I finally managed to defeat this perverted crusader after a five-minute struggle. Even with both her hands cuffed and unable to use any skills, she still put up a good fight relying solely on her physical strength. As expected of a crusader.
"Megumin, I can walk on my own, so stop pulling me."
I dragged Darkness forcefully to meet Aqua. Although she couldn't keep her mouth shut, after I finally defeated her, she didn't resist me at all.
"Enough with the talking! Just hurry up and follow me to see Aqua."
"W-wait, Megumin… don't be too rough with Darkness."
Kazuma, who had been watching us from the sidelines the whole time, suddenly grabbed my hand. So, he finally decided to step in after watching the two of us fight.
"Huh? Kazuma, if you have a problem with me, just say so."
"No, I mean… Just look at Darkness—she looks really happy."
I turned my gaze toward Darkness. Her expression made it painfully clear that she was thoroughly enjoying the situation. Her whole face was flushed, her breathing was ragged, and occasionally, drool dripped onto the ground.
"M-Megumin, what's with that look! Why are you staring at me like I'm not even human anymore??"
I couldn't say anything and could only look at Darkness with a pitiful expression. I'd forgotten to hold back—I'd practically ended up helping her indulge in her own fetish.
In the end, I stopped treating Darkness roughly and brought her to meet Aqua in a normal manner. The blacksmith room Kazuma was using was separate from the main building, so it took us some time to get back. But when we arrived at the front of the main building of Twilight Manor, we saw Aqua looking like she was about to head out.
"Aqua, where are you going?"
"I'm going to the gods and goddesses' party."
"What? Aqua, that's so unfair! Why didn't you invite us?"
I hadn't heard anything about this. I didn't even know there was a gods and goddesses' party today. And to make it worse, Aqua didn't invite us.
"Of course not! This is a party for gods and goddesses—I can't just bring you along."
"But, Aqua, will you be okay going there alone?"
With a slightly worried expression, Darkness asked Aqua. I couldn't help but feel concerned, too. For some reason, letting Aqua go out alone just felt like a bad idea.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine going by myself. By the way, What kind of games are you guys playing at the moment?"
Aqua turned her gaze to Darkness's hands, noticing they were locked in handcuffs.
"In what way does this look like we're playing?" I replied to Aqua, my tone slightly raised. She'd just reassured us not to worry about her, yet here she was making me worry all over again. Does she really think Darkness wearing handcuffs looks like some kind of game? I have no idea what goes on in Aqua's head.
"Look, Darkness is wearing handcuffs. Isn't that something she likes?" Aqua pointed at the cuffs on Darkness's hands, stating a fact I couldn't deny.
"Well yes, it might be a game for Darkness, but hold on—that's not the point! There's something more important right now!"
"What's with you, Megumin? Why is your tension so high today?" Aqua stepped back, looking a bit shocked. I must have answered her in such a sharp tone that I looked like I was angry. What's going on with me today? Why do I feel so moody and just want to snap at everyone?
No, I can't let this happen. As an archwizard of the Crimson Demon Clan, I must maintain my composure no matter the situation.
I shook my head from side to side to calm myself down. Once I felt composed enough, I finally said what I wanted to tell Aqua.
"Please help take these handcuffs off Darkness. Kazuma said only you could remove them."
"Fufufu, honestly, you guys… Without me, it seems like you'd only get yourselves into trouble."
"Sacred Break Spell!"
With a slightly smug tone, Aqua easily removed the handcuffs from Darkness's wrists using her magic.
"NOOOO! My sacred divine artifact!!!"
Now free from the cuffs, Darkness could only kneel and mourn the loss of her beloved handcuffs. Seeing her shed tears just because they were removed made me feel a little guilty. Maybe I'd gone a bit overboard with Darkness.
"Listen up, take good care of this place while I'm gone, because I'll be back a bit late."
Even with Darkness crying right in front of her, it seemed Aqua didn't even notice. She just said her parting words before heading out of the manor.
....
Time passed so quickly, and now it was evening, with the sun about to set.
The three of us spent our time playing games together in the hall. It wasn't a bad experience. We all enjoyed our game so much that we lost track of time.
But I still couldn't shake the suspicion that something was going on between Kazuma and Darkness. Maybe it was just my bad feeling, but I couldn't relax until I confirmed what was really going on between them.
If there is something between them, and I don't know about it, then it's likely happened when I wasn't around. Besides, Aqua didn't seem to notice anything between Kazuma and Darkness.
"Kazuma, let's go practice Explosion magic now."
"What's up, Megumin? It's unusual for you to ask for an Explosion magic session in the evening like this. Don't you usually ask for it at night?"
Since I came to this world, I've often asked Kazuma to accompany me for Explosion magic practice at night. The reason is that using Explosion magic leaves me completely exhausted, which makes it easy for me to fall asleep.
