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chapter 10




[Note: This story takes place sometime around season 2, around volume 3-4 ish, so the status quo is a bit different from the more recent volumes.]
Part 1
On a certain day.
As I was quibbling with Aqua over who gets to sit in the special seat right in front of the fireplace, I suddenly heard someone knocking at the front door.
It didn’t sound like any of the usual visitors, so even Megumin and Darkness stopped playing their game for a moment and looked over.
“Pardon me, this is the residence of Satou Kazuma and his party, right!? I would like to have some words with you, so hurry up and open up!”
The voice coming sounded quite urgent.
After hearing that,
“Alright, that’s enough. Hurry up and go back already. I too would like to hear the crackle of the firewood from time to time.”
“I want to feed the fires too. Nothing is better in winter than sitting here watching the fires dance. Kazuma, just sit behind me. You can hear the crackles fine from there.”
“Megumin, I’ll definitely defeat you today! I move my crusader all the way up to your Archmage. With this, I’ll definitely be able to take it off the board next turn.”
“Teleport”
The four of us decided to pretend as if nothing happened.
“Hey, I know you are all inside! I can hear you from here! Open up! Hey, hurry up… It’s starting to snow out here! It’s really cold, so hurry up and open the door!”
Source @Cgtranslations.me
The person who came to visit us was a police officer of the town.
After letting him warm up in front of the fireplace for awhile, he took out a piece of paper and presented it before Megumin.
“Archmage Megumin, you’re suspected to be involved in the serial explosions case that has been plaguing Axel! Please accompany me to the station!”
Megumin didn’t show the slightest bit of hesitation before snatching away the piece of paper and throwing it into the fireplace.
“Ah! That’s an important document! How could you do this!?”
“Who cares about that! What even is this serial explosions case!? I don’t know what it is, but there’s no way I can commit a crime!”
I feel like if I was in that officer’s place, Megumin would’ve been my first suspect too, but Megumin seems to have been agitated by the sudden accusation.
“Now, now, calm down, you two. First off, can you tell me more information about the serial explosions case?”
After hearing Darkness’s words, the officer gave up on trying to rescue the writ from the fireplace and said.
“Recently, there’s been an explosion happening almost every day in the area around Axel. They usually happen in the forests or the mountains… because of that, the monsters that usually make their home in the forests end up getting scared away towards the plains, and the mountains see constant avalanches… Thus, the mountains and the forests are now both restricted areas.”
“I took my eyes off you for an instant and this is what you get up to. We’ll send you some gifts, so just accept your fate and spend some time in jail.”
I placed a consoling hand on Megumin shoulder, and she aggressively swatted it away.
“Hold it, those incidents have nothing to do with me! If I unleash Explosion up in the mountains, there’s a high chance of me getting swept away in the resulting avalanche, so I’ve never done that! I’ve been taking my explosion trips together with Darkness recently, so I have a witness that can prove I wasn’t there! Right, Darkness?”
“Eeh? Er, Uh…”
“Darkness, why are you so hesitant!? That’s just going to invite misunderstandings! Don’t tell me you don’t believe me either!? Please act a little more confidently!”
In the face of Megumin’s fervent protests, Darkness averted her gaze.
“Well, let’s calm down a little. I hope you don’t mind me asking a little more about this incident. You say it happens every day, but how many times does it happen per day? This girl can only use Explosion once each day, so…”
“There’s only one explosion every day.”
The officer instantly answered my question.
“… And just to confirm, when do these explosions take place?”
“Those explosions happen at the same time Megumin leaves town..”
“I’m sorry, this girl really doesn’t have any ill will! She just has a somewhat shorter fuse than most people-”
“Wait a minute, Kazuma, why does that make you think it’s definitely me behind it?”
Megumin grabbed my shoulders and started aggressively shaking me.
Still, there’s only one person who could do such a foolish thing, and that’s her.
“Don’t worry, Megumin, I’ll make sure to feed the black demonic beast every day while you are locked up.”
