Black Iron Magician

「――Thus, I’m sure you won’t fight Vakala directly. Unlike Maria, who wants to stand out and wants to have fun, Vakala tends to enjoy fighting on the board, like chess or shogi. Any questions so far?」

「「………」」

It started with the lecture about Vakala. There’s also Agalia’s trial, but it’s clear that Vakala’s trial is overwhelmingly more troublesome. I’m going to teach the girls everything I know while I can now.

「Hey, Deris. Harun-chan and Touko-chan are completely stopped moving, you know?」

「Also, there’s something black coming out of their heads. Are they okay…?」

「Don’t worry, it’s the usual thing.」

In addition to Haru and Touko, the old men are also participating for some reason. Hey, what about your work as the head of the guild?

「To put it simply, Maria is like Nell and Vakala is like me.」

「Ah, I can understand right away with that!」

「I also understand it perfectly. Danna, you’re good at teaching!」

‘Are you okay with that?’, the old men are giving me such a look. It’s okay to explain it in a simple way, there’s nothing wrong.

「Still, I’m surprised. I didn’t know that the skull old man can use magic of all elements. Isn’t that too much?」

「Normally, you wouldn’t have that kind of skill composition, right?」

What the girls say is reasonable. Normally, people would pick at most two element magic skills. If they pick all elements, other stats such as HP and endurance will be neglected, and there are many other harmful influences. I mentioned this quite some time ago, when I asked Haru to pick the skill.

However, Vakala spent seven skill slots on fire magic, water magic, wind magic, earth magic, lightning magic, light magic, and dark magic. On top of that, he forced his way through these problems with his Unique Skill that made him immortal and spent a lot of time gaining experience points. Yeah, that Old Skull is crazy. He really masters the magic of all elements. That’s why there’s no one better than Vakala in magic. Even I’m no match for him.

「Let’s stop talking about Vakala here. Next is the main subject, about the military power possessed by Vakala.」

「Huh, is that the main subject?」

「Yes, it is. As I said before, it’s highly unlikely that you and Vakala will fight directly. Then, what kind of trial he’s going to impose?」

「That would be connected to his military power, huh?」

「Shishō, you said at the wedding that Vakala-san’s army is the strongest among the Great Eight Demons, right?」

「Oh, at that time when I was escaping from reality, huh….」

「Eh?」

「No, it’s nothing. I’m impressed that you remember it well, Haru.」

「Ehehe, the strongest part left an impression on me.」

I see, that’s a very Haru-like way of remembering. She remembered it as a goal to overcome.

「By the way, are they stronger than the Irygal Sisters that we fought this time? I mean, they are the strongest!」

「Your eyes when talking about such things are sparking as usual, huh…. If it’s the executive class, there are some who are stronger than those sisters. The equipment they have is also quite impressive. That said, there are many ways to calculate military power. It’s just a simple comparison of overall strength.」

「Still, I think that’s great!」

Well, good for you. It’s not good for me since I have to use my head, though.

「Stronger than Lily-shishō’s sisters…! Hehe, isn’t that interesting? Good, I’m clear-headed today, so I’ll learn about them in one shot!」

Clear-headed, huh? Didn’t she get black smoke out of her head with Haru until a while ago?

「If you insist, I’ll teach you with all my might. Carmine, the corpse country ruled by Vakala, is at war with the Elderado Great Empire, the only adjacent country. First, you should be aware of this fact.」

「「Elderado Great Empire…?」」

The two tilted their heads. I should start from there, huh?

「You see, Elderado Great Empire is a country on the Dai continent, the world’s most dangerous continent. In terms of military power, it is the strongest among mankind. It is said that there are dozens of great hero class people serving the country.」

「Hee.」

Haru is completely locking on the Elderado Great Empire. Perhaps, she will never forget about it.

「A war between mankind’s strongest country and the Demon King’s country, huh? Isn’t that a very exciting development!? That country is doing its best to suppress the invasion of Gramps Skull, right?」

「Ah, sorry to interrupt your excitement, but Elderado is not an admirable country. It’s not only the strongest country of mankind, but also the worst country of mankind.」

「War is normal on the continent of Dai, but Elderado’s treatment of prisoners of war is by far the worst. Human trafficking, which is illegal in other countries, is rampant, and there are rumors that the country is conducting suspicious human experiments. Even we Adventurer Guild don’t have a branch in that country.」

「They are the worst, huh…」

「Haruna-chan, your sorrowful words don’t match your sparkling expression…」

Haru is probably thinking something like, ‘Then, I can beat them up without any worries!’. Her face says so.

「Also, it’s not that Elderado is suppressing the invasion of Vakala’s army, you know? Every time, the Elderado Great Empire themselves invaded Vakala’s country. They lost each time, and their consecutive defeats continue even now.」

「They were the ones who started it, and they kept losing, huh? Hey, why the hell do they keep repeating that? Are they stupid?」

「They can’t become the strongest country if they are stupid, you know? Well, maybe they have a reason that we can’t understand. Or maybe it’s the sad nature of Elderado as an aggressor nation with too much ambition.」

「I can sympathize with their attitude of continuing to challenge an opponent they can’t beat, but as a country that should support many people… hmm, I don’t think that’s right.」

「…… Let’s stop wasting our time guessing something that’s meaningless. The problem for us is that the more Elderado Great Empire loses, the more the undead group led by Vakala is strengthened. If Vakala plans to have you fight with his subordinates, the more their number is, the more troublesome the measures――」

――――Knock knock.

My words were interrupted by the knocking sound coming from the door of the meeting room. Hey, we’re at an important part now.

「You can come in.」

「I’m sorry for disturbing you. Um, there’s a guest….」

The person who appeared through the door was the receptionist who was at the reception desk. She looks a little bewildered.

「A guest?」

「That’s――」

「――Umu, they are here, huh? Yahoho~, pardon the intrusion.」

「Ah! P-Please don’t enter without permission!」

A person that seemed to be the guest suddenly appeared and passed by the receptionist’s side. He’s someone I know, and his sudden visit makes my head hurt.