Part 1
"I originally thought that the trial was about answering riddles."
Darkness spoke in a hesitant, stuttering manner while holding the cup of tea gumin brewed for her.
"That's my impression as well, but what could push you to such a state? The Chieftain's trial is tough, but it's sothing that could be overco with two Crimson Demons. Just what happened? If it's sothing unfair, I'll go scold them for you."
gumin gently asked while stroking Darkness's head like she was comforting a crying child.
"gumin destroyed out all of the magic items they use to create riddles… They also said they were tired of riddles, so they decided to go with sothing else…"
"So it's your fault!"
gumin quickly averted her eyes.
"So what exactly did they make you do, Darkness?"
"'The most important thing for a Crimson Demon is aesthetics! Strike a pose and na yourselves!' they said, so they made Yunyun and strike cool poses and na ourselves until they were satisfied."
M-My condolences…
ーYuiyui ended up spending the night in a dungeon, so no shenanigans happened that night.
And next morning…
"Leave the trial to today."
The first thing Aqua said to Yunyun as she visited in the morning were those words that did nothing to inspire confidence.
"I feel a little uneasy leaving things to you, but Darkness is in no condition to participate…"
"Uuu…. I don't want that sort of embarrassnt… that is not the kind I desire…"
As Darkness mumbled gloomily, Yunyun gazed around like she was looking for soone.
"If you are looking for gumin, she got taken away as the pri suspect for causing the explosion last night."
"What is she doing!? And why is Kazuma-san so calm!?"
Oh, yeah, another explosion happened in the forest last night.
"Causing explosions and getting dragged away by the cops is just business as usual for her. More importantly, you're taking your second trial today, right?"
"Y-Yes… I don't think they'll do sothing like yesterday's trial…"
Yunyun trailed off.
"Say, can you show the poses you struck and the lines you said yesterday?"
"Absolutely not."
The normally shy and soft-spoken Yunyun strongly objected.
"N-Now then, Aqua-san, shall we head off?"
"Yes, I'll show you what I can do today. I've been thinking of special poses and ways to na myself last night, so I didn't get much sleep, but you can look forward to my performance today."
"N-No, I don't think they'll use the sa thing for the second trial…"
With a significant amount of unease in her voice, Yunyun headed off with Aqua for their trial.
"Now then, shall we go pick gumin up?"
"Say, Kazuma, instead of going to pick her up every day, wouldn't it be better to think of a way for her not to be thrown into jail in the first place?"
Part 2
As we were walking down the street, I ca across a strangely familiar young man.
"Oh, hey, Kazuma, it's your rival."
Darkness said sothing really strange upon seeing him.
"What are you talking about? The undefeated has no rivals. Though, he does seem familiar sohow…"
"D-Did you really forget about him? He's… umm, I think his na was…"
"It's Mitsurugi! I thought the Lady of the Dustiness family was the most normal out of the bunch, but to think that you would forget my na too…!"
Indeed, the Swordmaster who wields the Magic Blade Gram is standing before .
"Yo, it's been so ti. How've you been? Anyway, I'm in a rush, so…"
"Hold it! Why are you acting like you are avoiding !?"
Mitsurugi hastily grabbed my arm as I tried to leave.
"Well, it's not like we are that close. Plus, it'd be a bother if we get into a fight every ti we et."
"W-Well, that's true, but… No, more importantly, what are you doing here? The monsters around the Crimson Demon Village aren't creatures soone of your level can handle."
"A friend of mine is undertaking the Chieftain's trial in this village, so I ca here to help out. What about you? What are you doing here?"
From the looks of it, Mitsurugi ca here alone without bringing his usual hanger ons.
"Well, this might sound crazy, but a divine relic of mine ran away… He left a note and went on a journey… Haha, it's fine to laugh if you feel like it…"
Darkness, who doesn't know about Aigis, gave Mitsurugi a genuine look of concern.
"Seems like you're pretty worn out… There's a hot springs around here, so take your ti and recuperate… And, um, don't push yourself, okay?"
"Haha, it's only natural that you don't believe … The truth is, the Goddess Eris-sama appeared in my dreams. She entrusted with a very important divine relic and asked to save the world with its power, but… one day, I woke up to a letter… 'As you are right now, you are thoroughly unfit to wield . You depend too much on the power of that magic sword. As a divine relic, I too have my own matters to attend to. Set off on a journey to find while I'm off tying up a few loose ends, and beco stronger in the process! I'll be waiting for you. Now, Hero, rise up to the challenge'…"
The matters that the divine relics set off to attend to is to see the Crimson Demons that are famous for having a lot of beauties.
