Black Iron Magician

(I shouldn’t let him use that.)

The alarm of impatience rang in her head. ‘I have to hurry. I have to finish him off.’ Even if she thinks so strongly, the next step is hard to make. Her mouth is dry, hot air seems to enter her lungs, and her consciousness is fading. Even so, Haruna carries the Doggan Staff on her shoulder and moves forward while dragging her leg.

Using recovery items is not unfair and it’s a natural thing to do in a war. Weerel used a similar potion on Therese, so there’s no problem with Hund using it. However, if Hund uses it at this stage, it means that the efforts of Haruna and the others so far will be meaningless. In this situation where she could see the small light of victory, it will lead her to be knocked down into despair.

――――Gulp.

「Ah….」

And now, with the recovery potion in his hand, Hund took it in his mouth and drank it. Then, smokes come out from his wounds and mouth. They feel poisonous, and Haruna understands that the deadly poison she poured using dark magic is being detoxified. After the smoke disappeared, Hund stands still quietly with the bottle in his hand. For Huna, Hund at this time seems to be the biggest ever.

「Fuu

…. I see, this sure is good medicine. The disease that settled in my body has been completely eradicated, the healing effect is tremendous, and my magic power is overflowing. I’m sure this can recover any injured person in no time.」

Hund clenched his fists and rotated his arms to check his own condition. Satisfied with the effect of the recovery potion, Hund then looked at Haruna.

Her chance of victory is completely gone. However, Haruna doesn’t give up. She doesn’t stop thinking. While holding the Doggan Staff in front of her, she is thinking of a way to reverse the situation that black smoke is coming out of her head. However, no good idea came to mind at all. Each time Hund takes a step forward, Haruna takes a step backward. She’s not going to give up on the possibility until the very last minute, but the reality is harsh. There’s no way for Haruna to win against Hund now.

However――

「――Strong warrior, take this.」

「Eh?」

Hund handed over the bottle of recovery potion to Haruna by lightly tossing it. It was so sudden, but Haruna’s body reacted and she caught it without dropping it. However, she can’t understand the meaning of this. There’s no meaning for Hund to throw the empty bottle. If it’s Haruna, she can use it as a throwing weapon, but Hund purposely threw it slowly so that Haruna could catch it easily. So, it doesn’t seem to be an attack.

「Um, what about this…?」

「As you can see, it’s a good recovery potion. I’ve tested its effect, so there’s no need to be suspicious.」

「I-I see?」

While being a little confused, Haruna looks down at the bottle.

「…!? There’s still half of it!?」

It’s natural for Haruna to be surprised. There’s still half of the glimmering green liquid in the bottle. Haruna’s gaze keeps switching between the bottle and Hund, and she’s trying her best to read his intention.

「Um, could it be that we can use this potion…?」

「Yeah. If we continue to fight more than this, there’ll be casualties. You can use it for the black-haired girl who’s lying down there. She can use light magic, right? After that girl recovered, she can heal the other two.」

Hund pointed at Chinatsu and the others and raised his chin to urge Haruna. Surely, everyone would be in danger if this continued. Haruna quickly rushed over to Chinatsu and put the potion in her mouth.

「Chinatsu-chan, no need to rush yourself, please do your best to drink it…!」

「Hnn…」

Although little by little, Chinatsu is drinking the potion. Even while treating Chinatsu, Haruna doesn’t let her guard down. Still, she got the composure to ask a simple question.

「I know it’s a little late now, but thank you very much. Still, why did you save us? In that situation, I maybe could retaliate a little, but I would lose for sure. Also, it would have been best for Hund-san to drink all the potion…. I don’t understand why you would help your enemy in the middle of a battle.」

If Haruna was in Hund’s position, she would have crushed him without letting her guard down. Helping the enemy is out of the question. Even if he wanted a hostage, he didn’t need to take the risk by giving his precious potion. So, Haruna wondered about it and asked Hund.

「It’s been almost an hour since we started fighting. Let’s take a short break―― is what I want to say. Well, actually, it was because I thought it would be a waste to let you die. The exceptional talents that you guys have become so strong at such a young age, the traces of the efforts that you have accumulated, all of it struck a chord in my heart.」

「………」

「Well, maybe you don’t understand. When you are in a different position, you will see things differently. I live as a ruler and you live as a warrior. You are still young, there’s no need to force yourself to understand. Besides…」

「Besides?」

Hund pointed in a certain direction. While being confused, Haruna turns her face there and sees a crater. However, it’s just a huge hole and there’s nothing unusual about it. Haruna returns her gaze to Hund, showing that she doesn’t understand.

「Because of the strong presence of that shield-user, I forgot myself during the battle…. You see, the rule was broken.」

「The rule was broken? By whom?」

「Me. Try to remember the rules before we started. Excessive environmental destruction is prohibited. I said that, didn’t I?」

「Ah! There was certainly such a rule!」

Since her hands are now free, she clapped them, showing that she understands. At the same time, a voice came from near Haruna.

「… So, you are admitting defeat?」

「Chinatsu-chan! You are awake!」

Chinatsu woke up. Perhaps she was listening halfway, her eyes were already looking at Hund.

「More importantly, don’t you think it’s better to save that strong shield user first? No matter how sturdy she is, she will die if you left her like that.」

「…… You are right.」

Chinatsu slowly stands up while borrowing Haruna’s shoulder. Hund doesn’t seem to have the intention of moving and he is sitting cross-legged on the spot. The two quickly head to the place where Therese and Weerel collapsed and heal them. Chinatsu uses her recovery magic and Haruna is watching Hund.

「U-Uhh… desuwa….」]

「Where is this…?」

「I’m glad that you are awake.」

「I-I’m so glad~!」

The treatment was in time and the consciousness of Therese and Weerel returned. That said, their magic powers are almost empty, so they are still tired. If possible, it’s better to let them sleep.

「Now, I would like to continue with the talk just now――」

「――WAIT A MINUTE~!」

When Chinatsu was about to resume the talk, something fell from the sky.