1

That day.

“What is wrong with you?! Just give up already!”

It was almost noon, yet Kazuma still hadn’t even made an attempt to climb out of bed, so I smacked his blanket until he peeked his head out and mumbled,

“There’s a famous saying in my country: ‘When you give up, that’s when the game is over.’ Those words mean a lot to me, and I don’t plan on ever giving up.”

“It’s a good saying, but I think you’re using it wrong! You are going on an adventure with me today, and that’s final!”

Kazuma slipped his head back under the covers. I tried pulling them off him, but he wasn’t giving up. Unfortunately for Kazuma, however, I was far more powerful than he was, and it was only a matter of time until—

“Create Water!”

“………”

—he stuck his hand out from under the covers and soaked me with a water spell. I stood frozen in disbelief as water dripped down my body, when suddenly, Kazuma poked his head out again from under the covers.

“Woe unto those who disturb my slumber. Begone, cretin, lest you be defiled by the wrath of Create Earth.”

“I am not going to back down simply because you are using fancy words! Besides, do you think I am going to let that slide?! I am going to dry off my body on your bed!”

“S-stop! You’re going to get my bed wet! Okay! I’m sorry! They’re going to think I wet the bed, so please…!”

I wildly rolled around the bed until Kazuma sat up in a fluster.

“Seriously, though, you’ve been going on adventures every day lately. Frog slaying, slime slaying… Right?” asked Kazuma, stretching after crawling out of bed.

“I don’t want to fight weak monsters like that, though. I want to go after something big. You know, Yunyun and Iris killed a wyvern back in Arcanletia, but me? All I got to fight was Cappy.”

“The hell is a Cappy?”

When we went downstairs, we ran into Darkness, dressed like a wealthy noble, getting ready to go somewhere.

“Wh-what happened to you, Megumin? You’re soaking wet.”

“This guy sprayed me with Create Water.”

She began nervously fidgeting when she heard about the water.

“Oh…? And why did he do that?”

“I climbed on top of Kazuma in bed to wake him up when, all of a sudden, he got really excited and made me wet. But that wasn’t enough for him. He told me to get out of his room or he was going to defile me, and—”

“I’m sorry, okay?! But do you think you could have phrased that a little better?! Darkness is fidgeting!”

Which reminded me…

“Get changed, Darkness. We have an adventure to go on.”

“O-oh, I can’t. I have work today. There are some documents that need to be signed and…,” Darkness reluctantly replied with a stack of documents in hand.

“Do you know how hard it was to get Kazuma out of bed?! Why do you have to do paperwork?! What is your job?!”

“I am a noblewoman! H-hey! Give those documents back! You’re smearing the ink…!”

Her eyes welled with tears as my wet hands caused the ink to bleed all over the page.

“Sorry, but I can’t go on an adventure with you today, either! Cecily said she brought back some amazing booze for me from Arcanletia, so we’re going to have a party at the Axis church,” stated Aqua, who was preparing to go out as well.

“You too, Aqua?! You’re going to go drink in the middle of the day?! What is your job?!”

“I’m a goddess.”

I hated to admit it, but this party had absolutely no self-discipline. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the front door. Kazuma immediately looked over and saw a familiar woman peeking inside.

“Oh! It’s the receptionist. Sigh. It looks like my help is needed.”

It was the receptionist from the Guild. Kazuma gave her a smirk as if he was trying to act cool, but…

“Oh! No, um…! I did come to discuss work, but it isn’t for you. It’s for Megumin…”

“…”

I flicked back my cloak, showing no concern for Kazuma, who had fallen silent.

“Oh? A job that requires my assistance? The client made the right choice. Very well. Take me to this person who needs my help!”

“Um… I don’t know why you’re wet, but you should probably change before we go.”

2

I left Kazuma behind, since he was sulking that he wasn’t the one she’d come for, and went to the Adventurers Guild alone.

“Your client is Mr. Burton, and the quest’s location is the capital.”

“I’m going home.”

I tried leaving the moment I heard the client’s name, but the receptionist grabbed me by the cloak and stopped me.

“Wh-where are you going, Megumin?! Please don’t leave! This client has donated a lot of money to the Adventurers Guild headquarters in the capital…”

“That does not have anything to do with me. I have accepted one of his quests before, but he was a monster-loving weirdo. He is way too much for me to handle alone, so you are going to need to ask someone else.”

I tried leaving once more, but the receptionist wouldn’t let go of my cloak.

“Are you sure, Megumin?! This is a job from the much-talked-about Professor Burton himself! The man who wrote the famous Professor Burton’s Biology for Dopes!”

“I said I don’t care! Since when did he get famous anyway? He was treated like an outcast back when I accepted his quest.”

He was basically a nobody in the eyes of the Guild when I last saw him.

“After proving the existence of the King Toad, he instantly became famous, and he is now a known expert in the field of biology.”

“Wait. What?”

That was a monster’s name I couldn’t just ignore.

“The King Toad. Nobody knew of its biology or habitat. It was nothing more than an urban legend until Professor Burton was able to submit its carcass and…”

I took out my Adventurer’s Card and checked the slayed-monsters column.

“Here. Take a look at this. See where it says King Toad? Well, I was wondering if it had a bounty on its head.”

