The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

The game’s setting book contained a vast amount of stories, but it didn’t have complete historical accounts or biographies of characters.

In particular, some background settings that played relatively important roles in the game were deliberately omitted. It’s only natural; they would be spoilers.

However, wouldn’t it have been better to write down a bit about the past of the Emperor and the Swordmaster? In the original work, the Swordmaster dies in his cabin, and he and the Emperor have no further encounters, leaving them with nothing to say to each other. Both characters are not present throughout the game; the Swordmaster provides crucial lessons to the protagonist before departing, while the Emperor is the final boss.

Especially since the Swordmaster is a character who cannot be encountered in the first game unless a hidden quest is completed.

“That’s good. I wasn’t in the mood to train any further today anyway.”

The Swordmaster said this to the Emperor while casting a sideways glance at Jaiden. Jaiden flinched, his shoulders twitching.

He then moved his gaze again, this time looking at me.

“......”

I slightly lowered my head.

It was understandable. After seeing my strange talent and following me here, it must have been disappointing to find just an “ordinary, talentless human” in the imperial palace. It wasn’t an overly harsh gaze, but the Swordmaster was clever enough to hide his thoughts.

“It’s been a while since we last met, so let’s have a drink and catch up.”

“Do you think an old man can handle drinking during the day?”

“Yet you were just sitting in the palace, playing politics, weren’t you? You couldn’t even get drunk in front of others, so your liver must be clean now.”

After delivering his retort to the Emperor, the Swordmaster turned to us.

“I’ll continue training tomorrow. Don’t get lazy just because I’m not around. It’ll show.”

“Yes!”

Jaiden replied energetically, seemingly wanting to make up for today’s mishaps.

“Oh, right. Jaiden.”

The Emperor spoke as if he just remembered something.

“I’d like to hear a report. Come to the audience chamber as soon as you’re ready. We’ll both be there.”

With those words, the Emperor glanced at me before turning away.

“Understood!”

Jaiden replied vigorously and then said to me,

“See you tomorrow, Sylvia.”

He looked my way as he spoke.

Of course, I didn’t respond.

*

It seemed that both Alice and Claire noticed something a little off about me today. Alice had sensed it from the moment she came to my room in the morning, and Claire felt it throughout our training together. Leo seemed to have noticed as well.

All three of them asked me in their own ways if I was “okay,” but I simply replied,

“I’m fine. I just... want to rest a bit.”

Not being able to explain the situation in detail, I headed towards my room.

I was exhausted.

I knew it was all my doing. And as I had thought earlier, for my own safety, I had to stay close to the Swordmaster and the Emperor no matter what.

But at this point, I just found everything to be a hassle.

I just... wanted to sleep deeply.

Worrying too much had prevented me from getting proper rest, plagued by nightmares and unable to meditate, my mind was a tangled mess.

Ignoring everyone’s worries, I fled to my room and dove straight onto the bed without even changing my clothes.

Lucas... Ah, right, it’s going to be troublesome being alone...

That was probably the last thought I had.

However, what I should have been concerned about wasn’t my own body.

*

“Sylvia!”

The voice that came right after the door burst open belonged to two people.

As I barely opened my eyes, I saw Claire and Alice looking at me with worried expressions.

“Are you hurt!?”

Claire asked like that.

“No, there’s no sign that anyone has come in here. It’s just as I last saw it.”

After Alice surveyed my room and said this, Claire exhaled as if relieved.

After blinking a few times, my vision finally cleared up a bit. At the door, Leo was standing with his back to us. He was gripping his sword tightly, indicating he had been on guard while Alice and Claire entered.

“What...?”

“An attack.”

Before I could finish my question, Alice answered first.

“An attack?”

“Was it Lucas?” Claire asked, and Alice nodded.

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s Lucas. He’s been missing for a while.”

Hearing that made my mind snap to attention.

“Who is the target?”

The Swordmaster? The Emperor? At least I seemed fine until Alice and Claire arrived, so it appeared I wasn’t the target.

“The Interrogation Office.”

But Alice’s answer was completely different from what I expected.

Not the Swordmaster, not the Emperor, but the Interrogation Office.

Who could be there—ah.

“That’s right.”

Seeing the light of understanding rise on my face, Alice nodded.

“Kiara Verati is still being held there.”

The knight from the cathedral captured in the Northwood territory.

“Why is Lucas after her?”

