Power Corrupts: Divine Grace (ch. 75) (Patreon)

Apparently, giant frogs were kinda a big deal, I learned as Kazuma, Aqua, and I strode out of the city gates with a quest to kill at least five of them. The show kinda glossed over it, but the frogs ate farm animals primarily. However, more than once, a Little Timmy had been playing outside, only to get gobbled up by a giant frog lurking in the distance. So, the quest had a pretty decent reward considering that, and there wasn't a level limit because the town just wanted them dead.

That being said… in light of that information, it was pretty scary that the frogs hung around so close to the city. And the fact that this quest had no level requirement. And I have yet to see any children Adventures because there also wasn’t an age requirement to become an Adventurer. All of this painted a very gruesome picture that I’m really hoping was just my imagination.

"Erm… Senpai?" Kazuma questioned, fingering the sword that resided at his waist. Aqua was carrying a staff, the one she wielded as a god. Not really sure where she got it, but I really didn't care either.

"Yes, Kazuma?"

"Since you're a Craftsman…" he trailed off, apparently not quite sure how to phrase the question. I still understood what he meant, though.

I offered a shrug, "I don't need the experience," I dismissed. Since I took the job Craftsman, I was unable to level up by fighting. Killing an enemy gave me no experience at all. I had to test it to make sure, but I might not even be able to raise my combat stats. But, I really didn't care. With my stats and the Thu'um, I was confident I could handle anything this world could throw my way. "The goal is to power level you two. We kill the frogs as a proof of concept -- if it works, then we start clearing out the other quests I took out."

Then we used the reward money to get them some decent gear. I would take the souls of the monsters I slayed to enchant that gear, and then I'd kick the both of them out of my backyard and into the wider world like a proud parent.

"Thank you very much, Senpai!" Kazuma snapped off a crisp salute as we headed towards a set of rolling hills just outside of the city gates. Aqua yawned tiredly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she dragged her feet. She looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Or maybe she was just lazy. Either way it was probably fine since she wasn't likely to be eaten, but if she was…

Meh.

Reaching the top of a hill, I looked out at the vast stretch of land on the other side and spotted several giant frogs hopping about. They looked like normal frogs, just a couple thousand times larger. The smallest of them was about as tall as a semi-truck, and they only got larger from there. Some of them looked like they could eat even me in a single bite.

"Ew, gross! Frogs aren't cute at all!" Aqua muttered, staring disdainfully at the creatures. It was annoying, but I was inclined to agree with her. They were huge, yet fat creatures covered in scaly and bumpy skin. The fact some were hot pink or bright orange didn't help their case either.

I didn't voice that opinion in favor of holding out my hand and summoning Soul Edge into it in a flash of fire and sparks. The ominous blade glowered at Kazuma and Aqua with the eye embedded into the blade. I heard Kazuma tsk, and I could guess his thoughts -- yeah, you really should have gone with an OP item. But, if he did that, then Aqua wouldn't be suffering in this mortal realm with the rest of us.

"Kazuma, watch closely. In theory, you can learn this skill after watching me do it," I told him, earning a dutiful nod. The skills appeared on the Adventurer Card, so he should be able to learn them. It was a bit annoying to hand over skills I had worked so hard for, but that was life. The more help Kazuma got now, the easier he could defeat the Demon King and the faster I got to go home. "First, you grab the sword like this, then you shape your mana to run along the edge of the blade, then you let it run up the blade so it all gathers at the tip, escaping at the top when you swing like this."

I swung Soul Edge, sending an arc of energy towards one of the frogs. However, there was something a bit different about it. Before, it was just shaped air. Now the attack was made of fire, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye, and cutting through the frog below its waist. There was no blood, the severed legs were charred black, flash burnt, and yet the arc of fire continued on scything into a hill behind it.

Then through the hill behind that hill. And another one. And another one. And another one. It showed no signs of stopping and probably could have kept going on like that for several more hills, but since it was aimed at a downward angle, the arc of fire raced into the earth and disappeared from sight. Which was good. Great, even. It just meant that we only had to deal with five rolling hills covered in lush green and highly flammable grass beginning to burn from the passing intense heat.

"Ah," I uttered, blinking once as the serene picture of nature with massive frogs frolicking about was rapidly turned into a burning hellscape. My gaze shifted to Soul Edge -- so, this was the power of an OP item? That was… sufficiently OP.