“The prisons around this time of year tend to be pretty cold, so make sure you pack some warm clothes with you. I’ll make sure to send in some warm food every day.”
“You two too!? Fine, I’ll follow this investigation or whatever to the very end! Officer, you should have a lie detecting magic item at the station, right? Bring that out and use that to see if I’m really telling the truth!”
Megumin, agitatedly waving her staff around, followed the officer back to the station.
Part 2
“I’m terribly sorry! To think we actually suspected an innocent person…!”
“Yes, exactly! In the first place, why do you immediately suspect me whenever there’s an incident involving an explosion!? I really don’t get it at all!”
After the interrogation, Megumin was escorted back from the station by what appeared to be the police chief.
Seems like the lie detecting magic item didn’t respond at all.
“Come on, your name has already been cleared, so there’s no reason to be so angry. Still, I always knew that it would end up this way.”
“Of course, I believe you too. Megumin isn’t a girl who would do that sort of thing. I didn’t do anything that would make me feel guilty, but you can have the special seat by the fireplace if you want.”
“Megumin, you must have been cold after spending all that time outside. I’ll buy some high quality ingredients and cook a great meal tonight so you can properly warm yourself back up.”
“Hey, you three sure change your tune really quickly. Why don’t you tell me exactly what kind of person you think I am?”
After giving one last apology to a still clearly aggravated Megumin, the police chief turned and gave us a bow.
“Once again, I’m deeply sorry for this incident. You’re Satou Kazuma, yes? I’ve heard a lot of rumours about you, such as contributing greatly in the defeat of the Demon King’s General and stopping the Destroyer…”
Saying that, she gave me a smile.
She was quite a beauty, seemingly in her twenties and sporting long brown hair that she wore in a ponytail.
“No, no, I didn’t do anything major. It was just my pride as an adventurer that prevented me from running away…”
I boasted, and the police chief regarded me with sparkling eyes.
“You’re selling yourself short, Satou-san! I’ve heard that this mansion is also owned by you… It must be thanks to the huge bounty you received after defeating the Destroyer and Beldia! Ah, my apologies, I’ve yet to introduce myself! I’m the surprisingly sensitive type, the police chief Aloerina. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
For some reason, Aloerina started to draw closer to me as she said that.
Well, I could be said to be the hero of this town, so I suppose this is just a matter of course.
“P-Please to meet you. Well, I can see why you might think that, but truth is, a lot of other things happened after that, so I landed myself in quite a bit of debt too. Speaking of which, if you know of what happened back then-”
“Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Megumin-san, I’ll take my leave.”
The moment she heard the word debt, Aloerina abruptly switched back to a businesslike attitude.
… Well, I suppose this is also a matter of course.
“Aloerina-dono, if the culprit isn’t our Megumin, then do you have any idea on who is the true culprit?”
“Er, well… No. We didn’t expect there to be another person apart from Megumin who would go out in countryside and set off random explosions, so…”
“Hey, I already asked this, but why do you all automatically think of me whenever there’s an explosion!? Hurry up and tell me already!”
You reap what you sow.
I really wanted to say that to Megumin, but seeing her glowing eyes made me rethink that. At least for now.
“Well, whoever it is, at least we now know that it has nothing to do with us. It’d be really troublesome indeed if we end up getting dragged into every little incident that happens in this town..”
Just as I said that.
“Yeah, that’s right. There’s some other explosion expert other than Megumin out there causing a ruckus. Still, to think that their actions managed to cast suspicion onto Megumin. It must be a fairly accomplished user of the explosive series of spells. It might even be a more accomplished user of Explosion than Megumin.”
The useless thing seated in front of the fireplace that has never once been able to read the mood said such a thing.
Part 3
The next day
“Let’s start with investigating those related to the incidents. I’ll use my Crimson Demon intelligence to suss out who the culprit is.”
I, who has been forced to get up way before any sane person should be awake, followed blearily behind Megumin.
