KonoSuba: A Tale of this Beautiful World Vol6

by Dknightodin

The sixth volume of the series.

6. Chapter 5: The Well-trodden Path

Chapter 5: The Well-trodden Path

Part 1

"Ugh."

"Inara," Daichi said, noticing she had stumbled, "is something wrong? Are you alright?"

We all came to halt as we turned our attention to the half-elf in the group.

"I'm…I'm sorry; I'm quite tired."

"Tired? Yeah, now that you mention it, so am I."

Nyle sighed audibly. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped; we can take a short break here—but I should warn you, I don't know what could be in here."

"Didn't you say no one would dare enter these tunnels?" I remarked.

"No dwarves, sure…but who can say what else might've made these tunnels their home in all that time. Still, I'm no slave-driver, I can see when those I'm leading need a rest; we can take a few hours to regain our strength. Two shifts?"

"Sounds good," Daichi said in agreement. "Kazuma?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sounds good."

Nyle nodded. "I'll scout a little ways ahead. Hurnus, do you mind coming along…or are you just as tired as the humans?"

Hurnus chuckled lightly. "I've got a little bit left in me; had to give up some of my energy for our dear mage to cast her magic."

"Ah, so you did. I suppose that's a good enough excuse."

"Reason. But I'll come along, all the same."

"I'll go with you two as well," Kevin announced.

"You sure you don't wanna stay and get some rest with the others?"

"I would, however, I don't believe I'd be able to rest easy if I knew you and Nyle-san were off exploring the unknown without any means of support. Even if I leave the others, I know they'll be in Aqua-dono's gracious hands."

Gracious? I glanced at this "gracious" person he was referring to and only saw her looking at the priest absent-mindedly. While her abilities weren't in question, I wish I had as much faith in her dependability as he did.

"That's not a bad idea," Nyle said with a nod.

"Well then," Daichi continued, "we'll try and set up some form of camp here. Try not to be too long, alright?"

They nodded and then set off deeper into the tunnel.

Along the side of the path was a rocky outcrop which Inara had already seated herself upon and in which Daichi took a seat upon once the other group was gone.

"Not much of a camp we can make here," he said with a small chuckle. "No wood or kindling to speak of. Thank God for the Luminite around here."

Although this path had been abandoned long ago, the walls were still lined with interspersed pieces of Luminite; dim as their lights were, it was still better than the pitch black darkness one would find themselves with their absence, their presence being a sign that this path was once trodden by others.

"I'm just glad this place isn't freezing," Inara remarked.

"Likely because of the pile of Blaze Stones at the entrance."

"This far in?"

Daichi looked back towards the path we already walked. Even with my Night Sight it was dark enough that I could only make out the dimly-lit stones along the path—and even then, they faded out not too far down.

"It's not too far, I don't think."

"Well, before Nyle said anything, I almost thought it was a trap someone may have laid; a good thing it wasn't."

"Umu. It seems the cold from the Lunatite might've been a problem even back then; according to him, they must've piled the stones around the entrance to halt its spread." Daichi chuckled once again. "I guess that means no traditional camp. Still, we can lay out our bedrolls and get a bit of rest. Inara, you go ahead." He then turned his gaze upon me. "Kazuma, how about you, are you feeling tired?"

I couldn't lie, I was pretty tired, but I wanted to know who was gonna be up if I decided to get some rest.

"Who isn't tired?" I said in reply.

"I'm fine," Darkness said.

I looked at Megumin who then, noticing I was, stammered out an answer. "W-What is it?"

"You're not tired, right? You must be—"

"No, I actually am kind of tired."

"Wha— You are?"

She nodded. "I used Explosion not too long ago, remember?"

She did…and she didn't faint; I guess I was so used to that being the aftermath that seeing her standing and even walking along with us made me forget.

"And you?" I said, looking at Aqua.

"Me? Well, I'm not really tired. Gods can't get tired," she said, pompously gesturing at herself. "But, I still need my beauty rest."

"You could just say you want to sleep instead of going on with your nonsense."

She frowned. "I think it bears mentioning—since Kazuma-san has recently seemingly forgotten that very important fact about me."

I don't know how many times I had to stop her from blurting out her status as a deity before she learned that it wasn't something she should be doing. What ever happened to her keeping her identity a secret?

"With Aqua-san's recent display, one couldn't help but believe that," Daichi remarked with a playful grin.

I quickly tried to remind them. "It's all thanks to her—"

"Gear?"

"Erm, yeah." I wasn't completely sure, but I don't think I was really tricking anyone with that excuse anymore.

"Right. Who is it that's staying up with me, then? Darkness-san?"

"I can, sure," she said, stepping forward.

"No," I retorted, to their surprise. "Go ahead and get some rest, Darkness; I'll take over."

"But I feel fine. Aren't you tired, Kazuma?"

"You've been quite the workhorse. Whether you feel fine or not, I think you should get some rest, Darkness; better to have you at peak performance, just in case."

"Uh, sure…I guess, but what about you?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry, I'll get my rest whether that means having to do it on a bedroll or on your back." Darkness gave me a red-faced smile and then headed off to get her bedroll. "You two go ahead and get some sleep too," I said, looking at Aqua and Megumin.

-Several minutes later…

With the girls left to sleep, Daichi and I took guard.

We made a small fire with some of the plentiful rocks lying around and a few scant pieces of tree roots popping through the ceiling of the tunnel. It wasn't something that would last an entire night but, at the very least, it served to keep us a bit warmer and somewhat comfortable amidst the unknown.

"So," Daichi said out of nowhere. I looked up from the fire. "Aqua-san, she's actually a goddess, isn't she?"

"Huh? No. I thought I told you that—"

"It's her gear. Right. You did." He tossed a bit of the wood onto the sputtering flames. "But…you don't have to hide it from me, Kazuma. I thought I saw her before. I didn't remember where or what she even looked like, but…now I do."

Both of us sat in silence.

"Where do you remember her from?" I said, testing him.

"She's the one who sent us here, me and Haruto. She sent you here too, didn't she?"

I looked over at the girls then shifted my attention back to Daichi. "Inara-san knows?"

He shook his head. "Yours?" I nodded. "Really? You told them?"

"Yeah. They sort of figured it out…more or less."

Daichi glanced over at Inara. "I wouldn't be surprised if she actually knows as well…if Hurnus and Kevin do, too. Anyway," he said, looking back at me, "you don't have to worry, your secret's safe with me. What I actually wanna know is why she's here—with you? I figured it was her job to find more people like us to send here."

I sighed. "It's a long story."

"Heh. Not willing to tell? Alright then, that's fine; I won't pry."

Could I really tell him that it was on an impulse, a way to strike back at the goddess who had been mocking me? I don't know, but I'm sort of glad he wasn't pushing the issue.

"How about you?" I said just as impulsively.

"Me? What do you mean? What's my story?"

"Uh, sure."

He paused, looking as if he was contemplating the moment, the decision…perhaps, the courage, to share with me his story.

He sighed deeply. "You'll have to forgive me, Kazuma; I'm not ready to talk about that yet."

"Hey, it's ok; it's not like you have to tell me anything."

"No, I know—it's just…you know…you're another reincarnate…like me. It's been a little while since I've seen another Japanese person around."

"Really? You mean there aren't any around here?"

Daichi shook his head. "I'm not too sure, but I haven't seen any for quite some time. There have been mentions of some though, more north, near the capital."

If I had to guess, they were probably mounting a defense against the Demon King's forces, likely offering and selling their abilities as adventurers.

Daichi continued. "In any case, if they really are near the capital then there's a good chance we'll run into them."

"Assuming we make it," I remarked.

Daichi raised a brow. "I didn't take you for quite the pessimist."

"Traveling with those girls… Let's just say I've learned to temper my expectations."

"That bad, huh? Well, I can't say it's a bad stance to take; maybe a little pessimism on my part might've changed some things."

"What things?"

Daichi shook his head. "Back then."

"Oh!" He must've meant the situation with his brother. "My bad."

"No, it's my fault for saying unnecessary things. Anyway, our firewood is starting to run out."

"Yup. Any ideas where we can find any more?" I said half-jokingly.

"Wish I knew. I should've packed some wood for cases like this. It's a good idea to always have some on hand in these parts. I can't tell you how dangerous it can be to travel without a good supply."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me that; me and those girls had to learn that the hard way."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Nearly froze to death when we came here."

"Must've been one hell of an experience. Kinda reminds me of the time me and my brother got stuck outside our house during winter. Heh. If it wasn't for Koro we'd be…well…not like it mattered in the end."

"Koro?"

"Our dog. Our mother was out walking him, but from what she told us later, Koro broke free and doubled back to the house. Of course, our mother ran after him; thanks to that she found us on the front porch two breaths away from becoming part of the winter decorations."

"Oh, did he catch your scent or something?"

Daichi chuckled. "That dog? No. He only doubled back because one of the neighborhood cats ran past him and mom."

"Guess you owe your life to that cat, then," I said with a laugh.

"Yeah. Haruto actually ended up trying to take it in; couldn't though, our mother wouldn't let him—not with Koro about, anyway. Was a pretty familiar stray. We ended up hearing it passed a few months later though."

"Oh."

"What about you, Kazuma, did you have any pets? Any siblings?" Daichi quickly sat up. "Y-You don't have to answer if you don't wanna; not really fair of you—"

"Had a couple of pets…and a younger brother."

Daichi stared at me in silence. There was a momentary look of surprise on his face but it quickly dissipated into something more stern—and yet, I could tell it didn't hold any hostility, but rather, it was something more like a deep sense of respect. Almost like two rivals coming to a compromise after a tough match…or something along those lines.

"Is he…?"

"He's alive…at least I think he is. He didn't come over with me if that's what you're asking."

Daichi sat back and then sighed heavily once more, running a hand over his face. "Sorry. I'm sort of envious of how you can talk about the past so easily. Don't you miss them, your family? Friends? The games? The convenience?"

"Well, I mean…sure. I think about it from time to time…but…I've grown to like it here," I said, glancing over at those three.

"That's right…you're married. Married. At sixteen?"

"I'm eighteen."

"Eighteen, huh?" He smirked, looking at Megumin. "And how old is—"

"Old enough," I said with a knit brow. "What ever happened to not prying?"

Daichi laughed. "Fair. Fair." Then once again, his expression melted to stoicism. "Eighteen and already married. Not to mention, beat a Demon King. Here I am, two years your senior and I don't even have one of those things under my belt." Hm, I didn't really give it much thought, but those were some pretty impressive accomplishments for someone my age. "If you don't mind me asking, how'd you do it?"

"Huh? Do what?"

"Beat a Demon King, get your loli wife."

I couldn't help but frown; sure Megumin was a loli, but the way he said it made it seem like I was a lolicon. I'm not a lolicon.

Daichi went on. "Are you gonna surprise me by telling me she's actually a 1000 yr old loli vampire?" he said with a smirk.

"I don't know what to tell you," I said, ignoring his offhand comment, "both of those things just sorta happened, Daichi-san."

"Just Daichi; kinda late for the formalities—not that I'd care for it anyway. You don't mind if I keep calling you 'Kazuma', do you?" I shook my head in reply. "Alright."

"So…when should we start worrying about the others?"

"Hurnus and them?" Daichi looked down in contemplation. "It's been a bit, hasn't it? I suppose we can start worrying about it once we're completely out of fuel for the fire."

"And then what? We go looking for them?"

"Yes, all of us; it'd be a bad idea to divide the group even further at that point—but let's not jump to conclusions, Kazuma. I have faith in Hurnus and Kevin, not to mention, Nyle-san's ability to navigate has been nothing short of great."

"Trust me, it's not like I want anything to go wrong, but it's not a bad idea to get some sort of a plan together, just in case."

"I hear you."

We sat in silence as Daichi tossed the last of the kindling into the fire.

"So," he said, breaking the silence, "you said you played some games back in Japan?"

"Some?" I grinned. "It was all I did back home. You?"

"A bit."

"Oh." A bit; it wasn't the answer I was expecting, especially considering the exchange we had about several games back when we first met. Did it mean that he was some sort of normie like Mitsurugi? "Did you…go out a lot?"

"Me? Oh, no. I uh…had some"—he took a deep breath—"friends I hung out with." He looked down, frowning and clenching his fist.

Whoever these 'friends' were, they were clearly anything but.

