The reception room was bare-bones, a shabby low table in the middle. Shichen, Frieren, and Darkness sat on one side; on the other sat a middle-aged couple. The mood was a little heavy, though Aqua bustling around kept it from getting too oppressive.
"Komekko, look—this is Cool, right?"
"Whoa, amazing!"
Aqua was entertaining Megumin's little sister, Komekko, with her bag of party tricks. As for Megumin, she was lying in the corner under a blanket—after firing off Explosion, she still hadn't recovered.
"Ahem."
Megumin's father, who'd been staring sternly at Shichen, cleared his throat twice, drawing everyone's attention. He looked like an ordinary black-haired uncle, but his gaze was razor-sharp, and there was a silent pressure rolling off him—not the pressure of a strong man, but the pressure of a father.
Megumin had mentioned his name was Hyoizaburoo—very on-brand for the Crimson Demons.
"Er, my daughter's been in your care all this time. I'm very grateful," Hyoizaburoo said, giving a slight bow.
"That's right; thank you so much for looking after our girl… She's written a lot about you in her letters home, Shichen-san~ We practically know you already," said the beautiful woman beside him, touching her cheek with a smile before bowing as well.
She was Megumin's mother, Yuiyui—her features were very similar to Megumin's, like a scaled-up version: glossy black hair, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her eyes and mouth.
"Letters?" Shichen blinked and glanced at Megumin, who had suddenly shrunk deeper under the covers. He hadn't even known she'd been writing home, much less that she'd been writing about him.
"Yes, our daughter brings you up all the time… So, what exactly is your relationship with her?" Hyoizaburoo asked, eyes locked on Shichen. It wasn't the first time—he'd asked the moment Komekko called them to the door.
"For now, Megumin and I are party members," Shichen answered honestly.
In truth, their relationship was already far from ordinary—they'd kissed, he'd touched her all over, even checked her "mark"—but the two of them hadn't actually become boyfriend and girlfriend.
"Hah—?"
Hyoizaburoo cocked his head, giving Shichen a thuglike side-eye as his hand gripped the table's corner. "What did you say?"
Yuiyui hurriedly pressed down his hand and whispered urgently, "Honey! Calm down! Don't flip the table—what if it breaks? We only have the one. And this month we barely have any income…"
Her voice trailed off, embarrassed but not overly so.
Darkness stared, stupefied—perhaps completely at a loss with the Crimson Demons by now. Frieren kept her head down, absorbed in her manga.
"Right…"
Hyoizaburoo settled quickly, lifted his teacup, took a sip, and exhaled a long breath. "Ahem. Pardon my rudeness. Your answer rattled me for a moment, but you leave me no choice—don't play dumb."
"Play dumb?" Shichen frowned. Had Megumin written something outrageous?
He looked toward the commotion corner and met Megumin's lively eyes—then she guiltily yanked the blanket over her head.
What was that supposed to mean?
"Hmph! Still pretending? Our daughter wrote all sorts of intimate things about you two!" Hyoizaburoo snorted.
"For real?"
Megumin was that bold? No wonder Hyoizaburoo's attitude had been so frosty. That's a father for you—no matter what kind of guy his daughter brings home, the guy is destined to be the enemy. If Shichen had a daughter someday and she brought a boy home, he'd be even worse—might even feel like killing the kid.
Fathers are unreasonable creatures.
Still, that wasn't his role here—and he had a way to handle Megumin's parents.
"Sir, ma'am—these are some gifts I brought for you. Just a small token; please accept them…" Shichen took several boxes out of the Gate of Babylon.
They were specialty foods from Axel and from the hot-spring capital, Arcanletia, not cheap by any means. Not that money mattered to him.
Smack!
Hyoizaburoo and Yuiyui both grabbed the boxes Shichen had set on the table.
"...Honey, Shichen-san gave those to me. Please let go."
"My, my, look at you—calling him 'Shichen-san' the moment you get a gift. Don't be so shameless. These are for tonight's dinner. Don't you dare plan to use them as snacks with your booze."
The two dropped their voices and squared off—mortifying, frankly.
"Um, what exactly did Megumin write?" Shichen cut in; he had no desire to watch this trainwreck. They might not be embarrassed, but he certainly was.
Still clutching a box, Yuiyui tilted her head. "She said you two are very close. I thought she meant you were her boyfriend."
"What exactly did she say?"
Yuiyui paused, looked at Hyoizaburoo, and after they exchanged a nod, she said, "For example… that you hug her in your arms every day…"
"And that you like to smack her butt…" Hyoizaburoo added coldly.
"And you often tell her things like, 'Seems like you've gotten bigger lately…'" Yuiyui continued.
"And that you bathed together at the hot springs…" Hyoizaburoo ground out.
"And that you used a skill to snatch her panties…"
"Okay, okay, that's enough…" Shichen couldn't take any more and hurried to stop them. Megumin had told them everything! That is not the kind of thing you just blurt out!
"Hmph! You're already close enough to, ahem, get handsy with our girl whenever, and you still dare say you're just party members?" Hyoizaburoo crossed his arms, clearly displeased.
"Uh…" Shichen was too embarrassed to speak. If he'd known Megumin had told them all that, he never would've said what he did.
He glanced over at her; sure enough, she was curled under the blanket, which was trembling.
"Even so," Yuiyui said gently, smiling, "she wrote that she still wants to be with you."
"I see."
Shichen couldn't help but smile. Then, solemnly, he said, "Sir, ma'am—though Megumin and I aren't in a special relationship yet, I will treat her well."
"Hmph. That's more like it," Hyoizaburoo sniffed. He didn't seem to have a huge issue with Shichen after all—he'd simply thought Shichen was being evasive.
"Heehee~ Then we'll leave her to you. Our girl can be a bit headstrong—please be patient with her…"
"Mom! What are you even saying!" Megumin suddenly sat up, face scarlet, and protested in a flustered squeak.
"You look fine to me," Yuiyui said.
"I…" Megumin peeked at Shichen, flushed even redder, then ducked back under the blanket.
"Heehee~ That's our girl."
"It's fine—I'm used to it," Shichen said with a laugh and a shake of his head.
"That's good…"
Dong, dong, dong—!
Suddenly, a deep, ringing bell sounded outside, followed by a broadcast.
[Alert! Demon King Army alert! If you're free, assemble at the griffon statue by the village gate! Estimated enemy numbers: around one thousand!]
"What? The Demon King's army? A thousand?" Darkness yelped.
"Don't worry," Hyoizaburoo said, completely unbothered. He and Yuiyui both looked calm.
"It's only a thousand. We can just wait here."
"B-But a thousand soldiers? Will the Crimson Demons be… okay?" Darkness asked anxiously.
"Relax. It's only a thousand. We Crimson Demons can handle that without breaking a sweat," Hyoizaburoo replied coolly.
"Shichen…" Darkness looked to him.
"If he says so… Still, I'll take you to have a look."
"Then hurry! I can help!"
"You probably won't be needed."
"Eh?"
Shichen couldn't be bothered to explain. Better to let her see the Crimson Demons' power with her own eyes. Their heads might not be screwed on straight, but their strength was the real deal.
Scooping up Frieren, Shichen headed with her toward the village gate.