"Afterwards, I've heard that there's a skilled fortune teller in the Crimson Demon Village, so I ca here to ask her to look into the divine relic's whereabouts… But she probably thinks I'm pulling her leg too… She told that he's sexually harassing the waitresses at the pub, but that's obviously facetious…"
That fortune teller is very accurate indeed.
"Well, that's enough about . It's a trial that the divine relic Eris bestowed upon set before . I didn't expect it to be so easy to overco. Anyway, now that I've t you, I should pass on a warning."
Just as I was debating whether I should tell him about Aigis or not, Mitsurugi's face suddenly turned serious.
"The Demon King's Generals have put the town of Axel in their sights… No, perhaps it's more accurate to say that the Demon King's army is aiming for Axel. I don't know if their goal is the destruction of the town itself, or you, or perhaps even Aqua-sama, but if you aren't confident about standing up to them, it's best that you lay low in this village or the capital for awhile."
Saying that, he turned around.
"You defeated once before. It'd be problematic if you were to lose to the Demon King. I'll definitely beat you next ti. And then, Aqua-sama will…"
Leaving behind such dramatic parting words, Mitsurugi left.
"… Say, Darkness, doesn't the way he put it make sound like a main character of so sort?"
"No matter how you slice it, he looks much more like a protagonist than you."
After seeing off Mitsurugi-
"Now, then, let's go get gumin-"
"… S-Say, Kazuma, getting gumin back is nice and all, but maybe we could take a little walk before then? I an, back in Alcanretia, we explored the city together too, didn't we?"
Darkness suddenly said.
"I don't mind taking a walk, but I don't know what gumin will say if she found out that we went out to have fun without her."
More to the point, if it was just a walk, we could go get gumin and walk around with all three of us…
"W-Well, I thought we could do sothing date-like for once…"
Darkness trailed off…
A date, huh?
"You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever gone on a proper date before…"
"R-Right!? No, I do think that walking around town together is pretty date-like, but I've always looked up to those storybook-style dates where you fuss over what to wear and arrive at the eting point earlier than the appointed ti-"
Darkness slowly blushed as she said all that in one breath.
.
----------------->
.
"So you have a maidenly side too. If you had this ojou-sama-like feeling back when we first t, I might've fallen head over heels for you."
"Eh!? Is-Is that so? … I thought that such maiden-like hobbies wouldn't be a good fit for a noble lady of a great house, but… I see…"
Well, I was more talking about keeping her sexual fetishes hidden and coming off like a regular girl, but I guess it doesn't matter.
"S-Say, Kazuma, the weather is really great today!"
"Apparently the Crimson Demons use magic to control the weather, so it's always sunny around these parts."
Since it's always sunny out here, the Crimson Demon Village is always perfect for a walk.
They're wasting magic as usual, but the magic of the Crimson Demons is impressive nonetheless.
"Look, Kazuma, a cat is taking a nap on that fence! It's great that it's peaceful out here."
"That's a Crimson Demon familiar. Apparently they're there to monitor the area around the village."
I relayed so local trivia to Darkness when she happily pointed towards the cat.
"Look, the elderly are leisurely fishing over there…"
"Ah, those guys are gathering up the monsters who live in the river. They are using steel cables for fishing lines, so they can send lightning based magic down the lines when they get a bite and level up that way."
Darkness, who was so elated a short while ago, slowly frowned.
"… Kazuma, I don't think this village is a good place for a date."
"Well, it's the ho village of the famously combative Crimson Demons, after all. What, do you really want to go on a date that badly?"
Darkness, walking next to , suddenly turned to face .
"Of course! In the first place, you were trying way too hard to get to fall for you!"
"That's not how I rembered it! I lent you a hand and you fell for on your own!"
I imdiately retorted with a sound rebuttal, but it seems like what I just said was the absolute worst possible thing.
"OーOn my own!? I fell for you on my own!? Who was it that barged into my wedding back when I was about to be married off to Alderp!? And you scattered your entire fortune in front of everyone and declared that you bought or whatever before taking away!"
"W-Well, I can't help it, now can I?! It's not like I can help being cool! I can't help getting all kinds of accomplishnts! Sorry for being cool! I'll apologize for achieving all that glory! Yeah, normally everyone would fall for , right!?"
"What glory!? Don't get ahead of yourself! The only people who'd fall for a trashy man like you are weirdos like gumin and !"
