Chapter 6
A shark attack for this fleeing Queen
Part 1
After seeing the explosion magic outside, I considered what to do.
I looked at Rori-san, who had also gotten up to look out the window.
"..." x 2.
We both quietly pondered over what to do.
"Well, let's just pretend we didn't see anything."
"P-Perhaps that's the best!"
I didn't want to get myself into a troublesome situation when I already had a lot on my plate, so I promptly went back to bed.
The next morning…
The household was woken up by a loud knock on the front door.
We all stayed upstairs except for onii-sama, who was getting pushed by Aqua-san to answer the door.
"I don't wanna! I already know one of you girls is responsible for this, so why do I have to be the one to answer?!"
"You're a man, aren't you?! Then go ahead and be a man and handle this for us!"
"Pulling out the gender card when it's convenient…! As an advocate for gender equality, I refuse to answer to your whims! Ow, you're strong!"
Onii-sama couldn't fight back against Aqua-san's superior strength. Once she pushed him to the front door, she ran away and left him there.
I was feeling a bit nervous for onii-sama as I watched through the eyes of my doll.
You can do this, onii-sama…!
Rather, if you shake and tremble that much, my high opinion of you might crumble slightly…!
Onii-sama opened the door and he was shoved aside by the shark demon from yesterday.
"...D-Don't say I didn't give you people plenty of chances! Our base was attacked again yesterday!"
She was in a particularly foul mood since there were dark bags under her eyes. Since Megumin-sensei attacked in the middle of the night, she must have stayed up all night.
"E-Eh? I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about?"
"There was a loud sound that woke everyone up, and when we checked what was going on, the base that we were building was reduced to debris!"
"C-Curse that Dust! He's the delinquent of the town, but he even turned into a terrorist, huh?!"
He was solely blaming this Dust-san again.
"...Tell me about this Dust. Is he really so powerful that he can destroy a base with one attack?"
"Yes… That's why we call him Dust, because he can even reduce a mighty fortress into nothing but dust…"
"He's this powerful?! Tell me where he is, now!"
The shark demon girl whacked the bottom of her trident against the floor while she yelled.
"Ah, well… It seems that Dust has made a base in one of the nearby towns called Lexa. It's a town famous for its nighttime district, and that despicable Dust is known to go there for the brothels and bars…"
This one didn't seem like a lie compared to the other statements made about this Dust-san. Onii-sama was talking with a completely straight face.
"That coward has the nerve to attack us and run away into a town of debauchery, huh? Very well! I will send my troops over to Lexa immediately!"
"Yes, please do that!"
"Eh? Why do you sound so happy about me sending my troops away to another place?"
"B-Because I'm happy that you're getting rid of that delinquent Dust!"
"I see. So he's been a menace to the townsfolk around here, too, huh? Don't worry, we'll get rid of him for you. It's good to cooperate with your neighbors after all."
The demon shark girl showed a surprisingly pleasant smile before heading off with her troops.
We went downstairs once the coast was clear.
"...Erm, I'm not particularly close to Dust, but is it really fine to just pin the blame on him?"
Aqua-san said, narrowing her eyes at onii-sama.
Onii-sama started sweating and looked away.
"H-He was the first person who came to mind! Besides, he has Yunyun following him around everywhere like a stalker, anyway. She can keep him safe since she knows [Teleport], not to mention she's pretty strong in a fight."
Revi stroked his chin as he had a thoughtful look on his face.
"...Hmm. Perhaps this is our best chance to try and escape? It seems that the Demon King general fell for aniki's schemes and she's heading over to Lexa…"
"That's a good point. Although there's bound to be a lot of demons remaining. But if you guys can sneak away…"
Megumin-sensei smirked and put a hand over her eye.
"Fufu… Perhaps the best move is for me to cause a distraction with Explosion magic and create an opening for the young ones to escape?!"
Being called a young one by Megumin-sensei was a bit insulting.
Onii-sama got angry when he heard his wife's suggestion.
"Oi! Don't think I forgot about what you did! It's your fault that the Demon King army is riled up! You cast explosion magic again last night, didn't you?! Who helped you?! Is it Aqua again?!"
"I-It was Arue this time!"
Showing us a scene that could be interpreted as spousal abuse, onii-sama started pinching Megumin-sensei's cheeks to get her to confess to her crime.
He turned his eyes to Arue, who shrunk away from the accusatory look.
"...I-It's a Crimson Demon's obligation to fall for baits such as this."
"Gah! Why is it always like this! I'm supposed to be retired, you know?!"
Onii-sama pulled on his hair. But then, in the next moment, a look of tranquility came over him. He walked up to Revi and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I leave the rest to you, my protege."
"...! Aniki, you consider me your protege?!"
"Ah, yeah, sure. It's up to you, now."
"I-I won't disappoint! To think that the legendary leader of that famous party is passing the torch to me?!"
I knew that onii-sama was just getting lazy and passing on the work to someone else, but I couldn't help but feel jealous that he didn't pick me to pass the torch to.
I'm the leader of the party after all…!
Komekko-chan was pouting as she listened to the conversation.
"The Devil doesn't understand why we're talking about running away while the general is gone. We can take her on, and any number of demons that come our way!"
This boisterous girl started saying a bunch of unnecessary things.
Of course, the Crimson Demons in the room were fired up by her words. Arue, Rueka and Megumin-sensei all smiled and simultaneously struck a pose.
"You said it, Komekko! Us Crimson Demons never run away from a battle! In fact, if the enemy baits us into a fight, we will always take the bait!"
"...The academy taught us that picking unnecessary fights is part of Crimson Demon culture."
"These new demons seem to forget that it was my Explosion magic that gave them a lot of trouble a few years ago! Perhaps they need a reminder?!"
When faced with these assertive beauties, Revi started wavering. Red eyes were watching him, waiting for his answer.
Oi, I understand falling for the charms of Arue, Rueka and Komekko-chan, but Megumin-sensei is already married, you know?
"Erm… I still think that running away is a better idea…"
He looked around for help, but Rori-san was just silently smiling, Regina-sama had already gone back to sleeping on the couch, and Serena-senpai was never one to speak up anyway.
His eyes fell on me. I smiled.
"Hmm… I mean, you're the one Kazuma-san passed the torch to, right?"
"You're holding a grudge over that?!"
Left alone to feel the pressure of the Crimson Demon girls, Revi took a deep breath and put a hand on Komekko-chan's shoulder.
"...A second, please."
He pulled Komekko-chan aside and started whispering to her.
I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Komekko-chan started blushing and making lovey-dovey eyes at him.
After a few minutes they came back.
A blushing Komekko-chan turned to the other Crimson Demons and said,
"U-Um… The Devil thinks that running away is a good idea…"
What a sudden change of demeanor.
Revi must have gone all out with the smooth talk.
"K-Komekko…! What happened to you?! Even though you're known as the 'sister who didn't waste her potential unlike the elder one'... You're saying things that go against the Crimson Demon code?!"
"Oi, Arue, give me a list of names of the people who go around saying that. I'll wait."
There was infighting among the Crimson Demons after Komekko-chan's declaration.
While the talks were reaching a standstill, Rori-san raised her hand and spoke up for the first time.
"Um… This might be weird to say, but shouldn't we go ahead and fight the Demon King army anyway?"
I didn't expect to hear this from the normally rational Rori-san!
"H-How could you betray my expectations like this?! You were supposed to be the normal one!"
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Eh? Am I normal? Even though I'm a succubus who orchestrated a plan to get her friends into a harem?"
Well, that aside…
"A-Anyway, explain yourself, Rori-san!"
