Konosuba: A Tale of This Beautiful World
~Vol. 3 Short Story Compilation~
Tragedy Upon this Unforgiving World
I opened my eyes to the scenery of the living room ceiling. As I sat up, I looked around. The mansion was dimly lit, with only the morning light coming through the curtains and cracks of the window.
"Aqua?" I called out. "Megumin…Darkness?" There was no reply. "Huh, where is everyone?"
I got up and took another careful look around.
"Oi, Irene." I called for the maid, but again, there was no reply.
As I walked towards the kitchen, I was met with a terrible smell.
"Guh, what the hell is that?" I said, pinching my nose.
I pushed open the door to find plates of rotting food on the table.
"What the hell? Why is this…"
Once more, I couldn't help but inspect the surroundings, yet, I couldn't find anything out of ordinary; well, besides the obvious. After tossing the rotten food out, I decided to head into town. Perhaps I'd get an idea of where everyone went.
"Hmm, maybe they went out for an event or something," I thought, walking as I pondered on this. "Oof!"
"Oi!"
Seems I bumped into someone.
"Kazuma?"
When I recovered from the brief daze, I saw that the person I bumped into was none other than Dust.
"Dust? Yo, what's up? What're you doing?"
"Ugh, well…" Dust averted his gaze.
"Say, Dust, have you seen Aqua and the girls? They weren't home and uh…well…I'm kinda of worried."
Dust looked at me with an uncharacteristically serious expression. Once more, he averted my gaze, looking down with a bit of pity.
"Ah, w-what I mean is I'm worried they might be up to something troublesome; you know? I just…want to know if you've seen them around."
"Uhh, n-no, can't say I have."
Obviously, with Dust acting so out-of-the-ordinary, I questioned him. "Hey, you ok? Something wrong?"
"Wha—no…no, it's…I…I haven't seen 'em. Sorry, Kazuma, I'll see ya around."
"Oi, Dust," I called out to him; but he was already walking off. "Hmm, what the hell was that all about?" I scratched my head in perplexity.
I continued towards the guild hall. If anyone knew where these girls were, they'd probably be in the guild. As I approached, I could hear the rowdiness coming from inside.
"Geez, it's morning and these guys are already getting like this?"
When I finally entered, the raucous noise died down. The eyes of many adventurers and staff were on me, almost all of them bearing some kind of shocked expression. A couple moments later, they all suddenly returned to what they were doing.
"What the hell is going on here?" I thought to myself. I approached the reception window to find Luna. "Hey, Luna."
She appeared to be looking over some papers when I approached her, so when she glanced up and noticed me, she gave me a similar look of surprise the rest of the guild hall did.
"Oh…Kazuma-san…how are you?"
"Uh, fine, I guess. I was just wondering, have you seen Aqua and the others?"
Luna stared at me with a fearful gaze, her eyes dodging mine periodically. "I…I can't say I have," She said with an obviously forced smile.
"Just what's going on; why is everyone giving me these dodgy responses?" I leaned forward with growing anxiety. "Are you sure; you sure you haven't seen 'em at all today, any of them?"
Luna shirked back some, her eyes still avoiding mine. "N-No, Kazuma-san, I-I haven't seen them…sorry," She replied with genuine remorse.
I left the guild hall. I thought of buying some food and getting a couple drinks, but with everyone acting so odd, I felt uncomfortable staying. If Aqua wasn't at the guild then the next place I could probably find her would likely be…
"The Axis Church," I said as I looked upon it.
I took a deep breath, and steeling myself, knocked on the front door. ...silence...and so I knocked once again.
"Oi! Is anyone in there?"
After waiting for some time for a reply, none came.
"Gah, guess no one's in at the moment." I was almost sure that crazy nun would be.
My next stop was probably the one I should've searched first.
"Welcome! Oh, if it isn't the brat. Has thee come to purchase something?"
I gave a light sigh. "You should know why I'm here. Listen, have you seen Aqua? Any of the girls come here today?"
"No, Moi has not. The petulant goddess hasn't come around today and neither has the silly Crimson Demon girl, nor the bullheaded Crusader."
"Well, do you know where they're at? You have to know; that's your thing, right?"
Vanir chuckled. "Oh, is the brat concerned with his teammates?"
