“Yunyun…”
“Yunyun is going to…!”
“Yunyun, the daughter of the chief, will…!”
They were watching her the way you would watch your personal hero. In the midst of it all, one of them muttered, “Yunyun’s a weirdo who’s embarrassed to even proclaim her own name. What’s going on here…?”
Aqua and I watched, too, swallowing heavily.
Sylvia closed the distance, flashing Yunyun a taunting smile. And here I’d thought she was through letting the Crimson Magic Clan provoke her. What was this? My questions were answered by the conversation that followed, as well as the object the girl showed to the chimera.
“…It’s true. The Skills field on your Adventurer’s Card doesn’t show any spells for teleporting through space… But are you sure you should have told me that you don’t have any way to run like a scared little animal?”
I didn’t know what they had said to each other before we arrived, but I could take a good guess. Yunyun had gotten Sylvia’s attention by telling her that she was unable to teleport. Sylvia, after all, was clearly sick of having the Crimson Magic wizards disappear on her at the last second. And now Yunyun was deliberately admitting that she couldn’t. That rock looked like a difficult spot to escape from, too. She might be able to jump down, but even if she hit the ground running, she would never get to her friends before Sylvia caught her. I knew all about charging in headlong, but this was ridiculous…
I was about to call out to Yunyun when I felt a tug at my elbow. I looked and found that Megumin had arrived, leading Komekko by the hand, along with a dejected-looking Darkness.
“Kazuma,” she said, “did you find the weapon? When we realized Komekko was not at the evacuation point, Yunyun decided to distract Sylvia like that to buy us time to go back to the house and get her…”
I looked at Komekko. She seemed a little dazed; she had obviously just woken up. Apparently, she’d slept through the entire commotion until just a moment ago.
That girl was going to be trouble one day.
“I’m glad you were able to get her. You’ll be happy to know that we found the weapon. But what’s with you, Darkness? Did something happen?”
“At first I was able to bait Sylvia just like we planned, but… But before long, she said she didn’t have any interest in fighting a woman who was all defense and no attack…”
Aqua patted Darkness’s hanging head.
Apparently, once Sylvia had realized Darkness couldn’t actually fight, she’d decided to go somewhere else.
Well, we had more important things to worry about.
“I get it; everything sucks right now. But listen, we have to help Yunyun before—”
“No!” Megumin said. “You must not interfere! She has something up her sleeve. It’s all right. Judging by the flattened grass around that rock, help is already there. Let us simply watch!” Her eyes shone with anticipation.
Help was already there? But it didn’t look to me like anyone was even trying to get close to Yunyun.
For some reason—maybe because the rock she was on came to such a narrow point—Yunyun was standing on one leg like a crane, perfectly balanced.
“My name is Yunyun! Arch-wizard, wielder of advanced magic…”
Then, just for a second, she glanced at Megumin, standing next to me.
“…first among the spell-casters of the Crimson Magic Clan, and she who will one day be chief of this village!”
“What did she call herself?!” Megumin exclaimed in shock. It looked like there was a bit of rivalry for the title of first among the Crimson Magic Clan spell-casters.
All crimson eyes were on Yunyun. Her usual timidity was gone. She whipped back her cape in a dramatic flourish.
“Sylvia, general of the Demon King! As the daughter of the chief of the Crimson Magic Clan—I shall show you a secret spell known only to members of the chieftain’s line!”
With one hand, she raised her wand high, then murmured something briefly to the heavens. She must have incanted some kind of lightning magic ahead of time, because an unmissable bolt of blue light crashed down behind her out of the clear dawn sky. It was an effect worthy of a hero’s entrance.
As Yunyun stood there striking her pose, the thunder still rumbling in the air, I realized that the onlooking Crimson Magic Clan members were weeping.
“…Oh…! …Sniff…!”
Even Megumin had tears in her eyes.
…Huh?
Right when I had run out of ideas, everyone else in the village suddenly seemed to be getting excited.
“Yunyun! Yunyun has finally awakened!”
