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Part 1
It’s been a while since we
settled in the town of Axel. Not long after arriving to this world I endured
plenty of hardships after getting a huge amount of debt, but that’s all paid off.
I can finally live in peace.
“I’m thinking on going on a
trip.”
While I was yawning on the
couch, I heard Aqua saying something that could throw away our peaceful life.
“That’d be nice, but aren’t
you on cooking duty tomorrow?”
The daily
life in our mansion I don’t want anything unnecessary when things are so calm.
“That’s ok;
I’ll be back by dinner.”
“Then you’re
going on a picnic, not a trip. I bet you’re scared on going alone and want us
to come along, right?”
There are
many dangers outside, including giant frogs, Aqua’s nemesis.
“Just
Darkness is fine; Megumin and you are not good enough to guard me.”
…
“Alright,
Megumin, block her escape routes! She’s been able to laze about so much she’s
become reckless. If we let her go, she’ll end up in trouble.”
“I’ll show
her who is ‘not good enough’!”
“Wait! Why
are you acting like what I said was wrong? You’re a greedy NEET and Megumin
will cast explosion the moment you take your eyes off her.”
That’s not
an apology at all.
While
Megumin took her position, I rolled up my sleeves and approached Aqua.
“Waaaaaaah!
Darkness, help me! I haven’t done anything wrong, but these two are trying to
do something terrible!”
“I could
hear you all from the kitchen…” Darkness appeared carrying a tea set, looking
confused.
“Aqua, why
do you want to go anyway?” I asked while Darkness poured tear for everybody.
“We're going
to pick up oddly shaped stones. We've searched in all the rivers around here
already, so we're going on an expedition to the rivers up in the mountains.”
She just
wants to waste time.
“I’d take
you with me, but you’re a greedy NEET that’d steal any valuable stone. And
Megumin’s short temper means she’ll just explode the whole river.”
I don’t
collect junk, but she’s right on the money with Megumin, who suddenly looked
away.
“Alright
then, Megumin and I will stay home; Darkness, I’ll leave Aqua in your care. If
you run into a monster, make sure to run away, okay?”
“W-wait a
minute, I have to go!? I have a bad feeling about this!” Darkness dropped her
teacup in panic as she protested, but Aqua grabbed her hand and took her away.
“The
crusader has to protect the priest! I want to be back by dinner, let’s go!”
Megumin and
I saw off the reckless Aqua drag Darkness away.
Part 2
We were
bored, Megumin and I went to Wiz’s shop to see if there was anything
interesting to find.
“Kazuma,
Megumin, welcome. Vanir is out and I have nothing to do for now.” A greening
Wiz greeted us.
The masked
devil was nowhere to be found. He’s probably trying to make up for the losses
of the shop owner.
“I’m going
to make some tea now, feel free to window shop around.”
“Thanks.
Well then, let’s look around.”
Recently, it’s
become difficult to tell if this is a magic tool shop or a café.
“Wiz, what
is this ‘forbidden crimson bloodstone’? Its color is beautiful, but why is it
forbidden!?” Megumin picked up a red stone from the shelf. Apparently, the
color and name struck a chord.
Guess she’s
entering the age where she’s becoming interested in this kind of things.
“Ah, that's
the name Vanir gave to the red stone Lady Aqua found. It's just a stone, there’s
nothing special about it, but Vanir said that if we put it on the shelf a Crimson
Magic Sucker would buy it—”
Megumin
threw the stone in the trash without letting her finish.
“By the way,
I got some products from your village the other day, but Yunyun bought them
already.”
“What was
that girl thinking? I wanted some too!”
As the two
were chatting about, I picked up something, “Hey, what’s this ring? There's no
name or description, not even a price tag.”
It was a
black ring, somewhat ominous and tasteless looking. It may not have been for
sale, as it was on the counter rather than the shelf.
“I’m not
sure, I think Vanir bought it. Let me take a look.” Wiz began appraising the
ring using a magic tool that looked like a magnifying glass. She looked at the
ring intently, her expression becoming increasingly grim “This seems to be a
‘demon ring’. It has a powerful curse on it. Those who wear it will gain a
great dark power, but it’ll come at a price. Why would Vanir keep such a thing—?”
Before Wiz would finish, the ring was snatched.
Megumin took
it and put in on her finger with no hesitation.
“W-w-w-w-w-w-what
the hell are you doing!?”
“Megumin!?
That's a cursed item!”
