Black Iron Magician

「■■■――!」

「Hah, taah!」

In the back row of the group, a sound of fierce battle resounded. Since the start of the trial from the border, Haruna and Kira have been clashing with each other weapons. Haruna’s marching speed is much slower than usual because she has to run backwards while fighting.

「Haruna, it’s been about an hour. Even if you are just parrying attacks, it must be tough to deal with this guy. Switch with me and rest while you still can.」

「Eeh!? I still, can do it, you know!?」

「Idiot, what I want to say is that it’s dull for me if I just run. Besides, it’s about time for Elderado to prepare their forces to deal with us in the sky.」

「If that’s, the case, okay! Let’s count, to three, and switch places!」

「Okay. One, two――」

「――Three!」

Touko switched places with Haruna at the perfect timing, and she repelled Kira’s long sword with her Pulverizer. After that, she continues to repel Kira’s barrage of attacks and begins to fight dexterously while running backwards, just like Haruna did.

「Phew~, I worked up a good sweat~!」

「Good job, Haruna. Here, use this towel.」

「Thank you! Fuwaah~, I’m coming back to life~!」

「Fufu, recover your stamina while you can now.」

Haruna received a towel from Chinatsu and wiped her sweat off as she ran. For the girls, running continuously like this has already become a standard practice. Only running at this speed won’t make them tired, and it’s almost the same level as standing or sitting. If it’s Haruna, she might even be able to run while sleeping like Lily.

「Are you not tired, Chinatsu-chan? You have been putting up the barrier, right?」

「No, I’m fine if it’s just this much. After leveling up, I chose a skill that allows me to perverse my magic power, and this is nothing compared to the training back then.」

「Ah~, it was very worthwhile at that time, wasn’t it? But, don’t push yourself too hard, okay? If something happens, I will go down to the ground and do my best to make up for it!」

「Okay. Then, I will leave it to you at that time.」

Chinatsu’s heart is calm. Maybe it’s because her everyday life is too messed up, it’s rather peaceful for her now.

「Still, I wonder what’s wrong with Kira-san? He keeps chasing after us and attacking us.」

「It’s not written in the rules, but according to Shishō, it’s one of the handicaps. He said something like, 『Don’t think that your allies are always your allies. Sometimes, your allies can be your biggest enemies』.」

「I feel like it contains a lot of Deris-san’s personal experiences. Mainly from when he was an adventurers.」

Chinatsu’s predictions are always right on target. In fact, Derris was pushed around by his allies far more often than by his enemies.

However, the three of them can’t ignore the existence of Kira. He would pursue those closest to him among Haruna, Chinatsu, and Touko, and attacks them. Since leaving the border, Kira has been repeating this act without a break. The attack itself is simple, but the range is much wider than it appears, and the power is tremendous. Even though Haruna and Touko are dealing with him, if they were to walk through the fortress with Kira, the enemy soldiers might get caught up in his attack. There was the danger of violating rule number three, so Chinatsu decided to ignore the fortress.

As a result, they successfully prevented Elderado’s landmine attack and crossed over the fortress through the sky. Incidentally, Chinatsu, who prevented that attack, had anticipated to some extent that such a thing might happen.

「Also, I’m curious about the lack of a face. I feel like I’ve heard that voice somewhere before…. Hmm, where was it?」

「Oh, you mean that creepy shouting voice?」

「■■■■!」

「Hahaha, you’re so energetic, aren’t you!? Where’s that voice coming from when you don’t have a head!?」

The shouts of Touko and Kira could be heard from behind them. No matter how many times they heard it, they couldn’t catch Kira’s words, and all they could feel was the creepiness. However, Chinatsu could somehow grasp the source of the sound.

「…… It’s coming from the neck, I think?」

「Huh?」

「No, just talking to myself. Unfortunately, I can’t understand what he’s saying. Even if I try to talk to him, he doesn’t seem to respond to our words. By the way, how strong is Kira-san?」

「He’s very strong. Maybe it’s because Vakala-san has instructed him to do so, he only launch simple attacks form the front… but I know that he’s strong. At least, I don’t think he’s weaker than me.」

「I guess so. After all, it was almost evenly matched when you fought the undead whose ranking was 31st.」

「Uhh. I should have asked to fight him in the castle. Yesterday, I was looking for Kira-san while I was cleaning, but I couldn’t find him at all.」

「Is that so? Come to think of it, he didn’t even appear during the swap battle. Even today, he only appeared when we were about to leave…. I wonder if Vakala-san wanted to hide Kira-san’s existence from us?」

「Maybe he wanted to give us a surprise?」

「In this case, the surprise was awful, though. Now I understand why Nell-shishō muttered that he would be a hindrance…. Oh, Haruna, it seems that we have a guest. Can I leave them to you? Of course, killing is prohibited, okay?」

「Okay! I will do my best!」

「Oi, Haruna! If we’re going to get in your way, should we step back and keep our distance!?」

「No, it’s okay! I won’t let them go all the way there!」

Purple lightning approached from the front. On the other hand, Haruna put her Doggan Staff in her pouch and concentrated her magic on both hands.