Konosuba Side Stories

“You little…! Didn’t you say a byakko was a divine beast or
something like that earlier!? He’s of the same kind as you, right?
Hurry up and soothe him!”
The sudden appearance of the byakko and its heavy boss-like aura
threw us into a panic.
As Megumin hastily started chanting her spell, Darkness, who had
sheathed her weapon, let out a smile at the byakko.
“It’s fine. I don’t sense any sort of hostility from this byakko, and
there’s a certain intelligence in its eyes. Furthermore, the rookie
killer still hasn’t made a move. The byakko must have given it
some sort of instructions for it to act this way.”
After hearing such unbelievable words, I took another close look
at the byakko.
It’s pure white fur shone in the afternoon sun, giving it a
breathtaking beauty and a certain divine aura.
And just as Darkness said, I can sense the gleam of intelligence
from its eyes.
Darkness spread her arms and spoke to the byakko in a gentle,
soothing voice…
“I’m ashamed for even thinking about harming such a beautiful
animal… See, there’s nothing to be afraid o–”
And at that very instant, she was sent flying with a swipe of the
byakko’s claws.

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“It seems totally ready for a fight! Megumin, is your spell not
ready yet!?”
“It’s ready to go off at any time! That’s just a giant cat… a giant… a
white tiger!”
“Good! Aqua, hurry up and throw some buffs on Darkness… Hey,
don’t you dare run at such a time!”
Sensing the concentration of mana around Megumin, the rookie
killer darted back into the bush, but the byakko didn’t make a
single move at all.
“With this, the title of Byakko Slayer will be mine! Eat this! My
strongest spell! Explosion!”
The shockwave from the explosion threw Aqua to the ground as
she tried to escape, and I quick dove to the ground as well to avoid
the worst of it.
Once it’s passed, the only thing there was a giant crater. There
wasn’t a single trace left of the byakko, nor was there any sign of
the rookie killer that just disappeared.
I moved over to Megumin and started scanning the surroundings
for the byakko.
“… Did you get it?”
Darkness, scanning her surroundings just like me, said the one
thing you should never say in these types of situations.

52

“Well, at the end of the day, it’s still just a simple beast after all. I
can’t believe it’s that easy to get two hundred million eris. Hey,
Kazuma, let’s head back! With this, we can wipe out our debts and
still have quite a small fortune left over, so we can leisurely spend
our time for a few days!”
And of course, Aqua just had to raise a flag.
I shouted towards her.
“No, no, no, the bounty poster said that ‘in order to receive the full
reward, the fur of the byakko must be provided.’ But now, there
isn’t even a trace left of the byakko…”
I suddenly stiffened up.
My Enemy Detection skill is telling me that something’s behind
me.
I cautiously turned around…
“I don’t know if you can understand me, but just in case, I was
always against hunting down a byakko. I really like cats, after all.
Ah, no, I’m not saying that tigers and cats are the same thing or
anything.”
Facing down the byakko who suddenly appeared behind me, I
raised both my hands and said.
How the hell did it get behind us so quickly!?

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“I also told them that harming a divine beast will bring divine
punishment, but these people are blinded by greed and fame and
want your fur no matter what, so I came along to stop them…”
“….”
It ignored our words, and Megumin who was playing dead besides
me, and moved closer to Aqua.
“Hey, why are you coming closer to me!? I didn’t do anything! Do
you have some kind of misunderstanding!? Since we are both
divine creatures, let’s both get along… huh?”
As Aqua covered her face and started spinning all kinds of
excuses, the byakko removed something from its mouth and
pushed it over to Aqua.
After Aqua accepted it with a dumbfounded expression, the
byakko turned right around and vanished into the woods.
Darkness rushed over to Aqua’s side and looked at what was in
her hand.
“… The byakko’s child…?”

–On the path back to Axel.
“Hey, even if you give me this child, I’m not quite sure what I can
do with it.”

54

Aqua has been holding the bundle of fur in her arms and
constantly pumping it with recovery magic.
The little byakko was very weak, to the point where it seems like it
might expire at any moment.
“Still, isn’t this great for you, Megumin? If this kid really does
breathe its last, you’ll be able to gain the title of byakko killer just
like you originally wanted.”
“W-Wait a minute, this isn’t my fault, is it? This kid didn’t end up
like this because he was caught up in my Explosion magic, did it?”
I regarded Megumin who seemed to be working herself into a
panic, but just before I could say something…
“I know you always do unnecessary acts, but the reason why this
kid is so weak is because it doesn’t have enough divine essence. A
divine beast like a byakko gains divine essence by feeding from its
mother, but I couldn’t detect much divine essence from that
byakko. It probably used up all of its essence giving birth to it, and
is wandering around the area looking for someone with extremely
powerful divine power like me to show up.”
Aqua confidently said that.
“In other words, it’s looking for a nanny because it doesn’t have
enough divine essence? Considering that you used to fight with
the horses in the stables for sleeping space, will it really gain any
divine essence from being with you?”

55

“You’ll get divine punishment if you continue saying such baseless
things! Look at how peaceful it’s sleeping after receiving my divine
essence.”
“… Isn’t this kid peeing itself?”
Restraining Aqua who was trying to throw away the furball after
her hagoromo got stained, Darkness gazed upon the white tiger’s
sleeping face and said.
“Well, I get that Aqua can emit divine essence from being a priest,
but what should we do about this kid?”
“Let’s keep it.”
Aqua, picking up the byakko that she just tried to throw away a
while ago, said.
“Its mother gave up it’s parental rights, that means that those
rights are now mine. Though my ideal is to raise a dragon, a
divine beast would just fine too. I’ll raise this child to be loyal to
me, and turn it into a trump card in the fight against the Demon
King.”
“You can’t even take care of yourself properly, and yet you still
want to keep a pet?”

