Black Iron Magician

Epilogue – Black Iron Magician

――――The 483rd day of training.

The warm sunlight shining through the window slightly touches me as I am on the move. After finishing my work, I sit down on the sofa in the living room and sip a cup of coffee that I brought from the workplace. Still, it’s a comfortable season, neither hot nor cold. As someone who loves spring, I am very happy.

I’m now in my former house, no, should I call it a holiday should now? A while after Haru and Chinatsu left this world, I moved this house, which was set up in the garden of Nell’s mansion, back to its original location in the mountain.

This place, which is rich in greenery (there are a lot of monsters too) and has no other human presence around, is the place where I built my first house, and it suits me in many ways. Ah, just to be clear, Nell and I are not divorced. In fact, she lives here with me.

「And her belly is swelling.」

「Ha? What are you, the culprit, talking about?」

Nell, who was sitting on the sofa across from me, dubiously said so while knitting. Again, just to be clear, it doesn’t mean that she got fat. Well, you see, she’s pregnant. She’s in a stable period now, so we’re living a quiet life in this house in the mountain. But, as expected, I don’t want her to force herself.

「Hey, you don’t have to force yourself to live here, you know? It’s better to spend time together in the mansion until the child is born――」

「――I’ve already told you many times, right? I’ve lived here before, even longer than Haruna. So, I know how to do things here, and in a way, I feel more at home here than in the mansion. And even though I’m pregnant, I still have to get some exercise.」

「Even so, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go hunting just to get some exercise.」

「Isn’t it fine to go hunting one boar?」

「It’s not. It’s usually the work of a hunter who is in the prime of life. Besides, isn’t it safer to stay closer to the city? In the mansion, there are even maids who are experienced in midwifery.」

「Deris, your worrier’s disposition is getting worse than before, you know? You don’t have to worry. Touko and Gobuo, who have been trained in midwifery by our head maid, are here with us.」

「Oh, did you call me?」

「Gobu!」

「I also sensed that you called me while you were at it. You called me too, right? Right?」

The two maids, Touko and Lilyvia, and the housekeeper Gobuo appeared from the kitchen. I’m late to say this, but I and Nell aren’t the only ones currently living in this house. As you can see, the three of them also live and work in the house. By the way, I share my bedroom with Nell, so they use Haru’s room.

「We talked about Touko and Gobuo, but we didn’t talk about you, Lilyvia.」

「There you go again~. Well, just leave it to this perfect maid. Whether it’s midwifery or whatever, I’ll copy all the professionals and do it. Fufufu ♪」

「No, I’ll be grateful if you just do nothing. You’re just going to make me worried after all.」

「I agree with her. You two, I’ll leave it to you at that time.」

「Wait, Goshujin-sama!?」

「Hehe, leave it to me.」

「Gobbu gobbu!」

Touko smiles naturally, probably happy that she’s being relied on. On the other hand, Lily looks shocked.

Still, I didn’t expect that the first one to come back to this world was Touko. For several months after Haru and the others returned, I and Nell were working towards breaking through the second season of the Great Eight Demons’ trials. Sometimes with the help of Touko, and sometimes with the reluctant Alezel, no, the reliable ally Alezel who did it of her own free will, we cleared the unreasonable trials that were harder than the first ones. In the end, Maria, in her full power form, attacked us seriously without holding back that she nearly blew up the continent, and there was a matter when the old ruler, the goddess, revived and it was on the verge of becoming a big deal, but we were able to manage somehow.

Then, after being guaranteed a ticket to come back here, Touko returned to her world. She left while saying that she was going to take the top quickly and tell Haru and the others to come here quickly. And then, a few months later, Agalia brought Touko to us.

『Ossu, Danna, Nee-san! I came first!』

From what I heard, Touko returned to karate immediately after returning to Japan. She also said that she returned just before the tournament was held, and Haru was struggling against her mother at that time. In other words, Haru wasn’t involved in any club activities during this period. With the only rival she recognized gone, Touko ran on the highway of winning streak and finally won the national championship. She was happy, but she wasn’t feeling refreshed. That said, she achieved her goal, so she used her ticket to come back.

「I will feel more relieved if Chinatsu is here. I also want to entrust her with the work of the knight order, so I hope she will come back soon.」

「I guess the knights are in trouble, huh? I mean, the leader and vice leader are both gone.」

「It’s fine. If anything happens, I will ask Therese and Hund to carry out the expedition I’m supposed to go.」

「…… I will say it just in case. Therese is fine, but Hund-kun is the king of another country, you know?」

「They are going around various places to hold the outdoor party, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble to take down some monster while they are at it.」

It’s unreasonable, but it seems that the knight order is currently functioning like that. The title has also been changed to something incomprehensible like the 『Executive Committee of Regional Reconstruction Outdoor Party and Special Subjugation Force』. In a sense, Hund and his subordinates are now respectable members of the Magic Knight Order.

「But, there’s no one else who can’t replace Chinatsu, such as solving the troubles of my subordinates, and dealing with the piling up of paperwork. I guess it’s a contest between me giving birth first or Chinatsu coming back first…!」

「Don’t start a strange contest. If Chinatsu isn’t here, well, Canon and Muno will do their best.」

「Those two, huh? Their office work isn’t that bad, but… compared to Chinatsu, you know?」

「To what extent does your knight order depend on Chinatsu? I think she will come back at least after Haru’s goal has been achieved. She seems to be taking care of Haru as her best friend over there.」

「Still, aren’t they too late? It’s been a year!」

「It can’t be helped, her opponent is the world’s strongest.」

「Huh?」

Of course, this is just my own image.

――――Bang bang!

While we were talking, we suddenly heard a banging on the door. What came to my mind was the occurrence of new troubles. Sigh, I have a bad feeling―― wait, this is….

「Who would come all the way this deep in the mountain? Did Canon come bringing troubles while crying?」

「Alright, leave it to me! As per Danna’s usual order, I will send Canon away! Or should I say that you’re out?」

「No, I will go.」

「Eh, Danna will?」

I stopped Touko and stood up from the sofa. Nell and Lily looked at me as if they were looking at something strange, but I didn’t mind about it and walked toward the door. Now, I wonder how should I greet them.

――――Click.

「I’m away. Please leave.」

「「Eh!?」」

I gave them a light joke as I opened the door. The two guests seemed to get along very well that they were surprised in unison.

「Just kidding. So, what kind of trouble did you bring today? Ah, if possible, say it loudly so that the one inside can hear it.」

At my question, the two looked at each other and nodded while smiling. Then they looked again into my eyes, or maybe the other one was looking into Nell’s eyes, who was watching us from inside the house. Then, they say this,

「「Please take us as your disciples!」」

Apparently, our disciples still won’t let us live a peaceful life. As a peace-loving person, that makes me very sad. But well, such a time is not so bad once in a while.

The End