Part 1
We arrived at the entrance to the small but bustling town. Men, women and children with brown hair and red eyes, adorned in their usual chuuni outfits went about their business. Shopping, running stores, going to school etc.
"You could have never guessed that these people were fighting the Devil King's forces in the capital just two days ago…" I said to myself
"Yes! The Devil King's army was defeated at the capital and retreated. The Crimson Demons saw no reason to stay at the capital after a victory that strong… so they just went back to the village…" Yunyun said, giving me an awkward smile.
So they left the capital defenceless? Honestly, how irresponsible can one race get?
"Is that Yunyun?"
"And Megumin!?"
"That must be her boyfriend! The guy that defeated the Devil King!"
There was a crowd forming around us, they must've noticed us while we were talking.
"Yunyun! Megumin! You guys have arrived! We heard about what you did! Who would've guessed that the weirdos of the clan would help defeat the Devil King?" Said someone in the crowd. It seems as if backhanded compliments are a race defining feature.
"Hey, watch it! How dare you speak in such a manner to Megumin, the greatest genius of the Crimson Demons and the master of Explosion magic!? Now disperse before I start chanting Explosion!" Megumin aggressively replied.
Hearing her threat, the crowd backed off.
"I-I didn't mean anything by it. I swear!"
Huh?
"We-We will hear your story at tomorrow's feast. We'll leave you alone for now…"
What?
"We made a designated area for you to fire explosions… please don't use it here…"
Where's the usual ridicule that Megumin gets? These people actually fear Megumin now? That's not too surprising I suppose… She did help defeat the Devil King.
"Aha! So you have finally recognised the power Explosion! Since I am so benevolent, I'm willing to help in the inclusion of Explosion in the school curriculum- Ow!" Megumin flinched in pain as I lightly hit her on her head.
"Please, ignore her. We're looking forward to the feast as well!" I said as I dragged away Megumin towards the outskirts of the village.
Yunyun had already gone to visit her father, she used Megumin as a distraction to avoid the attention she had been getting previously. For someone so reserved, she had no problems exploiting Megumin as her distraction.
"What the hell Kazuma! You saw that they had finally recognised the power of Explosion, how could you take away such an important opportunity to add Explosion users to the world away from me!?"
"Honestly… you're starting to sound like the Axis church… and even if it is cute on occasion, the chuuni act of yours is embarrassing…"
"H-Hey! Don't lump me in with Aqua's followers! Even I'm not that crazy. And don't think you can get away with this just because you called me cute!" she said as she made a pouting face.
She really was cute, no matter the facial expression. But her pouting was getting annoying now, she pouted almost as much as Aqua, which is really impressive.
"You can stop pouting now."
"No, I won't stop"
"Megumin, this is getting old. What do you want?"
Her eyes shone as I finished saying my sentence.
Oh no!
"Well if Kazuma is that desperate to fix his mistakes… I guess I could call it even if you carry me home…"
"Woah, woah, woah! Why am I getting extra work?"
"if you don't, I'll pout for our entire stay at the village"
"Ugh, fine!"
I'll carry her alright, but not in the way she expects. In one swift motion, I put my hands under her knees and her head and picked her up, bridal style.
"Ka-Kazuma!?" Megumin said, her face bright red and filled with shock. I had successfully flustered her!
"I'm wearing a bag, you can't ride on my back… so this is the next best solution." I said as I smugly looked at her.
"Or would you like me to put you down?" This should teach her a lesson, the next time she tries to exploit me she'll remember this embarrassment.
"N-No! This is fine, the house isn't too far away." She replied, this time with a face filled with determination.
Looks like she isn't ready to give up just yet. I'm not giving up either! So I carried Megumin in my arms as I made my way towards her house. She was very light, so I didn't have too much difficulty carrying her around. She also put her arms around my neck which made it much easier and much more comfortable for her. What I did have difficulty with though, is her trying every possible way to get me to back down and place her back on the ground while admitting defeat.
She would nuzzle up her face into my chest, breathe into my arms, stare into my eyes while smiling cutely. All in an attempt to fluster me into giving up. If I hadn't been trained in this level of cuteness by all the mangas, light novels and visual novels I read through back in Japan, I would've given up ages ago. But she is a mere amateur while I was a seasoned warrior with a heart as cold as ice, the usual tropes wouldn't work on me!
We were approaching her family's house. If I walked in while carrying Megumin, and her sister or mother saw that, the teasing that she would be subject to would be unending. I knew that and she knew that, so I slowly started making my way to their front door. I made sure to take small and slow but intense steps along the way.
"Ka-Kazuma! Please put me down!"
And there it is. Victory. While very obviously smugly smiling, I let Megumin step on to the ground, her face was a mixture of sadness and disappointment at her defeat.
After taking a few moments to compose herself, she looked at me and nodded. I nodded back, and stepped forward to knock on the door.
Her family's new house was much bigger than their old house that could barely be considered a stable, her family had borrowed money to get this new house built. It was about a third of the size of the mansion back in Axel, but it wasn't furnished as they couldn't afford furniture. As I was gazing at their house I heard a high pitched voice.
"Who is it? If you're here to sell somethin-"
"Komekko! It's me! Your big sister has come back."
The door flew open and out came a small girl with brown hair and red eyes. She looked at Megumin, then looked at me and ran back into the house.
"Mom! Big sis is here with her boyfriend!"
"Surprisingly, this time that statement is actually true." Megumin said, sighing.
"Yeah I can't complain about her saying stuff like that anymore…" I said while chuckling.
We didn't wait for Komekko to come back with Ms Yuiyui, we entered the house and closed the door behind us. As we were setting our bags down, Komekko came back with Megumin's mother.
"Oh my! What a surprise! It's just the two of you? I thought that your friends would have come along as well." Ms Yuiyui said as she came into view, clearly pleased at the sight of us two together.
"Yeah it's just me and Kazuma, Aqua and Darkness were both busy so they couldn't make it."
"Ah wonderful! That means I have two less obstacles to deal with tonight." Honestly… she can be scarier than the Devil King at times… it seems she was keen on me and Megumin sleeping in the same room again. But this time, no one will be forced into anything.
"H-Hey! Can you please not call my friends obstacles? And you don't need to worry, we'll be taking the same room again."
"Oh my! It seems your relationship has been going quite well! So how soon can I expect grandchildren? Do you want me to help you with names?"
"W-We haven't gone that far yet!"
"Yet?" Ms Yuiyui replied with her smile widening.
I decided to remain silent in this exchange, any additions I would make would be weaponized against me, so I did the smart thing and remained silent. Megumin, on the other hand, was getting more and more flustered at her mother's constant teasing, so she decided to change the subject.
"A-Anyway! Where is dad?"
"Oh he's in his room working on a new invention. You guys can go to the living room, I'll bring him there." With that she walked away further into the house.
A confused Komekko, a flustered Megumin and I made our way to the living room. The living room was big and looked luxurious, one could call it comfy… if it had furniture that is.
It was mostly empty space, with a couple mats and an extremely low and small table near the fireplace. Komekko happily glided over there and claimed a mat as hers.
"Big sis! What did you get for me!"