Kazuma watched the growing hellfire with an expression that grew in proportion with the spread of the flames. "Er, Senpai… I don't know if I should learn that skill?" Yeah, I could see why he would think that.

"Eh, it'll be fine," I dismissed his worries. "Aqua? Put out the fire."

Aqua looked to me, then to the burning hellfire below that was filled with the screeching of frogs being cooked alive. She cast me a dirty look that was undercut when the breeze changed direction, hitting us in the face with a wall of smoke. Aqua hacked and coughed, using her staff as a fan to get smoke out of her face. Even still, she managed to get out a retort. "Why me? You're the one that set the place on fire!"

"Because I said so. Unless you're saying you want to find somewhere else to live?" I questioned, an edge to my tone as I really started to feel the heat on my face. My ears were filled with the sound of the crackling fire as it spread through the tall grass, more fires starting as flaming giant frogs tried to outrun the fire that covered them. Luckily, they died from shock not long after.

"SACRED CREATE WATER!" Aqua quickly changed her tune, pointing her staff at the blazing inferno before the staff's tip began to glow. A magical circle appeared overhead, just barely visible with all the smoke in the air. It plumed out when thousands of tons of water fell from the sky, slamming into the dirt with earth-shattering force, washing over the hills and valleys. Steam erupted as the flames were extinguished. In a minute, the smoke and steam vanished, revealing...

"See? It's fine," I dismissed. The hills that were once covered in lush green grass and vibrant flowers with nature critters mucking about were replaced with pitch black and charred mounds of dirt. Some of which were half blasted apart at the point of impact where the water had landed. It pooled there unless it managed to flood outwards. It washed away the frog bodies too. Annoying, but not a problem -- the Adventurer Cards recorded kills. Somehow.

A quick look at it showed that the quest was marked complete. Neat.

"Let's go. The frogs didn't work out, but let's see if I can power level you two with something else. What other quests did I take…?" I muttered, walking away from the devastated countryside, absentmindedly tossing Soul Edge into my inventory.

…

It made sense, in hindsight, that Kazuma could admit. He heard the moral of the story somewhere before -- hard work pays off better than the easy way. A lie, Kazuma suspected, peddled by those that ruled society with an iron fist to trick poor saps into being dutiful drones of society. If you weren’t born a trust fund child or didn’t win the genetic lottery, then you were forever doomed to work the death march of Japanese work culture.

However, that moral carried a bit more weight when it came to physical exercise. Doubly so when it came to fighting. Which was the core of the issue.

Jericho-senpai… he was OP as hell. Probably more so than some of the options Kazuma had eyed before picking the useless goddess as his cheat item. Kazuma didn't really know the full story behind it, but it was clear that Jericho-senpai was the mentor character that had already undergone his own shounen story. So, what happens when you take an already OP character, and then hand them an OP item?

Chaos. Chaos, and destruction.

"S-Senpai…" Kazuma trailed off, dutifully standing guard inside of the wagon that he had been charged with protecting. Aqua clung to him, shaking like a leaf, which is why the sword in his hand was trembling. Outside of the wagon were sounds of combat… no, calling it combat would be a gross exaggeration. It sounded like pure slaughter. More than once, droplets of red blood splashed across the canvas that covered their cart. "D-d-do you you need any help out there?"

Please, say no. Please say no. Pleasesayno!

"I'm good. Sorry, I'm having a little trouble finding a good monster for you two to finish off. Everything out here is too damn weak," Jericho-sama replied, reassuring scaring Kazuma in equal measures. Weak? Weak?!

No! You're just too damn strong, you freak of nature! Having stats in the thousands? Did he not even realize how incredibly overpowered he was?! Mid-tier adventurers had stats around a hundred. What made them high tier was getting more than a hundred in each stat -- the only exception was something called a Crimson Demon. The point being? Jericho-sama was an elite adventurer about a dozen times over! What the fuck?! Go kill the Demon King yourself! Don't pass your work to me, you lazy bum!

Is what Kazuma wanted to say.

"Ah… right… that so…? Well, we'll… we'll just stay inside here then…" Kazuma said, what little blood was left in his face draining when a splash of gore painted the canvas so thickly that it began to seep through.

