AN: Question, does anyone have any good recommendations for a decent laptop that would be good, if not perfect, replacement as a writing laptop. Also one that isn't to expensive either as the costlier it is, the longer it will take me to get it.

My reason for asking is my current laptop is getting on in years; over ten years in fact and here as of late, I have found that I can no longer start any new documents for writing with. This chapter, I was only able to write by jumping into the existing document for the last chapter and writing over it as I still save an updated document though I don't know how much longer I may be able to do even that.

Anyways, let's hurry up and get to the Crimson Demon village...

Chapter 2: This Village; Filled with Chuunibyou's

================{ Part 1: What Awaits Them After The Kidnapping? }================

(Darkness POV)

I'm beginning to wonder if the others are right when they say that I need some help?

I mean, who becomes all depressed and sad just because they hear one of their dream encounters can never come true?

Well, probably a lot of people.

But who does that during a moment when they should be focused on saving a friend who's in serious danger; in this particular case, in danger of being kidnapped, captured, and raped?

Probably not a lot of people; yet that's pretty much what I had just did back there.

Sure, I recovered quickly enough, though I shouldn't have needed to recover at all.

And then, to make matters worse for my friend, my great defense; which I am always boasting about with great pride, was rendered meaningless as it only took a single hit to send me skyward.

And now, here I am, flying through the air, away from where I need to be, as my body begins to enter a spin as I start my decent towards the ground.

Perhaps I should take the observation Kazuma had once pointed out to me to heart and consider doing a class reset once we get back to Axel?

Sure, it would send me back to level one, meaning I would have to start over from scratch.

But at least then I could chose the correct class this time instead of picking the first high tier knight class I saw available.

I'm drawn from my thoughts as I finally hit the ground; the landing being rough but not nearly as bad as it should have been seeing as my defense was still insanely good, even if I was a Crusader and not a Paladin.

"... Darkness? Is that you? What happened? What are you doing here?"

A familiar voice catches my ears as I work to stand and leave the crater I had made upon landing.

It was Yunyun; who was giving me a look of both worry and confusion.

"Yunyun... an army of female Orcs... attacking... Kazuma's... in danger..."

I managed to get out in between pained breaths.

It looks like I didn't escape this landing completely uninjured as I felt a sharp pain along one side.

I think I may have cracked or even broken a rib; either from the landing or maybe it was the punch I had endured from that Orc... or maybe it was a combination of the two?

"Female Orcs? And Kazuma's in...?

I see a determined and serious look come over Yunyun's face as she now goes to run past me.

"Wait, I'm coming with you. We'll go... save him together."

I said as I went to follow her, but she stops and looks back at me and shakes her head.

"No, you go find Megumin and make sure she's OK first. In your current condition, I'm afraid you'll only slow me down. Besides, I can run a lot faster than you can so waiting on you will only slow me down here."

"But.."

I try to argue, but she cuts in by saying-

"By now, those Orcs have probably started carrying Kazuma off to their village to begin their copulation ritual. I know where their village is at, you don't. Please, trust me to save him. You go find Megumin and make sure she's OK."

I wanted to argue this; to say that I could keep up even though I knew I probably couldn't at the moment; but I instead accept her words, sigh, then give her a nod.

"At least tell me where to go once I've make sure Megumin and Cielo are safe?"

Yunyun tells me quickly before taking off, moving faster than I have ever seen her run before.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised as it was Kazuma here who needed saving.

It took me longer than I was happy with but I soon made it back to where I had last seen the others; needing only a few minutes to spot them laying motionless upon the ground.

I worried for just a few seconds as I reach Cielo first; then breath a sigh of relief at seeing that both she, and Megumin, had only been knocked out.

After managing to wake them up, by way of a few strong slaps, they slowly sat up and asked where they were and what happened before prior events finally caught up with them.

"Oh no... Kazuma, we need to hurry and go save him."

Yelled Megumin, quickly getting to her feet.

"But we don't know which way they took him. What if we go the wrong way?"

Said Cielo, who was using her Heal skill to fix my injured rib at the moment.

"North, Yunyun said they live to the north along the edge of the plains. Look for large mounds rising from the earth; those act as entrances to their underground stomping grounds."

I said as my sides started to immediately feel better.

"I know what to look for; having seen them before during a field trip back during my academy days. Anyways, let's hurry up and go back Yunyun up."

Said Megumin who had already started running in that direction.

Me and Cielo were right behind her; my healing having more or less been finished already.

We ran as fast as we could; though I had to admit this was one of those times wearing heavy armor was more of a hindrance than helpful.

I told the others to not worry about staying with me if they felt they could go faster.

And then... we came to a dead stop at the sight we saw in the distance.

A shape like a dome of swirling greenish energy had suddenly appeared; a cone like shape shooting into the sky after a moment before the dome slowly faded away.

"What the hell was that?"

Yelled Megumin.

"Could that have been Yunyun?"

I asked her, getting a head shake from Megumin.

"I think that may have been Kazuma's doing... I think his Lich power may have..."

Said a worried Cielo, making the color fade from Megumin's face, as I'm sure it did to mine as well.

We once again continued running and, after a few moments, spotted Yunyun who appeared to be carrying something on her back.

It was Kazuma, obviously; though as we got closer, it become evident that he didn't look at all good.

Once we reached Yunyun, we saw the truth extent of Kazuma's condition.

His skin was pale, very pale to the point that it was nearly bone white.

His hair had lost some of its color; now having a bit of gray frosting to it.

We could see teal colored lines on his face and his eyes where half open but there appeared to be no awareness within them.

Naturally, there were a lot of questions but we decided to take refuge in the line of trees that we could spy to the west before we talk about them.

Once we had found a place to take a break at, we all looked to see Kazuma, who's head was currently resting on Cielo's lap as she made him drink a weird looking potion before starting a healing session on him.

"Cielo, what was that potion you just gave Kazuma?"

I asked.

"Something mother Clerica made for me; as requested by lady Eris in a vision. Just in case his... you know what was to be triggered by anything. Hopefully, it will undo the physical change he suffered."

She was probably talking about his skin and hair color, as well as the lines that had appeared.

At least I hoped so.

"His you know what? What are you talking about, Cielo? Is there something about Kazuma I don't know about that you all do?"

Asked Yunyun.

Megumin, who was sitting beside Yunyun, says to her-

"First, tell us what happened back there. Those Orcs... did they...?"

She couldn't bring herself to say anything more.

"I... I don't know? As I approached the mounds, I could hear a lot of noises and music. I... I think I heard Kazuma screaming for help? Just as I was reaching the closest mound, I found myself being blown back as the ground erupted from dark energy."

"I watched, both in shock and awe, as that energy took on a dome like shape and I could hear noises like screams of pain coming from within. And just as quickly as it had started, it came to an end with the dome fading moments later. But, just before it did, I... saw something that terrified me. It... it was..."

Megumin places a hand on Yunyun's shoulder and ask-

"What did you see, Yunyun?"

Yunyun takes a moment to compose herself but she finally is able to tell us.

"I think... I saw the outline of a Lich within the dome as it faded away. It had to be my imagination though as when it was all said and done, all I found was Kazuma laying on the ground; in the state you all saw him in when you all arrived."

{Insert Image 1}

Megumin then looks at me, as does Cielo; their obvious thoughts showing in their looks towards me as I was doing the same.

It was a safe bet that the trauma that Kazuma was suffering at the though that he was about to be raped by those Orcs must have triggered the curse; even if only for a second.

We also knew that it was time to let Yunyun in on this little secret of ours too.

I then look back at Yunyun and say-

"There's something we need to tell you, Yunyun. Something that happened to Kazuma... before you joined us."

And so, we told her everything; about what had happened when we had encounter with the Dullahan, how Kazuma had been cursed to become a Lich, meeting Cielo and defeated the Dullahan, and how close Kazuma came to being lost to the curse as well as the fact the curse was still inside him to this day.

"Will... will he be OK?"

Asked Yunyun; her voice full of worry as she turned to look at Kazuma.

Cielo shrugs as she says-

"I wish we could say yes.. But, this is the first time this has happened to him since lady Eris personally came down from her throne to save him. Right now, all we can do his hope he'll awaken soon and still be his usual perverted yet charming self. At the very least, his physical body seems to be going back to normal."

It was true as his skin was already starting to regain its coloring as was his hair while the teal colored lines had mostly already faded from view.

"So, what do we do now?"

Asked Yunyun.

"Let's just wait here an hour or so; give him a chance to awaken before we continue onwards."

Said Megumin as she removed her hat and pulled a sleeping Chomusuke off her head and down onto her lap; rubbing the small cat's back, probably to take her mind off things.

"And... if he hasn't woken up by then?"

Asked Cielo; a fear in her voice I, and I'm sure Megumin and Yunyun, felt inside as well.

After a pause, Megumin says-

"Then we'll have to ask the village healers to look at Kazuma once we arrive and hope they can help him."

================={Part 2: What Awaits Them When He Wakes Up? }=================

(Cielo POV)

It has been around twenty to thirty minutes since the decision was made to wait here an hour to see if Kazuma would awaken from his traumatic event.

In that time, we had gone ahead and had some lunch and now, our two resident Crimson Demons had entered into a curious bit of banter with each other.

"Megumin; a thought just crossed my mind."

"Hm? Did it hurt, Yunyun?"

"Very funny. Seriously though, it may be a good idea for you to NOT go letting people back at the village know you still haven't learned anything other that Explosion magic once we arrive."

"Why would I need to lie, Yunyun? I mean, it's not like it was some great secret back before we left. Growing up, I was very vocal about my dreams and what I was willing to do to achieve them."

Yunyun sighs as she rubs her temples, then says-

"Yeah, I know that... as does everyone. But I also know that everyone either expected you to grow out of that little Fantasy born obsession of yours or at least have enough common sense to not lock yourself into knowing only the one spell; that being the spell everyone in the clan considers to be a joke."

