Black Iron Magician

Haruna speaks with a carefree smile. This is a huge cafeteria, the pride of the academy. Haruna and the others are having a meal together in a corner of this space that’s large enough to accommodate all the students enrolled.

「After all, they were originally water… On the contrary, I was surprised by Haruna-san… To think that you could compete against Labirys Orca with just your body alone… I haven’t seen anyone do that other than Prez…」

While Haruna is piling up her plate and reaching for the next dish, Weerel’s meal was only a piece of bread in corn soup. She seems to be a very light eater and she’s full with just this much.

「Wee, I won’t tell you to eat as much as Haruna-san, but you won’t grow up if you don’t eat more, you know? When you’re fourteen, it’s the age to eat well, sleep well, and grow well. Studying is good, but correcting your lifestyle is the most important thing!」

「Even so, there are times when you don’t grow just like me~」

「Instead, Haruna is probably the most healthy child in the world. I think she uses the energy somewhere else.」

「Muu… I think I want to get taller a bit more…」

Weerel asks for another piece of bread. Surprisingly, all meals in this cafeteria are free, so you won’t be charged no matter how much you eat. This is a great free service for someone like Haruna who needs a lot of food. However, a qualification is required to enter the academy, and outsiders are not allowed to use it. This is just one example of how expensive school fees are for students who enrolled.

「Prez is shining again today.」

「She likes to take care of Weerel after all. But, who are those black-haired girls next to her?」

「Hmm…? I think I’ve seen them before…」

「Me too! I feel like they had a huge impact, but I can’t remember it for some reason.」

「Even though she’s as small as Weerel, she sure eats a lot~」

「Rather than eat a lot, isn’t she eating too much?」

When the president of the student council, the prodigy of the academy, and two strangers gather there, the attention in the cafeteria will naturally be gathered there. Using the stacked empty plates as a landmark, all the students around them turned their eyes toward them.

「Haruna, isn’t that Deris-san?」

「Hm?」

When Haruna looked in the direction Chinatsu pointed, she saw that Deris was certainly there. He seems to be calling the two of them outside the cafeteria.

「Gulp… Thank you for the meal.」

Yuna puts her hands together and says her gratitude. Then, she calmly turns to face Deris.

(Oh, he’s writing something on a paper. ‘We’ve finished, our business, so we are going home’…)

‘We’ve finished our business, so we are going home. Come here after you finished your greetings. The students’ attention is too focused on you guys, so I can’t get close. Hurry up,’ the paper that Deris fluttered between his fingers has that written on it.

「Chinatsu-chan, Shishō told us to come back.」

「Eh, is that what written on that paper? You sure can see that well…」

「Therese-san, Wee-chan. We are going to leave here. Thank you for showing us around the academy.」

「My, it’s sudden desuwa. Ara, there’s Deris-san in that place.」

「Deris, san…?」

「Yes, he’s Haruna’s master. He’s very strong and reliable.」

「…Deris.」

For some reason, Weerel was muttering the name of Deris many times. ‘A person coming from outside the academy may be unusual for her,’ Therese interprets so and turns to Haruna and Chinatsu again.

「The next time we meet will be at the graduation festival. At that time, I will show you New Therese, who has mastered the Staff Arts desuwa!」

「Fufu, I’m looking forward to it too.」

「If we become opponents, let’s fight with all our best! Wee-chan too!」

「Eh, ah… yes… let’s do our best…」

The four of them shook hands and said their goodbye. The next time they meet will probably be on the day of the graduation festival. At that time, they will be fighting against opponents who have grown even more than now. They vowed to train harder until then, and Harun and Chinatsu left the academy.

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

Unlike when we came using the carriage, we are going back by walking, no, running in a hurry. It’s a forced march, intentionally through the animal trail, from the town of Genius to Diana. Even so, it seems that Haru and Chinatsu still have a lot of energy left in them, probably because of their experience in the dungeon.

「Shishō, why don’t we run a little faster~?」

Even though I didn’t give any instructions, Haru, carrying Gobuo on her back, said something.

「How could you say that after a meal…」

Because Haruna and the others got a lot of attention in the cafeteria of the academy, I and Nell couldn’t eat in the academy. We had no choice but to go to the town and return to Duke Ortho’s mansion. He had already left for another job, but Lady May kindly invited us to have a meal with her. Haru, who was supposed to have already eaten at the academy, somehow was eating there too. After that, we took back Gobuo, which we lent as a helper, and departed. That’s how it went.

「Still, it was a very sudden departure.」

「Ahh, there are various reasons for that…. First, the staff you will be using at the graduation festival has already finished. I want you to get used to it as soon as possible.」

「The thing you requested to Gan-san a long time ago, right!? I’m looking forward to it!」

Haru raises her tension while running. This girl sure is dexterous, huh.

「Um, Nell-shishō. About my specialized katana, I can only use a staff at the graduation festival, right? What should I do…?」

「Don’t worry. I’ve already made arrangements for Chinatsu’s staff. Maybe it has already finished. Let’s go check it out when we get back to Diana.」

Hou, a staff for Chinatsu, huh. I’m a little curious. We are talking about Nell here, I’m afraid it’s not going to be a normal staff.

「You said there are various reasons, what are the others?」

「In this negotiation, I peacefully managed to get the two of you to be granted the right to participate in the graduation festival.」

「Haa, peacefully, huh…」

Hey, Chinatsu-kun. What’s with that expression that shows only doubt? It was settled in the most peaceful way, you know? There was no pointless killing, you know? This old man is a good magician, you know? Well, let’s set the joke aside.

「It’s just my prediction, but there’s a possibility that the schedule of the graduation festival will be earlier. Like, someone from somewhere tries to get the academy to do something about it.」

「「?」」

Well, even if he quickens the schedule, I’ll be thankful for it. Now, old geezer, you can set the stage to your heart’s content. It’s too late now no matter what you do, though.