"I want to go home. I want potato chips. I want soda…" Aqua clung to him, and a pang of guilt echoed in his chest. He honestly did feel a bit bad for picking her, seeing her like this. He couldn't even enjoy her breasts pressed into his side -- she had a pretty rotten personality, but that's what good looks were for, right? It was a rough start, but it would all be okay in the end.

He'd end up with a waifu, and after slaying the Demon King, all the pretty girls in the world would be throwing themselves at him. He could pawn off the Demon King's treasure piece by piece… most places would be honored to serve him for free! It.. it was just a little work now, then nothing but luxury after…

"Huh… One Hit Bear my ass. Kazuma, Aqua? It's okay to come out now," Jericho-sama said, making Kazuma and Aqua look at each other. The same thought must have gone through their heads because they both swallowed thickly, before Kazuma reached out to the tarp, with his sword, ready to… flail uselessly if it came down to it. Pushing it to the side revealed…

Death and destruction. A once peaceful, if untamed path through the wilderness was covered in signs of a fierce battle. Felled trees, and craters in the ground, but most noticeably were the disfigured bodies of a multitude of creatures. All monsters of some kind -- Kazuma didn't know enough about this world, but he could guess that they were all powerful. Probably endgame bosses, and they were all treated like trash mobs by Jericho-sama.

Kazuma offered a small bow and prayer to the deceased monsters. May they find a less overpowered opponent in the next life.

Walking around the wagon, Kazuma froze misstep, an expression of panic etched onto his face the moment that his eyes landed on the One Hit Bear. It was absolutely huge, easily the size of a small building, if that building was made out of pure muscle that was just barely covered by chestnut brown fur. It looked supremely powerful, worthy of a cool-sounding name like One Hit Bear… except for the aura of pure pants-shitting terror that it gave off and Jericho-sama's boot on top of its head. Jericho-sama was unharmed. The only signs of battle were the bloodstains on his hands and pushed-up sleeves.

Barehanded. He defeated the One Hit Bear barehanded.

"Aw, the bear is kinda cute-" Aqua remarked, only to be interrupted by Jericho.

"Kazuma, come finish the thing off," Jericho ordered, who ignored the upset expression of Aqua with what could only be described as practiced ease. Kazuma blanched, looking down at the feeble sword in his hands, then at the bear. One of its eyes was missing, a long but old scar marking the wound, while the last eye stared at him with defeat.

Kazuma swallowed thickly, taking a step forward towards the bear, wary of it lashing out. Except, when Kazuma looked at its arms… he found them shattered to the point his stomach clenched at the sight- "It's fine to be squeamish. You'll get used to it. For now, just take your sword, stab it in the eye all the way to the hilt. You're putting it out of its misery," Jericho-sama reassured, earning a hesitant nod from Kazuma.

It wasn't any different than power leveling in a video game. This would be easy -- even the part he had to work for before living it up after the Demon King dies would be streamlined thanks to Jericho-sama. He… he just had to stab the thing in the eye.

Kazuma took the final step forward, seeing his reflection in the eye of the beast. It stared at him as he rose his sword, silently pleading with Kazuma not to do it… he hesitated a moment before Kazuma steeled his resolve and thrust the sword forward. The tip pierced the monster's eye, the blade sinking in until the hilt hit the eye socket and passed into its brain. The One Hit Bear let out a shuddering breath before it went limp in death.

"There we go. So, how much did that get you?" Jericho-sama questioned, making Kazuma fish out his Adventurer Card. He looked at it…

And his heart sank.

"I'm… level 33 now…" Kazuma informed, having jumped from level 1 to level 33 with a single thrust of a sword. A One Hit Bear really was a powerful monster to give him all that exp. It could have been higher too with a different class. He got normal exp for defeating enemies, but something like a Ranger could get bonus exp for killing a beast-type creature.

This, Kazuma thought to himself, wasn't satisfying at all. He cast a look at the trail of blood that seeped from the wound that killed the One Hit Bear. He was glad that it was easy. He just jumped well past the point of being considered a newbie Adventurer. However, that sense of joy at easy levels was overshadowed by… dissatisfaction.

"Perfect. Save your points for now," Jericho-sama said, jumping off the corpse and yanking out Kazuma's sword for him. The hilt was covered in blood, so it coated his hand when Kazuma took it. "We'll get you a handful of solid skills and then have you invest in them heavily."

