Black Iron Magician

「I-I see….」

Zeta has a pleased look on face, filled with a sense of accomplishment. Zeta’s very long life story has finally come to an end. Haruna and Chinatsu lost to Zeta’s vigor when she was talking, and they quietly listened to the story. However, they never thought that it would be so long. Zeta’s story can be summarized as follows.

After examining the artificial arm and legs attached to herself in detail, Zeta, who was chasing her benefactor who rescued her from her predicament, arrived at the capital of Snowtail. On the way, there was false information that was scattered to erase the trace, but her tenacious obsession led her to investigate all of it, and she finally reached at Zex, the Great Eight Demons who provided technology to this country.

『Fuhahahaha! …… Eh, you are the survivor that I saved at that time? You located this place because you wanted to thank me? You reached here from that little information you got from your limbs? Really?』

It was when Zex and the King of Snowtail went to the castle town in secret, in short, they were in the middle of a secret meeting. At this time, half a year had passed since Zex rescued Zeta. Even Zex and the King were surprised at her unexpected appearance.

『…… Fuhahahaha! That ability to take action, and that spirit, I like it! If you like, how about working with us in our group? I still don’t understand the human mind, but I think it’s a cozy and worthwhile workplace!』

Zeta suddenly barged in like a stalker, but unexpectedly, Zex tried to scout her. Of course, there’s no way that Zeta would refuse it, and from then on, she has been working as Zex’s subordinate. Incidentally, she got acquainted with the King. Zeta’s first step to becoming a hero began here.

Her main job under Zex is to collect materials obtained from certain minerals and monsters. Since it’s roughly the same as the adventurer’s jobs, she decided to call herself an adventurer as well.

Snowtail is a country with strong monsters appearing there and the environment itself is harsh. Zeta has been hunting monsters since she was very young, so she has good qualities as an adventurer.

The new combat artificial arm and legs that Zex gave her has turned the disadvantage of losing her limbs into an advantage and has motivated her to live up to the expectations. Zeta’s achievements in various parts of Snowtail’s territory have been growing rapidly, and eventually, even the King began to recognize her.

The Hero Alliance happened during that time. It was inevitable that Zeta was nominated for this. Zeta’s fighting spirit for this important task was enough, and everyone believed that she would make splendid results. …… However.

『Zeta, come to think of it, I haven’t done the maintenance of your limbs for a long time. It’s natural to get in shape before a big event, so let’s do it grandly with a version upgrade!』

『Version upgrade!? By all means!』

『Eh? H-Hey, what about the Hero Alliance…?』

Ignoring the King who was confused, Zex and Zeta disappeared from the front stage for a while. If it was Deris, he would have guessed everything at this point. Sure enough, Zeta’s maintenance was long-term and showed no sign of ending even after the assembly of the alliance. Rather, Zex had no intention of letting Zeta join the alliance from the beginning.

Zeta has officially become Zex’s subordinate. There’s no way he would let her join the Hero Alliance, which was formed to subjugate Hund. If it was just got in contact with Zeta when she was dying, healing her, and making her his subordinate, Lilyvia would give her consent if he apologized earnestly or offered something in exchange. However, even if it’s just the subordinates, direct clashes of forces between the Great Eight Demons are not allowed. Therefore, Zeta, who has become Zex’s subordinate, couldn’t participate in the fight and became a hibernating hero of the snow country.

『Well, I’m sorry. The maintenance is prolonged, so she can’t participate.』

『First, they will probably doubt her whether she’s a human. Hmm, it can’t be helped…. To begin with, we don’t have much contact with neighboring countries. I will think of a suitable reason why she can’t participate. Let’s see… it’s about time for the weather to get colder. Let’s tell each country that the hero is hibernating.』

『Fuhahahahaha! Hibernation, huh. That’s a nice joke!』

『It’s most satisfactory if this joke could solve it. In case something goes wrong, please help us, okay?』

『Certainly. Your country has been a great help to me, so I won’t let something bad happen to it.』

『Our country is just providing resources that we don’t even know how to use them, though….』

And that’s the story about hibernation that even Zeta doesn’t know. It was a valid move because this country has little connection with the outside world and only a limited number of people knew the situation.

「Um… Zeta-san, do you know that Zex Id is one of the Great Eight Demons?」

「Yes. It was only after he saved my life that I learned about it, but there are some people in this country who know about it. Just like Alezel Quitet, Zex-sama is one of the Great Eight Demons who form a friendly relationship with humans. I was surprised at first, but now I’m convinced that it’s true. Some people feared him more than necessary just because he’s one of the Great Eight Demons, but in fact, he’s completely different from the image of the public. I’m sure your doubts will be cleared if you meet him….」

「Don’t worry, Zeta-san. We understand it very much! Right, Chinatsu-chan?」

「W-Well, yes….」

Haruna and Chinatsu have seen the true nature of the Great Eight Demons to an extent. Their power was terrifying, but they had the same impact on their personalities that the two still remember it.

After completely regaining her composure, Zeta now has a cool air just like when they first met. Then, the old woman comes bringing the potato dish. It’s Snowtail’s homemade dish, made by frying a whole potato and sprinkling cheese on top.

「I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. It’s hot, so be careful.」

「Thank you very much. Wow, it looks delicious!」

「Fufu, to think that Zeta-chan was talkative. I don’t know what you were talking about because I have poor hearing, but you were talking happily. Were you talking about love?」

「Ahaha…. Well, something like that. Please keep it a secret.」

「I know. Then, take your time.」

So close yet so far―― anyway, the old woman’s intuition is not to be underestimated.

「Well then, Zeta-san, can you tell us about the high-difficulty request? You mentioned something like that when you called out to us, right?」

「Chinatsu-chan. More importantly, let’s eat this before it gets cold!」

「It’s as Haruna-san says. Let’s eat it now that the cheese melts with the heat of the potato.」

Before she knew it, Haruna and Zeta have already started eating. They are so absorbed in eating as if it’s their top priority right now.

「…… Let’s eat. Oh, it’s delicious.」

After this, they had a lot of second helpings.