an: The Guild Mistress looks like Melissa (Just search it up on Konosuba Wiki)
Anyway, season 3 incoming. Time for the capital baby! Just another wait, I'll survive, I'm sure.
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As the Sinner of Greed
"But rejoice, Satou Kazuma, as you are a rather well-reserved person, I'm sure the inevitable fate hasn't yet been inevitable. Well, only if you didn't fool around and tell everyone about that eye of yours. You keep it confidential this whole time, right?"
The Guild Mistress, still taking a solemn stance, smiled slightly, attempting to soothe the young soul before her. It may be because of the sudden realization and the shock and terror it induced, but his mind hasn't registered such a possibility until the Guild Mistress mentioned it.
Still, he felt like keeping a top secret capable of turning the world upside down. And worst of all, his life would be at stake if he did not manage to conserve it from the whole world. Such a feeling bring an unbearable amount of anxiety.
"It's anxiety-inducing, but bear with it, would you?"
Another consolation from the Guild Mistress manage to bring his anxiety down a few pegs. Which raised another question for him.
"Guild Mistress, how come you looked so unbothered? And why are you willing to keep this a secret when it was clearly a timed bomb? Why not just leak it out and make me a sacrificial lamb?"
A question that bothered him from the moment the Guild Mistress begin to talk about this whole thing. Nagging at him to relieve it from curiosity. It was cruelty to himself, but he grew up in a crippling society. Just a 'bit tad' of cruelty wouldn't change much.
The Guild Mistress merely showed him a wry smile, looking around the room in nostalgia. Her mischievous yellow eyes faltered, mirroring a reminiscent look.
"Critical much... Well, maybe some thoughts from the past, and how a being like you who did not deserve such a fate. How many times do they keep messing things up for us... Ehem, as for the other inquiry, an exalted role for an even more exalted purpose did not deserve such a fate. Especially a talented being like you, who rise a dozen of levels just from a quest alone. Just see it as a senpai looking out for her kouhai," The Guild Mistress winked.
However, he wasn't convinced. Not even a bit. For a being to know a case regarding the whole world. Not a city, kingdom or empire, but the whole world, too many things were too inexplicable. That reason wasn't adequate. Not to mention her willingness to keep a secret that could result in annihilation if not conserved.
But a gaze from her stopped this train of thoughts.
"Some things better left unsaid, Satou-san."
His sole green eye stared at those solemn yellow eyes. A beat has passed just like that.
"...I understand. I apologise for my presumptuousness."
"Do change that bold attitude of yours. Boldness is commendable, but too much and it might bring you to devastation without even realizing it."
A wry smile plastered itself on his face. She nodded. It seemed like he was aware of it.
"Anyway, what do you want to talk about again?"
"Erm, well, I want to discuss the matter regarding this..."
After a lengthy explanation about the situation, Kazuma ended it with a breath, still shaken by the newly-learned fact. The idea was originally intended to cover his identity as the Sinner of Greed, but a certain dumbass decides that it wasn't enough, and thus exchanges it with an even more outrageous identity.
His life was on edge before, but it was barely hanging now.
Instead of getting easier, it seems like his life got even tougher.
'This is a sufficient motivator indeed! Kekekeke...'
An aggravating, sly voice lingered in his head. Drifting from right to left, with irritation it induces on him being its sole purpose of existing.
His head slightly jerked before stabilizing once more, 'Rationality, Kazuma. Rationality.'
"Hm... an undercover Demon King's affiliate who hid at the infamous Troll's Cave that had been an advisor of a rather prominent Marquess. And it was defeated by you, that troublemaker and this so-called Goddess."
The Guild Mistress uncontrollably twitched, looking at the proof this young man brought to back up his statements. Level 32.
Level 32. Adventurer-ranked Adventurer.
In just two days.
The class was already evolvable, to make the matter worse.
"It was already impressive enough as it is, but then you showed me this."
"Almost killed me. Thankfully, I manage."
"Against a High-Level Troll? You'd think it's that easy..."
Her guest shrugged his shoulders, his somewhat compelling face boredly looking at the ostensive decorations on the wall.
Her eyes reverted to the card yet again, staring at the stats and the indecipherable words his holy magic showed. A proof of the price he had to pay for his 'power'.
What a nut case. Her head pulsed in a grimace.
She may deduce a wrong computation. Who will be brought to ruin may not be the young man before her.
Let alone him, his companions were another nut case just like him.