"Do you like or hate !? Pick one and stick with it already! If you like , then praise more! There's a fan waiting for when I go back to Axel, you know!"
Darkness looked at with a doubtful gaze upon hearing that.
"Don't tell you actually believe that? It's probably so scamr attracted by your wealth or fa. It's a little strange for to say this, but there's no way a fan of you can exist."
"S-Shut up! My only flaw is being unwilling to work! I'm otherwise a pretty good catch, you know!?"
"Being unwilling to work is a fatal flaw!"
Just as Darkness and I were locking horns,
"If Kazuma doesn't want to work, I'll just find a job to support you."
"You're being too soft on him, gumin! This is why he's becoming more and more slovenly!"
"You're one to talk! Didn't you say that your type was a trashy man who doesn't work!?"
… …
The two of us turned around, and standing right there was gumin.
"You two sure seed to be having fun while I was in the lock-up. Do you mind if I join in?"
Darkness and I lowered our heads-
"-I told her multiple tis that we should go pick up gumin, but Darkness…"
"Y-You were saying that you never went on a proper date or whatever too! N-No, gumin, that's not it, we haven't been here in quite so ti, so we were talking about going sightseeing…"
In response to our utterly pathetic excuses, gumin shot us an exasperated look.
"You want a proper date, huh? So let's go on a date with all three of us. I'll guide you to so great shops."
"That doesn't sound like a date… No, nevermind…"
We didn't do anything particularly bad, but for so reason, I just couldn't say anything.
"Anyway, let's go for lunch. There's a restaurant I used to work at around the corner."
"Yes."
Following the strangely chipper gumin, we ended up taking a walk around the village.
"-Welco! Oh, hey, gumin! It's been a while. Have you learnt any other spells apart from Explosion?"
"Yes, it has been so ti. I have no intention of learning anything else other than Explosion. There was a period of ti where I considered learning Advanced Magic, but when I gave my card to Kazuma over here, he said 'The only spell that suits you is Explosion. Only focus on pursuing the path of explosions…"
"I did not say that. I definitely did not go that far."
After I denied gumin's rampant delusion, the other Crimson Demon said.
"Oh, that's good. We had a really long argunt over what we would do if gumin learnt so other spells."
"Oh, so you called a eting over my Explosion magic? Well, of course you would. Learning any other magic would be a waste of skill points, after all."
"No, we were discussing your new nickna. The title of the Crimson Demon's number one mage would beco the one who calls down roaring thunder, I an, Yunyun's title, right? That's why gumin's new title should be the number one joke mage of the Crimson Demons-"
gumin pounced on him without a word.
"Hey, calm down, gumin! Your opponent is an Archwizard! They have really low constitution, so don't strangle them!"
"I too am an Archwizard, and a girl on top of that! I'll show you the power of the joke mage!"
A flurry of voices shot out as gumin started rampaging.
"Ten thousand eris on the joke mage!"
"Thirty thousand on the worst mage!"
"Fifty thousand eris on the Explosion mage!"
"Hey, I don't mind you guys betting on , but stop calling by those weird nas! Though, Explosion mage sounds cool, so I'll let that slide… Oh, fine, I'll take all of you on!"
"I don't care what you do, just take it outside!"
After getting thrown out of the restaurant, we decided to head back to gumin's house for lunch.
"Are the two of you alright? Seriously, picking a fight with Crimson Demons… There's a limit as to how reckless you can get."
"You were the one who charged at them in the first place. Is that really sothing you should be saying? Anyway, it's fine, isn't it? Having scrapes like this from ti to ti really makes feel like an adventurer."
gumin ended up attacking all those people who were jeering at her, and after seeing the nurical disadvantage that gumin had, Darkness and I entered the fray on her side.
"Yes, as a knight, I couldn't stand idly by as my companion is being called worst mage and joke mage. Plus, it was a pretty good match. I enjoyed myself quite a bit!"
"The guy who was facing you ended up begging you to let him off with tears in his eyes, you know? You really should stop getting others to satisfy your masochistic urges."
gumin let out a small giggle.
"To us Crimson Demons, calling you the worst is sowhat of a complint. It's an ancient saying that anyone who is referred to as the worst would end up awakening to new powers."
"That's pretty cliche developnt, but… I really don't get the sensibilities of you Crimson Demons."
As we were making our way back to gumin's house, a familiar looking girl called out to us.
"Oh, gumin? It's been so ti!"
"Hey, Arue. It's really rare to find you outside considering how often you hole yourself up in your ho. Are you still a NEET aiming to be an author?"
