Yuki-sama, are you collaborating with the Duke's people?
I will.

　In the carriage.
　I was talking to Martha again.

''If you are in the company of the dukes, you can avoid trouble with the other nobles. In order not to get into trouble with your father. It's better that way.''
As expected of Yuki-sama. You're thinking clearly.

　Another reason is that I'm just getting to know the average nobleman.
　I'm a novice.
　If I force myself to pretend to be an ordinary nobleman, I might get ripped off.
　If you stay with the Duke's Odette-Suray and imitate her, you should be able to live like a human being in The Magic Guild.

''Master-. There's a demon ahead!''

　Suddenly, Dick jumped in through the window.

'At the end of the street, there's a dark wolf! I think he was waiting for the carriage!
'Mr. Bergen. There's a demon up ahead!　Signal the carriages around you!
Yes, sir!

　Mr. Bergen, in the governor's seat, tipped his whistle and blew it.
　Three short times. Twice long. It's a signal for the demon to appear.

　A dark wolf is a wolf with a body larger than an adult.
　It is characterized by its jet-black fur, and its presence is hard to notice when it is lost in the evening darkness.
　It is carnivorous and fierce. They are also fast-moving.
　If they're going to surround the carriage with them it's going to be very troublesome.

"I'm going out for a while. Take care of Martha for me, please.
Huh?　No, Yuki-sama is not going to...
Have a good day. Yuki-sama!

　I jumped out of the carriage.
　The soldiers in the duke's guard are looking around, swords in hand.

'Demons?　You are nowhere to be found!
A bastard child of a baronial family making trouble for himself.
If you say there's a demon in there, tell me exactly where it is!

Three dark wolves ahead. The distance is ten minutes away by carriage. However, it's a diversion. Five dark wolves will be coming from each side. They're probably planning to attack from left and right while we're distracted by the enemies in front. It's hard to see them because they're hiding in the grass. Be careful.
"...Oh?

　This is the "supersonic detection" by the bats that use it.
　The bats that received my Myster Blood can move day and night, and with their enhanced ultrasound, they seem to have gained the power to find hidden demons.

It's true what Yuki-Grossaria says. We have detected the demon here as well.

　Odette-Slay gets out of the carriage.
　Next to her is a woman in a light blue robe. She has a wand. A sorceress.

"I will be brief. This is my tutor.
What kind of messenger........

　Shoo, a green snake coiled around the tutor woman's ankle.
　She put her ear close to the snake's mouth and nodded. So that's the tutor's errand boy.

''The only detection we have is that there are three dark wolf units.... And in terms of accuracy we're no match for them.
'I can't believe you even know what a demon's weapon is. How clever are Yuki-Grossaria's messengers?
"Dick, did you hear a compliment?
Yeah. It helps.

　I patted Dick's head, which was perched on my shoulder.

''Well, if it's only a dark wolf, let's use my 'ancient magic' to take care of it. Soldiers, prepare for the enemy in front.
What about me?
I'd like you to distract the enemy.
I understand.

　The dark wolf coming from the front is defeated with the magic of Odette-Slay and the tutor woman.
　Until then, the enemies on the left and right will not be able to get closer, right?
　That's what a senior nobleman does, it makes sense.

'Can I ask you one question? My dear Odette.
'What is it, Yuki-Grossaria?
''How long does it take an ordinary noble to defeat a bunch of demons?　Is it still going to take an hour or so?
What...?

　Odette-Slay raised her eyebrows.

'Do you doubt my powers?　Is that what you're saying, Duchess Odette is about as tricky as a dark wolf?
No, no, no, it's just a common story of a nobleman who can use magic.
It wouldn't take a nobleman ten minutes to take down a pack of dark wolves!
Ten minutes?
Yes, sir!　If you're a duke, it's normal to clean up in five minutes!

　I see.
　Ten minutes for the common gentry. The dukes have 5 minutes.
　Let's call it 7 and a half minutes here, taking a break.

Okay. Well, I'm off.
'Yes. Your messenger can confuse the enemy........What are you going to do if he goes!　Hey!

　I start running in a 'Boosted' state.
　It takes seven and a half minutes to exterminate a dark wolf, huh? Modern aristocrats are amazing.
Everyone in Feera Village took about 20 minutes to annihilate 10 Dark Wolves after they entered into battle.

''We need to show a little strength. To do it right, to do it human.
Master!
"We'll clear it out from the enemy on the right. Dick, I want the exact location of the enemy!
"It's all there is to it.

　While listening to Dick's reply, I doubled my "Physical Strengthening (Boosted)".




...................



　Let's get the demon slaying done quickly.
　Take your time and say, "Are you really human for taking so much time and effort? How can they be suspicious?

　I keep my body low and run down the grassy field by the side of the road.
　I'll take care of them first, starting with the ones on the right.
I'll be approaching them at once while wearing a double-layered "boosted" outfit.

"Gugaah!

　The dark wolf that had been hiding in the grass noticed me. But it was too late.

'First one,'

　I thrust my dagger into the neck of the dark wolf who was in the lead.
　The dark wolf screams and stops moving.
　In the meantime, I erase one of the 'Physical Strengthening' emblems and rewrite it into 'Flame God's Bullet (Efreet Blows)' and activate it.


　''Zudododododododododd!


"Gagaa? "GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! "Ggaaaaaaah!

　The dark wolves, who had taken a direct hit from the flaming bullets, were blown up and burned up.
　That's it for the right side.

''Goshujin,'' ''Arujisama,'' and ''Oyabun.''
"Dick, Gail, Neil, how did it go?
I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do. Look at this.
Which one?

