Hearing the voice of Gilbert, a companion character, I wondered if something troublesome had just happened.

Immediately after, Gilbert approached Sofia with surprisingly light footwork and said one word.

You appear to be a traveler, don’t you? Perhaps you have business at the Guild?

Huh? Oh, no, um…

If you’d like, I can guide you. Oh, and if you’re going to accept any quests, I’d be happy to accompany you–

Alright, alright, hold on.

Feeling utterly annoyed, I spoke to Gilbert. He turned his head and said,

…Who are you?

His tone was completely different. Suppressing the urge to sigh, I opened my mouth.

She’s my Attendant. She has no business at the Guild, so could you please leave her alone?

Gilbert looked at me with a suspicious gaze.

Dealing with him will only make things more troublesome… Thinking that, I decided to cut the conversation short and suggested to Sofia,

Let’s go then.

Yes.

Hey, wait a minute!

He called out to me… This is the pattern where I get entangled, isn’t it?

“Well, well, it’s fine, isn’t it? Is this your first time in this town? Let’s chat for a bit.”

“Sofia, let’s go.”

“Hey, wait for me!”

I forcibly pulled Gilbert away and left the Guild with Sofia. Along the way, Sofia asked, “Is that alright?” but I replied, “It’s fine,” and acted as if nothing had happened.

He quickly disappeared from sight, but considering his in-game personality, I think he’s persistent… He might be following us from a distance.

Given Sofia’s situation, I don’t want to do anything conspicuous like forcibly chasing him away in town…

After a while, we toured the town and then returned to the inn. It was evening. As we waited for our food at the eatery attached to the inn,

“Well, what a coincidence.”

Gilbert arrived. He had been following us, after all. He was utterly blatant about it.

Before we could react, he sat down at our table and began to speak.

“Don’t be so cold. I’ve brought some information this time, you know?”

Information…? I wouldn’t expect such words from him, as he shouldn’t know anything about our objective.

His goal is undoubtedly to get closer to Sofia, but it would be too conspicuous to simply chase him away without a word. Perhaps it’s best to listen to him and handle it amicably.

“What kind of information?”

“—You two aren’t humans who operate with this town as your stronghold, are you? Plus, judging by your aura, you don’t seem like mere mercenaries.”

He looked at me and Sofia alternately. At first, there was a clear impression that he was smitten by Sofia’s appearance, but now it seemed different.

“Lately, there have been a lot more people like you. So, I thought, maybe you two are nobles who were exiled from your nation and are traveling. If so, I might be able to tell you a lot of things.”

…Aha, I see. In other words, he smelled money. He was trying to pick us up at first, but then he changed his approach after observing us. He probably thought, “If I do them a favor, I might get a good return,” and that’s why he’s interfering.

Since Sofia is a princess, Gilbert’s assessment is correct. He should be hitting the jackpot, but… wait a minute.

His initial reaction seemed to be surprise at Sofia’s elegance, but could he have seen Sofia before? Is that why he’s interfering like this? That possibility is low, but not zero.

If that’s the case, I’ll have to make sure he keeps quiet. I need to confirm that.

I looked at Sofia. She also seemed to have some concerns, and her expression was stiff. I nodded to her, meaning “Leave it to me,” and then spoke to Gilbert.

“I see, now I understand why you’re following us.”

“Oh.”

“But we don’t need it.”

“Is that so? Then what about information on safe routes with fewer monsters?”

“Sorry, but we already have that kind of information. So, we’re fine.”

I gently refused. Gilbert then made a troubled expression.

“Hmm, you seem quite wary.”

“I think that’s natural…”

Rather, why did he think we wouldn’t be wary?

“…Alright. If you don’t need it, I’ll quietly withdraw.”

Although he seemed reluctant, he easily stood up from his seat.

So, Gilbert was gone… but I think it’s fine to leave him be. However, just in case, it might be better to confirm if he knows our true identities. Sofia must have thought the same thing, as she called out to me.

