The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

The café was set to close once teatime ended.

After all, it hadn’t been opened as a serious business venture. None of us were in need of money—we were nobles, after all. More importantly, it would have been a shame if we couldn’t properly enjoy the festival.

There was the option of rotating shifts so that people could take breaks at different times, but once teatime was over, the number of customers naturally dwindled. The number of guests allowed inside the academy was limited, and few people returned multiple times in one day.

Besides, the academy’s festival didn’t end with just the academy itself.

Although the new year was still one day away, the city outside was already immersed in the festive atmosphere of the year-end celebrations. And since we were already dressed differently than usual, it made sense that people would want to go out in groups and soak in the experience as much as possible.

To be honest... I felt the same way.

“Looks like Class B is putting on a play,” Alice remarked, flipping through the event guide she had prepared in advance.

She usually acted as dignified as the gryphon, but right now, she was practically buzzing with excitement.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as thrilled. I had spent my childhood with friends, and at my core, I was still a grown man well past my youth. But Alice, who had grown up without friends, saw this festival very differently.

Seeing her so happy made me feel warm inside.

At the very least, she would have bright and lively teenage years. That thought alone was reassuring.

“Jake ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) went to help out with Class C, didn’t he?” I mused.

Alice, still focused on the guidebook, nodded absently.

Charlotte, who had been watching from beyond Alice, met my gaze. We exchanged amused smiles but didn’t say anything. If we so much as hinted at Alice’s excitement, her pride would take a hit, and she’d stiffen up for the rest of the festival.

And that would be a shame.

Jake was indeed helping Class C. They had other male students, of course, but for whatever reason, the play’s story made Jake the best choice for the lead role.

...What kind of plot required him as the protagonist?

Was it some scandalous drama featuring the Golden Sun?

Considering Jake’s looks, he’d fit perfectly as the kind of noble who swoops in and steals someone’s lover in a commoner NTR story.

...Was that sort of thing even socially acceptable in this era?

“The play itself isn’t very long. Maybe thirty minutes or so? We could watch it before heading out—what do you think?” Alice looked up from the guidebook, addressing both Charlotte and me.

Or rather, the three of us.

Charlotte and I had prevented Mia from escaping straight to the dorms after finishing her shift.

“It’s nearby, so I think it’s a good idea,” Charlotte replied.

“It’s our friends’ play. Of course, we should watch it,” I added.

“I-I’d rather rest for a bit, though...”

Unfortunately for Mia, her timid protest was completely ignored.

Claire had agreed to join us after finishing up her work.

Leo had also been supposed to come, but while we were working at the café, someone had noticed Sophia hovering around him. That someone had then changed their mind about inviting him.

“If interfering with my younger brother’s love life is a bad idea,” I muttered to myself, “then why were you so eager to interfere when you thought I liked him?”

But of course, I received no answer.

“There’s still some time before the play starts,” Charlotte noted, “but there’s nothing else we really need to do. Let’s go ahead and get there early and wait.”

We nodded in agreement.

*

The reason they had specifically brought in a male student from another class for the lead role became obvious the moment I saw the casting.

The female lead was Lottie.

And the genre was romance.

Looking at it this way, it seemed less like Class C had invited Jake to join and more like Jake had insisted on taking the role himself.

And on top of that...

“...It’s a play, but... is that really okay?”

Alice, her cheeks slightly flushed, muttered in a serious tone.

“In Belvur, this wouldn’t be impossible by any means. The fact that the actors are nobles makes it a bit more complicated, but...”

Even Charlotte’s face had turned a faint shade of red.

“T-they’re really something, those two...”

Mia looked utterly dazed.

The play was a love story about two people whose relationship was doomed from the start—essentially a Romeo and Juliet-style tragedy.

Since the runtime had been shortened to about thirty minutes, the plot moved ridiculously fast, and the villains were defeated so effortlessly that their presence felt almost pointless.

But there was one scene that had been given full attention.

A kiss scene.

A very intense one.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The script probably included a kiss, but I had no doubt that Jake had been the one who decided to go all out.

Afterward, Lottie was so flustered that she could barely say her next lines. Anyone could tell that her reaction wasn’t acting—it was real.

For the record, the play had been written by Lily Baker.

