Notaras, the leader of the Order, came to the mansion.
　I think there is one possible reason.

　Perhaps he came to bring Saint Sophia back to the Knights.

　I don't know if someone who overheard the conversation with Marquis Gorgias at the imperial palace informed the knights or if Gorgias himself reported it to the knights, but in any case, it seems that the knights know that Saint Sophia is with me.

　If the goal is to retrieve the saint, Notaras is not a welcome and acceptable guest.

　However, at least Notaras has gone out of his way to identify himself and visit us.
　If you want to get Saint Sophia back, it's not impossible to appeal to the use of force.
　Sage Arute would do that.

　Maybe it's because of the circumstances that Sophia has become the princess's attendant, but at any rate, Notaras is at least willing to talk to me.

　Then it's not credible to send Notaras away from the door.

　I said to Clarice.

'Mr. Clarice,' I said. Please show Notaras to the drawing room.

I understand.

　Clarice nodded vigorously and quickly left the room.
　Anyway, let Sophia stay in the bedroom.
　Besides, it looks like Filia shouldn't be allowed to see Notaras either.

'Lady Filia will wait in the bedroom with Sophia.

Why?

'Because Notaras is not an ally. At least, he might be an enemy, as a possibility. Then it would be dangerous for Lady Filia to meet with Notaras.

　Although it seems unlikely, it's not impossible that Notaras, for example, could take the Princess Filia hostage and demand the saint Sophia be handed over to him.

　Another problem is that Notaras is a summoner.
　Summoners summon and use demons as their own companions.
　As such, summoners are familiar with the nature of demons and their ilk.

　In other words, they might find out that Filia is the daughter of a demon.

　It would be good if the other party is a trustworthy person like Perse, but I don't want Notaras to take advantage of my weakness.

　When I explained that to her, Filia nodded with a very good listening ear.

　For a moment, I thought that Filia might try to eavesdrop on my conversation with Notaras out of curiosity, but I don't think she would do that.

　I went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Then I took two cups of tea and went to the guest room.

　I asked Clarice to explain the situation to Sophia after showing Notaras around, so it would be quicker for me to brew the tea.

　The guest room is a reasonably clean space, with couches on either side of a low table.
　On the couch at the back, a young man with his hair cropped in a round cut was already seated.

　It was Notaras the Summoner.

　When he noticed me, he smiled and then stood up.
　Notaras is quite thin, even though he's been around for a long time.
　Behind his thick glasses, I could see his dimpled eyes.

'It's been a long time, Lord Solon,'

　Notaras said in a high-pitched voice.
　From the unique atmosphere, Notaras was a little floating in the Order.
　But I think he's more of a talker.

''It's been a long time, hasn't it? I wonder if he came to bring Sophia back.

That's one of the things I'm here for. The Holy Knight, Lord Creon, has told me to bring Lady Sophia back by force.

　Notaras easily affirmed that he was trying to bring Sophia back.
　Whether in terms of unity and external propaganda of the Order's members, or in terms of pure combat power, Saint Sophia is an essential part of the Order.

　After all, it seems that the members of the Knights will not allow Sophia to leave and will desperately try to bring her back.

　Anyway, I urged Notaras to sit down and then offered him a cup of tea.
　He took his time to drink it and opened his mouth.

He took his time drinking it and opened his mouth. And it's carefully brewed. It is my good fortune that the vice-chairman of the Knights of St. Sophia's is willing to brew tea for me soon.

'I'm a former Deputy Commander. I'm an outcast to you guys.

I have something to say to you about that.

What?

　When I asked, Notaras did something unexpected.
　He bows his head so deeply that his forehead is almost pressed against the table.
　I was taken aback, and Notaras said to me, "I'm sorry.

'I am sorry. I think it was folly to drive Lord Solon out. I am ashamed of my folly.

　Then Notaras told me of the Order's plight.

　It seems that the management of the Order hasn't been going well since I was gone.
　All kinds of miscellaneous tasks have been stagnant, negotiations with the outside world and capturing the ruins have been sluggish.

　Especially the fact that ten members who were sent to scout out the ruins died there is a terrible story, although I already heard about it from Sophia.
　When I was there, we acted with safety first, and there were never that many casualties.

