Since the vines could no longer reach, the Chimera Plant attacked from beneath the ground using its roots. Sofia was looking forward and didn’t notice—no,

In an instant, she sensed it and immediately dodged sideways. Immediately after, roots extended from where she had been standing. The tips of the roots were sharp, and they should have been powerful enough against Sofia, who was defending with a membrane-like magic barrier… if she had been hit, she might have been in a desperate situation.

Since she was alone, taking an attack would leave her unable to move properly and in a pinch… As I was thinking that, Sofia regained her posture.

But the next moment, she dodged sideways again. The Chimera Plant’s roots pursued her. Sensing this, she successfully evaded.

“I see, troublesome…”

Muttering briefly, Sofia readied her sword and advanced towards the Chimera Plant. Immediately, vines attacked her.

Sofia parried them once with her sword, but there were too many vines to parry all of them, forcing her to retreat. Then came the root attack… Come to think of it, I had heard that the Chimera Plant was troublesome in solo playthroughs.

This Monster’s attack speed is quite fast, and if you’re alone, you’ll be subjected to focused attacks, leaving no opening to go on the offensive. A normal party composition could handle this boss without trouble, but it becomes a troublesome boss in a Challenge Playthrough.

“Ugh…!”

Sofia cried out in frustration. Then, a vine shot straight towards her.

Perhaps she was paying too much attention to the roots, as her movement was a step too slow. The Chimera Plant didn’t miss this opportunity and landed an attack—Sofia barely twisted her body to dodge. No—it grazed her right flank.

“Ah—!!”

She let out a short groan as pain set in. The Chimera Plant’s assault didn’t stop. At this rate, she would be defeated by the concentrated attacks. Then I—just as I thought that,

Sofia suddenly stepped forward. The Chimera Plant immediately extended its vines, targeting her.

“—Perish!”

Immediately after, she spoke. When did she cast an Incantation—just as I thought that, a red light appeared around her.

To be precise, it wasn’t light, but flames. Flames, thinner than a knife, rained down on the Chimera Plant all at once.

This is ‘Flame Needle,’ one of the Lower-tier Magic spells… It’s a Magic that attacks an opponent by showering them with small flames. In the game, I believe about five needles would fly towards the enemy, hitting multiple times. Its power is only slightly better than ‘Fireball,’ the weakest flame spell.

However, the needles she cast were much smaller than in the game, and there were many of them. It didn’t seem to have enough power to defeat the Chimera Plant, but—

The Magic directly hit the Monster. It seemed her target was the vines, and the vines, though small, caught fire and lost their sharpness.

I see, by burning away the vines themselves… While I was thinking, Sofia closed the distance further. At the same time, she began another Magic Incantation.

She plans to attack continuously and overwhelm it… However, she has only dealt damage to the Chimera Plant a few times so far. Even if she tries to overwhelm it now, it might be difficult with her attack power… I watched her fight, ready to help immediately.

By burning away the vines, she finally reached a position where she could strike the Chimera Plant with her sword. And what she cast next was ‘Cross Slash.’ It precisely carved into the center of the tree trunk, shaking the Chimera Plant greatly.

It’s working—then a new vine attacked. But she didn’t stop her assault. She stepped in further, showing a stance ready to charge in, even if it meant taking damage.

Hey, I almost cried out. Sofia avoided the vines with minimal movement. But with so many attacks, she couldn’t dodge them all, and sharp vines grazed her whole body, including her flank and shoulder.

Sofia let out a groan… but endured the pain and thrust out her left hand.

“—Explode!”

With her words, flames erupted from her left hand. Since she fired it at almost zero distance from the Chimera Plant, it was visually impossible to tell what Magic it was.

But I understood with my Magic Power… This is ‘Fire Lance.’ Its target is a single enemy. It’s the most powerful Magic among the flame-type Lower-tier Magic, and it should have dealt considerable damage to opponents weak to fire.

Intense heat enveloped the surroundings, and Sofia immediately retreated. Since it was at point-blank range, it wouldn’t have been strange for her to get burned, but… perhaps she had strengthened the Magic Power on the surface of her arm during the Magic’s activation, as she showed no signs of external injuries from the Magic.

And the Chimera Plant… it took a direct hit and its trunk was severely damaged, but it was still alive. However, its vines and branches seemed a bit confused, moving around aimlessly, creating an opening.

