Even at this moment, Klaus was single-handedly confronting the bears.

Crrrr, Crrrrrr!

―But don’t worry too much, Lulu. It’s not a difficult quest!

“I’m not worried about that…”

Klaus was significantly higher in level than the bears, so there was no risk of him getting hurt or dying.

But it felt terribly cowardly to make him face all those bears alone and flee!

“What does it matter, Princess?”

Soon Anselot stopped the horse in a quiet clearing.

“Let him do the grunt work while we rest. We need to conserve our energy for what lies ahead.”

Anselot grinned as he helped me down from the horse.

“But how can someone be so conscienceless…!”

“He chose to risk his life, why feel guilty? He must be enjoying this, having the chance to risk his life for the Princess.”

“Who would enjoy that!”

Then, I suddenly noticed something strange in the system notification.

“Eh?”

Klaus’s favorability was rising.

“Piya! I thought we could only see the favorability of those within visual range?”

―Since you registered him as an ally! An ally’s favorability significantly impacts shared experience and effects!

It meant that as Klaus’s favorability increased, the experience shared with me would also increase significantly.

‘But why is it suddenly rising…?’

Blinking in surprise, I watched his favorability increase when Anselot sat down next to me, grinning.

“See? He’s enjoying it.”

As Anselot suggested, Klaus seemed to be increasing his favorability in this situation, finding joy in risking his life for his sovereign. It was hard for me to understand.

“Fine, let’s just leave it.”

Feeling sorry for Klaus, I decided to take a break with Anselot, setting aside my feelings.

We sat side by side under a tree, watching the quest progress notifications ding.

Klaus was diligently defeating the monsters of Dreamlike Forest.

“It’s nice being just the two of us, right?”

Anselot, next to me, smiled warmly.

If it weren’t for the things he’d done, his face would seem perfectly normal, harmless, and handsome.

I looked at him quietly for a moment and then called out.

“Anselot.”

“Why do you call my name so meaningfully? It’s thrilling.”

Anselot playfully rolled his eyes, giggling.

I warned him in a very serious voice.

“The real trial of this forest isn’t about defeating monsters.”

“?”

“Be careful of the mist.”

Soon, Iley’s mist would envelop us.

In the original story, Klaus managed to overcome the trial of the mist on his own.

But since Anselot isn’t a character from the original story, I felt uncertain.
“It’s a mist that preys on inner weaknesses and beguiles adventurers. If you’re caught in the illusion of the mist, you’ll forget all other purposes, so, if there’s something that might particularly tempt you, it would be wise to be on guard against it in advance.”

“……Wow.”

Anselot, who had been silently listening to my warning, suddenly widened his eyes and let out an exclamation.

“Are you worrying about me, Princess?”

Anselot chuckled as if pleased, though it was unclear why he always laughed like that. His slightly upturned eyes reminded me of a kitten.

“I’m being serious here!”

“Yes, yes, I’m also seriously happy.”

Despite my earnest warning, he didn’t seem to take it seriously at all.

‘Well, he’ll probably manage on his own.’

He seemed like a man without any weaknesses on the surface.

‘But it’s always characters like him who have the deepest and most painful inner weaknesses.’

I observed Anselot with a scrutinizing look.

Then, catching my gaze, he smiled gently.

It was a beautiful smile, but for some reason, it made me feel heated, so I abruptly turned away.

Soon after…

It seems Klaus has finally defeated 500 bears.

Thanks to him, I was able to gain experience points while resting.

I unfolded the mini-map, and amidst the greyed-out areas, I saw a dot marked with Klaus’s name approaching us.

And when that dot got close enough…

Tap, tap, tap.

Klaus, gasping for breath, appeared and glared at Anselot.

He was in a terrible state from facing the monsters alone.

“Are you insane?”