I led the King and his party out through the escape route.

The Dummy Magic was able to imitate the King and his party surprisingly elaborately. And by making it seem like they committed suicide with a Dagger I had hidden—we reached the Forest without being noticed by the Demon Race.

I think it will be fine… but just in case, I need to observe if the Demon Race will act according to the scenario. For now, I sent instructions with Magic to one of my familiars and had it monitor them.

“….Now, what should we do from here?”

The King muttered in the Forest… Since this is completely outside the scenario, I first need to do something to prevent the King’s presence from being exposed.

However, it’s difficult for me alone to continuously control the King’s actions… That’s why I have a plan.

First, I secretly call out to another familiar that I am remotely controlling with Magic. It’s been tracking the movements of certain individuals… and it reports back that they are approaching.

Good… Suppressing the urge to pump my fist, I made a suggestion to the King.

“Your Majesty. It would be best to leave the Capital City as is… First, head to a nearby Town. However, your current attire would be problematic. Please wait a moment.”

I created a Storage Box with my Bracelet and pulled out a Gray Cloak from it.

“Applied Summoning Magic, is it?”

The King said. I nodded slightly and replied,

“Yes. I have an acquaintance who uses this kind of Magic, and I learned it because I found it convenient.”

I offered the Cloak while casually making up an excuse. The King muttered “I’m sorry” once, then took off his Priestly Robe and put on the Cloak.

“Please hold onto my Priestly Robe for me.”

“Understood.”

I agreed and put it in the Storage Box. Even just the Cloak makes a significant difference in appearance, so it should be enough to deceive them.

But what should we do after entering the town?

First, we must hide ourselves. If it’s known that the King is alive, he’ll be in danger for sure this time.

Saying that, he gestured towards the town. The King nodded and began to walk with the Princess.

Only the sound of rustling bushes echoed for a while… I called my Familiar to check on the target’s situation as I advanced through the forest. I thought it would be dramatically effective to emerge right after leaving the forest, but… it seems the opponent was faster.

Outside the forest, I heard the metallic clang of armor. The King and his party were momentarily on guard, but I approached them.

Eventually, we exited the forest… The King, who had followed my pace, raised his voice here.

You are…!

A knight—a single knight was present here.

An elderly man with a luxurious, gold-rimmed sword—the Knight Commander. His name, if I recall correctly, is Fuore Orlaak.

Your Majesty…!

Fuore seemed about to kneel immediately upon seeing the King and Princess, but the King stopped him.

Wait, stay as you are… Fuore. Why are you here?

Yes, sir! We learned Your Majesty was captured… and were moving to rescue you through an escape route!

Are you alone?

Yes. The rest of the company are injured, or already… I thought of requesting reinforcements, but I felt it was urgent to rescue you as soon as possible, so I came alone—

Fuore… he’s an NPC who never becomes a companion. He’s a character involved in Eina’s scenario, and just as he said, in the game, he also backtracked through the escape route to rescue the King, just like me.

However, he failed to recapture… The game never elaborated on the details, but Eina would later hear that he regretted it deeply, having been

After his retreat, the castle, including the surrounding highways, would enter a state of high alert, making recapture impossible… Well, I think I could easily break through using magic, but considering the possibility of increased security in the dungeon and its surroundings, the risk of being discovered would have increased.

While I was thinking, the King explained the entire situation. Then Fuore turned his gaze towards me and said,

Thank you… Lord Ruon.

No, I merely followed instructions.

I stopped him with my hand—and addressed the knight.

Knight Fuore. We have succeeded in rescuing the King… but if the Demon Race learns he is alive, and with so few guards, it will undoubtedly lead to a critical situation this time.

Immediately after I spoke, Fuore also showed a somber expression.

…When the Demon Race attacked, preparations to meet them were in place, though not entirely complete. However, they easily overran us…

It’s clear we lack power… I think we should hide the fact that he’s alive for now.

—This is the strategy to avoid changing the scenario. I suggested that the King and his party should go into hiding and remain so until the latter half of the story.

Currently, the threat of the Demon Race is assailing the continent… We should first build up our strength. However, I repeat, if it becomes known that the King is alive—

Indeed, I understand that.

The King stated. And then he spoke to Fuore.

We must await an opportunity for a counterattack… We will gather information on the state of the surrounding nations and wait for the time to strike back.

Yes… but a counterattack—

Regarding that, I have a suggestion.

I said. At the same time, all eyes turned to me… and despite the tension, the words came out clearly.

The surrounding nations must also be under attack by the Demon Race… If only the knights of this nation act, we will likely be crushed. I believe we should gather information and move only when other nations are also ready to counterattack.

—I had a certain idea about this. Once four of the Five Great Demons are defeated, various events begin to occur. At that point, the knights of each nation will rise up simultaneously. Then the last of the Five Great Demons will launch an attack… and the protagonist will defeat it, gaining the power to break through the Demon Lord’s Barrier.

We should coordinate with the knight orders of other nations and launch a counterattack once all preparations are complete. Without that much, we cannot resist the current momentum of the Demon Race.

Indeed… It’s frustrating, but there’s no other way.

I’m a bit curious about what standard the King considers

If Eina is the protagonist, information about the knight orders of other nations emerges. She first moves to request reinforcements from the knight orders of other nations to oppose the Demon Race, but most of them are either completely immobile or have too few numbers to cooperate effectively.

That’s why the King and others probably can’t move, so I’m making this suggestion… I’ll need to use my Familiars to observe this area as needed. If they act quickly, going to admonish them is one option. The troubles have increased, but since I saved someone who was supposed to die according to the Book, I have to do it.

“Your Majesty… for now, let’s move.”

Here, Fuore speaks.

“In that attire, you’ll be able to move naturally within the Town. I’ll prepare a horse.”

“Understood.”

“As Lord Ruon said, we need to hide for a while to gather strength… My brother owns a villa. Let’s go there for now.”

“…Hmm.”

The King nods—good, it’s the place I thought of. After failing to rescue the King, Fuore himself will hide in the place he just mentioned. Then, he will eventually rouse himself and begin to act simultaneously with the Knights of other Nations. If things proceed according to the scenario, I think it’s fine if the King’s existence is recognized, but until then… Eina might visit that place, so I’ll make sure to warn him further.

“Knight Fuore. I think it’s fine if the hiding place is far from the Capital City, but… I know this might be unpleasant, but given the current disadvantage, there might even be traitors among the Knights.”

By the way, such a person appears in a sub-event. Both Fuore and the King make grim faces, perhaps considering that possibility. They seem to think it’s reasonable. Good, with this—

“Given that those who conspire with the Demon Race might appear, I think it’s better to keep the King’s survival a secret even among allies for the time being… As I said earlier, it would be dangerous not to hide until the Knights of other Nations regain enough strength to counterattack.”

“That’s right…”

The King also agrees. Then he turns his head to Fuore,

“It’s frustrating, but we must escape now.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Fuore. A very harsh… an immense battle is about to begin. There will be days filled with impatience, but will you follow me?”

“Of course.”

Fuore bows. Good, it seems okay for now. If anything happens, I’ll have to deal with it in the Capital City, but… The King met my gaze as if he had accepted everything and nodded slightly.

My objective has been achieved… All I have to do now is guard the King and Princess to the hideout Fuore mentioned—just as I was thinking that,

“Father.”

Princess Sophia, who had remained silent, spoke up.