If this were a Book, this would be the time to make a move, but Sofia herself is injured. Here, she quickly performed an Incantation and used healing Magic. It didn’t completely close the wounds, but most of the bleeding stopped.

In response, the Chimera Plant also regained its composure. After taking continuous attacks, its HP must have surely decreased. I don’t know if its abilities are the same as in the game, but I could tell from the Magic Power emanating from the Monster that the ‘Fire Lance’ just now had a considerable effect.

And I could sense that the Magic just now had a lot of Magic Power infused into it—in the game, you couldn’t adjust the power of Magic, but in the real world, it’s possible. While it’s difficult to raise the power of Lower-tier Magic to Intermediate Magic… it seems possible to increase its power enough to be a decisive blow against the Chimera Plant.

I once again searched for its presence. The Monster’s Magic Power was clearly weaker compared to before. There’s a possibility of defeating it with a few more attacks.

What will she do next—Sofia ran. In response, the Chimera Plant also sent out vines to counter her movement.

It was a similar situation to before, but Sofia’s movements lacked the sharpness they had previously. Her movements were clearly slower. In contrast, while the Chimera Plant’s Magic Power had weakened, the movement of its vines had not declined.

At this point, the Chimera Plant had the advantage. In addition, Sofia’s own Magic Power must be steadily decreasing. She probably doesn’t have many options left.

Perhaps that’s why, after batting away a vine, she cast ‘Fire Lance’ from mid-range. She seemed to have decided that she couldn’t risk stepping in again. There was a possibility of it being blocked by vines, but—it hit the Chimera Plant directly. But even so, it didn’t fall.

“Ugh…”

Sofia groaned softly. Then the Chimera Plant moved, and Sofia somehow dodged its attack.

She seemed to have started an Incantation to cast ‘Fire Lance’ again—but then the Chimera Plant moved its vines and attacked even more fiercely than before. Its goal was probably to interrupt her Incantation. Although one can Incant while attacking, a certain amount of concentration is still required. To prevent that—it seems to have learned.

If she can’t use Magic, she has no choice but to get close, but she needs to get through the barrage of vines. Considering her injuries, the risk is high… She must want to heal, but the Chimera Plant wouldn’t miss that opening.

Is this a retreat… no, even then, I don’t know if she can escape the root attacks while injured. Perhaps Sofia thought the same, as she showed no sign of fleeing.

Since she’s covered in wounds, perhaps it’s my turn… Thinking that, I was about to reveal myself.

But the next moment,

“…Lord Ruon.”

I clearly heard Sofia’s voice call my name.

“You’re watching from somewhere, aren’t you?”

I almost answered. Wait a minute.

No, can I expect you to think that I’m chasing after them using some kind of magic? There’s also the possibility that they noticed my presence because of something—

“The battle isn’t over yet. Please make your judgment after seeing the next offense and defense.”

Her statement seemed to see right through my intention to interject… At the same time, I understood, “I see.”

Sofia asked how she could be completely convinced at the entrance of the Forest. I answered, “One day,” but… if that couldn’t be achieved, she might be thinking that she would be told to go to the King as a last resort.

That would mean her own goal wouldn’t be achieved. But why would she go so far for me—I wanted to ask, but I held back and decided to watch her battle. No matter the outcome, she wouldn’t be convinced if I intervened here.

I gazed at her profile. She had a determined expression, ready to face the monster with a do-or-die resolve, as if she had already made up her mind.

Sofia poured magic power into her blade and ran. She probably took a gamble. The Chimera Plant was damaged, but it was uncertain if the next attack would defeat it. But with her limits approaching, she began to run to deliver the final blow.

The Chimera Plant also attacked, not to be outdone. Its movements were certainly dulled due to the damage it had taken so far—but it still extended enough vines to defeat Sofia and launched an attack.

From the sidelines, I judged that Sofia couldn’t avoid the monster’s attack. She seemed to know that too, deflecting only attacks that blocked her path and ignoring attacks that grazed her body as she charged. In exchange for taking damage, she succeeded in closing the distance.

And then—she held her sword vertically.

“—Yaaah!!”

A fierce flash. Immediately after, I saw flames erupt from the blade Sofia gripped. This was the magic sword technique ‘Fire Slash’—and she unleashed that technique with all her might.

