Chapter 3: Beyond the Scope

Part 1

"Is that…?"

"Automatic gunfire," I thought.

I typically played RPGs and MMOs back in Japan, but I occasionally dabbled in Shooters. I wasn't very good at them, but it was in my many attempts that I came to know the sound of gunfire. And it was this sound that now echoed just outside the hideout.

"They're coming from the front," Nyle said. "But how? If they were tracking me they would've… Could it be?" Nyle let out a defeated chuckle. "They have us surrounded."

"Surrounded?" Daichi said. "Then what do we do? Nyle-san?"

"I…" The sound of collapsing wood echoed into the room. "They're…they're in…they're inside."

The intruders had made it in, which meant in a few seconds—maybe a minute, they'd be in the same room with us. Intruders with guns…automatic weaponry…while we had nothing comparable. We had to do something quick or our adventure…and our lives would come to a violent and abrupt end.

"What do we do?" I pondered. I closed my eyes and tried to block out all possible distractions. My heartbeat did me no favors in this regard, but from seemingly out of nowhere, it came to me: a possibility.

"Kazuma, what's going on?" Megumin said, showing up just as I opened my eyes. "Inara-san and I heard a loud—"

"Shh, no time," I remarked, cutting her off. "Everyone come here," I said, frantically waving them over.

"What is it, Kazuma," Daichi said, "do you have a plan?"

"Sort of." I quickly scanned the room. "There. Everyone over here," I said, running over to what I deemed to be the darkest area of the place. "Put out the fire," I ordered, just before they all congregated on me. "Alright, I need you and you, here," I said, pulling Aqua and Darkness beside me. "Everyone else, grab on to me and don't let go, ok?"

As the several hands found their places, I closed my eyes and recited the words to the spell 'Light of Refraction'. It was troublesome to keep up even if the effect was only for myself, however, keeping the invisibility up for a group of people would take an ample supply of magic: enter Aqua and Darkness; between the two of them I'd probably be able to keep the spell going for a few minutes. Which, hopefully, was enough time for intruders to come in and after seeing no one around, leave. Of course, we'd be screwed if they had any magic-detecting items. I could only hope that my luck could carry us through, otherwise, it'd probably be the last use of it I would have in this world.

The moment the spell activated, a figure appeared in the room. The shock of seeing them just materialize in front of us was nearly enough to disrupt my concentration on maintaining Light of Refraction. They were tall, taller than any normal person, and far taller than any dwarf. Given their build and shape, I concluded they weren't human either; their legs, for instance, were reverse jointed, like a cat's or any number of beasts. They also didn't seem to be wearing any clothing. Normally something like that would make me question the type of individual I was going up against, but it seemed that this a form of function rather than any lack of decency as another one of these 'things' materialized beside the first.

"No one here," the first said, its voice deep and gravelly. It lowered what appeared to be its weapon and looked around. It drew close to the firepit in the center and began examining it.

The second lowered its weapon too. "Hey," it said, its voice a complete contrast to the first, "why do we even bother going invisible if these things don't go invisible with us?"

The first stood up, rubbing the still smoldering ash between its pointed fingers. "Stop asking such stupid questions, Zero-nine, and look. The ash is still warm. Whoever was here didn't leave so long ago."

"So, what, do you think they might have escaped?"

"Unlikely; the others have that entrance blocked."

"What if there's another we don't know about?"

"It's possible." It looked around, its glowing yellow eyes making a pass over us and our hiding space. "Then again, I don't believe so. In fact, something tells me they haven't left at all. Search the area, make sure you leave no stone unturned."

Aside from the sense of nervousness I (and no doubt the others) was feeling, I felt myself grow light headed with fatigue; my own mana reserves were practically dry. It was at this point that I began draining Aqua and of her mana; the abruptness of it nearly caused her to yell in surprise, but even she knew doing so would be a bad idea, so after a swift clasp of hands over her mouth, she silently allowed me to continue.

None of us dared to move, much less speak as the intruder slowly worked its way around the area. Minutes went by, and at this point, I began to feel myself weaken once again; either Aqua was running low on mana or she was deliberately closing herself off, I didn't really know, but regardless, I couldn't risk the spell failing. Not willing to test what was the reason for Aqua's lack of mana supply, I switched over to Darkness. Her reaction was much like Aqua's…except that it was accompanied by shivers. Even now, at such a nerve-wracking moment, this so-called 'Crusader' managed to find some way to get excited.

Despite having lots of vitality, Darkness wouldn't last anywhere near as long as Aqua when it came to being a battery. Which meant, if this search didn't come to an end soon, the spell would fade and we'd have to face gun-wielding enemies in close-quarters while some of our people were absolutely drained, myself included. I concentrated as hard as I could to manage the flow of mana as best as possible.

Closer and closer; every step brought it nearer to us.

"Where are you?" it said. "I know you're here. Come out, come out, wherever you are…vermin."

I gulped silently and felt my focus wavering from the anxiety.

BANG! BANG! WIthout warning, the intruder raised its weapon and fired into our corner…narrowly missing Darkness' head.

"I SAID COME OUT!" it yelled, raising its gun once again.

On top of fear, fatigue began to set in once again, which meant only one thing: Darkness' mana was nearly exhausted; her head drooping onto my shoulder confirmed it.

"Zero-one." The other one named 'Zero-nine' appeared.

"What is it?"

"I found nothing. Did you?"

"Nothing," it said, lowering its weapon.

"Odd. I thought you did, with all that shouting and shooting. I recall you being the one telling us not to waste the ammunition."

"I know what I said." It seemingly cleared its throat. "I was merely testing to see if any of those vermin were still around. It looks like there aren't," It said, turning around to face its companion.

"So they escaped by some other means?"

"It would appear so. They won't get far, however. The snow is deep and it will lead right to them. Come, let us leave."

"And what do we do about this place? Do you want me to set fire to it?" it queried, a fireball manifesting in its hand.

"No. Leave it. They'll come back seeking refuge, only to find that it'll be their grave."

"Alright."

The two left, and the moment they did, the spell faded.

All of us collectively sighed.

A moment too soon, however, as one of the intruders came back, their eyes facing our direction. It grabbed its weapon, which it apparently left behind, and raised it toward us.

It hadn't seen us yet. If it did, it would've shot; that was the conclusion I came up with in my mind. Some born from rationale, but most of it born from disparate hope.

The intruder took a step towards us.

I could see its finger slowly slide around the trigger, the trigger begin to bend, and then—

"Zero-nine, what is taking you?!"

The voice of the leader broke its focus. "Ah—sorry! On my way!"

And with that, the intruder sped off.

I had nothing in me to cast Light of Refraction, but at the very least, I could cast Lurk and out of the fear and nervousness I felt, I did.

All of us remained still and quiet for what felt like a long time, but in reality, it was likely just several minutes. Despite the fear and apprehension, Nyle volunteered to make sure our 'guests' had left. This too took a deceptive length of time, but when he was done, we all finally breathed a long-overdue sigh of relief.

"Gather your things," he said. "We've got to leave."

"What if they're waiting out there for us?" Inara said.

"We're not leaving either of those ways; there's another path we can take—several, in fact. This is a Scout's Surveillance Post; there's no way we would only have one or two ways in."

"Why didn't you say that from the beginning, then?"

"Because my fear is that they somehow found the other entrances. Those things were numerically named. 'Zero-one', 'Zero-nine'. There should be at least nine of them, then…I think."

He had a point.

"I…I don't suppose there are more than nine ways into this place, right?" Kevin remarked with a nervous smile.

"Unfortunately, no."

"What the hell were those things?" Daichi said.

"Demons!" Aqua replied loudly.

All of us looked at her.

"Demons? Like actually?"

Aqua nodded furiously.

"Wait, you could tell? How?"

"There's no way I couldn't. I could see them quite clearly. You see, my sight is as good in all this darkness as it is in the light. Also, their stench is absolutely abhorrent; I'm surprised I didn't smell them earlier. That's not even mentioning the fact that I'm a goddess. Things like—"

"Ok, I think we get the point!" I said, desperately clasping my hands around her mouth. "Her clerical powers have always been kinda good and her Night Sight is only that good thanks to a magic item she has."

Aqua mumbled in disbelief.

"A magic item? I see."

"You guys," Hurnus interjected, "I think it's probably a good idea to get out of here before we carry on this conversation, don't ya think?"

"No, you're right, Hurnus," Daichi replied. "Nyle-san, please, lead the way."

As we were about to head out, fatigue had found me. Looking back, I noticed that Darkness, too, was barely able to walk, her body slumped with exhaustion. I expected Aqua to be in the same situation given how much mana I drew from her, but she was seemingly unaffected.

"Nyle-san," Megumin called out, getting his and the others' attention.

"What's wrong with them?" Daichi asked as the priest of their group ran over to us.

"Is there something wrong, Kazuma-san? Darkness-san?"

While I could explain away my lack of energy, I couldn't tell them that I used Drain Touch on Darkness. Luckily, a reason swiftly came to mind.

"Maintaining the spell took it out of me, and I'm pretty sure Darkness is just a bit scared."

"Scared? Ah, that's right." Kevin glanced at the bullet hole in the wall. "Thank Eris-sama it missed."

I suppose it was sort of a good thing that Darkness was as tired as she was; I'm sure she would've said something stupid if she wasn't.

"Do you two need help?" Daichi asked.

"No, I think we'll be ok. Just give me a moment." I pulled Darkness and Aqua over to the side.

"What are you doing, you hikkiNEET, we need to—"

"Shh! I need to Drain Touch you so me and Darkness will be able to—"

"Not a chance! I already let you rob me of the precious divine energy that my followers have gifted me; don't you think it'd be terrible of me if I allowed you to take even more?"

"It'd be a terrible thing if you didn't! As backhanded as this may sound, I still think it's pretty incredible for me to say this, but I think you becoming a battery might be the only good thing the Axis Cult has done for anyone."

"How dare Kazuma-san! Take that back!"

"I won't. Now stop being an idiot and share some of that energy with me and Darkness," I said, grabbing her by the arm.

"No! Stop! I don't wanna!"

"Stop being so difficult and—"

"Everything alright?" Kevin asked, looking worriedly at us.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Don't worry, we'll—"

"What's going on?" Megumin said, walking over to us.

"Megumin, tell this hikkiNEET to let go of me!" Aqua cried. "He's trying to rob my purity without consent!"

"Oi!"

"What's actually going on?" Megumin said, paying little heed to Aqua's questionable explanation.

"She's not letting me get any energy for me and Darkness. Come to think of it," I said, glancing at Aqua, "aren't you a little too fine for someone who was acting as a battery?" She looked away. "Oi." I tightened my grip around her arm.

"What?! I couldn't just let Kazuma-san take all my follower's energy! It isn't right!"

"You dumbass, we could've died!"

"Hey, Kazuma," Nyle suddenly said. "If you need one of us to help you you could—"

"No, no, we're almost done here. Sorry. Come on," I said, glaring once more at Aqua, "stop being so difficult and just let me get enough energy for me and Darkness to get on."

"I don't wanna," Aqua said, sobbing. "I already gave you enough."

"Grrr. You—"

"Kazuma," Megumin interrupted.

"Huh? What is it, Megumin?"

She walked up to me and then turned around, lifting the back of her hair and exposing the nape of her neck. "Go ahead. You only need a little bit, right?"

"Really?"

"I mean, Aqua did just give you energy, so…" She cleared her throat. "I think it's only fair since both of them already have."

"Wow."

I was genuinely surprised. Being Drain Touched was not a pleasant experience—much less for a class who typically lacked much vitality, like mages.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing." I quickly grabbed her neck and began draining.

"Guuuhhh. It…still feels…terrible."

"Hahhh, thanks, Megumin," I said, once I had gathered enough. "Darkness." I waved her over.

After going through the same process with Darkness and finishing, we rejoined the others.

"Oh. You look much better," Kevin remarked.

"Yeah. We're ready to go."

"Let us not waste anymore time, then," Nyle said. "Quick, follow me."

Like he said, we wasted no more time and headed deep into the hide. Behind a series of shelves and boxes was a sign carved into a wall. Nyle, once again, recited some magic words, causing the wall to change shape and size and revealing a passageway in the process.

"Let's go," he said. "Move carefully—and quietly; we still don't know if any of them managed to find this passage."

With his words of caution, we moved through the tunnel with vigilance, our senses on high alert.

