'Hey, Aldis!　Are you safe?!

　After fighting off the men's attack, the boy turned around in response to a voice calling out to him.
　Three men and a woman are reflected in the boy's eyes. All of them looked relieved when the boy waved back.

''You burned it with a flourish again ......

　A strong-faced man at the head of the group, looking around the charred part of the forest, blurted out as he approached.
　His brown eyes and dark brownish reddish-brown hair, his sturdy frame and torn muscles give him a rough impression.
　Dressed in leather armor and holding a bastard sword and round shield, the figure is at first glance a recognizable swordsman's attire.

'I didn't burn it,'

'Yes, Ted. There's no way Aldis is going to fight in such a demented way.

　Defending the boy in a huffy rebuttal was a young woman in a dark green hooded robe.
　She held a short wood staff in her hand. It could be described as a very common sorcerer.
　Bright red hair peeked out from the edges of the hood on her head, and her eyes, which were aimed at the swordsman known as Ted, were a slightly darker shade of red.

'Hey, why do I always feel like it's my fault?

'Come on. At least Aldis and Orphelia didn't say the wrong thing, did they?

　When Ted asks the archer next to him, he gets a throwaway answer.
　Does he not want to get involved, or is he just too much trouble? The petite archer with steel-colored hair and eyes shrugged his shoulders and quickly discontinued the conversation.

'How many people were there over there?'

　The robe boy asks the female sorcerer.

'There were three of us. 'There were three of us,' he says, 'but I didn't feel any enthusiasm for it. They fell back as quickly as Norris did when he started shooting at them--

As soon as I turned to join Aldis, he started messing around.

　Annoyed, Ted takes over Orphelia's words.

'Why?　That one is ......, as you can see.

　He looked at the blue robes on the ground and frowned for a moment.

''It's a good thing you didn't have to kill them both.

Not two. There's another one dead over there, so that makes three.

　The archer Norris seemed to notice the wreckage of the leather-armored man who couldn't escape.

'You know exactly what I mean.'

A bowman's eyes are his life.

　Norris responds to the impressed boy with a proud look on his face.

The fact is, they're all killed anyway, right?

　Ted gasps.

'If you're good enough, you could easily take him alive.

"These guys are trying to kill me. They didn't want to pay back.

　'I was just defending myself,' the boy snapped, 'I was just defending myself.

'No, well, that's just the way it is,'

　Ted frowned, and Orphelia offered her help.

'It's not that I'm holding Ted's shoulders, but wouldn't it have been better to catch one of them and make him give up his backstory?

'It's messy. I don't care what's behind you or who told you to attack me. If they come at you again, you'll get them back. Isn't that the whole story?

'Haha. Aldis always seems to be afraid of what he says even though he looks so mature.

That's true. The fact that they have the power to take revenge on you makes their quality even worse.

　Orphelia agreed with a sigh as Norris gave a dry laugh.

　There is no one here to blame for taking the lives of the attackers.
　The law of man extends to the cities and settlements and within the reach of the officials who are the keepers of the law.

　There is nothing more ridiculous than calling for the protection of the law in the depths of a forest infested with wild beasts and demons.
　In a lawless land, one must protect oneself.
　If you can't do that, you'll lose your life without knowing it.

　Of course, criminals are not reserved, and those who have no way to defend themselves are no better than prey to be reaped.
　There is no one to attack and no one to be attacked; the only question is who is stronger.
　If you attack someone stronger than you, you will be killed on the contrary. Only such a natural providence is alive in the land where no man has stepped in.

It's a good thing that they've been fighting with us at Byakuya no Meisei. It's time to make things right.

　Next to the strong-faced swordsman's quiet fighting spirit, the little archer proceeded to speak.

''So, Ardis. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?''

I don't know. But you knew about sword magic.

''Hmm. Well, Ardis's sword magic is becoming more and more known these days. It's not like you're hiding it, right?

　The boy called Aldis returns to Norris with a "well,".
　As it was, he turned his gaze at an angle and laid out all the possibilities he could think of.

'A group of burglars who attacked a nobleman who was trying to take me in and turned me back in my sleep. The sorcerers who want me to teach them sword and sorcery. The monks of the church who have been trying to curry favor with you. The ruffians in town who hurt him last time. The mercenaries with their jealousy. I'm not sure I'm going to be the only one who can do this. And the rest...

I'm sure the territorial leaders must be very unhappy about it.

　Orphelia added, and Ted asked back, as if he'd never heard of such a thing before.

'Huh?　Why would the Territorial Army have Aldis?

The general of the army came personally to me once and asked me to teach the army's sorcerer some sword magic. But this boy refused without a second thought.

''Sword magic is not something that can be mastered by a sorcerer anyway. We're both wasting our time. If you have that kind of time, you'd be better off sleeping in bed.

　The person in question is blunt.

''But then again, there's a way to say no!　If you don't listen to what the other party has to say and refuse them so curtly, it's bound to get you in trouble!

　'What are you doing?' says Ted, raising his eyebrows as he looks at the boy.

'When you're embarrassed in public like that, you can't afford to be resentful.

''Haha. As usual, Aldis is full of enemies, isn't it?

