Corinthian Garden was located about half a day's drive from the outskirts of the Imperial City.

　I'm going to look for herbs to help Filia, but the Corinthian Garden isn't a relic of great difficulty.
　If it came down to it, it shouldn't be a problem for me to find the herbs and come back alone.

　And yet, the companions I'm going with seem a bit too gorgeous.

　One of them is a genius magician who is a professor at the Imperial School of Magic, 'Crimson Lucy'
　The other one was Sophia, a saint with substandard powers approved by the church.

　In the carriage on the road, Lucy was sitting right next to me and Sophia was sitting next to me on the left.
　It's not that big of a carriage, and it's quite small for the three of us to ride in.

　And for some reason the two of them are sitting quite packed in my direction, so their bodies are close to each other.

　The soft touch and sweet scent of the two of them makes me a little dizzy.

'Lucy-sensei ... well, aren't we getting too close?'

Why don't you tell that to Sofia?

　Lucy says, pecking my knee.

　Sophia blushed and turned away with a pout.
　It's true that Sophia is sitting a lot closer to me.

　It seems that Lucy was originally planning to follow me, but I didn't expect her to join in.

"It was fine just me and Lucy-sensei.

　Sophia puffed out her cheeks as she said.

'Because I was worried about you, Solon-kun.

I thought adventurers were retired.

That's what I was going to do. If you're going to the ruins, I think I should go with you.

　Sophia chuckled.

''Besides I'm worried about Solon-kun being alone with Lucy-sensei...''

What are you worried about?

　Lucy interrupted from the side.

'It's ... sort of,'

　Sophia replied depressingly.
　I've thought about this before, but even though the two of them aren't on bad terms, there's a subtle distance between them.

　Sofia and Lucy should have a high opinion of each other, but perhaps they are both geniuses and are strangely aware of each other.

'I thought I was alone with Solon for a while.

　Lucy whispered.
　It's so quiet that Sophia can't hear her.

　Suddenly the carriage stopped.

　We had arrived at our destination.

　We thanked Him and got out of the carriage.
　The search for medicinal herbs would not take long, so we asked him to wait for a little while.

　The Corinthian Garden was said to be a garden created by a great nobleman who was a lord in the past.
　It was abandoned until it became a ruin, sinking beneath the strata and eventually becoming the home of the demon race.

　However, this garden was conquered by adventurers a long time ago, and there are no more powerful demons living here.

''Now, let's put up a fight!　Let me show you how serious I am!

If Dr. Lucy gets serious, she'll burn up all the herbs and everything.

　I said with a laugh and Lucy blurted out, "That's a shame.
　Lucy is a great sorcerer and an excellent student of magic, but she's not an adventurer.

　So, I'm not used to conquering the ruins, and I don't know how to recover valuable items in the ruins in a good way.

　I began to descend the stairs leading to the basement of the ruins.
　Lucy and Sophia followed.

　There was ivy growing everywhere on the first layer of stale air.
　The walls and floor were made of white-colored stone.

　As we moved forward, a large, rat-like looking demon appeared in the straw.
　If you are a fledgling adventurer, you must have been quite a threat.

　However, with a wave of her staff, the demons disappeared in an instant.

''As expected of a saintly woman. You're one of the five great magicians of the Empire.''

　Lucy raised her voice, as if impressed.
　Sophia said modestly, "That's not true.
　Maybe Lucy could have defeated it in less than a second if it was a demon race like that.

　Come to think of it, I'm worried about Filia, but there's another pressing issue.

''Speaking of the five great magicians, Lucy-sensei and Sophia were chosen, right?

Yes. And they're going to be used as instruments of war.

　Lucy says with a mortified look on her face.

　The "Great Republican War" between the Empire and the Alemany Farren Republic was getting more and more intense.
　A large number of soldiers are dying on the front lines, and some of the fronts are said to be on the verge of collapse.

　Lucy and Sophia would be sent to such a dangerous battlefield.
　Of course I was against it, but this is an order from the government.

　The plan to mobilize a highly respected sorcerer at the head of the operation, along with the introduction of a resurrected demon king, was to be the centerpiece of the Empire's counterattack.

　It was difficult to overturn that decision.

　Lucy has asked a high-ranking official she knows to postpone her trip to the battlefield for now.
　However, if things continue as they are, they will have to go to the front line.

　But Lucy was firm in her statement: "I'm not going to do what the government has planned.

I'm not going to let the government plan for you. I'm going to stop them!

Do you have a plan?

''Yes. Now that Solon is back in the Imperial City, I'd like to spend a little more time with him.

　After saying that, Lucy closed one eye.
　She's not going to talk about how to stop the government's plans, which is important.

　I was about to pile on and ask, but Sophia suddenly tapped me on the shoulder.

'What's going on?'

Mr. Solon... that...

　Sophia pointed to the back of the ruins.
　Something red was approaching.

　Me and Sophia looked at each other.
　Then we looked back at Lucy.

　I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it.

"What?

The red dragon is coming. Get down!

　I fell to the floor with Lucy.
　In the next moment, a red line passed in front of me with tremendous speed.

　The red dragon crashed straight into the wall.
　How could there be a powerful demon race like the red dragon in a place like this?

　Corinthian Garden should have already been conquered, and there was no mention of such a thing anywhere in the prior information.

　I pulled out my treasure sword Tetracord and moved forward.

''Lucy-sensei and the others, please stand back.

Oh, and Solon will protect you?

I'm a wizard, after all.

　Lucy and Sofia both have far greater talents than I do, but they are pure sorcerers, so they aren't that good at defending themselves from enemy attacks.

　That's why I need to stand in front of them as their vanguard.

A magic sword, you know?

　Lucy says as she looks at my sword.

　When I was in magic school, Lucy wasn't pleased that I was using a magic sword.

　Lucy always said, "The best way to use magic is with a staff, not a sword. Using a magic sword is a bad idea.

　But I chose to become a magic swordsman.
　I wasn't talented enough to make it on my own with magic alone.

　I drew my treasure sword, the Tetracord.
　The blue blade shines.

　I smiled and said to Lucy.

'Yes. It's the magic sword you hate, Sensei.''

It's not that I don't like it, but.... That's your precious sword, isn't it?

　I nodded.

　The Treasure Sword Tetracord is a treasured sword I obtained in the ruins I explored with Sophia and Creon.
　Without it, I wouldn't have survived the battle until today.

''Well if it's the path Solon found, I'm not going to deny it. So let me defend myself with that sword.

Of course.

　The red dragon flashed its red eyes.
　Then it let out a loud roar that made my ears hurt.

''It's coming, Solon-kun!

Yes, sir!

　Taking Sophia's words as our cue, we went into a battle stance.

　Behind me, Sophia and Lucy were split to the left and right, Sophia and Lucy holding their wands at the ready.
　After this, the red dragon rushed forward.

　If you can receive that first blow, the rest will be killed by Sophia and Lucy's magical attacks.

　I held the Treasure Sword Tetracord straight up.