“…?! M-Megumin? Why does your card say—? U-um… It is an extremely rare monster, but its existence has just been proven only recently, so unfortunately, there is no reward…”

“Oh…”

I couldn’t believe a monster of that magnitude didn’t have a bounty on its head. It was just as surprising that Burton had become an authority in the field of biology…

“What the…?! What’s this named monster under King Toad? Deadly Poison Slime Cappy…”

Hold up. If Burton was an authority on monster research in his field, then maybe that meant he was rich now, too? And he wouldn’t have been able to do it without our help, right? Plus, the pay was really low for a monster that big.

…All right!

“Megumin, this Cappy here—”

“I’ll take the job!”

After picking up the written request, I bid farewell to the receptionist, who looked like she wanted to say something, and began my search for a certain someone within the Guild. Who was I looking for? Of course, it was my good friend who was strong, reliable, and could use Teleport.

“I’m Beat. This is Clarice. I’m a warrior, and she’s a priestess!”

“Sorry to bother you. We’re new in town. Anyway, you’re a wizard, right? You didn’t look like you already had a party, and we’d make a really well-balanced team, so we were wondering if you wanted to join us.”

I easily found my friend Yunyun after only a few seconds of searching the Guild. But it looked like something was wrong. Two people around my age were talking to her as she looked to her sides with a stupefied expression. She then pointed a trembling finger at herself.

“U-um… Are you talking to me?”

“Of course. Who else would we be talking to?”

“Ha-ha-ha. Are you nervous? Don’t worry. This is going to be our first quest, too!”

It looked like some fledging adventurers new to Axel were trying to pick her up.

“U-ummm… I’m Yunyun! I-i-i-it’s nice to meet you!”

Tears welled in her eyes while she bowed, as if being invited to join their party made her the happiest person in the world.

“You don’t have to be so nervous. I’ve slayed countless monsters back home in my village. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m actually already Level 4.”

“Yunyun’s a really cute name! I’m Level 2, but I’m wearing chain mail, so I should be fine if we’re slaying frogs!”

Yunyun blushed, having her name complimented by Clarice.

“L-leave it to me! I’ll use the Crimson Magic Clan’s power-leveling ability Raise and have both your levels in the double digits by tomorrow!”

“Ha-ha! We’re counting on you! Hold on… I feel like I’ve heard of the Crimson Magic Clan from somewhere before…”

“Me too… By the way, Yunyun, what level are you? Can you already use intermediate magic?”

Yunyun froze for a moment after being asked her level, then promptly put on a smile and tried to play it off.

“My level is— Well, I mean—I think I can handle intermediate magic!”

“Come on—don’t sell yourself short. She can actually use advanced magic like Teleport, too. Plus, this Arch-wizard is already over Level 40,” I chimed in from behind, causing Yunyun to instantly freeze.

“Y-y-you’re over Level 40?!”

“And an Arch-wizard?!” shouted the rookie adventurers in surprise.

I continued:

“And she isn’t just any Arch-wizard. She’s a magic-user of the Crimson Magic Clan—a race born with an extremely high aptitude for magic. You rookie adventurers are probably better off forming a party with someone around your level.”

“I’m so sorry we bothered you!”

“P-p-p-please forgive us! We’re new here, so we didn’t know!”

“Ah?! W-wait…!”

The two rookie adventurers took my advice and ran off in a panic. I gently placed a hand on Yunyun’s shoulder as she reached out and tried to stop them, then shook my head.

“Let them go. I’m sure they’ll find someone more fitting for their party. All we veteran adventurers can do is gently watch over them.”

Yunyun thereupon grabbed me by the lapels with both hands.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Wh-what are you doing?! Yunyun, wait! Calm down! Y-you’re choking me…!”

3

We headed to the capital after calming down my bloodthirsty friend.

“Sigh… You have a short temper, Yunyun. You know that? Anyway, you are going to be the next leader of the Crimson Magic Clan, so please stop trying to form parties with new adventurers. Everyone back home would be shocked if they heard.”

I decided to explain to Yunyun why we came to the capital as she bawled her eyes out.

“Besides, you don’t need any more party members. You have me, and we’re about to go on an adventure. Burton needs our help. But first, we should ask Iris to come with us.”

“‘Burton’? You mean that weird scholar? And are you sure we should be taking Iris with us? Today might be the day Burton gets executed for lèse-majesté.”

I understood where she was coming from, but the written request I got in Axel stated that we wanted the same party members as last time.

Yunyun looked up at the castle towering over us and anxiously muttered:

“Plus, I’m starting to worry that maybe we shouldn’t show up to the castle uninvited anymore…”

“Excuse me, sir!”

“Were you not listening to what I just said?!”

The guard’s face twisted in disgust, as if he already recognized us.

“We came to invite Iris to hang out. Could you please tell her that her friend Megumin is here?”

“We cannot have you inviting our nation’s princess to ‘hang out’ whenever you please.”

“See? Even the guards don’t want us here! Let’s go home! I can do whatever Burton wants by myself!” Yunyun argued vehemently and in a fluster.

“We do not even know what kind of quest it is, though, and we are both spell-casters. We need someone strong to take the front line, and there is nobody better than Iris who can do that.”

“You plan on making Princess Iris guard you?! There’s no way I’m going to tell her you’re here now!”

“See?!”

Witnessing Yunyun on the verge of tears gave me a wonderful idea.

“Then how about we do this? Iris can stay, but you need to come with us. Surely, a castle guard would be able to handle the front line.”

