The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

“Then why are we supposed to start calling each other by our names?”

When I asked this, the already awkward atmosphere froze completely.

“Ah, well...”

Sophia Bianchi’s eyes darted around before settling back on me.

“Do you not want that?”

Of course, this was an act. It had been the same in the game. Until her true nature was revealed, no one could guess it. She must have been very skilled at acting, and her performance was probably excellent.

Perhaps there was a little truth mixed in, though. Considering how she kept following me around, it seemed like she wanted something from me, and it would be troublesome if that didn’t happen.

“Lady Crowfield.”

Instead of answering her, I called out to Mia Crowfield, who was sitting at the table with us.

Mia flinched and cautiously looked at me.

“Have I ever called you by your first name?”

“No, I haven’t...” Mia shook her head vigorously at my question.

I turned my gaze back to Sophia.

“It’s been a semester since I met Lady Crowfield. But I’ve never called her by her name. This isn’t about whether I like it or not; it’s about how familiar we are with each other.”

In this group, excluding me, everyone else called Mia by her name. Even Alice, who had continued to call her "Lady Crowfield" after what happened during the last vacation.

Once I finished explaining, I picked up my spoon and began eating my parfait again. Honestly, the weather had gotten quite chilly, and most of the people at the table had ordered warm coffee, so I must have been the strange one.

But what could I do? It was delicious.

“Is that so...?”

When I bluntly put it like that, Sophia Bianchi looked bewildered. Her expression wasn’t exactly one of disappointment or frustration, but rather something closer to being dazed.

Perhaps there was a little sincerity in her reaction.

---

**“Sylvia.”**

Even though the situation was awkward, I didn’t stop eating my parfait. After scraping the spoon all the way down to the bottom of the cup, I left the café and returned to my room.

Before I could gather my thoughts, Alice arrived.

“Do you know anything about Sophia?”

Alice asked with a serious expression.

“Sophia Bianchi is a spy sent from the Law Country.”

“A spy?”

“To be more precise, she belongs to the Order of the Cathedral Knights.”

At my words, Alice’s expression froze for a moment.

She was standing there, her lips moving as if about to speak, then sighed and wiped her face.

“Well, I won’t ask how you knew that,” she said.

I was thankful for that. It was difficult to explain this information even if I rewound time, as I had no other way to explain it except by using knowledge from another world.

It was more comfortable when they didn’t ask about things I was deliberately trying to hide.

Alice sat down in one of the chairs at the guest table in the room, facing the same direction as I had been sitting.

“I have a few things I want to ask. Will you be able to answer?”

“I can answer quite a lot about Sophia Bianchi.”

“Good.”

Alice nodded and then continued.

“Sophia said she was from Belbur, a daughter of a knight family in Lutetia. How could she be from the Law Country? Falsifying one’s identity is a serious crime, and if she’s pretending to be a knight, it could cause a diplomatic issue. And then she even got the imperial approval to enter the academy. Doesn’t that sound impossible?”

“The Law Country and Belbur have a cooperative relationship. The Law Country has declared its independence from Belbur, but there’s no significant friction between the two. The Law Country governs only a small territory, much like a single fief, and Belbur citizens can travel freely there. There are many followers of the Goddess Church in Belbur, so the atmosphere between the two countries is not tense.”

“So, are you saying that Belbur helped create a fake identity for her?”

Alice asked seriously.

“Rather than a fake identity, it’s likely another legitimate one.”

The connection of her being the daughter of a knight family could be called a fake, but the family itself actually exists. It was the same in the original, so it would be the same here as well. The title itself was real, and the claim of being the “daughter” was legally accurate, even if it didn’t mean she was their biological daughter.

If the relationship was legally recognized, it could easily be fabricated if both sides had compatible interests.

“Were the two countries allies, then?”

“There’s probably not an official alliance,” I answered.

After all, there was the mess I caused last year. Outwardly, I tried to create the appearance of friction, even though behind the scenes I had intended to cooperate. It had always been a situation where the two countries acted outwardly hostile but were working together in secret. So, even though I caused a disruption, they probably didn’t abandon that relationship.

But it would have become more secretive. They would want to appear as though there was nothing happening.

“But... then it’s strange.”

Alice tilted her head and said.

“Even if the Law Country didn’t expect you to know about Sophia’s identity, why are these two countries suddenly acting so openly? If they were being so secretive, why would they reveal themselves now?”

“Because it’s urgent.”

My answer was simple.

Yes, the situation must have been pressing. The Law Country had caused quite a few issues recently.

Starting with Verati, who still hadn’t fully regained consciousness, and then the Emperor’s child, who had fled with important items after causing a commotion in the Law Country. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Law Country might be doubting the Empire itself. They might think that all of Lucas’s actions were orchestrated by the Empire.

Even if that wasn’t the case, the situation was critical. For countries like Belbur or the Law Country, it was getting too late to wait. A war takes years or even decades of preparation before it can even begin. But right now, no country was ready to go to war with the Empire. From the perspective of nations that had just started industrializing, something had to be done, or it would be too late.

“So, you think she’s trying to build friendly relations with us? She thinks that becoming friends with the princesses will prevent war?”

“...”

Well, I wasn’t sure about that.

In the original story, she didn’t appear until the second book, when the war escalated. She wasn’t a character you met at the academy.

“I don’t have a clear idea of her objective yet. Maybe... she just wants to talk to me about something.”

“You? What could—ah.”

I blinked.

Before I could explain anything, Alice’s expression seemed to change as if she understood something. She suddenly looked much darker.

“Do you have any thoughts on it?”

When I asked, Alice hesitated and gave an uncertain answer.

“Ah? Uh, yeah... I think I do.”

But she didn’t give a clear answer.

“If you have any thoughts, please share them with me.”

“Ah, no.” Alice quickly shook her head.

Then, standing up, she said,

“Thanks. That cleared up a lot of things. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on Sophia.”

“Okay...”

I watched Alice leave, still dazed, as she left with a “See you tomorrow!”

...Wait, what just happened?

---

**Sylvia has a special ability. Maybe she can turn back time.**

As the teacher mentioned, time is something even the Goddess cannot reverse.

But, according to the explanation I heard back then, if time could simply be adjusted, like rearranging objects, then that would truly be divine power, wouldn’t it?

I wasn’t sure if she realized this or not. From Sylvia’s expression, it seemed she didn’t think of her power as “the Goddess’s power.”

The first time Sylvia’s abilities seemed to change was when she went to the place with the *jibo*.

She had met the mysterious being wielding strange power. After that being disappeared, and the *jibo* was taken, Sylvia’s powers seemed to return to normal. Since then, she hadn’t shown signs of confusion or loss.

And now, in the imperial palace...

Power, Goddess, *jibo*, Law Country.

Considering these four keywords...

“Could it be?”

Alice’s face turned pale.

Maybe, in the Law Country...

...

No, no. I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts. While there were lingering suspicions at the back of my mind, I was beginning to calm down.

Even if it was the Goddess’s power, her abilities were far too limited. Most importantly, Sylvia didn’t know how to heal or protect others like the priests of the Law Country.

Still, even so, I now understood why the Law Country had come.

“That’s it.”

Lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, Alice murmured.

...

It was time to solidify my thoughts.

Whether I heard it directly from Sophia or from the people behind her.