Kōichi stepped out of the succubus shop. Axel's cool late-night breeze brushed against his face, clearing the alcohol-induced haze from his mind.
The scene the succubus manager had described kept replaying in his head: the setting sun, the ruins, a bashful Megumin, and Kazuma cutting an imposing figure in his dream.
"Sure, that guy is usually such a degenerate that he makes you want to call the police, but when I think about it, we're comrades who fought our way up from the beginner village together. Watching him search for such a pitiful sense of accomplishment only in his dreams makes me feel like I've failed in my duties as team leader."
Kōichi stopped and looked toward the mansion, a complicated smile tugging at his lips. It contained equal parts satisfaction from helping someone and delight at the chaos that would follow.
Rather than watch Kazuma wake up disappointed tomorrow morning, why not help push his dream just one tiny step closer to reality?
After returning to the mansion, Kōichi did not go back to his room. Instead, he quietly slipped into the kitchen.
He remembered that among the pile of expensive liquor Aqua had brought home was a bottle of a Crimson Demon Village specialty produced nearby, Frenzy Fruit Wine.
To ordinary people, the wine simply tasted harsh and spicy. To members of the Crimson Demon Clan, however, it had a strange side effect similar to a truth potion combined with extreme excitement.
Kōichi took out a small bottle of the fruit wine, then grabbed a piece of Megumin's favorite smoked meat from the refrigerator.
"Everything's ready. All I need now is tomorrow's Explosion."
...
At noon the next day, in the wilderness outside Axel City.
As usual, after unleashing her earth-shaking [Explosion], Megumin dropped to the ground with a thud like a discarded rag.
Today, however, Kōichi deliberately made no move to carry her. Instead, he turned toward Kazuma, who was still half asleep nearby, drooling with a lecherous grin on his face.
"Hey, Kazuma! Stop reliving your adult magic! Megumin's magic backlash looks especially serious today. Her breathing's getting weaker!"
Kōichi summoned his inner award-winning actor and shouted in a frantic voice.
"Wh-what?! Megumin?!"
Kazuma jolted awake, the lingering bliss of his dream still fresh in his mind. The moment he heard the word "backlash," his body moved before his brain could catch up. He slid across the ground on his knees and scooped up the fallen Megumin.
"Hey! Megumin! Are you okay? Don't scare me like that! You still haven't learned from me... Ahem, you haven't seen me become a hero yet!"
While neither of them was paying attention, Kōichi quickly stuffed the piece of smoked meat soaked in Frenzy Fruit Wine into Megumin's mouth.
"Mmm... Mmm?"
Megumin instinctively chewed twice and swallowed.
Less than three seconds later, the Crimson Demon Clan girl's pale face turned bright red. Even her red left eye began emitting a visible crimson glow.
Under the combined effects of the alcohol and the Frenzy Fruit, Megumin's reason instantly short-circuited. Through her blurred vision, Kazuma's figure somehow overlapped perfectly with the world-saving hero from her dream.
"Ka... Kazuma..."
Instead of unleashing her usual sharp tongue, Megumin reached out with a trembling hand and grabbed Kazuma by the collar. She curled up against his chest, her voice barely louder than a whisper and tinged with tears.
"You... you idiot... Why did you take so long to come...? I... I really admire you... Please... please teach me... the things other than Explosion Magic... those things..."
Kazuma's brain immediately stopped working.
This feeling, those words, even the identical sunset in the background. It was actually noon, but as far as he was concerned, it was sunset.
"My... my dream came true?!"
With trembling hands, Kazuma hugged the petite girl tightly as tears spilled from his eyes.
"Megumin! I... I've been waiting for this moment too!"
Kōichi stood a short distance away, recording the historic scene with a memory crystal as he sighed with satisfaction.
"No need to thank me, Kazuma. Megumin might blast you into ashes with Explosion once she sobers up, but at least for this moment, you're the happiest man in Axel."
