WARNING! This chapter contains minor spoilers for the just releasing movie! If you don't want it to be spoiled, you should be able to watch the movie in a few hours from when this is posted. The spoilers are very minor however, and most of it is already covered in the trailers, but still.
Anyway, enjoy!
It was the morning after Sola had told us of the contamination.
Aqua had, after learning of the danger, left and purified every hot spring in the city a second time, though now with a much more positive reception from the owners of said springs.
Aqua entered the main room looking exhausted, but determined.
"It must have been a test run," I speculated as we ate a tense breakfast, "All the poisoned water came out at once, before stopping. Hans must have gotten to the main water, and poisoned some as it left,"
"Yeah," Aqua agreed with a yawn.
"The water source should be heavily guarded though, right?" Yunyun asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Wiz confirmed, "I don't know how he managed to infiltrate such a place,"
"Then we should investigate," I proposed, "Word of the Guild should get us in, and as far as I know, we're the strongest group of people in 50 kilometres, so there seems to be no better people to await his next attempt,"
"We're getting involved?" Megumin asked.
I sighed, "It would seem we have to. Hans is both powerful, and smart. Not an easy combination to deal with. We may be the only one who can get involved and not lose our lives," I answered.
This Hans guy was pissing me off too. He couldn't just fuck off when he knew he was discovered, nor could he just openly attack and give us lots of cannon fodder while we took him out safely, no-oo, the bitch had to be smart.
I turned to face the newest member of our party.
"Yunyun, you don't have to come with us. It will be very dangerous if we end up fighting him, and I can't guarantee we'll make it out of it alive. No one will think poorly of you if you decide to sit it out," I told her, confident that she would refuse my offer.
Her eyes widened and she hurried to show her support for us, "No! I… I won't stay behind! I'll fight with everyone so we all come back safe!" she exclaimed with determination.
I smiled at her, "Then we'll all be counting on you Yunyun, but don't forget to count on us too. We're all in this together,"
She clenched his fists and nodded her head firmly.
"Right then all. Let's go do some investigating,"
Just past the main headquarters of the Axis Cult, the large church I had found Aqua in just a couple days earlier, was the water source.
A large, pristine lake, hidden within the folds of the mountain was located just behind them.
It was a sight to behold.
"Sorry sir, no one may go further than this point," one of the two guards told me.
"Huh? Oh right, sorry, my mistake. Here," I said, handing him the note I had Sola write for me, having forgotten that I needed to give it to them first.
"Ah, Satou-san. My apologise. We were told someone from the Guild was coming. I didn't expect it to be you though. Anyway, go on through, and good luck to you sir," he responded, shortly after reading the letter.
"No problem," I returned, "You were just doing your job. Keep your eyes peeled gentlemen. This man has proven he's elusive when he wants to be,"
"Yes sir, Satou-san!" responded the second guard, "You can count on us,"
I smiled, "Then I'll leave you to your post. Goodbye gentlemen,"
"Goodbye Satou-san," they replied in unison.
"Oh, Satou-san," the first guard began, "I nearly forgot, but the manager is already here to investigate, and said no one else should come in behind him. I'm letting you and your party through because, well, you're Satou Kazuma, and you've got confirmation from the guild,"
Hans is quick.
"I see. Thank you for telling me. I'll join up with him immediately and we can begin our efforts together," I responded.
The party was ushered through the gates and we began trekking to the water.
Once out of earshot I turned to my party.
"Hans is already here. He's disguised as a manager or something. Be on your guard everyone," I warned.
Sounds of agreement were made, and weapons prepared, ready for a quick drawing when the time came.
Not long after, the sounds of a scuffle were heard. Dust and dirt being kicked up, growls, and blows were heard, caused by whatever was fighting.
We rushed to the sound, and after breaking through the tree line we discovered only the remnants of the battle.
A Rookie Killer. Or what was once a Rookie Killer. All that remained now was the dark fur skin and large sabre teeth.
"Geez. It looks like it was melted away," Aqua observed.
