KonoSuba Continued, Explosions! Volume 2

Just as I’m thinking of a way to shake off the Axis cultist who were
clinging onto me…
“Megutan, I love you!”
“Why are you joining them too!? You should be trying to stop this!
And stop calling me Megutan!”
I pushed Cecily who suddenly glomped onto me away and pointed
towards the door.
“Seriously, I’m really glad I walked in first. Don’t do anything rude
to the person who is about to enter, got it? Especially nothing like
this. If you offend her, the guy in charge might lose their head.”
“Zesta’s head will fly…! Well, I don’t really have a problem with
that.”
“If anything,this city would become even more peaceful.”
“If Zesta-sama is gone, I’ll be able to take the top seat…”
“Very well, I might be getting on in years, but I’m still got some
fight left in me! Bring it on!”
Just what should I do with these eccentric people?
“Say, Megumin-san, don’t you think you should learn from how
your words had the opposite effect on us?”
“I really don’t want to learn anything from your mindsets…
Actually, can we get Zesta-san out of here? I’m really afraid that

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he will do something outrageous the moment he lays eyes on
Alice…”
Just then.
The door to the cathedral opened slightly, and Iris poked her head
through.
Zesta stared at her for a moment–
“W-What is going on!? Boss, this man suddenly collapsed…!”
Iris said in a slightly panicked voice as Zesta fell over and fainted
on the spot.
“And an even more beautiful girl appears! Is today my death day!?
Did I use up all of my luck and am fated to die today!?”
“A blonde haired young girl! I can’t take it anymore! Young lady,
I’ll give you some snacks, so please let me hug you for a while!”
The Axis cult ignored my earlier warnings, and Iris was
surrounded in an instant.
“W-What are you saying!? Can someone please cast healing
magic! This man has collapsed and isn’t moving!”
Saying that, Iris rushed over to Zesta’s side and knelt down beside
him.
“Are you alright!? Please get ahold of yourself!”

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“… Alice, please step back from that man. He is just pretending to
be sick so he could have a young girl care for him…”
After hearing my words, the Axis cultists around me started
collapsing one after another.
“W-What is going on!? Boss, everyone’s collapsing! Is it some kind
of curse or disease!?”
“They just want you to fuss over them. If they are going to
continue lying down like this, lets just walk right all over them.
Upon hearing my words, the Axis cultists all closed their eyes and
tilted their head upwards slightly.
Almost as if they are saying “Please go right ahead.”
“Megumin-san, that would just be a reward to them, so I don’t
think that will work. Zesta-sama, the girls are in trouble, so please
wake up. Everyone’s idol and the branch manager of Axel, Cecily
has returned.”
“Spit”
Even as he was still lying down, Zesta turned his head to the side
and spat on the ground.
“… Cecily-san, I don’t really feel much joy from you stepping on
me. I’ll get up now, so please move your heavy legs off me.”
After Cecily started stomping all over Zesta, he quickly got to his
feet.

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“… Now then, Megumin-san, Yunyun-san, it has been some time.
Welcome, beautiful young ladies. We are happy to welcome you
here on this blessed day. So, are you here for a baptism? Or
perhaps a confession? If you want to sign a marriage contract, I’ll
be happy to help.”
“Zesta-sama, you’ll just complicate things, so please keep quiet.
These girls are here to take out the slime that came out of the holy
springs.”
Zesta’s expression immediately changed upon hearing Cecily’s
words.
“Oh? Just for a simple slime? Well, I am grateful, of course, but
why have Cecily-san and Megumin-san come all the way out
here?”
“Of course, it’s because I love this city! This city is not only a holy
site, but is also the headquarters of the Axis Cult! I am confident
that I am second to almost no one amongst the Axis Cult in terms
of devotion to Aqua-sama and in terms of beauty!”
Zesta took one look at Cecily who was brazenly spouting such
obvious lies and said.
“There’s a few things I’d like to say about the beauty part, but I
like your spirit! Very well, I, Zesta-sama, shall come along with
you. I’ll shall personally witness how much Cecily-san grown in
the time she spent in Axel!”
“Eh?”

↲

103

Chapter 2: Part 7 ↲

“Then, I’ll be leaving Alice in your care. Try and make sure she
doesn’t pick up any bad habits from the Axis Cultists, alright?”

“… Something so important… It’s fine. I get to adventure together
with Iris-chan, so that’s fine…”

It seems like quite a number of slimes have been springing forth
from the holy springs.

They’ve been using the pipes that connect the various springs to
raise havoc all over the city.

“Now then, boss, we’ll be heading out for the sake of the people of
this city and the Axis Cult!”

I tasked Iris and Yunyun to get rid of the slimes plaguing this city.

Being that I can only cast one spell per day, my task in this quest
is to find the cause or culprit behind the slimes.

Additionally…

“Let go of me, Cecily-san! A pure young girl is leaving! Ahh, I
wanted to be your observer precisely so I could see them in
action!”

“I’m not giving those angels to you, Zesta-sama! Being able to fool
around with them everyday is the exclusive privilege of the head
of the Axel branch!”

I’m also in charge of taking care of these two.

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It might have been a measure taken to protect Iris, but truth be
told, I’m not entirely confident that I can handle taking care of
two Axis Cultists at the same time…

“Well, if it really comes down to it, I’ll just say I saw a slime and
blow them all up…”

“Megumin-san, I heard that! I’ll give you a traumatic experience
before you can finish casting your spell!”

