Hello there, readers.
It was a bit of a struggle writing this chapter since I'm so rusty. I've had times when I'd just stare at the doc for half an hour and not write anything. In any case, I got it done! This chapter was finished relatively fast since I already had a very good idea of what this chapter was going to be about, so don't expect this upload schedule for future chapters.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: A Bottle Of Wine For This Alcoholic & A Break For This Princess!
'Sigh…'
The sound of pure relaxation escaped my mouth as I sat on the couch in front of the fireplace while holding Chomusuke.
"Meow."
Right now, Megumin and I were waiting for Aqua to get ready to head over to Wiz's shop so she could teleport us to the capital. I didn't want to go, but since I promised to buy a nice, expensive bottle for her after I stole one from the useless goddess, I couldn't back out.
Plus, I had a new product idea for Vanir, so I might as well get that sorted out.
I invited Darkness as well, but she said she had noble duties to tend to and headed to the Dustiness estate.
My condolences.
How long is that debt goddess going to take? It didn't take long to change, and she didn't wear make-up.
Maybe she was doing her hair or something.
"Kazuma, Kazuma!"
"This is Kazuma."
Megumin held her staff up into the air while striking a pose with glowing eyes.
"Now that we're the heroes of Belzerg, do you think they'll allow me to unleash my Explosion around the capital?!"
Chomusuke looked at her owner in confusion and meowed.
You and me both.
"Even if they do, it's not a bright idea to do it there, you idiot. Do I need to remind you of the complaints we got from you leaving craters everywhere?"
No, even if they don't allow it, that won't stop this explosion maniac from doing it.
I had to compensate for this loli's explosive impulses because the workers at the capital threatened to sue me.
Megumin started grinding her thighs against her staff.
"You'll let me do it, right? Right?!"
"D-Don't say something like that while fidgeting!"
If you do that, it'll get me excited.
I turned my head to the hallway.
"Oi, Aqua! If you don't hurry the hell up, I'm not going!"
Not even a moment later, the useless blue thing in question came walking down the hallway.
"My my, do you have any patience? As a man, you should really work on your skills at being a good boy and wait for the lady."
"I don't wanna hear that from you, you bottom-of-the-barrel goddess. Now are you coming or not?"
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming-ah!"
…
…
…
Megumin and I stared at Aqua.
"Hey, what's the point in tidying yourself up if you're just gonna trip down the stairs and mess it all up?"
–With a small bump on her head, Aqua, Megumin, and I walked over to Wiz's shop.
The streets of Axel were as rowdy as ever. Actually, it seemed like more people were walking around. Though that was pretty normal, with the Demon King gone, people around the world were becoming more active than ever. Not to mention the party that did the deed lived in the same city as well.
Oh, how amazing it felt to be famous.
"Say, Kazuma, shouldn't you start treating me like the wonderful goddess I am? I've had enough of your rudeness these past few years, so treat me better!"
This fucking idiot.
"Grr… You don't deserve to be treated like a goddess with how childishly you act all the time. If you want to be treated like a goddess, then act like one!"
"Haa?! You're telling me to 'act like a real goddess'?! How many times have I resurrected you? How about the many times I healed everyone without anything in return? Or, I don't know, the times I performed my party tricks in front of people? I also helped defeat powerful enemies! That's right, I did all of those things tons of times!"
W-well, she was right about that. But all the stupid things she did balance out the good deeds. And I was pretty sure one of those didn't count as a goddess-like thing to do.
No wait, in the first place-
I pointed at her in anger.
"Don't you dare give me that! Most of the time, I die because of you! I got beheaded because you decided that leaving crucial details out was a good idea. I died falling off a tree because you cast Force Fire on the Lizard Runners for some ungodly fucking reason!"
Seeing that I was right, Aqua couldn't refute it.
"Tsk, whatever!"
But treat her better, huh? I guess it wouldn't hurt to do that from time to time.