-A few minutes later…

"Oi, what's wrong?" I said, noticing Aqua's frown. "Are you still mad about the energy thing?"

"Huh? Oh, that?" She shook her head. "Not really. I just don't like the idea of running away from some demons."

"Can't say I'm too thrilled about it either," Megumin said, adding her two cents to the conversation. "But…it looks like it can't be helped. The things they're using seem incredibly dangerous. Come to think of it," she said, rubbing her chin, "this is just the type of situation a Crimson Demon would love to be in."

"What are you two, stupid? Listen, there's no glory in fighting a losing battle and no shame in running from imminent danger. I know those concepts might seem foreign to the both of you, but I think you can agree that not dying is the best choice."

"Though I might disagree with some of those points, I do agree that staying alive is more preferable."

"Good, so can you both stop thinking about attacking them, then?"

"I never said anything about attacking them," Aqua retorted. "I only said that I didn't like the idea of a goddess running away from some lowly demons."

"Well, as long as you know that attacking them isn't a good idea, then I don't care what you think."

I looked ahead, shifting my attention to Darkness; she was walking just behind Nyle. Just a few minutes earlier, she had declared to protect us in case we ran into the demons, but her eagerness and stifled smile told me she was up to the usual.

Maybe I should've left her drained.

Nyle signaled for us to stop, and so we did.

"Hide," he said, then he went on to the end of the tunnel.

Like before, Nyle recited some incantations and the wall reformed itself like the many we've already come to see. He continued through the newly-formed entrance, gesturing for us to stay put.

We waited.

A minute.

Two.

Three.

Four.

"Do you think…?" Inara had said what we were all surely thinking.

"No," Kevin replied with a nervous chuckle. "I'm sure Nyle-san is just…being thorough."

Five minutes.

Now we were all exchanging worried glances.

"Should we…go look?"

"Nyle-san told us to wait, though."

"It's been a while, though, Kevin," Daichi replied.

All of us felt the angst of having to decide whether or not we'd go out and look for the now lost dwarf.

"Arrrrgh!" Hurnus yelled. "I'll…I'll go."

"No," Darkness said. "Allow me." I pulled her aside. "Ah—Kazu—"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Volunteering to go and find Nyle-san, really? You? I know the reason you're going out there. Can't you set your desires aside for a moment, you blockhead? What good is it gonna do us if our guide and tank are whisked away? You should let Hurnus-san do it since he'd be more familiar with the territory."

"I…I see. You do have a point."

Just as we were about to relay our decision to the others, our missing dwarf appeared.

"Nyle-san!" Daichi yelled. "What happened?"

"Nothing," he replied. "I was just making sure the way was clear. Lucky for us, there's a pretty heavy snow storm going on outside."

"How's that lucky?" Inara queried.

"Not only will it be more difficult for anyone to spot us, the heavy snowfall will cover our tracks. This passage is the furthest from the hide, so it was unlikely for any of them to have set up anywhere near here. Still, I wanted to make sure. Afterall, I was caught by them when I went scouting earlier; back then, I was fairly far away from the hide as well. I wanted to make sure something like that won't occur once again."

"Good thinking."

"Anyhow, let's get going. I don't know how the situation will hold up, but I certainly don't want this opportunity to slip us by."

Venturing out of the passageway, we found ourselves out in the open and under a torrent of snow. The heat we grew accustomed to was quickly torn from our bodies, the chilling winds blanketing us in its place and despite our clothing being designed to combat such effects, I still managed to feel the cold piercing through to my bones.

"Stay close," Nyle yelled over the roaring winds.

"I thought you said heavy snowfall!" Daichi remarked. "This is more like a blizzard!"

"Pah! Blizzard?! I keep forgetting you humans have very different concepts to us dwarves. It takes more for us to call something like this a blizzard!"

Honestly, I wanted to give a snappy response, but it really made me wonder whether he was just speaking nonsense or if the dwarves really endured weather and situations much worse than what I even imagined. Regardless of what Nyle thought, the oppressive conditions definitely qualified as a blizzard—I know it would have back at home.

"Nyle-san!" Daichi yelled as we trudged through the knee-high snow. "Hol—Hold on!"

The dwarf stopped, turning to look at the rest of us trailing behind him, even the other dwarf in the group.

"I thought I told you to stay close!" Nyle shouted back.

"I can barely see, let alone keep up with your pace," Daichi replied, once we finally reached the dwarf.

On top of the near white-out conditions, whatever daylight remained was quickly dwindling. Truth be told, if I was wandering in these conditions by myself I'd be pretty afraid.

Nyle sighed. "I'd like to go even faster, but it looks like I keep forgetting you all aren't scouts. Saying that, I hope you all haven't forgotten our close call. I'd like to get away from the area as quickly as possible."

"I understand, but…it's not easy."

"I suppose you all are sinking into the snow quite a bit. Well, it can't be helped, I guess I'll have to slow it down. I am your guide, afterall; no point in me moving quickly if I just end up losing my employers."

"How does he do it?" Daichi asked the dwarf in his group. "Even you seem to be having issues, Hurnus."

"Scouts are a different breed, Daichi, scouts are just a different breed."

As we continued along, I felt myself growing more and more weary. I didn't even start this trek at full strength; the little bit of energy that I got from Megumin was enough to keep me going for a few hours in normal conditions—at best, not anywhere near enough to keep me going in conditions like these.

"Kazuma, are you alright?" Darkness asked as my pace fell and I began to wander into her path. My response came in the form of me stumbling and then falling in the snow. "Kazuma! Hey, hold on!" Darkness yelled. She ran over to my side and helped me up.

"What's going on?" Kevin said, running over to us. "Is Kazuma-san alright?"

"Kazuma!" Megumin ran over with Aqua.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm…I'm…so…sleepy."

My eyelids felt heavy and try as I might, I couldn't stop them from closing. Once my sight was gone, my sense of hearing quickly went with it, and then my sense of feeling. The bitter cold was quickly replaced by a soothing warmth. I knew I was losing consciousness, but even with this knowledge, I couldn't bring myself to do anything but submit to it. I was helpless to its allure; I lost to it.

When I opened my eyes again, the blinding snow was nowhere to be seen. The buffeting winds were also gone. Only the endless snow landscape and a lifeless gray sky remained.

It took me a moment to realize that I was being carried; looking down, the golden blonde hair told me it was none other than Darkness.

"How long?" I muttered, still largely overcome with drowsiness.

"Huh? Oh, you're awake? Hmm, a few hours? I'm not really sure."

I closed my eyes again and felt myself slip under once more. If I had to blame anyone for falling back under, it would have to be her; I was already tired, and Darkness' warmth only proved to help me succumb to my sleepiness.

The next time I opened my eyes, it would be under the shock of having freezing water splashed in my face.

As I awoke to such a startling scenario, ready to yell at whoever was responsible, Daichi signaled me to stay silent. He pointed over a small mound which we were currently hidden behind. "One of them here", he silently mouthed.

The demons had found us?!

I crawled up to the edge of the mound and carefully peeked over.

There, not even twenty paces away, sat one of the demons which infiltrated the hideout. They were sitting on a rock whittling away at something in their hand.

"Where's everyone?" I whispered to Daichi, noticing it was just him and I.

"Nyle-san is leading them around. We're going one by one in order to lower our chances of being caught."

So everyone else was already gone.

"There's only one of them?"

"From what we've seen. Understandably, Nyle-san didn't wanna stick around to find out."

"What's it doing way out here, though? I mean, we are far from the hideout, right?"

Daichi nodded. "It's been several hours since we've left. As for why one of them is out here…your guess is as good as mine." Both of us stared at the creature in silence. "Kazuma." I glanced over at him. "I'll go first. Make sure you keep an eye on where I'm headed, alright? Once I leave your sight, wait about a minute or two before you head off."

"A-, Alright."

"See you," he said, patting my shoulder and then crawling off to my left.

My sight darted between him and the monster. Although I wanted to give my full attention to where Daichi was going, I subconsciously kept glancing over at the demon who showed no signs of knowing we were even there.

When Daichi finally left my sight, I began to count.

One. Two. Three…Forty-six. Forty-seven. Forty-eight…Sixty.

Sixty. I could go now, but I wanted to give just a bit more time. I kept counting until I reached ninety seconds. Once I did, I prepared to move…but just as I did, the demon got up and looked my way.

I froze.

Did it see me?

Cold sweat.

Part 2

I preemptively started chanting the words to Light of Refraction. I don't know how much mana I had recovered during my rest, but if the demon was to come towards me, the best thing I could do was to go unnoticed. Sure, I could probably cast Flash and then possibly take it out with Drain Touch, but there were too many unknowns for me to comfortably attempt it. With the chant complete, I activated the spell and began to move. That is, I would have, if some dark-gray talons didn't set themselves beside me.

"Took you long enough," the demon in the distance said. It began walking towards me.

"Nothing?" the one beside me posed.

"Not a thing."

"Are you sure?" it said, its voice deepening seemingly in anger.

"I'm sure! I've been sitting out here for the last day and a half while the rest of you went out to enjoy the hunt! Bare your fangs at me again and we'll see who'll make it back, Zero-three."

"You dare threaten me, imp?! Watch yourself. The reason you found yourself out here away from the hunt is because of your negligence and disobedience! If you worked your mind half as much as you work that mouth of yours then maybe you wouldn't be stuck doing these 'monotonous' jobs I hear you complain about, oh so much…Zero-seven."

The two demons growled at each other and then another set of talons appeared to my left.

"Enough, you two," the new guest said.

"Zero-two!" the others said in surprise.

"W-, why are you here?" the one named 'Zero-seven' said, seemingly half as nervous as I currently was.

"Because I knew you two were going to cause issues. Why Zero-one decided to have you come get the update is besides me; he should've sent me alone."

"So you're here without Zero-one's orders?" the demon, 'Zero-three' remarked.

"I'm an extension of Zero-one's authority; you should know this by now, Zero-three. Enough of this pointless chatter. Where are the ones who escaped? The clues all point to the fact that they came in this direction, so where are they?"

"Yes, Zero-seven, where are they?"

"Tch. I already told you I haven't seen anyone or anything out here—not even damn snow hares."

"Your intelligence was already in question, but I'm starting to doubt your usefulness."

"You—!"

"Now, now, Zero-three, if Zero-seven says that he hasn't seen anything then we should believe him. His intelligence may be in question but his keen sight isn't. Or do you doubt our Lord-General's ability to find the appropriate people to the cause?"

"No…I do not."

"Now then, let us return to the others. The tracks certainly end here, but strangely enough our quarry is nowhere to be seen; it's almost as if they disappeared…vanished…went invisible."

"Are you saying that's what happened?" Zero-seven queried.

"No use in speculating. Time is wasting and it is precious. Let's go. Wherever they might be, I'm sure they know no matter where they go or what methods they use, the 'SDF' will be not too far behind."

Three minutes? Five? Ten?

I lost track of time while my mind was racing with so many thoughts and emotions, fear and nervousness prevailing amongst them.

Did they know I was there?

The one named Zero-two certainly seemed like he did. But if that was the case, why did he simply leave me be?

Surely, if he did know, he would've ousted me to the other two and confronted me.

So, what purpose could there have been to—

"Kazuma-san," someone harshly whispered; a voice that sounded a lot like Aqua's. "Kazuma-san."

I looked over the mound to see said person tentatively crawling towards me.

"Ah, you're alive," she said upon seeing me poke my head over the edge.

"You just decided to show up now?! Where are the others?"

"Huh? They're—wha?! They said they'll be right behind me!" she said as she glanced over her shoulder.

Seems like they sent her as bait. To be honest, as cruel as they might've seemed, it was probably not a bad choice given that she was the most capable one of dealing with the demons in a straight fight. Not only that, I'm sure the others would've intervened if anything actually kicked off. I say this because it's something I would've probably done if I was in the position to.

I rolled over the edge of the mound and down towards her.

"Come on, we should go," I said, getting up and pulling her along. "Quick."

"What? Are they gone?"

"I don't know. I think. Maybe."

"Wait, Kazuma-san doesn't know?!"

"I'll tell you more once we've gotten back to the others."

"Kazuma!" "Kazuma-san!" "Kazuma!" The others ran over to me as soon as Aqua and I regrouped with them.

"What happened?" Daichi asked.

"We saw two others appear," Inara remarked.