“I am in the middle of work.”

“I’m sorry! Don’t mind her! She’s just an idiot! I’ll take her home!”

My rude friend grabbed me by the arm and tried to pull me away, but…

“Listen, we are Iris’s friends, and we are about to go on a quest without physical attackers to take the front line to protect us—two little girls. Surely, it would break Iris’s heart if something happened to us.”

“Uh…”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please don’t listen to her!”

As Yunyun profusely apologized to the obviously troubled guard, a middle-aged gentleman suddenly emerged from the station at the side of the castle gate.

“Then allow me to go with you. My shift is almost over, after all.”

“What?! Captain, are you serious?!”

The middle-aged man called Captain did look strong.

“I used to be an adventurer, too, so I am confident I will not hold you back. I am off tomorrow, and you are Princess Iris’s friends as well, which is all the more reason to help. Allow me to take the front,” said the captain proudly with a confident smirk.

“Yunyun, we just found ourselves a powerhouse. I think he’d be a good replacement for Iris.”

“Are you sure we should be bringing castle guards with us, though? …But I guess it’d probably be better than putting Iris into any potential danger.”

A bell suddenly began to chime in the background, as if to alert the workers that the next shift was starting.

“Perfect. My shift just ended. From now on, I will be your vanguard whenever you need help, so do you think you could please stop inviting Iris?”

“Very well. Now that I think about it, this is perfect. I do not get as much time to shine if Iris goes all out on the enemy anyway, so I probably should have stopped inviting her a while ago.”

The captain and I shared a merry smile, but Yunyun was subtly pointing at the castle gate as if she was trying to get our attention.

“…”

Standing behind the opened gate was Iris, with tears in her eyes, pouting.

4

“I can’t believe you! Seriously?! I never knew you could be so coldhearted, boss!”

“Can you really blame me? It is not my fault you’re a princess.”

Even after we started heading over to the Adventurers Guild in the capital, Iris was still pouting and in a bad mood. Yunyun, who was standing by her side, wore an expression of painful reluctance.

“Regardless, that man did seem strong. Should we have brought him with us?”

“Yeah, especially since he volunteered and everything.”

The captain offered to come with us as Iris’s guard, but…

“I can handle being the vanguard by myself! I’ll show you just how useful I can be!”

“I am not going to get a chance to do anything if you take this too seriously! I am the boss, so don’t get carried away!”

We childishly argued back and forth until we reached the Guild, only to find Burton standing before the door as if he was tired of waiting for us.

“At last! You’re here! I’m so glad you came!” cried Burton, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

Iris smiled back and replied:

“It is so wonderful to see you again, Burton! I heard the book you wrote has been flying off the shelves ever since you were recognized for your discovery of the King Toad! Congratulations!”

However, Burton quietly stared at us as if he couldn’t even hear Iris. Yunyun curiously tilted her head to the side.

“Burton? Is everything okay? You didn’t forget Iris, right? Show some manners.”

But he still didn’t reply, so I muttered,

“Long time no see, Professor Burton.”

“Oh, Megumin, my dear! What a pleasure to see you again! I have officially received my doctorate now, and it’s thanks to you all! Thank you so much!”

It looked like he was planning on ignoring anyone who didn’t refer to him as “Professor.” Some things never changed—his aggravating personality, for instance.

“U-um… Professor Burton, it is wonderful to see you again. I heard your Biology for Dopes book was a bestseller. Congratulations.”

“Oh, thank you very much for your kind words! Would you like my autograph, too, perhaps?”

“N-no thank you…”

Burton cackled with evident satisfaction, still clearly oblivious to the fact that Iris was the princess.

“Hey, Megumin, maybe we should do something about him during the quest before things get out of hand?”

“You sometimes go a little overboard. Plus, this old man’s apparently famous now, so let’s just leave him alone.”

Burton’s expression was suddenly overcome with an air of seriousness in the midst of our whispers.

“Anyway, there is a reason why I, the authority on biology and bestselling author, called you all here today. It was sunny out the day after you defeated the King Toad on your previous quest. However…”

I almost forgot that the whole reason we’d defeated the King Toad was to end the rainy season so that Burton could take Barbera from the pub out on a date the next day. It sounded absolutely ridiculous to us at first, but she was apparently his childhood friend, and his story about her really made you root for him. And yet…

“What happened with Barbera? Did she leave you after your ego trip?”

“What are you talking about? Things are going very well between us thanks to you all. She even invited me on a date the other day. She was so cute, begging me to buy her this and that.”

Burton’s lips curled upward in rapt admiration.

“Oh. I guess making the leap from wannabe professor to bestseller really helped y—”

“Megumin, shh! Some things shouldn’t be said, even if they are true!”

Iris cast Yunyun a skeptical gaze as she covered my mouth, then took a step forward with a smile as if to change the subject.

“So, Professor Burton, why did you ask to meet with us today?”

“Oh yeah! So I bought Barbera everything she asked for, but when I took her to the jewelry store and bought an engagement ring on the spur of the moment, she wouldn’t accept it. It was the most expensive thing at the store, and yet…”

…I see.

“So basically, she took those other presents without remorse, but the engagement ring made her uncomfortable, and she wanted nothing to do with it.”

“Megumin?! Would it kill you to have some tact?!”

Burton bitterly smirked.