Daichi looked back up at me and continued. "I was often pretty preoccupied with them, but when I was home, I would play some games with Haruto. How about you? Did you play games with your brother?"

"Not a lot."

Unlike his older brother, he was actually quite the attentive and studious kid. If I wanted to play something with him, it would mean that I'd have to leave my room—and every time I did, I would have to hear my parents scold me for my lack of studies, something I detested so fervently that I'd often just get food or use the bathroom whenever they were already sleeping or out.

"Hm. You don't have to answer if you don't wanna, but…were you two at odds with each other or something?"

"Huh? Oh, no; it's just that my brother was busy. We were…as close as your typical siblings…I guess?"

"I see. Say, Kazuma, how long has it been since you got here?"

"Hmmm. Two years, I think."

"So you were sixteen when you got here? I was too."

"What? So you've been here for four years?"

Daichi nodded. "It doesn't feel that long." He sighed deeply. "Haruto would've been your age."

I kind of wanted to ask about what happened, to know more, but I knew it was a sensitive topic for him, so I didn't. Instead, I changed the topic.

"Hey, Daichi-sa— Daichi. Did you get your party together quickly when you got here?"

"Did I…— Oh. Right. No, it was…a few months before I met Kevin and Hurnus and a few more months before we actually partied up. Actually, it was something like a year before we actually partied up. Before then, Haruto and I were going around doing whatever jobs and quests we could find. You know, trying to get used to all the stuff here, like magic. Took us quite some time to get a good list of spells for Haruto to use, but he really took a liking to it. Was our primary caster till…till he wasn't."

"Erm."

My effort to try and steer the conversation away from his brother failed miserably.

"And you? Did it take you long to form your party when you got here? Was it the same people?"

"Well…I uh… No. No, it-it was pretty quick. I mean, getting the first member wasn't too hard. Took a few weeks before we got the next."

"Oh, so it was a different set of people?"

"No, no. Well…sort of? I actually tried partying up with some others. Anyway, it ended up being with those three over there," I said, gesturing at them.

"I see." Daichi stared at them silently, and then he turned to me with a curious expression. "It just occurred to me. Kazuma, you had three girls join your party; a party in which you are the only guy."

I sighed reflexively. "Listen, I know what it looks like, but honestly, it's nothing like that. Anyway, we all have our separate rooms; we even had it when we were just renting rooms out of the guild's inn."

"Really, even though you're married now?"

I thought back to the many close encounters Megumin and I had and quickly had to drive them back. It would be beyond embarrassing for me to pitch a tent in this situation.

"Yeah, even though I'm…married."

It still felt odd to say.

"Hmmm, you're definitely more focused than I'd be in your position. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I don't know if I'd be able to control myself if I was married."

I stared at him…but it wasn't out of shock, it was because he had no idea; if it wasn't for the succubus shop I probably would've tried harder to be more intimate with Megumin. After all, I was no saint and there's only so much restraint a virgin like myself could have in those situations—especially if I knew there was no other way to reliably vent those frustrations.

In my silence, Daichi responded. "Uh, s-, sorry, perhaps I said too much."

"Huh? Oh, no, it's alright. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Hm? What about?"

"Well, Inara-san; I mean, surely you can tell that she likes you, right?"

"Erm…well…I've had my suspicions."

"Suspicions? I thought it was obvious."

"Listen, Kazuma, a guy can never be too cautious when it comes to interpreting a girl's feelings towards themselves. Even though it may seem obvious, it can often be a trap for those who dare to hope."

I can't say I didn't understand where he was coming from.

"So, what? You don't like Inara-san?"

"No, no, that's not what I'm saying. I…I do. I like Inara…but if I just came out and told her…well…I feel it would probably get pretty awkward in the party."

A reasonable thought. It was something Megumin often voiced and I, myself, thought on occasion.

Daichi continued. "In any case, it's not like I can enjoy a relationship like that at the moment; there's still a few things I need to—want to get done. After those things are finished, then maybe, maybe I'll be able to enjoy a life like that. I mean, did you confess your feelings to Megumin-san prior to defeating the Demon King of your area?"

"Well…s-, sort of?"

"Wait, you did?" Daichi chuckled. "You're more brave than I thought, Kazuma. I assume Megumin-san accepted your confession, then?"

I nodded, but the truth was that she was the one who pretty much confessed; I was just swept up by her fervor. Although, that wasn't to say I didn't have some feelings brewing for her by the time she did, she just beat me to the punch.

"I see, I see," Daichi said with a few nods of his own. "Forgive me if you find this offensive, Kazuma, but why not that Crusader of yours? Darkness-san? She's absolutely beautiful."

Of course. Anyone would logically ask such a question. Those people, like Daichi, however, were ignorant of Darkness' true nature; a nature that even the greatest miscreants of Axel couldn't match in their depravity. Though there were several glimpses to that nature throughout the journey, Darkness—and I, more importantly—did a fair job at keeping the worst under wraps.

"Eh. Let's just say that I realized she wasn't my type."

"Makes sense, given Megumin-san; you're more into the petite types, am I right?"

"No, no, no, no, that's not right. I like onee-sans with large breasts and voluptuous bodies."

Daichi stared at me in perplexity, and then he laughed. "Ok. Ok. I get it; Kazuma is trying to be sarcastic. I shouldn't have asked for the answer to such an obvious question."

I…I wasn't being sarcastic.

The fire flickered, signaling its waning strength. Daichi and I stared at each other.

"Almost time?" I asked.

"Looks like it. Kazuma, you don't mind taking the lead with Aqua-san? Both of you have really good Night SIght, right?"

"I can see alright, but Aqua can pretty much see without issue."

"Ah, it was Megumin-san who could see just as well, wasn't it?"

Not wanting him to tie two and two together, I quickly made up an explanation. "Yeah, apparently, it was something to do with an experiment or whatever back in her village."

"Ah, right. I heard the Crimson Demons were quirky folks."

"Did you know Inara-san's father is a Crimson Demon?"

"Yeah, she told me before. Well, I should say it came up in conversation before. Inara is more familiar with the elf side of things—her words, not mine."

"Might be a blessing in disguise, to be honest."

"You seem to be familiar with the Crimson Demons—I mean, beyond just Megumin-san."

"Maybe a little more than I'd like."

Just as I replied, the fire died out completely, leaving the both of us in relative darkness, the dim luminance of the Luminite stones becoming our only source of light.

"Well, there goes the fire," I said.

"That's our cue. Let's go wake the girls and get on our way."

As Daichi and I got up however, the glow of a light source washed over the camp, the accompanying individuals striding in after.

"Kevin, Hurnus. I thought something might've happened. We were about to go out and search for you guys."

"Forgive us," Kevin replied. "We gathered a few materials along the way."

Hurnus and Nyle dropped an armful of wood onto the floor.

"We also brought along some Grease Silt," Hurnus said. "Should make keeping a fire going a lot easier."

"Grease Silt?" I said, giving them a confused look.

"You've never heard of it?"

"No. Is it like oil or something?"

"Pretty much," Daichi replied. "They don't have it in Belzerg?"

"I've never heard of it, so probably not."

"It's this," Nyle said, pulling a rocky-looking object out of a basket the priest had placed in front of me.

"Looks like a bar of soap."

"I wouldn't wash myself with it…unless you fancy pretending to be a Fire Elemental. The slightest spark will set you alight with little prospects of putting you out."

"Ugh. Smells funny, too."

"That's not surprising, considering it's Moleworm dung," Hurnus said.

"And yet another good reason not to wash yourself with it," Nyle followed up with a grin.

"Where did you guys find all this stuff," Daichi asked.

I was wondering the same thing.

"A ways down the path," Hurnus replied.

"It looks like it was left behind quite some time ago," Kevin said. "Nyle-san thinks that it might've been left by the miners who bore this tunnel."

"Specifically, the team who likely last set foot in here," Nyle interjected.

"Seems like we got quite lucky," Daichi remarked. "Kazuma and I managed to scrounge up a little bit of wood from the roots around here. The fire we made went out not long ago, but this stuff should last us a while."

"It should be enough for the rest," Kevin said.

"The Grease Silt itself would be more than enough for all our shifts," Nyle informed. "If we can take some of this along with us, we won't have to find any fuel sources for a fire for some time. Anyhow, now that we're back, you all can get some rest."

"Hold on," Daichi said, intervening, "let the girls rest a bit more; they've done quite a lot. You guys don't mind, right?"

Although all of us were tired, we agreed.

Part 2

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Not far from me I could see Kazuma and the guys huddled around a fire. I looked around. We were still in the tunnels, and it also seemed like I was the only one of our group who was awake. Despite the simple sleeping arrangements, I was well-rested—not that I was any stranger to sleeping in less-than-comfortable spaces; it was one of the few things I could appreciate from my hard upbringing.

"Ah, Chomusuke."

She was laying beside me, still fast asleep. I'd feel bad if I woke her, so I let her continue sleeping and got up.

"...be much longer. Once we— Oh, Ms. Mage, Good Morning," Nyle said as I approached.

Kazuma turned around. "Megumin. How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"I just woke up now."

"Aqua and Darkness awake, too?"

I shook my head. "Just me."

"Seems like Darkness-san was actually pretty tired," Daichi remarked.

"So it would seem," Kevin said with a nod. "Although, it isn't too surprising considering how much she did."

"How much all of them have done," Nyle added. "Ms. Mage here included. I can't forget that great fireball you cast which caused the mine's roof to collapse."

Just as I was about to answer in embarrassment, Kazuma pulled me aside.

"Kazuma?"

"Hey, everything alright?"

"What? What do you mean? Are you ok?"

"I mean with you. Hasn't been very long since you cast that Explosion and you're already up; aren't you still tired?"

I shook my head once again. "No, I feel fine—better than fine, actually. I feel pretty refreshed."

"Refreshed? It can't have been more than two hours since you guys went to sleep. This something else with Furiosa?"

"Hmm, probably."

"She talk with you, again?"

"No."

"Really? She hasn't said anything to you…all this time?"

"No, nothing."

"Hmm…alright."

Saying that, Kazuma turned around and returned to the others.

"Everything alright?" Daichi said as I walked back over to join them.

I nodded in reply.

"Ms. Mage, you can go on and get a bit more rest if you want," Nyle said. "We'll be changing shifts in about an hour."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm," I said, nodding yet again.

"Guess being a Crimson Demon has many advantages, huh?" Daichi said. "I guess Inara will be up a little later given she's only half."

"I don't expect everyone to feel fully refreshed like Ms. Mage here," Nyle remarked, "but we can't spare too much time for such a thing. We need to get moving as soon as possible."

"I know you've been saying it often, but is time really that urgent?" Diachi queried.

"Quite. At the very least, I would've liked for us to have reached Maglin by now. Given the changes in things, however, even if we were in Maglin two days ago, we would still be behind schedule."

"Seems like quite the impossible pace, then."

"Not impossible, but I won't pretend like it won't be uncomfortable. Once we reach the capital, however, we can rest a little easier."

"You sure about that?" Kazuma said. "I seem to remember you saying that the situation in the capital was getting worse."

"Indeed. It's what the letter on His Majesty's Eagle Mole hinted at. I can't guarantee we'll all be able to relax once we reach it, but at the very least, it should be a little better than the constraints we're currently facing."

"It'll be a long while yet," Hurnus interjected. "Plenty of time for all of us to worry about it once we get there."

"True," Daichi said with a nod. "Well, I suppose since Megumin-san isn't looking to sleep anymore, she can join us in sharing some stories of our adventures."

"Ho?" I smirked proudly. "I have no issues regaling you with the many stories of our triumphs."

"Really now? Well then, go on."

"Heh heh, don't mind if I do."

I took a seat beside Kazuma and began telling the story of the time when our party and the adventurers of Axel fought against the man-made catastrophe, 'The Destroyer'—and of course, my glorious contribution to its fateful end.

"It was an epic battle that decided the fate of the kingdom; isn't that right, Kazuma?" I said, joy and pride equally present in my grin.

"Didn't you already tell them this story?" he replied, instantly sapping me of the former.

"I told Inara-san," I retorted, frowning at him.

"Ahh, that so?" he said, nonchalantly resting his head on his hand. "Didn't you forget about Wiz, too?"

"I did not."

"Pretty sure you just mentioned her as another mage."

"Wiz?" Daichi said curiously.

"Oh? Do you know her?"

