The Otome game mob character accidentally broke the game's progression and story

Chapter 19

(A/N Notes: I blame all of this sudden dramatic development on the game devs, who surely didn't think through when coming up with the game story, aside from the part about getting husbandos part. Yes, it's  all the devs' fault, and definitely not from the author)

It was another normal day in the Harding territory, the sky was clear, the weather was cool, and in front of Edward and Nanako stood the burned and charred remnants of the old wooden church, that Nanako was once under the care of.

As for why they were there, that was because last night, Edward and his father had both been awakened in the middle of their sleep, by the report from one of their servants, of a rather large fire that had begun in the slum area of the city. And knowing the potential risks that the fire could cause, they both got themselves up to help coordinate the firefighting efforts with the fire brigades.

And those fire brigades, on the other hand, were something that Oliver had implemented after listening to another one of Edward's desperate explanations to justify his occasional slip of words. And just like the other times with Edward's rather unorthodox and unique ideas, they would show their effectiveness in due time.

And so for the entire night, the two, alongside all of those who directly served both them and all of the city's inhabitants, worked tirelessly to take out the flames and prevent the fire from spreading further beyond the city. And by dawn, all of the flames would die down and be limited to the poor area of the city. Yet now, they would have to start working to rescue any survivors from the fire, who may be buried under the charred remnants of what once were buildings.

But the necessity of also managing the day-to-day affairs of his territory would force Oliver to return to the manor, leaving only Edward as the highest ranking person to coordinate the efforts, with Nanako staying by his side to take care of his necessities or requests. So with his usual diligence in doing the tasks assigned to him by his father, he would organize the entire search, and at times even help directly in the search efforts.

As he and Nanako walked around the devastated streets to assess the situation, they would eventually arrive at a familiar, and relatively intact but scarred building. The old church that once served as an orphanage for the poor area, the place where Edward and Nanako had their first meeting.

"..."

"..."

The two looked at the remnants of the church in silence, and for Nanako, her silence was more from just surprise, but it was also from sadness. When she looked at the burned wooden planks and wood, she couldn't help but feel tears forming in her eyes, even though it had already passed nearly five years since she moved out of the church, the region, and especially this building in particular still held an important part of her memories as the place she once called home for most of her childhood alongside her foster siblings.

This was the place she grew up in, was taken care of, and it was the place she formed a family with her foster siblings. Her time there had its ups and downs, but she couldn't remember any moment where she felt truly sad or desperate. And the most important for her to this day, was the place where she met Edward, and where he gave her and her siblings a life they couldn't ever imagine before then.

"... *Hic*... *Trembling*... *Hic*"

"..."

Edward who easily noticed Nanako trying to hold back her tears as she began looking down, could only remain silent. After all, he couldn't feel the same as Nanako, because he only visited this church once, however, he still felt obliged to do something to help Nanako.

"..." *Pats Nanako's head and then hugs her*

"!..."

"Nanako, it's okay for you to let it out. I'll stay by your side like this for as long as you need"