After getting the job done faster than expected, Aldis stops at a familiar weapons store on his way home.
　He wants to replenish the shortsword he lost in the fight against the woman.

　He buys two kazuuchi-mono and orders two shortswords made of "jutetsu" at the same time.
　After that, I continued to visit some shops and bought some daily necessities and sundries before returning home.

''Aldis, welcome back.''

Aldis, you're late.

　As soon as I enter the house, Totetete and the twins come running up to me with their platinum blonde hair swinging.
　Only occasionally do they smile, but at least they don't give Aldis a frightened look.

'I'm home. Filia, Liana.

　I greet the twins, whom I still can't tell apart, by coming home and patting their heads lightly.

'Today, Filia and the others made lunch!

Liana and her friends made a sandwich.

Well, did you get it right?

No, it didn't. I didn't like it at all.

You failed. It's a shame.

　The two of them were very few words for their age.
　Perhaps it was because they had been living in an oppressive environment for so long, but lately the atmosphere between the two of them had become a little more cheerful.

　In the beginning, Aldis had more than a little awareness that she was carrying a troublesome burden, even if it was out of a sense of duty, but now she is accepting life with the twins as if it were natural.
　Living with twins has become a natural part of my daily life, and I feel that feeling their presence beside me has solidified my place in the world.
　However, Aldis doesn't know what to call it right now.

'Aldis, do you want me to make dinner?'

Ardis, I'm hungry.

'I know it's still early, ......, but okay. Then you two can both help me.

　The peace and tranquility of casual conversation.

　To such a peaceful time of peace that I have found by chance, there is a shadow that interrupts me without asking for help.
　It's a human figure with long Alice blue hair.

'Why are you here?'

　Aldis had just finished preparing a meal with the twins when a knock on the front door of the house brought her face to the door, and she made no attempt to hide her grumpiness.

　Standing in the doorway was a woman clad in a long white hooded robe.
　It was the person who had taken him to the lord's mansion a few hours ago.

'I've fulfilled my mission and I've come to report on it.

Life ......?

'Huh?　Wasn't it my Lord who told you to come and see your lord?

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on.

　I'm sure there was such an exchange, but that was just a convenient way to get a meeting with the lord.
　I'm not sure what to do with it once I've been informed that the order was fulfilled.

Ah, yes ....... Thanks for your help. I'll be on my way then.

　By taking her to the lord's mansion, Ardis has already accomplished her request.
　There is no need to get involved with this woman any more.
　Rather, he senses a hint of trouble and is about to close the door, when the woman says, "The next time you're in trouble," he says.

Do you have another clue?

There is no ...................

Then let me concentrate on guarding and assisting my Lord.

　The woman says, stopping with her hand on the door she was about to close.

'Huh?'

　Aldis wondered if she was being begged to stay the night.

　It is true that Ardis was the one who suddenly brought him to Tria.
　I'm sure you'll be able to see that the most important thing to remember is that you're not the only one.

　However, Aldis has only undertaken a request from the lord.
　After taking them to the lord's mansion, the lord should take responsibility for dealing with the woman.
　There is no reason for Ardis, a mere errand boy, to take care of a woman.

　And there are twins in the house.
　No matter how much he may not be a resident of the city, he doesn't want a stranger to know about the girls' existence at this stage.

''If you don't have any money, I'll at least give you money for a night's lodging. So just wait there.

"I have no need of money. "I have no need of money, but I will not be able to make it to you in time of need if you remain too far away. It is my duty to follow the Lord's side.

...... We're not gonna let you in either way.

Okay. I'll go out front to protect you.

　The woman withdrew unexpectedly easily, returned the kibisu and walked away from Aldis.
　Aldis watched her walk away, unsure of what she was doing, and then, just to be sure, she deployed a protective barrier around the house that would last until morning and returned to the living room where the twins were waiting.



　When Aldis woke up the next morning, the first thing she felt was the presence of someone on her side of the house.

'Hey hey Aldis, there's a woman at the gate,'

Hey, Aldis, the white haired one, he's been there all along.

　The twins, who had been observing the front of the house all the time while I was preparing breakfast, reported to me while tearing bread.
　Apparently, the woman had been standing next to the entrance to the house all night, acting as a gatekeeper.

　The presence itself was noticed by Aldis since last night, but she didn't seem to be breaking into the house or harming anyone in particular, but seemed to be standing there all the time, except for occasionally patrolling the perimeter.
　He had said he was a security guard, etc., but he didn't think he was seriously planning on guarding the house. You're going to be able to find out what the woman was talking about yesterday.

