From the Crimson Demon's teleport spell, the group arrived in the village Megumin and Yunyun called home, and it was quite the sight. After taking the sights in for a bit, the group headed to Yunyun's house, where they were granted an audience with the Crimson Demon chieftain. Yunyun's father, Hiropon.

"Wait… I'm sorry, dad. Could you say that again?" Yunyun bewilderedly asked.

Hiropon laughed. "All that letter was for was to update you!"

"Pardon my rudeness, but your writing sounded much more urgent." Dimitri said. "You wrote that by the time your daughter received your letter, you'd be dead."

"Ah, don't worry about that. That's how Crimson Demons always start their letters." Hiropon assured.

"But, what about the part about the Devil King's base being indestructible?" Ethox asked.

"Oh, that? Well, we're still debating about whether to destroy it, or leave it for the tourists!"

"...Yunyun, may we beat some sense into this man?" Mirror Match asked, exasperated.

"...Go ahead." Yunyun replied, equally exasperated.

"Yunyun!" Hiropon chided.

"But if there is any truth to your letter, it's that the Devil King has sent a considerable force to your village, no doubt led by another one of his Generals." Edelgard said. "We ran into a part of their army. They've already made considerable advances."

"Yup, that much is true. The general leading this army is a pretty skilled magic user." Hiropon confirmed. "They should be here any time now."

"Wait, really? And you haven't…like, prepared defenses or anything?" Neumann asked.

"Nah, we're leaving that to the old man." Hiropon mentioned.

"Wait, old man?" Ethox asked.

"Yeah, the old man who came by, asking for help with a curse on him! Of course we helped him out, but wouldn't y'know it, this guy's some great hero on a completely different world! Some sort of…warmaster, he called himself, which really won our village over."

"Wait… Rosalie you dont think…!" Ethox said.

"My father is here?!" Rosalie exclaimed. "Where is he?"

"Attention! Please assemble at the front gate! One thousand of the Devil King's troops are on the way!" a voice over announced.

"Well, now he'll be at the front gate." Hiropon said. "C'mon, let's head to the outlook, and we can catch the battle from a good view!"

The group followed the village leader to a small cliff overlooking the valley outside the front gate, where the Devil King's army had assembled, one thousand strong. Said army was also in the process of being decimated by a force of Crimson Demons standing at the gate, who were pelting the army with powerful spells.

"Damn it! We can't even get close enough to attack!"

"Run, Lady Sylvia! Save yourself!"

"I knew this was a bad idea!"

"Wow, this is not how I thought this would go…" Koeing admitted.

"Whoa, the demons have a big one!" Catarina pointed out a large, one-eyed demon holding a boulder over its head.

"I can take that thing out from here-" Tanya started.

"Nah, nah, the old man's got it." Hiropon waved her off, pointing down at the battlefield, where an 80 year old man wearing very impressive armor was approaching the hulking demon without a hint of fear. He has white hair that has lost its sheen and a face carved with wrinkles.

"Hey, the old fart's walking up to the Cyclops! C'mon old man! We've got a boulder with your name on it!" a goblin said.

"That guy's your dad, Rosalie? He looks a bit too old to be a great warmaster, or the greatest warrior in your world." Aqua said out of the box.

"Hey, manners!" Mash said.

"But Aqua's right, he seems very hindered. We should go to his aid immediately!" Darkness declared.

"Don't worry, my father will be okay." Rosalie assured. "Getting on in years he may be, but if his curse truly has been lifted, then…"

The Cyclops roared as it attempted to crush the old man with its boulder, until…

"Crushing Saint's Light."

The old man's sword moved, the area darkening for a single moment, bright lines appearing all around before it brightened up once more, the Cyclops seemingly frozen in place. Then, the giant monster fell to pieces, to the shock of the demon army.

"H-He killed the Cyclops in one hit! Retreat!" a demon shrieked in fear, as the demons turned around and tried to run as the old man raised his sword into the air as it began to glow brightly.

