Free Web NovelChapter 325: 325 KonoSuba 50
"M...?"
"Ahahaha, we’re friends who share the same ’Ma’ (demon)!"
Serena said that with an awkward laugh. But Wiz brushed Serena’s hand away and delivered the finishing blow.
"What are you talking about?? Serena, you’re a Demon King army executive!"
Serena put her hand to her forehead and made an expression that said she was done for. She probably hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
"Wiz is wrong! There’s no way Serena is a Demon King army executive!"
"That can’t be. How many times did I meet her in the Demon King’s castle? As a Dark Priest, she did a lot for the Demon King’s forces."
Kazuma denied Wiz’s words, refusing to believe them, but Wiz immediately refuted him.
"Wiz is probably right. Wiz is kind and can’t lie."
"That’s right, that’s right."
"I knew it! I suspected it from the moment she started cozying up to everyone!"
Everyone, one after another, believed Wiz’s words, surrounded Serena, and drew their weapons, ready to fight. Even when I gave them hints they didn’t notice anything, but they were quick to catch onto this.
"Wait!! Just wait!! There must be some reason. Let’s hear her out. Serena hasn’t caused any harm to anyone since coming to Axel! No, she’s actually helped people by healing the sick!"
Kazuma, seeing the situation turning against Serena, stood in the middle trying to block us and calm everyone down. Megumin frowned and made a pointed remark to Kazuma.
"There’s no way a woman who’s nice to Kazuma from the start could exist in this world. I thought it was strange too. I should have realized back then..."
"Right. There’s no woman who would cozy up to Kazuma."
"That’s true."
The other women agreed with Megumin’s words.
"Wha-what? Hey, hey, aren’t you all being too harsh!? What kind of image do you have of me for you to say things like that!"
Then the women each had their say, one by one.
"Trash-zuma."
"Filth-zuma."
"Cheat-zuma."
"Pervert-zuma."
"Hikikomori."
"Guuh, stop!!! STOP!!!"
Kazuma looked like he was about to cry at the women’s words. Seeing how easily they said such things, it seemed the women had a lot of pent-up grievances against Kazuma.
"Let’s hear it from her directly. Why she came here."
When I said that, everyone’s attention focused on Serena. Serena, sweating cold, said,
"I, I... I mean... I also quit the Demon King’s army and came to this town to live honestly! I was just living here like a proper priest, helping people!"
It was obvious she was racking her brain to make excuses. But Kazuma still hadn’t come to his senses and took Serena’s side.
"You all heard her, right? She said so. Everyone deserves a second chance!"
Then Megumin asked,
"Then how do you explain her being so nice to Kazuma!?"
"That’s right."
"Yeah, yeah, no normal woman would ever do that!"
Again, all the women nodded in agreement.
"Th-that’s... because I fell in love with Kazuma at first sight!"
Cornered, Serena started saying anything.
"That’s ridiculous!"
"Who would believe that..."
As expected, the women didn’t believe her at all, but Kazuma was different.
"Se-Serena... you thought that much about me... sniff I’m so moved!"
Swoosh!
Kazuma, crying with tears and snot, hugged Serena. But Serena couldn’t respond much. I was holding my sword ready to draw at any moment, staring her down intensely.
"Alright! Then let’s do this. Since these two are so fond of each other, we should have them get married right away. Then we’ll know for sure whether she’s really left the Demon King’s army or not, won’t we?"
Since things had come to this, I decided to make the situation even harder to resolve.
"Oh~ that’s a good idea. That way we can also see whether she’s genuinely expressing affection or not."
"That’s true. It would certainly confirm things."
As the mood took a strange turn, Serena’s expression darkened rapidly.
"Ah, no, that’s..."
"AGREED!!!"
Serena tried to make an excuse, but Kazuma cut her off, raised his hand, and shouted loudly.
"Then it’s decided. Until you spend your wedding night together, I’ll be watching with my eyes wide open, so don’t worry."
"Got it."
"Okay."
"Agreed."
