Whenever I wielded the sword, the memory of that day came back to me.
　The moment I cut off the head of the bandit who attacked my mother was never far from my mind.

　I loved my mother's hands.
　I loved my mother's hands as she stroked my head with a smile.

　I loved my father's hands.
　I loved my father's hand, which always held mine as we walked through the village.

　There are two main emotions that people have for those who have power: longing or awe.
　Adoration or awe.
　My parents and the rest of the villagers were in love with the latter.

　An ordinary boy from an ordinary village dyed dozens of extremely vicious bandits with blood.
　It would be seen as odd.
　It would be perceived as abnormal.

　People live by common sense. That's why those who deviate from it are shunned, ostracized, and excluded.
　Is that why?
　I put myself in the middle of the fight.
　The reason I wanted to be strong.
　Maybe you wanted the power to never give in to anything. Maybe I needed the strength to push aside everything that stood in front of me in order to live.

''--Huh.''

　With a short exhalation, he swings a ragged great sword at the remnants floating in the atmosphere.
　A tear is made in the layer of air. A second slash is released faster than such a momentary break can be closed. It was so sharp that it was hard to believe that he was wielding a gain that was about the same weight as each person.
　The sword flashes left an afterimage as if they had split apart, and again and again, and again and again, the great sword slashed through the sky.

''Tch--''

　It doesn't hit, or even snatch.
　What is relative is the monster I saw that day.
　The illusion created by Duran should be a few steps slower than the real thing.
　As strong as possible, as fast as possible - I'm envisioning that figure, but even so, the real thing should be far above my expectations.
　Duran's all-out swing, the phantom that slipped through the intervals of the slash that was wielded as if to crush it--

f*ck...

　--and he had his claws in his throat.

　Duran slowly relaxed his entire body, releasing the extreme tension.

'Uncle, that's great!　Pimp, pimp, awesome.
　Nero, who had been watching from the side, let out a demented comment.

'Can Nero do that?　Tell me, Uncle!

I don't know, and my sword is my style, so you should learn to use it properly if you're going to learn.

'Hmm. But Nero is a thief, so he doesn't need a big sword like his uncle.

"It's not your uncle, it's your brother... haha, I told you to stay put, but it's dangerous...

But you're sweating, Uncle. I'll have Nero clean it up for you.

"Hey, don't try to wipe it with your clothes, or at least use a towel, a towel...
　Duran let out a single sigh as Nero hopped around.
　When he was lightly wiping sweat off his face, there was a faint hint of human presence.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the Princess is also waiting for you.
　A child stood at the direction of the lisping voice.
　A little girl who looked even younger than Nero, who said he was ten years old, dressed in what must have been a custom-made maid's outfit, approached Nero and Duran.

It's a child, hey hey, uncle. A child is playing maid!　I want to wear that one too, Nero!
　Nero is easily fooled by her.

''Don't let looks deceive you, Lesia is much older than me, I think--gasp!
　A thin hand was thrust into his side.
　It cannot be underestimated as the power of a child. It was as shocking as if I had received the fist of a big muscular man.

'Oh dear, no, sir. The idea of talking to a baby girl about her age is a demerit of delicacy.
　The maid smiles lightly as she says this.

''Is it okay for a servant to do violence to a guest?
　If this is the kind of thing that can serve as a head maid, then even Nero can be a maid.

It's not such an outrageous thing to do, sir. It's a love affair that is typical of a maid. The Princess is waiting for you long enough. It's housekeeper magic, clean.

　As a warm wind rushed through, Duran's body was cleansed.　
　It's a stinky magic name, but its substance is a mix of exquisitely calibrated fire, wind and water magic. If the magic power converted into different attributes is not exquisitely intertwined, there will be no warm wind. It was an advanced technology in vain.

　I followed Lesia as she led me, and we were led to a dining room where the long table was filled with extravagant dishes.

''Fenyah!　Uncle, feast, feast!　Nero, that's the most amazing thing I've ever seen.　Can I eat it or not?
　Sure enough, Nero spluttered.

'No.' 'Good.'

'Eeeeee!　Which way?

Don't be an easy prey.

The boy is a hard man - it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I've gone to all this trouble to show you the finer things in life, so you can have your fun.
　Minalia, sitting at the top, cowered her shoulders and said so.

'If you spoil them too much, they'll soon get carried away, the first time you discipline a kid is the most important thing. Otherwise they'll end up like you and that maid over there.'

I've been told, Lechia.

