episode_0049

One of the reasons I came this far was because I was afraid of death.

Just because I can turn back time doesn’t make me invincible. The first few times I turned back time, it wasn’t intentional, but at least I didn’t die. Or rather, I thought ‘I myself’ didn’t die.

After that, all the times I turned back were my own doing.

In reality, it’s more accurate to say that my strong desire played a role in the first few times. I don’t know if this ability is truly ‘mine’ or if it belongs to something else observing me from above. I didn’t meet a god or hear an explanation during the transition, nor did I have a system or status window.

It’s different from a save reload. Instead of saving at a specific point and rewinding, my ability was to rewind time to the necessary moment when needed.

Although the trigger is ‘strong desire,’ it doesn’t necessarily have to be a life-threatening moment. Just feeling embarrassed or wanting a different choice was enough to easily turn back time.

But what if I’m in a situation where I can’t have such desires?

Getting shot by a gun, getting blown up before doing something, or getting torn to pieces.

…Or having an ice spear pierce through my head.

Mia Crowfield was a big threat to me. There’s still no way for her to kill me, but if Mar Maros is involved, it might be possible. Especially since her specialty is ice magic.

I don’t want the protagonist and the others to be in danger, but I can’t risk my life either. For now, I plan to hold onto this until the possibility of Mia Crowfield killing me is almost nonexistent. That means at least until the end of the first semester, I won’t easily obtain a Mar Maros of this level, and I can buy some time.

The problem is, I have no way to explain this fact.

What they are curious about right now is not why I have this, but how I knew and got it.

“…I can’t tell you yet.”

In the end, I could only answer like that, feeling cornered.

“…”

Alice’s gaze on me without moving from her spot was piercing, but I tried not to change my expression and spoke again.

“Someday, when the time comes, I will tell you.”

Alice silently stared at me.

Alice, who has become able to read my expression to some extent. Maybe she noticed that I was flustered right now. I don’t know how she will interpret that expression.

“…”

“…”

The two of us stared at each other in silence for a while.

“Phew.”

Fortunately, Alice was the first to back down.

“…As you know.”

Alice looked at me and said, “I have a pretty good memory. I will never forget that you said that. If the time comes when you can truly tell me, you must do so.”

“I understand.”

Well, I had already thought of that.

Once we become close enough, once everything is over, once I no longer need to use this ability. And even then, if my relationship with the protagonist and the others is positive, there’s nothing I can’t say. By that time, concepts like mine will be meaningless anyway.

But not now. It’s only been a week since the story really started to progress. It’s too early to reveal all the black curtains, and doing so might actually put the protagonist and the others in danger. If they are nothing but fools who only know justice, they will soon turn against the emperor.

Above all, if they find out that the Belvoir Kingdom and the Azerna Empire are on the brink of armed conflict, Charlot will definitely not stay silent.

“Will I be able to hear that fact with you when the time comes?”

“…I think you will be able to.”

When I said that, Alice’s expression brightened a bit.

“If Sylvia said that, it means she’s confident about it. Charlotte, you’ll probably hear it too.”

“Is that so?”

Alice’s attitude seemed to be to let it go for now, but Charlotte didn’t seem to fully trust me.

It couldn’t be helped. I had once threatened King Belbure of the Bell Kingdom in front of Charlotte.

“Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do. If Sylvia keeps her mouth shut… Honestly, I don’t see a way to open it.”

It was a good idea to build up this image. Although Alice could read my expression, to others, I was a mysterious figure. If they gave up on their end, that was enough.

“Are we done here? Let’s go outside for now. Honestly, the moment you came in, the smell was unbearable. My nose feels almost paralyzed now.”

“…First, let’s change our clothes. Maybe we won’t be able to wear these clothes again.”

…Indeed, it seemed like there was a smell on the fur part of my coat. Will it be removed if I wash it?

“And, since we’re already here, why don’t we all gather to eat parfait? After changing our clothes.”

Alice, who said that, turned to me again with a smile on her face.

“You like it, right? Parfait.”

…Even though I managed my expression like that, it was something I couldn’t hide from Alice.

“Was that the expression you like?”

“She shows her emotions through her expressions.”

After Alice said that and started walking ahead, Charlotte looked at Alice with a puzzled expression.

At least at this moment, I couldn’t help but empathize with Charlotte.

How does she recognize it?

*

Even though I woke up early in the morning to perform a request at the guild, explored the sewer, took a bath, changed clothes, had a light meal at a cafe, and even ate parfait, it wasn’t even three in the afternoon yet.

If the morning is fast, there can be so much time, I thought.

“Do you have more work?”

When I said I had work to do, Alice looked a little bored.

