It was on the tenth of August that the Royal Army finished organizing its army and left the royal capital.

　There were one thousand of the reconstituted Royal Army, three thousand of the territorial troops gathered from all over the country, three thousand five hundred of the militia, and five hundred of the mercenary soldiers.
　With a total of eight thousand troops, the third prince of the Royal House of Naglas is commanded by the third prince of Naglas, accompanied by General Oltrich of the kingdom's army as his second-in-command.
　Since General Oltrich, the second-in-command, is practically in charge, the third prince is only a decorated commander.
　But even as a decoration, it is rare for the royalty to appear on the battlefield, which is proof of the urgency of the current situation for the kingdom.

　The morale of the kingdom's military is high because the royalty themselves will be on the battlefield.
　The high morale is essential to make up for their numerical inferiority.

　Rumor has it that the third prince himself bought himself a position to lead the army.
　Although he is not particularly gifted, the Third Prince is known for his warm and gentle nature.
　The third prince is known to have been able to avoid any conflict between the Dauphin and the second prince, and it has been said that the third prince has been able to avoid any conflicts in the succession to the throne.

　Aldis is participating in this battle as a member of the mercenary army.

　The number of mercenaries from not only the whole country, but from other countries as well, is about five hundred.
　But in fact, this number is actually quite small.

　The previous disastrous defeat of the kingdom's army must have had an effect on them. Seeing the disadvantage of the Kingdom, the number of mercenaries who were supporting the Empire was large.
　Of course, the kingdom side is also aware that this battle is a critical moment for the nation.
　The rewards offered to the mercenaries were incomparable to the past, but--.

''Lives are important, aren't they? It seems that most of the mercenaries who were in Tria have also sided with the Empire.

　The little archer laughs in a matter-of-fact tone as he walks.

''Then why are Norris and the others over here?''

　Ardis, who was walking next to me, asked in a dumbfounded manner.

　The Royal Army that was marching towards the border was only half a day away from where the Empire had set up its camp.
　The imperial army, which had won the initial battle, still hadn't moved from its original encampment.

　It seemed that they were fully prepared and intended to attack the Royal Army.
　You can feel the strong will to completely defeat the Royal Army, which had regained its footing, and to settle the fate of the past with this battle.

　In fact, if they are defeated in this decisive battle, the kingdom will not have enough forces left to continue their resistance.
　The only thing left to do is to sit back and watch as the imperial army lays waste to the entire country.
　This is truly a battle in which the very existence of the kingdom's survival is at stake.

　That's why the kingdom has called for mercenaries with unbeatable conditions.
　However, even so, the fact that only a far less than one thousand people had been recruited to the Kingdom's side shows the public's view of this war.
　The mercenaries who join the kingdom's army in such a situation are either flawed like Ardis, or they are dazzled by the large sums of money.

　The party that is renowned as one of the best mercenaries in Tria, 'Myoujo of Byakuya', should not be so impromptu or money hungry as to be dazzled by the rewards.
　If you don't want to join the empire, you have the option of not participating.
　Why they would put their trust in the Royal Army, Ardis didn't have the answer to that question.

''Well, even if the troops are wiped out, it doesn't mean they'll all die. The point is, we don't have to die, right?''

　The leader, Ted, said without hesitation.

　Only this time, the recruiting money alone was quite a bit of money.
　Of course, they would have to live to receive the full amount, but they seemed to take pride in their ability to do so.

'Ted says this, but we weren't sure what to do at first either. When we arrived in the capital, it wasn't like Aldis was going to join us as a mercenary. So it was decided that it would be up to us.

If you're in the same unit as Ardis, at least you won't die.

　Ted was followed by Orphelia, the mage, and Norris, the archer, who explained the circumstances.

'Well, that's it. ......

　Ted gave a grin and a simple smile.

'For what it's worth, I've been in the kingdom for a long time. I'm somewhat attached to this country, too.'

　The strong man laughed aloud when I told him why he was not a mercenary.

''Hmm .......''