“Yunyun, daughter of our chief, is coming out of her shell at last!”
“Awesome! Yunyun, you’re so cool!”
“Yunyun is waking up to the power within her!”
“That’s my student! I trained her! That’s it, Yunyun, use everything I taught you!”
Yunyun’s dramatic display really seemed to have played well with this audience. I had always felt like Yunyun was kind of on her own, but with this, she had been truly recognized as part of the village.
In other words, the one sane girl had fallen from grace.
* * *
Yunyun’s desire to save everybody had clearly banished her embarrassment for the moment. But I would have to keep an eye on her, because I was pretty sure that when she came back to her senses later and realized what she’d done, she would get so upset she might try to kill herself.
Our newly confident Yunyun stood facing down Sylvia, unflinching. Just for a second, she glanced at the air next to her—but there was nothing there.
“What’s wrong, little Teleport-less girl? Secret techniques and special abilities—you Crimson Magic Clan people are all talk. And what are you, their spokeswoman? Where is this secret spell of yours?”
Sylvia’s taunt showed she was starting to get impatient, but still Yunyun didn’t move an inch. Sylvia started to slither closer. Still, Yunyun didn’t budge. Finally, Sylvia coiled up her body and snapped herself straight like a bow, launching herself at the rock where Yunyun stood.
Even more quickly than Sylvia could strike, Yunyun jumped down from the rock and set off at a dash. Sylvia, by now thoroughly vexed at Crimson Magic Clan members getting away from her, shouted, “You think you can run? I won’t let you go! I won’t—”
Sylvia looked mad with joy at the prospect of the chase, but then, still perched atop the rock where Yunyun had been a moment before, she stopped dead. It was almost as if she had found some invisible thing blocking the way. I squinted to see what was going on, and suddenly two people appeared out of thin air in the direction Yunyun had gone. It was Bukkororii and Soketto.
One of them had been using light-bending magic right up until that moment. And if there were two of them, that meant the other must already be prepared with a Teleport spell.
Yunyun ran up to them. Sylvia reached out a hand, panicked.
“No…! You can’t—!”
“Teleport!”
Bummer for her.
As the Crimson Magic Clan looked on apprehensively, Sylvia began visibly shaking.
“……Heh-heh-heh… Ahhh-ha-ha-ha-ha! So much for the all-powerful Crimson Magic Clan! You’re nothing but talk! You haven’t shown me any magical power whatsoever! You and everyone associated with you are just a bunch of spineless losers!” She couldn’t stop laughing. Was she angry-mad or was she crazy-mad?
The others and I hid at a safe distance.
“Aqua,” I said, “she’s wide open now. Get ready to fire. You remember that spell you used earlier that left her dress all torn up? We’ll compress that and shoot it out of this thing. They only asked us to get the weapon, but I think we can put a nice, dramatic finish on this.”
“Ah, my time to shine at last, huh? Sounds good. I love a plum assignment.”
There was no call to monologue or give Sylvia any warning. It was her fault for leaving herself open. Aqua nodded, magic at the r
eady. I used Ambush to conceal our intent to attack and Deadeye to take aim. I pointed right at Sylvia, who was still crowing wildly. Time to show off the skills I’d learned sniping in video games.
“Sacred Exorcism!” The moment Aqua spoke, the magic absorber on the back of the rail gun sucked up her magic.
“Deadeye!!”
I immediately pulled the trigger that would launch the compressed magic at Sylvia…
…and nothing happened.
“Huh?” I pulled the trigger several times—click, click—but the gun didn’t look like it was going to shoot anything at all. “Aww, c’mon!” I exclaimed. “What’s wrong? Is it broken? Is the safety on or something…?” I gave the rail gun a hearty shake, but it didn’t seem to help.
“Sacred Exorcism! Sacred Exorcism!!” As I looked at the gun, befuddled, Aqua kept chanting her spell. Maybe it amused her to see the thing absorb her magic.