"Well, I consider Axel my home and I owe a lot to the adventurers here. My coworkers also still live here and even Vanir-sama has a shop in this town. I don't want it to fall into the clutches of the Demon King army, so I'd like to liberate the town! Also, Dust-san is actually a good guy if you look past all the scummy stuff, so I don't want him to be chased around as a scapegoat forever!"
It seemed that she had some history with this Dust person and wanted to protect him along with the town.
Everyone's faces softened when she made her speech. When she put it like that, we couldn't really say anything about running away.
"Rori-san… To think you cared this much about the town… Of course we'll have to fight!"
"Ehe… Everyone…"
There was a good mood forming.
Suddenly, we saw onii-sama and Aqua-san bringing large luggages down from upstairs.
"You know what, maybe we should run away with you guys. This town ain't worth protecting. Eh? Why are you all staring at us like that?"
"Kazuma, you made sure to buy insurance for this place, right? If it gets wrecked during the Demon King invasion, we can collect a lot of money…"
These two opportunists ruined the mood.
Part 2
I wouldn't say it was unanimous, but the general consensus was that we would stay to free Axel from the Demon King army.
When Lalatina got back from her work, which apparently involved negotiating terms with the Demon King army, we told her about our plan to retake the town.
"G-Going against our oppressors only to be subdued by them in the end. W-What a scenario! Megumin, are you really sure you can handle being captured by demons?! Aren't you a mother of two children?! Ah, I envy your position!"
Lalatina's fantasies got even more depraved over time.
"Fuu… I won't come to that, Darkness. After all, we have the strongest party in the history of the kingdom, and we are joined by Komekko-chan and her party, as well as Arue and Rueka. With our fighting force, there's no way we'll fail, right?"
"Hehe… The spunky Arch-Wizard will say that and in the next scene, it will show that she and her comrades have been captured and tied up. Of course the strong willed Megumin will put up a fight, but after several hours…"
Lalatina started going off into her own world. Arue took out a notepad and went over to her.
"You have quite a fertile imagination. Perhaps we can collaborate on my newest literary work…"
Since the talks about our rebellion were starting to pick up, Regina-sama couldn't stay silent anymore.
"I have a suggestion. Since it will be a tragedy if we do fail in our fight against the Demon King army, we should have a failsafe of some kind."
"What do you have in mind, Regina-sama?"
She looked over to the Crimson Demons.
"...I propose that one of the Crimson Demons who can use [Teleport] should go to the nearest settlement and set a teleport mark there. Since you have no use for a teleport mark going back to the Crimson Demon village or the capital, considering the state of the war, you can replace one of those marks for a new one."
Regina-sama was imagining the worst case scenario and suggested that one of the Crimson Demons should make an escape route for us, just in case.
The Crimson Demon girls looked among themselves, but it was Rueka who nodded and raised her hand.
"...Since I'm the youngest and least experienced with Advanced Magic, I should be the one to go."
I heard her say that the Crimson Demon village gave Skill-Up potions to the students with the most potential, that was how Rueka learned Advanced Magic even if she was still in school.
She had to get her license in a hurry before leaving the village. Since she didn't have Advanced Magic for long, it would be hard for her to use it in combat right away.
It was a surprisingly mature decision for her, especially considering her clan's ways.
"Then we'll rely on you, Rueka."
"Who will escort her to the next settlement?"
"Since I'm the one who brought up the idea, Serena and I will escort the young Rueka. We are suited for espionage and sneaking around, anyway. We'll make sure that she makes it out of the warzone safely."
Regina-sama said, while giving Rueka a comforting smile.
"As for the rest of us… We'll focus on combat!"
We all cheered, with the exception of onii-sama and Aqua-san.
"U-Um… So I guess we're unpacking the luggage?"
"Y-You know, our insurance won't work if we take reckless actions like this."
They were still going on about that.
"Oi, Kazuma, are you telling me that you don't feel even one shred of obligation in protecting our hometown? Didn't we have a lot of good memories in this place?"
"Horse stables, slimy frogs, debt, corrupt landlords, constant attacks from Demon King generals and even a mechanical spider thing came to attack this place! What kind of good memories are you going on about?! Hey, these kids are moving to Elroad, right? Why don't we just retire in that rich country with a lot of casinos to enjoy?!"
"K-Kazuma, retirement sure has made you soft! What happened to the brave adventurer I once knew!"
"...Megumin, I think you're letting nostalgia cloud your memories a bit."
Lalatina said, giving Megumin-sensei a blank look as she seemed to forget that this was onii-sama's true character all along.
Aqua-san decided to chip in.
"The only thing I'll miss about this place is the local shuwa shuwa and the Iced Neroid, but they also have those things in Elroad, right? Ne, why don't we go to that promised land and never look back?!"
Her eyes took on a strange gleam as she fantasized about a comfortable, idle life.
"Wah… If only we had Iris with us… The last time we went to Elroad, Iris made things really easy for us…"
I felt my heart start beating faster when onii-sama mentioned me.
He was talking about how I became known as a dragon slayer in Elroad, back when I still had access to my heroic lineage powers.
"...Speaking of Iris, I hope she's doing well."
Megumin-sensei had a worried look on her face when my name was mentioned.
"Eh? But onee-chan, she's right there… Hmph!"
I hurriedly covered Komekko-chan's mouth. This girl just never learns!
"A-Ah… I think she meant to say that Iris-sama must surely be with us in spirit, so let's go all out in fighting for her! If we beat a Demon King general here, perhaps the war will shift in Belzerg's favor! Iris-sama will have an easier time, too!"
I managed to come up with a save, even while Komekko-chan was always trying to sabotage me.
"When you put it like that… I suppose we'll have to fight for Iris's sake."
Onii-sama had a newfound look of determination on his face. It made my heart skip, seeing him want to fight for me.
"That OP loli can take care of herself! Let's just leave this kingdom and enjoy a smooth sailing life in Elroad!"
I was starting to see why onii-sama was always fed up with Aqua-san.
Part 3
While the Demon King general was gone, we went over to the Adventurer's Guild.
The purpose was to recruit as many adventurers as we could for our cause.
"Eh? The Kazuma-led party is coming out of retirement to fight?"
"...Does this mean?"
"That party is going to fight?"
After news that onii-sama's famous party was going to come out of retirement came out, there was a buzz in the guild.
"Stay in retirement, you troublemakers!"
"You really want to deal with the army after they wiped out the king and the prince?! You guys are insane as usual!"
"Tie them up! Before they can start any trouble, subdue them!"
I thought that the adventurers would be inspired after a legendary party came out of retirement… Maybe they had a different kind of reputation in Axel?
Megumin-sensei stood on a table and raised her staff. I noticed that guys immediately tried to peek up her skirt.
"Everyone, fear not! Have you forgotten that you have the strongest mage in the country here?! With my Explosion magic, the Demon King army will stand no chance!"
She added a pose that made her skirt flutter.
"You're the one who was setting off those explosions that pissed them off, right?! Don't try to deny it!"
"This loli wife who didn't even grow any tits while she was pregnant should just stay out of it!"
"You're already married but you're tempting everyone with those black lingerie panties of yours! You tease!"
Megumin-sensei stomped her foot on the table, making the silverware on it fall off.
"Oi! Everyone who said those horrible things to me, line up! If you're a man, then don't be afraid to take a hit or two from a loli wife like me!"
Revi who was standing beside me sighed when he saw that we weren't making any progress in recruiting adventurers.
"...I knew it would turn out like this. Aniki, let's go with Plan B."
Onii-sama nodded at Revi's words. They went up to the table Megumin-sensei was standing on and dropped some heavy bags.
