Part 1
"Neh— Kazuma— Where is Darkness—? Isn't she back yet?"
In front of the fireplace in the living room, Aqua, who was seated on the couch she claimed as her private seat, asked in a bored manner while hugging her knees.
— It had been several days since the verdict had been passed. In order to fulfill her promise, Darkness went off to see the landlord…
But after setting off last evening, she had yet to return.
I remembered the lecherous way the landlord checked Darkness out, and felt stuffiness in my chest.
After all, Darkness would follow her instincts and desires even when she faced a boss of the demon king army, wanting to follow him home.
The situation right now should be to her liking.
I didn't like Darkness in that way, and didn't harbor any feelings of love towards her. If she wanted to go off with anyone, I had no right to stop her.
But she stayed out the whole night after saying she was going to fulfill her promise, which meant she stayed in the hotel room rented by the landlord, and was probably…
"… Ahhhhhhhhhhh—!"
"Hya— what's the matter? Hey, what's wrong with you, why are you screaming while hugging your head! Kazuma, you are already strange usually, but you are acting especially weirdly today!"
As I was screaming and Aqua was alarmed.
— Megumin came to our side while hugging something.
Megumin didn't say anything to the two of us who were acting noisy, and just held on to that thing quietly.
— Or rather, I had been curious about that since long ago.
"Meow—"
The animal known as a cat… That's what Megumin was holding in her arms.
Megumin didn't say anything, and just kept staring at us.
"… You want to keep this thing in the mansion?"
"… Yes. This is a good child, and wouldn't cause trouble for everyone… Is it fine?"
I didn't know where the cat usually hid itself, but I saw it by Megumin's side every now and then.
It allowed Megumin to hug it, squinting its eyes lazily.
"It should be fine I guess? I don't think anyone living here is allergic to cats… Ohh, what's with this guy, she is good with people."
I offered my hand to the cat in Megumin's arm, and she used her paws to play with my fingers.
… This was a dangerous world.
Staying in this party full of problematic children induced a lot of stress.
Maybe I needed a pet that would heal my body and soul.
"That hurts! Why is this cat only clawing me! What is going on, be it the black fur or that arrogant attitude… I can feel the flames of evil emitting from the body of this cat!"
Aqua who was scratched after harassing the cat was furious.
To protect it from the crazy blue haired beast, I took the cat from Megumin's arms.
I turned my back to Aqua and placed the cat onto the carpet in one swift motion, protecting it.
… Speaking of which, we didn't finish the fish we had for breakfast.
"Neh, Megumin. What is the name of this evil beast?"
"Chomusuke."
I picked up the plate with the leftover fish from the dining table…
"… What did you say the cat's name was again?"
"It is Chomusuke."
… I held the leftover fish and squatted before the black cat… Chomusuke. It must be hard on you to have such a weird owner…
I placed the fish before Chomusuke, but she didn't eat it immediately, and just sniffed it a little.
"Neh, Megumin. That's a female cat right? I don't think that name suits her."
"No. It's name is Chomusuke."
As I listened to the conversation behind me and was looking at Chomusuke.
— Chomusuke spit out a small burst of fire to grill the fish slightly.
… What was that?
I hugged my knees and sat on the carpet, watching Chomusuke eat the leftover fish…
"… Neh, Aqua, this cat can spit fire."
I told Aqua softly.
Since the cabbages in this world could fly, cats spitting fire wasn't anything unusual.
"What kind of silly talk is that? Kazuma, are you alright?"
"Cats don't spit fire. Cats are animals that purrs and meows."
"That's right. And they like to eat fish and look cute too."
I know that.
"No, this thing just spit fire, grilling the fish before eating it."
"… Kazuma, you must be tired."
"You were detained in court after all, a lot of things had happened."
"It's true! I'm not crazy!"
I yelled while pointing at Chomusuke. Megumin said:
"Anyway, what were you two arguing about just now? If it is about Darkness, she is not a kid anymore, it's fine even if she didn't return for a few days. Please calm down."
