Kazuma sighed blissfully as he sank into the warm bath he'd spent most of the morning preparing, feeling refreshed and surprisingly content with the current situation. The girls were all happy, Wolbach had been well behaved as promised, and most shockingly of all, he was finally getting some peace and quiet!
Last time I wanted peace, I had to accidentally wear a wishing choker that would've killed me otherwise, he thought to himself amusedly, before frowning at what came after. But then I had to be a dick for no reason and Aqua put the choker right back on me. Not that I didn't deserve it, but still…
It wasn't exactly his finest moment, not that he had many he could even consider fine. Still, he'd grown a lot since then...at least, he felt like he did. Sometimes, it was hard to tell, even after everything that he'd gone through, if he was really a decent person. He wasn't foolish enough to say good, but decent...he could work with that.
To prevent any negative fleeting thoughts from coming in, Kazuma sank his body deeper into the hot bath, letting the warm water encompass his entire body. However, he would not make the same mistake of falling asleep again, even if that did lead to him getting a good view at Darkness in all her glory. But still, no falling asleep in the bath anymore; he could've drowned the last time.
Guess that's a luck stat for you. Helpful 99% of the time...just pray that when that 1% swings around, you aren't doing anything too important. He thought to himself, sighing heavily. Still, no harm in enjoying the high life while it lasts. Days like this don't come around often enough.
After savoring nirvana for just a little while longer, Kazuma eventually pushed himself to actually clean himself and step out of the still warm water. He pulled the drain plug, dried his hair, wrapped a towel around his waist, and made the journey back to his room in order to change.
However, along the way, he could have sworn a distinct pattern of footsteps that seemed to mirror his own. He stopped twice, glancing over his shoulder and finding no one there. He chalked it up to residual paranoia, probably nothing more than the creaking of the house. With that sentiment in mind, he turned back around to continue his walk…
And found himself nearly tripping into the cleavage of a dark goddess.
"Wah - !?"
Kazuma was able to catch himself from falling face first into Wolbach's boobs (though he wasn't entirely sure if that was lucky or unlucky for him). The woman in question, meanwhile, didn't seem to be particularly phased by this at all. She still carried with her that same neutral, calculating expression on her face.
"Good morning, Satou." She greeted with a small nod, apparently content with their introduction. "I assume you slept well? You certainly seem...energetic."
Kazuma raked a hand through his damp hair as he awkwardly replied, "Uh...yeah, good morning to you too, Wolbach. You seem...clinically alive, I guess?"
"I certainly hope so." Wolbach retorted, before an awkward silence formed between the two as they both stood in the hallway, apparently both terribly uncertain of how to continue their conversation.
"...so...this weather, huh?" Kazuma attempted, chuckling dryly as he rubbed his eyes. "God, why did I say that? It literally hasn't changed in like three days, I thought it was supposed to be winter!"
As socially inept as Kazuma could be sometimes, even he could tell that the slight eye twitch from Wolbach meant she was cringing with him as well. This was further backed up by her plainly stating, "We're both quite bad at making conversation…"
"Yeah, if I had an eris for everytime I flubbed a conversation, I'd be twice as rich as I am now."
"Were it so easy?" Wolbach agreed with an almost amused hum, her lips quirking up ever so slightly. "In my defense, I typically don't have to make idle conversation in my line of work. Usually, my interactions consisted of orders, arguments, and placating the Devil King's daughter after one of our fellow generals mucked something up or got themselves killed."
"...Well great, now you made my defense sound more like an excuse. I mean, okay, maybe secluding myself from society is kind of an excuse - BUT! I still had my reasons…" Kazuma defended pointedly, earning another hum from the goddess.
"I'm sure you do. Everyone does, of course." She stated, before tapping her chin in thought. "How strange, though. You seem to banter and converse more easily with your party members. Do you think it's because of exposure, or that you really just find yourself that much more at ease in their presence?"
Wolbach really threw Kazuma for a loop on that one. But she made a valid point: he did find it easier to chat and banter with his team. The same team he had eventually come to call his family, even more so than his "real" one back on Earth. So how come he didn't have much trouble socializing with them?
Kazuma scratched his neck as he slowly answered, "Well...when you're in the unavoidable position to lead a trio of idiots, you get to see all sides of them: both the good and the ugly. So I guess I found it kinda reassuring that they were fine with being themselves around me. It's almost something to be admired."
He then chuckled and quickly added, "Besides, when you've stared into the void for as long as I have, you gotta learn to laugh at it lest it swallows you whole. It's just how I cope, and I can look back at our memories together and laugh my ass off all day long."
