The Winter Shogun

After the incident with Beldia, Kazuma appreciated Megumin for standing up for her friend. However, he advised her not to take actions that might go out of her control. He suggested that she could rely on the party whenever she needed help. Kazuma reminded her that they were all in this together and that helping each other would never hurt. Kyouya reported to the guild that Beldia was defeated, and the people around them were overjoyed. The guild rewarded them and wished them luck on their future adventures.

..............

It was winter. One fine morning,

Kyouya "Hello Kazuma, How are you doing?"

Kazuma "The winter is so cold here. It was quiet and chilly today too. I hope it will be over soon."

Kyouya "Actually, Kazuma I came to ask you something."

Kazuma "Cut those formalities, bro; come to the point."

Kyouya "Alright, here is the thing. I would like to borrow Megumin for some days. I am planning to take down some monsters near her village, so I thought it would be good to have a member who knew more about that area."

Kazuma "Oh, sure. There is no problem with me. But did you ask her?"

Megumin just came by and said, "I don't mind helping at all."

Kazuma "It seems you are right into it, Megumin? Alright, have a safe adventure. But make sure you don't cause any trouble for him."

Megumin "Yeah, sure..."

So Kyouya and his companions took Megumin on a new adventure. Meanwhile, Darkness decided to take a break from her usual schedule and went home.

..........

Kazuma was left with nothing to do, so he looked for quests to undertake in the winter season. He stumbled upon one that required him to kill snow spirits. He borrowed some winter clothes from the guild and went to the snowy plains. Upon arriving at the snow plains, he was greeted by numerous round-shaped, cute-looking, and snow-colored monsters floating in the air. Despite feeling drawn to them, he found it challenging to kill such gentle creatures. As he was enjoying himself around them, a thick fog suddenly enveloped the entire plain, making it difficult to see anything. It was then that a mysterious samurai appeared, looking as if he were made of snow itself.

Kazuma asked a mysterious guy to identify himself, but the guy didn't respond. Suspecting an attack, Kazuma pulled out his sword and prepared to fight. When Kazuma asked again, the stranger remained silent. He looked at Kazuma for some time and was observing him. That stranger thought that Kazuma was about to attack him and other spirits around them. Then he drew his sword out of the sheath and faced him. Both of them stared at each other for some time and rushed at each other to fight.

Although the samurai was stronger than Kazuma, Kazuma showed impressive willpower and courage by standing his ground and defending himself. Despite being injured by the samurai, Kazuma refused to give up. In a moment of opportunity, Kazuma used his sword skills to successfully strike the samurai's hip with a heavy blow. The samurai was surprised and looked at Kazuma, who was bleeding from multiple wounds. To his surprise, the wounds on the samurai's body healed as though they had never existed.

The fight continued. Kazuma was gravely injured and fell to the ground, but he refused to give up. He slowly stood up again, holding his sword. Samurai then, with great force, blew him away along with his sword. He is defeated, with a lot of wounds on his body. The samurai approached him and tried to kill him. Just then, the little snow spirits stood in his way. They surrounded Kazuma as if they were protecting him. The Samurai were shocked to see this. He understood that he was not at all a thread. Samurai puts his sword back into his sheath.

He was about to leave him, but just then he noticed Kazuma was bleeding heavily. He stood there and thought for a while. The samurai couldn't ignore the fact that the snow spirits seemed to like Kazuma. He was left with no other choice but to help him. The samurai pulled his sword and pressed his palm on it. The samurai shed blood from his palm and poured it into Kazuma's mouth. Then he carried him to the edge of the snow plains and left him under a tree. The samurai carved his name on that tree, "Winter Shogun." After that, he left him.

Kazuma's body began to react to the shogun's blood. All his wounds disappeared, and when he regained consciousness, he was lying on a bed at the hospital. He thanked the adventurers who carried him to the hospital. They asked him what had happened. Kazuma told them everything. Then other adventurers revealed the truth about why they chose not to take on this quest. They were afraid of the winter shogun, so they didn't bother risking their lives by killing those snow spirits. He asked them where they found him. They told him the location. Kazuma went to that place after he was discharged. When he arrived there, he noticed a carving on the tree named "Winter Shogun." Kazuma had a grateful smile on his face. He thanked him for letting him live for another day and left that place. He planted those memories deep into his memory.

During the winter, Kazuma worked as a waiter in a hotel while waiting for his friends to return. But one day, Megumin came back to Kazuma to say that she wanted to leave his party.

Megumin "Kazuma, I would like to leave your party."

Kazuma "Wait, let's not be rash. What happened?? Did I do something wrong? Why do you want to leave now?"

Megumin "I am sorry to say this, Kazuma. But I have to... "

Kazuma "What do you mean?"

Megumin "You are weak, Kazuma."

A moment of silence.

Kazuma "Wait, come again."

Megumin "I said you were weak. At this rate, you will never be able to defeat the demon king."

Kazuma was confused. "Yo, Kyouya, what happened? Did she hit her head or something?"

Kyouya "No, she didn't. I think she has awakened to reality."

Kazuma "What do you mean by awakened?"

Megumin "What he meant is clear, Kazuma. I don't want to continue this adventure with a loser like you. I joined Kyouya's party. And one more thing: make sure you don't drag anyone down in the future. Well then, goodbye."

With that said, she went away. Kazuma stood there, digesting those harsh words. Kyouya came near him and patted his shoulders.

Kyouya, with a smile "Don't be so down, Kazuma. Feel free to join someone else's party. I'm pretty sure you can still be useful. No hard feelings, my old friends. You know, girls these days can't resist my charm. Well, then see you around, Kazuma."

Kazuma was speechless and didn't know what to say as Megumin and Kyouya left him alone in the streets. Kazuma spent an entire day pondering what she had said. Upon reflection, he realized that her words were true and learned the bitter truth. He then resolved to become stronger and decided to cut off all contact with Kyouya and the others.

.........

A few days later, Darkness visited him, dressed as a noblewoman, and presented him with an invitation to her wedding.

Kazuma "I see.. so you are getting married, huh? Good for you, Darkness. By the way, what's the name of your partner?"

Darkness "His name is Walter, and he is a reputed knight."

Kazuma "Oh, I see. I will surely come to your wedding."

Darkness "Ohh, mm.. thank you, Kazuma. There is one more thing I wanted to say. Just read the letter right now."

Kazuma "Right now?"

Kazuma read that letter to find Darkness's true name in it. Kazuma quickly gasped.

Kazuma "Oh, I see. Your real name is Lalatina Ford Dustiness, huh? Nice name, but why do you hide it?"

Darkness "Nobody else but a few around the town knew about my true name. I just don't want to reveal it to others. So....."

Kazuma "Oh, it's okay."

Darkness "I have revealed my name to you now. But please don't call me by that name when we are in public, okay?"

Kazama "Okay, Lalatina..."

Darkness "Hey, stop that. Did you even listen to what I told you just now?"

Kazuma "Okay, okay, I was just kidding."

A moment of silence,

Darkness "I have invited Megumin too."

Kazuma'remained silent.

Darkness "I can't believe she really left our party just like that."

Kazuma "I think she did the right thing, Darkness. I am pretty sure she will become a well-known mage one day."

Darkness "Ohh, sure, but Kazuma, are you okay with this?"

Kazuma with a smile "Oh, I am fine. I just have to work harder from now on. Everything is going to be alright."

Darkness could feel the sadness in him. She didn't want to make him even more sad.

Darkness "Well then, Kazuma, see you at the wedding."

Kazuma: "Sure. Take care."