Cheating.

That’s right.

It’s totally cheating.

Until now, I never even touched magic, but now I can use it, and with that magic, I defeated a Black Grizzly.

I don’t get it.

It’s literally cheating.

To be able to use magic without any effort, what else could it be?

“……”

The mysterious offbeat skill, Cheat Code Manipulation.

This must have been the trigger for activating the magic.

Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about this skill. The fact that it wasn’t the 《Silver Sword Saint》 skill was shocking, and I never even thought about Cheat Code Manipulation. I just assumed it was some trash skill that only increases attack power.

But, when you think about it, it’s a weird story.

If it was just an attack power increase, there should be a unique skill called “Attack Power Up.” Cheat Code Manipulation, on the other hand, is something no one’s ever heard of.

What in the world is this skill?

But that’s not something I should be thinking about right now.

It’s good to analyze the skill, but I need to properly deal with the princess as well.

“Umm… Long time no see, Princess Raymira.”

“A-Arios…”

For someone like a princess, Raymira’s appearance was utterly disgraceful. Sitting on her rear, she just looked up at me with a pitiful expression. She didn’t say anything, but there was no dignity whatsoever.

“……Mmm.”

Perhaps noticing her own blunder, Princess Raymira puffs her cheeks in frustration.

“When it’s just the two of us, call me Ray, and no honorifics allowed… I told you that, didn’t I?”

“Oh, right, you did say that.”

“……Arios?”

She glared at me with a smile.

Even though she was slumping.

“Okay, okay. No honorifics.”

“……I’m glad you understood.”

Princess Raymira—correction, Ray—stood up, looking quite pleased with herself.

She hasn’t changed.

She’s always been the same.

The Macba family, who has protected the royal family for generations, is naturally close to them. When I was a potential “Silver Sword Saint,” my father once took me to visit and greet them.

It was there that I met the Second Princess—Raymira Rii Arceus.

Since we were the same age, we hit it off right away. Like typical children, we often talked about how we’d get married when we grew up.

Despite being royalty, she wasn’t pretentious at all.

In fact, her personality was more akin to common folk.

She often wore light clothing and would sneak out into town.

She was probably just venting some frustration by going out today too. Ray, in her current attire, didn’t look like royalty at all. She wore a deep hat, and if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t even realize she was the Second Princess.

Yes, she hasn’t changed at all.

—But.

“……Ray. This is a good opportunity. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Eh…?”

“You heard me, right? I’m not the ‘Silver Sword Saint.’ It’s… unfortunately, impossible for me to serve as your guard anymore.”

—So, it’s time to say goodbye.

Now that I’ve left the Macba family, I no longer have any connections to the royal family. I won’t be able to see Ray again.

Ray hasn’t changed at all.

But I had no choice but to change. Because I didn’t have any talent with a sword.

But then.

The words that Ray spoke next were completely unexpected.

“……Yeah. I heard. I can’t forgive them for abandoning you just because you didn’t have talent. Honestly, I think this country is rotten.”

“Huh…?”

“That’s why I’m going on a journey! I’m worried about you, Arios, so—look!!”

With that, Ray swapped her backpack and opened it, showing me the contents.

Inside were—so many gold coins that they were blinding.

“Hey, what’s this…?”

“This should be enough for now, right? Come on, let’s find a good town to settle in!”

No, no, no.

This is bad.

Did she leave the castle for my sake?

She could get caught for kidnapping a royal or something!

Perhaps sensing my concerns, Ray puffed her chest out proudly and said.

“It’s okay! I left a note behind, so it’s fine!!”

“No, no…”

That’s not going to solve the fundamental problem.

“And, why? I’ve got nothing going for me. Why would you follow me…?”

“Why?…”

Ray blinked in confusion and then blushed, before hugging my arm with both of hers.

“It’s fine! I want to do this! Is that bad?”

“…………Really, you haven’t changed a bit.”

Honestly, she’s always been the same.

Headstrong, careless—but more honest than anyone else.

“Fine, fine. But… just a little bit, okay? If you get caught up in some weird trouble, it’s going to be a big deal.”

“Yeah!!”

And with that, Ray broke into a bright smile.