"I'll take care of the Giant Toads by myself, and don't use your magic on such pathetic things," I told the loli mage in a serious tone.
Megumin's magic is currently my only sure way to beat that damn golem and get lots of Eris.
Of course, the EXP for leveling up is welcome too.
"Don't worry, I, Megumin, will save my strength for the main course!"
I smiled looking at her.
She seems really motivated since my speech about convictions and explosive art.
After this brief exchange, I turned away from her to face the Giant Toads populating the prairie not far from Axel.
The warm wind of the plain made the tall grass sway gently, while the heavy footsteps of the creatures made the ground vibrate at irregular intervals.
I approached one of them with silent steps.
An ability I naturally acquired thanks to my little guerrilla warfare against the shogun's forces during the night.
As for my body odor, I didn't hesitate to dirty myself with mud.
Unlike some clichéd isekai protagonists, I don't hesitate to get dirty to achieve my goals.
Once close enough, I immediately shot an arrow toward the giant frog's eye.
The Archery skill helped, and my field experience in using the bow left no chance for the Giant Toad... at least, that's what I thought.
"Grrrrr!!"
The arrow damaged the eye, which could have prevented it from spotting me, but it didn't reach the brain.
I was too confident in my strength to compensate for the inefficiency of the cheap weapon.
Yes, strength, because the penetration power of an arrow depends on the bow and the force exerted on the weapon.
"Tsk, I'll have to take it down in close combat."
Without hesitating, I rushed toward the monstrosity bigger than a Minotaur.
Tongue strike.
Because of its damaged vision and my stats above those of a human athlete, the Giant Toad couldn't reach me despite its fast and violent tongue strikes.
With a jump, I reached its head and drove the arrow all the way to the creature's brain.
"Whoa, so cool!!"
Shortly after, Megumin approached to congratulate me on defeating the monster.
I don't know if this is what pro players feel after a victory, receiving congratulations from the feminine crowd... but my heart appreciated this recognition.
Something I didn't get in my past life: only consolations for my failures... at first.
"Thanks, I learned a trick or two to preserve my mana."
At my response, she seemed to think for a moment for some unknown reason, before looking at me with a sly smile and clearly curious eyes.
In turn, I simply maintained eye contact with a "got a problem?" kind of look.
"I'm just wondering... what kind of magic do you use."
Here we go...
The Crimson Demon clan, in the KonoSuba universe, is a clan specialized in magic, and even their existence is tied to this art.
A peculiarity of the latter is that all its members possess advanced magic in adulthood, and spoiler... I have no advanced magic.
Thus, from a traditional point of view... I'm considered a minor there.
If Megumin or Yunyun learn this... shiver.
I really need to gather those damn 30 skill points.
"Haha, none that could stand before the raw power of Explosion magic."
As usual, in the Hell's Paradise universe, I avoided lying and gave an answer containing a bit of truth.
Of course, I remained vague.
"Humph~ I'm happy that you understand the awesomeness of my magic!"
After that, Megumin launched into a diatribe about the superiority and efficiency of her magic.
What did I do? I supported her points, of course!
All for the XP and leveling up.
As for Megumin herself? Making her happy is a bonus on the way.
After all, we're compatriots of the same race and partners now.
I should care a bit about her happiness, as it will reflect directly or indirectly in her performance.
It took me some time to hunt the number of Giant Toads requested by the quests taken, and we ended up taking a short break.
Even though I'm the one mainly hunting the monsters now, Megumin follows me during the walk between different hunting sites.
The loli's physical endurance, as a pure magic practitioner, is... average.
That's already good, but I wanted to avoid an accident due to fatigue during an important moment.
The wind blew gently on the prairie, carrying with it the smell of wet grass... and the more acrid smell of still-warm Giant Toad blood.
"Are you sure we shouldn't deal with the monster carcasses first?"
Selling them to the guild would bring extra money, but that's not my goal for the day.
Especially since I can come back to supervise their sale to the guild after the golem and exploring the ruins.
"It's indeed possible that other monsters will come devour the Giant Toads in our absence, but supervising the sale would take time."
Time that I judge as a loss, compared to the monetary gains collected at the end.
Better to stay focused on the golem.
Megumin nodded with understanding at my explanation, and we didn't delay in leaving the place.
It took a few hours to finally reach the place suspected by the guild to be a dungeon.
"...I... it's huge."
(Image)
Megumin's eyes shone with admiration at the gigantic steel golem posted in front of the ruins.
This thing literally screams "Made in Japan," while it stands guard in front of the entrance.
A golem? No... this thing is a classic giant robot figurine, or I don't know what I'm talking about.
"Stop drooling, Megumin. I remind you that we have to destroy it."
I couldn't help but give her a look that meant "seriously?"
"B... but it's cool!" she replied in an excited tone, before starting to throw out a bunch of futile reasons to explain the "uselessness" of destroying this lifeless creature.
"Megumin... do you really want to break or bridle your determination because of something cool? Are you really going to prevent people from understanding the power of explosion art?"
I apologized internally for manipulating her, but the destruction of this golem is important.
I can only turn to this kind of trick.
"I... but..." She became confused, while her eyes showed real reluctance to consider destroying the golem.
"Listen." I grabbed Megumin by the shoulders.
"Huh?!"
She let out a strange little cry when I grabbed her to turn her torso toward me.
Our gazes met, plunged into each other.
"If you destroy this creature, I promise you another one, even cooler, in the future. "
At my words, her eyes began to shine even brighter than when she had first spotted the golem.
I have a headache just thinking about having to build my own golem later... but it's necessary.
This quest must be accomplished if I want to leave the stable once and for all, and finally get proper equipment.