Chapter 9 The Rival of the Explosive Magician

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KAMEN RIDER OR KONOSUBA, THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

Note: I was very excited to write this chapter, because here will appear one of the characters I love most in this work, so let's go!

Chapter 9 The Explosive Magician's Rival.

(Morning.)

Haruka stood by her bedroom window, shirtless as she held her shirt and coat, which were all torn and dirty.

"I think I need some new clothes." Haruka said, regretting her clothes. He put them away in a small cupboard next to his bed, picking up a bag of coins that he had hidden but forgotten.

"At least there's 300 Eris left. And it's a good thing the guards didn't manage to take the Junglaider!" Haruka is grateful that his bike is still with him and regrets not having saved more. Leaving his room, he went into the main hall.

He grabbed an overcoat so he could go out without getting too cold.

"Are you going out?" Kazuma asked, approaching Haruka.

"Yes, I'm going to buy a new shirt." Haruka says, putting on her overcoat.

"Did you have savings?" Kazuma asks confused.

"Yes, but it's only 300 Eris." Haruka says, holding up the small coin purse for Kazuma to see.

"Just don't take too long, Aqua's very upset about what's happened recently." Kazuma indicates, patting Haruka lightly on the shoulder.

"Right, I'm not going." Haruka prepares to leave.

"Ah, Haruka!" Kazuma turns around, catching Haruka's eye. "When you have time, can you explain to us what that creature was that you killed?" Haruka nods in agreement with Kazuma's request.

[...]

Haruka was walking through the streets, observing people and the looks they gave him.

"Did they spread rumors?" Haruka wondered, after what had happened at the trial it was hard not to have rumors and gossip.

Haruka walked around the town looking for a tailor or a clothes store. Walking around for a while longer, he finds a clothes store.

Haruka decides to go into the store. As he opens the door, a bell rings.

"Welcome!..." The shopkeeper's expression changes when he sees Haruka's face and recognizes him. "The monster boy!" The salesman mutters.

"Umh..." Haruka glances around the store, but he hears the muttering. "Excuse me, I'd like to buy a shirt." Haruka catches the salesperson's eye.

"Oh, no. Excuse me, what can I do for you?" The salesman speaks nervously.

"I'd like to buy a shirt, is there anything worth 300 Eris?" Haruka continues looking at the clothes in the stores.

"Oh sure, please follow me." The salesman leads Haruka to the back of the store.

Haruka looks at some cheap shirts and some on sale, until she catches sight of a red long-sleeved shirt.

"How much is that?" Haruka approaches the shirt and touches it, feeling its soft, warm fabric.

"W-well, that one... that one costs 300 Eris!" The salesman speaks quickly.

"He clearly wants me to leave as soon as possible." Haruka thinks, still looking at the shirt. "All right, I'll take it."

Haruka takes the long-sleeved red shirt and heads for the checkout counter, but something catches his eye.

He sees a green shirt with a slightly thick fabric and a hood. Haruka is enchanted by the garment.

"How much is that?" Haruka approaches, glaring at the hooded shirt.

"Well... that one costs 1,000..." The salesman speaks softly, but gives up on the price "Actually it's free, take it as a present."

"What do you mean?" Haruka is confused.

"Yes, yes. You can take it as a present!" The salesman gives a nervous smile.

Haruka pays the 300 Eris, putting on the red long-sleeved shirt first and then putting on the green shirt with a hood.

"Yeah... they look like they're one outfit." Haruka admires her new clothes.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course, but I think it's time to close. Because my lunch break is coming up." The salesman says, approaching Haruka.

"Lunch? But it's still nine in the morning." Haruka tries to speak, but the salesman starts pushing him out of the store.

"Yes, sorry sir, but it's closing time." The sales assistant takes Haruka outside and closes the store door, locking it and displaying a sign with the word CLOSED on it.

"Really, it seems these rumors about me are much worse." Haruka folds his overcoat and puts it over his shoulder, as he starts walking towards home.

