The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

"Or should I call you Fangryphon’s Black-and-White Lily now? Hmm, that sounds a bit strange. Fangryphon is technically just a family name, but... since it already sounds like a title, adding another one on top of it makes it feel like you’ve got two epithets stuck together.”

“Maybe it’s because of the sight of Sylvia riding the gryphon earlier.”

Alice, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, finally spoke up.

“The name ‘Fangryphon’ comes from Old Imperial and means ‘leader of the gryphons.’ It can also mean ruler.”

Snort.

A loud sound, like someone blowing their nose, interrupted us.

I looked up to find the gryphon staring down at me. It was sitting in that loaf-like position cats often take, but its head was held high, gazing at me with an almost comically haughty expression.

That noise just now—if I had to guess—was probably the gryphon’s equivalent of a scoffing laugh.

...By the way, are you not going home?

Even after the battle ended, it had stayed behind, sitting behind me, listening in on our conversation. It was starting to feel oddly out of place.

If it was just going to linger like this, why bother flying off earlier?

Had it been waiting for just the right moment to appear? Holding back until the most dramatic timing? I had assumed that it had only entered after the goddess’s barrier disappeared because it couldn’t cross it before. But now, I was starting to rethink that.

“...I don’t know if it actually agrees, but someone did call Sylvia Fangryphon.”

Alice picked up where she left off.

“So, in Sylvia’s case, ‘Fangryphon’ isn’t just a family name—it’s an epithet as well. Which means if you add Black-and-White Lily on top of it, it’s like giving her two separate titles.”

That would make Fangryphon’s Black-and-White Lily sound like someone with two completely different nicknames mashed together.

“...Wait, hold on.”

I raised my hand, interrupting the conversation.

“...Where did the Black-and-White Lily thing come from?”

I had a vague idea, but I feigned ignorance on purpose.

Right. If I pretended not to remember, maybe—just maybe—I could slip past this. I clung to that fragile hope as I asked.

“Oh, obviously, from when you were part of the Grace Family.”

“I was never a child of the Grace Family—”

“Oh my, but isn’t it a title you earned while going around spreading your name in high society? The very same you who attended every ball and banquet to establish your presence in the social scene?”

“...”

Snap.

I could almost hear the thread of my last, desperate hope snapping.

Charlotte smiled at me—elegant, composed, utterly merciless.

“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t remember?” She tilted her head. “It’s not perfectly clear, but it’s vivid enough that I know it happened. It feels like a dream, but at the same time, I can tell it was real.”

I had definitely thought she wouldn’t remember.

Because in that world, the only people who retained their memories had been me, Claire, and Alice. I had been created using the goddess’s power, Claire had stolen that power, and Alice had been affected by that fake version of herself.

In that world, Charlotte hadn’t remembered me. The reason we became close in the first place ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was because she had taken an interest in my established presence in the Imperial social scene.

“Sylvia.”

Alice gave me a look of mild pity.

“Think about who was able to pass through the barrier that blocked the goddess’s power.”

“...”

“Whether it was your power or the goddess’s will that allowed it—at the very least, the fact that we passed through means that, for a brief moment, we benefited from the goddess’s influence.”

Oh...

Wait.

Wait.

I quickly scanned the room.

Eyes were turning toward me. My friends, my acquaintances—everyone was starting to gather around, drawn in after finishing their own tasks.

“There’s another possibility.”

Claire, who had been speaking with Leo a short distance away, rejoined the conversation.

“The place where we erased the goddess’s power—technically, it wasn’t here, was it?”

Ah.

Right.

She was correct. Conceptually, this place hadn’t been where it happened. That space had been an illusion hastily created by the goddess—something caught between fantasy and reality. If the goddess had managed to fully reclaim her power there, that place itself would have become real.

The goddess had designed it that way, even in those fleeting moments.

And the place where Claire and I had shouted continue! had been inside that illusion.

Which meant the device had sent the goddess’s power somewhere else—not here.

The moment the world reverted to its proper state, the effects of the goddess’s power had already ended. There had been no time for those memories to disappear.

A shiver ran down my spine as I processed Claire’s words.

“Th-Then, does that mean other people’s memories—?”

The question tumbled out before I could stop myself, momentarily making me forget to maintain my usual composure.

Claire merely shrugged.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

She was so nonchalant, so typically Claire, that for a second, I almost forgot where we were.

“Most people probably lived almost exactly the same lives, right? If they weren’t directly connected to you, they’ll probably just dismiss it as déjà vu. As for everything that happened after the war started? They’ll just chalk it up to a bad dream. They won’t even consider the possibility that it was real.”

“...”

“...Is that so?”

“And even I, who actually experienced it firsthand, wasn’t completely certain until I saw how you reacted.”

Charlotte, who had been quietly listening, added her own thoughts.

“It feels like... a dream I had last night. Most of it is hazy, but there are certain moments that stand out vividly. Especially the memories involving you—those are the clearest. So I’d say the only people you really need to worry about remembering are the ones who interacted with you directly.”

And judging by the sly grin on her face, Charlotte knew exactly what she was implying.

...

The reason I earned the nickname Black-and-White Lily of Grace was simple—I had worked tirelessly to establish myself in high society.

I rarely interacted with people my own age, but I made sure to speak with older nobles, the ones who held real influence in the Empire.

Which meant that all those nobles—who had personally spoken with me—were very likely to remember that title.

Of course, they would probably dismiss it as nothing more than a particularly vivid dream. After all, the girl in that dream had long hair, wore elegant dresses, and looked nothing like the current me. And it wasn’t like I planned to talk to them about Relics or the goddess.

But even if they didn’t consciously remember, that title—the nickname carved into the deepest parts of their perception—wouldn’t fade so easily.

The name Grace might be easy enough to detach from me—

“...Ah.”

And the moment that thought crossed my mind, my brain stalled once again.

Because I had spent a very long time as the daughter of the Grace family in that illusory world.

Baron and Baroness Grace had treated me with warmth, with genuine affection. Seeing how Claire had grown up to be so bright and full of life, it was clear where she had gotten it from. To them, I had been nothing more than an orphan scraping by at the bottom of society, and yet... once they took me in as their daughter, they never once treated me any differently than Leo.

Sure, they had raised me with the distinctions expected between a daughter and a son, but considering how I had thrown myself into high society, I had lived the life of a model noble daughter. There had been no time to feel any kind of discrimination.

And, naturally, I had spoken with Baron and Baroness Grace often. As a daughter would with her parents.

Our relationship had been solid. In fact, to a certain extent... I had almost considered them as real parents—

—Even though I had always told myself that it was just an illusion.

“We should go visit our parents sometime soon, Sylvia, my dear sister.”

“...”

Leo said it so casually, but his words froze me in place, mouth slightly open in shock.

He was half-teasing, but I could also tell he was being completely sincere.

...Just as Baron and Baroness Grace had been my parents in that world, Leo had been my brother.

“Now that I think about it, aren’t we actually sisters now?”

Claire sounded genuinely delighted by the idea, while Alice let out a strained chuckle.

Alice stepped up beside me and patted my shoulder.

“Well, if you have parents, you should go pay your respects. I get it.”

No. No, no, no. It would be better if we just used the Fangryphon name to shut this down entirely.

But Alice wasn’t the kind of person to do that.

I knew that better than anyone—because I had spent an entire lifetime as her sister, too.

...It feels like I just finished off the final boss, only to realize there’s an even bigger one waiting right behind it.