Wolbach seemed surprised with sincerity of his answer, nodding slowly as she mulled it over before speaking again. "That's...surprisingly inspired. You really are a walking contradiction, aren't you, Kazuma Satou?"
"Seriously, why does everyone keep saying that about me?" He said to himself aloud. "Are they implying that I really am trash most of the time?"
"While I can't speak for whoever else has made such remarks, what I'm trying to say is...you aren't what I expected." Wolbach explained carefully, lacing her hands together as she continued. "Stories new and old paint you as a number of things. Brave, foolish, perverse, kind, wise, and remarkably stupid, all at once. And the kicker is, it's all true! You're not one dimensional, or a pure or corrupt being. You're just...you. A middle ground between light and dark. Most people can't ride that line, but you...you thrive on it...and that is fascinating in its own right."
Kazuma shrugged lightly. "That just sounds like being human to me. I don't see what's so fascinating about it."
"Perhaps it's just a matter of perspective. Who am I to say? I'm not even human!" Wolbach remarked, before her eyes seemed to soften ever so slightly and she lay one of her hands on Kazuma's shoulder. "However...give it some thought. Whether you realize it or not, you are a remarkable person, Satou. Perhaps it is time you come to terms with that."
Getting hit with some unexpected thoughts and feelings upon hearing that, Kazuma coughed into his fist. "Well, uh, I should go now. I just realized I'm standing in the middle of the hallway wearing nothing but a towel."
"...Ah. Right. O-of course." Wolbach sputtered, retracting her hand hastily from his bare shoulder and faking her own cough, seemingly having finally registered the awkwardness of their current arrangement. "Well, I'll...go see how your friends are faring in the kitchen then."
"Yeah...that sounds like a plan."
"Indeed."
Despite their mutual agreement, neither had yet to move.
"...so...I move first, you move first?" Kazuma offered with a questioning smile.
"Oh! Uh, right, that seems reasonable."
However, there was some kind of miscommunication as both participants had stepped to the side simultaneously, causing them to block each other's path. This pattern repeated itself for about ten seconds before Kazuma started to snicker and just stepped aside, gesturing for Wolbach to just walk by.
"Please. We're gonna be here for the rest of eternity if you don't."
"Ah, yes. Thank you, Satou," Wolbach said as she took the initiative and moved first. The moment she turned the corner, Kazuma groaned to himself and rubbed his face in with his palms.
"Well. That was...certainly a way to start the day." He groaned to himself, before chuckling again as he shook his head. It seemed even a dark goddess wasn't immune to awkward tension. Just his luck.
Without further delay, Kazuma retreated back into the inner sanctum he liked to call his bedroom. Locking the door behind him, he sighed as he collected his thoughts while he went to change. Shortly after getting dressed, however, he noticed what seemed to be a small, quivering lump under his blanket on his bed.
Cocking an eyebrow, Kazuma went over to his bed and gently lifted the blanket up. Only to nearly get scratched in the face by a very upset Chomusuke. The cat retreated further back into the blanket as Kazuma let the corner go.
"The hell?! What's your deal, Chomps?" Kazuma asked, obviously receiving no real reply and instead opting to huff in annoyance and cross his arms. "Look, I love you, you're great company, but if you're gonna have a meltdown, at least do it outside of my room! C'mon, fur ball, you've worn out your welcome!"
The cat must've understood him because the second the words came out of his mouth, Chomusuke slid out of the blanket and scampered into a dark corner of his closet. She continued to tremble, occasionally letting out an agitated meow every so often.
Kazuma grumbled again, before deciding that the closet was better than his bed. Retrieving his spare blanket, he tucked it into the opposite corner of the closet for the cat to lay on before shaking his head in exasperation and moving to leave his room.
Wonder why Chomps is still upset, he wondered to himself as he walked. At first, I thought it was because she sensed the town was about to be under attack. Y'know, like how cats and dogs can sense a thunderstorm coming. So how come she hasn't gotten over herself?
Kazuma could feel the still tension in the air the moment he stepped foot into the kitchen. Wolbach was on the far side of the room, calmly nursing a cup of tea, with Megumin and Darkness sitting on either side of the table as Aqua glared daggers into the dark mage.
Kazuma expected nothing less.
"Mornin' guys," he said in an attempt to alleviate the tension within the room. "How is everyone?"