“…Lord Ruon.”

“Sofia. I’ll go have a word with him.”

“Y-yes.”

Seeing her nod, I immediately took action. I left the restaurant and called out to Gilbert, who was walking dejectedly.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

Then, he looked back over his shoulder,

“It’s too soon for a change of heart…”

“I need to talk to you. Is that okay?”

Saying that, I pointed to the alley. He seemed to have decided at that point that it wasn’t going to be good news, so he sighed and said, “Alright,” and entered the alley with me.

“So, what’s up?”

“It’s about me and the Attendant… To be blunt, do you remember seeing us somewhere?”

“…Huh?”

Gilbert tilted his head. Hmm, his attitude suggests he doesn’t know… I continued.

“As you guessed, there’s a reason we’re traveling, and if you did remember us, I’d be in trouble if you told anyone about it.”

Gilbert replied, “I see,” after my explanation.

“You all are going through a lot, aren’t you?”

“What’s the answer to my question?”

“No, I spoke to you without knowing anything about you. I promise you that.”

“If that’s a lie…”

I said with a bit of intimidation, and he raised both hands, indicating he had no hostility towards me, and then said,

“Don’t make such a scary face… or rather, can I ask something?”

“What is it?”

“You said there’s a reason, but the cause of your travels like this is the Demon Race, right?”

Gilbert shrugged as he asked.

“I haven’t heard of wars between Humans recently, so you must have been driven out of your Nation by the Demon Race’s invasion, right? And you’re also wary of the Demon Race, is that correct?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then I have an interesting story. If you’re concerned about anything related to the Demon Race, there’s a good Device for your travels.”

“…A Device?”

When I asked again, he gave a meaningful smile.

“This Continent is said to have been inhabited by Angels before Humans prospered. In the Ancient Ruins supposedly left by these Angels, there are sometimes super powerful items called Artifacts… And according to scholars, there are Ancient Ruins near this Town where the type of Artifacts present is known. It’s a Mana-altering tool… If you use it, you can avoid being exposed by the Demon Race. Are you interested? If you want it, I might even help you.”

It was a sudden offer… but I couldn’t immediately agree.

Regarding Gilbert’s sudden proposal, I first made a confirmation.

“…Why are you so supportive of us?”

“You can probably guess, can’t you? I just thought that if I got involved with you here, I’d make a profit.”

—Come to think of it, I think he mentioned something about a ‘Payment on success’ reward when he joined. So, even if it means fighting the Demon Race, he’s looking for a big return.

For him, the current Guild requests are dangerous with little reward, which makes him dissatisfied. On the other hand, we seem to have risks, but if he cooperates, he might profit, and by exploring the Ancient Ruins together and getting treasure, it would be killing two birds with one stone… something like that.

“…An Artifact, huh?”

I looked at Gilbert with suspicious eyes… He just shrugged.

Indeed, there’s some truth to what he says. Even as a Princess, people’s awareness is low, so there’s not much to worry about with Humans. But the Demon Race is different. There’s a risk of her identity being exposed if her Magic Power is analyzed by chance.

For now, I’m checking on the Demon Race through my Familiar, and there are no signs that they’ve noticed the body in the Castle is a fake. So for now, it should be fine… but I’m concerned about the Artifact.

Even in the game, there were many dungeons of Ancient Ruins created by Angels. And the items sleeping deep within them were called ‘Artifacts,’ powerful items unlike ordinary ones.

These Ancient Ruins exist within an Alternate Dimension and cannot even be seen without following extremely complex procedures. I never saw them even when I was training. However, with the current invasion of the Demon Race, the Magic Power protecting the Ancient Ruins has transformed. Many Ancient Ruins have appeared… I think that was the setting in the game.

However, I’ve never heard of the Artifact Gilbert is talking about. Of course, I understood that not all Ancient Ruins existed in the game… So, what should I do?

