KonoSuba: A Tale of this Beautiful World Vol2

by Dknightodin

The second volume of the series.

4. Chapter 3: The One's who Cried Wolf

Chapter 3: The One's who Cried Wolf

Part 1

On our way back, we were assaulted by the feeling of hunger; staying up much of the night after such an adrenaline-fueled event drained our bodies of valuable resources. Aqua and Megumin headed back to the house while me and Darkness went off towards the market to buy some food for both the manor and the inevitable quest; it was agreed that traveling in pairs was the most prudent thing to do considering the situation. To my surprise, Megumin offered to go with Aqua instead of myself; however, her explanation, after the fact, made sense; Darkness was the most physically able out of all of us. If the assassin came back, me and a scrawny Megumin would stand no chance against her. To this end, I believe Megumin was looking out for me.

Darkness glanced at me as we walked.

"What?" I said.

"Oh—uh, just…there's not many times me and you go out together."

I raised my brow.

"I-I mean go out to, to buy stuff…together."

I smirked at Darkness' clumsy response. "That's true, then again, I don't really go out with you guys unless it's in a group."

"That's an obvious lie, Kazuma; you and Megumin have been going out in pairs for as long as I've known you—and even before then you traveled with Aqua."

"Well, the circumstances kind of made it that way; what I mean is that I've never really chosen to go out with you guys unless we were in a group."

"Huh, why's that?"

"Eh, well, I never really had any reason to; I mean…until some time ago I didn't really see any of you guys as prospective partners. In fact, Megumin just sorta…happened."

Darkness looked like she was in deep thought.

"Are you gonna ask me if I still feel the same way about you?" I said, sighing.

She looked at me abruptly, her face turning a rosy red in the process. "I-I…I…" Darkness lowered her head as her expression quickly changed from embarrassed to saddened. "I…know…how you feel…about me."

"Do you now? Darkness…there are times when even someone like you could be quite cute."

"S-Someone like me," Darkness stuttered, "what's that supposed to mean, Kazuma?!" Her flustered expression quickly returned.

"I mean even a perverted knight like you sometimes has her moments…even if they are few and far in between."

Glancing out the corner of my eye, I could see Darkness looking away embarrassingly; I smirked faintly.

"…does…does that mean—"

"It means you shouldn't dwell on it too much, Darkness; I don't, and look how well it's gone for me."

"Somehow that doesn't really feel reassuring."

We continued towards the marketplace. Darkness spoke once more.

"Kazuma."

"Hm?"

"If…if I, if I happen to fall in love with some—"

"As long as your fine with that person I wouldn't mind."

"You wouldn't…feel anything?"

"…to be honest…I probably would, but it's not my place to tell you who you should fall for; if you're genuinely happy then who am I to tell you otherwise?"

"So…you would feel bad?"

I sighed. "You're a female companion; any guy would feel some sort of apprehension towards their female friend getting with another guy. I think it's a normal feeling."

"So, you'd rather I kept my feelings for you then?"

"…just"—I scratched my head in frustration—"do whatever makes you feel better, Darkness."

"I see; Kazuma is the sort of guy who'd rather keep me at arm's length stunting any possibility of me getting into a relationship while he himself continues to court another woman." Darkness shuddered at the thought; her breaths becoming more pronounced as she tried to hold back her excitement.

"See, this is the reason why I can't have anything serious with you."

"S-Sorry, Kazuma, it's just that your sleezy attitude towards my feelings stirs me up inside."

"Oi!"

After an hour or so of looking through the market stalls, me and Darkness headed back to the estate with bags full of groceries.

"Do you think Aqua and Megumin are ok?" Darkness queried.

"Hmm, probably; it'd be a mistake for that assassin to show up. As stupid as Aqua can be, she's pretty formidable when she gets mad. As for Megumin, there's no doubt in my mind, if she even catches a glimpse of her, we'll be looking for another place to stay."

Darkness chuckled nervously.

"But like I said," I continued, "I doubt that assassin will attack us so soon." I said it with a sense of calm and certainty, but inside I felt the exact opposite. "Regardless, we should probably hurry back."

"Umu."

-Minutes later…

"We're back," I said as me and Darkness entered the mansion.

"Finally," Aqua said with a frown. She was lounging on the couch with a large bottle in her hand. "I'm starving!"

"Welcome back," Megumin said, relieving us of some of the things.

"Anything happen while we were away?" I asked.

"Umu," Megumin said, shaking her head. "You?"

"No, thankfully not."

"Kazuma," Darkness said.

"Yo."

"If you're too tired, I can cook for us."

"Eh, no, I'm ok with cooking."

"You're cooking is too bland, Darkness," Aqua commented. "I need something that'll go good with the taste of this alcohol."

"Oi, haven't you been drinking a bit more than usual?" I pointed out.

"Huh, what are you talking about, Kazuma; I haven't been drinking any more than I usually do."

"No, I'm pretty sure you have."

Aqua placed a finger on her chin. "…ah, right…Ambrosia oba-sama's wine tends to have that small side effect."

"Eh, I'm really starting to see where Aqua gets most of her vices from…"

Aqua continued. "Anyways, what'd you guys get?"

I smirked. "I bought us something good as a reward for capturing that assassin." I placed the bags on the table and pulled out a large wrapped package.

"What is it?" Megumin said; she stared in childish wonder as I began to unwrap the item.

"Marbled red crab." I replied.

"Marbled red crab!" Megumin yelled happily.

"Ohhh!" Aqua said, sitting up happily.

I continued. "I figured we should enjoy a good meal before we set out on what's undoubtedly gonna be another difficult quest."

Megumin smiled widely. "Mmm, with this I could forget about not casting Explosion for such a long time." She clasped her hands together in a praying-like fashion. "Kazuma, let me help with the cooking."

"Oh?"

"You know my specialty is shellfish; together, we'll make this marbled crab the envy of the gods."

"Oh, that so?" Aqua said with a smirk. "Well, if you're making such a grand claim, I guess I can be the judge. Just so you know, Heaven has amazing food; it'll be pretty difficult to beat such cuisine."

"That a challenge?" Megumin grinned, and then rolled up her sleeves. "Come on, Kazuma, let's do this."

I smiled; despite their flaws and oft-raucous behaviors, the girl's festive attitudes could be infectious.

"What can I do?" Darkness queried.

Aqua answered. "You can help with the taste test; although you're not a denizen of Heaven, Darkness, you're still a noble."

And so, me and Megumin headed off to the kitchen with the crab and bundle of groceries. As I thought about what to serve with the crab, Megumin spoke.

"Kazuma, let me handle the flavor for the broth."

"Hmm, oh, sure. Any idea what you guys want alongside the crab?"

Megumin smiled. "I'm fine with anything you decide; I'm sure Darkness and Aqua feel the same"

"Yeah, but aren't we doing this as a challenge?"

Megumin shook her head, a confident smirk on her face. "Are you worried, Kazuma? Anything you make is sure to be good. The point isn't to make some original or unique recipe, but to show Aqua that we can cook as good as the best of them."

"Hmm, fair point. In that case, how does steamed vegetables and potatoes sound? I think they'd complement the sauce."

"Umu, sounds good," Megumin replied as she began filling a large pot with water.

"Actually, last time we ate it with ponzu sauce, right? I got a couple other sauces we can try."

"Kazuma," Megumin said, eyes beginning to glow, "let's make a meal packed with explosive taste."

"Heh, you've been waiting to say that, haven't you?" I began to unpack several vegetables from the bags.

Megumin grinned and then lay her head on my arm; she looked up at me and smiled gently.

"What?" I said, mildly taken aback by her cuteness.

She closed her eyes briefly, smile still present. A moment later, she opened them once more; they shined brilliantly. "…nothing." Megumin pulled away and diligently went back to work.

I could feel myself smile ever so slightly; I turned away just enough so she couldn't see it and continued with my own set of tasks.

After nearly an hour of prepping, steaming, and boiling, the food was done.

"Here," Megumin said, scooping a spoonful of the water the crab cooked in, "taste it." She guided the spoon to my mouth.

I took a sip and closed my eyes in delight. "Megumin, you're getting really good at this."

She grinned childishly.

Then I also said, "Here". I scooped a bit of dipping sauce on my finger and pushed it into her mouth.

Megumin was slightly surprised by the abrupt action, but her face quickly expressed amusement. "Ohhh, what is this?" She said, licking her lips.

"I don't really remember what it's called, but you make it with a bit of ketchup, wine, and sour cream; you could also use brandy for a bit of a kick."

"Has a sort of sweet & sour taste…tangy?"

"There's also classic butter and the ponzu sauce if you guys don't like it."

"No, no, it's good." Megumin took another fingertip of the sauce and smiled at the flavor.

As we exited the kitchen with trays and plates, Darkness got up to help us set the table.

Aqua sat with an exasperated look on her face. "Finally," she said with a pout. "I've been starving all this time."

"Tch—this ungrateful…"

"Don't forget we're hungry too, Aqua," Megumin remarked.

After the table was set, we took our seats; me and Megumin sat next to each other while Darkness sat across from me and Aqua from Megumin.

"ITADAKIMASU!" We all yelled before promptly tearing into the food.

All of us froze after we took our first bite; our anxiety and fatigue seemed to melt away as the overwhelming taste filled us with much gusto.

Darkness was the first to comment on the flavor. "I didn't think red marbled crab could get much better than what it already is, but this…this is—"

"Heavenly!" Aqua remarked, savoring the flavor in her mouth.

The rest of us were no different; even me and Megumin were completely blown away by what we made.

"Try it with this sauce!" Megumin said, offering the new one I made.

Aqua and Darkness quickly dipped the crab legs in and slurped away the insides. Their eyes went wide for a couple of seconds, but then quickly relaxed into a sort of lethargic expression. After all was said and done, there was nothing left on the table but empty bottles and plates of empty shells. I was full and tired, and by the look of it, so was everyone else; we all sat back rubbing our bellies lazily.

"Listen up," I said, somewhat listlessly, "tomorrow we're absolutely going on this quest; so…get some rest."

As I began to get up from the table, Megumin yelled out, "Wait!".

"What is it?" I said as we all looked at her.

"W-We should all sleep together." The rest of us stared between ourselves, and then back at her. "I mean for safety; we don't want a repeat of what happened last night."

"Right," Aqua said with a grin. "Megumin, you just want to sleep with Kazuma."

"Well…I mean, sure, I guess…but if that was the case, I'd just go; I wouldn't really make an announcement."

I wanted to laugh at such an honest response, but I settled on a grin; what a forward girl.

"Actually," Darkness said, "that's not a bad idea, Megumin; if we're all together, an assassination attempt should be more difficult to pull off."

"Wouldn't it be easier on the count of us all being in one place?" I posed.

"The only reason we were alerted to the assassin in the first place was because of the barrier I put down," Aqua remarked. "I'll just put another one down; we don't all have to sleep in one place."

"Not like it matters anyways; me and you slept together for months, Aqua."

"Doesn't mean I enjoyed it—"

"Me neither, but if it bothers you that much then you're more than welcome to sleep in your own room; same goes for the rest of you."

"But, Kazuma," Megumin began, "aren't you worried something bad might happen if you sleep alone?"

"Eh, well, sorta, b-but I'm a grown man; I'm not about to let some failed assassination attempt scare me." I gulped loudly as I smirked proudly.

Aqua grinned. "Who are you trying to fool, Kazuma? We all know you're a scaredy cat."

"Oi, my fears are justifiable; who wouldn't be afraid if they knew some professional assassin was out to kill them?!"

"Hmm." Darkness rubbed her chin in thought. "What if there's more than one?"

"Oi, Darkness, what the hell; you trying to make me stay up all night?!"

"Don't worry, Kazuma; I opt to sleep by your side tonight—in order to make sure you're safe."

"And I will too," Megumin said.

We all stared at Aqua.

"Fine!" she yelled. "Humph, I guess having a goddess nearby will help you sleep."

Even though they agreed to keep me safe from further assassinations, the thought occurred to me, why weren't they the subjects of such things as well?

After the meal, we all took baths. It was the early afternoon, but we were ready to sleep. Since my bed was damaged from the previous night, we all decided to sleep in Aqua's room which was on the second floor. Speaking of, Aqua was the first to fall asleep; she was on the farthest edge of the bed, followed by Megumin. Darkness slept next to me and closest to the entrance of the room.

"Oi, Darkness," I said as I stared at the ceiling, "you still awake?"

"Umu, what's wrong, Kazuma?"

"Eh, nothing…just wondering since the other two have fallen asleep."

