1 I thought that things had been peaceful as of late, but it was nothing more than my imagination. I was suddenly approached with a problem first thing this morning. “Wait. Could you repeat that for me?” I asked Megumin, who was sitting on her heels on the rug in the mansion’s hall. I was sitting on the sofa while leaning forward with Darkness by my side, frozen with her mouth agape. “Megumin, you went to slay a Crystal Liger? You know how I feel about money. Why didn’t you bring me with you? Now that I think about it, you didn’t tell me you went to hang out in Arcanletia until after the fact, either.” “Shh. You’ve talked enough for today. This is a way bigger problem than that.” For some reason or another, Aqua was sitting right next to Megumin, leaning toward her. I cleared my throat. “So? What happened again?” “I went on an adventure the other day, but…well, a monster known as the Crystal Liger ended up stealing a necklace, which is a national treasure, so I was wondering if you could come with me to steal it back?” I wrapped my hands around my head and collapsed to the ground. “This! This is why I didn’t want to go on an adventure! Why do you always cause trouble wherever you go?! I thought you had more sense than that by now! Even Aqua of all people hasn’t been causing any trouble lately!” I thought the old Megumin was gone! I thought the mad dog inside her had finally calmed down, and yet…! “Actually, Kazuma, yesterday Aqua was—” “Hey, Darkness? Why do you have to go running your mouth the moment things start going well for me? I was planning on telling him myself after we took care of Megumin’s mess. People stop caring when you bring up small mistakes after big ones.” “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” I instinctively screamed after learning that there were still more problems I had to worry about. Megumin, who had been sitting with downcast eyes, suddenly lifted her head back up with a bashful smile. “I went on an adventure the other day, but…” “Why are you repeating your story as if nothing happened?! And what’s with the smile?! Do you really think that’ll work on me?! I am not going with you! Not this time! It’s time for you to get a taste of what it’s like to be me, cleaning up after all your messes! Do any of you oxygen thieves know how hard it is to be a leader?!” Megumin’s smile peeled off her face as her teeth audibly clenched together. “I am asking you nicely! Unbelievable! I learned firsthand lately just how hard it is to be the leader! Yes, Kazuma! I understand how difficult things are for you! Wow! You’re sooo amazing! You’re great! Good job! Happy now?! You’re going to end up coming with me eventually, so stop wasting our time!” Y-you little…! “Don’t get short with me, loli! Just for that, I’m going to use Drain Touch on you every day until you don’t even have a drop of mana left! You won’t be able to use explosion magic until I decide to forgive you!” “Wh-what is wrong with you? I do not find threats like that funny. There are some things that should never be said, human, and you just crossed a line.” Megumin swiftly stood up with a tense smile and slowly retreated with fear in her eyes like I had never seen before. I took out some wire for Bind and began spinning it in a threatening manner. “My name is Kazuma Satou. I’m a man of my word, and I don’t break promises. I’m the guy who faces absurdity and punishes anyone from the Crimson Magic Clan who gets too carried away. Life has been comfy lately. Too comfy—which is why you and Aqua have started to make light of me. It’s time I show you all just how serious I can be.” Large drops of sweat dripped down Megumin’s cheeks until all of a sudden, she smiled as if a switch had been flipped. “We all just need to calm down, Kazuma. I apologize for getting mad, so do you think you could put away that wire? The Kazuma I fell in love with would never do something so horrible. Whether we were being selfish or causing you trouble, the Kazuma I remember may have complained, but he would always come to our rescue in the end. Hee-hee… You must be in a bad mood, since I’ve been going on adventures without you lately. Fine. You win. Today, I will stay home all day with you, and we can relax.” “Bind.” Megumin rolled around the rug, unable to break free. “Kazuma! I get it! I’m sorry! I apologize for losing my temper and for trying to weasel my way out of this! A-all right, you win! Could you please not get any closer?! Let’s make a deal! Come on, Kazuma!” “Consider this a warning, Aqua! I’m going to drain Megumin’s mana until she can’t use explosion magic anymore! You can kiss that weird-looking rock and