The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

"Oh, you great ones, the time for our coming is at hand. Now is the moment to show the fangs you have each honed and tempered. Therefore, those who believe they are the only ones fit for the role, please return to the Crimson Demon Village within one month of receiving this letter — "

To summarize the verbose content of this letter, it states that the trial to determine the next chief of the Crimson Demon Clan is about to begin, and those who aspire to be the next chief should return home.

"Megumin, you're always like this, it's too much!"

"It's not my fault, is it? Blame the one who brought the challenge letter and the invitation together!"

Yunyun and Megumin started arguing.

This letter should reliably reach every Crimson Demon Clan member who is away from home, allowing those who have aspirations for the Crimson Demon Clan chief position to return within a month. Probably because Kazuma, Yunyun, and Megumin are always together, only one letter was sent.

And indeed, Megumin can't be blamed, who told that person to have a history of doing this?

Back when Sylvia, a member of the Demon King's army, invaded the Crimson Demon Village, that guy put his novel and the Crimson Demon Clan chief's letter together, causing a huge misunderstanding among everyone.

"I know, Megumin, you did it on purpose!"

"… What?"

"Look! To be eligible to take the Crimson Demon Clan chief's trial, you need to have learned both advanced magic and teleportation magic. But putting aside the fact that Megumin only knows Explosion magic, you haven't learned teleportation magic at all, right? So, because you're not qualified to take the trial, you… Ouch, ouch, don't grab so hard!"

Yunyun covered her aching chest.

Indeed.

It was written that the requirements for becoming a Crimson Demon Clan chief candidate are learning advanced magic and teleportation. Clearly, Megumin doesn't meet the criteria.

But to say that she did it to hinder Yunyun would be underestimating her.

"That's right, I did it on purpose!"

… Scratch that.

Megumin said matter-of-factly: "Because I'm worried that if you become the Crimson Demon Clan chief, you'll use your position to do bad things to Kazuma, so I deliberately didn't tell you… Kazuma once told me what this is called, workplace harassment, right?"

"W-Wait a minute, I didn't mean that! K-Kazuma, your eyes are so cold. I didn't do it on purpose, she asked me how to seduce men on her own… Ah, ah, ah!"

Kazuma Sato suffered a fierce blow to the abdomen.

As he groaned in pain, Yunyun slammed the table in annoyance and shouted: "What nonsense are you talking about! Kazuma and I are engaged, there's no harassment!"

"If you're not married yet, it's harassment!"

"Where did you get this maidenly innocence from!?"

Yunyun, quite angered by Megumin's purely twisted logic, wondered if their personalities had been swapped. Moreover, even though she's the real fiancée, how did she become the bad woman who commits workplace harassment?

"You two, stop arguing for now."

Darkness separated the excited duo.

Although she doesn't have the right to intervene, this kind of matter should be their family affair. Favoring either side would be wrong, but it wouldn't be good if the relationship between the party members became strained.

However, her worries were undoubtedly in vain.

As Kazuma said, he's just a part of their play, good friends who become closer the more they argue. If the relationship really becomes strained, he'll stop them in time.

"Hey, there seems to be some condition written on it."

Aqua waved the letter in her hand.

"— In addition, those who wish to participate in the Crimson Demon Clan chief's trial must bring their closest partner, supporting each other and overcoming difficulties together… In other words, you have to bring a partner, and the two of you will take the trial together?"

"That's right."

Kazuma nodded, he had understood this a long time ago. After all, he once called himself the strongest Crimson Demon Clan member.

"I heard that in the past, it was mostly a Crimson Demon Clan magician who served as the rear guard, paired with a foreign adventurer swordsman who served as the vanguard…"

That's right, only that is romantic.

"However, how should I put it, after all, the Crimson Demon Clan is strong. As long as there are two Crimson Demon Clan members, even without a vanguard or anything, they can break through the trial with sheer firepower. Later, everyone realized this."

"— The Crimson Demon Clan really has no romance."

"I agree."

Kazuma Sato's吐槽 received Kazuma's approval.

Although they can brute force their way through with their current strength, the bonds between companions, becoming closer during adventures, and overcoming difficulties hand in hand are also very exciting developments.

"I see, then I'll team up with Kazuma."

Megumin unilaterally decided.

Seeing that she didn't meet the requirements to become a chief candidate, she decided to help Kazuma become the next chief.

"Megumin, are you serious!?"

However, someone disagreed.

"Yunyun, if you have any opinions, feel free to say them. But after this, I'll use Explosion magic to show you whether I'm qualified or not!"

"I admit Megumin's Explosion magic is amazing, but after you use one spell, you're just a burden, right? There are three trials!"

"Ugh!"

Yunyun's words were quite venomous, causing Megumin to freeze up. But unexpectedly, she still didn't give up.

