"Look, I know I'm on house arrest and all, so I don't really have say in the matter, but are you two sure about this?" Kazuma asked as Megumin and Yunyun walked towards the front door, pausing just before they exited. "I know your Explosion practice is important to you and all, but you've never gone out without me to bring you back in before."

"Relax, Kazuma. We already agreed to be quick about it, since the weather's finally kicked up, so we won't be going far." Megumin assured him, casting Yunyun a teasing smile. "I'm sure my self-proclaimed rival is more than capable of carrying me back once I'm finished."

"Hey! You agreed that it wasn't self-proclaimed!" Yunyun protested briefly, already flushed quite red. "You're lucky I even showed up today! I just wanted to check in on Kazuma after what happened last night at the hall!"

"Which I have to thank you for, again." Kazuma interjected, offering Yunyun a small smile. "You really didn't have to check in on me. I appreciate the thought, of course."

"Well, I was more than happy to make sure anyways!" The young mage assured him, before noticing Megumin's scowl and chuckling awkwardly. "Sorry, guess we should get going before the weather gets any worse."

"Yeah, probably." Megumin agreed, her annoyance seeping away and giving way to excitement at the prospect of finally getting to use Explosion again after such a long break. "Be back in a few hours, Kazuma! Don't do anything dangerous, or I swear to Eris-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Kazuma interrupted, not even bothering to entertain the explosion loli's thinly veiled threats. "Just...be careful. I don't feel like hauling both of you back here if you get overwhelmed by the weather."

"Couldn't even if you wanted to, right?" Megumin retorted smugly, all too aware of Aqua's decree, or more accurately the decree of Eris that was passed along by the useless goddess. "See you later!"

With that, the two magi departed into the crisp, cold air of the fresh winter season, leaving Kazuma alone in the main hallway of the mansion.

Well, those two are semi-competent. I'm sure they'll be fine. He thought to himself, before turning around and heading towards the kitchen, considering his next moves carefully. Now the question is how I can test Aqua and Darkness to see if they really are being controlled. What to do…

Stepping foot into the mansion's kitchen, he spotted both Aqua and Darkness sitting down by one of the counters conversing. While he didn't exactly have a plan in mind on how to approach them, doing nothing at all won't get him any results.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? He thought as he tried his best to look casual before walking up to them.

"Morning, you two!" He greets cheerily, sporting a broad smile. "Quick question for the both of you, should only take a second; do either of you feel like you're being puppeteered or manipulated in any way, or hear strange and threatening voices telling you to do as they command?"

Both women stared at Kazuma for a few seconds, and the thought occurred to Kazuma that he could have approached the question with more tact. Still, maybe he'd catch them off guard!

"I...don't think so." Aqua replied slowly, holding out her hands and flexing them experimentally, as if testing them for any magical resistance. "I feel normal. Darkness?"

"Only in my wildest dreams. But otherwise, no, I feel perfectly fine," replied the perverted crusader, absolutely sure in her conviction and with no shame in her voice. "Why do you ask, Kazuma?"

"Oh, you know. Just...making conversation." The young man offered, not sounding particularly confident in his answer.

Damn, I guess the control goes deeper than I expected. Guess I'm gonna have to play the long con here. Kazuma rambled mentally, hastily racking his brain. Think, think! What else could I do to try and trip these two up?

"Sooo...how about that boobytrapped dungeon we went on, huh? That sure was an experience, wouldn't you say?" He asked pleasantly, ilicting immediate reactions from both girls.

They locked up instantly, uncomfortable barley even covering the emotions that played on both of their faces. Darkness was clutching her mug so tightly it looked like it was about to shatter, and Aqua was staring a hole into the table with wide, almost panicked eyes.

Ok, that's...something. They clearly don't want to talk about it. Kazuma observed, debating his next move. I could prod a bit more, but...they do look really uncomfortable…

"Kazuma?" Aqua muttered softly, bringing the young man out of his mental musings as he met her gaze. "Could...could we talk about something else? Please?"

"I...yeah. Sure." Kazuma sputtered, taken off guard by just how shell-shocked the usually bubbly goddess looked. The last time he'd seen her so traumatized was after that quest when she got attacked by alligators. Mind control or not, it was frightening seeing her in such a fowl mood. "What, uh, what would you prefer to talk about then?"

"Literally anything else," spoke Darkness, looking genuinely upset this time. The only other time Kazuma could recall the girl looking like that was when he referred to her by her real name, and who could blame him? Lalatina's a funny name; the best name even!

"Ooook then, what about...your plans for the day?"

"Oh, um...I'm not really sure." Aqua admitted, some of her usual...well, her returning. "Since winter's finally rolled in, I didn't really have any plans outside of maybe testing out a few more cooking spells."

"Ah yes...cooking. I think I saw a cooking show once!"

