The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 21
EP.21 Reunion? (2)
Our scores came out quite similar to what we expected. I scored 475, and Alice scored 492. Both of us had far surpassed the passing mark.
For me, this score was rather surprising. Of course, I had deliberately gotten a few questions wrong, but Alice had entered the Academy with a score of 487 in the game, and she had been praised as a prodigy. Though that score wasn’t low by any means in the game’s setting, the Alice standing before me had managed to score even higher.
“You’re incredible, Your Highness.”
I said, with just a hint of genuine emotion. It wasn’t enough to be concerning, though. After all, I had occasionally shown subtle emotions in front of Alice before. Honestly, since my reason for attending the Academy was to meet the original protagonist and heroines, it didn’t seem like a big deal if I let my guard down a little in front of her. Besides, we would be seeing each other regularly, so it would be hard to keep up the facade all the time.
Of course, I would still need to be cautious in front of the Emperor and his other children.
“Hmm…”
Alice’s reaction, however, was a little different from what I expected. The pitch of her “hmm” was much lower than usual. Instead of her typical pleased tone, she sounded suspicious—directly so, as she narrowed her eyes at me.
“You, is that really your true ability?”
Alice asked, catching me off guard with a rather pointed question.
“…”
Ah.
She had figured it out immediately.
“You said while walking through the hallway that the test was easier than the mock exam. But instead of your score going up, it went down. Doesn’t that seem strange for someone as meticulous as you?”
“…”
“And did you… deliberately score lower than me?”
She pressed.
“…”
Ah.
She truly wasn’t the Emperor’s daughter for nothing. It seemed she had definitely inherited some of his sharpness. Or perhaps I had just been too obvious.
“You.”
Alice spoke again.
“Don’t do that anymore. You’re going to work for me, aren’t you? I need to know your true capabilities if that’s the case. If you keep trying to make me look better, how am I supposed to judge your skills properly?”
I stared at Alice intently as she spoke.
Alice had also changed quite a bit from the image I had of her. Not just from her childhood self—though she had certainly changed since then as well—but from the Alice in the game.
The Alice I knew had spent her entire childhood dedicated solely to catching up to her father, immersed in swordsmanship and books. She barely attended balls or royal gatherings, having only gone to a few in her early childhood. Her focus had been entirely on becoming a ruler, and she hadn’t engaged much in typical royal activities.
Of course, to become Emperor, she would need to build relationships with the nobles as well… but she had been young. At fourteen, it was the perfect age for a rebellious streak to emerge. She must have thought, “While others were wasting time on foolish things, I was studying the art of ruling.”
Though this Alice was somewhat similar to the one from the game, her attitude was quite different.
In the early stages of the game, Alice had very low self-esteem despite her high character stats. Outwardly, she had the appearance of an arrogant princess, but there were several scenes where she was jealous of someone better at swordsmanship or studying than she was.
In other words, there were no scenes early on where she openly acknowledged someone else’s abilities.
But now, we were no longer in the early stages. Both Alice and I were fifteen, but the attitude Alice occasionally showed me was much more composed and mature, unlike the childish tantrums she used to throw.
“Why, why are you staring at me like that?”
Alice asked, seeming a bit uncomfortable as I looked at her silently.
“…It’s nothing.”
I replied, lowering my gaze slightly.
“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure not to hide my abilities from you in the future, Your Highness.”
“Huh? Ah, uh, well, alright…”
Alice seemed a bit flustered at my straightforward admission and apology. And that reaction was very much like Alice. Regardless of which version of Alice I compared her to.
*
Honestly, I was thrilled.
Or rather, the word “thrilled” didn’t quite capture it.
No, the word “ecstatic” would fit better.
In fact, even “ecstatic” wasn’t quite adequate to express how I felt. There was no perfect word in the world to capture my feelings. If I had to describe it, I felt like a child who had just received a console game as a birthday gift, bouncing around the room with sheer excitement and joy.
It had been ten years. Ten years of waiting.
I had come to this world when I was five years old, and it had taken ten years to meet the characters I had cherished from the game. The actual time might have been even longer since I had reset time multiple times.
It was astonishing to me that I had waited this long.
Think about it. I had only played the Chronicles of Aetherna series for seven years. It was shorter than the time I had waited in this world.
Even after becoming the Emperor’s child, I often wondered how long my enthusiasm would last. Sometimes, childhood dreams seem trivial when you grow up, or acquiring something you longed for as a child might feel empty once you finally have it.
But… it didn’t seem to be entirely that way.
Fans of Sherlock Holmes had waited seven years for new stories, and it’s common for game or film series to have similar long waits. It’s more accurate to say that time passed while doing various things rather than waiting for the entire period. Eventually, you forget how long you’ve been waiting.
