"Yuu? Why do you have that woman with you?"

Yuu sighed and placed the female knight on the bed before walking over to a table on the side. Pulling out some grass and other materials he stockpiled, he started making some clothes. "I'm not sure. But I found her unconscious and on the verge of death not far away."

Eir frowned. "And you saved her? From her equipment and attire, she is-"

"She's a knight from the First Sirius Kingdom. I know."

Eir's frown deepened and she seemed a bit confused. Then, she stared at Yuu and slowly said, "Are you... certain about this?"

Yuu finished weaving a light green blouse and set it off to the side. As usual, a message popped up saying that he mastered a flurry of skills, but he ignored them as usual and said, "Of course I am. But I think it would be more trouble if we just let her die, wouldn't it?"

"...You are too kindhearted, Yuu."

He shrugged, placing a skirt off to the side and got started on some undergarments. "Maybe. But it'd leave a bad taste in my mouth if a beautiful woman died in front of my eyes, you know? Like how I saved you from that giant worm. I couldn't live with myself if you just dropped dead... Or worse."

Eir flushed. "That is-" Suddenly, she noticed what Yuu was doing and blinked. "One moment. Yuu."

Yuu folded a pair of panties and a bra to the side and turned to look. "Yes, Eir?"

"...Are those female undergarments?"

Yuu paused. "...Yes?"

"May I ask why you have- No, why you are making-" Eir paused and then said, "How do you know how to make those?"

Yuu set down his materials and stared at the wall, embarrassing past memories flickering through his mind. "...Memories of a misspent youth."

"O-Oh." Hearing Yuu's deadpan and lifeless tone, that was all Eir could really say.

"Anyway," Yuu said. "It'd be bad for Miss Knight to sleep in those dirty clothes and armor, so I'm making some new clothes to change her into."

"Ch-Change her?" Eir flushed and then crossed her arms. "No! Not allowed! I refuse to let you do so!"

Yuu gathered the clothes and then turned to Eir. "Relax. I'm not going to do that."

Eir blinked. "You aren't?"

"Of course not. A guy changing an unmarried young woman, let alone a knight's clothes and undergarments? Even if I *am* Kami-sama's hero, that'd be enough to get me lynched. I mean, what girl would let me do that?"

"...I wouldn't mind..." Eir muttered, shifting in place.

Unfortunately for her, Yuu wasn't paying attention. Instead, he handed over the pile of clothes to Eir. "Here."

"W-What?" She took them, eyes fluttering in surprise. "F-For me? B-But-"

"Of course, you. Who else is going to change Miss Knight's clothes?"

"...Oh." Eir's expression turned neutral and then she nodded. "Leave it to me, Yuu."

He nodded and said, "I'm counting on you. In the meanwhile... I think I'll go get us some food and water."

With that and a light wave, Yuu walked out.

Eir held onto the bundle of clothes that Yuu handed to her and then stared at the young woman unconscious in the bed.

"...Honestly, Yuu. For being Yuusha-sama, you are clueless about the most important things..."

A female knight. That was who Yuu believed the young woman to be. And from that woman's attire, Eir could not blame Yuu. Even so...

"Princess May Din Sire," she muttered. "What brought you so far away from your home, oh fair maiden?"

It was an unmistakable face. One that Eir was intimately aware of from her hotheaded father's plans on kidnapping the princess to goad the king into combat.

Conversely, Eir was certain that May would be aware of what she looked like as well. After all, King Sire was no fool, despite his wife, and she was certain that the King had considered an equivalent plan to kidnap Eir as well to forestall a potential invasion.

Eir glanced back at the pile of clothes in her hands and said, "...Should I do it? Or leave her be?"

It wasn't that she was incapable of changing someone. After all, Eir had played dress-up with her maid Rete quite a bit in the past before she had to mature and deal with the mess her hot-headed father caused for their people.

But...

"What are the odds that she will attack me the moment she awakens?" Eir muttered.

It was a similar but inverse situation in the First Sirius Kingdom.

From what Eir knew, while King Sire was wise, magnanimous, and competent, his daughter was hot-headed and brash, charging out without a thought. While she was honorable, she was also stubborn and unyielding, resulting in an infamous reputation that spread to even the Demon Realm.

Which meant that if May woke up while her clothes were being changed, she would attack first and ask questions later.

Eir was confident in her ability to fend off the human princess. Unlike her, May was only capable of fighting with a sword and lacked any magical potential. Keeping such a defenseless maiden at bay would be a simple matter.

The problem lay in dealing with the aftermath.

Eir frowned. "Fate works in strange ways."

Her plan had been to offer herself up as Yuu's captive to convince her father to stand down, no matter her fate. But it seemed that, in a strange twist, the captive princess would be May instead.

The result should be similar... After all, King Sire doted on his only child far too much to risk her being harmed. And if it was known that Yuu had taken her as his captive, it would resolve the issue of him being hunted down-

No. It might make it worse. But at least they wouldn't result to a scorched earth tactic?

"..." Eir sighed and held up her left hand, causing magical glyphs to form. "...Well, if Yuu is the Hero, one of us must be the Villain." Saying that, Eir cast a dark spell, binding the defenseless princess to her will.

Violet light flashed and then a black collar emerged around May's neck.

Seeing that the spell settled properly, Eir nodded and then set about doing as Yuu asked.

With that, the danger to Eir's standing as Yuu's future wife was resolved.

Yuu sneezed. As a result, the fish that was about to bite onto his rod ran away, ducking back into the stream.

He frowned and then glared at his status screen. "Some status immunity skill you are..."

He shook his head and then cast his rod out again, letting the bobber fall into the water with a plop.