God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! - Megumin's If -
After defeating the Demon King, Kazuma and his party live peacefully in Axel. But Megumin, who should have returned to the Crimson Demon Village, is now freeloading at Kazuma's house. She ran away from home, breaking the village's law. She seriously demands Kazuma to marry her. Kazuma refuses, but Megumin keeps blowing up his house with her Explosion magic, claiming it's proof of her love. Darkness understands Megumin's feelings, while Aqua strongly opposes because her drinking money will decrea
God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! - Megumin's If - - Crimson Tracker: A Love Declaration of War and a Blood Oath
The spring sunlight poured relentlessly through the cracks in the half-destroyed wall.
Kazuma stood before the pile of rubble, a vein throbbing at his temple.
"Hold on a second, boss. Five hundred thousand eris? That's not a repair estimate, that's highway robbery! It's just half the wall that got blown off!"
The repairman scratched his chin, studying the broken pillar with a practiced eye.
"Look here, Master Kazuma. It ain't just the wall, see. The base of the pillar's been scorched through. If we don't fix it right, the whole second floor could come down on your head. Five hundred thousand is the bare minimum, I'm afraid."
Kazuma swallowed hard, words failing him.
The culprit was Megumin's Explosion magic from that morning. She'd blown the living room wall to splinters with what she called a "proof of love." Several days had passed since then, and Kazuma had been running himself ragged trying to scrape together the repair money. How many Giant Toads would he have to hunt to make five hundred thousand eris? Just thinking about it made his head throb.
"...Hey, boss. I've got this sword here — a Chicken Leg. It's the second most precious thing in my life after my own skin. How about you take it and call it even?"
Kazuma pointed to the beloved blade at his hip. It looked like an ordinary iron sword, but it was the partner who'd stood with him through the battle against the Demon King.
"Nah, I'll pass on the sword. Tell you what, though — how about you lend me that Explosion girl of yours for a day's work at my shop? Put her on the signboard, and customers'll come flocking."
"Put her on a signboard and the whole shop'll get blown sky-high! Give me a realistic offer!"
As they went back and forth like that, a flicker of red caught Kazuma's eye.
At the edge of Axel's central market, along the North District street, a girl was walking toward them.
She had reddish-brown medium-length hair. Red eyes — the mark of the Crimson Demon clan. Her gaze was gentle, the color slightly lighter than most. She stood maybe an inch or two taller than Megumin, around four foot eleven. She wore a white blouse under a deep green robe, and a large travel bag was strapped to her back. Her steps were heavy, her shoulders heaving with each breath — the fatigue of a long journey.
For a moment, Kazuma mistook her for Megumin. But her hair color and her whole bearing were unmistakably different.
The girl stopped in front of Kazuma's house. Then she looked at the broken wall, then at Kazuma's face, then back again.
"...Um, excuse me. Is Megumin here?"
Her voice was faint, hesitant. Kazuma tilted his head.
"Yeah, she's here. Up on the second floor practicing her Explosion incantations right now. You a friend of hers? And, uh, you're Crimson Demon clan, right? I can tell just looking at you."
The girl gave a small, nervous nod.
"Yes. My name is Yunyun. I came from the Crimson Demon Village to see Megumin. ...So, are you Kazuma, then?"
Kazuma blinked, a little startled to hear his own name.
"Yeah, that's me. ...Did Megumin say something about me?"
Yunyun looked straight up at him.
Her cheeks flushed crimson, almost in an instant.
Then, as if she'd steeled herself, she clenched both hands in front of her chest.
"I'm in love with you, Kazuma! I won't lose to Megumin!"
Her voice rang out loud and clear in front of the half-wrecked house.
Kazuma's jaw went slack.
Beside him, the repairman was grinning ear to ear.
"...Huh?"
The dumbfounded sound slipped out of him.
And that was the moment.
The second-floor window flew open with a bang.
