Chapter 5: Starting Over with the Adventurers!

The next day.

"Komekko! Komekko where are you!?"

I was awoken early in the morning by Megumin's noisy shouts and darting around.

"What's going on at such an hour? What are you screaming about?"

Ever since that young girl came here, I'd been consciously getting up earlier.

She's seemingly still on the mission of reporting her findings to her parents; therefore, I must not show any signs of degeneracy.

"Good morning, Kazuma. I'm looking for Komekko. Get a load of this kid. She probably didn't even bother waiting for breakfast and took off after grabbing some food from the kitchen."

"How should I put this? Your sister really is a wild one."

Growing up with a sister who mastered crayfish cuisine, her becoming this way isn't hard to imagine.

"I don't remember bringing up such a wild child either. Who is she trying to become?"

Though I badly wanted to respond with "who else besides you?", I barely managed to keep my mouth glued.

"On the other hand, since she's never been outside of the Crimson Demon village, Axel must intrigue her. She should be back soon if she went to prance around the town."

"Makes sense. I myself had been overwhelmed by this city on day one, so I can relate…"

Megumin sighed, still worried.

If anything, at least this city is very secure.

There's probably not much to worry about even with a little girl out and about by herself.

So, we went ahead and had breakfast first.

"—Say, Megumin, where did Komekko go? I lost to her last night, and I was just about to take revenge."

Said Aqua with a board game under her armpit, like a little child looking for playmates.

"You lose to even little girls? As an adult, don't you feel ashamed at all?"

Aqua had been getting along with Komekko terribly well lately.

Probably because of their similar mental ages, they appear highly compatible.

"Don't be dumb, Kazuma, haven't you heard of 'handicapping'? Since she's a child, I thought, I should be more merciful. Ultimately, my hubris was the end of me. I started the game one piece down—the weakest piece, Adventurer."

"That's hardly a handicap."

Surprisingly, perhaps out of her fondness of children, Darkness had also clicked well with Komekko over the last few days. She interjected impatiently.

"Although, since she hasn't been back for this long, could she be playing with other kids somewhere or begging for snacks at the guild again?"

"Possibly. Although, I don't think she will get along very well with other kids of her age, so she's unlikely to be anywhere besides the guild. After all, didn't they say something about preparing a fruit cake for her?"

Running away to the Adventurer's Guild filled with crude old men at such an age, this little girl's future is looking bright already.

One would expect her to cling tightly to her sister in this unfamiliar city, yet Komekko shows complete independence from her onee-chan.

This kid has the potential to surpass Megumin and become the next scariest character.

"Although, it was all thanks to Komekko's presence that the adventurers got the willpower to clear out all the durian quests. They have the right to invite her over for snacks; it's only reasonable."

As Darkness had said, the completion rate for quests in Axel hadn't been in good shape… All in all, the result speaks for itself.

That said, I have a feeling that after Komekko leaves, the situation would probably revert to the old state.

"Well then, let's also head for the guild after we eat."

Said Megumin restlessly, who on the flipside still hasn't gained "independence from her little sister".

—After arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, we were greeted by a puzzling sight.

"Here, try this too, onee-san made this herself."

We can understand Komekko's being here.

However, we cannot understand why the onee-sans from the succubus shop were eagerly feeding her snacks.

"Over here, young lady, also try this."

"Thank you!"

Komekko is currently tastefully munching down the snacks she'd received from the onee-sans who have inexplicably showed up.

I motioned for a familiar onee-san to come closer, and exchanged under our breaths,

"You're the onee-san from that shop I frequent, right? But this is the Adventurer's Guild! What do you intend to do here!?"

"Ara! Why, isn't this our renowned customer? We've had our lesson, of course we know it's dangerous here…"

As she spoke, the succubus onee-san cast a motherly gaze upon Komekko, watching her eat.

"We're not sure why, but we just couldn't leave her alone. It's most likely her unusually high demonic potential. She'll certainly become someone highly important… So, if we win her over early…"

Having heard such strange words uttered nonchalantly, I couldn't help but glance over at Komekko.

The succubi's strongly attentive gazes directed at Komekko were indeed curious.

What's with this sense of failure?

I also want talents of an evil demon as opposed to luck or business.

Meanwhile, Aqua stared motionlessly at the succubi from behind a pillar.

Actually, Aqua had stirred up a huge mess a while ago when she had found out about the succubus shop.

My blood boiled when I found out that she had attempted to bust the succubi. Ever since then, she has refrained from lashing out, lest she gets on my nerves again.

