blessed with a hero's heart

Chapter 12: Justice

Magnus: Here is the new chapter, it is time to continue seeing Izuku grow! Also, the poll is over, and Chika and Liza will gain their new classes next chapter, for now, enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!
Disclaimer: Thank you for your continued support, this chapter's omake is dedicated to AllAboutNothin.
Chapter 12
Justice
Izuku was panicking. Heroes mustn't kill; even in the direst of circumstances, heroes always had to come through without crossing the line. When a villain ended up dead, it was always their fault, the result of their own villainy falling on themselves, or karma striking down the wicked.
Sitting on a lonely chair in the deep darkness, the Lyndon Mage looked both confused and scared. This shouldn't have happened, she was young, talented, and meant to gain a high status in life. Now she was here, at the gates of the afterlife…
Izuku knew one thing, and that was how heroes always saved people, whether they be in need or even villains. He had killed, the woman was dead, and even All Might would find the situation impossible. But he wasn't All Might, he was only Izuku Midoriya, a Druid, so maybe there was something he could do?
Quickly taking a hold of his Adventurer's card, he noticed something, like a miracle being bestowed upon him by the world itself. He was ready to become an Arch Druid, and that meant that all the restoration magic he had pined for would be his to command.
The empty darkness was soon disrupted by the sound of steps, meaning that the moment of her judgment was at hand. What could she say in her defense? What excuses could she give? She knew that her lack of worship would not help her here.
Izuku didn't have time to feel the change of class in his body; his heart was pounding in his ears, his soul aching to reverse his wrongdoing. Even when it was in self-defense, he was still guilty of murder. It didn't matter that Luna told him otherwise.
Looking through his new spells available, the verdanette noticed that Resurrection and Revive were not in his list… instead, a different option was there…
The Lyndon Mage trembled before the disappointed stare of the goddess before her. Eris hadn't say a single word yet, but it was obvious that nothing good awaited her. Lack of faith, lack of morals, the lies. The goddess, usually the embodiment of benevolence, opened her mouth to speak, the frown on her face denoted how this was going to end…
And then…
A viridescent light filled the void.
"GGAAAHHHH!"
Stella screamed as she opened her eyes. Seeing the wooden ceiling of the Guild Hall was not what she expected… unless hell consisted of repeating her final moments in an endless loop…
"Miss Stella…" Luna's voice, now cold and on edge, called to attention, making the mage flinch, "I hope you are ready to explain this mess you caused."
The mage looked confused for a second, and then reality hit her like a cudgel to the skull. She had been revived, and now would have to find her way out of a rather ugly situation. At the least, she needed to ensure that the college's reputation remained untarnished.
"I…" Stella struggled to start her explanation, she even felt that her voice was slightly different, and her body felt heavier. Aftereffects of the resurrection magic, no doubt, "It wasn't…"
"And don't try to lie." Luna added, sounding really angry, "We found some interesting documents among your belongings, and the bag of your apprentice."
Seeing the stack of papers and sealed letters sitting by her side, the mage couldn't help but to look around in search of the culprits. In one corner, the Druid was standing, shielding the upstart with a face full of determination… in the other, her apprentice was looking at her in utter shock.
"I wasn't going to kill that little upstart!" The mage tried her usual approach, not failing to notice the fierce look in the Druid's eyes, or the disbelief on the Guild attendant, "I was going to first intimidate her… That little murderer overreacted!"
The explanation was… a stretch… but if the blonde had gone through the letters, and orders, there was little else to do. Her orders had been as usual, get the knowledge by any means, or destroy the source. Assassination was not outright declared there, but it was a given; she only had to spin it in a way to make her not look like… an overzealous idiot.
Punishment would fall on her, no doubt, both from the Guild and the Academy, but at least she'd be able to continue her career.
"If that is the case…" Luna drawled on, knowing that she had to prevent the loss of the best adventurer to ever grace her Guild Hall, "Izuku, Megumin, you are free to go. You already undid any and all possible actions that may net you penalties, and I'm sure Megumin doesn't need to demand further retribution."
