The Day I, a Demon King's General, Received a Blessing - Explosion-obsessed girl

Morning light filled the town of Axel. Long shadows stretched across the cobblestones. Celestia left the inn and walked down the main street, blending into the crowd. Her disguise magic was still active. She moved through the town as an unfamiliar human traveler. Last night, in the underground storage room, she had carved a name. Kazuma. Holding that name in her chest, she turned her steps toward the Adventurer's Guild. To gather information. The first step toward knowing her enemy. At the end of the main street, a large stone building came into view. The Axel branch of the Adventurer's Guild. The place where the most people gathered in this town. When she opened the door, air thick with the mingled smells of alcohol, sweat, and seared meat spilled out. The first floor doubled as a tavern and information exchange, and despite the early hour, many adventurers were already gathered around the tables. Celestia found an empty seat and quietly sat down. The conversations around her naturally reached her ears. "Hey, did you see? She was stuck up on the second floor again today." "The explosion freak, right? Every single day, never gets tired of it." "...The Crimson Demon girl, wasn't it? From Kazuma's party, I think." Kazuma. Celestia's fingers twitched slightly beneath the table. She steadied her breathing. Her face revealed nothing. Only the sound of her heartbeat seemed unnaturally loud. "They say she goes outside town every day just to fire off Explosion magic." "At that age, how does she even have the mana for it?" "She doesn't. Word is she collapses after one shot. But she still goes out every day to fire it. She's a genuine lunatic." The men laughed. It was a sneer mixed with contempt, exasperation, and a faint trace of awe. Celestia rose from her seat. (...Explosion magic) There was no way she didn't know that spell. It had reduced Fortress Verza to rubble in an instant. Light that tore through the sky. A roar that shook the earth. And heat that burned everything to nothing. (And a girl wields it) She headed toward the guild's staircase. Notices were posted on the walls. Quest listings. Bounty posters. She glanced at them sidelong as she stepped up to the second floor. In front of the second-floor bulletin board, there was indeed a single small figure. Celestia stopped. It was a girl. Straight black hair reaching down to her waist. Her bangs were cut perfectly even. The silver hair ornament unique to the Crimson Demon Clan caught the morning light and glittered faintly. Deep crimson eyes. That color burned far more intensely than the sunset over Fortress Verza—bright and blazing. A small frame. The number 128 centimeters flashed through her mind. But the presence emanating from that body was not that of a child at all. The girl's eyes swept across the bulletin board. She flipped the wooden tag in her hand over and over, holding it close to the posted text. Her focus was like that of a beast hunting prey. "Hmm... is there no Explosion-type quest available..." The girl muttered. Her voice was lower than expected, and strangely theatrical. Celestia concealed herself in the shadows and observed. From behind, the adventurers' whispers drifted over. "She's at it again, all fired up since morning." "That's the explosion freak, Megumin-sama. Just leave her be." "Still, going all-in on Explosion magic at that age... her parents must be weeping." "All Crimson Demons are like that. It's in their blood as mages." Mockery. Sighs. And indifference. The girl didn't turn around. Or perhaps she was simply long accustomed to such voices directed at her. Celestia stared fixedly at the girl's back. (Megumin—) She had already heard that name during last night's information gathering, as one of Kazuma's companions. There was no mistake. This girl was one of the reincarnators who had burned Fortress Verza. Beneath her sleeve, she clenched her fist. Her fingertips were cold. (Here—) No. She shook her head. Not yet. If she drew her sword, everything would end. Before she could land a killing blow, she'd be surrounded by every adventurer in the guild. Three targets still remained. Celestia bit down on her back teeth and forced the killing intent deep into her chest. Megumin didn't move from in front of the bulletin board. She flipped through the small slips of paper one by one, as if searching for something. Her expression was utterly serious, and the guild's clamor seemed to fall silent around her alone, as if water had been poured over the noise. Then, her hand stopped. "This is it! A Giant Toad extermination quest! The reward is decent. More importantly, they are the perfect practice targets for Explosion magic!" The girl raised her voice to no one in particular. In that instant, her crimson eyes seemed to glow from within. "Hehe... my name is Megumin. The foremost archwizard of the Crimson Demon Clan. Today, with this power, I shall send those giant frogs to the far side of the sky!" Snickers leaked from the surrounding adventurers. "The great archwizard-sama has descended again." "Blowing up frogs with Explosion? There won't be any meat left. The reward's based on kill count, you know." "She's an idiot. She doesn't think about money at all. As long as she gets to fire it, she's satisfied." Celestia held her breath. (As long as she gets to fire it, she's satisfied) The brownies at Fortress Verza had tended the vegetable garden. The mosglins had carried water, trembling with fear. The hydrals had maintained the river's flow. More than accomplishing anything, simply being there peacefully—that had been their joy. This girl's words were the complete opposite. "You there." Suddenly, a voice turned toward Celestia. Celestia felt as though her heart had been seized. Megumin was looking directly at her with those crimson eyes. Straight at Celestia, who should have been hidden in the shadows. "...Do you have some business with me?" Celestia erased her expression. Inside, hostility and calculation