↲

56

Part 4 ↲

–Staring intently at the bundle of fur that Aqua had in her hands,
the guild receptionist cautiously asked.
“Err… Well, we can buy it, but… well….”
After returning to Axel, we headed back to the adventurer’s guild.
“Fiend! Kazuma, you fiend! How could you bear to sell such a cute
animal to become a fur coat or something!? Did you leave your
conscience in your mother’s stomach when you were born!?”
After unexpectedly getting our hands on a baby byakko, I racked
my brains thinking of a way in which I could make some money
out of the whole deal, and asked if the would accept the fur of an
immature byakko.
“You’re an adventurer, so stop saying such naive things! This
thing is a monster, you know!? No matter how cute it is, it’s still
the child of a monster! I would rather not do this either, but I
didn’t have a choice in this! Byakkos not harming humans is just a
rumour! If we believe that rumour and let this kid go free, what
would you do if it does end up harming someone once it grew up!”
I argued with Aqua who was holding the tiger tightly against her
chest.
“This man, you even said that taking a harmless life is against
your creed and what not, but you immediately change your tune
the moment money is involved.”

57

“Megumin, take a good look! This is the expression of a man
who’s blinded by money!”
The bystanders are really noisy today.
Ignoring the two of them who were whispering to each other
behind my back, I snatched the byakko away from Aqua’s grasp.
“Moreover, have you given any thought as to how long it would
take before this kitten becomes able to help out in combat!?
Divine beasts probably live for over a hundred years, right!? It
would take at least a decade or two before this kitten fully grows
up, right!?”
“But… But…!”
Dodging Aqua’s attempts at snatching it back, I placed the byakko
on the counter.
“So, please buy it. Incidentally, how much money would it be
worth?”
“D-Do you really want to sell it. Err, at a guess, it’d say it’s worth
about ten million eris…”
The receptionist hesitantly said as she saw the byakko curled up
into a ball on her counter.
As expected of a byakko. Even a child is worth ten million eris.
It might not be able to clear away all of my debts, but this will give
me enough money to make it through the winter. Plus…

58

“Nyaa~ Nyaa~”

Seeming quite a bit livelier after receiving Aqua’s divine essence,
the byakko looked up at me and repeatedly mewed.

Additionally, I could feel Aqua’s intense gaze on the back of my
head.

“Ooh… this feels really soft…”

The receptionist ran her hand through its fur and shivered in
response.

“We already have my familiar living with us, so even if there is two
of them, it wouldn’t increase the amount of effort needed to take
care of them by very much. Why don’t we just take this child in?”

Ignoring Megumin who was saying such things, and Aqua who
was still staring at me, I repeatedly told myself.

Harden your heart, Satou Kazuma! Sure, I like cats and all, but
this is a tiger!

“W-Well, I can understand where you’re coming from with all of
that debt hanging over your head. And as an adventurer, I feel the
same way about not letting a monster go free. Raising a monster
isn’t something that should be praised. Let’s leave the decision to
Kazuma.”

Despite saying that, Darkness was staring intently at the byakko
with a gentle expression.

“Nyaa~! Nyaa~! Nyaa~!”

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Even Darkness seems to have fallen for its charms, but I am not
cut from the same cloth as these three!
No matter how much it attempts to appeal to me, I won’t falter!

“–Do we have enough sand for the litterbox? Oh, and prepare a
box for him to sleep in. And a blanket too.”
“We can just use some of the sand that we use for Chomusuke. As
for the box, I’ll go ask the owner of the nearby alcohol shop for
one.”
On the way back home.
After having fallen for its charms afterall, I’m preparing the stuff
we need to keep the byakko.
Well, it’s a baby byakko, after all. It should grow up to be pretty
strong in the future.
I might not know how much time and food it would take before it
grows up, but looking at it positively…

“–I’m home!”
Aqua immediately ran to her spot by the fireplace the moment the
door is opened.

60

The byakko, held in her arms, stared intently at a point in the
ceiling.
Darkness went off to the kitchen to brew some tea, and Megumin,
after getting off my back, headed over to the sofa and flopped onto
it.
“It’s really staring! Maybe it has a way to see things that one
shouldn’t see? It’s a divine beast, after all.”
Megumin said as she turned onto her back and followed the
byakko’s gaze.
Hearing that sort of thing will make it really hard to sleep at night,
so please cut it out.
“This kid is staring at the stray ghost that stays in this mansion.
I’ve mentioned it before, haven’t I? The ghost of a noble young girl
is living in this mansion. She’s been hanging there like a jellyfish
all this time, so it probably caught it’s interest.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking this for a while now, but if there’s
really something like that living here, she should really come and
talk to me at least once. It doesn’t feel like this place is haunted at
all.”
… Just then, Darkness, who was supposed to be preparing tea in
the kitchen, came back bearing a handful of items and an
uncertain expression.
“S-Say, what should we name him? He’s really hugging that hot
milk bottle. I know he mainly subsists on divine essence, but
would it be fine to feed him some milk?”

61

The one who just said that an adventurer shouldn’t let a monster
go free and what not is now the one fawning over the monster the
most.

↲

62

Part 5 ↲

“This kid’s name is Jake Wild. It’s full name is Wolfgang D. Jake
Wild, or Jake for short.”
The next morning, Aqua, cradling the byakko in her arms, gave us
that introduction the moment we met.
What a uselessly grandiose name.
“I’ve also been thinking of a name for him.”
“No, you definitely can’t name him! You’re going to name him
something weird like Megumegu or Minmin or something, right?”
“Hey, can you stop making fun of my name?”
Quite some distance away from the two who were arguing so early
in the morning, Darkness was happily changing the sand in the
litterbox.
“Still, it does look far more energetic compared to yesterday.”
It looked like it was on the verge of death yesterday, but it’s
certainly far more energetic now.
“Yeah, at this rate, it’ll be able to live on it’s own after another
week or so.”
According to Aqua, it only needs to be constantly infused with
divine energy when it’s a newborn. Once that period is over, it can
be raised by anyone.

