Sailor, who had been watching the battle until then, appeared at Aldis' side as he descended to the ground.

''Aren't you both willing to consider for a moment the possibility of me becoming collateral damage?

　Despite the bitter words, the expression on his face was one of disgust.

''There's no way you guys are going to be able to do anything about it with that level.

　The Demon Beast King snickered at such a Sailor.

''Where's Rona?''

'She'll be fine. He's just passed out.

Okay.

　At Aldis' words of concern for Rona, who was blown up at the end, Sailor returns a soft smile.

''I'm sure you're much more hurt than that.

　As she said it, Sailor held out her hand to Ardis' wound.
　The flesh and torn skin that had been stripped off by the monster king's attack are sealed up in an instant.

You're able to use your healing powers: ......

　You'll be able to see that it's not a big deal to Aldis, who mumbles with a surprising look on his face.

''That's about it. Even you will be able to use it once you understand how it works.

No, I don't think so.

　Instantly, Aldis denied Sela's words.

　The Church claims that the art of healing is the power of mercy granted by the Goddess to a frail man.
　In fact, most of the users of the healing arts are priests and monks in the service of God.
　Solte, who is a personal friend of Aldis, could be considered one of them.

　But Ardis, who does not have an ounce of faith in the goddess, could never master the art.

It's not a good idea to shackle yourself like that.

　Sela finishes healing Aldis' wounds, spilling lines that she can't decide if they contain some kind of intention or if she simply uttered them in the flow of the conversation.

'I'm good,'

　To Sailor, who then turned his attention to the Demon Beast King, the giant dragon immediately returned his refusal.

''So, how did it go?''

'I'll admit that the boy there has shown enough strength. It's not all bad for a long life, is it?

　The monster king replied to Sailor's question with a happy tone of voice.

''You chose this curse yourself, so what are you saying now? The fact that you have accepted Ardis's power means that you are willing to make a new agreement with her, right?

There's no denying that you can make a deal. But that's not for you to decide.

　Just when it seemed that the two sides had reached some sort of agreement, the monster king and Sailor turned their bodies to Ardis, who was watching from the side as if it were someone else's business.

''So, kid. What do you want from this new agreement?

What?

　Aldis, who had thought she was out of the mosquito net, raised her eyebrows at the Demon Beast King's abrupt question.

''What do you want?　The contract makes it difficult for me to leave the land. But I can make a new agreement, as long as it does not violate the old one. Let me hear what you want.

'No, ......, wasn't that what Sailor told you before the fight?'

　Before the fight began, Sailor had mentioned, 'I would like to have the range of the wards extended.
　Naturally, Ardis thought that was what the new agreement was about.

'That's what he wants, not what you want,' he said. It was you who thought it was okay for me to make a new pact, not anyone else. Oh, the gold I mentioned earlier has the right to do that. But at least I'm not going to hear what I want from anyone other than you and that gold, nor am I obligated to do so. So it's up to you to decide for yourself what you want from me.

Call it what you want: ......

　Aldis peered at Sela's face.

''The Demon Beast King is right. I have no right to make an agreement with him. You and Rona are the only ones who can make a new contract. So all I can do is ask you for a favor.

'Is that what you call a 'warding range agreement'?'

Yes.

　Thinking a bit at Sela's affirmation, Aldis asked again.

'Why would you decide to expand your village now?　From what I've heard from the village chief and Elmer, they've been keeping the village at its current size for a long time now. Even though the number of people who have lost their homes due to the civil war in Arvern has increased, wars have been going on here and there in the past. I don't understand why they are now taking in so many refugees. If they hadn't accepted the refugees, it would have been fine as it was and there would have been no need to force the village to expand.　Of course, I know I'm not in a position to tell you that: ......

　Aldis himself is a person who has come from elsewhere.
　If you don't want to accept an extra person, Aldis and the others, who settled in the village with five plus one other person, is one of the reasons why the village has become smaller.
　And since I brought Hal and his sister from Albarn just a few days ago, I have no intention of objecting to the expansion of the village.

　The one thing that Ardis is wondering about is 'why now'.

The current village - the scope of the wards is determined by an old agreement and cannot be expanded at will. The current size of the village can just barely support 150 people, but if there is a bad harvest or bad hunting, a village without outside help will suffer from starvation in no time. That's why all this time we've abandoned the people who can't hold on to .............

　Serra closes her eyelids.
　Aldis pretends not to see it, even though she realizes that her fists are clenched.

The people who have been burned out of their homes and have nowhere to go, the people who are persecuted and mistreated, the people who are hunted for their innocence ....... Certainly that village can be a resting place for such people. But sadly, the resting place has a capacity limit. I've been checking the number of people living in the village, and only occasionally reaching out to a few. It would be terrible hypocrisy, wouldn't it?　No. Is it just complacency?