So, his path was decided, huh? He couldn't pick his own build?

"Okay, but, Senpai, my stats didn't really go up all that much?" Kazuma pointed out, showing him his card. His stats went up a fair bit, but not what you would expect with his massive jump in levels he just experienced.

Jericho-sama looked it over before shrugging, "Don't worry about it. I can whip something up that'll let you earn stats pretty easily," he said, as if that wasn't completely game-breaking. How unreasonably Overpowered could you get? Just go kill the Demon King already! You could do it blindfolded and drunk, probably!

Aqua stepped forward, "What about me? I want to be power leveled too!" She exclaimed, earning a nod from Jericho-sama.

"You're next. We'll get you two to a decent level, then we'll head back to Axel. It should just take a little while," he said, gesturing to the wagon.

Kazuma nodded, walking towards it, but before he entered, he cast one final glance at the bear. Maybe… maybe next time he could do something other than getting the final blow?

…

No such luck. It was about two days later when they rolled back into Axel, Kazuma's card feeling like a lead weight in his hands despite his incredible growth. Aqua proved to be the exact opposite, using her card as a fan to not so discreetly show off her gains as she basked in the attention that was being thrown their way.

Two days. Two days is all that it took to reach from level 1 to… level 100. Every single stat had over a hundred points, and his Luck stat simply read as MAX.

Two days of watching Jericho-sama fight monsters and beasts. From deep-sea monsters to Elder Dragons living in volcanoes -- Jericho fought them all, and each time, either he or Aqua struck the final blow and received massive amounts of exp. Any offer to help was rebuffed and waved off because Jericho-sama simply didn't need the help. They were level 100, and they'd just get in his way. The starter sword on Kazuma's hip might as well be brand new.

A sigh escaped him, bringing Aqua's attention to him, "Cheer up, Kazuma! We're level ONE HUNDRED," Aqua shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to make sure that everyone heard her. Kazuma sank further into his seat. "We're practically Elite Adventurers now! The Demon King will be easy peasy!" she added, throwing back her head and laughing, drunk on the adoration being thrown their way by the people who had come running after hearing her unabashed bragging.

The undeserved adoration.

Elite Adventurer? Who? Who’s an Elite Adventurer? Did you mean Jericho-sama? Because those words didn't apply to either of them. He didn't know how to wield a sword or fight. He just stood back and watched as a bunch of really epic battles occurred, while he was allowed to finish off every other epic monster.

They were newbies. Level 100 newbies!

The wagon came to a stop in front of the Adventurer's Guildhall. Kazuma got out, his feet also feeling like they were filled with lead, forcing him to drag them as he followed Jericho-sama inside. The Guildhall was filled with noise, dozens of Adventurers inside having a meal or a drink. They were a rowdy bunch. He turned away from them to head towards the Guild Registration booth where the girl with the obscenely huge boobs worked.

It was time, huh? Kazuma felt like he was walking to the gallows instead of reporting in on the quests that were completed. Luna looked at him, a hesitant smile on her face. Kazuma sighed as he slid his card to her, "I'd like to turn in some quests, please…" he trailed off in a quiet voice just above a whisper. The card logged who completed the quests-

"YOU'RE ALREADY LEVEL ONE HUNDRED?!" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs, making the Guildhall go utterly silent.

"YOU KILLED THE ELDER DRAGON EVILER DOOMSALOT, THE LEVIATHAN BIGGUS GOLFISH, AND THE WALKING DEVASTATOR?!" Seriously, have you never heard of an indoors voice?!

"THEY'VE PLAGUED THE WORLD FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, AND ALL THREE WERE DEFEATED BY YOU?!" How big were her lungs?!

Her voice seemed to echo out through the deathly silent hall, the Adventurer's taking a moment to process what they heard.

Don't… don't do it.

They did it.

"He killed the three Titans?"

"Isn't he just a rookie?"

"He must be a prodigy that comes once every hundred- no, a thousand years!"

"Incredible! He's the one, isn't he? The one that'll defeat the Demon King?"

"What's his name again?"

"Kazuma! Three cheers for Kazuma the Adventurer!"

The adventurers left their tables, rushing towards them and cutting off any hope for escape. Kazuma found himself grabbed, then hoisted into the air by a crowd cheering his name.

