Kazuma's POV
"I-Idiot, what are you saying?"
"Come on, let's make it a promise, okay, Kazuma?"
"... sure."
That was a weird dream. I wonder why those ancient memories suddenly resurfaced. I'd prefer it if they just stayed buried, to be honest.
I stretched and yawned. I wasn't sure how long I slept, but it seems to be afternoon judging by the sun's position.
Ah, that's right. There were intruders last night. Chris and some unknown black-haired girl.
Black-haired girl... ? Wait, did I meet such a person recently?
I opened my bedroom door and went to check up on Aqua.
She had set up a chair to watch the closet, but she was now fast asleep, snoozing with a dumb smile on her face.
I checked in the closet, and the box was still sitting on the floor. I don't really know how to tell if they've returned from Japan or not yet, though.
"Oi, Aqua. Wake up."
I flicked her on the forehead to wake her.
"Ow! What was that for... ah! No way, did I really fall asleep..."
"Yep."
Aqua quickly jumped up and ran over to the box, put her hand on it, and closed her eyes.
"... the mana isn't flowing anymore... say, Kazuma, about that bottle of wine–"
"Hm? Obviously you're not going to get it."
"Waaaah, come on! I tried really hard, you know!? I was all by myself and I stayed up as long as I could!"
This useless goddess is really whining about wine first thing in the morning.
... though, I did kinda set her up with that task knowing she'd fail, so I feel a little bit guilty.
"Alright, I'll give it to you if you go and find a locksmith to make more secure locks for this place."
"Hah! A task like that is child's play! Just leave it to me!"
As she left, I looked around the mansion, but it seems like Megumin and Darkness have already gone out for the day.
I guess I should try to find Chris today and get an explanation for last night.
Grumble
After I get some breakfast, of course. Or would it be lunch now? I went downstairs and made a sandwich.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
My lunch was interrupted by someone banging on the front door. I went over to the nearest window and looked out towards the entrance.
Oh, it's Chris? I didn't expect her to come back so soon. And that black-haired girl with her must be the one that Aqua spotted last night. She's standing on the near side of the door and facing away from me, so I can't see her face from this angle. Her clothes stood out, though: she was wearing jeans and a leather jacket over a t-shirt. With clothes like that, she has to be from Earth, right?
... actually, didn't I meet a girl dressed like that recently? I have a vague memory of getting drunk at the guild and talking to a girl wearing those same clothes.
... I hope I didn't say anything too cringey that time.
I went over to the door and pulled it open.
"Yo, Big Boss, you're back already? I was just getting ready to go look for you. Ah, the others are all out at the moment, so you came at the perfect time."
"Aha, yeah, you probably have some questions, don't you?"
Chris scratched her cheek, while the other girl... was facing the other way.
Oi, isn't that too rude?
"I'm afraid that'll have to wait though, Assistant-kun. We're here because this girl has something to say to you, and I'm just an observer."
Oh? I wasn't expecting a development like that.
... wait, maybe I actually did say something really bad when I was drunk then. I started sweating a bit.
Chris turned to the girl.
"Come on then, it's now or never, right?"
After a bit of hesitation, I heard the girl take a deep breath, and then she slowly turned around...
"H-Hey, Kazuma... long time no see?"
Thud
After closing the door, I put my hand on my chin and contemplated the situation for a bit.
Yep! I'm still dreaming! This must be one of those so-called "false awakenings."
Maybe this means my quality of sleep is decreasing for some reason?
Still, this is a pretty realistic dream. I can even hear the two girls mumbling on the other side of the door.
I put my ear against it.
"–just calm down, don't–"
CRASH
I was sent flying.
Ah, so this is reality?
Kiriya's POV
"Hm? The person you need to talk to is Kazuma?"
Chris and I were making our way back to the mansion we were just escaping from not long ago.
"Yeah. He and I... well, we have a history. I did something that I shouldn't have done, and I at least owe it to him to apologize."
Chris nodded her head thoughtfully.
"I see, I see... how bad is it, exactly?"
"Let's just say that I wouldn't blame him if he decided to attack me on sight."
"Welp, that's certainly a scary situation for you. So that's why you wanted me along?"
"Well, it's not that I'm actually worried about being attacked, really. I just remember hearing once that having a third party is very helpful when dealing with tense conversations. If he does attack, I'll handle it on my own."