If she hadn't weakened the Demon King before we teleported to the dungeon, I probably wouldn't be here arguing with her right now.
"Nee, can you two stop arguing for five minutes?"
Despite being the youngest, Megumin was acting more mature than us.
Before I knew it, we arrived at our destination. I opened the familiar door and went inside.
"Yo, Vanir, I've got another otherworldly product for you-"
Before I could finish my sentence, Vanir posed dramatically.
"Welcome! The watered-down goddess of stupidity, and the brat, who's having it really well with the Crimson Demon girl with a loose screw, welcome!"
"G-Goddess of stupidity!? That's it, I've let you off the hook for way too long, you putrid devil! God Blow!"
"What do you mean loose screw?!"
"Mwahahahah! Although Moi prefers disappointment and shame, the lame goddess' anger and the wishy-washy couple's embarrassment do perform very well together as a snack. Vanir Style Death Ray!"
"You think that puny laser can hurt me?! Fufufu! Let's see if you can take a god's full-blown punch to the face—ouch!"
The hilt of my sword crashed against the top of Aqua's head as it made a metallic ring.
"Stop it, you idiot. Do you have to cause trouble everywhere you go?"
"Uuu… My head hurts…"
That's the point.
I looked over to Vanir.
"Ahem… So, where's Wiz?"
"Ah, the useless shopkeeper? She's in her room right now after Moi burned her for buying some equally useless products."
Seems like it's the same as ever here.
"Moi can see that the brat is concerned about that lich's well-being; worry not, my friend; I made sure only to use half of my power when Moi burned her to a crisp."
Somehow, that wasn't very reassuring.
I looked around the shop to see if there were any new products, but aside from the boxes of whatever Wiz bought in the corner, nothing caught my eye.
Over at the shelves, Megumin was fiddling with a puzzle-looking thing made of glass.
Vanir put his hand in his pocket and casually said, "Ah, Crimson Demon girl with an inferior complex about her body, Moi suggests you not play around with that item."
Megumin blushed. "I-I don't have an inferior complex! Ahem… What is this anyway? It reminds me of my puzzle toy when I was young."
"What you're holding is a magic puzzle item that is impossible to solve, not because of design but because the intelligence of whoever is using the puzzle decreases every minute they hold it."
Without a second thought, Megumin threw the magic item onto the ground, shattering it.
"Is there anything in this store that's actually useful?!"
The all-seeing Duke of Hell nonchalantly turned his head towards me with a mischievous smirk.
"Moi assumes the brat will pay for the broken merchandise."
This fucker…!
"Do I have a choice?" I asked while forking over five thousand eris to Vanir.
"Pleasure doing business with you, brat." He said as he put the eris into his pocket.
"Now, Moi believe you have a new product idea?"
"Yeah, it's straightforward, but I'm sure it'll sell well if made correctly."
That's right, my idea of a modern chair will be my next big invention.
Vanir looked at the blueprints for a bit and rubbed his chin.
"Hm... yes, this will definitely sell quite well just for its convenience, the design is simple enough and cheap to make. It's surprising how no one has thought of such an item before."
"Yeah, it really is."
It was a chair with wheels on it. I wasn't sure if the people of this world were too primitive or just purely stupid.
Vanir looked at me with a smirk on his face and said,
"Moi will buy this from the brat for fifty million eris, how about it?"
Without another second, I grabbed Vanir's extended arm and shook it.
"Deal."
"Here's my chance, God Blow-ahh! Stop pulling on my hair, you HikiNEET!"
While we were talking about business, this annoying blue thing was sneaking around Vanir, trying to get the jump on him.
Seriously, trying to pull a fast one on a devil. Do you have any pride as a goddess?
"When you're finished with the prototype, deliver it to the mansion, 'cause I miss these chairs."
"Ah, please stop, Kazuma-san. I'll purify this rotten piece of hot trash when you're not here to witness it, so please stop pulling my hair!"
I bunched up her hair and pulled even harder.
