Black Iron Magician

「O-Oh, I see…」

This is the sweet shop in town where Haru took me and the place I met Touko for the first time. And then, Touko was sitting across from my seat and complaining about various things. To such her, I just talked back with aizuchi. Now, why am I in such a place? Well, it’s true that I like sweets, but that’s not the reason I’m here. I went to the Knight Order Headquarters to match the schedule for the graduation festival, and on the way back, I was going to buy a scroll or two. Then, why am I here eating the same cake as Touko?

Well, that’s because I was caught by Touko on the way from the headquarters to the town… We bumped into each other at a corner, and I was forcibly taken to this shop. I wonder if this girl really has the wild intuition? She is as quick as Nell and as decisive as Haru. Damn, at a time like this, the mother Haru is at home. If Haru were here, I could at least make a reasonable excuse. But, if Nell were to see me without her, this store, which had just opened, would have to be shut down as soon as possible. It will be a disaster.

「Well, since he was provoking me so much, I couldn’t resist it and hit him so hard. Then, that damn Akira was blown away more than I expected. Haha, that was really funny.」

「I see, Hero-kun was blown away, huh.」

And she revealed the unexpected event that was happening. Hero-kun, who should have been the leader of the classmates, was defeated by Touko yesterday.

Oi oi, you were a rival candidate after the graduation festival, you know? I retorted in my mind and pondered over the fact that Touko has become the strongest. Ahh, the precious experience of Haru is…

「Ah, since I’m here, I’ll tell you about it now. I and some girls will be leaving the castle soon.」

「I see, old geezer Joseph will lose his face with that. Fuhaha.」

「Gramps was also quite taken aback. Other than that, the ones remaining are Akira’s group, his female fans, indecisive guys, and a few individualists. How’s it, Danna? Am I useful?」

「I’m really grateful for the information. The regrettable thing is that I can’t directly see Joseph’s anguished expression.」

Hmm, it seems that Touko wanted to tell me this. Personally, I would like her to continue to work as a spy in the castle, but it feels like I’m taking advantage of her love feelings and I feel bad for it.

――’You are cold-hearted, aren’t you?’ I felt that I heard a heavenly voice saying something like that, but that’s probably just my imagination. There’s even a rumor that I’m a gentleman when it comes to friendly people. The source is Lily.

「It’s embarrassing if you compliment me so much! Well then, we will be in Deris-danna’s care after we left the castle!」

「I see, you will be in Deris-danna’s―― hey, wait a minute.」

「Hm? What’s wrong, Danna? You don’t need to hold back, you know?」

「No, wait, why did you decide to come to my place!? Also, did you just say 『we』!? Are you planning to bring all the girls with you!?」

「That’s obvious, isn’t it~? The only person I can rely on outside the castle is Danna after all. Wouldn’t you be happier if you can have a debauchery party? You see, everyone is surprisingly interested in you.」

This girl is not a spy, but a sniper…! Is she going to fight Nell!? For Touko, that might be a good idea, but if I allow that, my house will be dyed red. Mainly with my blood and Nell’s fire…! Also, in your case, you will work well in the wild without relying on anyone!

「What a cruel thing you come up with… Are you really human?」

「Ahaha, please don’t praise me so much. Although, I’m not as much as Danna!」

I didn’t praise you, and on the contrary, did you diss me?

「Touko, I’m grateful for your feelings, but I have Nell. To be honest, I can’t do you any favors. We’ve reached the limit of what we can tolerate in terms of a new place for you to live. Even now, Lily is sleeping on the sofa in the living room. If Nell is added there, the shuraba will be happening 24 hours. I’m saying this for your sake. Just give up. At worst, I’ll provide you girls with food, clothing, and a place to stay.」

「What are you talking about, Danna! Common sense is there to be broken! I won’t be able to steal the lover if I’m afraid!」

…… Not good. This is not good. Recently, Touko is too frank. She is more dangerous than a bullet because she is faithful to her instinct and knows that she is going to steal another person’s lover. First of all, she can’t be persuaded by reason.

「*Whisper* (Look, they are talking about things such as shuraba

and stealing lover.)」

「*Whisper* (That person, I’ve seen him at this shop before. He’s a man who was served by two cute girls.)」

「*Whisper* (Oh my, how indecent! Well, he got what he deserved!)」

「*Whisper* (Right~)」

Also, her voice is loud. She was attracting the attention of all the female customers from the surroundings. Please, Touko, stop for a moment!

「I’m begging you, Touko, please control your feelings. It’s a problem for me…」

「Hm, is that so? Well, if it’s your request, then it can’t be helped. I’ll try to suppress it for now. But, it’s convenient to have me around, you know? Because of the festival, Haruna can’t fight with Chinatsu for a while, right? Then, I can be her opponent instead of Chinatsu. If it’s me, I’ll be enough for an opponent, right?」

Hmm, that’s a really nice proposal. It’s not easy to pair up with Haru. Besides, it’s much easier to get close to the actual battle if the opponent is equal to her. Still, I have some doubts.

「… Sure, that would be great. But, how did you know about that? I just told Haru about it today, you know?」

「I just learned about it a short time ago. To be specific, I heard it just before leaving the castle. A knight called Muno was proudly talking about it all over the place. He also said that he was chosen by the knight leader as something like, Chinatsu’s target? Or maybe a training partner?」

Muno was the culprit, huh… No, more importantly, a target!? Nell, what kind of training are you going to do again?

「Okay. As for your offer to be Haru’s training partner, I also want you to do it. But, I can’t let you girls live in my place. Instead, I will look for a good place to live nearby.」

「Hmm… I got it. Maybe it’s too much to ask for all of us to live in your place. I will bear with it for now!」

I barely escaped from death, huh? … I’m saved, right?

「Yeah, it helps me that way… Also, let me know how many people you bring later.」

Thus, I got a sparring partner for Haru until the graduation festival.

「By the way, Deris-danna. If you don’t have enough beds, why don’t you buy a big one? Everyone can fit in that way, right? Oh, maybe this is a good idea――」

「………」