"I should be able to update a little faster."

Boy was I wrong with that statement. My sincerest apologies for making you all wait so long once more, and thank you very much to all those who reviewed, followed, or favorited this story. You all rock!

Any way, enjoy!

"I think I'm looking at a monster in the skin of a little girl."

Clemea would have rolled her eyes at that statement in any other situation, the absurdity in it being to much for her to believe, but there was no denying that there was some truth in those words. The scene before the woman was terrifying as Megumin mercilessly defeated every opponent the Master of this center threw at her. The first two victories had been easy to write off, they were people in their first month of training, but when she started taking on veterans who had been doing this for over five years, things started to become a little worrying.

It didn't help the girl was laughing maniacally after each win.

The Master Martial Artist, Panchi, turned wizened eyes towards his former student with a look that demanded an explanation. He had been there the first time Clemea brought Megumin to this building, and the difference between then and now were… staggering to say the least.

The warrior shrugged helplessly. "She picked a second Class and dumped a lot of points into it." At least, that was what the energetic fighter had told her. Though, Clemea had a feeling there was some outside influence in this decision. There was no way her friend came up with this idea on her own.

Panchi raised a wrinkled brow at her, turning back just in time to see the little demon pin one of his top students in a rather painful hold. It would have been an impressive feat on its own, but the fact the full-grown man had at least two feet and a couple hundred pounds of muscle on her made it all the more mind-blowing.

"Do you give up?!" Megumin demanded from her victim. The gleam in her eyes filled Clemea with unease.

"I yield! I yield!" the man shouted.

With decades of wisdom behind him, Panchi addressed his former student with the patience of a sage.

"That's Bullshit."

A sage who was very much annoyed at the current situation.

"Well what do you expect me to do about it?!" the green-haired woman asked. "It's not like I can just ask her to stop fighting! Although, maybe I should, she's getting a little too excited about this."

They both turned back to the scene, with the younger of the two biting her lower lip in worry as the red-eyed demon made all sorts of possess while calling out for another challenger.

Some poor fella got pushed into the ring by his fellow students, and he didn't have time to process what was going on before Megumin started the match by throwing him over her shoulder.

"Why don't you get in there and stop her?" Clemea suggested to the old Master. "You should be skilled enough to beat her."

"Your confidence in my skills is heartwarming." Panchi muttered with the slightest of sarcasm. "But I don't think that's going to happen."

She gave him a questioning look. "Why not?"

"As it happens, I just returned from the spa today." He explained in all seriousness. "I'd rather not ruin all their hard work just to stop a rather enthusiastic student."

The sheer amount of disbelief Clemea was able to pack into a single look nearly astounded the Master.

"But by all means," Panchi continued, "feel free to fight her yourself if you think it's getting out of hand."

You cowardly piece of -! The woman's nostrils flared as she fixed the old man with the worst look she could, because he knew damn well she wasn't going to try and stop Megumin anytime soon. If she were completely honest, Darkness might be the only one with the raw strength to restrain the red-eyed girl at this point, something the long-ranged Crusader would very much take offense with.

"How did my life get this out of hand?" Clemea lamented, unable to do anything more than take a step back and to the side when Megumin knocked out her newest opponent, trying desperately to remain out of sight.

"I wonder how many of them she will fight before she tires out?" the Master idly remarked, watching as one of his more experienced students took a brave step forward. "Or if it would have been better to take her out on a mission and see how she would fare against actual monsters."

That… was actually a good question. "I'll probably take her out on a quest to figure that out tomorrow."

Panchi nodded in agreement, and the two of them went back to watching in mute terror as the little girl continued to decimate the others.

The afternoon sun felt rather pleasant today. Kyouya wasn't exactly sure why as he tuned his newest purchase, that being a simple lute. He tested each string and frowned when a couple of them sounded off. Consulting the chart, the young man made some adjustments.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Looking up from the tiny booklet given to him by the woman who sold the instrument, Kyouya couldn't help but smile at the incredulous look Kazuma was aiming his way.

The Sword Master held up the lute, so it was easy to see. "Learning something new, thought an instrument would be fun."

"What happened to woodcarving?"

"I got pretty good at it, and I wanted to learn something else while trying to figure out what to make next." Kyouya replied.

