When Aldis sat down on the carpet on the floor, Filia immediately attached herself to his neck with her hands behind her back.
　Rhianna dived into her bosom to occupy her cross-legged feet as if they were her own.
　Considering their actual age, it's a bit of a strange scene, but to the twins, Aldis is probably that special. And it's the first time they've seen each other in several months, no wonder.

　Ardis strokes the twins' hair roughly.
　It's so rough that you can almost make a rasping sound, but the twins laughed aloud without a hint of concern.

'And now, my Lord. What are your achievements?'

Especially for now. I've seen about half of the ruins, but the war has put a damper on that.

　It seems that Ardis, who earned enough gold to last a lifetime if only to live modestly in the defeat of the three powerful demons (Goma) and the defense of Leytin, continues to be a mercenary, but it's not for money.

　Kirill hasn't heard much about it, but he has read from the passages of the story that Aldis is looking for something.
　It seems that he has finished searching within the kingdom, the Union of City States in the west and the Republic in the north, and this time the war started when he started searching within the Imperial territory, the last remaining neighboring country.
　It seems that they almost got incorporated into the mercenary force on the Imperial side, so they slipped out in a hurry.

''Aldis-san, did you hear that the kingdom's army was destroyed in the first battle?

　To be precise, it was the army of the King's Landing that was destroyed, not the entire Royal Army.
　But for most ordinary people, the information that 'we lost. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one. The psychological impact is greater than the actual numbers.

''Oh. Yeah, the imperial capital was in full swing. I heard that the number of volunteers is also increasing because they are close to achieving their dreams. The upper echelons of the empire must be planning to take care of things at once. They've been gathering up the mercenaries quite forcefully. Of course, it seems that they'll be paid for it.

What is this 'armed group straddling an unfamiliar beast' that came afterwards, after all?

You mean, haven't we heard about it yet?

　Immediately after the war began, the borders have been sealed off. Information within the empire is not flowing to the royal capital, partly because people have almost completely stopped coming and going.
　It's more unusual for Ardis to come back as if nothing happened.

''I don't know much about it either, but it seems to be a group of people from the southern continent.

South of the continent?

　Kirill rolled his eyes at the unexpected answer.

　Advancing south from Robles Continent, where the Kingdom of Naglas and the Ermenian Empire are located, another continent exists.
　But this is just a whisper of obscure information that 'it seems to exist'.

　Sometimes people will drift in from the southern continent, but these people did not intentionally sail to Robles.
　In the past, there were many exploratory ships that were sent out to the southern continent, but none of them came back alive.
　The ships on the Robles continent are only limited to sailing in short sea along the land.
　This is because they don't have the navigational skills to go and return to an unknown continent for an unknown distance.

'I hear that the Empire has formed an alliance with a country on the southern continent. It seems that this group is a reinforcement from that country. We're talking about cavalry astride an unfamiliar beast, but that beast was probably brought from the southern continent as well.

It's .......

　Kirill's complexion clouds over.

'I don't know if that gang is an army or mercenaries, but it means they have the navigational skills to send a coherent group of people to us as an armed group, right?　If so, more reinforcements could be sent in: ......

I'm sure you have.

　Ardis readily affirms Kirill's concern.

　The power of the kingdom and the empire are at odds with each other. No, it would be correct to say that they are at odds with each other.
　In recent years, the Kingdom's national power has grown dramatically, and the power relationship with the Empire has been tilted in the Kingdom's favor.

　If it's one country versus one country, it's more than evenly matched. But if the opponent is more than one country, it's a different story.
　That's why the kingdom has deepened its friendship with the Republic in the north and the Union of City States in the west, and has narrowed its opponents to a single empire.
　The leaders of the kingdom would never have expected the empire to join forces with countries outside the continent.

''Will the kingdom ...... be able to win?''

''Well, well. I heard that the first battle was a heavy defeat, but if we can scrape together the local territorial forces and militias, we should still have enough troops. It is hard to say until we know how much the strength of the empire, including reinforcements, will be increased, but if we take up a position in a key location and stick to our defense, there shouldn't be anything we can't fight for.

　That is to say, the battle was based on the premise of a painful split, which is equivalent to saying 'it's impossible to win'.

''As expected, I don't think the kingdom's army is weakened enough to be attacked to the royal capital, but--''

　'Just in case,' Aldis continues in a preface.

'Maybe Kirill should go back to Leytin, don't you think?

　Kirill is originally from the city-state of Leytin.
　He came to the Kingdom of Naglas to attend the school, but there's no reason for him to continue to attend the school, risking getting caught up in the war.

　Kirill himself thought about returning to Leytin when he heard the news of the outbreak of war.
　But no matter how much Nere is there, he didn't want to run away by himself without the twins in the absence of Ardis, and he also doesn't think he can maintain his lack of involvement in the war for other reasons.

'I wish I could, but ......

What's going on?

　Kirill stammered, but Ardis urged him to start talking about the situation.

"It seems that the students of the school will be mobilized. ......

　The reason for this is that the Royal Army suffered a disastrous defeat in its first battle.
　With the destruction of the resident army in the royal capital, the strength ratio of the Empire has widened significantly.

　In order to fill the gap, the war potential, including militias and mercenaries, has been hastily scraped together.
　If that's all there is to it, it doesn't matter to Kirill. The problem is that as part of this, there were calls for students with combat skills to fulfill their duties.

''You mean dragging students into the battlefield?''

　Ardis frowned.

''Originally, when it was established, that kind of talk was included as part of the academy's role in persuading the opposing forces.

