When Iris faced the floating Isis and Iris, who had taken a little distance from her, she heard the signal from Alice to start.

''Well then, Isis-san, I'll ask you to start with beginner's magic.
Well ... yeah ... then ... ice ball.

　Isis nodded at Alice's words and descended with a small magic circle at her fingertips. Then a fist-sized block of ice came towards Iris, but it was effortlessly played by the barrier.

(It's a power that I can't believe is elementary magic... but it's not powerful enough to make me feel threatened. But even though it's a beginner's level, that activation speed is still a reference.)

　The beginner's magic strike wasn't that astoundingly powerful, and Iris had enough time to think about many things.

''Then, Isis-san.........''
...well ... 'About 10,000' ... okay?
...what?

　Quicker than Iris was surprised by the words she heard, a huge number of magic circles appeared around Isis. And when Isis waved her finger, it turned into a rain of ice cubes that fell on Iris.

(Totally, I'm just surprised today. (You can feel the difference even in these areas.

　The sheer number of them was a threat, but it wasn't increasing in power. Iris's defensive wall, which unfolded in a circle, prevented all the ice blocks from falling down.
　

''Well then, next time, please use intermediate magic.''
"...yeah ... freeze Lance.

　A one-meter-long spear of ice is released from Isis' hand, which has increased the strength of the magic by one level.

(I expected it, but its activation speed remains the same, and its power is definitely higher than the original one... but not so much that it's impossible to prevent.

　If he poured a little more magic power into the barrier and strengthened it, he could prevent the ice spear without any problems. However, Iris's expression was serious........something still felt unpleasant.
　A feeling I had experienced many times when I was once active as an adventurer.......the feeling of a bad premonition hitting me......

''Then........increase the number....
...and again ... for 10,000.
So.....

　The order of magnitude of difficulty is different between activating beginner magic in parallel and activating intermediate magic in parallel.
　Ten thousand is a tremendous number. But even so, Iris had a feeling that Isis was holding back. And that was the correct answer.
　Against the descending ice spears, they were prevented by a barrier that poured a fairly large amount of magic power into them. The pressure felt by Iris on the receiving end of beginner and intermediate magic was also very different, and she was sweating lightly on her forehead.

''Then next........advanced magic, please.''
"Cocytoslance.

　The situation wouldn't wait. As a large magic circle floated in Isis' hands, a huge ice spear, several times larger than the one before, appeared.
　It's not a wide range of attacks that Iris can easily receive, but rather a magic against a single person.......but the pressure she feels is incomparable to the previous one.
　A huge spear is released at an order of magnitude faster than intermediate magic and hits Iris' barrier.

''Guh, kuuuuuu.''

　Even though the power of the barrier was pushing the entire barrier a bit, Iris successfully defended herself against it.....................yes, one shot.

........and increase the number, please.
Well I'll see you... 10,000.
Huh?

　And then all of Iris's vision was dyed by ice. It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on it.
　In the midst of the pressure that would blow you away if you loosen up just a little bit, but still, Iris withstood the pressure.

''........High Ancient Magic [High Ancient Spell]......please......''
Are you sure?
...please.
"...okay ...bluestar.

　
　And from the air........a blue ice star fell.
　Having been active as an adventurer for a long time before his death, Iris's experience in combat was not shallow. And the intuition that came from that experience told her... 'It's impossible to prevent it.

''If it is!　Just shoot them out!　Drink!　Wesen!　Apocalypse!

　It's impossible to prevent it, and even if you try to evade it, you don't know how far the range of its effect extends.
　And a voice that felt even more cold resounded in Iris's ears.

''........increase the number, please.
Well okay.

　A rain of stars descending from the heavens - it may be fantastically beautiful if you just look at it. But for those in the middle of the vortex, it's just the violent pressure that falls.
　My tired knees feel like they're about to collapse. Your heart is about to break faster than you realize. Along with such a feeling of darkening in front of his eyes, Iris.......smiled fiercely.

''Oh, I can't.

　While muttering this, I glanced at Alice in the distance and she just smiled happily.

'Naeba, now!　Let me grow into the me that can do it in this moment!　That's right, my heart beast!　It shouldn't be the end of the road here!

　As if in response to his voice, Apocalypse releases a tremendous flash of light. The heart tool is the weapon of the heart, and Apocalypse is Iris's heart itself...If Iris's heart is broken, it will be reduced to a mere stick, but if she explodes with her thoughts, she will respond to the soles in spades.
　Begging for Iris's determination to absolutely shatter the rain of stars, Apocalypse amplifies Iris's magical power with a magnification that far exceeds the limits of what it was earlier.

'Swallow it up!　The Beast of Tyranny--Giga Apocalypse!

　The black light.............................The gong of the violent beast swallowed the heavens.










　After a round of exchanges, it was called a little Iris-san's break before the actual mock battle. After looking sideways at Iris-san who was sitting on the ground looking tired, Alice spoke to Iris-san.

''Isis-san, how's Iris-san doing?''
I think he's going to be very strong I think he's going to be very strong he's got great potential and he's got a strong mind.
'I see, I see...'

　Alice nodded with a somewhat satisfied expression after hearing Isis-san's assessment. Seeing that, a question arose in my mind.
　Why did Alice plan a mock battle between Isis-san and Iris-san in the first place?　If you're going to make Iris-san experience a high-dimensional battle, it seems like it would be fine for Alice to do it herself.
　Needless to say, the fact that Alice, who has a head on her shoulders, went out of her way to create an opportunity to fight with Iris-san seems to have some other purpose.

