meatshield?" she asked, having become more than slightly numb to how Kazuma tended to 'use' her. That said, she did still consider him a friend. After all, were it not for him she'd still be without missions and likely pent up to hell.

Kazuma could only chuckle in shame, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, you got me. So, will you help?"

Darkness rolled her eyes, leaning forward enough to hit his shoulder. "Yeah, I'll come with you."

Missy pouted, feeling left out. "Why can't I help?"

"Because we're going to the holy capital of Axis. Sure, you follow Aqua, but they're likely not going to care" he patiently explained, trying to make it clear that it would be incredibly bad for her health if she were to go along with them.

All the wind in Missy's sails is gone after that point was made, the succubus deflating in boredom. "Bah, I wish I could get an adventure card like you guys and go out like you."

Kazuma chuckled, nudging the succubus. "I mean, maybe someday. Pretty sure that's going to take a few years before the kingdom is ready for that kind of change."

Missy stuck her tongue out at him, bopping her head playfully.

"Alright, we're going to leave in the morning. Megumin went to do some recon and will teleport us when she's ready. Go pack up and be ready to go." Kazuma then left them to hang out and get ready, his own preparations thankfully miniscule. Most of his gear he was able to keep in his Pocket Bank, or was kept bagged up in his room since he didn't go out that often.

Now he just had to get Luna's permission.

Approaching Luna's office, he didn't even knock on the door before she told him, "Come in, Kazuma."

"How did you know it was me?" he asked, stepping into the room and taking a seat.

She pointed to a simple orb on her desk, smiling. "Found this in Gerald's old garbage. It lets me know who's at the door so I can know if I'm 'not here'" she teased.

"Useful. Did it tell you why I'm here though?"

"Oh, no. That I heard from Aqua as she was crying. I heard her and checked up on her. I'll give you a week, and yes, you can take Megumin and Darkness. I'll bill it as a peacekeeping mission so you all even get paid" she finished with a smirk, patting the stack of paperwork next to her.

"Wait, you can do that?!" Kazuma exclaimed, confused that she was just going to charge the kingdom like that.

"Obviously! There are a lot of by-laws and provasos, but if you look into it, there is actually a lot of leeway with what we can set up as an emergency mission. Attempting to resolve a civil-war within a city most certainly counts as an emergency, don't you agree?" she prompted, letting his own mind mull over the implications.

Kazuma laughed, banging the desk in excitement as he got up. "And this is why we all wanted you to be the guild leader. Thanks Luna."

She waved him off, not needing the thanks. They were her friends and the guild was getting paid, so it literally wasn't a problem.

Preliminary preparations complete, Kazuma went to handle the trickiest part of the whole affair. Dealing with Aqua.

Opening the door to their room, he found her curled around a pillow, laying on the bed. She had stopped crying, but it was clear it was more because she was out of tears to shed than having come to grips with the war. He didn't even say a word, silently packing up their gear for the morning. She wouldn't be in a good state of mind to worry about packing, so he just took care of it.

Once done and changed into his pajamas, he decides to call it an early night. Slipping into bed, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, comforting her.

Aqua's tormented grimace slowly gave way to a small, demure smile as she fell into a deep sleep within his arms. While she liked holding him, this was good too.