　Sela opened her eyelids while mocking herself.
　The one who answered that question was the Demon Beast King.

It's not a warding that was originally intended to create a village. Hiding a hundred people is strange to begin with. ...... but at least the people invited to the village are being saved. Isn't that certain?

　Ardis was surprised by the Demon Beast King's manner of speaking as if he were defending her.

''I know that,'' she said. But that doesn't mean that we should be choosing who to save and who not to save, does it?　You can't change old commitments. Then you can make a new agreement to expand your village. But what kind of person would be able to make a pact with the King of Demonic Beasts to recognize his power? ......

　Sailor's red eyes turned straight to Ardis.

'Just when I was thinking that, you appeared, Ardis. I knew you would be able to cross the line with the Hexenbiest King.

'So you steered the expansion of the village and suddenly started taking in more refugees.

　'Then you should have revealed your thoughts from the beginning,' Ardis muttered inwardly with bitterness.

'What do you think, kid?　Do you want to extend your warding range or is it something else?

......

　One hope comes to Ardis' mind.

　The Demon Beast King is strong.
　He is so strong that even if Aldis and Rona fought together, they would finally be able to put up a fight.
　If the Demon Beast King fights as an ally, there is nothing more reassuring than this.
　He would be an extremely powerful asset in the battle against the avenging female shogun's army.
　However, the problem was that the avenging enemy was beyond the world's barriers.

''Can I ask you one question?

What?

How far do you think you can go?

How far does it go?

By all means, what are the limits of where you can go on your own?

Don't be a fool. There are no limits. As long as the sky lasts, it will go on forever. Nothing will ever stop me from reaching that faraway sky.

Well: ......

　The Demon Beast King's answer. That is to say, it only shows that 'inside this world' is the limit.
　No matter how strong the Monster King is, if he can't cross over to the other world, he can't participate in the fight against his enemies.
　If that's the case, then it's meaningless, Ardis thought.

　Then a familiar carefree voice arrived from the side.

'Hey hey, is it over?　Isn't it awful that I'm the only outcast?

Rona: "Rona: ......

How's the game going in the end?

　To Rona, who tilts her head and asks, Ardis explains what has happened so far.
　While listening to the story, Rona, who has recovered after receiving Sailor's healing technique, after pondering for a bit, simply says, "So, as Sailor says, it's fine to extend the village's wards, right? I interjected.

'Are you sure you want to go to ......?'

'That's right, I think I know what Al is thinking: ....... It's not like we don't have an afterthought now, or that we're pressed for time, right?　Now we have time to take our time and prepare for a decade or two.

　Indeed, Rona was right.
　After realizing that a year in this world was equivalent to a day in that world, the impatience with time disappeared in Aldis.

　Even if Aldis and his friends spent ten years in our world, his enemies would only age ten days during that time.
　They need not worry about losing their opportunity for revenge.

''For that reason, isn't the first priority for Filia and Liana to be able to stand on their own?　That village will be a safe haven for both of us, and the larger the village, the richer our lives will be.

Yeah, I guess so: ......

　Ardis had to agree with Rona's words.
　As long as they couldn't rely on the Demon Beast King's power as a force against the female general's army, the next thing Aldis wanted was to secure the twins' safety and future.
　In that sense, Sailor's wishes were in line with her interests.

　Aldis nodded one nod and turned to the Demon Beast King.

''My wish should also be 'to expand the range of the wards'. If that village will become a resting place for those who have lost their way like Filia and Liana, then it will mean something to me as well.

All right. Same with the gold there, right?

Yeah, I'm okay with that too.

　After receiving Rona's consent, the monster king sternly opens his mouth.

"Well then, kid, golden color. Identify yourself. Identify yourself when you make a contract.

It's Aldis.

It's Rona.

　The Demon Beast King opened his large jaws and let out a roar that seemed to reverberate throughout the mountain range before declaring, ''My name is Shudder.

''My name is Shudder. It's just Shudder. I acknowledge Ardis and Rona as my new pact partners.

　Then he turns his huge eyes to Sailor.

'I swear in the name of my friend that I will grant its wishes and tolerate the expansion of the wards protecting the village. --unless, of course, it is against the old agreement.

'It's all right. It just makes your yard a little smaller.

...... How far are you going to spread it out?

　When the demon beast king turned his gaze to Sailor who replied plainly, the demon beast king turned his gaze to be still and said, "Be that as it may," and changed the subject and changed the subject to Ardis.

It's just a matter of time before you guys enjoy it. You should let them have at least one souvenir apart from the promise. ...... Right, do you want to take one of these home with you?

　The Monster King picked up the ore taken out of nowhere and held it out with his forelegs.
　The ore emitted a mysterious glow and showed a variety of colors depending on the angle.

''Is this ......?''

