『Star Light』

"Uuuuh..." Megumin let out a soft groan as she felt something grasp at her cheeks, pulling at them rapidly, causing a resonating wet flapping noise to eminent from her cheeks and to fill her ears. "Wha..." Her eyes slowly opened, staring up at those green hues that were smiling down at her.

"You seemed to have gotten a bit too comfortable," Jack's voice sounded over the natural noises of the forest. "The food is ready, so you better wake yourself up."

Blinking up at him, she sniffed the air at the mention of food. A sweet fatty scent was looming in the air, accompanied by the sound of crackling flames. Her eyes immediately lit up in excitement, glowing a deep crimson red.

"Jack? Waht(What) kind hub(of) harassment his(is) dis(this)?" Megumin expressed her confusion upon the use of his hands.

"The awkward kind," Jack responded with a neutral tone that betrayed the grin upon his face.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, it was surely evening as the sun was setting, but what she didn't understand was she appeared to be inside? Her gaze strengthened on the man who was playing with her face as she noticed the shelter built with branches had been erected around her.

From what she could tell, he had moved her from her previous position.

Groggily she sat up as he released her face from his hands and looked to the door of the hut. From first glance, the small makeshift hut could fit at least three people laid out. A single support beam made from a broad stick kept it standing. Yet as she rested her eyes on the open flame, she could see the massive stack of freshly cooked ribs.

"Magnificent!" She was on the verge of drooling as she spoke, "Is this what they call a heroes feast?" Unsteadily, she moved onto her feet with great haste.

Jack stood up along with her, catching her before she could fall through the delicate walls of the shelter. "Slow down would you," he uttered as she had become light-headed due to getting up too quickly. "If you face plant into the fire, you won't be able to cast explosion magic."

"Eh!?" Megumin looked over at him as she became a bit more balanced than before and less head heavy. "I would face plant in the flames of the Demon King a thousand times over for such an exquisite set and still be able to grant graceful explosions upon my enemies! Do not underestimate me!"

"Oh? Is that so..." Jack snickered as his neutral tone melted away, his voice becoming a bit sarcastic as he ducked out of the shelter with her. "What else exactly would you do for such food?"

Megumin's face immediately lit up in a blush as she could hear the tone he was using and he could've been implying. "Sexual harassment at a time like this? We should be rejoicing in food and flavor!"

"Ah," Jack nodded and chortled to himself.

Leaving her hat within the little makeshift shelter, Megumin set her gaze on the firepit. It was a massive bonfire surrounded by several large stones gathered from around the forest.

The tip of her tongue poked from her lips and moistened them, padding over towards it, she then turned her head to look at the ribs which were laid out along with other edible parts of the bear.

"Such high-quality meat! This would be sure to help us improve our most powerful magics even greater!" Her eyes were beaming like the stars above that were poking out from behind the fading shades of blue and orange.

"It is the fruit of our labor," Jack snickered lightly looking over the young girl who was swallowing her saliva from simply smelling and thinking of the food. "Would you like to be the first to have a cut? You were the one who landed the killing blow after all."

Megumin looked to him once more, smiling brightly as the sky dimmed, allowing her eyes to glow even more than before. "Really? Do you mean it? I can have the first cut?!"

Hearing her excited voice, Jack rolled his eyes slightly before resting his gaze on the ribs. Concentrating the Ying energy into a suitable blade for cutting, he knelt by the food which was resting on the empty bag and cleanly Separated several ribs covered in juicy thick meat.

Megumin's stomach grumbled upon seeing the juices leave the meat, the scent of the coming meal touching her nose even harder than before. It was getting hard not to go down and grab a piece!

Jack stood up with a large rib of meat with two bones sticking out of it and held it out for her to take, "The rest will be sold in the market tomorrow. Please, enjoy."

Staring at him with saucer-like eyes of crimson red hue, she graciously took the meat into her hands and ripped into it with her teeth. She could taste the dry rub that was used, created from grounded herbs. It had a hint of a smoky pine taste from the wood that was used in the fire, but it didn't take away from the combined flavors of the other herbs.

Bear was a tough meat, but she had no problem tearing it and chewing. If anything the flavors made her feel the need to keep going.

Jack simply watched as she went along eating the food until he picked up a piece of his own and slowly ate his. There was no rush for him, as he preferred to eat his food slowly if he could.

His eyes moved to Chris as he was savoring the flavor of the meat he had cooked. It had taken him hours to prepare, and even longer to collect the needed ingredients to enrich the natural taste of the meat.