Megumin held
her hand above her head and looked at the ring with fascination, her eyes
glowing an intense crimson, “When I heard that it contained dark power, my
Crimson Magic heart demanded I take it! Come on demon ring, show me your power!”
“No, no,
don’t do that. I can’t let a little girl hold such a dangerous item! Hey, stop
fighting, give me the ring!”
Megumin
curled up on the ground, protecting the ring, “Kazuma, you may also be
fascinated by the power of darkness. But this is a first come, first served! I
won’t give it back until I exhaust its power!”
“Why the
hell would I want the ring! Just take it off and give it back!”
While
Megumin was still on the ground, the front door suddenly opened, a mocking
voice resonated, “Why are you fools making such a fuss? I could hear you from
outside.”
Vanir
appeared in a good mood and a bag full of money.
“Vanir, you
finally came back! Megumin is in trouble because one of your products…”
“My product?
What am I supposed to say when the shop owner keeps wasting our money? With
these payments I received, I’ll finally be able to purchase quality goods—”
Vanir suddenly stopped and froze after seeing Megumin on the ground.
The
all-seeing devil must’ve figured out what she was holding.
“Foolish
girl! Are you wearing a demon ring?”
Megumin turned
to face me, still curled up “What’s the problem on using a magic tool from a
magic tool shop? Kazuma will gladly pay for it, there’s nothing to complain
about!”
“Is there no
brain inside that head of yours, girl!? That rare item was brought directly
from hell to be sold to a wholesaler! Are you trying to force me to break a
contract!?”
“Don’t drag
me into this. I will not pay for such a dangerous item!”
Perhaps
realizing her disadvantage, Megumin finally stood up. “Guess it can’t be helped.
But I must declare that I am worthy of it.”
Talking
defiantly, she then obeyed and held out her hand for me to take off the ring.
“…I can’t
take it off.”
“What!?
…that means the ring has acknowledged me as its true master, asserting itself
by not letting anyone else wear it! Guess that’s that, Kazuma pay for it. They
won’t give it away for free, I’ll pay it back eventually with my allowance…”
Wiz did
say it is cursed; Megumin must’ve put it on knowing it couldn’t be taken off
easily.
Vanir
stopped Megumin while she was celebrating like an idiot. “A cursed ring is
naturally cursed; it can’t be taken off normally. However, given the current
circumstances, there’s only one thing to do.”
“Huh? A
high-level archpriest could lift the curse… but Lady Aqua is not around for
now.”
Vanir shook
his head. “Wiz, bring a priest. A good one will be able to reattach the finger.”
“What!?”
“W-Wait,
what is he thinking of doing!? Kazuma, say something!” Megumin hid behind me,
her face pale.
“Wiz, lend
us the back of the store. I’ll use Steal on Megumin until the ring comes off.
Not sure if it’ll work against cursed items, but it’s worth a try.”
“That won’t
work, you’ll take everything BUT the ring! Listen, I’m sorry for getting
carried away, please wait until Aqua comes back!”
Part 3
Megumin was
complaining as we passed through the city’s main gate. “It’s not fair for a
nice girl to take on two at the same time.”
“Pick your
words more carefully. It all happened because you acted like an idiot. It’s a
cursed item, why would you want a cursed item?”
Megumin can
only cast one spell per day, I don’t want ‘the price for the power of darkness’
to make her an even more joke mage.
“But you are
curious about the ring’s power, aren’t you Kazuma? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be
following me around.”
“Well, that's
true...Vanir said it was a rare item.”
Megumin was
to keep the ring until Aqua returned. Vanir told her not to do anything reckless,
it’s clear that he doesn’t know her very well.
“Let's try
out the power of darkness against our natural enemy, the giant frog. I don't
know what the price is, but I’m willing to take the risk.”
“You're
already at risk.”
Megumin patted
me on the back as we were looking for some frogs. With just the two of us, at
most we’d be able to fight one, if there are more than that we’ll have to run
away or get eaten.
I looked
around cautiously with my enemy detection skill. Not long after, I detected a
frog.
“There's one
on the hill ahead. Can you draw out the power of the ring?”
“I’ve felt
magical power surging from deep inside my body for a while now. I think I can
do something new!”
That does
not give me a good feeling. If the power of darkness is useless, then I’ll have
to save her.
While I was
pondering, the frog noticed us.
“It's
coming! Go, Megumin! Show us your new power!”
“Damn, my
eyes ache. I can feel power gathering in my demon eyes!”
Megumin
tossed her eyepatch and struck a strange pose as the giant frog jumped towards
her.
“Behold the
power of darkness that has awakened inside me!”