'What could possibly go wrong with him being paired up with that Prodigy of the Ruin and a being titled 'Goddess' that may turn out to be the truth?'
...Goddamn it.
"Take the reward of the bounty and the quest. Thus, get out."
"Wha-"
"Get out."
Kazuma showed a miffed look, but he liked the way everything was handled. Simple and unsophisticated. So, at ease with the situation, not including the terror of possibly being chased by the whole world, he turned his heels and left the room.
"Boy, I'll extort some information out of you the next time we met."
A rather familiar feeling. Kazuma suffered a shiver through his spine and fastened up his pace. Disappearing from the Guild Mistress's sight.
The Guild Mistress just mischievously grinned.
"The very least I could do to avenge my perplexion towards you, yet another nut case."
"I'll handle the rest, I guess. Ah, Daniel, what an unlucky son of a bit*h you are."
"...What now?"
"Yahoo! Amazing, Aqua-sama!"
"I'll pay you again! Just please do the majestic tricks for us to witness and glorified O' Goddess-sama!
A bunch of burly men and adventurers were surrounding Aqua, who was fooling around with blue embroidered fans, that were in one line with her blue-themed attire. At times, the tip of her index finger would splatter out tiny streams of water that flew through the fans, which even for Kazuma, was fascinating when they landed on another tip seamlessly after that. All occurred as she motioned her perfect body.
"Amazing performance, Goddess-sama!"
"Grace us with your otherwordly moves!"
"Hahahah! Hmph, seeing your dedication, unlike that bad man, I shall receive your utmost sincerity and grant you with my graceful moves!"
An oddly fascinating synchronized performance was conducted right in the middle of the guild hall. It was a suspicious sight at first, a beautiful girl surrounded by big-statured men, but the occasional high-pitched screams from the burly men would make one think that they were just playing around.
Kazuma blankly stared ahead, being as lost as he gets.
"Aqua has some weird talents. Weirdly earned my acknowledgement through that."
A chirpy voice coming from a tilted angle. Kazuma looked to the side, meeting Megumin's chubby face from munching a fried frog thigh in her little hand. Her bored crimson orbs looked up at him and her exaggeratedly huge hat create a quite amusing sight.
"So how about it?"
"The Guild Mistress was a simple person, thankfully. The procedure was pretty simple."
"Ah, The Guild Mistress..."
Recognizing a look of knowing from her large crimson orbs, Kazuma asked curiously, "You know her?"
"She's the person who permitted me to use the rooms here whenever I wanted. A very ambiguous person. But not a bad one, I guess."
A feeling of contradiction is what he felt when he heard her description of the Guild Mistress. The adverb 'very' isn't particularly in line with what he 'suffered'. A pair of big yellow eyes mirroring a certain glint and a wide, canine smirk flashed by.
What a 'terrifying' figure.
Accurately, a sadistic bit-
"So? The result?"
"We could take the rewards of the bounty and quest, according to her. Where can we get the bounty, though?"
"Hnh, bounty and quest achieved just like that..."
A look of wonder was mirrored by those crimson eyes. Kazuma stared back at them. From all of the abnormally attractive people he met in this damned world, Megumin's pair of clear, glistening crimson eyes always seemed to be conspicuous even amidst the many attractive traits. He always wondered why a sense of solace and peace would cram his heart every time her big eyes looked at him.
"Kazuma, are you sure you just became an Adventurer for only two days? Are you sure you're not a secret inheritor of some legendary legacies?"
Hearing her words reminded him of those types of web novels. Kazuma snorted amusedly at her words, "Of course not."
"No, no, many factors lead to this speculation of mine. From your overwhelming power, then your obliviousness to trivial knowledge and notions of the people, not to mention your surprise at simple things natives would already know. Come on, you don't have to lie, you know. I'm your trusty colleague, after all!"
Her eyes glistened intelligently, smugly pursed her pink lips at him. Her smug gaze says it all, saying he dared to hide things from her, a prodigy amidst the Crimson Demons. But her leader just gives her a brief look filled with amusement before pinching her stuffed face softly, initiating a squeaky cry.
"You speculate too much. Too many theories would only lead to confusion. Now come on, show me where can I get the reward."
As if it was a signal, a blue blur appeared by his side the moment he uttered the word 'reward'. The blur cleared up, showing a grinning Goddess busy with her fans and 'tricks'. Her colleagues give her a dirty look, but she just smiled smugly.