The person who called out to us was a fairly well developed young lady wearing an eyepatch.
"I-I'm not a NEET! I'm a proper author! I'm writing for the Crimson Demon newspaper, and I even released a book recently! I'm earning money, so I'm not a NEET!"
"I-I get it, so stop pulling on my eyepatch! It's sothing you gave to ! Plus it hurts!"
This troubleso Arue girl pulled upon gumin's eyepatch as a form of protest.
I think I recall being thrown for a loop in the past thanks to her actions…
Oh yeah, Yunyun's letter!
"Hey, gumin, she's the strange girl who mailed that scribbled story to Yunyun and caused us all kinds of problems, right!? I haven't forgotten that!"
"Ah, you're the outsider who tore up my manuscripts! I didn't forget that either!"
Arue angrily said, her eye glowing bright red.
"What's the difference between an author and a NEET anyway?"
"I'm a Crimson Demon! If you make angry, I'll blow you away with Advanced Magic!"
"You two shouldn't have had much contact with each other, so why are you two fighting from the mont you et!? Calm down!"
gumin stepped in and prevented Arue from grabbing .
"You must be one of gumin's classmates. I'm Darkness, of the sa party as gumin. I'll only be in the village for a short ti, but please take care of ."
Saying that, Darkness extended her hand with a smile.
"My na is Arue, the number one author of the Crimson Demons. I'm relieved that onee-san seems to be a sensible person. Nice to make your acquaintance."
Arue returned with a smile of her own, in complete contrast to the attitude she showed .
"Hey, why is there such a big difference in the treatnt we are getting? And you sure are introducing yourself in a really grandiose way! Why don't you tell exactly how many authors there are amongst the Crimson Demons before calling yourself the number one?"
"Isn't it obvious to proceed in a friendly manner with one of gumin's companions? I would've treated you the sa way if you hadn't hurt before. As for the number of authors amongst the Crimson Demons, I have no comnt."
Arue said in a nonchalant manner.
"Oh yeah, co to think of it, I haven't heard any of the Crimson Demon's flashy introductions since I ca here."
"You know you only introduce yourself when you et soone for the first ti, right? By the way, I'm not doing that to you. You don't seem like a good person."
This girl has quite the tongue on her.
"I've heard that gumin made a boyfriend, but don't tell this is the guy in question? Don't think too badly of for saying this, but it's still not too late to go back to the Yunyun route."
"Is that a declaration of war, you one eyed woman? You said you just released a book, right? If I find any of your books in a bookstore, I'm going to put them beneath other author's books."
Arue's eyebrows twitched after hearing my words.
"gumin, this man is no good! I'll get rid of him right this instant!"
"Oh, you want to go? My Steal is pretty unique, you know? Don't think that your eyepatch or panties will be safe!"
"If you two insist on fighting, then I'll be your opponent! Don't think that a high level Archwizard will have any trouble taking on a pair of NEETs!"
"I-I'm not a NEET!" x2
Part 3
That night.
"Waaaaaah! Bwaaaaah! Waaaaaah!"
Aqua ca back to gumin's ho in tears.
"What happened? Striking a few embarrassing poses shouldn't be that traumatic after all the embarrassing stuff you did. Just what exactly did they make you do?"
I asked Aqua as she wailed on all fours.
… Looking closely, Aqua seems to be covered in mud.
"Uuu…uuu… Today's trial was… 'What a Crimson Demon needs above all is luck. You two can attempt this challenge as many tis as you want until you pick the right door', they said, before shoving us towards a series of doors…"
M-My condolences…
Could that be that event that often appears in Japanese ga shows, the one where you get dropped into a pool of mud if you pick the wrong door?
Of all things, it had to be a trial that relies on luck. It's pretty much the absolute worst fit for Aqua.
"Still, you managed to pass the trial, right? Good work, go ahead and take a bath. In the anti, I'll whip up so high quality snacks for you with my cooking skill."
"… Shiokara would be nice…"
After requesting a surprisingly commoner-sounding dish, we sent Aqua off to the bath.
"gumin's mother, um… t-tonight…"
Darkness hesitantly started while sneaking glances at .
"Don't be so distant, just call Yuiyui.. Anyway, what about tonight? Darkness-san seems to be in heat tonight."
"In heat!? No, I an, could you not have gumin and Kazuma sleep in the sa room tonight…"
Darkness seems strangely conscious about that today. Is it because of this afternoon's date?
"Why should they not? Do you want to have a secret rendezvous or sothing?"
