Black Iron Magician

「So, Mani-kun. I know that it’s a big deal, but why are you flustered just because the people of Galdevalan came? Is it because they arrived too fast even though their country is in the opposite location? It has been decided that the heroes will visit Crocus, so there’s nothing wrong with coming early, right?」

「Haa, haa…! T-That’s right, but…!」

Mani, who is already breathing hard, explains the outline of the matter while running.

A few minutes ago, a party of three people claiming to be the heroes of Galdevalan, the country of martial arts, arrived at Crocus Castle. It seems that they came on a dragon carriage just like Haruna and the others, and they demanded a suitable place to keep the earth dragons. They are well dressed, so in case they are nobles or royalties, the treatment would be troublesome. However, Haruna and the other have arrived earlier, so the guide could handle them smoothly. If the earth dragons are put in the same place, the heroes of Galdevalan would be convinced.

「Yes, I don’t think there’s any problem with that….」

「The problem, came, after that…. Haa….」

Mani continues his explanation while his face is turning red.

After the heroes put the earth dragons and the dragon carriage safely and were discussing whether to have an audience with the queen, the problem arose. When the heroes tried to leave the stable, they passed by a certain figure. The moment the only girl in that party saw that figure, she screamed loudly.

「And that figure… was Haruna-san’s Gobuo-kun…!」

「Gobuo?」

「It might be surprising if a monster suddenly appears, but it’s not something that will make a hero scream, right? Also, Gobuo-kun is properly wearing formal clothes.」

Gobuo is currently in charge of Makam and Redon and is spending time in the stable where the dragons are. He is even wearing clothes with the national emblem of Adelheit attached so that anyone can tell that he is a tamed monster. He has several changes of clothes and can wash them himself if they get dirty. With his personality, he won’t miss keeping himself clean. His love of cleanliness is more than the bad-smelling humans.

「Gobuo is a good boy…!」

「That’s right desuwa. I don’t think Gobuo will cause any problem. If I had to guess, she’s probably a goblin hater.」

「Goblin hater?」

「Yes. For some reason, there are a few people who really dislike goblins. I don’t know if it’s because of some trauma in their past, but if it is, it’s going to be troublesome.」

「Gobuo is a good boy…!」

「Anyway, let’s hurry up so we can find out what’s going on!」

「*Wheeze*… D-Don’t worry about me, just go ahead…!」

Mani fell. It seems that he was doing his best beyond his limits. Thus, Mani retired due to his lack of stamina.

「Okay! Chinatsu-chan, let’s hurry up!」

「Yes!」

Whoosh, the wind blew up and Haruna and Chinatsu disappeared from the spot. The place the two are heading to is the stable where Gobuo is.

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

「S-STAY AWAAAAAAAAAY!」

The voice echoed loudly in the stable. The scream, which the girl probably screamed with all her might, reached the outside. There are curious onlookers outside. Since there’s no time to ask to make way, Haruna and Chinatsu jump over them and go inside as it is with fierce momentum.

「Gobuo-kun!」

「What’s going on!?」

There are the figures of the heroes of Galdevalan and Gobuo. The heroes are the man who seems to be a leader, a big man so big that you have to look up, and a girl who’s terribly frightened at the place far away from them. Gobuo is sending a troubled gaze at Haruna.

「Rindou, Asebi, why are you so calm! It’s a goblin, you know!? A goblin! Hurry up and get rid of it!」

「No, Popura, that goblin is tamed no matter how you look at it.」

「Yeah, it’ll be a problem if we carelessly attack it. Look, on his clothes is the national emblem of Adelheit, the national emblem, of Adelheit…. Abababababa.」

「Hahaha, Asebi is still traumatized, huh. What a serious guy!」

「Stop fooling around, defeat it quickly! I’ll be assaulted!」

「「………」」

‘What the hell is this?’, the two thought so at the same time.

Let’s sort things out a bit. It seems that their names are Rindou, Asebi, and Popura. The one who collapsed and is having a spasm after he saw the national emblem of Adelheit is the big man Asebi, and the one who’s showing an extreme rejection toward goblins is the pink-haired girl Popura. And then, the one in the center of them is Rindou. It’s the first time even for Haruna and Chinatsu to meet new people in such a chaotic situation.

「U-Um, what’s going on here?」

「Hm? Thank you for asking, lovely young ladies. You see, when we were going to greet the queen of Crocus, we met this unusual goblin. And then, Popura, the one who’s hiding there, started screaming like crazy!」

「Idiot, idiot, idiot! Goblins have a habit of catching young girls and do this and that to them, you know!? It’s crazy to let such vermin, the worst of all vermin, loose in the castle grounds!」

It seems that she has a fundamental misunderstanding about the ecology of goblins.

「What’s with those eyes!? Papa is a great scholar and he has properly published his theories on this subject!」

Chinatsu is convinced. Popura was greatly influenced by that Papa-san and became like this.

「Gobu, gobugobu.」

「Eek! W-What!?」

「Err…. What the hell are you talking about? is what he said.」

「You are blatantly rude, huh!?」

Even though Haruna translated the words of Gobuo, the situation is not settled. When Chinatsu was thinking about what to do, Rindou approached Gobuo.

「I’m sorry about our Popura, Goblin-kun. She’s been a daddy’s girl since a long time ago and stupidly believes in the superstition, so she’s been hating goblins. Well, everyone has what they like and dislike, so please forgive her.」

「Rindou, are you stupid!? If you get too close, you, a man, will be killed!」

「…… Well, it’s like an illness.」

「Gobbu, gobu.」

「You also have it hard, eh? is what he said.」

Haruna’s translation feels slightly different from Gobuo’s tone, but it’s probably her own arrangement. Chinatsu forcibly convinced herself so.

「*Bubbles*….」

The fainted Asebi is blowing bubbles from his mouth. There seems to be no harm, so they leave him alone for now. Since Rindou is leaving him as is, it’s probably a daily occurrence.

「Haha, thank you for your concern. Still, is it what they meant by the heroes being attracted to each other? The presence that the hero gives off is telling us that we are the same kind. Goblin-kun, your appearance can’t fool me, you know? And with that national emblem on your clothes, you are the hero of Adelheit, aren’t you!?」

Rindou straightly said those words at Gobuo with conviction. Popura is finally at her wits’ end, and Asebi remains collapsed.

「Gobu, gobugobu」

「What the hell are you talking about? is what he said.」

「Eh, huh? But, I’m sure he’s a hero… h-huh?」

The arrival of the heroes of Galdevalan is likely to make things even more chaotic, Chinatsu thought so and decided to prepare herself for the worst.