"Hmph, I saved your life after all. I know I deserve a hefty reward. And you know it! Don't you dare to refute it!"
The irritated Crimson Demon was ready to give her all, but Kazuma just helplessly nodded, pausing her mid-way. Aqua is right, but that doesn't Megumin is happy about it.
"Hey, Kazuma, Kazuma, you're gonna pay off my debt too, right?"
"Yes. Yes, Aqua."
As much as he wanted her to take responsibility for what she'd inaugurated, he cannot deny everything she said. Maybe she was a bit dumb, but Kazuma knew the weight of saving a person's life who was on the verge of death. And she has done that to him. He could feign irritation, but this gratefulness wouldn't dissipate just like that.
"Yay! That's what I'm talking about. Hemph, maybe Kazuma is not so bad."
...Or maybe because Aqua was just so gorgeous, a fact that he, Satou Kazuma cannot deny, that he could forget everything easily. Without her usual idiocy, being considered as the embodiment of perfection is not strange at all to describe Aqua.
"That's not fair!"
A squeaky complaint burst out, filling his sight with a pouty Crimson Demon. The girl shoot a sharp glare at the irresponsible Goddess, whose mouth twitched in annoyance.
"Hey little girl, I know it's hard to accept the truth sometimes. But it's not like you could do anything about it."
"Someone as irresponsible and idiotic as you dare to reprimand me?!"
"Tsk, so disrespectful. Kazuma, I think you should educate her. Tell her to develop those planks of wood first, the front specifically-"
"YOU BITCH-!"
Another catfight commenced.
Kazuma just smiled wryly as the arguing Crimson Demon and Goddess only got more intense. As their counterpart, he never understand how a girl could get so offended by being told that she was underdeveloped. And it's not like she was entirely underdeveloped.
Near adventurers start to look, and he could only stay in the midst of it all.
"-What sort of components made up your brain?! It is meat or it is air?! Because I can't see a single thing that indicates you have a brain!"
"-Hmph, you think I couldn't see the way you want to seduce Kazuma?! Well, too bad you lack the front to do so-"
"THAT's iT-"
"Hey, can we just go to the bounty table-?"
"Stop masquerading little girl, you couldn't do a thing to me! You're a hundred years earlier to do that! Hahahaha!"
"Kazuma, Kazuma! Teach her a lesson!"
A smug voluptuous Goddess laughed haughtily while a little Demon tearfully pointed her index finger to her, looking at him with her tearful crimson eyes and pouty pink lips.
Yep, this is definitely bullying.
Kazuma, who refused to be involved in this extremely complex matter that even he, a veteran in handling matters regarding a crippling society, cannot comprehend in the slightest decide to turn his back on them and ask the intrigued staff, who was in charge of the bounty.
"Excuse me Miss, I want to accept the bounty of a High-level Troll."
"Ah, don't you have to resolve the matter you're currently involved in...?"
"Ah, it seems like you've misunderstood something. So anyway, Miss, could you give me the right procedure to accept my reward?"
The staff was a senior, despite being called a Miss, so she understood many things. The man before her gives her a look underlining several hidden meanings. His distraught look and a couple of girls arguing behind him...
A light of understanding flashes in her eyes.
As an experienced female herself, she naturally understood how her specimen could make things several times more complicated. At such times, she too, understood how her counterpart struggle to comprehend such instinctive behaviour.
Thus, she merely nodded and went with the flow.
"Please provides proof to confirm the authenticity of your claim, Sir."
Kazuma exhibited a thankful look briefly before taking out his Adventurer Card. After a quick check-up, the staff nodded in confirmation, inwardly being scared to death by the level of the man before her.
'Hey, he was recruited just two days ago, right?'
A Demon King's Equal Candidate. That was his title. But isn't this growth rate a little bit... exaggerated?
A Beginner's Town, Axel, has always been the beacon of information about the upcoming Heroes and Saints. It was the starting point for everyone, after all. So naturally, the staff members handling such matters in Axel were proficient veterans in their own fields. There's a reason why the Guild Mistress was very mysterious.
And as a staff member of this Guild, she was very familiar with these upcoming Heroes and Saints. But if she were to compare them and the man before her-
'Can they even be considered at the same level?'
Therefore, with these calculations, an assumption was cited by her instinct. It was very outrageous and nonsensical, but she couldn't help it.
'He may reconstruct the very layout of the world.'
