Black Iron Magician

「――Understood. Yes, I will tell them that.」

A woman in knight’s armor emerged from a fortress hidden in the ground of the wasteland. She mounted a winged white horse, the so-called Pegasus, which was waiting on the ground, and rushed into the sky. Her destination was the sky where there were more than a hundred women wearing the same outfit and riding Pegasus.

However, there are a few who are dressed differently from the others. There are five women with a different atmosphere. Their armor is the same type as the others, but it has a shining crest and letters on it. There are also the same letters on the sheaths of their swords.

These five female knights are called the 『War Maiden Pentagram』, and they are accompanied by 100 other Pegasus riders. With these five as the commanders, this unit was formed by gathering aerial combat expert. Also, this unit is actually the old haunts of the current Great Eight Generals Acerola. They are said to be the most beautiful in the Empire as they ride the Pegasus, which is generally regarded as a fantastic beast, and skillfully handle the magic sword. Moreover, this unit was formed with women only, making them popular with the people. Perhaps because of this, other members of the unit often speak of them behind their backs as the 『decoration unit of the empire』, but the girls have been able to silence them by achieving solid results. They are often the focus of attention because of their beauty and popularity, but they seem to be more strong-minded than that.

「Reporting, I just received a call. It seems that the targets have passed one section. They are expected to come to this sky soon.」

「Hee, they are pretty fast, aren’t they? No, I guess they are too fast? Ah~, I don’t want to fight those monsters~. I mean, even Galesse couldn’t do anything~」

And there is a man who is clearly out of place. The female knights around him were giving him a stern look for his whining, but he didn’t seem to mind at all and continued to whine. In Elderado, such a remark on the battlefield would make one become a target for purge in the worst case. The knights, however, did not point out the man’s comment and just glared at him. After all, he’s the Great Eight Generals appointed by the Emperor Titos to command this line of defense.

「I’m called the 『Thunder General』 Kalios, but even I would take a lot of effort to run all the way form the border to here at once. Let’s just pretend that we didn’t see the enemies and go out for a drink――」

「Kalios-dono, let’s stop the joke here. I’m grateful that you’re trying to soften the atmosphere, but if it goes too far, it will become a poison.」

One of the War Maiden Pentagram said so to keep Kalios in check. She said it in a roundabout way since he ranks higher than her, but she was telling him to shut up already. The compatibility between Kalios, who doesn’t show any sense of responsibility and motivation, and the female knights, who put their duties first, seem to be extremely bad.

「According to reports from the border, the enemies are making their way into the sky, where they cannot be attacked from the ground, and are heading in a straight line toward the imperial capital. As the sky is our hunting ground, it is inevitable that the task will fall to us. Since Kalios-dono has been appointed as the highest rank commander by His Majesty, you have the duty to accomplish this task. I hope that you will show your power, which is said to be the fastest in Elderado, and put it to good use in this battle.」

「Sigh, I got it. I got it, okay? I will do it seriously. Well, if you expect so much from me, I can’t help but respond~」

「I’m glad to hear that. Recently, the rumors say that Acerola-sama is the fastest, but I’m sure that it’s just my imagination.」

「…… Huh~? Could it be that I’m being disliked~?」

The female knights actually wanted their former boss, Acerola, to come as the commander of this battle. However, the one who came was Kalios, who’s famous for his fondness for women. The first thing he said when he arrived here was asking for a welcome party, so the trust was destroyed. His nature doesn’t match this unit, and there’s not a single factor that can be viewed favorably, so this situation is understandable.

「It can’t be helped, for now, I will work hard to increase the favorability. Let’s see, they are coming from that direction, right?」

Kalios put his hand on her forehead and made a gesture as if peering into the distance from there.

「Yep, they are coming from that direction.」

「You can see them? They will come soon, but there’s still some distance….」

「Not only my legs, but I also have confidence in my eyes. If it’s just this far, I can manage somehow.」

「I see.」

「Ah, I don’t use it for peeping, so don’t worry! I don’t use it at all, I swear!」

「………」

Just when the lost trust was regained slightly, it collapsed immediately.

「Hmm, there four of them, as reported. All of them are humanoid. According to Galesse, other than the 『Headless』, all of them are unknown――WHOA!?」

「W-What’s wrong?」

Kalios suddenly raised a surprised voice, and the female knights’ gazes all focused on him.

「W-What should I do? The enemies are cute girls…! Moreover, there are three of them…! One of them is not facing this way and I can only see her back, but judging from her swaying cute ponytail, I’m sure she’s cute too…!」

「「「「………」」」」

Then, the gazes turned into something like, 『This guy is hopeless』. Frankly, it was as if they are looking at an insect.

「No, it may be unbelievable, to they are really girls! Even I was surprised. I didn’t know there were monster girls in Carmine. Even if there were, they were bones and zombies so far…. Could it be that undead will return to their original form when they evolve into a high-ranked monster!? Now I’m getting motivated!」

「I see, judging from Kalios-dono’s behavior, it seems that there are girls among the enemy forces. I’m very thankful that you are motivated. However, the mission this time is not to capture the enemies, but to completely eliminate them. Please don’t mistake it.」

「…… Can I at least capture one of them?」

「………」

The gazes of the female knights told him to stop it already.

「Ugh, everyone is cold. …… But, what I do in the process of killing them is up to me, right?」

「…… If you can kill them, I have no intention of interfering you more than that. You can do as you like.」

「Haha, I’ve been waiting for those words! Then, I will show everyone my sky battle!」

Kalios was unbelievably burning with fighting spirit, but the female knights around him were staring at him with a harsh gaze as if they were looking at trash.