Things were stressful for the girls.
They needed to earn more money to survive, and choosing which quest to take is difficult for them.
Aqua wanted a difficult quest as usual since it would earn them more money.
Megumin just wanted a quest that involved a powerful monster, or a bunch of monsters to blow up with her 'Explosion'.
Darkness simply wanted a quest with a powerful monster to satisfy her masochistic needs.
So as a result, they picked a quest that was posted a while ago, about a griffon and a manticore that are fighting for turf.
The three ventured out to complete the quest.
...
...
...
The mansions door was slammed open by a miserable sight.
Aqua had a blank look on her face, her eyes seem devoid of life.
Her left hand was on Megumin's robe, she dragged her home, while her right hand was used to drag a passed out Darkness, who donned a perverted smile and blush.
The fight went about as well as one would expect.
Aqua couldn't fight, but she was able to cast boosting magic on the other two.
Darkness couldn't land a hit, so she was basically useless, and was swiped off to the side from the battle between the two monsters.
Megumin fired off her explosion magic, which only served to attract the attention of the two monsters towards them, rather than kill them.
Aqua had to drag Megumin in a rush, grabbing Darkness as well and breaking for it back to Axel.
"We can't survive like this..." Aqua said with a dead tone.
Aqua slammed her hand on the table Darkness and Megumin were playing chess on.
"Guys! We need to accept a quest that we can handle, otherwise we won't be able to survive!" Aqua said in a serious tone.
"We do get carried away with what quests we get..." Megumin admitted.
"Usually Kazuma would hit us all and pick a quest that we could handle." Darkness said, a slight blush appearing on her face at the thought of being hit.
"Exactly! We need to think like Kazuma! What would he do in this situation?" Aqua asked.
"Steal some girl's panties?"
"Sexually harass a girl?"
"AH-CHOO!" Kazuma sneezed.
"I don't know why, but I feel really pissed off right now..." Kazuma grumbled.
"No! Think harder!" Aqua exclaimed.
The two sat in silence, thinking about what Kazuma would do, aside from the usual things they would think of.
"He would pick a quest that was better suited for our level, and will be able to complete or survive." Darkness said with a serious tone.
Megumin sighed, but she nodded her head in agreement.
"As much as Kazuma creeps me out at times, he always looks out for us in the end, he dosen't want us getting killed, even if Aqua can use resurrect."
"Yes! So we need to pick an easier quest! They may pay less, but at least we can succeed!" Aqua exclaimed.
"I guess we can do that." Megumin agreed.
"Yes, while I do find more pleasure in fighting strong enemies, if we cannot survive together then all is lost." Darkness said.
"So it's agreed! Let's do another quest tomorrow! One that we can completed" Aqua said, raising a fist in the air, the other two cheering with her.
-The Next Day-
The three were looking at the quest board again, looking for a sensible quest that they could handle.
Without Kazuma, they couldn't handle too many enemies at once, with Darkness missing all attacks, Aqua having next to zero offence skills, and Megumin only being able to fire off her explosion once.
They settled on a simple goblin clearing quest. Not too many goblins were occupying an open field, so they could handle it.
When they reached the area, they could see a group, no larger than 10 goblins around a campfire.
"Megumin! Use your explosion on them!" Aqua ordered.
"Got it!" Megumin exclaimed, getting into her usual stance.
"O, fires of the eternal flame. I beseech thee, with the blood of the crimson demons that course through my body, grant upon me a fraction of the power that you wield, to bring forth a destructive force against my enemies, so that they shall be reduced to ashes that can be offered to you. Let thy flames run rampant, and come forth!
EXPLOSION!!!"
An explosion erupted, wiping out the camp of goblins in one blow, leaving behind only a large, smouldering crater.
"That was amazing..." Megumin said as she collapsed onto the ground, mana drained entirely, leaving her unable to move.
"Great job Megumin! You wiped them all out!" Aqua exclaimed.
"That was a splendid display." Darkness said.
"Now that it's over, let's go home and collect our reward!" Aqua cheered at the thought.
Just as she said that, they heard some footsteps.
The two girls who were still standing turned around to see one more goblin
"EHHHH, THERE WAS STILL ONE MORE!!! DARKNESS KILL IT!" Aqua cried out.
Darkness quickly unsheathed her sword and immediately made a move to kill it.
She readied her sword as she ran and as she got near, she swung her blade. With grace, the blade swiftly flew through the air. It all happened so fast that no one could see when she struck the goblin.
...
...
...
Except...
Patches of grass were shaved off near the goblin.
Her attack missed.
The goblin, realizing it wasn't dead, charged Aqua.
"AHHHH, WHY IS IT COMING FOR MEEEEE?!" Aqua cried out, falling on her behind.
What the goblin didn't notice, was the fallen archwizard that was just laying on the floor. The goblin tripped on her and landed beside Aqua.
The two stared at each other before the goblin hissed at her.
"AIEEEEEE, GOD BLOW, GOD BLOW, GOD BLOW, GOD BLOW!" Aqua screamed, using her one of two offence attacks to hit the goblin.
Eventually she hit it enough to the point where it passed out.
Darkness then came over to the goblin and finished the job with her blade.
Needless to say... questing is gonna be difficult for these three.
Darkness hoisted Megumin on her back, and the three trekked back to Axel.
They cashed in the quest and were paid 50,000 Eris for the job. Goblins weren't particularly difficult or strong, but the group of them were causing problems for a few villages, causing the reward to be increased when they all pitched in.
"At least we got a reward this time!" Aqua exclaimed, admiring the bag of coins in her hands
"Yes, but we need to manage this properly, we can't spend money like there's no tomorrow." Darkess said as she took the bag from Aqua.
"We should atleast focus on essentials like food and gear." Megumin said.
"I know that!" Aqua said, slightly annoyed.
"Do you?" They both asked, dead tones and looks in their eyes as they looked at her."
"YOU GUYS ARE SO MEAN!" Aqua cried out.
Another chapter done! I wanted to peek into the lives of the girls, now that Kazuma isn't with them. I always had a feeling that they would mess it up like that at first but with some sensible thinking they would at least take an easier quest. I also kinda winged it with the explosion chant, and thought it would be funny to throw in the extra goblin.That's all for now though! Got another chapter to work on!
