Black Iron Magician

「It’s been a while, Haruna-san. Are you doing well?」

「…… Yes, I’m living a fulfilling life under Shishō.」

Haruna does not let her guard down. She had previously heard from Deris that Joseph would likely come into contact with her. And then, Deris told her to not open her heart and even added that she should look at Joseph with disdain as if looking at a pervert. That thorough harassment is horrifying, but unfortunately, Haruna is not used to doing so. When she tried to glare with disdain, she only looked like a child throwing a tantrum with her cheeks puffed.

「Hohoho, it seems that you completely hate me. But, there’s no need to be so cautious. I just came to check on you, Haruna-san.」

「Check on me?」

「Yes, that’s right. After all, I left you in Deris’s care on the first day. I was worried about whether you’re doing well or not.」

Sitting on a roadside bench, Joseph slowly stands up with his staff as support and tries to approach Haruna. Haruna quickly steps back and takes a distance from Joseph.

「I’m sorry, but that’s a needless worry. As you can see, I’m very healthy. I’m a child with excellent health after all.」

「Uh, it seems that Deris’s bad influence has completely gotten into you. It’s troubling that I can’t talk to you.」

「If you want to talk, you can do it at that position, can’t you? So, what do you want? Are you going to take me back to the castle?」

If Joseph tries to get into contact with her, his objective is roughly divided into three. The first is to bring Haruna, who has grown up to the point of defeating Touko, back to the castle. Leaving aside whether she will come with him or not, it will lead to a significant increase of his fighting power if it’s a success. It would also keep Haruna away from Deris, so it’s exactly killing two birds with one stone. However, Deris told Haruna that Joseph is unlikely to choose this method.

「If so, I’m going to refuse. I respect Shishō and I’m indebted to him. There’s no reason for me to return.」

Because no matter what Joseph did, Haruna won’t come with him. It’s mainly because of Haruna’s abnormal efforts that she’s now this strong. But on the other hand, the factors that she trained under Deris also had a great influence on her growth in the right direction.

Haruna doesn’t get self-conceited. She is grateful to those who have influenced her in a good way, and she never thinks that she made it this far because of her own efforts. Besides, the only benefit of returning to the castle is that she can meet her classmates. Deris has already shown the way to this, so it is no longer effective. Therefore, it is impossible for Haruna to accept Joseph’s invitation.

If he can’t do it directly, he can try to threaten Haruna, but… it’s also an impossible task. For example, taking someone close to Haruna, such as Chinatsu, as a hostage and threaten her. Even if it’s not Chinatsu, whoever it is must be related to Deris or Nell. Facing against Nell is a suicidal act, and facing against Deris means death socially. Any person capable of making proper judgment will refuse even if they are offered a lot of money.

「That’s right. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to invite you since I know it’s impossible. After all, I’m in the position of having abandoned Haruna-san. I’m sure there’s a huge difference in trust between me and Deris, whom you’ve spent your life with.」

「………」

Haruna thinks. The second thing that Deris told her was that he would do something harmful to her. There are a lot of ways such as abduction, erasure of existence, or giving a curse. In a sense, it’s something that she has to wary of the most, but now that Joseph appeared in front of Haruna, that possibility is almost gone. If his goal is to get rid of Haruna, the most effective way is to attack her sneakily. After all, Haruna became wary the moment Joseph appeared.

Furthermore, the location here is also bad to do that. No matter how empty it is in the early morning, this place is only a short distance away from the town. You never know where you’ll be seen.

(The third was to confuse me with a bunch of lies, right?)

This is the most likely at the moment. Haruna is pure in both good and bad ways and she’s not that good at thinking, so Joseph might try to mislead her with lies and sweet words. Even if not as good as Deris who loves this kind of method, Joseph is someone who has a high position as a mage prime minister in the nation. If it comes to a match of scheming and deceiving, Haruna will be at a disadvantage no matter what.

Therefore, Deris thought a mean for Haruna to peacefully repel Joseph without attacking him. Deris ordered Haruna to use this mean if she judged that the first and second are impossible.

「Actually, Haruna-san, I have something to tell you toda――」

「――If you speak more than that, I will scream.」

「……What?」

「If you say anything more, I will scream and call for help, saying that you were about to do something lewd to me.」

「………」

Deris’s secret plan was false accusations, the one most feared by modern men. This is a devil’s move, targeting all adult males, regardless of strong or weak, and is more effective on those with higher social status and with a more respectable job. A forbidden move among forbidden moves. It works only for humans and you have to choose the place and the opponent to use it on. But, in this situation where Deris will surely do something afterward, it’s super effective. In fact, Joseph understands the meaning and he’s gradually turning pale.

「If you leave, I won’t do anything. Just so you know, I have a very high lung capacity. My voice can reach pretty far, you know?」

The two slowly retreated from each other. As a result, it remains unclear what Joseph was trying to tell. Still, Haruna wouldn’t be able to use her head well if that battle started. For now, the first priority is to accomplish this one thing. However, before the battle was decided, there was one more person who came to this place.

「Yawn… I was wondering who it was, but it was Mage Prime Minister Joseph, huh? I never thought that you would be here in person.」

「Ah, Shishō!」

「Deris, dono…!」

It was Deris, who was trying to take a nap.

「I felt a sign of someone insolent, but it seems that I was still half-asleep. Oh my, it seems that my disciple caused trouble for you that she mistook you for a suspicious person. You see, your attire right now is like that. A girl at her age is difficult, so you have to be careful. Talking to a girl in a place with no people is ridiculous. Also, my disciple is particularly sensitive to those who approach her with bad intentions. Ah, I’m sure this time is just a misunderstanding. Yes, I believe so.」

「… Thank you for your concern. I happened to meet Haruna-san while I was taking a walk in the morning. It seems that I was not considerate enough. I’m sorry, Haruna-san.」

「No, I’m also sorry that I misunderstood you.」

「Okay, the misunderstanding has cleared up! Haru, let’s race to the house! Well then, Joseph-dono, have a nice day!」

「Ah, Shishō, that’s unfair! That’s a false start!」

「… Yes, have a good day, you two.」

While dark emotions swirled in the belly, the problem in the early morning was settled peacefully(?).