Black Iron Magician

「I hit you with the intention of blowing off the shield, but I didn’t expect that you could endure it. Therese-san, you are amazing!」

「Fufu, Haruna-san, your splendid continuous attack was also wonderful desuwa. If you continued your attack, even I would not have been able to escape unscathed.」

「Yes. I attacked with the intention of breaking your bones after all.」

「Haha. Haruna-san, you are so good at joking! It’s so amusing desuwa!」

「Ahaha, I’m serious~」

Haruna and Therese have been like this since a while ago. She has even told Therese her name. Still, what should I do with this conversation, where they seem to be on the same page, but their perceptions are slightly different? If you have a problem, it’s best to ask the counselor Chinatsu, right? Chinatsu, he~y, Chinatsu~.

「………」

Don’t make that ‘are you for real?’ face. Recently, this flow has become like your own specialty, but this is for improving your skill, you know? It’s not that I’m treating you as a convenient girl to deal with troublesome things. You should change your awareness there.

「Um… Therese-san. Actually, I and Haruna are also aiming to participate in the graduation festival. It’s not confirmed yet, but if we both have that opportunity, why don’t we settle it there? It’s the biggest stage in the academy, and I think it’s an appropriate place for you to fight.」

「Oh my! That’s wonderful desuwa! If that’s the case, let’s defeat the golem thoroughly! I’m in high spirits more than usual today!」

「That’s the spirit! Let’s do our best!」

Chinatsu sends a glance as if asking whether this is alright. Umu, you settled it well. If I had to say, she declared that as if she and Haru are rivals competing for the slot of the graduation festival. Well, I guess Therese is a type who doesn’t mind the details, so she didn’t find fault with it.

「Deris, have you decided on the strategy? Explain it before we pass the passage.」

「Ah, that’s right. Okay, enough with the chatter. I’ll explain the formation of this golem’s extermination. Let’s start with Therese-ojousama.」

「Fufu, I’ll do it perfectly no matter what my position is desuwa!」

Well, there’s only one thing suitable for her, so there’s only one tactic for her.

「… Well, you will be standing on the front line as a shield to protect everyone while attracting the enemy. It’s the most dangerous role, but I believe that Therese-ojousama will definitely accomplish it.」

「Leave it to me! The vanguard is where I excel the most! I’ve always been assigned this role, even in the academy’s actual combat exercises!」

Yeah, I know.

「Haru and Chinatsu should line up on both sides of Therese-ojousama and do your best as a vanguard attacker. You can go wild as much as you want and leave most of the defense to her.」

「Okay, I’ll go all out!」

「Just in case, please do it with a little moderation, Haruna…」

They are the same as usual. Now, the rest are us guardians + pets, but I guess we won’t act assertively, huh. At best, the minimum restoration support and the vigilance of the surroundings, I guess? If we get involved too much, it won’t lead to their growth.

「The remaining three of us and this goblin will provide support in the rear guard. We will create the best environment for you, so please don’t hesitate to show your abilities, Therese-ojousama.」

「Oh, how reassuring! Deris-san, I leave it to you desuwa!」

Yes, we will do it while playing the word-chain game behind.

「… Deris, we are about at arrive to the large room.」

「Finally. I wonder what kind of place it is.」

As Nell had pointed out, we walked for about five minutes before we saw the exit to the passage. There’s a light at the end of the passage. I wonder if the rookie adventurers discovered the golem-like monster here? So far, I couldn’t find even a shadow of such a thing. Then, we arrived at the exit of the passage without any problems.

「Well then, everyone, I will take the lead, so please use me as your shield!」

「I understand! I will actively use Therese-san as a shield!」

「It’s not wrong, but somehow their conversation doesn’t connect together…」

At the end of Chinatsu’s tsukkomi, Therese resolved herself and jumped out of the passage. Then, Haru and Chinatsu run following her.

「――There is nothing.」

The place where they came out of the passage was a simple room made of stone. It’s similar to the construction of the Gibeon Ruins, I guess? However, the colors of the stones that make up the room are slightly different. It was more like artificially colored. There are torches set up on the walls, so I guess we don’t have to worry about the light source. Also, there’s no golem around.

「It’s like a normal dungeon again. Uh, Lily thinks it’s bothersome.」

「I thought it was going to be a boss fight right away…」

「It’s a bit of a letdown, but don’t let your guard down, desuwa! This request originally included an investigation. It’s whether defeating the enemy first or exploring first desuwa!」

In that case, we will be exploring the dungeon first, huh? First, the path splits into two from here. They are large enough for a large golem to pass through, unlike this passage.

「Wait. Before that, it seems that they are going to welcome us.」

「「「Eh (desuwa)?」」」

As Nell had pointed out, inorganic growls came from both sides of the path. It’s clear that the somewhat heavy footsteps are gradually approaching this way. After all, it seems that there is more than one golem.

「If we leave it as it is, we’ll be caught in a pincer attack. Personally, I think it’s perfect!」

「Don’t worry! I’ll accomplish this task even if I’m surrounded or stabbed in the back desuwa! I’m a prodigy after all!」

「No, it’s bad if you set up the shield and then got attacked from behind. If you are being too reckless, Duke Ortho will be angry at me.」

「Well, that’s against my will.」

「We’ll take care of one side, so can I leave the other side to Therese-ojousama with the previous formation?」

「Please leave it to me!」

「That’s a good reply. Haru and Chinatsu, I leave her to you. Take it in mind that you will lose your head if something were to happen to her.」

「Hey, isn’t the test of ability earlier was rather dangerous…?」

「I’m always doing my best, so don’t worry!」

Yeah, I know. By the way, Nell is telling me to get ready with her gaze, so let’s get ready. As for our side―― let’s leave it to Lily and Gobuo.

「「Grrr….」」

The golems came into view from the end of the path. Just like in the adventurers’ story, the appearance is a lion stone statue. The overlapping growling was almost identical and it feels a bit creepy.

「Nell, can you watch over Haru and the others? I’ll watch over this side for now.」

「Lily will do it, isn’t she? Do you really need to do that?」

「I’m worried that she will overdo it. I don’t want to be buried alive in a crumbling dungeon after all.」

「Ah, Goshujin-sama, isn’t that too much!?」

You are one of the Great Eight Demons after all. By all means, control your power.