"Really?" the teen asked, a brow raised to display his disbelief. "What have you made that's so good?"

Looking up towards his fellow leader, Kyouya smiles widened. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you, after all, you might be able to help me make a business out of this."

Business? Kazuma wondered as he followed the Sword Master towards a nearby chest that used to store their gardening tools. It hadn't been used by the group in a while since Verdia's undead did most of the work now.

The Adventurer had a sneaking suspicion as to why they were over here even as his friend kneeled to open the container. Sure enough, as soon as it was open, Kazuma was greeted by the sight of over a dozen mini figurines.

"See what I mean?" Kyouya grabbed one of his sculptures and held it up to see, displaying a near-perfect replica of Kazuma with one hand on his waist while the other was raised above his head mid-wave.

"I hate you." The teen muttered, unable to hide the awe in his face and voice as he picked up another one, this one depicting Fio on one knee with her bow drawn. "It's absolutely stupid how good you are."

Kyouya laughed as he took the sculpture back and offered another to look over. "What can I say? I'm just a natural at this stuff."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Ignoring the sarcasm practically slathered onto those three words, Kyouya focused on explaining his idea. "After I realized how good they looked, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and make some money off of this."

"And how did you plan on making money from your sculptures?"

The Sword Master sheepishly scratched his head at that. "I was hoping you would be able to come up with something for that. Nothing really seemed to make sense in the end."

Kazuma gave his friend a look, rolled his eyes, and looked back down at the chest. "Well, it's good to know you're not great at everything." He picked up a couple more, looked them over, and ultimately placed everything back where he found it.

"So?"

Placing his hand on his chin, the teen thought over his friend's idea. Kyouya certainly had the skill needed to sell quality items, it was a little unsettling how lifelike the work was, but there was one major flaw.

"We don't have the time to do that."

Kyouya was, understandably, confused. "Huh?"

"To make it a business; we don't have time to make it a business." The Adventurer clarified. "Doing something on that scale would require at least one of us to give up adventuring, and I get the feeling that would be me."

"You would be the best one suited for that." Admitted the Sword Master, already knowing his original idea was out the window.

There was something that could be done though. "We could make a deal with one of the local merchants to sell them for us." Kazuma said. "It would get rid of the time commitment on our end, and we'd still get paid. Probably not as much though."

Despite not being exactly what he was hoping for, Kyouya was still happy that there was a possibility. "Any idea who we should partner with?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No, but we can figure something like that out later."

"Perfect!" Kyouya closed the lid of the chest and moved back to grab his instrument, Kazuma following along. "Do you think we could sell other stuff besides my sculptures?"

"Maybe. I guess it depends on what it would be." The Adventurer said after giving it a moment of thought. "Why? Is there another secret talent you perfected in less than a year?"

A snort escaped from the Sword Master. "I may be good, but I'm not that good, it's just that the others have been working on their own skills over the past couple months and it seemed like what they make would be good enough to sell as well."

"Maybe, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to sell Clemea's experimental poisons, she hasn't even used any of them because she doesn't know what they'll do."

"I wasn't even considering selling those." Kyouya said with a shudder, remembering the last time his friend had tested one of her concoctions. Never in his life did the teen feel more sympathy for a goblin then when he watched it dissolve into a puddle of goo right before his eyes.

He still had nightmares about it.

"Right…" Kazuma trailed off as a couple ideas popped into his head. If he was right, Aqua might prove to be a source of income rather than a walking, talking debt producer. "Anyway, I'll think about it more later, it's about time to make lunch."

The Sword Master sat down to practice with his lute again, offering his friend one final wave before experimentally strumming his fingers to test the sound, smiling at how wonderful it echoed in this open area.

KO-NO-SU-BA!

The office space provided by the local Justice Department was rather… different to what Sena was used to. Back in the capital they were compact, efficient, and close to a mailing service. That would allow easy access to receive and send documents. Here though, she had been given her own office space to do with as she pleased, the catch was that she would have to travel half-way across the town to have her reports delivered and receive the subsequent responses.

Today was one of those days as the woman made her way back to the office after delivering what very well may be her final report. Defeating another General pretty much was guarenteed to rid any suspicion that he had any connections to the Demon Lord.

The walk itself could be rather annoying depending on the weather, but at least it gave her an excuse to walk around more often and see what this town had to offer. Needless to say, a beginner's town had very little in terms of variety.