"…Kazuma."

"Hmm?"

"Go to sleep; I'll sleep last."

"Darkness is really taking this seriously. Hey, you know, Darkness, I don't really think"—I was careful not to raise any flags—"this is necessary."

"Necessary or not, Kazuma, we can't be too cautious; the fact is, there was an attempt on your life not too long ago."

This was true.

Darkness continued. "I'm surprised though."

"Hmm, about what?"

"I would expect you to be more than happy to be"—Darkness began to murmur—"bunched up between us."

"Oh…I mean"—I looked over to my left; Megumin was drooling with a smile on her face. Then my right; Darkness' gown-covered back—"it's not…bad…I guess."

"Y-You guess? S-Such a lukewarm response. What's happened to your lust-filled tendencies, Kazuma; have they dried up?"

"Oi, stop thinking I'm a guy who lacks all self-control; I'm more than capable of sleeping between you guys without getting excited."

We went quiet for several minutes, then Darkness spoke once more.

"Has…anything happened…between…"

"Me and Megumin; like what exactly?" I knew what Darkness was referring to, however, I wanted her to voice it.

"…you know…"

"Hmmm, I don't think I do—"

"S-Stop being so…dense, Kazuma. You absolutely know what I'm talking about."

"No," I replied. "Nothing's really happened between us."

Darkness looked over her shoulder in surprise.

"What?" I said, frowning at her genuine look of shock.

"Nothing, I-I just thought"—she turned back around and began to speak in a low tone—"that you guys would've…"

I sighed. I was contemplating telling her what happened a couple months ago, but ultimately decided against it.

"Oi, Darkness."

"Hmm?"

"I'm falling asleep." I pulled the blanket up and turned my back to her.

As I closed my eyes, I felt Darkness press her back closely against my own; for some reason this seemingly innocent act made me somewhat nervous. With extra effort, I closed my eyes once more and forced myself to sleep.

-Next Morning…

"I can't believe you're making us walk," Aqua said, her brows knit in frustration.

"Oi, you're not even carrying anything—not to mention you've gotten the most amount of rest between all of us!"

"Hey, it's not easy maintaining a barrier, you know!"

I sucked my teeth. "Whatever, just—"

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said, tugging on my sleeve, "look."

I looked in the direction she was pointing.

"Hey, isn't that the man from the restaurant?" Darkness remarked.

"It is," I replied, confirming with Farsight.

"It looks like he's harassing someone else," Aqua said, crossing her arms.

I focused my sight on the person the man was talking to; this person was robed as well, but going form the height and stature, it was pretty obvious this person was a girl.

"Oi, everybody hide," I instructed.

We took cover within a small ditch on the side of the road.

"What's going on?" Megumin asked me.

"Hold on, let me see."

Using Farsight in conjunction with my Lip-Read skill, I began to discern pieces of the conversation.

"Don't forget, if you don't want your sister to be harmed, you'll get the intel I've been asking for."

"But Wulf-sama—"

The man quickly grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Don't. you. Ever. Say my name," He growled.

"Kazuma," Darkness said, her face expressing a mixture of worry and anger.

"Yeah, I know, I got it; that's the man," I said. "It's Wulf."

"Wait," Megumin said, "that's the guy who sent the assassin after you?"

"Kazuma!" Darkness said slightly louder; she was growing anxious.

"Ok, let's go!"

We ran towards the man named Wulf. When he saw us, he let go of the girl. She collapsed coughing deeply, grasping her neck as she did.

"So, you're Wulf!" I said.

He sucked his teeth as he looked down at the robed girl. "See what you did? Get out of my sight and remember what we talked about."

The girl nodded weakly, and then ran past us; as she did, I caught a glimpse of her face and it stirred feelings of familiarity; I've seen this girl before…but where?

"Well, no point in covering up," Wulf said, lowering the hood of his cloak.

Seeing his face clearly, it was indeed the man from the restaurant. Besides his graying hair, and wild yellow eyes, he bore three large scars across the side of his cheek. And he was tall, really tall; he towered over Darkness and to be honest, was probably the tallest person I've seen by far.

"I wanted to avoid doing things messily," he said with a grin; his canines were slightly enlarged. "It seems like at the end of the day, beating things to a pulp seems to be the best way to get results."

Darkness quickly took a defensive stance in front.

"Now then," he said, lowering himself into a fighting posture, "LET'S SEE IF YOU ARE WHAT YOU'RE WRAPPED UP TO BE, DEMON KING SLAYER!"

He was upon us before any of us could react. He grabbed Darkness' head and flung her around like a doll, tossing her into Aqua, instantly incapacitating her. The next instant, he stood in front of Megumin. Stunned by the ferocity of the assault, Megumin still hadn't registered his presence.

"Pay attention, little bunny!"

With this, Megumin snapped out her trance and went to defend, however, Wulf was too quick; he slung his arm back, whipped his hand into a fist, and punched as hard as he seemingly could. I instinctively reacted, pushing Megumin out the way and catching the full strength of the punch to my gut.

The force was enough to instantly cause me to double over, the pain nearly enough to render me unconscious; I was paralyzed by the agony shooting through every part of my body. All the air was knocked free from my lungs, and as much as I wanted to breath in, I couldn't.

"Me…gumin…run," I said breathlessly.

I could hear her gulp, but she stood her ground. "What a foolish girl," I thought as I stared at her standing defiantly. "No, I can't…move…Megumin…"

Wulf cracked his knuckles. "Heh, does the bunny have fangs or is she all talk; SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"

He smiled excitedly, pulling his arm back once more. Despite knowing what was coming, Megumin stood resolute.

The punched smashed into Darkness' arms.

"Megumin, run!" She yelled.

"Oh, I'm surprised you recovered! How about we go all the way then!"

Wulf unleashed a flurry of blows smashing Darkness' armor to pieces; each consecutive hit, causing her to slide back some. In spite of the furious assault, Darkness didn't budge, but neither did Wulf relent. With each blow, Wulf smiled wider, his punches growing wilder, his actions becoming more animalistic in nature.

He cackled loudly. "Amazing, you won't break no matter how hard I hit you!" Raising his arms widely over his head, he smashed down with both hands on Darkness' guard. She finally yelled out in pain as her knees buckled from the impact. Without letting up, Wulf lifted Darkness off the ground and drove her head-first into it.

"Now then," He said, turning back to Megumin who was frozen in shock.

Darkness grabbed his leg. "Where…do you…think…you're going?" She said through a clenched smile; her hair was disheveled, and streaks of blood streamed from the top of her head down her face.

The man looked completely astonished for a moment, however, his expression changed; he looked like a boy who was having the time of his life.

He laughed loudly. "Amazing…amazing; I'll take my time with you lady knight but let me finish off this annoying gnat first."

"Ara, ara, what do we have here?" It was the voice of a woman.

Wulf stopped and turned halfway to see her. "Who might you be?" He said; there was frustration in his voice.

The woman in question wore a shiny suit of white and silver armor; it appeared to be a hybrid of light and heavy. On its back was a gilded cape perched, flowing freely in the wind. From my blurred vision, I could barely make out her features but even so, I could see her golden blonde hair wrapped in a thick and singular long braid, the vibrant blue eyes, and the amazing body which was only matched by a certain goddess. On her hip she wore a long sword which looked a lot like Iris' own and on her arm, was a small attached shield.

"Is a big strong man like you really bullying a little girl?"

"This doesn't concern you…leave."

"I'm afraid—"

Wulf swiped his arm with such ferocity that the sound it made cutting through the air was clearly audible. Nevertheless, the woman blocked the strike effortlessly; as it connected, the shockwave kicked up the surrounding dust and lose gravel. A second later, Wulf darted away.

"…how rude," the woman remarked.

"Tch…fine," Wulf said. "I can see when I overstayed my welcome; I'll show myself out." He pulled out a scroll and a second later, he was gone.

Part 2

"Who, who are you?" Megumin asked, still holding a defensive posture.

"Oh, forgive me," the woman said, turning towards us. "My name is Atagawa Ami."

She walked up to Darkness and knelt down beside her. "Heal," She said. She then got up and did the same to me.

"Heal?" I queried in confusion. "How are you able to use healing spells; are you a Knight?"

"Ah, well, we should probably go discuss a couple things back in town."

Megumin interjected. "We were off to do a quest."

"Hmm, still, it's probably best to postpone that for a bit."

"We have," I interrupted. "This is like the third time we've tried to set out only to be stopped by some event."

Ami smirked and then looked away slightly. "Seems like maybe the gods are trying to tell you something."

I sighed. "Gods or not, I…this needs to get done."

"I assure you, once you're done buying me a drink, you can head right back out."

"Huh?"

"Oh, you didn't think I came to rescue you guys for free; a drink is all I'm asking for in return, not a bad deal, right?"

As much I wanted to curse out this busty onee-san, she did just save us. "Ugh, fine."

-On the way back…

"So, let me get this straight," I said. "You're a Champion, a sort of 'Elite' class?"

"Yup," she replied happily. "Like I said, it's a hybrid of the Crusader and Archpriest classes."

Megumin interjected. "I know you've said this already, but…this is the first time I've ever heard of anything called an 'Elite' class."

"It's not surprising; there are only a handful of Elites in recorded history, and as far as I know, I'm the only Elite around."

"This Elite class sounds a lot like the Multiclass system; I thought it was only available to Heroes though. Ami-san, can you explain to me how it works; obtaining an Elite class."

"Ah, of course. An Elite class is simply a hybrid class formed by the complete mastery of at least two advanced classes."

"But I thought you could only choose one class at a time?" Megumin interposed.

"That is the case, but you can class change. If you manage to master two advanced classes, you'll open a new class, an Elite class. The reason you don't see so many Elites running around is because most people don't ever manage to master one class let alone two; and even those that do, rarely ever change out of that class."

"So, you mastered the Crusader and Archpriest classes?" Aqua questioned.

"That's right."

"If what this lady was saying is true, her level must be ridiculously high. Oi, Ami-san, what do you mean by 'master', does it mean to learn everything in that class?"

"Umu. Mastery means to learn every available skill and/or spell in that class and master them as well."

"So, it isn't just enough to learn all the abilities, but to 'Master' those too…insane…the amount of time and experience one would have to have…she looks so young though."

"Atagawa," Megumin said. "Sounds a lot like Japanese."

Ami stared at her with mild surprise. "Japanese? I'm a descendent of one of the heroes who was destined to defeat the Demon King."

"Ah, I see, that explains a couple things. Oi, Ami-san, from what I've been told, heroes usually marry into the royal family, right; does that mean—"

"Kazuma-san, you're a hero, aren't you; and yet, you chose to marry Megumin-san here."

We all stared at her abruptly. "How do you—"

"Who doesn't? Nearly everyone in the entire kingdom was present for the ceremony; your marriage was announced there, wasn't it? Not to mention the enormous party afterwards; you'd have to be living under a rock not to know."

"Ah, makes sense."

Eventually, we made it back to the capital and headed to the guild hall. After sitting down, we ordered food and drinks.

As we sat waiting, Ami spoke. "Hey, Aqua-chan, are you part of the Axis Order?"

"She's their leader," I answered somewhat flatly.

"Goddess!" she corrected, frowning at me. She then turned towards Ami. "That's right, Ami-san."

"The Axis Order is filled with a bunch of good people."

I couldn't stop my outburst of laughter. Aqua once again looked at me angrily. "You must be thinking about another Axis Order, because—"

"No, Kazuma-san, I'm talking about the Axis Order; they're a devoted bunch who know how to live life to the fullest."

"Are you part of the Axis Order too, Ami-chan?" Aqua said with a smile.

"Ah, well"—she scratched her head—"no; I serve Ambrosia-sama."

Aqua smiled even wider. "Ambrosia-sama?!"

"Kind of odd," I said. "I don't really see too many followers of Ambrosia."

Ami smiled. "Ambrosia-sama doesn't really need overt acts of devotion; people serve her willing or unwittingly. So, whether someone chooses to follow the Goddess Aqua, Eris, or any other, it matters not; in the end, they all follow Ambrosia-sama one way or another."

As the Goddess of Drinks, Festivities, and Fertility I could definitely see the truth in such a statement.

Our drinks arrived a moment later.

"Four beers and a cup of juice," the barmaid said, placing the drinks in front of their corresponding owners.

Afterwards, she left.

"Juice?" I said, looking at Megumin in surprise.

"Why are you so surprised? You were here when I order it just a while ago."

"I know, but still; swearing off alcohol now?"