Megumin didn't believe me at all.
"… You are too calm. Do you know what the landlord is doing to Darkness right now? It must be something terrible."
Megumin scoffed at my words.
"He is a landlord after all, what could someone with such status do to Darkness… Wait, I did hear quite a bit of negative news related to this landlord, but Darkness is an adventurer. I don't think she will just let him have his way with her."
This idiot! She don't understand Darkness at all!
"Children are really naive! You spent so much time together with Darkness and you still don't understand that pervert? She will definitely say the following to you with a blushing face, 'Ugh! Even if you have your way with my body, you will never have my heart! I will not yield to you!'"
"!"
After Megumin finally got what was going on, she hugged Chomusuke who was biting into the fish.
"Wha, wha, what should we do! Darkness, Darkness is in danger! What should we do Kazuma?"
"She left yesterday and it had already been one night, so it's too late. Listen up, when Darkness comes back, you have to treat her gently as usual."
"I, I will! Since Darkness has became an adult, we can't ask her what happened either, right?"
"Ahwahah…! Darkness… Darkness, she…!"
Aqua clenched her fist to show that we could count on her while Megumin's face turned pale from helplessness.
If not for Darkness' actions, I would have been executed. I was grateful for what Darkness did for me and had no grounds to complain, but…
… Ah, damn it!
I stress this again, I didn't like Darkness that way or had any feelings for her. Even though there were no feelings of love, I couldn't help feeling frustrated for some unknown reason.
When a female friend hitched up with another guy, that was the complicated feeling I felt back then. At that moment—
"Satou Kazuma! Is Satou Kazuma here—!"
With this angry shout, someone pushed open the door into the mansion suddenly.
The one who pushed the door open in a rough manner was the panting Sena. Her face was red and her shoulders were undulating.
"Hey hey, what are you doing here, there is still some time before the deadline for me to prove my innocence right? Sorry, I don't have time for you right now, my comrade…"
"You say you have no time for me? Don't bullshit me! So you really are a minion of the demon king army! You got guts to cause this mess!"
It was a false accusation, but seeing Sena act so agitated gave me an ominous feeling, so I asked cautiously:
"Wha, what do you mean by this mess…?"
"It's toads! The toads that should be hibernating came out and are moving everywhere outside the town!"
She should be referring to the giant toads that were synonymous with monsters here. But what did such a thing have to do with us…
"Don't frame us for this. Or you are insinuating that we are controlling the monsters and woke the hibernating toads up? Then show me the evidence for that!"
Megumin moved in front, ready for a quarrel.
"According to the reports from the guild staff, the toad seemed to be fearing something when they emerged from the ground… Speaking of fear, it reminds me of someone casting explosion spell not far from town, terrorizing the citizens."
Aqua and Megumin made a run for the interior of the mansion, but I grabbed the backs of their collars before they could get away.
"Wait, let me explain, I only did it because Aqua asked me too! I was the one who did it, but the mastermind is Aqua!"
"How sly Megumin! Weren't you excited when I came to discuss with you? You even said 'let me show you my power!'"
Grabbing the collar of the two who were turning on each other, I said:
"Now is not the time to fight so disgracefully! Go and clean up the mess you made!"
Looking outside, the town was already covered in snow.
Part 2
"No—-! I had enough—! I don't want to be eaten by the toads—!"
Aqua's scream echoed out loud.
"But to think the toads are still so agile even in this cold weather. They are moving as fast as usual. Both animals and vegetations are strong around here."
I watched the toads chasing Aqua around on the snow field and commented thoughtfully.
"Because of the harsh environment in this world, all living beings try their hardest every single moment. We mustn't lose to them; we have to become stronger in order to survive in this dangerous world."
Megumin answered my words with a serious expression.
— While her body below the shoulders was inside the mouth of a toad.
It might be due to her experience of being swallowed by toads earlier that Megumin remained calm in such a situation and did not resist, allowing the toad to swallow her.
Prior to this, Megumin had already casted explosion magic and took out many toads.