Maybe I could buy myself a treat today, Sena mused as her eyes landed on a bakery she would be passing by soon, it has been a while since I've had something sweet.

Mind made up, the Prosecutor diverted her path towards the shop, and entered with the bell above the door ringing as she did so, alerting the two people inside of her arrival. Sena internally sighed when she saw the familiar red-mohawk turn in her direction. The owner of the outlandish hair grinned like a maniac once he saw her.

"Well, this is a surprise." Arakuremono said, raising up an arm in greeting while other continued to rest comfortably on the counter. "Finally decided to come around and try some of Pan's famous treats?"

The middle-aged woman standing behind the counter rolled her eyes and smacked the man's arm. "You better not be trying to scare away a new customer, Ara. Otherwise I'll limit the number of sweet rolls you can buy."

"Ah come on, Pan, you know I would never do anything that would hurt your business. Besides, it would take more than just talking to scare off that woman." The Guild Master tried to reason, and Sena had to agree with him on that.

She'd dealt with worse people back in the capital.

Still, it was a little unnerving how he could switch from calm to chaotic like it was nothing. "He's right in that regard," Sena spoke up, taking a few steps closer to take a look at the glass display.

Everything smelled amazing from the doorway, up close left the Prosecutor temporary delirious as her brain tried to process it all.

Arakuremono snickered to her right. "You ever thought about putting a warning sign up? Just about everyone who comes in looks like they'll pass out from the smell alone."

"People would get the wrong idea if I did." Pan shot back, immediately turning to her newest customer with a far more friendly look. "Now then, was there anything in particular you were looking to try?"

"Cookies." Sena replied far before her brain could fully process the question, and the woman blushed while trying to ignore the muffled laughter next to her. "They're my favorite thing to have."

Pan clapped her hands together, smiling even wider now that there was something to start with. "Well, there certainly is no shortage of those here!" She then glared at only man in the room, who was trying to compose himself and failing miserably. "Do you mind?"

"I'm sorry," Arakuremono said, genuinely in fact. "I don't know why that was so funny!" He took in a couple deep breaths, appearing to gain some control, only to lose it when he looked at her again.

Mortified by the fact the Guild Master had seen her like that, Sena raised both hands to cover up her shame while letting out a very audible groan.

A few minutes later...

"You will tell no one about what happened."

Sena's threat was answered with an amused snort by the Brute next to her, and the woman held back the urge to glare at him. She choose instead to clutch the bag of sweets closer to her person, finding a small amount of comfort from the warmth it radiated. Fresh out of the oven cookies were just what she needed.

"Is there even a reason why you're following me right now?"

Arakuremono raised a brow at her while adjusting the box on his back. "Following you? This is the way I need to go to get back to the guild. Figured you would have gone down this path enough times to know that by now."

Is it really? The Prosecutor looked around at the various buildings and realized that, yes, while this was the way back to her office, it also passed by the Adventurers Guild along the way. "My mistake, I suppose."

The man shrugged. "It happens. A lot of the buildings look the same, so it's real easy to make a wrong turn if you aren't paying attention."

"Apparently."

"Heh, it's a good thing you did though. You would have missed Pan's bakery if you did." Arakuremono pointed out. Not to mention, it gave him another opportunity to walk with the Prosecutor. A definite win in his book.

Sena looked down at the bag and clutched it closer with a small smile. "I suppose so." She replied with a small hum.

They continued to walk down the busy street in comfortable silence, the sounds of the lively city filling the air around them. The woman looked around and felt herself dreading the trip back home. In terms of living conditions and quality, the Capital was far superior in every way, but after spending quite some time in this town, there was no denying the place had a bit more charm to it.

It almost startled Sena once she realized how often she was comparing Axel to the Capital, because what that implied concerned her. Just how attached was she becoming to this place?

Her thoughts were cut short when she felt herself get dragged to the side with a yelp, almost falling in the process, by a rough hand belonging to Arakuremono. Just in time too, because Sena realized rather quickly that she would have walked right into the side of a wagon had the man next to her done nothing.

"Thank you." She breathed out an annoyed huff at her lack of awareness. Today is not my day.

"Anytime." The Brute said, giving her that grin of his before moving on as if nothing had happened. "Truth be told, I didn't think you were one to have your head in the clouds. Especially with how serious you are all the time."

