The 15th day of the water month. Belle, who I'll be keeping at Lilia's house, has gotten used to life, and she's made friends with the servants.
　And now I'm headed back to Alice's grocery store, where I've had more opportunities to go lately.
　I've been there before, but I forgot to ask about Alice's plans because of all the things that happened during my last visit.

　Black said he was fine with it at any time, but it would be better to do it as early as possible.
　Normally, you might think that you don't have to worry about your life for the time being because you have won a lot of money before, but the other person is that Alice. If you take your eyes off her for a moment, before you know it, it's all gone to gambling, what a scary thing that could happen.

　We continue down the street, and when we get to a slightly larger street, a strange feeling of discomfort appears.
　It's like going through a thin membrane it's hard to explain, but that's the feeling I get.
　I tilted my head and moved my gaze to my surroundings, but there was nothing in particular and the road was quiet, and I decided to proceed with my feet despite the feeling of discomfort.

　It's not long before we came to a street with a grocery store.......and the sense of discomfort changed to something more intense.
　....I didn't pass anyone. At this time of day, on this street?
　Normally this area would be bustling with people setting up shop, and it was clearly an unusual situation to say that no one was there.

　As I looked around, feeling uneasy, I saw three shadows approaching from the direction of travel.......from the end of the road.
　A woman with long red hair and a large spear that surpasses her height, a woman with a face exactly like that woman's except for her short hair and a huge shield.......or are they twins?
　And the blue-haired man with a sword that resembles a Japanese sword behind him..............................I have a very bad feeling.

　The three of them walk up to me and open up a few meters before stopping and the twin woman takes a step forward.

'My name is Eta.'
Her name is Theta.
"Warlord Megiddo sent me.
Huh?

　The woman with the great spear called herself Eta, and the woman with the great shield called herself Theta.
　A messenger of the Warlord?　Does that mean these three are demons?
　I don't know what it is, I just have a bad feeling about it... at least it doesn't sound good, considering what I've heard about the Warlord so far.

'Master Megiddo has asked to see you.
You'll have to follow me.
....

　I knew it was that kind of talk.......I'm pretty sure Kuro had said that the Warlord was not someone I could talk to very well.
　Feeling the cold sweat running down my back, I asked quietly to the twin women.

''What if ... if I say I don't want to?''
Don't get me wrong.
I didn't hear any answer from you...
What?

　As soon as you say it, the woman with the large spear at the ready approaches me in a straight line and thrusts out a huge spear.
　It's a fast and sharp thrust, a blow that can't be dodged, but before it can reach me, a shadow of a person flew out from behind me.

"..........huh?
Mr. Zeke?

　To be honest, I didn't immediately understand what was going on.
　I didn't know why Mr. Sieg is here, and I couldn't even catch the momentary intersection of the big spear and the twin swords with my dynamic vision.
　The only thing I could clearly understand was that with a loud sound, the twin swords in Zeke's possession shattered and his body was slammed into a nearby wall.

　Seeing this unbelievable scene, I immediately ran to the fallen Mr. Zeke's side.
　Zeke-san seems to have sustained quite a lot of damage, and while shaking her body, she looks at me and moves her mouth only to say "run away".
　

''........Hoho, how could it be, a masterful feat. At the moment of the intersection, you saw that it was impossible to cancel out and deflected my blow.......

　I thought I heard Theta's muttering voice very clearly.
　Zeke told me to run away against me, but probably ... no, it's definitely not possible for me to escape from Theta and the others.
　The only combat magic I can use is auto-counter, but that magic doesn't really swell my power several times over.
　It's not possible to avoid attacks I can't see, and of course it's impossible to escape from an opponent moving at that speed.

　I feel a gut churning anger at having Zeke-san hurt, but.......there's nothing I can do about it.
　Realizing my own helplessness, I stand in front of him to protect him.
　I'm not going to be able to get through to them, but I can't let them hurt me any more.

　So I'll just have to go along with them...

Theta, what do you think?
So long as you're alive, you'll be able to cut off a limb so you can't escape.
Yeah, I'll do that.
Huh?

　
　

''Who are they?!''
"...hurt your master?　
Anima!
'I'm late!　Anima, I'm back!

　A familiar figure stood in front of me, flapping his black fur cloak.
　It was Anima, who had been asked to join Rigforesia's guards and was once separated from me.

''Anima ... how did you get here?''
'Ha!　We just finished reorganizing the guard and 'ran' here the other day!
Yeah, right.

　They're running!　From Rigforesia to here!　I thought we had to go over three mountains.
　When I'm surprised by Anima's outrageous statement, Eta and Theta look at Anima with a slightly sharper expression than before.

''Beastmen?　Eta, this guy ... he's strong.
Yeah, I see. But I don't see a problem with two of them being one - what?

　No matter how many times Anima was the opponent, Eta and Theta had a somewhat spare expression on their faces as if they had stepped on to win if they were two and one.
　But that expression changed drastically when they saw the huge flames that attacked them immediately afterwards, and they quickly split off to the left and right and leapt to avoid it.

　The flames that flew from behind me........there's only one person behind me right now, and the one who released it is definitely.......

But now that I think about it, it was a very insignificant concern. But I just couldn't get rid of it, you know?
What?

　It was a dignified yet somehow gentle and warm voice.
　I heard footsteps and a shadow stood quietly in front of me.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to get the most out of your time with the help of the company.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one for you.

''But for the sake of protecting you, let's throw away the foolish obsession that I held unrequitedly.
"...Zeke.......Mr.?　Could it be........
Yes. I'm using the fruit of the World Tree.

　After Zeke-san told that in a beautiful voice, he looked straight at Eta and Sita.
　Zeke-san's change was not only that her hair grew back and her voice returned, but the magic power she wore was also.......clearly larger.
　Rather than saying it had become bigger..................perhaps it would be more accurate to express it that way.

　Sieg-san then walked up to Anima's side and held the twin swords made of fire.

''........I will fight as well. You're not supposed to be in the best of health, either. And what we want and need to protect is the same.
What did you say your name was?
Sieglinde.
"Well thank you, Lord Sieglinde, for your help!　Let's fight together!
Yes!

　Anima shouted while extending her claws sharply and taking an adversarial stance, and Zeke-san nodded strongly while holding his twin swords.

　Dear Mother, Father - Suddenly, we were attacked by those who call themselves the War King's emissaries. Eta armed with a large spear, Sita holding a large shield, and a blue-haired man who showed no signs of moving. Now, the battle between the twin demons of Eta and Sita and the twin demons of Anima and Sieg-san - the battle has begun.