"I sincerely apologize for causing you all such worry."
In the end, I couldn’t part ways with Lady Esralda and ended up returning by carriage. Upon arriving in the royal capital, I imdiately headed to Nel and the others.
Honestly, I had no idea how they would react.
I even entertained the unpleasant thought that perhaps they had already moved on, happily living their lives without .
First, Teresa-san, who was hanging laundry in the yard, was startled when she saw appear—then promptly punched in the head. Without a word, she grabbed my hand and dragged to the stable, where Nel and Amina were silently engrossed in conquering Mochi Dungeon and refining their alchemy.
They looked exactly the sa as when I had left.
So, why did Teresa-san punch ? Well, it was because I had worried them without saying a word. I deserved it.
"Uh, I-I’m back?"
Combined with my extrely late return, I scratched my head awkwardly as I spoke to them. The two of them looked surprised at first, then their faces crumpled, and before I knew it, huge tears welled up in their eyes.
"Liiibertaaa!! (Sniff!)"
They scread my na, burst into tears, and threw themselves at .
If two crying girls hugged at full force, a kid like would inevitably be knocked over.
"Haaah… We trusted you and waited all this ti, you know? Nel and Amina-chan even slept in this stable the whole ti, and—""……"
I was stunned by the sudden outpouring of emotions, but upon reflection, I should have realized what kind of thoughts had crossed their minds when I didn’t return. Whatever reasons they had imagined—none of them were good.
I felt ashad for worrying that they might be angry with when, in reality, they had purely been waiting for my return.
For a while, I wrapped my arms around them, holding them close to prove I was alive.
Then, once they had cried their fill and began to calm down, I bowed deeply in apology.
That’s how we got to this point. Now, the two of them, their eyes red and swollen from crying, just stared at in silence.
"……"
As the three of us remained wordless—
"Please do not bla him."
A voice broke the silence.
"A-A noble!?"
She was supposed to be waiting at a distance from the shop. Well, of course, she would co to check on things if I didn’t return.
Since Nel and the others hadn’t forgiven yet, I kept my head down, only able to gauge the situation from Teresa-san’s shocked voice.
From the footsteps, I could tell Lady Esralda was accompanied by her knight escort.
"Forgive my sudden intrusion. I am Esralda Edelgard, daughter of House Edelgard. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
She was probably offering a graceful curtsy to Teresa-san and the others.
The three of them shifted their gaze away from .
Was I supposed to keep bowing in the middle of all this?
Well, when faced with a woman’s tears, a man has no choice but to bow. I was the one who broke my promise. The fault was mine, so I continued my apology.
"Li-Liberta… Liberta!""Hey, Liberta-kun, stop doing weird things and explain already!"
But for commoners, nobles were an entirely different existence. Their voices, mixed with anxiety, were nothing like their earlier crying.
Disappointed that they didn’t understand the aning of my bow, I finally raised my head to see Nel and Amina hiding behind my back.
Not that my small fra could really hide them, but I guess facing a noble directly was too much for them.
Lady Esralda and her knights looked troubled, perhaps uncomfortable with the girls’ fearful reactions.
"Uh, well… To put it simply, I helped these people when they were in trouble during my travels, so they gave a ride back in their carriage?""That is not incorrect, but you omitted the part where you are our savior."
I had tried to gloss over the details, not wanting to worry them by ntioning the earth dragon battle, but Lady Esralda corrected , earning three sharp "What the hell did you do?" glares.
"Please do not look at him so harshly. There is no deceit in my words. While I cannot elaborate further without discussing my family’s affairs, what I said earlier is the truth. He is undoubtedly our savior. Thus, the bla for his delayed return lies with us. If you must bla soone, bla ."
She subtly implied that noble affairs were not to be pried into while also expertly redirecting any resentnt toward herself.
The problem was, commoners like them couldn’t exactly complain to a noble.
All that was left was the lingering sense that I’d be grilled for explanations later.
"……""I am glad we understand each other."
Taking the silence as agreent, Lady Esralda had technically saved —but had she really saved ?
The won seed to understand but were far from satisfied, their displeasure palpable as Lady Esralda faced them with a smile.
Especially Nel and Amina—their glares were toeing the line of what was acceptable toward a noble. The knights were half-smiling, letting it slide, but the butler’s twitching eyebrow suggested we were this close to crossing into dangerous territory.
"Now then, Liberta. You said you wished to report your return first, so we ca here. Have you finished your business?"
If this turned into an argunt, it was over.
This level of compromise and accommodation from a noble—especially a ducal house—was already incredibly generous by their standards.
Lady Esralda ant no harm.
Nel and Amina had only just relaxed upon seeing , but she either didn’t notice or—more likely—prioritized differently.
"Ahh, I’d like a little more ti, if possible? There’s a lot to explain before they’ll be satisfied. Plus, I’m pretty tired from the trip back.""My lady, bringing him to the estate without prior arrangents would be difficult. We also have preparations to make."
I had sensed Lady Esralda’s determination to take ho during the journey, and even now, she showed no signs of giving up. She was still scheming ways to drag back, but the butler stopped her.