"It's not something I do very often," Sena corrected, "and never to the extent where I wouldn't notice something very obvious like a wagon in-front of my face. It's a testament to how distracted I've become."

Arakuremono arched a brow at that, his curiosity begging to ask a question. "And what's distracting you that much?"

Sena looked at him and then quickly turned back to face the road, debating on if she should tell him anything or not, but then she figured it wouldn't really hurt. "I like it here; the people are friendly, the atmosphere is more relaxed, and it certainly is never boring at your guild."

The Brute gave a short laugh at that. "This town does have a lot of charm to it."

"I would say it is more like a leech sucking the sanity out of anyone foolish enough to enter it's domain."

Her remark was rewarded with a roar of laughter from Arakuremono. "Now that's a description I've never heard before! Though, I suppose someone from a more civilized part of this land would find us rather odd."

"That would be putting it mildly." Sena remarked, her lips forming a smirk mixed together with a smile.

"And yet you still like it here." The Guild Master said, nudging her gently with his elbow. "Anyway, if you want to move here, this town is very welcoming to people."

Sena almost stopped in shock at what he said. "But I never said I wanted to-"

"Why else would it be bothering you then?" Arakuremono asked, cutting her off.

She couldn't think of a retort that sounded believable.

"Anyway," the man started, changing direction to walk to the entrance of his guild, surprising Sena since she had completely lost track of their surroundings – again, "if you do decide to move into the area, let me know, I'll give you a proper tour of the place."

The Prosecutor couldn't think of anything to say before Arakuremono was already out of earshot, and was left alone to think about what he said. Coming to no solid conclusion, Sena continued back towards her office. Along the way, she pulled out a cookie from her bag, took an experimental bit and swallowed.

It was the best one she'd ever had.

KONOSUBA!

"What do you think? Should I add a little more spice to it?" Kazuma asked as he held a spoon towards his helper, Chomusuke, who took a single whiff and nodded. "Yeah, figured it needed a little more kick."

Before he could add anything though, the main door opened with a bang, and from where he stood, Kazuma was able to see Clemea and Megumin entering. The former looked absolutely exhausted while the later was beaming with joy.

"Looks like you two had fun!" the Adventurer called out to them, receiving a loud groan and a "yep" respectively.

They both entered the kitchen area with different purpose in mind. Clemea merely grabbed herself something to snack on before leaving without another word while Megumin herself went to grab an apron, pausing once she saw who was next to her Leader.

"Why is Chomusuke here?"

"To help me get the perfect blend of spices." He demonstrated this by offering the odd-looking cat another spoon of the stew, allowing it to smell the food. She appeared to be pleased by the aroma, and Kazuma smiled as he scratched the animal under its chin. "See what I mean?"

Megumin had to admit, she was impressed by the little display. "I didn't know Chomusuke would be able to do something like that."

"I doubt anyone would have been able to guess this cat could figure out when there's the right amount of spice in a stew. A lot of people would probably just ask why there was an animal next to the food." Kazuma lowered the heat to allow the food to simmer before moving to grab a cutting board. "Secret animal talents aside, do you think anyone suspects anything?"

She shook her head while grabbing her own board. "Not a clue. It's not like they would have a reason too, we weren't near each other the whole day."

Right. The Adventurer kinda forgot it was really easy to hide the fact you were dating someone when both people spent their time away from each other.

"How much longer are we supposed to keep this up?" Megumin questioned while chopping up different fruit.

Kazuma started doing so as well. "Couple more days, then it will enter Arakuremono's window for the bet."

"And you're sure he'll share the winnings with us?"

He waved his hand to ease her worries. "He will once I talk to him about it. The fact we're rigging a bet revolved around our love life is far too tempting for that guy to resist. He'll probably laugh for a full hour once everyone knows what happened."

The Arch-wizard hummed in agreement, her smile widening at the thought.

"Have to admit, it's surprising how casual you are about this. You're not exactly one to be subtle about anything."

Megumin turned to him, appearing just as offended as he thought she would be. "And what's that supposed to mean?!"

