The night was spreading across the sky, and no one could be seen walking down the main street of the royal capital.
　It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends and family.

'It's getting pretty late, isn't it?'

Whose fault is it, whose fault is it?

　Aldis looks at her golden partner, who looks up at the sky and murmurs carefreely.

'Because it would be such a waste to leave it behind.

That didn't mean you had to flatten the whole thing end to end, though.

　Day three of the Fuyo Cup (Lotus Cup).
　Moore was defeated by Aldis in the quarter-finals, and the Duke is fully aware of his fighting spirit.
　When the Duke asked him to replace the captain of the guard at the Duke's mansion, who was nearing retirement due to his advanced age, Moore, who was struggling to figure out what to do with himself, replied in two words.

　Later on, a dinner is held at the Duke's residence to celebrate Moore's decision to become captain of the guard and Aldis' advancement to the semifinals.
　Naturally, Aldis, one of the stars of the show, had no choice but to attend.
　He won't be able to return to the forest while it's still light, but if it's only a dinner, it shouldn't be that late. It was a mistake to easily judge that they would be able to make it before the gates of the outer wall of the royal capital closed.

　Rona, who had been taking a leisurely nap in the Duke's residence's training grounds during the game, was allowed to enter the supper hall at Minerva's request, she threw away the word "restraint" as a good thing and began to show her eating power.

　It's a good thing that he's not afraid of the word "restraint", because it's a good thing.
　The people around them are forced to watch the spectacle of the street performance as Rona fills their bellies like a bottomless swamp with new dishes until the kitchen is empty, and before they know it, it's already late.

It's getting late.

Not all of them. See, this is how I bring home the candy and fruit.

　While arguing against it, Rona showed Ardis the bag that she carried around her neck.
　It's a good thing that you have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You've eaten so much and you're still going to eat it?

Souvenirs, souvenirs. Won't Phylicia and Liana be pleased?

　Aldis sighed deeply and turned to her partner to order.

'Don't make the two of you eat too many sweets. You'll get into a bad habit.

It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. I'll only give you two ten percent of the money.

The rest?

Of course I'll eat it, okay?

Hey ......

　What did I mean when I said "it's a gift" just a few minutes ago?
　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

We can't get a hotel at this time of night, can we?

It's bad enough to force ...... to knock them up. However, the gate is closed, of course, and ...... the gate is closed. It can't be helped, let's go over the outer wall from a secluded spot.

　Aldis and his friends turned off the main street and entered a side street.
　The street is completely devoid of people, and soon they are in a residential area where people have gone to bed.

　Suddenly the air around them became tense and Rona nodded her attention to Ardis.

Al.

I know.

　Aldis walks with a calm demeanor, but his awareness is sharply honed.
　You will be able to get a good idea of what is going on.

''That's a lot.''

　There were many reactions that caught the magic probe.
　It was easy to see how they surrounded Aldis and Rona from all sides and slowly closed the distance between them.

''It looks like you really don't want Al to go to the semifinals.

　Rona uttered, without specifying who or what it was.

　After walking with the enclosure for a while as it is, Aldis stops when he reaches a place where his vision seems to be sufficiently clear.
　He judged that it would be a certainty that they would attack, and slowly pulled out the 'Sotensaika' from his waist.

　At that time, the enclosure began to rapidly narrow as if it were an indication.
　A total of more than 30 people jump out from behind buildings, on top of rooftops, and from across the alleyway, with weapons in hand, and attack Ardis and the others with an overflow of killing spirit.

''Nah, they're all second-rate, aren't they?''

　Rona murmured in a sort of anticlimax.
　An uncontrolled and round assassin is not someone they should be afraid of.

'You're trying to push them in by the numbers,'

　Ardis returns the words with mild contempt.

　It is true that even if you are second-rate in skill, if thirty or more people attack at once, the attacked party will not be able to get away with it.
　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get away with it.
　Of course, that's only if the attacker is one of their own.

　Do the attackers know?
　Do the attackers know the name of the person against whom they had attacked?
　And what an uncommon feat that person had accomplished.

I'll leave the back to you.

I'm sorry.