expensive booze in your room good-bye if you cross me! Got it?!” “K-Kazuma! I didn’t disrespect you, so there’s no need to retaliate, right? But I mean, I guess I have been taking your kindness for granted a little too much lately. I’ll handle the small problem I caused yesterday myself, okay? So you don’t have to punish me.” I reached out to touch Megumin, paying no attention to Aqua as she slipped behind Darkness with fear painted on her face. “Kazumaaaaaaaaa! Please wait I’m sorry please forgive me! It isn’t what you think! I was just a little moody because you haven’t been paying attention to me at all lately, so I had to go on an adventure with Yunyun, but I really just wanted to go on an adventure with you guys, so please forgive me because I regret my actions, and I’ll do anything to make it up to you!” Right as my hand was about to touch the back of Megumin’s neck… “‘Anything,’ you say?” I froze in place and was immediately showered with their distant gazes. “No—I mean… I don’t mind. It’s not like this is anything new, but I have mixed feelings seeing you always give in to your desires like this…,” Megumin said before letting out a sigh. “What? No. I’m not asking you to do anything lewd, and don’t think I’m a sucker you can easily please just by showing some skin.” “What happened to Kazuma? Do you think somebody put a curse on him?” “He doesn’t look cursed to my clear, holy eyes.” I ignored the other two as they whispered and faced Megumin, who was still in shock. “I, Kazuma Satou, will now be sealing your explosion magic. From this day forth, whenever you want to use magic…you will need my, your master’s, permission.” “‘M-master’?! That has a nice ring to it! But don’t think I’m going to do whatever you want me to just because you’re using cool words like seal and master!” I used Drain Touch on the hollering spell-caster, draining just enough mana that she wouldn’t be able to use explosion magic anymore. “Tsk…! The evil NEET feared my power, so he locked it away with a formidable seal…! Mark my words. All will be swallowed in the flames of the underworld once the seal is broken.” “And that’s why I sealed your explosion magic. Because you say stuff like that. Now come on! Let’s go! I’ll help you this time, since you promised to do anything I say!” “See, Darkness? It’s so easy to manipulate Kazuma.” “Shh! Keep your voice down… Hey, Kazuma. Can I ask you something?” Darkness, who had just been whispering with Aqua, wore a somewhat hopeful expression. “I understand that you’ll be dealing with Megumin and Aqua, but what are you going to do to me if I cause trouble?” “I’ll make you wear a frilly dress, invite every adventurer in town, and have a photo shoot—” “I didn’t do anything, okay?! I was just asking.” 2 I looked over at Megumin once we left the mansion. “So do you have any idea where this Crystal Liger might be?” “I have an idea, but first, we need to go to the capital. By the way, ligers apparently love expensive gems.” Expensive gems… “Hey, Darkness?” “No.” Darkness immediately replied before I even said anything. “This is your time to shine, though. Your family is well-off. Surely, you have a gem or two you can spare.” “I have a feeling if I lend them to you, I’m not getting them back, so no thank you! Each of my family’s gems has historical value!” Aqua took off sprinting the moment she heard that, almost immediately followed by Megumin. They must have been heading to the Dustiness residence. “Where do you think you’re—? Hold on! Kazuma, why do you have a pendant with my family crest on it?! What are you planning to do with that?!” I watched them run off while flauntingly spinning a pendant Darkness had let me borrow a while ago that I never gave back. “Hey! Return that! You don’t need it anymore!” “It’s actually come in handy quite a bit. Lately, I’ve been enjoying wearing it around my neck while flaunting it in front of people who look like nobles.” Some had stared at me with envious gazes while others had randomly treated me to a meal, but Darkness stole it back from me before I could even tell her. “I can’t believe you! You’re— Wait. No. I don’t have time to scold you right now. I need to catch up with the others first!” “Forget about them, milady. Let’s just go have a cup of tea and wait for their return.” “Quit it. We can do that some other time. If I don’t hurry, they’ll…! …I see. You are trying to prevent me from catching up with them. Very well. I’ll simply have to defeat you first before going after them.” Oh? “What’s the matter, milady? You seem far more aggressive than usual. Don’t tell me you think you can defeat me?” Despite never beating me