　Although Aldis replied raw, he felt no small amount of relief inwardly.

　Ted and the other members of the "Byakuya no Myojo" can be said to be one of the few companions for Ardis.
　Even though it is the fate of mercenaries to divide their acquaintances into friend and foe to fight, they do not want to turn Ted and the others against each other.

''Come to think of it, isn't Nere coming with you this time?

　Norris asks me about Aldis's self-appointed squire.

'Aye. I got Nere to stay behind.'

''Well, of course. You can't just leave Filia and Liana in that forest, can you?

　Naturally, Nere remains in the house to protect the twins.

　Additionally, there's no sign of Rona at Ardis' side.
　In the first place, you can't bring your partner, who is an apparent beast, to the battlefield, and Rona was assigned to protect Lupus, who was taking refuge deep in the forest.

　Aldis and his hometown Lupus are a species called 'Krol' with a huge black haired body and are extremely powerful.
　If the opponent is a forest demon, there is nothing to worry about.
　But if the other party is a human being with wisdom, it's a different story.
　In the unlikely event that the imperial army came in contact with Lupus, the cowardly nature of Lupus could cause him harm.
　That's why, until the battle is settled and peace is restored, Rona is keeping an eye on his surroundings.

'Why don't you just leave him alone? Al has indulged him too much.

　It was Rona who took on the task of defending Lupus, even though she complained.

'I thought for sure that Aldis was holed up with him too. It's not like he's in need of money, is it?　"The three most powerful demon slayers?

　Norris tries to get the reasoning out of him in a teasing tone.

'I know a guy who's in on it for a bit: ......

That's not...

　Aldis' tone was unusually muddled. A young man's voice interrupted Norris' words as he tried to follow up.

'Isn't that Aldis!

　There are four men and women approaching with their hands raised.
　A stocky, muscular man walks at the front.
　Behind him is a tall man with ash-blond hair, followed by a slender man with long hair tied up in a single bun, and a petite woman with Akane colored hair.
　All of them were armed to the hilt and were clearly mercenaries.

　Looking at their faces, Aldis often dredged up his memories and pulled out a name that came to mind.

'Ralph ......?'

Oh. You remembered that!　I thought you'd forgotten about me!

　This was back when Aldis was still in Trier.
　It's a good thing that you can't get rid of them.

It's a good thing it's been four years, because as expected, their faces have changed a lot. It took me a while to remember.

　They were just starting out as mercenaries, but in the course of four years they have changed completely.
　The childishness disappeared from his face, and he seemed to ooze the confidence of a mercenary who had accumulated experience.

''That kind of Ardis doesn't change at all. I'm surprised that you haven't changed too much.''

　Ralph, whose originally large body had grown even larger, smiled as he bashed Aldis on the back.

The rumors are circulating in Tria as well. Is it true that you have defeated the three powerful demons?

'It's awful to walk out of Tria without saying a word. You could have at least said a word to me.

　Gio and Konia meet again after four years, and each of them describe their feelings for each other in their own words.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but it was sudden, and we couldn't take our time.

　I can't tell them the real reason for the clash with the Tria Territorial Army, they don't know about it.
　Laughing lightly, Aldis mouthed an apology.

''Aldis. It's been a while.''

　Greshe, the leader of the four of them, is the last to call out to me.

''Yeah, it's good to see you looking well.

　Four years ago, Aldis and Greshe had disagreed with each other and ended up parting ways a bit awkwardly, but they never disliked each other.
　The subtle expressions on their faces suggest that Greshet himself may have his own thoughts, but for now, he should be happy to see them again.
　The fact that they are here means that Greshet and the other four are also planning to participate in the war as mercenaries on the side of the Kingdom Army.

''You really haven't changed, have you? I'm sure you haven't changed at all.''

　Greshet looked at Aldis from top to bottom and expressed his frank opinion.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that this is not the case. As expected, they're no longer a fledgling.

　In contrast, Greshe and the others have the look of full-fledged mercenaries.
　You can see that they look much more relaxed in their mannerisms than they did four years ago when they were rookie mercenaries.

