Hello readers!

Boy, this is the first time I had to scrap a full 2000 words. Rookie numbers in the world of writing but man that was painful.

It's a relatively short chapter that's barely 4000 words but considering it's just 2 scenes, I think it's acceptable.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: A Heart-to-Heart Between This Couple!

I was genuinely getting extremely worried.

Darkness and Aqua were fast asleep.

The three of us went out for a few hours, and when we got back, there were still no signs of Kazuma.

While we were out, I ran into that blonde delinquent and even he hadn't seen him ever since I teared up those coupons to that certain café.

Good riddance in my superior opinion.

It was already way past midnight, approaching half past three. And I'd been sitting in front of the unlit fireplace since eleven. Darkness wanted to keep me company and wait with me, but apparently, she had to get up early in the morning for a meeting at the royal capital.

My mind came up with all the possibilities as to where he was, and despite trying to be optimistic, some more… disturbing ones plagued my mind.

What if he ran into another dangerous monster?

What if he was out there dying without anyone's knowledge?

I curled up into myself as Chomusuke slept peacefully beside me.

I looked at the black feline as it purred softly…

I wished I was as carefree as she was.

"Ugh… curse this stupid, love-stricken heart of mine…" I mumbled into my knees.

Here I was, the most powerful archwizard in the world capable of wiping out entire armies, curled up and filled with the thoughts of a boy.

I chuckled drily at the irony.

The urge to look for him became increasingly tempting as I stood and wore my cape when suddenly-

"Aqua-san, Darkness, Megumin! Is anyone home?! Please, open up!" A desperate voice cried out with urgency from outside.

Whoever it was started banging on our door relentlessly, making me panic and run as fast as I could to open the door.

When I pulled open the doors-!

"C-Chris?!"

"Megumin! Thank God… Please, help me get him inside and call Aqua-san!"

I was getting overwhelmed by what I was seeing.

My eyes first focused on the silver-haired thief, her attire was a bit roughed up and her mask was pulled down as she took fast and long breaths. Then my eyes darted to a mysterious tube-like object that was in her left armpit, which leaked some sort of crimson liquid. Finally, my eyes shot downwards to where Chris' hands were, and I saw a head full of brown hair.

"K-Kazuma?"

I felt a sense of relief when I saw him. He was in his thieving outfit, so I was able to piece together the fact that the two were most definitely out on a mission. But that relief didn't last another second as something caught my eye…

I focused on a red trail behind them that started at the front gates. I slowly followed it as it got closer and closer. It was then that I saw something horrifying.

"K-Kazuma… H… H-His leg…" My weak voice cracked under the tremble.

His entire right leg was missing, and what was left of his thigh was bloodied and leaking the same crimson liquid that I saw on the object clamped in Chris' armpit.

Connecting the dots, I pieced together the dire situation.

"Megumin, please, now is not the time to freeze up! He's passed out and I don't know how long he has left!"

I flinched at the sudden words that reminded me of an unpleasant experience.

"A-Ah…! Right!"

Without hesitation, I grabbed Kazuma's arms and pulled as hard as I could to help Chris get him into the living room as the blood trail behind us got longer and longer.

My heart pounded against my chest as adrenaline filled my body. With how much blood he was losing and probably have lost, there was no doubt in my mind he only had a couple minutes to live.

"… Megumin…? What's going on?" A voice around the corner said.

"Darkness! Get Aqua!" I unintentionally yelled at her in my desperation.

She was at first a little freaked out by my tone, but after seeing what was going on, she immediately ran to Aqua's room to fetch her.

I returned my full focus to the man I loved, sprawled out on the floor barely taking any breaths.

He was about to die.

I looked at my blood-stained hands and noticed his arm, which I used to drag him, also had a deep gash on it that was spilling blood, albeit not as much as his thigh.

Desperate to reduce the blood loss and buy as much time as I could, I took my cape off and balled up a part of it before pressing it against the wound, applying what I determined to be the right amount of pressure.

"Please… Eris-sama…" I prayed under my breath.

