Since then, Ardis and the woman have been going out hunting together.

　It's a good thing that you can't get away with it, but it's a very smooth and efficient way to hunt with a woman.
　If it was just about fighting, Aldis alone would be enough, but when it came to collecting materials, that was not the case.
　Even with just one more manpower, the efficiency of the operation would be greatly improved.

　One time I would go out into the meadow to hunt dispersers and beast kings, another time I would go into the forest to hunt whips and lactors.
　At first, Aldis was cautious and drew a line between him and the woman, but as those days went on, that caution slowly waned.

　At least the woman does not show any hostile behavior or attitude towards Aldis.
　On the contrary, she actively supports Aldis in her work.

　He is a mercenary earner who originally made a living exchanging lives and always seems to go hand in hand with death.
　After working together for seven days, a feeling of trust begins to develop.
　The passage of time is different from those who live peacefully in the city.

　This is when Aldis begins to feel close enough to the woman to the extent that 'as a fellow mercenary, I can share the danger'.
　One morning, she woke up to find that it was raining.

'Aldis, it's raining!

Aldis, do you work today?

　At the sound of the twins' voices, Aldis looked out the window and saw that the sky was enveloped in a blanket of dark clouds. The air was damp inside the house, where the morning sun usually shone.

'Yeah, it's been a while since I've had rain. Hmmm, let's take the day off.

　From the looks of it, it didn't seem to be a temporary passing shower. After deciding that it would continue to rain for a while, Aldis decided to call off today's hunt right then and there.

'Yay!　Play Aldis!

Read!　Book!

All right. When I'm done cleaning up.

　Smiling at the excited twins, Aldis quickly prepared breakfast.

　Aldis was finishing her meal with the twins, who were a little more excited than usual, and putting away the dishes in the sink when the twins came running up to her, clattering their footsteps and tugging at her pants from behind.
　When she turns around to see what's going on, they point out the window and say

'Aldis, you're drenched, woman,'

'Aldis, I feel sorry for the white haired one.

　The twins pulled me by the hand, and as I walked over to the window with a view of the gate, I looked out and saw a woman standing in the rain with a white hood on.

'Aldis, is there no home for the woman?'

"Aldis, the white haired one, do you have a comforter?

　From the wetness of her hood, it must have started to rain by midnight. 'Why don't you just stay at the inn on a rainy day,' Aldis guessed, fuming at the woman.

'Aldis, woman, you're still wet, aren't you?'

Aldis, won't you take a towel with you?

　The twins bring out a larger towel and offer it to Aldis, who was looking out the window. Perhaps they are trying to tell her to take it.
　Aldis's cheeks loosen involuntarily when she sees the twins, who have grown to the point where they are able to care for others, compared to the days when they were just frightened in the corner of the room without even opening their mouths.

　But on the other hand, it's hard to decide at what point to take the twins out into the outside world.
　It's not possible for Aldis to hide them forever.

You'll be able to find out more at ....... For now, it's that woman first.

　Aldis took the towel from the twins and walked out the front door alone.
　The woman stood motionless beside the gate.
　To someone who didn't know what was going on, it would look like she was being punished or abused in some way.

''Hey, how long are you going to stay soaking wet like that?''

Good morning, my Lord.

　The woman says with a sullen look on her face in response to Aldis' voice.

'Why don't you stay at an inn for a rainy day? It's not like I asked you to guard the house.

Don't worry about it. It's nothing to worry about with this much rain.

　The woman says, dripping water into her wet hair, which spills out of her hood.

'You don't look it, that's why I'm here, but you know what? Here, use this.

　Bluntly, he offered her a towel, and the woman took it with both hands.

'Thank you for the care of my Lord,'

　As she said this, the woman inserted a towel into her hood and began to wipe her wet Alice Blue hair.
　With her eyes closed and water droplets on her eyelashes, she looks as pretty as a painting of a beauty by a top-notch painter.
　For a moment, Ardis leaves her wariness of her opponent behind and falls in love with her.