Haruka returns to the mess hall, putting his overcoat away on a hanger and heading towards his group. Megumin is playing with a cat, Aqua is sitting on a chair just looking at the floor and Kazuma is sitting on a chair with his arms crossed.

"Hi guys, I'm back!" Haruka says in an excited tone of voice.

"Hi Haruka..." Kazuma greets him, but notices his clothes. "Man, what an outfit! You really are a fan of cold-weather clothing." Kazuma says in mockery.

"Which is it?" Haruka gives a mischievous smile in response. "It's so I can warm your heart!" Haruka says, striking a pose similar to Megumin's.

"YOU'RE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME WITH MEGUMIN!" Kazuma shouts, irritated by Haruka's provocation.

"Hehe, bad!" Haruka scratches the back of his head.

"Hey Haruka!" Megumin approaches the boy. "That outfit looks really nice on you!"

"Ahh thanks!" Haruka gives a nervous smile, but notices the cat in Megumin's arms. "What about that cat?" Haruka bent down to pet the cat.

"Actually, it's a female, and her name is Chomusuke." Megumin says, watching Chomusuke play with Haruka's fingers.

"It's a... peculiar name." Haruka giggles. "But it's still a very cute name." Chomusuke jumps out of Megumin's arms and into Haruka's.

"Wou looks like she likes you." Megumin says as she watches Chomusuke climb Haruka and stop at the top of her head.

"Look how loose she is!" Haruka says in an amused tone as Chomusuke sleeps on her head.

"At least she didn't scratch your hand," Aqua says, turning her head and letting out a sigh.

"Calm down, Aqua. In time I know that..." Haruka is interrupted by the door opening abruptly.

"Kazuma Satou, Haruka Kazuya!" Sena opens the door abruptly calling out to the boys.

[...]

(After noon.)

"HARUKAAAAA! HELP ME!" Aqua runs trying to escape from a giant frog.

"That's... very unusual." Haruka thinks, watching Aqua run away from the toad.

"Embarrassing at best." Kazuma says, crossing his arms.

It seems that because of the explosions Megumin made while Kazuma and Haruka were trapped, the toads that were hibernating are now awake. And since it's our fault for waking them up, now we'll have to deal with it.

"That's just you cleaning up your mess." Sena speaks to Kazuma and Haruka in a stern tone as she squints at Haruka.

"Uhm." Haruka mutters, not liking Sena's presence.

"Look, guys. I think you should help Aqua." Megumin says to the boys.

"Yeah, we know and..." Haruka looks back and sees Megumin inside a frog's mouth. With only the top half of the frog's mouth to focus on. "MEGUMIN!"

"Don't worry." Megumin says, reassuring the boy. "I'm not in any danger, in fact I'm resting my feet on my staff. And it doesn't look like the toad can swallow me."

Well, not so bad..." Haruka sighs.

"That's pretty weird." Kazuma looks incredulously at Megumin.

"HARUKAAAAA!" Aqua shouts, running towards the boys.

"I think that's my cue!" Haruka runs towards Aqua.

Haruka puts the Amazon Driver on his waist, he turns the Driver's left lever making it speak. "OMEGA-" Arriving near Aqua, Haruka jumps over the girl and shouts. "AMAZON!" Haruka falls behind Aqua and her body is engulfed in green flames.

The frog moves away a little, feeling the heat of the flames on Haruka's body. The flames disappear and Haruka lunges at the frog, punching it in the stomach and sending it reeling backwards.

"Ahhh Haruka, thank you very much!" Aqua crawls through the snow and grabs Haruka's leg.

"Don't worry, you'd better back off." Haruka grabs Aqua's arms and lifts her off the ground.

"Aqua!" Kazuma approaches Aqua and Haruka.

"Nice." Haruka snaps his neck. "I'll take the ones that get too close, and you take the ones that are further away." Haruka points to Kazuma.

"Right!" Kazuam crouches on the ground and raises his bow, preparing to shoot. "My new skill, Shoot."

