KonoSuba: A Tale of this Beautiful World Vol3

by Dknightodin

The third volume of the series.

4. Chapter 3: The Devil's Advocate

Chapter 3: The Devil's Advocates

Part 1

"Well then, looks like it's time for our final contestants, Team Devil Slayer will have a go at the remainder! Please choose the member who will be participating."

As the announcer said this, Megumin and the others turned their sights on me.

"You sure about this, Kazuma?" She asked. "I could get up there and do my thing, you know."

"Don't worry, I got this."

I made my way up the stage and to the craggy slab of adamantite. I placed my hand on the hilt of my blade, and then...stopped.

"Wait a minute… If I pull it out everyone will know who the Masked Thief is and I'll never openly be able to use my weapon. Dammit, why didn't I think of this sooner?!"

"Um, contestant, are you ready?"

"Ah—oh, um… S-Sure."

I took a deep breath, and walked closer to the deposit. I examined its surface closely, tapping it to find some weak spot...but none revealed itself.

"Dammit… If only I knew Blast or some other…" I trailed off as I quickly remembered something.

Rummaging through the robes I had on, I withdrew the exceptionally handy item I crafted...dynamite. Two sticks, and conveniently two which Aqua miniaturized. Although logic would say that the small size would reduce its effectiveness, this wasn't the case; somehow, despite it all, the tiny sticks of dynamite still packed as much punch as their full-sized counterparts.

I could hear Megumin fuming behind me, but as usual, I paid her no mind.

I dug into my robes once more and withdrew a roll of wire filament. It was useful for many things, but its practical application was in making patchwork repairs to armor or what essentially amounted to soldering.

Using the metal filament, I tied the two explosives to a large piece of adamantite which was jutting freely from the rest.

"Hey," I said to the announcer, "find a safe place."

"Oh?" He nodded, and ran off behind the barrier he previously used. "Alright everybody, seems like we're in for another surprise! Go ahead, contestant, show us what you got!"

"Alright, here goes nothing. Tinder!"

As the fuses sparked to life, I ran behind the barrier closest to the others. I could feel Megumin glaring at me, but I was experienced in zoning out such things.

Finally, the fuse disappeared into the core and...fizzled out. Was it dud?

I stared anxiously, but after several seconds, nothing happened.

"No way… Is it really a dud?"

BOOOM!

Caught unprepared, the shockwave knocked me over.

"Oh, what a spectacular display today!" The announcer said. "What better way to take out adamantite than by using explosive skills!"

"There's no skill in that!" Megumin yelled. She angrily turned to me. "Why do you have to make a mockery of Explosion?! Come, I'll show you what a real Explosion looks like!"

She began climbing onto the stage before me and Darkness yanked her off. Of course, I suspected she wouldn't take such things lightly, but I was left with little options. Megumin continued to struggle against us for some time, but after they weighed the chunk of the adamantite, she calmed down.

"82.7 kg! This puts Team Devil Slayer in second place and allows them to continue onto the semi-finals where they'll be competing against Team Black Wyvern, Team Alpha Stars, and Plum Kirby! See you all back here after a short intermission!"

"You tricked me...AGAIN!" Megumin yelled as we walked back to the tent.

"Oi, come on, give it a rest already. When are you gonna let bygones be bygones? Just admit it's a useful item to have."

"I admit that explosions solve the majority of things in life, but I won't acknowledge something from a fake source. Not only that, despite the many times I've told you to get rid of those imitations, you still continue to make them."

"I get where you're coming from, Megumin," Darkness said, injecting herself into the conversation, "but Kazuma has a point; those explosives are useful."

"There's no point to its existence!" Megumin retorted angrily. "You have my Explosion which could do the same on a much grander scale!"

"That's exactly the problem," I remarked.

"?!"

"There are times when having a smaller explosion is more beneficial...as you just saw. It'd be no good if you took out the center of the capital in an effort to show off. That's the problem with you and your kinsmen."

Megumin glared at me, but said nothing in response. After a moment, she turned away and pouted, clutching her staff closely to her chest.

"I don't know why you're so surprised by this hikiNEET's infidelity, Megumin."

"Oi."

"Well, at least we have a shot at the reward, now," Aqua informed. "We should get something nice to eat, my treat."

"Oh? Did that blast knock you on your head or something?"

"Really, Aqua, are you feeling alright?" Darkness posed.

"Did you somehow get sick?" Megumin followed up.

"I'm fine. I think it's moments like these that we should celebrate."

I crossed my arms dubiously. "We haven't even won. Not to mention, we should probably stick around to make sure Kirby and Anne don't do something in the meantime."

"Actually, Kazuma," Megumin interrupted, "I am pretty hungry."

"What about you, Darkness?"

"I don't mind, but I have to say I agree with your initial worries; I'm also worried about the others."

I scratched my head, and then sighed. "...Well, it's not like we have a lot of time anyway. Alright. Since it's Aqua's treat, why not? We'll get something quick, then check on the situation."

-A couple minutes later…

"Tell me again why I'm the one paying for all of this?"

"I forgot my wallet," Megumin replied as she bit into a Pine Lizard Shishkebab.

"And I had to use my funds to pay off that nobleman Aqua troubled," Darkness added, citing her piece.

"And you, why do I have to pay for you? Weren't you the one who offered to pay for all of this in the first place?"

"I've blessed you guys more times than I could count; consider this repayment."

"...Hey, excuse me, shopkeep, could you put hers on a different tab?"

"WHA—Hold on! I-I'm sorry! ...Humph, in the first place isn't the job of the so-called party leader to take care of his companions?"

"Useful party members, maybe…"

"In that case, have Darkness pay for it."

"A-Aqua!"

While walking around the capital I made sure to wear my regular adventurer's attire. It was already bad enough that I decided to use the "Masked Thief" to enter the tournament, I didn't need to attract anymore attention.

After finishing our meals, we began heading back to the tourney grounds. To be honest, I was kind of nervous at the proposition of not knowing what was coming next.

While the competitive spirit and gamer in me relished at the thought of being able to participate in a fantasy-life tournament, the reality of the situation—as usual—was far from what I expected; up till now, the only thing I could call amazing was the initial round.

"What's wrong, Kazuma?" Megumin queried.

"Huh? Uh… Nothing, just a bit nervous."

"Oh, you had this look on your face. I almost thought the food went down bad."

"Would've tasted better if I wasn't tricked into paying for it."

Megumin smiled. "It's not so bad to make a kind-hearted gesture from time to time, is it?"

"Yeah, from time to time." I sighed deeply. "Whatever. Honestly it's something I should've expected."

"Don't worry, next time I'll pay."

I raised a brow. "It's not like you were the one offering this time, but hey, I'll hold you to it, okay?"

She turned her head sharply towards me, a cold glare accompanying it.

"H-Hey, what's with that look you're giving me. If you think you can intimidate me into letting you off—"

"No more of those stupid Explosion sticks!"

"Really now, come on. I have my own—"

"No Explosion sticks."

"Dynamite."

"Whatever... Don't use them anymore. If you need explosions, just let me know and I'll gladly offer you my assistance. I could even teach you if you're willing to go that far… Although, I hope Kazuma would rely on me more with such matters."

"Did you even listen to a word I said before?"

"I did."

"And—"

"And my answer remains the same. I find it a bit insulting that Kazuma assumes I can't control my Explosions to that extent."

"You can?"

Megumin scrunched her brow once more. "I'm starting to wonder whether you listen to anything I say."

"Erm, don't get me wrong, I think when it comes to Explosion there isn't a single person who could beat you." Megumin grinned proudly. "But I didn't think there was any way to tweak the size that much."

Saying this, Megumin's expression became somewhat more serious. "In all fairness, it isn't a very easy thing to learn, much less use in practice. Frankly speaking, manipulating the size of a spell isn't something mages usually do because of the difficulty involved."

"So…"

"I can do it, is what I'm saying."

Could she really? No, if it was Megumin, there was a good chance it was possible. Her troublesome behavior betrayed the skill and intelligence of a mage pertaining to a clan of the most powerful magic users.

The revelation of it being possible, however, upset me, ironically. If Megumin could always control the size of her explosions, she could prove to be infinitely more useful. The fact that she didn't, just meant that she put more importance on fulfilling her desire to let loose and show off more than being practical.

Well, this shouldn't have come as a surprise; afterall, this is a girl who learned a spell which is hailed as the epitome of impractical. In spite of that fact, Megumin was, arguably, our top contributor in defeating many of the enemies we faced. If not for her Explosion spell, I don't know if we'd be where we are today...for better or worse.

Of course, as I've grown to know, there were truly only a handful of individuals capable of meeting such requirements, many of them not even considered normal. Hell, even Megumin—being part of a genetically-engineered race—couldn't be called completely normal.

"Onii… Kazuma-san!"

I instantly knew who this voice belonged to. My head quickly swiveled in the direction it came from. "Iris? What's she doing here?!"

"Onii-sama," She said in a whisper once she got close.

She wasn't alone, of course. Claire was with her, the Crown Prince as well, both were looking around cautiously.

"Iris-sama, Jatis-sama, what's going on? Why are you all here?" Darkness questioned in my place.

"That's right, White-suit; didn't you have something important to do?"

"White-suit?" The Prince said perplexedly.

Claire quickly approached me, and pulled me off to the side. "Are you trying to embarrass me?! I'm working on it. Iris-sama insisted on seeing you, though. I thought His Highness could win her over, however, it seems she was adamant on meeting with you."

I smiled.

Claire glared at me. "Wipe that stupid look of satisfaction off your face, you fool. Don't you realize how much danger you're putting Iris-sama in by doing this?"

My grin instantly faded.

How was this my fault?! It wasn't like I willed Iris to come and see me.

"What about you? Aren't you supposed to be protecting her? Don't you have a task to do?!"

"Ah—you!" She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "...I already told you I'm working on it. Things have gotten rather complicated with the appearance of one, Masked Thief," She said, her eyes narrowing on me.

I quickly looked away. "Y-You probably should concentrate your efforts on the Demon King's agents."

"I agree...for the meantime. However, it isn't easy to persuade His Highness; he's been firmly against the idea of letting a 'lowly thief who dared steal from royalty' slip away. In his own words, 'we should capture the both of them'. He even offered to do it himself." Claire sucked her teeth, a frustrated expression filled her face once more. "You have no idea the amount of troubles I have to go through thanks to you."

Troubles? Me? Was I causing her issues? Sure the thief dilemma is something I can agree with, but other than that, I haven't been a burden… Have I?

"Claire," Iris said, "may I speak to Onii...Kazuma-san?

Claire silently glared at me with furrowed brows, and then stepped away.

"Onii-sama," Iris said in a whisper, "you put on a wonderful show. I didn't think I'd be seeing the Masked Thief again."

Despite the fact that she's shown some intuition regarding this, I felt slightly surprised at Iris' formal revelation of me being the Masked Thief.

I smirked. "Well, once I heard you were expecting me, I couldn't resist."

Iris giggled.

"Anyways, what are you doing here? Did you come just to see me?"

She nodded, and then showed a serious gaze. "I'm unsure, but I have a feeling something big is about to happen. I wanted to see Onii-sama before then."

"...Oi, come on. You shouldn't really say such things."

Iris giggled once more, and showing a vibrant smile said, "If I get into trouble will Onii-sama come save me again?"

Seeing her heartwarming grin, I couldn't help but smile back. "Of course… But, it'd be nice to not put yourself into such situations, ok?"

"I can't help it; I am a princess after all, Onii-sama."

She was a quick learner; to think she would've picked up on the cliches of my own world. Then again, I felt I regaled her with the stories of many games that followed this very concept, it shouldn't come as a shock.

"Iris," the First Prince said, getting our attention.

"Yes, Onii-sama?"

"We should head back now. It's dangerous for you to walk around so freely." He looked straight at me as he said this, and then continued. "Besides"—He cleared his throat—"our heroes here still have a tournament to win, no?"

Iris tilted her head curiously, and then with a smile, turned to me and said, "Do your best...Onii-chan", her last word being a secretive whisper.

After Iris and the others departed, we returned to the tents in the tourney grounds to try and relax, but not soon after, the horns blared announcing the start for the third round.

I sighed and silently thought to myself, "Hopefully, everything's in place."

To be honest, I wanted to avoid a head-on confrontation between us, Kirby, and Anne. If the knights of the capital could pacify them, all the better. As long as I was present for the battle, our team could be credited for taking part.

