The day after the day of the second trial.

Even on the day after the ordeal, he woke up early for his daily morning training, washed his face with cold water, and went to the living room of the dormitory to find Ferm and another demon girl, Rune——— there.

Ferm and Rune, who were sitting opposite each other on the sofa, noticed me.

 

"Hmm? Good morning, Usato."

"Good morning!"

"Oh, good morning, both of you."

 

　……。

…… Hmm!?

 

"Ferm is getting up early!?"

"It's noisy, I mean, I'm not oversleeping."

「…… Ferm is waking up on his own!?"

"Don't rephrase it!"

 

It's true that Ferm is rarely late for life-saving team training.

Well, that's also because I'm being woken up by Nea and my seniors.

 

"I haven't slept in the first place."

「……」

 

Ferm, who has the image of coasting after Bulllin, ...... all-nighter.

I silently sit on the sofa across from Ferm and talk to him.

 

"Is it also a problem? I'll ask you if you like."

"Yes, but you're the one who is the cause of the problem, and the reason why you haven't slept is not a problem."

 

Okay, okay...... Isn't it? Am I the bane?

Before I can pursue him, Ferm shifts his gaze to Rune, who is sitting in front of him.

 

"I've been talking to this guy a lot."

"yes, I talked to Ferm."

「…… I couldn't fix the call-up, though. Well, that's fine."

 

Rune, the girl who visited our room last night.

He is about the same age as Nak, and is half-demon and elf, with no horns peculiar to the demon tribe, and silver hair that is a little more black than Ferm and Kira.

She is also the girl who works with her to save Shea, who is possessed by demons.

 

"Isn't Rune sleepy?"

"I've slept well during the day, so it's not a problem."

"If you stay up late while you're a child, you won't be able to grow taller, so let's sleep properly, right?"

"Well, I see, then I'm going to sleep properly from now ...... time."

 

He's still an honest and good girl.

But did they talk all night?

 

"Speaking of stories, what did you say yesterday?"

 

Rune, who came to our room last night as Shea's messenger, came to deliver a message from her to us.

The content is that "Mr./Ms. Lanzas is likely to be a collaborator of the devil."

I don't think that Lanzas Mr./Ms. would cooperate with the devil...... I wish I could have thought of that———、

 

"It may have been a feeling of grasping at straws for him, who had not been able to live a normal life since he was born, and I wonder if the devil poked a void in his heart when he was cornered mentally and physically......

 

I couldn't say anything to the words of my senior.

The burden on his body is unimaginably painful.

It's something that only he can understand.

 

"Well, that's part of it, but it's mostly me and this guy."

"It's not him, Rune."

"Yes Yes"

 

Rune is a hybrid of elves and demons, but did they have something in common with the same dark wizard?

Last night, when my senior started to joke with Rune, who was still at the inn, that he was going to sleep with me, and after that, there was a slightly incomprehensible exchange that almost got me involved, but in the end, Rune ended up sharing a room with Ferm.

 

"It's the same dark wizard, and I consulted with him on a lot of things."

"Consultation?"

"I know I can't do it."

 

He smiles wryly at Ferm, who looks away as if he is unfaithful.

As it is, I call out to Rune, who tilts his head curiously next to me.

 

"How was Rune?" Talk to Ferm."

"He was very kind and listened to me. I've done a lot for me, too!"

"Because."

"Oh, noisy!"

 

Ferm blushed and yelled at me as I grinned, took a light, deep breath before continuing to speak.

 

"Huh...... But I was relieved to hear that this guy was a dark wizard who grew up being loved by his parents. You didn't have to feel like me or Keira."

「…… Ferm"

 

Both Ferm and Keira have pasts that were abandoned by their biological parents.

But I heard that Rune's parents have already passed away...... From the story of this child, it is clear that Rune is a child who grew up being loved by his parents.

 

"Don't look at me like that...... It's not that bad."

「…… I see? What else did you talk about?"

 

The air was heavy, so I asked such a question, and Rune turned to me happily.

 

"We were talking about Ferm's dark magic."

"This is pretty insane magic, like being able to turn into a beast on top of dark magic that looks like flames."

"I don't want Ferm to tell me, you're the weirdest."

"What's weird?"

 

Ferm and ...... with the characteristics of "assimilation" If you had to name Rune, would it be "Flame Beast"?

Koga is the "beast" and "alter ego", and Kira is the "floating".

But well, if I can tell you, .......

 

"It's weird for both."

"Not as good as you."

 

You don't have to say anything .......

The immediate answer makes a slight dent.

 

"I'm just doing magic manipulation, and my magic is just normal healing magic."

"Existence"

"Did you even say that existence is strange? Now?"

 

I've been called insane a lot, but this was the shortest and most poignant word I've ever had.

When I tried to excuse myself, Rune spoke to me.

 

"Hey, Usato."

"Hmm?"

"How do you fight assimilation with Ferm? I've only seen him when he fought Awl, and Ferm won't tell me why."

"No, you don't have to ask......

 

…… Maybe my technique was too inexplicable to explain?

No, is this too self-deprecating?

