Somewhere out in a field, the wind was blowing peacefully. Animals occasionally passed by, but the land mainly disturbed by only the gentle winds of nature. It was a beautiful sight to see. One could say, it was the pinnacle of beauty in nature, one so grand, it could bring a grown man to his knees in tears, it could cleanse the evil thoughts from a wicked being, it could lead you... to enlightenment.
"EXPLOSION!"
... Or so it was, until magic swirled around chaotically in the air and a pillar of fire arose forth, the air rippling with power as an enormous explosion went off.
Megumin just fired off her daily explosion, Aqua beside her to carry her home.
She fell to the floor, happy about being able to use her explosion magic. "Explosion magic really is the best~" Megumin said, face in the dirt.
Aqua picked up the arch-wizard and placed her on her back. "Just make sure to not use only your explosion magic tomorrow, we have a quest to complete since we're running out of money." Aqua said
"Got it!" Megumin exclaimed.
Ever since the last time taking a quest, it was a bit of a wake up call for the three girls. Aqua decided to finally stop acting so childish and selfish all the time. Megumin had finally learned more magic spells other than "Explosion", though that would not stop her from wanting to set off daily explosions. Darkness invested some skill points into offensive sword skills, which allowed her to actually hit targets.
Despite Darkness' lineage, the three had to earn money to survive in this world. Kazuma was no longer there to keep them in check, nor to defend them when it mattered most. They all realized that if it were not for Kazuma, they most certainly would have died many times in the past.
"Hey... Aqua?" Megumin spoke up.
"What is it?"
"Do... do you think Kazuma is alright?"
Aqua stopped walking, thinking for a moment before she continued her stride.
"I think he is. Despite the kind of person he is, he wouldn't want to die, he'd survive with all his might. He's probably still running from the royal guards." Aqua said.
There was a moment of silence before Megumin spoke up again.
"... Do you think he's mad at us?"
"What makes you think that?" Aqua asked, slightly confused.
"Well, when that lady came with those guards, and he was accused of treason, and she said if we side with him we would also be imprisoned, we just kinda left him hanging... Not just us, everyone who was there turned away despite him saving them. Anyone would get mad after that. We were supposed to break him out but he already ran away before we had a chance..."
"..."
"Maybe he hates us, maybe that's why he ran off by himself rather than taking us with him..."
"... Maybe..." Aqua said quietly, but Megumin heard her.
"So you agree, he does hate us! Of course he would, we were nothing but trouble for him and then we made it seem like we ditched him the second we could! We have to do something about this! W-we can't just leave things like this! W-w-we- I- He- K-K-Kazuma..." Megumin slumped further into Aqua's back, feeling guilty.
Aqua felt the same guilt Megumin was feeling. She knew where she was coming from, and she was right. The three of them were mainly just nuisances to Kazuma while he did his best to keep them safe.
Aqua felt a few drops of water hit the back of her neck. It didn't take long for her to realize that the source was Megumin who was crying. Her slight sobs both audible and strong enough for her to feel it on her back. It was enough for Aqua to also let out a few tears of her own.
She could only hope that Kazuma was safe out there. She was a goddess trapped in a mortal body, without most of her god like powers, so she could not protect Kazuma. Maybe he was always right, maybe she really is just a useless goddess.
When they arrived at the mansion Megumin had recovered enough for her to walk. After thanking Aqua, she swiftly retreated to her room. She walked past Darkness who was confused at the girl.
"What happened?" Darkness asked.
Aqua told Darkness about the conversation they had on their way back after Megumin's daily explosion.
"Oh dear... She must be feeling very guilty after thinking all that..." Darkness said, giving a worried look towards the way Megumin left.
Aqua nodded. "To be honest, I can't help but feel some of that guilt too. He may have dragged me here, but I should've been more mature than the way I was this whole time..." She recalled the amount of times she had racked up debt and would go to Kazuma, on her knees, begging and crying for him to help her, and even after he did she would only cause more problems.
"Do you think he's safe out there?" Darkness asked.
"Most likely. He may have been a pervert, lolicon, and a Hiki-NEET, but he is smart. He's resourceful, just hopefully he hasn't been found yet by the royal guards."
There was a moment of silence before Darkness said something that seemed a bit crazy.
"Do... Do you think we could ever find him?"
"I doubt it, he's going to be on the run, who knows where he'll go to escape, a different village, city, or even kingdom just to run from them."
Darkness nodded her head in agreement.
"I'm going to get some rest, we have a quest to take care of after all." Aqua said before getting up and going to her room.
"Goodnight" Darkness said, to which Aqua repeated to her as she left the room and headed to her bedroom.
As she walked through the halls she stopped in front of Kazuma's door. She stared at the door before she let out a sigh and continued on her way.
"Please be safe Kazuma..."
Just wanted to make another chapter peeking into the state of things with the girls with Kazuma being gone for a while.