That, and I wanted someone along to make sure I didn't chicken out at the last second.
Still, looking back now, it feels a little weird that I asked something like that of someone I haven't known for very long. And I'm not normally one to ask for help, either.
It's almost like I felt compelled to bring her along. Or rather, I felt like I already made a promise to do that, even though I have no memory of anything like that. Maybe something happened while we were in Japan?
As I was thinking about what could've happened in that time that was erased from my memories, we arrived at the mansion's front door.
I took a deep breath.
In front of me was the door to Kazuma's mansion.
I took another deep breath.
All I have to do is knock. That's all I have to do.
I took ano–
"Are you gonna stand there doing breathing exercises all day?"
Chris approached the door.
"Look, I just need a bit of time to–"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"See? Easy."
"... thanks."
I gulped. This is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. But I can't run. I owe it to him after what happened back then.
I'm ready.
The door suddenly opened, and I immediately turned away.
Okay, maybe I'm not quite ready after all.
"Yo, Big Boss, you're back already? I was just getting ready to go look for you. Ah, the others are all out at the moment, so you came at the perfect time."
"Aha, yeah, you probably have some questions, don't you? I'm afraid that'll have to wait though, Assistant-kun. We're here because this girl has something to say to you, and I'm just an observer."
Chris turned to me.
"Come on then, it's now or never, right?"
I took one more deep breath, and then slowly turned around...
"H-Hey, Kazuma... long time no see?"
Thud
Chris crossed her arms.
"Wow, I've never seen an expression like that from Kazuma before. It was almost like his very being was rejecting the reality in front of him."
"... heh... hahaha!"
"Eh? Kiriya, are... are you alright?"
This is just too fucking good!
All those years I was weighed down by guilt. All that time I spent thinking about what I'd say to him if I ever got the chance. And after spending most of my time in this new world hiding from him, I finally got the resolve to face him, and even then I basically asked someone else to hold my hand while I did it.
And what do I get for all of that? Silence and a door to the face.
Isn't it just the most hilarious fucking thing?
I swear, my entire life...
Is just one.
Big.
Joke.
"Chris, stand back a bit. I'm gonna to settle things right now, and I'm not gonna let this door stop me."
"Um, that door is pretty sturdy, you know? Unless you're a high-level adventurer, I don't think that–"
Ignoring her words, I lifted my leg up.
"Kiriya, please, just calm down, don't–"
Putting the full weight of my body behind it, I unleashed a max power front kick. The double doors shattered, and the young man behind it was sent flying, landing on the floor a couple meters away.
Chris's jaw dropped.
"No way, you can't be that strong, can you? ... wait, maybe it's that..."
While the thief girl was muttering something, I stormed into the foyer and towards my childhood friend, who was lying amid the door fragments.
"Seriously, man!? That's it? You're not gonna say anything after all these years?"
He started to scramble backwards as I approached him. I started walking faster.
"Come on, I know you have something you want to say! I'm the horrible girl that broke your heart, you know! Don't you hate me!?"
He tried to stand up, but he was a moment too late. I caught up to him, grabbed him by his collar, and brought his face up right in front of mine.
"Just go ahead and say it already! Tell me how much you hate me, Kazuma!"
Kazuma's face, which was still frozen in shock, shifted into a look of resolve.
He touched the hand I was holding him with, slowly opened his mouth, and–
"Drain Touch!"
"Gah, what the fuck?"
I don't what he did, but it felt like he was sucking out my energy or something. I released him out of reflex.
"Lurk."
And now he's vanished!?
I don't what kind of class he has, but I can tell it's something abnormal.
I looked around, but couldn't tell where he was. Did he run away, or– no, wait, he's behind me–
BLAM
A giant impact on my back knocked me to the floor.
Seriously? A fucking dropkick? That's not even a tactically viable move! It did hurt, though!
Rubbing my back, I staggered back to my feet and turned towards the kicker. Luckily for me, Kazuma's strength is apparently way lower than Mitsurugi's. If that guy had landed a dropkick on me, I think it would've broken my spine.
Kazuma had also stood back up.
Chris was still at the entrance, seeming unsure whether she should help.
I waved her away. Like I told her, I just wanted the moral support. If Kazuma wants to attack me, I'll take it head-on.
I spread my arms.
"Come on, then! Hit me with your best shot!"
This feels good.