Then Wiz offered Serena her congratulations.
"Congratulations! You’re quitting the Demon King’s army and living honestly — I’m really happy for you too."
Serena glared at Wiz and gritted her teeth.
"Huh? Did I do something wrong?"
"Ah, no..."
The next day, we widely announced the wedding news to everyone around. The town was filled with wailing at the news of Serena and Kazuma’s marriage. The male adventurers and villagers seemed to have lost their minds. That was proof of how popular Serena was. But Kazuma was thoroughly enjoying those sounds.
"This sound, carried by the wind, tickling my ears... it’s better than any orchestra~ Haah~ Father, Mother, are you well? My prime has finally arrived~!"
Kazuma started spouting nonsense while striking all kinds of ridiculous poses. Megumin looked very bitter watching this. Honestly, seeing Kazuma like that made Megumin look really pitiful.
I followed Kazuma and Serena around steadily, keeping an eye on them. The wedding was in a week, so I planned to endure until then. If she ran away in the meantime, that would actually be easier for me.
"Honey, ah~"
"Uh, yeah. Ah..."
Kazuma was doing the exact same things to Serena that he used to do to Megumin. As expected of Kazuma, who clearly hadn’t had much romantic experience. Serena, knowing I was watching from a distance, tried her best to keep Kazuma happy.
The promised week was gradually approaching. During that time, Serena seemed to try various things, but the moment she attempted anything suspicious, I used my [Pressure] ability to let her know I was always watching and applied pressure. At night, I even sent a clone to guard Serena’s door.
Since I had been doing this without any gaps, Serena probably realized by now that there were only two options available to her. Either marry Kazuma like this, or run away and be killed by me if she absolutely couldn’t stand it.
But Megumin’s condition was a bit bad. She wasn’t even using her beloved Explosion magic and just stayed quietly in her room. Since we weren’t taking any requests because of this situation, Yunyun and Nerimaki, who were resting, worried about Megumin and went to her room to talk and play with her, but aside from meals and bathing, she still didn’t seem to come out.
’Maybe I shouldn’t have brought up the wedding idea?’
Serena had said anything, and I went along with it because I thought it would be fun, but my conscience was pricking me a little. Still, Kazuma was so happy about it, and I couldn’t take back what I’d already said, so I figured it couldn’t be helped.
That evening, the wedding dress we had ordered arrived. Serena looked like she’d rather die, but the other women looked at the wedding dress with envy.
"Wow~ pretty. Someday I’ll get to wear one too, right?"
"Yeah, seeing this makes me want to meet a good person and get married soon too."
Then Darkness said, looking at the wedding dress,
"This is a high-quality item that only nobles wear. It must have cost a fortune."
"Ahem! Of course. I can’t skimp on money for the woman who’s going to be my wife. I also spent a lot on the wedding preparations. You can look forward to it."
Kazuma puffed out his chest and bragged at Darkness’s words. The wedding was going to be held at Kazuma’s mansion, which was being prepared by workers. The mansion was still under repair, but he said doing it at his own house would be meaningful.
"Anyway, Taejin, we’re counting on you for the food."
"Sure."
Still, since we had some history, I agreed to handle the cooking for Kazuma’s wedding.
But just then, Megumin came out carrying her luggage. Everyone’s attention focused on her.
"Thank you for everything. I think I will return to my home village." frёewebηovel.cѳm
When Megumin said that, everyone was shocked and crowded around her.
"Megumin, think again. Losing one loli is unthinkable."
"Megumin, it’s better to erase that kind of man from your mind quickly..."
"Megumin..."
At that, Kazuma also seemed to feel a twinge of conscience and couldn’t look in Megumin’s direction. Judging by his flustered expression, he had only been thinking about Serena and hadn’t spared a thought for Megumin.
Then Yunyun, having a good idea, suggested to Megumin with a bright expression,
"Megumin, then how about joining our party instead? Kazuma’s party is going to move to the mansion once it’s finished anyway. The other members would agree to having you too."