before, Darkness wasted no time getting into a stance for battle with an audacious smirk. “You shouldn’t underestimate me, Kazuma. The only move you have that I need to watch out for right now is Bind. Neither Drain Touch nor Freeze can stop me!” Darkness said while lowering her stance even more, as if to prepare herself for Bind. “Wow. The once naive noblewoman has grown quite a bit, huh? The old you would have tried rushing at me without even thinking, only to end up trapped with Bind. After that, people would have started to crowd around, hurling insults at you until the humiliation—” “That won’t work on me anymore, Kazuma,” replied Darkness, voice dripping with confidence. “You’re trying to use my masochism against me to get me to surrender, right? The old me would have been tricked, but countless disappointments have taught me not to get my hopes up! You always tell me you’re going to do something amazing—something utterly humiliating—and yet you never do! No longer will I be fooled by your honeyed words!” Honeyed words? “Well, if you really want me to, I guess I could humiliate you, but you always get cold feet when I do. You’re all talk. You just wanna appear quirky.” “‘A-all talk’?! I just want to ‘appear quirky’?! You’re just trying to provoke me so I’ll play your game. But I’m not going to fall for your sweet talk any—!” All of a sudden, glittering lights started to approach us from the opposite direction. It was Aqua and Megumin carrying gems. “Good job, Kazuma! We borrowed a lot of expensive gems!” “We told Darkness’s father that she was begging to borrow them, so he loaned us the family heirlooms.” “Man, took you long enough… Huh?! What’s wrong, Darkness? My role here is done, so we can just say you won.” Darkness had gotten so into it that she had forgotten I was only trying to slow her down. “No. I lost…,” she muttered before looking away with a slight pout. We were now thoroughly prepared to finally head over to the capital when… “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why am I the only one still prohibited from using it?!” “I don’t make the rules! I only enforce them. And I was told by the boss to get rid of you if you tried to use the teleporter to the imperial capital.” We had stopped by the teleporter so they could send us to the capital, but I was apparently still prohibited from entering. I edged in on the woman working there until her lips curled in a troubled manner, but… “Hold on. I understand this man is prohibited from entering the capital, but this is an exception. I vow in the name of the Dustiness family that I will not allow him to…to cause…” “Hey?! Finish your vow already! Why do you look so uncertain all of a sudden?!” After we arrived at the capital thanks to Darkness’s political influence, Megumin randomly started staring at us as if she wanted to say something. “Yes, Megumin? Anything you want to say?” “Oh… I was just thinking about how we used political power to get something done…and how everyone’s actions were influencing her…” Who was she talking about? As Megumin spoke, Aqua suddenly began tugging at Darkness’s clothes. “Hey, Darkness. Could I also have a pendant with your family crest on it like Kazuma has?” “N-no. Besides, Kazuma doesn’t have one anymore. I took it back.” Aqua curiously tilted her head to the side. “Kazuma didn’t just have one of your family’s necklaces. I saw him walk into an expensive-looking restaurant the other day using a pendant with some other nobleman’s family crest on it. I want political power to abuse, too.” “What is the meaning of this, Kazuma?! Where did you get someone else’s crest?! I thought you were only borrowing mine?!” “This woman named Claire gave me hers a while back. It’s really useful. I can waltz right into shops meant for nobles in just a tracksuit and still not get thrown out.” Darkness glared at me as if to say, What is wrong with this guy? So I turned around and began following after Megumin, who was leading the way. We eventually arrived at the capital’s Adventurers Guild. Whether it was the size of the building or the quality of the adventurers, this Guild was in a different league than the one back in Axel. When I walked through the entrance, praying that no tough-looking adventurers would mess with me, Megumin was already approaching the receptionist as if it was second nature. She then took a seat in front of the counter as if she owned the place, and… “I have arrived for the quest. Could you get him for me?” “I will call for him right away, Madam Megumin.” What the…? Why did their exchange make it sound like Megumin was some sort of seasoned adventurer? “Yo, Megumin! Since