Yes, ultimately this was my goal. To not act like the hero everyone expected me to be. I learned that such arrogant ways of thinking quickly led to one's death, something that I've been subjected to one too many times.

Instead, I would simply do what I could to the best of my ability… Not everyone had the aptitude to become a living god amongst men—I certainly wasn't. Of course, in the early days you could have convinced me otherwise, but my time in this world has taught me that harsh truth.

As the others began to leave the tent, Megumin stopped.

"Kazuma, aren't you coming?"

I shook my head. "Probably not a good idea for the Masked Thief to show up again."

"Ah… That's true. Ok." Megumin smirked. "We'll handle the rest. You just sit tight and wait for us to finish."

"Umu. Don't worry, I'll be close by."

Suddenly, Megumin gave me a surprised look.

"What?"

"Uh… Hmm… Nothing." She smiled, and then turned back around; however, she just stood at the entrance quietly.

"Megumin?"

"...It's nice to see Kazuma act like this from time to time." She looked back with a bright smile. "Knowing you, you'll find some way to mess it up though." She giggled.

"Hey, come on…" I sighed, and gave her a weak smile.

"Watch us beat this thing." Megumin smirked proudly, and pulled back the flap of the tent to leave.

"Oi, no explosions still."

"..."

"Oi."

"...Ah, gotta run now, so—Ah, let go!"

"Don't make me drain you!"

What a troublesome girl.

I quickly got a hold of her. "I know you'd like to let one off, but what happens if we need your Explosion later?"

Megumin's struggling dwindled until it stopped completely. "...F, Fine. I understand. Kazuma will allow me to use my Explosion later."

"I didn't say that."

Her struggling immediately started up once more.

"O-Ok!" Finally letting her go, I continued. "I'll let you know when to use it. ...Ugh, and here I was thinking you've become somewhat disciplined."

"What are you talking about, Kazuma? I'm the embodiment of reservation; do you have any idea how long it's been since I used Explosion?"

Surely it couldn't have been that long…

"A whole day!" Megumin declared. "A whole day since an excellent mage like myself has held back her overwhelming power!"

Of course…

"Ok, ok, I get it. You're a lost cause."

Megumin frowned. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"Right, right. Shouldn't you be going now? Darkness and Aqua are probably gonna start without you."

Seemingly coming to the realization that she'd been left behind, Megumin quickly left the tent.

"Hold on, you two!"

"Ah, Megumin," Aqua said, "for a second, I thought that questionable NEET did something to you."

"N-No such thing happened! Anyway, if that's the case, why didn't you go back for me?"

"I tried, but Darkness said we'd miss the next event if we did."

"Untrue!" Darkness retorted.

Aqua leaned in closely and whispered, "I was going back for you anyway; there's no way I'd let that hikiNEET with an unquenchable thirst for all things perverse have his way with you."

"I wish you wouldn't say it like that, but I guess I appreciate the concern."

Truth of the matter was that I didn't really fear the thought of Kazuma doing something… I didn't really expect him to follow through with such things, especially given his past track record.

"The third round," I said, "did you guys manage to figure out what it is?"

Darkness smirked. "It's an endurance round. From what I've heard, we're supposed to hold out against a random ailment picked from a pot."

"Hmm, this seems to be the trial made for you then, Darkness."

"Indeed, it does." Darkness wore a contemplative look for a moment before brandishing a proud smile once more. "Don't worry, whatever punishment they throw at us, I'll endure it."

"Trial, you mean, right?"

"Y, Yes...trial."

The third round was already underway when we arrived. Though we missed the first group's performance, the next one up was Kirby himself.

"Following Team Alpha Stars defeat, our star contestant, Plum Kirby, will take the stage."

Drawing from the pot, he withdrew a small note which the announcer took and read.

"Ho?" He gave Kirby a pitying grin, and then turned towards the crowd. "Contestant Kirby will have to brave being assailed by the elements for over a minute."

The crowd awed.

"Not only that, but the last 10 seconds he must face all of them at once! Can our preeminent contestant endure such harrowing odds?"

I raised my brow in doubt. Even if he was a Demon King General, being hit by several elemental attacks continuously, and then all at once isn't something one could really hope to accomplish. Perhaps the only one capable of such a feat was the Crusader next to me. Which, speaking of…

"A, Amazing… To think they would have conceived of such debilitating acts." Darkness' breathing was heavy as her face became flush.

"Are you nervous, Darkness? I'd understand if you are."

She trembled, a wry smile appearing on her face. "U-Uh, perhaps…"

Aqua spoke. "Buffs are allowed on this round, right? Maybe I can cast some spells on you?"

"N-No," Darkness replied promptly, a knightly demeanor taking over her. "I'd like to do this without any assistance if at all possible. If I simply got past this trial via buffs it'd be meaningless."

I could understand how Darkness felt; sometimes doing things the "right" way was the only way...even if it meant making the situation tougher. My road to becoming the excellent mage I was today followed this very concept.

As I set my eyes back on the stage, four magic users surrounded Kirby and one by one began casting streams of elemental magic. Fire, Wind, Water, and Lightning all converged on a single target, yet as time passed, Kirby stood resolute against their assault.

Everyone was once again cowed by the awesome spectacle before them. To the others who didn't know this man was a Demon King's General, it would've seemed as if a hero of tales past was displaying his talent on the stage; however, to the few of us who did in fact know the true identity of this man, we were still completely awestruck by the titanic display of toughness and fortitude before us.

"T-Times up!" The announcer yelled.

The mages quickly stopped, and took a breather.

Kirby, who had taken up a defensive stance, stood covered in soot and ice. As the assault ended, the build up which had accumulated on his clothes and body fell away.

He stretched lazily, yawning seemingly without a care in the world.

"All done?" He asked.

"Uh—Y-Yes!" The announcer quickly turned to the crowd who were—by now—mostly silent, and proclaimed Kirby's victory.

"That's...insane," One of the members from the other team said.

Though I didn't voice it, I too, shared in the sentiment. We've gone against extraordinary individuals before, but I've never seen anyone display the combination of traits Kirby did. Was this the power of the Northern Demon King's Generals?

"Ah, Megumin-san," He said as he came off the stage, "I didn't see you around; I almost thought you quit."

"Quit? I'd never. Me and my teammates will never back down from a challenge."

"Noted." Kirby glanced in Darkness and Aqua's direction. "Where's the other guy who was with you? What was his name again?"

"The Masked Thief."

"Right, him."

"He had to...do something."

"...Hmmm, that so? I hope having one less teammate doesn't ruin the outcome you had in mind."

I gripped my staff instinctively. "Don't be ridiculous."

He smirked playfully. "I still haven't got to see Megumin-san's own talent; I was sure you'd show something last round."

"Don't worry about me, I'll display my power when the time is right...not at anyone's leisure."

"Ah, I see." He took another glance at Darkness and Aqua, and then smiled once more. "Hm, for some reason, I feel like I won't be disappointed." He turned away and walked off.

"What an incredible display, am I right?!" The announcer said excitedly. "Now onto our next team, Black Wyvern! Will their chosen be able to hold out against what's in store for them or will they falter like Team Alpha Stars?"

Turning our attention away from the current team, Aqua, Darkness, and I huddled around each other.

"This is...pretty bad...right?" Aqua finally said.

"Hmm…" Darkness stroked her chin in contemplation. "That Kirby is tougher than he looks."

"Is he even harder than you, Darkness?" I said, voicing the question that was on all our minds.

"Hm, he may be tough, but if there's one thing I'm sure no one can beat me at, it's my endurance. Don't worry, no matter what heinous event comes my way, I'll tackle it with pride. No matter the cost. Even if my armor and body were to be torn asunder, I will not yield!"

"Ehhh, Darkness, it isn't necessary to go so far."

"Nonsense, Megumin! Worry not, Aqua is here. If I were to incur grievous injuries in my defence, she'll be able to do something about it. Isn't that right, Aqua?"

"Huh? Oh, that's right! Don't worry about a thing, Megumin. Darkness, you go out there and don't give up no matter what, you hear me? We've got a reward to win."

Part 2

The following team went up.

"Hey, it's those guys," Aqua said.

"Umu, the one with the mage who could use 'Blast'," Darkness pointed out.

"Wonder who they'll pick?"

Looking among their group members, I initially thought it was the man I spoke to previously, their leader; however, to our surprise, the one who took the stage was a priest.

"You got this, Donovan," His teammate reassured him.

The Priest nodded confidently, and then went on to pick from the pot.

After a silent exchange between himself and the announcer, the latter spoke.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Team Black Wyvern must bear the brunt of punishing blows by veteran bruisers. To make matters worse, their bodies will be reinforced with geomancy spells. Can our contestant make it through this trial or will his tenacity be broken like his body?"

Finishing his commentary, four large men climbed onto the stage with the Priest. Like the announcer said, their fists and legs were coated in a visible layer of hardened rock.

"They're really not pulling any punches with these trials, are they?"

"I know!" Darkness said. "Makes me wonder what kind I'll pull."

Seeing Darkness like this... Was she getting nervous?

"Are you ok, Darkness?"

She smiled. "I'm just a little excited."

"Excited?"

Of course, I knew Darkness was competitive, but for her to be so happy…

"Ha!" Darkness let out a heavy breath. "I can only imagine… Will I have to endure hits from so many angst-filled men?! M-Megumin, do you think they have some monsters hidden away for such occasions?!"

...H, How naive of me…

Minutes passed with the Priest named Donovan taking a massive pummeling, but as he did, the injuries on his body disappeared.

"Hey," Aqua yelled as she angrily pointed, "he's using healing magic! That's cheating!"

The announcer wagged his finger, and smirked. "Skills and abilities are allowed as long as it's cast by the user."

Of course, it made sense now. Under normal circumstances, sending a magically-focused class to take on such a physically-demanding task would be inadvisable, but if a Priest was able to use their healing abilities, it would perhaps give them the edge they needed to persevere.

"HUH?! Then why was I disqualified—"

The announcer interrupted with his loud commentary. "Oh?! It seems Black Wyvern's Priest is being overwhelmed! Perhaps seeing such a shrewd strategy has spurred on the opposition."

Seconds later, the Priest fell to his knees in defeat. The physical strength of muscle and stone had won.

As he stumbled off the stage, his teammates quickly came over to help him. Though he failed, none of them gave him a scornful or reproachful look. In fact, from what I could glean, his party reassured him with prideful grins and smiles.

"Good try, Donovan," The party leader said.

"That's right," The mage added.

A Swordsman, and the only woman in their party went on to give a witty, yet easy going remark. "Not bad...for a Priest. How about I treat your wounds this time around, Donovan?"

Such interactions brought a smile to my face. Ah, yes, the memories I've made with my companions were filled with such caring moments. I closed my eyes and began to reminisce… Yet, after a few minutes of trying I could only dig up the overwhelming instances of Kazuma yelling at me, Darkness throwing herself into danger, and Aqua...being Aqua.

"Now then," the announcer said, pulling me out of my brief depression, "let's give Black Wyvern a round of applause and welcome our next group, Team Devil Slayer!"

"It's here!" Darkness said excitedly. "It's our turn! I'm going!"

Aqua spoke. "Remember what I told you, Darkness. We have a lot of money riding on your success, so don't let me down."

Before I could say anything, Darkness was already up on stage, eagerly digging through the pot. After rummaging through it for longer than normal, she finally withdrew her hand and the accompanying slip.

"...Oh." The announcer stared at the paper with a confusing stare, and then glanced at Darkness. "Hmm."

"What is it?! What do I have to do?!"

Without a word to her, he turned towards the audience, and loudly said, "Team Devil Slayer's chosen will have to do push-ups for 5 minutes, and then squats for another 5 in full armor."

"W-Wait!" Darkness yelled. "There has to be some sort of mistake!"

"I'm sorry, I know something like this may be difficult, but you have to brave it or—"

"Difficult?! This is nothing compared to what the others got! It's unfair! Please, let me pick again!"

"Huh?"

"P-Please!" She grabbed his shoulders as she pleaded in desperation.

"Uh *gulp* Lady Dustiness, f-forgive me, but these are the rules, I can't allow you to redraw."

She drooped her head low. "I, I see."

Letting go of the announcer, Darkness got into position. The sullen expression on her face garnered a pitying look from most, but both the feeling in my gut and the experience I had with Darkness told me, the true sorrow she felt was in getting something so "lenient".

