With a flash of light, Darkness and Yunyun appeared just outside the village via teleportation magic.
Yunyun pulled out a bottle of mana potion from inside her cloak and took a swig.
"We made it. Is this your first time in Crimson Demon Village, Darkness?"
Darkness nodded.
She'd heard the people here were fearsome enough to terrify even the Demon King's army.
They were frequently engaged in battles against his forces, and that only piqued her interest further.
Her lips twitched into a subtle smile, eyes full of anticipation.
"If I got kidnapped during a battle with the Demon King's army… something truly awful might happen to me…"
"Hehehe…"
A confused question mark might as well have floated above Yunyun's head.
Why was Darkness suddenly so… excited?
Something about this felt deeply off.
"W-well, let's go to Megumin's house first."
"Maybe they've already returned."
———
A short while later, they stopped in front of a small wooden cottage.
The house looked even shabbier than a typical peasant's home.
Yunyun knocked politely on the front door.
Footsteps came running from inside.
Soon, the door creaked open, revealing a girl who looked strikingly like Megumin.
She was probably still in elementary school.
"Who are you?"
Yunyun winced, feeling like she'd just taken ten thousand points of emotional damage.
"Komekko! It's me, Yunyun! I was in the same class as your sister!"
The little girl squinted for a moment, then suddenly lit up.
"Dad! That weird lady you mentioned is here!!!"
Yunyun: "Please don't call me that!"
—Living Room—
Yunyun knelt stiffly on the carpet. Across from her sat Megumin's father, Hyoizaburoo, wearing a solemn expression.
At a glance, he looked like an average middle-aged man, but there was an intensity in his gaze that made him hard to ignore.
For reasons she didn't entirely understand, Darkness also ended up kneeling beside her.
Hyoizaburoo said flatly, "You're telling me… my daughter was kidnapped?"
Yunyun flailed. "No no! She wasn't kidnapped! She just… left with an adventurer, I think?"
Darkness chimed in quickly.
"Yes! We heard he might've come to the village, so we came to check."
There was a brief silence.
Then the elegant woman sitting beside him, clearly Megumin's mother, with long, lustrous black hair and a strong resemblance to her daughter—spoke gently.
"Dear, don't scare the guests."
Ms. Yuiyui smiled. "Actually, Megumin sent us a letter. We've already heard about all this."
"A letter?"
Both Yunyun and Darkness blinked in sync.
Ms. Yuiyui pulled out the letter and handed it over.
They both leaned in to read.
[I met a magician who is super skilled in Explosion Magic! He agreed to take me as his apprentice!
Even though his clothes are in rags, his magic is super strong, and he can even talk to ants!
His other apprentice can eat any monster alive!
Recently, he took me mining and then to a forest for training.
I might not have time to write for a while.
—Megumin]
"…Huh?"
Yunyun and Darkness stared at each other in horror.
The mood flipped on a dime. Two people who hadn't been remotely worried were now on the verge of panic.
Yunyun yelled, "This is kidnapping, right?! This is totally kidnapping!"
Darkness shouted back, "She's eating monsters alive?! And he talks to ants?!"
"He took her mining and dragged her into a forest?! This is human trafficking! This is what trafficking looks like!"
Like she'd been sold off to some black market mining ring…
Ms. Yuiyui just laughed lightly.
"Relax. Isn't this just a normal family letter?"
"No need to get worked up, dear."
Hyoizaburoo nodded calmly.
"Yeah. I was a bit upset when I saw the Explosion Magic thing, though."
"If he turns out to be some comedy magician, I won't let my daughter learn anything from him."
"…???"
Darkness had always known Crimson Demons had… eccentric personalities.
But this was beyond what she'd imagined.
Still, Chishiya had saved her from one of the Demon King's top generals. He couldn't be as insane as the letter made him sound…
Could he?
And anyway, wasn't he supposed to be Her Highness Iris's fiancé?
Yunyun jumped to her feet, flustered.
"W-when was this letter sent?"
Ms. Yuiyui tilted her head. "It arrived four days ago."
It's over…
Yunyun clutched her head in despair.
Four days…
Everything that could happen probably already did happen…
Megumin…
What kind of twisted journey are you on right now?!
———
—Outside Crimson Demon Village—
"I didn't think the Labyrinth would be this close to the Crimson Demon Village," Megumin said, surprised.
She'd never left the Labyrinth before.
And the first time she did, she ended up practically in her backyard.
Chishiya nodded.
After the world merge, the Labyrinth's location had shifted.
It now sat just ten kilometers south of Crimson Demon Village.
At a brisk pace, you could reach it in two hours.
Soon enough, a peaceful little village came into view.
"Megumin, your hometown actually looks kinda nice."
"It's… fine," she said with a flat tone.
She had just left, and now she was already back…
As they walked down the village road, a few Crimson Demons greeted her enthusiastically.
"Megumin, you're back!"
"We haven't seen you in months! You must be way stronger now!"
"I heard Yunyun's become a pretty famous mage!"
Several Crimson Demon girls gathered around the pair.
They looked like Megumin's childhood friends.
"Heh…"
Megumin lowered the brim of her hat coolly.
"No matter how famous Yunyun becomes, my Explosion Magic will never lose in firepower."
"Besides, I'm already level 20."
"For real?!"
The girls gasped in amazement.
"You were only gone for a few months! How'd you level up so fast?!"
"That's amazing! What's your secret?"
Megumin grinned. "Hehe. Maybe the power sealed within me has finally awakened."
"Whoa! That's so cool!"
Chishiya sighed.
Yup. The Crimson Demons were just as weird as advertised.
"I hate to interrupt…"
Chishiya cut in flatly.
"But Megumin, we do have some important stuff to take care of."
"?!!"
The girls turned toward Chishiya and went silent for a moment… then locked on to his outfit.
"Whoa! He's so cool!"
"Megumin, is this guy your companion?"
Two of the girls, Funifura and Dodonko, slipped right past Megumin and sidled up to Chishiya.
"Megumin, your taste is on point."
"He's way different from the other outsiders we've seen."
Megumin put her hands on her hips, puffed up with pride like a smug lion cub.
"Of course. I personally—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Funifura and Dodonko's eyes were starting to glow red.
Megumin knew that look all too well.
Danger.
Bad intentions.
Emergency.
She immediately grabbed Chishiya's arm.
"Sensei, let's go. We've got important work to do. No time to waste!"
(To be continued.)
***
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