With a sigh, she reluctantly conceded that proper procedures were necessary.
Personally, I really didn’t want to be hauled off to a noble’s mansion without any preparation. It wasn’t like I had anything to hide, but… well, I did have secrets.
"Then, I shall send a servant later to—"
Just as the butler’s words seed to settle things and we were about to disperse—so I could explain my delay to Nel and the others—
A deafening alarm bell echoed through the city.
"!?"
The knights imdiately ford a protective circle around Lady Esralda. Nel and Amina clutched my clothes, looking around in confusion.
And I recognized that sound.
No, it wasn’t that I’d heard an alarm bell before—but the pattern matched a specific event from the ga.
A raid battle.
Specifically, the sound that played during large-scale military events.
"A stampede!?"
Teresa-san’s shout confird it.
"We return to the estate at once! Liberta! All of you, evacuate imdiately! Let’s go!!""Yes, my lady!"
A stampede—a phenonon where monsters overflow from dungeons.
In the ga, it was a large-scale cooperative event where players banded together to fight. Famous players would flood the battlefield with idol-type characters, turning the whole thing into a concert, but here?
This was no cheerful gathering.
The heart of the kingdom was under attack.
That ant things were very bad.
Lady Esralda left with her knights and butler, her expression deadly serious—a stark contrast to earlier.
There was no ti for hesitation.
"You lot!! Grab your things, now!! We’re evacuating to the Grand Cathedral!"
Teresa-san’s voice snapped back to reality.
"My weapons… I never got them back."
I suddenly rembered—I still hadn’t retrieved the gear I’d promised to return after cleaning.
I wanted to scream "Lady Esraldaaa!" but—
"You can buy new ones later! Grab your valuables and lock up the stable and shop tight! Hey, you!""Just a second! I’m moving the goods to the basent!""Nel! Help out! Amina-chan, go to your family!""O-Okay!""Got it!"
Unlike in the ga, a stampede was a disaster that threatened lives.
Nel rushed into the shop, and Amina spread her wings, flying off to her family.
For now, I did what I could—helping tidy up the stable. Moving crates over the spot where valuables were buried, covering the alchemy workbench, and taking Mochi’s key with .
"What about… this?"
The biggest problem was the golem.
It took up most of the stable’s space now, leaving no room to spare.
There was no way I could carry it while evacuating, but leaving it behind wasn’t an option either.
"Will it be safe if I just lock up?"
It was strong enough to be useful until mid-ga, but beyond that, it’d be obsolete.
Still, if it got stolen, that’d be bad. The best I could do was hide it under Mochi cushions.
After piling them up—
"This just makes it obvious sothing’s hidden here."
The massive cushion mound practically scread "There’s sothing under !"
"Well, at least it’ll buy ti before anyone steals the golem."
Moving the cushions would take effort, so I gave up on the golem and checked if there was anything else to do.
Exiting the stable, I slid the bolt shut.
"Liberta!!""Nel, you done over there?""Yeah!"
Just then, Nel and her family seed ready to evacuate.
They carried bundles in both arms—heavy loads.
"Alright! Let’s go!"
Teresa-san led the way, also carrying as much as she could.
"Go where? The Grand Cathedral?""Yeah, it’s safe there.""But the whole capital can’t fit inside, right?""Mom said if we hurry, we can get in.""Ahh, so it’s first-co, first-served?"
I knew about the Grand Cathedral and its capabilities—it was the player respawn point in the ga.
No matter how much the capital turned into a hellscape of monsters, that place alone was protected by a barrier-like defense.
So idiot once tried to make a video about "conquering the capital" by spawning endless dungeons to trigger a stampede, flooding the city with monsters. Even then, the Grand Cathedral remained untouched—no dungeon could generate there. The capital fell, but the cathedral never did.
In this world, maybe it was similarly protected by the "system" of the gods.
"Dammit! We’re too late!"
Naturally, everyone would rush to such a safe haven.
A sea of people surged toward the cathedral—far more than the building could hold.
"Our shop’s too far. No way we’ll make it.""What now? Head back?""Yeah. We’ve got nowhere else to go."
The scramble for shelter was more brutal than a year-end sale battlefield.
From a distance, I could see a near-riot as people demanded entry. Teresa-san quickly gave up, leading us back through side streets.
"Hey, you! Circle around to the west!""Got it!"
Along the way, we spotted soldiers running frantically. Patrol guards—different from the wall garrison, but if even they were mobilized, things must be dire.
The ga never had the capital nearly destroyed, so… was this a coincidence? Or was there a cause?
"If only Dent-san were here…"
I needed information, but the soldiers were too busy to talk. The only person I could think of who might know more was Dent-san from the Adventurer’s Guild.
What the hell is happening?
Clueless, we retreated to the shop.
Then—squeeze—my right hand was gripped tightly.
"Nel?""We’ll be okay… right?""Yeah. We’ll be fine."
All I could do was smile reassuringly at her, hiding my own unease.
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