No. This is wrong.

“It’s not just Kazuma! I’m a level one hundred too!” Aqua quickly screamed, catching the attention of the crowd and before Kazuma knew it, they were once again being hoisted up by the crowd. They chanted their names, giving them really awesome nicknames like Kazuma the Great ot Kazuma the Hero.

This…

The first time they cheered his name, it had been intoxicating. The adoration heaped upon him was incredible. It was a memory he would cherish for the rest of his life -- being in the center of attention for all the right reasons. But now… this…

Kazuma looked to the side, finding a rough-looking man with a short mohawk there. The sides of his head were shaved, and he a neatly trimmed beard that hugged his jawline and a thin mustache. Their eyes met for a moment, and somehow, through the roaring crowd, he heard the man speak. "I knew you were something special when I first saw you, but to think you were capable of something like this… this is the birth of a new legend, huh?"

No! This isn't what I wanted!

All the praise was undeserved. All their expectations were misplaced. All the adoration was unearned.

This was a monkey's paw. Kazuma had what he wanted, just not how he wanted it. He wanted to go on really cool adventures. He wanted to form a party of rookies, and through skill and luck, emerge victorious in every battle. He wanted to make friends with his party, growing closer with them all because of their shared hardships until the best-looking girl fell in love with him. There could even be a love triangle between the Main Love Interest and another girl until he managed to finagle a harem ending!

He wanted to have a proper adventure, damn it!

"Let go!" Kazuma shouted, twisting out of the grip of the adventurers throwing him up in the air. They hesitated, giving Kazuma the chance to find an opening and land inside of the crowd with his incredible and unearned agility. The crowd parted, letting him look at Jericho-sama, who looked faintly confused. He didn't get it. He couldn't.

Because Jericho-senpai already went on his own adventure. He couldn't understand what it felt like to just skip to the endgame.

"You don't understand anything about a man's romance, you stupid senpai!" He shouted, jabbing an accusing finger at the big man, unshed tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. Kazuma wiped them away with his sleeve before he pivoted on a heel and fled for the door, shoving through the confused crowd until he was free of the building.

He didn't understand anything!

…

"Oh my, Kazuma bats for the other team?" Aqua spoke aloud, breaking the beat of heavy silence that fell over the puzzled crowd. As soon as she said it, I could practically see the crowd pick up the idea and run with it.

"Aww~, that's such a shame…!" One woman said, looking disappointed.

"All the good ones do…"

"That guy rejected the legendary hero Kazuma? Who does he think he is?!"

"So that's Kazuma's type…" one man said, eying me, before checking the size of his own bicep.

I have no clue what the fuck just happened and honestly, I don't think I really cared. Kazuma didn't have any money, so he had to come back to the manor. And if he didn't? Then I'd just drag him to the Demon King myself before throwing him at the guy. So, whatever that outburst was, it wasn't an issue for my plans.

"Hey, you better apologize to Kazuma, the Legendary Super Hero-" some guy started, puffing out his chest to earn clout by telling me off. In response, I grabbed him by the face and tossed him to the side with a lazy throw. He impacted the wall, splintering it. I reached into my pocket and tossed a bag of coins over my shoulder, directly into the hands of Luna before she could even open her mouth thanks to my expanded vision. The crowd parted for me, letting me walk to the bar.

Aqua joined me, straightening out her skirt, and sitting across from me when I took a seat at a table. The crowd of Adventurers quietly returned to whatever they were doing, but they gave my table a wide berth. Good. I wasn’t in the mood for idiots.

“I’ll take a full bottle of your fanciest bubbly and the most expensive dish on the menu!” Aqua said, raising her hand and announcing the order to whatever waitress was nearby.

I didn’t mind. The quest rewards were pretty decent, so an expensive meal wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket. I was more concerned with what I learned over the past couple of days -- simply put, I had underestimated just how much my stats jumped upon reaching level 3. I don’t think the creatures I’ve fought were weak exactly, but… maybe Alduin had screwed up my views on power, because they couldn’t even begin compare to Alduin.

With Soul Edge? Killing them was almost too easy.

“You know, I think I kinda like the lower world,” Aqua decided, looking thoroughly pleased with herself as she fanned herself with her Adventurer Card. She hadn’t stopped looking at it since she reached level 100. That being said, her stats hadn’t budged at all. The first chance I got, I was going to take it from her and invest the points into something useful before she could invest them in something stupid.

