Chapter 465: Claim

――――The 73rd day of training.

「Whoa!? Deris, you can get up already!?」

Immediately after Alezel entered the hospital room, she suddenly said so when she saw me sitting up on the bed. I guess she was surprised that my recovery from the backlash was quicker than expected.

「You can’t underestimate the resilience of a middle-aged man, you know? I still need a cane, but I can stand if try.」

「Seriously…. My~, I was really surprised. I’ve always thought you were a guy who would never die, but I guess being beaten, slashed, and burned makes you stronger.」

「Hey, are you thinking that I’m some kind of metal used for blacksmithing or something?」

「Yeah? I mean, you’re the 『Black Iron』, right? I’m impressed at how well you’ve been forged to withstand heat and shock!」

「………」

Now, it’s just that I’ve been eating Haru’s medicinal cooking, and I became able to move naturally. It doesn’t have anything to do with my old hardships or my nickname.

「Good grief, you sure are saying whatever you want. So, why are you here? Nell isn’t here right now, you know?」

「Don’t say that. I ain’t here to see Nell, I’m here to see Deris! You’re smart, so you know why I’m here, right? As for the hint, Deris is weak now!」

「To see my condition?」

「Wrong! I’m here to collect the money!」

I knew, of course.

「『I’ll give you some money later, so please calm down!』. I heard it properly with these long ears during the battle with Maria-han, y’know?」

「You lost your composure, but you remember every single word, huh? I’m so amazed that I’m impressed….」

「Even if you’re impressed, it ain’t gonna make money, so I’m gonna ask you to pay me in cash. Let’s see~」

Alezel, with a fearless smile on her face, takes out the usual abacus and begins to count with it.

「It’s about this much.」

「No, this is not right. The number of digits is strange.」

「Well, the cost for the drug and consolation money that I risked my life are also included in it after all. If you think that it is the price of the life of this beautiful girl elf Alezel-chan, ain’t it quite cheap? There’s no need to thank me.」

「Wait, wait, are you going to charge me for that drug too!? You were using me as an experiment, right!? Besides, you can just charge Maria for those things!」

「Of course, I’m gonna charge Maria-han for the items used, the damages she caused by interfering with my business, the danger of my life, et cetera et cetera. Just so you know, this amount of money is nothing compared to those. It’s our belief that no matter who the other party is, we Quitet will pluck their money equally, cleanly, and correctly. Now, take out your money.」

With a wicked expression, the miser held out one of her hands to me. This bastard aimed for the time when I couldn’t move and Nell was absent, huh?

「Alezel, lend me that abacus.」

「Sure, but I’m gonna charge you for it. I’ll charge you more ❤」

「You damn wicked elf…! Then, I don’t need it. I will just make it myself with Reflect Fortress!」

「Whoa, what a wasteful way to use your dexterity….」

Whose fault do you think it is? Hmph, I’ve learned how to apply this power from Goddess Chinatsu, so it’s no big deal for me to create the wall of light in the form of an abacus! It’s a little hard to see and my fingers hurt when using it, but if I think of it as rehabilitation, it’s like killing two birds with one stone!

「Including everything, this should be the proper amount. Besides, I was originally planning to give you some money out of goodwill.」

「Dear Customer, please keep your joke moderately.」

「Haru will get angry with me if I waste money, you know!? Also, don’t forget that it was Haru who saved us in the end!」

「Well, you’re right! I’ll give Haru-chan our latest cooking utensils next time!」

「Well, thanks! I’m sure she’ll be happy!」

Well, time flies when we’re arguing endlessly like this. Alezel, it’s my win this time.

「I’m back. I was accompanying the girls with their training, but they sure are getting stronger, huh. They are stronger compared―― hm? Alezel, you’re here? Are you checking on Deris’s condition?」

「!? Well, something like that! Now that Nell is here, I’m gonna take my leave so as not to bother you two! See ya!」

As soon as she saw Nell returning, Alezel quickly left the hospital room. As expected of the top player in the world of running away, she’s so fast.

「…? What was that?」

「She said that she wanted to say her thanks for everything. She also said that she would give Haru their latest cooking utensils next time.」

「Hee, that Alezel said that? That’s unusual. I wonder if it’s going to rain spears tomorrow?」

…… Well, I guess she was half-serious about coming to see my condition. Fine, I will give her some money later.

「Well, I’m sorry that not only do you have to nurse me, but you also have to deal with the aftermath of the war and train Haru.」

「It’s not a big deal. Haruna would just do her best even without me, and I just did as Deris told me to deal with the aftermath. B-Besides, it is natural for a wife to help her husband when something happens to him, right?」

「W-Well, yeah. You’re right.」

I think it’s a bit unfair that she hesitated to say it and blushed like that. It’s more cowardly than Alezel. After all, it works on me.

「W-Well… at this rate, I think I’ll be completely cured tomorrow. Then, I will take over the work I entrusted to you. Do you have anything else to do?」

「As for me, I’m going to participate in a meeting between Maria and Clarius with Weerel as witnesses. I don’t really understand, but Chinatsu and the others are coaching their friends in their training.」

「Coaching?」

「I wasn’t really interested, so I just watched. Well, it’s my Chinatsu we’re talking about, so there won’t be any trouble.」

Yeah, we can trust Goddess Chinatsu. Just as Nell said, I’m sure there won’t be any trouble. Coaching, huh…. I guess Oda’s group felt helpless in the battle with the vampires, so they begged Chinatsu and the others to teach them how to train to become stronger. Well, I guess it’s fine as long as it doesn’t interfere with Haru’s training.

「Ah, that’s right. The idiot Irygal Sisters, including Lilyvia, are doing volunteer activity, so they won’t be back for a while. I thought that their personalities would be reformed by doing good deeds, but it seems that it’s not going well. I think it’s fine since Therese is there, but I think it will take some time.」

「…… Is it possible to reform those sisters? It might be strange coming from me, but their characters are quite something, you know?」

「Maria is their parent after all. Well, if it’s Therese, I think she can reform at least one of them!」

A mysterious sense of trust towards Therese. Hmm… still, for some reason, I’m also convinced. It’s a different kind from Chinatsu’s, but I trust her just as much. It’s really a mystery.