A.N: So, this kind of just popped in my head and I honestly don't know how I actually got to writting it, but I'm pretty happy at getting to write more, so I hope you guys enjoy this little attempt of mine at making some fluff.

"Now!"

"Bottomless Swamp!"

With a startled croak, the Giant Toads that had just been munching on some sheeps, panicked as the ground they were standing on suddenly transformed into a dark miasma that began swallowing them.

"Snipe! Snipe! Snipe!" Shouted a voice a few meters away from where the toads were sinking, before three arrows suddenly hit each of the toads on their heads killing them instantly.

With a satisfied sigh, adventurer Kazuma Sato lowered his bow, looking at the toads for a moment to be sure they were actually dead, before turning to the young mage at his side, who looked at him with a happy face.

"Good job Yunyun, as always you are a big help." He said, giving her a thumbs up as he did.

With a happy noise, the young Crimson Demon suddenly lunged at him, hugging him and rubbing her cheek on his chest, obviously overjoyed at his praise.

With a small laugh, he rubbed her head, thinking, 'Even though we have been doing this for more than a week, she still gets so excited over this, she's too cute! '

A while ago Aqua had taken to rubbing in his face how she, Darkness and Megumin were so much higher level than him whenever they bickered, something he quickly grew fed up with and led to him plotting a way to fix that issue.

With how unbalanced his party was, Kazuma had little choice but to take a more strategist/support role more often than not when out adventuring with his party, which prevented him from getting enough exp to level up and increase his stats and spells/skills repertoire as he rarely ever actually got to fight and finish off their opponents before his party mates did.

As such, if he wanted to actually get to level up, he had to find a way to farm exp without his party around, as bringing them along would undoubtedly end as it always did and leave him with little to no exp gain.

The problem was that, not only was it not exactly easy for him to ditch his party mates long enough for him to go into quests on his own, as they were pretty enthusiastic about going on quests (mostly Megumin and Darkness though, Aqua usually preferred to stay at home unless she was short on money and/or bubbly) and knew him enough to know it wasn't exactly common for him to be out of the house for long periods of time, but there also wasn't much he could do by himself.

While he had a considerable repertoire of skills and spells, none of it was exactly ideal to deal with monsters, especially given how often they were in groups that he simply could not handle with what he had, which meant that he still needed someone to accompany him when he went out to farm exp, which was easier said than done.

Initially, he had considered asking Dust's party, but, unfortunately, when he tried to find them, he learned that they were in the middle of a quest that took them to a town that was pretty far away from Axel and that they wouldn't be back for a good while.

With that option out of the way Kazuma… didn't really have much choices left.

Due to his reputation and the fact he was already part of a pretty successful party (whose members also had… certain reputations of their own), there weren't many adventurers who were willing to go with him on quests, much less with him being the only one from his party to go on these quests and the objective of the entire thing being to help him farm exp for himself, which limited his options significantly.

With Dust's party being unavailable, he had been ready to give up on his quest for more level ups, at least until he stumbled upon Yunyun while walking around town.

Truth be told, he had kind of forgotten about the girl, mostly because they hadn't talked much after the whole mess with the letters and her village, but once he had seen her he had wasted no time in approaching her with his plan.

She was perfect for this after all.

She knew a wide variety of spells that could weaken monsters enough for him to finish them off and she was capable enough to deal with any monster that showed up unexpectedly or that turned out to be too problematic, plus she was kind and liked him well enough that she would probably accept his request without much hesitation nor asking him for anything.

Granted there was the problem that she could tell Megumin about the whole thing and land him in problems he frankly didn't want to deal with, at least not before he got his level ups.

Plus after the whole "I want to have your baby!" thing, there was a possibility that she would avoid him if he approached her.

Luckily for him, she hadn't and, while a bit awkward due to the aforementioned events, she had actually listened to his plan and eagerly agreed to help him out, obviously happy that she would be going on quests with someone else instead of on her own.

