NOTICE: This Prologue is a tragic origin story, but the rest is Konosuba-style set a couple of years after Volume 17. There are only minor references to the light novels, but SPOILER ALERT if you're reading the light novels.

Prologue: The Demon King's Daughter

Hundreds of years ago…

"Hello, sir. Where can I find the guild?"

The man looked down at a little girl with blonde hair and a toad on her shoulder. "Hello there. Are you lost? Where are you parents?"

The girl looked anxious. "They told me to meet them at the guild as a hide-and-seek game."

The man blinked. "Those must be some confused parents."

He crouched and pointed. "Take a right after the blacksmith's shop, and then take the next left. You can't miss it."

She smiled. "Thank you, mister."

He smiled back. "Anything for such a well-mannered little girl."

Then he frowned. "There's a… small toad on your shoulder."

She turned to the toad. "This is my pet. He's well-mannered too."

The man paused. "...Okay, then. Do you need me to guide you?"

She shook her head. "No, thank you. I can find my way now."

He looked anxious as he stood up, but then he smiled again. "Well, may the blessings of Aqua-sama be with you."

She nodded. "To you as well."

The little girl walked towards the blacksmith's shop. When she was out of earshot of the man, she let out the breath she was holding.

The toad turned his head and whispered, "I was that close to poisoning him."

"Oh, hush," The girl whispered coarsely. "If you did that, I'd let the humans eat you alive."

"Good, because they'd be dead from my poison by the time I reincarnated."

"Hah! You hate being eaten."

The toad hissed. "It's worthwhile thanks to your soft spot for humans, Momotaro."

"Tsk. It's not a soft spot, Lazezo."

"You smooth-talked that girl you're wearing for over fifteen minutes!"

Suddenly, a wheelbarrow of cabbages bumped on a rock. The brunette boy lost his grip on the wheelbarrow and spilled the cabbages all over the street. He put his hands on his head and sighed. "My cabbages."

The boy kneeled down, fumbling with the cabbages on the ground. He filled his hands with cabbages and stood up. He paused. The cart was upright and already filled with cabbages.

"Done."

He looked at the girl. Her outstretched hand held one last cabbage. Then he noticed the frog on her shoulder. It looked out of place.

He looked back at the girl as he took the cabbage. "T-Thank you?"

The girl bowed slightly. "You're welcome."

She turned around the corner of the blacksmith's shop.

Lazezo stared at her. "You just can't stop yourself, can you?"

Momotaro sighed. "I guess not. I got it from Mother."

Lazezo inhaled sharply. "Sister, we don't need to do this. Father can tell us how he accomplished his mission back home."

Momotaro shook her head. "I'm not going to take his word for it anymore. He keeps exaggerating his stories. I saw him practice two nights ago."

Lazezo gripped his toad hands on her. "You snuck out!?"

Momotaro looked down. "He's getting reckless at his age. We need to help him if he—"

Screams filled the streets, and people were running.

Momotaro faced forward. "That's him. Let's go."

"Wait! I'm not good at holding on to things!"

"You're a toad. Figure it out."

Momotaro jogged past the crowd and hid behind one of the urban trees. While people were running away, two funny-looking adventurers stood their ground on the front steps of the guild. To the left was a male adventurer, and to the right was a female mage.

Across from the adventuring duo was a demon with his own mage, though the demon was facing the wrong way.

"Where are they?" The demon mumbled. "Heh. They must have ran away like cowards."

The mage tapped on the demon's shoulder and pointed at the guild.

Lazezo turned his head. "Father had himself teleported?"

Momotaro scoffed. "What better surprise than to teleport in front of the enemy, genius?"

"Azazyel!"

The male adventurer yelled at the demon. Everyone turned to the voice.

The demon turned to the male adventurer. "Yasaka…"

Then he faced the female adventurer. "… and Gion Kyouichi. The puny human adventurers." He chuckled. "Were you waiting for me? Sorry I took so long."

The male adventurer Yasaka moved into a cool fighting position with his sword. "Your life ends here!"

The female adventurer Gion lifted her staff. "Prepare to be defeated!"

Azazyel grinned and made a ball of fire in his right hand. "Your deaths will be as amusing as your arrogance. Soon, my demons will walk freely on these lands again!"