"No. Just a curious name. You said she's another mage?"

"If it's the one Megumin-san mentioned, then she was the mage who helped her bring down that machination," Kevin remarked. "Another mage capable of using Explosion magic, wasn't it?"

"Interesting. Is she another Crimson Demon like Megumin-san?"

"She—" I began to say, before I was interrupted by Kazuma.

"She's an ex-adventurer; supposedly a legendary one. They called her 'The Ice Witch'."

"Oh. So what, she's retired now?" Daichi asked.

"I guess you could say that. She runs a magic shop back in Axel."

"Ice Witch," Nyle murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. "I seem to recall hearing that name before, but it was quite some time ago."

"A wizened old witch, then?" Hurnus said. "From running quests to running a magic shop. I can't say it doesn't make sense."

"Quite the story," Daichi remarked. "Aqua-san also told us about the time you guys fought against a Hydra; with experience like that, it's no wonder you all managed to defeat a Demon King."

Defeat, huh? Both Kazuma and I smiled wryly.

"What about you guys?" Kazuma suddenly said. "What have you guys gone up against?"

"Us?" Daichi raised a brow and then glanced over at his two other companions. "Nothing crazy, right?"

"There was that pack of Silver Fangs that turned out to have that Dire Fang trio in it, remember?" Hurnus replied. "Oh—and that other time when Kevin went to go do some severance rites in that cemetery—"

"And it was occupied by a Wailing Cuckoo instead. Right. Had a hard time convincing the guild to give us a reward for that one."

"I hope you all didn't forget the time you fell victim to that succubus who was masquerading as a lost widow," Kevin said.

Hurnus and Daichi averted their gazes.

"What can I say, Kevin, we were trying to be helpful," Daichi replied.

"Even after I told you how suspicious it was that she recoiled the moment I entered the room? It was a good thing I was able to divine her true identity."

"You didn't have to toss the entire bottle of holy water at her, though; I still feel bad about it."

"The only thing I feel bad about is losing that precious bottle. Who knows what that creature was up to for all that time, how many men she tricked and lured away from the gods. Hmph."

"A succubus, huh?" I said, interrupting the conversation. "Kazuma, here, had a run in with one, didn't you?" I said, my brow knitting at the memory.

He cleared his throat. "Well…I…I-I was charmed, remember? I can't recall what happened during that time."

It was hard not to frown at the thought. "I would hope not, otherwise that would insinuate that you willingly defended a succubus."

"Heh…yeah…definitely was charmed. I can't remember doing that."

"Odd, since Darkness told me you remember what happened betwee—"

"Alright! Come on now, there's no need to bring up what happened in the past!"

"Hmph. I just wanted to share Kazuma's unique experience with a succubus, is all."

"Well, you did, so quit it, alright?"

Daichi coughed loudly. "How about you, Nyle-san? Any interesting things you've experienced in the past?"

"Me? Oh, there've been quite a few…unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to discuss any of them."

The fact that he couldn't say piqued my interest. "Ohhh, some secret quests?"

"Very," he said with a somewhat proud grin. "But, I have to admit, a lot of them weren't as exciting as some of the more recent events I've gone through with you all."

"Well," Daichi said, "to be fair, it isn't everyday you fight a dragon."

"Or a Gargant Iceworm."

"Or a golem with Lunatite as its core," Hurnus added.

"Indeed. Our encounters have been quite extraordinary. I say that as both a good and bad thing. Ideally, I'd like it if the entire trip to the capital was as mundane as going to pick up a reward from the Adventurer's Guild."

"Hmph. What good is a mundane life?" I said. "Life should be filled with adventure and danger."

"Not everyone likes risking their necks for a thrill, you know," Kazuma remarked.

"Well, Kazuma should consider himself lucky that he's even able to enjoy those moments. I recall a certain princess whose whole life is filled with mundane moments."

"Wouldn't be if I was there."

I frowned once again. "Kazuma doesn't have to be there to alleviate that issue."

"Ah, that's right. You made a fan club or something with her and Yunyun, didn't you?"

"It-It's not a fan club! It's more than that. It's a network for intelligence—and proactive approaches."

"A network?" Nyle said. "Like a spy network?"

"Not exactly. Me and the other members gather information that can prove useful to a certain someone." I smirked pridefully. "Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to disclose who."

Nyle laughed. "I see, I see. So, Ms. Mage has a whole network of eyes and ears and a few secrets to boot. Well, not like I can really say anything about that."

"Wonder if any of that info-hunting has actually bore any fruit," Kazuma said offhandedly.

"It-It has. You just wait and see."

"Well, it looks like they'll be waiting a long time since you're not even in Belzerg."

"The head may not be there, but the other members are. I'm sure they can handle a few operations without their leader."

"Sure Yunyun won't just swoop in and take over; she's probably a better fit for the job."

"How dare Kazuma suggest such a thing. Yunyun may be my rival, but she isn't insolent enough to resort to such an underhanded tactic."

"Mmm, you're right…sounds more like something you would do."

"..."

I remained silent because deep inside there was something telling me I couldn't fully refute that claim.

After sharing a few more stories (and unneeded remarks), it was time to change who was going to be looking after the security of the group. Kazuma and Daichi went to wake Aqua, Darkness, and Inara. It took a few minutes for them to wake from their groggy state, but eventually, they did and the men were able to go rest.

"Make sure you keep an eye out, alright?" Kazuma said to Aqua. "The others can't see as well as either you or Megumin."

"I got it, I got it," she replied, yawning loudly as she did. "Kazuma-san can go to sleep already." Stepping away, Aqua yawned once more. "I wish I could keep sleeping; I'm still so tired. Say, wait a minute. Have you been awake all this time, Megumin?"

I nodded. "Well, not the entire time, just the past hour or so."

"Really? Aren't you still tired?"

I shook my head. "I feel fine."

"Really?"

As Aqua stared at me with a doting gaze, Inara came over yawning.

"Ugh…still so tired. How are you two?"

"I'm fine. Are you ok?"

"Sleepy and somewhat tired, but my mana has pretty much recovered. Hey, where's Darkness-san?"

"She said she needed to go…relieve herself."

"Here?"

"She went a little ways down the path. Nyle-san said there's a makeshift relief station that was probably used by some of the tunnel workers who were here before."

"Really? Is something like that still serviceable? That aside, is she gonna be alright? It's really dark."

"Kevin-san gave her a small candle."

"A candle? He had those on him? Actually, he is a Priest."

"Well, I say candle, but it was more like a tiny makeshift torch he made with some twigs and Grease Silt."

"I see."

Afterwards, we sat down around the fire. There was a brief moment of silence; the only thing that was heard was the crackling of the fire and the occasional yawn, then Inara spoke.

"Say, can both of you actually see without issue in this? I know I've asked before, but…it really is quite dark down here. I'm wondering if it's good Night SIght or if it's something else."

"I can see as clear as day," I replied.

"Same here," Aqua said.

Inara sighed. "Sounds convenient."

"I don't know," I said. "I kinda miss the dark."

"You miss not being able to see anything? Well, can't you just get rid of whatever is giving you the ability to see in the dark?"

It wasn't that simple…for the thing granting me such abilities was a goddess, one who seemingly refused to leave my body.

Suddenly, there was a scream.

"Did you hear that?!" Aqua said, looking around nervously.

"That sounded like—"

"Darkness!" I said, standing up. "Come on, there might be something wrong!"

"Shouldn't we wake the guys up?"

"No time. Plus, if something did attack Darkness, it would've done so while she was using the bathroom. Do we really want the guys to see her in such a state?"

"Good point. Quick, let's go."

All of us rushed down the path towards where the scream originated from. I was expecting to see a worrisome scene, however, to my relief, that wasn't the case.

"Darkness?" I said as we approached.

"Megumin? Aqua? What are you—"

"What's going on? Was that you screaming?"

"I…yes, it was." She said nothing else, only staring at the outhouse before us.

"What's wrong?" I asked, prodding her for more information. "Is there something there?"

"I…I'm not sure. Something… As I went to sit down I felt…something…touch me."

"Something?"

"Did you get a good look at it?" Inara queried.

Darkness shook her head. "It…startled me, so I…I just quickly leapt out."

All of us were now staring at the outhouse nervously.

I swallowed deeply. "A-, Aqua, how about you open it?"

"Huh? Me?! Why me?! Can't Inara-san do it, she's super reliable and capable!"

Inara glanced at me as if she was begging me to stay a theoretical execution. "Inara-san, can't do it; she can't even see very well. Aqua, it has to be you."

"What?! Why?! No, I-I don't wanna open that!"

"But what if it's a ghost or some undead monster?"

Aqua stared at me. It was clear that she didn't want to do it, but my reasoning seemed to have struck a chord with her, and so she, apprehensively, approached the door.

She quickly swung it open and— "Turn Undead!"

However, there was no wailing or undead burning from holy fire, instead, there was a pudgy, black creature with yellow nondescript eyes poking out from the opening of the 'toilet' seat.

"What…what is that?" I said, staring at it.

"Hmm, I don't know," Aqua replied, gazing at it curiously. "But…it looks kind of cute, don't you think, Megumin?"

Aqua approached it.

"Hey," Inara said, "be careful, Aqua-san, we still don't—"

And then she touched it…and the creature instantly swept from side to side, almost as if it was trying to reach out and touch Aqua.

"AHHHHH!"

Luckily, she fell backwards and scrambled towards Darkness, out of the creature's reach.

"Are you ok, Aqua?" Darkness asked.

"Eugh. It was sticky," she said, holding up the hand she touched the creature with; it was covered in a rather impressively-thick layer of dirt.

"Ah, there you all are."

The sudden voice caused us all to scream in surprise.

"Nyle-san," Inara said. We all sighed in relief. "What are you doing here? Weren't you going to sleep?"

"I was…but as you know…sometimes nature calls and I figured why not take advantage of the fact that—" He stopped as his eyes met the creature in the outhouse. "Oh, a Mite."

"A what?"

"A Mite," he said, pointing at the thing. "Hmm, I should've known there was probably one down here."

"What is it?" Darkness queried. "Is it harmful?" she asked, almost hopefully.

"Those? No. Well, not unless you're a very unfortunate dwarf…or short," he replied, looking at me.

"Excuse me!" I exclaimed with a frown.

"Well, it's the truth. We dwarves tend to use them for waste disposal; they'll eat just about anything…including waste."

"That thing?" Inara said, staring at it in surprise. "But it's so small, how can—"

"Oh no, that's just its tongue; I'm sure the rest of the body is somewhere down there. The tunnel team probably dug into a Mite burrow to use it as I've said previously. Either that Mite has been there for decades waiting for another 'meal' or another just happened to show up as you guys came along."

The revelation caused all of us to shiver in varying levels of disgust.

"Well, were you ladies going to use it?" Nyle asked. We all fervently shook our heads. "Alright, well I'll be just a moment." And in he went, closing the door behind him nonchalantly.

"L-, Let's go back," I said. The others nodded. "Oh, and Aqua…you might wanna wash that hand."

Realizing that, she grimaced, bearing an expression that made it seem as if she wanted to cry.

-A few hours later…

"Kazuma," I said, gently shaking him.

His eyelids fluttered and then opened. "Wha…what is it?" he said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's been a few hours. Nyle-san said to go wake you."

Kazuma sucked his teeth in frustration and then sighed. "Already?"

"We made some food. If you don't want to be left without any, you'd best get up and get some."

He sat up and stretched, yawning as he did. "Anything happen while we were asleep?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Really?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle."

"What's that supposed to mean? Did you or did you not have anything happen?"

"It means it's fine; if it wasn't I wouldn't be waking you up now, would I?"

"I guess."

"Now get up and go get some food; I'd hate for you to be complaining about being tired and hungry later on."

"Right, right…I hear ya, I'm getting up."

"Watch out for Chomusuke," I said, picking her up.

"She's still asleep?"

"Mhm."

"She was asleep all this time?"

"She was sleeping by you when you went to bed; don't tell me you didn't notice."

"Not really. To be honest, I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the roll, but she was sleeping when you woke up , wasn't she?"

"She was."

Kazuma rubbed his chin in thought.

Then suddenly…

"Who wants the last bit of sausage and eggs?" I heard Darkness ask.

"I do! I do!" Aqua desperately replied.

Kazuma broke his poise and sprinted over to the others. "Oi, hold on, that's mine!"

