Kazuma ladled out piping hot stew into large bowls, a grin on his face at the prospect of the meal ahead. His earlier troubled thoughts were briefly set behind him as being both in the past and in the future, and so not 'present', leaving him free to enjoy the company of his friends. 'Even if they all have ways of annoying me.' He acknowledged without bitterness or malice when the excited chattering began over what quest to take on next.
"I need money!" Aqua shouted and hugged a large bottle of wine in one hand, she brought it to her lips and started to chug hard. A loud, "Ah!" came out a moment later and her face turned slightly red, "Guild loans aren't cheap you know! If you're not going to spoil this amazing goddess the way she deserves, you could at least pick jobs that make plenty of cash!" The blue eyed, blue haired woman declared.
"No! Lots of small enemies so my explosion can be the most valuable!" Megumin shouted and began shoveling food into her mouth. "I wath tho hab fawn!" She shouted with food still stuffed into her now chipmunk-like cheeks. Bits of meat and its juices clung to her cheeks.
"No… something slimy and vicious…" Darkness proclaimed, hugging herself with excitement, "There's a nine tentacled sea monster with a huge bounty on it…" Darkness let out a trilling sort of 'mmmmm' and shut her eyes at the blissful thought of punishment ahead.
Kazuma took it all in while eating more quietly than usual. After all that had transpired, it was difficult to get too invested in any one idea, though it was an easy idea to reject, 'No way are we ready for a nine tentacled sea monster, though maybe Aqua might not be so useless there 'for once' what with the water and all. Buuuut, she'd find a way to screw it up somehow and I'll just bet Megumin doesn't have her sea legs, or something equally ridiculous.'
The banter went around for well after the setting of the sun, and the gang eventually retreated to the comfort of the manor's library. Darkness sat at the chessboard and held out a warm hand to Aqua. "You've never played before, have you, Aqua?"
"Why no, haven't." The prospect of a game piqued Aqua's simple minded interest.
"Yeah, well, you wouldn't like this one. It takes brains to play." Kazuma chuckled as Aqua's eyes went wet with tears.
"Stop being a bully, you big meanie! I'm a goddess you moron! I'll bet I could beat you easily once I know the rules!" Aqua snapped at him, and a tiny, sharp smile spread over his face.
"Wanna bet? Winner gets to demand one thing, anything of the loser, we'll even play five games in a row, and if you beat me even one time, you win the lot!" Kazuma asked, rubbing his hands together fast enough that his palms and fingers heated up.
"Idiot, of course I'll take a bet like that!" Aqua chirped and touched a hand to her cheek, "Silly boy, you have no idea what you're doing, why I'm not even worried about any of your stupid pervy plans, when I win, I'll make you adventure in a pair of panties like the ones you love to steal!"
Kazuma's grin grew wider, baring his teeth behind the goddess who ignored him to sit at the small chess table. Darkness took Aqua through the basics of the game while Megumin approached Kazuma.
The little mage held her staff close to her body and looked up at him, "You're not going to be too mean to her, are you? That'll just make her cry, you know."
"Nah, just going to win a little payback on the most useless priestess in the world. Nothing perverted." Kazuma winked down at her and wiggled his fingers in Megumin's direction.
The mage inched several paces away from him, shuddering involuntarily.
Her unblinking eye held Kazuma's until he laughed and Darkness finished her instructions.
"Alright, Kazuma, she's familiar with the rules, please, go ahead." Darkness said, getting up and moving behind the chair she offered to him. She scooted her new chair forward.
As Kazuma sat down, Darkness leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I would also not mind a game on those terms, Kazuma." She had a dusky voice that, were she not Darkness, might have been irresistible.
Kazuma turned and stared her dead in the eyes from inches away and simply said, "Pervert."
Darkness immediately snapped erect and shivered, "He called me pervert…"
Kazuma ignored her reaction with the ease of long practice and waved at the board in a grand, magnanimous gesture. "First move is to you, useless goddess."
Aqua glared and moved a pawn. "A masterful opening move from an amazing…" She began to chatter, praising herself endlessly even as Kazuma moved his own piece. She was still praising herself when three moves later, Kazuma said flatly:
"Check and Mate."
"Wha…!" Aqua shot to her feet and stared down at the board.
"Means I win." Kazuma said with a fox's grin on his face.
"Next game then!" Aqua shrieked.
Three minutes later…
"Check and mate." Kazuma said… and he proceeded to ignore her whines.
