The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent

The scores were similar to those in the mock exam.

I scored 475 points, while Alice scored 492 points. Both of us easily exceeded the passing score.

This score was quite surprising for me. It’s only natural that I missed more questions, but Alice had scored 487 points in the game to get accepted and was praised for her intelligence. Yet, the Alice before me received an even higher score than that.

“Impressive, Your Highness.”

I said that. There might have been a hint of emotion in my voice, but it wasn’t significant enough to be noticed. I sometimes showed subtle emotions in front of Alice. After all, the reason I entered the academy was to meet the original protagonist and heroines, so it wouldn’t hurt to let my guard down a bit around Alice.

And since I would be seeing her face continuously, it would be tough to keep hiding my feelings.

I still had to be careful in front of the Emperor and the others.

“Hmm…”

However, Alice’s reaction was somewhat different from what I expected. The tone of her ‘Hmm’ was much lower. Unlike the sound she made when she was in a good mood, it seemed to express open suspicion towards me.

Narrowing her eyes, Alice asked, “Is this truly your real ability?”

“……”

Uh-oh.

I had been caught right away.

“You said, ‘It was easier than the mock exam’ when you were walking down the corridor that day. So how come you ended up with a lower score instead of a higher one? That doesn’t make sense, does it? You, of all people, being meticulous like that.”

“……”

“Are you perhaps trying to get a score lower than mine on purpose?”

“……”

Hmm.

As expected, the Emperor’s daughter isn’t just anyone. She seems to have inherited her talents quite well.

Or perhaps I just showed too much on my part.

“You.”

Alice spoke.

“Don’t do that anymore. You’re going to be working under me, right? That means I need to properly understand your abilities. If you keep trying to boost me, how am I supposed to judge your skills?”

I stared blankly at Alice as she said that.

Alice’s image had changed a lot from what I remembered.

The ‘Alice I knew’ does not refer to the child version of her. Although she has indeed changed a lot since her childhood… what I mean by Alice is the one from the game.

She had lived only trying to catch up to her father since she was little, dedicating herself to swordsmanship and books, briefly attending balls and parties in her youthful days without being engaged much in royal activities.

In fact, to become the Emperor, one must also foster relationships with nobles, but Alice was so young. Fourteen is just the right age for chuunibyou, isn’t it? She probably thought, “While others are doing foolish things, I’m studying the art of monarchy.”

Up to that point, this Alice was somewhat similar, but her attitude was different.

In the game, Alice had a very low self-esteem, despite her high character stats. Although she appeared to be an arrogant princess on the outside, there were several moments where she envied others who performed better than her in swordsmanship or academics.

This indicates that there were no scenes where she outright acknowledged the abilities of others in the early stages.

However, this is not the ‘early stage’ anymore. We are both fifteen now, and the attitude Alice occasionally shows towards me is far more composed and mature rather than that of a whining child.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

As I quietly gazed at Alice, she spoke, looking somewhat nervous.

“……Not at all.”

I replied and bowed my head slightly.

“I apologize. I won’t hide my abilities from you moving forward, Your Highness.”

“Uh? Oh, um, yeah……”

As I readily admitted and apologized, Alice responded with a hint of surprise.

And that expression was quintessentially Alice. Even compared to any side of the Alice I knew.

*

To be honest, I’m a little excited.

No, I think I should eliminate the word ‘a little’.

No, wait, I can replace ‘a little’ with ‘incredibly’.

Actually, even ‘incredibly’ doesn’t perfectly capture my feelings. There isn’t a word in the world to accurately express my joy. To put it mildly, I wanted to jump around like a child who received a gaming console as a birthday gift.

It’s been ten years. A whole decade.

I’ve been waiting for ten years to meet the characters I loved from that game ever since I arrived in this world at the age of five. The real time spent was likely much longer because I had repeatedly traveled back in time.

Even I find it strange that I waited this long.

Isn’t it? I only spent seven years playing the Chronicles of Aetherna series. That’s shorter than the time I waited in this world.

Ever since becoming the Emperor’s child, I’ve often wondered how long this feeling would last. Some dreams I held in childhood felt trivial after growing up, or the things I wanted as a child now brought only a sense of emptiness when I actually got them.

But… thinking back, it might not be quite like that.

Sherlock Holmes fans waited seven years for a new release, and there are often cases like that among game or movie series. It’s more accurate to say that I believe time passes because I was occupied doing various things instead of waiting around the clock. Initially, I might have counted down the days, but eventually, I forget that I was even counting.

Me too, um, I think that might be the case.

If not, maybe it is because the existing characters near me continuously reminded me that I was living in this world. If I had the Emperor’s children, Alice and Claire around, it implied that Leo Grace and other characters were alive and breathing somewhere out there in this world.

