The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Three days before the meeting of the Allies.

I was in front of a ship anchored along the river, far from the battlefield where the battle had taken place.

There were two boats anchored there, and Master Lloyd, Mr. Welshy, and the escorting knights, including Kazuki and Frana, were already on board.

"Be careful, Usato!"

"Oh, don't bother Mr. Nagi, okay?"

He spoke to Amako in front of the ship.

Since Ms. Nagi was going to be present at the meeting, she was also going to Mearaq, but since she was going to Hinomoto as soon as the meeting was over, Amako, who was thinking of returning to her hometown, decided to go with her.

"Don't do anything too strange, Usato.

"What's so weird about ......?"

Kannagi, tell him.

Suddenly, Mr. Nagi looks at me with a panicked look on his face.

"What?　Let's see... ...... that ........."

You're annoying me right off the bat.

Nagi-san laughs as she tries to force herself to say something, and turns to Amako.

"Well, I'm sure we'll meet up over there, until then.

"Yeah. Okay, I'm going to go now."

"Mr. Nagi, please take care of Amako."

"Yeah, I'm on it."

Amako, with her luggage on her back, boards the ship with Mr. Nagi.

A few moments later, the magical tools loaded on the boat made engine noises, and the big ship moved forward.

As I was looking away from the boat, Leona-san, who had just joined us, walked up to us.

"I think Mr. Kazuki will arrive at Mearaq first."

"Yes. Let's move to the rendezvous point.

Me, my senpai, and Leona-san are supposed to greet the Demon King together with the knights dispatched from Mialak.

After seeing off the ship with Mr. Lloyd and the others, we leave the other ship behind and move to the rendezvous point with the Demon Lord that we had planned in advance.

The location itself is not too far away, and we soon arrive at the spot where the bridge that the Kingdom of Lingle has hastily built is located.

"It seems that the Demon Lord has not arrived yet.

"It seems so."

We'll have to wait since we got here earlier than the planned rendezvous time.

While we were waiting for the arrival of the Demon Lord, Leona-san walked up to us, confirming the appearance of the Lingle and Mearaak knights who had accompanied us as escorts.

"......There's a lot of work ahead."

"Yes,...... at any rate, we are dealing with the Demon King."

It's too much work to welcome the Demon King.

I laugh bitterly, and my senpai talks to me, sounding rather confident.

Don't worry. If something happens, just assimilate with me!

"Why?

I hear Ferrum's voice coming from inside me, and my senpai shouts.

For some reason, Ferm and Nair have been assimilated into me during the journey, and I sigh as I watch their conversation.

"No, no, no, that's rather your final form, Usato-kun!　It's the strongest and invincible Usato-kun, the lightning fast moving fortress mode that can move at the speed of lightning and can also move in the air. ......!"

<

<

Nair and Ferrum say this with their voices raised to sticks.

The senpai looks astonished at their incomprehensible interjections.

"...... Ha!　It's true that if you put out too many of the strongest types, they will either be replaced by even higher-level compatibles, or they will usually be beaten up or called a piece of shit. ......!"

<>

I don't know if I understand it or not: .......

I subtly sympathize with the words of a high-spirited senior.

I've always thought that senpai likes things that resonate with the boyish mind.

<>

"Yeah, what's up?"

My inner Ferrum calls out to Leona.

I thought it was unusual for her to call Leona, but she continued to speak to me in a low voice.

.

"What?　What's this?"

"Ferrum ......?"

At that moment, Leona lightly put her hand on my shoulder, and I was absorbed into her as if she had been absorbed into me.

The sudden assimilation causes a commotion in the surrounding area.

>

>

<>

While the knights of Mearrauk, who are working together, look stunned and mutter, the knights of the Lingle Kingdom are......,

>

>

He seemed to be very optimistic.

Isn't that a little too familiar ......?　I don't remember doing anything so strange on a daily basis that I wouldn't be surprised to see you take one of us in.

...... Well, let's see what's going on now.

The dark magic that took in Leona didn't change her appearance, but for some reason her spear appeared in my left hand in the form of a staff.

"Leona-san, are you all right!

Maybe Nea thinks she's in me as a resting place or something. ......?

Ferrum, who has taken her in, is talking to the older woman, who is snapping her mouth shut.

"So, you mean, Usato-kun, you've added the ice attribute to your ......"

<>

It seems that the attempt to make fun of senpai had the opposite effect.

While I was still confused inside and out, I suddenly noticed that Leona-san's armor in my left hand was gushing out something like a thunderbolt.

"This is ......."