"Wait, you mean everyone does thinks its a joke? I always assumed that they only said that because they were wanting to dissuade me from following that path just because I was seen as a prodigy."

"As much as I hate to acknowledge it, you were a prodigy in their eyes; the Crimson Demon who had the greatest potential to come along in generations. If they learned that you have stubbornly stuck to your guns and have refused to learn any other spell, you will become a laughing stock; the villages joke mage they will all gossip about how much of a failure you are to them."

"For their sakes, they better not or else I'll show them just who will have the last laugh here."

Megumin proudly proclaimed.

"I guess that's why you are so set on proving yourself to be the strongest mage then, huh Megumin?"

Asked Darkness.

Megumin looks at her and gives her a nod.

"That's one of the reasons why I decided to leave home back then to begin with. I won't be able to prove to them just how great and amazing Explosion magic really is if I had just stayed home. And besides, there were... other reasons why I needed to go too..."

Other reasons? I wondered what those were exactly; a thought I was about to turn into words when-

"What about you, Yunyun? Why did you leave the village as well?"

Asked Darkness.

"I... um... well, I didn't want Megumin to have to go it alone, for one thing. And... I was told by our village's fortuneteller that if I left the village; I would one day finally make some real friends; people who would change my life and help be become the person I always wanted to be. I believe Megumin was also told something similar, right?"

Megumin didn't respond immediately, instead allowing a few seconds before simply saying-

"The only thing of any real importance I was told that I would meet someone who would accept me, who would understand my dream and would give me both the strength and support needed to see that dream come true. And... that this person would change my life forever..."

She then glances over to Kazuma; just for a moment but I knew what she was thinking.

She believed Kazuma was that person; something I had no doubt about as maybe it had been all of our destiny's to meet him so that he could become our guide and lead us onto the correct path and make sure we stayed the course to its proper end.

"Speaking of Kazuma; how is he doing Cielo? Have you noticed any change in him? Any sign that he could be waking up for us soon?"

Asked Darkness.

I look down at him; it finally dawning on me that I had been stroking his hair gently with my hands for a good while now; and yet my Androphobia hadn't once even felt like it was going to kick in or not had it even stirred yet.

Does that mean that it was more or less cured, where he was concerned at least, or was it just the nature of this current situation that was keeping me calm?

Honestly, it was probably the latter but I was really hoping it was the former as I... well, if I'm being honest with myself, I was really enjoying this little moment here by having his head resting on my lap as I gently stroked his hair with my hand.

"Kazuma, you really need to stop worrying us and wake up already."

Said Megumin; her complaint doing a poor job at masking the worry she was clearly feeling here.

It was obvious she really just wanted him to wake up already because it would let us know if he was going to be OK mentally and emotionally.

"Megumin; we can't be asking him to rush here. He went through something really scary; the degree of which none of us even really knows as even I don't have any idea how far those Orcs had made it with him at the time of his dormant Lich powers suddenly going crazy."

"I know that, I really do but... I just would feel a lot better knowing that directly from Kazuma himself."

Darkness nods, then says-

"If only we had a potion that could help heal his mind and heart here. I'm sure that would bring him back to us quickly."

"His mind and heart, huh? Oh, I have an idea that may do just that."

Said Megumin as she smiles a devious smile while looking over to Yunyun; making the rest of wonder, and worry, just what she was concocting inside that dangerous head of hers.

She then looks back at me... no, at Kazuma as she says-

"Hey Kazuma, I hope you can hear me here. I want to tell you a super special little secret we Crimson Demons have that we usually don't share with others. Did you know that all Crimson Demons are born with a special identification number somewhere upon our body's? The location of these numbers is meant to be a closely guarded secret, only to be known to a few individuals. Take our Yunyun here; I learned shortly after we first arrives in Axel that her mark was places along her inner thigh, just below her cro-"

Yunyun immediately jumps to her feet as she shouts-

"Megumin... wha... how do you even know about that? Why were you looking at my... you know where at the time. And why would you go telling Kazuma about that anyways? Don't you remember what us girls are warned about where that's concerned back home? That we are locked into marrying the first boy who discovered the location of our secret mark on our body."

Megumin gives Yunyun a look that ask 'What's the problem, then?'

"What's wrong, Yunyun. I thought you were open to the whole hooking up with Kazuma path? I mean, if the two of you had slept together the other night, then he would have seen your mark anyways. You should be thanking me for helping you make things easier."

I then feel a slight motion come from Kazuma.

Yunyun meanwhile, was fuming.

"Yeah, I'm fine with Kazuma knowing about it and where its at. I'm just mad that you of all people would be the one to tell him. Fine then, I can play this game too, Megumin. Kazuma, do you want to know where Megumin's mark is at? I'll tell you; it was placed upon her right butt-cheek. In fact, if you open your eyes, I'll personally show it to you here and now."

Megumin quickly lunges at Yunyun and the two begin to brawl as Darkness then begins to cheer and add some color commentary to their fight.

And, on my lap, I could feel Kazuma was finally starting to stir.

I wanted to tell them that it was working, that he seemed to be finally waking up but I was to curious how their little scuffle would play out to want to let it end now.

After a few more moments, the two of them pull away from each other though they still maintain their battle stances.

"It seems that today will be the day, Yunyun. Let today be known as the day I will finally put you in your place and forever cement within your mind just exactly who the better mage is here."

"I accept your challenge, Megumin. Let us see our long awaited rivalry finally come to an end as I prove to you that the sham spell called Explosion is nothing against the power of my Light of Saber."

"Oo, this is going to be good. Which one are you betting on here, Cielo. I'm putting my eris onto Yunyun and her 'can slice through any object without fail' spell."

"I'll go with Megumin and her 'AOE one hit kill attack'... wait guys, just so you know, I think Kazuma's about..."

Before I could finish talking, Kazuma finally pulls away from me as he rises to his feet, making the others stop and look at him with growing smiles of happiness.

"Kazuma, are you...?"

We all start to say but Kazuma cuts in by saying... nay, shouting out at the top of his lungs-

"First things first; I wanna see those tramp stamps you two have on your bodies. Seeing as I know where they are now, that technically means I am your man and that you are both my girls, right. Why fight fate here so just go ahead and show me already so we can seal the deal now?"

We all look at him with deadpan expressions as he awaits the two to follow up on his demand.

"Hm... guess, Kazuma's gonna be OK now."

I said as he runs over and repeats his words to Megumin and Yunyun, making them both try to push him and his perverted request away.

Darkness, meanwhile, is just sitting there and laughing about the whole thing-

When she suddenly freezes and tells us, with a serious tone, to shut up and get down.

"My knightly senses are picking up something dangerous nearby. Quickly everyone, hide in the bushes over there, NOW!"

We quickly do as she instructs us to do, and just in time to as within a few seconds after we have hidden ourselves, a massive Manticore comes walking into view, reaching the very spot we had just been at.

"Kazuma, what were you doing back there? Why didn't you tell us we had an enemy coming?"

Asked Megumin, making him shrug.

"Because I didn't know. My Enemy Detection skill didn't go off. How dd you know it was coming, Darkness?"

"I could smell blood lust in the air; a fitting smell for such a creature."

We stay quiet after that as it looks around, even looking at in our direction for a few moments before wandering off.

As soon as Darkness gave the clear, we emerged from behind the covering we had been hiding under.

"That was a close call; to close if you ask me. At least I can't smell it no more."

"Why do you think Enemy Detection didn't go off, Kazuma?"

Asked Yunyun, making him shrug again.

Megumin the offers up two possibilities to us-

"I can think of two reasons; one is Kazuma's skills are out of whack following what happened with him and the encounter with those Orcs and the other is that the Manticore somehow has the ability to cloak itself from being detected by skills."

That made sense, I guess; but I wonder which one is the correct answer, or if both actually are here?

"Guys, what are you talking about? What do you mean by 'the encounter with the Orcs' here?"

We all give him a disbelieving look as Darkness ask him-

"Kazuma, what are YOU talking about? Don't you remember what happened?"

"Kazuma, what's the last thing you remember?"

Asked Megumin.

Kazuma thinks about it then says-

"I remember we encountered that one Orc, we then started running when it summoned its friends. I can recalled falling and then after that, I found myself being woken up to some very interesting details being said. By the way, when did you catch up with us, Yunyun? It must have been while I was out, right?"

His words makes the four of us huddle together, an act I'm sure must have confused him.

(Cielo) "Does Kazuma really not remember what happened?"

(Darkness) "Sure seems that way; I thought it was strange he would just jump back into action so quickly after being kidnapped like that."

(Kazuma) "Hey, guys..."

(Megumin) "The trauma must have been to much for him; so much so that he ended up repressing the whole thing. Can't say I blame him though."

(Cielo) "Or it could have been the Lich power he unleashed that's causing his memory problem?"

(Kazuma) "Guys, seriously, you need to..."

(Yunyun) "Should we tell him what happened?"

(Darkness) "No, let's just keep it between us for now. We'll tell him later if the need arises to do so."

"GUYS!"

We all turn and shout out-

"What Kazuma?"

He then points at us; an actions that says to look behind us which we do-

And quickly find ourselves shaking in fear as, in our little huddle pow-wow moment there-

We failed to notice that the Manticore from before had returned; and he had brought a few friends with him too.

"Everyone... run; run right now..."

============{Part 3: What Awaits Them When The Rescue Party Arrives? }============

(Yunyun POV)

Well, this was certainly a pickle we have found ourselves in-

Being surrounded by a pack of Manticore's; strange ones at that too.

And from the looks of it, they were quite hungry here too.

"Would have been nice if someone had told us that there would be Manticore's in the area."

Said Cielo in a joking manner.

"There shouldn't be any around here. Apart from the Orcs, the rest of the local wildlife is nothing we don't normally see around Axel; giant frogs, lizards, wolves, and such."