I smiled at the brief moment of nostalgia and then looked down at the cat in my arms. Whenever I was full of energy, she was drained of it, and whenever she wasn't, I was.

"Another side effect of yours, Furiosa?" I said, expecting no answer.

And silence is what I got in reply…as expected.

After having our small meal, we continued down the path. According to Nyle-san, there was, in his and the others' experience, 'nothing troublesome or dangerous' ahead. It was a big relief for us to hear this—although, personally, I was somewhat disappointed. Still, my most recent triumph over a dragon left me feeling mostly satisfied. One could only hope that we would encounter something I could unleash Explosion on in the near future. With that said, our trek through the tunnel was practically uneventful…practically, but not completely.

Nyle-san stopped in his tracks and then gestured at us to do the same. He placed a finger over his mouth signaling us to remain quiet.

It was then that my ears picked up a certain sound.

"You hear that?" he whispered.

"Hear what?" Kazuma replied.

"It's speech; someone's near. Hide."

"Hide where?"

"Head back around the bend."

We quickly did as asked, the voices getting closer. The moment we ducked into the path's turn, two people showed up in front of Nyle-san.

"...would save us a buncha time if—DARGON'S JEWELS! Whoizat! Hans wer I cun see um!"

"Calm down, calm down, just another dwarf," I heard Nyle-san say.

"Wut are ye doin down 'ere, kindred?" Another voice asked. "Surely yev seen the signs up above? Yer not supposed to be down 'ere."

"Nyle Grottoson, Scout from Grimstone Burrow."

"A Scout?" the first said in slight surprise.

"Where's ye mark, kindred? I know that Scouts bear a mark to show that they truly be Scouts."

There was a moment of silence.

"Forgeking's beard…Petrirot."

"Olright, kindred, that be it. Go ahead and cover that thing up now, will ye? Now, what are ye doin' 'ere?"

"On an important mission. Said task has led me through this way."

"This one? But how? Iz been closed for…well, can't even remember how long exactly."

"I came through the other end. I knew the code for the seal."

"Not surprising, given you're a Scout. Well, we'll excort ye to the guys up top. Brynherr and I 'll have ta continue our patrol after we's hand ye off."

"That sounds good. Just a second, I have some others I'm escorting—as per mission requirements. They'll need to come with me as well."

"Others?"

Part 3

Nyle-san whistled and out we came, revealing ourselves.

"Now hold on, we—"

The other dwarf placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head silently. "Not our call, Bryn—not unless you wan problems with Grimstone Burrow."

"Tch. Whatever. Well then, come on, we don have all day."

We followed the dwarves down the length of the tunnel to where they eventually led us to a spiral staircase hewn into the rock.

"Wotch yer head."

As we entered, it became apparent as to what they were referring to. The ceiling was low, obviously built for the dwarves' size, but even I had to bend over a little just to fit; still, it was nowhere near as bad as it was for Darkness, who was practically hunched over crouching as we made our way up. If it wasn't for the slight grin she had on her face I would've definitely felt somewhat sorry for her.

"Can this be any more uncomfortable?" Aqua moaned as we climbed the steps.

"Quit yer complainin'; place wasn't built to yer human standards; well 'nough, it was built to keep yer lot out."

"Keep us out?" Kazuma queried. "Why?"

The dwarf grumbled in reply.

Nyle-san tugged on Kazuma's arm and then whispering to him, said, "It's because we claim the underground as our domain; it's a source of pride we dwarves hold dear. Most of us either don't take too kindly to seeing outsiders down below or are just outright surprised or confused whenever any of the surface races show up down here."

Kazuma raised a brow at the response but said nothing after.

Eventually, we reached the top of the staircase and exited its cramped confines. Beyond the staircase was an unassuming stone wall, but if this trip had taught me anything, it was that these walls were not as simple as they seemed, usually there to prevent others from entering whatever lay beyond their threshold.

True to my assumption, the stone wall was indeed just a barrier, as one of the dwarves walked up to it and then tapped on its surface in a rhythmic fashion. A few seconds later, the stone came to life and moved, making a clear passage for us to go through.

"You lot stay 'ere."

One of the dwarves moved into the room while the other stayed behind, seemingly watching us for any suspicious movement or activity. Nyle-san simply stood around as if what was happening was routine.

I could hear the dwarf in the other room speaking to what seemed like a pair of other dwarves—and judging by their conversation, he appeared to be relaying the information Nyle-san had told him…and of our presence. Soon after, the dwarf returned.

"Olright, you can head on in; the others know yer comin'."

"Thank you," Nyle replied.

"Umu. Come on, Gralduhr, we best get back 'fore the captain suspects we be slackin' off."

The other dwarf nodded and then left back down the staircase with his companion.

"Alright, follow me," Nyle said, waving us in.

Once we stepped through past the wall, the luminosity of our surroundings became more pronounced, the darkness that followed us through the tunnels scattering instantly.

"Welcome to Havenstone Burrow, brother," a dwarf said as Nyle approached them; I recognized their voice to be amongst one of the earlier voices I heard.

"I'm sure the other two told you, but I'm merely traveling through. These people are my charges."

The dwarf stared up at us and then frowned slightly. "Quite the group you've got there."

"Agreed." Nyle-san sighed. "But you know how it is, orders from up on high."

The dwarf sighed just as heavily. "Don't we know it. Well, go on, you're free to enter."

Once the dwarf finished speaking, he turned around and knocked on the door behind him; of course, it wasn't just a normal set of knocks, but a series of distinct ones, full of different patterns. A few seconds later, the door opened, another set of guards on the opposite side. These guards, however, stood to the door's side, paying no heed to us as we followed Nyle-san through.

The path ahead seemed similar to what we just left: more stone tunnels lined with luminite; the only difference was the vibrance of the tunnel was much greater than our previous experiences.

"Where's this lead to?" Kazuma suddenly asked. "Another underground city?"

"Not quite," Nyle replied. "It's just an outpost. The main city is Havenstone, the namesake of the burrow, as you might've guessed. But Havenstone is much farther ahead. If we take the path in the outpost that leads out of the underground, it should lead us directly to Maglin."

"So, are we close to the city of Maglin, then?" Darkness questioned.

"If we keep pace, we might arrive in about half a day?"

"Half a day?" Kazuma said, a twinge of worry in his otherwise surprised voice. "I thought you said this was the fastest way through?"

"It is. Of course, it would be significantly faster if I didn't have to lead such a large group through dangerous territory. Forgive me if the pace is not to your standards, Mr. Kazuma."

"Alright, alright…my bad. I guess that begs the question, though, how long have we've been down here for? Feels like at least a day."

"Hmmm…seems about right."

"What? You just guessing or something?"

"No, no, we dwarves can tell—roughly—how much time has gone by in the underground. While I wouldn't really call it a certainty, our ability to track the passage of time is quite remarkable; you can be quite certain about our estimates."

"Didn't you just say it wasn't a certainty, though?"

"Figuratively speaking. I guess what I'm trying to say is to just trust me."

Kazuma sighed.

We continued through the tunnel; it was a mostly quiet endeavor, but one that suddenly became much more raucous.

"What's that noise?" Daichi asked. "Is something going on up ahead?"

As he said this, we rounded the corner and came upon a large group of dwarves, some walking, others aboard wagons carrying boxes and other such things.

"What's this?" Inara now asked. "Where did all these dwarves come from?"

"It's a junction," Nyle replied. "This is the 'correct' path to take if you're traveling to and from the burrows. As you can see, this is also where and how food and items make it into the underground. Much further back down that way there's an elevator that most have probably used to make their way here."

"Looks like the roads leading to Elroad," Darkness said. "Is this normal?"

Nyle nodded. "As normal as it could be with a war going on. There are days when these tunnels are packed to the walls and other days when there's a scant soul wandering its paths; but this, this is fairly average. Also, don't mind the stares; as I mentioned before, it is quite rare to see humans and the like down here."

"What I'd like to know is if there's a bed wherever we're going," Aqua remarked, yawning afterwards.

"Hmm, probably not. Outposts are more like checkpoints for travelers, but they aren't meant for them to stay in. The only places of rest there would be for the soldiers, unfortunately."

Aqua moaned in discontent.

Eventually, we made it to said outpost. With Nyle-san's wit and credentials we were able to easily seek entry and passage. And while we wouldn't be able to get some sleep, the downtime provided by Nyle-san having to 'go do something' was enough to recuperate some much-needed strength.

Kazuma sighed heavily as he sat beside me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just tired. It's finally hitting me how much we've done the last few days."

"Hmmm…it has been a lot, hasn't it?"

"How about you? You feeling even a little bit tired?"

I shook my head. "I'm feeling completely fine. That being said"—I lifted my boots, raising them in front of him—"my feet are starting to hurt."

"Oh, yours too? Man, what I'd give to take a dip in a hot spring right about now."

"You can always go to Alcanretia."

"I'm not that desperate."

I smiled, but the truth was that I also had no desire to ever step foot in that place.

Suddenly, Darkness came over with Aqua slumped against her shoulder.

"Darkness, stop moving so much and let me fall asleep," she said, her eyes closed in the attempt to do so.

"Let's sit down, Aqua." Darkness looked at us. "Mind if we take a seat?"

"Of course not," I replied, making space for them.

It was slightly cramped, but there was just enough room for all of us to fit.

"Oi, watch your elbow," Kazuma grumbled, shoving Aqua's arm away from his side.

"You watch your hand; I can feel it grazing against my butt."

"That's because there's no space here. And also because you keep shoving your ass into my space!" Kazuma retorted, trying to push Aqua away.

"Would you two just calm down?" I said, sighing thereafter.

As Aqua and Kazuma continued to bicker, and Darkness tried to calm them down, I looked over to the other party and their members. They were also sitting, no doubt just as exhausted as Kazuma and the others were—and despite how tired they appeared, they looked professional. The difference in demeanor wasn't drastic, but it was more than enough to make me feel a little bit of shame. Still, I can't say I don't enjoy our adventures—and misadventures—together; I wouldn't trade it or them for anything or anyone else in the world.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," Nyle said as he returned.

"Did you run into some trouble or something?" Kazuma asked.

"No, nothing of the sort. I was just letting the outpost commander know about the people in the mines. He said they'll be dispatching a team to recover them."

"That's wonderful," Darkness remarked. "Hopefully everyone will make it back safely."

"They should, but me too; I also hope they make it back safely."

"Sounds nice," I said. "They'll be able to make it back to their loved ones."

Nyle-san chuckled but his expression didn't reflect the need to. "Some of these people have been gone for decades. While I'm fairly sure their families are still around, it's likely they've gone on with their lives. I'm sure it'll be quite a shock to see them after so long."

"Dead and gone, huh?" Kazuma said, a solemn look on his face.

That's right, Kazuma's situation may not be so different…except…he won't be coming back. Was his family mourning his death still…or did they finally move on? It was a sorrowful thought, one that made me look at him with pity.

Nyle-san cleared his throat. "Anyhow, we're cleared to move on. If you all want something to eat or drink, there are a couple of merchants who set up shop while they're here; I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to get them to sell you something."

Kazuma looked up at us, his gloom mostly gone. "You guys want anything?"

"We just ate not too long ago, I'm fine," Darkness replied.

"I don't really mind either way," I said.

Suddenly, Aqua perked up. "Hold on, Nyle-san…did you say…drinks?"

Kazuma frowned. "Oi."

"I did," Nyle replied.

"Like alcohol?!"

"Oi!"

"Kazuma-san, Kazuma-san, can we—"

"Don't even finish that sentence. No."

"But you promised!"

"Promised what?!"

"You promised to get me another for the one you broke! Remember?! It was thanks to your mistake that my divine cocktail lay spilled on the dirt. I demand you get me a new one."

"Demand?! I told you I'd get you a new one, but I never said—"

"Kazuma," I said, tugging on his sleeve.

"Huh? What? What is it, Megumin?"

"Maybe we should."

"Should what? Get her some booze?"

"All of us."

"All of us? What? Are you saying we should all go get some alcohol?"

I nodded.

Kazuma stared at me with a brow raised in perplexity. "You turning into an alcoholic too?" He leaned in and whispered, "are all goddesses alcoholics?"

I frowned. "While I'm certainly no alcoholic, I also have no aversion to drink. Darkness, what do you think?"

