Observing Megumin

TL: Cannongerbil

Editing: Ulti, Xenthur

When I was in the adventurer’s guild, checking if there are any easy yet profitable quests like I usually do, I received a strange, “off the record” request from Kazuma. It seems like the guild regard him as the caretaker of his party, of sorts, so they’ve been making him clean up after their messes.

And so, Kazuma wanted me to investigate exactly what his comrades get up to when he’s not around.

It’s a request from a close friend whom I owe a lot to, and what’s more, he even promised me an adequate reward, so I had no reason to refuse.

In that case… Let’s investigate that explosion maniac today.

She’s a Crimson Demon like Yunyun. According to Sir Vanir, the Crimson Demons are a belligerent clan whose members are born with high mana.

Just from their naming sense alone, you can tell that they are a clan with a unique sense of aesthetics. And, in that sense, Megumin is considered to be a prodigy.

And that reason is because, apart from Explosion, she has no intention of learning any other spell.

It seems like she usually drags Kazuma with her outside the city to cast Explosion every day, but after he refused to accompany her on account of the recent cold weather, she has started making the trip with other people.

… It’s only after you get used to hearing an explosion every day that you can call yourself a proper resident of Axel.

“Did I make you wait?”

“I think it’s about time that you stop doing such things.”

Today’s companion is Yunyun.

“That’ll never happen. Don’t you know that I will die if I don’t cast an explosion every day?”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing! … Still, whenever I carry you back recently, the residents of the town would welcome me with a kind gaze. Someone even told me ‘thank you for your hard work’ the other day. It maked me feel a little happy…”

Yunyun might be reluctant, but, despite her frown, it seems like she’s really happy to be relied upon by others.

“Instead of complaining, let’s hurry up and go.”

“Wha- Why are you ordering me? I’m the one who’s accompanying you! Hey, did you hear me? W-Wait up!”

Despite her protests, Yunyun still ended up following Megumin outside the town.

Rather than accompanying her, it’s more like she couldn’t refuse any requests.

It always feels like if one were to kneel and beg her, she’d agree to anything no matter what it is.

Following behind the two, we ended up arriving at a piece of barren land.

… To be more accurate, this place only became barren because of that explosion girl.

I think that this place used to be a small forest. Now, not only was the soil exposed, but it even hosted more than a few craters.

“This place has become full of holes! You’ll need to properly fill them up later, otherwise it’ll cause people a lot of trouble.”

“I’ll let you handle that. I’m a very busy person.”

Just as Yunyun busied herself with filling the craters with magic, Megumin nonchalantly released her Explosion and carved another crater into the landscape.

Yunyun lifted the collapsed Megumin onto her back in a practiced manner and started complaining as she made their way back.

When they reached town, Megumin seemed to have regained enough energy to walk by herself, and climbed down from Yunyun’s back.

“I’ve fulfilled your request, so, as discussed, let us settle our duel right here!”

“Even after losing so many times… You really don’t learn, do you? So, what should we compete in today?”

“Ah, that… We should settle this with magic… but Megumin only knows Explosion, and she already used it for today, so that won’t do.”

“I already used my magic for today. I don’t mean to brag, but I won’t be of any help for the rest of the day.”

“That’s not something you should be proudly boasting about!”

“Aah! What did you say? Say it again!”

“D-Don’t get angry.”

“You’ve always been unable to read the mood, Yunyun, but doesn’t it seem like it has gotten worse lately? It must be because of the bad influence of that friend you recently made.”

Yunyun clutched Megumin’s clothes and tearfully denied it. Just who was that friend that they were referring to?

Megumin is a childhood friend of Yunyun, so I can rule her out. Apart from her, the only people who have interacted with Yunyun recently would be Sir Vanir and that beautiful store owner.

Did she end up making a new friend without me knowing? Seeing how desperately she’s denying it, it must be a pretty nasty fellow.

The two of them eventually decided on an eating contest, and Megumin ended up winning an overwhelming victory.

It’s hard to believe that she can eat that much with that petite figure of hers. Still, it doesn’t seem like she has grown any.

Afterwards, she chatted about something with the Axis Cult Priest and Chris, but it doesn’t seem like she troubled anyone today.

She even released her Explosion in a place where it wouldn’t cause any trouble for the town. The only thing she troubled was a piece of barren ground.

Yunyun said that doing so will cause troubles for others, but it doesn’t seem like she means it, so that doesn’t count.

After a long day, Megumin finally went home.

Yunyun seemed really lonely as she watched Megumin enter the mansion.

Bah, screw it, I suppose I can treat her to dinner.

Epilogue