''How was it with Iris?　I know the mock battle is still to come, but what's your power, Isis?
"I am honestly in awe of it. It's not that I'm sitting on my natural strength, it's just that I have a very honed blade... It's a shame, but at the moment I feel like I'm completely backwards compatible with you.
...Mm-hmm.

　After nodding while listening to Iris-san's words of praise for Isis-san, Alice opened her mouth with a light smile.

''Well, here's one suggestion I'd like to make. I'm talking about if we both agree to it.
"...that's a hell of a way to put it. What is it?
Mr. Isis, do you want to make Iris your b*tc*?
"...what?　....What?

　I was frankly surprised by that suggestion. Or rather, it seemed that Isis-san was more surprised than anyone else, comparing Alice and Iris-san over and over again with a stunned expression.
　Iris-san had her hand on her chin as if she was thinking with some serious expression. Knowing Alice well, she may have sensed some kind of intention.

''........I see, if things continue as they are now, there is something amiss with me, isn't there?
'Yes, that's true. I'm managing at the moment, but Iris will also get a body that can move freely and the range of her activities will expand in the future. And considering that she will become stronger in the future.......as expected, I can't hold back the information. Based on my body, it can be said that Iris' body is a demon race. Free Count-level high-level demon race is really rare. The nations of the human world will want to hire them even if the conditions are quite high, and the number of demons who want to be under Iris's control will increase dramatically in the future.
So that's why I'm going to be working for Lord Isis first.
'Exactly. Of course, I'll be accompanying Isis-san to the events she participates in, but I think it will give me more freedom than the ones I mentioned earlier, and even if Iris becomes stronger in the future, I think it will be useful for her to study under Isis-san, who has excellent magic skills and a mountain of grimoires.
....

　If you ask me, there is no one I know who does not belong to any of the county levels. Not to mention the people under the Sixth King's command, even Irnes-san serves Lilia-san, a former princess who is deeply involved with the kingdom.
　Even for Black's family, they are probably under the control of the Dark Lord in the public's perception....... In the future, if Iris-san becomes stronger and is known by the people around her, there may be people who think about enshrining Iris-san and making her the seventh king or something like that.

''...Hey, Alice. For example, is there a possibility that Iris-san will eventually become the seventh king?
I'm not saying it's not there, but it's completely unsuitable.
Yes, I know what I am doing. I'm the right person to help you, not the best person to lead you.
I see.

　It may not be suitable for you, and Iris-san herself doesn't seem to want that to happen.
　As I was talking about this, Isis-san, who had an anxious expression on her face, approached Alice.

''I mean.........Chartier?　...it's me?　
'What?　You have Iris under my command?　I absolutely hate it, I get goosebumps.
That's impossible. You don't have to be working for Alice, you're making me scared just to hear that.

　At Isis-san's words that it would be good to make her under Alice's control, Alice and Iris-san made a heartily disgusted expression at almost the same time.
　Maybe, but to the two who had spent so long as partners, they are each other's equals. So it would be unthinkable for one of them to be above the other.

''........But.......I.......''
Yes, that's right. Let's say clearly that you were not capable of welcoming someone under your command before. Rather, I should say that you didn't have the luxury of mentally being able to afford to do just that... If you were still the same Isis-san you were when your heart and atmosphere were cold and you were constantly tense and intimidated by those around you, I wouldn't be making this proposal.

　Hearing those words, I remembered the first time I met Isis-san. At that time, Isis-san had a very cold look in her eyes.......as if she had given up on many things.
　And the poor listening skills that Kuronoa-san said she had, and if there was a conflict of opinion, she would push through with force...even if she hoped and wanted to, she would not get it.
　In the days when she experienced this many times and had no room in her heart at all, Isis-san may have always been in an atmosphere of tense and intimidating people around her, just like Alice says.
　But that was just in the past. The current Isis-san's expression and mood have softened to an unthinkable degree since the first time I encountered her. To the point where I think that if it weren't for the magic of death, she would have become friends with many people.......

''........But I think that the Isis-san who has changed after meeting Kite-san.......now that she has a more relaxed mind, I think it's safe to have an underling. Also, the current situation of not having any other subordinates is also a gratifying situation for Iris, who is a strong man who is just out of the loop.
''Ugh... uh... wow, I'd be... happy if that happened.
Well, it's up to Iris... what do you think?

　

''........Come to think of it, I thought I had lived at will as an adventurer for a long time and experienced many things, but.......I never had the experience of serving someone else. Now that we can say we've been reborn, it would be interesting to try something different from what we used to do...

　After announcing that, Iris-san stood up and stood in front of Isis-san.

''Well it's not that I haven't developed a feeling of respect for you, and I think you're a likeable person in terms of character. There is a part of me that feels that becoming your subordinate is not a bad idea.
Uh-huh.
But I'm not entirely sure. Therefore, I ask you to do me a favor.
...a wish?
"If you're going to be my subordinate, I'd like to know how powerful you are as a king. Perhaps Lord Isis had intended to go easy on you in a mock battle, but I want you to fight for your life. Show me the full power of the king you are.
Okay ... okay ... for real ... fight.

　After reserving the answer now, Iris-san wanted Isis-san's full strength. And Isis-san also nodded with a serious expression.
　Seeing this, although somehow........I felt that some kind of bond was born between the two of them, and it seemed to hint at the future that was to come.