“Megumin-san, Zesta-sama will definitely take the first spot in a
flash stripping tournament, so please don’t forget that. And you
shouldn’t point that staff at people, alright?”

Plus, even if I wasn’t surrounded by two troublesome people, I
really don’t feel motivated in going through with this at all.

“I was really looking forward to it at first when I heard that we
were going after slimes that an entire city fears, but we already
know who is the person to blame, right?”

“Megumin-san, what are you saying? Just because the slimes that
are running around happen to be tokoroten slimes, you still
shouldn’t just to conclusions!”

It didn’t take much asking around to determine that the slimes
that were crawling out of the holy springs are tokoroten slimes.

I think we have more than enough information to determine who
exactly is the cause of these events…

“And things are playing out exactly as they did in Axel…”

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“Please don’t say that!”

The only things the slimes did was steal food.

It’s the exact same thing that happened back when Cecily’s
tokoroten slime came back to life in Axel.

“Have you figured out the mastermind behind this incident?”

“It’s her.”

“Wait! Not yet! It hasn’t been determined that this is my fault
yet!”

I rubbed my staff into Cecily’s cheeks after she protested.

“Then, did you find the tokoroten slime powder that you left
behind in this city? It wasn’t there, right!? Then there’s no other
possibility! Why are you always…!”

“But I am always careful to keep the slime powder in a safe place!
There’s no way they can come back to life if they aren’t exposed to
water! Please believe me!”

Then, Zesta, who was listening to our conversation, said.

“Hmm, there was an incident in the past where the Demon King’s
army threw a load of tokoroten slime into one of the springs. Back
then, I was treated as a prime suspect and went through a whole
lot of trouble, but could it be that-”

[TL: See: Explosions spinoff 2]

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“That was the plot of the Demon King’s army.”
Cecily said without hesitation.
Actually, now that I think about it, it is pretty suspicious…
“Anyway, while Yunyun-san and Alice-san is out hunting down
the slimes, we’ll get to the bottom of this incident! It’s just my
instincts as a priest, but I sense an evil power within this city…”
Cecily turned towards the mountains that contains the source of
the holy springs of this city and offered a sincere prayer.
“Your instincts have never once hit the mark, have they?”
“Why are you so harsh towards me today? Are you entering your
rebellious period?”
Just as Cecily started shaking me by the shoulders.
“True. It’s faint, but I have been detecting a faint evil presence in
this city as of late.”
Zesta, suddenly adopting a serious expression, said.
“I think the evil presence in this city is you, Zesta-san.”
“Megumin-san, shhh! He actually bought it, so let’s just sit back
and watch for now!”
Seemingly paying no heed to my retort, Zesta suddenly broke out
into a run.

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“Cecily-san, follow me! I sense an evil presence in this direction!”
“Understood, Zesta-sama! Evil must be vanquished
immediately~!”
Cecily chased after him with those dangerous sounding words on
her lips.
“I have a bad feeling about this…”
As I chased after them, for a brief moment, I wondered if this is
how Kazuma usually feels.

↲

108

Chapter 2: Part 8 ↲

Just what do I do with these people.
“The evil presence is coming from here.”
“As expected of Zesta-sama. I feel an evil presence coming from
this place too.”
“If you keep saying stupid things, even I will get angry.”
Of course, the place he led us to was the Eris Church.
“Alright, Cecily-san, I’ll be the bait to lure them out. You hide
behind this door. When they come angrily rushing out, you jump
out and restrain them.”
“Understood, Zesta-sama. Just leave it to me.”

109

110

[TL: Once again, thanks to Kasen for providing the coloured
pictures]
“Are you insane!? Are you really going through with this!? No,
wait for me!”
The two of them proceeded into the courtyard without paying me
the slightest heed.
Then, while keeping an eye on the crowd that started to gather in
anticipation of something happening, Zesta raised his voice.
“Pardon me! Is the small chested Eris priest present!? I’m here
about the confession I received the other day.”
“Graaah!”
Along with an anguished scream, the sound of someone angrily
stomping on the floor could be heard from within the church.
“Why would you say that at the top of your lungs!? There are
things you should and shouldn’t- Kyaaaa!”
“Heretic! Go to hell!”
“Wa-Onee-sa…!!”
Cecily immediately pounced on the priest when she emerged from
the church.
After tackling the priest to the ground, Cecily got onto her back
and pinned her down.

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“Wonderful work, Cecily-san. To tell the truth, I had some faint
suspicions that you were behind the tokoroten slime incident way
back then, but on account of your work here, I’ll let it go.”
“Yes!”
Zesta approached the priest with a victorious smile on his face.
“You fell for it, foolish Eris Priest! I’m a man who likes chests of
all sizes, but the answer to confession is no!!”
“Oh my, you got rejected!”
“Wait!? Why am I getting rejected after getting ambushed out of
nowhere!?”
The priest blustered, still reeling from the shock of being suddenly
knocked to the ground.
Zesta placed a finger beneath the priest’s chin and raised her face
up towards him.
“Despite all of the Eris church’s peculiarities, their priests are as
beautiful as always. Out of consideration of your passionate
feelings, I wouldn’t mind spending just a night with you…”
“You always get up to strange things, but you are especially harsh
today! Aah, please don’t believe him! I didn’t…!”
Before the priest could finish her words, Zesta interrupted.
“It wouldn’t do for you to look down on me! Your constant
lectures and complaints are but a tsundere’s cry for attention! So

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I’ll make myself clear! I don’t want to go out with you, but a purely
physical relationship is fine by me!”