"Check and Mate."
"Check and Mate."
"Check and Mate."
Aqua bit her lower lip, held her fists at chest level, and began to bawl and stomp on the floor. "It's not fair! It's not fair! I'm a goddess darn it! A goddess! I'm not supposed to lose to a shut in NEET that threw himself under a tractor!"
Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "Oh, that just made your wager a whole lot worse, useless goddess."
Aqua gasped, shot up out of the chair and stepped away from him. "What are you going to do… you're not going to draw on me again! I don't want to be defiled like that! Mwaaaaah!"
"Oh calm down, you blue-haired brainless idiot!" Kazuma finally said and rubbed his head, "I just want you to go through every book in the library to look for any hint about the exp item, that's all."
"Wait.. that's it?" Aqua asked, "No catch?"
"If you don't find something, I'll make you do the next quest without any panties." Kazuma gave a wolfish grin, "Better get going, I want something by this time tomorrow, otherwise… the next quest will be really drafty for you." He began to laugh a deep and savage laugh, holding out a hand, and wiggling his fingers in a taunt.
Aqua cringed, spun, and ran off to the shelves, the fading cry of 'Damn it!' squeaking past her lips again and again.
"Such savagery…" Darkness said with admiration, but Kazuma only waved it off.
"G'night. I need some rest for tomorrow." Kazuma said and waved goodbye without looking back.
He didn't see the young mage's red eyes lock onto his back.
The darkness of the room was no obstacle thanks to his night vision skill, and so he didn't bother to light a candle, he simply peeled off his clothes, tossed them aside, and flopped down onto the oversized bed. It was far, far larger than he needed, with a thick red blanket over an expensive mattress left behind by its previous owner.
Clad now only in his boxers, Kazuma scooted under the soft, heavy covers and stared up at the stone ceiling high above his head. His eyelids feltheavier than the blankets, and slowly began to shut.
He didn't know how long he'd slept but he knew what awoke him.
The noise of a small toe stubbing itself on wood was followed by the voice of Megumin cursing under her breath and rubbing the injured area.
Kazuma sat up. 'She's not here to finish what we started, is she?' He wondered excitedly his young manhood beginning to stiffen, but when he saw her through the darkness, he dismissed the idea.
She was still dressed in her earlier outfit, not what he would have expected if lewdity were her intended purpose.
"S-Sorry to wake you." Megumin said and wrapped her hands tighter around her staff.
"You should be, I was having a really nice dream." Kazuma retorted, looking away from her. "Busting into a guy's room in the middle of the night, what are you thinking? And people always blame me." He let out a snort of derision.
Megumin met his snort with aplomb and let her staff hang down horizontally in front of her, "I need a favor."
This was unexpected. Kazuma raised an eyebrow at her, "A favor?"
Megumin shifted uncomfortably on her feet and answered. "Y-Yes… after what happened with my m- with Yuiyui, I'm scared… scared for my little sister. Komekko is sweet, open, and clueless. If m- Yuiyui, was worried about me and what my life would be, she'll be terrified for Komekko."
Kazuma nodded along, "Right, but what can I do?" He asked acutely aware of the fact that he was topless in bed in front of the young mage.
Megumin launched her pitch immediately, "I want her to come live here, with us. Yuiyui won't fight me, and you're going to be rich, incredibly rich, I'll use my share from our adventures to take care of her. She just needs space to live and food to eat. I'll teach her magic and-"
"Bring her along when we go on adventures against the Devil King's Generals and who knows what other perils?" Kazuma responded with a dry voice, dousing her enthusiasm.
"Well… whatever Yuiyui might make happen, that's dangerous too." Megumin forged ahead with a stamp of her foot and a slightly lost look in her bright red eyes.
"What if I offered to do extra work for you, you know, to make up for the cost of having somebody stay with her while we're gone? Pleeeeease, Kazuma." Megumin dropped her staff with a clatter against the stone and held her hands together as if in prayer. "I can't leave her there, you were…" She trailed off and her eyes darted to the floor.
"You were nice to me. Thank you, for that. Really." Megumin said and came closer, she put a hand boldly on his smooth chest, "That meant a lot to me. But I'm worried about Komekko, what if things get worse, what if they have a really bad winter, you saw how much she ate, remember what she said when you put out those buns?"
"Right…" Kazuma reached up to the back of his head, the warmth of her fingertips were like electric shocks that made his heart beat faster. "A meal that really fills her up, or something like that. Your family went hungry a lot, huh? It must have been hard."
