It's not a journey with a clear destination to begin with.
　What Aldis and the twins needed was a place where they could live quietly and without the interference of the church or goddess followers.
　Whether the land was inconvenient or surrounded by demons, the extent of it didn't matter much to Ardis.
　In that sense, this village, located in the Canobis Mountains, was the most convenient place to live in hiding.

　After ten days, Ardis explained to Rona that she had decided to settle in the village.

It's with the approval of your emissary. It's a good thing that the village chief said, "We'll welcome you," and the villagers welcomed Ardis and the rest of us into their home so easily.

　It's not just the fact that they are accompanied by twins, but also the presence of Nere, who was introduced as Sailor's niece, was the most important thing.
　It's not a surprise that he's a perfect match for Sela, who is respected by the villagers as close to their faith as the name "angel" suggests.

　Of course, that does not mean that anyone other than Nere is treated carelessly.
　This is a village built by people fleeing persecution in the first place.
　There is no one who will take a bite out of Aldis and the strangers for no reason.

　Aldis and his friends moved out of the house they had been offered to stay in and built a house some distance away from the center of the village and began to live there.
　One day, about a month after they settled in, Filia and Liana both got used to the village life.

Oi Liana, Filia!

　The girls who had been sweeping the front of the house with a broomstick noticed the boy who called out to them as he approached and looked up.

'Oh, it's Dinh,'

Oh, is it that time already?

　Filia and Liana's expressions are becoming brighter and brighter every day as they live their lives without being bothered by the eyes of others or being looked at with disdain by anyone.
　It's a good idea to have a good relationship with Din and Karina's siblings, especially since they are close in age and have the same twin status.

''I'm sorry, I'm not ready for this.''

Oh, no, I mean, it's okay. I just came early on my own.

　Din told the apologetic Liana not to worry about it, waving her palms from side to side in a hurry.

'Isn't Carina with you?'

　Filia questioned the fact that she couldn't find the person who was supposed to be there.

'Oh, Carina will be here later. It'll probably take another thirty minutes or so.'

'We're going to have to wait until all four of us are here anyway, so why didn't you just come with us?

'Cause then you can go to ......

　Din mumbles a little with a dissatisfied look on his face at Liana's perfectly reasonable words.
　Liana points to the entrance of the house, tilting her head at the situation.

''We're almost done cleaning up, so please go inside first and wait.

No, I'll help you clean up.

　As soon as he said that, Din grabbed a chili bird that was nearby and went over to Liana's side.

'Really?　Thanks.

Um, uh. Yeah, well, please.

　Filia honestly expresses her gratitude and Liana looks confused. They were twins with contrasting reactions.





　After cleaning up and getting ready to go out, the three of them waited for Karina while drinking the tea that Nere had brewed for them, and when all four of them were together, they went out of the village.

　Of course, they don't go far enough away from the village for the demons to appear.
　The four of them are allowed to walk about an hour away from the village, that is to say, up to the point where Filia and Liana first met Din and his friends.
　It's a good thing that they're not afraid of dangerous creatures that might attack them, thanks to Sailor's wards.
　It is generally a safe area.
　The purpose of the four of them is to patrol the area and hunt for food source beasts.

　In a hidden village of a little over a hundred people, pre-grown children are counted as an important part of the workforce.
　Din and Karina have been training as hunters since they were over ten years old, following the adults around.
　At the age of fifteen, they were finally recognized as adults and began to work in pairs when they encountered Filia and her friends.

'What direction are we going in today?'

　Carina answers Filia's question.

'Today's assignment is east. We'll walk around the forest in the morning like we did yesterday, and then go hunting in earnest in the afternoon.

I'm sorry. We're going to have less time to hunt because of us. ......

　Liana agrees with Filia, who looks apologetic.

'I suppose so. We can't be too much of a nuisance, and we need to learn the roads and landmarks as soon as we can.''

'Don't worry about it. We have been taught the same thing by adults. We are one year older than Filia and Liana. It's not our job to take care of them.

'That's what I mean. As far as I'm concerned, though, I enjoy hunting with Liana and the others, and I'd prefer to stay with this foursome. We'll take our time to learn, whether it's two years or three years, we'll take our time.

If you just take the words at face value, I'd agree with you, but ...... yours seems to be selfish.

　Carina gives Din a cold stare.

'Nah, nah, what's the point of being selfish!

Do you think I wouldn't notice after being so obvious about it?

......

　Din can't argue with Karina, who points out with a dumbfounded look on her face, and falls silent.
　Liana shows an uncomfortable face, but Filia is the only one with an expression on her face that says she has no idea what she's talking about.

''Well, normally, it would certainly take a few years for them to learn. It's a good thing that Filia and the others are already very skilled at hunting. It's amazing that they seem to be able to do their job on their own as soon as they learn the geography of the surrounding area, or perhaps it's a pity that we have little to teach them: ......

　Filia and the others, who have been watching Ardis, a non-standard existence, and who received uncommon training from Nere, have abilities that are comparable to those of Kirill, who is said to be the most powerful person in Marieles Academy.
　They have gained experience fighting against double-sworded beasts and lactors in the Kosas forest as well.
　There was no reason why it was not worth the effort to hunt relatively less dangerous beasts now.
　Both Din and Karina were immensely disappointed when he easily dropped the head of a beast that had fled in a flash, feeling threatened, with a blade of wind that he created without chanting.