She might also fear becoming the arch nemesis of all male adventurers for committing succubus genocide.

All in all, should she cause any trouble this time around…

"So uhm, since Aqua-sama has blessed us with her presence, we shall take our leave."

"Customer-san, please keep an eye on Aqua-sama and Vanir-sama for us! So, Komekko, I guess we'll see you later?"

Being especially aware of Aqua's gaze, the succubi looked back at Komekko while stealing discreet glances at Aqua as they reluctantly left the Adventurer's Guild.

(Darkness) "…Say, Kazuma, what exactly is your relationship with those people? This is the first time I've seen such pretty women in your friend circle…"

"They are employees of a café run by some beautiful ladies. Though the dishes are only ordinary, they're peculiarly popular, which leaves me baffled. Still, why would they be so attracted to my little sister?"

Megumin showed confusion as the adventurers bowed to her still.

"Greetings, Megumin-san."

"Megumin-san, we're essentially finished with the quests. Within the span of the last two days, all the notable missions have all been dealt with in a rapid succession."

Said the adventurers, now completely used to calling Megumin-san by "Megumin-san".

"Really. Then I need not worry about being forced to take difficult quests. Everyone's been working their butts off, and I've been stressing out lately."

Megumin-san showed a relieved smile.

Komekko then smiled back and said to Megumin-san,

"Onee-chan, the adventurers of this city are so strong!"

"Indeed, indeed. After all, they're from the city that I live in."

Upon hearing such conversation, people around us turned away shyly.

Judging by their attitude, they seem to have enjoyed it quite a bit.

"The blue-haired onee-san is also very powerful!"

"That's right. As expected for being my friend. She purified a spectre that's been around for a long time. So, while Aqua is usually dumb like that, I encourage you to see her in a more positive light."

Hearing Komekko and Megumin's discussion, Aqua also turned completely smug, not a shred of shame on her face.

"And, the onii-san is also powerful!"

"Mhm, he's nonetheless the leader of our party. There's no way he's not powerful… Although, I still question whether he was truly 'victorious' given the tactics he used…"

Sheesh, is this person trying to rain on my parade of flawless victory against the tranquility princess?

"…Eh? Uh-um, what about my big moments…?"

"You didn't have any, did you?"

Feeling hurt, Darkness sulked by herself—

"See, Komekko? My friends are powerful, right? The adventurers of this city are all very cool, right? When you get back to the village…be sure to brag about us all."

As she spoke, Megumin smiled embarrassedly at the adventurers.

"Say, Kazuma, the tranquility princess was right, wasn't she? That I'm no more useful than an adamantite snail?"

"Please stop stressing over losing to a plant, leave it behind."

As I consoled the depressed Darkness alone.

"Except onee-chan isn't powerful."

Komekko dropped the bomb.

"…K-Komekko, what did you just say? You said that I, your mighty onee-chan, isn't powerful?"

Megumin questioned shakily.

The guild instantly went dead silent.

"Mhm, only onee-chan isn't really powerful."

"K-Komekko! What's going on, have you entered the age of rebellion!? You've been learning strange words and have been disobedient to me lately; you are making your older sister feel heartbroken, you know!?"

Leaving the teary eyed Megumin behind, Komekko walked over to the receptionist onee-san.

"I have a request for you, big-breasted onee-san."

"Komekko, I'd prefer if you don't call me 'big-breasted onee-san', if you please."

Having given the receptionist such an incredible nickname, Komekko went on to say—

"Please give us a quest that can make my not-so-powerful onee-chan more powerful."

Who knows whether she's being considerate for her sister or what with this suspicious demand.

"Komekko, let's go home! My true abilities can only show at the key moments; so normally, I'm pretty lackluster. Let's go, I'll put on an explosion firework show tonight after we get home."

Blurted Megumin embarrassedly as she attempted to lead Komekko away by her hand.

Komekko still gazed pleadingly at the receptionist even as she was dragged away by her sister.

"Hmm~… To be fair, there aren't many big quests left. The remaining quests are mostly giant toad subjugation… After all, this city isn't exactly known for its livestock industry; with toad meat also being delicious, there's never been a lack of demand. So, this is the only reliable, always ongoing quest."

"That will do."

Komekko answered instantly, leaving her onee-chan troubled.

"That will do? But giant toads are very weak monsters, they're only loved for food…"

"That will do."

Megumin pulled her to the side as Komekko took quests irresponsibly.

