Black Iron Magician

「D-D-D-Deris-san, w-w-what should I do!?」

Unlike Haru and Touko, who are motivated and full of vitality, Chinatsu, who has common sense just like me, seems desperate. After all, death is waiting for them at Maria’s place. This time, even I can’t just send them there.

「Before going to Maria’s country, I will have you acquire the minimum necessary things.」

「The minimum?」

「I’ll talk about the details later. We’re in the middle of a wedding reception after all.」

「T-That’s right. The other guests won’t be able to come if we keep staying here, so I’m going back now. It might not help much, but I will also think of some measures….」

「Yeah, thanks. Haru’s first priority is to rise to the top, as for Touko, she’s likely to act recklessly when I’m involved.」

「You have my sympathy….」

Yeah. That’s definitely not something you say during a wedding ceremony.

「I’ve heard your problem, Deris-han.」

「What’s with that 『han』?」

「Ah, sorry, my habit. Nihihi.」

As if to replace Haru and the others, Alezel came to me. When she doesn’t call me just Deris, she’s usually thinking about something bad. Mostly when she smells money.

「You need to keep your cute disciples safe, right? Fufu, I bet Nell is gonna be a spartan mom in the future~. On the contrary, Deris is likely to become a daddy who’s kind to his children. And then, when they get married, you will cry――」

「Hey, you are going off the track.」

Why should I worry about my children getting married during my wedding ceremony? Still, thinking about Chinatsu’s training course, Nell sure is likely to become a spartan mom…. My dear children, you haven’t been born yet, but stay strong.

「Ah, sorry, my habit. I ended up saying something unnecessary.」

「That habit will make you disqualified as a merchant, you know? Also, you said the same thing before…. So, what were you going to propose?」

「Ah, right, I was talking about your disciples. I bet you don’t have the courage to go against those two, so you are trying to do some preparations in advance to overcome it, right?」

「Ugh!」

She got me there.

「Then, before you go to Maria-han’s country, come to my place where the headquarters of Quitet is located. I’ll teach them how to survive any kind of hell.」

「… But, it’s expensive, right?」

「Damn straight!, is what I wanna say, but I’ve got a lot of money from this wedding, so I will give you a special discount. Besides, I’m sure those girls will be good pre―― customers in the future.」

「Were you trying to say 『prey』 just now?」

It’s clearly suspicious. However, when it comes to surviving, it’s true that learning under Alezel is the quickest way. Alezel can’t regenerate like Maria and can’t heal herself like Nell. As you can see from the rankings, she’s more fragile than Hund. And yet, I’ve never seen her dying. No matter what kind of death she’s facing, she always comes back as if nothing happened. She’s good at judging the situation, or maybe she’s just cunning…. Anyway, she’s someone you can’t kill even if you try to.

「Don’t lie. I’m not as cunning as Deris, y’know?」

「Don’t read my mind. Also, don’t lie. At that time, I had a harder time than you.」

「What are you talking about? Who do you think was the one who lent you money when you got into trouble for buying too many scrolls?」

「After that, it turned out that you took the money for the journey. I was in charge of the money, so I found out that the calculation didn’t match.」

「In the first place, it was your fault for using the money only for scrolls. Even Nell should have wanted to dress up more.」

「That’s rich coming from you, the one who spent the money at the gambling house.」

「Wrong! I was learning management there! Also, I won a lot after that, so I could lend you the money.」

「I said, there would be no problem if you didn’t take the money in the first place!」

「Shut up! It was your fault for forcing a maiden at the age of puberty to be moderate!」

Just like this, she has a foul mouth that’s not inferior to mine. We know each other’s skills, so she’s someone I don’t want to antagonize the most among the Great Eight Demons. And despite everything, I often use the shop that she runs.

「Hey, are you fighting in a place like this? How scary~」

「Both of you, behave yourselves. We are in the middle of the ceremony, you know? Do your stupid fight after this is over and in a place where we can’t see you.」

「That’s right~」

「「………」」

I don’t want to hear that from you! Strangely enough, I felt that I and Alezel were on the same page.

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

「Chinatsu-cahn, are you okay? You look pale, you know?」

「Yes, I’m okay. I’ve calmed down and I feel much better now.」

Haruna, Chinatsu, and Touko moved away from the most crowded place where Deris and the others are, and they moved to a suitable table. Her complexion is relatively better than before, and she started to eat Haruna’s dishes to distract herself.

「Don’t force yourself, okay? I heard that sickness and health start with the mind, and I think that Chinatsu is particularly susceptible to it. It was my grandma who said it, so there’s no doubt.」

「Uwaah, Touko comforted me….」

「You are somehow rude just like Haruna, huh?」

The reason why Chinatsu cracked a joke is that Touko has a gentler personality than before. If it’s the previous her, even a trivial matter would have led to a battle. But now, she has become a girl who will ward it off nonchalantly. It was quite a surprise for Chinatsu.

「I’m asking this now that Nell-shishō isn’t there, but are you really going to do it? The training at Mary-san’s place….」

「「Of course!」」

「………」

The two responded at the same time. Even though Touko has become able to be considerate, her true nature is similar to Haruna. Hearing their replies, wrinkles appear between Chinatsu’s eyebrows.

「What do you think about the battle between Nell-shishō and Mary-san?」

「「It was amazing!」」

「Did you have any feelings like fear or not wanting to fight them?」

「「I was excited!」」

「……… *Flop*」

「Ah, Chinatsu-chan!?」

「Hey, what’s wrong!?」

Chinatsu plunged her face into the food and she sank tragically. For her, who has the Skill to sense any crisis in advance, the danger she felt in that battle was overwhelming. The fear she felt must have been many times more than usual.

She doesn’t know what will happen if they train under such an existence that’s beyond the scope of humanity. She has her hands full with her own master, and now she wants to give up. Just by looking at Deris’s reaction, she can guess the seriousness of the matter. She can guess it, but there’s nothing she can do against the monster of that level. Her two companions are like that, so there’s no one she can rely on other than Deris.

「Haruna, Touko. If something happens to me, please take over the consultation office…. Ah, that’s no good… that’s too thoughtless….」

「C-Chinatsu-chaaaan!」

Thus, Chinatsu was carried to the medical office.