I had to agree. Patches of missing fur and other corrosive damage fortified her assumption.
"It looks like Hans fights with a powerful acid of some sort. When we engage, do not, under any circumstances, let it touch you, or you might end up like that thing," I told my party, waving an arm at the collection of skin.
We continued towards the sources. Even if it wasn't visible, we wouldn't lose our way.
Six pipes diverted the lake's water reserves to different parts of the city. All we had to do to get to the source was follow the pipes.
We finally reached one of the major springs, only to find the water completely black.
Aqua gasped and rushed forward and plunged her hand into the scalding water.
"Ow! Hot! Hot-hot-hot-hot-hot!" she screamed, for some reason not removing her hand.
"Take your hand out you moron!" I said, rushing forward and immediately attempting to cool the water with ice magic.
"No! I need to purify it!"
She is astoundingly stubborn.
The water slowly diluted, returning to its natural clear state, instead of the poisonous black.
With the purification complete, Aqua retracted her hand and cradled it, wary of the burnt skin.
"'Heal'!" she cast upon herself, her hand changing from the ugly pink to a normal pale colour.
"He's already poisoning them. We need to move quickly," I ordered.
"Kazuma! Even though I purified this, I can't get what's already in the tunnels!" Aqua said in a panic.
"We can worry about that when it comes through the other side. The priority is stopping Hans from poisoning any more springs," I returned.
She nodded, and the party took off at a run for the next source.
We found three more poisoned springs, all of which Aqua purified. On the way to the fifth, I spotted him.
Hans was bent over the spring, though I couldn't see what he was doing, and he was unfortunately still out of bow range.
"He's there!" I warned the party, "Get ready!"
Hans turned his head and spotted us approaching. He immediately stood and began walking towards us with a calm gait.
"What are you doing here?" he called once we were close enough, "This place is off limits to all but the manager, so how'd you all get in?"
I slowed and came to a stop, some 15 metres between him and my party.
"Yunyun!" I ordered.
"'Sabre of Light'!" she cast.
A narrow beam appeared in front of Hans, and bisected him from left shoulder to opposite hip.
His upper body began sliding down the slope of his lower body, before it stopped, and slid back into place, the diagonal cut disappearing as his skin reformed.
"Wha? What's the big idea; attacking on sight?!" he yelled, outraged, waiting for an answer.
"Megumin!" I instead instructed.
"'Detonate'!" she cast, and the small explosion went off right by his bellybutton.
His insides were blown backwards, despite the force only being sufficient to knock a man down.
But they weren't really insides. It was black and gelatinous, looking more like jelly than anything else.
Wiz gasped, "A black poison slime! He must be a black poison slime!"
Fuck.
Essentially immune to physical attacks, incredibly resilient to magical attacks, poisonous and acidic enough to kill a normal man with just a touch, black poison slimes were an absolute bitch to deal with. And this is disregarding their high intelligence and ability to shapeshift.
"Wiz?!" Hans screamed in surprise, "You're helping these adventurers?! You're supposed to stay neutral!"
"On the condition that no civilians get hurt! So what ever happened to the springs' manager?" she asked rhetorically, her face hardening.
He was a slime. If he had gotten close enough to mimic his appearance to get in, he had surely devoured the poor man.
His face paled.
"'Cursed Crystal Prison'!" Wiz chanted, her spell creating a deep purple, translucent framework of a hexagonal prism around Hans left arm.
It froze solid instantaneously, a tendril of ice spearing from it and into the ground, sticking him in place.
He looked down at the frozen limb and scowled.
He lifted up his opposite arm and brought it down onto it, and watched as it shattered.
"Bah! All I need do is poison the last spring and this city will die!"
Hans began running, his arm regrowing from the slime within instantaneously.
"Wiz! Stop him!"
"'Cursed Crystal Prison'!" she cast again, this time at his legs.
They froze entirely, trapping him in place only a few metres from the water's edge.
He gave a bark of laughter, "You think this can stop me?!" he retorted, before he grabbed his left arm with his right, and tore it off, before tossing it to the water.
