He drafted the contract immediately.
Its terms were “reasonable” by this world’s standards.

“The forty-eight under Party B may not change their place of residence without permission from Party A. They may not leave their assigned administrative region without permission. They must diligently perform the duties as outlined… Isn’t this basically a slave contract!?”
“Then don’t sign it. How about I take this to the court as it is?”
“No, no, I’ll sign it!”

The bandits tearfully responded, practically shouting in agreement.
How grateful they must have been. Those guys…
I felt a bit emotional at the heartwarming scene.

When they realized I was Count Vermont, they seemed startled.
It looked like Vermont’s reputation had spread far and wide.
Their expressions were filled with humble gratitude.

Once the contract was signed, the bandits were dismissed for now.
I knew their identities, so I wasn’t worried about them running.
If they fled, their families would end up as wanted fugitives.
With the contract bearing the thumbprints of every bandit, I set off toward the Arient territory.

“Mister! Mister! Can you show us the sword-coming-out-of-your-mouth trick one more time?”
“Aslan… Are you okay? Isn’t your throat sore…?”

The carriage ride to Arient was lively.
I had gone out of my way to separate the carriages to prevent them from seeing Yuri’s real face, only for Charlotte and Yulia to come over, leaving Yuri and Merilda alone together.

Merilda seemed to be enjoying herself.
At this point, maybe Yuri should just get engaged to the princess and make something of himself.
In exchange, I could take Charlotte and Yulia back to Vermont, making it a win-win.

“I can’t draw the sword myself; only Sylvia can pull it out. My throat doesn’t hurt, thankfully… but it feels strange and unpleasant every time it’s pulled out.”
“Oh! It doesn’t hurt? That’s a relief… Not that I care or anything! It’s just that if Aslan hurt his throat and died, there wouldn’t be anyone to free us slaves! Don’t get any weird ideas!”

“….”

Without a word from me, Yulia grew flustered, spewing out explanations.
Whatever her reason, wasn’t she just worried about me?
She was still bad at hiding her true feelings.

“That sword was so cool! Miss Knight! Miss Knight! Have you given it a name yet?”
“Oh, I haven’t named it yet… Since it makes me move faster, maybe it should be called… Swift…”
“I’ll name the sword.”

“What?!”

I managed to stop them just in time before Charlotte and Sylvia’s disastrous naming collaboration could create the worst possible name.
If it were just Sylvia’s personal sword, I wouldn’t care what she named it.
But considering it was now absorbed in my body… just imagining a sword named “Swiftie” inside me made me nauseous.

“What name is it? You’re going to give it a super cool name, right?”
“As it is a gift from my lord, I shall leave the naming to him and accept whatever he bestows.”
“…”

Charlotte’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Sylvia, though less obvious, also looked hopeful.
Fantastic. Do I really have to name this sword? Can’t it just stay nameless?

“Alright. I’ll come up with something amazing, so be patient.”
“Yay!”

I hadn’t thought of anything yet.
So I decided to buy some time.
At least until I could somehow remove the sword from my body.

[The Evil God, Kali, is wary of the sword within you.]

It felt like I could hear Kali growling.
Wary of the sword? Why?
They say only a holy sword can harm an Evil God—could this sword be holy?

‘But if that’s the case, why isn’t she wary of Swiftie?’

Then why doesn’t she mind the holy sword, Swiftie?
Because she trusts Charlotte?
Trying to understand Kali’s whims was a waste of time, so I gave up.

“Sylvia. You’ll have to step down as instructor.”
“What?!”

“Hand over your duties to Yuri and train a few others to fill the instructor role among the staff.”
“Wait… Am I being dismissed from my position as the head of Vermont Security…?”

Sylvia’s voice quivered as she clutched my sleeve, looking at me with pleading eyes.
Did she think I’d gone mad? Why would I dismiss someone who was doing their job so well?

“I said step down as instructor, not get fired. It’s strange for the CEO to be doubling as an instructor.”
“Oh… So you’re not dismissing me?”
“Of course not. You can’t even hold a weapon without me nearby now. Just stay by my side and focus on guarding me. You can still handle management tasks from the estate.”

“True…! It looks like I’ll have no choice but to stay by my lord’s side from now on… for your safety, of course.”

Relieved, Sylvia nodded, finally understanding.
Until now, I hadn’t hesitated to let Sylvia act on her own.
After all, she always survived whatever danger came her way.

But now that she couldn’t touch any weapon besides her magic, she was vulnerable.
Her mana would be exhausted in prolonged combat, making her defenseless.
So it was better for her to focus solely on guarding me. That was my decision.

“Hey! The knight always gets to be with Aslan. That’s kind of unfair…”
“Right! It’s not fair for her to be the only one guarding Mister! I want to guard you too!”

“When you’re strong enough to beat Sylvia, I’ll let you take over as my guard.”
“...!”

When I rejected them firmly, Charlotte and Yulia’s cheeks puffed out in indignation.
They were clearly upset.
Being my guard would mean they could travel freely with me, so they felt left out.