She had also been the one to subtly suggest Jake for the role.

Yet now, the author herself looked completely speechless as she watched the scene unfold. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“...Will Lottie be okay?” Mia asked hesitantly.

Even as the play ended and Jake led her offstage, Lottie still looked like she was in a daze. It was understandable to be concerned.

But I wasn’t particularly worried.

The two of them had gotten exceptionally close lately.

Jake spent almost all of his free time in her class—it had even gotten to the point where I barely saw him anymore.

During the unexpected long break, they had both returned to Lindburrow’s estate.

Which meant, logically speaking...

“...”

Ah.

Of course, I wished them happiness.

That was genuine.

I had even helped bring them together.

But I hadn’t meant for them to be this happy.

It wasn’t because I was lonely or anything—

...No, wait.

Actually, yes. That was exactly what it was.

I was just sulking because I didn’t have a partner. So what?

Right about now, those two were probably off in some secluded corner, whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Or bickering over what had just happened, like a proper couple.

“...They’ll handle things themselves. We should go somewhere else before Lily Baker’s father catches us again,” I suggested.

“Oh, right.”

Alice snapped back to reality.

“Let’s move first and think later. It’s not like I dislike the guy, but I really don’t want to spend my free time talking about business.”

She carefully avoided badmouthing a classmate’s parent outright, but the sentiment was clear.

*

As a child, I used to love the end of the year.

Growing older and becoming an adult had seemed exciting.

And it had felt good knowing that I was getting closer to finishing school.

Saying goodbye to one year and welcoming the next had been something to look forward to.

I used to enjoy meeting up with friends over the holidays, wandering around during winter break, just enjoying my free time.

...When had that changed?

Probably when I started working.

There were no exams, no schoolwork weighing me down anymore...

But there were no breaks, either.

My work hours rarely matched up with my friends’, so scheduling a meet-up required serious planning in advance.

Without any long vacations, I started treasuring my downtime more and more.

Every spare moment I had, I just wanted to rest and recover my energy.

After repeating the same routine over and over, the changing of the calendar stopped meaning anything to me.

Maybe if I had forced myself to go out, things would have been different...

“Do you remember?”

“Hm? Remember what, exactly?”

“The way you used to always drag me out on the first day of the year.”

“...Did I?”

Charlotte looked genuinely surprised.

“It wasn’t anything big. We didn’t spend the whole day together or anything. You just showed up at my room for tea, or sometimes I went to yours.”

Now that I thought about it...

That had happened.

At the very least, I had still been attending school.

But here, in this world, she hadn’t had that.

Alice had always spent those days alone in her room.

It made sense that she had seen something of her past self in the workaholic version of me.

But since I wasn’t exactly the imaginative type, I had never really done anything about it.

All I could manage was stopping by on the last day of the year—or the first—to check in and share a cup of tea.

“...”

Neither Alice nor I had ever treated it as something special.

Looking back, she had even distrusted me at first, back when we were younger.

“...I just thought of it, that’s all,” Alice said suddenly. “Tomorrow is the last day of the year, but who knows if I’ll even remember it when the time comes.”

“In that case—”

After a brief moment of thought, I spoke.

“In that case, why don’t we have a small gathering with our friends this year?”

“Huh?”

Alice blinked at me in surprise.

I simply shrugged.

“We’ll all be at the academy tomorrow anyway. Why not spend the last day of the year together? It wouldn’t be a bad way to end it.”

“...That’s true.”

Alice glanced at Charlotte and Mia.

Neither of them seemed to object.

Even Mia nodded in agreement.

“Well then,” Alice said. “Let’s do it.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

With that, I turned to look at the lively streets before us.

Everywhere, people were smiling, laughing, caught up in the festive spirit.

No matter how exhausting or difficult their everyday lives were, today, at least, they wanted to forget all of that.

Someone had set up a gramophone, and the sound of carols filled the air, making the streets feel even livelier.

Normally, I wouldn’t have liked this kind of chaotic atmosphere.

Maybe it was because I wasn’t alone in it this time.

I wasn’t doing anything in particular.

I wasn’t saying anything particularly important.

I was just walking alongside my friends.

And, honestly...

It was kind of nice.