blessed with a hero's heart

Chapter 6: Undying Warm Heart

Magnus: Here goes the introduction of the next Waifu! And yes, for those of you wondering, the harem route won the poll, of course, Megumin will be the main girl, because I like her the most.
Disclaimer: I'll do my best to make the harem route work, I make no promises though, because this is still an experiment.
This chapter has been edited by Vandenbz.
Chapter 6
An Undying Warm Heart
On a table inside the Adventurer's Guild, a blond Crusader watched events unfold at a neck-breaking pace. It took only a minute, and a few selected words, but the world for a blue haired Arch Priestess had come down crashing and burning.
All because a green haired Druid was angry.
"Was I unclear?" Izuku asked as he continued eating his cabbage stir-fry, "Is there anything you need me to explain?"
Chika and Liza were sure there was no need to explain things anymore, but their master was such a kindhearted man. The way Megumin smiled with such smugness also contributed to the feeling that their master couldn't be in the wrong.
"Why?" Aqua's trembling voice did nothing to sway the heart of the Druid, who felt that his proposal was not only fair, but a good bargain, "Why do you have to be so evil?!"
"Evil?" Izuku asked with a voice that denoted that he was completely against such a notion, "What's evil about my terms?"
Megumin gave a small chuckle, but otherwise said nothing. The Arch Wizard had the firm idea that the Druid wanted to be rid of the troublesome girl; it was so easy to see her either breaking and acceding to his petition followed by leaving due to outrage, or flee from the place not wanting to be anywhere near the Druid due to the harshness of his actions… it was a win-win scenario. Even the fact of seeing him getting his way didn't bother her in the slightest.
Darkness couldn't rein in her emotions though…
"This is incredible!" Darkness shouted as she slammed her fists on the table while standing up, gaining everyone's attention.
"To think that you'll force an Arch Priest of the Axis cult to act against her goddess…" Darkness stated while her shoulders trembled, "With the threat to keep her in a lifetime of forced servitude while suffering poverty and misery!"
The trembling voice and arms, coupled with the intensity of her words, made Chika and Liza tense, getting ready to jump to their master's defense, even when they knew that it would be impossible for them to defeat a fully-fledged Crusader.
"I knew it! It was impossible for my instincts to be wrong!" Darkness nearly shouted as she almost jumped at the green haired boy… falling to her knees while hugging his waist in an easily misunderstood scene, "PLEASE! LET ME JOIN YOUR PARTY!"
While Izuku had forgotten about the proclivities of the blond Crusader, he still couldn't understand what was so evil about his proposal.
The proposal was simple, and even in the favor of the ex-goddess. She just had to choose between using her sacred restoration magic on Chika and Liza, or have 90% of her winnings taken until her debt was paid in full.
"Izuku is not wrong." Megumin finally spoke, with a smug smile that betrayed how much she was enjoying the idea of being left almost alone with the Druid, "The temple charges around three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand eris for the casting of a full restore spell; even if you were to charge maximum price, you'll still be paying less than what you owe. That's a bargain!"
Izuku sent a smile and a nod toward the petite Arch Wizard, not knowing that she was actually making things worse for Aqua, who now was starting to sob.
"If… I do… that…" Aqua began to say between sobs, "My precious… worshipers… will… lose faith!"
Izuku didn't like making a scene, but he wasn't going to relent on his plan; he would be compensated for the debt, one way or another.
"I think you need space to come to a decision, so…" Izuku started while standing up, having finished his food, and making sure his girls were done too; Darkness still held onto him like a drunk to a bottle though, "We'll go shopping while you think about what to do."
Izuku's words were directed to Chika, Liza and Megumin; all three beamed at the idea of getting gifts from the young Druid… then Izuku noticed he couldn't walk.
"You are including me in your group, right?" Darkness asked with hopeful eyes, trying really hard to get accepted… then she found herself wrapped in Izuku's vine whips.
