Megumin was not having a good day.
She looked out of the checkered window of her home, out into the open prairie. The sun shone bright, and a gaggle of laughter could be heard from the village children screwing off.
Over the past few months, Megumin tried to make herself at home, deciding to take up tutoring the kids at school. It gave herself something to do, ever since...
She sighed.
Maybe Aqua and Kazuma just ran away or something! It wasn't entirely out of the question, considering Aqua's history. Or not. Anything could have happened, really.
She turned from the window to the room she was in. It was dull and gray. An unmade mattress was in one corner; she hadn't bothered with fixing it, and she probably wouldn't any time soon. Was was the point, anyway? It wasn't like it was dirty or anything.
In another corner was a wardrobe. Inside were a plethora of bright-red clothes, garb befitting for an Archmage. Megumin hadn't worn the outfit in some time. It was probably all gross and dusty by now.
Not that it mattered. She had spares; she was wearing one right now, actually.
She craned back to the sill, the laughter growing distant. The kids probably took their game elsewhere.
Megumin pressed her forehead into the window with a low groan and slouched down the sill, gazing blankly at the empty fields. The oil from her skin smudged the already dirty glass, and her hat scrunched against the sill and began to slip off her head.
She absentmindedly grabbed in the general direction of where she last left her staff, and eventually looked to where she put it when she found herself unsuccessful in retrieving it.
Maybe she'd never see them again after all. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility...
Every search party sent, all of which she attended, as far as she was aware, turned up with friggin' nothing. Not a trace of dumbass A nor dumbass B, no matter how hard she and the party looked.
Megumin blanched.
The word "party" felt dry in her mouth. The only search parties she should be with were her actual party, looking for some lost kitten or something from one of the easier quests, and still somehow screwing it up.
...She says that, but she hadn't even payed Darkness a visit in so long, either. Megumin never expected her to come over to the village, of course; she was always so busy with her fancy noble duties these days. Now that she thought about it, shouldn't Megumin be living it up in the estate or something? She was one of the heroes that beat the Demon King after all!
But then the prospect of leaving the village again irks her too much to really consider it, so here she is.
Megumin melted to the floor, her staff clattering beside her. There she would lay, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Had her hat not obscured her face, anyway.
Admittedly, she did decide to wear her adventuring gear for a reason. She was an Archmage, and a Crimson Demon Archmage at that! It'd be a shame if such fine clothes were left to collect dust in her closet, after all (she deftly ignored the clothes in the closet currently collecting dust).
Megumin could feel her face get a little damp from the moisture of her breath. It was getting kind of stuffy under her hat.
She used to be one for adventuring (god, she sounded like an old lady saying that) and she honestly still was, but without her party, going out and blowing stuff up felt less... fufilling.
Sometimes, she would march up a hill after an hour's hike or so, preferably one with a nice view overhead; maybe with a mountain would be in the background for her to blow up.
Sometimes, she would bring Yunyun, or maybe her parents if she was particularly desperate for an audience. The last time, though, she went alone. Probably wasn't a very good idea with no one to piggyback on after rending a mountainside, but she did it anyway.
...
Megumin, alone, marched out of the village, staff in hand and archmage getup adorned. The hike wasn't too long; only about fifteen or so minutes, but it was still far enough for the village to be out of view entirely. Once she found a suitable spot at the top of a forest hill with a nice view of a mountain base some kilometers away, Megumin began her ritual.
Sometimes, she would bring Yunyun, or maybe her parents if she was particularly desperate for an audience. The last time, though, she went alone. Probably wasn't a very good idea with no one to piggyback on after blowing up the mountainside, but she did it anyway.
Maybe she should've invited Darkness, now that she thought about it. She was busy, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to try.
The magic circle befitting of only Megumin herself, Archmage of the Crimson Demon clan, flared to life, and the base of the mountain would begin to glow. The air wirled and contorted violently, and the surroundings began to darken.
She felt the rush of the explosion course through her and admired its power; her power.
"Explosion!" She cried at the top of her lungs, completing the incantation in its entirely.
And then, boom.
A breeze would pass her by, and Megumin would have to dart a hand over her hat to keep it on her head. The grass would sway around her, and Megumin rarely got to see her handiwork before collapsing.
She would fall down and stare at the sky; the clouds would have shifted greatly, smoke would waft into her nostrils, and she would start coughing, before dozing off into an exhausted slumber.