"Exactly what you saw," I replied. "There were three of them. One called Zero-three, another, Zero-two, and the one that was sitting out here alone was called Zero-seven."

"We saw them where I last left you," Daichi said. "What happened? How did you manage to stay undetected?"

"I used Light of Refraction. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm actually feeling a bit tired again."

"A handy spell, there's no doubt about that."

"It must've been frightening to be so close to such an enemy," Kevin, the priest, remarked.

"Well…"

"What were they doing, anyway?" Daichi interrupted. "They seemed to be standing there for such a long time; were they searching for you?"

"Uh, not really. They were talking about themselves. I mean, they were definitely looking for us, but it doesn't look like they really knew where we were…sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Well, the one called 'Zero-two' seemed to know I was hiding—either that or he was making a great guess. Also…they called themselves something."

"What?"

"S.D.F." I replied, looking at Daichi.

He stared back, not saying anything, but definitely giving the impression he felt the same way I did. SDF; back home's military. The appearance of guns and now the name of Japan's military; it couldn't have been a mere coincidence. There's no doubt about it, this is all due to some idiot Japanese's influence. Something tells me that whatever knowledge they brought from our world fell into the wrong hands…namely the Demon King's.

"S.D.F.?" Nyle suddenly said. "That's them?"

"You know them, Nyle-san?" Daichi queried.

"A little. What rumors I've heard. They never seemed to call themselves by that; it was always the Special Demon Force. Although, it all makes sense now. The real question is why are they here, so far away from the capital?" Nyle shook his head. "This isn't the time or place to be thinking about these things. We've got to keep moving."

"Pretty amazing they managed to track us this far, though," Hurnus remarked.

"It is; there aren't many people who could track through a storm like that. All the more reason we should keep moving."

As per our guide's advice, we continued our journey, casting tentative glances over our shoulders the entire time.

"Kazuma," Megumin said, slowing her pace to my side.

"Hm? What is it, Megumin?"

"Are you ok?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean are you ok? You were pretty close to those demons back there. Nothing happened…right?"

"They didn't find me so…"

"I'm not talking about you being physically hurt."

"Mentally? I mean, sure, it was a bit scary and—"

"Kazuma didn't end up peeing himself, did he?"

"Is that what you think?!"

"Well?"

"I didn't. Although, if I'm being honest, a few more minutes of that and I probably would've."

Megumin latched on to my arm and rested her head against it. "Good. I don't know how willing I was to be this close to you if you did."

"I'll remember that next time you need to go to the bathroom after one of your explosion trips."

"Please don't."

"I say that, but it doesn't look like you're fainting after using Explosion anymore."

"I have to say, it's an odd feeling, but not unwelcome. It isn't like I'm holding back on my explosions, either. Even giving it my all, I'm still able to stay somewhat standing."

"Sure, if you call kneeling, standing."

"I did say somewhat."

We continued to walk in relative silence, until I spoke once more. "Furiosa say anything to you?"

"Like?"

"Like anything new?"

"Besides what I already told you? No." A few more seconds of silence, then Megumin spoke once again. "Kazuma, if you need a bit of energy you can take some from me."

"Huh? Where is all of this coming from? Normally you would hate it if I Drain-Touched you. Are you starting to gain some weird traits like Darkness?"

I felt her grip tighten around my arm in response. "I'm not. I'm only trying to help. I know that I'm not the only one going through a difficult time here." I stared at her, somewhat astonished by what she said. "What?"

"N, Nothing. Just honestly didn't expect that from you."

She briefly, but painfully, squeezed my arm. "Do you guys honestly see me as incapable of growing?"

"..."

"!"

When I felt the pressure around my arm begin to increase once again, I quickly replied, "There's a lot I think you're lacking, but I believe that you're definitely the quickest learner out of the group."

"That reply seems somewhat lacking, but I suppose I'll accept it this time given how much Kazuma has gone through."

"Anyway, thanks for offering, but I'm fine for now. I'm honestly just kinda cold."

"Are you? Even with me hugging you like this?"

"You mean my arm? I don't know how warm you expect me to be with just that, but you're definitely doing a good job of making it go numb."

I felt the pressure around my arm increase yet again, quickly prompting a feeling of pins-and-needles down its length, but before I could say anything in response, Megumin let up.

"I'm sorry for not providing enough warmth," she said with a frown.

I could've told her her lack of…growth was the likely culprit, but I'm sure doing so would've resulted in me visiting Heaven.

"Was Darkness warmer?" Megumin went on to ask.

Again, I could've told her the cold, hard truth, but I doubt it would've helped either of us—especially me.

"Erm, I uh, don't really remember. I was out cold during that time so…yeah."

Megumin stared at me, brow raised in skepticism. She then sighed heavily. "I hope what meager warmth I can provide is enough for you, then."

"Hey, it's not like I mind you doing this; to be fair, I sorta like it," I said, looking away slightly.

I could feel Megumin's grip around my arm tighten once more, but this time it was more gentle, almost…lovingly so; the meek smile I saw her sporting confirmed it.

"Actually, I still haven't said thank you."

"For?"

"Protecting me and carrying me while I was asleep."

"You should tell that to Darkness. She was doing all the heavy lifting."

"I know. I will. Still, I know you and Aqua had your own parts to play in it too."

"Yeah. More or less."

We continued walking, following the others who were a few paces ahead of us, silence coming over us once more; yet again, Megumin spoke, breaking that silence.

"Kazuma."

"Hm?"

"Next time we come across those demons, can I use Explosion on them?"

"I'd prefer to avoid 'em if we can, but if we can't then sure."

"Really?!" Megumin said, darting in front of me happily.

"O-Only if we can't avoid 'em. Listen, I'm serious; these guys are more dangerous than a lot of the stuff we've faced just by virtue of the fact that they carry guns."

"Whatever it is is no match for the ultimate spell, Explosion. Heh, heh, I've been wanting to try out some new variants I've been thinking about too."

"Oi, I'm serious. You were asleep when we were getting shot at back at the fort, but you definitely saw what a gun is capable of back in the hideout." Megumin fell silent, a more stern look eclipsing the joyous expression she had just a moment earlier. "It's fast. It'll come out way faster than you can use Explosion."

"I…I understand." She clutched her staff tightly. "If that's the case…I'll make sure I hit them when they least expect it."

"Good." I replied with an approving smile. "Now let's keep moving, the others are getting farther away from us."

-A few hours later…

Night had fallen, and with it, the prospect of us reaching our next stop. Traveling at night was already a pretty dangerous decision under the best of times, but in frigid weather and with the very real possibility of threats tracking us, it was pretty much a death sentence. Nyle didn't like the idea of using a nearby hideout given our previous experience, and so, we instead took shelter in an unoccupied cave. Truth be told, it wasn't a bad spot; the cave was fairly low-profile and well-protected from the elements, which was more than could be said for a lot of our current journey.

Aqua and Megumin were taking watch while the rest of us tried to catch up on some much-needed rest. Truthfully, I didn't like the idea of having the both of them being our early-warning, but given their acuity in darkness and the fact that Megumin wasn't tired, they were our best choices. Despite my reservations, I ended up falling asleep.

"Hey!"

I awoke with a start to see Aqua hovering above me.

"Wha-What is it? Are we being attacked?"

"No. I'm sleepy, and it's your turn to go take watch."

"What? What about Megumin? Where is she?"

"She's at the entrance," Aqua said as she began laying down.

I looked around and saw that everyone else was still asleep. Begrudgingly, I got up. Staring out towards the mouth of the cave, I could see that it was still dark out and just beyond it, I could see Megumin sitting on a rock.

"Yo," I said as I approached her.

"Oh, Kazuma, it's you."

I took a seat beside her. "Everything alright?"

"With?"

"I mean, you haven't seen anything out there, have you?"

Megumin shook her head. "Nothing but snow…and the stars," she said, looking up with a smile. "Quite beautiful. There's something about staring up at them during a cold night like this; they almost seem crystal clear."

"Yeah, I hear ya," I said, staring up at them as well. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"You sure you ok? You're not tired, are you?"

"I'm not. I feel wide awake."

"And you can still see clear as day out here, right?"

Megumin nodded. "It's really weird; it looks like it's night, but at the same time, I can see everything so clearly it almost seems as if it was day."

"Seems convenient."

"I can't say I don't like it…but I sorta miss the darkness of the night."

"Spoken like a Crimson Demon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Megumin retorted with a frown.

"Nothing, nothing." I sighed heavily.

"Is Kazuma still tired?"

"Hm? Nah, I'll be alright; I've spent whole nights awake. Sleeping for a few hours isn't too bad by comparison."

"How about cold?"

"Am I cold?" I rubbed my arms at the sudden chill I felt. "A bit."

Megumin turned and hugged me. "Better?"

"This again? Sure…but I'd feel a lot warmer if you used your whole body instead."

I said it as a joke, but to my surprise, Megumin suddenly clambered onto my lap. She threw her winter mantle over us.

"There. Is this better?" she said, our faces mere centimeters apart.

"A…a bit."

Megumin flinched, casting a quick glance below. "Are you…?"

"What, you expect me not to be?"

"I mean…is this really the time?"

"You mean you weren't trying to?"

"I…I uh…w-we should really be keeping watch!" she said, lifting the mantle off of me.

I sighed yet again. "I guess you're right."

As much as it was buzzkill, the current situation demanded our strict attention; our very lives depended on it. In fact, the very thought itself brought me back down to earth; there was no way I could bring myself to be excited with those concerns floating around in my head.

"Arrrgh." Megumin stood up. "Now I'm all hot."

"You?"

"Not in that way!"

"What way?"

"Th-The way Kazuma is thinking. I mean, I feel like…like I wanna blow off some steam."

"The only way you know how to blow off steam is by reshaping the landscape. I don't think I have to tell you, but using Explosion is out of the question."

"Oh come on! It'll be a tiny one. A teensy-weensy one. Just enough to make me feel satisfied."

"There's no way you'll be satisfied with just a tiny one. No. Knowing you, you'll just get carried away and use everything you have let off a huge one."

"No, I promise I won't!"

"Even if you do, now's not the time."

"When then? I haven't used Explosion in so long, I feel like I'm dying."

"Maybe when we don't have a group of demons hunting us down with guns. Maybe then."

"How about I cast a smaller Explosion to lure them here, and then once they show up to investigate, I hit them with everything I got? That way we can get rid of all our worries at once."

"As much as I wish it was that simple, both you and I know it isn't."

"Ohhh." Megumin pouted and then sat back down. "This trip is turning out to be quite awful."

"It was never a vacation."

"I know. Still, I would've liked it if it was just a little bit fun."

"Oh, you're saying it isn't?"

"No, I—"

"It isn't. What part of us coming here has been fun? Ever since we set foot here we've been at the brink of being killed by something or another."

Megumin looked down solemnly. "Kazuma's right. Still," she went on, looking up at the stars as she did, "it's been an experience. Something I'm sure we never would've had if we stayed back in Belzerg. You know, as dangerous as things have been, both here and in the elves' kingdom, I don't regret it. Venturing out into the unknown, getting into all sorts of danger—"

"Being possessed by an angry goddess. Yeah, I'm sure all of it is right up your alley. But…you have a point. I would've preferred to have a nice, easy, quiet life…but…if I can't have that, then an interesting one is probably the next best."

"It is interesting, isn't it? A little scary too." Suddenly, Megumin perked up and looked at me. "Kazuma."

"What? What's wrong?"

"Chomusuke; where is she?"

"Oh. I thought you might've sensed something. She's sleeping in my bag. Has been this entire time. Actually, I've noticed something. Everytime you're tired, she's always running around, and everytime you're not, she's the one tired."

"Think it's connected to Furiosa?"

"I think it's a bit coincidental for it not to be."

"But how?"

"I don't know; your guess is as good as mine."

"Hmm."

Both of us silently stared back up at the stars. In all the uncertainty and fear, something about the gentle glow they cast could reliably calm one's soul.

"Kazuma," Megumin suddenly said.

"Yo."

"I wonder how everyone in Belzerg is doing." She looked at me. "Aren't you wondering how Iris is doing?"

"Erm…about that. I got a letter from her while you were sleeping."

"Oh, did you? And what did it say?"

"Well…nothing much." Megumin raised her brow skeptically. "I mean, she was just asked about how things were going. She asked about you."

"I'm sure there was more to that letter than Kazuma is letting on."