"Sorry." Izuku replied while prying the Crusader from himself, he still found impossible to lift her even with his superior leverage, "Useful party members only."
For a moment, just a moment, Darkness thought that finally she would get what she wanted. She imagined it, a humiliating dressing down, being whipped for being so pushy… maybe even see the whips growing those beautiful thorns!
"Since you aren't a member of this party, you can't come." Izuku's words came as calm, even kind, leaving the Crusader just at the side and a small distance away from him… he didn't retract the vines though; he just cut them, leaving the masochist blond tied in place.
Darkness had been left speechless, it was the first time she had met someone who treated her with cordiality, other than her father. Her shock was so big that she couldn't react until after Izuku, Megumin, and the slaves had left the guild…
"This is not how you use whips!" Darkness finally snapped, unable to decide if this was an act of kindness, or the Druid's way of torturing her, "You didn't even use thorns!"
A little bit later, at one of the local blacksmiths…
"I-It's alright f-for Chika to have this?!" The black Harpy's raspy whispers did nothing to hide her surprise and delight, she never had anything of her own, and now not only did she have pretty clothes, but armor too, "Isn't it too expensive for just Chika?"
Izuku couldn't help but to chuckle at how happy Chika was. It was also a little bit sad to know that such a simple thing was reason to celebrate… he also didn't know that for a slave to be given armor was a declaration of being treasured.
Still, Chika continued to stare at the pieces of armor that had been added to her attire. A chest piece that covered her breasts and back, but didn't impede the flexibility of her abdomen; leggings covered the external part of her legs from the waist to her knees, firmly secured by a thick belt, all of this made of studded leather, properly layered to maximize protection while not sacrificing any agility or mobility, and when the time came, flight capability.
"Don't worry about it, Chika. I want you to stay as safe as possible; that being said, I'd rather you dodge out of harm's way instead of testing the durability of that armor." Izuku replied with a smile, showing how much he cared for the harpy; then he turned to the gator-girl, "How about you, Liza?"
As she flexed her body to test the mobility of her new armor, the gator-girl gave an appreciative nod. Her muscles and scales were hard enough to count as armor against most cutting weapons, and most of the common beasts out there; still, Izuku bought armor made from animal hide for her.
The hardened hide, topped with the coarse furs of the beasts it was made of, provided an excellent buffer against blunt impacts, and an extra layer of defense against piercing blows. Izuku knew for a fact that Liza was not exactly well-versed on evasion, so, he had to assume that covering weaknesses was a must.
The one thing he didn't know was if he should be grateful about or not, was the fact that neither was skilled enough to use a weapon.
"Are you sure I need this?" Megumin asked as she tested the one piece of equipment that Izuku bought for her, "I still think I only need staves and accessories…"
Izuku had bought special soles and shin guards, designed to be placed over her own boots; they didn't look ugly, but the contrast with the rest of her costume was quite obvious.
"The last thing I need is you slipping while casting, or while running away in a scenario where you can't cast." Izuku patiently explained, "Besides, what if a snake decides to bite your feet while you are unable to move?"
"Why did you had to bring that up?!" Megumin almost yelled in response, immediately remembering all the tales of powerful mages being taken down by common vermin due to their lack of foot protection, "I'm going to have nightmares now…"
As she finished, the petite Arch Wizard turned away from the green haired Druid, trying her best to hide her wavering smile and crimson cheeks. The attention and care of the boy was way too delightful to ignore… although it still bothered her that he was just as attentive and caring toward the slaves.
Izuku only chuckled a little bit at her words, knowing that such dangers could be easily counteracted with his skills.
With his latest conquest against the army of cabbages, he had learned a couple of extra skills:
Analyze Plant: The skill allowed him to understand the properties and workings of any plant he consumed or touched for thirty minutes.
Modify Plant: The skill allowed him to add or remove properties from any plant he touches for an hour… or select the properties of plants he created.
He had planned to make his skills better by adding properties to the vines, thorns and berries; the rest of the points were of course spent in making his passives better.