　At first glance, it seems like a jewel, but Aldis doesn't recognize it either.
　Just when Ardis thought she had seen its brilliance somewhere, the Demon Beast King gives her a ridiculous answer.

''You'll recognize it if you say it's a Lesia Refining Stone.''

'Lethia refining stone!　Is this all you've got?

　Aldis' eyes widened in surprise.

　The Lesia Refined Stone was the champion of the hardest and most beautiful gemstone in the world.

　Despite the fact that it looked familiar, it was no wonder that Aldis didn't recognize it right away.
　This was because the refining stone the Demon Beast King offered was as big as a child's body.

　At most, the refined stones Aldis had seen were less than an inch in size.
　It is only about the size of jewelry used as jewelry in rings and pendants.
　The difference in size was too great, a result of the preconceived notion that such a huge refined stone could not exist.

　Lesia was not only beautiful, it was also very good as a material for armor due to its high affinity with magic power, and it is said that armor ornaments made from refined stones are not priceless.
　To begin with, the refining technology has already been lost, so it is unlikely that new items will ever appear on the market.
　Even the seven-colored powder (lecia powder), which is powdered lecia, is sold for a ridiculous amount of money, and even the unrefined raw stone can fetch a price ten times higher than gold.

'If you use it as a material for swords, armor, or anything else, you can make some good things out of it. It's more useful than an inferior product that's only mixed with powder.

　It was not that much of a stretch.

　The three swords Aldis uses - the Sotensaika, the Tokiharugasumi and the Tsukishirofubuki - are made by kneading seven-color powder into a heavy iron base.
　If these three swords were to be sold at auction, it was not hard to imagine that they would fetch an absurd price.
　Apparently, there was a huge gap in the values of the Demon Beast King and Aldis and the others who could call it an 'inferior product'.

''What's the matter?''

　The Demon Beast King asks Ardis, who has an indescribable expression.

''No ......, although it's certainly a valuable item .......

　Rona interrupted from beside an awkward-looking Aldis.

'You don't think anyone can process this, do you?

　It was absolutely true.
　The technology to grind it into seven-colored powder, let alone refine it, has already been lost.
　Even if they received a piece of lecia powder, the only use for it would be to sell it as jewelry.

　However, with a stone of this size, simply putting it on the market was bound to cause a huge commotion.
　Without a doubt, there would be interference on a national level, and it would be extremely difficult to even sell them off, swayed by the intentions of the powers that be.

　Hearing this explanation, there was a clear look of disappointment in the eyes of the Demon King.

''You've regressed that far: ......

You should look at the world at least once. You've been living like a hermit for so long that you're out of touch with the world.

'It's the end of the line when you guys tell me that. ......, but if you can't process it, what's the point of just having refined stones? Umm ......, then it would be better to have it already processed. Wait a minute.

　After receiving a remonstrance from Sailor, the Demon Beast King, who had been thinking about it for a bit, said that and flew off somewhere else.

　Soon enough, the Demon Beast King returned after about ten minutes, holding a sword in his forelimbs.

Take this.

What's this?

　Receiving the proffered sword, Ardis pulls it from its scabbard and checks it.
　The silvery barrel of the sword, which is cloudless, reflects the light and emits a seven-colored glow.
　The way the color changes depending on the direction of the light's reflection is somewhat mysterious.

It is a sword made of refined Lechia stone. The handle and the flange are different, but the sword's body is made entirely of resia. It's bad because it's used up, but it shouldn't lose its sharpness. This one should be of reasonable use.

　Once again, there was a huge gap in perception between the Demon Beast King and Ardis and the others.

　A sword with a sword barrel made entirely out of refined Lesia.
　It is no longer something that can be exchanged for money in the present day when refining and processing techniques have been lost.
　It is more appropriate to be kept in the treasury as a national treasure.

''Can I get this ...... thing?''

　Certainly, a sword made of Lesia, which has a high affinity for magic power, would be a strong ally.
　However, as expected of Ardis, she also felt uncomfortable receiving a sword of national treasure level.

It's not a problem. It's a fun fight for a long time. I'm sure you'll be able to see me occasionally for exercise.

　Aldis's reticence disappeared after hearing the Demon Beast King's words.

''It would be a good exercise break with you guys.

......

　That also meant that I was regularly forced to fight the same battles I had just described.

'Isn't it important to get to know your neighbours?

　Dismayed that he seemed to have a surprisingly joking personality towards the Demon Beast King who was spouting blunt words, Ardis stopped refraining.
　Currently, the only thing that can hurt the Demon Beast King is the red magic sword.
　Considering that he would be fighting the Demon Beast King regularly in the future, it would be necessary to strengthen the equipment he had on hand.

''I'll be grateful for .......

　Inwardly puzzled, Aldis decided to accept the sword.