　But then the woman's next words are enough of a surprise to make him stiffen.

'I want you to thank the little twins for that.

　At that moment, a wary glint in Aldis's dark eyes.

'...... Hey, woman,'

Yes, my Lord.

　A woman meets Aldis's gaze head-on, wearing a swordswoman's vibe.

'Did you just say twins?'

Sure, I said it, but so what?

　Aldis' alert level is raised. Because I have no recollection of revealing the existence of twins to a woman.

'What makes you think there are twins?'

This is a strange thing. You need only look for such a thing. If you're too inexperienced to even know how many people you're protecting, you're not even qualified to call yourself a squire.

　The woman has a tone of voice that says something about it.

'Then I ask you, do you know how many people are in this house, including me?

'Of course. My Lord and the three young twins, right?

How can you be sure they're twins?

The color, the shape and the size of their magic are all the same. Such an entity is normally found only in twins.

......

　Ardis silently glares into the woman's eyes. Aldis's face, whose expression has disappeared in her sky-blue eyes, is reflected in the woman's eyes.

　Having spent the last few days together, she knew that the woman had no animosity towards Aldis.
　I don't know what the woman's intentions are in calling Aldis "my Lord" and calling herself a "follower", but at least she doesn't intend to antagonize him.

　But that doesn't mean it's okay to reveal the existence of the twins, Aldis can't decide.
　If she believes what the woman is saying, then the twins' existence is already known.
　Should he cut the white wire, or should he go the other way and bring this woman to his side? Aldis was unsure.

　After hesitating, he asked a question that went a step further.

".................. What do you think of the goddess, ......?

"'What do you think' is a very abstract question. And it's abrupt.

......

Hmm. What would I think of someone who is not there, even if they asked me what I thought? It would be a meaningless question.

Who's there?　A goddess?

Not only a goddess, but also a goddess. There are no gods, at least not on this planet. At least not on this planet.

Want?　What's that?

Earth, sea, sky. The earth, the sea, and the sky, all of which are combined into one world. There is no God in any of them. Maybe there is one in a faraway place. But at least there is no such thing as a human being can reach.

　Aldis's eyes widened in surprise.

　There is no one who doubts the existence of the goddess.
　On the contrary, in this world where goddesses and their apostles directly intervene, Ardis doesn't know anyone else who directly denies their existence except herself. Even if there were, it would surely be someone who would be called a murderer or a madman.

　Aldis will never say it.

Then what is the goddess that the people of the church believe in?

Well, then. I don't know a single person in the world whom I don't know.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what to expect.

I've been told that the self-proclaimed goddess abhors twins ......, and if there are a hundred pregnant women, at least one set of twins will be born. It is the natural order of things, whether there is a god or not. I'm sure it's the right thing to do. I don't have to worry about them, but I won't tell anyone about them, and if they are my Lord's protectors, they are my protectors too. I will do everything in my power to keep them out of harm's way.

...... Can you swear that word?

　The woman removes her white hood and turns her sky-blue eyes to Ardis.

I swear to you, my Lord. My creator and my mission.

　The woman declared with a face that was quickly turned wet and ratty by the pouring rain.

'All right. I'll believe that oath.

　Aldis softened his expression and said.

'Get in the house for now. You and I are both drenched.'



　Aldis and the woman step into the living room, splashing water on the floor.

　Normally the twins would jump on Aldis's feet upon her return, but this time things are different.
　Even though they had been watching from a distance for several days, a stranger had arrived.
　They were hiding behind the sofa, glancing at the woman.

'Filia, Liana. Can you bring me a new towel?

No more than that, my lord.

　As soon as she says it, the woman drains the water from her and Aldis' clothes and sends warm air to quickly dry them.
　A glint of curiosity dwells in the eyes of the twins as they watch.

'Amazing,'

That was a surprise.

