One day we were having lunch at the adventurer’s guild, as a guild employee came over: “Excuse me, I want the party of Kazuma Satou to carry out a quest...”
A direct request, they are special quests given to famous adventurers.
“A request, you say? Fufu, we seem to be quite famous!”
“I’m here, so it’s obvious that we’d be famous!”
I understood why Darkness and Aqua were getting excited, they have prominent abilities. So, it was certain that a direct request would come eventually.
“What are you asking us to do? If it’s from you I have no problem accepting it, but... We’re a party that has top-level jobs, it will be expensive.”
“Not too long ago you were begging for a job, but now you’re quite full of yourself” Aqua was noisy.
The guild employee faced me as I was pretending to be cool, but was struggling to say what she wanted “That, umm... it’s not exactly for your Kazuma... I want to ask Megumin to carry out the request...”
At that, our gazes were drawn towards Megumin who was still eating the pudding from her lunch.
A huge typhoon is approaching Axel.
“From the sea to the south of the city, a large typhoon is slowly making its way northward. The city is exposed to the typhoon’s impact from tomorrow morning until noon. If it continues, the city will suffer serious damage.”
In Japan typhoons occur every year, in this world they are considered major disasters. Rivers will overflow, crops will perish, houses will be destroyed, and even the outer walls of the city may collapse.
There also is one more problem that only exists in this world.
“When the typhoon arrives, the monsters will be powered up and become more active. The city’s protection needs to be strengthened.” Darkness said with a serious expression.
“Hey, Kazuma. Hearing there’s a typhoon makes me I feel excited.”
“What does the typhoon have to do with Megumin? Could it be blown away by the shockwave of the explosion?”
Darkness answered with a surprised expression “Don’t you know? Typhoons happen when great spirits go out of control. Capable adventurers are summoned to restore the great spirit’s sanity every typhoon season.”
This is what this world is like.
“...A typhoon is a natural phenomenon that occur on the surface of the sea, it has nothing to do with spirits.”
Typhoons are tropical cyclones that appear over warm seas. In this world where science and education are less developed than in earth, they must think that rain and typhoons are miracles of the gods.
Then, Aqua tugged on my sleeve and whispered into my ear “Kazuma, Kazuma, in this world the one who sends down rain is a great spirit. This world is different from earth, so if you say that with such insolence it’s embarrassing.”
This is what this world is like!
“So it’s like that, the enemy is the great spirit of the storm. It’s times like these when Megumin’s explosive magic shines!”
Explosion magic is the strongest magic. Rather than being some element it’s an explosion of pure magic power. Be it a ghost, God, or a demon, it can hurt anything. The useless Megumin only comes in handy in times like this.
Perhaps because they heard of the approaching typhoon the other adventurers began to look towards Megumin with expectant gazes while nodding...
“No.” Everyone was stunned at Megumin’s reply.
“...Hey, what’s wrong? Normally you would talk at length about the greatness of explosion magic and go straight ahead even if the typhoon hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Who do you think I am? Don't think of me as someone who's always looking for a fight! I'm treated like a troublemaker, and only relied on when things get tough. I don't like that! If you want my help, you should think about how you treat me on a daily basis.” Megumin turned away, her words full of frustration.
The adventurers began to turn pale.
“W-Wait, it’s my fault but your power is necessary. Ordinary weapons won’t work against a great spirit, especially one that has high magic defense. The average magic user can’t do anything against it, you’re the only one that can do it...” As a man wearing an iron mask said, Megumin’s cheeks began to twitch.
“That’s right, in times of emergency, you’re the most reliable. When fighting the Dullahan and the Destroyer you were our trump card!”
Megumin’s mouth began to relent at those words.
“That’s right, as the strongest member of the Crimson Magic Clan, it’s your turn to shine. Show those who always tease you, the true power of explosive magic!”
Megumin’s mouth now turned into a grin “Geez, do you really need my power like that? The power of the number one archwizard in the city of Axel?” she said with her face still turned away.
“That’s obvious! Show us your explosion magic!”
“Explosion! Explosion!”
“Sorry for spreading the weird nickname, I’ll think of another one later!”
Megumin started to stand up while showing a smile on her face and shaking out her robes “What the hell! If you say it like that, I’ll show you my power on the condition that you show me respect... Wait! The one who said the last thing come forward!” Her stubborn face suddenly turned serious.