And it fleeted away just like that, being ended by a shake of her head. Experience makes her think of everything based on logic, and it's not wrong to live that way. Even a child wouldn't believe such an outrageous train of thought.
"May I know the amount of the reward, Miss?"
"If I remember correctly, the Capital offered 10 Million Eris for a High-Level Troll."
"...What?"
10,000 Eris was still a considerable amount for a newbie like him, not to mention 10 Million. Being stuck in his own narrow standard, Kazuma once again asked about the reward in a stupor, "H-How much again, Miss?"
"It's 10 Million Eris, Kazuma-san."
The shocked face of the man who might achieve what she considered absurd was pretty amusing, "And it might be higher, considering how increasingly notorious High-Level Trolls' reputation was over these past years."
"A-Ah..."
10 Million Eris. Even an Advanced Adventurer might struggle to have such wealth in their hands. Kazuma, considered a Beginner Adventurer, to hold such wealth was already a godsend in itself.
"Is a High-Level Troll worth that much?"
"High-Level Trolls were known for their cunningness, capable of terrorizing even a city containing dozens of Intermediates and even Advanced Adventurers. It was a notorious monster because it knows what sort of weaknesses the people it considered opponents by observing them. They might go to the length of abducting Adventurers' loved ones and doing unspeakable, atrocious things to them in front of their eyes, breaking Adventurers' will to live and turning them into a raging mess.
A terrific high-intelligent monster with immense strength, speed and foremost, cruelty. Finding their hideouts is even harder, as they would make several tales regarding their hideouts that they could orchestrate as they see fit, scaring many people while attracting intrigued, overconfident Adventurers that would fall as their prey.
For Kazuma-san to be able to hunt down such a monster is an achievement a whole city would celebrate for. So 10 Million Eris might be belittling the worth of this achievement."
It took several minutes for Kazuma to process the whole thing. His sharp eyebrows furrowed in contemplation as he rested his elbows on the bounty table.
What a terrible being.
A horrible piece of sh*t.
At the same time, he couldn't help but find it cruel and awful. It was just a monster, yet it was capable of doing things surpassing even the worst of men and causing countless devastating conducts capable of destroying cities. A being who utilized its intelligence solely for fulfilling its carnal desires. It's a monster, so Kazuma should've expected it.
Yet, it just makes him realize how damnable the world he landed in is. The worst of threats did not come from just humans, but also monsters. Kazuma still has a little bit of hope that maybe it was just the humans, like how he lived his life in a crippling society. How numerous novels he read showed monsters as these unintelligent beings who live for the sole purpose of devouring each other to become more powerful.
Maybe what he experienced is exceptionally cruel, different from what others underwent.
But as always.
Reality showed how much of a piece of sh*t it could be.
The monsters were just the same. No, they were even worse. He already experienced it beforehand. How his companions almost suffered an irremediable fate that was worse than even the death itself.
A depressing aura started to surround his visage, and the staff member just showed a sorry look. Powerful he might be, but he hadn't known these facts before. Monsters weren't just monsters, they were beings capable of threatening humanity. Most veterans knew it long ago, but not amateurs who considered monsters based on what they heard.
'Ah, it's harder than I thought it seems.'
It appears taking the flawless Megumin and Aqua as companions is more challenging than he initially thought if he wanted to keep living in this world. The logic was there, but the Sin of Greed never let go of the things it considered its possessions.
'Never.'
Kazuma has already accepted himself as the Sinner of Greed since the moment Aqua was almost taken away from him, and it was the sole reason he still survived with his flawlessly beautiful companions coming out untouched. It was the sole reason he could grow so much and be accustomed to this damned world's standards in such a short amount of time, making him indifferent towards crushing heads and killing people. So even when the logic was involved, everything remained the same.
It's to fulfil the Sin as its Sinner.
And the Sin of Greed wanted to keep everything that it held.
As its Sinner, his greed naturally desired the same.
'Thou are yours truly's Sinner, and a Sinner of Greed keep everything they considered their own, even at the price of their own lives.'
Kazuma now realized. He sees it. He truly did. The reason harbouring this sinner is considered as a punishment.
It unallowed him to lose.
Living in a damned world, how could one not lose, even once?
Yet, this Sin forced its Sinner to do the very thing everyone considered impossible.
Inwardly, Kazuma thought in despair, 'Isn't this same as sentencing me to end myself?'
And worst of all, it forced him to believe in a nonsensical concept and not to lose. Turning his own belief and greed to consider losing as dying.