My arrow was ready, catching it from the air and pushing it beyond the spring.
He turned back with a look of surprise to see me with my bow out.
He scowled again and threw another limb, which I easily pulled from its path with another arrow.
"What is this ungodly accuracy?!" he screamed in frustration.
Hans didn't stop, throwing body parts at the water as fast as he could. Fortunately, 'Snipe' with my luck stat was basically cheating, and not a single arrow missed, and none of his slime made it to the water.
Until I ran out of arrows.
The hand fell through the air and landed in the water, and a dark cloud immediately spread from it.
Aqua gasped and ran for the water, plunging her hand in once more to purify the water, disregarding the near boiling temperatures in order to protect her followers.
Her purifying wasn't fast enough however, and it soon approached the pipe.
"Yunyun! Cut off the pipe!"
"'Sabre of Light'!" she cast once more, before gasping, "I can't! The pipe is too strong!"
Fuck, "Wiz!"
She cast the same spell, but her incredible strength and level allowed the spell to cut through the pipe without difficulty.
Hans saw our efforts and growled.
"You think your cheap tricks are good enough? You think you have power alone to fight me, 'Ice Witch'?! I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
And with his declaration, he dissolved, his physical body being replaced with a black slime that grew and grew, becoming larger than a house.
May Eris save us.
"If only he weren't poisonous!" Darkness said, breathing heavy, "He would make such a perfect pet!"
This girl is fucking mental.
"Wiz! Can you freeze him?!" I yelled quickly.
"No! At this size, there's too much protection to get within!" she responded just as fast.
"So it would work if he were in smaller pieces?"
"Yes! I can do that!"
"Go! We need to get away from him!" I instructed, and everyone turned on their heel and sprinted away, following my lead.
When we were a suitable distance, I turned to the smallest of the group, "You know what to do Megumin!"
"Light in the end of the corners of the world;
Come together as I call upon the crimson realm;
My ultimate destruction magic!
'Explosion'!"
Hans erupted in a beautiful wall of fire.
"O gods above, heed my words;
May crystal and Winter unite in frozen glory;
'Final Freeze'!"
The falling pieces of Hans-debris were caught in Wiz's spell, and froze in the air. The crystalline piece caught the fire of Megumin's explosion, bending and redirecting it, making it appear like a glorious firework.
Wiz collapsed, alongside Megumin, both of their magical reserves having been depleted.
"Thank goodness I had enough mana for that spell," Wiz said with relief.
"And yet it was not enough!"
Hans reappeared, his size having been reduced to a basketball sized, jellyfish shaped slime.
"I'll devour you all, then this entire town!"
Megumin and Wiz were out of action, Aqua was busy with the spring, and Yunyun's attacks were ineffective against the slime.
But I wasn't worried.
I strode towards Hans slowly, reciting the words that appeared within my mind.
"Of time and luck;
Of eternity and fortune;
May the gods above guide me;
By Their strength and my will;
Ye shall be shown infinite entropy!
'Rend'"
Hans fell apart as the remainder of the slime disintegrated, and he was defeated.
"Kazuma-san!" Yunyun addressed.
We were back in our mansion in Axel, after having spent another day and a half traveling.
The people of Alcanretia bid us farewell once Aqua purified all the water that had left the pipes, though still managed to complain about it no longer being the mineral infused water they had used for their hot springs.
They changed their tune rather quickly when I explained that it was pure holy water that could heal wounds and repel undead.
I still find it rather ironic that our 'holiday' consisted of fighting our most powerful enemy yet.
"Yeah?" I finally responded.
With a red face, she answered, "I… I want to have your child!"
Oh.
I looked at her and blinked.
"Why?"
This was very different from anything I'd ever seen from Yunyun in the past, that's for sure. It was much too forward, so something was wrong.
"What?!" screamed Megumin, her face going red with embarrassment and outrage as she sprang to her feet, "You can't!"
"I-I need to!" Yunyun responded, forcing out the words.
"What reason would you need to bear Kazuma's ch-ch-children?" Aqua stuttered, her face also burning.