As I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves, I saw Chris putting Kazuma's decapitated leg on the ground and trying to stop the bleeding in his thigh as much as she could with a rope.

We don't have much time…!

I spun my head toward the hallway that led to our rooms with a guttural grunt.

"Where the hell is Aqua?!" I screamed out.

Not a moment later, a sleepy Aqua with her pajamas half unbuttoned, was pulled into the living room by Darkness.

"Aqua, don't fall asleep! Kazuma needs you to heal him!" Darkness said as she shook Aqua's shoulders.

"Eh…? What's up with Kazuma…? Did he eat watermelon seeds… again…"

As she trailed off, she slowly gained more and more awareness and recognized the situation Kazuma was in.

"This boy…! Always getting into unnecessary trouble!" She said with an aggravated sigh while rubbing her forehead before looking closer at him, "Hey, wait… why is he wearing the same gross mask as that stinky devil?" She took a whiff and pinched her nose, "Ugh, there's a devilish smell coming from his wounds!"

"Aqua, please! You can complain and ask questions as much as you want later, just heal him first!" I pleaded with the goddess.

"Guess it can't be helped!" She said with a stretch.

"Here, Aqua-san, I'll hold his leg in position and you can reattach it!" Chris said as she held his leg up to his thigh.

"Hm…? Is that you, Chris? Why are you in that getup?"

"Aqua!" x2

"Aqua-san!"

"O-Okay! Jeez…" Aqua said as she held out both her palms toward Kazuma.

She closed her eyes and chanted as a magic circle formed underneath his body. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and yelled-

"Sacred Highness Heal!"

The moment she cast the holy magic; the magic circle lit up with a bright blue tint as his wounds instantly started healing.

Knowing he was getting better, I sighed as my shoulders relaxed.

It only took around ten seconds for the wound on his arm to close up, but his leg was taking a little longer, understandably so. But looking closer, it didn't look like he was healing properly, a scar now replaced the gash on his arm as another one slowly formed around his thigh where the magic was working on reattaching his leg.

Once the process was done, the magic circle dispersed as the blue light that came from it died down.

"There! All done!" Aqua declared proudly.

"A-Aqua, shouldn't your holy magic be strong enough that it can heal scars?" I asked.

"Huh?" Aqua made a sound of confusion before looking closer at his healed wounds.

"Hm, that's weird. Heal!"

Aqua tried to heal the scar, yet it wouldn't go away.

"Heal!" She tried once again.

I stared up at Darkness and Chris worriedly.

"Heal! Heal! Heal! Heal! Heal! Heeaaal!"

"A-Aqua, stop. If it didn't work the first few times, I doubt it would if you keep doing it." Darkness suggested.

Aqua huffed in annoyance, "Must be that stink I smelled."

Chris, who was still holding Kazuma's leg, had an emotionless look as she stared at the scar with intense focus. "… There shouldn't be any scars with your healing." She said quietly.

"Oho? I didn't know Chris looked up to me this much!"

I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.

Chris suddenly stood up.

"C-Chris?" Darkness said.

"I… I know this is sudden and I'm sorry, but I have to go." She took off her shoulder bag and placed it on the now bloodied floor, "Put this in Kazuma-kun's room, and take care of him for me, okay?" She apologized and turned towards the front door before making a quick exit.

"W-Wait!" Darkness called out, but she was already gone. "Just what is up with her?" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

She barges in here with a seriously injured Kazuma and decides to up and leave without an explanation.

I'll remember to give her a piece of my mind the next time I see her.

"Well, I'm going back to sleep. I'll give him a good scolding when I wake up." Aqua said tiredly with a yawn as she made her way back to her room.

Except for the slight echo of Aqua's door closing, the entire mansion was completely silent as Darkness and I stared at the Kazuma. His chest moved up and down slowly, his leg and arm no longer bled.

It gave me some peace of mind.

Yet after a few moments, for no apparent reason, my eyes started to water and not long after, tears slowly fell down my cheeks.

"Uuu…" A pathetic sound escaped my mouth as I sniffled and buried my eyes into my sleeve, trying to stop the waterworks.

