The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 18
EP.18 Stubbornness (2)
Morphine was discovered in the early 1800s. Given that morphine is a type of opium, it’s reasonable to think it emerged around that time without needing a detailed historical investigation. Moreover, morphine frequently appeared as a painkiller for soldiers in World War I and II.
Morphine, the most potent painkiller derived from natural plants, had a powerful effect and acted very quickly on the brain. Therefore, it was distributed like crazy to soldiers until World War II. And it also caused a lot of suffering for soldiers who survived World War I and II. It was, after all, a famous form of “opium.”
Its addictive nature was so strong that even today it’s used only as a last resort, when other painkillers are ineffective. In the past, when the side effects of drugs were relatively less researched, morphine was used because there were no real alternatives.
And now, I had a stash of morphine hidden in my room.
“……What is this?”
“……”
That’s right. Just because it was the past didn’t mean people were unaware of the harmful effects of opium. Remember, even in Britain, they sold opium to China with great enthusiasm, leading to the famous Opium Wars when China, thinking the opium was destroying their country, rebelled.
This world knew about its effects, too.
I was using it even though I knew.
And now, Alice was rummaging through my room, uncovering every hiding spot, like under the bed or on top of the wardrobe.
“Princess.”
“…Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”
Alice asked, looking at the morphine on the bed.
It wasn’t a large amount. I didn’t need much. A dose or two was sufficient. I had a few small bottles, just in case.
But it was enough to raise Alice’s suspicion.
“You’re not addicted or anything, right?”
“……Princess.”
I called out to Alice, who was asking anxiously, in a calm voice.
“Have I ever shown symptoms of opium addiction?”
“……”
One of the most easily noticeable symptoms after taking morphine was constricted pupils. I had seen it a few times myself, a few years ago in the Count’s territory.
Moreover, if I were truly addicted to morphine, it would be impossible to hide. Being intoxicated with opium like morphine made one acted insane and unable to think straight for a while, and withdrawal symptoms like vomiting, fever, and diarrhea were very obvious.
But my body was perfectly normal. When I was busy, I never showed any withdrawal symptoms. Strangely, I didn’t even catch a cold.
Alice glared at me and asked.
“So, what is this for?”
“It’s for emergencies.”
“…But there are mages in the castle.”
That was right.
This world had real magic. Mages used magical stones to cast spells. They could heal injuries almost without leaving a scar and, recently, they’ve even managed to reattach severed limbs.
“Healing with magic takes too long.”
“Then what about during that time…?”
“And an unhealed body still experiences pain, which makes it less agile.”
No matter how well-trained a person was, it was impossible to move exactly the same after getting injured as before. So, in urgent situations, it was important to numb the pain and move quickly by tricking the brain.
…Honestly, it was a bit unfair. I hadn’t actually used it yet.
But I planned to use it when necessary, experience the situation once, and then reset the time.
Addiction to drugs had both psychological and physical reasons, but the physical effects were the most significant. The harm they did to the brain and nervous system was severe. When someone was addicted to drugs, the craving was as desperate as a starving person searching for food. The brain had been deceived into feeling hungry.
However, I could cancel out that addiction in the brain and nervous system.
So, if I got severely injured and faced an unknown level of danger, I could endure, see the future, and then apply that idea to try again. Of course, without drugs in the final state.
“……”
Alice bit her lip.
“Is it because of me?”
“……”
Hmm…
It wasn’t just because of Alice. To be precise, it was a preparation for all possible scenarios. I might really need to assassinate the Emperor someday.
The Emperor’s personal combat ability was among the strongest in this world. Even Lucas couldn’t defeat him with a sword, so he was probably overwhelmingly stronger than anyone known as a ‘Sword Saint’ in this world.
Still, as a human, he must have very tiny gaps.
But those gaps were so tiny that it might take thousands of attempts, repeating every second, to find and exploit them. So, these morphine vials were tools to slightly enhance the efficiency of that process.
Seeing me remain silent, Alice seemed to think something and suddenly reached out to me.
Alice… in terms of ‘talent,’ she was far superior to me. Simply put, she was the daughter of ‘that’ Emperor. Her physical abilities were top-notch, and she was incredibly smart. Honestly, if I didn’t have the ability to reset the time, I could never defeat Alice in a one-on-one confrontation.
And the same went for studying. I could read the same book dozens, hundreds of times, attend hundreds of hours of lectures from tutors, and still have the same amount of time to invest as others… No, if I wanted, I could just erase the time spent and retain the knowledge. If I had just studied normally, I wouldn’t have even gotten into the academy.
I wouldn’t have survived until now, either.
So, well.
If Alice suddenly grabbed me by the collar, I wouldn’t be able to avoid it. My face would be pulled close to hers, about a fist’s distance away.
…Should I reset the time?
I briefly considered it but decided to postpone that decision. For now, I would see how the situation played out. After all, Alice was one of the characters I liked.
I’d prefer not to reset the time I had spent with her.
“Hey.”
Oh.
This was bad.
Alice seemed genuinely angry.
“I’m going to ask you some questions now, and you better answer them properly.”
“……”
It was sheer luck that my expression didn’t crumble. The practice I’d put into maintaining a neutral face was paying off.
“What do you think of me? And what do you think of yourself?”