"Let's go, Megumin." Izuku was quick to take the offer. While he still felt guilty about taking a life, he couldn't say that he didn't feel relieved that he was now free of charges.
"Yes, let's…" Megumin replied, sounding shaken still.
Luna sighed as she watched the young couple walk out of the private room; taking the first life was always difficult, an ordeal that typically required supervision. It was a true tragedy that this event took place in a place that was, in theory, guaranteed to be safe.
"As for you, miss important mage…" Luna returned her attention to the recently returned woman, "Let's talk about all the crimes you committed today…"
Stella knew she was fucked.
Back into the hall…
While criminal charges had been avoided, and with no desire to pursue the matter with the college, Megumin and Izuku walked to their table with heavy hearts. The ideals of the Hero world did not align with taking lives, even when there was no other choice. Such events were taken seriously, with investigations and therapy afterwards. Izuku couldn't help but feel like he had taken a step backwards, even when he had managed to undo the deed.
For Megumin, it was a rather rude awakening. Talks about the future with her classmates always included the possibility of having to slay countless humans that were part of the enemy's evil forces, be it a local tyrant or the Devil King himself. It wasn't until now that the reality of such an action hit her like a sack full of bricks. There was nothing heroic in spilling the blood of your kin…
"Hey, Izuku…" Megumin called to his attention, her voice carrying a plea for help, "Can we avoid bandit-hunting quests?"
Izuku was in a similar situation, wishing for someone to come, give him a hug, and tell him he wasn't some kind of monster…
"Of course, no bandit hunting for us." Izuku replied with a shaky smile, barely managing to keep his voice from wavering.
Bandit hunting was a rather well paid type of quest. It didn't come up often thanks to the city being suited for low level adventurers, and the usual dangers of the wilderness keeping bandits from establishing successful camps. However, every now and then a group of bandits would find a nice cave to settle in and attack the roads.
Bandits, being outlaws, would almost always fight to the death. The city's rather small prison was meant to hold citizens who had broken the law and awaited a trial, meaning that it wasn't necessary to waste space on outlaws who would be sent to the gallows anyway. That fact meant that adventurers were expected to kill them on the spot, and said adventurers, by right of conquest, were allowed to keep anything of value that the bandits had… with the exception of goods properly reported to the guild.
Before this day, Izuku knew he wouldn't be able to partake in such savagery. After today…
"MEGUMIN!"
A cute voice called at the top of her lungs. The brunette it belonged to was now jogging toward the petite Crimson Demon.
Izuku stepped between the two on reflex…
"Eh?!" The brunette stopped, quickly recognizing the defensive stance.
Chika and Liza immediately took positions to Izuku's sides, much to the increasing shock of the girl. Megumin sighed, but not out of exasperation. She found the gesture heartwarming, if unnecessary.
"It's alright." Megumin said as she tugged on the sleeve of the boy she loved, "I know her. She is a Crimson Demon too."
"Sorry, I just…" Izuku didn't even know what to say, his feelings still messing up his instincts, "Sorry."
The demi-girls seemed to relax with the change, if only a little bit. They felt really guilty about Izuku needing to defend himself while they weren't that far away.
"I-It's ok!" The brunette replied, showing a rather adorable smile, "I-I know you are only protecting Megumin."
There was a shyness to her voice that seemed to waver between fear and curiosity, but Izuku, for the moment, couldn't focus on that aspect.
He did notice the way she exchanged looks with Megumin though.
"I guess introductions are in order…" Megumin sighed again, this time in obvious annoyance, "Izuku, this is Yunyun. She is part of the Crimson Demon clan, just like me."
"Pleased to meet you." Izuku replied, managing to still keep some of his confidence thanks to all the time he had spent surrounded by pretty girls. His demeanor seemed to surprise the now-identified Yunyun.
"You…" Yunyun's voice seemed hesitant, and almost hopeful, "Aren't going to laugh at my name?"
"Why would I?" Izuku's response earned a chuckle from the petite Arch Wizard.
"Yunyun, this is Izuku." Megumin continued before she decided to mark her territory, "He is my boyfriend."