Right now, we are headed towards the adventurer’s guild.
Thanks to Aqua’s unnecessary words, Megumin developed a grudge against the culprit and made a declaration on the spot that she’ll catch them.
I originally intended to let her go on her own if she wanted to play detective so badly, but I had to change my plans thanks to a certain other person.
“Please, Megumin-san! If you have the police chief with you, you’ll have much more freedom to conduct your investigations.”
Behind Megumin and me followed the police chief, Aloerina.
“… We’re just doing this on a whim, so there really is no need for you to accompany us.”
“No, even if you are adventurers, there’s no way I can let ordinary people chase after what could be a very dangerous user of Explosion magic. And my instincts as the police chief are telling me that I’ll be able to get to the bottom of this by sticking with you. I’m not sticking with you because I still suspect Megumin-san. It’s just that, if I render assistance to you two, I’ll be able to gain the favour of Lady Dustiness who is your party mate!”
Rather than spinning some excuse, it’s more like Aloerina laid all her true intentions bare in front of us.
Still, I’d definitely bet money that she is still suspicious of Megumin.
If I leave Megumin alone with the police chief while she ran around town, I get the distinct feeling that she’ll end up behind bars before the day is out.
Thus, I got dragged along under the guise of offering aid…
“Well, I guess that’s fine. Let’s start by asking a few questions.”
Before I knew it, we were standing in front of the guild.
Incidentally, Darkness also decided to investigate through her own contacts, and left the house early just like us.
As for the one who riled Megumin up with her unnecessary words, it doesn’t seem like she has any intentions of leaving the fireplace, and she can’t contribute much anyway, so I decided to just leave her be.
It was still fairly early in the morning, so there weren’t much people around. As such, we made our way over to the counter instead.
“Excuse me, can I ask a few questions? There are a few things I would like to clarify regarding the recent explosions that has been happening.”
“Good morning, Satou Kazuma-san. The recent explosions… eh? Ah!? You’re the police chief! And even Megumin-san is… Explosions… Megumin-san… Police chief… Ah, I see, I understand what you’re trying to ask now. I also think that Megumin-san is the most likely culprit.”
“Hey, why don’t you tell me exactly what kind of misunderstanding you have!? I’m all ears!”
“No, I understand why you’d think that, but that’s not the case. The investigation is already over. For some reason, the lie detecting magic item didn’t react at all.”
“Really? Could it be that the magic item is defective?”
“No, that’s impossible. The item we used is the newest set we had in the station, and it’s been working without issues before yesterday. What we thought would be an easily solvable case suddenly became a impenetrable riddle…”
“Hey, if you’re picking a fight with me, I’ll gladly take you on!”
Ignoring Megumin whose eyes started glowing again, I broached upon the topic that originally brought us here.
“The main reason I’m here is to confirm how many users of the explosive series of spells there are in this city? Is there anyone like that in the guild?”
There were three spells in the explosive series, Blast, Detonation, and Explosion.
Blast is quite a powerful spell that’s capable of cracking solid rock, and has a fairly reasonable mana cost. And Detonation, in exchange for higher mana cost, is powerful enough to take out almost any monster with a single hit.
“Spellcasters skilled enough to use Blast will usually leave this town after gaining a few levels, and there aren’t that many people who can use Detonation in this country. During the festival season, some of those people might be invited to town to use their talents for fireworks, but they wouldn’t be around in this season. So the only people in this town that can use explosive magic right now should only be the owner of the magic item shop and Megumin-san…”
“… I have to ask, is it really not you?”
“Do you really have to ask again? Haven’t you already proven is isn’t me!?”
Seeing Megumin get angry with Aloerina again, I fell into deep thought.
The only person in this town other than Megumin who can use Explosive magic is Wiz, but it’s pretty hard to imagine her doing such things.
I just can’t think of anything that would motivate her to do such things.
… Motive?
