Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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Chapter 225


"I see, so in other words, you're training with a pretty girl while I'm working hard to gather food, is that correct?"
"..."
"I-I-I'm just kidding? Usato-kun? So, Iron Claw is——— Nuhaa!?"

　After seeing Keira's training.
　After putting Keira back to bed, who had fallen asleep with her back to Blurin, perhaps relieved, I explained the story I had just told to senpai and Leona-san, who would be in charge of the next lookout.
　Ferrum is resting ahead of me as we take turns, but for my part, I wanted to be the first to inform Leona-san of the danger of Keira and the dark magic she possesses.
　For now, I give a light iron claw to senpai who has been playing a weird joke on me, and with a sigh, I release her.

"Fuh, are you done?"
"Eh..."

　Senpai, with her midnight tension, is seriously dangerous.
　As I was getting annoyed with senpai, who was smiling fearlessly for some reason, Leona-san, who had thrown a twig on the bonfire, spoke to me.

"From your point of view, was this Keira girl ...... dangerous?"
"Keira herself gave the impression of being a polite, kind-hearted girl, but ...... her magic felt very dangerous."

　Keira's magic will not hurt her, the user.
　But not to those around her.
　If the dark magic, which may leave her will and start acting on its own, goes out of control, it will hurt the people around her.
　And if anyone would be targeted first, it would be Gref-san, Roze and Ram, who are closest to Keira.
　When that happens, I don't think Keira's heart will be able to bear it.
　After listening to my story, senpai puts her hand on her chin with a concerned expression on her face.

"When I first saw her, I thought she was having some kind of trouble, but ...... it looks like she's been through quite a trauma."
"... Eh, you knew that?"
"Of course. I may look like this, but I have a good eye for people."

　The first thing you said was, "Cute!" and other crazy statements, but from that moment on, did senpai see that Keira was in some kind of trouble?
　I'm impressed.

"Fuh, because when it comes to the depths of darkness, I won't lose."
"...Eh?"
"Ah, sorry. That's just another joke, so you don't have to take it seriously."

　Seeing that I was speechless, senpai was flustered.
　Senpai has her reasons for not wanting to return to the former world.
　I don't know what that is, and I'm not going to dig it up now, but———,

"I-In addition, she is a lovely demon girl. There is no way I would have missed it, right!?"

　——— No, she's full of energy in this world, so I don't need to worry about her.
　Perhaps out of concern for me, senpai makes a deliberate joke to me, and I retort, "Too wicked," before thinking again about Keira.
　From the way senpai said it, Keira's request was probably not something I should have accepted without discussing it.

"... I'm sorry. I did something selfish... Even though we are in the middle of an important mission."

　If it is poorly done, this may not be a problem that can be managed in a short period of two days.
　I bow my head in self-loathing at my shallow-mindedness.
　Then, Leona-san, who was facing me, let out a dignified voice.

"If anything, refusing the kid's request is not like you."
"Is that so?"
"That's so."

　Raising my head and looking at her, she gives me an embarrassed smile.

"Because I myself have been saved by your words and actions."

　Is it about the incident in Mialak?
　As for me, I reprimanded Leona-san because of my emotions, which is an embarrassing past experience...

"I still firmly remember the words you uttered to me on that night, the night before our decisive battle with Karon."
"That night?"

　For some reason, senpai speaks in broken language.
　Not realizing it, Leona-san looks as if she fondly remembers it.

"There is a limit to what one person can do alone. So don't take it all on yourself, you can ask someone around you for help."
"..."
"Thanks to these words, I was able to realize my mistake."

　I clearly remember saying so.
　But it makes me feel so embarrassed.
　After all this time, what have I said to Leona-san...!

"If you want to help the girl, you have to take action. Otherwise, you're not the person I know you to be."
"Leona-san..."

　Just like Leona-san said, it's not like me to abandon Keira here.
　As I was making up my mind once again, senpai next to me let out a huff of a smile.

"I've also always been helped by Usato-kun. No, it's not like I'm trying to compete with Leona."

　You are competing rashly, aren't you?
　Why is the number of times I have helped you being treated like a trophy...?

"I don't think that's something to be proud of..."
"I remember exactly what Usato-kun said to me, okay?"

　What I said to senpai...?
　What is it? I ask and waited, and then there was silence for a dozen seconds or so.
　She finally opened her mouth as I was getting more and more worried about senpai, who was frozen with a smile on her face.

"Suzu-tan, you are a goddess to me..."
"Eh!?"
"Oi, don't falsify the past."

