Revised as of 2/27/2024.

Kazuma stared blankly into the glass in front of him.

'I knew Naruto was probably overpowered. After all, he received a cheat from the gods. But to think he was that powerful… It's just so unfair.'

Kazuma thought before glancing at the little girl sitting next to him, her crimson eyes void of their usual glow. Much like him, the mage had yet to utter a single word since their return to the guild.

But that was to be expected, after what they had just witnessed.

Not only did Naruto show that he was capable of using Explosion magic twice without collapsing from mana exhaustion, but then he conjured up a kaiju-sized fox avatar and destroyed what was left of the old castle with something that seemed beyond Explosion magic.

Actually, forget the castle. The entire mountain had been evaporated for crying out loud!

Kazuma looked at the man responsible for his and Megumin's current moods, and how he was drinking a glass of neroid juice without a care in the world. When the shinobi noticed the look he was receiving, Naruto merely grinned a cheeky grin before asking a nearby waitress to bring him more of his favorite beverage.

A thought suddenly occurred to the former shut-in. Despite clearly showing superior firepower in their competition, Naruto decided that Megumin was still the victor, claiming that his technique wasn't Explosion magic and therefore didn't count for their contest.

Megumin happily eagerly to this outcome.

But something seemed off to Kazuma as he had always thought the ninja(self-proclaimed) came off as a competitive person. Mostly due to his constant squabbles with Aqua and Megumin. So it was a surprise to say the least that Naruto let the little girl win so easily.

So why-

"Today's Explosion was something else!"

"Yeah, I heard from some guys that were on their way back saw an entire mountain disappear!"

"It must have been that Explosion Girl!"

"You think so? Explosion magic is powerful, but an entire mountain is a little…"

A pair of rowdy adventurers could be heard from across the tavern, and Kazuma's eyes widened in realization. His gaze shot back to Naruto just in time to see a dark grin on the boy's face.

"Those rumors are true! I bore witness to Axel's famous Explosion user blow away the mountain where a Demon King General once lived!"

Naruto stood up and shouted for all the guild to hear.

"So the rumors were true then! As expected of a Crimson Magic Clansman!"

"I knew it was our very own Explosion Girl!"

"Right? Who else even knows Explosion magic in this town anyways?"

Kazuma balked as the adventurers began to crowd up around their table and praise the Crimson Magic Clansman.

"-sn't me…"

Megumin muttered in a low voice, causing the adventurers to lean in closer so they could hear her.

"What're ya shy about yer own achievements?"

"No need for that here! Hahaha!"

The crowd continued to shower the little girl with praise to the point where she began to shake.

But the final blow came from Naruto when he put a hand on the girl's shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"Come on, Megumin. You don't want to disappoint all these people, do you? A Crimson Magic Clansman never backs down, right?"

. . .

"That's right! I am Megumin! Wielder of Explosion magic! Destroyer of Mountains!"

Megumin suddenly shouted with a crazed expression and tears streaming down her face.

'She broke!'

Kazuma thought with wide eyes as he watched his companion jump on the table and waved her staff.

"Bring on the next Demon King General! I'll one-shot it with my mountain busting Explosion Magic! HA HA HA HA HA!"

Megumin shouted for all the guild to hear, and the adventurers cheered her on.

It all came together now. As far as the townsfolk knew, Megumin was the only person in town that knew Explosion magic. After all, she held the infamous title of "Explosion Girl".

So when the rumors of a mountain disappearing made it to the guild, it was only natural they would think it was her doing.

Naruto had exploited Megumin's pride by cornering her into taking the fame of an achievement that wasn't her own, and it was almost too painful to watch. The girl's pride must be in shambles right about now, if the swirls in her eyes had anything to say about it.

Kazuma shivered at the idea of Naruto coming up with such a well thought plan just to prank the little girl. He made a mental note to hold back when retorting that guy in the future.

Megumin hopped down from the table and dashed out of the guild. It seemed she couldn't take anymore.

Kazuma sighed and moved to follow his companion, but not before glancing back at the cheering Naruto one last time.

"I won't say she didn't deserve this, and I won't ask you to apologize, but…"

"Yeah yeah, I'll stop by later to cheer her up if I need to."

Naruto responded before downing his beverage in one go, and Kazuma nodded before taking off to find the troublesome mage of his party.

With his company now gone and his party's whereabouts unknown, Naruto took a seat at the bar and ordered a third neroid juice. It was time to celebrate the success of his latest prank!

