Early the next morning, as Aldis and the others were preparing to leave, a person came to them.

It's been a long time since we've seen you. 'Long time no see, Lady Rona, Aldis.'

　Aldis had only one idea of who would be the person to whom the foodie's partner would be attached.
　Without needing to check, he understood who the person was and reflexively mentioned the name.

'Sorte, huh?'

What, Solte was one of the refugees.

　Rona is also talking to him as if it's normal, as she doesn't have to hide her identity if the other party is Sorte.

　A night breeze passed Aldis and the others from the side.
　Solte, whose childishness has completely disappeared and has become a fully grown woman, answers Rona's words as she restrains her cherry-colored hair and adjusts her mess.

''Yes. We have been fortunate enough to share actions with Minerva-sama. ...... until we were pursued by the Empire, that is.

　As if his conscience was cursing him for endangering Minerva alone, Sorte bowed to Aldis and the others after casting a slight shadow over his face.

''For saving Minerva-sama, I would like to thank you as well.

'It's not like Sorte has anything to thank me for.

　In the first place, although the heat has cooled down, the current Ardis is still being pursued by the church after being recognized as a heretic.
　From the point of view of Solte, who belongs to the church on the side of the pursuer, it would be a problem for them to even talk to each other like this in principle or in principle.

Could it be that Solte is there, could there be other people involved in the church?

　Aldis asks what was on his mind.

'No.' The people who were in the church have fallen apart and ....... There are only about two young monks in this group besides me.

Well: ......

　Although he replied in a few words, taking Solte's feelings into account, Aldis was relieved inside.
　At the very least, there is no need to worry about causing a dispute with a large number of church members.

　It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about it.

'So what are you going to do about Solte?　You're going north with us, aren't you?

'Yes, sir. ....... We don't have any other options.

　Melancholy falls into her light red eyes.

'Hey Solte.'

Yes, can I help you?

'I don't know you all that well, so I'll let Sorte know in the meantime.

　Aldis has no dislike for Solte personally, nor does he have any reason to exclude him.
　But if Solte sticks to his current faith, he may eventually clash with Aldis.

'To me, the church now is the enemy.

...... Yes.

　A pained look comes over Sorte's face.

'I can't have faith in the goddess either.

......

But what I can't acknowledge is the church and its goddesses now.

...... What does that mean?

　Instead of answering Solte's question, Aldis prefers to make his point.

'The village I live in now has a priest who believes in the goddess, and there is a church standing, albeit a small one. But the frontier villages where the refugees will be settled from now on will not yet have an official priest sent to them. So I'm going to call a priest from my village to settle there.

It's ...... possibly an irregular who is not certified by church headquarters?

'I don't give a d*mn about the accreditation of Church Headquarters. But at least Elmer is a clergyman who believes in the Goddess and tries to follow her teachings.

...... so what do you want me to do?

Elmer's belief in a goddess is different from that of the church today. I'm not going to abhor twins, I'm not going to force them to worship me, and I'm not going to be arrogant enough to denounce incompatible others as heretics. If you can accept that, fine, if you can't accept that, go ahead and go to ...... and I won't stop you, so go ahead and do what you want.

That's too much ...... to do what you want in this situation.

　Sorte's expression clouded over, perhaps thinking of the two young monks.

'I'm sorry, but I'm not a saint either. It was the Church that made me an enemy in the first place. It's a personal reason to help Minerva and the others, but as far as the refugees are concerned, it's an afterthought, and when it comes to church members, there's no reason at all to help them. If you're going to stick to your doctrine, then do what you want without my knowledge," he said.

...... May I meet with that Father Elmer and hear him out before I conclude?

Yeah, you're right. But don't tell the other two yet.

Okay. ......

You don't have to worry about it. It's not like Elmer is an evil god or anything. It's more like a goddess that is widely believed in the world today.

'Rona, don't. That's for Sorte to decide for himself.

　Ardis waits for Rona to say something unnecessary.
　It was obvious that if left unchecked, his abusive comments about the woman would come out of his mouth.

Really?　Oh well.

　Rona, having regained her composure, walks over to Solte's side.

I'm glad to see that Sorte is safe, because there's no way we can help her if she's out of sight or hearing range. I'm sure you'll be able to see and hear the same thing we can't help you if you're out of sight and out of mind. I will protect both Solte and Minerva until they settle down in the pioneer village.

Thank you. Dear Rona.

　After a brief moment of rejoicing at their reunion, Aldis and his team began to move northward, but there was a large group of up to 3,000 people in total.

　It's not only a large group of about three thousand people, but also refugees who are not used to traveling.
　It was difficult to move in an orderly fashion, and it was impossible to form an orderly line.
　The group would inevitably be stretched out for a long time.

　It was necessary to place a reasonable amount of forces at the front of the group to guide and expel the dew, and at the tail of the group to intercept the Imperial pursuers if they arrived.
　In the end, Minerva and the others would be at the front of the group, and Rona would accompany them there as a guide.
　Moore and Solte were also included there.