“I’ll get super strong! Miss Knight! Since you’re not an instructor anymore, you can train me more now, right?”
“Huh? Oh… Yeah, I guess.”
“Then train me all day tomorrow! I’ll get so strong, I’ll surpass you!”
“All day might be a bit much…”
“Hey, Earth-Earthy, do you know any other Great Spirits?”
[Kyaaah! Why are you asking that?!]
“Well, you’re the only Great Spirit I know. Just digging up dirt has its limits, you know? If I want to get stronger in multiple ways, I need to know other Great Spirits too…”
[Kyaaah! Are you saying I’m useless?! How insolent, you brat!]

As Charlotte and Yulia whispered and schemed, they seemed fired up with newfound determination.
Alright, go for it.
No matter what their motivation was, getting stronger was always a good thing.

“Aigo, my dear brother! It’s been too long! You must be weary from your journey. Why not stay and rest here a bit?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose. I just brought a little gift for you, so here you go.”
“A gift…?”

Count Arient swallowed nervously, his face turning pale.
Was he that excited to hear I brought him a gift?
With trembling hands, he took the contract and his eyes widened.

“F-Forty-eight men? I’m supposed to feed, house, and… pay all these people…? Brother, did I do something wrong? Just tell me if I did!”
“Finish reading. These men are skilled at road maintenance. You know the road to the north?”
“The one that’s constantly in disrepair and often unusable?”
“It’s spotless now. They maintained it for their bandit activities. I’m transferring these skilled workers to you.”

“Is that really true? Right now, I have two hundred men working on the Vermont Highway maintenance! Even my sons and the butlers have been working nonstop to keep up… Thank you! Thank you so much! This will be a huge relief!”

Finally, Count Arient’s eyes glistened with gratitude as he knelt.
If he’d understood my intentions correctly, he wouldn’t have misinterpreted so wildly.
I gave his shoulder a firm pat before leaving.

The bandits who managed that long and difficult road should find the shorter Vermont Highway an easy task.
I wouldn’t have to worry about major issues with the road for a while.

After a brief stop in Arient, I headed straight for the capital.
My escort mission wasn’t over yet.
The job was to deliver Merilda safely to the northern duke’s villa in the capital.

After the bandit encounter, the journey was uneventful, and we soon arrived at the villa.
As we disembarked, I saw Yuri courteously escorting Merilda by the hand.
Noticing this, Yulia held out her hand to me expectantly.

“Aah! How improper…!”
“No need to make a scene here.”
“Who’s making a scene!?”

With that, I lifted Yulia by her waist and gently set her on the ground.
She looked thoroughly disgruntled, her cheeks puffing even more than before.
Watching this, Sylvia seemed to be in slight shock.

“...Did I really act like that?”

She must have remembered her own moment of clinging to my arm for a hand.
Now aware of how embarrassing it looked, her face flushed bright red.
Good. Learn from this.

“Me too! I want to be lifted like Yulia!”
“Alright.”
“Yay!”

With one final flourish, I lifted Charlotte.
If only all my troublemakers behaved as sweetly as her.
Charlotte was straightforward and good-natured, making me worry less about her than the others.

“We’ve arrived, Your Highness. The escort mission ends here.”
“Thank you, Count. Following your advice, I’ll be sure to study diligently during my stay in the capital.”

It was time to bid farewell to Merilda.
Behind me, Charlotte and Yulia shuffled awkwardly, clearly wanting to say something.
Noticing this, Merilda spoke first.

“Thank you for your hard work. Since the capital is close to Vermont, why don’t we meet more often?”
“Great! I’d love to get closer to you, Lady Merilda!”
“I used to think noble girls were all rude, but Merilda’s different. Let’s meet again!”
“Charlotte…”

“Hehe. Likewise. I get along better with you all than with those arrogant noble girls.”

Despite their blunt comments, Merilda just smiled, unfazed.
To her, girls her age likely fell into two groups.
Those who looked down on her as a “country bumpkin,” and those who fawned over her, hoping to benefit.
Having real friends made her genuinely happy.

“Yuria, I’ll look forward to seeing you later. Don’t forget you promised to show me around the Academy!”
“Y-Yes, of course… Your Highness.”

With a bright smile for Yuri, Merilda turned to leave.
Yuri’s shoulders slumped, looking utterly exhausted.

“Aslan, Aslan.”
“…?”
“Is Yuri… Yuria attending the Imperial Magic Academy?”
“Yes, he enrolled this year.”
“Wow!”

Charlotte and Yulia gazed at Yuri with a newfound admiration.
It might be time to send these two to school, too.
In the past, I worried about Yuri seeing them, but that’s in the past now.

Should I send them to the same Academy as Yuri?
While I had forced Yuri in as a special admit, adding two more might be impossible.

Then they’d need to pass the regular entrance exam.
Yulia could likely manage if she put in the effort.
Charlotte… well…

‘There’s always the special admissions track.’

Given her unique talent of wielding Sword Master-level strength in such a young body,
she might qualify for a special admission in the Combat Magic department.
Getting them both in shouldn’t be too hard.

“How about you two start school next year?”
“Huh? Why?”
“You’d learn a lot more.”
“The books in the library are enough for me… Also, we have research to do together…”
“Mister… do you want to get rid of us…?”

Charlotte and Yulia looked up at me, eyes filled with dread.
Their faces showed genuine fear.
Why were they reacting like this?
All I wanted was to send them to school, but the atmosphere had suddenly turned somber.