At the time Aldis was raiding the organization's base.
　In the Duke of Nilesteria's mansion, one of the noblemen's residences in the royal capital, Minerva was about to go to sleep.

''Look, Rona. It's cold there, isn't it?　Come sleep with me over here.

Wafu.

　Minerva beckons Rona from her luxurious, canopied bed, but the golden beast utters a languid reply and does not move.

　Rona was left in Minerva's care by Aldis, but she still looks like a vicious predator.
　The servants of the duke's family are afraid to approach it, and in the end, Minerva, the duchess, is left to take care of it herself.

　Of course, Minerva has no objection to that at all.
　To her, Rona was not a fearsome beast, but a companion for her own teacher to take as a partner, a comfortable plush toy to hold.
　She arranged her own meals and snacks for her to eat and snack on, and cared for her with a worthy care, running her hands through her shining fur with her comb.

　Night after night, Minerva would take Rona into the bedroom with her, and for the past few days, that's exactly what they've been doing, sleeping and eating together.
　Minerva would love to sleep in her bed, enjoying Rona's soft, fluffy fur, but the golden beast would never accept her invitation.
　Every night she curled up right next to her bed, with her face to the entrance and window as if she were a knight guarding Minerva.
　It reminded her of the attack a few days ago.

　A group of masked men suddenly appeared while she was training with Ardis.
　The attackers, who had obviously targeted Minerva, had been repelled by Aldis, but the danger had not been completely shaken off.
　It is not only the father, the Duke of Nilesteria, who has kept his mouth shut about this matter, but also his daughter, leaving Minerva with an inexplicable worry.

''I'm a party, but I'm out of the mosquito net ....... Even though it's always the case, it's not a good feeling.

What?

　Minerva sighs involuntarily, and Rona gives her a worried look.

'It's nothing, Rona.

　The reason why the words that would normally come out of his mouth are probably because he has a listener named Rona.

　Of course, the other party is a dumb beast.
　Even if you are a clever beast that can understand human language, there is no way you can give a proper answer by listening to the complaints of a noblewoman.

　It is a fact that speaking out about one's fears is the only way to calm one's mind.
　Because of the fact that you are not talking to yourself but have an audience, Minerva was talking more than usual that day.

'Since Captain Greystar has been guarding me, I can feel safe. If I speak of my anxiety, then Captain Greystar will have no choice, right?

　In addition to a number of guards being killed or injured in the recent attack, many guards were out because the Duke was on official business and the Duchess was going out to an evening party.
　There was no way the vacancies could be filled so easily, and the Dukes' mansion was temporarily reduced in the number of guards.
　In order to fill the void, Moore Greysta, a military battalion commander who had personally interacted with the duke, was leading several men to guard the duke's mansion.

　It's obvious that it's a public/private matter, but it's the Duke's position of power that allows him to push it through.
　Of course, that is because of the safety of my child, and Minerva herself had no reason to object to that love being directed at her.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. I owe the Duke a lot of things, and the young lady doesn't have to worry about it.''

　It's not a good idea to have a newborn baby.

　If you listen to it, Moore's men who are going to be in the escort are in talks to get extra vacation time for that.
　It was practically like being on official business and being on guard duty at the duke's residence.
　Moreover, the courtesy money from the duke's house would be paid separately, and in fact, there were even more applicants than planned.
　That's why currently, in addition to the duke's guard, there are about ten active military personnel packed into the duke's residence as temporary guards. It could be said to be a sufficient number in terms of numbers.

　Of course, having more people is not always a good thing.
　This is because the defenders are always forced to be passive and the initiative is always on the side of the attacker.

　A silence settles over the room as Minerva slips into bed alone.

　A minute or ten minutes?
　A short or long time passes in a slumbering consciousness, and just as Minerva's consciousness is about to sink into the warmth of the bed, Rona, who was huddled at her feet, stands up without a sound.

　Minerva's consciousness was drawn back to reality as she sensed the presence of the man.

...... What's going on, Rona?

　Relying on the faint starlight coming in from outside the window, Minerva sought out Rona's figure.

　Rona's ears twitched.

　A moment later, an angry voice rang out, cutting through the silence.

''What, what is it?''

　Then the bustle that reaches Minerva's ears.
　Heavy footsteps run through the mansion and the high-pitched sound of sword firing can be heard from downstairs, and now a woman's scream rises from the upper levels.

''It's an attack!　There's a lot of them!

'Don't be fooled by the diversion!　Hold the stairs!　Don't let him through!

They even have servants at ......!

　Where had the silence from a moment ago gone? The Duke's residence was now filled with voices and sounds that said the battlefield was nowhere to be found.

''Shh, raid ......?''

　Minerva, who involuntarily rushed to Rona and hugged her, immediately brought out a sword from the closet as she remembered.
　It was the shortsword that Aldis had given her as a self-defense gift a few days ago.

