Black Iron Magician

At the same time Haru raised her victory declaration, she collapsed on the ground. That’s right, she accomplished her favorite giant-killing. She gained an overwhelming victory against a superior opponent who normally can’t be defeated no matter how hard you try. Moreover, that opponent is now like this.

「… Gobu.」

Yes, by Haru’s Weil, that red goblin became a zomb―― Gobu!?

「Oi, Haru. What did you do to this Gobu-san…?」

「Ah, Shishō!」

Haru is already full of energy as she gets up. Her excitement doesn’t stop and her breathing is rough.

「How was it, how was it? How was the battle just now!?」

「Uh, well… perfect score. Yeah, it was perfect.」

Regarding the battle, there’s nothing I can advise on this time. That’s how excellent it was. I was going to help her immediately if it got dangerous, but I didn’t have to do that at all.

She used Heart Hash to disturb the opponent’s mind when using aiki, but what especially surprised me was that she also used it when exchanging blows with the staff and kicks. It’s easy to activate it when touching the opponent with your hands, but it’s quite difficult when it comes to your feet. As for the staff, it’s not even a part of the body. It’s a technique that’s very difficult to do if you can’t control your magic power smoothly. Casting the magic without mistaking the timing when kicking or attacking with the staff, only a few people who can do that even among the knights.

Also, she has a good understanding of how to use the black magic stone staff. Taking advantage of the material’s characteristic, which doesn’t accept magic power except from those who first passed magic power through it, she used her staff as a shield to break the opponent’s magic. Normally, you can’t do that easily even if you know about this. Even when facing an attack that could kill her if she took a direct hit, her courage at that last-minute was really something. My disciple really has nerves of steel.

「Haha, I know right!? This battle was a great satisfaction even for me!」

「Well, that’s good… So, what about this Gobu-san?」

「…… Gobu.」

「I feel like he’s cunningly saying gobugobu.」

「He’s not! I’m devotedly reproducing Gobuo-kun! He’s like that because I instructed him to do so when using Weil!」

「Gobuo-kun? …… For what?」

「Eh? Isn’t he cute? This masculinity where he looks good and can only say gobu. This is the best!」

「………」

No comment. Well, the intelligence of this goblin was probably high to begin with. Even if he became a zombie, it seems that he understands Haru’s orders. His ability is still high even though it’s lowered. I guess he can be counted as a fighting force.

「Shishō, can I raise him at home?」

「You can’t. Return him to the place you picked him up.」

「I will raise him properly! I will have more time for training if I let him help me with the housework, and he will be a healing in the house! Also, I will pay for his food!」

You are the only one who is healed by a goblin… Rather than that, Gobuo-kun’s position is as a pet, huh?

「…… Haru, I know about your strong spirit. I know that you won’t lose interest in him halfway. But―― he will rot, you know?」

「…!?」

It seems that Haru realized a serious fact. Even though this Gobuo-kun only has a few injuries on his body, Weil is the lowest zombification magic. Even if he doesn’t fight, his body will be chipped away as the days go by. His looks will be ugly, and most of all, he will smell bad. Recovery magic will have the opposite effect to a zombie without a soul. The only way to repair him is to use exclusive magic.

「N-No way… even though it’s my once-in-a-lifetime encounter with Gobuo-kun…」

「Once-in-a-lifetime encounter, huh?」

It’s unusual for Haru to be dispirited. Uh, as a master, I’ll be troubled if you are depressed because of this… ahh, hmm….

「…… Haru, will you be more efficient in your training if Gobuo-kun helps you?」

「T-That’s right. It seems that he can understand simple orders, so I think cleaning and washing will be much faster.」

「Then, until you learn the exclusive magic, I’ll take care of him so that he doesn’t rot. I’ll also make his appearance better as a service. You have to work hard on your daily training and raise him properly, okay?」

「…… S- Shishoooo!」

「Hey, no hugging.」

Well, it’s reasonable if I think of it as a reward for her hard work this time. It’s a bit of a problem if we leave his appearance as it is, so I guess he will look a bit cuter if he dresses up like a housekeeper. Probably. Anyway, Haru has never lied to me. Let’s believe in her words and hope that her training will be better.

「Ah, that’s right! The battle wasn’t over yet. Shishō, I’m going to help Chinatsu-chan.」

「You don’t have to do that, you know? I told you that Chinatsu will take all the other enemies, didn’t I?」

「W-Well, that’s true…」

Haru looked around at the goblins who were panicking in the surroundings. Their leader, Gobuo-kun, was defeated and made into a zombie after all. It’s impossible not to get panicked. Some of them are trying to run away and some are still trying to fight, but the result of being cut down by Chinatsu remains the same. Our beloved Nell-sama entrusted her disciple to me, so I have to let Chinatsu gain experience properly.

「Chinatsu-chan is fast, isn’t she? Her speed is on par with Gobuo-kun, I guess?」

「Probably. But, her attack and defense are low, so the plan is to raise her Sword Arts skill here. Not only her HP and strength, but her agility will increase too so she’ll be even faster.」

「Thanks to the mock battle with Chinatsu, I was able to keep up with Gobuo-kun’s speed. I have to thank her later. Still, she will be even faster, huh… I’m looking forward to it!」

I’m looking forward to seeing your status, as I’m sure it has grown in this battle. However, I’ll do it after I’ve finished this small business.

「Looking at the situation so far, I guess it’ll be fine even if I’m not here. Haru, I’ll be away fo a bit, so please support Chinatsu so that the enemies don’t escape.」

「Okay. By the way, where are you going?」

「What, I’m just going to punish the bad boy who’s peeping.」

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

In the southern battlefield against the army of the orcs, there’s a strange scene. There is no particular change in the lush grasslands and the peaceful landscape. However, there are burnt corpses scattered on it. The number of burnt corpses exceeds a thousand, some were blackened and some were carbonized and crumbled down.

Most of the corpses belonged to orcs. Orcs, Orc Captains, Orc Generals, Orc Kings―― there was also an even higher evolutionary form, Orc Lord. However, even though their levels were different, their conditions are now similar. Just like the goblins, the army is well-armed. However, there’s only one survivor and he is about to die.

「Well, you are the last one. Do you have any last words? Let’s see, Orc… what was it again?」

Nell Lemure, the cause of this disaster, asked him so. In front of her is Orc Satan, the leader who led the orcs. His limbs are already burnt and he is no longer able to stand. The only thing he can do is to distort his ugly face.

「Fuha, hahahahaha! You, remember this well. You will――」

Before he could spit out his parting remarks, his body was swallowed by flames in an instant and burned out.

「――Ah, on second thought, you don’t have to say it. Rather than that, I found someone who seems to know more about the situation.」