Hrm. This gun had been serving as a clothesline for who knew how long. It wasn’t as young as it used to be.
“Let me have a look. I know how to fix these things,” Darkness said, and then gave the gun a solid smack.
Was she really the product of a high-class education and noble breeding?
“If you’re going to hit it, try a little higher,” I said. “Right—there. Maybe the magic is plugged up inside or something.”
“Wait,” Megumin said, “is that the weapon? It looks suspiciously like the drying pole Cheekera was so proud of. Anyway, perhaps there is something non-magical stuck in it. Shall I go find a pole to clean it with?”
Darkness continued to pound on the rail gun while Megumin wandered off to find something to help muck out the barrel.
“Hey,” Aqua said in the middle of all this, pulling on my sleeve. “Heeey…!” She was pointing at something in the distance.
“What? What is it? Try your magic again. Maybe the last one, I don’t know, isn’t compatible with this thing or something. Try a different spell this t—”
As I spoke, I followed Aqua’s finger to find that Sylvia, eyes bloodshot, was looking right at us.
“Well, now, what are you up to? What have you got there? Such an interesting little toy!”
It was obvious that I was her new target.
8
“Just wait right there, little boy! Set down that thing you’re holding and walk away. Call it a Demon King general’s intuition, but I’ve got a bad feeling about that item.”
Sylvia’s silver body slithered straight for us, completely ignoring the Crimson Magic Clan wizards who tried to hold her back. She seemed to have guessed that my rail gun was dangerous.
What was I going to do? Was there someone I could foist the gun off on?
“Waiiit!” Aqua exclaimed from behind me, Komekko in her arms. “Your stats are so much lower than mine—how come you’re so fast when we’re running away? Is this what you took the Flee skill for? Wait! Don’t leave me!”
Somewhere along the line, Komekko had picked up Chomusuke and was cradling her, just as Aqua was cradling Komekko.
This girl was going to be serious trouble.
“What’s going on? Hurry it up! Darkness, you’re falling behind—you need to lose some weight!”
“Dammit, don’t say it like that! Say my armor weighs too much!”
I didn’t know when Darkness had had time to equip her armor, but now it was slowing her down. As she fretted about my choice of words, Sylvia closed in, almost on top of her. This wasn’t getting me anywhere! The gun was too heavy. I had to get rid of it…!
“Running won’t save you, Kazuma Satou! And you, Crimson Magic Clan, hear this! From this day forth, you may count me your most feared enemy! Wherever you hide, I will find you, and I will squeeze the breath out of every last one of you! No matter where in the world you build your new home, I will come and destroy it!” Her words echoed around the burning village.
If we handed over the rail gun, maybe she would give up on us…
“I tell you, Crimson—or should I say Coward—Magic Clan! You and everyone you know shall live the rest of your lives with the ever-present fear of an attack, never knowing when I might strike!”
This failed to get a rise from any of the Crimson Magic Clan wizards, who didn’t appear to have taken any notice of Sylvia’s threat. From the way they had linked up with Yunyun to the way they used Teleport, I was starting to wonder if maybe these guys had some smarts after all. If only we could get them to put that intelligence to better use.
“My big sister is not a coward!”
A shout loud enough to drown out Sylvia’s cackling resounded through the village. It came from Komekko, still holding Chomusuke and still resting in Aqua’s arms. It kind of bothered me that Chomusuke looked sort of out of it and appeared to have teeth marks on her, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
“It is indeed hard to let such an insult pass. This quarrel is between the Crimson Magic Clan and the Demon King. If I give you the weapon Kazuma is holding, will you let these three go?”
If it wasn’t our short-tempered wizard, whose boiling point could be achieved with a warm breeze. She had suddenly stopped running and was pointing her staff at Sylvia.
Sylvia slowed at the sight; she licked her lips and smiled.
“Well, if it isn’t Kazuma’s undistinguished little friend. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you use any magic yet. What’s your specialty? Teleport, or some other kind of port?” She smirked.
