A Pitiful Fugitive

The dinner rush had long passed, leaving the tavern relatively quiet. Sitting in a corner booth, I watched the kid across from me out of the corner of my eye.

He was devouring the food in front of him as if possessed by a starving ghost. Was it really that delicious? I couldn't tell.

It's probably not that it's delicious, but that he was incredibly starved.

Just now, something that clearly wasn't meant to be eaten went into his mouth. But after blinking a few times, he gulped it down and returned to his frantic eating.

He really was always like this.

Because of his young age, he was clumsy in many ways. But when it came to his sheer obsession with survival, no one could match him.

Though he's also a character for whom survival is just as brutally difficult.

If I had to choose the hardest character I've ever raised, I would obviously choose Alan. But if I had to choose the second hardest... after a moment of hesitation, I would choose this kid.

Especially in that route, when it comes to early-game survival, it's even harder than Alan's.

It was a miracle he had even survived up to this point. That was why I never expected to run into him here.

This complicates my plans a bit...

I glanced at the food in front of him. He was almost finished.

What should I do?

I needed to check. To see if he was really following the route I knew. If he was indeed heading toward Sak along that route, it could ruin my plans.

It was while I was lost in these thoughts.

"Um..."

A timid voice called out. When I turned to look, he had a flustered expression on his face.

"Y-You see..."

Stuttering, he suddenly looked up into the empty air. A Constellation was probably interfering.

"Thank you. Thank you for buying me food. But..."

Tears began to well up in his eyes.

"I really don't have any money..."

I let out a sigh.

"I don't need money."

"Huh?"

I hadn't bought it expecting to be paid back anyway. It was rather amusing how he had wolfed down three servings before finally confessing.

"Then, if not money, what do you..."

His face flushed red. Even this defensive victim mentality was exactly like the kid I knew. So, I let out another sigh and spoke.

"Because I felt sorry for you."

I meant it. Anyone who had ever raised this character would feel the same way. He was a truly, heartbreakingly pitiful kid.

"...I'm sorry."

He bowed his head. "For misunderstanding you as a weird person."

"It's fine."

I already knew he was the type to do that. Well, anyone could mistake me for a weird person. But what he did next was something even I didn't expect.

"U-Um, then. Thank you. I'll be going now!"

Springing up from his seat, he nimbly darted between the tables. As expected of a character with a Stigma, no matter how young. But I couldn't just stand there and watch.

"Wait!"

I hurriedly stood up. He was already on the verge of running out into the rain-slicked night streets. I couldn't lose him now. I needed to find out where he was heading.

Wind Authority.

In an instant, wind wrapped around my ankles. My steps grew light, and I caught up to him in the blink of an eye.

Grab.

"Hieeeek!"

As I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, he began to struggle wildly.

"Let me go!"

"Only if you promise not to run away."

"I won't run!"

Though I was skeptical, I let him go for now. Even if he ran again, I could easily catch him with Wind Authority.

"Why are you doing this? You said you didn't want anything from me! Weren't we supposed to go our separate ways after this?"

That separate way was exactly what was important. But there was something more pressing first.

"Do you even have a place to go?"

It was still early spring, so the weather was chilly. On top of that, it was pouring rain. Staying outside on a night like this was a surefire way to catch a cold.

"That's..."

"Follow me. I'll give you a place to sleep."

At that, he wrapped his arms around himself, subtly stepping back.

"You said earlier you didn't want anything. Was that a lie?"

I shook my head. I needed to stop this before his imagination ran completely wild.

"You're a guy."

"Are you... into boys, by any chance?"

I hadn't expected that. But of course not! I wished he would stop talking nonsense and just give in.

How should I...

Getting him a separate room would defeat the purpose. If he ran away in the morning, that would be the end of it. I needed an excuse to keep talking. Just then...

"Achoo!"

His body shivered.

"This is, well..."

I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck again.

"Just follow me."

Just as I was about to leave to find an inn, a hand suddenly landed on my shoulder.

Huh?

It was the tavern owner.

"You have to pay before you leave."

Ah, right.

"Snore..."

Despite being so wary, he fell into a deep sleep the moment his head hit the bed. He must have been utterly exhausted.

Just how much has he been through?

His clothes were torn in places and covered in filth. His hair was cut short, but it was still a tangled mess. In this state, the stench was a given. It seemed necessary to wash him and change his clothes as soon as he woke up tomorrow. At this rate, he would have fallen ill soon even without the rain.

I thought for sure his player was a veteran.

It was a route that didn't appear on strategy sites. It was just a meme route known only to those in the know. That was why I assumed his Constellation—the player—was a veteran who had deeply explored Hundred Braves.

