The first thing Kazuma did after taking a breather was dunk Darkness's head in the river to wash off the monster attractor. He was going to have to add a new rule; no using more than a capful of monster attractor. Ever. Darkness was unconscious, but uninjured. She had an enthusiastic smile and would occasionally mutter, 'yes, harder, harder.' Kazuma figured the river bank was a fine place to make camp for the night. He'd let both Darkness and Megumin recover and they could set out for home tomorrow morning.

"Kazuma?"

"Yes, I'm Kazuma."

"Hey, I just wanted to… thank you, for saving me. I… I know you didn't have to. I was useless, just dead weight. You could have just left me behind. It's not like you even like me. So thank you."

Kazuma stared at her for a moment. "Wow. You're an even bigger idiot than I thought."

Her eyes widened, but before she could yell at him he continued.

"I may be a jerk some times, but I'm not a monster. I've seen people die in front of me when there was nothing I could do. There's no way I want to ever see that again. I would never abandon someone. Never."

"I see," she said in a quiet voice.

"And just for the record Megumin I don't hate you. You annoy the absolute piss out of me because you remind me of how I used to be."

"I do?"

He nodded. "Before I came here all I cared about was myself. I used to spend all my time in my room playing games. I didn't care about anyone or anything else, not my parents, not my friends, not my family, nothing. I was totally self-absorbed, and my own feelings were the only things that mattered to me. Then I came here, and found out that the world, any world, is a big place. It doesn't care if you're hungry or scared. And most of the people in it will screw you over in a hot second. The ones who don't. The ones who'll help you even when there's nothing in it for them, they're what makes life worth living. They're more important than games or pride, those connections are what make life worth living."

He paused.

"And losing them hurts more than you would ever believe." He glanced at Darkness who was out but had a content grin. "I'll make sacrifices for the people who matter to me, even when they piss me off or embarrass the hell out of me. Because they're what's most important."

He turned his focus from Darkness back to Megumin. "And that's why I don't like you. Because even while you say you want to be in a party, you only want it on your own terms. You're okay not just with putting yourself but everyone else in danger just because you like explosion magic. You just expect everyone else to cover for you, because your satisfaction is what matters. And it matters more than lives. I'm sure when you thump your chest and tell everybody how you won't compromise and learn any other spells you think you're being noble. You're not, you're just selfish."

She stared wide eyed and her mouth opened and closed soundlessly.

He took his bow out and started to walk away. "I'm going to get us something for dinner."

"I'm sorry!" She blurted out. There were tears in her eyes. "It's not because I'm selfish. It's because I love Explosion more than anything!"

"Yeah, I know." He headed off.

XXX

By the time Darkness woke up Kazuma had a campfire going and three rabbits skinned and cooking. She was in a good mood recalling how she'd been assaulted by a huge slimy monster that had been eager to chew her up and swallow her. When she heard about the rampaging horde of naked mole rats she was sorry to have been unconscious for that. It was confirmed that the Sand Wyrm was completely destroyed and Darkness congratulated Megumin. The girl thanked her but was noticeably subdued.

"You seem very quiet," Darkness stated. "I would have expected you to be more energetic after your success. Did Kazuma do something to you?"

"Not really," Megumin said quietly. "He just told me what he honestly thinks about me."

"I see," she reached out and patted the girl's hand. "Don't feel bad, he does that to a lot of people." She smiled over at him. "He has a savage heart."

"Be quiet and eat your rabbit before I regret saving you from the mole rats."

"See? Savage."

Megumin nodded and ate her meal.

XXX

The trip back to Axel was uneventful. Kazuma was surprised when they camped the next night and Megumin didn't ask to be allowed to cast Explosion. On the way home she said very little and kept to herself. Kazuma and Darkness had the usual banter with one another as she would talk about all the potential horrors that surrounded them and Kazuma found ways to mock her. It was friendly chatter between friends who understood each other and helped the miles slip by.

It was late afternoon on the day after defeating the Sand Wyrm. Axel had come into view and they were about a half hour from the main gate when Megumin suddenly came up to Kazuma.

"Kazuma, I want to show you something."

He stopped. "What?"

Reaching into a pocket of her robes she pulled out her adventurer's card and handed it over to him. "Please look at this."

Kazuma took the card and examined it. Killing the Sand Wyrm had rocketed Megumin from level six all the way to ten. That wasn't a surprise as it had been a major monster deserving a ten million eris reward. What did catch Kazuma by surprise was her list of spells. Along with Explosion he saw she now also had Fireball and a spell called Blast in her inventory.

