The Priestess Warrior Ririsha’s location is Ekari, a town quite close to Count Azzark’s castle. However, it’s not really a castle town, but more like a slightly expanded post town with an increased population. Originally, Aazack’s territory was an agricultural village area, a place without large capital cities. In that context, this town near the Count’s Castle might be considered large.

I managed to arrive before the event fully began. It was morning. The day was sunny, though not perfectly clear.

I entered the town and looked around. Perhaps due to heavy taxes, the faces of the residents walking the streets were grim. It wouldn’t be surprising if some were complaining, but it seemed everyone was silent, likely because it was forbidden by proclamation.

Amidst this, the Priestess Warrior Ririsha was supposed to be the only one showing spirit… Aazack himself had stated in the game that he was quite wary of her. He had presumably received instructions from the Demon Race regarding her elimination, so it was certain that trouble would have erupted eventually, even if she hadn’t acted independently.

Ultimately, she went alone, and as a result, she was brutally… Once inside the Count’s Castle, it was practically extraterritorial, allowing them to do as they pleased. There was also a story that Aazack was interested in her power and, after killing her, intended to use the remaining magic power in her body to further strengthen himself.

Power… what Aazack sought from the Demon Race was power. The Demon Race, recognizing the Human Side’s resistance as troublesome, repeatedly invaded while also cleverly placating Humans with promises of power and rewards, employing methods to defeat them without fighting. Aazack was one such individual who was swayed.

But with me here, I won’t let that happen… I stepped into the Church. As I entered the grounds, one of the Sisters called out to me.

“Are you here to pray?”

“Oh, no. I just stopped by after a long time and wanted to see how the Church was doing.”

The Sister replied, “Is that so?” There seemed to be no suspicion.

I was about to go inside—just then, I heard loud voices.

“—Anyway, I—”

“No! If you leave the town—”

“But, we can’t allow such tyranny—”

A man’s voice and a woman’s voice. The man’s voice was deeper, older, likely a Priest. The woman’s voice was soft and young. However, she sounded quite aggressive now, perhaps carried away by emotion.

Perhaps because it could be heard outside, the Sister gave a wry smile.

“I apologize. Things are a bit hectic right now.”

“…Is it about the proclamation in this town?”

The Sister nodded at my mention.

“Yes. I’m sure you understand that things are very difficult. If you don’t want to get involved in trouble, I think it would be best to leave the town immediately.”

I nodded at her words—and at that moment, I sensed a presence behind me.

They’re here… I muttered in my head, then turned around.

The timing was almost exactly the same as my arrival… Two Knights stood before the Church grounds.

One was Eina. However, compared to when she escaped the castle, her valor had increased, and she wore blue armor coated with magic.

The other was a Heavy Knight, clad in silver armor, with a physique that seemed two meters tall. His name was Balzard Agastor. He was one of the ‘Three Powers’ in the game.

He wasn’t wearing a helmet, so his face was visible. He was probably around forty years old. He had a strong face with faint wrinkles and fiery red hair. He was a person best described as magnanimous; though he had a sword at his hip, I thought a battle-axe would suit him much better.

“This is it.”

“Y-yes, it seems so. Balzard, I’ll negotiate first.”

The two conversed… Familiar’s report indicated that Eina was becoming one of the central figures in the Knight Order. This likely involved her Sage’s Bloodline, and perhaps her high leadership abilities were also being relied upon.

The two noticed me. I bowed and made way for them. As they approached, Balzard spoke to me first.

“Are you a traveler?”

“Yes. I’m here to meet an acquaintance.”

I just answered that… I should probably have a plausible reason ready. Something like, while Sofia was training, I got worried about an acquaintance and used magic to come meet them… that kind of reason would be best.

Balzard replied, “I see,” and entered the Church with Eina. I watched them go. If the two asked, an event should occur… I noticed the Sister looking at the closed door, and I let out a small sigh.

“It seems there’s a lot going on. Were those Knights here for the Priestess Warrior?”

I asked the Sister. She tilted her head and replied, “Probably.”

Now, what will happen from here… In the game, an event would occur within five minutes—just as I was thinking that,

“I’m not going with you!”

A particularly loud voice. Even the Sister was startled. With those words, the Church door opened.

A person burst out from inside. A woman with lustrous blue hair, wearing the blue priestly robe that female Priestess Warriors usually wear.

He had a very mature aura…he must have been in his mid-twenties. Appropriate for her age… no, she probably has a wind personality that is even older than her age. This is definitely related to her ability as a Priestess Warrior.

She glances at me and then tries to walk away. There…

“A dispute?”

Ask a question. Then, the other person――Ririsha turned her head towards me and stopped.

“…Are you a traveler?”

“That kind of place”

“This Town is extremely dangerous. You should leave immediately.”

He declared with an air of compulsion. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, but somehow managed to hold it back.

Just like that, Ririsha leaves the Church grounds and starts walking… On the night she meets the Protagonist, she begins to act secretly. If I knew that, I could also deal with it.

“It was a great sword performance.”

Balzard’s voice. When I looked, Eina and him were approaching me with wry smiles on their faces.

“However, with the way it looks, it seems like it’s likely to be a waste of time…what should we do?”

“Let’s talk a little more…we’re staying here for one night today.”

The two of them were summarizing their story while walking…so I called out to them.

“It looks like Knight… was it for the person you just talked about?”

Balzard answered this question.

“Oh, yes.”

“I feel like I came here to ask for your cooperation in preparation for War with Demons.”

“That’s about it, but are you interested in something?”

――The reason why I spoke to them like this was to find out a little bit about what Eina and the others would do in the future. If you have the determination to take on the Five Great Demons, you’ll have to deal with Sofia, which can be a bit of a hassle. As expected, it is impossible to read Eina and the others’ feelings through Familiar observation, so I wanted to contact them and get information about what they were thinking.

“No, I was traveling in Continent… and I was curious about the situation in the Demon Race, so I wanted to talk to you. If you don’t mind, would you mind exchanging information? I could also talk a little about the turmoil in Robeil Kingdom, where the War with Demons was held the other day.”

Eina and the others seemed to be interested in those words, and they stared at me.

Now, what will happen… After a while, the two of them looked at each other, and then Eina spoke.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me?”

“Ah, it doesn’t matter. I would like to know more or less about the current situation of Mr. Knight and the others.”

“Okay. There are some things I can’t answer, but…let’s talk for a while.”

Okay…I muttered to myself and decided to talk to Eina and the others.