“Oh, right, motive! This could be the work of someone who bears a grudge against Megumin and is trying to frame her. Hey, Megumin, do you remember angering anyone recently?”
“Of course not. I have confidence that I’m the most amiable person in this party.”
Where is she getting that confidence from?
Then, the lady at the counter said.
“Umm… well, there have been several complaints regarding Megumin-san lately… there was this one where she unleashed Explosion on a group of goblins just as another team cornered them, not only stealing their kills, but also getting them caught up in the blast… and Explosion changes the course of the river, so please get her to stop using it to catch fish… and other similar complaints…”
Hearing what the guild lady had to say, Megumin covered her ears and turned away, but the lady continued.
“And, as an adventurer, please stop picking a fight with regular people just because they mocked your name.”
“I’m sorry, but can you please arrest her?”
“Yes, perhaps it is for the best to get her off the streets for a few days.”
“Please wait, I have properly reflected on my actions! A-Anyway, the number of people who bear a grudge against me is surprisingly huge! That means the true culprit must be amongst the people here!”
Saying that, Megumin suddenly grabbed at an adventurer who approached the counter next to us.
“H-Hey!? M-Megumin!? What are you doing! Cut it out!”
“You were the one who picked a fight with me yesterday, so you are suspected to be related to the serial explosions case! Let’s have a nice long chat at the police-Ow!”
After prying Megumin off and pushing her into a rough bow, I too bowed towards the other adventurer.
“I’m really sorry for what this idiot has done. Still, may I ask you a few questions? You had a fight with her yesterday, right? May I ask what exactly happened?”
The adventurer rubbed his throat where he had been grabbed and shook his head.
“Well, it’s not really a fight. I was busy reading one of the notices on the board and accidentally ran into her, and said ‘Sorry, I was reading a notice, so I didn’t see you there.’. Then, she went “So you’re saying I’m a loli!?” and suddenly attacked me.”
“So you’re just picking fights now!?”
“Ow ow ow! N-No, I’m only doing that because adventurers can’t afford to be looked down upon-”
I get the feeling that it’d be really be best to have her arrested.
“Besides, the serial explosions case didn’t start yesterday, right? So this person doesn’t even fit the profile we are looking for.”
“That’s true… then, you should arrest Maribelle who fought with me last week after comparing the size of her chest to mine.”
“I already told you not to just name random people! And you’re just naming people you don’t like! There’s a limit as to how impudent you can be!”
Aloerina, standing some distance away from the two of us as we started quarreling again, seemed to suddenly remember her job as a police chief and took out a notebook.
“Megumin-san, can you tell me the names of everyone who might have a grudge with you? If there are a lot of them, I can get the other officers to help investigate.”
Looking at Aloerina’s serious face right in the eye, Megumin started rattling off a list of names.
“There’s Maribelle that I just mentioned earlier, and then there’s the owner of the weapons store that I haggled with until he was in tears, the owner of the magic items shop, the grocery seller… and… There are way too many adventurers who might bear a grudge against me, so there’s no way I can list them all.”
“… Is there really no way you can put her behind bars?”
“Oh, very well. We aren’t a daycare for problem children, but I suppose we don’t have a choice in this case. Now, then, Megumin-san, please tell us more details back at the station-”
“Wait a minute! Please wait… Ah!”
Megumin, who seemed this close to being dragged away by Aloerina, suddenly shouted.
“I know who the culprit is! Follow me, you two!”
Part 4
The person she was looking for ended up being at the town library.
Despite the large number of empty seats available, she choose to read her book at the table at the furthest corner.
“So here is where you’ve hidden yourself! Yunyun, there’s no escape, so don’t bother trying!”
“Eh!? M-Megumin!? What’s going on!?”
Of course, the person she’s looking for is Megumin’s self-proclaimed rival, and a fellow Crimson Demon, Yunyun.
Megumin’s appearance destroyed the tranquility of the library, and she flared her cape and named herself..