What the f*ck is this bullsh*t?!
'Do remember that everything has corresponding prices. The power that thee harboured required thee to be undefeated. Thus, yours truly presented thee with good luck.'
'F*ck!'
"Kazuma! What happened?! Hey you! You didn't give out an undeserved reward, are you?! I let you know that he has defeated a High-Level Troll, a High-Level Troll! Being titled High-Level means that it possessed considerable abilities, yet Kazuma here is capable of defeating it. You're not deliberately defaming him, aren't you?!"
The staff member felt wronged. She just said that even 10 Million Eris wasn't enough as a reward for such an achievement, yet this blue-haired lady here calumniated her with numerous baseless accusations? Even the Crimson Demon beside the lady, known for their intelligence, looked at her with a suspicious look.
Is accusing the one who's the closest to a depressed person the right thing to do? Is this justified? Is this right? The staff member inquired herself with numerous questions to justify herself as she thought sadly, 'I know you two are worried about him, but it's not like I did something terrible.'
"Nothing to be worried about. I just recall some bad things from the past," Kazuma, after managing to come out of his stupor gives out a random excuse, helping the staff member out of her predicament. A subtle thankful look was given by the staff member.
"So how about the reward?"
"We will receive at least 10 Million Eris," Kazuma blankly blurted out, receiving a similar blank look from a usually lively Goddess. The Crimson Demon between them gloated up, looking up at him with a gape on her small face.
"Did I hear it wrong? You said 100 thousand Eris, didn't you-?"
"10 Million. It's 10 Million."
They stared at each other for a while, with a Crimson Demon shaking her head numerous times to check if she was dreaming, numerously muttering 'He said at least, right? He said at least, I heard it!'
"...We're rich," The Goddess's light blue eyes gradually lighted up, and Kazuma just confirmed her happy thoughts further by giving her an affirmative nod.
"Yes, indeed."
It was the calm before the storm.
The staff member in charge of the bounty, knowing Aqua's notorious reputation as a drunkard, just calmly sweeps the sweatdrops on her forehead.
It was intensified when the drunkard's leader does not have an intention to refute his most troublesome companion's underlying intentions.
'Oh boy.'
"...Kazuma, why didn't you stop her?"
A pair of big crimson eyes looked up at him, conspicuous amid the darkness of the night. Calmly sitting on the bench at the local water fountain, Kazuma silently enjoyed the sight of the fantastical night sky as he replied, "Just let her have her fill. Why are you so against it, I wonder? Aqua did save my life."
"Hmph, she's so pretentious and stupid. Although she saved Kazuma's life, her attitude just wiped out any good impression I had of her, making it hard for me to treat her better. The most I can do is mitigate the impact."
Kazuma wholly agreed with that, while partially being concerned with her last sentence.
"So Megumin, with this much wealth in hand, what do you think we should do with it?"
It was a bothersome matter he had yet to attend. He hasn't claimed it yet, but future plans are necessary. And amongst his companions, it's no-brainer to choose this genius Crimson Demon as his consultant for such an issue.
"I have several ideas I could propose. We could buy a property to ensure our future, or we could upgrade our equipment and buy potions as preparation to challenge more advanced dungeons. Maybe we could invest in some budding businesses in the town of Axel..."
He just listened to her suggestions, appreciating the sight before him. How her porcelain white skin stand out even in the darkness of the night, how her big, glistening crimson eyes lighted up in wonder as they looked up towards the sky and how her side profile induced him some sugar-related disease.
He just laughed to himself inwardly, 'I wonder if being unable to lose worth everything I see.'
"Hey, are you even listening?"
"...Maybe?"
Her crimson orbs looked up at him in annoyance.
"I know I might be noisy, but amateurs tend to be wasteful with their money when they achieved their first success. As your trusted companion, it is only right for me, Megumin, to reprimand you to choose the right choice!"
She pats her nonexistent chest like a righteous knight, pursing her tiny lips to further enhanced the impression she wanted to make. He just chuckled and nodded slightly, reverting his gaze to the beautiful night sky once more.
"You know Megumin, for a little girl, you're pretty mature."
"Grr...! Don't call me with such nonsense! As a responsible 13 year old, I deserved to be considered as an adult!"
Her funky hat violently tremors as Megumin trembles in fervour. Her face distorted, recalling how a certain b*tch keeps reminding her of her own insecurities. It was about to go further before Kazuma's voice, which always soothed her in the most intense moments, resounded.