"Secret rendezvous!? No, of course not! It's just, a lot of things happened today, so thinking that they'll share a room on this day gives a sense of alienation…"
Saying that, Darkness glanced at as if she was signalling to back her up…
gumin tilted her head.
"Did sothing happen today?"
"Not at all. Darkness just got carried away on her own."
"Whaー!? Hey, Kazuma, after going on that date, that's a little-"
The mont Darkness turned around, Yuiyui started chanting magic behind her back-
"-Yahoo! It's a fourteen year old girl's bed!"
"You little- Why must you bring focus to that of all things?"
After dragging away the soundly sleeping Darkness and whipping up the snacks, gumin and I retired early.
"It's a 14 year old's bed, you know? A 14 year old, not a 15 year old's. It's a very precious thing, so I thought I should say it out loud."
"I really don't get what the big difference is. Girls' beds are all pretty much the sa…"
I threw myself onto the bed the mont I entered the room and rolled up and down it.
"Well, if I were to start going into the specifics, we'd be talking until dawn, so let's leave that to another day."
"I've always had this impression, but you're not a lolicon, right? You didn't fall for because I'm small, right?"
gumin coldly stared down at .
"How rude, I properly like huge breasts. Ones like what Darkness has are my ideal body type."
"I didn't ask the specifics of your ideal, but as long as you aren't a lolicon… You seed really happy to have Kokko and Iris look up to you, so I was a little worried…"
That's because I like little sister characters. It's not because I like little girls.
"Well, I feel like a war will erupt if I go into the specifics of that, so let's leave it to another day."
"I-Is that so… Well, I didn't really care that much. Anyway, there's not much else to talk about, so let's hurry up and turn in."
Saying that, gumin slipped onto the corner of the bed, leaving a fair distance between us.
… …
"Say, why are you sleeping so far away from ? We're already at the stage where we use arms and chest as pillows and the like, so is there really a need to hold back like this?"
"Of course there is, if I get close to you, you'll end up having to bear with it, won't you? I'm doing this so I won't raise your hopes unnecessarily."
Well…
"My hopes were already raised from the mont we ended up in the sa bed, so it's a little too late for that."
"Do n really think about nothing but that!? Sothing will end up interrupting anyway, so nothing will happen!"
Is she talking about the curse I brought up?
I got Aqua to cast Break Spell upon repeatedly the other day despite her saying that she can't detect any such curses hanging over .
If nothing's changed even after that, then…
"There is the possibility that the person who cursed is the Demon King that even Aqua has trouble dealing with…"
"How frivolous could the Demon King be? Don't you feel sorry to pile even more slanderous rumours upon the Demon King?
gumin might say that, but if the Demon King really put such a curse upon , I would've had no qualms about setting off right now to vanquish him.
Just then, just as I was thinking about that.
I felt sothing soft grab onto my right hand.
It seems like gumin grabbed onto my hand under the blankets.
"Just holding hands is fine, right? You won't start feeling pent up like this."
gumin shyly smiled at .
She's probably doing this as recompense after what I said about the distance between us, but…
"Of course I will, what are you talking about?"
"Even this!? Er, well, my heart's starting to beat really fast too, but if you have to say, shouldn't this be more comforting?"
She doesn't get it. She doesn't get it at all.
"Since you're so afraid of loneliness, we can hold hands while we sleep tonight, but you really should pay more attention to yourself. Don't do this with anyone else. They'll definitely get the wrong idea and eat you up."
"There's no way I'll end up in this situation with anyone else! Why are you using that 'Ahh, it's a good thing I'm such a gentleman' tone of voice!?"
Saying that, gumin tightened her grip…
"Ouch, that hurts! Your level is a lot higher than mine, so be careful! You might end up crushing my hand if you use too much force!"
"There's no way my strength would be that monstrous! Actually, you should really raise your levels. I'll go with you on as many monster extermination quests as you want."
Raising my levels, huh…
"Even if you say that, do you understand the pain of not seeing your status rise even though you leveled up? Recently, apart from my luck, my stats barely rise at all. Having more skill points is nice and all, but as a NEET, there aren't that many skills that are beneficial to my lifestyle. I'm having trouble finding the motivation to level up…"
"You're reaching your stat cap, huh… Hmm, well, there are several expensive potions that can permanently raise your stats. We can defeat monsters and use the money we earn to buy those potions and get stronger that way…"
"Rather than using such potions on , wouldn't it be better to use it on people who are already talented in the first place? It's not like these potions grow on trees, right?"
gumin fell silent for a mont.