Lazezo hopped on Momotaro's shoulder. "Ahh, this is it! I can't wait for their blood to splatter all over the place."

Momotaro frowned in silence. A serious look took over her face.

Lazezo turned to her. He inspected her face. "Sister, come on! Father remains undefeated. Are you really going to doubt his strength now?"

Momotaro sighed. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

The toad looked back at the incoming fight with a worrisome look. A glowing ball formed in Gion's hands.

Yasaka scoffed and grinned. "Last chance, demon!"

Azazyel closed his eyes. Within a moment of silence, he growled in a whisper. "These deaths are on you, Aqua-sama."

His eyes opened with a flaming fury. "Eternal Suffering!"

"Ultimate Demon Slayer!" x 2

Azazyel sprinted at Yasaka. The adventurer lifted his sword behind him, then stepped to the side to avoid the demon's punch. At the same time, Gion threw the glowing ball at the tip of Yasaka's sword, which covered the sword in the same glow. Then Yasaka swung his sword with all his might, cutting the demon in half.

All of this happened in a blink of an eye.

The girl and the toad gasped.

The two halves of Azazyel fell on the ground and rolled away from the two adventurers. A few seconds later, the body puffed into dust. Momotaro and Lazezo were frozen in shock.

Cheers rang throughout the town. People started to come back and peek out of their hiding places.

The two adventurers smiled and waved, clearly enjoying the attention. Then they glared at the demon's mage.

The mage looked around in panic. Then his eyes landed on Momotaro and Lazezo. He ran up to them and hugged them.

"Teleport!"

They landed in the forest near the entrance of town. The Demon King's army was waiting nearby.

The mage panted. "Wha— What are you two doing here!? Both of you… ow… could've been killed!"

Lazezo jumped off his sister while turning back into his demon form. "It was her. She dragged me into this."

Momotaro pointed back. "What!? You wanted to see the fight too!"

Lazezo turned to her. "You wanted to claim that Father wasn't capable of fighting the humans!"

"That's not what I said! I wanted to protect him!"

"Oh really? What a fantastic job. Why else would you be a bystander?"

"How was I supposed to know when—"

"Enough, you two!" The mage waved his hands and took a breath. "We need to regroup… while the Demon King comes back. Actually, I don't know when he will come back. Even I told him this was a bad idea. That evil mage clearly knows about the… Princess Momotaro, are you listening?"

Still in human form, Momotaro stared at the village entrance. Her head swarmed with questions and pain while she tried to keep a straight face. Her father had long dreamed of a better world for demons, a world that wasn't banished by a stupid goddess. If he came back now, the injustice would be too great.

Lazezo reached out. "Sister…"

With a few tears in her eyes, she commanded with a low assertive tone. "Go. I'll hold them off."

The mage froze. "But you can't! If you die, then—"

Momotaro turned to the mage, grinding her teeth with a glare. "I won't die. I won't be the one who dies. Take the army back, and make a better plan before my father comes back."

The mage turned to Lazezo, who raised his hands. "Don't look at me. I'm not the one who made her second in command."

The mage pursed his lips, then made a sharp exhale. "All units, retreat!"

Villager: "There he is!"

Momotaro whipped her human head at the town. A villager pointed straight at the mage, and more humans were coming out of the village. If the humans find her casually talking with demons…

There was only one course of action.

She kneeled on the grass and rubbed her eyes. "Heeeelp! They killed my parents!"

Lazezo snickered, playing along. "Women, am I right?"

"And he violated me!"

"H-Hey! Don't point at me!"

"Get them!" x 5

A group of villagers shouted. The two adventurers rushed out of the village entrance, then turned to the Demon King's army.

The army scurried off into the forest. The mage grabbed a protesting Lazezo and teleported away.

Momotaro was left behind in her human form. The townspeople rushed past the kneeling girl. She was still crying, but not because of her cover story.

Her father was meant to be the strongest of the demons. He was a loving father to Momotaro and Lazezo while vicious to anyone in the way of his family. She grew up in the perfect home for all demons, a shining example of what life could be like here in the real world. She was taught to have no mercy for the wrong things and to always be at her best for the right things. That demons were never destined to be bad.

And yet her father was defeated with one swing of a sword. It didn't matter when he would be revived. If he could be revived.

One swing was all it took to take her father.

One swing…

Gion: "Are you all right, little one?"

