God's Blessing on This Wonderful Academy! - Childhood Friends, Explosion Magic, and a Forgotten Promise

The May breeze stirred the hair of the students passing through the school gates. Satou Kazuma watched, half-absent, as Aqua's long, pale-blue hair danced beside him in the wind. " Kazuma! After school today, let's go to that new crepe shop! As a goddess, I'll conduct a thorough investigation of human sweets for you!" " Oh yeah? And this 'investigation' — is it coming out of my wallet?" " Of course! You're making an offering to your goddess! Be grateful!" " I'm failing to find a single thing to be grateful for." He heaved a sigh. It had been almost a month since Aqua started freeloading at his place. She was the same as ever — every morning her purification magic went haywire and withered the roadside grass, and at school she destroyed something in every P.E. class. He spent his days running around cleaning up after her. (Well, I've gotten used to it, I guess.) The fact that he'd gotten used to it was, honestly, a little pathetic. " Kazuma, are you listening? Crepes! C-R-E-P-E-S!" " Yeah, I'm listening. Jeez, if you keep eating nothing but sweets, you're gonna get fat." " A goddess doesn't get fat! My divine body is perfect!" " Oh, is that right? Then how come that 'perfect body' of yours took a volleyball to the face in P.E. yesterday?" " Th-that was... the ball was aiming for my face!" " Balls don't aim." Just another ordinary walk home. —And then it happened. "...Found you." A small voice, but one that carried clearly. Kazuma's feet stopped. Ahead. In the middle of the school route, a single girl stood. In uniform. Long black hair with a single streak of red. A red ribbon fluttering in the wind. And crimson eyes. Those eyes were fixed straight on Kazuma. " Huh...?" The girl slowly opened her mouth. " It's been five years, Kazuma." Kazuma blinked. Five years. At those words, he searched desperately through his mind. Black hair. Red eyes. A petite frame. ...Who is she? No matter how many drawers of memory he opened, no face matching the girl before him came out. " ...Uh, who are you again?" In that instant. The girl — Megumin's — smile froze solid. "...What?" " No, I mean, even if you say five years... sorry, I seriously can't remember." Megumin's lips trembled. " It's me. Megumin. Your childhood friend." " Me-Megumin...?" The name rang a bell. No — it should ring a bell. But he couldn't picture the face. " You forgot...? Really...?" " No, it's just... the name, sort of... but the face..." Megumin hung her head. Her shoulders were trembling, just slightly. " H-hey, wait. Are you... mad?" " ...Explosion." " What?" " I'll give you a taste of my Explosion Magic...! The crime of forgetting my five years is a heavy one...!" Megumin clenched the bandage wrapped around her left wrist. In that instant, the air around her warped and twisted. " Hey, what are you—" Kazuma's words never finished. —A roar. At the edge of his vision, light burst. DOOOOOOM!!! The blast wave. Kazuma's body lifted off the ground. " UWAAAAAAAH!?" His back slammed into the asphalt. His vision flickered white. Ringing ears. The smell of dust. " K-Kazuma! Are you okay!?" Aqua came running over. " Of course I'm not okay! Something just exploded! Right behind me!" Kazuma somehow managed to sit up. He looked behind him. A utility pole beside the school route had been snapped off at its base. Chunks of concrete were scattered everywhere. " Wh-what the hell... the pole..." " That was my Explosion Magic. The strongest magic, honed over five years of training in the Crimson Demon Village." Megumin said it with her chest puffed out. But her eyes were faintly moist. " ...The bond of childhood friends should be the strongest. And yet... Kazuma, you..." " Hey! What are you doing to my partner!?" Aqua wedged herself between Kazuma and Megumin. " I won't allow anyone to lay a hand on Kazuma — not while I, a goddess, am here! I'll purify you!" " ...Who are you?" " I'm Aqua! Kazuma's partner and roommate! And a goddess!" " Roommate...?" Megumin's crimson eyes narrowed sharply. " Kazuma. Who is this woman?" " This is gonna take a while to explain..." " Long is fine. Explain. Here and now." " I'll explain! I'm Kazuma's destined partner! Guided by the gods, I live in Kazuma's house!" " Destined partner...? Don't be ridiculous. Kazuma's childhood friend is me. Only me." " Childhood friend? He doesn't even remember you!" " That's... he's just forgotten for now! He'll remember soon enough!" " He's not going to remember! Kazuma's too busy with our future!" " What are you even saying, you pale-blue-haired—!" " Did you just call me pale-blue-haired!? You little shrimp!" " Shrimp!? You're mocking my height...! I'll blow you away with Explosion Magic!" " Bring it on! I'll wash away that black heart of yours with a goddess's purification!" " Hey, both of you, stop! This is a public road! You planning to snap another utility pole!?" Kazuma desperately shoved himself between the two. Under the May blue sky. And so, Kazuma's daily life grew one notch noisier once again. —— Thirty minutes later. The living room of Kazuma's house. " Starting today, I'm living here too." Megumin set a large duffel bag on the floor and made her declaration. " What!? What are you saying!? This is my and Kazuma's house!" " You're a freeloader. I'm his childhood friend. When it comes to the right to enter this house, I rank higher." " Wh-what kind of logic is that!? Kazuma, kick her out!" " You two, calm down a bit. My head's killing me." Kazuma pressed his temples and sank onto the sofa. " Kazuma. I finished my training in the Crimson Demon Village and came back. To see you." " ...Even if you say that. I really don't remember you." " ...That's cruel. We played together so much. We lived next door to each other." " Next door...?" Kazuma traced his memories. When he was little. There had definitely been a girl about his age next door... No, but he couldn't remember her face. " If you can't remember, then I'll make you remember! I'm your childhood friend, Megumin! Descendant of the Crimson Demon clan, wielder of Explosion Magic!" " Crimson Demon...?" " Yes. Descendant of the clan that commands Truth Magic. And I'm especially talented, even among them." " Truth Magic... that again." Aqua's purification magic. And what Wiz had called "Truth Magic." That cold smile flickered through Kazuma's mind. " Hey, Kazuma! Are you listening to me!? I said kick her out!" " I have no reason to be kicked out. Kazuma and I made a promise." " A promise...?" " ...So you really did forget." Megumin's voice trembled faintly. " The promise I made with Kazuma before I left for the Crimson Demon Village. 