"Why me!!!???"
Megumin was shaking Kazuma with a panicked face. When Megumin was chosen, everyone sighed in relief, but Darkness had a slightly disappointed face.
"Well, Aqua doesn't even look like a heroine..."
"What did you say, Kazuma!! Why don't I look like a heroine!!"
Hearing Kazuma's words, Aqua shook Kazuma along with Megumin with an angry expression.
"Wait, calm down and let's hear the story."
When Cassian stopped them, Kazuma continued the story.
"So, Yunyun likes Cassian, so let's skip that, Darkness has the perfect looks for my taste... but her personality is a bit... Wiz is also good, but she's a lich... So the only one left is Megumin."
Then, except for Yunyun, the girls clung to Kazuma and started shaking him together.
Megumin
"So I was just chosen out of necessity!"
Aqua
"Am I not even a woman?"
Wiz
"That's species discrimination!"
Darkness
"Ah~ Shaking and tormenting him together like this feels good too. Maybe I've opened my eyes to something new! Churp~"
These guys, it seemed they were hurt in their pride for not being chosen by Kazuma. Women's hearts are truly hard to understand. They were avoiding being chosen and disliking it, but now...
"Alright, calm down. Anyway, since Megumin has been chosen, let's start with the date."
We dressed Megumin in a pretty dress, applied light makeup to prepare her, and Kazuma also wore a suit and looked handsome.
"So, this place is good. You can see the whole village, perfect for an evening date course."
"No. There's a big butcher shop nearby, so when the wind blows, the smell of meat comes up, which is a bit off."
The girls were too enthusiastic about planning the course, even though it wasn't their own date.
"Let's roughly plan it and send them off. If we delay too much, they might not enjoy the date."
"Got it."
We roughly organized and set the date course, then sent off Megumin and Kazuma.
"Ugh... Do I really have to do this?"
"We have no choice. If Kazuma dies, our party is over."
Megumin talked with a very displeased expression, but Aqua and Darkness were comforting her.
Finally, Kazuma and Megumin started their date. Since the course was planned to fit the time, there shouldn't be any major issues.
"Now! Let's start our date, darling~"
At Kazuma's cheesy tone and the word 'darling', Megumin's face turned pale, but she held back and smiled as she spoke.
"Y, yes. Darling, let's go..."
We followed from behind, hiding and cheering them on.
"Well done, Megumin."
Looking at their eyes, it seemed they were really enjoying themselves.
First, they went to a quiet but atmospheric cafe in Axel Town, sat at an outdoor table, ordered slice cake and tea, and enjoyed the ambiance.
"Darling ah~"
Kazuma cut a little piece of cake with a fork and offered it to Megumin.
"Ugh... Ah~"
Megumin tried her best to manage her expression and ate the cake Kazuma offered.
"Darling, you should feed me too, ah~"
"Y, yes..."
Megumin also cut some cake and put it in Kazuma's mouth.
"Wow~ The atmosphere is nice? Aren't they really going to start dating from this?"
Aqua spoke excitedly. She seemed to be enjoying it the most. Kazuma and Megumin watched a play together, toured the market, and snacked. We were following behind, roughly having meals with the croquettes we bought earlier.
"Hey~ Kazuma! Oh, Megumin, are you on a da..."
Suddenly, Kees and Dust barged in and tried to act familiar with Kazuma, so Cassian quickly grabbed them, covered their mouths, and dragged them to a side alley. Kazuma briefly looked back at the sound calling him, but thanks to Cassian acting faster, he fortunately didn't notice.
"Be quiet. Can't you see we shouldn't disturb them now?"
"Ah~ Is that what it is? Huhuhu~ I get it. We shouldn't disturb this kind of thing."
Kees and Dust understood and said they got it, then went elsewhere. Seeing that, Aqua sighed in relief and spoke.
"That's a relief. We need to watch carefully. Who knows what other obstacles might appear."
As evening time approached, we saw Kazuma and Megumin entering a restaurant to eat. We followed, took seats at the end, ordered simple meals, and ate while watching Kazuma and Megumin. However, since Kazuma had no such experience, he was a bit too aggressive, and Megumin seemed to be struggling.
Finally, Kazuma and Megumin went to a hill overlooking all of Axel Town, set the mood, and enjoyed the night view.
"I had fun today. Actually, this is my first experience like this. Love is a good thing."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
Kazuma set the mood, slowly took Megumin's hand, closed his eyes, and slowly tried to kiss Megumin. Then, Megumin panicked greatly, her face red, and quickly covered Kazuma's mouth as she spoke.
"This is my first time with something like this... I'm not mentally prepared yet..."
"Ah, I see! I didn't consider your first kiss. I understand. We still have three more days."
