" ": You talking

' ': You thinking

* *: Narrator/Voice-off

Your POV:

"I... Uhh... That is..."

Kazuma: Let me guess. That was the last thing you'd expect ?

"True, but it's something a bit more... Unexpectedly expected... ? It's something really difficult to describe... Correct me if I'm wrong..."

"Aren't these the girls from that succubus shop ?"

Succubus: Over there, young lady, also try this.

Komekko: Thank you !

"... I guess they can't help but dote on her as well..."

Kazuma: ... You're the Onee-san from that shop I frequent, right ? But this is the Adventurer's guild ! What do you intend to do here ?!

Succubus: Ara ! Why, isn't it our renowned customer ? We've had our lesson, of course we know it's dangerous here... We're not sure why, but we just couldn't leave her alone. It's most likely her unusually high demonic potential. She'll certainly become someone highly important, so if we win her over early...

"Don't look so down, Kazuma. At least it's better than the time Aqua found out about the shop"
Kazuma: Don't remind me, please. She really tried becoming the arch-nemesis of nearly all male adventurers for committing succubus genocide.

Succubus: A- Ah.. Well, since Aqua-sama has blessed us with her presence, we shall take our leave. Customer-san, please keep an eye on Aqua-sama and Vanir-sama for us ! So, Komekko, I guess we'll see you later.

"... Aqua, I could easily understand, but why are they afraid of Vanir as well ?"

Darkness: Say, Kazuma, what exactly is your relationship with those people ? This is the first time I've seen such pretty women in your friend circle...

"Funny, i'm staring at one right now."

Darkness: E- Ehh ?!

Megumin: They are employees of a café run by some beautiful ladies. Though the dishes are only ordinary, they're peculiarly popular, which leaves me baffled. Still, why would they be so attracted to my little sister ?

Adventurers: Greetings, Megumin-san. Megumin-san, we're essentially finished with the quests. Within the span of the last two days, all the notable missions have all been dealt with in a rapid succession.

Megumin: Really. Then I need not worry about being forced to take difficult quests. Everyone's been working their butts off, and I've been stressing out lately.

Komekko: Onee-chan, the adventurers of this city are so strong !

Megumin: Indeed indeed. After all, they're from the city that I live in.

Komekko: The blue-haired Onee-san is also very powerful !

Megumin: That's right. As expected for being my friend. She purified a spectre that's been around for a long time. So, while Aqua is usually dumb like that, I encourage you to see her in a more positive light.

Komekko: And, the Onii-san is also powerful !

Megumin: mhm, he's nonetheless the leader of our party; There's no way he's not powerful... Although, I stil question whether he was truly "victorious" given the tactics he used...

Komekko: No, the other Onii-san !

Darkness: ... Eh ? Uh- Um, what about my big moments.. ?

Kazuma: You didn't have any, did you ?

Darkness: Uuuhhhhhhh...

Megumin: See, Komekko ? My friends are powerful, right ? The adventurers of this city are all very cool, right ? When you get back to the village, be sure to brag about us all.

Darkness: ... Say, the Tranquility Princess was right, wasn't she ? That I'm no more useful than an Adamantite snail ?

"Well, thinking about it this way... That you didn't got an occasion to shine simply means we weren't in mortal danger recently, that's all. Please stop stressing over losing to a plant, leave it behind."

Komekko: ... Except Onee-chan isn't powerful.

Megumin: ... ... ... K... K- Komekko, what did you just say ? You said that I, your mighty Onee-chan, isn't powerful ?

Komekko: Mhm. Only Onee-chan isn't really powerful.

Megumin: K- Komekko ! What's going on, have you entered the ge of rebellion ?! You've been learning strange words and have been disobedient to me lately. You are making your older sister feel heartbroken, you know ?!

Komekko: I have a request for you, big-breasted Onee-san.

Luna: Komekko, I'd prefer if you don't call me "Big-breasted Onee-san" if you please...

Komekko: ... Please give us a quest that can make my not-so-powerful Onee-chan more powerful.

Megumin: Komekko, let's go home ! My true abilities can only show at the key moments, so normally, I'm pretty lackluster. Let's go, I'll put on an Explosion firework show tonight after we get home.

Luna: Hmmm... To be fair, there aren't many big quests left. The remaining quests are mostly giant toad subjugation... After all, this city isn't exactly known for its livestock industry. With toad meat also being delicious, there's never been a lack of demand. So this is the only reliable, always ongoing quest.

Komekko: That will do.

Luna: That will do ? But giant toads are very weak monsters, they're only loved for food...

Komekko: That will do.

Megumin: Why are you taking quests ?! You even accepted a giant toad subjugation quest which is not hard at all. You chose it for the toad meat, didn't you ? Well then, Onee-chan will let you witness her true power ! Come on, there must be some big quests left, right ? Bring them on, go big or go home; mind you, i'm feeling incredibly competent today, so bring whatever you have to me, be it Demon Generals or Dragons !

"... Why do you keep setting up flags ? Why do you keep on jinxing us ?"

Luna: Be it Demon Generals or Dragons... Huh ? If you put it that way, we actually do have one Durian quest left...