“My name is Megumin! The most intelligent truth seeker in Axel! Rival Yunyun! Your evil schemes shall never escape my blood red eyes!”
“Megumin, what are you saying out of the blue!? I have no idea what you’re talking about at all! What do you mean by evil schemes!?”
Yunyun frantically got to her feet and started bowing and apologizing to the people nearby who shot them disapproving looks.
After that, I started explaining the situation.
“You see, there’ve been several unexplained explosions that took place close to town over the past few days.”
“Megumin you idiot! It’s not enough to do it in the Crimson Demon Village, now you have to do it in Axel too!? You still didn’t learn your lesson even after causing such a big ruckus back home!?”
“Ah!? S-Stop! What are you doing!? Get off me!”
Yunyun grabbed onto Megumin and started screaming at her through teary eyes the moment I said that, seemingly getting her own idea of what’s going on.
Then, Yunyun let go of Megumin’s clothes and once again faced us.
“I’m sorry! Megumin’s supposed to be pretty smart, she just never thinks about consequences before doing anything, but she definitely isn’t a bad person! I’ll go with her to apologize to the people affected, so please go easy on her-”
“You too!? Why does everyone automatically assume I’m the culprit with just a little bit of information!?”
“Ah, it hurts! Cut it out!”
Just as Megumin grabbed onto Yunyun’s temples, Aloerina placed a finger to her chin.
“Please wait a moment, you said something about the Crimson Demon village earlier, right? Did something similar happen in back in the Crimson Demon village?”
“Y-Yes, back then, she managed to avoid trouble by blaming it on a devil that happened to be passing by, so I thinking that she may have done the same thing here too…”
Wait, did she just say ‘blaming it on a devil that happened to be passing by’?
I’m kinda curious about Megumin’s past now.
[See: ]
“T-That and this are different things! No, it really isn’t me this time! Please don’t look at me like that… Anyway, Yunyun.”
Even as Aloerina was staring at her with a suspicious gaze, Megumin pointed a finger at Yunyun.
“You’re currently suspected to be involved in the serial explosions case. Please come with me to the police station.”
“Why!?”
Yunyun screamed after hearing Megumin spout such incredulous words.
“There’s of course a reason for it. First off, please state what kind of relation the two of us have.”
Yunyun suddenly blushed and started glancing between Megumin and the floor.
“F-Friends-”
“Yes, you are my rival! Isn’t that right!?”
“T-T-That’s right! I am your rival! What about it!?”
Yunyun shouted after Megumin interrupted her.
“So you admit it! As I said earlier, Yunyun is my rival. In other words, she has the motive of trying to cause harm to her rival!”
“Eh!?”
Megumin ignored the shocked look Yunyun is giving her and continued.
“Additionally, you are second only to me in the Crimson Demon Village! Because she wishes to surpass the genius spellcaster who is capable of using Explosion, it wouldn’t be strange for her to pick up a few spells from the explosive series!”
“What kind of reasoning is that!? That doesn’t make sense at all!”
Megumin cooly regarded Yunyun as she wailed.
“Then let me ask you, were you with anyone when the explosions happened?”
“… I, I was alone…”
After hearing that, Megumin let out a smile as though she was confident of her victory.
“I see, so you were alone. That means, there’s no one who can vouch that you were within the city at the times when the explosions happened, right?”
“… … Yes.”
Yunyun hesitantly replied.
“As you can see, she has the motive, the means, and no alibi. Aloerina-san, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Then, please accompany me to the police station…”
“Wait! It really isn’t me! I’m innoceeeent!!”
Source @Cgtranslations.me
“–And here I thought for sure that it would be Yunyun. Maybe we were wrong about the the whole revenge thing….”
On the way back from the police station.
Megumin and I headed to the outskirts of the city.
“You know, isn’t she your friend? Even if you are rivals, I really doubt that someone like her could do pull off something so devious.”
“Do you really think so? Pretty much all the Crimson Demons I know have been driven to tears after trying to compete with me.”