"Isn't Master going to get armor too?" Chika suddenly asked, eyeing the young Druid with worry, "Master needs to be protected too!"
Chika's raspy whispers were followed by a shaky wing pointing to a massive set of plate armor; it was obvious that she wanted him to be as safe as possible… Liza furiously nodding seemed to confirm that too.
"I do intend to get some armor…" Izuku replied, trying to make the girls feel better, for even Megumin seemed to want to see him clad in some form of protective gear, "But plate… well…"
Izuku was at a loss of words… he just couldn't picture himself donning such a massive amount of metal, and yet, he feared that his bark skin would end up failing him at the most critical moment.
"Oh right!" Megumin suddenly interrupted, "Druids can't use metal equipment. You may want to check leather and scale armors."
Megumin's intervention earned her another head-pat from the green haired teen.
"Actually…" Izuku started his reply with a smile, and rather curiosity on his eyes, "I would like to find something made with Iron Wood or Bark."
The last words were directed to the blacksmith, who didn't look pleased in the slightest…
"Do I look like an elven woodcarver?" The words of the tall balding man were rather cold, although not as much due to the money he had gotten by charging extra for selling armor to a couple of demi-human slaves.
Outside an odd looking shop, some time later…
Izuku and the girls looked at the shop before them with some skepticism.
After asking around the blacksmiths and shops on the main road of the town, he had gotten directions to this secluded shop. According to rumors, the owner was an eccentric woman who was known for buying pretty much anything that was not ordinary, even if it was useless; that included rare equipment and magic items.
"I don't think we'll find a full set of armor here…" Megumin stated as she looked through the large window, seeing a lot of trinkets and rather mundane looking items, "I think I see a couple of staves and orbs though."
"It's ok; I don't need a full set of armor." Izuku immediately replied while opening the door to the shop, "Getting you a few accessories may be a good idea."
"What do you mean by…?" Megumin's question was quickly forgotten as her immature mind caught fire due to a sudden thought, "Wait! Accessories?! Like a ring?!"
"Why did you directly jump to a ring?" Izuku asked as he entered and held the door open for Megumin and the slave girls, "Are you trying to tell me something?"
Izuku had taken to teasing the petite Arch Wizard, not because he wanted to incite something from her, but because he knew that by pushing such notions, she would be the one to take a defensive stance and postpone any romantic involvement.
"Rings are comfortable and easy to wear." Megumin replied with a deep crimson blush, "Don't get the wrong idea!"
Before Izuku could say something to calm down his petite companion, they heard steps coming from deep within the shop.
"Hello!" A young and beautiful woman appeared from behind a curtain that served as a door of sorts to the back of the shop, "Can I help you with something?"
The young woman had a face that spoke of kindness, brown eyes that seemed to radiate hopes and dreams and a caring smile, long brown hair cascaded all the way to her lower back with bangs showing at her shoulders, and a small portion covering her right eye; the ahoge at the top of her head seemed to try to give her a cute aura, which contrasted against how sexy her ample breasts made her look.
Izuku made sure to keep his eyes on her face as much as possible, not that he hasn't noticed her… purple robe with yellow trim.
"Yes." Izuku managed to reply, although his voice quivered just enough for Megumin to pout, "We are looking for some magical accessories and items made of Iron Wood or Bark."
"Well, if you expect to find something made from Iron Wood…" The beautiful woman started, but then stopped when her eyes finally landed on the demi-human girls… especially on Chika.
"IT'S A BLACK HARPY!" The woman suddenly exclaimed… although she didn't sound upset.
"EEEKKKKK!" Chika's startled scream was terrible enough to make Megumin fall to her knees while covering her ears, and even make one of the windows crack, but it didn't seem to bother the now jumpy woman.
Izuku had been frozen by the sudden reaction, especially when the harpy jumped behind him for protection… that had the unintended consequence of having the beautiful woman being way too close for comfort.
