" ": You talking

' ': You thinking

* *: Narrator/Voice-off

Your POV:

Darkness: Oh, hey, Kazuma, it's your rival.

Kazuma: What are you talking about ? The undefeated me has no rivals. Though, he does seem familiar somehow...

"And once more, just classic Kazuma happening again..."

Darkness: D- Did you really forget about him ? He's... Umm, I think his name was...

Mitsurugi: It's Mitsurugi ! I thought the lady of the Dustiness family was the most normal out of the bunch, but to think that you would forget my name too... !

"To be fair, Didn't you only meet once a year and a half ago ?"

Kazuma: Yo, it's been some time. How've you been ? Anyway, I'm in a rush, so...

Mitsurugi: Hold it ! Why are you acting like you are avoiding me ?!

Kazuma: Well, it's not like we are that close. Plus, it'd b a bother if we get into a fight every time we meet.

Mitsurugi: W- Well, that's true, but... No, more importantly, what are you doing here ? The monsters around the Crimson Demon Village aren't creatures someone of your level can handle.

"Please, don't remind me of that horror show we went through back then... I'm glad we didn't take the scenic route and just teleported straight in..."

Kazuma: Y- Yeah... Actually, a friend or ours is undertaking the Chieftain's trial in this village, so I came here to help out. What about you ? What are you doing here ?

Mitsurugi: Well, this might sound crazy, but a divine relic of mine ran away... He left a note and went on a journey... Haha, it's fine to laugh if you feel like it...

"A relic ran away... Man, first your sword and now that, you should try locking them up, don't you think ?"

Darkness: Seems like you're pretty worn out... There's a hot springs around here, so take your time and recuperate... And, um, don't push yourself, okay ?

Mitsurugi: Hehe, it's only natural that you don't believe me... The truth is, the Goddess Eris-sama appeared in my dreams. She entrusted me with a very important Divine relic and asked me to save the world with its power, but... One day, I woke up to a letter... "As you are right now, you are thoroughly unfit to wield me. You depends too much on the power of that Magic sword. As a divine relic, I too have my own matters to attend to. Set off on a journey to find me while I'm off tying up a few loose ends, and become stronger in the process ! i'll be waiting for you. Now, Hero, rise up to the challenge"... ...

"... A Divine relic gifted by Eris running away with that attitude... Why does that seem familiar to me... ?"

Mitsurugi: Afterwards, I've heard that there's a skilled fortune teller in the Crimson Demon Village, so I came here to ask her to look into the Divine relic's whereabouts... But she probably thinks I'm pulling her leg to... She told me that he's sexually harassing the waitresses at the pub, but that's obviously facetious...

Kazuma: 'Wow, that fortune teller is very accurate indeed.'

Mitsurugi: Well, that's enough about me. It's a trial that the divine relic Eris bestowed upon me set before me. I didn't expect it to be so easy to overcome. Anyway, now that I've met you, I should pass on a warning.

"The Demon King's army is on the move, right ?"

Mitsurugi: Yes. The remaining Generals have put the town of Axel in their sights... No, perhaps it's more accurate to say that the army itself is aiming for Axel. I don't know if their goal is the destruction of the town itself, or you, or even Aqua-sama, but if you aren't confident about standing up to them, it's best that you stay low in this village or the capital for awhile.

"You're really underestimating Kazuma's ability to sense danger if you think this isn't his primary reason for being here and the trial is just his cover story."

Kazuma: Just shut up, man...

Mitsurugi: ... You defeated me once before. It'd be problematic if you were to lose to the Demon King. I'll definitely beat you next time. And then, Aqua-sama will...

Kazuma: ... Say, doesn't the way he put it makes me sound like a main character of some sort ?

Darkness: No matter how you slice it, he looks much more like a protagonist than you.

"I think both of you are coping way too hard. Now then, let's go get Megumin..."

Darkness: S- Say, getting Megumin is nice and all, but maybe we could leave that to Kazuma and take a little walk ? I mean, back in Arcanletia, we explored the city together too, didn't we ?

"... I know Kazuma is acting like Megumin's legal guardian and/or partner in crime, but don't you think she'll be pissed if she find out we went to have fun without her ?"

Darkness: W- Well, I thought we could do something date-like for once...

Kazuma: ... Well, you enjoy your date, I'll go pick Megumin up.

"... ... ... Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever been on a date before..."

Darkness: R- Right ?! No, I do think that walking around town together is pretty date-like, but I've always looked up to those storybook-style dates where you fuss over what to wear and arrive at the meeting point earlier than the appointed time-

"... That maidenly side of you is really nice, too. If you had that feeling back when we first met, i'm pretty sure anyone would've fallen head over heels for you."