''Everything is the responsibility of Acting Deputy Commander Arte-dono, who replaced Solon-dono.　

Arte, right?

　Sage Arte, the wise man, was the leader of the Order who tried to oust me most aggressively.

　And although Arte was an excellent sorcerer, he didn't seem to be very good at running the Order.
　I think it was the political dynamics within the Order that made Arte the acting deputy head of the Order, but it's not the right person for the job.

''There's only one way to solve all the problems. It's to ask Lord Solon to come back.

　Notaras spread his hands in an exaggerated manner and assured him.

　This was unexpected.

　The summoner Notaras had come to bring back not only Saint Sophia, but me as well, he said.
　I said questioningly.

'Notaras, I think your real purpose is to bring back Saint Sophia. You're trying to use me as an outer moat for that. Because if I return to the Order, Sophia will return to the Order.

　Maybe the Knights know that Sophia left the Knights after me.
　Maybe they heard it from Marquis Gorgias' sources.

　Notaras looked straight into my eyes.

''It's a wonderful thing when people think of others. My people do not want to hinder the future of Lord Solon and Lady Sophia. And it's also true that the Order needs Sophia-sama.

So I guess that means I'm still the one who's going to bring back Saint Sophia.

'Lord Solon, you may not believe this, but I had intended to ask you to return to the Order even before Lady Sophia's absence. You are just as much, if not more, needed in the Order as Lady Sophia is!　In the Executive Council, my people have proposed that we recall Lord Solon.

The result?

'It's a four to six no vote. But all the leaders are upset. If Lord Solon himself comes to the Order's headquarters and persuades the leaders, the result will change. I have no doubt about that.

　Notaras spoke in an eager tone.

　I turned my head.

　A trap?
　For example, after me and Sophia return to the Knights' headquarters, the Knights' leadership will force Sophia into custody. After that, it's also possible that they will kill me in the dark so that I won't be disturbed again.

　It's an extreme thing, but I also think that that wise man Arte could do that much.

　However, there is no advantage for Notaras to do so.

　Notaras does not get along with Arte. On the other hand, even though he didn't oppose my banishment, he's still on relatively good terms with me.

　Bringing me back and reinstating me as deputy commander would allow me to unseat Arte and strengthen Notaras' own position.
　It's safe to say that Notaras's proposal itself is probably not a lie.

　Notaras brought out more ingredients of persuasion, as if he was trying to get inside me.

''Alte-dono has an outrageous plan. It's the capture of the dead city of Necropolis.''

　I gasped.

　The Necropolis of the Dead City is a ruin near the Imperial City.

　It is one of the most difficult ruins that many legendary adventurers have attempted to capture in the past, but no one has succeeded.

　The lowest level of the Necropolis is said to have dizzying treasures, and there are abundant resources that can be collected from the ruins.
　It's also located near the economic center of the imperial capital, and liberating it would certainly bring enormous benefits.

　And the Knights and Arte would gain unprecedented fame.

　But how much are we willing to sacrifice for this?
　I've considered attacking Necropolis once too, but by my estimates, attacking Necropolis wasn't even close to realistic.

　However, if Arte is planning to sacrifice a large number of knights, it's a different story.
　And if Arte had already disposed of the lives of the Knights, he might not hesitate to repeat the same thing.

　With an unconcerned face, Arte would tell the members of the corps that it could be easily attacked.
　And the deceived group members would lose their lives.

''Creon-dono is not opposed to this plan. If this is the case, the plan to attack Necropolis will be put into action. There is only one person who can stop this plan. Only the wizard Solon can stop this plan. Your return to the Order will save many lives.

　I was immensely disappointed.

　Indeed, if me and Sophia went back to the Order and convinced the leaders, we might be able to stop this plan.
　Then we can stop a lot of people from dying in a reckless plan.

　But I'm Princess Filia's master.
　I can see Filia looking up at me and relying on me.
　When I return to the Order, who will protect Filia?　
　Who will be her mentor?
　I promised I'd be there for Filia.

　I wondered what I should do.
　I didn't know what to do, but Notaras looked at me with wide eyes and demanded a decision.

He said. Together we will restore the Order to its rightful place. You hold the sword of justice in your hand!