“Isn’t that great?”

“It’s not great at all! And who are you calling a tsundere!? The
reason I keep lecturing you is because you guys keep creating
trouble for us… Will you Axis cultist just please stop causing
problems for us…?”

The Eris priests in this city must live really hard lives if stuff like
this happens almost every day.

“Accursed Eris priest who can’t be honest, is this the mouth that is
spouting blasphemy!? Allow me to seal it off with my own!”

“Zesta-sama, go right ahead!”

“Eris-sama, grant me your blessing! Power!”

After getting her strength boosted by magic, the priest threw
Cecily off her and knocked Zesta back with a punch.

As I watched what were supposedly holy people start a street
brawl, I managed to catch a glimpse of the interior of the church
through the open door…

“…? Wait a minute, did something small and black just…”

I caught a glimpse of something running swiftly into the depths of
the church, so I turned around and…

“I won’t let you off today! Prepare to meet your goddess!”

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“So you finally reveal your true colours, Eris priest! It’s just as the
scriptures said! The Goddess Eris might look meek and gentle, but
she has a terrible violent side just lurking beneath the surface!
Just looking at her worshippers, one can tell those words are
true!”
“Graaaah!”
Just as I’m considering leaving them be and going home, Cecily
approached me with a curious expression.
“Megumin-san, what’s wrong? Did seeing how violent the Eris
Priests can be scare you? Don’t worry, onee-san will protect you.”
“Just who are you calling violent!? … You’re a new face. For an
Axis Cultist, you seem pretty normal… no, you’re a Crimson
Demon, I see…”
“Hey, if you have something to say about Crimson Demons, why
don’t you go ahead and say it! … No, nevermind. More
importantly, are you keeping a pet or something in the church? I
just saw something run towards the back.”
Things won’t progress if I end up in a fight with her too, so I asked
about the creature I caught a glimpse of earlier, but…
“There’s no one apart from me in this church. And there’s no way
I can keep a pet here. Dealing with the antics of the Axis Cult is
taking up all of my energy as is. I can’t even go about my daily
business without them making a mess of things…”

114

“Please don’t look so sad. I only have a bit of money, but I’ll make
a donation later! … Still, I definitely saw something black moving
in the back…”
Something small, black, and somehow shiny.
It wasn’t a cockroach. If I had to describe it, I’d say it looked like a
very agile slime…
“As expected of the brains of the Axis Cult, Megumin. This is all a
plan to scare this priest who lives alone in this church, right?”
“As expected of Megu.”
“That’s not it, I wouldn’t do something so pointless… Ah! No, wait,
it’s true! I really did see something black moving in the back, so
please stop giving me that doubtful look!”

↲

115

116

Lighting Over Alcanretia! (Part 2)
Chapter 3: Part 1 ↲

TL: Cannongerbil
Editing: Ulti, Makentosh

“Great, now people are giving me strange looks too.”
After leaving the church behind, we wandered aimlessly around
the city.
“Oh, that’s strange. According to the rumours I’ve heard,
Megumin-san is as famous in Axel as a renowned troublemaker,
to the point where you’ve already become a household name.
There’s a high chance that the people here have been giving you
strange looks all this time, you just didn’t notice until now.”
“You’re quite famous, aren’t you?”
“H-Hold on, no, I mean, It’s true that I’ve been treated as a bit of a
local attraction, but…”
To think that there’d come a day when Axis Cultists would call me
a troublemaker.
Just as I’m reeling from the slight shock, Zesta continued.
“Honorary Advisor Megumin-san, unfortunately, it seems highly
likely that the Eris cult isn’t guilty in this incident. Even so, there
is still a dark presence in this city.”
“Did you just address me with a disturbing title there?”

117

Zesta ignored my question and continued with a deep frown.
“I recall feeling this same presence before. Yes, it’s the same
feeling from when the erotic female devil infiltrated this city. And
when the Demon King’s general, Hans, was trying to sabotage the
springs…”
“You know, Kazuma mentioned this. Religious authorities claim
that certain events are divine punishment or the will of the
heavens or such after the fact. That’s how they gain credibility
amongst the people to use to their own ends.”
“What are you saying, Megumin-san! Bring that man to me later,
I’ll teach him about the glory of Aqua-sama.”
Just then.
“Nooooo! S-Someone heeeeeelp!”
A sorrowful cry came from the inn just ahead of us.
“What’s wrong?”
When I leapt into the inn, I saw a woman who appeared to be a
member of the staff kneeling on the ground.
“T-The snack that I was looking forward to…! Something clear
and squishy grabbed it and disappeared into the pipe!”
That is definitely the work of a slime.
Zesta and Cecily looked at each other and nodded.

