The night at Wirt's Tavern ran deep, with only the crackling of firewood echoing through the quiet hall. Kazuma sat alone at a table in the far corner. His ale mug was on its third pour. He wasn't really drinking—just holding it to have something to do with his hands. On the table lay a white handkerchief. Neat, precise folds. A faint light-blue embroidery along the edge. Even ironed. He'd picked it up from in front of Ruri's door earlier that evening, after she'd slipped it under the gap while packing her things, and he hadn't been able to let it go since. (Why does getting something like this back make me feel like this?) His head was spinning. Yuga's cool expression. The sensation of Steel's swing missing. Ruri's voice from earlier—*I don't want to be a burden.* Those straightforward eyes. Not knowing where to direct this feeling, Kazuma took another sip of ale. Bitter. It tasted the same as always, but today it was strangely bitter. *Clang, clang.* The tavern door chimed. He turned around. A figure with deep crimson long hair and a purple ribbon—dressed exactly as she'd been that afternoon—walked in. She was cradling a thick notebook in her arms. It was Megumin. She scanned the nearly-closed hall, spotted Kazuma in the back, and walked straight toward him without hesitation. "[serious]What are you doing at a time like this?" "[sarcastic]Reviewing my explosion magic practice records. I concentrate better at night." She set the notebook on the table and pulled out the chair across from him, sitting down without asking or confirming anything. Very much like Megumin. She noticed the handkerchief on the table. Her red eyes stopped for a moment. Then she closed her notebook. "[serious]Kazuma. May I ask you something?" "[sarcastic]...What?" "[serious]Do you like Ruri, or do you not like her?" Kazuma's hand holding the mug froze. "[serious]Be as clear as an explosion spell." She showed no restraint. Her tone of voice, the way her eyes were set—completely serious. "[sarcastic]...I don't know, okay? Like, dislike—it's not that simple." "[serious]Then what kind of situation is it?" "[sarcastic]That's the problem—I don't understand it myself." Megumin thought for a moment. Her red eyes moved back and forth between Kazuma's face and the handkerchief. "[serious]Ruri couldn't smile in front of anyone—not in Karsa'ad, not at the training grounds." Her tone of voice changed. It was quiet. "[serious]She only showed her true smile in front of you." Kazuma couldn't say anything. Something pierced through the center of his chest. It spread slowly. An image surfaced unbidden—her embarrassed face in the late-night hall, saying "Ehehe, I did it again" after a failed incantation. "[gentle]More than that, could I have an ale? My throat is parched from magic practice." Megumin raised her hand casually as if nothing had happened and ordered from Erika, the tavern keeper. "[sarcastic]...You just said something really important, didn't you?" "[sarcastic]There's no reason I can't order an ale while saying something important." "[sarcastic]There is! Normally there is!" Megumin opened her notebook with a smug expression and a satisfied huff. Kazuma complained, but his hand unconsciously gripped the handkerchief on the table tighter. (Her true smile, huh...) ——At the same late hour, in a room of Kazuma's mansion. Darkness sat alone at the study desk. Her golden long hair was tied back, glasses on her face, and she faced a stack of parchment with complete seriousness. It was a copy of Yuga's submitted documents that Luna, the receptionist at the Adventurer's Guild, had given her, saying "If you're curious, you might want to check." As a member of a noble family, Darkness knew something of the format of official Axis Church documents. The proper placement of official seals, where the issuance date should be written, how authority classifications were formatted. The more one became accustomed to document work, the more even slight discrepancies stood out. And that discrepancy——existed. (The placement of the official seal... it's not here. Official church issuance should be stamped in the lower right...) She turned the page. (A protection application under special believer authority from the Axis Church, is it? But this authority classification...) Darkness spread the documents across the desk and traced them with her fingertip. The special believer's authority—direct petition rights to church leadership—essentially meant "being able to have the church's upper echelon listen to you directly." It was not acting under the church's name. Much less could it serve as legal grounds for forcibly transporting an individual, no matter where you read it. This was not an official church order. It was a private document created by misusing a special believer's authority. (Kuh... the intellectual pain of exposing this deception... not bad...) As Darkness read through the documents, her expression gradually began to shift into rapture. "[gentle]No... focus...!" She slapped her own cheek and returned her eyes to the documents. Minutes later, Darkness stood up. Documents in hand, her footsteps toward Wirt's Tavern were steady. —— When Darkness returned to Wirt's Tavern, she found Kazuma and Megumin facing each other at the back table. Megumin was drinking ale. Kazuma had a somewhat complicated expression. "[serious]Both of you, listen. I examined Yuga's documents." She spread the parchment on the table and explained while tracing it with her finger. The misplacement of the official seal. The true definition of special believer authority. That it couldn't serve as grounds for forcibly transporting Ruri. Kazuma pulled the documents toward him and read. Megumin leaned over to look. "[serious]So those documents aren't an official church order?" "[serious]That's right. Yuga created