“They do say pets take after their owners!”
Eyeing the Fire Drake as it came closer, Yunyun held her dagger in one hand, thrusting the other out in front of her. I would estimate the combatants were about four yards apart. The Drake could jump at any moment.
“Freeze Gust!” Yunyun shouted, catching the lizard in a burst of white fog. This was an intermediate magic spell that released cold air and mist.
Frost formed on the lizard’s red scales, turning them white. The creature’s tail, which had been moving energetically a moment before, gradually started to slow down. Reptilian monsters were, after all, vulnerable to the cold. Nobody knew exactly why, but ice magic worked exceptionally well against them, slowing their movements. Wizarding 101.
But even slowed down and encrusted with ice, the lizard continued to advance. Yunyun began chanting another spell, something that might finish off the monster for good…until two more lizards appeared behind it.
“Oh-ho. Realizing it didn’t stand a chance, it called reinforcements. Yunyun, with the two of us, as well as Chomusuke, we now have even numbers, but…still, I don’t believe this battle will warrant participation from me. You’ve got this, Yunyun.”
“What a thing to say when you’re lying on the ground! We’re getting out of here! One was bad enough, but I can’t fight three opponents and protect you…! Freeze Gust! Freeze Gust! …Megumin, we’re running away right now! With the Drakes slowed down, we just might be able to escape, even with you on my back!”
She slowly inched away from the frozen lizards, taking me by the arm and hoisting me onto her shoulders. Chomusuke clawed at my robe, hanging on for dear life, while Yunyun turned away from our antagonists…
…and then came the fire breath!
“That’s hot! Yunyun, it burns! I-ice! Use ice magic, please! I think I’m on fire!”
“D-don’t worry! The hem of your robe just got a bit singed! Let’s go!”
She started moving, and when the lizards realized we were trying to get away, they spewed more gouts of flame. The flames didn’t reach Yunyun, though, because I was in the way…!
“Ahhhh! Y-Yunyun! My back! My back!”
“Stop tossing! I’m going to fall again! It’ll be fine once we put some distance between us!” Yunyun struggled to keep me on her shoulders as I flailed around; she never even looked back as she ran.
“Y-Yunyun, here they come again, and there are even more of them! This is an absolute nightmare! Run—run quickly!”
“I am running! Don’t squeeze so tightly; it’s hard to move! Argh! We’re never doing this again!”
10
When we finally managed, somehow, to escape the lizards and get back to town, we found that the sound of the explosion had created a minor uproar. I guess the forest was still a little too close.
“Hey! Megumin, Yunyun, are you two all right?! Geez, look at you. What the heck happened?” Bukkororii, as part of the self-appointed community watch, was keeping a careful eye on the village. My school uniform, which I was using in place of actual clothes, was slightly singed from the lizards’ breath; truth be told, it was no longer in very good shape. What was I going to do now? This was really the only outfit I had…
“Oh, um, we just…” Yunyun, with me still riding piggyback, groped for an explanation.
I slid off her, leaning on her shoulder, and said, “We were just leveling up by fighting monsters in the forest when we encountered the infamous Explosion fiend.”
““What?!”” Bukkororii and Yunyun exclaimed.
“Wait,” Bukkororii added, “why do you sound surprised, Yunyun?”
“Er, no reason!” She gave a quick shake of her head.
“This Explosion addict was every bit the adversary the rumors depict. It must surely be a general of the Demon King’s army. After a life-and-death struggle with the demon, Yunyun and I were somehow able to run away and make it back here.”
“Amazing! …I see—that explains why you’re slumped over like you’ve used up all your magic, Megumin…! For a genius like you to have drained all her MP—that must have been some fight!”
“Well, I suppose so. The enemy was… Yes, I’m sure the culprit belongs to a demon tribe! She was a demoness with horns growing out of her head, bursting at the seams!”
“L-listen to you lie through your teeth…!” Yunyun hissed in my ear. But now, I could cause a little more Explosion-related commotion, and they would just pin it on this made-up demon lady. My only uniform might be in tatters, but at least it gave credibility to my story of an epic battle.