"Oh, good morning, Kazuma!" Darkness greeted with a polite wave, before glancing at both goddess and humming. "I'm doing quite well, as is Megumin. As for the others…"
"I'm fine. Absolutely fine." Aqua retorted sharply, never tearing her gaze away from Wolbach. "Just keeping an eye on our new housemate, that's all."
"Aqua, I say this as your party member and friend; you gotta stop being weird." Megumin insisted, looking thoroughly annoyed with the water goddess' antics. "It's like nine in the morning, it's too early for this."
"I concur with the little one," Wolbach said in between sips. "I'll I have done is come in to make some tea for myself. Is that such an unholy act to commit?"
"You're you. Any act you commit is unholy." Aqua stated coldly, eyes narrowing further. "And for the record, I don't trust you, so I see no reason why I shouldn't be precocious."
Wolbach rolled her eyes. "Very well, go ahead and be paranoid for all eternity. I'll just be sipping this nice hot beverage in the meantime." She then took an extra long sip to amplify her point. "This is really good."
"Yeah, you two got some things to work out clearly." Kazuma snorted, shaking his head and moving to join his girlfriends at the table. "So, what's on the agenda today, then?"
Darkness and Megumin quickly looked at each other, both telepathically agreeing on what to do next. While Aqua's gaze never left Wolbach, she still kept her ears open as Darkness said to Kazuma, "Well, since you're already here, the girls and I were wondering if you could be a dear and run to the market square. It is your turn to make a grocery run."
"Ok, sure. I could do with getting out and stretching my legs anyhow." Kazuma agreed, a bit excited at the prospect. While carrying the load back would be a bit tedious, he actually did enjoy going through the market and seeing what all the stalls had to offer. "Did you guys write up a list yet, or do you want me to grab the essentials?"
"Mostly just the essentials," Megumin answered. "But, if it's not too much trouble, I was hoping you could bring back some blood apples if they got any."
"...'Blood apples'?"
Having rehearsed ahead of time, Megumin nodded confidently. "Yup. They're a subspecies of apples in which their juices are red and thick like blood. Very tasty, we Crimson Demons love to bite into them and pretend we cannibalized a living creature. It's hardcore!"
"...wow. I...wasn't expecting that." Kazuma admitted numbly, surprised (and slightly revolted) with the exuberant description Megumin had provided him. "I mean, if you really want them, I'll...see what I can do? Any ideas which stall would even carry them?"
The archwizard simply shrugged. "I think it's one of those types of fruit you have to specifically ask the vendor if they carry."
"Hmm. Alright, I'll see what I can do." Kazuma assured her, before turning to Darkness and Aqua, the latter of whom still hadn't blinked. "Anything else?"
Darkness said no and Aqua only responded with a slight shake of the head, eyes never turning away from the dark goddess calmly sipping tea.
"Ok then, Wolbach? Can I get you anything while I'm out?"
"How about some more of this tea if that doesn't trouble you?" she asked after sighing in content from taking another sip.
"Sure thing, I can pick that up easy." Kazuma agreed, before standing and stretching before starting for the door. "Welp, guess I should get started on my errands. See you in a few hours?"
"I certainly hope so." Darkness replied, smiling brightly. "We'll be waiting for you when you get back!"
"Have fun, Kazuma!" Megumin cried out as Kazuma retreated further towards the front door. "Remember, blood apples and tea!"
"Be careful out there, Kazuma!" Aqua tacked on, finally averting her gaze ever so slightly so she could watch him leave. "If you don't, there will be consequences!"
A few seconds later, the front door opened and promptly closed, leaving the three party mates and dark goddess to an almost content silence.
"So...when should the others be here, then?" Megumin asked, turning her head to face Darkness, who had released a sigh of relief and slumped into her seat slightly.
"Within the hour. That's when I told Chris to have them here by, anyways." She replied diligently, before noticing the low but amused chuckle that was slipping past Wolbach's lips. "And what about this is so amusing to you?"
"Oh, just relishing whatever mischief is going to occur here today." The dark goddess hummed, her eyes twinkling dangerously. "Whatever you minxes have planned is certainly going to be entertaining, I guarantee it."
"Stuff it, you hussy!" Aqua fumed, pointing at the goddess with unrestrained fury. "You have the next minute to get out of my sight before I use God Blow to turn you into paste!"
"Mhm, and I'm positively shaking in my boots." Wolbach snarked, before rolling her eyes and placing her now empty teacup down in the sink. "All the same, I'll leave you to your little pow-wow for the moment. Wouldn't want to intrude, after all."
