We're heading to the farmland. Just that alone had Kazuma's mood sinking since morning. He cursed himself for declaring "we leave tomorrow" yesterday, threw on his jacket, and headed for the door. The seal mark found in the cabbage. That bizarre scene where the ceiling swelled up the moment Aqua purified it. The same thing was happening south of Axel, on a farmland scale. A three-million-eris request. There was no reason to leave it alone. He understood. He really did understand. "[serious]This is such a pain……" He muttered it in the empty hallway where no one could hear. When he stepped outside, all three were already waiting. Aqua swayed her light-blue twin tails while stretching her arms as if breathing in the morning air. Megumin wore her pointed hat, her red eyes blinking toward him. Darkness stood straight, her blonde hair flowing gently. All three of them looked fully prepared for some reason. "[excited]You're late! The goddess was ready ages ago!" "[sarcastic]I saw you crawling out of the kotatsu just a minute ago" "[angry]You didn't! You couldn't have!" Megumin said something quietly under her breath. "[serious]I saw you" Aqua shrieked "Megumin!" and the three of them were about to start bickering again. Kazuma sighed and simply said, "Let's go." --- The road heading south from Axel was still cool in the morning. After the stone pavement ended, it became a dirt path, and farmland spread out on both sides. Wheat leaves swayed in the wind, and a crow cawed in the distance. As they walked, Megumin spoke up. "[serious]I've been thinking about this since yesterday……about that seal mark" "[serious]The one that was inside the cabbage?" "[serious]Yes. It's an amplification-type curse spell" Kazuma was a bit surprised. It was rare for Megumin to have a serious expression about anything other than explosion magic. "[serious]What's an amplification-type curse?" "[serious]A spell formula sealed into an object that absorbs magical power from its surroundings and amplifies it. There are similar descriptions in the Crimson Demon clan's ancient texts. When I was young, my teacher told me: never use magic like this" Megumin's red eyes were fixed straight ahead. The red ribbon around her neck swayed in the wind. "[surprised]So you actually know stuff besides explosion magic" He said it honestly. Megumin stopped dead. For just a moment, her cheeks flushed a faint red. Kazuma saw it clearly. "[excited]……Of course! I am a chosen mage among the Crimson Demon clan! My knowledge is first-rate! Not just explosion magic, but in the theory of all sorcery——" As she said this, her cloak fluttered with a whoosh as she struck a chuunibyou pose. Kazuma smiled wryly. That was so like Megumin—unable to take a compliment straight. "[excited]I have knowledge too! As a cleric, I know the theory of purification better than anyone!" Aqua butted in. Even though no one had asked her. "[serious]I also have knowledge of swordsmanship, various schools of combat——" Darkness followed suit. But Kazuma and Megumin kept walking without picking up that thread. Darkness's voice gradually grew quieter, mixing with the sound of the wind until it faded away. Aqua looked around. "Hey, are you listening?" she asked. "[sarcastic]Not listening" Aqua shrieked "That's terrible!" and things got noisy again. --- About five kilometers south of Axel, they found the farmland. The moment they stepped through the entrance, all four of them fell silent. The tomatoes were the size of a human head. The carrots had grown to the length of an adult's arm. The cabbage was……the size of a small shed. Its blue-green leaves spread out in a mass, like a small mountain. "[serious]……That's huge" "[serious]……That is indeed huge" "[serious]It is huge, I admit. But explosion magic can solve all of this" "[serious]You stay quiet for a bit" Then an old man came jogging toward them from deeper in the farmland. His back was slightly bent, and he had a towel wrapped around his head. Deep wrinkles were etched across his face, and even before he opened his mouth, an aura of "I'm in trouble" radiated from his entire body. "Adventurers! You came!" "[serious]We're here to investigate the request. We heard something happened three days ago" "[serious]That's right, that's right. Three nights ago. Purple rain fell from the sky" Kazuma's expression hardened. Purple. The same color as the light from the cabbage he'd seen in the kitchen that night. "[serious]At first I thought it was lucky……but by the next morning, it had become like this. And the day after, the vegetables started moving……" Megumin stepped up beside Kazuma and spoke in a low voice. "[serious]Purple rain……a method of spreading amplification curses over a wide area. If magical power seeped out from the crystal and mixed with the rain, that would explain it" "[serious]That means……you'd need a pretty massive amount of preparation, right?" Megumin paused for just a moment. "[serious]……This isn't something one or two people could do" She nodded solemnly. Her red eyes looked straight at Kazuma. Kazuma turned his gaze back to the farmland. When the wind blew, the giant vegetables swayed with a rustle. --- "[serious]Then I shall conduct the investigation!" Darkness stepped forward. Her blonde hair flowed in the wind as she walked boldly into the field with confident strides. Immediately after. BOOM!! The ground shook. A giant pumpkin half-emerged from the soil, then rolled—thump, thump—straight toward Darkness. It was huge. Bigger than a human torso. Not moving at incredible