The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

The reason the academy runs carriages 24/7 and why there’s always staff on duty to manage students' weapons is exactly this: students may need to return home with their weapons at any time, even in the middle of the night. And it's not just weapons. There are plenty of instances where students might need to pack up their belongings and leave abruptly.

If a student suddenly has to pack up and return home in the middle of the night, it might seem like they're running away. While that does happen on occasion, more often than not, it’s due to sudden, urgent matters related to their family.

For example, the head of the family, who had been bedridden, might pass away, forcing the student to return and take over the family. Or perhaps there’s an emergency marriage that needs to be arranged quickly. In more extreme cases, the family might be drawn into a border conflict and need to deploy immediately.

Noble society is full of unexpected variables, and since the academy isn't compulsory, if a student has to leave, it’s better for them to withdraw than stay. As a result, even though the academy accepts a full roster of students every year, about 10% of them end up leaving for various reasons before graduation.

...And I ended up using that emergency system just to catch one Elemental Dog.

“...”

Not that I’ll face any real consequences for this. It’s not like I’ll be penalized in any way for using the system like this.

It’s just... well...

In hindsight, I wonder if I should have just bought the reward instead of going through all this trouble.

For Leo and Claire, it might be a bit harder. The Grace family isn’t poor, but it’s not like they could afford to waste money on unnecessary purchases. In the game, it was established that they were given "just enough" living expenses, so upgrading weapons without doing quests would be impossible.

While you do earn money through the main quests alone, even if you don’t do any side quests, it’s not enough to fully equip all the characters with top-tier gear.

In a first playthrough, unless you focus on outfitting only your primary characters, money management can be quite tight. After all, there are more things to spend money on than just weapons, armor, and Marmaros stones.

But I’m a princess.

Couldn’t I just send a letter to the emperor and ask for whatever I need?

...That thought just now crossed my mind.

“...”

My backside felt a little cold.

I stood up. I had been sitting on the corpse of the Elemental Dog, dragging it back here with me. As expected of a wind-element creature, its body was annoyingly cold. If it had been an ice-element creature, I wouldn’t have even thought about sitting on it.

It was late April, but the early mornings were still chilly. Even with my coat draped over my shoulders, a biting cold seeped through.

...Should I just wear the coat properly instead of draping it?

“...”

I placed my hand on my chin and seriously considered it.

But I dismissed the idea.

Draping it over my shoulders looks cooler.

I’m not trying to be edgy or anything, but in this world, military personnel often wear their coats like this. Jennifer did it, and so did the other soldiers.

So by this world’s standards, it’s the latest trend.

It’s better to follow the trend and look fashionable than to look uncool.

Besides, the coat even had a strap at the front, like a cape, so it was clearly designed to be worn this way.

Even in Japanese subculture, you often see navy officers from something like One Piece wearing their coats over their shoulders, right? It’s a common look.

As I continued to gaze down at the corpse of the Elemental Dog, which now had a hole in its head, I heard the sound of hooves approaching in the distance.

“Sylvia?”

It was Claire’s surprised voice.

I turned to see her looking out the window of the carriage, which had pulled up nearby.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Claire jumped out even before the coachman could open the door.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

That’s what I want to ask you.

Not that I could actually say that, given the current circumstances.

“I just happened to be out and decided to complete one of the requests on the bulletin board.”

“At this hour?”

I mean, really. Should you be the one asking that when you’re out here too?

Then again, from their perspective, they probably think I’m the one who woke up extra early. For them, waking up after only a few hours of sleep to meditate and train is the norm.

“Did you have something you needed to do?”

“...”

Not really.

I can’t exactly tell them that I just came out here because I didn’t want them finishing the quest before me. They wouldn’t understand even if I explained it, and it’s not like I can reveal that I rewound time either.

But while I was hesitating, Claire’s expression softened as if she had misunderstood my silence.

“Is it... something related to the royal family...?”

Hmm.

“I’m afraid I can’t say right now.”

It was a convenient excuse, so I went with that.

Technically, it wasn’t even a lie. I hadn’t said anything about receiving orders from the royal family. Besides, there was a valid reason why I couldn’t explain everything right now.

Claire simply nodded, accepting my vague answer.

“Could you help me load this corpse into the carriage?”

“Oh, yes.”

At my request, the coachman, who had been unsure whether we’d need the carriage or not, quickly moved to the back and opened the iron trunk. He pulled out a thick, shiny cloth—probably treated to be waterproof.