“…Yeah, I still think it’s very likely that someone is trying to take revenge on you.”
We exited the town and started searching for today’s explosion target.
Yes, the reason why we are heading out of town is because this idiot here insists on performing her daily routine, even under such circumstances.
“You know, I think it really would be best to lay off your Explosions in such a situation.”
“What are you saying? That would just be as if I lost to the true culprit… No, perhaps this is the culprit’s goal all along! To stop me from casting Explosion…! Then, could it be the work of the construction crews who fill in my craters every time? But, no, they told me that they were thankful because all this work always makes sure they are employed… Ah!? Could it be the work of the Demon King’s army that is fearful of my power?”
After hearing the stupid things that Megumin is mumbling to herself, I really can’t believe that this girl is supposed to have high intelligence.
“Alright, this far is fine. It’s really cold out today, so just let it off here and be done with it.”
“There isn’t much snow piled up here. I think we should pick a spot where more snow has accumulated. It’ll definitely look amazing to leave my mark into deep snow with my explosion.”
“… I see, so it’s similar to how snow melts when I pee on it.”
“Of course not! Don’t compare the great abilities of the Crimson Demons with your vulgar bodily functions!”
While fending off Megumin’s temper tantrums, we arrived at the edge of the forest.
“If I fire an explosion into the forests, the woodcutter’s guild and the hunter’s guild will get angry. So let’s do it around here.”
“Why is your life so bitter? Do you have to make an enemy every day? Can’t you find a more peaceful way to live your life?”
“I walk the path of explosions. I care not for that kind of life. Right, here I go! Behold my power!”
Megumin started chanting her spell in a loud voice.
“Explosion!!!”
A giant fireball erupted at a clearing next to the forest.
–At the same time
I vaguely heard a different boom coming from somewhere far away.
Part 5
The next day.
“Thus, we request for Megumin-san to stop casting Explosion for the time being. You may not be the culprit we are looking for, but if we can’t conduct our investigations in peace-”
“I refuse.”
Aloerina paid us yet another visit and is currently talking to Megumin.
Of course, during the time we were out of town yesterday, a large explosion was spotted near the forest.
From what we know now, the culprit will cast his own spell at the same time Megumin unleashes hers.
I was with her yesterday, so I was able to vouch for her innocence, but they still issued an order for her not to cast Explosion anymore until the case is resolved.
“You might as well be asking me to die! Crimson Demons as a race are constantly overflowing with magical energy. We’ll die if we don’t regularly release our excess mana as spells. Indeed, if I don’t cast my Explosion every day, my mana would go out of control and might even destroy this town.”
“There’s a limit as to the kind of lies you can tell! If that were true, the Crimson Demons would’ve been wiped out a long time ago before they could learn magic!”
Just as Megumin turned towards me and was about to say something after I interjected between her and Aloerina-
“Emergency Quest! Emergency Quest! All adventurers, please report to the adventurer’s guild immediately!”
The sudden announcement that resonated through town cut her off–
“Adventurers, thank you for coming! Here’s the situation: a group of one strike bears that have just woken up from hibernation have wandered close to the town. There are over ten of them, and the few crops available in the fields would not be able to satisfy them. Thus, they will most likely head towards the town in search of food. Adventurers, please arm yourselves and prepare to meet them!”
After gathering our equipment and making our way to the guild, we saw a desperate-seeming Luna addressing the crowd of adventurers.
A one strike bear is, as their name suggests, famed for their powerful claws and the great strength of their forelimbs that they use to deliver devastating blows. They are capable of taking down even veteran adventurers if they get lucky.
If a group of those things attack this town…
“A group of one strike bears… how could this be!? There are only newbie adventurers in this town! If we take them on, there’ll definitely be casualties!”
Aloerina, who came along with us, turned completely pale.
The adventurers who heard that turned to her and said.
“As you said, there’ll definitely be sacrifices amongst us. However, laying down our lives for the peace of this town is the duty of us adventurers.”