"Purify with Massive Saint Light." the old man said as he swung his sword in front of the retreating army, the majority of them being vaporized by the attack. In the end, only one percent of the army managed to escape with their lives.

"Yowza!" Kazuma said. "I had no idea an old human man could be that cool…"

"I know, right? We're bettin' the tourists are gonna love it too!" Hiropon said in excitement.

"My father is not a tourist attraction!" Rosalie growled.

"Easy there, Rosy." DJ said. "Why don't we head down there and catch up with your old man? This whole alliance against Zenos was his idea, right?"

"Right…of course." Rosalie said. "Wait, did you just call me Rosy?!"

"We're heading down now!" Ethox declared.

A bit later, the group was able to unite with Wholks, Rosalie giving her father a hug.

"Father! Oh, it's good to see you finally lifted from your curse!" Rosalie said in joy, the first time anyone had seen her shed positive emotion.

"I feel the same, Rosalie. It feels truly freeing to feel the ground outside the capital beneath my boots once again." her father said, gently ruffling the princess's hair before he turned to the group and bowing. "And you must be the guild Mythos Hearts, collectively as one. It is good to finally meet you all in person and of course, our realm's chosen hero most of all."

"Nice to see you're capable of doing your fair share." Seiya said.

"Sorry about him… he can be rather blunt and straight forward." Rista apologized.

The Warmaster chuckled. "I don't mind, it's rather refreshing to have someone willing to be so casual with me. Now, allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Wholks Rosenguard, warmaster of Gaeabrande and, with luck, the one who will lead the charge against Zenos Road." he bowed his head in respect.

"It is an honor that you would call upon our aid. And we are happy to know you are able to move freely past the capital of your realm." Dimitri said.

"Not the best circumstances to meet us under though, huh? What with this world's Devil King attacking the village and all." Claude said.

"Oh, after all the work these people did to remove my curse, I'm more than happy to assist them. But given how this clan of mages is so proficient with magic, they certainly don't need my help at all." Wholks said. "But what brings you all here to the Crimson Demons Village?"

"Yunyun's father, the chief of the clan, brought us here via a rather convincing letter." Edelgard said. "But I can see his writing was exaggerated, the situation seems to be under control."

"Appearances can be deceiving. The Crimson Demon's might be defending the village, but the Devil King's attacks are relentless." Wholks said. "We're safe for now, but no doubt this army will try other strategies to infiltrate the village, looking for their prize."

"What exactly are they looking for here?" Legolia asked.

"An ancient weapon, capable of nullifying any magic spell, no matter how strong or advanced it is." Wholks said. "They call it the Mage-Killer."

"Mage-Killer, eh? I take it you know where it is?" Yuri asked.

"A mysterious facility within this village." Wolks answered. "However, no one has been able to figure out how to get inside. Perhaps one of you could, so that device could be destroyed?"

"We'll take a look at the lock when we get the chance." Theo promised.

"You all must be tired after the journey here. Take this chance to rest." Wholks said.

"Oh, you have no idea." Otto said. "All right, off to Megumin's place."

A bit later, the group approached a building that seemed in poor condition.

"Wow…I didn't realize your family had a stable." Theo said.

"We don't. That's my house." Megumin said.

The group hissed in remorse, Theo offering a quick apology.

They approached the house as they knocked on the door. Answering it was a little girl with a star hairpin in her hair.

"Oh hey. You must be Megumin's little sister." Subaru said.

"Hey, Komekko…miss me?" Megumin asked.

The little girl was silent before taking a deep breath. "Dad! Megumin's home and she snagged herself a harem!" she cried out down the halls.

"Hold on, little miss! You're mistaken!" Kazuma yelled in a panic. "Nobody snagged anybody!"

"Wow…we're making a marvelous first impression, aren't we?" Claude chuckled.

"We're in for a long talk with Megumin's parents…" Rista said.

"I'll see if I can smooth things over." Ethox said. "Megumin was the first person we've ever recruited here in Belzerg. So I'm technically responsible for anything they suspect."