118

“This is definitely…”
“The Eris Church…”
“This has nothing to do with the Eris Church! If you are just going
to get in the way, please go over there!”
After shushing those two and sending them away, I gave the clerk
a smile in order to put her at ease.
“Are you hurt? It’s quite fortunate that the only casualty was a
single snack.”
But the clerk, her face a visage of despair, covered her face in her
hands and wailed.
“No, it’s over! I’m finished! If word gets out that this inn has
slimes, no one will ever want to stay here!”
“Leaving aside cockroaches, no one will really mind a tokoroten
slime or two showing up.”
Tokoroten slimes aren’t particularly regarded as disgusting, nor
are they particularly harmful to humans.
But even so, the woman shook her head.
“But there are those people who are allergic to slimes… Ahh, this
inn is finished…. I knew I should’ve accepted that offer as a chick
appraiser instead of taking over this inn… But, there might be just
one way for this place to survive…”

119

Saying that, she motioned me to come closer, almost as if she was
about to share some big secret.
Though, to be honest, the bit that really struck my curiosity was
the chick appraiser thing she mentioned.
“If I can have a cute mage girl like you work here from time to
time, the number of repeat customers will… Ah, ah, wait! Please
listen to me!”
Oh, yeah, this city is crawling with Axis Cultists.
After running out of the inn, I tried to complain to the two people
in charge of the organization…
“Megumin-san, I heard a scream coming from that way too!”
“Stop fooling around and let’s go, Megumin-san! Protecting the
peace of Alcanretia is one of the sworn duties of an Axis Cultist!”
“I’m not an Axis Cultist! Please don’t pull on me! I get it! I’ll follow
you!”
And those two excitedly led me towards the next scene.

“–So, someone stole the panties you had left out to dry?”
“Yes… that was my favourite pair too…”
The next victim was a young and quite beautiful housewife.

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It seems one of the underwear she left out to dry has gone
missing.
“By the way, what colour were those panties? And if you don’t
mind, could you tell me the size too?”
“I’ll ask about the details, so Zesta-san, please go over there for a
bit!”
I tried to chase away Zesta who asked such a question with a
straight face.
“Megumin-san, now’s not the time to be fooling around! The
young women of this city are in trouble!”
“Huh!? S-Sorry, I thought for sure that you were…”
It seems like he was seriously concerned as he reprimanded me
with a serious expression.
He oversees the operation of this city, after all. He might be
surprisingly competent when it comes to such matters.
“Now then, I would like to see another pair for use as a reference.
And if I could get a freshly removed pair for use as bait to lure the
culprit out…”
“I take back my apology!”
I grabbed Zesta by the shoulders and started shaking him. Just
then, Cecily, who has been conducting an investigation of the
area, said.

121

“Zesta-sama, please take a look at this!”
The item that Cecily was pointing at was a letter nestled within the
bundle of clothes placed next to the laundry basket.
The two of them nodded to each other and opened it…
“I’m leaving this money here to pay for the underwear. If that isn’t
enough, please contact me. Axis Cult priest, Klein… What is the
meaning of this? I don’t understand it at all.”
“This case seems like a tough one to crack. Well, the culprit is
most likely a slime, but.”
“I’ll head off to the police station… Hey, will you two let go of
me!?”

↲

122

Chapter 3: Part 2 ↲

Afterwards, we spent some wandering around the city, taking care
of a few stray slimes in the process, before taking a break at a
bench in the park.
“I didn’t expect the slimes to be spread this far throughout the
city…”
Cecily grumbled with a somber expression.
“It would seem like we have underestimated how bad the situation
is. Now then, what should we do…”
Zesta replied with an equally somber expression, and I said
towards the two of them.
“Four of the five problems we ran into is the work of an Axis
Cultist.”
After hearing that, Cecily gave me a gentle smile and said.
“… There are times in this world where everyone would be happier
if you keep the truth hidden. Megumin-san, you too have pushed
the blame onto someone else when you’ve done something bad,
right?”
“Don’t make me out to be such a villain. I’ve never…”
Just as I was about to refute it, I remembered the time I passed
the blame for the serial explosions incident back at the Crimson
Demon Village onto that devil.

123

“… Well, the person who stole the underwear cried and returned
it, so, as long as he properly reflected on his actions, I suppose I
can pretend I didn’t know about it…”
“The reason why that man was crying is because he had no choice
but to part with that pair of panties. The word ‘reflect’ doesn’t
exist in the dictionary of the Axis Cult.”
“I’m trying to go along with you, please don’t ruin it.”
Just then.
“The wyvern! The wyvern has been killed!”
A chorus of voices came from the direction of the city gates.
Wyverns aren’t as strong as true dragons, but they are still
powerful monsters, large, capable of flight and possessing a
stinger at the end of their tails that produce a powerful paralytic
venom.
I heard that the monsters around here tend to be stronger than
the ones found around Axel, but to think that it would also have
such a fearsome creature…
“The ones who defeated it are a Crimson Demon girl and a blonde
haired kid!”

–Turning my attention towards the gates, I saw the large body of a
wyvern laying there.