　Even if she had received instruction from a rare mercenary, it would be shameful if she was just sulking in fear of her attackers.
　The reason why I wished to become stronger was because I wanted to reduce the number of casualties in this kind of situation more than anything else.

'Cut them down!'

Guh!

　The hustle and bustle was already close at hand.
　The sound of swords clashing on the other side of the door, the sound of flesh being cut off, and the sound of dancing blood splatter reaching Minerva's ears.

'I am ...... and so am I .......'

　Having made up her mind, Minerva drew her sword and put her hand on the door.
　She turned the doorknob slowly, feeling Rona, who was leaning close to her feet, reliably.

''Ugh .......''

　When the door is opened slightly, the smell of foul-smelling blood is immediately wafted in the air.
　Minerva squints for a moment at the corridor light coming into the room, and the next moment she is immensely disappointed, unable to accept the scene that has come into her eyes.

''Ah, ah, .......''

　The corridor that should be familiar.
　You will find a shadow of a person lying there helplessly, which is not supposed to be possible under normal circumstances.

　One person, two people, three people .......
　The floor and walls, which they might have dyed at the moment, were painted a speckled vermilion color.

''Miss!　You shouldn't come out of there because it's dangerous!

　A voice was directed at me as if to reprimand me.

'Oh ....... Greystar, Battalion Commander .......

　When she identified the owner of the voice, Minerva called out the name with a tearful look on her face.

'They're raiders. They may be numerous, but they're not skilled. Just stay quiet in your room and I'll get this over with as soon as possible, don't worry.'

'Oh, wow, me too: ......

　Minerva regrasps the shortsword with a trembling hand.

'Don't be a fool. If you let the target of the guard fight with a sword, it would not be worth the face of the guard. In the first place, you can't cut people with such a trembling hand.

...... Okay, got it.

　Minerva hid her face in a slump.
　She resented her hands, which were trembling and unsettled at all, but her eyes were wet with her own disappointment because her mind could understand that Moore's words were correct.

'Come on, let's go back to our room.

　Moore speaks softly to me.
　As expected, you can't reach out a blood-stained hand to a night-dressed young lady.
　He gently urges her to return to her room with his hand where she may or may not touch it.

　The noise in the air has diminished, and the noise from earlier seems to have finally begun to subside.

'...... Yes,'

　Nodding vigorously, Minerva turned on her heel to turn back to her room.

　At that time, Rona, who had been quietly waiting at Minerva's feet until then, instantly jumped out.

''Eh?　Rona?

Woof!

　At the same time as Rona threatened, the window pane shattered and two figures burst into the room.
　The figures took one look at the bed and without showing any signs of hesitation, they attacked Minerva with daggers in their hands.

'Stand back!'

　After saying that, Moore stepped forward to protect Minerva.

　At the same time, Rona slipped past his side and turned on the attackers.
　That move must have exceeded the expectations of the attackers.
　Before you can react, one of the assailants was bitten off by Rona at the throat and died without a trace.

　The other attacker turns his blade to Minerva with his companion's escape at his side, but Moore is standing there as a matter of course.
　It's a good thing that you're not the only one.
　I'm sure that even if the attackers were skilled, they wouldn't fall behind in a head-to-head matchup.
　After three rounds of slicing each other, they cut down the attackers without hesitation.

'I guess these guys were the real deal. Whatever the case, it's a good thing I was there at the right time ....... No, it looks like they managed without me, though.

　Moore turns his gaze to Rona, who has easily taken care of the attackers.

''As expected of the 'Magician of a Thousand Swords' partner. That means you're not just a beast.

"Wan.

　Rona makes a single sound, as if to say, "Of course.
　The sounds of battle were sucked into the silence of the distant dark night, and you couldn't even feel a hint of it anymore.

It's a very good idea to have a good time with your friends.

Wow. What about me?

'The young lady should stay here and be quiet ......, or maybe we should move to another place since the window is broken. It looks like there are ...... reliable guards, and I'll go get someone for now, so wait until then--hmm?　What's going on?

　Moore, who had been talking about what was to come, suddenly noticed something strange about Rona.
　It's a good thing that you're not afraid of the sudden assailant, but he's restlessly craning his neck to his surroundings.

'What is it, Rona?　...... Huh?

　Minerva was wondering about Rona's condition as well as Moore's, but she suddenly noticed an uncomfortable feeling clinging to her surroundings.

''What, this?''

What's going on?

　There was no one here to answer Minerva's question.
　At the same time, Moore, who couldn't understand what was going on, couldn't perceive the anomaly itself.

　The heavy air that seemed to envelop her entire body deranged Minerva's senses.
　The next time you lose your sense of reality and your consciousness fades away, Minerva holds the shortsword in one hand and hugs Rona's body with one hand.
　She struggles to hold on to her fading consciousness with only that touch, and eventually her strength is exhausted.