The moment I thought, “No way,” Yusuka took a step closer to the girl—Romilda. Naturally, she was wary, staring at the Knights.

However, there was a wall behind her. If things continued like this, she would be taken away by Yusuka and the others. Of course, I had to stop them—but, if I were to appear, wouldn’t Romilda be wary of me too? I didn’t have any means to deal with that, and no time either.

“—I guess there’s no other choice.”

After muttering, I stood in front of the Knight who was trying to approach. I hadn’t dispelled my Magic yet, so Yusuka and the others hadn’t noticed me. If I interfered with them, the Magic would automatically dispel, so I needed to time it right—

Romilda took a step back. But she couldn’t escape. A question suddenly crossed my mind: how did she get to this Imperial Capital? But… I’ll put everything aside for now.

“Wait.”

I spoke up. At the same time, Yusuka and the others noticed me standing directly in front of them.

“—What?”

After a moment of astonishment, Yusuka and the other Knight simultaneously drew their swords.

“Who are you?”

“Well, I’m this child’s guardian, for now.”

I tried saying it. It might be a bit awkward for Romilda’s true feelings, though.

“I apologize for letting her wander out so late at night. Could you perhaps overlook it?”

—At this point, I focused on Yusuka. He was dressed as a Knight. He never wore such attire in the game, so it was a fresh sight for me.

I considered our encounter here to be fate… I wondered if I could bring him back with me, just like Romilda.

“Don’t be foolish.”

In response to my words, Yusuka sneered and replied.

“She is a Human respectfully invited by the Humans of the court.”

“…Then why is she here?”

Another mystery arose… but I understood what Nefmeiza was trying to do.

She tried to lure her into the court under some pretext. This was the result… Did Romilda sense something dangerous?

Oh well. I’ll deal with that later.

“Respectfully, huh.”

I responded, striking a defiant pose.

“It doesn’t look like she’s complying with that at all.”

“If you interfere, I will show no mercy.”

Yusuka’s heavy words… All I could feel from them was the spirit of a Knight determined to fulfill his duty.

His personality was that of a quiet hot-blood, but in the game, he showed a fair amount of emotions. Even taking into account his work as a Knight, such an inorganic attitude felt very strange to me.

Could he be controlled…? As I considered that, I pondered what to do with him.

Even if I were to somehow take the two of them away, the means of transportation would be an issue. Richard would prepare a Monster for me, but it wouldn’t arrive until around noon tomorrow at the earliest. Movement Magic couldn’t be used to involve others, so I had no choice but to somehow carry the two of them and escape the Capital.

However… even if I were to wait for Richard to arrive before making a move, it was unlikely I’d encounter a situation like this again. Romilda and Yusuka—I had to do something about these two now or never.

“Are you listening?”

Yusuka asked me, who remained unresponsive. His voice held no emotion whatsoever. Something still felt off.

To figure that out, I suppose I have no choice but to capture him—

“I warn you. Leave now. If you disappear now, there will be nothing to do.”

That’s what one would normally say. I called out to the Familiars nearby, and there were no other Knights in the vicinity. In that case—

“…My apologies.”

“Huh?”

A momentary action. Immediately after approaching the other Knight, not Yusuka, I thrust out my right hand.

Next, I unleashed the lightning-attribute Lower-tier Magic, “Thunderbolt.” If adjusted correctly, it could have an effect similar to a stun gun, and he took a direct hit—collapsing to the ground.

Of course, it would have no effect if a Magic Barrier was constructed, but in a situation close to a surprise attack, the Knight couldn’t react to the movement either. The attack was a success. I considered targeting Yusuka, but a faint Magic Power emanated from his body, so I thought even a surprise attack wouldn’t work on him.

Next, I aimed at Yusuka—

“Whoa.”

He pointed his sword at me. I drew my sword, took a step back, and asked.

“Won’t you… quietly obey me?”

Simultaneously with my words, Yusuka attacked.

He stepped forward and swung his sword. Its sharpness was first-rate, and there was no doubt he had steadily improved his skills as a Knight.

I met his sword. The physical strength transmitted was considerable, but it was easy to deal with.

Other Knights might come if they heard the clash of swords… I should finish this quickly.

“Ha!”

With a slight breath, a flash. The first time, Yusuka managed to respond, but he failed to block the second Sword Strike, and my blade touched his armor.

Having gathered Magic Power in my sword, I immediately unleashed a Shockwave. It hit Yusuka’s body through the armor… and I definitely felt my attack pierce through.

“Ugh…”

I was about to pursue him further if he didn’t go down, but Yusuka collapsed. It was a short fight, but considering the difference in our abilities, it was a natural outcome.

Then I turned around. Seeing Romilda still frozen, I spoke.

“I wonder if you’ll believe me if I say I came to help.”

“…You, are…”

After a brief silence, the girl looked up at me and asked. Her body seemed to be stiff, and there was no sign of her trying to escape for now.

“I want to talk about a lot of things, but I’ve just defeated two Knights. I can’t be too relaxed.”

My Familiar reported that there are no other Knights nearby. It would be best to leave here quickly.

“Let me ask you one question. You seemed to be chased by Knights, what was the reason?”

I doubted she would answer, but Romilda seemed to acknowledge the fact that I had helped her, and she replied without hesitation.

“Those people… tried to seal me with Magic.”

–She shouldn’t have any knowledge of Magic, but it seems she understood the fact that she was being sealed.

Hmm, so they weren’t trying to make her an ally because she’s an Emperor Candidate. However, sealing her… I’m a little concerned that it wasn’t about execution or anything like that.

“What exactly did you mean by ‘sealing’?”

“They tried to seal my body inside a giant… Dragon Demon Stone.”

A sudden intuition. Not execution, but sealing… Could it be that they were planning to use her power as an Emperor Candidate when utilizing the special Dragon Demon Stone held by the Emperor?

If Nefmeiza has been repeating the past over and over, it wouldn’t be strange for such an idea to come to mind.

“I understand. I want to help you escape from this Town. The reason is… I’m sorry, but I’d like to explain it later.”

Romilda nodded slightly. Perhaps the fact that I helped her is a positive point, she’s docile.

“Just to confirm, do you trust me?”

“…I don’t think you’re a bad person… somehow.”

–Romilda can determine if there’s hostility due to her high potential, right? When she was invited to the Castle, she felt her life was in danger due to that ability and ran away. So, she doesn’t feel anything like that from me, so she won’t run away? I feel like her vigilance is low… but maybe she’s just confused. Well, that’s more convenient for me in the Capital City.

The flow of events for her being here is that the Knights would take her back to the Castle. At this point, the Knights hadn’t asked what they would do with her, and Romilda probably obediently followed because she was summoned by the Castle. As a result, she felt her life was in danger and fled outside the Castle… or something like that.

However, there’s one thing that bothers me. It’s not strange for the Knights to search for her. However, if they were trying to prevent her from escaping, I would think they would be guarding the Castle Gate… The soldiers in charge seemed normal, and there was no sign of reinforcements.

Does this mean they haven’t told the humans in the Castle about her? Considering that only the ‘Jet Black Sword,’ who seems to be Nefmeiza’s direct subordinate, is moving, that conclusion seems appropriate.

Here, I cut off my thoughts and opened my mouth.

“I’m glad you trust me. Well then–“

I looked at the fallen Yusuka.

“Let’s start moving to escape.”