　Inevitably, Aldis would be at the back of the pack, alone, preventing the chase from the rear.
　It's not a normal thing for a single person to deal with the chase of the imperial army, but none of us objected to it, if it was Ardis.

''It's a nice day. ......

　If it weren't for this situation, it would be nice to have a leisurely picnic.
　It would be nice to lie down in the grass and take a nap in the sun.

　Biting back a yawn, Ardis looked at the group of refugees in front of him.
　The head of the group was so far ahead of them that they could no longer be seen, let alone reached by magical exploration.

''There's plenty of room.''

　Someone called out to Ardis from the side.

'I'll keep my eyes open for you.

　Originally, Ardis had planned to take over the role of Lord Shinigari by himself.
　However, with the group stretched out for so long, it would be problematic for Ardis herself to be unable to leave her post in the event of a problem.

　As a result, a few volunteers recruited from among the refugees will be attached to Ardis' side as a messenger or assistant.
　The one who called out to me was one of them, a female wizard with a tendency to be a little shifty-eyed.

''Oh, I didn't mean to complain,''

　The female sorcerer corrected her misunderstanding when Aldis excused herself.

'Since I saw your strength so disgustingly four years ago,'

　Ardis is caught off guard by the manner in which he seems to know himself.

　Four years ago was the year of the last imperial war.
　Perhaps he had some acquaintance with Ardis, who was participating as a mercenary, at some point.

　He had quirky candy-colored hair that was slightly curled at the ends, and dark gray eyes.
　Looking at the female sorceress with a well-defined face with thin lips and a small nose, Aldis traced a thread of memory.
　As Aldis thought of a few young sorcerers in the mercenary unit, the female sorcerer in front of her spoke of those days.

'Four years ago, during the war against the Empire, I was conscripted as a schoolboy soldier. I was surrounded by the enemy and in desperation when you saved me, but you don't remember ...... it.

　So it was one of the students that he had rescued at that time, Ardis was convinced.
　Certainly, considering the age of the female magician, it would make more sense to say that she was a student of Marielle's Academy, rather than a mercenary at the time.

''Would it be easier to understand if I said I was Kirill's schoolmate?''

　As the familiar names came up, Aldis finally searched through the memory drawer for information that had been dormant.
　The four students who had been there when she had helped Kirill.
　He remembered that one of them was a strong-looking girl.

'That being said, it looks familiar ....... It's been four years, though, so it's only a shadow of its former self.

　When Aldis said this to the former student, who was now a fully grown woman, Aldis made an excuse and the other person defended herself with a bit of frustration.

'You're too unchanging. I've heard from Kirill that you really don't know how old you are. I'm a little jealous.'

　From Aldis's perspective, the female sorceress is still young, but as expected, she doesn't talk about it.

　Orphelia, who has been with him for ten years, has recently begun to complain about Aldis's youth.
　However, it is not Aldis's intention that aging does not show up in her appearance, and it is not Aldis's fault that Orphelia is changing with age.
　It's nothing more than a problem for Aldis, but for Orphelia, who says her skin tone is deteriorating, it's not something she can laugh about.

　The same is true of Norris, whose age is not evident on his face, but the businesslike man would disappear like a rabbit whenever he sensed that Orphelia was about to entangle him.
　It's a bit of a pity that Ted has to suffer the consequences.

　Caught up in unnecessary thoughts, Ardis turned her attention back to the female wizard in front of her.

''Could it be that Kirill is in this group too?''

　It was Kirill that I was concerned about.
　He hadn't even noticed Solte's presence until this morning.
　If Kirill was in this group, it wouldn't be surprising if he hadn't noticed it.

''No. Kirill would have graduated from the school long ago and gone back to Leitin. Don't you think it's terrible that you call someone a friend, but you quickly skip the grade and graduate ahead of them?　Rae would also drop out of school in Rye, saying things like family matters: ......

　When the sorceress told him that Kirill had already left the capital, she began to complain.

''In the end, I'm glad to see that you didn't get involved in this matter.

　Smiling at the female sorcerer, who complained with her mouth but was happy for her friend's safety, Aldis offered some words of comfort.

'Well, as long as you're alive, you'll see them again someday.

'Oh, no, ...... um!　It's not that I want to see Kirill or anything--

　When she said that much in a hurry, the female magician suddenly noticed something and looked embarrassed.

''I'm sorry. Come to think of it, you haven't even told me your name yet.

　Aldis also realizes that she doesn't even know the other person's name when she is told that.

　However, to Ardis, she was only Kirill's schoolmate.
　It didn't make much difference whether he knew her name or not, but the person in question probably couldn't be like that.
　She pinched the hem of her robe with both hands and showed a neat and tidy curtesy like a noblewoman.

It's a good thing that you're not a member of this group. Like Kirill, I'd like to make your acquaintance.

Yeah, well, the pleasure's all mine.

"Kyah!

　As Aldis was about to reply to the female sorceress who called herself Eleanor, a woman's scream rang out from among the refugees.