Chapter 21: A Date Invitation from Darkness

[Shakti's POV]

My name is Shakti Varma, and I'm from the Ganesha Familia. Ganesha Familia has many monster tamers, so we hold an event called Monsterphilia every year. Additionally, we are responsible for maintaining the safety of Orario.

Monsterphilia was supposed to be held today, but it was postponed to tomorrow due to the War Game between Aqua Familia and Loki Familia. Honestly, I never expected Loki Familia to lose in this War Game.

One of the strongest familias in Orario lost the War Game and ended up losing their home. Loki Familia is currently homeless and nearly out of funds.

But setting that aside, the moon is now high above me. I don't have any more time to worry about the state of Loki Familia. It's time for my patrol shift to keep Orario safe.

Typically, there are only a few adventurers on patrol—just enough to buy time and report any situations if something unwanted occurs. However, recently there have been incidents of explosion magic outside Orario's city walls. Because of this, half of the adventurers from the Ganesha Familia have been dispatched to search for the culprit behind these nightly explosion magic.

In truth, this explosion magic hasn't caused any harm to Orario; in fact, it has had the opposite effect, scaring off the bandits and criminals outside the walls from approaching the city.

However, the timing of these explosion spells has been highly disruptive to the residents of Orario. Our Ganesha Familia received a mission from the guild to investigate and apprehend the culprit behind these explosion incidents.

Along with other Ganesha Familia members, I patrol around Orario's city walls. We haven't found anything; even after waiting for hours, no explosion magic has occurred.

We patrolled until the first signs of sunrise. After confirming our shift had ended without any incidents, I dismissed the patrol group early and headed home.

The moment I arrived, I threw myself onto the bed, surrendering to its irresistible comfort.

"Aaaah, I don't think I'm getting up today."

BOOOOOOM!!!!!!

"OH MY GANESHA'S TRUNK!!!"

...

...

...

[3rd POV]

In a large dining room at Twilight Manor, four people lay unconscious. They all slept in a manner typical for those who had partied all night.

At the big dining table, Aqua was fast asleep, hugging a bottle of alcohol and scratching her belly button. Darkness lay sprawled on the cold floor, sound asleep. Meanwhile, Kazuma and Megumin were huddled together on a red sofa.

At that moment, neither of them was aware of what they were doing, creating a situation that could easily be misunderstood by anyone else who happened to see them. Megumin, who was sleeping on the outer edge of the sofa, suddenly fell to the floor.

"Ouchhhhh!!!"

Megumin rubbed her head where it had hit the floor and looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening. After glancing to her left and right, her gaze finally landed on Kazuma, who was asleep in front of her.

"D-don't tell me!! I fell asleep next to Kazuma again?"

"A-and we're sharing this cramped sofa?"

"Awawaawaawa, what happened? How did things end up like this?"

Her face flushed bright red as she tried to figure out how she ended up sleeping next to Kazuma. But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't reach a conclusion, even with her high intelligence.

"Oh right, I didn't use explosion magic last night!"

As Megumin was lost in her thoughts, she suddenly remembered something very important.

"Kazuma, Kazuma!"

She shook Kazuma's body vigorously, trying to wake him up.

"Yes, I'm Satou Kazuma," he replied, waking from his slumber, still half-conscious.

"Come on, help me use up my explosion magic quota!"

"What's wrong with you? Why are you shouting at this hour?"

"It's no longer night; look outside, the sun is about to rise!"

"Aaah, really? In that case, let me sleep a bit longer!"

"Kazuma, wake up! I forgot to use my explosion magic last night because I was busy partying. Come help me use it before the sun rises!"

"Ah, fine, fine! Just stop shaking me!"

....

Megumin gave Kazuma a moment to fully wake up. Not long after, he stood up and teleported them to their usual spot.

"Aaaaaahhh, we're here! Hurry up and get it done!"

"Great job, Kazuma! Now witness the power of my explosion magic!!"

"My name is Megumin! I am a user of the strongest magic from the Crimson Demons clan, and I command explosion magic. The tower of rebellion creeps upon man's world… The unspoken faith displayed before me… The sun has rise! Now, awaken from your slumber, and by my madness, be wrought! Strike forth…!"

"EXPLOSION!!!"

This time, Megumin unleashed her explosion magic not far from the wall. She held her magic for quite a while, reciting a lengthy incantation. Seven large red magic circles stacked vertically from the bottom to the top.

Given the time it took, the guards of Orario should have noticed something unusual was happening. However, since Shakti had dismissed the patrol members early, no guards were aware of Megumin's actions or managed to stop her.

"BOOOOOOMMMM!!!"

The explosion magic, which usually disturbed the residents of Orario trying to sleep, had now become an alarm, waking them from their peaceful slumber after a night free of explosions.

Megumin's body was thrown forward, her knees hitting the ground first. Even though she was out of magic energy, she still managed to keep her consciousness and called out to Kazuma.

"Kazuma, Kazuma!"

"Yes, I'm Kazuma!"

"So, how many points was that explosion magic worth?"

