Thanks to the massive 300,000 Eris payout from yesterday, morning in Axel carried a money-corrupted fragrance for Kōichi and the others.
Inside the mansion, which was filled with the cozy signs of daily life, along with the smell of Aqua's expensive liquor, sunlight lazily spilled across the mahogany dining table.
Kōichi held a glass of premium mineral water personally purified by Aqua, tasteless but absolutely pure, and gazed out at the front yard through the mansion's huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
Then his eyes stopped on the thick stone pillar by the front gate.
A girl with twin ponytails, dressed in a red-and-black robe, was sneakily peeking out from behind it. Her unusually full chest appeared and disappeared at the edge of the pillar, and her purplish-red eyes were filled with the painful conflict of someone who desperately wanted to come in but had no excuse.
"Is that… Yunyun?"
Kōichi set down his glass, the corner of his mouth curling into an amused smile.
"Hey, Kazuma, look. That lonely girl from the Crimson Demon Clan who calls herself Megumin's rival is outside playing stealth again."
Kōichi elbowed Kazuma Satou, who was sprawled on the sofa studying The World's Beautiful Women Guide.
Kazuma lazily lifted his head, glanced at the girl outside who was almost curling herself into a ball, and immediately perked up. "Oh! It's Yunyun! Since she's already at the door, why not invite her in? This place is ridiculously huge anyway. One more person to help with chores… no, one more friend would be nice."
Kōichi walked to the entrance, yanked the door open, and shouted toward the stone pillar, "Yunyun! Stop competing with the pillar to see who's stiffer and come in! We just happen to need someone to have morning tea with!"
"Waaah! I've been found!" Yunyun jumped in fright, frantically straightening her robe, her face so red it looked ready to bleed. "I-I was just passing by! Really! The air is just better over here, so I stopped for a moment to breathe… I definitely wasn't peeking because I was jealous of how happy you all looked together!"
"Hmph. Since you're begging so desperately, I shall graciously allow you to enter my domain." Megumin came down the stairs with her arms folded, wearing a proud, tsundere expression. Her tone was stiff, but the ahoge wildly bobbing on her head completely gave away how happy she was to see her friend. "Yunyun, though you remain as gloomy as ever, as my rival, it is only necessary that you occasionally witness the luxurious life of one who stands above you."
Yunyun nervously stepped into the living room. Before she could even sit properly, Kōichi and Kazuma Satou surrounded her from both sides and launched a shameless barrage of praise.
"Oh my, Yunyun, I haven't seen you in a few days, but you've gotten even prettier!" Kōichi gave her an extremely professional look of admiration. "That calm, composed air of yours makes you look exactly like the future leader of the Crimson Demon Clan. You're far better than a certain violent maniac who only knows how to blow up lizards!"
"Exactly!" Kazuma Satou nodded furiously beside him. His gaze instinctively flicked toward Yunyun's dramatically rising and falling chest, then he put on a righteous face and praised her. "Not only is your magical talent incredible, but with such a gentle, refined personality, you're practically the dream girl of every Adventurer in Axel! Having you as a guest is an honor for this mansion!"
"Huh…? Huh, huh?!" Yunyun had never faced anything like this before, and the praise nearly made steam rise from her head. She nervously twisted her hands in front of her chest, and tears of emotion actually began to sparkle in her eyes. "Pretty… dream girl… future leader… Sniff, you… you're both so kind! No one has ever praised me like this before… C-can I come over often from now on?"
"Hey! You two jerks! Who are you calling a violent maniac right in front of me?!" Megumin stomped in anger, but when she saw Yunyun looking as if she might faint from sheer happiness, she could only mutter under her breath, "Tch. She really is easy to handle…"
In the mansion's spacious living room, the warm atmosphere of praise began to sour as Megumin's eyes slowly grew brighter than rubies.
Watching Yunyun's blissful expression as she nearly melted under Kōichi and Kazuma's compliments, a strange competitive urge, born from the Crimson Demon Clan's absolute refusal to lose, exploded in Megumin's mind.
"Hmph, Yunyun, that cheap charm of yours can only fool these two perverts whose heads are stuffed with lewd thoughts." Megumin slammed the table, leapt onto the armrest of the sofa, and pointed down at the petrified Yunyun, making a declaration cold enough to freeze the air. "I'll tell you the truth. You have already completely lost! Because Kazuma and I… the two of us have long since developed a relationship that goes beyond ordinary companions, even beyond friendship, through countless nights filled with the aftershocks of explosions!"
Pffft!!
Kazuma Satou, who had been about to drink some water to calm himself down, sprayed it all over Aqua's face across from him. His eyes went wide, and the finger he pointed at Megumin shook violently. "Hey! Megumin! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! What kind of relationship is that supposed to be?! The most we've ever done is discuss underwear styles by the campfire!"
"Shut up, Kazuma! At a time like this, you just puff out your chest and admit it!" Megumin snapped at him in a low voice, then continued her attack on Yunyun. "So, Yunyun, you friendless little brat who can only practice greetings on stone pillars, don't you dare overestimate yourself and challenge me, a mature woman, again! You and I exist on completely different levels now!"
"B-beyond friendship…?" Yunyun looked as if she had been struck by lightning. She curled in on herself, deeply hurt, tears spinning in her eyes. "That can't be true… We promised we'd stay single members of the Crimson Demon Clan together for life… We agreed to keep competing until we made friends… But Megumin… Megumin became an adult before me? Uuu… This… I absolutely refuse to accept this!"
Seeing Yunyun on the verge of breaking down from loneliness and defeat, Kōichi sighed.
Although he thoroughly enjoyed this sort of chaotic scene, as the conscience of the household, self-proclaimed, he felt it was necessary to lend a helping hand, while also securing a few benefits for himself.
Kōichi walked over to Yunyun with a gentle expression, though to Kazuma it looked extremely wicked, and lightly patted her shoulder. He then naturally rested his hand on the rounded shoulder of the Crimson Demon Clan girl.
"Don't be sad, Yunyun. Megumin's childish version of going beyond friendship is probably just washing each other's feet." Kōichi's voice was low and magnetic. He looked straight into Yunyun's tearful purplish-red eyes and gave her a smile that made Kazuma instantly call him scum. "Since losing to her feels so frustrating, how about this? I think you're very cute too, Yunyun. If you're willing, I can also develop that kind of relationship beyond friendship with you. And I promise I'll take much better care of you than that useless Kazuma."
"Huh…?" Yunyun froze, tears clinging to her long lashes as she stared blankly at Kōichi. "Kōichi… wants to develop… a relationship beyond friendship with me too? Does that mean… I can become an adult too?"
"Hey! Kōichi! You're taking advantage of her at a time like this!" Kazuma Satou finally snapped back to his senses and pointed at Kōichi with a jealous shout. "What's with that line for luring in a pure-hearted girl?! I want to say that to Yunyun too! No, wait, Megumin, explain yourself right now! What exactly do you mean by a relationship beyond friendship?!"
"Hah?! Kōichi, you're actually trying to get ahead of me?!" When Megumin saw what Kōichi was doing, her smug expression instantly collapsed. She hurriedly jumped down from the sofa and grabbed Yunyun's other hand. "Yunyun! Don't listen to him! This guy is a hundred times more dangerous than Kazuma! When he says take better care of you, he definitely doesn't mean anything proper!"
The living room instantly descended into chaos. Aqua was busy wiping the water off her face, while Darkness, who had just come downstairs, heard phrases like "beyond friendship" and "take better care of you" and was already leaning against the doorframe, flushed and panting heavily.