Hey. You're letting it go?

　Rona, who was accompanying them, asked Ardis as they walked through the Caucasian forest towards home, while Rona kept an eye on the back.

　Because after Minerva's escort, there is someone following them on their way back to their home where the twins are waiting for them for the first time in a month.
　The person who is following them may think that they haven't been found out, but Ardis and Rona, who are able to probe the surrounding creatures with their magical powers, can see their movements as well.

''They'll turn back on the way anyway.

　In a voice that doesn't sound interested, Aldis responds appropriately.

　Aldis is throwing around because he doesn't see the fact that he is being followed as much of a problem.
　It's not possible to walk through the Caucasian forest where predators like Lactor strut around with a bit of skill.

　In addition, Aldis had an idea of who he was following.
　It was also the person who had been secretly following Ardis, who had been accompanying her as an escort to Minerva's purification ceremony for the past month.

'I don't know how long you're going to keep watching ......

　Bosori and Ardis murmured.

　The one who has been stalking Ardis these days is the girl he met the night after the quarterfinals of the Fuyo Cup (Lotus Cup).
　When she fought off the assassins thought to have been unleashed by the Marquis of Olguin, she lurked nearby and was found trying to escape, but she was the one who was overlooked as she had nothing to do with the attackers.

　In that case, I said 'I'll tolerate it if it's just a matter of following you around,' and now it's awkward to turn you away because you've been following me.
　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.

''Well, there's no harm in it at the moment, and we'll be turning back halfway through this time anyway.

　From the end of the Fuyo Cup to the time they set out on their journey to the Johrei, the girl was still following Aldis and his friends from the capital.
　But as expected, it seems that they are not able to fight so well that they can step deep into the forest.
　Every time they stepped into the forest, but they always immediately gave up and turned back.

''Hm?　It looks like you've given up.

　As Aldis expected, after a while of entering the forest, the girl's magic power slowed down the speed at which she was advancing, and this time she gradually began to move away from it.
　It seems that she intends to turn back the same way as before.

　However, just when you are about to leave Ardis's magic power exploration range soon, the girl suddenly stops moving.

''Ah, it looks like we've come across a beast.

　Rona, who had been checking its movement with the same magical power probe as Ardis, stopped and turned around.
　A beast and a dumb magic power was approaching towards the girl's magic power.

''Is this size a lactor?　And there are two of them. ............ ahhh, you're stuck with that kid.

　It's someone else's problem. Rona's tone is curt.

　Perhaps that girl is not the little girl as she appears.
　The fact that she is charged with the role of surveillance against Aldis, she should have some fighting skills.
　However, Ardis guesses that this is also a skill that was intended for use against humans in the city.
　It's unknown how well it will work against a strong enemy such as a wild carnivore, and even a lactor that a full-fledged mercenary can finally defeat.

　And it's not just one of them, but two.
　Even if they were to devote themselves to escaping, it would be a delicate matter whether or not they could survive.

　Ardis watches the movement of the magic power.
　The girl who came across the lacter immediately took an escape move and started to run towards the outside of the forest.
　But another lactor stands there.
　The girl stops, and the lacter approaches inch by inch from the front and back.

　Its life is now a light before the wind.
　The face of the girl he saw before stings Ardis' heart.
　It took a moment of hesitation.

''...... Al?''

　Sensing a change in her partner, Rona called out to her, and Aldis told her briefly as she lowered the bags she was carrying to the ground.

'Go on home first.'

Hey, Al?　You're not going to go?

...... Because to me, you're still like a little kid.

　With words that weren't even an answer, Aldis turned back the way she came.

　The girl's magic power is moving in small increments while sandwiched between Ractor's magic.
　Perhaps she is trying to escape somehow.

　But the next moment, the girl's movements suddenly slowed down.

''Are we going to make it in time?''

　Ardis, questioning herself, wove her way through the trees.

　The distance between her and the girl is just over four hundred meters.
　It's a distance that Ardis can close in a very short time, no matter how many trees stand in the way.

　But the two lactors, even that little time could be fatal to the girl.
　At last, the girl's magic power stays in one place and stops moving.
　The magic power reaction has not yet disappeared, so she probably isn't dead, but if this continues, she will be forced to use a different expression for the next ten seconds.

　Unknowingly clicking his tongue, Ardis created a small rift in space and two flying swords appeared from it.
　This is the 'gate' that connects the two worlds, which he finally understood the sensation of after traveling between the two worlds before.
　It was still all Aldis could do to create enough of a rift to allow a single sword to finally slip through, but it was a power that was somehow useful because it was just enough to store the flying swords.