"Do you have to cause trouble every time we come here?! It's bad enough that you boss Wiz around every day, so stop trying to purify Vanir as well!"
"But we're already filthy rich! Why do you insist on making business deals with that disgusting devil?!"
Because of you!
"That money could be easily taken away from us thanks to your incredibly bad luck! So we need a steady income for backup in case that ever happens."
"Uu…fine. Wait, what do you mean bad luck?!"
"Just shut up! Keep being annoying, and you won't see that bottle of wine!"
That immediately shut her up.
I walked over to the backroom to see how Wiz was doing.
Just like Vanir said, her body was burned pretty badly.
I kneeled to take a better look-
W-Wait, she looks like she's fading!
"Megumin! Come over here!"
"What is it-awawawawa!"
I grabbed her wrist, instantly activated Drain Touch, and transferred her mana to Wiz.
The lich slowly opened her eyes.
"...Kazuma-san?"
"Hck..!"
"What's wrong with you?! Couldn't you have at least given me a heads up?!"
Megumin choked my neck while shaking me back and forth. "S-Stop it! You have far superior strength compared to my level! I'm going to die!"
She reluctantly let go of my neck while huffing.
Ow, that really fucking hurt! This loli underestimated her strength too much.
"Ahem… Hey, Wiz, are you feeling alright? You were kinda fading away."
Wiz took a look at her surroundings. "O-Oh, don't worry Kazuma, it happens quite often."
Please don't say that with an innocent smile.
"Well, I was wondering if you could teleport us to the capital?"
"Ah, of course!"
"Thanks."
I grabbed Aqua, who was about to start a fight with Vanir, and the four of us headed out to the street.
"Alright, Wiz, don't teleport us anywhere that's near the capital. Send us directly to the front gates."
I had to say that since I didn't want another orc incident to happen.
"Worry not, Kazuma-san. Have a safe trip, Teleport!"
Unknowingly to the three of us, inside the shop, Vanir contemplated with a serious look-
"Good luck, boy. You're going to need it."
–As I requested from Wiz, she teleported the three of us straight to the front gates of the capital. We only had to walk for about a minute to reach it.
"Welcome, heroes of Belzerg! Our kingdom welcomes you!"
The two guards bowed instantly after the left one welcomed us.
Hoo? This was different from the treatment I was used to.
Well, it was about damn time this world treated me right!
Megumin and Aqua were visibly hyped up as well.
As we walked, I noticed the place was thriving a lot more. I guess people felt safe now that the main threat to the capital is gone.
I also noticed people were beginning to stare at us and whisper amongst themselves.
"Wow, there's a lot more people here than the last time I was here." Megumin said to no one in particular.
"Hey, why isn't anyone bowing to me? Do they not recognize me as the Goddess of Water?"
I'm pretty sure your reputation completely ruined any chance of people thinking you were an actual goddess.
As we walked, I used Lip-Reading to see what people were saying.
"Nee, nee, aren't they the heroes of Belzerg?"
"That's the party that defeated the Demon King…!"
"Not only that, they were the ones that got rid of the generals as well…!"
Ara, as expected, we've made quite an impact.
Before we knew it, we were surrounded by the residents and visitors of the capital.
The windows on buildings were opened by the people inside who wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Next to me, Megumin and Aqua were both surrounded by multiple people.
"Megumin-san! Is it true that you finished the Demon King's generals in only a single move?!"
"Aqua-san! Is it true you saved Arcanletia from a deadly poison slime all by yourself?!"
The two of them side-eyed each other and smirked-
"Of course!" x2
"Ohhh!" x2
I felt like past events have been skewered slightly.
Megumin did indeed defeat a lot of the generals with a single spell, but that was because she only knew one spell.
And what was this about Aqua beating Hans all by herself? I had to sacrifice my life for that goddamn city!
Just as I was bitterly recounting some past trauma in my head, a group of three girls came up to me.
"You're the leader of the party that defeated the Demon King, right?"
