When I went to the entrance of the mansion, Creon, the leader of the Salvation Knights, and Ren, the spearman, were there.
　They were standing side by side under the porch for carriages.

　Creon was wearing a white knight's uniform as usual.
　Creon, who was famous for being a beautiful knight, standing against the sunset, was quite picturesque.

''What does the Commander of the Salvation Knights want in this tiny suburban mansion?''

　I asked sarcastically, but Creon remained cold and expressionless.

''Tiny,'' he said, ''is probably not the case. We have a lot of women living here, from Princess Filia's Highness and Saint Sophia to Arte and the other leaders of the Order.

　If you think about it, this mansion is home to almost half of the former leaders of the Knights of St. Sophia.
　Although, though, Arte and the others are severely wounded and unable to use magic, and have lost their former abilities.

　The remaining Knights of St. Sophia's cadres should be almost all members of the Salvation Knights.
　One of them is Ren, the spearman.

''It's been a long time, Ren.''

Yes. I miss it.

　With a grin, Ren laughed.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.

　Ren is the youngest among the Order's officers.
　It's a good idea to have a neutral, well-groomed face, and the expression "beautiful red-faced boy" fits the bill.

　But in reality, Ren is not a boy, but a girl, and was originally a member of the entourage of the man-hating wise man Arte.
　I wonder how Ren feels about the fact that Arte has been purged by Creon.

　At least, it seemed that Ren was still acting as Creon's companion.

　Ren's right hand held his prized demon spear rune in his right hand.
　The rune was a cursed red long spear, and Ren was the only one who could control it.

　Ren's hand spun around.
　The next moment, Ren's magic spear shot out at my throat.
　As soon as I jumped back, I drew the treasured sword tetracord from its sheath.

　Ren's magic spear glowed red and attacked me again.
　The Treasure Sword Tetracord flicked it back, sending sparks flying violently.

　Ren drew his spear and was about to turn for another attack, but there was a slight gap in his movement.
　I didn't miss the opportunity and flashed my treasure sword, and Ren retreated, nearly taking the demon spear off.

''Heh, I thought my arm was tamed because I stopped being an adventurer and spent so much time lounging around here, but that's not true!

He's a former deputy commander, for heaven's sake. I've been in combat much longer than Ren.

It's true that in the sense of one-on-one, you're the best all-around type. Well, when fighting within the Order, you are far less valuable than an attack-focused type like me.

　Ren's Demon Spear Rune can use its spell power to inflict fatal wounds on the demon race that lies deep within the ruins.
　It's the same for humans as well.

　When Ren's spear glowed red, if it grazed my skin, it could result in death.
　I glanced at Creon.

　Creon doesn't move in place and is staring at us expressionlessly.

　He doesn't seem to stop and doesn't join Ren.
　What is Creon's purpose in having Ren attack me?

　Anyway, we need to win the game as soon as possible.
　Ren is being pushed, so we might be able to win even if we continue to attack in a folding fashion.

　It would be a straightforward approach.
　But what I'm looking for is a more certain victory.

　Ren's spear glows red once more.
　After seeing that, I left the porch of the mansion with my sword at the ready and moved into the garden.

'Heh, you're running away?'　

Yeah. To win.

　Len followed me out into the yard of the mansion.
　That was Ren's mistake.

　I took a light swing of my treasure sword.
　At that moment, a green ivy crawled up from the ground in the garden.

''Wha........?　Yikes!

　Ren screams.
　Its slender body was entangled in ivy and unable to move.

　I easily took the magic spear from Ren's hand.

　Because of the incident of the previous attack on Arte, various traps are now being set up in the mansion.
　One of them is this ivy, which with Sofia's help, is spread throughout the mansion.

''It's not fair,''

　Ren glared at me and accused me, but I laughed at his protests.

'I wouldn't want to be told by a spear-wielding girl who comes to a stranger's mansion out of the blue.

　Then I looked back at Creon.

'So, what do you really want?　Why did you let Ren attack me?

I wanted to see what you could do.

'Am I good?　I thought Creon would have known better than that.

''No........my power is higher than before. So my skills are high to begin with, but in terms of magical and physical abilities.

It's...

The power of Her Highness Princess Filia.

　I shut up.
　Creon had a good point.

　I connected Filia to the magic circuit and borrowed its power.
　But it wasn't a power I could obtain without any side effects, and it was taking a toll on Filia's body.

　Creon crossed his arms.

'However, there is another reason why I came to this mansion. I've brought you information that you should want by the throat right now.''

　I locked eyes with Creon.
　Creon was staring straight at me.

'I'll show you where Dr. Lucy is being held captive, Solon.

　Creon gave a strange smile.