“What is it?”

The King turns his head at the Princess’s voice. Then she says,

“I… want to go to Master Ooda’s place.”

At her sudden statement, the King and Fuore’s eyes widen.

I was surprised internally too… Huh, wait a minute.

“Sophilia? What’s wrong?”

“For the counterattack… I also want to gain strength. As a Descendant of a Sage who sealed the Demon King, if I don’t stand up now, I won’t be able to face the people.”

Her words were resolute. She thought about it in her own way, and perhaps judged that she couldn’t fight the Demon Race by accompanying Fuore… However, this has turned into a bad development.

I don’t recall the name Ooda… No, did I? Anyway, it’s at a level I can’t remember right now, but from her speech, he must be someone who taught her something.

“I think it’s your wish, Father, that I… go with you. But I learned swordsmanship and magic to fight Monsters and Demons. I can’t forgive myself for just hiding and waiting for the time to come.”

The King and Fuore exchange glances—there are four of us here, including me. Of course, they can’t let the Princess go alone, so inevitably someone will have to go with her to this Ooda person, but… Fuore can’t.

So—the King, who is deep in thought, meets his daughter’s gaze and says,

“Sophilia, but—”

“Father, please.”

Her eyes were full of resolve. It must be the conclusion she reached after much thought.

However, the King couldn’t let the Princess act alone… I thought the King would refuse this time.

But,

“…Sofia, you’ve always been so stubborn.”

The King begins to call her by what seems to be a nickname… Oh dear, things are starting to look a bit suspicious.

“Before the Demon Race attack, you also went hunting with Eina without permission, didn’t you?”

“Th-that’s…”

“I know. Besides, you two were already acting together after sensing the Monster’s appearance, weren’t you?”

The Princess’s shoulders tremble at those words. She seems to have been hit close to home.

Speaking of which, if Eina is the Protagonist, she initially acts with the Princess… but a Monster appeared, so the Princess took Eina outside. The Princess has a strong sense of justice and once she’s decided something, she won’t budge – that’s her personality.

But even so—I tried to comment to the Princess, but my body wouldn’t move. It was just not the kind of atmosphere where I could interject.

“…Sofia.”

“Yes.”

“Do you truly intend to go?”

“Yes. Of course, I will try to conceal the fact that I am the Princess. I haven’t had much contact with the common people yet, so my face isn’t known… I think it will be fine.”

“Fuore, what do you think?”

“As long as she doesn’t run into Eina, there probably won’t be any issues… I also believe it’s best for the Princess to accompany us. However, Your Majesty is aware that once the Princess makes up her mind, she won’t listen. Even if we try to persuade her now, she will eventually act on it.”

At that, the King gave a wry smile.

“…To be known as such even by the Knight Order, perhaps I’ve let her be a little too tomboyish.”

“Father—”

“Even so, you are now aware of your duties as Princess. It’s not that you don’t understand ‘for the sake of the Nation.’ As a member of the Royal Family, I wish you wouldn’t act rashly… but I, for one, do not have the power to stop Sofia.”

Hey, wait a minute. I thought, ‘Please stop her,’ and at that moment, the King turned his head towards me.

“However, Sofia. You cannot go alone… Lord Ruon.”

“Y-yes.”

“It pains me to ask such a favor after you’ve saved me from the Prison… but please grant my request. Would you be able to guard my daughter Sophilia to the Mansion of a person named Ooda in a Town called Naguraito?”

So he’s turning to me here. Since Fuore is the King’s only Guard, it wasn’t surprising for things to go this way… For example, if we went to the Town together, met up with the Knights, and then took the Princess to this person named Ooda—no, there’s no guarantee we could meet up, and if that happened, she might start acting alone. The King might be worried about such things.

However, even though I saved them, the King and his group and I were meeting for the first time at the Prison. Entrusting the Princess to me should require trust, and honestly, it’s too sudden and troublesome.

“…Is, is it really alright for me to do it?”

I ask for confirmation. The King nods and says,

“Since you spoke of that Knight, you are trustworthy… Moreover, you saved us. There is nothing more trustworthy than that.”

Well, that might be true… Then, I suddenly felt something. The King’s eyes, as he looked at me, seemed to hold “something” different from trust.

Could it be that the King knows about my abilities, even though he hasn’t said anything? No, even if that were the case, trusting me based on that would be strange… However, I can’t ask for his true intentions, so I can only speculate.

Also, the Town called Naguraito… I pull out my Game Memory. I don’t recall such a Town name. There are Towns and Capital Cities on this Continent that didn’t appear in the game, and Naguraito is probably one of them.

And this person named Ooda… Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell. I feel like I’ve seen the name somewhere, but… Anyway, the Princess’s presence is definitely an uncertain factor, and leaving her alone would increase the risk of the scenario collapsing.

While I felt troubled, I recognized this as a consequence of my own actions. I would have to take responsibility until the end. And, I didn’t think the Princess would be satisfied if I refused here.

Then, there was only one option.

“…It is a great honor to be trusted. I will fulfill your request.”

Well, I’ll just have to warn that person Ooda not to leak anything about the Princess to outsiders… The King said, “I’m counting on you,” and Fuore looked at me with some apprehension, but… perhaps he would follow the King’s decision, as he said nothing.

And so, the King explained the details of the request and the reward to me—which, naturally, would be paid later—and then, he began to move with Fuore towards their destination… so, naturally, the Princess and I were left alone.

As we stood in silence, the Princess first bowed her head to me.

“I apologize. I am causing you trouble.”

Then she raised her head and met my gaze… Instantly, I froze.

It should be called a miracle that my expression didn’t contort. When I was talking with the King earlier, I was desperate to follow the scenario, and I transcended nervousness, becoming somewhat calm. But now, alone with the Princess, the tension had clearly returned.

And then there’s this elegance. It’s not that I’m not used to women… I think. But she, with the incredible title of Royal Family, was an alien presence, and the aura the Princess emitted right before me didn’t even allow me the luxury of looking away.

“……Lord Ruon?”

What’s more, she used the honorific “Lord”. I managed to breathe, cleared my throat lightly, and then began to speak.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Um, well. For now, just try to relax.”

“Yes.”

The conversation stopped. I desperately racked my brain… thinking a hundred times harder than when I was planning King’s escape, and finally managed to squeeze out some words.

“I will protect Princess with my life… And about the destination,”

“You don’t know the location?”

“I might have passed through it on my travels, but I don’t remember the name.”

“Then I will guide you. I look forward to your company on the journey.”

Such humble words and actions, completely unlike a Princess. In games, Princesses tend to be haughty… No, that depends on the game, doesn’t it? There are characters with personalities like hers too.

“Well then… let’s move. First, to the nearest Town. If possible, let’s prepare for the journey there as well.”

“Understood.”

Having agreed, she began to walk with me.

“Please call me Sofia. And you may drop the honorifics.”

“Ah, yes… Understood.”

“Using formal speech would be strange, after all. I think the appearance of me being Lord Ruon’s Attendant would look natural. Please, let’s proceed in that manner.”

She made decisions one after another on her own. I could only give vague replies.

–From now on, I apparently have to address Princess by her nickname without honorifics and speak casually. Personally, it’s incredibly stressful… but I figured I just have to get used to it, and so I headed to the Town with Princess–Sofia.