It's the fourth day that the carriage has been running without incident.
It must have been past noon.
Normally it would take three days to reach the royal capital, but after considering safety, this was the shortest route.
Even so, we stopped to buy vegetables and fruits in villages along the way and tried to keep the atmosphere as relaxed as possible.
Minty, who was driving the car, raised her voice from the driver's seat so that the people in the back could hear.
"Instructor! I can see it!"
I peeked my head out from the carriage towards the driver's seat and saw the royal capital's walls in the distance.
On the other side of the castle walls, the royal castle can be seen, albeit faintly.
Looking at it this way, you can see that it was built quite far away from the castle walls.
...Looking at the castles of this kingdom, I have no desire to go to war.
Even so, people still fight, and although I think it can't be helped, it's still painful.
It would be fine if the higher-ups did what they wanted, but it would be unbearable for the commoners and adventurers who got caught up in it.
It was truly tragic, and I can say this as someone who was sent to war.
I remembered that time and my actions up until then, and sighed with a wry smile.
After passing through the gate, Erika and the others went to hand over the carriage to the depository.
The three sisters and I were dropped off along the way and decided to start walking to the church.
Since I had promised to meet up with Erika and the others at the church later, it was okay for me to start walking first.
Niche and Sera were laughing and talking together, curiously looking at the streets of the royal capital.
Attla-san was smiling, but she wasn't making much noise.
I was a little curious, so I asked Attla-san who was walking next to me.
"Have you been here before?"
"Yes. Originally, I was staying with Meiya at the church in the royal capital. However, I soon received word that we would be moving..."
"So that's why you went to Santony."
"That's right. To be honest, I wanted to stay with Meiya a little longer... but I was able to meet you two in Santony, so I wasn't lonely."
"...It's important not to feel lonely."
"Yes, really."
Attla-san, who was watching me, smiled happily and looked at the two people walking happily a little behind me.
All the sisters, including Meiya, have calm expressions.
Do they have a calm mind, or do they train themselves daily not to panic?
What strong people they are, even after what they've been through.
I was impressed as I watched the three of them, including Attla, as they began talking.
I take a break with the sisters and walk slowly down 6th Street.
If you're not used to it, the size of the royal capital can be a bit tiring.
As we walked so slowly, Erika and the others, who were meeting us at the church, caught up with us.
They are trained students and adventurers, so it's normal to be able to catch up at walking speed.
Just as I was thinking that I should be able to see the church soon, I heard a voice call out from behind me.
"Instructor Reid!"
When I turned towards the person who called out to me, Roy came running towards me with a smile on his face.
Behind her were Lucy and Shirin, a female student with black hair in a ponytail.
Looking at the other woman, I widen my eyes and mutter.
"Why...?"
Following behind the two was a mature female student with wavy purple hair that covered one eye.
Her name is Runen, and she is the woman who attacked Lucy and Shirin in the story.
Yes, she was the person who caused the incident that I had advised Roy about.
Roy came up to me, greeted Erica, the three girls, and the three sisters, and then bowed vigorously to me.
Roy raised his head and said happily as he saw my shocked expression.
"Thanks to the instructor's advice, I was able to save them!"
"Sorry, can you tell me what happened?"
Roy's smile turned to a serious expression and he began to tell me the details of the incident.
Lucy and Shirin are on their way home when they are suddenly attacked by a stranger.
It turns out that they were the same people who had tried to kidnap Lucy and her daughter last time.
Roy, who happened to be passing by, fights the attacker in an attempt to save the two.
However, the attacker's magic was very powerful, and it was difficult to rescue him.
The powers were evenly matched, and the attacker's final resort was to take Lucy and Shirin hostage.
The person in question was the manipulated Lunen, whose magical powers were so strong that he was able to control his body while still retaining consciousness.
So far, this is the story as I know it.
Normally, Roy would have to defeat Lunen here and choose one side.
In the game, I could only choose between Lucy and Shirin.
Those who are unable to be saved from Lunen will be kidnapped by the person controlling her and will suffer emotional trauma.
She then drops out of school and disappears from the story.
What can be done to help her? The answer the research team came up with was to raise Roy's longsword proficiency to 20 or above.
The answer to why this is is simple: it lies in Roy's skill, [Terrible].
This is a rare skill that only Roy possesses in the game, and it allows him to attack twice at the same time.
The weakness is that the attack power of [Terrible] depends on the level of proficiency.
If the story goes as planned, Roy's proficiency level has just exceeded 10.
In that case, only Lucy or Shirin can release the magical restraints.
So the research team posted the following on the bulletin board:
If you think about it simply, if you can remove one restraint with a proficiency level of 10, then raising it to 20 should be able to save both of them, right?
That's why I taught him how to increase his proficiency.
Roy must be well over 20 now.
That's fine, that's fine, but...
Roy looks at Lunen behind him, then turns to me and smiles.
"I couldn't choose one, so I chose both."
"...What are the options?"
"Lucy and Shirin, or Lunen?"
"Fuhahaha."
I couldn't help but laugh at Roy's unexpected answer, which was one step ahead of my own.
Originally it was either Lucy or Shirin, but to think that rescuing Lunen would be an option.
I did say that if you can only choose one, choose both...
I never thought it would go beyond what I and the research team had imagined.
Seeing me laughing, Roy tilted his head in confusion, and Lucy and the others behind him also looked puzzled.
He put his hand on Roy's shoulder and said with a smile.
"Well done."
"...Yes!"
Roy was dumbfounded, but then he smiled and nodded vigorously.
By the way, Erika and the others were having the following conversation while watching Roy and me.
"Erika-chan, that girl."
"Please don't say that..."
"You look like Master."
"I didn't look like him at all, you know? It was only after I started training that I started to look like him... haa."
"By the way, those girls behind him. They're his girlfriends, no matter how you look at it."
"I guess so. It's fine if they don't look alike in that way..."
Erica and the others looked at the conversation with amazed expressions, while the sisters walked around the area.
As expected of an adventurer.
Even while talking to Erika, he seemed to have the sisters in his sight.