　In order to suppress the aristocrats who despised the rising power of the commoners, the founding principle had been tucked away under the guise of 'training temporary response personnel as required in times of national crisis'. There were people in the upper echelons of the military who remembered that.

　It was a blanket statement designed to placate the opposition.
　In fact, in the history of the school, there is no record of any student of the school being sent out to fight on the battlefield.
　This is because until now, the forces of the Empire were at odds with each other.
　It's not so much that they've fallen to the extent of relying on the power of students as they have on the military, and since the establishment of the school, that sentence has become a mere skeleton.

　But this time, it seems that the military has been blown away by the heavy defeat in the first game.
　The unexpected strength and disadvantageous situation of the enemy's war effort has led to an 180-degree change in attitude and a request for students to join the academy.

　As long as it was clearly stated as the name of the establishment, the academy would not be able to reject it.
　Although there has been no official announcement from the school so far, rumors have been circulating that warrior and sorcerer students will probably be mobilized to the front lines, while other students will be mobilized for logistical support.

　By the way, only the academy is subject to mobilization, and students of the academy established for the nobility are not subject to mobilization as a matter of course.

''At any rate, it's good to have you back. Because I don't want to imagine fighting Aldis-san who came to the battlefield as an imperial mercenary unit.''

　Kirill turns a shadowy smile to Ardis.

'Kirill, are you going somewhere?'

When are you coming back?

　The twins tugged on Kirill's arms from both sides.

'Umm, yeah ....... Yeah, I'm not sure how long it will be ...... a little bit.

Will you be back?

　In her own way, the twins must have sensed that Kirill's behavior was out of the ordinary.
　Liana looked into Kirill's face with an anxious expression.

'It's okay. I'll come back.'

Really?　Can you promise me that?

　Filia asked while looking straight into Kirill's eyes.
　Kirill chuckled at the fact that his own face reflected in the slightly blueish sallow green eyes was more pathetic than he expected.

'It's true. I'll come back properly.''

　'If you're alive,' he added with his mind as he answered with his mouth, 'if you're alive.

'Mm, I promise!　If you lie, buy three copies of the picture story!

　Kirill was happy to see the growth in the way he was carelessly putting his own profit on the penalty.

　As Kirill's face stiffened thanks to the twins, Aldis threw something he took from his packing bag and gave it to him.
　Kirill hurriedly took it with both hands and joined the twins to observe it.

　It was a pair of gloves.
　Unlike the thick leather gloves that mercenaries liked to use, they were made of a very thin fabric that fit perfectly against bare skin. It's the kind of thing that a nobleman's daughter or daughter of a wealthy family would wear, partly because of its pure white appearance.

It's a souvenir. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what to do with it, because it has some interesting magic in it. I'll give it to Kirill.

A funny trick?

It's a protective technique. It's activated by just wearing it, so if you're going into battle, take it with you.

　Items containing magic are valuable.
　If it was found in an ancient ruin, it's a piece of art that would be difficult to imitate with today's technology.
　If you take it to the appropriate trade association, you can exchange it for an eye-popping gold coin.

　However, the fact that it's just a toss of a hand, makes me realize once again that such common sense does not apply to Ardis.
　It's not normally a good thing to receive as a souvenir, but if it is filled with protective power, there is nothing better than a parting gift for Kirill, who goes to the battlefield.

Thank you.

　So Kirill takes Aldis' kindness in stride and bows his head.

''Kirill,''

　Kirill looked up and was met with Aldis' serious gaze from the front.

'What is it?'

You're not a mercenary, but on the battlefield, it doesn't matter if you're a mercenary or a soldier. Do you know what the most important thing is for a mercenary in his first battle?

　Kirill is not overconfident in his power.
　He knows Aldis, an out-of-the-ordinary being, but he is not associated with the dreaming that boys of his age tend to have.
　You will find that you will never imagine yourself making a name for yourself in battle for the first time, and I know that Ardis does not want you to do so.
　That's why Ardis has given you the gloves that are filled with protective techniques.

　With that in mind, Kirill pondered what he should keep in mind, and then he spoke the conclusion he had drawn.

"...... not to die, is that it?

Good job.

　Aldis smiles with satisfaction.

'Don't even think about defeating the enemy. When in doubt, choose the one with the best chance of survival. Don't go for the wrong thing. In your case, winning is not the goal, not dying is the top priority. Don't forget that.

　Kirill let Aldis's words burn into his mind.
　At the same time, Kirill felt a strange heaviness to Ardis's words, and he suddenly wondered about the unfathomable nature of someone not much older than him.

　He wondered if this man had ever been in a battlefield at his young age.

　As a mercenary, working on the battlefield is his true function.
　But over the past ten years, no war-like wars have occurred on the Robles continent.

　Indeed, Aldis looks young in appearance.
　He didn't look much older than when I first met him four years ago.
　Aldis already looked like an adult at that time, but even so, looking back now, I feel like she had a young face that had just come of age.
　Even if he was fifteen or six years old at that time, he's finally just about to reach twenty now.
　As far as Kirill knew, there were no people who had experienced war at that young age.

　However, that is not important to Kirill.
　What is important is that Ardis did not turn to the enemy.

　To tell the truth, he wanted Ardis to join the kingdom's side as a mercenary.
　However, Aldis already has enough fortune from the defeat of the three powerful demons and the battle for the defense of Leytin.
　There would be no reason for him to go out to the battlefield at the risk of his life now.

　That's why Kirill didn't mention Ardis's departure, but only replied with a very short, nodding nod to the words, "Yes, I understand.