63

It’s been about a week since then, and the white tiger cub has
become full of energy.
“Right, I’m not raising you as a pet for fun. From today onwards,
you’ll be undergoing my spartan-style training regime so that
you’ll become my trump card against the Demon King!”
Aqua struck an imposing posture as she said that to Jake, who
was sleeping in the middle of the courtyard.
“Nyaa~”
“It’s not nyaa, your answer should be ‘Yes!’”
“Nyaa~ Nyaa~”
Jake ignored those stupid words and wandered over to Aqua.
“No, it’s not time for lunch yet… Ah, not, don’t bite my hagoromo!
That’s an extremely important divine treasure!… Aaaaah! No, you
can’t take that! Please, come back!”
After Jake made away with Aqua’s sash, she dropped any pretense
of her imposing persona to chase after it.
It always feels like something is wrong to have her chase after a
cat like that.
The two of them played tag all over the courtyard until Jake fell
asleep.
“–Jake, no, you can’t get together with that kid. There’s an evil
aura surrounding her. I don’t like her at all.”

64

–The next day.
Aqua said that to Jake as it was playing around with Chomusuke.
“To think that he would be able to go toe to toe with my familiar,
this Jake is pretty skilled too. Isn’t he?”
“Ahh, how cute… Say, Aqua, Megumin, can we leave those two
alone for a while?”
Under the gazes of the three, Jake and Chomusuke pushed each
other down and play fought in front of the fireplace.
“Jake, let her have a taste of the God Blow that I taught you
yesterday! Let that evil furball know the difference in power
between the two of you and bring her under your heel!”
Aqua cheered, but at that instant, the two of them seemed like
they tried themselves out and curled up into a ball to take a nap.
Seeing that, Darkness looked like she wanted to pet them but was
afraid of waking them up, so she held her hand.
Aqua on the other hand had no such reservations and hastily
picked up Jake.
“Why aren’t you listening to me? I won’t let you slack off today!
Come on, wake up! It’s time for your training! Even if you cry and
beg, I won’t-Aaaaah!”

65

“… Seems like he forgot where to the toilet is.”
“Why does he always do this on me!? Uuu… Uuu… Come on, Jake,
I’m begging you, please remember where the toilet is!”
Aqua, crying and begging the newborn tiger, rushed over to the
toilet.

–That night.
“Hey, Jake, that hagoromo is a very important item. It’s not your
blanket. I have your blanket right here, so can you please return it
to me?”
Having snatched away the hagoromo that Aqua’s been calling a
divine treasure, Jake is currently taking a nap on top of it.
“He really is carefree. That pet of yours that you’ve raised sure is
quite unreasonable.”
“We just haven’t learnt to communicate yet! I’ll be sleeping here
tonight! I want to make him think that I am his mother!”
Saying that, she laid down in front of the fireplace and hugged the
box that Jake was sleeping in.
Well, if she wants to do that, there’s no harm in letting her do so.
“Ah, you didn’t go to the toilet yet, did you? My hagoromo might
be able to purify liquids, but that will still get you divine

66

punishment. I won’t let you get away with it this time! Properly
apologize!”
Her voice could be heard throughout the entire mansion.
–After such days continued on for several weeks, on a certain
afternoon.
“Jake, it’s a very beautiful day today, so I understand why you
might want to take a nap, but it’s about time you should start
listening to me! You should be ready to start taking combat
lessons now!”
Aqua said that as she carried Jake in her arms in the courtyard.
“Seriously, who cares about combat training and defeating the
Demon King and whatnot? As a cat lover, I’d be happy just
spending the days like this.”
“Well, I’m not the least bit happy at all! This kid still hasn’t
remembered where he should go to the toilet! And it doesn’t listen
to me at all! A divine beast should be more sensible, but this kid is
still wetting his bed every day!”
Wetting his bed, huh…
“Say, you know, I’ve heard that children will wet their bed when
they feel lonely. Is this kid lonely because he can’t see his
mother?”
“… This kid has already caused me so much trouble. Will such a
selfish and fickle cat really not be able to forget its birth mother?
Seriously, what a fickle child.”

67

“Well, it’s a tiger, so what do you want me to say? Still, he should
get used to it eventually. When he stops wetting the bed, that’ll
mean that he’s finally recognized you as his mother.”
I relaxedly said that as I lay on the grass, and Aqua responded
with,
“Ah, wait, doesn’t that mean that he’ll continue defiling my divine
treasure!? Don’t even joke about that! Hey, Jake, just what do you
think the divine treasure of a goddess is!? I know that I’ve been
spoiling you all this time, but if you continue doing that, I’ll have
to seriously punish you!”

–In the mountains to the west of Axel.
“Hey, is this really fine?”
We were currently heading off towards where we first met the
byakko with Jake in tow.
“I already said it’s fine. I don’t need such a stupid child that can’t
find out where the toilet is. It doesn’t listen to a word that I’ve
said. I knew it, raising a dragon would be better. Hey, did you
hear that, Jake? We might be going out separate ways today, but
I’m as happy as can be.”
Aqua, leading our party, said that while holding Jake tightly
against her chest.

68

“… But still, Aqua, even if we go back to the same spot, his birth
mother might not be in the same place. I wouldn’t mind
continuing to raise it and turning it into another one of my
familiars.”
Having grown attached to him in the short time they spent
together, Megumin and Darkness are both trying to talk Aqua out
of it.
However…
“It will definitely be waiting there. This is my goddess’s intuition.”
Hearing Aqua say that, the two had no choice but to follow along
in silence.
–And thus.
“See, it’s just like I said, right?”
How long has it been waiting there, I wonder? That very same
byakko that we met has been laying there motionlessly with its
eyes closed.
I have no idea why it would believe so, but it must have known
that Aqua would bring its child back.
As Aqua approached it bearing Jake in her arms, the byakko
opened its eyes.
Under our gaze, Aqua crouched down and gently placed Jake on
the ground.

