Black Iron Magician

The innermost part of the dungeon was an altar. How should I put it, it’s a place where the altars and statues in the temple are enlarged and made entirely of stone. Stone statues of lions line up on the left and right walls, glaring at us like guardian dogs. There are five on each side, for a total of ten. I guess it would be too much for Therese alone.

「Wow. That’s a very large stone statue!」

「I have never seen such a large stone statue desuwa… It is finely carved, I’d love to decorate it in the garden desuwa. 」

「I guess it’s difficult to win unscathed.」

What should be noted is the altar where Haru and Therese are staring. A huge humanoid stone statue sits there, looking down at us. The statue looks like something you’d find in a Western-style church. You see, it’s like those nude stone statues that resemble great figures from mythology. It gives off an extraordinary sign and its sharp eyes seem to be looking at us as if we are offerings or something like that.

I know that you will definitely move. Just move already. Perhaps listened to my wish, the stone statues, including the lions, began to move slowly, making the sound of the stones rubbing. I thought the humanoid was pretty big when it was sitting down, but it was even bigger when it stood up. Is it about 15 meters? It’s bigger than the giant race.

「Well, ladies. This battle is going to be the biggest show in this dungeon, but do you need help from us rearguard? If you can defeat them on your own, we can prove that you are strong enough to participate in the graduation festival. I can recommend you to the principal, you know?」

「We will fight on our own, of course!」

「I agree with Haruna-san desuwa! I’m here for the sake of people, for the country, and for myself!」

「P-Please help us if things get dangerous…」

「Alright, you can go all out~.」

With Therese in the lead, Haru and Chinatsu proceed to the altar room. The rest of the rearguard, me and Nell, sit down on the sheet that Gobuo had laid out for us, and we are completely in spectator mode. He even handed out water bottles of tea. He’s so damn good at entertaining. I want the Demon King, who sips tea next to me, to learn from him.

「Deris, what do you think about the big guy?」

「Hmm, higher than level 5 but lower than level 6. However, it’s stronger than Gobuo in his heyday.」

「I guess that’s a reasonable line. It’s a relief that a worthy opponent finally appeared.」

「Gobu?」

「It’s okay, Gobuo. You’re doing a good job as a waiter. As a senior, Lily can vouch for you! In return, you can leave the battle to me!」

「Gobu gobu.」

「Ehehe, I won’t give you anything even if you praise me that much~. My~, my juniors are really capable. Lily is very worried about the future…」

「「………」」

W-Well, let’s put aside the conversation that’s hard to understand. Let’s just focus on the girls. Before the golem starts to move completely, it seems that they are planning a strategy.

「We’ll start with the golems on both sides, what do you suggest?」

「Let’s see… Haruna-san, Chinatsu-san. Can you use magic from a long distance? You shoot them with magic before they got close, and I will stop all the enemies that you failed to defeat. When they got flinched by my guard, the two of you will hit them even harder! How about that?」

「I see, it’s a tactic that follows the basics! I think that’s fine!」

「What about that big boss?」

「「With a bang!」」

「Ahh… yup, I understand.」

…… Are they finished? W-Well, I’m sure that Chinatsu will be able to match Haru and Therese well. We masters believe in you girls.

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

In the meantime, there was an uproar in the camp where Duke Ortho encamped. Some time has passed after his beloved daughter, Therese, and the adventurers who acted as escorts went to the passage. Then, the passage suddenly got blocked. When Duke Ortho received the news, he was astonished and had the wall, where the passage should have been, investigated thoroughly. However, the wall was nothing more than a wall, and he couldn’t find a secret switch around it. Still, without giving up, Duke Ortho thought about various possibilities. It would be normal to think that this passage itself was a sneaky trap and Therese and the others had fallen into it. If it’s an internally activated trap, there may be a way to disarm it outside, in this dungeon. Duke Ortho is clinging to such a faint hope while searching for a way to disarm the trap with his subordinates.

「Ha? The path we were supposed to explore is now blocked? Oi oi, what are we supposed to do then? We have come this far, you know?」

「There’s nothing I can do even if you say that. We’re working together to solve it right now. In the first place, you can’t go through here. Most people probably have heard the rumor from the Adventurer Guild, but entry to the Gibeon Ruins is completely prohibited. You will disturb our work, so just hurry up and leave.」

「I said, we were dispatched by Mage Prime Minister Joseph! You should have received a call from him!」

When they were working busily inside the dungeon, there was a quarrel at the entrance. A group of four young people was lashing out at the private army of Duke Ortho who was guarding the entrance to the ruins. To be precise, it was the lively girl with tan skin. Behind her, the plump boy was in confusion, not sure what to do, and the boy with glasses was cheering on her. The small build boy could only sight at them.

「Don’t lie, the escorts dispatched from the Royal Castle have already come! Ojou-sama brought them directly, so there’s no doubt about it. If you say more than that, we will have you arrested for identity fraud!」

「You bastard…! Interesting, just do it if you ca――」

「―― Now, now. Touko-san, Soldier-san, let’s calm down. Soldier-san, if you are not convinced, please check this letter. It’s a letter from Mage Prime Minister Joseph of the Royal Castle. He said that you will understand if we give it to the person in charge.」

Saying so, the small boy gave a letter to the soldier. It seems that the little boy is more reasonable than the girl, so the soldier confirms the letter.

「I’ll tell you beforehand, you won’t be able to get away with any kind of trickery with Ortho-sama. Hmm, the wax seal seems real… Oi, take this to Ortho-sama. You guys wait here.」

After seeing off one of the soldiers who disappeared into the ruins with the letter, Fuchi, the small boy, turned toward Touko and Oda.

「Good grief. Why are you guys so quick to lose your temper? The other party is a soldier under the jurisdiction of the Lord who governs this area, you know? What are you going to do if that leaves a bad impression?」

「No, it was not my fault. I was telling the truth, but they were not listening at all…」

「That’s right, a protagonist should do that much! Touko, you understand well!」

「Is that so? Hehe.」

「You are wrong…」

Fuchi sighs at Touko and Oda who are teaming up only at such times. As if lending a hand to such him, Mani timidly opens his mouth.

「B-But, the soldier said that the escorts are already here. What does that mean? For us, they are fake, right?」

「Yes, that’s the important thing. As expected of Mani-kun. At present, the people who came first are trusted by the Lord and his daughter and have already entered the ruins. Furthermore, the secret passage was closed after they went deeper. I don’t know all the details, so I can’t say for sure yet, but… I smell a case.」

「You just want to say that, right…?」

After that, they received permission from the soldier that returned and then entered the Gibeon Ruins. A meeting with the lord, Duke Ortho, awaited the young people.