While the Fatebreakers and the Luganica crew, the interns of the guild included, brainstormed ideas on how to get back everything repossessed from Kazumas mansion, Darkness took some time to chat with Ethox.

"It was pretty fortunate Kazuma lucked out and was bailed with community service." Ethox said.

"Indeed. If the trial didn't go so well despite our preparations, I was planning to sell myself away to Baron Alderp in exchange for Kazumas freedom." Darkness replied.

"Wait, you were seriously thinking of doing that? Well, then again, you are secretly from a Noble family." Ethox said.

"Not so secret anymore, ever since my real name was announced for all to hear during the Ultimate Smash Battle." Darkness sighed, pouting a little. "But that is besides the point. I am a little disappointed that I won't be enduring whatever twisted desires he may have-"

"Of course you are." Ethox said.

"-but I'm glad Kazuma wasn't put in danger in the first place. We'll have to give our thanks to the person who managed to reduce his sentence."

"You're right. Whoever they are, they really helped us out." Ethox said. "Though…I'm not sure he's feeling too grateful right now…"

"*Ah-choo!*" Aqua sneezed as she warmed her hands by the fire (courtesy of a Fire Glyph from Luz). "I-It's still s-s-so c-c-cold…" she complained as she shivered.

"Of course you think it's cold. You're a Water Goddess." Ultra pointed out.

"Don't worry, Aqua. We'll get this place nice and cozy again soon!" Catarina promised.

"It might take a while." Le Kraken spoke up. "Having run the math, the price of everything that ruffian's minions took equals…over un millions Eris."

"...Yeah, you might wanna bundle up, Aqua." Nemo said.

"*meow*" the group heard as they looked to see Megumin holding a black cat with a red cross-shaped marking on its forehead and bat-like wings.

"Oh, hey Megumin. Who's the cat?" Subaru asked.

"This is Chomusuke. I promise she won't cause anyone trouble…" Megumin said softly.

"You wanna keep her then?" Grantz asked.

"Actually, I've had her for a while. See, she's my familiar. I met her before I even joined up with you guys in Axel." Megumin said. "When I was still enrolled in Magic Academy, my little sister found her to keep as a pet. I rescued her from a horde of monsters when I cast Explosion for the first time. And when I graduated, I decided to make her my familiar."

"Well, you two certainly have history." Ethox smiled as he walked up and pet Chomusuke, the cat purring. "I guess she's been with your family before now?"

"Yeah, but they sent her to me since they can't afford her food right now." Megumin explained.

"Yeah? Well neither can we at the moment." Kazuma pointed out. "Now we really gotta get a new quest."

"We could always go out and croak some Giant Toads to get you some cash, Kazuma." Ethox said.

"Nope! I'm not doing that, or subjecting you guys to that grossness!" Kazuma said. "There's no way that we're-"

"Kazuma, the police woman is here." Lily said, poking her head into the door as she lead Sena into the room.

"Oh, hey Sena." Kazuma said, regaining his composure. "Time to repay my debt to society?"

"Don't act so cavalier about it, this is important." Sena said sternly.

"Alright, I get it. So, what's the job?" Kazuma asked.

"Why did I open my big mouth?!" Kazuma yelled in frustration as the group was standing outside the gates of Axel, seeing multiple Giant Toads hopping around. "I should know better, so why?!"

"Because you are an idiot, Cadzuma." Ram said bluntly.

"Why are there toads hopping around in winter?" Otto said.

"We aren't sure. Usually they are hibernating around this time, but something woke them up." Sena explained. "Kazuma Sato will be responsible for clearing them out by any means necessary. And since you all are registered in his party, you'll be sharing the task."

"Not a problem. We've handled plenty of Giant Toads before." Ethox said, summoning his Keyblade. "Everyone ready?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Kazuma said in a sea of affirmations. "Guess it's a good thing I got two skills yesterday…"

"Wait, you mean you got something in addition to Drain Touch?" Michiru asked.

