Watching the Headless Knight struggling to breathe in the deep crater, Megumin's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Looks like you can't hold on anymore. As payment for serving as my target, take my final full-powered Explosion Magic and depart in peace!"
"Well then, I really must thank you!"
Even now, the Headless Knight didn't forget to crack a sarcastic remark.
At the same time, he finally let out a sigh of relief—at last, he no longer had to endure this torture.
His answer was met with a loud shout.
"Explosion!"
The final blast of Explosion Magic detonated above the Headless Knight's head. Its power and dazzling spectacle far surpassed the very first one Megumin had cast.
When the shockwaves dispersed, the Headless Knight's figure had already vanished into the crater.
"Ah! That felt so good!"
Her mana spent and stamina drained, Megumin collapsed into Eriri's arms, her face brimming with satisfaction.
In the past, she could only cast Explosion Magic once a day. Now she had unleashed several months' worth of spells in one go, filling her with an indescribable sense of joy.
"You may be feeling good now, but your sister Ilina and Lilian still haven't experienced the thrill of battle yet."
Eriri smiled as she pinched Megumin's cheek, then once again restored her mana.
"Hehe, next time we encounter monsters, I'll let them handle it. I won't steal the spotlight."
Megumin slipped out of Eriri's arms, standing tall once again with her own strength.
Eagerly, she pulled out her adventurer card. The moment her eyes fell on the mana section, her face lit up with joy.
Her mana parameter had already tripled compared to before fighting the Headless Knight.
It felt like a dream. What had once been painstakingly difficult to increase was now growing by leaps and bounds.
She felt endlessly grateful to have joined Eriri's party.
After finishing off the Headless Knight, Eriri and the others set out once again to seek new monsters.
...
Heading in the opposite direction from where the Headless Knight had come, they soon entered a forest—and there, they encountered a new group of monsters.
They looked like rabbits, about the size of small dogs, with adorable round eyes and fluffy fur.
But on their foreheads grew sharp horns.
"So cute!"
Seeing the cluster of rabbits gathered together, Lilian's eyes sparkled with delight.
"Don't be fooled by their cuteness, Lilian. These creatures are filthy monsters. They maliciously act cute, pretending to be harmless, then ambush their targets."
"Megumin, how do you know so much about them? Don't tell me you've met them before?"
"Of course! They're called One-Shot Rabbits. Yunyun and I ran into them a few days ago. But under my Explosion Magic, they were nothing worth mentioning! Hahahaha!"
Megumin leaned on her staff, puffed out her chest, and let out a hearty laugh.
Hearing the unfamiliar name "Yunyun," Lilian tilted her head curiously.
"Megumin, who's Yunyun? Her name sounds similar to yours. Is she your friend?"
"She's my rival and friend, also a member of the Crimson Demon Clan. But she left Axel a few days ago. Otherwise, I could've introduced you."
"What a pity," Lilian said, shaking her head with slight regret.
Megumin didn't mind. Instead, she shifted her gaze to Eriri.
"Eriri, should we take down these rabbits? There might even be a commission at the guild for subjugating One-Shot Rabbits. We could turn it in afterward."
"Hmm… Ilina, Lilian, how about the two of you go deal with them together? It'll be a good warm-up before you face stronger monsters."
Eriri left the choice to the two girls.
"Rabbits may be cute, but since Eriri-nee asked me, I won't back down!"
Lilian patted her chest, her little face full of determination.
"I don't mind either."
Ilina nodded firmly as well. After all, she had long been eager for battle.
Before making a move, Lilian handed her livestreaming phone to Eriri.
"Eriri-nee, can you help me stream for a while?"
"Of course. Go fight without worry—I'll capture all your gallant moments for the livestream~"
Eriri readily took the phone and aimed the camera at Lilian.
Seeing Lilian appear on screen for the first time that day, the viewers in the livestream immediately burst into heated discussion.
[Finally, we get to see Princess Lilian. As expected, she's still as cute as ever.]
[So Princess Lilian is about to fight those horned rabbits? I've never seen Her Highness in battle before!]
[Does anyone know what Level her superpower has reached?]
[Not sure, but it can't be too low.]
[Good luck, Princess! Show them England's pride!]
[…]
Under the eager eyes of the viewers, Lilian and Ilina rushed straight toward the pack of One-Shot Rabbits.
Just as Megumin had warned, the One-Shot Rabbits didn't attack immediately. They continued pretending to be harmless creatures, their round eyes full of false innocence.
But Lilian and Ilina didn't give them any chance to ambush. From the start, they launched their assault.
In an instant, flashes of dazzling white light illuminated the forest.
Ilina's attacks resembled Lilian's—clear proof that her superpower attribute was the same: "Light."
Truly fitting for cousins. Even their awakened abilities matched.
Each flash of white light meant another One-Hit Rabbit had fallen.
Once attacked, the rabbits abandoned their harmless facade and went mad, charging at Ilina and Lilian like arrows loosed from a bow, their horns aimed to pierce.
