Around the enormous dining table at Yunyun's house, large enough to seat more than a dozen people, everyone gathered to enjoy a non-sweet-potato breakfast made by Yunyun herself.
Kazuma and Megumin still looked as if their souls had been drained out of them, but after a bowl of steaming soup, their faces finally went from corpse-white to something resembling living-person-green.
Kōichi set down his spoon and glanced at Yunyun, who was staring at him resentfully, probably because of last night's hug, then at Aqua, who was trying to shove an entire piece of bread into her mouth. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Ahem, everyone. I have some unfortunate news. Last night, I had a long talk with the village chief, Uncle Hiropon. About the intelligence that the Demon King's Generals were going to attack the village... there's a good chance Uncle Hyoizaburoo made the whole thing up to trick Megumin into coming back, and to scam some supplies out of Axel while he was at it."
The dining table fell dead silent.
"Pfft! Cough, cough, cough!" Kazuma spat out his black tea on the spot. Trembling, he pointed at the two carts of sweet potatoes outside the window that still had not been fully unloaded, his voice wavering. "Y-you're kidding, right? So the loan I took out to buy all these supplies... the hair I lost from worrying the whole trip while hauling this stuff here... that was all for some middle-aged guy's prank?!"
"Oh, Kazuma, don't let it bother you so much."
Aqua cheerfully patted Kazuma on the back, nearly smacking him face-first into his bowl. "We're already here, so just think of it as a company-sponsored trip! Look at how fresh the air is, how interesting the villagers are, and Yunyun's guest room bathtub is seriously amazing!"
"If there's no threat from the Demon King's Army, then we can indeed relax a little."
There was a faint trace of regret in Darkness's voice over not being ravaged by monsters, but she quickly adjusted her attitude. "This is a good opportunity to walk around the village and learn about the local customs."
And so, at Kōichi's suggestion, everyone decided to set aside the frustration of being tricked for the time being and switch into Crimson Demon Village day-trip mode.
As Kōichi walked through the streets of Crimson Demon Village, he felt as though he had stepped into some massive chuunibyou cosplay convention.
The fruit vendor by the road had to chant a passage about the Blade of Shattered Stars before cutting a watermelon, and the elementary school kids skipping rope incorporated Teleport into their routine.
When the group reached the edge of a huge circular plaza in the center of the village, Yunyun, who was usually gentle and never argued with anyone, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She spread her arms to block everyone's path. Her face was pale, and her eyes were filled with a level of fear and seriousness none of them had ever seen from her before.
"W-wait! Everyone! That place up ahead... that plaza, we absolutely, absolutely cannot go in there!"
This was the first time Yunyun had ever objected so loudly and firmly.
Kōichi looked at the empty plaza in confusion. There was only a strangely shaped stone monument in the center, engraved with symbols he could not understand.
"What's wrong, Yunyun? Is some dangerous Demon King's Army weapon sealed there or something?"
"No, it's even worse than that!" Yunyun's voice trembled. "That's... that's the Public Execution Ground for Dark History! The moment you step into that plaza, you're forced to give the coolest self-introduction you can, and it gets broadcast across the entire village with amplification magic! It's the ultimate murder of your social life!"
"Huh? What nonsense are you spouting, Yunyun!"
Megumin, on the other hand, wore a look of fanatic pride. She flung her cloak aside and slammed her staff heavily against the ground.
"That is the most sacred and entertaining place in Crimson Demon Village! It is the Soul Resonance Plaza! Only there can we of the Crimson Demon Clan fully release the restless magic stirring in the depths of our souls and engrave our true names into the void! Kōichi, don't listen to Yunyun. Come with me, and I'll show you what true Crimson Demon Clan romance is!"
Kōichi looked at the two Crimson Demon Clan girls, one desperate to run away and the other desperate to charge in, then glanced at Aqua, who was already cracking her knuckles and preparing to show off.
"A place like this... no matter how you look at it, it's hell for normal people, right?"
Kōichi silently complained to himself.
Looking at the explosive standoff in front of him, Kōichi let out a deep sigh.
