"Yunyun, you've worked hard for four days and learned advanced magic, so let's rest tomorrow."
"Yes! Understood."
Then Megumin, who was eating, looked at Yunyun and said.
"Oho~ So you can finally use advanced magic? Now you're starting to look like a proper Crimson Demon mage."
"Hmph! Hmph! Huh! I am a proper Arch Wizard now too, Megumin!"
''In that spin-off 'An Explosion on This Wonderful World!', did Yunyun learn intermediate magic first to protect Komekko, Megumin's sister, from Wolbach's underlings? I don't remember well.'
Honestly, 'An Explosion on This Wonderful World!' wasn't very interesting, so I only watched it once and my memory is fuzzy. I don't really remember much besides Nerimaki, Megumin's classmate, being cute and Jester and Cecily, Axis Cult priests, not being right in the head. Well, the Axis Cult itself isn't right in the head. Their goddess is like that, so...
"Alright! To celebrate Yunyun's achievement of advanced magic today, let's have a drink! My treat!"
"Oh! Sounds good!"
"Then let's get premium Chuwachuwa right away..."
Whack!
I immediately gave Aqua a flick on the forehead.
"Ouch! That hurts, Cassian!"
"I'm treating, but order something reasonable."
"Tch! Don't be so stingy when you earn money well! Come on~ Quickly give me premium Chuwachuwa~"
Whack!
This time, Kazuma hit her.
"Have you no conscience? Cassian has helped us so much. He even paid off the debt you incurred last time!"
"Wah~ Hit me again! Why do all the people around me turn violent!?"
Aqua started crying. Seeing that, Kazuma and I sighed simultaneously.
"Alright, alright, Yunyun and Megumin are still young, so they'll have drinks, and I'll buy plenty of regular, not premium, Chuwachuwa for Kazuma and Aqua, so eat and drink a lot."
Aqua's expression brightened as if she had never cried and she began ordering food and Chuwachuwa like crazy, and we laughed and celebrated Yunyun's acquisition of advanced magic.
"Anyway, congratulations! Yunyun."
"Should we call you Great Mage Yunyun now?"
Yunyun, perhaps moved, covered her face with both hands and started crying.
"Sob~~ This is the first time I've received such congratulations~~"
Seeing Yunyun so moved made me think I should take better care of her if there are occasions like this. We ate the food that came out, drank, and talked happily.
Megumin seemed to have something to say to Yunyun, kept looking at her, and finally brought it up with difficulty.
"...Yunyun, thank you for that time."
"Huh? What time?"
"That... when Komekko was attacked in the Crimson Demon village."
"Ah! No, I've learned advanced magic now, and if I hadn't been unable to graduate from school then, it would have been hard to meet such good people like this."
"Yunyun..."
Because of Wolbach's underlings, Yunyun had no choice but to use her saved-up points to learn intermediate magic. It seems Megumin always kept it in her heart, even if she didn't show it. When Megumin looked at Yunyun with a moved expression, Kazuma, who was watching, poked Megumin's side and teased her.
"What's this? Is it Megumin's turn to cry now?"
"Ahem... The greatest mage of the Crimson Demons does not cry!"
Seeing Megumin turn her head as if to hide her face, everyone laughed heartily. That evening, we drank happily until late at night like that.
The next morning when I woke up, we had all drunk a lot and were tired, so we slept without even changing clothes. Looking at the bed, Aqua's skirt was flipped up to her stomach, and Aqua was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.
'This girl really isn't wearing panties... Why didn't I notice until now?'
I was very flustered, but since that area was too exposed, I subtly covered her with the blanket. Fortunately, Kazuma was also sleeping. Part of it is that I didn't pay much attention, but even though Aqua wears such a short skirt, it strangely never shows, and when sleeping, she always wears pajama pants, so there was never a chance to see.
'Is there some magic that makes it hard to see?'
Putting the question aside, I had a lot of work today too, so I washed up simply at the well behind the lodging and moved to the guild.
"Good morning, Luna. It's a good morning."
"Good morning, Cassian. You're out early?"
"Yes, I have a place to visit briefly. Of course, I'll be back by lunchtime."
"Where are you going?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you, Luna. Where is the temple with the strictest discipline around here?"
"Huh? Why a temple all of a sudden..."
When I suddenly asked for a temple, Luna seemed surprised.
"Ah, it's not that I'm going to the temple, but there's someone I need to find near there."
"A temple with strict discipline... Just a moment."
Luna showed me several pamphlets.
'This is it!'
I picked up the pamphlet with the same drawing of a monk as in the anime.