I saw Megumin's blood run cold as her face paled. She had obviously forgotten to get something for her little sister. If she had told Komekko that, a grudge as strong as iron would be forged in the young Crimson Demon's heart. Fortunately, I was a good older brother.
"Here! Megumin and I bought you some snacks from Axel! I made some snacks from my country as well, you can try those if you'd like!"
Komekko flung at the bag I was holding and practically ripped it open to reveal a hoard of snacks and sweets. She immediately began her taste testing session, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. She acted with food, how Aqua would have acted with booze, I need to make sure Aqua doesn't spread her habits onto this uncorrupt young soul.
"Thank you Kazuma, for a moment there I felt as if my soul had left my body. If you hadn't bought those snacks the atmosphere here would've been very tense" Megumin said as she gripped my hand for comfort. I wanted to tease her, but I saw that she was looking distraught at not thinking of her sister, so I changed my mind.
"Hey it's alright! We've had an incredibly stressful couple days! It's okay to forget something every once in a while"
"But I forgot my own little sister…"
"Don't worry Megumin! As long as Komekko is happy, it doesn't matter right? And as far as I'm concerned she's my little sister as well, so I should get chances to dote on her as well. You'll get your chance next time."
"Yeah! I'll out do you next time! Komekko will have to recognise me as the cooler one among us" Megumin replied as she let go of my hand.
Phew, crisis averted. I'm glad she didn't get all depressed on me, I wouldn't have known how to deal with that.
"Oh my! I must thank you for bringing food over for Komekko." Ms Yuiyui said as she entered the room holding a pot of porridge. Mr Hyoizaburoo followed her carrying plates and cutlery. It must be lunch time.
"Seems as if you've successfully bribed my daughter." Mr Hyoizaburoo said bitterly.
"Now, now. We should be civil with our future son in law, correct?"
"Hmph" came the reply as he set the plates down on the table.
Ms Yuiyui set the porridge on the table as Mr Hyoizaboroo organised the cutlery, noticing that Komekko was too busy with the food that we bought her, Ms Yuiyui didn't set a place for her.
"Now, before we begin," Ms Yuiyui said as she looked at me and Megumin.
"Is there something you two need to tell us?"
I gulped. I was going to tell them that me and Megumin were dating and would ask for their approval, Ms Yuiyui and Komekko's approval would be easy to get. I was concerned about Mr Hyoizaburoo, he obviously didn't like the fact that Megumin was with me. But I would win his approval as well, no matter what!
"Yes-" I began but was immediately cut off by Megumin who had come closer to me and held onto me.
"Ye-Yes. I'd like to formally introduce you to my b-boyfriend. Kazuma Satou."
Huh? I was going to make a speech that I had pre-planned! I would've subtly approached the subject and handled it with care and caution. Megumin just threw it out there with no build up! This is bad!
Ms Yuiyui nodded her head in approval, whereas Mr Hyoizaburoo's face was practically unreadable. Was he about to explode in rage? Would he unleash Advanced Magic on me? I haven't even attempted to use my cheat so I can't defend myself yet.
But he didn't do any of those things, he simply sighed.
"After lunch, I would like to talk to the two of you. Is that alright?"
"Y-Yes, of course!" I instantly blurted out.
Part 2
After that we quickly ate our small and bland portions of porridge in silence. I noticed Mr Hyoizaburoo staring at me at multiple occasions, but I chose to ignore it.
After the (disappointing) lunch, Mr Hyoizaburoo took us into his room. In the middle of it, was a table littered with Magic tools and parts, but similarly to the living room, it had mats and no chairs.
"Sit down." Mr Hyoizaburoo said, pointing at the mats. Me and Megumin were quick to follow his instructions, we both knew that the sooner we got this conversation over and done with, the less stressful our stay would be. We sat together, while Mr Hyoizaburoo sat opposite to us.
"Megumin, I won't be talking to much as I want this conversation to be between me and Kazuma, but I want you to listen to our conversation and add anything that you may find necessary"
Megumin nodded.
"Kazuma Satou!" He said, turning his attention to me.
"Y-Yes?"
"I have had some business dealing in Axel, where I came across some rumours about you and learnt of your reputation within the town."
Fuck. Fuck! Damn it! This is a fucking terrible start! My reputation in Axel might just be worse than the Devil King's himself.
"I've heard that you are a man that constantly sexually harasses his fellow adventurers, I have heard that you are quite lazy and quick to anger. I have also heard that you are a regular customer of a local succubus brothel that is famous among the men in Axel."
I was shaking with fear but I let him continue.
"It seems we're both aware of those rumours. The point is Kazuma Satou, I'm not sure how much I can trust you or your commitment to my daughter."
"I do not take relationships lightly, especially in my own daughter's case. Kazuma, can you assure me that you're committed to Megumin? Can you assure me that you are not the man that the rumours paint you to be? Megumin deserves someone who will stand by her through thick and thin, and the rumours paint you in a way that makes it seem like you would abandon her at the snap of your fingers."
He was right. If one had only heard my rumours, that is exactly the opinion they would form of me. Anybody who had heard of me would think that I was a scumbag, especially if the person hearing the rumours was the father of the girl I was dating. It's too late to turn back time and undo my actions, I can't make excuses, that would just make everything worse. I would have to face him and convince him that those rumours don't apply to me anymore.
Megumin saw that I was being silent and opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly stopped her by grabbing onto her hand.
"Everything you've said is completely true." I began.
"I have no intentions of making light of these rumours or making false excuses. There are no excuses for the actions I've done that have led to these rumours. These are completely my fault and I am willing to accept that. But I am also willing to march forward while accepting that."
Mr Hyoizaburoo made no sign of interjecting, so I continued.
"In the time that I've spent here, I have gone on many journeys and made countless mistakes on each and every one of them. But every time I complete a journey, the mistakes I made in that journey never appear in the next one."
"My journey so far was that of an idiot scumbag with no regard for others having fun at the expense of others. I now regret that Megumin was once part of that group. But now, with the Devil King defeated, that journey has come to an end and I intend to start a new one, right now!"
"This new journey, I predict will consist of my evolution from that idiot scumbag, into a proper adult. The only person I'm willing to take that journey with is Megumin. The feelings I have for Megumin are very difficult to describe in words, but one word that can never be used to sum up my relationship with Megumin is lust. I'm not with Megumin because of my lust, and I will never leave Megumin because of my lust."
"I am fully in love with her. If Megumin was the only person I'd see for the rest of my life. I would die the happiest man in the world. I intend to be committed to Megumin. The problems you mentioned were already addressed between us on the night that the two of us confessed. I understand that actions speak much louder than words, so I intend to show you through my actions."
"I invite you to hold me accountable. If at any point you doubt my commitment or observe behaviour that concerns you, you have every right to take your daughter away from me."
"Megumin's well-being is paramount, and I am willing to work with you to address any concerns you may have. I am committed to making Megumin the happiest person in the world. This commitment is not just a promise but a lifelong dedication. I intend to prove my sincerity through consistent actions that demonstrate my love and dedication to Megumin."
I had finished telling my part, the rest is in Eris' hands.
"Kazuma is telling the truth, dad! All the problems you mentioned from the rumours were dealt with. I can see that he wants to make an actual effort to change for the better, for my sake. So I want to be with him on every step of the way in return! Please give Kazuma a chance, I promise you, you won't regret it." Megumin said, jumping into the conversation to back me.