"Yep. Check this out." Kazuma said, pulling out a bow. "Anyone care to tell me what my party composition is missing that's a no-brainer?"

"Long range attacks?" Legolia asked. "You didn't need to get a bow skill for that, I got you covered, Kazuma."

"Yeah, but I'm not always gonna have you around." Kazuma pointed out as he drew an arrow and pulled the string back. "Which is why I got this skill. It's called…Snipe!" he declared as he let the arrow fly as it sailed through the snowy air. "The thing about Snipe is that accuracy is based on the Luck stat. And since my Luck is off the charts, it's perfect for me!"

"Okay…what's the power scale to?" Amity asked.

"...Power?" Kazuma realized too late.

The arrow hit one of the Giant Toads square in the forehead, but didn't seem to cause any damage. It did, however, get all of the Toad's attention, as they turned to look at the group.

"...I hate myself." Kazuma deadpanned.

"I hate yourself." Amity said as the toads went at the group.

"RUN!" Luz cried as the weaker members of the party made a break for it.

"I don't wanna be…!" Aqua called out before one of the toads grabbed her with their tongue and started eating her.

"Aqua!" the group yelled.

"Okay, we got this. It's only a few toads." Kazuma reassured himself. "Plus, we got more than enough firepower in guys like Seiya to-"

"Actually, I think he and the others went off to take care of that mob coming over the hill." DJ pointed to where more toads were hopping around.

"They left us here?!" Kazuma exclaimed.

"Sato, just calm down. How do you normally take these guys down?" Neumann asked.

"Well, before I just had someone act as a decoy and get their attention while I kill it." Kazuma said.

"...And that works?"

"Every time." Kazuma assured. "No way in hell I'm asking any of you to do that, so…Darkness, you're up! Distract 'em while I kill 'em!"

"Certainly!" Darkness said with glee as she spread her arms wide. "Come, you vile creatures! Devour me and cover me in your slime!"

"Is this how your party usually handles quests…?" Sena asked. "I'm starting to question your…" she said before a toad went and started eating her as well.

"They ignored Darkness?!" Kazuma asked. "Megumin! I could use an Explosion!"

"Wish I could help." Megumin said, in the process of slowly being eaten herself. "It's actually quite warm in here, so you all can take your time rescuing me."

"...Great, now what?!" Amity asked.

"It's times like this where I wish we should've scouted one more magic user…" Mirror Match said.

"Yeah, but who's even on Megumin's level?" Raphtalia asked.

"We won't be living long enough to find out! Watch out!" Luz warned, seeing another Giant Toad going straight for them.

"We're gonna DIE!" Kazuma yelled as Aqua, Megumin and Sena were getting eaten.

The rest of the group prepared to fight, when suddenly…

"Light of Saber!" the voice of a girl called out as beams of light appeared and destroyed all three toads eating the party members.

"What the…?" Erhox asked.

The caster of the spell was revealed to be a beautiful young girl with crimson-colored eyes, a determined and gentle look, and mid-length dark brown hair tied into two twin-tails with ribbons that lay on her shoulders. Aside from being taller, with longer limbs and a more buxom and muscular body, she was very similar in appearance to that of Megumin. She wore black robes and a cloak, similar in design to Megumin's. Underneath the cloak, she wore a low-cut blouse, and an ultra-short, pink miniskirt as well as a pair of dark toned pink stockings and brown boots.

"Hah…I guess it really must be our lucky day." DJ said.

"I am so not carrying you back…" Kazuma said to Megumin. "Hey, thanks for the help, whoever you are."

"Um…I think you have the wrong idea." the girl said, looking a bit bashful. "I only stepped in because…if I let my rival get eaten by a toad, I'd look like a fool."

"Rival?" the group asked as Megumin got up, still covered in toad slime, looking exasperated all the sudden.

"I-It's been a long time, Megumin!" the girl greeted the Arch Wizard. "Today's the day we settle our score once and for all!"