when did you become a regular here? By the way, all the other adventurers are staring at you, you know?” “Sigh… A troublesome bunch, aren’t they? I did well in a few big quests lately, and they’re already worshipping me,” replied Megumin while maintaining a cool, relaxed expression. “Psst. Aqua, how did you let it get this bad? I don’t know what she did, but Megumin seems to think she’s cool now for some reason.” “Don’t blame me, Kazuma. You’re her babysitter, aren’t you?” Megumin’s ears turned red, as if she had heard our whispers. Darkness, however, smiled gently at her. “You just wanted to show off, right, Megumin? I get it. Everyone your age wants to stand out.” “N-no, I really am a regular here! Um… Oh, if it isn’t Max!” Blushing, Megumin looked around until she found a man with a scar on his nose who was in the middle of day drinking. “My name isn’t Max. It’s Rex…” The burly man corrected her as if his feelings were slightly hurt. Sitting next to him were a strong-willed-looking woman and a man with an ax hanging over his shoulder. They both flashed friendly smiles at Megumin. “K-Kazuma, look! Megumin is talking with experienced adventurers like they’re friends!” “Kazuma, this is bizarre. Megumin’s starting to look like a seasoned adventurer, too.” “Relax, you two. They’re shills. She must have paid them before we got here to pretend to know her.” “I have had enough of you guys! Why would I go to such lengths to make it look like I’m a regular here?! Those three actually once asked me to join their group a long time ago!” Megumin’s enraged words gave me the relief I had been hoping for. “Your first mistake was overselling your story. Nobody would ever ask you to join their party.” “I, for one, am relieved.” “Y-you shouldn’t lie, Megumin. Lying always leads to more trouble.” After hearing our comments, Megumin immediately grabbed this Rex fellow and dragged him over to us. “Come on—tell my friends what happened!” “Huh?! O-oh, uh… Yes, we did ask Megumin to join our party a while ago. She’s a member of the Crimson Magic Clan, and she can even use explosion magic, so we asked her if she wanted to work with us in the capital.” He didn’t seem to be lying, but… “Hey, do they sell any magic items here you can brainwash people with?” “I’m sure she just threatened them.” “No. She probably is holding somebody hostage.” “Okay, that’s it. Kazuma, Aqua, Darkness. Let’s take this outside.” While we were teasing Megumin, the receptionist suddenly returned with someone. “I apologize for keeping you waiting. I have brought with me Professor Burton.” It was a middle-aged man with glasses. “Nice to see you again so soon, Scholar Megumin! Those three must be your friends, huh? I am Burton. I am an authority in the field of biology and a bestselling author. I’m guessing you’ll be wanting my autograph.” 3 According to Scholar Megumin, the national treasure had been stolen during a quest this middle-aged man gave her. Normally, adventurers were personally liable for any equipment they lost during a quest, but… “I owe you, Scholar Megumin, for helping me with more than just work, so I thought I could help you track down the Crystal Liger.” “Wow, Scholar Megumin. Is this really happening? What in the world did you do while we were at home?” “I appreciate it, Scholar Megumin. Thanks to you, I got some random old man’s autograph.” After that, we headed straight to the depths of the capital’s nearby forest with some guy named Burton who felt indebted to Megumin. “S-so how much longer until we reach our destination, Scholar Meg— Ouch! Hey?! Why am I the only one who can’t say it?!” Megumin attacked Darkness when she couldn’t handle being called Scholar Megumin any longer. “I believe we found the Crystal Liger around here last time, but being related to Beginner’s Banes means it’s really smart, so it has probably already traveled to a new location.” Megumin’s eyes roamed around the forest while she kept Darkness in a full nelson. “I believe you’re right, which means it’s time for me to take the lead,” stated Burton as he took a black ball of matter out of the backpack he was carrying. “Oh? Does Glasses here have a plan?” “Call me Professor Burton, child.” “Okay, Professor Burton!” This was the first time I had ever met the guy, but I could already tell there was something off about him. Somehow immediately convincing Aqua to play his game was more than enough proof for me. “What do you think this is, Scholar Aqua?” “My holy, crystal-clear eyes tell me that it’s poop.” Aqua poked at the dung, which Burton had placed on the ground, with a twig. “I see you are very observant, Scholar Aqua. Yes, this is