I said to everyone.

"I'm betting they must be under the control of the Devil King General that's attacking the village. If you look closely, you can see some sort of collar around their necks."

Said Megumin.

"I wonder if that would make them more or less vicious than actual wild ones here. Mm, only one way to find out. Everyone, let me handle this matter."

Said an ever excited Darkness as she begins to move towards the one she was facing, but Kazuma stops her by grabbing onto the back of her ponytail which makes Darkness yelp.

Kazuma then looks at me and ask-

"Yunyun, can you whip your Light of Saber around us like a cyclone and take them all out in one quick attack?"

I smile as I give him a nod; my eyes not failing to notice Megumin puffing her cheeks in annoyance at the fact Kazuma was relying on ME to save us instead of her.

I quickly bring my want out and prepare to unleash my spell when Megumin suddenly grabs my hand and forces it back down.

"Megumin, what are you...?"

Megumin gives me a serious, glare of a look as she says aggressively-

"I seem to recall you saying the words 'joke' and 'sham' when referring to Explosion magic just a few minutes ago. So you just sit back and watch as I show you just what my joke sham spell really can do."

She immediately charges up, not even wasting time doing an incantation.

"Megumin wait..."

I scream.

"We're way to close for you to use it now."

Adds Cielo; her words crying out at Megumin in a pleading way.

"Do it, Megumin. I want a chance to experience that feeling I was denied back during the encounter with Vanir because of Kazuma."

Shouts Darkness happily; making Megumin grin as she felt emboldened to continue her actions.

"Explo-"

"Group Shield."

I hear Kazuma quickly shout out.

"-SION!"

After the smoke and the deafening roar had ceased, I found myself laying on the ground, unable to move even a muscle.

Beside me, I hear Megumin proudly declare to all of us-

"So tell me Yunyun, do you still believe Explosion to be a sham or a joke? And Kazuma; how many points was that impressive piece of work worth just now?"

She sounded so happy and had zero guilt in her voice. Please Kazuma, don't feed her ego any further right now.

"You really don't want me to answer that question, you IDIOT! What the hell is wrong with you, firing off an Explosion at point blank range. If I hadn't used that Group Shield skill I picked up back in Axel, from that retired Paladin who's friends with that nice old mage he taught me Beginner Magic, we would have probably died. Didn't you... you didn't even think about that before taking action, did you?"

I see Megumin look away from him; not wanting to give him an answer.

"Ow... I'm hurting all over here. How about you, Darkness.?"

Asked Cielo as she looks at the Crusader.

Darkness, from what I could see, had a big satisfied smile on her face while saying-

"AAHHH, that was amazing... even better than what I've felt in my dreams. And I'm sure I'm gonna need to throw out my panties after that org..."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

We all scream at her; not needing or wanting THAT little bit of information given to us.

After we had picked ourselves up, and Kazuma had gotten the Megumin onto his back as she was claiming she still couldn't move well-

Which was a bold faced lie as she looked at me then gave me a devious grin once Kazuma had her on his back, making it very clear that she was just using Kazuma as her personal ride again.

Damn it, Megumin; I wanted to get him to carry me this time.

"Kazuma, good thinking with Shielding us at that last second. If you hadn't, then things would have been a lot worse for us. But how were you able to give us that level of protection anyways? Against a point blank Explosion, and the fact you were shielding ALL of us, we shouldn't have come out of that as well as we did."

Asked Cielo.

"We have my ability to switch my mana into demi-mana for that, Cielo. If not for the power up demi-mana can give skills when combined, I doubt even shielding one person would have worked, given my proficiency with both Shield and Group Shield is still rather new."

"Kazuma, if you have access to demi-mana, then why do you still use regular old mana anyways? I would think keeping demi-mana active all the time would be better."

Asked Megumin, which was a very good question.

"Because I can't... at least not yet anyways. I can switch between the two any time I want, but there's currently a time limit behind how long I can keep it active before it auto reverts to regular old mana again. Right now, I can maintain demi-mana for about 10 minutes before it will need to recharge. But I'm getting better with it quickly. Once I can maintain it for around 48hrs, then I should be able to make the switch permanent, or so that's what the info on my Adventurer's card says about it."

We all nod; then I say-

"Well, we better hurry and continue to the village before anything else..."

My words come to a freeze as even more Manticore's suddenly appear, making us all sweat drop.

"You and your big mouth, Yunyun. You just HAD to go jinx us there, huh?"

I'm sorry, everyone; tears falling from my eyes as I regret for, as Megumin pointed out, jinxing us now.

"OK Yunyun, now can you..."

Before Kazuma could finish, four burst of light happen around us, making us all jump at for figures emerge from the light.

"Damn evil beast, invading our sacred land; know that this incursion is an affront to our way of life."

"As punishment, you shall be made to repent within the darkest bowls of hell."

"Do not struggle and lay low your heads for your hour of judgment has come."

"And now, we shall send you on your way, to face your eternal damnation."

"LIGHT OF SABER!"

Proclaimed the four figures before they, together, shouted out a spell I was all so familiar with.

In an instant, the newly arrived Manticore's had been scoured from this world.

As the one before us turned to give us his attention, the other three walk over to join him; revealing them to be faces I, and I'm sure Megumin, had come to know quite well from back home.

"So, are you travelers all... Yunyun, Megumin?"

I return their shocked looks with a wide smile as I say-

"Bukkororii, Soketto, Zabakuchipi, Abzentaba, it's great to see you all again. Thank you for the save just now. Things were starting to look pretty dicey before you all showed up."

"Who are they?"

Asked Darkness.

Megumin answers by saying-

"They're fellow Crimson Demons from back home; probably out on patrol duty for the day, right?"

They nod as Bukkororii then looks at our friends and says-

"So Megumin, Yunyun... these outsiders that are with you? Are you both in a party with them?"

I nod happily while Megumin just looks away; a bashful and shy smile present on her.

Bukkororii nods at us before striking his signature pose and announcing himself in the traditional way.

It was a little embarrassing to watch but it was also nostalgic to see too.

I notice he was waiting expectantly; reminding me that we usually give newcomers a chance to respond in kind.

"Hey Megumin, if you would..."

Said Kazuma, making us all give him a confused look.

Megumin then seems to realize what Kazuma was thinking as she nods and goes to stand back on the ground, though she was making herself look all wobbly now.

Kazuma then steps forward, making Bukkororii and the others watch him.

Kazuma then makes a series of unusual motions before kneeling down while his arms were spread wide, his head hung low as he says-

"From beyond the dark night, comes the flame; an eternal light. And I, born of that flame, come forth to wield its might. (he then lifts his head up to look at the four) Satou Kazuma... yeah, that's right!"

I felt my knees go week at hearing and seeing Kazuma once again show just how cool he could be; his inner Crimson Demon coming out for all to see.

Megumin was clearly also sent swooning while Darkness and Cielo just gave him a weird look.

I guess it was to much to expect them to understand our ways.

And as for Bukkororii and the others?

They had been totally enraptured by Kazuma's words and actions, and I was pretty sure Soketto had been just as taken as me and Megumin were by Kazuma, though I doubt she would become another potential rival unless she and Bukkororii had broken up since we had left home.

"Oh wow, that was amazing outsider... I mean, Satou Kazuma. That is the first time anyone has ever been able to return our introductions with a proper response. Megumin, Yunyun; you both should be glad you made such a wonderful friend."

We both blush, looking here and there while giving Kazuma quick glances.

After recovering from being shy, I ask-

"What are you all doing out here anyways? Not that any of us aren't grateful, but is it normal for a patrol to go out this far?"

I asked with Megumin quickly adding-

"Does it have anything to do with the village being attacked? How is everything back home anyways? We heard everyone was in danger of being killed?"

The response we got wasn't expected; the four of them just gave us a confused look, one we returned.

I quickly explained about the letter father had sent me.

"Hm, that's weird. While it's true that a General has shown up and with him, an army of modified beast; there hasn't been any real threat to us. I wonder if boss Hiropon was being a little over dramatic in his choice of words?"

Wondered Bukkororii aloud.

Zabakuchipi then steps forward, saying-

"As far as why we're out here is concerned? My long range detection skill picked up a weird energy blast coming from the plains area; from around the Orc encampment to be exact. We went to investigate only to find it had been demolished by some sort of powerful blast. We were about to head back and make a report when we saw the Explosion go off and came over to see what was the cause."

That made sense.

Abzentaba then says-

"Do you guys know anything about what happened to the Orc encampment by any chance because we are drawing up blanks here?"

His question makes us all freeze, except for Kazuma do to him not remembering anything.

We quickly shake our heads, denying any knowledge as both me and Megumin feared what they would do to Kazuma if they knew it had been from him.

I mean, they wouldn't treat him like a villain.

Instead, they would want to use him as a lab rat; doing all kinds of test on him as neither of us would likely ever get to see him again, or at least for a good while.

Bukkororii sighs before saying-

"Well, if you all are sure, then that's fine. Truth told, it's probably for the best it happened, huh? Anyways, better to not hang around here. Let's all head back together..."

And with that, they used teleport to send themselves, and us, directly to the village.

Once we had arrived, they were quick to excuse themselves as they needed to go report to the villages head of security.

However, Soketto does stop and look back at us, saying-

"Oh yeah, Megumin, Yunyun; make sure you come pay me a visit before you leave as I want to ask you both some things and read your new fortunes... and bring that cute boy with you. I wouldn't mind getting a 'read' on him as well."

She giggles before running off to join the others.

Me and Megumin, meanwhile, just glare at her, probably thinking the same thing-

No way are you doing anything with this guy here; he's ours.

OK, we both were probably thinking 'he's mine' but you get the point here.

"OK, so what happens now?"

Asked Kazuma, who found himself again giving Megumin a free ride... which was still making me mad.