... no, I don't mean like that, I'm not enjoying the pain, that would be weird. Rather, it feels good to let Kazuma vent out the feelings he must've been holding in all this time. I'm not good with mushy stuff anyway, so this suits me more.
Kazuma sized me up, apparently observing that I wasn't much worse for the wear after that dropkick. It did hurt, though.
He then looked me in the eye, and opened his mouth again–
"Steal!"
And thrust his arm out as a strange light shone in his hand.
A piece of black material appeared in his hand, and I noticed that I could now feel the denim of my jeans against my bare bottom.
I... I can't even. If this is seriously how he fights now, that's just sad.
He then threw my underwear on the ground and pointed a finger at it.
"Tinder!"
A small flame shot out of his finger and scorched the underwear a bit... but it didn't ignite.
Kazuma stared blankly at the still-intact underwear, and an awkward silence fell over the room.
I silently face-palmed.
Luckily for me, the spandex my spats are made of doesn't ignite that easily. If Kazuma kept trying, though, he could probably melt it quite a bit.
Chris looked at my spats, then looked at me with a strange expression.
Hey, I know they're not very girly, but they're just so much more comfortable than panties, especially when riding motorcycles!
I let out a sigh.
"Look, Kazuma–"
"Get out! Just get out!"
Oh, so now he's ready to talk.
Chris stepped forward.
"Hey, Kazuma, she did come all this way. You could at least hear her out, you know?"
"I don't want to hear it! Do you know I still have trust issues because of her!?"
He turned to me.
"Even if you apologize a billion times I won't forgive you, so don't think you can just come back into my life again!"
I could only smile wryly.
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to. I'm just here to set the record straight. After that, you'll never have to see me again."
His eyes narrowed.
"What's there to set straight? You just threw me aside like trash without warning and never came back."
"But you want to know why, don't you?"
Kazuma froze.
"... y-yeah, right. Why should I care what your reason was? It won't change what you did."
"Because I'm sure you spent night after night lying awake, wondering if you said or did something that me dislike you. And then I bet you also starting considering that maybe it wasn't one thing, and I left because you were just too lame all around–"
"S-Shut up!"
Kazuma was holding his head in his hands while his face was blushing. How cute.
"Oh, did I hit the nail on the head?"
Chris nudged me gently.
"Er, don't you think this is a bit much? I thought you came here to make amends..."
Ah, right, I almost got carried away. Seeing Kazuma all flustered awakened my S side a bit.
"Ahem... well, anyway, yeah, I'm gonna set the record straight now. The real reason is–"
"Kazuma Kazuma!"
Megumin suddenly barged into the mansion.
"I need– wait, Kiriya, why are you–mmph!?"
I covered her mouth with my hand and began dragging her outside.
"Nope, nu-uh. We're not doing this tired cliché. Whatever you need, it can wait two fucking minutes, okay?"
"Mmph-mmph-mmph!"
"Here, Chris, come and keep her quiet, would you?"
"E-Eh?"
After foisting the flat-chested mage onto Chris, I returned to Kazuma.
"Sorry, where was I?"
"You were going to tell me why you dumped me."
"Right, that..."
Well now the mood is completely ruined.
"Ah, fuck it. Look, you were just a scapegoat, okay? I was frustrated and miserable and I took out it on you."
Kazuma looked at me incredulously.
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yep. It wasn't anything you did, our relationship got ruined because I was a stupid bitch. Well? How does that make you feel, knowing that?"
I finally said it...
After a while, Kazuma let out a sigh.
"Honestly? ... I guess I feel a little relieved, but also super pissed."
"Good, that's how you ought to feel."
"I'll still never forgive you, Kiriya... but, thanks for telling me, I guess."
... so this is what closure feels like. A weight I had already gotten used to was lifted from my shoulders. I couldn't help but smile.
Kazuma suddenly made a contemplative expression.
"Oh yeah, I just realized, but if you're here, does that mean that you–"
"Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is really an emergency!"
And now Megumin is back. Chris ran in behind her.
"Sorry, she wriggled out of my hold."
I shrugged.
"Don't worry about it. I think this is enough for now, so thanks for your help. What's up, Megumin?"
Kazuma looked at me suspiciously.
"First Chris and now Megumin, why are you so familiar with my friends?"
Ignoring him, I gestured for Megumin to go ahead.
The girl gulped, then spoke in a panicked voice.
"The Red-eyed Rookie Killer is in trouble! Please help me!"