The day after spending a night in Post Town, I went to the Dining Hall in the inn for breakfast. The food at this inn was quite delicious, and I went there with a little excitement, but—

Good morning.

My eyes widened when I saw Kyarun raising her hand with a cheerful greeting.

…What’s wrong?

Good morning.

She prompted me for a greeting. Thinking that the conversation wouldn’t progress, I inwardly sighed and replied.

Good morning… What’s up?

Oh, I just wanted to talk.

You wanted to talk, so you came all the way from the Fortress for that?

I was already in town yesterday.

Could it be that she followed us? If so, what is her purpose…?

“Alright, alright, sit down.”

She hurried me. I sighed and sat down at the same table as her.

“Right now, you and your group are on a journey to defeat the Demon Race, aren’t you?”

She got to the point. When I answered, “That’s right,” Kyarun pleaded with me.

“Please, let me accompany you for a little while.”

…Huh?

I was a bit stunned.

In the game, there were cases where characters would beg to join your party like this, but never Kyarun… Yesterday, I verified a sub-event and concluded that things would proceed according to the Game Scenario, but now, the next day, something unexpected has happened.

“Hold on a second. Why are you asking to come with us?”

“You and Sofia are going to the Gnome Dwelling, right?”

“Huh? Oh, well, yes.”

“I want to go with you.”

“…Do you want to make a contract with the Spirits?”

“Yes. I’m nervous about going alone.”

“…Can Kyarun use magic?”

In the game, she wasn’t supposed to have learned any… But here, Kyarun surprisingly nodded.

“A while ago, a Magic-user came to Theol’s place. At that time, I was told I had some aptitude, so I learned a few spells.”

…Considering that Kyarun in the game hadn’t learned any magic, this is clearly different from the game.

“By the way, what kind of magic?”

“Um, ‘Stone Blast’ and ‘Flame Needle’… and also ‘Bird Soar’ and ‘Protection.’ Four of them.”

…‘Stone Blast’ is a lower-tier earth attack spell. And ‘Protection’ is a lower-tier non-elemental spell that increases defense. What surprised me among the spells she learned was ‘Bird Soar’ and ‘Protection.’

“You learned those four from a Magic-user?”

“Yes. They explained some things, and then I touched something like a Crystal Sphere…”

—Although limited to lower-tier magic, there are items that allow you to learn corresponding spells if you use certain items. In the game, they were treated as rare items and could only be obtained by visiting the Academia. Therefore, I don’t have them either.

Using such items on her without hesitation… This in itself is inexplicable.

“By the way, who is that Magic-user?”

“A man named Richard. He looked to be in his late twenties.”

…I don’t know that name. At least, he never appeared in the game. Well, since he’s using magic-learning items on a companion character, I don’t think there’s any real harm to us… but I’ll keep in mind that such a person exists.

Soon after, Sofia also appeared. She was surprised to see Kyarun, and when I explained that Kyarun wanted to accompany us to the Gnome’s place, Sofia looked at me.

“…Kyarun, can I talk to Sofia?”

“Please do.”

I stood up, and Sofia and I began to talk. The first thing I wondered was—

“Sofia, was this what you meant by your premonition yesterday?”

“No, it wasn’t… I certainly wasn’t expecting this kind of development…”

She had a troubled expression. However, she seemed concerned about Kyarun and made a suggestion to me.

“Since it’s only as far as the Gnome Dwelling, perhaps we could allow her to accompany us? I’m also curious about her actions…”

“I’m fine with it too… Since it’s temporary companionship, we don’t need to explain Sofia’s background, right?”

“I think that’s fine. I don’t think it will be revealed unless we bring it up ourselves… Should we talk about Lefin?”

“If they find out you’re contracted with the Queen of Sylphs, they might suspect something, right? For now, let’s leave it alone unless we’re pressed for information.”

“Understood. Let’s go with that.”

Having made our decision, we went to Kyarun.

“How about it?”

“…We don’t mind. By the way–“

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay for my own travel expenses.”

Kyarun said. I replied, “Understood,” and then asked another question.

“It’s fine to go to the Gnome Dwelling, but… why now?”

“I was planning to make a contract with the Spirits, but I thought traveling would be too difficult, so I hadn’t. I guess you could say Ruon and the others were the catalyst.”

“A catalyst, huh.”

“Yes, and–“

Kyarun said, looking at me.

“I feel like I can get hints to become stronger by acting with Ruon and everyone.”

…She’s saying something similar to why Sofia tried to apprentice under me. For example, Gilbert, whom I was involved with at the Ancient Ruins, said he was drawn to me… Kyarun observed us quite a bit during yesterday’s battle. Perhaps that was the trigger for her wanting to accompany us.

It’s possible my status is influencing her decision. I realized again that I need to consider that when getting involved in future events.

Coming to a conclusion in my head, I conveyed my acceptance to Kyarun once more.

“…For now, accompanying us is fine. I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you too.”

–And so, Kyarun temporarily joined our party.

After finishing breakfast, we left the inn and headed towards the Gnome Dwelling. It’s about a three-day journey from here with no significant obstacles. We should arrive as planned.

According to the information provided by my Familiar about the Protagonists, they aren’t yet in a situation to challenge the Five Great Demons. Assuming there won’t be any immediate problems, I began Sofia’s training.

Soon after we started, Kyarun spoke to us.

“By the way, I can use it too.”

“You mentioned that this morning… but the way we use it is different from the usual.”

“I was told it was useful, and Mr. Richard taught me how to apply it.”

Who is that person… Feeling curious, I made a suggestion to her.

“May I see it?”

“Sure.”

Upon my acceptance, she began her Incantation–

“Watch this… Fly!”

As she said that, she activated Magic. Her body floated gently, then she sped down the Highway at an astonishing speed.

“Ohh…!?”

Her control was quite impressive, and I was surprised in turn.

Sofia, too, was astonished and stared at the sight. Eventually, Kyarun returned and gave us a smug look, as if to say, “How about that?”

“I’m good at it, right? I practiced a lot, and Mr. Richard taught me a good way to do it.”

“Oh, is that so?”

In that case… I shifted my gaze to Sofia,

“Sofia. I’m not good at teaching it, so why don’t you learn from Kyarun?”

“Huh, from Kyarun?”

“I don’t mind.”

Kyarun accepted. Sofia was silent for a while, but… after a moment, perhaps considering the control Kyarun had just shown, she turned to her and spoke up.

“Y-yes, please teach me.”

“Alright! Then first—”

Her explanation began. At that moment, I felt a flicker of unease for some reason… but for now, I decided to watch over them.