Free Web NovelChapter 55: ☆Indeed I did say...
We were riding in the carriage without any trouble. It was the fourth day.
The time was around noon.
We had been traveling for three days to reach the royal capital normally, but after considering safety, this speed had become the shortest possible route.
We had even stopped at villages along the way to buy vegetables and fruit, and we had tried to avoid making the atmosphere too tense.
Minty, who was driving the carriage, called out from the driver’s seat in a loud voice.
"Instructor~! It’s coming into view~!"
I leaned out from the cargo bed toward the driver’s seat and saw the royal capital’s walls in the distance.
Behind the walls, the royal castle was faintly visible.
Looking at it like this, it was clear that the castle had been built quite far from the walls.
...If I see the royal castle of this kingdom, I can’t bring myself to fight a war.
People do fight wars, and while it’s unfortunate, it can’t be helped.
If those in power keep doing it on their own, fine, but the ordinary civilians and adventurers who get dragged into it aren’t the ones who deserve this.
It was truly tragic, and I could only say that because I had been one of those who was forcibly sent to war.
I recalled that time, reflected on my actions up to now, let out a wry smile and a sigh.
We passed through the gate. Erika and the others went to leave the carriage at the inn.
Raide and the three sisters were dropped off midway and began walking toward the church.
Since they had arranged to meet Erika and the others at the church later, it was fine to start walking first.
Nitchi-san and Sera-san were chatting with each other while smiling at the unfamiliar royal capital streetscape.
Atla-san was smiling, but she wasn’t as loud as the others.
Since I was slightly curious, I asked the Atla-san walking beside me.
"Have you been here before?"
"Yes. Originally, I was with Mayor at the royal capital’s church. But soon after, we received word about moving..."
"So you ended up going to Santony."
"Yes. I really wanted to stay with Mayor a bit longer... but since we met the two of you in Santony, I wasn’t lonely."
"...Not being lonely is important."
"Yes, really."
Atla-san looked at me with a happy smile and glanced back at the two who were walking with even more cheerful expressions.
Like Mayor, all the sisters had calm expressions.
Perhaps they had been training to stay calm, or maybe they just naturally didn’t panic.
After something like that happened, what strong people they were.
I watched the three of them with admiration while Atla-san started talking.
We walked slowly along 6th Street with a break while the sisters rested.
The royal capital’s width can be a little tiring if you’re not used to it.
As we walked so slowly, Erika and the others, who had been waiting at the church, caught up.
They were trained students and adventurers, so it was natural for them to catch up in speed.
I was just thinking that the church should be coming into view any moment when a voice called out from behind.
"Raide Instructor!"
When I turned toward the voice, Roy was running toward me with a big smile.
Behind him were Lucy and the female student with black hair in a ponytail, Serin.
I opened my eyes wide at the sight of one more woman and muttered,
"Why...?"
The woman trailing them was an adult-looking female student with wavy purple hair and one eye covered by her bangs.
Her name was Rulen. She was the woman who had attacked Lucy and Serin in the story.
She was the person who had caused the incident I had advised Roy about.
When Roy reached me, he greeted Erika, the three girls, and the three sisters, then bowed deeply to me.
When Roy looked up, he saw my stunned expression and said happily,
"It’s thanks to Instructor’s advice! I was able to save them!"
"Sorry, could you tell me what happened?"
Roy’s smile turned serious. He began explaining the incident.
Lucy and Serin were walking home together when they were suddenly attacked by a mysterious person.
It was one of their former comrades who had tried to kidnap Lucy’s family last time.
Roy had passed by and rushed to save them, fighting the attacker.
But the attacker’s magic was too powerful and they couldn’t rescue them quickly enough.
The forces were equal, and in the end the attacker took Lucy and Serin hostage.
The person behind it was Rulen, who had been controlled by magic. Because of her strong magic power, she had kept her mind but her body was manipulated.
That was exactly the story I knew.
Originally, Roy would have had to choose one of them to save.
In the game, you could only choose one.
The one you couldn’t save would be kidnapped by the person controlling Rulen and end up with a broken heart.
She would then be expelled from the academy and disappear from the story.
What should we do to save both? The answer from the examination group on the bulletin board was to raise Roy’s sword skill level [Tiraful] above 20.
Why? Because the answer was simple — Roy’s skill [Tiraful] allowed simultaneous attacks.
Its weakness was that its power depended on the skill level.
In the story, Roy’s level had only just exceeded 10.
So with a level over 20, he should be able to break both restraints at once.
Therefore, I had taught him how to raise his skill level.
Right now, Roy’s level was probably well over 20.
That part was fine, but... frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Roy looked back at Rulen behind him, turned to me with a smile, and said,
"I couldn’t choose one, so I chose both."
"...What were the options?"
"Lucy and Serin, or Rulen."