"Megumin, you know this chick?" Grantz asked.

"...Nope." Megumin said, shocking the girl. "Probably a scammer."

"I-I'm not a scammer! I hate doing this in front of strangers but…I am Yunyun! Arch Wizard and master of Advanced Magic! And future leader of the Crimson Demon Clan!" she said as she posed.

"This is Yunyun, she's the leader's daughter and a self proclaimed rival of mine." Megumin said.

"See, you do remember me!" Yunyun said.

"Well nice to meet ya, Yunyun." Kazuma said.

"Huh…none of you laughed. I expected you to make fun of my name.

"It's no big deal, really." Ethox said. "I mean, we already know your rival well enough, and she's a Crimson Demon too."

"Though Kazuma tends to called her Explody Psychochick behind her back." Luz said.

"Wait, what?!" Megumin said looking to Kazuma. "You dare call me that behind my back?! And why am I only knowing about this just now, Luz?!"

"To avoid this conversation?" she said.

"Wow, you sure made some good friends." Yunyun said, a hint of envy in her voice before she shook it off. "They can't protect you from me though! Once I beat you, I'll be the greatest mage in the Crimson Demon clan! Come on, let's have our duel right there and now!"

"I don't think you'll have to try too hard." Grantz said. "She only knows one spell."

"Stop underselling me!" Megumin snapped at the soldier before turning on Yunyun. "And you! It's way too cold to duel!"

"Well…you guys seem to have this under control so…we're gonna bounce." Aqua said as she, Sena, and the non-Fatebreaker members departed, Yunyun still begging Megumin to duel her.

"Great. We're babysitting the kids now." Kazuma said.

"Kazuma, you're a child." Viktoriya said.

"You know what I mean!" the otaku said.

Megumin sighed. "Fine, we'll duel. But if I use magic, I'll get too tired to walk, so…why don't we use martial arts? You were always better at me in that."

"R-Really?" Yunyun asked. "Well, back at the academy, you never did go to martial arts class. But you were always there for lunch. I remember how you always challenged me to a duel, and end up with my lunch."

Megumin felt the rest of the group staring at her with judgemental eyes. "...Her lunches kept me alive." she stated.

"And you couldn't just ask, el toro?" Nemo pointed out.

"Wait, el toro-?" Ethox started to ask.

"Bully."

"Oh."

"I had no choice." Megumin said.

"Still a bully."

"My family was poor."

"You could've just asked."

"...Shut up."

"Very well then! We'll fight using martial arts!" Yunyun agreed. However as soon as the sun shined, Yunyun could see the slime on Megumin. "Uh…I just noticed that you're all…slippery and shiny."

"I was just inside of a giant toad and covered in its fluids." Megumin said slyly. "Prepare yourself. For the moment I have you in my range, I'll wrap my slimy arms around you and put you in a submission hold."

"Uh, hold on a sec! I know what you're doing…you're trying to gross me out in hopes that I'll give up, aren't you?" Yunyun asked.

Megumin then gave her rival a sincere smile. "But Yunyun…sharing in both triumph and suffering…is what friends do, right?" she asked cutely.

Kazuma and the others could only watch as Yunyun just ran away as Megumin chased after her.

"This is just sad…" Nemo said.

"Alright, that's enough of this routine." Ultra said as he walked up to where Megumin had tackled Yunyun and pulled the smaller girl off of her. "Alright, break it up."

"I win again!" Megumin declared while Yunyun got up, covered in toad slime and crying.

"We're really sorry about her." Ethox said, the rest of the group walking up to her. "I don't suppose you'd like some help cleaning up? It's the least we can do."

"O-Okay…" Yunyun stifled her tears.

"You really get off on this, don't you?" Kazuma asked Megumin.

"...It is now your turn, good sir." Megumin said much too calmly.

"Wait, what-?" the adventurer asked, right before Megumin pounced. "GAH! That's rank!"

"And that's how Kazuma got covered in toad smile." Ethox finished explaining to the others after returning from the mansion.