Silently, Darkness sat down and wrapped an arm around me before gently pulling my head towards her, knowing full well the reason for my outburst.

I knew this was also hurting her a lot, but being the older one, I guess she was putting on a brave face for my sake.

I showed my appreciation by putting my entire weight on her as I leaned in, letting her comfort me.

I'm sick of seeing him hurt over and over again.

Part of me wished he was genuinely a bad person who wasn't willing to put himself at risk for anyone. At least then I wouldn't have to helplessly see him sacrificing himself without end. But that was what made him Kazuma. He complained and whined yet came through the moment he needed to. That part of him I loved. I loved it so much I could never get enough of it. But at the same time…

I thought about that selfless part of Kazuma and what he had been through because of it.

I hate it.

My, what a dilemma, I thought while choking back a sob.

Not a word was said for about five minutes as I calmed down.

Once the sound of my quiet sniffling no longer disturbed the silence, Darkness soothingly patted my shoulder, "Better?"

I felt a lot better. A lot of that pent-up emotion and stress I'd been building up was released. I knew the problem Kazuma and I were having still wasn't solved but that was something to worry about later.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly sat back up straight, "… Yeah. Thanks, Darkness."

I gave her a smile that probably didn't match my eyes, which were no doubt red and puffy.

"Were you waiting out here for him the entire time?"

"Yeah, there was no way I could fall asleep."

My eyes fell on the mask that sat neatly on Kazuma's face.

We looked around the living room as reality set in. There was blood all over the floor and the hallway that led to the front door.

I looked at Darkness with tired eyes, "… In hindsight, we shouldn't have let Aqua go back to her room…"

Darkness grimaced, "… I can go get her."

"Probably not a good idea, it's almost four and I don't know how much whining I can take."

I thought about just leaving it for the next day but it'd be bad if someone were to come by in the morning to see a long trail of blood from the gates leading to the mansion.

I stood up and headed for the kitchen while rolling my bloodied sleeves up as high as possible.

After washing the crimson liquid on my hands away, I went back to the living room.

I grabbed the bag Chris left behind and flung it over my shoulder before crouching, "Here, go grab a mop and a few buckets of water while for me I get him to his room." I said as I slid my arms underneath Kazuma's head and legs. "I can handle to cleaning. You go ahead and sleep. I don't want you missing something as important as a meeting with royalty."

"A-Are you sure? I don't mind helping." Darkness insisted.

"It's not like I have any duties like you. So, it's fine since I can just sleep in tomorrow. I'll just be doing some light cleaning."

She hesitantly complied and went to the bathroom while I picked up Kazuma before heading to his room.

-I woke up completely disorientated.

The first thing that moved was my eyes as they darted around, receiving more information than my brain can process at the moment. I shut them immediately as a small wave of dizziness attacked me.

"Ugh…" I groaned.

Where am I?

I was on a familiar bed.

My body was currently mustering any amount of alertness it could according to what I remembered last.

I didn't know if my Teleport was successfully activated or not so it was possible I was being kept somewhere as a prisoner.

My eyelids fluttered open again as I tried to get a grasp of where I was a second time.

Since my eyesight wasn't adjusted to the darkness, it was literally pitch black.

I activated Foresight.

"Oh, I'm in my room." I muttered with relief.

I slowly propped my back up with my elbows before gently getting off the bed.

A sudden nausea made me see dark spots, probably because I stood up too fast.

Then immediately-

"M-My leg!" I looked down in a panic before realizing it wasn't detached.

My first reaction was to try to determine whether it was a dream or not.

No, it definitely happened. It felt too real for it not to have.

So, my next logical conclusion was that Aqua healed me, which made the most sense since I was in my own room.

I was also wearing fresh clothing instead of my thief outfit. Even my underwear was a new pair.

I went to turn on the lights.

"K-Kazuma…"

I looked towards the voice that called out to me.

"… Megumin?"

Megumin stood by my door with a face full of relief.

She dropped the mop she was holding and ran up to me before throwing a hug around me.

"W-Woah!"

I was pushed back a few steps by the momentum of Megumin's body crashing into me.