She grinned, and then quickly swapped drinks with Darkness.

"Hey, Megumin, that's—"

"I won the challenge, remember?"

"Wait, what"—Darkness cut herself off and pressed her palm to her head—"…right…"

"Megumin drank eleven while you drank ten, Darkness," Aqua said as she sipped away the froth of her beer.

"Ugh, I know, but—"

"No excuses," Megumin said. Even though she swindled Darkness out her drink, she made no attempts to ingest any of it.

Ami laughed lightly. "Seems like I missed a good time."

"No," I said, "just the making of more problems."

She laughed again. "Hey, I know you guys are busy, but would you spend a little time with me?"

Everyone turned their attention to me. "What?" I said, somewhat aggravated.

"Well, I mean, you're our party leader," Darkness said.

I sighed, and then smiled weakly. "Screw it, we've already pushed this off a couple days, what's a couple more hours."

As we finished our first round of drinks, our food came. Ami was indeed a follower of Ambrosia; she knocked back drinks one after another without any signs of stopping or inebriation. After our fifth round, I noticed something peculiar; none of us showed any signs of drunkenness, even Megumin, who at this point would be swaying like a tree in the wind.

"Hey," I said, whispering into Megumin's ear.

She jumped in alarm and turned to me saying, "What?!"

"Oi, do you feel drunk?"

"Huh, what are you"—suddenly, Megumin realized it too—"no, I don't…do you?"

"Not in the slightest. Maybe our tolerance is a bit higher."

"I feel a little warm, but that's about it."

"Hey!" Aqua yelled, "What are you two whispering about over there?!"

I answered. "Eh, well, do you feel…drunk?"

"Huh…no, actually…" Aqua said with a raised brow.

"Ah, don't worry guys," Ami said. "I've asked Ambrosia-sama for a boon. I've made new friends today, so it calls for a celebration; if we were to get drunk and forget it all, it'd be ruined."

"So, this is your doing?" Megumin queried.

"Ambrosia-sama's."

"If that's the case," Aqua said, "no need to hold back, right, Kazuma?"

"Uh—well…I guess. Oi, Ami-san, this isn't gonna have any adverse effects, right?"

"You don't have to worry; as long as I'm still around and drinking, the boon should be in effect."

"What exactly is this boon?" Darkness asked.

"Well, for starters, you won't get drunk, but you should still get as far as feeling a bit numb; second, you shouldn't have to urinate, third, you won't feel any fatigue—"

I interrupted excitedly. "Oi, oi, this is pretty amazing stuff; do you just get to use this any time you want?"

Ami chuckled. "Well, for the most part, but I try not abuse it."

Eventually, time ran away from us; there were so many empty mugs that there was no place to put others down. We spent most of the time drinking and regaling Ami with stories of our adventures. Finally, when the sun was high in the sky, we decided to call it.

"Ahhh." Ami let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, guys; I had a lot of fun."

"Don't mention it," Aqua replied. "Anytime you wanna relax you can just stop by our mansion in Axel."

She smiled. "I'll be sure to remember that, Aqua-chan. I'd like to do something for you guys in return though."

"Huh?" We all looked at her in surprise.

"What'd you have in mind?" I said.

"I'd like to teach you some skills that should come in handy."

"Oh?"

"Umu, I'll walk with you guys to where we met; I'll teach you there."

After paying our tab, we left and headed back the length of road on the city outskirts.

"Alright, first I'd like to teach, Darkness-san some skills; I was amazed how far she was willing to go to protect her friends."

"Eh, I'm pretty sure she was just enjoying the thrashing she was receiving."

"Ok, Darkness-san, watch closely; this first skill is a powerful one, you might not even have enough skill points to acquire it at this moment. The skill is called 'Absolution'."

"Absolution?" Darkness said in mild bewilderment.

"Never heard of it; I'm not surprised. It's a high risk, high reward skill; for one minute you're practically invulnerable to anything and everything."

"How's that bad?" I interjected.

"After the minute is up, all the damage you received during that time is applied instantaneously; it is reduced by a good amount but using this skill recklessly will only prove to send you to an earlier grave. As such, the skill costs thirty points to learn. Oh, I forgot to mention, any healing is also deferred during this time."

"I see…it is quite risky…but to this perverted Crusader, it might be her undoing; Darkness isn't really the type to evade incoming damage."

"The other skill is one that's rarely learned by most Crusaders; it's called, 'Siphon Pain'."

Darkness instantly latched onto Ami's arms with a speed that blindsided not only us, but amazingly, even Ami herself.

"T-T-Teach me this skill, p-please, Ami-san!"

"Uh"—Ami coughed with slight discomfort—"to think you'd be so willing to endure pain for your comrades; you're a model knight through and through, Darkness-san."

"No, Ami-san, she's just a pleasure-seeking masochist, and right now you're offering her, her Holy Grail. Listen, Ami-san, I think Darkness could probably go without learning Siphon—"

Darkness instantly twisted my wrist. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…"

"N-No, Ami-san, I must absolutely, positively learn this skill; look at how much pain Kazuma's in. If I ever saw him in such state, I couldn't live with myself."

"Ahhhh, you're the one causing it!" I yelled.

"Ahem, very well; I shall teach you both these skills, Darkness-san."

After a couple of minutes, Darkness succeeded in learning both skills. Surprisingly, she had enough points stored up to learn both at once.

"Alright, Aqua-chan, you're next; I could—"

"Don't bother," I said. "She already knows all of the Archpriest skills."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Mhm," Aqua said, standing proudly.

"Wow, you're more amazing than I even thought, Aqua-chan."

"Oh, it's nothing, really."

"Look at this freeloader showboating."

"Unfortunately, I don't really have any skills I can exclusively teach you or Megumin-san, Kazuma-san."

"Eh, it's alright. If anything, I'll just learn whatever skill I need from the girls."

"Listen, Kazuma-san. If you're headed off to defeat the other Demon Kings, then I highly advise tackling them in a certain order."

This instantly surprised us; how did Ami know there were other Demon Kings?

"Wait, you know about the other Demon Kings?"

"Umu," she said, nodding. "I come from the far east; it's where I was born. Kazuma-san, I'll tell you right now; you all aren't ready for that place." Her jovial demeanor changed to a serious one.

"Why?"

"Put simply, it's Hell on Earth; the west is a parody of what the east is. There are no kings or powerful heroes, there are no fertile lands, no guilds, or knights…there are barely people. I make no exaggeration when I say to expect the worst when and if you decide to travel there."

I gulped. If she was born in such a hellish place, then I could start to see how she became so strong.

"Ami-san," Megumin interrupted, "didn't you say you're a descendent of a hero; but just now you also said there an no heroes in the east."

We all stared at Ami in response.

She nodded. "I'm of heroic descent, however, my parents were born in the east; as far as I know, the hero was not." She continued. "Listen, if you're planning on slaying other Demon Kings, I'd recommend attacking any other place but the east first. If you're really so inclined, your adventures will eventually take you there, but like I said earlier, as you guys are now, you stand no chance."

Megumin spoke once more. "How can you be so sure?"

"The guy you fought with earlier, Wulf; just from a single attack, I could tell he was probably around level sixty. If he caused you that much trouble, then even normal monsters will destroy you if you head east."

"What the hell?" I said out loud; I couldn't restrain my disbelief at the information she was giving us. "How strong are the monsters in the east then?"

Ami rubbed her chin in thought. "I'd recommend being at least level seventy; even then, I wouldn't really recommend going much farther than the Gorgon Heights."

"Gorgon Heights?"

"The mountain pass that connects the northern half of the eastern lands to the south; the worst of it lies beyond the southern half towards the eastern islands," Ami added.

"Things just got a lot more complicated."

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Demon Kings themselves?" I asked.

"Well, I don't know if my knowledge is outdated, so take it with a grain of salt. What I know of the northern Demon King is that he wields a powerful explosive weapon—"

"Explosive?!" Megumin interrupted.

"Oi, calm down, Megumin; let her finish."

"Umm, yeah, an explosive weapon; supposedly, this weapon is what helped the Demon King conquer the land uncontested. The main resistance comes from the Kingdom of Dwarves, Dargon. The Elvish Kingdom, Sylvein that lies to the south of Dargon also lends its support informally."

"I see. Geez, I didn't realize things were so bad outside of Belzerg. How about the south?"

Ami closed her eyes in recollection. "Umm, I think…it was conquered quite recently. Unlike the north, the south is completely subservient to the Demon King—or in the very least, you won't find any active rebellious factions. Actually, I've heard some people who come from the south call the Demon King, "The People's Tyrant".

"…and…the east?"

Ami knit her brow once more. "I haven't traveled east for a long time, but if I had to guess, the Demon King is still probably the same. All I really know about him is he lives out on the sea; has a group of Demons calling themselves 'Minerva's Devils'."

"I see. Thanks for everything, Ami-san."

"Umu, no worries; I'm sure we'll see each other again. Stay alive guys and good luck on your quest."

Ami walked back towards the capital; we waved at her and she waved back. After she disappeared beyond our sight, Megumin brought up an interesting point.

"Hey, Kazuma," she said.

"Hmm?"

"Doesn't she look familiar?"

"Erm, now that you say so…"

"She looks a lot like Ambrosia oba-sama," Aqua remarked.

"She does, doesn't she? Although, she looks younger."

"And her personality is a bit different as well," Megumin added.

"She just looks like her, guys," Aqua said resolutely. "Ambrosia oba-sama wouldn't have any reason to come down here and besides…only irresponsible goddesses do things like neglect their heavenly duties."

I stared blankly at the goddess who uttered this ironic statement. "Ok guys, we've lost a lot of time; we should get going before it starts to get dark."

And so, we continued down the road until the capital was far behind us, a mere bump on the horizon; by then, it was already evening.

"Kazuma, my feet are starting to hurt," Aqua announced. She trudged along with a slight frown on her face.

I ignored her as I stared at the map and quest log. "According to this, we should be about a day and a half out; not bad considering our method of travel."

"Kazuma," Megumin said, tugging on my sleeve, "I'm kinda in the same boat as Aqua; my feet are starting to hurt."

"*Sigh* Alright, we've made some pretty good progress; we can rest. Oi, Darkness," I said, turning to her, "see any place we can make camp?"

She looked around for a moment. "Mostly plains out here, some hills in the distance…woods farther out; we should probably make camp either on the plains or on the top of a hill."

"Hey, how about that tree in the distance?" I pointed at a large tree off the side of the road.

"Hmm, I don't see why not."

With our campsite chosen, we reached the large tree.

"Hey, Kazuma, look," Darkness said as she pointed at a pitched tent; there was also a snuffed-out campfire.

"Oh, looks like someone else had the same idea," Aqua said happily.

"Hmm, I guess that helps," I said with a smile.

Aqua and Megumin laid against the trunk of the tree, their legs outstretched, their feet absorbing the soft heat of the flames. I sat by the fireside making a quick stew while Darkness was putting the finishing touches on the tent.

"The tent is kind of small," Darkness informed as she joined us by the fire. "It looks like it was made with just one person in mind."

"Well, it's obvious that I'll be the one to sleep in it," Aqua remarked.

"Like hell you are," I retorted. "Why don't we play rock-paper—"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, you cheat!"

"Oi, don't blame your terrible skills on me!"

"It has nothing to do with skill!"

"Goodnight," Megumin said from inside the tent.

"Oi, what do you think—"

"Just let her take the tent, Kazuma," Darkness said. "It's small enough that any one of us would probably stick out from it."

I sighed; looking at the tent, Darkness was right; even Megumin barely fit in it. "Fine. Not like sleeping under the stars is something alien to me anyways."

After the rest of us ate, Darkness and Aqua fell asleep against the tree; I was to stand watch. Some hours passed; it was soon to be Aqua's turn at overwatch.

"Ugh…pee," I said, groggily rubbing my eyes.

I stood up and went around the opposite side of the tree. As I pissed, I let out a yawn when suddenly I felt something wrap around my neck and hoist me off the ground. I kicked wildly and instinctively tried to remove what felt like a strong, wet cord around my neck. A pain shot through my hands; there was something sharp attached to this rope.

"HELP!" I yelled out raspingly, but no one came.

The cord tightened; what was doing this, was it another assassin, the same, was it Wulf?

"HELP!" I shouted once more as a hoarse whisper.

"Kazuma?" Aqua said as she came around from the front of the tree; she was rubbing her eyes wearily. "Where is he? Humph…if he's doesn't wanna sleep, I'm going back."

