Epilogue
Several days had passed since our climactic battle with Mobile Fortress Destroyer.
And now, today…
An unusual enthusiasm pervaded the Adventurers Guild.
I doubt I have to explain why.
Every eye was turned to the Guild employee in anticipation.
“Kazuma. I know it’s been several days, but I wanted to thank you again. You came through and protected this town. Thank you…very much…! I do want to tell you sometime—about why I must protect Axel.”
So saying, Darkness, dressed in civilian clothes today, gave a shy smile. The two of us were slightly apart from the other adventurers.
I turned to her and said, “You looked pretty cool out there yourself.”
She suddenly seemed to think back to how she had acted in the face of Destroyer, not giving a single inch. “W-was I, now?” she said.
She looked away, her cheeks a faint red.
I sized up the blushing Crusader and added pointedly, “Even though you never actually did anything.”
“?!”
Still not looking at me, Darkness quavered a little.
“Come to think of it, Darkness didn’t do anything this time, did she? While I was working my butt off! I broke the magic barrier and healed Kazuma’s wounds! And I gave my MP to Megumin!”
Aqua appeared out of nowhere, but her words didn’t seem especially mean-spirited.
They made Darkness quaver again, though.
“I, of course, was a key player, letting off two Explosions in one day! The second of which, might I add, eliminated Destroyer.”
Thus said Megumin, also appearing out of nowhere and also without malice. Darkness quavered again.
“And don’t forget, Mr. Kazuma, you were quite crucial yourself! You took command of the operation, and although there were some stumbles, in the end you defeated a large golem, pulled the Coronatite out of a steel cage, gave me your MP…!”
Thus said Wiz, who had really appeared out of nowhere, her words totally devoid of any mean-spiritedness whatsoever. Darkness apparently couldn’t stand it anymore and covered her face with her hands.
“Aww, come on! What about you, Wiz? You set off a terrific Explosion, you cooled my hand down, then you teleported the Coronatite before it could blow up… I think you’re pretty much the MVP here.”
Darkness was now shaking visibly. I turned to her.
“And, uh, what about you, Miss I-will-protect-this-town? Remind us what you did.”
“Wh-what is…? What is this feeling?! Arrrgh!”
I had just about sated myself on teasing Darkness, who was now slumped on the ground, covering her face and blushing furiously, when—
The Guild Hall suddenly fell silent.
When I looked up, I could see why.
A Guild employee was standing there with a surprisingly dark expression, along with a woman with black hair, flanked by two Knights.
I got it. Destroyer wasn’t some Demon King’s general. It had terrorized towns and nations all around this world.
Naturally, the reward wouldn’t be handled by our local Guild but by knights representing the entire country.
Heck, maybe they’d come to scout us, to see if we wanted to become knights.
As all of us watched with bated breath, the woman looked straight at me. Her gaze was heavy; there was a zealous spark in her eye.
If I had to compare it to something, it would be…
Someone staring down their parents’ killer.
“Adventurer Kazuma Satou! You are suspected of sedition. I will need you to come with me.”
FIN.
Afterword
I’m thrilled to see Volume 2 in print.
When I was first invited to publish Volume 1, I thought maybe I was on candid camera or something. But I’m slowly starting to think this is actually real.
But you can never be too sure, so I’ll be keeping my guard up.
I took a trip to Tokyo the other day.
I did once live in the city long ago, but now I typically live a hermit’s existence in the country, and going to crowded places makes me panicky.
When I got to Tokyo Station, the sheer press of people made me strongly consider going right back home with my tail between my legs.
I didn’t go to the city just to “get away from it all.” I really had a real reason, and that reason was a meeting.
But I got to Tokyo a little early, so I combed through Akihabara, the otaku mecca.
My plan had been to check out some bookstores, and when they didn’t have copies of my book, to exclaim loudly, “Whaaat?! You don’t carry Konosuba? Really?!”
But all the places I went to turned out to be superior booksellers, by which I mean they stocked my novel.
After that, I wandered around near the Kadokawa building, wondering if I would get past security in the clothes I was wearing, but in the end I successfully had my meeting.
After that, my lovely editor treated me to an expensive meal, and I got to enjoy the city.
The next day, a typhoon hit Tokyo head-on.
Trains were stopped everywhere. I realized this was clearly a message from Heaven telling me not to hurry home and work but rather to take a little break before I went back. So I braved the winds and checked out the local sights.
I had fun wandering around, but I got lost more than once, and each time I imagined the scenario would work itself out thusly: Never find my way home Buy a tent Live here the rest of my life.
Where I live, you’re less likely to wait for a red light than you are for a wild pig to cross the street—and despite its inconveniences, I think I am definitely more suited to country life.
Now then, about the book.
At the moment, Sneaker Bunko’s website is serializing a Megumin-centered spin-off series called God’s Blessings on This Wonderful Explosion! so please feel free to check it out. I strongly encourage you, as it includes new illustrations by Mr. Kurone Mishima.
It’s set before Megumin met Kazuma and the others, so her hair is shorter, she lacks her trademark eye patch, and so on. The story deals with that mysterious—you know, thing on Megumin’s shoulder in the illustrations, so I recommend it to those who are curious about that.
In keeping with tradition, I leaned on a lot of people to make Volume 2 happen.
For me personally, the hardest thing to do is come up with the titles for each chapter. In fact, my editor, K, dreams up the subtitle for each volume.
Coming up with titles and character names is probably the thing that takes me the most time while writing. I just don’t have the knack for it, and I’m sure I’ll continue to need my editor’s help with titles in the future—so I apologize in advance.
Actually, my afterwords are pretty much just litanies of apologies.
But, thanks to all that help, Volume 2 made it safely out the door.
Thank you all so very much!
In fact, the web version of the story wrapped up just the other day.
To those who have read the web version: That was kind of a warm-up. The book is the real deal, and starting with Volume 3, I hope to include plenty of new material.
I promise it’ll be even better than the web version, so I hope you’ll keep reading!
Look, I may be a bit flighty, but I wouldn’t lie about my own work…would I…?
Last but not least, I’d like to thank everyone involved in the creation of this book—and especially you, my readers.
—You have my unyielding gratitude!
—Natsume Akatsuki
