Black Iron Magician

Chapter 283 The Tragedy of the Frontier

Zeta showed no signs of pain when she removed her left arm and acted as if it was natural. On the contrary, the look she gives to her artificial arm is somewhat passionate, as if the icy eyes she had at first were a lie.

「E-Err…. Zeta-san, you were using an artificial arm, huh. Also, it’s quite elaborate….」

「Yes! Even though it’s unfortunate that I still have my right arm, my left arm and both legs have been mechanized! It’s a divine work that makes you fall in love by just looking at it. Oh, what a terrible thing God has done. I wish it was my everything that was changed, not just my left arm and both legs!」

「「………」」

Haruna and Chinatsu revised their evaluation of Zeta. She’s a good girl, but she’s got some pretty dangerous values. It was strange at the point she was regretting it.

「It’s no exaggeration to say that my life began when I met this artificial arm and legs. No, to be precise, these overwhelming science and technology! That was one snowstorm day that I will never forget!」

And then, she somehow started her story. Apparently, Zeta tends to be talkative when it comes to her artificial arm and legs. It’s still good if you describe her as expressive, but in reality, her eyes are bloodshot and a little scary. Where did she throw away the coolness she had at first?

「As I said before, the village where I was born is in a remote region. Even in Snowtail, it’s in a heavy snowfall area and isolated from the surrounding area. I heard that it was formed naturally by a group of whimsical weirdos. Still, there are dangers in such a place. If you live near a human settlement, the surrounding monsters will be get rid of by adventurers and the country’s soldiers. But there, you have to deal with them on your own.」

「I-I see….」

「Yep, I can relate. After all, Shishō’s house was in the mountains.」

Haruna and Chinatsu read the mood and obediently listen to the story. Haruna, in particular, has been sympathizing with her.

「These weird villagers were people who have confidence in their strength since they decided to live in such a place. They were former adventurers who have some circumstances, and it wasn’t hard for them to exterminate the monsters that tried to attack the village. I was born in such a remote village, and I’ve been fighting monsters and hunting for a living for as long as I can remember.」

「I also can relate to that. My dad and mom often took me to the mountains to hunt such as bears and boars――」

「――Haruna, for Japanese people, that’s not something common, you know?」

Despite Chinatsu’s efforts to stop her, the definition of a village girl is steadily breaking down.

「But one day, a group of villagers who went hunting didn’t come back from the snowy mountain. My parents were among them, and the others villager were also very skilled. Then, the remaining villagers held an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of an unexpected incident.」

「「………」」

Zeta’s tone went down, and the flow of the story began to move in an unpleasant direction. Then, Haruna and Chinatsu naturally straightened their posture.

「The outside was starting to get stormy, and we were worried about the safety of my father and the others. After all, in the snowy mountain, the danger of life will increase as time passes. Before the weather become completely stormy, we decided to bet on the possibility. We hurriedly formed a search party, discovered the footprints that were probably left by the missing people, and followed them.」

「A-And then…?」

「We followed the footprints deep into the snowy mountain. However, we couldn’t find the owner of the footprints. By that time, the sky was stormy and our visibility was turning white. Thinking that the search would be difficult, we decided to temporarily go back to the village. And at that time―― it appeared.」

Gulp, the two swallowed their saliva.

「The visibility was bad because of the heavy snowfall, and that giant figure was already in front of us. 『Even though the visibility is bad, why didn’t we notice it until it was this close?』, that was the first thing that came to our minds. And before we knew it, the upper body of the person who was closest to it disappeared. …… That monster ate it in one bite.」

「…… What kind of monster was that?」

「It was a large bipedal white monkey, I think. Its arms and legs were as thick and as tough as a big tree. And above all, its bizarre big mouth could chew and crush anything. At that moment, I prepared myself for the obvious death that would befall me next. After all, I was the one who was right behind the first person that was eaten. 『Oh, my father and mother were also eaten by this monster, huh』. …… I foolishly thought so, and I don’t remember anything after that. The next time I regained consciousness, I was lying on the snowfield with my left arm and both legs missing.」

For some reason, the monster didn’t completely eat Zeta’s body and turned its attention to the meat of the next prey. Next to Zeta, there was a pile of corpses with dismembered limbs, such as the villager with only the head left. Only Zeta, the youngest member of the search party, survived even though she was eaten, and the rest were cruelly annihilated. Zeta’s head and body were almost uninjured, but it was only a matter of time before she died due to blood loss.

「At that time, I didn’t feel pain anymore, and I only felt cold through my whole body. My vision was getting darker and I felt sleepy…. But at that time, I noticed something. The corpse of that hateful monster was lying in the sea of blood that was formed in the surroundings.」

「H-How?」

「I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. I was dying and my eyes were blurry, but I desperately crawled on the snow-covered ground to check the truth. Then, I saw someone standing behind the corpse of the white monkey. Maybe thanks to my last effort, that person noticed that I was still alive. My consciousness was fading, but I still remember the sound of the approaching footsteps even now.」

Zeta wanted to say her thanks, but her mouth was already at the limit and couldn’t move anymore. ‘I’m going to die. At least, I want to see the person who avenged my parents and comrades,’ she looked up while thinking so. Then, she saw a figure that looked like a knight armor, which wasn’t supposed to be in such a remote area.

『Fuhahahaha! What good luck it is to find a survivor! Coming here to gather resources at this time was a correct decision! However, it seems that the light of life is almost gone! Interference more than necessary is not good, but life is something that can’t be replaced! Let’s obediently receive punishment from Lilyvia-dono later! Fuhahahahahahaha!』

「――That person said so. Immediately after hearing those words, I lost my consciousness again. The next time I woke up, I was in a room at an inn in an unfamiliar town. The bleeding in my body had completely stopped, and my missing arm and legs have been replaced with these artificial arm and legs….」

「「………」」

Haruna and Chinatsu have an idea of the person who was laughing like that. It was like someone whom they met recently.

「I was deeply grateful, thinking that it was God’s will! After asking the innkeeper about the person who brought me there, tracking down information and traces, and after a while, I was finally able to find something closely related to that person! It was Zex-sama, the founder of Made in Zex! He is the founder of the wonderful machine technology!」

‘Ah, I knew it,’ Haruna and Chinatsu thought so at the same time.