Akemi stood outside the door, awkwardly scratching her face and looking at her companions beside her. "Now... is it really appropriate to go in?"
Aqua and Megumin's stomachs simultaneously let out a loud 'growl—'.
The two looked at each other, then at the door panel. There was no fear in their eyes, only a desire to eat.
"It's fine. At worst, we'll get beaten up." Aqua said with a solemn and righteous face.
"I want to eat! I can't wait any longer!" Megumin gave her a thumbs up.
The two pushed the door open simultaneously.
But as the door swung open, Aqua, who had been walking too quickly, caught her toe on the threshold and stumbled forward, falling face down on the carpet.
Megumin, following behind her, also tripped over her foot and piled on top of her like a stack of dolls. Her staff rolled with a 'clatter' to Yu's feet.
"Uh, that... h-hello there..." Aqua lifted her head, revealing an awkward but polite smile.
"You freeloaders should read the room." Yu said with a dark face, also able to guess what this group had come for.
Kazuma poked his head out with a smug look, the corner of his mouth curled in a punchable arc. "Sorry, we've already eaten."
For this moment, he had specifically begged Tsuki to make dinner half an hour early.
Just so he could insult Aqua when she came to freeload with her thick skin.
Aqua's eyes widened in anger.
This was the first time she had lost an argument with Kazuma.
"But I'm starving."
Megumin lay on the ground, calling out weakly.
Her eyes, with the eye patch removed, looked tearfully at Yunyun.
Yunyun's heart immediately softened. She crouched down and comforted Megumin as if soothing a child. "Megumin, I'll make you something."
"There's still some leftovers in the fridge."
Makoto tilted his head toward the kitchen. "Give them that to tide them over for now."
Yanagi stood up from the sofa and said she would get it.
As she walked past Makoto, the back of her hand gently brushed against his wrist.
Yanagi thought she had been quite discreet.
But her own mother, Tsuki, saw it. After witnessing that exciting scene last time, Tsuki had kept an eye on her youngest daughter.
Tsuki's face began to redden. She quickly lowered her head to avoid being seen, thinking to herself that her youngest daughter was a bit too open.
Two minutes later, Aqua and Megumin were wolfing down their food at the table.
Aqua's mouth was stuffed full, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.
Megumin's speed was no less impressive. Her fork was stuck in a piece of meat, and her cheeks never deflated.
Kazuma watched this scene, the smile on his face instantly freezing.
He had wanted to mess with Aqua, but this person had no sense of shame. Ordinary tactics were truly useless against her.
"Is it going to be war with the Belzerg Kingdom?"
Shiho sat diagonally across from Makoto and asked.
"More accurately, they've already attacked us."
Yu's pupils slightly contracted. Thanks to the Gun Devil's global field of vision, he could clearly see that the gates of the royal capital had already opened, and a large number of soldiers were streaming out of the gates, surging toward Axel.
"This morning, the royal capital has already begun gathering troops." Yu withdrew his gaze.
Darkness stood up from the sofa, walked to Makoto, and clasped her hands in front of her chest, staring directly at him.
"P-please, I beg you, don't go to war with Belzerg."
Darkness pressed her pink lips together tightly. After hesitating for a long time, she spoke again. "How about this... could you use Elroad or Melromarc as a substitute instead?"
The Elroad Darkness mentioned was a neighboring country with a deep cooperative relationship with the Belzerg Kingdom.
Its pillar industry was entertainment, with a particular specialty in gambling.
Its overall strength was not strong, and it was extremely reliant on Belzerg's military protection.
Elroad provided the money. Belzerg provided the troops.
Melromarc needed no further explanation. The royal family had just been ravaged by Makoto's group.
If the people of Elroad and Melromarc heard Darkness's suggestion, they would probably curse her out.
How selfish are you? Cuih! Cuih!
As a true pacifist, Darkness certainly didn't want to use this method of diverting disaster elsewhere.
But she had no other options right now.
The object of her loyalty was the Belzerg royal family. To protect the object of her loyalty, she had to sacrifice others.
"Shut up, you masochistic female knight!"
Yu looked at this new teammate, his gaze already carrying hostility. "Now that the royal capital has received Senpai's letter and chosen to refuse, that is disrespectful to Senpai. If we just leave like this, wouldn't it make Senpai look afraid?"
Darkness bit her lips until they turned white. She really wanted to complain: 'Who would agree to something like what you wrote in that letter?'
In the end, Darkness bit her pink lips tightly, her face reddening as she twisted shyly.
"If... if Makoto agrees not to target Belzerg, I... I'll give you a... a kiss..."
The scene instantly fell silent.
Ace, Kazuma, and the others all widened their eyes.
A few seconds later, the corner of Yu's mouth began to twitch. Beam, the Teddy Devil, and the others' shoulders started shaking.
They had an expression of 'We wouldn't laugh, unless we couldn't help it'.
Makoto looked at Darkness with an exaggerated expression, a 'Are you f*cking kidding me?' look on his face.
"Have you been reading too many romance novels?"
He picked up Pochita, who had appeared from somewhere, from the sofa.
The little chainsaw dog's tail wagged back and forth behind him. His round eyes looked at Makoto, then at Darkness.
"Pochita, this woman thinks her kiss alone can stop a war. Just how conceited is she?"
"Woof?" Pochita tilted his little head.
"Does she think her kiss has some miraculous effect? Can it grant immortality or boost one's power dramatically?"
Darkness's face visibly reddened, seeming to also realize how ridiculous her statement had just been.
Makoto thought she was naively cute, with the kind of brain-dead beauty of a romance novel Heroine.
'Did she really think spreading her legs could solve everything? And she hadn't even spread them yet.'
"Waaahhh—"
Darkness bounced up from the ground, tackled Makoto, her face flushed red as she tried to cover his mouth.
Pochita rolled out of Makoto's arms, tumbled twice on the ground, and sat by the coffee table licking his paws.
"Don't say it! Don't say it!" Darkness's voice was urgent and shrill.
Megumin, who had just burped, suddenly stood up, a gleam of light in her eyes. "If I could display my Explosion Magic on the battlefield, wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity for me, the strongest Explosion Magic user of the Crimson Demon Clan, to make a name for myself?"
The Miyano sisters, Mrs. Shizuka, and Kazuha looked at her with expressions of disbelief, 'So you want to join the battle, do you?'