The Adventurer paused his chopping to give the girl a look. "Do you really need to ask? It wasn't until last night that you had anything other than Explosion magic to deal with enemies. Every single one of the city guards knew you by your nickname. Not to mention-"

"Ok, ok, I get it!" she all but shouted, beat red from embarrassment. "That's behind us now anyway."

"You sure about that? Because didn't you say you needed to use that spell everyday or you'll die?" He was teasing her, far more than usual, and Kazuma realized he was really pushing it when the dark tendrils of explosion magic began circling the girl.

Chomusuke let out a noise filled with fear while the teen frantically waved his arms, apologizing profusely to get his secret girlfriend to stop.

Megumin let out a huff as the magic dissipated around her. Still appearing angry, the girl crossed her arms and stared at the teen. When she didn't say anything after that, Kazuma started to worry.

"What?" He asked, never getting a reply, watching as the Arch-Wizard's cheeks began to darken. "Do you want me to do something?"

A firm, but embarrassed, nod was her answer.

Kazuma gave Megumin a deadpan look. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

Her face now burning red, Megumin nodded again.

"And here I thought you were the patient one." The teen muttered, taking a quick peek to make sure no one was in the main room across from them, before leaning down to grant her request.

Surprised he did so without any hesitation, Megumin actually leaned back, unintentionally ending the intimate gesture, and pointed a shaky finger at her boyfriend. "Y-y-you can't just kiss me like that so suddenly! I need time to prepare myself!"

"You're the one who wanted me to do it!" Kazuma shouted back without restraint, turning around while crossing his arms. He let out a few breaths in anger, trying to calm down while ignoring the girl behind him, and blinked a few times once he noticed something.

"Megumin, there isn't a mirror in this room, right?"

The odd question was enough to throw the Arch-Wizard off. "…No," she hesitantly answered, "why do you ask?"

"I wanted to make sure that wasn't a reflection," and the teen stepped to the side to reveal another set of Crimson eyes peaking over the windowsill.

"…oh." Megumin dumbly replied, because she knew exactly who was spying on them.

Yunyun hadn't meant to spy on them when she arrived at the mansion, her intentions were to walk up and knock on the door. Sure, it had taken a full week to muster up the courage to do so. That, and the new worker in Wiz's shop had kicked her out once he knew she wasn't buying anything, but it didn't matter in the end! She was here to finally challenge her rival to another duel.

Then someone started shouting just beyond the door, scaring her senseless.

It was reasonable at that point to make sure things were okay, even if that meant looking through someone's window in the process. She was totally justified doing so.

Right?

Yunyun was in for a shocking reveal when she did so.

Her friend, rival, and fellow clan member was in a relationship! And they were already close enough to start kissing!

The heiress to the Demon clan could only watch, her face turning a shade of red that matched her people's signature eyes, envious that her friend had managed to get so close with someone.

But then they saw her, and the silence that followed was… awkward to say the least.

She wanted to run away there and then, but Yunyun's legs refused to move despite her best effort, only doing so once it became clear Megumin was starting to get angry. The smaller girl always lowered her head for dramatic effect. In response, the heiress moved to start running away, believing she would have time to escape since her friend would need to go through the door to get her.

Oh, how wrong she was.

A fierce, muffled, battle cry could be heard from inside, followed by the sound of glass shattering into tiny pieces. Yunyun made the mistake of looking back and screamed in terror at the sight of Megumin flying towards her with bits of the broken window surrounding the young Arch-Wizard.

The girl was quickly tackled to the ground, where she found herself being pinned by a pair of small arms containing far more strength than normal.

"How much did you see?!" Megumin demanded, her face just as red as her self-proclaimed rival's.

"N-n-n-nothing!" Yunyun stuttered, only to yelp when she was flipped over before being yanked up by her collar.

"If you didn't see anything, then why did you run away?!" The flat Arch-Wizard was desperately trying to maintain some kind of composure during this impromptu interrogation, but was, understandably, failing miserably. "Well?!" She shouted, shaking the poor girl.

Megumin was then pulled off of Yunyun and forcibly held back before things could escalate too far.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?!" Clemea nearly roared, her body shaking from annoyed rage as Kazuma stood a little ways back, looking as if he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" the Heiress cried, nearly breaking down in tears. "I didn't mean to spy on you while you were making out with your boyfriend!"