Megumin couldn't move after exhausting her mana. The toad didn't continue its swallowing action and stopped moving.
Maybe Megumin's staff was stuck in its mouth.
"Hold on, I will save you."
I raised my sword and faced the toad that was eating Megumin.
"No, it's fine for you to take down the toad chasing after Aqua first. It's cold outside, I prefer the warmth inside the toad's mouth."
I thought this girl was normal aside from her obsession of explosion and didn't expect her to have such great tolerance.
"Why you… One of your comrades is being swallowed by a toad while the other is being chased around, how could you remain so calm?"
Sena who was here as a witness found this strange and asked stupendously.
That might be so, but this was normal for our party.
I decided to save Megumin later. I stuck my sword into the ground and took out my bow and arrow I purchased earlier.
During the invasion of the mobile fortress, I defeated some golems and raised two levels.
After getting the skill points, I was troubled over what skills to learn. After careful consideration, despite having a tough iron wall in Darkness, we lacked someone who could attack from range.
Megumin could be considered as one, but she could only attack a single time, and might drag Darkness into the explosion.
And so, it would be up to me. I might be weak, but I could learn the skills of all the job classes.
Using the uniqueness of this job, I got the archer Keith to teach me the skills 'bowmanship' and 'snipe'.
As its name suggest, 'bowmanship' was a skill that allowed a novice like me to learn how to use bows.
As for snipe, it increased the range of projectiles, raising accuracy proportionally with luck, and was a skill well suited for me.
I nocked an arrow and aimed for the toad chasing Aqua…!
"Kazuma—! Hurry—! Hurry up—!"
Seeing me pull open the bow, Aqua shouted as she fled.
… I felt like letting them chase her for a while longer.
Seeing that I wasn't intending to shoot the arrow, Aqua ran towards me. It made me feel like I might get in danger too, so I had no choice but to fire the arrow at the head of the toad.
The arrow brushed over the top of Aqua's head, and pierced the toad's head.
Aqua who was on the verge of tears continued charging me.
"Well then, I will save you now, Megumin."
"Neh, Kazuma, were you waiting for me to be eaten just now? Neh, you were going to let the toad eat me right?! And your arrow touched the charm point on my head!"
I ignored Aqua who was pressuring me and pulled out the sword in the ground.
"… Do you always fight in such a dangerous manner? Is… Is this bunch of people really related to the demon king army…?"
Sena was mumbling something as she noted down the ongoing battle.
I raised my sword at the immobile toad to rescue Megumin—
"Wait, there's toads…!"
Megumin who was sticking out from the toad's mouth said tensely.
Aqua and I who were facing Megumin turned when we heard what she said.
"… Ah." x2
Another three giant toads came out of nowhere.
I was cool and collected earlier, but I could feel cold sweat on my back right now.
This was bad, now there were four toads.
In that case, the baits… No, I mean there weren't enough people to distract the toads.
I could snipe them one at a time if there was some distance, but…!
"Aqua, we will split up! I will pull away and try to dispose of one, you continue luring them!"
"I don't wanna—! I don't want to be chased by toads anymore—! You be the bait—!"
"Your attack power isn't enough to defeat toads, stupid! If we can take one down, there will just be two left! We can stop them with you and Sena!"
"Ehh!? I, I am just here to inspect on you, I shouldn't take part in the fight…! And are you planning to use a normal person like me as bait?"
As Aqua was wailing and Sena was shouting, Megumin said:
"Excuse me, I am being swallowed gradually now, you can save me anytime now."
"I've had enough, if only Darkness was here! That armored girl wouldn't be swallowed by toads! When will she come back—!
As I raised my sword towards the toad preparing to swallow Megumin—!
"Light of Saber—!"
— A clear voice echoed on the snow field.
At the same time, a beam of light shone across the body of the toad.
A moment after the light faded away, the toad split in half.
As I was busy dragging Megumin out of the toad's mouth—
"Energy Ignition!"
That clear voice announced again.