Kōichi looked at the scene before him, which resembled an illustration from a cheap romance light novel, and struggled to hold back his laughter. He hurried over to Kazuma, who was still blissfully cradling Megumin in his arms, then lowered his voice and spoke in the enticing tone of a tactical commander.
"Hey, Kazuma. Now that your dream has become reality, are you really going to let your greatest moment end here in the mud, out in the middle of nowhere? Look at Megumin right now. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Take her to Axel's finest restaurant, the Starry Sky Tower. With candlelight and music setting the mood... Heh. You might even get to reenact everything left on those three pages in real life."
Kazuma's entire body trembled violently. He raised his head, his face looking particularly twisted beneath the glittering sequined suit, filled with both ecstasy and unease.
"The Starry Sky Tower?! That first-class restaurant where a single meal costs a hundred thousand Eris and you have to reserve a table a month in advance?! That's right! I have money now! I'm a man with forty million Eris!"
He looked down at Megumin, who was still rubbing against him while mumbling that Kazuma was the coolest. His expression immediately hardened with determination.
"Kōichi, you really are my brother from another world! Let's go! We're going right now! I'll show everyone in Axel that I, Kazuma Satou, am no shut-in. I'm a real man who can take the Crimson Demon Clan's greatest genius out for top-class French cuisine!"
"That's the spirit. But Megumin can't walk in her current condition, so you'll have to carry her."
As Kōichi spoke, he expertly activated the memory crystal.
"Don't worry. There's still money left in the public fund. I'll book the entire floor in the Party's name. Tonight, you are the king of Axel."
Half an hour later, an utterly absurd spectacle appeared in the streets of Axel.
A boy wearing a blinding gold sequined suit, with the words "nouveau riche" practically written across his face, was carrying a completely limp Crimson Demon Clan girl in his arms like a princess. Her face was flushed bright red, and she kept letting out strange little giggles.
Behind them, Kōichi marched with a solemn expression, directing several musicians he had hired at great expense. They followed along while playing a rousing melody that sounded like a hero returning in triumph.
Aqua skipped along behind them with a large sack of unfinished expensive liquor on her back, occasionally popping an expensive grape into her mouth.
"I have no idea what you're all doing, but since there's a feast involved, this Goddess will graciously accompany you! Hey, Kazuma! I'm ordering the most expensive grilled meat on the menu!"
When the boisterous group stormed into the Starry Sky Tower restaurant, the tailcoat-wearing waiter at the entrance, who normally looked down his nose at everyone, was left completely dumbfounded.
"G-guests, this establishment requires a reservation..."
Without changing his expression, Kōichi pulled a thick stack of Eris from inside his clothes and slapped it against the waiter's chest.
"Then make the reservation now. Book the top floor. Immediately. Right now. Also, bring out your best hangover remedy... No, your best aphrodisiac... Ahem. I mean, light your finest mood-enhancing incense."
The waiter stared at the stack of Eris, enough money to cover half a lifetime of wages, then immediately bent at the waist and flashed a smile brighter than any succubus's.
"Honored Hero, the top-floor observation deck has already been prepared for you! This way, please!"
...
On the top floor, Axel's beautiful nightscape stretched beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Kazuma carefully placed Megumin in a chair beside the velvet-covered table, then sat across from her. He straightened his back and did his best to maintain his heroic bearing.
Megumin, meanwhile, had entered the final peak of the Frenzy Fruit's effects. She lay sprawled across the table, staring fixedly at Kazuma with her glowing red eyes. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed his hand, her voice so sweet it was almost cloying.
"U-um... Kazuma... Since the mood is so nice... shouldn't we... do something... even more... heart-pounding than Explosion?"
The wineglass slipped from Kazuma's hand and clattered to the floor. At the sound of her saying his name, he looked ready to melt on the spot.
Standing in the shadows nearby, Kōichi elegantly sliced into his steak and whispered to Aqua beside him.
"Did you record that? This is precious footage for blackmailing them later... Ahem. I mean, for playing at their wedding."