"Look, there was nothing in the letter for you to worry about. All it had was prayers and wishes for all of us to make it back safely. She also said that she wanted you to know that she remembers your birthday is coming up."

"Oh. She did? Well." Megumin smiled, proudly puffing her chest out. "It's good to know that Iris still respects her elders."

"Elder? Barely. Also, it would be nice if you picked up that trait too."

"I am respectful! However, respect must be earned. Anyone who I don't respect has consequently earned my disrespect."

"I'm sure the majority of adventurers in Axel would have something to say about that."

"I'll reiterate, anyone who I don't respect has earned my disrespect. I'm fully justified in feeling that way too; tell me, how could I let them get away with insulting my pride as a Crimson Demon?"

I sighed. "I'm sure they had real reasons. Anyway, whatever."

Once again, both of us fell silent, diverting our attention to stars once more.

"Haaah, how I wish I could lay down right about now," I said. "Lay my head down on a warm, nice lap." I eyed Megumin out of the corner of my eyes.

She frowned lightly and then sighed, baring her lap begrudgingly.

"Arigato," I said, quickly laying my head down. "Haaah." Although her skin was covered with the fabric of her clothing, I couldn't help but rub my cheek into it, afterall, it still felt soft.

"I would appreciate it if you'd stop doing that. Kazuma's head is already heavy as is; kneading it further into my lap is really uncomfortable."

"Ah, sorry," I said, rubbing my cheek into her lap once more.

Megumin let out a heavy sigh. "You really are hopeless."

"What? You gotta take the small comforts when you can."

"I mean… I guess. I wish Kazuma would extend that belief to my uses of Explosion, though."

"That's different. Me taking a rest on your lap isn't gonna get us killed."

"Arigato. Thank you. Right?"

"Huh?"

"That's what it means."

"Ah. Umu, yeah."

"It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has been, hasn't it? It's been pretty busy, though."

"It isn't right now."

"It isn't?"

"We can keep watch while learning, can't we?" Megumin said, staring at me with pleading eyes.

I sighed and then smiled. "I don't see why not."

Part 3

Morning came and went: three days and two nights. Besides the occasional pack of Silverfangs, our journey, so far, was—thankfully—uneventful. Along the way, we came across an abandoned settlement. Nyle informed us sights like it were not too uncommon thanks to the war. Luckily for us, we were able to use one of its many houses as shelter.

"I miscalculated," Nyle said as we sat around the fireplace of an abandoned home. He tossed another handful of sticks into the fire.

"Miscalculated?" Inara queried. "What do you mean?"

"The danger, the route, the time it would take…everything. Your lack of abilities to travel quickly in this environment is something I had taken into account, somewhat, but the run-in with our 'guests' compounded with our early withdrawal from the tunnels…well"—he sighed heavily—"let's just say that threw a blighted boulder in my calculations."

"How soon did you expect us to arrive at our destination?" Darkness asked.

"In the tunnels? A few days. Above ground, closer to a week. At least, that's what it would take a scout. I guess my mistake was assuming that."

"I don't get it," I said. "How the hell are you able to move so quickly through the snow? It's basically up to your waist half the time."

"Training; that's the simple answer. This is our norm, Kazuma. If the best hunters, trackers, and couriers our race has to offer couldn't traverse or overcome the environment of our own home, how could we call ourselves the best there is? Sure, we'd try to use the underground as much as possible, but as you see, sometimes that isn't possible—and we're made to make sure that in such cases, we can still complete our objectives."

"But even Hurnus is having problems keeping up with your pace," Daichi remarked.

"I'm not a Scout," Hurnus replied. "I already told ya, Daichi, Scouts are a different breed."

"I think I get it. Scouts are like special forces."

"Special forces? What's that?"

"Well, back in my country we had a group of soldiers who went beyond the abilities of your average soldier, and those soldiers, beyond the average person. If what you're saying is true, then I can see how Scouts are similar."

"I see. That's not a bad way to look at it."

"It isn't," Nyle said with a nod. "We're still dwarves, afterall."

"So then," I continued, "what's the plan, Nyle-san?"

He looked around, staring at the decrepit stone walls and the small hole in the roof that revealed the sky above. He took a deep breath and sighed. "We'll never make it to Maglin at this rate."

"So, what do you suggest?" Inara said.

"We'll have to find a way back underground."

"Is there any entrance nearby?" Darkness asked.

Nyle silently poked the fire with a stick, watching most of it collapse into a mound of ash and embers. "There is…sort of."

"Sort of?" Daichi replied curiously.

"There's a set of mines not too far from here, about a day's walk. If we can get in, their mine shafts should connect to the underground."

"Ok, so what's the problem?"

"Well…the problem is…they were closed."

We all traded glances.

"So…can't we just…break in?"

"We can…but there's a reason why it was closed."

"I assume you're gonna tell us."

"The mines were closed because they were said to be haunted."

"Haunted?" Kevin said. "Why not send a priest in to deal with it?"

"The authorities did. They sent soldiers, adventurers, priests—you name it. No one made it back."

The room went silent, with only the crackling of the fire filling it.

I cleared my throat. "Is…that the only way in?"

"The only one I know of nearby. There is an upside to this; it's very likely we'll be able to break away from our pursuers."

"Is it worth the risk, though?" Daichi remarked.

The question we were all wondering.

"I don't know how long it will be before we reach Maglin: two, three, four more days? Supplies are getting low. We could hunt for more food, maybe forage, and a water source shouldn't be too difficult to find either; however, that's more time lost and more time for the SDF to find us, maybe even something worse. Time is of the essence, and it was my objective to get Kazuma and co to Their Majesties in a timely manner."

"Then…I guess it's settled; we go to the mines. Even if it is haunted, we have two priests here."

"That's right," Kevin said. "Aqua-san and I will make sure whatever spirits are inhabiting those mines are dealt with; it's our duty to let those souls rest."

"Alright then," Nyle said. "We'll leave for the mines come morning, so get some rest."

Once we broke from the session, I caught a glimpse of Megumin whose expression was as sullen as ever.

"Oi, what's wrong?" I asked her.

"Underground…we're going underground again. ARRRRGHHH! I don't wanna go underground again, Kazuma!" she whined, grabbing me by the collar.

"Hey, would you—? Look, there's no helping it," I replied, pulling myself free from her grip. "Nyle-san said that we have to; there's no other way." Megumin looked down defeatedly. "Hey, it's not like I like the idea of going into some haunted mines either."

"I don't care that it's haunted; I just don't wanna go underground anymore!"

"I get it, I get it. You can't cast Explosion underground, but listen"—I place my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes—"I've been thinking; I think it's time for you to place more emphasis on what and when you use Explosion."

"What? What does Kazuma mean?"

"I mean, Explosion is the ultimate spell…right?"

"Of course it is, why is Kazuma asking—"

"Then shouldn't it be used on a worthy target under the best circumstances? I mean, you've already made the transition somewhat. Remember how you used to use Explosion on boulders and open fields? You don't use it on boulders anymore because you realized they weren't worthy. I think you should save Explosion for the right moment and the right targets."

"GUH! Ka-, Kazuma's right. All this time I've been using Explosion merely as a means to fulfill a certain feeling. As the herald of its magnificence I've sullied its reputation and diminished its prestige as the ultimate spell. From now on, my Explosions must have a purpose and a worthy target."

"Right, you see? I knew you'd understand. Explosion, the ultimate magic must be used as the grand spell it is."

Megumin smirked. "Fufufu. It seems like Kazuma has finally learned to fully appreciate Explosion for what it is. As embarrassing as it may be, I'm glad Kazuma was able to teach me something about Explosion which I failed to see. When will Kazuma finally learn Explosion? I know if he does, we shall reach heights that have never been reached in the history of magic."

"Probably not anytime soon. I don't believe I'm ready for it just yet."

"I see. Well, I'll be here to help you make that step when you finally are."

Having sold the act, I quickly went to lay down and rest. Whatever was to come, I wanted to be as ready and rested as I could possibly be. Needless to say, the past few days have been quite taxing on my mind and body, all I really wanted to do now was crawl into a warm bed and sleep. Unfortunately, a proper bed was nowhere to be found, not even in a house, abandoned though it may have been. Regardless, I had grown accustomed to sleeping in less-than-ideal places. The stone floor would have to serve, as uncomfortable as it would be.

-Several hours later; night…

"Are you sure you don't wanna sleep, Megumin?" Aqua said. "That boy's slept for long enough."

"No, I'm fine," I replied. "I'm not tired. You can go to sleep if you want; we don't really need that many people for the watch tonight."

"Really? Are you really sure?"

I nodded.

Aqua stared at me like a mother doting on their child. "It's a little odd that you're not even the least bit tired." She leaned in and whispered. "Don't tell me it has something to do with that supposed goddess that possessed you."

"I got more than enough sleep, remember?"

"But that was days ago."

"Still. It's not like I've been doing much."

Aqua's worried expression softened as she sighed. "If you say so, Megumin. Well, I'll go to sleep then. If that hikkiNEET says something make sure to tell him that I offered to stay up with you, ok?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell him."

Aqua walked back off into the interior of the house, leaving me to keep watch on the outside. I glanced up hoping to see the stars, but they were tucked behind the veil of an overcast sky.

"Not even the stars to keep me company," I whispered to myself. Suddenly, the door opened. "Inara-san. What are you doing out here?"

"Megumin-san. Mind if I take a seat?" I shook my head. "Thank you," she said, sitting down.

"What are you doing here?" I asked once again.

"What do you mean? I'm here to take watch with you."

"You don't need to. I can take watch by myself."

"Oh? Are you angry, perchance?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Sorry if it came across like that. I'm just saying if Inara-san is still tired, you can return to sleep."

"Is Megumin-san not tired?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"Well then, that makes two of us."

"No seriously, Inara-san, I'm not tired or sleepy, so—"

"And neither am I. Don't worry, Megumin-san, I've rested long enough already."

"Well, if you say so. I just don't want Inara-san to be out here because she feels she needs to be."

Inara scoffed lightly. "No offense, Megumin-san, but I'm not out here for you; two sets of eyes are better than one. I mean—you know, like, me, you, the both of us. Both of us have eyes! Hehe. You know how the saying goes!" she desperately reiterated.

I stared at her in confusion, but then it occurred to me, I was wearing my eyepatch. I smiled. "No need to be so wary about it," I said, lifting the patch. "See? I have a full set of eyes as well."

"Oh." Inara sighed in relief. "Why the eyepatch, then?"

"Fufufu. It's a seal to keep the power inside me in check; without it, the power within me would rage out of control and cause untold levels of destruction."

"You, you have that sort of power sealed within you?"

"Indeed, I do," I said with a smirk.

Never have I felt so proud to say such things; cool and dangerous backgrounds felt a lot better to say when they held kernels of truth.

"Wow. Did that power help you and your group defeat the Demon King of the West?"

"Ah, well…no. I-, I didn't have it at the time."

"Oh? So that power is something you recently acquired?"

"Something like that."

"Interesting. How did it happen? Did you come across it some dungeon?"

Truth was, I wasn't entirely sure how Furiosa came to inhabit my body. Still, I couldn't let such things get in the way of a cool background story.

I cleared my throat. "I happened to find this relic which contained the being inside."

"A being? Like a spirit? A fey? Or was it some dark god? What am I saying, of course it wasn't some dark god."

"Erm." I cleared my throat once again. "I can't really tell you what it is—I-I don't really know myself—however, just know after a difficult struggle, I managed to subdue it and bend it to my will."

"That's pretty amazing," Inara said, looking entirely captivated by my story. "Although, I'm not really surprised; afterall, you and your party did manage to defeat a Demon King. Anyone capable of such a feat would be capable of the things you described." Suddenly, her expression changed; she looked down solemnly. "Megumin-san, do you think…our group is strong enough to defeat a Demon King?"

"Defeat…a Demon King?" Given our own experience, I'd say it was possible for anyone to…in the right circumstances. I nodded. "I don't see why you wouldn't be able to, Inara-san."

"Truly?"

I nodded reassuringly and then Inara smiled.

"It makes me happy to hear someone like you say that," she said. "Perhaps there's still a chance, then."

"Are you and the others planning to defeat the Demon King here? You gave that impression when we met."

Inara's gaze drifted with no particular focus. "Perhaps. That remains to be seen. But your assurance has given me much-needed confidence."