"If it comforts you, I would say you're not that little in a certain part."
"...Huh?"
Her shaking eyes met his amused sole green eye, who briefly looked towards a certain angle before reverting to her face. Subconsciously, her little hand moved, being somewhat comical by how different its size was compared to what he meant.
"You don't mean-?"
"Your hips are huge, Megumin. Especially your ass."
It was an oddity he noticed. How could a lithe, skinny loli like Megumin has such wide hips, anyway? Kazuma inwardly scratched his head and furrowed his eyebrows at such a fact that lay before his eyes.
His brain found it hard to witness how a little body harbours such disproportionate hips and backside, yet still look pleasing in its perspective.
It is possible to be so skinny on one part yet so 'meaty' and thick on another part?
How odd. How dubious. How perplexing.
'Hm, indeed. Demons are yours truly's favourite species because their female specimen always harbour wide hips and back worthy of bearing yours truly's Sinner's children. Such a pity yours truly was too engrossed with war back then... If not...'
...Kazuma decided not to ask about it.
"A-Are you interested?"
'Hoh, how bold.'
Asked by such a question, Kazuma, a teenager of sixteen, did not harbour even an ounce of hesitation as he answered, "A pair of wide hips and ass are always enticing, but unfortunately, your age prevented me from harbouring any intentions."
Call him narrow-minded, Kazuma refused to become the very thing he considered components of a crippling society. Never.
'Heh, yours truly, while somewhat frustrated, agreed. Ripe, young women are the ones who are worthy! Little ones should be protected and kept from the dangers of the world. Tsk, who created such nonsense, calling thirteen years olds as adults.'
Only in this one aspect did Kazuma nod his head in agreement with what the Sin of Greed said. It seems like it harboured more intelligence now that it was awakened.
"Gurgh-!"
For Megumin, it was like a thrust of ruthless stab from the sharpest of swords. For a person she was interested in, the only one she could connect with, to respond in such ruthlessness, it bore a raging fire deep within her heart, and unknowingly, her belly.
For her, it meant one thing.
A challenge!
And for her to entice this amazing person, she could only think of one thing. The thing she always believed in, even if it meant condemnation! Even if it meant being outcasted!
Crimson Destiny is always to believe the thing one struggles for, and Megumin believed it with all her heart.
"Kazuma, do you want to witness Explosion Magic?"
Noticing how his green eye piqued in interest, Megumin inwardly thrust her fist. Hook and sinker-!
"You mentioned that you cast it back at the cave, creating such a huge cave I thought it was a ravine. I do somewhat interested in witnessing it in person."
"Heheh, if so then, do accompany me to a spot I found a week ago, O' my leader! I'll show you the meaning of the strongest spell!"
The excited Crimson Demon rose from her seat and hopped through the road, with the North, the main gate of Axel, as her destination. And Kazuma earnestly followed along, whiffing the cool breeze of the night.
Some disturbances would ruin the peaceful atmosphere briefly, considering how some people couldn't control themselves and how outstanding his companion looked. Megumin could handle it, but Kazuma's scary gaze seems to be more effective, solving any disturbing predicaments in seconds.
She felt fuzzy. So this is how it felt to have a dependable comrade.
Maybe it's right. Maybe it is addicting like the way they said it.
After scaring off those troublesome people, Kazuma noticed how the Crimson Demon was brimming with happiness. She must be very happy to be able to cast her favourite spell.
Out of the town, the night sky here was even more prominent, with the lack of buildings and other infrastructures existed in the town. The vast green field he visited to complete the Giant Frog quest was filled with beautified silence, with fireflies roaming about and wild grass peacefully swayed by the occasional breezes.
A hand grasped his arm. He looked forth and saw a bright smile from the Crimson Demon, who softly pulled his arm as they run through the fireflies. The way the bright moon bathed the green field with its silver moonlight and how the warm light from the fireflies shone on her perfect face.
'Is it worth it?'
They keep running through the green field filled with fireflies, and her glowing smile is etched on her face like forever.
'To be unable to lose for the sake of fulfilling this greed?'
After a considerable length of distance, they finally meet the forest with a pathway that extends to the horizon. But Megumin kept grasping his arm, kept running with his arm in hand while smiling so brightly. The originally unseen horizon was being exposed by the silver moonlight, with their soft steps as the only source of sound.
The Crimson Demon then stopped her pace, and Kazuma saw something from a distance. It looks like a castle, outlined by the moonlight and hidden by the night.
