The familiar fresh scent of cabbage in Axel, together with the noisy background chatter of adventurers, finally let Kōichi's nerves, which had been tense the whole way back, unwind.
After being put through the wringer by the lunatics in the City of Water, this peaceful atmosphere, thick with the smell of bottom-rung deadbeats, felt practically heavenly.
"Ah, I'm alive again! I swear, unless the Demon King personally comes knocking, I never want to set foot in Arcanletia again!" Kazuma stretched with zero concern for his image, then threw his pack onto the ground and waved at Dust. "Hey, Dust, why are you running off so fast? We haven't split the bounty yet!"
Without even looking back, Dust waved a hand, his feet moving like he was riding the wind.
"We'll deal with that tomorrow! I can feel it… there must be an extremely urgent quest waiting for me on the Adventurers Guild board! Or some special mission involving scantily clad women who can weave sweet dreams is calling to me! See you all later!"
"Tch, he's definitely going to the Succubus shop." Kōichi shook his head helplessly, then turned to the three problem children and the one person with common sense, Yunyun. "Let's head back to the mansion. It's probably gathered a lot of dust, but it's still better than sleeping outside."
Dragging their exhausted bodies along, the group passed through the familiar streets and rounded a few corners before the impressive mansion, which somehow always gave off an oddly ridiculous air, finally appeared at the end of the road.
But before Kōichi could even pull the key out of his pocket, Megumin, who was walking at the front, suddenly let out a cry of surprise and froze on the spot as if someone had cast a binding spell on her.
"Ko… Komekko?!"
Kōichi followed Megumin's gaze and saw a little girl of about eight or nine sitting in front of the mansion's heavy, ornately carved front door. She wore the small cape unique to the Crimson Demon Clan, and her hair was tied into twin tails.
She looked extremely similar to Megumin, especially those lively red eyes, which were now curiously studying the returning group.
The little girl was tightly hugging a pitch-black cat with a red cross emblem on its forehead and a pair of tiny wings.
The cat was trying to wriggle free from the little girl's clutches with a look of pure disgust, only for her to hug it even tighter.
"Big sister!" The moment she saw Megumin, the little girl named Komekko's eyes lit up. She sprang to her feet and ran over. Because she was moving too quickly, the black cat in her arms was flung straight into the air, gave an extremely half-hearted "meow—," and then landed neatly on Kōichi's head.
"Whoa! Komekko, why are you here?!" Megumin caught her charging little sister in her arms and spoke so fast she sounded like she was chanting a spell. "Where are Mom and Dad? Did something happen in the village? Did the Demon King's Army attack? Or did you come all the way here begging for food because you were too hungry?!"
Komekko looked up and gave an extremely bright smile, one that somehow carried a deeply ominous feeling.
"Nope, big sister. Dad said that because you kept bragging in your letters about living an extravagant upper-class life in Axel, throwing money around and keeping a harem of wives, everyone in the village decided to organize a Crimson Demon Village sightseeing tour. I came ahead on everyone's behalf to inspect your big house!"
Kōichi felt the black cat named Chomusuke on his head gently patting his hairline with its paw, and his heart sank.
"A sightseeing tour?" Kōichi stiffly turned to look at Megumin. "Megumin, what exactly did you write in those letters to your family? What do you mean, a harem of wives? And by inspect, do you mean a whole crowd of Crimson Demon Clan members is already on the way here?!"
Aqua also leaned in at that moment and curiously poked Komekko's rosy cheek.
"Hey, this kid is so cute. She looks way smarter than Megumin. Hey, little girl, did you bring any money? If you donate a little to the Axis Order, big sister will bless you so you grow up even more voluptuous than your sister."
"Stay away from my sister, you blue cultist!"
Megumin let out a protective roar.
Kōichi reacted quickly and lifted up Chomusuke, the black cat that had been trying to build a nest in his hair. The little creature gave another half-hearted meow, then obediently hung from Kōichi's finger.
Meanwhile, Komekko rubbed herself against Megumin in her arms, then pulled a crumpled letter from inside her little cape. It even had what looked like crumbs of dried sweet potato stuck to it.
"Oh, right, big sister! This is the top-secret final order Dad told me to hand directly to you. He said that if this letter doesn't reach you, Crimson Demon Village might turn into eternal dust under tonight's moonlight."
Komekko puffed out her little chest with a serious face, but paired with her childish features, she only looked like she was playing ninja.
Megumin accepted the envelope with trembling hands. Written on it in extremely ornate, over-the-top gold lettering were the words:
[To: My Beloved Daughter Who Walks the Path of Destruction, Ruler of Axel, Lord of Explosions, Megumin.]
"Ruler? Lord of Explosions?" Kazuma leaned over and delivered his retort with dead-fish eyes. "Megumin, how many layers of beauty filter did you put on those letters you sent home? Should we go to the Adventurers Guild right now and apply to change our party name, so your family doesn't come all this way and find out you're just a human accessory who needs someone to carry her after firing one shot every day?"
"Shut up, Kazuma! It was just a tiny bit of artistic embellishment to put my parents at ease!"
Megumin argued back with her face bright red, then hurriedly tore open the letter.
But as she read on, Megumin's flushed face instantly turned deathly pale. Even the magic hat on her head trembled faintly from its owner's shuddering.
"No way… Crimson Demon Village… was actually…"
Seeing this, Kōichi simply took the letter from Megumin's hands and read it aloud.
"My daughter, Megumin: By the time you read this letter, Crimson Demon Village will be standing on the brink of unprecedented destruction. A Demon King's General has surrounded the village, leading an army of Monsters capable of devouring everything. Though we of the Crimson Demon Clan possess the strongest magic, the village's food stores are down to the final three sweet potatoes. Your mother is currently dueling a neighbor because she couldn't get any dried sweet potato… Save us! Bring your teammates, rich enough to rival a nation, and return to save your homeland! Signed: Crimson Demon Village's Number One Magic Item Craftsman, Hyoizaburoo."
A strange silence settled over the air.
"Um…" Yunyun, standing to the side, was so anxious she looked ready to cry. She clutched Kōichi's sleeve, her voice trembling. "A Demon King's General… Kōichi-san, we have to go back! If Crimson Demon Village really disappears, I… I really won't have any friends left!"
"Hey, hey, that is not the issue here!" Kazuma pointed at a spot on the letter and ranted furiously. "Teammates rich enough to rival a nation? Megumin, did you tell your family that Kōichi is some prince traveling incognito from another kingdom, and I'm the shadowy mastermind controlling the world economy? And what's with this crisis over having only three sweet potatoes left? Are the Crimson Demon Clan on the verge of extinction, or are they just hungry and trying to trick us into going back to cook for them?!"
"Either way, that's a Demon King's General!" Darkness suddenly stepped forward, her eyes shining with a strange light that she called a sense of duty, but was clearly mixed with anticipation of being tormented. "As a Crusader of the Kingdom, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch the Demon King's Army run wild within our territory! If it's the Demon King's Army, then they're sure to torture prisoners with tentacled Monsters… Ngh, how vile! Let's depart at once!"
Aqua, on the other hand, was casually playing with Komekko.
"Huh? We're going back to Crimson Demon Village? Do they have any good wine there? If not, I'm not going to some place full of red-eyed chuunibyou. But… if I can get all those Crimson Demons to convert to the Axis Order, maybe I, the Goddess, really could rule the world. Hehehe…"