“I don’t know either.”

Alice bit her lip slightly.

“......We need to go.”

As I approached the gun I had leaned against the corner of the room, Alice grabbed my arm.

“Wait a minute, Sylvia.”

Alice hesitated for a moment before meeting my gaze.

“Your condition is...”

Both Claire and Alice were looking at me cautiously. Including Leo standing there, all three had seen that my condition was at its worst today.

But...

If Lucas had gone out of his way to find the “prisoner of the legal nation,” I absolutely needed to know what was going on. There might be something far more significant than I intended to ask.

Moreover, there was still that masked woman lurking around me.

Even though I was missing a few pieces, I could still see the outline as the puzzle began to fit together in my mind.

“We need to go.”

As I spoke again with conviction, Alice looked at me for a moment and then nodded.

“Then we’ll go with you.”

Though I wished to go alone, there was no way the three of them would let me leave by myself.

Without my time-reversal ability, I wouldn’t be able to get through them.

“......”

And without that ability, I wouldn’t be able to protect all three of them.

But—

“......Alright. But you must not overdo it.”

“Who would say such a thing?”

At my words, Alice replied as if incredulous.

“It’s all a mess because of me.”

I had to see that situation without fail.

And I had some trust in this matter.

There were two people in this imperial palace who wouldn’t overlook the presence of Lucas.

*

“......Why are you doing this?”

“There are many reasons.”

As the man with the red hair stood before me, Verati stepped back as far as possible. Her back hit the wall.

As a glorious knight of the legal nation, she knew that such behavior was unbecoming, but she had a much more important mission.

At least, she couldn’t die.

“I don’t know where to start.”

The man said as he swung his sword. Blood from the blade splattered downwards. The blade itself became clean from just that. It was as if he couldn’t allow it to be dirty.

Verati’s mouth fell open in astonishment as she saw the now clean blade.

“......Jerico’s sword.”

“Oh, you know? You really are a cathedral knight.”

Lucas held the blade upright as if boasting. It was extremely sharp and capable of cutting anything, yet he had never seen the blade break.

Though it wasn’t a “Zibo,” it was a sword created using ancient, lost magic, considered a treasure.

“......What happened to Antonio?”

“What do you think happened?”

When Verati mentioned the original owner’s name, Lucas questioned her in return.

“He wasn’t someone skilled enough to be the owner of this sword.”

Verati ground her teeth.

“In fact, when I headed towards the legal nation, I didn’t expect much. I was just wondering about the identity of my younger brother who reads the future, thinking there might be a hint if I just went to the legal nation.”

Lucas shrugged.

“Surprisingly, there are a lot of hints here and there. It seems you guys couldn’t even imagine it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Lucas quietly looked at Verati, who asked that question. Upon seeing his gaze, she felt goosebumps all over her body.

He would kill her.

The man in front of her had no intention of letting Verati live.

“I’m supposed to be the one asking questions.”

Lucas spoke slowly, as if he didn’t want Verati to hear a single word.

“I asked a few cardinals, and they said it was somewhat intentional for you to be captured here.”

“......”

“If you could find Zibo at the ruins, that would be great. And if you were captured, you could search for its location within the palace. Didn’t you draw several magic circles on your body?”

“How do you know that...?”

“I told you. I asked.”

Lucas said with a smile on his face.

“It’s a good thing the legal nation is such a secretive country, isn’t it? Otherwise, there would have been a huge blemish on the name of the cathedral knight order by now. Worldwide, too.”

And he took a step closer to Verati.

Since her back was against the wall, Verati couldn’t distance herself from Lucas.

“I'm thinking of asking you the same thing. What do you think?”

“I...”

Verati was about to speak but shut her mouth.

If it was

an interrogation severe enough to open the mouths of the cardinals, it wouldn’t be the ‘gentlemanly’ manner that she had seen in the empire until now.

In that case...

“Well, if you don’t want to say anything—”

Just as Lucas was about to step closer to Verati,

“—Oops.”

Lucas quickly ducked his head.

A sword swept through the place where his head had been just moments before. The sword’s tip flew forward and scratched the ceiling above Verati’s head.

A few stone fragments fell on top of her head.

Lucas jumped back and widened the distance between himself and the figure standing behind him.

He turned his body toward that direction and said with interest,

“Oh?”

A woman in a black robe, wearing a plain white mask with only two eyeholes, stood there.