Both of us fell silent as the conversation came to a close. We stared out into the abandoned town, the surrounding hills, the sky—anything to keep ourselves seemingly occupied. It soon became apparent, however, that neither of us were really doing anything at all. Inara appeared to come to the conclusion first as she was the one to break the silence.

"Megumin-san."

"Y-, Yes?"

"When we spoke before, you told me you had a sibling, a sister?"

"Umu. Komekko. What about her?"

"You seem to be quite fond of her, the way you spoke of her."

"I do care about her a lot."

"As any sibling would. Do you miss her?"

"I do," I replied, looking down in sadness.

"Is she why you started adventuring?"

The reason why I started was as basic as could be; I simply wanted to gain experience and fame. I've achieved both of those, however, it wouldn't really sound very interesting if I gave her such a typical response.

"Yes."

Technically, it wasn't a lie. I did venture out for Komekko's sake as well; I wanted to secure enough funds to not have to worry about her next meal…besides the previously mentioned reasons.

"Such a loving sister," Inara replied. "I wish I had siblings."

"That's right, I never got to ask since we got attacked. You seriously don't have any, Inara-san?"

"None that I know of, anyway. Although, I don't believe my parents would have any extramarital affairs—especially my father."

"Your father is a Crimson Demon, right?"

Inara nodded. "My mother told me about the time they first met and how ridiculous it all was. He was persistent, which is what apparently won my mother over. That being said, she also noted how it would've been near-impossible for anyone else to fall for him."

"Really? I suppose your mother is where you get your elven half from, then."

She nodded once again. "It is."

"Interesting. I still find it fairly surprising that one of my kinsmen managed to get together with someone who isn't a Crimson Demon."

"You and my father are of the same mind…and frankly, so am I. I suppose that makes my mother quite the oddball."

"Actually, Inara-san, I wanted to ask, but why did you become an adventurer?"

"Me? Well I… It-It's nothing as glamorous as Megumin-san's reason; I just really wanted to make a name for myself. You know, join a party that would venture out and defeat the Demon King."

"Oh. Is…is that so?" I cleared my throat. "Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. In fact, it shows ambition and fearlessness to venture out into the unknown."

Inara chuckled. "You think so? I think you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Definitely not, Inara-san."

How could I, given that was practically the same reason I took up adventuring.

"Megumin-san," Inara said, interrupting my guilt-ridden thoughts.

"Hm?"

"I've been meaning to ask. Kazuma-san. He comes from the same place as Daichi…right?"

"Umu, I'm pretty sure they've said as much."

"You and Kazuma-san are"—Inara fiddled about with her fingers—"erm…how embarrassing. You two are…married…yes?"

"That's right. I thought we already said this."

"You did, you did. I was just wondering how."

"How? How what? Did we get married?"

Inara nodded. "Did he bring it up? Or were you the one who proposed, perchance?"

"Ah, well…it was actually a little odd."

"Odd? How so?"

"Well, it was none of those; Kazuma didn't propose and neither did I."

"So who—?"

"We were asked to by the Princess of the kingdom."

"What? Why?"

"Well, neither of us really know, but…we agreed. It isn't like we don't love each other. We saw an opportunity and we sort of just took it."

"It is…quite an unusual arrangement, there's no doubt about that."

"Why do you ask?"

Inara averted her gaze. "I was…um…curious. Also, how is Kazuma-san?"

"How is he what?"

"Act. Sorry. How does Kazuma-san act?"

I raised a brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Kazuma-san comes from some faraway place, doesn't he? Daichi told me the place is called 'Japan', but"—Inara leaned in—"I've never heard of such a place."

I knew the truth of it—that this "Japan" was a place not of this world, but even now, I struggled to accept it as fact.

"I know what Kazuma has told me about it. Has Daichi-san told you anything about it in particular?"

"Not very much. He told me that he and his brother, Haruto, hail from there and that, apparently, there are many others who've come here from that place too. I just find it weird that I've heard absolutely nothing about it before Daichi and Haruto showed up."

"Really? In the Crimson Demon Village there were stories about black-eyed and black-haired folk who came from some far-flung nation; some records even go decades back."

"Decades, huh? It seems like it might've been a simple lack of knowledge, then."

"Were you raised in Sylvenn?"

"I was. Have you been there?"

"We actually were there before we came here."

"You were? And how did you find it?"

"It was pretty amazing. Pretty frightening, too."

Inara chuckled. "Yes. I suppose it is—especially for non-Sylv. In any case, I never heard of the 'Japanese' as they're called in all my time living there."

"Nothing? You haven't even seen any?"

"Perhaps, but none that I could remember, despite dark hair being fairly uncommon in Sylvenn. How about you, Megumin-san, was Kazuma-san the first Japanese you've met?"

I nodded. "Although, dark hair is fairly common amongst Crimson Demons."

"Yes, a trait which I inherited from my father, no doubt."

"What color is your mother's hair?"

"White, like all nobility's."

"Oh. It seems like our genes are far too powerful to overcome," I said with a smirk.

Inara sighed. "You know, my mother told me one of the reasons she ended up having me was to settle a dispute with my father; the dispute of whose genes were stronger, a noble Sylv's or a Crimson Demon's. It still aggravates me to this day."

"Ah, erm…sorry."

"It's fine. You just reminded me of it, that's all."

Both of us fell silent once more, the awkwardness of the last interaction killing all the previous rapport we had built up. After a few minutes of this, I decided to break the ice once again.

"S-So, what do you think about these new enemies?"

"Enemies? Oh. The S.D.F.? That's what they were called, right? I think they're very dangerous."

"It looks like they carry some magic device that allows them to fling projectiles at high speed…at least, that's what Kazuma told me."

"Ah, that's right, you weren't awake at the time. That wasn't all. Apparently, the Demon King's forces have managed to find a way to cause massive explosions seemingly at will. It made short work of the fortress walls the dwarves built."

"Eh? D-Did you say…explosions?"

"Hm? Yeah. What about it?"

"Heh. Hehe. Surely, those 'explosions' weren't all that great. Right? I mean, something like that would pale in comparison to the real thing. Right?"

"Um…real thing? What do you mean, Megumin-san?"

"Explosion!" I retorted, sitting up in my seat. "Only the most powerful spell known to man! Nothing else matches its magnificence, nor its power, nor its destruction! Whatever you all saw must've been a cheap attempt to copy the real thing, I know it."

"Explosion? That's a magic spell?"

"Eh? You…you mean, you don't know?"

"I've…never heard of any spell by the name of Explosion."

"Are you serious?!" I said, almost leaping onto Inara.

"Wha—Yes! I-I've never heard of it."

I sat back down, dumbfounded by Inara's revelation. "Just you?"

"What?"

"Is it just you? Or is that something the elves never teach their people about?"

"Huh? I-I'm not sure. All I know is that I've never heard of the spell 'Explosion' in my life; I was even tutored by some prominent magicians back home. Never once did they mention Explosion."

"That…can't be—wait, how about your father? He never told you anything about it?" Inara shook her head. "How could he?!"

Even if my kinsmen thought Explosion was a joke spell, they'd at least mention it for its unrivaled power. The fact that Inara-san wasn't told about it—in the slightest—was earth-shattering news to me.

"I'm sorry," Inara said. "Is it common knowledge, the Explosion spell?"

I took a moment to collect myself and then sighed. "It was known to the Crimson Demons and most people would know its legendary power; I always thought everyone would've known about it too. It seems that's not the case."

"The way Megumin-san talks about it makes it seem like she's seen such a spell, first-hand."

I smirked proudly. "I have glimpsed its majesty numerous times—and will see it many more times yet. Hold on. I just realized, Inara-san has never heard of Explosion, which means…you've never seen it, have you?"

"That's correct. I've never heard or seen such a spell."

"Fufufu. Well then, Inara-san, consider yourself lucky, for today, you shall bear witness to the splendor that is the most powerful spell in the world."

"Wait. Does Megumin-san mean—?"

"Fufufu. That's correct, I know it."

"The most powerful spell? Megumin-san knows it?"

"I do, and I will show it to you, Inara-san."

"H-Hold on. Is it wise to use a spell that powerful for no reason?"

"No reason? No reason?! This is as good a reason as any to use it; any soul who hasn't witnessed the marvel that is Explosion definitely must! It's almost a tragedy in of itself that someone who shares the blood of my kinsmen would not even know the existence of the greatest spell ever created."

"R-, Really now? But won't using such a spell draw attention? The who reason we're out here is—"

"Don't worry about that, Inara-san. Once you see it, I know you'll agree that whatever it is you all saw back then, it's nothing compared to true magic! Now prepare yourself to be blown away!"

I knew Kazuma told me not to cast Explosion for fear of those demons finding us, but I could no longer contain myself; my fingers and body were tingling with excitement. I had to cast Explosion. If anything, it would be a demonstration of overwhelming power to those who would seek us.

I stood up and looked around.

A proper target, a purpose. Kazuma opened my eyes to it; Explosion had to have a proper target and a purpose for being cast. The latter was already fulfilled, but the former…

"There," I said, pointing my staff.

The center of town. The settlement was abandoned, so no tears would be shed with its obliteration. If Explosion taught me anything, it was that destruction spurned on creation. I could cast it with the hope of something better taking its place in the future.

I closed my eyes and focused.

"Oh Goddess of Wrath and Destruction I beseech thee, hear my cries. I call upon thee. Bless me with thine strength, so that the hammer of eternity may descend. Manifest upon this mortal plane and bring forth uncompromising destruction till the howl of final blaze and cinders of the blackened earth paint the sky. In thy name, I call it forth! The ultimate destructive spell!"

The torrent of magic began to course through my body. It felt so long since the last, that the sudden feeling of euphoria almost made my knees give out. More and more mana flowed through me and into the mana crystal at the tip of my staff. I was almost there, I could feel it, the cost of the ultimate magic draining me of all my energy.

"EXPLOOOOOSSION!"

Part 4

"What's going on?!" I heard someone yell, waking me from my slumber.

"Are we under attack?!" "Did the demons find us?!"

"Kazuma-san, wake up, I think we're under attack!" Daichi said as I opened my eyes. "Quick, wake the others!"

"What? We're under attack?" I rubbed my eyes wearily.

"There was a massive explosion outside; it could only be Demon King's forces. Dammit, did those demons just relay the info for a greater force to come and attack us?"

"Huh? An explosion?"

"Yes! Did you not hear it?!"

"Uhh…"

Nyle spoke. "We've got to get out of here while we still can. Quick, grab your things and head out the door."

"H-Hold on, what?! Oi, Aqua! Darkness! Wake up!"

As they slowly awoke, I and the others scrambled to gather our things. Once we did, we quickly sprinted outside…only to see Inara staring at a distant column of smoke, completely awestruck.

"Inara, what happened? Where are they?" Daichi asked.

"Huh?" she said, still stunned.

"The Demon King's forces, where are they?!"

"Demon King?"

"Yes! Hey, are you ok?" Daichi said, grabbing her. "Snap out of it!"

"Ah, s-, sorry. What were you asking?"

"Where are— Ugh, nevermind. Let's go!"

"Wait, where's Megumin?" I asked.

Suddenly, the person in question answered. "Ah, Kazuma, is that you? Good timing. I'm down here, can you help me up? The ground is a lot colder than I expected."

"Oi." Laying face down in the snow was none other than Megumin, perfectly camouflaged by her winter mantle. "Was this your doing?"

"Maybe we can discuss such things after Kazuma has recovered me from my wintery predicament." I knelt and placed a hand firmly around the back of her neck. "Ah, Ka-, Kazuma's hand is kind of cold, can you please"—I tightened my grip—"Guh."

"Did. You. Do. This?"

"Erm…per-, perhaps."

"..."

"..."

"YOU IDIOT!"

"WHHHHAAAA!"

"WHAT THE HELL DID I TELL YOU?! I SHOULD DRAIN YOU OF EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!" I yelled almost instinctively.

"Ah, sorry! SORRY!" Megumin shouted as I began to use Drain Touch. "I'm really sorry! Please stop draining me!"

"Draining you?" Inara said.

Suddenly, I realized my mistake. "Urgh."

"Kazuma-san, what's going on?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, what is going on?" Daichi followed up. "I thought we were being attacked by the Demon King's forces."

I chuckled nervously.

-Several minutes later…

"Unbelievable," Daichi said. "I can't believe this was a false alarm."