"That was interesting."

"Hm?"

Naruto turned to his right to see Chris taking a seat next to him.

"Oh, hey Chris. It's been awhile. Haven't seen you since, well… Since the first time we met!"

He greeted with a friendly smile, to which the girl returned with one of her own.

"Yeah, I guess our schedules have been keeping us busy! So what was that all about? Did Megumin really destroy a mountain?"

Chris asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice.

"The mountain really is gone."

Naruto said with a shrug, leaving the answer up in the air which caused Chris to pout.

"I see. Well then, I have another question for you. Is it true that Axel's Delinquent Boss is looking for a lady friend?"

Chris asked with playful tone. She heard a rather interesting rumor that Naruto made a particular bet with Aqua, with one of the details being that the blonde had to get a girlfriend.

"Please don't call me that. I'm not a delinquent, nor am I anyone's boss. But to answer your question, yes. Aqua and I made a bet with each other whether or not I could get a girlfriend, and I have until to end of this week to do so."

Naruto responded without missing a beat. He didn't interact much with Chris, and she seemed levelheaded enough that he could be straight with her. It would be troubling if she thought those rumors were true.

"I-is that so?"

Chris awkwardly said while scratching the scar on her cheek. She hadn't been expecting such a mature reaction from the boy.

"O-oh yeah! You're friends with Darkness, aren't you? D-do you think I could ask you something about her?"

Naruto stuttered, and suddenly the glass in his hands seemed rather interesting as he could peel his eyes off it.

Chris raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. Given the previous topic, along with Naruto's sudden change of attitude…

'Does Naruto-san like Darkness? No, that can't be right. This is Darkness we're talking about, and I don't think Naruto-san is into that sort of thing… But this might be worth looking into…'

The silver-haired girl mused to herself before answering the blonde's question.

"We are, but why not just ask Darkness herself?"

"W-well, I tried talking to her earlier, but then one thing led to another and I messed up and hit my face…"

Seeing the strange look on Chris's face, Naruto quickly moved along.

"A-anyways! I just wanted to learn more about Darkness!"

Naruto blurted out while gripping his barstool, his ears turning red.

Chris felt a sudden urge to tease the nervous looking boy in front of her.

"I see I see… Well then, have I have the perfect information for you~! Darkness's three sizes are-"

"Not that kind of information!"

Naruto quickly intervened while crossing his arms in an "X" form.

The thief laughed at the expected reaction, then held her hands up passively when he glared at her.

"Alright alright, I'll take this seriously. Darkness… How do I put it… Is a little weird."

"That's what Kazuma and Dust keep telling me, and they say strange things about her 'enjoying herself' whenever she's in pain. Whatever that means."

Naruto said and looked at Chris expectantly, causing the girl to gain a troubled expression.

After all, it was kind of hard to say that your friend was a masochist.

"Well, they're not wrong. Darkness has a thing for trouble. She likes to put herself in danger all the time. But the reason is…"

Chris began to delve into Darkness's wonderful personality, and Naruto nodded his head as she talked up until she made the final reveal.

"…Huh?"

Naruto tilted his head when Chris said something that didn't quite make sense to him. It was similar to what Dust and Kazuma had told him, but he still didn't get it.

"What's a mashoshist?"

"Masochist. It's when someone pleasures from physical or psychological abuse. But it's not something one should be blurting out carelessly. I'll have to have a talk with Kazuma and this Dust fellow..."

Chris explained in a hushed tone so that no one but Naruto could hear her. But she was honestly surprised Naruto hadn't noticed Darkness's obvious trait. But then again, to Chris' knowledge, the guy spent very little time around the Crusader.

'Pleasure from pain? That kind of reminds me of that crazy guy from the Akatsuki.'

Naruto thought as he thought back to his two major interactions with the beautiful knight. It sounded like something his mentor would write in his books... But was Darkness really like that?

He recalled the three main memories he had with Darkness and tried to remember if there was anything strange about the girl during those times.

The first was when they'd met, and how she was defending herself from a group of wolves. She seemed disappointed when Naruto saved her, but he had thought it was because he had interrupted her fight.

Then there was the Cabbage Hunt, and how Darkness had put herself into harm's way to protect a fallen adventurer. She had been smiling the whole time.

Naruto had written it off as her trying to reassure the people she was saving, but that smile definitely seemed out of place now that he thought about it.

