Black Iron Magician

Chapter 377 Burnt Morning

―――― The 67th day of training.

「Hmm, morning….」

I wake up and spread my arms while yawning. Today, I was able to wake up at the time when Haru would usually come to wake me up. Well, Haru is staying at the house of Rimudo’s wife right now. I hope they can come back smoothly. Still, to think that I could sleep soundly on the sofa. It’s a very pleasant awakening, perhaps because of my daily fatigue, or because my body unknowingly made me rest for today.

「………」

On the other hand, Nell, who seems to have woken up earlier than I did, is sitting on the sofa across me while holding her head. It seems that she didn’t wake up well.

「Morning. Why are you holding your head? Hangover?」

「…… Morning. There’s that, but more than that… Deris, did I make a blunder again? I don’t remember anything about yesterday….」

「Ha?」

「I mean, when I woke up, I saw Touko sleeping in the same bed…!」

「Ku~….」

While being bewildered, Nell pointed at Touko who’s sleeping comfortably in the bed. Come to think of it, yesterday, Lily’s room was locked, so I had no choice but to lay Touko on the same bed with Nell, and I was sleeping on the sofa. Nell, who woke up first, misunderstood it. I think the reason for the misunderstanding was that Touko’s clothes were opened because she was tossing and turning while asleep.

「I see. Don’t worry. You didn’t make any blunder.」

「Really!? Depending on how things turn out, I won’t be able to face Chinatsu, you know!?」

「I-It’s really okay! S-Stop strangling my neck…!」

I hurriedly explained about last night. When I told her to ask Hund-kun and Gobuo since they were there too, she finally seemed to be relieved. It seems that she really trusts those two, huh.

「Hnn~…. Yawn, why is it so noisy….?」

「Oh, morning, Touko.」

「Hmm? Ah, Deris-danna. Good morning… hm?」

When Touko raised her arm to greet me back, she suddenly froze up. Her expression is stiff and her mind goes blank.

「Touko?」

「D-D-D-D-Danna!? W-W-W-W-Why are you here!? D-D-D-D-Did I cross the line without realizing it!?」

「Calm down.」

Touko is just as confused as Nell. I’m sure she’s having a weird misunderstanding, and it seems that she doesn’t see Nell sitting across from me. Yeah, I know. I have to explain it again.

「Now, how should I tell you… hm? Nell?」

Without saying anything, my partner stood up quietly. She rummaged through her luggage and took out her beloved sword, Pluto――

「――What kind of joke is this?」

「It’s not a joke, but a serious confirmation.」

She moved to the front of my sofa at high speed and thrust her sword at me. It’s touching me, the tip of Pluto is touching my neck!

「Hey, I explained to you earlier, and then you were convinced, right!?」

「That was about me and Touko, right? You haven’t explained about you and Touko yet. You have priors, so let’s make it clear here. I know it wasn’t as much as me, but you were also drinking yesterday, right?」

「D-Danna and I did it…? B-But if it’s Danna, I will accept it!」

「Touko! I beg you, don’t make things worse!」

Then, until Hund-kun and Gobuo came to call us, I continued to patiently persuade Nell and Touko.

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

「Ah, Shishō! Good morning!」

「………」

When I went to the lobby of the inn, there were Haru and Chinatsu, who were supposed to have been taken away yesterday. It was too sudden, so I was the one who froze up this time. I was too tired from this morning that the development was too sudden for me.

「Oh, Chinatsu is here too.」

「I’m back, Nell-shishō. Um, I wonder where to start….」

「Let’s see…. Everything was too sudden… so we have to properly share information with everyone…」

「Yep, it’s as Wee-chan says!」

「Well, you’re right. I think I know to some extent, but sharing information is important――hweh!?」

「What’s wrong, Shishō? Why did you make such a strange voice?」

How strange. I feel like the number of disciples has increased by one. Specifically, there’s an expressionless girl similar to that of Adelheit’s Mage Prime Minister.

「Then, let’s talk while having breakfast――」

「――Wait, wait, wait! Why is Weerel here!? It’s strange in terms of distance. Also, is your job in Adelheit okay? Unlike Nell, who’s being left alone, you’re not in a position to leave the country so easily, right!?」

「Fufu. Well, they trust me after all.」

In Nell’s case, I think the biggest reason is that they simply can’t control her.

「Deris-sama, allow me to explain that to you.」

A mysterious employee of the inn appeared. She’s a woman whose wording and appearance are first-rate, but she has an apprenticeship badge on her for some reason.

「You are… Satella-san?」

「I’m surprised that you could tell. I was hiding my horns and power today so that I would look like an ordinary human, you know? I guess the surprise didn’t work.」

「If you’re that strong, you have to be careful not only about your appearance, but also about your surroundings. You see, the dragons around you are glancing at you from a while ago, even though they’re at work. Your friends are too conscious of you.」

「Ara ara, how careless of me. The children on this island are still young, so they’re trying hard to impress Mom. I have to be careful next time ♪」

I purposely didn’t say it so as not to ruin the mood, but she has a name tag with her name, Satella Baha, on her uniform. I’m not sure if it’s on purpose or she’s just a natural airhead.

「Deris-san, it seems that you have a strength that seems to be more troublesome than how you look. Maybe you’re stronger than me―― no, let’s not speculate. The only thing I can say is that you have the face of a man who has been through a fierce fighting scene…. Fufu, am I wrong?」

「… I see, it seems that you have an eye for people.」

Yeah, I was in that kind of situation until just a while ago. I couldn’t settle it on my own, and without the help of Hund-kun and Gobuo, I would have been paying for the burned inn by this time.

Well, we briefly introduced ourselves and shared information about the girls’ stay, including Weerel’s situation. I thought she was just a ditzy mother who would end up inviting children to her house, but in fact, she was a pleasant kidnapper who carelessly kidnapped a country’s influential person.

「Ah… please don’t worry about me…. I don’t want to make things worse after all….」

「Well, yeah. Okay, I’ll cooperate if something happens. Please contact me if you need something.」

「Thank you very much….」

I’m glad that Weerel doesn’t take after Joseph. I mean, her face, personality, and how she sees things.

「Hm…? Excuse me…. Could it be that you’re Hund Lind-sama…?」

「Umu? Oh, if it isn’t the comrade who fought against me with Haruna and Chinatsu at that time. Ah, no, you are now in a position to guide the people, just like me. Mage Prime Minister-dono, are you doing fine?」

「Yes…. With the help of Hund-sama…. There was a suggestion from your country…. With the help of Hund-sama… your country has proposed to use rivers to transport marine products, which is faster than ships…. As a landlocked country, our country finds it very useful――」

―― By the way, Weerel is the only one who properly sees Hund-kun as the lord of a country.