"Me?" she said, sort of surprised by the sudden question. "Well…I believe that maybe it'll help get our minds off things and get us to relax. It's been a while since we've had any."

"Hmmm…you've got a point," Kazuma replied. He sighed. "Sure…why not, I guess."

"What about you, Nyle-san, are you coming along too?"

"Hmmm…" He scratched his chin in thought. "Sure…I don't see why I couldn't. It's not a bad idea to enjoy a bit of drink from time to time."

"I'll go ask Daichi-san and the others if they'd like to join us," Darkness said as she got to her feet.

"Alcohol, wine!" Aqua said with a beaming smile. "Finally, after so long, I'll get another taste."

"Oi, really, you're starting to worry me with how much you go on about it," Kazuma remarked. "Maybe I should start trying to wean you off of it."

"Do that and I'll make sure Kazuma-san forever has the urge to pee but is never able to."

"O-, Oi, come on, I-, I was only joking."

After getting the group together, Nyle-san led the way.

As he said earlier, there were a number of dwarves who had set up a few stalls and mats for the purpose of peddling their wares. While each had a fair number of people browsing and buying, one of them was surrounded by a fairly large crowd.

"Wait!" Aqua said. She sniffed the air and then smiled excitedly. "It's here, I can smell it!"

"Here?" Inara queried. "Are all these people trying to buy a drink as well?"

"Seems so," Nyle replied.

"The product must be quite good if there's such a long line," Kevin commented.

"What are we waiting for?" Aqua interrupted. "Let's go, let's go!"

With Aqua's urging, we got in line and waited for our turn. It took a few minutes, but eventually, we reached the end.

"Hello, what can I get for you today?" the peddler said as we approached.

"We—"

"Wine?" Aqua asked, interrupting Nyle.

"Wine?" the peddler said, tilting his head curiously.

"Mhm. Isn't that what you're selling?"

He shook his head. "If wine is what you're looking for, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. You won't find any wine down here."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because any self-respecting dwarf wouldn't drink any wine. That being said, we do sell some back at the shop in Maglin."

"Maglin?" Daichi said. "That's where we're heading."

"Oh? You don't say. Well, if you're still interested in buying some wine, I can give you my boss' business card and we can meet again there."

"No, hold on!" Aqua interjected. "If you're not selling wine, what's that sweet scent I smelled?"

"Smelled? Why, that's quite the nose you have, miss. It isn't wine, but Sweetleaf Ale. A little something the boss made upon his return from the elven homeland. Apparently, it's quite the sensation. Would you like some?"

"Yes! Yes, please!" Aqua said, nodding fervently.

"And one for the rest of us, if you don't mind?" Nyle added.

The dwarf turned around and poured us a few cups of the brew. "That'll be 4000 eris," he said, withholding the cups.

We all turned to Kazuma.

"What? What are you guys looking at me for?"

"Should…should I pay?" Daichi proposed. "I-I'll pay, it's fine."

"No need," I interrupted. "Kazuma," I said, looking at him.

"What?" he said, beginning to frown.

"Would you quit holding out, you hikiNEET!" Aqua angrily interjected. "Hurry up and pay!"

"Why don't you pay?! You have your own money! Or you would, if you didn't squander all of it!"

Kevin coughed loudly. "I'll pay for the drinks." Before anyone could protest, he quickly handed over the required amount.

"Thank you very much," the peddler replied. "Enjoy," he said, relinquishing the cups over to us.

Despite her angry outburst just a few moments ago, Aqua quickly smiled as she brought the cup to her lips and drank. She let out a heavy breath of relief, an even wider smile burgeoning across her face.

"Mmm, it's good," Kevin said with a nod.

"Yeah," Inara agreed. "It's not as…intense as most dwarven drinks."

Nyle smacked his lips as he savored the taste. "Definitely different, but I'll admit, it's not bad for a drink this sweet; it still has an intensity to it that's hard to find outside our drinks."

Daichi chuckled. "Yeah, this is one I can definitely stomach, that's for sure."

"A little light for my taste, but not bad, not bad at all," Hurnus remarked, taking a couple gulps after.

"I'll have another, please!" Aqua said, holding out her cup to the seller.

He shook his head. "Sorry, no can do; that was the last bit of it I had left."

"What?!"

"If you want more, you'll just have to come to the shop. Although, if it's as big of a hit as it was over here I'm not sure how much there'll be to go around."

"Well," Darkness said, "the idea was to have a drink to get us to relax, not necessarily enough to get us drunk. That being said, it is quite refreshing." She took a sip from her cup.

"Darkness, would you give me some; you don't want all of it, right?!" Aqua pleaded. "How about you, Megumin? That much alcohol isn't good for you."

"Eh? Since when did you care about that?" I retorted, quickly emptying the rest of my cup.

Aqua turned to Kazuma, who had already been eyeing her warily.

"You can forget about asking me," he said, "you've already had your share."

"Please, just a little bit! Just a little—and I won't ask for more!" Aqua pleaded and grabbed, nearly on the verge of whining.

"Oi, get off. Can you just let me have my drink in peace?!" Kazuma said, trying to push back her desperate attempts to grab his cup.

"Aqua-dono," Kevin called out, "here; I'll share some with you, if you don't mind."

"Thank you!" she said, dropping into a dogeza and sobbing heavily.

"A-Ah, A-, Aqua-dono, please, stand," the priest stuttered in a mixture of embarrassment and surprise. "Here," he said, pouring the ale into her outstretched cup.

"Thank you, Kevin-sama!" Aqua cried, as he poured.

"K-, Kevin-sama? Please, don't hold me in such lofty regard; I've done nothing to deserve it. A-, Anyhow, please, drink and be merry, Aqua-dono."

Although her words were as clouded as the snot bulging from her nose, she—somehow—managed to get an understandable response out. "Th-, Thank you, Kevin-san."

After getting the others from Daichi's group to give up some of their own drinks (perhaps through pity), Aqua was finally pleased.

"Here," the peddler suddenly said.

"What's this?" Kazuma said as he took the outstretched item from his hand.

"My boss' business card. The blue-haired lass seems to have enjoyed the drink far more than anyone else here; it'd be a shame if she wasn't able to get anymore. Stop by the shop once you make it to Maglin and I'll see about getting you a little special on my behalf."

"Special, huh? Thanks." He took a look at the card and then locked his attention on it.

"What's wrong?" I asked, noticing his focused gaze.

"This…name…I swear I've seen it…— The dwarf at the gamehouse!"

"Hm?"

"There was a dwarf I met at the gamehouse back in Sylvenn. He was traveling with an elf lady. This is his name: Grandt Hill."

"Oh? So you've met the boss?" the peddler said.

"If this is the same guy, then yeah—although, it'd be pretty odd if it isn't."

"You said you met him at the Sylvenn gamehouse, no? If you did, then it's certainly him; the boss went over to Syltras Hath in order to get a taste of their renowned drinks. It's said if someone wins the tournament that they'd get a wish fulfilled by none other than the Duke of the grand city himself. I more than suspect that was the boss' goal."

"It was an interesting place," I remarked, " if only it wasn't for their false claims."

"False claims?"

Kazuma covered my mouth and smiled wryly. "N-, Nothing. Anyways, thanks for the drinks, we'll be going now."

"Umu. Hope to see you again at Maglin. Till then."

Kazuma gave him a brief nod and then we headed off.

"Why did you cover my mouth?" I asked with a knit brow.

"Because you were about to bring up something I don't wanna remember. Anyway," he said, turning to Nyle, "what now?"

"What now? We continue on to Maglin, but I have good news; we need not do it on foot. Since we're taking a main road we can go by carriage—at least for the meantime."

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"Even if it's for a few hours, it'll be nice to give my poor feet a rest," Inara remarked.

"Honestly, I couldn't agree more," Daichi said in agreement.

"Don't sigh just yet," Nyle interjected, "we don't know if there are any blockages down the road. Hopefully there aren't any, but it'd be a good idea to expect things to not go as smoothly as one might plan."

I could hear Kazuma mumble something under his breath, something to the measure of 'that being his whole existence'.

"Kazuma, Daichi," Nyle said as he turned to them, "do you two still have the Spatial Slips?"

Both Kazuma and Daichi-san looked at each other in confusion.

"Spatial…slips? OH! You mean the talisman?" Kazuma replied.

"Talisman?"

"These, right?" Kazuma said, withdrawing said item.

"Right, those. You call them talisman?"

"Just something from back home. Spatial Slips. So, we're gonna use these to summon the carriages, right?"

"That's right. Come here," Nyle said, walking over to one of the nearby buildings. "Place it on the wall and then stand clear."

"Hey!" a guard yelled. "Whaddaya think yer doin'? Whaadya—"

"Just a Spatial Slip," Nyle said, trying to calm the guard. "Relax. See?" he said, showing one of the ones Kazuma had.

The guard gave it a thorough look before handing it back to him. "No funny stuff."

"Pick through the skull, I promise it's nothing bad; we're just trying to retrieve our carriages."

"Hmph. Well then, go on; I'll stand watch 'n make sure. That won't be a problem, now would it?"

"None at all. Alright. Kazuma…or Daichi, whichever of you wants to go first."

Kazuma and Daichi-san traded glances once more with Kazuma nodding afterward.

"I'll go first," Daichi said, stepping forward.

"Well, she's all yours," Nyle replied, stepping clear of the wall.

Daichi-san placed the Spatial Slip on the wall and quickly stepped aside.

A few seconds later, a large portal opened with one black carriage and its pair of horses coming through.

"It worked," Daichi said with a surprised smile.

"Your turn now, Kazuma," Nyle instructed.

"Uh, right," Kazuma replied.

Once Daichi-san moved the carriage and cleared the area, Kazuma stepped forwards and placed the slip on the wall just as Daichi-san had done before him.

Once again, a large portal opened up and out came a set of horses with a large, extravagant carriage.

The portal closed and the Spatial Slip burned away into ashes.

"I had my doubts, but it seems these things actually work," Kazuma said, looking down at the remaining slips in his hand.

Nyle-san turned to the guard. "There, all done. Suspicions gone?"

The guard grumbled and then walked off.

"Another one of those things?" Kazuma queried.

Nyle nodded. "As I've said before, outsiders are not looked too kindly upon."

"Well, at least it isn't too bad."

"As long as you don't give them reason to be, for the most part, most will leave you well enough alone. Anyhow, let's get going. Everyone, all aboard; recess is over."

We climbed into our respective carriages and began the second leg of the journey towards the City of Maglin.

Part 4

"Haaah." Kazuma let out an unburdened sigh of relief. "Man…feels nice to actually lay on something soft for a change."

I glanced over at him, shifting my attention away from the cat that was currently laying on my lap. "I almost thought you were getting used to sleeping roughly."

"I definitely don't wanna make that a habit—or anything that I'd ever get used to, not if I can help it."

"Well, I can understand that, but given our occupation it's probably best if Kazuma doesn't get too comfortable."

"Screw that. Once we're done with this quest I'm retiring from adventuring."

"Retiring? Kazuma hasn't even broken thirty to be talking about such things. Imagine how boring life would be if we gave up adventuring."

"Speak for yourself. I've had enough happen in the last year and a half to write my own chronicles. Listen, as much 'fun' as it can be from time to time, I really just wanna relax."

"And do nothing?"

"If I feel like it."

I sighed. "As long as you keep going out to do my Explosion walks with me I can tolerate some downtime from adventuring."

I looked over at Aqua; she was fast asleep. It seemed that the allure of a soft cushion was too much for her bear; once she sank into its embrace, she fell asleep almost immediately.

"Kazuma," I said suddenly.

"Hm? What is it?"

"What do you think the future holds?"

"Huh?" My question seemed far too bizarre and sudden that it made him sit up in the seat. "What are you talking about?"

"The future. For us, I mean."

"Huh? Us? How should I know? I mean…what do you want me to say? Like, do you think we'll…b-, be together? Or…?"

I smiled, giggling at his apprehension. "It's not a trick question or anything. I'm just curious as to how you envision our future—all of us, not just me and you."

"Oh. W-, Well"—he relaxed, reclining in the seat once more—"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought, to be honest, just kinda taking it all day by day, you know?"

"Really?" I said, sort of disappointed in his answer.