"I-It doesn't matter, Kazuma is strong, even if he's dragging me along, he can still succeed."

"Are you kidding me!?"

The ideal situation is for Megumin to use Explosion magic to overcome the difficulty in the third trial, and then there's no need to worry about being a burden.

Plus, Kazuma is, after all, a powerful Crimson Demon Clan member, so even with Megumin, it shouldn't be a problem.

Of course, that's under normal circumstances.

"The Crimson Demon Clan chief's trials are different every year. When I was little, my father arranged those chief's trials for me, and they never repeated."

"Yunyun, you're cheating! I knew it, being the daughter of the Crimson Demon Clan chief gives you an advantage!"

"Are you even listening to me? The chief's trials don't repeat!"

Since childhood, Yunyun had been guided by the Crimson Demon Clan chief to take on the challenges of past chiefs. This had continued until now.

The purpose, of course, was to allow Yunyun to become the next Crimson Demon Clan chief.

"So… Kazuma, team up with me."

"— Wait a minute, I disagree!"

Unsurprisingly, Megumin immediately jumped out.

She strongly expressed her dissatisfaction, saying loudly: "I don't mind teaming up with you, Yunyun, but I want to know who will be in charge? After all, there's only one person who becomes the Crimson Demon Clan chief, and you won't give up, will you?"

After all, from a young age, she had been working towards the goal of becoming the Crimson Demon Clan chief, and even often proclaimed herself as 'the one who will one day become the Crimson Demon Clan chief!' since before.

If she ultimately doesn't become the Crimson Demon Clan chief, it could be a significant blow to Yunyun.

"I've seriously considered this. I can just marry Kazuma."

"… Huh?"

"Look. As long as Kazuma marries me, who becomes the Crimson Demon Clan chief, then all the problems will be solved, right? After all, the chief is just a title, the actual thing is… Ouch, ouch, ouch, no violence!"

"Who told you to always think of such good things! Why should you get all the benefits!?"

Probably because she spoke too matter-of-factly, Megumin angrily pulled Yunyun's ponytail.

One demanded to bring herself and insisted on becoming the next Crimson Demon Clan chief, while the other decided to become the Crimson Demon Clan chief but would marry Kazuma.

Kazuma Sato stroked his chin.

"Kazuma, what do you think?"

"As for me… honestly, whether it's the Crimson Demon Clan chief or the Crimson Demon Clan chief's man, I can accept either."

"I see, you don't care. It's like the big families in Japan, they don't choose to marry a wife, but are more keen on finding a strong husband to marry into the family. Actually, you don't reject that, do you?"

"… You could say that."

Although it's a bit uncomfortable, what he said wasn't wrong.

If you see Yunyun as a young heiress from a wealthy family, Kazuma, with his great strength and handsome appearance, would barely be considered a son-in-law if he married her.

This is very common in Japan.

And that's why Kazuma Sato doesn't reject being entangled with Darkness, no, rather, this guy is hoping to become like that, so he can become a kept man.

"But the Crimson Demon Clan chief isn't a good position."

"Hmm?"

"Because most Crimson Demons are very casual, so to speak, the chief, who is bound by various rules and has to bear responsibilities, is someone no one wants to be…"

Kazuma also doesn't want to become the chief.

The reason he had such thoughts before was because his sister, Arue, had said how great it would be if Kazuma could become the chief, so he worked hard for that. But later, he changed his goal to the Demon King, so he temporarily put it aside.

"Then Kazuma is…"

"I want Yunyun to be it."

After all, the Crimson Demon Clan is very disunited. If no one takes on the role of chief, who knows what kind of things they'll do. Those free-spirited clan members, letting themselves go is really worrying.

"In other words, if Yunyun, who is sensible, serious, like a good student, and has the qualities of a class representative, becomes the chief, she can restrain those guys?"

"That's right."

Kazuma nodded.

Actually, it's not that he can't be the Crimson Demon Clan chief, it's just that under the influence of the crown, he often mysteriously disappears for a period of time.

If even the chief is so free-spirited, what would the people below be like?

And Kazuma also knows why Megumin doesn't want Yunyun to become the chief, because that way, Yunyun can rightfully become Kazuma's wife, which she really doesn't want to see.

And so, this topic ended inconclusively amidst the constant arguing between the two.

Late at night.

Because of the time constraints, everyone planned to head to the Crimson Demon Village early tomorrow morning, so they would go to bed early tonight to get enough rest.

However, just as Kazuma was about to go to sleep, his door was knocked on.

"Kazuma, are you asleep?"

"… No."

Then the door was pushed open, and Megumin, wearing a light pink nightgown, walked in, and her first words after entering were:

"— Kazuma, team up with Yunyun."

See!

I knew it, I'm just a part of their play.