Mr Hyoizaburoo sat in silence for a bit, tilting his head backwards to think. Each minute that passed felt like an eternity, Mr Hyoizaburoo remained in the same position until he finally sighed and smiled to himself.
"Kazuma Satou…" he began.
I gulped awaiting his next words.
"I am willing to give you a chance. I am entrusting you with something that is more precious to me than my own life. More precious than the whole world! I trust you to look after Megumin."
Every muscle in my body relaxed at the same time, causing me to almost sink into the floor.
"Th-Thank you! I promise you, your trust is not misplaced."
"I'll hold you to that." He replied while chuckling.
"With that being said, please don't rush into things. Don't just have children just to please my wife."
"You don't have to worry about that! I'm going to progress this relationship at Megumin's pace. Children will only be considered when we're both ready, and that will be years from now."
"Thank you for putting my mind at ease. Now! I've got some work to do."
"No problem, we'll take our leave now. Thank you again, Mr Hyoizaburoo." I said as me and Megumin exited his room.
When we came out we saw Ms Yuiyui outside the door, she smiled at us and nodded before making her way down the hallway into another room.
"She must've been listening in. Even though she approved of me, she probably wanted to hear me clarify Mr Hyoizaburoo's doubts. I'm glad she was satisfied by my respons-"
Before I could finish speaking, Megumin had pulled me into a tight embrace. One which I gladly returned.
"Hearing you talk to my father, I think I fell in love with you all over again."
"I'm glad I made you feel that way, Megumin!"
"Never thought I'd hear you say stuff like 'I am committed to make Megumin the happiest person in this world. That isn't just a promise but a lifelong dedication'"
I felt my face get hot as I looked down at her.
"W-Well… I…"
"You don't have to say anything else Kazuma, what you said in there is more than enough."
Even though she said I didn't need to say anything else, I had to!
"Megumin?"
"Hm?"
I knelt down so that our eyes were at the same level.
"I intend to keep every word of that promise. I will make you the happiest girl in the world, I will make sure you love every second of us being together and I will make you mine forever. I love you Megumin, I can't see myself with anybody except you."
Megumin's eyes teared up after hearing my words, but I didn't have much time to pay attention to them as Megumin violently pushed my face forwards and pulled me into a kiss.
We only stayed like that for a couple seconds, but as we both pulled back both of us concluded that they were some of the best seconds of our lives.
"we've got some time to spare… So why don't we go on a date?" Megumin asked.
"a date huh? Where?"
"I don't mind, all I want is to spend some time with you."
"In that case, why don't we just roam around the village?"
"Okay!"
Part 3
We placed our bags in Megumin's room, and Made our way towards the village hand in hand. By all means this wasn't a 'normal' date, we wore the same clothes that we always wore. Megumin was still carrying her staff with her, but both of us knew that this was way better than a 'normal' date.
We didn't do anything in particular, just walked around aimlessly as if we were separated in a world of our own. Neither of us paid any attention to our surroundings, we were lost in each other. That was the case until someone rudely pulled us back into the real world.
"M-Megumin!?" A shout rudely disrupted our date.
"What is she… a-are they on a d-date?" Another one followed.
Turning my head, I saw a pair of Crimson Demon girls who could only be described as voluptuous.
"Funikura! Dodonto! Can't you see me and my man are on a date right now? Did you two really have nothing else to do except interrupting us?"
"It's Funifura! Not Funi-whatever."
"And it's Dodonko! W-Wait… so you too really were on a date!"
"Of course! Me and my man just defeated the Devil king! It should be obvious that we would want some alone time together!"
"N-No way! I refuse to believe you defeated the Devil king! You're useless after one explosion. How would you even help in the fight?"
"Well… my sweet boyfriend over here spent his hard earned money to get me a crate full of Manatite. That's how I helped."
"A-A crate! An entire crate of Manatite!?"
"Ask Yunyun if you don't believe me! Anyway, shoo! Go away now, I would like to get back to our date. Don't bother us or I'll start casting Explosion!"
"Eep! Please don't! The village separated a lot of land just to accommodate your Explosions! Use it there instead."
"Aah yes. It feels good to finally be recognised! Where is that by the way?"
"Over there…" Funifura said as she pointed away from the village.
"A short walk from here in that direction and you'll come across a small canyon, that area has been deemed useless enough for you to use your Explosio-"
"Darkness darker than dark…"
"We're sorry!" Both of them cried out at the same time.
"Ugh! Ignoring the last comment, you have given me useful information. So I'll consider this repayment for interrupting our date. Honestly why do you guys always mess everything up in the wrong moments… You two interrupt a, up till now, perfect date. Yunyun walks in, moments before we were about to get intimate…"
"I-Intimate!" Both of them cried out in shock as their faces went red.
"Y-You won't out do me Megumin! Just watch, I'll get a Boyfriend too!"
"Y-Yeah that's right! If someone as flat as an anvil can get a boyfriend, we can as well!"
"EXPLOOOOO-"
And that's when the two girls ran away.
I burst out laughing at the ridiculous conversation I had just witnessed.
"Hmph! What's so funny?"
"Nothing! It's just, your conversations with your old school friends are always hilarious!"
"I don't think calling me 'as flat as an anvil' is hilarious at all…"
"Ah still insecure about your body are you?"
"W-Well, not really… but when I'm talking to girls that have those tumours on their chests I can't help but feel inadequate."
"Well you shouldn't…" I said as I leaned forward towards her ear.
"Between the three of you, I still found you to be the sexiest among them." I whispered into her ear.
Megumin's face grew red as she tried to change the topic.
"G-Geez, Kazuma…. Y-You can't just suddenly say stuff like that… A-Anyway! Do you wanna go on my daily explosion trip?"
I quietly laughed to myself. Seeing her all flustered is incredibly fun!
"Sure!" My reply.
We walked in the direction that Funifura had pointed to earlier. After about half an hour's worth of walking in comfortable silence. We came upon a small canyon, the two sides were about 80 metres apart, each side having steep walls that ventured straight down into a narrow and winding river.
"This is perfect! Firing my explosion in this narrow canyon should be a true test of skill! Let me begin!"
Without even waiting for my response, she began chanting Explosion.
"Darkness darker than dark…"
I still don't understand why she continues to say her entire chant. She can easily skip that step by now… But I guess it's more fun for her this way.
"EXPLOOOOOOOOOOOOSION!" She finished chanting and channelling her mana and fired an Explosion right at the river at the base of the canyon.
There was a massive cloud of smoke that made it's way up into the atmosphere along with the water vapour that came as a result of her Explosion.
"Kazuma! Kazuma!"
"Yes I'm Kazuma."
"What would you rate that Explosion?"
"Well… The explosion was perfectly placed at the base of the canyon and the centre of the river. There was a powerful smoke cloud and steam cloud. Mixed with the powerful rumble I felt from the base of the canyon and the strong winds that almost blew me away from the canyon even though the Explosion was placed very deep down. I think that was a very good Explosion. 94 points! Nice explosion!" I replied, giving her a thumbs up.
Hearing my evaluation, Megumin smiled as well and returned my thumbs up with one of her own.
