[ It wasn't until breakfast the next day that Megumin told Aqua and the others about what had happened the previous night. Everyone sarcastically changed their address for Kazuma to Scumzuma.
Furthermore, calling it breakfast was a stretch; it was more like a bowl of water with a few grains of rice thrown in. You could say it was crystal clear to the bottom.
Next, led by Megumin, Aqua, and Kazuma began to tour the village. Kazuma was utterly shocked by everything he saw and heard.
There was a blacksmith uncle who, in order to attract tourists, created an artificial Sword in the Stone. It was enchanted with magic so that it could only be pulled out by the 10,000th person to try.
The sword had been stuck there for four years now, but there had only been about a hundred challengers.
After that, they saw a Cat-Ear Temple. A figurine of a cat-girl wearing a school swimsuit was solemnly enshrined in the center of the shrine.
Then they arrived at a wishing fountain. Aqua even dove into the water to scavenge a round of coins before popping out like a river spirit: "Since this is a tourist attraction, I allow you to hire me as the goddess of this spring!"
Next, the group arrived at a mysterious facility that sealed away the natural enemy of the Crimson Demons. It looked more like a massive concrete building.
Kazuma looked at the building ahead, which resembled a huge processing plant: "What is this mysterious facility?"
Megumin spoke with a knowing yet confused expression: "A mysterious facility is a mysterious facility. Its purpose is a mystery, and who built it for what reason is also a mystery."
Moreover, Megumin mentioned that there used to be a tombstone here sealing an Evil God, as well as land sealing a Nameless Goddess, but due to various reasons, the seals were all broken. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"I have to ask, why do you put rice grains in your boiled water… It really lives up to the name 'thin porridge', it's certainly thin enough!"
"Hahaha, calling him scum is just teasing. If Kazuma were a real scumbag, he wouldn't have spent hours agonizing over it stupidly last night."
After seeing these baffling and bizarre sights, and those inexplicable entertainment facilities.
The audience outside the video had only one thought in their minds… As expected of the Crimson Demon Village, very good, very powerful.
By the way, just what kind of messy stuff is sealed here?! Evil Gods and Goddesses? The key point is that the seals are too fragile; how did they all escape!
.....
〜Type-Moon World, Fifth Holy Grail War Worldline〜
"Enchanted with magic so only the ten-thousandth person can pull it out…"
Looking at the tourist attraction, Sword in the Stone on the screen, Artoria was dumbfounded. Can you play it like that?
Could the Sword in the Stone she pulled out back then have been tampered with, too? The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt, because this really seemed like something that Merlin, that conscienceless guy, would do!
Medusa's mouth twitched upon hearing this:
"That's such a scam."
This blacksmith boss really knows how to play. His imagination is quite unique to come up with this. It sounds a bit unethical, but he deserves to make money.
Illya counted on her fingers, muttering:
"This sword has been here for four years, with a hundred challengers… This math problem is so hard!"
Only a little over a hundred people in four years? The math didn't seem right, no matter how you calculated it. Plus, the scenery here was indeed beautiful; it was a good place for tourism.
But the number of tourists was far too sparse. It wasn't like this was a gathering place for the Axis Order; it was just a bunch of chuunibyou. It shouldn't be something to avoid like the plague… right?
〜A Certain Magical Index World, Academy City〜
Kamijou Touma laughed softly:
"If you ignore the various strange buildings, it really is a wonderful other-world journey."
Just looking at it made one feel relaxed and happy. It was like a paradise; the Crimson Demon Village was filled with peace and harmony.
Looking at the calm Touma, Index became puzzled instead:
"Aren't you curious about those weird things?"
That so-called mysterious facility wasn't just a research institute commonly seen in Academy City?! It felt completely out of place in another world.
"Who said I'm not curious?"
Speaking of this, Touma, who was just feeling sentimental, couldn't hold back his retort: "
Why is a cat-girl figurine enshrined in a temple!!"
Seriously, just how many reincarnators did Aqua send to this other world?! This looked like the masterpiece of some otaku.
Clearly, quite a few reincarnators were thrown over, but none of them did anything proper. It seemed like each one was weirder than the last.
〜Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious World〜
Watching Aqua's disgraceful behavior, Ristarte slapped her forehead with her hand, making a smack sound:
"Can't you have a little dignity? Don't be such trash!"
After jumping into the wishing fountain to scoop up people's coins, she shamelessly asked if they needed to hire a goddess to work in the spring.
No… why are you looking for a part-time job at a time like this? Hurry up and take your hero to defeat the Demon King and save the world! Do you want to go back to the Heaven Realm or not?
"The reputation of goddesses is being ruined…"
Ristarte wanted to cry but had no tears. She didn't even need to turn around to feel Seiya's somewhat piercing gaze.
.....
[ After visiting these bizarre attractions, the group arrived at a clothing store. The shop owner recognized Kazuma and Aqua as outsiders at a glance.
