The situation is grim.
　Father Gapon is temporarily stranded, but with the power of the Demon King, he will try to attack us.
　The army soldiers will soon arrive as well.

　It's impossible to escape with two wounded men, and Lucy is under a stone.

　At this rate, I would be outnumbered by the enemy, and there was no way to save Lucy, let alone Claire.
　If I'm then captured, I won't be able to teach Filia any magic.

　But I wasn't going to be able to abandon Lucy in front of me.

　It's a good idea to use magic to get Lucy out from under the stone.

　But before I could do so, a figure was approaching me with tremendous speed.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

　It was a beautiful brown-haired woman holding a thin sword.

'Hi, Solon-kun, and Lucy,'

　His opponent was Leticia, the former leader of the Basileus Adventurer's Order.
　She was now a senior officer of the Order of the Salvation Knights and a participant in the Free Alliance.

　Leticia was planning to overthrow the imperial government together with Lucy. So she should be on the side of me and Lucy.
　Leticia is a veteran adventurer, and if she's there, she might be able to rescue Lucy and escape.

　But this was wishful thinking on my part.
　When Leticia swung her fine sword, I suddenly became unable to move.

　Unable to grasp the situation, I was stunned.

''What are you doing, Leticia-san?''

I have cast a spell on you. It's a powerful magic that restricts your actions.

Why?

'I can't help Lucy in this situation, even if I were here. Right now, you alone should be the priority in getting out.

　Sheesh.
　Letitia may have come to Lucy's aid as well, but it seems that she decided to escape once she saw the situation.

"If we come back alive, we can help Lucy again.

　I felt my body move against my will.
　Holding Claire in my arms, I was about to leave the scene as quickly as I could.

　Letitia's magic was controlling me.
　I managed to look back at Lucy and told her that I would be there to help her.

　Lucy nodded as if she was relieved.
　In the next moment, more rocks fell, completely separating me from Lucy.

　I started to run against my will to escape.

　I thought Lucy had been caught in the collapse, and I wasn't fazed.

'I've put a simple magical barrier around Lucy, so she won't be crushed to death by the marble.

　Letitia says shortly.

'Besides, Lucy's going to be made a dependency of the Demon King, so she's not going to be killed any time soon.

　Yes.
　What Letitia says is a good argument.

　Now that it's come to this, we have to find a way to get out and rescue Lucy again.

　A guard appeared in our path and tried to still us, but to no avail.
　The soldiers were the Commander of the Basileus Adventurers and the Deputy Commander of the Order of St. Sophia. Objectively speaking, there are very few soldiers who can fight on an even playing field.

　However, it is certain that with a large number of troops, it won't be an easy battle.
　We reached the entrance of the Ministry of War and Navy building, and there were twelve or three soldiers there.

'Capture the intruders!

　The guards pounced on us with an extremely mundane shout.
　Leticia chuckled and flashed her sword, and as she flashed it, there was a splash of blood and several soldiers were killed.

　I wielded my magic sword as well, peaking the soldiers and taking them down.
　Letitia doesn't seem to have any hesitation in killing the Imperial soldiers, but I don't.

　They're just loyal to their duties and should be innocent of any wrongdoing.

　Military swordsmanship, for better or worse, is a matter of following the usual way.
　It's natural since they are trained to fight in groups, but on the other hand, the sword lines are easy to read.

　The duke's family, where my father was a butler, also had a tutor who was an up-and-coming military officer.
　In order to become a steward who could protect his master, I even received sword lessons from him.
　So I understand military swordsmanship to some extent.

　That's why I was able to move in anticipation of the soldiers' sword movements.
　Two soldiers attacked me from both sides, but I quickly backed away.
　They lost their aim and were about to slash at each other, and tried to draw their swords in a hurry.

　As they lost their stance, I swung my sword with one hand, knocking one of them down and kicking the other one in the abdomen, sending him into agony.

　Claire was also wobbly on her feet, but she managed to defend herself.

　In the blink of an eye, Letitia and I managed to clear the troops and make our retreat.
　Then we shook off our pursuers and fled to the dimly lit alleyways of the Imperial City.

''Well. You are now a clear rebel.

　Letitia says, amused.
　I was aware of the bitter look on my face.

　Eventually, my mansion will be raided by the secret police of the third division of the Emperor's Secretariat.
　As long as Filia is an imperial princess, I don't think the inhabitants of the mansion will be harmed immediately, but.......

''Well, at any rate, you won't be returning to the mansion for a while. You can come to our lair.

　I had no choice but to follow Letitia.
　I also had to treat Claire.

　Eventually, the gloomy alleyway became a dead end.
　With a thump, I tapped on the wall of the brick building and a door appeared there.
　It must have been hidden by magic.

　Letitia opened the door and I stepped into the Free Alliance's hideout.

'Welcome back, Solon.'

　It was a beautiful, clear voice.
　It was the voice of a girl I knew well.

'Hui, Filia-sama!

　Filia smiled at me, upset, and smiled at me.