I had thought Arnes might quail to see me hold up my stubborn familiar like a shield, but she certainly didn’t. Instead, she landed gently on the ground, as if she had all the time in the world. “I think you’re the one who needs to learn when she’s beat… I even paid you for Lady Wolbach. If you won’t give her to me, at least give me back my money.”
“Hrk?!” That gave me a nasty shiver, but I couldn’t let myself be cowed here. “Y-y-y-you can’t threaten me. Welching on a deal with a demon is A-OK! That’s what the Axis Church taught me!”
“Yes, they did, but I think that’s really unfair!” Yunyun said from beside me. “Come on, Megumin! I can loan you some cash if you need it, so just give her the money and call off the deal…”
Arnes, though, stood there with a vein bulging out of her temple. “This is why you can’t trust humans! We demons stopped trading souls for wishes because when it came time to pay up, people somehow always had some niggling little excuse for why you couldn’t pay or wanted scads of the most outrageous things! Humans could stand to learn a little honesty!”
A demon lecturing people about honesty… Never thought I’d see the day. I guess Arnes had had a rough life.
“It doesn’t matter anyway. Even if you gave me the money now, I would still take Lady Wolbach with me! You there, the Crimson Magic girl with the killer spells! I can see you’re all out of magic! That means there’s no one here who can fight me. And none of you other adventurers better move a muscle! I can and will slaughter everyone here! Now stop wasting my time and hand over Lady Wolbach!”
…Hmm?
So Arnes had chosen this moment to make her attack after observing our other battles. But her comment nagged at me. How dare she think Yunyun was the most powerful person among us? I, the greatest genius of the Crimson Magic Clan, was still here, and yet, she thought there was no one who could resist her. It was insulting.
“Ahem, personally, I still have more than enough magic. In fact, I’m something of an ace in the hole for this caravan. You could stand to act a little more frightened, or—”
“Get lost, you wannabe Crimson Magic Clan member.”
…
“Excuse me, but just who are you calling a wannabe? I don’t know who you think I am, but my name is—”
“The Arch-wizard who can’t use magic, right? I can’t keep screwing up forever, you know. So I made sure to get a good, long look at all of you on the way from Arcanletia.”
She’d been watching us this entire time? Suddenly, it all came together. There should never have been so many monster attacks on a caravan this large.
“…First the earthworms, then the Giant Bats, and finally a goblin attack. Were you behind all of it?”
That made Arnes grin from ear to ear. “Oh, you noticed? I was just getting a little payback for all the trouble you’ve given me. A demon as powerful as I am can magically project my hatred around me to attract minor monsters. It’s easy… Yes! Yes, that’s the look I wanted to see! Let me bask in your hatred!”
Wh-why, this conniving…!
“This was supposed to be a nice, pleasant carriage ride, and because of you, everyone has treated me like a useless lump the entire time! You’re going to pay—”
—dearly for that! I was about to say. But suddenly the Thief jumped at Arnes!
Even I hadn’t noticed him until that moment. He must have been using the Ambush skill to sneak closer. He gave it his best shot, but…
“What a nuisance!” Arnes slammed a fist into his core with an almost casual gesture, sending him flying. The other adventurers, who had been watching for an opportunity themselves, paled when they saw that. The Thief wasn’t moving. I could see his arm was bent in an unnatural direction, and he was completely unconscious.
“Why, you…! C’mon, everyone! Surround her!”
A warrior in heavy equipment, who must have been the leader of the adventurers, gave an order, and they all jumped at Arnes!
7
“D-damn, she’s ridiculously strong…! What is such a powerful demon doing around a town for novices?!” Almost in tears, the adventurer threw away a shield that had been reduced to kindling.
This was a disaster.
Arnes had dispatched the bodyguards one after another; some of them were wounded so badly that they looked like they needed immediate medical attention if they were going to survive. Our more than twenty adventurers had been reduced to just two, plus Yunyun and me. The passengers couldn’t go on in the carriage; they could only watch the battle in terror.
