The update was a little late this week, sorry as I had quite a busy week! Thank you for your patience!

Chapter 7:Holiday in a Crimson Village

It was cold. I felt like I was trapped, unable to move. The water was rising and I kicked something hard, just to get higher, but it was useless, I was stuck here, unable to move. I kicked once more and suddenly felt like I was falling?

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, feeling the hard floor on my back. Calm down, it was just a nightmare. I was in an unknown bedroom, there was a toppled chair at the foot of the bed I was next to, on the opposite side of the bed. Wait, wasn't I in the bunker? I was using my skill then my nose bled and I... A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Ah you are awake, good. I heard something fall so I came up." Chris was standing in the doorway of the room. Huh she really was a Thief, I had not even heard her open the door.

"Let me guess, I fainted at the bunker, so you brought me somewhere in the village to get treatment?" I tried my best not to act surprised by her sudden appearance.

"I am so sorry, Fujiwara-kun, you will never adventure again." Chris delivered with such a monotone. What? Wait was that a grin forming on her face? She started laughing.

"Ha ha very funny, Chris. You did not think I would believe that for a second, did you?" Seriously, who knew that a Goddess taking the role as a Thief would act so… mischievously.

"Haha, you just suffered from mana depletion, you will be fine after some rest. Still, you shouldn't push yourself so hard. Using magic beyond your body's ability can harm it in the long term." Well, that was good to know, I just had to be more careful in the future then. Perhaps after today's batch was made I could learn about how to boost it. Wait, was Chris still talking to me?

"You are not even listening to what I just said, are you? I know that distracted look you have. " Chris pouted.

"I am listening, you said that I would be fine after some rest." I knew that tactic of quoting what was said earlier to convince someone else that you were listening probably would not work on Chris but hey if it worked in school it might work after all.

"I also told you that I would be leaving this village early, we need to deliver news that the village was attacked to the Eris Order in the capital as soon as possible. I knew you weren't listening when there was no reaction from you." Okay she got me there, but it really was too soon! I still had to clear out that gunpowder stash in the bunker. The feeling of being lost on what to do must have been translated on my face as Chris began speaking again.

"Don't worry, only two of us will be leaving to the capital, I told the priest about you helping out the village. We can just split up here, the quest was just to escort to Alcanretia and the village here after all, so the guild will recognise the quest as complete. You just need to present this document to them and you will get your payment." Wow, Chris had really thought of everything, I was so glad that Eris was kind of like my patron Goddess. Now to head to the bunker, I stood up and made my way towards the door, only for Chris to block it off with an arm. What, I could just rest after making some rounds right?

"Nah ah, what did I tell you? You need to get some rest, stay here in this room. Or at least don't use your skills today. Take your pick." She gave this look that I had seen many women give before, that they were not going to back down.

"Ugh fine, I promise not to use my magic today, if I break this promise the Goddess Eris can punish me. " Being able to move about was the obvious choice here, it would be so boring to spend an entire day stuck in bed with nothing to do. It was unfortunate that I could make no progress today but technically I could get started at midnight…

"Alrighty, that's settled. Yunyun, you will watch over Fujiwara in my stead and if he breaks his promise, feel free to hit him hard at the back of his head. Not too hard though." Wait, Yunyun was here as well? There she was, right behind Chris. I swear, if not for the fact that all Crimson Demons are classed as Archwizards, I would have thought she was a Rogue class like Chris, seriously with how sneaky she was. When did she even enter the room and why did it take so long for me to notice her?

"Rest assured Chris, I will keep my eyes on him today. He will not go anywhere near that bunker anytime soon!" Chris gave an approving nod to Yunyun's reply. Were Chris and Yunyun always this close? Well I guess it is alright if I follow my promise to the letter. Since I was staying as a guest at Hiropon's mansion, it would be easier for Yunyun to keep tabs on me, at least for today. I just had to find a way to leave the mansion and get close to the bunker close to night. Maybe I could get Yunyun to bring me on a tour around the village…

"Well then, I must head out now. Fujiwara, Yunyun, take care of yourselves. See you!" Chris deftly moved past Yunyun, waving goodbye as she disappeared down the stairs. The way she behaved, if not for the fact that she told me she was Eris I would not have believed it. Now to plan on how to convince my watcher to let me leave the house…

"Eh…Do you want to go out to the village? I mean your tour yesterday was cut short when you headed to the bunker..." I wasn't expecting Yunyun to let me leave the house so easily, huh.

