“Ha-ha…”
✦ ✦ ✦
…Megumin managed to smile through her sadness. No…looking closer, I saw she was trembling, holding back a storm of tears.
“H-hey, what’s wrong? Don’t give up now. They got into the Demon King’s castle, but Aqua’s not dead or anything. You can’t go getting all weepy right now, you know?”
I tried to sound lighthearted, but Megumin ground her teeth and said, “No… If only I knew advanced magic. If only I was a real member of the Crimson Magic Clan and not just a spare mage… When I think that then, I might have been able to go after Aqua…”
“Wh-what, why? Is there some kind of magic that could bring down that barrier?”
Megumin shook her head dejectedly. “If I knew the spell Light of Saber that so many Crimson Magickers are so fond of, I might be able to cut through that barrier. That spell can cut virtually anything, so long as the caster has enough power. If only I knew it. If only I’d learned any other magic. Normally it’s the wizard’s job to break through barriers like this one. But I had to be stubborn my whole life. I’ve never once done anything befitting a proper wizard.”
Suddenly, and without a word, Darkness took Megumin into her arms.
“If Yunyun was here,” Megumin went on, “she would have been able to cut you a path with Light of Saber or else use communication magic to call out to Aqua. Some other Crimson Magic Clan member might have been able to cast something that could get Aqua’s attention without alerting the other monsters in the castle…”
Darkness placed a hand on Megumin’s head. “You’re not the only one who’s lived to regret her skill set. If only I’d learned how to take the offensive, our adventures might have been easier. Not just this one, but all the quests we’ve been on. When it comes to making everyone go out of their way, I’ve been just as bad as you.”
I watched them, the moment at once pathetic and touching.
✦ ✦ ✦
Why was it that they suddenly had to get all cool and dramatic on me? How was I supposed to follow that?
This wasn’t the time to be getting all teary-eyed and introspective. If we just let Mitsurugi handle things, he might actually take down the Demon King for us. But then again, he and his party might run into some random shrimpy monster and rush back crying.
Megumin had called herself a failure of a mage. She was probably thinking of the letter from Crimson Magic Village where she’d been referred to as a spare at best. Normally, she probably would have laughed it off with a haughty snort, but doing this entire journey without our usual companion, Aqua, with us must have taken its toll. She acted tough, but deep down, she was still a kid.
…Er, but if she was still a kid, what did that make me, given that I’d been about to…you know…
✦ ✦ ✦
Sheesh.
✦ ✦ ✦
She hardly shut up about explosion magic, and now she was regretting it? Darkness, too: She was Darkness! If only I’d learned how to take the offensive, huh?
Well, no shit!
If you were a Crusader who could hit the broad side of a barn, our adventures would’ve been a lot easier! But it was that other idiot who really took the cake. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she spent every day just doing whatever she wanted, now she had to drag us all the way out here to come get her. And then she waltzed right into the Demon King’s castle!
✦ ✦ ✦
I can’t believe them… Every single one of them…!
✦ ✦ ✦
“Megumin, listen. The barrier around the castle. You can’t blow it away with Explosion, can you?”
“It’s impossible… Explosion, which simply creates a burst of magical energy, can damage any enemy at all, and I suppose it might be able to put a crack in that barrier. But…” Then she whispered, pain in her voice: “I just don’t have the firepower…”
She was still deeply dispirited. I said, “What you’re saying is, one explosion wouldn’t do it, right? But maybe a whole bunch of them in a row could break through?”
“I-it’s not possible. A barrier of that magnitude repairs itself gradually over time. Even if there was a way to quickly recover my MP after I let off my spell, I presume the barrier would have fixed itself by the time I was ready to let off the next blast. And anyway, the moment I fired the first explosion, the Demon King’s lackeys would come after us…”
“So you could break it down if you could hit it again and again without pausing?” I pressed.
Megumin, a little bit cowed by the forcefulness of my interrogation, nodded. “Y-yes. But the scale of that barrier—one or two explosions wouldn’t be enough. Even Aqua was able to create only a small opening. It would take dozens of—”
“Dozens? You think that would do it? If you could let off that many explosions, you think you could break through that barrier?” I continued to push.
“Yes, I could. To bring the barrier down would take less than thirty… No, less than twenty blasts.” She nodded again, as if to say that in this, at least, she had confidence.
✦ ✦ ✦
Well, that was enough for me.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Wh-what are you thinking, Kazuma? You’re going to use Explosion? That’s our trump card. Sure, it might startle Aqua and the others into coming out, but I can guarantee it’ll bring the Demon King’s minions with them,” Darkness said, obviously worried. “Besides, using up our most powerful attack here and now—”
“Darkness, hand me my bag,” I interrupted and stuck out my hand for the cargo she was holding for me. Knitting her brow fretfully, Darkness nonetheless slung my backpack off her shoulder and passed it to me.
“You know,” I said, “I brought Darkness that armor, but I never got you anything, Megumin.” I smiled at her as I undid the string of my bag.
“Wha—? I-it’s all right; this is hardly the time for a present. Anyway, I am not one of those high-maintenance girls who gets all upset if she doesn’t get expensive gifts, okay?” Megumin chuckled.
Darkness exclaimed, “Hey! Megumin, when you put it that way, it makes it sound like I’m high-maintenance…!”
“I am certainly not calling you high-maintenance, Darkness, simply because you swore you would treasure that armor for the rest of your life, and you spend every spare moment polishing it with a broad grin on your face. Indeed, I find it adorable.” Megumin smirked at Darkness, who turned a little red.
“Now, now, don’t fight. I did go ahead and get you a nice, expensive gift. Just take it.”
“Oh, r-really? Y-you certainly didn’t have to—”
“I see that grin,” Darkness interjected. “I think you might be higher-maintenance than you th— Hey, hey! Do you like pulling my hair that much?!”
While the two of them struggled, I poured out the contents of my pack.
✦ ✦ ✦
““…………””