Of course, Darkness passed the trial as expected, and although they proclaimed her victory, she came back to us looking defeated.

"Good job, Darkness," Aqua said with a smile.

"I… I only did push-ups…"

"And squats," I added.

"Right… How disappointing."

Despite Darkness' negative outlook on the trial, I found it to be a stroke of luck. Having something relatively easy meant we were that much closer to winning this competition. However, that took a backseat to the real reason…

"Ladies and gentlemen, it pains me to say the competition is drawing to a conclusion. Only two competitors remain, Team Devil Slayer and Plum Kirby! After a short intermission we'll begin the final round and see who is the winner of the first Belzerg Royal Tournament! See you all then!"

-Back at the tent

As we entered, we saw Kazuma lounging on the couch.

"Ah, you're back. How'd it go?"

"Terrible," Darkness replied, still looking somewhat solemn.

He sat up. "Wait, did you guys lose?"

"Of course not," I informed. "We passed. It's just that Darkness'...expectations...weren't really...met."

"Ah... I see."

"Move over, I'm tired," Aqua said, quickly laying down on the length of the couch.

"Oi!" Kazuma frowned. "Knowing you, you were probably as useless as ever."

"I don't wanna hear such comments from a NEET who just spent the entire round lounging away on the couch!"

"The same way you are?"

Aqua turned away, ignoring his remark.

"The finals are next," I said, resetting the atmosphere.

"Hmm, wonder what this one will be."

"The important thing is we're going against Kirby."

"Erm, right. Whatever it is, I don't think it's gonna be easy… And I doubt my luck is gonna carry us through this."

Aqua suddenly spoke. "I don't know why you harp on about your luck this, your luck that. Did you forget you have a perfectly capable goddess here?"

"The same goddess who was suggesting for us to go back home?"

"..."

"How about the goddess who consistently causes us to fail our quests? Or the one who can't control how much she drinks?! Should I also add the one who—"

"Take it back! Take it back!" Aqua wailed as she shook Kazuma roughly.

He pulled himself free, and straightened out his clothes. "Honestly, I don't know what's taking White-suit so long."

"I'm pretty sure Claire is waiting for an opportune moment," Darkness replied. "Things like this have to be handled delicately lest they spiral out of control."

"Maybe they're waiting for the tournament's end?" I interposed.

"Why?" Kazuma queried.

"Wouldn't there be less people to worry about once it's all done?"

"Hmm, good point. I'm a bit surprised that type of insight is coming from you though."

"What?!"

"Hey, you're the last person I'd expect to assess risk or collateral damage."

I bit my lip. His remark wasn't something I could readily refute.

"In any case," he continued, "seems we don't really have much of a choice but to wait."

"You're putting an awful lot of trust in a person you usually don't see eye to eye with," Aqua said offhandedly.

"Like I said, it's not like there's a lot of choice here. If we took on Kirby and Anne by ourselves we'd likely be in a lot of trouble. But if we did it while we had the backing of the capital's forces and the royal family, there's a good chance for the dispute to resolve itself. All we have to do is make sure nothing bad happens to Iris and the others."

A sound argument, to be sure, however…

"Kazuma, are you really satisfied with taking such a passive approach?" I asked. "I'm sure if we took the initiative we could surprise them."

"Surprise 'em with what, Explosion?"

"Yes."

"No. What aren't you understanding? And how could you change your stance on collateral damage that quickly?!"

"Think about it though; no one would expect Explosion!"

"No one would expect it because only a maniac would even think of doing something like that!" Kazuma pressed his palm against his forehead and sighed. "Honestly... I wonder what you guys would do if I wasn't around. Actually, nevermind… Just imagining it is already giving me a headache."

I sighed deeply. "Well, if we aren't doing anything important, how about doing something to keep our minds clear?"

"Not a bad idea, Megumin," Darkness said. "I need something to take away this deep-seated regret I'm feeling."

An hour or so passed before we heard the horn signaling the start of the next round. When we stepped out of the tent, we were greeted by a different scenery.

"Hmm, evening already," Kazuma said.

"Is it really that surprising? It has been quite a few hours," Darkness remarked.

The vibrant afternoon sky was now dyed a dark orange and the evening stars had begun to creep in above the horizon.

Like before, we made our way to the mustering grounds. Although two teams were remaining, the other disqualified teams still shared the tents and assembly grounds around it. Thankfully, this meant that the section just beyond the stage was still filled with people as opposed to just us and Kirby.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to our final round! Team Devil Slayer will face off against Plum Kirby. In what, you ask?" The announcer snickered. "The ultimate test! One to mark off the ending to this glorious contest! One befitting warriors of the highest grade! The final trial will be…protecting Her Highness!"

Once again, everyone awed in surprise.

"Wait, did I just hear that correctly?" Kazuma said in disbelief.

The tournament announcer went on. "First, the teams will face off to decide their roles, and then, the grand spectacle, the moment we all have been waiting for...the finale!"

"Kazuma, what now?" I asked, feeling slightly nervous. However, when I glanced over my shoulder I noticed he was gone. "Kazuma?"

Where did that man run off to?

"Now then," the announcer said, shifting our attention back to him, "will the remaining contestants please make their way to the challenge grounds."

I took a frantic look around for Kazuma, but could find no trace of him.

"Guys, did you see where Kazuma went?"

His absence must've gone unnoticed by Darkness and Aqua because they quickly looked to where he was standing last.

"Where'd he go?" Darkness queried, looking around as I had just moments earlier.

"Forget about him," Aqua said with a mildly vexed tone. "We can win this without that bum hikiNEET."

I scrunched my brow in doubt. Wasn't she afraid earlier?

We made our way to the designated site, the Plaza. Although Kirby and us shared the route to the grounds, there was no interaction between us.

Finally, we arrived.

"The roles will be decided by coin flip. If anyone is to decide the fate of our champions, let it be the Goddess of Fortune and Luck!"

Another luck-based event and Kazuma was nowhere in sight.

"Now then, let us—"

"Wait!" Suddenly, a masked thief appeared beside me gasping for breath. "I'm here."

"Ohhh. I see you've been working on your dramatic timing. I'd say it's almost up to par with a Crimson Demon's."

"Kazuma!" Darkness called out in a harsh whisper. "What do you think you're doing showing up like this again?! And what good could dressing up as one of the capital's most wanted criminals do for you? Didn't you remember Claire saying The Prince was personally after you?"

"Don't worry, I have it all planned out," He replied. "When I heard what the event was, I suddenly got a brilliant idea. If I ended up saving the Princess from a Demon King's General don't you think all my crimes would be absolved?"

Darkness and I exchanged doubtful glances.

Then Aqua interrupted. "So you decided to show up now. Good, go up there and use your special powers of cheating to help us win this thing."

"Special… I'll teach you special, you—"

"Contestants, are you ready?"

Kirby faced us, a nonchalant expression on his face, and we, him.

"Alright, heads or tails?"

"Hea—"

"Tails," Aqua said, interrupting Kazuma.

"Guess it's Heads for me," Kirby replied with a smile.

"Oi!"

The announcer tossed the eris coin into the air. A second later it landed on the floor for all of us to see.

Of course, the result was—

"Heads," Kirby said smugly.

"You idiot, see what you've done?!"

"Wait, you're blaming me?!" Aqua yelled incredulously. "This is obviously your fault. Even with the help of an elite goddess, you still managed to lose. Isn't this the only thing you're good for?!"

"Oi, you—"

"Contestant Kirby, what role do you choose? Would you like to attack or defend?"

Suddenly, the air around us felt tense.

Kirby gave a sinister smirk.

Would he choose to defend? Would we have to attack him?

"I'll attack."

Attack?! He chose to attack. For a moment I felt relieved, but then I remembered this man—despite such earnest appearances—was a Demon King's General...and a powerful one at that.

As I was thinking this, I looked over to Kazuma. He was throwing glances at the figures at the top of the plaza steps.

"Kazuma," I said, whispering to him.

"Hm? What is it?" He whispered back.

"What are we gonna do? What's our plan?"

He grit his teeth. "I'm not sure what's keeping White-suit. She's just standing up there. Isn't this as good a time to spring a trap as ever?"

"Hmmm… Perhaps she's practicing her own dramatic timing; such things are—"

"Would you quit it? You're making me mad."

Suddenly, the announcer walked over to us.

"Alright, you guys, this is it. As the defending team, your objective should be easy to guess; you need to prevent the attacker, Kirby-san, from reaching the top of the steps for 10 minutes. Failure to do so means you lose. Like the duration of the round, you're allowed 10 minutes to formulate a plan before we begin. Make sure you put it to good use."

Saying that, he left.

"Plan, huh?" Kazuma said with a gulp. "Hmm… Alright. If all we have to do is prevent him from reaching Iris and the others then the best one for the job is you, Darkness."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I'm gonna assume since this is the final confrontation between two teams, we're probably allowed to buff ourselves. So, Aqua, that's your cue. Buff me and Darkness with strength, defense, and speed spells."

"What about me?" I asked eagerly.

"Well… you… umm, just… uhh…"

I felt my face form a frown. "Can't I just hit him with Explosion from the top of the steps?"

"You know, I have to ask, why am I deluding myself into believing you're a reasonable girl."

I was about to hit back with my own retort, but Kazuma went on.

"The answer should be obvious. Besides, you'll get to play an important role; you'll be the final line of defense with Aqua."

"I'm not very confident in my ability to defend against Kirby-san in a brawl, however, I'll forgive you on the count of delegating such an important task to me."

"Well, the point is to not let him get that far."

"Kazuma," Darkness interrupted. "What about the other Demon King's General? Anne, you said her name was?"

Kazuma rubbed his chin. "I haven't really seen her around since our last encounter. Probably a good idea to be on the lookout. I'm not sure what she's capable of, but I did let Claire know about her, so it should be fine...I think."

Having finalized our on-the-spot plan, we waited.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! With our two teams having prepared themselves, let this round begin in earnest! Contestants, take your positions!"

Our group took the spot just beyond the first couple of steps. Kirby stood several paces from us.

"Ready? START!"

The horn blared, kicking us into gear.

"Aqua, buffs!" Kazuma yelled.

"Power! Speed Up! Endure!"

Despite us taking the time to buff ourselves, Kirby didn't make any attempt to stop us. After Aqua cast her buffs, me and her retreated to the top of the steps.

"Megumin-nee, this is all so exciting," our current target for protection whispered. "I never thought I'd get to see the situation Onii-sama described, much less, relive it."

What was she talking about? Was this something Kazuma told her?

I shook free the thought, and glanced over my shoulder. The Prince, Claire, and Rain were standing nearby, their expressions much the same, stoic. Their gazes were locked to the action below.

"Are you all done now?" Kirby asked.

He didn't really appear to be taking any of this seriously; especially with how he had his arms resting behind his head.

"Masked Thief and the heir and daughter of the great Dustiness family. Both of your reputations precede you. Isn't that right, Kazuma-san?"

I tensed up, but said nothing in reply.

Right now, this was a waiting game. Darkness and I didn't have to do anything, but wait. If we got so lucky that we never had to fight Kirby, the chances of us winning would increase dramatically, but…

"Are you just going to stand there and mouth off?! Hit me!" Darkness yelled. "Come at me as if your very existence depends on it!"

"This girl!"

Of course—with Darkness—this was never really an option…

"Ho?" Kirby broke his relaxed stance, and got into a more serious pose. "Hmm… Four minutes. Four minutes is all I can spare for you."

"H-Hold on!" I said, trying to ease the growing tension—

—But Darkness just made it worse. "You underestimate me and my companions! You'll find yourself eating those words! I won't just have you beating on me for only four minutes—"

"Phrasing! This idiot masochist! Why is she like this?!"

"—but the entire ten—maybe even more!"

Even the calm and collected Kirby shirked back at Darkness' eager declaration.

"Hmm… Seems I misjudged you. I had the small feeling you might be someone who enjoyed being mistreated—"

"She is!"

"—But it would seem I was completely wrong."

"You're not!"

"Dustiness-san, you are a true knight."

I could hear Darkness' greatsword rattle in her hands. Her ears and face were flushed red. What the hell was this pervert thinking of now?!

"Unfortunately," Kirby went on, "this means, I'll have to crush you."

Tap! The first footfall was all I heard before he was upon us. Really… He was fast… The speed reminded me of the clash between the royal family and the Demon King's daughter. Was he at her same level...theirs?

