" ": You talking

' ': You thinking

* *: Narrator/Voice-off

Your POV:

Kazuma: Is Yunyun not here yet ?! I'm all done with my preparations here ! We'll blow through the Crimson Demon's Trial in a single day !

"You're... Unusually raring to go, Kazuma... Are you really that eager to go to the trial, or that eager to get away from any potential danger here ?"

Darkness: I really can't wait either. Protecting the backline is the job of a knight, so leave the trial to me !

Kazuma: I refuse. After all, there's a beautiful female adventurer waiting for my return. How can I not take this chance to show off ?

"And here you just answered my question yourself..."

Darkness: D- Don't get in my way for such a foolish reason ! Come on, Kazuma, give me a chance at the spotlight too ! This isn't like you at all. Why didn't you go meet up with that fan of yours yesterday ?

Kazuma: If I were to meet up with a fan on the very same day they asked, that'll make me seem desperate and lame, wouldn't it ? It'd be best to resolve Yunyun's issues first, then walk back into the guild saying something like "Well, well, this incident wasn't that big of a deal after all..." in a loud voice. Afterwards, I'd naturally run into the fan and everything will progress naturally.

"Why do you always use your brain for things like that ? Why do you only ever come up with elaborate acts to protect your slobbish lifestyle ?"

Kazuma: Hey, I need to bring back some tales for my fan, so i'm going to get a lot of accomplishments this time. You lot can just stay here and watch over the house.

Darkness: N- Not a chance ! The Crimson Demon's Trial is modeled after a famous legend and requires a vanguard and rearguard working together to overcome many challenges. My admiration for that legend is what set me on the path to become an adventurer ! Come on, Kazuma, chances like these rarely come by, so please grant me this !

Kazuma: What really set you on the path to become an adventurer is something far more perverted ! Don't think you can get away with lying now ! I want to play being a hero too !

"And you want to use this opportunity to get into another woman's pants, you have no room to talk here Kazuma. I wonder what Megumin would say if she learned you're still so desperate to get laid you're grasping at any opportunity that come your way."

Darkness: Y- Yeah, and beside, that wasn't a lie ! I won't deny that I had my eyes set on something less upright when I became an adventurer, but I really did start admiring adventurers as a child because of those legends ! And you said you wanted to play at being a hero, right ?! Don't get in my way with such a cheap motive !

Megumin: Do you two really want to play hero and mage so badly ?! I'll play with you however long you want when you get back from the Crimson Demon Village, so behave yourself for now.

"... Well, some good news is that Megumin won't come with us. If your temper caused Yunyun to fail the trial twice already, I wouldn't trust you tagging along."

Kazuma: Protecting Megumin doesn't quite, how do I put it, it doesn't have the same feeling...

Darkness: Y- yeah, rather than recreating a legend, it feels more like heading out on a pleasant trip...

Megumin: Fine, then instead of playing the role of the princess in that legend thing, I'll play the role of the last boss ! I'll be the evil magician that appears at the end of the first book ! Now, bring it on !

Aqua: we'll be going on a journey for a while, so maybe we should get someone to water the fields ? Wiz is already taking care of Chomusuke and Zell, so maybe we should get her to water the fields too...

"We won't be gone long enough for that to be an issue... hey, Aqua, that thing you're watering... Did you again ignore my directive and took it from my room ?

Aqua: Hm ? Hey, it needs to be outside, you cruel corporate !

Kazuma: Oh, yeah, I completely forgot about it with everything that's happened, but that thing was planted on our field ! Hey, restrain Aqua for a while, I'll take care of this thing before we head off !

Aqua: Wait, what are you saying ?! I won't let you do that, you cold-blooded NEET ! It's fine, if I water her with divine water provided by a Goddess, she'll definitely grow up to be a good girl !

"Why do you think I went so far to put her in a controlled environment and forbid you from taking care of her ?! If you manage to raise a second Aqua, this world is doomed !

Kazuma: Exactly ! We don't need another pet at our house ! We already have our hands full taking care of Chomusuke and Zell and Aqua, we can't have yet another one !

Aqua: Please, i'm begging you ! I'll properly water her every day and take her for walks... Wait, did you just say my name as well ?

Kazuma: ... H- Hey, Darkness, isn't ensuring the safety of the town the duty of nobles ? You wanted your turn at the spotlight, so I'll let you take this.

Darkness: N- No, you have the lowest level out of all of us despite being our leader of sorts, so you should have this.

Kazuma: Don't get attached to her just because you've been watering it with Aqua for a few days ! Hey come on, Lady Dustiness, protect this town from monsters !

Darkness: You sure love to shoot your mouth off. Fine, since you're involved with this as well, here's an order from your Lord. Take care of this Tranquility Girl... T- Tranquility Girl...

"... Okay, why don't you lot just let me deal with this the way I already was before you went and messed things up ?"

Kazuma: W- Well, if it's you, I don't think you'll have any issues dealing with her...

"What do you take me for ?! I Just want to see if their usual behavior is an evolution to get their food, or if it persists even in a controlled environments where it's not an issue."

Aqua: And what gives you the right to do that ?!

"Well, if you ask me..."

Girl: ... ... Pa-pa~ !

"I guess that's that."

"Fiiiine, I'll take her with us. Y'all are interfering with my experience, I hope you know that."

