Black Iron Magician

Chapter 425 The Start of the Battle

What Haruna and the others saw in the kitchen was a red world. The world was red enough on the way so far, but this kitchen is really covered in blood. The cups on the table are filled with blood, and the excess blood covers the surface of the table and drips onto the floor. Blood with an amount that should be impossible keeps flowing from the headless corpses of animals of various sizes that are hanging on the ceiling. The entire floor of the kitchen is covered in blood, and the blood is beginning to flood the passage outside the room.

「「「Uwaah….」」」

The three let out their voices at the same time when they saw this scene. The three, who are supposed to be veteran warriors by now, are dumbfounded by the state of the kitchen which is more like a slaughterhouse than a place where food is prepared.

「Sniff-sniff…. Yep, this mellow scent seems to be drifting from you guys~. When did you get there, intruders~?」

The condition of the kitchen is terrible, but Haruna and the others are also wary of the owner of this voice. With her silver hair tied up in a Gibson Tuck hairstyle, she wears a gray maid outfit and looks like in her late teens. She has a pretty freckled face and the appearance of a simple village girl. However, the appearance of her standing in the center of the pool of blood while drinking a cup of blood as if she’s drinking alcohol, coupled with the scene in the kitchen, is truly bizarre.

「Puhaaa~! The first squeeze is soaking into my body~!」

「Hey, this person is…」

「Yes, you’re probably right.」

While looking at the maid who’s enjoying the blood, the three recalled the information provided by Lilyvia and Alezel. There’s someone who has an excessive interest in food and a glutton, or maybe a heavy drinker, among the sisters of the Irygal family. Except in front of Maria, she always carries her favorite food wherever she goes, so it’s easy to tell them apart at a glance.

「Ah, right. I haven’t introduced myself~. I’m the fifth daughter of the Irygal family, Riara Irygal. I’m just a plain glutton~」

「「「I knew it.」」」

Having guessed it right, the three let out their voices at the same time.

「Huh? Did you know me? Could it be that I’m famous? That’s strange, I rarely go out of the country, though~. Well, whatever! Come here, let’s have a drink for a starter~. It’s delicious~」

「N-No, thank you. More importantly――」

「――Oh, you girls are humble, huh~. There’s no need to hold back, you know~? Look, there’s so much! If you want, I can squeeze as much as you want, you know~?」

「「「………」」」

Riara is persistently offering the blood, but it’s not that Haruna and the others are holding back. They seriously want to refrain. Nonetheless, Riara continues to act like a drunkard, and she doesn’t act like someone who just found intruders.

「Setting her attitude aside… she’s definitely Riara Irygal. Watch out for her ability!」

「Okay!」

The information about Riara’s ability is already in their heads. The Unique Skill 『Curly』 that she possesses has the power to manipulate the blood volume of the target at will. The only condition for activating it is to touch the flowing blood in the target’s body. It is relatively easy for her to meet this condition, as it can be done by touching the target with her fangs during a blood-sucking act, by touching the target with her fingertips during an attack, or even through the blood that came out of her body. The dead animals that were constantly bleeding from their necks were actually under the influence of Curly’s power, which forced them to increase their blood volume. For Riara, who loves blood, this ability can be called a Lucky Hammer. (TLn: Lucky Hammer, google it.)

On the other hand, Curly’s power is also extremely effective in battle. After all, it is possible to rapidly reduce the blood of the target once it’s activated. As long as the opponent is a living creature, every attack can be a one-hit kill.

「Well, it sure is dangerous, but the other sisters are also as dangerous as Lily-shishō. If it’s an enemy that Danna allowed to fight, I will crush them! What I need to do is――」

「――Ara ara~? Are you an acquaintance of Lilyvia or something~? Hmm, you do look somewhat alike~」

「…… I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but don’t put your own lines on people’s lines. That’s an unbecoming act for a maid, you know?」

「Eh? You want to drink this~? Sure~」

「……… (Irritated)」

「Touko, calm down. It’s normal for a drunkard to not listen to what people say…. She’s a vampire, though.」

「Tch, I know. I won’t get swallowed by her pace――」

「――How should I put it~, hic! …. Ah, that’s right, I remember. The way you got on my serves and seems taste bad is the same as Lilyvia~」

「Haah!? Lily-shishō is living an unhealthy life, but I’ve been living a healthy life for my life, you know!? If you ask me if my blood is good or bad, I’m sure my blood tastes good!」

「T-Touko, is that where you get angry…?」

「As a person who set foot into the path of maid, I can’t give up on that! I go to bed early and wake up early every day like Haruna! My blood is really good!」

Touko is seriously angry. At the same time, the condition of her respect for Lily was transparent.

「Fufufu~. No matter how much you shout, I won’t change my judgment, you know? I have drunk more blood than any of my sisters, so there’s no doubt about it~. Hic! …… But~, the ponytail girl over there is first-rate, I think? I’m drooling just thinking about the taste.」

「Waah, she praised me!」

「Haruna, she didn’t praise you at all! Rather, she recognized you as food!」

「You bastard! Why does Haruna taste good but I taste bad!? I’ll kill you!」

「Eh~, do I have to explain everything? As someone who set foot into the path of a maid, your insight is half-baked~」

「……… (Irritated)」

「Touko, calm down. She seems to be very drunk, so you shouldn’t take her words seriously each time.」

「Chinatsu, you’re wrong. I think I understand more than Chinatsu when it comes to judging drunkards. I’ve been trained by Lily-shishō in the nightlife district, so I understand. You see, someone like her is the worst type of drunkard.」

「Eh?」

「Hey, you drunkard! I’ve seen people like you, so I know. You’re one of those bastards who do bad things with drunkenness as an excuse! You shift the blame on the alcohol even though you can think normally! I hate people like you the most!」

「….. Hmm~」

When Touko pointed this out, the air surrounding Riara changed completely. Her expression, which was looking somewhat friendly, changed into that of a hunter who has found its prey. At the same time, the corpses of the animals that were hung up dried up and scattered like thrash.

「Ahaha~, you found out, huh? It would have been nice if you were careless, but you girls have no opening despite your looks. It was embarrassing that you got so serious when dealing with a drunkard~. Ah, but, when it comes to judging the taste of blood, I’m serious, you know? I’ve tasted so many different kinds of blood for many years that I’ve come to understand the rules to some extent.」

「The rules?」

「Hey, Haruna, don’t listen to her. I’m sure it’s just bullshit.」

Touko wears her ki and takes a battle stance, showing that this is the end of the idle talk.

「You’re motivated, huh~. Then, I’ll just say. In my opinion, the better a person is at cooking, the better their blood tastes. By the way, the ponytail girl is first-rate, that honor student is above average, and the half-baked maid is the bottom of the bottom. Lilyvia’s cooking is so bad that she will create a hell, right? I can smell the same smell from you~. How’s that? Am I right? Hic!」

「I-I will kill you!」

Thus, the battle started with something stupid.