124

A large crowd of curious onlookers surrounded it, and at the
center of it all is of course…
“What are you two doing? Weren’t you supposed to be hunting
down slimes in the city? How did you end up going after a wyvern
that lives in the outskirts?”
“W-We couldn’t help it. We went everywhere in the city, but not a
single slime appeared. Then, the Axis Cultist thief that was
supposed to be helping us said that he detected the presence of a
strong monster outside the city and…”
Not a single slime appeared?
That’s strange. We ran into several of them just by wandering
aimlessly through the city.
No, wait, hold on…
“Say, Alice, can you tell me how high your level is right now?”
I pulled Iris away from the crowd that has formed around her and
whispered into her ear.
“My level? I’ve been eating nothing but foods that are dense with
experience points lately in preparation of the decisive battle
against the Demon King’s army, so it’s somewhere north of sixty,
but…”
I tuned her out around there.
Still, I now understand why Iris and Yunyun didn’t run into any
slimes in the city.

125

Weak monsters will instinctively avoid approaching anyone too
much stronger than them.
That means it’d be difficult for these two to help out in taking
down the slimes…
“So, what were you doing while we were out hunting big game?”
“I was hunting down the tokoroten slimes in this city and cleaning
up after the Axis Cultists. Hunting down slimes is supposed to be
your job, you know?”
Why am I, the woman who has vanquished so many generals of
the Demon King’s army, reduced to the pitiful state of hunting
down slimes in a city?
“O-Ooh, I see. So the slimes appeared in front of you, Megumin.
Ehehe, that means that our party is strong enough to scare away
slimes, but Megumin’s party is–”
“Goraaaah!”
“Kyaaaaa!”
I aggressively squeezed Yunyun’s boobs after she said something
that should never be said aloud.
“The one the slimes are afraid of isn’t you, but Alice! There isn’t
that much of a difference between your level and mine! How dare
you go wyvern hunting on your own! I wanted to take down a big
target too!”

126

“I get it! I apologize, so please let go of my breasts!”
Yunyun screamed as I squeezed her unusually well developed
breasts until they deformed.
“Megumin-san, Megumin-san, I feel like I just heard the word
breasts come from the mouth of a beautiful young girl!”
“Yes indeed. You didn’t mishear it. Yunyun here shouted it at the
top of her lungs.”
“Stop! I’ll apologize, so please stop encouraging Zesta-san!”
Well, that’s enough for now. Time to think about what to do next.
Our goal is to get rid of the tokoroten slimes within the city, but
our current methods aren’t what I could call efficient.
“Onee-san, how much do you know about slime behaviours? Is
there a way to get them all to gather at one spot?”
“Hmm, well, I have nothing to do with the slimes that are
scattered all throughout this city, but I do know a thing or two
about them. In short, slimes love beautiful girls.”
Beautiful girls…
“Er, don’t slimes have a sense of taste? Are tokoroten slimes
carnivores? I think I recall hearing about them stealing vegetables
before.”

127

“Megumin-san, what are you saying? When you talk about slimes,
you think about beautiful girls. Upon sighting a beautiful girl, it’s
a slime’s instincts to cover her with goo.”
Is this girl really right in the head?
“I see, as expected of Cecily-san. In other words, the plan is to put
Megumin-san in one of the baths that are connected to the pipes
as bait. The slimes would follow their instincts and start swarming
to the place.”
“Exactly, Zesta-sama. Fortunately, there’s a rock sauna in the
cathedral that Megumin created with her Explosion magic. We
just use it to collect holy water for bottling right now, but let’s
have Megumin-san and her friends take a relaxing bath there to
lure the slimes into one spot.”
The two of them said that with a straight face. Seriously, are they
really not insane?
“Then, as the highest level Archpriest in the Axis Cult, allow me to
take on the responsibility of protecting Megumin-san and her
friends while they act as baid.”
“No, Zesta-sama, what slimes are attracted to are beautiful girls.
They will only be attracted by the prospect of a group of girls
having fun in a steamy paradise. If a creepy old man is present
too, they wouldn’t appear. So leave protecting them to me.”
“What are you saying, Cecily-san. If an old man wouldn’t work,
then neither would a grown woman like you. But that’s of little
concern. There’s plenty of beautiful girls here, so the bait will still
work even if an old man or a woman or two were to be present.”

128

Somehow managing to say all that with a straight face, the two of
them nodded and turned to me.
“So, Megumin-san.”
“That’s the plan we’re going with.”
“I was the one who raised the idea in the first place, so I will give it
a shot, but you two will stay outside.”

↲

129

Chapter 3: Part 3 ↲

In the Axis Cult Cathedral, there exists a large open air bath
carved into the rock of the mountain.

I created this place with Explosion as a gesture of gratitude to
Cecily, and now it’s an open air bath that overlooks the entire city
of Alcanretia.

Under slightly different circumstances, this place would be
heaven, but…

“Aaaaaaah!!”

“Young lady, listen to me! Just tell me how much I have to pay!”

“Alice-chan! If you move from there, I’ll give you an Axis Cult
baptism! If you want, I can give you the spot of the head of the
Axis Cult!”

“We are the same gender, so please, let me iiiiiiin!”

The desperate wailing of the Axis cultists could be heard coming
from the other side of the door.

Iris stood in front of the entrance that connected the pool to the
changing room, preventing anyone else from entering.

I originally just wanted to put some distance between her and us
to avoid having her scare away the Tokoroten slimes, but there’s
no one else amongst us who could fend off the Axis Cultists.

“Peeking in the baths is a crime, you know?”

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“Aaah, Iris-chan, don’t look at me with such pure eyes while
saying such things! The darkness within me is screaming in pain!”