Shooting is an archery skill based on luck, and the luckier you are, the more likely you are to hit your target.

Haruka lunges at some frogs, punching them in the arms and feathers, knocking them to the ground and then killing them. Kazuma takes aim at an aspo's head and shoots an arrow at it, hitting its head and making it stagger with the impact.

"Wow, what incredible aim!" Aqua says, leaning on Kazuma's shoulder and putting her hand over her eyes to watch without the light interfering. "Where did you learn that skill?"

"I learned it on the side." Kazuma shrugs and prepares another arrow.

"That makes three..." Haruka looks at the frogs he killed lying in the snow. "Well, now there are only three more to go..." Haruka is interrupted when a toad falls on him.

"Haruka!" Kazuma, Aqua and Megumin shout, worried about their friend.

Due to distraction, Kazuma misses his arrow shot, attracting the attention of a toad that is now coming towards him.

"Not that one!" Kazuma sees the huge toad coming towards him and getting closer and closer.

"Let's run!" Aqua pulls Kazuma's shoulders, making him follow.

"Hey, hey! Wait up!" Sena shouts as the two run towards her.

Sena, Aqua and Kazuma start running away from the toad that was chasing them.

"Haruka, are you all right?" Megumin shouts to her friend, but she moves too much and the toad starts to swallow her. "No, no, NO!" Megumin tries to free herself, but the toad is stronger than her.

"Get off!" Haruka thrusts his body upwards using his hands, causing him and the toad to come off the ground. "Now I've got you-" The toad grabs Haruka with its tongue, binding his arms and legs with its tongue.

"Not that one!" Kazuma worries, watching Haruka wriggle around trying to free himself from the tongue.

"Kazuma, we need to help Haruka and Megum-" Aqua is interrupted when the other toad pulls her with its tongue and then swallows her.

"Aqua!" Kazuma shouts as his friend is swallowed.

"Aqua!" Haruka tries to free herself from the toad's tongue. "Come on! I can't get free from a toad!" Haruka screams, trying to use her claws to cut out the toad's tongue, but its tongue is too smooth and gooey.

"Light of Saber!" A girl shouts, raising her hand and making a magic circle appear above her.

A huge beam of light and electricity resembling a very long sword appears in her hand, and she uses it to hit the three toads, causing each of them to explode. Everyone who was near the frogs went flying because of the impact of the electrical explosions.

"What... what happened?" Haruka asks, getting up from the snow with a slightly dizzy head.

"Were we saved?!" Kazuma is lying in the snow not understanding what happened

[...]

Haruka (Who is still transformed into Rider.) is standing next to Aqua trying to clean the goo out of her hair while Sena looks at her with disgust. Kazuma approaches Megumin and uses Drain Touch on her, placing his hand on her neck to pass on his mana and life force.

"With that you should be able to walk." Kazuma removes his hand from the girl's neck, which is now smeared with toad goo. "Look, I don't know who you are. But thank you very much."

"Ahh I wasn't trying to save anyone..." The girl looks away embarrassed. "I just think that if my rival was eaten by a toad it would be very embarrassing."

Megumin tries to get up, but slips on the goo that was on the snow and falls down again.

"Your rival?" Kazuma asks in confusion.

"You know Megumin?" Haruka approaches Kazuma and Megumin. The girl is startled by the appearance of the being in front of her.

Haruka holds out her hand to Megumin and helps her up.

"W-well, but..." The girl is flustered by Haruka's appearance, but focuses on Megumin. "But how long has it been since I've seen you, Megumin? I think it's time we sorted our-" The excited girl tries to speak, but Megumin interrupts her.

"I'm sorry, but who are you again?" Megumin speaks coldly, leaving the girl shocked. "You know, it's strange that you haven't said who you are. You sound like those scammers who approach you in the street and treat you like an acquaintance."

"All right..." The girl says embarrassed, because she knows what Megumin is doing. "It's shameful to do this in front of strangers, but..." The girl clears her throat.