Yes, Yunyun and I were technically also passengers, but given that we had the ability to fight, it would have been inexcusable for us to simply cower in the carriage. Yunyun was nearly out of magic, but she had drawn her silver dagger and was looking for a chance to attack Arnes.
And as for me…!
“Arnes, I demand a duel! You and me! I am the one called genius, first among the spell-casters of the Crimson Magic Clan! You’re after Chomusuke, aren’t you? If you’re able to defeat me, then I will quietly hand over this fur ball, and… Listen to me when I’m talking to you!”
Even my attempt to use Chomusuke to sweeten the deal didn’t earn me so much as a glance from Arnes; I might as well have been talking to myself.
I was grateful that the adventurers had been fighting so hard on our behalf, but having them there rendered me unable to use Explosion. I was hoping that by challenging Arnes to a duel, I would be able to change the field of battle and settle things there…!
“I’ll get to you when I’m done with everyone else,” Arnes said, “after I’ve gotten rid of anyone and everyone who could possibly offer me the slightest resistance. I won’t have you slowing me down. After all, I know now that you can’t use magic. It makes me think back to when we first met. That girl with you used a spell, but you didn’t even try anything. It was the same way in Arcanletia. If you know any magic, let’s at least hear an incantation out of you.” She didn’t even look at me as she spoke.
Me? Unable to use magic? Yes, she had been mentioning that. But I could hardly have used Explosion in the middle of Crimson Magic Village, and the same was true in Arcanletia…
“That’s when I had a thought. Maybe, for some reason, you’re congenitally incapable of using magic. The monsters were my way of making sure! I had them attack you three separate times, but you didn’t use so much as a single spell!” Arnes was gloating as she jumped at one of the two remaining adventurers. He tried to hit back with his sword, but she dismissively grabbed the blade and kicked him in the crotch. The adventurer was wearing heavy plate armor, but the sheer force of the kick sent him up into the air. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious and foaming at the mouth.
“…It seems you are under a serious misimpression. I only failed to use magic because, if I unleashed the full extent of my powers, I would have hurt those around me. I was being thoughtful. But now I’m ready to settle things between us…!”
“You may not know any magic, but you sure know how to talk. Well, you can stop right now! You’ve tried to hide behind Lady Wolbach, then use her as a bargaining chip. You’ve run from a fight every time one presented itself, and now you’re going to ‘settle things’? It’s just another little trick, and I know it! You won’t fool me again!” Arnes, not so much as armed with a weapon, thrust a hand out toward the last remaining adventurer. “Lightning!”
“Nggghhhaaaa…?!” Her unfortunate target was caught off guard by the spell and reacted too late. The shock took him out of commission all at once.
Yunyun sneaked up beside me and whispered, “Megumin, we aren’t far from town. If you run, you might be able to reach it.”
Run.
She was right; it might be the best choice under the circumstances. But when I glanced back at the caravan, my eyes met the little girl’s.
What should I do…? If I took Chomusuke and ran, Arnes would probably follow me. I doubted she would use her most powerful spells for fear of hitting Chomusuke. But h
ow sure was I…?
“Let me guess what you’re thinking. You’re going to try to run, using Lady Wolbach as a shield, am I right? I’m not going to let you get away with that again. If you flee now, I’ll finish off all these adventurers lying around here, and then I’ll start in on that carriage. Ask yourself: Why am I bothering to leave these adventurers alive?”
Arnes’s golden eyes flashed dangerously, and her mouth twisted into a smile. I guess all my attempts to use Chomusuke as a hostage were coming back to bite me.
…Crud. Now what?
“All right, be a good girl and give me Lady Wolbach. If you hurry up, I might forget everything you’ve done. I might let you all live.” Arnes, still smiling, offered me a true demon’s bargain.
…I was pretty sure I had heard somewhere that demons never broke their promises. I felt bad for Chomusuke, but using her to negotiate might be my best bet. Or maybe…
“No way! We aren’t giving Chomusuke to the likes of you! She’s not Wolbach or whatever you keep calling her! She’s Chomusuke!”
I saw then that there had been no reason to worry. Not when even my shy, retiring friend had made up her mind.