I sigh before saying-

"Let's go see my dad and find out what's really going on here?"

==========={ Part 4: What Awaits Them When They Hear The Explanation? }===========

(Kazuma POV)

"Dad... could you repeat that again?"

Asked a shocked Yunyun for the third time since we had arrived and met her parents.

We were sitting before her her parents; Yunyun, myself, and Megumin sitting opposite them while Darkness and Cielo were sitting on a smaller couch off to the side.

Yunyun's dad was wearing a spiked choker and was dressed in a manner that made him look like he had been heavy into the rock and roll scene in youth and was trying desperately to recapture said youth... and failing miserably at it too.

Yunyun's mom, on the other hand, was freak'n hot as hell; essentially what I imagined Yunyun would look like here in fifteen to twenty years which was more or less the same except having shoulder length hair instead of long hair done up as twin tails as was the case with Yunyun now.

"It's like I said before, Yunyun. The letter I sent to you was simply an update, wanting to let you know how things have been since you and Megumin had left home."

Yunyun then leans forward, saying with all earnestness-

"But why did you start the letter off with 'by the time you read this, I will have surely passed on from this world?' Do you know how worried that made me?"

Hiropon responds to her words by giving her a confused look.

"But Yunyun, that how all us Crimson Demons start of our letters when in communication with one another. Surely they must have taught you that back in school?"

Rikarika, Yunyun's mother, clears her throat which gets us all to look at her while she points out-

"Dear, don't forget that both our little Yunyun, as well as Megumin, did graduate Red Prison early so it's possible they didn't attend the course that would have covered that little detail."

Hiropon considers his wife's words before smacking a fist into an open palm.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Thinking back on it, the academy did send us a list of subjects that, due to them graduating early, would miss out on learning about. I believe how we start off messages is one of the subjects that would be miss out on as they asked us to give Yunyun a quick overview before she left."

He then conks the side of his head, while sticking his tongue out, in some stupid looking attempt at being funny.

"Oops, my bad I guess."

We all face palm at that while Rikarika just merely smiles innocently at him.

Megumin then leans forward and ask them-

"And what about the base the General had built? Didn't you say something about being faced with a difficult decision where it was concerned? And that the outcome of said decision could either spell salvation for the clan or its doom?"

Both Hiropon and Rikarika give us a confused look before the light of understanding shines in Hiropon's eyes.

"Oh that; I was simply meaning that we couldn't decide if we wanting to just go ahead and destroy it or to leave it be and turn it into another tourist attraction. I'm sure you two aren't aware of this yet but the tourist scene hasn't been what it used to be so we want to try to reinvigorate people's interest in coming here. Otherwise... we may have to consider getting actual jobs within the kingdom to make our eris."

Hearing that makes the two Crimson Demon girls beside me groan and smack their heads before the lean back upon the the couch.

Off to the side, Darkness is unable to repress a chuckle while Cielo simply shakes her head.

As for me? I decide to ask Yunyun without even taking my eyes off her father-

"Say Yunyun; would there be any issues if I just go ahead and kick you dad's ass here?"

"Go head; be my guest. I might even join in once I can clear this headache I am suddenly having."

Hiropon jerks back while Rikarika simply looks at him, her smile never wavering.

"Wait, Yunyun. There's no need to go doing anything rash like that. And you, son. Don't you think its rather rude to come into another man's home and within minutes, threaten him with physical violence?"

I was about to respond when Megumin returns to looking at him and says-

"Can you really blame him, boss? I mean, that letter was pretty vague in the detail department. Even I, the one from our class who was considered to be the smartest, thought the village was in real danger. And do you have any idea just what kind of drama that letter of yours caused us? I mean, Yunyun nearly gave up her virtue to this man and all because of both your letter and that additional piece Arue tossed in in place of the second page you... and on that topic, just what was written on the not included page two?"

Hiropon recovers well enough to ask us-

"Wait, what are you talking about? What do you mean by... say Megumin, you are starting to look more and more like your mother in her youth. You know, me and her were rather close back in the day. I wonder; do you also wear... silky panties now?"

As he says this, Hiropon begins to lean over, clearly trying to sneak a peek up Megumin's dress.

An act Megumin doesn't fail to notice as she was quick to further try to close her already closed legs while also angling them away from Hiropon's line of sight.

"DAD, QUIT BEING SUCH A PERV; ESPECIALLY WHEN MOM IS...!"

Yunyun's scream towards her dad is interrupted as Rikarika quickly grabs the back of Hiropon's head and sends it rocketing forward, slamming it down onto the small table that separated us and them with enough force to make it shatter like glass.

We all sit then stunned as she pulls his bloody and lifeless head back up, all the while saying-

"Oh dear; you really need to be careful when leaning forward, honey. You know how clumsy you can be sometimes."

She then looks at us, her cheerful smile never wavering as we all just sweat drop over what we had just seen.

"So, Megumin dear; as my silly husband recovers from his little accident, would you mind telling me what you were talking about just before."

After a momentary pause, Megumin shakes her head and says-

"Um... sure, yeah... OK. You see, miss Rikarika, it all went like this-"

Megumin then explains the situation from back home; about how Arue had somehow switched the second page; denying us with whatever information was written on it, in favor of sending us a copy of her synopsis for chapter one of her book and what trouble that caused.

Once she was done, Rikarika takes on a thoughtful pose before saying-

"Yes, that would be quite troublesome indeed. At least the truth was learned before it was to late. (She then turns her attention solely to Kazuma) Young man, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing proper restraint in that moment. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to give up such a chance as that."

Kazuma waves his hand, then says-

"Don't worry about it ma'am. That was just another day in my ever unusual life now."

She nods before turning to look at Yunyun and saying-

"And how do you feel about that, my daughter? (When Yunyun begins to fidget and sputter nervously, Rikarika giggles) Actually, how about we wait till later before we talk; mother to daughter, alone."

Hearing that, Yunyun smiles as she nods happily; glad to not be having to talk about anything embarrassing in front of us.

Megumin looked like she wanted to say something about that, but I guess she decided to leave that be for now in favor of another question.

"Miss Rikarika, about what boss Hiropon said before... about him and my..."

"About your mother? (Megumin nods) You don't need to go worry about that any, sweetly. My Hiropon, as I'm sure you heard, was always a hopeless pervert. Even to this day, he hasn't really changed that much. The only reason he knows a detail like that was because he would sneak up behind girls like your mother and flip their skirts up in order to check out their panties. He can be such a child sometimes, you know. If you would like to hear more, then I suggest you speak with mother to learn more about that her 'troublesome' relationship with my adorable idiot here."

Geez, and people call ME a pervert from time to time.

I wonder how... and why Rikarika stays with someone who, even to this day, still does that despite having such a beauty of a wife at his side.

And even trying to perv on a girl as young as Megumin. Even I won't go doing that once I reach his age. After all, even a guy likes me has a line I won't cross.

"Is it hard for you, miss Rikarika; having to deal with this sort of thing from your husband?"

Asked Cielo.

"Oh, it isn't that bad. It's just part of his charm; that charm that made me fall for him to begin with. While he is a hopeless pervert; I know he would never actually cheat on me so I can let his peeking eyes be... isn't that right, honey?"

She says, smacking the back of his head which wakes him immediately.

"Uh... what... what happened? And why is my head hurting so much?"

He said in a groggy voice.

"Ah... you suddenly collapsed onto the table; smashing it clear in half with that hard head of yours. Anyways, here... (She pulls out a potion and hands it to him) For that headache of yours."

He thanks her and quickly drinks it down.

"Ah, that hits the spot. Heads feeling better already. So, what were we talking about again?"

"I believe we were discussing the matter of Arue somehow switching the second page of your letter with her little story she had been writing. Any ideas how she ended up doing that, dear?"

Hiropon thinks about it, then says-

"Hm... well, I can remember her stopping by one day; said she had something important to show me. Some kind of magic picture coming from one Hyoizaburoo's inventions. It showed all the girls from her class, except for her obviously, in the academy's changing room. I... might have spent a little to long gazing at it..."

"Dad... do you really have no shame limit?"

Said Yunyun, giving him a deadpan look.

"I'm not an idiot, Yunyun; I am a man and we can't help being the way we are, right boy? And boy... (his expression and tone then change, becoming dark and serious) Try to do anything funny with my daughter again in the future, I'll hunt you down and kill you like the dog you are. Understand?"

I suddenly find myself feeling very afraid from my life; I instinctively pull away from him, wanting to escape from his deathly gaze.

Yunyun, and Megumin too, then become defensive as Yunyun shows off her rare, angry side.

"Dad, considering the trouble you cause mom, what right do you have to..."

BASH!

Rikarika sends an elbow slamming into Hiropon's face; the force sends him flipping over the sofa he and Rikarika were sitting on, spinning backwards before slamming into the wall leaving a deep, crack filled impression.

"Oh honey, what are you doing? We aren't suppose to be adding on a new room to the house for another month or two."

We all once again sweat drop as she looks back at us, giving us a sincere smile.

{Insert Image 2}

Which is why I was totally honest with her by saying-

"Why are you still with him, ma'am? You deserve so much better."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, mom; but I have to agree with Kazuma about that. At this point, even I feel that you deserve better than dad."

She waves of us again, saying-

"Oh, don't be silly, you kids. He's just a big dumb idiot who has a lot of good points that are just hard to see. Trust me, there's more to him than is obvious."

I then spy from the corner of my eye, Darkness lean in and say to Cielo-

"In other words; he's probably a demon under the sheets."

I guess if you ARE a fantastic lover, then your significant other would overlook a little eye wandering.

Or maybe that's just how Crimson Demons are? Who knows?

"You know what, lets just forget about the letter boss sent to Yunyun. What's the current situation in the village?"

Asked Megumin.

"Yeah mom, is the Devil King General really been that much of a problem for us?"

Adds Yunyun.