"Those feathers are so beautiful! They will make beautiful accessories and cloaks!" The woman began to ramble, scaring the green haired Druid out of his mind, not to mention making Chika shiver in horror at the idea of having her feathers puckered, "Please sell them to me… when they fall due to plumage changing, of course."
"Please…" Izuku barely was able to speak, "Some space…"
Izuku's plea came in the face of having such beautiful woman being nearly on top of him, something he wasn't ready to deal with; fortunately, Liza was quick to grab the woman by the back of her collar, lift her, and place her a couple of meters away.
"Thanks, Liza." Izuku's words were enough for the gator-girl to wave her tail in obvious happiness, even when her face remained as stoic as ever, "Can we do business now, miss…?"
Far from being upset at the sudden treatment, the beautiful young woman smiled so brightly that Megumin couldn't help but to pout even harder.
"Right, sorry." The young woman apologized for her rudeness with a polite bow… making it clear for Izuku that bras didn't exist in this world, "My name is Wiz; welcome to my magic shop!"
Meanwhile, at the Guild Hall…
"This is unbelievable…" Darkness muttered as she witnessed the Arch Priestess going through several stages of panic and distress, "To make her suffer like this… even from a distance…"
The very first thing Aqua tried when Izuku had left the guild was to approach the loaners to ask for more money… she had to learn the hard way that she would not able to take on a new loan until the last one was paid in full.
"Having her pride and dignity stolen…" Darkness continued her muttering while watching the blue haired girl wail in absolute despair, "The tears… the sobs…"
Aqua's second attempt was to call upon the entirety of her sect, not even bothering to hide that she was the actual goddess of the Axis cult… although everyone in the vicinity just looked at her like she was delusional.
After her long incantation, and wasting a rather massive amount of mana, she turned toward the nearest priest she could see. With a bright smile, and the confidence brought by being a divine figure, she had demanded monetary help to free herself from her woes… she was faced with the fact that her religion consisted of the least amount of followers, and thus, fewer active priests.
The Eris priest had admonished her for calling herself a goddess, but still left her a couple of coins as a show of benevolence.
"I can't take it anymore!" Darkness finally shouted while slamming her hands on the table, "I NEED TO BE IN HIS PARTY!"
While Darkness was… daydreaming… about the possibilities of being in the party of a certain green haired Druid, Aqua had gone to the reception desk in a desperate move.
"THERE HAS TO BE SOME EASY AND FAST QUEST THAT AWARDS A MILLION ERIS!" Aqua screeched as she manhandled Luna's dress, much to the distress of the counter lady, and the absolute delight of the male adventurers, "THERE HAS TO! THERE IS NO WAY I'M BECOMING THE SLAVE OF THAT SIMPLETON!"
"Please calm down!" Luna tried her best to remain polite, calling on all her years of dealing with weird adventurers, "The best I can offer you are fetch quests, or if you get enough party members, a giant toad hunt."
Luna's reply only brought more tears to the ex-goddess as she knew it would be impossible for her to earn enough money that way.
Fetch quests, the ones that could be done solo, rarely awarded more than a hundred eris after completion, and while giant toad bounties ranked up in the thousands, hunting such prey required a party, and that meant dividing the money between everyone, a detriment that worked against her needs.
"Aqua…" Darkness called as she placed a hand on the shoulder of the distressed ex-goddess, earning her attention, "There are actually two ways for you to get out of this predicament."
"R-really?" Aqua asked, full of hope and tears.
"Yes, indeed." Darkness replied with a serious face, "But for me to reveal them, you need to register me in your party."
About an hour later…
Izuku and his group entered the Guild Hall with satisfied smiles and new items; Megumin looked really proud of her new necklace, an enchanted item that helped her recover mana at an increased rate… of five percent, while Izuku held a walking cane made of a rather shiny wood.
At least he had learned that anything named 'Iron Wood' was false, as only the bark was workable.