"120 points! That explosion was accompanied by a beautiful sunrise—nice explosion!"

"Nice explosion!"

Megumin instantly fainted upon hearing that she received a score of 120 from Kazuma. It had been a long time since she got a score that high, and she didn't expect that the explosion magic she released in her drowsy state could achieve such a score.

For Megumin, explosion magic was like peeing: the longer you hold it in, the worse it is for your body. That's why she had to expend all the magic energy that had built up inside her. If she kept holding it in, no one would ever know when she might accidentally unleash explosion magic in the middle of the city.

At that moment, the sun had already risen. Refusing to be exposed to the sunlight for too long, Kazuma approached the fainted Megumin and carried her back to their new home.

He gently laid Megumin in her bed before returning to his own, seeking to satisfy the drowsiness that still lingered.

Chirp... Chirp..... Chirp...

The sound of birds chirping came from Kazuma's bedroom window.

"Aaaah... so noisy!"

Kazuma woke up from his sleep due to the birds perched near his window. The sun was already quite high in the sky. After a satisfying sleep, he got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to find something to drink.

In the kitchen, Darkness was still in her pajamas, brewing tea.

Tap... tap... tap...

The sound of footsteps reached Darkness's ears. She turned around and saw Kazuma entering the kitchen.

"Yoo, good morning, Kazuma... Did you just wake up?"

"Oh, good morning, Darkness. Yes, I just got up. How about Megumin and Aqua?"

"Aah, they're still sound asleep in their rooms."

"I see....."

Kazuma walked past Darkness, trying to grab a drink of water. Behind him, Darkness hesitated, unsure whether to say something. But it didn't take long for her to decide to voice what was on her mind.

"By the way, Kazuma, would you like to have tea with me?"

"In that case, thank you. I won't refuse your offer."

Kazuma accepted Darkness's invitation to have tea without hesitation. The two of them carried a tea set out to the balcony. They enjoyed warm tea together under the blazing sun.

As they savored the warmth of the tea and sunlight, they talked about everything from silly things and their past adventures to deeper topics. In the midst of this, Darkness mustered the courage to ask Kazuma out on a date.

"By the way, Kazuma, since you don't have any plans today, would you like to explore the city with me?"

"Of course, I don't mind. Is there something specific you want to do?"

"Yes, actually, I'd like to buy some new clothes."

"In that case, I'll go wake up Aqua and Megumin first."

"Wait, Kazuma! If possible, I'd prefer it to be just the two of us. I don't want to disturb Aqua and Megumin."

"Hmmm, you want to explore the city just the two of us? I don't mind at all. In that case, let's get going! But first, let's stop by the guild. I want to report my level-up."

Kazuma was a bit surprised to see Darkness being so bold today. Although he knew her intentions behind the invitation, he tried not to comment on it directly. He simply accepted Darkness's invitation honestly.

Kazuma and Darkness left Twilight Manor together and hurried to the guild before finalizing their date plans for the day. The walk to the guild from Twilight Manor was quite easy; they simply needed to walk straight since Twilight Manor was right next to the main road.

During their journey to the guild, Kazuma and Darkness received many curious glances from both adventurers and merchants selling goods along the street. After walking for just five minutes, they spotted a familiar figure selling food near Twilight Manor. It was the goddess Hestia, who was selling Jagamaru-kun.

Kazuma and Darkness decided to greet Hestia and buy some of her goods.

"Hello, Hestia-sama! What are you selling?"

"Oyaaaa, oyaaaa! Look who it is, Kazuma and Darkness from the Aqua Familia, who are now very rich after winning the War Game yesterday. Are you here to buy all my Jagamaru-kun?"

"Ahahaha, Hestia-sama, you're exaggerating! I was just lucky to win the War Game yesterday."

"By the way, where are you two headed?"

"Ah, we're heading to the guild. I want to report that I've leveled up to level 2."

"WHAAAT???!!!!"

"Kazuma-kun, hasn't it only been a week since you became an adventurer, and you're already level 2?"

"Yeah, a lot has happened."

"That's amazing, Kazuma! You're now the record holder for the fastest level-up to level 2 in Orario."

"By the way, I'll take 2 Jagamaru-kun."

Kazuma tried to change the subject, unwilling to talk about how he leveled up.

"Alright, that'll be 60 Valis!"

Hestia also sensed what was on Kazuma's mind and didn't press him anymore.

Kazuma and Darkness continued their journey to the guild while enjoying the hot Jagamaru-kun. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the guild.

Inside the guild, Eina was already working at the reception desk.

Kazuma and Darkness approached Eina to complete their business at the guild.

"Hello, Eina-san."

"Hello, Kazuma-san, Darkness-san. How can I help you?"

"Actually, I want to report something."

"Hmm... what is it?"

"Actually... I've leveled up to level 2."

"WHAAAT?!!!"

Eina screamed so loudly that all the staff and adventurers in the guild could hear her.

(To Be Continued)

A/N : I'm trying to explore the romance side, but I don't know though who would win. Which one you guys think would win??

1. Megumin

2. Darkness

3. Both