Kazuma sat in the corner of the guild hall, eyes glued to his nearly-empty tankard. He let out a sigh, pretending not to notice the chaos unfolding at their table.
"Megumin! Give me back my staff!" Aqua whined, reaching over the table, her fingers brushing against the crimson-tipped weapon.
"It's not even yours, you dolt. And you'll only use it to cause more trouble," Megumin shot back, hugging the staff tightly to her chest like a dragon guarding treasure.
Darkness, meanwhile, was lost in her own world, cheeks flushed as she recalled their most recent quest. "To be surrounded by those orcs… their rough, monstrous hands… to fight them off with all my might… Ahh, the thrill…"
Kazuma rubbed his temples. "Can't I get five minutes of peace without you guys acting like maniacs?"
"Nope!" Aqua chirped, swiping his drink and downing it in one gulp.
"Okay, that's it." Kazuma shot to his feet. "We've been stuck on these small-time quests for weeks. If we don't take on something challenging, I'll lose my mind."
Megumin's eyes sparkled. "A challenging quest, you say? Finally, a chance to use Explosion magic properly!"
"No. No explosions," Kazuma snapped, his voice sharp. "We need to actually complete the quest, not blow up the entire area and call it a win."
The guild board had a fresh set of requests, and Kazuma's eyes landed on one with a particularly high reward. It involved hunting down a powerful beast rumored to be terrorizing the outskirts of Axel.
"Perfect. We take down this beast, and we might actually make enough money to stop living like we're constantly one step away from starving."
Aqua pouted. "But I'm hungry now.
"Then stop wasting our money on booze and expensive meals!" Kazuma snapped
The mission was straightforward—or so Kazuma thought. The beast, a chimera, was massive, ferocious, and far more aggressive than he expected. Megumin had already exhausted her Explosion magic for the day, Darkness was… well, being Darkness, and Aqua's purification magic was as useful as always—meaning not at all.
Kazuma ducked another swipe from the beast's claws, rolling through the dirt. "You guys better not die, because I am not spending money on resurrection fees!"
"You could at least sound a bit concerned for our well-being!" Megumin shot back, blasting the chimera with low-tier spells to keep it distracted.
After a brutal fight, Kazuma managed to land the final blow. As the beast collapsed, he fell to the ground, exhausted.
"Looks like… we did it…" Kazuma panted, looking over his shoulder at the others
Aqua was collapsed on her back, arms flung out dramatically. "I'm hungry."
Megumin slumped against a tree, her staff lying across her lap. "If only I could have used Explosion…"
"Don't even start," Kazuma groaned.
That night, they camped out under the stars. Kazuma found himself awake long after the others had drifted off. The crackling of the fire was the only sound, save for Darkness's occasional murmurs of delight—whatever she was dreaming about, Kazuma didn't want to know.
"You're awake." Megumin's voice was soft, her crimson eyes glinting in the firelight.
"Yeah. Too tired to sleep, if that makes sense."l
They fell into a rare, quiet conversation. Megumin's bravado was toned down, her words more genuine than usual
"I keep wanting to prove myself," she admitted. "To you, to everyone. I guess I push things too far sometimes."
Kazuma chuckled. "You're a handful, sure. But… I guess I've gotten used to it."
She leaned in closer, her expression suddenly more serious. "Kazuma, you always complain about us being burdens, but… you never leave. Why?"
He met her gaze. "I guess… maybe I just like having you guys around. Even if you're all insane."
Megumin smiled, her cheeks tinged pink. "Well… I'm glad."
The moment lingered, awkward yet somehow comforting. Before Kazuma could overthink things, Megumin gently rested her head on his shoulder.
"Kazuma?"
"Yeah?
"When we get back, will you go on a quest with just me? Just once?
He hesitated. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad."
Somehow, the warmth of her beside him made the cold night a little more bearable.
Kazuma sat in the corner of the guild hall, eyes glued to his nearly-empty tankard. He let out a sigh, pretending not to notice the chaos unfolding at their table
"Megumin! Give me back my staff!" Aqua whined, reaching over the table, her fingers brushing against the crimson-tipped weapon.
"It's not even yours, you dolt. And you'll only use it to cause more trouble," Megumin shot back, hugging the staff tightly to her chest like a dragon guarding treasure.
Darkness, meanwhile, was lost in her own world, cheeks flushed as she recalled their most recent quest. "To be surrounded by those orcs… their rough, monstrous hands… to fight them off with all my might… Ahh, the thrill…"
Kazuma rubbed his temples. "Can't I get five minutes of peace without you guys acting like maniacs?"
"Nope!" Aqua chirped, swiping his drink and downing it in one gulp.
"Okay, that's it." Kazuma shot to his feet. "We've been stuck on these small-time quests for weeks. If we don't take on something challenging, I'll lose my mind."
Megumin's eyes sparkled. "A challenging quest, you say? Finally, a chance to use Explosion magic properly!
"No. No explosions," Kazuma snapped, his voice sharp. "We need to actually complete the quest, not blow up the entire area and call it a win."
The guild board had a fresh set of requests, and Kazuma's eyes landed on one with a particularly high reward. It involved hunting down a powerful beast rumored to be terrorizing the outskirts of Axel.
"Perfect. We take down this beast, and we might actually make enough money to stop living like we're constantly one step away from starving."
Aqua pouted. "But I'm hungry now."
"Then stop wasting our money on booze and expensive meals!" Kazuma snapped.
The mission was straightforward—or so Kazuma thought. The beast, a chimera, was massive, ferocious, and far more aggressive than he expected. Megumin had already exhausted her Explosion magic for the day, Darkness was… well, being Darkness, and Aqua's purification magic was as useful as always—meaning not at all.
Kazuma ducked another swipe from the beast's claws, rolling through the dirt. "You guys better not die, because I am not spending money on resurrection fees!"
"You could at least sound a bit concerned for our well-being!" Megumin shot back, blasting the chimera with low-tier spells to keep it distracted.
After a brutal fight, Kazuma managed to land the final blow. As the beast collapsed, he fell to the ground, exhausted.
"Looks like… we did it…" Kazuma panted, looking over his shoulder at the others.
Aqua was collapsed on her back, arms flung out dramatically. "I'm hungry."
Megumin slumped against a tree, her staff lying across her lap. "If only I could have used Explosion…"
"Don't even start," Kazuma groaned.
That night, they camped out under the stars. Kazuma found himself awake long after the others had drifted off. The crackling of the fire was the only sound, save for Darkness's occasional murmurs of delight—whatever she was dreaming about, Kazuma didn't want to know.
"You're awake." Megumin's voice was soft, her crimson eyes glinting in the firelight.
"Yeah. Too tired to sleep, if that makes sense."
They fell into a rare, quiet conversation. Megumin's bravado was toned down, her words more genuine than usual
"I keep wanting to prove myself," she admitted. "To you, to everyone. I guess I push things too far sometimes."
Kazuma chuckled. "You're a handful, sure. But… I guess I've gotten used to it."
She leaned in closer, her expression suddenly more serious. "Kazuma, you always complain about us being burdens, but… you never leave. Why?"
He met her gaze. "I guess… maybe I just like having you guys around. Even if you're all insane."
Megumin smiled, her cheeks tinged pink. "Well… I'm glad."
The moment lingered, awkward yet somehow comforting. Before Kazuma could overthink things, Megumin gently rested her head on his shoulder
"Kazuma?
"Yeah?"
"When we get back, will you go on a quest with just me? Just once?"
He hesitated. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad."
Somehow, the warmth of her beside him made the cold night a little more bearable.