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 - - A Vow Beneath the Starry Sky: I Don't Want to Go Home Without You
The Axel central market was bustling with life as usual, even this early in the morning. Voices hawking fruit, the sound of fish being filleted, the fragrant aroma of freshly baked bread. It was the same peaceful Axel morning as always.
But Kazuma's heart was anything but clear. The words the guild's messenger had delivered yesterday evening refused to leave his head.
(An official envoy from the Crimson Demon Village has arrived...? Who the hell came besides Yunyun?)
Kazuma glanced at the two girls walking beside him.
Megumin walked with a spring in her step, humming a tune, her vivid crimson twin-tails swaying. In her hands she clutched her beloved magic staff, "Friend of Explosion." As always, she looked completely unapologetic.
Half a step behind her, Yunyun walked nervously. Her brownish-red medium hair glowed softly in the morning sun. She kept looking back and forth between Kazuma and Megumin's backs, as if she wanted to say something.
"Hey, Megumin. Do we really need to practice Explosion today? You just half-destroyed a house the other day."
When Kazuma spoke in an exasperated voice, Megumin spun around, her crimson eyes sparkling.
"Of course! For a Crimson Demon, practicing Explosion is like breathing. I can't skip a single day! Besides, I saw on the guild bulletin board that the empty lot on the edge of the market is available today. Perfect weather for practice!"
"Your 'practice' causes way too much damage every single time! Last time, every window in the neighborhood shattered!"
"That just proves how much my Explosion magic has grown in power. Which means my love for you has grown just as much, Kazuma."
Megumin clasped her hands in front of her chest and gazed at Kazuma with a dreamy expression.
"Your love deals massive damage to my wallet every time. ...Ahh, fine, I get it. But today I'm supervising. Absolutely no people around, and minimal power. Got it?"
Kazuma heaved a great sigh.
Yunyun watched their exchange with a complicated expression.
(Megumin belongs at Kazuma's side now. It's just natural for her. ...And I still can't even talk to him that easily.)
Yunyun felt a small pang deep in her chest.
The three of them headed for the empty lot on the edge of the market. It was a place where a warehouse had once stood, now an open field overgrown with weeds. There was hardly a soul around.
Megumin stood in the center of the lot and raised "Friend of Explosion" high.
"Kazuma, Yunyun. Watch closely. This is the pride of the Crimson Demon Clan — Explosion magic!"
Her red eyes held a serious light. Even Kazuma could feel the unbelievable amount of magical power overflowing from her small body.
Megumin drew a deep breath and began her incantation.
"O crimson flames, deeper than darkness. Answer my call and show your power. — Explosion!!"
In that instant, the world turned white.
BOOOOOM!!
A massive pillar of fire erupted from the center of the lot, accompanied by an eardrum-shattering blast. The ground shook, and the shockwave flattened the surrounding trees.
"Wooooaaah!?"
Kazuma threw himself flat on the ground. Dust billowed, turning his vision white.
Seconds later, when the smoke cleared, a massive crater — easily twenty meters across — gaped in the earth.
And every window of the surrounding shops had been shattered to bits.
"How was that, Kazuma! Today's Explosion was an especially magnificent specimen! Power, range, beauty — all perfect!"
Megumin lay collapsed on the ground from magical exhaustion, but her face wore a beaming smile.
"Perfect my ass! You — I told you to do it where there's no people and with minimal power! Why the hell was it stronger than usual!?"
Kazuma grabbed Megumin by the scruff of her neck and shook her back and forth.
"I just wanted to show you my very best Explosion, Kazuma. The power of love made it stronger."
"The power of love making the damage worse — what is wrong with you! ...Ahh, damn it, this is definitely going to cost me in reparations."
Kazuma clutched his head.
Sure enough, that afternoon, Kazuma was summoned by the guild receptionist, Luna.
Luna was a woman in her mid-twenties with long silver hair tied back in a single bundle. An intelligent, composed beauty, she handled all the paperwork for adventurers like Kazuma as the guild's receptionist. Today, her usual smile was gone, and she looked down at Kazuma with a cold expression.
"Kazuma. Regarding this incident, you've been billed 500,000 eris in reparations. Window repair costs, ground restoration fees, and compensation for merchandise that became unsellable due to the explosion."
Kazuma sat formally on the floor in front of Luna's desk.
"F-Five hundred thousand... Luna, hold on a second. I've only got five hundred eris on me right now."
"I know. That's why I'm proposing a payment plan. However, there are conditions."
Luna slid a single document in front of Kazuma.
"Sign this. It's a pledge stating that you will become Megumin's supervisor. From now on, whenever she uses Explosion magic, you must be present and file a report with the guild beforehand. If you violate this, your adventurer rank will be suspended."
"Supervisor!? Wait a minute — you're saying I have to babysit that Explosion girl for the rest of my life!?"
As Kazuma shouted, Luna gave a small smile.
"Whether it's for life depends on your efforts. But for now, it seems you're the only one who can stop her."
Kazuma had no comeback to Luna's words.
Just then, the guild doors flew open with force.
"Kazuma! I heard! You're going to be my supervisor!? That makes us an officially recognized couple!"