Megumin's cheeks turned scarlet-red as she blurted the last part. She had noticed that Yunyun had scanned the boy, and no doubt correctly labelled him as strong, if only because she had seen the… gruesome… scene. Knowing that Yunyun had a lot more developed body, there was no other option but to declare ownership of her crush.
"Chika!" Chika presented herself in her whispery voice, oddly enough, Yunyun didn't wince; she pointed to the still tense gator-girl, "Liza!"
"Boyfriend?!" Yunyun was obviously surprised, she then proceeded to switch between staring at each one of them, "As in… you two… together-together?!"
Megumin, for a moment, recovered her attitude and energy. Her grin was proof enough of such a claim.
"Actually, as a matter of a fact…" Megumin held the full attention of the newcomer, "This man and I…"
The moment Megumin placed her hand on Izuku's back, all her cheerfulness disappeared. Her hand was now wet, sticky…
One look at where she had touched and her stare became distraught…
"Maybe we need to hit the baths first." Izuku said, knowing very well why Megumin had gone into shock again, "We really need to get cleansed."
Izuku was still covered in blood; human blood.
"Before or after we deal with that mage you revived?" Darkness asked, her lack of reaction at the sight of blood, or the knowledge of Izuku's first kill, meant that she had gone through such an ordeal before.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BEAUTIFUL BODY?!"
The excessively loud screech reverberated through the entire building. Izuku knew what had happened; Reincarnation was a spell that worked differently from Resurrection, instead of calling the soul back to the body, it forced the soul to complete the cycle of rebirth, and used the remains of the body to create a new body befitting the new cycle. That meant that while the spell offered true purification, it also had the high chance of changing the race of the receptacle… and he certainly didn't want to deal with such consequences right now.
Catching the panicked face of her friend, Darkness decided to offer her help.
"You go to the baths." Darkness offered with a smile, "I'll deal with the mage."
Izuku, right now, was grateful beyond belief for having the honor of having the friendship of such a noble woman. Of course, he didn't know at the time that said girl wanted to test her noble might after knowing that her friends had been endangered… much less that she would request his aid in some… indulgences…
In the background, Aela wisely decided to not partake in any party antics. She had no idea how to deal with nobles, and certainly preferred to do some errands for the guild in the meantime. She could always catch up with her party leader after the dust had settled, right?
Later, at the public baths…
The sound of warm water being poured over heads echoed as a group of young women painstakingly washed their bodies, finally finishing their rituals of cleansing. Megumin was finally free of the blood on her body and the smell reminding her that she was responsible for Izuku's first kill.
The sensation was still there though.
"So…" Yunyun's voice snapped Megumin out of her inner turmoil, the girl having been worried about her since there hasn't been any of the bickering they usually started. "What's their deal?"
Yunyun's question was aided by a pointing finger. Chika and Liza were actually swimming in the water, largely thanks to the fact that not many bathers were there at that hour, and the owner of the baths was not a big fan of throwing out demi-humans, especially since the two of them belonged to the Hero of Axel.
"They…" Megumin barely managed to stop herself from blurting out unnecessary information since she really didn't want to hurt Izuku again, "Belong to Izuku. They really enjoy belonging to him."
Yunyun blinked in confusion, as Megumin's wording seemed odd, even by Crimson Demon standards, but she chalked it up to her fellow Crimson Demon still being shaken.
"And you are happy with him?" Yunyun asked now, showing that she cared for the petite girl, "And them?"
Megumin froze at the question.
So far, she had enjoyed her time with Izuku, and had chosen to not mind about the demi-girls. It was the first time she had stopped and considered if she was happy.
The dream of every girl of her clan was to find the perfect guy. One who would partake in their culture, who was a valorous hero, skilled, strong, handsome, rich and fully intended on their happiness.
As a rule of thumb, most women of her clan only managed one of those objectives, two if they were lucky, and three if they used curses to get the man. Taking a second to count how many tags Izuku fulfilled…
"Yes." Megumin finally replied, "At least I think so."
Yunyun decided that there had been enough questioning about that topic. Finding deeper answers would require a different approach. Now came the important part…
"So." Yunyun changed to a cheerful tone, "How did you manage to create that powerful spell?"