"Why are you taking quests!? You even accepted a giant toad subjugation quest which is not hard at all. You chose it for the toad meat, didn't you? Well then, onee-chan will let you witness her true power! Come on, there must still be some big quests left, right? Bring them on, go big or go home. Mind you, I'm feeling incredibly competent today; so, bring whatever you have to me, be it Demon Generals or dragons!"

Megumin exclaimed excitedly. The onee-san appeared troubled.

"Be it Demon Generals or dragons…huh? If you put it that way, we actually do have one durian quest left…"

The onee-san had a mental battle for whether she should say it aloud.

"Hey, don't embarrass Megumin-san!"

"That's right, she clearly said she wanted to do it, is that not enough?"

"Yeah yeah, they aren't a hesitant bunch, so what's with the hold-up at this point?"

Suddenly, the adventurers around us spoke up.

Hearing them, Megumin turned slightly bashful.

"Like the adventurers said, I already claimed "I'd do it", so it's fine. I'll destroy any monster Axel can throw at me. Or are you implying that the monster is stronger than a Demon General?"

Other adventurers proceeded to boo. In response to Megumin, the onee-san shook her head.

It's reasonable. Monsters that show up near a beginner town shouldn't be stronger than a Demon General.

"Onee-chan must be very powerful!"

Komekko's eyes glowed in anticipation for her sister's impending moment of glory. Succumbing to her attack, the onee-san passed the quest to Megumin with a bitter smile.

"Understood. In that case, I shall reserve this final durian quest for Megumin-san."

Megumin retrieved the quest and filled the guild hall with her booming voice.

"Waga na wa Megumin, the elite archwizard of Axel, the master of Explosion Magic! In any duel, all shall succumb before the power of my explosions, be it Demon Generals or dragons!"

"Ooohohohoho!"

"Let's go, Megumin-san! Let's go!'

"Oho! Then we shall go lend a hand, too!"

Basking in the cheers of the adventurers, her excited eyes shining red, Megumin briskly flared up her cloak in a marvelous pose…

"This final quest…isn't the subjugation of a single monster, but a duo consisting of the griffon and the manticore that have been fighting over territory for ages…"

Hearing the onee-san's explanation, the guild suddenly fell silent. Megumin, too, froze solid mid-pose.

Part 2

The griffon and the manticore.

The two pretty overleveled beasts settled near Axel around two years ago.

The manticore didn't come into existence naturally but was instead magically fabricated.

Nobody knows whether it had been set free by some wizard as a cruel joke, or whether it had escaped from some secluded ruins on its own.

Nevertheless, the manticore of mysterious origins one day settled on a mountain near Axel.

Following that, as if clockwork, sightings of a griffon near the same spot were reported.

When people first encountered the griffon, its wings appeared heavily wounded and its whole body was in a disastrous condition.

After seeing how badly wounded it was, the Adventurer's Guild declared the region forbidden for entry. By barring access to the injured griffon, they hoped that it would remain crippled from lack of medical attention.

Furthermore, they quarantined the area—if they were lucky, the manticore living in the vicinity would battle it to the death…

However, the griffon let the guild down big time. It ended up in a stalemate with its equally entrapped manticore roommate, threatening even Axel's suburbs.

The trouble stirred up by one beast was doubled. Ever since, the guild had been formally requesting their subjugation; however, to prevent uninformed people from further escalating the situation, they set the reward very low. Ultimately, the quest was never taken from the board.

—Currently, we're on our way with the other adventurers to the territory of those two monsters.

I followed them half-heartedly at the very back. Aqua then said,

"Manticore and griffon. Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing a quest like that before."

What does this girl have to say now?

(Kazuma) "Don't you recall? When we were still buried in debt, we even considered taking this quest."

Indeed, we were still newbies back then.

Anxious about our economic situation, she brought me the quest that everyone avoided like the plague.

"Was that a thing? I'm a forgiving and forgetful woman; I don't linger over past matters."

"A cool line like that should've been by said by someone more likeable than you."

Out of all the durian quests, not even the guild has faith in the completion of this one.

However, more than a year has gone by since we last considered this quest.

So, we're kind of avenging our past selves.

Our circumstances are different now; we were no longer being dragged around at fate's mercy.

It is time for me to prove that I've emerged as a skillful elite adventurer after my time as a newbie.

"Still, we've come a long way. Back when we were little ducklings, we couldn't have dreamed of taking on tasks like this."