69

“Now, now, hurry up and go home.”

Jake looked up at Aqua who harshly said such things, but
remained motionless.

“… What’s wrong? Are you concerned about what I said earlier?
Just so you know, the dragons are better than tigers bit is a joke. If
you have any sort of affection left for me, then go attack the
Demon King’s army once you’ve grown up.”

Aqua turned her back on it, and Jake bit on the sash of her
hagoromo like he was playing.

Seeing that, Aqua couldn’t hold back anymore and tightly hugged
it against her chest.

It seems like this was too much for Megumin and Darkness, for
they turned away.

And the mother byakko that was silently observing them from the
side slowly approached the two.

“Now, goodbye, Jake… Hey, Jake, it’s about time you let go of my
Hagoromo…. No, this isn’t your blanket. Ah, ouch! Jake, don’t
extend your claws! It hurts!”

Seeing Jake’s unwillingness to let go of Aqua, the mother byakko
came to a stop.

And gently lifted Aqua by her collar with its mouth before darting
off.

“Aaah! Kazuma-san! Kazuma-san!”

70

“That idiot! Don’t get taken away too!”
“Aqua! H-Hold on! Please find a way to escape!”
“Hold it! Where do you intend on taking Aqua to!?”
A byakko is rumoured to be the fastest creature in this world.
Needless to say, it’s not something that we can catch up with.
–Three days later.
Covered in the white fur of the byakko, Aqua came back with a
haggard seeming expression and muttered.
“If I ever get a pet in the future, I think I’ll get a dragon…”
“O-Oh…”

↲

71

KonoSuba BD Short Story 2: The Explosive
Detective of Axel
Part 1 ↲

TL: Cannongerbil

[Note: This story takes place sometime around season 2, around
volume 3-4 ish, so the status quo is a bit different from the more
recent volumes.]
On a certain day.
As I was quibbling with Aqua over who gets to sit in the special
seat right in front of the fireplace, I suddenly heard someone
knocking at the front door.
It didn’t sound like any of the usual visitors, so even Megumin and
Darkness stopped playing their game for a moment and looked
over.
“Pardon me, this is the residence of Satou Kazuma and his party,
right!? I would like to have some words with you, so hurry up and
open up!”
The voice coming sounded quite urgent.
After hearing that,
“Alright, that’s enough. Hurry up and go back already. I too would
like to hear the crackle of the firewood from time to time.”

72

“I want to feed the fires too. Nothing is better in winter than
sitting here watching the fires dance. Kazuma, just sit behind me.
You can hear the crackles fine from there.”
“Megumin, I’ll definitely defeat you today! I move my crusader all
the way up to your Archmage. With this, I’ll definitely be able to
take it off the board next turn.”
“Teleport”
The four of us decided to pretend as if nothing happened.
“Hey, I know you are all inside! I can hear you from here! Open
up! Hey, hurry up… It’s starting to snow out here! It’s really cold,
so hurry up and open the door!”

The person who came to visit us was a police officer of the town.
After letting him warm up in front of the fireplace for a while, he
took out a piece of paper and presented it before Megumin.
“Archmage Megumin, you’re suspected to be involved in the serial
explosions case that has been plaguing Axel! Please accompany
me to the station!”
Megumin didn’t show the slightest bit of hesitation before
snatching away the piece of paper and throwing it into the
fireplace.
“Ah! That’s an important document! How could you do this!?”

73

“Who cares about that! What even is this serial explosions case!? I
don’t know what it is, but there’s no way I can commit a crime!”
I feel like if I was in that officer’s place, Megumin would’ve been
my first suspect too, but Megumin seems to have been agitated by
the sudden accusation.
“Now, now, calm down, you two. First off, can you tell me more
information about the serial explosions case?”
After hearing Darkness’s words, the officer gave up on trying to
rescue the writ from the fireplace and said.
“Recently, there’s been an explosion happening almost every day
in the area around Axel. They usually happen in the forests or the
mountains… because of that, the monsters that usually make their
home in the forests end up getting scared away towards the
plains, and the mountains see constant avalanches… Thus, the
mountains and the forests are now both restricted areas.”
“I took my eyes off you for an instant and this is what you get up
to. We’ll send you some gifts, so just accept your fate and spend
some time in jail.”
I placed a consoling hand on Megumin shoulder, and she
aggressively swatted it away.
“Hold it, those incidents have nothing to do with me! If I unleash
Explosion up in the mountains, there’s a high chance of me
getting swept away in the resulting avalanche, so I’ve never done
that! I’ve been taking my explosion trips together with Darkness
recently, so I have a witness that can prove I wasn’t there! Right,
Darkness?”

74

“Eeh? Er, Uh…”
“Darkness, why are you so hesitant!? That’s just going to invite
misunderstandings! Don’t tell me you don’t believe me either!?
Please act a little more confidently!”
In the face of Megumin’s fervent protests, Darkness averted her
gaze.
“Well, let’s calm down a little. I hope you don’t mind me asking a
little more about this incident. You say it happens every day, but
how many times does it happen per day? This girl can only use
Explosion once each day, so…”
“There’s only one explosion every day.”
The officer instantly answered my question.
“… And just to confirm, when do these explosions take place?”
“Those explosions happen at the same time Megumin leaves
town..”
“I’m sorry, this girl really doesn’t have any ill will! She just has a
somewhat shorter fuse than most people-”
“Wait a minute, Kazuma, why does that make you think it’s
definitely me behind it?”
Megumin grabbed my shoulders and started aggressively shaking
me.

