The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Wait a second, why am I being sent to this meeting when the Empire has a Chancellor? Sure, I’ve read a few books and taken a few practice tests, but is that really enough? How can they expect good results if they send me?

And why on earth didn’t the Chancellor speak up against such a crazy idea? Isn’t that his job? He’s supposed to be the highest-paid government official, yet he’s not doing anything?

Moreover, why send someone like me, who isn’t even related by blood, and has so many rumors swirling around about being a part of the Emperor’s assassination unit, to a three-nation summit? Is this the Emperor’s way of saying, “If you don’t behave, you’ll end up like those people”? Even so, how would sending me to the Papal State or the Kingdom result in any kind of assassination? Or worse—am I supposed to carry it out?

No!

I kept repeating “no” in my head, but it didn’t help me reach any proper conclusion.

"..."

I stared into the mirror.

The summit was to be held in Lutetia, the capital of the Kingdom of Velbur. The distance from the imperial capital, Rondarium, was roughly over 400 kilometers. The Empire’s capital was somewhat skewed to the east compared to the rest of the country, so that’s why the distance seemed short. In reality, the Empire was about four times larger than the Kingdom. The population difference was even greater, as was the military power.

The Empire had multiple colonies, while the Kingdom had none. They had tried to establish some, but none of their attempts had yielded significant results.

As for the Papal State, it was nestled beside the Kingdom and even smaller in size—practically the size of a single city. Of course, the influence of the Pope’s words on the world was immense, but the Empire hardly paid attention.

The Empire had overwhelming technological and military power, enough to stand its ground even if the Kingdom, Papal State, and other nations banded together.

That’s why the Emperor’s grand ambitions weren’t entirely unrealistic.

...Thinking about it this way, sending me to such an important summit might be part of a strategy to “disrespect” the other nations. That made sense in a way.

In the mirror, I still looked like a child. It wasn’t just a matter of looking “young”—I was clearly a kid. No matter how you looked at me, I appeared to be in middle school, or at most, someone about to enter high school. I’d probably grow a bit more over the next year or two.

By sending such a young representative, the Emperor was effectively saying, “We have no intention of engaging in serious negotiations with you.” In that context, sending me wasn’t completely illogical.

The problem was that I’d be the one bearing the brunt of the other nations’ glares.

I glanced at the clock hanging above the bathroom window. It was just past 1 PM. We still had about two hours before arrival.

The steam locomotive I was riding on could reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. While it had a top speed of 130 kilometers per hour, 100 was considered a stable pace.

By the way, despite this being a world that primarily uses steam engines, the Empire already had high-speed trains undergoing trial runs, true to the world’s “over-the-top technology” aesthetic. These steam-powered trains could easily maintain a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, and they’d become available for use in the main storyline of the game.

Even at 200 kilometers per hour, it would still take hours to cross the Empire, and it wouldn’t be possible to maintain that maximum speed all the time. However, in the game, the protagonist’s party could conveniently travel from one end of the Empire to the other multiple times in a single day. Of course, that’s impossible here in “reality.”

According to the lore, all the events that took place in those different regions were somehow condensed into just “one day,” as outlined in the lore book.

This means that if the protagonist were to complete all the side quests in each region, they would have to travel back and forth incessantly, poking around every nook and cranny of the map.

Obviously, that wouldn’t be possible in reality.

"...Hoo..."

Well, there’s no point in worrying about the main storyline now.

Actually, the protagonist’s party would likely do just fine on their own. As long as I guide the heroines at risk of dying onto survival routes, everything should go smoothly.

So, for now, I should focus on my own problems.

"..."

I studied my reflection, smoothing out every sign of worry on my face. I relaxed my furrowed brow and loosened the tension around my mouth. After gently massaging my face to ease my nerves, I looked into the mirror once more.

"Alright."

I calmed myself.

If the Emperor really did send me with the intention of disrespecting the other nations, then all I had to do was follow his lead.

I just needed to keep quiet, say nothing, and return without causing a fuss.

"Okay."

After steeling myself, I left the bathroom.

"Hey, sis!"

And as soon as I stepped out, I heard the voice that raised my blood pressure.

Because I was the Emperor’s representative, this train was running solely for my sake. All unnecessary baggage had been removed, allowing the train to travel at maximum speed in case of an emergency.

To ensure my safety, two of the Empire’s finest swordsmen were assigned to protect me—

"Come sit with us, we’ve got plenty of time. Let’s play some poker."

—those two being Jaiden and Lucas.

Lucas, who was casually inviting me to join them, spoke in such a lighthearted manner that I wondered if he even remembered why we were on this train or where we were headed. He seemed like he was on a field trip.

Well, it’s understandable. With Jaiden and Lucas on this Imperial-exclusive train, and me—the not-so-helpless target of protection—it wasn’t exactly a tense situation. Plus, in the other cars, there were Imperial Guards stationed, ensuring further security.

Before departure, they had meticulously checked both personnel and baggage, and the train had priority passage through every station. No wonder Lucas was so relaxed.

"Teaching a kid to gamble, Lucas? Really?"

Jaiden scolded him, though he himself was holding a deck of cards.

"Aw, come on. Why not join us? What else are you going to do, huh?"

I glanced over at the table where they were sitting, and it was clear that Lucas was dominating, judging by his mountain of chips. Jaiden gave me a wary look, as if afraid I’d sit down and bankrupt him completely.

...Were they really betting actual money?

Given how prepared they were, with poker chips and everything, that wouldn’t surprise me. Maybe this train even had a casino car.

"I’m not interested."