“Yeah, that’s precisely why we became adventurers. We’ve long since come to accept that we might lose our lives someday. Isn’t that right, everyone!?”
“Yup! Young lady, just wait here for us. We’ll grab a few drinks together if we survive!”
“They are just a few bears, what’s there to be scared of? I won’t let a single one of them step foot in this town!”
Aloerina looked up at the adventurers who were proudly boasting with admiration.
And those same adventurers casted confident glances at a person next to me.
Yes, they were looking at Megumin.
“You guys sure are in high spirits. Guess there’s no need for me to interfere today.”
“Eh!?” x10
Those unexpected words from Megumin, who would usually hasten to steal the spotlight, left all the adventurers agape.
“No, no, Megumin, it’s precisely at such times that you should play your hand. We might be able to handle it, but there’ll definitely be some sacrifices without you. But if you were to do your thing…”
“Y-Yes! We can handle it by ourselves, but you’ll wipe them all out in an instant!”
“One strike bears can’t even hold a candle to you! You’re known as the one strike archmage, after all! Isn’t that right!?”
“Megumin-san, this is your stage! Besides, I really want to see your cool side!”
All the adventurers here seem to think that this would be a snap with Megumin’s Explosion, which is why they were so confident earlier.
“There’s so many adventurers here, so it doesn’t seem like I’ll be needed either. Hey, Kazuma, I don’t want to let the fire back home go out, so I’m heading back first to tend to it. See you when you get back.”
“Eh!?” x10
And Aqua, leaving those words before exiting the building, left the adventurers agape yet again.
It seems like being abruptly woken up from her nap in front of the fireplace has left her groggy and in a bad mood.
The adventurers who were counting on Aqua’s resurrection magic in the event of the worst happening started to turn pale.
Then, Megumin addressed the adventurers gathered here.
“Plus, I’m suspected to be the culprit behind the serial explosions incident by Aloerina-san here, so I’ve been forbidden from casting explosion. I want to unleash my spell on a worthy target for once, but it really is a pity.”
“W-Wait, Megumin-san!?”
Aloerina let out a surprised squeak as Megumin pushed the blame to her.
Of course, all the adventurers in this room started staring daggers at Aloerina.
“E-Er… Megumin-san, it’s an emergency situation right now, so we will temporarily lift the restriction on casting explosion…”
Withering in front of the gazes of so many people, Aloerina uncertainly said those words.
Upon hearing that, Megumin shrugged her shoulders.
“Only temporarily? That’s to say, after putting my life on the line to repel the one strike bears, I’ll be prevented from casting explosion again? Just hearing that makes my motivation go…”
“Aaaaah, okay, fine, I get it! The ban on explosion is rescinded, so please take part in this quest!”
Part 6
On the snowy plains, a group of bears let out a loud roar.
And the person facing off against them is the self-proclaimed strongest archmage of this town.
The other adventurers, me included, got in position behind Megumin to fend off any stragglers in the unlikely event that any survived her spell, and looked on.
As we looked on, Megumin started to chant.
After hearing her chant multiple times in the past, I quickly noticed that this chant appeared far slower than usual.
It’s almost like she’s putting on a show for her new audience.
As she concluded her chant, Megumin proudly raised her staff.
“Behold my power! Explosion!”
A ball of light streaked towards the group of one strike bears and exploded amongst them.
When the dust cleared, all that remained was a large crater blasted into the earth.
The adventurers let out a cheer as Megumin collapsed from mana exhaustion.
“A-Amazing… so this is explosion magic…”
Aloerina, the only person present who has yet to see it up close, said in an impressed tone.
She came along with us to lend a hand if needed, but was completely blown away by the power of the spell Megumin unleashed.
Seeing her awestruck reaction, Megumin, as I piggybacked her off the ground, asked with shining eyes.
“This is my Explosion magic… so, what do you think? Did the other explosions from the serial explosions case leave such a big crater?”
Aloerina closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.