"W-What are those…?"
Onii-sama opened one of the bags and shiny Eris coins spilled out.
"...!"
The adventurers in the guild were now paying attention.
"This is an emergency quest posted by Kazu-corp! Everyone who participates in the attack against the Demon King army will be rewarded handsomely!"
"Oh! It seems you didn't forget what inspires an adventurer the most, Kazuma!"
"If there's a high reward, we'll do anything!"
"Y-You think money is enough to risk my life over?!"
To the adventurers who were still having second thoughts, Rori-san came out and placed a bunch of suspicious looking tickets at the table.
"There will also be some shop coupons added to the monetary reward!"
"Let's do this thing!"
The male adventurers got even more pumped up, while the women were confused about these tickets.
A girl with a ponytail and what appeared to be a tanuki tail stepped out and raised her hand,
"Um… Our party would like to participate, but we don't know where Dust is."
Onii-sama started sweating once Dust was mentioned.
"...Dust heroically volunteered to stall the Demon King army. They are currently chasing him right now, buying us time to gather our forces."
"T-That Dust is going that far…?!"
"That Dust who spends all of his earnings on alcohol and dubious activities, and borrows money from his friends with no intention of paying it back?!"
"If a guy like him is fighting hard for us… Then we have to try our best, too!"
They went ahead and got the wrong idea.
Aqua-san looked at me and nodded. It was our turn next…
I didn't want to do this, but…
"And you don't need to worry about getting hurt! We have another high level priest here aside from me!"
"...P-Please take care of me."
Aqua-san and I took off the coats we were wearing to reveal nurse uniforms inside.
The crowd went quiet as they looked at us.
"...There's another blue haired menace."
"...They're multiplying."
"Oi, keep those two away from the battlefield!"
It had the opposite effect.
"You ungrateful brutes! I even went ahead and made these nurse outfits out of grains of rice! You need to appreciate the fan service I'm giving you! Oi, don't go away! At least stay here for my sexy version of Nature's Beauty!"
Even though it didn't go as planned, the adventurers quickly went on their way to mobilize for the upcoming battle, as they ran away from Aqua-san.
…
…
By the time the Demon King general came back, the Adventurer's Guild had organized the adventurers for the battle.
The citizens were told to stay home while the combatants prepared to fight.
The logistics were taken care of by Luna-san and the guild staff, while onii-sama and Revi used their money to improve everyone's equipment.
The one who profited from all this was…
"What a coincidence! Wiz's Store just happened to stock up on high quality potions, magic items and manatite crystals!"
Vanir and Wiz displayed their merchandise for onii-sama and Revi to buy.
"But Vanir-san, you said that you were anticipating this and asked me to make a bunch of orders…"
"The decrepit shopkeeper with no business sense should just stay quiet and look pretty for the thirsty customers surrounding thou…"
After everyone was equipped for the fight, we waited for the Demon King general and her troops to come back.
Once they came back, demon soldiers tried to come into the city walls to collect their daily tribute, but they noticed that the entrance was barricaded.
"...What is this? Oi, we request entry!"
The Demon King general stepped out, looking a bit stressed. It seemed that her task to capture Dust didn't end well.
"Sorry, who are you?"
Onii-sama called out from behind the barricade.
"Huh? It's me, it's me! Don't tell me you forgot the sound of my voice already!"
"That it's me, it's me scam won't work on me, someone who was tasked to defend my castle back in my home country! Try harder than that! If you want to trick me, you need to at least use the 'there's hot women in your area' scam!"
"...What are you talking about? I'm Charia, the Demon King army general tasked to rule over Axel!"
Upon the Demon King general Charia's introduction…
"Very well! I shall introduce myself as well! I am Arue! The one who has the most developed body in the Crimson Demon clan!"
"I am Megumin! The one who possesses the strongest Explosion magic!"
"I am Komekko! The number one femme fatale little sister of the Crimson Demon clan!"
"...I didn't ask."
Charia's introduction set off a chain of Crimson Demons introducing themselves.
Aside from those three, other Crimson Demon girls who moved to Axel to look for love started introducing themselves.
I didn't realize just how many of them decided to move to Axel…
Surprisingly, Charia waited until they all introduced themselves.
"I see… There's about ten Crimson Demons in this town. Update their combat potential."
Those idiots just gave our enemy valuable intel.
"I'll ask again, what is this? Kazuma-san, I thought we had an agreement."
"There's been a change of plans… We can't forgive the Demon King army troops for the horrible things they did!"
"Eh? What do you mean by that?"
"Don't play dumb! Those demons of yours were seen doing perverted things to the women of this town! Do you expect us to stay quiet while you do those things?!"
I didn't recall any such things happening. The women around me seemed confused by onii-sama's words, too.
"...Wasn't it Dust who was doing those things?"
"In fact, the baths were safer now that Dust isn't here."
"The one who does those things is Dust…"
I see. Onii-sama was trying to make up for everything he did to Dust by blaming the demons for his actions.
"...Please don't lie! I've instructed my men not to do anything that would harm your people! In fact, if we are talking about grievances, it was a certain member of your party who claims to be a noble who is harassing my men!"
All eyes turned to Lalatina who blushed.
"I-I was just testing the behavior of the demons! If they are the type to be affected by seduction, then I will not tolerate their presence in this town!"
"...You walked around our base with a skimpy dress for eight hours and no one even glanced at you. I think that should have cleared any of your suspicions."
"Kuh! Those brutal words… Give me more!"
It was hard to see who were the transgressors in this situation.
Wasn't the Demon King army facing more harassment down the town they were supposed to be invading?
They were facing constant sexual harassment from a female noble abusing her authority, and there were also being attacked by explosion magic in the middle of the night.
I almost felt sorry for them.
"Enough of this! If you insist on hindering our advance, then we will attack!"
Charia said, ordering her troops to attack.
"Well, if you say so… Alright girls, time to prove that all your boasting has some merit to them!"
Onii-sama said, as he and the other adventurers ran away from the barricade and left the Crimson Demon girls alone.
The Crimson Demons took turns making monologues about their unsealed power and demonic eyes and stuff before launching their attacks once the barricade was broken by the Demon King army.
"Light of Saber!"
"Cursed Lightning!"
"Inferno!"
They launched a volley of magical attacks at the demons trying to enter the town.
"Fufu… Well, done, everyone! But now the most powerful of the Crimson Demon clan will take her turn! Explo… Gack! Kazuma, what are you doing?!"
"You're trying to use Explosion magic this close to the town, do you want to wipe everyone out?! Come here, you troublesome wife of mine!"
Onii-sama went back to carry Megumin-sensei in a princess carry. She complained a bit, but seemed to enjoy being carried like that.
…Stop flirting in front of me!
The demons that followed us inside were cautious not to make any overly aggressive moves that might be considered as military occupation. They avoided damaging any of the structures and focused on fighting back out of self-defense whenever a Crimson Demon launched a spell at them.
However, if they were being this defensive…
"Everyone, watch the Devil make quick work of these demons…! [Devil Boost]!"
Using a longsword instead of her fists, Komekko-chan used a fighting style I wasn't used to seeing from her, transitioning from a magic brawler to a magic swordsman. She was using the demonic energy to amplify her sword attacks.
…That girl is getting stronger every time.
It made me want to come to her and show off as well, but I knew that I was needed somewhere else.
Charia was running towards us, having cleared a path through the Crimson Demons by displaying inhuman speed and strength. She cleared a path for her demon troops to go through the Crimson Demon frontline.
"Gack! That shark loli is strong?! Oi, she's already catching up to us?! [Escape]!"