My lips thinned, knowing how that would go. So far, gods descending to Earth was 0-2 in terms of being a net positive. A hundred more Aquas? The planet would be on fire. Or completely submerged in water.

Aqua jabbed a finger at me, “At first, I was really mad at you, but you know what? You’re alright, Jericho! I knew picking an experienced jumper was the way to go!” Aqua continued, metaphorically patting herself on the back. Annoyingly enough, she had a point. If I was interested in fighting the Demon King, she would have been proven right. “I get to live in a really nice house, eat fancy foods, and I can drink something other than water!”

I blinked, “Wait, weren’t you drinking soda back when we met?” Didn’t Aqua purify everything she touched?

Aqua nodded, “Yeah? I liked it -- the bubbly water hits differently than normal water. But alcohol is so much better!” She explained, her gaze lighting up when the waitress brought a bottle of fancy alcohol. She bowed before she walked away. “But to think that Kazuma would have a crush on you! It’s so cute!”

I’m pretty sure that’s not what that was, but I really didn’t know what that little mental break was about. “Be sure to tell him that,” I remarked dryly, considering the progress we made so far. Aqua was enjoying herself too much for my liking, but it wasn’t like I was dedicated to making her life miserable. Beyond that, the two of them were highly leveled. They just needed the skills and the stats to back it up. So, that meant I would be crafting a few weakening enchantments, putting them on Kazuma, and putting him through the wringer…

Then he could start his adventure to kill the Demon King.

“But, with him gone, we’ll have the house all to ourselves, won’t we? Are you going to try something? Too bad! Goddesses can’t do naughty stuff! And even if you tried anyway, I’m level 100!” Aqua announced, clearly pleased with herself as she struggled to uncork the bottle. She paused, shoving the bottle to me.

What an absolute idiot. I reached out and pulled the cork out. Aqua was plenty attractive, but… she was… dumb. I mean, like actually dumb. The kind of dumb that you couldn’t ignore because you noticed it every other time she spoke. So, overall, I wasn’t interested.

What I was more interested in was a wide-brimmed black hat entering the edge of my vision. It was marked with yellow trimming, and a face stitched into the pointy tip. A black cloak hung off the short and lithe frame of the girl beneath it, hiding most of her from view as she determinedly walked forward clutching a staff in her hands. Aqua’s waitress approached with a platter full of food-

“Oh no! I’ve tripped!” The girl’s voice announced before she threw herself forward, practically tackling the waitress to the ground, and sending the plate of food into the air. In an adept display of agility, I saw hands blur out, catching dinner rolls and an entire lobster before disappearing back under her cloak before grabbing hold of her staff again, all before the two of them hit the ground. “I’m so very sorry!” The girl woodenly said, angling her head low so we could only see the hat instead of her face.

Huh. Neat trick.

“Oh, it’s fine! I’ll just order another one! Feel free to charge me for it!” Aqua laughed off the cost, earning a strangled sound from the girl.

There was no doubt in my mind who she was, but when I heard a tired sigh from the waitress, it confirmed it for me. “Again, Megumin?” She questioned, standing up. “What did you take this time?”

Megumin flinched back, briefly looking up to reveal a panicked expression and gleaming red eyes. “N-Nothing!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Aqua dismissed the issue entirely, not even caring in the slightest. Megumin eyed Aqua for a moment before a gleam in her eyes appeared while a smirk tugged at her lips. It was easy enough to guess why. Aqua couldn’t be more of a Grade A sucker if gullible was written on her forehead. Though, the smirk quickly faded when Megumin’s stomach growled more fiercely than some of the supposed endgame monsters I had fought.

I swallowed a sigh, “You want something to eat?” I asked, making Megumin look up at me with wide eyes and what could only be described as the look of a girl that found salvation.

“I would!” Megumin hastily agreed before stepping back, “But not for free! I am the Crimson Demon’s most powerful Arch-Mage, she who is a practitioner of the most powerful magic, Explosion Magic! I am Megumin! My pride won’t allow me to accept a free meal!” She finished, throwing out her hands and revealing the rolls and lobster she had just tried to steal from us.

Hm. The plan was to steer clear of Kazuma’s original party, but…

I could work with this.