"Yeah, I think it's best if you handle this." Kazuma said.

And so, Ethox, Theo, Darkness, Aqua and Kazuma were brought forth to Megumin's parents. Her mother, Yuiyui and her father, Hyoizaburoo. As both sat there at the wooden table, Megumin was finally out like a light after casting Explosion earlier, Aqua entertaining Komekko with her party tricks.

"So… you are the young man who leads the party our daughter's in. Ethox, correct?" Hyoizaburoo asked.

"Y-Yes sir, that's me." Ethox said. "Look, I know you and your wife have speculations about what your daughter said, but trust me when I say it's a misunderstanding. Megumin doesn't have a harem, we're just party members in the same guild."

"Hmm…" Hyoizaburoo hummed. "So then…what's the nature of your relationship with her?"

"My relationship?" Ethox asked, before thinking on it. "Well…if I had to say, she's kind of like the little sister I-"

Hyoizaburoo then began screaming, as he tried to lift the table, Yuiyui slamming down on top of it to stop him.

"Honey! Let him finish his sentence! I will not let you break this table! We can't afford to replace the furniture every time you get angry!" Yuiyui said.

One meltdown later…

Hyoizaburoo took a calm sip of some tea Yuiyui made, the tension in the room still quite thick.

"My apologies for losing my temper, I tend to jump to conclusions." Hyoizaburoo apologized. "You said you view my daughter as a little sister? I happen to find that quite hard to believe."

"Why's that?" Ethox asked.

"You two seem to be the same age. You've been traveling together for quite some time. And the letters she writes home tend to mention you rather affectionately." the father clarified. "Naturally, as a father, I do have to consider that possibility."

"If you don't mind me asking, what does Megumin say about me?" Ethox asked.

"Well, she passionately writes home to us about all the amazing adventures you've taken her on." Yuiyui piped in. "She always has so much to talk about. She tells us about the countless battles you've fought, and all the locations you've visited."

"Oh yeah?" Ethox asked. "I'm pretty flattered she remembered to write about all our adventures to this point. What did she tell you about everywhere we've been?"'

"Well for starters…" Yuiyui smiled. "She told us about you taking her to a place of endless war and pitting your party against Goblins and demons. She also says you helped lead a revolution of rock alongside two rebellious music players, saved an entire city of Demihumans, helped rescue a group of heroes from an underground experimentation facility, traveled to an city beneath the ocean, brought a whole army of orcs together, defeated a living weapon that could brainwash people with mold, and just more recently, she's told us about how you all became heroes of a city in the sky alongside a young girl who can control gravity."

"Oooh, mommy! Don't forget about the greatest story Megumin told us!" Kommeko piped in.

"Oh yes, how can we forget the Raid of Onigashima? Megumin feverishly wrote about your battle against those two dragons. She said one of them was a abomination of man, beast and machine that was responsible for almost destroying that demihuman city. And you defeated it with the help of a chivalrous warrior of science dressed in red and curly eyebrows."

"Uh, actually, only one of them was an actual dragon. The guy who almost destroyed Anima City was a mad scientist caple of concocting deadly viruses, and was a fat cyborg who could also turn into a Brachiosaurus." Ethox corrected.

"I can't believe she remembered all of that…" Kazuma said.

"But anyway… I'm really sorry I put your daughter into so much danger over all this time." Ethox apologized. "She's a handful, but she's a really good friend, and is always there to help however she can. Mostly by blowing stuff up."

"Nonsense. If our daughter is having fun, then I won't stop her from traveling with you." Hyoizaburoo said. "But there's still the problem concerning her stance on you."

"What about her stance on me?" Ethox asked.

"I'm asking if you think Megumin has romantic feelings for you."

"...Eh?!" Ethox exclaimed. "Megumin?! Romantic?! Me?!" he said. "I-I-I don't really know much about that… she's never said she's in love with me…"

"Girls don't really come out and say it most of the time." DJ spoke up.