“… No, there’s never been such a large crater left at any of the previous incidents… Megumin-san.”
She looked back to Megumin once more.
“I’m really sorry for suspecting you in this incident. Once again, I apologize.”
Saying that, she fell into a deep bow.
It seems like this has completely wiped away any lingering suspicions she has regarding Megumin.
“Haha, as long as you understand. I’m happy enough to be cleared of suspicion. Plus, I’m in a good mood after taking care of all those bears, so I’ll forgive you.”
Hearing Megumin’s words, Aloerina let out a smile.
“I-I’m, err, I’m sorry for suspecting you too! Yeah, Megumin isn’t someone who would constantly seek out trouble. I’ll bring some nice snacks to your house next time as an apology, so…”
“Haha, it’s a small matter. There’s no need to go that far. Yunyun, you should really learn a little from Kazuma and trust me a little more. And, Kazuma…”
Megumin sounded somewhat shy as she turned back to me.
“Thank you for believing in me all this time.
As said with a wide smile.
Just as she did.
“– What happened here!? Hey, Kazuma, just what happened while I was out!?”
Darkness, at the head of a small group of soldiers, emerged from the mountains and shouted towards me upon seeing the crater.
Those people must be the guards employed by the Dustiness family.
“Hey, Darkness, where did you go? They put up an emergency quest after a bunch of one strike bears woke up early from hibernation. If it weren’t for Megumin, this would’ve turned into a disaster.”
“I-Is that so!? Hmm, they must have been woken up by the serial explosions. There was one in the forest yesterday too, so they must woken up around that time.”
Come to think of it, the serial explosions case that we’ve been chasing all this time hasn’t been resolved yet.
“So this is the fault of that explosion maniac too? I’ll definitely resolve this incident tomorrow! You’ll all get to see first hand the high intelligence of the Crimson Demons tomorrow!”
Seeing Megumin, who suddenly got to her feet even though I was carrying her just moments ago, Darkness let out a smile.
“Ah, that’s… about that incident, Megumin, the culprit has already been found.
At those words, one of the armoured men besides Darkness produced a small mushroom from his bag.
“This is called a mine mushroom. Under certain circumstances, they will violently explode. They are fairly common around the mountain paths and mountains. We’ll send a few people to gather them and properly get rid of them. And it seems like there are quite a few that are growing in the forests too. We’ll send people to take care of those as well.”
After hearing that, we let out a deep sigh.
“So this is what caused such a ruckus. Why did we even go through all that hassle in the first place.”
“Really, I ended up suspecting a lot of people thanks to this shrooms. I’ll use my explosion to take care of them all at once. Darkness, I’ll leave the gathering of them to you, but allow me to get rid of them once they’re gathered.”
Hearing my and Megumin’s words, Darkness averted her gaze.
“That’s, umm… I really don’t recommend Megumin to be involved in getting rid of them. We’ll properly take care of that, so…”
Seeing Darkness’s reaction gave me a bad feeling.
“… Hey, you said that these mushrooms will explode under certain circumstances, right? … So, what are those circumstances?”
After a short period of silence, Darkness said.
“They’ll explode in the presence of strong magic.”
Hearing that, Megumin quickly averted her gaze.
… … …
“… Wait, so, that means, if someone were to cast Explosion next to a forest where a bunch of these mushrooms are growing…”
“They will explode.”
“… and if someone casts Explosion near the mountains…”
“Of course, they’ll explode.”
Hey.
“… N-No, wait, that’s not…”
Megumin broke out into cold sweat and stuttered.
Just what exactly is she going to say, I wonder.
Aloerina produced a set of handcuffs, and Megumin loudly shouted.
“Oh, okay, fine, when you think of explosion, you think of me! When you think of me, you think of explosions! Fine, feel free to blame it on me if something similar happens in the future! But, if I may say something, if you are going to suspect someone, you should first produce evidence-”
“What good does it do to say such things now!? I was a fool to believe you in the first place!”