“………”
The moment I spoke, the room was engulfed in silence.
“War…?”
Our hometown, Charlotte, murmured blankly.
“T-That can’t be true!”
Sofia flinched at Charlotte’s murmuring and immediately stepped forward as if to defend the Papal State.
“The Papal State wouldn’t have a reason to go to war with Velbur! There was the past, but that was settled long ago through negotiations between the two countries!”
“I didn’t say the Papal State was preparing for war with Velbur.”
“What if it isn’t the Papal State?”
Alice, who had been deep in thought with her arms crossed, spoke up.
“Maybe they were preparing for war with the Emperor.”
At my words, Alice let out a groan that rose from her throat.
“What on earth are you talking about? A war between the Empire and the Papal State? Why on earth would they prepare for such a war in Lutetia?”
Charlotte couldn’t hold back any longer and interjected.
“It’s not a war between the Empire and the Papal State; it’s a war between the Emperor and the Papal State.”
At my words, the room fell silent once more.
In the original story, the Emperor was preparing for war, and he actually carried it out. According to the timeline, this world would become a battlefield in approximately two months.
The training in Lutetia occurred because I was pulled into this world. In the original narrative, Alice hadn’t perfected her growth until just before the war broke out. During the months when the Emperor openly prepared for war, the relationship between Velbur and the Empire deteriorated, and Charlotte’s personality became sensitive as well.
No, actually, Charlotte and Alice had never been friends from the start, unlike in this world. The two met for the first time at the Academy, grew close slowly, but their friendship deteriorated again due to the war, only to be rekindled in the process of stopping the Emperor.
“They were trying to do whatever it took to stop the Emperor.”
“What reason is there to stop the Emperor? Is he preparing for war or something?”
No.
To be precise, he ‘had been.’ But in this world, due to various reasons, he had stopped that war and changed his plans. I didn’t know the specifics of those plans yet.
“The Emperor—”
I opened my mouth, glancing at Alice and Sofia.
Alice nodded, while Sofia’s face was pale. Honestly, I found it harder to read Sofia’s emotions since her expression was so stark compared to Alice, who was trying to hide hers. It was all so mixed up.
…Well, to be fair, I was oblivious in both my past life and this one.
Mia was looking at me while gripping her staff tightly. The Marmaros embedded in her staff had increased since I first gave her the ice attribute Marmaros, yet it still remained there. She must have gotten better ones since then, and I wondered why she kept that one on her staff… Hmm.
Roti and Jake were standing side by side, watching me. They didn’t ask anything and just followed us. It was as if they thought it was only natural to help since I had come this way.
I hadn’t expected things to escalate this far, so I didn’t mention that ‘we might need to risk our lives,’ but for some reason, I felt those two would still have followed even if I said that.
Rena was… the same as usual. Completely duped by my ridiculous act and following along. I wondered how she would have reacted if she saw my true self. Would she have been disappointed? Reflecting on this made me forget that I had been competing with myself over my own persona.
And finally.
Claire and Leo.
Claire was the first major character I met after coming this way.
…And she had a birth secret I never could have imagined. Looking back now, I think I understand why I ended up in that place to begin with. It might be due to Claire’s birth secret that the Emperor’s plans fell apart dramatically after Claire died.
As time passed, when she first met me, Claire confidently called me ‘sister.’ And to this day, she acted as if I was the most important person in her life.
As for Leo… I had plenty to apologize for.
It was almost miraculous that he kept helping every time I asked him for favors. Maybe someday, after a long time, we could share a drink and talk openly. Lately, though, he hasn’t looked as pale when I had one-on-one talks with him, so it might be possible.
…Hmm.
Maybe I had been lost in thought for too long, as the expressions of the kids in the room seemed to grow increasingly anxious, and I decided it was time to finish my thoughts and speak.
“The Emperor, in the past, had plans to conquer this world. But now he has ‘folded’ those plans, primarily due to me.”
“………”
The children’s eyes turned toward Alice. She nodded and added to the explanation.
“But Sylvia refused to become the Emperor. She insisted that I am the rightful heir to the Empire. Father fully trusts Sylvia’s judgment. So it seems he thinks it’s useless if Sylvia is against such a path.”
“Huh?”
Mia blurted out a question while listening to Alice. As all eyes returned to her, she quickly covered her mouth. There was no need for that.
“That’s right. I don’t have a drop of the Emperor’s blood. Since I came from the orphanage.”
After all, it was a story everyone in this room already knew.
…The reality was quite different, but due to a string of coincidences, this statement was also true. If the one saying this was ‘Claire Fanggriffon,’ it would be a lie or would mean she didn’t even know the truth herself.
“And even so, does that mean the Emperor sees you as the next Emperor?”
Charlotte asked.
“Father believes… that ability is more important than the bloodline of the person who will take over the Empire.”
Alice explained.
In reality, he was more concerned about bloodlines than anyone else, scattering seeds here and there to choose capable kids. It would be more accurate to say he doesn’t care about ‘purity.’ Just look at Claire in the original story.
“But I don’t think the Emperor has completely given up on that plan. When we last met, he acted like he had entirely abandoned it, but I now think it could have been a smokescreen. And I believe the Papal State thinks the same way. I was only able to think of that after coming this far.”
“………”
As I finished speaking, silence descended upon the room once more.
“So… does that mean the Crown Princess?”
Sofia was the one who spoke up.
“Does that mean the Crown Princess is moving to extinguish the flames of war, now and back then?”
“That’s correct,” I nodded.
One thing was certain.
Of course, it wasn’t with such noble thoughts. I didn’t have the right to think about avoiding the many deaths that would come from a war or all the sorrows that would follow…
I was simply acting to save the characters I liked.
If on the contrary, it required war to do so, I would have turned towards war without hesitation. However, doing so would make the path to a happy ending incredibly perilous.
“That’s why I need to understand this situation in detail. I need to know where those beasts are pouring out from, and whether the Papal State is truly behind it. If the Papal State is indeed behind these incidents, I need to know how they are doing it.”
I had an idea of what to expect. We had already wandered around this dungeon so much that there was no way it would lead us down a bizarre path—one that did not appear in the original narrative.
However, even though this world is reflected from the game’s content, it was more resembling reality than a game.
Therefore, if there were any variables, I needed to know their causes in advance. That way, I could find a way to deal with it afterwards.
Or move accordingly so I can find it ‘before.’
As I finished speaking, everyone stared at me quietly.
No one made any noise or nodded energetically.
Clink.
The silence was broken by a small metallic sound.
“I’m ready.”
Rena stood up, holding a handgun, while I nodded at her.
“Then shall we go?”
No one refused.
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