a private document by misusing his special believer authority." At that moment, footsteps came down from the second floor. *Clatter, clatter, clatter*——with a volume that showed no restraint whatsoever. "[angry]I can't sleep because it's so loud!" Aqua came down the stairs in her nightwear, her golden long hair disheveled, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She looked at the documents on the desk and the three faces in turn. Darkness explained the situation. That Yuga's documents were fraudulent. Aqua's eyes, half-asleep at first, gradually opened wider. Then, at a certain moment, they snapped completely awake. (Yuga said he'd cooperate in gaining believers. I was about to go along with it. Using the church's assets, together... I listened to that story that night so seriously...) Aqua's face went pale. "[angry]...So I was about to be deceived? I, the goddess of the Axis Church, was about to tacitly allow someone using the church's name for personal gain?!" "[gentle]Well, yes... you could say that." The next instant, Aqua kicked back her chair and stood up. "[angry]I won't forgive this. I absolutely won't forgive this!!" She slammed her fist on the table. With a *thud*, an ale mug went flying. Its contents splashed directly into Kazuma's face. "[angry]Apologize before you get all fired up!!" "[angry]This isn't the time for that!!" "[angry]It is for me!!" Megumin watched the exploding mug from the corner of her eye while calmly drinking her ale. After some commotion, all four gathered at the table. Kazuma, drenched in ale. Aqua, eyes blazing with purpose. Darkness, holding the documents. Megumin, clutching her notebook. "[excited]I'll lead the charge!" "[serious]My explosion magic preparations are perfect. Hehe." "[gentle]I will receive all attacks. ...Gladly." "[sarcastic]Please, all of you, get your energy levels in sync." It was a mess. But it felt like something scattered had gathered in this late-night tavern. By the next morning, they'd decided on one thing: confront Yuga with the documents. —— When the strategy discussion had settled down, Megumin opened her mouth as if remembering something. "[serious]Speaking of which, there's something I've been curious about this whole time. About Ruri's magic backfires." "[sarcastic]Now?" "[serious]There are things I can only say now." Megumin opened her notebook to a page. It appeared to be notes from observing Ruri's magic practice—densely filled with numbers and observation records. "[serious]The pattern of Ruri's incantation mistakes always seemed unnatural to me. Anyone stumbles when nervous. But Ruri only ever made mistakes when Kazuma was nearby." "[surprised]...What?" "[serious]Observing as a mage, I noticed that Ruri's magical power would destabilize at moments that perfectly synchronized with emotional spikes. She wasn't making mistakes in her incantation—her feelings for you were so strong that her magical control was collapsing." She was matter-of-fact. Speaking as if stating a simple fact. "[sarcastic]I cannot understand the phenomenon of magic going haywire when standing near someone you like. When I fire my explosion spell, I am most calm." She looked smug. "[sarcastic]That's not something to brag about." Kazuma heard nothing else. Megumin's analysis unfolded slowly in his mind. The backfire that night in the hall. The backfires during practice. The backfire during the battle with the giant toad. All of them—— "[surprised]...So you're saying all of her magic backfires were because of me...?" His voice had become hoarse. "[serious]Yes." "[serious]That's right." "[serious]Indeed." All three answered in unison. Kazuma buried his face in the table. His face was hot. He knew it wasn't from the ale. He lay there for a while, trying to sort things out in his head, but couldn't sort anything out. Megumin drained the last of her ale. Darkness folded up the documents. Aqua stood up saying "Let's get some rest." Kazuma slowly lifted his face. It was still red. "[serious]...Let's go. We're going to get her." It was short. That was all. Megumin's eyes narrowed for just a moment. Aqua nodded, saying "Of course." Darkness began to say "Understood, I shall receive all attacks——" before Kazuma stopped her with his hand. —— After everyone had gone to rest, only Kazuma couldn't sleep. He stepped outside Wirt's Tavern and looked up at the sky before dawn. Still dark. The eastern edge was just barely tinged with gray. He took the handkerchief from his pocket. Spread it across his palm. In the moonlight, the neat folds glowed white. Her voice, speaking in fits and starts before the campfire. Her face asking "Are you alright?" while covered in mud in the shallow stream. Her embarrassed laugh when she failed the incantation in the late-night hall. (I think I've always felt like something was missing...) That night in the first story, that vague emptiness he'd felt while drinking ale. He'd never understood what it was. But now, holding this handkerchief in his hand, it felt like he had the answer. He couldn't hide from it anymore. He didn't want to. "[sarcastic]Kazuma! We're launching the operation at dawn! You don't have time to be sentimental!" Aqua stuck her face out from a second-floor window and shouted. "[serious]I'm doing a final check of my explosion magic incantation, so please keep quiet." Megumin chided Aqua. "[gentle]I'm going to polish my armor now. I need to prepare my heart for receiving attacks as well." Darkness announced her mysterious resolve from another window. "[sarcastic]All of you, shut up." He sighed. But the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He put the handkerchief back in his pocket. The eastern sky gradually grew brighter. They had the documents—a trump card. Their party was complete. All that was left was to head for the east gate.