Black Iron Magician

I left Lily’s room. I left as if I were running away. To be honest, I feel like I’ve made a terrible promise that I can’t take back. However, I believe in the growth of Haru and the other disciples (+ Hund-kun). That’s why I made a contract with the demon. I don’t have any wicked thoughts. I’m serious.

「Shishō, why are you making a serious face?」

「……!?」

Even though I was thinking so, it seems that I’m still shaken. I was so desperate to think of a countermeasure in case something goes wrong that I didn’t notice Haru until she called out to me.

「Oh, Haru. I was thinking about a countermeasure for two days later.」

「I see, you were worrying about that, huh. Yes, I understand! Lily-senpai is so powerful after all!」

Well, I’m not lying.

「Rather than talking about the strategy in the corridor, let’s go to a place where we can calm down.」

「…… Eh? Are we going to have a strategy meeting now?」

「Of course. I’m going to do anything to defeat Lily-senpai!」

「You’re seriously going to do anything, so I need to be careful when making a plan.」

「It’s also important to be careful. Depending on the situation, we can aim for the opponent to self-destruction.」

Fuhaha, that’s not something you say with a smile.

「If we’re going to have a strategy meeting, it’s better to do it with all the participants. Are Touko and Chinatsu still awake?」

「At this time, I think they are in Zeta’s relaxation room. It seems that they have become addicted to using massage chairs.」

「I don’t think youngsters should use it that much…. What about Hund-kun?」

「He was having a business meeting with Alezel-san. They were talking about something I don’t understand, such as the supply of marine products and so on.」

「That Alezel, is she trying to start a new business again? Then, I’m going to call Hund-kun. Haru, you tell Chinatsu and Touko. Let’s have a strategy meeting in that relaxation room.」

I also want to use the massage chair that’s got the high praise of the youngsters.

「Okay! Then, I will run――」

「No running in the corridor.」

「――I will walk fast.」

Saying so, Haru started to walk fast.

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

「This is…!」

「Right!? It’s good, right!?」

A strategy meeting in the relaxation room. I’m now enjoying the blessings of civilization for the first time in a long time. I’m enjoying a great invention called the massage chair…! Hmm, the stress and fatigue of everyday life seem to be lifted from my body and mind.

「I see. I can understand why you are addicted to it. I’m sure it’s especially effective for Chinatsu.」

「Thinking about my age, I don’t want to admit it, though…. Ah, if you sit down while hugging Gii-kun, it’s even more amazing, you know?」

「That’s effective only for you, you know?」

「…… *Fidgeting*」

「Deris, Haruna is very restless.」

「Yeah. Haru is almost reaching her limit, so let’s start the strategy meeting now.」

Filled with regret, I got up and bought tea from the free vending machine for the group. I asked Hal to carry the tea and pass it around to each of us since she can’t calm down. The relaxation room is equipped with a resting area, so we’re using it. …… Isn’t this room too big for Zeta alone? Made in Zex sure is a good company.

「I just talked to Lilyvia, and she’s willing to fight you guys in two days.」

「Ooh, Lily-shishō is also motivated, huh. Normally, she would just say that it’s a hassle and doesn’t want to do it.」

「Haha, yeah…. Maybe I unnecessarily made her motivated….」

「Huh?」

「No, it’s nothing. Now, let’s get into the main subject.」

「I’ve been waiting for it!」

「Calm down…. I think everyone here understands that the battle is not going to be easy to win. I said that you have a chance of winning, but that’s only if the four of you can work as a team. Even though the four of you are level 8, there is that much difference in strength with Lilyvia alone. Don’t be overconfident in your own strength, and always keep in mind to work together with your team.」

On that day, the difficulty will be different depending on whether Lily is in a useless maid state or in a perfect state…. Well, it’s better to assume the worst here. If so, she will be more troublesome than the former sixth rank at its heyday.

「I’m sorry, I don’t know much about Lilyvia-dono. I’m trying my best as the lowest rank of the Great Eight Demons, but is there really that much of a difference in our abilities?」

「To be honest, even in a simple power competition, she’s far above you. I can’t tell you her specific status value without permission, though. Let’s see…. I think it’ll be easier to understand if you refer to 『The Great Eight Demons Lecture That Even a Muscle-Brain Can Understand』 that I told the girls before.」

「Err, the one you told us about at the wedding ceremony? …… Was the title like that?」

Don’t mind about minor details. The important thing is the content.

「Her total power in numbers is the one with the best balance among the Great Eight Demons. She has power and speed, but they aren’t prominent. Her magic and endurance are low, but not low enough to be her weakness.」

「Normally, her motivation is low, so that would have been her weakness.」

「Well, unfortunately, she won’t have that weakness this time. After all, she’s motivated for some reason.」

Depending on how things turn out, I’m afraid I’m going to be a war criminal here.

「What about the part that can’t be measured by the status numbers? Like, her competency.」

「Isn’t that the true value of Lily-san? Just like what she was doing during the beach volleyball, she can do anything in the name of acting. I think it’s a point where we’ll have a hard time.」

「Yeah, I saw that too. Her movements were completely different than the first and second rounds.」

「As Chinatsu and Hund-kun pointed out, the first thing to watch out for when dealing with Lily is her 『Acting』―― to be precise, its highest rank Skill, 『Leading Actor』. She has trained this Skill that she can perfectly imitate the techniques just by looking at the target. It’s impossible to use magic since you need Skills to use it, but if it’s Touko’s ki and Haru’s aiki, she probably can use them.」

「Yeah, it seems that Lily-shishō can do it if she’s serious. Moreover, she has seen me and Haruna many times.」

「Lilyvia-dono will use that mysterious power? That sure is troublesome.」

「Hmm. If Lily-senpai can imitate it perfectly, she will have an advantage since she’s stronger. She will return my aiki with her aiki. I wonder if it will be like when I was fighting my mother?」

「W-Well, Kuon-san was pretty much the same….」

…… Hey, wait. Haru, did your mother do that fantasy aiki in Japan, where Skills and other things don’t work? Now is not the time for that, but I’m really curious. However, we’re in the middle of a strategy meeting against Lily. As a capable master, I won’t talk about unnecessary things at the meeting.

「That’s not the only thing we need to watch out for. 『Disguise』, 『Transformation』, and 『Mutation』, she has mastered each stage of Disguise Skill, so she can transform her body into a completely different body or object. It’s similar to Hund-kun’s Unique Skill, I think?」

「S-She can use even my Unique Skill….」

Oh no, Hund-kun is depressed! I have to say something!

「I’m sorry, I didn’t say it well enough. Lily’s power can only change her into something with the same mass as the original mass. She can’t increase or decrease her muscle like Hund-kun. She won’t use it to attack as Hund-kun did, but you should be worried that she will use it to disguise herself as one of you to throw the battlefield into confusion.」

「…… I see. Then, it’s not the same as mine, huh.」

That was close.