Black Iron Magician

It’s early afternoon on the day of moving to Nell’s mansion. Haru and Gobuo, who cleaned the house more thoroughly than usual in the morning, and the half-awake Lily, who woke up late, are about to go to Nell’s mansion.

「Well then, Shishō, I left some onigiris on the table, so please eat them and do some exercise to help digestion.」

「Gobu.」

「Yeah, thank you. Lily, just wake up already and walk properly.」

「Fuah…? I-I’m okay. Goshujin-sama is a worrier~」

Lily tries to smooth things over while hiding her yawning.

「Compared to yesterday’s hard work, it’ll be a piece of cake since I don’t need to bring anything~. But, if you are so worried, then Lily will stay with Goshujin-sama here~」

「Okay, take her even if you have to drag her. Haru, Gobuo, I’m counting on you!」

「Yes!」

「Gobu!」

「W-Wait! You don’t have to really drag me, I’ll walk, I’ll walk properly!」

Lily was taken by Haru and Gobuo while screaming such things. Now, I’ve eliminated the hindrance that will make me lose my concentration, let’s do this quickly. First, let’s check the inside of the house.

I talked big about leaving the moving to me, but I haven’t done any preparations so far. Thanks to the hard work of cleaning in the morning, the house is shinier than ever. However, the furniture and accessories are still intact, and even Haru’s cooking utensils are in place in the kitchen. I’m sure Haru was wondering about it, but she has stopped worrying since yesterday. In other words, that’s a sign of her expectation and trust in me. In order not to betray Haru, I have to respond like a master.

「The problem is, how much should I bring.」

While filling my mouth with the onigiris that Haru prepared for me, I went around the house in circles.

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

Haruna and the others left Deris’s house, went down to the city, and arrived at Nell’s mansion. Nell was going out of her way to stand and wait in front of the outer gate of the mansion with two servants.

「Haruna, Gobuo, welcome. Ah, I guess it’s welcome home now. Fufu.」

「I’ll be in your care from now, Nell-san!」

「Gobu gobu!」

「Hey! Nell, did you intentionally skip my name!?」

「Oh, I didn’t know you were there, good-for-nothing maid. I’ve specially prepared a house for you. See, over there.」

「S-Specially…?」

Nell pointed at a place right next to the entrance to the gate. There is a small hut (?) that is about the height of the waist, and there is a hole enough for people to pass through. Above the hole, there’s a signboard with the words 『Lilyvia’s House』 engraved on it.

「Isn’t that just a doghouse!?」

「Eh, you aren’t a dog?」

「At least call me a cute rabbit! Even I have pride too!」

「You vigorously ate the rabbit meat I baked before, didn’t you? Huh, are you a cannibal?」

「It was your fault for making it delicious! Even a rabbit lover like me would eat that! Thank you for the food!」

「You’re welcome. If you like, should I make it again tonight?」

「Hmph! I’ll eat it if I feel like it. Only if I feel like it, that is!」

Haruna and Gobuo unconsciously held their breath to the sudden high-dimensional fight that unfolded.

「B-By the way, I don’t see Deris. Where’s he?」

Nell, who was trying to welcome Deris first, looked around and made a gesture as if looking for his presence. When she confirmed that Deris isn’t there, she looked a little disappointed. Haruna feels that such Nell is cute and charming.

「You see, the truth is――」

Blah blah blah.

「Deris is going to bring the luggage? That Deris is, by himself?」

「Yes, that Shishō.」

「That Goshujin-sama sure said so.」

「Gobbu gobbu!」

「「「「………」」」」

Everyone thought about it and reached at the same answer. ‘He is planning something’. The fact that they all agreed on the same thing shows that they trust Deris in some way.

「W-Well, nothing can be done now, so let’s just wait until he comes. I’ll have them bring out some tea and sweets, so come in first.」

「Pardon the intrusion~」

Haruna’s luggage is just her equipment and waist pouch, so there’s nothing that would be a hindrance. She then walked to the terrace where she could enjoy a panoramic view of the mansion’s garden and waited for Deris to arrive. And then, about an hour has passed after she sat on the chair. It was Nell who first noticed something strange.

「…… Is that a rain cloud?」

「Eh?」

In the distant sky, there was a floating black mass that looked like a haze. At first, they thought it was a rain cloud or something, but when they looked carefully, they realized it was something else. It’s faint, but the shape is square. And then, that thing was gradually getting closer and finally reached the sky over the town. And yet, there was no commotion in the town. It seems that the mysterious black object has a special camouflage and only those who are sensitive to the flow of magic can see it.

「Could it be? No, but…」

「Haruna, it’ll reach here soon, so just accept it. No matter how you think about it, it’s Deris’s doing.」

「You are right.」

Nell was being on guard just a while ago, but perhaps she felt the sign of Deris, she sat back and began to gracefully drink her tea. The distance of that black mass is not that far. The size is quite large, and it seems that a normal house could fit in it. Yes, a normal house.

「… A house?」

「Right. If it’s that size, a house can fit in it.」

「………」

「Gobu….」

It seems that Haruna’s words that she muttered unconsciously hit the mark, but still, there’s nothing they can do. Everyone, including Nell who had a sullen look, waited for Deris to arrive. You can tell where he is by looking at the object, going down the main street, turning the corner, going straight ahead――

「Yo, Nell. I’ve come to move in! By the way, is there any free space?」

Deris appeared from the outer gate of the mansion. At that moment, the darkness of the black mass disappeared, and a house that Haruna and the others got used to living in appeared from inside. The strange floating house (with ground attached) seems to be looking around for a new place to live.

「… Deris, we need to talk a bit. Sit there.」

「Sorry, but I’ll appreciate it if you can give me a place to put this first.」

「There, sit.」

「Ah, yes…」

Deris, being made to sit seiza on the ground, received a scolding for nearly an hour with the house still floating in the air.