Along with the cane, he had also acquired new clothes. Leather boots, linen pants and a green tunic were covered by a rather cozy-looking hooded robe, made of some elven fabric that the shop owner, Wiz, couldn't remember the name of; it wasn't cheap, but Izuku was instantly drawn to the beautiful vibrant green of the piece of clothing, and how it gave off an emerald shine when hit by the light in the right places.
It wasn't made for stealth, he supposed, but it did fit his personality and role as a Druid, who didn't feel the need to hide.
"Well, that went well." Izuku said as he and his entourage walked to their table.
"It certainly was a good shopping trip." Megumin added as she caressed her piece of jewelry; she could have gotten a ring, but the idea made her blush so profusely that she believed she would faint if Izuku ever placed the metal band on her finger.
"Master looks so handsome!" Chika added with her raspy whispers, being seconded by a furious nodding from Liza.
"You think so?" Izuku asked while scratching the back of his head, clearly blushing at the praise… then he felt the penetrating stares, and none were from the petite Arch Wizard, "Why is everyone looking at us like that?"
"You got a pair of slaves in effective armor." Megumin replied with a grin, obviously taking a little bit of pleasure at seeing how worried Izuku looked, "What else did you expect?"
Megumin had decided to not stop Izuku on his quest to see the demi-humans safe and happy; she knew he would either succeed or fail, and would have to rely on her afterwards. Demi-humans were slaves for a reason, and as much as it pained the young Druid, he won't be able to change the minds of the people after so many centuries of ingrained culture.
Izuku, for his part, wouldn't give up; demi-humans were still people, and they could learn to be their own people without being at odds with humanity, or the other favored races. And if that didn't happen naturally, he guessed that after defeating the Devil King he could ask for his own country, or a small island where he could have a strong population of demi-humans.
"Whatever." Izuku finally stated with a shrug, "It's time to cash in."
Walking to their table, deliberately slow, they could see both Aqua and the Crusader sitting there; one had eyes full of tears, the other a serene expression… as if she had gotten what she wanted.
"Why are you still here?" Megumin asked the blond Crusader, surprised that such a character was so stubborn; she also didn't fail to notice Chika hiding behind Izuku's back, much less the boy taking a protective stance.
"Well…" Darkness scratched her chin with a sheepish smile, "No one has kicked me out, so…"
Aqua wanted to strangle the Crusader. Not only was this female Crusader from a different religion, she had been tricked by her too!
"I guess is not a crime to sit at a table inside the Guild…" Izuku stated, maintaining his defensive stance in front of Chika, while smiling at Liza, who had taken a ready position to protect the petite Arch Wizard, "So, as long as you can remain civil toward my dear friends, I won't demand you to leave."
Aqua was about to have a mental breakdown.
Darkness indeed had suggestions to pay the debt, but her suggestions were all bad. On one hand, she had explained that asking for a private room to perform the restoration spell would save her reputation while also fulfilling the contract conditions, although that meant paying a fee for the room. Her second suggestion? Put a price to her dignity and see if any of the males would pay the price… or a lot of them.
"So…" Izuku's voice washed over the blue haired Arch Priestess, making her skin crawl at how kind and caring he sounded, how sickening it was to feel his misguided sense of justice fill the hall, "Did you come up with a decision?"
Aqua was fully aware that the words were directed at her; she also knew that now she had to decide between betraying her followers or work her ass off…
"Fine!" Aqua finally screamed, making Izuku and Megumin flinch, "I only have to restore these two, right? No need for theatrics or public humiliation, right? It can even be a single cast as long as both get restored, RIGHT?!"
"Yes…" Izuku replied after a moment to collect himself, "You are making a scene out of this though."
"FINE!" Aqua screamed once more, and then made her staff appear on her hand, her sacred cloth was now easy to see due to her beautiful glow; and then she pointed the staff toward the slave-girls, "Sacred Full Restoration!"
The spell was thrown without fanfare or any special speech; Aqua just wanted to be done with it, and move on to finally get money for her… needs.
