Not long after the petite girl sat down, a waiter came over.
"Would you like to order something?"
"No, I'll just sit here for a while."
The girl didn't order anything, casually dismissing the waiter with a single sentence.
Then she slumped forward onto the table, clutching her stomach with one hand. Soon, the pitiful gurgle of her stomach echoed in the air.
Naturally, her situation had already been noticed by Eriri and the others. Darkness, in particular, looked curiously at the girl lying on the table.
"Eriri, she's…"
Of course, Darkness recognized her. This was none other than Megumin, a Crimson Demon girl who, in her original life trajectory, would have been one of her adventurer party companions.
When Darkness had first learned about her life's "future events," she had wondered how she might react if she ever met those people in reality.
Over the past few months, she had encountered several individuals who were supposed to appear in her original future. But she had never deliberately sought them out, since they were just part of a vision of what might have been. To her, they carried no real emotional weight.
Her conclusion was simple: the future was just the future. It had nothing to do with who she was now. Ever since joining the chat group, her future was destined to change anyway. All she needed to do was live according to her own will. Whether or not she crossed paths with those people again would depend on fate.
Even so, now that she was face-to-face with a former would-be teammate, she couldn't help feeling a little curious.
"To think we'd meet her the very first time we came to the guild. Looks like fate is tying us together."
Naturally, Eriri also recognized Megumin. She had already planned that if they met, she would invite her into their party.
She hadn't expected Megumin to appear right beside them of her own accord.
And judging by her condition, she was clearly starving.
So Eriri extended an invitation.
"Hey, little one over there. Want to come and eat with us?"
Hearing Eriri's voice, Megumin instantly raised her head, revealing a delicate, flawless face. Her left eye was hidden under an eyepatch, leaving her features half-concealed.
For a moment, she was stunned by Eriri's beauty. But soon her gaze locked onto the food spread across the table.
"Are you… talking to me?" Megumin asked expectantly, swallowing hard.
"Of course. There's no one else here besides you."
Eriri nodded, smiling faintly.
With Eriri's confirmation, Megumin didn't hesitate. She immediately stood up and hurried over to their table.
Without a word, she grabbed a large piece of meat with bone still attached and devoured it like someone who hadn't eaten in days.
Watching her eat so ravenously, Darkness and the others were dumbfounded. Eriri, however, simply shook her head in amusement.
"Slow down. No need to rush. There's plenty of food here—you'll get your fill."
Hearing this, Megumin lifted her head, though her cheeks were stuffed full of food, making it impossible to speak.
Only after forcing the mouthful down did she beam at Eriri with heartfelt gratitude.
"Thank you for feeding me. Otherwise, I really would've starved!"
"No need to thank me. It's just a meal. Sit down and eat with us."
Their table was formed by joining two together, leaving plenty of space. Ilina and Lilian sat on either side of Eriri, while Darkness and Eris sat opposite.
Hearing Eriri's invitation, Megumin didn't hold back. She sat down right beside Darkness without a hint of hesitation.
"Thank you so much—you're really a good person!"
Megumin once again thanked Eriri before continuing to eat.
Eriri and the others didn't say much, simply watching her quietly.
Compared to her earlier ravenous devouring, Megumin was now eating with more composure. After all, the large hunk of meat she had just eaten had already dulled her hunger pangs, though she still wasn't full yet. What she wanted now was to eat as much as possible, ideally enough to last her for the next two days.
Unfortunately, her little stomach couldn't hold that much. Before long, she could eat no more, and could only gaze regretfully at the plates still piled with food.
Then an idea struck her—if she joined Eriri's party, wouldn't she never have to worry about food again?
And besides, she truly wanted to find a party to join. If she could, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
But first, she needed to know if Eriri and the others really were an adventurer party.
Acting on her thought, Megumin asked directly:
"Kind one, are you an adventurer party?"
"That's right. Why do you ask?"
Eriri nodded with interest, watching her closely.
At that, Megumin's eyes lit up. She stood, gripping her staff, and stepped into the empty space beside the table. With a dramatic laugh, she struck a pose.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph… This fated encounter is the choice of the world itself. I had long awaited meeting people such as you!"
She placed her right hand against her face, her crimson eye gleaming with red light. With a dramatic sweep of her cloak, she grabbed the brim of her hat and struck a full chuunibyou stance.
"I am Megumin! My profession is Archwizard, wielder of the ultimate attack magic—Explosion!"
"My power is so great, the world has deemed it taboo. Do you crave this forbidden might?"
Megumin fixed her gaze on Eriri, her heart pounding nervously, terrified she would be rejected.
"So, what you want is to join our party, right?"
Eriri smiled, not showing the slightest hint of ridicule at her chuunibyou performance.