"… Then, we can at least do sothing about your equipnt…"
"My strength isn't very high, so there aren't that many items that I can properly use."
While still holding onto my hand, her hand started moving in a pseudo-petting motion, as if she was trying to comfort .
"…You're pitying , aren't you?"
"N-No, if there's anything I can do, feel free to tell . That includes when soone bullies you. Anyti I run into an adventurer who calls you weak, I'll make sure to pick a fight with them and respond with, 'Seems like you are the weak one,' when I beat them…"
"Stop doing that! So that's why adventurers I never t before were calling Weaklingma-san who needs a girl to protect him!"
That's just like her, but I'd really wish she'd spare a thought for my feelings before doing those sort of thing.
"But you and Darkness got angry when I was being made fun of today, didn't you? So why can't I get angry when you are being made fun of?"
gumin said with a smile.
It's almost like she was teasing .
… This just happened not too long ago, so I can't really say anything…
"I was really happy when you two got involved in the fight, you know? The way things were going, I would've lost due to being outnumbered. Well, if I did lose, I would've sent my thanks each night to the houses of those who teased that day…"
I'm really glad I intervened when I did.
"Anyway, who's going to be Yunyun's partner for tomorrow's trial? The first two trials were just them playing around, but the last trial is going to be pretty tough. The most important trait that we Crimson Demons as modified humans need is the ability to survive in any battlefield. The last trial would be to survive a night in the forests where the strong monsters make their nest."
And suddenly they brought out a trial that actually felt like one instead of being so kind of prank.
"… They sure beca serious all of a sudden. Darkness can withstand a lot of attacks, but she can't land her blows, and it'd be really bad if Yunyun ran out of mana. And Aqua would probably just attract a horde of undead if she were to spend a night in the forest…"
"Before you say it, I can't let you, with your black hair and eyes, compete while the ninnin is still wandering around out there."
"… Should we search for a Crimson Demon to be Yunyun's partner tomorrow?"
"Don't do that. Walking around and asking if anyone would be Yunyun's friend would be like so sort of punishnt. She'll probably cry."
At the end of the day, it'd really be best for to go out there. It's not like we have any other alternatives.
With judicious use of Enemy Detection and Lurk, spending a night in the woods is entirely possible.
And it seems like gumin figured out what I was thinking.
"You can't, okay? The one out for you is the Bomber Majin. Aqua can't resurrect you if you get blasted to ashes by a Detonate."
"Even if you say that, we don't have anyone else to partner with Yunyun. You're also keeping quiet about the Bomber Majin so that Yunyun's chieftain's trial won't be disrupted, right?"
Yeah, she's spending every day in the cells for the sake of her friend.
"… That's not true at all. Didn't I tell you before? By keeping quiet about ninnin, I can take him down before anyone else and steal the position of Chief that way."
"Oh, that's a tsundere alright."
Just then.
gumin raised her head from under the blanket.
"… It's true that Yunyun is a very important friend. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, rather than who doesn't want to get too far away from Axel, or the others who aren't that into it, Yunyun is best suited to be the chief. But…"
With her bright red eyes staring straight at , she said,
"Whenever I see you risking your life for soone else, I feel really jealous for so reason."
…
… …
… … … …
"Say sothing! Keeping silent just makes feel embarrassed!"
"I'm the one who's embarrassed! What are you saying!? My face is getting hot enough to cook eggs, so can you please cut it out!?"
The two of us let go of each other's hands as we hastily turned away from each other.
"Anyway, don't participate in tomorrow's trial, okay!?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it! There's no way I can participate after you gave such a passionate appeal. We'll think of so other way."
"Passionate appeal!? Er, I can't deny that it isn't passionate, but… Ah, nevermind, we have to get up early tomorrow, so let's hurry up and sleep already."
Perhaps to hide her embarrassnt, gumin ducked beneath the blankets..
As for …
"Hey, weren't we going to sleep while holding hands tonight? I want to sleep while holding onto a 14 year old girl's hand all night."
"You're really great at ruining the mood!"
Part 4
Early next morning,
The gumin who thought so much about her friend and tribe yesterday is currently…
"You foolish Crimson Demons! I'll lay waste to this entire village!"
Scuffling with the Defense Corps.
"I told you when we let you out of the cells yesterday! If you cause another scene with your Explosion, you'll be tossed into the cells until the chieftain's trial is over! So behave yourself! Gurk, I'm pretty high level too! Even if you strangle like that…"
"She's starting to chant! Cover her mouth! Don't let her chant!"
