Morning sunlight spilled over the red-tiled rooftops of Crimson Demon Village, rooftops that practically radiated chuunibyou energy. Kōichi rubbed his sleepy eyes as he stepped out of his room, only to freeze on the spot.
Just yesterday, this place had been nothing but broken walls, burning ruins, and scorched earth left in the wake of Sylvia's rampage.
But now the streets were neat, the walls were freshly painted, and even the clothing store whose back door Kōichi had kicked in was standing there good as new, clothesline pole bracket and all.
"Hey, Kazuma, wake up. Are we caught in some huge illusion? Or did we actually die, and this is Heaven?"
Kōichi kicked Kazuma Satou awake. He had been snoring beside him, probably still chasing big boobs in his dreams.
Kazuma shot upright and stared at the scene outside the window. The village looked so ridiculously prosperous that his eyes nearly popped out.
"I-Is this the Crimson Demon Clan's efficiency?! No, wait, look over there. That person in the tattered blue clothes, running around with a brush and scribbling everywhere..."
Aqua was in the village square, waving a paintbrush with fanatical zeal while shouting at the top of her lungs.
"Behold! This is the miracle of a Goddess! Divine Touch-Up! Divine Cement Mixing! Wahahaha, worship me! Thank me! Bring out all the fine wine and offerings from your homes!!"
With Aqua pouring in her demolition-class Goddess magic, and with the bored-out-of-their-minds Arch Wizards of the Crimson Demon Clan each armed with [Construction Magic], rebuilding an entire village really had taken only one night.
Just as Kōichi was reflecting on how this world's common sense was apparently meant to be fed to dogs, Megumin suddenly walked up to Kazuma with her face bright red.
For once, she was not wearing her signature black robe. Instead, she had changed into light casual clothes, her fingers nervously twisting the hem.
"Um... Kazuma. About yesterday... that gun, and... Anyway, come with me for a moment. There's something I want to tell you alone."
Megumin kept her head lowered, her voice barely louder than a mosquito. Then she tugged the utterly confused, but increasingly hopeful, Kazuma toward the hill behind the village.
Kōichi watched the two of them leave and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, tsk. What's with this post-battle confession vibe? That Kazuma guy is so lucky I almost want to report him."
...
With nothing better to do, Kōichi wandered around the village. In the end, he found Darkness beneath the huge red maple tree at the village entrance.
The Crusader who usually rushed to the front to take hits was now quietly leaning against the trunk, gripping a freshly opened letter in her hand. Her gaze was so distant and unfamiliar that she did not even notice Kōichi approaching.
"Hey, Darkness. What are you doing here alone, striking a pose? Is it because Sylvia died too quickly, and you didn't get to enjoy her steel trampling, so now you're feeling empty, lonely, and cold?"
Kōichi walked over with his hands in his pockets, half joking.
Darkness jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She hurriedly stuffed the letter into her chest, her face instantly turning crimson.
"K-Kōichi?! When did you get here?! N-no, it's not like that! I wasn't thinking about being tied up by monsters or trampled or anything... I really wasn't!"
"I didn't say you were thinking about any of that." Kōichi's smile faded, his gaze falling on her slightly trembling fingers. "Judging by your face, you don't look like someone hoping to be scolded. More like... you've run into some troublesome family business? Is there a problem with the estate, or is your idiot father urging you to go back for another arranged meeting?"
Darkness fell silent. She lowered her head slightly, her blond bangs hiding her eyes, and her voice carried a heaviness he had never heard from her before.
"...I just received an urgent message from home. Father's health... seems to have suddenly worsened. And because of this attack by the Demon King's General, the Royal Capital's opinion of the Dustiness family... In short, I may not be able to keep running around with all of you as freely as before."
She raised her head, struggle flickering in her blue eyes.
"Kōichi, if you were me, caught between the burden of your family and a group of hopeless companions, what would you choose? Should I... really go back and become a proper noble young lady?"
A light breeze passed beneath the red maple tree, stirring several fiery leaves into a slow spiral as they fell.
Kōichi looked at Darkness, who seemed so fragile without her sturdy armor, and felt something shift in his chest.
He set aside his usual flippant smile, and his voice became gentler than it had ever been.
"Darkness, listen. If you're really tired and want to put down that heavy greatsword and go home to rest, that's fine. Whether you live as a noble young lady or something else, as long as it's the life you want, we'll support you."
Kōichi reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, looking straight into her unfocused blue eyes.
"But don't forget, there will always be a place for you in the mansion in Axel. We'll always keep your room for you."
Darkness trembled slightly. She opened her mouth as if to argue about her duties as a noble, as if to speak of those inescapable rules, but when she met Kōichi's sincere, steady gaze, all of those words caught in her throat.
For once, she did not make that perverted face. She looked like a genuinely lost girl, torn and uncertain.
"Of course," Kōichi suddenly continued, the corner of his mouth lifting into a confident, almost arrogant smile, "if you're still willing to mess around with us hopeless idiots, to challenge monsters you can't even hit, to put up with Aqua's stupidity and Megumin's Explosion Magic... then no matter who tries to stop you, whether it's pressure from the Royal Capital or some bullshit engagement, as your captain, I absolutely won't give up on you. I'll steal you back, got it?"
"K-Kōichi..." Darkness's eyes instantly reddened.
That feeling of being needed, protected, and even forcefully kept by someone's side struck the softest, and most twisted, corner of her heart with perfect accuracy.
She gazed at Kōichi's face, her heart pounding so hard it felt ready to burst out of her chest.
In that moment, the burden of her family seemed as light as a feather, and the man before her became her only shelter.
Darkness slowly closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling. Drawn by the fluttering in her chest, she leaned closer to Kōichi, little by little.
The air grew sweet and heavy with intimacy. Their noses were almost touching. Kōichi could even smell the faint scent of sweat on her, the fragrance of battle, mixed with the aroma of some expensive perfume.
"La la la, the weather is so lovely today, and everywhere the scenery is grand~"
A cheerful, smug little hum suddenly drifted out from behind the tree.
"Yo! Kōichi! What are you doing here? And Darkness, why are you two standing so close? Studying how to block attacks?"
Kazuma Satou walked out with his hands behind his head, grinning like spring had come early. He looked exactly like someone who had just won the lottery, radiating an unbearably punchable aura of having already won at life.
"Listen, Kōichi, Megumin actually said that kind of thing to me just now. Hehe. As expected, a man like me, rich and lucky, is the ultimate destination for a Crimson Demon Clan girl..."
Darkness sprang away as if she had been shocked, blushing so hard she nearly started steaming. She crouched on the ground with both hands over her face, making strange whimpering noises.
As for Kōichi, his movement froze in midair. The gentleness in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold deeper than the glaciers of the far north.
He slowly turned his head, his neck making a cracking sound, and fixed his stare on Kazuma Satou, who was still babbling away with no idea what sacred moment he had just ruined.
"Ka...zuma..." Kōichi's voice was so low it sounded like a curse crawling up from the depths of hell. His right hand had already moved unconsciously toward the dagger at his waist. "Did you just say... you're happy? That you're in a good mood? That life is full of sunshine?"
"Yeah! What about it?" Kazuma still had not sensed the danger. He even raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous? Well, I guess not everyone can have my kind of charm..."
Kōichi took a deep breath, then gave him a brilliant smile that was chilling enough to raise goosebumps.
"Excellent. To take that happiness of yours to the next level, I've decided to send you straight to Heaven so you can have a nice chat with the Goddess Eris about your damn charm!!"