What?

　When Ardis quickly looked forward, he saw that some of the refugees had scattered and fled.
　However, since the magic probe didn't reach them and they were a considerable distance away, it was impossible to find out more about them.

''I'm going to check it out. You guys continue to be on guard at the rear. Let me know as soon as you see your pursuers.''

　As soon as he left his mouth, Aldis ran off to where the problem was happening.

'I'll join you!

　Eleanor followed behind her, but Aldis only caught a glimpse of her and moved forward without a care in the world.

　Ardis, who had pulled Eleanor away and rushed in alone, saw a herd of beasts attacking the refugees.
　The body was a head, chest, and abdomen, in that order, connected by a swollen part of the head, chest, and abdomen at nipped points, with six thin legs growing out of the chest.
　Its black glowing body surface was very similar to that of a double-sworded beast, but it was nearly twice as tall and its center of gravity was quite high.
　It had a sharp jaw on its head, though not as sharp as the Two-Sworded Beast, and it would easily cut off a human arm.

''Ants?!''

　It's a type of beast called an ant among mercenaries.

　Its length varied from fifty to eighty centimeters, depending on the individual.
　On its own, it wasn't such a formidable opponent, but the problem was the number of them.
　Unlike the double-sworded beasts, which were only about four or five at most, ants always act in groups of tens to hundreds.
　When dealing with a swarm, the level of danger would be much higher than that of a double-sworded beast.

''Hiiii!''

　The refugees, who have no way to fight, are just running away.
　Ardis roughly checks the number of ants with a magic probe and then calls out about fifty swords from the 'Gate'.

''Go.''

　According to the order, all the flying swords fly over the heads of the ants attacking the refugees.

　The flying swords stopped above the city and then turned their attention downward and began to fall at a steep angle.
　One flying sword pierces the ant's head and sews it to the ground, and other flying swords begin to kill their prey one after another.

　As the fleeing refugees moved about, the flying swords slaughtered the ants with extraordinary precision.

''Keh, sword......?''

Where did you get this from: ......?

　Their threats are being removed while the refugees' understanding of the situation has not caught up with them.

'Hey, we're finally catching up: ......

　The one who came there was Eleanor, who had been chasing Ardis.
　It seems to have acquired basic physical strength, which is unusual for the school's sorcerers, and they seem to have enough time to run nearly a kilometer and still observe the situation around them.

''It looks like you're almost done ......, can you leave that one to me?''

　After confirming that the swarm of ants that had been attacking the refugees had been repelled, Eleanor turned her attention to another swarm approaching from a short distance away and asked Ardis.

'I'll leave it to you then. Let's see how well the sorcerers of the academy can do.

　The same swarm of ants as before is coming towards us.
　There are about thirty of them.
　It's not a number of things for Ardis, but an ordinary mercenary would be a pretty formidable opponent.

　Kirill would be able to handle it, but it's not usually an opponent that a student mage can handle.
　If Eleanor couldn't handle it, Aldis decided to let her do it, with the intention of going into the follow-up immediately.

　With Ardis' approval, Eleanor readies her staff and begins to chant.

The fierce red (korenai) is born in the trail of the fierce flame, the breath of the ancient dragon ----

Yeah.

　Aldis was impressed when he overheard Eleanor's chanting.
　This was because it wasn't the kind of magic she would handle in her student body.

''-- Purgatory Flame [Ferno Resta Ganov]!

　As the magic name was uttered from those thin lips, the group of ants that were heading this way were enveloped in a crimson ball of fire.
　The ants, which were crawling on the ground due to the high heat, were burned and instantly blown away by the blast.
　The aftermath reached the spot where Aldis was, and the hot wind grazed its cheeks.

　After the dust cloud cleared, only the charred remains of the ants were scattered about.
　Even though the ants were densely packed together, he had managed to get rid of them without taking any of them out.
　That's enough competence for a real fight.

Nice work. The school's wizardry is not easy to deal with.

　Ardis frankly praises the unexpected skill shown by Eleanor.

''I can't be honestly pleased to hear you say that, even if you produce twenty more power than that at the same time, though.

　At Aldis's words, Eleanor turned away from her face and said the words as if she were embarrassed.
　Apparently, she's not a very straightforward character.

　It's not that there were no casualties, but the damage was small due to the value of dealing with the situation at an early stage.
　As the chaos continued, the evacuees, who were likely to be displaced in all directions, finally started to calm down.

　In the midst of all this, the words that were released from the refugees came into Ardis' ears.

''Isn't that ...... the Wizard of a Thousand Swords?''

　To the best of Ardis' knowledge, there is no one else in this country who uses sword magic.
　The people of King's Landing have the same recognition.
　It's not surprising that the user is not very well versed in the world of affairs.

''The Wizard of a Thousand Swords was recognized as a heretic by the Church, I believe.

"I thought you were talking about a pagan.

I heard you made a mistake in killing a priest.

