Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Five years, huh? It really stings...

There already should be. When you are asked if you would like to save the game during the trial, there should be a button at the bottom of the screen that says Skip Current Bout. That will allow you to skip the three sections of the trial if you so choose.
I recommend not skipping the final section, though. Many of what's said will depend on who you're dating.
Don't worry, I understand that real life has priority. Your needs are more important, so I understand why you had to set the project to the side for a lot of time.
That said, I imagine that you wanted the year to feel like this:

But it ended up feeling like this:

Regardless, I admire your and DaSinBun's tenacity--you guys didn't give up, and here we are! Again, congratulations on releasing the update, and I hope you guys are doing well!
I hope 2026 will go much more smoothly for you, Roda.
That's great to hear, Roda! Just don't push yourself too hard, but I know you'll do your best (and the same goes for DaSinBun!). Best wishes to both of you, and again, I'm really looking forward to the update!
(By the way, do you like listening to music? In my opinion, Mario Kart World music is great to listen to while I'm working!)
Hey Roda, I hope you're doing well! I just wanted to say how much I appreciate all the hard work you've been putting into this game (and DaSinBun as well!). I can already tell that the upcoming update is gonna be a great one, and it's gonna be worth the wait! I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds in the next update!
But I have to say, Roda... The anticipation... It very much feels like...

I understand how rough it's been lately for you, and I do appreciate all the effort you've been putting into this game. I'm sorry that you've had to deal with broken records lately, though, they're a nuisance (I'm afraid that's the lightest I can say it).
While I also hope that it's possible that the update comes out this month, I want to say that you should take as much time with it as you deem necessary. I'd certainly would like to see this update at its best when it comes out! I'll admit that the upcoming sex scenes have gotten me excited for this update, though!
Personally speaking, though, I certainly don't mind waiting a bit longer of it comes to it. Between Guild Wars 2, Tales of Xillia Remastered, Persona 3 Reload, and Kirby Air Riders, I have a lot of games that will hold my attention until then.

Not sure if you've seen it yet, but there have been a few instances in this very comment section where a strange user posts some strange comment promoting some mysterious game that they claim is available on Patreon and is perfectly safe to download. However, there are multiple telltale signs that it would result in someone being scammed should they click on that link.
At least, that's what I think. I'm not exactly willing to risk my identity to find out, you see.
With all due respect, I don't envy your position of having to deal with these bots. Ever since that notorious NSFW crackdown itch io did a few months back, I've noticed that the bots have multiplied like rabbits, and the situation's seemingly been exacerbated hundredfold.
I do really hope it's not taking too much out of you.
To answer your question, the devs stated that in each update, they will advance all characters' routes at once. This means it will take much more time to release an update, but all changes will be available once the update goes live.
They cannot do one-by-one route updates, as I'm quite sure that the tighter schedules that come from that would likely stress them out unnecessarily.
Oh, thanks for responding, Roda! I get that there are plenty of people out there who are understandably nervous about this whole occurrence, but to be honest, it's rather refreshing to see you aren't giving up just yet.

And speaking of which, I hope you and DaSinBun are still doing okay at this time!
The answer to your question is yes. Since Ren'Py likes being a bastard to save files that are one update behind (or any older versions, for that matter), you're gonna have to download and start from the beginning each time a new update comes out. I know it can be bothersome, but you're gonna have to power through it.
There already is an option. During the three times you are asked to save the game (consider them as checkpoints), there will be a button at the bottom of the screen that says Skip Current Bout. That will allow you to skip through the scenes.
However, the court scenes after the third checkpoint involve the Main 6 (Leo, Jin, Joseph, Ridge, Koku and Runan). I recommend not skipping through that part, since dialogue vastly differs between the six dateables.
Here are a few questions regarding that:
These two areas can get people confused, but if you do this, you'll be able to spend three days with Jin and allow you to go down his path.
While I do appreciate you sharing imaginative ideas, I remember the devs saying that romancing two characters at once just isn't feasible, as it would require dramatic changes in storyline, engagements with other characters...pretty much almost everything in the game, really.
And as one would expect, such changes would eat up time and resources, perhaps unnecessarily.
I...wouldn't get your hopes up, if I were you.
Oh man, this update sure was heavy on the emotions. Witnessing all of those events made my heart feel heavy, but man, it's a testament to how good the story is so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Scriviner continues to become closer to each of the True Wyverians!

This may be me going off on my own thoughts, but I'm still not sure why I keep imagining the Scriviner saying something like this somewhere in the story, though. Maybe in an alternate time...?
Hmm, now that you mention it, having multiple save files on hand does tend to get confusing after a while (I tend to keep one page of saves per character, but even I had a feeling that wouldn't be enough). A way to differentiate them might help.
But I think it's got me wondering about another thing:
With how far along the story is now, it kinda makes me wonder if a Chapter Select system could be implemented, if that's even remotely possible...