Thus, their new routine began, Kazuma would get up much earlier than he usually did and sneak out of his mansion to meet with Yunyun at the guild and grab a quest to go and farm exp, with Yunyun using her magic to weaken and immobilize the monsters they were targeting so he could go and finish them off, while he kept his Detect Enemy skill active for any potential ambush that popped up while out on the field so Yunyun could deal with them and get exp for herself too.

There had been a few mishaps at the start, Yunyun's timid and clumsy nature rearing its head and causing her to mess up sometimes.

"S-Sorry for m-messing up things…" Sniffed a downtrodden Yunyun to a slime covered Kazuma.

They had been hunting some Giant Toads, but, unfortunately, one had popped up from underground while Kazuma was busy with others, he had warned Yunyun as soon as his Detect Enemy skill warned him about it, but the poor girl had frozen up due to his shout and almost became toad food.

Fortunately, Kazuma had managed to take his bow out and Snipe the toad before it did, unfortunately, it had also left him wide open to getting grabbed by the tongue of one of the toads that had managed to get out of Yunyun's Bottomless Swamp.

"It's okay Yunyun, I should have been using my bow to begin with," he had reassured the sniffling girl beside him, "I have dealt with this things enough that I should have expected one to pop up while I dealt with the others." He continued, giving her the kindest smile he could while covered in toad saliva.

It really spoke to how differently he viewed Yunyun that seeing her cry after messing up and getting him covered in monster fluids didn't make him angry or annoyed, rather he just felt the urge to console her and pat her head (urge he suppressed as he doubted she wanted to get covered in slime too) and tell her it would all be fine.

Despite those little incidents, the two had very quickly gotten into a good rhythm and subsequent attempts had a lot less mistakes and incidents, something that made him incredibly happy.

Even more so with how he and Yunyun had grown closer as they went on their little adventures, whatever awkwardness there was still between them from the letter incident, quickly disappeared as Kazuma did his best to make Yunyun feel comfortable with him.

It was quite the new experience for him, after dealing with the kind of people his party members were for as long as he had, being with someone like Yunyun, was frankly a very pleasant experience for him.

Much as he liked his little band of crazies (even if he would outwardly deny it until the day of his final death), it really was nice to not have to deal with their insanity and antics and have a much more relaxed time while adventuring for once, especially since he also got the chance to actually level up.

Looking at the young girl still nuzzling into his chest, he patted her head one more time before speaking up.

"I think we should go back now, I got a good amount of exp now, so I think we can stop for today and go grab something to eat." He aid, causing the girl hugging him to jump a little.

"S-Sure!" Separating from him, her cheeks a little flushed as she did, Yunyun smiled at the adventurer and started walking alongside him back to Axel.

'At the rate we are going it will take a good while to catch up with the others,' he thought, looking at his Adventurer Card, 'Thanks to Yunyun I have managed to kill more monsters than before, but the experience they give is starting to become too little for me to level up, we may have to step things up a little if I want to catch up to the others, but that would require us to take more lengthy quests, and that would make it more likely for us to get caught by the others…'

Deep in thought, he failed to notice Yunyun looking at him with a small, thoughtful frown of her own.

When Kazuma had first approached her with his idea she had been very nervous, the whole misunderstanding with the letters still fresh in her mind, but she had still listened to his request, and had eagerly agreed to help him with it.

They had some trouble at the start as she had been very nervous at the beginning and had messed up a little during that time, but after the first few hunts she had grown a lot more comfortable with the situation and with Kazuma himself pretty quickly, much to her surprise.

Sure, she knew he was actually a pretty nice guy when he wasn't angry or stressed and she did like him quite a bit, and knew he also liked her a bit too, but she still didn't expect the two would get along as well as they did while out on quests, nor as quickly as they did, especially given her personality and mannerisms tended to scare people away or make them annoyed at her when in prolonged exposure to them, something she fully expected would happen with Kazuma too.

And yet, Kazuma had been incredibly patient and kind with her, reassuring her after she messed up and encouraging her to continue and do better the next times.

The whole thing surprised the young Crimson Demon but, at the same time, made her immensely happy.