"My name is Yunyun, I am an Archmage and master of advanced magic, the one who will lead the Crimson Demons." Yunyun speaks, striking a pose.

"That's Yunyun, anyway." Megumin turns to her friends. "She's the daughter of the leader of the Crimson Demons and has proclaimed herself my rival."

"So you remembered?" Yunyun asks incredulously.

"Well, if you know her..." Haruka says, walking up to Yunyun.

Yunyun is startled and swallows seeing some kind of green monster with red eyes approaching her, but her expression changes as Haruka takes off her Driver and shows her face to the girl. And the goo that was around the boy's body disappears along with the Rider armor.

"Nice to meet you! My name is Haruka Kazuya. I'm Megumin's group partner." Haruka put out his hand to greet the girl.

"How lovely..." Yunyun said quietly without realizing what she had said.

"Uh? Did you say something?" Haruka looks in confusion at the girl.

"There's..." Yunyun tries to disguise it so he doesn't notice her words. "Nothing. It's nothing." Yunyun reluctantly shakes Haruka's hand. "Nice to meet you." Yunyun looks away from Haruka.

Haruka smiles and also looks away, finding Yunyun very cute.

"Well, my name is Kazuma Satou." Kazuma says, pulling them both out of their greeting.

"Okay..." Megumin stares at them both, but puts it aside. "And what have you come here for, Yunyun?"

"Ah well..." Yunyun takes Haruka's hand and tries to pull himself together. "I was passing by and decided to take a look..." Yunyun says, looking away.

Aqua and Sena approach the group, Aqua looks down while Sena still looks suspicious.

"I still don't fully trust you." Sena shifts her gaze to Haruka, who glares back at the woman. "That doesn't remove your suspicions, but I'll let it go."

"I'll go to the guild and place the order to collect the frogs." Aqua says as she starts walking with Sena towards the city.

"And how did you meet Megumin?" Haruka asks a little curiously.

"Well..." Yunyun thought. "Sometimes at the wizard academy he'd come up to me out of the blue and challenge me to a duel, and then he'd steal my food." Yunyun speaks with a slight redness in her cheeks.

Haruka and Kazuma stared at Megumin, the explosive mage silent as the boys looked on.

"Really?" Kazuma asks the explosive mage.

"That was a matter of life and death for me." Megumin looks in Kazuma's direction. "For personal reasons, her lunch was the only thing keeping me alive."

"That's really... sad." Haruka thinks to himself.

"B-but finally!" Yunyun said, drawing everyone's attention. "Let's have a duel, Megumin."

"I'll even accept..." Megumin thinks. "Since I can't use explosive magic, I have no idea what to do in this duel. Can Haruka make any suggestions?" Megumin turns to Haruka.

"Well..." Haruka hums mentally. "Since they're both mages and one of the mages can't use magic... then I don't know." Haruka shrugged.

"How about a hand-to-hand duel?" Kazuma suggests to the girls.

"Yeah! That could be it!" Yunyun says excitedly.

"Okay then. Haruka, you'll be the judge." Megumin says, stepping aside to start the duel.

Megumin and Yunyun stand a considerable distance away to face each other. Haruka raises his arm to start the duel.

"Who do you think will win?" Haruka asks Kazuma with his arm still raised.

"Judging by their fighting stance..." Kazuma looks at Memugim and Yunyun. Megumin stands in a slightly curved position with her arms outstretched, while Yunyun is in a defensive position with her spine erect and her arms forward to fend off attacks. "Yunyun wins." Kazuma steadies her and Haruka agrees.

Haruka lowers her arm to start the duel. Yunyun slowly approaches Megumin, but notices her body reflecting the sunlight because of the goo on her body.

"Eee Megumin... your body is glowing from what happened earlier." Yunyun hesitates as she notices the toad goo on Megumin's body.

"That's right. What you're seeing on my body is the fluids from the toad's stomach." Megumin makes a frightened expression as she moves her hands in circles in the air. "You can come, and when I grab you with both arms I'll put you in a position of submission." Megumin starts walking towards Yunyun.