Even in this brief moment of thinking, he landed several strikes on Darkness. The first couple were cleanly connecting blows, punches and kicks to several areas of her body. Despite standing right next to her, I couldn't bring myself to move; I was frozen in shock.

"First Cycle: Thundering Avalanche!"

The next strike hit Darkness squarely in the center of her stomach and lifted her off the ground. The adamantine armor she was so proud of buckled like a crushed tin can, and then shattered like a pane of sugared glass.

Darkness fell to the floor.

"Now then"—Kirby shifted his attention to me—"let's see what you're made of...Mr. Masked Thief."

He clenched his fists tightly.

"Not...yet." Darkness grabbed Kirby's arm.

"Oh? That's pretty impressive, Dustiness-san… But I have no time for you—" Kirby glanced at his arm, and then at the broken, yet defiant noble before him. "Impressive grip as well."

With such an opportune moment I wasn't about to let him take such a lax approach to me being here. I wrapped my hand around his free arm and quickly activated Drain Touch… And was quickly met with a forceful kick to my stomach.

Needless to say, I was no unbreakable Crusader, that is to say, I was no Darkness. The blow sent me flying several meters away, and had it not been for Aqua's buff, I'm sure I would've died. The next instance, I heard the sound of crackling rock and saw Darkness' face being crushed into the plaza's stone floor, a swift kick from above delivering the dramatic effect.

"Ah well, it's been four minutes already, Dustiness-san. I'm afraid I have no more time to spend—"

"You're not going anywhere!" Darkness yelled as she grappled onto his waist.

"R—How?!" Kirby glanced upwards, towards the top of the steps. "Ah… I see. That lady Priest of yours is gonna make things difficult. Seems like I'll have to go for her first."

But try as he could, Kirby couldn't pull Darkness away from him.

Once again, I tried taking advantage of the situation by using Drain Touch, but upon making contact with him, Kirby—seemingly on instinct—grabbed my arm and tossed me over his shoulder, slamming me down onto Darkness.

It could've only been a few seconds, but by the time I recovered from my shock and confusion, Kirby was already half way up the steps, barreling towards Aqua and Megumin.

"Shit! BIND!"

By some stroke of luck, the metallic wire flew out and caught onto Kirby's leg.

"Oof!" He fell hard on the stairs. "Dammit, where?!"

As he struggled to free himself, I turned to Darkness. "Oi, get up already!"

"Ah, sorry. I was thinking you'd somehow be heavier, but you're surprisingly light, Kazuma."

"Is this really the time?! Come on! I'll distract him while you try to get a hold of him again."

"Five minutes left!" The announcer yelled. "Team Devil Slayer has put up a startling resistance against Contestant Plum Kirby, but will it be enough to prevent him reaching the goal?!"

With our two weakest members standing between him and that very thing, I was starting to wonder the same.

Part 3

"Got you!" I yelled, closing in on a restrained Kirby.

"Not quite."

Kirby smirked as the bonds fell limp onto the floor. In response, I stopped my charge.

"You sure?"

Darkness was in place, dashing in with her arms spread wide.

"You're mine!"

But he was one step ahead; Kirby tossed my bind at Darkness, causing it to perfectly wrap itself around her legs. Of course, this didn't really stop her momentum. And while it wasn't going perfectly to plan, it gave me the opening I sought. I dashed forward with my hand stretched out in front, Drain Touch active.

...And was thwarted yet again.

"Oof!"

Darkness' body came crashing into me once more as Kirby pulled off another athletic stunt and jumped over her. We tumbled down the steps, finally coming to a rest at the very bottom. When I shoved the bound Darkness off of me, Kirby was already standing before Aqua and Megumin.

"Stand back, Megumin. Let a Goddess handle this cretin. Listen, you, If you think you're getting in the way of my prize, think again! Take this! GOD BLOW!"

"Wait, Aqua!"

Seeing her recklessly charge towards Kirby with no fear was kinda cool, but I also felt that it was a bit dangerous given the proximity of the steps. A second later, my worry was answered by Aqua tripping over herself and falling down them. All of us, including Kirby, watched as she tumbled head-first upon the stone.

"Well, I suppose that takes care of her," He said, turning his attention back to me. "Now, you're all that remains between me and my prize, Megumin-san."

I readied myself, placing my staff in front of me in a defensive posture. "You might want to reconsider."

"Oh, do I?"

I nodded, gripping my staff tightly.

"Why's that? Are you expecting your teammates to save you, Megumin-san? Even if they dashed up right now, they wouldn't reach us in time."

I smirked. "That's exactly what I planned for."

Suddenly, Kirby's playful demeanor changed, as a confused and threatening expression possessed his visage.

"Planned for?"

"Umu. Did you really think I was doing nothing this entire time? You underestimate me, Kirby-san! While you were down there dealing with my companions, I already finished my plan."

"...You're bluffing. What plan could you possibly have at this point? A stalling tactic?"

I smirked once more. "Explosion."

Kirby shifted backwards. "Y-You wouldn't! You're too close! You'd get caught in it too."

I chuckled. "Seems you have no idea who you're dealing with, Kirby-san."

The growing shock was written all over his face and movements.

"I am Megumin! The Crimson Annihilator and Master of Explosion! Explosion is my life! If you think I wouldn't use it because of such weak circumstances then you truly made a grave error in judgement! Now witness my power! EXPLOOOSION!"

Kirby blocked instinctively, but it was already too late.

HOOOOOOONNNNK! "Time's up! Team Devil Slayer has defended the objective! The defenders win!"

"...huh?"

I smiled as Kirby stared at me in astonishment.

"You…" He sighed heavily, and then smiled. "Well played."

Kazuma and the others dashed up the steps.

"Good job, Megumin," Darkness said.

"SURROUND HIM!" Claire yelled.

Instantly, more than two dozen royal guardsmen appeared, blocking off all directions and escape routes.

For a second, Kirby was surprised by the suddenness of it all, but a moment later, he relaxed once more.

"Ah, guess the gig is up."

The Prince stepped forward and drew his sword. "Give yourself up, you cur; you have nowhere to run. Symphonia-dono, please attend to the masses; the last thing we need is a panic."

Claire gave a silent nod, and ran past the blockade.

"Hello, Your Highness," Kirby said with a mocking bow. "I bring greetings to you from the Demon King of the North."

"Such insolence. To think that wretched blight you call Master would attempt something so egregious yet again—and so soon, no less."

Kirby chuckled as if the situation was a prank amongst friends. "Your Highness," he said, turning to Iris, "I had a lot of fun today. For this, I thank you."

"Enough!" The Prince dashed forward, and swept his blade with blinding speed.

Even Kirby, who was shown to be highly capable, barely dodged it. However, in that moment, Darkness finally grabbed him.

"Good job, Lady Dustiness."

Although he was caught, Kirby didn't change the smile on his face.

"What could be so amusing to you, wretch?"

"You might wanna reassess your priorities, Your Highness."

"Oh no... Iris-sama!" Darkness yelled.

"Onii-sama!" She yelled back.

The rest of us set our attention on the now endangered princess. Beside her, blade drawn to neck, was the other issue, the Demon King's General, Anne.

"Iris!" The Prince yelled desperately. "Let her go!"

"Of course," Anne replied. "Just let go of my partner."

"Tch… A wench like you would demand something of me?! Unhand my sister or I'll make sure to separate your head from your body!"

She chuckled. "As quick and powerful as you may be, you're not fast enough to stop me before I plunge this into her neck… But if you're feeling quite up to the challenge…" Anne pressed the blade closer.

Suddenly, Kazuma dashed forward. "That knife is mine! STEALLLLL!"

A blinding flash, and then…

"Ah, AHHHHHH! NOOOOO!"

"Ohhhhh."

In Kazuma's hands was—of course—clothing, however…

"What psychological attack is this?!" The Prince yelled.

"O, Onii-sama…" Iris said in a deflated tone.

"My, my top, give it baaaaacccck!" The General cried out.

Once again a woman was subjected to Kazuma's self-styled act of sexual harrasment, and once again we all stared at him in disbelief. Although this result was par for the course whenever he attempted Steal, it still was surprising that he could be thinking of such a thing at critical moments like this.

"No, no, you heard me! I was going for the knife! I wanted to steal the knife!"

In the moment of chaos, Iris broke free, and shoved the weeping General down the steps.

"WAAHHH⸻⸻!"

"Dammit! Fourth Cycle: Whirling Torrent!"

Before we knew it, a sudden blast of air broke through our ranks and knocked us back. Darkness, who was holding Kirby, was obviously the first to feel the effects.

"Gotcha," He said as he caught Anne.

"Capture them, don't let them get away!" The Prince commanded.

But Kirby quickly pulled a scroll from within his gi top, unraveling it in the same motion.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, Your Highnesses!"

A magic circle opened beneath them.

"Stop him!" Prince Jatis yelled.

The next second however, they were gone.

"Curses…" A silence fell amongst us, when suddenly, the Prince turned his blade towards Kazuma. "What do you think you're all doing, there's still a criminal in our presence!"

The guardsmen instantly turned their weapons on the Masked Thief.

"H-Hold on, didn't I just help the Princess?!" He argued.

Yet his protest fell on deaf ears… It didn't help that he was still holding onto that General's top.

"Help? You're the thief that broke into the castle, assaulted the guardsmen, and even dared to steal something precious from my sister. And you dare say you helped?" He shifted the blade closer. "Consider yourself lucky I've allowed you to breathe this long. If you really wish to atone for your misgivings, then accept your punishment here and now."

We all stared worriedly. If we attempted to help Kazuma at this moment we'd be seen as his accomplices. Personally, I didn't care; however, I was well aware of the issues this might cause. I racked my brain for a solution to the current situation, but before I could even begin to process some, Kazuma, The Masked Thief, had readied his reply.

"I'm afraid I can't accept those terms. Your Highness," he said, turning his view to Iris, "know that I'm on your side. The things I do, I do to protect you and the Kingdom."

Iris, who stood at the top of the steps with her hands clasped in prayer-like fashion, said nothing. She looked upon the Masked Thief with hopeful eyes.

"Nonsense," The Prince said. "Anyone who wields such outlandish and embarrassing techniques, dons such a suspicious get up, and dares steal from the nobility can't be called a friend of the royal family. Masked Thief, if you refuse to give yourself up, then there's one option lef—"

Kazuma didn't let him finish, tossing the bundled clothing into the First Prince's face. In that moment of astonishment, he turned towards the stunned guards and dashed at them. Though they attempted to block his escape, the ones that did, quickly collapsed.

"D-Don't let him touch you!" Rain yelled from beside Iris.

Although she was advising the guards below, she made no attempt to try and stop Kazuma. Judging from the nervous look on her face, I could tell it was due to trauma she experienced on her first encounter with the "Masked Thief".

"Argh!" The Prince tossed the top aside and made a break for Kazuma.

After witnessing his speed before, I thought catching up to the fleeing thief would be easy; however, I noticed that Kazuma covered a great distance even before the Prince had started his pursuit. Did he somehow grow faster? The buffs cast on us should've already dissipated, so it really made me wonder.

Regardless, even if the Prince was fast, the light of day was all but gone. Though not midnight, it was already fairly late in the evening. Whatever light was present, was only due to artificial means and the meagre incandescense provided by nature were the faint glimmers of shining stars in the sky. The Masked Thief certainly had the edge in this situation.

-The Royal Palace; sometime later…

Martial law was in effect once more. Our group was summoned to the palace in order to protect Iris; this included Kazuma. Of course, since he was a bit...preoccupied, he made no appearance.

"I'm sorry about all of this," Iris said somberly. She was seated on the foot of her bed.

"It's not your fault," Darkness replied.

"Umu." I nodded. "No one could really imagine the Demon King would attack so soon."

Aqua, who was playing with some cards at the nearby table, spoke, though her attention was mostly on the said cards. "That being said, we did protect you and all. We also won that tournament you set up. Wasn't there a cash prize involved?"

"Aqua!" Darkness and I shouted in unison.

Really, Aqua could be as bad as Kazuma sometimes…

"What?!" She retorted, slamming her hands on the table.

The artistically laid out cards seemed to be a scale model of the palace, and all of it crumbled to a worthless pile the next second.

"No, Lady Aqua is right. I did make the tournament in order to help you guys. And all of you did save me. It's only fair that I offer the appropriate compensation."