Even Kazuma himself internally cringed the moment he said that. Was that really the best material he could come up with!? God, his social skills really have gone down the toilet, haven't they? Some days, he handled himself fine, but there were moments where his isolationist, shut-in side reared its ugly head and made things so much more difficult.

"Well, I myself was planning on practicing with a variety of training methods." Darkness announced, some of her respective energy returning as she turned to Kazuma with a pleading look. "I could use a partner for a few, if you were willing."

Her request sparked a recent memory in the virgin's mind. The last time he decided to spar with her, things almost ended up...well, he didn't really know himself, but right now his logic half and his lecherous half were having a drawn out debate within his psyche.

"I suppose I could help you. Maybe." He replied hesitantly, fixing the crusader with a long, curious, totally not lecherous look. "What exactly do you have planned?"

"Oh, mostly just the essentials." Darkness assured him with a bright smile, raising her hand to count off the steps. "Defensive moves, offensive moves, sparring, and some light endurance training."

Kazuma frowned, sweat beginning to form on his brow as his pervy side started to act up again, particularly over the very concept of ''endurance training''. A few not so savory images ran through his mind, and admittedly, he didn't exactly try and stop them.

"Uh...yeah. I think I can help you." Kazuma finally managed, not bothering to hide his blush in the slightest. "When do you plan on starting?"

"Oh, I should be ready after we finish breakfast." Darkness commented, before turning to Aqua with a pointed look. "Speaking of which, what did you have planned, Aqua?"

Aqua proceeded to ramble off a brand new recipe for a breakfast skillet, completely missing the sly wink that Darkness shot Kazuma before turning attention back to Aqua entirely.

She's planning something, that's for damn sure. Kazuma mused, cheeks still flushed as he took his seat beside the babbling goddess. The real question is what...and if I'm gonna enjoy it or not.

So caught up in his mental ramblings, he didn't notice Aqua shoot the crusader a questioning look, earning an excited nod in response. The goddess rolled her eyes, but offered a thumbs up to the still nodding Darkness, approving of whatever nefarious scheme she was planning for her little workout.

Because the temperature outside was too cold for Kazuma's liking (and because Darkness knew she would never hear the end of his complaining otherwise), the two decided to have their little training session indoors. Luckily for them, the mansion was big enough to house a wide, empty, dojo-like room that was perfect for what they had planned.

While waiting for his crusader friend to come back with all the assorted equipment, Kazuma paced around the circular room for a bit, his mind running a mile a minute.

Okay, not that I'm opposed to seeing bouncy, sweaty tits in action or anything, but what the hell are those two planning? he thought frantically to himself, still thoroughly convinced this was part of some big ruse. Aqua didn't even call me out when my mind was clearly in the gutter! That's way beyond fishy!

A minute or so later, Darkness entered the room, having ditched her armor but retrieved a series of training swords and other weapons. The sight wasn't a particularly unflattering one, as the blonde's...ahem, assets were plain as day even with her bodysuit hiding the important parts.

Crap, I gotta focus. Can't risk missing out anything important; she might let slip while her guard is down! Kazuma realized, pulling himself together mentally and stepping up beside his friend, who dropped a majority of the weapons into a disorganized pile in the far corner of the room.

"So, uh, what are we starting with then?"

"Well, I suppose that's up to you." Darkness replied, picking up a large wooden sword and giving it a few experimental swings. "I'd recommend starting with weapons training. Of course, I am more than happy to act as defense first-"

"Naturally." Kazuma deadpanned, scooping up his own sword and nodding in agreement. "Alright then, let's start with that. Any particular way you want to try this out?"

Darkness nodded, gesturing for Kazuma to follow her on the main floor of the dojo. Understanding where this was heading, Kazuma moved to the far side of the room and took his place across from Darkness.

"We shall begin on three, yes?" Darkness asked, earning a thumbs up in response. "Excellent. One, two...three!"

Kazuma sprang forward across the dojo and took a wild swing at the crusader. She blocked the blow easily. And she blocked the next...and the next...and the next. Unsurprisingly, Darkness' defensive skills and natural durability made the spar ever so boring as it mostly boiled down to Kazuma flailing desperately against the crusader's own blade. The few strikes that did land didn't make the situation much better, sparking momentary gasps and what Kazuma fully believed to be pleasured shudders from Darkness in the process.

Finally, after about five minutes, Kazuma dropped his sword and nearly fell to his knees, breathing raggedly and sweating profusely.

"Ok...you win...this round." He sputtered, earning a giggle from the crusader as she leveled a cheeky smile at him. "Don't look at me like that! If I had half your goddamn dexterity, I could have kicked the Devil King's ass already!"

"I'm not sure about that, but perhaps your confidence will make the difference." The crusader teased, before twirling her own sword in preparation. "Now, do you need a minute, or should we try offensive tactics?"