"It can't be... you're trying to make me lose the will to fight so I'll give up, aren't you?" Yunyun gives a nervous smile, backing away slowly as Megumin approaches.

Kazuma and Haruka look incredulously at Megumin's attitude.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Megumin makes a happy expression on her face. "And I believe that friendship means sharing suffering with each other..."

[...]

Megumin is chasing Yunyun, while trying to hug her. Yunyun runs despairingly away from Megumin, not wanting to get dirty with the toad goo.

"OK... this is so embarrassing, I don't even have words to describe it." Haruka says as she looks at the two girls running. Kazuma nods in agreement.

Megumin manages to jump on top of Yunyun, knocking her to the ground, and hugs her, soaking the girl's body in frog goo.

"Okay, now I think we should interrupt." Haruka says as she walks towards the girls.

"Yeah, you're right." Kazuma follows Haruka to the girls.

"Megumin, I think that's enough." Haruka crouches down next to the girls and nudges Megumin's shoulder.

"Okay." Megumin gets up, leaving Yunyun lying in the gooey snow. "Can we go home? I want to take a shower soon."

"We'll go in a bit and..." Kazuma looks at Yunyun who is still lying in the snow without moving. "Is she all right?"

"Yes, she is." Haruka says looking at the girl's face, who seems to be mumbling something. "She just needs to calm down a bit." Haruka stands up. "You guys go ahead, I'll wait for her to calm down and get up."

"Okay, but don't take too long, and if you stay the night, wait for us at the guild." Kazuma says before leaving with Megumin for the mansion.

[...]

"MEGUMIN!" Yunyun says excitedly, getting up quickly from the snow.

"She's already gone home." Haruka said, sitting in the snow at a considerable distance from the girl.

"You stayed here... why?" Yunyun tries to get up, but slips on the goo and falls face-first into the snow.

"You seemed to be in a trance, and since I didn't want anything bad to happen to you, I decided to wait for you to come back to reality." Haruka says, getting up and approaching the girl. Holding out his hand to help her up.

"Ah... thank you..." Yunyun stares at Haruka's face for a few seconds until she realizes she's still covered in goo. "Ahhh! My clothes!" Yunyun sits down in the snow and sees that her clothes are smeared with toad goo.

"No problem, it comes off easily in the bath." Haruka says, holding out her hand to the magician again.

"Are you sure?..." Yunyun hesitates for a moment, but takes Haruka's hand and gets up from the ship.

"Yes, Aqua told me she's been through this. Shampoo and soap are enough to get the frog goo off." Haruka speaks reassuringly.

"Ahh thank you very much..." Yunyun looks away from Haruka in embarrassment.

"Anyway..." Haruka also looks away as she scratches her cheek. "I think I'll be going." Haruka tries to leave, but Yunyun holds her arm.

"Wait!" Yunyun holds Haruka's arm, but realizes what he's done and lets go immediately. "It's just..." Yunyun tries to gather the strength to speak. "It's just that I..."

"Do you want me to show you the city?" Haruka asks, trying to be sure of what she wants.

"No, that's not it!" Yunyun waved her hands in denial. "it's just... it's just..." Yunyun tries to speak, but the words won't come out.

"You seem very nervous. You know, when I get really nervous, I imagine something I love and it calms me down." Haruka says to Yunyun. "It always works."

"Something... that you love..." Yunyun looks at Haruka, seeming a little calmer.

"Yes! Like, I remember my family when I get sad or nervous." Haruka looks up at the sky with a slight smile. "But I think it'll just be in my memories."

"In your memories?" Yunyun asks, no longer looking nervous.

"É..." Haruka keeps her gaze on Yunyun. "Look, you seem to have calmed down!" Haruka smiles at the girl.

"Yeah... yeah, yeah. I'm calmer." Yunyun scratches the back of her head a little embarrassed. "What's that bright blue thing on your arm, anyway?" Yunyun points to Haruka's left arm.