"Yeah, back then we constantly went on missions just to pay our debt. I couldn't even believe myself, but compared to the leisurely life saturated with wealth we have now, the times plagued by debt when we had to work our butts off everyday felt more satisfying…"

Megumin said nostalgically.

"That is called rose-tinted retrospection. Most people tend to glorify the past."

While Megumin basked in nostalgia, as a man who had suffered gravely due to poverty, I prefer to stay far away from such a life.

"Don't put it like that, Kazuma. It's not like I can't relate with Megumin at all. We really were newbies back then, being tortured by all kinds of monsters including giant toads. But in hindsight, those memories are really…"

As she reminisced the past, Darkness gradually began blushing bashfully. It looked as if she remembered something important.

An adventurer next to Darkness then told her,

"Nah, you guys haven't changed much. Though you did in fact defeat several Demon Generals and tough monsters, Aqua-san cried a while ago when a neroid she had chased into an alley lashed back at her."

"Oi, didn't I tell you to not spread stories like this!? Why did you think I spent my own precious cash to buy ice cream for you!? That was a bribe for non-disclosure! Since you've broken our contract, you better give me my ice cream back!"

Aqua went nuclear against the adventurer who had exposed her own ungracefulness.

"I helped you get rid of the neroid; I'll take the ice cream as a show of gratitude."

In response to being utterly humiliated by the adventurer, Aqua retaliated with "if you ever get hurt and need my healing magic, you'd have to pay me, too."

We all used to be shy and asocial, but now gossips with other adventurers like this are commonplace.

Days in this world are long and busy like this.

Although I don't quite agree with Megumin and Darkness, the debt-ridden, chaotic, and constantly busy days might not have been that bad.

…No, I may have instead come to the realization that this strange world isn't that terrible in itself.

I looked down at Axel city from the mountainside. The expansive, blissful scenery presented ahead emotionally inspires me.

Ara, after all we've been through, who's to say that I haven't fallen in love with this world already?

Just as I pondered with a self-mocking smile…

I noticed a shadow looming overhead.

I swiftly flicked my head to look—

There it is, the razor-toothed head of a beast with colossal wings.

A gigantic creature with the head of a vulture and the body of a lion.

Then, the ferocious mystical monster—the griffon—charged at us.

Part 3

"The griffon has showed up—!"

Even the courageous adventurers who came in high spirits wanting to help Megumin beat the hardest quest were shocked stiff by the very sight of the griffon's enormity.

"Kazuma! This one's even bigger than we imagined! With a beak this fabulous, could it be a relative of Emperor Zell?"

"Would you stop spouting n o n s e n s e! M-Megumin, go chant your spell! Put the unseen manticore aside and take care of the griffon first! This thing has top priority!"

"G-g-g-g-got it! Leave it to me!"

And of course, the adventurers weren't the only ones shocked stiff.

Megumin began to chant. Hearing her, the adventurers regained composure and prepared their weapons.

"Alright, I'll be the meat shield! This will be my big moment; I must convince Komekko to say that the onee-san in armor is also very powerful! Even though we're facing a griffon, it's by itself! We have numbers, if we concentrate our will, we'll definitely prevail!"

Only Darkness charged forth fearlessly directly towards the griffon.

As if empowered by her bravery, the adventurers at the front streamed after her. The mages also each chanted their own spells.

However, with perfect timing, a shadow thrusted itself between the griffon-fighting group and us back liners the moment Darkness charged.

"Ara, that's no way to be. Although the griffon is incredibly bothersome, without it, you humans would have invaded this mountain."

A creature with a human head, a lion's body, the tail of a scorpion with the wings of a bat.

That is the demonic beast that was as disgusting as Frankenstein's monster, the manticore.

Darkness and the other warrior adventurers were sandwiched between the two hideous beasts, isolated. The sudden cut-off also sent the mages into panic.

Just as Darkness unsheathed her sword at the manticore saying "I'll handle this", the monster merely glanced at her briefly then…

Took to the air swiftly with a flap of its wings and set course for—!

"I-it's headed here! Hey, Megumin, that damn bastard is coming for you! Stop chanting for now; if we don't keep our distance, it'll wreck us!"

"W-w-w-wait a second, Kazuma! Don't shake me! The manticore has high intelligence. It was alerted by the threat of my dangerous spell, so it raised our priority. A-ah, it's c-coming!"

No way, even if we called for help, the adventurers would be too tied up with distracting the griffon to protect Darkness.

However, I'm not the type to panic!

I pulled out the bow on my back and steadily took aim.

"Eat this! Snipe!"

I quickly charged my bow and launched an arrow at the manticore.