"Yeah. You're never this forward Yunyun," I observed calmly, "What's wrong?"
She stopped and took a deep breath.
"The Crimson Demon clan is going to die,"
"We're going to die?" Megumin asked seriously.
"Er, no, sorry. I worded that badly. The Demon King army plans to invade the clan village," Yunyun explained.
Megumin sucked in a shuddering breath.
"How do you know this?" I asked.
"I just got this letter," she began, handing it to me, "It's from my father, the village chief,"
'Yunyun' it read.
'By the time this letter reaches you, I will have most likely passed from this world. The Demon King army feared our strength, so they have planned a major offense to wipe us out. They have already set up a large military base, one we cannot destroy, not far from the village.
If only that were the worst of it. One of the Demon King's general is coming, one with an incredibly high magical resistance and further reinforcements.
Their military force is too powerful for us to destroy, but I'll be damned if I let them take us without a fight.
I am the chief of the Crimson Demon clan, and I will drag that general down with me to the grave.
My beloved daughter, as long as you live, the Crimson Demons will live on through you. I entrust the position of chief to you. As the last of our kind, do not let our bloodline die out,'
Well that sucks.
"What?" Megumin exclaimed as I read it aloud, "I'm still alive! What's all this 'last of our kind' stuff?!"
"There's another page, Kazuma-san," Yunyun told me, "Please continue,"
So there was, though the handwriting was significantly different.
'The village scryer foresaw the attack of the Demon King army and visage of despair for the village of the Crimson Demons.
However, she also saw a glimmer of hope.
The lone survivor, Yunyun,'
"Again with the 'only survivor'!"
"Shut-up Megumin!"
'became focused upon defeating the Demon King who had taken the lives of her clansmen.
Later, within the town of beginnings, she found a strange man. A man of many hidden strengths who fought with his luck and his wit. A man who would become her husband.
Yunyun stayed beside him, fought beside him, and lost beside him. T'was a difficult life, but Yunyun found happiness.
After what felt to be no time at all, the son of the Crimson Demon and her husband began to follow in the footsteps of his father.
He became an adventurer. Unbeknownst to him and his parents, he would go on a mighty journey, face many challenges, and eventually, he would be the one to slay the Demon King.'
Megumin, Aqua, and Darkness looked on in shocked silence.
In their silence, Yunyun spoke up, "That is why I nee-"
"Uh, actually," I began, cutting her off, "It says here 'The Legend of the Crimson Demon Hero – Chapter 1, by Arue',"
Yunyun's face one more became enflamed as she snatched the second page from my hand and crumpled it up.
"Arue you idiot!" she wailed.
"So…" I began, "It's fiction?"
"Yeah," Megumin answered, "Arue is a friend of ours who wanted to become an author,"
"Just a story?" Aqua asked, "Wait, what about the first letter, from Yunyun's dad?"
"That's… probably true," Megumin answered hesitantly, "The Crimson Demons have been a thorn in the Demon King's side for a very long time. It was always going to happen eventually,"
"So much for a break," I muttered, "C'mon everyone, pack what you need! We leave for the Crimson Demon village as soon as possible!"
Darkness, Aqua, and Megumin went off and began packing what they would need.
"Wha-? Kazuma-san? Y-you don't have to do that!" Yunyun tried to argue.
"Yunyun, stop. Accept the help, 'cos you're getting it no matter what, okay? We protect our party, and everything they love," I told her with determination.
Yunyun flushed a little once more, "Th-thank you Kazuma-san!"
"Just Kazuma is fine," I told her, "Now get packing,"
"Uh, actually," Aqua began, as she stepped back into the main room with Darkness and Megumin in tow, "we never had time to unpack,"
That makes things quicker.
Wiz, who had been to the Crimson Demon village before, was able to send us there via her 'Teleport' spell, making the journey a whole lot faster.
A flash of light later, and we were on a road surrounded by thick forest.