Then there was the events in the alleyways. It really seemed like Darkness was in trouble that time, having been corned by a group of thugs. But the things the delinquents had said were beginning to bug him now.

Was Darkness really the one who had deliberately picked a fight with them? For what? A misunderstanding because they looked like ruffians?

But then that would mean Darkness was nothing more than this so called "masochist" playing the role of a hero to hide her true nature from everyone.

Naruto refused to believe that. He could tell when a person really cared about protecting others, and Darkness genuinely seemed like a good person to him.

Shaking his head in frustration, Naruto let out a sigh.

'Guess there's only one way to find out.'

As Naruto was lost in his own thoughts, Chris watched him with a small smile on her face.

"You're an experienced warrior on the outside, but you're still just a kid on the inside."

The silver haired girl mused to herself, pulling the blonde out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"Nothing, just talking to myself. I'm guessing you have your answer now?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks Chris! I really owe you one!"

Naruto said with a beaming smile.

"Then how about you treat me to a drink in return?"

Chris responded with a wink, earning a groan from the whiskered teen.

"Just kidding! I was just about to head out cause it's growing dark outside. See ya later, Naruto-san!"

Chris said while sticking her tongue out playfully before she left.

Naruto sighed in relief. Thank goodness she was only pulling his leg. Kaeru-chan couldn't take any more hits. In fact, just ordering those celebratory drinks had put him in the red-zone.

"I wonder if my party members would mind if we took another day off tomorrow…"

The Next Morning…

Naruto leaned against the entrance to Wiz's shop, looking outside for any possible customers. He learned that Wiz, unsurprisingly enough, was also in the red zone. So they could use all the customers they could get.

While he was brainstorming ideas to increase their profits, he realized he didn't see Cecily at all yesterday. Not that that was entirely a bad thing. Though he hoped she wasn't getting into any trouble.

The last thing Naruto needed was for the girl to bring even more debt onto their party.

Leaving the priestess aside, Naruto was worried about Yunyun. He wanted to clear the little misunderstanding with Megumin and Kazuma as soon as possible, but it had been too late by the time he got back the night before and she didn't seem to be home in the morning as he was leaving for Wiz's shop.

Did she wake up before him? It wasn't that unlikely, as Yunyun seemed like the early-morning type.

"Oh well, guess I'll look for her later."

Naruto relented with a sigh.

"Look for who later?"

Wiz was dusting off some of the merchandise when she heard the blonde speak to himself. He had been strangely quiet all morning, so she took the opportunity to try and figure out why.

"Remember that mage I said I wanted to introduce you to? Well, some things happened with Kazuma and Megumin and she took off when she misunderstood something. I haven't seen her since. What should I do…?"

Naruto explained in a depressed manner, and a little raincloud formed over his head when he realized Yunyun probably hated him right now. Not only had he forgotten about her multiple times since bringing the girl to the town of beginners, but he even threw Cecily onto her in the middle of the night.

It wouldn't be a surprise if the girl decided to go back home.

Wiz placed a hand on her lips and hummed in thought. After coming up with an answer, she smiled brightly.

"Just make it up to her! If you just be yourself, I'm sure everything will turn out alright!"

"Wiz…"

Naruto walked over to the girl and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You're such a good person…!"

"?"

Wiz tilted her head in confusion, not entirely sure as to what the blonde was talking about.

After his shift was over, Naruto left Wiz's shop and ventured into town.

It was time to make it up to Yunyun!

But after checking the few places he thought she would be, such as the adventurer's guild, the local library, and their shared inn, he found that the timid mage was nowhere to be found.

"Don't tell me she went home already!?"

Naruto balked, an overwhelming sense of dread washing over him. He then took to the rooftops in the direction of a certain mansion. If he couldn't find Yunyun, maybe the person who knew her longer could!

—As Naruto neared the mansion's property, he noticed someone standing in front of the entrance gate.

Hiding behind a nearby tree, Naruto poked his head out and was surprised to see that it was Yunyun.

'There she is! Wait… Why am hiding?'

Naruto shook his head and was about to come out of his hiding place when he overheard the mage mumbling to herself.

"No no no… That would be stupid! 'Good morning! I was wondering If you had a moment to explain something to me?'-Wait wait wait! That sounds too aggressive!"

Yunyun muttered while shaking her head. Then she remembered that she was holding something.

