"Wait, Shichen—you said we're going to the Crimson Demon Village?" Megumin blurted, a little excited.
"Yeah. Is that a problem?"
"It's just… isn't that a bit sudden?" Megumin suddenly got bashful, even a little embarrassed.
"I-I think so too," Yunyun added shyly.
"You two… don't tell me you don't want me going to the village?" Shichen asked with a smile. He'd already guessed what they were worried about.
"No, no!" They both shook their heads.
"It's just…"
"Heh—are you nervous about me meeting your parents?" Shichen asked.
"Um…" Neither answered, but their flushed faces said he'd nailed it.
"What's the big deal?" Shichen pulled Megumin into his arms as well.
"W-what… do you mean?"
They both looked up at him, puzzled.
Happily holding the two petite girls—one slender, one soft with curves—the contrast left him especially satisfied.
"I'm going to meet your parents sooner or later anyway. Sooner or later, what's the difference?" he said.
"Mm… I guess that's true. It's just a little sudden this time," Yunyun murmured, embarrassed.
"I think so too. And my family…" Megumin trailed off.
"It's not sudden." Shichen hugged them tighter and smiled. "Some things are better done on the spur of the moment; no need to overprepare. And Megumin, don't overthink it. I'm not going to look down on your family."
"Shichen…" Megumin looked at him, moved.
"Don't hesitate. The Crimson Demon Village is in danger—we should help. Don't you want to save your home?"
"That's not it!" Yunyun shook her head quickly.
"Then we're agreed. Or is it that you don't want me to meet your parents?"
"Of course not!" they said in unison, shaking their heads.
"In that case, it's decided."
"Mm…"
They glanced at each other, then nodded together, blushing. "Okay."
"That's better." Shichen ruffled their hair.
"Wait!"
Darkness suddenly cut in—she'd just picked up the two letters to read. "What is it?"
"I think the handwriting on these two letters is different. And what does this suffix mean?"
"What suffix?"
"Look." Darkness brought it over.
"Eh?"
Seeing the note at the end, Megumin and Yunyun froze. On the second letter's last line it said: "Crimson Demon Hero Legend, Chapter 1." Author: Arue.
"What's this?"
They looked at each other again, mortified, and Yunyun yelped in embarrassment. "Aaaah! Too much! That idiot Arue!"
"There's also a weird note here," Darkness said, pointing at the end of the second letter.
[Note: Postage is expensive, so I asked the chief to let me tuck my novel into his letter. I'll send Chapter 2 once it's done.]
"Nooo!" Yunyun grabbed the letter in a panic, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it away.
"Hey, hey—what's going on? Explain! And what does 'Arue' even mean?" Aqua asked, a smug, schadenfreude smile on her face. She had her reasons for being delighted—she and Shichen were already official, and of course she'd felt a twinge of jealousy, especially after almost thinking Yunyun really wanted to have his child. Now that it was fake, she was thrilled.
"That person, Arue, is a classmate of mine and Yunyun's from the Crimson Demon Village. How should I put it… she's a weirdo who wants to be a novelist," Megumin explained.
"I see."
Darkness couldn't help sighing in relief. "So it was just a made-up story… Wait! Then what about the first letter?"
"The first one should be real. It's from the chief himself, after all, so it's probably not fake. And the Crimson Demons have always been a thorn in the Demon King's side—they already made a move on Arcanletia. Targeting the Crimson Demons next is perfectly plausible," Shichen said.
In this world there are two big headaches: the Axis Church and the Crimson Demons. Honestly, the Demon King's offensive against humans started because the Crimson Demons provoked him. They're a bunch of chuunibyo types—nothing feels better to them than poking the Demon King.
"So what do we do?"
"Didn't I just say?" Shichen grinned. "We go to the village and take a look."
…
Shichen had never been to the Crimson Demon Village. He'd already experienced one of the world's two great oddities; of course he had to see the other. And not just that—like he said, he planned to meet Megumin and Yunyun's parents.
Since Megumin and Yunyun knew the way, he didn't need a map. They packed that day, stuffed everything into his Gate of Babylon, and set out the next morning.
No carriages go to the Crimson Demon Village—nobody travels to a place that weird. Shichen also didn't plan to swagger in on Rayquaza. Aside from tipping off the Demon King's army, he didn't like making a spectacle of himself; and more importantly, he intended to "mark" the whole world, so of course he wanted to travel it on foot.
That said, they didn't need to walk the entire way. The Hot Spring Capital, Arcanletia, is quite close to the village. Shichen first brought everyone straight to Arcanletia, and from there they'd walk to the village. According to Megumin and Yunyun, it was about a two-day trek from Arcanletia—easy enough to head home and sleep at night.
Which, in hindsight, made packing feel a bit unnecessary… but whatever; at least they looked the part of travelers.
Space magic is ridiculously handy.
They left Arcanletia and reached a stretch of forest, when Shichen—who'd been striding quickly—suddenly stopped.
"Shichen, what's wrong?" Aqua asked.
"Look up ahead," he said, frowning.
"Up ahead?"
Following his gaze, they saw a petite green-haired girl sitting on a stone post at the forest entrance. She spotted them too and waved excitedly.
"Why is there a girl there?"
"Is she by herself?"
"This seems really suspicious…"
"H-her foot looks injured," Yunyun noted.
Just as Yunyun said, the green-haired girl's right ankle was wrapped in bandages, already seeping blood. She glanced down at it with a frown, then lifted pitiful eyes toward Shichen and the others.
"Shichen, should we help her?" Aqua asked.
"She looks so pitiful," Darkness added, overflowing with sympathy.
"No," Shichen said, shaking his head.
"Eh? Why?" Aqua asked, puzzled.
Instead of explaining, Shichen looked to Yunyun. "Yunyun, you should know what that 'girl' really is, right?"
"Huh?"
Yunyun blinked, thought for a second, then remembered. "I got it! That 'girl' is a monster in disguise—it's a Tranquility Girl!"
"Tranquility Girl?"
Megumin and the others looked confused.
"I don't remember all the details, but I think it absorbs nourishment from human corpses."
"Ew—then let's just kill it now!" Megumin said, shuddering.
"Heh. Weren't you all about to save her a second ago? And she is pretty cute," Shichen teased.
"She's not human—she's a monster! And… what do you mean 'cute'? Don't tell me you like her?" Megumin glared at him.
Aqua and the others stared too.
"…How could I? She's a monster," Shichen said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Really? But she's super cute, and you're a so-called 'lolicon.' Isn't that your type?" Megumin pressed.
"What 'lolicon?' Don't slander me!" Shichen said righteously.
"Is that so? Then you won't feel bad if we kill her, right?"
"I said she's a monster…"
"Then it's settled."
Megumin and the others nodded to each other and closed in on the Tranquility Girl, leaving only Frieren behind.
"Um… it hurts… could you… Eh? Wait! What are you doing? No! Help! Aaaah!"
The Tranquility Girl was wiped out in an instant, and the group looked quite satisfied with themselves.
"…" Shichen's eyelid twitched.
This wasn't right. Shouldn't Megumin and the others have been overflowing with sympathy and spared the Tranquility Girl? How could they bring themselves to strike? Just because the monster's loli look matched his supposed "type"?
Jealous girls could be downright cold-blooded.