"Drol, you're heading back already?" I asked after readjusting my adventurer gear in Axel.
The middle-aged blacksmith gave a smile that was hard to make out beneath his thick beard before sharing his thoughts.
"Yeah, I want to get back to the forge quickly," he said, pausing briefly.
Drol raised the palm of his hand, and his eyes seemed to gleam with an indescribable light as he gazed at the engravings etched into it.
I really wanted to talk more with him about other pieces of equipment, but I decided to hold off for now.
The man appeared to have reached some kind of enlightenment after watching my confrontation with young Chimotsuke II.
"Then I won't keep you any longer," I said, offering a wry smile.
Anyway, I also had things to do in Axel after my little fight with Chimotsuke II.
I had clothes to pick up from the seamstress, Megumin's explosive magic to release, and I also felt like wandering around the city a bit.
Not to mention my still-unfinished wyvern quest, and the one about the lost white wolf?
Plenty to keep me seriously occupied until my Dimensional Travel skill recharged.
While my mind was drifting elsewhere, I felt a small tug on my sleeve.
"Huh?! Something wrong, Megumin?" I asked, a bit confused, as I looked at the slightly flushed face of the Crimson Demon.
She looked like someone who had been holding it in for way too long before rushing to the bathroom.
Wait a second… holding it in?!
The explosion!!!
"Damn it, I almost forgot about your explosion… We're going right now — right after I heal Chimotsuke II," I said quickly after realizing what was bothering her.
Fortunately, her expression relaxed a little.
"You two are already at that stage? Haha, youngsters these days."
Hearing my words, Drol gave a teasing grin before walking off laughing.
The middle-aged man was clearly in a great mood after witnessing the interaction between Megumin and me.
Of course, the thought of correcting the experienced blacksmith's possible misunderstanding crossed my mind for a brief moment.
But I decided to let it go.
After all, Megumin and I had already moved past the "just friends" stage after that night at the mansion.
Just thinking about it made my body react slightly.
"N-no, y-you! I-I…!" Megumin tried to speak to the blacksmith, but she missed her chance to explain the situation to Drol.
The man had already walked too far away.
Pat.
I immediately placed my hand on her small shoulder and pulled her a little closer to me.
She trembled slightly at my touch but didn't show any real resistance to the gesture.
"Is Drol's misunderstanding really that unpleasant?" I asked with what I hoped was a reassuring smile, while carefully hiding my little Renji junior.
It would be problematic if Megumin noticed that particular part of my anatomy — still unsatisfied after our evening was interrupted by a ghost.
"R-Renji, I don't know…" Megumin stammered, but her words seemed to lose importance at that moment.
Wiz had already sold me an extremely convenient item for exactly this kind of situation.
"Huh?!" Megumin let out a strange sound before realizing too late what I had done.
[I don't think I'm ready for that kind of thing yet… And even though I like Renji quite a bit, I also have to think about Komekko's well-being.]
[Who knows if Dad will be able to sell his shady magical tools to pay for her magic studies…]
Wiz's magical hat immediately revealed Megumin's true thoughts about me — and the real reason behind her reluctance to fully accept her budding feelings.
Unconsciously, a genuine smile spread across my face as I listened to the actual reasons for her hesitation.
There was no real problem with me — Megumin just had a rather… unique family, and she couldn't afford to jump into a relationship without some kind of safety net for her poor little sister.
So she wasn't completely rejecting the idea of staying by my side — as more than just an adventure companion.
Idiot!!
"Renji! Y-you idiot!" Megumin shouted as she yanked the magical hat off, putting on an angry front.
But it was too late now.
We both knew she liked me.
"Haha, sorry, but I had to know," I said while taking her small fists pounding against my chest.
Listening to her, she lifted slightly teary, frustrated eyes toward me.
Instinctively, I knew what to say.
"I'll wait until you can sort things out with your family, so take your time—"
Because I plan to have fun with Luna once you're out of your illegal-loli phase.
But I would never say that second part out loud.
"Thank you, Renji," she said, giving me a smile that caught me completely off guard.
Kazuma… am I a lolicon too?
The thought crossed my mind because, for a brief moment, Megumin had actually made me consider giving up on Yunyun's two massive assets.
And on the beautiful Wiz as well.
Fortunately, it really was just "a brief moment."
Sorry, Megumin — I'm trash.
…
"Explosion!!"
An intimidating magic circle formed beneath Megumin's feet as terrifying magical energy poured into her staff.
Finally, a terrifying beam of energy was unleashed toward a ruined castle.
BOOM.
"Not bad… but it's missing… something small," I said honestly after the explosion.
"R-really? But I felt like this one had so much spirit!" the girl muttered. She was now being carried by Chimotsuke II.
"The master is right. That explosion feels like something mass-produced," the magical feline explained after glancing toward the ruined castle.
"Grr woof woof," growled a white wolf nearby after watching the exchange.
For now, nothing particularly interesting had happened in our routine adventurer life.
Kazuma's party was progressing nicely thanks to my suggestions on efficient use of adventurer jobs and Aqua's powers.
And most importantly, I had completed all the quests I hadn't finished yet… except for one tiny detail: the wandering wyvern.
That damn beast is incredibly hard to find, even with the help of my crow squad.
That's why I had focused my efforts on simpler quests — like searching for the white wolf currently walking beside me.
"Okay, I'll do my best next time!"
Megumin's eyes shone with fierce determination after her declaration.
I simply nodded at her.
Even though I'm not a huge fan of Megumin's extreme specialization, right now she was my strongest offensive asset.
The more she mastered Explosion magic, the better off I'd be against troublesome opponents in the future.
" bastard !!!"
An anxious voice echoed from the ruined castle just as we started walking away.
I turned back toward the hill scarred by Megumin's repeated spells over the past few days.
Yet there was no longer any real trace of the unsettling aura I had felt alongside that menacing voice.
Was it just my imagination?
Should I cut back on my workload like Kazuma suggested?
"Yeah… I'm probably just tired. There's no way Beldia could already be in the area," I muttered instinctively while glancing behind me.
Completely unaware that I had just raised a massive death flag.
"Renji? Is everything okay?"
Megumin's worried voice snapped me back to reality.
"Yeah, yeah. I was just wondering if that castle might be occupied by a third party," I answered honestly.
The little Crimson Demon avoided my gaze after my words and put on her usual guilty look — the one she always wore when I caught her red-handed doing something silly.
"Megumin… is there something you want to tell me?"
"Sorry!!!"
And that's how I ended up preparing for a high-rank adventurer quest.
The subjugation of one of the Demon King's generals!!
Damn it, I just wanted to go back to the island…