"I see…so he really does get off on covering girls in slime." Ram said.

"Where are they now?" Rem asked.

"Well, Yunyun chose to get a shower at the Horizon,even payed us with this purple orb." Ethox said, showing them the orb. "Meanwhile, both Kazuma and Megumin of them are goin to clean themselves off in the bath."

"But it's shared…. and isn't he 3 years older than her?" Amity asked.

"...That's not gonna end well." Ethox realized, before he bolted to the bath. "Kazuma Sato, you get out of there this instant!"

"While Ethox goes to defuse that situation…. Why don't you three share your stories?" Michiru said. "We know Luz signed up to be an intern on recommendation from her mentor Eda, but.., why'd you wanna work in the guild, Amity?"

"...My family heads up a business in the Isles. But…honestly, not sure what I wanna do with my life. Then Luz told me about the internships here at this guild and I decided to try it." Amity said.

"You're the scion to a big company? What do your parents do?"

"Um…it's mostly…weaponry for abominations." Amity said. "My dad really does all the work while my mom just runs my life."

"So you never wanted into the family business." Grantz said.

"Like I said…don't know what I want for my life yet. That's why I'm here." Amity said.

"You've got plenty of time, Amity. And we'll help you figure it out." Michiru said.

"How bout you, Catarina, any reason you're here?"

"What, me?" Catarina asked.

"Cmon, don't play dumb. A girl like you signing up to be an intern for a guild? Not really something you'd see in the behavior patterns of nobility." Nemo said.

"Well, as I told you before, I was reincarnated as the villainess in an otome game. Unfortunately, in said game, she either gets killed or imprisoned. I mean...I managed to overcome those trials…till I remembered a sequel that I never played. So when I heard about the internships here, I thought getting off the script might help me avoid death flags." she said.

"So you joined…us…" Theo said.

"I am aware of the irony. That's why I work in the guildhall." Catarina said. "When Kazuma said coming to Axel would be a good idea for a vacation, i thought he meant it, but his world is surprisingly really dangerous."

"Yeah, it gets like that. Mostly because of how karma hits him like a truck." Koenig said.

"Oh yeah. Was like that in his old life too." Subaru said. "Still not sure how he ended up here."

"Oh. Easy. According to Aqua…he died of shock. He thought a truck was going to hit a girl he knew." Rista said.

"What? But he sounded like a hero." Theo said.

"First off…it wasn't a truck, it was a tractor. Second, it was never even close to the girl. The doctors and his family laughed at how hilarious he looked in his death." Rista said.

"Ouch…" Grantz winced. "A totally unavoidable death situation, and he just walked right into it."

"Wait, his family laughed at the way he died?" Michiru asked, looking disturbed and angry at the notion.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Subaru said, catching everyone's attention. "His parents are…well…not the best. He always said David's parents and my parents felt more like family to him than his."

"...Oh." Lily said, the group looking a bit apprehensive at this revelation.

"Hey, look, they weren't as bad as I'm sure you're thinking." Subaru said quickly. "They weren't malicious or anything, but they weren't good parents. As far as I know, they didn't abuse him, but…I don't think they really cared all that much about him. None of us really liked them."

"I see." Mirror Match said. "I think that explains quite a bit about him."

"Yeah…we should-"

"Guys, help! The little brat is bullying me!" Kazuma shrieked.

"You blocked the door with ice! How am I supposed to get in?!" Ethox yelled back.

"Break the damn door down!"

"I don't wanna see either of you without clothes on!"

"...We better go help them." Michiru said.

"Yeah…" Theo said as they hurried off.

"You gotta admit Cat… it's never a dull moment around here, death flags or not." Amity smirked.

"Yeah. Even though I might be on the road to doom if I get caught up in an adventure like this…. I like Mythos Hearts. It makes even a reincarnated Noble like me feel right at home." Catarina smiled.

"Yeah…it's a home away from home." Luz said.