Black Iron Magician

Chapter 171 Slurp

After receiving the oracle from Goddess Chinatsu, I went home while thinking about the future schedule on my way. The fact that the long mountain road on the way home turned out to be a good thing, and I managed to get my thoughts together. When I reached the front of the house, Haru was doing squats with her Doggan Staff on her shoulders. Is she using it as a barbell?

「You sure are working hard.」

「Ah, Shishō! Welcome back!」

Haru wipes the sweat with a smile and puts down the barbell, I mean, Doggan Staff. She is indeed a refreshing athlete. But, she’s still wearing the usual tracksuit even in this world, huh.

「Where’s Lily?」

「She’s arm-wrestling with Touko-chan inside.」

「Touko came, huh? Or rather, two girls are arm-wrestling, eh…. Haru, are you not joining them? I think it’s something that you will take the initiative to participate.」

「Well, I’ve already done it once and the result was disappointing… Still, I reconfirmed the difference in our strength with that. I haven’t reached the level where I can fight Lily-senpai! I’m thinking to re-train myself even more and ask for a rematch!」

「Hou…」

Against someone where she has no chance of winning, rather than keep charging until win, she decided to seriously train herself first so that she can win, huh. Yeah, it seems that the way she thinks is more flexible than before. Is this also the effect of losing to Chinatsu? As expected of Goddess Chinatsu. I’m someone who doesn’t believe in God, but I’ll worship you today. Thank you, thank you.

「By the way, what about the preparations for moving? I think it’s better to do the packing as soon as possible.」

「Hm? Ah, about that… we’ll move tomorrow.」

「…… Fueh?」

Haru froze instantly. Oi.

「W-Wait! No matter how you think about it, we won’t make it in time for the preparations if it’s tomorrow! ――Ah!? Could it be that Shishō has high hopes for me!? If I don’t get serious here, then when!?」

「No, don’t just get worked up by yourself. Haru, you don’t need to prepare anything. I will do it all.」

「S-Shishō will!?」

「Yeah. However, it’ll take a lot of energy, so please go to Nell’s mansion first. Also, Lily will get in the way, so take her along, okay? I’ll take care of the luggage and everything else afterward.」

「S-Shishō will!?」

Oh, shut up.

「It’s not that I’m doubting you, but is that really okay…? I mean, your housework ability is really catastrophic…」

「That’s what people call doubting, you know? It’s okay, don’t worry. Well then, just do what I told you for tomorrow.」

「Y-Yes!」

Still unable to control her astonishment, Haru puts her hand on her chin while having a huge question mark on her head. Well, tomorrow you’ll know what I’m capable of. You may bow down to the great master. Fuhaha.

「So, what’s with this heat?」

I opened the door and tried to go inside, but it was much hotter inside than outside. I think Haru said something about Lily and Touko are arm-wrestling inside――

「Kufufu. What’s wrong? I’m only using two fingers, you know~?」

「Damn! Even though the opponent is Lily-shishō, I can’t afford to lose in such a handicap match!」

「Hey, if you powerfully grasp it while using berserk, it will be plain hurt―― ow ow ow!」

――Yeah. The two are arm-wrestling on the table in the living room.

Lily uses only her index finger and middle finger. Moreover, she intentionally acts as if she’s about to lose and then turn the situation at the last minute. She wins while showing her bad personality.

On the other hand, Touko has a furious expression. She’s trying to resist with all her might that she leans her body. Unlike Haru, she seems to want to win no matter what and that’s probably the reason why the temperature in the room is so high. Probably because of Lily’s taunting, her Berserk is in full throttle and you can’t see reason in her.

「At least open the window. Also, don’t break the table, okay?」

「Eh, Goshujin-sama!?」

「――! An opening――ouch!」

Lily responded to my voice and Touko tried to take advantage of it, but on the contrary, her arm was knocked down with tremendous force. Aah, Toukou’s arm sank into the table right after I told them…

「H-Haha… It was me who had an opening…」

After the Berserk wore off, Touko said so and fainted. It seems that she used up her power and can’t get up anymore.

「Jeez. Goshujin-sama, it was because you appeared suddenly, I mean, gallantly! I was surprised~. Could it be that you came to meet me?」

「…… Yeah, I have something for you. But before that, there’s something else you need to do.」

「What is it? You can count on this perfect maid to help you with everything from disguise assassination honey traps to dog care!」

「Carry this broken table down the mountain, dispose of it, and buy a new one in the city. Of course, you have to carry it properly. Here’s the money.」

「C-Come on, Goshujin-sama. If we are going to move to Nell’s mansion tomorrow, we won’t need any more furniture――」

「――Here’s the money.」

「Y-Yes…」

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

The night after Lily bought a new table. We are discussing our future plans while enjoying dinner made by Haru.

「I see, you are moving tomorrow, huh? That’s quite sudden. *slurps*」

「I’ll have to say goodbye to this house, huh~. I’m going to miss this house~. *slurps*」

Lily, who was dexterously slurping the noodles Haru made, and Touko, who’s somehow having dinner together, said such things. Unlike Haru, Lily doesn’t even think about the preparations for moving. She sure is a good-for-nothing maid.

「Touko, what about your preparations? You said that you would take some people out, right?」

「Don’t worry about it! I don’t know why, but Gramps Joseph has been cooperative ever since we returned. We were planning to run away at night if needed, but at this rate, I think we can leave boldly through the main gate!」

「Hee, strange things sure happen, huh.」

I see, it seems that he’s keeping his promise for now.

「How does the new place feel?」

「It’s comfortable! There’s a bath and the magic items are amazing. I’m alone now, so it’s a bit too big!」

Touko is now living in the town. It’s a place where a large number of people can live, which I decided when I was told about the girls who want to leave the castle. If Haru had won at the graduation festival, I was thinking of letting them live in Nell’s mansion, but well, it’s pointless now.

「Well, just to confirm. Tomorrow, I, Gobuo-kun, and Lily-senpai just need to go to Nell-san’s mansion empty-handed, right?」

「Gobu?」

「Yeah, that’s right. Let’s see… you can go in the early afternoon after a simple lunch. Just sip some tea in Nell’s mansion and wait. *slurps*」

「Okay! I believe you, Shishō! *slurps*」

「Gobu! *slurps*」

Still, these noodles sure are delicious.