The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

#271 - Meet the Anle Girl Again

Zun Zun running to a succubus shop and getting caught by his fiancee and childhood sweetheart became known to the rest of the team that very night, even leading to a group criticism session.

Upon learning of this, Kazuma Satou firmly stood on Zun Zun's side, declaring that he would fight for the rights of boys in the team.

You think he was being kind?

Not at all!

That scumbag was just using it as an excuse to fight for his own interests.

But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Zun Zun was, after all, a boy and needed some space, so the two of them banded together to seek rights.

However, under the fierce waving fists of Megumin and the others, they retreated steadily, suffering a crushing defeat in a public vote with a score of 4:2.

Damn it!

One day, I will walk into a succubus shop with my head held high and enjoy myself!

Zun Zun swore an oath.

The next day.

Early in the morning, everyone gathered in the mansion's hall to teleport because Zun Zun didn't have the coordinates for the Crimson Demon Village, so they could only go to Alcanretia, the city of hot springs and water, as the nearest option.

"—Teleport!"

When they opened their eyes, the group once again arrived in the bustling city.

Kazuma Satou sighed. "I thought I wouldn't come to this place again. I didn't expect to return here so quickly after just going home…"

It hadn't even been three days.

"Um, Kazuma-san…"

"Denied. We're leaving this town immediately. I don't want anything to do with those people from your order."

Aqua's request was rejected.

It was hard to say whether it was unexpected or just the way things were. The others rejected Aqua's idea of staying here for a day. If they let the happy-go-lucky goddess settle down, they'd never get to the Crimson Demon Village.

After much persuasion, she gave up on the idea.

They only made some preparations in Alcanretia before heading to the outskirts, embarking on the road to the Crimson Demon Village.

They had to leave as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if the capable Jestta caught a whiff of Aqua's scent, he would definitely chase after them and try to keep them there.

In fact, after they set off, Jestta did appear on the outskirts of the town, muttering things like, 'Strange, I definitely smelled the goddess's scent. Was it just my imagination…?'

The group walked on the road.

They didn't take a carriage all the way to the Crimson Demon Village.

Because the journey there was quite dangerous, even merchant caravans wouldn't go there. Moreover, the Crimson Demons could freely travel between towns using instant teleportation magic, so there was no need for caravans to risk going there.

As for Zun Zun, he didn't have the coordinates for the Crimson Demon Village because he hadn't learned teleportation magic when he left the village.

"It takes about two days to walk from this town to the Crimson Demon Village. There are many dangerous monsters lurking along the way. That's when Kazuma's enemy detection skill comes in handy."

Aqua said.

This was also the reason they didn't choose to ride a carriage.

There were strong enemies all along the way. Whether the carriage was damaged or the horses were startled and ran away, these things could happen. Moreover, there were no roads leading to the Crimson Demon Village, so it would probably waste a lot of time to ride a carriage. It was better to just walk from the beginning.

Everyone would be alert when camping in the wilderness surrounded by dangerous monsters.

Kazuma Satou patted his chest forcefully.

"Leave it to me! During our last journey, didn't we hunt some small monsters? At that time, I leveled up and used the extra skill points to learn the Thief's 'Escape' skill, so I can run away at any time."

"…Hmm? Wait a minute, Kazuma, are you saying that only works for you? Do you mean you'll run away by yourself when you don't sense any enemies?"

The idiot goddess was always quick to catch on at times like these.

She immediately grasped the key point, leaving Kazuma Satou speechless.

Zun Zun waved his hand, signaling not to worry.

"I'll ask the Sprites to help keep watch at night. In theory, they don't need to sleep as long as they have enough magic power. Also, I'll sprinkle potions around to prevent undead monsters from surrounding us."

"Oh, oh, Zun Zun is the most reliable after all! A hundred times better than some scumbag who only cares about running away himself!"

Aqua praised Zun Zun while also belittling Kazuma Satou.

The idiot goddess's special constitution attracted undead and other monsters, so Zun Zun's potions would be of great help to her.

"But does Zun Zun have enough magic power?"

"Yeah, I remember summoning Sprites consuming a lot of magic power, right? Would it be too much for an entire night?"

Darkness and Yunyun were a little worried.

"Who do you think I am?" Zun Zun proudly raised his head. "With my magic power, I can last for 24 hours without any problem! Besides, my level is also very high, so I have enough magic power."

"Oh, Zun Zun thinks he's amazing?"

For some reason, Megumin felt competitive.

She took out her adventurer card and waved it in front of everyone, saying smugly, "I'm level 33 now, you know. Speaking of which, Kazuma is an adventurer who has a hard time leveling up, right? After so much effort, you've only leveled up once. That's so funny."

"Don't show off in front of me, or I'll snatch it and throw it away!"

Kazuma Satou shouted in embarrassment and anger.