But then she woke up. Instead of waking up on the old couch or her bed, or sometimes on the cold wooden floor if Kazuma was being a particular dick, a dimming sunet sunset greeted her; she must have been out for a while, if the orange skies were any indicator. A warm gust of air passed her by, and she realized her hat must have fell off when she felt the wind in her hair.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes, but the recent memory of casting her explosion brought her to life again. She darted her head towards the impact site, taking in its beauty. She managed to shave off a good chunk of the mountain; a worthy feat of a Crimson Demon Archmage, if she had any say in it!
"Kazuma! Kazuma!," she called out excitedly, pointing toward the gaping hole in the mountain, "Did you see-"
But she whipped her head around, and was greeted only by a lukewarm breeze. Megumin shivered.
"...Oh."
She stopped going on explosion walks after that.
...
And now, here she lie, blinded and inhaling in the moist air from her own breathing under her hat. Eventually it got unbearable and she had to take it off and wipe her face with a sleeve.
Maybe she should've invited Darkness, then. She was busy, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to try.
Nothing was stopping her from at least writing a letter. But ever since Kazuma and Aqua disappeared, she hadn't really talked to her all that much. Darkness was busy with noble stuff all the time, made even busier ever since the Demon King's defeat, but Megumin knew she was just making excuses not to talk to her.
...Why wouldn't she talk to her, anyway? Logically, it didn't make any sense. Besides herself, Darkness knew Kazuma and Aqua the best, so it'd only make sense to go to her to devise a plan, or something.
But the thought alone made her stomach turn to knots and she began to feel queasy, so she'd avoid thinking about it. It was lame, honestly.
"Megu- hah- Megumin!", She immediately shot up and tried her damnedest to look prim and proper at the very sudden, very unwelcome voice. Megumin was too caught off guard to stop and think of what Yunyun was even doing in her room when she was pretty certain the doors were all locked.
"Yunyun," came Megumin's delayed reply, dusting off her skirt and leaning on her staff as if she wasn't rolling on the ground barely two seconds ago, "what got your panties in a twist this time?"
Yunyun visibly flushed at the vulgar remark but quickly composed herself, vigorously shaking her head.
"It's for you! The Dustiness Estate sent it!" She explained with mildly annoying franticism, waving around what looked to be an envelope adorning the very noticeable seal of the Dustiness family. Megumin had perked up at this, realizing her horrible posture only after she shot upright.
"T-The Dustiness estate?" She repeated, slightly cringing at the stutter. Yunyun made a strangled noise of what was probably affirmation.
Megumin reached a hand out, but her friend was still flinging the paper about in her panic.
"Oi, give it," Megumin reached for the envelope again, only for it to jump out of reach again.
"Stop waving it around, already!" Megumin finally managed to yank the envelope out of Yunyun's flailing arms after a short struggle. She had to let go of her staff and use both hands before grabbing it again before it fell over.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to-"
She put a palm in the air to silence her. Seriously, what happened to the cool and serious (not that she'd ever admit that) Yunyun that fought in the Demon King's castle? Megumin briefly wondered if Yunyun was doing okay, what with acting all panicky more than usual, but she didn't dwell on it too much.
Megumin let out a sigh, stuffing the envelope in her armpit before picking her hat off the ground and fitting it on with her now free hand. She walked over to her unkempt bed, plopped down on it, gently placed her staff next to her, and retrieved the letter from her armpit.
"Yunyun, it's fine. Don't worry about it, really," She ripped the envelope and pulled out a letter, idly noting that she accidentally ripped a piece of the paper off.
"Now unless this wasn't just for me, shoo."
"U-uhm, if I may ask, were you, um, heading out? You know, to blow something up, or something, since your in your adventuring gear and all," Yunyun switched the subject, to Megumin's slight irritation. It must have shown on her face, because Yunyun immediately began fumbling over herself.
"O-Oh! The letter has my name on it too! I'm staying! Sorry! Uhm-"
"To Megumin and Yunyun," The latter part of the title was written in hasty pencil scratches, unlike the rest of the letter, which was written in neat pen. Wow. Yunyun kinda has it rough, doesn't she?
"W-why do you look like you're pitying me right now?"
"Just listen to what it says."
"A-Ah! Right!" Yunyun suddenly stood stock still, though her face still betrayed her almost ever-present wariness.
Seriously, is she okay?