Late that night, I was holed up in the study of the mansion, biting down on a yawn, at my desk.

　Sophia and the others should be asleep by now.
　Incidentally, Notaras and Rylen Remilia are also staying in the mansion's guest room today. They too must be sleeping soundly.

　There was an attack by the wise man Arte, and I'm sure everyone is tired.
　I want to sleep so badly that I want to go to sleep now too, but there are things I have to do.

　I've got a picture book as big as a window sill and an encyclopedia so thick you can't grab it with one hand.
　Those were the things I was reading.

　I got up and reached over to the bookshelf to pick up another old book.
　Just then, I heard a knock at the door.
　Who could it be at this hour?

Come in.

　As I replied, a girl in a nightie peeked out.
　Although she is wearing a one-piece dress made of light pink fabric, her shoulders are heavily exposed and her bosom is lightly open, so it's quite a bold outfit.

　The one who was wearing such a figure was the Princess Filia.

''Can I come in, Solon?''

I wouldn't recommend being alone in a room with a man this late at night dressed like that.

　I laughed in confusion.
　Well, I'm not going to do anything about Filia, and I'm sure she knows that, so I guess that means she trusts me.
　Filia chuckled.

'But we always sleep in the same room, don't we?

'That's true but it's not like it's just the two of us these days.

　There were a lot of things going on in this mansion, and it wasn't just Filia, but Clarice and Sofia would be sleeping in a room with me, bed by bed.

　At first I thought, "This is troubling," but in some respects, having the other two in the room was less tense than being alone with Filia.

　Filia nodded her head.

'Yes, yes. It's a good thing that I'm not the only one who's missed the opportunity to be alone with Solon.

'Yeah. But we went to buy wands together, and we even trained in magic together.

That's not enough for me. Hey, can I come in this room, Solon?

　As if begging, Filia looked up at me.
　I couldn't say no to her when she said that.
　I gave up and told her to come in.

　Filia's eyes lit up as she looked at the encyclopedia that was spread out on the desk.

'What are you looking at?'　That sounds like fun!

Well, I've been collecting information on the dead city of Necropolis.

　The reason I was reading late at night like this was to gather information on the dead city of Necropolis.
　The information left behind by the adventurers who tried to capture the city in the past has been preserved in various forms in books.

　So you don't have to go to the ruins themselves to find out.

''Why are you doing that?''

I'm looking for proof that the attack on Necropolis is absolutely impossible. If it proves to be unfeasible in any way, it might make Creon and the higher-ups in the government reconsider.

　Probably the people who were fired up by Creon and in favor of the Necropolis invasion were mainly from the military.
　The Creon Salvation Knights had absorbed part of the Imperial Army's Archaeological Survey Department, and it seemed that many of the military people were also the ones who welcomed the Necropolis attack.

　If I can convince the military chiefs that the Necropolis invasion is impractical, even now, I can prevent the deaths of my former comrades.

　On the other hand, the arrested Sage Arte and the others also showed signs of having a plan, but there's no point in worrying about them now.

　Filia nodded her head.

''It has to be done.......right?''

Well, yes.

Solon, are you okay?

Excuse me?

　Filia gently touched my cheek.
　Startled, I tried to back away, but behind me was a bookcase.
　Filia's soft little hand stroked my cheek.
　Then, worriedly, Filia looked into my eyes.

'Solon, you look like you're dying to sleep. I know you're tired, you need to rest.

No I'm not done yet.

Really?

I'm sorry if I'm being a little sensitive.

　Filia pulled her hand away from my cheek and stared at her hand and me in turn.
　What's going on?

I wonder what Solon is now.

Who am I?

　Why would Filia ask me that?

　As for who I am, I'm a magic swordsman.
　Originally, I was the son of a servant of the duke's family.
　After that, I was a student at a magic school, and then a deputy commander of the Order of St. Sophia.

　And now...

　I see.
　I realized what Filia was trying to say.

''I'm the master of Princess Filia's Highness.

　I replied and Filia smiled softly.

Then you have to take care of yourself so that you can teach me things tomorrow.

Yes.

　It's true that stopping the Necropolis campaign is important, but I'm Filia's tutor now.
　I had forgotten the most important thing.
　I looked at the encyclopedia on my bookshelf and had a good idea.

'Isn't Miss Filia sleepy?'

I'm kind of blind. So I came to this room.

Then you can take my class now.

'It's a midnight class!'

　Filia's eyes twinkled.
　I'm glad she's happy to see me, but what I'm teaching Filia this time isn't magic, it's something else.

　So, for Filia, it might be a disappointment.
　But it's something I need to teach her.

　I got up to prepare the material.