"You aren't going to force me to stay in bed and rest all day?" I would have thought she would agree with Chris but well if she was suggesting it then things would work out easier than I thought.

"It's not like I have not seen someone suffer from mana exhaustion before, I have a friend who always uses a spell that takes up a lot of mana and she always collapses after using it. As long as you don't use magic for the rest of the day you should be fine." Yunyun was concentrating, listing the points using her fingers. Well, fine I wouldn't use magic today then, maybe just take today as a kind of holiday. The village sure looked scenic enough to count as one.

"Well, I would do anything just to get outside, shall we get started on where we left of yesterday?" The sooner we got started, the better. Why was Yunyun staring at me though?

"Eh he, don't you want to get changed before you leave, I mean…" Looking down at myself, I realised I was still wearing yesterday's clothes.

"Right, I should get prepared to leave then, I'll find you when I'm ready?" Seeing her nod and head down the stairs, I heaved a sigh of relief. It really was embarrassing to be reminded about getting prepared to go outside at my age, I remembered back when I was still heading to school… That life was over now, no need to think about it. Looking in the room for my belongings, I saw my belt with the holsters attached laying on a table. Next to them was my bag with the rest of my belongings. Perhaps a quick shower before heading out? Wait, I forgot to ask where the showers were…

(Later that morning)

Did a quick clean up, check. Cleaned and maintained both guns, check. Sharpened the bayonet, check. Since everything was prepared, it was probably time to find Yunyun. If I was an Archwizard that was surprisingly sneaky, where would I be?

"I wonder where Yunyun is right now?" I rarely thought out loud but maybe I just wasn't fully awake. Surprisingly, I thought I heard a small gasp coming from beyond the door. My idea that I was just hearing things stopped when there was a knock on the door.

"Erm… Sorry to interrupt, you were taking quite a while in your room, so I thought to check in just in case…" Yunyun answered as I opened the door, staring down at the floor. Well it was my fault to make her wait, the way she was acting made me feel guilty.

"It's not your fault, I lost track of time. Now that I am all ready, maybe we can continue on the tour? Maybe a food place, I could go for some brunch." Best to get this awkwardness over as soon as possible.

"Oh of course, let's go!" She took the hint and we quickly left. Following her lead, we entered a commercial district with some reconstruction at the side. Oh, I recognised this area, this was the same district where the blacksmith was at. I was led into a café nearby, which was not as crowded, I guess due to the weird hour we came in being between the breakfast and lunch rush hours.

"Welcome to the Crimson Demons' number one coffee shop! Oh it's Yunyun, daughter of our Chief Hiropon. I haven't seen you here lately, and who is this strapping young lad? Oh, isn't he the outsider that came in yesterday? Welcome, welcome!" The shop owner enthusiastically welcomed us in. Bringing in the menu, I looked at the list of foodstuffs this coffee shop had. The names of the dishes were bombastic, with 'Demon God's Sacrificial Lamb Sandwich' and 'Stew of Dark God's Blessing' as some examples. Oh, it seemed like a really over the top way but 'Dark Lord's Sacrificial Chicken and Egg Bowl' seemed like oyakodon, I should try that.

"I'll have the 'Dark Lord's Sacrificial Chicken and Egg Bowl', please." There was this English saying I remembered from class, 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' , so I guess I should order it as it is said on the menu, inline with how most Crimson Demons I had seen so far seemed to act.

"I want spicy noodles." Yunyun ordered in a serious tone.

"Okay, 'Spicy Noodles in Lava Dragon's Breath Style' and 'Dark Lord's Sacrificial Chicken and Egg Bowl'. Please wait, it'll come soon!" Maybe I just had to order normally, they probably knew what the dishes were even without saying the whole name. As we were served with fruit juice, I decided to ask more about the Crimson Demons.

"I know this may seem a little rude, but I have to ask, is it normal for Crimson Demons to be so…to be very descriptive…no, maybe I mean bombastic?" Well, I realised that being in a public shop where Crimson Demons frequent may not have been the best place to ask such a question.

"N..no, it's fine. I think we have been like this culturally from when we started this village. Some outsider scholars have thought that maybe it is because we are naturally gifted in powerful magic, so our mannerisms are like a way of release to help us comprehend controlling such power. I'm not too sure about that though, I myself… don't really fully understand."