"Fortunately," Hurnus added.

"I still can't believe you have a Lich skill—given to you by a friendly Lich; I've never heard of such a thing. Belzerg must really be a wild place."

"I can't believe that the missus was capable of using magic that powerful," Nyle remarked. "Explosion. I've heard of it, but I've never seen it in action. Didn't think there was anyone alive who could use something like that; pretty sure it could take down the entirety of Irondrake let alone its walls."

"This explains what you were doing back at the hideout," Inara said. "You were siphoning their mana to keep the invisibility spell up, weren't you?"

"Erm…yeah," I replied.

"It really is a grimy skill," the Goddess of Pointless Comments said. "He really likes to use it on me and Megumin without our consent half the time."

"Oi! I only do it when I need to! A-And I absolutely get your permission to do so!"

I could feel the hostility and disgust from the disparaging stares.

Kevin cleared his throat loudly. "Kazuma-san's questionable actions aside, I believe we shouldn't judge too harshly; afterall, it's Eris-sama's teachings that tells us we must practice clemency—except for the devils and the undead."

"At least one thing from her I can agree with," Aqua said.

"That's all nice and good," Nyle said, "but we have a huge problem now; that explosion is like a beacon for anything curious enough to find out what caused it. And I'm sure you all know who I'm likely referring to."

"The demons," Daichi replied.

Nyle nodded. "In any case, we can't stay here. The plan was to move out early in the morning, but if our tails decide to show up, this place might become our grave."

"Well, seeing as we were all packed and ready to go, I don't see why we don't head out now."

We all agreed and began to round up our belongings once more.

"Megumin," Darkness said, looking at her, "do you need me to carry you?"

"I feel a little tired, but I can walk, Darkness. Thank you."

"You're recovering a lot faster than usual."

"Umu. It means I can use Explosion multiple times a day now," Megumin said with a smirk. I grabbed her hand. "Huh? Kazuma?"

"I'm keeping a close eye on you since you don't seem to know what 'don't use Explosion' means."

Megumin pouted. "I followed what Kazuma said."

"In what world?! I said—"

"For Explosion to have an appropriate target and purpose; I'd say I fulfilled both of those mandates."

"Are you retarded or are you trying to intentionally piss me off? I said NOT to use Explosion UNLESS it was an absolute last resort. Thanks to you, we have to leave this place early—and as bad as that already is, that doesn't even take into account the fact that we might have those demons show up now."

"O-Ok. Kazuma might have a point, but I still believe he's gone too far with the insults."

"I'm totally justified. And it could've been a lot worse. Listen, if you can't control your impulses then maybe I'll have to control it for you."

"Eh? What is Kazuma talking about? What is he planning?"

I said nothing in reply.

With the others already out the door, I pulled Megumin along.

It was still the dead of night when we set out. The cloud cover meant that no starlight got through, and so, our visibility was low; the snow, which already complicated issues, compounded it, masking the terrain in an almost featureless blanket of white fields. Only the mountains way out in the distance really stuck out. In fact, had it not been for Nyle, I'm certain we would've gotten completely turned around, just like we had when we first arrived in these lands.

"How much farther, Nyle-san?" Daichi asked.

"It's best you don't ask, considering it hasn't been long since we've left. I'd give it a little over a day at the pace we're going, maybe a day and a half."

"Is it really so far away?"

"See the mountains in the distance?"

"Barely."

"Well, the mines aren't too far from it. So until you see it looming ahead, the answer to your question will pretty much remain the same." Nyle looked back at us. "The missus wouldn't happen to have some amazing magic that could help us see or—I don't know, maybe teleport us closer, does she?"

"Unfortunately, no," I replied. "Unless you're asking for another fireball in the distance."

"No, no, we don't need another. The one back at the settlement is still doing quite the fine job; it's still visible way out here."

"Amazing, isn't it?" Megumin said. "If Nyle-san wants to see it in all its glory please don't hesitate to let me know. WAHH!" Megumin yelped as I activated Drain Touch for a brief moment. "W-What was that for?"

"Don't act stupid, you know what it was for. If you're going off about casting more explosions then you obviously have way too much energy to spare."

"Is Kazuma planning on draining me of all my mana?!"

"Don't be ridiculous; if I did that then someone would have to carry you. I'm only planning on draining enough of your mana so you can't cast Explosion."

"What?! Why?! You know I can't live without casting Explosion."

"You seem to have been doing pretty fine all this time. And anyway, that's b.s. I know all you wanna do is cause trouble."

"I don't! Explosion is the whole meaning of my existence; if I can't cast it, what good am I?"

"Oi, come on, that's sad—even for your standards. Listen, it's only for the moment. I can't risk you using it again and having our position be given away."

"You say that, but we're going back underground—and who knows when we'll be able to surface again."

"Stop complaining. You got to use Explosion already, didn't you? Even when I told you not to."

"I know Kazuma may think I did it simply to fulfill my wishes—"

"You did."

"—but I promise him that I did it for more noble intentions."

"Noble intentions? You're gonna tell that having Inara-san see it counts as noble? I'll be sure to use that next time I need to use a stupid excuse."

-A few hours later…

"You know," Darkness said, "for it being near winter, we haven't run into real strong monsters or beasts; is it not a thing in Dargon?"

Although I didn't like the fact that she brought it up, I too, was curious.

"No, that's fairly accurate," Nyle replied. "It's still a little early for them to start coming out; still, with the war going on and the chaos it's brought, I wouldn't really be too surprised."

"What type of monsters usually show?"

"Uhh, Trolls, Ogres, Frostfangs, Sinkhole Incisors, Winter Sirens, and even the occasional Gargant Ice Worm, although the list really goes on."

"All of that sounds terrible," I remarked.

Nyle chuckled. "I'm sure most of what I said are only now starting to prepare for winter proper."

"You mean none of those will appear?" Darkness said disappointedly.

"Probably not."

"And you can thank me for that," Aqua announced. "Thanks to my divine power any threats will keep a wide berth from us."

"Oi, you be quiet," I said, knowing full well this girl was likely to cause the opposite. "We don't need you jinxing us; we have enough trouble as is."

"How dare you. I'll have Kazuma-san know that—"

"Hey," Nyle interjected. "Stop." Having come to a halt, the rest of us did as well. He stepped back, a small crack formed where he previously stood. "Ice."

"Oh, there's some sort of lake here," Aqua informed.

"Must've frozen over fairly recently," Hurnus remarked.

"Hmmm." Nyle rubbed his chin in contemplation. "It wouldn't be safe to cross. Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to go around. It's going to cost us quite a bit of time."

"How long?" Daichi queried.

"I'm unsure. It'll be slow-going, though. I'll have to make sure the path I'm treading isn't leading to more ice. A task I'm sure you can tell is difficult, given all the snow."

"Hold on," I said. I turned to Aqua. "Hey, can't you do something about this?"

"What are you talking about? What do you expect me to do about this?"

"Aren't you the patron deity of water?!" I whispered harshly. "Like wouldn't you at least be able to find the places where the ice is safe to cross?"

"Ah, you're right."

"..." I turned to the others. "Hey, our Archpriest can help."

"Ms. Aqua?" Nyle said. "How so?"

"I can find the spots where the ice isn't thin. I can even freeze the water beneath it to make it more stable."

"Since she's part of the Axis Cult," I quickly added. "And hey," I said, turning to Aqua, "let's just stick with finding the best route across, ok? I still remember the shenanigans you pulled back in Sylvenn trying to regulate water temperature, alright?"

"Alright, the floor's all yours," Nyle said, stepping aside for Aqua.

Aqua stared at the crack in the ice and then looked at me. "I don't know now; this seems kinda scary now that I think about it. What happens if the ice breaks and I fall in?"

"What the heck are you talking about, you've been in worse, haven't you? Anyway, you'll be fine. The worst that'll happen is you'll probably catch a cold or something. And I'm doubtful of even that."

"I don't know," she said, apprehensively testing the ice. "Can someone come with me?"

"That'll defeat the whole purpose of this! Stop being a dumbass and get across. Don't worry, if anything happens, we won't be far behind, alright?"

Aqua looked ahead worriedly. "I'll have you know that if something happens to me, I'll hold Kazuma-san responsible."

"Like Hell you will! Now quit stalling and get to walking!"

"Fine!"

Aqua took a step onto the ice about half a meter away from where Nyle did. As she began to walk across, no cracks developed. To the others, it was a surprise, but to myself and our group, it was expected.

"We should start moving," Nyle said.

"Umu," Daichi replied in agreement. "Hurnus, you go first since you're the lightest out of all of us."

"Ahem." Inara coughed loudly. "Did you forget I exist?"

"Of course not, Inara. Still, I think Hurnus is likely lighter than you are."

"Ah, probably best to let her go first," Hurnus said, noticing Inara's deepening brow.

"If you say so, Hurnus. Very well then, you go first, Inara."

Inara scoffed lightly and then began to retrace Aqua's steps across the ice.

"We'll give them a wide berth and then follow," Nyle instructed. "Once Ms. Inara is about half the way to Ms. Aqua, the next person will go—likely you, Hurnus."

"Sounds good to me," the dwarf replied.

Nyle smiled. "Seems like the Goddess of Fortune is looking out for us; who knows how much time we would've wasted if your Priest wasn't able to do this." I had to wonder if she really was. "Alright…Hurnus, it's yout turn. Go on—and watch your step."

He nodded and then stepped onto the ice, following Aqua and Inara's trail.

"I'll go next," Nyle announced. "Our grand Ms. mage will go next, then Ms. Dustiness. Kevin, you'll go after, then, Kazuma. Daichi, you'll be last. Got it?"

We nodded in understanding.

As we stood waiting for our turn, I turned to Darkness.

"Kazuma? Is there something wrong?" she queried.

"Hmmm, I'm not sure if I really agree with Nyle-san's order."

"Hm, what do you mean?"

"You after Megumin? I mean, it seems like he's trying to send the lightest people first but…"

"W-What do you mean?! What are you talking about?!"

With Darkness yelling, the others looked at us.

"Is something wrong, Kazuma-san?" Kevin asked.

"Ah, I was just thinking maybe we should have Darkness go last."

"Any reason why?" Nyle replied.

"Well, it may not seem like it but Darkness is built like a castle wall; I don't know if making her go before the rest of us is a smart idea."

Before I could say more, Darkness' hands were already tightly grasping my neck. "H-How dare you!" she stammered, ears and face glowing red with embarrassment.

After struggling to push her away for a bit, I somehow managed to break free. "*cough* *cough* You…idiot. *cough* *cough* Why the hell *cough* is it always so close with you?" I said, still rubbing my neck in pain. "*cough* *cough*"

"Honestly, it's your fault," Megumin interjected. "Kazuma doesn't need to be so insensitive."

"Insensitive? With Darkness? Since when?"

"I'm still a woman!" Darkness barked. "Although my tolerance might be higher than the average person's, there are still comments that are a bit too far, Kazuma—even for me!"

"Alright, I'll make sure I jot down 'weight' as one of those topics. Geez."

"I assume we're not making any changes to the order, then," Nyle remarked playfully.

"None," Darkness replied.

"Alright then, well it's time I go. I'm off. Remember, Ms. Megumin next."

"Hey, wait," Daichi said. "Look."

Out in the distance, Aqua and Inara had stopped, with Hurnus slowing his pace as he got closer to them.

"What's going on? Why'd they stop?" Kevin queried.

Suddenly, Aqua and the others began running back towards us.

"Why are they running back?" As if responding to the group's questions, the ground began to tremble. Seconds later, the ice behind Aqua and the others erupted into the sky. "What…what the hell is that?!"

"A Gargant Ice Worm," Nyle said, staring at the towering mass of a creature. "Impossible. Why is it…?"

"Nyle-san?" Diachi said, waiting on the dwarf's instructions.

"R-, Right. Fall back. Fall back! Run!"

Without saying more, all of us began running.

As I looked over my shoulder, I could see Aqua, Inara, and Hurnus all running as fast as they could. The creature let out an ear-piercing shriek that rattled deeply in our head. Then, it dove into the ground.

"What's it doing? Is it gone?" Daichi asked as we ran.

"No, keep running," Nyle replied. "It's diving back underground to close the distance. Why? Why is one out here? They shouldn't be active."

"I thought you said you wouldn't be surprised," I remarked. "Clearly, you're surprised."

