It was at that time that Aldis was away from home with Minerva's guards.
　One of the people who had departed from the royal capital stepped into the Caucasus Forest. It was Kirill.

　On school holidays, Kirill had taken on a job as a tutor, teaching the twins how to speak and common sense.
　This continued while Aldis had been missing for a year, and he was now in his third year of tutoring.
　The trip to the forest and back, which was scary at first, is something I'm used to now.

The leaf of the word thou shalt break the present body and invite thee to the Mahoroba: ---- The Fog of Sleep, Morte Warne Sheep!

　I made the first move at the black shiny beast that was peering at me from behind the trees.
　The neurotoxin produced by the magic covered the entire area behind the tree and lured the creature into an enforced sleep.

　The beast's antennae, which had been swinging slowly as if to spy on our behavior, stopped moving.
　Unable to resist the sleep magic Kirill had released, the target beast must have lost consciousness.

　But Kirill did not relax the tension.
　Because the moment he decides that the crisis is over is the most dangerous.
　This is what he had been told over and over again when he was being taught by Aldis.

　The sound of rustling grass can be heard in Kirill's ears, which keeps him focused.
　Kirill looked to the shade of the tree to his right, and there was already an entity in the same form as the beast he had just magically put to sleep.

　A six-legged beast whose entire body was covered with a hard outer skin.
　It is known as the 'double-sworded beast' among the mercenaries.

　The two jaws that sprouted from its head curved inward and were sharply pointed to sever the body of its prey.
　The two jaws clicked together in a threatening manner and the twin-sworded beast began to close the distance between it and Kirill.

'The crush that pierces is the heroic knight's--'

　Kirill immediately tried to make an attacking move, but the twin-sword beast was faster in its movements.
　No matter how much Kirill's magic chanting was unparalleled in the school, as expected, he couldn't get ahead of the twin-sword beasts that were attacking him from a distance of ten meters.

　Kirill kicked the dead branch that had fallen under his feet towards the twin-sword beast while continuing his magic chanting.
　The two jaws clutched the withered branch that was headed towards the mouth of the twin-sword beast as aimed, and the two jaws clutched it tightly.

　It could be said that it was the instinct of the twin-sword beast to try to pinch the object that came in between the jaws.
　It was only a small amount of time that could be earned, but even so, it was enough for Kirill now if he could temporarily deflect the threat of the jaws.

''Unshakable contraption (Hoko) ---- rock (Dessel)!

　He finishes chanting his attack magic while using the staff in his hand to hold the body of the twin-sword beast down.

　Even the twin-sworded beast, which was wrapped in a hard outer skin, was soft only on the side of its abdomen that was in contact with the ground.
　The rock contraption that was sharply raised from underneath his feet ate through the beast's weak point, its belly, in one fell swoop.

　The legs of the twin-sworded beast that were pierced by the rock continued to frantically scratch the air, but it was obvious to everyone that it was a futile effort.
　Next, their movements also begin to slow down.
　In another minute, the double-sworded beast would be a wreck that wouldn't even flinch.

''Fufu......''

　Kirill exhaled heavily as he felt the cold sweat on his back.

　Although he had taken the lead against the first twin-sworded beast, it was a point to reflect on the fact that he was attacked by another individual in a near-surprise manner.

　The scariest thing for Kirill, who couldn't detect enemies with his magic power like Aldis, was to be caught by surprise.
　Even though Aldis has taught him how to use his body techniques, Kirill still doesn't have the strength to be able to fight in close quarters against a wild beast.
　The fact that a moment of carelessness or bad luck can be fatal has not changed since he started training in this forest two years ago.

　It was only a short time before I took a break from fighting off the twin-sworded beast.
　This time, I could hear the sound of rustling grass swaying from the bushes on my left.
　Following that, Kirill noticed the sound of something crawling on the ground with a zuri zuri.

''Lactor?''

　One of the most common beasts that crawl in the forest is the lacter.
　Lactor is a giant snake with a body so huge that it can swallow a human being by itself.
　Although it is one of the weaker categories compared to demons, it is still considered a formidable foe among the beasts that appear in the forest.

　However, it is not a tough opponent for Kirill, who has become even more skilled in the past two years.
　However, Kirill did not come to this forest to defeat it.
　It would be a poor idea to fight for no reason, and above all, there is still a possibility of encountering the beast in the future.
　If a battle can be avoided, it should be avoided.

　Fortunately, there is one twin-sworded beast that has just died and one twin-sworded beast that is still sleeping in this place.
　If Ractor's goal was to prey on them, he would look to the twin-sworded beasts that could easily bite them rather than the fleeing Kirill.

''Let's get the hell out of here.''

　Kirill quickly made his decision and left the place and started running as fast as he could.
　Without looking aside, he charged through the forest and focused on leaving the place for a while.
　Eventually Kirill decided that he had gained enough distance and stopped to listen carefully.

'They're not following us, right ......?'

　I focused all my attention on my ears, trying to catch my breath but not to miss anything.
　My own raggedy breaths were getting in the way.

...... Huh?