At Kazuma's three-day declaration, Megumin's face turned pale again. The date ended, and the two held hands and returned home. Looking at Kazuma's face, he had a very satisfied expression, but Megumin was the complete opposite.
While Kazuma went to his room, we secretly took Megumin out and had another strategy meeting. First, Aqua spoke.
"Something feels lacking. We need a bigger impact."
Darkness added.
"Right! With this, the necklace might not come off."
Hearing that, Megumin got angry.
"Are you saying that because it's not your own business? I almost kissed Kazuma today!"
Wiz and Yunyun were at least comforting Megumin, but Darkness and Aqua, regardless, seriously started thinking about planning a strategy.
"Right! Let's camp by the lake and play in the water. For couples to get closer, swimming in swimsuits is the best! Plus, adding delicious food makes it unbeatable, right?"
As expected, Aqua's head works well in such times. Everyone was amazed by Aqua's idea.
"Oh~ Great idea! Amazing!"
Hearing that, Megumin was in despair, but everyone was excited about the water play. The funny thing was, even Wiz and Yunyun, who were comforting Megumin, stopped comforting her and started planning the water play. These guys, weren't they enjoying themselves too much in front of the person involved? Looking at Megumin, she seemed to have given up on everything, sitting crouched in a corner with a face as if her soul had left, saying nothing.
The next day, Cassian woke up early and prepared tents, a stove, and food for the camp. The weather was slightly gloomy, but with [Weather Manipulation], he made it clear and slightly hot, and we all moved to the lake near Axel Town. Kazuma was very happy at the thought of playing in the water with his lover. Since we were all going together, Luna and Chris, who had come home after a long time, also joined. Chris looked at the weather and was puzzled.
"Strange... It's still supposed to be a cool season, but it's so warm."
"Ahaha, well, that can happen."
"By the way, did you find the Breast Enhancement Pill?"
"Not yet. Haven't found it."
"Please look into it quickly, I'm busy too."
"Okay. But why are you so busy?"
"Th, that's..."
Chris panicked and couldn't speak.
"Are you going around doing bad things again?"
"It's not that!!"
Cassian knew. Chris's true identity is the goddess Eris, so she's busy filling in for Aqua's absence and collecting divine artifacts that could threaten the world, leaving little time to rest.
"Anyway, I'm looking into it whenever I can, so don't worry."
"Alright."
So, we arrived at the lake, set up the tents, took out the stove and various water play equipment, and started inflating them. The girls went to the set-up tents to change into swimsuits. Meanwhile, Cassian walked around the lake and cleared the monsters nearby so as not to ruin the mood.
Using [Observation Haki] to check the surroundings, it seemed almost cleared, so Cassian also went to where the kids were and helped with food preparation. Since Kazuma was the main character this time, Cassian decided to just play a helper role.
The funny thing was Kazuma's physique; unlike the original, perhaps because he diligently trained in swordsmanship, his muscles were well-defined, with abs and even a v-line, making it decent to look at. Because of that, the girls were somewhat surprised.
"Oh~ Kazuma! You've been training hard."
When Darkness said that to Kazuma, Kazuma boasted as he answered.
"Right? I worked hard too!"
Kazuma struck several poses to show off his muscles. The girls clapped for Kazuma as he did that. Then, Luna came to Cassian and asked.
"Cassian, why aren't you changing into a swimsuit? Your body is more amazing, isn't it?"
"Well, today is Kazuma's day to shine, so I decided to stay like this."
"Ah~ You mean that necklace. I understand."
Luna also understood quickly because she had been roughly informed yesterday. Kazuma was having fun playing in the water excitedly with the girls. Meanwhile, Cassian prepared skewers and cooked. Since Luna was pregnant and shouldn't overexert herself, she played in the water a little and then rested beside Cassian, helping a bit with food preparation. Certainly, the glamorous figures of Luna, Darkness, Wiz, and Yunyun in swimsuits stood out, making it a visual treat.
"Guys, eat up!"
When Cassian shouted to eat, everyone came and started picking up skewers, eating deliciously.
"As expected, Cassian's cooking skills are the best!"
"Yeah, it's so tasty."
Seeing everyone praise and enjoy the skewers Cassian made was satisfying. After the meal time ended, as a dessert and game, we had fun smashing watermelons, then to give Megumin and Kazuma some time alone, we all prepared dinner together.
"Hohoho, darling~ Try to catch me~"
"Hahaha, if you run away like that, it's hard to catch~"
Hahaha~ Hohoho~
Seeing Kazuma and Megumin running and playing on the sand, it felt like our eyes would rot, so we just focused on preparing the meal. For dinner, we prepared whole pig barbecue; since it would take time, we had partially cooked it yesterday, so we could enjoy dinner without issues.
