Chapter 865: A Staff Is Not Such an Inconvenient Thing!
On the outskirts of Axel stood a noble villa.
Situated on flat ground and spanning hundreds of square meters, this villa had been a haunted house until half a month ago, rumored to harbor a vicious ghost that kept everyone from daring to reside there.
Half a month ago, Kazuma's party took on the task and resolved the ghost problem overnight. In gratitude, the real estate agent offered them the villa to live in for free "until its bad reputation completely disappears."
Thanks to this, Kazuma and the other three safely weathered the coldest part of winter. Combined with Kazuma's current collaboration with Barnier, selling modern goods, they were now living quite comfortably.
"Boss, please!"
Kazuma Satou opened the villa's iron gate and ushered Eiji into the front yard.
He was grinning like an obsequious lackey.
"It seems there really was a ghost here."
Eiji's gaze swept around the villa before finally settling on the shallow grave beneath the towering tree outside.
"There really was! It scared the hell out of me back then. Good thing Aqua was actually useful for once!"
Remembering how he'd been chased around by the ghost, Kazuma still felt a lingering fear.
"I'm back!"
Arriving at the main door, Kazuma took out his keys and unlocked it.
The moon was bright now, a crescent hanging high in the sky—night had clearly fallen.
After returning to Axel, Eiji had parted ways with Yuuma and the others.
Kazuma had enthusiastically invited him to the villa, and unable to refuse—plus having nothing else to do—Eiji had come along to their party's residence.
"Kazuma, listen to me, that Aqua got tricked by a door-to-door salesman again—Huh?"
Appearing at the entrance was a golden-haired, blue-eyed girl.
Unlike her armored daytime attire, she wore a pure white home dress at their base. Standing at 170 cm, she was slightly taller than Kazuma.
Though she looked young, her tall figure was curvaceous, with contours forming a perfect S-shape, radiating feminine charm.
Truly deserving of Kazuma's title as "the woman in charge of the erotic route"—Darkness!
"Aqua! Megumin! Come out, we have a guest!"
Upon seeing Eiji at the door, Darkness instantly turned and rushed into the living room, shouting to her other two companions.
"What? That super-rich, stylish guy is here?"
"What? The one who could become my believer and wallet is here?"
The entire villa descended into chaos.
"What the hell?"
Kazuma looked utterly exasperated as he led Eiji into the living room.
Then he froze.
"What are you... doing?"
In the living room, the chuuni loli dramatically swept her cloak aside, raising her staff high, her crimson eyes glowing with excitement.
"My name is Megumin! The greatest mage of the Crimson Demon Clan and master of Explosion Magic! The one destined to reach the pinnacle of Explosion Magic! I've heard you're a famous great mage in Axel. Come, face me in a duel! If I win, you'll hand over your staff to me!"
On the other side, the idiot goddess, dressed in a light blue nightgown, softly chanted an incantation. A brilliant holy light surged around her, and her expression turned as pure and devout as a faithful believer.
"O lost lamb, standing before you is this holy, great, beautiful, charming, gentle, lovely, intelligent, and wise... woman, the one and only genuine goddess of the heavens! Kneel and profess your faith, saying you're willing to devote your life to serving the great Aqua-sama, who eats and drinks for free!"
"Thwack!"
"Thwack!"
"Don't you dare disrespect my boss!!"
Kazuma delivered two sharp raps to their heads, his furious roar echoing through the entire villa.
Damn it all!
If these troublemakers ruined his standing with the boss and made him seem like a liability too, what would he do?
"Kazuma, how dare you take this seriously?"
Megumin crouched on the floor, tears welling in her eyes.
"That's right, Kazuma, how dare you hit a goddess! I'll curse you, I swear! I'll curse all the drinks you ever have to turn into plain water! Scared now? If you're scared, apologize to me right now! Hurry up and apologize!"
Aqua held her head, looking smugly at Kazuma.
"Please don't mind these details, boss!"
Ignoring the foolish Aqua, Kazuma forced an awkward smile toward Eiji.
He'd been so focused on currying favor with the boss that he'd forgotten how easily the troublemakers at home could drive anyone insane. He could only hope the boss wouldn't be overwhelmed by them!
"This is quite entertaining!"
Eiji crossed his arms and let out a light laugh.
"You there, the chuuni loli, if you want the magic wand in my hand, let's compare staff techniques! And you, the idiot goddess, if you want me to become your believer, bring me eight or ten divine artifacts first!"
"Really?"
"You have my word!"
Megumin's eyes sparkled; she'd been coveting the magic wand in Eiji's hand for ages! With that wand, the power of her Explosion Magic would surely reach new heights!
Aqua vanished in a blur, leaving Kazuma suddenly wondering if she actually had eight or ten divine artifacts hidden away. Damn it, she hadn't given him a single one!
"Bring it on!"
Megumin excitedly raised her own wand—a common one that was neither cheap nor expensive.
"Blacker than black, darker than dark, I beseech thee to coalesce with my crimson glow! The time of awakening is at hand, the fall of the absurd church's principles—"
"You little loli, what kind of magic are you chanting?!"
Kazuma Satou stared at her in horror.
Explosion Magic!
That's Explosion Magic, you idiot!
One blast, and this villa would be done for—reduced to rubble! No, more importantly, he definitely couldn't withstand Explosion Magic. He'd die!
"Whack!"
A wand shot out like lightning, striking Megumin squarely on the head.
"...Didn't you say we were comparing staff techniques?"
"Exactly, we are comparing staff techniques!"
Eiji stated matter-of-factly, "Don't tell me you thought 'staff techniques' meant the skill of casting magic with a wand? How narrow-minded! Truly narrow-minded! Is a wand really such an inconvenient tool?!"
"I-I see... I've learned something new today..."
Megumin's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the floor, the unfinished spell naturally dissipating.
"Saved!"
Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing the relief of someone who'd narrowly escaped disaster.
He hadn't died in the Demon King's Castle, only to almost be killed by his own companions!
"Honestly, both Megumin and Aqua are overreacting so much!"
Darkness stepped forward, muttering discontentedly as she moved Megumin onto the sofa.
After carefully examining Megumin's head for a while and finding no visible injuries, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you playing the mother role?"
Eiji rubbed his chin, asking curiously.
"Who's a mother! I'm just slightly older than them and feel I should at least take on some responsibility as the elder!"
Darkness immediately flushed bright red, retorting with intense reaction.