The next day, Pecorine accepted a commission at the Adventurers' Guild — a subjugation request targeting the Doromu Colossus. The reward wasn't particularly high, but the target itself was one of a kind.
The Doromu Colossus was a monster constructed entirely from enormous gear-shaped cookies, standing over ten meters tall. Its physical and magical resistance were evenly balanced, with no particular weakness to either. The sweet, buttery fragrance drifting from its deep-brown cookie body had a chance of inflicting Dizziness on nearby combatants — and the more wounds it sustained, the more intense that aroma became, and the higher the chance of inflicting that effect grew.
The single most important reason Pecorine had chosen this commission was what the Doromu Colossus dropped upon defeat: a beautifully wrapped gift box, filled to the brim with cookies bearing all manner of peculiar effects. No one had ever managed to reproduce their flavor — which made them an exceptionally rare category of monster-derived cuisine.
Had she not happened to spot it the moment it was pinned to the commission board, it would probably have been claimed by another adventuring party before long. Foods with special effects were a highly sought-after commodity on the continent of Astraea.
Following the commission's directions, the party made their way into a ruin blanketed in gravel and rubble. The Doromu Colossus stood in perfect stillness upon the earth, like a uniquely shaped tower, its silhouette forming a stark contrast against the broken white marble columns that lay scattered in pieces all around it.
The mere sight of that towering form was enough to set Megumin's barely-contained Explosion magic instincts writhing with restless hunger. "This thing's build is absolutely made for me to take down with Explosion magic, right?! Right?! Right?!"
"Save your energy." Jhin raised his right hand and pressed it against her eager, raring-to-go shoulder. The leg guards and gauntlets of [Elemental Armament] shimmered into existence around his limbs. "Let me test out the new spell's effects."
Kokkoro had already briefed him on the Doromu Colossus's traits and abilities on the way over — as a testing ground for [Elemental Armament], it was a perfectly suitable target.
Megumin, for her part, was also curious to see just how far the ancient-tier spell had come after her own suggestions had been incorporated into its optimization. "Fine," she said. "But you'd better not try to steal the next subjugation commission from me."
"Much obliged."
Jhin drew out Pecorine's Void weapon, then charged headlong toward the Doromu Colossus — a party of one. Wind element gathered in front of his nose and mouth, condensing into a makeshift filtration mask to guard against the monster's intoxicating buttery aroma.
"Master... he won't be in any danger, will he?" Kokkoro bit her lip lightly, her eyes brimming with worry.
To test the pure amplification output of his spell, Jhin had even declined to have her use Blessing of Light.
"Relax. That's an ancient-tier spell Jhin created under the guidance of yours truly, the great Arch-wizard Megumin — there's absolutely no way it's weak!"
"After being guided by you... you're really sure it won't explode for some bizarre reason?" Kyaru regarded the armor with deep suspicion. She half-expected that the armor's true purpose wasn't defense at all, but to produce a devastating explosion the moment Jhin's fist connected with a monster — which would, admittedly, be extremely on-brand for someone of Megumin's sensibilities.
"Any explosion that isn't Explosion magic, I refuse to acknowledge!"
"Oh? But in that case... Kyaru's Guren Burst..." Pecorine left the sentence unfinished, but everyone present had already grasped exactly what she meant.
Guren Burst also had an explosive component — did that mean Megumin refused to acknowledge that one too?
"K-Kyaru is a companion, so that's fine — yes, explosions produced by companions are the one exception, I do acknowledge those!" Megumin hurriedly revised her philosophical stance. Mentioning Kyaru reminded her of something else entirely: the fact that she and Jhin could now cast Explosion magic together even without using Mana Touch.
She cleared her throat, puffed out her chest, and raised her chin — every inch the proud black cat — then strode forward on her staff with deliberate, elegant steps until she stood before the other three, the corners of her lips curling high. With an air of supreme satisfaction, she announced: "Just yesterday, Jhin and I successfully fused!"
"Fused?!" × 3
In Pecorine's imagination, Megumin had somehow managed to persuade Jhin by some unknown means, then climbed up to sit on his shoulders — just like the piggyback horse-riding games she used to play with her father the king when she was little. The memory stirred a faint pang of envy in her chest. "That sounds wonderful... I want to play like that with Jhin too."
"Congratulations to you both." Kokkoro smiled and clapped her small hands together. Jhin had told her about it the previous night — about how he and Megumin could now cast Explosion magic together even without Mana Touch.
Kyaru's eyebrow twitched violently. Apparently, without her noticing, Megumin and Jhin had become that kind of close — and apparently even Pecorine was eager to join in. She began to wonder if she'd been asleep for several years. How had things between these three moved so fast? "Since when did you fall for Jhin?"
At that, Megumin — still basking in her self-congratulatory glow — flushed scarlet at a speed plainly visible to the naked eye. The staff slipped from her grip and clattered straight to the ground. "Wh-What are you even talking about..." she stammered, "I — I don't — since when do I like Jhin..."
"Kyaru, Megumin was talking about the combined Explosion magic — the ten-fingers thing."
"Ah? Oh — oh, right. I misunderstood. Sorry." Snapped back to her senses by Kokkoro, it was now Kyaru's turn to go red-faced and mortified, her toes curling so hard she wished she could dig a hole straight to the center of the earth and disappear into it.
Pecorine, hoping to ease the tension, quickly changed the subject: "Speaking of romance — none of us have any experience with love, right?"
"Isn't that stating the obvious?" Kyaru shot her a grateful look and followed the thread: "Don't tell me you actually have someone you like right now?"
"N-No, nothing like that. I was just suddenly curious about what kind of guys everyone goes for."
"I like guys who are sincere, honest, and hardworking." Megumin's preferences were modest — growing up in a poor family, she had no lofty expectations for a future partner.
"Surprisingly straightforward. I assumed you'd go for someone cool who does everything with flair and shoots off flashy magic spells."
"Kyaru, what's even good about that type? They're obviously not honest enough, and they're always flirting with everyone around them." A worldview strikingly mature for someone with such a childlike face — and when her companions stared at her in surprise, Megumin added: "That's what Mama always told me."
"Oh? Is the Crimson Demon Clan monogamous?"
Kokkoro answered Pecorine's question: "The Crimson Demon Clan doesn't prohibit polygamy, but in practice it's almost exclusively one husband, one wife."
"Could you actually accept a polygamous arrangement?"
Kyaru answered, somewhat distractedly: "The Beastkin have no such rules. Multiple wives, multiple husbands — both are entirely common, as long as you're strong enough."
"Now that is a wild way of doing things... Though we Humans don't really have strict rules about it either. The current king married only the queen, but most of the nobility have several wives."
Megumin glanced over at Kokkoro. The Elves, with their transcendent, otherworldly aura, surely couldn't be so permissive in this regard — could they?
What Kokkoro said next nearly shattered her entire worldview.
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