“I can’t believe you both made it back safely. Just leave the rest to us. You two go home to recover.”
“Thank you. I think we’ll do just that… Say, if you encounter a trio of Fire Drakes in the forest with frost on their scales, would you be so kind as to finish them off? They turned out to be exceptionally violent specimens; wouldn’t want them threatening anyone!”
“Uh, sure… O-okay. We’ll take care of them if we see them.”
Having thus charged Bukkororii with getting revenge for my scorched uniform, I now added a friendly warning. “The Explosion addict is a most powerful enemy. Don’t let your guard down.” (All right, so the warning was about an enemy who didn’t actually exist.)
“Right, thanks… By the way, everyone has been thinking of this lady as using detonation magic so far, right? But the way you keep calling her an Explosion demon, it sounds like she actually uses Explosion.”
“N-no… It’s just, in our fight, the last spell she used was Explosion…!”
I tried to cover, but Bukkororii just laughed. “Explosion?! Ha-ha-ha, what’s she thinking? A general of the Demon King, learning a parlor trick! Well, heck, I’ve heard Liches and demons—people who pretty much live forever—just wind up with more skill points than they know what to do with and learn Explosion for fun… Still, though—Explosion! Amirite?”
“Y-yeah, ha-ha…” I somehow managed to suppress the twitch in my mouth, instead turning to Yunyun, who was trying desperately not to laugh. “Y-you heard him. Let’s go, Yunyun! Komekko must be starving by now!”
And then I hurried us both out of there.
“Oof, today was the most exhausting… No explosions allowed for a while, you hear me?”
“…And how long might ‘a while’ be? Until the day after tomorrow, perhaps?”
“A while is a while! It won’t be the day after tomorrow; that’s for sure!”
“B-but without an Explosion a day, I can’t keep death at bay…”
“I swear I’ll strangle you if you won’t stop acting like such an idiot!”
I was sitting in the entryway, receiving the above lecture from Yunyun, who had carried me all the way home. I didn’t feel like moving any more today, and not just because I was out of MP. Yunyun must have been equally eager to go home and rest, because she gave up her rant before long. Instead, twiddling her fingers, she said quietly, “S-so, um, Megumin… Tomorrow, shall we…?”
“Yes. I would appreciate your help looking for work again. It seems I cannot even harvest vegetables on my own.”
That put a big, shining smile on Yunyun’s face, and she went home looking very content. I was seriously worried about the future prospects of such a soft touch.
Still sitting by the entryway, I called into the house: “Komekko! Your big sister is home!”
That brought Komekko scuttling out. “NEET Sis, welcome home! Let’s eat! Right now!”
“K-Komekko, NEETs are… Listen, your big sister isn’t a NEET. Why, just today I did proper, paying work. Tiring work, if I may say so. You can see how dirty I am. I’d like to take a bath. Would you be so kind as to heat the water?”
“Sure thing!” Komekko and her excess of energy sprinted off to heat the bath.
The bathtub at our house required MP to get the fire started. In other towns, it would have been considered a decadent magical item, but in our village, it was just a piece of furniture. Activating i
t required a certain amount of magical energy, but my little sister started it with ease. It was possible she had even more natural talent than I did.
As I meandered by the door, thinking these thoughts, Chomusuke worked her way from my shoulder to my stomach and curled up, as if to say this was her new favorite place. I felt like she had gotten a little more stubborn as of late.
I was petting Chomusuke absently when there was a knock at the door followed by a woman’s voice. “Pardon me for calling so late. Is anyone in, perchance?”
I didn’t recognize the speaker.
“It’s open,” I said. “Come on in.”
The door opened slowly. I raised my torso, and the owner of the voice came into view.
I would have guessed she was in her mid-twenties. She was flecked with dirt, like she’d come a long way. She looked like an adventurer, and a wizard at that. Her hair was red, and she was downright gorgeous.
