The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

The battle system in the original game was typical of your standard JRPG.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it was identical to other games. The developers had their own unique spin on turn-based combat, making the game distinct in some ways.

However, the turn-based system imposed significant limitations on how certain scenes could be portrayed.

For example, it was difficult to represent large-scale battlefields effectively. If the genre had been SRPG, it might have been easier to depict something like trench warfare from World War I, where moving between trenches and taking cover played a central role. There were actually games that tried to convey that atmosphere.

But this series stuck to its traditional JRPG roots, which meant there were inherent challenges when trying to stage complex battle sequences.

So, what did the developers do to work around that?

They came up with a system of “consecutive battles.” After each battle, a cutscene would play before launching into the next fight. Win three battles in a row, and you'd capture the temporary trenches. Lose a battle, and you'd be disqualified. The only downside to losing was that you wouldn't receive the reward items.

Those items were useful, but only for the early stages of the game, so their importance was relatively low. Still, it bothered me to think of someone else taking what should be mine. In the game, all those rewards were rightfully mine.

Not that I’d come to this world by choice.

More importantly, I had an image to uphold. I had cultivated the reputation of someone capable of handling any challenge. I didn’t want anyone thinking, "Well, it looks like there are things even she can’t do."

...Perhaps it would’ve been better to go for the "I just don’t do things I find tedious" approach?

There were also several other things I wanted to verify. Specifically, I was curious about how “system-generated” items would manifest in reality—things like the message saying, “You received [item] as a reward.” There was no status window in this world, after all.

While I had already learned that things restricted by the system could be done in reality, I still needed to know how “system-controlled” elements functioned here.

To find out, I needed to win this battle.

“Light...?”

Mia Crowfield hesitated for a moment, seemingly trying to understand my intent, before finally grasping my meaning.

“But if you cast a light that bright, wouldn’t it blind your own side as well?” she asked, skepticism lacing her voice.

It was a fair point.

Light, by its nature, doesn’t discriminate between allies and enemies. If someone couldn’t see it, it would mean there was something seriously wrong with their nervous system or brain.

There were magic spells that could induce hallucinations, but nothing that could selectively affect dozens of people over a large area. At least, I had never encountered such magic during my playthroughs of the game.

...Though I had seen spells where a giant hand appeared from the sky to shoot lasers.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Mia took a step back as I continued to stare at her.

In the game, spells like that were just flashy visual effects—like something out of the Super Robot Wars series. You could use those techniques anywhere, whether indoors or outdoors, without any real-world limitations.

But here in reality, how would such spells behave?

That was something I’d need to investigate eventually.

And I had to remember that, if things went wrong, that spell could end up backfiring on me.

“Can you do it?”

She had to be able to. It was possible in the original game.

While Mia’s specialty was ice and water magic, that didn’t mean she was incapable of casting other types of spells. In the game, there were “basic spells” and “extra spells” that required special equipment to cast. Her specialty spells weren’t inherently stronger, but having those basic spells gave her more versatility.

Plus, her base “magic attack power” was exceptionally high.

Any character could technically use those spells if equipped with the right items, but without them, their magic damage and effects were greatly reduced.

At this point, Mia Crowfield was the only character capable of casting the necessary spells.

“...”

She didn’t seem too pleased with my silent insistence, but eventually, Mia nodded.

Good. That’s what I wanted.

Despite her hostility in the student council room, Mia had said she’d join the council if I did. It wasn’t about friendship; being close to me meant she could gather evidence that I had killed her father, or take her chance at revenge if one presented itself.

There was no point in trying to explain her father’s crimes now. I had already attempted it once. Even if I told her calmly in private, she wouldn’t believe that her father had been a drug addict and a pedophile.

I’d have to give her time to come to terms with it herself.

“But this magic staff...”

“It’s not meant for killing. Just send the brightest light as far as you can. That will be enough.”

“...”

In the original game, the characters all charged forward blindly, managing to succeed, but Leo and Jennifer had both commented afterward, saying, “You pulled it off, but never try that in real combat.”

But what if I were involved this time?

What if it wasn’t luck, but a calculated strategy?

Of course, my plan still relied heavily on chance.

But to the enemy, it would look like fate.