"Same phenomenon with my sword: ....... Maybe, just like my sword, Leona's armor will take on a form suitable for you, Usato-kun."

The flashing wand transforms into a sphere of light and envelops both my legs.

The light covers me from the knees down, and something takes shape.

"Yeah. ......"

"Oh, that's cool."

By the time the light subsided, my legs were equipped with pale leg armor.

Shining in the sunlight, they were light as feathers, yet seemed to contain tremendous power.

"How did you do it so easily ......?"

.

"I'm really afraid of you. ......"

One might even say that it is expected.

When I tap the ground lightly with my leg-arms, white cold air floods the ground.

"But why the leg armor?"

"That's it, isn't it?　Maybe it's ...... because it reflects our will as a rescue team to run and get to wherever we need to go?"

I see. ......

If the cage hands are for protection, this leg armor is for running everywhere.

If we wanted to, could we put ice in the air and use it as a foothold?

I'm tempted to try it out, but I'm on duty now, so I won't.

"Nea, how about Hell's Watchdog, Keroberos Usato?"

<<< Isn't that a bit ostentatious?　I think it would be better if you looked more like an idiot.

Please don't add more names to my forms without my permission.

I mean, I'm not just a demon, but a hellhound.

Sighing at the conversation between Nair and his senpai, he instructs Ferrum to unassimilate Leona.

"......Felm, please unassimilate Leona-san."

<>

Leona jumps out of my body like a bullet.

As she does so, the instep of my leg disappears and returns to its original state.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I got you into this mess out of nowhere."

>

"No, it was a good experience."

Leona smiles at my and Ferrum's apology, acting as if she doesn't mind.

"Let me know if you need my help in the future. I will always be here to help you."

"!　Thank you very much."

It is reassuring to know that I can count on Leona's help.

Of course, it is the same with senpai.

---At that moment, something like a white whirlpool appears near the bridge on the Demon Lord's side.

I had seen it before, a transfer type of magic that connects different places.

We all tense up when we see it.

"Hmm. ...... Looks like we've kept you waiting."

""""---!"""

A large, robed, lanky demon tribe.

The appearance of the Demon Lord, whose mere presence radiates a sense of presence, causes tension among the escorting knights.

......We can't make the knights uneasy even though we haven't left yet.

So I take the initiative to approach the Demon Lord who has arrived at this place... and I notice that there are some demons who are following him.

"Uh, the Demon Lord, sir?"

"No need to call me that. I don't feel comfortable being called that by you.

The senior staff member was the first to speak to him, but the Demon King gave him a slight scowl.

I'm glad that I don't feel comfortable addressing him as "sir" either, but I wonder if I should add something like "Mr......." or "Ms.......?

"Well then, Demon King, we'll take you to the ship."

Yeah. I'll do it."

This is going easier than I thought it would.

I feel relieved inside, and then the Demon King calls out to me.

"By the way, Usato. You've done something quite interesting, haven't you?

"I didn't like it. ......"

By "interesting," you mean demonic.

It may be amusing from the demon king's point of view, but from ours, it's extremely troublesome.

"Haha, you're sweet, demon king. Usato, you basically only do funny things. You'd better be prepared for that.

"Well, that'll be fun."

You must disagree.

What is your position?

With a sigh, I take my gaze away from the Demon King and turn to the demon tribe I have been daring to avoid.

When he notices my gaze, he waves at me with the same casualness as if he were seeing a friend again.

"Yo!

The demon tribe by the demon king's side --- Koga Dingal.

He smiles at me with a loathsomely sunny smile, and I give the biggest sigh of the day.

"...... huh?"

"I think it's terrible that you sigh as soon as you see my face."

As expected, the coggers are here after all.

Ciel, the other woman dressed as a lady-in-waiting, looks at me with dismay.

"Suck it up, sir!

Aren't you being too hard on me?"

Ciel is more like a valet than a bodyguard.

As I watch Koga's shoulders drop due to Ciel's hard hitting, someone else emerges from the white whirlpool.

"...... I see...you guys are the watchers..."

A woman with reddish hair, brown skin and horns characteristic of the demon tribe--- Amira Berggred.

She is dressed differently from the armored figure we have seen before, whom we have encountered several times during the battle.

"Ah, well, it's nice to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you. Uh, Amira.

Nice to meet you.

"......"

She looked at me and her senpai and had an indescribable expression on her face.

"I have a complicated feeling. I never thought I would be doing this with you guys, who were supposed to be enemies.

"It's the same for us. You and I have fought each other for our lives.

"......, yes, that's true."