“So that’s how she felt, huh? Actually, the reason why I requested to meet you all today was because I needed some relationship advice. Last time, you guys taught me a little about how women think and feel, and things went well thanks to your advice. But it looks like my ego ruined it…”

“I see. We actually came all the way here because we thought we could squeeze some more reward money out of you, since you’re famous thanks to us defeating the King Toad.”

“Stop chiming in with your rude comments!”

Just as Yunyun thrust me aside for butting in too much…

“I know how Barbera feels!”

Iris suddenly shouted with her fists clenched and stars in her eyes. She showed Burton her cheap ring, ill-fitting for a princess, and said:

“Do you see this? While this ring is far from valuable in a monetary sense, it is the treasure I value most out of every piece of jewelry I own. Surely, Barbera must want something that feels special to her as well. It has to be thoughtful. That’s why…!”

I was pretty sure she’d gotten that ring from Kazuma. I gradually felt myself annoyed at her showing off the ring until Burton suddenly let out a sigh.

“A kid like you doesn’t understand love…”

“I am trying to help you! Ugh! Jerk!”

Burton seemed somewhat cheerful, despite the fact that Iris was smacking him.

“But while a child, you are still a girl. Hmm… I see… Something thoughtful…,” muttered the middle-aged man before pondering for a few moments.

“Megumin, I have a new job for you all! There is something I want you to get for me!” continued Burton as Iris shook him.

“Apologize…! Apologize for treating me like a child!”

5

Different people value different things. I felt that frequenting a popular store until you got your hands on something that was usually impossible to get unless reserved way in advance was more than thoughtful enough. People good with their hands could even make it themselves. If someone worked their butt off and bought a ring that cost them three months’ salary, then the recipient would be overjoyed, regardless of the price. So the most thoughtful present a biologist could get would be…

“Burton, Burton, Burton!!”

“Call me Professor, Yunyun! Those are Magic Eaters! Their population has decreased immensely, so it’s uncommon to see one anymore, but they are extremely rare sprites that eat mana!”

We were being chased by luminous, floating creatures throughout the forest next to the capital.

“Burton, magic isn’t working on them! Do they not have any weaknesses?!”

“I told you to call me Professor, Yunyun! Magic Eaters absorb most magic attacks. There are only two ways to realistically defeat them: use Light of Saber, which turns the caster’s power itself into an attack, or use Explosion, which can inflict damage on anything and everything!”

After hearing that, Yunyun immediately swung her right hand into the air and chanted a spell.

“Light of Saber!!”

A blinding flash of light swallowed the area, splitting one of the luminous bodies in half. However…

“Burton, it merged back together!”

“I told you to call me— Ah, forget it! You need to hit each spirit a hundred times with Light of Saber! Surely, that will be enough to—”

“I don’t have enough mana to do that! Is there any other way to defeat them?! We’re going to have to get Megumin to use Explosion again if there isn’t!”

Usually, I would have loved to save the day, but I felt like it’d be a waste using Explosion on some flashing ball of light when the forest was filled with countless powerful monsters.

“You should be able to hurt it if you use a weapon infused with mana! But it would have to be an extremely powerful weapon to defeat a Magic Eater, or…”

Before Burton even finished his sentence, one of the Magic Eaters’ light dispersed, and it disappeared. When I looked to my side, I noticed Iris in the middle of attacking another Magic Eater with a glowing sword. It looked like she managed to bring her country’s national treasure, Calibur, with her this time. The out-of-breath professor suddenly stopped running, as if he was relieved.

“Good work, Iris. I’ll make sure to give you my autograph once we’re back in town.”

“N-no thank you. I’m more interested in knowing how such powerful monsters ended up decreasing in population.”

Iris brought up a fine point while slaying another Magic Eater.

“That is a very good question, Iris! It’s because Magic Eaters are attracted to high-level monsters with powerful magic, driving them to go on suicide missions. There’s even a famous story about countless spheres of light gathering before the Demon King’s castle.”

Powerful magic…

“So these Magic Eaters are attracted to anything powerful in the area?”

“That’s right, Megumin. In other words, it was one of us who attracted them!”

Burton stared hard at Iris as she slayed the final monster.

She looked away and muttered,

“That’s the Crimson Magic Clan for you. Boss and Yunyun have extremely powerful magic.”

“Oh, come on. I’m not that amazing.”

“I don’t think it was Megumin and me who attracted the monsters…”

After sheathing her sword, Iris showed Burton the expensive necklace she was wearing.

“I-it wasn’t me. I made sure to bring a powerful magic item with me this time that suppresses my mana, since it made all those gelatinous slimes avoid me last time!”

“Magic Eaters are attracted to powerful magic items as well.”

After hearing that, Iris nonchalantly hid not only the necklace behind her back but her holy sword, a divine relic even more powerful than a magic item, as well.

“So, Professor Burton, are we any closer to finding that Crystal Liger?”

The reason why we were this deep in the forest was because we were searching for the Crystal Liger, said to already be extinct, because that was the “something special” Burton wanted to give to Barbera. It was a monster covered in crystal-like gems, which were extremely rare and which meant you could hardly find them being sold as raw materials anywhere. They were sought after by many adventurers due to the fact that slaying one would not only make you famous but extremely rich. Nevertheless, that led to them being overhunted, which was why they were said to be extinct. However…

“I am positive there is one in this forest. I can just tell, since I am an authority on biology, after all. The Crystal Liger is cautious and clever, so the average adventurer would never be able to even find their tracks. But me? Well…”

I would usually think someone like this was talking out of their rear end, but he had found the King Toad. He must have had some sort of supporting evidence to make him this confident. We were already deep into the forest, but Burton still hadn’t taken his eyes off the ground.