"Well, I think we should head bac-" I cut myself off.
We were fairly far away from the village, the Explosion must've scared off any monsters in the general vicinity. We were alone, in the perfect training ground, with no witnesses.
"Kazuma?" Megumin questioned my now serious expression.
"Megumin. I'm trusting you with this. What I'm about to show you… don't mention it… to anybody. Got that?"
Megumin, who was now lying on the ground, saw my serious expression and nodded slightly.
I turned back towards the canyon, I had no idea what I was doing, or whether it would work. I had to do it by trial and error.
Raising my hands and placing them in front of me, I took a deep breath. My mana store was flaring up, ready to be used. But that wasn't what I wanted to use right now. Slowly, I shifted my concentration away from my mana store, and focused it on something that was deeper. Instantly I felt my whole body warm up, as I focused intently on my newfound Energy store.
It didn't feel like mana that I normally tapped into for spells; instead, it felt like an ancient force, an energy untouched by the conventional laws of this world. It pulsed through me, warm and resonant, as if it were a wellspring of power dormant until now.
I remembered hearing Eris' warning, going past what one is capable of at that point can be disastrous. I wanted to start off small. I focused on the energy that I felt was stored in my finger tips, and I commanded it to escape the safe prison that it was kept in until now.
I felt my arms grow weightless as I felt jolts of electricity running along it, although none of them actually hurt me.
"Kazuma!?" Megumin screamed out in shock.
I opened my eyes and sure enough saw what she was so shocked by, bolts of green lightning emerged from my fingertips and enveloped my arms acting as a sort of armour that made my arms feel as if they had no mass at all.
Taking another deep breath, I commanded the energy in my fingertips to stop flowing out. I could tell I was nearing my limit. Every joule of energy that leaked out sent a warning signal to me, telling me exactly how much more I could handle. And at this point, I can't handle much more. I had barely even scratched the surface of my Energy store. If I had to guess it was about 3% of my total store.
Opening my eyes once again, I stared at the streaks of lightning that was surrounding my arms. Slowly, I pulled my palms closer, and commanded the energy to accumulate in between my palms. It followed my commands and the energy swiftly made its way in between my palms and collected together into a small ball of pure destructive energy that was barely 5 centimetres wide.
Acting out of pure impulse, I threw the energy down into the canyon as a sort of impromptu experiment. I saw the ball make its way down to the base of the canyon and touch the river.
In the next instant, the canyon was covered an explosion that was 3 times stronger than Megumin's most recent one.
I stared in awe at the aftermath of my impromptu experiment. The canyon, once silent, was now echoing with the remnants of the explosion. Smoke billowed up, and I could see the residual energy dissipating into the air. The river had vanished, evaporated by the intense heat of the explosion.
This was only three percent of my power!?
"K-Kazuma! What the fuck was that!?" Megumin shouted.
"I-It's a new power I gained, this was what I was planning to tell you about tonight. I'll tell you everything tonight, keep your questions until then alright?" I managed to reply, one look at Megumin's face told me all I needed to know.
She was utterly shocked, scared and awestruck. Telling her all the details of my conversations with Nareum would be giving her too much information in too little time. Saving this conversation for tonight when she would regain her composure was for the best.
"B-But that… that was amazing! It was even more powerful than my Explosion! You have to tell me how you did that!"
"What did I just say! Now come on, let's head back."
Megumin was too awestruck to continue to pester me with questions. I placed her on my back as I made my way towards Megumin's house. Megumin kept intensely staring at me, staring back at the canyon, and closing her eyes to presumably replay that scene. But she didn't say anything out of respect for my request.
I walked silently. Replaying the feeling again and again, going over every last detail in that sequence of events. The one topic I kept revisiting was the fact that I only used three percent of my potential power. That three percent made an explosion so powerful it could've probably stopped the mobile fortress Destroyer by itself.
I finally understood why the Gods refused to give this power to people they couldn't trust. If someone with this cheat was able to gain complete mastery over it, they could probably take down Belzerg's capital by themselves. A task which the Devil King and his forces failed at.
With this cheat being in my hands, I essentially had the lives of the citizens of Belzerg in my hands. That thought sent shivers through my entire body. This cheat was no joke, I would have to take it and the responsibility that comes with it extremely seriously.
Normally new challenges or tasks would get me annoyed, but this only got me fired up! It was fun to actually have responsibilities because of a cheat, my previous cheat never managed to do that.
But I need to move on from this topic now, getting lost in my own thoughts would be disastrous. I started walking forwards faster with newfound determination. I turned my head to see Megumin intently staring at me, taking in every detail.
"What is it, Megumin?"
"Kazuma. For a moment there, you looked really concerned…"
I smiled at her. She obviously cared for me a lot.
"I promise you, I'll tell you everything tonight. You could buy that lie detecting magic item if you'd like. I won't hide anything from you again. I know that you want all of my concerns to be your concerns as well, and I respect that. So please have some patience."
Hearing my words she smiled, nodded slightly and nuzzled her face into my back. It was overwhelmingly cute!
"Kazuma?" Megumin began.
"Kazuma here."
"Can you carry me like you did this morning?" she sheepishly asked.
No words were uttered between us as I moved her from my back and held her in my arms. She took the liberty of placing her arms around my neck to make the experience more comfortable.
As we were silently enjoying each other's company, we went back to Megumin's house.
By the time we returned to Megumin's house it was evening already. I placed Megumin down outside the front door and gave her enough mana to walk by using Drain touch.
"You know… according to Wiz, Drain touch is most efficient in the places where the skin is the thinnest or places that are closest to the heart. Giving you mana from the back of your neck is a bit too inefficient now… from now on I think you should give you mana by touching your boobs instea-"
"Sh-Shut up! Idiot." Megumin said, playfully slapping me as she entered her house.
I followed on behind her.
"Oh! You two are back from your date! How did it go? I hope you didn't end up pulling out Kazuma!" Ms Yuiyui said as we entered the living room.
"I-It was a normal date! We didn't do anything!"
"Y-Yes! We didn't do anything like that."
"Oh what a shame! I should remind you that the walls in the new house are sound proof! Even at the quietest hour at night nobody will hear anything."
"Hey mom! What's for dinner?"
Komekko came at the right moment to distract Ms Yuiyui and spare us the embarrassment.
"It'll be porridge again my dear. Speaking of which, it is getting late. Why don't you guys sit down? I'll bring you some dinner"
"Where is Mr Hyoizaburoo?"
"Oh he's quite busy at the moment! So he'll be eating dinner in his room."
"Oh… that's unfortunate."
"You should take this as a sign of his trust. If he was concerned about Megumin's well being he wouldn't be able to focus on his work. Instead he would've been here. But he's been peacefully working since you left."
"O-Oh, Thank you for telling me that!"
Ms Yuiyui gently smiled and left the room. Me, Megumin and Komekko sat down on the mats.
"Big sis!"
"Hm? What is it, Komekko?"
"Is it true that I need to find a nice and polite rich man as well when I become your age?"
"K-Komekko!? Who taught you that!?"
"Mom!" Came the reply from Komekko, who got bored waiting for dinner and made her way to the suitcase with the snacks we bought.
"Honestly, what is she teaching my sister?"
"Relax! She's probably just joking"
"No she isn't, we both know that."