A black beam
of light fired from Megumin’s eyes, passing clean through the frog. Not quite
as powerful as explosion magic, but it killed it in one hit.
“That's
amazing, Megumin! You did it, it’s not moving!”
“MY EYES, MY
EYES, AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Megumin was
rolling on the ground covering her eyes.
“That was a
good, but that self-damaging attack won’t do. You think sunglasses or some kind
of visor would help?”
“Don’t take
this so calmly, the cost is too high!”
After using
Freeze on her eyes, the pain subsided somewhat. Finally being able to see again,
she checked her accomplishments.
“As an user
of explosion magic, the power is unsatisfactory. But I guess it’s convenient to
be able to fire so easily.”
“I’d rather
have a mage that can fire a spell multiple times a day.”
Hearing my
opinion, Megumin held up the ring and tilted her head. “Just by looking, I can
feel there’s more to it…” Then she looked at me, as her right eyed glowed red
my body stopped moving.
“Huh!? Hey
Megumin, what did you do? I can't move!”
Megumin
looked surprised for a moment, as if she had used her power without realizing
it, then she smiled triumphantly and flipped her cloak around, “This is my
magical binding eye! Kazuma, if you want freedom, swear an oath! That's right,
swear your eternal loyalty to me, a descendant of darkness!”
“Remember
this when Aqua takes care of that ring. It’ll be too late to cry and apologize
later.”
The
overconfident Megumin trembled slightly at my words, “Kazuma, are you sure you should
say something like that now? I think it’s unwi-AH—!!”
“AHHHHHHHH—!”
I screamed before she could finish. “—are you saying you’re going abuse of my
body while I can’t move? Damn, but even if you take my body, you’ll never take
my heart!”
“Don’t make
it seem like I’m Darkness! I was thinking of tickling you!”
At that moment,
my enemy detection skill reacted from where Megumin shot her beam earlier,
there’s something there.
“Megumin,
break the spell! There’s a frog behind you.”
“You think
I’d fall for that? I bet you’re planning on doing something perverted if I
break the spell, aren’t you? If you swear not to do anything, I might release you.”
She really
thought it was a trap up until a frog jumped behind her.
Megumin showed
a cute smile. “I might’ve gotten carried away; I’ll break the spell right away.
You aren’t the kind of person to take things personally, right Kazuma…?”
Part 4
After
defeating the other frog, Megumin and I headed back to the guild to sell the
frogs’ meat and get our reward.
“Kazuma, you
need to be more serious when giving a warning. You’re such a liar that’s
difficult to believe you…”
The frog
nearly swallowed Megumin by the time I rescued her. Because she was between the
frog and me, she served as bait.
She was
covered in frog slime and complained all the way back.
“Don’t make
me sound like the boy who cried wolf. It’s your fault for being overtaken by
the power of darkness.”
“That phrase
‘being overtaken by the power of darkness’ sounds cool. However, as a wielder
of explosion magic, I cannot succumb to such meager power…”
Megumin
opened the door to the adventurer's guild, Yunyun was waiting for us in the
other side.
She looked
surprised for a moment, then fidgeted as if she wanted to say something. It
seems like she wants to ask Megumin what happened, but she's holding back
because she doesn’t want to interrupt or something.
I had to
greet her, “Hi.”
“Hi, Kazuma. What luck to
meet in a place like this Megumin! It’s another fateful encounter; let’s settle
our rivalry, right here, right now!”
“Argh! Kazuma,
she’s so annoying, don’t provoke her!”
Yunyun
seemed happy after greeting Megumin, but she angrily waved her away. There’s no
way I could leave such an interesting spectacle as is.
“Oh? It’s a
showdown between the true and joke Crimson Magic Claners!”
“Yunyun and
Megumin? Unless Megumin cheats, my money is on Yunyun!”, “Megumin is used to
fighting, she may be a joke mage, but when it comes to arguments, she doesn’t
wait two minutes before throwing a punch.”, “Megumin is strong in fist fights
because she has a high level. Yunyun’s should be high as well.”
Everyone was
guessing which one would win, ignoring the two that were supposed to be
fighting.
Then, one
adventurer stood next to me with a drink in his hand and said, “I’ve been
wondering for a long time Kazuma, which one would you bet on?”
“Front my
point of view, their levels are about even, Yunyun is much more physically
developed, but Megumin may be smarter. However—” In a blunt manner, I assured
the adventurer, “—Megumin has a short temper, she’s also an idiot who gets
angry easily. She may be smart, but certainly not wise.”
