Chapter 317: A Secret Talk of the Black-Hearted People

After the airship took off from Damaya’s landing site, the bustling city gradually became smaller. My stay was short, but the days were so intense that it was hard to believe it was only a few days. Anyway, I felt a little nostalgic about reuniting the party with my old friend Alezel. She’s a miser and black-hearted elf, but well, I might go see her again if I feel like it.

「――I thought I would feel nostalgia like that…」

「Hm? Whatcha talking about, Deris?」

Someone said so with a Damaya dialect. Yeah, I thought that we would part ways at the landing site, but Alezel is also riding on this ship and accompanying us to Al Nova for some reason. Why?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

「Alezel, what about your work?」

「Well~, y’see, the secretary that I hired recently is better than I expected! He has already put together countermeasure plans for the troublesome works I talked about at the drinking party! I’ve really picked up something good~. He has a talent for business~」

「…… So, what does that have to do with you being on this ship, Alezel?」

Alezel elegantly sipped her wine while arrogantly leaning on the sofa in front of me. I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while, but I’m pretty sure you’re more of a sweet potato shōchū drinker than a wine drinker, right? Why are you pretentiously drinking high-quality wine?

「Of course, it’s because I’ve got some free time. If you are going to Al Nova, I’ll also go to say hello to Zex-han under the pretext of a business trip.」

「Free time, eh…. What about Sango and the other people you caught yesterday? What about their interrogation?」

「Hahaha, if the secretary is excellent, then so are his subordinates. Don’t worry, that’s been taken care of too.」

「…… Did you get all that done yesterday? Didn’t you go out for a drink?」

「We did it at the drinking party!」

「………」

Sorry, I don’t understand.

「Y’see, they seem to have a strong admiration for strong people. I beat them up once, but instead of resenting me, they look at me with envy. My~, even I was laughing hard~. I mean, I was the cause of their friends’ death! Then, we hit it off at the first meeting! Ahaha, they are crazy~. Battle junkies are scary~.」

And who was the one who scouted those battle junkies?

「I want to retort many things, but well, whatever. Continue.」

「So, the first party ended in such a friendly manner. Since I was in a good mood, we had a home party at my place for the second round.」

「You brought home those who tried to kill you that day, huh….」

「Ah, Deris, are you worried about me? This weak and beautiful girl elf easily brought men to her home after all, so I understand how you feel! Don’t worry, my chastity is safe!」

I’m not worried about that at all. In fact, I’m worried about the chastity of the men.

「Yeah, I’m relieved. So, what about that home party?」

「I was in a good mood after drinking, so I decided to have a parlor trick contest! Then, I brought the guests to the secret basement room to show my specialty~」

「I’m stunned. Really.」

「Well, there’s still more to this. As you know, my techniques are outstanding, right? The guest gave up immediately and started to talk about everything. When I was boasting about it, the boys who are good at this kind of thing started to participate and it somehow became an interrogation contest. When morning came, the treatment for everyone was over~」

「………」

These guys were doing interrogations as if they were having a snack, huh. I myself is a regular customer of the Quitet Magic Item Store, but I can’t help but wonder if there are only madmen in the Quitet?

「They are good. I can vouch for that!」

「Well, they are no match for you, but they are, without a doubt, veteran mercenaries….」

「Thanks to that, my assets have increased, and my pocket is warm~」

「Even though they are bad guys, I somewhat pity them.」

「Whatcha talking about, Deris of the 『Black Iron』? Black came from black-hearted, and iron has a wide variety of uses. In other words, Deris is black-hearted in various fields. So, I don’t wanna hear that from you.」

「You’re completely wrong. My nickname came from my staff, you know?」

However, it’s sad that Alezel’s interpretation is somewhat believable! If Chinatsu were to hear this, she probably would make an 『Ah, I knew it…』 face.

「Well, let’s set the joke aside.」

「I doubt very much that you really meant it as a joke.」

「Deris, I’m gonna talk something serious now. I took the trouble to look at the timing when Nell is not here, so be serious.」

「You, don’t suddenly change the mood….」

Isn’t the change too drastic? You’re making it seem like it’s my fault for not being able to read the mood.

「If you’re going to talk something serious, do it from the beginning. Unfortunately, I’m not a man who can switch so easily. …… So, what is it about?」

「Don’t play dumb. I know that you know it’s about Haru-chan and Chinacchan. Are you really going to send them back to the world they came from?」

「…… If there is a way and they want to, I will respect their wishes.」

「You gave the same good-sounding answer as Nell, huh. It’s clear that their opinions aren’t the same. Deris, you know best Haru-chan’s personality, right? Her goal is not to return to the original world, but to defeat the Great Eight Demons. Moreover, she’s locking on the upper ranks. Once she decided to do it, she won’t give up, right? I can assure you, Haru-chan won’t leave before she reaches the top.」

「………」

「On the other hand, I’m sure that Chinacchan wants to go home, but she’s also committed to Haru-chan, right? Especially since they are best friends. In the end, I think Chinacchan will suppress her own feelings and go along with Haru-chan. 『Let’s do our best at least until Haru-chan can achieve her goal! After that, let’s go home together!』 She probably will compromise like that. But, no matter how talented Haru-chan is and that she has Chinacchan’s cooperation, do you really think that she can beat the Great Eight Demons? It’s impossible. Rimudo-han is so big that he’s not someone a human can fight, Maria-han is a vampire who won’t die even if she’s attacked by Nell, and Vakala-han doesn’t even have the concept of death. Far from it, it’s clear that they are no match for me, who’s relatively weak among the Great Eight Demons. No matter how many years or decades pass, the result will remain the same. The goal Haru-chan is aiming for won’t make anyone happy. As long as she doesn’t give up, she will be bound by that curse forever, y’know? And Chinacchan will be involved as well.」

「…… Right.」

She pointed out something painful, huh. I’m sure Alezel is worried about Haru and Chinatsu in her own way. They are really loved by various people, huh. Still, I feel the same way about them. As a master, I have no intention of making them unhappy.

「What are you talking about? The Great Eight Demons hunt, I will make her accomplish it. Haru, who was a village girl a while ago, will stand at the top of the world. There’s nothing more interesting than that, you know?」