"Yes and no; we haven't had any issues with taking out the minions the General commands but finding the General himself has been a real challenge. We haven't even seen him yet. Stranger yet; the tower has some sort of shield around it we haven't been able to crack open. I'm sure we will with time but it has been surprisingly stubborn."

Hiropon the suddenly springs back to life and is quick to sit back beside his wife, continuing the explanation-

"This General's army also appears to be unlimited; made up of many modified monsters like Manticore's that can't be detected by Enemy Detection based skills. While its rather easy to kill them, there always seems to be more that can be unleashed. It's as if this General has the ability to create as many as he needs without issue."

Damn, that would be a problem. Having an army that will never be exhausted, how would one get around that?

"Excuse me, master Hiropon..."

Said Darkness, making Megumin jump in and say-

"Better to just call him mister as calling him master will just go to his head."

"What are you talking about, Megumin. I would NEVER let something like that go to my head. Now, please continue, my armored beauty."

"Ah... yes, of course. I was just wondering how often this General launches attacks against the village? While we haven't been here a while, we also didn't observe much in the way of battle damage either."

Rikarika looks at Darkness and says-

"Oh, that's simply because the enemy has yet to get close enough to actually get inside the village, apart from their first assault. And as for how often they attack? Usually, we get three attempts per day, right honey?"

Hiropon nods, then says-

"Yeah, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one usually in the late of night though the last has become a bit more rare these days. In fact, I do believe the afternoon attack should be happening right about..."

As if on cue, we hear a voice come over a loud speaker from outside.

"Attention, attention; the Devil King General's forces have arrived. Current number count is estimated to be ten thousand strong."

We all jump to our feet, shouting-

"Wait, ten thousand?"

Hiropon and Rikarika get up and look at one another.

"Hm, today's attack is one of the smaller ones, huh?"

"Indeed; we normally see an attack between fifty thousand to two hundred thousand. (Hiropon the looks at us and adds) So, wanna go watch the show?"

Show... show? An attack of any sort and size was just a show to these people?

… OK, I'll bite the line here-

Let's go see this 'show' as you all see it.

Hiropon and Rikarika escorted us outside, taking us to what Hiropon described to be a viewing platform, which was really just an overlook to an open field north of the village.

Far beyond it, on the far side, we could make out the visage of the tower that acted as the General's base.

And down in the open field, approaching the outer limits of the village, were the ten thousand strong force-

Consisting of plenty of those Manticore's along with large Wargs, Sphinx's, massive horned Boars, and other strange looking variants of what may have been real world animals in this world.

To be honest, the sight would make anyone feel a little nervous; would make them want to run away.

At least I hope so as I'd rather not want to be the only one here who feels that way.

Rikarika then tells us to look over to one side, see a small gathering of Crimson Demons having already arrived; all preparing to face the income threat.

"Are you sure they alone are going to be enough here? I can only see about six or seven of your people?"

Said Cielo, her voice worried.

"Don't worry, little one. Against ten thousand, only a half dozen will be needed."

Said Rikarika with total confidence.

The enemy force came closer and closer and closer, then-

"OK friends, light them up!"

Shouted Hiropon through a megaphone.

What came next was nothing short of spectacular; dazzling even.

The small group of Crimson Demons that had shown up went to town on this force; just completely overwhelming and overpowering them without remorse.

It was a total slaughter, so much so that I actually felt bad for the enemy here.

Massive swirling energy tornadoes, raining fire, lightning racing upon the wind; these were just some of the things we bore witness to this day.

"Hot damn, this is better than all the fireworks display's I have ever seen before across my entire life."

I said, entirely enthralled and amazed; getting Darkness and Cielo to verbally agree with me here.

"I have forgotten just how amazing our clan can be sometimes, right Megumin?"

"Eh... it's OK... I guess. Still, I think one good Explosion would look far better than this."

Hiropon then looks back at us, his face full of excitement as he ask-

"So, newcomers; think this would be something other tourist would enjoy seeing too? Would make them want to travel for and wide in order to witness first hand?"

All any of us could do in this moment was to tell him yeah, it probably would.

All in all, the defense of the town lasted less than five minutes before there was nothing left of the enemy force.

Hiropon and Rikarika had already said their goodbyes as they needed to go take care of things.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Asked Yunyun.

"I'm going to take the others over to meet my parents. Then probably show them to an inn they can stay at tonight seeing as my home... isn't exactly built for guest."

Yunyun then begins to fidget nervously before saying-

"Well, if you all want to... you can stay with me and my parents. I'm sure mom will be OK with it and dad will go along with her choice... even if its only because of force on her part."

Before I could respond to that, Megumin jumps in and says-

"If Darkness and Cielo wish to stay in your family's home tonight, then that's fine for them. But Kazuma will be staying either at a hotel or with my family for the duration of the trip here. I'm not going to give you the chance to 'continue' were you left off the other night back at the mansion."

"Urk...Megumin, what are you saying? I wouldn't do that, especially in my parents home. And I thought you said your family's home didn't have room for guest?"

"(shrug) I'm sure we can fit ONE person into our place. Quit being a difficult child here, Yunyun."

"That coming from the difficult child of the group."

Retorted Yunyun, getting the two of them to start butting heads together.

After a few moments of breaking them apart, I ask-

"So, what are your plans for now, Yunyun? Go home and start reconnecting with family?"

Yunyun nods, saying-

"Yes, among other things. I know mom wants me and her to have a private talk. But before all that, I need to go find I certain someone and have a nice little bit of 'chit-chat' with. Anyways, I'll be going now. I'll see you all tomorrow then... or tonight, should any of you decide to take me up on my offer."

She then bows before turning to leave.

"Yunyun, make sure you save me a piece of Arue to punish myself as well tomorrow... and also, be at Red Prison tomorrow too, around 10am. I'm planning on giving everyone the grand tour of the village."

"I'll be there."

She yells back as she continues off on her payback mission.

Megumin then turns to us and says-

"Well guys, ready to go meet MY parents? Just a heads up, my dad can be a... little intense sometimes."

============={ Part 5: What Awaits Them When They Meet The Parents? }=============

"Megumin, aren't we leaving the village? Do your parents like their privacy or something?"

Asked Cielo as we walked down the tree-lined dirt road.

"We aren't leaving the village... per say; more like skirting along the edge of it. My family... well, let's just say we've always been seen a bunch of oddities within the clan."

Darkness cocks her head to the side, asking-

"What do you mean by that, Megumin?"

Megumin, who had insisted I carry here, again, despite the fact she could walk just fine, didn't respond right away; hesitating if I had to take a guess here.

After a few moments, she finally says-

"Well, I guess its because of... oh look, there's the house right there?"

She then points ahead of us, to the smallish looking building just up ahead.

Cielo squints her eyes a bit, saying-

"I'm not seeing your home, Megumin. Just some small two story barn."

Megumin sighs as she says-

"That is the house, unfortunately. Mom and dad converted an old abandoned barn into the house; the downstairs being one large living room with a fake wall to keep the kitchen and bath house separate while the loft was converted into a single bedroom with a wall just beyond the stair up to the loft."

Geez, I knew things had to have been rough for Megumin, based on the things she had said before-

But I never knew it was THIS bad, even when I had viewed that scene projected from the memory recording stone. I wonder if Megumin also still remembers that?

I then recall the words Vanir spoke to me back in Axel; before we left.

I think I'm beginning to understand just what exactly he was meaning with those words now.

And I already had an idea or two cooking up inside my brain; ideas that would deal with this disturbing discovery.

Once we had reached the front door, I ring the bell and within moments, the pitter patter of little feet could be heard running up; followed by the door opening up to reveal the cutest of little girls beyond it.

"Megumin, is this your little sister? She's so cute."

Cried Cielo, holding her glowing pink cheeks with her hands.

Darkness kneels down and offers her some candy.

"Here you go, little one. Have these treats cause you look so sweet."

The girl grabs hold of them, but doesn't bother to take her eyes off me and Megumin.

Looking at her, I couldn't help but to think that this must have been how Megumin looked when she was younger, minus the two short twin tails that is.

There was something else too; a feeling like I had met her before and-

A sudden image flashes into my mind; the memory of that mystery Crimson Demon girl I had met back at Arcanretia.

Were they... nah; that wasn't possible? There was no way that girl and Megumin's sister were the same person, right?

I mean, for one thing, there had to be at least a ten or so year age difference between them.

As I mull over that thought, Megumin says-

"Hey Komekko, I've finally come home. Is there anything you want to say to me here?"

The little kid called Komekko takes in a deep breath before turning round and shouting into the barn house-

"Dad, Mom; 'Buccatolli' was right. Big sister got herself a pimp."

The little girl then races deeper inside; leaving the rest of us shocked and confused.

Well, I was of course scared as being called a pimp was definitely NOT a good way to start of meeting a girls parents.

A few minutes later, following the introductions and explanations; I found myself sitting on the floor, across from Megumin's parents.

Beside me was Megumin, who had seemingly fallen asleep mid-way through her explanation of what exactly brought us here to begin with; her slumbering head now resting on my shoulder.

Behind us, Darkness and Cielo watched on in silence as I worked to finish the explanation Megumin had started.

Before me, with only a table which was the only piece of furniture in the room dividing me from her parents.

Her father, Hyoizaburoo, was indeed a stern faced scary looking man who seemed to have a never ending death glare being focused onto me.

Beside him was Yuiyui, Megumin's mother who, in contrast to her husband, had a kind and sweet smile much like Rikarika had but in this case, I couldn't help but sense something more mysterious beneath that smile.

And sitting at one side of the table was little Komekko, who had been keeping her curious gaze locked onto me since sitting down; possibly because of how her big sister was sleeping against me.

Once I had finished the explanation behind why we were here, Hyoizaburoo sighs before saying-

"I see; well that explains a lot. Hiropon had always been the kind of guy who doesn't bother with offering up any context when it comes to his letters. I'm sorry for any trouble our clan may have caused you, Satou."

