Black Iron Magician

Now, to tell you the story, we snuck into the arena a little late. Once we separated from Alezel, who had made the bold decision to come at them alone and head-on, we went to the inn where we were staying. The plan was to kidnap Lilyvia, who had gone off into a dream world, and head back to the casino.

The problem here was that the sleeping Lilyvia did not wake up easily. It was difficult to explain the strategy on the way to the casino, and Nell finally woke her up with an iron claw. However, forcing her to wake up put her in a very bad mood, which is why she’s turning down her mouth like that. I want to question her attitude as a maid, but I realized that it’s meaningless since she’s a good-for-nothing maid.

Well, she’s a perfect Lily now, so at least she’s harmless while she’s acting like that. Besides, she’s just arrogantly watching the battle. Ah, no, she put the audience to sleep earlier, right? As expected of the perfect Lily, she does her job even when in a bad mood.

On the other hand, our role is to secure the visitors who have gathered here and block any support from the outside while hiding our identities. I was unsure whether we could break in wearing the same outfit as the other day, and I thought it would have a greater impact if we appeared as the Great Eight Demons’ subordinates, but… everyone is asleep, so I’m not sure if there’s any meaning in it.

「Alright, this is the end.」

It’s finally over, huh. That damn Alezel, it seems that she was playing around. The eye-patched man’s weapon is broken, and he’s lying on his back, looking at the ceiling of the arena. I don’t know about his subordinates, but it seems that he’s still breathing.

「… Why are you letting me live? If you can break my weapon, it should be easy for you to break my body.」

「Hmm? How should I put it, I was able to vent and my merchant side came out in the middle…? Anyway, the losers should just shut up and sleep there. The beautiful, cute, and gentle Alezel-chan has left those who have good prospects alive after all. Well, I’ve stolen the tendons of their legs, so they can’t escape.」

「……?」

The barrier has disappeared because the magician who set up the barrier has already been defeated by Alezel, and the eye-patched man cut off the iron bars when he went inside, making a huge hole. So, there’s nothing that can keep Alezel in the arena now. But well, even if the barrier and iron bars are in perfect condition, she could partially steal the barrier and bars to make a hole in them. The fact that she didn’t do that makes me wonder if she was being considerate of Sango’s entertainment.

「Sango-han, wake up~. The super fun confession time is about to start~. I went along with your entertainment, so you should go along with my entertainment, right~?」

Alezel walked up to the audience seating where Sango was in sleeping, and she started to say something disturbing. Aah, so the reason she went along with it was for that sake, huh. She could vent her excitement and obtain the right to order her opponent. That’s Alezel for you, she’s really dirty.

「… He ain’t waking up, huh? Lily-han~」

「Yes, I know. I’ll show him a nightmare right now. Let’s see, how about a dream of being chased by Alezel on the beach?」

「Wait a minute, that ain’t a nightmare, but a lucky dream. I’m smart enough to know that! Being able to flirt with this cute and petite Alezel-chan is a paradise-like dream!」

「Gyaaaaa! A monster!?」

I somehow have predicted it, but Sango jumped out. He wouldn’t have woken up like that if it was an ordinary nightmare, right? I guess he had a very scary dream.

「See? He’s awake.」

「Why!?」

Well, Sango’s reaction was right. By the way, can I take off my hood now?

「Huh, where I am…? Uwah, a mons―― I-I mean, if it ain’t President Alezel!」

「Did you just rephrase that? You did, right?」

「Nonono, not at all! Nobody thinks that the beloved President Alezel is a monster!」

「Who was it that tried to kill the beloved and super beautiful President Alezel?」

「T-That’s….」

She shrewdly added beautiful in the setting. Still, Sango’s eyes are really shifty. He’s trying not to make eye contact with Alezel and he frequently moves his hands suspiciously.

「U-Um, the kind President Alezel won’t kill me, right…?」

「That’s right, I won’t kill you.」

「R-Really!?」

「Yep. The question is, how to keep you alive?」

「… Eh? W-What is that…?」

Alezel, who has an elf-like smile, takes out various things from her pocket. Sango is probably hesitating to ask what she’s going to do.

「Why are you so dumbfounded? You picked a fight with 『Awe』, right? Do you really understand the meaning of that nickname?」

「I’m sure I already know what it means….」

「Then, you know that Alezel is a torture maniac, right? This elf has been playing with quite a number, so she’s good at making sure the border between life and death that it’s disgusting.」

「………」

Aah, she said it. That’s right, what Alezel took out were tools for educating Sango. Those who do not know the circumstances often think that they understand the meaning of 『Awe』 when they see Alezel fighting. However, it is only afterward that they truly understand its meaning. Leaving them neither alive nor dead, Alezel will thoroughly break the hearts of those who go against her so that they won’t make such a foolish mistake again. That’s why, as someone with a weak mentality, I don’t want to fight her.

「Well, wasn’t it a pretty gentle way of fighting this time? If it was you in your prime, you would have made your enemies equip those kinds of tools or cursed armor after stripping them, right?」

「I’m still in my prime! I’m an elf, so my prime ain’t over yet! Ah, I’m sorry for leaving you alone, Sango-han. Don’t worry, I’ll accompany you from now on. The truth is, I have to deal with all the customers here, but this time is special.」

「E-Eek!」

「If you don’t want it, you have to tell me all the information in your head and give me all the business rights you have. Well, you don’t want to do it, right? Then, I can just physically open your head――」

「No, I don’t mind! I’ll be happy to give it to you!」

「Eh~, really~? No need to hold back~ ♪」

This damn elf is probably thinking something like, 『Casino getto!』. It seems that she has planned it when she let him swim until his business became big. She’s dirty after all.

「By the way, Alezel, what are you going to do with the surviving Japita’s mercenaries? Why did you let them live halfway?」

「Aah, about that, they seemed to be unexpectedly useful, so I thought I’d hire them for my company. Deri―― I mean, Black. Heal them moderately.」

…… Ha?