Black Iron Magician

I made a bit of mistake about the eyeglasses’ body build

Now it’s fixed

In the Royal Castle of Adelheit, at a corner of the floor assigned to the guest of Joseph. Oda trio, who have driven away from the headquarters of the Magic Knight Order, have no plan of where to go after that, so they decided to return to their room and devise a strategy.

「Just what was wrong? I’m sure there was nothing suspicious about my behavior…」

「No, no. Oda, you are full of suspicions. You should be glad that you still have your life.」

「T-That’s right. I don’t want to get close to the place of the Knight Order anymore. They have an eye on us for sure…」

「Fuchi, Mani, why are you so weak-minded!? We got the power of the hero that we didn’t have in the previous world, you know!? We have to use it more effectively and more assertively―― We have to enjoy our second life!」

Oda, the slender eyeglasses boy, speaks to his two friends enthusiastically. He has always been passive in everything. So no one is interested in him and no one has a strong liking for him. However, compared to those days when he didn’t have confidence in himself, now he has the power to be called a hero. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t be ashamed. Rather, he should be more active in interacting with people. That’s his theory.

「Yes, I agree with that opinion, you know? Communication with people is an essential part of life after all.」

「Kuh! Fuchi, who has always been an active otaku, has a lot of composure compared to me…」

「It’s just my nature. Ah, no, that’s not what I want to say. Well, this is just my prediction…」

Fuchi, the small and neutral boy, lightly puts his hand on his chin and makes a gesture as if he is thinking. This is his bad habit. He admires the detective in his favorite mystery novel who solved the mystery while having this pose at the end of the story. Since he was a child, he has been imitating this pose and it has become a habit. Just like the detective he admires, when he is in this pose, he won’t talk to the point directly.

Oda, a type who wants to know the truth as soon as possible and reads the mystery from the end of the book, doesn’t want to go along with Fuchi in that pose, so he always urges him to talk about the important point.

「P-Prediction?」

「What, don’t on airs like that, make it brief! Just tell us.」

「Ehh, even though you guys have a lot of time to spare?」

「Even if we are free, we can’t see the end at all if we just listen to you silently. That’s why make it brief!」

「Jeez, can’t be helped then… As I said earlier, this is just my prediction, but I think our powers are actually not that great.」

「Ehh!?」

「Haa!?」

‘I had expected that reaction,’ Fuchi nods with satisfaction at the exaggerated reaction of Oda and Mani.

「W-Wait a minute! But, Joseph-san said that we have special powers――」

「Oda, you… You have played a lot of games and read a lot of mangas and novels about that kind of thing, but you don’t know about those who got deceived by the summoner, huh?」

「Ugh… I-I like the peerless kind of thing after all…」

Fuchi shows another exaggerated sigh. Of course, it’s acting. He knew Oda’s hobbies and tastes even before he said them, and for the naive Mani, he knew that Mani genuinely believed in Joseph.

「I was observing the knights a while ago. You see, the elite knights are probably as strong as us, you know? As for the knight leader, she’s on a whole different level. Oda, I’m saying this for your sake, just give up on her.」

「N-No way… But, I’m a level 4 warrior, you know!? Joseph-san said I’m as strong as a veteran hero…!」

「No, he manipulated you so that you think that way. If level 4 is as he said, this world will be full of heroes. Well, for that reason, Toue-kun, who’s getting carried away for being level 5, and Mizuhori-san, who’s probably the strongest in the class, are not the strongest in the world. That knight leader is completely stronger after all.」

「W-What…!?」

「Although, it’s just my prediction, okay?」

Although Fuchi added so at the end, it seems that Oda cannot believe it. He is leaving his mouth open and is being absent-minded.

「S-Say, Fuchi-kun. Can you understand the strength of others? I couldn’t feel anything just by looking… Ah, but, I felt that the knight leader was so scary…」

「That’s right, Fuchi! How can you know about it even though you didn’t confirm it with the Sacred Stone!? Aren’t you just guessing!?」

When Mani pointed it out, Oda took advantage of it and shouted that his reasoning was broken. However, a detective is always being objected. For Fuchi, it was nothing but a reward.

「You see, that stone to look into the status, it doesn’t show unique skills. Well, I can roughly grasp the strength of a person just by looking at them.」

「「……!?」」

Fuchi has a unique skill. Oda and Mani realized that there’s no such a thing displayed in anyone’s status, and at the same time, they were surprised that Fuchi had such ability. Looking at their reaction, Fuchi is very satisfied.

「From what I’ve seen so far, that knight leader is one of the top class. To be honest, I don’t think we can win against her even if we form a group with all of the other classmates. I felt that much power in her, you know?」

「E-Even with everyone…!?」

「Wait a minute. You said that she’s one of the top class. Does it mean that there are other strong people…?」

「What!?」

「Mani-kun, you sure are sharp today. You are much better than Oda. And the answer is yes. There were three people who jumped over the flames a while ago, right? Their attires were so good, so they were nobles, I guess?」

「Y-Yeah, I don’t remember the number, but there were…」

「The man among them, he is as strong as the knight leader. Haha. You see, far from the strongest in the world, we are not even the strongest in this country.」

「「………」」

Beyond the surprise, Oda and Mani were silent. The man freely enters and leaves the headquarters and the knights said that he was an official guest. The knight leader and the noble-looking man. In all probability, the two are acquaintances and have a close relationship. The class can’t win against even one of them, and yet there are two such powerful people. Fuchi said that this is just his prediction, but when he talks in this way of speaking, his predictions rarely go wrong. Since Oda and Mani know him well, this fact is shocking for them.

「… Are they really that strong?」

「My power can only measure it roughly, so I’ll be trouble if you press a question… Ah, but, I have another surprising discovery.」

「「A-And that is…?」」

‘He still has a surprising truth, huh?’ Even though they are thinking so, they can’t close their ears. They swallow their saliva and wait for Fuchi’s next words.

「That man said, ‘Haru, Gobuo, we are going to jump over’, right?」

「The names of his companions? Well, Gobuo is a strange name, but what about it?」

「…A-Ahh!? C-Could it be…!?」

「As expected of Mani-kun. You have a good guess and your reaction is good. Yes, it’s not about Gobuo, but Haru. Oda, there was a girl in our class who disappeared on the first day, right?」

「Disappeared? Not Satou and the gang, but a girl? Haru, Haru… Haruna, Katsuragi―― Katsuragi Haruna!?」

Oda’s loud voice echoed through the floor.

「… Hey, did you say Haruna just now?」