A crack formed. But it didn't shatter. The sky before dawn was beginning to turn white, bit by bit. Kazuma stood with both hands pressed against the stone pavement of Axel's streets. The taste of blood filled his mouth. His stomach and back—everything hurt. The commander raised the crystal high. Purple light swelled all at once. Boom, boom, boom——. From various points across the street, the sound of buildings collapsing echoed. Residents' screams overlapped with it. The monsters were going berserk all at once again, launching their final assault. Kazuma looked around at his companions. Aqua——her eyes were completely red, nose running. Yet she kept casting purification magic toward the residents. Crying, running, doing her job properly. Megumin——lowered to the ground while being carried on Darkness's back, now lying on the stone pavement. Out of mana and unable to move. Yet her red eyes stared intently at the crack in the crystal. A single cabbage leaf still sat on top of her head. Darkness——supporting her nearly broken right arm with her left hand, still repositioning her shield. Her long golden wavy hair clung damply to her cheeks with sweat. Everyone was a mess. Kazuma couldn't help but laugh quietly. "[laughing]……You guys are really useless, huh" He muttered in a voice no one could hear. "[angry]Did you just call us useless!?" She heard it. While casting recovery magic on residents, Aqua glared at him with tears in her eyes. "[angry]I ran here crying for you!! And you don't even say thank you!!" Megumin opened her mouth from the side. "[serious]Now be qui——" Darkness quickly covered Megumin's mouth gently. "[gentle]……Let's be quiet for a moment, shall we, Megumin" Megumin resisted with a "Mm——" but couldn't resist since she couldn't move. The commander watched the exchange. Silence hung beneath the hood—something indescribable. "[cold]……You laugh. Is it madness born of resignation" "[serious]No" Kazuma stood up. His blood-covered face turned toward the commander. "[serious]I was thinking of one last move" At that moment. Megumin, lowered to the ground beside Darkness, raised her voice from the stone pavement. "[serious]Kazuma!! Look past the crack! There's one point in the magical membrane protecting the core—a thin spot!!" Her red eyes gleamed. The Crimson Demon——a subspecies of human with red eyes and high magical power——was using all the knowledge from ancient texts while unable to move. "[serious]Hit that spot with Steal! You can pull out the core!!" Steal——Kazuma's basic skill that randomly steals the possessions of a target. Success rate depends on luck stat. And Kazuma's luck stat was, for some reason, abnormally high. Kazuma searched past the crack with his eyes. ——He saw it. The thin spot. One point where the color of light was different. He took a step forward. The commander immediately blocked the crystal with his body. Standing between Kazuma and it. Just one more step out of range. He stepped again. Blocked again. The third time was the same. The commander positioned himself directly in front of Kazuma each time he approached. No gaps. Megumin shouted from the ground in frustration. "[angry]If I had the mana for explosion magic……" She had no strength. Couldn't move. Yet she kept giving instructions with only her voice. "[serious]Kazuma, a little more from the left——" "[serious]I know. But he's blocking" "……Then" Her voice was quiet. Darkness stepped forward. Still repositioning her shield with her nearly broken right arm. "[serious]My role is here" "[serious]Wait, your arm is——" "[serious]I'm prepared to take this impact with my entire body!!" Darkness charged at the commander with all her strength. Provoke skill at full power. A head-on special attack using all the front-line techniques of the Crusader——Holy Knight class. The commander looked at Darkness. Anger came first. His attention turned completely toward her. ——Kazuma didn't miss that moment. "[serious]Steal——!!" Right after. CRASH!! Darkness spectacularly fell flat on her face. The commander had stepped back before his anger could fully manifest, so the body check completely whiffed. Darkness slid across the stone pavement with a scraping sound. The momentum carried her into the commander's feet, and he lost his balance, stepping back slightly. That one step——created the opening. Something flew into Kazuma's hand as if being sucked in. A fist-sized core, pulsing with purple light. "[surprised]——Huh?" For the first time, his voice truly wavered. The crystal without its core made a cracking sound. The next instant——. BOOOOOM!!! White light exploded. The purple crystals scattered throughout the street all began a chain collapse. One, then another, then another——Crack, snap, snap-snap-snap!! The sound of crystals shattering echoed from every direction—residential areas, shopping streets, main roads. The monsters lost control all at once. Monsters spinning in circles without orders. Monsters hitting their heads on walls. Monsters suddenly stopping and crouching. And——one by one, they fled the city with frightened cries. After a while, silence returned. The eastern sky began to turn orange. Footsteps echoed from the direction of the Adventurer's Guild. Many heavy footsteps. Luna, the receptionist of the Axel branch, ran out with a pale face, leading a group of