The woman looked straight at me, but her glance gradually lowered…
When she spotted Chomusuke curled up on my belly, she dropped to her knees. She bowed her head, throwing her hair everywhere and hiding her face from me. I couldn’t read her expression, but when she spoke in a whisper, her voice trembled with emotion.
“I have traveled far and wide, but at long last, I’ve finally found you! My great and powerful master!”
INTERLUDE THEATRE: ACT I
Lady Aqua, I Won’t Let Him Get Away!
Arcanletia, the city of water and hot springs.
Deep within the town stands a massive cathedral.
And within this place that none may enter but followers of the Axis Church…
“What brings you here today? Looking to join the Axis Church? Or are you here to hit on me? You’re not too bad yourself. I could join you for a meal, at least. Just don’t think I’m easy. When I say a meal, I mean just a meal, okay?”
“Um, no, I didn’t come to pick anyone up. I’ve come looking for a party member who can use healing magic. I was hoping to find someone who could accompany me on my quest to defeat the Demon King.”
A young man was there, a very unusual one indeed.
“Well, I must say that’s the most original pickup line I’ve heard in a while. I know the perfect place for a nice cup of coffee, so maybe you can fill me in there. By the way, I’m Cecily, beautiful priestess of the Axis Church.”
“Er, ah, Miss Cecily? I told you, I’m not trying to flirt with anyone…”
That was when I noticed the handsome young man had something hanging at his hip. “Goodness, that wouldn’t happen to be an enchanted sword, would it? …If you have one of those, that must mean you’re an accomplished adventurer. And that must mean you’re rich… The lovely lady in front of you adores gelatinous slime. You know, the slimy, gelatinous-y stuff?”
“A-ahem, I’m here looking for a party member…”
“Handsome younger men are my type, if I may add. Though I don’t mind a pretty girl every now and then. You, you’re a handsome young man and you have a magic sword and you’re an accomplished adventurer—you’ve got quite a lot going for you.”
“I-I’m very sorry; I think we have some kind of misunderstanding…?! M-Miss Cecily?! Could you please let go of my hand?!”
For some reason, the magic-sword boy was trying to run away from me.
“Oh, don’t be so stiff! You can just call me Big Sis Cecily!”
“My apologies, but I think I had better show myself out… M-Miss Cecily, let go of me, please! If it’s money for gelatinous slime you want, I’ll give you some, just, please!” His face was drawn as he tried to tear my fingers off his cape.
“I won’t let a handsome, magic-sword-having adventurer get away so easily! After I bought all that gelatinous slime the other day, I don’t have any more money at all! What was I supposed to do? They had a limited-time discount on creamy grape flavor! Ooh, I’ve been eating gelatinous slime every single day, and I know it’s my favorite, but I’m still getting tired of it! I want to eat solid food for once! You know, as soon as you become an Axis priest, you get a small salary every month, but they start making you pay for boarding at the church!”
“Okay! I understand—just let go of my belt! My pants—! My pants are going to fall down…!”
That was what I was hoping for; it would keep him from running outside. But he grabbed my hand. Yet, the boy didn’t immediately run or shove me away or struggle in any meaningful way.
“Hee-hee, your mouth says one thing, but your body says something entirely different! I see you’ve stopped resisting!”
“I would’ve been a little more forceful…if that amazing fortune-teller from Crimson Magic Village hadn’t said to me, ‘You will meet a priestess of the Axis Church, a crucial figure who may affect the fate of the world. You must protect her at all costs’!”
“…A fortune-teller from Crimson Magic Village? And this beautiful priestess you’re going to meet, she’s going to mean the world to you? And you have to protect her at all costs?”
“Um, I—I think you’ve gotten the details mixed up… I didn’t hear anything about her being beautiful or about her meaning the world to me…”
I took his hand in both of mine.
He wasn’t getting away.
I absolutely wouldn’t let him.
