The men who heard my voice turned their heads to glare at me.
"Who are you?"
"Do you know this girl or something?"
"Not particularly."
"Ha! Then mind your own business and get lost."
"What's this? He may look scrawny and weak, but he's got a pretty face, boss. Are you sure he's a man?"
They started laughing among themselves after that exchange.
Unbelievable.
Their dialogue was so stereotypically thuggish that it was almost deflating.
I maintained the kindest smile I could, hoping they would just let it go and move on.
"This is a warning. It would be better for your well-being to stop now and quietly withdraw."
"What? Ha!"
One of the men approached me.
"Listen here. You're trying to sound tough with that deep voice of yours. Whatever happens next is entirely your fault. Got it?"
After saying that—
Two thugs behind him drew their swords.
"So that's what you chose to draw? Swords?"
"That's right. 100% real swords. You'll pay dearly for daring to warn us. Go ahead and call the guards if you want. I wonder whose side they'll take?"
"Sigh..."
I prayed for their souls.
The moment they drew their swords... they had no chance of defeating us.
"Hey."
And the person who made it impossible for them to win—
Irene slowly drew her sword and approached us.
"Come at me all at once. I don't want to waste time."
"Huh? What's this? A pretty lady carrying a sword? Are you this young master's bodyguard or something?"
"Looking at how he has a bodyguard, he must be some hollow noble nobody. How many years has it been since the empire fell? What good is bloodline now? Power! This street is governed by the law of power!"
Ignoring the man's words, I turned to Irene.
"Lady Irene. Let's finish this quickly. It's starting to get annoying."
"Understood."
"What? Annoying? You bastard... are you looking down on commoners, you piece of trash?!"
"Kill that bastard!"
After making their own judgments and building up hatred, the men rushed at me all at once.
And then.
*
Naturally...
They couldn't defeat Irene. Not a chance.
"P-please spare me...!"
"Noble sir, please, please forgive us just this once...!"
The man who had been ranting about commoners just moments ago was now on his knees, pressing his head to the ground and begging for our forgiveness.
Seeing such a pathetic sight, I sighed and asked Irene:
"What should we do?"
"These thugs should be handed over to the security forces. Our Lord would prefer that. Conveniently, there are guards coming this way."
As she said, guards who had detected the commotion were rushing toward us.
"L-Lord...?"
"C-could it be...!"
As soon as they heard the word "Lord," the men's faces turned deathly pale.
Come to think of it, from their perspective, they had just harassed government officials.
Since they were residents of the territory confronting their ruler, I could understand why they were so frightened.
"S-save me...!"
As he tried to get up and run away, Irene quickly tripped him.
"Where do you think you're going? It would be better for you to realize in prison whose temper you've provoked."
"Ugh...!!"
And so, we handed the thugs over to the guards who had hurriedly arrived.
I didn't even need to step in; Irene handled everything very skillfully.
Come to think of it, this was essentially a patrol activity for maintaining public order.
Given her high strength, it made sense that she would be skilled at patrol duties.
I was wondering if accomplishments made without orders would still count as merits when I suddenly realized I had forgotten something. I turned my head and approached the trembling woman.
"It's okay now. You can calm down. It's all over."
"Uh... ah, ah... uh."
She slowly raised her head.
At the same time, her face, covered with a veil, came into my view for the first time.
'...Huh?'
Pink hair, and eyes that were a slightly lighter shade of pink...
In this game, there was only one woman with pink hair.
'...Reika?'
Reika.
For anyone who had played [Garland Eternity Saga] deeply, she was a character as unforgettable as the Lord characters.
The reason was very simple.
Reika was... the continent's first magician and the strongest magician on the continent.
She was the character who firmly established the perception in classic gaming communities that "Pink" was an overpowered character.
I desperately tried to recall the pixel graphics in my memory.
Comparing them, I thought she definitely looked similar.
Of course, the Reika in front of me now was much prettier than the pixel graphics Reika, but that had been the case with most of the female generals I had met so far.
'But why is Reika here?'
From what I remembered, she was supposed to make her mark much later.
According to her character setting, she should be wandering around as an orphan right now.
But... looking at her clothes, she seemed more like a daughter from a well-off family than an orphan.
"Um... excuse me."
"Ah."
Only then did I realize I had been staring at her absentmindedly.
"I apologize. Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes... ah, um, uh... I, that is."
She nodded with a timid voice.
She seemed to be quite shy.
These personal characteristics were information I couldn't have known from the game.
In the game, all the generals just recited their pre-programmed lines.
This time, Irene, who was standing next to me, spoke up.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah... y-yes...! Th-thank... thank you...!"
I could see her eyes darting around nervously.
Come to think of it, with her face covered by a veil... she looked like she was doing something she "shouldn't be caught doing."
Did she have some circumstances?
At that moment, my mind started racing.
'...If this woman is indeed Reika, it would be good to establish a connection now.'
The continent's first and most powerful magician.
She would definitely be a great asset to Lunarienne's army.
I didn't know why she was here, but meeting her was fortunate in itself.
Currently, she wasn't yet famous. If I could slowly persuade her to join me, that would be the best outcome.
With that judgment, I bowed my head and asked her name in the most respectful tone possible—
naturally bringing up the question.
"We are... well."
"...My name is Reika Nighthart."
'Huh?'
It's good that her name is Reika, but Reika Nighthart?
That was a bit strange.
The Reika I knew didn't have a surname. Because she was an orphan.
