The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

"Ugh..."

Sophia Bianchi hesitated for a few seconds before letting out a deep sigh.

"It seems like you knew from the start, not that I was caught."

While that was true, I imagined she said it with the confidence that she never thought she would get caught in the first place.

I didn’t feel the need to comment on it. Arguing about such a thing would only waste time.

"Well then, let's exchange the necessary information without hiding anything."

As I watched Sophia Bianchi continue, I was a little surprised. Or rather, now that I thought about it, perhaps it wasn’t so surprising.

In the original story, whenever the protagonist asked her something, she would respond without arrogance and only say what she wanted to say. But that was only because she had enough confidence in her skills to take that attitude.

Now that I had defeated her once, she probably realized that showing such an attitude before me would be meaningless.

"Yes, as you guessed, I’m from the Law Country."

She even changed the way she addressed me from "Sylvia" to "Your Highness."

"The reason I’m here... It’s because of the orders from the Law Country to gather information on you, Your Highness."

"My information?" I asked.

"Well, they want to know more about your ability to change the situation of a battlefield with just your own power. I don’t know much more than that. The Cardinals are famous for not giving out detailed information when they issue orders."

"Was this for preparation in case you were caught and imprisoned?"

"Yes... well..."

At my question, Sophia Bianchi made a brief unhappy expression. She must have thought there was no way her true identity would be discovered, considering how confident she was in her skills.

"Because of Eliza's situation."

Mentioning Veratti’s baptismal name suggested that the Law Country had become more cautious since Veratti was captured by the Empire. This had also been touched upon in the original story.

"Is there another reason?"

Sophia Bianchi shrugged.

"The rest of it is information I wouldn’t know unless I met His Majesty the Emperor personally. My main task here is to gather information about you, Your Highness. If I can learn more, that’s great. If not, well, no big deal."

Sophia’s attitude had shifted slightly. Compared to the more formal way she usually acted in front of others, she seemed a bit more relaxed now, especially in her body language.

"Why are you watching me so closely? There are other princes and princesses, not just me."

"Because you’re unique among them, Your Highness."

Sophia Bianchi answered, as if it were obvious.

"Normally, people who can’t handle swordsmanship end up using firearms, so they can join combat quickly. A person with true talent can avoid the trajectory of a bullet just by watching it fly... and honestly, firearms don’t give a sense of developing skill. I’m not trying to insult you, Your Highness."

She added hastily at the end, then continued.

"But after seeing Your Highness’s records, my thoughts have changed. While it’s impossible for every soldier to be like you, if an army could produce even a fraction of your ability... you get the point. No matter how strong a soldier is, they can’t be in two places at once. Even if one battlefield is defended, if the other falls, the war is lost. And it’s not like the Empire has no skilled swordsmen."

"So, are you trying to recruit me?" I asked.

"Not recruit, exactly. It’s more like they asked me to learn Your Highness’s movements, if possible."

Sophia Bianchi spoke in a somewhat deflated voice.

So, to put it simply, I was being asked to have my combat techniques copied before they even became a proper training manual.

And after hearing that, I started to understand.

My combat style, after all, was a mix of my basic, surface-level knowledge of military tactics and my own practical experience. Normally, it would take a long time to develop a fighting style, but I had gone through far more battles than most people, and I had the scars to prove it.

I fought for survival, so my style had real value.

Hah.

It was a surprising answer, and I found myself a bit flustered.

I had never considered that anyone would approach me because of the value I might have.

"Well, also..."

Sophia Bianchi shrugged once more.

"If you consider His Majesty the Emperor’s meritocratic nature, it might not be so strange. If you do well, you might even rise to be the next Empress. Perhaps they thought it would be a good idea to make a friend of similar age beforehand. Though, that’s just my guess."

Ah, I see.

Veratti was still detained in the Empire. In fact, she was in a coma, unable to communicate properly.

Even magic couldn’t facilitate long-distance communication, and the wireless communication devices weren’t fully developed in this world.

What did the game developers say?

Originally, radio technology should have been introduced by the time the game began, but since electricity-based technology hadn’t been fully developed, radio communication hadn’t made much progress either. There were fighter planes, but instead of using radio communication, they communicated through hand signals or light from embedded mana stones.

The information Veratti had gained hadn’t been delivered to the Law Country. So, it made sense that they would want to send someone in more safely to gather information.

"...."

This all felt a bit strange.

"So, Your Highness, would you like to be friends? If necessary, we can even negotiate with the Law Country. Honestly, even if we train soldiers, we can’t win against the Empire."

I quietly watched Sophia Bianchi try to persuade me, then opened my mouth.

"Are you aware of the incident that happened at the Imperial Palace recently?"

"...Yes?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Sophia Bianchi’s eyes widened slightly at my words.

"It was the incident where Lucas invaded. Many knights and soldiers were injured or killed."

"Uh..."

"Lucas was wearing protective armor and holding Jericho’s sword. I suspect he had something to do with the Law Country’s actions. What do you think? What’s been happening in the Law Country?"

At my question, Sophia Bianchi stared at me blankly.

"Uh, if you give me such high-level information, I don’t really know how to respond..."

"..."

I glared at Sophia Bianchi in silence, and she gave me a slightly awkward look.

"The leadership of the Law Country is a very secretive group. If they don’t think I need to know, they won’t give me any information. I’ve heard rumors about what happened, but I don’t know the details. I just learned that it was the prince who infiltrated."

Hah.

"I may be from the Law Country, but I grew up in Lutetia to create this identity. I’m confident in my skills, and the Law Country trusts me, but beyond the knowledge needed for this mission, I haven’t been told anything else. I’m sorry."

I watched Sophia Bianchi quietly. As soon as my gaze met hers, she shifted uncomfortably.

Just a moment ago, she had been looking me straight in the eye, making me uncomfortable. Now, the atmosphere had completely flipped.

I began to think that she might be hiding the truth from me. But, considering her character in the original story, she wasn’t really good at hiding her emotions, even if she tried. She had always been confident, but after losing to me, she had been genuinely surprised and lost for words.

She might have been trying to hide her true feelings just now, but there was no major change.

Right, she was still just a fifteen-year-old kid. Even in the second year of the main story, she would only be sixteen.

She was still at an age where her sense of self was growing, and she probably thought she was special.

Perhaps the cocky attitude she displayed in the original story came from her being sure of her own abilities.

...

I let out a long sigh.

Thinking about it, it was a bit of a reality check.

Despite all her bravado, she was just a newly transferred kid. Even the Law Country knew that.

Had I been too serious about this?

I shook my head and couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.