She had pretty much given up on the possibility of her getting a party of her own and going on regular adventures with others after so much time without either thing happening, so to finally have someone with whom to go on quests with regularly, who she also got along well with and who treated her well, was a dream come true for the young Archwizard.

The past week and a half had been the best times of her life and she was beyond grateful that Kazuma had given her this chance.

She really wanted to do something to thank him for this, sure, she was helping him level up, but it didn't feel like it was enough to truly thank him for the great times he has been giving her.

But what could she do to express how she felt?

"Oi Yunyun" Kazuma's voice called out.

"Eh!?" Startled, she let out a surprised noise before looking at the adventurer, "Y-Yes? D-Did s-something happen?"

"No, you just looked a bit distracted and were lagging behind, everything ok?"

"Eh?" Blinking, she realized that Kazuma was indeed a few steps ahead of her.

Blushing, she hurried to catch up with him, looking at the ground once she reached him.

"S-Sorry, I got a bit lost in my thoughts"

"It's ok, I get lost in my thoughts pretty often too," he said, giving her a small grin that she returned after raising her head again, "Just goes to show how calm things are right now."

"It really is, isn't it?" Smiling, she looked over the hill they were at, seeing Axel close in the distance. "These moments of peace are really nice, aren't they? With how rowdy the guild can get, it's really nice having some moments of quiet from time to time." She said, rocking a little on her heels.

Looking in the same direction she was looking, Kazuma let a small smile appear on his face, taking in the sight of the town and the surrounding areas.

It really was nice,wasn't it?

Despite all the grievances he had with this world, the way it worked and the people that lived in it, Kazuma couldn't really deny that he had gotten pretty attached to it.

In its own weird, nonsensical and insane way, this world was a beautiful and wondrous place, filled with sights and creatures he could only dream of back in Japan.

He may not have had the best of experiences and first impressions, and the people that lived here may be crazy and lacking in common sense to an absurd degree, but it still had managed to worm itself a spot in his heart, to the point he wasn't fully sure he would be capable of going back to Japan if he was ever given the chance.

This insane, godawful world had become his home and he was happy to get to live here.

…Of course he would never, ever say that aloud, but, in the depths of his mind, he would allow himself to be honest about how he truly felt about this place.

"Kazuma-san?" A soft voice shook him out of his thoughts.

Startling a little, he turned to his side, seeing Yunyun staring at him with a small expression of confusion and concern.

"Ah, sorry got a bit too absorbed in my thoughts"

Grinning slightly, Yunyun said, "That's alright, just goes to show how calm things are right now"

"...Oi, don't go stealing my lines now." He said, squinting a little at her.

The pair soon began to chuckle and giggle, amused at each other's antics.

"Anyway, we should hurry back, I'm getting hungry." Kazuma said after calming down, starting to walk towards the town again.

Yunyun was about to follow him, but stopped a little, chewing her lip as she thought a little before steeling herself.

Kazuma noticed her lagging behind and turned back to ask her what was wrong, but before he could, Yunyun spoke up.

"Kazuma-san!" She exclaimed, before rushing toward him and wrapping him in a hug again.

"O-Oi, what's gotten into you!?" Taken off guard by her sudden action, Kazuma blushed as he felt her breasts push into him.

'What's with her out of nowhere? I know she likes hugs but she only does it when she's happy after a hunt.'

Before he could inquire more about her actions, Yunyun looked up at him, a determined look on her face.

"Kazuma-san, I… I wanted to thank Kazuma-san!"

Freezing a little, Kazuma slowly relaxed into Yunyun's embrace, looking at the girl questioningly.

"Thank…me? What for?" He asked, confused.

Separating from him a little the Crimson Demon looked down, her face blushing and fidgeting a little, before taking a deep breath and looking back at the adventurer shyly.

"I-It's just, I have been having so much fun thanks to Kazuma-san," she began, "I thought I would never get to go on quests with someone so regularly, usually people just ignore me or invite for one or two quests occasionally, but they never really talk much to me during the quests nor when we come back," she continued, looking down a little as she thought back to all those times.