"B-But if I had to really think about it…I guess…" He looked up at the ceiling. "I guess…I can see all of us still together. Kind of impossible to think of life without you guys." He looked glum at the realization. "I don't know if it really…would be worth it." His answer surprised me somewhat, enough to make me stare at him in silence. "What?"

"Huh? Oh, n-nothing. I…I'm just surprised that Kazuma would say something like that. I…I didn't realize we mean that much to you…and I'm more surprised that you would be so honest about that."

"Honest, huh?" He looked as if he was ruminating on the word, then he looked aside. "Of course you guys mean a lot to me. I…I hope I mean a lot to you guys too," he said, mumbling towards the end.

"Do you even have to wonder? My feelings for you should be under no doubt—and while I'm not Aqua or Darkness, I'm sure they care about you almost as much as I do."

I could see Kazuma's face grow slightly red. He quickly averted his gaze. "Well, there you go, that's my answer."

"Ohhh?" I drew close to him, my face nearly touching his.

"What? What's wrong with you?"

I smiled and then shifted back some. "It's nice that Kazuma sees us all together in the future, but that's all?"

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. "I would've definitely thought Kazuma would take the initiative—especially in a future where we're still together."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I knew what I meant, and the thought sort of made me blush. "Does Kazuma want no children?"

"Many," he said without missing a beat.

"W-What?!" Aqua groaned slightly at my outburst, but luckily remained asleep. I adjusted my tone. "Many? How…how many?"

"Hmm, three or four? Maybe five? Hmm, no less than two—maybe three."

"A-Alright, I get it. Geez. Th-, That many, huh?"

"I'm sure your mom would be happy to have many grandchildren," he said with a teasing grin.

"Why would you even bring her up?" I said, completely embarrassed at the thought. "Ohhhh. Whatever. If it's two or three you want I…I have no issue with that."

"Oh? Well, I think it's alright if we stick to a smaller number; I don't know if your body will be able to handle it."

"What?!" Aqua flinched and let out a groan once again, but like before, she remained asleep.

"Birthing, I mean," Kazuma quickly corrected. "I meant birthing. You know, I'd imagine having that many children would be hard."

"A-Alright, th-, that's enough. Let's talk about something else."

"S-, Sure. I mean, you were the one who brought it up."

"I-I know." I cleared my throat and then stared at him sternly. "There's something else I'd like to talk about."

"Hm? What?"

"Darkness. Would you quit leading her on?"

"Leading her on? I'm not doing it; she's the one who keeps trying to put moves on me."

"And you keep indulging her."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe tell her to stop?"

"I already have. The more rough I get with her the more she… Well, you know how she is. Listen, if you're worried that something might happen between us then you can rest easy; I have no intention of doing that to you, alright?"

"I-, I know. It's more for Darkness' sake. I don't want her to feel bad when it finally hits her."

"Yeah? I think that ship sailed long ago."

"What do you mean?"

Kazuma sighed heavily. "Back when she tried to get physical with me and I turned her down—"

"After trying very hard to get her to go all the way with you—yes, I remember that very vividly."

"Yeah, th-, there was that, but there was also the fact that I didn't feel right about the whole thing. When I turned her down, she cried. I think…I think it was at that moment that she knew it probably would never happen."

"Why would she keep trying, then?"

"Beats me. You know how Darkness is; she's stubborn, but she's capable of learning…unlike someone," he said, glancing at Aqua. "I think she'll probably give up in time."

"So until then you'll just keep indulging her?"

Kazuma looked away. "Look, I'm not used to getting this much attention from girls, ok? I'm also not very experienced in turning them down. Cut me some slack, alright?"

"I've cut you a lot of slack, but I suppose I can give you a bit more. In exchange, Kazuma is obligated to learn Explosion and then go out and do our daily routine together."

"It's hardly a daily thing now—and also, it's not like I can just learn Explosion whenever."

"Of course you can; I've seen Kazuma's adventurer's card. I know he has more than enough points to do so."

"Points that are better served elsewhere. Look, even if I learn Explosion and we decide to make this a daily thing, who exactly is gonna pick us up after we're exhausted from casting, you?"

"W-, Well, I-I've been able to remain standing after casting Explosion now so—"

"That's completely different from walking—or running, like what we're likely gonna need to do after we use it."

"Guh." I let out a defeated sigh. He made some valid points. "Fine. I'll make sure I find a solution to that problem; once I do, will you learn Explosion?"

"Look, I'll learn Explosion, but I can't promise you when."

"Whhaaat? Why won't Kazuma just learn Explosion as soon as possible? Once you do, I'm sure you'll see there's no need to learn anything else. In fact, once you do, I'll teach you the variations of Explosions I've come up with."

"I'd rather you just continue teaching me regular magic."

"Why? That's so boring."

"Because." He sighed deeply. "Hey."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm…really tired."

"Hm. Tired, huh?" I placed Chomusuke next to me. "Here," I said, patting my leg.

Kazuma glanced at me. Given his sluggish movement, I could tell he really was exhausted. I helped him over and gently placed his head on my lap; the moment I did, his body relaxed and his eyes drooped slightly.

"You can rest," I said, giving him a tender smile.

He closed his eyes, and within seconds, fell asleep.

"You really were tired," I said, staring at him sleep soundly.

I looked up at the ceiling and sighed; I was not tired in the slightest. Was I going to keep bouncing between these states of extremes: unable to sleep? unable to wake? The thought made me sigh once again.

I looked at the door leading to the font of the carriage. Darkness was there, driving, despite how little sleep she got.

I looked back down at Kazuma. "Sorry, but I'm going to go check on Darkness," I said, knowing that my words were falling on deaf ears. "I'll leave Chomusuke with you."

I carefully slid myself from under his head and got up.

"Keep him company, will you?" I said, placing Chomusuke on Kazuma's chest.

She let out a soft pur, making me smile.

"I'll be back."

Saying that, I headed to the front.

Darkness glanced over her shoulder as I came out. "Megumin? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I wanted to check up on you. I figured you might have wanted some company."

"Oh." She smiled. "I'm fine, though; you don't need to stay here with me."

I took a seat beside her. "I'll stay anyway. I'm not tired, but you are, right?"

"I'll be fine."

"Darkness, I know you're hardy, but you really get some rest if you need it; there really is no telling when the next opportunity might come."

"*sigh* You're right…but who's going to drive the carriage?"

"I will. Kazuma taught me a bit a while back."

"You? Are you sure?"

"It shouldn't be too difficult here; the path is quite wide and there doesn't seem to be any hazards."

"Well, I suppose you're right." She handed me the reins. "But I won't head inside; I'll just rest my eyes a bit."

"Alright."

As Darkness had said, she closed her eyes, crossing her arms to keep a rigid posture.

The ride was mostly quiet, the only real noise coming from the clopping of the horses' hooves hitting the paved road.

"Darkness," I said, after a while.

"Hm?" she replied without opening her eyes.

"Ah. Just checking if you were still awake."

"Umu."

The lack of conversation continued for a while more, until I broke it once again.

"Darkness." This time, however, there was no reply. "Darkness?" I said, yet again. And yet again, there was no reply. "Finally asleep, huh? Everyone is, but me. I'm sure I'll have plenty of it whenever Furiosa decides to flip the tables, isn't that right, Furiosa?"

There was no reply from the goddess I was calling out either; I was simply speaking to myself. I felt lonely…and that thought made me think: "I wonder how Yunyun is doing?"

Last we spoke, I told her to take care of things with the group for me; I wonder if she was doing that…or was she busy being the chief of the village? I smiled at the thought.

"You sure have grown, Yunyun." Which meant that I had to come back with something to show her and the others. After all, I couldn't have my so-called rival getting the lead on me. "You might be village chief, but I'm still the village's #1 genius."

My smile faded as I glanced at Darkness. The truth was that I came out here to speak to her about her actions with Kazuma, but what more could be said? We had conversations about the topic more than once already. What could I do? As much as it bothered me—and it did—I also didn't want to harm her, not only because it wasn't in me to do that, but also because I was afraid of how far I would take it once I committed to doing so.

"Would you please stop…for both our sakes?" I said, despite knowing there would be no response—no, because I knew there wouldn't be any response.

-Sometime later…

"Huh—wha? What's going on?" Darkness said, awaking with a startle.

"Oh? You're awake."

"Megumin?"

"We just made it to the 'elevator' thing. Nyle-san said that it'll take us to the surface and then we can continue onto Maglin from there."

"Oh." Darkness looked around. "How long has it been?"

"Hmmm. A few hours, I think."

"Hours? *sigh* Sorry. I must've fallen asleep."

"You did."

"How come you didn't wake me?"

"Why would I? You were tired and I was doing just fine."

"Sure, but—"

"It's fine, Darkness. Look, I managed to drive the carriage all the way here without any issue, right?"

"I…I suppose you're right. Thank you, I needed that."

"You're welcome."

"I'll take the reins once we reach the top. You can go rest if—"

"I'm not tired."

"Y-, You're not? Still?"

"I had my rest back when we all took it, remember?"

"Sure…but that was only a few hours—and you woke up before the rest of us as well. Just how little rest did you get?"

"I got enough." Darkness stared at me worriedly, causing me to sigh. "Seriously, I'm not just saying I feel fine; I actually don't feel tired."

"I-I know, it's just a little…surprising. I'm so used to seeing you sleeping."

"Huh?"

"You know, most of the time you're resting as a result of casting Explosion; I'm so used to you resting after coming back from the trips."

"Ah. Well, yeah, but then again, I haven't really been letting off Explosion very much during this trip. I sure hope that changes relatively soon."

"But…you did cast Explosion relatively recently. It hasn't even been the better part of a day, has it? Usually, you would've woken up not too long ago with a groggy look on your face. The fact that you're up and…so full of vigor is…quite unusual. Is it because of—?"

"Probably," I said, cutting her off abruptly. "Probably. But is it really an issue?"

"I…I don't know. I mean…you should be asking yourself that question."

I looked down. It was a question that had weighed on my mind, but I still didn't have a clear answer. "I'm…I don't know. It certainly doesn't feel like an issue right now, aside from how strange it might seem."

"I suppose there are many advantages in being able to stay awake for a long time."

"Umu. I think it's still too early to tell."

"Perhaps." There was a brief moment of silence before Darkness spoke once more. "Did Nyle-san tell you how long it would be before we reached the top?" I shook my head. "I see. I guess we'll just have to wait patiently."

As I looked around, I could see other passengers aboard the lift staring at me and Darkness, at the carriage.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked, getting mildly irritated at all the staring.

The dwarves all looked away without a reply.

Finally, after a few minutes, the lift came to a stop and the large metal gate that was its entrance, rose open.

The moment it did, we were met with a group of heavily-armed & armored dwarves.

The other dwarven passengers didn't really react, but both Darkness and I were startled by how quickly they blitzed into the lift and surrounded it.

"Off!" one of them said curtly, two others pointing spears at both me and Darkness.

I raised my hands and carefully stepped off the carriage.

"What's the meaning of this?" Darkness said, still in her seat.

"Off!" the dwarf repeated, the two spearmen pressing their spears closer to Darkness.

I felt I had to do something soon or the worst might come to pass; knowing Darkness' tendencies, it was likely she wouldn't give up until they had either begun getting violent with her or they answered her question—and it seemed like they weren't going to do the latter.

"Hold on, hold on!" Nyle yelled as he ran over. The other dwarves quickly turned on him. "Easy," he said, stepping back from the spear points. "Nyle Grottoson, Scout of Grimstone Burrow. These people are with me."

The dwarf giving the orders nodded at the other two; they quickly dropped the hostility and stepped aside.

"Grottoson? Ye have a brother?"

"Thuldus. I take it, you're acquainted?"

"Aye. Never talks 'bout you, Thuldus."

"I'm glad to know he's doing something right, then."

"Aye. I'd request te see yer mark, but I trust yer on some important task." Nyle-san nodded. "Still have te check der wagon though."

"Go on," Nyle said, gesturing it was fine to do so.

The dwarves quickly checked through the carriage and some of its more accessible cargo, ignoring the sleeping occupants as they did.

"Sorry fer der earlier stuff," the dwarf said, once they finished. "One can't be too careful during these times; 'specially in a place like this. Anywho, yer good te go. Good luck on yer task, Grottoson. Give my respects te yer brother; tell him Gryphon Deepbrow sent it."

"I will."

Once the dwarf departed, the rest of the group followed along. The other passengers were long since gone, leaving our two carriages as the only things still on the lift.