Since the meat was already sweet, it didn't need much sugar. Using natural herbs and various other items found in the forest, especially honey from bees, the exterior of the ribs were sticky.

Chris was pulling apart her piece of ribs, before biting into it while seated on the ground, her legs crossed beneath her. "Mmmm! This is so amazing!" Her eyes were lighting up with each bite.

His eyes then moved to Megumin, her face dirtied by her meal, darkened seasoning outlining her mouth. He could hear her giggling at the taste and the flavor, even as the food hardly left her lips.

"Now then," Jack turned his gaze to the Dire pup which was watching them from the tree. Unlike Megumin, he hadn't moved the creature from where it was laying. Even though he had indeed saved its life, he knew it was feral. If he made the wrong move, it could severely harm him or just about anyone else.

Knowing that the beast would not be able to eat wild onions grass, he picked up a piece of a raw rib he had put aside before cooking the other ribs up. Eating the cooked in one hand, and holding the raw in the other, Jack approached the wolf he and Megumin had named Petra.

The small thing didn't snarl, it didn't snap at him either. Though he could see the saliva which was leaking out from the corner of its snout. The thing was hungry.

Kneeling in front of it, he held his cooked rib in his mouth with his teeth sinking in through the meat and into the bone. "Uh..." If he had cooked the meat just a bit longer, the bone would've been soft and his teeth could've gone right through it and into the marrow.

The Direwolf raised its head as it sniffed the meat before clamping its jaws down upon it in a swift and almost graceful movement.

Standing up, allowing the wolf to take the prize, he watched as it held down one end of the rib with its bow and began to gnaw at the tough meat. It tore and skinned the meat from the bone.

"Those are powerful jaws you have there," Jack snickered hearing the bone crack under its teeth from a mere bite. "You will be worth keeping, won't you?"

As the canine was eating, its eyes flickered to him upon hearing his words. It didn't seem to entirely understand, but it didn't disagree either. Petra, the Wolf, was probably reacting to the physical signals and pheromones released by the humanoid being in front of it.

Looking up past the treetops which blotted out the vast majority of the sky, he could see stars manifesting themselves in the absence of light.

Turning his head, he looked to Megumin again who was snatching a second rib, having completely devoured the previous one. A small chuckle left his lips seeing this. "Such a small body, but a large appetite... Could it be the explosion magic? I wonder..."

"It's not nice to talk about girls behind their back, you know." Chris had suddenly appeared beside him, biting into the meat and tugging it off the bone. "Very rude."

Jack didn't even jump and instead glanced to the side to peer at the lustrous silver head of hers. "Think I could try out the 'steal' spell on you?" He'd ask, completely ignoring the remark.

Swallowing the meat, she looked over him from where she stood, "Eh? I was already tied up earlier, there is no need to use steal on me now!" She then took another bite of the rib, tearing it from the bone as she sawed it off with her teeth.

"Afraid I'll steal something valuable or something?" Jack pursed his lips as he continued to look down on her petite form as he continued to eat.

"The Goddess of Luck smiles upon me, so I doubt this though," Chris giggled to herself as she answered his short inquiry.

"Is that so..." Quickly finishing the meat from his bone as he had taken this challenge, he placed the bone down for the wolf to eat. "Perhaps we'll have to see about that."

Cocking her head to the side as she pulled some skin from the meat with her teeth, her eyes tailed over him curiously. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Taking a few paces away from her, he turned and held out his hand, "Steal!"

In a sudden blinding flash of light from his hand, a draft could be felt running up her leg. Chris's eyes widened as she almost dropped her meat, her regular shorts clinging to her skin. Her eyes like saucers, she stared at his hand which now held a balled up pair of elastic bike shorts.

"Oh... This wasn't what I was intending to take at all," Jack huffed lightly as he looked to her once more. Her face was a bright fiery red as she had her legs pressed together. Pursing his lips, he gazed at the hand which was reaching out to him.

"G-give those back!" Chris mutedly squeaked.

Scratching his chin slightly, Jack was curious, "Are they that valuable?"

"Please! Just give them back!"She cried, trying not to get any attention from Megumin.

"I should have them appraised..." Holding them up, he looked over the pair of shorts, then back at her. "What will you give me for them?"

"Give you...? Give me back by shorts, I beg of you!"

"I should probably try again to see if I get a different result since I haven't fully tested the spell. Perhaps it was where I was aiming my hand?" Questioning himself, Jack raised the aim of his hand towards her cropped tube top.

"UEEEH!?" Chris exclaimed as she covered her mouth to quiet herself, "I'll give you anything... Just give them back..."

