『Star Bright』

Dirt and debris from the obliterated plantlife decorated their surroundings, the smell of copper taking to the air. Steaming blood evident at the edge of the explosion's final expanded radius.

Jack couldn't help but stare forward at the destruction the two of them had accomplished. He had poured far more magical power into the spell than Megumin, that was for sure. A crater rested within the area of the explosion, while the perimeter was merely scorched.

Thankfully none of the byproducts from the bear were ruined. A soft sigh left his lips before he narrowed at the small crater where their bonfire was situated then to the large one.

"I'm sure if it rains a nice little pond will form here..." He uttered under his breath as he looked to Chris who was wide-eyed at the damages. "I've seen worse," Jack offered a few words sarcastically with a soft snicker.

"That was some impressive firepower!" Chris was bewildered by this, her eyes moving to the hand with the ring upon it. He was a person who had reincarnated into this world, she was sure of this and she could without a doubt see the source of such power on his finger. "Think you gained any levels?"

Jack nodded lightly to her question and smiled at her praise, however his emerald eyes then dropped to the female that slumped over onto the ground in front of him with a thud. His eyes rested on her red and yellow robe. "You alright down there, Megumin?"

"By my crimson might! I just had the greatest of explosions~! Annihilating my enemies... Ahaha... I'm okay!" Megumin wiggled upon the ground slightly as if she was in ecstasy, her toes curling in her boots, "Two explosions in one day is amazing~!"

He wasn't quite sure how to take this, as she had a face full of red, some dirt sticking to her cheeks from the food she had eaten moments ago. "I see," letting out a soft sigh, Jack reached down and grasped her ankle.

"Eh..? What are you doing?! My clothes are rolling up!" Megumin asked as he started to drag her along on the ground towards the shelter, her short robe being pulled up by the friction.

"Putting you inside, so you can rest. It's obvious you're too worn out to continue eating," Jack was teasing, but his voice was stern as if he was declaring she was no longer fit to eat. His eyes though weren't resting ahead, instead, they were centered on her black panties which were apparent once more.

"Is that your only pair of panties?" Jack snickered to himself.

"Yes... Stop looking down there!" Megumin was trying to keep her dress from being pulled too far up, grasping at its rims and pulling it back up to her legs as he was dragging her.

"Oh? Guess I'll just leave you out here to be eaten," Jack released her ankle and let her legs fall to the dirt a few feet away from the shelter's entrance.

Unable to stand, she laid there on the ground with her head to the side, "P-please don't... I'm defenseless and out of mana..." The young girl mumbled as she fixed her hat atop her head, to hide the tears forming in her eyes. "Don't leave me. You promised..."

"I'm not going to leave you," Jack stated bluntly as he knelt over her, snatching her hat from the top of her head and placing it on her rear. "Then I won't have a source of warmth tonight," his head tilted slightly seeing her flush a deeper crimson pink, while her eyes were glowing hot enough to glass the dirt in flames.

Megumin bleated out as she wanted to hear an affirmation despite how many times he had already assured her before, "You mean it?"

"Obviously," he wiped away a tear that escaped the corner of her eye with the back of his index finger. "Plus, I still want to be with you anyways," his fingers caressed the side of her face.

Chris watched as the two conversed, though she was hardly paying much attention to what they were saying. Her gaze had moved to the Dire pup which was frozen stiff in fear from what it had seen. "Poor puppy," the thief exclaimed with a sigh before walking over to it. Dropping to her knees, she started to pet the top of its head, stroking her fingers along its thick coat of fur.

The wild animal nearly jumped out of its skin as it felt the hand of the woman upon its fur. But it didn't take long for the small canine to suddenly take to the feel, melting into her hand. Anyone who saw this would probably think it was odd, especially as the wolf didn't try to bite her.

Jack smiled a bit as Megumin was beaming up at him in return with wet cheeks. "As long as I can keep them, I do not break promises," his hand would move down from her face and grasp her by the shoulder. Picking her up, he let her head rest on his shoulder as he stood up straight.

Feeling his other arm under her tush, she squirmed slightly, letting her arms drape over his shoulders. She was quite content just being held by him, as to her, they now walked the same path of destruction known to her as the 'Path of Explosions.'

With her hair brushing against his neck, he chuckled comfortably to himself and ducked into the shelter, resting her down on the branches that lined the dirt floor.

"By the way..." He whispered as he hovered over her, not quite letting her go. He was close enough to her face that the soft breathing from his nose was tickling her face.