The conversation was cut short as the sound of a knock echoed into the room.

"Iris, it's me, Jatis. May I come in?"

"Onii-sama… Please, enter."

The door opened and in came the aforementioned Prince.

"Lady Dustiness… Lady Satou, Lady Aqua." He looked around. "Wasn't there a summons for your entire group? Where is Kazuma-dono?"

Darkness replied, albeit, shakily. "H-He said he was...um—"

"He's having a bit of trouble coming," I answered. "He'll be here soon."

The Prince frowned. I don't think he bought my excuse, but he also didn't seem to care much.

"O, Onii-sama."

"Hmm, what is it, Iris?"

"The Masked Thief, were you...able to catch him?"

Once again, the Prince's face twisted into a frown. "No. The scoundrel managed to get away. Not only was he able to evade me for longer than I care to admit, but in the brief engagement we had, he showed remarkable strength and agility. Even if he is a lowly thief, I must acknowledge his prowess as a warrior. Although, the practices he employs seems to suggest he's anything but."

Remarkable strength and agility? Was this the same Kazuma we know?

Iris let out a quiet sigh of relief.

To be honest, I was also worried about Kazuma's condition, but as long as he was fine, I didn't care too much about where he was. Even if he was captured and sent to prison, me and the others would just find a way to break him out.

"Worry not, Iris," Jatis continued, "I'll keep an eye out for the wily cur. Should I encounter him again, I'll fall not for the same tricks. You can count on your older brother," He said with a hint of pride.

"T-Thank you, Onii-sama."

"Now then, I'll leave you." He then shifted his attention to us. "I leave the safety of Her Highness to you all. There are some things I must discuss with His Majesty."

Darkness and I bowed our heads in courtesy while Aqua laid hers lazily upon the table.

The Prince left, leaving the room in a prevailing silence.

"I just noticed something; where's Rain and Claire?"

"Hmm, good question," Darkness said, rubbing her chin in thought.

Iris answered my query. "Claire is in a meeting, last I heard. And Rain…was sent to her quarters."

"Wouldn't she normally be here with you?" I said. "She was last time."

Iris nodded. "I'm not sure why she was sent to her room this time, but… I hope she's alright."

Rain couldn't be in trouble, could she?

"Hmm, I suppose now isn't the time to be thinking about such things," Darkness remarked. "Iris-sama, please try to get some rest. We'll take turns watching you."

"Lalatina… Is it really necessary? Can't we just have fun like we did last time?"

"...This is the second time something like this has happened, and in such quick succession. I feel we should perhaps take this a bit more seriously than last time."

Iris looked down sadly. "...I suppose."

Submitting to Darkness' reasonable request, Iris laid down and went to sleep.

-The following morning

"Megumin~~~!" Aqua whined. "Where are we going?! You haven't said a word since we left the palace."

I sighed. "Shouldn't it be obvious, Aqua? We're going to get Kazuma."

Indeed, this man didn't show up last night which had me feeling slightly worried. In order to not leave Iris alone, Darkness stayed behind, and on her suggestion, sent Aqua along with me. The truth was, aside from my own feelings, the King himself had summoned Kazuma. This was the real reason we went out searching for him; we were tasked with delivering a letter and message. I looked at the intricately decorated envelope in my hand, and sighed once more.

The streets were relatively quiet. It was a far cry from the loud and crowded areas of last night. The people and stands were now replaced with patrols and checkpoints. It was now that we were approaching one of these checkpoints.

"Halt!" The guard said. "There's a curfew in effect, Miss."

However, he wasn't looking at me when he said this.

"Curfew?" Aqua replied in perplexity. "As if such mortal constraints apply to a goddess like me. I'll let you off with a warning if you sign up with the Axis—hey, are you listening?!"

The guard was whispering with another for a few moments, and then turned his attention back to Aqua.

"Normally we'd take you down to the station for questioning, but since you're traveling with your daughter here, we'll look the other way this time. Please return to your home."

"...Um, I'm not her daughter," I said, restraining the growing temperament I felt. "We're actually looking for someone on the King's orders."

I showed him the envelope.

The man inspected it closely, and after a few moments, he said, "Ah, that's really the King's own seal. Very well. Please forgive me for holding you up. Also, please look after your older sister, she seems to have some troubling issues."

I ignored the man's offhand comment, and they allowed us to continue on our way.

"How rude," Aqua said with a pout. "This is why I dislike these Eris cultists; they're so quick to discriminate. I swear, I'll have to have a talk with Eris about how to discipline her followers properly."

The person beside me said this, but I don't think I've ever seen her discipline her own followers.

"By the way, Megumin, do you even know where that no-good NEET is?"

I didn't, but I had a good feeling.

"You know, since I've gotten my power restored, I can tell you where he's hiding."

"Wait—what? You can do that?!"

Aqua smiled proudly. "Of course. Seeing the unseen is child's play to a goddess of my caliber." Aqua puffed out her chest. "Leave it to me, I'll find Kazuma in a jiffy."

She closed her eyes and assumed a stance denoting deep concentration.

"Hmmm… I see...I see… Huh?! W-What is all this?!" Aqua's demeanor changed completely, as she began to panic.

"W-What do you see?"

"Ah, ah, these heathens! What do they think they're doing?! How dare they defile such a sanctified place! I can hear the screams so vividly!"

I grasped Aqua, and nervously shook her. "That's enough, Aqua! I don't wanna know! I don't wanna know! These things aren't for someone like me to hear!"

"W-We can't let them get away with something like this, Megumin!" She said, snapping out it. "Come on, we have to stop them!"

"W-Wait, Aqua!" But I was mercilessly dragged along.

I understood the feeling she had to stop this injustice, but we also had an important mission to attend to. Not to mention, we were also women; if something bad should happen in our rescue attempt…

"Almost there, Megumin," She said after pulling me along several blocks.

As we rounded the corner, Aqua came to a stop.

"Listen, Megumin, the tragedy is taking place just down this alleyway. Whatever happens, I need you to stand your ground. Don't let those ingrates just do whatever they want. As a goddess, there's no way I could overlook such desecration."

How did this turn from looking for Kazuma, to rescuing a maiden in distress? I steeled myself.

"Ok, Aqua, I got your back."

Running down the shadowy alleyway, we came to its end where the bright morning light blinded me momentarily.

I heard a man's voice. "Alright, hold her down firmly."

"Stop, you scum! I already…"

With my sight returning, the situation became clear.

"Qucikly, Megumin, we have to stop them before they tear down the church!"

"Hey"—one of the workers approached us—"it's dangerous here; this is a construction zone."

"What do you think you're doing?!" Aqua yelled. "Who told you to do something so terrible?!"

Personally, I felt this was a good thing overall, but I was also quite interested to know what brought about these circumstances, so I asked, "Why are you guys tearing down the church?"

"What? We're not tearing it down; it's being renovated."

"Huh?" Both, me and Aqua said in unison.

"There were a bunch of complaints about the structural integrity of this place. In order to safeguard the wellbeing of the children here, the city had us undertake this project."

"...S, Sorry."

After leaving such an embarrassing situation behind, we continued in our search for Kazuma. My intuition led us back to our capital home and Darkness' family estate. Entering, we found no one home.

"Kazuma!" I called out.

There was no response.

"Seems like he isn't here," Aqua remarked.

It would've been too easy if he was.

"Hmm, no problem. There's several places I think he could've gone."

And so, we continued on. Eventually, several hours passed with no luck. It was noon and another issue began to rear its head.

"Guh."

My stomach growled as we walked.

"Hey, Megumin, what do you say we take a break? That NEET isn't going anywhere."

The fact that we haven't found him in all this time was a direct counter to that claim; however, the pangs of hunger that filled my stomach were much too great to ignore.

"Not a bad idea."

We headed to Guild Hall. Even though we were there earlier, we weren't hungry at the time.

"I'll have a Meat Lover's," I said as I looked at the menu.

"Three servings of the Frog Platter and some ice-cold beer for me."

Peering up from the menu, I noticed something right away.

"Hey, I recognize you."

The barmaid tensed up and let out a tiny squeak. "I-I hope it's not an issue if I serve you."

"What was your name again? Lily?"

"Rosa."

"Right… Say, me and my companion here came earlier and asked around, but perhaps I should've asked you instead; have you seen Kazuma?"

"Ka...zuma?"

I frowned. "Don't tell me you forgot the man whose name you scribbled on yourself?"

She averted her gaze, a mixture of shame and nervousness on her face. "P, Perhaps you'd like someone else to tend to you?"

"That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if you've seen Kazuma around? There isn't any reason for you to be so evasive, is there?"

The barmaid, Rosa, bit her lip worryingly. "I'm sorry." She bowed deeply. "Kazuma-san was here last night."

"Last night?"

She nodded. "He came in and booked a private room."

"What? That's impossible. We asked if he did and the clerk told us he hadn't."

She glanced at the ground for a couple seconds. "I, I was told...to keep it a secret, but..."

"Keep it a secret?! What was that man doing? Why? What'd he ask you to keep a secret?"

She averted her gaze.

"Tell me," I said, leaning towards her. "...Before I get angry."

"H-He booked the room under another name."

"Huh? Why?" I quickly grabbed her by the collar. "Were you involved with him?!"

"N-No! I'm not that kind of girl! Please…let go." She sobbed, squirming weakly under my grip.

Since the guild hall had turned its attention to us, I let go and calmed myself. "Do you know if he's still renting the room?"

The terrified girl answered succinctly. "No, he left some hours earlier. He ate some breakfast and checked out."

"You mentioned he rented under a different name, what was it?"

"T, Tuxedo...Mask."

…

"...Ahem, do you know where he went afterwards?"

She shook her head fervently.

I let out a deep breath. "...Sorry, and thanks for your help. Now can you get someone else to serve us?"

She nodded with the same level of energy, and then took off.

When I looked over, Aqua was staring silently at me.

"What?"

"Umu. I didn't think Megumin could be such a pushy girl. Hmmm, although, Kazuma has said you act like a boy sometimes."

That man, when I find him, I'll make sure to have him regret some things.

Part 4

After having our fill, we went to the desk and asked for the room Kazuma occupied last night.

"Tuxedo Mask," I said to the clerk.

Behind me, I could hear Aqua holding back her laughter.

"Tuxedo...Mask...let's see...ah, yes. We had someone by that name."

"Can you please show us the room?"

"Of course, this way."

We followed the clerk.

"Here we are. Is there anything else I can do for you ladies?"

"Has the room been cleaned?" I asked.

"Umm, no, not yet. We were overbooked last night. It wasn't till some time after the competition that some rooms opened up, this being one of them. As such, we haven't really had the time to get to it. Although, if you're looking to rent it we can—"

"It's fine. Thanks, that'll be all."

"Uh, right. Well, I'll be on my way."

After the man left, me and Aqua entered the room. Though the bed was unkempt, the rest of the room was untouched.

"What is it we're looking for, Megumin?" Aqua queried as I entered the bathroom.

Truth be told, there was no real reason for this. I just wanted to know if Kazuma, if that man, had been somewhat unfaithful to his wife. That being said, I didn't expect Kazuma to go off and...bed another woman (I've learned it was a surprisingly difficult thing for him to do), but I still wanted the confirmation. Seeing nothing that could serve as evidence for infidelity, I brought the personal investigation to a close. I hadn't forgotten our original goal.

Aqua and I left the guild hall shortly after. We spent the next hour searching the last few places I could think of, but he was nowhere to be found and none of the people we asked saw any signs of him. Could he have returned to Axel? The Teleport Stations in the capital were still down, so if he had left it would've been through someone else's assistance.

The uncertainty and failure to find him was beginning to make me increasingly worried about his wellbeing.

"Hey, Megumin, let's head back to Darkness's mansion; there's something I'd like to pick up."

"Aqua, don't you think you should be taking this a bit more seriously? There's been no sight of Kazuma besides the guild hall. Aren't you the least bit worried?"

She showed a mildly troubled expression. "I'm sure that boy is alright. If you're so worried, don't be. I'll help you search for him with my divination afterwards, ok?"

I sighed. "Ok."

-Back at the capital home

"Really, Aqua, wine?" I said as she unlocked the front door.

"Don't be like that hikiNEET, Megumin. It'll be quick."

We walked in, and closed the door behind us.

"Huh? Who's there?" A groggy voice came from the couch, belonging to, of course, one Satou Kazuma.

"You!" I ran over and pounced on him.