'My Lord ......, hey.'

　As long as there is an unknown person prowling around the house - in fact, they're sticking to the entrance - I'm still worried about leaving the twins out.

　However, it soon proved to be a groundless fear.

My Lord, are you going out?　Then I will make you my offering.

　This was because Aldis was now accompanied by a woman when she went out.

　Aldis was more than a little relieved at this.
　If there was no need to worry about the twins remaining at home, then the rest was up to Aldis herself.

　It is true that a woman's power is not to be underestimated, but even if she shows hostile behavior, as long as she is not caught off guard, she will not be caught off guard.
　However, it was a pity that he couldn't take a nap carelessly on the road.

　The next day, Aldis resumed work.
　When he went out of town, the woman followed him, as a matter of course.

　There are not many jobs that Aldis can undertake alone.
　By all means, she is not suited to investigative or escort work that requires a lot of manpower, and she also avoids jobs such as mailing messages or letters that leave her home for more than ten days.

　Inevitably, he often receives requests to defeat them or goes out to hunt without a request.
　Of course, if you're as good as Ardis, you can live well enough to hunt dispersers and beast kings in the grasslands.
　If there are no extra slowdowns, he could be hunting whips and ractors in the Caucasus Forest.

''My Lord, will you retrieve the materials for these guys?

Do what you want.

　That's why Aldis was now stepping deep into the depths of the Caucasian forest and hunting against the twin sword beasts and lactors.

　Even though she had expected this to some extent, the woman's strength was enough to hunt with room to spare in the forest, and just now she had just magically torn through two lactors in a matter of seconds.

　The problem was that the woman would hunt her prey before Aldis did.
　I'm not going to be partying with or cooperating with the woman.
　Therefore, Ardis can't just do whatever she wants with the material of the prey that she has killed.

"You are the one who hunted it. You have no right to tell me what to do.

"Peculiar. The prey which the squire hunts belongs to the Lord. You say you have a master, and you say you don't want him, and he says you don't want him. That is all there is to it.

　However, the woman apparently asks Aldis to make that decision.
　In addition, thanks to the woman, Aldis had come this far with little or no participation in battle.

　That's a blessing in disguise for purposes such as exploration and research.
　But Aldis's purpose is to hunt and collect materials. The woman's actions could rather be called a hindrance.

　Apparently, the woman seems to think that it is her role to eliminate the danger to Ardis before it comes to her.
　I don't remember asking Ardis to do this, and now that she's looking to hunt, it can honestly only be called a nuisance.

It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. I want to bring home a certain amount of money too. I want to bring home some of the money I've earned, so I'd like to bring a few more prey over here, or hunt away from me.

"This kind of crook is not worth bothering my master's hands about. If you are going to bring back the prey, why don't you just tell me to bring back the ones that I killed.

　As if it were a matter of course, he intends to present the prey he hunted to Ardis.
　In the woman's opinion, it is her role to protect Ardis' body, the prey she hunted belongs to Ardis, and if necessary, order her to retrieve the materials.

　In the end, the woman shows no sign of backing down, and Ardis makes a proposal, half resignedly.

I understand. For now, let's put aside the Lord's concerns, in that case, let's join forces temporarily. We will hunt together for the rest of the day. How about we collect all the materials and divide them equally when we return to town?

　Aldis had mentioned the offer to form a temporary party.
　He decided that it was better for the two of them to hunt together and share the fruits of their efforts than someone who would stalk them forever and hunt all of their prey if left alone.

'Yes, my Lord.'

　The woman agreed with two replies.

　From then on, the hunt went well.
　Ardis and the woman, even alone, are extraordinarily strong. For the two of them, even the strongest whips in the Caucasus Forest, Whips turn into a mute wreck the moment they meet.

　The two run around the forest with the intent of reaping all of its prey.
　After earning a ridiculous 28 gold coins in one day, Aldis handed the woman half the 14 gold coins and went home.

　At first, the woman stubbornly refused to accept the gold, but then decided to force her to accept it under the guise of keeping Aldis' money.
　If you ask someone around Norris, they will say "If you don't want it, you should just take it", but it seemed to Ardis that it was more dangerous to create a kind of 'debt' to a person with the power of a woman than the gold coins in the immediate future.

　Aldis immediately divided the gold coins into a pile at the trading company that sold the materials and returned home. Behind her was a woman who followed her in a very natural manner.

'My Lord then. I will take charge of the guard here, if that is alright with you?

　It's clear from the way you behaved yesterday that you have no intention of staying at the inn.

"Do as you please,

　Throwing it off, Aldis walked into the doorway of the house.