After successfully surviving the painfully embarrassing initiation ritual at the entrance to Crimson Demon Village, Yunyun's flushed face finally peeked out from under her cloak.
She glanced cautiously at Kōichi, her eyes filled with a touch of apology and gratitude.
"Kōichi-san… Kazuma-san… everyone. I-I'm going home first to ask my father about the situation in the village, and also… to sort myself out a little."
Yunyun's voice was barely louder than a mosquito, but she still tried her best to maintain the solemn dignity unique to the Crimson Demon Clan.
"You… you can go with Megumin and Komekko to their house first. I-I'll come find you later."
After saying that, she stole another quick glance at Kōichi, and the blush on her face deepened even more.
"Also… thank you, Kōichi-san, for your… wonderful performance just now. Next time… next time I'll do my best too!"
With that, Yunyun practically fled, hurrying off toward a tall tower deep within the village.
"Hmph. At least she knows her place." Megumin crossed her arms and struck a proud, tsundere-like pose. "But if she thinks she can surpass this genius with lines of that level, she's dreaming!"
Kōichi watched Yunyun's retreating figure and sighed inwardly.
"It really isn't easy being the only normal person here."
Just then, Kazuma leaned in and lightly nudged Kōichi with his elbow. His eyes kept flicking toward the pile of sweet potatoes and dried meat, then toward Megumin.
His meaning could not have been more obvious.
"Betrothal gifts! Betrothal gifts! It's time to present the betrothal gifts!"
Kōichi caught Kazuma's eye signal and cleared his throat knowingly.
"Since Yunyun has something to take care of, we shouldn't hold things up. Megumin, Komekko, we'll leave the way to you. Let's take these… supplies to your house first."
Kōichi deliberately stressed the word "supplies" and raised an eyebrow at Kazuma, telling him to stop making faces.
"Hmph! At least you know what you're doing! This genius's home is not a place just anyone may enter!"
Megumin's words were as sharp as ever, but the smugness on her face was impossible to hide. She was clearly very pleased with Kōichi's suggestion.
And so, led by Megumin and Komekko, the group pushed the cart loaded with betrothal gifts and marched grandly down the main road of Crimson Demon Village.
As expected, the architecture of Crimson Demon Village was steeped in the Crimson Demon Clan's signature chuunibyou aesthetic.
Every house looked like an enlarged Magic Circle, with all kinds of strange flags stuck into the rooftops. Some even had huge eyeballs or Devil sculptures hanging from them.
The passersby were just as extraordinary. Some wore pointed hats and carried staffs, their capes fluttering without any wind as they walked.
Others wore eyepatches and leaned against walls in dramatic poses, as if ready to deliver earth-shaking declarations at any moment.
When Kōichi and the others, a group of outsiders, pushed a cart full of sweet potatoes and dried meat through the village, they immediately drew the attention of every Crimson Demon Clan villager.
"Oooh! Isn't that Megumin? She brought back a whole bunch of friends!"
"That blue-haired woman… That completely baseless confidence is even purer than ours!"
"Hey! Look at that blonde with the huge chest! Her armor looks so sturdy! I really want to bombard her with magic!"
The villagers chattered among themselves, but there was no malice in it. It was mostly curiosity, mixed with the gleeful excitement of people watching a spectacle unfold.
Kazuma pushed the cart with a look of utter despair on his face.
He glanced cautiously at Kōichi and muttered under his breath, "Kōichi, do you think Megumin's parents will accept me?"
Kōichi curled his lip, thinking that no wonder Kazuma was such a virgin. Did he really think this was a formal meeting with the parents?
Still, he said, "Relax. Megumin mentioned before that her family isn't very well-off. Right now, you're the richest man in all of Axel after me. Have some confidence!"
Along the way, Aqua fit right in. She kept waving to the curious villagers and even tried to teach them the doctrines of the Axis Order, but the results were less than ideal. Instead, she drew waves of whispers like, "That blue-haired woman seems kind of wrong in the head."
After passing through several streets brimming with chuunibyou flair, Megumin stopped in front of a house that looked grand at first glance, though its walls were peeling and its roof had several magical patches.