“I see, I
can totally agree with that.”
“Stop
talking about us as if we were betting animals!”
While the
whole guild was discussing, Megumin barked and got ready. “If I don’t take you
on now, people will think I’m a coward! Remember the power of my demon eyes! Crimson
Eye Bind!”
“!?”
Megumin
opened her eyes and hit with a surprise attack.
The usual
dumb speech caused the guild to erupt in laughter, until everyone noticed that
Yunyun was acting strange.
“I-I can't
move...!?” Yunyun said, frozen in place, as everyone in the room started to
make a fuss.
“W-What's
wrong, Yunyun? There’s no need to hold back just because you’re old friends.”, “Yunyun
is just going easy on her.”, “I thought Yunyun was the only decent member of
the Crimson Magic Clan...”
“No, no...!
I-I really can't move!”
While Yunyun
defended herself with tears on her eyes, Megumin burst into laughter with a
triumphant look on her face, “Fuhahahahaha, behold my true power! You will not
call me crazy explosion girl any longer!”
“I thought you
didn't care when people called you that, guess you’ve taken it to heart.''
Megumin,
blushing at my comment, then stared at a female adventurer, “Shall I show
everyone proof? Crimson Eye Bind!”
“—Eh!? Wait
a minute, I can't move either!”
Seeing the
adventurer frozen like a statue, the onlookers turned pale and retreated.
“Seriously?
Did Megumin really awaken new powers?”, “It doesn’t seem out of the ordinary
for the Crimson Magic Clan...”, “Not unusual for Kazuma’s party either…”, “Megumin’s
specialty is being useless outside of explosion magic though. What are you
going to do Megumin, stop being Megumin!?”
“Crimson Eye
Bind!! Crimson Eye Bind!!!” Megumin cursed those making unnecessary comments as
the rest of the guild further retreated. She then turned to the frozen
archmage, “Now, Yunyun, are you ready? Let's show them who's on top!”
“Wait, you’re
cheating! I've never heard of the demon eye and it's a surprise attack!”
Unable to
move, Yunyun complains half-crying, which seems to have struck a chord with
Megumin, who tends to be a bully.
“Fuhahahaha!
If you admit defeat and call me ‘Master’ from now on, I will forgive you!
Otherwise, I will continue to place my demon eyes on you and turn you into a
guild ornament!”
“AHHHHHHH!
I-I won't! I'll never admit something like that, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—huh?”
While Yunyun
was crying out, Megumin’s eyes suddenly flashed and her hat bulged, as if being
pushed by something.
“...Megumin,
you're growing horns!”
Two small
horns grew on Megumin's head.
“W-what do
you mean!? O-oh, what is this! There's something on my head!”
“Hey, what
did you do?”
Yunyun
screamed as Megumin panicked, scratching the horns on her head.
“Members of
the Crimson Magic Clan grow horns in addition to demon eyes, huh?”, “Don’t you
know? Apparently, they all have a tattoo somewhere in their bodies too.”
““What the hell... Well, it’s Kazuma’s party, guess he must’ve done something weird again.”
While I was
mad about how everyone talks about my party, I stared intently at Megumin.
“Let’s see,
demon eyes, horns and petite body. Aren’t you a masochist?”
“I’m not in
this state because I want to. Darkness will get mad at me if she hears about
this!”
This
mysterious phenomenon is definitely a side effect of the ring. Megumin must
have thought that too, as she stared at the ring with a confused look.
A bit later.
“You used the ring after all, didn’t you? My, you look so happy!”
Before I knew it, Vanir had arrived at the guild, laughing while holding a lot
of talismans in his hands.
“Those horns
are the price of using the ring? What will happen if she keeps using it?”
“Hmm, it’s
used by demon worshipers to change classes. If she keeps using it, she’ll
become a demon herself.”
Oh.
“Hey Vanir, will
Aqua be able to stop it?”
“That
priest? If she arrives before this joke mage turns into a joke demon, sure.
However, there’s little chance that the two-person party of that woman and the
muscle crusader won’t run into trouble, I can accurately predict she won’t be
around for a while.”
What a
coincidence, I could also see a future where Aqua would come home late and crying.
Megumin
didn't take her eyes off the ring, as if she was thinking very seriously,
perhaps confused by the idea of being turned into a demon...
“Hey
Megumin, did you hear? Everything will be fine once Aqua comes back. Don't
worry—”
“…explosion demon…? Megumin, the crimson explosion demon…”
Apparently, she
was thinking about what to call herself now. Clearly with no remorse or concern.