While Megumin started to pick a fight with one of the adventurers I thought of something.
“Stop giving me weird nicknames! Otherwise, your house will be destroyed by an explosion while you were away..., What’s wrong Kazuma, I’m saying something important! This is the chance to change my nickname, I can’t be gentle now...!”
While calming Megumin I smiled and nodded “She doesn’t seem very interested, so it would be a pity to force her. Can we find someone else?”
“W-What? Another magic user that can damage a great spirit...” My words were confusing the guild receptionist.
Seeing that Megumin shook her head “W-Wai… Take it easy Kazuma. There’s definitely something wrong about granting the wishes of people better off ignored, but a great archwizard like me can’t turn down a desperate request like that. After all, there's nobody but me, the greatest genius of the Crimson Magic Clan, can damage the spirit…”
“Yes there is, there’s one right over there. The other Crimson Magic claner living in this town, Yunyun.” I pointed at a table where a lone girl was sitting.
She was building a tower with cards as she finally noticed everyone looking at her “Eh? U-Umm... Why are you looking at me? Did I make a mistake? If the card tower is annoying, I’ll get rid of it right away...!” Yunyun started tidying up her card tower.
The adventurers began to speak up “Oh yeah, Yunyun can use high level magic!” “That’s right, even great spirits will be damaged if it’s high level magic!”
“Wh...” Muttered the archwizard who had refused to help.
Yunyun was informed of the situation by a nearby adventurer and stood up as her eyes glowed red “L-L-Leave it to me, after all I was relied on when someone wanted to borrow money back in the village, if it’s okay, I’ll do it no matter how difficult!”
The adventurers started to cheer at Yunyun’s reply.
Finally, Darkness seemed to begin to understand my intentions “Only Yunyun might not be enough, if Megumin doesn’t want to do it, how about we ask Wiz for help too? Not only can she use high level magic, but she can also use explosion magic. I think she’ll be quite useful.”
“...Eh?” Megumin was making smaller and smaller sounds.
“Oh yeah, there’s Wiz too! Isn’t that enough to ward off a typhoon!”
“One Crimson Magic Claner is enough and Yunyun wants to do it. Those who don’t want to don’t need to... Uooh, what are you doing!”
“Tell me who doesn’t want to do it! Don’t give up so easily! In terms of explosion magic, I’m number one, if you take me, I’ll definitely be useful!” Megumin was making a scene while tugging on one of the adventurer’s collars.
“Isn’t it great Megumin, you don’t have to make that unwanted request! Just leave it to us!” Aqua said patting Megumin’s shoulder, seemingly without bad intentions.
“I’m sorry for being so bold, please let me help too!”
Part 2
[Emergency, an out-of-control typhoon is currently heading towards the city! Residents, please stay indoors and shut the doors firmly!]
As the announcement given by the adventurer’s guild staff echoed, we headed out of the city along with the other adventurers.
“There are many things I want to ask, first, what is an out-of-control typhoon?”
“An out-of-control typhoon is a typhoon that gets out of control. It seems like the great spirit is in a bad mood.”
I don’t want to question this world anymore “We’re going to do something about it, right?”
“Can’t you see that everyone is getting ready?”
The other adventurers besides me. They all are...
“Why are you all wearing swimsuits!?”
“Are you dumb Kazuma? What would happen if you wore armor against that typhoon? The opponent is the great spirit of the storm, attacks that work against them are water and wind. Moreover, the great spirit likes water, so the fight will take place in a place where there is plenty of it. To avoid drowning, we took off our heavy armor and wore swimsuits. Doesn’t it make sense to you?”
I understand, but...,
“Megumin is walking with something that looks like a pool toy, we aren’t going to play, are we? We’re going to fight against the great spirit!”
“It’s obvious. It’s likely that the battle will be fought in the lake close to the city. I brought a floater so I could cast magic while on water. Kazuma, how long are you going to keep joking, please be serious. If we don’t do something, Axel will suffer severe damage” Aqua nodded, she was wearing her usual clothes.
Why yes.
Why am I the one being told to be serious by everyone is wearing swimsuits and carrying pool toys?
But yeah...
“Because of this, I’m able to see Wiz in a swimsuit, so it’s okay.”
