"You really won't do anything? Even though we're all alone?" Megumin had been confused and a bit scared when she woke up and suddenly found Kazuma sleeping with her in her futon. It turned out that her mother had locked the two of them in the room together. After jumping out of the bed, Megumin was being urged by Kazuma to return under the covers, and she wanted reassurance that he wouldn't try anything funny on her.

Kazuma's eyes widened as he observed the shy girl. He wondered if her mentioning the two of them being alone together meant that Megumin was maybe open to fooling around with him. Despite his earlier promise, he considered making a move on her after all, since she was trapped in the room and couldn't escape. As he continued gazing at the girl, seeing her worried posture, guilt began to creep in. He had been traumatized by the orcs earlier that day, and now he was about to do the same thing to Megumin!

The boy sighed, "No, you don't have to worry, I won't do anything." Kazuma patted the space next to him in the futon, "Just get back under here, it's getting pretty cold."

Megumin relaxed a bit hearing those words. She was still a bit wary, but hoped that the boy would keep his word. She walked back towards the bed, "All right, I'm sorry for misjudging you. I thought you would take advantage of the situation, but I guess even you wouldn't cross the line like that."

Kazuma was a bit annoyed that she and his other friends thought so little of him, "It's fine, but it would be nice if I could get some thanks from you guys. You all constantly call me horrible names, but I always have to clean up after you guys when you get into trouble." Although he knew he somewhat deserved those derogatory nicknames, Kazuma wished the girls would show him some gratitude for all that he had done for them.

Megumin paused, "Hmm, you may have a point." Kazuma gazed up the girl, lit by the pale moonlight, and saw a simple smile on her face. He had often thought of her as a cute girl, and he even once told her that she was pretty. But at this moment, Kazuma found his companion absolutely beautiful, especially with that smile.

Meanwhile, Megumin pondered about his request for gratitude. She realized that she did in fact have a lot to thank him for. She kneeled on the futon and placed both of her hands on Kazuma's hand, saying softly, "Thank you for always coming with me on my explosion trips. Thank you for giving me honest scores for my explosions. Thank you for carrying me on your back whenever I can't move after casting my Explosion Spells. Thank you for always supporting all of us in our party despite all the trouble we cause."

Both of them blushed as Megumin said her heartfelt words. Kazuma hadn't expected her to actually thank him at all, let alone with such intensity. He couldn't help but stare at her mesmerizing red eyes, which were glowing due to her excitement. He felt his heart get lighter with each grateful sentence she spoke, knowing that Megumin did in fact appreciate everything he had done for her. But he also became a bit embarrassed as she continued praising him so openly.

Megumin concluded, "Finally, thank you for accepting this archwizard who only uses Explosion Magic into your party. I know you wanted to abandon me after that first quest, but you let me stay and figured out how to set up our quests to use my spell the most effectively. All this time, you've been supporting me in my dream to become the master of Explosion Magic, and I can't thank you enough for that!"

The girl recalled all the times she had joined a party for a quest, only for them to abandon her once they realized that she could only use her spell once and couldn't move afterwards. She remembered how she had been starving for three days before she confidently walked up to Kazuma and Aqua and asked to join their party. Despite her blackmail threat when Kazuma wanted to get rid of her, he could have kicked her out at any time after that, but he didn't. Megumin didn't want to think about what would've happened to her if she hadn't been able to stay in the party.

Now Kazuma felt even more embarrassed. He had no idea that she thought so highly about him. Mergumin was often abrasive to him, so he was unsure of what to make of her unusually gentle tone. He continued looking at her face, which had by now turned an adorable shade of red, as he was unsure how to reply to the girl.

Megumin gazed down at the boy, who had also turned a cute shade of red. She was amused that her doing exactly what he wanted had made him so speechless. The girl softly giggled and teased, "What's wrong? I was just thanking you. Why are you so embarrassed when I was just doing what you asked me to do?"

Kazuma sat up on the bed and, after some hesitation, replied to her original words of thanks, "Well, you've saved me plenty of times too!" Having an amusing idea, the boy continued, "As you would say, my name is Kazuma Satou, member of the weakest class in Axel, and the best at getting into trouble! I will earn a lot of money and live in luxury with my friends! And I'm really looking forward to it!"

The girl smiled at his antics, "So am I! Here's to a bright future!" Both of them then laughed while looking at each other. Megumin was touched that he used the introduction style of the Crimson Demons, since she knew he found their customs a bit silly. She was also glad that Kazuma was looking forward to building a happy life with all of them.

Kazuma lay back down on the bed and silently looked at his companion with a smile. He patted the empty side again as an invitation, and Megumin obliged him by getting under the covers. She turned herself to face him and mirrored his smile. After their heart-to-heart, she felt much better around Kazuma and didn't mind sharing a bed with him anymore.

The boy felt very nervous as he stared at the beautiful girl just a few centimeters away from him. This was Kazuma's first time sharing a bed with a girl and he had no idea what to do. He recalled how Megumin had held his hand the previous night. He had missed the chance to say a smooth line back then due to Megumin falling asleep, so Kazuma wracked his brain trying to think of something to say this time. He wondered if he could somehow get her to hold his hand again.

Megumin gazed at the boy in front of her. He looked really cute with his flustered expression, and she found it funny how despite always talking a big game, Kazuma had become so hesitant because of her actions. Thinking back to the previous night, she remembered holding Kazuma's hand after he told her that he wouldn't want to go back to Japan. Though she had felt him flinch, he didn't say anything before she had dozed to sleep, even though he had obviously wanted to.

Feeling bold, she decided to try again. The girl brushed her hand against his under the blanket and then softly grabbed onto it. Kazuma's face immediately reddened further, as he wondered how she was able to read his mind. The boy nervously questioned, "Hey, what are you doing?" First Yunyun, then the orcs, and now even Megumin seemed to be interested in him! Was he finally experiencing his popular phase?