There was nothing he could do about it. Megumin could not only deal the final blow to BOSS-level enemies with her Explosion Magic but also mow down a large number of small monsters at once. On the other hand, Kazuma Satou only had a broken bow and arrow and a Nippon katana.

Seemingly emboldened by the comparison, Megumin became even more smug.

And Yunyun took out her adventurer card and said in surprise, "Ah, I'm already level 35."

"…What!?"

Megumin stared at her in disbelief.

"Hmph." Kazuma Satou seemed to have the right to mock her. He teased, "Oh dear, you're two levels lower than Yunyun. Is this really the self-proclaimed strongest Explosion Archmage of the Crimson Demons? Ah, well, it can't be helped. Yunyun's magic isn't like someone else's one-hit-wonder gag magic. Being able to use it multiple times naturally allows you to level up quickly!"

Not only that, but back in the Crimson Demon Village, Yunyun had actively joined the [Anti-Demon King Army Guerrilla Squad] to catch up with Megumin and Zun Zun, accumulating a lot of levels in the early stages.

Megumin pouted unhappily.

She really wanted to say that her magic was stronger or something to argue, but the fact that her level had been surpassed was undeniable, so she could only pin her hopes on Zun Zun.

Unexpectedly—

"Too bad, I'm level 40."

"Level 40!?" x5

This time, not only Megumin but even Kazuma Satou and the others couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, wondering why Zun Zun's level had increased so much.

The reason was simple.

Although he didn't gain experience in 《Down》, he fought against powerful enemies such as Elsa and the White Whale in 《Re:Zero》, plus he ate a lot of the White Whale's meat, which naturally increased his experience greatly.

"But level 40… I'm only level 22 now. The difference is a bit big."

Darkness said softly.

Kazuma Satou and Aqua also looked at Zun Zun as if they were looking at a big shot.

One couldn't gain experience points quickly, and the other could only level up by purifying ghosts and the undead—of course, it didn't matter whether the idiot goddess leveled up or not, because her stats wouldn't change anyway.

"I thought everyone was just having fun, but I didn't expect Zun Zun to be such a try-hard!"

Megumin bit her lip unwillingly.

Kazuma Satou, who had just been mocked by the little loli, put on his drama queen act again and said to her, "Isn't it great, Megumin? When you defeat a strong enemy, you can proudly say to them—I'm the weakest of the Crimson Demons, there are two people stronger than me! …Something like that."

"I don't want to. That sentence sounds like it's creating a strong atmosphere for someone else!"

Megumin puffed out her cheeks.

She was the self-proclaimed strongest Explosion Archmage of the Crimson Demons, so how could she possibly set the stage for someone else's appearance? But if it was her friends, she would probably actively help create the atmosphere for the sake of her chunibyo.

Seriously, she suddenly missed them a little.

Just as the group was chatting and about to enter the forest, Darkness, who was walking in the front, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Hmm? There's someone ahead."

"What?"

Hearing her say that, everyone else looked over as well.

They saw a green-haired girl sitting on a protruding rock at the entrance of the forest. She had also noticed them and waved at them.

The girl's right ankle was wrapped in a bandage that was oozing blood. She kept glancing at her ankle, frowning and looking like she was in a lot of pain. Then, she looked at them with pitiful eyes.

I see, it's this type.

Zun Zun stroked his chin.

Yunyun secretly tugged at his sleeve. Zun Zun signaled with his eyes that he had already noticed that the 'pitiful' girl in front of them was an Anneliese girl.

If he remembered correctly, the last time he saw an Anneliese girl, she was a nun type. This time, she was a girl type?

"She's injured? Um, are you okay?"

Aqua walked towards the girl without any precautions, but Kazuma Satou grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. Aqua looked at him in confusion, as did Darkness and Megumin.

"My enemy detection skill is picking up a strong monster aura. That's a monster disguised as a human."

"That's right, she's an Anneliese girl, a monster."

"Eh!?" x3

Aqua and the other three exclaimed in surprise.

While Kazuma Satou was checking the monster encyclopedia, Zun Zun had already extended his right hand towards her, and violent magic power, accompanied by a harsh crackling sound, gathered at his fingertips.

Seeing that Zun Zun was about to use magic without saying a word, the Anneliese girl looked at the others in horror. She had never seen this type of ruthless and taciturn person before!

"…Are you going to kill me…?"

The Anneliese girl hugged her arms like a helpless girl, sat on the rock, and looked up at the girls with tears in her eyes, trembling non-stop.

"…Are you going to kill me…?"

Even Sigma male Kazuma Satou, who claimed to be an advocate of gender equality, was softened by the girl's tearful offensive. He turned to Zun Zun and said:

"Forget it, there are good monsters too…"

"Light of Saber!"

Violent lightning instantly shot out, and the Anneliese girl didn't even have time to scream before she completely disappeared in front of everyone.

"Hmm? Kazuma, did you say something just now?"

"Aaaaaah————!"

Following that were the screams of Aqua and the others.