　After a short exchange to divide up the roles, Ardis grabbed the Aoten Saihua and met the attacker head on.

　A single swing of his sword as he passed through while dodging the blade of one of the attackers from in front.
　While chasing the opponent who has fallen with a deep blow into the corner of your vision, you hold your sword on the enemy following you.

　From the side of the attacker, who was trying to get a distance in a hurry, a sudden sword strike interrupted the scene.

''When did that happen?!''

　The white sword in the air sliced straight through the neck of the attacker, who's eyes widened in surprise.
　The other assailants hurriedly tried to distance themselves from it, but this time a thin yellow-green blade pierced its body as if to block it.

''Hey, where did you get ......!

　In the blink of an eye, two of the attackers lost their comrades and one of them looked around in dismay.
　His gaze was caught by 12 flying swords floating suspiciously in the dark.

　Of course, it's not like Ardis was wearing twelve swords.
　In the past, she used to carry a total of three swords on her left and right hips, but now Ardis carries only one scabbard on her hip, the Aoten Saihua scabbard.
　Aldis had used a certain special means to draw twelve flying swords to this place.
　Naturally, the attackers had no way of knowing this, and to them it would feel as if a sword that shouldn't be there had suddenly appeared.

　It is a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what to do with your own money.

''Thirty men is too few, then.

　When Ardis said gruffly, on cue, the flying swords began to move and attacked the attackers as if each one was controlled by an invisible user.

''Nah, this ...... guaa!

"Ha, you're fast!　Wow!

　They don't just fly straight through.
　Sometimes it cleaves, sometimes it strikes, sometimes it stabs, sometimes it slashes down.
　The sword, which is a lump of metal, moves like a living creature, and as if controlled by a top-notch swordsman, it feints and slashes at you.
　It's a good thing that the opponent can't be bothered.

　In the blink of an eye, the marauders' lives were instantly reaped in the face of a flying sword that floated and danced in the air, an enemy they had never encountered before.
　In less than a minute's time, the marauders' lives were being reaped in the blink of an eye.
　A corner of the street was painted with the blood of the attackers.

It's over here, too.

　Rona, who had cleared out the attackers from the rear, approaches with a light step.

''It looks like you've gotten pretty used to opening gates.

'Yeah, and it's a relief not to have to carry around so many swords.

　The flying swords that had returned to Ardis were suddenly sucked into a small rift that appeared in the air and disappeared.
　The twelve cracks that sucked in the swords disappeared without any lingering effects when they finished their work.

The gate is so small that only the sword is able to pass through it, which is a shameful thing.

　There was some irritation in Aldis's voice.

'I think that will work itself out eventually. I think you've got the hang of it, so I'm sure you'll be able to make the gate bigger before too long. It's a good thing that the flying swords can be contained for now. Thanks to that, I was able to get rid of all those enemies so quickly.　But there's one more person left.

　Without needing to be pointed out to Rona, Aldis was also aware of its existence.
　A human-sized being lurking about thirty meters away was caught in Aldis's magical probe.

''I'm going to go.

　At the same time as he answered briefly, Aldis's body began to move to finish off the last one with unseen speed.
　Although it's not that strong of a magical power, it's hard to believe it's an ordinary citizen as long as he's breathing outside the building at this time of day.

　Seemingly sensing our move, the target person began to move in a hurry to retreat.

''Shall we let him go?

　But it was too late now.
　If you are trying to escape from Ardis' pursuit, you should retreat while he is fighting.
　It's a very good idea to be able to get away from a captured state, but there's no way you can shake off Aldis, who uses magical probing to figure out the location of your opponent and in some cases even fly in the sky.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.
　When anticipating its path, Ardis suddenly landed in front of the shadow from the dark night ahead of it from the air.

''Hiya ......!''

　He didn't expect to be pre-empted.
　A short scream-like voice leaked out from the mouth of the figure.

　At the sight of that figure, the movement of Aoten Saihua, who was being raised above Aldis's head, came to a halt.

''What are you?''

　Aldis' confusion is understandable.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what you're going to do with your money, because you're going to be able to get a good idea of what you're going to do with it.