"Where did that dumb lich send us?" Aqua asked, "This doesn't exactly look like a village,"
"We're very close!" Yunyun answered, "Only an hour's walk at most! Wiz-san is very impressive!"
"Then let's get going. Which way?" I asked.
Megumin and Yunyun pointed in the way we were facing, and we began our trek, though it wasn't long before the two Crimson Demon girls began bickering.
"What's the use of 'Explosion'?!" Yunyun asked, "It's too powerful for dungeons and you might hurt your allies even when outside! Even the best of mages can't use it twice in a row!"
Megumin gasped "How dare you! You said something even worse than making fun of my name! I challenge you to a duel!"
"Please don't"
"I accept!" Yunyun declared readily, "I will not lose to Megumin anymore!"
Megumin turned to me, "Kazuma, let me tell you Yunyun's secret. Every Crimson Demon is born with a tattoo-like birthmark. The placement is different for everyone, but Yunyun's one is-"
"Stop stop stop!" Yunyun cried, "Don't tell him! How do you even know where it is?!"
"Quiet," I ordered, and they immediately silenced.
"-way! I hear human voices over there!" came a loud and shrill voice.
I turned to my party, "Hide!" I instructed in a whisper, "Into the trees!"
They scrambled off the path to hide behind the thick trees on either side of the road.
An armoured monster walked along the road, scanning thoroughly to either side. It had sharp ears, a singular horn on its head, and near black skin, with a thickly muscled torso.
Three other monsters, with very similar followed behind him.
The one at the front stopped and turned back to the group, "They were here recently," he declared, "I can still smell them,"
I activated all my 'Incognito' skills and left the cover of the trees, slowly making my way behind them.
I took a breath and prepared myself, then I struck.
My large katana carved straight through the first monster, neatly bisecting it.
"Yunyun! Megumin!"
My pulled back on my sword, bringing it down into another deadly arc into the head of the left-most monster, killing it instantly.
"'Sabre of Light'!"
"'Detonate'!"
The right-most monster was spilt down the middle by a wave of light, while the centre one was pushed forward by a small blast. I took advantage of its surprise, and swiftly decapitated it.
With the threat (rapidly) dealt with, the women stepped out from the tree cover.
I flicked my sword to the right sharply, the dark blood flinging off the blade smoothly, before I then returned the weapon to its sheath.
"Bravo!" declared a male voice, "Excellent work!"
Four young men, older than I, dressed in black garbs, appeared from thin air.
Some wore robes, others jackets. One wore gloves, and two held wands. They varied in appearance greatly, despite it all being black.
Another universal feature though, was their scarlet eyes.
Crimson Demons.
I let go of my sword's grip, now at ease.
"Is that Buzucoily?" Megumin asked, "Son of the shoe maker? Long time, no see!"
Gods, the names are just getting weirder.
"Megumin?" the addressed man returned, "and Yunyun? What are you two doing back?"
"We heard of the Demon King army's plans to attack, so we came back to help!" Yunyun answered.
"I see!" he responded cheerily, "That's what we've been doing! We are an Anti-Demon King army guerrilla unit! Now who are these people? Your adventuring comrades?"
Megumin nodded.
He turned to us, "I am Buzucoily! Son of the number one shoe shop owner of the Crimson Demons. I'm an Archwizard that wields advanced magics!"
"Well met Buzucoily," I returned, "I'm Satou Kazuma, a 'Ranger' class adventurer, slayer of… well, a lot, actually," I finished with a small bow.
"Ohoh!" he and his allies said.
"Awesome!" Buzucoily continued, "Most people have weird reactions when we introduce ourselves! I never thought I'd see an outsider respond in kind! And who are you two?" he asked, waving to Aqua and Darkness.
Aqua stepped forward gleefully.
"I am Aqua! A divine worshipped by the masses! I shall be the one to defeat the Demon King himself!"
"Amazing," the four men responded, completely disbelievingly.
"Wait, hey! Why doesn't anyone believe me?!"
The eyes of the guerrilla unit shifted to Darkness.
"I…" she began bashfully, "I am Dustiness Ford Lala…ti…na, for the town of Axel," she finished, trailing off.