"Yeah, but… it's out of genuine worry for Komekko, she wants to make sure Komekko is looked after when she grows up and stuff…"
"I send some money home every month… I thought that would satisfy her… but it clearly didn't"
"Wait hold on… you send money every month? From where?"
"Hm? From the money you give me every month. I'd keep a little bit and send the rest here…"
"You what!?" I replied in shock.
"S-Sorry." Megumin stammered out.
"What are you apologising for? I'm just shocked that you keep barely any money for yourself! You could've told me! From now on you keep all the money I give you, I'll send your parents money."
"I can't accept that! You're not under any obligatio-"
"I'm not. But I will." I interjected.
Megumin looked as if she wanted to argue, but hearing the finality in my voice she decided to close her mouth.
"And besides" I added while blushing.
"What's mine is yours now isn't it? So why does it matter who the money comes from, it's coming from both of us either way."
"Y-Yeah." Megumin replied with a blush of her own.
Shortly after, Ms Yuiyui came back carrying our dinner. The portion sizes hadn't gotten any better, so it was a quick dinner for all of us, but the general good mood made it a fulfilling dinner.
"Thank you for the dinner! I think I should take a bath now!"
"Oh yes I set the water to warm up before bringing dinner, it should be ready now!"
"Thank you! I hope you don't mind if I go first."
"Oh no, not at all!"
As I was getting up I heard Ms Yuiyui loudly exclaim.
"Oh my! We're all out of coal, it seems like there will only be one bath tonight."
I can see where this is going. Ms Yuiyui, you are the best wingman ever!
"Oh? Then shouldn't you or Mr Hyoizaburoo take one?"
"Oh no, we'll be fine! It's just Megumin I'm concerned about. She likes taking baths before bed as well. Tell you what! Why don't you two have a bath together?"
"Wh-What? It's fine, Kazuma can heat it with Magic."
"I'm afraid our heater isn't a magic heater, we couldn't afford it. It's a coal heater. We'll just have to buy more coal tomorrow!"
"It's fine Megumin, let's take one together! We've done this before, right?"
"Oh my!..."
"Sh-Shut up you two! F-Fine! Whatever." Megumin said as she got up with a look of determination.
Megumin and I went to her room to grab our pyjamas and made our way to the bath.
"No peeking!"
"Oh come on! One or two should be fine!"
"Absolutely not! In fact! Stand outside while I change. You can change when I enter the bath."
"Ugh, fine."
I stood outside while I waited for Megumin to change. It took every ounce of willpower to not look inside. After confirming she entered the bath I quickly changed into a towel and followed her in.
The bath was much bigger than the one in their old house, it was big enough to easily accommodate up to five people. I entered and sat down next to Megumin.
She blushed and looked away but she didn't complain or move away. Instead she pulled herself closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder.
We sat in silence for a bit until Megumin spoke up.
"Well Kazuma?"
"Hm?"
"You've got me in the bath, all by myself. Nobody will be coming in to interrupt us. What are you going to do to me?"
"Wh-What!? Megumin, have some mercy on this poor virgin boy!"
"I can't help it! You're too cute when you're flustered." Megumin replied, giggling to herself.
"This will just get me pent up…"
"You can just ask for a dream of me in the succubus cafe!"
"That feels like an eternity from now!"
"In that case, can't you just do it yourself?"
"Yeah but it's not the same. Back in my world I could've managed it because we had lots of available resources to help us out. None of those are here."
"How about if I give you some inspiration?"
"Inspiration?" I questioned her.
Megumin slowly stood up and undid her towel.
I stared in awe at her naked body.
"Th-This good enough inspiration?"
"Absolutely!" I replied.
I had seen Megumin naked before, but it was dimly lit. Now I could see her in the bright light of the lamps behind us.
I took in everything, from the slight curve of her chest and the perkiness of her nipples to her clean shaven pussy.
Moving from her right thigh and almost reaching her butt was a bright red tattoo, one that all Crimson Demons were born with.
Noticing my silent observation of her body she slowly slunk back into the water.
"Still think I'm sexier than Funifura and Dodonko?"
"Yeah. You just confirmed it."
Smiling, she pulled herself closer to me and pressed her body onto mine and whispered into my ear.
"I suppose I still haven't fulfilled that promise where I said I would do anything if you helped me defeat the Devil king." she whispered into my ear seductively.
Before my mind could jump to conclusions, Megumin pulled back and started laughing (presumably at my expression). I need to know, is the temptress skill acquirable? Because she seems to be putting multiple skill points into it.
While still laughing at my expression, Megumin grabbed the soap on her side and started washing herself.
"I think it's time I get out." Megumin said as she stood up having seemingly finished washing herself and bored of tempting me.
"you're right…" I replied. I couldn't let her have the last laugh.
I forcibly pulled her back into the water and onto my lap. Surprised by my sudden assertiveness she let out a small sigh.
"but I'd like to have some fun." I said as I planted kisses onto Megumin's neck as my hands groped her breasts.
I used my hand to gently squeeze and release her breasts in a slow rhythmic motion while my other hands made its way from her chest and down between her legs. Megumin didn't resist, in fact she looked like she was enjoying herself a lot judging by the moans that she was making. This is perfect, she was probably just as turned on as I was. Time to enact my revenge.
Suddenly I stopped, grabbed her and put her to the side beside me, and got up.
"Kazuma?" She questioned me.
"Now you know how I feel when you get me all pent up and do nothing about it! Now come on! Let's change and go to bed."
She grumbled as she got up and followed me out. We both quickly changed into our pyjamas.
"Hey, what was the point of asking me not to peek if you're gonna do something like that?"
"I didn't want you taking sneaky glances at me, instead I wanted to show you myself, on my own terms."
Wow I guess my luck actually worked in my favour in giving me a perfect girlfriend! I didn't enquire any further as I was more than satisfied with her answer, so we both made our way to Megumin's room. I locked the door as we both entered.
"Oooh… planning on having your way with me now that no one can enter?"
"Sh-Shut up! You're starting to sound like Eroness!"
Giggling at my comment, a slightly red faced Megumin got into bed. I quickly followed her in.
Part 4
We clung to each other as if we were magnets, our arms were wrapped around each other as we brushed through each other's hair staring intently at each other.
"I guess I should begin…"
Megumin nodded slowly.
"When I used Explosion to kill the Devil King, my body was destroyed. I died and was taken to meet the Gods where I was told that I can't be revived."
"I… I was devastated, because I didn't think I would ever be able to see you again… it felt as if I was losing my mind, every second felt like an eternity in hell. I… almost lost myself in that despair."
Megumin didn't interrupt me, instead she clung to me even tighter than before which bought much needed comfort.
"At that exact moment I heard a voice that introduced himself as 'Nareum, the supreme God.' Or whatever."
"He told me he was willing to reincarnate me back into this world if I took up the task of killing the Devil King's daughter. I took it without hesitation."
"As he was about to leave I was able to convince him into giving me a cheat."
"A cheat?" Megumin asked, the look of concern on her face now turned into confusion.
"Yeah I should probably explain that… whenever someone from my world is reincarnated into this one, the Gods give them a special unique power. These can be magic items or abilities. They are known as cheats."
