Michelle's guards were crushed - by something other than alcohol - and the feast was closed before the night was over.

　Aldis took his share of the reward and headed home with his pockets warmed for the first time in a long time.
　It was a task that he had been prepared to do, which in some cases might take more than ten days, but with the help of Michelle and the others, it was solved in the shortest amount of time possible.

　It was fortunate for Aldis that she didn't have to leave the house for long periods of time, as she left the twins at home. Most importantly, Aldis was happy to be able to sleep peacefully in her bed.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find something to eat and drink for the time being with this reward.

　After arriving at the front of the house, Aldis unlocks the front door and enters.
　The house that had been lived in for a month or so still had a sense of security that was different from a rented house.

　It's just two girls who don't even speak properly, but still, it's been a long time since Aldis has had someone in her home.
　This kind of thing isn't bad. The three of them had started their lives unintentionally, and as Aldis returned home with that thought in mind, she noticed that the atmosphere in the house was different than usual.

　As before, Aldis looked into the twins' room and uttered, "I'm home now," and saw one of the twins lying limply on the floor, breathing heavily, and holding their hands. And then he saw the other one holding his hand.

'Hey, what's going on?'

　In a rush, Aldis rushed to the twins' side.
　The face of the collapsed girl was red with heat and she was breathing painfully.
　Their eyes were closed, but it was impossible to tell if they were asleep or unconscious.

'Do you have a cold ......?'

　Aldis is neither a doctor nor a medicine man.
　He does not have the knowledge to diagnose the symptoms at a glance.

　If it were a normal human being, he or she would usually be taken to a church for treatment. But in the case of the twins, that is not an easy choice.
　In this world, twins are considered to be an abomination because the messenger of the Goddess of Evil was a twin.
　It is unlikely that those who believe in the goddess would heal the twins.
　And most of the healers are followers of the goddess.

　Then what about doctors?

　I couldn't expect that either.
　They would probably refuse to see me for the same reason.
　The city is full of goddess devotees.

　Even the medicine man is the same.
　Even if they treat you, if they know you have twins in this house, you won't be able to leave your home without worrying about it in the future.

'Liana and the others are going to die ......, they're going to die oh no!

　The other girl - Filia - desperately grasps the fever-stricken twin's hand, while the other girl - Filia - pleads with her yellow eyes moistening.

　What should the twins, neglected even by the goddess, pray to and long for?
　Aldis felt inconsolable.

'Let's put him to bed anyway,'

　When she takes the limp twin - Liana - in her arms, Aldis puts her on the bed, which has never been used, and drapes the covers over her.

　All the while, Filia doesn't try to move away from Liana.
　If it were true, she should be kept away from the sick, but that was an absurd counsel when it came to these twins.
　Thinking it would be counterproductive to forcibly tear apart both of them, who wouldn't leave each other even for a moment, Aldis decided to let Filia do as she pleased.

　It took several hours of taking care of her by magically freezing a wet hand towel and placing it on her forehead and wiping the sweat from her body.
　At dawn, as Liana's fever began to subside, Filia now began to run a fever.

　Not only had she been by my side the whole time, she was a girl of limited energy to begin with, and she had neglected to eat from the time Riana got her fever until Aldis returned.
　So how could Filia be the only one who could stay healthy?

　However, with Liana's fever beginning to come down, Aldis was also somewhat relieved.
　If Liana had caught the cold, it seemed to me that Filia's symptoms would settle down in the same way.

　The next morning, both of them had calmed down, thanks to the fact that they were placed in bed with Liana, who had regained consciousness, and that they were allowed to sleep slowly with their heads cooled.

　Meanwhile, Aldis concentrated on nursing them both, giving them feverish drinks and making them easy to eat meals.
　She would occasionally hold the twins' groggy hands and pat their heads while she cooled the hand towel on their foreheads and stayed with them as long as she could.

　Aldis herself has never experienced being nursed like that. But for some reason he couldn't understand himself, but he knew he should.
　It wasn't a memory or an experience, but something he couldn't recall that made him feel that way.

　As it turned out, it was just a simple cold, but the only reason the child was still lying on the floor without food was because Aldis had returned before it was too late.

