The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

I’ve encountered a limit with my ability.

It hasn’t disappeared, nor does it seem to have gained any additional penalties. I tested it a few times in my room afterward, and it worked as it should.

However, it seems I can no longer go back to the moment before that encounter with the nameless figure yesterday.

I haven't attempted to return to that point since. Even if I did, what would be the point? I’d only have to see that face of the Emperor again, and he’d probably make assumptions on his own without me saying a word. Rewinding time wouldn’t change that.

Besides, I didn’t want to experience that pain again.

Lying on my bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

I’d healed the bruises, and I felt no fatigue after a long, deep sleep. But my mind was still a tangled mess.

I kept thinking about that nameless figure I encountered in the dungeon.

“...Could it be me?”

I mumbled to myself, but it didn’t seem real.

If this were one of those possession novels, then the figure being a future version of myself would fit the cliché.

That figure had taken the artifact and disappeared. In that future, was the Emperor planning some catastrophe using that artifact? And had I gone back to stop it?

But even then, something doesn’t make sense.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that it was me.

They were clearly using a time-related ability, and even in that moment, it was clear they were using it. Watching that movement felt like timelines were getting jumbled—future, present, and past merging together.

The voice, too, was strange. It sounded distorted, grating, like static interference. It wasn’t something they would have done intentionally, and it didn’t seem like it was due to injury.

When I tried to nullify the situation with my power, they must have used theirs simultaneously. They shattered the space around us and seized me. I managed to rewind time, but it was unstable. That’s likely why, despite the rewind, my body’s condition remained as it was.

If our powers had clashed, perhaps that figure was left stranded in an impossible future. If so, then maybe that’s why I can’t go back to that specific point.

But even thinking this, it still feels strange.

They were holding my gun, yet they pointed it at Alice, not the Emperor.

Maybe they aimed at me, and Alice just happened to be in front of me... but, no. I’ve used that gun countless times. Even if my physical abilities aren’t exceptional, I wouldn’t miss at such close range. And if it really was a future version of me, I’d be even less likely to make a mistake like that.

They were trying to tell me something.

Sylvia, never—

I couldn’t hear the rest.

Also, when I aimed at them, I felt a powerful sense of rejection in my mind...

...Ah, I really don’t know.

I scratched my head and got up.

Thinking about it constantly won’t make me understand the situation any better. For now—

Just as I finally managed to get out of bed and slip on my slippers, there was a gentle knock at the door.

“Yes, come in.”

Thankfully, my voice didn’t crack.

The door opened carefully, and Claire stepped inside.

“Sis.”

Normally, when Claire called me that, her voice was lively, her spirits high.

But now, her eyes were full of concern. She called to me with a soft, cautious voice.

“Are you feeling better?”

She didn’t ask any questions, once again.

“I’m fine.”

I had been healed by magic, so there was no lingering pain. Not that I’d been seriously injured in the first place.

There were a few drops of blood on my clothes, but that was it. And it wasn’t even my blood. It had come from the arm of that figure holding me as it scraped against the spatial rift.

Though, that probably wasn’t the only reason Claire was worried.

“So...”

Claire averted her gaze for a moment before looking back at me. She had the air of a little sister checking in on an older sister who was angry.

“Everyone else is gathered in the dining room. I thought it might be nice if we all had a meal together.”

“All right—”

But as I answered, I remembered I hadn’t even washed yet. Claire’s cautious invitation probably had something to do with that as well.

“I’ll wash up quickly and come down.”

At my words, Claire nodded.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

*

When she said “I’ll wait for you,” it didn’t mean she would wait in the dining room. Claire was sitting quietly on one of the chairs in my room, waiting.

In a world without smartphones or other gadgets, she must have been quite bored just sitting there.

I squeezed as much water out of my hair with a towel as I could.

I tried to dry it using a small, wind-up fan, but my hair still felt damp in places.

“Are you planning to go like that?”

When I eventually gave up on drying my hair fully and began putting on my uniform, Claire looked at me in surprise.

Normally, I would never let anyone see me in such a disheveled state.

What would my usual self have done?

I... I probably would have rewound time to before Claire arrived.

Then I would have quickly washed up and waited for her, hair perfectly dried, of course.

After all, I’d spent the whole morning thinking things through, and rewinding wouldn’t make me forget any of it.

“....”

For a brief moment, I considered doing just that, but then,

“Do I look strange?” I asked Claire.

She quickly shook her head from side to side, a childlike movement, as if a child had asked their mother, “Do you hate me?” Her innocent reaction almost made me laugh.

Oddly enough, the atmosphere felt peaceful, as though yesterday’s strange incident hadn’t happened at all.

She could have asked me a question, though.

Not that I would have answered it.

“Well then, let’s head down as I am.”

“Okay.”

Claire nodded briskly in response.

* 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“What happened last night?”

The moment I stepped into the dining room, Charlotte asked.

For her, it must have been unusual not only that I hadn’t fully prepared myself, but also that I’d taken so long to come down at all.

Until now, my personality had been precise, almost prophetic in my ability to predict and handle situations.

But here I was, showing up late, freshly washed, with my hair still damp...

...It was out of character, not just for me, but even by noble or royal standards.

Yet before anything else, the aroma of freshly baked bread hit me.

Some time had passed since I’d come down, but my meal was still covered with a silver lid, likely to preserve its warmth.

Without rushing, I made my way to the empty seat.

Alice watched me with a slightly worried expression. Had she picked up something from my face again?

Since Claire had come to get me instead of Alice, that meant Alice was the one who had likely been questioned about yesterday’s events. After all, it was Alice who had asked Charlotte to lead us to another dungeon.

“Alice?”

Not hearing my response, Charlotte turned back to Alice to ask again. Fortunately, she didn’t seem angry at me; if anything, she seemed to understand that I might be hungry.

“Well, last night...”

I could almost hear Alice’s mind whirring.

“...Sorry. It’s just... there are things that are hard to explain.”

“I see.”

Charlotte didn’t press Alice further. In fact, her gaze was on me.

I noticed Charlotte watching me curiously as I tore into the bread without spreading anything on it.

“Were you very hungry?”

“....”

I looked at the bread in my hand. I hadn’t even torn it into smaller pieces—I was holding it whole.

Did I look uncultured?

Though Charlotte didn’t seem to be judging me.

At least she didn’t look as appalled as when I ate parfait before.

“Yes, a lot happened yesterday.”

At my words, Alice’s shoulders flinched.

Charlotte glanced between Alice and me. Her deep gaze held curiosity, though she likely heard things she couldn’t discuss.

But she didn’t press us further.

“And where is everyone else?”

“Leo was dragged off by Jake. They’re probably off gambling somewhere.”

Charlotte sighed as she answered.

“Mia hasn’t woken up yet, and Lena went straight to her room after breakfast to tend to her weapons,” Alice added.

“Do you want more food, sis?”

Noticing how quickly my plate was emptying, Claire offered.

“....”

Normally, I would have declined...

But honestly, I was starving.