With her head held high and a complacent grin on her face, the former demon general exited the kitchen, entirely disregarding the murderous look Aqua was sending her way.
"Really, Aqua, you needn't be so aggressive with her." Darkness assured her friend and teammate with a concerned tone. "She clearly doesn't harbor any ill will towards us."
"Yeah, I'll be honest with you here, so far you've been the instigator whenever she does anything around you," Megumin added in a quiet voice.
"I-you-unbelievable! Why am I the only one who sees that dark goddess for the threat she is?!" Aqua sputtered in disbelief, before shaking her head and putting the thought aside for a later time. "We can discuss her later. For now, we should get ready for when the others arrive."
Now that was something all three of the girls could agree on. However, Aqua and Megumin noticed how their crusader friend had gone suddenly stiff. Her hands were fidgeting ever so slightly and a few beads of sweat could be seen forming on her forehead.
"Ah, forgive me friends," Darkness said after clearing her throat. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about this meeting."
"Yeah, I feel the same way. It's...gonna be an experience, that's for sure." Megumin agreed with a nervous chuckle, before a smile crept onto her face and she countered her previous statement. "Still, at least we have each other, right?"
Darkness smiled. "True, we will always have each other; that will never change. Isn't that right, Aqua?"
"Yeah...yeah, it is." Aqua confirmed, her mood finally settling as she fixed her teammates, friends, and fellow girlfriends with a big smile. "We'll always have each other."
It took about an hour for everyone to assemble at the mansion. Yunyun was the last to arrive, just as a fresh wave of snow swept in. Apparently, winter was finally deciding to make a comeback. All the same, the girls assembled in the living room, moving their seats to sit in a loose circle so they could all face each other.
"First off, I'd like to thank you all once again for coming on such short notice," Darkness began formally. "It means a great deal to us that you've stopped by for this impromptu meeting."
"Of course! From what Chris has told us, this meeting was of great significance and it was pertinent that we were all here." Sena replied, sparing the thief a questioning look. "Though, you never really mentioned what about this matter was so pressing."
"Well, I just thought it best to save it for when we're all here," Chris replied simply. "And while you're all sitting down of course."
"That's...ominous. Quite so, actually." Wiz remarked, glancing among her friends in confusion. "What exactly is this about, if I may ask?"
Kazuma's party briefly looked to one another before Aqua sighed and volunteered to be the one to rip the band aid off. "Chris here informed us that you all have a thing for Kazuma, her included."
There was a beat of silence as the words hung in the air, as though it took a moment to even process them. Once the newcomers did, however, there was an immediate reaction of chaos as three of the four women tried to speak all at once.
But in the midst of the shouting match, there was a certain Crimson Demon girl who did not participate. Instead, she shook feverishly and was quick to cave in on herself. It wasn't long before she started sobbing, which broke the other girls out of their drowned arguments.
"IT'S TRUE!" Yunyun sobbed. "I FEEL SO ASHAMED! I-I-I knew you three were a-already d-d-dating him but I...I TRIED TO CONFESS ANYWAY!" Any coherent sentence was lost on her as she audibly cried into her hands.
"I have no idea what you're talking about! I would never entertain such a scandalous idea!" Sena sputtered hastily, her cheeks blazing a bright red as she practically shot out of her seat, immediately shifting to pacing the room. "A-as if I would...I mean, I may have once...o-or twice...but I would never truly...oh, goddammit!"
"I...didn't realize I wasn't the only one," Wiz mumbled softly, becoming more and more restless in her seat. "I...Well, I really don't know what to say here…"
"Huh. Broader range of reactions than I was expecting. I...probably should have thought this through a bit more…" Chris mused, before turning to the girls and offering them an awkward smile. "So...now that we all know why we're here, what happens next?"
"You really think we know? This was your operation, Chris!" Megumin groaned, before sighing in irritation and holding up her hands. "Ok, first off, everyone calm down! If we're actually gonna discuss this, then we should be at least semi-composed."
Megumin's rational line of thought was enough to mostly settle everyone down. Yunyun, meanwhile, was still struggling to get a hold on her emotions as she continuously sniffled and whimpered to herself.
"That goes double for you, Yun," Megumin groaned, already becoming annoyed by her self-proclaimed rival. "There's some tissues in the kitchen if you need 'em. Go blow your nose and come back when you're ready."
Yunyun did as instructed, practically jumping out of her chair and darting off to the kitchen. A few minutes passed before she rejoined them, still looking quite upset but having stopped crying and sniffling for the most part.