"This damn…" My vision was starting to tunnel. I kicked wildly once more, and I could feel my pants slide off completely; as they hit the floor, Aqua turned around.

"Ah, Kazuma, what are you doing up there!"

I could only let out a choking sound as I squirmed against the tightening pressure around my neck.

"Don't worry, I'll get you—"

Suddenly, Aqua was taken as well; now we were both being strangled for our dear lives.

"USELESS!"

"Aqua?!" Darkness said as she came around. She laid eyes on the situation before her. "Kazuma! This tree, I should've known—it's a Hangman's Tree."

Ignoring the agonizing pain in hands, I managed to make enough room between the what I now realized were vines.

I took a deep breath and yelled, "Get me down, you idiot!"

"Ah, of course!" Darkness withdrew her sword. "I got you guys!" She hesitated, staring with a lewd smile.

"DARKNESS!"

"Oh right, sorry!" She swung her sword.

THUNK!

But it got stuck in the tree. "Ah, Kazuma, my sword, it got—"

The vines took her as well. "K-Kazuma, this feeling—gak—it's tightening."

"Y-You idiot! No, not like this, not like this!"

"What's going on?" Megumin said drowsily.

"Megumin? That's right, she could get us down. Megumin!" I yelled, pulling back the vines once more. "Careful, these vines, they'll grab you!"

"Vines?" She quickly took a defensive posture. "Don't worry, guys, I'll get you down!"

"You can use Darkness' sword, quick!" Megumin began running away. "Wait…what is she"—Megumin raised her staff in the air—"No, wait—that idiot, she's gonna kill us!"

"EXPLOOSSION!"

-Minutes later…

I shook her limp body angrily. "You explosive maniac, what gave you the idea to use Explosion so close to us?!"

Megumin smiled as if she just relieved herself of an enormous burden.

"Stop smiling!"

"B-But, Kazuma, it worked out, didn't it; don't you trust my skills as an Explosion master?"

I frowned. "It's not your skills that I'm worried about, it's the fact that you chose to use Explosion so close to us!"

"I agree that was a bit dangerous," Aqua said, picking the leaves out her hair, " but it did work out in the end."

Darkness sat despondently; I could only guess this pervert missed the feeling of being strangled.

I looked back where the tree was; most of it was gone. Only the small portion of the trunk and the branches where we hung were still present; the rest of the area was a smoking crater.

"I hope you didn't just blow away all our supplies with your little stunt."

Megumin chuckled nervously, her eyes slowly moving away from my own.

Luckily, when we made it back, the packs were still intact; apparently, they were blown away from the campsite when the Explosion went off. So, besides having to pick up a few scattered items, there were no real setbacks.

Darkness pried her sword loose from the small portion of tree still left standing and sheathed it. "Since the tree's gone, we could set camp back up."

"No," I replied, giving mana to Megumin, "that Explosion probably attracted unwanted attention."

"I'm still tired," Aqua stated.

"Yeah?!" I said angrily. "So am I; did you forget, I didn't exactly get to rest. Tch..." I sighed heavily. "We'll make camp up ahead. Come on."

Darkness picked up the packs and we went on our way.

Part 3

Upon arriving at our new campsite on top of a hill, we looked around to make sure there were no oddities. After several minutes of this and finding nothing, we made camp and settled into our own tent. It was large enough to fit all of us if we packed in real tight; because of this, we seldom took just the one, however, since we were walking, bringing two relatively bulky tents was out of the question. Luckily, there would only be three of us in the tent at a time since one of us would be standing watch, which in this case was Aqua.

"Remember, Aqua," I said, "no barriers and get rid of your divine aura."

"I got it, I got it," She said in frustration.

Afterwards, Aqua squatted in front of the tent and began playing with the dirt.

"Oi, I better not wake up to something terrible happening, YOU HEAR ME?!"

"I told you, I got it already!"

I was wholly unconvinced by Aqua's replies, but ultimately, I was sleepy and wanted to get some rest. I closed the flap of tent, shut off the small lantern in the corner, and fell asleep.

The morning light faintly pierced the walls of the tent, waking me. I yawned, stretching as I did, when I realized I was near the wall; normally, with three of us, this wouldn't be the case. I sat up.

"1...2…3…4." I counted on my hands. "Oi!" I yelled.

Aqua stirred. Megumin and Darkness woke abruptly.

"Oi, you damn loafer, what the hell are you doing in here?!"

"Huh?" she said wearily, "you're being too loud, I'm trying to—"

I grabbed her by collar. "Oi, who was standing watch if you're in here?!"

"Relax," she said, pulling away my hands. "I made sure we were safe."

"Huh, don't tell me you put down a barrier, didn't I—"

"I remember what you said; I figured the problem was putting one near the campsite, so instead, I put a bunch of them around the campsite."

I stared at her incredulously. "She can't…Aqua can't be…this girl can't be that stupid."

"Don't worry, Kazuma, I made sure they were far enough away too." After saying this, she laid back down in an attempt to sleep.

I quickly unzipped the front of the tent and ran outside. Around the entire foot of the hill were undead shuffling endlessly against the barrier.

"YOU IDIOT!" I yelled as I ran back inside.

"What's wrong, Kazuma?" Darkness said as she got up.

"Why don't you guys take a look!"

Megumin and Darkness stepped out and immediately recoiled in surprise.

"What, what happened?" Darkness said in disbelief.

"What happened?! What happened was that our genius Archpriest decided to put a bunch of barriers up when I explicitly told her NOT TO! Wake up you damn troublemaker!"

I shook Aqua angrily.

"Ahhh, what is it?!" She yelled just as angrily.

"Come out and fix the mess you made!"

"What mess, I told you—"

I dragged her out of the tent.

"Hey, stop it, you're gonna tear…" Aqua went quiet as she looked around.

I narrowed my eyes on her. In response, she sharply looked away and began "whistling", sweat quickly building on her face.

"T-This isn't my fault!" She whined.

"Whose fault would it be, if not yours?!"

"It-It's fine, I'll just get rid of the barriers"—she did so—"and—"

The undead began shuffling up the hill.

"WAAAAHHH!" we all shouted in panic.

"Do something, you idiot!" I yelled, taking shelter behind Aqua.

"D-Don't hide behind me while saying that!"

"It's fine, I got this, guys!" Megumin yelled. "Time for my new spell! BOREAL EXPLOOOOSSION!"

The powerful magic attack instantly cleared the entire front of the hill of its invaders, however, more continued closing in on us unabated.

"Aqua!" I yelled.

"I got it!" she retorted. "SACRED TURN UNDEAD!"

-Sometime later; sitting around the campfire…

Until recently, I began wondering why I didn't like going out on quests with these girls; I was quickly reminded of the reason, they were utterly hopeless. Even with my instruction, I could barely focus their strengths and no matter what, they always seemed to end up causing trouble for me.

"I should get another slice of bacon," Aqua said resolutely, "I killed most of the undead."

"You caused them," I said with mounting exasperation. I placed the extra on Megumin's plate.

"Kazuma, where's mine?" Darkness asked.

"Huh, you didn't do anything; you don't get any."

Darkness stared off despondently.

I sighed. "I wanna go home already."

After the meal, we packed everything up and continued on. Some hours later into our journey, we came upon another event; a wagon by the roadside.

Aqua spoke. "Hey, Kazuma—"

"Yeah, I see it."

"Should we help them?" Megumin questioned.

My gamer instinct was telling me this was likely a trap. In certain games, bandits would often lie in wait for unsuspecting travelers using methods like this; they preyed on people's good nature to trick them into an ambush.

"Ehhh, I don't know."

"Kazuma," Darkness said with a concerned tone.

"I'm getting a feeling this is a trap."

"A trap?" Megumin restated.

"Remember what Claire said, it isn't unusual for bandits to set up along these roads; this could be one such occasion."

"W-We should at least ask them if they're ok," Darkness suggested.

I sighed. "Fine—but stay alert."

"Oiii, oji-san, you ok?" I called out as we approached the collapsed wagon.

The man looked up. "Oh, travelers, thank goodness; I was wondering when someone would pass by."

"Are you ok?" Darkness asked.

"Ah, um, well yes. It's the wagon—the wheel to be exact, it broke."

I looked down at the exposed axel; it was indeed broken.

"How long have you been out here?" I asked, looking around cautiously.

"It's been maybe half a day."

"Don't you have a spare wheel?" Megumin asked.

"I do, but I don't have any tools that can help lift the wagon; if you guys can help lift it, I can fit it on."

"Hey, Kazuma"—Megumin turned to me—"can't you repair the wagon wheel?"

"Why would—wait, she makes a good point; perhaps I can…maybe."

The man smiled in surprise. "Oh, are you a smith?"

"Well, I dabble a bit; let me take a look at the wheel."

The man led me over to the broken wheel laying by the roadside; I examined it.

"Broken spokes and shattered rim…probably rode over a large rock or hole. Hmm, nothing I can really do; it's too damaged for me to fix without specialty equipment."

"There's still the spare though," the man reiterated.

"Alright, we'll help you lift the wagon."

We returned to the others.

"So?" Megumin said.

"Can't fix it," I replied. "We'll help lift the wagon though."

Darkness smiled.

As suggested, we lifted the wagon while the man replaced the wheel. After fitting and securing it in place, we let go. All of us breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hand over everything!" Suddenly, we were surrounded by a group of bandits.

"Of course," I thought. I looked over at the man we just helped, expecting him to be in on this ambush; however, he was just as shocked as the others.

"K-Kazuma, look, bandits," Darkness said with an excited look on her face.

As we held our hands up, Megumin leaned over to me and whispered. "Don't worry, Kazuma, I got this."

"You got this?" I quickly said in a loud whisper; I couldn't trust Megumin to not end this with an Explosion. "W-Wait, Megumin—" But it was too late, Megumin stepped forward and flicked her mantle proudly.

"Do you all know who you're robbing?!" She yelled.

They looked amongst themselves and then back at Megumin; the one who initiated the ambush spoke. "Who the hell cares, now shut up and—"

"I am Megumin, the Crimson Annihilator, Master of Explosions, and Wife of the Demon King Slayer, Satou Kazuma; the man who stands before you!"

One of the other bandits spoke. "Wait, did she just say, Demon King Slayer?"

"That's right!" Megumin confirmed. She continued. "And this here"—she said, pointing her staff at Darkness—"is Dustiness Ford Lalatina, Shield of the Royal Line!"

"Dustiness?" another bandit whispered.

"House Dustiness?!" the owner of the wagon said in surprise.

The bandits began to look as if they were losing their will to carry on.

"W-Wait!" Darkness yelled. "I'm a noble, if you were to capture me, you could ransom me off for a large sum; it'd probably take a while and I'd be at your mercy while—"

I covered her mouth, but the Darkness' intended effect already took hold; the bandits began to regain their resolve.

"What the hell are you thinking, you idiot?!" I whispered loudly. I could feel Darkness' heavy pants against the palm of my hand.

Noticing the turning tide, Megumin quickly continued her act. "Fools!" she shouted. "Do you really want the wrath of Axis Cult to fall upon you?!"

"Wait," another bandit said worriedly, "Axis Cult?"

"This is the head of the Axis Cult, Aqua!"

Aqua slightly surprised by her introduction looked around in bewilderment.

"That's you, dummy," I whispered harshly.

Aqua quickly lowered her arms and smiled pompously. "That's right, you lowly bandits; I'm Aqua, the Goddess of the Axis Order—"

"Did she just call herself a goddess?"

"—If you prostrate yourselves before me—"

"She's crazy."

Another bandit spoke. "Yeah, all of the Axis Cult are weirdos."

Yet another one said, "Hey boss, I don't wanna mess with the Axis Cult."

"Yeah," another bandit agreed.

"Remember, that one nun we took," another recounted.

Finally, the leader nodded. "Ugh, don't remind me; let's get out here before she starts stuffing us with recruitment forms."

As quickly as the bandits appeared, they were gone.

The oji-san we helped let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you; if you all weren't here, I'm afraid of what would've happened. And to think that the Lady Dustiness would so readily ransom herself off to spare us."

"Ahaha, don't mention it, please don't…" I replied.

"Listen, since you guys helped me, let me return the favor; where are you headed, I'd be more than happy to give you a ride."

"Well, should be a spot about a day's hike from here."

"Hmm, so a couple hours ride then; hop on in."

"Ah, thanks, Oji-san."

We climbed in. Me and Megumin smiled proudly at the turn of events, but Darkness and Aqua stared at the ground dejectedly.