While Izuku could tell that the ex-goddess didn't want to comply, the effects of the spell were clear and quite fast to take effect. Chika and Liza were surrounded by light, and rather soon, their bodies were restored.
"Uwo?" Chika was utterly confused at seeing little thumb-claws growing were her wings bent, as if meant to be used like human thumbs against the wing to be able to grip things… then she felt something growing out of her lower back, "EEEEEPPPPPP!"
A new extra mound of flesh grew from the lower back of the black harpy, and was quickly covered in new feathers, then, a group of longer and stronger feathers grew, forming a beautiful jet black tail. Chika began to spin in place to try to catch a better look of her new appendage, letting out adorable sounds that reflected her wonder and curiosity, especially when the tail twitched and moved.
Liza was less obvious. She only stuck out her newly formed tongue, and used it to taste-clean her teeth.
"Me… speak…" Liza tried to use her voice, with obvious effort due to the long amount of time spent without it, "Again!"
Izuku wisely decided not to mention how primitive her speech was, instead nodding her way with an encouraging smile.
"Well, you did it!" Izuku said to the blue haired girl, showing both his cute smile and the magic parchment, "The contract is fulfilled; there is no more debt for you."
As Izuku finished his words, the magical contract caught fire in blue flames, quickly turning to ashes, while not burning anything else. Aqua was now free, but she felt somewhat dirty…
"This isn't fair…" Aqua whispered, just loud enough for those closest to her to listen, "I shouldn't have gone through with this…"
As she finished, a bottle was placed right before her face. Aqua blinked a couple of times, unable to believe her eyes at the sight gracing her. It was the fancy wine she had spent all that money on!
"Here, a little offering of gratitude." Izuku said, smiling like the good-natured idiot he was, with a pouting Megumin standing by his side, and two demi-humans looking at their master as if he were the true god in the room, "A benevolent Goddess should always use her powers to make life better, to heal the wounded and the sick, and to stop injustice whenever it happens. If you remember this; I will make sure to remember to give proper offerings in return."
Aqua was quick to hug the bottle; tears flowing from her eyes denoted how much she loved this gift, as well as the fear of it being taken away on a whim.
"You better take your time drinking it." Megumin was quick to say, caressing her necklace to remind herself that she had a much better gift, "It was quite expensive."
Aqua knew very well how expensive it was; Undine's Blood, as the wine was called, was not only exquisite, but hard to get, and costly…
"I know, right?" Izuku said with a laugh, still finding it worth the price if it got the goddess in the right mindset, "I mean, two thousand eris for a wine made of aqua berries?"
Aqua was struck dumb by those words…
"Two…" Aqua's voice failed to carry over the sound of her head forming a headache, that price couldn't be right! "Two… thousand?"
"As I said, expensive." Megumin replied, failing to notice the distraught face on the Arch Priestess, "Your Good Berries are much better than aqua berries; you should try to make wine with them."
As Megumin directed her words to a now pondering Druid, Aqua began to wonder why she had believed the merchant when he said that the proper price for each bottle was two hundred thousand eris… then she finally understood that her entire tribulation was caused by five overpriced bottles of wine…
"Excuse me!" Luna's voice made the conversation stop, making everyone look at the busty counter woman, "I couldn't help but notice that your party used a really high level holy spell…"
For the first time since they met, Izuku and Aqua shared the same fear; for a moment, both believed that they would be called forward by some sort of inquisitorial committee to answer for using holy magic to restore demi-humans… of course, Izuku was more than ready to make a quick escape with Megumin and his girls… wait, his girls?
"There is a recently posted quest that's urgent, but no one seems to want to take it." Luna began to explain, failing to notice how the group seemed to relax at her wording, "There have been reports of strange lights being seen at the graveyard; nothing bad has happened and there is no evidence of necromancy being performed to be found during day hours. Still, the lesser nobles and merchants are feeling nervous, and have demanded that an investigation team be formed and dispatched to the site."