Adventurers: Hey, don't embarrass Megumin-san ! She clearly said she wanted to do it, is that not enough ? They aren't an hesitating bunch, so what's with the hold-up at this point ?

Megumin: L- Like the adventurers said, I already claimed "I'd do it", so it's fine. I'll destroy any monster Axel can throw at me. Or are you implying that the monster is stronger than a Demon General ?

Komekko: Onee-chan must be very powerful !

Luna: ... Understood. In that case, I shall reserve this final Durian quest for Megumin-san.

Megumin: Hmph. I am named Megumin !! The elite Archwizard of Axel, the master of Explosion Magic ! In any duel, all shall succumb before the power of my Explosions, be it Demon Generals or Dragons !

Adventurers: Ooohohohoho ! Let's go, Megumin-san ! Let's go ! This time, we shall lend a hand, too !

Luna: This final quest... isn't the subjugation of a single monster, but a duo consisting of the Griffon and Manticore that have been fighting over territory for ages...

Megumin: ... Eh ?

Adventurers: ... ... ... ... ...

*The Griffon and the Manticore. The two pretty over-leveled beasts that settled near Axel around two years ago. The manticore didn't come into existence naturally but was instead magically fabricated. Nobody knows whether it had been set free by some wizard as a cruel joke, or whether it had escaped from some secluded ruins on its own.*

Kazuma: I swear, if it's again the same guy than with Destroyer or the Crimson Demons...

*Nevertheless, the manticore of mysterious origins one day settled on a mountain near Axel. And following that, as if clockwork, sighting of a Griffon near the same spot were reported. When people first encountered the Griffon, its wings appeared heavily wounded and its whole body was in a disastrous condition. After seeing how badly wounded it was, the Adventurer's guild declared the region forbidden for entry. By barring access to the injured Griffon, they hoped that it would remain crippled from lack of medical attention. Furthermore, they quarantined the area, so if they were lucky, the manticore living in the vicinity would battle it to the death.*

*However, the griffon let the guild down big time. It ended up in a stalemate with it's equally entrapped manticore roomate, threatening even Axel's suburbs. The trouble stirred up by one beast was doubled. Ever since, the guild had been formally requesting their subjugation. However, to prevent uninformed people from further escalating the situation, they set the reward very low. Ultimately, the quest was never taken from the board.*

"So their own stupid decisions had for consequences a highly-deadly situation, they put a really low bounty on it, and then acted surprised when no one would do it..."

Aqua: manticore and Griffon; now that you mention it, I do remember seeing a quest like that.

"You better, it's the one you tried to push onto us when we were still in debt."

Aqua: Was that a thing ? I'm a forgiving and forgetful woman, I don't linger over past matters.

"Hence why you keep making the same mistakes over and over again... if someone something like could could be said by someone more likable than you..."

Darkness: Still, we've come a long way. Back when we were little ducklings, we couldn't have dreamed to take on tasks like this.

Megumin: yeah, back then we constantly went on missions just to pay our debt. I couldn't even believe myself, but compared to the leisurely life saturated with wealth we have now, the times plagued by debt when we had to work our butts off everyday felt more satisfying...

Kazuma: That is called rose-tinted retrospection. Most people tend to glorify the past.

Darkness: Don't put it like that. It's not like I can't relate with Megumin at all. Xe really were newbies back then, being tortured by all kinds of monsters including giant toads. But in hindsight, those memories are really...

"... Glad some things don't seem to change, in the end."

Undyne: That's the spirit, kid. You guys haven't changed much. Though you did in fact defeat several Demon Generals and tough monsters, Aqua still cried a while ago when a neroid she had chased into an alley lashed back at her.

Aqua: Oi, didn't I tell you not to spread stories like this ?! Why did you think I spent my own precious cash to buy ice cream for you ?! That was a bribe for non-disclosure ! Since you've broken our contract, you better give me my ice cream back !

Undyne: I helped you get rid of the neroid, so I'll take the ice cream as a show of gratitude.

"... In the end, maybe all of this isn't so bad in itself... We've all grown so much in this time... It's-

*SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

"I was having a bittersweet emotional moment, dammit !!"

Adventurers: That's the Griffon ! The Griffon has showed up !!

Aqua: Kazuma ! This one's even bigger than we imagined ! With a beak this fabulous, could it be a relative of Emperor Zell ?

Kazuma: Would you stop spouting nonsense ! M- Megumin, Y/n, go chant your spell, charge up your attack ! Put the unseen Manticore aside and take care of the Griffon first ! This thing has top priority !

Megumin: G- G- G- G- Got it ! Leave it to me !

Darkness: ... Alright, I'll be the meat shield ! This will be my big moment. I must convince Komekko to say that the Onee-san in armor is also very powerful ! Even though we're facing a Griffon, it's by itself ! We have numbers, if we concentrate our will, we'll definitely prevail !

*SCHBROOOOOOOOM*

Kazuma: What was that ?!

"No idea ! That wasn't me !"

???: Ara, that's no way to be. Although the Griffon is incredibly bothersome, without it, you humans would have invaded this mountain.

"... A human head, a lion's body, a scorpion's tail and bat's wings... MANTICORE !!"