Darkness: H- hah, that smile ! That genuine, non-malicious smile, what is it ?! But... I- Is that so ? I thought that such maiden-like hobbies wouldn't be a good fit for a noble lady of a great house, but... I see...

https://youtu.be/dtYwq4aBr0E

Darkness: S- Say, the weather is really great today !

"Apparenty, the Crimson Demons use magic to control the weather, so it's always sunny around these parts."

Darkness: Look, look, a cat is taking a nap on that fence ! It's great that it's peaceful out here.

"That's a Crimson demon familiar. Apparently they're there to monitor the area towards the cat."

Darkness: Look, the elderly are leisurely fishing over there...

"Ah, these guys are gathering up the monsters who live in the river. They are using steel cables for fishing lines, so they can send lightning-based magic down the lines when they get a bite and level up that way."

Darkness: ... I don't think this village is a good place for a date.

"Agreed. It's the home of the famously combative Crimson Demons, after all. They have no sense of romance. Did you really want to go on a date that badly ?"

Darkness: Of course ! In the first place, you were trying way too hard to get me to fall for you that night !

https://youtu.be/ShK_Tj-Ee3Y

"... Not like a lot was needed in that regard, given how you were almost going down onto me on your own..."

Darkness: O- On my own ?! I fell for you on my own ?! Who was it that barged into my wedding back when I was about to be married off to Alderp ?! And you scattered that entire fortune in front of everyone and declared that you bought me or whatever before taking me away !

"Well, didn't you made sure I took responsibility for doing that later on ? Or are you saying you'd rather have Kazuma save you and taking all the credit, all the glory ?"

Darkness: What glory ? The only people who'd fall for a trashy man like him are weirdos like Megumin !

"Why are we yelling at each other about something we agree on... ? We both agree that Kazuma is a flawed guy who thinks with his groin, despite being a great friend..."

Darkness: And that so-called "Fan" he claims is waiting for him back in Axel... It's probably some scammer attracted by your wealth or fame. It's a little strange for me to say this, but there's no way a fan of his can exist.

"With how much nonsense he forced the newspapers to write about him, I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually a fan. How else would they refer to the 'Greatest adventurer in Axel' ?"

Darkness: True... That's just another flaw of his, on top of his unwillingness to work.

Megumin: If Kazuma doesn't want to work, I'll just find a job to support him.

Darkness: You're being too soft on him, Megumin ! This is why he's becoming more and more slovenly !

"Didn't you say once that your ideal type was a trashy man who doesn't work, though ? I'm glad you changed your mind on that..."

Kazuma: ... What was that about me being a flawed, trashy man ?

"The truth."

Megumin: You two sure seemed to be having fun while I was in the lock-up. Do you mind if we join in ?

"Oh, you're back already ? Did they release her before you get to her ?"

Kazuma: Yeah, so sorry you guys couldn't go on that little date of yours.

Megumin: You want a proper date, huh ? So let's go on a date with all four of us. I'll guide you to some great shops.

Darkness: That doesn't sound like a date... No, nevermind...

"It's us visiting as tourists together. That's the second best thing, so I guess it's not too bad."

Megumin: Anyway, let's go for lunch. There's a restaurant I used to work at around the corner.

Crimson Demon (CD): Welcome ! Oh, hey, Megumin ! It's been a while. Have you learned any other spells apart from Explosion ?

Megumin: Yes, it has been some time. I have no intention of learning anything else other than Explosion. There was a period of time where I considered learning Advanced Magic, but when I gave my card to Kazuma over here, he said "The only spell that suits you is Explosion. Only focus on pursuing the path of Explosions"...

Kazuma: I did not say that. I definitely did not go that far.

CD: Oh, that's good. We had a really long argument over what we would do if Megumin learned some other spells.

Megumin: Oh, so you called a meeting over my Explosion magic ? Well, of course you would. Learning any other magic would be a waste of skill points, after all.

CD: No, we were discussing your new nickname. The title of the Crimson Demons' number one mage would become the one who calls down roaring thunder, I mean, Yunyun's title, right ? That's why Megumin's new title should be the number one joke mage of the Crimson Demons-

"Hey, calm down, Megumin. Your opponent is an archwizard. They have really low constitution, so don't strangle them."

Megumin: I too am an Archwizard, and a girl on top of that ! I'll show you the power of the joke mage !

CDs: Ten thousand Eris on the joke mage ! Thirty thousand on the worst mage ! Fifty thousand Eris on the Explosion mage !

Megumin: Hey, I don't mind you guys betting on me, but stop calling me by those weird names ! Though, Explosion mage sounds cool, so i'll let that slide... Oh, fine, I'll take all of you on !

"i don't care what you do, just take it outside !"