Even with onii-sama using the [Escape] skill, the Demon King general was still beyond the capabilities of a simple adventurer. The demons she had with her were also elite warriors, so they managed to keep up.
As for why Charia was chasing after us, it was clear that onii-sama was the leader of the resistance.
She intended to capture onii-sama in order to get everyone else to surrender.
"Turn this corner!"
"R-Right!"
We sharply turned the corner on a street, making the demons follow after us.
Except they went the wrong way.
Rori-san chuckled as she hopped from her vantage point on top of a building and was now flying above us.
"Good job, Rori-san! Is Revi and Regina-sama in position?"
"Yup! Now, we should gain as much distance as we can…"
I looked through the eyes of my doll, which was with Revi at the moment. I saw him and several archers lying in wait for the demons who were chasing our illusory copies.
The demons were impeded by the multiple shadow threads that Regina-sama created, stopping their advance.
That made it easy for Revi and the other archers to launch a hail of projectiles at them.
Along with the Crimson Demons, Revi made magic arrows for the archers, increasing their fighting capabilities.
The demons fell one by one, with the exception of Charia and several of her best warriors.
Revi retreated along with the archers, as they were accompanied by those with the thief class who used [Escape] to aid them.
Charia's warriors were about to chase after the archers, but Charia stopped them.
"...Those guys just want to lead us along on a useless chase. Let's go to the real copies, the ones we were chasing were illusions all along!"
Ugh… They already saw through our plan.
We planned on whittling their numbers as much as possible by having them chase the archer crew led by Revi. They were several melee based adventurers hiding, ready to intercept the demons chasing after them.
Charia and her surviving demons went the opposite way and correctly deduced where we were running based on the footprints we left behind.
I didn't think about getting rid of our footprints. A simple [Wind Breath] from onii-sama as we were running could have disturbed the dirt on the ground.
After I realized it, I asked onii-sama to get rid of our footprints as we ran away.
While the demons were chasing us however, Serena-san, who stayed behind, went about the role we gave her.
To the fallen demons who were on the brink of death, she used [Heal] on them.
"Our savior… Please tell us what to do, master!"
The demons who were saved by her became her mind-controlled servants.
"...Go and follow the Demon King general you once served under and intercept her."
"Yes, master!"
We increased our fighting forces thanks to Serena-san.
Just as instructed, she went over to the Crimson Demon squad led by Komekko-chan and did the same thing to the demons they defeated.
With the fallen demons joining our side, they formed a choke hold at the fallen barricade, preventing the multitude of the Demon King army from pouring in.
It was a loop of despair for the demons. While Komekko-chan and the others felled their forces, Serena-san would heal them back to full health and have them become meat shields for the Crimson Demon troop.
On the other side of the town, where the other entrance was…
The other adventurers, led by Lalatina and Aqua, were holding off the other half of the demon forces who were trying to force their way in through the second barricaded entrance.
Our careful planning combined with the demon's condition that they couldn't afford to take any overtly aggressive actions to control the enemy territory allowed us to dictate the flow of combat.
Of course, this plan was made by me…!
I took personal offense when onii-sama handed the torch over to Revi.
This time, I wanted to show onii-sama that I could be a leader, too!
Be impressed by my superior tactics, onii-sama!
"M-Megumin… If you look at me with lovestruck eyes like that, I'll be distracted…"
"Hehe… Sorry, but looking at you from this angle… Kazuma's features have become more manly recently, huh?"
Onii-sama?! Pay attention to my skills and stop flirting?!
"Ah… It seems that Charia is gaining on us."
I was distracted and failed to notice that Charia and her remaining warriors were already within sight. They were pursuing us in a full-sprint, showing no signs of exhaustion from running so much.
"Right… Then this is our turn, Rorisa!"
Onii-sama said, tossing the Megumin-sensei in his arms to me, as if she were a sack of rice.
I caught her and resumed running while Rori-san and onii-sama stayed behind.
"Ne, Kazuma, let me fight with you! It's been a while since we actually fought together so let us show off together!"
"Idiot! I told you that you'll blow up the whole town if we fight here! Just stick to the plan!"
I took out a second doll that Regina-sama created for me and used [Shadow Puppetry] to control and observe onii-sama and Rori-sama's fight with it.
Meanwhile, I carried Megumin-sensei to the place we were running to. It was the highest point in the town, the water tower.
I used [Shadow Thread] to pull myself up to the top of the tower, along with Megumin-sensei.
Once we were at the top, we had a clear view of the battlefield.
The demon forces were having a stalemate with Lalatina's side, but the ones who were fighting Komekko-chan's side were being pushed back.
"...Once you see the demon troops retreat, you can use your beloved explosion magic, Megumin-san."
"Fufu… Using my explosion magic while the enemy is retreating isn't as fun as using it right away to scare them, but using explosion magic from such a high vantage point is fun, too!"
While Megumin-sensei was doing her usual poses and one-sided monologue, I watched through the eyes of the puppet.
With the help of Rori-san's illusions, onii-sama proved to be a slippery foe for Charia.
She and her demons struck at the copies while he used [Lurk] and [Escape] to evade them.
When one of them got too close, he threw a rope at them and restricted their movements with [Bind], or he blinded them with a spray of dirt using a combination of [Wind Breath] and [Create Earth].
"Gah, stop being a coward and face me properly! Are you really the leader of the group that defeated Beldia-sama, Vanir-sama, Hans-sama and even Sylvia-sama?!"
"I-I used to be a powerful swordsman who fought my enemies head on, but I retired and now I'm a bit rusty…"
"It couldn't have been more than a few years! Stop making excuses! What level are you, huh?!"
"L-Levels don't matter, right?! Besides, you guys are having problems with me now, so don't go calling me weak if you can't even defeat me!"
He was doing a good job stalling them.
However, it seemed that Charia didn't want to play his game for much longer anymore.
She charged straight through him, relying on her intuition and ignoring the copies.
…She already figured out the weakness of the plan.
She was cautious of onii-sama before due to his reputation but after she found out that he was a weakling…
Even if she ran straight towards the real thing and not the illusory copy, she didn't need to worry about being harmed by his attack.
"Crap! She figured me out already!"
Onii-sama realized this and started running away without even drawing his sword.
Charia ignored the copies, and sprinted straight towards her prey…
When she found him, she tackled him down and straddled his back.
"...We captured the leader!"
"Fine you got me! I give, I give!"
"...I'm going to turn you around. No sudden movements."
Charia stood up and prepared to subdue onii-sama.
But just then…
Rori-san flew over her and casted a debuff.
"[Curse]!"
Charia found her strength sapped by Rori-san.
This gave onii-sama enough room to move and press his hand over Charia's mouth.
"[Create Water]! [Freeze]!"
Once the stream of water entered Charia's mouth and nose, onii-sama froze it into crystals of ice that protruded out from her.
"Hmpph!"
Once she was startled, onii-sama was able to kick her and keep running away.
I thought that Charia would be out of it for a while, but I saw her calmly touch the ice and it melted at her touch.
…Could she control water in some way?
"...!"
I realized where Megumin-sensei and I were standing.
"Megumin-san! Stop posing and come here!"
I tried to warn her but it was too late.
An enraged Charia raised her trident to the air.
I felt a rumbling beneath me as the water inside the tower obeyed its master.
I barely reached Megumin-sensei and jumped out, using [Shadow Thread] to swing ourselves away.
I looked around and saw all the water sources in Axel gathering into a ball above the town.
T-That looks really bad…?!
I looked through the doll again and saw that onii-sama was still running away.
Charia ordered for him to stop, but he was following the plan and running away from her.