Momotaro looked up with swollen eyes. The female mage kneeled before her with a hand on her shoulder. Momotaro could hear the male adventurer trying to track down the Demon King's army in the distance.

She sniffed. "I-I'm fine. Thank you."

The female mage smiled. "I'm Gion Kyouichi. My husband is Yasaka Kyouichi. What's your name?"

"...Momotaro."

Gion made a small smile. "Momotaro. It is a lovely name."

The little girl briefly smiled. It was a male name, but it's not like her parents knew her gender before birth.

Gion looked around. "Where are your parents? Oh wait—"

Momotaro coughed. "T-They're dead."

Gion nodded. "Yes, I remember now. I'm… I'm so sorry."

Momotaro shuddered. "I-I…"

With no words, Gion pulled the girl into a hug, and she hugged back.

A few moments later, Yasaka, the male adventurer, came back. Gion let go of the hug and stood up.

"Hey, honey. It looks like the army disappeared." Yasaka smiled. "Not bad for some retired adventurers, right?"

Gion smiled briefly, then turned serious. "This girl just lost her family."

Yasaka turned to Momotaro, who was standing up. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you will be able to find a new family. Now that I think about it—"

Gion frowned. "Honey, you know we are not ready for a family yet."

Yasaka raised his hands. "Hey, I meant the Divengis can raise her. They've been looking to adopt someone for years now."

Gion gasped. "Oh, that's right. Tell them to meet us at our farm. We still owe them some of our cabbages."

Yasaka nodded. "Good idea. I'll tell them right now."

He ran into the town, leaving the two females alone in the woods.

Gion looked back at Momotaro, who was fighting to hold back her tears. Despite their kindness, an intense hatred for the couple was building inside Momotaro. Her head was swirling with feelings and dark thoughts, fueling the demon inside. Her father, her childhood, her training, the hatred of the gods, the image of the sword cutting the Demon King. She wanted revenge, to avenge her father, to strike down vengeance on his murderers, but she couldn't blow her cover now.

Or could she?

Amidst the mental chaos, an idea started to form.

Gion: "Momotaro?"

The girl jerked her head up. "C-Can you stay with me for a little longer? I…"

Gion nodded. "Of course. Anything."

An hour later…

Yasaka walked outside through the doors of his homemade cottage, wondering what was taking Gion so long. Maybe the little girl wanted something to eat. Maybe her family wasn't dead after all. Maybe she mistook some other people as her family.

Anything is possible, especially in this world.

Yasaka and his wife had been through a lot together. They met while fighting giant toads. After that, nothing could stop them. No monster was strong enough to match them. After all, the most feared monster on the planet was now slain by their hands.

The lack of a climax during today's battle was a letdown, but that's the price of a sword that can carry any spell.

All that's left now is the wish of the goddess.

Yasaka spotted a familiar woman in the distance. However, a certain girl was not with her.

He jogged from his porch, past the garden, and pushed open the front gates of their home.

Yasaka stretched out his hands. "Gion, hey."

As soon as he reached her, he kissed her forehead. She became a little jumpy.

Yasaka pulled back. "Are you okay? Where's the girl?"

Gion blinked furiously. "U-Umm, she ran away. I tried to find her, but… but…"

"Oh honey. I'm so sorry. Come here."

Yasaka pulled Gion into a hug. She was shaking and she didn't hug back, but she started to calm down. Sometimes, Gion would look like the strongest person in the world, but her hard decisions were met with feelings just as strong. As if nothing else in the world mattered.

Yasaka squeezed his hug. "It's going to be alright. Don't worry."

Her breaths were sharp. "I… I couldn't stop her. This… this could mean—"

"Shhh. We'll find her. No, the village will find her. Right now, let's just relax."

Yasaka let go and held Gion's arms. "We'll tell the Divengis, and then they'll tell the village."

She gulped, then nodded. "... okay."

Yasaka smiled and headed back to the gates. "In the meantime, let's celebrate! Do you think we should use our wish to give the Divengis a child? I'm getting tired of the lady asking us for one."

Gion made a small smile. "... I think so. It is only right to help others."

His smile grew wider. To him, this was paradise, no matter what the future held.

Yasaka walked through the open gates.

Gion dropped the bloody knife she was hiding under her sleeve and followed him.