"She normally goes by Darkness," I explained, "Her family is very powerful, so she uses a moniker so that she may make a legacy for herself,"
Darkness glared at me with a red face as the Crimson Demons praised her for her bravery and independence.
It was great fun watching her panic, trying to respond.
"Megumin and Yunyun," Buzucoily began, "I am glad you have found such wonderous comrades, Come! We are still some ways from the village, so we shall send you there with 'Teleport'!"
A short chant, and a bright flash later, and we arrived in the Crimson Demon village.
"Welcome to the Crimson Demon village, outsiders! Megumin and Yunyun, it is good to see you back home," Buzucoily finished kindly.
He and his allies took a step away.
"Goodbye then!" he said, and after a short chant, they vanished from sight.
"Those guys were cool," I said, "Though they need to improve their invisibility,"
I heard a gasp from where they stood, cloaked by their magic.
Aqua glared in the direction of here they had stood.
"They have turned invisible using light refraction. It will turn everything within a couple of metres invisible, but if you get close enough, you'll be able to see them again.
Suddenly, Aqua charged them, cackling madly as they dashed away.
After a couple minutes, Aqua returned, huffing, "Even with my high stats, I couldn't catch them. Those guys are something,"
I snickered.
"They must have used body strengthening magic. I don't think a bunch of NEETs have that kind of stamina normally," Yunyun stated.
"NEETs? They seemed pretty active to me, especially as part of the Anti-Demon army guerrilla unit," Darkness countered.
"They refuse to leave their parents or find a job," Megumin explained, "If they became adventurers. They would be in very high demand, but they just do nothing all day, every day. They claim to be the guerrilla unit so that people don't think they're NEETs, but they are,"
"All members of the Crimson Demons can learn advanced magic," Yunyun continued, "In fact, everyone but the children in the village are Archwizards. We master all kinds of spells with the skill points we earn. This is common sense here…" she trailed off, looking at Megumin.
Residents of the village walked around casually, uncaringly. Maybe the threat of the Demon King was a fictional one.
"Eh? This griffon statue looks so realistic," Aqua praised, looking to the life-sized figure displayed on a pedestal, "Is it the work of a famous sculptor?" she asked.
Megumin shook her head, "A griffon wandered into town one day and got petrified with magic. It looks cool, so it was kept as an attraction. Now it's kinda just a meeting place,"
Aqua stepped forward and lay a hand on the stone monster.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Curing abnormal statuses," she answered, "I've never seen a live griffon before,"
"No!" shouted my party.
Within the small mansion (small when compared to our own, at least) in the centre of town, we met with the Village Chief (they don't actually give him a name ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ), Yunyun's father.
He laughed bashfully, "That was just a letter to tell my daughter how I was doing," he explained, "Though I admit, I got a little carried away,"
I stared at him, deadpan.
"'By the time this letter reaches you,'" I recited, "'I will have most likely passed from this world,'"
"That's the standard greeting among the Crimson Demons," he explained.
These fucking people.
"Didn't you learn that in school?" he asked Yunyun, "Ah, right. You and Megumin graduated early, so you probably weren't taught that,"
"And the part about the base you couldn't destroy?" Darkness asked.
"Ah, that? Those Demon King army guys built a very extravagant base. We can't decide on whether we should destroy it, or keep it as an attraction," he answered.
I hate these people. Why can't anyone on this planet be normal?
"What about the Army general, then?" Aqua asked.
"Oh yes. As I said in the letter, they have high magical resistance. In fact, they should be here soon. Wanna come watch?" he asked.
I can't tell if he's just insane, or incredibly powerful.
Both? Yeah, probably both.
"Demon King army alert!" came a broadcast, accompanied by tolling bells, "Everyone free, please gather at the Griffon Statue. They number near a thousand!"
"A thousand?!" Darkness exclaimed in shock, while everyone else remained stoic.
"Well," I began, "Can we deal with them quickly?" I asked, "I want to look around more,"
Sure enough, they had exactly a thousand troops. Two columns and five rows of 10x10 squares of troops.
