After handling some business all morning, I barely made it back to my room.
Whew… Being out in the cold all this time made me sweat, and my overall condition was just not great.
I managed to hide my expression, but… thinking that Alice might catch on, I couldn’t help but feel tense.
Joining the protagonist’s group was nice and all, but the issue was that my stamina couldn’t keep up with those kids. At least Mia Crowfield wasn’t someone who fought with strength.
Well… I mean, I could just shoot from a distance, but there was a huge difference between relying on Mia Crowfield and relying on me. I had a reputation for dodging attacks easily, after all.
“…”
Surely, Claire would come to wake me up again tomorrow morning.
Not just tomorrow, it seemed like I’d be spending all my time like this in the future. I could relax for a moment now, but after this break, Claire would be knocking on my door again.
Of course, following Leo and Claire would definitely lead me to meet the Sword Saint. But by then, it would be too late. The Sword Saint would be more interested in Leo or Claire, or maybe Alice or Charlotte.
Mia Crowfield and I were far from being skilled in swords, and we’d probably be overlooked by the Sword Saint.
But that cannot happen.
This morning, the moment I woke up, I was determined to avoid facing the Sword Saint by any means necessary. Yet, having gone through all this, it became clear that I desperately needed more than just shooting skills.
…Alright.
I jumped up from the bed.
After all, I possessed the ability to turn back time. While turning back several weeks would be too burdensome, I had spent over a month in the past turning back a few hours multiple times. When I was planning to assassinate Count Crowfield, I had trained in various assassination routes and gathered information.
In many ways, I was inexperienced, but time was on my side. I could fix my mistakes. While it was impossible to increase my stamina through training, I could definitely repeat the same actions enough to make it a habit.
Fortunately, the sun was still high in the sky.
I got up and immediately opened the door.
And headed towards Jennifer’s room.
*
Jennifer’s room was surprisingly humble for a duke’s daughter. It wasn’t that it was low-class, but it was neatly organized with hardly any decorations. There weren’t even any little marble statues or ceramics, just a single mirror hanging on the wall.
There weren’t even any laces hanging over the bed.
To put it bluntly, it felt more like an ‘officer’s quarters’ than that of a duke’s daughter. Of course, I had never actually been to an officer’s quarters. That’s just how it felt.
“Let me meet my master?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Upon hearing my request, Jennifer looked at me with intriguing eyes. Sitting in her chair, she seemed just as arranged as the room, unlike her freer demeanor during our academy days, here she was more formal, it seemed.
“Hmm.”
Jennifer snapped her notebook shut.
“I hear you know who my master is.”
Curiosity piqued, she looked straight at me as if she were pondering why I wanted her to introduce someone she hadn’t even mentioned.
“Isn’t it the Sword Saint?”
Not just the Sword Saint, she had several masters. However, the only two masters mentioned directly in the game were the Sword Saint and Jennifer’s grandfather, Abraham.
Being one who could handle a multitude of weapons, it was natural that she had many who could be called her masters; however, if asked to choose the two who had the most significant influence, it would undoubtedly be those two.
“And you already seem to know where he is.”
“Yes. I believe he’s here in Winterfield.”
“Then can’t you just go find him yourself?”
With an amused expression, Jennifer kept probing me as I subtly averted my gaze.
“I don’t know the exact location.”
In the game, that mountain had been depicted quite simply.
But in reality, it couldn’t possibly be that way.
“Hmm.”
Jennifer rested her chin on her hand, gazing at me silently, then stood up.
She walked slowly towards me.
Though we were about the same height, she felt much larger due to the presence radiating from her.
When she reached me, she suddenly—
Smack!
“Ow!”
She gave my head a swift thump.
“Huh?”
Despite hitting me, she looked confused as if she didn’t quite understand her own actions.
…Do it again!
*
I rolled back time three times just to barely avoid the high-speed thump.
I was proud that I managed to avoid it in just three tries. Lucas swinging his sword at me had really turned out to be good training. Though it was a lot more dangerous than it had been with Lucas.