“Well, okay. I’m curious about what your work is… But honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to figure it out even if I look into it now.”

It was really fortunate that she thought that way.

And Alice’s judgment was correct.

I was planning to go to my room and roll around on the bed even now.

More than half of this golden Sunday afternoon, and I had worked tirelessly for hours, even turning back time, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to take a little break.

Leo and Claire were probably still solving various requests here and there, and Mia Crowfield was probably holed up in her room.

“Charlotte, want to study together?”

“Well, should we? Sylvia, I had a pretty good time today. I still don’t know exactly about you…”

“Right. How much chance do we have to go into the sewer system?”

If I were to tell Alice that we would have to go much deeper and face a grotesque monster, how would she react?

Hmm, come to think of it, instead of imagining that situation and grimacing, she might just ask me how I knew that, so I decided not to say anything.

Sometimes, there are things you can know without turning back time.

“Then, let’s see each other at dinner.”

“Understood.”

I slightly bowed my waist to the two people leaving in front of me.

“……”

And I relaxed my shoulders a bit.

Phew.

Even though I felt exhausted after going alone, having these two people with me made me feel twice as strong.

…Alright. From now on, let’s really not do anything.

I went back to my room and lay on the bed with all my might. And when it was dinner time, I would turn back time and lie down again, and then turn time back again and lie down once more. I felt that I needed to do that in order to relieve my mental fatigue.

“Oh, Your Highness.”

And my hopeful feeling was brutally shattered by a blond troublemaker.

No, it was really a blond troublemaker.

And he had girls on both sides.

“What’s the matter?”

Are you kidding me?

I asked, barely holding back that word.

At least we just met for the first time.

I don’t know if he happened to speak as he passed by, or if he was waiting for me on purpose.

But… well, looking at the other person, it seemed more like the latter.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The blond troublemaker quickly bowed slightly towards me. Despite his somewhat rough appearance, his attitude in greeting was so gentle and dignified that even I was impressed.

Well, he was the eldest son of a fairly well-known duke in the empire.

By the way, the reason his skin was dark was because he really tanned. It wasn’t naturally dark.

However, the black-haired girl next to him really had dark skin.

Among the girls following on either side, the one with an expression close to expressionless… was a colonial subject. It might be difficult to distinguish races in the illustration, but in reality, thinking of her as of Indian descent wouldn’t be too awkward. She wasn’t a pure-blood colonial subject, but was half imperial.

The blond troublemaker who spoke to me was followed by the others next to him. Just a moment ago, I could hear whispering, but it seemed that they weren’t laughing when they saw my expression.

“We just happened to see Your Highness as we passed by and greeted you. If we disturbed you, we apologize.”

“……”

What more can I say to turn them away?

He is also one of the main characters in the group.

When people hear ‘blond troublemaker,’ they often think of a character who steals the spotlight in a web novel or game, but that’s a setting that only appears in adult comics or games. In reality, most blond troublemakers are just passionate fools.

He enjoys himself, is good-looking, and popular with girls, but he only has eyes for one girl. The mixed-race girl next to him. If you think of it in terms of family relations, she’s like a distant relative. Although she had noble blood in her, she was ultimately a colonial subject, and she was labeled as the ‘maid’ of the blond troublemaker.

Even though she could enter the academy as a student, since she was treated as a commoner, she was somewhat isolated.

“I’m Jake Lindbergh.”

In the original work, he wasn’t completely clueless about conspiracies. But he wasn’t completely lacking in noble sensibilities either. To be honest, he was more of a hands-on type than a talker.

He’s kind to girls, but ruthless to guys. You could say he’s somewhat of a ‘comic relief’ character. He occupied the position of the protagonist’s friend in a harem story.

The reason the production company attached this character to him was probably to avoid creating an image of a hindrance in a harem story.

Still, thanks to that, he was able to secure his position with a pure and innocent romantic manly charm added to him.

“I’m Sylvia Pegasus.”

As I replied like that, Jake Lindbergh slightly straightened his back.

“It’s an honor to meet you like this.”

“……”

Do you have something to say?

I threw that thought into my gaze, but in reality, the only person who could recognize my expression around me was Alice, so the possibility of this idiot not understanding my thoughts was much greater. In fact, Jake Lindbergh was just flashing a single-friendly smile.

…… But if there is a reason for him to talk to me.

I glanced slightly and saw the mixed-race colonial next to Lindbergh.

In the original work… Actually, this side also has a lot of interest in Jake Lindbergh, but came out as a role supporting him from the side. It is possible to exclude one of the two at the party, and there are also some relationship quests, but it is not a role that connects with the protagonist.

Perhaps the one who told me to talk to him would be this side.