"My previous cheat, as you probably guessed, was Aqua. This time I got a cheat called 'Energy Manipulation'. That was what you saw back there at the canyon."
"Well what can you do with it?"
"I can shape it however I want, I can make it into a destructive force that clears all in its path or an impenetrable shield that can withstand an onslaught of attacks, I can even solidify it to form equipment."
"That… that sounds amazing! Why were you so concerned back there?"
"Well… The Gods gave me a warning about this power. It's so destructive that if it's abused it can make the Devil King's antics look like mercy. They've never trusted anyone with this cheat before, I'm the first. I was just going through the implications and responsibilities that come with it…"
"Well… there isn't a person alive that I'd trust more than you, Kazuma! I know you'll use the cheat for good."
"Erm… thanks…"
"But I'm surprised! You're quite natural at using your cheat."
"Hm?"
"I was surprised you could stand up after making such a big explosion, let alone carry me back!"
"Ah…. Well…."
"Hm? What is it?"
"I really only used… about three percent of my power…"
Megumin stared back at me with a blank face.
"Wh-What!? Y-You're telling me that was three percent!?" Megumin's eyes widened in sheer terror as she finally realised the meaning of my statement.
"Now do you understand why I looked so concerned?"
"Y-Yeah… I'm just grateful that you decided to only use three percent. I would've definitely gone for a hundred."
I nodded, understanding the gravity of Megumin's words.
"Yeah, I can't just do that… there will be consequences."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Eris warned me that if someone with this cheat tries to use Energy past their current capability, they'd go through excruciating pain. The Energy would rip right through their cells. And if someone loses control while using it, their body would be torn apart."
Megumin jolted up, her eyes reflecting concern. She sat on the bed, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to compose herself. As she opened her eyes again, a mix of worry and determination lingered in her gaze.
"Kazuma…"
"I know… I promise you, I won't be reckless."
She reached out, holding my hands in her own.
"Kazuma, I'm with you on this. Every step of the way. Please don't isolate yourself or ignore your party because of this. I'll help you in any way I can."
"I know! Megumin I'll never push you away. I'll promise you that!"
The shared moment between us held a silent promise, a commitment to face whatever challenges lay ahead together.
After that, Megumin lied back down and clung to me once again.
"Is that everything, Kazuma?"
"Yeah, that's everything."
"Thank you for being honest with me." Megumin said as she placed a kiss on my cheek.
"Yeah your welcome, you had better be grateful for that."
"Hmph, so you still haven't lost the scumbag side of you!"
"Of course not!"
"Well… whatever. I prefer this over not having you here at all."
"I like being here as well…"
We clung together in silence, grateful for each other's mere presence.
"Alright, I'm getting tired now."
"Me too… I think we should go to sleep." megumin replied
I nodded.
"Goodnight, Kazuma."
I pressed my face forwards and pushed my lips against hers, she gladly returned the favour.
"Goodnight, Megumin." I said as I pulled back.
Then we both went to sleep, satisfied by the day's events.
Part 5
Megumin POV
I woke up to the serene sight of Kazuma peacefully sleeping, his face calm in repose. The events of yesterday flooded back in a rush.
From convincing my father that Kazuma was the right match for me to our date and Kazuma testing his new cheat skill, to the revelations about the gods—yesterday was a whirlwind.
We have an arduous task ahead—ending the Devil King's bloodline and restoring peace to Belzerg. Yet, if it means spending my life with Kazuma, I'd undertake that mission countless times.
One of my deepest fears is losing Kazuma. Every time he dies, time feels like it freezes. The others have grown accustomed to his deaths, but each time, the pit in my stomach deepens.
The image of his shattered body at the Devil King's castle haunts me. The despair I felt is indescribable.
I'm hopelessly in love with him. This warmth, this feeling—only Kazuma can evoke it. I made an unspoken promise to him yesterday: I'll stand by his side no matter what.
It's still early. Kazuma won't wake for a while, and I have no intention of disturbing his peaceful sleep. He always seems serene in slumber, a rare sight. Closing my eyes, I relished the comfort of being held in his arms.
I lost track of time in that position, opening my eyes as I sensed Kazuma stirring.
"Good morning, Megumin... Sorry if I woke you."
"No, I've been up for a bit. I just enjoyed being in that position."
His blush was endearing. It should become a daily routine to make him blush in the morning. Despite that, he didn't pull away; instead, he tightened the embrace.
I wanted to stay in this position for the rest of eternity, that was until I felt something suddenly poking at me, something a bit below Kazuma's waist.
"Fufu, someone's excited just because a girl got close to them!"
"Shut up! If you were a guy the same thing would have happened! Besides, the aforementioned girl is my girlfriend, who should be offering to give a hand to help me out any time now."
I pushed him back as I fought a losing battle against the blush trying to invade my face.
"As if! Why would I want to do perverted things with you!"
"You seemed to be enjoying it a lot yesterday in the bath…" He smugly replied.
I had no response.
"And the night before, you seemed to be enjoying yourself a lot when I used my finge-"
"S-Stop!" I pleaded to get him to stop talking.
"Oh, did you not enjoy it? I sure as hell did."
"Th-That's not what I meant… it was… amicable… I only did that since both of us were a bit pent up…"
"Amicable? Amicable!? Listen here you bold faced lying crimson Loli, I remember the moans you gave that night as clear as I see you right now, I don't think it was just 'amicable', stop lying to yourself!"
I growled in response to both Kazuma's words, and my lack of reply.
"Whatever happened to 'lust' not being able to be used to describe your relationship with me huh?" I said after taking my time to think of a response.
"H-Huh!?... Oh right… sorry…" He replied with a genuinely apologetic look that made my heart burst with pain.
"I-It's okay Kazuma! I know you were joking… don't worry!"
My response seemed to put him at ease because his usual confidence returned to his face as he stared at me.
"Hey Kazuma?"
"Hm?"
"The feast is tonight, what do you plan on doing until then?"
"Hmmm, how about another date?"
"Another one? I'd love to! But where would we go? We went everywhere in the Crimson Demon village yesterday."
"We only looked at the ruins around the village, I want to explore them."
"E-Explore them? Why!? You said you wouldn't be reckless! You promised me that!"
"Relax you damn loli! I'll only explore the ones you deem safe, I wanted to look around and see if I could find anything that could help me use my cheat or defeat the Devil king's daughter."
"If I'm a loli then that makes you a lolicon lolizuma! But yes, I can see the upsides of exploring the safe ruins. When do you want to go?"
"How about after breakfast?"
"Sounds good! We've cuddled for long enough now, let's get up."
"Ugh… I guess you're right." He begrudgingly said as he pulled his arms away and started getting up.
"I'm always right!" I beamed at him as I followed his actions.
We both made our way into the living room after freshening up to find the table ready with cutlery and freshly made porridge and my mother waiting for us.
"Good morniiing you two!" She greeted us with a tone that was a bit too cheery for my own comfort.
"Good morning!" We both grumbled simultaneously.
"Breakfast is ready! You're a bit late so Komekko and dad have already eaten. Here, help yourself."
Kazuma and I made our way to the table and sat down on the cushions.
"Ah sorry! We woke up a bit late today!" Kazuma apologised as I lifted a spoonful of the porridge into my mouth.