She gave me a tight hug while burying her face into my shoulder.

"H-Hey."

I gently hugged her back.

For some reason, she was still wearing her robe this late.

"Are you feeling alright?" She said while letting go of my torso.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Um… what exactly happened?"

"Chris brought you back and Aqua reattached your… severed leg." Megumin closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying, "We need to talk."

Ah, I knew this was coming sooner or later.

I gave her a knowing nod and sat back on the bed.

Megumin looked at the bloodied sleeve of her robe and said, "Give me a minute, I'll change into my pajamas."

I was left alone with my thoughts while I waited for her to come back.

Yes.

I knew this conversation was coming.

I'd been avoiding it the whole day.

It started with Eris-sama, then Darkness…

And now, Megumin.

Just how many times will I have to talk about this?

In the first place, Eris-sama just misunderstood.

I did value my life, otherwise, I wouldn't be trying to make more money with Vanir trying to permanently get away from doing dangerous quests and what not. But that plan was basically out the window since the guild lady was forcing us to take one once every week.

The sound of my door opening and closing brought me back to reality.

Megumin, who was now in her pink pajamas, walked to my bed and sat down next to me.

We sat there in silence, not daring to break it.

I knew she was just gathering the courage to start, so I stayed quiet the entire time.

This type of situation is exactly something I wanted to avoid.

But I knew there was no point on trying to delay it.

"What happened before you came back?"

She spoke after a bit.

I leaned forward and with my hands clasped together.

"Chris and I decided to go for that divine relic I told you about."

"The ring?" Megumin rubbed her arms while looking down at her thighs.

The Incapacitation Ring was something I told Megumin about a while ago.

"Yeah. Long story short, we had a bit of a run-in with the noble that lives in that mansion and I got careless."

"… You're undermining it quite a bit. Kazuma… when Chris and I dragged your body back… I genuinely thought you were going to die again." She said, putting emphasis on that last word.

"Well… I'm not dead."

"That's not the point. There was so much... blood. Before you woke up, I was outside cleaning all of it, you know? Your blood was all the way out at the front gates."

That explained why she was holding a mop just now.

"Sorry, you had to see that… I just… we were in a stressful situation and I got desperate."

"I don't want you to be sorry, Kazuma." She leaned on my shoulder and held my hand.

"H-Hey, if you do something like that so suddenly, I'll get the wrong idea."

Megumin ignored my nervous quip, "Why do you care so little about yourself?"

I chuckled drily, "You've known me long enough to know I care a lot about myself."

"Yet you think your life is something to be simply used up."

"… I just think we can afford to be more lenient with mine."

I once again imagined Megumin in my position during the right with that Iron Dweller.

It ignited something visceral inside me that I didn't know how to describe. I only knew that I would do anything for that not to happen.

"You have to understand, Megumin. Imagine there's a plate of food in front of you and Komekko. You're both hungry, but you wouldn't hesitate to give it to your little sister, right? That's right, you wouldn't have a second thought about it because you care so much for her."

Megumin listened intently as I tried to put it in words that she'd understand.

"S-So um… You know. What I'm trying to say is… just like how you wouldn't hesitate to give your cute little sister food, I also wouldn't hesitate to give up my life if it means you, Darkness or Aqua don't have to go through what I do."

A small but cute giggle came from her, "What's with the weird analogy? You could've just said that latter part without it!"

"O-Oi, give me a break! I'm just trying to get you to understand!"

"You don't have to come up with some weird unorthodox comparison for me to understand."

Right, she's not stupid.

"I'm trying my best here, alright?"

Really, just what is she expecting me to say?

It's not like I'm used to these types of conversations!

After her giggles died down, Megumin tightened her hold on my hand. "You always do this… You spew verbal nonsense whenever you're nervous and not composed. I love this part of you so much."

She said so without hesitation, making me blush.

"Y-Yeah."

She put her arms on my shoulder and twisted my body so we were face to face.

"Kazuma, I get where you're coming from now. So, I want you to see things from my perspective."

I already had an idea, but I let her go on.