Confused stares were directed at the counter lady, who could easily guess that no one in the party could tell why she was talking to them in the first place… honestly, she was expecting them to take the bait and be the first to check the site; if there was nothing bad, then that was it, but if they ended up missing in action, that would be useful enough to ask for the royal guards to step in.
"The current reward is of one million eris just for checking the site and reporting back the reason for this phenomenon." Luna half-explained, but quickly changed gears upon noticing the Druid giving her an inquisitive stare, "Also, the guild is ready to pay extra, accordingly to any danger faced during the expedition."
Later that night, at the graveyard…
It didn't came as a surprise that Aqua would accept the request so easily once the reward was made known, much less that she wanted to keep most of the reward to herself. Izuku had to admit that at least she had an explanation for her demand… a weak one, but an explanation nonetheless.
"This doesn't make sense." Izuku finally voiced, taking a glance back in the direction of the blue haired Arch Priestess.
"It does!" Aqua huffed, fully recovered from her previous humiliation, "If this is the result of necromancy or some undead strolling around, I'll do all the work!"
Aqua was trying to stay strong, but the deadpan look on the faces of her companions was rather unsettling.
"Of course I'm giving you a portion of the reward just by escorting me…" Aqua began to falter under the heavy stares, "And, if by chance is something else… well… we'll evenly distribute the reward as usual…"
Aqua was quite close to crying as the stares continued.
"What our leader meant…" Megumin started, earning a startled reaction from the blue haired girl.
"Since when he is the leader?!" Aqua's shout was completely ignored as Megumin continued.
"… is what are YOU doing here?" Megumin finished as she pointed her tiny finger toward a certain blond Crusader.
"As a Crusader of Eris, I cannot ignore such claims over hallowed ground." Darkness answered like a duty-bound knight… just to instantly break under the stares of the party members, "Also… Aqua registered me as an official party member. It is a pleasure to be in your party!"
"I don't think Master approves…" Chika softly said, eyeing the Crusader with caution.
"Blue hair… dummy…" Liza threw in, obviously not afraid to voice her opinion.
"Nobody asked you!" Aqua shouted as she kicked the leg of the gator-girl… just to find that said leg was harder than the tombstones around them, "OWIE!"
"Fine, you can stay." Izuku said with a tired sigh, understanding that it would be detrimental to start an argument in the middle of a quest; however, he moved to be between Darkness and the trio of Megumin, Chika and Liza, "As long as you don't try to harm those important to me."
Megumin couldn't help but blush at the inclusion of her person among those important to Izuku… she decided that she could live with the demi-humans included… it was common for nobles and heroes to have multiple partners after all.
"Don't worry, as my party members, it is my duty to protect all of you from harm. No matter how shameful it is for me to actually protect the enemy of my goddess… or a heathen who doesn't even speak her name with respect…" Darkness' speech was quickly deteriorating, and soon she was shivering in expectation of perverted things to come, "Of course… you are free to remind me of my place with those sexy thorny whips of yours…"
As Darkness continued to babble about perverted things, and Aqua wailed about a possible broken toe and barbarians made of steel, Izuku made vines appear, and quite quickly, some of these covered the mouths of both rambling girls; they were instantly frozen by the rather serious look on his eyes.
"Quiet you two!" Izuku chastised them with a low voice, "Something is happening."
Just as Izuku finished, the rest of the party began to notice a change in the atmosphere… then the chanting began.
"Oh, spirits of those who couldn't pass onto the afterlife. Lost souls of those who died before their time…"
The voice was powerful, yet gentle; it was definitively female though.
"There is a lot of mana in the air…" Izuku reported as he began to walk toward the voice, taking careful steps to avoid placing his team in unnecessary danger, "Megumin?"
"Heed my call and listen to my voice. Seek the light and enter the gates of eternity…"
The voice continued the chanting, and magic circles were visible in the air above an obelisk that seemed to mark the very center of the graveyard.