the poop of the Crystal Liger that I am about to use to lure it out!” “It’s not just my eyes that are sharp. I can easily guess why you brought that poop with you as well. You’re going to make Kazuma smell it to track the monster, right?” “What do I look like, a dog?” Burton wrapped the dung in a handkerchief, then raised it high into the air. “Ligers are extremely cautious beasts that do not leave a trail. When I found this poop last time I was here, it was covered in dirt. So, Scholar Aqua, if you were the liger and left your excrement around here, what would you do?” “I’d be so embarrassed someone might see it that I’d come back to get it.” “While the reasoning might be different, that’s essentially what’s going to happen. The monster will return to dispose of the poop to cover its tracks.” There was something worrying about them repeatedly shouting poop back and forth. “Hey, Megumin. Is this guy okay? Is he really an authority on biology? You didn’t just randomly find him in the bushes or anything one day, right?” “I am just as worried about him as you are, but he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to monsters.” As Aqua and Burton were surprisingly hitting it off, he continued: “Our goal is not to slay the liger but to retrieve the necklace. If it shows up, we simply need to draw its attention using other expensive jewelry. Then, after letting it steal said gems, we follow it back to its den.” Burton then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “It really came back…” An hour had gone by since we left the dung out. My monster-detecting skill suddenly alerted me that the liger was nearby during the middle of Burton’s monster sermon. When I cautiously used Second Sight and looked in the direction of the enemy, I saw a giant creature covered in gems watching from afar. However, it wasn’t staring at its excrement. It was staring at Megumin… I looked around, keeping an eye out for any funny business, then whispered to Burton and Darkness, who were nearby. “Psst. The liger’s here. Do not react, though. Just pretend like you haven’t noticed it yet.” “In other words, it is biologically correct to think female-bodied monsters are sexy! Why do female knights prefer wearing bikini armor, which is less efficient when it comes to defense? Because by making their enemies aroused, they increase their chances of survival! An enemy sees its opponent in a full suit of plate armor where the gender is unknown versus a knight wearing bikini armor and making their female figure no secret. The lustful enemy would surely want to make the bikini knight its prisoner rather than kill her!” “Wearing bikini armor is a long-established tradition among knights! How dare you try to rationalize it with such lewd reasoning! Monsters with body types mimicking those of human women appear that way because they want to lure in men and eat them! Knights in bikini armor dress the way they do to raise soldier morale and tend to the royalty at night!” Burton and Darkness were getting into a heated argument while completely ignoring my whispers. What the hell were they talking about? “I knew it! That’s exactly what I was saying! It doesn’t function as armor, yet it tries to call itself armor! Besides, if bikini armor’s so great, why aren’t you wearing it?!” “Yeah!” Darkness’s face slowly turned a bright red. “Because…! Because I am the shield of my party, which means I have to prioritize defense over sex appeal…” “Whoever said they wanted defense over sex appeal?!” Megumin suddenly tugged my shirt from the side, bringing me back to my senses. “Kazuma, the liger showed up, right? Is this really the time to be arguing over something so ridiculous?” “It isn’t ridiculous. It’s extremely important.” I accidentally got caught up in the debate after hearing something I just couldn’t let slide. “All right, Darkness. Come over here.” “Wh-wh-what do you plan on doing with me?! As a noblewoman, I cannot allow myself to wear bikini ar—” “Enough about the armor! Just get over here! I mean, it’s an important topic of discussion, but we can deal with that later! Right now, I want you to come over here and take out your gem!” The instant Darkness heard the word gem, she understood exactly what was going on. She faced me and asked, “Where’s the liger?” “Right behind you. It’s watching to see what we’re going to do, so don’t turn around no matter what. Listen, when you take out your gem, you need to act natural so it doesn’t realize it’s a trap.” Darkness’s gaze alone showed that she was ready. “Phew… Talking to you makes me exhausted. I think I’m going to stare at my gem like I do every day to relax.” Who