"I sincerely apologize for causing you all such worry."

  In the end, I couldn’t part ways with Lady Esmeralda and ended up returning by carriage. Upon arriving in the royal capital, I immediately 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 me.

  First, Teresa-san, who was hanging undry in the yard, was startled when she saw me appear—then promptly punched me in the head. Without a word, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the stable, where Nel and Amina were silently engrossed in conquering Mochi Dungeon and refining their alchemy.

  They looked exactly the same as when I had left.

  So, why did Teresa-san punch me? Well, it was because I had worried them without saying a word. I deserved it.

  "Uh, I-I’m back?"

  Combined with my extremely te 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 screamed my name, burst into tears, and threw themselves at me.

  If two crying girls hugged me at full force, a kid like me would inevitably be knocked over.

  "Haaah… We trusted you and waited all this time, you know? Nel and Amina-chan even slept in this stable the whole time, 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 ashamed for worrying that they might be angry with me 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 me in silence.

  "……"

  As the three of us remained wordless—

  "Please do not bme 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 come to check on things if I didn’t return.

  Since Nel and the others hadn’t forgiven me 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 Esmeralda was accompanied by her knight escort.

  "Forgive my sudden intrusion. I am Esmeralda 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 me.

  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 expin 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 meaning of my bow, I finally raised my head to see Nel and Amina hiding behind my back.

  Not that my small frame could really hide them, but I guess facing a noble directly was too much for them.

  Lady Esmeralda 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 me 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 mentioning the earth dragon battle, but Lady Esmeralda corrected me, earning me three sharp "What the hell did you do?" gres.

  "Please do not look at him so harshly. There is no deceit in my words. While I cannot eborate further without discussing my family’s affairs, what I said earlier is the truth. He is undoubtedly our savior. Thus, the bme for his deyed return lies with us. If you must bme someone, bme me."

  She subtly implied that noble affairs were not to be pried into while also expertly redirecting any resentment toward herself.

  The problem was, commoners like them couldn’t exactly compin to a noble.

  All that was left was the lingering sense that I’d be grilled for expnations ter.

  "……""I am gd we understand each other."

  Taking the silence as agreement, Lady Esmeralda had technically saved me—but had she really saved me?

  The women seemed to understand but were far from satisfied, their displeasure palpable as Lady Esmeralda faced them with a smile.

  Especially Nel and Amina—their gres 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 came here. Have you finished your business?"

  If this turned into an argument, it was over.

  This level of compromise and accommodation from a noble—especially a ducal house—was already incredibly generous by their standards.

  Lady Esmeralda meant no harm.

  Nel and Amina had only just rexed upon seeing me, but she either didn’t notice or—more likely—prioritized differently.

  "Ahh, I’d like a little more time, if possible? There’s a lot to expin before they’ll be satisfied. Plus, I’m pretty tired from the trip back.""My dy, bringing him to the estate without prior arrangements would be difficult. We also have preparations to make."

  I had sensed Lady Esmeralda’s determination to take me home during the journey, and even now, she showed no signs of giving up. She was still scheming ways to drag me 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 ter to—"

  Just as the butler’s words seemed to settle things and we were about to disperse—so I could expin my dey to Nel and the others—

  A deafening arm bell echoed through the city.

  "!?"

  The knights immediately formed a protective circle around Lady Esmeralda. Nel and Amina clutched my clothes, looking around in confusion.

  And I recognized that sound.

  No, it wasn’t that I’d heard an arm bell before—but the pattern matched a specific event from the game.

  A raid battle.

  Specifically, the sound that pyed during rge-scale military events.

  "A stampede!?"

  Teresa-san’s shout confirmed it.

  "We return to the estate at once! Liberta! All of you, evacuate immediately! Let’s go!!""Yes, my dy!"

  A stampede—a phenomenon where monsters overflow from dungeons.

  In the game, it was a rge-scale cooperative event where pyers banded together to fight. Famous pyers 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 meant things were very bad.

  Lady Esmeralda left with her knights and butler, her expression deadly serious—a stark contrast to earlier.

  There was no time for hesitation.

  "You lot!! Grab your things, now!! We’re evacuating to the Grand Cathedral!"

  Teresa-san’s voice snapped me back to reality.

  "My weapons… I never got them back."

  I suddenly remembered—I still hadn’t retrieved the gear I’d promised to return after cleaning.

  I wanted to scream "Lady Esmeraldaaa!" but—

  "You can buy new ones ter! Grab your valuables and lock up the stable and shop tight! Hey, you!""Just a second! I’m moving the goods to the basement!""Nel! Help out! Amina-chan, go to your family!""O-Okay!""Got it!"

  Unlike in the game, 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 me.

  "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-game, 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 something’s hidden here."

  The massive cushion mound practically screamed "There’s something under me!"

  "Well, at least it’ll buy time 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 seemed 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-come, first-served?"

  I knew about the Grand Cathedral and its capabilities—it was the pyer respawn point in the game.

  No matter how much the capital turned into a hellscape of monsters, that pce alone was protected by a barrier-like defense.

  Some 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 simirly protected by the "system" of the gods.

  "Dammit! We’re too te!"

  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 game 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.