"Oh, that?" Haruka looks at the Amazon Register, which because of the fabric of the long-sleeved shirt you can see the glowing eyes of the equipment. "It's a piece of equipment I use."

"And what does it do?" Yunyun is curious because she's never seen anything like it before.

"It basically helps me control my powers." Haruka explains as Yunyun approaches, trying to get a closer look at the Amazon Register.

"Anyway, you should take a shower soon." Haruka points to the boy's slightly embarrassed face.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry!" Yunyun quickly apologized to Haruka and ran towards Axis City.

"Really... she's very different from Megumin." Haruka thinks to himself. "Even though she's a Crimson Demon, she's... pretty cute." Haruka thinks before regaining consciousness.

"All right! Enough of that!" Haruka pats her face lightly and sees that it's already getting dark. "Let's go to the guild."

PAUSE

(Night.)

Haruka sits down at a table in the guild, feeling a few stares around her. Both from the adventurers and the waitresses.

"Is that him? The monster boy?" A woman whispers to her friends.

"Is that the boy who ripped a monster's heart out with his bare hands?" A strong man speaks quietly to his companions.

"He's just a brat, he can't have done that." Another adventurer whispers.

"I was there!" A red-haired mage whispers. "I saw him turn into a green creature and then beat up that monster."

"Looks like the news spread pretty fast." Haruka lets out a sigh.

"Well, Haruka." Luna said, approaching the boy. "Have you decided what you want to order?" Luna said, reassuring the boy.

Haruka gives a slight smile, seeing that Luna isn't afraid of him. He waves his hand in denial.

"Not yet. I'm waiting for my group." Haruka says to Luna, the girl nods and goes to the adventurers' counter.

Haruka waits a few minutes for his group to show up for dinner. Hearing Aqua's voice, Haruka turns around and sees his group coming and sits down next to him, but no one is talking. Aqua and Megumin looked annoyed and Kazuma looked embarrassed. Everyone orders their food and starts eating without saying a word.

"Lolicon." Aqua says coldly to Kazuma. Haruka listens without understanding.

(Next Day.)

"Do we really have to go there?" Haruka says to his group, slightly annoyed.

"We need to find an easy way to make money." Kazuma says to Haruka. The boy holds up a black wait.

"Are you going to sell this?" Aqua asks Kazuma.

"Ouch..." Haruka sighs in frustration.

"Don't worry, it'll be quick." Megumin says to Haruka.

Haruka clicks his tongue in defeat. Everyone enters Wiz's store.

"Hi Wiz! I was wondering if I could..." Kazuma stops talking when he notices Yunyun in the store.

"She came here to-" Wiz tries to speak, but Yunyun interrupts her.

"What a coincidence!" Yunyun takes the lead. "This is clearly the work of fate, it seems our paths have crossed again Megumin!" Yunyun says before noticing Haruka's presence and looking away from the boy.

"Actually, she knew that you always come here and she's been waiting all morning." Wiz said, embarrassing Yunyun.

"What are you talking about, salesgirl?" Yunyun turns quickly to Wiz, trying to disguise herself. "I, I... I just came to buy some magic items! I want this one!" Yunyun picks up a random item she saw.

[...]

Yunyun explains to Kazuma's group why she was waiting for them in the store.

"But if you wanted to challenge Megumin to a duel, then why didn't you go to the mansion?" Kazuma asks Yunyun.

"It's just that it would be very strange for me to arrive out of the blue at the house of people I barely know." Yunyun explains, still looking away from Haruka.

"You always have ulterior motives. That's why you don't have any friends." Megumin says to Yunyun.

"That's not true! I have lots of friends. There's Funifura and Dodonka. They always have lunch with me, they're my friends, aren't they?" Yunyun asks proudly. But everyone realizes the point of these 'friends' of Yunyun's.

"Look, Yunyun." Haruka sighs. "I don't think these two are your real friends." Haruka crosses her arms.