As expected of an academy carriage, it was well-equipped. It seemed that students often used these carriages to transport evidence after completing a request.

In the game, whenever you hunted beasts on the road, you’d automatically collect Marmaros fragments, but in this world, that convenient system doesn’t exist. Refining Marmaros from a monster’s corpse requires a specialized process.

Since I don’t know the details of that process, it’s safer to take the entire corpse back with us instead of just a part of it.

I’m sure Claire and Leo were planning to do the same.

After wrapping the corpse in several layers to prevent any blood from seeping out and staining the trunk, we loaded it into the carriage and climbed in ourselves.

“By the way, Sylvia, you’re amazing,” Claire said with a smile as we rode back.

“Killing the beast with a single shot to the head.”

“It wasn’t a particularly difficult monster, even for the two of you.”

Plus, I had plenty of time to line up my shot. If I missed, I could just rewind time and try again.

“Still, with a beast that size, it’s not easy to take it down cleanly with a single sword strike,” Claire said, glancing at Leo. Leo nodded in agreement, a faint hint of admiration in his eyes.

It was a little surprising to see that from him.

“Then again, I suppose it shouldn’t be that surprising. After all, Sylvia has hit her target before, even in near-complete darkness.”

“...It was nothing.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed by Claire’s praise, I tried not to let my expression falter as I turned my gaze out the window.

“However, refining Marmaros will take some time, so we’ll give you a Marmaros of the same element from our reserves. Is that acceptable?”

“That’s fine.”

I nodded.

So the rewards work the same as in the game, after all.

No matter the process, the outcome is basically the same. The Marmaros I’ll receive likely came from other Elemental Dogs or beasts that have been hunted and refined.

Marmaros refined from magic stones and those extracted from creatures like this one are fundamentally the same material. The difference lies in how they’re obtained. Mining pure magic stones yields a large amount of high-quality Marmaros, but mines themselves are dangerous places.

On the other hand, extracting Marmaros from beasts is relatively stable, though there aren’t many beasts capable of producing top-quality Marmaros.

The Marmaros I received this time was much smaller and less impressive than the one Jennifer gave me. Still, it wasn’t completely useless.

In the game, these kinds of Marmaros had slightly lower stats but were useful for filling in the gaps in equipment slots due to their smaller size.

The general theory is that Marmaros is widely distributed throughout nature. It’s said that deep beneath the earth, where ley lines converge, high-quality magic stones condense into Marmaros. Alternatively, it can be extracted from apex predators that have absorbed the magic of other creatures they’ve hunted, or so the lore suggests.

And if we’re talking about "apex predators," you might wonder if Marmaros can be extracted from humans as well.

The answer is yes. Humans can produce some of the finest Marmaros. While they don’t have magic flowing through their bodies like beasts, they channel magic to wield sword energy and cast spells, so it makes sense that Marmaros can be extracted from them.

Of course, it’s generally frowned upon to do so. But in stories that include such a setting, there’s always some group that ignores common decency.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Your Highness. You were the first to successfully complete a request, so you’ve set a great example for the other students.”

Honestly, I hope I don’t set an example.

If the rest of the academy’s students decide to follow my lead and start working as diligently as Leo and Claire, it’ll just make my life harder. Fewer quests mean fewer rewards for me.

And the rewards get better later on.

After completing the request, I stepped outside and suddenly handed the Marmaros to Claire.

“Take it.”

“Huh?”

Claire stared blankly at the Marmaros I was offering.

“Wait, why?”

“Because I don’t need it.”

It was true. After going through all this, I realized this Marmaros wasn’t worth the trouble I’d gone through to get it.

“Uh, oh, um... thanks?”

Claire, still looking bewildered, took the Marmaros from me. Leo, standing beside her, also wore a perplexed expression as he watched us.

Without another word, I turned around and began walking away.

...I need to get back and get some sleep.

“Is it something to do with your father?”

Why does everyone always jump to the same conclusion?

I mean, the emperor is kind of suspicious. He practically screams, "I’m plotting something shady," so no one would believe him anyway.

So I decided to pin all misunderstandings on the emperor.

He’s already under suspicion, so adding a bit more won’t hurt anyone.

And it’s not like I need to lie.

“...”

All I have to do is stay quiet.

“...”

Alice’s eyes narrowed further as she scrutinized me.

I’m sorry, Your Majesty.

But if you wanted to avoid suspicion, maybe you should’ve lived a kinder life.

Or blame the main characters who start their training at 3 AM.