Gacha Kingdom Building

Also known as the winter break, the first-semester break marks the start of the late game.

From this point on, increasing Lennard and Albert's favorability becomes more difficult due to their graduation.

They only show up in a few special events when invited by the academy.

Thankfully, the fact that they never canceled Isabella's enrollment or locked her up like in some scenarios shows that we did a good job keeping her away from trouble and maintaining a good relationship with them.

In other words, we avoided the bad endings caused by her brothers.

We still need to be careful, but the three appear to be doing quite well now, so the chances of them acting this way against her are pretty low.

As for Isabella's other relationships... It's hard to say.

She usually spends some time with Edmond in the library, as he was interested in catching up to her scores and asked her to be his teacher.

The two of them seem to be friends, but if I had to say, Sabrina has a lead in his route. I've seen with the corner of my eyes some events that should only happen between them if his affection points are pretty high.

The only problem is... Sabrina herself.

In the game, if you choose Sabrina as the heroine, Isabella gets in her way at every turn, acting out of envy, hate, and rage.

This contributes to Isabella's downfall, as her actions against Sabrina lead her to lose affection points with the game targets and eventually fall into a bad route with them, culminating in her different bad endings.

I thought this was going to be easy to avoid. If we could prevent Isabella from acting rashly, such problems would not occur.

But things weren't so simple.

Due to how we chose to handle Raella's case, a rift started between the two of them.

Slowly but surely, the very events we were trying to prevent started to occur as if fate itself was working against us.

Similarly to how it is in the game, all the evidence suggests Isabella to be the culprit for everything that happens with Sabrina.

However... In this case, we know this cannot be true.

Isabella is never alone. Lana is with her even when she goes to sleep.

There's no way she could do anything without me knowing about it.

But all of this makes me a little lost.

We've investigated as much as possible, both in this world and in the game, but neither pointed to a culprit other than Isabella.

No one else seems to have any reason or opportunity to act against Sabrina.

Everything always happens when these two are "alone".

And as her guards, even though we always accompany Isabella, it's easy to think of us as accomplices, and thus, her reputation and her own claims of innocence are not holding up too much as of late.

I thought I'd have to tread carefully to guarantee her happy ending without changing too much of the game scenario, but apparently, I didn't have to worry too much about it.

This world is more than capable of getting back on its own tracks when it comes to the two of them... Or at least when it comes to giving Isabella a hard time.

And if we needed any more examples of it, we got the ever-so-colorful first-semester break.

Since the academy gathers all the high-profile youngsters of the new generation, they also make sure to give them a project to work on during each break.

Normally, they are meant to help develop the skills expected of the future roles they'll take in society.

For example, Sabrina was sent to study and report her achievements in Cobierzh, where she's meant to ring the bells and acquire the spell she used against Raella.

As for Isabella, her tasks can vary greatly.

The best one has her do a collaborative project with Edmond, where they have to make a report on their duties as some of the most important figures of Terith's next generation.

This always greatly benefits their relationship, but there are other nice options, such as being sent to the Evretis' territory, where she can also increase her favorability with her brothers and learn with them.

Thus, with so many great options, considering this is Isabella we are talking about, it should be obvious that we ended up being sent to Licerce, a port city right at Terith's northern shores.

Yes... The northern territories... Also known as the frozen lands.

The territory most affected by the Dragon of the North... During winter...

To make things even better, her assignment is to report an achievement.

It's quite vague, but it implies a significant feat, or, at least, a change.

While all that is pretty bad already, the worst part is that we know nothing about the town.

I prepared for every scenario encountered by the girls in the game, but no one was unlucky enough to get this.

Since they've been able to reach this section quite often, I thought we already knew all the possibilities.

But alas, Isabella's Gift never fails to surprise...

Isabella: "...Did something happen with Miwen recently?"

Licia: "...Why?"

Isabella: "...I don't know... Ever since yesterday, it feels like he's a little more... distracted? And well... You're here. It's not that I doubt your abilities, but... I feel like he called you... for himself."