"Hm?" Megumin looked over at him as he raised his head, his face just a couple inches from hers. Her eye still bright crimson, she parted her lips, staring at the glow of emeralds above her.

"I'm taking my seconds," Jack uttered in a low whisper as he went leaning in with a speedy inclination of his head. Catching her off guard, he pressed his lips against hers.

Her lips were warm and a bit wet, they tasted a bit salty too due to the tears. Bringing his body down a bit more, he kept her pinned despite there being no need, she was immobilized anyway.

Even as she was under him, trapped, she let out a soft groan right into his lips. This allowed the sound to resonate within his mouth and against his teeth.

As her arms lay dimly at out from her sides, her fingers curled into her palms subtly and her toes began wiggling in her boots.

From what could be seen and even felt, Jack could tell she was enjoying the contact.

The idea of romantic tales went on rolling through her mind, spurring her on. In the past, during her other advances, Megumin had always been pushed away, ostracized and abandoned. She had been told she was a little girl by the few she had tried to become intimate with or share her ideals within a hyped close faced manner.

This man who had saved her had not just taken one kiss, but stolen a second when her guard was down. Megumin pressed her lips back in return, hardly rejecting him. It felt like her heart was going to burst out her eyes as she closed them.

"What are you two doing?" Chris peered into the makeshift shelter, raising a brow. There wasn't much light as the fire was a good distance away and the sun was now finally down.

Jack silently broke his lips away from the young ArchWizard and rested on one knee as he turned to face her. "Not much, just taking seconds." With that, the Mage ducked out of the shelter and made his way over to the meats and other material from the bear they had defeated.

"Eh? Seconds?" Chris watched as the man left the shelter, then glanced back in towards Megumin. Her eyes were a bright red crimson but slowly died out just before she closed her eyes. Widening her eyes a bit, she peered back towards Jack as he was using Arcane Gate to send all of the materials back to the room.

He didn't want any of the animals to come in their sleep and eat the valuable meat or destroy the fur pelts that he had carefully extracted. Even the bones of the bear had some value, especially in Alchemy, at least that is what Jack could only assume.

Something this strong had to have some sort of magical value, yes?

Piece by piece Jack carried each pelt into the room and placed them by the bed. He planned to keep them near his other bag of pelts that he had made into cloaks. Once he was done putting the stuff into the room of the Inn, he stepped back out into the forest.

As the swirling gate closed behind him, Jack rested his eyes on Chris who walked on over to the fire and sat down in front of it. Raising a brow, his eyes then went to the wolf which was now laying in front of the shelter, beside its entrance.

"So, what are your plans tomorrow?" He'd inquire with a passive tone of interest.

"Ah, well obviously I'm going back to Axel, how about you?" Chris looked him over as he moved to sit down beside her and briefly look over the fire.

"Same, though I might need to add another person or so to the party. Two magic casters can be problematic, even though I can deal with close quarters, Megumin can't." Jack informed her with a light sigh as he turned his eyes to the shelter. He couldn't let her be unguarded if he was preoccupied during a fight or dangerous situation.

"Hm... I think I might know a friend who could be interested, She's been having trouble with other adventurer groups. I'll bring them around the Guild tomorrow." Chris said with a nod and a hopeful smile across her lips.

Jack simply stared at her as she was blatantly honest about the person having trouble with other adventurer parties. "Uh, she isn't a weirdo is she?"

"Heh... She's a follower a member in the Order of Eris," a sweat drop formed over her forehead, "She might be a bit much sometimes, but she will be a good asset to have along."

Staring at the woman he couldn't quite tell if she was throwing off the question, but she seemed to endorse whoever it was she wanted to help.

"Are they able to fight?" Jack poked at the ground by his feet as he remained seated in front of the fire. His keen senses remained on their surroundings even as they were talking amongst themselves.

"They're a crusader, I'm pretty sure they can fight!" Chris announced with a thumbs up, seeming rather happy to get him to consider her friend in which she was talking about.

"You are aware if she cannot fight she will die, and I have no means of resurrecting her, right?" Jack seemed to remind her of this quickly which caused her to pause before nodding. "She's a bit eccentric though, just mind you."

"So she is a weirdo..." His eyes drifted to the tent if he had a second chuuni he didn't think it would be all that bad. "Is she some sort of magic sword-swinging Crimson Demon?" He pointed towards the shelter he had made earlier which Megumin was likely sleeping in.

"N-no..." Chris giggled to herself shaking her head, "Nothing of the sort."