"I heard your name is Kazuma, it's nice to meet you finally!"
"Could you tell us about your past adventures?"
My time has come…
I gave them a smirk and flicked my hair.
"Ah, what can I say, really? Defeating the Demon King and his generals wasn't easy, but... I always pull through to protect this world from harm so citizens like you three beauties can live without worry."
"Kyaa!" x3
Umu, I can get used to this!
They began to come closer to me, to the point where our bodies were about to touch.
"You know, you're not bad-looking, Kazuma-san!"
"That's right, you're pretty handsome!"
"Are you in a relationship with anyone?"
My my, it seems like these ladies couldn't resist my charm.
Suddenly, I felt something coil around my arm.
"If you three have anything you want to know about my boyfriend, I'm happy to answer your questions."
I looked beside me and saw Megumin's arm around mine while she had a deadpan expression on her face.
The three girls instantly started whispering in each other's ears.
"Nee, nee, is this guy into little girls?"
"I've heard rumors but I didn't think they were true…"
"I've actually heard from women that he likes to steal panties…"
"Now that I think about it, from all the stories I've heard, he didn't contribute that much to his party. In fact, I think he's in the Adventurer Class."
"Ehhh…" x2
I don't appreciate you three saying bad things about me when I'm right here.
Beside me, Megumin's eyes began to glow.
"I'll have you know that Kazuma is the brains of the party. Without him, you three would probably be dead from the Demon King's invasion. And just who are you referring to as a little girl? Come on, let's hear it."
Weren't the king and prince Jatice here defending the capital? If they're anywhere as powerful as Iris, I doubt the Demon King could've survived.
"A-Ah! We were just about to leave! It was nice meeting you!"
The three girls walked hastily past us and started whispering again.
"Better not get mixed up with a lolicon."
"Agreed." x2
The urge to use Steal on these ungrateful bastards was getting overwhelmingly difficult to resist.
Megumin's hold on me began to tighten.
"O-Oi… You can let go of me now."
"What's wrong with me holding you like this in public?"
She leaned her head against my arm.
"S-Stop it…! I'm not ready for PDA yet!"
In fact, I was pretty sure she wasn't ready either, given the deep blush on her cheeks.
As I shook her off, I saw from the corner of my eye that Aqua was performing her party tricks for the audience.
–We walked around and were able to find a nice winery.
There were bottles of wine lined up against the walls of the shop.
I knew this was the capital and all, but this felt a bit overkill. This whole place was bigger than our mansion's living space.
Aqua instantly went browsing, while Megumin just stayed by my side since she wasn't interested in alcohol.
But that didn't stop her from being in disbelief.
"... I know we're heroes, but I can't help but feel this place is way out of our league."
"Right?"
I crossed my arms and looked over to Aqua.
She seemed to be choosing between two bottles.
I hope it's not too expensive.
I looked back over to Megumin. "Listen up, Megumin. Don't ever become an alcoholic. Otherwise, you'll end up like her."
She narrowed her eyes a little. "I may enjoy alcohol occasionally, but not to the extent of being addicted."
Now that Megumin was fifteen, we couldn't ban her from drinking alcohol. Although I still kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't go overboard.
"Kazuma! I want this bottle!"
Aqua strolled over while holding a golden bottle of wine.
I had a bad feeling about this.
I stared at the bottle. "How much is it?"
"It's a billion eris!"
"Are you stupid?! That's enough money for a person to live their entire life, you idiot!"
How does a bottle of wine cost this much?
"But you promised!" Aqua teared up.
"No means no! The most I'm willing to pay is fifty million eris. Now go choose another!"
I was already being really gracious, as I was pretty sure the one I stole didn't even cost half of what I was willing to pay.
But now that I looked at it, this bottle of wine did seem special. I've never seen a bottle that was gold before, so it must taste good.
The prize for defeating the Demon King was a hundred billion eris.
I could afford to splurge a little, right?
