While listening to Luchard, the calm-faced man in front of him, Ray was vaguely aware of the reason.
　In this rural village of Goto, which is not a guillem-like frontier, there are probably few people to visit unless it is like the war that broke out in the spring.
　Ray came to see me in the midst of all this.
　If this had not been such a famous person as Ray, but an ordinary traveler, there would have been no need to be so vigilant.
　But since Ray was active in the Spring War, Lucard must have been wary.
　Even so, with such caution, he still invited Ray to his house.

"Well, you're the master of the Theorem, more precisely than of the Vestian Empire."

　Leachard's body is momentarily stiffened by the words that come out of Ray's mouth.
　And that was enough for Ray to get answers.

"Of course,"

　Luchard's eyes were turned to the knife near him when he heard Ray muttering, but in the end he took no action.
　It was because I didn't think I could do anything about Ray.
　Even if you attack with knives, you can't see a future where you can do anything about it. I'm afraid you'll only be caught easily.
　No, will he be slashed to death with the scythe I saw earlier?
　Determined that he can't fight back, Luchard looks at Ray with a small sigh.
　Ray looked at her half-give-up, but she didn't seem to have any particular concern.

"Don't worry, I don't mean to do anything about you. And now you understand what I'm saying, right? It's Teorem that I'm meeting here."

　Vihela, who led Theoreum, was probably right, but she couldn't speak it out.
　The man in front of me is certainly the master of the Theoreum. But it was clear that it didn't mean that he was a trusted subordinate.
　At any rate, Ray's words give Luchard a sigh of relief.

"Well, indeed," ...to be honest, I can't imagine what the relationship between Ray and Theoreum is."

　That's probably the case. It's strange to think Ray and Theoreum have a good relationship, given that they were hostile to each other in the Spring War.
　Ritchard turns to me for an explanation, to which Ray responds with a small shrug.

"Well, many things have happened. And may I ask you?"
"It's not that funny. It's just that I'm the master of Theoreum."

　Luchard didn't say exactly what he was doing.
　Just as Ray doesn't trust Luchard completely, Luchard also doesn't trust him completely.
　For Luchard's part, that would be a natural decision.
　Perhaps he understood it, Ray didn't force himself to dig into the conversation any further.
　divert the subject instead

"And have you heard how long they will be here?"

　You probably haven't heard of it. Though he thinks so, he visits her just in case, but Luchard shakes his head as Ray expected.

"I'm sorry, but all I'm hearing is that Mr. Teoreme may come to this village with someone. and yet, when Mr. Theoreme entered the kingdom of Mileana, he would only secretly stop by this village and say to me, "
"…I see. Then I think I'll have to wait here for a while. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it'll be a bit troublesome for a while, so please take good care of me."
"Yes, I am not in a position to say anything to anyone connected to Theoreum, so I don't mind. But there's no place to really play in this village, like a bar."
"A bar? Are there any good dishes, let alone drinks?"

　Ray's words make Luchard flinch.

"What do you said. Many of the dishes in this village don't look so good... but if you ask me if they suit Ray's taste, I'd like you to try them."

　She talks that far and turns to Ray as if she had noticed something.

"Come to think of it, we'll start harvesting wheat in a few days. and you'll have more free time than you have now."
`...is he going to go to the Celemus Plain and knock down the undead?'

　If you have a rare kind of undead, you can absorb the magical stones and increase your military strength, not to mention the ordinary undead.
　There was nothing wrong with building up our military strength, given that we were headed for a complete enemy territory.

"Well, once in a while, indeed, the undead may come out of the Celebrity Plain to this village, and the people of the village may be pleased if they do."

　Skeletones and zombies sometimes came this far, though only once every few years, due to their proximity to the Celemus plain.
　That being said, the people of this village live here. Of course, we can handle monsters of that magnitude.
　Still, some people may be injured, and if Ray voluntarily hunts for the undead on the Celemus Plain, he'll be happy.

"I think I'll have a lot of free time until Theoreum arrives."

　Ray muttered, but Luchard shook his head slightly and opened his mouth.

"I don't think it will take long, because I was riding a pretty good horse when I came here. I had a horse with me for the man who said he was going to pick me up, and he seemed quite a good horse."
"... I see,"

　Ray convinces himself that he will need a horse of superior ability because he must return to Bestia as soon as possible to pick up his second princess.

(That being said, there's no point in the Teorems coming unless the Daskers come. I think we'll have to wait here for a while after all. ...well, we need to talk about what to do about Theoreum and Elk in advance.)

　With that in mind, you must have thought the explanation was enough. Luchard stands up and opens his mouth.

"Well, I'll go back to work in the fields," -- I'll tell you just in case I'm..."

　Knowing what he meant by that alone, Ray nods back.

"Oh, I won't tell the villagers about it,"
"Please," I'd really like to go into more detail, but I can't give up my work... Please give me more information tonight. Oh, as for the room, please use that one."