"...Fine. If you refuse to listen, then I'll stop playing nice!"
The ball of water started to take form, taking on a distinct shape.
It turned into a giant trident that resembled the one Charia wielded.
The trident flew over with surprising speed to a specific direction.
"...!"
I recognized it as Lalatina's mansion…!
Charia had no way of knowing, but the onii-sama and Megumin-sensei's children were being kept there to keep them safe.
We knew that Charia might want to target the mansion to hold the babies hostage, but we didn't expect her to not target the mansion.
She was doing it out of good intentions, but it had the opposite effect!
"...I will target the local lord's house if you don't surrender!"
Onii-sama stopped in his tracks when he heard this.
If he surrenders now, then our battle would end.
After all, everyone here was only fighting because onii-sama asked them to. He was the leader of this war, even if I came up with the strategies.
I headed over to the Dustiness estate, with Megumin-sensei in my arms, swinging along the buildings with [Shadow Thread].
Megumin-sensei was panicking. She was unexpectedly frantic in unexpected situations…
I ended up on the rooftop of the Dustiness estate, setting Megumin-sensei beside me.
"...W-We need to destroy that thing! If it's in the air… Then I can shoot it down with my explosion!"
I nodded my head. Aqua-san put a barrier around the mansion, but it wouldn't stop that trident from crushing it. There was also not enough time to get the people inside to evacuate.
The barrier would protect the ensuing flood from destroying the mansion, though.
Megumin-sensei took out her staff and aimed it at the trident.
Without any unnecessary poses, she gathered mana and…
"...Explosion!"
The brilliant light and destructive power of Megumin-sensei's explosion met with the trident.
The loud noise and impact spread throughout the town.
However, once the smoke cleared…"
The trident was still intact, and it was heading straight towards the mansion.
With my connection to the puppet, I heard Charia say,
"That idiot! She messed with the channeling of the water trident! It's going out of control!"
The trident fell at a fast pace towards the mansion.
Megumin-sensei collapsed and stared at the trident falling down on the place where her twins were.
"No, please…!"
I had to protect them…!
I took out a vial and quickly drank the contents.
It was the potion Regina-sama prepared for me, which allowed me to enter my original state for a short time.
I unwrapped calibur from the cloth I used to hide it. At the same time, I felt power flowing through me.
I saw golden locks flowing around me, glowing from the radiance of my power.
Megumin-sensei looked up at me with wide eyes.
"I-Iris…?"
I smiled at her, then turned my attention to the trident.
"Hoohhh…!"
I wound calibur back and infused it with my mana, the power source running through my veins that contained the blood of great heroes and rulers.
…I once considered myself as a prisoner of my bloodline, since I was cursed to a life without freedom.
But if that curse came with the power to protect those I love, then I'll embrace all of it…!
"...Exterion!"
I unleashed a golden wave of radiant energy that met the trident.
The two great masses collided, but my attack pierced through.
The trident exploded into many droplets of rain, while the surging blase of exterion pierced the clouds and revealed the sun.
A rainbow formed as the sunlight met the droplets that turned into light sprinkles.
I let out a sigh of relief, and I noticed that Charia let one out too.
While I put calibur back in its sheath, I saw Megumin-sensei walk over to me slowly.
"Iris… It's really you…"
I glanced away and gave an uneasy smile.
I thought that she'd be mad at me for lying…
That was until she embraced me, almost making me stumble back.
"Y-You saved my babies! Iris… Thank you…!"
I didn't expect her to cry into my shoulder.
After I experienced the death of my family, I knew that what I did wasn't something I should regard as insignificant.
Without joking around, or trying to downplay what I did, I simply hugged her back and said,
"It's fine. You're welcome."
Part 4
Even with the big attack diverted, it didn't mean that the war was over.
"Iris… It's really you…"
Megumin-sensei was looking at me in awe, as if she couldn't believe that it was me.
"Well, I mean Risu… Irisu… You know what, that's not important!"
I carried Megumin-sensei down from the roof of the estate. Since she used explosion magic, she couldn't move her body.
"...For now, can you please bring me inside? I want to make sure the twins are safe."
"Gotcha."
I knocked on the door, which was answered by one of the Dustiness maids. They took Megumin-sensei in.
"Iris… Despite everything we did to you… You're still helping us out…"
Megumin-sensei said, with a guilty look on her face.
"...I'm grown up now. I'm not going to pout or hold it over you. I will never be able to move on if I keep doing that."
If I really wanted onii-sama that badly, I would have done all I could to make him mine.
I can't complain if I lost in the end, since I had as many chances as anyone.
I mean, onii-sama wasn't exactly popular with girls back then…
"Anyway, we can catch up later! I've got a town to save!"
I confidently walked away…
Only for my transformation to wear off.
"..." x 2.
I tried to look cool, but ended up awkwardly walking away once my transformation wore off.
Regina-sama did say that the transformation would only last a short time.
Besides, I used up a lot of power with that [Exterion] I unleashed.
I swung around with the shadow threads and to the place where onii-sama, Rori-san and Charia were.
"You tried to kill my children!"
"Eeep?! I avoided your mansion, didn't I?! How was I supposed to know you moved them to the Dustiness estate! And it was your wife's spell that caused the accident!"
"Snipe! Snipe! Snipe!"
Onii-sama was going on a rampage, shooting arrows at Charia, who was hopping around to dodge them.
"Kazuma! Megumin-san and your children are safe!"
"Risu! Thank god! You did something to stop the attack, didn't you!"
He came over and gave me a tight hug.
W-Wah… Onii-sama is hugging me…
I hugged him back, burying my face in his shoulder.
…He has a mature smell now.
"D-Daddy…"
"W-What…?"
His mature smell made me say something weird!
"A-Ahem… Charia! Stop this pointless fighting! You'll just lose more of your men if you try to fight in the enemy territory!"
The demons with Charia growled at my words.
"Fuu… I admit that there's a lot of threats here, like the Crimson Demons and the infamous Kazuma-led party… But the rest of the fighting force is made up of newbie adventurers! My troops will win out eventually!"
"You seem pretty confident about that…"
I shared a glance with Rori-san, then without any warning, I threw out a shadow thread at Charia.
She moved aside to dodge it, only to see a second shadow thread headed her way.
The one she dodged was only an illusion made by Rori-san.
However, just before the thread connected…
Charia's body became translucent, and the thread that should have attached to her body passed through her immaterial form.
Once the attack passed through, her body solidified again.
She smirked and said,
"Heh… Nice tricks, but I've got tricks of my own."
I didn't fully understand what happened, but she seemed to be able to liquify her own body and reform it again.
The demons raised their weapons and attacked us, but before they could advance…
"[Wind Wall] [Create Earth]!"
Onii-sama created a gust and threw a handful of dirt at it, creating a barrier that blinded the demons who rushed in.
I took advantage of that, taking out a normal sword and cutting down as many blinded demons as I could.
When one demon managed to scrub the dirt away from his eyes, he tried to attack me with his axe.
I used a shadow thread on the wall beside me to pull me out from his attack, then I jumped off from the wall to cut him down as well.
Just like that, the demons that were with Charia were taken care of.
"I-Impressive moves, Risu…! Are you really a priest…?"
Onii-sama was confused, seeing me display sword skills that wouldn't normally suit someone with the priest class.
I pointed my sword at Charia threateningly.
"...You're outnumbered… You should give up now."
As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized my mistake.
I said a line that belongs to mob characters!
Onii-sama realized my mistake, too.
"Idiot! You just raised a flag!"
While I was regretting my rookie mistake, Charia took advantage of our inaction.
Charia charged at me with her trident aimed at my torso.