Ah, now it made sense. Yunyun was not entirely comfortable with acting in such a chuunibyou fashion but she had to since she was the future Chief? Chieftess? The future leader of the village, so she had to live up to their expectations. That was probably why she seemed so shy. Just as I was about to tell her that, our food arrived. Instead, I just nodded in understanding.

As I had expected, the dish I had ordered was indeed oyakodon. The spicy noodles that Yunyun ordered were also familiar in a weird sort of way. Huh, it was interesting that this village was the most Japanese like location in this world I had experienced so far. There was Japanese food here, the names of the locals were the kinds that could mean something in Japanese and they were even chuunibyous. In some weird way, this strange village was probably the closest to home I would experience in this world. Maybe I could retire here one day once I was done adventuring. The door to the café opened, it must be lunch hour now.

"Eh… Is that Yunyun? And is she with that outsider people were talking about? " I heard a girl's voice exclaim. Perhaps these were some of her friends?

"Uwah! Eh, this is not what you think it is, we are just here to eat, I am bringing Fujiwara-kun here on a tour around the village... " Yunyun was surprised and embarrassed at meeting her friends here. Three girls, probably close to Yunyun's age were around us now.

"Fujiwara-kun, this is Arue, Funifura and Dodonko. During my school days, they were m...my friends! " Ah, so they were her classmates from school. Yunyun must have been some prodigy then, graduating mage school earlier than her peers. The girl described as Arue had an eyepatch on her left eye, Funifura had two white ribbons in her hair and Dodonko wore her hair in a ponytail tied with a red ribbon. I bowed slightly to all three girls. They returned with a shy bow back.

"I am Kato Fujiwara, a Gunslinger from Axel. It is nice to meet you all!" I guess since there were so few visitors to the village, any outsiders were regarded as objects of curiosity. Well, that was understandable, I suppose. The Crimson Demon village was difficult to get to even for adventurers whose jobs are to fight monsters, so they had few visitors.

"Nice to meet you! Maybe I could write something about you..." Arue seemed lost in thought.

"N-nice to meet you too! " The other two girls seemed a little tense. Then, they turned their attention towards Yunyun.

"Yunyun, we are friends right? You have to tell us, you are not doing this to catch up to Megumin r-right?" Dodonko asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"W-what!? N-no, no I told you all earlier already it is not like that!" I had no idea what these girls were talking about, I guess girls were the same everywhere huh, it was just the same as the girls in Japan as well.

"Well, that's a shame, I thought I had hit the literary jackpot! Fujiwara-kun, you wouldn't mind answering a few of my questions, would you?" Arue asked me. What was she talking about?

"Y-you can't! Fujiwara-kun is a guest of my household, so don't ask him any of your weird questions! Anyway, it is nice to meet you guys, we should not disturb your lunch, t-talk to you all next time." Yunyun seemed to be in a rush to end that line of conversation. Well, it was nice to meet more people, perhaps we could talk more next time. Nodding and waving our goodbyes, we left the café after making our payment.

"S-Since school has ended, Fujiwara-kun maybe you might want to visit it?" Yunyun still appeared to be getting over the embarrassing debacle when she met her ex-classmates. Since today was supposed to be a break day for me, I suppose I should be thankful to her for sparing me from whatever Arue was intending to ask.

"Yeah sure, let's go." I was curious about schools in this world anyway, there weren't many in Axel since it was primarily a town for adventurers. Granted this was a school solely for Crimson Demons and teaching them magic but it should be an interesting experience.

(At the school)

"This is the academy where all Crimson Demons learn to be Archwizards. We learn how to use magic here and level up before graduation, knowing how to use Advanced Magic." The school was empty now as classes had ended earlier, the various classrooms now empty. I had read up a little on magic while in Axel, Advanced Magic cost 30 skill points to unlock so I guess the moment a Crimson Demon unlocks it, they are considered graduates. Wait, there was something about Yunyun that I just realised. Yesterday in the bunker, she demonstrated 'Freeze Gust', an Intermediate Magic level spell. She just said that graduates learn Advanced Magic but wasn't it weird that she spent skill points learning Intermediate Magic. Still, it may be a private reason for her, perhaps it was best not to ask her now. There was a middle-aged man approaching us, perhaps he was a teacher here.

"Ah, it is Yunyun! That was a fine show of Advanced Magic when you defeated Sylvia with Megumin. Oh, you brought the visitor here, Fujiwara if I remember right. I am Pucchin, the foremost educator in this village who will one day become headmaster!" As I had guessed, Pucchin was a teacher in this school. Bowing to the teacher, I thought about the earlier question I had wanted to ask Yunyun about. It just didn't seem right to ask him though. He gave us another glance before moving on.