Megumin came bounding in. Behind her, Yunyun peered in with a worried face.
"We are not an officially recognized couple! Supervisor! I'm the one who watches you so you don't cause trouble!"
"It's the same thing. Supervision — love's watchful eye. How wonderful!"
Megumin pumped her fist.
"Haah... How did it come to this..."
Kazuma heaved a deep sigh.
That evening.
Yunyun came bursting into Kazuma's house, drenched in sweat.
"Kazuma! Megumin! Something terrible has happened!"
Yunyun, out of breath, thrust a letter in front of Kazuma and Megumin.
"The Village Chief has dispatched an official pursuer. This is a letter in the Chief's own hand."
Kazuma took the letter. The seal of the Crimson Demon Village was pressed into it.
He opened it, and in elegant script, it read:
'Pursuant to Article Three of the Blood Covenant, the law of the Crimson Demon Clan, the heir candidate Megumin shall be returned to the Crimson Demon Village. Violators will be punished. Komekko is dispatched as the pursuer. This is the will of the village.'
When Kazuma finished reading, he looked up.
"Sending her little sister as the pursuer — what the hell does that mean!? Komekko's only eleven!"
At Kazuma's angry shout, Yunyun flinched, her shoulders trembling.
"Komekko is Megumin's little sister. She's said to be the most talented in the village now. ...The Chief is serious. Those who break the law are shown no mercy. That is what it means to be a Crimson Demon."
Yunyun's voice was sorrowful.
Megumin stared at the letter in silence.
Then she murmured quietly.
"Because I left the village, Komekko was chosen as the heir."
At those words, Kazuma felt a jolt.
Megumin's choice had drastically changed her little sister's life.
Kazuma was learning this fact for the first time.
After dinner.
Kazuma took Megumin to the Hill of Lamenting Winds.
This hill, ten kilometers north of Axel, was the place with the clearest view of the starry sky. Kazuma knew that Megumin sometimes came here alone.
As always, a strong wind blew atop the hill. Whoo, whoo — the wind made the grass sing.
The two of them stood side by side, gazing up at the night sky.
Countless stars twinkled.
"Megumin. I want to hear your story properly."
Kazuma spoke in a serious voice.
Megumin was silent for a while. The wind whipped her crimson twin-tails violently.
At last, she turned to Kazuma with resolve in her eyes.
"I abandoned the village. Because I wanted to be with you, Kazuma."
Kazuma couldn't say anything.
Megumin began to speak slowly.
"The night before my fourteenth birthday, my grandmother — the Village Chief — summoned me. She told me: 'You are the heir. Inherit the essence of Explosion magic and become a tool to protect the village.' ...And then: 'Your life belongs to the village.'"
Kazuma listened to her words in silence.
"I despaired at those words. My life is mine. My Explosion magic is mine. ...The next morning, I ran away from the Tower of Explosion. I slipped through the village barrier, crossed the Crimson Flame Mountains, and headed for Axel."
Megumin's voice was trembling.
"To shake off my pursuers, I walked the mountain paths for three days straight. Along the way, I collapsed from magical sickness. ...Even so, with nothing but the single-minded desire to see you, Kazuma, I made it here."
Kazuma was at a loss for words.
With that small body, she had crossed the mountains all alone.
The weight of that resolve — Kazuma understood it now for the first time.
"Because I left the village, Komekko was made the heir. I stole my little sister's life."
Tears spilled from Megumin's large red eyes.
Reflecting the starlight, the tears glittered.
Kazuma wanted to say, It's not your fault.
But he didn't know if those words were really true.
So he couldn't say anything.
He just watched Megumin's tears in silence.
At the base of the Hill of Lamenting Winds, Yunyun was hiding in the bushes.
She had secretly followed Kazuma and Megumin on their way to the hill.
She had heard all of Megumin's confession.
"Megumin... you went through something that painful..."
Tears traced down Yunyun's cheeks.
How shallow her own confession to Kazuma had been.
Yunyun realized it now.
But at the same time, a resolve began to bud within her.
(I have to have resolve too — one that won't lose to Megumin's. Not a life of just going back to the village, but the resolve to stand by my own feelings.)
Yunyun wiped her tears and looked up at the sky.
The stars were beautiful.
"Megumin, you're amazing. ...But I won't lose either."
Yunyun murmured softly.
Meanwhile, on another hill on the outskirts of Axel, a small figure clad in Crimson Demon robes was gazing up at the stars.
It was Komekko.
The same vivid crimson bob cut as Megumin. Her slightly darker red eyes held an innocent sparkle. She was still a young girl, barely four feet tall. She clutched the stuffed animal she always carried tightly to her chest.
In one hand, she gripped the order from the Village Chief — the command to bring her sister back.
And in the other hand was an old letter from her sister that she had secretly brought along.
The letter contained just a single line:
'Komekko, are you doing well? I'm doing fine.'
Komekko pressed the letter to her chest with trembling hands.
"I'll bring my sister back. ...This is for the village, and for my sister."
Komekko murmured.
But tears welled in her eyes.
Was it simply that she wanted to see her sister? Or did she just want to fulfill the village's mission?
Even Komekko herself no longer knew.
The stars twinkled quietly.
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