It has been two days since Minerva was attacked in the forge of the Duke's residence.

　Aldis is summoned by the Duke to inform him that the mastermind behind the attack has been identified.
　The mastermind is still a nobleman. It was a marquis with a daughter close in age to the first prince of the crown prince.

　The name was unfamiliar to the nobleman, but Aldis firmly burns it into his mind as an enemy who put his precious student in danger.
　According to the duke, Aldis himself is resented as an obstacle that prevented the assassination of the daughter's daughter.

''If you're as skilled as you are, you won't be easily dissuaded, but just in case, be wary.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say.
　It's not really necessary to tell the mastermind of the attackers to Aldis, who is only a mere instructional figure, even if he is in charge of guarding them.
　The fact that the Duke, who would have known that, went out of his way to reveal the existence of the mastermind, it is clear that he has an intention to involve Ardis in this matter.

　Of course, to Aldis, Minerva is no longer a stranger to him.
　He was a valued student who had taught her the sword arts for six months, albeit once every three days.
　So naturally she felt resentment towards the attackers and their mastermind.

''Nobles have their own means of retaliation, so...''

　From the Duke's cold smile as he said this, it was clear that he intended to take some kind of action against the Marquis.
　Then what Aldis should deal with would be the attackers who were the perpetrators.



　After resigning from the duke, Aldis instructs Rona, who has joined him, to take up the protection of Minerva.

'I want you to guard Minerva for a while.

No problem.　What about Al?

Me?

　'Of course,' says Aldis, laughing only with her mouth.

'I'll come out to you this time.

This sounds more interesting, doesn't it?

'I can't take Minerva's side, can I?　Besides, if we're together all day, can't we expect to eat and snack?

Moo: ......

　Rona pondered for a bit, then looked resigned.

'Right. 'I get it. I'll give it to Al this time. Let me take care of Minerva.

Yeah, please. Now I can go out of my mind.


　The next day, Aldis visited Minerva and told her that he was going to stop training for a while.

'Wow, I can handle it!　I'm not injured, and I've had three days off, so I'm physically fit enough!

Oh, that's not what I meant.

　Ardis adds his words to Minerva, who seems to have misunderstood him.

It's just that I won't be able to take some time off for a while, but it's not about Minerva. I'm sorry for my convenience, but I'm going to call it self-study for a while, so you'll have to work on the example assignment.

'For Master's convenience--?　...... If that's what you mean, I understand. I'll do my best to show you how to complete that task.

　With Minerva showing a positive vibe, Aldis nodded with satisfaction, "That's the spirit.

''So, I'd like you to take care of Rona while I'm busy, can you ask?''

You want Rona?

''I've received permission from the Duke's Excellency, so you don't have to worry about that. It's just that the servants in the mansion are afraid of Rona, so I'll inevitably ask Minerva to take care of her--

Absolutely, positively no problem at all!　Let me take care of Rona until my master returns!

　Minerva leans forward and accepts with a bite. Apparently, Rona is quite well liked by her.

I see, thank you. This is in return, take it.

　As planned, Ardis was able to put Rona at Minerva's side and gave the student a sword with a blade length of about seventy centimeters in her hand.

'What is it?　Short sword ......?

Take it for your own protection. I've put my magic in it, so it's better than what they're selling on the street.

　Although Ardis's expression is an understatement, his body is a gem made of heavy iron hammered by Schmerz, one of the foremost blacksmiths in the royal city.
　In addition, it is a magic sword to which Ardis added protective magic. Its value would be worth no more than a hundred gold coins if it went on the market.

''Thank you!

　Minerva, who doesn't know that, is genuinely happy to have been given a sword by her master, or perhaps a big smile on her face.
　To be honest, I wonder if Aldis would be too, that a noblewoman would dye her sword with joy after being presented with it, but at this time, I decided not to worry about that.

　As long as Rona is there to protect him, he can feel safe even if the next attack comes while Ardis is gone.
　There are not many beings who can outwit this partner.

　Aldis said to Rona, "Please," and left the duke's residence.

　Three days ago, the guards of the duke's mansion got in the way and missed some of the attackers.
　It can't be helped that he couldn't leave the place due to the circumstances, but it was a bit of a disappointing result for Ardis.

''Well. I don't want you to think that you can get away with it for free after you mess with one of my students.

　Scowling in the street with no one to hear him, he went straight into the city with his three swords down on both hips.

　He appeared at several taverns, and when he spotted the person he wanted, he approached him with a grin on his face.
　The person whose smile was directed at me looked as if he had bitten down on a bitter bug and was desperately trying to avert his gaze.