It seems like she’s trying to convince Cecily who is throwing a
tantrum over being unable to join us.

“… Say, Megumin, is this really necessary? An open air bath is
nice and all, but I just can’t relax in this place…”

“It’s not like we have any other ideas. I really doubt this will
attract tokoroten slimes. Still, we are in Alcanretia, after all. The
hot springs might be gone, but taking a bath in holy water sounds
pretty luxurious too.”

Yunyun and I let out a small sigh as we submerged ourselves up to
our chests.

For some reason, the source that used to supply Alcanretia with
spring water now produces high quality holy water instead.

There was a short period of time where things seemed rocky for
this city, before they switched to bottling the water and selling it.
Now the city is more prosperous than ever.

“If I knew we would end up like this, I would’ve brought
Chomusuke along. She has been really interested in taking baths
recently.”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but that girl really
isn’t a cat, is she?”

Just as she said that, the sliding door slid open.

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And standing right there was Cecily, who hid her body behind the
door and looked at us like she wanted to say something.
“… I started wailing, and Iris-chan said that as long as Megumin-
san and Yunyun-san were okay with it, and let me in…”
I really don’t think an adult should be crying in front of a girl even
younger than me.
“Well, as long as you swear not to do anything weird, I don’t
mind…”
“Yes!”
After quickly washing herself down, Cecily happily entered the
pool.
Then, after soaking herself all the way to her shoulders, Cecily
frowned.
“… Hmm? It feels like the effects of the holy water have weakened
since the time I was dispatched to Axel…”
“If you ask me, it’s just the Axis Cult getting their long awaited
upcomance for everything they’ve gotten up to over the years.”
“What are you saying, Megumin-san. Don’t be stupid. Still, this is
definitely odd. It feels like something else is mixed into the
water…”
Normally I would just ignore it, but the intuition of and Axis
Cultist can be surprisingly sharp when it comes to such situations.

132

“All this holy water is coming from the mountains, right? Maybe
something strange made its nest over there?”
“Hmm, it’d take some really strong poison to be able to taint holy
water like this…”
Just then, Yunyun, who was happily laying in the water, said,
“Could it be that the tokoroten slime that Cecily-san was keeping
mutated?”
Cecily suddenly tensed up upon hearing that.
“C-come now, Yunyun-san. Tokoroten slimes are extremely
harmless creatures, you know? They don’t eat meat, so they are
especially pure and tasty. There’s no way my beloved tokoroten
slime could…”
Cecily said with a laugh.
Still, the way she averted her gaze and her forced casualness made
me think that something is definitely up.
“… Just in case, let’s go check out the source…”
“Please no!”

— Standing next to a smiling Zesta, Iris gave me an apologetic
look and said.

133

“Please take care on your trip. I’m sorry I can’t be of help…”
Behind the Axis Cult’s cathedral, I waved the two of them goodbye
as we headed towards the source.
Iris would just scare away the slimes if she came with us, so she’s
staying back here.
As for Zesta, he choose to look after Iris instead of coming along
with us.
He’s been in high spirits ever since Iris started calling him Oji-
sama some time ago.
“You be careful too, Alice-chan. If an Axis Cultist gets within three
meters of you, feel free to cut them down regardless of their age or
gender.”
“Uh, Megumin-san, I’m already within three meters of her.”
Despite saying that, Zesta doesn’t make any movements to
distance himself from her.
“Just so you know, this girl is a unbelievably important person.
Even if you are the head of the Axis Cult, if you do anything
strange, your head is going to roll too. This isn’t a joke, so please
don’t do anything stupid, okay?”
“Humans are strange and complex creatures whose desire to do
something increases the more you tell them not to do it…”
Maybe it’ll be really for the best to just tie this old man up.

134

↲

135

Chapter 3: Part 4 ↲

In the depths of the mountain that looms over the city, at the end
of a steep mountain trail, lies the source that supplies holy water
to the entire city.
“They really were here, the tokoroten slimes.”
“Noooo!”
Around the source are a crowd of the now familiar squishy forms
of tokoroten slimes.
But that’s not all.
In the center of the crowd of slimes is a small black one, currently
feasting on something in front of the water source
“Ah, wait, do you see that, Megumin-san!? They are offering it
food! That mysterious slime that I’ve never seen before is bullying
my slimes in order to extract tribute from them! That means it’s
not my fault at all!”
“Really? Judging from how things went so far, it wouldn’t be
strange if that black slime is connected to you too.”
Just as Cecily stiffened for a moment in response to my words.
The black slime that was happily accepting the procession of food
that the tokoroten slimes are offering it turned its attention to us.
“!?”

136

The black slime-like creature looked like it sucked in a surprised
breath before taking on a very human like pose.
“Onee-san who knows a lot about slimes, is that thing really a
slime? It seems like it’s pretty intelligent.”
“Well, it’s one of mine, after all. I modified it, so it wouldn’t be
odd for it to develop some intelligence too!”
Even though she was saying something about having never seen
that slime before just a while ago, Cecily extended her palm
towards that creature.
And then, the closest one to being a proper adventurer amongst
us, Yunyun, suddenly stiffened.
“Wait, a black, poisonous slime, could that be…!”
It would seem like Yunyun finally got in touch with her inner
Crimson Demon.
“So you noticed it too, huh. Yes, that is the one talked about in the
Crimson Demon Village, the legendary-!”
“What are you saying out of the blue!? That’s not it! That a
particularly dangerous type of slime-”
I tried to play along with her, but she got angry instead.
At the same time, the black thing started moving.
“Oh? Young girl, do you know about me?”

