Luna still had morning sickness, but it was starting to decrease, and since the Destroyer had been dealt with, it seemed there would be no major issues in Axel Town, so I decided to leave someone with Luna and go to the capital to seriously level up.
"Then, when will you come back if you go to the capital?"
Luna worried that I would be in the capital for a long time, but that wouldn't be the case.
"Don't worry about that. I learned Teleport magic, so I'll return to Axel Town in the evening."
"Ah! I see."
Hearing that, Luna relaxed and her expression brightened. I decided to find someone among the townspeople to help with Luna's household chores while also learning the necessary magic. First, from Megumin.
"Oh~ Cassian is also learning Explosion? That's good news."
"Yeah, so show me a demonstration."
I went with Megumin to the castle where Verdia used to live and watched a demonstration of the Explosion magic. Of course, I didn't just watch; I used [Naked Eye] to carefully observe the flow of mana and the mechanism of the magic circle that appears when using the magic.
"Explosion!!"
Boom!!
As expected, Megumin's Explosion magic was quite powerful. It was natural since she spent all her skill points only on increasing the power of Explosion magic.
Thud!
"Haa~ Burn all in the crimson lotus!"
Megumin collapsed from mana depletion. Then, she uttered some strange chuunibyou-like line.
"How was it, Cassian!"
"It's impressive. Then, shall I learn it too."
I first leaned Megumin against a nearby tree, took out my adventurer card, and learned Explosion magic. Fortunately, observing with [Naked Eye] helped increase understanding, so it only cost 20 points. I thought it would be at least 30 points, so I was lucky.
"Since Cassian learned it too, how about trying it once?"
"Hmm... Unfortunately, if I also collapse from mana depletion, we might not be able to return to town."
"I see. That's a pity."
"Don't worry, I'll show you next time."
"Okay."
I carried Megumin on my back and returned to town. Actually, even if I used [Explosion magic], there was no worry of mana depletion. Megumin's magic power is about 250, but mine is about 2500 when viewed with the status window, and over 5000 with KonoSuba's adventurer card, which is an enormous value. The intelligence difference was also large, and if my Explosion magic was similar to Megumin's and I didn't even deplete mana, Megumin might despair, so I deliberately avoided using it.
Arriving at Kazuma's mansion, I laid Megumin on the bed and this time looked for Aqua. Aqua was rolling in front of the fireplace in the living room, so I could easily find her.
"Okay, I'll teach you."
I learned [Sacred Highness Exorcism], [Sacred Break Spell], and the buff skills [Powered], [Resist], [Swift] from Aqua. This time too, I observed with [Naked Eye] to increase understanding and save as many points as possible.
[(B)Sacred Highness Exorcism]
Purifies evil beings. (Harmless to humans.)
[(B)Sacred Break Spell]
Nullifies magic barriers, curses, etc.
[(D)Powered]
Increases the target's strength.
[(D)Resist]
Increases the target's defense.
[(D)Swift]
Increases the target's agility.
"Thanks, here you go!"
I handed Aqua a bottle of high-quality alcohol I made in One Piece.
"Oh~ what kind of alcohol is this?"
"A merchant from abroad said it was brewed at home, so I bought a few bottles."
"Thanks, you're the best, Cassian."
I now left Kazuma's mansion and went to the guild to find the Taylor Party and learn archer skills from Keith.
"So, if I teach you the skill, you'll give me a 50% discount coupon for the succubus shop?"
"That's right."
"Of course I'll teach you, heheh!"
Looking at Keith's expression, he seemed overjoyed. I was able to learn the [Clairvoyance] and [Snipe] skills from Keith's demonstration.
[(C)Clairvoyance]
Allows clear vision of distant targets and good vision in dark places.
[(D)Snipe]
Increases the power and accuracy of projectiles.
Now, it seemed I had learned almost everything to learn in Axel. I was tempted by monk techniques and sword master techniques, but since I had almost no points left, I passed.
I was sitting in the guild, organizing my thoughts, when suddenly Rin from the Taylor Party came and asked me.
"Cassian, why is Keith like that? After receiving something from you, his condition keeps being weird."
"Ah, that's because I gave him a succubus shop discount coupon as a reward for teaching the skill. I don't use it."
"Was that it? No wonder..."
