The Giant Toad is a monster that looks exactly as foolish as it acts. A massive frog about three meters long. Its movements are sluggish. Danger level: low. It inhabits an area about ten kilometers south of the town of Axel, and it's one of the basic quests that rookie adventurers often take on. However. "Aqua, what the hell are you doing?" Kazuma, soaked to the bone, stared at the scene before him as if smoke might start pouring from his head any second. In front of the reception counter of the Axis Church Adventurer's Guild—the place where people take quests to make a living—a goddess with long, bluish hair was crying her eyes out. Kazuma beside her, a girl in a black robe, and a blonde female knight in armor were all equally drenched. "[crying]B-but I dropped a syllable during the incantation...!" "First time I've ever seen a cleric blow up all her allies with a purification magic backfire," Luna at the reception counter offered him a dry cloth with a troubled expression. Kazuma took it, but he had absolutely no confidence he could explain this situation in thirty seconds. Aqua—a goddess worshipped by the Axis Church, a religious organization famous for its persistent recruitment tactics—was a shrine maiden apprentice who had just fired a water purification spell directly at herself. Aqua could do that. For some reason, she actually did it. "[serious]Kazuma, I'm truly sorry. I don't have enough to compensate..." "[sarcastic]No, the clothes will dry fine. Just... next time, could you do it outside?" Kazuma Azuma, twenty-two years old. His short black hair was always slightly disheveled, and his brown eyes were usually half-lidded. A leather jacket and simple pants gave him a relaxed air that didn't look like an adventurer at all, and a small piercing glinted in his left ear. He had the aura of someone weak for a swordsman—that's what everyone always thought on first meeting. In fact, he wasn't a swordsman. He'd been living in the town of Axel in the Belzerg Kingdom for quite some time now. This was what you'd call a "rookie adventurer's town." The monsters in the surrounding area were relatively docile, so newly registered adventurers gathered here. There were supposedly about twelve hundred registered adventurers, but only about a third of them were active on any given day. Kazuma's party had four members. All of them were problem children. --- In an open field in the afternoon, Megumin fired her explosion spell. Explosion magic was the highest-tier attack magic in this world, with the power to blow away a wide area. However, the moment it's fired, the caster's MP drops to zero and they can't move. Only a few dozen people in the entire world had mastered it. One of those few dozen was a girl with deep crimson long hair and red magical eyes, standing at just one hundred forty-eight centimeters tall. A sound like "DOOOOOM" echoed all the way to the outskirts of Axel. The smell of scorched grass and trees drifted through the air. "[excited]...That was a perfect explosion," Megumin, collapsed on the ground, murmured contentedly while loosening her purple ribbon. Smoke rose from the trees around the town's perimeter. "[angry]What were you even aiming at?! There weren't any monsters!" "[serious]Explosion magic must be fired daily, or my skills will dull," "[angry]That's not the point at all!" Megumin was completely out of MP and couldn't move an inch. Kazuma ran toward the burned grass and spent time stamping out the flames by himself. When he returned, Darkness was standing near the battle site, having just been recovered from inside the toad's mouth. A female knight with long golden hair, armor, and refined features, she gazed off into the distance with an enraptured expression. "[gentle]...Kazuma. Um, about that sensation of being swallowed whole... next time, could you perhaps rescue me with only my upper half inside?" "[sarcastic]No," Kazuma said nothing more and dragged the collapsed Megumin back toward home. Aqua, her stomach rumbling, laughed cheerfully as she followed behind. Darkness remained enraptured, gazing at the sunset. It was always like this. It had been the same three weeks ago, and it would probably be the same three weeks from now. --- Dusk. The Wiz Tavern was where adventurers gathered, and it had become something like their regular lodging. Wooden tables, wooden chairs, the yellow light of lamps, and the famous Lutea River trout set for eight hundred eris—just an ordinary tavern. Kazuma sat at the counter, drinking ale alone. Aqua was making a commotion at some other table with her companions. Megumin was sleeping at the inn to recover her MP. Darkness was still on her way back. It was quiet. Kazuma pulled out his adventurer's card and gazed blankly at the letters carved on its surface. The card's magic displayed his status. He could see the numbers had increased from before. They'd grown little by little with each quest completed—genuine achievements. (…Not bad, really.) He thought that, but something caught in his chest nonetheless. Not bad. That was true. The incident in Karsa had been settled. That commotion that happened in the Axis Church's main temple town had somehow worked out in the end. The party had come back and was living normally in their mansion in Axel. And yet, something felt missing. It was a sensation difficult to put into words. He wasn't hungry. He wasn't tired. Just something absent, something hollow—that kind of feeling. He took a sip of ale. Slightly bitter. The same taste as always. Outside the window, children ran laughing along the road beside the Lutea River. Kazuma watched them for a while. Those kids must have had something fun happen today. They had that kind of look about them. (Have I had anything happen recently?) He had. Plenty. Something happened every day. And yet, something still felt missing. He suddenly remembered helping someone in Karsa. There was a child in trouble. A shrine maiden apprentice of the Axis Church, and she'd been quite troubled. Her name was... Ruri, wasn't it? A girl with short black hair, who didn't try to make herself seem bigger than she was, with a calm voice. (I wonder if she's doing okay.) After thinking it, he didn't understand why he'd suddenly thought of that, so he shook his head. It didn't matter. She was just someone he'd passed by. Karsa was far away now. He finished the rest of his ale and stood up. Time to head home. --- On the way back, he passed in front of the adventurer's guild. His feet stopped in front of the bulletin board. There was no particular reason. He just happened to glance at the notices as he passed. Quest postings, monster information, a missing pet notice. Among them was a single piece of paper. Written in handwriting, it said: "Notice from the Axis Church Karsa Branch. A shrine maiden apprentice under training has absconded without permission today. If you have any information regarding her whereabouts, please contact our branch." The description included her age and short black hair. Kazuma stared at that paper for three seconds. (…No way.) Something stirred in his chest. He was surprised by his own reaction. He didn't even understand why he was reacting this way. There were plenty of people from Karsa. Short black hair wasn't rare. It didn't have to be Ruri. It probably wasn't. Kazuma shook his head and looked away from the notice. "No way," he muttered under his breath and walked past the guild. The night in Axel was quiet. Magic lamps and lanterns cast a soft glow on the streets. There were few people about. His footsteps echoed on the stone pavement. The moon was out. A full moon hung above the rooftops. Kazuma vaguely wondered if the night they'd returned from Karsa had a moon like this. He thought he remembered seeing the moon sinking beyond the mountains through the carriage window. It was just a little further to his mansion. Suddenly, there was a figure ahead. Someone was standing near the corner of an alley. With the moonlight behind them, he couldn't see their face. Only the silhouette was clear, floating distinctly in the night air. They weren't very tall. They seemed to be carrying something. A small figure stood there, looking somewhat weary. Kazuma stopped. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to approach. Something jumped in his chest, a strange sensation. His feet felt heavy. (Who is that?) The figure slowly turned around. In the moonlight, the face became clear. Calm eyes. Short black hair. A quiet face that didn't try to make itself seem bigger than it was. It was familiar. Kazuma couldn't say anything.