As he says, relying on such supernatural objects might be an option to hide Sofia’s existence… but I can’t verify if this story is true.

“Trust me,”

Gilbert said. I thought for a moment… and first, before getting into the main issue, I made a confirmation.

“When you first spoke to me, you were completely trying to pick me up, weren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

He admitted it readily. I felt a bit drained, but I asked another question.

“So, are you saying you’ve changed that policy now?”

“Since you’re following me, I thought, ‘why not?’ and made a suggestion. It’s an attractive Device for you too, isn’t it?”

…The fact that he’s even bringing this up isn’t entirely out of good will; he’s definitely after a reward, but it’s also true that I’m interested in the Artifacts and such.

What should I do…? As I was thinking, Gilbert added.

“As for my reward, the treasures I get from delving into the Ancient Ruins will be fine. I don’t effectively need the Artifacts, so they’re fine. It’s a good return for getting involved.”

“….About those Ancient Ruins, aren’t you going with anyone else?”

“The people in the Guild are a bit too weak, and besides, they wouldn’t take the bait anyway.”

“Even we might be out of our depth, you know?”

When I asked, Gilbert suddenly gave a wry smile.

“Hey, hey, at least it’s obvious to me that you all have considerable skill.”

…Similar to how he smelled money when he saw Sofia, he might have some criteria for assessing our skills. Perhaps he has some kind of special trait as a companion character.

“You’ve been through a lot to chase me like this, haven’t you? So, I judged your situation and brought this up. You seem good militarily, and I thought if you needed the Artifacts I mentioned, you’d take the bait.”

From his tone, it seems he was originally looking for Humans who could serve as combatants for the Ancient Ruins. Getting the treasures from the Ancient Ruins is a benefit for him… Plus, for us, we could get an Artifact that would prevent Sofia’s identity from being revealed… if what he says is true.

If it were a dungeon that existed in the game, I could be certain, but this is different. The event of encountering Gilbert is as in the game, but this kind of conversation is outside the game’s scope. Now, what to do?

“You can decide after consulting with the Attendant.”

Here, Gilbert says to me.

“If you feel it’s suspicious, you can pretend this conversation never happened. If you get interested, come to the front of the Guild you visited tomorrow morning at dawn.”

With those words, he leaves… I also start walking back to the store.

He’s a lighthearted character, but he wasn’t the type to lie when talking like this… Plus, he wasn’t a character who was in cahoots with the Demon Race. Therefore, I can assume the proposal itself is legitimate.

The story about the Artifact is certainly fascinating. If I can deceive Sofia in terms of Magic Power, it’s unlikely to be discovered.

I return to her seat and talk to her. After hearing everything, Sofia expressed something close to admiration for Gilbert.

“So, he had figured out a lot of things?”

“He probably thought we were different from ordinary Adventurers… Our first meeting wasn’t great, though. Anyway, about the Artifact.”

“Considering the possibility of Magic Power being analyzed, I think it would be better to have it… if his story is true.”

“Right… Sofia, do you think we should participate?”

“I also think it’s a good opportunity to train my Spirit’s Power.”

“What about Lefin?”

“I agree, too.”

She says, appearing next to Sofia… Hmm, indeed, this can also be used for her training, which I had planned. I’m curious about the Monster’s level, but if it’s a level Gilbert can handle, then it probably isn’t extremely strong.

I recall his initial level. It should have been slightly higher than a Protagonist character, but now that some time has passed since the scenario began, it might be a bit higher. In any case, his abilities might not be much different from Sofia’s current ones.

And he’s talking about exploring a dungeon… It seems Sofia also thinks changing her Magic Power is important. It’ll be good training, so let’s do it.

“Alright. So, we’ll go along with Gilbert’s plan. However, if I feel anything suspicious, we’ll turn back immediately.”

“Understood.”

In the worst-case scenario, if there’s trouble, I’ll just deal with it… And so, we decided to go get the Artifact.