“Haah…”

I let out a long breath, trying to relax.

It feels like getting ready to meet a celebrity. While Alice and other characters were around, I had met Claire before without a moment to feel joy, and with Alice, having spent time together since childhood, it felt more like seeing a little sister rather than a celebrity. Alice would be horrified to hear that.

And, meeting each of them separately is entirely different from suddenly meeting multiple people at once.

I had packed my things last night. There wasn’t much I needed to bring anyway. I was supposed to receive my uniform from the academy, and the same goes for my textbooks. They said I could pack personal items to take to the dorm, but for me, all I had was my weapon.

And the weapon was supposed to be taken care of by the academy. There were already several characters using firearms in the original story. Even if it weren’t a firearm, everything brought here was a deadly weapon designed to kill, so those precautions are natural. Who knows what kind of lunatic might go on a shooting spree during class?

The reason for conducting background checks on students entering the academy is precisely for that.

So, I didn’t really need to pack anything extra. That means there was no way to divert my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if reading books would actually help.

So, I had been walking around the room for a while. I definitely couldn’t just jump on the bed. I had to preserve my character’s image.

After wandering around the room for a while, I heard someone knocking on the door.

[Sylvia, we’ve come to move your belongings. May we enter?]

Commoners would carry their own belongings to school, but for royals or nobles, many subordinates existed below them. Such items could be sent ahead through those individuals to ensure they reached the dormitory.

This arrangement was permitted only on the first day of admission and the day after the entrance ceremony. Such common safety measures were necessary to protect the students, so there was no reason to complain about it.

I took a small breath and opened my mouth, hoping my voice wouldn’t tremble.

“……Yes, please come in.”

It seems the ten years of acting practice had been quite effective.

*

The Imperial Palace and the Imperial Academy Ron Darium were not too far from each other. The safest place in the Imperial Capital is right near the palace, making it suitable for building the academy. There are quite a few academies in this area, not just the Imperial Academy. Most of them only accepted children from well-known or wealthy families.

Though it wouldn’t take very long to walk, we weren’t going to commute. The same goes for students with homes in the Imperial Capital. The Imperial Academy adopted a dormitory system for all students.

It wasn’t that there was no public transportation like horse-drawn carriages, but the logistics of moving people in the way modern buses do seems fairly impractical. Even though this was the safest place in the Empire, it did not equate to the safety of downtown Seoul. So, for the students’ safety— to put it another way, to avoid taking responsibility if harm came to students— it was only natural that, not only the academy but many institutions adopted a full dormitory system.

Moreover, traveling by carriage is significantly safer for protecting individuals than walking, so we were moving even that short distance by carriage.

“Are you excited?”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, Alice asked, drawing my gaze from the window back to her.

Maybe it’s that I’ve been feeling giddy lately. There’s been an increase in my surprised reactions like this. But since it’s Alice, I didn’t see much issue with it.

Alice, who sat across from me, was wearing a somewhat mischievous expression.

It seems Alice’s expressions have become much more varied. Perhaps she has more confidence now? If my being here is the reason, it doesn’t seem like such a terrible idea that I spent my time trying to comfort and reassure Alice.

“Why do you think that?”

But still, there was a question. I continued to keep a straight face. I could tell without touching my face or looking in a mirror. I had intentionally practiced maintaining an expressionless face since ten years ago, so I could do this much.

So, Alice noticing my feelings is quite significant. If she can notice them, it implies that there might be someone else picking up on it as well.

I need to check and correct this.

“You usually don’t show much interest in the scenery outside. Plus, you’re not even reading the book that’s on your lap. You must have been casually reading your book when something was happening around you.”

“……”

“And there’s hardly anything new to see in the Imperial Capital, right? Even if I don’t, you’ve already seen the scenery so many times that it must be dull for you.”

Having run around here and there on behalf of the Emperor, I was far more acquainted with this place than Alice. Well, in reality, it’s because I checked everything thoroughly many times, so I’d be confident in finding my way no matter where I ended up in the Capital. No matter how unfamiliar the alley might be, I had memorized the landmarks.

“That’s why I presumed you were distracted and not focusing on the book. If that wasn’t the case, I apologize.”

Of course, while I said, “I apologize,” I was still grinning with a mischievous expression, ensuring that there was no sincerity behind “If that wasn’t the case.”

“……”

I didn’t bother to respond to Alice’s antics. Even if I deny it, Alice is likely to respond with, “Oh, really?” Accepting it feels… too early still.

So, I simply turned back to look out the window.

And then, I had to endure Alice’s playful expression for the short time it took to reach the academy.

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