　Nehle has assured them that as long as they can tread the battlefield and learn to play tactics, they are skilled enough to screw over most of the mercenaries.
　The fact that Aldis showed a pouting expression to Nere is something that only Filia and Liana would know.

It's a good thing that you said that, what about Aldis-san? It's a good thing that you're going to be accompanied by an angel-sama to exterminate demons outside the wards, right?

'Oh, he's certainly a bit out of the ordinary, too. He went to Leytin for a day trip the other day or something. ...... It's not true, I'm not sure. From what my brother Jig told me, it should normally take about a month and a half to get there and back: ......

　Carina replied to Din's question with a face that had lost its expression, but Filia and Liana, who didn't understand what they were saying, could only tilt their heads to the side.





　At that time, Aldis had left the range of the ward and was wielding his sword to exterminate the demons in the forest.

''It's gone that way!

　While cutting down the grinder flying in front of him, Aldis flies a warning to Nere, who is standing behind him.

'Yes sir.'

　With a short word, Nere raises his arm, and as he moves, a number of sharp ice blocks are created around him, and as soon as he swings down, he releases them into the other grinder.

''Kyeeeeen!''

　The grinder that took that blow to his neck fell with a scream of decapitation.

''Eight more bodies!''

　A short distance away, Sailor tells me how many are left as she takes on the two grinders.

　The three fighting while floating in the sky are Aldis, Nere, and Sela, dressed in black.
　Against them is a group of grinders with large wings that fly in the sky and hunt their prey.
　Aldis and the others had come to the nearest demon habitat from the village.

　Grinders don't usually live in groups, but only at this time of year, when the breeding season is approaching, do they have the habit of acting in groups.
　However, they have the habit of acting in groups only at this time of year when the breeding season is approaching.
　If they are left alone and their numbers increase, they will become a danger to peddlers and villagers, so they must be thinned out periodically.

　As Sailor holds up to the grinder, a glowing bow appears in her hand.

　When she draws the temporary bow created by what she calls 'temporary materialization using magic', she takes her hand off the string without aiming.
　The same glowing arrows that were created flew toward the grinder.

　The arrows of light split into two on the way, each instantly piercing the target in front of them.
　The two grinders that were shot through fell into the forest that could be seen at their feet with a splatter of blood.

　Although Sailor is still a mysterious person with many unknowns for Ardis, after all, his fighting skills are not inferior to Nere's because he is of the same kind.
　After easily eliminating the remaining six bodies, Aldis and his team dismantled the wreckage when they landed on the ground and stripped off the parts to sell.

You are both good at it. It's a good thing that I can leave you in charge of your own absence, and if we split up we can cover a larger area.

　It seems that until now, Sailor was alone in exterminating dangerous demons, and there was no way to deal with the unexpected during her absence.
　Of course, we set up wards in preparation for the unexpected, and the people of the village are well aware of how dangerous the outside of the wards can be, so the problem does not arise.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm glad Aldis and others have decided to settle in the village.

　According to the village chief and Elmer, Sailor stays in the village for at most ten days in a month, and at least three days. The village chief and Elmer said that Sailor stays in the village for about ten days in a month at the most, or three days at the least.
　Of course, if a problem arises while Sailor is away from the village, the villagers will have to solve it themselves.

　However, only three of the villagers have the skills to fight.
　They are not strong enough to fight against monsters, let alone carnivorous beasts.
　Furthermore, the demons in the Canobis Mountains are extremely dangerous opponents compared to other regions.
　If something happens in the warding, the village will not be able to stand still, and even if not, if they have to fight outside the warding, they will be lacking in strength.

　In addition, the one thing Sailor was most worried about was the presence of mercenaries who happened to arrive in the village.
　Not all of the mercenaries who had the ability to do so were personalities.
　There is no guarantee that there will not be mercenaries who will try to rule the village with their own heads held high, just because there is no one who can resist them.
　Of course, there is no doubt that they will be eliminated with the return of Sailor, but that doesn't mean that this is a good thing.

''But at least with Aldis and Nere, we won't fall behind even if we have demons and mercenaries to deal with, right?

No, I don't spend all year in this village.

It's good enough for me if you just stay. Just let me know if you two are going to go out at the same time and I'll stay.

Well, I hope that's not the case.

　Reluctantly replying, Aldis moves his hands to continue dismantling the grinder.

　The reason Aldis and the others hunt demons around the village isn't just for security.
　Although it is not sold at a very high price, it is because they need to use the money from selling the items they have obtained in this way to obtain the necessities of life for the village.
　Aldis' role in the village was to 'exterminate the demons around the village' and 'collect parts to sell'.

　Thus, both Ardis and the twins secured their positions and started a new life as members of the village.

　Now that the twins have a place where they can live away from the public eye, Aldis can finally move on for himself alone.
　The Empire of Ermenia, the Kingdom of Arvern, and the countries west of the Canobis Mountains.
　He needs to go to the uninvestigated countries and find a way to get back to his world.

'Oh, I see. And then there's the char thing: ......

　The only question that remained was what kind of work to give Charu to do.
　Once that was taken care of, Aldis began to make plans in his mind to go to Albarn with Rona or something.