It had been almost two weeks since the girls had been to Lux. While they wanted information on Kazuma, they had their own things to deal with at home, such as the enormous debt still left from repairing the city wall, so that left them to delay their visit further. But now, they are headed back to that town on a carriage.

The ride had them all tense. Here they are, on a ride to where they could finally get their first clue on Kazuma's whereabouts. Would they even be able to find out much? If they followed it and ended up finding Kazuma, how would he react? Does Kazuma even want to be found?

"We're here!" Shouted the driver, snapping them out of their thoughts.

They looked at each other before nodding. The three got out and looked at their surrounding. The last time they arrived here they had quite some events happen, but nonetheless it gave them the first hint about Kazuma. The only thing they hoped was that this person they were meeting was willing to talk. The girls searches around for any sign of the brothers, but couldn't see them anywhere, resulting them in asking around about their whereabouts. They were eventually directed towards the village's lumber shop which was run by the brothers. They found their way near the outskirts of the village, where a decently sized building was. On the front was a sign that read "John Ralph Lumber Shop". Once they knew the found the right place, they entered the shop. Upon entering they were greeted by John.

"Welcome! How can I- Oh, well hello again." John said.

"Greetings, I do believe you remember why we're here, right?" Darkness asked.

John nodded. "Let me get my brother and then we'll go." John headed out to the back to get Ralph.

He then returned with Ralph in tow, who gave them a slightly curious glance.

"Well then, it's time you got your answers. We're coming with you too because we'd like some answers for our questions that William might have too."

The brothers led them outside before locking up.

"Alright, follow us." Ralph said as the brothers started walking. The girls quickly started following them, slightly anxious.

"So this guy we're meeting, is there anything we should know about him?" Aqua asked.

"Not really. He's just a merchant that goes back and forth between towns and cities, but he does have his home here. I only hope he's willing to talk about Kazuma. No doubt when he got the the capital they informed him about Kazuma." John explained.

Eventually they reached a house that was more closer to the center of the town. Ralph approached the door and knocked gently three times. A moment passed before the door opened.

"Yes? Ah, the brothers, how can I help you two?" The man asked.

"Hello William, we're here with some company to ask you a few questions." Ralph said, stepping aside to show the three standing behind them.

"Company?" William looked over to see the three girls standing there.

"Hello, we are a group of adventurers. I am Darkness, and these are my companions Megumin, a Crimson Demon Arch-Wizard, and Aqua an Arch-Priest. We've come to ask you about our leader's whereabouts." Darkness said, introducing the other two, and their purpose.

"Leader? Well the only adventurer I would know of is Ka- Wait a minute... are you asking about "him"?" William asked, pointing at the wanted poster that sat on the board in the center of the village.

"Yeah, that's him." Aqua said.

William looked around before he ushered them inside the house.

He lead them to the living room, where they all sat down.

"Just let me ask, you're not here to arrest me, or Kazuma, right?" William asked.

"That's right, we've come to ask about Kazuma's whereabouts. We were told you left with him to the capital, do you know where he might have went?"

"I... I do know where he went..." William said hesitantly, which got the girls to light up in excitement.

"However, before I tell you, I want to ask you something too. Why is Kazuma being accused for terrorism, what is it that he did that had the guards at the capital on edge?" William asked.

"Yes, we'd like to know too." Ralph said, John nodding beside him.

The girls shared a look before deciding to share the details.

"To start, our party is situated in Axel, and a few weeks ago the Destroyer was on it's path towards the city." Darkness began.

"Yes, we remember that. It was quite terrifying seeing such a large being moving in such a way, leaving only destruction in its wake." Ralph said.

"That thing stood no chance for us though, thanks to my "Scared Break Spell", not to mention Megumin and Wiz's double explosion!" Aqua said as she remembered that moment.

"Wait, that giant explosion was you?" Ralph asked.

"It was! It was one of my best explosions to date!"

"Despite the fact that we took it down, it was prepared to self-destruct, due to the coronatite core that powered the machine. According to Wiz and Aqua, they were able to teleport the core away, but unfortunately the location was random, causing it to blow up a Noble's house. Because of this, Kazuma was thought to be a terrorist, and arrested him. Apparently on the way to the jail house, Kazuma managed to fight his way out and escape. Ever since then, Kazuma has been labeled as a criminal and a potential terrorist since he was never given a chance to defend himself." Darkness finished explaining.

The three men sat as they now finally knew the story behind Kazuma.

"Well, I have to say, it's relieving to know that Kazuma isn't really a criminal." Ralph said.

"You can say that again, otherwise I was with a dangerous man for some time." William said.

"So you were with him, where did he go?" Megumin asked.

William looked at the other girls who were looking at him for answers, even Ralph and John were looking at him.

"Kazuma and I split up when we were approaching the capital. Apparently he said he was heading for the neighboring kingdom Einshard. Imagine my surprise when I arrive at the capital and the guards were looking for the man that just escorted me there."

"So he went to Einshard?!" Aqua asked.

"Y-yea, that's where he said he was going."

"Then that's where we're going guys!" Aqua said, turning to the other two.

"Hold it! Sorry to rain on your parade, but I'd recommend against heading there right now." William said.

"Why would that be?" Darkness asked.

"Just like I told Kazuma, between Belzerg and Einshard is a large forest, home to monsters and bandits. There's an especially nasty group of bandits called "The Blood Eyed Bandits" who reside in the forest."

"That name sounds so cool! It appeals to my Crimson Demon desires!" Megumin exclaimed once she heard the name of the bandits.