During my thoughts, I was suddenly shaken back and forth by Aqua, who grabbed my shoulders.
"Uwahhhh! Kazuma, pwease!"
"A-Alright, fine! I'll buy it if you promise to share it with everyone when we get back!"
Aqua's crocodile tears instantly stopped.
"Yay!"
This bitch.
"Oho! I wasn't expecting to see the heroes of Belzerg today!"
I turned to see who was talking, and I saw the shopkeeper there.
"Ahem, where are my manners? Welcome to Belzerg's number-one winery, where we sell the best wine this country has to offer!"
"Ah, hey. I didn't know we accidentally walked into the best winery in the country. Actually, could you tell us about this bottle?"
The shopkeeper took one glance at the golden bottle in Aqua's hand.
"Well, well, well! This archpriest has an eye for wine! This wine here is usually only made once a year due to how rare the ingredients are. The bottle itself is actually made from the scales of a golden dragon, and the wine inside also has a gold tint to it!"
"Fufu! As a wine connoisseur, of course I'd know a high-quality bottle of wine when I see one!"
No, I'm pretty sure you only chose this one because of the gold bottle.
"As expected of the archpriest from the heroes' party! Each bottle produced is usually sent straight to the castle for the royal family every year, but this year, I was able to get my hands on two since a Cursed Sword user slayed two golden dragons, so I opted to put one in the store. I still haven't given him my thanks yet."
That's Muraragi for you.
"Well, it's decided then, I'd like to buy this one, shopkeeper."
I was about to offer to send someone from the bank to deliver the money since there was no way to carry that amount of money.
"Ah, no worries, since you guys are the party that saved Belzerg from evil, I'd like to gift it to you as thanks!"
Without hesitation, Aqua said-
"I'll take that offer, thank you very much-ah! Why'd you hit me, you hikiNEET?!"
"Don't call me that!"
As much as I enjoy being fawned over by people, accepting something that's a billion eris and not paying was too much.
"Thank you for your offer, but I insist on paying! We're the heroes of Belzerg after all, so a billion eris is nothing to us!"
Even though it was true, it felt narcissistic to say.
–The plan was to go straight back to Axel, but since there wasn't any rush, we decided to walk around a little bit more.
"Ahhh… I can't wait to drink this! Kazuma, can I open it now?"
Aqua, while holding the bottle of wine like a baby, asked something ridiculous.
"No, save it for when we get back."
The useless goddess wanted to argue further, but she knew there was no point.
"Kazuma, can we go to the outskirts? I'm sure they won't mind if I give them a show with a good Explosion!"
"Sigh… We'll go on our walk when we get back, alright?"
As I was deciding on what to do, people started crowding around us once again.
But before a fuss could be made, I heard a familiar voice.
"Make way, people! The princess is coming through!"
Right in front of us, where people made way, were Claire, Rain, and, of course, my adorable little sister, Iris.
"Onii-sama!"
Iris ran up and hugged me.
Ah, this girl is too cute.
"I-Iris-sama! At least refer to him with something formal in public!"
"Hey Iris, your onii-chan's here to visit again."
I patted her head with a smile.
People around us were staring and probably wondering why I was being so familiar with the Princess of Belzerg.
Well, let them wonder!
It was that, or they were looking at Aqua doing her party tricks again.
Honestly, she should really consider doing this as a job.
"Good afternoon, my subordinate! I trust you've been behaving?"
"Yes, Big Boss!"
Just who was this loli calling a subordinate?
And 'Big Boss'? What the hell do these two get up to when I'm not looking?
Rain was a bit flustered by how we were interacting with Iris in public.
"Megumin-dono…! Please refrain from calling Iris-sama your subordinate when in public. A-And Kazuma-dono as well…"
Iris turned around to face Claire and Rain.
"Claire, Rain, it's fine. They saved this world from the Demon King, they're at the very least equals to me."
"Iris-sama! Please do not forget you were there to fight off the Demon King's daughter as well! Even though the bastard was able to escape…!"
