As the night deepened and the guests left, it was decided that Darkness and I would spend our wedding night at the Dustiness family home. After bathing, Darkness and I sat on the bed in the same room. Darkness had a very tense face, which didn't match her personality.
"This is unexpected. I thought you wouldn't be nervous about such things."
"Ugh... This is my first time too, so it's embarrassing..."
Darkness was shy at first, but as she got used to it, she showed her true colors, and we enjoyed SM play all night, and the next day came. It was my first time enjoying SM play too, and it was a different experience that was very exciting. Most women would dislike it, but since Darkness enjoyed and accepted it, it wasn't bad.
However, not only the bed but the room was completely messed up, so while Darkness went to shower, I had to clean and tidy up a bit with [Daily Life Magic]. After that, I also washed up and we moved together to have a meal. Then Ignis greeted us happily.
"I wonder if you had a good wedding night."
"Haa~ I never knew Cassian had such a side hidden. Father, I think this marriage was really good."
Darkness said to Ignis with a very flushed face. Seeing that, Ignis was very flustered.
"W-well... That's good. Let's have a meal first and prepare for the honeymoon trip."
"Yes, understood."
After enjoying the meal, we changed clothes and went to Axel Town. When we arrived home, Kazuma and the others were almost finished preparing for the trip.
"You're here! We're done preparing. It seems we can depart now."
Luna decided to skip this trip. We talked yesterday, but since it's a honeymoon with Darkness and she has a lot of work at the guild, she said she couldn't help it. So, she urgently requested someone to ask Helen to help watch the house together.
'Thinking about it, I've never traveled alone with Luna. I should travel with her sometime next time.'
We picked up our luggage and moved to take a carriage going to Arcanretia. As soon as we arrived, Aqua excitedly started choosing the carriage to ride.
"Cassian~! Let's take this carriage. With this size, there should be enough room for all of us."
The carriage Aqua chose was made with a wooden frame and thick cloth to reduce weight for the walls, and it seemed there would be enough room for us to ride. However, the ride comfort didn't look very good.
'When I go to the MCU, I'll have to make horses and carriages for fantasy or martial arts use.'
When I go to the MCU, I'll probably be busy repairing broken things and making what's needed. Anyway, I glanced at other carriages, but there didn't seem to be any alternatives, so I decided to rent that entire carriage. After I paid and returned to the carriage, Aqua and Kazuma were fighting again, apparently arguing over sitting by the window.
"I called dibs on the window seat!"
"What are you talking about, such things should be decided fairly."
"Then, let's decide by rock-paper-scissors!"
"Alright, Aqua! By rock-paper-scissors, right?"
Aqua seemed to be making a mistake again. She can never beat Kazuma at rock-paper-scissors. Sure enough, Kazuma also showed a faint smile, confident of victory.
"Yeah! Let's do it quickly."
Rock-paper-scissors!
We all played rock-paper-scissors, but as expected, we couldn't beat Kazuma. Everyone threw rock, but only Kazuma threw scissors, winning instantly.
"As expected, the window seat is mine."
Aqua couldn't accept it and made an excuse.
"Wait! Who said it was the winner's turn!!"
Hearing that, Kazuma looked at Aqua as if she was ridiculous and said.
"Then, do you want to compete with me? If you win even once out of three matches, I'll yield the window seat."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Aqua smiled as if confident of victory.
"Hmph! Do you know probability calculation?"
"Yes."
"Kazuma winning three times in a row is an incredibly absurd thing!"
Then, Kazuma took a deep breath and made a serious expression, taking a stance for rock-paper-scissors.
"I've never lost at rock-paper-scissors before."
As expected, without any variation, Kazuma won consecutively. Then, Aqua clung to Kazuma and asked to do it one more time.
"This is ridiculous!! It's weird!!! You cheated, right? Please! Just once, just one more time!"
"Really? This is the last time!"
"You accepted, Kazuma! I don't know what cheat you used, but if that's the case, I have a plan too!"
Aqua used [Blessing], a magic that boosts her luck, and challenged Kazuma, but this time too, Kazuma won.
"Why!!!"
"As I said earlier, I've never lost at rock-paper-scissors since I was a child."
"Cheap bastard! What is that! It's unfair! That's a cheat ability! You were a born special ability user? Then the awesome grace I received is invalid, invalid! Send me back to the heavenly realm quickly, you damn cheater!"