"They called me…crazy," Aqua murmured.

"Almost…" Darkness said sadly.

After riding along for some time, I pulled out the quest log and map to verify our location.

"Oi, Oji-san, you can let us off here."

As the wagon came to a stop, we climbed off.

"Thanks," I said, giving a short nod to the man.

"Ah, please, if anything, I should be thanking you; good luck on your quest."

I nodded once more, and the wagon pulled off.

"Now," I said, looking down at the map once more, where could this—"

"Kazuma, look," Megumin said, pointing at some tracks.

"Wagon tracks," Darkness said, crouching down to look at them. "Looks like they might've pulled the convoy supplies off somewhere in this direction."

Following the trail, we soon found ourselves approaching a large mound.

"Looks, like trail leads around this hill," Darkness informed.

"Alright," I said, "everyone, stay alert." I cast Lurk on us.

We made our way around.

"This is definitely it," I said, holding my arm out to stop everyone.

"More bandits?!" Darkness said happily.

"Oi, keep it down!"

Indeed, in front us were several bandits, stripping down imperial knights of their armor and weapons. Several canvas cloths lay sprawled out on the ground, bodies lying motionless on them.

"Ugh, there's so many of 'em," one of the bandits complained to another; they hauled one of the canvas rolls over to a wagon almost overflowing with others.

"Yeah, but this should be about it; not a bad haul either. I'd say we hit the jackpot with this stuff. One, two, three!"

They dumped the roll onto the wagon and sighed, dusting their hands off.

"Yup, the Goddess Eris must be really looking out for us."

The bandits laughed.

"What do you think; maybe we should make a permanent outfit with that guy, Wulf."

"Eh, I'm not really against the idea, but you know how the others feel about guys like him."

"Huh, about what?"

"Don't tell me you don't know; the guy's half Lycan."

"Aw shit"—the bandit chuckled—"no wonder he had us haul in the silver on a different cart."

"Lycan, like a werewolf? Explains a couple of things if it's true."

I felt a hand grip my shoulder tightly; looking over, I could see it was Aqua. Tears dotted the corner of her eyes despite a furious expression her face.

"Oi…Aqua, you—"

"It's unforgivable," she said, her eyes narrowing, her grip tightening. Before it became unbearable, she let go. "We gotta make 'em pay, Kazuma."

"Huh, are you—"

"Aqua's right, Kazuma," Megumin said; she too harbored a look of anger.

"Scum," Darkness remarked. I expected her to be smitten by the thoughts of being abused by the bandits, but it seems like Darkness also had a line she drew.

The three of them stood up, ready to assault the bandits; I quickly pulled them down.

"Oi, calm down, you guys; there's a bunch of them and only four of us. Remember what we're here for—"

"But, Kazuma—"

"I'm not saying we're gonna let 'em get away with this, but we have to complete what we came here for in the first place."

Though I didn't really show it like the others, I too felt contempt for what was happening here. It was sort of obvious things like this happened, but to see it before your very eyes evoked a different response.

"Look," I said, pointing at a dungeon-like entrance. "That must be where they're hauling everything off."

With some effort, we slowly slipped by the group of bandits and entered the into what appeared to be a dungeon.

"A dungeon?" Darkness queried, looking around as she did.

"Must be using it as a base or something," I answered.

I looked over my shoulder. Aqua was quiet, but she still had an angry look on her face. Megumin was looking around cautiously.

"You guys stay close to me and Aqua," I instructed.

As we continued deeper into the dungeon, the surrounding architecture changed. The walls and ceiling were no longer were covered in man-made structures, but natural ones; we were now walking through what appeared to be a cave.

"Listen," Megumin said, "you guys hear that?"

The sound of raucous behavior echoed from farther ahead.

"More bandits," I said, using Farsight to confirm my suspicions.

"Any way around?" Darkness asked as she crouched beside me.

I shook my head.

"Good," Megumin remarked. "now we can—"

"We can try to move around the backside of the room," I interjected. "There seems to be some space behind those carts."

I heard Megumin suck her teeth in disappointment. We edged into the room and began to slowly crawl behind the carts full of spoils.

"Ahh, this is great," one of the bandits said, taking a swig of what I could only imagine was some sort of alcohol.

"Umu," another agreed. "But you know what we're missing; girls, women!" He yelled excitedly.

The men all yelled in agreement.

Another bandit spoke. "Shit, too bad there weren't any lady knights in that group—"

Yet another interrupted. "Or any in the merchant's group."

"Bunch of guys," another bandit grumbled disappointingly.

Suddenly, Darkness stopped in front of me.

"Oi, Darkness, what's wrong?" I peered in front and could see her clasping her mouth shut, her eyes quivering between disgust and excitement, heavy breaths forced through her nostrils. "This girl is hopeless…"

"K-Kazuma, can you hear them; they're speaking about doing unspeakable acts to women," She said through heavy pants.

"Darkness," I whispered harshly, "this isn't the time—"

"I-I know, but I—"

Suddenly, Aqua stood up.

"Oi, what are you doing?!"

She walked up behind the group of bandits and stood silently.

"Oh—Oi, Gavin, look!" one of the bandits said, pointing at Aqua.

The named man turned around to see our goddess staring stoically at them. "Oh ho, ask and you shall receive," he said, smiling excitedly. "Oi, pretty lady, you here to—"

"GOD BLOW!"

Aqua's fist smashed into the man, Gavin's face, sending him spiraling into the other bandit who spoke earlier. Everyone present, including us, stared in shock.

"GOD REQUIEM!" Aqua yelled, uppercutting another bandit.

Snapping out of their trance, one of the men yelled, "Get her!". Aqua took out a couple more before she was overwhelmed.

"Tch—dammit, come on, you two," I said, springing from behind the cart. "You guys distract them," I said, casting Lurk on myself and running around the group.

"Hey!" I could hear Megumin yell.

They turned their attention towards Darkness and Megumin while the majority continued to struggle pinning Aqua down.

"There's more?" one of the guys said.

"Where the hell they'd come from?!"

"What the hell are the guys in the front—"

The man instantly collapsed as I finished draining him. The bandit directly in front of him, turned around and caught my palm on his face; a second later he too, collapsed. Within seconds, half the group was incapacitated; they caught on to me, however.

"Don't let him grab you!" one of them shouted.

As they spread out, two of the brawnier men, held onto Aqua. Darkness pressed into the melee, while Megumin skirted the edges, striking some of the distracted outlaws with her staff.

"Take this!" I yelled, using my blinding combo against the men holding Aqua.

They let go and instinctively rubbed at their eyes. Aqua whipped around and punched one out cold while I drained the other one.

"Kazuma!" Darkness yelled as she punched one of the men on the ground. "One's getting away!"

"I got him!" Megumin said, running forward. "EXPLO—"

"No, you idiot!" I said, grabbing her arm in alarm. "We're in a cave! Don't worry, I'll get him."

I pulled out my bow and took a deep breath.

"SNIPE!"

The arrow whizzed through the air and impaled itself through the bandit's knee; I winced instinctively. The man collapsed on ground, rolling around in agony. I walked up and used Drain Touch, silencing his echoing cries.

Letting out a breath of relief, I turned to Aqua and slapped the back of her head.

"Ow, Kazuma, what was that—"

"You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?! That could've gone so much worse!"

"We did pretty good though," Megumin said proudly, a prideful smirk on her face.

"That's not the point; can you guys stop making things more difficult than they already are?!"

"Kazuma," Darkness said; she was peering into the carts. "The Coronatite isn't here."

"But this must be part of the ore shipment, right?" I said as I walked over.

"Umu." She affirmed with a nod.

"I can sense a faint concentration of magic farther ahead," Megumin informed.

"Must be where the Coronatite is then," I said. "Come on."

We ran ahead. Eventually, we came to a narrow corridor. Along one side, were what appeared to be prison cells; they were empty. On the other side, all the way at the end, was a single room.

"That's gotta be it."

"The magic source is coming from that room," Megumin said, confirming my assumption.

As we slowly opened the door and walked in, we could see the Coronatite floating on a pedestal in the far end of the cavernous room. A small desk with various tools, writing utensils, scrolls, and reams of paper sat against the wall.

"This must be the bandit leader's room," Darkness said.

"Those guys outside mentioned Wulf though, maybe he's the one running the show," I said.

"He could just be a mercenary," Megumin remarked. "A temporary hire."

I walked over to the desk and looked at the scattered papers. Taking a second to read over some of them, it became clear to me that Wulf wasn't just a mere mercenary.

"Guys," I said, placing the paper back down, "we need to get the Coronatite and get out of here."

"What do the papers say?" Megumin asked.

A deep and reverberating voice answered. "It says to get rid of annoying pests like yourselves." It was Wulf. "Well, well," he said as we all turned his way, "didn't think I'd be seeing you lot so soon."

"Are you the one responsible for this?" Darkness questioned.

He shrugged, smirking as he did. "Not like it matters; I'm gonna finish what I started. Can't have some pesky gnats buzzing around places they have no reason being."

"You work for the Demon King of the North, don't you?" I announced.

His smirk slowly transitioned into a scowl. "Ah, so you read that paper; now I'm really gonna have to get rid of you."

"Kind of your own fault for leaving them out in the open."

Part 4

The room went quiet, only the low hum of the Coronatite could be heard. Suddenly, Wulf lunged forward letting out a beastly growl; Darkness leapt in front of him. For a second they wrestled against each other, however, as strong as Darkness was, she was no match for someone with beast blood; he picked her up and smashed her into the ground. At this point, what little armor Darkness had previously, was gone; the only thing left was her black undergarment which was already fraying from the constant abuse.

"Stay there!" He yelled, stomping Darkness' face further into the rocky floor.

"Darkness!" we yelled.

Aqua quickly cast Heal, but Wulf threw a scroll into the air. The next instant, a large magic circle opened beneath us.

"No more magic," he snarled. "…no escape."

I gulped as we slowly started to back away from the advancing Lycan.

"Arggh!" Wulf yelled as Darkness slammed into him from behind. Her own battle cry melded with his shocked response as she continued past me, shoving the towering man into Coronatite pedestal.

He let out a beastly howl as the burning ore seared into him. Wulf growled, his eyes becoming more feral as he grabbed Darkness and kneed her in the stomach. She doubled over and the next instance their positions were reversed, with Darkness being pressed into the Coronatite and Wulf grasping her neck tightly, pressing her back mercilessly into the flaming core.

"SNIPE!"

But Wulf instantly whipped around and grasped the arrow out of the air, snapping it in two. He stared at me, snarling ferally, his eyes instilling me with me fear, causing me to be rooted in place. As he was about to advance on me, Darkness punched him, grabbing his attention once more.

"BREAK!" He roared.

He grabbed Darkness by the head once more and swung her around; when he let go, she was flung into the wall behind the Coronatite with such intensity, that it simply crumpled, tossing her into the previous room. Wulf quickly leapt through the hole. As we were about to follow, the ceiling collapsed, caving it in.

"Dammit!" I cursed. "Darkness, hold on, we're coming!"

"Humph, what the hell," the beast-man, Wulf, said. "I can't believe you're still alive. At this point you can't even be called human."

I knelt on one knee, panting. With the amount of pain running through my body, I could tell I was in shambles. My left arm dangled freely; it was broken. I felt a sharp pain with every breath, probably broke a few ribs. My back felt like it was on fire; probably because it was. I could smell blood in my nose, taste it in my mouth, see it in my eyes. All the damage…the pain…but it felt…good; I felt numbingly good. I couldn't help but smile despite it all.

"Say," he said, staring at me, "I've never fought against a female like you; someone who could take my hits like they were nothing. What do you say, why don't you become my mate?"

I closed my eyes and chuckled weakly. "Sorry," I replied, "I'm taken."

"Hmm, a shame; probably a guy who doesn't know what he has. Probably just a weak, cowardly, and unreliable guy."

I smiled, pressing my arm into my knee and struggling to my feet. "…you're wrong," I said. "He's the only man who can make me feel happy…normal…and you're nothing compared to him."

"Darkness!" Kazuma yelled as he and the others rounded the corner.

"Well then, let's continue," I said, bringing up my guard.

"No, now I'm gonna break you till there's nothing left but powdered bones."

I couldn't help but shudder excitedly at the thought.

As I stared at Darkness putting up a valiant defense, I began to think. "Shit, what can I do? Normal arrows won't work against him and if I get in close, I'll be killed. Think, Kazuma, think…"

Suddenly, I looked at the ore carts. I ran over, Aqua and Megumin followed.