As much as it pained me, I had to agree with Claire. We all like to play pretend, but we in no way had the same social status as Iris.
Iris wanted to argue more, but before she could, something on Megumin caught her eye.
"Oh! Big Boss, that's a gorgeous necklace!"
Iris was staring at the necklace I got for Megumin.
"Fufu! As expected of royalty! This necklace was gifted to me by Kazuma on a lovely romantic night!"
"Wow! So did onii-sama take my suggestion?"
"Eh, suggestion?"
"Yeah, I came to the capital to buy something for you, then Claire suggested I custom-make a piece of jewelry for you. At the time, I still had no idea what I was going to give you, but Iris told me to go to the jewelry shops to see if anything would fit you and base the custom piece off of it."
Megumin turned to me in shock. "W-Wait, this necklace was custom-made?! I thought you just bought it somewhere!"
Ah, I never mentioned that, did I?
"Again, I was originally going to just buy something, but I ended up making it myself."
Megumin blushed and seemed lost for words. "W-Well then, I suppose this necklace meant way more than I realized… I'll treasure it, Kazuma."
"Ah… I-I appreciate it."
The two of us blushed shyly.
"T-To think a brute like you can act so bashful…! Are you really the Kazuma-dono I'm familiar with?"
"Oi, bitch in white, another word from you, and you'll see your panties in my hands."
Claire instinctively closed her legs while Rain, whom I've never done anything to, did the same.
"Onii-sama, it makes me happy to see you three here, but where's Lalatina?"
"Ah, she's busy with her work. I wanted to bring her along but it'll have to wait until she has more free time."
"Oh, that's unfortunate… Well, in any case, do the three of you have any plans? If not, I'd like to hang out!"
Iris was so excited at the prospect of having fun with us that her eyes were practically shining.
"That's fine with me, Iris! We were planning on returning to Axel, but it wouldn't hurt to-"
"With all due respect, you have a lot of duties to tend to, Iris-sama. Perhaps we can ask Kazuma-dono and his friends to come again once those are out of the way."
Rain said to Iris in a sisterly tone.
Seemed like my little sister had a lot of responsibilities.
Well, she was a princess at the end of the day.
Iris gave Rain a disappointed look and sighed.
No doubt this girl was feeling lonely.
Megumin and I gave the princess of this country a sympathetic look while Aqua was still busying the crowd with her party tricks.
Is there anything I can do? Iris genuinely looked like she was about to cry!
Suddenly, an idea hit me.
"Iris, let's plan an event!"
"An event?"
"Yeah, we'll call it… 'Explosion Extravaganza'!"
I struck a pose while saying it.
Oh no, I was too excited by the idea I did something embarrassing.
Megumin's eyes lit up from the word Explosion alone.
"Explosion?! Is Kazuma implying what I think he's implying?!"
"Yeah, yeah. You'll get your moment, alright?"
I looked over at Iris.
"As the name suggests, we'll hold a city-wide viewing party for the strongest spell cast by the strongest mage in the world."
"That sounds fun!"
Iris was excited again, her prior disappointment was nowhere to be seen.
This was the perfect plan.
Not only would it give Iris a break, even if it was only a day, but it also satisfied Megumin's urge to use Explosion and show off.
Claire held out her hands, "Hold on! Kazuma-dono, don't give the princess any ideas! Her duties come above everything else. As much as I don't want Iris-sama to be distressed, she still has responsibilities!"
"Oh, come on, Claire! Just a single day, give Iris one day to relax. Quite frankly, I don't know when I'll be able to come back, given how busy things are back home. I've been helping Lalatina with noble duties since it's starting to overwhelm her."
That was a lie, of course.
Even Megumin was staring at me with disdain.
I'm doing what's necessary!
"Claire…"
Iris looked up at Claire with puppy eyes.
"Please…?"
This girl was becoming devious.
If she looked at me like that, I'd do anything for her.
As expected of my little sister.
