Black Iron Magician

Chapter 490 The Brain of Elderado

Acerola, one of the Great Eight Generals and the lone woman in the group, puts down the receiver after finishing her original purpose, communicating with the important place that has become a battlefield with a neighboring country.

「Sigh….」

Then, she sighed heavily. Elderado is in conflict with almost all of its neighbors, so it is still fighting as usual even during the peculiar war with Carmine. Although all the enemy countries are overwhelmingly inferior in terms of national strength, they are by no means opponents that could be dealt with carelessly. It is exactly because Elderado has concentrated most of the main forces against Carmine that Acerola has been paying close attention to all of the battlefields. However, perhaps because she has been up all night every day, she seems to be quite fatigued. At the same time, she seems to be angry.

「Good grief, it’s a busy time, and yet that muscle-brain man was just asking something unimportant…!」

Apparently, the cause of her irritation seems to be Galesse who just sent a communication to this castle.

「He was just confirming the location for the decisive battle at this point, huh? He has confirmed it with everyone before he rushed to the front line. And now he used valuable magic power for the communication device just to ask it again after half of the period…. I can only sigh. Don’t tell me, that man didn’t just wait for the enemy all the time, did he? Well, I don’t think that he would be that stupid….」

「………」

「Hmph, whatever. At worst, I can just run around with His Majesty until the end. I have no expectations of that man from the start. I thought it was enough if he could buy time even a day, but we have passed halfway through the time limit. It would be great if he just died in the battle taking along even one enemy…!」

「……!?」

Acerola puts on her military cap and stands up from her chair. Her complaint could be heard by the communication staff near her, but with his position, he could only pretend he didn’t hear it.

Acerola has a stoic personality that she’s strict with others and herself. Her strict tone of voice, the intimidating appearance of her military uniform and cap, and the way she calmly and silently devotes herself to her work have made her a difficult person to deal with, even for some of the Great Eight Generals. However, her ability is genuine, and her cool-headedness, which shows no mercy to her enemies, may be said to be the best in Elderado. Although usually hidden by her military cap and uniform, she herself is a very beautiful woman with an outstanding style, and it is said that she has quite a few secret admirers. It seems that they are mainly composed of people who have a twisted desire to be tormented, but the actual truth is a mystery since it’s only a rumor.

「…… Thank you for your hard work. I will come again for the next scheduled call.」

「Y-yes! I’m honored to be of service!」

Acerola thanked the staff with a dignified appearance, as if her threatening attitude just now was a lie. Overwhelmed by her dignity, the staff, who is her secret fan, responded with his best salute. The salute continued for a while after she left the room, and he was very satisfied with this moment.

「My~, you’re very popular, Acerola-chan. You can steal people’s hearts just by saying a few words. You’re so different from me. Hihihihi.」

「…… Obe, huh.」

The one who appeared before Aceroa after she left the communication room was a spooky man in a white robe. He has a slender body, or rather, he looks skinny. His skin color is pale and his face is somewhat bony. He‘s not what you would call healthy.

「What does the 『Poison Medicine General』, who’s always shutting in the castle’s laboratory, want from me? I don’t have time to deal with your complex.」

「Don’t say that~. It’s just a little greeting~. I’m just trying to get along with Acerola-chan――」

「―― Shut up. The next time you call me with -chan, I’ll cut off your head.」

The blade grazed Obe’s thin neck, forming a slight wound. When he looked at the sword Acerola was wearing, he could see that the blade had been slightly pulled out of its sheath.

「…… Ooh, how scary~. But you didn’t actually pull it out, right? Was that wind magic? I’m curious~. Hey~, can you show me more? It’s not a big deal, so isn’t it fine? Aren’t we friends~?」

「Tch!」

Instead of heeding Acerola’s warnings, Obe repeatedly provoked her, as if he didn’t mind being cut down. Acerola found his unpleasant smile physiologically unacceptable, and she was eager to get rid of him as soon as possible. However, it was bad to kill a general of the same rank in the middle of their stronghold without permission. She wished that Obe would die somewhere, but she could only click her tongue.

「No matter how smart you are, you don’t seem to have the brain to understand the meaning of words. I will leave now if you just want to say hello.」

「Even if you say that, your destination is in the back of my laboratory, right? I mean, His Majesty is there. I was just on my way there, so let’s go together~」

「I refuse. I won’t go on foot. Also, I don’t want to breathe the same air as you for even a second. Just do your duty in silence.」

Saying so, Acerola disappeared from the spot when the wind blew around her.

「…… Hihihi, teleportation magic, huh? She rejected me again~. I don’t understand why that foolish woman refused the invitation from me, the one with the best brain. If she lets me tamper with her body, she would be stronger than that dragon――oops, that’s still a secret. That was close. Hihihihi.」

Obe continues to laugh eerily as he begins to make his way to the research facility he oversees.

「There are three days left. If Carmine has not moved so far, the last day is suspicious after all. I don’t know if they are fooling around or planning something, but I really hope they come to my research facility. I can’t miss the chance of inviting the strongest class of monsters. Oh, but don’t worry, Your Majesty. I have no intention of giving up such a wonderful research facility. I’ll make sure to catch them, observe them, play with every inch of their bodies, and use them for the sake of Elderado. Hihihihihihihihihi.」

「「「………」」」

Obe’s words echoed in the middle of the castle’s corridors. His soliloquy could be heard by the soldiers and servants passing by, but since they were in no position to interrupt the Great Eighth Generals, they immediately left the scene and tried to stay as far as possible from Obe.