If their individual strength had reached the level of advanced monsters, they might have posed a real threat. But they were only low-level creatures. No matter how many there were, sheer numbers meant nothing against overwhelming power.
With light forming shields around them, Ilina and Lilian easily blocked the horned charges. The rabbits couldn't break through at all, leaving themselves open to slaughter.
As the battle went on, the two girls grew increasingly skilled. A single light sword, light arrow, or even a burst of radiant energy could wipe out large groups of One-Shot Rabbits.
Though the monsters came in waves, they couldn't withstand such relentless destruction.
After about half an hour, the forest floor was piled high with rabbit corpses—easily several thousand. And that was only part of it, as many had been blasted to pieces without leaving a body behind.
The last few dozen rabbits finally lost their nerve. They scattered in all directions, abandoning their suicidal courage.
Ilina and Lilian didn't bother to pursue them.
Even though they had only slain monsters, unease lingered in their hearts. It was, after all, their first time killing—and they had killed so many at once. Feeling uncomfortable was natural.
This was precisely the effect Eriri had intended. She wanted them to gradually adapt to the reality of killing. Otherwise, in the future, facing human opponents, they might hesitate—and hesitation could be fatal.
"I'm very satisfied with your performance."
Eriri gave both girls a warm smile as she welcomed them back, then hugged each of them gently.
Feeling the warmth radiating from Eriri, Ilina and Lilian's pale faces quickly regained color, their emotions settling down.
After releasing Lilian, Eriri handed the phone back to her.
"Here's your phone. Take a look at the livestream chat—everyone's praising you."
"Really? Let me see!"
Lilian quickly grabbed the phone and eagerly checked the livestream chat. Instantly, she saw a flood of comments praising her and Ilina.
[Princess Lilian truly lives up to being England's princess. Her strength is incredible, and Light abilities are so rare!]
[She's definitely above Level 6. To think I'm still just a small Level 3… I can't help but envy her.]
[Lady Ilina is amazing too—worthy of being Princess Victoria's daughter.]
[…]
Alongside the praise, there were also comments offering comfort.
Even though the audience couldn't understand what Eriri and the others were saying, they could read enough from Ilina and Lilian's expressions.
[Don't be sad, Your Highness. Those rabbit-like monsters weren't good creatures. By slaying them, you rid the people of harm.]
[Exactly. Just look at how vicious they became later—you can tell right away they weren't innocent.]
[…]
Of course, in addition to praise and comfort, a few self-righteous viewers inevitably appeared, condemning them for "needlessly slaughtering rabbits."
They wrote things like, "Monsters are lives too. How could you just take their right to live?"
But such voices were very few, and any comment of that kind was immediately swarmed by rebuttals, quickly buried beneath the flood of other messages.
...
By the time the One-Hit Rabbit subjugation was over, it was already three in the afternoon.
Lilian ended her first livestream in another world.
After half an hour of slaughter, Eriri decided not to have Ilina and Lilian continue hunting that day. She planned to let them rest and resume tomorrow, when they could challenge even stronger prey.
Collecting all the rabbit corpses from the forest, Eriri then led the group back toward Axel.
This time, however, they didn't walk. Instead, Eriri used spatial teleportation.
Still, she didn't teleport them directly into the city. Instead, she chose to appear on the plains just a few hundred meters from the city gates.
Since teleportation magic was nearly universal among the Crimson Demons, Megumin wasn't surprised at all to see Eriri use it to bring them back near Axel.
At that exact moment, not far from where they appeared, a boy and girl adventurer duo were engaged with a Giant Frog.
Yet instead of cooperating, the frog was chasing the boy while the girl stood laughing loudly, showing no intent to help.
But her laughter was cut short when the Giant Frog suddenly changed course and swallowed her whole—leaving only her legs kicking outside its mouth.
Seeing this, the boy panicked and rushed at the frog with his short sword.
After a fierce struggle, he finally smashed the frog's head and dragged the girl free.
The girl, now covered in frog slime, crouched on the grass hugging her knees, sobbing miserably.
This comical sight was witnessed in full by Eriri's group, leaving them all with strange expressions.
Eriri, Darkness, and Eris instantly recognized the pair: none other than Kazuma Satou and Aqua, the main characters of the original story.
Eris knew Aqua especially well—after all, no matter what else, Aqua was her senior.
"Are those two idiots?" Megumin muttered, unable to resist commenting.
Lilian also couldn't hold back her laughter. "Hahaha, they're so funny!"
"It can't be helped—it is Aqua-senpai, after all…" Eris sighed helplessly.
She knew her senior's personality all too well, and such foolishness was hardly surprising. Not to mention, thanks to Darkness' shared memories, she had gained an even deeper impression of Aqua.
"Eris, that idiot-looking one is your senior?" Megumin asked in surprise, then suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Now that I think about it, your names are the same as the goddesses—Goddess Eris and Goddess Aqua. I wonder what your parents were thinking, giving you such names."
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