Megumin lay on Chishiya's back, clearly stunned.
"You know Explosion Magic too?"
She pursed her lips, her expression conflicted.
"Besides my big sister from the Crimson Demon Village, you're the first person I've met who can use explosion magic."
So exciting! I really want to talk to him about explosion!
A kindred spirit!
"No!" Megumin suddenly shook her head fiercely.
She refused to accept defeat.
"If you really know Explosion Magic, then show me."
"Let me see if your Explosion Magic has room for improvement."
Chishiya gave a faint smile.
I didn't want to show off, but you're making me.
"Can I borrow your staff?"
He took the staff from Megumin, then aimed at an empty patch of land nearby.
"Exhale."
He let out a long breath as mana began to surge through his body.
Megumin watched in disbelief as an overwhelming wave of magic—several times stronger than hers—erupted.
A kaleidoscope of starry light gathered at the tip of the staff.
Layer upon layer of red magic circles formed in the air.
"Explosion."
Chishiya said the word calmly.
The next second, a beam of multicolored light dropped from the sky.
Whoosh.
The light shrank inward, and the entire world seemed to fall into silence.
BOOM!!!
The explosion roared outward from the center, dwarfing the previous one in power.
A shockwave swept out, tearing through trees as thick as a man.
Megumin clutched her hat as she stared in stunned awe at the devastating blast.
The blazing red sky reflected in her crimson eyes.
It took her a while to snap out of it, only when the scarlet hue faded from the clouds.
"Wow… incredible…"
"Did I lose… the Explosion Magic contest?!"
She clenched her fists unconsciously.
Not just that. He wasn't even affected by the explosion at all.
He's obviously a regular human. How can he have this much magic power?!
Explosion Magic, while the most destructive spell, had serious downsides.
First, the mana cost was massive. Second, it required tons of skill points to upgrade.
Even Crimson Demons, with their innate magical talent, usually couldn't learn it before age 20.
Ordinary humans? Not before 40 or 50.
So people who could actually use Explosion Magic were extremely rare.
Let alone someone who specialized in nothing but Explosion Magic.
Megumin grit her teeth, staring at Chishiya's side profile.
"Even though I don't want to admit it…"
The feeling he gives me is just like the big sister I met as a kid!
"His Explosion Magic is so cool!!!"
Megumin suddenly grabbed Chishiya's shoulders and whispered.
"Teach me…"
Chishiya turned his head.
"Huh? What'd you say? You're mumbling."
"…"
Megumin's face turned bright red. She shouted,
"Please! Please teach me!!!"
"I can teach you," Chishiya said. "But what are you going to call me?"
"Sensei! Please, Sensei, teach me!"
Megumin clasped her hands together.
She had come to Axel specifically because she heard rumors about a magician who could use Explosion Magic.
Now it seemed she had found him.
And it looks like he was searching for the right disciple.
Yes, that has to be it!
Her second-year syndrome flared as she spiraled into delusions.
Chishiya smirked.
"Don't worry. I'll train you to become the world's strongest Explosion Magician."
"Get ready for hellish training."
"Yes, Sensei!"
———
Meanwhile
On the other side of the grasslands outside town, two adventurers were wrestling with a giant toad.
"Aaahh! Aqua, help!"
A boy in a green tracksuit was sprinting for his life as a giant frog chased after him.
From a hillside, a blue-haired girl shouted proudly,
"Kazuma! If you want my help, call me 'sama' first!"
"Aqua-sama!!"
Kazuma yelled back. Inwardly, he was cursing.
Damn you! I'll never let this go!
"Hehehe…"
Aqua giggled behind her hand.
"Fine, I'll help you, you stay-at-home NEET."
"But in return…"
"You'll start worshipping me properly tomorrow."
Just as Aqua began grinning smugly.
The giant toad, attracted by her yelling, changed targets.
It stopped chasing Kazuma and bounced toward her instead.
But Aqua, lost in her own world, didn't notice.
"When we get back to town, you're joining the Axis Church."
"You'll pray to me three times a day."
"And you won't complain about my cooking. You'll eat whatever I give you without question."
"Understand? And also—"
When she opened her eyes, the giant toad was already in her face.
"Huh?"
"Gu gua~!"
The toad opened its mouth wide and swallowed her whole.
"Ah???"
Kazuma stared blankly at Aqua's flailing legs sticking out of the toad's mouth.
"You actually got eaten—?!"
Ten minutes later
The giant toad was belly-up and unmoving.
Kazuma was kneeling beside it, panting.
"Thank god the thing couldn't move while it was eating Aqua."
Aqua sat on the ground, drenched in slime and sobbing pathetically.
"Waaaah… I've been defiled! It's so gross!"
Kazuma plugged his nose and backed away two steps.
He glanced at the toad's corpse.
A giant toad only fetched 5,000 eris.
You could make 8,000 eris working one day at a construction site.
Why the hell am I living this kind of life, risking my neck every day?
What I wanted was a chill, easy life in another world…
God, please. Just give me someone who can help me make that dream come true.
BOOM!
As soon as he finished speaking.
A deafening explosion rang out.
In the distant sky, a black vortex opened. A red pillar of flame dropped from the heavens.
The wind blew so hard, they couldn't even keep their eyes open.
Kazuma turned and squinted toward the source of the blast.
A man was standing on a distant hillside.
He looked around twenty.
A bit unkempt. Dressed in plain cloth.
"Amazing…"
Kazuma swallowed hard, staring at the explosion's aftermath.
"Is he… a high-level adventurer?"
"We used everything we had just to deal with one giant toad."
He turned to look at Aqua, still sobbing and slime-soaked.
"Why are my teammates such total weirdos?"
"Honestly, if I hadn't picked Adventurer and had gone Merchant instead, I'd probably be rich by now…"
"Luna did say I had high Luck. Said I'd be perfect as a businessman…"
Kazuma trailed off.
Watching Aqua heave a big sigh, he knew it was too late now.
(To be continued.)