"Ah, well, it-it isn't like I'm super worried or anything. I mean, this isn't the first time they've been gone, but…"
Vanir rubbed his chin. He looked at me more seriously than I usually saw him do. "Boy, there is no benefit to Moi in this transaction."
"Uh...hmm...how about I buy some—"
Vanir waved me off. "There is no benefit. Besides, Moi believes the brat will find the answer in due time; there is no need for Moi to get involved in something so unlucrative."
"Ugh, fine. How about Wiz, is she in? Oi, Wiz!" I called out.
"The debt-printing shop owner isn't here; she's gone out in preparation for some work."
"Work?"
"That's right. Even Moi was slightly surprised; however, given the circumstances...now Moi knows why."
"Really? Why then?"
Vanir turned around and waved me off. "That's enough questions, brat. Moi is busy, so run along."
Having no success, I decided to visit the various places Aqua would frequent. Though I was concerned for the other two, the only one likely to cause the biggest issue would have to be her. In any case, Megumin would likely be easy to find; all I had to do was wait for the sound of a distant explosion and—it suddenly occurred to me, it was already midday and I hadn't heard any. Perhaps she was holding off?
As I was standing around thinking this, a group of kids who were playing ran in front. A little girl in the group stood in front of me, holding a flower, a dandelion up to me.
"For me?" I asked almost instinctively.
She giggled, and then blew on it, the seeds scattering iconically in the wind. The kids ran off, but I continued looking at the tiny white dots fluttering off into the air. Without warning, I felt a sharp pain in my head.
"Ahh!" I grasped it as I seemingly recalled a memory.
Like the scattering seeds, the memory showed tiny glistening orbs flying to the sky and dissolving.
"What was that? Is it an actual memory?"
Suddenly, it was becoming apparent to me that I could've had my memories wiped, my mind tampered with. I remembered the last time such a thing happened, and indeed, the effects were very similar. If so, why, and who? For what reason were my memories wiped? Did I stumble into a secret I shouldn't have?
Thinking about it some more, I woke up in the living room, not in my bed; maybe my memories were wiped and I was left there. Perhaps the girls were abducted or something? No, they couldn't have...maybe...it was too early to jump to such conclusions. Maybe I was being paranoid, maybe I just needed some rest.
I nodded to myself, still feeling the dull pain of having that memory come to me. With my mind made up, I returned home. I walked past the garden and felt a sort of presence staring at me; it felt familiar and it was coming from the large tree in the front yard.
"Anna?" I called out. I stared at the small gravestone at the foot of the tree. "That you?"
Of course, there was no answer, but at the same moment a gentle breeze blew through the yard. In a flash, I was assailed by the pain of memories once again. This time, it was Darkness laying against a tree; she had her eyes closed in apparent sleep.
"Guh…" I was breathing heavily as I came back to reality. "What the...dammit...what the hell is going on?"
I quickly made my way inside. After fixing up a small meal for myself, I returned to my room. It was around evening; still very early to sleep, so I decided upon a warm bath. While I lay soaking, I took in the silence. I realized how large the mansion really was without them being around...I kinda wish they would just come back.
Time seemed to have slipped my mind, as when I awoke, I found the lantern in the bathroom had gone out. When I exited the bath, I anticipated someone's arrival, but the mansion remained as silent as before. I went back to my room and attempted to sleep; however, after a few minutes of rolling around restlessly, I gave up.
While laying in bed, I began to think maybe...they left...maybe...they abandoned me. Perhaps they used a memory-wiping potion and left. For what reason, I didn't know...but maybe...maybe there were clues in their rooms. With the feeling of anxiousness fresh, I found myself visiting their rooms. They were uninhabited...as expected. That being said, all of their belongings were still there; their clothing, personal effects, even travel bags.
Did they just decide to leave it all behind?
I was stood in Megumin's room as I was thinking these things. I grabbed a picture she had framed on her bedside table; it was one of the few group photos we've ever taken (cameras and, as such, photos were very expensive). I remembered this occasion; they were all smiling happily while I stood in the background trying to get them in position. Time ran out and I was left more or less out of the picture. As I recalled this, I smiled faintly. My eyes traced over their images in the picture, their smiling and joyful expressions.
"Ahh!"
The picture fell as I grimaced in pain yet again, the flash of a memory invading my mind once more.
