Chapter 899: I Actually Got Played?
Before deciding to come to the Crimson Demon Village this morning, following Darkness's suggestion, the group bought some snacks as gifts to give to Megumin's parents as a small courtesy for visiting. Unexpectedly, Megumin's mom brought it up first.
"Oh my, please come in, come in! You really didn't have to bring gifts, this is so embarrassing..."
Megumin's mom swiftly took the paper box with lightning speed and warmly invited everyone inside.
"Did you used to lure a lot of suckers back home too?"
Eiji quietly asked Megumin.
"Of course not! What kind of person do you think I am?"
Megumin glared at Eiji discontentedly.
"At most, I just lured a few meals back home!"
"So you really do lure people!" x4
Megumin's family was poor.
Extremely poor.
This was the strongest impression the group felt after stepping inside the house.
The most eye-catching thing was the rice jar placed in the living room—the rice inside was only a shallow layer, looking like it wasn't even enough for one meal. A glance into the kitchen revealed the lunch being cooked was just a pot of watery porridge so thin you could count the grains of rice!
"Just a small token, please don't mind it!"
Kazuma's expression shifted several times, but ultimately, he couldn't bear the torment of his conscience and handed over the entire package.
Actually, that package contained gifts for Megumin's family—originally, he had planned to eat them all himself.
Eiji, Darkness, and Aqua simultaneously shot him contemptuous looks.
Dammit, and here I thought that package was your luggage!
You even take kickbacks from mere snacks? Have you no conscience!
"Oh my, thank you so much! We can eat our fill tonight!"
Megumin's mom accepted the package with a beaming smile.
"Really? We can eat our fill tonight? Putting the rice jar in the living room really works!"
Xiaomi was immersed in the blissful meaning of the phrase "eat our fill," drool trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"This child, saying whatever comes to mind. I hope you don't mind! Please come visit often in the future!"
Megumin's mom's expression didn't change as she smoothly glossed over it with a chuckle.
"..."
Kazuma's expression shifted again.
What should I do? I kind of want to snatch the package back!
"Dear, you're back. How was business today?"
"Don't even mention it. No one recognized quality goods!"
By the time lunch began, the group had already been sitting cross-legged at the table for a while.
Megumin's dad finally returned from outside, carrying a large, coarse cloth bundle that looked well-used.
"Megumin, what does your dad do?"
"He's an item craftsman. His usual work involves designing and making various magic items, then selling them in towns where adventurers live."
Megumin glanced outside, making sure her parents hadn't noticed them yet, and quietly explained to Eiji and the others.
"But the items he makes are all very... imaginative. For example, scrolls that store flash magic and such. He insists they'd be really useful when exploring dungeons, but he hasn't managed to sell a single one!"
Huh?
Scrolls that store flash magic... why does that sound familiar?
"Dad, where did you go to sell today?"
While Eiji was lost in thought, Megumin had already gone to greet him.
"Oh, is Megumin back? I went to Axel today. There's an item shop there where the owner always appreciated my works. I used to sell them to her, but when I went today, I found the shop had changed owners. Not only did they refuse to buy any of my goods, but they unreasonably chased me out! That masked person even yelled at me, forbidding me from ever coming back. It's infuriating!"
Megumin's father plopped down on the floor, his face full of anger.
"My works are clearly masterpieces, why won't anyone buy them?"
"So it was you!"
Eiji kicked the table, shattering it to pieces!
"The table! The only usable table in our house!"
"The snacks! The snacks spilled!"
...
"Sorry, I lost my temper for a moment. I'll pay for the table."
After a while, Eiji finally calmed down.
"Is 100,000 enough?"
"Why are you looking at me?"
"I didn't bring any money. Shouldn't a subordinate share their leader's burdens?"
Kazuma sighed helplessly and took out ten 10,000-Eris bills.
"More than enough, way more than enough!"
Megumin's father immediately wiped the fierce expression off his face, beaming brightly as he accepted the compensation money. He moved so fast that Kazuma almost thought he hadn't taken the money out yet.
"By the way, didn't I send a lot of money home?"
"I used all that money to buy materials for making magic items. After all, no investment means no income!"
Megumin's father said this with such a matter-of-fact expression that Megumin instantly fell silent.
Maybe I really shouldn't send money home anymore.
"I'm Kazuma, Megumin's party leader."
"Ah, I'm Darkness, a Crusader."
"This goddess is named Aqua. Actually, I'm the real leader. Don't mind that Kazuma, he often has brain malfunctions!"
Kazuma rushed over, grabbed Aqua's head and started knocking on it while shouting about whose brain was malfunctioning.
"You're Kazuma? Kazuma Satou?"
Megumin's parents exchanged glances, their eyes full of pity.
"I thought Kazuma Satou was that rich, handsome guy. I thought our Megumin had finally caught a big fish. What a shame!"
Are you really saying this in front of your own daughter? Is that really okay?
Megumin's mother smiled with an innocent expression.
"Please forgive me!"
Kazuma bowed deeply, knocking his head loudly against the floor.
Eiji, Darkness, and Aqua all cast disdainful looks at him again.
"But, he's a good companion."
Megumin suddenly spoke up, drawing surprised stares from everyone present.
Her face turned red as she awkwardly looked away.
"Wait, ma'am, what's this?"
"Hot pot. We have to serve something decent when we have guests."
"But I saw thin porridge in the pot earlier?"
"Hehe, I never said that was our lunch!"
Eiji fell into confused silence.
He had been tricked.
Seeing the rice in the jar and the thin porridge in the pot, he had genuinely thought this family was extremely poor, which was why he specifically gave 100,000 in compensation.
Kazuma: Goddammit!
Turns out the rice in the jar was a trick, and even the thin porridge in the pot was a trick!
Is this family actually poor or not?
Why so many tricks?
No wonder Xiaomi called them easy marks as soon as she saw them!
They really are a bunch of brainless easy marks!
Tch!
In the afternoon, after dropping off their luggage at Megumin's house, the group followed her lead to tour the famous landmarks of the Crimson Demon Village.