Kazuma stood by the front door of the mansion, mentally warring with himself about just what to do next. On one hand, he needed to get out of the house and think for a bit, but on the other, the girls would be pretty pissed at him if he left without telling them again. After last night, though...he wasn't sure he wanted to talk to them quite yet.
"Maybe I should leave a note this time." He muttered to himself, eyeing the door before him cautiously before turning around and heading for the kitchen, where he could grab some paper. "It'd be a step in the right direction, anyway."
A few minutes later he had a note informing his friends of his plan to walk through town for some fresh air, maybe stopping at Wiz's along the way. After briefly debating where to leave it, he settled with simply pinning it to Aqua's bedroom door and hoping his friends were smart enough to check there.
Shortly after, he made his way outside, fully prepared to make the long walk back to town alone and in silence. Luckily, it seemed that fate had other plans, as he barely reached the main gate of the property when a familiar voice called out to him.
"Kazuma-sama!" Yunyun shouted, waving ecstatically at her fellow adventurer as she approached the gate, smiling brightly. "I didn't expect you to be up this early!"
"Hey, Yunyun!" Kazuma greeted in turn, returning her smile along with a related wave. "Yeah, I had a...interesting night, so I wanted to get an early start on the day. What about you?"
"Oh! W-well, I uh...I wanted to bring you a gift." Yunyun admitted bashfully, averting her gaze as she flushed a bright red. "I know you said it was no big deal when you saved me, but I still felt like you deserved something."
"Wow, that's...that's really sweet, Yunyun." Kazuma uttered, surprised by the girl's candor and kindness. He hadn't been aware she could be so generous. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"W-well, I-I made you t-these!" Yunyun answered, thrusting a small basket in his direction that he somehow hadn't noticed before then. "I-it's just some muffins and sweets I whipped up, n-nothing special."
"What? Yunyun, don't sell yourself short!" Kazuma retorted, beaming as he accepted the basket. "I really appreciate you going to the trouble for me, especially since you didn't have to."
Yunyun didn't really reply to his thanks, still quite flustered and keeping her eyes downcast. Kazuma frowned at this reaction, and against his better judgment, reached out and grabbed the girl's shoulder, making her jump and finally return her gaze to him.
"Yunyun, thank you for your gracious gift, one which I do not deserve." He thanked, his voice soft and kind. "I am truly lucky to have a friend as generous and wonderful as yourself. Thank you."
Yunyun was silent for a moment, gaping at the young man before her with flushed cheeks and wide eyes. Eventually, she managed to pull herself together enough to giggle softly, a beautiful smile rising on her face.
"You are far too kind, Kazuma-sama." She replied shyly, eyes glowing ever so slightly. "I am equally lucky to have you as a friend. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please let me know."
"Well...there is one thing, actually." Kazuma admitted, removing his hand from her shoulder scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I was planning on heading into town just now, and some company would be nice. If you weren't busy, I was wondering if you'd like to walk with me."
"That sounds absolutely lovely!" Yunyun replied pleasantly, lacing her hands together excitedly. "I'd love to accompany you back."
"Great! Just, uh, give me a second to put your gift inside." Kazuma replied, hastily starting back towards the front door. "Be back in a second!"
Yunyun just smiled happily as she waited by the gate, fully aware of her racing heart and ultra warm cheeks. She wasn't quite sure what she was feeling, but she had a pretty good idea.
"I never thought Kazuma of all people could be so...charming." She thought to herself, sighing happily as she cupped her cheeks briefly, cheeks still flush. "Someday, I think I'll be able to ask him out. Someday…"
Aqua was the first to wake up that morning, rising with a dramatic yawn and stretching before glancing around her room. Megumin was curled up in her dark red blanket, Chomusuke curled up next to her and purring softly. Darkness was also nearby, still huddled in her own blankets and smiling blissfully as she seemingly enjoyed an unknown dream. As for Kazuma…
...Kazuma...was...gone?
"KAZUMAAAAA!"
The two sleeping girls both woke up in a panic thanks to the useless goddess's shriek, as Aqua practically sprung out of her bed and searched around the room frantically.