75

Still, there’s only one person who could do such a foolish thing,
and that’s her.
“Don’t worry, Megumin, I’ll make sure to feed the black demonic
beast every day while you are locked up.”
“The prisons around this time of year tend to be pretty cold, so
make sure you pack some warm clothes with you. I’ll make sure to
send in some warm food every day.”
“You two too!? Fine, I’ll follow this investigation or whatever to
the very end! Officer, you should have a lie detecting magic item
at the station, right? Bring that out and use that to see if I’m really
telling the truth!”
Megumin, agitatedly waving her staff around, followed the officer
back to the station.

↲

76

Part 2 ↲

“I’m terribly sorry! To think we actually suspected an innocent
person…!”
“Yes, exactly! In the first place, why do you immediately suspect
me whenever there’s an incident involving an explosion!? I really
don’t get it at all!”
After the interrogation, Megumin was escorted back from the
station by what appeared to be the police chief.
Seems like the lie detecting magic item didn’t respond at all.
“Come on, your name has already been cleared, so there’s no
reason to be so angry. Still, I always knew that it would end up
this way.”
“Of course, I believe you too. Megumin isn’t a girl who would do
that sort of thing. I didn’t do anything that would make me feel
guilty, but you can have the special seat by the fireplace if you
want.”
“Megumin, you must have been cold after spending all that time
outside. I’ll buy some high quality ingredients and cook a great
meal tonight so you can properly warm yourself back up.”
“Hey, you three sure change your tune really quickly. Why don’t
you tell me exactly what kind of person you think I am?”
After giving one last apology to a still clearly aggravated
Megumin, the police chief turned and gave us a bow.

77

“Once again, I’m deeply sorry for this incident. You’re Satou
Kazuma, yes? I’ve heard a lot of rumours about you, such as
contributing greatly in the defeat of the Demon King’s General
and stopping the Destroyer…”
Saying that, she gave me a smile.
She was quite a beauty, seemingly in her twenties and sporting
long brown hair that she wore in a ponytail.
“No, no, I didn’t do anything major. It was just my pride as an
adventurer that prevented me from running away…”
I boasted, and the police chief regarded me with sparkling eyes.
“You’re selling yourself short, Satou-san! I’ve heard that this
mansion is also owned by you… It must be thanks to the huge
bounty you received after defeating the Destroyer and Beldia! Ah,
my apologies, I’ve yet to introduce myself! I’m the surprisingly
sensitive type, the police chief Aloerina. Pleased to make your
acquaintance.”
For some reason, Aloerina started to draw closer to me as she said
that.
Well, I could be said to be the hero of this town, so I suppose this
is just a matter of course.
“P-Please to meet you. Well, I can see why you might think that,
but truth is, a lot of other things happened after that, so I landed
myself in quite a bit of debt too. Speaking of which, if you know of
what happened back then-”

78

“Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Megumin-san, I’ll take
my leave.”
The moment she heard the word debt, Aloerina abruptly switched
back to a businesslike attitude.
… Well, I suppose this is also a matter of course.
“Aloerina-dono, if the culprit isn’t our Megumin, then do you have
any idea on who is the true culprit?”
“Er, well… No. We didn’t expect there to be another person apart
from Megumin who would go out in countryside and set off
random explosions, so…”
“Hey, I already asked this, but why do you all automatically think
of me whenever there’s an explosion!? Hurry up and tell me
already!”
You reap what you sow.
I really wanted to say that to Megumin, but seeing her glowing
eyes made me rethink that. At least for now.
“Well, whoever it is, at least we now know that it has nothing to do
with us. It’d be really troublesome indeed if we end up getting
dragged into every little incident that happens in this town..”
Just as I said that.
“Yeah, that’s right. There’s some other explosion expert other than
Megumin out there causing a ruckus. Still, to think that their

79

actions managed to cast suspicion onto Megumin. It must be a
fairly accomplished user of the explosive series of spells. It might
even be a more accomplished user of Explosion than Megumin.”
The useless thing seated in front of the fireplace that has never
once been able to read the mood said such a thing.

↲

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Part 3 ↲

The next day
“Let’s start with investigating those related to the incidents. I’ll
use my Crimson Demon intelligence to suss out who the culprit
is.”
I, who has been forced to get up way before any sane person
should be awake, followed blearily behind Megumin.
Right now, we are headed towards the adventurer’s guild.
Thanks to Aqua’s unnecessary words, Megumin developed a
grudge against the culprit and made a declaration on the spot that
she’ll catch them.
I originally intended to let her go on her own if she wanted to play
detective so badly, but I had to change my plans thanks to a
certain other person.
“Please, Megumin-san! If you have the police chief with you, you’ll
have much more freedom to conduct your investigations.”
Behind Megumin and me followed the police chief, Aloerina.
“… We’re just doing this on a whim, so there really is no need for
you to accompany us.”
“No, even if you are adventurers, there’s no way I can let ordinary
people chase after what could be a very dangerous user of
Explosion magic. And my instincts as the police chief are telling

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me that I’ll be able to get to the bottom of this by sticking with
you. I’m not sticking with you because I still suspect Megumin-
san. It’s just that, if I render assistance to you two, I’ll be able to
gain the favour of Lady Dustiness who is your party mate!”
Rather than spinning some excuse, it’s more like Aloerina laid all
her true intentions bare in front of us.
Still, I’d definitely bet money that she is still suspicious of
Megumin.
If I leave Megumin alone with the police chief while she ran
around town, I get the distinct feeling that she’ll end up behind
bars before the day is out.
Thus, I got dragged along under the guise of offering aid…
“Well, I guess that’s fine. Let’s start by asking a few questions.”
Before I knew it, we were standing in front of the guild.
Incidentally, Darkness also decided to investigate through her
own contacts, and left the house early just like us.
As for the one who riled Megumin up with her unnecessary words,
it doesn’t seem like she has any intentions of leaving the fireplace,
and she can’t contribute much anyway, so I decided to just leave
her be.
It was still fairly early in the morning, so there weren’t much
people around. As such, we made our way over to the counter
instead.

