The masked woman vanished in front of me that day, but at least she definitely existed somewhere in this world. Since then, every time I tried to turn back time, I couldn’t go back again. Swoosh!
And, it’s probably still the same now.
I could have tried another experiment, but the risk was too high.
If I suddenly collapsed during training—and without even showing the process of falling down, just whoosh—wouldn’t that be suspicious?
As for whether I could turn back time or not, I thought it would be better to try after my training was finished, but—
“Today you look exceptionally tired.”
The Sword Saint had only seen me for a few days, yet it seemed he could definitely tell my condition was different from yesterday. No, being the Sword Saint, it would be weird if he didn’t notice.
Besides, I hadn’t slept well last night due to worry and nightmares. I thought I was wide awake in the morning, but my body wasn’t lying. I was definitely more tired than yesterday.
It was only thanks to yesterday’s time rewinding and getting used to the training ground that I was still holding up.
“Hmm.”
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t trying hard.
I gave it my all in my own way.
And maybe that very appearance pleased the Sword Saint, as he had a look of satisfaction on his face.
However, that expression didn’t last long.
It was during breakfast when we all gathered after the morning training.
The training hall door suddenly burst open. If it wasn’t the training hall but someone’s room, it wouldn’t be weird to curse at the person who walked in without any manners.
And the person behind that open door was Jayden.
…Jayden?
His usual perfect 2:8 parting… wasn’t there.
As if he had run in a hurry, several strands of hair had fallen out of place. With his shoulders heaving up and down, and his face slightly flushed, it looked like he had just rushed over.
When Jayden made eye contact with us, he combed his stray hair back into place with his hand, adjusted his clothes, and walked over our way.
Watching his rough breathing gradually calm down as he approached, I realized he really was the head of the Order of Knights.
“What is it?”
The Sword Saint was as confident in front of the prince. I could easily imagine he would act the same way in front of the Emperor.
“I am Jayden, the head of the Empire’s Gryphon Order.”
“Didn’t I already hear that yesterday?”
“Yes, but considering what I’m about to say now, I thought it would be good to reintroduce myself.”
The Sword Saint openly sighed. And then he shot me a glance.
Well.
I did call him over, but it was the Sword Saint who got all caught up with it. So, it’s not my fault after all.
…Wait a second.
I can’t turn back time right now.
Then what should I do when Lucas appears? Won’t I die if I get hit by his sword?
Could it be that the masked woman laughed at me yesterday while imagining I would get stabbed to death by Lucas?
This time, instead of chills, I felt a cold sweat run down my spine. It was just for a moment, but the icy shiver brushed through my body.
At least it didn’t show on my face. I think Alice noticed, though.
“I understand you have a problem to resolve over there?”
That’s right. Jayden is the head of the Order and has a very uptight personality. He often fought with Lucas.
So, there was no way Jayden would have ignored the Emperor’s order and returned, but—
“I resolved it using air power.”
“……”
With those words, we all became speechless.
“Jayden.”
I called out to Jayden.
But Jayden flinched, looked at me once, then turned his gaze away.
It seemed like he was refusing to answer me.
What’s up with that?
I wanted to sweep my hand through my face in frustration but held back and looked over at Alice. But she seemed to be pouting and turned her gaze away from me.
As if she was saying, “Do as you please.”
… I can guess.
Alice must be furious that I called Jayden “Brother” and came racing all night in a car to find the Sword Saint. Since I hadn’t even told Jayden I was going to see the Sword Saint, it’s clear this attitude has something to do with that ‘brother’ comment.
It’s likely that Jayden isn’t looking me in the eye to show his refusal to respond unless I use that term.
I didn’t grab my head… just clenched my fists tightly to hold back.
That masked woman won’t let me off easy when we meet.
If it’s in the future, she won’t kill me, but I still need to hit her just once. Really.
“……I understand you can’t send any other forces to the battle because of the autonomy request from the Federation.”
“……”
But Jayden stubbornly refused to answer me.
I looked at Alice once more.
It seemed Alice wasn’t planning on helping me either.
Seeing me, Alice, and Jayden, Leo was stiffening up again and Claire, who hadn’t seen the situation at all, was flustered. And the Sword Saint was—
—snickering.
No, if you start the conversation, you should lead it to a conclusion!
“……”
Eventually, I found myself in a predicament and took a deep breath.
Well, whatever.
There’s nowhere else for me to retreat to.
Moreover, now that Leo has found out I referred to Jayden as my ‘brother’ because of the whole situation Alice had come looking for me, and I even called Alice ‘sister’ before him.
Ah.
Thinking that far made me feel oddly at ease.
It’s like my anger surpassed a threshold and turned into peace.
In the end, I accepted that all the blame was on me.
Is this what enlightenment feels like?
…But maybe it’s closer to a moment of wisdom. Anyway.
“……Sister.”
I looked at Alice and said that.
I could hear Claire gasp in surprise.
“Could you ask on behalf of Brother for me? How did you resolve the situation?”
“Ah….”
Alice had a look of surprise rather than a happy expression.
And the same went for Jayden.
“Ah, uh, um… right.”
Alice nodded and looked at Jayden.
“How did you manage to deal with the situation? You couldn’t have brought heavy armored vehicles or air power across the border.”
Seeing Alice ask in a blunt tone, as if it were his fault, a frown appeared on Jayden’s brow.
“Isn’t it a matter of simply ‘not stepping over’?”
And Jayden dropped a bombshell.
“The range of a fighter’s machine gun shouldn’t cross the border.”
“Did I say I used a fighter?”
Watching the serious conversation play out like a silly sibling squabble was quite a talent, if I must say.
“It’s a monitor ship.”
Ah.
Only after hearing that did I finally understand what he was talking about.
I knew they had air power stationed at Winterfield. It was at a crucial stage of preparation for war in the original story.
But it’s hard to produce dozens of those expensive air battleships, so instead, they just equipped supply ships with a single naval cannon each. Not bothering to consider any defense.
Supply ships didn’t house cutting-edge technology like battleships either. They were much smaller compared to battleships. Just attaching a single twin-barrel dreadnought’s main gun to it would be quite a burden.
But that made them cheap. Plus, they had a long range.
…So that’s why they used supply ships instead of a train. They planned to rush shells for transport and execute a surprise attack on the enemy right outside the border overnight.
“And then I flew here this morning riding behind a fighter. The monitor ship is just too slow.”
“……”
With Alice bringing her hand to her forehead, she was doing what I wanted to do.
“What does Father think…?”
“I suppose he wishes to announce to the world that the Empire is the best in the world.”
“……”
Seeing Jayden speak so confidently as if it were too obvious, we couldn’t find words to say.
“……Do you still want to learn swordsmanship from me after witnessing that scene?”
“Of course!”
In response to the Sword Saint’s question, Jayden straightened his shoulders.
“No matter how advanced weapons become, in the end, it’s the infantry that occupies and defends the land! It’s the duty of the Order! Naturally, we must enhance our individual capabilities to the maximum!”
“Ugh…”
Seeing the Sword Saint admire that, I had to suppress a sigh with all my might.
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