adventurers. Her brown hair fluttered in the morning breeze. "[serious]By the authority of the Guild——we're taking the commander into custody!!" Adventurers surrounded him from all sides. The commander tried to escape but stopped, surrounded by more than thirty people. One person couldn't break through such a large encirclement. Luna held up her Guild Card——an ID and proof of being an adventurer——and formally declared the arrest. Cheers erupted from residents in various places. Kazuma looked up at the sky. The morning sun was beginning to illuminate Axel's streets. Then he collapsed to the ground, his strength finally giving out. Thud. Beside him, Megumin, lowered by Darkness, lay on the stone pavement. The two of them lay side by side on the stones, looking up at the sky. On the rubble, their hands touched. Neither said anything. Megumin exhaled softly. Kazuma remained still, looking up at the sky. "[excited]Hey Kazuma!! This was thanks to me, right!?" Aqua got up, dripping with snot. "[excited]I made the crack with my tears, so that's why we won, right!? Say it!!" "[serious]Without my analysis, we wouldn't have known where the core was" A voice came from the ground. Unable to move, Megumin countered. "[serious]Therefore, the greatest credit belongs to me. This is an indisputable fact" "[serious]No……without my decoy, Kazuma wouldn't have been able to reach it" Darkness looked up at the sky with an enraptured expression. "[serious]That impact from the fall……when I took it with my entire body against the stone pavement, I felt like I understood something precious……" The three of them, lying on the ground, began arguing over who deserved the credit. Kazuma remained on his back, saying nothing. --- They returned to the Guild after the sun had fully risen. Luna spread documents across her desk with a tired face. Estimates lined the reception counter of the Axel branch. "[serious]Let's see……the cost of repairing the city walls, the main street's stone pavement, the building damage in the shopping district……" With each page Luna turned, the numbers increased. "[serious]In total, it comes to approximately two million nine hundred thousand Eris" "[surprised]……Wait a minute" "[serious]And——Megumin, we just received a bill for the incident where you blew up a residential wall with explosion magic previously" Luna quietly produced another paper. The three hundred thousand Eris reward barely left any remainder. Kazuma sat down on the Guild floor. He sighed deeply, very deeply. "[sarcastic]……We saved the city and ended up broke" Surprisingly, she said something sensible. Kazuma turned to her, a bit surprised. "[sarcastic]Well, it can't be helped. We saved the city, after all" "[laughing]I think that's the first time I've heard you say something sensible" Aqua had already picked up an ale mug from the counter. She took a sip. "[excited]Huh? That's not true at all! I'm always sensible!?" It was ruined. At that moment. The restrained commander slowly raised his head in his chair. His eyes, consciousness fading, looked at Kazuma. His mouth moved. His voice was hoarse. "[whispers]……I'm just one of many underlings. If that person moves……this city won't be the only thing……the entire kingdom will……" Then his head dropped and he lost consciousness. The Guild fell silent. Kazuma's face tightened slightly. Aqua stopped, ale mug in hand. Megumin, sitting on the ground, stared at the commander. Darkness stood quietly. For a while, no one said anything. --- By evening, the four of them had returned to Kazuma's mansion. Kazuma's mansion——about a fifteen-minute walk from the Guild, a somewhat large estate. Today, one of the trees in the yard had fallen. Residual blast damage. All four sat at the dining table. Four exhausted faces lined up. No one spoke. Aqua sat frozen, holding a cup of water. Megumin rested her elbows on the table, staring blankly. Darkness sat quietly with her eyes closed. Kazuma tore off a piece of bread and put it in his mouth. He couldn't taste it well. Then there was a sound from the entrance. An envelope. A letter pushed through the window slot. Megumin's name was written on it. The sender——"Crimson Demon Village." Megumin opened it and began reading. Her red eyes slowly traced the characters. Her expression changed. Not the usual exaggerated chuunibyou-like expression, but simply quiet and serious. The red ribbon around her neck swayed slightly in the evening breeze. After finishing, Megumin quietly folded the letter. For a while, she said nothing. "[gentle]What was written?" Aqua tried to peek. Megumin pulled the letter to her chest. "[serious]……I have something to think about" She stood up. Kazuma watched her back as she left. He remembered something Megumin had said before. That her teacher had told her never to use magic like that. The tone of her voice then overlapped with Megumin's face now. He didn't know what was written in the letter. He didn't know what was happening in the Crimson Demon Village. Kazuma looked out the window with his exhausted body. The sunset fell on the city. Today had been chaotic. The reward was nearly gone. His body ached everywhere. He was nearly broke again. But——the city was saved. All his companions were alive. ……Well, it wasn't so bad. Kazuma sighed quietly and took another bite of the remaining bread.