I glanced over at Jennifer, who was observing me intently. Her expression was one of clear interest. It seemed I had caught her attention since our last training session.

Jennifer had likely heard the rumors about the emperor’s children and the suspicions surrounding the death of Count Crowfield.

“All right, this way.”

I turned and made my way back to my group. A moment later, I heard Mia Crowfield hesitantly following behind me.

No one tried to stop her from leaving. It seemed I was intimidating enough.

Or maybe Mia had just never really fit in with the others.

“I’ll provide cover fire.”

“...Are you sure you won’t hit us by accident?”

“I’m sure.”

“...Well, okay.”

Alice, who had no doubts about my abilities, eventually agreed.

“But still, how will you manage without being able to see...?”

“Sylvia says it’ll work,” Claire cut off Leo’s skeptical question.

...That was originally your idea, Leo. Though back then, you didn’t have someone promising to provide covering fire from behind.

Claire seemed to have absolute faith in my abilities—almost to the point of religious devotion. But I’ll put that aside for now.

Charlotte, meanwhile, was giving me a narrow-eyed look.

Her gaze was filled with a mix of suspicion and certainty. She must have heard something from her father.

“I’ll go along with it. We don’t have any better options,” Charlotte finally said.

“So, when do we move out?” Alice asked after confirming everyone was on board.

“The timing is—”

Just as I was about to explain, a loud shout interrupted me.

“Charge!”

The noise came from the group that Mia had just left.

“Now,” I said, turning to Mia.

She looked startled but quickly began chanting her spell—

“Mia Crowfield! Eliminated!”

—only to be shot before she could finish.

...Reset.

I called out, immediately standing and taking aim. I fired a shot at one of the commoner students, whose head was poking out from behind cover.

“Rukshina!”

Light!

Hearing the magical incantation in both the game’s original language and human speech was surreal.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d seen magic being used up close since arriving in this world.

My vision went white for a moment, and then I saw a massive ball of light soaring through the air.

It wasn’t quite like a flashbang—more like staring directly at an incredibly bright spotlight. It was like facing the high beams of an oncoming car.

The key difference was that the light spread out in all directions.

The enemy’s visibility was just as bad as ours, but even from our side, we couldn’t make out the silhouettes of the people on the other side.

I heard Alice, Charlotte, Claire, and Leo vault over the sandbags, each armed with a shotgun.

Well, then.

The operation had begun.

Now it was time for me to do my part.

With quick, practiced movements, I pulled back the bolt on my rifle, ejecting the spent cartridge and chambering a new round. The process felt almost natural.

I already had a mental map of where the enemy had been stationed.

Click!

Of course, hitting them was another matter.

I pulled the trigger, but there was no cry of “eliminated!” from the other side.

In that case—

Reset!

Not that they had gone far. The blinding light in the sky had made it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.

Despite Mia’s mixed feelings about me, she had followed my instructions perfectly, casting the light spell multiple times as I requested.

During that time, I had shot down several enemies. Seven? Eight? I wasn’t sure. It had all happened so quickly. But I’d gone through at least six rifles, switching each time I ran out of bullets.

Before I took off running, I turned to Mia.

“Stay here and cast the spell one more time.”

Her face was stiff, but she nodded.

She would probably follow through. But even if she didn’t, I had my own backup plans.

By now, the others should have reached the enemy’s trenches.

With that in mind, I sprinted forward, vaulting over the sandbags.

“Ah!”

And promptly tripped.

“...”

For a moment, I was sure the entire battlefield had gone silent.

No, it couldn’t be. That was just my imagination.

Still... it felt like both Jennifer up on her perch and Mia behind me had seen the whole thing.

How embarrassing.

Reset!

Good.

Feeling confident that I had cleared the sandbags with style, I immediately began running.

I kept my eyes down, avoiding the blinding light overhead, zigzagging as I sprinted across the battlefield.

So far, there had been no return fire.

Some of the other noble students had probably made it over by now. I could hear footsteps and the sound of weapons clashing, so it seemed like the commoner students were in a state of panic.

After running for a while, I spotted another line of sandbags, illuminated by the overly bright light that still filled the air.

Putting all my strength into it, I dove behind the sandbags.

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!

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