137

“It spoke!?” x3
138

139

We can’t help but squeak in surprise upon hearing it speak.
“Onee-san, the tokoroten slime spoke! Just what on earth did you
make!? More importantly, it’s a slime, so where is it keeping it’s
brain?”
“The brain thing is a mystery too, but where is that voice coming
from!? Still, my genius terrifies even me… To think that my
tokoroten slime could evolve so far…!”
“That’s not the part you should be focusing on, you two!”
Yunyun drew her wand from her belt and put it between her and
the slime-like creature.
“A non humanoid monster capable of speaking human languages
must be a fairly high classed monsters. Just what are you?”
“… Well, to be honest, I have no idea exactly what I am either.
However,”
“Yunyun-san, that’s one of my children! Something must have
happened while I was away for it to be born. It’s a tokoroten slime
subspecies… Choppy! Yes, from today onwards, it shall be known
as Choppy!”
Cecily interrupted just as the slime was about say something
serious, and gave it the name of Choppy.
But Choppy, after what seemed to be a moment of thought, said.

140

“No, I don’t have a lot of memories, but I don’t think my name
was Choppy. And the name tokoroten slime sounds like some kind
of joke…”
“You sure are a good joker, Choppy! Come on, stop playing over
there and come home with me, Choppy! … Megumin-san, a
talking slime is sure to fetch a great price amongst interested
collectors. If things go well, onee-san is going to be rich. You
wouldn’t mind going on a date with me then, right?”
It seems like she intends to sell Choppy off to some collectors.
At the same time, Cecily invited me on a date.
When that happens, I’ll have her treat me to some delicious food.
“You are being annoying, woman! My name isn’t Choppy, it
should be something more along the lines of Rance or Vince!”
Choppy raised a voice of protest, and its small bun like body
shook as he did.
“Why not, Choppy sounds so much cooler! Megumin-san, what
should I do? Choppy suddenly entered his rebellious phase!”
“I don’t really get what is going on, but please calm down,
Choppy-san. I think that name is really cool.”
“Having my name be praised by a Crimson Demon doesn’t make
me happy at all! … Crimson Demon? Oh, yeah, Crimson Demons!”
Choppy, who got all indignant all of a sudden, made a sound like
it just suddenly realized something.

141

“Both of you, get behind me! You can’t touch that slime! There’s
no doubt about it, that is a powerful monster that has poison
strong enough to kill you on contact coursing through it…!”
Perhaps it’s because her Crimson Demon blood finally awoken,
but Yunyun has been working herself up for a while now.
Though, Yunyun isn’t the only one getting worked up.
“Why do I know of the Crimson Demons? Why do I know that the
Crimson Demons have a strange naming sense…? Just what am
I…”
Choppy turned away and started questioning himself.
“What have you done, Yunyun-san? Now Choppy has already
picked up the strange habits of Crimson Demons.”
“But a slime that acts like a Crimson Demon sounds cool. But,
Yunyun, the story you’ve come up with is really bland. You
should’ve given it a more impressive sounding power. Something
like being able to increase in size or fire beams, or even adopt the
form of a human.
“Will the two of you please be serious!? This slime is really
dangerous!”
As Yunyun admonished us with glowing eyes, Choppy once again
shook as though he made some kind of new connection.
“I am dangerous…? Yes, I used to be strong in the past. Just as the
Crimson Demon girl said, simply touching me will forfeit your life.

142

Everywhere I go, everyone would react with terror and open a
path… ”
“Megumin-san, I know we are getting worked up too, but maybe
it’s best if we do something? Choppy just said something like he
used to be like an unsheathed knife in the past, so we should
probably do something before it becomes an embarrassing
memory for him.”
“Shh, it’s just starting to get good, so let’s just keep watching for a
while. I’m sure they’ll come up with something like they used to
be hated foes that fought in fierce battles all the time or
something.”
And thus we decided to watch them from the sidelines as Yunyun
and Choppy continued facing off against each other.
“So what am I doing all the way out here? Why am I getting slimes
to gather food for me? I feel like… I feel like I’m on just the verge
of remembering something…!”
“I don’t really get it, but I can’t let something as dangerous as you
remain here! If you swear never to harm humans and go back into
the forest, I’ll let you go!”
Watching the two of them maintain this serious atmosphere, I
somehow get the feeling of being left behind.
Choppy stiffened for a moment, before saying.
“I cannot obey your words. I have some business at this place
where hot water gushes out from the depths of the earth. I don’t

143

fully understand it, but I know that my mission is to taint this
place. Plus…”
Despite being a slime, Choppy puffed out his chest.
“Plus, there’s no way I can let you go now that I know that you are
Crimson Demons! There’s nothing I hate more than Crimson
Demons and Axis Cultists!”
And spat such caustic words at Yunyun.
This thing sure has some guts for being a weak and useless
tokoroten slime.
“Megumin-san, did I make a mistake in raising Choppy? He just
said he hates Crimson Demons.”
“It said it hated Axis Cultists too. It must be because of your
neglectful parenting.”
Just then.
“Oh, yes, now I remember why I hate Crimson Demons and Axis
Cultists! I remember everything!”
Choppy raised itself up like it was about to make some grand
speech and said.
“I am a deadly poison slime and a general of the Demon King!
Yes, my name is-!”
“I am the strongest mage in Axel and a Crimson Demon! Yes, my
name is Megumin!”