"Let us also thank you for taking care of our daughter all this time to. From what her letters home have told us, you have done a lot for her without any actual need to do so. And for that, we both thank you."

With that, both parents bow to show their gratitude, making me scratch the back of my head nervously.

"No need to thank me. I just did what anyone would do in a situation like that."

Hyoizaburoo nods, followed by a pause before he finally ask me-

"Well then, Satou; would you mine telling us what your relationship with our daughter is then? Her choice of wording in her letter is a little bit ambiguous. I would ask her to clarify her words but... well, you understand why I would ask you right now."

Oh boy, here's where this meeting gets dangerous.

I wonder what kind of answer they must be looking for here from me?

Well, only one way to find out-

"Well, we're friends... of course. She was the first one to join me, thus creating the party here. She's my second in command as well. Beyond that, that's all there really is to it right now."

A change comes over Hyoizaburoo eyes; one that made me feel uncomfortable.

"I see? So then, your relationship is really just friends here?"

The tone in his voice made my internal warning alarm go off; alerting me that how I would respond to THIS question would either be very good or very bad.

Did Megumin say that there was more between us and he wanted confirmation of us being an item, which could have its own risk if I said that we were.

After all, this man strikes me as the super overprotective type of father.

Well, I needed to make the choice here so let's hope I choose wisely.

"Yes, that's right. Me and Megumin are really just frie..."

The next thing I knew, I found myself being strangled to death by Hyoizaburoo as he had lunged at me, gripping my throat with iron like strength.

"KAZUMA?"

Cried Darkness and Cielo as they try to come save me, but one look from Hyoizaburoo here makes them freeze in place.

Yuiyui, on the other hand, does try to stop him; instead calmly saying "You do know killing our daughter's friend isn't a good way to welcome her home right now."

"I don't care. After what she wrote to us about him, how dare he say that they are ONLY friends to my face."

And, off to the side, Komekko just continued to watch with her ever unending curiousness.

After a few more moments, Yuiyui had finally managed to calm Hyoizaburoo enough to get him to let me go.

Cielo was currently using healing magic while Darkness was checking on Megumin; who had been sent falling to the floor following my near strangulation by a crazy father.

After clearing his throat, Hyoizaburoo, who I will henceforth refer to as pops now as it was both quicker and easier to say and think, says-

"I apologize for my outburst just now. You see, based on what she wrote to us about you in her letters, I assumed she and you had something more going on."

Once Cielo had finished, I say to pops-

"Well, your a father wanting to protect his daughter. I can respect that though trying to kill the guy you think your daughter likes isn't exactly a good way to stay on her good side either. Never mind that, would you mind telling just what she wrote about me in her letters to you? I may be able to give you some helpful context about our relationship if I know how she views it. Hell, maybe I'll learn a bit more about how she sees 'us' here too."

As the two of them look at each other, I feel a slight kick come from my side; the source being Megumin.

Wait, are you REALLY asleep there, you trouble making legal dwarf?

Yuiyui was the one to answer my question about the letters.

"Well, for starters... she ended up being covered in goo because of you. (Eh?) We have bathed together, getting very close with our naked bodies. (EH?) You would always hold her close after she had experienced an explosive release. (Did you really write something like that?) With his magic hands, he has touched me in places none ever have before or will ever be allowed to in the future. (Megumin!)"

I could feel myself sweating at each thing that was said.

I could feel the eyes of Cielo and Darkness locked onto me from behind, themselves probably wanting to ask me just what mine and Megumin's relationship really was here.

Hell, I was beginning to wonder that myself now.

Finally, I decided I needed to say something.

"OK, stop-stop-stop there. I've heard more than enough. Please give me a moment to think here."

And think I did, desperately; as I didn't want to be on the receiving end of another choking.

"OK, I think I know what she was really meaning here with her words. First, the..."

"Wait, before you start..."

Said Darkness as she pulls out that damn lie detector bell, which she puts on the table.

"Daddy, look. It's one of your magic bell things."

Once it was activated, Darkness looks at me and says-

"OK, you may continue Kazuma. Please make sure to be as graphically descriptive as possible."

Oh, I see; that's how it is with you then.

You're just wanting to get some gossip material here to use against me, huh Lalatina?

I take a quick glance at Megumin; mentally telling her that we were going to have some words later.

"First, about the whole goo situation. I believe she's talking about our first quest together. Due to her failing to inform me about her only being able to cast one spell per day, she ended up being eaten by a giant toad and being covered in goo. Because of that, I ended up getting the first of many nasty, false rumors spread around Axel about me."

After seeing the bell fail to ding, Megumin's parents look at each other, then back at me.

"Why would she only be able to use one... oh dear. That isn't good."

"(sigh) Megumin, my daughter. Please tell me you aren't still being a stubborn child over ONLY using Explosion magic? We told you there's no place in this world for that joke spell, or for those who choose to only rely on it."

Megumin, naturally, didn't respond to them though I couldn't help but sense her mood shift a little.

"Next, the whole bathing together thing. That is true though it was HER idea as we were covered in Salamando guts which had an effect on our minds. The whole naked part was due to an accident. As I recall, you ended up joining in with us for that one, Cielo."

Cielo freaks out from hearing my words while Darkness, and Yuiyui, take on a more curious interest.

"Kazuma please, don't remind me of that. I'm still embarrassed by what I did-saw. Embarrassed by what I saw in there."

"OH? Tell us more."

Said Darkness as she leans in closer to Cielo.

Even I was curious, having not failed to here Cielo's little slip up by using the word 'did.'

Oh well, have to save that for later too I guess.

"In regards to the holding her following an explosive release. I can only assume she's talking about all the times I needed to carry her following her little Explosion practices? And as for the magic hands and touching her in places never touched before? There's been a couple of times my hands have ended up groping her chest, all but one being an accident. The one, not accident time, was done during a moment of emotional anger."

With that, I ended my explanation of the situation and since the bell had never 'dinged' once during it, I must be in the clear now?

Nope; if her father's continued glare on me was any indication here.

"Hm; I still have my doubts about this..."

He said to Yuiyui.

I sigh, making the call to go ahead and do this next thing in the hopes it will make him ease up on me.

I reach into my pouch and pull out all the gift food items I had picked up back in Axel before leaving.

In truth, I hadn't wanted to use them in this fashion but I was left with no choice now.

"Here you go; I know it's not much but its a start at least."

Both pops and Yuiyui's eyes lock onto the boxes of food while Komekko jumps to her feet, drool already forming at the edges of her mouth.

Both parents eyes go from the food, to me, then to the food again, then back at me as the air in the room suddenly shifts, followed by pops saying-

"Master Kazuma, please forgive me for my earlier behavior towards you. I was just wanting to be a protective father, you understand right? My dear, go and make our finest tea for we shall have a feast tonight."

Yuiyui nods quickly as she jumps to her feet and hastily goes to the kitchen, saying as she does-

"Of course honey though you know we only have the one kind. Be right back in a second."

Not long after, me, Darkness, and Cielo watch as pops, Yuiyui, and Komekko devour the food I had brought them at a dangerous pace.

Cielo and Darkness eating their meal by using their own personal rations while I simply sat there and watched.

I then feel a tug on my sleeve, making me look to see that Komekko had moved over to sit beside me.

She was looking at me, offering up some of her meal to me, who wasn't eating.

"For you mister; you must be really hungry."

Well yeah; I was actually. Today had been nothing but a shit show for me, especially seeing as I hadn't gotten any PROPER sleep in over a day.

I shake my head at her, saying-

"Thanks for the offer, you little sprout. But I'm fine so go ahead and eat that one too. After all, you'll need all the nourishment you can get to grow up to be big and strong, right?"

Her eyes sparkle at my words; Komekko then hugging my arm before going back to eating again.

Pops looks at me and, with his mouth still filled with food, says-

"I don't care how much you try to bribe us with food; I won't allow you to take Komekko too... maybe?"

"Dear, I'm sure that's not Kazuma's plans here. Quit trying to make things awkward again."

After that, and after they had finished eating the food I had brought them, they bow their heads and thank me for the meal.

Hyoizaburoo then says-

"I think I now understand what our daughter was saying in her letters about you."

Oh great; just what else has she said about me I wonder?

I ask them that.

"She wrote that you can sometimes be a bit of a pervert, lazy and rather foul mouthed at times. But you are also the one who saved her from starvation, became her friend without any conditions. Have given her a home and plenty of food to eat and have cared for her from day one. Because of that, she has come to think of you as her best friend and will stick by you no matter what."

Yuiyui then steps in and adds-

"Though her last letter home did say that she hasn't quite done a good job with that last part; sticking by you no matter what though she does hope to improve herself there going forward. And for that, you have our deepest gratitude, Kazuma."

They then bow again, this time Komekko does as well though I'm sure it was only because her parents were doing it.

"So, she thinks of me as her best friend, huh? Wish she would have it in her to say such things to me but I guess just knowing that's how she feels is pretty nice in and of itself."

Her father nods before saying-

"Our place isn't big nor do we have much to offer but please feel free to stay here as long as you need to."

Yuiyui quickly adds, saying-

"We also heard you have been suffering some rather serious issues back in Axel; being accused of having connections with the Devil King and owing a massive debt to the local lord. While there isn't really anything we can do to help with the debt, we'd still like to offer any help we can here."

Well, that was nice of them to do; despite their own needs being paramount for them.

"Ah yes, about that. There's no need to worry there. The Devil King connection stuff has already been resolved, as has the debt issue. In fact, since then, I have come into quite a nice little sum of eris here."

This catches them both by surprise as pops says-

"Is that so? That's good to hear. So, how much do you have now, if I may ask?"