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“Excuse me, can I ask a few questions? There are a few things I
would like to clarify regarding the recent explosions that has been
happening.”
“Good morning, Satou Kazuma-san. The recent explosions… eh?
Ah!? You’re the police chief! And even Megumin-san is…
Explosions… Megumin-san… Police chief… Ah, I see, I understand
what you’re trying to ask now. I also think that Megumin-san is
the most likely culprit.”
“Hey, why don’t you tell me exactly what kind of
misunderstanding you have!? I’m all ears!”
“No, I understand why you’d think that, but that’s not the case.
The investigation is already over. For some reason, the lie
detecting magic item didn’t react at all.”
“Really? Could it be that the magic item is defective?”
“No, that’s impossible. The item we used is the newest set we had
in the station, and it’s been working without issues before
yesterday. What we thought would be an easily solvable case
suddenly became a impenetrable riddle…”
“Hey, if you’re picking a fight with me, I’ll gladly take you on!”
Ignoring Megumin whose eyes started glowing again, I broached
upon the topic that originally brought us here.
“The main reason I’m here is to confirm how many users of the
explosive series of spells there are in this city? Is there anyone like
that in the guild?”

83

There were three spells in the explosive series, Blast, Detonation,
and Explosion.

Blast is quite a powerful spell that’s capable of cracking solid rock,
and has a fairly reasonable mana cost. And Detonation, in
exchange for higher mana cost, is powerful enough to take out
almost any monster with a single hit.

“Spellcasters skilled enough to use Blast will usually leave this
town after gaining a few levels, and there aren’t that many people
who can use Detonation in this country. During the festival
season, some of those people might be invited to town to use their
talents for fireworks, but they wouldn’t be around in this season.
So the only people in this town that can use explosive magic right
now should only be the owner of the magic item shop and
Megumin-san…”

“… I have to ask, is it really not you?”

“Do you really have to ask again? Haven’t you already proven is
isn’t me!?”

Seeing Megumin get angry with Aloerina again, I fell into deep
thought.

The only person in this town other than Megumin who can use
Explosive magic is Wiz, but it’s pretty hard to imagine her doing
such things.

I just can’t think of anything that would motivate her to do such
things.

… Motive?

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“Oh, right, motive! This could be the work of someone who bears
a grudge against Megumin and is trying to frame her. Hey,
Megumin, do you remember angering anyone recently?”
“Of course not. I have confidence that I’m the most amiable
person in this party.”
Where is she getting that confidence from?
Then, the lady at the counter said.
“Umm… well, there have been several complaints regarding
Megumin-san lately… there was this one where she unleashed
Explosion on a group of goblins just as another team cornered
them, not only stealing their kills, but also getting them caught up
in the blast… and Explosion changes the course of the river, so
please get her to stop using it to catch fish… and other similar
complaints…”
Hearing what the guild lady had to say, Megumin covered her ears
and turned away, but the lady continued.
“And, as an adventurer, please stop picking a fight with regular
people just because they mocked your name.”
“I’m sorry, but can you please arrest her?”
“Yes, perhaps it is for the best to get her off the streets for a few
days.”
“Please wait, I have properly reflected on my actions! A-Anyway,
the number of people who bear a grudge against me is

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surprisingly huge! That means the true culprit must be amongst
the people here!”
Saying that, Megumin suddenly grabbed at an adventurer who
approached the counter next to us.
“H-Hey!? M-Megumin!? What are you doing! Cut it out!”
“You were the one who picked a fight with me yesterday, so you
are suspected to be related to the serial explosions case! Let’s have
a nice long chat at the police-Ow!”
After prying Megumin off and pushing her into a rough bow, I too
bowed towards the other adventurer.
“I’m really sorry for what this idiot has done. Still, may I ask you a
few questions? You had a fight with her yesterday, right? May I
ask what exactly happened?”
The adventurer rubbed his throat where he had been grabbed and
shook his head.
“Well, it’s not really a fight. I was busy reading one of the notices
on the board and accidentally ran into her, and said ‘Sorry, I was
reading a notice, so I didn’t see you there.’. Then, she went “So
you’re saying I’m a loli!?” and suddenly attacked me.”
“So you’re just picking fights now!?”
“Ow ow ow! N-No, I’m only doing that because adventurers can’t
afford to be looked down upon-”
I get the feeling that it’d be really be best to have her arrested.

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“Besides, the serial explosions case didn’t start yesterday, right?
So this person doesn’t even fit the profile we are looking for.”
“That’s true… then, you should arrest Maribelle who fought with
me last week after comparing the size of her chest to mine.”
“I already told you not to just name random people! And you’re
just naming people you don’t like! There’s a limit as to how
impudent you can be!”
Aloerina, standing some distance away from the two of us as we
started quarreling again, seemed to suddenly remember her job as
a police chief and took out a notebook.
“Megumin-san, can you tell me the names of everyone who might
have a grudge with you? If there are a lot of them, I can get the
other officers to help investigate.”
Looking at Aloerina’s serious face right in the eye, Megumin
started rattling off a list of names.
“There’s Maribelle that I just mentioned earlier, and then there’s
the owner of the weapons store that I haggled with until he was in
tears, the owner of the magic items shop, the grocery seller…
and… There are way too many adventurers who might bear a
grudge against me, so there’s no way I can list them all.”
“… Is there really no way you can put her behind bars?”
“Oh, very well. We aren’t a daycare for problem children, but I
suppose we don’t have a choice in this case. Now, then, Megumin-
san, please tell us more details back at the station-”

87

“Wait a minute! Please wait… Ah!”
Megumin, who seemed this close to being dragged away by
Aloerina, suddenly shouted.
“I know who the culprit is! Follow me, you two!”

