“Sofia.”

When I called out from behind her, she flinched for a moment. Looking closely, Lefin was on her shoulder. First, she turned her body towards me.

“Lord Ruon, are you looking for us?”

“Yes… I have something I want to ask Sofia.”

After I spoke, Sofia also turned around. Her face was a little stiff. Since she rarely shows such an expression, I was confused myself.

Actually, she seemed calm when we talked earlier… As I waited for her to speak, Lefin said,

“Lady Sofia seems to be recalling the previous battle and has many thoughts.”

“Le-Lefin…”

Sofia said with a troubled expression. What on earth… As I remained silent, she sighed.

“Well… I also thought about things through that battle.”

“Were you scared?”

When I asked the question, Sofia immediately shook her head.

“Not at all. Well, as for me, witnessing Lord Ruon’s power, I truly thought it was wonderful—”

W-Wonderful… Sofia herself seemed surprised by the words that came out of her mouth, and she stopped speaking.

“…Could you tell me?”

I asked. Sofia shrugged once, but eventually—

“I understand very well that Lord Ruon uses that power for the people.”

“Yes.”

“Watching the battle with the Spirit God… how should I put it, seeing Lord Ruon’s fighting, I was excited, or something like that.”

…The way she’s somewhat vague with her words, Sofia herself might not be able to express it well.

I don’t know if she’s recalling the scene from that time, but Sofia’s face seems flushed as she speaks… There’s no doubt she was excited.

“What did Lefin think?”

When I vaguely changed the subject, she smiled brightly and said,

“I myself was stunned because I had heard stories, but I also understood.”

“I see. Well, in any case, I appreciate you taking it positively.”

“Um, Lord Ruon.”

This time, Sofia began to speak.

“May I ask just one thing?”

“Please do.”

“…Considering Lord Ruon’s abilities, I feel it’s presumptuous of me to say this, but—”

“It’s alright.”

“You’ve been pushing yourself quite a bit until now, haven’t you?”

Pushing myself, huh… Well, flying around everywhere using Movement Magic might be one of the things she considers pushing myself.

“The Demon King is approaching. Since I possess this much power, I have to make a bit of an effort.”

“I don’t think there’s much I can do, but please consult me if anything comes up.”

“Understood. Thank you, Sofia.”

The moment I thanked her—Sofia suddenly turned her back to me.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. It’s nothing at all.”

As I was wondering about her curious reaction, Lefin said, detaching herself from Sofia’s shoulder.

“It seems she’s overwhelmed with emotion from your thanks.”

“Le-Lefin…”

Sofia rebuked… I had thanked her before for things she did as my Attendant during our travels. However, she must have felt that this time’s thanks carried a different weight.

“…That’s right.”

Here, I started talking to Sofia, who was still facing away from me.

“Also, if you’re troubled by anything, please consult me.”

“Y-yes.”

She nodded, still with her back to me. Her posture was so amusing that I chuckled a little.

“Alright then, I’m heading back to the inn. Lefin, I’m counting on you to look after Sofia.”

“Yes… Oh, Lord Ruon, just one piece of advice from me as well.”

“Advice?”

“Regarding the battle with Master Feus.”

Advice from the Spirits was certainly something to be curious about. While I returned my expression and waited for her words, Sofia also turned to face me, and eventually,

“It’s about the final attack Master Feus unleashed.”

“That’s when Feus unleashed his own Magic Power on me, right?”

“Yes. I believe even Lord Ruon couldn’t have predicted that attack.”

“That’s right. I certainly didn’t know until the very last moment.”

“Lord Ruon might have thought you could handle Master Feus’s full power. However, I still believe receiving the strongest attack carries a certain degree of danger.”

…I see. I understand what Lefin is trying to say.

“It’s about being careful not to receive such a full-power attack, even in a War with the Demon Lord… or rather, a high-level War with Demons.”

“Exactly. It might be an excessive piece of advice given Lord Ruon’s abilities, but…”

“No, it’s important. No matter how strong I am, there’s no guarantee that the opponent won’t surpass me.”

“…And regarding that, just one more thing.”

Lefin’s story continued.

“In future battles… during the Southern Invasion and the final battle with the Demon King, I believe Lord Ruon will have to act to respond to emergencies.”

“I have no objection to that.”

“Among those—the Continent-Destroying Magic the Demon King is preparing.”

“Ah.”

“Even Lord Ruon might find it difficult to stop, but in the unlikely event…”

“Ah, I see what you mean.”

I spoke up. Sofia also understood what Lefin was getting at and looked at her.

“You thought that, at worst, the Magic set by the Demon King would activate… and I might act recklessly to stop it.”

“…If such a situation were to occur, I too would be troubled about what to do. Once it’s activated, do we accept that there’s nothing to be done, or does Lord Ruon exert all his power to stop it… But if one were to confront Magic capable of destroying a Continent head-on—”

Lefin meant that I might die.

Honestly, I have no idea if I can deal with that particular Magic. Even in the game, it was treated as an event, so its power wasn’t even set.

If I said something like “I don’t intend to die” here, it would probably set off a death flag… Thinking such thoughts, I opened my mouth.

“–Garuku.”

“Hmm.”

Young Garuku appeared on my right shoulder.

“What did you think after hearing that story?”

“I also thought that if the worst came to pass, Lord Ruon would likely act recklessly.”

“…Honestly, if that happened, I feel like I’d just run away.”

I said it as a joke, but Lefin’s and Sofia’s expressions didn’t change.

“I understand what you mean. I can’t deny the possibility that I might also act on impulse. So, I need the strategy to absolutely succeed.”

“Leave it to me.”

Garuku said… The Southern Invasion and the Magic unleashed by the Demon King are the biggest problems, so I can understand why Lefin and the others are on edge.

Right now, we just have to give it our all… After thinking that to myself, I turned to Sofia.

“Sofia seems to be back to normal, so let’s head back to the inn.”

“Yes.”

The two of us started walking… At that moment, I suddenly thought.

Currently, there’s probably no way for me to stop the Continent-Shattering Magic on my own. That Magic is something that the Five Great Demons planted in the earth, and is unleashed by the Demon King, a being with an immense amount of Magic Power. No matter how strong I am, it’s clear that I’ve surpassed the Human Vessel.

But… even if the probability is low, looking for a way might be an option. I’m heading to the Academia right now. There’s no way there’s a book written about how to surpass the Demon Lord’s Power, but I might find something that gives me a hint.

“My to-do list has grown.”

I spoke softly. Sofia and the others didn’t seem to hear me, as no one responded to my words.

I’m not of the Sage’s Bloodline, so I can’t defeat the Demon King. But for everything else, I’ll do everything I can–I reaffirmed that resolve and returned to the inn with Sofia.