"Watch out, she's really strong! Think of her as a rabid beast!"
"Ahhh! Bukkoroli! Hey, get gumin's hands off him! Bukkoroli is foaming from the mouth!"
The mbers of the Defence Corps were pushed to the limit trying to restrain the high leveled gumin.
I've thought this about Darkness too, but I can't shake the feeling that this party would do better if they just fought with their fists.
"Yunyun! Go ahead and attempt your final trial or whatever while I'm in jail! But don't think you've won yet! If you still aren't chief by the ti I get out, I'll take over that position!"
"gumin, please let go of Bukkoroli! Otherwise we'll need to use Resurrection!"
As I was watching gumin getting dragged away, I turned to the dumbfounded Yunyun…
"Anyway, about Yunyun's final trial…"
"I'm definitely not participating."
Aqua instantly rejected.
"I-I… Erm… Well…"
Darkness mumbled, but it's clear she isn't keen on being her partner either.
"Why are the three of you so calm? gumin is getting dragged away again, you know!?"
Yunyun seems like she wants to say sothing, but we are already used to it.
More important is the fact that the other two declined to participate.
Well, it's not that much of a surprise, I suppose. Not only is it the infamous Crimson Demon trials, but this is also the toughest one out of all of them.
"… I was Yunyun's partner during the first trial, and Aqua was her partner during her second trial, so wouldn't it be fitting for our leader Kazuma to be her partner for the third trial?"
"Darkness is saying sothing great for once. Yeah, let's leave it to Kazuma who hasn't done anything up till now."
Aqua swiftly agreed to Darkness's proposal, but,
"Unfortunately, I can't participate. Moguninnin is around, after all."
"Seriously, what is a Moguninnin?"
Go ask the Crimson Demons who nad him, not .
"Well, personally, I really want to take the trial, but after everything gumin said to , it'd be a jerk move to ignore her and participate anyway. Though, I do think it'd definitely go smoothly if I joined up…"
"Aaa… But I have no one else to ask other than Kazuma-san…"
Yunyun seed on the verge of tears as she said that.
"Well, I do know of one guy who'll definitely let you clear that trial."
"This is the divine relic Aigis."
"Er… H-Hello."
I introduced Yunyun to the dancing and singing divine relic, Aigis.
"D-Divine relic… Hey, Kazuma, what are you saying? This set of armour is a divine relic?"
Darkness looks bewildered upon seeing the armour spew out a constant stream of words in front of her.
"What's with this vulgar suit of armour? Kazuma, is this thing really a divine relic?"
"Don't ask , ask Aqua. And he himself says he's a divine relic."
"Hey, Kazuma, I don't know anything about this. Don't just push everything to ."
Aqua replied in a slightly vexed manner after I directed the conversation towards her.
I really wanted to tell them that they should know each other very well.
After triggering Aigis's weirdo sensor, Aqua started kicking at the suit of armour.
Yunyun tilted her head and asked.
"Can I really pass the trial for sure if I tead up with him?"
"Skills and magic doesn't work on him, and on top of that, his entire body is made out of orichalcum. The final trial is to spend a night in the forest, right? He is tougher than Darkness and constantly boasts about having an impenetrable defence, so I think you'll be fine with him."
Aigis is an autonomous artifact. He can stay up all night and would be able to protect her even if they were ambushed.
"Just so you know, the mixed hot springs are neither mixed nor hot springs."
Just then, Darkness gently tugged upon my sleeve.
"Kazuma, will he really be of use? Sure, he looks tough, but I can't help but worry about leaving him and Yunyun alone together."
Aigis defiantly declared. Seems like armours have their own sense of pride too.
"Grr… Fine, if you're going to go that far, I'll try you on. I'm fairly experienced when it cos to armours too."
This conversation is starting to seem like so sort of contest.
"In other words, it'd be just like an order made suit of armour!? Now you've got my expectations up. Don't disappoint now."
… …
"I-Is that so… W-Well, it's just a piece of armour. It'd be stranger to be concerned about it… Let's just go over there…"
"You didn't have any issues back when you made Eris-sama wear you, did you?"
"I-I'll break you to pieces!"
An indignant Darkness joined Aqua in whaling on Aigis.
.
---------------->
.
Just then.
"U-Um, Aigis-san, I have a request!"
Yunyun, even though she's blushing from the sexual harassnt, stood in front of Aigis with a serious expression.
"W-Would you be my partner for today's trial!?"