did that? Would it have killed her to use her brain a little more? Megumin turned red, struggling to hold in her laughter, and added: “I was unaware you had such a daily routine, Darkness. We’re similar, you and me. You look at rocks every day while I enjoy an explosion a day.” “Y-yeah, we’re not that different, huh!” Darkness, smelling of desperation, took out the gem and began to quietly stare at it. “I had no idea you had such a unique hobby, Darkness. I can’t wait to tell everyone once we’re back in town.” “Yeah, we need to talk later, Aqua.” Right as Darkness made an attempt to get Aqua to keep quiet… “Ack! It’s fast! Darkness, behind you! Watch out!” “Huh?! Ah!” Despite being extremely far away only seconds ago, the liger swiftly approached Darkness before promptly snatching the gem right out of her hand. After a closer look, I noticed it was wearing what was clearly an expensive necklace around its neck. I couldn’t help but feel admiration for a monster wearing jewelry, but after the liger briefly glanced in our direction… “It’s getting away! After it!” “Perfect. All according to plan.” Everything was going well so far, so we began chasing after the liger just as planned. “Hey, Kazuma? That liger’s a little faster than I thought it’d be. I doubt I’ll ever be able to catch up to it with these Duxion-like legs of mine.” “Those are some tasty-looking legs you’ve got there. Too bad they aren’t longer.” “D-don’t worry. I’m sure Kazuma knew this was going to happen and has a plan. Right, Kazuma?” I firmly nodded back at the somewhat anxious Crusader. “Well, the plan’s been thrown off a little, so we should probably start brainstorming.” “Kazuma…! That gem is a family heirloom!” On the verge of tears, Darkness took off in the direction of the liger. 4 We decided to take a short break after losing track of the beast. “We’ve completely lost it, but don’t worry. There’s still hope.” “Really?! You’re not just saying that, right?! My father would be so mad at me if I lost our family heirloom!” Everyone except Burton, who was huffing and puffing, looked like they still had some fight in them. “Afraid of your papa scolding you? Oh, Darkness. You’re a real daddy’s girl, huh?” “She doesn’t want to disappoint her dad? How cute.” “Mm…! Kazuma, hurry up and tell us your plan! What should I do?!” Darkness, her cheeks bright red, began to panic and rush me as if Megumin’s teasing was getting to her. “Relax. The hope I was talking about is Burton. Since he’s a biologist, he should be able to deduce where the liger’s den is from the tracks it left.” “Oh…!” Darkness turned her hopeful gaze at Burton, who firmly nodded back. “Yes, I should have no problem finding its den…is what I wish I could say, but that would be impossible.” “Well, there’s your answer.” “What are we going to do?! My family heirloom…!” Darkness grabbed me by the shoulders and started to violently shake me. “Fine… I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but…” I was half-sure something bad was going to happen, but I decided to activate my enemy-detecting skill, Sense Foe, and… “Kazuma! Kazuma!” “What is wrong with you?! How stupid can you be, getting tangled like that?! Darkness, when I cut the vines, I want you to pull Aqua out of there!” After restarting our search relying only on Sense Foe, we headed over toward the closest enemy in range, where… “This monster appears to be closely related to mimics! Rejoice, Scholar Aqua, for I have discovered a new monster today thanks to you! Therefore, I will give you the honor of naming it!” “Hold on, Burton. I want to name it.” “Stop chatting and save me! Kazuma, you’re at least halfway decent with a sword, right?! Plus, I haven’t really seen you ever use that sword of yours much, so now’d be a good time!” Right when I mentioned that I was detecting an enemy nearby, Aqua picked a piece of fruit off the tree, which immediately wrapped her in its vines…and brought us to where we were now. “Don’t worry! Trust me! I’m going to close my eyes when I swing, so my Luck should offset my poor swordsmanship!” “Ahhhhhh!” I swung Chunchunmaru, easily cutting the vines wrapped around Aqua. “Tsk! Usually, I’d beg to be tied up next, but finding that liger is more important right now! Aqua, are you okay? Kazuma, let’s start heading over to the next location you detect!” Darkness, who was really motivated for a change, pulled the tearful goddess back to safety. “I want to go home already…” “Y-you’re just going to have to deal with it for now, Aqua. Oh, and don’t touch anything growing in random places, either.” While Darkness was trying to calm Aqua down, Megumin suddenly remarked, “How