The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

“It’s a relief we have this many people here,” Jennifer said. “If it were just four or five of us, we’d already be surrounded.”

“R-Really?” Carolyn’s voice trembled as though frightened, but her hands moved with calm precision.

With one hand gripping her staff and the other drawing a magic circle midair, she began a silent incantation. Such control—casting without verbalizing and maintaining focus despite the surrounding chaos—was a skill only someone at the peak of their craft could perform.

Jennifer, though slightly impressed by Carolyn’s display, kept her surprise hidden. This was, after all, a teacher from the Empire’s finest academy. Anyone less skilled wouldn’t have earned that position in the first place.

The students were the ones primarily engaged on the front lines. The enemies weren’t just formidable—they were individually dangerous enough to pose serious threats.

But Jennifer wasn’t overly worried.

Not because she trusted the students’ abilities, but because she had spent countless hours in battlefields, learning to assess combat situations at a glance. The most critical role of a commander was to observe the battlefield, coordinate support from the rear, and minimize the losses of those at the front.

More importantly, there were far too many civilians flooding in behind them.

If it had only been a dozen or so, they might have dealt with them quickly, but these weren’t just numbers—they were non-combatants, people they couldn’t simply kill. What’s worse, it wasn’t just this entrance; people were pouring in from other directions too, impacting the students fighting ahead.

“Jake, Lottie,” Jennifer called out, “go support the students at the front.”

Jennifer had her reasons for this instruction.

Lottie was carrying a rifle loaded with live ammunition—not crowd-control rounds but proper, lethal bullets. While effective against enemies, such bullets would cause instant death, no matter where they struck.

It was only prudent to save such deadly force for enemies who could and should be killed.

Jake, naturally, was the best person to watch Lottie’s back. While having lovers together on the battlefield could be risky—one’s death or injury often drove the other into recklessness—it could also amplify their synergy if both survived.

Jake quickly followed Lottie, giving Jennifer a brief glance before moving on. She nodded reassuringly in return.

“Haah!”

Carolyn’s casting completed at that moment.

The green light from her staff flashed, and a powerful gust of wind swept through the area like a sudden storm. The advancing civilians were all pushed backward, rolling across the floor or stumbling but miraculously avoiding serious injury.

Jennifer guessed Carolyn had adjusted the spell’s power to minimize harm—had the targets been conscious knights instead of civilians, it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. Whether the Emperor’s choice not to deploy knights was due to arrogance or inability, Jennifer silently thanked the circumstances.

Mia immediately sprang into action.

Gripping her staff—almost as tall as she was—she swept it across the floor like a painter’s brush, carving a large semicircle.

With a sharp crack, an ice wall rose along the arc.

“They won’t be able to break through this with bare hands for a while...” Mia said softly, her tone tinged with hesitation.

Jennifer offered a reassuring smile.

“That’s good. Even a momentary barrier gives us a chance to redirect our efforts elsewhere. Let’s move forward, but don’t neglect the rear. Support with magic and firearms wherever possible.”

Both Carolyn and Mia nodded, determination written on their faces.

As they moved toward the fray, the three women used wind and ice to reposition furniture and create barricades, fortifying their path.

Bang—

A sharp gunshot echoed, prompting Jayden to raise his shield hastily.

With a ping, a bullet glanced off the shield’s angled surface, throwing up sparks as it ricocheted.

“This is why I hate guns,” Jayden grumbled, lowering his shield slightly.

The rapid follow-up shots forced him to leap sideways, the bullets striking the spot where he had just stood, scattering debris.

It was Lottie’s rifle, Alice determined. She didn’t have the luxury to turn and confirm but knew from the trajectory.

“Apologies, but Father wants to meet Sylvia alone,” Jayden said, his voice calm. “There’s still a machine yet to be completed.”

“...The machine only works with someone carrying Fangryphon blood, doesn’t it?”

“There’s no reason to hide it now, so yes. But it won’t be you.”

“Why not?”

“We’ve already tested you. We know the results.”

“...”

Alice couldn’t respond to that.

She had suspected as much when the masked woman wielding Sylvia’s gun had shown no intention of killing her.

Even if that woman had Sylvia’s weapon, her swordsmanship had been far from Sylvia’s style.

So perhaps... the masked woman...

“This situation,” Alice said finally, “is the result of those tests, isn’t it?”

Jayden didn’t answer.

With a shield in one hand and an oversized sword in the other, Jayden charged at Alice.

“Ugh!”

Alice had no time to evade. All she could do was brace herself and block his strike.

“Honestly,” Jayden said, his blade pressing down on hers, “your talent doesn’t quite measure up to Father’s. Have you been neglecting your training?”

“...!”

Gritting her teeth, Alice pushed back with all her strength, forcing Jayden’s sword away.

She had trained—diligently, tirelessly. She prided herself on her dedication, her studies, her practice.

But talent was another matter entirely. No amount of effort could close the gap between her and someone at Jayden’s level.

What Jayden didn’t realize, however, was that—had he been a “true imperial child”—things might have been different.

“You have quite the nerve talking like that to a lady.”

Clang!

Another sword clashed against Jayden’s, forcing him to step back and recover his stance.

“Whew.”

Jake stood there, brushing his hair back casually.

“Your name’s Jayden, right? I remembered because it’s similar to mine. Hard to forget.”

His voice was light, almost teasing, as if they were back at the academy.

“All this talk about talent,” Jake continued, “but honestly, are you just jealous of Alice? I mean, she is the Emperor’s real daughter. You’ve been working so hard, climbing the ranks, becoming a knight commander, but...”

“...”

Jayden scowled, clearly displeased.

Alice had seen Jayden dote on Sylvia genuinely. From her perspective, his affection seemed sincere—untainted by ulterior motives.

Still, she’d never considered the possibility that Jayden’s efforts stemmed from some inferiority complex toward Alice.

Not that she was free of jealousy herself.

“I know the feeling,” Jake said, shrugging. “I’ve spent my life disappointing Father’s expectations. You’re the opposite—you’ve worked your ass off to meet them, but still don’t get what you want. And here you are, still fighting to please him.”

“What do you know about me?” Jayden snapped.

Jake only shrugged again.

“...You want to get to Sylvia, don’t you?” Jake asked Alice softly.

“...Yeah.”

“Then go,” Jake said, gripping his sword. “I’ll hold him here.”

“Got it.”

As Jake braced for another clash, Alice tightened her grip on her weapon and prepared to move. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Jayden glanced briefly toward the cathedral’s rear.

From the area behind the Pope’s seat, knights were entering—clearly clad in imperial armor, not the cathedral’s.

There weren’t too many of them, but advancing further would be a struggle.

“Well,” Jake muttered with a wry grin, “a knight’s just as dead as anyone else when shot.”

Alice couldn’t help but let out a short, dry laugh at his nonchalant tone.