"Oh! I brought some fruit! Feel free to help yourselves while we talked about what happened yesterday! Yes! That might actually work… But wait! What if they don't like the fruit I brought!? I knew I should have gotten those fancy chocolates I know Megumin likes!"

The Crimson Magic Clansman said and placed the basket of fruit onto the ground in front of the gate, along with a few other items. Food, candles, some clothes. It seemed the girl had done some shopping.

"I guess I'll just have to go back and…!"

Yunyun turned and was about to walk back into town, but she was surprised to see Naruto standing in front of her.

"N-N-Naruto-san!?"

"Hey, Yunyun… What're you doing here?"

Naruto asked with an awkward wave of his hand.

Yunyun was looking at the ground while fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

"I-I woke up early and came here to Kazuma-san's mansion to find out the truth about… Yesterday. But then I ran back and bought a gift. Because it would be rude to show up uninvited without a gift, right? Then I began to think that they wouldn't like the gift I brought, so I went back to the store and bought something else…"

The girl said and gestured to the various items neatly placed in front of the mansion's entrance gate. A fruit basket, some flowers, a lunch box, and… a pickaxe?

It was then Naruto realized what was going on here. The girl had been standing here, rehearsing what she was going to say to Kazuma and his party. But couldn't come up with a sufficient greeting.

"I couldn't make up my mind and ended up buying all these things. I really am hopeless…"

Yunyun finished with a sigh. Naruto was probably going to think she was a complete weirdo, and all because she couldn't make up her mind over such a trivial thing.

"I don't think you're hopeless, Yunyun."

Naruto said, and Yunyun looked up in surprise.

"I asked you to join my party and you came all the way to this town with me, and I haven't done a thing to thank you. In fact, I did the exact opposite! I forgot about you in the adventurer's guild and left you behind multiple times! I left dropped Cecily on you that one night, and then I didn't even make it up to afterwards!"

The blonde continued, his head lowered in shame.

"I'm the one that's hopeless…"

"…"

Yunyun wanted to cheer the boy up, but she hesitated. She wanted to say that Naruto didn't do anything wrong, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little lonely.

"But that ends right now! Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? If it's within my power, I'll do it! Because I don't want Yunyun to quit my party because of my stupidity!"

Naruto suddenly shouted, and Yunyun's eyes widened.

"Eh?"

"Anything you want! Just name it!"

"T-then…"

Yunyun said while poking her fingers together. Was it alright to ask? No, it would be an insult if she didn't ask for something.

"C-can we… Can we be f-f-friends?"

Yunyun finally managed to ask, and resisted the urge to . Her heart was racing like she had just ran a marathon!

"Huh? What're you talking about, Yunyun? We were friends the moment you joined my party."

Naruto replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Yunyun's hands fell to her sides.

"Now then, what do you me to do? I wasn't lying when I said I would do anything! I'll carry you to the top of a mountain! I'll search a dangerous dungeon for secret treasure! I'll even follow your orders for an entire day! Ah, but please don't ask for money. Kaeru-chan can't take anymore abuse… But I can give you a discount at a certain magic item-"

"Pfft…!"

Naruto stopped his little rant when Yunyun suddenly started giggling. He scratched at his whisker marks and let out a few chuckles himself. Did he say something funny?

Yunyun hid her face and wiped a few tears from her eyes. Of course Naruto would say they were already friends, she was silly to think the blonde would think otherwise.

'Naruto-san really is kind…'

Taking a small breath, Yunyun mustered the courage to ask.

"I-if it's not too much to ask…"

A/N: I'm back! Dang, these past few weeks have been filled with HYPE!

Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Jump Force, Halo Infinite, Elder Scrolls VI, and Pokemon on the Switch!

Holy molly! It's time to start saving up!

Oh, one more thing. In case anyone is confused about the aftermath of Naruto and Megumin's Explosion competition, it basically all comes down to this:

Naruto planned to show off his stamina and power by using the two different Explosion spells and then a tailed beast ball. Knowing Megumin wouldn't accept the tailed beast ball to be allowed, he allowed her to be the winner of the competition. But the main part of the prank, like the prank with Aqua, was the aftermath. Megumin's reputation has improved to being a mage with the capabilities of destroying a mountain, even though it's not the case. Naruto manipulated Megumin's pride and made her take the credit for something she didn't do.

The result is Megumin's pride as an Explosion user has been shattered.

See you all in the next one! ;)