"Explosion–!!"
Accompanying this body-shaking roar was a gale that ravaged the surrounding area.
And thus a new crater was born on the plains a short distance away from Axel.
The construction workers were going to be busy again.
Megumin who'd collapsed onto the ground turned her head to me and asked:
"How many points was that?"
I– Who've recently been given the title of 'Explosion Connoisseur' by Megumin– Won't give a high rating very easily.
"– Hmm. Based on the destructiveness alone, I'd give it 90 points. But I noticed that the intensity of the heat wave wasn't as strong as it usually is. You were trying to control it to accommodate for the summer heat, weren't you?"
When Megumin heard my question, a bright smile flashed across her face.
"Exactly. I thought to myself, 'Is only focusing on raw destructive power really good enough?'. So I decided that for today's Explosion spell, I'd try making a cool breeze. What'd you think of the wind that blew away all that hot and stuffy air? I think it'll be a good addition to Axel's natural scenery."
I might not have understood half of what she just said, but I still got the gist of it.
"For your consideration of the audience and for the beautiful roundness of that crater, I'll give you 97 points today!"
"Thank you very much! I'll keep on doing my best!"
After we finished our stupid conversation, I picked Megumin up off the ground. I was already used to carrying her light body which still hadn't developed the slightest bit.
"Sorry for always bothering you like this."
"If you're really sorry, then raise your level already. Boost your max MP high enough so you don't collapse anymore, okay?"
I complained to Megumin as we walked back to Axel.
"This'll probably keep happening no matter how many times I level up; you know? I mean, I put all the skill points I get from leveling up into increasing the power of my Explosion magic."
"What?! I was wondering why even after all this time your max MP hadn't caught up with your MP costs… So you were doing that all along? And here I was thinking that we wouldn't have to carry you home like this once you got your level high enough. Give me back those hopes!"
"What's so bad about it? Isn't the occasional skinship between companions a necessity?"
"Hey, you of all people have absolutely no right to say that."
I considered whether I should step things up from mere 'skinship' with Megumin, who seemed completely remorseless.
"The me from back when I lived in the Crimson Demon village probably would've never believed I'd end up cherishing my companions so much."
"Yeah, well, I'm not really feeling that cherishment right now…"
Megumin chuckled at my immediate rebuttal.
"So what were you like back then? Actually, more importantly, what possessed you to be crazy enough to learn Explosion?"
"How rude of you to call me insane. As for what I was like, well…"
Megumin went silent for a while. Was she thinking about her past?
"I used to never interact with anyone. Since I was a genius, I thought I'd be fine even if I was alone."
"Oh, so you were already a chuuni back then? Er, I mean, you were a nutcase even as a kid?"
Hearing my comment, Megumin started putting some strength into the arms she had wrapped around my neck.
"Okay, okay, my bad! Let me try again! Basically, you were just an unwanted– Ow, ow, ow! Hey, go easy on me! Your level and strength are both higher than mine!"
Megumin, who seemed amazed at my reaction, bemusedly sighed to herself on my back.
"Well, it's your fault for saying something so uncalled for… Anyway, you wanted to hear the story of how I learned Explosion magic, right?"
"Yeah, right! You can't learn Explosion unless someone else teaches you first, right? So, I was wondering what kind of troublesome person your teacher was."
"Calling the benefactor I looked up to so much a troublesome person is very rude. Ah, that's right…"
A nostalgic expression appeared on Megumin's face as she thought of the past.
"– I'll tell you after I show certain person my Explosion magic."
She said with a happy smile.