↲

88

Part 4 ↲

The person she was looking for ended up being at the town
library.
Despite the large number of empty seats available, she choose to
read her book at the table at the furthest corner.
“So here is where you’ve hidden yourself! Yunyun, there’s no
escape, so don’t bother trying!”
“Eh!? M-Megumin!? What’s going on!?”
Of course, the person she’s looking for is Megumin’s self-
proclaimed rival, and a fellow Crimson Demon, Yunyun.
Megumin’s appearance destroyed the tranquility of the library,
and she flared her cape and named herself..
“My name is Megumin! The most intelligent truth seeker in Axel!
Rival Yunyun! Your evil schemes shall never escape my blood red
eyes!”
“Megumin, what are you saying out of the blue!? I have no idea
what you’re talking about at all! What do you mean by evil
schemes!?”
Yunyun frantically got to her feet and started bowing and
apologizing to the people nearby who shot them disapproving
looks.
After that, I started explaining the situation.

89

“You see, there’ve been several unexplained explosions that took
place close to town over the past few days.”
“Megumin you idiot! It’s not enough to do it in the Crimson
Demon Village, now you have to do it in Axel too!? You still didn’t
learn your lesson even after causing such a big ruckus back
home!?”
“Ah!? S-Stop! What are you doing!? Get off me!”
Yunyun grabbed onto Megumin and started screaming at her
through teary eyes the moment I said that, seemingly getting her
own idea of what’s going on.
Then, Yunyun let go of Megumin’s clothes and once again faced
us.
“I’m sorry! Megumin’s supposed to be pretty smart, she just never
thinks about consequences before doing anything, but she
definitely isn’t a bad person! I’ll go with her to apologize to the
people affected, so please go easy on her-”
“You too!? Why does everyone automatically assume I’m the
culprit with just a little bit of information!?”
“Ah, it hurts! Cut it out!”
Just as Megumin grabbed onto Yunyun’s temples, Aloerina placed
a finger to her chin.

90

“Please wait a moment, you said something about the Crimson
Demon village earlier, right? Did something similar happen in
back in the Crimson Demon village?”
“Y-Yes, back then, she managed to avoid trouble by blaming it on
a devil that happened to be passing by, so I thinking that she may
have done the same thing here too…”
Wait, did she just say ‘blaming it on a devil that happened to be
passing by’?
I’m kinda curious about Megumin’s past now.
[See: Explosions spinoff 2]
“T-That and this are different things! No, it really isn’t me this
time! Please don’t look at me like that… Anyway, Yunyun.”
Even as Aloerina was staring at her with a suspicious gaze,
Megumin pointed a finger at Yunyun.
“You’re currently suspected to be involved in the serial explosions
case. Please come with me to the police station.”
“Why!?”
Yunyun screamed after hearing Megumin spout such incredulous
words.
“There’s of course a reason for it. First off, please state what kind
of relation the two of us have.”

91

Yunyun suddenly blushed and started glancing between Megumin
and the floor.
“F-Friends-”
“Yes, you are my rival! Isn’t that right!?”
“T-T-That’s right! I am your rival! What about it!?”
Yunyun shouted after Megumin interrupted her.
“So you admit it! As I said earlier, Yunyun is my rival. In other
words, she has the motive of trying to cause harm to her rival!”
“Eh!?”
Megumin ignored the shocked look Yunyun is giving her and
continued.
“Additionally, you are second only to me in the Crimson Demon
Village! Because she wishes to surpass the genius spellcaster who
is capable of using Explosion, it wouldn’t be strange for her to pick
up a few spells from the explosive series!”
“What kind of reasoning is that!? That doesn’t make sense at all!”
Megumin cooly regarded Yunyun as she wailed.
“Then let me ask you, were you with anyone when the explosions
happened?”
“… I, I was alone…”

92

After hearing that, Megumin let out a smile as though she was
confident of her victory.
“I see, so you were alone. That means, there’s no one who can
vouch that you were within the city at the times when the
explosions happened, right?”
“… … Yes.”
Yunyun hesitantly replied.
“As you can see, she has the motive, the means, and no alibi.
Aloerina-san, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Then, please accompany me to the police station…”
“Wait! It really isn’t me! I’m innoceeeent!!”

“–And here I thought for sure that it would be Yunyun. Maybe we
were wrong about the the whole revenge thing….”
On the way back from the police station.
Megumin and I headed to the outskirts of the city.
“You know, isn’t she your friend? Even if you are rivals, I really
doubt that someone like her could do pull off something so
devious.”
“Do you really think so? Pretty much all the Crimson Demons I
know have been driven to tears after trying to compete with me.”

93

“…Yeah, I still think it’s very likely that someone is trying to take
revenge on you.”
We exited the town and started searching for today’s explosion
target.
Yes, the reason why we are heading out of town is because this
idiot here insists on performing her daily routine, even under such
circumstances.
“You know, I think it really would be best to lay off your
Explosions in such a situation.”
“What are you saying? That would just be as if I lost to the true
culprit… No, perhaps this is the culprit’s goal all along! To stop me
from casting Explosion…! Then, could it be the work of the
construction crews who fill in my craters every time? But, no, they
told me that they were thankful because all this work always
makes sure they are employed… Ah!? Could it be the work of the
Demon King’s army that is fearful of my power?”
After hearing the stupid things that Megumin is mumbling to
herself, I really can’t believe that this girl is supposed to have high
intelligence.
“Alright, this far is fine. It’s really cold out today, so just let it off
here and be done with it.”
“There isn’t much snow piled up here. I think we should pick a
spot where more snow has accumulated. It’ll definitely look
amazing to leave my mark into deep snow with my explosion.”