“Oh?”

After a sudden halt, he picked up a stick with a serious expression and began digging until he found a black lump. It had been covered by the leafy shade of the trees and completely hidden under the dirt. Burton carefully examined the black ball of matter. It wasn’t long before Iris squatted by his side and began observing it, as if it had tickled her curiosity as well.

“What is it?”

“Ha-ha. Did it pique your curiosity? Give it a little poke with your sword.”

Iris thrusted it with the tip of her sword as suggested, causing it to crumble.

“I-it smells awful! What is this, Professor Burton?!”

“Monster excrement… H-hey! Don’t point your sword at me!”

Burton examined the crumbled feces while paying no attention to Iris, who was cleaning off the holy sword with tears in her eyes.

“This is it! I found a hard fragment mixed in the feces! This is the Crystal Liger’s excrement! You did it, Iris! I was able to find a trace of the Crystal Liger thanks to poking around its feces!”

“I feel like you could phrase that better…,” whined Iris, who had stabbed monster dung with a national treasure.

“I’m glad you found the Crystal Liger’s poop and all, but how are we going to catch it? We’d be able to use the poop to find it if we had an Archer with a tracking skill, but…”

“Hey, Megumin? Do you think you could stop saying that?”

Burton smugly smirked at me.

“Cautious monsters are very particular about where they relieve themselves. Finding its feces here means that its turf is nearby.”

He then looked around until he eventually found something and picked it up.

“I found it! This is part of the Crystal Liger’s skin! It must have rubbed its body against this tree to shed old skin! It looks like it tried to smash it into small pieces and bury it, but you can’t fool these eyes!”

It was a tiny, gemlike fragment, so small that it was closer to a fine powder than a rock.

“All that’s left is to find the monster itself, then, huh? Ligers seem to be extremely quick, but I should be able to take care of it if I blow up the area with Explosion.”

But the excited professor shook his head with a serious look on his face.

“That won’t be necessary. Crystal Ligers are even rarer than Magic Eaters, so when we find it, all we need to do is take the tip of its tail. Ligers’ tails can regenerate almost immediately, and the tail alone has enough precious stones to make a massive ring!”

“So you’re a conservationist now, too, huh? The tip of its tail… That means…”

Everyone’s gazes shifted toward the princess holding her sword.

“Crystal Ligers love shiny gems. In addition, they tend to love more expensive gems as well. Just like their cautious habits, they can’t fight their nature. Unfortunately, I was only able to get my hands on some cheap ones, but…”

Burton began scattering gems in an open area slightly away from where we’d found the monster dung.

“Dragons are said to love shiny things as well. There are various guesses as to why: There is mana hidden inside gold and gems, shiny objects simply have the power to confuse and control living creatures, etcetera, but—Megumin… Megumin! Will you stop picking up the gems I’m scattering?!”

Those words brought me back to my senses. I had been absentmindedly picking up the gems.

“Interesting. It appears gems really do have the power to control living creatures. Even a member of the Crimson Magic Clan with a resistance to magic such as I couldn’t help myself…”

“You’re just obsessed with money.”

I ignored Yunyun’s retort while sprinkling the gems back on the ground until all of a sudden, I felt a powerful gaze on me. I instantly looked over and saw a cat-type monster almost twice the size of a Beginner’s Bane glittering in the sun. It was staring at the necklace hanging around Iris’s neck, something a commoner could never afford.

“Hey, Iris, can I ask you something? The gems on that magic necklace of yours look really expensive, so I was wondering exactly how much they were worth.”

“…I was told this necklace is a national treasure…”

The Crystal Liger suddenly sprinted straight for Iris!

6

“Yunyun, slow it down! I don’t even want to think about the mess we’re going to be in if that thing attacks Iris and steals a national treasure!”

“Iris, run! Bottomless Swamp!”

Yunyun immediately grasped the gravity of the situation and cast a swamp spell while on the verge of tears, but the Crystal Liger simply leaped over the bottomless pit without showing any signs of panicking. It hopped from tree to tree, approaching its target. It wasn’t even acknowledging our existence. Saliva dripping from its chin, the liger continued to run toward Iris at full speed as she stood in front of Burton with her sword drawn.

“Liger-type monsters such as Beginner’s Banes are all good at climbing trees! Yunyun, it is clear that you didn’t read my bestselling book, so you lose a point as an adventurer!”

“I wouldn’t even have to worry about slowing it down if you hadn’t ordered us not to kill it! Does it not have any weaknesses?!” shouted Yunyun with a dagger in her right hand and a wand in her left.

Burton fled to my side, smugly smirked, and said:

“Allow me to take care of its weakness! Liger-type monsters can’t reach behind them with their forelegs, so if you were to pet their head, you gently would approach them from behind and—”

“Megumin, get ready to cast Explosion!”

“I think Beginner’s Bane–type monsters are cool, so I kind of like them, but I guess we don’t have much of a choice.”

“Wait! Stop, I say!”