And Nighthart as a surname.
That's a surname I've heard somewhere before...
I couldn't remember exactly, but it was definitely a surname that remained in my memory.
Anyway.
Now that I knew her name, I could be certain.
This woman is Reika. The woman who will become the continent's greatest magician in the future.
Knowing that, what I needed to do was incredibly simple.
"Yes, Ms. Reika. We are from the Aishers army, and we were conducting security maintenance activities in the streets. We would like to quietly escort you to your residence so that you won't be harmed again, away from the eyes of others."
"...!"
She reacted to the words "quietly escort you."
Let me dangle the bait a bit more.
"Please don't feel burdened. Maintaining the safety of the territory's residents is essentially our reason for existence."
"That's right. You don't need to be too wary."
Fortunately, Irene, who was beside me, was matching her words with mine.
As I always felt, it was incredibly reassuring that she consistently aligned with me at critical moments.
"Is... that so...?"
Reika slowly looked at me, then thought about something—
and slowly nodded her head and said:
"Then... p-please, I would appreciate it."
'Is she just a shy personality?'
When controlling Reika in the game, I only knew how to blast magic spells, not what kind of person she was, so her demeanor felt refreshingly new to me.
As we followed behind her—
she kept looking around as if wary of her surroundings.
Did she have some circumstances?
I wanted to ask in detail, but... being too forward on a first meeting could ruin things.
'Keep the first meeting as natural as possible.'
There was no need to rush.
For the time being, I would be affiliated with the Aishers army, and if she resided in this castle, opportunities to meet would inevitably increase.
After following her for a while—
we arrived at a quite spacious mansion with a large yard.
"This... this is it."
'She lives in a really nice place?'
I had guessed from her expensive-looking clothes.
It seemed that in this world line, Reika was not an orphan.
Was she adopted into a wealthy family?
I gave a simple greeting.
"We will strive to patrol more thoroughly in the future to ensure you don't experience such incidents again. I hope you can recover from this ordeal."
"Yes, yes...! I... thank, thank you both so much. Well then...!"
After Reika entered the mansion.
Only then did Irene ask me a question.
"Swen. Do you know her?"
"No. This is my first time meeting her."
While I do know of her, it's true that this is the first time seeing her face in person, so it's not a lie.
"I see. It felt like you were dealing with someone you knew."
...You're more perceptive than I thought, Lady Irene.
"Still, Swen, I've gained a new appreciation for you."
"Pardon?"
"Even when such incidents happen on the street, most people would just ignore and walk past. But you didn't."
After saying that, Irene spoke with quite an enthusiastic voice.
"Good. I definitely need to stay by your side at all times."
"How did you reach that conclusion?"
"Well, if I hadn't been there, you might have been harmed."
"..."
Honestly.
If it came down to pure strength against those thugs... I would have lost.
The reason I could speak so confidently was partly because I was a general affiliated with the Aishers army...
but half of it was because I was certain Irene would protect me.
"I'm just glad I could be of help to you. Hehe."
Irene kept laughing as if something was amusing her.
Is she that happy to be of help to me?
"Shall we head back then?"
"Yes. I was thinking of having a cup of tea today."
"I'd like that."
And so, I returned to our new home with Irene.
*
"Miss Reika. I'll keep your secret about sneaking out, but you must never do this again. If the master finds out, there will be serious trouble. Do you understand?"
"..."
After returning home, Reika apologized to the head maid who was scolding her, then went to her room, lay on the bed, hugged her pillow, and fell into thought.
It was good that she had gone out secretly against her adoptive father's orders to stay in as much as possible—
but she never thought she would encounter thugs.
She could have handled those thugs with her reputation, but doing so would have revealed that she had been sneaking out.
In that situation where she couldn't do anything—she met that person.
'He was so handsome... that man.'
The white-haired man who saved her.
Moreover, the red-haired woman beside him was enough to stir Reika's heart.
The way she took down the thugs with a single strike as a woman was incredibly cool.
Both of them were essentially the ideal images of men and women that she had in her mind.
If they were both affiliated with the Aishers army, could she meet them if she asked her adoptive father?
But as soon as she thought that, she felt drained.
Her adoptive father would never grant her personal requests that had nothing to do with her training.
Of course, she knew it was thanks to her adoptive father that she could live in this nice house without worrying about food...
But living constantly caged like this was suffocating.
Naturally, she didn't want to return to her previous life where she was on the brink of starvation, but... lately, even that thought was wavering.
After all, it was a time when she was incredibly free, even if she was wandering the streets.
"For the time being, focus only on handling mana cleanly without external contact. When the time comes, I'll lift the ban on going out. Understand?"
She pondered her adoptive father's words.
She herself understood the importance of reading "mana" and mastering this ability.
If she could bring peace to the continent with this power, she would gladly do so.
But... it was too lonely and desolate by herself.
A life spent constantly detecting something floating in the air was too boring and difficult.
'...It would be nice to meet them again.'
And so, without filling the emptiness in her heart, she could only wish for what seemed like an impossible desire.
* * *
Time flowed again, three weeks later.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
Irene and I woke up early in the morning, preparing to go to the royal palace.
It was our first meeting as members of the Aishers army.
It was like making our debut.
"Let's walk side by side, Lady Irene. Proudly, for all to see."
Understanding the true meaning of my words, Irene smiled and said:
"Yes, Swen."
And so, making it clear to anyone watching that we were part of the same group—
we headed towards the Balhart Royal Palace.