"Kazuma."
Time seemed to slow down. How those silky, raven bangs swayed in the air as she turned around, showing her bright smile and her pair of big, glistening crimson eyes. How her porcelain face was painted beautifully with a red hue. How the moonlight shined on her visage...
Kazuma never thought that a world could contain such a beautiful thing. It was always a damnable place, a place he believed to be rotten to its core. Such a place, how could it contain things he considered as beautiful?
His previous world was the same, and this time around, it was still the same. So how could anything be changed?
Sixteen years worth of being imposed by a crippling society numerously managed to damage his soul to the verge of breaking down from the weight of pain and unjust he received. And now, he has to face these unreasonable requirements? Just to preserve this supposedly second chance to live?
"I cast it for you!"
Combined with the greed that unable him to lose, the world just got worse.
"You are the person I felt connected with the most, so please, Kazuma, feast your eyes with what I cast upon!"
Combined with how flawless his companions were, it became worse and worse. How those greedy and lustful eyes would target them and desire to take them for themselves. How the harbourers would threaten him with their corresponding position and power for the sake of obtaining his companions.
And the Sin of Greed expected him not to lose? To not experience defeat?
...How is he supposed to bear with that?
"You're the first person I acknowledged as my leader, after all!"
How could that be possible?
"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson."
And yet, there would be always a contradiction one would meet in their lives. A contradiction to what they believed in.
Kazuma silently looked up, witnessing how the luminous red circle appeared above the castle, elucidating the darkness of the night. His face was illuminated by countless, colourful, glowing particles surrounding Megumin, who was pointing her staff towards the castle in fervour.
"The time of awakening cometh."
Something odd.
"Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortion!"
Something that could make countless logical interpretations go haywire and abruptly change the understanding of a person. No matter, even if the time itself has stopped just for the sake of preserving that understanding of a person.
How odd.
The particles around Megumin intensified, and a purple gleam shone from her simple staff. Her crimson eyes shifted to the side, witnessing the refined figure who looked up intently. Unknowingly, her eyes started to tear up. For her beloved spell to catch someone's attention. And it was him, nonetheless.
"Dance, dance, dance!"
It was odd that such a thing always happened merely by a tremor from the heart. A mere tremor of a small part of oneself, yet it could change everything.
Kazuma considered it odd and stupid. Just a slight change yet it was capable of making one's sense of judgement rendered useless? How idiotic.
"I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal!"
A tremor from the heart, what does that even mean? Kazuma inquired it with all his being, and yet he hadn't been able to find an answer.
But when he glanced.
"Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss!"
Why the Sin of Greed was so hell-bent on keeping what is 'theirs'? Kazuma cannot understand it. Such stupidity, to even give its own life for what they have.
...But when he glanced-
"This is the mightiest means of attack known to man, the ultimate attack magic!"
-And saw her bright smile, perhaps the brightest he'd ever seen. A slight tremor came from his chest. No, it trembled.
Can he... let that away?
"Burst forth!"
Yeah, that brightest of smiles. Can he truly let that away from him? To let it go so easily? To let it be taken away from him by someone else?
Can he do that?
As the luminous red magic circle tremor slightly, the dark castle was instantly illuminated, brightened with a shade of red and orange. Megumin took a deep breath, and the particles madly revolved around her, with her cloak being lifted up by the gust of wind. And thus, a beam was shot into the castle, and the circle descended.
"EXPLOOOOSION!"
A searing torrent of the destructive explosion was released, descending upon the castle with fervour. The brightness it exuded engulfed the darkness, letting the world know of its existence. An enormous shockwave came afterwards a few seconds later, throwing Megumin's hat backwards.
"Yaaah~! An amazing Explosion by Megumin yet again!"
Even if it meant fighting with all he had till his breath go away, could he bear to let it go?
Even if he had to give up everything he had, would he let it go?
Even if it meant giving up his life, would he... even consider letting it go?
That simple smile? Would he let it go?
It was outrageous. Very outrageous. But Kazuma never thought of saying yes.
It was one of those moments he consider himself as insane, but he cannot deny it.
He cannot let it go. He cannot let it be taken away by someone else.
He understood now.
...Why he is the Sinner of Greed.
"How it is Kazuma?! I fulfilled your expectation right?!"
"Yeah."
In the end, Kazuma could only looked up to the explosion wryly.
'...How greedy.'