“U-um, Miss Cecily, are you listening? There are no guarantees that you’re the Axis priestess the prophecy mentioned…”
“Ohhhh, revered Lady Aqua! You’ve sent me this gorgeous, obviously wealthy young man just when I was hurting for cash! How joyous! How happy I am! I shall allow him to keep me for the rest of my life while I live off his good graces!”
This time, the boy really did shove my hand away and run off, but I chased him at full speed.
Lady Aqua, I won’t let him get away!
1
The woman stayed there with her head to the floor, shoulders trembling. She had just called me her “great and powerful master.” I wondered what on earth she could be talking about. But she was so obviously emotional at seeing me, I felt bad just flatly asking who she was. Not to mention, being revered felt pretty good. I decided to see where this went.
“So you’ve finally come…”
I whispered quietly, and at that, the woman looked up. Her face was beautiful and intense. Fierce, feline eyes shone gold between her crimson locks.
She looked at me quizzically and cocked her head. “…When I heard the seal had been broken, I came to you at once, even all the way out here. Your seal has only just been broken, and I understand you may not yet have all your memories back… Your faithful servant Arnes is before you. From this moment, I shall be as your arms and legs; I shall protect you with my very life.”
Then the person who called herself Arnes bowed deeply again.
My seal has been broken?
I had no idea what she was talking about, but according to my loyal servant, that was only natural.
What in the world was I?
No… If I was to be honest with myself, I already knew. I knew I was different from other people. My extraordinary level of magical power. My peerless genius, so widely revered.
…Here and now, all my doubts were dispelled. Arnes, the loyal servant before me, was obviously no ordinary being. Her eyes were half-hidden beneath her hood, as if to conceal some terrible secret. The flash that nonetheless shone from those eyes marked her as someone tremendously powerful.
“…I see that reaching this place has been quite an ordeal for you. I’m counting on your assistance for the foreseeable future, Arnes.”
“Certainly. I know not who you are, but now you may leave the master to me.”
………
“Am… Am I not your master who had been sealed?”
“Uh…no. What reason would anyone have to seal you?”
Um, none that I can think of, but…
“In that case, the one you have come for is…”
“The hallowed being currently resting atop your be
lly.”
…Seriously?
“This fur ball has spent the last half year with us, and one does become attached. It is a little late to be claiming to have come for her.”
“Attached? My venerable master…a fur ball? I do thank you for looking after my master for so long. But in this case, should we not honor my master’s own wishes?” Arnes was looking rather put out.
Chomusuke, curled up on my belly, gave a big yawn and glanced up at Arnes.
“…It does not appear she wants to leave.”
“What?! Lady Wolbach?!”
The cat simply looked away and went back to napping. As for me, I stroked her neck, the stubborn creature still insisting on sleeping in spite of the situation.
“It seems she wishes to stay here, so I believe that settles things. Don’t worry; I will give her the best possible upbringing.”
“W-wait just a second! L-Lady Wolbach?! Lady Wolbach! It’s me, Arnes! Come home with me, won’t you?” Arnes was beginning to panic, but Chomusuke, purring as I scratched her chin, simply curled up even tighter.
“You can see that she is quite content with her current living situation. I invite you to surrender.”
“N-now hold on! You need to help me convince Lady Wolbach to go home! Even in that form, I’m sure she can understand some of what we’re saying!” Arnes still wasn’t backing down.
“Her name is Chomusuke. And of course she doesn’t understand what we’re saying. She is a cat.”
“Ch-Chomusuke? Chomusuke?! Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me you use that name to refer to Lady Wolbach?!” Arnes exclaimed, her eyes wide.
All right, I wouldn’t tell her.
“Isn’t it a good name?”
“Stop it! Call her Lady Wolbach! Argh… Lady Wolbach is convinced that bizarre moniker is her real name… Ugh, what am I going to do about this?”
Seeing how her “master” reacted to the name Chomusuke, Arnes was on the verge of tears. How rude, though, calling that name “bizarre.” I thought it was much better than whatever Arnes was saying.
Yunyun's Turn Page 4