The only answer she got was a snort.
"Megumin!" Yunyun shouted, "I'm your friend! Friends share secrets!"
"Who said we were friends?" Megumin replied, looking away with a rather savage grin, "That's my spell, and I don't have to share nothing about it."
"Megumin!" Yunyun's shout earned a rather unexpected reaction.
Like a flash, Liza was already hugging Megumin, her strong and scaly arms making a remarkable fortification. Her glare, though, was far more intimidating.
"Megumin is very important to Master." Chika explained while standing behind a now startled Yunyun, "Chika doesn't want Master to be upset if anything bad were to happen to Megumin."
The raspy whispers of the Black Harpy may not have had any effect on the brunette, but the sparks coming from the stone floor she kept slightly scratching did.
"Please don't hurt me!" Yunyun was not exactly well versed in close-quarters combat, much less while being naked against talons that may as well take the place of curved swords.
After taking the bath…
Izuku and company had finally decided to visit Wiz. They needed to check on the progress of Izuku's robe, and distract themselves from their recent ordeal. All they had to do was pick up Darkness on their way to the Magic Shop.
"Come on!" Yunyun bemoaned yet again, "You need to tell me how you did it!"
Izuku also had to find a way to stop this circus.
He understood… he really did. Megumin's achievement was a big deal, and he could attest to her bright mind, as fusing science and magic was no easy feat, but why did people have to be so insistent?
"Why should I share my secrets with you?" Megumin was acting all childish again, a tendency that Izuku found to be a good thing, "These are my secrets!"
As the bickering continued, Chika moved to walk by his side. The avian girl leaned ever so lightly on his side, trying to share her warmth.
"Chika knows master is a good person." Chika muttered, even lower than normal, "Master is no murderer. Master is a savior."
"Thanks, Chika." Izuku replied, almost coming to tears.
By the gates of the Guild Hall, one smiling Darkness was awaiting for them.
"Izuku! Megumin!" Darkness loudly greeted, her smile coloring her voice as she did so, "You should have told me she was punished before I could deal with her!"
Megumin snorted at the remark, and Izuku flinched.
"Seriously!" Darkness continued as she walked to properly join them, "Turning her into a Dwarf of all things!"
Loud laughter echoed through the party, although Izuku still felt a little guilty about that.
It hadn't been his intention, not by any stretch of the imagination, but that had been the result. Reincarnation had deemed that the next life of the Lyndon Mage was going to be that of a Dwarf. Honestly, as far as Izuku was concerned, the woman didn't end up looking ugly; she may not have been the beauty she was as a human, but her Dwarven body was still very feminine, and her features not too round… and as far as he was aware, Dwarves could still be mages, right?
"It wasn't intentional…" Izuku added in defeat, knowing that nothing would ever change the fact that he had… changed… the life of someone in probably unwanted ways.
Darkness recounting how the apprentice kept muttering about the love of his life being gone now didn't make it any easier either.
As the group walked through the streets, Izuku began to feel something odd.
The more he thought about the whole ordeal, the more he began to feel at peace. He had acted to defend someone dear to him while the attacker had the intention to kill; in the natural order of the world, those who were ready to kill should be ready to die as well. Yet, his heart still felt troubled. Heroes shouldn't kill…
"Seriously!" Yunyun's voice snapped Izuku out of his musings, "My father banned the use of your Big Bang inside the village!"
Megumin's laughter was better than medicine, soothing his aching heart. Such joy was worth protecting.
It wasn't long before they reached Wiz's magic shop, but they couldn't even reach the door before an unexpected sound hit them all…
"I'M DONE DEALING WITH YOU!"
CRASH!
The sound of breaking glass was something that quickly put everyone on guard; the scream of the shop owner only accelerated their feeling of dread.
"WIZ!" Izuku shouted as he entered the shop full speed, closely followed by everyone else.
There had been no need for a signal. Everyone reacted just like Izuku would. He just had to make sure that their friend was alright and protect her from any invader or attacker, her status as a great mage notwithstanding.
