episode_0074

The expedition that took place at dawn was something I did on my own. The promise with Jennifer itself became void by turning back time, but I remembered that promise anyway. I didn’t want to keep promises with characters I liked, even if it was with other people.

Thanks to that, by the time I came back yesterday, it was well past morning.

“… … If you want compensation, I’ll do anything. Winterfield doesn’t forget its debts. ”

To Jennifer, who said that in the car on the way back,

“I just paid off the debt I already had.”

I answered like that.

And as I answered like that, my heart felt a little proud.

Of course, I smelled blood and gunpowder that morning. And the memories of that battlefield probably won’t be easily forgotten. I’ve heard stories about PTSD and such, so those memories might have a big impact on me.

But still, I feel much better when I think that it was something I had to do.

That’s what war is all about. If we don’t fight, our people will die; that’s war. Besides, those mercenaries were people who had already committed countless acts that were no different from war criminals. There may have been some people with normal thinking among those who fought me… … In the first place, the battlefield itself was a place where people were fighting for their lives, so I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

The other party also aimed a gun at me. If I had been shot and killed there, it would have been different. If I had not been shot in the arm or leg and turned back time while incapacitated, I would have suffered a terrible fate at the hands of that undisciplined mercenary group.

Besides, it’s not my first time killing someone.

The battle itself had already been optimized by going back in time and going through it several times. Although there was a difference of one day, the result was similar in the end.

“Debt?”

Of course, Jennifer asked me that question, but I didn’t bother saying anything.

“… … .”

When I didn’t respond, Jennifer didn’t bother to ask any questions. Rather, she seemed to be deep in thought and didn’t say anything the whole time we were driving. Thanks to that, I was able to just stare blankly out the window until we returned to Winterfield Castle.

The mountain range seen in the distance was beautiful.

The swordsman is probably still somewhere on the mountainside.

*

As soon as we arrived at Winterfield Castle, Alice, who had been waiting in the castle lobby, came out and hugged me tightly as if she was worried.

Alice immediately glared at Jennifer, as if she had smelled the gunpowder on my body.

“… … .”

Jennifer also seemed to have nothing to say.

The current Jennifer doesn’t know that I can turn back time. So, she must have been shocked in a different way when she saw me fighting like that on the battlefield. She probably didn’t have time to prepare herself mentally.

“Father… … .”

Alice spoke to me straight away.

“Did your father tell you to do this?”

hmm.

I thought about it seriously.

It wasn’t something the Emperor ordered… to do. To be exact, it was something he intended to order.

Then wouldn’t it be okay to say something like that?

If I had to be specific, it was something I did because I wanted to.

“… … .”

I decided to just do that. It’s a hassle to explain. To be honest, if you hide your abilities while explaining, there will be gaps in your speech, and then you’ll start to get suspicious.

If you lie like that, when your ability is revealed later, you might be asked, ‘What was that back then?…?’

So what I chose was ‘to remain plausibly silent’.

Alice looked at me with her mouth tightly shut, as if she took my silence as an affirmation.

“I told you. You don’t have to listen to your father.”

“… … .”

Alice, who had been hugging me lightly, took a step back, grabbed my hand, and said.

“… … Well, you wouldn’t be able to just refuse such an order.”

Although I was never specifically ordered to do so.

… … Surely you wouldn’t run straight to the Emperor and say something?

Feeling a little awkward, I decided to change the subject.

“Did you successfully complete the request?”

“Request? Ah.”

Alice looked back at the other children who were waiting behind her, then looked back at me and said.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

I turned my gaze slightly and looked for Mia Crowfield. These kids had not been here long, so the hems of their clothes were a little wet, and there were stains here and there on their coats. Maybe they had been splashed with mud from melted snow.

The staff in Mia Crowfield’s hand had a blue Marmalade shining brightly.

I left it on the desk before I left. I even left a note next to it telling me to pass it on to Mia Crowfield.

The kids seem to have put those words into practice.

“Thanks to Marmaros, the hunt was much easier.”

Charlotte, who had been watching us both, took a step forward and spoke. Charlotte’s expression was just as complicated as Alice’s. She seemed confused as to whether she should be wary of me, who had just finished fighting on the battlefield, or whether she should be purely grateful for the favor at this moment.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Mia Crowfield said that, sounding a little frightened.

“Sister… …Are you okay?”

Claire, who had been quietly watching me from a distance, came toward me and asked.

“It’s okay.”

Actually, it was much better than I thought. Because I kept seeing similar things, I became more familiar with them, and I was able to prepare myself mentally. And I had my own justification.

I looked at Leo and Jake, who were still a little bit away from us. Leo… … surprisingly didn’t turn pale or anything. I briefly thought that maybe he was so scared that he had reached the level of a clear mind, but when I looked closely again, Leo’s expression seemed to be deep in thought.

I wonder if their evaluation of me has changed a little?

Jake’s reaction was similar. Jake, who was looking at me with a very serious expression, had completely lost his usual lighthearted demeanor. As soon as our eyes met, a rough smile appeared on his lips and he came over to me.

“Come on, come on, let’s not just stand there. Let’s all go eat together. I’m so hungry I think I’m going to die.”

“You… … .”

Alice glanced at Jake, then looked at me as if something had suddenly occurred to her. As if she had read something in my expression, Alice quickly smiled and said.

“Yeah, well, yeah. I guess that’s true. We’ve all been working hard all morning. I guess it’s time to start getting hungry.”

… … Seriously, I have no idea how you read facial expressions.

*

“Are you okay? You can just rest in the afternoon.”

In the afternoon, Alice asked me with concern as I came out armed to carry out another mission.

“It’s okay.”

I thought it was a good idea to learn meditation. Just like Claire said last time, even though I didn’t get much sleep, I felt like I could move a little more just by calming my mind and body through meditation.

Of course, my fatigue didn’t completely go away, but after I went back to the bathroom after lunch, washed up, and sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate, my fatigue seemed to go away, as if I had drunk an energy drink.

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

Claire asked the same question from the side, but I nodded once more.

“Because you have to finish what you have to do. It will be reflected in your grades—”

“No.”

As I was talking, Jennifer, who had suddenly arrived near us, cut me off.

“I will give you a perfect score. Even though it was not an official request, you accomplished something that no one else could do as a soldier.”

“… … .”

Jennifer’s face looked complicated as she said that.

Even when I said I would go and cut off the head of the bookstore owner, he had an uneasy expression on his face. It was a little different from the cool expression he had when he had asked me to do it at the Blacksmith’s Hut before. Even then, I wondered if I really didn’t know how to do it.

Probably so. He was a teacher who taught us not to seek honor on the battlefield.

“So in the afternoon… … No, you can rest until tomorrow. I will take responsibility for explaining things at the academy. ”

I thought Abraham would probably understand it well.

“Then this is something I want to do.”

As I said that, the already quiet surroundings around me became even quieter.

“Sylvia?”

Alice opened her eyes wide and looked at me and asked.

“… … Sister?”

The words eventually came out of Claire’s mouth.

“… … Is that so.”

After hearing what I said, Jennifer closed her eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and exhaled softly.

“If that’s what the student wants, there’s nothing I can do. I just… …thank you. This is a thank you message from the soldiers as well.”

Jennifer bowed.

“… … Is that so.”

After much thought about what to say in response to that, I decided to just say that.