"Better?" asked Megumin before she received a weak nod. "Good. Now for the tough part to commence," she sighed, rubbing her temples. "You four all have feelings for Kazuma, to one degree or another, right?"
Every woman present slowly nodded, with Wiz in particular wanting to get her feelings off her chest. "Ever since I first met Kazuma, he's shown me unconditional kindness like I've never experienced before! Even after learning of my nature as an Undead on top of being a former general, he still continued to treat me as an equal...as a friend...So, yes, I do care for that boy quite a bit if I may be honest."
"Well, I suppose if we are being honest...yes, I do have feelings for Kazuma." Sena admitted with a heavy sigh, her blush still present, though much more calm than before. "As Wiz described, he was kind and polite when he really didn't need to be, not to mention it was just nice to have someone you knew you could trust with just about anything. Given my position, I haven't had someone like that in a long time, and since we became proper friends...I started to fall for him."
Being the experienced thief that she was, Chris kept her cool as she smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, he's just one of those types of guys who doesn't like to show his true colors unless he feels comfortable with you. Kazuma can be a perv sometimes, but he's honestly a really nice guy deep down. He's always willing to do the right thing, even if it serves as a detriment to him. It's quite admirable...dare I say attractive."
"I couldn't agree more. He did save my life, after all." Yunyun agreed quietly, fidgeting in her seat as she continued. "I've been lonely most of my life, as Megumin can attest to, but Kazuma...he's always been there for me, always offered to hang out or reassured me that I'm welcome here. He can be so sweet sometimes, I can hardly bear it!"
Yunyun squeezed herself tightly while closing her eyes and imagining Kazuma hugging her. But soon her gleeful high wore off, and she slumped back down in shame.
"But...I know I can never have him. He's already committed to you three. I'm just being selfish. I'm sorry...C-can we still be f-friends, please?"
Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin all looked at each other, each one of them deeply conflicted. They weren't upset with their friends for feeling the way they did, but at the same time, it certainly made things more complicated. With how these girls had bared their private emotions and thoughts on Kazuma, how on earth were they going to sort this out?
Darkness cleared her throat before taking initiative. "Yes, well, it's more than clear that you all have strong feelings for Kazuma. Personally, I don't blame you, nor can I take that away from you. However...I feel as though there is something important you should know about him. Can we trust you to keep this information to yourselves?"
The four women all looked at each other, before turning back to the main trio and nodding with determined expressions. Whatever they were about to hear, they'd take it to their graves...or, uh...second graves, given Wiz?
"Alright, it here goes…" The blonde knight breathed in slowly and exhaled calmly before she divulged in sensitive information. "While we don't know the full extent of it, Kazuma has clearly...suffered in his past. Likely from years of neglect and mental abuse from his parents and peers back home. As such, he feels...unworthy of love."
"Sena already knows a bit about it. She's actually the one that started to break down his walls enough for us to start putting the pieces together." Aqua remarked, her tone more serious than it had been in quite some time, each word measured with genuine concern. "His parents seemed to relish his departure from home, and it seems like he views most forms of affection and kindness directed towards him to be products of lies or simply misunderstanding. Put simply...he struggles accepting the thought that people care about him without any strings attached."
"Ever since we began dating him, we like to think he's learned to become more vulnerable around us, slowly but surely," Megumin tacked on, her crimson eyes giving off a soft glow as she spoke from the heart. "Then again, he's known us the longest and we haven't really done anything intimate beyond confirming our affections and hugging. And even that seems to be somewhat foreign to him. He...he actually feels the need to ask us permission to hug. I'm not sure how many times he's ever been hugged back home, but clearly it wasn't enough."
"What we're trying to get across here is that things need to be taken slowly with Kazuma. He clearly has his fair share of demons to face, and that is something you should all be aware of going forward." Darkness reiterated, before her expression hardened once more and she sighed again. "Which brings us back to the purpose of this meeting...how we plan to handle our current situation."
The private information shared had tore a small hole in everybody's hearts. Sena and Chris (to varying degrees) already knew about Kazuma's pain, but it didn't hurt any less. Yunyun and Wiz were definitely the most troubled by this news given how out of the loop they were. Both girls had to wrestle with their sadness to keep it in check. The meeting going forward required everybody's undivided attention.
"Look, after what we went through to be with Kazuma...I can't tell you all not to pursue your feelings. What I can ask, however, is that you do it as carefully as physically possible." Megumin insisted seriously, glancing between each girl with stern eyes. "He literally had a heart attack when we confessed to him, so just...please, please take it slow with him. That's my take, at least."
