The next morning, Aldis left the twins at home and headed for the tavern Norris had told him about.
　There he formally accepted the request and left the city of Tria and headed west on the road.

　We were not attacked by any beasts, and we continued on our way for two hours.
　We have no hunting on the way, and our luggage is minimal, as we are on a day trip, and there is no one to accompany us. Therefore, the footsteps of the light-weight Aldis were light.

　In fact, it took him two hours to traverse a distance that would have taken six hours if he were a normal mercenary. If there was a person watching that movement in its entirety, they would probably have rolled their eyes.

　The distance between Aldis's feet kicking the earth and then landing on the ground was about three meters.
　This was not the stride of a human of one hundred and seventy centimeters tall walking.

　Furthermore, if someone was standing right next to him watching Aldis's steps, he would tilt his head back in thought.
　This is because Aldis's feet never touch the ground, but are always floating in the air.

　His feet kicked in the air a few inches off the ground, and each foot was three meters away from the ground.
　Aldis was using his magical power to make his body float.

　He floated his own body in the same way as he floats a shortsword, and flew his own body in the same way as he flies a shortsword.
　If he wanted to do it, he could fly a hundred meters above the ground while lying down.
　But the reason why Ardis is flying with a motion like walking on the ground slope is because this is generally a non-(¦)usual(¦)sensible use of magic power.

　In this world, there is no magic for humans to fly in the sky, and there is no known magic to fly in the sky.
　Naturally, if Aldis was flying in such a situation, there would be a huge commotion.
　That's why the speed at which he's flying is also modest, and even if someone sees him, he's deliberately making a motion that only looks like he's walking.

　If you get enough altitude, it may look like a bird from the ground, but in the end, it is in danger of being spotted when it comes up from the ground and when it comes down to the ground.
　If it was in an uninhabited area, but there was no way I could do such a thing near a city or along a street where I didn't know when people would see me.

　Speaking only of this request, even with the current method, it takes about two hours to go one way. The round trip would take four hours.
　Even taking into account the time it takes to negotiate, Aldis thought that he could return to Tria by nightfall, so he was heading to his destination with a 'floating walk' that made it look like he was walking.

　Fortunately, they didn't run into any beasts or bandits, and they arrived at the place they had heard about before in the afternoon.

''I heard it was around here, but ......, is that it?''

　A crowd of people is reflected in Aldis' eyes.

　Even though it's along the road, it's a scene that's hard to see in a place like this in the middle of nowhere.
　When you get closer, all you see are a large number of squalid mercenaries.

　There are a few people who look like peddlers, but they are probably taking a break from their travels to watch the commotion. They were sitting on a random rock and sipping on their water bottles.
　Looking around, it seems that some peddlers are selling their wares to mercenaries onlookers with a mercenary spirit.

　The atmosphere is not brutal, but the sound of friendly laughter and cheers is reminiscent of a festival.

Who do you think we'll be dealing with next?　We can all come at you if you want.

　A young woman's voice with a man-like tone.
　The owner of the voice was found when she followed the gaze of the crowd.

　Long hair of Alice blue. Slit eyes are a deep, clear heavenly color (Amayro). The face is somewhat expressionless, but its shape is well-defined, and I can see that it has a grace that could easily be mistaken for that of a nobleman's daughter.
　The white hooded robe she wears makes her look like a sorceress or a healer, but her demeanor and gestures suggest that she is a skilled warrior.

All right!　I'm next!

　A mighty warrior steps forward from the crowd.

''Yes!　Gandolf!

Don't you dare f*cking lose!

I can't be f*cked in the blink of an eye!

All right!　Five coppers for Gandolf!

"A silver for the little girl!

　There was a shout from the people, which could not be described as either cheers or curses.

　The warrior known as Gandolf was dressed in a chainmail and carried a halberd in his hand. It was an unusual piece of equipment for a mercenary.
　He was probably in his mid-thirties at the time of the year. Generally speaking, this is the age when a warrior is at his most oily and in his prime as a warrior.

I've been fighting with weapons from the time you were born. I'll show you the difference in years.

More than when I was born?　It's a funny thing to say.

　The woman says, with a softly bewitching smile on her beautiful face.
　The woman's smile is more seductive than that of a dancer in a glossy town, though she appears to be no more than 17 or 18 years old.
　Gandolf and the woman face each other amidst cheers and whistles.

Then let's go. Girl!

　At Gandolf's call, the two began to fight.

　The first blow.
　Swinging overhead, Gandolf slashed down in a semi-circle as the halberd struck the woman's leg from the side.

　The woman, without avoiding it, leaned her body forward as it was, and with a thump, lightly kicked the ground and tried to dive into Gandolf's bosom. Alice Blue's hair shook.

''Tch!''

　With a cluck of his tongue, Gandolf forced the halberd to change its trajectory to a sideways nudge, but the woman was already closing the distance.
　Deciding that he couldn't catch her, Gandolf hooked the halberd's claws to the ground and used centrifugal force to let himself swing, and then flew sideways.

　But when Gandolf, having turned once, quickly adjusted his stance and grabbed the halberd, a single dagger was held against its neck.

''I guess we're in for a fight now.

　The woman who had come around behind Gandolf tells him.

'Seriously!　Not even Gandolf can't do that!

You're a tough girl.