“I am demon
eye Megumin, the great demon who engulfs everything in flames! Bow down to me,
adventurers! When my eyes shine, you’ll sink into a sea of flames unable to
move a muscle—”
“Don’t call
yourself a great demon without permission, junior demon! Don’t you dare
insinuate that your demon eyes and my all-seeing eye are at the same level!”
Vanir
grabbed Megumin by the head as he stood between the two archwizards. Then he
ostentatiously showed one of the talismans to Yunyun, “Well, statue girl who
has been unable to move due to this joke demon’s power; here is today’s
product! This talisman nullifies spells, just paste in on your forehead and
voila! The only downside is that it’ll make you look silly. Starting at the low
price of 30.000 Eris.”
“Vanir, give
me that! I can’t move right now, please put it on my forehead!”
“Huh!? My
demon eyes will become useless!?”
Yunyun was
finally able to move after Vanir pasted the talisman on her forehead, alongside
its bill. Right away she took her money and paid. The rest of adventurers
called out to Vanir.
“Vanir, give
me one too! I have been frozen for a while.” “Me too, me too! Please, Vanir”,
“One can’t be too careful around Megumin and those eyes of hers, just in case,
give me one too!”, “There’s no way she won’t abuse her power, one please!”
Megumin
froze as her newly acquired power became useless. Vanir on the other hand, was
on a good mood selling so much, “Thank you, thank you! Fuahahahahahahaha,
you've done well, junior demon! If you turn into a full demon, I'll give you a demon
manual for beginners at a particularly low price!”
“I don't
need that! Please don't sell more talismans—!?” As Megumin protested, a dagger
was pointed at her.
The owner of
the dagger, Yunyun, had a determined expression, her eyes glowing, and her body
trembling slightly, “Me-Megumin... I'll stop you before you completely turn
into a demon...! B-Because friends help each other before they go down a dark
path!”
“Settle down
Yunyun, I’ll be fine once Aqua comes back! W-Wait why is everyone looking at me
like that!?”
Three
adventurers were closely approaching Yunyun, as if to support her.
Or rather,
those three…
“Hey Megumin,
how about you try to freeze me again!”, “You think you’re going to get away
with messing with people like that!?”, “I wouldn’t do this if this was a
one-on-one, but with three of us, and Yunyun, we can’t lose!”
Yep, it was
the adventurers Megumin froze earlier.
“Hey, it's
cowardly for four adventurers to take on a defenseless girl!”
As the
adventurers with talismans pasted on their foreheads got closer, Megumin
realized that this was a bad situation and retreated.
“You were
bowing before me just a moment ago!”
“I got the
talisman pasted on me, I'm not afraid of the demon eyes anymore!”, “Hey, crazy
explosion girl! Try saying ‘sorry for getting carried away’!”
Megumin took
my hand, “Kazuma, let’s back off for now! We’ll counterattack later!”
“Hey, stop
it! If you're going to run away, do it by yourself, don't get me involved—!”
For such a
small girl she’s quite strong, she dragged me away from the guild while I try
to resist as to not get caught up.
Part 5
Megumin dragged
me to a nearby park.
Feeling
melancholic, she muttered to herself while on the swing, “We’ve known each
other for so long, I can’t believe my beloved friends at the guild would turn
on me like that…”
“The only
one who ‘turned’ on you was Yunyun, for everyone else that was very natural
behavior.”
Megumin
smiled faintly at me, “Kazuma, you’re so kind. The only ally that remained with
me, a great demon…”
“You’re a
junior demon at best; either way don’t call yourself that so openly. Things
will go back to normal once Aqua returns, stop acting like a lunatic.”
Megumin
stopped the swing, “…Kazuma, shouldn’t you be a little more concerned? A dear
friend of yours will abandon her humanity; you should say ‘I’ll do everything
in my power to help you!’”
“I don’t
know about that; your demon eyes seem more useful than dumb explosions. I don’t
really care if you go back or don’t.”
“Stop
calling my explosions dumb! Just act a little worried at least...”, Megumin was
so upset that she stopped moving, “Kazuma, are you saying that no matter what happens,
you'll still love me?” She looked up at me with an expectant expression.
“I did not
say that, I just don’t care if you’re a witch cosplayer or demon cosplayer.”
“Please stop
calling the traditional Crimson Magic Clan clothes cosplay!”
Witches and
demon girls would not be out of place in Shibuya during Halloween.
Then.
“You have
horns! Are you an ogre?”
