Black Iron Magician

「We will soon arrive at the northern fourth mining site. Thank you for using Zex Train today. After stopping, the door on the right side will open. There are many people who have forgotten their belongings on the train, so please be careful not to forget your belongings.」

An announcement started to flow from the speakers in the train. Well, they said many have forgotten their belongings, but there are no other people riding it, right? Or are they saying that golems can forget their belongings too?

「Hey, you two, wake up!」

「Hnn, what…?」

「Fuhehehe~. Goshujin-sama, drink more~」

「We will arrive soon. And Lily, don’t force me to drink even if it’s in your dream.」

Nell woke up, but Lily is still not going to wake up. She isn’t waking up even if I shake her shoulders and poke her cheek.

「*Nom*!」

「Whoa!? That was close!」

My finger, which was poking her cheek, was about to go into her mouth. I shouldn’t have poked her cheek so carelessly in front of Nell. I would be killed.

「What are you doing? If you poke her cheek with fire, she will wake up, right?」

「Don’t start another fight. Still, piggybacking Lily in this state is scary.」

「Please don’t say that~. If you want, you can also princess carry me~」

…… You’re awake, aren’t you?

「Alright, let’s poke her with fire.」

「Ah, stop, stop! I’ll get up, I’ll get up!」

Lily also got up safely. At the same time, the train started to slow down.

「Shishō, we’re ready to get off!」

「Yeah, we’re ready too. There will be dragons flying normally outside, but they are Rimudo’s subordinates. Don’t attack them, okay?」

「……… Yes!」

Haru’s momentary pause made me feel uneasy.

「We look forward to serving you again.」

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

When we got off the train, it was still underground, of course. As much as we went down, it’s time to start going up. I want an elevator.

Around the stairway, there are large-scale machines that are constantly moving. It’s a mining site, so I guess they’re mining something.

「Are those big machines mining something?」

Haru seemed to think the same thing.

「Maybe they are collecting materials for products of Made in Zex, or materials for a new body, I guess? He looks cheerful and kind, but he’s a Demon King who is aiming for the whole world’s dystopia. It seems that he owns many facilities like this, and he seems to be devoting himself to the preparations.」

「What is dystopia? Do you know about it, Touko-chan?」

「Is it a kind of game or theme park?」

「The whole world is going to be turned into a game or an amusement park…!?」

What an interesting idea. However, uh, it’s hard to put it into words. Hmm….

「… You can ask Chinatsu about it later.」

「He left it to me!?」

「Chinatsu-chan! If the whole world turned into that, we can keep playing forever!」

「You’re right, sleeping will be a waste of time. The whole world’s dystopia is amazing!」

「No, you’re wrong. Dystopia is probably not something fun like that!」

The end of the stairs finally came into view as I listened to the girls’ comedy act. I stepped on the last step and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment. Now, it’s time to say goodbye to the machines that had helped us so much. While praising the airship and the train in my mind, I put my hand on the heavy iron door and opened it. The sunlight that gradually shines through the door is pleasant.

「Oh, it seems that you’ve arrived safely! FUHAHAHA!」

「………」

I pulled back the heavy door and closed it completely. Hmm, I felt like there was a lump of iron that made loud laughter when I opened the door.

「Deris-dono, please don’t close it without saying anything. Even though I’m a golem, it will hurt my heart if you act like that! But then again, I don’t have a heart to be hurt! FUHAHAHAHA!」

Before I could open the door again, he opened the iron door from the other side. Unfortunately, it was not a hallucination caused by daily fatigue.

「Zex, why are you here?」

「Why, you ask? I have at least one body at each facility I managed. Ah, don’t worry! This body is only for facility management and not a model that specializes in attacking, so there is no need to be so cautious.」

Indeed, Zex’s current body is wearing a yellow helmet with ‘Safety First’ written on it, and he’s equipped with a mysterious pickaxe on his back. It’s an appearance that doesn’t seem suitable for combat. Even if you were told that it was Zex, your first impression would be that it was just a normal golem that was mining around the facility. However, I somehow can’t accept it and want to complain about the farewell before.

「Now, now, this place is boorish for a conversation. First, let’s go outside! The blue sky and the blue sea are waiting for you!」

「I-I see….」

When I followed Zex out of the facility, I found myself near the seaside. It’s probably the northernmost coast of the Zen continent. Beyond the horizon, the Dragon God’s Island, which was mentioned in the guidebook given to Chinatsu, could be seen. Seven islands are lined up around a rocky mountain island, which is so huge that you can see its size from here as well. And just as what was told in the guidebook, countless dragons are flying around in the sky above the islands. If you imagine a flock of seagulls, you could understand their ridiculous number. If an adventurer who knows nothing sees this scene, I’m sure they would be unable to stand due to fear.

「It’s a beautiful sea, isn’t it? The island is more beautiful. It seems that everyone is fascinated by it.」

「They are not looking at the sea, but at the dragons in the sky, though.」

「The scenery is beautiful, but I just experienced the artificial resort a while ago. To be honest, I’m not so impressed.」

「Ugh, I remembered that scorching hell….」

「Chinatsu-chan, are you okay!?」

「Hey, are you really okay? Can you heal yourself with magic? Do you want to use your Unique Skill on Lily-shishō?」

「Touko-chan, isn’t that last part strange? I’m weak to stress, you know?」

Everyone else doesn’t seem to be that impressed either. In fact, one person is suffering from the recollection of trauma.

「……… *Fidgeting*」

Ah, wait, there was one! There was one person who couldn’t help but want to swim after seeing the real sea for the first time in a long time!