"Yunyun!! What are you saying?! You came here as a messenger from the village!"
Megumin was leaning out the window, shouting. Her vivid crimson twin-tails whipped around her like they were standing on end. In her hand, she gripped her beloved staff, the Friend of Explosion.
Yunyun looked up at Megumin in the window and didn't back down an inch.
"I came as a messenger, but my feelings are my feelings! You can't have Kazuma all to yourself — that's not fair!"
"It is not unfair! I was the one who declared first that I would marry Kazuma! You, who came later, have no right to cut in!"
"This isn't about rights! I love Kazuma too, and I'm free to tell him so!"
The two Crimson Demon girls glared at each other in front of Kazuma's house.
Red eyes against red eyes. Sparks flying.
Kazuma heaved a heavy sigh between them.
"Would you two stop fighting in front of my house?! And Yunyun — what's this about being a messenger from the village?! Didn't you come here to see Megumin?!"
At his retort, Yunyun's mouth snapped shut as if she'd just remembered herself.
"...That's right. I came because the village chief asked me to deliver a message to Megumin."
She hugged the travel bag tightly to her chest. Her expression had gone dark and somber, as if the fire from moments ago had never existed.
Kazuma felt a small, sharp pang deep in his chest at the sudden change.
The repairman had somehow drifted into the role of an amused spectator.
"...Anyway, come inside. We'll talk after that."
Kazuma opened the door of his half-destroyed house for Yunyun.
Megumin came down from the second floor and planted herself squarely in Yunyun's path.
"Yunyun. Village business has nothing to do with Kazuma. Go home."
"Megumin... I'm not going home. There's something I absolutely have to tell you."
A heavy silence settled between them once more.
Then, from the kitchen, a carefree voice rang out.
"My, my! Save the fighting for after you've had a drink! I just got my hands on some lovely wine!"
Aqua poked her head out, swinging her long light-blue hair, a bottle in one hand. She was the self-proclaimed goddess who had taken up residence in Kazuma's house. Today, as always, she reeked of alcohol.
"You're the same as ever! And that wine — you bought it with my money, didn't you!"
"Don't sweat the small stuff! Come now, let's drink! Megumin, Yunyun, come, come!"
Without waiting for an answer, Aqua threw her arms around both girls' shoulders and steered them toward the kitchen.
Megumin scowled but didn't resist, swept along by Aqua's momentum.
Yunyun looked troubled, her brows knitting together, but she followed obediently.
Kazuma watched their retreating backs and let out a deep, deep sigh.
"...Where did my peaceful life go?"
He muttered it under his breath, then told the repairman only, "Come back tomorrow with the estimate," and went inside.
The half-destroyed kitchen.
Beyond the broken wall, a blue sky stretched wide.
Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, Yunyun. The four of them sat around the scarred table, eating dinner.
The menu was hard bread Kazuma had bought at the market, dried Giant Toad meat, and a sacred wine called "Axis Ale" — the Axis Cult's secret reserve — that Aqua had produced from somewhere.
Aqua was in high spirits, going around filling everyone's cups.
"Here, Yunyun, drink up, drink up! This stuff is delicious! When you drink it, your luck temporarily improves! I guarantee it — goddess's honor!"
"Th-thank you. I'll have some."
Yunyun timidly brought the cup to her lips.
Then her face lit up at the taste.
"Wow... it's sweet and really delicious. So this is the Axis Cult's sacred wine..."
"Right, right?! You get it! So different from Megumin!"
"How rude. I am not moved by anything other than Explosion magic."
Megumin turned her nose up and gnawed on her dried meat.
Kazuma watched the three of them while silently eating his bread.
Yunyun stole a glance at his face. When their eyes met, she snapped her gaze away, her ears turning bright red.
Kazuma cleared his throat awkwardly.
"...So, Yunyun. What's this village business about? The Blood Covenant, right?"
At his words, Yunyun's expression tightened.
