CHAPTER 11 - PART 3 & 4

Part 3

After being left behind on the snow field, I asked Megumin once again:

"And so, why did she keep saying she know you? She seemed to know you very well, so remember her quickly alright?"

"I don't know her. And she didn't even mention her name, that is suspicious. This must be the scam Kazuma told Aqua that she mustn't pull, that 'it's me it's me' scam. You must absolutely not trust her."

Megumin pulled on my hand after saying that and wanted to leave.

Seeing that we were planning to leave for town, that girl said in a hurry:

"Wait, wait—! I, I know, it is embarrassing to do this in front of others, but I will introduce myself!… I am Yunyun. An arch wizard, wielder of top tier magic. The one who will be the chief of the Crimson magic race in the future…!"

After Yunyun introduced herself with a blushing face, she flicked her cloak.

Does the Crimson magic race have a culture of making exaggerated performances when introducing themselves?

As she looked at Yunyun, Megumin said to me:

"That's how it is. She is Yunyun, the daughter of the Crimson Magic village chief. She claims to be my rival during our school days and will inherit that position of village chief in the future."

"Okay. I am this girl's adventuring comrade Kazuma. Nice to meet you, Yunyun."

"So you do remember me!… Hmm, this is strange. Kazuma… san? Erm, why didn't you laugh after hearing my name?"

Yunyun was confused and asked me timidly.

After getting used to Megumin's name, I didn't think much about the weird names of the Crimson magic race.

"Your name is just a bit strange, that has nothing to do with your personality right? In this world, there is someone who has a strange name and leaves a deep impression, but is referred to by the infamous nickname 'explosion girl with a screw loose'."

"Is that me? Are you talking about me? That nickname stuck on before I even knew it!"

Hearing me say that, Yunyun showed an astonished and surprised expression:

"… I see, as expected of Megumin, you found a good comrade. You are my rival indeed."

For some reason, her impression of me seemed to be improving.

"Anyway, do you want to talk about this at another place? It's inconvenient to talk while standing around here."

Hearing me say that, Yunyun remembered something, lifted her head and moved away from Megumin and me.

"It's all because Megumin pretended not to know me; that's why things seemed so weird…! Megumin, I am here to settle things with you! I am the one who will be the chief of the Crimson magic clan! If I don't defeat you, how could I be so shameless to take the position of chief in the future! And most importantly!"

Yunyun lifted her hand and said while pointing at Megumin:

"As promised, I learned top tier magic. Next I will be defeating you and getting the title of strongest in the crimson magic clan. That way, no one can fault me when I take the position of chief. I won't let anyone say I depended on my family connections! Come Megumin, let us duel!"

With resolve in her eyes, Yunyun declared in front of Megumin.

"I don't wanna. It's freezing outside, and my body temperature is starting to drop."

Hearing Megumin said that matter of factly, Yunyun said "Hmmm—-" and stood there stiffly.

"That's settled then, let's go back. I will heat the water up, so go wash up first. After your bath, we will all have a meal together."

After I said that and was about to leave together with Megumin…

"Wait, wait wait! Neh, why? We didn't see each other for so long, why are you treating me so coldly? Megumin, please duel with me okay—!"

Seeing us move, Yunyun stopped us in a hurry.

Megumin sighed:

"… But I can't use magic anymore today, my mana is exhausted. And you were planning to duel with me using magic? Kukuku… You underestimate my strength. With just my strength alone, I vaporized eight foolish toads in just one shot. Yunyun, can you do that?"

Megumin lowered her tone, saying this in a Chuunibyou manner. Yunyun looked at me with a surprised expression.

She was probably asking me if this was true.

"Yeah, she did vaporize eight toads with just one spell."

But she couldn't move after that and was eaten though.

Hearing my confirmation, Yunyun turned pale and gulped with her head down.

"You weren't in this town so you might not know… But did you heard about these rumours? A boss of the demon king army was tricked by me and lured to this town by my constant threatening explosion spell casted at his castle, and was defeated. The mobile fortress destroyer that claimed to be invulnerable was blown up by explosion magic in this town!"

After hearing all that, Yunyun alternate her gaze between Megumin and me with fear in her eyes.

… She didn't lie.

"Well, the boss of the demon king army did came to town because Megumin casted explosion magic daily, and the one who dealt the final blow to the destroyer was definitely Megumin."