What they found was a shopkeeper looking angrily at a broken mirror. It took her a couple of seconds to notice the group.
"Izuku?" Wiz asked, looking surprised by the intrusion, but at least she was fine.
Izuku knew she wasn't happy. There was no attempt to glomp on poor Chika, or asking if Liza had shed more of her hard scales.
"Are you alright?" Izuku asked, and by now the rest of the group was either looking around, or at the shattered mirror, "We heard you scream…"
"Scream?" Wiz asked, trying to sound innocent; Izuku's worried stare informed her that such attempts were pointless, "Oh, right! This mirror… I couldn't make it work properly…"
"But magic mirrors are crazy expensive…" Megumin supplied, providing new information to the young Arch Druid, "Even if one malfunctions, they can be sold for a lot!"
"It made an ugly reflection of me." Wiz quickly explained.
"That makes sense." Yunyun and Darkness replied at the same time.
Izuku and Megumin exchanged worried glances, but decided to keep quiet. The ditzy shopkeeper seemed to not want to elaborate.
"You must have come for your robe!" Wiz suddenly changed gears, going back to her ditzy smile and bubbly attitude, "It's ready! I think you'll love it!"
Izuku decided that if his undead friend wanted to keep things private, it wasn't his place to keep digging. She would tell him when she felt the time was right…
A few minutes later…
"Looking good, Izuku!"
"That looks fit for a noble!"
"I'll like to order one myself!"
Izuku blushed at the praise.
He had just spun around while wearing his new robe. The midsection, running vertically from head to waist, both front and back, had been replaced by Liza's white scales, giving it a tabard-like look. Cords of golden thread adorned his shoulders, and the hood, at his request, had been emblazoned with a Yin-yang symbol.
It looked better than he hoped.
"Thank you, Wiz." Izuku directed the attention to the smiling shopkeeper, "For doing such a superb job."
"You are making me blush!" Wiz replied while swooning a little bit, "But if you want me to make you a new Druidic focus, I'll happily take some of those beautiful black feathers!"
Now she was back into her usual antics, and Chika finally jumped behind Izuku as was her usual reaction.
"I appreciate the offer, but I don't really use one, so…" Izuku began to apologize, but then everyone looked at him in shock.
"You don't use one?" Yunyun asked.
"That's impossible!" Wiz added, "Druidic magic requires a focus due to the need to commune with nature and channeling mana. To not use one risks overtaxing your body!"
"Izuku… could it be that…" Darkness started, first looking worried, and then shifted to a more excited demeanor, "That you've been handicapping yourself in order to struggle against the pain?"
Izuku's eye twitched before he looked at Megumin.
"Don't look at me like that!" Megumin shied away, "Information on druids is scarce at best! I thought you were using something really small as a focus!"
Izuku face-palmed. It was his fault, really; he should have asked around for other druids to gather better information on his accidental class choice, not just assume that Megumin knew everything. The fact that so far he had not found much trouble with his skills didn't help either… that certainly explained why his Genesic World Tree was so taxing!
"So…" Izuku began, gaining a glowing red blush due to how stupid he knew he was about to sound, "Can I ask for your help with this?"
Wiz gave a warm smile and a nod… landing a hungry stare on the Black Harpy…
A little bit later…
After giving some of Chika's feathers to Wiz, the party decided to look around the shop while they waited for the new druidic focus to be ready. They also tried to console the Black Harpy, who looked rather sad to have her feathers being manipulated by someone other than her master.
"It's ok…" Chika said while shedding tears, "If it is for master, Chika is ok with it…"
The avian girl was obviously not ok, but she endured for Izuku. Liza, of course, couldn't understand; giving up her scales had been no big deal, although she really enjoyed seeing them covering her master.
"Hey!" Yunyun suddenly called for their attention, "Why is this called a Friendship Crystal?"
The brunette was pointing at a crystal ball. It didn't show any special markings, nor exuded energy of any type.
"Oh?" Wiz looked up for a moment, and then she returned her attention to the staff she was carving runes into, "That crystal ball is used to measure the compatibility between people, allowing them to become friends if they are compatible enough. You can try it if you want, it is safe… probably."