Megumin's smile...it was Megumin smiling at me as she lay on the grass.
When I returned from the memory, I felt my body cold with sweat, my breathing heavy, saw the glass of the photo broken. I needed rest.
Seeing that sleep wasn't likely in my own room, I decided to sleep in the living room. As I struggled to, I felt the presence once more, like it was staring at me.
"Oi, Anna," I said with a bit of frustration, "can you please not do that, onii-chan is trying to sleep."
However, even after I said this, I didn't feel any change.
"Oi," I said, noticeably angrier, "quit staring at me!"
After my outburst, I felt the presence melt away; seems like it was Anna indeed. I instantly felt some regret, but threw the sheets over me and forced myself to sleep.
Once morning came, I decided to head to the Dustiness family estate. I couldn't find any trace of Aqua (or Megumin for that matter) but if I could find even one of them, finding the others should become easier. With that in mind, Darkness didn't really have too many places she'd frequent; besides the school, her own family home would be the most likely place to find her.
When I arrived at the estate, I knocked on the door. The one who answered was none other than Irene the maid. When she opened the door and set her gaze upon me, her jaw dropped slightly.
"Oh, Irene, what are you—"
"How dare you!" She said, trying to keep a hushed tone. "How dare you show your face after what you've done!"
"What, what I've done? What are you talking about?"
Her hostile look was replaced by one of bewilderment. "You...are you serious? Do you really not remember?"
"I, I don't know; I think my memories have been tampered with. What exactly happened? Are the girls alright? Is Darkness in there? Can I speak to her?"
Suddenly, Irene's brows pressed tightly against each other; she was trying to hold back some apparent anger. "You need to leave. Nevermind the Lord Dustiness, I might be inclined to kill you myself if you don't."
"W-Wait!"
But she slammed the door shut.
I stumbled back in confusion. What I've done? I didn't get it. I didn't understand; did I do something to them? Was it something that caused them to leave me?
I could've gone to the school in search for more clues to Darkness' whereabouts, but I decided that going back to the Axis Church to speak with the crazy nun, Cecily, could help me in locating Aqua—and maybe Megumin.
Like before, I knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the double door cracked open a bit and a single blue eye peered from it. Without a single word, the door flew open and Cecily rushed out, grabbing me by the collar in the same instance. I could feel nothing but murderous intent flowing from her—in fact, my Enemy Sense was pinging in affirmation.
"YOU!" She yelled in fury. "You bastard! YOU BASTARD! I wanna kill you so bad! I WANNA KILL YOU!" She shouted, tears beginning to pour from her eyes. "I wanna kill you…" Her voice came to a calm hush; almost as if all the energy she had was gone. She let go of me and looked up sullenly. "If it weren't for the fact that Aqua-sama and Megumin-chan cared about you so much I would muder you on the spot."
Cecily turned around and began to walk back to the church.
"Wait!" I yelled. "Wait! Tell me; what happened?! Did I do something to them?!"
She stopped and slowly looked at me, her face and eyes lacking emotion. "You forgot? YOU FORGOT?" Her lips began quivering as tears began to roll down her cheeks once more. "Ahhhh, Aqua-sama, Megumin-chan, please forgive me; I don't believe I can hold it back anymore."
Before this insane cultist could do anything, I ran. I ran as fast as I could. There was no doubt in my mind, if I had stayed even a single second longer I would be murdered in cold blood.
When I finally stopped to catch my breath, I was standing in the middle of town. Coincidently, the police station was nearby. I was thinking of filing charges against that psycho nun, but a bigger realization came to me. If something odd happened to the girls and the town seemingly knew, the police would too, right? If they didn't, I could always put out a search for them.
With this plan in mind, I entered the station. As soon as I did, I was met with the now-familiar looks of shock, however, disgust and disdain seemed to join them now.
"Oi, you bastard," one of the police said as he marched up to me, "you dare show your face here?! I'm gonna—"
Another nearby policeman grabbed his shoulder. When the angry man looked over at his comrade, the friend simply shook his head.
"What's going on here?" I suddenly heard.
The two men looked, and then quickly stood to attention. "Chief!" one of them said.
It was Aloerina, the knight in charge of Axel's police station. She looked my way, and like many others, gave me a look of surprise. "Kazuma-dono...what are you doing here?"