"Kazuma," Aqua said, "I still can't cast Heal."

I kept foraging through the carts.

"Hey, Kazuma," Megumin said desperately, "did you hear, Aqua can't—"

"Found it," I said, pulling out a piece of ore. "Tinder…...dammit…the heat isn't enough—I need"—my eyes caught a glowing ore just meters away from me—"…Coronatite."

I ran over to it.

"Kazuma, what are you doing?" Aqua said anxiously.

I pressed the tip of the arrow to the melting ore; a metallic sheen rose to the surface.

"Silver," I said, holding up the arrow tip to my face. "Here," I said, tossing down more of my arrows. "Do the same to those." I turned towards Wulf and Darkness and raised my bow. "SNIPE!"

Probably because of carelessness or being too focused on the fight, Wulf didn't try to dodge or block the incoming arrow; it hit him in the arm.

He glanced over at the arrow and then at me. "What an annoying"—He recoiled in pain and then staggered back holding his arm—"ARRRGHHH! YOU BASTARD!"

I let off another arrow; this one burying itself into his leg.

"Silver," he said through pained breaths. He quickly grabbed Darkness, using her as a shield and then charged at us.

"No, you don't!" Darkness yelled; she dug her feet into the ground causing Wulf to come to a complete stop.

They struggled against each other as he tried to lift Darkness off the ground.

"Aqua," I said, quickly turning to her. "Can you use magic now?"

She cast Heal on Darkness and nodded.

"Aqua, buff her with everything you got!"

She nodded and did so.

Empowered by the divine magic, Darkness began to push Wulf back. Even injured by the arrows and going up against a buffed-up Darkness, Wulf still made her work for every step.

"You're nothing!" He growled.

Wulf broke free of her grasp and unleashed a flurry of punches so fast and furious that all of us stood stunned by the quick reversal of the situation. As Darkness, staggered backwards, she managed to deflect one of his punches and throw him slightly off balance.

"ABSOLUTION!" She yelled almost as a dying breath.

The next instant, she stepped forward and countered with her own flurry of blows. At first the punches came in quickly, but as every second went by, they sped up, faster and faster, until Darkness' arms were mere blurs. She yelled, pressing her attack forward. Farther and farther they got, Darkness' attacks pushing the hulking man backwards. Finally, he staggered back on one knee, panting. Darkness stopped.

"Darkness," I yelled, "what are you doing, finish him!"

"Heh, aren't you gonna do it?" Wulf said through labored breaths.

I stared at him; my fist raised.

"It's him, isn't it?"

"…"

He smiled, looking down. "Fuckin' hell…what an embarrassment; beaten by a girl and a scrawny boy. I've really lost my edge."

"…I…actually had a lot of fun…thanks."

He looked up surprised. "Fun—"

My fist slammed into his face and I could feel the bones in my hand and arms shake from the impact. The man named, Wulf, went down. I swallowed deeply and then sighed, throwing my head back in relief. A moment later, I felt pain in every part of my body; I felt my bones crunch and shatter, my muscles tear, and blood fill my mouth. So much pain…so much pleasure…agonizing pleasure. My vision went black.

When I came to, I was lying in the back of a wagon.

"Hey, Kazuma," Megumin said, "she's awake."

"Ah, welcome back."

"What, what happened?" I asked, sitting up in confusion.

"Well, once you went down, Aqua healed you but you were still out cold. You were kinda heavy, so I threw you in the back of one of the ore carts and hauled you around like that. Then it turned out that some of the patrol was still alive; they were just knocked out."

"What about the bandits outside?"

"Well when we came out with Wulf, they instantly lost their will to fight. After Aqua healed the surviving patrol members, they went off to get some help; luckily, some merchants were coming down from Elroad."

"What about…the others…the ones that didn't make it?"

Kazuma and the others looked down dejectedly.

"Aqua gave them their rites and we buried them. Turns out you can't resurrect people who've been dead for a while."

I sighed disappointingly.

Kazuma continued. "Mission's done; I grabbed the Coronatite, the papers, and we even managed to bring the ore along with this caravan."

"And Wulf?"

"Bound in the back; a couple of the knights wanted to watch over him personally." Kazuma gave a weak smirk. "All in all, you guys did pretty well."

Looking away from Darkness and out the window, I thought about the information I read in Wulf's notes and letters, their implications; Wulf was one of the Demon King's Generals, the Demon King of the North. Having captured him it would only be a matter of time before the Demon King knew what happened. I sighed knowing full well somewhere in the future I'd have to confront this Demon King.

"We're back!" Megumin said, sitting up and staring out my window; the Capital came into view.

It was already evening by the time we disembarked. The caravan was originally heading towards the marketplace, so it worked out for us. When we arrived at the gates, one of the missing patrol men notified the guards about the recent events so by the time we arrived, Claire was already waiting for us with a contingent of knights.

"Claire," Darkness said as we got off.

"Lalatina, I was told you distinguished yourself; it was said you were responsible for the capture for 'The Silver'."

"The Silver?"

"Oh, sorry, I guess you didn't know; the man you captured, Wulf Sylban, he's known by the moniker, 'The Silver'. And there he is."

Several of the patrol men held Wulf as they brought him over; even bound in mithril cables, he still appeared strong enough to rip through it with ease. He glanced over at me and then, Darkness, but said nothing.

"Kazuma-dono, make sure you take the Coronatite over to Master Holt immediately; I'll personally be escorting this wretch to the dungeons."

I nodded and watched as Claire and the knights hauled Wulf off. Most of the patrol men followed along with the many bandits we captured; one of them, presumably the leader, came over.

"I just wanna thank you guys again for everything—especially you, Aqua-sama; I never thought an Axis priest could be so…caring."

I expected Aqua to shoot back a retort, but she remained quiet with a sorrowful look on her face.

"Don't worry about it," I said, answering in her place.

"Umu, again, thanks." Then the patrolman walked off towards the group.

"Oi," I said, turning to Aqua; I place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't take it too hard; you did everything you could."

She nodded, but her expression didn't change. As annoying as she could be, I didn't like seeing Aqua like this.

"Let's get this stuff back to Holt's so we can head home."

Darkness and Megumin nodded, and then we went on our way. As we walked into the shop, the receptionist known as "Gren" came over to greet us.

"Hel—"

She froze as our eyes met.

"You," I said. "It's you, you were the one speaking to Wulf."

She stepped back. "I-I don't—I think you're mistaken," She said nervously, her eyes darting away from mine.

"No, I'm sure of it."

Megumin and Darkness fanned out to surround her.

"P-Please, have mercy; I-I didn't want to do it—I had no choice!"

"He had your sister, right?"

She looked up, desperation filled her eyes, but there was glimmer of hope. "Y-Yes, he has Ferris; I can't—" She collapsed, covering her face and sobbing heavily.

Darkness looked over at me. "Kazuma, even if what she's saying is true, if she's been feeding intel to an enemy, we can't just overlook it."

"I know." I walked over the sobbing girl. "Listen, we can help you get your sister back, but you're gonna have to tell us everything you told Wulf."

She looked up once more, the same desperation in her eyes and now, her voice. "I-I can't—he'll kill—"

"He can't; we captured him; he's on his way to a dungeon cell as we speak."

She looked over at Darkness and Megumin for confirmation; they nodded silently. She threw her head back in relief and smiled faintly. "Thank goodness." She got up, sniffling as she did. "I'll tell you everything I know."

-Sometime later…

"So, he wanted intel on the royal family?" I queried.

Gren nodded.

"Why?" Darkness interjected sternly.

"I-I don't know; he never discussed with me the why's. He only told me what he wanted and threatened to hurt Ferris if I didn't get it."

Darkness frowned.

"It should be obvious why he wanted intel on Iris and her family," Megumin remarked. "If Wulf works for the Demon King of the North, then it's probably because—"

"He intends to attack Belzerg at some point," I finished, sighing immediately after. "Trouble always finds me, even if I don't look for it…"

The shop door opened and in came Claire.

"Kazuma-dono."

"Claire," Darkness said, "what are you doing here; weren't you with Wulf?"

She knit her brow lightly. "I've finished securing him. I came to see the progress with the Coronatite."

I interrupted. "Ah, well…something came up," I said, glancing over at Gren.

"What?"

I sighed once more; I needed to tell Claire, but I felt sort of bad. I knew that Gren's punishment could be severe—even if we asked for leniency on her behalf. However, if I didn't say anything it's likely that Iris and the royal family could be put in danger. Unfortunately for Gren, I had to tell; had it been anyone else at risk, I may have turned a blind eye to it.

"Well, it turns out—"

"I was leaking information to an enemy!" Gren shouted, she closed her eyes in remorse.

Claire stared at her and then, us. "This is…serious," She said, her face growing grim.

I quickly intervened. "Claire, I should probably point out that she did it for her sister; Wulf threatened to hurt her."

"Even so, Kazuma-dono, that's treason; I'm sure you know what the penalty usually is."

"Symphonia-sama, I won't ask you to forgive me, but please…please, I just ask that you save my sister; she's an innocent in all this."

Claire closed her eyes and sighed before opening them once more. "I'll see what I can do. Until then, Gren Hallowitz, you're under arrest for the crime of subversion against the state, pending treason."

Gren looked down regretfully. "Symphonia-sama, may I ask one for one more selfish request?"

"…speak."

"May I…say goodbye to Holt-sama?"

"No…you can't be alone with someone as important as him."

"I can go with her," I interjected. Claire looked at me, all traces of understanding or leniency was gone; she looked as rigid the person I met over a year ago. "I still have to give Master Holt the Coronatite; might as well bring her along…after all, it'll just be one last time."

"No, my decision—"

"Then I'll go along with him as well," Darkness added.

"So will I," Megumin remarked.

We half expected Aqua to speak up, but she was still quiet, her somber expression still present.

Claire relented. "Fine. I'll be waiting up here; make it quick."

Every time we came down here, Gren used to be the one leading, this time, however, I was. As we made it past the large forge, we entered Holt's workshop; the Royal Smith was hammering away at another item, as he always seemed to be.

"You never seem to take a break," I said.

He stopped and turned around with a smile. "You're back, and I assume with the Coronatite no less."

"You say it like you weren't expecting it."

He laughed.

"Actually…your attendant has some…news." I made way for her to move past.

"Oh? What is it, Gren?" he said with an innocent smile.

She began to cry. "Holt-sama…"

Holt's expression instantly changed; he stared at her worriedly, then at me. "What, what happened?" He looked back at Gren. "What's wrong?"

The young attendant was sobbing. As she approached him, she collapsed to her knees and covered her face in shame. "Holt-sama…I'm…I'm so sorry, I…"

"Gren," he said, staring at her, "it's alright, you can confide in me; tell me what's wrong."

This remark only seemed to make things worse as Gren was now hunched over wailing in grief.

"I, I don't understand…Kazuma-dono, do you know—"

"She's…been arrested for…treason."

Holt seemed shocked, but only mildly so. "I…see."

The revelation caused the weeping girl to bawl loudly and unceasingly.

"Gren," he said, walking over to her. He knelt down.

Slowly, she lifted her head; she sniveled desperately, her eyes quivering as tears covered her face. "I'm so…sorry."

He smiled faintly. "…I know you are, and I know you had your reason for doing it; don't worry, even if it's true, you were still a loyal and diligent attendant. I think no less of you, Gren."

As if it were even possible, she wept harder; the sounds of her cries were almost louder than the work in the forge.

He slowly got up and sighed. "Kazuma-dono, forgive me, but…can you leave the Coronatite. I uh…need to-"

"I got it." I dropped off the ore and tapped Gren on the shoulder.

She staggered to her feet, covering her face; her cries were now mostly quiet sobs. As we made it back up top, Claire looked at Gren and then at me.

"Everything done?" She said.

I nodded.

"I'll make sure you get your reward, Kazuma-dono; thanks again." She turned towards Gren. "Come," She said, grabbing her by the arm. I could just barely catch Claire's face soften with sadness as she exited.

"Kazuma," Darkness said sorrowfully, "I feel…sorry for her."

"Yeah, Darkness…me too…let's go home."

We headed to the Teleport Station and made it back to Axel. Despite having completed a difficult quest in spectacular fashion, all of us felt defeated. As we entered the mansion, we were greeted by Irene.

"Welcome home," she said. "Is there anything I can prepare for you all?"

"No," I replied as I headed up to my room.

Megumin and Aqua did the same. I could hear Darkness speaking with the maid just before I entered; I assumed it was probably our accounts of what happened.