"Aqua, what the hell?" Megumin hissed tiredly, rubbing her eyes before glaring at the goddess. "We're trying to sleep here!"
"Kazuma's gone!" Aqua sputtered, looking thoroughly frazzled as she turned to face her party members. "He's supposed to be recovering, so where the hell did he go?!"
"...Aqua, he's fully capable of taking care of himself." Darkness assured her firmly, standing a stretching, now fully awake. "He probably just returned to his room, or decided to whip up some breakfast."
"Or he's going into town."
Aqua and Darkness turned in unison to face Megumin, who was now clutching a small sheet of paper and standing in the doorway. As the other girls approached, she offered the paper and let them read it.
"Wanted to go for a walk, heading into town. Promise to take it easy, see you all tonight." Aqua read aloud, pursing her lips into a frown and pouting. "He couldn't even wait for us to wake up before he left. Damn hikineet!"
"Oh, come now, Aqua!" Darkness comforted, patting the goddess's shoulder and offering her a good natured smile. "I'm sure he just needed a bit of fresh air. He's allowed some time to recover, however he sees fit."
"Yeah, I know. It just...still makes me anxious." Aqua murmured, before shaking her head and returning the girl's smile. "Well, I guess he'll be back eventually. For now, anyone want breakfast?"
"Yes please!" Megumin confirmed eagerly, practically darting out of the room with her teammates in tow. "I'm starving, and a powerful arch wizard like myself needs her strength!"
The girls made their way to the kitchen, chatting idly amongst themselves before noticing something strange. A small basket sat on the counter, one adorned with muffins, cookies, brownies and small sweets with a green bow on top.
"What's that?" Aqua asked, inspecting the basket and excitedly eying up the goodies inside. "Wow, this stuff looks good! Who made it?"
"It seems to be a gift. Perhaps someone stopped by during the night and dropped it off?" Darkness suggested, before Megumin plucked the small card that was at the pinnacle of the treat tower. "What does the card say?"
"It's from...Yunyun?!" Megumin exclaimed, her expression morphing between surprise and slight irritation. "She made these...for Kazuma?!"
The three girls all met each other's gaze, seemingly simultaneously agreeing that such a development was something they were definitely going to have to keep an eye on. After all, they didn't want any stray variables when it came to their current situation with Kazuma.
Kazuma's trek into Axel was markedly less boring, as he expected. It was nice to have someone to talk to, which really started to show off just how his shut in tendencies were starting to falter, bit by bit.
To his surprise, Yunyun actually was quite talkative during their walk, which was a bit bizarre coming from the usually shy and awkward girl, but not at all an unlikable change. Quite the contrary, it was actually really nice to see her so happy and talkative.
However, a traitorous little voice in the back of his mind kept insisting that something about her behavior was...off. It was a terribly sudden change from usual, and one that Kazuma couldn't really pinpoint a reason for. It weighed on him a little, but he was able to brush it off for the most part.
Eventually, they arrived in Axel and made their way towards Wiz's shop, stopping along the way at the Guild Hall so Yunyun could link up with Chris to cash in their bounty.
"You're more than welcome to come with me, you know." She assured him, offering him a kind smile. "Chris agreed that you should get a cut of the reward considering you helped us."
"Thanks, but I'm fine with not getting a share." Kazuma assured her with a dismissive wave. "Plus, I got my own business with Wiz. She's already being kind enough to give me advice with a...um, personal issue. I shouldn't make her wait longer than I have to."
"Ok, fair enough." Yunyun relented, before sparring him a more bashful look and lacing her hands together. "So...do you think that the others would be upset if I showed up more often at your mansion?"
"No, I don't think they'd mind at all!" Kazuma replied, smiling broadly. "Please, feel free to visit at any time. Megumin would be thrilled, too."
"Great! I'll see then, Kazuma!" Yunyun chirped, before suddenly wrapping him in a brief hug before practically skipping into the hall, leaving the stunned adventurer outside with a fresh batch of questions already brewing in his mind.