"I won't say it isn't, even in a village, it can be tough to be the poor kid, taking Yunyun's lunches kept me going, but that's how it had to be, because nobody shared theirs. It made things even harder for dad, trying to find work and having the lowest status in the village didn't help." She gave a sardonic smile.
"Here I am," she said with a reflective tone, "coming to ask you for help for my sister, and I'm babbling about me."
"No wonder you want that 'strongest mage' title so much. You want to prove your family's worth." Kazuma guessed, and Megumin's eyes shot up to his from where they looked on the floor.
"So… will you help me? I'll give up all of my share of any adventuring rewards except for enough to take care of her, and even let her live in my room! I'll take care of everything, I just… I need a little help getting started is all… and I'll pay you back right away!" Megumin swore and slapped a hand over her chest, "In the name of the Crimson Demons and in the name of the glory of Explosion Magic, I swear I won't owe you even one day more than it takes to get the money to pay you back!"
Kazuma thought it over, 'The manor is big, and she is very small. What happened with Megumin and her mother, yeah that was bad, and Megumin never asks for anything from me except for a place in our adventures.'
Her eyes were shimmering, her body shaking, even the little fingers that touched the skin of his bare chest shook, though whether worried about his answer or recalling the situation that led to the question, he wasn't sure.
Kazuma let out a heavy, defeated sigh, "Well, I guess it's fine. She was a cute little kid, excitable though she was. And you'll be even more useless than our blue haired idiot if you're always worried about her instead of focused on our jobs. Fine, fine, fine. Vanir comes tomorrow to sign the contract, and when he makes the first payment, I'll give you fifty thousand Eris to get your sister here safely, set up with clothing, a tutor, and whatever she needs for a room. Will that do?" He kept his words neutral, his voice, indifferent, but the way he had to look away from her, down at the thick red blanket over his lower half, said plenty to Megumin.
"You're serious? You mean it?" She said with a brightening smile on her face.
"Yeah, yeah I am. It might even be fun having her around." He said as he regained control of his emotions and gave her an enthusiastic, sharp nod.
"Wow I… I can't thank you enough. I mean that, I really mean that, Kazuma." Megumin replied, her bright red eyes clear and focused on the young man's face.
"Yeah sure, but one more thing?" He asked, and she nodded rapidly.
"Name it?" Megumin asked of him.
"Just how long are you going to keep your hand on my chest?" Kazuma asked and his grin turned wolfish.
Her face flushed as red as her eyes and she yanked her hand back as if burned.
She cringed back from him briefly, "Pervert." She squeaked out.
Kazuma crossed his arms and turned up his nose at her when he pointed out, "Hey you're the one sneaking into a guy's room in the middle of the night like some lover looking for a good time, not me."
Her little mouth dropped open for a moment, she slumped her shoulders, defeated by the observation. "Yeah, well… thank you… again. For everything. Goodnight, Kazuma." Megumin said, her hand came out as if to touch his, and his stretched out reflexively to touch hers.
But then, the reality of their own actions set in, and both paused in midreach, and each seeing the other hesitate, drew back at once.
"It's alright, I'm going to get back to sleep now, hopefully no other crazy girls will disturb me again." He threw the quip at her and flung himself beneath the covers before rolling on his side facing away from her.
"I'm sure it will be fine, goodnight, Kazuma." Megumin sead, her hand coming out again, then she stopped, bent over, picked up her fallen staff, and turned to leave the room.
When she reached the door and opened it a crack, giving off the faint noise of creaking old hinges, she stopped to turn and give a look back at the big, almost entirely empty bed.
Then she slipped out, part of her wondering, 'What would have happened if I stayed?'
Then she shut the heavy door behind her from the hallway side, and returned to her own room alone.
Kazuma kept his eye on the glass window, the moonlight outside was enough that her image was a ghostly reflection in the large panes, and he saw the way she lingered there, staring at him as he lay in bed.
Then Megumin was gone, and the door was closed. He caught only a few footsteps before the sound was out of hearing range, but when all evidence of her presence vanished, he asked himself a question that kept him up far, far later than he intended. 'What would she have done, if I'd asked her to stay?'
He was just starting to drift off, utterly exhausted, when he heard a shrill voice echo throughout the manor. "Ah Ha! I found it! I'm keeping my panties, Kazuma!" Aqua's smugness in her declaration was as grating as her timing, and his bleary eyes began to crack open again.