At the same time, the three toads closing on us caught on fire suddenly, fire pouring out of their mouth as if they were burning from the inside, morphing into bluish white fireballs.
As I Sniffed the fragrance of cooked toad meat, I used 'Drain touch' to share some mana with Megumin since I don't want to carry Megumin who was covered in goo back.
… And so, Megumin managed to stand up, even though she was still a bit unsteady.
In Megumin's line of sight was a young girl in black robes.
She was probably a year or two younger than me.
The girl I had never seen before was staring at Megumin.
"That was high tier magic just now…! In this town full of rookies, there was someone who could use high tier magic…"
As Sena who was behind me shouted in surprise, I bowed towards the girl before me.
"I don't know who you are, but thank you for saving us."
After I thanked her, the girl stole a glance at me, and seemed a little shy as her cheeks blushed.
"I, I wasn't planning to save you. It's just that having my rival eaten by a mere toad will leave a bad taste in my mouth, that's all…"
She lowered her head and mumbled.
"What? You and Megumin know each other?"
After the toads were defeated, Aqua regained her composure and asked that girl excitedly.
"Rather than know each other, we are more like rivals… — Long time no see, Megumin! As promised, I have returned after completing my training! As you can see, I can use top level magic freely now! Alright, it's time to fulfill the promise I made! I will settle our long time rivalry today!"
That girl said as she pointed at Megumin, she seemed really happy.
What kind of hot blooded development was this.
As for the one who was asked for by name—!
"…? Who are you?"
"Ehh!?"
Megumin who was covered in goo said nonchalantly, making that girl shriek.
On closer inspection, that girl seemed to be dressed in a similar way to Megumin.
The black robes and cloak on her body were similar in design with Megumin's.
She held a silver staff in her hand, and had a short sword sheathed in her waist.
She was slightly taller than Megumin, and had a thin and proportionate body.
She had a determined expression and looked gentle. She was also a great beauty.
If she was in Japan, she would be the class monitor or the student council president; she gave off a model student kind of feeling.
Her black hair was tied together with a ribbon, and the most striking thing about her were her crimson pupils.
That's right, her eye colour was the same as Megumin.
"It's, it's me! You remember right, we were classmates in the home of the crimson magic academy! Megumin was always the top student, while I was number 2! And I said I would go on a journey to train myself until I can use top tier magic…!"
The crimson magic girl pointed at her own face as she explain frantically with teary eyes.
No, what she mentioned casually just now was amazing.
"… Hey, she just said something we can't ignore, something about you being at the top of your school."
Hearing me said that, Megumin smiled softly.
"It has been so long; why are you still saying this? When I first met Kazuma, I already told you I am the best wizard in the crimson magic race. Kazuma was just too dumb to realize the truth. But after knowing me for so long, it is about time for you to believe me right?"
"If someone believed what you said after seeing you covered in goo, I would want to see how that person looks like."
"Why, why you!"
"Please, please wait a minute!"
Seeing Megumin and I quarreling, the Crimson magic girl interrupted:
"Neh, it's me Megumin! Did you really forget about me? Try to recall how I was always challenging you in everything in school. And you always said I had to place an adequate bet, and would accept if I bet my lunch! And you conned me of my lunch every time!"
So she had been doing this since ages ago.
I looked at Megumin, and she averted her eyes.
"Neh, I think they will take a long time, can I go back to the guild first? Otherwise, the toads' meat will go bad. Can I go get the people from the guild to ferry the toads back?"
Aqua said while she pointed at the carcass of the toads.
To be honest, it would be a pain for me to stay behind alone.
But given our current situation, whatever money we could scrounge helped, so it would be better to send Aqua back to settle this.
And that way, Megumin and I would be able to return to the mansion directly, and I could dump Megumin who stunk like the insides of toads into the shower.
"… Hmm. Seemed like you still have much to talk about. Well then, I will take my leave today… Kazuma-san, your adventure today was pathetic, but I won't throw out the possibility that this was just an act to deceive me… I can't trust you yet."
After looking at me with stern eyes, Sena returned to town together with Aqua.