“Speaking so bluntly is really like you Kazuma, huh? It’s a good I’m not wearing a swimsuit, after all there’s no telling what kind of perverted gazes will be staring at me.”
Ignoring the delirious Aqua, I stared at Wiz who was wearing a black bikini. Considering her body is quite voluptuous I think the shop’s traffic will increase just by her changing the unfashionable robe she usually wears.
“Umm, Kazuma, if you keep looking at me like that it makes me uncomfortable...”
“Don’t think about it.”
Aqua shook her hand as if shooing me away “Kazuma, you’ll be useless in this quest, so how about you just go and watch in a corner!”
“What? What are YOU going to do? Your attacks are only useful against demons and undead!”
Aqua snorted to my complain “Dumb Kazuma, the opponent is a great spirit. That means, it’s my turn to control the water. Storms and water are a perfect match. I feel sorry for Megumin, but this time I’ll show you how to calm a spirit that’s out of control!” Aqua was confident, I was confused about how to keep her from doing anything unnecessary.
Darkness was wearing a white one-piece outfit while blocking the adventurers’ gazes off Megumin “Being stared at by adventurers feels good. Megumin, Yunyun hide behind me. Wiz, you too, if you feel shy wear my coat.” Her cheeks blushed red as she glanced at the male adventurers, her body began to tremble.
That pervert.
“It’d be great if this happened every year, we could see all the female adventurers wear swimsuits!”
“Every year the Honorable Great Spirit comes. ...But to convince female adventurers all male adventurers must wear swimsuits too and take on most of the battle.”
“Putting that aside, the three magic users are all close to Kazuma, right? We’re counting on you!”
Against the adventurer’s expectant gaze, I began to question “Is a strong attack necessary? If the great spirit is wiped out, this won’t happen again next year, will it? Instead of getting Megumin, wouldn’t it be better to ask Yunyun or Wiz for help from the start?”
The man I was talking to shrank his body and lowered his voice “The great spirit will calm down if it is attacked to a certain degree. But when that happens, the amount of damage will cause a special event to happen.”
“A special event?”
“In return for the help, it will give a very strong gust of wind. Strong enough so that everything on your body will be blown away...” he whispered near my ear “…everything.”
If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better not to bring Megumin? I’m not sure she can hold back.
As if to answer my question, the man whispered again, “In other words, with these outfits there’s a good chance one of the girls will experience POLO.”
(TL’s note: POLO means Panties Off, Legs Open)
I will face the Honorable Great Spirit with all I’ve got.
Part 3
On the plains near the town of Axel a group of people wearing swimsuits headed south.
They were adventurers who risked their lives fighting the typhoon that was coming to town, not a bunch of perverts.
“Even so, we look bad.”
“Hey, even I refrained from saying that, so shut up! You can’t say that; we’re doing a noble deed, but from an outsider’s we’d look like a bunch of crazies!”
“If you’re saying that then you’re thinking the same thing. Everyone around is wearing sandals, swimsuits, and carrying pool toys while trying to look serious. Strange has its limits, even if it’s late I regret not borrowing a magic camera.” We were whispering at the back of the group.
Darkness tilted her head and approached us “What’s wrong Kazuma? Since this is your first battle against the great spirit of the storm, is there anything that making you anxious?”
“No, umm, yeah. I just think everyone looks excited.”
Darkness nodded slightly while showing a noble expression “Yes, if we don’t stop the great spirit of the storm, the city will suffer severe damage. That’s why everyone is excited.”
If they weren’t wearing swimwear and carrying pool toys, they might look a bit cool.
“Geez, what’s with that sloppy body of yours in the traditional waterproof gear of the Crimson Magic Clan? This dark blue color camouflages us in the water, and the unusual material will reduce the drag in the water. Yunyun, you will look slimmer.”
“There’s nothing that can be done about my figure. I don’t want to stand out, if I could change my appearance, I’d like that flat body of yours Megumin.”
“Alright before the battle against the great spirit of the storm, let’s warm up, come forward.” Megumin was walking with a pool toy around her waist and looked like a child with that bathing suit as she began to intimidate Yunyun.
She said that was Crimson Magic Clan waterproof gear, but what the two of them were wearing were Japanese school swimsuits. I’m sure it must have been some idiot from Japan that came to this world who spread those swimsuits.