"Ah, w—I'm, I-I wanted to ask you something."
"Ask me..." She glanced over her shoulder at the two men who were staring daggers at me. "Ahem, perhaps it'd be better to discuss things elsewhere; come to my office."
"Uh, sure."
Following along, she eventually led me to her office. Although I thought I would be speaking with her in private, two other knights came inside; they stood quietly at the door.
"Take a seat, Kazuma-dono," She said, offering the one in front her desk as she sat on her own.
I sat.
"Now," she began, "what is it you wanted to ask me?"
Despite knowing what I wanted to ask, I felt an odd feeling of apprehension, as if something was warning me against it. After taking a deep breath, I shook free of the feeling and spoke. "Have you seen my companions?"
I heard the sound of armor shifting briefly coming from behind. When I looked back, the knights were still holding their positions however.
"Kazuma-dono...are you seriously asking...or are you joking?"
"Why would I be joking?" I sat up slightly. "Do you know what happened to them, why I haven't seen any trace of them?"
Aloerina stared at me stoically, and then looked at one of the knights. "Can you get Kazuma-dono some tea? Black or Green?" She asked me.
The abruptness of such a question had me stuttering. "Uh, B-Black. Um, what does—"
"Black."
One of the knights left the room.
Aloerina then turned her attention back to me. "I'll ask again; do you really not know what happened, Kazuma-dono?"
"I...I think my memories have been—"
In that brief moment, I came across a startling thought; perhaps the one who tampered with my memories was sitting before me. But as soon as I thought such a thing, Aloerina spoke.
"Relax, Kazuma-dono, we've done no such thing. But I'm curious as to why you'd say something like that. Are you claiming that you really forgot what's happened?"
"That's what I've been trying to figure out. Come to think of it, I don't really remember anything before waking up yesterday morning."
"...I see." She sighed deeply.
Suddenly, the door opened and the knight who left earlier returned with a small cup of tea. He handed it to me, and returned to his post.
"Thanks," I said with a small nod.
"You might wanna drink that first," Aloerina said.
Cautious of her warning, I did as she advised. After drinking the cup free of its contents, I placed it on her desk.
Once more, she sighed. "Kazuma-dono...are you sure you wanna know? I'm sure there's a good reason you have no recollection of the events."
I felt tense. I knew what she was gonna tell me would be no treat, but I had to know. Even on the off chance that I did something terrible to them as long as they were fine I think I could rest easy. With my mind made up, I nodded.
"...very well...a few days ago we got an alarming report by someone who walked into the station. This person was incredibly distraught and had apparently gone through a traumatic incident. When we questioned her—erm, sorry, them...ahem, they told us a pretty startling story. According to them, they had bore witness to...quite a disturbing scene."
I shifted slightly in my seat. Aloerina went on.
"The witness described to us a scene right out of the mind of a most twisted playwright. They said the owner of the house was apparently"—Aloreina looked like she was choosing her words carefully—"...going through a tough time."
"Ok?" I interjected. "What does any of this have to do with me though?"
Aloerina sighed heavily yet again. "I'll be blunt; the owner was you, Kazuma-dono. Do you have any recollection of this?"
I shook my head, at the same time trying hard to recall such an event. "No, I can't say I do."
"Anyhow, what this woman saw in your home drove her to tell us, and ultimately, lead us to your mansion. Based on her information, we had considered you to be quite dangerous—and indeed, we'd soon after realize that this was fairly true, although, for another reason altogether."
I leaned forward a bit more. "So, what did the woman see?" I asked with a curious gulp.
"Your companions. More precisely, she saw the corpses of one Megumin-san and Lady Dustiness."
My body went cold instantly as the skin beneath my clothing filled with sweat. "C...Corpses?" I had uttered that word, but I was merely repeating it, parroting what I heard. I was immediately stunned by the realization of such information.
"That's right, corpses."
"I-I didn't do it!" I shouted as I flew out of my chair. Almost instantly, the two knights were upon me, wrestling to restrain me. "No, stop it! Stop!"
"Watch his hands," Aloerina calmly instructed from behind her desk.
Paying careful attention to this, the knights had successfully restrained me, pinning my wrists down to the sides of the chair.
"Calm down, Kazuma-dono; do you really believe we'd let a known murderer roam freely? We're well aware you're not the one who did this."