"Hm, let me think. There's the eris I got from my partnership with Vanir and Wiz, there was what was left over from clearing the debt, and now add on the bounty for Hans... a little over 700 million eris."

"700 Million eris!"

They scream making me back away nervously.

Behind me, I could tell Cielo and Darkness had smacked their heads; probably thinking I was an idiot for telling people in their position that I had that much.

Which, to be fair, I already knew I was an idiot as I had responded without even really thinking about it.

Once they had recovered, Yuiyui then says-

"I-I see, that's rather impressive. I guess that means then you will be getting yourselves a large home to live in seeing as our daughter said the place you have is rather small."

Eh?

"Small, why would she say its small? I mean, we're living inside a mansion, complete with twelve bedrooms. Makes me wonder..."

I didn't get to finish as Megumin's parents were now all up in my face, shouting out-

"A MANSION? YOU OWN YOUR VERY OWN MANSION TOO!"

Yeah, I really need to think about these sorts of things before I give out any answers, huh?

================{ Part 6: What Awaits Them Beyond The Midnight? }================

That bath had been a refreshing one, no doubt about it.

It had given me time to think about things here, to REALLY think about things.

I already knew what it was I was going to do so now I just needed to decide how to go about doing it?

Once I had dressed myself, I exited the bath and prepared to enter the living room when-

"You can't be serious here, ma'am. Having Kazuma sleeping in the same room as Megumin... just the two of them too? Don't you have any ideas just how dangerous that will be for her? It'll be like locking a poor innocent lamb inside the same cage as a starving lion."

Darkness, what are you saying? What exactly are you trying to imply about me?

"Oh, I'm sure it will be fine. My daughter is already old enough for her to be doing that sort of thing now. Besides, based on her choice of wording with her letters, I feel that she would be fine with him doing anything with her as well. Plus, he is rich so he can easily afford to take care of her."

"Oh, I see how it is here. You're fine with whatever so long as the guy has the means to compensate for taking her virtue. Do you realize just how that makes you sound; what kind of person you are being implied to be here?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about here. No need to be worrying about anything at all."

"But there is something to be worried about, you need to be thinking of..."

"Sleep now..."

I hear the sound of a body hitting the floor, making me peek around the corner to see what was up.

Yep, sure enough; everyone was laying unconscious upon the floor, save for Yuiyui.

Guess that explains why neither Cielo or pops had spoken their piece during that conversation.

"Oh Kazuma, there you are. I hope you enjoyed your bath. So, will you please help me with moving everyone upstairs now? You can start with Megumin here..."

I knew where this was going.

I wanted to tell her that this wasn't necessary but I had a feeling that if I did, I too would end up being put to sleep as well and would then wake up with Megumin laying right beside me, if not right on top of me.

So, I just sigh and accept this was going to happen, no matter what.

I went over to Megumin, scooping her up in my arms, then look over to see Yuiyui had had taken Komekko into her own.

"My, oh my Kazuma; already use to carrying my daughter in the bridal style manner. It seems the two of you have been practicing for that big day already, huh?"

Teased Yuiyui; her comment clearly about how natural I must have looked with Megumin in my arms here.

"N-not exactly, ma'am. Megumin just likes it when I carry her in general; almost like I'm her personal horse or something. I usually just carry her around on my back. We only do the princess carry position whenever we're alone and with no danger of anyone else seeing us... or rather, seeing her like this."

I decide to not tell her anything about how Megumin likes it when I use Drain Touch on her.

Last thing I want to risk is the possibility that her mother may become curious about that and want to experience it as well.

Yuiyui giggles before telling me the 'lead the way.'

I gulp as I walk over to the rather slim looking stairs, making sure to be mindful of my steps as there wasn't much space to work with for each step.

Once I had reached the top, I open the sliding door and step into the somewhat decent sized room.

Inside was a single futon like spread laid out on the floor, one that looked like it could barely hold one person in it.

Was this really all they had or had there been more that had been hidden away?

As I recall, Yuiyui had come up here for a few minutes while I had been awaiting my turn with the bath.

"What's the matter, Kazuma? Please hurry up and lay my daughter down in bed. The winter nights around the village do so get very cold, especially at this time of year."

Yuiyui's words, spoken right next to my ear, had made me jump.

OK, I can do this. If I'm just quick here, I can sit her down, cover her and be out with just a blink of an eye. Yes, I'll just do a little sprint and-

I was already by the bed, laying the sleeping girl in my arms down before covering her quickly.

I go to quickly move away, hoping to reach the door again before Yuiyui could enact her plan when-

"... Kazuma... don't let... go..."

Megumin mumbled in her sleep; her hand grabbing onto my sleeve and holding on tight.

I stop, looking back at her with a confused expression.

Was she actually awake; or at least somewhat awake?

No, from the looks of it, she wasn't; rather it seemed that maybe she was having a dream about me.

Heh, I guess even when she's asleep, I'm still present in her world. Wonder if she was dreaming of me carrying her like I just did.

"Have a good nights sleep, Kazuma. Please make sure you... do everything I'm expecting you to do here... and don't worry about making a little noise. If my daughter is anything like me, then she'll like it a little rough on top of being a screamer too."

Yuiyui then giggles before slamming the door shot, then using a little magic to seal the door on me.

"What kind of mother says to the guy she's locking her virgin daughter in with? Oh right, the kind that's expecting said guy to steal away her daughter's innocence and virtue here. Geez, just what the hell is up with this family?"

I then get up and walk over to the door, testing it out in order to make sure I couldn't open it at all.

Nope, it wasn't going to budge until either she undid her spell or it worth off naturally.

I then test the materials making up both the door and the walls; wondering if maybe I used a little force here, I could make a new way in-out here?

I mean, sure; damaging another person's property would be a bad but I could easily pay the cost to replace, not that it would be necessary given my current thought process here.

To my surprise, the walls and even the paper like material seemed sturdy, perhaps even sturdy enough to survive being rammed into by me.

Guess that shows just how strong Crimson Demon craftsmanship really is, huh?

Well, I have one idea left to try.

I position myself as close to the door as I could, hearing a light breathing from beyond, meaning Yuiyui was still out there, listening... waiting...

I then take in a deep breath, making sure my words would be loud and clear here-

"Miss Yuiyui, there's no reason for you to put your daughter through this. There's no need to be offering her up as some sort of gift to me in order to insure I'll take care of her, and perhaps the three of you as well. I've already decided that I will care for her for as long as she wish's it, for as long as we're together. I can offer you, pops, and little Komekko too the same thing. All you need to do is ask me. Hell, all she needs to do is ask me. There's no need for her to have to go through this..."

"(pause) … especially as there's a chance she may not actually want this, even if it was with me?"

I say that last part barely above a whisper; my thoughts being that maybe that night back at the camp; perhaps I had made a mistake with what I had seen in her eyes.

Maybe, I was wrong with assuming that she wanted me in that moment I had found myself wanting her.

I wait, and wait and wait; but Yuiyui makes no reply though I could still hear her breathing.

I did note that after I had finished speaking; I had detected a subtle change in her breathing, so at least I know she had heard me.

I wonder; just what was going on in her head here?

Perhaps, it wasn't about the eris or security for her; maybe she was already secure in the knowledge that I would take care of Megumin, maybe even them if Megumin asked me to.

Then why would she still want this to proceed?

Perhaps... it was just because she wanted to...?

I shake all thoughts from my head; no point in trying to understand or change this now.

"Sorry Megumin, looks like we can't escape this, huh? So, now what should... I... do?"

I say as I turn to look back at her; my words stopping as I find myself looking at her sleeping form.

The moon, which had been mostly covered by clouds when I had first got up her; based on how dark it had been even with the large window present, must have since been uncovered as the room was being filled with its light.

And, in the center of the room was Megumin's sleeping form; seemingly catching all of the light coming in, making her pale skin glow just a little.

Was it just an illusion my eyes and mind were creating or was this another aspect that Crimson Demons had, alongside their eyes; the ability for those with pale skin to glow when bathed in moonlight?

I'll need to ask someone about this tomorrow.

All I knew right now was that Megumin was looking really beautiful in my eyes; entrancingly so.

I began to walk towards her; stopping and kneeling down beside her and all the while wondering if it would be OK for me to just go ahead and sleep beside her?

It was really cold after all and I'm sure she would understand and say that it was OK if I did so.

Maybe I should at least wake her first to ask, if only to be extra safe here; but I didn't want to disturb her here either.

As I debate this, I find my hand reaching out to touch and caress her cheek, making her breath out a content sigh.

OK, I'll just go ahead and get in bed with her and-

My body freezes mid action; a piercing headache explodes within my mind. One that was so quick and intense that I barely catch myself from falling onto the floor.

Images then begin to race through my mind; unpleasant images that seem to swirl around me like a cyclone, and from them-

I remember what happened after I had been kidnapped by those Orcs.

(flashback)

I find myself back there again, inside their village; being forced down onto a table with my arms and legs being tightly bound.

I am then forced to drink a nasty potion of some sort; one of the Orcs explaining that it will help 'my little friend' to not be so nervous, to help me be able to go the distance if you would.

Another of the Orcs ask the other if this brew could be the reason all previous guest of theirs have died despite how 'gentle' they are with them?

As they begin to debate this, I try to figure out how I could escape; quickly determining that escape wasn't going to happen for me, not without some outside help here.

Not to worry; I have no doubt the others will be arriving any second now.

My attention is drawn back to the moment as I see one of the female Orcs tugging on my pants, asking if it was OK to go ahead and get started.

I begin to shake, telling them that there was no need for this, not that they would listen to me here.

Another Orc tells me to relax and enjoy this; not like anything was going to save me before at least one of them had their fun here.

I began to panic more and more as I could feel my pants being removed; all the while thinking 'guys, now would be a VERY good time to be saved here.'

And then, from my perspective at least, the world around me become gray and the movement of the Orcs become slow, nearly unmoving.

