Black Iron Magician

Since it’s a dungeon where people visit frequently, the underground is brightly illuminated and the structure is simple. The rumored passage was discovered on the second layer of the underground, where Duke Ortho had set up a camp with his private army to monitor the passage. The monsters along the way have already been exterminated, so Therese and I arrived at Duke Ortho’s location safely. And then――

「Hou, so you guys are Therese’s escorts, huh? Excuse me, but are you sure you’re up to the task?」

「Yes. If it’s level 4 or 5, our disciples alone can handle it. They will subjugate it bravely and swiftly just as they did when they rescued Lady May from the griffon.」

「You are confident you can manage it, huh? Well, I’m sorry for testing you. I heard about you guys from Therese, but I couldn’t get convinced unless I see it myself.」

「Jeez, stop acting like that. You were completely enthusiastic until a while ago, didn’t you?」

「Come on, even I have something called honor. Well, it’s meaningless in front of my cute beloved daughter, though! Ahahaha!」

「You flatter me, Otou-sama! Ohohoho!」

「My, isn’t it a beautiful family love? Kukuku!」

―― And for some reason, I was in the middle of the loud laughter of parent and child. The mood makes me have to laugh too if the two are laughing, so I forced myself to join them in laughing. But, I’m already at my limit. No, the limit has been exceeded. Even I understand that I can’t go on like this. The tension of Therese, which was high, is doubled here. I have to think of a way to get out of here somehow…

「T-Therese-ojousama, may I see your power before heading for the investigation? I would like to ascertain your power and think about how we will fight. As adventurers, we can’t neglect our combinations.」

「As expected of Deris-san. I’m impressed desuwa! Very well. I’ll gather everyone and show them how I fight the monsters living in the third layer desuwa! Now, let’s go!」

Luckily, Therese accepted it. Then, she’s heading toward the entrance, probably to call everyone else.

「Yes. So, Duke Ortho, I’ve accepted the request of escorting Therese-ojousama. Well then――」

I said so and tried to hurriedly leave the camp.

「Deris-kun, can I take your time a little? You see, there’s something I want to tell you about my daughter.」

However, it seems that I couldn’t go away from the clutches of the Batten family.

「You see, Therese is a girl with a very strong sense of responsibility.

It’s a trivial matter for me and my wife, but she’s trying to do whatever she can to participate in the graduation festival of the academy, saying that so it won’t bring disgrace to our family. As the president of the student council, I guess she feels even more responsible. I can’t help but feel sorry for my daughter.]

「I-I see. Therese-ojousama is a capable person after all.」

「You sure understand well!」

He strikes my back vigorously. Okay, I got it, just let me go already.

「However, as a father, I’m very soft to my daughter. On the surface, I was restricting the information. But behind the scenes, I was looking for a strong person who would fight together with my daughter. Of course, I keep this a secret from my daughter…. But, it was worth it and I got a call from Mage Prime Minister Joseph at the Royal Castle! He said that he would dispatch some excellent personnel who excel in battle. He said that some have black hair, which is unusual in Adelheit, so I can tell at a glance. Yes, it sure is unusual! I heard that there are three black-haired people in the party, is that true?」

「…… Yes, there are three people with black hair, including myself. We will definitely show the result that you desired.」

「Yes! I don’t have to worry if you are officially recognized by the Royal Castle! I entrust Therese to you!」

Hohou, old geezer Joseph, huh? I see. Well, I didn’t tell a lie, okay? Also, there are three black-haired people, I, Haru, and Chinatsu. We are also officially recognized by Nell, the leader of the Magic Knight Order of the Royal Castle, okay? This is not a scam or anything. Duke Ortho also said that he entrusts Therese to us. In other words, there’s no problem even if we steal the job that Joseph is trying to solve.

Well, I’m sure the black-haired people who got dispatched by old geezer Joseph are Haru’s classmates. While watching their attitude, it might be interesting if they clashed with Haru. Using Joseph’s pawns to gain experience, that sure sounds attractive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

「It’s okay around here. Therese-ojousama, are you ready?」

「Very well!」

After meeting up with Haru and the others, we came to the bottom layer of the ruins. There seemed to be a lot of monsters left in this area, so we will use them to measure the ability of Therese.

「Haru, Chinatsu. Go bring a suitable monster here.」

「Yes!」

「Understood.」

With this, a monster will appear in less than a minute.

「Now, let’s do this desuwa!」

With great enthusiasm, Therese took out a huge shield from her waist shoulder bag. As expected of a rich person, she’s normally taking a storage item with her. But before that, I want to say something.

「Um, Therese-ojousama? The shield is fine. But, where’s your staff…?」

「……? I’m holding it, you know?」

「No, it’s a shield――」

「――Here, you see. Here!」

「………」

Therese emphasized the back of the shield. And then, I understood. The staff is being stuck into the shield…! No, I know the kind where the shield and sword are combined, okay? But, attached a staff to a shield is the first time even for this old man, you know? I was impressed.

「Are you convinced?」

「Yes, I’m very sorry. Therese-ojousama has a similar idea to mine.」

「Is that so? Deris-san, you sure have good prospects! Ohohoho!」

She didn’t attach the staff on the shield, she attached the shield on the staff. So this is a staff, not a shield. It’s really deep.

「That’s right! I will show you my status as well desuwa! I’m sure I should have brought the Sacred Stone. Please wait a moment.」

「Eh? Ah, please wait. You shouldn’t show your status. It’s better to not carelessly show――」

「No, there’s no problem. As someone who stands at the top, I always believe in being fair and impartial, and not hiding anything! The same applies to my status! My perfected beauty is nothing to be ashamed of! Ohohoho!」

Before I had time to object, she handed me the Sacred Stone.

「Oh, can we see it? Goshujin-sama, I want to see it too.」

「I already kno―― I mean, I’ll refrain.」

「Gobu!」

W-Well, it seems that Nell already knows, so I’ll use it as a reference.

Therese Batten 16 years old Female Human

Job: Magician LV3

HP: 1195/1195

MP: 50/50 (+50)

Strength: 90

Endurance: 547

Agility: 1

Magic Power: 63 (+30)

Intelligence: 1

Dexterity: 1

Luck: 1

Skill Slot

◆ Staff Arts LV32

◇ Defense Arts LV74

◇ Armor LV63

◇ Willpower LV57

―――― HAA!?