"What do you mean?" Yunyun asks Haruka.

"It's just... these two aren't 'interested' in your friendship." Haruka says, trying not to tear Yunyun apart.

"Oh..." Yunyun frowns, but she expected it.

"But..." Megumin draws the three of them's attention. "You said you wanted a duel, didn't you? I can't use anything but my explosive magic."

"Haven't you learned any other kind of magic yet?" Yunyun asks, directing his attention to Megumin. "You must surely have Skill points left over."

"Yes, I do. But I'm going to use them all on Magic Potency and Hit Speed." Megumin says without hesitation.

"I still don't understand, why are you so obsessed with explosive magic?" Yunyun asked herself.

"There are days when it's unbearable." Haruka said without hesitation.

"HEY!" Megumin gets angry and punches Haruka in the right arm.

"Ouch! What?" Haruka giggles as she holds her arm, which is aching from the punch.

"You seem to be quite close..." Yunyun says with a little tension in what might be the answer.

"Wou!" Megumin realizes that she hasn't introduced Haruka to Yunyun. "Well, that's Haruka, my big brother!" Megumin says, pointing to Haruka. Yunyun remains silent, trying to process what she has just heard.

"Brother?..." Yunyun asks, still trying to understand. "But didn't you just have a younger sister?"

"Well..." Megumin strikes an extravagant pose. "Because Haruka is an illegitimate child from my mother's former marriage, so he had to be hidden and..."

"We're considered brothers." Haruka says, interrupting Megumin. The explosive mage gets annoyed and starts punching Haruka weakly in the arm.

"Ahh, not so bad..." Yunyun sighs with relief. "But can we still have that duel?" Yunyun asks excitedly.

"No." Megumin replies coldly to the girl.

"What? Why?" Yunyun asks looking incredulous and sad.

"I'm kind of busy right now." Megumin says, trying to avoid the duel.

"Why not?" Haruka asks Megumin. "It's just a challenge."

"It just so happens..." Megumin tries to speak, but Haruka interrupts her.

"If you win, I'll let you fly the Junglarder." Haruka speaks and in the same instant...

"DONE!" Megumin shouts, preparing for the duel.

[...]

"Are they still at it?" Kazuma asks Haruka, as he grabs a chair and sits down next to him and Aqua.

"That hasn't gone far enough, has it?" Aqua asks, taking a cookie and biting into it.

"It's been two minutes, they can handle it." Haruka says, watching the girls doing the plank exercise.

Megumin and Yunyun stared at each other as they stood with their elbows on the ground and their bodies upright, straining to stay upright. The two girls looked as if they were going to die from the force they were exerting.

"And they'll give in...3...2...and..." Haruka says, and when they reach 1, they both fall to the ground breathing heavily.

"Who... who won?..." Megumin breathes heavily, feeling her stomach ache.

"It's a draw." Haruka says, getting up from the table and going to the counter to get two glasses of water.

"Draw..." Yunyun mutters. A slight smile appears on his face. "A draw..."

"Get some rest." Haruka hands the glasses of water to the girls. "You had a great duel." Haruka smiles at the mages.

"Thanks..." Megumin sits on the floor and picks up the glass of water and starts to drink.

"Thanks a lot, Haruka..." Yunyun picks up the glass and starts to drink.

The two girls groan in pain, feeling their bellies burn after drinking the water.

"I'm going to have to talk..." Kazuma pauses dramatically. "That's pretty funny!" Kazuma laughs at the magicians.

(End of chapter.)

Note: There it is! Haruka's romantic partner. I'm sorry, but this FIC is about 70% complete in my head, and some events I had already thought of in advance. As the romantic partner of this "OC", I'm sorry, but I love Yunyun too much. She's easily one of my top three characters in the book. One more thing, Yunyun will be 15 in this fic. I know that in the anime she's the same age as Megumin, who is 14, but in this fic I decided to make her 15 so she wouldn't be too far away from Haruka, since he's 16.

That's all folks, see you in the next chapter!