And that, was the magic set of words needed to grind everything to a screeching halt. Varying degrees of shock and horror were displayed on the faces Yunyun could see, and the well-endowed girl suddenly realized this was what her rival was trying to avoid.

"Sorry," she muttered, too ashamed to look anyone in the eye right now, but not too much that she would run away. Curiosity was rooting her to the spot for the time being.

"You two…" Clemea took a couple steps back, dropping Megumin in the process, and pointed a shaky finger at the two people in question.

To make matters worse, Kyouya came running around the corner and slide to a halt by their group. "What's going on?" He asked, only to look down when the Thief grabbed hold of his arm.

"Th-th-th-th…" Clemea continued to stutter while making several gestures in rapid succession. And despite how obscure they appeared to be to Kazuma, Kyouya seemed to understand what was being conveyed.

Not a second later, the Sword Master was in a similar state of shock as his teammate. However, the surprise came out in a single burst rather than a steady stutter. "YOU TWO ARE A THING?!"

"Freeze!" the Adventurer screamed, displaying a great deal of accuracy with his spell by forming the ice over their mouths instead of everywhere. It was when everything was quiet – Yunyun was deathly afraid to say anything and Megumin desperately wished she had her hat to hide how embarrassed she was – that Kazuma was able to gather his thoughts together.

"Ok," he started, "have you calmed down enough to not shout the minute I get rid of the ice?"

Clemea and Kyouya thought on it and nodded soon after.

Kazuma let out a breath of relief before casting a simple Tinder to melt the ice.

The silence that followed was very awkward for everyone present as the desire to talk about this development was overwhelmed by the realization none of them had any idea what to do once this relationship was known.

Yunyun, bless her breasts, was the first to say anything. "Uh-umm… Why is this a big deal?"

With a start, Kazuma realized this might be the only person in Axel that wasn't rooting for him and Megumin to be together for the sole purpose of making money. "Because a lot of people were betting on when the two of us-" he gestured between himself and Megumin "-would start dating. Now that we are… it kinda feels like there's nothing to talk about anymore."

"You two knew about the bet?" Kyouya let out a hiss right after when Clemea pinched his side, and the glare he sent her was matched with a look that made him turn away. "Yeah, yeah, I know, not the right time to ask."

The Thief sighed. "It does feel odd that I don't feel like asking anything else now that I know. Maybe this bet was blowing things out of proportion for us…"

"I'm just disappointed that we lost, there was over fifty million in the betting pool."

Kazuma choked on his own spit after hearing that.

"How is there so much money in there?!" Megumin demanded, now horrified at the price people placed on her love life.

A small part of her was flattered despite everything.

Kyouya shrugged. "We wouldn't be exaggerating if we said half the town was in on this by now. People do start remembering your names when you save the entire town from the Destroyer."

Oh yeah, they did do that, didn't they? Honestly, with everything that's happened to him recently, Kazuma forgot how big that incident was. Strange since he ended up in jail because of that. "I didn't realize we were famous."

"It's not something that's easy to tell in the Beginner's town." Clemea remembered the days when she would praise every little thing her party leader would do, and get angry when towns like this didn't give him the respect she thought he deserved. Being grateful and worshiping the ground someone walked on were two different things. "Haven't you noticed more people greeting you after that?"

Kazuma moved his hand to scratch his neck while thinking it over. "They did start doing that more after the incident." The teen murmured before turning towards Yunyun with a curious expression on his face. "Who are you anyway."

"Wiz, have you been practicing making tea, because the batch you made today is wonderfully refreshing."

"I have, Verdia. Aqua comes by often, so it seemed rude not to get better at it."

"It's still cold." The Goddess mumbled bitterly as she drank the liquid carefully, doing her best not to accidentally turn it into water. Her senses were going absolutely haywire being near so many natural enemies, and while she got along with two of them well enough, the third and final one was rather… aggravating.

"Perhaps if you were more knowledgeable on the subject, you would know this variant of tea is better served cold." Vanir mocked, his knew mask conveying the glee the demon must have been feeling as he annoyed Aqua.

If Vanir had shoulders, they would have slumped as he watched the woman's eyes sharpen. "Here we go again."

"Is a Demon trying to lecture me after being fooled so easily?" Aqua forced out a laugh, giving off the impression she was looking down on Vanir despite sitting down. "Maybe I would listen to you if a couple beginners hadn't beaten you."