"Of course I'm surprised! Who the hell wouldn't be?!" he retorted. "Ice Worms rarely surface—even less before winter."

"Then why is it here?!"

"I-, I don't know. Something must have caused it to surface."

"Like what?" Daichi asked.

"I'm not sure. Some type of disturbance? Ice Worms tend to stay underground unless they're out of food and relocating or something got them to surface. Wait a minute. Perhaps its nest was…" Nyle glanced at Megumin. "Ms. Mage, I think you may have angered our pursuer."

"Huh?"

"I believe the Ice Worm's nest was beneath the settlement. The same settlement you blew to smithereens."

"What?!"

I glanced over at Megumin who was running beside me. "AHHHHHHH! This damn loli is the one who caused this!"

BOOM! The ground erupted once more, the giant creature blasting out from under it, this time, closer.

"What do we do?" Kevin asked desperately. "It doesn't appear as if we can outrun the beast."

"I don't know. Hey, Ms. Mage, think you can use that spell of yours and get rid of it?"

"Can I?!" Megumin fervently asked me.

"Arrrgh." I gnashed my teeth in anger. We were in this situation thanks to Explosion, and now the same spell was our way out. "Ugh! Fine! Go ahead! But make it quick, we don't have a lot of time."

"Say no more!" Megumin whipped around and pointed her staff at the fast-encroaching creature. "EXPLOOOSION!"

Despite her confident outcry, the scenery in front of her remained the same, the only difference being the dangerously close Ice Worm.

"What happened?!"

"M-Mana! I don't have enough mana!"

"What?! Wait…don't tell me…did I—?!"

"It's getting close!" Daichi yelled.

"What do we do?!" Kevin shouted.

I quickly dug into my pack. Dodging the frightened feline within, I pulled out a large orb of manatite. Grasping it tightly in one hand, I used the other to grab Megumin and began pouring as much mana as I could into her. "Do it, hurry!" I said frantically.

"Ah, so much…mana. Mmm! I feel it! This is gonna be a big one, Kazuma!"

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up and let it loose!"

Once again, Megumin pointed her staff towards the monster. The orb in my hand began cracking, and then, as it began to disintegrate, Megumin said:

"Foul creature, rue the day you came up the greatest mage of the Crimson Demons. Witness the power of the most—"

"Shoot the damn thing already!" I yelled.

"E-EXPLOOOOSION!"

With a thundering boom, another explosion was let loose upon these lands, this time against one of its deadly creatures.

Moments after the explosion cleared, bits of ice, snow, and water began to rain down, as well as fragments of shredded flesh and pieces of charred chitin, no doubt belonging to the creature which was now just a blown-out carcass in the center of a large crater.

"PFFT!" Aqua popped out from under a pile of snow, Inara and Hurnus joining her soon after.

"A bit close, don't ya think?" Hurnus said.

"That thing was right on top of us," Daichi said as he helped the dwarf out.

"Yeah, so was that spell."

"Ah, sorry!" Megumin said.

"I think you should be thanking her," the priest remarked. "If it wasn't for Megumin-san, I'm sure we would've been in quite the predicament."

"I guess you're right," Hurnus replied. "Sorry, and you have my thanks."

It seems they forgot that we were in this whole situation because of her, not that I was in any hurry to remind them.

"Nyle-san," Daichi said, "are there going to be any more surprises?"

"I sure hope not," he replied. "But by their very nature, surprises are…well, surprises. Either way, we shouldn't hang around here too long. I'm sure just as the last spell drew in unwanted guests, this one will as well."

"Our path is…somewhat obstructed now, however," Kevin remarked.

Indeed, just as he pointed out, the path over the ice was now just a deep hole full of water—the depth of which made it impossible to navigate around the edges.

"Seems like we'll have to go completely around," Nyle said, taking note of the situation. "Which means, our progress will likely be delayed once again."

"So instead of a day, we might be looking at a day and a half of more traveling?" Daichi queried.

"Yes, something like that…assuming nothing else decides to impede us."

"Are you ok, Aqua?" Darkness asked as she helped her clear the piled snow on her clothing.

"I was almost eaten by that disgusting thing! Luckily, I was able to see it coming."

"See it coming?" I said curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I could sense it under the water."

"It was hiding in the lake?"

"No. Well, I don't think it was."

"I'm pretty sure it came from underground and just happened to dig its way out beneath the lake," Nyle informed. "Ice Worms and their ilk generally have bad eyesight, so it was probably just burrowing around until it found itself underneath the lake. It must've broken through to the surface in surprise of the water that probably flooded into its tunnel. But enough about the Ice Worm, we're not getting any closer to our destination by standing around. Let's go."

Agreeing with our guide, we collected ourselves and continued our journey towards the ill-reputed mines.

By the time the mountains were no longer a distant landmark, a full day had passed and night had fallen once more. Perhaps Eris-sama was looking after us because we didn't encounter any more hardships. It was a good thing too, because it began to snow once again, and traveling became its own trial. Racked by exhaustion, and not to mention, hunger, we made the choice to stop and recuperate.

The choice to do so was the only thing that came easy, because besides a few hills there were no real places to take shelter in; no caves, no abandoned towns, no dwarven hideouts. That being said, our group was quite big and between all of us, our collective experience and knowledge was pretty impressive, enough so that we were able to make a few shelters from the snow; it wasn't easy or quick, but eventually we managed to make three, enough for all of us to fit somewhat comfortably in.

"Ugh, my fingers are frozen," I said as I laid on my side.

"Ugh, mine too," Megumin said, curled up in front of me.

I was sandwiched between her and Darkness, yet because of my exhaustion and general discomfort, I couldn't bring myself to feel neither excited nor take advantage of the situation; in fact, shortly after making that remark, I succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep.

Part 5

"Wake up," I heard Megumin say.

A couple of light slaps on my face came soon after.

"Uh— Wha? I'm awake, I'm awake." I slowly sat up and yawned. "What's going on? Do we have to go?"

Megumin nodded.

"Did you get any sleep?" I asked.

"A little."

I sighed heavily.

"What?"

"Nothing." I looked over to my side and saw that Darkness was still fast asleep.

"Don't worry about Darkness; I'll wake her up."

"Where's Aqua?"

"Outside."

"Already? When'd she wake up?"

"A little while ago."

"What? She woke up all by herself? Why?"

Megumin shook her head. "I woke her up because I wanted someone to go to the bathroom with me."

"You could've just asked me," I said half-jokingly.

"As if!"

"Oi, come on, you really think I'd do something out here?"

"I'm not really sure what Kazuma would do, but I didn't want to take the chance."

"You're making me sound like some wild beast. I mean, haven't I shown enough restraint over all the time we've known each other?"

"It's true that you've shown restraint on multiple occasions, but it's also true that you've initiated on just as many."

"I don't get it, isn't that what you want?"

"I… W-Why are we talking about this right now?! Just go outside; Nyle-san wanted to speak with you."

"Nyle-san? Ugh. Alright." I got up and headed out through the crawl space.

Everyone else was there once I came outside.

Aqua was seemingly speaking to the priest but looked at me once I showed up. "Finally decided to wake up?" she said. "Or did Megumin wake you?"

"What about you? I'm surprised you didn't fall back asleep."

"Actually, I'm still kinda sleepy. I was hoping I could take a nap for a few more hours, but Kevin-san, here, said that we have to go."

"Kazuma-san," the priest said, interjecting himself into our conversation, "did you manage to get enough rest?"

"More or less. I take it you did? You don't look half as exhausted as the rest of us."

Kevin chuckled. "Perhaps it has something to do with the meager aid I've been providing; Aqua-san seems on top of it and I must thank her."

"Why thank you, Kevin-san," Aqua replied. "If you would pledge yourself to me and join the Axis Order I would consider your thanks as complete. So, how about it? I can formalize it on the spot."

"Ah…erm. Um." The priest quickly looked to me for help.

"Could you stop trying to string others into that group of psychos?" I told Aqua.

She frowned. "How could you say that? Kazuma-san is an honorary member and a direct retainer of mine; saying such things will make me and the order look bad."

"I don't think my input has any bearing on that; you guys are doing a good enough job of that as is. Anyway, where's Nyle-san? I heard he wants to speak to me about something."

"Ah, that's right," Kevin said. "Daichi told me to tell you as much. Here, let me show you to them."

"Nah, it's alright, they're over there, I can—"

"Please."

"Ah…s-, sure."

I'm sure his insistence was in no part due to trying to get away from a certain person and their infamous group.

"Ms. Aqua," he said with a short nod. "Come, Kazuma-san," he said, turning to me once more.

Following him a few short steps away, I met up with the others. Daichi and Nyle were speaking with each other while Inara and Hurnus seemed to be cooking and preparing breakfast.

"Ah, Kazuma," Nyle said, "there you are. I need to speak with you about something."

"Yeah, so I've heard. What is it?"

"It concerns the trip."

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Well, I've gotten an update on a few things, and the situation around the capital seems to be deteriorating—so much so that His Majesty's own Eagle Mole was sent to deliver the news."

"What's that mean? Did the capital fall?"

"Gods, no. But judging on what was divulged and the urgency of the letter, we're running out of time. We need to get the capital, fast."

"Isn't that what we're already doing?"

"It is, but I also took some safer routes for…well, safety. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's an option anymore."

"So, what? We're gonna be running through an active battlefield or something?"

"No. Probably. Hopefully not. But, I won't lie to you, you shouldn't write it off. Our current route remains the same, but it's what happens after we reach Maglin that's really subject to change. I've already told Daichi, here about the changes."

"What's your thoughts on this?" I asked him in Japanese.

"I don't like it," he answered in kind. "But, I think it's too early to tell. I believe Nyle-san is just letting us know that things are likely to get harder from here on out."

"What changes are we looking at?" I asked Nyle.

"Again, I've got nothing certain, but we might encounter more monsters or even risk a direct confrontation with elements of the Demon King's army. Not that that's anything exceptionally new at this point."

So much has happened over the relatively short amount of time I lived in this world. I've changed. I've had to change. There was just so much this world and its setting demanded of me, that living as I did back in Japan was impossible, no matter how much I wanted to relive those comforts. The luxuries were one thing, but the physical and mental exertion were another; my body and mind had to become stronger—and they did, but it wasn't something I was actively working on. And so, I found myself constantly aching from how much I had to endure…how much I had to do; now, it was likely to get worse.

"Alright. Thanks for letting me know, I guess."

"I think it's only right of me to do so. Anyhow, food should be ready. Go get the rest of your party and grab a share before we set back out; likely will be our last for a while."

Breaking from the group, I returned to Aqua to see that she had sculpted a life-size model of the entire group in such a short amount of time and completely out of snow.

"A-, Amazing."

"Aqua. Kazuma." To my left came the sound of Darkness' voice. She was accompanied by Megumin.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Megumin said as she admired the sculpture.

"You think so?" Aqua replied. "It's something I quickly made to kill my boredom."

"Can you teach me how to make things like this, Aqua?"

"Well, I can certainly try, Megumin. As long as you're willing and earnest in learning it."

How I wish that goddess would take some of her own advice sometimes.

"Hey," I said, interrupting their chitchat, "we should probably go get some food before it's all gone; Nyle-san said this is probably gonna be our last chance for a while."

"Is that what he wanted to tell you?" Megumin replied.

"No. Well, that wasn't the main thing he told me."

"Well, what was it, then?"

"He told me that things are probably gonna get a lot more dangerous from here on out."

"What?" Aqua said, dropping the bit of snow she was molding into the sculpture. "How come?"

"He said the situation around their capital changed and that there seems to be an urgent need for us to get there even faster. To be honest though, if things are as bad as he's making it out to be, I don't know how much help we'll be when we get there."

"What does going faster have to do with being more dangerous, though?" Megumin queried.

"We'll have to take more dangerous routes, probably make more dangerous choices."

"Hmmm. Ok," Megumin said with a grin.

"No, not ok. Just because we're running into more dangerous situations doesn't mean you're gonna have free reign to use Explosion magic, you hear me?" She looked away, avoiding my gaze. "Oi."

"I'll remember Kazuma's words."

"You better. Otherwise I'm gonna bind you up and put you in a sack."

"Ah, unfair!" our resident pervert retorted.

"You shut up—and why is it that the first thing out of your mouth is something so annoying? Anyway, let's get going before there's no food left."