　What if the request to rescue the students had gone on too long?　What if I'm half a day late getting home?
　The twins could have been cold together.

　The thought sent a chill down Aldis' spine.
　The danger of leaving the child alone at home was something that came to her after all this time.

　But that doesn't mean Aldis can't be left at home with them.
　Normally, there is the option of hiring someone. If you pay a silver coin, you can hire someone like a maid.
　But with the twins, that would be difficult.
　The only person who can be trusted to be in charge of their absence is the person in charge.

　When you think about it, Aldis is reminded of how limited his friendships are.
　On the other hand, it was not all bad.

　Since the day Ardis took care of the twins in their feverish state, the distance between them has visibly decreased.
　Their responses, which used to be either "yes" or "no", gradually became a mixture of other words, and where they used to huddle in the corner of the room looking at other people's faces, they now trotted behind her.

　Most of all, it was a great relief to Aldis that she was able to sleep in her bed. It's not a good idea to catch a cold sleeping on the floor, as it would be unbearable for her to catch a cold like before.

　At the same time, a feeling of self-mockery emerged.
　Aldis had no intention of getting involved in the twins' affairs.
　I'm sure you'll be able to take care of them for a while, and then find a foster home or throw them into an apprenticeship with the merchant association.

　But even so, after living with them for more than a month, it is inevitable that they will come to hate each other.
　Now it seems that I have completely grown to have feelings for the twins.

　I couldn't leave the house without the twins, who were calling out Aldis's name and occasionally smiling at me, so I spent my days teaching them the housework and occasionally enjoying a nap with them.

And?　When are you going to do your job?

　Ted says, glaring with a sour look on his face.
　The twins, sitting on either side of Aldis, cling to his arms in fright because the big man, who has a villainous look on his face, even at best, has such a look on his face.

　Because of the priority of taking care of the twins, Aldis hasn't received a request for nearly a month since then.
　Ted and his friends couldn't bear to look at her, so they came into the house.

Ted, don't look so scared. Those boys are scared.

What, you're the one who said it was time to put Aldis to work?

　Grumbling, Ted prodded Orphelia.

'That's part of it, sure. I've been wondering about the situation with those boys, too.'

　The 'those kids' she was referring to were the twins who were currently holding Aldis's arms with a wary expression on their faces.

'By the looks of it, they seem to have opened up a bit.

　Looking at the twins, Orphelia smiles in relief.
　Of course, it's not 'as good as people', but apparently she can imagine that there would be a good relationship between the three of them, at least from the way they treat Ardis.

'Well. It was tough at first, but lately it's been good.

　Aldis looks like he's not too bothered.

'Well then, isn't it time to get to work?　You can't keep saving forever, can you?

　Norris interrupted from the side.

That's right, Ardis. It's not only that, but it's also that they don't seem to be making any money on their own. I don't want to get in touch with other people's pockets, but I think it's time for you to take a job.

　Aldis smiled faintly at Ted's words.
　Because she couldn't deny his words.

　The reward for the job the twins had received before the fever broke out - rescuing the students of the academy - was forty gold coins and a bit more.
　This is an amount of money that could feed an average family for two years if they didn't have any luxuries.
　Of course, it's more than enough for just Aldis and the twin girls.

　But Aldis is a mercenary. But it's not enough just to secure food, clothing and shelter.
　Repairing weapons and replenishing personal belongings such as healing medicines are necessary, and their prices are orders of magnitude different from the commodities that ordinary citizens buy. Gold coins, for example, can disappear in an instant.
　Indeed, my pocketbook was getting lonely by now.

　But there was the matter of the twins.
　They had finally let down their guard against Aldis, but now they were beginning to show signs of dependence.

　They both tromped after Aldis.
　Aldis was relaxing on the sofa and she sat down next to him.
　Aldis is taking a nap in the living room, basking in the sunshine that pours through the window, and before they know it, they are asleep beside her.

　Night is falling, and despite the fact that we've made room and bed for the twins, they've started to sneak into Aldis' bed.
　As expected, they were still afraid of the outdoors and did not accompany Aldis on her shopping trips, but they were somehow attached to each other while they were in the house.

　Aldis is also Aldis, and the twins have a soft spot in their hearts for the twins, so they are hesitant to leave them behind and go out for work or hunting.