On one side was Megumin, eyes shining, itching to leap onto the stage and begin her wild performance. On the other was Yunyun, teary-eyed and nearly ready to kneel down and beg.
Behind them, Aqua had already started tidying her long blue hair, wearing her signature expression of someone ready to accept the worship of mortals.
Darkness, meanwhile, was breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed, her hands tightly clasped together.
"A public execution filled with shame... being stared at by the entire village like some strange creature, while shouting lines so embarrassing you want to crawl into a hole?"
Darkness's voice shook, carrying an extremely dangerous excitement.
"I-I vote in favor too! Please, let me experience that ultimate mental torment!"
"This Goddess votes in favor as well!"
Aqua raised both hands high, looking as though it were only natural.
"Letting these red-eyed people witness the glory of Aqua-sama, the Goddess of Water, will be their honor! They might be so moved that they replace that stone monument with a statue of me!"
Yunyun stared in despair at the half of the party that had already fallen, then finally turned her pleading gaze toward Kōichi and Kazuma-san, who looked the most like normal people present.
"Kōichi-san, Kazuma-san! Please, I'm begging you, save me! If I really go in there, my reputation will be ruined for the rest of my life!"
Kōichi looked at Yunyun's pitiful expression and thought back to last night's awkward but genuinely warm hug. His sense of justice, along with his fear of social death, instantly won out.
"I support Yunyun," Kōichi said decisively, standing beside her with firm resolve. "This meaningless, humiliating activity will only waste our energy."
The score was now 3, Megumin, Aqua, and Darkness, to 2, Yunyun and Kōichi.
All the pressure instantly fell on Kazuma, who was crouching on the ground and picking at the dirt.
Kazuma's face shifted between green and white. His sharp, scummy instincts told him that plaza was absolutely a giant trap.
He had just been about to cast the crucial opposing vote when he felt a burning gaze lock onto him.
Megumin slowly walked up to Kazuma and lowered her head slightly. Her black robe fluttered in the wind, and her red eyes shimmered with a strangely tempting light.
She lowered her voice and spoke in a magnetic tone only Kazuma could hear.
"Hey, Kazuma. If you support me this time... once we leave the plaza, I'll go on a date with you around the village, just the two of us. How does that sound? We can visit the secret base I used to go to as a kid, or blow up something fun."
Kazuma's body went completely stiff.
"A date... a date with Megumin... sure, she's a flat-chested explosion maniac, but that's still a real date with a girl!"
The next second, Kazuma shot to his feet, pointed righteously toward the center of the plaza, and spoke in a booming voice as if he had become a different person.
"I think Megumin is right! Coming all the way to Crimson Demon Village without experiencing the local traditional culture would be an insult to this trip! So I vote in favor! Four to two. The result is obvious. The minority yields to the majority. Let's go, everyone!"
"K-Kazuma-san?! You traitor!"
Yunyun let out a despairing scream.
Kōichi looked at Kazuma, who was already busy sucking up to Megumin, with open contempt.
"Hey, where did your integrity go? Who was the guy just now who almost ascended to heaven from holding in his pee? Did you really sell your soul to the Devil for some vague promise of a date?"
As Kazuma pushed everyone toward the plaza, he shamelessly shifted the blame.
"What are you talking about, Kōichi! I'm doing this for the harmony of the team! Deciding our course of action through a democratic vote is exactly what a modern Adventurer's Party should do! It's definitely not because I want a date. Definitely not! I just don't want to waste precious sightseeing time here!"
And so, amid Yunyun's cries and Megumin's loud laughter, everyone officially stepped into the plaza known as the Public Execution Ground for Dark History.
Bzzzzz!
With a low vibration of magical power, the stone monument in the center of the plaza instantly lit up with a purplish-red glow. Countless transparent magical screens unfolded in midair, and a massive, imposing amplification Magic Circle formed above everyone's heads.
[Outsider Contract Holders detected. Crimson Demon Village tradition, the True Name Release Ceremony, will now begin! First participant, please step onto the central stone platform and proclaim your existence to the world!]