"I-Iris-sama… Uh… Alright, we'll organize the event. Only for today, okay?"
Iris jumped on Claire and hugged her.
"Thank you!"
Rain, who was watching, didn't say anything. Maybe because her status was lower than Claire's, she didn't have a say.
–We headed to the adventurer's guild in the capital with Iris, Claire, and Rain in tow.
When we entered, people were naturally staring because the princess, her two guardswomen, and the party of heroes that defeated the Demon King were grouped together. It was probably quite the sight.
The plan was to fly a massive hot-air balloon above the middle of the capital and have Megumin blow it up while she stood on the podium of the castle. This way, she wouldn't leave a giant crater anywhere.
That was sure to satisfy her chuunibyou tendencies.
Iris and Megumin happily hopped their way to the guild staff.
"Guild-staff-san! I'd like to organize an event for this evening! Could you set up a big hot-air balloon in the middle of the city? Remember, it needs to be really big! Oh, and please call it 'Explosion Extravaganza'!"
Iris declared while striking the same pose I did earlier.
"That's right! As the number one archwizard in the world, I won't accept anything smaller than the castle!"
Of course, Megumin got swept up in the moment as well.
The staff members were visibly distraught. Perhaps they didn't know how they could possibly get a gigantic hot-air balloon before this evening. But they were too scared to refuse.
Events like this probably took a little longer than a few hours to set up.
They'll get it done somehow.
"Nee, Kazuma… Do we really have to stay for this? I wanna hurry up and go home so I can drink this wine."
"It can't be helped, the princess wants to play with us today. We'll drink it when we get back, alright?"
During this entire time, Claire and Rain were whispering with each other about Iris' duties.
"Meetings, another proposal from the prince of Elroad, there's the matter of the escaped daughter of the Demon King, what else?"
"Claire, there's also the real possibility that Kazuma-dono could marry into the royal family… If it's true that he defeated the Demon King, not that I'm doubting him, of course… Knowing him, the chances are high. Not to mention he stole Iris-sama's ring and even gave her one…! How should we deal with this…?"
"Dear Eris, have mercy on us…"
I tried to see what they were saying with the Lip Reading skill, but I could only make out what Claire was saying since Rain's back was facing me.
Having to worry about the duties of the princess while she was happily jumping around without care must be stressful.
My condolences.
As I was offering my apologies to the two anxious women in my mind, I heard a message ring out through the entire city.
"Ahem… T-The princess herself, Iris-sama, has requested everyone in the city to participate in the viewing of the… 'Explosion Extravaganza' event this evening, where Megumin-sama, who is the archwizard of the party that took down the Demon King, will be giving everyone a 'once in a lifetime viewing' of the powerful spell, Explosion…"
…
…
…
… My condolences.
–To kill time, we went around the capital and did all sorts of activities.
We saw a carnival game where you try to throw a ball into a small hoop. Everything was going well until Aqua somehow made one of the balls vanish, and I had to pay for it.
Overall, we had a fun time messing around.
When it was finally evening, we went to the podium of the royal castle.
I looked at the people below us, all gathered with anticipation.
"Uwah… This is a lot of people…"
As Iris requested, a massive hot-air balloon was floating up in the sky.
The word 'massive' didn't accurately describe just how big this thing was.
Those staff members must have worked hard.
"Kazuma, Kazuma!"
"Yes, I'm Kazuma."
"Wanna see me make that thing in the sky disappear?"
"Don't, you useless goddess! Do you know how much was sacrificed to get this event going?!"
"That's right, Aqua! Do you know how long I've waited to blow something up?!"
Iris laughed at our antics before stepping towards the edge of the podium, where everyone was able to see her.
"Good evening, citizens, and visitors of the Royal Capital! I'm so happy and grateful that all of you decided to come here today… as a once-in-a-lifetime event is about to happen before your very eyes!"
"Ohhhhh!"
The people below were really excited.
I'm sorry to say this, Iris, but this is more like a once-a-day event.