"It is a spell no doubt. High level too…" Megumin replied while focusing on the incantation of the voice, "It's not an attack spell though."
As they got closer, the obelisk became perfectly visible, just like the woman that was finishing her spell.
"Soul Release! BANISH!"
As she finished her incantation, the circle in the air became really bright, and then a magic circle in the ground resonated with it. Dozens of souls became visible to the naked eye thanks to the spell, and all of them darted through the circle, as if ascending to heaven.
Izuku finally recognized the spellcaster.
"Wiz?!" Izuku's outburst got the attention of the woman, who instantly looked at the assembled party of adventurers.
For a moment, it seemed as if a big confrontation was about to break loose. The spell witnessed was part of the Necromancy school of magic, and it had been cast at a rather high level too, which means that by all rights, the woman before her was a Necromancer herself; that alone was enough to warrant, at the very least, a visit to the local inquisitorial committee.
"Ah! Izuku and Megumin!" Wiz greeted back once she recognized two of the adventurers in the group, happily walking toward them with no visible sign of being on guard, or even bothered by their presence, "What are you… Oh my! Those feathers look even more beautiful now!"
And once again, the shop owner was trying to reach for the distressed harpy…
"FFUUUEEEEE!" Chika was terrified, unable to imagine any human, other than her dear master, touching her plumage without malicious intent, so, she backed away.
"No touching!" Liza said as she picked the ditzy shop keeper by the collar of her clothes yet again, "Only master touch!"
"But they are so beautiful! So fluffy!" Wiz rambled as she flailed her arms hopelessly while trying to reach for the bird-girl.
"So…" Megumin was the first to find her voice, calling to attention, and failing to hide her smile when Izuku looked solely at her, "That's it? Someone making an unrequested exorcism?"
"It seems so." Izuku seemed just as confused, if also relieved, as he wasn't sure his skills would be enough to deal with a horde of undead, "But if the graveyard needed an exorcism, why not post it in the guild hall as a quest?"
Izuku's question was valid, although the answer came from an unlikely source.
"Actually…" Darkness' voice earned attention, a lot of it, "These kinds of rituals are meant to be performed by the clerics of the Eris Church on a regular basis… but… come to think of it… we hadn't had a proper Exorcist in almost a year…"
The shame in Darkness' voice wasn't mired with pleasure for once, as it seemed that she was genuinely sorry for having to report such a lack of proper staff from her religion.
"Well, we got an explanation and a reason." Izuku happily said, content with the knowledge that the quest was completed, nothing bad had happened, and people could breath easily at night now, "We can go home now and report early in the morning."
Izuku's declaration was met with nodding from everyone… well, almost everyone.
"No, not yet…" Aqua's voice sounded rather ominous, and full of anger, "There is still an exorcism to be performed…"
"What? Why?" Megumin asked as she looked around, not noticing any shift in the ambient mana that could indicate restless souls, "Where is the undead?"
Aqua's fist was immediately charged with her divine fury, her blazing eyes were solely focused on the still-immobilized shop keeper.
"Right among us!" Aqua shouted as she leaped at Wiz… just to be enveloped in vines, canceling her attack, and leaving her unable to even struggle, "IZUKU! WHY?!"
"Just shut up and stop being delusional." Izuku replied as he began to walk to the exit of the graveyard, being closely followed by those important to him, and keeping Aqua and Darkness a little bit farther away to prevent harm to his hearing, "Attacking Wiz out of the blue like that."
Megumin looked at Izuku with questioning eyes for a moment, but after receiving a mischievous wink, she couldn't help but to wink in return. Both knew very well that the ditzy shopkeeper was undead; Megumin had felt her mana, how unnatural it was, while Izuku had been able to notice the lack of a heartbeat and the abnormal lack of heat of her body.
They didn't know what kind of undead she was, but they were sure of something, she wasn't evil, and her shop had quite the variety of items that piqued their interest.
Magnus: I refuse to follow canon. I refuse so hard that next chapter Izuku will make a special confession to Megumin!