"So, maybe you can tell me how you all level up? I was curious how you managed to graduate at such a young age, is there some way you all gain experience points faster?" I still didn't feel that it was the right time to ask Yunyun what might be such a personal question.

"Oh, there are classes where the top students get a Skill up potion, drinking it will increase one's skill points. There is also another way for students to level up, the teachers incapacitate monsters in the village nearby and get students to kill them. I can show you in fact, come with me." She enthusiastically dragged me out of the school, towards the forests on the outskirts of the village. I guess she really didn't want to talk about her graduation then…

(The forests near the village)

There was something about being in nature that was calming I suppose. The difference between my world and this world was that there were sentient monsters here that could attack us at any moment. Well, even if I shot some monsters here, I would not be breaking my agreement with Chris about not using magic today. Perhaps I could even level up a little here, that would be useful. Still, having such a small and unbalanced party was a little concerning. Dust seemed to be extremely experienced and his Warrior class was a frontline fighter class, so it fit well with my ranged attacking Gunslinger class. Yunyun however was an Archwizard, while they had powerful spells to deal with many monsters, they weren't exactly frontline fighters. There was a lone goblin nearby, I guess that was our target. Yunyun moved over and cast 'Freeze Gust' on the goblin, freezing it in place.

"Sensei would use 'Freeze Bind' instead but the idea is the same, he would freeze the creature then the students would use weapons to kill the monsters and level up. Of course, this method is only possible because the teacher is at a very high level and can freeze a lot of monsters quickly." What she said made sense I suppose, still, it was kind of weird that there was a lone goblin here… Unsheathing my bayonet, I took out the goblin easily. Too bad this could not be replicated near the forest in Axel, I wasn't too sure if any other magic user would help me level in such a manner there. We found another goblin nearby, suspiciously easily.

"We might be dealing with a Rookie Killer here, these goblins are surprisingly easy to deal with." I whispered to Yunyun. She nodded silently, though her surprise could still be seen. I did not want to shoot in this forest, while I might have solved the ammunition issue, attracting more monsters by shooting was not a good idea. In the shadows, there appeared to be a large black mass, seemingly ready to strike. No way my bayonet could deal with such a huge creature.

"Light of Saber!" Yunyun attacked the monster that charged towards us. It was agile though, and the attack barely touched it. Drawing my gun, I had to lead the shot without hitting Yunyun. It was hard to concentrate but I had to make the shot.

"Tornado!" A gust of wind hit the Rookie Killer flinging it off a cliff. A man suddenly appeared next to us. Oh, I recognised him, I think this was Bukkoroli, one of the patrolling Crimson Demons.

"What are you both doing here, there was talk of a Rookie Killer near the village, I know you graduated a while back but it is not something to be underestimated. Anyway, Soketto was looking for you guys, she saw something in her divination I think." This conversation was already getting over my head, I was still concentrating on my shot before realising that the fight was over. The divination part he talked about sounded intriguing though.

"Soketto is a fortune teller in our village, she can predict the future to some extent using her magic. We should go over to meet her." Yunyun explained after getting over her shock. Time to meet a fortune teller I guess, as Bukkoroli warped us using 'Teleport'.

(At the Divination shop)

"Nice to see you again Yunyun. Welcome to my shop adventurer, you should have heard from Bukkoroli about my divination?" Soketto asked. I nodded, not knowing entirely what was happening. I was just a visitor, right? So why would this fortune teller have a divination about me? Bringing me to a crystal ball, she gestured for me to take a seat.

"Why would you divine the future of an outsider? I mean I had no idea that your service even existed…" It just didn't make sense, I was just here because … as I thought about it, it was kind of insane how after I just arrived in this world, I had travelled a dangerous path to an isolated village over a rumour that a rifle might exist here.

"Well, it worked didn't it? I saved you and Yunyun from a Rookie Killer. Honestly, I was not expecting to divine the future of an outside adventurer today but doing a divination for the Chief led me to you. Now, based on my intuition, I have this feeling that you will be tied to this village in the future." Infusing the crystal ball with magic, she began my divination.

"What will you be divining about?"

"Don't worry, I am not interested in your love life or anything like that. I just want to see what you would accomplish in the future and how that ties to the village. Of course, if there is any misfortune I see, I will inform you on it, helping people avoid misfortune is my job after all."