"Well, how am I supposed to know? I don't think I've actually felt romantic love yet! I mean, I had a crush, but it actually wasn't as serious as I thought it was…" he trailed off.

"I think Meg's dad is asking if you'd accept her feelings if she laid it out on the table." Kazuma said.

Ethox was silent as he contemplated that scenario. "Well…I mean…I haven't really considered what would happen if someone confessed to me… I mean, considering what I am, actually being loved romantically is kind of a foreign concept…"

"Oh?" Hyoizaburoo asked.

"I think we should explain. See, Ethox here is a Nobody. They're a race common in the Disney Heart Universe. They're creatures born from people who become heartless after their bodies are left behind as an empty shell. And Nobodies… well, they're kinda light on emotion." Subaru said.

"I see… so he doesn't have a firm grasp on what love even is, is what you're saying?" Hyozaburoo confirmed.

"That's basically it. I'm still learning how to feel emotions, control them even. So, I'm not really sure if I even have feelings of love for Megumin, or if I even know if I love her at all. I'm sorry."

"No, we understand, it just takes time." Yuiyui said. "In the meantime while we wait to know about that, we know the person leading Megumin in his party, Kazuma, is in debt. If there's anything we can do to help him with it, we'd be happy to help."

"Oh, we've gone past that for quite awhile." Mirror Match said.

"In fact, I'm actually coming into some money soon." Kazuma said.

"Really? How much money are we talking here?" Hyoizaburoo asked.

"About 300 million eris." Kazuma answered.

"300 MILLION?!" they both said in shock.

"Uh…you probably shouldn't have told them that." Theo said.

"You all should spend the night here. I mean, you are our daughters' friends. It's the least we could do." Hyoizaburoo said. "I bet you adventurer types miss having a roof to sleep under."

"Actually, we've been pretty comfy while we've been in Belzerg. I mean, Kazuma actually owns his own mansion back in Axel, and-" Catarina started, before Kazuma hit her with a fan.

"A MANSION?!" the parents exclaimed.

"...Oooh, I just made it worse, didn't I?"

"Hole in one, Cat." DJ deadpanned.

"Why do I suddenly have a feeling of dread?" Ethox asked no one in particular.

Later…

"Ah…this is nice." Theo said in a warm bath with some of the guys.

"Yeah. They got chummier when I brought up the cash. I think once Megumin is back on her feet, we should bail." Kazuma said.

"Maybe…I dunno." Ethox said. "I mean, beyond what happened earlier, there's still the Devil King's general still about. We should take care of that before we go."

"Yeah, you're right…" Kazuma said. "Alright, once Megumin's back up, we'll grab everyone and go demon hunting. It'll get us away from the house and deal with the general. Two birds, one stone."

"Now that, I can go for." Ethox agreed, as the guys got out of the bath, dried off, put on their clothes, and walked out into the hall, only to hear voices coming from the other room.

"You can't be serious!" Michiru's voice could be heard saying in shock.

"It's perfectly fine. Megumin's old enough to get married, and she's already said how much she cares for them." Yuiyui said. "Besides, they have been living together."

"We've all been living together! Platonically!" Darkness pointed out. "There's no reason to rush this-!"

"Now, now…Sleep." Yuiyui smiled, as Michiru and Darkness fell to the ground.

"She knocked them out?!" Kazuma exclaimed.

"Uh oh…" Ethox said to Kazuma. "I think she's scheming to have Megumin hook up with either you or me."

"Wait, so I'm not….oh crap…" Theo said as he fell fast asleep.

"She got Theo!" Kazuma said in horror.

"Oh, hello boys. Did you enjoy your bath?" Yuiyui said, with a smile that chilled Ethox and Kazuma to the bone.

"(She does want either of us to marry Megumin! But which one of us?!)" Ethox thought in a panic.

"I'm afraid everyone else is asleep. Would you two be dears and help me take them to their rooms?" the mother asked, a little too politely.

