TIRS 52

CHAPTER 52….

. A System Without Prejudice

Unlike Klaus, Ruivel didn’t look surprised at all.

In fact, her expression was quite relaxed—because she had registered Illei as a companion and seen his level and stats.

Sage of Light <Lv. 99 Illei>
Affection: (Unknown)

Illei had reached the maximum companion level of 99.

‘Well, Illei was an overpowered character in the original story too.’

Although his mental age was that of a child, Illei had lived longer than anyone else.

Despite looking like a child small enough to fit in her arms, his actual age was far older, and so were his stats.

Just having Illei as an ally meant incredible firepower. Yet, the original party led by Hezen had a tough time.

That’s because Illei, with his difficult and unpredictable personality, refused to help them when they needed him most.

‘But unlike in the original, Illei isn’t difficult or selfish at all.’

Ruivel grinned as she stroked Illei’s head while he snuggled into her arms.

“Sir Klaus, let’s turn these guys over to the city guards.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Klaus awkwardly replied as he tied up the bandits.

When Klaus offered to take the bandits to the guards, Ruivel insisted on going with him.

And as soon as they handed over the criminals…

[Side Quest: Wanted Criminals (1)] Completed!
[SYSTEM] Quest success!
[SYSTEM] You’ve gained 4,730 XP.
[SYSTEM] You’ve received 200,000 gold.

The quest success messages rolled in.

Ruivel had noticed the bandit intrusion thanks to the quest alert that arrived right as they broke in.

Thanks to that, she’d handled the situation calmly—and collected both XP and gold.

“Thank you, adventurer. These guys were a real menace, always targeting travelers. Glad we caught them!”

As the guards happily explained, one of them looked carefully at Ruivel’s face and cautiously asked,

“Wait… Are you perhaps Princess Ruivel of Ajester?”

Flinch.

Ruivel’s face showed obvious panic. Another guard seemed to realize it belatedly and gasped in awe.

“Oh! That pink hair and those brilliant amber eyes! And the imperial sword of Ajester at your waist…!”

“Uh… yeah. I am Ruivel Ajester…”

When Ruivel nodded and admitted it, the guards’ eyes sparkled.

“My goodness, and you’ve taken care of such a troublesome case for us!”

“Wait, then the reason monsters in the Forest of Illusions have quieted down recently—is that your doing too?!”

The guard shouted in realization.

[SYSTEM] Your fame has increased by +50.

“No, no! That was my companions, not me!”

Ruivel hurriedly explained to prevent any misunderstandings. Klaus had dealt with the monsters, and Illei had taken care of the bandits.

“She’s even humble…!”

“Truly, the Hero of the Oracle…”

But the guards only admired her more, interpreting it as modesty.

“No, I mean it’s not humility…”

Despite Ruivel’s awkward protests, the system continued sending messages.

[SYSTEM] Your reputation has increased by +100.

“……”

Ruivel stared at the notifications, her ears bright red.

She had grown up as a powerless princess in the imperial palace, so she wasn’t used to praise or attention like this—it made her bashful.

But the system clearly wanted her, the player, to be a hero—no matter what she said, her fame and reputation kept rising.

‘Ugh, fine. Whatever. Good is good!’

Ruivel decided to just enjoy the awkward situation.

Pyu-reeeet! Pyuuuuu!

―All hail Lady Lulu! Pyuuuu! Pyuuuuuuuuuuu!

Piya cried out joyfully, flying excitedly above her head, filling the guard station with its noise.

On the way back to the inn—

“Your Highness’s name is already becoming quite well known,” Klaus said proudly, puffing out his chest.

“People talked about Lulu,” Illei added, holding her hand and gently swinging it back and forth.

Pyu-eep!

―Of course they did! Lady Lulu is a chosen player of the System!

Piya chattered nonstop, more energetic than ever.

For some reason, everyone seemed prouder of her than she was.

‘They’re getting even more excited since Ancelot’s not here…’

Ruivel chuckled at the overly excited Piya, then suddenly thought of Ancelot.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have asked…’

Recalling her conversation with him a few hours earlier, a wave of melancholy washed over her.

‘Why did I dig into his past like that?’

She felt she might have said something she shouldn’t have.

‘Whether Ancelot had someone he loved or not… what does it have to do with me?’