Since there are few normal members in the Taylor Party, Rin roughly understood.
"But you know, in my hometown, there are no beastfolk, so can I touch that cute tail just once?"
Hearing that, Rin was quite flustered.
"Cute... thanks for saying that, but no!"
"In exchange, I'll give you a discount coupon for the succubus shop. This will make it easier to motivate the disobedient party members."
Rin hesitated for a moment, then shyly agreed.
"Then, only touch it once."
"Okay."
Rin extended her tail forward. I stroked Rin's fluffy tail, which was like a raccoon's tail. The soft touch was almost addictive.
"Ugh... stop touching now."
As I stroked for too long, Rin blushed and hid her tail behind her.
"Ah sorry, it felt good. Do you take care of it separately?"
"Yeah, I pay attention to it."
In KonoSuba, the criteria for beastfolk are a bit peculiar; they only consider those with animal ears as beastfolk. Therefore, Rin was not a beastfolk. Anyway, as a token of gratitude, I gave Rin two 50% discount coupons for the succubus shop.
"Thanks~ I'll use them well."
"Yeah, tame the kids well."
"Those kids aren't beasts... or are they... hmm... they are like beasts... I wish they were only as much as Taylor..."
Rin was seriously worried about having problem children in her party.
I also found someone to take care of Luna at the guild, a retired female adventurer named Helen, who had a good personality, already knew Luna, was married with children, so she seemed to understand Luna's physical condition well, so I hired her immediately. Luna also liked her a lot.
The next day, with Luna and Helen seeing us off, Yunyun and I boarded a carriage going to the capital. It would take time by carriage, but since it was my first time going to the capital, there was no choice.
"Now it's a fresh start again."
"Yeah, let's work hard to become strong quickly."
"Okay, I'll work hard."
It took almost two days to reach the capital, but fortunately, nothing happened until we arrived.
As soon as we arrived in the capital, we went straight to the capital's adventurer guild. The capital guild was bustling with many adventurers, which was a bit surprising; since the Demon King's army often attacks and there are overflowing requests, the capital guild always seems busy. For me, it was even better.
'There was such an experience treasure trove! If I had known, I would have come earlier.'
While touring the capital's guild with Yunyun, timely, with a loud bell sound, a warning broadcast announced that the Demon King's army had invaded.
-Ding ding ding~ Demon King's army invasion alert! Demon King's army invasion alert! Currently, the Demon King's army is deploying near the plains of the capital. Knights are preparing to sortie, and high-level adventurers in the capital are also requested to participate.
"Yunyun, let's go too."
"Yes!"
We quickly went into the fortress built as a defensive line in front of the capital. Inside the fortress were numerous knights, and behind them, adventurers and guild staff were checking participants. Of course, with my adventurer card, I adjusted the stats appropriately using [Stealth], [Hacking], and [Control] abilities, so my outrageous stats wouldn't be detected.
"You two haven't reached level 30 yet. Sorry. Those below level 30 might be in danger."
In battles with the Demon King's army, it seems participation is only possible from level 30 upwards, to prevent low-level people from easily dying.
"Cassian, what should we do?"
"Hmm... this is troublesome."
Then, someone recognized me, and the adventurers started buzzing.
"That person is the Silver Flash who caught a Demon King executive!"
"That person is the Silver Flash? He's very handsome."
"He's starting to be active in the capital now."
This might be resolved unexpectedly well.
"Did you hear? I'm Cassian, who caught a Demon King executive. So, it's fine."
"Are you perhaps Cassian, the Silver Flash?"
"Yes, that's right. I am that Cassian."
"I see. Then, just this once, I'll make an exception."
"Thank you."
Fortunately, it was resolved, and we could participate. Yunyun was also happy.
When enough people seemed to have gathered, the fortress's main gate opened, and the knights led the way forward, with adventurers following behind. Then, what appeared before us was the numerous Demon King's army forces, with so many monsters that the end wasn't visible. In my eyes, they looked like experience chunks.
"Wow~ this is good?"
"Why are you so happy?"
Yunyun was puzzled seeing me so happy.
"Ahem ahem... I was thinking about working hard to level up."
"I see. I guess my resolve wasn't enough. Actually, seeing the monster army made me nervous."