'This is no laughing matter, Norris. I don't care if you're a thief or a bandit, but a nobleman, a churchman or a lord's army is a bad opponent. And Ardis, don't make more enemies than you can handle. I know your strength is that you're a monster, but you're in a lot of danger.

"I know, Ted. You're good to us. We don't want to bother you. I'll be quiet with the lords and the church.

　At such words from Aldis, Ted and the others say in unison.

'For those who cannot weigh themselves, three copper coins.

I'll bet you five coppers that I'm not going to weigh myself down.

Ha-ha. For those of you who don't think it's worth your while, a piece of silver.

　Even the bets have ended up being unsuccessful.

......

　Aldis' 'I'll be quiet' didn't seem to be trusted at all.

'Well then, let's head back to town for today. 'Aldis, have you collected it?　I want to be out of the woods before the night spreads.

Yeah, it's over.

　The 'recovery' here means to retrieve something of value from the body of the enemy.

　It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends.
　And the other side is the enemy that tried to take Aldis' life. It is necessary to check the personal belongings in order to investigate the identity of the person, and there is no reason for anyone to blame you for accepting something of value as an inconvenience.

I didn't have any good stuff on me, though.

Then I'll burn it to the ground.

Please. I'm gonna go burn that guy over there.

　After burning the bodies of their enemies, Aldis and the others hurried out of the forest and onto the road to the city.
　The city of Trier, located in the southeast of the Canobis Mountains in the center of the Robles continent, is the port city of Trier, where Aldis and his friends live in the scented sea breeze from the east.

　It is the second largest city in the Kingdom of Naglas, which is surrounded by rich granaries and thrives on the bounty of forests and coastal trade.
　The Caucasus Forest, which stretches across the southern part of Tholia, provides the city with fuel, food, and medicinal plants, and has long supported the city's growth.

　Of course, it's a land normally out of man's reach, and it's also an unexplored region infested with wild, fierce beasts and even demons.
　However, the bounty available in the depths of the forest is very attractive to humans. Many people enter the forest knowing that their lives are in danger.

　Occasionally, large merchants will team up to conduct a large exploration, but it is usually done by a small party of people who can work in small groups.
　Accepting requests from merchants to obtain medicinal herbs and rare plants in the forest is a valuable source of income for mercenaries in peacetime.

　Even though they are mercenaries, they are not always fighting all year round.
　They don't always have a place to fight in the first place.

　If they can't buy your sword skills, they will inevitably have to earn something to glue them together.
　Escorting travels, delivering letters, surveying uncharted areas, exterminating beasts, gathering in dangerous places, those who could not accept such work would eventually turn into thieves and brigands and be hunted by mercenaries.

　This time, Aldis and his men were given the task of conducting a preliminary survey of the logging area.
　The request was made by a group of timber merchants.
　They said that they had already harvested all the valuable trees in the existing logging areas and that they would need to clear new areas for logging next year.

So what did you think of the sites we surveyed?

　Aldis asks, as if it were someone else's business.

'It's not so bad,' he says. It's not a bad idea, it's a short distance to the main road, and as long as the roads are maintained, there should be no problems. The quality of the wood seems to be good, and I think that the timber merchants will be willing to invest a little more to get it.

''There were several 'double-sworded beast' nests, so I think we need to clean them out beforehand.

　Norris adds.

'Heh,'

Well, that's something for us to talk about, you know. Can't you at least be aware of what you're up against?

　Ted complained to Aldis, who was nowhere near as enthusiastic as he was.

The fact is, I'm just a temporary participant. It's a request I received as the 'Midnight Sun', so in a sense, it's someone else's business, right?

　Ted's expression twisted at such a reply.

'Hey, Aldis. As I've been saying for a while, would you like to join our party?

Me?

That's right. After all, we work together so often, it's almost like we're part of the Byakuya no Myojo anymore.

"Party ...... hey. ............ Well, I'll think about it.

So that's why you keep stretching your conclusions like that every time.

　Orphelia's words were cut off as she lunged at Aldis' annoying reply.

''Did you hear me?''

　Aldis and Norris' eyes met.

'Yes, someone's attacking you,'

　Closing her eyes and concentrating on her consciousness, Aldis' ears hear the voices of humans calling for help.
　At the same time, the cries of horses and the screams of decapitation can be heard. The direction is the road ahead of Aldis and the others.
　If they continue on, there is no doubt that they will meet up with each other.

''Ted, what do we do?''

　Aldis asks for the strong man's decision.
　Because he is the leader of the Byakuya no Moshi.

"Of course I will help.

Which way?

I'll decide when I see it!

　As soon as he declared that, Ted ran off as fast as he could.

"Ha-ha. You're such a snarky little meddler,

'Really. I wonder if he can't do something about that personality that gets into trouble.

　Despite his tough exterior, he can't help but reach out to people in need.
　They will complain about such a party leader, but they will go along with it all the way.

　From Aldis' point of view, Ted's life is not a wise one.
　The world is full of dangers. People who jump into trouble will never live long.

　But still, Aldis doesn't want to think of him as a fool.
　She was glad that Ted's way of life was a bit like her benefactor, and his meddling nature is the reason why Aldis is able to live in this world.

'I can't help it,'

　Blithely, Aldis tossed the two shortswords he had pulled from his waist and followed Ted with them in the air.