Hearing this, I relaxed a bit. Aloerina made a slight nodding gesture to the knights; they released me and took a step back.
I quickly massaged my wrists as I glared at her. "Who did this then, who killed them?! Shouldn't you be out there looking for—"
"I wish you wouldn't act so impulsively, Kazuma-dono," Aloerina interjected with a huff. "As for their killer, I'm getting there." Begrudgingly, I sat back, slowly calming myself as I listened. "When we arrived at your mansion and discovered the bodies we immediately thought you were the one who did it. Of course, at that point, it was circumstantial evidence at best. Our best course of action was to arrest you and bring you back to station for questioning—which we attempted to. That was, until you decided to resist and attack us."
I felt somewhat embarrassed hearing this, but it did sound like something I would do.
She went on. "When we finally got a hold of you you nearly killed a guard and incapacitated four others. I don't exactly know what you did but whenever you touched one of them they'd quickly lose consciousness."
Ah, now I understood why almost everyone in the station was giving me dirty looks.
"Anyhow, Kazuma-dono, given the importance of the people involved, we opened up an investigation on what happened. We tried questioning you, but all you would give us were a bunch of disjointed answers and gibberish. Luckily, further investigation and a key witness allowed us to piece everything together. What the investigation turned up was that nearly a week ago you and your companions took on a quest for the extermination of a dangerous monster called a 'Piercer'."
"Piercer?" This name seemed incredibly familiar to me; yes, just hearing it triggered a small grainy memory of me staring at the quest log. Megumin and Aqua were there and Darkness wore an ecstatic expression. Through the haziness of this memory, I could hear Aloerina continue her story.
"Not much is known about what happened during the quest, but when we questioned the guild staff member who handled your request, she told us that you never turned in a completion notice. This made sense when one of the guards who mans the walls near the front gate told us he saw you coming back with both Lady Dustiness and Megumin-san. According to him, he saw you carrying Megumin-san on your back and dragging Lady Dustiness along. I honestly believed this to be quite odd, but he told me this was apparently a rather common occurrence with you all, and so he never thought to report it."
"Wait, what?" I said in slight confusion. "Aqua, how about Aqua? Where was she in all this?"
Aloerina shook her head. "Honestly, we have no clue; that's still under investigation."
"The guard who saw me with Megumin and Darkness, didn't he see Aqua?"
"No. All he said was that he saw you carrying Megumin-san on your back and Lady Dustiness being dragged along."
Aloerina sighed deeply. "Anyways, to bring this story to an end, Kazuma-dono, the Piercer was apparently responsible for the deaths of Lady Dustiness and Megumin-san; post-death reports corroborate this as fact. As for Aqua-san, we still have no idea of her whereabouts or status, but...well...we fear she may have fallen victim to it too."
The moment Aloerina finished, a staggering headache assailed me. The flash of memories forgotten rushed into my mind as clear as day. It was then I began to recall everything.
"Kazuma," Darkness yelled excitedly, "take a look at this quest."
She handed me the sheet outlining the quest details; I read it out loud. "Exterminate a Piercer. A Piercer has taken refuge in the nearby forest. Its presence is upsetting the local ecology and is making things difficult for gatherers and hunters. Please get rid of it. 400,000 eris upon completion. 400,000 eris, why so much, is this a dangerous monster?"
Luna, who was stationed at the nearby window, answered. "Oh, a Piercer? Yes, they're actually quite dangerous. They're known to use their unique sense of vision to target the vitals of their prey for quick takedowns."
I immediately shoved the paper back onto the board.
"W-Wait, Kazuma," Darkness said, taking it back. "While it is true Piercers are dangerous monsters, they're also really weak; with me around, you won't have to worry."
"No, with you around I definitely have to worry. Listen, let's just forget about taking such a dangerous quest."
"Fufufu," Megumin chuckled. "Are you actually worried, Kazuma? Once we get out there I'll be able to take it down with Explosion before it knows what hit it."
"It's a dangerous monster that sounds hella scary; I don't wanna fight something like that. Knowing my luck, I'll probably take some grievous injury while you guys end up unscathed. Forget it."
"Why are you so worried, Kazuma?" Darkness interposed. "Are you saying you doubt my defense? Worry not, as long as I'm around, no harm will come to you, ok?"