I gave up on the idea of cutting off its tail and got into stance to cast Explosion, but Burton grabbed my wand and wouldn’t let go. Iris saw him beg me to stop and promptly dropped her sword on the ground.

“Yunyun! I am going to grab it with my bare hands, so I want you to cast Light of Saber and cut off the tip of its tail! Can you do that?!”

“You’re going to what?! Iris, forget that. It’s a rare monster! Kill it!”

“Yunyun, wait! As a biologist, I cannot just stand here and allow you all to kill it!”

Burton, refusing to give up, shook his head while clinging to Yunyun.

I placed a hand on his shoulder and said:

“Burton, I respect your resolution as a biologist, but is it worth risking Iris’s life to protect that liger? Would Barbera really accept a gift that you could only get your hands on because you put someone else in danger?”

My expression was the epitome of seriousness.

“Grrr! Grrrrrr!”

The liger grew more cautious and stopped after noticing Iris throw her sword down. While the necklace was suppressing her mana, its wild instincts must have warned it. Liger-type monsters were impressively smart.

“Megumin?! What are you doing?! I don’t care how poor you are. I told you to stop eating stuff you find on the ground, didn’t I?! You picked up some weird mushroom and ate it, didn’t you?!”

I was trying to have a serious conversation, but Yunyun wouldn’t stop screaming.

“Will you shut up?! You’re ruining our chances of persuading him! If something were to happen to Iris or that national treasure, we’re going to be the ones who are beheaded! What you need to be doing is paying him lip service so we can kill that thing!”

“At least whisper if you are going to talk about me like that! But… Hmm… Yes… Barbera wouldn’t be happy if she knew I put a child in danger to get her that gem…”

“Burton, you were hiding behind me for almost the entire time?! I am going to get mad if you keep treating me like a child,” stated Iris as she and the liger stared each other down.

Until out of nowhere…

“Scholar Iris, leave the rest to me. Here, let me borrow that necklace.”

Burton took a step forward with a strong will burning in his eyes, causing Yunyun to panic and begin casting a spell. It was the familiar chant of one of her strongest spells: Light of Saber.

“Burton, that necklace is a national treasure, so I don’t recommend trying to steal it and run away.”

“Megumin, this is serious, so could you please not bother me right now?! Listen, everybody. I will act as a decoy, and when the liger pounces at me, I want you to cut off the tip of its tail. I am the biologist Burton. I will not allow myself to fear a monster!”

““Professor Burton!””

Although Yunyun’s and Iris’s voices were filled with admiration, Burton was trembling at the knees.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. You just got your hands on a nice royalty deal and are considered an authority in your field. You’re a professor now, so how about you forget Barbera and go after someone younger instead? You’d be able to find someone in no time with your fame and money.”

“What do you have against me, Megumin?! Why are you constantly taking jabs at me?!” shouted Burton as Iris handed him the necklace. Just then…

“The liger is acting strange, as if something is scaring it…”

The liger, which had been growling at Iris, suddenly froze. It was as if a house cat had run into an all-powerful being.

“Ahhh! The necklace was suppressing my mana, so that’s probably why it’s—!”

The liger jumped at the sound of Iris’s voice.

“Oh yeah. You brought that magic item with you so weak monsters wouldn’t run away. I guess once you took it off…”

“D-don’t be scared. It’s okay. See? I’m unarmed!”

Iris smiled with her arms spread out, as if to show she didn’t have a weapon, but her efforts bore no fruit, for the liger slowly stepped back…

“Then how about this?!”

Burton suddenly squealed while stripping off his clothes.

“Yunyun, a new rare monster has appeared. We should slay it first before it corrupts Iris.”

“Okay. I was always worried he might do something to Iris, but I never expected he’d try anything here.”

Yunyun and I braced ourselves for battle, but the new monster immediately began to protest, sputtering each word.

“I am not joking around! This is serious! Listen, liger-type monsters take submissive positions before those stronger than they are! They get on the ground and roll over to expose their stomach and throat! If we do this, we can convince it that we’re weak so it won’t run away!”

“The liger seems to be more afraid of you than it is of Iris.”

The liger retreated even farther back as the professor beckoned it in only his underwear.

“Did it see through my bluff?! Is my overpowering aura of absolute authority causing it to cower away?”

“I’m pretty sure any monster would be cautious of a rare specimen like you, Burton.”

Just then…

“Light of Saber!!”

“…?!”

Yunyun finished casting her spell and swung her sword of light at the liger’s tail, but the cautious liger already had its guard up and managed to dodge the attack, albeit barely.

“Iris, now!”

“Okay! I’ve got this!”

I kicked the holy sword on the ground up into the air, sending it right over to Iris, who swiftly caught it.

7

We were on our way back from the depths of the forest. It was already getting close to evening by the time the entrance came into sight.

“It has gotten late. I really hope the castle hasn’t started panicking and searching for Iris.”

Iris slightly twitched when I expressed my concern.

“Yeah. But that’s not all we should be worried about, right?”

Yunyun’s comment seemed to make Iris’s trembling even worse.

“Am I making enough off royalties to pay for that necklace?”

“I-I’m so sorry, everyone! I promise none of you will get into any trouble!”

Iris apologized in a fluster after hearing Burton’s mutterings.

“Don’t blame yourself, Iris. We all saw how the liger looked at you. Besides, you’re still just a kid. Not me, though. I wouldn’t even hesitate to blow up a loving, snuggling couple of Duxion if I had to.”

