The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Fortunately, I didn’t get carsick. My heart was pounding a little, and the road was much rougher than the asphalt roads I’d known on Earth, but Jennifer assured me it wasn’t that bad, considering it was also a supply route.

Then again, I’d traveled by carriage, which shook a lot more than this. Unlike cars, most carriages didn’t have any suspension. Not that they had seatbelts, either.

Still, unlike the carriage, which usually had only side windows, the car’s passenger seat offered an unobstructed view straight ahead. Though we were only going about 80 km/h, sitting without a seatbelt in a car for the first time in a while made my palms a bit sweaty.

Moreover, the road was wide open. Out here in the countryside, where cars were scarce, the drive felt simultaneously refreshing and slightly terrifying.

About 40 minutes later, we arrived at a base in the forest.

“This isn’t a military post. It’s maintained by the hunters who guard Winterfield’s vast forest.”

Jennifer parked the car and got out.

“Although, in terms of their equipment, they’re practically like private soldiers.”

She glanced at me as she said this.

“Does this bother you, Your Highness?”

“Not at all.”

I answered immediately.

This was more of an issue for the Emperor or, if anything, for Alice, the future Empress. Winterfield was one of the most loyal duchies, and this private force existed to guard the northern forest against bandits, not to threaten the imperial family.

“Lady Jennifer!”

The moment Jennifer stepped out, a burly hunter with a thick beard came running up to us.

He wore a heavy fur hat—the kind with ear flaps. An ushanka, I think it’s called, the type you’d expect to see on Soviet soldiers during World War II.

Of course, his clothes weren’t military uniforms. Beneath his fur coat, I could glimpse a red checkered shirt and sturdy jeans. He looked more like a lumberjack than a hunter. But in these cold mountains, the difference probably didn’t matter much. Survival here required year-round woodcutting to stockpile firewood.

“She’s here! Lady Jennifer is here!” the hunter called out, and several other men dressed similarly to him came out from various log cabins around the base. Every single one of them had a thick beard.

“How’ve you all been?” Jennifer asked.

“Doing fine, my lady!”

The hunter removed his hat respectfully, revealing matted hair that hadn’t been trimmed in a long time.

His face was slightly red, probably from the cold or maybe from a midday drink, but he looked pleased.

“It’s been a while, Lady Jennifer. But...”

He trailed off, glancing toward me, the girl who’d just stepped out of the car.

The other hunters who’d come out also looked at me with curious expressions. It made sense. A teenage girl showing up in a place like this was bound to draw some attention, especially since there didn’t seem to be any women here.

“This is the Imperial Princess, visiting from the capital,” Jennifer introduced me.

“Oh.”

The hunter’s face grew tense, likely because he didn’t have the best impression of the imperial family. He even looked around, as if expecting an escort or guards hiding nearby.

“No need to worry. She’s here as a student first and foremost, and as my apprentice, she has no intention of expecting special treatment from you all,” Jennifer assured him.

Even if I’d come here officially as a princess, I didn’t plan to expect special treatment.

“We’ll be climbing the mountain. Can we borrow some climbing gear? The place I stayed as a child should still be around, right?”

...She stayed here?

Then again, if she was looking to meet the Swordmaster, living here rather than in central Winterfield made sense.

“Yes, everything should be just as you left it, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

...Climbing gear?

“This way. My childhood climbing clothes might fit you. They might be a bit tight in the chest, though,” Jennifer added with a hint of humor as she led the way, leaving me a bit puzzled as I followed.

*

Indeed.

Climbing a mountain in a school skirt that left my legs bare was an insane idea. Even with a well-worn trail, the mountain path was uneven and treacherous. The chilly mountain air relentlessly seeped through any gap it could find between my legs.

I shivered just thinking about how cold it would’ve been if I’d come in just my thick stockings.

In the game, characters’ outfits never changed unless there was a special event, so it was easy to overlook things like this.

...If Jennifer hadn’t spent her childhood here, who knows what would’ve happened?

“...Hah...”

I exhaled quietly. Jennifer could likely hear me, but I didn’t care; climbing a mountain was exhausting.

Though I wanted to collapse, gasping, I kept myself composed.

Thanks to the minimal training I did regularly, I wasn’t about to pass out. Surprisingly, Jennifer was pacing herself, giving me time to adjust. The trail was also in better shape than I’d expected. It wasn’t flat like a road, but hunters likely used it regularly.

Whenever I misstepped or felt inefficient, I rewound time slightly to conserve my stamina as best as I could.

“Even for those who live in the mountains, it’s impossible to be entirely self-sufficient,” Jennifer remarked, confirming that at least in the game, trails existed where people could traverse.

It had taken us four hours to get this far.

The sun was beginning to set. My friends were probably searching for me by now.

...I’d return as soon as training ended, so it shouldn’t matter.

And I’d rewind to the time just before I’d met Jennifer anyway.

*

“Master—”

Jennifer opened the door of the Swordmaster’s cliffside hut without asking permission, then swiftly sidestepped out of the way.

A small clay pot flew out at tremendous speed and shattered as it fell down the cliff.

“Oh dear.”

Jennifer seemed unperturbed, though.

“You reckless fool!”

Neither did I feel much surprise.

“How dare you return here!?”

“My face is still intact, so I figured I might as well, Master.”

“Hmph...”

Hearing Jennifer’s audacious response, an exasperated sigh echoed from inside the hut.

“I can manage half of your sword technique now, Master. That should make me at least half an apprentice, shouldn’t it?”

“...”

For a moment, it seemed her master was at a loss for words.

“I have someone I wish to introduce to you, Master. May we come in?”

“...Go ahead. It’s not like you’d listen even if I told you no.”

“Correct, as always.”

“You fool.”

Jennifer tilted her head toward me as if signaling for me to follow her in, then stepped inside.

The hut was warmer than I’d expected.

Although it looked shabby from the outside, inside, it was clear this log cabin was well-built. The wood was dried and stacked tightly, leaving no gaps for drafts. The interior was adorned with animal hides, creating a rustic yet cozy atmosphere.

It looked more like a forest hunter’s cabin than a Swordmaster’s home.

However, above the fireplace, instead of animal heads, three “katanas” of various lengths hung on the wall.

“Hm.”

The Swordmaster looked more intrigued by me than his own apprentice, and only then did I fully grasp, “Ah, so this is the Swordmaster.”

He had a long white beard and white hair tied back in a style reminiscent of a Japanese topknot.

Although his features were typically Western, with piercing blue eyes, his appearance matched his backstory: a warrior who had journeyed east in his youth, earning the title of Swordmaster.

“Is this the child?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You fool!” he yelled, his face darkening.

“What are you doing, bringing someone with no talent here?”

“...”

Oh.

He saw right through me instantly.

Well, it was the Swordmaster, after all. Lucas and even the Emperor probably found me strange, too.

“If you’re that curious, Master, why don’t you have her wield a sword?”

“Say what?”

...What?

That was the last thing I’d expected her to say.

...Did I pick the wrong character after all?