Then the arrow precisely—!

"…The hell is this?"

The arrow I shot was effortlessly brushed aside mid-air by the manticore's tail.

"Megumin—! My arrow was deflected, what now!?"

"It was simply not strong enough! Manticores are high-tier monsters that shouldn't be around here! To it, beginner adventurers' attacks are only that: an annoyance!"

Shouted Megumin as she restarted her explosion chanting.

I won't let you interrupt the chanting this time—gah, shit!

"Aha! You sure give the gentleman vibe, little boy! Oi, wanna see what I can do with this meat whip!?"

"Eh!?"

The manticore said something alarming in every sense, then whipped out a giant scorpion tail and dove down at me.

To protect Megumin, I stood before her and uttered a spell.

"Create Earth!"

No matter how strong the opponent is, hurting their eyes will definitely hold them back.

After the manticore is blinded, we'll only need enough time for Megumin to finish her chant—

"Leave this to me, Kazuma! Large monsters like manticores and griffons need magic to fly! What I'm saying is, without magic, they'll fall right out of the sky!"

Aqua suddenly said as she jumped out from nowhere.

"Hey wait, nothing good ever comes of anything you do! Just let me use the blinding combo like usual and…!"

Before I could finish…

"Sacred Break Spell!"

Aqua unleashed a holy ray of light that shot into the air and struck the manticore.

I guess the manticore did indeed use magic to stay up, like Aqua had said.

Having lost its flight ability, the manticore diving towards me obeyed the laws of inertia and—!

"Whooooooooaaaahhhh!?"

"Owowowowowow!"

The falling manticore came crashing down, threatening to crush me.

Probably from the resistance buff that Aqua casted earlier, I wasn't hurt much.

But…

"Not bad, boy! You really are something, if I do say so!"

"Not bad my ass! Same deal with Sylvia; why are hybrid monsters all like this!?"

The manticore laid on top of me and pinned my arms down with its front legs…!

"Come on, just try taking a shot from my meat whip…!? Gah, wh-what's this now!?"

I activated Drain Touch and started sucking the life force and mana out of the manticore!

"Anyone, please come save me—! I'm about to lose some very important things!"

To be specific, my other virginity; but above that, my life!

"!?"

After being sneakily assaulted from behind by the thieves, the manticore quickly backed off.

Having retreated, the manticore paid no attention to the thieves but instead stared at me in terror.

My Drain Touch was probably the more surprising attack.

The mages on the other hand had distanced themselves from the manticore and I, instead focusing their magic on the griffon.

I don't have the time to investigate what's happening on the other side; but since they're paying less attention to us, we're in a dire situation.

My Drain Touch seemed to be quite effective as the manticore now appeared cautious. I took this chance and unsheathed my blade.

However, I have no intentions to take him head-on.

Having the weakest profession, my goal isn't to engage in melees but to make time.

"Bring it on, bastard; you've been acting weirdly for a while now. I actually have a phobia for the likes of you! Now, watch me overcome my fears and tear you up!"

I boasted to enrage it and in turn mess up its concentration.

After all, I have other adventurers nearby aiding me, so as long as I give them enough time—

"Gah! Another manticore! It's female, a female manticore!"

"Did she follow along!? Female manticores are stronger! Let's take her on!"

The adventurers that were rushing my way all changed courses for the female manticore after seeing it ambush the mages at the back.

...

"Boy, you've got some nerve. A duel, is that what you want!? A duel!? How manly; well, allow me to pierce♂the♂heavens from your backyard!" (TL note: same reference as last chapter)

"Spare me! Please spare me!!"

That was blatantly asking for trouble!

"Kazuma, I'm ready! Leave this to me!"

Having finished the incantation, Megumin announced from behind.

But the manticore is too close for the attack; to blow it up, we must make room…!

"Don't waste such a spell on the manticore! The griffon is far stronger, so leave this cannon fodder be and strike over there!"

"U-understood! I've indeed heard rumors saying that the griffon's level is higher!"

I taunted the manticore again. Megumin, while holding her mana at the tip of her staff, also helped in insulting it.

"Ohh? You dare say I'm weaker even after years of sustained combat?"

My duty is to buy time.

Right now, defeating either one of the monsters will be enough to turn the tables…

"Lalatina!"

"Hey, is everything okay!?"

"Lalatina is under heavy assault from the griffon! No, wait, she appears somewhat happy; she seems very calm and serene…!"

…or so it would seem. Will our chances really improve?