A little
girl was talking with Megumin.
“I am not an
ogre. I am the embodiment of evil, shunned by the world and an enemy of the
gods themselves. That’s right… I am a demon.”
She’s so
full of herself. If she keeps talking like that, I’m sure Vanir will get angry.
The girl’s expression lit up at Megumin’s dumb explanation.
“You are a
demon!? So cool!”
The little
girl was looking at her with respect, she’s probably still at an age where she
doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong.
Megumin's eyes
twitched, “Cool? You shouldn’t have any admiration for the likes of me, I am a
dark being hated by humanity. Well, it’s true that evil and demons have cool
elements to them, but we demons are looked down upon by humans…!”
Despite what
she said, she very much seemed to enjoy what was happening.
The little
girl tilted her head in confusion, “But demons are good, aren’t they? They’re
very kind!”
“…huh?”
Cool or
strong? Sure, but I’m not sure about kind. I found myself tilting my head just
like the little girl did.
“The demon I
know is strong and kind! The other day he defeated an evil crow that was
bothering my mom!”
Oh, she
meant him. I’ve heard Vanir is popular with the neighborhood wives,
guess he’s helping them out when he’s free.
Demons
aren’t that uncommon in this town, there’s a shop full of them, the best shop
in town too.
Megumin
finally came to after the shock of the little girl’s speech, “…W-Well, that’s
right. As long as you maintain your resolve and a heart of justice, you won’t
be overtaken by darkness. Not all demons are evil!”
Just a while
ago she was gloating about how darkness took over her, she really doesn’t have
a sense of justice.
“Kazuma, how
wrong I was. Let’s go down the path of demons! Even if the world shuns me, even
if Aqua and the police get angry!”
“The police
already hate you, don’t make it worse. If you keep going not only, you’ll
become a demon, but maybe even a demon king!”
As if I said
just what Megumin wanted, she threw up her cloak and loudly declared, “I am the
crimson demon Megumin! She who engulfs everything in flames! When these crimson
eyes shine my opponents sink into a sea of flames! Come on world, bow before
me!”
“So cool!
The demon girl is so cool! Demons are cool after all!”
A loud voice
echoed through the park as Megumin laughed in good spirits after being praised
by the little girl.
“She’s over
there! The junior demon with the bounty!”
“!?”, Megumin's
eyes widened in surprise at the sudden announcement of a bounty.
When I
looked in the direction of the voice, I saw some familiar adventurers.
“W-wait, the
bounty is for me!?”
“Who else?
Your poster is all over the adventurer’s guild.”
“What do you
mean!? The moment I decide to become a good demon… No, this may be fitting for
someone who has fallen into darkness.”, Megumin was talking to herself. I can’t
imagine that the guild would put a bounty for a junior demon. It couldn’t be
those adventurers either…
“Hold on, who
put the bounty?”
“Yunyun did!”
“That girl! Fine,
if that’s how you want to settle things Yunyun, then let’s do it!”
With a
bounty from her best friend, Megumin threw away her façade.
The
adventurers didn’t attempt to apprehend the self-proclaimed demon, they just
blocked the park’s entrance, perhaps waiting for reinforcements.
“Kazuma,
this is an unprecedented crisis. I'm prepared to release an explosion in town and
become a true criminal, but I'd like to avoid that if possible.”
“Listen,
I’ll try to do something, just don’t use your magic!”
The
adventurers tensed while listening to our conversation.
“W-wait
let’s talk first. She has turned into a demon, but let’s not do anything crazy.
Vanir said that Aqua can cure her!”
“N-no, we're
not really planning on hurting Megumin...”
An
adventurer muttered something, perhaps feeling a bit put off.
“People make
fun of me because my adventurer’s card only shows giant frogs and kobolds, do
you think if I take down Megumin, I’ll be called Megumin Slayer?”
“If you
manage to do that, make sure you brag about it for the rest of your life!” Megumin
said something outrageous.
I doubt she’d
show up on the adventurer’s card to begin with, but if by any chance, he’s
going to carry that weight.
“No, we have
no intention of capturing or slaying Megumin.”, “That’s right, Yunyun told us
that she’d give us 5000 Eris if we told her where she was, that’s it.”
“Wait, are
you selling me out for the price of a drink? Kazuma, outbid Yunyun!”
Yeah…
“I’ll give
you 5030 Eris if you pretend you didn’t see her.”
“Am I worth
so little to you!? Kazuma, don’t let my name show up on an adventurer’s card!”
“Will
Megumin’s name be listed in the adventurer’s card?”