"I was happy just getting to be with others, but… it eventually began to feel lonely, even more so than when I just went on my own…" Her voice began dipping a little in tone as she kept going, the memories of how lonely she felt even when out with other adventurers, dampening her mood the more she thought about them.

"It… it started to become painful when others would recruit me for a quest only to pretty much ignore me during and after the quest, I was just a-a tool for them, or at least that's how it felt to me after a while, it made me lose hope that I would ever find a group of people that I could truly call my friends…"

"Yunyun…" Kazuma said softly, feeling conflicted about the situation.

He.. he wasn't good with this kind of… sentimental situations, usually he avoided them as much as he could, not really having the desire, experience or guts to deal with them, especially since they more often than not forced him to confront his own feelings, the kind he shoved down a deep, deep hole within the deepest parts of his being.

Yunyun's words hit particularly close to home for him, having gone through similar experiences back when he wasn't a NEET yet, but…. he really didn't know what to do with them nor did he get why she had even brought up the topic to begin with.

Before he could sink deeper in his conflicting thoughts, Yunyun grabbed his attention again, embracing him again in a hug.

"That's why I feel so thankful with Kazuma-san," she said, her voice muffled slightly due to being pressed softly into his chest, "Kazuma-san actually tries to talk to me and make me feel comfortable and happy while we are together, you don't ignore me, you don't get angry with me when I mess up and you stay with me long after we come back from our quests and collect our rewards, you even buy me food and eat with me."

Despite her voice being muffled a little, he could still hear her words and the gratitude and happiness they carried with them and he couldn't help but gulp slightly at hearing them, not at all used to being on the receiving end of such sincere and heartfelt words.

"W-Well, t-that's just what f-friends do with each other, right?" He said, forcing out a laugh.

"Friends…" Yunyun whispered softly, before looking up and giving Kazuma the brightest smile he had ever seen before.

"That's right! Kazuma-san is my friend! And I'm so thankful with you because of that, because of all the happiness and kindness you have given me recently! It may not have been too long since we started this and it may have been because you wanted something from me, but you have made me really happy! And I'm really glad that I can call Kazuma-san my friend!"

She tightened her hug and nuzzled her face against his clothed chest, and, despite himself, Kazuma let himself sink into the embrace, wrapping his arms around Yunyun, returning her hug with one of his own, smiling softly at the overjoyed girl in his arms.

"I'm really glad that Yunyun is my friend too." He said softly, rubbing her head a little to her joy.

The two stayed that way for a while, just enjoying each other's warmth and presence.

Though he would deny if anyone else asked, Yunyun's words meant a lot to him, he would always have a soft spot for the young Archwizard, and to know just how much she enjoyed her time with him made the young adventurer incredibly happy.

'...Much as it pains me to consider this, I think it would be best if we continued on our way, knowing my luck someone may come across us and get the wrong idea.'

Before he could act on his thoughts a growling sound startled them, and he looked down at the now embarrassed girl as he stepped back and clutched her growling stomach, her face a bright pink.

"Heh, heh, guess I built a bit of an appetite while we hunted those toads…" She said, looking to the side a little as she tried to hide her blushing face.

Chuckling (and feeling equal parts thankful and annoyed at the interruption), he started walking, again, towards Axel, calling out.

"I noticed, we really should hurry back to the guild to grab a bite before Yunyun's tummy catches the attention of another monster." He said, grinning at the embarrassed girl whose blush increased in intensity at his words.

"K-Kazuma-san, you meanie!" The flustered girl shouted, causing Kazuma to burst into laughter, her own mortification giving way to amusement as she laughed alongside him.

The two walked side by side as they went back to town, chatting and laughing as they did, both looking forward to their next adventure together more than ever before.

A.N.: If you made it to this point, I'm really thankful for that, if there's anything you think I can improve, please, do tell me, I want to continue writting, if only a little bit more, and I want to try and improve as much as I can.

Again, thanks for reading and I hope my work was enjoyable.