144

“… I guess you just got caught up in the flow, huh, Megumin-san?
Still, you shouldn’t steal other people’s spotlight like that.”
“Sorry, I let my Crimson Demon instincts get away from me…
Chappy-san, you can continue now.”
“What is wrong with you!? If you are just going to get in the way,
please go somewhere else! … No, wait, I remember you!”
Perhaps because I interrupted it earlier, but Choppy seems to be
directing its attentions towards me now.
“Onee-san, maybe I should join in too? It’s pretty haphazard, but
what do you think about me and Choppy being rivals in a past
life?”
“That’d be pretty insulting to your current rival Yunyun, wouldn’t
it? Why don’t we have Choppy be your long lost father instead?
“But I have a father. He lives in the Crimson Demon Village…
Choppy-san, what do you think?”
“Who cares about that!? More importantly, do you really not
remember!? My size has changed, but you waged a fierce battle
with me back then, didn’t you!?”
Choppy angrily shouted, its body quivering with rage.
“So you prefer the rival scenario, then?”
“I prefer the long lost father scenario, though. I wanted to see
Megumin-san falling into darkness after learning that she’s the

145

daughter of a slime. Then, my prayers would bring her back to her
senses, and she’d live with me for the rest of her life.”
I quite like the sound of falling into darkness, but I don’t really
fancy where it ends up.
“What do you think?” x2
“Y-You little… That’s enough…!”
Just then.
“Inferno!”
At Yunyun’s voice, a field of fire erupted from the earth, engulfing
both Choppy and the small horde of tokoroten slimes that
surrounded it.
“Choppy!!!”
Cecily let out a tearful cry.
“S-Sorry, Cecily-san… But, that slime is…”
Yunyun apologized in a small voice.
Still, it was someone who she exchanged names and talked with.
Even if it is a tokoroten slime, one couldn’t help but form some
kind of attachments after that.
I patted Cecily on the back to comfort her after she fell to her
knees in tears.

146

“… He would’ve sold for a lot of money… Choppy was going to
make me rich… And I would’ve gone on a date with Megumin
after I got rich… And all those tokoroten slimes too were lost in an
instant…”
“Your words are making Choppy turn in his grave, you know?
Also, those tokoroten slimes have been in the pipes and who
knows where else, so it’s best if you don’t eat them.”
At this point, the flames that Yunyun conjured started to go out.
Only, there’s a cracking sound coming from the blaze.
The sound of something stepping on the ground that has been
turned to glass by the heat of Yunyun’s spell.
“As expected of a Crimson Demon, that was some crazy power. Of
course, as a Demon King’s General, I, Hans-”
“It’s alive! It’s alive, Onee-san! Choppy didn’t die!”
“Hooray!”
Cecily and I clasped our hands and jumped in joy.
“Why are you two cheering!? I’m begging you, please be serious!”
“Shut up and let me introduce myself already! You know what,
nevermind! I’ll start with you who attacked me! Then, I’ll move on
to that chibisuke who once rendered me to pieces!”
Could that Chibisuke it’s talking about be referring to me?

147

To think that there’d come a day when a tokoroten slime would
pick a fight with me.
“To be able to withstand an Inferno, it seems like you are not just
an ordinary Deadly poison slime! Then, how about this!? Lighting
Strike!”
At Yunyun’s words, a series of lighting bolts descended from the
sky directly onto Choppy.
It caused Choppy’s body to sparkle and smoke, but even after
taking such an assault, Choppy still seemed as fine as ever.
“That’s some impressive power for one so young. However, just
one or two advanced spells are nowhere near enough to defeat the
likes of me!”
The moment it finished saying that, Choppy launched itself
towards Yunyun like a thrown ball.
Yunyun threw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding making
contact with Choppy.
“Megumin-san, Megumin-san! Yunyun and Choppy have started a
really impressive looking battle!”
“It may be a slime, but after having gone so long without making a
single friend, I’m sure she’s happy to finally find one she can play
with.”
“That’s not it at all! Can’t you see how serious this is!?”

148

Something as small as Choppy wouldn’t cause much damage even
if it were to collide with someone, but it seems like Yunyun is
keeping true to the setting where a single touch with Choppy is
instantly lethal.
Choppy came around for another pass at Yunyun, which she
fended off by hitting it with her wand.
“Ooh, that’s really far… You must be really enjoying yourself,
Yunyun.”
“Yeah. Isn’t it great that you found someone to play with, Yunyun-
san?”
“Stop watching and help me already!”
Yunyun spluttered between gasps as she readied her wand yet
again, and Choppy came flying back towards her.
Actually…
“Onee-san, don’t you think Choppy is a little too strong? Yunyun
is the next chief in line for the Crimson Demons, and she’s also my
self proclaimed rival. It’s really strange for her to have this much
trouble with a single slime.”
“The slime powder has been hidden in the Axis Cult cathedral for
quite some time, so maybe it received some of Aqua-sama’s
protection.”
I see.

149