"Hahaha."
I was so surprised by Roy’s unexpected answer that I laughed out loud.
I had expected you’d choose either Lucy or Serin, not rescue Rulen as well.
You said "if you can only choose one, choose both," but...
I never imagined you’d go beyond even my and the examination group’s thinking.
Roy tilted his head curiously at my laughter, and Lucy and Serin behind him also looked puzzled.
I placed my hand on Roy’s shoulder and said with a smile,
"You did well."
"...Yes!"
Roy was stunned for a second, then broke into a big smile and nodded vigorously.
By the way, Erika and the others were having this conversation while watching Roy and me.
"Erika-chan~ that girl..."
"Please don’t say it..."
"She looks similar to Sensei."
"She didn’t look similar at all? It started after she started receiving training... Haa."
"By the way, the ones behind her. They’re his lovers, right? Even from a glance."
"Yeah, they are. They didn’t have to look that similar either..."
The three girls were laughing at the conversation with a troubled expression. The sisters had been strolling around, but they still kept an eye on the sisters.
As expected of people who had been adventurers.
After chatting with Erika, the sisters continued their walk around the city.
Raide and the three sisters walked slowly along 6th Street with a break while the sisters rested.
The royal capital’s width can be a little tiring if you’re not used to it.
As we walked so slowly, Erika and the others, who had been waiting at the church, caught up.
They were trained students and adventurers, so it was natural for them to catch up in speed.
I was just thinking that the church should be coming into view any moment when a voice called out from behind.
"Raide Instructor!"
When I turned toward the voice, Roy was running toward me with a big smile.
Behind him were Lucy and the female student with black hair in a ponytail, Serin.
I opened my eyes wide at the sight of one more woman and muttered,
"Why...?"
The woman trailing them was an adult-looking female student with wavy purple hair and one eye covered by her bangs.
Her name was Rulen. She was the woman who had attacked Lucy and Serin in the story.
She was the person who had caused the incident I had advised Roy about.
When Roy reached me, he greeted Erika, the three girls, and the three sisters, then bowed deeply to me.
When Roy looked up, he saw my stunned expression and said happily,
"It’s thanks to Instructor’s advice! I was able to save them!"
"Sorry, could you tell me what happened?"
Roy’s smile turned serious. He began explaining the incident.
Lucy and Serin were walking home together when they were suddenly attacked by a mysterious person.
It was one of their former comrades who had tried to kidnap Lucy’s family last time.
Roy had passed by and rushed to save them, fighting the attacker.
But the attacker’s magic was too powerful and they couldn’t rescue them quickly enough.
The forces were equal, and in the end the attacker took Lucy and Serin hostage.
The person behind it was Rulen, who had been controlled by magic. Because of her strong magic power, she had kept her mind but her body was manipulated.
That was exactly the story I knew.
Originally, Roy would have had to choose one of them to save.
In the game, you could only choose one.
The one you couldn’t save would be kidnapped by the person controlling Rulen and end up with a broken heart.
She would then be expelled from the academy and disappear from the story.
What should we do to save both? The answer from the examination group on the bulletin board was to raise Roy’s sword skill level [Tiraful] above 20.
Why? Because the answer was simple — Roy’s skill [Tiraful] allowed simultaneous attacks.
Its weakness was that its power depended on the skill level.
In the story, Roy’s level had only just exceeded 10.
So with a level over 20, he should be able to break both restraints at once.
Therefore, I had taught him how to raise his skill level.
Right now, Roy’s level was probably well over 20.
That part was fine, but...
Roy looked back at Rulen behind him, turned to me with a smile, and said,
"I couldn’t choose one, so I chose both."
"...What were the options?"
"Lucy and Serin, or Rulen."
"Hahaha."
I was so surprised by Roy’s unexpected answer that I laughed out loud.
I had expected you’d choose either Lucy or Serin, not rescue Rulen as well.
You said "if you can only choose one, choose both," but...
I never imagined you’d go beyond even my and the examination group’s thinking.
Roy tilted his head curiously at my laughter, and Lucy and Serin behind him also looked puzzled.
I placed my hand on Roy’s shoulder and said with a smile,
"You did well."
"...Yes!"
Roy was stunned for a second, then broke into a big smile and nodded vigorously.
By the way, Erika and the others were having this conversation while watching Roy and me.
"Erika-chan~ that girl..."
"Please don’t say it..."
"She looks similar to Sensei."
"She didn’t look similar at all? It started after she started receiving training... Haa."
"By the way, the ones behind her. They’re his lovers, right? Even from a glance."
"Yeah, they are. They didn’t have to look that similar either..."
The three girls were laughing at the conversation with a troubled expression. The sisters had been strolling around, but they still kept an eye on the sisters.
As expected of people who had been adventurers.