Darkness and Eris also weren't surprised. They had already seen this exact behavior in their vision of the future, so seeing it in person now didn't faze them.
After all, seeing it in a vision or in reality made little difference.
Ilina and Lilian, however, reacted differently.
As an otaku, Ilina immediately recognized Megumin as a classic chuunibyou case. She smiled knowingly.
Lilian, still at the age where chuunibyou tendencies spark fascination, stared at Megumin with shining eyes. She thought Megumin's performance was incredibly cool, and even felt the urge to ask her to be her teacher.
Under Eriri's gaze, Megumin calmed down.
"Yes. Please let me join your party!"
She bowed deeply, her expression sincere.
She had only arrived in Axel not long ago, and though she had joined several adventurer parties during this time, her results had always been the same. As soon as she declared herself an Archwizard, most parties welcomed her without hesitation.
But then they discovered the truth—she was a hopeless Explosion magic fanatic, investing all her skill points into that single spell. She refused to use any other kind of magic.
Explosion was extremely mana-intensive. Most people who learned it couldn't even cast it once. Though it was the most powerful offensive spell available to humans, it was also regarded as a "useless" magic.
Megumin's magic power was indeed formidable, but she could still only manage a single Explosion before draining all her mana and stamina, collapsing into a burden for her team.
As a result, after finishing quests, her companions would always distance themselves from her. Now, no one was willing to let her join.
"I see…"
Eriri didn't give her an immediate answer. Instead, she acted as though she were considering it, all the while studying Megumin closely.
As time passed, Megumin grew increasingly uneasy.
If possible, Megumin truly hoped she could join Eriri's party.
Under her expectant gaze, Eriri finally nodded.
"Mm, I accept your application. Welcome to the team!"
"Yay!"
At Eriri's answer, Megumin jumped up excitedly.
"Alright then, since we're teammates now, let me introduce myself first."
Eriri gave a simple introduction—just her name, leaving out details about her adventurer registration or profession. After she finished, Darkness and Eris also briefly introduced themselves. Though not in detail, it was enough for Megumin to remember everyone's names.
Afterward, Lilian eagerly struck up a conversation with Megumin.
"Megumin, why are you wearing an eyepatch? Is your eye injured? Do you want me to heal it?"
Lilian's awakened ability was Light, which allowed her to both attack and heal. With her current power, she couldn't quite regrow limbs, but most physical injuries were easy for her to cure.
"Hmph! This is a magical tool that suppresses my overwhelming power. Should I ever remove it, a great calamity would befall this world…"
"Wow, Megumin, you're amazing!"
Seeing Lilian's sparkling eyes, Megumin turned her head away awkwardly.
"Ahem… I was only joking. It's just an ordinary eyepatch. I wear it because it looks cool, that's all…"
It seemed Megumin still had some conscience—she couldn't bring herself to deceive someone as pure-hearted as Lilian.
But Lilian simply nodded, unfazed.
"Mm-hmm, I know."
"Huh? You know? Then why did you say I'm amazing…"
Megumin was dumbfounded, unable to understand Lilian's thinking.
"Of course! Your backstory is really cool. I think it's awesome. Should I make one up for myself too?" Lilian asked innocently.
"Uh… I don't think you should…"
Megumin was at a loss. She had thought Lilian actually believed her first explanation, which was why she had hurried to clarify. But in the end, she realized the real fool was herself.
Eriri and the others didn't interrupt the two girls' chatter. They just watched with gentle smiles, like adults watching children play.
Before long, ten minutes passed, and the group finished their lunch. During that short time, Megumin and Lilian had already grown closer. Of course, Megumin also chatted with the others—Eriri already had a favorable impression of her, and Darkness and Eris felt much the same. Even Ilina, after talking with her, liked her lively personality. As for Lilian, she was naturally delighted.
Altogether, Megumin smoothly integrated into the party.
She also learned that Eriri, Ilina, and Lilian had only registered as adventurers that very day, and their party was newly formed. When she saw the parameters displayed on their registration cards, she was just as shocked as Luna had been earlier.
...
The group didn't linger long in the Adventurers Guild. Shortly after lunch, they left. Before heading out, however, Eriri casually picked up a monster subjugation quest from the counter. Though such quests were trivial for them, experiencing the adventurer process properly meant taking on a commission.
They weren't looking for powerful foes—just the experience.
"Eriri, since you're an Archwizard, do you like Explosion Magic?"
On the way outside the city, Megumin asked curiously.
"Explosion Magic? Yes, I like it quite a lot."
Hearing her answer, Megumin's face lit up with joy. She already admired Eriri for treating her to food and being so beautiful, and now knowing Eriri liked Explosion Magic too only deepened her fondness.
"Kuku, then soon I'll show you the splendor of my Explosion Magic!"
She could hardly wait to show off her skills in front of Eriri.
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