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Back during the day when Suzaku first met that strange girl in the ruined sewers of the Starting City…

“I’m still alive…somehow…” After a grueling fight with the monster, Suzaku barely made it back outside, where he let out a loud sigh of relief. Then once he was relieved enough, he turned to look at the girl wearing rags, who was looking at the city with curious eyes.

She was Da’at Criferd, the strange girl he had met underground.

She was a spirit with no memories, who had lent her sword to Suzaku during the fight with the Fallen Sable Tiger, and had been the key to his victory, as it weakened the monster by absorbing the strange markings on it.

That did not mean it made things easy, as it was still a mighty foe for Suzaku to fight, and he only won by a narrow margin.

“I guess it was all thanks to this sword…” He muttered that while glancing at the sword.

He could only assume that it was a very powerful weapon. At least he was sure that it would make fighting other monsters much easier. Knowing that, he raised his voice, stopping the girl who just wandered around while scanning the surrounding.

“Hey, you said your name was Da’at Criferd?”
“Yes?”
“Sorry, but you’ll have to keep holding on to the sword.”
“…It wasn’t to your liking then?”

The girl took the sword as Suzaku held it out for her, though her eyes were starting to fill with sorrowful tears, so he had to explain his reasoning as soon as he could.

“That’s not it… It’s a good sword. To be honest I really like it and wish it was mine.”
“Then…”
“But if I take it, I’ll keep relying on it too much and I won’t be able to use anything else.”
“Is that a bad thing?”

The girl tilted her head, tears still visible in her eyes, and Suzaku nodded firmly.

“Yeah… I’m basically saying that it’s too good for me currently.”

It could also cause unnecessary friction with other players. So he could not allow himself to simply take the sword from the girl just because she wanted to give it to him.

“But…I’ll keep helping you, and I’d like it if I could borrow it again when strictly necessary. And well…hopefully you can also wait until I’m strong enough to deserve such a weapon.”

It’s almost like I’m trying to convince her into a deal that’s overly convenient for me. I really feel like some manipulative a̲s̲s̲h̲o̲l̲e̲ now.

Suzaku realized how he sounded while saying that, but he could not stop himself from talking that way to the girl.

“…Alright, I’ll keep waiting until the time comes then.” But she just beamed a bright smile and nodded, deciding to go along with Suzaku’s plan, and bringing him immense relief.

It would not take long before it dawned on Suzaku that the girl had misinterpreted his words as him asking her to stay by his side from then on. But the girl would not change her mind and would never leave his side no matter where he went.

◇◇◇

A week passed in the blink of an eye since the girl had become Suzaku’s permanent companion.

During that time, all he learned from the mysterious girl was that she acted in a much more childish way than her appearance would suggest, laughed a lot, and pouted a lot. Her lack of memories made it impossible to learn anything more.

Now in the present day, Suzaku had learned it was impossible to go against her wishes, so after continuous complaints to take a break, he yielded and they entered a cafe in the Starting City that was quite popular amongst girls, designed to look like a cabin made of tree logs.

The girl liked a drink with milk there, while Suzaku preferred a cola with a rather particular taste.

“Suzaku, your equipment has gotten way better, right?” Randomly the girl started talking.

“Well, yeah… All thanks to them.” He had fought an Elder Treant the day before, and the white haired girl there had generously given him half of the loot, from which he only kept the items he could use, and sold off everything else, netting him a sizable fortune for a beginner player.

That had allowed him to buy new gauntlets, greaves, and a new coat, so now he looked like a proper knight in uniform.

“Mhm, and you look really cool now.”
“You always say I look cool, so I don’t really trust you.”
“Aw… You got so red the first time I complimented you, but now you just sound mad.”
“What do you want from me…”

They continued their idle chatter until their orders arrived, a cola for Suzaku, and hot milk with honey for Da’at.

“Hey…don’t you think it’s about time? I mean, about us…”
“Please stop saying things in such an easy to misunderstand way. Just wait a bit more until I’m stronger to give me the sword.”
“How much is a bit more?”
“A bit more.”
“Hmph…”

Suzaku looked a bit conflicted seeing how the girl turned sullen, but just carried his drink closer and took a slurp from the straw. As he did that, he began overhearing a nearby conversation, likely from a group of players.

“Hey, did you hear the news?”
“Yeah, if you mean the critical raid boss event.”
“There’s no limit to how many people can participate, so some say it’s just a server test in preparation for a future large-scale event…”

They were just discussing an upcoming event. That was not something Suzaku was very interested in, so his attention began to wane.

“…There’s some rumors that the player who performs the best will gain the Hero title, to contrast with the Demon Lords.”

That was a word Suzaku had heard so much that he was completely fed up with it, so he instantly stopped listening. Sadly for him, his companion was more than interested.

“Suzaku, Suzaku, did you hear what they just said?”

The girl sitting in front of her asked that question, her eyes full of curiosity.

That alone was giving Suzaku a headache, as he had endured her endless questions for more than he wanted, so he just opened a tab with the official announcement and showed it to her.

“They’re talking about this event.”
“Ohh… Faf…nir?”

She slowly read out the title.

convert this dialogue into half archaic text mixed with English:

«Defeat the Corrupted Dragon Fafnir.»

In this event, the Corrupted Dragon Fafnir will take flight from its home amongst the ancient imperial ruins in the center of the continent and arrive at the Starting City Wyndham, for all players to fight.

“Hmm… So, are you going to fight the dragon too?”
“What? No way. I already hate being called a ‘Hero’ even as a nickname.”
“Aww… C’mon, let’s do ittt.”

The girl’s cheeks became puffy as she tried to insist, but Suzaku hated the idea with all his being.

He had not played the game for long enough to feel confident joining such an event, but more importantly, in the off chance that he did end up gaining that title, his current nickname would become perpetuated.

No matter how much the girl pouted and insisted, he would remain firm. So he decided to inform her of that when…

“But it’d fit you so well, you’re so cool and all.”
“Ghnbhgbn?!”

She looked straight into his eyes while smiling, as if showing her wholehearted trust in him. That was too much for him to handle, so he ended up covering his mouth and looking away.

She’s an NPC, the product of AI, nothing more.

No matter how intelligent she seemed, being able to ask questions and behave like a person, she was fundamentally an NPC with the role of a heroine. He was still unsure of how he had activated her questline, but he knew that she would go on her way once he completed it.

I can’t get overly invested in someone like that.

No matter how many times he told himself that, he was still weak to her innocent eyes. “Okay whatever, I’ll join the event.”

“Really?!” Her eyes lit up in an instant. Once again, he had been unable to stand his ground against her, and he gave in even though he was so reluctant.

“But I’m still a complete noob at this game, I won’t be able to do much so don’t get your hopes up, understood?!”
“Mhm, you got this!”

I don’t think she really understood, did she?

The girl, Da’at Criferd, clenched her small fists and replied with an innocent smile. Those types of reactions were slowly growing on Suzaku, but he still let out a loud sigh and massaged his temples…

Afterword:
Everyone else at the cafe: “Those two are going at it again…”