But looking at his state...

In this state, he would have surely died today if I hadn't found him. Dying from failing to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠manage stamina, if nothing else, meant the player was inexperienced at raising characters. So, it was hard to see the player as a veteran.

Of course, the fact that they made it this far on this route means I can't completely rule out the possibility of them being a veteran.

I stared at him and silently commanded.

Status.

Then, the status window of the soundly sleeping kid unfolded before my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes.

If anyone else could see this status, they would realize it instantly. No, even without looking at the status, it was obvious enough. The fact that this kid was a girl, that is.

Earlier, I had only pretended to be fooled by her short hair and her efforts to make her voice sound raspy. I needed to get her to the inn, after all.

Well, a complete stranger might have been fooled... but honestly, since she was soaking wet from the rain earlier, her body's silhouette gave her away.

However, the issue wasn't just that she was actually a girl. This was a fact that truly couldn't be known without looking at her status.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Third Princess of the Reim Kingdom, Ersiara Lode Reim.

Though she looked completely unrecognizable in this state, the girl was indeed the princess of a kingdom. The reason she was in such a wretched state, starving and drenched in the rain, was because of the kingdom's current situation.

A coup d'état had occurred in the kingdom. The Royal Knights had rebelled and imprisoned the king. In the process, they spared only the king—whom they couldn't kill—and slaughtered all the resisting royals.

The Third Princess had barely managed to escape that blood-soaked palace.

Evading the assassins dispatched by the knights, she had headed toward the Holy City Heilen, only to realize that Heilen was also unsafe due to the heroes hired by the rebel knights.

After escaping the Holy City Heilen through various twists and turns, she had continued her flight and ended up here in Basil.

It sounds simple when put into words. But evading both assassins and heroes to reach this place is practically impossible.

Because of this, Princess Ersiara's standard route was established as first submitting to the coup forces. She would temporarily yield to preserve her life, then quietly build her strength to exact her revenge.

But that route had its limitations, requiring her to grow her power in secret. It was insufficient to fully draw out her potential.

That's why players, including myself, devised the Fugitive Route.

Although it varied slightly depending on the player's skill, on average, surviving twenty escape attempts happened only once or twice. Even after escaping, agents hired by the kingdom would occasionally track her down. It was a hopeless route in many ways, but not an impossible one.

However, it was generally evaluated that the rewards were rather meager compared to the risks. After all, she still had to hide her identity because of the kingdom's pursuers.

But what overturned that evaluation was the 'Sak Route' that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had discovered.

While raising another character in Sak, I had found a hint in the script. A hint about a growth mechanism that only Princess Ersiara could use.

But using that mechanism required her to successfully escape first, so it ultimately remained a meme route.

Is she really following that route?

In truth, that 'growth mechanism' in Sak wasn't exclusive to her. With certain methods, other characters could use it as well. I was also heading to Sak to make use of that very mechanism.

But if she was heading to Sak, it might cause problems for my own plans to use the mechanism. That was why I wanted to ask her. To see if she was heading to Sak. If she wasn't, there was no reason for me to care. But if she really was heading to Sak...

Then...

I stared intently at her. Oblivious to my gaze, she was fast asleep, dead to the world.

Honestly, I wanted to protect her. I had raised her dozens of times and watched her die far too often. Now that my perception of these characters had changed after my time with Gwen, I had a personal desire to protect her.

But if that were to hinder my own growth...

...

I couldn't reach a conclusion. So, I decided to ask her tomorrow morning. It wouldn't be too late to decide after hearing her answer.

Sitting on the floor, I leaned my back against the wall and closed my eyes. Then, I commanded.

Wake me up if Wind Authority detects her trying to leave the room.

It was a trick I often used when sleeping outdoors.

"Let go!"

"I don't want to."

As expected of someone with a Stigma, she was stronger than other girls her age, but she couldn't overcome the physical difference in our sizes. Giving up her resistance, her body went limp.

"I feel like I've run into the wrong person."

"It's your fault for following me just because I offered to feed you and give you a place to sleep."

It sounded a bit morally questionable, but I didn't care. After all, I hadn't done anything wrong.

"Er..."

I almost called her by her real name out of habit before realizing I hadn't actually heard her name yet.

"Hey. What's your name?"

Unprepared for the question, her lips parted slightly. Eventually, she answered.

"Elsi."

Did she even have any intention of hiding her gender? No, gender aside, it barely differed from her real name. I decided to discuss her alias with her later when we had more time.

For now, though...

I declared to her.

"You need a bath."

I was sorry, but she really smelled quite bad.