Megumin responded flatly, “I have not told you my name yet, have I? My name is Megumin. And I am truly first among the spell-casters of the Crimson Magic Clan.”
Apparently, she was still miffed that Yunyun had tried to steal her title. But she didn’t give her name in the usual bombastic way. She spoke calmly and quietly. Sylvia looked surprised.
“You’re unusual for a Crimson Magic Clan wizard… No shouting and posing? I know how much your kind loves theatrics.”
Megumin didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow at Sylvia’s taunt.
And in the middle of it all: “My big sis is awesome! She could even blow away a Dark God with her magic!” That was Komekko, still in Aqua’s arms.
Megumin glanced at her sister and gave a half smile. “I’m sorry. Please look after Komekko. She would go after the Demon King himself if you took your eyes off her. As for me, I will go use my special magical technique to rid us of this enemy.”
“H-hey,” I said, trying to stop her, but she paid me no mind—only took off the bandage over her eye. I thought she’d said it would be bad for her if the village found out she could use only Explosion. As I stood there worrying, Sylvia laughed again.
“Ah, the famous ‘special magical technique.’ How many times have I heard that?”
The other members of the Crimson Magic Clan started whispering, too.
“What’s going on? That’s Hyoizaburou’s girl. She used to have more style.”
“If she’s going to use special magic, she ought to build up to it a little more!”
“Yeah, where’s the pizzazz? The panache?”
They didn’t realize that Megumin really did have a serious trick up her sleeve. I had said we were keeping her in reserve, but that was just so our hot-blooded mage wouldn’t use her magic where the villagers would see. Megumin was raring to go, but I hated to see her use her Explosion at the wrong moment—to let her secret out when we weren’t even sure it would work. Plus, I didn’t have any confidence that I could run away while carrying the MP-less Arch-wizard.
“…Hey, Megumin, there’s something I have to tell you…”
“Kazuma—”
I was hoping to convince her to hold back, but she spoke at the same moment I did.
“—Aqua told me that…that you can read the ancient letters written in the underground storehouse.”
That gave me a shock. Why would she tell Megumin something like that?! For that matter, if she was bringing this up now, it could only mean…
“I’m sorry you
always have to clean up our messes,” she said with the tiniest of smiles. “Just for today, let me clean up yours.”
…These Crimson Magic types really are smart. I finally understand that all too well.
Megumin’s eyes shone scarlet. Sylvia looked amused by her.
“Are you ready, little girl? I don’t suppose you’ll come at me on your own. I’ll chase you, and then you’ll run away or Teleport or who knows what.” There was a challenge in her voice. But our short-tempered wizard listened impassively, her staff at the ready.
Sylvia wasn’t the only one who grew suspicious at this. All of the onlooking Crimson Magic Clan members wore dubious expressions.
…We were in for it now. I had never seen Megumin so serious.
I knew how powerful her Explosions could be. The rest of the Crimson Magic Clan was just close enough that they might get caught up in the blast. But hopefully it wouldn’t be bad enough to kill anyone. And if Megumin could fire off her spell without causing any innocent casualties, she wouldn’t hold back.
“All of you, run!” I shouted. “Get as far away from Sylvia as you can! Seriously, get out of here!” But for some reason, this only provoked an Ooh from the assembled crowd.
“That’s Megumin’s friend for you! He may be a stranger, but he knows how to ratchet up the tension!”
“No kidding… You see the desperation on his face? He doesn’t even look like he’s acting!”
None of them was taking me seriously…
“You idiots! There’s some majorly powerful magic brewing! You have got to get out of here!”
Sylvia—and the whole Crimson Magic Clan—laughed at this. What did they think this was, stand-up comedy…? I gave up trying to convince them—whatever befell these guys wasn’t my responsibility anymore. Darkness and I rose to stand beside Megumin.
“Don’t worry, Megumin,” Darkness said. “If your Explosion doesn’t work, I’ll hold off that snake lady. Just the thought of those metallic coils squeezing me…!”
Crimson Magic Clan, Let’s & Go!! Page 14