'Thank you, Sola!　Thank you so much!


　Three days ago, Lars repeatedly thanked me for returning from Mt. Skim with Miroslav, his face crumpled with gratitude and relief.

　His face was even more pale than the other day, a sign that he hadn't slept well since I'd come to his rescue.

　For Lars, this one ended up being a repetition of his previous unconsciousness - the fact that he had been the first to pass out in the fight with the Lord of the Flies.

　Not only that, he had once again put his friends in danger because of his own ineptitude. He must have been truly sorry about that.

　When Lars confirmed that Miroslav was safe, he was so happy that he forgot about his rant to me.


　To Lars, Miroslav was very gracious to him.

　The sight of her eyes watering and her cheeks blushing as she clasps Lars' hand is, for all intents and purposes, that of a maiden in love.

　How many of us can see this scene and guess that Miroslav is the one who caught Lars unawares in the mountains at night and prised his consciousness from him?

　As someone who knows the other side of the story, I find Miroslav's performance quite frightening.

　But perhaps this is also Miroslav's true intentions - that's how I felt when I remembered the incident in the mountains.



　Talking with Miroslav on Mount Skim, I knew all about what the red-haired wizard was thinking.

　There was no reason to dismiss Miroslav's wishes when I wanted someone other than Lunamaria to supply my soul.

　Even more so when I heard that he had been slaying demons in the dangerous mountains for me.

　The only condition that Miroslav offered me was a plea that he didn't want me to do anything more to Lars.


　As it turned out, I agreed to it.

　Because I had no intention of doing anything more to Lars in the first place.


　However, if Lars had made a move on us, that was a different story.

　Miroslav also seemed to understand that. In the internal discussions within the Sword of the Falcon, it was decided that Lars would leave Ishka.

　The reason for his decision to leave was Lars's own, but Miroslav probably induced him to do so as well.

　As for Miroslav himself, he found out that he and Lars had parted company and decided to join the Sword of Blood and Smoke.

　He explained to Lars that he wanted to repay him for saving his life, and Lars agreed with him. Rather than agreeing with him, Lars was aware that he was in no position to disagree with the decision. After all, Lars was convinced that he was the one who had put Miroslav in danger.


　But I had my own concerns.

　For whatever reason, Miroslav, who had been so hostile to me for so long, was now working with me.

　The possibility that Lars was suspicious of this was undeniable.

　Even if Lars himself didn't notice it, it's also possible that the people around him--Ilia, the guild master, the receptionist--would get wind of it and tell him something unnecessary.



　In that sense, it was not a good idea for Lars to decide to return to his home village of Merte.

　It's because Ilaria is in Melte village.

　It was only a few days ago that the two of them were made to go their separate ways. Miroslav wanted to lead Lars to another location, but once he was told that "I, the leader, will tell Ilaria what happened," he could only nod.

　Miroslav later apologized to me, but as a matter of fact, I was pleased to hear this.



　If I saw Lars again, he would probably reconcile with me, saying that Ilaria was something.

　As a result, my goal of winning Ilaria was greatly diminished, but I gained something in return.

　What that was - namely, a village priest to replace the priestess Sailor, Ilaria's mother.



　The priestess Serra, whom I met in the village of Melte, has left a strong impression on me in many ways.

　It's not uncommon for a daughter to take over her mother's position. If this happens, it will be one less obstacle to inviting Priest Sailor to come to Ishqa, and I'm happy to oblige.


　I'd be more than happy to talk about it.

　I'm not asking you to leave Melte and move to Ishqa right now. It's not impossible for me to save Melte from poisoning, but that's not a very polite way to repay the favor.

　For my part, I have no intention of tying up Priest Sailor Priestess with gratitude. We'd like to proceed with our mutual agreement.

　Perhaps you'd like to invite me to your home, for starters.

　We've talked about cooking in the past in connection with Crow Solas, so if we can get behind that, it should be a natural invitation. With the three children, of course.

　Well, when the kids are with us, we can't just fly to Crow Solus, so the number of days to go back and forth will increase, and it's hard to plan, but that's just it, I intend to take my time and fill in the blanks.



◆◆◆



　After the matter of the Falcon Falcon Blade was settled, the first thing that I took care of was the issue of Seal's slaves.

　One day I took Seal and, along with Lunamaria, to visit the slaver Fyodor.


'Then I will remove the slave ring. May I have your permission, Lord Sola?


　In one of the rooms of the "union" building, a string-eyed slaver comes to confirm.

　In response, I nodded my head clearly.


''Yes, please.''

Very well. So....


　Fyodor muttered something to himself and touched Seal and Lunamaria's collar.

　Then the collar, which had been seamless, came off easily.

　Seal, who had been nervous even to the side, blinks his eyes in surprise, and Lunamaria has her hand on her throat in confusion.

　Fyodor smiled at them both and said with a smile.


The removal of the slave ring has been completed. As a result, your names have been removed from the list of our union. Congratulations, Lady Lunamaria and Seal.


　In response to Fyodor's exaggerated congratulations, the two of them made an indescribable expression and only gave a small nod.

　That is, well, it wouldn't be honestly pleasing to hear a slaver say, "I'm glad to be freed from slavery. What kind of sarcasm is that?


　By the way, Fyodor's statement that "you will be removed from the union's roster" has to do with the collar they had been wearing - the slave ring.

　I've already mentioned that the slave ring is endowed with a number of magic.

　You'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.



　My interest in this transaction is the slave ring. It's a good thing that I'm not the only one, but I'm not the only one.

　What it means is that when I die, the remaining Lunamaria will not be freed, but will become the property of the Union.

　It's because of that advantage that the Union lent me a valuable slave ring.



　I've already mentioned the reason for removing that convenient slave ring, but I've already mentioned the seal. The only way to be sure that Seal's determination to eat his own soul was not influenced by his slave status is to actually free him from slavery.

　As for Lunamaria, this is honestly an "afterthought" for Seal.

　However, Lunamaria's fall into slavery is still a thorn in Lars's side, and it is still a thorn in his heart. I had calculated that if I pulled that thorn out of him at this time, Lars would become even less hostile to me.


　Besides, when I invite Priest Sailor Priest to my house in the future, if he sees a slave collar around Seal's or Lunamaria's neck, his favoritism towards me might be greatly diminished.

　I could be told that I won't be allowed into the clan of someone who would enslave others, etc. I don't want to do that.

　I don't think that Lunamaria will rebel against me now, so I decided to take this opportunity to collectively eliminate the concerns.



　Once the two of them are freed from slavery, the next step is to prepare to welcome Claudia in.

　Oh busy busy - as I was jokingly saying that, Miroslav brought an interesting story.

　The story was that the master of the King's Capital Adventurer's Guild wanted to meet me.