“You could do with some empathy.”

After catching the holy sword, Iris had started swinging it to slay the beast, but…

“It was careless of me to forget that Crystal Ligers are just high-level Beginner’s Banes. Acting friendly and sweet to trick its opponent into lowering their guard and stealing the necklace was way too clever.”

Liger-type monsters are known for being smart, so when it noticed Iris was hesitant to attack, it rolled on its back and started acting playful. Then, right when we let our guards down, it swiped the necklace with its mouth and took off.

“It was my fault for ever wanting the gems of a Crystal Liger. Allow me to apologize to your parents, Scholar Iris. I will pay them back for the necklace. Don’t worry. They won’t get mad at you if the authority on biology and bestselling author apologizes on your behalf!”

Surely, the castle royalty would get mad at this middle-aged man, though, who obviously still hadn’t realized who Iris was. Yunyun smirked bitterly.

“We can’t have our client apologizing. Besides, it isn’t uncommon for adventurers to lose their equipment during a quest.”

“Y-yes, I agree. Besides, I was the one who decided to take that expensive necklace with me. None of this was your fault! Yes, that’s what I will tell Father while massaging his shoulders…”

Iris—who had grown especially calculating as of late, as if someone was rubbing off on her—quietly trailed off while muttering to herself.

“We can worry about the necklace later. What are we going to do about Burton’s engagement ring?”

““Er…””

Iris and Yunyun quietly groaned. However…

“Oh. Don’t worry about that. Look!”

Burton produced an extremely tiny crystal. It was one of the crystals he’d picked up while we were tracking the Crystal Liger.

“I remembered what Scholar Iris said. A thoughtful present is far better than an expensive one. While small, this crystal is something I got on my own. There is nothing more thoughtful than that…right? …N-no good?”

He started off cheerful, but his words gradually lost confidence when he saw the stunned looks on our faces. I faced our anxious client…

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all. It looks like you’re finally starting to understand women,” I said with a smile.

“All right, then. Let’s get that gem made into a ring. Burton, I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic! After all, she’s going to be getting a ring made with a crystal from a monster that was said to be extinct.”

Burton was mirthfully nodding in agreement with Yunyun until all of a sudden, his face turned white as a ghost.

“O-oh no! Once word gets out that I found the Crystal Liger, people are going to start hunting it again!”

…Oops.

“Don’t worry about that beast. That scoundrel stole Iris’s necklace. There is no reason to feel sorry for it.”

“N-no! I cannot allow it! The biologist inside me won’t allow it!”

But…

“I vaguely remember you not caring if the fabled King Toad went extinct during our last quest.”

“Do not even think about comparing my dear ligers to lowly frogs.”

This man… I swear…

“Anyway, good luck with Barbera. Is everyone else ready to head home? We should take Iris back to the castle before it gets too late.”

“Yes, I still have to tell my parents about the necklace…”

“Wait! Not so fast! You have treated me so well, and I trust you all very much, so please…! Share the knowledge of the Crimson Magic Clan with me! There has to be a way I can turn this gem into a ring and still keep the Crystal Liger from being hunted!”

I thought about what I could do to help as a member of the Crimson Magic Clan, despite being annoyed that Burton was clinging to me.

“There is one thing you can do. You can slay the Crystal Liger yourself. That way, there wouldn’t be a monster to hunt anymore.”

“Stop playing around.”

Burton wore a troubled expression as he looked down at the glittering gem.

I faced him and said:

“Fortunately, no strong monsters showed up today, so I still have plenty of mana.”

“…? What are you talking about, Megumin?”

Burton curiously furrowed his brow, but Yunyun pulled a face as if she instantly knew what I meant.

“D-do not even think about it! We’re right next to the capital! If you’re going to do it, then go deep into the forest first!”

After hearing that, Iris apparently caught on to what we were talking about as well.

“Go for it, boss! I, the princess of Belzerg, will be witness to your slaying of the Crystal Liger!”

“Hmm?!”

Burton let out a hysterical shriek.

Yunyun wryly smirked at Iris and replied:

“Iris, adventurers don’t need witnesses. The monsters we slay are recorded on our Adventurer’s Card, so…”

“It’s okay!”

“It is?! No, Iris! Don’t say it’s okay!”

Iris sent Yunyun a carefree smile. She really had been acting like a certain somebody back at the mansion.

“It seems we’re all on the same page. Now, Burton, look how hard both a princess and the greatest spell-caster of the Crimson Magic Clan are working for you. I will hunt you down myself if you mess up the proposal now.”

“Uh…”

Burton absentmindedly muttered to himself as his eyes were locked on Iris and had been ever since he’d let out that bizarre shriek. He was sweating profusely, which probably meant he had just realized who Iris really was. Burton’s lower lip was nervously quivering, the color in Yunyun’s face was long gone, and Iris…seemed to be somewhat excited.

Showering in their gazes, I raised my wand into the air and declared,

“I want each one of you to remember what I am about to say. With the help of the biologist Burton, we discovered a Crystal Liger, which was thought to have been extinct, in a forest near the capital. Hearing it was rare, I was unable to contain my desire to blow it up using my fabled Explosion spoken of in tales even in the city of Axel. The pitiful endangered species was wiped off the face of this planet, along with Iris’s necklace!”

After my speech, I loudly chanted the spell, then…

“Explooosion!!!”