If Kazuma and Darkness were doing something behind my back, the best time for them would be while I'm asleep. That's why I'm asking to practice Explosion magic earlier today, so I can recover my energy and stay alert later tonight.
"I can practice whenever I want! You just need to accompany me!!"
"I know, I know. You don't need to be so angry. I'll definitely accompany you."
Ooops!
I raised my voice again. But I had no choice—today was that day. Every woman has to go through the same thing every month, and it really bothers me. I get easily irritated when I'm going through it.
Before I was ready, Kazuma had already grabbed my hand and used Teleport magic.
With just a single blink, the two of us arrived at our destination.
"Megumin, we've arrived."
"Kazuma, isn't this the castle where the bandits were staying yesterday? You marked this place with Teleport?"
I was shocked. I thought Kazuma would take me to the walls of Orario, but instead, he brought me to the castle that had been the target of my Explosion magic yesterday.
"Yeah, I thought practicing near the walls of Orario would be too dangerous. Plus, you like it when your Explosion magic targets are big, right? And I doubt there are any bandits left in that castle after what happened yesterday."
"Hahaha, Kazuma, it seems you understand me very well. I agree with you, no one's foolish enough to stay in a castle that's already been targeted by my Explosion magic."
My mood, which had been bad at first, somehow improved when Kazuma said that. It wasn't anything special, but just knowing that he remembered what I liked made me a little happy.
In the midst of my fluctuating mood, I began chanting the spell for my Explosion magic before even calming myself down.
"Crimson-black blaze, king of myriad worlds, though I promulgate the laws of nature, I am the alias of destruction incarnate in accordance with the principles of all creation.
Let the hammer of eternity descend unto me!"
"EXPLOSION!"
BOOOOOM!!
"Today's Explosion magic score is minus 90. Hey... hey... what's going on, Megumin? Your performance is awful. Your Explosion magic didn't even hit the target!"
That was a very bad decision—chanting the spell when my emotions were in turmoil. My Explosion magic missed the target completely. The castle wasn't even touched by my magic.
"Ugh... I..."
As I tried to explain myself to Kazuma, I suddenly heard a scream coming from the castle.
"AAAAAAAH"
"AAAAAAAH"
"AAAAAAAH"
"AAAAAAAH"
In my condition, lying on the ground and unable to move, all I could do was look with a limited view. But even so, I could see the bandits from yesterday running out of the castle, fully equipped with their combat gear.
"...."
"...."
We both paused for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. In the middle of that moment, Kazuma broke the silence between us.
"Megumin, it seems like there are still a lot of idiots staying in that castle."
"Hmm, I thought the same. In that case, let's hurry up and get out of here, Kazuma."
"Yeah, let's go before trouble finds us."
"Teleport."
At first, I considered fighting the bandits again, but after thinking it over, I decided against it. First, I didn't want to get scolded by Darkness again. Second, I needed to restore my energy so I could stay alert later tonight.
Actually, I wanted to ask Kazuma to give me some of his energy using Drain Touch, but I decided not to. I didn't want to make him suspicious, since it's something I rarely ask for.
"Kazuma, why did we teleport to the city instead of Twilight Manor?"
In the blink of an eye, we went from being outside Orario to the city center, right in front of the dungeon. I was a bit confused as to why Kazuma hadn't taken me to Twilight Manor like usual.
"Hmmm, you know, we've never really gone for a walk just the two of us since we got here, right?"
"What do you mean? Don't we go out together every day to practice Explosion magic? Or do you want to go on a date with me?"
"Explosion magic training doesn't count. By the way, Megumin..."
Kazuma answered my first question but ignored the second one.
"What is it, Kazuma? If you want to say something, just say it."
By the way, right now I'm being carried by Kazuma. Even though I couldn't clearly see his face from behind, I could tell he wanted to say something but was hesitating.
"Is it something difficult to say?"
I tried to push Kazuma to say what he wanted. This guy, we've known each other for so long, and our relationship is more than just friends. Why is he hesitating to say something to me?
"Umm... no, it's just... why have you been so angry today? Are you on your period or something?"
"How rude! How dare you say something like that directly to a woman!"
"AAAH!! It hurts, it hurts! Megumin, don't bite me!"
He's right. I am on my period right now. Ugh, why did he have to say something like that to me? It makes me embarrassed to hear it. Even if he knows, he didn't need to say it directly in front of me.
"Sigh... Megumin, are you really on your period?"
"Shut up!!"
My mood was good, but why did he have to ruin it by saying something like that?
"Oh, I see. No wonder you've been so irritable. How about we go on a date this afternoon? Let's find something cold to drink to ease your pain."
"Ummmm... I don't think that's a bad idea."
I nodded gently, agreeing to Kazuma's offer for a date.
(To Be Continued)