Several hours passed as I laid in bed, my eyes were closed, but my thoughts weren't of sleep.

"If I didn't say anything…if I just entered the shop and…maybe that girl would've…no, Kazuma, it's still too soon to say anything. It's not your fault…she's the one who chose to break the law…even if it was for her little sister."

I threw my pillow over my head. That girl could be executed because of what I chose to do, her sister could be missing her onee-chan because of me. I shook my head, throwing my pillow off to the side.

"I need to get my mind off this," I thought.

I got up and left my room. The mansion was dark and quiet, but as I got closer to the living room, I saw another troubled soul sitting in front of the fireplace; she was slowly sipping wine.

"Aqua?" I said. "What are you doing here?"

She gave me a cursory glance, took another sip, and then looked down sadly. "I feel so sad, Kazuma." Those were the first words I heard her say since we finished the quest and it resonated with me; I felt her sadness.

I took a seat next to her. "Why are you sad? I know that wasn't your first time seeing people die."

"We could've…saved them; if only we got there sooner, if I didn't…" She looked away. "I"—She took a swig of wine and swallowed deeply—"I keep thinking…it's my fault they're dead."

"I see…"

Aqua was blaming herself; this was serious.

"Lots of things happened; you're…not at fault…this time."

Both of us went quiet; we stared at the flames in the fireplace.

I heard Aqua take another sip. "Say, Kazuma…what good is a goddess who can't save people?"

This was really serious…

"You saved plenty of people, Aqua; you saved me a bunch of times." I sighed. "You can't save everyone…even I know that."

Aqua put her glass down. She grabbed the bottle and took a couple of gulps. "Kazuma."

"Hmm?"

"We should save that girl and her little sister." She peered out at me from the corner of her eye.

I sighed once more. "I know." I got up. "Hey, Aqua…"

She looked up at me.

"You did good today."

She smiled weakly. Aqua took another couple of drinks from the bottle. "You're just saying that cause I'm sad, Kazuma."

"Well"—I chuckled—"you did mostly good today…don't stay up too late." I said as I walked back to my room.

When I returned, I quickly grabbed my satchel and poured the rolls of papers and notes on to the table; the notes and papers I got from the cave. Casting Tinder into the nearby lantern, I sat down and began reading them under its dim glow.

-Next Morning

By morning, I was already awake; I slept little, but felt no drowsiness. My mind was flooded by the information I read just hours earlier. I got dressed and hurried downstairs.

"Kazuma," Megumin called out; she ran over to me. "wanna go with me—"

"I can't," I interrupted. "I'm headed to the capital."

She froze for a moment and then hurried over to my side once more. "What's wrong; why are you going to the capital again? Everyone's acting so strangely since yesterday."

I stopped and looked over at her. "You don't feel anything for what happened yesterday?"

Megumin looked slightly surprised. "I, I mean…it's sad, but…she did commit treason…right?"

I began walking once more; Megumin quickly followed. "I need to turn these papers in," I revealed.

"Papers?"

"Yeah, the ones Wulf had back in the cave."

"What'd they say?"

"Not a lot, but the stuff that was said, is troubling to say the least."

"Is the other Demon King really planning an invasion?"

"I don't know. It just seems like some plans are underway; they wanted the Coronatite for something." I sighed deeply.

There were others involved with this plan; from the letter I could only discern one other person, "G".

We took the Teleport station back to the capital. When we arrived, I quickly led us to the palace.

"I need to speak with Claire," I said to the guards posted at the front gate.

They looked at each other and then back at me. "Lady Symphonia?" one of them queried.

"Uh, yeah—tell her it's really important."

He nodded and left.

After a couple of minutes of waiting, Claire returned with the guard.

"I'm surprised to see you here so early, Kazuma-dono, what—"

"We need to talk"—I looked at the guards and then back at her—"privately."

Claire's eyes narrowed in interest. "Come then." She waved me in.

Megumin and I entered the palace. We made our way through the familiar corridors until we arrived at a room I've only seen once before; it was Claire's.

"First things first," I said as we entered. "What of the shop attendant?"

"Hallowitz?" She said, looking at me with slight surprise.

I gave a short nod.

Claire sighed and took a seat behind a large wooden desk. "…she's being held while we gather more information; she's already confessed to the crime, but she's also been quite cooperative when it comes to the information she leaked."

"So…"

"As of yet, there's been no word on her punishment." She cleared her throat. "That's not why you're here though, is it?"

I withdrew the papers from my bag and spread them out in the desk's surface.

"What is this?" She said, looking up at me.

"You might wanna read 'em."

Part 5

Claire looked at me dubiously, but then turned her attention to the notes on her desk. A couple minutes passed as she read through them, her expression becoming more and more concerned as she did.

"Dammit," she swore softly. "After we've worked so hard to obtain peace."

"You mean after I worked so hard…"

Claire shifted her attention to me and sighed; she appeared visibly bothered by what she was about to say. "Kazuma-dono, I think it's time you've met someone else from the royal court."

"Someone…else?"

"Yes. The matters presented here are beyond my scope. If another Demon King is setting his sights on the Kingdom, then this must be brought to the attention of the Royal Council."

"Royal Council?"

"Did you believe the Kingdom was ran only by the royal family?"

"I mean…yeah."

She scoffed. "The kingdom is much too big a place for it to be completely ran by three people. Strictly speaking, the royal family has final say on all matters, but the council helps gather problems and news around the kingdom to bring to their attention."

"I see."

Politics was just as complicated here as it was in my world.

"Come, you both. This man is quite busy and so am I; Iris-sama will soon need my attention."

We followed Claire. As we exited the palace grounds, Megumin spoke.

"So, Claire-san, who is this person?"

She seemed to tense up slightly upon being asked. "It's best…you'll see."

Me and Megumin looked at each other in mild surprise; such a response from Claire was fairly rare to see.

Eventually we reached the Royal Library.

"The Royal Library?" Megumin questioned as we climbed its steps.

"What are we doing here?" I said.

"This member of the court and council is in charge of intelligence gathering," Claire replied. "The library is basically his domain."

I happened to know someone who could claim the latter, but his looks and attitude couldn't be further than what I'd expect someone holding such a lofty position to be like.

"Is it Bartholomew-san?" Megumin posed.

Claire looked back in astonishment. "Have you met already?"

"Really?" I said. "He's the one in charge of intelligence?"

"Don't let his looks deceive you," Claire said; her face was stern. "He's Master of Intelligence for a reason."

Entering the atrium, we could already see the man in questioned standing at the end of the hall, a smile on his face.

"Vincent," Claire said, her brow knit.

"Claire-chan; always a pleasure to see you." He turned to me and Megumin. "Kazuma and Megumin-dono, or should I say, the Satous?"

"If you're out here, then I presume you already know why we're here," Claire interrupted.

He smiled. "I actually have no idea why you're all here; I just came out to the hall so I could admire—"

"Enough. The matter is important; I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

"Ouch, you wound me, Claire-chan, but I suppose it is as you say; come, let's head to my study."

We followed him into the familiar domed setting of the inner sanctum. He offered us seats as he took his own; previously, I stood up seemingly defiant, this time it was Claire.

"Won't you sit, Claire-chan; it pains me to know how much you stand every day."

"Then don't," she replied curtly. "I'm not staying long anyways."

"Right, right, Iris-sama does need your attention."

Despite, the statement's benign sentiments, Claire frowned. "I'll leave these with you," she said, tossing the papers onto his desk. She then turned to me. "Kazuma-dono, since you two are acquainted I'll leave the explanations to you. I have some important matters to attend to."

"Uhhh, right."

Claire left quickly. Vincent smiled as I turned to him.

"On to important matters," he said. "Care to bring me up to speed, Kazuma-dono?"

"Eh, sure. I mean…what don't you know?"

He briefly lowered the paper he was currently reading and smiled once more. "Good question, but also tricky when so much passes through your hands."

"I'm surprised," I said. "To think you're the spymaster."

He chuckled. "Don't I look the part?" he replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone. "Best way to go unnoticed is to not draw attention to yourself in the first place, Kazuma-dono. No one would think the librarian also happens to be the one in charge of handling the Kingdom's more…sensitive affairs."

I looked around. The setting and the blindfolded individuals were starting to make sense.

"Can't they hear us?" I said, pointing at the robed servants.

"No, sadly they're blind and deaf; a bunch of unfortunates, unfit for normal tasks but perfect for a job of this nature."

Megumin spoke. "How come they never fall?" she asked, staring at them as they worked.

Vincent smiled gently. "They're very careful."

A couple of minutes went by, and then a couple of hours; Megumin lay sleeping on my shoulder as I also began to drift in and out of consciousness.

"Ahem." Vincent coughed loudly, rousing me from drowsiness; he wore a more serious expression, one that seemed alien to me. "Kazuma-dono, I'm starting to understand a bit of what's going on. Let me ask you, how'd you acquire these papers?"

"Oh, uh"—I yawned—"it was during yesterday's quest; the guy we captured, Wulf, it was his."

"Right, 'Wulf the Silver'. Reports have him pegged as a Demon King General; these correspondences pretty much confirm it. The interesting thing is this 'G' who's mentioned; I may know who it is."

"Really?" I was actually pretty surprised.

Even after pouring over the notes myself, I had no idea who it could've been, but then again, I didn't have access to anywhere near the amount of data and info the Spymaster of the kingdom would've.

"Umu, I believe it maybe referring to a key figure named, 'Gunther'; His name has popped up several times in some reports coming from the north. Problem is, we still don't know what's his position to the Demon King or if he's even directly a part of his army."

Vincent continued. "Then there's the problem with the Royal Smith's attendant, Gren Hallowitz; the information she leaked—according to these notes—seems to infer that the Demon King of the North is preparing for an invasion into the Kingdom. This is…quite simply…I don't believe this to be the case."

"Why not?" I asked.

"The Demon King still faces resistance in the north; it'd be foolish of him to turn his attention towards another target while he's still preoccupied."

I rubbed my chin in thought; it made sense, but then I remembered the Coronatite was also part of the plan. "Maybe he was expecting to get the Coronatite back."

"Ah, good point, Kazuma-dono; perhaps plans were made with the Coronatite in mind. By the way, congratulations on the success of your first Royal Provision."

"Uh, thanks. Hey…speaking of the attendant, Gren, she has a little sister, right?"

Vincent leaned back in his chair. "She does, Ferris Hallowitz; the letters also seem to imply she was kidnapped. A good enough motive to commit treason if I ever saw one; the bonds of family are almost unbreakable."

"I know asking to pardon her for such a crime isn't probably something I should ask for—or expect, but…it seems a little unfair to place all the blame on her considering the circumstances."

"I agree, however, it's no small thing she has done; she must be punished, Kazuma-dono."

"Does it have to be execution though?"

He smiled faintly. "No, it doesn't. Crimes like this are often held in presence of the territory lord; in this case, since it was in the capital, that would be a member of the royal family."

It would mean that Iris, the King, or the Prince would be the ones presiding over the trial. If it was Iris, I could, perhaps, see her handing out an easier sentence in light of the girl's situation; however, if it was the King, or especially the Prince, it'd be unlikely she'd get off with anything but a "just" ruling.

Vincent interrupted my thoughts. "That girl had been working with the Master Holt for six years now. He picked her up off the streets after she fled from the Demon King's occupation; she and her sister were both refugees. Holt would sneak out to give them food. He told me that he tried getting them to go to one of the churches for help, but every day he'd find them in the same spot."

"He said that they'd show up in front of the palace gates to stare at the palace. Said, she told him, 'if she could just live in the shadow such magnificence she'd be satisfied'." He shook his head with a smile. "I don't think that smith has it in him to really understand what she meant."

"Why tell me this?" I said.

Vincent shifted slightly in his chair; he appeared to be thinking of a response. "Holt...is probably one of the most loyal servants this kingdom has ever had the pleasure of having; he does a lot and asks for little. That girl gave him some semblance of happiness; to me or you it doesn't really matter—at the end of the day, if she lives or dies, we'll probably forget about it in due time; he won't, I know."

"What can I do about it though?"

"You're in a very unique position, Kazuma-dono; you have at your disposal, things that no other in this kingdom has."

"And what's that?"

"You."

"…"

"Do what you want to do."

"Shouldn't you—I don't know, lecture me on why I shouldn't get involved in this or how my interference in such affairs can be seen as—"

Vincent laughed. "Kazuma-dono, you already know all those things, clearly; I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm loyal to the truth, history, and the crown, in that order. Whatever you choose to do—or not, I'll make sure history knows the truth. How do you be remembered as, Kazuma-dono?"