The attack directly hit the Chimera Plant. In exchange, several blade-like vines struck her body. It was a situation almost like a mutual kill. If this hadn’t settled it, the Chimera Plant would move to deliver the finishing blow. If that happened, I would have to provide support.

But the next moment, the moving vines completely stopped. Furthermore, the Chimera Plant’s body began to crumble.

She defeated it—I found myself clenching my fist and muttered inwardly. At the same time, Sofia also collapsed, and I rushed to her in a panic.

Along with that, the miasma in the Forest quickly receded, and various flowering branches, which could be called remnants, remained where the Chimera Plant had been. This was the same as the in-game effect, a change due to the destruction of the Chimera Plant, the source of the miasma. It meant the quest had been accomplished.

I deactivated my magic and approached Sofia. Then,

“How was it…?”

Sofia tried to stand up. I said, “Don’t push yourself,” and first began healing her with magic.

With Healing Magic, Sofia’s wounds rapidly closed. Once I confirmed that the pain had disappeared from her face, I asked her,

“Why… are you fighting so hard?”

“…I also want to save the Village. But—”

She met my gaze.

“To be acknowledged by Lord Ruon himself.”

“By me…?”

“If I act together with Lord Ruon, I am convinced that I can gain the power to defeat the Demon King—I became convinced of that.”

I was about to say, “What’s your basis?” but her words came first.

“From the time you helped me and my father, to the battles with monsters we encountered on the way to this Village… I felt that Lord Ruon possesses extraordinary strength and was fighting while considerably holding back.”

…I don’t think I’m bad at acting at all—no, perhaps some people can still tell.

In addition to her insight, there’s also the possibility that Sofia can sense some kind of magic power due to her Sage’s Bloodline. Did she sense that power and try to become my disciple?

“For this request, Lord Ruon probably accepted it intending to make me give up, didn’t you?”

“…Uh, well.”

“I understand that since you saved me, you don’t want me to do anything dangerous… but—”

Sofia slowly stood up. I also stood up and faced her.

“I want to obtain the power to defeat the Demon King.”

“…That is…”

I closed my mouth for a moment. Before making various judgments, there was one thing I had to ask.

“It’s good that Sofia thought I had some clue to becoming stronger… but am I really the right person?”

“Yes.”

“Even though I saved the King and you, I’m a human you only met a few days ago, right? Can you trust me?”

It’s a bit awkward for me to ask this, but Sofia immediately replied, “Yes.”

“You rescued us… and I observed and judged Lord Ruon myself.”

—She must have been checking if everything was alright during the journey. Then she decided to become my disciple, completed the request alone as I asked, and even defeated the boss.

“How was it?”

Sofia asked, her expression slightly anxious. Her injuries had healed, but her clothes were torn in many places by vines, showing signs of a fierce battle.

If I only consider this battle, it was undoubtedly perfect. She grew rapidly, learned magic and techniques, and even defeated the Chimera Plant by herself. Her growth potential is comparable to Phili’s, and she definitely possesses the abilities of a player character.

In addition, there’s the Sage’s Bloodline—but I need to consider this carefully. Since she isn’t strictly a game protagonist, I don’t know if she’ll gain the power to break through the Demon Lord’s Barrier.

I think she has the aptitude for it… but I’ll think about this, including the protagonists’ movements. More importantly, her existence must not be discovered. If executives of the Demon Race become aware of her, the kings might also be attacked. Therefore, she’ll need to act inconspicuously for a while.

I met her gaze. I hadn’t intended to put emotion into my look, but Sofia’s face tensed up a little. She seemed to think I was going to refuse.

Besides, after all she’s done, there’s no way I could say no—

“…Alright. If I’m good enough. However, given the Demon Lord’s threat, please never reveal your identity. I will also act so that your true identity isn’t exposed.”

“Yes. As your attendant, I look forward to working with you.”

Sofia smiled—a smile like a blooming flower.

Feeling more than a little flutter, I considered. Well, the protagonists are currently moving smoothly. There are still some unpleasant events I want to avoid, but that’s still a ways off, and there will be time to train her.

For now, there might be various problems, but there’s no reason to refuse here—so, I’ve gained an attendant.

And—thinking that things would be tough from now on, I left the forest with Sofia.