Nyle-san turned to us. "Sorry about that."

"I almost thought they were gonna attack us," I said.

"They probably would have if I didn't intervene when I did." He sighed heavily. "The pains of having to escort you guys through areas like this. Anyway, you're good to hop back on. We need to get moving, Maglin isn't too far now."

I looked around; we were still underground, but up ahead there was the unmistakable glow of natural light.

"The opening is up ahead," Nyle-san said, noticing my slightly perplexed gaze. "There'll be another set of guards, but don't worry, I'll let them know before anything gets out of hand. Security is only going to get tighter the closer we get to the capitol."

"Umu." I climbed onto the carriage as Nyle-san walked away and noticed Darkness' frustrated expression. "What's wrong? Did they make you angry?" I asked.

Darkness sighed heavily. "I honestly thought they were going to attack. Nyle-san arrived with perfect timing. What a shame."

"..."

Why was I ever worried about her?

True to what Nyle-san said, there was another set of guards once we reached the entrance and, as he also like he said, they were nowhere near aggressive as the previous. Besides a few curiously glances at us and the carriage itself, we were let through without incident—much to Darkness' chagrin.

"Back out in the open," I said, looking around at the snow-covered landscape.

"Did you enjoy the time we spent below?" Darkness asked in response.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I'm more than happy to be above ground."

"The air does have a different feel to it out here."

"It's not about the air," I said, shaking my head. "It's the fact that I can use Explosion with no worries—well, less worries."

"I see." Darkness chuckled. "I should've expected that would be it."

There was a brief pause in our conversation. Darkness drove the carriage while I continued to take in the scenery.

"The snow is really piling in quite heavily," Darkness suddenly said.

"Huh? Oh. Oh yeah. It has. Say, Darkness, have you ever thought about a different future?"

"A different future? What do you mean?"

"I mean, like maybe a future where you decided to learn magic instead of becoming a Crusader."

"A future where I become a mage. Hmm. I can't say I have. It was always my goal to be able to defend those who need help. No disrespect to you or any practitioners of magic, but I think such a role is much too passive for my tastes. I like to be in the thick of it, and I believe that being a mage would work in contrast to that."

"True. But even so, you've never thought about it?"

"Hmm. Perhaps back when I decided to become an adventurer."

"How did that even start? What made you decide to leave the comforts of being a noble?"

"Ugh. Many things, Megumin, but I really grew quite tired of my father trying to arrange marriages."

"You really don't want to get married?"

Darkness slightly looked away, pausing for a few moments before she spoke again. "It's not that I don't want to…ever, but…"

"Are you really that deadset on Kazuma?"

"No!" she quickly answered. "No. I-I know…I've been quite…well… I'm sorry. It's just a little difficult…Megumin." She opened her mouth to speak, but then quickly shut it, saying nothing more.

I sighed. "Darkness, you mean a lot to me—all of you do. I don't want that friendship to break apart—"

"Neither do I. It's difficult." She smiled faintly. "To think that I would've fallen as hard as I have for him; honestly, he's quite flawed, isn't he?"

I smiled. "He is, but we all have our problems, and in spite of that—"

"He's chosen to stay with us. Though I'll admit, it took a little effort on our end."

"It did," I said, recalling our first episodes together.

Both of us went quiet once more, the seriousness of the conversation sapping away the smiles we wore.

"I never envisioned falling for someone so…brusque—and a commoner at that."

"Noble now."

"Yes, all of you are, but for the majority of the time we've known each other, that wasn't the case."

"Umu.

"Megumin."

"Yes?"

"My feelings for Kazuma…they're very likely the same as yours, as in, they come from the same place. I…I love Kazuma because he accepted me despite my flaws, because he didn't see me as a noble but as a friend, because he reached out and risked everything to save me…even in spite of how large the odds were stacked against him. I will never forget what he did, what all of you did that day. It was when he carried me in his arms that I recognized who he truly was." Darkness looked at me. "You managed to win him over before I could because of your bravery and my cowardice. I…I acknowledge my defeat."

She looked away, turning her gaze to the front, and yet, it seemed as if that very gaze wasn't staring at anything in particular.

"Darkness…"

"I know it'll never happen. I've missed my opportunity."

"D-, Don't say that. Yeah, you might've missed it with Kazuma, but you're still plenty beautiful. I mean, I hate to admit it, but there's a few things I'm completely envious of that you possess, and I'm sure if you were just a little more assertive, you could have most guys eating out of your palms."

Darkness smiled pitifully. "You think so?"

"I know it. If I didn't honestly believe that to be true, I wouldn't be as angry as I normally am when I see things happen between the two of you."

"Reminds me of the time Chris urged me to find happiness." Darkness looked at me again. "That was the reason I became an adventurer; I wanted to do what I wanted. I wanted to be free…I wanted to be happy. And I was. When I met all of you, I thought you guys were a little strange, but…I also knew that I found friends."

"I…" I looked down. "Sorry…to have snatched away your happiness."

"No, don't be. I would much rather bear it than switch places and have you bear that pain." She struck her chest. "The pain is mine to endure. That's what it means to be a shield." She smiled proudly. "In any case, you can rest easy knowing that I'm done; I'll try my very best to not make any moves on Kazuma. I know it's something that I should've taken seriously since the marriage between you two, but…I guess I'm renewing that vow here."

As she said those words, Darkness looked as regal and noble as a knight of one's dreams. Though it pained me to have forced this chapter in her life closed, part of me felt a sense of relief in seeing it done.

Part 5

I awoke to dark surroundings; it caused me to sit up in alarm. "Megumin?! Aqua?!"

"Meow."

I looked down and saw Chomusuke's glowing eyes. It, somehow, brought me a sense of relief.

"Where is everyone?" I said, looking around. "You know where they got off to?" I asked, picking her up.

I looked outside the carriage window; it was night and there was barely any moonlight out, but there was the unmistakable soft, orange glow of what I could only imagine was a fire.

I got up and opened the door.

"...get more dangerous as we go on." It was Nyle; apparently, he was discussing something.

"That's expected, but—Oh, Kazuma, you're up," Daichi said, noticing me as I approached.

"Kazuma," Megumin said, turning around to see me.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Aqua remarked with a frown.

Darkness said nothing, which led me to glance at her, only to catch her gazing at me. "A-Ah, y-, you're finally awake, huh, Kazuma?"

Her response was odd, to say the least, but I didn't really put much more thought into it. I passed Chomusuke onto Megumin and sat down beside her, a fallen tree log functioning as our seat.

"So, what's going on?" I finally asked.

"We were just talking about the area," Daichi replied. "Nyle-san says that this area is still within the 'neutral' zone, but that clashes between both forces have been known to break out around here. He said that once we push past Maglin, we'll be completely in enemy territory."

"So, what? Are we just gonna travel on the surface the rest of the way?"

"Not likely," Nyle answered. "We'll almost certainly need to head back underground once again, but it won't be as easy as it's been. As you can imagine, the entrances to the underground are going to be places of force concentration. The Demon King's Army wants ways into the underground, and of course, we don't want them anywhere near those areas. Thanks to that, some of the entrances have been buried in or intentionally collapsed. I don't know all the ones that have been, so I'll have to get in touch with some of my associates to get a clearer picture; the last thing we'd want is to have the need to quickly get underground and then find out the entrance that was, isn't."

"With all that said," Kevin remarked, "let us get some sustenance in our bodies for the trip ahead, shall we? Can someone help me with the food?"

"I can," Inara said, standing up.

"I can too," Darkness said, doing the same.

Daichi stood up. "I might as well help too; what do you need, Kevin?"

"Come, I'll need…"

The group walked off towards the front carriage, their voices drowning out despite the silent night.

"How long has it been?" I said, grabbing Chomusuke from Megumin.

"Huh?"

"I mean, how long was I asleep for?"

"Oh. Um…a couple of hours? Six? Seven?"

"That long?" She nodded. "Geez. I was tired. Haven't slept that well in…well…in a long time. I honestly can't remember."

"Seems like it was," she said, tracing a finger over my cheek. I moved away slightly. "It left an impression on your face."

"What?"

"You've got sleep marks."

"Ah. Well then, it definitely must've been."

"I see someone else is awake too," Megumin said, petting Chomusuke in my hands.

"Ah, right, she is. Does that mean you're finally getting tired?"

Megumin shook her head. "Nope. I still feel fine."

"Hmmm."

"What are you two doing?" Aqua said as she came over.

"Ah, you here to be annoying?"

Aqua frowned and then crossed her arms. "I actually wanted to ask if you could help me get my treasure box."

"Treasure box? What treasure box?"

"The one where I keep all the pretty stones and gems I find."

"Ah…that. Why can't you get it on your own?"

"Because it's under a bunch of stuff and I can't get it to budge."

"Shouldn't you be asking Darkness for help, then? She's the one with the stupid strength around here. Also, can't you just buff your own strength?"

The suggestion struck her as an epiphany. "Oh, that's right, I can."

I shook my head and sighed. "What are you getting that box for anyways?"

"I wanted to stick the Lunatite in there."

"Are you dumb? If you stored any piece of that in your box that would probably be the last time you open it. And anyways, it's not for you to add to your collection; the whole reason we salvaged it was to give it to Holt."

"Well, it's not like I was gonna take it out of the glove or whatever, but at least it'd be safer in my box than it would be in some random bag."

"Did you not hear a single word I said? Listen, I don't really think the gloves would fit in your box and if you took it out of the Frost Troll gloves, it would just end up freezing everything around it."

"I thought about that, but then I remembered, Kazuma-san's sword was able to stop it from freezing everything."

"So what, you want to somehow store my sword in your box, too? Normally, I wouldn't have to say such things, but I think my sword is a bit too big to store in that treasure box of yours."

"Actually," Megumin interjected, "if Coronatite is what we need, how about getting some from the dwarves?"

I raised my brow in piqued interest. "I mean, that's not a bad idea, but what makes you think they'll be willing to part with something so valuable? How the heck are we supposed to find dwarves who could supply us with Coronatite in the first place?"

"Why not ask Nyle-san?"

I glanced over to the dwarf in question; he was currently holding a conversation with the only other dwarf in the group.

"I mean…sure, but I don't see why we have to go through the effort of even getting any. Best thing to do is leave the Lunatite where it is. Hell, we don't even know if a little bit of Coronatite would be enough to stop the Lunatite's effects."

"Didn't Kazuma buy that glove for a reason? It wasn't for the purpose of storing Lunatite in it, right?"

"Well, no." I sighed. "I guess I can ask him. It would be a good idea to find somewhere else to store the Lunatite just in case I actually need to use those gloves for their actual purpose."

"Reow! *Hiss*" "Ow!"

"Oi, don't you ever learn?"

While I had turned my attention to Nyle, Aqua had thought it a good idea to try and pet Chomusuke, an action that always resulted in her being clawed and scratched at…and this time was no different.

"Why is it still attacking me?! What did I ever do to you, you little cretin!" Aqua retorted, trying to—badly—assuage the angry feline.

"Maybe she sees your true self," I said, scratching Chomusuke behind the ears. "Isn't that right, Chomusuke?"

"Meow."

"Don't mess with me!" Aqua snapped back. "What could a self-asserting creature like that possibly know about me?"

"Well, for starters, she can probably tell she's a lot smarter than you are."

Aqua's face twisted between a point of boiling over in outrage and welling over in outcry, something that I was far too used to seeing at this point.

"Why don't we ask Nyle-san about the Coronatite?" Megumin said before Aqua could react.

"Hmm, yeah, probably a good idea." I handed Chomusuke off Megumin and began walking over. "Oi, Nyle."

"Kazuma? What's wrong?" he asked, breaking his conversation with Hurnus.

"Sorry if I interrupted, but I was wondering if it was possible if you can find a way to get me some Coronatite?"

"What? Why?"

"Well, I figure it's probably the best way to store that Lunatite we have. I might have some need for those Frost Troll gloves."

"Hm, that's not a bad assessment. The few known samples of Lunatite in the kingdom are contained completely or in part with Coronatite. However, there's something you should know about Lunatite, Kazuma; if it isn't contained correctly, as in, the correct amount of heat isn't applied, it'll completely shatter into nothing but snowdust. Of course, normally, it would take an incredible amount of heat to achieve that, but Coronatite is nothing, if not heat."