No, it’s not stupid, it’s a good deed of a fellow countryman.
Then “Rain...”
We were close to the great spirit of the storm. The wind has gotten stronger too. At the same time, the clouds in the sky began to darken and, in the distance, there was the sound of thunder.
The great spirit that controls the storm was in front of us.
As if it was a warning to us not to continue the rain and wind suddenly blew very strongly.
“Kyaaa?!” At the shout of a female adventurer, everyone turned around.
She was crouched down while looking embarrassed.
Maybe the ties of her bikini weren’t tight enough, now her top is in a sorry state, the nearby female adventurers hurriedly tried to cover her with their coats.
“Everyone, don’t be afraid of this storm!”
“Yaaaaaa!” Hearing someone’s encouraging voice, the male adventurers, including me, started shouting!
We continued despite warnings, eventually a large lake came into view. The surrounding area was already a stormy, but there was no time to feel mesmerized.
“Kazuma, there, in the middle of the lake! I will reprimand that Great Spirit. Tell the other adventurers not to attack it.”
“What’s that? Why is there a beautiful woman floating in the sky, is she the Great Spirit?”
“That’s right. They are distant relatives of the water spirit, the great spirit that controls storms. It is rumored that the spirit has no original form and changes its appearance according to people’s imaginations. That water and storms have an inseparable relationship. I’m sure when people hear the word storm, they immediately think of the beautiful, wise holy water spirit. That’s why the great storm spirit took on that form.” Her praising of the water spirit made me a little disturbed, but I felt that it was not suitable for this weirdo to be a goddess anyway.
The great spirit who was supposed to be out of control showed a sluggish expression, wavy blue colored hair, and somehow looked like a woman of in the night world.
Aqua stopped the rushing adventurers. She put her hands together as if in prayer, then showed a stern expression and stared at the spirit.
The seemingly holy figure looked like it came out of a fairy tale, I couldn’t imagine that she was the same as Aqua...
“O my distant relative... The water goddess Aqua commands you. Quiet your anger... Calm your mind like water, dispel the wrath of your heart. If you honor the water goddess, dispel this storm now...” Aqua spoke in a voice that was no louder to the sound of the rushing wind…
Then she was blown away by a strong gust of wind and rolled over in front of us.
Aqua was prone on the ground and did not move at all for a while, the great spirit flipping her off.
“...Fine, I’ll catch you and use you as a fan at home!” Covered in mud, she jumped up on the spot and once again approached the lake. Normally I would try to stop her, but water was her territory, so I would let her do as she pleased.
The heavy rain wouldn’t stop, and the wind blew hard. In the face of such overwhelming nature, the men desperately jumped into the hostile lake to protect the magic users.
“It’s fine for those who can’t swim or float, the most important thing is to distract the enemy! Protect the magic users even if you have to risk your lives!” The man who faced the strong gusts of wind head-on crossing his arms shouted while holding his position.
Ah, that’s right.
“I’m expecting everyone to give it their all! We have a lot of fire power this year, the spirit’s counterattack will be very dangerous!”
The ones here are real men. True gentlemen who would risk their life for a moment’s hope.
Even I understand their feelings!
“The succubus service might be amazing, but I want to see the real thing once in a while! Especially, now that Wiz is wearing a bikini! She has the highest potential!”
I was wearing my usual clothes, and while encouraging the adventurers around me, I took off and jumped into the lake, Megumin was swimming dog paddle style while using the floater.
If it’s from the edge of the lake, magic can’t reach the great spirit at the center. That’s why we swam get close “Megumin, I’ll try to do something to attract the Honorable Great Spirit’s attention, so you just stand by the lake! I’ll pull her into the range of your explosion magic, be prepared!”
“O-Okay! But the opponent is a great spirit, how do you distract her if your attacks don’t work?”
Without answering Megumin’s question, I swam freestyle to approach the great spirit...!
“Ah, Kazuma, right on time! I’m sorry, but can you help me!?” Darkness was desperately clinging to a buoy “Being a decoy is the role of a crusader, but I can’t do anything against this enemy!”
After pulling her to the edge of the lake the battle atmosphere somehow even became stranger.
