Black Iron Magician

Chapter 75 Romance Talk

The leader’s office, which Canon guided us to, was surprisingly clean. The books are put in order and there’s not even a speck of dust. I was told that Canon cleans the room every day under her direct supervision. That was close, I almost thought that Nell likes to clean up now. Still, having the subordinate clean the room, what a sloppy woman.

「Please take a seat on the sofa and wait.」

「Thanks. And Canon, you’re being awfully polite today. It’s disgusting.」

「What are you talking about with that smile of yours? … I’m the type of person who repays a favor properly. When I think about what would happen if Deris-san didn’t come, it’s really scary. Perhaps, she would burn the castle along with the headquarters, you know?」

‘It’s no joke’, Canon said so with a very serious expression.

「She’s a person who leads the army, you know? She looked really angry, but she was considerably holding back the power of the fire. You should trust her a little more.」

「Well, with that power, I can’t tell even if you told me that she was holding back…」

Hmm, is that so? She was using the fire magic 『Burnwall』 which power was suppressed, and since it was defensive magic, it wouldn’t cause much damage. If you are only level 3, you will die if you touch it by mistake, though.

「Ah, I’m going to go make some tea. Excuse me.」

Saying so, Canon left the room. As I stretched out my arms to finally catch my breath, Chinatsu, who was sitting across from me, raised her hand apologetically.

「S-say, did he just say about burning the castle? Just what happ――」

「Don’t worry, Chinatsu. It’s just that there were idiots who made Nell angry. We’ve fixed her mood with the cake from a popular store that Haru bought, so the problem is already solved.」

「I bought some for Chinatsu-chan as well, so don’t worry.」

「…… I won’t think deeply for the time being.」

That is correct. Forget about things that have ended and concentrate on your future. That is the secret to living a good life.

「Rather than that, Chinatsu-chan, did you become the chief of the consultation office? I just saw a glimpse of it on the door. It said, 『Chinatsu’s Troubles Consultation Office』.」

「As expected of Haruna, you confirmed it the moment you walk through the passage, huh… I received the title chief, but in reality, I’m the only one. Despite this, it became popular among the knights for some reason. People who take a break or off duty go out their way to form a line there. I’m an amateur who isn’t a therapist and just listen to their worries, though.」

「A training to raise the Encouragement skill, huh. From what I heard, it seems that it’s going well. What kind of consultation do the knights have?」

「It’s really a wide range, from talking about Nell-shishō to discussing love life. It’s nice to be relied on, but I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I can only talk about superficial things…」

「Ahaha, I don’t think I can help you with that.」

Chinatsu hangs her head and Haru laughs brightly. Their situation is supposed to be the same, but there’s a great difference in their reactions.

「That’s surprising. With your looks, I feel like the two of you have received one or two confessions. Are you sure you haven’t?」

「I was immersed in kendo all through elementary, junior high, and high school. I also had lessons after I got home…」

「Huh? But, Chinatsu-chan, didn’t you often receive love letters? You know, like those in the shoe box.」

「Those weren’t love letters, but fan letters… or maybe poems? The phrasings were so difficult and roundabout, so I often couldn’t get the meaning. Some were letters from girls, so I was a bit troubled about how to deal with them.」

Weren’t those genuine love letters that were written in pretentious expression? There’s no way that no boy was aiming for Chinatsu, who has a pure and innocent image. But, it seems that Chinatsu simply didn’t notice. Even the eyeglasses earlier said something that has the implication of aiming for Chinatsu. As for the girls, well… in the world, there are those who like the same gender. Also, Chinatsu seems to be dependable after all.

「I’ve been confessed before.」

「Hou.」

「!? Cough, cough…! H-Haruna, w-what did you say just now…?」

Chinatsu is shaking.

「Once in elementary school, twice in junior high school, and after entering high school, uh… four times I guess?」

「Ohh, the number was doubled each time.」

「………」

「H-Huh? Chinatsu-chan?」

Chinatsu sank by the unexpected and shocking truth from her best friend. No, if she didn’t misunderstand, she also received quite a lot.

「Let’s leave her alone for now, it’s important to get used to everything little by little. So, what happened when you got confessed? Did you go out with him?」

「Yes! We had a serious match with our fists!」

I see, a serious match with fists―― hm?

「… Sorry, what did you say just now?」

「A serious match. A long time ago, my father told me this! ‘Haruna, you’re a wolf, no, a lion. As a lion, if a man who wants to be your lover appears, he has to show proof that he’s stronger than you. If not, the man will be eaten. Listen, fight with the intention to kill. If you are defeated, you have to bring that man to me. Got it?’」

Is your family a grappler family…?

「Y-Your father sure is ferocious, huh… Well, there’s no need to ask this, but has anyone ever win against you?」

「Unfortunately, no… Lately, there was also an old man from a kickboxing club. He said that he fell in love with me. He even brought a representative player from the club and I was a bit panicked.」

He just fell in love with your fighting ability, wasn’t he? You were just being scouted by the club, weren’t you?

「It sure hard to be your boyfriend, huh… Even if someone defeated you, he has to meet your father, right?」

「Yes, my father said that he will check (kill) directly with his hands.」

「I-I see. He sure is an active father…」

I felt like there was something wrong with the word ‘check’, but it was probably just my imagination. Let’s forget about it. Doing this is important.

「―― Huh!? J-Just what have I…?」

「Chinatsu seems to have recovered. Well, it’s almost time for Nell to come.」

―――― Click.

Suddenly, the door opened. Well, speak of the devil.

「I’m sorry to keep you waiting. You guys seemed to be having fun. What were you talking about?」

「Well, just a bit of romance talk. Hmm, you have changed clothes, huh.」

Nell is wearing her casual clothes, not the combat uniform she was wearing earlier. She also has light make-up and I can even smell a faint scent of perfume even though she didn’t use it before.

「Y-Yes. After all, I sweated a little because of the training and the commotion earlier. I had a change of clothes, so I thought it’s better to change the clothes――」

Nell turns away while crossing her arms. Nell’s excuse time seems to be still going on. She is talking quickly while keeping her posture as it is.

(Still, what I love the most is her right now.)

(So this is the reason why Shishou always carries her favorite casual clothes…)

(Yep, as expected, this perfume is the most expensive one sold in the store. Nell-san always uses it when she meets Shishō, right?)

We each got something in our minds, but we didn’t speak them out.