"…maybe the guy who didn't get dragged into so many problems."

"That path is already long gone, isn't it?" He smiled, and then got up and turned away from me. "Kazuma-dono, if you choose to do something, times ticking, the longer you wait, the harder it'll be to achieve a wonderfuloutcome."

"I just want to live a quiet life."

"Those who want peace, prepare for war. Do you understand? Struggle, life is a struggle. Even if you don't wanna do anything but live—especially if you don't; you have to fight for it."

I sat quietly for a minute and then sighed. "It's starting to seem like a lot of my choices aren't my own."

"Our choices seldom are, Kazuma-dono."

Getting to my feet, I placed Megumin on my back and went on my way.

Walking out of the library, I headed back towards the palace; I had to speak with Iris.

"Oi, Megumin," I said, readjusting her as I walked.

She stirred slightly, lightly wrapping her arms around me. I sighed. "This girl…"

A couple minutes later, I arrived at the palace gates once more and was let in. I made my way to Iris' room. Upon arriving, I knocked, quickly readjusting the now-slipping Megumin. The door opened slightly; Rain peered through the crack.

"Yo," I said with a smirk.

Rain opened the door a bit more, but her body still barred me from entering. Her brows were knit, and she looked at me in a disapproving fashion.

"Kazuma-dono," she whispered harshly, "didn't I tell you to give us forewarning when you're coming."

Iris spoke in the far background. "Who is it, Rain—is it Onii-sama?!" I could hear her quickly running from, presumably, the terrace. Her head poked out from the side of Rain's leg; she smiled enthusiastically.

"Onii-sama! Please, come in, come in," She insisted, pulling the door open as she did.

I walked in and quickly placed Megumin on the nearby couch.

"Onii-sama, did you come to visit?"

"Uhh, well—"

"Yes, Kazuma-dono," Rain interrupted with a frown, "why did you come today?"

"I actually have to speak with Iris-chan about something important."

Both of them glanced at each other and then, me. Without a word, Rain stepped outside.

"What's wrong, Onii-sama?"

"Have you been told about the…situation, regarding the shop attendant?"

Iris sat on an ottoman across the couch; I took my seat besides the sleeping Megumin.

"Briefly," She replied; her regal and near-emotionless expression surfaced.

"The girl has a younger sister who's been kidnapped; she was forced to do what she did."

Iris smiled weakly. "Onii-sama wishes to save them?"

"…I just don't think it's fair for her to be punished so harshly for something she had little control over."

"Very well…I suppose you came to ask me for leniency on her behalf?"

"If you could, yeah."

She beamed widely, her childlike demeanor returning instantly. "Umu, if Onii-sama believes she's a person worth protecting then I'll place my faith in his judgement."

I could feel myself blush; Iris-chan was super cute.

She quickly leaned forward and grabbed my hands. "Onii-sama, in exchange for doing this, can you play with me a bit; tell me about what happened in this quest."

I smirked. "Sure, but shouldn't you tell Rain first?"

Iris grinned deviously. "Perhaps a bit later; after all, this is an important conversation, isn't it?" She smiled widely once more.

I shook my head, a smile donned upon my face as well. "What a devious little princess…"

-Meanwhile…

"Lady Dustiness," the guard said, quickly standing to attention and bowing. "What can I do for you?"

"You can relax. I'm here to see the prisoner, Wulf."

"Of course." He stood up, unlocking the door beside him. As he opened it, he said, "Down the stairs, second to last cell."

"Thank you," I replied and began my descent down the narrow spiral staircase; the door closed shut behind me.

After a noticeable amount of time, I made it to the bottom. The area was dimly lit, a rather stark contrast to the top. Several guards stood patrolling the hall, while others stood as sentinels watching the cells, even those with no one in them. Incidentally, the only occupied cell was the one housing the prisoner I came for. I walked over and stood in front, staring at the large man sitting within; he stared carelessly at nothing in particular, his head resting idly in his hand.

"Where is she?" I asked.

He glanced over; his golden eyes bright in the darkness. "So, it's you; what do you want?"

"Where's the girl; the one you held hostage."

He smirked wryly. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"I do; tell me."

He snorted proudly. "Nah, I don't think I will."

I stepped slightly closer.

He looked over at me; I could see his eyes narrow. "What are you gonna do, huh; you wanna go again? Come on, open this cell and this time…I'll break you properly."

"…you really are the type of person to hold an innocent little girl against her life. Such a cowardly way of getting things done. Are you afraid that your own strength might not be enough?"

The beast slowly got to his feet and walked over to the bars. As he placed his hands around them, I could hear them begin to groan. The guard quickly readied his spear, but I placed an arm out to stop him.

"Lady Dustiness—"

I glanced back at the guard in response; he went silent, but still held his spear at a half-ready stance.

The creaking sounds ceased. I looked forward.

"Dustiness," Wulf said. "I see now…you're a noble." He let go of the bars and went back to sitting in the corner of the cell. "Go on, I got nothing to say to you."

"Your end draws near, you know this; agents of the Demon King aren't usually spared from execution. Don't you want to do something right before then; correct your mistakes? Even one of them?"

"…I told you, I have nothing to say to you."

"Why—"

"Save your breath girl; you may not think much of me, but I too have my dignity to preserve. If I'm to die for my crimes, then so be it."

I stared at him for a couple seconds, and then began to walk away.

"If we ever trade blows again"—I stopped—"I'll make sure to break you in every way possible, mind and body alike."

I shuddered excitedly at the thought, but otherwise gave no response. I was to leave empty-handed.

-Back at the Palace…

"I can't believe you, Kazuma-dono!" Rain said in exasperation. "And Hime-sama, this sort of behavior isn't something you should give way to."

"Ohh, but Kazuma onii-sama was getting to the good part; can't you just—"

"Absolutely not! You tricked me, Hime-sama; it pains me when you do stuff like this."

I intervened. "Aye, it's alright, Rain; no harm done."

"Easy for you to say, Kazuma-dono; every time you do this sort of thing it just makes things harder for us in the future; Iris-sama is becoming increasingly self-indulgent."

"Rain-chan, you've been teaching me lessons almost all day; when Onii-sama visits, the respectful thing for me to do would be to listen to his problems."

"I'd hardly call stories of his mishaps, 'problems'."

"Well," I interjected, "in a way, they sort of, are."

Rain frowned, and then crossed her arms. "Kazuma-dono, clearly, your conversation is done; please allow me to do my job."

I smiled cheekily. "Sure." Then I turned to Iris. "Alright, Iris-chan, your Onii-chan will see ya later, ok?"

"Umu."

I picked up Megumin, who was still sleeping; almost instinctually, she grabbed onto me. "This girl sleeps so much…hopefully she hasn't fallen ill again. See ya," I said once again, and then walked out.

As I walked down the corridor, Megumin spoke. "Finally," She said with a hint of drowsiness in her voice.

"Wha—you were awake this whole time?!"

She smirked.

"Oi, I'm gonna drop you."

"Ahh, please don't!" She said, latching on to me tightly.

"Why didn't you wake up or say anything; wanted to spy on me?"

She smiled and pressed her head lovingly on my back. "Nope," she replied. "If I woke up, I wouldn't be able to enjoy this; if you're gonna indulge in your desires, shouldn't I?"

I scoffed. "This brat." I smiled faintly as I readjusted her.

-Capital, at the Axis Church orphanage…

"Oh, onee-san, you look so beautiful; you look just like the goddess Aqua," one of the children said.

"That's because I am the goddess Aqua." Children—especially unfortunates like these—had to be taught from a young age that the Axis Order is benevolent to all…and that I, their goddess, was here to lead them to great pastures. "Hey," I said, crouching down to their level, "I'm looking for a girl; can you guys help me find her?"

"Uhh sure," one of the boys said.

Another one, who looked slightly older than the bunch, responded, "Hey, onee-san, didn't you say were the goddess Aqua, herself? If that's the case, why can't you find her on your own?"

What a little brat; that type of smart aleck remark reminded me of a certain hikkiNEET. "C-Cause, I-I'd like to…I'd like to make sure you're all having fun too!"

The same boy replied. "I don't think looking for a missing kid is supposed to be fun though—"

"Hey, if you keep spouting lines like that an evil Eris Cultist will come and adopt you!"

He looked slightly worried when I mentioned this. "O-Ok, but we need something to go on, right guys?" He looked around at the other kids; they nodded in agreement. "See, onee-san, do you have a picture we can go on?"

Another boy around the same age interrupted. "Yeah, onee-san, is she a cute girl; if she is, can I keep the picture?"

Ah, to see the tenants of the Axis Order spring within one of such a young age. But hearing this, I realized, I had no description of the girl I was looking for.

"Ah, w-well, umm, I have a name! Her name is Ferris."

The boy looked at me with the same dubious look Kazuma would give me; it was starting to become annoying.

"Um, onee-san…we kinda need something more to go on than a name."

I cleared my throat. "Don't worry, your onee-chan will get you what you need; I'll be back."

I quickly left the orphanage. The only person who could tell me how this girl looked like was of course, her sister.

-Capital, the Jailhouse…

"Umm, can I speak with a girl named Gren?"

The guard stared at me. "The high security prisoner? Sorry, who are you again?"

The nerve of this person. I scoffed loudly and crossed my arms. "Surely you've heard of me, I'm the goddess Aqua; patron goddess of the Axis Order."

The guard raised his brow. "Goddess…of the Axis Cult…right; definitely checks out."

I smiled. "So I can—"

"No, of course not; I'm not about to have some crazy fanatic go down and speak with a high-sec prisoner!"

"C-Crazy?!"

"Now go away before I—"

"I'll have you know I was responsible for defeating the Demon King!"

"Sure you are; everyone knows Satou Kazuma was the one responsible for that."

"B-But I was—I am part of his party!"

The guard frowned. "Listen, if you continue to keep spouting nonsense and pester me, I'll toss you into one of the cells, got it?!"

"B-But I'm telling the truth!"

"Alright, that's it, I'm gonna—"

"W-Wait," I said, backing away, "I-I'll just grab some of my followers and they'll be able to tell you everything I've said is true."

Suddenly, the guard went pale.

"Huh, are you okay; I'm an Archpriest, I can—"

"It-It's fine." He cleared his throat. "Look," he whispered, "I'll give you five minutes, no more than that. Just…don't bring any Axis Cultists here…my job is already stressful enough as it is."

I clasped my hands together and smiled. "Ah, thank you!"

"Ugh, just hurry up. Five minutes, you hear?!"

I quickly made my way past the guard.

"Hmm…" I pressed a finger to my chin as I looked around. "Where could she be? Hey," I shouted to one of the patrolling guards, "can you tell me where the girl, Gren, is being held?"

"Huh, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm uh—a friend of hers."

"A friend?! BIND!"

I fell to the ground, bound by the guard's rude sneak attack. "W-Wait, what are you doing?! I was allowed to come down here by the guard upstairs!"

"Yeah right, you're probably an intruder trying to break out the prisoner; nice try."

"No, no, I promise! I need to ask her something; he only gave me five minutes! Please, untie me!"

The guard picked me up, opened the nearby cell, and tossed me in. "You stay here; I'll go see if what you're saying is true."

"W-Wait!"

The door slammed shut. I couldn't help but feel sad; I could feel my tears starting to run down my face and nose begin to get stuffy. As I sobbed, I heard a familiar voice speak; I think it was the girl I was looking for.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked.

I looked around. "Where"—I sniffled—"Where are you?"

"Over here," She said.

I followed the sound of her voice and saw a small hole in the wall. "Gren-san, is that you?"

I could see two green eyes on the other side of the hole.

"Hey, you're that lady; you were with Satou-dono's party."

"Mhm, my name is Aqua."

"Ah, Lady Aqua, why are you here?"

"I was looking for you."

"Looking for me, why?"

"I need to ask you about your sister."

"My sister? Ferris? What about her?"

"I'd like to help find her, but I don't know how she looks."

"Are you really trying to help find her?"

"Of course, as a goddess, I can't just sit by and watch as an innocent little girl is held hostage by an advocate of the Demon King."

"Goddess…umu…well, I'll trust you…not like I have a lot of options at the moment," she mumbled. "Ferris has long pale blonde hair—almost white. Deep green eyes—like emeralds, darker than mine. And one of her more distinguishing features are her ears."

"Ears, what about them?"

"They're pointy; she's…half elf."

"A half-elf? Hmm, Gren-san, you have black hair, why does your sister have white?"