"Ah no worries! I'm sure Megumin must be feeling sore after last night! It's only logical that you two wake up late!"
I spat out the contents of my mouth back onto the table before I was attacked by a coughing fit.
"M-Mom! We didn't do anything like that! We were just up late talking!" I screamed in rage and embarrassment at my mother who bore a mischievous grin on her face.
"Fufufu- Whatever you say my dear! Anyway, I'll be going out to help with preparations for the feast tonight! I'll be taking Komekko with me, so you two can have some fun alright?" She said as she exited the living room.
"Ms Yuiyui is something else…" Kazuma said after a while of staring at the living room door with his mouth agape and his face red.
"She's always found the most creative ways to embarrass me…" I replied with an expression not too different from Kazuma's.
"Honestly at this point she probably wants us to cross the line more than I do…"
"S-Shut up! You're scaring me…"
After that we quickly finished our breakfast and made our way to the ruins of Elemin, the God of destruction. It had a lot of stuff we couldn't figure since we couldn't read Japanese, however, the ruins themselves had been explored inch by inch over the last couple decades, every single room was found and documented, the items weren't touched. So I thought that they were the best place to explore first.
We had a lovely conversation on our way there, mostly consisting of me telling Kazuma how cool I thought the name of the ruins was and How I would surpass Elemin and acquire his title and become the Goddess of Destruction while he nodded his head and gave me affirmations regularly.
Our conversation ended just as I was about to declare myself as "Megumin! The greatest Explosion Archmage in the world and the future Goddess of destruction!" but wasn't able to since we had reached the ruins of Elemin.
The ruins of Elemin looked out of this world, that was probably because they used information from another world so that makes sense.
The entrance was very humble for such a famous place of exploration, it was nothing more than two glass panes surrounded by a thin grey border, the entrance led to a tunnel that went deep into the mountains. The peculiar thing about these doors was the fact that when anyone approached them, they would slide across allowing access to the tunnel. There was nobody present to physically use magic to move the doors, so the mystery of these automatic doors was left unknown.
Behind the entrance was a tunnel, it's floor was covered on white tiles while the walls and ceilings were covered head to toe in white paint. As soon as someone stepped foot into the tunnel brilliant flashes of white light immediately turned on by themselves, this was another mystery, as no one had seen the person that was using magic to turn these lights on!
To the uneducated onlooker, these may look as automatic lights, but the enlightened know that was impossible, someone had to be using magic to turn on these lights, using a magic item for a task as menial as this was far too wasteful.
As we made our way through the tunnel, the two of us heard ethereal whispers made by the remaining soul fragments of Elemin.
"Warning! Warning! This laboratory has been decommissioned and the personnel located have been relocated."
"Kazuma! Kazuma!"
"Kazuma here"
"Do you hear the ethereal voice of Elemin? It is giving us some sort of quest! Do we need to find these 'laboratory' and personnel? Do you think they're even alive?"
"No you dummy, it's not some ethereal voice you're hearing, it's a prerecorded voice coming from a speaker somewhere."
"Speaker?"
"They're things from my old world, I'll tell you about them later"
"Okay!" I beamed at him, I have been increasingly becoming more and more curious about his old world, I wish he could show it to me somehow.
After that we explored the ruins, and I took Kazuma to all the important parts. We went to the fountain of sacrifice, it was a place of ritual and worship. Based on the intel we gathered, one would prove their worth by giving the fountain items, if the fountain deemed your item worthy it would bestow upon you holy water packaged in soft easily shapeable glass. One of the previous geniuses of the Crimson Demons figured out that giving the fountain coins was the best way to prove your worth.
"...so a vending machine?" Kazuma inquired.
"What's that?"
"I'll explain later."
Then we went to the chamber of trials, a room which somehow changes the temperature inside of it, on hot days it can be made cold and on cold days it can be made hot. Inside the room was a large comfy looking bed. Interestingly, there were peculiar devices on one leg of the bed, and unusual accessories next to it. On the dresser were peculiar instruments I had never seen before, some unconventional garments like a black skin tight suit, and a rather bizarre mask that covered the entire head. There was also an odd contraption with a strap on it.
"Kazuma, the Crimson Demons believe this room was some sort of chamber for testing endurance, they subjected themselves to various challenges to prove their strength. If they failed, they would wear that strange suit and the mask, and sometimes they even used that strap thing as part of their trials. The temperature changes were probably to make the challenges even more difficult."
"M-Megumin… we won't find anything here… let's look somewhere else." Kazuma said, trying to suppress a chuckle.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"...I'll explain later… let's go"
I followed him out, but I didn't fail to notice that his gaze was fixed on the skin tight suit and the weird ball-like object with the strap.
"Why are you staring at them for? Do you recognize them? Do you think they can help defeat the Devil King's daughter?"
"Oh uh… not particularly. Just taking a mental note of their location for future projects."
"Okay!" I replied. I didn't know what he meant but I did trust his judgement.
I showed Kazuma around the other major places of note, but he didn't find anything that could help us out in our predicament.
I had shown him around the whole place and there was nothing else to look at.
"Well you've seen everything here… wanna go somewhere else?"
"We haven't been behind that door." He said pointing to a set of large metallic doors and a weird device that was protruding from the wall on its left with multiple buttons that had inscriptions on them that we had never seen.
These inscriptions were different from Japanese, but they pertain to no known language on this continent. The doors were resistant to all magical attacks (except Explosion of course). So we were never able to enter that room.
"We don't know how to get past those doors…"
"You said every part of these ruins were explored?"
"The previous generation of Crimson Demons used a Magic item to see inside the room from outside, they said it was a records keeping area with a lot of papers and books. So they included it in the map, but no one was ever able to enter."
Kazuma looked intrigued by the room's description as he made his way over to the doors, more specifically to the device on the wall.
He stared at it fir a couple seconds before his eyes widened in what I can only describe as realisation.
"It's in English… don't tell me!…" he mumbled to himself as he pressed a sequence of buttons with the strange inscriptions.
Suddenly, sounds came from the Metallic doors, they vibrated slightly before sliding and disappearing into the walls to reveal the entrance to the up until now unexplored room.
"It really was password123…" I heard Kazuma mumble to himself as I stared at him with my mouth agape.
"Kazuma! How did you do that?"
"I'll explain later… now let's go and be careful."
"It's as I thought! You really are a man worthy of dating the future Goddess of destruction!"
"Sure whatever you say…" he replied as he walked in. I quickly followed.
As we stepped into the chamber behind the unlocked doors, an expansive room unfolded before us, its dimensions obscured by towering bookshelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. A mesmerising maze of knowledge, each shelf cradling an archive of scrolls, leather-bound books, and personal memoirs.
"Wow!" I simply gawked at the sight before me. This could even put the library in the capital to shame by several orders of magnitude.
Kazuma, who had a similar expression to mine, came to his senses first and made his way to the closest bookshelf. Grabbing a couple scrolls and books he began to flick through them, slowly at first, but as he went further in I could see his excitement growing as he flicked through the scrolls and books faster and faster.
I made my way to him and looked through the items he had finished looking through. I wasn't able to read them as some of them were written in Japanese while others were written in the language that the machine in the wall was using. Some were written in languages that I hadn't even seen before.