Letting his hand drop to his side, he raised a brow at her. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, especially when you say 'anything,' it could be bartering too much."

Stumbling forward in his direction, she reached out forward for her belonging with a deep red flush on her face and tears in her eyes. "I-I swear that I will keep my promise! Just give me my bike shorts back!" It was clear she wasn't thinking.

Allowing a chuckle to escape his lips as he was hearing her words, "Fine. I'll keep your honor to those words. Remember that," he warned as he figured she would follow through with a future demand. "I will make a claim soon based on your promise."

Quietly groaning at his words, Chris watched as he dropped the pants into her hand. She quickly without much hesitation, dove into the shelter he had made just a little while back.

The fact she had swiftly moved to put them on, made him slightly aware of her more self-conscious side. Having seen her sit down, he was aware that if you looked from the right angle, he could see up her shorts. Was she trying to hide her panties? Or was she not wearing any? For a brief instance, it excited him to think of this possibility.

Then his eyes rested upon Megumin, more so to her backside as she was facing the flames. There were a few things on her person, making the things he could steal rather small in number. Just what would he get if he were to use steal on her as well?

Would it be her panties? The bandages that bound her leg or perhaps her chest? Or could it be something as lowly as her boot? The idea of a simple thief inspired spell stealing the clothes off her back made him cover his mouth as he thought of it.

The most evil way of torture for most women was to assault them, but humiliation worked better into coaxing them into doing his bidding. Yet, he stood against things such as a brutal violation of one's chastity, it wasn't in his character to do it. Though humiliating, extorting and blackmailing others to get them to follow him wasn't too far against his personal views. Living to survive in a world where people are relentlessly trying to kill you often changes people for the worst. Morals mean little to nothing if you have a singular goal that requires you to survive.

Peering out from the shelter, as she was pulling up her pants, Chris spied on the Oni before crawling out and standing back on her own two feet.

Without much warning, the Dire pup let out a sudden yip before moving away from the tree. Taking everyone's attention the wolf moved close to the fire as multiple yellow eyes could be seen peering out at them from the darkness of the forest that surrounded them.

The fire was like a beacon to monsters, and the smell of the bear didn't at all help this fact.

"Jack! Jack! Jack! I see goblins!" Shouted Megumin as she jumped up and down before deciding to rush passed him and into the shelter to fetch her staff and wizard's hat. "We must extinguish them with our Explosion Magic!"

"You can't be serious..." Chris's face contorted as she could see the green skin of an entire horde of green goblins and hobgoblins making their entrance unto the scene.

"Might as well, considering I... Put some points into explosion magic," huffed Jack as he looked over towards Megumin as she came stepping triumphantly out from the makeshift structure.

Chris's eyes narrowed on him as he was no longer making eye contact with any of them. His eyes were on the goblins who were encroaching upon their campsite.

As if a sword was unsheathing from his head, his two horns began to rise into view with an alluring emerald glow. "Though I could use some other magics which could, in essence, cause less damage to the forest itself."

"You said you would walk the path of explosions with me! A few scorched leaves are nothing compared to death!" Megumin cheered as she raised her staff above her head, stepping into the illuminating light of the flames.

+ + +

Meanwhile back in Axel, Wiz was in the back of her shop looking over the merchandise she had recently ordered, a faint smile across her face. In her hand was a brown rectangular item made of enchanted wood, enclosed on both sides.

"There sure are a lot of these, I wonder how well they will--" She was suddenly cut off by the sound of two explosions a distance away from the town of Axel.

The ground trembled under her feet and she narrowed her eyes forward. Not truly understanding what had just happened, other than there is a large amount of magic having been used all at once.

Her gaze turned towards the door leading to the storefront, blinking. "My oh my~" She placed a hand under her lower lip, putting the magic item away in the box before moving to the front room.

"What could that have been?" She asked herself aloud as she approached the window and peered out onto the street. People were all looking in the direction of the forest.

Smoke billowed into the atmosphere, only to be pulled along by the wind, the smell of charred goblin and their more evolved forms filling the air would reach the town relatively quickly.

Stepping out into the street, Wiz gazed intensely off in the direction the other people of the town were gazing in. From what she could see, there had been a powerful explosion off in the forest. One of them had been small and like the previous, but based on the smoke that rose, the other seemed more powerful and shared the same radius.

"Could it have been the same person from earlier?" Wiz pondered to herself, hoping no one was hurt, while her mind treaded back on the male who had entered the shop with a bag of goods.

Considering this place was meant for beginner level adventurers, she never expected to feel such strong magics to be used so close by.