about we call this monster Aqualiana? The name came to me when I saw how beautiful the vines were while wrapping around Aqua.” “Aqualiana, a monster that mimics trees… I’ll submit an application once we get back into town.” “I will cause it to rain over the capital for an eternity if you register it under that name.” While Aqua threatened Burton after being saved, I used Sense Foe to find our next destination. “Okay, I’ve picked up another enemy!” While heading over to the destination I’d detected… “Ahhhhhh!” “There is nothing to be afraid of, Scholar Aqua! That’s just how Tentacle Beetles show their affection!” A massive stag beetle suddenly appeared and immediately grabbed Aqua with its mandibles. “Sense Foe isn’t reacting to it, so I guess that means it’s not hostile.” “Those are just love bites, similar to a kitten’s.” I decided to watch, since it was apparently just expressing its affection, but… “Hey! Let go of Aqua this instant! We’ve got a liger to chase! If you want to squeeze someone that badly, squeeze me!” “Darkness, wait. I feel like I’m about to make a connection with it.” Darkness was impatiently trying to pull Aqua free, but Aqua seemed to be actually enjoying it right now. After the goddess and beetle truly began to understand each other… “I’m always getting sugar water at Wiz’s shop, so maybe that’s why it likes me so much?” “I’ve had enough of this! Kazuma, let’s go!” After bidding farewell to the stag beetle, we continued treading ahead until my enemy-detecting skill alerted me that there was something hiding in the trees. “It’s here…,” Megumin softly muttered as her eyes glowed crimson. Lying on a small branch were a few gems, and sprawled out next to those gems as if to protect them was… “It doesn’t appear to be exercising much caution at all. What is going on?” uttered Burton, squinting. He had a point, though. This liger could see us, yet it wasn’t even growling at us. Nevertheless, it was showing up when I used Sense Foe, so it was clear it didn’t want to be our friends. Aqua, on the other hand, took one look at the gems, and her eyes opened wide, sparkling with delight. “That necklace is the only one we need to get back, right? So let’s split the rest of the gems fifty-fifty.” “Hold on, Aqua. You better not be forgetting my family heirloom.” And yet, the liger still didn’t seem worried about us in the least. “He’s just lying there even after seeing us. It has to be a trap.” Monsters in the liger family were smart, after all. It made sense now. It was probably waiting for us to lower our guards! “No. It simply doesn’t see us as a threat,” adamantly claimed Burton. “What? Did you forget how it was afraid of us last time? Plus, it immediately took off running after stealing Darkness’s pendant.” “It was afraid of Scholar Iris last time. It’s highly possible that it only ran away this time because it didn’t think you all were worth its time.” Megumin began chanting a spell. “Wait, Megumin. The national treasure and my pendant are still there!” “Yeah, Megumin. I will not allow you to destroy all that treasure! What good is gem dust to me?!” They grabbed Megumin in a fluster, but that wasn’t even necessary…because Megumin’s magic was currently sealed. “Relax. That thing isn’t underestimating us. It’s cautiously watching us. I, a lover of cats, can tell these things, and I am sure that monster doesn’t want any trouble, either.” There was no reason to kill it. Our only goal was to get the necklace and pendant back. Ligers were smart. In other words, they most likely understood our language. The necklace-wearing liger started nibbling on and licking Darkness’s pendant atop the tree branch, as if it had really taken a liking to it. I put on a gentle smile to show it I meant no harm, then said: “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. Here, I can trade you something better for those gems. Do you want jerky? How about some fruit? In return, I only ask th—” The liger suddenly leaped right at me as I was trying to casually approach it. After I managed to dodge its claws by the skin of my teeth, it continued to growl at me with the heirloom in its mouth. “Did you see that?! It tried to attack me! And I was being friendly! …Ah! It just yawned!” “It is definitely looking down on you, Kazuma! It doesn’t see you as a threat!” While we began exercising caution, Darkness, on the other hand, suddenly shot forward. “Hand over the pendant! I promise not to kill you, since you’re an endangered species, but if you resist…!” Darkness raised her sword into the air as if to scare it, but the liger casually leaped back, throwing off her timing. It then swung one of