She threw the door open and shouted in the tone of a triumphant general returning from battle.
"Dad! Mom! I, Megumin, the greatest genius of the Crimson Demon Clan, have returned with companions and enough wealth to buy half the village!"
The moment she finished speaking, a heavy thud sounded from inside. Immediately afterward, a man with short black hair and sharp eyes, though he somehow radiated poverty, rushed out alongside a woman who looked very much like Megumin, but with a gentler and more mature air.
"Oooh! My daughter who inherited the power of the Abyss, you've finally… Wait, are those sweet potatoes? Are those premium sweet potatoes shining with a golden luster?!"
Megumin's father, Hyoizaburoo, who called himself a master Magic Item craftsman, had been striking an incredibly twisted pose, but the moment he saw the mountain of supplies piled on the cart, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"And dried meat! Smoked dried meat, the kind you might not even get enough of at the Harvest Festival!"
Megumin's mother, Yuiyui, instantly appeared beside the cart. Her trembling hands caressed the food, and her eyes glowed red as if she had discovered a priceless treasure.
"Komekko! You really didn't lie to Mom! Your sister truly brought back enough to save our family's livelihood… no, offerings worthy of making even the gods drool!"
Kōichi looked at the pair of parents who had completely fallen into a food frenzy and discreetly signaled to Kazuma behind him.
"Ahem. Uncle, Aunt, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kōichi, and this is our party leader, Kazuma Satou."
Kōichi pushed Kazuma forward, his tone turning earnest. "Actually, most of these were prepared by Kazuma to express his gratitude for Megumin's everyday care. He emptied his fortune… Ah, no, he casually took a small portion from his private vault."
Kazuma caught Kōichi's cue. He had been a little nervous at first, but after seeing the worshipful looks in Megumin's parents' eyes, his vanity swelled to the breaking point.
Imitating Kōichi's earlier manner, he slipped one hand into his pocket and swept his bangs back with the other in an absurdly flashy motion, striking the pose of a man who had money to burn.
"Hmph. They're only a few cartloads of sweet potatoes and dried meat. Hardly worth mentioning."
Kazuma spoke in a deep voice that practically reeked of money.
"In Axel, people call me the embodiment of luck, or the man with Eris flowing through his fingertips. Though I do own a mansion grand enough to make even dragons jealous, along with countless pieces of top-tier gear, to me, the true value of money lies in using such worldly wealth to bring smiles to Megumin's family."
Hearing this, Hyoizaburoo and Yuiyui exchanged a glance. In an instant, their eyes blazed with the fervor of people who had found the rich son-in-law they had been searching for.
"Oooh! That boldness, treating money like dirt! That wealth, towering above all others!"
Hyoizaburoo suddenly grabbed Kazuma's hand with shocking strength.
"Kazuma-san! No, Kazuma-sama! Please, you must come inside! Though our home is humble, we will entertain you with the highest level of Crimson Demon Clan etiquette!"
"Yes, yes, please come in!"
Yuiyui went even further, hooking her arm around Kazuma's other arm with a smile so wide she could barely close her mouth. "Megumin must cause you no end of trouble, doesn't she? Don't worry, we still have Komekko here, and she's much more obedient. Provided you don't mind, we can sit down and take our time discussing the future…"
"Hey! Mom! What are you saying?!" Megumin hopped in place in a panic, her face red enough to explode like Explosion. "Kazuma is just my servant! My bag-carrier! He is not some rich catch!"
However, her parents had already been conquered by the sweet potatoes and dried meat, and Megumin's protests never reached them. They surrounded Kazuma and ushered him into the house as if welcoming the God of Wealth himself.
Kōichi walked at the very back. Watching Kazuma's buoyant figure ahead, looking as if he had already reached the peak of his life, then glancing at Aqua and Darkness standing there with blank expressions, he couldn't help muttering to himself.
"Is Kazuma actually going to marry into Crimson Demon Village at this rate? Still, with Megumin's parents acting like this, things are probably about to get very interesting…"