The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Chapter 179

Roti and Jake never fully integrated with us, but neither did they try to force themselves into our group.

Being a noble is a position where one inevitably becomes keenly aware of social cues. What to ask, what not to ask, what to know, and what it’s better not to know... and, of course, what things to bring up that might make the person uncomfortable. This was something that Leo, the baron, Charlotte, the royalty, and even Alice, a princess like me, all knew well.

They must have something to say, right? Given the situation, it seemed everyone thought so.

Of course, I awkwardly inserted myself between the two of them.

“It’s been a long time since we had fun like this. It really felt like returning to my childhood.”

“Childhood?”

Charlotte, sitting on the mat, asked when she heard me.

“Yes, exactly. The times when I didn’t know anything... When I wasn’t worried about politics or international affairs and just played around.”

...But, you’re only fifteen, aren’t you?

When I was fifteen, I spent my time watching anime and saving my allowance to buy figures.

No, actually, when I think about it, that kind of lifestyle didn’t change as I grew older. I guess I never really graduated from that stage.

“The time when you didn’t know anything...”

But it’s nonsense to think that the mindset of an ordinary person from my world would be the same as someone who is destined to become a ruler here.

Even Alice, sitting between me and Charlotte, proves that. Alice... well, she never had a time when she didn’t know anything, like Charlotte did.

I couldn’t even imagine the Emperor playing with children.

No, I couldn’t imagine the Emperor sitting leisurely, enjoying a hobby for that matter.

But then again, it makes sense. Even in matters of statecraft, the Emperor is someone who would think of maintaining power and climbing higher as a hobby in itself.

“Alice, didn’t you have a time like that?”

“Me? I...”

Alice couldn’t quite answer Charlotte’s question.

A sharp personality, one who never had the luxury of playing around, having never even learned how to have fun.

That was Alice’s original character.

When Alice couldn’t answer, Charlotte’s gaze turned to me. Her eyes, slightly lowered as she looked at me, were filled with curiosity.

My relationship with Alice was good. In fact, it would be an understatement to say that we were close. I could easily imagine Alice throwing herself into danger to protect me if needed.

Whether I wanted that or not, that was another story.

“...Sylvia always followed her father’s orders before she grew up. She probably lived a harsher life than I did, and she probably never had the luxury of just relaxing.”

“...”

Charlotte’s mouth opened slightly when she heard this.

“Ah, so...”

So what?

I wasn’t sure what Charlotte was thinking, but it was clear that whatever she was recalling must have made her feel pity for me.

Did she notice how I finish every parfait, leaving no whipped cream behind?

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

“This winter,”

After a while, Charlotte finally spoke up.

“This winter, I’ll make sure to invite you to Belvur. Forget all the worries that fill your head, and let’s just have fun, alright?”

“...”

When I said this, Alice continued to stare at me quietly.

She kept gazing at me with her blue eyes, before speaking.

“Don’t try to shoulder everything alone.”

Alice said softly.

“You have so many people around you.”

That’s true. There are many.

So many, in fact, that I don’t know how to protect all of them.

“...I understand.”

But I couldn’t say that to Alice, so I simply responded like this.

Alice’s gaze lingered on me for a while after that.

* * *

Things went smoothly after that.

We completed a few more requests to meet our quotas.

Even though all the first-year students were gathered, the atmosphere was still relatively relaxed. Most of the requests were for hunting wild animals, so there was no need to rush into them. Jake wasn’t thrilled about hunting, which is probably why we didn’t take on wild animal hunting ourselves.

More importantly, there was nothing particularly hidden about this. There were a few covert quests, but most of them were just to secure Marmaros, and there was only one quest that had a significant impact on the main story.

“Still, I’m glad we got to relax before leaving. Sometimes... spending a vacation like this isn’t so bad.”

“You made a good decision.”

I answered.

“If you don’t take breaks and only work, people will break down.”

“...Are you the one to say that?”

I was the one relaxing, after all.

Of course, when I reverse time, my physical fatigue returns, but I feel comforted by the fact that I can sleep more.

“Since today is the last day, we can just relax and leave tomorrow.”

“I was already planning on doing that, you know.”

Alice responded with a small retort.

Well, I still had one more thing to do.

* * *

One difference between this world and the game is that I need permission to enter certain places.

In the game, I could just walk into any house and talk to the people inside. It was “game allowance,” but strangely enough, quests sometimes proceeded like that.

That means, in this world, to enter the Duke’s mansion again, I would need an invitation from the Duke. Even though I’m a princess, it’s impolite to invade someone’s personal space without an invitation.

But fortunately, I had the ability to sneak into that mansion.

“....”

Alright.

I’ve gotten better at this, sneaking in after getting caught five times by the guards.

Now, let’s go do the important covert quest.