After having breakfast, or lunch—it was hard to tell—we packed our things and went on our way. Despite the mountains being so close, it would be several hours before we finally reached our next destination: another small abandoned town. Like before, we took shelter in one of the abandoned homes.

As we settled in, Nyle spoke.

"Alright, I know you're all quite tired, so we'll rest here. However, it won't be long. We wake and move in a few hours, so make the best of it."

"I thought we were going to some mines?" I remarked.

"We are. The mines are actually just a few minutes east of here. This town was set up to support the miners and their families, but with the mines closed, the town was abandoned; it wasn't very large to begin with anyway. With all that said, go ahead and get some rest, you all."

Our respective groups split up and took opposite sections of the home.

As I began to lay down, Darkness walked over.

"Kazuma."

"Hm? What is it, Darkness?"

"Would you like to train?"

"What?"

"Would you like to—"

"No, I heard you, but why would you ask me that now of all times? You heard, Nyle-san; we're gonna be traveling to the mines in a few hours, so why'd you think it would be a good time to ask me if I wanted to train?"

"I-I was just thinking that maybe you'd want to do something to get your blood pumping since you were complaining about how cold you were all the way over here."

"Well now I'm tired, so I'm gonna take a nap, Darkness; we can do your training or whatever some other time." Despite me saying this, Darkness stood there, staring at me. "Oi, didn't I tell you—"

"I heard what you and Megumin said."

"What? When?" I said, sitting up slightly.

"Back at the other camp. I was awake."

"So, you were just eavesdropping, then?"

"I-I wasn't eavesdropping. I simply didn't want to interrupt you two, so I didn't say anything."

"Oi, come on, even Aqua could give a better excuse. And anyway, it's not like Megumin or I said anything wrong. If anything, this just proves how much of a pervert you are."

"I-I'm not!"

"Alright, well then, whatever. I'm going to sleep, Darkness," I said, lying back down. As soon as I threw my mantle over myself, I felt something press against my back. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see that it was none other than Darkness. "Oi, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm…l-laying down with you. I'm…g-going to s-sleep with you, Kazuma," she said, grabbing onto my waist with shaky hands.

"Who are you kidding? You can't even say it straight, and I'm supposed to take that seriously? Say it again, this time without stuttering, and maybe I'll take you a bit more seriously."

"You! F-, Fine. I'm…I'm…g-g—"

"BZZT! Wrong. You stuttered. Listen, if you're not gonna—"

"I'm going to sleep with you, Kazuma!" she yelled in almost one breath. Her ears and face instantly turned red upon saying it.

"Oh? You actually said it."

"Yes, she actually did." Both of us glanced at the doorway to see Megumin staring at us with arms crossed. "I hope you have a good explanation for this."

"Megumin!" Darkness yelled in surprise, quickly sitting up to face her.

"Hey, before you go blowing your lid, this isn't what it looks like," I remarked.

"Of course," Megumin replied. "Which is why I'm giving you two a chance to answer."

"It-It isn't what it sounds like," Darkness mumbled in embarrassment.

"Or looks like, as Kazuma said, right?" Megumin sighed. "What is it, another misunderstanding?"

"I only meant to slee—…lay down…with Kazuma."

"What for? Doesn't really seem like something you should be doing—or you allowing," Megumin said, glaring at me.

Darkness couldn't bring herself to say anything in response, so she silently looked down in shame.

"Darkness said she wanted to warm me up," I replied, pointing at the person in question.

"W-What?!"

"What? Isn't that what you said when you laid down next to me?"

"I-I… Perhaps…I may have…said something to that effect," Darkness said hesitantly.

"Ohhh? You did?" Megumin replied, raising a brow. "And I wonder, how exactly did you plan on doing that, Darkness? I wasn't aware of you learning any fire magic."

Once again, Darkness fell silent, tacitly avoiding Megumin's gaze.

"And you," Megumin said, turning her sights on me. "If you want to warm up so bad maybe I can do something to alleviate that; I think I've recovered just enough mana to cast Blazing Explosion."

"N-, No thanks, I think I'm good."

"Really now? Are you sure? I'll make sure you won't have to worry about feeling cold ever again."

"Or living for that matter!" I retorted. "I'm ok. Really!"

"Humph. Darkness."

"Y-, Yes?"

"I don't think there's any reason for you to stay here."

"Ah…r-, right." Darkness slowly stood up and then left the room.

"Do I take it you're gonna be replacing Darkness?" I remarked.

"Replacing? I didn't know your wife was a replacement for another woman; am I wrong?" Megumin replied, eyes glowing a malevolent red.

"N-No. I meant— You know, I think I'm ok."

"Good."

Megumin slammed the door as she left.

"Haaaaah. Geez. Women."

"Meow."

"Oh? You agree?" I said, picking up the black cat who appeared beside me. "Haven't seen you for a while. Did you finally get enough sleep?"

"Reow," Chomusuke lazily replied.

"Are you saving up energy so you can transform again? Well, as much as I'd like to see that happen, it'd probably be a bad time for it; your crazy owner would probably turn us both to ashes if she found you sleeping beside me like that."

Chomusuke purred as she fell back asleep in my hands.

"Well, I probably should go to sleep now," I said, placing the drowsy feline on my chest. "G' night," I said to her, and closed my eyes.

I was more tired than I thought, because I didn't wake up myself, rather, I was awoken abruptly yet again.

"Time to go," Megumin said as I looked around in mild confusion. She lifted Chomusuke off of my chest. "I see you had someone else warm you up?"

"Huh? Wha—"

"Maybe she just wanted to keep you company; I'll allow it," she said, holding her out to me. "After all, Chomusuke is my loyal familiar; nothing she does she does in defiance of her master."

"What the heck are you talking about?" I said, wearily rubbing my face.

"Can you take her, already? She's…really heavy." I could see Megumin's arms starting to shake.

As much as I would've enjoyed watching her struggle a bit more, I didn't need to give Megumin any more reason for being mad at me. I took the cat off her hands and placed her into my nearby pack.

"Is it really time to go?" I asked. "Where are the others?"

"In the main room. I think Nyle-san is already outside."

I sighed in exhaustion and then got up. "Oi, Megumin."

"Hm?"

"I don't think I have to remind you, but remember, no Explosions."

"Even I know how much of a bad idea that is underground."

"Good."

As Megumin and I exited the room, we met up with Aqua and Darkness, the former who was rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Create Water," I said, sending a steady stream of water into her face.

"WAHHHH! Whyyyy?!"

"There, you see, aren't you awake now?"

"I— actually…I do feel more awake now," Aqua said, touching her dripping-wet face.

"See? I feel a 'thanks' is in order."

"All you did was shoot water in my face. Water, that I might add, feels barely fit to grace my skin."

"The hell are you talking about? Water is water."

"Pfft. Shows how much you know. I'll tell you right now that the water I produce is a whole lot better than anything a NEET like you produces."

"Aqua-san! Kazuma-san!" From across the hall, Kevin called out to us. "Did you all get sufficient rest?" he said as he approached.

"More or less," I replied. "How about you guys?"

"Much the same."

"Kazuma-san." This time it was Daichi.

"Daichi-san," I said in reply.

"Nyle-san's outside with Hurnus."

"And Inara-san?" Kevin queried.

"She's still in the other room. Doing what, I'm not sure, but when I knocked, she answered, so she's clearly awake."

"Then it's best we give her the time she needs."

"We should wait for her outside, then; Nyle-san has been waiting for us."

"Well said. I'll let Inara-san know we'll be outside; I'll join you all after."

"Got it." As Kevin walked away, Daichi looked at me. "Will you be going outside too, Kazuma-san?"

"Ah, yeah, seems like it. If Nyle-san has been waiting for us, it doesn't feel right to have him wait any longer."

"Agreed. Let's go."

It was night when we stepped outside, and standing just beyond the entrance to the house was Hurnus, Nyle a few steps away.

"Ah, Daichi. Where's Kevin and Inara?" he queried.

"Still inside. They're coming out now. What's Nyle-san doing?" Daichi asked, nudging his head at the dwarf in the distance.

"Said he was getting our bearings and making some plans."

"Not a bad choice."

Hurnus then turned his attention to us. "Did you all get some good sleep? You, especially, Ms. Grand Mage?"

"I got a little bit," Megumin replied.

"Definitely didn't get as much as I would've wanted," I said, "but I think it was enough; take it was the same for you?"

"'About as much," the dwarf replied.

The door opened behind us, revealing Inara and Kevin.

"Sorry," Inara said.

"It's fine," Daichi replied. "Got everything?" She nodded. "Good." He turned to the dwarf in the distance and called out. "Nyle-san!"

We all walked over to him.

"Everyone's here?" he said, poking a few glances throughout the group. "Seems like it. Good. Good." He pointed towards the mountains. "Mines are over that way. The weather is looking like it'll hold up, so it shouldn't take us too long to get there."

"Assuming nothing gets in our way," Daichi remarked.

"I've been looking into that too. There's nothing to suggest we've been followed. I found it a little strange so I doubled—and even triple-checked just to make sure."

"So, those demons aren't following us anymore?" Hurnus said.

"Well, if they are, they're ability to mask their tracks is something out-of-this-world; that, or they're using some other means to follow us. While I wouldn't say the possibility is zero for either of these things, the chances are comfortably slim."

All of us seemed to share in a collective sense of relief; all of us except for a certain goddess-masquerading-as-an-Archpriest.

"While I would've liked to show those demons a thing or two, I think it's good that they're no longer following us. Their stench was becoming unbearable." I quickly pulled her aside. "Hey, what's—"

"Oi, you mean could smell them this entire time?"

"Of course I could; honestly, I don't know how you all can't."

"Why the hell didn't you say something, then?!" I said, trying (and mostly failing) to keep my voice to a whisper.

"Huh?! Y-You didn't ask me."

"I didn't—!" I took a deep breath, quickly stopping myself from fully yielding to an instinctual outburst. "It would've put all our minds at ease if you told us they weren't around sooner, don't ya think?"

"Ah…well…I guess?" Aqua stuck out her tongue in a playful gesture.

All I wanted to do was punch her.

"Next time, if you get a whiff of any demons, it'd be nice if you said something, alright?"

"I got it; I'll let Kazuma-san know if there's any stinky demons or devils nearby."

"Everything alright?" Daichi asked as Aqua and I rejoined the others.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"Alright," Nyle said, "let's get on the way. Just because the weather seems fine now, doesn't mean it can't change."

-Several minutes later…

True to Nyle's words, we arrived at the mines several minutes later; that being said, we weren't the first ones to arrive. A few minutes before we reached the entrance proper, Nyle had stopped to examine some tracks in the snow. His conclusion was that there were two people, and sure enough, there were two people standing just before the entrance.

"They look human," Hurnus whispered as we all hid some distance away.

"What are they doing here?" Daichi asked.

"Maybe they're just demons in disguise," Inara remarked.

"Maybe."

"Right," Megumin said with a nod. "Want me to blow them away with my—Ow!"

A quick chop to the head stopped her mid sentence. "Keep saying dumbass things and I'll drain you," I said, glaring at her.

"Hold on, Kazuma," Nyle said. "We might just need Ms. Megumin's magic."

"Huh? You think it might be something?"

"Could be soldiers from the Demon King's army; a little hard to tell from here. I might have to get closer. Huh? Wait a minute. Is that…Ms. Aqua?"

Somehow, the clueless goddess managed to break away from the group without us knowing.

"What's she doing?" Daichi queried.

"That idiot," I said as I got to my feet. "Cover me," I said, sprinting off.

I could use my bow and pick the two off from this distance, but the fact remained, we still didn't know if these two people were actual threats or just lost individuals; I couldn't take the chance of wounding an innocent person. Still, if I was able to get close enough, I could come to a more definitive conclusion. I activated Lurk and closed in on the spot; as I did, I could hear Aqua speaking to the people.

"Oh no, I'm not alone; my friends and followers are back there waiting."

What the heck was this idiot saying?!

"Oh?" one of the people said, the pitch of their voice telling me it was a male. "Your party?"

"Are you guys here for the treasure too?" the other said; another male.

"Treasure?" Aqua said, saying aloud what I was thinking.

"Shhh, Patrick! What the hell?"

"A-Ahhh, I-I mean, nope, there's nothing here!" the one named Patrick replied, chuckling nervously thereafter.

Whoever these guys were, they sure didn't seem to be threats. I looked back and signaled to the others.