Legend of the Crimson Demon

Under Zunzun's careful watch, Yunyun didn't wake up until late at night.

Technically, graduates weren't allowed to return to the school infirmary, but the teacher turned a blind eye this time. With special permission and a little pity, Yunyun was allowed to recover in the familiar environment of her student days.

Also worth mentioning: the superior healing potion was no joke.

One bottle—just one—and both Yunyun and Zunzun were completely restored.

Yunyun apologized over and over again for getting injured and messing up the material collection.

But Zunzun didn't blame her. If anything, it was his fault. He was the one who asked her for help, and in the end, he also passed out like a sack of potatoes.

After she recovered enough to stand, Yunyun returned to work. Now that she was a guerrilla fighter, she had to patrol the village and keep an eye out for demons. Honestly, it sounded pretty exhausting.

Zunzun, on the other hand, went back to school as usual.

After acquiring the skill point potion recipe and harvesting the needed ingredients, how could he not try it himself?

With the teacher's guidance—and Arue's assistance—it took five attempts before he finally succeeded.

Yep. Superior potion, indeed.

The process was ridiculously precise. A single mistake, and the materials went up in smoke. Considering how expensive the ingredients were, this was a textbook example of a financial disaster.

Zunzun's mouth twitched.

"Enchanting ruins three generations, alchemy destroys a lifetime." The senior time traveler was right.

Still, the teacher patted him on the back and called him a genius, even giving him a free bottle of skill point potion.

At that moment, Zunzun realized something important.

All this running around gathering materials, brewing potions, failing over and over? Completely pointless. It would've been way faster to just flatter the teacher!

In addition, the teacher gave him a valuable tip: skill point potions, like stamina restoratives, could be modified with rare ingredients to enhance their effects. In theory, one bottle could grant two or even three skill points—if crafted with the right combination.

Nobody had successfully done it yet, but the teacher smiled and said, "I'm counting on you."

Zunzun, who'd just barely figured out how to make the basic version, could only nod stiffly and write it down for future reference.

Back home, Zunzun wanted to brag about his potion-making triumph.

But before he could speak, he noticed that Sister Soketto was already in a great mood.

When he asked why, she replied happily, "We had a major client today."

Although Sister Soketto specialized in swordsmanship, her divination abilities were top-tier—even considered god-level. Meanwhile, Zunzun had zero talent in that area. He sometimes suspected that all of their mother's talent for divination had gone straight into Sister Soketto, leaving him with… nothing.

The client's name?

Mitsurugi Kyouya.

Zunzun immediately remembered.

Half a year ago, that guy came to Crimson Demon Village to recruit magicians in his quest to defeat the Demon King. Funifura and Dodonko had been super excited at the time.

"Wait, he never left?"

"No, he left and came back," Soketto explained, smiling. "He asked me to divine the future of his journey. I told him he would one day meet a high priestess from the Axis Church—someone destined to change the fate of the world. He must protect her no matter what. Then he left immediately."

Zunzun had a very good guess about who that Axis priestess was.

Yep. It's Aqua. The Useless Yet Somehow World-Altering Goddess.

Important or not, Aqua had zero interest in working with Mitsurugi, so no matter how much he begged, she rejected him over and over.

Zunzun asked, "So is he still around?"

"No, he rushed off to Alcanretia to find his future partner."

Alcanretia—City of Water.

Also known as the holy land of insanity and the headquarters of the Axis Cult.

Mitsurugi really thinks he can just go there and find a normal Axis priestess? Does he not realize the entire church is full of lunatics!?

Zunzun could already see it: Mitsurugi, noble and clueless, being emotionally and financially ruined by cunning Axis believers.

Ah, well. Not my problem.

Still, Soketto noticed Zunzun was in high spirits, too. After he proudly told her about successfully brewing a skill point potion, she celebrated with him and said:

"You're one step closer to world domination!"

…Please no.

Sometimes Zunzun seriously worried that, just to meet his sister's expectations, he'd end up becoming the next Demon King.

Then again… the idea wasn't entirely off the table.

The following days passed quietly.

Megumin tried to work various odd jobs to save money for her trip, but every shop in the village rejected her. Eventually, even Yunyun tried to help—only to be rejected too, despite being the clan leader's daughter.

During that time, Zunzun managed to brew two more skill point potions—wasting a ton of materials in the process. He was also nearing the end of his school studies.

He skipped a lot of classes.

For example: the Crimson Demon Tribe's traditional greetings, or the standard way to open a letter. After shouting "I'm sick of this nonsense!", the teacher actually agreed and said he didn't need to learn them.

He even got another skill point potion as a reward.

What kind of school is this?

Then one day, just as Zunzun was about to head to the Wishing Pond to train, someone stopped him.

"Little sister—wait, brother?"

"Hmm?"

Zunzun turned toward the voice. His eyes sparkled immediately. Whoever this was, he had a high initial favorability toward them.

The person standing before him was probably a woman.

She was tall—half a head taller than Zunzun—with broad, enviable pectoral muscles. A magician-style hood covered most of her face, but red hair peeked out below the fabric. Only her mouth and chin were visible.

"Big sister, are you a foreigner?"

Tourism had picked up recently, so strangers in the village weren't unusual.

She nodded. "Yes. Sorry to stop you. I got lost. Could you tell me where the village entrance is?"

"No problem!"

Zunzun pointed. "Go straight, turn left, and you'll see a griffin statue—the entrance is right past it."

"A griffin statue?"

She paused for a second, the corners of her lips twitching beneath the hood.

"Made of petrification magic," Zunzun added.

…Right. That wasn't a statue at all—it was a real griffin that had been turned to stone with one spell. Not exactly the most welcoming village marker.

"…Thanks," she said, nodding. She turned to leave.

But as she walked past, a strange smell drifted past Zunzun's nose.

It wasn't the scent of flowers, or perfume, or body odor.

It was something else.

Familiar.

Zunzun furrowed his brow and searched his memories.

Where had he smelled this before?

Suddenly, a spark.

Host.

It smelled just like Host.

"…Demon?" he muttered, almost involuntarily.

The woman's footsteps paused.

-End Chapter-

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