"I love that you're willing to sacrifice yourself for us, but I don't think I can take much more of it… Do you know how much sadness and grief I feel when I see you get hurt or die? I've been seriously thinking, you know, about giving up Explosion and learning Advanced Magic. The helplessness of seeing you in danger and not being able to do anything… I can't take it anymore…"

Hearing how she was again considering putting down her beloved Explosion magic made me want to comfort her.

I went in to hug her.

"Is that really what you want to do? If it is, I won't stop you. But I'll drain your mana if the reason you want to do it is for me."

She smiled lightly, "There you go again, not letting anyone sacrifice anything for you." She took a deep breath, "All I'm saying is, you just got your leg cut off and you're not even fazed by it. It's like you think it's fine that it happens to you and you'll just deal with it. I'm not asking you to value your life more or anything. I know you do. I just want you to stop thinking that sacrificing yourself is some responsibility you have to take on."

"… It won't really change anything."

"I know, it won't change anything at the end of the day. But there's not much else we can do."

I thought she was going to complain, but she was being unexpectedly mature about it.

She knew I'd do anything to keep them from suffering like I did on a constant basis.

This… feeling of mutual understanding.

It made my heart swell.

Without another word, I leaned in with my eyes closed as our lips connected.

She made a small sound of surprise but quickly regained her composure.

I savored the feeling of Megumin's soft lips as my hand went to cup her cheeks.

It didn't last long as I had to muster up everything I had to do that.

I genuinely adored this girl but I had no idea how to express it.

My heart pounded in my chest as blood began going toward a certain place below.

Knowing what I wanted right there and then, I pushed Megumin, who was blushing, down onto the bed gently and hovered over her.

She looked up at me expectantly with a hint of lust in her eyes.

Since she made no signs of protest, I took that as a sign to continue.

I'd been wishing for this ever since that day we went to get Aqua that damn bottle of wine.

Thinking about the number of times I'd been blue-balled, my body went on fire with desire.

"… Kazuma." Megumin said and sat up a bit. She made her way over to the front of the bed while leading me to the more comfortable spot on the bed.

Once she laid down and I was hovering over her again, I wasted no time giving her a deeper kiss.

She slowly moved her arms into my shirt and around my torso, rubbing my toned muscles with a fire in her eyes.

We made out for a few minutes before she suddenly locked her legs around my waist and pushed her pelvis against mine. I instantly sucked in a breath and broke the kiss as a small bit of pleasure raced through my entire body. I looked back at her to see an amused expression on her face.

T-This little devil!

At this point, I was already at maximum excitement. The erotic scene in front of me plus the pain of being blue-balled send me into overdrive and made my heart pump faster and faster.

I went to advance to the next stage but before I could-

"Ugh…" An intense dizziness hit me as I breathed heavily.

"Kazuma?" I heard her say.

"I… I'm fine… Woah…"

I felt all my strength escape my body as I crashed down onto Megumin.

"K-Kazuma?! H-Hey, are you alright?"

I felt something shaking my body as she said that.

… What's going on?

I had so little energy in my body that I couldn't even lift a finger.

My brain was able to piece it together at the last moment.

I had a deep cut in my arm and lost a leg.

Aqua revived me, which no doubt took a lot of my energy.

And lastly…

While I was slowly losing consciousness, I vaguely remembered Megumin saying something about how I lost a lot of blood.

Yes, I know. Not only am I blue balling Kazuma, I'm also doing it to you guys. I just thought it'd be funny.

So the reason why I deleted 2k words is because I really struggled with Kazuma's talk with Megumin. I thought about writing them arguing loudly about the subject like normal couples do but that didn't feel right as I think Megumin would be more understanding and less angry. I always liked the idea that if they ever had a serious disagreement, they'd sit down and calmly talk about it to find any solution. I believe that's how mature they really are and how deep their relationship is. So that's what I decided on. So no blow-ups, just two people who love each other talking it out.

The first part of the story is complete now. So I'm calling chapter 7 the end of arc 1. This next arc is when we really start getting into the main plot I've been building up slowly.