I instinctively raised my sword to parry her thrust.
However, the trident liquified and phased through my sword.
It solidified again once she ducked down with a clear path to my stomach.
She thrust her trident again.
But before she could land the attack…
"[Steal]!"
Onii-sama used his signature move…!
"I-It didn't work! Damn it!"
Onii-sama cursed as he looked at the trident that was in his hands.
If he wasn't aiming for the weapon that was about to stab me, then what was he really aiming for?
Without a weapon, I thought that Charia would back away from me.
However, she wound her arm up for a right hook to my stomach.
"Gurk…!"
With the enhanced strength of a demon, I almost found myself passing out from the pain I felt.
However, I had enough presence of mind to counterattack.
"[Akashic Discharge]!"
"Gah…!"
I reflected the damage back at her, sending her flying back from the force.
"You're unexpectedly good at fighting for a priest, and you use some weird skills…"
Charia said, after she recomposed herself.
"I guess I'll have to ignore you for now if I want to win…"
She liquified again, turning into a fast moving puddle.
She moved past me and headed towards onii-sama and Rori-san, aiming for the backline.
"Watch out…!"
The puddle rose up into a pillar of water that solidified into Charia. While she was in mid air, she spun around for a spinning kick that knocked onii-sama back.
He dropped the trident and she picked it up.
Rori-san took out her whip and tried to lash it at Charia, but she raised her trident and blocked the whip.
Rori-san flicked her hand and made the whip wrap around the trident, trapping it, but she underestimated the power difference between them. Charia pulled her in and kicked her as well, making Rori-san crash against the wall.
They were both knocked unconscious by the powerful kicks she gave them.
…S-She's strong.
She's probably the most physically powerful opponent I've faced.
I did face a golden dragon, but it couldn't even fight back after I killed it with [Exterion].
"Heh… You're the only one left, priest girl."
I looked around me for a clue on how to defeat her.
I only saw some rocks on the ground.
When I saw them, I had an idea.
I hurriedly picked up the rocks from the ground.
"...What are you planning to do with those?"
I threw rocks at her, one at a time.
She sighed and deflected the rocks with her trident.
"Getting desperate are we… Gurk!"
One of the rocks landed. That was because I applied a [Power Up] buff on myself for one of the throws, taking her off guard with the previous slow throws.
While not as powerful as the kicks Charia gave to onii-sama and Rori-san, a rock thrown from someone buffed with a [Power Up] spell is sure to hurt, especially since Charia wasn't heavily armored in favor of mobility.
"...I admit, you got me there, but did you forget that I could liquify myself?"
I threw more rocks again, empowering myself with buffs.
She liquified herself, but I noticed that for the last few rocks, she moved out of the way and solidified herself.
So there was a time limit on how long she could liquify herself and objects she had in her possession.
I counted that her time limit was six seconds.
I smirked while she frowned after she realized that I figured out the limits of her trick.
I threw the last seven rocks I had in my hands. She liquified and let the rocks pass through her.
"Oh, no. No more rocks for you."
I shrugged and called out to Rori-san.
"Oi, Rori-san, thanks for the assist."
Charia snapped her head around and saw Rori-san on a rooftop.
She winked and waved at Charia.
"...So it was just an illusion?"
Well, she actually managed to hit onii-sama, but Rori-san was able to create an illusion with one of the fallen demon soldiers, making Charia think it was her. The one that Charia kicked to the wall was a demon that had a shorter build than the others and made a good fit as Rori-san's substitute.
"That wasn't the only illusion she made… Take a look at yourself.
"W-Wha…?!"
Charia looked down and saw that seven shadow threads were piercing through her body.
Rori-san saw what I was trying to do with the fine shadow threads I created and attached to the last set of rocks I threw.
She created an illusion to make the fine threads even harder to see.
Charia didn't see the threads and allowed them to pass through her while she was liquified, then she solidified while the threads were still going through her body.
"Relax, they won't hurt you. The shadows are immaterial, after all. However…"
When she tried to liquify again, I sent my mana through the threads and interrupted the activation of her power.
"When Megumin-sensei caused your giant water trident thingy to go wild, that gave me an idea. You can mess with a spell or ability if you cast one against it that overpowers or interferes with the integrity of the ability."
"...Even if I can't liquify, I'm still vastly superior to you in physical strength."
"That's true, but you're also forgetting one more thing."
"What…?"
I pulled the shadow threads with a flick of my fingers. Charia looked behind her and saw the rocks I threw, still attached to the threads, being pulled towards her at fast speeds.
"Gack!"
Pulled by the shadow strings like several yoyos, they hit Charia all at once.
Then I pulled Charia to me with the shadow threads and the rocks hitting her from behind.
"Grit your teeth…!"
I unleashed an empowered uppercut to her chin, stopping her momentum.
Then I pulled on the strings again and made the rocks keep pelting her.
Surprisingly, she was still standing, so I let loose a barrage of punches while the rocks pelted her from behind.
"Hoohhhh…!"
"Ugoh…!"
Even if she was a Demon King general, there was only so much of the beatdown she could take before she collapsed.
I looked at my downed foe and flipped my hair.
"...Whether I fight you as a battle priest or the sword princess… As onii-sama's real successor, I'll beat you with my wits and tactics…!"
"...You really took that passing of the torch to heart, huh?"
Rori-san gave me a blank look, as she flew down to join me.
What can I say, it really pissed me off.
Well, it's not like onii-sama was even conscious enough to see me fight.
Part 5
After we defeated Charia, we tied her up and locked her away into the prison.
…As for what happened with the Demon King army.
"Do not fear, Axel! for I came back to rescue you…!"
"I am Yunyun! One who fights with lightning at her back…!"
Dust and Yunyun came back to rescue Axel.
To everyone's surprise, Dust was wearing full armor that looked like they were made out of dragon scales. He was also carrying a red spear that looked magical in nature.
"That would have been really helpful, but the battle's already over."
"E-Eh…?"
They arrived too late. With Charia defeated, it was a simple matter to clean up the rest of her demoralized troops.
"W-What?! Even though I gathered up the courage to come here even after you guys made those demons keep chasing after me?! Oi, who spread some absurd lie that I was the one who blew up their base?! It's obvious that it's that explosion loli who did it! Let me see that runt…!"
Dust had quite a temper tantrum when he arrived.
"E-Even though Dust-san and I were having a romantic getaway in Lexa… We had to come back here…!"
"O-Oi, Yunyun, they don't need to know about that… Also, don't tell them we were in Lexa."
Wasn't Lexa that place famous for its nightlife district? What's he doing taking his girlfriend there?
Not willing to deal with his tantrum, I fled the scene.
I felt like I contributed a lot to the war efforts, so I left the clean up duty to Lalatina and the others.
Things like assigning prison cells to the captured demons, fixing the damages, I couldn't be bothered to do any of that.
After all, a Queen should leave such menial tasks to her followers…
I went back to the mansion, hoping to see everyone there.
Arue and Rueka were with the other Crimson Demons still, but everyone else came back.
"Ah, there she is…! Thank you so much for everything you did, Risu…!"
I was surprised by a tight hug from onii-sama.
"...! E-Eh, Kazuma, what's this about?!"
Sniff… Sniff… Sniff… I must get as much of his scent imprinted in my brain while I still can.
I noticed Revi looking at me with blank eyes, so I took a deep breath to calm down.
"...I heard from Megumin what you did… She also told me about who you really are."
I felt my heart skip a beat.
"U-Um… You do…?"
"Yeah, you're our savior, that's who you are…!"
What's the point of giving me a heart attack, huh?!
No matter how you look at it, that was weird phrasing!