"Right... Anyways, they are very dangerous, so much so that neither Kingdom has made a move to take over the forest for their own. I can only hope Kazuma managed to reach Einshard safely." William said worried for the boy.

"Don't worry, Kazuma is safe." Aqua said, getting him to look at her.

"How can you be so certain." He asked her.

"It's just a feeling, call it a bit of an instinct that I have, but even then I'm sure Kazuma would be fine. There's no way Kazuma would let himself get caught by a bunch of bandits."

-Meanwhile in Einshard-

"ACHOO!" Kazuma sneezed.

"Are you alright Kazuma?" Lily, who was walking beside him, asked.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, just some random sneeze"


-Back at Lux-

"You're right, even if Kazuma was face to face with them I bet he'd use any dirty trick on them to beat them. I wouldn't be surprised if he used his 'Steal' ability on a female bandit or something." Megumin said, laughing at the idea.


-Again at Einshard-

"ACHOO! Am I coming down with something?" Kazuma asked himself.

"They say when you sneeze, it means someone is talking about you!" Lily said.

"Nothing good I bet..." Kazuma grumbled.


-Again at Lux-

"Anyways, thank you for this information, you've given us an important clue to Kazuma's whereabouts." Darkness said.

"It's no problem, I'm glad I could help" William responded.

The girls had gotten up and were heading to leave. Right before they left, Ralph called them.

"Oi, if you plan on going after him you better apologize to him. The circumstances may have been dire, but friends stick together, and you did the opposite." This got the girls to flinch, remembering the events of Kazuma's arrest.

"You guys don't look like bad people, and of you're serious about finding him, then you're definitely not the kind that would give up just because it's hard, so good luck to you." That brought their moods back up.

"And if you managed to drag his ass back here, tell him he owes us a drink." John said, earning a laugh from everyone.

"Darn right! After all the trouble he's caused us he better drink with us till the sun comes up!" William joked.

After sharing a good laugh, the girls left the house. After spending some time around the village they eventually got back on the carriage back to Axel. It was on the ride back that they started to discuss what to do.

"So then what should we do? We should go after Kazuma but at the same time the bandits sound like serious business." Megumin asked.

"Perhaps we can ask Wiz to teleport us? She knew the spell back with the Destroyer, so perhaps she can teleport us to Einshard?" Darkness suggested.

"Ehhh, but why do we need to ask that Lich for help?!" Aqua cried out, not happy with the idea.

"Hai hai, we can hear your complaints later." Megumin said, brushing Aqua's whining aside. "Wiz used to be an adventurer, so perhaps she's been to Einshard before."

"Then that's the plan." Darkness said.

"Hold on! I didn't agree on asking that Lich for help!" Aqua cried, but her complaints fell on deaf ears.

When they reached Axel they immediately went for Wiz's shop, despite Aqua crying about it. Once they reached the shop they were greeted by Wiz.

"Oh, hello there! What brings you here today?" Wiz asked.

"We've received some information about Kazuma's whereabouts, and we were hoping you could help us out." Darkness explained.

"That's great! If I can it's something I can do then I'd be willing to help. Kazuma helped me out during the Destroyer, and it's my teleport why he's in trouble. So what is it that you need?"

"Can you teleport us somewhere?" Megumin asked.

"Of course! Where do you need to go?"

"The next kingdom over, Einshard. Apparently that's where Kazuma went."

"E-Eh... that might not be possible then..." Wiz said, slightly nervous.

"What do you mean?!" Aqua cried as she grabbed Wiz and started shaking her.

"A-A-Aqua-sama, please let me go!" Wiz cried out.

Darkness and Megumin shared a look before Darkness pulled a 'Kazuma' smacking Aqua square on the head with the her sword sheath.

"Ow! Why did you hit me?!" Aqua cried as she rubbed her head.

"We're not gonna get anywhere with you attacking her like that. What do you mean by impossible Wiz?" Darkness asked.

"W-Well, I've actually never been to Einshard... I mainly traveled around Belzerg before becoming a Lich, and even then I was only in Belzerg due to the overlapping borders. The Devil King mostly sent grunts and lower level demons to other nearby kingdoms, while the Generals focused on Belzerg. The most I can do to help you is teleport you to the Capital, as it's the closest point to Einshard." Wiz offered an alternative.

"That's a problem... That would mean we might have a run in with those bandits..." Megumin said, worried about the current option presented to them.

"I'm very sorry! If there's anything else I can do just please ask." Wiz offered, feeling guilty that she couldn't help them.

"Thank you, for now the three of us need to spend a bit more time leveling up, gaining more skills before we go after Kazuma. From what we were told, "The Blood Eyed Bandits" are a powerful group. It would be wise to become stronger before tackling them." Darkness said.

"I've heard of them, they are a force that manages to even hold off many of the Devil King's armies. If you would allow it, I wish to fight along side you girls." Wiz offered.

"Thank you Wiz. When the time comes we'll let you know when we head to Einshard." Darkness said, giving Wiz a slight bow.

This was their plan. Level up, get stronger, then go after Kazuma. They wanted to see him again, even if he didn't want to come back to Axel.


A/N: Aaaand that's another chapter done! Sorry that it takes me forever to post a new chapter. While I work on this story as like a hobby that I work on from time to time, after chapter 14 I've been wanting to write the chapters to be longer than just 1k words, while also not feeling too fast paced, making the story feel more thought out than just blazing through events one after another.