What the hell is it doing here?

We get stares from the church when we're together too: ......

　Two years have passed, so I am sure that the heat has cooled in its own way.
　But still, the influence of the church is not foolproof.
　This is because the sense of rejection is still there to the point of anxiously whispering a conversation with Ardis from a distance.

　I'm sure that there may be more people dropping out than I thought, and thinking that, Ardis let out a small sigh and was about to return to the back of the group.

　That's when it happened.

''That's pretty selfish of you,''

　Suddenly, Eleanor shows her anger.

'Who the hell do you people think you are?　Indeed, he's a mercenary who was once known as the Magician of a Thousand Swords. I know he's been recognized as a heretic by the Church. So what?　Have you guys ever suffered any harm from him?　Are you saying you've been violated, hurt by your people, or subjected to unreasonable demands?

But a thousand-sword sorcerer is an evil sorcerer, according to the Church ......

　One young man weakly refutes Eleanor's swordsmanship.
　In contrast, Eleanor snickers, an act typical of a lady, and asks the young man head-on, "What proof do you have?

What is your proof?　Did you see with your own eyes something that convinced you he was an infidel?　Have you heard him say that's true?　You're just taking it on faith without a doubt just because the church says so. Isn't it embarrassing to be a grown man of age, dancing to someone else's bidding without any thought of your own?

It's .......

　Eleanor gives a cold look to the young man who choked on his words.

'It would not be so bad if you were bothered by him directly, but most of you have never met him before. Are your eyes and ears a decoration?　What's the purpose of that head?　Think about it. What did he do to you guys?　Hey, you there. What did you do to the Thousand Swords sorcerer?

　Suddenly, Eleanor asks the middle-aged man next to the young man.

'...... No, I'm not ...... anything.'

　The middle-aged man who was suddenly contradicted by the contradiction admitted so, as if it was hard to say. No, he had to admit it.

　Because there was not even an acquaintance between them and Ardis. There was no way they would be harmed.

　Of course, among the three hundred thousand people living in the royal capital, there are no small number of people who were indirectly harmed by Ardis.
　But considering the fact that they defeated the three powerful demons and dealt a major blow to the empire on the battlefield four years ago, for most of the king's people, the benefits outweigh the harms.
　With a sober mind, they should be able to understand that Eleanor's words were correct.

　If this had been said by another young woman, they might have recoiled too.
　But strangely enough, Eleanor does not allow the other party to do so, and she exudes a grace that is unapologetic.
　The refugees listened to her words meekly, as if they were sniffing them out on instinct rather than logic.

　For some reason, Eleanor, who probably got the words she wanted out of the middle-aged man, denies it herself.

'Nothing?　No way.

'What?　No, because ......

　The middle-aged man, who didn't seem to understand what on earth Eleanor was trying to say, was speechless with a puzzled look on his face.

''I joined the war against the Empire four years ago as a schoolboy soldier. When I was surrounded by Imperial soldiers and I thought I was done for, it was a thousand sword sorcerer who saved me. Until yesterday, my only connection to him was 'saving my life', that's all. I've never been harmed, and I have no other reason to hate him or direct my resentment against him.''

　Aldis himself, a story that was told to him earlier by Eleanor herself.
　Eleanor turns to the middle-aged man, who has stopped, not knowing what it means, and asks again.

'What about you?　Did he do something to you?　No, what did you do?

　After being told that much, the middle-aged man and the refugees around him finally realized what Eleanor was trying to say.

''Ta, help me, I got .......''

　That's right. They, like Eleanor, owe Ardis a debt of gratitude for saving them, but there is no reason for them to return the favor with an avenger.

What about the others?

　Eleanor looks around at the refugees in a circle.
　Many of them turn their faces down, looking uncomfortable.

'Your relationship with him is the one who saved your lives and the one who saved it. Nothing more, nothing less. With that in mind, you can look back on what you were doing earlier.

　Satisfied with that, Eleanor urged Aldis to leave the words as if to slap them down.

'Let's go, Aldis,'

...... Yeah.

　Originally, Aldis had no intention of addressing the refugees themselves.
　As long as they don't directly touch her, she'll do as she pleases, whether it's behind her back or through gossip.

　However, Eleanor represented a part of what Aldis couldn't say.
　That is also the meaning of the question from the mouth of a third party.
　No matter how legitimate or reasonable it was, if the person himself said it, he would only be defending himself.

　This time, Eleanor, as a third party, threw a stone in their path.
　This might change their mindset a little bit.

''Should I thank you?''

　I threw out such words with unusual care for Aldis, but Eleanor's response to them was curt.

I don't need it. It's not something I did for you. It's just that I was offended by the attitude of those people.

　I see, that's the type, and I understand the woman called Eleanor a little bit better.

''Well, ...... I get it.''

　Aldis drew back honestly and began walking shoulder to shoulder with her to the end of the line.