There is a high-class residential area on the north side of the adventure city Ishka, where magnificent mansions line up. It is a district where, if you throw a stone at random, you will hit a big shot of the city, such as a government official, a wealthy merchant, or a guild master. Recently, among those big shots, the dragon slayer who killed the dragon was also included, so I have to say that I have made a success of myself.

As I walked through the streets, thinking about such things, I heard a cheerful voice from beside me.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Sora-san’s house!”

That voice belonged to Claudia Dragnaut, the duke’s daughter. Claudia, who was ordered to accompany the pope along with the crown prince, was here to welcome the pope who was coming from the southern holy kingdom. Of course, she acted with the king’s permission.

On the other hand, the crown prince stayed at the palace to prepare for the reception.

Probably, the king’s original intention was to make his son and Claudia act together under the pretext of being an attendant, and to mend their relationship. And then he hoped for a re-engagement in the future, but Claudia came with me and declared that she intended to live with me in the future.

The person who broke off the engagement brought a new fiancé – the king must have judged so. If he did something to break this, the gap between the royal family and the Dragnaut duke’s family would become too big to ignore.

In that case, it would be bad to make his son and Claudia act together. The king probably thought so and made them act separately – well, one could also say that Claudia led the conversation in that direction.

I thought so when she rebuked the crown prince, but Claudia is really a member of the duke’s family. Her hard and soft mixed behavior at critical times is very solid and powerful.

Maybe I feel that way more because she looks like a young girl of her age when she has a soft expression like now. If she grows older like this, she will eventually become one of the most beautiful princesses in the kingdom, with both beauty and intelligence. The crown prince seemed to regret the size of the fish he had let go.

Of course, I don’t say such a future picture out loud. I straightened my expression and replied to Claudia.

“Just to let you know, it’s much smaller than the duke’s mansion. I don’t think it will live up to your expectations.”

“Hehe, what I’m looking forward to is seeing what kind of house Sora-san lives in normally. No matter how big or small it is, I won’t be disappointed. And besides -”

“And then?”

When I asked back, Claudia said with her index finger on her chin.

“I think the royal palace is too big to live with the person you love.”

It was a casual remark. Claudia’s expression didn’t change much either.

But somehow I felt like it came from the depths of the girl in front of me, and I didn’t know how to answer. I felt like I shouldn’t answer casually or ignore it.

Claudia, on the other hand, looked at me with a smile.

We walked in silence for a while. If this was Ishka’s main street, it would be noisy with stalls and shops, but as I explained earlier, this is a high-class residential area. The noise was far away, and the curtain of silence remained.

It wasn’t awkward at all. Just a bit embarrassing. That kind of silence.

When I saw my house in sight, I unconsciously let out a breath.

When I stood in front of the gate of my house, I didn’t feel any nostalgia in my chest.

It was natural, I suppose. After all, I only stayed on Demon Island for one day in reality. On the way there, I took my time looking back at the past, but on the way back, I ran through with a light step, filled with joy from eating the demon god. I also only stayed one night at the Dragnaut mansion in the royal capital, and I came to Ishka on the back of Claudia’s winged beast, Clarent.

In other words, this trip to Demon Island, regardless of the density of the events that happened, was only a little outing in terms of the days that passed. There was no way I could feel any nostalgia.

So, I quickly unlocked the gate and went through. If I leave this gate unlocked, sightseers who are looking for Clau Soras will enter without permission, so I always lock it. By the way, if someone has business with the clan “Blood Spraying Sword”, they can ring the bell that is placed outside the gate – the type that makes a sound when you shake it – and someone will come out from inside.

However, of course, this does not apply when there is no one at home. As I entered the premises, I looked at the building where I couldn’t sense any human presence and opened my mouth.

“Is no one home? That’s rare.”

Iria is collecting information on the King of Beasts Behemoth in Berka, so that’s natural, but it’s rare that Suzume, Ciel, Lunamaria, Miroslav, and Priestess Sarah and the three kids are all absent.

I wondered what they would do if a client came to the clan now, but when I thought about it calmly, I didn’t have any rules like “always have someone at home so that the client doesn’t waste their time”. I had no right to say anything to them.

Besides, after gaining the reputation of a dragon slayer, there was no need to be enthusiastic about clan activities. I didn’t mind if they prioritized their business.

However, there was a possibility that something serious had happened while I was away, so I decided to check the situation in the house – that’s what I was thinking when I was about to enter the house.

“Ah! Big brother Sora!”

“Big brother Sora!”

“Big brother Sora!”

I heard a very familiar trio from behind, and the footsteps came closer and closer.

The ones who appeared in my field of vision as expected were Ain, Zwei, and Dora, and behind them was Sarah, the priestess with a gentle smile. Judging from the shopping bags in her hand, she must have been out shopping for groceries.

After the previous disturbance, Ishka was in a lot of confusion in terms of security and logistics, but it seemed that a woman with children could go out for shopping. If the Adventurer’s Guild had played a role in that, it was worth letting Elgert and Lidelle go.

“Welcome back, Mr. Sora. I’m glad to see you’re safe.”

“Thank you, Priestess Sarah. Was there any problem while I was away?”

“There was no problem for us. We are grateful for your hospitality.”

Priestess Sarah bowed her head deeply and then continued with a slightly faster tone. She noticed that I frowned when she heard her say “for us” in particular.

“Everyone else is fine too. But they are heading to Titis Forest right now, so I can’t say there was no problem…”

She couldn’t nod honestly. She put her hand on her cheek with a troubled look.

I furrowed my brows even more when I heard that. Needless to say, Titis Forest is in a dangerous state right now. I can’t imagine that the effect of Hydra’s poison has disappeared in the short time I was away from Ishka, and the magical beasts must still be raging.

Why did they go to Titis at this time?

When I asked in detail, the answer was in the subjugation request that was brought to the clan. The magical beast rampage stampede had subsided, but it seemed that small groups of demons and magical beasts still came out of the forest, and soldiers and adventurers were monitoring and sweeping them.

And the request was also brought to the “Blood Spraying Sword”. Initially, Lunamaria and Miroslav were going to go, but Ciel and Suzume insisted that they wanted to go too. They said they wanted to be useful to the clan.

The fact that they are not here means that Lunamaria and the others accepted their argument.

――Hmm, I would have definitely opposed it if I had been there… I guess Lunamaria and Miroslav agreed that they wouldn’t be a hindrance, at least.

Come to think of it, I don’t know much about Ciel and Suzume’s abilities. I know they are working hard, but I’ve never fought with them, and I rarely even act with them. In that sense, Lunamaria and the others are more qualified to judge.

Unconsciously, I let out a sigh.

I can’t forcibly bring back those who went on their own will, unless they were forcibly conscripted by the Ishka government. I’m not Ciel or Suzume’s guardian. Even if it’s out of goodwill, I don’t have the right to restrain their actions.

Of course, if I was convinced that their abilities were insufficient as a clan leader, that would not be the case… but that is not the case, as I mentioned earlier.

I should trust them and sit back and welcome the four of them back with a big smile. That’s what a clan leader’s caliber is. Yeah, let’s do that.

――――Well, now that I’ve decided, I have to introduce Claudia and Priestess Sarah and the others.

Of course, I can’t forget to greet Clau Soras in the stable. He must be lonely because I’ve been away for a while. I’m not trying to please him, but maybe I’ll take a leap for the first time in a while.

But it’s boring to fly around aimlessly. Let’s go get some Jirai Ox fruits, Clau Soras’ favorite.

I have no ulterior motive. I’m just going to Titis to get some Jirai Ox fruits.