And then, moving through the gathered crowd of Orcs was a humanoid form; it was Entropy.

But something was off, it would appear then fade only to appear again, this closer as it came to stand beside me, then beginning to move around me in a circle.

Great, as if my situation wasn't bad enough already. Now where did you come from?

["Where did I come from? Such a silly question you ask. I've come from within you, of course. I have been with you for a long while now, Kazuma."]

Huh? It can speak now? And what does it mean that it's been with me for a while now?

And did it also just answer my thought from before too?

["Indeed, I did. Now, for your question..."]

An image plays in my mind; one from the past, of me and Chris down in the crypt and the Entropy there covering me, almost consuming me.

["That wasn't the beginning for us, though. It was merely in that moment that I gained a means to make a more direct connection with you, Kazuma. But that annoying girl interrupted us before I could secure you."]

I see, so then this Entropy I was seeing was the piece that had merged with the Lich seed within me then; if what that Crimson Demon girl had told me was accurate.

But wait a minute, didn't she say she had made it so it wouldn't be an issue for a while?

["She did, but she probably didn't expect you to have another encounter with another piece of me so soon; that encounter allowing me to free your soul from this weak husk you're forced to wear. If not for that annoying goddess, you and I would be together again now. But, at least I can finally talk more directly with you."]

I then feel a pair of hands grabbing my head, making me look upwards to see myself looking back down at me; my copy's eyes not being visible but a big, and terrifying grin plastered onto his face.

The Entropy then stops beside my copy and its body begins to change, taking on an almost female shape to it; one that looked very familiar to me though I couldn't quite place it yet.

["But we have been together FAR longer than that, Kazuma. Since before even the beginning. You were stolen from me, by lies, deceit, … betrayal. But soon, I will finally be taking you back to where you belong. With me, by my side. But for now, let us get you out of here."]

Um... thanks for the offer, but I'm sure it won't be needed. Any second now, the others will come busting in and-

["Don't be foolish. They aren't coming for you, at least not in the time you have left before these foul things start to pleasure themselves at you expense."]

Entropy points downwards, making me look to see that my pants had been removed and the first of the female Orcs was preparing to ruin me for any future girl I would want to have relations with.

I then feel something hitting my face, making me look up to see me copy's face melting away.

["You shouldn't even waste time counting on them; who had done nothing but betray and hurt you over and over and over again. But don't worry, Kazuma. I am here with you and I will make sure you will always be safe... from now on. And now... let us 'Reap' these beast!"]

My eyes widen in horror as my copy faces loses the last if its skin, revealing the glowing skeleton beyond with the glowing eyes; my inner Lich brought forth as it lowers itself down towards me.

I begin to shake violently, feeling its power coursing through me again as I let out a deathly scream; beginning my 'Lich Reap!'

{Insert Image 3}

(present)

At some point during my flashback, I had returned to standing on my feet.

Now that the flashback had ended, I found myself stumbling back against the wall; hitting it hard and making a loud bang.

I was shaking, bad; one hand over my mouth as if I was about to throw up here.

My eyes dart around them room; images of me as a Lich appearing and disappearing all over.

I then go to look at Megumin, planning to call out to her for help; but her own visage was shifting between Megumin herself and the female shaped Entropy who looks at me and smiles.

I then pull my hand away from my mouth; stopping dead as I see my hand going from looking normal to looking like a glowing skeleton hand and back again.

And I could see a light upon said hand; catching the glow that was assuredly coming from my eyes.

I need to get out of here, I need to escape from here, I need...

I see the window and, as if on instinct, I run to the window and force it open; throwing myself outside in an instant-

Only to remember in that moment an important little detail-

I was jumping from the loft of a converted barn; going at an angle that wasn't good for landings.

Yeah, this was going to hurt when I hit the ground...

==================={ Part 7: What Awaits Them In The Morning }===================

(Megumin POV)

I awaken to a sudden sound filling the air.

I blink a few times as I look up into the ceiling; confused as to where I was right now.

Oh right, this is my old home and this is the old bedroom here too.

I sit up and immediately shiver; the room being very cold right now.

Wait, how did I get here? Last thing I remember was being downstairs, sitting next to Kazuma and...?

Damn it, I did it again didn't I?

After introducing Kazuma and the others to my parents and Komekko, we had all sit down so I could explain the situation.

Some time during which, I had come up with a 'brilliant' idea; I would pretend to fall asleep, doing so on Kazuma's shoulder no less-

And pretend to have fallen asleep in order to see if my parents would remain civil in their talking with him about stuff.

And I just had to go falling asleep moments later, didn't I?

What, is it really THAT easy for me to find such restful repose with him?

Who am I kidding, of course it is were he's concerned; just like his 'drain' touch can make me feel like I've fired off a hundred Explosion's all at once and let's not forget what his magic hands can do for my...?

I shake that thought from my head; though I do make a mental note to talk to him about arranging special 'sessions' here in the future as it seems he really did have 'the magic touch.'

Speaking of Kazuma, is he in here as well?

I begin to look around the room for Kazuma; recalling the image we had seen along with Wiz that day that indicated that we would be locked in a room together by my mother.

Strange, there was no one here besides me. Did that mean mother hadn't done it or perhaps Kazuma had found a way to talk her out of doing it?

I'll have to ask him tomorrow when I see him.

Anyways, as for right now... back to bed-

As soon as I deal with this blasted cold; as I had noticed the window was open for some reason.

I get up and close it, my mind and body still to tired to take a moment to ponder on why it was open.

As I walk back to the futon, I thought I heard a an ominous sounding noise; like a groan, coming from beyond the window but I sleep wanting mind decides that it must just be the howl of the wind there.

Once I was back under the covers, I was back in dream land before I knew it.

When my eyes next open, I could see the rays of the morning sun coming into the room; making me sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes.

I honestly wanted to go back to sleep again as I was having the most amazing dream too.

Me and Kazuma were doing our daily Explosion ritual; me firing off blast after blast as Kazuma had his hands... on my chest, all the while feeding me that delicious demi-mana that was-

I smack my cheeks with my hands hard; not needing to continue THAT scene further right now.

Anyways, I better hurry up and get dressed then head downstairs as I'm sure the others must be up now, waiting for me.

And I better change my panties here too as I'm sure the pair I'm wearing are no longer usable now-

Stupid yet pleasurable perverted dreams.

Once I had changed, I headed downstairs to find Darkness and Cielo already sitting at the small table, eating breakfast. As soon as Darkness saw me, she said-

"Megumin, you're finally awake now. Are you OK? Did Lustzuma do anything to you last night?"

Huh? What do you mean? And who's Lustzuma? Do you mean Kazuma?

Why would he have done anything to me...

Seeing my confused faced, Cielo says-

"He did, didn't he? What did Kazudog do to you? It's alright, you can tell us."

"Yes, please do, Megumin. Tell us all the dirty, raunchy details about how Kazuma took you to heaven and back."

OK, enough of all this weird crap.

"What the hell are you guys talking about? Kazuma didn't do anything to me last night. (quietly to herself) At least not outside my dreams, he didn't! (back to the others) Why, was he suppose to or something?"

Darkness and Cielo look at each other then back at me as Darkness says-

"Well, last night... your mother was planning on making the two of you sleep together alone last night. I tried to stop her but she used some sort of sleep spell to knock me out. I'm pretty sure she did something similar with Cielo and your father too."

"She did? I swear, that woman sometimes..."

I said shaking my head before saying to them-

"Well, whatever my mother was planning didn't happen as Kazuma wasn't in the room when I woke up last night, nor was he in there when I woke up a few minutes ago."

A regretful look comes over their faces as Cielo says-

"Wow, now I'm feeling really bad about calling him Kazudog just now; for even thinking he would be the kind of guy who would do something like that. We should go do something nice for him later to make it up to him, right?"

Darkness nods, then says-

"Agreed; I confess I'm still surprised though. I mean, being locked in a room with a young attractive girl and having her mothers approval to do anything he would want with her too. Most guys would jump at the chance to try something. Guess we're lucky Kazuma isn't one of those guys... though, I wouldn't mind... if he tried..."

"That's enough, Lalatina. I don't want to have to listen to you go into your three-way fantasy that involves Kazuma, Walther, and you doing this and that again. Still, I wonder where Kazuma is at right now? He wasn't down here with us when we woke up and your parents and sister left. He wasn't with you either, so I wonder where he is right now?"

I wonder that too? I mean, if he HAD been locked into the bedroom with me, then how did...

A sudden chill runs down my spine as it comes back to me; the memory of the open window and the sound of the wind that seemed like a groan.

Had that actually been...?

I immediately turn and rush outside; Darkness and Cielo being quick to follow as I make my way over to the opposite side of the house where we find-

Kazuma; his body in a very uncomfortable position upon the ground with signs of having broken his nose from the fall, maybe even straining his neck among other issues.

"... I can't feel anything..."

He said in a whimper, making the three of us go into panic mode as we work quickly, mainly Cielo with her healing magic, to get him as comfortable and back to normal as we could here.

Something tells me that this is an omen for not only how today was going to go-

But a sign as to how this whole trip was going to go too; terrific!

Next time: For Kazuma and the girls, mainly Kazuma though; the next two days are going to be an interesting one. Between helping her parents out with things, making preparations towards his secret plans, exploring the village, meeting with the General, and being chased by an army of horny teenage Crimson Demon girls, Kazuma is sure to be keeping busy. And it will all culminate in a night that could change everything between him and Megumin... forever!

Image 1: A shocked Yunyun looking at the swirling dome of energy; seeing a Lich like shape within.

Image 2: Kazuma, Yunyun, and Megumin shocked reactions to seeing Rikarika both head slamming Hiropon into the table and elbowing him off the sofa and into the back wall.

Image 3: A terrified Kazuma looking up to see himself, partially turned into a Lich and the female shaped Entropy looking back down at him.