"Kazu-"
"Jackpot!"
"Kazuma, what is this place?"
"It's just like the Crimson Demons guessed! This is a records keeping place! But it's not just any record keeping place! It's our record keeping place."
"Our?"
"Yes, people from my old world. These are records, memoirs, autobiographies and personal diaries of the previous generations of heroes sent here by the Gods! These are bound to have some information on how to effectively utilise my cheat skill!" He excitedly told me.
"That's great Kazuma! But why are they here?"
"When I flicked through them the name that kept coming up was 'The order of the Divine'. So it was probably a group of some sort, order of the Divine is probably just a cooler way to refer to the people that the 'Divine', meaning the Gods, had sent to this world."
"So this place was a 'laboratory' and the meeting place, or records keeping place or something, of this 'Order of the Divine'?"
"Probably a record keeping place, the laboratory was abandoned but it had all of its equipment. The locals probably feared this place so no one would venture inside willingly. They made a very well informed decision."
"So what were they? A club of reincarnated people that just hung out?"
"Looks like it. If I had to guess, when every member in this club died, they probably took their diary or autobiography in remembrance and stored it here, Looks like they had other people write memoirs for the ones without diaries."
"This is amazing Kazuma! So are you gonna take everything here?"
"I-is that allowed? Wouldn't the Crimson Demons want to take a look?"
"We adhere to the policy that the finder decides the fate of the object they found."
"Even so… the Crimson Demons do deserve to look at them. Besides, there's no way I can read everything here, even if it takes a lifetime."
"Yeah you're probably right…" I said as I gazed around the massive room with countless pieces of accounts and information from thousands of previous heroes.
"We better start right now or we'll miss the feast."
"Agreed."
I spent so long exploring the library maze and bringing back scrolls and books for Kazuma to look through that I had lost track of time.
After carefully inspecting any item I bought, Kazuma flicked through it, scrutinising contents before either deciding it was worth reading or not.
In the end Kazuma decided to take a total of seven books and scrolls that he decided were worth reading through.
"These are enough for now, we should get going anyway. It's probably around the time the feast starts."
"Yeah I agree. We were going at it for so long that I even forgot about lunch…"
"Thank you for saying that, I'll make sure to remember those words for the rest of my life." Kazuma enthusiastically said.
Huh!? What was he talking about? I repeated the words I just said in my head before I finally got the meaning.
"Oh come on! You know that's not what I meant! Is that all you ever think about?"
"Yes." He confidently replied.
"Gah- why did I even bother asking… could you delete that sentence from your head?"
"Absolutely not! Under no circumstance!"
"It's just… I want you to remember things like that when I say them with the intended message…"
"..." Kazuma, who was now flustered, didn't reply.
"Forget what I said… I want you to hear them when I actually mean it."
He only nodded in response.
"Good, now that we've dealt with that… let's go enjoy the feast!" I said as I grabbed his hands.
When we exited the ruins of Elemin, it was already dark out. So we hurried back to the village.
When we got back we saw everybody gathered at a large tent that was put up in the town centre. Tables were sprawled out inside the tent that were filled to the brim with every dish imaginable.
From the standard food of this world to some Japanese dishes. Everything was there! I even saw Aqua's tuna mayo sandwiches on a table, but no one had touched them. And for good reason.
"Ah there they are!"
"Megumin and her boyfriend!"
"They made it!"
The villagers began to cheer upon spotting us, I guess it's time to join the festivities.
"Let's have some fun!" I said to Kazuma who replied in agreement. And with that, we went to enjoy ourselves.
The air was alive with laughter and chatter, the villagers coming together to revel in the defeat of the Devil King. Amid the diverse array of dishes, one could find tantalising aromas wafting from trays of traditional fare and the exotic allure of Japanese specialties. Yet, amidst this culinary abundance, one noticeable absence lay on a table—Aqua's tuna mayo sandwiches, an unsung culinary misadventure. I'm not sure who made them or how they got the recipe, but they were in for a rude awakening. It had yet to be even touched by a single person.
As the night unfolded, the villagers, their curiosity piqued, gathered around me, Kazuma, and Yunyun. Kazuma told them about his one-on-one battle with the Devil King, strategically seizing the spotlight. I followed suit, painting a vivid picture of Kazuma's grand gesture with Manatite crystals, earning them admiration and praise as a couple.
"R-Really!?"
"That much Manatite!?"
"Kazuma must love Megumin a lot to spend that amount of money…"
The villagers were visibly shocked at Kazuma and his ridiculous gift of Manatite. I watched with pride as they gave compliment and after compliment to Kazuma who seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Those Manatite crystals were the best gift anyone has ever gotten me. I'll cherish that moment for the rest of my life."
"Awww how cute!"
"They really do make a perfect couple!"
And now just as I planned, we got compliments as couples. This has worked wonders as Yunyun, Funikura and Dodonto wore an empty defeated expression.
After we got complimented for nearly 30 minutes, the conversation moved on to Yunyun's side of things.
Yunyun, too, took her turn, recounting her own heroics, and the feast became a melting pot of shared victories and mutual joy. Compliments flowed freely, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie that transcended the defeat of the Devil King.
As the night wore on, the feast continued, an enchanting blend of jubilation, delicious fare, and heartfelt stories. Under the celestial tapestry of stars, Kazuma's efforts to bring joy to this world resonated in the laughter and contentment that echoed through the Crimson Demon village until the early hours of the morning
Around 2 in the morning, we made our way back to my house. Mom, Dad, and Komekko decided to linger a bit longer, enjoying the festivities. Utterly drained by the events of the day, we collapsed onto my mattress, our arms embracing each other in a comforting cocoon. The weight of exhaustion pulled us into a peaceful slumber.
I woke up to find myself in Kazuma's arms; it seemed we had slept in a tight embrace last night. I smiled, reliving the joyous feast from yesterday. It had been a long time since I had so much fun. Perhaps they should make this a yearly event, a gathering where all the Crimson Demons come together to shower compliments on the greatest magic wielder in history. That would be so much fun!
As I envisioned crowds kneeling in front of me out of fear, Kazuma stirred awake.
"You know, seeing your face every morning is something I could get used to," he said after rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, I like sleeping with you as well! Maybe I should move into your room when we get back to the mansion," I teased.
Instead of looking flustered as I expected, he brought his arm to his chin, as if pondering something.
"I'd like that. Maybe you should," he shot back.
"S-Sure," I replied. Why was I the one getting flustered? I only suggested it as a joke, but now that I thought about it, I wasn't too opposed to the idea. I might as well move into his room now that we are dating.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone was at the door.
"Yes? What is it?" I asked aloud.
"Megumin? Someone says that they're here to meet you and Kazuma. They say it's important," Mom's voice answered.
Both of us sighed. Our little trip of peace and quiet wasn't going to last forever. Eventually, someone would show up to create one problem or another. That's how it always goes.
"Alright, we'll get ready and meet them," I replied.
The two of us quickly readied ourselves and went outside to meet this guest.
Outside the house stood a blonde woman, whom I remembered as the tutor for Princess Iris. She always hung out around Claire. I recalled her name being Rain.
"Kazuma Satou and Megumin of the Crimson Demons. The Royal Family awaits you back in Axel."