Sylvie changed her stance as I appeared from behind, turning her body towards me and raising her sword. Her crimson eyes, deepened by the sunset, pierced through me.

Facing her again, I was surprised by her slender build. It’s a perfectly normal physique once you know she’s a woman, but looking at her as a man fighting in the Arena, she’s surprisingly thin.

Her features are androgenous, with a somewhat boyish feel—in my previous life, she had many fans due to her appearance, and I remember there being a lot of fan art of her among game characters.

“From the looks of it, you seem like a traveling human. Are you confident enough to interrupt?”

She questions me with a sharp gaze, but I can’t answer. This happened by accident. Can’t you understand that? I thought about talking back, but I gave up. It’s no longer a situation where I can escape.

The problem is what to do about Sylvie, who is in front of me… Now that I’ve gotten involved this far, should I make her an ally, or should I ignore her and look for others?

Since she was strong due to the game system’s benefits, honestly, if you ask if she’d be effective in the real world… However, the skill she showed in fending off the large man earlier was undoubtedly genuine. Since she used Intermediate Techniques, her level seems high, and she gives the impression that she could keep up with our fights even if she became an ally.

While I was thinking, Sylvie entered combat stance… I fought the urge to sigh and stared at my opponent. Then,

“You’ve been paying a lot of attention to me since earlier… Is there something on my face?”

Sylvie asks me. There’s no sign of displeasure. It seems to be a pure question.

“No… it’s nothing.”

I say, drawing my sword. If I fought seriously, I could defeat her in an instant… but I don’t know what would happen if I did that.

However, deliberately losing is also dangerous. First, I’m not even sure if I can act like I’ve been defeated, and if I’m found out, it’ll be a storm of criticism. It’s certain I won’t be able to walk around Town. If that happens, it will hinder things other than finding allies.

So, what to do…? While I was racking my brain, the battle began. I don’t have time to think slowly.

Sylvie attacks. Seeing that I’ve only drawn my sword and haven’t made a move, she might be thinking of ending it quickly.

What she unleashed was a simple horizontal slash. Its sharpness was top-notch, but—my body moved on its own. I received the sword and parried it skillfully.

Ooh, cheers from the surroundings. It seems they’re surprised that I blocked Sylvie’s attack.

“You’re good.”

Sylvie also says. But this situation is troubling. What should I do?

This isn’t an event that existed in the game, so I have no idea what the right answer is. Should I stick with it and force a draw? No, I feel like Sylvie would get fixated if I did that… So should I intentionally lose? But Sylvie might see through that—

Sylvie’s sword approaches me. In an instant—my arm moved reflexively.

It was also a habit ingrained from continuous training… First, I parry Sylvie’s sword. The slight momentum I added slows her movement.

The original tactic was to follow up immediately with a Sword Strike to the body… but I stopped just before counterattacking. At the same time, I took a step back.

I moved to a position just barely out of range. If I were to attack, I would have to take a step forward… And then,

“…Incomprehensible.”

Sylvie says. Incomprehensible—she must mean why I didn’t counterattack just now.

“Are you holding back?”

How should I answer…? After thinking this far, I realized it was all meaningless. No matter how much I thought, I wouldn’t reach a conclusion. And meeting her was a kind of fate—if so,

Sylvie moves. At the same time, the approaching sword flash is sharp, and an ordinary Warrior wouldn’t have been able to catch it.

But I blocked it. Then I turned to counterattack and engaged Sylvie. She received it, parrying twice, then three times… but I went for the decisive blow on the fourth.

I applied force—and sharply parried Sylvie’s sword. She immediately tried to retreat, but I closed the distance faster.

In an instant, I thrust my sword at her throat. The match was decided—then cheers erupted from the surroundings.

Apparently, few Humans had bet on me, and the Humans who hit the jackpot were visibly happy. It’s certainly a noticeable action, but it doesn’t seem like I’ll be criticized for it, nor will I be unable to walk around Town.

Some individuals seemed to be trying to rush towards me, but… before they could get close, Sylvie spoke.

“…With that skill, you don’t seem to have any business in a place like this. Couldn’t you get hired by some reputable Humans?”

“I have things to do… I didn’t gain this strength to defeat Warriors.”

With those words, she seemed to understand what I was trying to say.

“So, your goal is Monsters and the Demon Race?”

“That’s right.”

When I replied, Sylvie murmured “I see” and sheathed her sword.

“…Would you like to talk for a bit?”

“To me?”

“I have little experience fighting Demons and the Demon Race. I want information about what kind of beings they are.”

If I agree here, it’s certain to lead to recruiting Sylvie as a companion—but for now, I’ll put off deciding whether to actually make her a companion and just talk.

“Understood.”

I agreed to her words. Sylvie said, “Nice to meet you.” If I were alone, there was a possibility that I would be caught by the people around me and it would become a difficult situation—but perhaps because she was there, we quickly left the place.

We could have gone back to the inn we were using, but instead, we visited a small Tavern. It was open despite being midday, but naturally, there were few customers.

We entered the shop, took seats, and while drinking milk, I explained about the Demon Race and Demons, and also about our journey’s progress.

“—I see. Thank you for the information. From your tone just now, it sounds like you and your Attendant are constantly moving to defeat the Demon Race.”

“That’s right… There are various reasons… but one thing I can say is that we’ve been driven out of the Nation.”

“…To save the Nation, I suppose. You seem to be doing something quite grand.”

Sylvie even shows a wry smile. That reaction is natural.

“And you came here to strengthen your Attendant’s combat power?”

“Something like that.”

“I understand the situation. Thank you for explaining.”

She speaks while drinking milk, just like me… Her drinking posture is somehow elegant and lovely. I’m reminded anew that she is, indeed, a woman.

Here, I think for a bit… If I were to make her a companion, in the game, she would accidentally meet the Protagonist and cooperate in battle by solving a commotion together… Has that event already ended?

If one of the Protagonists was doing it, it wouldn’t be strange to get a report from a Familiar, but there’s none… So, then,

“…Hey, speaking of which, one thing.”

Hmm?

I know this town hasn’t been attacked by the Demon Race or demons yet, but what’s the public safety like?

A lot of people have been flowing in. Naturally, the more people there are, the more trouble there will be.

From the looks of it, you seem to have been involved in something.

A clash between warriors… Sylvie must have been involved in that.

Well, yeah. There was a situation where a person who was originally in this town and warriors from other towns were on the verge of fighting.

It seems that event is over after all. However, I’m not the Protagonist.

Was it resolved?

Yeah. With my help and… a magic-user’s cooperation.

A magic-user… can you tell me their name?

Name? Why?

I have a friend who has a knack for getting involved in trouble. I was just wondering if it might be them.

Oh, sure. Their name is—

Sylvie answered, looking into my eyes.

Kuuza Baffat.

That person, like Sylvie, was one of the Three Powers.