Black Iron Magician

「Hmm, it’s finally becoming like a trial. It’s still too lenient, though.」

By going ashore, Nell’s irritation subsided, and the unconsciously released bloodlust and pressure were lessened. As a result, the guardians of the island approached to defend the island as planned, but… according to Nell, she is apparently unhappy with the strength of the enemies. There are dozens of dragons flocking to Haru and the others. All of them are equivalent to level 6 and boast strength comparable to the Four Heavenly Kings of Sea Demons, Hund-kun’s subordinates. Seeing that none of them look the same, they must all have evolved into unique individuals.

「Sei!」

「Doryaah!」

Haru hit the enemies with the back of her Doggan Staff and shakes their brains. Touko is wearing heavy and soft ki on both fists and increases the impact of the blows to make the dragons faint. They are advancing steadily, and a large number of fainted dragons are left in the path of the two.

「I’m sorry!」

On the other hand, Chinatsu’s beloved sword 『Iwatōshi』 is a sword that’s neither suitable for striking with the back of the sword nor making the enemies faint. But in the first place, she doesn’t need it against inferior opponents. She created Reflect Fortress in the shape of a sword, and she’s using that tough light barrier as a weapon. With an exquisite amount of force, she’s also mowing down the dragons. Chinatsu just casually expanded the possibilities of Reflect Fortress.

「Well, they’ve been fighting terrible opponents after all. Hund-kun, Alezel, Zex, and Lilyvia in serious mode―― haha, they were really terrible opponents. Good grief, we are terrible masters, huh.」

「Still, if we really want them to face against Vakala and Maria, it’s not enough. This includes Rimudo, of course. The pure fighting power of these three and the power of the country under their control are definitely outstanding even among the Great Eight Demons. Rimudo is someone reasonable even among them, so he chose this kind of trial, but――」

「――We never know what the bone old man and the young old woman will do, huh?」

「Yes. They have lived too long and won too many battles without knowing defeat. That’s why they now prioritize entertainment over the life they find in battle. If a toy, that might reach the two of them with even the slightest chance of success, appeared… would they obediently let it go?」

「…… To be honest, the growth speed of the girls is faster than ours. I can’t say that they won’t be interested in the girls’ future prospects.」

「Yes, that’s why we shouldn’t be satisfied with the current situation. They promised that they won’t impose impossible trials, but I don’t think they will obediently keep their promises. They will impose unreasonable demands to prevent the girls from returning to their original world. So, we have to train the girls so that they can deal with any trials. I don’t want to make Chinatsu work too hard like before, but I have to make it a little unreasonable!」

「How is that different?」

Still, I can understand her anxiety. The damage would be too great if we were to fight the Great Eight Demons, Rimudo or above, so I tried my best to stop Nell from trying to fight them when we were adventurers. That’s why we defeated only the extremists from the previous sixth to eighth ranks, set up Alezel and Lilyvia as substitutes (I didn’t expect Alezel would take the seat, though), and made agreements.

Especially Vakala and Maria, even if we can fight these two, it would be impossible to defeat them even with Nell’s annihilation power. The longer the fight goes on, the more disadvantageous we become, whereas their ability to continue fighting is almost inexhaustible. Even if we completely disregarded the world’s greatest military power that the two of them possess, the result would be the same. After all, they themselves are dangerous. Moreover, they are whimsy that they inflict mental damage on my scalp every time.

「By the way, do you still hold the grudge that I opposed when you wanted to fight the upper ranks of the Great Eight Demons at that time?」

「Eh, why? I was reckless and wild at that time, but I’m not holding any grudge, you know? Well, if we were to fight them at that time, someone among us would have died for sure. And even if it was against Rimudo, who’s relatively reasonable, two or three territories of the country would have been scorched to the ground…. Well, you made a wise decision at that time.」

「I see, so you understand, huh. I’m glad that Nell has grown up. Yeah!」

「…… By the way, did I cause trouble for you at that time? I don’t remember, but Alezel often used it as a joke material, saying that Deris at that time was desperate. Vakala and the others also said that Deris at that time was having a hard time. You see, I feel like I was being very selfish at that time.」

「Hahaha. That’s just your imagination.」

Nell seems to be understanding now, but back then Nell’s behavior was really rough. Crying, shouting, rampaging, trying to exterminate my hair roots―― she was taking out all her frustration of not being allowed to challenge the Great Eight Demons on me. I was desperate to protect my hair. If I didn’t do my best at that time, I would have been bald now.

「But well, when I think about it now, I realized that my enemies and allies were relentlessly attacking my head. I’m thankful for the miracle that I still have it, Goddess Chinatsu….」

「Head?」

「No, just talking to myself. Anyway, we have to lay the groundwork, and in the worst case, we have to be ready to fight Maria and the others. Nell, your idea is excellent, as long as you don’t forget to adjust it properly.」

「…… Yes. I’m relieved if you say so, Deris. I will do my things as usual, so I will leave laying the groundwork to you. You’re good at something that, right?」

「Rather than good, I was forced to do it because no one else would do it….」

「Setting aside the details, you’re good at it now. Anyway, I leave it to you!」

Nell showed a good smile and slapped me on the back. Yeah, this development is within my expectation. I just need to remove the land mines as usual.

「――In the worst case, we’re going to fight, huh…. Yep, that might be fun too.」

Huh? How strange. I heard the sound of a land mine being stepped.