 

"How, to put it very simply, it's like fighting together."

"...... together"

"It's the same as when I fought with you in that ruin."

"Oh, that's what you mean."

 

Rune smiled as if she was convinced by my words.

 

"I fought with Usato, too, and I saved Mr./Ms.."

"Hey, Usato get your shins out."

"Wait, let me make an excuse."

 

Oh my gosh, I'm kicked in the shin.

It's okay because I can put up with it at all, but I'm about to be punished in an instant.

 

"It wasn't taught by Usato, I thought of it with reference to Usato."

"Hey, excuse me?"

「…… I don't."

 

They took care of me, but I didn't.

I think it's good, Black Flame Acceleration Fist.

 

"Yes, Rune, I missed you yesterday, is Shea okay?"

 

I couldn't ask him yesterday because I was too busy thinking about Mr./Ms. and the devil, but Rune is acting with Shea.

 

"Honestly, I don't know, Shea is fine. But I'm worried that my memory is often interrupted...... The guy who is manipulating Shea's body is just a scumbag and doesn't do anything to me."

「……」

"But it's true that I'm tormenting Shea, so all I can do is stay by her side."

 

But Shea's consciousness is still there.

Or rather, what kind of state is Shea in now?

There is the personality of the hero's memory, or the consciousness of being possessed by a demon or something, and it is somehow overwhelming.

 

「…… Rune, you are a source of emotional support for Shea. It gives me confidence."

"Thank you, Usato."

 

The air becomes heavy again.

Even if he was close to Sia, Rune would have been anxious because there were many things he couldn't tell right or left outside of the demon realm.

At least while I'm here, I tried to relax my shoulders———、

 

"Oh my gosh! It's a nice morning!!"

 

Gacha, and a cheerful voice, the heavy air is blown away by the senior who came out of the room.

Apart from Rune, who shakes his shoulders and is surprised, Ferm and I, who seem to be used to it, greet each other in the morning as usual.

 

"Oh, good morning senior."

"Oh, Suzune."

"Oh, good morning......

"Usato-kun, Ferm, Rune...... Ferm is getting up first!?"

"What do you all think of me?"

 

Ferm gets angry at his seniors who are surprised by his bare bones.

After all, it's surprising...... isn't it?

 

"Senior, Ferm just isn't sleeping."

「…… Don't do it, Ferm. Staying up late is your skin's natural enemy, right? Isn't it common sense?"

"Yes, your seniors are right."

"I'm just when you tell me the most honest common sense...... Whew!!"

 

When I piggyback on it, Ferm's cheeks twitch and tremble.

A senior who slipped through such a ferm and approached me as if gliding, spoke to Rune next to me.

 

"Hey, Rune, you're so cute today!"

"Yesterday was the first time I saw you...... Sleep and wake up, okay?"

"Even when you go to bed and wake up, you're pretty."

「???」

 

Rune tilts her head at her senior's mystery theory.

However, seniors do not stop.

 

"Rune, can you be a lion cub at any time?"

「? You can be."

 

As soon as he did so, Rune was instantly engulfed in the black flames of dark magic.

Gradually, the outline of the flame became smaller, until it turned into a pitch-black lion cub.

 

"Kawaii !!"

"Senior, vocabulary"

「CuteSomething?」

"I don't know, I've forgotten the language......

"Hey, how did you get through, ......?"

 

Somehow, I understood what he was saying.

For some reason, when I was also drawn to Ferm, Rune jumped up from the sofa and jumped on my shoulder.

- When I saw it, I was excited again even though my seniors were about to come to their senses.

 

"Rune, my shoulder is free."

"Oh, no."

"Why!?"

"I'm going to get tingling when I'm near you."

「…… Because of my magic!?"

 

Eh, it was the same with Liz, but maybe the sensible demon doesn't want to get close to his seniors ......?

…… No, Uluru Mr./Ms. is also salted by Bulllin and Kukuru, so it doesn't have much to do with it.

 

"What are you going to do after this?"

"I'm going to stay with you a little longer...... Or rather, he told me I should do it."

「…… I see."

 

So, let's have Rune stay here for the time being———、

 

"Senior, I'm going to the training grounds, and I'm going to ask you to take care of Rune with Nea."

"Hmm? Whew, I get it."

「…… Rune, if something happens to you, you're going to run away right away, right?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, Usato-kun, you're right in front of me, right? Huh?"

 

However, my seniors know that there is a bad line, so I'm not that worried.

There's Rain at the training ground, and I need to hear from him how Mr./Ms. is doing.

 

"What are you going to do with Ferm?"

「…… Whew...... I'm going to bed after this."

"Okay, then I'm ———."

 

Before I can say that I'm going to the training ground, Ferm, who is enveloped in dark magic, runs down my legs from the floor and assimilates them.

That's why I'm tempted to go to the hotel, but it's normal, so I just sigh.

 

"Look, as I said, assimilation is insane."

"Noisy"

 

Devil's collaborators.

It's still a possibility, but if it is, we'll have to be very careful.

If you do it poorly, not only Mr./Ms. Lanzas but also Rain may be held hostage.