Eventually, guided by Sofia, we arrived at a Town. By the way, it was in the opposite direction of King’s route.

The people were anxious due to the attack on Capital City, and there were even some refugees… Fortunately, services like inns were still functioning, and we were lucky enough to rent rooms.

“Well then…”

I let out a small sigh and thought alone. Of course, I couldn’t have us share a room, and given the circumstances, it was quite luxurious, but I rented two rooms. Outside, people were bustling about… and watching them, I began to analyze the current situation.

For now, as Princess’s face isn’t generally known, she should be fine as long as she doesn’t encounter anyone familiar. If someone points out a resemblance, I can just say it’s a coincidence… There are various excuses, so it’s manageable.

A concern would be the Demon Race… The Demon Race primarily judges people by their Magic Power, not their appearance. If we encounter Demon Race members who invaded Capital City, and we haven’t implemented a counter-strategy, they might discover that Sofia and the others are alive. Currently, such Demon Race members seem to be around Capital City, so there shouldn’t be an immediate problem if we don’t get close… but if she intends to fight the enemy, we’ll need to implement some kind of counter-strategy in the future.

So, I received King’s request to take Princess to a person named Ooda. I need to make sure to warn this Ooda person… This shouldn’t change the scenario. However, I will need to observe Princess, just as I observe King’s movements.

The journey is apparently supposed to take three days to arrive… but there’s a possibility of encountering Monsters, and it’s not good to have her act unarmed. I should at least give her a sword. Also, I should have her change into AdventurersWind attire. That way, her nobility can be somewhat disguised.

Thinking so, I left my room. Then I stood in front of the adjacent room and knocked.

“Yes.”

I heard footsteps. A moment later, she emerged from the room.

“Lord Ruon… Is something wrong?”

…I don’t think I’ll get used to her demeanor anytime soon. For now, I just have to do my best, I thought, and opened my mouth.

“From now on, there’s a risk of encountering Monsters on the way to Town… I will protect you, but just in case, I’ll give you a sword. Also, if possible, let’s get you some equipment.”

At my words, Sofia looked into my eyes and said,

“Um, the cost–“

“All of that will be covered by my later reward. Also, while I’m not a Knight, I am a Human loyal to King and you, so if you tell me what you need, I’ll meet your demands.”

For now, saying something like this should be fine… As I thought about it, Sofia replied with a soft, charming smile, “Thank you.”

In response, I, though my heart beat a little faster, managed not to show it and continued.

“For now, I’ll go check the situation outside. Don’t leave your room until I return.”

When I emphasized it, Sofia replied, “Understood,” and closed the door.

For now, I summoned a familiar to watch over Sofia… and left the inn, starting to walk.

The town, enveloped in an oppressive atmosphere, feels quite dark, especially with the cloudy sky. Given the fall of the Capital City, this mood is completely understandable.

As I observed the scene, I pondered Sofia’s abilities. In the game, if Eina was the protagonist, Sofia was one of the companion characters who acted with Eina during the tutorial-like first event.

However, after that event, the Capital City was attacked, she was removed from the party, and never joined again. Her level was… probably a little higher than Eina’s. As for her abilities, unlike Eina who was purely offensive, Sofia was different.

She was like a Magic Warrior type, capable of handling both swords and magic adeptly… In the game, she had learned some basic sword techniques and magic, but they were all rudimentary. However, she mentioned learning swords and magic, so with her knowledge, there’s a possibility she could learn new skills.

The important thing here is whether she has the qualifications to defeat the Demon King. As she is of the Sage’s Bloodline, I believe the possibility is extremely high. Since her cousin Eina can defeat the Demon King, it’s natural to assume she can too… but since she didn’t actually defeat the Demon King in the game, there’s also a chance she can’t. Since there are no retries, if I want certainty, I should rely on one of the protagonists, but…

Furthermore, I don’t know if she possesses the leadership qualities of Eina or Phili, enough to defeat the Demon King. In the tutorial-like first event, defeating enemies in the game didn’t grant experience points. Therefore, I don’t know if she will develop leadership like other characters.

Regarding leadership ability, it’s also unclear whether the Sage’s Bloodline is involved. Non-bloodline humans… for example, Kati and Kori, who fought alongside Phili, also seemed to grow stronger with him, though not to the same extent, so it’s probably not a monopoly of the Sage’s Bloodline. Of course, there are many humans who don’t develop leadership, so what’s the difference? Assuming characters who become companions in the game grow stronger, Sofia would technically fit. But whether she truly develops leadership couldn’t be confirmed in the game—

Damn, the more I think about this, the deeper I fall into a rut. I reset my thoughts and decided to verify it when I go to this person named Ooda. Whether I consult that person, or complete some kind of event… I thought I’d consider those things together as I walked down the street.

Since the shops are open, it seems possible to get Adventurers equipment. But the problem is weapons. I looked around various stores, but many were sold out, and there was nothing decent. Did many people buy them after the Capital City was attacked, or did the Soldiers and Knights…? Anyway, I can’t find anything suitable for Sofia.

Giving her a poor sword would be bad—for example, for defense, she can create barriers using magic power, so Sofia, being able to use magic, would probably manage. Of course, it’s best to be prepared for when a barrier is destroyed, but… the problem is the offense.

Unlike the game, there’s no way to verify things with numbers, so adventurers have to fight unfamiliar monsters by basic trial and error. In such situations, weapon attack power is extremely important, and if it’s ineffective, it’s very bad. In the real world, where enemies don’t disappear if you run away from an encounter, if your attacks aren’t effective, the situation quickly becomes desperate. I keenly felt that when I was training.

In my case, I had all the data on the monsters that appeared in my head, and I took precautions not to get into a desperate situation, so I managed to deal with it… but that’s not the case with Sofia.

“For now, I’ll take something out of my hand.”

After looking around, I came to that conclusion. So I went back to my room. Then I used Summoning Magic to summon a Storage Box and started considering it.

“Hmm, even if I need attack power, if it’s too powerful, it might stand out strangely, and the Book people might get hurt… On the other hand, a normal longsword wouldn’t… Oh, right. I might as well make it a magic sword.”

In this game, even normal swords can be given special abilities by using special magic items through weapon synthesis.

There are several types, such as improving weapon abilities like sharpness, and it’s also possible to incorporate magic into a sword to make it usable.

Among them, I must have made something decent as a prototype… While rummaging around, I found it.

The material is refined silver. This is more common than materials like Mithril, has decent attack power, and is a lightweight material that even women can handle.

Its in-game characteristic is that it can have more special abilities added to it compared to mere metal. I don’t need it at all, but it’s quite useful if my companions have it.

This sword has two magic spells… magic that increases attack power and magic that increases defense power. Even when fighting multiple monsters, if the abilities are increased, it’s often possible to deal with them, and the attack power is decent enough for monsters on the highway.

Alright, I’ll give her this… I left the room and knocked on Sofia’s door next door. She immediately came out and met my gaze.

“Yes.”

“I found a pretty good bargain.”

Saying that, I held out the sword.

“It’s a sword made of refined silver. It has auxiliary magic incorporated into it that increases attack and defense capabilities through magic. The store was also open, so I’ll prepare other equipment by tomorrow.”

“Something like that…? Um, wasn’t it expensive?”

Is that what she’s worried about…? I answered, “It’s fine,” and said,

“If you can use this to bring peace to this continent.”

I wondered if it was a cheesy line… but she smiled and said,

“Yes!”

She replied energetically. It looked incredibly beautiful… and I thought I needed to get used to it so I wouldn’t sweat on my back.