Hearing that, Kazuma argued with Aqua with an angry face.
"What are you talking about, you damn bitch! My special ability is winning at rock-paper-scissors!? Are you an idiot!! How am I supposed to deal with monsters with this!! The most infuriating thing is you calling yourself a grace! Ah, really, don't make me laugh! What grace! If I could return you and get a special ability, I would have returned you long ago!!"
Aqua grabbed Kazuma's collar and shook him.
"You! You! You! There are things you can say and things you shouldn't say, and you didn't even know that!!!"
Kazuma didn't back down either and pulled Aqua's cheeks on both sides.
"This guy!!!"
Stretch~
"Stop it!! Stop pulling!!!"
Megumin, Yunyun, and Darkness looked at Kazuma and Aqua with pitiful faces. I bought a lot of boxed lunches and snacks and put them in my inventory. Fortunately, the food in Konosuba was hygienic and tasty enough without failure, so I decided to just buy the boxed lunches sold here.
When I returned to the carriage, I saw that Kazuma was sitting by the window and Aqua was sitting in the corner. I took out thick cushions from my inventory and gave them to each. Kazuma received the cushion happily and asked.
"Wow~ when did you prepare these? I was just desperately thinking about cushions."
"Last time when I went to the royal capital by carriage, it was tough. So, I prepared in advance."
"As expected, Cassian is thorough with such preparations. I'll use it well."
We all sat down after laying the cushions. After waiting a bit, the coachman leading the front carriage shouted loudly.
"Departing for Arcanretia~!!"
Then, the carriages started moving in order. The ride comfort was certainly not great, but with the cushions laid out, it was bearable to sit and go. Everyone looked at the scenery with excited expressions as they traveled.
"On a trip like this, food can't be missing. Let's eat this while going."
I took out some of the snacks and jerky I bought earlier and shared them. Then, Kazuma and Darkness seemed to reminisce about old memories.
"It reminds me of when I traveled by train in that country as a child."
"I also remember when I first went to the royal capital. Maybe it's good to travel like this sometimes."
"Indeed."
Then, Megumin asked Darkness with sparkling eyes.
"How was the wedding night? Please tell us."
Darkness blushed and was flustered but didn't tell what happened that day.
"Ahaha, that's... Megumin, you're still young, so it's hard to say. I hope you understand."
"Tch! I'm all grown up now too."
Eventually, Megumin gave up on hearing about the wedding night. Telling the truth would have been shocking content for Megumin. From Darkness's perspective, it must have been hard to talk about.
Then, suddenly, Kazuma looked out the window and said to me.
"Huh? Cassian, do you see that?"
I got up from my seat, went to the window where Kazuma was, used [Clairvoyance], and looked at the place Kazuma pointed to.
"That's a herd of 'Dash Maelstrom'."
"Dash Maelstrom? What's that?"
"They're creatures with eagle heads and ostrich bodies, and they have a peculiar way of choosing their king. They have a contest where they charge at a very hard target at full speed and dodge just before hitting it, and the one who succeeds the most becomes the king."
"Really? But it seems like they're coming towards us?"
As Kazuma said, the 'Dash Maelstrom' herd was definitely running towards us.
"That's right. We need to inform the coachmen immediately."
We urgently informed the coachman of this fact. The coachman also saw the 'Dash Maelstrom' herd and hurriedly stopped the carriage and informed the other coachmen. Then, the adventurer party that was escorting the carriages came out and guarded the carriages. Then, Kazuma glanced at Darkness and asked me.
"Cassian, what kind of hard target are they talking about?"
"Hmm... I've heard that the whole herd travels around looking for a hard mineral like 'adamantite' to choose their king..."
"Isn't that Darkness's hard muscles?"
Darkness heard that and said with a serious face.
"Hey~ Kazuma. I'm also a woman. Don't call them hard muscles. And my armor is a special item mixed with a small amount of adamantite. Surely, that's why they're coming this way."
"So, ultimately, it's because of us that the 'Dash Maelstrom' herd is coming this way. Let's go out and stop them."
We also got off the carriage and prepared to fight. Then, the coachman urgently stopped us.
"Customers! You've paid money, so please stay in a safe place...!"
"Don't worry. We are adventurers active in the royal capital."
