You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395
On the way back to Axel, Fang Li learned a bit about the relationship between Megumin and Yunyun from their own mouths.
Previously, Megumin had mentioned that Yunyun was her classmate during school days. Megumin was always ranked first, while Yunyun was always second, constantly challenging Megumin and calling herself her rival.
Apparently, that story was true.
Although she's now a defective mage who only knows how to use Explosion Magic, back in her school days, Megumin was a famous genius. Her magic power was the highest among her peers, and her intelligence far surpassed that of normal people. Even if she was a bit odd, she matured earlier than others and was consistently top of the class.
Yunyun, on the other hand, sat next to Megumin. She was the daughter of the Crimson Magic Clan's chief, someone who should have been the best of the best, but she was always outshone by Megumin, which left her feeling deeply unwilling.
To make things worse, Megumin's family was extremely poor, unable to even guarantee three meals a day. In order to get food, this shameless genius constantly hovered around Yunyun, tricking her into challenges using all sorts of pretexts. The bet? Yunyun's lunchbox. They competed in all kinds of contests, and Megumin always ended up winning, barely managing to survive each day.
After hearing this, Fang Li had only one thought:
"Megumin must've used all kinds of dirty tricks to keep winning, right?"
This blunt remark moved Yunyun to tears, finally meeting someone who understood her, while at the same time, Megumin lunged at Fang Li's throat.
Truthfully, Fang Li wasn't wrong.
Megumin's repeated victories over Yunyun were indeed achieved through devious means.
For example, even though she knew Yunyun was more developed than she was, Megumin would insist on competing over who was slimmer.
Or, despite being vastly inferior to Yunyun in combat skills, Megumin would take Chomusuke hostage and force Yunyun to surrender.
And when Megumin did lose, she would haughtily claim:
"Just now, I was only in my first form. Now I'm in my second form. In other words, I wasn't going all out earlier. Even if you won, it doesn't count."
Then she would demand a rematch using this shameless logic, until she won.
If she truly couldn't win, Megumin would even play the emotional card:
"Since I lost, there's nothing I can do. I'm someone who can accept wins and losses. Even if I have to starve the rest of the day and collapse by the roadside, dying just like that, I won't blame Yunyun. A match is a match, after all."
At that point, Yunyun would end up crying and surrendering, begging this supposedly "accepts defeat" Megumin to take the lunchbox anyway, just so she wouldn't starve…
How to put it?
It was the kind of rivalry that left people utterly speechless.
But, one had to admit: Yunyun herself was clearly enjoying it.
"After all, this lonely girl has no friends. She uses the excuse of being a rival to get close to me, hoping I'd acknowledge her. Out of pity, I reluctantly play along and give her a way out."
Megumin said this with a smug face, only to have Yunyun grab her by the throat in return.
Still, there was no denying that the two girls shared an extremely deep bond.
For Megumin, the girl who made her lunch every day and helped her survive was her best friend for life.
For Yunyun, the girl who accepted every challenge and spent her days with a lonely girl like her was also her best friend for life.
The bond between these two girls is far stronger than anyone could imagine.
Otherwise, when Megumin learned Explosion Magic and left the Crimson Demon Village in search of companions to go adventuring, Yunyun wouldn't have followed her, stumbling through unfamiliar territory all alone.
At this point, Fang Li grew puzzled.
"Since you've known each other for so long, why didn't you just form a party together?"
Faced with Fang Li's question, Megumin and Yunyun answered like this:
"Having two Arch Mages in one party would be weird, right?"
This, of course, completely ignored the fact that Megumin is a defective Arch Mage who can only fight once per day.
"I-I'm just Megumin's rival! There's no way we'd form a party together like companions!"
This was Yunyun's excuse, too embarrassed to admit that Megumin was her friend, refusing to lose face, and instead giving a pathetically flimsy reason.
Precisely because of this, although the two came to Axel together from the same hometown, they never actually formed a party.
One of them, who could only fight once a day, became an unwanted adventurer.
The other, who could only recruit companions in painfully awkward ways, ended up without a single friend.
At this point, Fang Li finally understood.
"Two hopeless tsunderes."
This merciless remark didn't just make Megumin furious, even Yunyun broke out of her usual shy shell and lunged at Fang Li's throat.
Amidst this chaos, the three finally returned to Axel.
"No matter what, I definitely won't lose to Megumin again!"
Yunyun declared this spiritedly, pointing a finger at Megumin.
"So Megumin, let's have a rematch, it's been a while!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Li truly thought:
Yunyun had only ever lost to Megumin when it came to grades and petty mind games.
When it came to actual magical ability, there was no way she could lose.
Yes, Megumin's Explosion Magic was powerful, but it was also full of flaws.
Meanwhile, Yunyun had inherited the strong magical power and intelligence of the Crimson Demon Clan to their fullest.
She not only mastered Intermediate Magic, but also Advanced Magic. In real combat, she could easily take down even high-rank adventurers.
In other words, Yunyun was a genuine Arch Mage of the Crimson Demon Clan.
Which made Fang Li more and more regretful, why didn't he go after Yunyun back then?
Unaware of Fang Li's thoughts, Megumin lay sprawled across his back, looking helpless as she spoke:
"Since you've helped take care of Chomusuke, I'll accept your challenge."
Before Yunyun could even be happy, Megumin changed the subject:
"However, as you can see, I've already used up all my magic power today, so I can't settle this with magic. Instead, let's compare our Ranks today."
Hearing that, Fang Li immediately understood,
Yunyun's probably going to lose again.
Even though Yunyun was a genuine Arch Mage, capable of both Intermediate and Advanced Magic, she should have been leveling smoothly.
But recently, Megumin had been freeloading at Fang Li's place, eating meals that granted high experience points every day.
On top of that, during the battle with Beldia, her Explosion Magic had wiped out a large group of Undead, massively boosting her experience.
There was no way her Rank would be lower than Yunyun's.
And that's exactly how it turned out.
Megumin's Level: 18
Yunyun's Level: 15
Once again, Yunyun lost to Megumin.
"Another win for today!"
Megumin pulled out a small notebook from her chest and started recording her victory.
Yunyun, meanwhile, squatted down and quietly cried.
Seeing this, Fang Li walked up and patted Yunyun on the shoulder, sighing deeply as he said:
"Say, Yunyun… do you want to come live with me?"
"!"
That one sentence made both Megumin and Yunyun open their eyes wide in shock.
(End Of This Chapter)
PS-"For every 100 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-10)! (Resets Every Week on Monday)"