Chapter 33: Megumin's Suspicion

"Yunyun! Do you want to challenge me again? This time, I've got a new game we could play today." Megumin, who just arrived, saw that Yunyun was just walking by and tried to ask her for a challenge. Yet, she just made it seem that Yunyun was the one who challenge her for the sake of maintaining their relationship while at the same time, trying to establish a bet that she could exploit for their food.

She had been having a hard time trying to find food to eat due to her family's financial decline and was looking for ways to look for ways to earn her a meal. When she met Yunyun, she began to using her naivety and lack of friends to make challenges and setting up ways such that she could win, earning her a meal to eat for the day.

But she also felt guilty using her for her own benefit because she slowly began to see Yunyun as a friend(which she denies it because she held a bit of pride).

When she saw that Yunyun was close by, she tried to twist her words, such that it feels like Yunyun was the one who keeps asking for a challenge...when...

Hiroki and Megumin met.

Megumin was only surprised as this was the first time she met Hiroki, who was a stranger and just came to town. She also didn't expect the loner Yunyun to hang out with a guy, especially someone who screams 'Chuunibyou' in a sense that his attire just asking for him if he wants to look cool or mysterious.

Sporting a black shirt with black pants, having a black gauntlet on his arm...

There's even an eyepatch on his left eye with a mask on his face(decided to wear one to make himself get close to the Crimson Demons), basically screaming all the stereotypes of being a 'Chuuni', down to the bone.

Yet...

'S-so cool...' as a Chuuni herself, she ended up feeling like Hiroki was somehow mysterious and must have an amazing background that she can't wait to explore everything about him and maybe 'create' her own persona based on Hiroki.

While Megumin was trying to see everything single detail about him, Hiroki had been observing her as he held an unnatural look on his face as his eyes darken and made a frown, not showing it on the outside due to the mask. Gesturing that he decided to introduce himself to Megumin.

"I am Hiroki from the far Land of the East, I came to this land to find adventures to explore and be the companion of Yunyun." Hiroki might have seen the show, yet he isn't intelligent like those fanfic MC whose IQ was so high that they can memorize the mole of a woman's bodypart.

Through he was a bit knowledgable about the world he's in, its not like he can know everything thats going around him.

'Hehe, at least I do know that Megumin might still have 'that' size even when she grows up.' Hiroki sneered and as if Megumin saw how he look at her chest with a grin, she immediately growl at him in anger.

"Hey! I'm still young and will soon hit puberty which my chest would grow big. You see!" She yelled at Hiroki who was trying his best to hold his laugh but when she said those words, he ended bursting into a fit.

"Hahahahaha!"

And was then jumped on later by Megumin.

-Time Passes-

The three sat in a nearby rock which was just near Megumin's place, Yunyun was eating a sandwich with Megumin who had a smile on her face while devouring slice after slice while drinking some watermelon juice Hiroki made by himself.

The sandwich was just not special as he was just following a recipe he read and making it with the ingredients he had on hand but seeing how receptive of Megumin of his work, he felt relieved that it wasn't bad and took one for himself.

His cooking skills have been honed after using the ingredients in Minecraft since he sometimes didn't want to rely on the game mechanics and simply craft them into the crafting table.

'Sometimes effort can be good once you see that effort being showcase towards others' He thought as seeing the girls eating the things he made, causes him to smile without knowing.

While he could see Megumin trying to take two slices and stuffing one behind her, she didn't see Hiroki placing another sandwich in the basket, making it so that even if it was almost empty, it never runs out.

"I know what I did was rude but I don't want to apologize." Megumin, who now views Hiroki as a pervert, was simply glaring at him time to time, just because one incident made a bad impression of her.

"Nah, no offence. But thats on me. I'm the rude one for making fun of you. I deserved that." He laughed for a bit before twitching as the injuries might seem light but he decided to act out in pain, making it seem that Megumin did damage on him.

"Well, thanks for the meal but do you really don't want me to repay you? I don't want to owe you since you might use it for your perverted desires." Megumin didn't want to owe Hiroki since she is scared that he might be greedy for her body.

"....." Hiroki thought for a moment before waving his hands. "Nah, just a 'thank you' is enough for me. I'm not really a person who wants any compensation for my work and having you guys like what I make, its just enough for me." Hiroki smiled while taking another bite, his eyes gaze upwords while slowly just staring blankly while thinking about what he saw on Megumin.

'Malnourished body, her figure lacking any fat considering that the show didn't show much of her condition. I could see that she have a tired look and being weak yet still manage to stay strong despite her condition.' Hiroki thought. Thinking that this was something normal for people in this world but...

'No, I remember in the Anime, it was mainly because of her father's perculiar habits that despite being a talented artisian, he would ended up making things defective or unable to function. Its also noted that his decor skills are horrible that even me, while isn't good at making designs, was far better than him.'

'Haah, despite being a good man and a hardworking person, he still a scumbag of a father, not being able to provide a better life for his family.' He laugh silently.

'Welp, sometimes jokes are funnier if you make those who deserve it a clown.' Hiroki mused himself while watching the two girls conversing as he just simply observe them silently.

-The Next Day-

Megumin who battled with Yunyun was tired and rest nicely after returning back home due to having a full meal, even being able to snatch many sandwiches, such that she could let her family be full for the first time.

'It was just weird that despite looking at the basket being small, I never expected it to have an endless supply that I could grab this much without them noticing that alot was missing.' Megumin felt guilty in taking so much despite them being good to her but she was just desperate since her family isn't financially stable.

Her father might be a good man but why can't he just stop making defective products or design his tools to look better?! Megumin just throught angrily in her mind as once she steps into the living room, she was greeted with a lavish breakfast that it was simply impossible for her family to afford.

Yet she didn't expect someone who was familiar to her, be there with her family as he was currently feeding her 1 year old sister with a bottle of milk on his hand while cradling her with a gentle look on his face.

"I know that we've been rude to our guest since we couldn't accommodate you well, especially when you provided us with breakfast, even feeding Komekko without asking us for payment. I feel bad that we haven't been quite a good host for you Hiroki." Yuiyui joyfully smiles while talking to Hiroki as she was quite happy that He was generous enough to helped her family by giving them proper meals while at the same time being thankful that he was a good person who was even nice enough to be feeding her youngest daughter.

"I just thought that Megumin might have a hard life considering her condition or have some great illness she that you couldn't provide for her. Fortunately, it was just the former issue and she's Yunyun's friend so I kinda want to help her out for Yunyun's sake." Hiroki was pleasant to talk to as he was giving a gentle care around Komekko while sometimes taking out the milk from her mouth so that she could breathe before putting it back to let her drink again.

Megumin didn't expect Hiroki to show up at her place as she was happy at first, seeing how well Hiroki was treating her family yet there was a sense of unease, she was unable to pinpoint what was missing. Yet, she didn't seem to care after her mother was gesturing her to eat with them.

In a cave somewhere...