'I'll come back.' ...'We'll definitely meet again.'" " ...Sorry. I really don't remember." Kazuma said it honestly. Megumin hung her head. Her shoulders trembled, just slightly. " ...I see. So you don't remember." " See? Kick her out! It's her punishment for making Kazuma forget!" " You have no right to say that. I'm Kazuma's childhood friend. I met him before you did." " The order we met doesn't matter! The one by Kazuma's side right now is me!" " Starting today, I'll be by his side too. If you have a problem with that, shall we settle it with force?" " Fine! I'll show you the power of a goddess!" " Hey, stop! Don't use magic inside the house!" Kazuma's protests were in vain. Aqua pressed her palms together. " I'll purify you!" Megumin touched the bandage on her left wrist. " I'll begin the chant for Explosion Magic. ...I'll show you a glimpse of the Crimson Demon clan's power." " STOOOOOOP!" —What came after needs no retelling. A massive hole was blown through the living-room wall, and light now streamed in from the ceiling. The balcony railing was obliterated without a trace by Megumin's Explosion Magic. " Waaaaaah, the landlord's gonna kill meeee!" Kazuma clutched his head in front of his half-destroyed home. —— That night. At the dinner table. " This curry is delicious. Kazuma, you're a good cook." " Flattery won't get me to approve your freeloading." " That's cruel. I trained for five whole years just to see you." " I practice purification every day for Kazuma's sake too! The right to live in Kazuma's house belongs to me!" " Your purification just withers something every day." Dinner for three. Three portions of curry lined up on Kazuma's dining table. " ...Hey, Kazuma. Do you remember? When we were little, eating curry at my house." " ...Curry?" " Yes. The curry my mother made. You had three helpings." " Three helpings...?" " Yes. You ate with incredible gusto. You told me, 'The curry at Megumin's house is the best in the world.'" " ...I don't remember at all." " ...I see." Megumin brought a spoonful of curry to her mouth. " The training in the Crimson Demon Village was harsh. Magic drills every day. When I failed, my seniors yelled at me, and I cried more times than I can count." " You cried?" " I-I cry sometimes too, you know. I'm only human." " But I worked hard. To make Explosion Magic — the strongest magic — my own. To show you how strong I'd become." " ...I see." Kazuma listened to Megumin as he ate his curry. " Kazuma. I never forgot our promise. Even the painful training in the Crimson Demon Village — I got through it because of that promise." " ...The promise." " Yes. 'I'll come back.' 'We'll definitely meet again.' ...You don't remember, do you." " ...Sorry. I really can't remember." Kazuma hung his head. Megumin's expression clouded for a moment. But she quickly put on a smile. " ...It can't be helped. It was five years ago, after all. It's only natural you'd forget." " ...But." " It's fine. Until you remember, I'll tell you as many times as it takes. I'm your childhood friend, Megumin. Your number-one confidante." " Hey! His number-one confidante is me! Kazuma's partner is me, a goddess!" " You're just a freeloader. Kazuma's number one is me." " What did you say, you little shrimp!? I've been with Kazuma way longer!" " It's not about length. It's about depth. The bond of childhood friends runs far deeper than anything you have." " When it comes to bonds, the bond between me and Kazuma as partners is deeper!" " ...You two, the curry's getting cold." Kazuma sighed. Dinner continued quietly after that, with the two's bickering as background music. —— Late at night. Kazuma lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. (A promise... huh.) Megumin's words echoed in his head. 'I'll come back.' 'We'll definitely meet again.' (Did I really say that...?) He traced his memories. Memories from when he was small. The house next door. A girl his age. But he couldn't picture her face. (Dammit... why can't I remember?) Kazuma buried his face in his pillow. That was when it happened. Ping. His phone buzzed briefly. He looked at the screen. It was a message from his mother. 'How are you? Are you eating properly? Treasure your friends, okay? Promise me.' " ...Promise." The moment he saw that word. —Something snapped in his head. 'I'll come back.' 'We'll definitely meet again.' 'I'll get stronger and come back. We'll definitely meet again.' A small voice. A voice on the verge of tears. And a little girl with a red ribbon. " ...Megumin." Kazuma shot up out of bed. —He remembered. That day. The day before Megumin left for the Crimson Demon Village. She had told him, crying. 'I'll get stronger and come back. We'll definitely meet again.' And what had he answered? 'Yeah. I'll be waiting.' That's what he'd said. " ...I forgot. For five whole years." Kazuma gripped his phone tight. —— The next morning. Kazuma left the house earlier than usual. (I have to tell Megumin.) (That I remembered the promise.) He ran. He sprinted down the school route at full speed. " Kazum

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Episode 4

Name: God's Blessing on This Wonderful Academy!
Author: Novelia

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