"No, it's not ok! Oi, Aqua, tell 'em something; I know you don't wanna fight against something so scary."
Aqua, who was standing quietly near Megumin, shrugged. "I don't know why you're so worried, Kazuma. If you die, I could just revive you. Besides, with our party composition we'll be sure to finish this super fast; it's an easy 400k."
"A-Are you serious?! Even if I were in debt again, I wouldn't wanna do a quest like this!"
"Kazuma," Darkness said, "you're an adventurer; right now a dangerous monster is making it difficult for normal citizens to make a living; are you seriously going to let that happen just because you don't need the money?"
"Guh…"
-Later that day
"I can't believe I let you guilt-trip me into doing this."
At this point, I was looking down at the quest log, studying the supposed area where the monster was last seen. Aqua and Megumin were walking slightly behind me while Darkness was out in front. Even though the monster was said to be causing trouble in the nearby forest, its last known spot was some distance away in an area with light vegetation.
"Don't worry," Darkness said with a fierce smile, "I'm ready, Kazuma."
"Oi, come on, don't say things like that; that's just bad luck. Now, remember, once my Enemy Sense goes off—"
I didn't even have time to explain before something whizzed past me at incredible speeds.
"Shit! Darkness, combat—"
THUMP! I heard a dull sound come from behind. As I turned towards it, the object from earlier blurred past me once more. I heard another thump. Megumin and Aqua were laying on the ground motionless.
"Kazuma!" Darkness yelled as she shot in front of me.
SHINK! This odd sound rang out several times in quick succession. It was such a unique noise, very uncommon but instantly recognizable, the sound of metal scraping metal.
"Darkness!"
"I got this!" She muttered through labored breaths. "Take care of Aqua and Megumin."
Saying this, I quickly remembered the two. I turned to Aqua who was closest.
"Aqua!" I shouted as she lay staring up at the sky; her eyes were as still as her body, a dark red circle slowly swelled from just under her left breast. "No...Aqua. Aqua!" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her...but she remained lifeless in my hands. "No…"
I quickly looked over at Megumin, but before I could assess her damage, I was distracted by the sound of another loud thump.
"Darkness!" I got up and ran over to her. She was lying against a single large tree. Almost instantly I could tell she wasn't doing well. I could see her face flush red and her golden blonde hair matted down with sweat and specks of blood; however, the most telling thing was the damage present on her armor and garbs, the multiple puncture marks adorning them.
"Kazuma," she said weakly, "you're safe...good." She smiled.
"Oi," I said shakily, "j-just hold on; I'll try to get something to work, alright?"
With her smile fading, she continued. "Sorry...for...being...so slow." She let out a labored breath and coughed.
"Hey, come on, don't talk anymore...please."
"I...I got it though," She announced with a wide grin. She pointed off to the side, and then her smile gradually tapered off, and with it, her head drooped, and the life in her eyes faded.
Looking over to where she was pointing, an odd creature similar in appearance to a bush lay crushed and bloodied. A long tail trailed out behind it; at its end, a blade-like barb.
"Megumin!" I quickly thought. I got up and turned around, catching the sight of some light blue orbs drifting into the sky, their origin, Aqua.
"Aqua," I said once more. My body slowly stumbled towards her...but before I reached her, her body was gone, the only traces being the small orbs which now dissolved.
As I stared up in disbelief, my grief was shattered by a sudden cough.
"Megumin?!" I quickly dropped to her side.
"Kazuma?" She said weakly.
"I'm here, Megumin! Hold on, I got you!"
In the chaos of everything happening, I had forgotten something essential, something important. I dug into my pocket and retrieved my Adventurer's card. Because of how nervous I was, I went and forgot something like this...and because of it Darkness…Aqua...
"Heal," I whispered looking through my list of learnable skills.
Megumin coughed once again, specks of blood flying onto my card.
"Come on," I said, nervously scrolling through the list. "Where is it...where is it?!"
Without warning I felt a hand press itself against my cheek and slowly caress it. I froze.
"Kazuma," Megumin said with a faint smile, "you're...safe...thank goodness."
"Megumin."
I could feel myself beginning to tremble, my lips begin to quiver, and tears begin to form. I quickly returned to searching for the Heal spell on my card.
"Heal...Heal...come on...where...found it!" I learned the skill and smiled. "I got it, Megumin, I found it! Eh? Megumin?"