　I never thought of that.
　No, I have had normal conversations with senpai, but I don't remember saying any cheesy lines to her.
　Rather, if I had said it, I would certainly remember it.
　When I pointed it out, she folded her arms and kept a clear expression.

"Words are not the only way to connect us. Isn't that right? Usato-kun."
"Why are you trying to sum it up like it's a good story?"
"Words are not necessary between us! Our bond as friends is shown by our actions!!"

　C-Cool... Wait, this girl is trying to push through with momentum!?
　After that, I talked with senpai and Leona-san about various things, and I was so mentally exhausted that I decided to go to bed first, leaving the two of them to keep watch.
　Starting tomorrow, I'll be training Keira.
　Maybe I can learn something too, since it's a training specifically for dark mage, different from the rescue squad method.

●

　The day after I started teaching dark magic to Keira.
　After seeing Leona-san and the others off to get food, I, Ferrum, and Nea, who were to remain in the village, quickly taught Keira about dark magic.

"Gruu"
"Waah, that's amazing! Blurin"
"So fast~!"

　Roze and Ram are on the back of Blurin, who runs lightly.
　In the morning, I introduced Blurin to everyone other than Keira, but for some reason these two were quicker to open up to Blurin than Gref-san.
　Perhaps because they are children, they are less cautious.
　Since Blurin has not shown his ferocious side, he is now being ridden.
　Sitting on a wooden box that he had found lying around, with a cane made of thin pieces of wood beside him, Gref-san was ———,

"Hahaha, be careful not to get hurt."

　He looked at them with a smile on his face.
　Are the demons adapting terribly quickly?
　... In the meantime, let's first ask Gref-san for permission to train Keira.

"Gref-san. I'd like to give Keira some training, is that all right with you?"
"...Be careful. I tried to teach her how to handle it too, but... I wasn't even good enough to teach her."

　He looks up at me as he sits on the crate.

"I'm not underestimating your power, but if you feel it's dangerous, stop her immediately. If you make her feel bad about it, she's going to get hurt."
"...Understood"

　Hearing Gref-san's words, I nodded deeply and walked up to Keira who was waiting for me.

"Keira, we have received permission, so let’s move to a large area where we can train."
"Yes!"

　Move to an open space in the village.
　From here, we can be seen from where Gref-san is, so it should not be a problem.

"Well, let's do it..."

　The only people here are Ferrum who are assimilated with me, Nea, and Keira.
　However, Nea is not in human form, but in the form of an owl on my shoulder.

"Not only you had a blue bear, but you even have an owl."

　Keira looks up at Nea on my shoulder with curiosity.
　Nea herself pretends to have gone with others to gather food, so it will not be obvious that this owl is Nea.

"This is my familiar."
"Ho hoho"

　I've wondered for a while if that owl sound of yours is some sort of subspecies of the hooting owl or something?
　It's not very flattering, but it doesn't make the owl feel like an owl...

"It sounds strange, but is it really that kind of monster?"
"Yeah. This is a reliable guy who supports me in battle."
"Hou!"

　You're in high spirits, dear.
　I don't mind that she spreads her wings wide as if she's trying to make her presence known on my shoulder, okay? But your wings are sticking to my cheeks, you know?
　No, it's not like I'm mad.

"Well, first of all..."
『For now, we should see what magic this girl has.』

　Following the voice of Ferrum, which can be heard from inside, I instruct Keira to use her dark magic.

"Keira"
"Yes"
"I want to see your magic first. Is it okay?"
"M-Maybe... I might possibly attack Usato-san, though..."

　Eh? Is it so out of control?
　A little surprised, I nodded my head and said there was no need to worry.

"I'm fine. I'm pretty good at this."
"...Understood. Then...Here I go."

　Keira begins to concentrate while looking somewhat uneasy.
　The shadows around her feet wriggled eerily, and tentacles like octopus legs extended upward ———one of them thrust out toward me.
　Keira notices it and her expression turns pale.

"Aah, Usato-san, it is dangerous!?"
"Muh?"
"Hou!?"

　I flicked it with my bare hand as it lunged toward my face.
　The tentacles were repelled with a light sound, and Keira and Gref-san were astonished.

""Eh?""
"...Yeah"

　It's fairly fast there, but not so fast that I can't see through it.
　But why did it attack me first? I know it wasn't Keira's intention.
　As I think about it, multiple tentacles attack me again, this time, but after repelling them several times, I grab them all with my right hand.
　As if to express Keira's confusion, the tentacles are writhing, but their power of resistance is feeble.