Since the ride to Licerce takes a few hours, we decided to take turns resting in the carriage.

However, I was only pretending to sleep.

Like Isabella thought, I was a little distracted and wanted to use this time to think a little.

Licia: "You're so attentive."

Isabella: "...Is it something I can help with? I know I'm not very useful, but... He's done a lot for me. I'd like to do something in return."

Licia: "I think you're already helping a lot, being just the way you are."

Isabella: "Hm... Claire was right. You're pretty good at uplifting others. I can see why he would rely on you..."

Right... One can't help but feel appreciated when around her.

It's quite a unique aura. It's kind and strong. Motherly, even.

And even though she works hard, she doesn't sacrifice her own happiness, as seeing others happy also makes her happy.

It reminds me of my sister, who I consider a truly good person. I can't help but admire her for it.

Isabella was right though... I might rely on her a little because of it.

But she doesn't complain, and I know it makes her happy.

Because... I'm also happy when she counts on me.

Sadly, this time, there was nothing Isabella or Licia could do.

I got in this state because of what we discussed yesterday.

I still vividly remember it...

After leaving the auction with Isabella and her brothers, I received a message from Isabella.

She asked me if I could prepare a room for us to talk in private, and since it is rare for her to make such requests, I immediately prepared one.

To my surprise, she didn't come alone, instead, she brought Angelica, Anna, Bea, Claire, Ellie, Licia, and Mia.

Since Cassandra was already with me, this basically became a reunion with all the girls I knew the longest.

This made me a little worried. I that she called them on purpose to ease me before telling me bad news.

Sadly, I was almost completely right.

She told me how Earth had pushed back its enemies by resorting to a weapon they had not yet used.

The news referred to it as a nuclear bomb or a nuke.

I noticed that Elizabeth, albeit still talking objectively, was being careful with her words, unsure of how I would react.

She wasn't the only one. There was this palpable sentiment of uncertainty in the room.

It became clear that they had watched a lot of the news to report it to me, and they must've seen many different reactions to it all.

Not understanding why the reactions were so mixed, they planned carefully how to approach me this time.

They used Liz to talk as objectively and carefully as possible, and they made sure that everyone would be in the room to help her if they thought she seemed insensitive for a moment.

But even though they were so careful, there was simply no way I wouldn't be shocked by it.

The moment I finished hearing her, I had no words.

My mind was filled with a million different thoughts about what this meant, the consequences, and how it could shape the future.

While this was an attempt by the government to protect the world, nukes had a lot of significance in our culture.

This was something the girls couldn't understand. To them, it was just a powerful weapon we hadn't used yet.

But there was a sense of pride for us in not having used nukes against other people for so long.

It signified that there was a line we weren't willing to cross.

This had been the case for some weapons before, such as chemical warfare, so deep down we knew it was because of the threat of mutual destruction, and that if not for that we would use it like any other weapon.

But in a way, this was true for every weapon. Every war was about hurting each other, this was just the ultimate form of that.

Thus, for some, there was this hopeful thought that if we had discovered in nukes a step we weren't willing to take, then perhaps, we could start walking back now that we had reached the end line.

Absolutely it was just a hopeful thought.

But that hope had a value of its own.

If things could change drastically... if human nature could improve... then it was only because that hope existed in the first place.

Miwen: "The conflicting reactions you are seeing are because this hope that started to develop in some was completely shattered by reality. Our nature never changed a single step, We never became less cruel, we were just afraid of what it would mean to us, is all."

In other words, we were driven by fear, not morality.

When pushed against the wall... If pushed hard enough... Then the truth remained the same.

There were no lines we weren't willing to cross.

Humanity was as bad as it had always been throughout the ages.

That realization seems to have hurt those who previously thought differently.

When I explained things properly, especially what would happen to the targets, some of the girls, like Angelica, Ellie, and Licia, started to be a little more sympathetic about what this meant for me and my world.

From what I had seen in the news, the focus of the bombs wasn't the biggest cities. They targeted cities that had shown a bigger flux of people, as well as port cities and strategically located cities.