I wasn't too sure if I believed entirely in what she said, I did think this village would be a nice place to come by again but to say my fate was tied to this village was strange, I was not a mage after all. Still, I would be lying if I said I was not a little bit curious.

"Hmm… it seems you will be heading on a long journey after leaving our village. Ohya? You should meet with this Adventurer you consider your senpai as soon as possible. Depending on when you leave, you will meet them either in Axel, but if you miss them you will have to head to the capital."

"Okay, it is good to know where to head to if I don't make it, but you can't tell if I will meet them on time in Axel?"

"The future can be changed, didn't I say that helping people avoid misfortune is my job?" Nodding, I conceded that point to her.

"There will be a choice you will have to make, the life you lead will be determined by that. If you make the right choice, you will eventually make your way back here to this village for an event.

"That was kind of abstract for a divination?" What was the right choice and an event?

"Sorry, if the event involves me as well, I cannot see the details of what happens. A diviner can never divine things related to herself." An event related to this village and diviner huh. Maybe there were more secrets left in the village for me to uncover but if Soketto's divination was right it would be done in the distant future. Perhaps I should bring some materials with me and head straight back to Axel.

"Thank you for your divination, even if it was something I sure wasn't expecting today."

"No problem, I also want to do one for Yunyun too, if you don't mind you could wait outside for a moment." Leaving the room, I went outside and saw Bukkoroli waiting.

"How was your divination, kid?"

"It was interesting, to say the least. It gives me something I need to think about. Have you had a divination done by Soketto before?" Given that Soketto got him to look for us, surely he had asked her for a divination once right?

"Eh heh, I did do that once, it was kind of disappointing honestly. She did not see much, but it's alright, I have gotten over that part. She talks to me more now than before which is great!" I had absolutely no idea what that meant but if he was happy with the outcome then that was great, I guess. After what seemed like an eternity, Yunyun emerged from the shop.

"From what Soketto said, I guess you have to leave the village soon. S-So I assume you want to head to the bunker to take some of the 'gunpowder' you talked about with you?" It must be difficult for her, since she kind of made a promise to Chris earlier about not leading me there.

"Yes, but don't worry, I won't use my magic on it today. Actually, I think I have a favour to ask of your father." There was no way I would be able to process everything in that bunker in time before I left the village, so it would be best if it was stored in a separate location far away from people and property that might be damaged if it went off. The day I had thought would be a break changed so quickly, I guess I was fated to be busy in this world after all…

(At the bunker)

The chief was surprisingly understanding regarding my sudden need to leave the village, apparently the divinations of Soketto were highly regarded amongst the village. The shifting of the gunpowder and other materials was going well. I had kept the few bullets I made yesterday, as well as a fist sized bag of gunpowder. Most of the manatite was now stored in my backpack, along with half of the bullet casings and heads I had ordered, the rest would be stored with the gunpowder for me to deal with when I came back here. Since I had made a promise to Chris, I would only use 'Create Ammo' after a day of rest and carefully to not deplete my mana again. Traveling out of the village was apparently easier than getting there, some Crimson Demons that had left the village had created 'Teleport' points in the other cities, most were to the closest city Alcanretia but apparently Yunyun had created a point to Axel and would bring me there.

"Is it alright for you to come with me to Axel? Don't you have things to do in your village? I mean I could just pay for a 'Teleport' to Alcanretia then take a carriage back to Axel." I kind of felt bad that I had to rely on Yunyun for so much even though we just met yesterday.

"N-no, it's fine, Fujiwara-kun. I was only visiting home for a short while, I was looking for adventure out in the world anyway to gain experience so I would head to Axel soon enough."

"It's okay, you can just call me Fujiwara. I don't like my friends to call me with such honorifics."

"F-friends? Are we friends?" Yunyun asked timidly. Of course, we could be considered friends now, what was this girl thinking? She had and would still help me out with so much so far through such a short time spent together, I felt I had to repay her somehow.

"Of course we are! Are you ready to go?" If we were quick enough, perhaps we could catch Kazuma's party before they left Axel. Of course, Yunyun had said her goodbyes to her friends and family before coming with me to the bunker, I had done so too to the various villagers that had helped me. She nodded, getting ready to chant 'Teleport'. As the world changed around me, I felt this feeling of dread and anticipation, as if I had gotten myself involved in something too big for me to handle…