"That place is a bit far; you probably won't be able to get there on foot in one day."
"I'm a bit fast. I'll be back without being late for lunch."
"Then the location is..."
After receiving directions from Luna, I reduced my weight and moved along the road toward the temple at high speed. I caught one wolf on the way, stored the corpse in my inventory, and set off again. After running like that for an hour, I saw a green-haired, short-haired beauty with red-stained bandages wrapped around her arms and legs, sitting on a large tree stump. The girl, as if she had spotted me, looked at me with pitiful eyes and waved her hand with difficulty.
'Found her!'
This girl's true identity is a plant-type monster called a 'Comfort Girl.' When people come, she pretends to be as pitiful as possible and engages in conversation to make the person stay. If you say you're hungry, she plucks a fruit from her body. It tastes good but has almost no nutritional value and blocks nerves that sense pain or hunger, slowly weakening and killing you. She then puts down roots into the weakened corpse and absorbs nutrients. It's a man-eating plant. For its appearance, it gives considerable experience, and Kazuma even tried to raise one to level up.
The important thing here is not the Comfort Girl, but the belongings of the adventurer the Comfort Girl is eating.
"It's true she looks pitiful and miserable, but not to that extent. Is it because of [Strong Mind]?"
As I drew Enma and approached the Comfort Girl, she shed tears and pretended to be pitiful.
"Are you going to kill me...? I was happy because it was the first time I could talk with a human since I was born. But since I'm a monster, I'll just be a nuisance if I'm alive..."
"I know everything. Stop acting."
"If I am reborn... I wish I wasn't a monster next time..."
"Alright! If that's what you wish."
I brought the gleaming Enma close to the Comfort Girl's neck. Only then did the Comfort Girl flinch, and her expression began to rot.
"Damn! Picked the wrong one... Please spare me!"
"I won't kill you if you do as I say. First, you have a corpse you're eating right now, right?"
"Yes..."
"Bring it out!"
The ground shook a little, and from beside the Comfort Girl, an adventurer's corpse rose up along with roots. When Kazuma came, it was mostly just bones, but now it looked like it hadn't been dead long.
'Good. The timing is right.'
When I opened the corpse's belongings, I found a one-handed hammer made of wood.
'This is it!'
"Appraise!"
[(S) Gold-den-den] Shaking it produces gold coins. (If the user is not the owner, consumes luck.)
"Ah! Damn... I can't use it now."
Even for lucky Kazuma, knowing this item's penalty would have made it difficult to use. It seems Chris stealing it actually saved Kazuma. I also figured I should seal it until I draw a [Penalty Removal Coupon], so I just put it in my inventory.
"Um... can I keep eating this corpse?"
Then the Comfort Girl cautiously spoke up.
"Sure, and eat this too."
I took out the wolf corpse I had caught earlier from my inventory and threw it onto the Comfort Girl's roots.
"Thank you. You're a kind person."
Still, if a [Penalty Removal Coupon] comes out, I can use it, so I decided to think positively. And the reason I didn't kill the Comfort Girl is because of the original story. Kazuma gets psychological trauma because of Sylvia, a Demon King general, and the Comfort Girl is necessary to treat it. That's why I told her not to die and even brought the wolf corpse.
Leaving the Comfort Girl behind, I returned to Axel Town. As soon as I returned, I saw Chris standing at the village entrance, glaring at me.
"Hey! Chris, who's decided to live righteously, good to see you."
"You! Really! Ugh... never mind."
Chris pressed her head as if she had a headache, and her appearance, struggling to suppress her anger, was amusing.
"Anyway, you got a divine relic, right? That's a dangerous item, so hand it over now!"
"Why should I?"
"Why!? Because it's dangerous! If you use it wrong, you'll be in danger too!"
"No. And whether it's dangerous or not is for me to decide."
Chris, perhaps feeling I wouldn't listen anymore, with an angry expression, poured out words in rapid succession without even breathing.
"You~! You're suspicious! The Bust Enhancing Pills, knowing where the divine relic is, you clearly seemed to have gotten the divine relic, but now it's disappeared as if it never existed in this world, that's weird too!"
I responded in kind.
"You're suspicious too! How do you know I got a divine relic, and how do you know that divine relic is dangerous, and why are you collecting divine relics anyway?"
"That is..."
"Everyone has one or two things they hide. Do you know what you call someone who tries to force that out?"
"..."
"A! Stalker!"
"Grr~! You! You!"
Chris pointed a finger at me with an explosive expression, unable to continue. Ah~ That was too perfect. Could this really be an addiction?
"You! Just you wait!!"
Chris left angrily somewhere.