"You kidding? I'm just waiting on you." Kazuma retorted, still huffing and puffing but unwilling to give the girl any leeway. He crouched down to grab his sword, but managed to fall over in the process and took a moment as he lay sprawled out on the surprisingly cool wooden floor. "Maybe...just a few minutes."

"Take your time."

A few minutes later, Kazuma had pulled himself together well enough to stand, before getting into position across the room once more, hefting his sword up with some difficulty.

"On three?"

"On three." Darkness confirmed, visibly still amused. "One, two...three!"

This time, both adventurers lunged forward, meeting in the center of the room as their wooden blades clashed. To Darkness' surprise, Kazuma actually met her attack well, locking blades with her for several moments before pulling back and side stepping, resulting in the crusader stumbling forward and-

A sharp moan shot out of the crusader's mouth as Kazuma dropped his sword down on her back, resulting in a deliciously satisfying THWACK sound. Kazuma seemed to falter, though due to which noise wasn't quite clear. All the same, Darkness rounded on him with a swift uppercut, catching the young man right under the jaw and sending him flying backward into one of the dojo's walls.

"Kazuma!" Darkness shouted, rushing to his side as he hauled himself off the ground, looking relatively unharmed. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to hit you that hard!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just caught me off guard, is all." He assured her, sporting a nosebleed that he wasn't sure he'd earned from the punch or the noise Darkness made prior. "We can keep going, really."

"Well...if you are certain." Darkness relented reluctantly, still looking quite uncertain. "However, I want you to be honest with me if I'm being too rough."

"Dark, seriously. I'm fine." Kazuma insisted, completely missing the luminescent blush that formed on the crusader's face following the sudden nickname. "And I thought 'too rough' was your bread and butter?"

The blonde woman proceeded to sputter like a dying car, still caught off guard from Kazuma's exciting new pet name for her. "W-well, I-I mean, th-that may be true for me, but you haven't maxed out all of your defensive stats like I have!"

"Mhm. Whatever you say." Kazuma teased, knowing full well that he wasn't referring to her stats but allowing that fact to stay secret for the moment. "C'mon, we're burning daylight here. Let's try this again, shall we?"

Darkness reluctantly agreed, and the two returned to their respective places before resuming their sparring. For the next thirty minutes or so, the pair traded blows back and forth in a general skirmish. Darkness disarmed Kazuma four times, and Kazuma disarmed her twice, which was no easy feat.

"You're already improving, and so shortly after we've begun!" Darkness remarked pleasantly as they sat down for a break. "Perhaps we should do this more often, as proper training sessions."

"I guess that isn't the worst idea." Kazuma replied, still quite winded after all the strenuous activity he'd endured thus far. "I still have a long way to go before I get to your level, though."

"Perhaps, but I have faith in you, Kazuma. You've done the impossible before, surely you can handle a workout regimen." Darkness assured him politely, before rising to her feet and flashing him a bright smile. "Speaking of which, I believe now is as good a time as any to begin that endurance training I mentioned."

"Oh yeah?" Kazuma asked, ever so slightly unnerved at how pleased the crusader and raging masochist looked at that moment. That wasn't a good sign. "What's, uh, your idea?"

"Oh, you'll see, Kazuma-san." Darkness hummed, hauling her friend to his feet with a damn near sinister smirk. "You will certainly see."

"A-ah, fuck! Darkness-"

"Come on, Kazuma! Harder! I know you have it in you!"

"God, I think I'm gonna explode!"

"You're almost there, j-just a bit more!"

Aqua and Sena stood outside the dojo, both flashed quite red as the chorus of moans, explicatives, and panting raged on without pause.

"I, uh...I didn't think they were…" Aqua stuttered quietly, offering the royal prosecutor beside her an awkward smile. "Sorry you had to hear all of this."

"It's…quite alright, Ms. Aqua." Sena replied, discreetly whipping her bloody nose with a handkerchief and clearing her throat. "We should...probably give them their space."

"Yeah. Yeah." Aqua agreed, turning back to the door as the storm raged on. "Probably."

"Come on, Kazuma! Just a few more seconds!" Darkness cried, her voice laced with excitement. "Three, two, one..!"

Kazuma let out a wail of exertion as he plunged to the floor, drenched in sweat and panting like he'd just run a marathon. To be fair, burpees would do that to most people, as would a majority of Darkness' cardio routine she used for endurance.

"Very good, Kazuma! You completed three whole rounds!" Darkness chirped happily, not looking half as winded as the young man next to her. "Are you up for another?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Kazuma hissed, looking absolutely horrified at the idea. "I can literally barely move my limbs right now! I am NOT doing this again, not today!"

"Very well, I understand. Regardless, you did very well!" Darkness assured him, before offering him a hand and slowly pulling him to his feet. "Do you need any assistance walking?"

