The trio—Kazuki, Aurelis, and their companions—returned to Renga Town as unlikely champions.
Even with scorch marks still decorating Kazuki's coat (and a faint smell of exploded serpent lingering), the townsfolk cheered. Kids threw confetti made of potato chip wrappers. An old lady tried to offer Kazuki her cane "as a legendary weapon." Someone started chanting, "SLIME! SLIME! SLIME!"
Kazuki did a twirl, arms out. "Thank you! We'll be here all week! Unless something explodes! Then maybe shorter!"
Smile rolled down his arm and wobbled proudly, bubbling like a soda on too much sugar.
Skye barked once, snorted at the crowd, then resumed his preferred position: glaring majestically from behind Kazuki's back.
Raigen, meanwhile, flapped into the air and dramatically declared, "Make way for your heroes! Witness the greatness of flame, storm, and idiocy combined!"
Aurelis tried not to smile.
She failed.
The Guild Hall of Mayhem
Back at the Renga Guild, chaos greeted them like a long-lost sibling.
Guildmaster Gendo was shouting something about exploding toilets.
The reception counter was being replaced because someone had tried to domesticate a mana-goose and it ate the ledger.
And apparently, a side room was melting, though no one knew why.
"Feels like home," Kazuki said cheerfully.
Aurelis nodded. "…Worrying, but comforting."
As they stepped into the main hall, the crowd parted. Adventurers stared—many with awe, others with barely concealed jealousy. A few even whispered "the double heroes".
And standing right at the front—
Hoshinari Shiro.
The rival.
Perfect white armor. Perfect golden spear. Perfect scowl.
He locked eyes with Kazuki. Then Aurelis. Then their companions.
He sniffed.
"How convenient you return when the monster is already defeated," he said.
Kazuki raised a hand. "Yo! Missed you too!"
"You're a walking accident," Shiro snapped.
Kazuki put a hand on his chest. "A heroic accident."
Before Shiro could launch into a verbal tirade, Guildmaster Gendo burst between them, panting.
"I SAW THE FLAMING SERPENT FROM HERE! I THOUGHT IT WAS THE SUN DESCENDING TO EAT US!"
He clutched Kazuki and Aurelis by the shoulders, tears leaking from his eyes.
"You beautiful chaos gremlins. I approve. Mostly."
Then he blinked. "Oh right! There's a reward!"
Aurelis perked up.
Gendo dropped a sack of coins and—sparkle—a guild badge with a crimson flame crest.
"Congrats, Flameheart," he said, nodding at Aurelis. "You're now an official A-Rank Adventurer of Renga Guild."
The room went dead silent.
A-Rank?
That was a title most people spent a decade chasing.
Kazuki blinked. "Wait, really? That fast?"
Aurelis stared at the badge like it was made of actual sunlight.
And then, to everyone's shock, she turned—
—looked at Kazuki—
—and held out a second badge.
His had a slime motif on it.
"B-Rank for you," Gendo explained. "Not because of performance, but because your slime probably rewrote our local mana field."
Smile winked.
Later That Night: Rooftop Talk
The stars above Renga glittered faintly, the breeze carrying warm scents from the night market.
Kazuki sat cross-legged on the guild rooftop, munching on caramel dumplings.
Beside him, Aurelis stood with her arms crossed, her new badge glinting.
Her phoenix companion, whom she'd named Hinari, perched behind her like a guardian flame.
"Hey," Kazuki said softly, after a long silence. "You're really strong now."
Aurelis glanced down at him. "I always was. I just… never trusted that I was."
She looked at Hinari, whose burning feathers flickered gently.
"She chose me because I stepped forward. Not because I was ready. But because I acted."
Kazuki gave a slow nod. "That's cool."
They sat in silence a bit longer.
Then Aurelis added, almost too quietly:
"There's another… presence. I felt it after the serpent fell. A whisper. Deep in the mountains. Not fire. Not storm. Something… older."
"Another bond?" Kazuki asked, eyes wide.
"Maybe. Not soon. But someday."
A little sparkle of something passed between them. Hope? Foreshadowing? A wink from destiny?
Or maybe just Smile hiccuping mana sparks from inside Kazuki's pocket.