This was only possible due to Earth focusing its efforts on winning the air war, something we achieved through modern jets' mobility, speed, and power, which was enough to bring down most of the enemy's air units with ease.

With the air won and some support from the ground after a charge, we were able to perform recon and retrieve a lot of the information needed for the attack.

Thus, the targets were then destroyed. Their logistics were vaporized and some fronts had been effectively demilitarized due to the radiation making it impossible for them to access some areas again.

Not only that... we purposefully poisoned the waters.

The total damage was incalculable. At least for me.

I'm sure the people responsible for deciding everything had calculated way more than I ever could.

However, some predictions said that entire ecosystems could die because of this. Countries could lose their entire population before the Divine Event ended, and maybe...

We could be responsible for destroying all life on a continent.

Now, this estimate was harder to believe. At least I thought it sounded almost ridiculous, but... I couldn't deny it either.

Especially after some theories started to appear about a certain front where no nukes were used.

It might've been due to a lack of such arsenal, but...

If we were to assume the most cruel scenario. Which we should.

Then, it was probably an attempt to not spoil the prize. After all, Earth was in it to win now, and we wouldn't like to bring a continent filled with radiation to our world.

This was coldly calculated... And it contributed to the mixed reactions.

People started questioning if we hadn't gone too far.

It's almost funny. As if there is any difference between using one, two, or a hundred nukes.

Once the button is pressed for the first time, it is all the same.

Still, people were confused about how to feel, and since most had not yet been affected by the invasion of our world, it was easy for them to criticize this action.

This meant that anyone who was already against the government gained a lot of supporters overnight.

This was the opportunity the AOTG was waiting for. They now had an even stronger narrative to use.

Not only was the system outdated, it was cruel. We couldn't rely on it if we wanted to do better, to be better.

I'm not sure whether or not this was within Erik's predictions. I for one, had at least imagined this could happen, but I chose to... believe it wasn't going to.

In any case, it doesn't surprise me that he used it to his advantage. In his position...

I wonder if I'd do the same...

...

The girls weren't dumb. They understood what I told them, but they had conflicting opinions.

To be more precise, Cassandra, Claire, and Elizabeth were unfazed by it.

Cassandra: "There's no such thing as cheating in war, boy. When you want something, you take it. Whatever means necessary. Restricting yourself to one method or another is a choice, but with no guarantees that the enemy will do the same, it is not a wise decision."

Elizabeth: "...While I hate it, I agree with the sword-woman. However, do remember that whatever our opinions may be, we shall fight whenever, wherever, and however you decide, so our positions only hold as much value as you put on them. As our king, you should always believe yourself to be right."

I never restricted the girls and their opinions. I always listen to them and I value what they have to say.

Because of that, I could tell that both Cassandra and Liz were holding themselves back this time.

Cassandra clearly didn't care about this at all. To her, war is war. Whatever happens is justified and there wasn't much to consider about any weapon used.

But she cared about how I felt about it, and while she didn't change her opinion because of that, she mellowed her words to turn them into advice.

Liz, on the other hand, tried to reinforce that my decisions were what truly mattered.

If I decided I wasn't going to fight with a certain method or weapons, then, there wouldn't be complaints from her. Even if it was too soft, or too cruel.

Then, we had Claire...

Claire: "I don't understand. I think it is great that you have powerful weapons. I think you should have used them from the start. And I don't get why you are so shaken about this. If I were you, I'd be happy."

Licia: "Claire... That's-"

Claire: "But! We decided to come together because we were worried about you. So, won't you share with us what you're thinking? What you are feeling? Just so you know, I won't forgive you if you don't."

It was clearly confrontational towards me.

But I knew what she was doing.

It was on everyone's mind, but they couldn't find a proper way to put it into words feeling this moment was a little sensitive and their own understanding wasn't enough...

So they tried to understand and be sympathetic and respectful.

However, Claire didn't care about what this meant. To her, how I felt was the only that was truly important.