"No, I should be fine. Probably." Kazuma retorted, taking a few hesitant, painful steps and groaning. "Ugh. Yeah, I'll be fine. Definitely gonna be sore though."

"Oh, I'm sure you will be." Darkness agreed with a chuckle, starting for the room's exit. "Well, in any case, we both need to freshen up. When you are finished, we could check on Aqua and make sure she hasn't burned the house down."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Kazuma confirmed, before a mischievous look crossed his face. "And Dark? For future reference, next time you want to get in a situation where I end up beating you, just give it to me straight, will you? I don't mind giving my friends a hand when they need it."

Darkness froze on the spot, her face becoming a bright shade of red as she sputtered in shock and slight arousal. Kazuma cackled as he noticed her response, moving past her and opening the door...and coming face to face with Aqua and Sena and letting out a startled shriek.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING OUT HERE?!" He shouted, seemingly bringing both women back to reality. Aqua stammered and babbled helplessly, while Sena stumbled a few times before finally getting a grip on her words.

"I-I wanted to check on you after the attack last night! Ms. Aqua was kind enough to give me a tour of the mansion after my arrival. We stumbled across this room, and…" Sena trailed off as her cheeks flushed further and a fresh, small trickle of blood leaked from her nose. "I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion!"

Kazuma's face became as red as the prosecutor's once he realized what she meant. "N-no, no, WAIT, it's not what you think, I swear!" He would be damned if he was going to be called Pervzuma by his peers yet again.

"Y-you don't have to explain! We get the picture!" Aqua insisted vehemently, crossing her arms and shooting him a glare. "You and Darkness were-"

"TRAINING! WE WERE TRAINING!" Kazuma shrieked desperately, managing to silence both women temporarily. "She was walking me through her workout routine, honest! Darkness, tell them!"

Kazuma turned back to his training partner, expecting her to clear things up for him, only to find the woman flat on her back with a small fountain of blood gushing out of her nostrils. Her eyes were glazed over and her face, while beet red, was neutral and responsive.

She just HAD to revert back to her weirdo self, didn't she? thought the exhausted teenager sardonically. He turned back to Aqua and Sena, both of whom looked even less convinced now, and sighed heavily. This was gonna be a long talk.

Serena stood on the far side of the shrouded, freezing cold cabin that her fellow general's had secured the day before, arms crossed and lips pursed. She knew enough of the Demon King's Daughter to know that loose lips would earn her an early grave, so she planned on watching her words for the time being.

"So, to recap your escapades; you managed to infiltrate Axel, kill two royal guardsmen accompanying some prosecutor, and also managed to kill Kazuma Satou, the adventurer that has been a consistent strain on our plans for the last year." The Daughter listed off, her golden eyes sharp and deadly serious. "Well, I must admit, I am impressed...with how absolutely foolish the two of you are."

Serena's mood further sours, but Wolbach seems to be taking the ass-chewing relatively well, all things considered. Of course she would be, she couldn't give less of a damn about their current mission. Still, her expression did twitch slightly as The Daughter stalked forward with a terribly calm and yet entirely irate expression.

"You left without proper clearance, you attacked a hub of adventurer's just before MY operation was to take place, and you had the audacity to strike down the one man my father wanted to kill himself?!" She growled viciously, eyes glowing brighter as she glowered at both women with barely restrained rage.

"If I may, ma'am?" Wolbach interjected, unsettlingly calm despite the threatening aura surrounding her superior, who surprisingly motioned for her to speak. "While I understand your anger, I would like to extend my sincere apologies for our lack of communication. Clearly, Serena and I both have a lot to learn about proper maintenance of duty for our place in the Dark Lord's army."

Golden eyes dart to Serena briefly, forcing the priestess to nod hastily in an attempt to appease the armored woman. She hated groveling, but if it kept her alive, she was willing to make amends.

"...very well." The Daughter relented finally, seemingly composing herself and taking a few steps back. "I concur with your assessment, Wolbach, but you likely understand how much trouble you caused for me. Months of planning will likely need to be scrapped thanks to the raised security around Axel."

"I actually don't believe that is the case, ma'am." Wolbach interjected, surprising both of her fellow generals. "I believe your operation is still recoverable, if not entirely possible to ensure its success."

"That's quite the assurance, Wolbach." The Daughter mused, looking unconvinced. "How exactly do you propose such an improvement to my existing plan?"

"Simple, actually. I recently discovered something quite important thanks to Serena's snooping." Wolbach explained, her own lips quirking up slightly as she leaned forward. "I've finally found my other half."

The Daughter's eyebrows quirked up in surprise, but in a show of faith, tilted her head in question and motioned for the goddess to continue.

"Go on."


SPECIAL THANKS, ONCE AGAIN, TO 0NE SWOOD GUY FOR HIS HELP ON MY CHAPTER