"Hey Chief," I began, "Wanna see what the top spell can do?"
Megumin's eyes lit up, "I can use it?!"
The Chief eyed her in confusion, "I suppose, though they are still out of range," he offered.
"Go ahead then," I told Megumin with a grin.
She strode to the front of the lines confidently and lifted her staff.
"Crimson-black blaze, king of myriad worlds;
though I promulgate the laws of nature;
I am the alias of destruction incarnate;
in accordance with the principles of all creation;
Let the hammer of eternity descend unto me!
'Explosion'!"
The epitome of magic erupted from the centre of their ranks.
I let out a low whistle as I observed the damage, before catching her as she began to fall.
"I'd say you got… three… three hundred fifty? Nice explosion Megumin,"
"Nice explosion," she returned, exhausted.
I shifted her onto my back, and carried her back towards the slack jawed clansmen.
"Well?" I questioned them, "Have at them!"
They cheered, and moments later a large assortment of powerful spells flew towards the surviving enemies.
The fifty clansmen who had come for the battle decimated the remaining enemy forces within minutes, and they were forced to retreat.
It was just our original party that remained as we approached Megumin's old home.
Yunyun had run off to find and punish their friend Arue.
It was a small wooden cottage. It looked more run down than the other nearby buildings, but looked as though it had undergone recent repairs.
I knocked on the door, Megumin still resting on my back.
After a moment, the door opened gently, swinging open silently to reveal a young girl who looked very similar to Megumin, and perhaps identical to her younger self.
"Oh, Megumin's little sister?" Darkness asked rhetorically, "So cute!" she said with a smile.
"She's like a mini-Megumin!" Aqua squealed, "Hey mini-Megumin, want some sweets?" she asked, drawing some candies out from… somewhere.
"Komekko," Megumin greeted, "I'm home. Have you been a good girl?"
Her eyes widened as she looked up at Megumin, who was peaking over my shoulder.
"Ma! Pa! Onee-chan brought a boy home!"
I could feel Megumin's face heating up as I snickered.
"Now watch closely," Aqua instructed Megumin's younger sister, Komekko, and Darkness beside her, "This cup I put down will move around all by itself,"
True to her word, the metal cup slid across the table in lazy circles, despite her hands being under the table.
"Amazing! Amazing!" Komekko declared, "How'd you do that?! Miss blue hair, how did you do that?!" she asked, comically surprised.
"It's a magnet!" Darkness declared, nearly as excited as the five year old, "It must be! You're moving a magnet under the table, aren't you, Aqua?"
Despite her confident answer, she didn't check, and as such, didn't see Aqua's hands resting on her knees, rather than under the table.
Water magic, probably.
A throat cleared by me, drawing my attention back to Megumin's parents.
Her father, Hyoizaburo, looked at me sternly. He was a mid-thirties with black hair, the universal red eyes, wearing something akin to a pilot cap.
Her mother, Yuiyui, was a beautiful woman a similar age to her husband, though perhaps a little younger. She sat calmly, with a kind smile upon a young face.
"Thank you for taking care of our daughter," Hyoizaburo said with gratitude.
I hummed in thought, "I don't know. I think it's more of her taking care of us," I responded with a grin.
Hyoizaburo shared my grin while Yuiyui giggled.
"Our daughter has troubled you so much," Yuiyui began, "Truly Kazuma-san, thank you so very much. She has told us so much about you in her letters,"
"It's not all bad, is it?" I laughed.
"No, no," she assured, "Megumin has had nothing but praise for you,"
I doubt Megumin would be happy about us discussing these things, fortunately, she had dropped into her be as soon as she got to it, and had been sleeping since then.
Hyoizaburo sighed, "Which is why I must ask: What is your relationship with our daughter?"
I widened my eyes and glanced at the still playing Aqua and co before looking back.
I looked down, sighed, took a deep breath, and began "I… I care for her a lot. She's really important to me," I admitted.
They looked pleased, if unsurprised.