　I jumped up and looked down from the air and saw a single dark wolf lying on the street.
　There are countless wounds on its fur.
It seems that he was cut by the wings of a bat that had been "boosted". A mortal wound to a wolf? That's great, Dick and the others.
　The stone spears are flying towards the escaped dark wolf.
　Is this the magic of a duchess? That's my girl.

Good job. I'm going to take down the dark wolf on the left side of the road.
"No. "They are already gone, sir.
What?
'He must have seen the screams and flames of his friends -' They thought they couldn't win.
Chase. Request backup.

　I start running again with double the 'physical enhancements'.
　Not good. Almost seven minutes pass.

　I kicked the ground.
Using my "flying" skill, I look for the dark wolf from the air - I was there.
　He's hiding in the tall grass, desperate to get away.

"Dick, Gail, Neil. I need you to keep him back.
"'Reiyoukai!

　Dick and the others block the path of the dark wolves who were trying to escape.
　The one who tried to pass through gets his chest cut off by a wing and falls down.
The wings of these "body-enhanced" bats are terribly hard and sharp. They are as sharp as their blades.

"In the meantime...


　I attacked the dark wolves from behind.

''Dick and the others have surrounded the enemy - they're in a panic over there - and we've found something to worry about.

　And...





...a failure.

　In the end, it took me 10 minutes to annihilate them all.
　Pretending to be a human nobleman is hard.

"...Hey.... That's the Baron's, Yuki-Grossaria........
I can't believe it. A bastard child of a baronial family fighting like that.
''........I think Odette-sama has made an alliance with an extraordinary opponent.......''

　I can hear the soldiers talking. They're all surprised.
　I know, right? It took them that long to do it.
　You can't help but feel that you are unreliable as an ally....
　It's really difficult to pretend to be human.

I'm sorry, Odette-Suray-sama. Odette-Suray-sama.

　I walked back to the carriage and bowed to Odette-Sleigh, the duchess.
　Odette-Suray is standing in front of the carriage, looking at me intently.

''..........''
''It took me ten minutes to defeat the Dark Wolf. If you're a duke, I'm embarrassed that it would take you 10 minutes to take care of a demon that would take five minutes after you found it.
..........
I won't complain if you dissolve the alliance, considering it unreliable, but...
It's you.
Yes, sir.
Do you remember what I told you?
That's why the dukes would wipe out the demons within five minutes of finding them.
I didn't say enough. I meant to say that the dukes would annihilate the demons in five minutes 'after going into battle' with them.
I'm sorry, I made a mistake.
'How can a human move that quickly to kill a demon in five minutes after finding it!　Ten minutes is crazy!　Use your common sense!
I'm a country aristocrat and I don't know much about the city. From now on, I'll be more careful.

　I bowed my head honestly.
　He's surprisingly nice. Duchess Odette-Slay.
　You're the one who points out my ordinary mistakes.

I had misjudged your ability. I didn't expect you to have this much power. With someone of your caliber, there's no need for me to form an alliance with you.
No, I'm quite sure I need Lady Odette-Slay's help.
'What?'
'By all means, make an alliance with me. If possible, it would be helpful if you could teach me some nobleman's common sense. Together we will become knights of the Princess.
I'm growing rather curious about you, Mr. Potter.

　For now, me and Odette-Slay shook hands again.

'Caw ... caw ... caw ...'

　At the same time, I heard a squeal from my chest.

'Sorry. I forgot about you.

　I pulled out a small creature I'd hidden under my clothes.
　It's a small fox with silvery fur.

''What is ... that creature?''
"I found it during a fight with a dark wolf. It looks like a fox cub that nawabs this area. The rest of the family had been killed by the dark wolves.
...could it be that we were attacked by...?
'Maybe we just walked by where this fox family and the dark wolf were fighting. They said that this guy's family was killed and the blood-drunk dark wolf attacked us as well.
You say that like you've seen it all before.
...just my imagination.
It's all right, I mean, they're children, but they're wild animals, aren't they?

　Odette Suley timidly reached out to the child fox.

'Doesn't this boy bite?
I've been bitten.
"Bitten?　Blood!
'I got it. But he apologized right away. He wouldn't bite a person unless I told him to. His name is Remy, by the way.
Are you going to keep it?
''I'll take the place of the guard dog. I'm worried about my maid, Martha, while I'm a trainee in the 'Magic Guild'.
''Well, it's only natural for a sorcerer to have a messenger...''
Thank you. Let's go, Remy.
"Yes, Mr. Yuji.

　Remy, the silver fox, answered in human terms.
　When I saved him earlier, Remy, who was in a panic, bit me. That's when he licked my Myster Blood. That's how I was able to communicate with him.
　We talked it over, and he agreed to be my mage.

I'm sorry about your family. If only we'd gotten here a little sooner.
"...uhh...
'Let's get back to the carriage for now. I'll introduce you to Martha, Dick the bat, Neil and Gail. Also, I'll have some food for you.
'......Thank you. Aruji-sama.

　I walked back to the carriage, taking Remy the fox in my arms.



─ ─ .................




Dear Odette.
What's going on?
The foxes of today had silver body hair, didn't they?
Of course.
I think it might be the Silver Bayofox, a higher breed of fox.
You mean using magic to change into a person?
Yes, sir.
'No way. It's a given that Silver Bayofox is not used to people. All sorcerers have tried their best, but they couldn't turn him into a user.
''That's right. And in any case, a large amount of magical power is needed to turn into a human being. It would take decades for that little fox to turn into a man.
So it's just a silver fox.
You're used to people.
Yes, he's sleeping soundly in Yuki-Grossaria's arms.
It's just a fox I'm sure.

　Odette, the duke's daughter, and her tutor murmured something like that as she looked at Yuki-Grossaria's back.