"You're saying it's not as simple as stuffing it in a box with a chunk of Coronatite, right?"

"That's correct. Issue is, if anyone were to know you had Lunatite…well, that'll be a problem. You see, Lunatite has only been found here, in Dargonnia. Any samples of it are immediately claimed as state property. If it's only found here and you somehow got some, well, it wouldn't take much for people to think—"

"That I stole it." Nyle nodded. "*sigh* So, that's a no-go, then?"

"Well, no, I can still…probably find some way to get you some Coronatite, but it won't be as simple as asking for it. If we want to avoid any suspicion, the best way would be to get it through the Thieves Guild. That being said, asking Calem for anything is usually a massive headache—even more so, something as important and sought-after as Coronatite."

"If it's money, I got some."

"Money is always useful, but…it's difficult to say what he'll ask for. This is why I said it's a headache. In any case, how soon will you need it?"

I shrugged. "I'm not in a rush to get it, but as soon as possible would be nice."

"Alright. I'll see if I can get in contact with some of the members once we reach Maglin."

"Umu, thanks."

"What did he say?" Megumin asked as I returned.

"It's not gonna be easy—but maybe we can just stick the Lunatite in front of Aqua. Oi, why are you glaring at me like that? You're gonna burn a hole straight through me with that intense of a stare."

"I know Kazuma-san has a short attention span, but I didn't think it would be short enough to forget the slight dealt to me."

"What slight? I was only telling the truth."

Aqua burst out crying. "WAHHHH! Why does Kazuma-san have to be so mean to me?!"

"Kazuma," Megumin said, looking at me disappointedly.

I sighed. "Alright, look, calm down, I didn't mean it…mostly." Aqua cried louder, drawing the attention of Nyle and Hurnus. "O-Oi, alright, alright, I'm sorry—just stop crying already! Here, you can have this stone I found."

As quickly as she started, Aqua stopped, almost as if on command. She grabbed the stone in my hand and examined it curiously. "Where'd you find this?" she said through sniffling words.

"In the tunnel, after we came through the mines."

"Hmph. It looks kind of nice. Thank you."

Then she ran off towards the carriage.

"Man, that girl; she can honestly seem younger than you sometimes."

"'Scuse me?" Megumin said, brow deeply knit.

"What?"

"Exactly, what? As in, what did Kazuma mean by that?"

"N-, Nothing, just…just—can you stop staring at me like that; you two really have some intense glares."

"Good. Now please elaborate."

"What's there to elaborate on? I mean, being young is a good thing, right?"

Megumin's glare let up ever so slightly. "I suppose…but I have a feeling Kazuma didn't mean it that way."

"Just your imagination," I said, averting my gaze.

The rest of the group returned, Darkness carrying a large pot. They placed a metal mesh over the fire and then placed the pot on top of it.

"Dinner should be done in an hour or so," Kevin announced.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A stew; I believe there's nothing better or more suited to the climate."

"Smells good," Megumin said, sniffing the air slightly.

"We brought it to a boil a little while ago, otherwise it would be done in a few hours. Thankfully, Inara-san's flames are quite intense."

"Blue fire?" Nyle said. "I'm surprised the pot held up."

"It's not just any pot," Hurnus interjected, "it's my pot; made with some of the best iron there is and enchanted by Runi L' Werren herself."

"Runni L' Who?" I said.

"Runni L' Werren," Nyle remarked. "An enchanter; she's fairly famous…at least, locally."

"Hmm, an enchanter," Megumin said with a bit of interest. "You think we could probably get something enchanted by them?"

"I'd love to tell you, but I'm not too sure. She's actually made herself known quite recently, so I haven't really had any interaction with her to tell you."

"But I can," Hurnus said. "Obviously I've met with her myself. Last time I did, she looked to be a pretty likable person who was out to make a name for themselves. Not only that, but she didn't really seem to shun anyone who might've been seeking her services."

"Sounds like a pretty decent person," I remarked. "Maybe we will get some stuff enchanted if we come across her."

"Well, you can't really miss her; she's an elf with vibrant hair the color of blanched rouge."

"Blanched rouge?"

"Pink," Megumin informed.

"Ohhhh." The defeated groan came from none other than Aqua.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot my treasure box was stuck; I can't find any place to put this stone."

"Well, Kazuma can hold onto it for you, right?" Megumin said, looking my way.

"Sure, I guess. Give it here. I can't believe you actually forgot about your box, then again, I'm not completely surprised," I remarked, tucking the stone away into my bag.

"What's that smell?" Aqua asked as she sniffed the air.

"Food."

"It's a stew," Megumin replied, casting a quick glare in my direction.

"A stew? Mmmm, it smells great."

"It was made by our collective efforts," Kevin said with a smile. "I'm pretty excited to share another meal with you all; it's always nice to eat with so many friends."

Nyle sighed. "I wish we could take our time and enjoy it, but I'm afraid we'll have to be on our way the moment we're done. We took a big risk just stopping here."

"Perhaps, but it's also important to keep our spirits up, isn't it, Nyle-san?"

"Well, you're not wrong, but if we made the wrong choice, we might end up becoming spirits instead."

"Caution is warranted, but sometimes a little bit of luck isn't entirely bad to lean on; I'll offer prayers to Eris-sama to grant us some."

Then the very last person who should ever speak about luck said, "If luck is something you need, I can always give—"

I covered her mouth. "Last thing we need is any of your luck."

"Darkness!" Megumin said, waving her over.

"Is something wrong?" she said as she came over.

"I was just wondering why you were sitting over there all alone? There's enough space here for all of us."

"Ah! Uh-, well…umu." She quickly took a seat beside Megumin.

"Oi, you ok?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh. Y-, yeah, I'm fine."

I had serious doubts, and looking at Megumin expressing similar doubts just reinforced the feeling. "Hey, Darkness, can you come with me for a moment?"

"Huh?" Both she and Megumin said at the same time.

"I need your help getting Aqua's box from under a bunch of stuff."

"Oh. Um, s-, sure."

Aqua pulled away from me and smiled. "You're actually gonna go get my box?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to come with you two?" Megumin asked.

"No. Actually, can you go see to the stew?"

"Huh? Why? Inara and Daichi-san are—"

"You're a really good cook; I'd feel better if you went over and gave it a little bit of your own flavor. That's not an issue, is it, Kevin-san?" I said, looking at him.

"Absolutely not; in fact, I think that's a wonderful idea."

"Uh-, A-, Alright," Megumin said, smiling despite the noticeable embarrassment that came from suddenly placing her in the spotlight.

"What should I do?" Aqua queried.

"Just go with them in case they need some water or something," I replied. "Come on, Darkness."

"Huh? Oh, coming."

Once we disappeared around the carriages, I stopped and turned to face Darkness.

"Ah. Kazuma, why did you—?"

"What's going on?"

"Huh?"

"What's going on with you? You're acting really weird. Well, weirder than usual."

"Wha-, What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine."

"Really?"

"Of-, Of course."

"So I guess it has nothing to do with you or Megumin?"

"What?! Who—? Ahem. I-I mean, of course not; I don't see why—"

"Alright, enough with the bullshit; obviously, it has something to do with that. What's actually going on? Did Megumin say something to you? Did she actually threaten you or some—"

"No! No. She didn't. I…" Darkness looked away slightly. "We both just simply came to an agreement…that's all."

I raised a brow in doubt. "That's it?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Then why the hell are you acting like you walked in on me taking a bath?"

"W-, Why use such a specific situation?" She shook her head dismissively. "It doesn't matter; the discussion happened between us, not you, Kazuma."

"So what, I can't know?"

Darkness scoffed in frustration. "It was simply a promise between me and Megumin."

"A promise? Like what?"

"Have you no tact?!"

"Tact? When speaking with you? You're the last person I'd need tact for. So, are you gonna tell me?"

"Of course not."

"Alright. Was it a promise to stop chasing after me?" The moment I said that, Darkness stared at me completely speechless. "It was?"

"N-, No," she replied, quickly averting her gaze. "No, of course not! It-It was something else."

"Wow. Really? You're actually moving on?"

"Why, Why do you look so disappointed?"

"'Cause I am…a little bit…but I'm actually both surprised and glad that you're finally moving on."

"R-, Really? You are?"

I sighed deeply. "Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna miss those moments between us to some extent, but I'm genuinely happy that you can finally move on with your life and look for some unfortunate guy to spend the rest of it with."

"Un-, unfortunate?" Darkness looked down, her expression growing increasingly glum.

"Oi, come on, I'm just kidding."

"No, that's not…" Darkness sighed once more. Her gaze slowly went from staring at the ground to staring at me.

"Hey, you ok?"

She silently pressed a hand to her chest, and then I could see a tear roll down her cheek. "Why did it have to be you?" she whispered.

Despite the obvious anguish she was feeling, Darkness smiled tenderly.

I began to feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and sorrow. "Darkness…I—"

She shook her head. "Please, it's fine; you don't have to say anything. It's my struggle alone. You've already said everything you needed to all those months ago." She took a deep breath and wiped away the tears from her face. "I made a promise, but it'll take me some time; I hope both you Megumin are patient with me."

"Uh-, uh, um…yeah."

The seriousness of the conversation made me feel nervous on top of the other depressive emotions I was already feeling. I severely underestimated just how much Darkness actually liked me, and now that I was showered with that realization, I was feeling extremely awkward around her.

"Shall…shall we find Aqua's box now?"

"Aqua's…? Ah, yeah, right, her box. Yeah. Yeah, we should…yeah, let's um, look for, for the box," I said, turning around clumsily.

As we headed off to look for it, the question on my mind was, how long would it take for this sense of unease to disappear?

-Back at the campfire…

"What do you think, Megumin-san?" Daichi asked as I finished savoring the broth.

"Hmmm." I rubbed my chin, taking another quick taste of the flavored liquid. "It's not bad, but I think if we added a few peppers it would be to its benefit."

"Peppers?" Inara said. "Where are we going to get peppers around here, though?"

"I have a few dry ones in our carriage; I can go get them."

"If you don't mind."

"Of course not. I'll be right back."

As I ran back, I ran into Darkness and Kazuma.

"Megumin, what are you doing here?" Darkness queried.

"Oh, um, I was just getting some peppers for the stew. Did you guys finish getting Aqua's treasure box?"

"We did," she replied, moving aside to reveal the box in Kazuma's hand.

"Is…everything alright?" I asked, noticing Kazuma's complete silence.

Darkness answered with a nod. "Everything's fine. Do you want me to help you find those peppers?"

"Um, no, that's… I got it. You two can head back."

Without another word, both of them continued on to the camp.

"That was strange," I said to myself. "Did something happen?" I shook free the thought. "Nevermind that, for now; I need to get these peppers."

-Meanwhile…

"Ah! You got my box out!" Aqua said, rushing over to me.

"Yeah." I handed it over and sat down.

"Hmmm? Are you ok?"

"I'm good," I said, waving off her concern.

"Hmmm…well, ok. Thanks for getting my treasure box—you too, Darkness." Aqua held out her hand to me.

"Huh? What?"

"The stone."

"The what?"

"The stone you gave me earlier," she said, frowning slightly.

"Ah, right." I dug into my bag and withdrew it. "Here."

She took it, and after examining it once more, smiled and put it into her box. "This stone is nice, but I really would appreciate it if Kazuma-san gave me back the ruby."

"What ruby?"

"You know which one, don't play dumb with me, mister!"

"I actually have no clue what you're talking about."

"The ruby from the shop! What was it called again? The Ruby of Death?"

"The Ruby of…— Oh, that one! Nah, I'll hold on to it. Besides, I remember I won that off you fair and square."

"Nothing's ever fair when it comes to you; your luck is borderline cheating."

"Hey, don't blame me for your lack of any." I glanced over at Darkness, who took a seat on the far opposite side of the camp. "She's avoiding me, huh?"

"I'm back!" Megumin said as she rushed over to those managing the stew. "Sorry it took so long, there were a couple who were still somewhat alive." She cut them up, tossed them into the stew, and then closed the lid. "With that, I think the stew is done."

Inara nodded. "We only need to wait a few minutes now." She sighed. "I actually can't wait to get some food in me."

"Well then," Daichi interrupted, "while we wait, who's up for a few stories?"

The lot of the group gathered around, and while I also did, both Darkness and I sat on the periphery. It was clear that this was, indeed, gonna take some time.