Aqua stepped forward, and what came out of her mouth next surprised her fellow girlfriends beyond belief. "We're willing to share our Kazzy with you all. If the three of us could come to a mutual understanding, then so can all of us. But like Megumin said, for the love of Me, don't pressure him into reciprocating your feelings. It's only gonna make things worse."
The four newcomers were all shocked by Aqua's apparent change of heart, but all the same nodded in agreement as they cemented her words in their minds. Slow and steady was the name of the game, and they were all willing to play it if that meant willing Kazuma's heart.
"Thank you, Lady Aqua," Wiz uttered as she placed her hands over her non-functioning heart. "You are too generous."
Aqua smiled in earnest. "I know, Wiz. I know."
"Oh, for Eris' sake, even when you're doing good, you find a way to be self-serving." A voice interjected from the hallway, prompting all seven women to jump and turn to face the voice, revealing an amused Wolbach who waved in greeting. "Don't mind me. Just here to watch the show. Figured it would be more exciting."
"Don't you have some damp cavern to crawl back into like the slug you are!?" Aqua shouted as she cracked her knuckles threateningly. "We're having a private discussion that doesn't involve you!"
"Oh, please. Don't have a private discussion in an open room, first and foremost." Wolbach snarked, before noticing the withering glares that both Wiz and Chris were sending her way. "...it appears that I've managed to upset more than one powerful mage now. What might be your grief with me?"
"You may not recognize me, but I definitely recognize you, Wolbach." Wiz growled, wisps of her ice magic forming around her fists as she took a threatening step towards the goddess. "And I am well aware of your contribution to Kazuma's death in the Guild Hall."
"Oh, greetings Wiz. A pleasure to see you again," Wolbach drawled with no sense of urgency in her tone. "As for that idiotic stunt Serena pulled at the guild, well, I can assure you that was not in the mission briefing. If anything, I was highly against offing him at all."
The statement didn't seem to quell Wiz's temper, with the lich even growling slightly as her ice magic radiated further, sending a noticeable chill throughout the room. However, it was Sena's prompt interjection that prevented the conflict from escalating further.
"Wait...what do you mean death?" She questioned sharply, eyes going wide as she glanced between the two. "Are you saying that Kazuma was...killed? On that night?"
Aqua blinked once before her eyes widened with realization. "Oh yeah! That's right, I forgot to tell you, didn't I?"
"Forgot to tell me what exactly?" Sena questioned, though the tone of her voice made it sound like a subtle demand.
"You see, I have Resurrection as one of my skills. So, whenever Kazuma gets himself into an accident, I'm there on the scene to revive him...I probably should've told you that sooner, huh?"
Sena stared at the useless goddess for a few moments, before glancing around and noticing that none of them looked even remotely surprised. "Did-DID EVERYONE ELSE KNOW BESIDES ME?!"
A series of affirmations was exactly what the royal prosecutor received in return. Sena slumped down into her chair, taking her glasses off and rubbing her suddenly sore eyes.
"Perhaps...we have much more to talk about outside of what I anticipated."
By the time Kazuma returned home for the evening, he was a shivering, exhausted mess. It had taken him hours to find Megumin's stupid blood apples, which were apparently SUPER-GODDAMN-RARE and also plenty expensive. It didn't help that a new winter storm rolled in as soon as he reached town, making purchasing all the goods he was looking for that much harder.
"Megumin's just gonna have to deal without her precious, damn fruit. That girl owes me big time," Kazuma grumbled to himself as he brushed off the snow from his shoulders and went into the kitchen to dump the groceries. "I swear to Eris above, the next time she sends me on an errand, I'm dragging her along with me!"
After getting rid of the groceries, dumping them sloppily on the kitchen table, Kazuma turned on his heel and stumbled his way down the halls of the mansion, navigating them to the best of his ability with his tired brain and eventually stumbling into what he assumed to be his room.
Using every last ounce of energy to remove his boots, cloak, and pants, Kazuma threw himself onto the bed and snuggled deep within its cushiony confines while lazily pulling the sheets over him...blissfully unaware that he was not only in a different room, but also an occupied room.
Under most circumstances, I would have scorched most man to the bones for such an action. Wolbach mused mentally as she stared at the ceiling, sighing softly as she shifted in her bed to allow Kazuma a less compromising position when he woke up. However...I can use this to my advantage. Congratulations, Kazuma Satou, you live to see another day. For now.