You're talking about the last war.

I wasn't there, but it was a hell of a fight.

"As long as you don't show harm to the Demon Lord, I don't intend to antagonize you."

"Well, now that we are not enemies, let's try to get along, if not get along. Do you have a favorite food at ......?"

"......Hey, is this brave man usually like this?"

"Ha ha ha ......"

Amira-san is puzzled by her senpai's communication skills, but responds to Ferrum's voice, which is assimilated by mine.

"Is the black knight there too?"

"Yes, he is assimilated into me. Ferrum, why don't you come out?

.

Ferrum releases her assimilation and she and Nair, in owl form, jump out of my body.

Amira-san, seeing her return to her humanoid form from her state of dark magic, looks surprised for some reason.

"Oh, you were the black knight ......?　Were you that small ......?"

"Who's little!

Ferrum is furious.

Despite her vehemence, Amira crosses her arms with a serious look on her face.

"To be honest, I imagined you to be a big ....... No, but I didn't expect a child. I'm ...... sorry, I yelled at you that time, didn't I hurt you ......?"

"Don't treat me like a child!"

You didn't know what Ferrum was like?

She told me that Amira was her boss in the first war.

As I was wondering, Koga, who was approaching us, spoke to me in a whisper.

"She always wore dark magic even when she was in the demon king's army. I was the only one who knew what he looked like.

"Oh, that's why they call you the Black Knight."

That's what I mean.

I see.

He didn't remove his dark magic armor even after he was taken prisoner, so maybe he was dependent on dark magic in that sense as well.

But there are only two guards.

Ciel seems more like a valet than a bodyguard, so he shouldn't be counted as one.

I ask the Demon Lord, who has removed the transfer magic, about the number of his guards.

"The king, is Koga and Amira your only escort?"

"Enough, isn't it?　I could bring more, but that would scare you off.

That's ...... no, that's certainly true.

If we bring too many men here, the rest of the people will shrink away.

I would say that Coga and Amira alone would be enough, though.

Then, let's be on our way.

Yes, sir. Let's go, senpai.

I and my senpai walk in front of them and we cross the bridge to the other side of the river where Leona and the knights are.

In contrast to Leona who is standing proudly, I see the knights looking anxious as we cross over to the other side of the river.

---But at that moment, from behind the Demon King's back, "Jarara!　like a chain is scraping behind the Demon Lord.

When he turns around to see what is going on, he finds that many chain-like things are running through his body as he steps onto the ground from the bridge.

""Demon Lord!

"...... huh, I knew it would come to this......"

Seven translucent chains extending from the Demon Lord.

They extend in all directions, and seem to bind the Demon Lord's body as he tries to leave the Demon Lord's territory.

The Demon Lord sighs lightly, wondering if there is no pain, and his eyes follow the tips of the chains extending from his body.

"Three in the demon king's domain..." he says. ......That you have not let me know until this point is utterly, utterly out of character."

The Demon King presses his forehead when he sees that three of the chains extending in all four directions are heading toward the Demon King's territory.

Does it not hurt? ......?

"Ma,demon king......?"

"Ma, the Demon King......?　Doesn't that hurt?"

"No, don't worry. I think I've got a rough idea of where ...... we're going.

No, don't worry about it. ......!

I don't know what's happening to the Demon Lord, but I know it's not normal.

As we and Koga and the others were at a loss for what to do, the Demon Lord suddenly grabbed the chains that were tied to him with his bare hands and tore them off carelessly.

Ciel, who was standing beside him, rushes to the chain with a pale face.

"Demon king!　Are you okay?　Is it okay to tear it off?

It hurts!

"No, you can't say that with an expressionless face. ......!"

It's normal, it hurts. .......

But since the demon king himself has no expression, he doesn't look like he's in pain at all.

"If I don't do this, I won't be able to leave the Demon Lord's territory."

He tore off all seven chains, and the chains, which were made of some kind of magic power, disappeared as if they had melted into space.

The Demon Lord, having seen it through to the end, breathed a sigh of relief and turned around with an indifferent look on his face.

"Hey, show us the way quickly!

"Excuse me, can I poke you once ......?"

"Oh, calm down, Usato!　I know how you feel, but you're dealing with the Demon King!

As Koga choked me, I resisted the urge to poke the Demon Lord in the throat.

First of all, I should explain what happened ......!

We'll be the ones to report it to Lloyd-sama and the others later on. ......!

The assignment to monitor the Demon King has begun with a start that makes me feel uneasy about the future in many ways.

I wonder if I can make it from here. .......