When I enter the throne room once more, I notice that Eleanore is already there, conversing with the king with Lilia standing nearby.

"My Lord, please reconsider! You can't possibly think that is in any way a good plan! We need to go out there and meet them, not hiding here as if we're a bunch of cowardly rats!"

"N-no, t-too dangerous..."

"My Lord!"

Their argument halts when they notice me walking towards them.

"Yo, old man. Feeling better?"

"B-better? H-how can I feel b-better when the enemy is right at our gates at this very instant?"

"Now that's an odd thing to say. I haven't heard any shouting and crying on my way here."

"So, what's gonna be our next plan? Got any ideas, old man? Or must I do the thinking for you too?"

"H-how could you be so calm? T-the enemy... t-the demons are right upon us! We cannot escape! The war is lost!"

"Man, I waited for four hours just for this?"

It seems the king still hasn't quite regained his former self after all.

"A-all we can do know is h-hide, y-yes, h-hide until the time is right to s-strike back. Y-yes, t-that's my decision. W-we must hide."

"Father!"

I look at Lilia to see how sad she is right now, seeing her father acting this way.

"With all due respects, my Lord, but I don't see how hiding can solve our problem!" Eleanore interrupts. "We can't possibly hide our entire kingdom!"

"N-no, n-not the entire kingdom. J-just... the important people on it... like me and my daughter..."

It hits me. He intends to run away.

"How could you say that, my Lord? Have you no shame? Your subjects... they depend on you!"

I see Eleanore's face is full of anger and disappointment. Both stem from the fact that she had pledge fealty to the king, and now the king is acting like this.

She truly is a noble knight.

"Old man, I'm sorry to say this but I have to side with Lea-chan here. Not just because I think running away is an act unbefitting for a hero, but because I have the faith that we have a chance to at least repel the demon army for the time being. You see, we now have two of the legendary Phantasma items with us. The sword and the shield. The sword I wield while you gave the shield to her. If we show off the two to the enemy, they shall retreat to regroup and rethink their strategy."

"S-shield? W-what--"

"Oh, how can you be so forgetful, old man? You gave her the Sapphire Shield, the one you have for generations."

"W-wait, what--"

"A-ah, t-the shield, Father! The shield! The one you found from the treasury when we were away!" Lilia interrupts clumsily after I signalled at her. Thank God she catches fast.

"O-oh... was there... oooh, nevermind. My mind is not as good as it used to be."

The king pauses, taking a deep breath and blowing it out afterwards.

"Fine. If-if that's what Hero-sama thinks it's best, then I'll approve. But please, please make sure you succeed! You're my, no, our last hope here!"

"Of course, old man. Who do you think I am?"

I can see out of the corner of my eye Eleanore smiling.

"Thank you, Hero, for bringing the king back to his senses."

"No need to thank me. It's all in my duty as the hero of this land. Though, I assume with this, you'll forgive my earlier indiscretion, Lea-chan?"

She blushes lightly in response. "F-fine. A-after reflecting about it, I-I suppose the fault lies in my clumsy self that falls onto you. I apologize."

She extends her hand towards me. Of course, as a gentleman, I return her handshake.

"T-though I still prefer if you don't call me Lea-chan."

"Apologies. I am not good at long names, you see. Oh, how about this? In exchange, you can call me by my real name too? How about it? You can call me Akira-kun!"

"D-don't be silly. T-that would be just plain impolite," she responds while blushing even harder.

Could it be? Is she one of those mythological creatures called "tsundere"?

After a sweet princess, now I'm getting a tsundere knight?

Man, maybe getting trapped in this world isn't so bad at all!

***

A few hours later, we are now prepared to leave the castle. We intend to go straight away to the fallen town. Eleanore had wished we brought some soldiers with us but the king wouldn't allow it, wanting maximum defense to his remaining territory. I calmed her down, saying that my plan would not require an army. Hell, an army would just be a hindrance.

"How? Well, we're going to strike the enemy right at its heart, of course.."

"T-the heart?"

"Yes. I assume the demons work in a hierarchy, where they have a leader who's the strongest among them. If we can prove our superiority by slaying him, the rest of the demons will surely retreat."

Hearing that, I saw a flash of fear with a tinge of embarrassment, followed by an expression of rage from her face.

"Agreed. I have a score to settle with their leader while we're at it."

And now, Eleanore and Lilia are in the stable, choosing which horse they're going to ride on. You see, we can't exactly teleport to the town right away, what with its teleportation device being under control of the demons.

"...Princess, are you sure you're going to wear that clothing?"

"E-eh, w-why? W-what's wrong with this dress?"

"It's just that... it's too short. You're going to flash your panties in combat that way."

"O-oh. W-well, Hero-sama says it's the ideal clothing for adventurers so..."

"Oh, he said that?" She sighed. "I knew it. That man is a pervert. Ooh, why must we get a perverted hero? I thought we'll have someone morally decent as the savior of this kingdom."

"Funny you speak of being morally decent, with you wearing a lewd outfit like that,"

I interrupt their talk as I enter the barn, after leaving some last instructions to the king.

"L-lewd? Why, this is the official uniform of the royal knights."

"Doesn't change the fact that your breastplate is showing off your boobs while your pants are showing off your cameltoe."

Quickly, she covers up her chest with her right arm and her crotch with her left arm.

"P-pervert! Y-you aren't supposed to stare!"

"Suit yourself. But don't be surprised if people wonder if you're secretly an exhibitionist with that clothing."

"H-HOW DARE YOU TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO A ROYAL KNIGHT? IF YOU WEREN'T THE HERO, I'LL CUT YOU UP RIGHT WHERE YOU STAND RIGHT NOW!"

"Now now, that's not a very fitting expression for a noble knight like you, now, is it?"

"Gggaaah, I hate you so much!"

In the end, we depart with Lilia still wearing her extremely short light dress.

And I am treated with the most wonderful view all night, with Eleanore's leather-covered plump butt and Lilia's now-orange striped panties in front of me as we trot to our destination.