"What the hell was that?" He thought to himself as he walked away, now visceral confused. "We were definitely not on a hugging basis last we spoke. I mean, I don't mind this new Yunyun, but still...what's gotten into her?"
His thoughts dwelled on the question for several more minutes until he arrived at Wiz's storefront, when his attention was finally pulled in a new direction. Taking a breath and clearing his mind, he opened the door and entered the shop.
To his surprise, Vanir was nowhere to be seen, which was a bit odd considering he typically liked to hang around the shop both to keep Wiz from making further poor financial decisions, as well as indulging in a fresh source of negative emotions from most customers.
All the same, Wiz raised her gaze away from whatever she was working on and gasped in surprise as she realized who just entered, smiling brightly.
"Kazuma! I had no idea you were coming!" She greeted pleasantly, moving around the counter and moving towards him, prompting the young man to return her smile and greet her in turn.
"Hey, Wiz. good to see you t-MPH!"
Kazuma's reply was cut off as he suddenly found his head wedged between Wiz's breasts, the kind litch having wrapped him into an unexpected hug, which also happened to land in a position he'd never considered possible outside of shameful dreams.
"H-holy crap, what is going on today?!" He shrieked inside, trying to decide whether it'd be better to pull back or just enjoy the moment. "Did Eris give me a blessing or something? I've never been this lucky before!"
"I'm so glad you've come to visit! I was considering doing it myself, but I didn't know how your recovery was going." Wiz explained, completely unaware of Kazuma's current compromising position. "All the same, I'm so pleased you've arrived! Oh, one moment! I'll get some tea started."
Wiz released him at that point, hurriedly moving towards the stove behind her and completely missing the young man's blissful expression and nosebleed. A few minutes later, they were sitting at their usual table, tea cups in hand and ready to talk.
"So, how has your recovery been going?" Wiz asked eagerly, still smiling sweetly.
"Well enough, I guess." Kazuma replied, taking a sip of his tea before continuing. "I haven't been experiencing any pain or anything like that. So far, it's been pretty great."
"That's wonderful to hear!" Wiz responded ecstatically, before noticing the nervous look on Kazuma's face and faltering ever so slightly. "But...there is something else wrong?"
"Maybe. I guess wrong is a stretch, but...it still kinda freaked me out." Kazuma explained, sighing heavily before beginning to explain. "I, uh...I kinda had a dream. Involving the girls."
"Oh! Well, that doesn't seem so bad!" Wiz commented, clearly painfully unaware of what Kazuma was attempting to insinuate. "Does that mean you resolved whatever has been troubling you about their behavior?"
"Uh, no actually. It's been better, but I'm still kinda uncertain about a few things. This is a new issue." Kazuma clarified, chuckling nervously. "The dream...it wasn't exactly innocent, if you catch my meaning..?"
"I'm...not sure I do." Wiz admitted, completely obvious. "What exactly occurred in this dream?"
"Well...there's no easy way to say this." Kazuma replied, a bit flustered. Normally, he wasn't ashamed of his own wants and desires. When talking to Wiz, however...he kinda felt bad. "The dream was, uh...sexually charged."
"Oh." Was all Wiz could come up with at first, her cheeks darkening a few shades as the pieces finally clicked together in her mind. "Oh, I-I see. Goodness, I can certainly see the problem."
"Yeah, it's...not really good." Kazuma agreed, chuckling nervously. "So...does that...mean anything?"
"W-well, I suppose that's up to you, really." Wiz deflected, trying her hardest to suppress her blush and pressing her thighs together with all the force she could manage. "How do you...well, feel about your dream?"
"Uncomfortable." Kazuma answered almost instantaneously, earning him a surprised look. "I mean, don't get me wrong. The girls are extremely attractive, but it just kinda felt...wrong, to think of them like that. I mean, I've done it before obviously. A lot. Maybe."
"I...see." Wiz replied slowly, balancing her mind between rationality and a surprisingly strong spike of jealousy that had sparked up within her. "But this time felt wrong?"
"Yeah, kinda. There was just something about it that felt so weird." Kazuma admitted, before his eyebrows shot up as he seemed to remember something. "Hey, there actually was something specific about it that bothered me."