Megumin lay motionless, smile still on her face.
"No...no, Megumin...not...not again…" My breathing began to quicken, my heart, race. "Heal!" I yelled through painstakingly fought-back sobs. "Heal! Heal! HEAL! HEAL! Dammit, HEAL!"
But no matter how much I said that word, nothing changed. I don't know how much time had passed while I sat in sorrow, but it must've been quite a while. When we took the quest it was light out; it was dark now.
"Oi, Megumin, Darkness...come on...you guys have been sleeping for a while now; don't you think it's time to head back? Hmm, even Aqua has gone back home, doesn't that make you guys a little embarrassed? Alright, if you insist, Megumin; I'll carry you. Geez, aren't you being just a bit obnoxious? You too, Darkness?! Argh, alright you two!"
I picked up Megumin and tossed her over my back. As soon as I got up, she fell off.
"Oi, come on! Tired or not, put a little effort in, alright? Geez…"
I picked her up once more. This time I tied her mantle around us. I walked over to Darkness and attempted to carry her...she was too heavy.
"Sorry, Darkness, but you're too heavy—oi, don't get mad at me for telling the truth. Here, I'll drag you along. Ugh, you perv, I knew you'd like something like that."
-Back at the mansion
"Oi, we're back," I announced as I stepped inside.
"Satou-sama, welcome back." the maid replied. "Oh, Megumin-sama, Lalatina-sama...are they asleep?"
I dragged Darkness over to the middle of the living room and let go, then I untied Megumin and let her fall onto the couch.
"Yeah, they're being lazy. The two of them have been sleeping since the end of the quest we took."
"Really? Should I put away their food?"
"Nah, I think they'll wake up eventually. By the way, where's Aqua?"
"Aqua-sama? I thought she was with you all."
"Ah, she's not here? Guess she went out then; she'll be back at some point."
"I, I see." The maid then tilted her head in confusion. She walked over to Darkness, and a second later nearly fell back. "Wha—Lalatina-sama?! Lalatina-sama!" She grabbed onto her and shook her furiously, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Hey, hey, what're you doing? Are you trying to wake both of them up?! Why are you being so rude?"
She stared at me with an astonished expression. "Are you, do you not see...Lalatina-sama. I need to get her to a healer's."
"Healer's? What are you talking about, she's just asleep, relax."
"Asleep? Asleep?! You fool, she's not asleep!" She yelled, quickly looking over to Megumin. "Check Megumin-sama! Megumin-sama! Oh no, she's...both of them…"
Seemingly ignoring me, the maid threw Darkness' arm over her shoulder and began stumbling towards the door.
"Hey, what are you doing; let go of her." I said, grabbing Darkness.
"No, stop!" the maid yelled, a desperate tone in her voice. "Please, we need to get them help! There could be someone capable of Resurrection in town; it's not too late!"
"What the hell are you talking about?! I already told you they're just sleeping!"
"Have you gone insane; how could anyone be sleeping under these conditions?! Please, Satou-sama, come to your senses, they're both—" She bit her lip and looked away painfully.
"Stop being so rude! If you're gonna keep acting this way you better leave!"
Suddenly, the maid stopped. She slowly placed Darkness on the floor, and then glared at me with tears brimming. "I'll make sure to find help," She mumbled, and then took off into the night.
"Man, to think that maid could be that rude. Well...I should probably get some food."
-The following morning
I awoke to find the girls still sleeping in their same positions. They were getting really lazy, almost as lazy as Aqua. Speaking of, where did that useless goddess run off to? As I was thinking this, a knock came from the front door.
"Ah, must be her."
I opened the door and found myself face to face with a familiar knightess. She unfurled a roll of paper and spoke.
"Chief of Police, Knight Aloreina; I'm here to conduct a search of your property."
"Wait, what? Why?"
"We have reports of you hoarding dead bodies on the premises. Under Belzerg law, Title 6, Burial code, section 23, all bodies deemed dead for over four hours must have their rites read to by a priest and buried in a communal cemetery or sanctioned burial ground."
"Dead—who the hell told you that?! There's no dead bodies here, alright?! Go away!"
I was about to shut the door, but a squad of knights and guards rushed in. Stunned by the sudden rush, Aloerina took the opportunity to waltz in.