"As I'm sure you all know, the heroes of Belzerg were humble enough to grace us with their presence today. And as a gift to you all, Big Boss-I mean, the greatest archwizard of this world, Megumin—will be demonstrating her most powerful spell!"
It seemed like Megumin's over-the-top theatrics had rubbed off on Iris.
Not a moment later, Megumin stepped up to the podium, right beside Iris.
"Wahahahahaha! My name is Megumin, the number one mage in this world, and the master of the most destructive spell! I hope all of you will ingrain the sight you're about to see into your very souls! What you're about to see… is the power that disintegrated the Demon King!"
Oi.
I mean, she's not wrong… But since she doesn't know how I killed him, this is obviously her taking credit for my kill!
Well… I'll let this go for now.
I've become too soft, truly.
The entire city was silent while waiting in anticipation for Megumin to make her move, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
I glanced at Megumin and noticed she was looking at me from the corner of her eye.
As she began to power up her spell, the necklace around her neck started to glow naturally.
She was getting ready to say the magic word, but before she did, she mouthed something to me.
'I love you, Kazuma.'
My heart instantly felt warm and beat faster.
Ah… I truly adore this girl.
"EXPLOSION!"
The hot-air balloon was instantly engulfed in the vibrant colors I'd come to be familiar with. Not a second later, the balloon burst into a bright orange explosion that echoed throughout the entire continent.
The audience below started cheering at the sight.
I felt the shockwave crash into my body as chills were sent up my entire body.
It was a beautiful display of what this archwizard was capable of.
For some reason, I felt really proud of her.
As Megumin fell backward, I ran towards her and stopped her from hitting the ground.
"Fwah… How… How many points was that Kazuma…?"
Without speaking a word, I swiftly carried her on my back.
"Hmm… considering the special occasion and how much effort you put into it… two hundred points!"
She gave me a bright smile with a small blush on her face.
"Megumin! Megumin! Megumin! Megumin!"
The two of us looked down to see everybody chanting this little archwizard's name.
Iris beamed as she watched us from the side before returning to the front.
"Thank you all for participating in the 'Explosion Extravaganza' event! Most of all, thanks to Megumin and her party members for being here today!"
–The day ended in absolute success.
I was about to head back to Axel with Megumin and Aqua, but Iris requested we stay for the night.
Once again, Claire and Rain couldn't refuse Iris' puppy eyes. Plus, they probably didn't see any harm.
But they made Iris promise to go to bed on time, so, unfortunately, we were only able to have fun for another two hours before she had to go to sleep.
After that, Aqua, visibly tired, went to her guest room while carrying her wine.
As for Megumin and I…
"I might end up doing something to you if you stick this close."
"I don't mind."
We were currently lying on the same bed.
More accurately, we were spooning.
"Don't say things like that! Do you know how much I'm controlling myself right now?!"
"W-Why are you being all flustered?! We've already crossed the line once, right?!"
Normally, if we were in Axel, I would've succumbed to Megumin's advances already…
But this was the room where the innocent Iris played with us.
In fact, she was sitting and jumping all around this bed.
Doing naughty things in such a room felt wrong, even to me.
Now, this was obviously dangerous in a lot of ways.
She was so close to me that I could smell her intoxicating scent.
Her exposed nape was right in front of me.
I really want to bury my nose in her hair!
As I was freaking out internally, this sneaky devil pressed her butt against my groin.
"M-Megumin…"
"What's wrong, Kazuma? You're usually the one pushing to do these things."
"It… It doesn't feel right to do this in a room where someone as pure as Iris has been in…"
Megumin thought for a few seconds and realized I had a point.
"T-That's true… Alright, we'll continue this when we get back home, alright?"
Seemed like this girl had become quite perverted.
I couldn't sleep that night due to my sexual frustrations, so when I made sure Megumin was asleep, I snuck off to the bathroom to do my manly duties.
As always, if you have any thoughts, leave a comment and let me know!