Black Iron Magician

Haru’s eyes slightly changed to those when her mode is changed. It was the moment when the existence of Tuds changed from a cleaner to a practice partner.

「Yes, I saw your fight from that hill. Your power and speed, none of them are comparable to before. When I saw it, I felt a tingle in my body. How much you have grown, I want to see and experience it firsthand. How about it, Deris-san? She seems quite eager, you know?」

「……… (Stare).」

Along with the question from Tuds, Haru stared at me with a look of expectation. For Haru, it’s like a rematch to make up for her loss from the last time. In that sense, Tuds could be said to have been one of Haru’s targets.

「Ah… Not that I mind about it, but now Haru is really stronger, you know? Are you sure?」

「I don’t mind. As long as I can confirm the ability of the blade that’s trained by Deris-san who is feared by our boss.」

He’s not afraid of me. He just emphasizes his tsun.

Still, this is a nice miscalculation. If I’m not mistaken, Tuds should be a level 5 powerful person. He is on par with Haru in terms of level alone, and it’s not bad to have her fight someone other than small fry.

「Shishō, can I fight with my bare hands instead of using Doggan Staff? It was like that before.」

「I will allow it. However, if you are going that far, be sure to win, okay?」

「Okay!」

Haru, who is full of motivation, and Tuds, who quietly looks at her, confront each other. If it is only the physique, it looks like an adult and a child, or rather, a professional boxer and a female elementary school student.

「…What kind of situation is this?」

「Oh, Chinatsu. You’re awake, huh?」

「I woke up around the time that big man came. Around the carriage is in a terrible state and Haruna is facing a scary person… I ask for an explanation.」

「The bandits attacked. Haru defeated them. Then, a hiking old man attacked. Haru intercepts. How’s that? I put it all together so it’s easy to understand.」

「I only understand a piece of it… Um, so now she’s trying to intercept him, right?」

「You’re complaining, but you know exactly what I’m talking about, huh?」

「I’ve been trained by Shishō and Deris-san after all. It’s a blunder that I couldn’t wake up when the bandits attacked, though…」

「Well, don’t say that. I’m sure that’s how strong you’ve become, so your Danger Detection skill didn’t think of the bandits as a threat.」

「That’s also a problem. My standard of Danger Detection is too limited in its use.」

「You’re really serious, aren’t you? Don’t worry, once you get used to it, you’ll be able to sense even the smallest reaction. Well, there are people who don’t care about that at all, though.」

Chinatsu is still better that she got up even in a state of exhaustion. Just look at the others.

「Suu… Suu…」

「Guu

… Suyaa…」

「Fuhi, fuhihi… Goshujin-sama, not there…」

There is no sign of any of them waking up, including Chinatsu’s master, and the third one makes me want to punch her.

「Ah, we are enemies until the end of the graduation festival, right? My bad, I talked in my usual way.」

「Shishō is sleeping, so it’s okay. More importantly, it seems that she will start intercepting that hiking old man.」

Ah, she’s actually still half asleep, huh? She’s taking my joke seriously and using it as it is.

「Are you ready? Are you tired from the previous battle?」

「I’m fine. Let’s do this!」

Haru puts her Doggan Staff back in her pouch and takes a boxing-style stance. Tuds, on the other hand, has a similar stance. They tap their footwork in rhythm, and only the sound of their feet could be heard in the silence.

―――― Flap!

Suddenly, a bird flew away from a tree branch. The sound of the flapping wings served as a gong, and Haru and Thaddeus, who have their feet on the ground, go straight at each other. They clash fist to fist. Then right, left, right, foot. It’s a storm of repeated blows that’s hard to see.

「Uwaa, he’s exchanging blows head-on with Haru…」

「Now, now. I’m sure you’ve seen me and Nell do it before. Also, that self-proclaimed maid who’s sleeping there. As for the same generation, even Touko can do it.」

「As common sense, being able to exchange blows with Haru is on the level of quitting being a human…」

「Is that so? Well, it seems that it won’t last long this time, though.」

「Eh?」

At first glance, the two seem to be on equal terms. However, it’s Tuds who is clearly taking more damage with each blow and his movement is slowing down. Haru’s blows are not just coming from her body. Each blow is heavy by magic, applied with poison, and makes the opponent’s status lowered. The more they exchange blows, the more Tuds is cornered.

「Kuh…!」

Even while being pushed, Tuds sends out a sharp punch with the preparedness for death. Haru then stopped receiving his fist and instead grabbed his arm with her both hands. She turns around as it is and catches the giant body of Tuds with her small back. Without losing even the slightest bit of momentum, Haru throws Tuds with a shoulder throw. With a surprisingly beautiful shoulder throw, the giant body of Tuds flies in the air.

「Chinatsu, this is where you should say 『Uwaa』. That’s nasty.」

「…… Uwaa.」

The ground where Tuds should be thrown away. There, Haru planted a jet black spear using Crime Lance. Just try to imagine a spearhead growing from the ground. Tuds is being slammed from his back against such a place. This is extreme.

「Nuuh…!」

「Uoh, he survived, huh?」

Immediately before hitting the spear on the ground, Tuds landed from his feet, making a bridge-like figure, and fought the power of being thrown with his strong muscles. The spear grazed his back slightly, and he managed to avoid this fatal wound by hardening his back muscles. It makes the one looking at it feels pain instead. Still, it seems that it’s impossible to continue the battle.

「――I give up.」

Just before Haru’s fist hit the face of Tuds, who endured it in that posture, he announced that he is giving up. Just like before, it ended fast, but this time they were able to reach the conclusion.

「Thank you very much!」

「It was a good experience. Fuu… I felt that you have an extraordinary talent, but I’m surprised that you were able to defeat me splendidly in such a short time. Boss’s worries will increase again. Ojou-san, no, Haruna-san. Please do your best for the graduation festival at the academy. I’ll be cheering for you.」

「Yes, I’ll do my best!」

Haru exchanges a passionate handshake with the hiking old man and promises to win the graduation festival. I guess it was a fair result.

「Haru is amazing after all…」

「Chinatsu, I’m not sure if it’s okay for me to say this, but Haru is going to be your enemy, you know? Will you be fine?」

「I-I know. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be fine…」

It awfully doesn’t look like that, though… I wonder if counselors can take care of themselves?

「Haha. Goblin-san, she’s amazing, isn’t she~? She won against a scary person~. It seems that I’m still dreaming~」

「Gobu!?」

……Before that, it seems that Middle needs counseling.