"Oh?" the Duke questioned, a noticeable tic forming along his brow. "I did not think someone who has frequently been used as toad bait could talk down on anyone. Considering the most novice of adventurers could defeat one of those, what would that make you in comparison?"

"Shouldn't a demon know that an Arch-Priest is not suited for fighting?" Aqua countered as she clenched her fist and glared. The woman regained her composure and raised a hand to cover her mouth in mock-shock. "Or is a noble Duke unaware of something as basic as that?"

Vanir let out a laugh at that, trying to hold back the urge to grind his teeth in the process. "Unaware? Like when you walked into the men's side of the bathhouse and didn't realized that until after someone told you to get out?"

Aqua lost any and all sense of composure once that question was asked. "Who told you about that?!"

"That is enough!" Verdia yelled, his aura becoming visible briefly as his anger loosened his control. "I am trying to enjoy Wiz's tea, and these types of arguments happen far too often back home for me to tolerate them anywhere else."

"But-!" the two started only to be interrupted.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" the undead asked, his voice eerily calm as a single red eye gazed at the two of them.

Aqua gulped in fear while Vanir looked away with a huff, and the two moved away from each other to do what they were doing beforehand.

The Lich of the group let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and walked forward to refill Verdia's cup. "I'm surprised you managed to get them to stop. It wasn't too long ago that Vanir would annoy you just as easily."

Verdia couldn't help but chuckle at that. "As I said before, I have dealt with plenty of arguments and conversations with those children to learn a thing or two. Who would have thought it would serve a purpose."

"It's a shame," the Duke cut in, looking over the various inventory with a frown, "there was a great deal of enjoyment that came from tormenting you. Those reactions were delightful for someone such as myself."

The head rolled his single eye at that. "I find it rather embarrassing that you were able to get on my nerve so easily back then. Though, you did bring up several personal topics."

"That was very rude of you to do that, Vanir." Wiz chastised the Duke, who in turn raised both hands in a surrender gesture.

"Come now, it is not as if you two were unaware of what I am and what my kind do on a daily basis. There isn't anything I won't bring up if it will get a reaction out of my target. We demons have done so as long as there have been humans around."

"Despite our best efforts." Aqua remarked, getting a grin in response.

Verdia imagined himself raising a brow at the Arch-Priest, not quite fully understanding what she meant, but figured that was a daily occurrence and wasn't really willing to look too far into it. "There's one more thing I wish to discuss with you, Vanir. It's the reason I came here in the first place."

"Hmm?" the Duke lowered his hands back to his sides. "And what would that be?"

"A deal." Informed the former undead General. "A guarantee from you that you will no longer afflict my friends with you magic, nor will you humiliate them in public in any way."

It was Vanir's turn to raise a non-existent brow. "It sounds more like a demand to me, Verdia. Tell me, what are you offering me in turn for this group of yours?"

"Free reign to do whatever you wish to everyone else in this town. Because we possessed the same body, I now have access to a portion of your power and skills just as you have access to mine." And with that information out in the open, the undead dropped the minor illusion spell he had placed on himself to reveal the roman numeral for three glowing an angry hue of red on his helmet.

"So, if I do not accept your terms, you will interfere with every attempt made to harvest negative emotions?" Vanir asked, smiling at the mark. "It was bothering me that there appeared to be an echo of my power somewhere, but I am relieved it is you in control of it. Very well, your offer is accepted."

But simply saying it wasn't good enough for Verdia. "Swear to me you will do so."

The smile dipped somewhat at that, and the Demon almost sighed as he placed a hand over his heart. "You have my word as a demon, and Duke of Hell, that I will not influence your friends in any way conceivable. And in doing so, bind myself to these words."

A glyph briefly glowed underneath Vanir's hand, fading away just as he removed.

"Is this enough for you?" the creature asked, enjoying the fact that this brief exposure to demonic magic had Aqua grinding her teeth in pure frustration with Wiz desperately trying to distract the Arch-Priest.

Verdia nodded at that, and returned to drinking his tea without another word, reapplying the illusion to hide the mark once more.

There was no need for people to know an undead now had access to the powers of a demon.

And with this chapter done, the story has officially reached over 100,000 words!

Took a long time to get here, but it was fun doing so.

As usual, I hope you all have a wonderful day!