"Ack! What—Megumin?"

"Have you any idea how long we've been looking for you?!"

"Looking for me? W, Why'd you guys even do that? I'm fine."

I growled, trying hard to hold back my growing temper.

"See, Megumin, I told you this bum NEET was ok; I knew he'd find a cozy place to wrap up and laze about."

"Oi, I wasn't lazing about! Maybe you two forgot, but I was being chased! I spent the better part of the night trying to survive, ok?!"

Seeing him so worked up, I let go of his shirt. "I didn't forget... It's why I was so worried."

Kazuma gave me a brief look of surprise, and then cleared his throat. "I, I had to keep a low profile for a bit, sorry."

Aqua snorted. "Tuxedo Mask."

…

"I feel it lacks a bit of originality, but it's not bad," I said, nodding at my own assessment.

"Puehehe! If only you knew where he got it from, Megumin!"

"Oi, I needed a name quickly and it's the first thing that came to my head!"

I stared at them in confusion. What could they be talking about? Was the name something from Kazuma's world?

"Oh." I recalled the task we were given, and withdrew the envelope. "Here."

"What's this?" Kazuma said as he looked upon it curiously.

"A letter from Iris' father."

"The King?!"

I nodded. "I think it's a summons."

Kazuma sat up, and broke open the envelope.

After taking a few moments to read through the letter's contents, he folded it and placed it in his nearby bag.

"Hmm, according to this letter the King wants me to meet with him personally in order to discuss something 'really important'."

"Would be unusual if it wasn't," I remarked. "Anyhow, they've been expecting you hours ago."

"Hm, I shouldn't keep them waiting, then."

I grabbed a hold of him. "By the way," I said, my eyes narrowing, "you didn't happen to meet with a certain barmaid last night...right?"

Kazuma stiffened up.

"And you also didn't happen to make a comment about my personality, right? Nothing to the note of, 'Megumin acts like a boy', right?!"

"O-Oi, calm down. Ack—your hand, you're gripping too tightly."

"Really?" I pressed even harder.

"H-Hey, come on, I have to be somewhere! P-People are waiting on—"

The task would be delayed by a few more minutes.

-Arriving at the palace

"Tch, look at me, my clothes are a mess...I look like a mess. How am I supposed to impress Iris' dad like this?"

"That's how you always look," Aqua said.

Kazuma glared at her.

"Why are you so concerned with how you appear?" I remarked. "Didn't you say you didn't like nobles and their fake personas? If so, why are you acting this way?"

"What are you talking about? I have to keep my options open in case things don't work out between us."

THIS MAN!

"I see, it seems like Kazuma would like to volunteer for my future Explosion tests."

"Ok, relax. Look, we're arriving; you wouldn't want people to get a bad impression of you, right? So settle down."

I begrudgingly accepted.

"Halt—oh, Satou-dono." The familiar gate guard stopped us. "That is you, right? You look a little worse for wear; are you alright?"

Kazuma threw me an angry glance which I avoided.

"Ahem, I'm fine. Just finished tangling with an unruly thug."

"THUG?!"

"That so? If there's any problems Satou-dono, you could leave such complaints to the city guard."

"No, it's fine. They weren't that big of an issue."

I chuckled. "Umu. They weren't that big of an issue and yet they were able to do so much to you?"

Once again, Kazuma glared at me. "Ah, well, you see, I would've had them easily if another brute didn't jump in," He said with a proud smirk.

Aqua, who was oblivious to the slight, looked at us in confusion.

"Ah, blaming your circumstances, I see. Isn't it a shame how that 'thug' who was smaller than you was able to—"

"Ok that's enough out of you!" Kazuma said as he grappled with me.

Of course, he subjected me to his most effective and annoying skill, Drain Touch.

"Ahem… Forgive me, but I assume you're all here to see Hime-sama?"

Pulling himself away from me, Kazuma withdrew the letter and answered somewhat proudly, "Aside from that, the King sent for me."

"H-His Majesty?! Sorry, don't let me keep you."

We made our way past the gate and entered the courtyard where even more guards were present, continued down the familiar corridors (with even more guards) and finally approached Iris' room. The door opened and out came a familiar figure.

"White-suit."

She scrunched her face in disapproval. "Kazuma-dono, I see you're finally here. Come," She said moving past us.

As Megumin and Aqua went to follow us, Claire stopped. Looking back, she silently shook her head. "Lady Aqua, Megumin-dono, I have to ask you two to continue staying with Iris-sama. The summons only calls for Kazuma-dono's presence."

"That so?" Megumin replied. "Guess we don't really have much of a choice, then."

Aqua shrugged, and then smiled. "That's fine, I'll just show the Princess some of the new party tricks I've been working on."

Leaving those two behind, me and Claire walked through the halls in relative silence. After a few minutes of this, I spoke.

"Oi."

"What is it, Kazuma-dono?"

"Didn't you say you had a plan to capture the Demon King's Generals?"

"..."

"Oi—"

"I heard you! And I did have a plan."

"So, what happened?"

"What happened was that a certain thief decided to show up after I warned a certain someone that His Highness was after him."

I quietly averted my gaze.

"Thanks to that, certain things changed; His Highness developed the plan to include the capture of the thief. Not to mention I was sent off to contain the citizenry; I didn't have the time nor the wherewithal to implement the plan personally. Honestly," she said with a sigh, "your being here is quite the annoyance. Not only did you muddy things back there, but you also managed to get Rain in trouble."

"Wait, what?"

"News to you? I believed it was intentional."

"Oi, come on, what type of person do you take me as."

"Humph, I don't think you'd like to know."

I brushed aside the insulting comment. "What exactly happened to her, and how's it my fault?"

Claire's expression became somewhat angry-looking, though it seemed to not be specifically targeted at me.

"During the attempted capture of the previously mentioned criminals, despite her being there and the many opportunities to help apprehend the individuals, she did nothing. His Highness took note of this, and had her placed under house arrest for the remainder of the lockdown."

"Seriously?"

She glanced at me with knit brows.

"...Ugh, my bad."

"...It's only because of Rain's performance and experience that she didn't get off with something harsher—or even an investigation. Given all that's happened...it's honestly surprising that she hasn't."

Claire fell silent, but I could understand what she was getting at; due to recent events, it was becoming difficult to place complete trust and confidence in individuals. For someone like her—who was often seen alongside Rain—such a realization could've been a hard pill to swallow. I had to remember to get them something as a form of apology.

After getting past a few more checkpoints, we finally arrived at an inconspicuous set of doors. Claire withdrew a key from her coat pocket and unlocked it.

"We're here," she said. "This is where my task ends, Kazuma-dono. Beyond this corridor there is another set of doors; when you reach them, knock and say your name. Only when you get an acknowledgement, enter, otherwise stay outside."

"Why are you telling me this, aren't you coming?"

She shook her head. "This is the hall leading to the Council's Chamber. For all intents and purposes, it's where the entire kingdom is run, the epicenter. Unless you're a councilor or are personally summoned, you're not allowed in."

I looked down the hall, and then back at her.

She smirked. "Worry not, Kazuma-dono, you won't be eaten alive; however, I do hope this experience changes your mind about meddling in our nation's affairs."

I frowned. "Maybe I'll ask them why is it Iris still continues to get into trouble despite having a supposedly able-bodied guard? Maybe I'll offer to take her place."

Her triumphant smirk quickly evaporated into a nervous reply. "Y-You! P-Please don't..."

I stared at her for a moment.

"What? What is it?! They're waiting for you, you know!"

"Ah, I was just thinking, you have a pretty cute look to you when you're all nervous like that."

Her jaw dropped. "J-Just go already!"

-Meanwhile, in Iris' room…

"Um... I win?" Iris placed her hand down, revealing a pair of cards equaling twenty-one.

I sighed. "Really, that's like the third time in a row."

Aqua grabbed the deck and eyed it conspicuously. "My eyes reveal nothing, but this is impossible, something must be wrong with these! There's no way someone like me could lose so often!"

Darkness chuckled. "Hime-sama has always shown great proficiency in learning new things, games are no different."

No, Darkness wasn't exactly wrong, but…

"That's bogus! Something like this, winning this many times, it can only be due to having great luck! Having this much luck is basically cheating! It really reminds me of when I play against Kazuma; I don't like it!"

"Calm down, Aqua."

Iris stood up, and smiled. "It's fine, we can do something else if you'd like, Aqua-sama."

"That's a good idea. If Iris is a good girl and can get me some of that wine you royals—"

Darkness interrupted. "How about your presents, Hime-sama; care to open a few?"

"Ah, well…" Iris looked down somewhat glumly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, I've received many gifts, but...because of the attack…"

"...I see."

"B-But I do have the presents you all gave me; Claire dropped them off. Since they were searched beforehand, I was allowed to keep them."

"Ah, that was nice of her."

Iris smiled wryly. "I believe she did it out of some pittance for me."

I could see it being true; being confined to a room and having no presents for one's birthday would definitely bring anyone down.

Iris ran over to a nearby cabinet, took out the wrapped presents, and placed them on the bedside table.

"Now then," she said, sitting down, "which one should I—"

"Mine!" Aqua yelled. "Open mine first!" She quickly shoved the bottle-shaped present into Iris' arms.

Iris stared at it for a couple seconds.

"Well...go on, open it."

Doing as she was told, Iris tore away the festive paper, revealing the bottle within.

"Is this...an adult drink?" Iris asked somewhat inquisitively.

"Of course not," Darkness interjected.

"It's a charm to ward off evil spirits and the like," Aqua said proudly. "You can place it nearby and it's guaranteed to get rid of any pesky beings that might pose the princess any harm."

"Thank you, Aqua-sama; I'll treasure it."

Iris placed the gift on her nightstand, and then proceeded to unwrap the next present.

"A hairpin," She said with slight surprise, and quickly looked over to the smiling Crusader by her side.

"Do you like it?" Darkness asked.

Iris nodded happily. "It's very pretty, Lalatina—like you! Thank you."

"I hope you value it as I have; it was a keepsake of my mother."

Iris stared at her in shock, slowly switching between her and the hairpin in her hands. "Why...are you—"

"Do you know what it was meant to symbolize?"

Iris shook her head.

"Strength of will and the relinquishment of frailty. My mother couldn't quite complete on one of those, so I chose to do so in her stead. Now, I want to give it to you. I've no doubt Hime-sama would be a better owner to it than I have."

"Nonsense, Lalatina!" Iris said shakily. "Here, I-I can't possibly—"

Darkness slowly shoved the gift back, closing Iris' hand around it. "It'll be better for you to have it. If I kept it...it wouldn't really serve its purpose."

I could sense a tinge of sorrow as she said this.

"I…" For a moment, Iris harbored a look of overwhelming sadness. She stared at the hairpin, and then cradled it upon her bosom. A few seconds later, her expression changed to that of the resolute and militant princess of Belzerg. "...I accept this gift...thank you."

She set the hairpin aside, as with the gift before it, and then opened the next.

"Ohhh…" She looked up, and smiled at me. "Was this your gift, Megumin-nee?"

I grinned. "A gift from me and Kazuma."

"Onii-sama?"

"Umu. I couldn't have completed it without his help."

"Onii-sama made this?"

"Well, not the entire thing, but the embroidery is his. Irene, our maid, also helped with the design."

Aqua then said, "So, what did you help with exactly?"

Yet the innocence with which she said it perhaps made the question sting even more.

"I-I was the one who thought of it in the first place!"

Iris giggled. "It's very stylish. I suspected it came from you, Megumin-nee, but to hear Onii-sama had a hand in it too is quite surprising."

I smirked. "Now whenever we go on adventures you can have that coolness you always wanted."

"Thank you. I really love it. I wonder what Onii-sama will think if he sees me wearing it." My gift joined the others as she took the final one. "Hmm, I thought this one would be from Onii-sama, but since you said the last one was from him…"

"Please be careful with this one, Hime-sama," Darkness advised.

"Don't worry, if she ends up getting hurt, I'll just heal her."

"That's not the point, Aqua."

Carefully, Iris tore away the paper, and then undid the underlying wrapping.

"A dagger? From who?" She held it up to the light. A moment later, in a look of surprise, she gave a soft smile. "I see. Please tell Gren-san I appreciate her gift and will treasure it."

"Wait," I said, "how'd you know it was from Gren-san?"

Still examining the dagger, Iris answered. "It's the same style of dagger she saved me from; I can't just forget something like this, especially when it involved someone risking their life for me."