I reassured the coachman and called Yunyun.
"Yunyun! Let's dig a trap. Since Darkness seems to be the target, it should be easy to lure them."
"Understood."
Yunyun and I quickly made a U-shaped swamp with the [Bottomless Swamp] magic and put Darkness at the end. Since we made a similar trap when catching the Bone Dragon before, Yunyun understood immediately and could make the trap quickly. As expected, after working together for a long time, we were in sync in such matters.
"Yunyun, prepare the Explosion magic!"
"Understood! Now that I think about it, this is the first time I'm using it after learning it."
"Yeah, Megumin is watching, so you have to show off."
"I'll do my best."
As we prepared quickly and efficiently, Kazuma and the adventurers just watched dumbfounded. Then, when the leader of the 'Dash Maelstrom' herd saw Darkness and entered the U-shape, and a few fell into the swamp, the ones behind immediately realized it was a swamp and hurriedly stopped, but the herd kept pushing in, creating a situation where they were stuck and congested, so I immediately gave Yunyun the signal.
"Now, Yunyun!!"
"Explosion!!"
Boom!!
Certainly, Yunyun's Explosion magic was a bit less powerful than Megumin's Explosion magic, but it was enough to catch all the gathered 'Dash Maelstrom' herd. After dealing with all the Maelstroms, Kazuma was impressed.
"Wow~ Amazing! This is the power of a party active in the royal capital. To have such good teamwork."
"Hmph! But the Explosion magic is only 6 points. Work harder, Yunyun!"
Megumin evaluated it like that, but she seemed quite surprised that Yunyun used Explosion magic.
"Well done, Yunyun!! As expected of the Crimson Magic Clan mage."
"Heheh! Crimson Magic Clan mage."
The adventurers and merchants gathered around Yunyun and praised her. Yunyun was very embarrassed, as it was her first time receiving praise from so many people.
"I didn't know the famous adventurers Silver Flash and Crimson Magic Clan mage were here. Thank you for helping. As expected of your reputation, it was excellent."
"Not at all. It's natural to help."
"Let's have 'Dash Maelstrom' for dinner. We'll pick the good ones and cook them for you."
"Thank you."
Then, the merchant representative went to cook. Seeing that, Kazuma came over and quietly said.
"Cassian, is this okay? No matter how you look at it, it seems like the 'Dash Maelstrom' gathered because of Darkness."
"In such cases, the answer is to pretend not to know. Honestly, we don't know for sure, and we solved it well, right?"
"Y-yeah, right? But still, I feel a bit guilty."
Seeing him talk like this, Kazuma was indeed kind. The problem is he's too instinct-driven.
We enjoyed the meal deliciously with Maelstrom meat. Aqua, as usual, when people gathered, showed off her party magic and put on a show, and Megumin gave Yunyun a lecture on Explosion magic. Yunyun, who patiently listened, was also great. The merchant representative came to give money as a token of gratitude, but we refused. I have a conscience too.
We prepared to sleep by laying blankets on the ground. In most worldviews, camping like this is similar, using carriages as walls in a circle to block large animals or monsters, and people rest inside.
Darkness and I lay under the same blanket. Darkness, looking at the stars in the sky, asked me about my party.
"Cassian, someday, will our party be able to be active in the royal capital like yours?"
"Yeah, it's possible. But for now, it seems like the party members don't trust each other much. If they trust more and maximize their abilities, it seems like they could become a good party."
"Yeah, that seems right."
Then, with [Observation Haki], I felt some group slowly walking towards our campsite. I got up from my seat and confirmed the group with Clairvoyance. Then, Darkness asked what was wrong.
"Huh? Cassian? Is something wrong?"
"An undead horde is coming towards our campsite. Inform the others."
Hearing that, Darkness also got up and informed the people. I started dealing with the undead horde as much as possible with [Sacred Turn Undead] before Aqua could act.
Since Aqua doesn't gain stat changes even if experience accumulates, it was much more beneficial for me to take the experience. As I handled most of the undead horde, Aqua also joined in and finished off the undead.
"As expected, you're amazing. We received help again this time. This time, I'll definitely give you a reward..."
"No need. In such places, we should help each other."
The merchant representative tried to give a reward again, thanking us, but I refused this time too. Since I knew the undead gathered because of Aqua, I couldn't bring myself to accept it.