At my response, Jaiden visibly sighed in relief.

"Why not?"

Lucas sounded genuinely curious. After almost ten years of knowing me, he still had the nerve to ask that? How many times had I joined in on their games? Not many.

...Well, I had been roped into playing with them a few times, but never by choice.

"..."

Instead of answering, I looked toward a corner of the train.

From my vantage point, I couldn’t actually see anything but the back of a chair.

Still, Lucas shrugged, as if knowing exactly who I was thinking of.

"You’re too soft. She doesn’t even appreciate it, so why do you keep going out of your way to shield her?"

"..."

Without bothering to answer, I walked past him. Lucas, too, didn’t seem to expect a response, merely shrugging again.

"Don’t be so hard on her. She’s the only one of your siblings who’s your age."

"Yeah, but still... Never mind."

I could hear Jaiden and Lucas’s conversation behind me, but I paid them no mind as I made my way to the seat.

Sitting there with a prim expression on her face was Alice.

"Why aren’t you playing with your brothers?"

She asked with a hint of childish irritation, but I didn’t bother answering as I took my seat.

...Of course, one of the reasons I hadn’t joined the poker game was because I didn’t particularly enjoy their company. The other reason was that they were playing poker.

Even with my ability to rewind time, I was vulnerable to games of chance like dice rolling or card drawing. The smaller the variables, the more easily the outcome could be influenced by the tiniest factors. If I made even the slightest remark while the cards were being shuffled, or delayed picking up a card for a split second, those little actions could completely change the result.

Sure, I might not lose, as long as I wasn’t aiming for a flawless victory. If I rewound time each time I drew a card, carefully analyzing my opponents’ hands before deciding to fold or bet, I could probably win.

But my opponent was Lucas.

If he started pulling off his superhuman sleight-of-hand tricks, I’d be finished. And to prove that, I’d need skills as good as his, which I didn’t have.

That was the most dangerous part.

The reason I had gained the Emperor’s trust was because of the image I’d built: the one who never made mistakes and succeeded in everything.

But if that image were to crumble over something as trivial as a card game, what then?

I’d have to learn how to cheat like Lucas just to stand a chance.

But I wasn’t about to put in that kind of effort. It would be much easier to just avoid card games altogether.

"I’m more comfortable sitting here."

With that, I reopened the newspaper I had set aside earlier.

What I needed was information.

There were no smartphones or internet in this world. Sure, important information could be relayed to the Imperial family via telegram, but the details were always lacking.

So, I had to gather whatever information I could to reduce the variables that could affect future events. Otherwise, I might end up rewinding time by several years.

It was bad enough having to guess cards in poker. If I had to rewind that far, it’d be even harder to control the outcome. Years were plenty of time for people’s thoughts and values to change.

"..."

"..."

For a while, the only sound was the rustling of my newspaper pages.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

Alice spoke to me, and I replied without taking my eyes off the newspaper.

"Am I annoying?"

"..."

I lowered the newspaper slightly to look at Alice. She was glancing between the window and me, as if unsure where to direct her gaze.

Technically speaking, I was the one headed to the summit. Even as a princess, Alice wouldn’t be able to attend without a direct order from the Emperor.

But... Alice, who had always harbored some jealousy toward me, had stubbornly insisted on boarding the train the moment she found out I was headed to the summit.

It seemed the Emperor had tried to keep this fact from her, but that only made her rebellion stronger when she eventually learned of it.

Had the Emperor been there to reprimand her directly, she would’ve probably backed down. Unfortunately, the Emperor was on the complete opposite side of the Empire at the time.

And with Alice throwing a fit right before departure, it had nearly delayed us enough to miss the summit. As a result, she ended up on this train, under my responsibility.

So, I understood why Alice was asking that question.

"I’ve never once thought of you as annoying."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

It was the truth.

This was favoritism, after all.

In the original story, Alice was part of the protagonist’s party, traveling throughout the Empire and supporting the faction opposed to the Emperor. While she was still immature now, I could already see glimpses of the confident woman she would become.

And I had affection for all the members of the protagonist’s party, including the protagonist himself.

So, well...

What can I say? If anything, I was the intruder here.

"You’re destined to become the leader of this Empire someday. I don’t think it’s a bad idea for you to get a sense of what the atmosphere at the summit is like."

"R-Really?"

Alice’s face brightened at what was meant as praise, or at least my attempt at flattering her.

In the original game, interacting with Alice in this way was the correct approach in the early stages.

She had a high sense of pride but low self-esteem. She was constantly outshone by her step-siblings, who had no royal blood, and in the original story, her self-esteem took a bigger hit because of Claire. Compared to the original, though, she seemed to be handling things a bit better.

"However, even if you wish to enter the conference room in my place, or with me, I won’t be able to comply. It’s an order from the Emperor."

"I-I know that."

Alice blushed in response.

She wasn’t much of a problem. After all, she hadn’t insisted on getting on the train just because she thought she could attend the summit.

It was just a series of coincidences that had led her to be here with us.

Besides... there were people Alice could meet, even without entering the summit.

As the Emperor’s true heir, it wouldn’t make sense for Alice not to meet any important figures. She’d have a productive time, and I could easily assign either Jaiden or Lucas to guard her.

Hmm... She might meet the princess of the Kingdom.

In the original story, there was a scene where the princess met the Emperor. Maybe this was the time that would happen.

...Honestly, how did the original protagonist, a mere baron, manage to get involved with both his country’s princess and a foreign princess?

Then again, setting aside the main plot, the romance lines did have a bit of that “high school harem” vibe.

Can’t say I’m not a bit envious.