“…Is that so?”
I’m not sure what she read from my expression, but it seemed Jennifer took something from my gaze.
“In that case, how’s your performance? To be honest, to get to where he is, you’d have to walk for quite a while. You can take a carriage down the mountain, but you’ll have to walk for a long time up. By the time you arrive, it will probably be midnight.”
…Was it that far?
Well, in the game, I had spent a day in the Sword Saint‘s cabin before coming down.
“If you really want to learn something properly, a few days won’t be enough… Ah, but that might not apply to you?”
The sudden chill down my spine made me wonder if she had figured out my time-reversal ability, but—
“You seem to have some basic talent, so if you’re just looking for advice, a day may suffice.”
After saying this, Jennifer smirked as if trying to provoke me further.
“No, that’s not just ‘basic’ now, is it?”
It wasn’t ‘basic’ at all.
Honestly, I had no foundation at all.
Of course, I couldn’t just say that out loud.
“A single night should be sufficient.”
“…”
Jennifer stared at me quietly before shrugging her shoulders.
“Well, I do have many questions, but I can think about those once you come back down. It doesn’t seem like you’re leaving right away.”
But there wouldn’t be time for such questions.
I’d probably forget that I even said such a thing.
Jennifer was a doer; when she decided to do something, she wouldn’t think twice. Just like now, having decided to find her master, she walked straight towards the door.
I turned around, ready to follow Jennifer, but just before she opened her door, she stopped as if remembering something.
“Oh, right.”
She glanced back at me casually.
“Thinking about it, helping out a royal girl unilaterally would be a blow to Winterfield’s pride.”
…
How hypocritical of her.
“I would like one thing in return for introducing you to my master.”
“…”
“I know you’re not a typical teenage girl. It’s definitely a lot easier and more honorable than assassinating a count.”
She looked as if she was utterly convinced that I had killed the Count.
But it seemed she didn’t mean to threaten me with that. It wasn’t like she had anything to actually pressure me with.
This was purely a ‘transaction’.
“May I hear what this deal entails beforehand?”
“There’s a warlord causing trouble in the border area. I’d like you to take out the head of that warlord. Our Imperial soldiers have been dying for months.”
“…Is that where I was supposed to go?”
“Right.”
Jennifer nodded seriously.
“It must have been you that His Majesty sent as reinforcements.”
“…”
I couldn’t say for certain, but it seemed highly likely. I had indeed been planning to head to the northern front instead of the academy.
In the original story, it was probably Claire who had gone. Though the details weren’t written out, she must have played a significant role in disrupting that border area warlord.
“Understood. I will do that.”
“Thank you.”
Jennifer nodded and opened the door.
*
Leo and Claire were in the dining hall, while Alice and Charlotte were in their respective rooms.
Mia Crowfield was in her room as well. I had no idea where Jake went, but it didn’t look like he was planning any major incidents.
Therefore, there was no one else to run into as we headed outside. While there were a few other noble students around, they wouldn’t dare to say a word to someone they recognized as the Crown Princess and her instructor.
Not just any Crown Princess and instructor, but one suspected to be a direct assassin of the royal family and a former soldier active on the northern front. It was no surprise that they wouldn’t approach us; we looked like we were heading off for a serious discussion.
“Well, at least there’s a road down the mountain. There aren’t any of those decrees here, so we don’t have to worry about speed.”
Because of the fierce pushback from carriage drivers fearing for their jobs, no steam vehicles could travel faster than 20 km/h within the Imperial Capital. That was why I didn’t particularly worry about getting a driver’s license. After all, hardly anyone even drove themselves around.
It would probably be far better to learn to ride horses instead.
“I’ll be the one driving, is that fine?”
Jennifer nonchalantly said as she hopped into the driver’s seat.
“That’s fine.”
I nodded and took my seat in the passenger side.
And only after getting in did I realize that this car didn’t have any seatbelts.
Ah.
But by the time I realized that, Jennifer had already slammed down on the accelerator.
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