This was a very impressive game! To me, this feels like the abridged version of what could be an amazing JRPG. The worldbuilding and backstories really intrigued me; I wish I got to see more of it. The king struck me as not evil, but rather someone fearful of things out of his control and took that to the extreme of imprisoning those he deemed too powerful to be loose. I'm not sure if Arnalze quite fits the description of an anti-hero; with the way I played, I never got the impression that he was anything but virtuous. Honing in on the self-loathing mentioned in the final act could make for an engaging character flaw. The characterization of Arnalze and the king might benefit a lot from showing things like the burning of the town, or the moments leading up to the Dark Lord's seal.
The battle system I found enjoyable, especially with how useful counters were, though the random encounters were annoying and felt unnecessary (I'd also shorten the gauntlet while stealing the ship). There were definitely a couple technical issues, including being stuck in a house or the text going off-screen for skill descriptions. Aside from that, I'd also suggest increasing the movement speed of the party. I understand it might affect the balance of the lite stealth system, but more often than not I felt like the party was moving too slowly for the large maps.
This game starts pretty strong, but its final act is by far the highlight (aside from the annoying random encounters in the forest temple lol). The moment with the phoenix is honestly so great, because it really feels like the payoff for the player's actions. However, the romance felt like it came completely out of nowhere, and it got me thinking that this does feel like a JRPG with the middle act taken out. It's obviously understandable for a jam game, but I believe an expanded version of this story with time to develop the cast and the setting has a ton of potential.