“The Honorable Great Spirit is different from the last time. It’s stronger...” An adventurer seemingly not confident in his swimming ability fled to the lakeside with worrisome words.
The wind around the great spirit began to swirl, and whirlpools started to form at the center of the lake. The great spirit looks strange.
From my point of view, rather than being out of control, she looked inexplicably tormented. She was knocking away all the adventurers who tried to approach her, yet she offered no resistance to the mid-level magic released by the female adventurers.
Spirits can only be harmed by magic, be it enchanted weapons or spells. Why does it put up a fight?
I once again jumped into the lake, thinking of how to pull that great spirit to the shore...
The adventurers who were in the center of the lake began to swim towards the shore, Yunyun and Wiz among them.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Why is everyone coming back?”
“Ah, Kazuma! Lady Aqua swam all the way to the center of the lake started fighting the great spirit... After that we couldn’t approach it...”
Why is she always doing unnecessary things. “I’ll pull that idiot back, Wiz and the others stand by the shore. I’ll draw the great spirit back!”
“A-Alright, good luck!”
With a breaststroke I slowly made my way to the center of the lake.
Part 4
“That’s enough! Why don’t you listen to me?!”
“△□、◯◯□□”
“What!? Say that again!”
“△□、◯◯□□”
“Don’t actually say it again! Do you want divine punishment?!”
The great spirit was floating above Aqua. She had her head above the water as the two were having a strong argument.
“Ah, Kazuma! Listen, this is a bad great spirit! There’s no limit to what she can say!”
“△⨉△△, □△□△…”
“Waaaaaaaaaa, I’ll never forgive you!”
I didn’t understand what the spirit was saying at all. But seeing the two like this made me get an idea.
“Aqua you can understand the Honorable Great Spirit?”
“I don’t know how somebody with such a bad mouth can be ‘honorable’, but, yes I can communicate with her.”
“◯◯◯◯......”
“What did you say!”
I signaled the angry Aqua to come here “Can you lure her to the lakeside? Megumin and the others are on standby casting their magic. If we can lure her there...”
“I see, we can kill the annoying spirit!”
Not what I meant.
“Alright! I lost before, but this time...!”
Did she lose an argument with the spirit? I can only imagine that she’ll lose again.
I whispered to her “Aqua tell her this...”
“Yes, yes.” She nodded “This man said, ‘You look like a rundown prostitute’.”
I looked back while holding on to vigorously swimming Aqua.
“Hey, can’t you swim any faster?! The Honorable Great Spirit looks angry!”
“As expected from Kazuma, you’re an expert at angering women!”
“Don’t say that, there will be strange rumors about me again!”
Thanks to Aqua swimming like a tuna, we were almost at the lake’s shore, where Megumin and the others were standing by.
I clung to Aqua, screaming “Are you all ready? First Yunyun, then Wiz and finally you Megumin, do it with all your might!”
What follows is something that has been highly anticipated for a long time!
“If I’m not mistaken when an out-of-control grand spirit is hit by magic, it will return the attack until it returns to its sanity! Instead of firing three magic attacks simultaneously, how about firing one...!” Megumin shouted while looking this way.
“Dumbass! Do you still consider yourself an adventurer, why would you be afraid of counterattack!” I started to get angry as we reached the lake’s shore “The great spirit of the storm gets out of control every year! We’re here to put an end to it, this way there won’t be anyone grieving every time there’s a typhoon...!”
“Y-Yes, although at first glance that sounds convincing, wouldn’t letting it take the attack from Yunyun first, then when it regains its senses, we attack it with explosion work better?”
Then...
“You disappoint me, crazy explosion girl! I thought you’d immediately challenge her!” Maybe he heard our conversation, as an adventurer started ranting.
Other adventurers too.
“Yeah, I thought you were the most reckless and crazy of all. The most unafraid of death in all of Axel! But now you are afraid of a counterattack? How disappointing!”
“W-What did you say!? ... I’ll show you when the Crimson Magic Clan is serious! Come on, Yunyun, let’s get started!” Megumin’s eyes began to glow at the adventurer’s provocation.
Yunyun stepped forward “A-Alright! If it’s for the sake of the townspeople, we’ll defeat her!”