'Shit!　I'm so f*cked up!

　It was a quick game.

　It wasn't that the man called Gandolf was weak.
　From what Aldis could see, he was capable of winning one-on-one against the Beast King, even if he couldn't be a dispenser.

　But such a skilled mercenary was treated like a child.
　Even though he had heard about it beforehand from Norris and the father of the tavern, it wouldn't be a mistake to say that they had won a series of battles.
　The fact that they were able to conquer that many mercenaries without killing them means that there is that much difference in their strength.

''Who's our next opponent?''

　Without a breath, a woman turns her heavenly eyes to the crowd.

''Hey, what are we going to do?''

You go.

'That Gandolf thing happened so fast, didn't it?　Impossible.

　The mercenaries buzzed around, but no one was buying the woman's company.

'None?'

　Aldis stepped forward at the woman's call.

'What?　Oh, come on, kid. You shouldn't do that.

　Seeing Aldis coming forward as a challenger, the middle-aged mercenary calls out to him to discourage him.
　He probably thinks that it's reckless for a boy who looks like a fledgling to challenge an opponent that Gandolf, a skilled mercenary, couldn't handle.

　In contrast to the bewildered and buzzing mercenaries, the woman observes Ardis with even more narrowing of her slit eyes.

'Hou ....... Finally something that looks promising.''

　Turning to the murmuring woman, Aldis said as he turned his palm toward her.

"Wait. "Wait. I am here to negotiate with you. I'm not here to fight you.

Negotiation?　Did you say negotiation?

　The woman asks in an emotionless voice.

'Yeah. Yeah, I just want to talk to you. I don't want to fight you--

　As he was about to say it, a single dagger flew to Aldis' throat.

　Ardis unconsciously held up her left hand and deployed the physical barrier only forward.
　The woman's thrown dagger bounces back and falls to the ground, leaving an echoing sound like metal hitting each other.

'Hey. Listen to me.

　Ardis says in a cold voice.
　Although there's no way I would naturally eat a surprise attack like that, I still don't feel good if I'm watered down in the middle of a conversation.

　Of course, if this was a battlefield, it would just be foolish to talk leisurely about it.
　But Aldis came to negotiate, and he should have made that clear to his opponent.

''People came to negotiate and they come for your throat without question, it's not funny.

You said you wanted to talk to me.

Didn't you hear me say that?

I do not wish to speak to you. "I don't want to talk to you, but you want me to listen to you. Since we are at odds with each other, one of us must retract our arguments in order for the other to succeed.

What about it?

"Since I'm not willing to concede, if you want to get your point across, let's convince me.

'That's a sloppy way of putting it. Can you make it simpler?

The point is. If you want to talk to me, you'll have to defeat me first!

　The woman instantly closes the distance.

'Rocks (dessels).'

　A sharp, sharp rock protruded from the ground in response to Aldis's voice.
　The woman, whose path was blocked, immediately turned around and pointed her index finger at Ardis at the same time.

''Let's start with a small check,''

　A crush of ice floats around the woman and shoots at Aldis.

'Magical Barrier (Fel Manina)'

　The ice crush is blocked by a barrier that Aldis quickly deployed.

　In the next moment, a mass of flames, this time coming at her from above.
　As Aldis sidesteps to avoid it, the dagger in the woman's grip approaches, as if she were waiting for it.

　Half-avoiding the sharp blade, Aldis tries to grab the woman's arm as she passes through, but the wind cuts through the air as if to block it.

　The woman pointed her fingertips at Aldis again as she moved away from the oncoming wind.

'How about this?'

　Countless lights formed a band from above the woman's head and shot out to Ardis.

''Tch!''

　Aldis uses a magical barrier to prevent only direct light from hitting him as he jumps back towards the side.

　The light that landed on the ground burned the soil and disappeared.
　The smell of burning filled the area.

''Then what is this?''

　Once again, a myriad of lights appeared above the woman's head. This time the light was not broken up, but converged on a single point and shot out towards Ardis.

　Aldis judged it dangerous to catch that light from the front and shifted the angle of the magic barrier to catch it.

''Ho. I'm very familiar with it. Who are you, my lord?''

I could say the same thing.

　Ardis said while glaring at the woman standing comfortably.

　It is a magic attack that does not require chanting.
　This is the first time since coming to this world, Ardis has met someone else who uses it besides herself.

　Even if you take a single magic power, you can clearly see that you are not an ordinary user.
　From the feeling of receiving it at the barrier, it's probably powerful enough to kill not only disperses but whips in the blink of an eye.

''Hey, was that woman a sorceress?''

Really? Does this mean we've been dealt a dagger by a sorceress?

Maybe so, but that's not a magician's move.

The boy is a wizard, too. The way he carried himself, he didn't look like a magician.

　The mercenaries watching the battle between Ardis and the woman buzzed.
　The woman, who used neither magic nor sorcery against the mercenaries, but used only a dagger to deal with them, watched with amazement as they launched attack after attack.
　Until then, she must have thought they were only light warriors who used daggers. Some of the mercenaries were angry that they had been treated like babies from the beginning.

　Additionally, they were shocked that the sorcerer boy, who still looked like a new mercenary, continued to play down the woman's sorcery and attacks by the daggers.

　Forgetting to bet on who would win, the mercenaries continued to watch the battle unfold.