"Ah, well, I only did what's right…"
"You even went back to help Rorisa and I fight Charia… Seriously, you're awesome, Risu. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to tell me. You're the best."
Give me more of these reassuring words!
I can keep fighting for an eternity of onii-sama keeps sweet talking me like this?!
"Ahem…"
Revi was coughing into his hand.
Oi, I let you do this and that with Komekko-chan, let me have this moment, you cheap bastard…!
Those two have been going at it in the mansion ever since they arrived, too.
He seemed to catch the message I was giving him with my glare, since he paled and nodded several times before backing off.
"Haha! It's fine, Kazuma! We're friends, right?"
"Not just friends, we're best of friends! Really, what you did means so much to me and Megumin!"
Keep the praise going!
Also… Being an adventurer who saved the town and known as onii-sama's best friend…
What an amazing scenario!
I realized something and darted my head to look at Megumin-sensei.
However, instead of seeing a jealous gaze from her, she only gave me a nod and a smile.
She seemed even more grateful to me than onii-sama was.
Of course, I did save her twins.
"...Eh? Risu, you alright?"
"Ah, I have allergies I guess!"
I started tearing up. I was moved by what was happening.
The last time I saw onii-sama and Megumin-sensei, I kicked them out from the castle after they announced their marriage to me, and the fact that they had children.
I thought that would be the last time I saw them. That awful ending to our relationship was going to haunt me forever, I thought.
But now, I was being hugged by my onii-sama and Megumin-sensei was giving me such an appreciative look.
This is bliss…
"Hmm… Perhaps moi appeared too soon. These feelings of gratitude, relief and wholesomeness are quite unappetizing… Shall moi give thou some bad news to darken the mood a little bit?!"
A masked man appeared in the living room.
As for how he got in…
"Oi, Vanir, I told you not to sneak in like that. Look at the dirt on the floor! Clean that up!"
"...Yes, ma'am."
Megumin-sensei gave Vanir a stern talking to and he absorbed the dirt he left from the door, where he probably slipped under in his dirt form.
After Megumin-sensei became a wife and a mother, she seemed to develop an authoritative aura that made even Vanir obey her.
…How admirable!
One day, will I become like that too?
Komekko-chan stopped flirting with Revi in the corner when she saw Vanir.
"Uncle Vanir! Why have you come here? Did you come here to gloat about how you could have helped during the war but chose not to since you wanted to absorb our negative emotions?"
"...Is moi really that predictable? Komekko, moi hath spoken to thou about letting your uncle have his snacks. Since everyone in this town seems happier these days, your uncle doesn't have as many food sources like before…"
"Ah, that's right! Wait, did you really come here just to get a snack?"
"That's not the only thing, of course!"
He swept his hand dramatically and said,
"...Moi is here to tell you all about the future moi has seen."
Onii-sama regretfully let go of me, which made Vanir perk up a little bit.
He probably sensed my reluctance to let go of onii-sama and got a bit of a snack from my negative emotions.
He looks so satisfied.
This devil is kind of annoying, huh.
I remembered him being much nicer when I was younger…
Don't tell me that Vanir… My strong hachibei is…!
"Lo… Lo… Lolicon…?!"
"Ah, young blue haired girl over there whose identity moi will not reveal in consideration of our history… Since you do not derive any nourishment from misery, why must thou say things that will make moi miserable?"
I decided not to say anything more.
Seeing that I chose to shut up, he went on to say,
"As moi was saying… The future that waits ahead… Moi will tell thou about it…!"
Onii-sama nodded and took out his wallet.
"...Alright, how much do we pay you, Vanir."
"...Just how do you all see moi?"
Vanir looked a bit deflated by how we were treating him.
"Well, you never shared any of your fortune telling to us for free before."
"Don't call it fortune telling! Also, this information is important, so keep your money!"
Vanir was rarely serious, so we all stayed quiet and listened to him talk.
"...Moi will get right to the point. First, moi shall explain the concept of the many worlds theory…"
"Oi, you said you'll get to the point?!"
"Allow moi to explain! The future sight that moi uses doesn't see the future in a linear path. Moi sees many possible pathways at once. In the heat of the moment, only the most likely pathways present themselves to moi. That was how thou defeated moi during our first encounter…"
Onii-sama nodded, looking like he remembered something.
"I did find it strange how Vanir wasn't able to counter the [Tinder] spell I used to burn the seal on Darkness."
"Indeed! That's because multiple pathways opened to me at once. I saw a future when thou uses [Create Water] to dampen the seal… Also one where thou pretended to use a spell but grabbed the seal and ripped it off instead… In that moment, it was as if we were playing rock, paper, scissors, a game of probability that thou happened to win…"
"Well, I've always been good at rock, paper, scissors after all…"
"You're so cool, honey!"
Megumin-sensei looked at her husband with lovey dovey eyes.
"...Is such a worthless skill really that admirable? Nevermind! The point is that moi can see multiple timelines, not just one future. That means that moi still has to do some guesswork to see what the correct action to take is. It also means that moi tries not to mess with the future too much, as there are infinite worlds and even the slightest, seemingly inconsequential action can bring about disastrous results…"
"Is there a future where Aqua becomes a reliable girl worth marrying?"
"Timelines only manifest under the condition that the chance of an event happening is more than zero percent."
Ouch.
Thank goodness Aqua-san wasn't here to hear that.
She would have died on the spot from that roast.
"...Hm, so there are actually infinite timelines and possibilities out there… Since I unlocked the harem route, we must be in the best timeline?!"
Revi said, pumping his fist in joy.
"No, actually, in the thousands of timelines moi saw, we are on the worst possible one. Things look very dire."
"...E-Eh…?"
Revi's smile melted away when he heard that.
"...Don't tell me! The timeline where Revi graduated from virginity leads to the destruction of the world as we know it?"
"..."
Wait, is that actually it?
"Oiiii! Say something, you devil made out of dirt! Tell me that the timeline where I'm an UltraCool harem master isn't a Bad End timeline!"
"...Moi can only assure thou that you are only a consequence of this strange, dire timeline. No, the real reason is that this shut-in loser over here is currently living a prosperous married life so soon!"
He pointed to onii-sama accusingly.
"E-Eh? What do you mean by that?"
He looked at Megumin-sensei, who shrugged, also not knowing what Vanir was talking about.
"...Moi brought an item to better illustrate the situation…"
He brought out a crystal orb.
For some reason, Megumin-sensei flinched when she saw it.
"...Isn't that the stupid Friendship Crystal or whatever that shows one's memories?"
"Moi asked the destitute shopkeeper to alter it. Moi will show thou the memories of the different futures moi has foreseen…"
He touched the crystal orb and we went around it to ponder the orb.
We saw images of onii-sama and his party. They were in their adventurer gear and they were doing battle in the Demon King castle.
"Eh? What's this?"
Onii-sama said, as he watched images of himself facing a man inside the Demon King castle.
"...We can dub this timeline the 'True Timeline'. In this timeline, the Kazuma-led party doesn't retire and ends up fighting and defeating the Demon King."
In the orb, we saw onii-sama holding his hand out to the Demon King.
"...Explosion!"
He killed the Demon King with explosion magic.
"Ehhh?! There's a timeline where Kazuma learns explosion magic?! W-Wah… He's so hot…"
"Oi! I'm not gonna be NTRd by my alternate self!"
"W-Well, since it's still you, if we do it together…"
"...Don't finish that sentence."
The images dispelled when Vanir waved his hand across the orb.
"In this timeline, the explosion brat and the panty stealing pervert don't marry until much later. Thou continues to be blue balled to no end even after thou defeats the Demon King."