At night, we finished with fireworks and returned home. Kazuma returned home with a satisfied face today as well, but Megumin seemed to have gone straight to her room and fallen asleep, probably tired from being harassed by Kazuma.
"Strange. He seemed satisfied, so why isn't the necklace coming off?"
"Yeah..."
The girls gathered for a meeting, but everyone was puzzled about why Kazuma's necklace wasn't coming off. So, Cassian offered an opinion.
"Maybe it only comes off after marriage?"
Hearing that, Aqua spoke.
"Then we have no choice. Let's prepare for the wedding tomorrow."
So, while Megumin was absent, we decided among ourselves to proceed with the wedding and started preparing.
The next day, the sound of hammering could be heard everywhere outside the house, and when Kazuma and Megumin came out, they saw the wedding preparations. Kazuma was moved to tears and happy.
"Guys, thank you. I'll live happily."
But Megumin, since Kazuma was in front, couldn't speak, but her face was very dark. Kazuma offered to help decorate the wedding venue, so in that gap, Megumin came to us and got angry.
"No! We haven't even discussed having a wedding yet!"
Aqua persuaded Megumin.
"The necklace hasn't come off yet. And it's just an act, so don't worry too much."
So, by the next day, preparations were complete, and the wedding began. The funny thing was, somehow word got out, and many people from the guild came to congratulate; it turned out that Kees and Dust had spread the rumor, so the wedding, which was supposed to be a small act among us, became huge.
"What are we going to do about this!!!"
Megumin, wearing a dress, fiercely confronted us.
"We have no choice. To save Kazuma. Hehe~!"
As expected, Aqua's way of speaking was impressive. It's like letting things happen as they will. Then Darkness also chimed in.
"We still have time. Maybe the necklace will come off during the wedding?"
Yunyun also spoke as if cheering Megumin.
"Yeah, there's still time."
Hearing that, Megumin was dumbfounded and argued, but the girls somehow comforted Megumin, and eventually, the wedding proceeded. Since Cassian had prepared food in advance, there was no shortage.
This time too, a priest from the Eris Church officiated.
"With the grace of Lady Eris, I pray for blessings in the future lives of the groom and bride...... Groom, kiss the bride."
Kazuma slowly approached Megumin to kiss her. Megumin panicked and stepped back, but Kazuma approached faster, held Megumin so she couldn't escape, and kissed her.
"Uwaah~ Mmph!"
Smack!
Thud!
"Thus, the two have become husba..."
Then, Megumin, with an extremely angry face, covered the priest's mouth and said.
"This wedding is invalid!!!!"
Megumin shouted, pointing at the necklace that had fallen from Kazuma's neck. It seemed the necklace came off when Kazuma kissed Megumin and was satisfied.
After shouting, Megumin suddenly started chanting an Explosion magic spell. She must have accumulated a lot of resentment.
"Whoa!!! Run away!!!"
People saw that and started running away like mad, and Aqua quickly tried to persuade Megumin.
"Hey, wait a minute, Megumin. I understand how you feel, but there are many people here!!! Plus, Kazuma's necklace came off, so he's saved..."
Then, Megumin glared at Aqua fiercely and said.
"You're the worst!!!"
"Eek!"
Aqua's persuasion seemed to make Megumin even angrier and was no help at all. Then Kazuma stepped forward and spoke as if calming Megumin.
"Darling! You can't do that~! Now that we're married, you should listen to your husband~ Quickly cancel the magic, you! Brat!"
Kazuma seemed too immersed in the act we had set up. That remark was the final straw; Megumin, with a scary face and veins bulging on her forehead, unleashed all the accumulated things into an Explosion magic right where Kazuma was standing.
"Explosion!!!!"
Boom~!!!!
"Kyaaak!!"
Kazuma was hit directly by the Explosion magic, turned to ashes and disappeared, and due to the aftermath, Kazuma's mansion had a huge crater in the yard, and the building was half-destroyed.
The fortunate thing was that Kazuma's mansion was in a quiet area on the outskirts of town, with nothing but a cemetery nearby. And all the guests at the wedding were adventurers, so thanks to running away quickly, the only casualty was Kazuma alone. Even then, Aqua revived Kazuma, who was left as ashes, in one go; indeed, Aqua's priest-class magic was overpowered.
"Ahaha, Cassian. I'll be in your care for a while..."
Ultimately, while the mansion was being repaired, everyone decided to stay at Cassian's house. They said they used all the money Kazuma and the others had saved so far for the mansion repair costs. And due to that rampage, Megumin gained the nickname "Mad Widow".