After a couple minutes, Iris wrapped the dagger back up, and placed it beside the other gifts.

"Thank you. I really appreciate all your gifts. This would've been the best birthday I've ever had if not for a few things."

Iris sadly looked down, then Aqua stood up.

"Don't be so sad, Iris. You see, I've developed some new tricks. I can give you an exclusive sneak peek on what I've been working on—for free! All I require is some nice wine to help me get started."

…

-The Council Chamber

Knock, knock… I waited, and then a few seconds later, someone responded.

"Enter."

I grasped the weathered doorknob, and pushed open the door.

Inside was a circular room with a circular table at its center. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with various pieces of literature along with maps and reports. Sitting around the table were several men, all of them many years older than myself. The King was standing, staring at one of the maps on the wall. When one took a glance at all this, the immediate thing that came to mind was...that this place was a gathering spot for the most notable of individuals.

"Kazuma-dono," the King said, looking over his shoulder, "you've come. Welcome, please have a seat."

I did so.

"You're late," One of the men said, his voice stern, a single eye gazing at me through its paired monocle.

In spite of his age, he gave off a rather intimidating aura.

Another one of them began, this one larger—in every facet of the word—and stone-faced. "Your Majesty, did we really have to wait for such a young upstart?"

"Calm yourselves, you two. Kazuma-dono is our guest," Said one familiar spymaster.

"This is a mistake," The previous said.

"Really, Belladeux-san? You question His Majesty's decision?"

"I-I said no such thing!"

The man sitting closest to the King, and the one I was most familiar with calmly addressed the room. "Enough, we're wasting more time with such senseless arguments… Your Majesty."

The King turned around. "Thank you, Ignis. And thank you all for answering these summons. As you know these past few months have been somewhat tumultuous. It's because of this that I've decided to bring together this council. For the future of our country and for the wellbeing of the world we must discuss our course of action going forward. First and foremost, however, I'd like to introduce you all to Kazuma-dono."

Once again, the many eyes set themselves upon me. I feel I don't really have to say this, but the sense of nervousness I felt was only second to the intimate moments I shared with Megumin...even then, the feelings were probably closer to meeting with classmates on the first day of school...or what I would imagine going to a job interview being like.

"Although I'm sure you may have met some of them, let me introduce you, Kazuma-dono," The King said. "To my right, is Dustiness Ford Ignis, First Minister of Belzerg and Chief Councilor."

Darkness' dad smiled and gave me a brief nod.

"Continuing to my right, we have the Minister of Intelligence, Vincent Bartholomew."

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Kazuma-dono," Vincent said with an overly flamboyant demeanor.

"Proceeding him and in charge of martial matters is our Master of War, Belladeux Magnus Orrinthal."

The man gave me a brief and uninspired nod.

"Following him is the Minister of Defense & Public Safety, Symphonia Vas Luther."

This one said nothing, just stared at me with a very familiar sense of coldness.

"Last of our members is Alex Bellgard, Master of the Treasury."

"Kazuma-dono, it's nice to meet you. I've heard many things coming from the merchants in Axel. I look forward to working with you."

"Ah, l-likewise," I said somewhat nervously.

The King cleared his throat. "Now, onto the main topic of today's gathering, the Demon King of the North."

"I say we issue a formal declaration of war and march our armies to finish that scoundrel once and for all!" The Master of War declared.

"And I'll have to object to that suggestion once again, Belladeux-dono," the Treasury Master remarked. "The country isn't ready for another drawn out war; according to the financial reports of the last few decades, the Kingdom's coffers have been growing drier and drier with each passing year. To push us into another war… The merchant's guild will hang me if they found I agreed to such a proposition."

"You are a member of this council, aren't you? What does the opinions of a bunch of commoners even matter? The important thing is—"

"The safety of the kingdom and all its inhabitants," the Minister of Public Safety interjected. "I agree with Bellgard-dono, the Kingdom just finished its decades-long war with the Demon King of the West."

"Public safety?!" The War Master slammed his fist on the table. "What public safety? Even without a formal declaration that monster has seen it fit to attack—not once, but twice!"

"Which our forces are already straining to contain."

Darkness' dad jumped in. "Belladeux-dono, may I remind you that during the war not only were finances strained, but our logistics pushed to near breaking point."

"And—"

"And this was war waged in our own territory, under fairly temperate climates. To wage a war to the far north where the climate is magnitudes colder would only serve to build resentment and spread dissatisfaction."

Humbled by the words of Darkness' father, the Master of War grumbled silently to himself.

Part 5

Vincent, the Kingdom's Spymaster, spoke. "Let us not forget, gentlemen, that the reports coming in from the north have—on a number of occasions—included mentions of powerful exploding weapons."

"Indeed, if our forces were to come in contact with a weapon of this caliber, that might be all they'd need to break."

"You hold our kingdom's glorious army in such little light, Ignis. I believe our men and women have more merit than you give them credit for."

"All the more reason to protect them, Orrinthal."

"An army's purpose is to fight against threats to their sovereign!"

"Not if it'll result in a possible massacre!" The two men glared at each other intently. Finally, Darkness' dad sighed, speaking shortly after. "The Kingdom's future hangs precariously; the only thing protecting it is the bravery and patriotism of its adventurers and citizens. If we sacrifice them as a mere act of retaliation we'd be serving ourselves up on a silver platter."

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Vincent said with a salesman-like pitch, "worry not, for I have found a solution."

They stared at him with brows raised, all except the King.

"Well, what is it, Bartholomew-san?" The man named Orrinthal posed.

"Your Majesty, if you would?"

"...Ahem. Kazuma-dono, I'd like to ask you...on behalf of the kingdom...if you would take the fight to the Demon King?"

I froze, my gaze shifting between all the men in the room.

The War Master spoke with a low and inquisitive tone. "Not a bad idea… Sending the one who slayed the Demon King of the West, it may be possible to prevent the instability of a full scale war."

"Wait…"

"Hmm, and doing so will also allow our forces to remain stationed throughout the kingdom, safeguarding the citizenry," said the Minister of Public Safety.

"It could also serve as means to promote financial growth. Like we can have a parade—to marshal our heroes a good send off."

The murmuring of men agreeing with each other's suggestions filled the room, and despite it being a topic regarding the future of my wellbeing, I couldn't refuse. To do so would've been tantamount to committing social suicide.

Of course, the old me would've done it anyways, but after all I've been through to get where I was today…

"I… Um… Sure."

"So it's settled," Vincent said, "Kazuma-dono and his party will deal with the Demon King of the North and we can all focus on matters here."

Tch! I couldn't help but feel I was set up. No, I was—even before I came into the room, the result was clear. I had almost no doubt in my mind that this was machination of the very man who proposed the idea… Yet...what did it matter?

What did it matter that I was pressed into this conflict so abruptly? Someone had already beaten them to the punch; someone, a certain goddess, pretty much coerced me into doing this very thing. The only issue was now I could no longer delay it.

"Very well," Darkness' father said with a regretful expression, "with the matters of the Demon King resolved, this meeting is concluded and its members adjourned."

As the other walked out, I got up to follow, however, Iris' dad called out to me; he stayed behind.

"Kazuma-dono...forgive me. I did not wish to ask you something like that in such a situation, however…" He looked away, staring at the map on the wall once more. "I grow frail. Soon, I won't be able to protect my children, much less the entire kingdom. It is my wish for this place to become a safe haven for all… It was the wish of my predecessors and it is now my own."

He turned back to stare at me.

"I know what I ask of you and your party isn't small...and I know whatever I may offer may not be enough, but...can you grant this tired old man a wish? Can you make sure she's safe? My son Jatis will have his hands full traversing the muddy slog that is running a nation, he cannot and will not be able to. So, as someone she cherishes dearly...can you make sure that no harm comes to her?"

I didn't know what he expected out of me; Iris was more than capable of taking care of any possible threats, but I couldn't very well deny the wishes of someone older, much less a king.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'll take care of Iris."

"Thank you, Kazuma-dono. It does this old man's heart good to hear you say that." As he walked off to leave, he stopped by the door. "Make sure to make it back; the kingdom...and my daughter can't afford to lose people like yourselves."

I nodded silently.

The door opened and the King exited. I was alone in the room; this was intentional. I thought it would be sort of strange to exit at the same time. I felt it was the sort of feeling you got when saying bye to someone, only to keep walking the same way. Even someone as asocial as me would hate such an awkward situation.

I stayed in the room a couple more minutes, perusing the various things on display. I noticed there were a number of books related to managing the many aspects of running a country, the history of—but not limited to—Belzerg, and many other things. Having felt I stayed long enough, I left the room.

"Did you enjoy the contents? I picked them myself." Leaning against the wall just outside the door was none other than Vincent.

"Were you out here the entire time?"

He smiled. "I really wish you wouldn't keep me waiting for so long, Kazuma-dono. I have some things I wish to discuss with you."

"So do I; don't think I've forgotten about that fake 'magic item' you sold me."

"Ah, yes, that. However, I have something of a more pressing nature."

I looked at him curiously. "What of?"

"I have news of your target."

"Target?"

"Yes, don't you remember? The girl, Kazuma-dono."

"Girl… Wait. Gren's sister?!"

He smiled once more. "Come. Let us speak more of this in my sanctuary."

"Any reason we can't talk here?"

Vincent sneered. "Some ears are not meant for the information I'm about to give you."

"Is it...that bad?"

My response made him grin. "Aren't you curious, Kazuma-dono? Heh. Let us not tarry for there's a lot I wish to speak of."

Such a convoluted answer; I was starting to dislike associating with this guy.

As we were walking to the library, I got his attention.

"Oi."

"Hmm?"

"You set all that up back there, didn't you? The King had nothing to do with it."

"Hmmm...I wouldn't exactly say that, however, it shouldn't be an issue for the Demon King Slayer of Belzerg, should it?"

"Cut the crap. You know as well as I do that going off to take on another Demon King isn't high on my list of priorities."

Vncent snickered. "Forgive me, Kazuma-dono, I was under the assumption that adventurers liked adventures."

"I won't speak for everyone, but most of them go on adventures cause there's little else for them to do; there isn't much of a choice."

"I see. Still, it seems I forced your hand a bit early."

"Early?"

Did he know about my circumstances with the Demon Kings? No, that'd be impossible; the conversation took place in Heaven, so it was a literal impossibility for him—Spymaster or not—to know of such things.

"It works in your favor, Kazuma-dono—that I assure you."

Oh boy, I couldn't wait to hear the explanation for this.

"How does this work for me exactly? I see nothing but issues."

"Kazuma-dono, haven't you always wanted to travel, see new places, meet new people?" He inquired, evidently dodging my question. "Surely, that's one of the reasons you chose to become an adventurer, right?"

I mean, he wasn't exactly wrong…

"Sure, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Vincent gave me an optimistic smirk. "Do you know anything of the lands beyond Belzerg, my dear hero?"

Hero?

"No, can't say I do. Again, what does this have to do with anything? Weren't you gonna tell me about Gren's sister?"

"Come now, Kazuma-dono, surely you can put two and two together, can't you?"

"So, she's actually alive, then? And from what you're telling me, probably somewhere in the Northern Demon King's territory, is that it?"

"Bravo, Kazuma-dono, you haven't disappointed me."

"Can't really say I'm out to please you, especially after the stunts you pulled."

"Ah, right. You really must forgive such small trifles, Kazuma-dono. Anyhow, we're here."

As before, I followed Vincent to the Grand Archives of the Royal Library. The amount of material seemed to have grown since I was last here...as impossible as that seemed. I looked around the circular room this man called his sanctuary, the blind and deaf inhabitants carrying out their duties in an almost drone-like fashion.

"Oi, are they really blind and deaf?"

Vincent sported a mocking smile—that by now was becoming somewhat iconic for him. "Ah, who knows."

I raised a brow. "If they're not, what's the purpose for holding a conversation here?"

Again, he smirked. "I feel you've already answered the question, Kazuma-dono, but let's set that aside for now. I admit, I may have wronged you a bit; allow me to compensate you for these transgressions."

"Compensate? I'm not really in any need for money."

"Pfft, money. Do I look like the type of man who'd hand out money as recompense?"

I had to admit, he did not.