…I unleashed the powerful spell in the middle of the capital’s forest.

In a small pub located in an obscure corner of the capital…

…Burton was handing a ring to a beautiful woman who appeared to be the owner. We watched from afar, unable to hear their conversation, but…

“Burton and Barbera look so happy.”

“They really do! We don’t even need to ask him how it went!”

Yunyun and Iris were right. The results spoke for themselves.

So…

“It’s clear they love each other but never got to communicate that until now. Look how happy they are. So how about we leave on a good note?”

“You will not be leaving! We told you explosion magic was prohibited within and around the imperial capital! And now you’re telling me there was a Crystal Liger? Those things went extinct a long time ago!”

The female officer, who oversaw the capital, was arresting me. She was an elite, as one would expect from someone working here, so she wasn’t going to be fooled that easily.

“Burton has proof that there was a Crystal Liger! It’s small, but it’s a real crystal!”

“I do not care! The fact that you cast Explosion near the capital is the problem!”

To make matters worse, I couldn’t move due to depleting all my mana, and she had tied me up, so there was nothing I could do when she tightly pinched my cheeks with both hands.

“Q-quit it! You’re picking on a little girl who can’t even move, and you call yourself an officer?!”

“Mind your tongue! Ugh! I’d lock you up and throw away the key if Iris wasn’t with you!”

After looking at Iris, who was smiling while watching over Burton, the frustrated officer began untying my rope.

“You got lucky this time. That girl’s basically my underling. You would have been nothing more than rust on her Calibur if you had ended up arresting me.”

“Princess Iris would never do something so absurd. Listen, you will be prohibited from entering this city if I ever catch you using explosion magic around here again,” threatened the officer.

“We do not yield to any authority. Our pride as members of the Crimson Magic Clan doesn’t allow that.”

“Acting like you’re tough doesn’t change a thing! Don’t use explosion magic around the capital ever again!”

8

“Okay, we’re here. I’m going to put you down. You should have recovered at least enough mana to walk on your own, right?”

It was already completely dark out by the time Yunyun carried me back to the mansion.

“I’m glad everything went well for Burton.”

“We didn’t end on a good note, though. Why am I the only one who had to get yelled at?”

Claire had scolded us when we took Iris back to the castle. After that, Lain had scolded us as well. Then…

“Everyone at the castle was mad at you.”

Yes. From maids to butlers, guards to random old guys—countless different people had scolded me while expressing concern as well. The princess did get home late, so I suppose it made sense, but…

“But why do I have to be yelled at for something that Iris did on her own? I didn’t even invite her. Plus, we only lost one national treasure. Big deal.”

“We should probably be grateful that they only got mad at us after what happened,” commented Yunyun.

I didn’t know how to describe it. All the adventures I had gone on lately were fun, but they weren’t exactly what I was after. I didn’t want to hold back. I wanted to…

“Besides, you’re our party’s leader, right? It’s your job to take responsibility when something happens.”

Yunyun was teasing me for a change, which was rare for her.

“There is absolutely nothing good about being the party’s leader. All it is is hard work.”

“I—I wouldn’t mind being the party leader if you really don’t like it that much… I mean, I am a candidate for the next village chief, so I need to start practicing being a leader…”

I was annoyed watching Yunyun fidget with hope in her eyes.

“Anyway, how will we invite Iris on adventures now? Monsters are going to start avoiding us everywhere we go without that necklace to suppress her mana.”

“Iris seemed kind of sad to say good-bye at the castle as well. I wish there was something we could do, but… Anyway, about me being the leader…”

Iris kept telling everyone that I had defeated the Crystal Liger, so that wasn’t a problem. But the national treasure—the necklace—was still gone. We could invite her on an adventure if we were fighting something extremely powerful that wouldn’t run away even after sensing her strong mana, but…

“We wouldn’t be able to get that necklace back ourselves.”

Iris, Yunyun, and I were far too specialized for battle, so we couldn’t do much else. We would need someone who could search, track, and give sound orders. Most importantly, we needed…

“Is it just me, or is this party way too disorganized?”

“Says the biggest troublemaker in the party. Don’t act like this has nothing to do with you.”

It was clear as day that even the most powerful and smartest party leader in the world wouldn’t be able to make it work when the only other party members were an overprotected princess and a lonely girl with no friends.

“Why are you looking at me and sighing? Can you not see you’re part of the problem?”

It finally hit me over these past few adventures without Kazuma. I preferred destroying to giving orders.

“…Kazuma must have it rough.”

She could say that again. Darkness not only had a weird fetish, but none of her attacks ever connected. Aqua had the worst luck and was great at messing things up. You couldn’t take your eyes off her for a second without her doing something she shouldn’t. Kazuma probably always had something to worry about, since he had two troublemakers in his group. I guess I was just going to have to carry their dead weight and back him up.

“Anyway, it has gotten late. I’m going to ask Kazuma for help tomorrow morning, but first, I have to tell everyone about what happened today. I’m sure he’ll help us. If you ignore his faults, he’s actually a nice guy deep down inside.”

“…Kazuma really has it rough. It doesn’t help that the biggest troublemakers always believe they’re the most useful.”

I had no idea what Yunyun was babbling about as she looked at the mansion with a sympathetic hue in her eyes, but…

“I’m home.”

…I opened the door to the mansion to tell everyone about my adventure today.