Is it magic?

It's magic.

I'm dry as a whistle.

He blew his load.

She's a magician, isn't she?

It's just like Aldis.

　While the twins exchanged whispers, the woman straightened her posture and said, "My Lord, will you introduce the twins to me?

My Lord, will you introduce the twins to me?

'Ah. Those girls, as you can see, are twins, and their names are Phyllia on the right and Liana on the left.

　He had finally learned to distinguish between them recently, but it was still Aldis who almost made a mistake for a moment.

'Filia, Liana. This one is--

　I was about to speak that much and Aldis stopped.

'Well, I haven't heard your name.

　I didn't mind when I took him to the lord's mansion at his request, but as expected, I couldn't introduce a person whose name I didn't even know to the twins.
　Rather, it would be Ardis's fault that she didn't even ask for his name for seven days and just called him "you" the whole time.

"I've told you before, I have no name.

No, wasn't that a joke?

"I will not conceal my name in flirtation with the Lord.

'Yeah ......, so you don't really have a name for it then?'

That's what I'm saying.

'Yeah, that's right, but ....... What should I call it then?

Call me what you like, my Lord. You can call me 'you' all you want, as you always have.

No, that's weird.

　I can't say, "This is you," when I introduce you to someone else, even if it's just the two of us.
　Aldis's claim was a very legitimate one, but the woman didn't seem to take it into consideration.
　It's not a good idea, so Ardis was forced to come up with a name for the woman in a hurry.

'Doesn't she have a name?'

He doesn't have a name.

So, no name.

Are you a nobody?

Aren't they nameless?

"No name, so no name?

So, Mr. Nobody.

Is your name Mr. Nobody?

Is his name Mr. Nobody?

If you're nameless, you have a name, right?

'Huh?　Really.

Do you have a name because you have a name?

You have a reputation.

Yeah, you're a great guy.

　The twins are whispering to each other behind the couch.
　As you can imagine, "Nameless" and "Nameless" can only be harassed by "Nameless" and "Nameless".

'Nameless ......, Nameless ......, Nere ......'

　Aldis came up with the name 'Nere', taking the sound from 'Nameless'.
　Aldis said, half out of desperation, that this was all right, "All right, I'll call you Nere from now on.

I'm going to call you "Nere" from now on. Is that alright with you?

Yes, my Lord. Then I shall call myself Nere from this day forward.

　The woman - Nere accepts it without hesitation.

　Should he accept it so readily? Aldis didn't think so somewhat, but in the end the desire to avoid trouble overcame it.

'Aldis is my squire, Nere. The towel you just gave me was probably a concern of yours. I thank you for it.

　To the twins, who were half-faced from behind the sofa and watching the situation, Nere mentioned the name that had just been given to them.

　The twins, after all, are probably more cautious of first-time humans than they are curious.
　They won't run away because Aldis is at their side, but as expected, they won't try to approach them suddenly.

Hm, well, that's fine. Let's wait for them to get used to it, shall we?

　Nere doesn't seem to be thinking about forcing the distance between them.

'For that matter, why did you think it was the twins' concern that you took a towel with you?

I have been watching My Lord as My Lord has been watching Me for the past seven days. Of course, I was aware that My Lord was wary of me. Does My Lord have a definite enemy, or is he too lax to worry about the body of a would-be enemy?

　Nayle says with a rare grin of conviction.

　Aldis doesn't deny it.
　It was true that in the past few days, he knew that Nere was a trustworthy opponent as a mercenary.
　But that was only one aspect of him as a mercenary, and that and his value to the abomination were two different things.
　Even if they acknowledge each other as mercenaries, if they show malice and harm towards the twins, she will be Ardis' enemy.

　But from the moment Nere denied the goddess, she became less of a potential enemy to Ardis and more of an ally.

　From now on, though, you can offer her at least one of your towels. Aldis tapped that lightly, only in her mind.