A small,
chilling voice was heard through the park as the sun sets.
When I
turned to the origin of the voice, I saw Yunyun standing with the setting sun
behind her, a talisman on her forehead, and a thoughtful expression on her
face.
Part 6
Not sure for
how long she’s been there, Yunyun looked serious.
“I put a
bounty on Megumin, but I had to stop everyone for going after her. If anybody else
got the Megumin Slayer title, they’d become a mockery for the rest of their
lives.”
“No, they wouldn’t!
It’d be something to brag about to the whole world!”
Yunyun ignored
Megumin, “Her name will be on MY adventurer’s card…” She looked up, her
eyes glowing crimson, “Megumin, today I will defeat you and forever engrave
your name on my adventurer card! That's the memorial I can give you as a
friend!”
“W-Wait, why
are you so serious!? Once Aqua come back, I’ll be fine!”
Yunyun
snorted at Megumin's uncharacteristically desperate tone, “Megumin, you’d never
let go of a power like this. If an evil god offered great powers in exchange of
sacrificing a friend, you’d totally do it…”
“I might consider it—whoa, what are you
doing!?”
While Megumin
answered Yunyun thrusted out her dagger without hesitation.
“Yunyun,
show some restraint! I’m worried too!”
A teary-eyed
Yunyun yelled at Megumin, who hurriedly avoided her, “I’ll show no hesitation
on striking you down, doesn’t matter that we’ve known each other for so long!”
Megumin parried
Yunyun’s dagger with her manatite staff.
“Is this a
battle between members of the Crimson Magic Clan...?!”, “High level mages don’t
fight by shooting magic, they do it in a close quarter fight!”, “Advanced magic
takes a while to cast. To an observer it may look like a children’s fight, but
this is a reasonable way to settle things…”
Realizing
she was at a disadvantage due to the reach of her dagger, Yunyun threw it away
and jumped on Megumin, who countered right away by grappling her.
“Kazuma, I
got her! Now, kick her ass!”
“W-Wait a
minute Megumin! This is a duel, is unfair to ask for help!”
Perhaps
because they were on similar levels, the two remained still with their hands
clasped together.
“Why don’t
you get your friends to help you Yunyun? We are adventurers, it’s
natural to be assisted by our comrades! Hey, Kazuma, what are you doing!”
Despite
Megumin asking for it, I was reluctant to kick a girl’s ass when she wasn’t
doing anything wrong. So instead, I spanked Megumin.
“W-What the
hell are you doing Kazuma!? I told you to attack her ass!”
This girl
again, she should pick her words more carefully. I really don’t want to be seen
as her friend in a situation like this…
“I should be
able to do plenty of things now that you guys can’t move, right?”
“!?”
As if
sensing some incredible danger, the two let go of one another and jumped back.
“I may have
asked for it, but I very much relinquish help from my friends now!”
“I must
never get friends, not like this!”
I’ll need to
apologize to her later. Yunyun pulled her wand. Seems like she's going to use
magic as a desperate measure.
“Are you insane,
Yunyun? If you use magic in the city, you'll be in trouble!”
Yunyun lowered
her wand. Guess it must’ve been a huge shock for the crazy explosion girl to
question her sanity. Though not long after, she raised her wand again, unable
to hide her anger.
“D-don’t
worry Megumin, only advanced magic and beyond is forbidden, intermediate level
is fine!”
“Huh? Usually,
I’m at a disadvantage because I can’t use explosion magic. But now I have the
power of darkness, prepare yourself!” Megumin said as she focused her eyes on
Yunyun.
“The demon
eyes won't work anymore! I'll numb you with lightning and then cut off your
horns!”
“You think
that’s all I’ve got! Come on, take this!”
The two yelled
as they braced themselves and unleashed their attacks at the same time.
“'Lightning—AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“Crimson Eye
Lightning—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Megumin
fired a beam of light from her eyes that struck Yunyun directly, giving her a
powerful electric shock. On the other hand, Yunyun’s attacked missed entirely,
Megumin was screaming from burning her eyes by her own attack.
“Ah, uhhhhhhhh...”
“MY EYES,
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“Hey, what's
going on? Is this a tie?”, “Megumin is rolling on the ground after shooting
something from her eyes that hurt her somehow, Yunyun missed…”, “I see, does
that mean Megumin wins?”, “Given how she’s screaming, Megumin’s attack hurt her
more than Yunyun. Better call it a draw.”
Just as the onlookers
said, the two were on the ground.
