The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 49
EP.49 Plan (4)
One of the reasons I had come this far was because I was afraid of death.
Just because I could reset the time didn’t mean I was invincible. The first few times I reset the time, it wasn’t by my own will, but at least I hadn’t died. Or rather, I believed I hadn’t.
After that, every time I turned back time, it was because of my own actions. In truth, it might be more accurate to say that even those early instances happened because of my strong desire. I still didn’t know whether this ability was truly mine, or something granted by some higher being observing me. It wasn’t like I met a god during the transition to this world or received any explanations, nor was there a system or status window.
This was also different from a save-and-load function. Unlike making a save point and resetting to that moment, my ability allowed me to turn back to the right moment when I needed it most.
While the trigger was a “strong desire,” it didn’t necessarily have to be a life-threatening moment. Time could easily turn back if I felt embarrassed or wanted to make a different choice.
But what if I were in a situation where I couldn’t make such a wish?
What if I got shot? Or was torn apart by an explosion before I could do anything… or worse, if an ice spear pierced right through my head?
Mia Crowfield was a significant threat to me. While she didn’t have a way to kill me yet, with this Marmaros, she just might. Ice magic was her specialty, after all.
I didn’t want the protagonist’s party to be in danger, but I couldn’t disregard my own life either. For now, I planned to keep the Marmaros. Once Mia Crowfield posed less of a threat to my life, I’d consider handing it over. At least until the end of the first semester, she wouldn’t be able to easily obtain a Marmaros of this level, and I would gain some time.
The real problem was explaining all of this.
What Alice and Charlotte were curious about wasn’t why I had come to retrieve this item, but how I knew it was here in the first place.
“…I can’t tell you yet.”
In the end, with no better answer, I had to insist on that.
“…”
Alice stood in front of me, eyes unwavering, blocking my path. Her gaze was sharp, but I tried my best to keep my expression neutral as I spoke again.
“I’ll tell you someday when the time is right.”
Alice continued staring at me.
She had become somewhat adept at reading my expressions. She might have noticed that I was flustered. How she interpreted that expression, I couldn’t say.
“…”
“…”
We stared at each other for a while.
“…Hmm.”
Fortunately, Alice was the first to back down.
“…You know.”
Alice glared at me as she spoke.
“I have a pretty good memory. I’ll never forget what you said today. So, when the time comes for you to tell the truth, make sure you do.”
“Understood.”
Well, that was my plan anyway.
Once we became close enough and everything was over, when I no longer needed to use this ability. And if my relationship with the protagonist’s party remained positive, there would be no reason not to tell them. By that time, my “mysterious persona” wouldn’t matter anymore.
But now wasn’t the time. It had only been a week since the story had really started moving. It was far too early to reveal all the secrets, especially since doing so might actually put the protagonist’s party in danger. These fools, who only knew of justice, would immediately turn against the Emperor if they knew. And most of all, if Charlotte found out that the Kingdom of Velbur and the Empire of Aetherna were heading for military conflict, there was no way she’d sit idly by.
“At that time, can I also hear that truth?”
“…I believe so.”
I replied.
When I said that, Alice’s expression brightened a bit.
“If Sylvia says that, it means she’s certain. Charlotte, you’ll probably be there to hear it too.”
“Really?”
Alice’s words suggested she was willing to let the matter rest for now, but Charlotte still seemed unable to fully trust me. And she had every reason not to. After all, I had openly threatened her father, the King of Velbur.
“…Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do. If Sylvia keeps her mouth shut… honestly, I don’t see a way to make her talk.”
It was good that I had built up my image like that. Alice could read my expressions, but to everyone else, I was an enigma. If they gave up on making me talk, that was enough.
“Are we done here? Let’s get out of here. Honestly, the smell has been terrible since we came in. My nose feels almost numb now.”
“…Let’s change clothes first. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to wear these again.”
Charlotte commented.
…She was right. The fur on my coat had probably absorbed the smell by now. Would washing it even get rid of it?
“And since we’re already out, how about we grab some parfaits together after we change? You know, as a treat.”
Alice said, turning to me with a big grin on her face.
“You love parfaits, don’t you?”
…So even with all my efforts to control my expression, it seemed I couldn’t hide it from Alice.
“Was that a happy expression?”
“Your emotions show clearly on your face.”
As Alice made that comment and started walking ahead, Charlotte looked at her with a curious gaze, as if trying to understand something strange.
At least at that moment, I could empathize with Charlotte.
How did she even figure that out?
*
I woke up early, completed a quest on the main road, explored the sewers, took a shower, changed clothes, had a light meal at a café, and even ate parfaits, yet it wasn’t even 3 PM.
It made me realize how much time you could have when you start your day early.
“More things to do?”
When I mentioned that I had more tasks after eating the parfait, Alice looked at me with a slightly exasperated expression.
“Well, fine. Honestly, I am curious about what exactly you plan to do, but… at this point, I doubt even looking further into it will help me figure anything out.”