Jack simply stared at the thief for a few moments before nodding, "I'll think about it."

"I see... You won't take a humble member of the Eris Order under your wing..."

"If you're trying to guilt-trip me, it's not going to work, I've had a lot of practice dodging my mother over that one!" Jack pointed at her with a rather smirk across his lips, as if he was some sort of war veteran bragging about the past.

"So, what were you doing with Megumin back there anyway? You two seemed pretty close... You weren't doing anything lewd to her were you?" Chris returned the smirk with a smug grin of her own as she leaned towards him while creasing one brow down to make the one closest to him bigger as it gazed upon him.

"Uh, no. I don't think what I've done to her counts as lewd, no..." Jack shook his head lightly before turning his gaze back to the fire, watching as the wood fueling it cracked apart.

He could only imagine how many of those pops and cracklings were the sounds of bugs combusting and dying from the flames themselves. If he had been reincarnated as a bug, the idea of dying in this fashion was horrible. It was as if someone had lit his home on fire and he had no way to escape, especially if he didn't have wings. Even then, the fire was faster and it was fueled by air nonetheless.

"Really? She seemed rather excited," Chris kept that little smirk across her lips, her face blushing from the words she had shared. In the back of her mind, she could imagine him doing lewd things with a serious expression on his face. Then her smirk vanished lightly when she ran a hand along the rim of her bike shorts. "You... You're not going to request something perverse of me are you?"

"Oh? Now you're worried about that?" Jack scoffed without looking at her, lowering his head a bit as he continued to keep his gaze upon the open fire ahead of him.

The thief stared at him as if she had misjudged him, but her mind went back to the way he had held her before in his lap. How he had given the cloak to her without much of a charge. If anything, he hadn't taken anything of material from her other than knowledge, embarrassment and time. He had even treated her to two free meals. In a way, he was giving off the vibe of gentlemen but at the same time, he always took price or maybe even a prize for his deeds.

"Think I can try again?" He'd ask as he turned to face her as he raised a hand with his palm out towards her. It was apparent he was asking if he could use the 'steal' spell on her once more.

Chris rapidly shook her head as she exclaimed, "Pass! Hard pass!" She was afraid he'd take something else this time, if not take her bike shorts again. The fact he could take things such as underwear from underneath her clothes surprised her. She hadn't expected him to have a fully functional spell ready to be used like that.

"Ah, I see." Jack slowly stood from where he sat as he continued to watch the fire. He began throwing stray leaves into the flames, as well as twigs or any sticks he could find. After he did this, he just stood there watching as they burned. It was like seeing life and death repeat itself.

Chris paid it little to no mind though, hugging her knees to her chest as she could hear the night time creatures wandering about. An owl hooting in the distance and the crickets chirping.

Uttering under his breath, "I wonder how the snowy seasons are here," Jack made his way back towards the shelter after a short time of burning random scraps. Once he was inside, he padded over to Megumin who was sound asleep and laid down beside her on his side.

Reaching over, he had no qualms with grasping her side and pulling her in against him. As he had said before, she was going to be a source of warmth in the cold night ahead.

Megumin's eyes opened up slightly, flickering over to his emerald hues which were like little crescents as his eyes were partially closed. "Came back for more I see? If violating my lips wasn't enough--" She found herself silenced by a hand over her mouth.

Resting his chin on top of her head, Jack smiled a bit as he felt her muffled words come out as breath on the palm of his hand. "Shhhh... It's time to sleep," he whispered with a simper.

It was easy to get comfortable against his chest, even with her back pressed up against his torso. Megumin closed her eyes once more as she continued to hear the crackling of the flames and the softness of his breathing. She could feel his heartbeat on the back of her head with a soothing rhythm.

She knew he wasn't going to hurt her, he never would, at least in her mind. His arms were a safe place as she could remember they were the very things that saved her, carried her back to Axel.

Slowly the world was beginning to be droned out by darkness and the sounds were slowly becoming silent. It was as if the entire reality they lived in was going to sleep with them.

Chris settled into the shelter soon after Megumin was asleep once more. She sat down on the other side and raised a brow at the two of them huddled together. Based on their breathing, she could tell they were both asleep, or at least Jack had matched the girls breathing.

"I wonder how many levels he gained from that explosion," she nervously laughed to herself, before looking outside to the pup right next to the doorway. "They have enough food for the pup, but where are they going to keep'em? I wonder if they have enough for a residence of their own..." Her eyes drifted over the male, he had certainly made enough from two hard difficulty quests to buy a place, right?