The manager decisively flipped his cape and performed a self-introduction very characteristic of the Crimson Demon Village: "My name is Chekera, the Archwizard who controls advanced magic! The number one clothing store owner of the Crimson Demons."
Kazuma looked at the manager, striking various strange poses, and was silent for a moment: "Number one among the Crimson Demons, that's really impressive!"
Hearing the praise, the manager laughed happily: "Yup, this is the only clothing store in the Crimson Demon Village!"
Kazuma retorted reflexively: "Are you messing with me?"
Then Megumin borrowed money from Kazuma and bought several identical capes. At the same time, Kazuma discovered something shocking.
"Wait, wait, why are you using this as a laundry pole!"
Facing Kazuma's astonishment, the manager said with a peaceful face: "Oh my, do you know what this is? This is a laundry pole with a long history passed down in my family for generations. It doesn't rust and works great!"
Aqua stared at the laundry pole with interest: "No matter how you look at it, that's a sniper rifle!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Hahaha, so that's what 'Number One among the Crimson Demons' means! But… it really seems like everyone is an Archwizard on average."
A laundry pole passed down for generations… The audience outside the video looked at the sniper rifle glinting with cold light, faces full of black lines.
They could tell that his ancestors had quite the background to use this thing as a laundry pole.
.....
〜Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World〜
"This Crimson Demon Clan is really…"
Natsuki Subaru watched with his eyelids twitching. All sorts of messy stuff were popping up.
An enshrined cat-girl figurine in a school swimsuit, a sword selection mechanic often found in games, a mysterious processing plant, a sniper rifle… Was this village built by a hardcore otaku?
It was full of Japanese otaku personality back then. The manager who could use a sniper rifle as a laundry pole was also a tough guy. A laundry pole that doesn't rust is indeed useful.
Maybe there are even artillery shells being used as rocks in the manager's house.
.....
[ Next, Megumin decided to take the group to a more fun place, which was her alma mater—the Red Prison!
Megumin and Yunyun changed into their school uniforms together and began to tour the academy. Just then, a trio made their entrance.
"I am Arue, the one with the number one development among the Crimson Demons, and the one who will eventually become a writer."
"I am Funifura, the number one brother-lover among the Crimson Demons, known as the Bro-con."
"I am Dodonko, the Crimson Demon's number one… number one… what was it?" Dodonko froze at this point.
This really was a characteristic of the Crimson Demons. And Arue was that brain-dead author who wrote letters to Yunyun.
"So these are Yunyun's teammates. They really exist."
Yunyun, who had never been able to make friends, immediately introduced them stubbornly: "This man is just a novice adventurer, and the girl is an Archpriest. Also, Megumin was lonely, so I invited her to join the party!"
But this lie was quickly exposed by Aqua: "Although Yunyun isn't a teammate, she helps us often, even though she isn't a teammate."
Looking at the stubborn Yunyun, the trio spoke in unison: "I knew it!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Red Prison… It's really hard to imagine what mental state the principal was in when naming it."
"Number one development is undeniable, you can tell just by looking. But… these people are naming geniuses!"
Good grief, by comparison, Yunyun and Megumin's names seem quite normal! No wonder they were the ones who went to become adventurers; it turns out they didn't quite fit in with the village.
What made everyone most speechless was the Crimson Demon Village's inexplicable obsession with the title "Number One." They absolutely had to pin a "Number One" title on themselves.
.....
〜Sword Art Online World〜
"Novice adventurer… You really know how to introduce people,"
Kirito was speechless.
Although Kazuma was still in the starter town, it didn't mean he was a novice. He could be considered an experienced pro gamer; he just hadn't leveled up much!
After all… have you ever seen a novice adventurer who could defeat three Demon King Generals?
If Kazuma had arrived at the Crimson Demon Village a few months later, Yunyun might have introduced him as the novice adventurer who defeated the Demon King…
"These names are certainly unique."
Asuna smiled somewhat forcedly.
What is all this? Are these really names and not nicknames? Funifura (Soft-and-Fluffy) and Dodonko… What kind of naming geniuses are these?
〜A Certain Magical Index World, Academy City〜
"Wait… you idiot goddess, what are you doing? Read the atmosphere!"
Misaka Mikoto looked at the brutally honest Aqua, wishing she could slap the water out of her brain.
As the saying goes, life is hard enough without exposing the truth. Yunyun is already so pitiful, just play along! Or at least stay silent if you can't.
You just had to expose her at a time like this, and the key is that you emphasized it twice. It's hard to tell if you're truly stupid or truly scheming.
Kuroko was also somewhat helpless:
"In reality, Yunyun hasn't even joined Kazuma's party. She counts as a collaborator, right?"
Yunyun is clearly strong and has a nice personality, so why is she so pitiful? She can't even make friends!
.....