『Somewhere in her mind, she must have doubted you, and that's why the magic reacted the way it did.』

　I see.
　Well, it can't be helped that she is doubting me at this stage.
　Her resistance to me has weakened, probably because I have proven myself capable of dealing with her dark magic.
　When I considered this and looked at Keira, she was looking up at me with an expression as if she was about to start crying.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't do it on purpose..."
"I can defend against this level, so you can activate your magic with no worries. Don't worry. I've been training quite a bit in spite of how I look."
『It's so bad that your appearance is deceiving. Your body is』
"From the other party's point of view, it's a fraud."

　I ignore Ferrum and Nea, who make a small comment, and turn my attention once again to Keira's magic.
　This time, unlike before, it does not attack me, only the dark magic is coming out from under her feet.

"Try moving it first"
"Yes..."

　When Keira tries to move the magic, the black magic that rises from her feet trembles and moves.
　The movement was awkward and seemed to be trying to move independently of her will.
　Seeing her dark magic, Nea at my shoulder speaks to me in a low voice.

"As you can see, it's unstable."
"...Yeah"
"It's painful to watch... I want to do something about it..."

　I understand that she is desperately trying to manipulate them, but I guess dark magic is not so simple that you can manipulate it by force.
　Let's have Keira stop the magic for now.
　Keira, with the dark magic at her feet extinguished, looks a little relieved.

"Um..."
"Hmm?"

　I tried to put my hand over my mouth to ask Ferrum's opinion for the time being, but Keira spoke before I could.

"May I see your dark magic, Usato-san?"
"Mine? Might not be helpful, you know?"
"Even so, it's the first time I've seen someone who uses the same magic as me..."

　I should show it here.
　My ... or rather, having her look at Ferrum's magic for reference, is another way to go.

"Okay, I get it.... Ferrum, you remember the code words, right?"
『Of course』

　After confirming with Ferrum in a whisper, I raise my left arm so that Keira can see it.

"Sword"

　Just by muttering so, a black sword with a blade of about 50 centimeters in length extends from my forearm.
　I show it to Keira who is wide-eyed.

"Waah..."
"My dark magic is simply the ability to change form. I can cover my clothes like armor, and I can make weapons like this. Like this..."

　I mutter the code word we decided on last night and change the shape of the sword in my arm.
　Keira shows her age-appropriate smile at the ever-changing magic, but the smile soon fades.

"I wish I was a dark magic user like Usato-san... so I wouldn't have had to go through this..."
『......』

　When Keira muttered that, Ferrum was upset.
　Upset and a little anger, it is transmitted to me who is assimilated with her.
　For Keira, the words must have spilled out on a moment's notice. I can understand why she would say something like that.
　If I had been in the same position, I would have said the same words.
　However, as someone who knows Ferrum, I have to deny her words.

"No. You're wrong. Keira."
"Usato-san...?"

　Kneeling on the ground, making eye contact with Keira, I slowly utter the following words.
　I am not a dark magic user, so I am not qualified to say this.
　But even if it's a lie, I should tell her.

"No matter what kind of power they awaken to, every dark magic user has a painful past. Even my dark mage friend has a painful past. Everyone overcomes such pasts, and sometimes drags them with them while living in the present."
"...Ah"

　Keira's face paled as she realized the meaning of the words she had uttered.
　I don't intend to blame Keira from the beginning, so I switch from a serious expression to a smile.

"Well, as for me, I've been called a monster (bakemono), a monster (kaibutsu), an ogre, and a lot of other things... But, as you can see, I don't mind it at all."
『Don't lie, you ogre』
"He's definitely held a grudge, this monster."

　You guys will get dekopin later. (Note: finger flick to the forehead.)
　I swear to revenge on the two of them as they whisper to each other so that Keira can't hear them.
　No? I don't mind it at all, but I have to make a clear distinction, right? Yeah.

"Usato-san... even if I run out of control, will you stop me instead of running away?"
"It doesn't matter that much."

　I don't know how much it went out of control, but in the worst case, I should be able to stop it by using a healing magic "technique".

"Keira, dark magic is a special kind of magic that can take any form at the will of the user."
"...Yes"
"If you wish, the dark magic will surely respond to you. So, let's start by believing in your own magic."
"Belie, ve..."
"Yeah"

　You have limited your own potential with your own beliefs.
　That was exactly the current situation that Keira was in.