But that doesn't mean we can't continue to do this forever, right?

　Ted was right.
　In fact, Aldis was aware that it was time to get to work.

'So there. I've got an interesting story for you.'

　Norris, who had been watching Aldis's expression, cut him off.

'Have you ever heard of a beautiful woman going out on the streets?'

What's that?

Haha, she must have been really stuck at home. I heard this is all the talk in King's Landing now, not just in Trier, but in King's Landing as well.

　Norris laughs at what's fun, but that's always the case.
　Aldis appeals to him with his gaze, just to speak quickly for goodness sake.

I'm sure you'll find a young woman on the road from Trier to King's Landing, about half a day's drive away, by herself. I'm sure you'll find that this woman is also very strong.

...... You mean stealing?

'No, no, no, I hear it's not that at all. It's just that they offer to make a deal with the mercenaries and merchant guards passing through the streets. And they say they win easily. We won a series of battles against skilled mercenaries. No losses so far.

I don't understand.

Yeah, I know. I don't know what you mean. I've heard that the woman doesn't demand anything from you because she has won. The reason for this is that they don't have any answer to the question of why, so there is a lot of speculation going on.

　If you listen to the story, it sounds like the traveling mercenaries are picking fights at random to test their skills.
　Some speculate that he's trying to make a name for himself. But the woman who matters is probably misguided as she won't even tell you her name.

However, no one seems to think it's a problem, except for a few people, since no one has been injured, let alone killed or injured, even though it's called a match-up, and if you refuse, they'll just let you walk away. According to what I've heard, there was even a trading company that was protected by the woman from the thieves.

'If there's no harm done, there's nothing wrong with it. What's the problem with some of those people?

　There are many people who think the same way as Aldis.
　It can be said that they are contributing to the security rather than doing no harm, and if they are not interfering with those who don't want them, then it's simply a matter of the odd man out.
　Recently, I heard that some people have even started to go to see the women in order to meet with them, but as long as they are fighting of their own free will, it's not something that other people can say about.

There's no harm in leaving him alone. If there is, it's a matter of menswear, isn't it?

'Menzies or ....... So is there anything coming from around the lords and territorial army?

Bingo. The Marquis of Trier asked me to tell you a story.

　A woman is neither committing a crime nor disturbing public order.
　But if an unknown person sits on the street with a self-satisfied look on her face, she will lose face as a lord. If it's not done well, it could be used as a tool for political disputes with rival nobles.

Hmm. So, what is your request?

Negotiation. He wants to invite the other woman to the lord's house.

　Aldis raises an eyebrow when she hears this.

''I don't understand. If that's the case, why don't you just send them to the lord's staff?''

'Well?　Is it because the lord himself doesn't like to send emissaries to mercenaries in the field, or was he rejected once? I can't judge that with the information we have at hand right now. However, it's not like we're going to be defeating anyone, and since we won't be injured even if we're matched up against each other, it's just the right request for Ardis to receive for the first time in a while, isn't it?

Well, maybe. So what's your reward?

Two gold pieces for success. If you fail, one silver.

Don't they pay too little?

　Aldis's concerns were also valid. Even if we succeed, two gold coins for a full day of work by four people is not worth it.
　And if they failed, they would only receive one silver coin. It's practically like working for free.

Yes, we have another job to do. I'll leave it to Ardis to pick up the pretty lady.

We're going out into the wilderness for a while.

What do you mean?

　Apparently, this request is really a story that was brought for Aldis alone.
　To be honest, I don't think it's none of my business, but Aldis decided to accept the request because it was so generous of him.

　After telling Aldis about the bar where they could get a ride, Ted and his friends left.

'Aldis, are you going out?

Ardis, are you leaving?

　The twins ask me as they pull on Aldis' sleeves.

Yeah, we're going out for a bit tomorrow. You two can stay here together, right?

　The twins nodded at Aldis's question, then turned their sallow yellow eyes straight up and asked further.

'Aldis, would you like to leave Liana and the others?'

"Aldis, will you come back to ............?

Don't worry about it because I'll be back at ...... properly.

　Seeing the desperate pleading expressions on their young faces, Aldis smiled back and gently stroked their heads, returning the smile.