"Yunyun, this guy is no good! Let's think of another thod! For example, it's a little unfair, but how about having Aqua, Kazuma, and take it in turns to help you…"
Aqua whispered into my ears after hearing Darkness's words.
"Hey, Kazuma, you should be a little more prudent. Look, the pure and upright noble lady is now saying saying such things."
"It's not my fault, she recently even started to learn how to abuse her power. I'm sure her true nature as a noble has awakened."
"Oh, shut up! In the first place, we already changed partners between trials. Was it ever written down that you can't change partners within a trial? If there isn't…"
Aqua once again whispered to .
"Look, Kazuma, Darkness is even saying the sa type of sophism that you co up with."
"Don't just bla everything on . I'm not this devious."
Darkness glared at us with tears in her eyes.
"… No, I want to have a proper trial. Then, this ti, gumin will…"
Interlude
The one who will beco the chief of the Crimson Demons
The final trial is to survive spending a night in the forest where strong monsters make their nest.
"Kazuma-san suggested the sa thing when he heard about what this trial would be. But I won't cheat. I want to beco the chief with my own strength…"
ーBecoming the chief of the Crimson Demons.
For who never had many ambitions or dreams, that was my only goal.
On the day my magic power and intelligence were asured, they praised and said that I really was the chief's daughter.
That made really happy.
From that point on, aiming to beco the chief just felt natural to .
"I think it's fine to do whatever you like, but why did you bring it up all of a sudden?"
I was walking towards the depths of the forest together with Aigis-san.
"I don't think so…"
Well, not exactly…
"I don't really get what you an by custors, but is that the case?"
To guard against sudden attacks from monsters, I'm currently within Aigis-san.
"Aigis-san, is it really fine for you to be fooling around out here? Aren't divine relics created by the gods to fight against the Demon King?"
The gods created Aigis-san for a very important purpose.
But Aigis-san seems to be quite self-centered…
"I've heard that the Demon King Army's ultimate goal is the eradication of humanity. Wouldn't the pretty ladies be wiped out too?"
Divine relics are supposed to be created with a grand purpose in mind, but he seems quite free-spirited…
"I won't do that! I'll be kicked out from the first day!"
What I plan to do after becoming chief.
First off, gather up monsters with high intelligence, ta them and make them my friends…
….
"I don't have any such dreams that requires to beco chief to accomplish. And, even stuff I want to do…"
"That sounds nice! Ah, I don't really care about the beautiful won part, but travelling around the world and befriending a lot of people…"
No, that's not right.
I'm the one who will beco the chief of the Crimson Demons.
That's been my goal ever since I was young…
I really didn't want to hear this from Aigis-san, but yes, Crimson Demons are, as a general rule, a free-spirited bunch.
In the past, I had a close friend who was called the number one genius of the Crimson Demons whom everyone had great hopes for.
That stupid close friend who ignored everyone's hopes and expectations, pursued her own dreams, and ended up getting referred to as the idiotic worst mage.
Even so, she has loads of fun every day, made plenty of companions and friends and even found a man she loves, an extrely stupid and important-
"Leave it to ! I'm the one who will beco the Chief of the Crimson Demons! Combat is my greatest talent!"
I wonder what would've happened if gumin had seriously set her sights on becoming chief.
If soone else had set their sights on becoming chief. If soone else had asked to let them have that position…
"I'll do my best not to leave even a scratch on your armour! Leave the offense to !"
Aigis-san is saying sothing, but before that-
"INFERNO!!"
Sticking out one hand, I unleashed my magic on the One-strike Bear in front of -
"… I can't use magic or skills when I'm wearing you, Aigis-san…"
"A-Anyway, what were you saying just now? I recall you saying sothing about amazing compatibility and being my friend!"
"No, you definitely said sothing! I definitely heard you call your friend! There's no way I could've misheard that!"
Right, now's not the ti to be talking about unnecessary stuff. I need to focus on taking down the enemy right in front of …
"Oh, yeah, that's why I have my dagger… Ah, but that's an important nto from my first shopping trip with a friend…"
ーOnce this trial is over, this ti, I'll be able to tell my rival that it's my victory this ti.
And, together with that, I'll tell her what I've never been able to…
"My na is Yunyun, an Archwizard who wields Advanced Magic…"
I was able to co this far because I had a friend like you.
My shallow ambition only beca important to because of you…
It's only because a far stronger person than is so doggedly pursuing her dreams despite the mockery of everyone.
Thank you for being my rivalー!
"The strongest spellcaster amongst the Crimson Demons, and the one who will eventually beco chief!"
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