That's one way to look at the truth…

After I said that, Yunyun's face turned deathly pale.

"E, E, Even so, I still want to duel! I have to duel…! No matter how slim my chances are, I will keep challenging you!"

Even though she was blinking away tears, there were things she would never back down from. Yunyun was afraid, but she still announced this steadfastly.

Seeing this, Megumin sighed heavily once again.

"… You are really troublesome. How about this, since I can't use magic anymore today, how about sparring physically? You are an adventurer now, so competing in academic test should be unacceptable for you right? No weapons; we will battle until one of us surrenders… Is that fine with you?"

Yunyun said with a surprised expression:

"… Is that really fine? That Megumin who skipped most of the physical education classes… Could it be… You want to let me win? That Megumin who kept walking before me during lunch, and rob me of my lunch when I challenge her?"

"… You are really a good-for-nothing."

"… That was a matter of life and death for me. Because of the circumstances in my family, her lunch was my lifeline. If I take the initiative and challenge her, wouldn't that be the same as extortion?"

Yunyun closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath and smiled brilliantly.

"I understand, we will spar then… I know what you will say next. 'If you want to challenge me, you have to place an adequate bet!' The bet this time is this Manatite crystal. This has great purity and has high quality! An item all mages craves for!"

Yunyun took out a small jewel.

With the name mana, it should be jewel that contains mana.

Megumin looked at that thing and gave a satisfied nod.

"Very well, I will accept your challenge! Well then, come at me sis!"

Megumin opened her arms in a taunting stance and announced.

Opposite her, Yunyun lowered her stance and clenched her fists.

From the looks of it, Yunyun has the advantage in size.

Yunyun was taller, bigger and has longer limbs with proportionate muscles; In contrast, Megumin doesn't look like a proficient melee fighter no matter how loose the standard was.

The impression Megumin gave was a little girl you can find anywhere, a weak mage.

Yunyun closed in slowly.

Megumin maintained her open arms posture, ready to grab Yunyun anytime…

"… Neh, Megumin. Hold on… Erm, you seemed a bit wet and shiny, is that…"

"That's right~~ it's goo from the toads."

Megumin answered Yunyun's uneasy question immediately.

Yunyun's face became twisted immediately, but Megumin ignored her and continued:

"Thank you for saving me just now. This slimy thing all over me are fluids secreted from the stomach of the toad… Enough about that, attack me. The moment you come near, I will hug you without reservation, and wrestle with you."

Megumin declared with her arms wide open, advancing slowly bit by bit while Yunyun backs away with a disgusted face.

"Me, Megumin? Don't joke like this, you are not serious right? This is just a strategy to diminish my will to fight and trick me to surrender right? Right? You always do that when we were in school. I, I won't be fooled anymore!"

Yunyun put on a strong front as she backed away, but Megumin got closer to her slowly, her crimson eyes shining.

Megumin's face looked like a kid who wanted to pull a prank on a friend.

"We are friends right? Real friends must go through thick and thin together."

When she heard what Megumin said, Yunyun turned back and ran.

Megumin chased after her.

"Surrender! I surrender! I will give you the mana crystal, so please don't come over!"

Part 4

Megumin smeared goo all over Yunyun, making her leave in tears. We made our way back to the mansion.

"Ah, Kazuma, take this. It should sell for a good price. Clear some of the debts with this."

On the way back, Megumin gave me the Manatite crystal.

I remember Yunyun saying this was something any mage would want.

"Is that fine? Why not keep and use it? I don't know how to use it though."

Megumin laughed softly when she heard my question.

"Manatite crystal is a convenient item that could take the place of mana when casting spells. But it is just a consumable item. From the purity and size of that crystal, it is not enough to sustain the massive mana expenditure of explosion spell. That thing is precious for normal wizards, but useless to arch wizards like me who cast magic on a grand scale."

She's saying this so arrogantly…

"… Isn't that a good thing? Neh, I will say this any number of times, don't you want to learn skills other than explosion…"

"I don't intend to."

"I thought so."

Hearing Megumin's immediate reply, I sighed heavily.

Never mind, I couldn't force her. And there were times when she was dependable too…

... Were there ever such a time?

There girl named Yunyun used high tier magic.