Vincent went on. "My form of compensation comes in the form of knowledge...secrets. I deal in that trade. Secrets, Kazuma-dono, are—in fact—one of the most versatile things in existence. In the right hands they can become a weapon sharper than any sword, travel farther than the lightest arrow, and can be more devastating than the most powerful magic. On the other hand, with the right secret one can save an untold amount of lives; maybe it's an unknown whisper of someone's legitimacy or the knowledge of where one's enemy lies or what traps they hold. Secrets, knowledge, these things move the world, Kazuma-dono. This place is its home and I, its master."

Seeing this man speak some passionately about the subjects like blackmail and deceit filled me with some part dread and other parts revulsion. To be honest, I was starting to reconsider my actual safety.

Perhaps sensing something, Vincent waved offhandedly. "Forgive me; I grow somewhat...zealous when speaking of such matters. Kazuma-dono, you have little to worry; I already told you I am not your enemy. I know I seem somewhat mistrustful, but it comes with the position. My allegiances have not changed since I last told you, nor do I believe they will change anytime in the near future."

Despite him saying so, I still had slight misgivings—even so, I set them aside...for now.

"So, what 'secret' are you gonna share with me?"

"The secret of the world."

"Secret of the..."

"Kazuma-dono, how much do you know of the other countries? Of the lands beyond Belzerg?"

"Not much. I really only know of Elroad."

"Right, Elroad. I remember you went off with the Princess on an important task back then."

I was about to ask how he knew this, but of course he did; even if I didn't know him at the time, he was likely still the spymaster and a council member of this country. A mission of that importance would've been something he knew either in great detail or, at the very least, had some idea of.

He continued. "But besides Elroad, you know of no others, correct?"

Picking my brain, the conversation I had with Ami, the Champion, briefly came into focus.

"The land to the North is called...D...Dar...Dargon?"

Vincent looked slightly surprised. "Yes, Dargon—who told you this?"

"Um, some adventurer named Ami; I think she said she came from the Far East."

"Ami… I see. Well, yes, the land to the North of Elroad is called Dargon. It's named after some defunct god of crafts and metals. Hmm, I think his name was something equally as silly...ah, that's right, Dargo. Anyhow, it's a land ruled over by the Dwarves."

"Dwarves?"

If my personal experience with the dwarves in Belzerg was anything to go by, these dwarves would also probably be beardless with somewhat tolerant attitudes. I really hated this world…

"Surely, Kazuma-dono has seen a dwarf before?"

"Yeah, I have. Mostly during festivals and stuff."

"I see. ...Kazuma-dono, has this Ami told you anything else, particularly about the state of affairs outside Belzerg?"

"Ah, yeah. She mentioned the dwarves and elves are at war with the Demon King in the North."

"So she's told you about elves as well?"

"Well, I already knew about elves—roughly around the same time I learned about dwarves."

"Umu, makes sense; dwarves and elves are usually seen together. Their races enjoy a great bond with each other since they have common history. Anyhow, officially, only the dwarves are at war with Demon King. Reports show, however, the elves are lending support. It's a similar situation Belzerg had with Elroad during our own war with the Demon King of the West."

"Umu, Ami also told me something like that."

"Oh? This Ami sounds like a very interesting person."

"Trust me, she was."

"I do hope you introduce me to her one day, Kazuma-dono."

Vincent gave off the feeling of a socially awkward ojii-san, the fact that he was asking me to introduce me to a random woman I knew was sort of surprising.

While I was mulling this over, he spoke, interrupting my thoughts. "Did this Ami also tell you of the elven homeland of Sylvenn?"

"No."

He smiled; I suspect, due in part of the fact that he was finally able to give me some fresh information.

"Sylvenn is a land of great woods and the elves there keep a very close watch on the managing of the forests."

"Ohhh."

I couldn't help but be in awe. For the first time, I was hearing something that resonated with my idea of an RPG fantasy setting.

"Kazuma-dono will find this place to be of interest. If my recent pieces of intel are to be trusted—and they most certainly are, you'll find the sister to be held somewhere near the border between Sylvenn and Dargon. Here."

He handed me a rolled up parchment which I unfurled to reveal a map. On it, were several locations, all of them unknown to me.

"The map is enchanted, if you press your finger on a location for a certain amount of time, it'll enlarge the image revealing more details. In this way, you'll be able to see cities, towns, and the like."

I looked at Belzerg, and pressed on what appeared to be the image of a castle. The image was enhanced and zoomed, showing the capital city of the same name.

"Whoa, this is amazing! How come this is the first time I'm seeing something like this?"

Vincent chuckled. "Kazuma-dono, maps like this certainly exist; however, I feel like I must inform you their costs vary considerably depending on their complexity and details. A map like the one you're holding is easily worth several times a noble's yearly salary. Very few people would bother with maps like this one and only people like merchants would even dream of getting a map with even a quarter the amount of detail."

I see.

"So, why are you giving this to me again?"

With his iconic smirk, Vincent replied, "Consider it a gift to mark the start of our future partnership."

Why did I get the feeling this was a terrible proposition to take?

"Partnership?"

"Of course. You didn't think I would find Gren-san's sister for free now, would you?"

This guy…

"All I ask is for you to keep your ears and eyes open for anything juicy you might hear on your travels. When you do, simply report them to me. Don't worry, I'll compensate you for every little bit you give me, and depending on how particularly 'juicy' it is, I'll give you a corresponding reward. Hmm, not bad, huh?"

Hard to deny that…

"Alright, so all I have to do is give you info; are rumors ok?"

"Of course. Every rumor has a grain of truth to it. Remember, the more effort you put into finding these secrets, the better the reward. So, it'll be worth it to go after them—for the truth, right?"

Right, the truth…

"Also, it'll probably be a good idea to take a guide with you."

"Guide?"

"Yes, someone who is familiar with the place." He rubbed his chin briefly, feigning contemplation. "Ah, I know, how about Gren-san?"

"Gren? Why? Does she actually know about this place?"

Vincent replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Why don't you ask her, Kazuma-dono? There's a lot more to that girl than you think."

To be honest, I wasn't really interested in knowing.

"Do I really have to bring her along? Can't I just find a local?"

"You should really take her, Kazuma-dono. After all, you're finding her sister; who would be more eager to find her than her own flesh and blood?"

He had a point…

"Fine."

"Also, I almost forgot, when you get to Selhas Nerr, find Quinn; he's one of my moles and the one who'll help you pinpoint the sister's location."

Selhas Nerr. I looked at the map, and pressed the area between the borders of Dargon and Sylvenn. As I suspected, it was the name of the border town.

"Selhas Nerr and Quinn, got it. Anything else you wanna tell me?"

"Hmm, I don't believe so. Inundating with you unnecessary information isn't really beneficial to either of us. Besides, I don't want to keep you. The sooner you set off, the sooner you can return with a bounty of secrets for me to digest."

"Right." I headed towards the door, and then turned back around. "You really thought I would forget, didn't you?"

Vincent quickly looked away. "Whatever do you mean, Kazuma-dono?"

"Don't play dumb with me! The book!"

"Which? I know of many—"

"The white one you tried to sell off as a magic item!"

"A-Ah, that one...right, that one. Have you given it to your special friend yet?"

"Of course not."

"Well"—He cleared his throat—"what exactly did I lie about?"

"Are you kidding me?! The whole thing was a lie!"

"Was it? As I seem to recall, I called it a book which told you the secrets of its owner. Going off this description, wouldn't you call it somewhat magical?"

"Are you messing with me?!"

"N-Not at all, Kazuma-dono. I did sell you a magical book which tells you the secrets of its owner."

"Look, you can stop lying to me; I had a reliable source appraise it, and they told me the item was trash."

"T, Trash? Now that's a little—"

"It's not what you said it is!"

Despite being caught in the lie, Vincent took a very serious tone. "I have to say it is exactly what I said it was. I sold you a diary, Kazuma-dono."

"A dia—"

All of it suddenly made sense; a magical book which told you the secrets of its owner. Of course, a diary.

As I was stuck in my realization, Vincent let out a laugh.

"Oi…"

Calming down, he replied, "Sorry, Kazuma-dono; I just find it too funny."

-Palace, Iris' Room

"Wait, Aqua, do it again! I'll definitely figure it out this time!"

"No way, Megumin, I've done it three times already. If I did the same trick over and over again it would bored the audience."

KNOCK! KNOCK!

From the otherside of the door, came the voice of the female guard. "Iris-sama, it's Kazuma-dono—"

The door swung open.

"Onii-sama, you're ok!"

"Umu. Can I come in?"

Iris stepped aside, allowing Kazuma to enter.

"Kazuma, you're back," Darkness said.

"How'd it go?" I asked as he took a seat on the couch.

"*Sigh* I wanna go home."

"O-Onii-sama!" Iris cried out as she clung to him nervously.

"Ah, I didn't really mean it, Iris; I'll stay he—"

Seeing the glares we were giving him, Kazuma stopped.

Darkness coughed lightly. "Once the lockdown is lifted, we're leaving."

"But Lalatina, must you all leave? Couldn't you all just stay?"

"Actually, about that," Kazuma said. "It looks like we'll be heading out soon."

"Heading out?" Darkness said in perplexity.

"Where?" I asked.

"North," Kazuma replied. "Well, sorta."

"North?" Iris said, pulling herself away from him. "Onii-sama… You all are going north? Away from the Kingdom?"

Kazuma nodded.

"Why?" Iris posed with an innocent and cutsey expression.

"A-Ah, well…" Kazuma stumbled over his words as Iris clung to him once more. "Y-You see, Iris-chan, I have to go rescue Gren-san's little sister."

"Gren-san's… I see. So, they found her." Iris straightened herself up once again. "Onii-sama is going off to rescue another little sister…"

"Ah...well...I mean…"

"Onii-sama is going off to another kingdom faraway to rescue another little sister… Onii-sama will forget all about me…"

"N-Now that's not true, Iris-chan!" Kazuma quickly took her hands. "No matter where I go and how many little sisters I meet, you'll always be my number one."

All of us stared at him with some measure of discomfort; even Iris, the target of such heartfelt words, looked upon him uneasily.

"...Oi, w-would you all stop looking at me like that? L-Look," Kazuma said, digging into his satchel. He brought out a book with a highly decorated and white cover. "I know it isn't much, but…" He handed it over to Iris.

She stared at it for a few seconds, and then opened it, flipping through the pages slowly. After a few minutes, she silently closed it and smiled.

"Thank you, Onii-sama."

Kazuma smiled back. "It's a magic item, you know?"

He said this to her, but I didn't sense any magic coming from it.

"If you write your name in it it'll start to be filled with your secrets," He continued.

"Really?" Iris said with a modicum of surprise.

"Umu," Kazuma said, still smiling.

I sighed. "...It's a diary," I said bluntly.

"Oi, you! Why'd you have to go and ruin the surprise?!"

"What surprise? Who wouldn't know that after such an easy hint?"

"H-Hey, have you no shame for ruining such a touching moment?!"

"Thank you, Onii-sama!" Iris said, interrupting us. "I'll write in it everyday. That way I won't feel too lonely when you're not here."

Kazuma smiled even brighter than before. This man… How could he be so completely taken in by another girl's charm?

Afterwards, it was decided that we'd be staying until tomorrow. Given some past...misunderstandings, Kazuma was sent to sleep in another wing of the palace. Of course, being the reasonable and understanding companion, I didn't really want him to be all alone, so I went along with him.

"Hey, you know you didn't have to come, right?"

"I-I know that. Humph, it wasn't so long ago that you'd be begging for a situation like this. How come you're so reluctant now?"

"I'm not being reluctant, it's just even I have enough decency to stay away from doing things like that while we're in the palace."

"Y-You… Here I am doing this out of the kindness of my heart and you label me such a simple woman. In any case, Iris was all over you earlier. It's my…turn..." Yet I couldn't bring myself to finish that statement.

"Hm? What was that, Megumin?"

"N-Nothing. We're married, so it shouldn't matter if we sleep together anyways."

"Eh? I guess so." A brief silence came between us before Kazuma spoke once more. "...You sure this isn't about you being jealous?"

"Of course not. Maybe… Just a little." I quickly grabbed his hand. "If you're gonna show another woman attention, Satou Kazuma, you'd better show me at least twice as much in return."

Kazuma raised his brow, and then smirked. "Aren't you clingy."

I clung to his arm. "Of course, Kazuma's mine. Besides, if I didn't fall for you, how many other women would you trouble? I'd hate to wonder."

To this, he said nothing, just gave a faint smile.