its paws, knocking Darkness on her rear before jumping on top of her. “Ahhhhhh! Tsk…! What do you think you’re doing, foul beast…?! G-get off me…!” “Don’t act tough if you’re just going to let it easily overpower you like that. And stop enjoying it! Hey, Megumin! I’m going to break your magic’s seal!” Megumin shuddered. “…?! The time has finally arrived… It appears Kazuma has come to terms with it as well…” She was acting like this was a big deal, but all I was doing was return her mana with Drain Touch. “I, Kazuma Satou, have freed you from your shackles! Megumin of the Crimson Magic Clan, I now grant you permission to use explosion magic!” “Fine. But this is the only time I am calling you Master and following your orders. It is time for my powers, which have been sealed away for too long, to be unleashed upon this world!” “Wow. Those two look like they’re having fun. I want to play, too.” The beast that would lead this world to its end, Megumin, had been released into the wild. She immediately began chanting a spell when… “Hey, Kazuma? The liger looks really surprised. I think it’s afraid of Megumin now that her seal has been broken,” commented Aqua. When I looked over at the liger, its eyes were opened wide in bewilderment, staring at Megumin. Telling humans apart was apparently difficult for monsters, so they would use mana to differentiate. Megumin’s chanting caused her mana to overflow, so the liger probably just realized that she was the same person who had driven it into a corner the other day. “Darkness, grab the necklace hanging around its neck! Then Megumin can vaporize it with Explosion!” I shouted out orders to Darkness, who was being held down by the liger, so we could fulfill the mission first and foremost. “I—I can’t move. It’s holding both my arms down, preventing me from moving so it can—” “Stop making it seem like you’re enjoying this! Are you really even trying to escape?!” I sprinted to Darkness’s aid. “W-wait! Scholar Megumin, you understand that’s an endangered species, right?!” “Worrying about that is how it got away last time! I am not letting it escape this time, though!” Ignoring their argument, I shouted out: “Aqua, could you distract it for a moment?! If you can buy us even one second, that’d be great!” “Okay! I’ve got this!” Aqua’s unusually confident reply convinced me that this wouldn’t work. “I’m going to use Steal on it, since I should have a high chance of stealing the necklace back! Megumin, once I get the national treasure, I want you to blow that thing to bits!” Burton’s face was overcome with shock the moment he heard those words. He screamed: “Wait! If you do that, Scholar Darkness is going to be…!” “Thrilled!” As I rushed over to Darkness, the liger shifted its gaze toward me. “Wait, Kazuma! That would definitely save the national treasure, but the Dustiness heirloom would be—” “Forget about the heirloom! If your dad gets mad, I’ll give him my family heirloom to make up for it!” I yelled back at Darkness while unsheathing my oddly named cherished sword, which had just become my family heirloom. “Aqua! Now!” “Like a flower reflected in a mirror—like the moon reflected on the water’s surface… Feast your eyes on the ultimate party trick…!” The liger immediately leaped back, although showing no interest in Aqua’s party trick. “Steal!” Even though it jumped out of the way, it was still surprisingly in range of my attack. Inside my closed hand was a necklace that was extremely valuable in more ways than one. In addition, there was a small opening now that the liger had jumped slightly away from Darkness, which meant Megumin would be able to cast Explosion without hurting any of us. “Megumin, now!” Right as I gave the order to attack… “Wait! Scholar Megumin, remember how the Crystal Liger is an endangered species!” Megumin glanced at Burton before looking straight back into the liger’s eyes. “Crystal Ligers are normally very docile creatures! They’re herbivores that love wolfberry fruit! Could you at least consider simply scaring it away instead?!” Burton was desperately shouting, but Megumin was normally someone who boasted that she’d kill a loving Duxion couple if it’d give her enough experience points. The spell-caster’s seal had been broken. There was no way she’d stop now. “Explooosion!!!” The liger couldn’t even move a muscle. It only stared at Megumin as if it could sense the powerful mana from the spell being cast. “Ahhhhhhhhh! The treasure…! The treasuuuuuure…!” Aqua’s screams echoed about. The spell had gone right past the liger’s side and hit the den behind it, destroying it, along with countless gems inside!
Chapter 27
34 min read