94

“… I see, so it’s similar to how snow melts when I pee on it.”
“Of course not! Don’t compare the great abilities of the Crimson
Demons with your vulgar bodily functions!”
While fending off Megumin’s temper tantrums, we arrived at the
edge of the forest.
“If I fire an explosion into the forests, the woodcutter’s guild and
the hunter’s guild will get angry. So let’s do it around here.”
“Why is your life so bitter? Do you have to make an enemy every
day? Can’t you find a more peaceful way to live your life?”
“I walk the path of explosions. I care not for that kind of life.
Right, here I go! Behold my power!”
Megumin started chanting her spell in a loud voice.
“Explosion!!!”
A giant fireball erupted at a clearing next to the forest.
–At the same time
I vaguely heard a different boom coming from somewhere far
away.

↲

95

Part 5 ↲

The next day.
“Thus, we request for Megumin-san to stop casting Explosion for
the time being. You may not be the culprit we are looking for, but
if we can’t conduct our investigations in peace-”
“I refuse.”
Aloerina paid us yet another visit and is currently talking to
Megumin.
Of course, during the time we were out of town yesterday, a large
explosion was spotted near the forest.
From what we know now, the culprit will cast his own spell at the
same time Megumin unleashes hers.
I was with her yesterday, so I was able to vouch for her innocence,
but they still issued an order for her not to cast Explosion
anymore until the case is resolved.
“You might as well be asking me to die! Crimson Demons as a race
are constantly overflowing with magical energy. We’ll die if we
don’t regularly release our excess mana as spells. Indeed, if I don’t
cast my Explosion every day, my mana would go out of control
and might even destroy this town.”
“There’s a limit as to the kind of lies you can tell! If that were true,
the Crimson Demons would’ve been wiped out a long time ago
before they could learn magic!”

96

Just as Megumin turned towards me and was about to say
something after I interjected between her and Aloerina-
“Emergency Quest! Emergency Quest! All adventurers, please
report to the adventurer’s guild immediately!”
The sudden announcement that resonated through town cut her
off–

“Adventurers, thank you for coming! Here’s the situation: a group
of one strike bears that have just woken up from hibernation have
wandered close to the town. There are over ten of them, and the
few crops available in the fields would not be able to satisfy them.
Thus, they will most likely head towards the town in search of
food. Adventurers, please arm yourselves and prepare to meet
them!”
After gathering our equipment and making our way to the guild,
we saw a desperate-seeming Luna addressing the crowd of
adventurers.
A one strike bear is, as their name suggests, famed for their
powerful claws and the great strength of their forelimbs that they
use to deliver devastating blows. They are capable of taking down
even veteran adventurers if they get lucky.
If a group of those things attack this town…

97

“A group of one strike bears… how could this be!? There are only
newbie adventurers in this town! If we take them on, there’ll
definitely be casualties!”
Aloerina, who came along with us, turned completely pale.
The adventurers who heard that turned to her and said.
“As you said, there’ll definitely be sacrifices amongst us. However,
laying down our lives for the peace of this town is the duty of us
adventurers.”
“Yeah, that’s precisely why we became adventurers. We’ve long
since come to accept that we might lose our lives someday. Isn’t
that right, everyone!?”
“Yup! Young lady, just wait here for us. We’ll grab a few drinks
together if we survive!”
“They are just a few bears, what’s there to be scared of? I won’t let
a single one of them step foot in this town!”
Aloerina looked up at the adventurers who were proudly boasting
with admiration.
And those same adventurers casted confident glances at a person
next to me.
Yes, they were looking at Megumin.
“You guys sure are in high spirits. Guess there’s no need for me to
interfere today.”

98

“Eh!?” x10
Those unexpected words from Megumin, who would usually
hasten to steal the spotlight, left all the adventurers agape.
“No, no, Megumin, it’s precisely at such times that you should
play your hand. We might be able to handle it, but there’ll
definitely be some sacrifices without you. But if you were to do
your thing…”
“Y-Yes! We can handle it by ourselves, but you’ll wipe them all out
in an instant!”
“One strike bears can’t even hold a candle to you! You’re known as
the one strike archmage, after all! Isn’t that right!?”
“Megumin-san, this is your stage! Besides, I really want to see
your cool side!”
All the adventurers here seem to think that this would be a snap
with Megumin’s Explosion, which is why they were so confident
earlier.
“There’s so many adventurers here, so it doesn’t seem like I’ll be
needed either. Hey, Kazuma, I don’t want to let the fire back home
go out, so I’m heading back first to tend to it. See you when you
get back.”
“Eh!?” x10
And Aqua, leaving those words before exiting the building, left the
adventurers agape yet again.

99

It seems like being abruptly woken up from her nap in front of the
fireplace has left her groggy and in a bad mood.
The adventurers who were counting on Aqua’s resurrection magic
in the event of the worst happening started to turn pale.
Then, Megumin addressed the adventurers gathered here.
“Plus, I’m suspected to be the culprit behind the serial explosions
incident by Aloerina-san here, so I’ve been forbidden from casting
explosion. I want to unleash my spell on a worthy target for once,
but it really is a pity.”
“W-Wait, Megumin-san!?”
Aloerina let out a surprised squeak as Megumin pushed the blame
to her.
Of course, all the adventurers in this room started staring daggers
at Aloerina.
“E-Er… Megumin-san, it’s an emergency situation right now, so
we will temporarily lift the restriction on casting explosion…”
Withering in front of the gazes of so many people, Aloerina
uncertainly said those words.
Upon hearing that, Megumin shrugged her shoulders.
“Only temporarily? That’s to say, after putting my life on the line
to repel the one strike bears, I’ll be prevented from casting
explosion again? Just hearing that makes my motivation go…”

100