speed, but the weight was different. Darkness didn't dodge. Or rather——she had no intention of dodging. CRASH!!! She took the full impact and flew several meters back. She hit the fence, it creaked, and she stopped. "[serious]Th……this weight and impact……!" Her face was flushed. Her eyes were glazed over. "[serious]……Not bad……!" "[angry]Stop enjoying this!!" He called her out immediately. Megumin spread both her hands wide. Her red eyes were glowing. Her magical aura began to shimmer faintly. "[excited]Leave it to me! I'll wipe them all out with explosion magic——!" Kazuma grabbed Megumin by the scruff of her neck. "[angry]Don't you dare!! You'll blow up the whole field and the old man too!!" "[serious]……I can adjust the range" "[angry]Your explosion magic doesn't have range adjustment!!" Megumin's eyes shifted slightly away. "[serious]……I need more practice" "[sarcastic]So you know it yourself!!" Meanwhile, the tomatoes and carrots started moving too, and the entire field began to rustle. The old man let out a shriek. "[excited]Come on, you two! Just leave it to me and everything will be fine!" Aqua stepped forward. Her light-blue twin tails swayed gently. Her clear blue eyes surveyed the entire field, and she raised both hands smoothly. Purification magic——an advanced holy spell that Arc Priests could use, with the power to cleanse things corrupted by evil magical power. Aqua's specialty, effective against most evils whether undead or curses. Light spread out. Soft white light rained down across the entire field. --- The vegetables that had been moving stopped. All at once. The tomatoes, the carrots, the rolling pumpkin. They froze and didn't move again. The next moment, light began leaking from the ground. A faint purple glow rose up from various places. The soil cracked. Thump, thump—the ground bulged up——and about five fist-sized crystals emerged. Everyone fell silent. Kazuma crouched down and picked one up. It was heavy. Cold. Purple light ran across its surface. And——there was a seal mark carved into the surface. He recognized it. The same design as the magic circle that had been on the cut surface of the cabbage. That wasn't all. The crest carved in its center——the mark of the Demon King's army. Kazuma had seen it several times at the Adventurer's Guild. "[surprised]……This" All four exchanged glances. Megumin spoke in a low voice. "[serious]It's definitely an amplification curse. This crystal was the source of the purple rain. Someone intentionally buried it here" "[serious]So the Demon King's army remnants were preparing something near Axel……" His own voice came out lower than he expected. Aqua, unusually serious, said: "[serious]This crystal is packed with evil magical power. You shouldn't touch it too much" Kazuma wrapped the crystal in cloth. He carefully collected all five of them. No one said anything. The wind blew, and the giant vegetables swayed quietly. The old man stood nearby, looking flustered. "[serious]We're taking these to Wiz's shop. She should be able to analyze magical tools there" Wiz's magical tool shop——at the edge of the shopping district in Axel, where Wiz, a former Demon King's army executive, ran the store. Her sense for inventory was hopeless, but her knowledge of magical tools was genuine. All three nodded silently. --- The way back was just retracing their steps. The sun was quite high now, and the grass beside the road had shaken off the morning dew. Kazuma walked silently, the cloth-wrapped crystals in his bag. After a while, Megumin fell into step beside him. Her red eyes glanced over at him. "[serious]Kazuma. My knowledge was useful, wasn't it?" Her voice sounded proud. Kazuma paused before answering. "[serious]Yeah. Honestly, it helped. I'm glad you know stuff besides explosion magic" Megumin——stopped. Just for a moment. Her cheeks flushed a soft red. Even the tips of her ears were slightly pink. The red ribbon around her neck trembled. "[excited]Of course! My knowledge is the pinnacle of the Crimson Demon clan——no, even looking across the entire continent——" She started spouting bravado. Right then. Darkness wedged herself between them. She slipped into the gap with one body's width. Her blonde hair fluttered. Her pale blue eyes looked straight at Kazuma and Megumin in turn. "[serious]You two, haven't you been standing awfully close? What are you doing, getting all lovey-dovey?" "[angry]We are doing no such thing!!" Megumin's face turned completely red. She quickly put distance between herself and Darkness, hiding half her face with her cloak. Kazuma let out a deep sigh. "[sarcastic]You really don't read the room……" "[excited]You two are such good friends!" Aqua said something completely off-base with a smile. "[cold]Shut up" "[angry]Why am I getting yelled at!?" After that, Megumin kept her face hidden behind her cloak and walked in silence. When spoken to, she only replied with "……Yes" or "……I understand." Kazuma didn't say anything more. The city walls of Axel came into view beyond the road. They'd arrive before evening. The crystal in his bag felt slightly heavy through the cloth. The enemy's form was still invisible. But they were definitely there. This crystal was proof of it. They'd take it to Wiz's shop and have it analyzed. The crystal's true nature, and the purpose of whoever buried it. Until they knew that, they couldn't let their guard down. Kazuma looked up at the sky. It was blue. The wind was blowing. The usual, peaceful sky of Axel. Which was exactly why it felt a little frightening.