Megumin gave him a mischievous smirk, "Oh, this? Well, it's pretty cold tonight, even with the blanket, so I figured this would make us a bit warmer." As she said this, she began gently stroking the boy's hand with her thumb. Megumin felt herself blush a bit more as she did this, but she knew that the effect it was having on her companion was much greater.

Kazuma felt his heartbeat quicken as Megumin drew circles on his hand. He couldn't believe that this girl three years younger than him was so easily making moves on him while he was a bundle of nerves. He tried defusing the situation, "Hey, you shouldn't do something like that so easily. It's fine now since you're cold, but if you do this with other guys, they'll get the wrong idea and take advantage of you!" The boy was enjoying holding hands with her, but he wasn't sure he could handle it for much longer.

The girl raised her eyebrow and countered, "Other guys? There's no way I'd ever be in this situation with anyone else." She then paused for a bit and asked, "Why are you acting so flustered? I'm just holding your hand!" Megumin was enjoying turning the tables on Kazuma, but she was curious why the boy who sexually harassed his party members on a constant basis would suddenly become so shy over such a relatively innocent action.

Kazuma was a bit annoyed that she didn't seem to understand how she was causing him to have so many confusing emotions. Before this trip, he hadn't really considered Megumin as a potential love interest, mainly because she was a bit too young for him. He had bonded a lot with her during their explosion trips together, and he had generally seen her as the most level-headed girl of their party, but Kazuma hadn't really seen her in a romantic light. But now, he felt himself start to fall for the beautiful girl currently massaging his hand.

The boy tried explaining, "I haven't really held a girl's hand like this before, so of course I'm going to be a bit nervous. When a beautiful girl does something like this, it's very hard for a virgin like me to resist!" Kazuma wished he could have been a bit smoother, but he hoped what he said would get the point across.

Though she was extremely flattered by his compliment, his explanation made Megumin feel a bit of pity for him. She was also inexperienced with romance, but it seemed that Kazuma overcompensated by always coming on too strong to girls. Although she did enjoy giving him a taste of his own medicine, the girl felt it would be better for both of them if she could get the boy to stop overthinking and just relax a bit. She squeezed his hand and softly said, "Don't worry Kazuma, it's my first time doing this too. Just take a deep breath and relax a bit. You've been through a lot today, and holding hands is supposed to be comforting, right?"

Kazuma was a bit surprised at her change in tone, but he decided to follow her suggestion. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he saw Megumin giving him a soft smile, and he instantly felt more relaxed. He squeezed the girl's hand and smiled back at her. After the events of the past day, he didn't mind a bit of comforting. Kazuma then replied, "Yeah, it does feel really nice. Thanks, Megumin." He stroked her hand slowly, mirroring her earlier actions.

The boy suddenly felt the desire to be closer to Megumin, and since he wasn't feeling so dumbfounded anymore, he wanted to retake control of the situation. He slyly asked, "Hey, isn't it still a bit cold? I'm feeling pretty cold, so why don't you come a bit closer?" Kazuma knew there was a chance of scaring her away with this line, but he hoped that the good mood between them would entice her to agree, and the boy thought the potential reward was worth the risk.

Megumin was a bit surprised by his request, but found that she wasn't entirely opposed to it. Despite the boy's attempt to seem confident, she could tell that he was still somewhat nervous. The girl gave him a smirk and teased, "You really want me to cling to you, huh?" Since she was currently lying on the only pillow, Megumin suggested, "Okay, you can take this pillow, and I'll just sleep on your arm!" The girl let go of Kazuma's hand and pushed her pillow against his head, prompting him to lift it and lay it back down on the pillow. She then rested her head on his shoulder and placed her hands on his shirt.

Her sudden acquiescence made Kazuma flustered again, and he stammered, "Hey, you didn't have to lean over so quickly, aren't you worried about what I might do to you in this position?" The boy hadn't expected her to move closer so quickly, and suddenly found himself looking down at her hair, which was softly tickling his face.

Megumin giggled, "Darkness was right, even when you get the chance to do something, you chicken out and try to brush it off with a joke." The girl reached up and began petting his hair, and Kazuma closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the relaxing tingles that ensued. He instinctively wrapped the arm she was lying on around her back, pulling her even closer. While doing this, the boy turned to lie on his side to get into a more comfortable position, allowing him to directly face Megumin.

Kazuma opened his eyes again and stared into the girl's glowing eyes. He slowly brought up his free hand to comb his fingers through her hair. He enjoyed the sensation of playing with the girl's cold, soft hair. Meanwhile, now that the boy had turned to face her, Megumin was able to wrap her free arm around his back, putting them in a mutual embrace. They continued hugging each other and playing with each other's hair for a while. After releasing another few deep breaths, Kazuma wasn't feeling as nervous anymore, and was able to fully enjoy his current situation. He silently thanked Eris for having the luck to cuddle with this beautiful and amazing girl.

Megumin was pretty content with their current position. Kazuma seemed to have let down some of his walls and was no longer pretending to protest her advances. The girl stopped stroking his hair, and wrapped her second arm around the boy's back. She began to feel drowsy, so she slowly closed her eyes, whispering, "Good night, Kazumin." It did not take her long to fall asleep.

Kazuma watched the girl fall asleep, and softly replied, "Good night, Megumin." He continued stroking her hair while gazing at her sleeping face. He wasn't completely sure why Megumin had suddenly become more affectionate with him, but he certainly wasn't complaining. The boy hugged her closer as he drifted to sleep, now hoping that they would be able to stay in the Crimson Demon village for a few more nights.