"What do you mean?" Darkness asked, confused.
Yunyun helped explain: "Teleportation magic burns through a huge amount of mana. If they kept using it right after a fight, they'd be empty in no time. There's no way Bukkororii and the others still had the mana to cast Teleport… They just wanted to make a cool exit, so they…"
Fwip—!
Out of nowhere, a little pebble flew toward them. Shichen reacted instantly, lifting a hand to catch it with ease.
"Thanks, Shichen." Yunyun looked at him sweetly, practically ready to throw herself into his arms.
He'd been watching out for her the whole time.
"There wasn't any force behind it to begin with." Shichen smiled, shook his head, and looked toward where it had come from.
Darkness also turned that way without a word.
The pebble had zero killing power—clearly a warning to cut Yunyun off and stop her from blabbing.
Which meant, of course, that Bukkororii and his crew hadn't left at all—they were still right there.
"Oh, right. Light-refraction magic sets up a barrier a few meters in radius around a target the caster designates—person or object—so people outside can't see what's inside… so if you just walk up close, you can see them," Megumin remembered to add.
"Really?"
Hearing that, Aqua perked up and headed toward where the pebble had come from.
"Eek—!"
A clear squeak of surprise came from ahead, followed by the faint scuffle of shifting feet.
Aqua halted, staring hard at the empty air.
"…"
The air went still—then Aqua suddenly lunged straight forward.
"Waa—!"
Another startled cry rang out, along with several sets of scrambling footsteps.
"Hahaha, this is great!" Aqua laughed, chasing the invisible Bukkororii and company, while they dodged for dear life.
"Aqua, quit messing around. Let's go," Shichen called.
"Eh? Lemme play a little longer—"
"…"
Nearly ten minutes later, Aqua finally let them off the hook; she got bored that fast.
After that, Shichen followed Megumin and the others through the gates of the Crimson Demon Village proper.
First order of business: swing by Yunyun's house and figure out what was actually going on. Until they got the facts, Yunyun couldn't relax.
On the way, Aqua asked Megumin, curious, "Are those guys really that strong? I couldn't catch them."
As a goddess, Aqua's stats—aside from her brain and luck—are actually pretty high.
"Heh~" Megumin smiled. "They must've cast body-enhancement magic. Those NEETs usually lie around at home. No way they've got that kind of stamina otherwise."
"NEETs? Didn't they say they were a guerrilla squad from the Demon King's army? They even said they had a patrol to run when they left," Darkness said, puzzled.
"Darkness, don't take them at their word so easily. They're just a bunch of jobless layabouts… Sure, if they went to another town as adventurers, they'd be hot commodities. But they refuse to leave here—total moochers who can't cut the cord from their parents."
"Seriously?"
"Why would I lie? They get bored out of their minds, so to avoid looking idle, they slapped on the 'Demon King Guerrilla Squad' label and just wander around the village outskirts."
"I… see…" Darkness looked like she couldn't quite accept it.
Granted, even if they're NEETs, there's no denying their capability as Archwizards.
Yunyun knew what Darkness was thinking and explained, "When Crimson Demons come of age, everyone learns advanced magic. All the villagers' class is Archwizard… After you've learned advanced magic and still have skill points to spare, that's when you branch into various spells."
"I get it… As expected of the Crimson Demons."
"Ahem, it's common sense, and yet some people…" Yunyun shot a meaningful glance at Megumin.
"What? Got a problem with me?" Megumin glared back.
"Nope." Yunyun immediately looked away.
"Hmph~ So you've grown some spine, huh, Yunyun—daring to throw shade at me."
"B-But you cast Explosion every day and then hog Shichen's back afterward…"
"So what? If you've got a problem, you can learn it too," Megumin said smugly, chin tipped up.
"I don't want to!"
"Then there you go. And Shichen hasn't said any— Wait, are you jealous? You want Shichen to carry you too, don't you?"
"I… I…" Yunyun sneaked a shy glance at Shichen, then turned away, cheeks flushed.
Yeah, that was basically a yes.
"Yunyun, if you want me to carry you, just say so. I'll do it," Shichen said with a smile.
Like he'd ever refuse Yunyun pressing against his back.
"R-Really?" Yunyun asked, thrilled.
"Of course."
"Got it!"
In high spirits, Yunyun quickened her pace toward home.