churned, but her face remained masked as a traveler's. "No. I was just a little curious about you, standing in front of the bulletin board." Megumin tilted her head slightly. The gesture was innocent. At least in this moment, she seemed like nothing more than an ordinary girl—not a mass murderer. "Hah-hm. I see. So you've noticed my brilliant talent. It cannot be helped. I am among the foremost geniuses of the Crimson Demon Clan. Even a passing traveler can perceive my brilliance." The girl grew smug over her own self-serving interpretation. Celestia smiled thinly. (...I want to kill her) Behind that smile, a cold intent like a blade turned. But that wasn't all. (This girl... really burned our fortress...) A sense of wrongness lodged in her heart like a thorn. "Where do you come from? I don't recognize your face." "From the east. I came to this town looking for work." "Ho. Then I shall teach you something good. Explosion magic is the final ultimate secret art remaining in this world. All difficulties are resolved through Explosion." The girl's voice seeped into the stone floor like water—quiet, yet unmistakably burning with heat. "My Explosion magic consumes all of the caster's mana, but in exchange, it produces the most beautiful destruction in the world." Celestia listened in silence. "After firing, I cannot move a single finger. Even maintaining consciousness is a struggle. But that is fine. Beyond giving everything, there is a perfect instant. That light and heat—that is my proof of having lived." "Proof of having lived." Celestia rolled the words across her tongue. (Proof of having lived, is it) The courtyard garden surfaced in her mind. Brownies laughing as they held freshly harvested vegetables. An old woman's voice singing as she watched the sunset. Mosglins, trembling but huddling together to sleep. Their proof had not been in explosions, but in quiet, everyday life. And this girl had— "...Do you fire it every day?" "That is correct. It is my daily routine. Explosion magic is art. Just as an artist takes up the brush every day, I have a duty to bring ultimate art into this world every day." Megumin puffed out her chest. Her pride was utterly unclouded. Celestia once again confirmed in her heart the fact that this girl had burned her homeland. Kazuma's group's attack had annihilated Fortress Verza. The brownies, the mosglins, the hydrals—all dead. The old woman who had taught her songs. The children who had laughed in the garden. This girl must know that scene. Must know what she had done. But in those eyes, there was not a trace of regret. "Do you know what your magic has destroyed?" Her voice was low. Megumin blinked her crimson eyes, as if weighing the meaning of the question. "Destroy? No, you misunderstand. I am making the world more beautiful. Explosion magic is not destruction. It is creation. That light shines brighter than the midday sun. That blast's roar stirs the heart more than any instrument." "—Even if lives have returned to the earth because of your art?" Megumin fell silent for a few seconds. Then, without a trace of hesitation, she spoke. "In battle, death is unavoidable. Even if I had not done it, sooner or later, someone else would have. Is that not what the Demon King's army is?" Something in the depths of Celestia's chest froze with an audible crack. (Is that what it is, she says) Is that what it is. With those few words, everything was dismissed. The warmth of that garden. The sunset songs. The trembling backs of the mosglins. The clear eyes of the hydrals. All of it—just soldiers' deaths. Just one more target among many. Celestia turned her back to Megumin. "Where are you going?" "To look for work." She said nothing more. If she breathed the same air as this girl any longer, her false face would peel away. Right now, she felt she might strangle that slender neck with her own hands. Celestia descended to the first floor and passed in front of the reception desk. The guild receptionist was occupied organizing documents behind the counter. Her gaze was completely fixed on her work. Celestia stopped and glanced at the stack of papers placed at the edge of the counter. Quest acceptance records. Her fingertips silently turned the edge of the documents. Rows of numbers. Dates. Request details. Accepted by. With each page, Celestia's eyes searched for a single name. —Kazuma. She found it. A record from one month ago. "Subjugation of the Demon King's Army Southwestern Front Base and Pacification of the Surrounding Territory" The reward amount. A figure processed as a mid-rank request. Celestia traced her eyes over the line written there. "Multiple monsters confirmed eliminated. Mission complete." "Mission... complete." She didn't voice it. Only her lips formed the words. Mission complete. The screams of the brownies, the prayers of the mosglins, the blood shed by the hydrals—all reduced to four characters. Her fingertips crushed the charcoal pencil she was holding. A small crack. Black powder fell to the floor. Celestia quietly left the spot. The receptionist finally looked up. "...Hm? Was someone there?" The counter stood empty. Only the black powder scattered on the floor faintly remained. As evening fell, Celestia took a room at the inn "Moonlit Lamp Pavilion." 500 eris per night. An old inn located slightly away from the town center. Her room was at the far end of the second floor. From the window, she could see the shadow of the hills spreading across the eastern edge of town. Celestia entered the room and closed the door. Facing the wall, she took charcoal from her belongings. This was different from last night's underground. This was an inn room. The manager should be on the first floor. Careful not to make noise, she carved characters into the wall. —Kazuma. Aqua. Megumin. Darkness. —Megumin. Uses Explosion magic alone every day. —After

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Episode 2

Name: The Day I, a Demon King's General, Received a Blessing
Author: Novelia

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