"Uh…sure?" Ethox said with a worried smile.

Soon, everyone had been taken to their rooms, with Megumin being the last one in bed.

"Alright, that's everyone." Ethox said. "Now then, Kazuma and I should be heading back to our room-!"

"Pleasant dreams~!" Yuiyui said as she shut the door with an evil smile. "Lock." she said, locking the door behind her.

"Wait…why did she lock us both in here…?" Ethox asked in growing fear.

"She set us up!" Kazuma realized. "She's not hoping one of us sleeps with Megumin in her bed, in the cold night of spring…she wants both of us to!"

"...I'm sorry, what?" Ethox asked.

"Think about it, man! I'm loaded, and you've taken us on a boatload of crazy adventures, with a lot of money coming from that!"

"Well, not as much as-"

"Plus, they think she's in love with you! It's the best of both worlds in their eyes!" Kazuma finished, grasping the Nobody's shoulders and shaking him. "They want a freaking threesome!"

"Both of us… marrying Megumin?!" Ethox asked. "And this is all so that they can mooch off our money?!"

"Exacta-freakin-lutly!" Kazuma practically screamed, before he took a deep breath. "Alright, let's think about this: there's only one bed. It's chilly. And if we sleep without a blanket, we'd get sick. We pretty much have no choice but to hop in bed with her!"

"W-Well…it's not like we'd actually do anything to Megumin besides sleeping in the same bed, right?" Ethox asked, getting only silence from Kazuma. "...Right?"

"I might. And if Aqua, Darkness and the other girls found out about it, especially Pinky, they'd call me a scumbag. You'd easily get away with it cause of how simple you are.' Kazuma said.

"Hey now! I'd never take advantage of a situation like this and get things on with a defenseless girl I don't even have feelings I understand for!" Ethox argued. "That's your thing! You're the one who admitted to being a pervert!"

"...Look, the point is, if we creep on her, we're dead." Kazuma said, before a thought occurred to him. "On the other hand, her mom did sign off on this, so…it's not like we could get in real trouble, they'd have no case! Or…would they?! Damn it, I wish I knew the laws here…"

"Alright, alright! Lets just… sleep with Megumin and hope nothing goes wrong." Ethox said. "Just…think cold thoughts…?"

"Dude, if she wakes up and sees us, we're doomed! Circumstances wouldn't matter!" Kazuma said.

"Well, I think she'd be willing to hear us out. I mean, we're her friends! Really her only friends, besides…" Ethox said before he stopped cold, looking at the window. "...That's it! Kazuma, wake Megumin up. I've got an idea! We'll chase her off!"

"Another stupid idea from you…but damn it, I'll do it." Kazuma said as he kneeled down next to Megumin and shook her gently. Slowly, Megumin blinked awake.

"Morning, Megumin." Kazuma said, trying to sound calm.

"...Hey Kazuma. Good morning." Megumin said drowsily. "How long did I sleep?"

"About eight hours." Ethox said as he unhooked the window hatch and opened it.

"Oh…wait…how come when I woke up, you two were in my room?" Megumin said.

"Your mom locked us in cause she wants both of us to marry you." Ethox explained calmly, silence falling over the room. "...You should go to Yunyun's house for the night."

"W…Would you try to take advantage of me?" Megumin asked, looking down with a deep blush on her face. "Since we're all alone together…?"

"...I'm not really sure, actually." Ethox said honestly. "As for Kazuma…"

"...Yes." the otaku said bluntly. "Run like the wind, Megumin."

With that, Megumin quickly hopped out of the window and ran towards Yunyun's house. "DEATH TO PERVERTS!"

"...You're gonna be so dead in the morning." Ethox said.

"Then you can plan the funeral." Kazuma snarked back. "Well, I'm tired. You wanna hit the hay?"

"...Yeah, good idea. Good night, Kazuma." Ethox said.

"Good night, Ethox." Kazuma responded calmly.

And so, the first day at the Crimson Demon Village drew to a close…