Black Iron Magician

「So, what’s up with the sudden call?」

I asked the person sitting across from me. The person who called me was Nell―― no, it was Fuchi, the brain of the uneven trio.

「Actually, I have something I want to ask Deris-san… But before that, I would like to thank you for responding to the sudden call. Thank you.」

「Yeah, I don’t mind. I was the only one with an open schedule today since Haru has a day off and Nell has to work for the Knight Order. It’s a lot easier than shaking off Lily’s stalking.」

「Hahaha, you have it hard too, Deris-san… Also, it’s okay to tell about the knight leader? It seems that she was pretending to be an adventurer, wasn’t she?」

「I don’t think that her disguise won’t be found out after all. Ah, well, it would be helpful if you keep it a secret from her. She’s quite innocent in some aspects even if she looks like that.」

「You don’t have to worry about that. Mani-kun is tactful and it’s not a problem for Touko-san if she has her reason. As for Oda, he’s not aware in the first place.」

「Even though it weighed on his mind most at the knight order headquarters, but he can’t see through it, huh…」

「Err, well, he’s a disappointing friend in various ways…」

Well, when I want to hear about today’s main topic after a moderate chatting, Fuchi, who’s good at guessing, seems to understand my thought.

「Well, you see… Normally, I shouldn’t go into personal matters, but I’d like to ask you. Deris-san, you are a Japanese person, right?」

「That’s right.」

「………」

Hey, why do you freeze there? I just answered honestly.

「I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to admit it so easily…」

「It’s not that I’m hiding it. I haven’t talked about it directly, but I’m sure Haru and Chinatsu have figured it out at some point. We’ve had some conversations that I wouldn’t have been able to follow if I didn’t have knowledge of modern Japan after all. So, what do you want to find out on that premise? 」

「… I’m glad you are so perceptive. What I really want to ask you is, is there really a way to get back to Japan?」

「Hee, a way to go back, huh?」

「Oda and others are actively trying to make achievements in this world, but there are many classmates who want to return to Japan. When we got transferred to this world, Mage Prime Minister Joseph said something that as if hinting that we can return. However, I have no definite proof of this at the moment. At any rate, we were half kidnapped. It would be foolish to believe the words of the kidnapper after all.」

「Isn’t that indirectly dissing Oda?」

「Well, I’ve already dissed him directly many times, so I don’t see the problem.」

Oda is not a bad guy, though. Still, a way to return to Japan, huh? I never thought about it. Well, in my case, I just have knowledge of Japan, but I think it’s a bottleneck that I’ve lost my memories. Either way, I’ve spent a long time in this world. I don’t think I’d want to go back, even if my memories came back.

「I wasn’t summoned like you guys, but I was being spirited away and got lost in this world. I’ve never heard that there’s a way to get back, and it’s been over a decade since I came here. In conclusion, I don’t know of any such way. I can’t deny the possibility that Joseph is hiding some sort of method, but… there are no stories of the heroes who were summoned long ago returned to the world of their origin. Most of them married the princess of that country or have a happy ending while serving the country.」

「I see. But as expected, he is very likely lying about it…」

「It’s just my personal opinion. You can just take it as a half joke, okay?」

Fuchi doesn’t look depressed. He puts his hand on his chin, making a gesture of thinking something, and keeps silent for a while. After a while, Fuchi looks up with a refreshed expression and opens his mouth.

「Deris-san, my dream is to become a detective.」

「Yeah, I know. But, that sure is sudden.」

「Yes, it’s sudden. Well, I’ve been talking to Mani-kun and Oda before, but we want to leave the castle and get out of the hands of the mage prime minister.」

「… Like Satou and the others, huh? Well, I was the one who caught those who escaped from the castle and threw them into prison, you know? I don’t think it’s something you should confide in me about.」

「That was because they did something wrong, right? Besides, I don’t think Deris-san and Knight Leader Nell have a very good relationship with Mage Prime Minister Joseph. Rather than cooperating assertively, you want to get in his way, right?」

Well, he mostly hits the mark. He sure has a good grasp of our general relationship.

「What we want to do is to go around the world to find a way to return. If we help people along the way with our power, we can maintain our reputation as heroes. However, if we have no backing, we will be treated the same as Satou. So, I want us to be under the protection of Deris-san and Knight Leader Nell by all means.」

「… Leaving aside Nell who stands at the top of the military, you want to ask me too?」

「Yes, Deris-san too.」

He sure thinks of me in a good impression, huh. It’s not that he wants to be a disciple like Haru and Chinatsu, but he wants an excuse to escape from the castle. These guys are no longer on Haru’s target list, and I can cooperate if it’s to see Joseph’s tearful face. But, manipulating the information to make an excuse is damn bothersome.

「Of course, I’m not saying it’s for free. I will present a collection of data of my classmates that I have accumulated from when we enrolled in the school to the time we got into this world and gained power. Each person’s unique skills, status, hobbies, relationships, and even the color of their underwears that day are listed!」

Oh! Ah, no――

「Also, I heard that Deris-san is a scroll enthusiast to the core. If you cooperate, I can use my detective power and Mani-kun’s yet-to-be-revealed unique skill to deliver the items you want at any time, you know?」

「Let’s hear more about it.」

After a few dozen minutes of discussion, the contract between Fuchi and me was established.

「Thank you very much. According to our schedule, we will be leaving this town tomorrow.」

「Yeah, I understand. I’ll make it work.」

Anything as long as I hand over the money, huh? Haha, it’s just like some popular major shopping sites.

「Still, I’m surprised you guys decided to leave the castle. I think someone like Oda would be against it.」

「That was the case at the beginning, you know? But I managed to persuade him using examples from novels and so on.」

「Novels?」

「Yes, novels about being transferred to another world or being reincarnated are very popular these days, and I also read quite a lot. Many of them have a pattern of being used by the person or country that summoned them and being betrayed in the end.」

「Ahh, I see.」

So, he made Oda feel uneasy. Yeah, Oda doesn’t seem to be able to win in a war of words against Fuchi.

「Ah, and one more thing. I think Touko-san will be leaving the castle soon. I don’t need to tell you where she’s going, though.」