Black Iron Magician

「The Hero of Adelheit, huh. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to your country that they send such people to support us this quickly. Thank you, Janet-dono.」

「No, no! It’s not my power, so please raise your head. It’s thanks to the quick action of Mage Prime Minister Joseph of the Royal Castle. Still, I was surprised when I was informed that they would arrive today. When Leader Nell and Deris-dono came for the previous expedition, it took them three days….」

「They were using a carriage at that time, right? I heard that Leader Nell can run faster than a horse, so maybe the hero and the others are also running here!」

「Hahaha, I can’t deny it if it’s her! But the truth is, I still don’t know what kind of people will come here.」

「That’s probably because the preparation was matched with the formation of the alliance. We are at the edge of the country, so the contact probably would come later or maybe there would be no contact unless there’s something like this. I’m ashamed to say that I also have yet to see the face of my country’s hero.」

With the appearance of the Demon King and the formation of the alliance, each county decided to appoint its own hero. Just as Weerel became a hero, a hero was also born in Tazarnia. Unfortunately, since the hero was dispatched to the front line where the invasion of the Demon King’s army is fierce and is still fighting, the face is unknown in this place, which is farthest from the seaside in Tazarnia.

「Both have similar circumstances, huh. Still, Mage Prime Minister Joseph told us to welcome them courteously. As you can see, my subordinates seem to be restless. The hero party will stay overnight in this fort and eat with us general soldiers, so they are busy preparing.」

「I see. Still, I wonder what kind of person is the hero?」

「I don’t know. The prime minister was highly praising the hero, but he didn’t describe the appearance. Good grief, it’s troubling. Oops… please pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.」

Both of them laughed wryly at those words. It seems that they share many of the same problems.

「It’s hard to imagine with my imagination. However, since Mage Prime Minister Joseph was praising that much, I think the hero is a very capable person. Like, the personification of the ideal image of a hero?」

「Hahaha, I see. I’m looking forward to meeting that hero. As for my ideal hero, it would be a mighty warrior!」

Janet and Rize talk about each other’s ideal heroes and ponder about the hero that will come. In the meantime, the footsteps of the busy soldiers can be heard from the hallway, which also makes them laugh wryly.

…… However, something is wrong. The footsteps are a little too loud. Then, the door of the room was roughly opened when the two of them looked at each other, wondering what’s happening.

「Excuse me! Commander Janet, we have a problem!」

「What’s going on?」

「T-There is a dragon carriage pulled by two earth dragons running here from the east! When I checked it with a monocular from the roof, it was a goblin who was controlling the earth dragons! It might be a survivor of the goblin army that appeared before!」

「「W-Whaat!?」」

They have never seen or heard a goblin controlling a dragon. But if that were true, it would be a serious situation. The level of a dragon that has become an adult dragon is high, and ordinary soldiers can’t win no matter how many of them formed a group. Janet and Rize rushed to the roof of the form to confirm it. The commanders and subordinates are running as fast as they can.

「*Wheeze*… They are at the place of that cloud of dust, huh. Give me the monocular.」

「Yes, here!」

Janet, who’s breathing heavily because of his first dash in a long time, receives the monocular while taking a deep breath. He then looks at the cause of the violent footsteps, and his first impression is that they are big.

「They are definitely adult dragons. Rize-dono, can you guess what level they are?」

「… Dragons are famous among monsters. Even I, who is illiterate, somewhat know about them. Sub-dragons are level 1 or 2, young dragons are level 3, and adult dragons are level 4. And with that size, they are probably at least level 5…!」

「L-Level 5…!」

His subordinates began to raise a distraught voice at the level that’s too high. They can deal with a level 3 monster individually, and if they form a group and devise a plan, they can deal with a level 4 at best. When it comes to level 5, it requires the help of the elite knights. It might be easy to misunderstand because Haruna and the others have been defeating them easily, but level 5 monsters are powerful. If you think that the Ask Kobold Boss that appeared at the beginning is level 4, you can feel how strong it is.

「W-What should we do, Commander Janet!? Let’s request for help――」

「We won’t make it even if we request for help now. They will reach this fort in less than three minutes, you know? First, no, wait. The thing that’s drawn on the carriage… is that the national emblem of Adelheit?」

Although he was about to be distracted by the running dragons and the red goblin, Janet calmly gazed at the dragon carriage. Sure enough, what’s drawn on the dragon carriage is the national emblem of Adelheit. And when he looked closely, he could see that the clothes worn by the goblin who’s controlling the dragons are also from Adelheit. And more importantly, he feels like he has seen that goblin before――

「―― Drop your guard. What we need to do is not being on guard, but to welcome them instead.」

「「「…… Come again?」」」

Not only his subordinates, but even Rize’s showed a doubtful expression. Still, he understood everything. He regretted that he should have asked how the hero would come, but at the same time, he complained to Joseph in his heart that he should have told him that too.

「It seems that the hero of our country is riding that dragon carriage. Rize-dono, do you remember? When Leader Nell and Deris-dono finished defeating the hordes of monsters, the disciple was employing a red goblin, right? Apparently, she’s among them.」

「… Oh, I see! If it’s the disciple of the 『Black Iron』, there’s nothing surprising about it. Alright, let’s get ready to welcome them. The hero of our allied country is here!」

「W-What do you mean, Commander!?」

Rize seemed convinced by Janet’s words, but the subordinates didn’t seem to understand it yet. But then, a loud voice came from the direction of the dragon carriage.

「Heeey!」

It was a girl’s voice. The voice was loud that it’ll make you wonder what kind of lung capacity she has, but it was unmistakably the voice of a pretty girl.

「Something like that. Look, she’s peeking out of the carriage and waving at us, right?」

With the monocular in hand, the subordinate took another look at the carriage.

「Ah, the one at that time!」

「Are you convinced? Then, start preparing.」

「「「Yes!」」」

The tension that filled the fort was released, and the mood changed into that of welcoming the hero. First, they begin to line up to welcome them to the fort. …… However, there’s something that bothers them. That’s the person who’s standing next to the red goblin.

「Ohoho! Ohohoho!」

「Commander, do you know that laughing person too?」

「…… No, I don’t know that one.」