“You are the future Empress of the Empire. My role is to assist you.”
“According to what my father said?”
“……”
No, this was my own will.
If Alice weren’t here, I would have run away immediately. Preferably near Claire… or I would have sought help and hidden with the heroines, the protagonist, or even some male characters, though less willingly. Except in the Church.
I didn’t know what Alice thought of my silence, but she stared at me with fiery eyes.
“Let me ask you a different question. What if my father appointed you as the Crown Princess instead of me?”
“That would never—”
“If you think my father won’t do such a thing, then you are greatly mistaken.”
…Hmm.
I believed Alice was the one mistaken, but the current situation didn’t seem appropriate for arguing that.
“—If that were to happen, I would do my best to ensure the imperial authority is placed in its rightful position.”
“…Even if it’s Father’s command?”
“Yes. Because it would be the right thing to do.”
This was sincere.
I had no intention of becoming the Emperor. In fact, based on the storyline up to the point where it had progressed, I doubted whether the Emperor could continue to hold power. After all, wasn’t the Emperor the leader of an evil empire?
Ultimately, the protagonist would be the one who triumphed in the end, supported by the heroine and other male characters, along with many other allies.
Although the ending wasn’t clear yet, most players speculated that it would involve a democratic revolution.
Even if Alice didn’t inherit the imperial throne, she could become a hero of the people. And that would be much better for her future. No matter how much reality was reflected, it was still a game. Considering the developers, it was unlikely that all the royal family members would be executed.
“Even if it means ruining your body?”
Alice’s eyes were fixed on the bottle of morphine on the bed. I nodded.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Of course, I had no intention of using it all the way through, but if I answered straightforwardly, there would be no reason for me to have collected the morphine in the first place, so I used it as an excuse.
“……”
Alice glared at me for a while before finally releasing her grip on my collar. I tried my best not to stumble. Thankfully, almost a decade of effort paid off, and I managed not to stagger awkwardly.
“I’m taking this with me.”
“……”
Alice picked up the morphine from the bed. Then she looked at me and spoke.
“Don’t worry. I won’t need it. A princess of a nation can’t be addicted to morphine, right?”
And that remark about being ‘a princess of a nation’ was directed at me as well.
“……”
“And I will make sure that such substances can’t be obtained within the palace. From now on, only those deemed absolutely necessary will be allowed to handle such things, and not someone of your dignity. Understood?”
“……Understood.”
Only after I said that did Alice nod firmly and turn on her heel, leaving my room.
“……”
I counted to roughly thirty seconds before letting out a long sigh.
As expected of the Emperor’s daughter, her spirit was no joke. I felt crushed the entire time she had me by the collar. Fortunately, I managed to maintain my composure, so there was no need to reset the time.
When I followed Alice a little while ago, the Emperor had already left. Even if I had met him directly, I wasn’t sure if the situation would have been resolved, but the fact that I didn’t even get a chance to see any potential resolution seemed to have really irritated Alice.
Returning to my room in a huff, Alice, unable to control her frustration, started pacing around and then flung open my bag.
At first, I wasn’t sure what she was doing, but then she began unpacking everything inside the bag. While she didn’t throw my things around recklessly, she seemed to want to recreate the state of the bag before it was packed.
I watched in disbelief as Alice, while unpacking my bag, discovered a vial of morphine, which led to the commotion.
“……Hmm.”
Honestly, even if Alice decided to crack down on morphine, it was still easy to obtain. This world had opium dens hidden in the corners of cities. Although illegal, the Empire had little interest in the harsh lives of the lower classes.
As a result, opium was somewhat popular among the nobility as well. Of course, it was harder to catch nobles than commoners. Even the Count indulged openly until he was assassinated.
…Still, bringing morphine back into the palace would be risky.
If Alice caught me next time, I might really be suspected of addiction and forced into a sanatorium. The mental hospitals of this era had… somewhat barbaric aspects, didn’t they? I wasn’t keen on ending up in one of those.
“Hmm…”
If not morphine…
Well, there were a few other drugs that came to mind. Even if they weren’t painkillers, there were substances that could drastically improve the success rate of my attempts.
For example, yes, there are substances that were too recently introduced to have their harms and side effects properly studied. Drugs that, when taken, could exponentially increase concentration, allowing one to complete tasks at double the usual speed and with greater accuracy. Not magic potions, but real-world drugs.
Methamphetamine.
In reality, this drug was marketed as ‘Philopon.’
Since the pharmaceutical company was Japanese, it was sometimes called ‘Hiroppon’ following the Japanese pronunciation.
Of course, like any drug, it severely wore down the body. Didn’t they say it caused permanent damage to dopamine receptors? And dopamine was used to create positive emotions in humans. In other words, once taken, one could never feel normal happiness again without the drug.
I could simply reset the time to fix it, but…
“…Maybe I should reconsider.”
While morphine could be used for ‘exploring possibilities,’ methamphetamine was strictly a ‘results-oriented’ drug. The results obtained using this drug couldn’t be utilized.
Even if I succeeded in an assassination under its influence, I would either have to live as an addict for life, experience no pleasure other than from the drug, or ultimately reset time to achieve results without it.
Nothing was ever easy.
I took a long breath again.