Black Iron Magician

Deris returned to the private room assigned to him while saying words like a father who came back from a drinking party. Inside the room, Haruna and Lily were playing a card game while sitting on chairs. It’s something that Lily likes to carry with her all the time.

「Ah, Shishō…! Y-You said were going to have a review meeting, but where did you go!?」

Haruna stood up from her seat and approached Deris. She looks like she’s about to cry, which is unusual. Or rather, she’s already half crying.

「It lacks appeal if you say it with teary eyes, you know? Oof, you are cruelly defeated, huh. That’s a bit…」

「Uuh, Lily-senpai is so strong…」

「Well~, I thought I relatively went easy on her though~.」

Using coins as chips, they were piled up on the table, making towers. Mainly on the table of Lily’s side. The game is completely overwhelmed by Lily, and she has a win that if it’s poker, her win is a royal straight flush.

Normally, losing this much would be funny. Well, it’s not that they are betting real money. However, Haruna’s style is to go all out even in playing, and the word ‘compromise’ is left behind ever since she was born. Therefore, Haruna is really frustrated right now…

「Haru, Lily’s job is a Gadabout that specializes in luck. Unless you use tricks to win, you can never win against her in a game of luck, you know?」

「B-But, I want to win by playing honestly…!」

「That’s not a line for those who have no power. The weak should fight the way the weak do. For example… That’s right, Lily.」

「Yes?」

「I want to meet your parents next time. I have something very important to tell them about you and me in the future.」

Deris suddenly looked serious and talked about something unthinkable.

「To my mama? And that’s something important about me and Goshujin-sama? …… Bfuah!?」

Lily guesses something and then has a nosebleed. She holds her nose with both hands, but the flood of blood does not seem to stop.

「Okay, try another fight in this state. I’m sure you will have a much better chance than before.」

「T-That might be true, but… is it okay to say something like that thoughtlessly, Shishō? I don’t know what Nell-san will do later…」

「Ah, it’s okay since it’s something I will say sooner or later. I’ve already talked to Nell about it, and she won’t be mad.」

「N-Nell approved!? F-Finally, the seat of Goshujin-sama’s mistress…!?」

‘Ah, she’s not aiming to be a legal wife there,’ Haruna started another battle with Lily while having a wry smile. The result was a loss, but there was a huge difference in resistance from the previous game.

「Just like this, someone who understands they are weak is scary when they don’t mind about their appearance. This is the same for the graduation festival. The semi-final opponent, Nevel Faji, is clearly inferior to Haru, but he’s not an opponent you can let your guard down against. Fight with that in mind, okay?」

「I-I see…! In other words, aiming for the HP to be reduced almost to nothing is self-conceited, so I have to completely kill the opponent!」

「It’s a little different. Also, you shouldn’t kill the opponent.」

「I know~, it’s a joke! You see, a joke!」

「You are always serious, so I can’t take it as a joke… It might be too late asking this now, but do you have the time to play a card game? What about the match?」

「About that――」

Haruna explained that there was an announcement that the semifinals will be held after a break. Aside from the match between Chinatsu and Therese, most of the matches so far ended in an instant. It seems that they are readjusting the schedule since things have been progressing faster than the initial schedule.

Deris couldn’t hear this broadcast since the infirmary he was in is completely soundproofed. Well, that’s the reason they were having such an important conversation there.

「The best thing to do is to keep a normal mind during the break when there is no match, and then concentrate more as the time gets closer. If you feel tense all the time, you will be exhausted on the stage! I’m taking these words from Chinatsu-chan!」

「Aah… That sure is a way of thinking suited for Chinatsu rather than Haru.」

Honestly, this method seems to be useless for Haruna. Whether playing or fighting, she will do her best equally. That’s the nature of Haruna. So, her efforts in her actions will remain the same no matter what she is doing. However, unlike Haruna and Touko, this is not the case for Chinatsu, the one with common sense. She normally gets nervous before a match, so she’s trying everything to stay calm. Even now, she’s probably doing some light running or reading to ease her nervousness.

「By the way, Shishō, where have you been?」

「I went to your semifinal opponent to talk a bit.」

「My semifinal opponent… Nevel-san?」

「Yeah. He seemed to be too tense, so I came to relieve it. Since he is going to fight Haru, it will be a problem if he doesn’t give his all, right?」

「Yes, you are right! … Oh, I see.」

Haruna thinks that Deris deliberately strengthened her opponent in order to apply the lessons she learned earlier in the actual battle. ‘Even if the opponent is a small fry, don’t let your guard off. Even ants can kill an elephant if they swarm,’ she thinks Deris is teaching her that. Still, this elephant (Haruna) has no intention of letting her guard down even if he didn’t tell her that.

「You see, your opponent was very upright. He said he will cooperate with us even if he loses in the semifinal.」

「When you say cooperation, is he going to be a supporter like when Dry-san fought!? Ah, but I also want to fight Chinatsu-chan with my own strength… But, I was taught to prepare whatever I can for the match…」

Fighting in perfect condition with the help of the supporter, or fighting with her own strength? Haruna is troubled.

「W-Well, you can ponder about it as much as you want now. Lily, let’s play a card game once.」

「Fuu… Ah, yes. The nosebleed just stopped, so I’m fine. Goshujin-sama, no cheating.」

「Eh?」

「What’s with that reaction?」

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

「………」

Here is Nell’s private room. During this break, Chinatsu went to the library in the academy for relaxation and borrowed a magic introductory book with a cute goblin drawn that she happened to see. The content of the book was very basic and childish, but it was like an interval between reference books for entrance exams, so she could calm down when reading it. When she noticed, she was absorbed in reading it.

「Chinatsu, reading the study book you borrowed from the academy is good, but how about you relax a bit?」

「I’m fine. I’ve managed to calm down thanks to Gobuo and Gobuko… Huh?」

For some reason, it was a little deja vu. Chinatsu tilted her head.

「Is that so? Then, it’s fine. And Chinatsu, you can use that in the next match. After all, your opponent is Joseph’s granddaughter, and she is not an opponent you can take easy on.」

「Using that? I’m still not sure whether I can handle it…」

Chinatsu, sitting on a chair, glances at the wooden sword placed on her lap.

「That’s why. Make sure you can handle it in the semifinal. It’s a bit hard to handle as I’ve shown you before, but I can guarantee you will win once you can handle it. Now, go.」