　He was called into this world in midair, and as it was, the two flying swords that were running alongside Ardis flew out like unleashed arrows.

　Ardis stabbed the flying swords into the two lactors at the same time, relying on the information obtained from the magic power probe.

　The aim was too coarse for a sword that was released relying only on the location of the magic power, and it was almost a matter of luck whether or not it would be able to inflict a fatal wound.
　But at least it would be able to distract Ractor's consciousness from the girl.
　That was enough for Ardis.

''Kishaaaa!''

　Lactor's shout came to Ardis' ears.

　Then, without pausing for a breath, he caught the figure in his vision.
　The first thing that caught my eye was two lactors, and the figure of a girl lying between them covered in blood.

　One of the lactors had received a blow from a flying sword to the neck and the other to the torso.
　The lactor that had been pierced by the flying sword in the neck appeared to be already just moving on reflex.
　It must have succeeded in inflicting a fatal wound by accident.
　Even if he was left alone, he would eventually die out.

　The other lactor with a wound to its torso has slowed down, but it has turned its gaze this way, looking for the owner of the pierced sword.
　Seeing the newly appeared Ardis, Ractor takes a threatening stance.

　Of course, Ractor is just a big beast to Ardis.
　You can call him an insignificant opponent.
　He created a blade of wind with his magic power, and in the next instant, he cut off its head without a second thought.

　It's not even a scream of despair, and without looking at Ractor, who died before he could even scream, Ardis ran to the girl who was still down.

'Hey. You're alive, aren't you?

　I call out to her cautiously and check her wounds with my eyes.

　The girl seems to have already fainted, and I can't even hear her moan, let alone reply.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family.
　If left unchecked, it would be dead in less than five minutes.

What's wrong with you, Al? What's the matter with you, Al?

　A dumbfounded voice is called out from behind me.

　There was no need to check now who it was or anything else.
　Aldis turned around and looked at the luggage Rona had brought in and said to herself.

'Just as well,'

　The package that Aldis had been carrying earlier. She takes a bottle of medicine from it and opens the seal.

''Oh, you're going to use that?''

　The one that Ardis held in her hand was a high-grade cure that she just purchased today in the royal capital.
　It is a luxury item that heals even the wounds of the dying, and the selling price per bottle is five gold coins, just like its name suggests.
　It's the kind of thing that mercenaries and explorers keep on hand as insurance in case of an emergency.

What a waste. ......

　It's no surprise that Aldis is dismayed by the fact that he poured it into the girl's wound without any hesitation.
　When the healing agent is used up until it is empty, Ardis stands up holding the girl's body.

''What, are you following me?''

If I go home first by myself, maybe Phyllia and Liana will be in a bad mood. ......

　Rona followed with a look that seemed to say she had no choice.

　When Aldis moved to the exit of the forest, he made the girl lie down in a position where he could see the street, and he put up a protective wall made of magic power around it.
　The effect only lasts for half a day or so, but as expected, if that much time passes, the girl will wake up on the way.
　As long as the barrier is in place, a beast the size of a lacter can be prevented, and in the first place, such beasts rarely wander around near the exit of the forest.
　Not to say it was perfect, but this wasn't supposed to be the one thing that would put their lives in danger.

'Did you get your feelings turned on?'

　Rona asked Aldis from the side as she began to walk through the forest towards the house again, making sure the girl was safe.

'......'

　And Ardis can't answer that.
　Because he can't deny it clearly.

　It's not a good feeling to be constantly under surveillance, no matter how much clear malice is not directed at you.
　If the other party is an adult, Aldis would not hesitate to do so.
　But the fact that the other party was still a girl about the same age as the twins and Minerva bothered Ardis.

'I didn't know you had .......'

'What?　What?

No, it's nothing.

　This was true for Filia and Liana, Kirill, and Minerva.
　It seems that he is very lenient with his children, and even after all this time, Ardis realized that he is very lenient with them.

　She had been mercilessly robbed of her own sheltered childhood.
　A man saved her, protected her, and gave her many things to make her the person she is today.
　It seems that this past has unknowingly had a profound effect on her own behavior.

　Maybe she wanted to get as close to him as possible by doing the same thing as her beloved benefactor.
　One of the reasons why he came to this world from a life where he had to live as hard as he could to be able to afford to reach out to others for the first time.
　I didn't even have time to think about these things every day when death was too close.

　The unidentified girl she had just saved, her old self, and the boys and girls she had met in this world.
　An unanswerable question emerged in Aldis' mind.

　Why is there such a difference in circumstances between them just because they happened to be born there, even though they were born as the same person?
　It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.