"Yunyun, that strike of yours was great. My whole body still feels comfy and tingly—hehe, hehe."
"I'm sorry, Darkness, really—I forgot the lightning would travel into you…"
"It's fine. I'm totally fine."
"Really?"
"Really. Look."
On the way back, Darkness stopped, spread her arms, and stood in front of Yunyun to show herself. Aside from a little dust, she was truly unscathed—and she even had a pleased smile on her face. She'd actually enjoyed getting zapped by Yunyun's lightning.
She can tank Explosion; an intermediate spell like that is nothing—aside from giving her a thrill, it can't really hurt her. A moment ago, with Shichen's encouragement, Yunyun found her confidence and, by accident, shocked Darkness too. Good thing Darkness was fine, or Yunyun might've shut down completely.
The One-Strike Bear is strong—a nightmare for most adventurers—but mainly for low-level ones. Darkness and the others are no low-level adventurers. With clear roles, handling a One-Strike Bear took barely any effort. Darkness is a full-on tank: let her hold aggro while the others focus fire. With Megumin's Explosion and Darkness pinning the target, you don't have to worry about cast time—you can solve almost anything.
You could even hit both at once and she'd be okay. But that'd be a bit inhumane—she's a teammate and a friend. Blasting her too would be heartless. Besides, with Shichen around, Darkness doesn't need to "sacrifice" herself. That said… she'd probably be happy to. That's just how she's wired—if she doesn't take damage, she isn't satisfied.
"As long as you're okay." Seeing Darkness unharmed, Yunyun let out a breath.
"Told you you underestimate Darkness," Shichen said, ruffling her hair. "Have some faith in yourself—and in your teammates."
"Mm… but what if Darkness gets hurt because of me…"
"Did you forget what she's like?"
"But…"
"I know you don't want to hit a teammate. That's exactly why you need to trust yourself: believe you can land it cleanly—and make sure you can. Then it won't be a problem."
"Got it. I'll work on it."
"Good."
"Hmph—coaching Yunyun again?" Megumin pouted on Shichen's other side.
"Why? Don't you want her to get stronger?" he asked with a smile.
"That's not it… I just mean, why don't you coach me?"
"Oh, jealous, huh."
"Jealous? No way!"
"I'm just speaking as a teammate."
"Then as a teammate: there's nothing for me to coach you on."
"Huh? Why?" Megumin blinked.
"Why do you think? Ask yourself." Shichen gave her a light chop on the forehead. "All your skills and spells are built around Explosion. What am I supposed to coach? Would you even take my advice?"
"Mm… what if I did…" Megumin rubbed her forehead.
"Yeah, no. I don't buy it."
"That's not necessarily true… I'd listen," she muttered.
Shichen chuckled, rubbed her head, and said gently, "Honestly, I just don't want to force you to learn magic you don't want."
"Huh?"
"Just do what you love. With me here, you don't have to push yourself. Chase your own dream."
"Shichen…" Megumin's cheeks flushed; she hadn't expected such a doting line out of nowhere.
"Still need me to coach you?" he asked.
"N-no… no need," she said, head down, shy.
"As compensation, how about I take you somewhere to cast Explosion this afternoon?"
"Mm." Frieren suddenly cut in. "Shichen, is this Explosion spell really that strong?"
"Very. It's about the strongest offensive magic humans can learn in this world."
"Looks like I can learn it. Should I?"
"Huh? Let me see."
"Here." Frieren handed over her adventurer card.
Shichen checked and, sure enough, Explosion was available—even though no one had cast it in front of her. In other words, Frieren had unlocked it by leveling up. That's her mage talent showing, even though she chose the Adventurer class.
"Learn it or not, it won't change much. Better not—it doesn't really suit you," Shichen said, shooting a glance at the suddenly anxious Megumin, and handed the card back.
"Okay." Frieren nodded, unfazed, and put the card away. Megumin visibly relaxed.
Shichen didn't call her out. It didn't take a genius to see why: Explosion is Megumin's only spell; if Frieren learned it too, Megumin's niche in the party would shrink.
And it's not just about Megumin—Explosion really doesn't fit Frieren. The charge time is too long for her style. Quick, quiet spells are more her speed. There's no shortage of those—and she could even create her own.
Back at the guild, Shichen turned the quests in to Luna and took the reward. He was about to leave when he spotted Kazuma at the bar, drinking with a blond guy—Dust, if he remembered right.
"Kazuma."
"Shichen? You're back!" Kazuma lit up.
"Yeah, just got back," Shichen said, sitting across from them. Megumin and the others stood behind him.
"What brings you all…? And who's this? An elf!" As a modern guy, Kazuma clocked Frieren instantly.
"Mm. Her name's Frieren."
"You brought her here, Shichen?" Shichen had already told Kazuma about his situation. "Yeah."
"Man, I'm so jealous of your powers."
"Believe in yourself. Get stronger and you can have anything."
"Sigh… doesn't feel likely." Kazuma shook his head, looking hopeless.
"I believe in you this much, and you don't believe me?"
"Shichen…" Kazuma looked moved.
"When are you heading back? Let's run some quests then."
"Uh? I—I still want to drink with Dust a bit…"
"All right, then… Oh—and lay off those places. You're looking a little drained," Shichen said, standing up to go.
"Uh…" Kazuma looked awkward.
"We're off." Shichen nodded to Dust and left with the girls.
Back at the villa, Frieren made a beeline for Shichen's room—but after a few steps, she came back. "Shichen—my manga, my novels, and my cola."
"Here, here," Shichen said helplessly, pulling a few manga, some novels, and two bottles of cola from the King's Treasury and handing them over.
"Yahoo~" Frieren left, arms full, thrilled.
"What are those, exactly?" Megumin asked, curious.
"You can go read with her."
"No way—what if I get hooked? I still need to go cast Explosion."
"How about you, Yunyun?"
"Can I?" Yunyun's eyes sparkled; she was curious.
"Go on," Shichen said with a smile, ruffling her hair.
"Okay." Yunyun nodded and followed—politely.
"You two do whatever. I'm going to buy some things and make lunch first."
"I'm coming with you," Megumin said.
"I can go too," Darkness added.
"No need—faster if I go alone."
"Tch."
"Go do your thing, you two." With that, Shichen vanished on the spot.
He needed not only ingredients but also materials for making clothes. Bringing the two along would only slow him down. Making clothes is easy with magic—Serie even has a clothing-craft spell. He'd learned it out of boredom, thinking he'd make outfits for everyone someday. He didn't expect "someday" to come so soon.
Shichen knew Axel like the back of his hand; shopping didn't take long. Megumin and Darkness had gone to read manga together after all. Aqua was still asleep. She could purify the alcohol, but maybe the booze was too good to waste.
Shichen planned to cook lunch first, then make clothes for everyone—let them digest while he enjoyed a little fashion show. His head was already full of designs.