She didn't need to understand anything else.

Thus, she was able to express her feelings more freely and get to the root of her concerns.

It's not that she cared about me more or less than any of the others, but it's that she did it in a different way, one that was unique to her.

And I was thankful for it.

I could see that the people in this room truly cared about me, in their own ways.

Miwen: "...I'm still processing it. Honestly. I've always seen myself as an average man. Neither better nor worse than anyone else. But if this is how my people are, to their core... I'm just not sure what it means for me. I also have a lot to consider about the AOTG. This is probably the best chance they'll get, and if Erik predicted this while I did not, then... He might be better... or worse... than me. And I'm a little afraid of what this means as well."

Truthfully, this wasn't something I was prepared for.

I was starting to doubt myself. My own excuses for acting the way I do.

I was wondering about what this meant for me, both internally and externally.

In the end, the girls had already helped me as much as they could that night.

But it was up to me to order my thoughts and reach a conclusion.

And I simply couldn't do it overnight.

Even during this carriage ride, I still had a lot to think about, which is why I used all the time I could get.

Isabella: "...I envy you a little."

Licia: "Hm? Why?"

Isabella: "You and the others... You have something to offer. You are people even a guy like him can depend on. As for me... I always depend on others."

Their conversation continued, but it took a strange turn.

Licia: "I meant it when I said you were helping by being just the way you are. This guy here... He doesn't admit it himself, but he's quite a good person, you know?"

Isabella: "I've seen people who'd beg to differ."

Licia: "True, he's not good towards everyone. But I think he is a person who worries about being good. He might have given up on his ideal of a good person, but he tries not to fall into something he'd be ashamed of. This effort... I think it makes him a good person. This is especially evident when he has something to protect, or someone to help. He goes to any distance for the people he cares about. And that's why I'm thankful to you. It's true that most of the girls can handle themselves, but that's why you are so important. As long as you are around, he'll have someone to help and protect. You make him a little better just by being there. So... Thanks, Isa!"

She's so unfair.

Even though they weren't directed at me, they inspired me a little.

There's no way such words won't take root deep down Isabella's heart.

But she better not take it the wrong way and start slacking off because of it.

Isabella: "I don't get it. You clearly love him a lot, so... Why do you let him flirt as much as he wants with the other girls? Even now, he's sleeping right next to Mia."

Licia: "Ehehe. Well... This was something I decided when Claire appeared. I felt like if we were to compete over him, and I won, I'd feel bad for her. So I thought it would be nice if we didn't have to compete at all. Then I also thought that he was bound to summon more people in the future, and I wouldn't want any of them to feel left out, so... I guess I wouldn't be happy depriving others of their own happiness... I don't care too much about titles or positions, but everyone says I'm the first wife, so... I guess I want to make sure everyone in our family is happy and feels fulfilled..."

She was showing off at the end.

It was the humblest showing off I had ever seen, but she was still doing it.

Isabella: "...But, what if-"

Mia: "Miwen... we're surrounded. 12 enemies. Light armor. Leather, probably."

Licia: "I think will have to continue another time. The same goes for your peeking, mister."

Of course... She knew from the start...

Miwen: "I thought you wouldn't answer honestly otherwise..."

Licia: "You know that's not true."

We had three carriages. One of them had a few other guards that Isabella's family insisted on sending, and the other had a few envoys.

We were at a disadvantage when it came to numbers, but... We made quick work of the bandits.

Frankly, Mia and Licia alone were more than enough to deal with them, but I joined in too just to be sure.

Licia: "Miwen... That's enough. We aren't far from the town, so we can take them there."

Miwen: "Right..."

They weren't strong at all, the only problem we had was a Snow White Wolf in their gang.

She said some rather unsavory things to Mia.

Mia: "I don't care what you think. From now on, you're coming with us."

However, it didn't seem like it affected Mia too much, and she quickly shut up the other girl.

We tied everyone's hands and aside from the Snow White Wolf, we took them with us to the town of Licerce, where the authorities could handle them.