Black Iron Magician

「Welcome, welcome! It’s cheap today!」

「Excuse me~!」

「Welco―― geh, Haruna-chan!?」

The shopkeeper of the grocery store was surprised to see Haruna’s unexpected appearance. The surprise made him jump up lightly, and his forehead was sweating a lot. However, he couldn’t afford to be defeated. ‘Our nemesis has finally arrived!’―― the shopkeeper’s face seems to have changed into battle mode as a merchant.

「Ahaha, you were surprised too much~」

「W-Well, it’s been a while since I met Haruna-chan, so I was surprised. I mean, I haven’t seen you lately. I was about to get bored by the days that lack in thrill!」

「Is that so? Ehehe, I was traveling around various countries. I was climbing the snowy mountains and the Dragon King mountain.」

「Hee, you had a great journey―― hm? Dragon King?」

There was nothing wrong.

「After that, I’ve been training a lot since I came back, so I haven’t had much time to go shopping. Besides, I’m going away again tomorrow, so I won’t be back for a while.」

「Ooh, is that so? That’s too bad, yep!」

「But today is my first day off in a long time! I’m going to stock up a lot for the days I’ll be gone, so I hope you could give me a discount for that ♪」

「P-Please go easy on me….」

Haruna, who will go to Carmine tomorrow, is given a day off to heal her fatigue today, and there is no unreasonable training such as the death sparring. Instead, she came to town to buy food, maintain her weapon, and stock up on other necessities. Just now, she defeated the shopkeeper of a grocery store and obtained a large number of vegetables at a bargain price.

「I’ve bought rice, seasoning, and some ingredients that we didn’t have in the mansion. Now it’s perfect!」

Haruna smiled with satisfaction as she stuffed her loot into her pouch. In the background, there was a scene of a commercial district full of the corpses of the shopkeepers who lost greatly in haggling.

「Next is the maintenance of Doggan Staff!」

The next destination seems to be 『Bristly Beard』, the birthplace of her beloved Doggan Staff and an armor shop that is famous for being deserted. Haruna’s steps are very light as she walks along the familiar path.

――――Clank clank.

「Excuse me~」

「Welcome, oh, it’s Haruna-chan. There are unusually many customers today, huh? It’s gonna rain heavily tomorrow!」

「Eh, there’s another customer!?」

Surprisingly, Bristly Beard isn’t deserted today. Even Haruna could not hide her surprise at this shocking fact. After all, she had never seen anyone other than herself and Deris using the shop. As proof of this, Haruna took Anita’s half-joking remark seriously. ‘Ah, it’s going to rain heavily tomorrow,’ she thought.

「Yo, Haruna. I got here first. I just arrived, though.」

「Touko-chan?」

And it was even more surprising that the customer was her friend, Touko. And then, she was surprised that Touko was dressed like a maid for the first time in a while.

「What, you two know each other?」

「Yes, we are good friends!」

「Yeah, we’re eternal rivals!」

「Eh, ah, yeah…?」

There was nothing wrong.

「Hey, Anita, you’re noisy! If you’re going to watch the shop or sleep, do it quietly! Do you want another pay cut!?」

Hearing the commotion, Gan, the owner of the shop, appeared from his workshop in the back. Judging from his words, it seems that he has given up on the fact that Anita always sleeps while she’s on duty.

「Boss, you’re wrong! Look, we have two customers! It’s a miracle!」

「As if there’s such a miracle! Oh, you’re here, Ojou-chan. I don’t know what kind of battle you were in, but I heard from Deris that you did a great job.」

「No, it was only because Shishō had arranged it for me. Next time, I want to win by my own strength alone!」

「Hou, you are ambitious as always. So, the maid over there is Deris’s errand girl, right? The thing is ready.」

「Oh, I’ve been waiting for it!」

It seems that Gan knew in advance that Touko would come to the shop. Haruna and Anita, who didn’t know what was going on, looked at each other and tilted their heads together.

「Touko-chan, what’s the thing?」

「Hehe, it’s my new partner, of course.」

「Maid-san’s partner? What’s that? Boss, it’s the first time I’m hearing this!」

「It’s a completely custom-made product, and Deris told me to make it in absolute secrecy. There’s no way I would tell you, who has a loose-tongue, while making it.」

「That’s right! Deris-danna ordered a custom-made weapon just for me! Haruna, now there is no more difference in the performance of our weapons! By the power of love between Danna and me!」

Touko suddenly launched a fist and stopped it just before Haruna’s nose. The fist was released at a slow speed, so it was obvious that she was half-joking. But on the other hand, her red face showed that she was serious with her words.

「Uwaah…. Boss, did Deris-danna finally lay his hands on the mansion’s Maid-san? As a woman, I can tell. That Maid-san’s expression is real. She lives for love…!」

「Anita, don’t say that in front of the Knight Leader even if it’s just a joke, okay? After all, she will take it seriously. Our shop exists until now thanks to Deris’s orders. If something were to happen to him, this shop will be gone for sure. If that happens, you will be unemployed.」

「Eh, that’s a problem! Wait, Boss, ain’t you going to be unemployed too!?」

「You idiot. Even if my shop is like this, my skill is acknowledged by others. Even if my shop is gone, there are still many places for me to work. I can’t do blacksmithing as I please like now, though.」

「T-That’s unfair! Boss, you’re unfair!」

「If you don’t want it, don’t spread unnecessary rumors. Also, just raise your level to level 3 already. How long are you going to be an apprentice?」

「Hey, you promised not to talk about it!」

Anita doesn’t seem to have the time to make fun of Deris.

「Hey, where is the fruit of love between me and Danna? I can’t wait to see it.」

「You too, there’s a better way to put it…. Sigh, whatever. The thing is in the workshop. Come on in and take a look.」

「Wow, I’m getting a little nervous…!」

「Haruna-jouchan, you came here for the maintenance of your weapon, right? I will take care of it, so you come in too.」

「Ah, yes. Excuse me~」

「…… Boss, what about me?」

「Anita, you’re supposed to be the shopkeeper. What happens twice happens thrice. You never know when you might get another customer. Hahaha.」

「N-No way~」

Anita felt that the backs of Haruna and Touko as they entered the workshop were very far away.