Kōichi leisurely swirled the red wine in his glass, but his sharp eyes caught the glow in Megumin's pupils. It had begun to flicker like a flashlight running out of power, blinking faster and faster.
"Oh no. The Frenzy Fruit is wearing off."
Kōichi's heart skipped a beat. He knew Megumin far too well.
Her first reaction after regaining consciousness definitely would not be embarrassment. She would first check where her staff was, then blast everyone who had witnessed her humiliation straight into the sky.
He quickly set down his wineglass and glided to Kazuma's side like a ghost, speaking with the urgency of a commander ordering a suicide charge.
"Hey, Kazuma! Listen carefully. Megumin's about to wake up! Give her a quick peck on the forehead while you still can, finish your heroic farewell-kiss scene, and then we jump straight out the window and run! Wait another five minutes, and you'll be meeting Aqua at the Temple of Resurrection!"
To Kōichi's surprise, however, Kazuma Satou, who normally fled faster than anyone at the first hint of danger, now seemed completely enveloped in some kind of pure love aura that had destroyed his common sense. His face took on an unprecedented solemnity beneath his sequined suit, tinged with an almost tragic resolve.
"No, Kōichi. I refuse."
Kazuma brushed Kōichi's hand aside, his eyes fixed on the girl before him. Megumin's gaze was growing unfocused, yet she still clung to the hem of his clothes.
"If I take advantage of her with a trick like this, how am I any different from those succubi in my dreams? I, Kazuma Satou, may be a degenerate, but I'm still a man with dignity! With this atmosphere and this perfect timing... I'm going to confess to her properly! I'll win over this little Crimson Demon Clan brat in the real world, fair and square!"
"Huh? Are you serious?"
Kōichi stared at him as if he were insane.
"You call that winning her over? You're practically handing yourself over to her! Can't you see the red glow in her eyes has already turned pink? That means her brain is about to crash and reboot!"
Kazuma was no longer listening.
He drew a deep breath, clasped Megumin's burning-hot hand in his own, and dropped to one knee on the expensive velvet carpet.
"Megumin! Listen to me!"
Kazuma's voice echoed through the silent top-floor restaurant, trembling with the resolve of a man who had decided to risk everything.
"You have a terrible personality, you're a crazy Wizard who can only cast one spell, and you call me a shut-in every single day... But! But, well... I don't actually hate any of that! In fact, I want to carry you home on my back every day after you cast Explosion Magic! So... so listen carefully! I, Kazuma Satou, am in love with you!"
Silence.
Dead silence.
Aqua, who had been stuffing herself with food and drink, froze with a chicken leg still clutched in her hand, staring blankly at the scene.
At that exact moment, the last trace of red light vanished from Megumin's eyes, replaced by the clarity of reason.
First, she looked around in confusion at the lavish decor. Then she lowered her gaze to Kazuma, kneeling before her with an expression of utter devotion. Finally, fragments of memory raced through her mind. The alcohol, her incoherent rambling, the hugging, and that deafening declaration of love from just moments ago.
Megumin's face visibly changed from pink to deep purple. Wisps of steam even began rising from the top of her head.
"Ka... Kazuma..."
Her voice trembled with a mixture of bewilderment, shame, and fury.
"Wh-what did you just... say? And why am I here...? What is this disgusting outfit you're wearing?!"
Kōichi silently took three steps back and grabbed Aqua, who was still enjoying the show, by the back of her collar.
"Aqua, get a defensive spell or Resurrection ready. Things are about to get bloody."
Kōichi had already prepared himself for a shockwave powerful enough to register as a level-five earthquake, or even to be blasted beyond the walls of Axel City. He had also located the nearest escape route.
What happened next, however, left him completely dumbfounded.
Kazuma, a man who normally broke into a lecherous grin just from making eye contact with a girl, now seemed possessed by some indescribable force known as the protagonist's aura.
Not only did Megumin's murderous glare fail to intimidate him, but he also let out a low, magnetic growl, or at least one he believed sounded magnetic. His gold-sequined suit glittered as he lunged forward, stretched out his arms, and pulled the steaming Crimson Demon Clan girl tightly against his chest with a mixture of forcefulness and tenderness.
"Shut up, Megumin! I don't need your Explosion right now, and I don't need your sharp tongue either!"
Kazuma buried his face against Megumin's shoulder. His voice was muffled, yet carried an overbearing authority that refused to accept any objection.
"I know you want to kill me right now, but before you do, listen to my heartbeat! Can't you tell who's making it race this fast?!"
Kōichi sucked in a sharp breath and nearly dropped the memory crystal.
"Holy crap, that line... What outdated shoujo manga did he steal that from? And what's with that domineering CEO act? This is revolting. He's reached an entirely new level of degeneracy!"
Then something happened that completely shattered Kōichi's understanding of the world.
Megumin's pride was more destructive than Explosion Magic, and she normally flew into a rage if someone so much as touched her head. Yet the moment Kazuma embraced her, the staff she had already raised slipped silently from her hand and fell onto the carpet.
Her red eyes, which had been burning with shame and fury, contracted for a moment before gradually growing misty and unfocused.
She did not struggle. She did not even utter her trademark insult, "perverted shut-in."
Instead, she reached out with her slender hands and hesitantly wrapped her trembling arms around Kazuma's dazzling gold suit, curling into his embrace like a frightened kitten.
"Ka... Kazuma..."
Megumin's voice was so soft and sweet that Kōichi wondered whether Aqua had somehow switched places with her.
"You... you big idiot... Couldn't you just say things like that... and do things like this... in a dream...? Why do you have to make things so difficult for me in real life too...?"
Despite claiming to be troubled, she buried her face, now so red it looked ready to bleed, deep against Kazuma's chest.
The top floor of the Starry Sky Tower fell into a strange silence filled with invisible pink bubbles.
"Hey, Kōichi."
Aqua stuffed the last bread roll into her mouth and poked him in the side, looking puzzled.
"Are those two playing some new kind of wrestling game? Why isn't Megumin blowing him up? Did Kazuma smear some tasty jam on himself?"
Kōichi silently recorded the entire scene with the memory crystal, even zooming in on Megumin's small hand clutching tightly at Kazuma's back.