Ardis and the others were surrounded by a group of wild thieves as they left the forest of Caucasus.

　There were eight people in number as far as they could see.
　In addition, there were three people hiding in the shadows of rocks and grass.
　In total, there were eleven. Although it can't be called small, it's a little short of the number of people to call it medium-sized right now.

　It's likely that Aldis and the others saw them as a pair of young mercenaries and extended their fingers as a good prey.
　However, that's a big misunderstanding.

　As for Kirill, it can certainly be said that he is an easy prey to hunt.
　He is as young as he looks, with little combat skill or experience.

　But the other person is not an easy opponent to take advantage of.
　It is clear that the thieves were attacking the wrong person.

Mr. Aldis, what are you going to do?

　Kirill asks in a whisper.

　Kirill catches a glimpse of Aldis' strength in the forest.
　However, it would be difficult for Kirill, who doesn't fully understand the strength of demons to begin with, to realize that Aldis's strength is substandard.
　For him, it's because, in terms of absolute strength, neither the demon Whips nor the beast Racter (the giant snake) are much different.

　That's why it was difficult for Kirill to judge whether Aldis had the ability to get through this situation.
　I'm sure you'll be able to see that there are four times as many of them as I can see.
　In addition, Kirill is useless in battle. In fact, he could be called an impediment.
　It was inevitable that Kirill didn't know if Ardis alone would be able to win against an enemy eight times as large.

''Don't worry. It's easier than dealing with two lactors. ............ No, wait.

　After a few words of reassurance towards Kirill, Aldis just smiled with his mouth as if he suddenly had an idea.

'It might be just as well,'

　Kirill looks at Aldis, who is murmuring to himself, with a questioning look on his face.

'Aldis-san?　What are you--

　Kirill's words were drowned out by one of the burglars, who was about to ask him a question.

'Hey!　What did you say in reply!　You can either lay down your load here and pick up your life, or you can go cold, and get on with it!　If you don't have a choice, we'll make one for you.　Of course, it's the colder option, though!

　The wild thieves around him smiled thinly at the sound of his voice.
　Aldis takes a step forward and moves the cursed sword that had been floating behind him to his right hand side.

''Wait!　I'll give you this sword I found in the ruins of the forest, so you won't miss it!

　As he said this, he swung his right hand forward and sent the cursed sword flying in a parabolic pattern to match his movements.
　If Kirill was watching right beside me, but to the wild thieves who were keeping a bit of distance, it would look like Ardis threw the sword in his hand.

　The cursed sword falls at the foot of the wild thief.

''Ah, Aldis-san!

　He didn't expect Aldis to hand over the sword to the wildling.
　Kirill glares at Ardis with a hint of reproach in his eyes.

　On the other hand, the wild thieves on the other hand deepen their smiles as if they are just cholo-televised.

"Ho, it's a good looking sword.

　The man who had prompted a reply earlier quickly picked up the cursed sword and inspected its decoration.
　His eyes were stained with lust, but since he was a wild thief, that would have been the original thing.

''Hmm. There's no particular problem with it in your hand, is there?

　Like a pharmacist checking the efficacy of a new potion, Aldis murmured only the results in front of him.

'What?　Mr. Aldis?　............ maybe?

　Kirill seemed to have noticed.

　Since he didn't know what kind of negative effects the cursed sword would have on the person he touched, Aldis had been carrying the sword in the air with his magical power for three days.

　In order to see what happens when you touch it, Aldis or Kirill should actually touch it.
　But not only is it unimaginable, but I don't want to touch a sword that is not only unobtainable, but also attracts or generates deformed humanoid forms in the night.
　You're going to have to take it to the capital and have a spellcaster or appraiser look at it, Ardis thought.

　However, this is not the case. A good test subject came in from the other side.
　It would not hurt Aldis's conscience, since he was an outlawed thief.

''Mr. Aldis, ......, you are the person .......''

　It would be an unavoidable damage to receive a somewhat cold stare from Kirill.
　Unaware that the two prey were having such an exchange, the wild thief pulls the cursed sword from its sheath.

Hmm. It's a nice color, isn't it?

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

But I told you. I told you to leave everything you have.

I can't do that. I can't give you a single coin.

　The burglar raises an eyebrow at Aldis, whose tone has suddenly changed.

''Huh!　You don't know your place!　I said if you don't want to die, you should just leave all your other stuff and get the hell out of here!　You bastard!

'Dah-rah! I said no!　You bird's head!

　Aldis responds to the furious wildlife thieves with words for sale.
　His expression was tainted with a person's bad smile.