"Probably?" Izuku asked in concern, he really didn't like how this world disregarded personal safety most of the time.
"Megumin!" Yunyun instantly called, taking a pose while pointing at the petite Crimson Demon, "I challenge you to check our compatibility! If we are friends, we have to share everything!"
Megumin looked reticent for just one second before she countered with her own pose.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Megumin's enhanced laughter was rather adorable, "We are nothing alike! We aren't compatible in the slightest! I accept your challenge!"
To Izuku, this sounded like just an elaborate way to play rivals, like very good friends that like to compare benchmarks as they grew up. He also guessed that Megumin really needed to keep her mind busy, to seal away any thoughts about witnessing yesterday's debacle…
It didn't take long for the two girls to set up the ball and hold onto it. At Wiz's request, they poured a small amount of mana into it before it activated.
Both girls were quickly surrounded by a wall of bluish light, like a cylinder, and in an instant, it happened. Screens flicked to life, and began to show images.
"Happy birthday, to me…" A child like Yunyun sang alone while sitting at a big table, a cake before her, but absolutely no one else around.
Her voice had a haunted tone to it.
'Food… FOOOOOODDD!' The child-like Megumin of the image thought loudly while stealing breadcrumbs from a large kitchen.
Both girls shrieked, unable to believe that such horrible moments of their past were being showcased to the world… to the rest of the party.
As more images began to form, Wiz approached, already holding a wooden staff with engraved runes and adorned by jet-black feathers.
"Ah, right; I forgot to mention how the artifact works." Wiz stated with a smile, "It shows all the embarrassing truths of the people touching it so that nothing is hidden, and they can truthfully say if they are compatible or not."
This was not what the pair of Crimson Demons wanted, not by any stretch of their imagination. Izuku could tell that his dear Megumin was quite close to doing something drastic…
"It's alright, even a demon will do as a friend" Seeing the cute brunette draw a pentagram was very disturbing, especially because her eyes were a mix of hopeful and demented.
"That's so amazing big sis!" A mini-Megumin shrieked in joy as Megumin gave her a thumbs-up; on a campfire, a bunch of bugs were being roasted, much to the infinite shame of the now-famous Arch Wizard.
Both girls looked as if their sanity had been lost, but before they could do something to stop the artifact, all the screens died.
Then, a different screen came into being.
Most of the background was blurred, but the main scenery was clear. It was some sort of playground, with little kids playing in the sand. One of them looked like a super tiny version of Izuku, with cherubic features that would melt the heart of any woman, another one, a spiky blonde, looked like a typical mischievous kid.
"And here, it says 'Deku', which means useless!" The moment the blond said those words, the rest began to laugh, while little Izuku seemed hurt by those words.
"Back then I didn't know any better." Izuku explained a little bit of the scene, not looking at those around him, "I was born without any special power or skill, while all my peers had been gifted with something that made them different."
Izuku had decided that the girls shouldn't have to face this alone, and by exposing himself, he could spare them the trauma of their secrets being aired to the world.
The scene shifted, and the now slightly growing kids were marching over a small bridge. The blond brat fell into the shallow river, and while he was quick to shout that he was alright, little Izuku was quick to rush to his aid.
"Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" The earnest voice of the little kid may have been heartwarming, but the already heroic concern was enough to put to shame anyone trying to become a hero.
"That may have been completely unnecessary, but that's what felt right to me." Izuku added, and then the image showed how the blond not only slapped the offered hand away, he also pushed Izuku in a rather hateful way.
A new image came up, this time, it seemed like something from not too long ago. Izuku was standing on the top of what appeared to be a building with metal railings. The boy was trying to talk to a massive man who looked strong enough to walk through a brick wall and not notice it. It took a moment, but the mountain of muscle suddenly deflated, and took the form of a skeletal man seemingly frail enough to die if the wind blew his way.
A muddled conversation followed, and then, the man gave Izuku the most hurtful words to ever be heard by a boy with a lofty dream…
"Before you asked if you could become a Hero without a 'Kosei' (Quirk)… the answer is no, you can't."