　There is no sound of crawling on the ground that is characteristic of the lacter.
　All you can hear are the leaves rustling in the wind and the sounds of birds in the distance.
　It's the forest as usual.
　There was no sound of Lactor crawling up to you, nor was there the sound of a double-sworded beast shaking its branches.

　But for some reason, Kirill felt a strange, uncomfortable feeling and twisted his head.
　He sensed some kind of abnormality that was different from the usual forest, not through logic but through his skin, and looked around.

''What is it?''

　There was no way to get an answer to the question, only an indescribable sensation clinging to Kirill's body.

　He strained his eyes, listened carefully, and paid attention to the shaking of the ground that he could feel through his legs.
　With an unanswerable sense of discomfort, Kirill looked around him, but all he could see were lush green leaves and bushes and the trunks of trees stretching toward the sky at regular intervals.
　All that can be heard are the sounds of small animals and the sound of the wind, which pose no threat to Kirill.

'Is it my imagination, ......?'

　I feel a bit of a lack of clarity, but that doesn't mean we can't wait and find out what's going on.
　If you continue to stop and stay here, there will be that much fear of danger approaching.
　Even though it was at the outer edge, the magical land of the Causus Forest was such a place.

　When Kirill finished catching his breath, he re-tightened his shoelaces and looked back just once.
　The scenery there was the same as always.
　Without being able to come up with a satisfactory answer to any of these questions, Kirill turned his attention to his destination, the house where the Lord was not present.





　The outer rim of the Causus Forest.
　In that place where no one but a few mercenaries and explorers would be willing to enter, Aldis' house was located.

　In the completely familiar garden, two girls a little younger than Kirill were crouched across some kind of flowerbed.
　These are the twin girls, Filia and Liana, who are currently students to Kirill.

'Oh, it's Kirill!

Welcome!

　The twins noticed Kirill approaching and waved widely.

　The two of them, who will turn fourteen this year, have changed their appearance to be much more feminine compared to when Kirill first met them when he was twelve years old.
　Although there were still some things they said and did that were more juvenile than their age, compared to the average fourteen year old, it could be said that 'childish' could be forgiven in terms of describing them as 'childish'.
　The face, which still retains its loveliness, looks more mature day by day, and the vigorous expression filled with wild flower-like vigor further adorns the well-defined eyes and nose.
　Even if you exclude patronage, Kirill has always thought that she would be a beautiful girl, to put it bluntly.

　The body that was once emaciated when he was a person of substance has regained its human weight since he came under the protection of Aldis, and with the growth of his age, he has put on some flesh to give the impression of softness overall.
　Her breasts have also visibly swelled as a young girl in puberty, and neither Aldis nor Nere knew that the mental burden of Kirill buying clothes for them in the royal capital had become a surprisingly large one.

　However, Kirill also feels an affection for the twins to the extent that he can accept that burden.
　It's probably because they are like a younger sister as well as a student.

　Kirill approached the bright girls as usual, waving his hand in response to them.

''Where's Nele-san?　Is it the kitchen?

　When Kirill reached the two of them, he looked for Nere.
　It was because he needed to give her some supplies such as condiments and other items he had been asked to shop for in the royal capital.

'Nere wouldn't be here right now,'

I'm out hunting for my lunch.

　At Kirill's question, the twins mentioned Nere's absence.

'I see. So you'll be back sooner or later?'

　When Kirill had started as a tutor, Nere had never left the house without the twins, but since Aldis had suddenly disappeared a year ago, the situation hadn't allowed it.

　This is how Kirill comes from King's Landing every seven days, so he can do the bare necessities of shopping instead.
　But when it comes to daily sustenance, it's not an amount Kirill can carry alone.
　Inevitably, Nere was forced to hunt in the forest, and as a result the twins were forced to stay at home alone.

　Nere's decision to do so was probably due to the fact that the twins were somewhat safe.
　It was not only because the barrier she had put up around the house kept the forest beasts out, but also because the twins had mastered magic and possessed the art of defending themselves to some extent.

'Duh?'

What?

　Kirill let a question mark hover over his head as Filia suddenly uttered the words.

'Who's ......, who's there?'

　If you look at it, not only Filia, but even Liana is looking at Kirill's rear - in the direction of the dense forest trees.

　The two of them are trying to hide behind Kirill's body to see what's going on, and Kirill turns his back to them.
　But there was the usual peaceful forest landscape.
　Not even a small animal was in sight.

You're not going to be able to get it right. Did you see something?

　Filia didn't even look at Kirill who asked that question, and Filia remained staring at the forest.

'Where's Liana-chan?　What did you see?

　Liana, who is also looking at the forest, silently shakes her head at Kirill's question and answers with only words as her gaze remains unchanged.

'But I think there was someone there. He's gone now, though.''

'Did anyone see ......?　In a place like this?

　Kirill can't judge whether what Liana says is true or not.
　But if Liana was right and there was a third party other than themselves in this place, that doesn't necessarily mean they were on our side.

　Kirill understands that as long as Aldis and Nere are not here, it is his role to protect the twins.

'Let's go into the house. Don't go outside until Nere-san comes back.

　Kirill nodded as he pushed them both back and walked into the house with them, closing the entrance door behind them.