"Oh?" Wiz chimed in, her rational side finally winning out. "What is it?"
"They sounded weird." Kazuma answered, staring at his cup of tea as he recalled the dream in question. "The girls, I mean. They just sounded really strange, like someone was doing a half-ass impersonation of them between...ah, you know."
"Hmm. Well, that's certainly curious." Wiz admitted, tilting her head in consideration. "Your medicine. Does it have any side effects?"
"Oh, uh...a few I think." Kazuma confirmed, trying his best to recall them. "Itchy skin, dizziness, nausea...and rare cases of dream manipulation."
"Well, I suppose that solves that." Wiz hummed, a small smile rising on her face. "You might want to talk to your doctor about your current treatment if these dreams persist."
"Yeah. I guess you're right." Kazuma agreed hesitantly, slapping on an embarrassed smile. "Sorry for dumping that on you, I just needed some advice and considering our prior arrangement…"
"I understand, Kazuma." Wiz assured him, flashing her own smile. "Truthfully, I'm actually pleasantly surprised that you trust me with such things, uncomfortable as they may be."
"Yeah, well...don't really know who else I'd go to for stuff like this." Kazuma admitted, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Only person I'd really trust with this is you."
Wiz flushed a dark crimson at that remark, her mouth opening into a surprised circle. Suddenly, Kazuma became terribly aware of the litch's gorgeous brown eyes boring into him with unbelievable warmth.
"Uh...Wiz? Did I say something wrong?" He asked nervously, before jolting slightly as her hands came to rest over his own. "W-Wiz?!"
"Kazuma-sama." Wiz murmured quietly, her eyes locked with his, before dropping slightly lower as he cheeks seemed to darken another shade. It took a second or two to realize that her gaze had drifted to his lips.
This...couldn't be happening. Truely, it couldn't be. Kazuma was smart enough to know that a girl as spectacular as Wiz would never be looking at him the way she was right now. Not unless…
Kazuma stood up suddenly, seemingly shocking Wiz enough to break whatever trance she was in as he bowed to her, muttered a quick thank you, and bolted out of the door. He was moving too fast to be sure, but a part of him swore that a suited demon was waiting just beside the shop as he exited, grin as wide as ever.
"Pull yourself together, man. You're freaking out over nothing." He berated himself as he continued to put distance between himself and the shop. "Honestly, are you this socially inept that when they show you the slightest kindness or appreciation you panic and run off?"
Eventually, Kazuma came to a stop outside of the very Guild Hall he had left Yunyun at almost an hour before, trying his hardest to sort himself out without making a scene. He really was overreacting over nothing. Wiz was always really sweet, Yunyun was always a nice girl and probably a hugger, Aqua and Megumin and Darkness were always his closest friends in the world who he totally didn't have any feelings for because that would jeopardize the few stable relationships he had in this world-
"Are you alright, Satou?"
Kazuma jumped slightly, turning to face Sena, who was nearby with a concerned expression. She was also out of her usual outfit, instead clad in a stunning red dress that he never could have pictured her in in his wildest dreams.
"Uh...that's a surprisingly hard question to answer right now." Kazuma admitted with a stressed chuckle, before hastily changing the subject. "How about you? You look a bit more...laid back then usual."
"Thank you? I was told to take a day off by my assistant, under threat of him going on strike." Sena explained, adjusting her glasses as she spoke. "So here I am. What about you?"
"Eh, just my normal brand of turmoil. Don't worry about it." Kazuma replied dismissively, before crossing his arms and sizing the prosecutor up. "In the spirit of pulling myself together, any interest in getting a drink?"
"Shockingly, that doesn't sound like the worst idea I've ever heard." Sena commented, before sighing and meeting the young man's gaze. "What the hell? There's certainly worse drinking partners. Lead the way."
Kazuma nodded, turning and heading into the Guild Hall with Sena in tow, unaware of a pair of black eyes that followed him as he entered. Their owner smiled darkly, before crossing the street and entering the hall as well, discreet as could be.