I was glad Alice thought that way, and her judgment was spot on. Because, truthfully, I was planning to head back to my room and laze around in bed for the rest of the day.
I had spent more than half of this golden Sunday working non-stop, even resetting time to get a few more hours of work done. I figured it was about time I took a break.
Leo and Claire were probably still out and about, completing requests here and there, while Mia Crowfield was likely holed up in her room.
“Charlotte, why don’t we head to the library to study together?”
Alice asked.
“Sure, let’s do that. Sylvia, I had a great time today. I still don’t know you very well, but…”
Charlotte trailed off.
“Right, it’s not every day we get to explore the city’s sewers.”
Alice added with a nod.
I wondered what kind of face Alice would make if I told her that soon, we’d be going much deeper than the sewers, facing disgustingly hideous monsters.
Hmm, on second thought, even if I told her now, she’d probably frown and ask me how I knew that rather than imagining the situation. So, I decided not to say anything.
Sometimes, you don’t need to rewind time to know certain things.
“Alright then, see you in the evening.”
“Okay.”
I gave a slight bow to the two as they walked away.
“…”
And then I relaxed my shoulders a bit.
Phew.
Even going alone would have been exhausting, but taking two people along made it feel twice as tiring.
Alright. Time to do absolutely nothing.
I’ll go back to my room and roll around on the bed with all my might. And when evening comes, I’ll reset time and roll around again, and then reset time once more to roll around some more. I felt like that was the only way to relieve my mental fatigue.
“Oh, look who it is. The princess herself.”
And my expectations were brutally shattered by a certain blonde, tanned delinquent. No kidding, it was really a blonde, tanned delinquent. And he had girls on both sides.
“…What do you want?”
Do you even know who I am?
I barely managed to hold that question. After all, this was our first encounter.
I couldn’t tell if he’d just happened to approach me while passing by or if he had been waiting for me on purpose.
But… judging by the way he looked, the latter seemed more likely.
“Oh, my apologies.”
The blonde, tanned delinquent quickly gave a slight bow. Despite his somewhat rough appearance, his manner of greeting was so smooth and polite that I couldn’t help but be impressed.
It made sense, though, since he was the eldest son of a well-known duke’s family in the Empire.
For reference, the reason his skin was tanned was because he had actually “tanned” it. He wasn’t born with dark skin. On the other hand, the black-haired girl standing next to him was genuinely dark-skinned.
Among the two girls flanking him, the one with the nearly expressionless face was… a colonial. In the illustrations, it was hard to distinguish race, but here in reality, she could easily be perceived as “Indian.” However, she wasn’t a pure-blooded colonial but a half-breed with some imperial lineage.
The girls standing beside the tanned, blonde guy who spoke to me also bowed. Just moments ago, I could hear them giggling, but now, upon seeing my expression, it seemed they didn’t find anything funny anymore.
“I just happened to see the Princess while passing by and wanted to greet you. I apologize if I disturbed you.”
“…”
What was the point of beating around the bush?
He was also one of the protagonist’s party members.
When people think of a “golden boy” in fan works, they often imagine a character who steals the heroine. But that’s a trope from adult comics or erotic games. In most cases, golden boys in these kinds of stories were just hot-blooded idiots.
Well, it’s not like this guy was a complete fool, but… let’s just say his inability to tolerate injustice made him fit the “hot-blooded idiot” category quite well.
He was popular, good-looking, and had no shortage of female admirers, but he only had eyes for one girl—the mixed-race colonial standing beside him. A distant relative by blood, or so they said. Even though she had some noble blood from the duke’s family, in the end, she was still a colonial and remained his “maid.”
Even though she entered the academy as a student rather than a servant, she was still treated as a commoner, so they were in different classes.
“My name is Jake Lindbergh.”
In the original story, he wasn’t much of a schemer. Though he wasn’t completely without noble sensibilities, he was the type whose fists moved before his words.
He was kind to women but ruthless to men. You could say he held the position of a “comic relief” character, similar to the protagonist’s best friend in a harem story.
The reason the developers paired him with this character was probably to avoid giving him the image of a disruptive “harem blocker.”
Still, his devoted, romantic nature became a defining feature, helping him carve out a respectable niche.
“I’m Sylvia Fangriffon.”
When I introduced myself, Jake Lindbergh straightened his slightly bowed posture.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
“…”
Got something else to say?
I tried to convey that with my gaze, but the only person who could truly read my expression was Alice, so there was little chance this fool would understand my thoughts. As expected, Jake Lindbergh just kept smiling his extroverted grin.
I subtly shifted my gaze to the mixed-race colonial standing beside Lindbergh.
In the original story… she was quite interested in Jake, though she was primarily portrayed as his support. You could choose to exclude one of the two from the party, and she even had a side quest with some connection, but she wasn’t meant to be paired with the protagonist.
Most likely, she was the one who suggested Jake speak to me.