I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what to expect. I'm sure you've got a lot of experience since then, and you've made a name for yourself in Trier. I'm no longer a dispatcher.

Okay.

　It's true that this is a different story from the days when the entire team of dispatchers were wiped out.
　The fact that we've come through four years of fighting dangerous beasts and demons without a single dropout proves that we've become that competent as mercenaries.

'But it's good. Ardis is on our side. If possible, I don't want to divide you into acquaintances and enemies. It's sad to see that some mercenaries from the Trier have joined the Empire's side as well.''

You're a ...... mercenary, so it's no wonder.

　To Greshe, who looked sad from the heart, Aldis returned the words with a slight frown.

　Then, after exchanging words with Ardis for a while, Greshe and the others found another acquaintance and moved over there.

'You look like you want to say something, Ardis.

　Ted, who had been listening to the conversation of Aldis and the others beside him, called out to him.

'Hmm?　No, not really. ......

Do you care about 'Costars'?

Costars?

　Aldis questions back the unfamiliar words from Norris' question.

'Yes. It's the name of their party. The name of their party is "Costers" because they are childhood friends from "Coster Village". It's an easy name, haha.

I see.

　Putting aside the question that had been settled early, Aldis asked about Grechet and the others.

'Are those guys doing well in Tria?'

'Hmmm, yeah ....... I wonder if you're doing ...... well?　What do you think, Ted?

　With an unspoken hint of hesitation about how to answer, Norris throws a round to Ted.

They're good guys. They're good guys, they're straightforward, and they're not contrary. Like they said themselves, they've mastered the ability to hunt disperses with no problem. I've never heard of a bad reputation from a client. It's just that... ......

　Ted received the baton from Norris and commented on Grechet and the others as such, but stammered at the end.

'What's the matter with you?'

You're just too good for humanity... or too nice.

　As Ted tried to find the right words to say, Orphelia interrupted him.

You've been gaining a lot of attention lately, but of course there are some bite to it. There are people all over the place who are more interested in pulling the wool over the eyes of others than in improving their own abilities, don't they?　He even gets a little interference from time to time.

It's not that unusual, is it?

In and of itself.

　Norris took over the conversation.

'We're known in our own way, too, so we can get in the way of things like that, and we can get a bad reputation behind the scenes. By the way, what would you do if you were Aldis?　What if they go behind your back and sabotage your request?

Depending on the extent of the interference, we will beat them to the ground so thoroughly that they won't touch us again.

　Norris laughs aloud at Aldis, who adds one last tidbit, "To the extent that the law allows," he says, laughing aloud to Aldis.

'Haha, yes!　Aldis isn't likely to relent!

　Ardis isn't a demon either, so he doesn't intend to cut down all his opponents.
　However, if the other party is going to direct its harmful intent at you, you will counterattack accordingly.
　I'm not sure if it's just an obstruction, but if the other side is trying to kill me, I didn't hesitate to take my opponent's life.

It's just that Costars' people don't seem to be like that. I'm sure they received a lot of blatant interference, but they don't seem to counterattack or retaliate against it.

You appear to have the ability to get through any kind of interference, but that's not the same thing. The people who bully you, the ones who bother you, will hurt you and then do the same thing to you if you don't.

It's not enough to be a mercenary with just pretty things. If you're underestimated, you might get your foot in the door somewhere. ......

　A good-natured person cannot be a mercenary.
　There are many predators and lowlifes by nature, and that is what makes a mercenary a mercenary.
　It was not uncommon for them to look at other people's pockets with an eagle eye, or to try to profit by tricking people into believing they were in danger.

　Mercenaries can become heroes, but they cannot become saints.

　Greshe and the others who have been able to do this without being keenly aware of this must be both lucky and unlucky at the same time.

　They may have been able to manage it so far.
　But from now on, they'll be going to the battlefield, an extraordinary stage far removed from their daily lives.

　With a touch of anxiety, Aldis watched the members of Costers from a distance.