"That's not fair?! How is that the 'True End' timeline?!"
Onii-sama was the only one complaining.
"I see… In our timeline, the Demon King is still alive. Is that why you said we are currently in the worst timeline?"
"...Although it's one of the factors, the Demon King himself is ultimately just a pawn in many of these scenarios. The real players are the Kazuma-led party!"
He pointed to onii-sama and Megumin-sensei.
"...I shall show thou another timeline. This can't be called the True End timeline… but it still has a happy ending."
He put his hand over the crystal again.
He showed us a timeline where the Demon King got defeated early by onii-sama and the others. In this timeline, Maouko also shows up, but she's also defeated by the Kazuma-led party.
"...I see. It's a lot more complicated, but it still reached the end result."
"Precisely! In this timeline, the Demon King also meets his end, while the virgin NEET stays as a virgin NEET for a long time!"
"Is that really such a deciding factor?!"
I was starting to feel a bit bad for onii-sama.
"Uncle Vanir, Uncle Vanir! The Devil wants to see what happens to me in the other timelines!"
"...Very well."
The images began to shift.
We saw Komekko-chan. She seemed to be living with onii-sama and Megumin-sensei, just like in this timeline. However, it was far into the future and she looked to be in her late teens.
Revi went up close to the crystal ball with wide eyes and started breathing all over it when he so the eighteen year old Komekko-chan.
"Hubababababa… Wowwww…"
His brain melted as he started chimping out.
We had to drag him away from the orb, so we could see what was happening.
"Ne… Komekko… You're always free to stay with us, but don't you feel like looking for boys to date or marry?"
"The Devil doesn't feel like it! I want to stay with onee-chan and onii-chan forever!"
"Hehe… Well, that's fine, too."
"The Devil hasn't given up on onii-chan!"
"...You do see that I'm pregnant with his child, right? They're twins, you know?!"
"Hehe… I wonder who's going to help onii-chan have fun when onee-chan is pregnant?"
"...! You're going back to the village!"
When the image faded, we all looked at Komekko-chan.
Instead of seeing a blushing mess, we only saw her facepalming.
"...The Devil is such a brocon in those other timelines?"
"K-Komekko, it's been a while since we had a bath together, right?"
"Oi, what are you saying?"
The mood got awkward between husband and wife.
"Ah, Vanir-sama, I'm also curious about my alternate self…"
Vanir sighed, but was unable to resist Rori-san's cute face.
The orb showed Rori-san's alternate future…
"Kazuma-san! You're here again?"
"Yeah~! My wife is pregnant so there's not much action, you know? I told her I'm drinking with the boys tonight!"
"Ah, I see! So, what kind of play do you want?"
"Well…"
Onii-sama went over to the orb and shook it around.
"..."
We all stared at him.
"T-This thing must be broken, or something. Ah, I know, do you want to know your alternate future, Revi?!"
He shamelessly tried to shift the attention to Revi.
"Well, I'm curious to see if I end up as successful romantically in other universes… Ah, but you said I'm a virgin or something in the other worlds, right? What if it just shows me alone in my room, playing with myself?"
We decided not to view his future.
"In any case, Vanir, what makes the current timeline so bad? Is it because both the Demon King and his daughter are still alive?"
"...That's part of it. But again, the deciding factor is the Kazuma-led team. In all successful futures, you are the ones taking center stage. The fate of the continent seems to revolve around the exploits of the Kazuma-led party. In this timeline, however, the Kazuma-led party retired prematurely, and a lot of undesirable events occurred in your absence."
Onii-sama looked worriedly at Megumin-sensei.
"...Are you saying we have to come out of retirement, or something?"
Vanir shook his head.
"...Moi only saw your deaths in the future if you choose to do that. Moi is sorry, but in this timeline… Moi can only see misfortune."
He looked at me when he said that.
I could already tell what he was getting at.
In the other timelines, my father and brother were still alive.
Everyone had their own version of a happy ending, too.
Instead of venturing out on my own adventure, in those alternate futures, I probably stayed inside the castle like a good little princess.
When I tried to pursue what I thought was my own version of happiness, it ended up bringing about the worst outcome for everyone else.
"...So, what are you saying, Vanir? We're all doomed now?"
Vanir shrugged and placed his hand over the orb again.
"...There's a strange occurrence that happens in anomalous timelines such as the one we are on. As if some mysterious force is blocking my future sight, a route appears in which moi cannot see past a certain point. Moi sees thousands of bad endings that lead to death, and then one mysterious route that is hidden by a filter."
"...Is it possible that this unknown route leads to a good ending?"
"It's possible. It's also possible that it leads to an even more horrific ending than all the other routes. Moi can only guess."
Part 6
After warning us of the dangerous timeline we were in, Vanir packed up the orb and went away.
We were silent as we processed what we just learned.
I went upstairs to my room and laid down on my bed, immersing myself in my own thoughts.
I didn't want to believe in a vague, all-powerful concept like fate, but I couldn't deny it after seeing the happy futures in the other timelines.
Some people are fated to be happy, others are fated for a life of misery.
When those people who are fated for misery try to chase their own happiness, they only pull everyone else to the gravity of their misfortune.
While I was sulking, I heard a knock on my door. It was Megumin-sensei.
She was wearing her pajamas when she came in.
"...Erm, what do I call you?"
She said, looking unsure.
"...Just call me Iris when we're alone."
She gave a slight smile and shyly joined me on the bed.
"...Oi, you're not some maiden about to give me her first time. What's with the modest act?"
"Iris, you've really developed a foul mouth, huh?"
I forgot that she still remembered me as pure, innocent little Princess Iris.
"Well, I do have experience with another girl, so it's quite dangerous if you walk in like this, all vulnerable."
"I-Iris, what did Claire do to you?!"
She suspected Claire for some reason.
"I-It's another girl I'm talking about. Anyway, what did you want to talk about, Big Boss?"
She bowed her head to me.
"...I wanted to thank you again. Iris, thank you so much for saving my children."
I scratch my head, not sure how to respond.
"Well, even if your babies weren't in the house, I'm not just gonna let the Dustiness estate blow up. You don't have to thank me so much."
"Even so… After the way we treated you…"
I flinched, remembering the last time we met.
"...It was my fault. I shouldn't have lashed out on you guys. You even went out of your way to tell me."
I was surprised at how easily I was able to forgive them.
I always entertained the fantasy of holding a grudge over them for a long time, and making them feel guilty all the while.
But when it came down to it, I found out that I really wanted to just set things right with them.
I guess forgiveness is much easier when you're met with the reality of things, instead of dwelling in the dark fantasies in your head.
"Even so, Iris, I want you to know that I'll do anything to repay you. Please, if there's anything, just ask."
She grabbed my hand and stared at me with serious, shining red eyes.
When suddenly faced with such a serious Megumin-sensei offering me a reward, I didn't know how to react.
"Your onii-sama is rich now, so we can give you money!"
"...I'm the Queen of the kingdom you pay taxes to, you know."
"O-Oh, right."
She blushed a bit, seeming to forget that part.
The blue hair tends to make people forget.
"U-Um, well, you said you're interested in girls, so… my body…"
"Oi! I mean, sure I've experimented, but that's not my main preference now?!"
After that, we caught up and I told her stories about my adventures.
We laughed a lot and spent hours just talking.
I was glad that I had this moment with Big Boss.
I felt like I was able to take a step forward.
Deep inside me, I felt as if the part of me that was frozen in the past became unstuck.
The growth of a person isn't linear. There's many ways and many paths, with the past converging with your present, and your future waiting for you to pursue it.