Chapter 19

“Let’s go on an adventure; let’s go on an adventure; let’s go on an adventure! Come on! Let’s go already!” “No, no, no! It’s raining outside! Why can’t you be more like Aqua? She’s been in a great mood ever since it started raining.” While Megumin had been very reasonable and mature lately, she was throwing a fit today, unusually enough. “That’s because rainy days are auspicious days for Axis followers. Besides, isn’t Aqua always in a good mood?” Aqua, who had been glued to the window and happily humming to herself all morning, griped: “Excuse me? Could you please not talk about me like I’m some overly excited child with no worries all year round? I could put Axel in the middle of a lake if I wanted to, you know. So you’d better cut it out unless you want me to turn this city into a sanctuary for my followers… Now that I think about it, that actually wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I could even start taking naps at the bottom of the lake during the summer when it gets too hot.” “I swear I will fill the lake with frog eggs if you ever do that.” Darkness, who was knitting on the couch, suddenly chimed in. “I understand how gloomy things have been after all the rain we’ve been getting lately, but relaxing at home isn’t so bad every once in a while. Megumin, I’ll join your daily routine later, so let’s just enjoy this time we have until the rainy season ends.” She then picked up Chomusuke, who had been eyeing the ball of yarn on the table, and set her in her lap with a smile. “Really, Darkness? How dare you speak ill of the rain in my presence. More importantly, what have you been knitting anyway? If you’re trying to make a rag, I can make you one in two seconds. Gimme that.” “This isn’t a rag. It’s a scarf and— Ah!” Aqua swiped the knitting needles and yarn out of Darkness’s hands before she could even finish her sentence. “Sniffle… Watching the fruits of my labor become a rag is heartbreaking, but what hurts the most is admitting that Aqua’s even quicker at knitting than I am…” The mysterious item, which Darkness had been knitting for days, was becoming a rag in record time, causing her eyes to well up with tears. Out of nowhere, Megumin slammed her hands against the table. “Listen, Kazuma! We are adventurers! Hardened career adventurers like us don’t lock themselves inside because of some stupid rain!” “I take offense to that. How about I make it rain all year round over Crimson Magic Village? Then we’ll see how ‘stupid’ it is.” “The Crimson Magic Clan can use magic that controls the weather, too. You can’t scare me with idle threats!” Megumin snapped back at Aqua’s teasing remark. “Oh, come on. What has gotten into you today? Can we at least wait until the rainy season is over? I’ll go on as many adventures as you want after that.” “…Do you promise? The rainy season’s going to be over in a few days, you know.” Megumin sent me a dubious gaze. “When the rainy season is over, then maybe…next year…” “There is still plenty of time to go on adventures this year! Here, I’ll give you a coupon you can use at the pub if you come with me!” Fed up, Megumin pulled a ticket out of her thin purse and waved it at me. I wanted to tell her that she was the only one who’d bend over backward for a stupid coupon. “Hey, Megumin? Do you want to watch this weird mushroom growing on the window frame with me? It started sprouting at the beginning of the rainy season, and sometimes it glows, too.” “Hold up. That’s not just an ordinary mushroom! What do you mean, ‘sometimes it glows’?” Curious, I tried to take a peek at the mushroom Aqua was staring at until Megumin suddenly ripped it off the frame. “Let me see! Oh, hey! Let’s have this with dinner tonight!” “Hey?! Megumin, what the hell?! We were just starting to have a connection! Every time I sprayed it with the spray bottle, it would dance!” Yeah…that was definitely not a mushroom. “If you guys aren’t going to go on an adventure with me, I’ll just leave on my own! Would you be okay with that? What will you do if it ends up being the coolest adventure ever?!” “Go ahead. Knock yourself out. Have the biggest, most amazing adventure of your life.” After I replied without a care in the world, Megumin’s eyebrows slowly rose. “You’re free to head outside and play as much as you want, but make sure to be back by dinner, okay?” “Make sure to bring me a souvenir if you go anywhere.” “I cannot believe you guys! Fine! But you’ll be sorry that you didn’t come!” And that was the beginning of our short-tempered wizard’s adventure.