Kazuma: All the pets of our house apart from Aqua have been entrusted to Wiz, so all that's left is to wait for Yunyun to show up. Knowing her, I expected that she'd show up a few hours early or something, but...

Megumin: No, she'll show up right at the appointed time. There was a time back in the Crimson demon Village where she was invited by her friends to play, and ended up being so excited for it that she showed up half a day early. She was later advised that coming off this strongly will scare off her friends.

*Fiooooooww*

Megumin: yeah, it's the exact time we agreed to meet, but appearing just in time isn't charming either !

Yunyun: E- Eh ? Why are you angry at me even though I've just arrived ?!

"Just Megumin being angry and a bully, nothing to write off about."

Yunyun: Good morning, everyone. Please treat me... Eh, u-um, the thing you're holding, Y/n-san...

Aqua: Ah, I'm glad you noticed ! This girl is the one who will eventually become the chief of the Crimson Demon Forest, Deadscream Bloody Mary. She's moving to a place close to your hometown, so please treat her well.

Yunyun: ... That's a Tranquility girl, right ? That name sounds like an alias, so I would like to give it a different name if possible... Come to think of it, the villagers often tell me never to get close to a Tranquility Girl for some reason...

"The ones in the wild tug at your heartstrings, making them a loner's worst enemy. So, you know... keep your distances, just in case."

Mary: ... ... Pa-pa... ?

"Yes, yes, Papa..."

Aqua: Hey, hey, come on, look at me. Say "Ma-ma" now...

Mary: ... ... ... Stoo- pid...

"Huh... really starting to get attached to her, suddenly."

Yunyun: ... Now then, everyone, let's be on our way. Teleport !

Mages: E- Eh ? Yunyun ? Megumin ?! Oh crap ! Megumin and Yunyun brought in outsiders ! Everyone, hurry up and change !

Mages: Wait a minute ! I had to throw my crimson Demon robe out because it got eaten by bugs ! I need to buy one right away ! Hey, lend me that broom ! I need a staff ! Cloak ! Where's my black cloak ?! Ahh, mom, where did you put my cloak ?!

Dodonko: Hey, you two, you should tell us in advance if you're going to bring someone from outside the village with you !

Funifura: Yeah, yeah ! Everyone's in a panic thanks to you ! It's fine if you're walking here, but you gotta give us some advance notice if you're arriving by Teleport !

Megumin: ... ... Oh, if it isn't my classmates Sakiberi and Nerimaki. It's been some time.

Funifura: It's Funifura and Dodonko !! Nerimaki isn't even here ! We properly named ourselves back in Axel recently, didn't we ?!

"Yeah, maybe. I remember being quite angry this time... So, mind telling us why everyone in the village is in such a panic ?"

Funifura: Visitors would be really disappointed if they were to visit a village of mages only to find everyone clad in normal clothes, right ? Normally, the patrolling NEETs would come and inform us of any approaching visitors, but...

Dodonko: Yeah, it's really troubling when you suddenly teleport in like this.

Kazuma: You don't have to change for visiting tourists like us, put that effort towards fighting the Demon King's Army instead.

"In any case, you have to admire their dedication to the bit..."

Aqua: ... Look, Kazuma ! A mage is stirring a mysterious cauldron !

Mage: Outsider young lady, it's best to keep your distance... What I'm making right now is the forbidden...

Aqua: It's curry ! She's making curry, Kazuma ! I can smell it from here !

"Hmm... You should try giving it different colors and sell it as the 'Demon Curry' or something..."

Darkness: Kazuma, that girl is drawing some kind of magic circle. It seems like she's preparing some kind of ritual...

Mage: You over there, it's dangerous to get too close ! I'm about to start a forbidden ritual to break the seal of a powerful devil that's been sealed here since ancient times... Magic has already started leaking from this magic circle. Don't worry about me and go; This is but a regular occurrence for us Crimson Demons, vanquishing a simple ancient devil would be a piece of cake-

Aqua: leave devils to me ! With the high-level Archpriest Aqua-sama here, I'll blast him away the moment he appears ! ... But this is strange, I can't sense any sinister magic in the air at all. There isn't any of that stench that comes with devils either, so maybe he isn't coming out anytime soon ? Ah, but it's fine, i'm really free right now ! If it's to vanquish a devil, I'll wait here for an entire day !

Kazuma: ... Say, Megumin, doesn't that lady seem a little troubled ?

Megumin: Oh, is that Soketto ? I was wondering what she was doing... That magic circle is just an attraction for tourists. All it does is glow and sparkle. It's probably the first time Soketto has seen someone react like Aqua so I'm sure she is quite troubled.

Soketto: ... Damn, this devil started fiercely resisting all of a sudden. It seems like he's scared by your presence. Unfortunately, I don't have enough mana to break through the seal... But, well, this is fine too. Thank you, the village is saved thanks to you-

Aqua: Don't worry, leave it to me ! Hey, Kazuma, transfer my mana to this lady ! If it's for dragging a devil out here, I'll give you as much of my divine Mana as you need !

Sotekko: H- Huh ?!

Kazuma: ... Right, leave it to me ! If it's to vanquish a devil, I'll happily lend a hand !

Aqua: as expected of Kazuma, you catch on fast ! Don't worry, my mana is inexhaustible, so you can take as much as you want !

Megumin: Soketto-san is about to cry, so please stop !

"... A sort of pen that automatically charges whatever you're drawing with mana to give it some cool effects... Gonna talk to Vanir about that."