“I respectfully refuse. If you want this cat, then come and take her. Here, Yunyun, give me your dagger! Chomusuke will be my hostage on the way to town! Listen up, Arnes! You said you would hurt the other passengers if I tried to get away with this fur ball! Well, if you touch a hair on their heads, your beloved fur ball is going to get the world’s most unpleasant Mohawk!”
““?!””
My announcement had completely stupefied Yunyun; I gestured at her with my free hand to hurry up with the knife.
Arnes started stalking toward me. She showed no caution, just smiled faintly as she approached.
“…? You certainly know how to strut. Don’t forget, I have this stubborn fur ball with me. If you will go away and leave us alone, I promise to bring her up to be the best cat possible. If you value her life…”
“I know now that you can’t kill Lady Wolbach. Heh-heh, I’m not falling for that little threat.” Arnes grinned even wider…
Th-this was bad. I never expected her to call my bluff. I had been sure that whatever else happened, Chomusuke would be safe!
What to do, what to do…?! I can’t just hand over Chomusuke…!
“Stand back, Megumin. Let me handle this…!” Yunyun, shaking like a leaf, stood in front of me with her dagger at the ready. It left me to wonder why I always had to get saved by her.
“And what do you think you’re going to do with that little dagger?” Arnes said. “There’s nothing more useless in the whole wide world than a Crimson Magic Clan member who can’t even use magic… I mean your all-talk friend there, of course.”
………
“Megumin isn’t useless! Megumin, she… She’s an even greater wizard than I am!”
Yunyun managed to answer even though she was still shaking. As if in response, Arnes stopped walking. “Then why doesn’t she use her magic? …It’s because she can’t, isn’t it? If I’m not mistaken, members of the Crimson Magic Clan have to learn advanced magic to be considered full adults. And yet, you haven’t used anything but intermediate magic. Megumin, is that your name? I think you’re still saving up the skill points for Advanced Magic. How about it? Have I hit the nail on the head? You aren’t the Crimson Magic Clan’s greatest wizard. You’re its greatest sham!”
…………
“…………Still not a word. How about you say—”
“That’s enough,” I said, interrupting Arnes’s taunt. I passed Chomusuke from my left hand to my right and picked up the staff at my feet. “That’s enough. A member of the Crimson Magic Clan never backs down from a fight. That is our rule.”
“…? Spell out for me what you’ve had enough of, girl.”
“All of this. Would you like to find out whether or not I’m all talk?” Maybe Arnes picked up on just how angry I was, because she took a step back, her eyes fixed on me.
“Still claiming you really can use magic? I told you, I’ve seen through your bluffs and threats,” Arnes said, but she was obviously keeping her guard up.
“M-Megumin, what are you going to do…?” Yunyun saw my mood, too, and she was worried.
“…You really want Chomusuke so badly?”
““Wha—?”” Arnes and even Yunyun reacted with surprise to my quiet question.
And Arnes and Yunyun weren’t the only ones who sensed that something was in the air: Chomusuke, who had been resting calmly in my arms, began to flail and struggle. I held her down near my hip…
Arnes started babbling something. “Y-you’re saying you’ll give her up? I might still see my way to sparing all of—”
“Indeed, I will pass her to you. Just be sure to catch her,” I said.
And then I flung Chomusuke far into the air over Arnes’s head.
“Megumin, what is wrong with youuuuuu?!”
“Aaaaarrrrghhh, Lady Wolbaaaaach!!” Bellowing at the top of her lungs, Arnes launched herself into the sky and somehow managed to catch Chomusuke in midair. I grabbed my staff in both hands, taking aim at Arnes where she floated above us.
“Stooooop! Megumin, what do you think you’re doing?! Stop that chanting—quit it!” Yunyun grabbed my arm, causing me to halt the Explosion incantation I’d begun.
“What do you think you are doing, Yunyun? This is our best chance! Our enemy is airborne! An Explosion now will not harm anyone!”