I'm counting on you, Axel adventurers; weren't you supposedly super powerful!?

As if my prayers have been answered, I heard a voice from afar as I stood deadlocked with the manticore.

"Yes, it's working! Hey, Kazuma—! We'll come help as soon as we get rid of the other manticore!"

Of course, the manticore before me also heard it.

The manticore lost its cool and fell into panic.

"Oi, if you want to save your wife then go ahead. The archwizard holding her magic behind me is the best in Axel. Keep fighting here, or go save your wife? The choice is yours."

In response, he showed a surprised expression—

"Things aren't going too well today! I'll leave you alone. What I'm saying is, I choose to help my wife…"

Saying that, the manticore quickly turned and dashed off.

The adventurers around the female manticore were completely helpless against the full-speed charge of the aforementioned beast and were knocked airborne.

"They got Lalatina!"

Hearing that, I looked at the source and saw the griffon raising its body with Darkness in its mouth, preparing to take off.

Darkness, meanwhile, relentlessly hammered at it with her bare fists having apparently lost her longsword.

But of course, such retaliation has limited effect against the hard beak…

"Kazuma-san, please do something quick! Darkness is about to be abducted! This reminds me of how Emperor Zell caught worms from the yard this morning; Darkness, in her current state, uncannily resembles a worm that's about to be eaten by Emperor Zell!"

"Stop with the negative foreshadowing at this critical moment; why must you always do unnecessary things!?"

As we spoke, the two manticores broke our encirclement and made a dash for the griffon, the remaining adventurers in pursuit.

They may very well be trying to use the griffon to cut the adventurers off and secure their escape.

Such a strategy is too crafty even for monsters with human heads.

"Darkness, hang in there! Megumin, get ready to unleash your spell!"

I pulled my bow back again and aimed for the griffon's eye.

"Hitting such a big target should be no problem! No tricks up your sleeve this time!"

I enabled my sniping skill and launched the arrow towards the griffon's monstrous eyeball.

It must have been distracted by Darkness' fierce resistance and couldn't react to the incoming arrow in time.

"Eeeeeeeeek!"

With an arrow plunged into its right eye, the griffon screeched sharply.

Seeing the arrow in the griffon's eye, Darkness mercilessly hammered it in.

Likely due to the unbearable pain, the griffon flung away Darkness who had "you deserved it!" written all over her face.

"Megumin, go! By the power of the best archwizard in Axel, blow all three of them asunder!"

Before I could finish, Megumin pointed her staff at the griffon.

"After we return to Axel, this glorious moment of mine must be told word for word to my little sister. Waga na wa Megumin! The elite archwizard of Axel, the master of Explosion Magic! …Now, have a taste of the ultimate attack I've been holding all this time! E x p l o s i o n—!"

Thus, Megumin unleashed her Explosion Magic.

A fireball of unimaginable proportions burst out from the mountain range, engulfing the griffon along with the two manticores passing by it—!

Part 4

"I'm calling quits. Look, Kazuma, I'm declaring a break from quests."

After an arduous battle, we completed the subjugation of the griffon and the manticore.

"Say, Kazuma, I want to ask: did we really improve at all? We've never matured one bit since we formed the party, have we?"

"Don't ask me; that's what I want to know."

Carrying Megumin, I walked shoulder-to-shoulder with the battle-scarred Darkness and other adventurers. Together, we made our way back to Axel.

I stared towards the setting sun at the far end of the street as I walked. Megumin said from atop my back,

"I want to apologize to Kazuma-san for something… I can never fathom the idea of returning to the olden days again."

What did I tell you?

"—Thanks for the work, everyone! Also, congratulations! With that, every durian quest in the city has been completed! On behalf of all staff members of the Adventurer's Guild, I thank you all sincerely!"

The staff welcomed us as we returned to the guild in decrepitude.

Seeing this scene, the adventurers who came along to help all smiled in satisfaction as if they've tasted the fruit of their hard work.

And in the middle of the row of staff members.

The onee-san who seems to have become the icon of our guild pushed her out.

"So great! Everyone is so great!"

Komekko's eyes gleamed.

"Yeah, we're great, aren't we? It's because we're adventurers of Axel! Although, your big sister is the greatest. After all, Megumin was the one who killed the griffon and the manticore en masse!"

The rough-faced man with a warrior spirit laughed openly; no longer did he add "-san" after "Megumin" but rather commended from heart.

Hearing the truthful words from the adventurer, Komekko showed the happiest smile we've ever seen to date.

"Onee-chan is the best!"