'Yo, Cesare.

Thanks to ......

　Of course, there is no way he can escape Aldis.
　To Cesare, as an informant, Aldis remains a customer, whether he wants to or not.

'...... What is it about?'

　Perhaps he could tell from the look on Ardis' face that it was a nasty business.
　Cesare reluctantly asked what he wanted.

'I need to buy some information.

What kind of information do you want?

　With a resigned look on his face, Cesare moved on to business.

'You know that the Duke's residence was attacked by someone three days ago, right?

'Well, ......, it's still just the edge of being an informant.

　There is a gag order on the attack on the Duke's residence.
　It's because the rumor that a high-ranking nobleman's residence was attacked in broad daylight in the middle of the royal capital is too bad.
　The same is true for the Duke himself, and in terms of the security of the capital, the royal family, the country, and the military will lose face.

　But if it was only a matter of allowing intruders in at night, there would be a massive explosion caused by magical stones.
　No matter how much the people involved kept their mouths shut, information about the turmoil passed from mouth to mouth at an alarming rate.

　Naturally, as an informant, it was only natural for me to know about it.
　After confirming this, Aldis told him bluntly.

'I want information on the attackers.'

'If you tell me to sell it, I'll sell it, but ....... What are you going to do with that?

　No matter how you look at it, it's probably a hint of trouble.
　Cesare doesn't even hide his disgusted face.
　Normally, an informant and a customer would not be asked such in-depth questions about the other party's situation, but the history of the first meeting so far seems to stimulate Cesare's cautiousness, and he set out to find out what's going on behind the scenes.

'No, it seems to be a bit too much of a tease. It's a good idea to learn that a prank can be irreversible if it's too much.

It's not like they were attacking you.

I've been dealing with the duke's family for a while now. I can't tell you all the details, but I'm paid by the duke to do my job.

I know that.

'Then it goes without saying, doesn't it?　You messed with a student I care about. You're going to get your comeuppance in your own way.

　Cesare sighs heavily.
　From the look of it, he must have also grasped that Aldis is teaching swordsmanship to Minerva as an instructor.

　Whatever it is, Aldis and Cesare have been friends for a long time.
　It may be unwilling for Cesare, but they've exchanged enough words to understand that Aldis is not the kind of personality to be quiet in this situation.

''Let me tell you, the other party is a large organization. No matter how much the dukes are behind you, if you struggle, it will tail off later on, right?　It's not like we're talking about dealing with demons, you know.

　To Cesare, who speaks words of advice, Aldis replies in a light tone.

'It's okay, it's okay.'

I don't know what's okay: ......

　Cesare let out a loud sigh again and reluctantly presented the information fee to Aldis.



　In addition to what the duke told me, Aldis got the information from Cesare in exchange for a few gold coins.

　As expected of a top-notch informant, aside from his personality, he is indeed a top-notch informant approved by Aldis.
　I was able to learn the necessary information about the organization to which the attackers belonged, such as their base of operations and the number of members.

　It seems that the organization, which centers on the royal capital and extends its influence to the city-state coalition and even the empire, is a reasonably well known presence in the underworld as well.
　It seems that they perform assassinations, espionage, and sabotage at the request of their clients, while at the same time doing human trafficking, the sale of illegal goods, and in some cases, theft by stealing as their livelihood.

There's no need to take any chances.

　When Aldis had uttered that, Cesare had frowned as hard as he could with a good look in his eyes.

　The organization that undertakes assassinations for money can't be decent, so Aldis decides to crush it thoroughly.

　Once out front from the tavern, Aldis walked alone down the main street and made plans for the future.

'You can hit the main body first ....... Is it too much trouble if you can escape in pieces to various places after striking it? Far away - if we crush the base in the Empire first and then the one in the Union of City States .......

　I walked while checking the organization's base information I got from Cesare with the notes at hand.

''Ah, so there's a base in Tria, too. ''Troublesome.''

　Aldis frowned at the name of the unlikely place, but he quickly dismissed the concern with a simple, "Well, if you sneak in late at night, the guards won't find you," and dismissed it as no big deal.





　Two days later. The organization's stronghold was destroyed by someone in a corner of the favela in the imperial capital of Ermenia.

　A few of the men who had been away from the base when it was attacked escaped and hid themselves in Gran, the royal capital of Naglas, where the organization's headquarters are located.
　Naturally, they have no way of knowing the horrors that will strike them a few days later.