Indeed, Yunyun was sweating cold sweat with a tense expression.
"Yunyun, believe in yourself. You're not weak."
Yunyun seemed to gain strength from my words, as her eyes changed and she steeled her resolve.
"Okay, I'll do my best!"
This time, since we were fighting against so many, Yunyun went to where the mages were to wait, and I went to where the warriors were to fight head-on.
When the knights' trumpet sounded, the knights advanced, and adventurer warriors followed behind. The monsters also sensed the battle had begun and started rushing forward. I didn't wait and stepped forward in front of the knights, starting to unleash [Wind Moon Slash] at an incredible speed towards the monsters.
Slash slash slash~!! Slash slash~!! Slash slash slash~!!
"Keeek!"
Numerous sword slashes flew towards the monsters, slaughtering them as if swept by a storm. But since there were so many monsters, it seemed endless, so while continuously using [Wind Moon Slash], I occasionally shot [Explosion magic] with [Silent Casting] to where monsters were gathered far away. Certainly, it was slightly inferior to Megumin's destructive power, but as expected, explosion magic is explosion magic, so the effect was clear.
Boom!!
"Kyaaak!!!"
After fighting like mad for 30 minutes, the monsters finally started to flee, but for some reason, I couldn't see any knights or adventurers around, so when I looked back, they were all staring at me dumbfounded. Experience was important, but if I continued, strange rumors might spread or I might get tired, so after doing enough, I returned to where the knights were.
Woo~~~~!!!!
Cassian! Cassian! Cassian~!
'Oh no! It's already too late... I was too focused on experience.'
I had no choice but to awkwardly wave to the people. Then, a female knight who seemed to be the captain came and called me. Her name was probably 'Claire'?
"Impressive. To push back the Demon King's army alone, you must be the 'Silver Flash' who defeated a Demon King executive, right?"
"Yes, I am Cassian."
"No wonder you're called the future hero. But I wonder who the person was who blew away monsters with explosion magic in the middle. Do you know anything about it?"
It seemed the knights didn't know that it was me who did it. So, to avoid getting more tired, I decided to pretend not to know.
"Ahaha, I have no idea."
"That mage's performance was also impressive, but I don't know who it is. Anyway, I look forward to your future activities."
"I understand."
This person definitely used informal speech with Kazuma and others, but was polite to me.
I went to find Yunyun and moved to where the mages were. Yunyun was sitting and resting; it seemed she had used magic until her mana was depleted.
"Yunyun, how are you?"
"I'm okay. I faced too many monsters and ran out of mana, so that's why. If I rest a bit, I'll be fine."
I could have shared some mana with [Drain Touch], but since there were too many eyes, I couldn't openly use a Lich's skill. I had no choice but to wait until Yunyun recovered some mana, then we went to the guild together to receive rewards, where I received over 50 million Eris at once. My level also increased by 13, but unfortunately, Yunyun had to retire midway due to mana depletion and could only increase by 5 levels.
'Hmm... this is a problem. I need to make a mana storage for Yunyun.'
Interestingly, it wasn't just levels that increased. Due to [Kill Steal], the [One-Handed Sword], [Two-Handed Sword], [Blunt Weapon], [Spear], [Bow] abilities all increased to EX and merged to become [EX Weapon Efficiency], and [Archery], [Blunt Weapon Art], [Spear Art] increased to S, A, S respectively. And since there were mages among the monsters, [KonoSuba Low-Level Magic] increased to D and [KonoSuba Mid-Level Magic] to C, each by one rank.
[EX Weapon Efficiency]
No matter what weapon is used, accuracy increases and damage doubles.
"Oh~ as expected of an EX ability."
I gained a lot from the first day.
Yunyun and I toured the capital a bit, then teleported back to the house's yard. When I arrived, Luna hurriedly came out and hugged me.
"I was worried."
"It's only been three days."
"But it felt like a year to me."
I patted Luna and made delicious food, which we all enjoyed eating together. Helen praised my cooking as very delicious, so I made some lunchboxes for her children.
That evening, I made a mana storage for Yunyun; unlike the one made in Fate with jewels, I used KonoSuba's rare mineral 'coronatite' to create a pair of bracelets that can store mana. I paid attention to the design, so Yunyun will surely like it.