“…is this a
battle between members of the Crimson Magic Clan...?”, “Are they really
high-level adventurers? Is this truly a high-level battle...?”
While the
onlookers were confused, Megumin unsteadily stood up and began to feel for
Yunyun with one hand while covering her eyes with the other. Yunyun laid
silently on the ground, twitching slightly.
“Didn’t you
say you wouldn’t hesitate on striking me down… Come on Yunyun, let’s settle our
rivalry, right now!”
“…”
Just like
the onlookers said, this does not look like a battle between high-level mages.
Suddenly, a
voice called out to this children’s quarrel.
“Just what
are you two doing?”
At the
entrance of the park stood Darkness and Aqua, covered in mud and slime
respectively.
Rather easy
to tell what happened to them, but Aqua was carrying a bulging backpack, seems
like their trip was a success at least.
“That voice?
Aqua! Please help me, I need you to heal me!”
“Y-you’re
still c-cheating Megumin! D-don’t call for h-help in a f-fight!” Yunyun raised her
voice of protest.
“You idiot,
you fell for it, so that’s where you are!!”
“A-ah!? How c-cowardly
are y-you!”
Megumin,
pinpointing where Yunyun was, jumped on her direction. Her eyes still closed.
“It’s not
cowardly to use a good strategy, I just used the Crimson Magic Clan’s
well-known high intelligence. Now, Yunyun, are you ready?”
“W-wait, I
s-surrender, s-stop ahhhhhhhhh—!”
At that
moment, seemed like Megumin's victory was all but confirmed.
“Heal!
Sacred Break spell! Sacred Exorcism!”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Suddenly,
Aqua released a barrage of healing magic on Megumin. She rolled on the ground
as a large cloud of black smoke was released from her body.
“Megumin!
You must be careful when wearing strange things! That ring you had was cursed,
I don’t know where you got it from, but I got rid of it.”
The ring
crumbled to pieces in front of Aqua. With it gone, the horns fell off Megumin too.
After
feeling her now hornless head, she turned white seeing the ring turned to dust and
asked, “…Kazuma, could you lend me some money?”
“If it’s to
pay for the ring, I won’t lend you any.”
Part 7
Later.
A lot of
things happened. After Aqua healed Yunyun, she attacked Megumin and they got
into another fight, while the teary-eyed Darkness complained about her trip.
“In the end,
I lost the power of darkness...”
Leaving Aqua
and Darkness off so they could take a bath, Megumin and I headed out of town to
complete our daily routine.
“It’s a
shame you lost those useful powers; but if you turned into a demon, Aqua
would’ve exorcised you.”
“I-I don't
like that. I can't stand Aqua threatening me all the time...” Megumin looked
frightened for a moment, then sighed, “I thought that if I could get that
power, I would be able to help a little more.”
I thought she
was simply being dumb, but she wanted to help all along...
“Come on,
let’s go to the explosion spot. The sun will set soon.”
Maybe she
was embarrassed, Megumin walked in front of me, hiding her face. I smiled
bitterly and followed her.
“Well, I
guess I'll pop into Wiz's shop occasionally. Maybe I'll be able to find more
rare items.”
“By the way,
Kazuma, I wanted to ask you something...”
“I won't
lend you money.”
Megumin
looked away as she remembered about the ring’s compensation but seems like she
found today's explosion spot.
“Here is
fine. A moderate rocky area, good amount of bushes. It's a nice place to blow
away.”
“I may be an
explosion connoisseur, but I still don’t understand how explosion spots are
good or bad.”
Megumin
didn't explain, but she let out a faint smile. “It’s a shame I lost the power
of darkness, but I still have explosion magic!” She declared out loud as if she
was completely overwhelmed and began chanting.
As I prepared
for the sound and shockwave, Megumin showed a confident smile.
“Explosion!”
But nothing
happened.
“Huh!? What
the hell is going on—ah!?”
Becoming
extremely shaken, she suddenly noticed something, “Kazuma, please use Drain
Touch and give me some mana! The demon eyes drained all my magic!”
“I’d help
you, but my magic power is not enough to cast explosion anyway.”
Megumin
clutched her head and screamed.
“If I can’t
use explosion magic then I’m useless! Kazuma, I’m going to Wiz’s store, please
come with me! I’ll protest Vanir for selling me a defective good.”
“You were
praising those demon eyes up until now…”
Megumin went
on to the magic tool shop to complain, but was received by an irate Vanir, who
cursed her to be unable to cast Explosion until she paid her debt.
Thank for the translation
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