“Of course it will! It’ll harm Chomusuke! Can’t you see she has Chomusuke with her?!” Yunyun, observing how serious I was, refused to let go of me.
“That is my familiar, and it is the way of things for a familiar to die to save their master from danger. We will make her a beautiful tombstone later, so— Ahhh, stop that, let go of my staff! She called me an all-talk fake! I cannot back down now!”
“No, I won’t let go! Never! If you’re really a member of the Crimson Magic Clan, then you’ll coolly let your enemy’s taunts roll right off your back!!”
As I argued with Yunyun, I sensed something strange from the sky above. I looked up and saw Arnes, her eyes bloodshot, Chomusuke in one hand, her other hand raised to the sky. Her wings were flapping mightily as she intoned a magic spell.
“Yunyun! Arnes will be able to complete her magic at this rate! If she does us in, she might well kill the other members of the convoy, too, just out of spite! Please let go of my staff!”
“Oh! But!! I know, but— I understand what you’re saying, but—! Stupid, heartless Megumin! You know how the Crimson Magic Clan is supposed to work! At the very last moment of a crisis, something will happen to save us…! Aaaaargh, I’m so stupid; of course nobody’s coming! O goddess, O gracious lady of good fortune Eris!”
“Praying at a time like this? If you were really a member of the Crimson Magic Clan, you would at least pray to the god of destruction or something! Here it comes…!!”
I managed to wrench my staff away from Yunyun and resume my incantation. I could see a massive ball of flame gathering in the air above Arnes. She was going to reduce us to cinders. The fireball was already bigger than she was…!
“O nameless god of destruction sealed up in Crimson Magic Village and also Lady Eris! … And for good measure, Lady Aqua, goddess of water, too…! If we all get out of this safely, I promise I’ll force Megumin to have a human heart! Please just rescue Chomusuke and save all of us!!”
“I—I take exception to that prayer…! Give it up! This world is bleak and brutal, and there are no easy outs—”
But that was as far as I got.
The magical power was such that even I, wielder of Explosion, trembled. It felt like power enough to alter the very world; without even meaning to, I stopped chanting and simply looked.
I wasn’t the only one who had noticed it. Yunyun was looking the same way and shaking just as much. And then…
“…?! Wh-wh-what magic is this…? Wait—a divine aura…?!” Arnes int
errupted her own spell, looking terrified, even more afraid than when she had suffered Zesta’s purification back in Arcanletia. She looked like someone who had come face-to-face with her worst enemy. We naturally followed her gaze. It was fixed on my destination, the town of Axel.
Arnes was well and truly scared. She didn’t even notice when Chomusuke slipped out of her grasp, at least not for a moment.
“…Ahhh!!” Still in midair, Arnes registered her loss. She quickly dove after my cat, but she pulled up when she saw Yunyun making a mad dash. Yunyun virtually threw herself the last few feet as she grabbed the plummeting Chomusuke.
Arnes, openly relieved, said: “…Wh-wh-what the hell…?!” She was looking at me. Me, with my staff at the ready and my incantation complete.
A great deal of magic was compressed at the end of my staff, radiating a bright-white light. The passengers in the carriage were watching it with bated breath. Even those with no real magical abilities knew instinctively that this light was out of the ordinary.
Arnes swallowed, her face pale. “…What spell is that?”
“It is Explosion,” I answered simply, and Arnes flinched.
Yunyun was running toward me with Chomusuke in her arms, but Arnes completely ignored her, looking only at me. “…Fine, I’ll be on my way now, Crimson Magic Clan member. My bad, calling you ‘all talk.’”
“Oh, you do not have to apologize. The Crimson Magic Clan is known for being merciless in battle. You really think I am soft enough to just let you go?”
Arnes froze in midair. A strained smile crossed her face, and she lifted a hand in my direction…!
“Cursed Lightni—”
“Explooosion!!”
I was a beat faster than she was.
On that day, my killer magic, my ultimate spell, shook the skies of Axel for the first time…
8
“My goodness, I underestimated you! Not to say that I ever doubted you, you understand… Not at all! I knew from the first that you were one spectacular wizard!”
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