Wiz's Magic Item Shop.
The party members gathered here to acquire emergency supplies for their newest member, fellow Arch-Wizard Yunyun, and to visit a certain timid Lich.
"Please have some tea." Wiz said, serving steaming cups to everyone.
She appeared to be doing well — even able to afford tea — thanks largely to Vanir.
As if on cue, this demon who could see into people's hearts materialized before them.
"Oh my! Welcome, esteemed guests!"
Seeing his most valuable customer — who was also the lord of Axel — Vanir naturally offered his finest hospitality.
"Long time no see, Vanir. How have you been?"
"Absolutely terrible!" Vanir replied promptly, bitterness evident in his voice, "This foolish shop owner keeps mysteriously acquiring strange items when I'm not looking, keeping us perpetually in the red."
"Well... that's true."
Such was Wiz's nature — always buying useless, bizarre items and putting her life on the line. Even Vanir couldn't change her.
"You have it rough, Vanir."
"Indeed! But no matter what, that fool is still my friend, so I can't just leave her be." He sighed while holding his head, though his complaints lacked real bite.
His tolerance stemmed from when he'd made ξ30,000,000 from the wealthy person before him.
At present, however, Wiz was enduring Aqua's bullying. Being naturally timid, she inevitably found herself at the bottom of the pecking order when facing the Goddess.
Just like now.
"Hey, you disgusting Lich, isn't this just hot water? Where's my tea, where's my tea?!"
Aqua was deliberately picking a fight. Though it was her divine nature as a Goddess of Water that purified the tea into plain water, she still blamed Wiz, tormenting the timid Lich.
"Y-yes! I'm so sorry, I'll prepare another cup right away!" Faced with the deliberate provocation, Wiz could only meekly comply.
She hurried back inside to prepare another cup of tea.
But Aqua simply repeated her actions, forcing Wiz to scurry back and forth between the hall and kitchen.
"Aqua, stop bullying Wiz — aren't you two friends?"
"Hmph, mere Lich." Aqua pursed her lips, showing no intention of apologizing.
Of course, knowing her true identity, Wiz wouldn't dare accept her apology anyway.
This tension stemmed from Wiz's inability to join as a Familia member.
"Well then, my dear lord, what would you like to purchase from our humble shop today?" Vanir asked with a merchant's demeanor.
Though he had already read Adam's mind, he still made a show of asking — whether out of unnecessary courtesy or proper business etiquette was unclear.
Adam smiled and gestured toward Yunyun, who sat formally sipping her tea, "You're asking when you already know the purpose... This is Yunyun, our party's new member."
"Oho~ I see, I see."
Vanir pressed his index fingers to his temples in a theatrical display of mind reading, despite already knowing everything about the girl.
This was merely preparation to savor more 'delicious' emotions from her.
"O maiden who claims she will succeed as the Crimson Demon clan chief, if you simply wish to get closer to that mentally challenged chuunibyou girl next to you, this one suggests you should just say so directly... Though that girl would surely misunderstand."
His sharp tongue struck without mercy.
After peering into others' hearts and weighing their relationships, he would bluntly predict unfavorable outcomes, then leisurely savor the delicious emotions of embarrassment and confusion that followed.
"I-I don't! I don't have any such thoughts!" Yunyun protested weakly.
Her denial only served to expose her true feelings while providing the mind-reading demon with another taste of her delicious emotions.
"Alright, Vanir, stop bullying Yunyun."
"Yes, yes, yes, the lord is so protective."
Having savored his small victory, Vanir turned back to the counter to search the shelves.
Once he stopped teasing her, Yunyun gradually calmed down.
"Um... Mr. Adam... why did you bring me here?"
That morning, Adam had led her to this remote magic item shop, where she'd been teased by the masked man who appeared to be the owner. She felt completely lost.
"Ah, I apologize for not explaining earlier." Adam said, "Now that you've officially joined the Hero Party, we need to equip you with our standard gear. As an Arch-Wizard, you're entitled to five high-quality Manatites as emergency reserves — that's why we're here."
After his explanation, Yunyun immediately protested.
"N-no need! I just joined — it wouldn't be right to accept such gifts without contributing first..."
"It's fine!" Adam interrupted, "This is standard procedure. Every party member receives these benefits, so please accept them without worry."
Though Yunyun was wealthy herself, he wouldn't treat her differently — how would the others feel?
...Though those idiots probably wouldn't care about such details anyway.
"Besides... Yunyun, your current outfit doesn't match our party's aesthetic."
She still wore the same clothes from when she first met Megumin — all black with strange accessories. It drew odd looks from passersby on the street.
It was distinctly in the Crimson Demon style, full of chuunibyou flair.
While the 『 Hero 』 Party's uniforms also attracted attention, people viewed them with admiration and respect rather than curiosity and confusion.
After all, they were the 『 Hero 』 Party, renowned throughout the kingdom.
Most importantly, their uniforms were actually normal!
"Um..."
"Besides the Manatites and uniform, you can use a short sword, right?"
"Y-yes... I know some basic self-defense with short swords."
"Then we'll visit Bill's place to forge you a new short sword — using adamantite."
He spoke casually of such expenses, like any wealthy person would. Such a simple, straightforward life... and utterly boring.
So boring that Vanir nearly wept.
"Here you are, my lord! Ten Manatites — that will be ξ500,000!"
"Thank you for your help."
Pay, take, leave — all in one fluid motion.
At Bill's workshop, they exchanged quick greetings and commissioned the short sword.
✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧
As evening approached, the party began their journey home.
Adam walked at the rear, and without noticing, Yunyun had fallen into step beside him.
"Um..."
"What is it?"
"Um... this is for you!" Yunyun presented a small sword tassel.
The ornament was woven from two-toned ribbon — gold inside, red outside. A simple decorative piece.
Adam was sure of that much.
"What's this?"
"A return gift."
"Return gift...?" Adam froze for a moment.
In the next moment, understanding dawned on him.
"There's no need for this, those things were just—"
"This is just a small token of my appreciation!" The girl's face flushed as she explained defensively, "You've been so thoughtful of me, Mr. Adam, so I wanted to show my gratitude... Is that not okay?"
Her pleading eyes made Adam's heart soften.
Her gesture stirred something within him — a longing to be cared for, too.
In that moment, he truly understood Kazuma's position.
Unlike himself, that kid had someone reliable to depend on, no matter how reckless he became.
But Adam, as the eldest, had naturally fallen into the role of caretaker, watching over this group of troublesome youngsters. All this time, no one had truly understood his burden.
Now, unexpectedly, Yunyun's simple gesture brought him comfort.
He realized then just how valuable it was to have one sensible person in the party — how much they needed that grounding presence.
"...Thank you, Yunyun."
"Yes, you're welcome!"
The maiden's pure smile radiated in the setting sun.
A tiny seed had been planted, waiting for the right conditions to take root and flourish.
✧✧✧
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