　The structure of this house consists of one large room with an entrance, living room and kitchen, followed by three private rooms.
　Luchard showed one of them.

"It's a relief,"

　When I hear only that, I leave home and go back to work.
　For a moment, Ray wonders if it's okay to leave someone else's self alone at home, but convinces himself that he's trusted to be an acquaintance of Theoreum.
　Then, in the deserted house, I was worried about how to kill time... and eventually I stood up.
　Whether you're waiting for Vihela or Theoreum or for Dusker or Elk, you'll have to spend some time in this village. That's why I decided that I should see for myself what the village is like in case something happens.

(It's been a long time since I played with Seto)

　It was too early for me to think of it.
　I've been with Seto ever since I left Gilm, but it's just a journey to this village.
　I spent very little time purely playing with Seto when I went down to eat, rest, or camp.
　When I left Luchard's house, the first thing I saw was the gaze at me.
　However, it is not as vigilant as it was directed at the villagers when they came to this village, but rather curious.
　He's being stared at as if he didn't want to hide his gaze.
　I turned my gaze to the other person who was staring at me and found him there was a boy. 　
　In terms of age, it's about five.
　Luchard's side of the house, where the crates were piled up, hid his body and gazed at Ray with only his face out, took a moment's breath away as they crossed."What!"

　just a few seconds They stare at each other and create a strange space of silence around them.
　While staring at each other like that, Ray understood why the boy in front of him was here.
　Maybe it's because I'm too young to help my parents.
　If you're over 10 years old, you'll be able to help a little, but if you're about 5 years old, you'll just drag your parents down.
　In that case, you can leave it to play as you please in the village. I suppose he made that judgment.

『……』

　For about a minute, staring silently at each other. Eventually it was the boy who lost his nerve and acted first.
　They come out of the hidden crate and walk up to Ray.

"... I'm Aepika." What about your brother?"
"It's Ray,"
"Well, I've never seen you, but is it a village man of the village man.

　It's a small village with less than a hundred people, but for a child of his age, he still doesn't remember the faces of all the villagers.
　A boy who comes to visit with his head tilted... Ray shakes his head to deny Aepika's question.

"What? Really? Bye, bye. Tell me about the outside of the village!"
"...well..."

　For a moment, Ray thought it might be good, but beyond his gaze... he finds a familiar shadow above him.
　It's quite an altitude, but a set is flying there.
　Hopefully Ray will take care of himself and find him as soon as possible.
　However, Ray, who was reluctant to leave a child staring at him with glistening eyes, suddenly remembers the children swarming around Seto in guillem.
　Of course, even those children didn't immediately fall in love with Seto. But now that I have... Sett's partner, or maybe I'll be all right.
　Besides, there was only the first time I was scared, and there was also the judgment that 10 minutes of being with Seto would immediately make me feel nostalgic.

"I don't mind outside, but why don't you go and see my partner now?"
"What? But my dad and mom told me not to go outside?"
"I don't think I should be alone, but I'll be with you."
"Well... Uh...

　Ray secretly wonders if it's okay to trust yourself so quickly while looking at a troubled child.
　The inhabitants of this village were certainly closed, but the children seemed to be completely different.
　But I can immediately think of course.
　That's right. It's probably because of the closed nature of travelers who have not approached this village, and as a result, children have grown up with little wariness against strangers.
　Naturally, parents are telling the whole story, but there is no way that a five-year-old child can fully understand it.
　As a result...

"Yes, I see!"

　He nodded easily.

"Well, then we'll have to get out of a place that the adults in the field can't find. Do you know any good place?"
"Well... oh, yes." This way!"

　Saying so, Aepika pulls Ray by the hand and heads towards the less popular part of the village.
　It's a small village, and even with a child like Aepika, you get there in less than half an hour.
　Located only near the Celemus plain, this village of Goto is boarded around.
　It was not so fine as to be called a wall, but it was still possible to keep the undeads -- skeletons and zombies -- from entering the village.
　However, as long as all the boards surrounding the village are not new, there are naturally old places there.
　That's where Aepika took Ray.
　The lower part of the board, about knee-high, had broken into a gap.
　If it's a remote area like Gilm, you never know what kind of monsters are going to invade.
　However, since this is only near the plains of Celemus, and the people of the village have probably decided that there is no particular problem with this situation, as long as it is an undead man with no intelligence in his salary.

"Look, I think we can get out of here. Are you going?"
"Oh, shall we go?"

　Responding to Aepika's words, he crept out of the board.
　Ray is small and not as muscular as you can see from his body, so he succeeds in getting out safely, albeit a little cramped.
　The good news would have been that the ground was grassy. Thanks to you, I was able to get away with so much dirt.
　And Aepika followed Ray out of the village...

"Slurrurling.

　She came down to the ground, happily purring, careful not to reverberate.