It's been said, Princess.

　The little girl and the girl look at each other.
　It was almost a headache to think that these guys' self-centeredness might be contagious to Nero.

''Well, you can sit down,''

　There are four seats provided.
　There are four of them here, but Lesia is excluded because she is a servant.

'Are you done talking to the kings?

Of course they were busy in their own way. They were busy in their own way and went home as fast as they could without eating.

　So who exactly is the blank seat reserved for?
　The answer came before Duran could even think about it.
　A girl in a dress has entered the room from behind the door that was opened with a bang.
　The girl's eyes moved busily, reflecting Duran's appearance, and tears appeared around her eyes softly.

''.........Sama.......!

　At the same time, the girl runs with her bright platinum blonde hair dominating the faintest of voices.
　And then, leaving the momentum to her.

Sir Knight!

　The girl jumped at Duran.





◇





Finally, finally, finally--　Good to see you, knight!
　I could feel the softness of it.
　The two small, swollen fruits were pressed against each other as if this was not enough. Before she could enjoy such a feeling, the girl put her hands around her waist and hugged her even tighter.
　She was desperate.
　I can feel the spirit of never letting go again.

　If you look at the girl, she was crying.
　And such a crying face overlapped with the fragile face of a child of some time.

"You're a princess of Sidonis--
　She was a child of about fifty-six years old when I met her, but now she was fully capable of being called a girl. That's why it took me a while to notice her.

''No way, you forgot about it!　Terrible, knight.　I've always, always adored my knight!　The next thing you know, the knight was gone, and the knight knows how sad I was to be left behind!
　Crying, the girl hugs me in a desperate manner.

'It's ... well, what ... sorry ...'

And I'm not a princess anymore. I'm just Claudia now, my knight.

..........
　Duran is silenced by Claudia's words.
　It's also Duran's fault that she lost her throne. The loss of her flesh and blood relatives is no doubt partly responsible for Duran's decision to carry out a coup in Sidonis.

'Oh, but don't get me wrong. I don't think I'm too good for my current position. In fact, I'm glad that I no longer have to deal with such a troublesome thing as the throne. So, please don't worry--
　Claudia smiled up at Duran with her hands behind her back.

''-- Because now I can marry a knight-sama without any fences!
　How unabashedly Claudia says.

'--ha.'

'No, no, no, no!　No, you can't do that!　You're Nero's uncle, get away from him!

　Before the stunned Duran can show any kind of reaction, Nero jumps in with great vigor.

''Hee--please don't pull my hair--knight-sama!　What is this kid--

Nero is not a child.　Besides, you're a big dick too, except for your tits.
　In terms of height alone, Nero and Claudia are not so different.

''I'm already thirteen, so I'm an adult!

'I'm ten years old.　I'm an adult!

Hang on!　You're still as irresistible as ever, my dear... and I envy you.
　Amused, only Minalia laughed.
　Duran admonished the two men who were bickering noisily.

''Huh ... for now you stay away and Nero, sit down.

Huh! Huh!

　Grabbing each of them by the scruff of the neck with one hand, Duran took a seat on either side of them.

'I don't know what you're mistaken about, but I'm not a knight. Besides, I'm also your family's avenger, don't talk about it too often.

But by the way...　The knight saved me!

It's just a freak show, don't try to use your life for your brother.

You can keep talking like that, but you'll still look like an old man.

I don't want to hear it, old lady.
　Duran takes a glass from the table and fuels the fruit wine in a breath.

''I ... I've been thinking about the knight-sama all along--''

"You're not thinking straight. Forget it.
　Duran swallowed the drink that was poured into his glass again.

'So why is the former princess of Sidonis here?　It's time for you to tell me what you want from me--
　Minalia smiled thinly at Duran's words.

The princess is no stranger to explaining the situation. And why should I hinder a man who wishes to see the man he has left behind?

Hmm--

　Duran snorted grimly.

'Well, my request to the boy is simple. Kidnap a certain important person, or worse, kill him.'

Is this a war thing?

Of course, the Holy Land has targeted one of the Seven Saints, Ludowaldo Carrol. He won the title of Seven Saints with a donation exceeding the budget of the small kingdoms, and is a key figure in the Holy Land's finances.

Again, that's a very disturbing story.

Hey, don't you think you've always done that? You'll take care of it, won't you?
　Duran looked at Nero and Claudia for a moment.
　Then he closes his eyes for a moment, opens them again and speaks up.

'--depends on the conditions.