"Your party already has two capable mages. Don’t worry about me, Yunyun."
I also said,
"They’re not exactly the same type of mage. Megumin, you’re a mage with a powerful one-shot attack, so even if you join our party, it wouldn’t be a problem."
I was recommending this partly because my conscience was pricking me, and partly because, as I said, if I raised Megumin well, aside from myself, I could gain a nuclear-bomb-level powerful one-shot attack.
"Is... is that so?"
"Yeah."
"Then, from now on, I’ll be joining Taejin’s party..."
As Megumin put down her luggage, Yunyun, Nerimaki, and Cecily were overjoyed and hugged her.
"Good decision, Megumin!"
Seeing that, Aqua and Darkness didn’t say anything but looked a little bitter. Kazuma still couldn’t look this way.
Anyway, Megumin went back to her room and unpacked. Yunyun and Nerimaki, excited, went with her to help.
Two days after that incident, the day of the wedding arrived. Kazuma’s mansion was decorated extravagantly, beautifully adorned with flowers of various colors, and the chairs and wedding altar were quite luxurious. Kazuma, dressed in a suit, greeted the guests with an extremely happy expression.
"Thanks for coming. Taylor, Rin, Keith, Dust."
"You’re really getting married this time, right? None of that last-time nonsense where you caused trouble while we were eating."
"Of course. Nothing like that today."
Dust said uneasily, and Kazuma reassured him. But Rin’s expression wasn’t very good.
"Hey, there are really bad rumors about you. You’d better be careful."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"They say you dumped your cute girlfriend to marry Serena."
Keith added to Rin’s words.
"Yeah. A lot of the guys are really angry about those rumors. That a guy like you snatched Serena away."
"Hmph! None of their business! It’s just jealousy. I don’t want to let go of this happiness. And I’ll compensate Megumin appropriately. I have a conscience too."
"Is... is that so?"
From the way he said this, Kazuma had clearly made up his mind.
Anyway, the wedding proceeded smoothly. From Serena’s expression, it seemed she had simply given up on trying to escape.
"Groom, you may kiss the bride."
Smack~!
"I hereby declare these two husband and wife."
Usually, cheers would come at this timing, but everyone was just murmuring — no one cheered. But Kazuma, ignoring that, looked like he was about to ascend to heaven.
"I can’t believe he actually got married..."
"I know, right. I thought Serena would try some trick..."
"But why didn’t Kazuma refuse even once, even though he had Megumin?"
"Because he’s Trash-zuma. Remember last time, that ridiculous dream of his."
"Ah, that... the one about building a harem?"
"Yeah. He’s got big dreams for someone with no ability."
Our household members, instead of cheering, were busy bad-mouthing Kazuma. Kazuma, finally realizing the mood was strange, suddenly picked Serena up and shouted loudly so that everyone at the wedding could hear.
"Oh my, everyone~!! I know, I know, you’re all upset because I snatched a beauty~ But you know? This is how it turned out... well, nothing we can do, right? So stop being jealous and give us your blessings!!! Kuhehehehe!!!"
Maybe because he was supposed to be receiving blessings but was hearing such things, Kazuma just provoked the guests instead. Then the guests, who had been eating, all frowned and started throwing food at Kazuma.
"You bastard!!!"
"We came to celebrate even though we’re not happy about it!"
"To think someone like you would take Serena from us!"
Splat! Splatter!!
Thanks to that, the wedding venue turned into a complete mess in an instant. Food flew everywhere like guided missiles, and Kazuma’s mansion and the ground were in a state that the word "disaster" barely sufficed to describe. Still, I was truly grateful for one fact: this mess wasn’t at our house.
Anyway, Kazuma let out a strange laugh, took Serena, and ran inside the mansion. The people grumbled and went home.
"Ugh... do we have to clean this up?"
When Yunyun looked at the mess of a wedding venue, looking troubled, Aqua said,
"Leave it. That Trash-zuma who caused the mess will deal with it himself."