She took down the toads elegantly in no time.

And apart from magic, she looked pretty good too. A pretty face and a nice body.

Compared to that excellent mage…

"… What is it? Why are you sighing… Aside from powerful magic abilities, the Crimson magic race also has high intelligence. I can tell what Kazuma is thinking about."

Seeing me sigh as I walk, Megumin asked with a face full of doubt.

...

"… I was thinking that… compared to that girl, Megumin is much prettier."

"Thank you for your compliment! As thanks, I will give you a tight hug!"

"Stop, stahp! Don't come near me, you still stink like a toad!"

— I opened the door to the mansion and saw that Aqua had not returned yet.

I was hoping to find Darkness here, but there was still no sign of her.

My back was feeling all sticky so I walk briskly towards the shower room.

"Ugh… It stinks… This was the first time I am unhappy about a hug."

"You should be happier about it. Some people are willing to pay for a girl covered in goo to hug them."

Megumin who was following behind me said nonchalantly.

— As I headed into the changing room, Megumin tugged on the corner of my shirt.

"… What."

"The goo is making me uncomfortable, let me bathe first."

"I am uncomfortable too, and this is your fault. And if I don't go in first, there is no way to heat the water up. Our heater needs mana to work, so you can't use it since your mana is depleted. The mana I shared with you can only produce lukewarm water. If you understand, wait obediently in front of the fireplace for me to finish."

I waved my hand, gesturing Megumin to leave. She said with a displeased face:

"If I don't wash away the goo and sit before the fireplace, my robes will stink after it dries. Haven't you heard of ladies first? Men should take care of ladies."

"I am someone who sincerely wishes for equality for all genders. I hate people who push for chivalry when the situation benefits them, and complain about men when they are at a disadvantage. And if you are not old enough to be a lady anyway."

"Ah! You are treating me like a kid! We are just three years apart okay! Ten years later, we will be 23 and 26, there's not much difference…"

"The future is the future, the past the past. I am a man who live in the present. In my eyes, you are a child right now, that's it. Alright then— I will be the first one to shower!"

As I was saying this, I headed into the bathroom and light the magic heater. I then took off my shirt that was covered in goo.

"You are really stripping!"

Megumin was surprised by my actions, but I didn't feel anything about a kid seeing my naked body.

"I will need to charge if you want to watch anymore. I will not back down. Never."

Megumin bit her lips vexingly, and then laughed when she remembered something.

With a smile confident of victory, she taunted:

"… I see. I understand, Kazuma doesn't see me as a woman right now. Then how about bathing together. Since you don't see me as a woman, there should be no problems right?"

"You are right, there won't be any problems if we bathe together. I will go in first."

"Eh!?"

Seeing me reply nonchalantly, Megumin who made the suggestion was surprised.

"Ex, excuse me, shouldn't the next development be you saying something shyly like 'Id, idiot, it will be nice if we can actually do that', and then let me go first unwillingly right?"

"Why do I have to follow such a cliche script? Let me tell you first, I won't be restrained by normal practices. Let me give you an example. Let's say Megumin falls for me. And some other girl starts flirting with me and Megumin become jealous. If you use violence on me unreasonably, I will not hesitate in fighting back. I will do the right thing when the time comes, you better remember that."

"… I underestimated Kazuma. Don't worry, I will never fall for you. And that's not how you use the phrase 'do the right thing at the right time', but never mind."

After stating her piece, Megumin seemed to had given up and walked out of the bathroom. And so I…

"Oh? After taunting me about it, you are not going to bathe together with me? You gutless girl. That's why I see you as a kid."

"You say I have no guts? How dare you, it's just bathing together; you think I am scared?! Stop covering with your towel and hurry up!"

"Hey you jerk, let go, don't pull my towel you pervert! Why are you so open about this! Did that girl Yunyun ever tell you that you are like a boy? You are too carefree about this, watch yourself!"

Megumin took off her robe without hesitation, covered her body with a towel and walked into the bathroom.

—Weird?

For an instance, I thought I saw some sort of tattoo on Megumin's butt through the gaps of her towel.

"The water is not warm enough pump more mana in, more mana! Come here, hurry up!"

Megumin yelled after putting her hand into the bathtub.

Did I see it wrongly?… Never mind, forget it.