"I uh… I know she feels the same way too," I continued, "but we aren't together,"
Hyoizaburo snorted, "Not yet," he muttered.
"Well why not?" Yuiyui asked, "If you know she cares for you, why haven't you confessed?"
"I want her to confess to me," I told them, "Not because of, like, my ego, or arrogance, or anything," I hurriedly explained upon seeing Hyoizaburo's angering face, before taking another breath, "I think it's important. I've never really had a problem expressing my feelings, or in confidence, or anything like that. Megumin's different though. She's incredibly brave, but I've seen her have trouble with confidence. I thought that if she confessed to me, and I immediately accepted, it'd really help her,"
I looked them in the eyes.
"That's what I really want. I want to help her. I want to make her happy," I told them firmly.
I cleared my throat and lifted some mana to my skin to simulate a blush as I looked away.
"Don't tell her I said that,"
They looked to each other and grinned ear to ear.
"And um, please don't try to push her. I want it to be entirely her choice to do it, not someone else's,"
"I understand Kazuma-san," Yuiyui answered before she leant forward and clasped one of my hands in hers, "And though she may take a while, welcome to the family Kazuma-san,"
I let out breathy laugh and rubbed at my eyes with my other hand while sniffling.
I took some more deep breaths before I smiled to her and Hyoizaburo.
"Thank you. Thank you so much,"
Hyoizaburo stepped across and clapped a hand down onto my shoulder.
"Welcome to the family," he echoed.
I smiled and nodded.
"Oh," I exclaimed, "I nearly forgot. I have a gift for you," I said as I stood.
"A gift?" he asked.
"You didn't have to do that Kazuma-san" his wife continued.
"I wanted to though," I countered, grabbing the bags of expensive foods I had gotten, "Here,"
Yuiyui gasped as she looked within, "This will make an excellent dinner! Thank you, Kazuma-san,"
"Food?!" Komekko exclaimed as she rushed to the room we were in, "You brought food, Onii-san?!"
Yuiyui giggled as Komekko plunged her hands into a bag and grabbed two small buns.
"I'll make us all some tea," Yuiyui said as she stood and moved to the kitchen.
Komekko stuffed one of the buns into her mouth, looking at me intently. She swallowed her current mouthful, before offering the other bun to me.
"For you," she said shyly, "It tastes good,"
"Thank you," I said as I took the bun graciously, and rubbed her hair softly smiling all the while. Then I removed my hand from her and tore off about a third of the bun, and handed it back to her.
"Here," I told her, "I think you're hungrier than I am, aren't you?" I asked with a grin.
She smiled brightly as she took it, "Thanks Onii-chan!" She said before stuffing what was left into her mouth.
I laughed as she hummed in delight and ran back to Darkness and Aqua, biting into my own piece a little more carefully.
"By the way," Yuiyui began as she returned with tea for myself, her husband, and herself on a small platter, "I hope this isn't too rude, but I heard you ended up with a huge debt. Did you manage to pay that off?"
"Debt?" I asked, confused, "Oh, you mean from the governor? Yeah I sorted that out a while ago. I could have paid it off, but as I'm sure Megumin explained in her letters, I didn't want to,"
"A governor?" Yuiyui asked.
"No, Megumin never explained what the cause of the debt was," Hyoizaburo said, "What happened? Why didn't you want to pay it?"
"Ah, it's a long story. How's about I tell it over dinner instead?" I offered.
"That sounds great," Yuiyui agreed,
"I know this sounds harsh," Hyoizaburo began, "But what's to stop you from getting into debt again? Will you be able to provide for our daughter?" he asked.
I laughed, "I doubt that'll ever be a problem. I could retire now and live a life of luxury with my party and your family, no problem,"
"Truly?" Hyoizaburo asked.
"How… How much do you have, Kazuma-san?" his wife asked uncertainly.
I hummed in thought, "I think… Around two billion Eris?"
Their jaws dropped delightfully.
"Two…"
"Billion?!" they screamed together.
I couldn't contain my laughter.