''Aldis-san: .......''

　Kirill frowned beside him, but the situation was getting worse without regard to him.

''d*mn it!　It's too late to beg for your life now, you know!　Come on, you guys, get it done!

　At the signal from the burglar, the other burglars begin to move.

'Kirill, don't move from there!

　Aldis immediately lifted two swords into the air and sent "Tsukishiro Fubuki" to Kirill's protection and "Tokiharugasumi" to the three people who were hiding.

　Sheathed in her scabbard, she held her "Sotensaika" at the ready as she intercepted the burglars coming from the front.

　The first burglar to charge at the small burglar was struck in the side of the body with the scabbard as they passed each other.
　The next time you come in contact with a taller burglar, you can fire a thrust like a flash to his groin, then turn around and strike down at the smaller burglar, crushing his shoulder.

　In the meantime, to protect Kirill, who is at the edge of my vision, I sent Fubuki Tsukiyo to face the burglar coming from behind and slashed the tendons of their feet.
　I'm not going to take my life in front of the child, so Ardis focused on taking away the burglar's fighting ability.
　Of course, even if it doesn't take a life, it is a wound that can be said to be fatal to the wild thieves who are unable to receive proper treatment.

　In addition, Aldis is also merciless when Kirill's eyes are out of reach.
　To the three wild thieves who are hiding, he creeps up to the three wild thieves, relying on the location of his magic power to sneak up on the 'Carving Spring Haze' and cut their heads off before the other party realizes it.

''Te, tease!　How dare you!

　Despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, the wild thief with a cursed sword in his hand rushed straight at Ardis, as if his head was full of blood.

　Aldis slashed a few rounds with the wild thief with the cursed sword in his hand while putting away the two remaining wild thieves with the 'Moonlight Blizzard'.

''Well, looks like it's going to be okay.''

'What ......!　--ggh!

　After looking at the situation for a while, Ardis, as a finishing touch, boldly struck the head of the burglar holding the sword with the Soten Saihua, which was still in its sheath.
　The wild thief, whose brain was shaken, fell down as it was, making his legs tangled.

　It only took about a minute of time to get rid of all the burglars.

　Kirill, who was watching the whole thing, was reminded once again of Ardis's strength and saw a side of him that he had never known before.
　When Aldis approaches with the cursed sword in its sheath in his hand, he is greeted with a look of difficulty.

''Aldis-san ....... You're quite a terrible person, aren't you?

'I'm sorry to hear about the awful man. I suppose you're just paying for the fire that has fallen upon you.

　Ardis counters blithely.

'No, I know that. I didn't think you'd use a wildlife thief as a test subject. ......

'We're going to fight them off anyway, so you just put it to good use while you're at it, right?　Those guys wouldn't be inconvenienced by any problems that might arise.

　In theory, Kirill would understand.

　It is common knowledge that if you are captured, such as a burglar, your destination is almost certainly the place of execution.
　If you kill a burglar, you will be praised, but not condemned. They have no human rights in this world.
　Therefore, to the extent that they hand you a cursed sword and make you a test subject, there may be no one to blame.

　However, being able to understand and be convinced are two different things.
　For Kirill, he may want the person who saved him to act like a hero, not to be pointed back by the world.

　Of course, that was Kirill's selfish imposition.
　Aldis doesn't want to be praised by people, nor does he want to be a hero.
　It's just that the things he cares about are not threatened.
　My life, my property, my friends. Nowadays, you may have added twin girls and an irreverent squire to that list.

Anyway, well, that's how you know it's not dangerous. "Anyway, well, this is how I know it's safe to bring it back, isn't it?　I've found no problems in my hand, nothing when I pull out my sword, and I've found that slashing each other a few times hasn't changed anything. Maybe there's no harm in it other than those guys coming out at night with the example.

　While saying that, Aldis handed the sword in its scabbard to Kirill.
　Since it was the sword Kirill originally wanted, it was a silent indication that he should carry it around with him.

　Kirill received it fearfully, and for a while Kirill was about to open his mouth to say something.
　However, barely having convinced himself, he returned the words to Ardis with a complicated expression.

'That's right ....... The original was done for me, and it was out of line to complain. I'm sorry .......

............ Well, let's just get back to King's Landing for today. It's been a while since I've had a good night's sleep in bed!

　He slapped Kirill's back hard, who looked a little depressed, and Ardis began to walk after the groaning wild thieves.
　Right behind him, Kirill, holding his sword, hurriedly chased after him.