She set her cup on the table, straightened her back, and looked at Kazuma directly.
"Yes. Kazuma, how much do you know about the Crimson Demon clan's law — the Blood Covenant?"
Kazuma shook his head.
"I've heard the name, that's about it. I don't know the details."
Yunyun nodded.
"The Blood Covenant is an absolute law passed down in the Crimson Demon Village since ancient times. It has three rules. First: marriage outside the village is forbidden. Second: Explosion magic must never be taught to outsiders. Third: the heir must always remain in the village. Anyone who breaks these three is exiled."
Her voice was matter-of-fact, but the words carried a heavy weight.
Kazuma stopped chewing his bread.
"Exiled...? Just for getting married?"
"It's not 'just' anything. To the Crimson Demon clan, the Blood Covenant is a sacred law that concerns the very survival of the village."
Megumin kept silently gnawing on her dried meat. Her profile gave nothing away.
Yunyun continued.
"Megumin is the direct granddaughter of the current village chief. In other words, she's the next heir candidate. Even among the Crimson Demons, she carries a special bloodline."
"What? Heir? Megumin?"
Kazuma couldn't help but look at Megumin's face.
She was still silently chewing her dried meat.
"Megumin is the finest Explosion magic user in the village. The chief wants her to inherit the true essence of Explosion magic. But Megumin ran away from the village and came to you, Kazuma. Right now, the village is in an uproar over the succession problem."
Kazuma swallowed hard.
Megumin's circumstances were far heavier than he'd ever imagined.
"If Megumin doesn't return to the village, she'll either be exiled or dragged back by force. Those are the only two options. That's how the village's law works."
Yunyun looked down, her voice small and trembling.
Kazuma looked at Megumin's profile.
She had stopped eating, staring fixedly at a single point on the table.
In her eyes, a quiet resolve and an unmistakable sorrow floated side by side.
Kazuma's chest tightened.
(She's been carrying all this weight... and still laughing in my house?)
He felt ashamed of his own ignorance.
"...Hey, Megumin."
Just as he was about to speak, Yunyun cut in.
"There's one more thing I need to tell you, Kazuma."
She raised her head. Her eyes were brimming, on the verge of tears.
"I might end up being chased out of the village too."
Kazuma's eyes went wide.
"Huh? Why you? Did you break the law?"
Yunyun shook her head.
"I haven't broken any law. But I was sent as the chief's messenger to bring Megumin back. If I fail to bring her home, I might be held responsible."
"Responsible? What kind of nonsense is that?! You're just the messenger! Megumin not going back isn't your fault!"
"Maybe not. But the adults in the village only look at results. I've never really... fit in well there."
She gave a small, self-mocking laugh.
That smile struck Kazuma like a blow to the chest.
This girl had come to see Megumin. And she'd confessed her feelings to Kazuma.
But behind all that, she was being cornered herself.
A love triangle and a village manhunt.
Two problems were quietly but steadily closing in around Kazuma's house.
After dinner.
Aqua had drunk herself into a stupor and was fast asleep in the living room.
Yunyun asked Kazuma if she could stay the night — "even just a corner of the living room is fine."
Kazuma reluctantly handed her a blanket.
Megumin had gone out to the garden alone.
When Kazuma finished cleaning up, he followed her.
The garden was a wasteland — the ground gouged out, trees flattened by the aftermath of Explosion magic.
Megumin stood alone in the middle of it, gazing up at the moon.
The spring night breeze gently stirred her crimson twin-tails.
Kazuma came to stand beside her.
"...Hey, Megumin. Yunyun told me. You're the village heir candidate."
Megumin answered without looking at him, her eyes still on the moon.
"...That has nothing to do with you, Kazuma."
Her voice was nothing like its usual haughty tone. It was thin, fragile.
"It has everything to do with me. You blow up my house practically every day."
At his lighthearted jab, Megumin smiled ju
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