The girls could clearly see the moment Izuku's heart broke, they could even hear his very soul scream in agony.
"Hearing that from the man I idolized hurt." Izuku confessed, "It was more painful than my worst nightmare. Like being welcomed to the deepest part of hell."
At that moment, the sphere became dormant, and the light faded away. The effect was over, and the girls were no longer exposing their embarrassing memories.
"Everyone has a past that they try to hide from others." Izuku began his lecture, trying to make the Crimson Demon girls feel better, "It's just part of growing up and… why are you all crying?!"
Instead of an answer, all the girls present jumped at him to give him a group hug. He couldn't understand them between all the crying and the sobbing, but it seemed like they were trying to console him, telling him that he was already a hero, that everyone from his past was wrong.
Izuku has never felt more… welcomed… but he guessed this was a part of growing up too.
Magnus: Before you ask, no, I'm not discarding the Destroyer event. I'm just changing the sequence of events a little bit. It is only logical to think that the Crimson Demon clan would be worried about their little genius being in danger.
Omake – Is this a date?
Yunyun had decided to tail Megumin on her date. The petite Arch Wizard might have said great things about her boyfriend, but Yunyun was skeptical.
The boy seemed to be too good and too caring for his own good, which rang some alarms in her head; she had read enough novels to know that this type of guy only wanted to get under the skirt of the heroine, and then show their true colors.
Of course, she knew that it could be possible that the boy was the real deal, and just didn't know Megumin enough to know he needed to be… careful.
It totally had nothing to do with jealousy and envy at the idea of her underdeveloped fellow Crimson Demon getting a good man before her!
"A picnic?" Yunyun muttered to herself as she watched the demi-humans set up a large blanket and a large basket, "So far away from the town? Could it be…"
In that moment, the brunette's mind began to conjure mental images of all the smut parts of her favorite romantic novels. The escapades to secret clearings deep into the woods. Sneaking into old mansions. Visiting dark caves previously prepared to hold beds and preserved food. Traveling through secret passages and into dungeons within various castles.
All ending in the same… energetic activities…
"EXPLOOOSSSSION!"
Megumin's shout was immediately followed by a rather big detonation. The shockwave almost lifted Yunyun from the ground. A quick look revealed that the petite Arch Wizard had fired her spell into the lake, and the resulting rain was forming a small rainbow.
That was normal by Megumin's standards. What wasn't normal, the thing that stung at Yunyun's heart, was seeing the Druid walking back to the blanket while carrying Megumin not only like she was some sort of princess, but showing a level of care that was borderline erotic!
The princess carry was a most prized event for any girl from the Crimson Demon clan, as it symbolized a deep desire to form a permanent bond of love with the partner. The fact that it was mostly seen between married couples only exacerbated the feeling.
Then…
"No way!" Yunyun nearly screamed at what she saw next, "The lap pillow… and hand feeding too?!"
Izuku had positioned Megumin's head on his lap, giving her a most comfortable position to enjoy the rest of the outing. Seeing the petite girl entrust her limp body to the boy with such ease was bad enough, but then seeing said boy pick up a sandwich, and then place it into the girl's mouth?
Now Yunyun was boiling with envy and jealousy.
It wasn't that she wanted to steal the boy, perfect as he seemed to be. It was just that she believed it would be her to be the first to find proper romance!
"Why are you spying on Master?" The raspy whisper of the Black Harpy froze Yunyun's blood. Now she noticed that the bird-girl was no longer around Izuku, "Chika thinks that spies are bad. Chika knows how to deal with bad too!"
Seeing the sharp talons wiggle her way made the brunette scream for help.
A little bit later…
"I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY!"
Yunyun kept repeating her mantra over and over again. It looked sincere enough, but Megumin still seemed annoyed.
"I was just worried about Megumin!" Yunyun explained, and yet again, it made sense to Izuku.
"I didn't want to ruin your date!" Yunyun's final shout made both Izuku and Megumin turn red.
"DATE?!" Both screamed, gaining an even deeper shade of red to their cheeks.
"Dummy!" Liza reprimanded the brunette, as even she understood that now the date had been interrupted.