I guess, thinking about it, that’s how it was for me.
Or maybe it was because the characters I knew were real and nearby that kept me aware of the passage of time. With the Emperor’s children, Alice, Claire, Leo Grace, and other characters all existing somewhere in this world, it was a constant reminder that I was still here.
“Haah…”
I took a deep breath, trying to relax.
It felt just like going to meet a celebrity. I had been around Alice and other characters before, and I had even met Claire directly, but when I met Claire, I was too preoccupied with the escape to fully enjoy it. Alice, on the other hand, had been with me since childhood, so she felt more like a little sister than a celebrity. Alice would probably be horrified if she heard that.
Moreover, meeting one person at a time was different from suddenly meeting a group of people all at once.
I had already packed everything the night before. There wasn’t much to pack anyway. I was supposed to receive my school uniform at the academy, and the same went for textbooks. They said it was okay to bring personal items for the dormitory, but for me, the only personal item was my weapon.
And the school was responsible for handling weapons. There were already several characters in the original story who used firearms. Even if they weren’t firearms, the weapons brought were all practical weapons meant for killing, so such measures were necessary. After all, who knew what kind of lunatic might go on a shooting spree during class?
The background checks for students entering the academy were for the same reason.
So, there was no need for me to pack additional items. This meant I had no way to distract myself from my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if reading a book would even help.
So, I had been pacing around my room for a while. No matter how excited I was, I couldn’t jump on the bed. I had to maintain my character’s dignity.
While I was wandering around, someone knocked on the door.
[Lady Sylvia, I’ve come to move your luggage. May I come in?]
Commoners would carry their own luggage to school, but nobles or royalty had many people under them. Such items could be sent in advance through these individuals and delivered to the dormitory. This was only allowed on the first day of admission and the two days after the end-of-term ceremony. It was a sensible safety measure to protect the students, so there was no real reason to complain.
I took a small breath, hoping my voice wouldn’t tremble, and replied.
“…Yes, please come in.”
It seemed that ten years of acting practice had been quite effective.
*
The Imperial Palace and the Imperial Runedarium Academy were not far from each other. The area around the palace had the best security in the Empire, making it an ideal location for the academy. There were quite a few other academies around here as well. Most of them only accepted children from fairly well-known or wealthy families.
Although it wasn’t a long walk, we didn’t commute. This was the case even for students whose families lived within the Empire. The Imperial Academy required all students to stay in the dormitory.
While there were public transportation options like carriages, they were not as efficient as modern buses in terms of cramming people in. Even though it was the safest place in the Empire, it wasn’t as secure as central Seoul. To ensure student safety—and to avoid being held responsible if something happened—most academies, including the Imperial Academy, adopted a full boarding system.
Additionally, traveling by carriage was much safer for escorting someone than walking, so we even used a carriage for that short distance.
“Are you excited?”
“Yes?”
Alice’s sudden question made me turn my gaze from the window to her. Lately, I had been feeling unusually excited, which seemed to make me more prone to surprises. However, since it was Alice, it wasn’t really a problem.
Alice, sitting across from me, wore an exceptionally… mischievous expression.
It seemed like Alice’s expressions had become more varied. Perhaps she had become more at ease? If that was because of me, then it didn’t seem like all my efforts to comfort and encourage Alice had been a bad idea after all.
“Why do you think so?”
Despite her question, I maintained a neutral expression. I knew without having to touch my face or look in a mirror that I was succeeding in keeping a blank face. I had been consciously practicing this for ten years, so maintaining a neutral expression was something I could manage.
So, the fact that Alice could read my feelings was quite significant. If Alice could notice, it meant others might be able to as well.
I needed to check and correct this.
“You usually don’t show much interest in the outside scenery. Besides, you have a book on your lap, but you’re not reading it. Normally, you’d be engrossed in a book no matter what was happening around you.”
“……”
“And there’s nothing particularly new to see in the Empire, is there? While I may not know, you’ve probably seen this scenery enough to be bored with it.”
I had wandered around the Empire on various errands for the Emperor. I knew the area better than Alice did. In fact, I had thoroughly familiarized myself with every corner of the Empire, so I was confident I could find my way no matter where I ended up. Even if I encountered a new alley, I had memorized all the significant landmarks.
“So, I just figured that you were unable to concentrate on the book. If that wasn’t the case, then I’m sorry.”
Of course, even when she said “I’m sorry,” Alice still had that sly smile on her face, so it was clear there was no sincerity in the “if that’s not the case” part.
“……”
I didn’t bother responding to Alice. Even if I denied it, Alice would just say, “Oh, really?” and if I admitted it… it was still too early for that.
So, I simply turned my gaze back to the window.
And for the short time until we arrived at the academy, I had to put up with Alice’s sly expression.