The road was very quiet. The Crimson Demon Village was the size of a small rural settlement; Crimson Demons were everywhere, but none of them looked tense in the slightest.
It didn't look like a place under attack by the Demon King's army at all.
Before long, following Yunyun, they arrived at a big house in the center of the village.
"This is my house. C-Come in, please."
"Thanks for having us."
Inside, it was very quiet. Yunyun led them to the sitting room.
"I'll go get my dad. Make yourselves comfortable," Yunyun said, hurrying off.
She was a bit nervous—this was the first time in her life she'd had friends over. Let alone the person she liked.
Shichen and the others sat around the low table to wait.
Before long, Yunyun returned with a middle-aged man.
"So you're Yunyun's adventuring companions? Hello." Yunyun's father fixed his gaze squarely on Shichen.
Understandable—he was the only guy.
"Hello, sir. I'm Shichen, Yunyun's party mate," Shichen introduced himself first.
Aqua and the others followed suit; even Frieren, for once, politely introduced herself.
"Hello… So, did you come for something in particular?" Yunyun's father was still staring at Shichen.
"Sir, about the letter you sent Yunyun—what was that all about?" Shichen asked directly.
"Oh, that. Just a family letter updating my daughter on the situation at home. But once I started writing I got more and more into it—after all, I have Crimson Demon blood. I simply can't write plain, ordinary letters."
"…What's that supposed to mean?" Shichen's mouth twitched.
Yunyun looked stunned. "D-Dad, I'm really happy to see you're safe, but could you explain the very first line—'By the time you receive this letter, I must already be gone from this world'?"
"Isn't that the Crimson Demon seasonal greeting? Didn't they teach you that at school? Ah—right, I almost forgot. You and Megumin graduated early because of your grades," her father said with a chuckle.
"…Then what about the part about 'failing to destroy the Demon King's military base'?"
"That's because the base they built is magnificently grand. Everyone's still debating whether to destroy it outright or keep it and turn it into a new tourist spot. We haven't been able to unify on a plan, hahaha."
"…Yunyun, can I punch the village chief?" Megumin asked suddenly.
"Of course."
"Yunyun?" her father stared at his daughter in shock.
"Hold on, I have a question," Darkness spoke up. "Sir, you said the Demon King's army built a base, right? In that case, one of the Demon King's Generals has come here?"
"Yes, just like I wrote in the letter. They sent a General who isn't affected by magic… Speaking of which, they should already be here. Would you like to go take a look?"
"Uh…" Darkness looked at Shichen, conflicted.
None of this felt like an actual attack by the Demon King's forces.
"Ahem. Sir, we'll take our leave for now," Shichen said, standing.
He'd remembered it wasn't a big deal—but experiencing it firsthand, he found the Crimson Demons truly exasperating.
"Eh? Leaving already? Won't you stay a bit longer?"
"No need."
"I see. Yunyun, why are you going too?"
"I'm going to settle a score."
"Huh?"
Leaving Yunyun's house, Shichen and the others headed for Megumin's place.
Yunyun didn't come—she really was going to chew out the friend who'd mailed her that letter, the one who'd totally gone overboard.
Megumin's house was a little out of the way, but the village wasn't big; they arrived quickly.
Perched on Shichen's back, Megumin had grown nervous.
Her home was a small wooden bungalow. It looked fairly large, but compared with the other houses in the village, the poverty was obvious.
"Sh-Shichen, you knock…" Megumin tightened her hold around him.
"What's wrong? Nervous?" he asked with a grin, glancing back.
"N-No way!"
"Mm-hmm."
He didn't press it. Carrying her to the door, he knocked at the entryway.
Soon there was the thump-thump-thump of footsteps inside, and the door opened a crack.
A cute little head peeked out.
It was a young girl—elementary-school age, a bit younger than Sakura and Illya.
Megumin had told them about her family, but Shichen already knew her.
This was Megumin's little sister, Komekko.
Gotta admit—she was adorable.
"Komekko, your onee-chan is back~ Have you been good at home?" Megumin asked gently.
"Hi there, little sis~" Shichen freed a hand to wave hello.
"…"
Komekko stared wide-eyed, took a deep breath, and yelled into the house, "Dad! Mom! Onee-chan brought home an extremely handsome man!"
~~~
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