Looking at the two archwizards, the adventurers raised their thumbs at me. Replying the same way, I caught Darkness pacing back and forth “I leave it to you Darkness, now is your turn to act! If Megumin and the others can’t defeat it, a huge counterattack will happen. That’s when you must protect them!”
“Leave it to me! I’ll eliminate the stigma of me being useless during a major fight!”
Great attitude, I’m counting on you to be in charge of the perverted stuff! I’d say, but then I realized something after seeing her come forward.
She was wearing a one-piece swimsuit.
At this rate, even if she is hit by a strong wind, she won’t be stripped. Moreover, if she is the one standing in front, she’ll protect the rest.
“Darkness, wait a minute...”
“Yunyun, now is the time to show them the power of the Crimson Magic Clan!”
“Dad, mom! I’m now being relied on by people! Thunder Strike!”
It seemed like she put all his magic power into that attack. She collapsed after shouting, Wiz carried her away.
The great spirit was hit by a bolt of lightning from the sky, her body twitching and trembling. I felt that the out-of-control great spirit’s body seemed to be weakening slightly.
“Alright, now it’s my turn! We can’t let the townspeople suffer! Explosion!”
The explosive magic that Wiz unleashed next went so far as to push the heavy rain and hit the great spirit directly. A huge wave along with a loud rumbling sound appeared at the lake, without checking what happened to the great spirit...!
“With my power, I will end your life, oh great spirit of the storm! Take this CRIMSON WAVE EXPLOSION!” Perhaps because she played the lead role in the attacks, she showed a strong spirit.
...I honestly felt anxious after seeing that. This won’t annihilate the great spirit, right?
No, I’ve heard that even a great spirit like General Winter can’t be defeated with an explosion.
Maybe it will be okay...!
It should be fine, but....
As the explosion died out, we could see the lake clearer...,
“Oh, she survived! The Honorable Great Spirit is alive!”
Her anger had disappeared, revealing a serene face while floating in the air.
After seeing that, we started cheering.
Megumin, face flat on the ground, said “Umm, the last attack didn’t work, why is everyone happy?” Even Darkness was, probably expecting a powerful counterattack.
“The Honorable Great Spirit is laughing?” A murmur from someone instantly made everyone realize that great spirit figure bowed in thanks. The storm was beginning to calm down too.
...Ah, I see.
“That girl, she must have sucked in too much magic power and couldn’t hold it in anymore. After all, magic power is the lifeblood of spirits, if they are injured, they recover using it.”
Having seen her get hit by a magic attack directly made me believe in Aqua.
“△□△△？ ◯、△□⨉◯!”
“Huh? You don’t need to give a gift for all the magic power you received. But if you want to no matter what, I have no problem accepting it.” Aqua translated the mysterious language, making me confident this time.
A gift.
Yes, the sudden gust wind was a gift of gratitude to us adventurers.
The great spirit extended her hand this way.
That thank you gift!
“Sacred Break Spell!” Moving away from the great spirit, Aqua released her magic.
The gift was annihilated by Aqua’s magic.
“Wait, you, what did you meant by gift! Just now you wanted to launch a very strong wind!”
“□、□□⨉◯”
“Wait, who are you calling me someone who can’t read the mood! Are you trying to fool me by saying it’s a gift but attacking instead?!”
All the male adventurers fell silent.
“□□□□□......”
“Hey, why are you feeling sorry for the adventurers? I protected them so they should feel grateful, there’s nothing to feel sorry for.”
Looking towards the Great Spirit, I can only pity her.
“⨉◯、△△△......”
“For some reason she asked me to tell you ‘Please help next year too’.
”Honorable Great Spirit, we also ask for your help for next year.
Notes:
A running joke here is that the men use the honorific “san” when talking about the great spirit, as a sign of respect for her gift. Because I omitted honorifics on this translation, I added an “Honorable” to the great spirit when men talk about her as to somehow keep the joke.
Feel free to translate this to other languages/ get in touch to further improve, just make sure as to include the credits section as included here. Thanks.
Konosuba Yorimichi Anthology Volume 2 by Natsume Akatsuki
Illustrations by Kurone Mishima
Published by Kadokawa Shoten on November 1st, 2020.
Original crappy translation by H. Berry.
Additional help goku0.
Edited by Felinicity Bone.
Edited chapter title image by u/artgold8 and @jacht_ny, images sent by Felinicity Bone.
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