A month has passed since the battle between the Royal and Imperial armies.
　As the end of the year loomed, Aldis was walking the streets of King's Landing with Rona at the request of a certain someone.

　Since then, the empire hadn't made any moves to invade again, and the kingdom was barely connected by the skin of its neck.
　It seems that the confusion within the empire has finally been conveyed to the upper echelons of the kingdom, and the royal capital, which had been on the verge of panic until then, is finally regaining its composure.

The king's capital was finally regaining its composure before the panic set in. Aren't we going hunting today?

　Rona asked in a whisper when she saw that the figures around her had ceased to exist.

'Yeah. I've got some people to see today.''

Nah, it's boring.

'That's why I told you when I left.　You don't have to follow me.

　Aldis stroked Rona's head, which instantly lost interest, while walking.
　At Aldis's unusual appearance, Rona looked up at him curiously.

''What's wrong?''

What?

You kind of look like you don't want to go.

　Rona looked into Aldis' face with concern.

'I see. Of course you do. After all, there's no denying the fact that I don't want to go.'

If you don't want to go, you don't have to go.

'I would normally do that, but there's a reason I can't do that.

　Huffing and puffing, Ardis pats Rona's head again.

　As expected, Ardis will be feeling heavy.
　After all, we are heading to a nobleman's mansion.

　And it's not just any nobleman.
　A nobleman among nobles. It's a duke family with strong royal blood.

''You shouldn't owe me anything. ......

　A month ago, Aldis deeply regretted now that he owed someone a debt of gratitude for his momentum.

　The story goes back a few days from now.





　After selling the information to Cesare, Ardis did not take a job for a while, nor did she go hunting, but instead spent her time with the twins, enjoying a nap and relaxing.

　It was more than ten days later that I decided it was time to visit the royal capital.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time in the city.

''Already!　It's been hard work, Mr. Aldis!

　Originally, Ardis was known as the "Defeater of the Three Powerful Demons," but during this war, he gained even more fame along with the nickname "Magician of a Thousand Swords.
　The information that Ardis has the Seseragi-tei as his regular lodgings is a relatively well known story, so there were curious people who wanted to catch a glimpse of the hero, powerful people's lackeys who were plotting to connect him to the people in power, and various other people who came to see him.

'I'm sorry about that,'

　However, it wasn't all bad, apparently, as Merrill's special menu (Seseragi-tei's final weapon) sold more than ten times as much as usual.
　No, it would have been nothing but a nightmare for those who ate it without knowing it, but .......

'Oh, by the way, I've been keeping a lot of messages and letters for Mr. Aldis.

　As soon as he said it, Merrill went to the back of the room, and when he returned to where Aldis was seated, he piled up a large quantity of scribbles and sealed letters on the table.

　You can't afford not to look through them.
　It is unavoidable to check the sender of each one and separate them into those to be read and those to be thrown away.

　One piece of paper among them. I found a message from the sender that I couldn't ignore.

"Please return what you owe me.

　The sender's name was Moore.
　It was the name of a unit commander who had led a mercenary army in the last war.





　He ignored all the requests to make him a hired magician, to form a party, or to recruit him into a private army.
　As a result, Aldis was only forced to respond or respond to a few cases.
　One of those cases was about paying back his debt to Moore.

　When Aldis left his unit in the middle of a battle in the last war, he made it clear that he 'owed' Moore, the captain who had taken care of him, 'a debt of gratitude'.
　That other party asked me to 'return the debt'. You can't ignore it.

　The next day, Ardis went to Moore's mansion, and what awaited her was a troublesome matter that made her frown.

'Oh, you're here. We've been waiting for you.

'A battalion commander in the country's army is a pretty good way to live, isn't he? I didn't realize it was such a nice house.

''It's partly because the battalion commander's salary is good, but also because the money I made during my time as a mercenary was a decent amount. It sounds ridiculous, but one of the reasons is that you have to hire the right kind of people to keep up appearances.

　I see, Aldis understood.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　I'm not sure I'll ever be able to find out what they are.

　They may be Moore's former mercenary companions.
　Providing jobs for people like them is probably one of the reasons why they have a large mansion.

''I was hoping they'd be here sooner.

I'm sorry. I haven't been to King's Landing for a while now. I didn't get a message until yesterday.

'Right. Well, you're the man of the hour now, aren't you?

　Smirking, Moore teased Aldis.

'Totally. I'm getting a lot of solicitations from all over the place.

'Right. Then this story is just fine--or maybe it's the other way around.

What are you talking about?

'That's why I called you here. In some ways it may be pleasing to you, but in others it's a pain in the ass.

　Moore prefaced the conversation by explaining why he had called Aldis.

I've been asked to do a favor by someone in my care, and it's something I can't do myself, so I'm in a bind. And I want you to repay the debt by carrying out the person's request on my behalf.

　An ominous feeling of foreboding buzzed through Aldis' mind at the phrasing he brought with him.
　Even if you're not a skilled mercenary, a premonition at times like this is usually hard to miss.

''What kind of request?''

　Turning to Aldis, who asked in a reluctant manner, Moore said as if he were spitting out a curse word.

'The duchess's pointers.





　Now, a few days later, Aldis is moving his heavy feet to the upper-class mansions in the area.

'Pointers?'

Yeah, he's a contributor.

　Rona tilts her head curiously.

'You're not a tutor?'

You've got another tutor. He's a duke. They must have tons of money and connections.

　Aldis received a request from Moore. It was to teach magic to the duke's daughter.
　It was originally a request that Moore was asked by the dukes to do, but he has no one to introduce to him, as he has no contacts with wizards.

　As long as the person you are teaching is a duchess, the duke will not be convinced unless he is a person of solid identity.
　But there are only a few people in the entire kingdom who are able to teach magic with certainty of identity.
　I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who have a lot of time on their hands to do that.

　To Moore, who had been struggling to keep his head above water, it was a fortuitous thing that he had made the acquaintance of a mercenary named Ardis.

　It is true that Ardis is a mercenary, but after all, he is a renowned magician who succeeded in defeating the three powerful demons that had plagued the kingdom for many years, and he is also known as the person who made great, albeit unofficial, achievements in the war against the Empire.
　Nowadays, there is no shortage of rumors about him, along with the alias of the "Magician of a Thousand Swords".

　Of course, no matter how famous he is, he is still a mercenary.
　It's a good thing that the Duke and the Duchess do not have a problem with it, but as you can see from the fact that the Duke does not have as much of a dislike for mercenaries as other noblemen, and the Duchess seems to be open to the idea of having Ardis as an instructor if she can learn the rumored sword magic.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with this particular brand.

　But now that the Duke has said it's okay, Aldis has no authority to overrule him.
　If the debt to Moore is used as a shield, I can't just say "don't care" as I always do.

That's heavy handed.

　Ardis murmurs with a sigh.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for in a good deal of people.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market.

　Even Kirill, who is regarded as a rare genius child in the school, is having a hard time understanding magic.
　Sword magic is not so simple that you can learn it in a light mood for fun.

''How do I convince you of that?''

　Sighing for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Aldis stroked Rona's head again.