She let out a sigh through her lips.

‘He said she’s gone now…’

Why did those calm words weigh so heavily on her heart?

All those lonely expressions he’d shown—was it because of that woman?

‘Wait a sec.’

She suddenly caught herself mid-thought.

‘Why am I thinking about Ancelot so much?’

The realization made her face even redder than when the guards had showered her with praise.

“Ughhhh…!”

She let out a groan and shook her head violently from side to side.

This was all Ancelot’s fault for breaking his promise.

He said he’d protect her but broke that promise—and that was why she kept thinking about him.

Yes, blame him instead of beating herself up.

“Lulu, are you okay?”

Illei tilted his head, clearly puzzled by her weird behavior.

When they got back to the inn, cooled off by the chilly air—

They found Ancelot making a huge scene.

“Ancelot…?”

He had the innkeeper by the collar, shaking him. When he heard Ruivel’s voice, he turned.

“Oh, Your Highness.”

Letting go of the innkeeper, Ancelot walked over with a harmless smile.

“What were you doing?”

“Having a peaceful conversation about the inn’s security.”

“Ah. Peaceful…”

Ruivel glanced at the innkeeper, who looked about ready to faint, and silently offered her sympathies.

“Are you alright? I heard there were bandits.”

Ancelot looked over her body with concern.

“Yup, totally fine. We even got a bounty reward!”

She proudly jingled the pouch of money she had received from the quest.

But Ancelot’s expression grew darker as he stared at the heavy pouch.

“…So, where are those bastards now?”

His voice was dangerously soft.

“W-why are you asking?”

Her instincts screamed that she must not tell him where they were.

“Why do you think?” he replied with an innocent smile.

“I just want to… gently advise them to live better.”

“No need to do that. I already talked to them. Thoroughly.”

Seeing that she wasn’t going to answer, Ancelot turned to Illei, who was still holding her hand tightly.

“Hey, Foggy.”

“…?”

“Where are the bandits now?”

Illei blinked and tilted his head before mumbling sleepily,

“Lulu gave them to the guards.”

“Aha.”

Ancelot grinned wickedly.

“I’ll be right back.”

Waving his hand, he walked out of the inn.

He hadn’t said where he was going, but it was obvious.

‘Please, don’t cause trouble…’

But the next morning—

[SYSTEM] Your reputation has decreased by 50.
[SYSTEM] Your fame has increased by 50.

As soon as she woke up, her reputation had dropped, while her fame had shot up.

‘Well, infamy is still fame…’

She hadn’t done anything last night.

So this could only be Ancelot’s doing.

‘What the heck did he do…’

She tried to imagine the possibilities but gave up—for the sake of her mental health.

Their next destination was the Kingdom of Luenhart.

Ancelot’s homeland, the Kingdom of Luenhart, lay along the path to the Grand Temple in the Ajester Empire.

But Ruivel had another reason to go there besides geography.

‘Luenhart is where Hezen meets Saintess Maria in the original story.’

Though the third main scenario hadn’t officially arrived, it was clear that Luenhart would be the next stage.

Especially since the sudden side quests over the last two weeks had all been pushing them steadily in that direction.

The quests usually involved capturing criminals or defeating monsters that terrorized people—and thanks to them, Ruivel’s fame and reputation had risen steadily.

More and more people had begun to recognize her—Ruivel Ajester.

And exactly two weeks after leaving the Forest of Illusions, they arrived in Luenhart.

While everyone scattered to handle their errands, Ruivel wandered the festival-decorated streets.

Then, at last, the third main scenario arrived.

[SYSTEM] Main Scenario <Chapter 3: Love and Duel!> has been activated!
(▶Preview Scenario)

“Love and… duel?”

She frowned at the title.

‘Love and Duel!’ Seriously?

The exclamation point at the end made it feel even more ominous.

Pyurit! Pyurit!

―Lady Lulu! What are you waiting for?! Tap [▶Preview Scenario] right now!

“….”

Urged by Piya, Ruivel opened the scenario preview.

A flurry of roses and pink hearts burst across her screen.

As the vivid scene unfolded before her, Ruivel was left speechless.

What she saw was a romantic drama: She rescued Maria from danger… and then shared a beautiful, heartfelt love with her…

‘You damn system! Why are you so unbiased?!’