Black Iron Magician

Chapter 488 The Result of Guidance

After that, we escaped from the territory of the Ederado Great Empire and crossed over to another country on the continent of Dai. I thought it would be a little more difficult to escape, but it was unexpectedly easy to move from one border to another because of the war. Elderado is constantly at war with neighboring countries. The main forces in the capital were in the middle of the war, and there was probably not enough time to organize an immediate search party for a single escaped slave. I relaxed for the first time upon arriving in Zelandia, the immortal country that is said to be never attacked by other nations. And then, I could finally feel that I was alive again.

「Hmm. By the way, isn’t it practically even with the bad luck of getting caught and the bad things you did?」

「What are you talking about? I was just a victim and I just tried my best to get out of there alive. But well, the research materials, money, and goods I borrowed from Elderado certainly helped me to grow more efficiently afterward. So, I was able to catch up to Alezel’s level earlier than expected.」

「You were making good use of it, huh…. So, you two got along with each other and started being adventurers, I guess? Ah, including Ii and the others, was it six people? But those girls weren’t there when I met you, right?」

「You called them girls, but they are older than you, you know? Well, their appearances don’t change since they are zombies…. At first, I had them help me with my work, but then I realized that walking around with human zombies was going to cause rumors to spread even as an adventurer. It would be a problem if Elderado’s people knew that Ii and the others were missing from the lab, even though it had been blown up. So, I decided to get them jobs in the back of the guild, where they would be less conspicuous.」

「They got a good job even though are zombies, huh…」

「I fabricated their life stories and asked Giorgia. Then, he accepted them while crying.」

「Wow, that guild leader was a mess even before I met him.」

Well, it’s a good thing that they could get a job. As a result, it’s a win-win relationship.

「Well, I was able to make it as an adventurer even though I was pushed around by Alezel. Then, we met Nell when we were moving from place to place in search of a better job.」

「Hmm, I didn’t know you had a past like that. Well, it was quite fun.」

「Well, thanks.」

「But how could Alezel, who claimed to be a chivalrous thief, be interested in becoming an adventurer?」

「No, in fact, she was planning to continue her thief business after we escaped. So, I did my best to persuade her to change job. Even if she was one of my few acquaintances and a reliable companion, I couldn’t work with a scoundrel who was stealing people’s things, you know? I managed to reform Alezel by explaining to her the value of honest work, the significance of building trust, how to make money by taking advantage of the loophole in the law, and that everything would be ours as long as we had legitimacy.」

「…… Does that count as a reform?」

「At least she stopped being a thief, you know?」

Some nobles don’t like adventurers, but as long as we go through the Adventurer Guild, the job is creditable and it’s a good way to prove our identity. It’s many times better than making a living by stealing. With the power of money, Alezel controls the elf village and develops her hometown as a merchant in a respectable way. Even her parents, who neglected her, are smiling now. It is good proof that she understands my teachings well.

「…… No, considering how much of a miser she is now, could it be that she’s worse than before?」

「It’s not an exaggeration to say that, in a way, the way Alezel is now is thanks to Deris’s teachings. I mean, you showed her a pretty gray path of a merchant. I never thought that you were her spiritual mentor. It was the biggest surprise of the day.」

「It’s more surprising than my abduction and confinement case, huh….」

I didn’t have any intention of being Alezel’s mentor or something like that, though. I just wanted to bring her back to the surface. As a result, she became a vicious merchant and the Great Eight Demons, but that’s not my responsibility.

「Putting that aside, Deris still holds a grudge against Elderado, right? What kind of trial are the girls going to do there?」

「Oh, about that――」

I explain to Nell the rules.

「―― Well, I think the girls can do it, but since it’s Vakala’s trial, I don’t think that’s everything. Is he hiding something troublesome?」

「…… He is. No, he was. The one from Vakala’s side who is going to be partying with Haru and the others is quite the bottleneck. To put it bluntly, he’s just a hindrance.」

「What? Is he so weak that he will slow them down?」

「It’s a different kind of trouble.」

I revealed the bomb that Vakala was hiding.

「――Deris, are you stupid? It’s really just a hindrance.」

「It’s as you say….」

「Sigh, there’s nothing that can be done about it since it has been decided. So, when will the trial start? From what I heard from the rules, it should be tomorrow, right?」

「No, the start date has already passed. I explained the rules to the emperor of Elderado four days ago.」

「Deris, are you stupid!? There’s only half of the time left, you know!?」

Nell grabs me by the collar and lifts me up, leaving my legs dangling in the air. Stop it, it’s really painful.

「Don’t call other people stupid so easily…! This one is my strategy…!」

「Strategy!? I’ve made the girls exhausted, you know!? We haven’t even traveled to the Dai continent!」

「Let me down first, then I will talk about it…!」

My feet touched the ground, and I regained my breath. That was close, I was about to lose my consciousness.

「…… So, what do you mean by strategy?」

「Haa, haa…. Since their companion is that thing, Haru and the others will be at a disadvantage if it’s prolonged. So, we’re going to make it a short-term battle. We’ll make them settle it on the last day of the trial. Until then, we can have the girls to be in perfect condition, and we can go to Carmine in time, you know? Let’s have the girls take down Elderado Great Empire in just the last day.」

「Are you serious?」

「I took the trouble to set a deadline for a week and got Elderado to prepare for the war in a hurry. But when it started, there was no movement on Carmine’s side. It was the same for the next day and the day after that. The fighting spirit that was high at the beginning will gradually fade away if the boring days of nothing happening are going on. Some people may be dissatisfied with the situation, while others may suspect that something is going on and read too much into it. The last day of a long period of peace is the time when Elderado’s command is most vulnerable to disruption.」

「The land of Elderado is vast, you know? The way to the imperial capital is more than just running through.」

「The fact that the distance is wide means that the information transmitted between them is slow. They probably have communication devices in important places, but it’s impossible to share information all over the country. On the contrary, rumors that are spread carelessly can be a source of confusion for the enemy.」

「…… Sigh, I see. Then, let’s tell the girls about the strategy. I just hope that it doesn’t give Chinatsu a headache.」

「I’m sure she will have a headache. Then, Haru’s eyes will shine, and Touko will compete against Haru.」

「Right. Still, you made me aroused even though it’s late―― Deris.」

「Hmm?」

「Um, let’s drink tonight.」

「Y-Yeah.」

Nell picked up a glass of wine as a signal, and I responded to it. Thus, we prepare for the final day of the trial.

―――― The 81st day of training is over.