The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Chapter 75

That afternoon felt strangely refreshing.

It felt as if half of the concerns that had been weighing on me had been resolved. I’d found a way to recover quickly even when tired through meditation, and had at least partially addressed the issues in the north. And, I’d made my abilities clear to those around me.

The emotional side I’d shown Mia Crowfield might also be somewhat diluted after this incident. After all, I’d proven that I alone could inflict significant damage on the enemy.

Perhaps, by now, even Countess Crowfield, who likely harbored thoughts of revenge against the Emperor, would take it as a warning. In the original story, Claire hadn’t transferred until partway through her first year, and she certainly hadn’t acted as openly as I did, which had allowed the Crowfield side to underestimate her somewhat.

Back then, I hadn’t blown up the Count with a bomb, either.

There’s a vast difference between dealing with an assassin and facing a human weapon capable of decimating whole units.

“...”

I could understand why Mia Crowfield was now glancing nervously at me.

This would probably make it harder to grow closer to her.

“Sister!”

...And there was someone else whose attitude towards me had noticeably shifted.

Considering I’d returned after performing as a one-person army, I thought people would find it even harder to approach me, but Claire, on the contrary, seemed more at ease around me.

It was probably because I’d said, “This was something I wanted to do.” I hadn’t explained my reasons, nor had I done anything as straightforward as obtaining a reward. Instead, I’d gone out and dismantled a mercenary group. Yet to Claire, the action itself didn’t seem to matter as much.

More than anything, it had assured her that I still had genuine emotions.

“Claire.”

“I know, I know! But we’re not in the Academy right now, are we?”

Before I could say anything, Claire preemptively responded, tapping my arm.

...Though we weren’t technically on Academy grounds, we were still engaged in practical activities that counted toward our attendance.

Plus, we were all in our uniforms. It wasn’t an Academy building, but it might as well have been, considering the setting.

“By the way, Claire keeps calling you ‘Sister’ since earlier. Can you explain why?” Alice, walking on my right while Claire walked on my left, asked. This made me feel oddly unsettled, as they both felt like sisters to me.

Though, in reality, I hadn’t explicitly thought of them as “sisters”... but, you know, that feeling you get over time when you’re around people. Claire followed me closely, and Alice had spent considerable time by my side, so I seemed to have developed such sentiments toward them both.

“Oh, that?”

At Alice’s question, Claire responded with a confident smile.

“Sylvia has this vaguely older-sister vibe, doesn’t she? I had a younger brother, but never an older sister. So, I decided I’d call her ‘Sister.’”

...Though I planned to use a few resets to catch up on sleep.

Still, seeing Mia Crowfield engage naturally with the others reassured me that our joint task this morning had been beneficial. It seemed they’d grown closer over it.

The blue Marmaros in Mia’s staff still sparkled.

*

“Impressive.”

Jennifer looked genuinely surprised.

There wasn’t much to do in the afternoon. Since our group had completed most of the assignments in the morning, the others had hurried into the guild hall after waking up a bit later — not that it was very late, just relatively so — and had only a few tasks left by afternoon.

In the original game, this was also the trigger that unlocked a hidden quest.

If you cleared all the morning side quests, an event would trigger in the afternoon about “extra time.” Completing the morning quests didn’t reduce the number of afternoon quests, though.

If you didn’t finish the morning side quests, the time would simply be filled with various tasks, and Jennifer’s dialogue scene wouldn’t even appear.

Anyway, as we completed our work and returned, Jennifer greeted us with—

“We still have plenty of time left before dinner.”

“Yes, we do,” Leo agreed, nodding. Jennifer paused, her expression thoughtful for a moment before she spoke again.

“Then, would you like to take on a challenging task with your remaining time?”

“A challenge... ma’am?”

Leo’s curiosity was evident, and Jennifer gave a mischievous smile.

“Yes. If you succeed, it could be highly beneficial for you. Although the time might be a bit tight.”

"..."

The students exchanged glances, their eyes brimming with interest.

Jennifer’s suggestion was half a jest and half a serious offer. She wanted to surprise her mentor, but she was also considering rewarding her favored students.

She’d kept a close eye on Leo, who had inherited the swordsmanship of the Grace family.

She must have seen potential in him.

“Are you interested?”

The students nodded in unison, and Jennifer smiled as she spoke.

“Then—”