"Chief!" one of the men said, getting her attention.
The guards were surrounding Megumin and Darkness.
"Oi, what are you guys doing? Leave 'em alone, they're sleeping."
"Sleeping, huh?" Aloerina said as she approached them. "...wait a minute." She knelt beside Darkness. "This is…" She slowly stood up and turned towards me. With a quick flick of her arm, she shouted, "Satou Kazuma, you are hereby under arrest for the hoarding of dead bodies and suspicion of murder!"
At once, I was rushed by the contingent of knights and guards.
"Wait! Wha—Ah! L-Let go of me!"
"Grab him!" one of the knights yelled.
"Don't let him go!" another shouted.
"Arrrghhh, get off! No!" I yelled.
"Kazuma-dono, Kazuma-dono, are you listening?" I heard Aloerina say. When I opened my eyes, I found myself back in the present.
"They're...they're dead," I finally said. "They're gone...all of them."
Aloerina looked down in pity. "Yes, Kazuma-dono, they're gone."
I started to breathe heavily and feel dizzy; my world was spinning, I felt like vomiting.
"Kazuma-dono...hey...hey, are you feeling alright?"
"No," I said, stumbling to my feet. "No, no, it can't be. It can't."
Everything was spinning, faster and faster. I couldn't stop the feeling. I couldn't even stand anymore. BAM! I fell and everything went black.
"Kazuma, Kazuma!"
I could hear the distant cries of someone calling out my name, but the voice was slightly distorted. Who was it? I tried opening my eyes, but they felt heavy. I tried again, while doing so, I felt someone trying to wake me, their hands pushing slightly against my body.
"Ugh." Finally, I stirred awake. My vision was blurry but I could make out three distinct colors; blue, red, and yellow.
"Kazuma!" The voice was clear and my eyesight returned. It was Megumin; she hovered over me while Darkness and Aqua sat on my sides.
"Geez, finally," Aqua said irately. "Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to wake you? I was starting to think you were doing it on purpose. And Megumin, here was almost on the verge of tears."
"W-Was not!"
"Ah, it's a good thing you're ok, Kazuma," Darkness remarked. "Dread Drinkers are rumored to give terrifyingly real nightmares; there've been cases where people have died from the stress."
I was completely confused; what was going on? Was this real, was it a dream, was this...Heaven? Was I simply imagining them? What was this about a Dread Drinker? I looked at them perplexedly, until Megumin finally spoke once more.
"Kazuma, did you have a terrible nightmare? If you did, it's alright, it's done; you're in the real world now."
Suddenly, I had an overwhelming feeling to cry. I've never been in a survival situation like the one I was imagining, but I felt as if those people, those survivors felt like this...a sort of triumph over such a hellish scenario. This feeling was more than words could describe, even my actions felt cheap by comparison. I took a deep breath and smiled.
"What happened?" I asked.
They exchanged glances, and then Megumin spoke.
"We took a quest to exterminate a spirit-type creature called a Dread Drinker. When we got here, it appeared sooner than we thought and it launched a surprise attack."
"Of course," Aqua interrupted, "you were talking about a plan or whatever and ended up getting hit by its attack."
Darkness continued the story. "Then you fell asleep. We've been trying to wake you for a couple minutes now."
"Wait, so what happened to the monster?" I asked.
"I purified it, of course," Aqua said proudly. "Thing was pretty stupid to show its sorry face before a goddess. Anyways, for a while there I thought you joking around, so—"
"Megumin was planning on doing something to get your attention," Darkness finished.
"Uwah—why are you guys betraying me?! Erm...sorry, Kazuma, I was...worried." Megumin said, looking away timidly.
I sighed deeply, and got up. "Everyone else ok?"
"Huh?"
They looked at each other, a confused expression shared amongst them.
"You're not angry?" Megumin queried.
"*sigh* no. Hey, since we finished this quest, what do you say we go out and celebrate?"
"R, Really?!"
I nodded.
"Ok, lead the way."
I shook my head now. "No, you guys lead; this time I'll follow, so be sure to choose something good, alright?"
The three of them glanced at each other happily, and then went on ahead. I, Satou Kazuma, followed closely, keeping them in my sights, for I didn't want them to disappear; I didn't want to lose them, not in a dream...and most definitely, not in reality.