"Hey, I think there's a problem with your card. I see something other than Explosion listed."

Her cheeks darkened but she looked him back in the eye. "Growing up in the Crimson Demon village I've seen hundred of spells performed. Since I'm an archwizard I can acquire almost any of them. I think you're already familiar with Fireball." Kazuma nodded. "Blast is a weaker version of Explosion. It's safe to use in close distances and I have enough MP that I could probably cast it six or seven times in a day without being completely drained. Same goes with Fireball. They're both advanced spells so I needed two skill points to acquire each."

He handed the card back to her. "I thought you refused to use anything but Explosion."

"I did," she said in a low voice. "But when you were rescuing me from the mole rats I realized I was nothing but a burden. I don't want to drag other people down who I'm working with. I figure maybe learning a few other spells wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if it meant I could help my friends when they need me."

"Wow, that actually sounds reasonable."

"Don't get me wrongs," she added quickly. "Explosion is still the greatest spell there is and I still plan on using it whenever possible. It's just that you may need me to save you some time and so I better be able to still cast magic whenever that time comes."

"Well if our paths ever cross, sure. If you're really willing to use other spells I don't doubt you'll have lots of parties recruiting you. Whoever you end up working with will be lucky."

Her face turned a darker shade of red and stamped her staff on the ground. "You're going to make me say it aren't you?"

"Say what?" Kazuma asked sounding much too innocent.

"Please let me join your party. I want to work with you and darkness from now on. Even if you're a massive perv and jerk, I also think you're pretty amazing. You and Darkness are both brave and incredible adventurers. It would really make me happy to be in a party with both of you."

Kazuma rubbed his chin. "Hmmm, I'm not sure."

Darkness came up beside him. "Do I get a say in this?"

"Nope."

She gasped. "So cruel."

"Come on!" Megumin pleaded. "Isn't this what you wanted? For me to agree to sue other spells?"

"Are you really going to use them? I wouldn't want you to fire off Explosion and go limp the first time we spot a slime or something."

"Do you think I'd waste four skill points on them if I weren't going to use them?"

"I'd like to think not but then I wouldn't expect someone to become a waitress instead of learning more spells either."

"Hey, I've changed, okay? What happened was a wake up call and I realize I can't just do what I want all the time. I'm willing to compromise if it means I can be in your party."

"Okay then, you can join us but there's condition."

"What?"

"You're still not allowed to cast Explosion without my permission."

"Hey! You don't think I can control myself?"

"Nope."

She stood there glaring. "I could just join a different party you know! Anyone would take me now that I have more spells, you said so yourself!"

"And I don't doubt they will. But if you want to join this party you have to agree no more big booms without your god's say so. If you can't handle that then we'll part ways as soon as we collect the reward."

"You really are an asshole, you know that?"

"Its been mentioned once or twice."

She glared daggers, but finally gave a single curt nod. "Okay, fine! I won't use Explosion without your say so! So can I join your party?"

He grinned and held out his hand. "Yeah, welcome aboard Megumin."

She shook hands with him and Darkness and she joined them as a permanent member.

XXX

As they continued towards Axel Kazuma spoke to his new party member. "You know I was wrong about you, Megumin."

She grinned happily. "I know, I bet you never thought I'd finally agree to learn more spells. I've grown up and become more mature in your eyes haven't I?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted. "But that's not what I was talking about."

"What are you talking about then?"

"When I said you probably wore kiddie underwear. I mean seriously, black silk panties? Isn't that a little mature for a kid like you?"

"Ack!" She slammed her knees together and slapped both hands down in front of her thighs. "You perv! That's sexual harassment! When did you-"

"The night after you cast your first Explosion and were sleeping out on the grass. I just took a quick peek. Nothing to worry about."

"How do you think that's okay?!" She yelled.

"K… Kazuma, did you possibly…?" Darkness stuttered.

"Pink with little roses," Kazuma chuckled. "Honestly I'd have expected you to be the one with the black panties."

Darkness let out an ecstatic cry and hugged herself. "Chris was right you are a fiend."

"That's it!" Megumin leveled her staff. "Fireball!"

"Hey!" Kazuma ran for his life as a ball of fire sped towards him.

On the bright side he survived and learned for certain Megumin could cast spells other than Explosion.