No matter how much I think of everyone around me as “my friends,” their thoughts are all different. Even if we seem very close and exchange conversations and jokes when I’m around, the moment I’m not there, some of them immediately fall into silence.
It’s not that there are particularly bad feelings between us; it’s just that we became friends through my mediation, and what they know about me is only what they have learned “through me.” One careless comment can lead to something that shouldn’t be said, potentially ruining the relationship between us.
That’s why I almost instinctively watch what I say and do. Usually, that awkward silence doesn’t disappear until we consider each other completely friends.
Ah, of course, that’s not always the case.
“Why were you following the Crown Princess?”
“I’ve been saying that I wasn’t exactly following her since a while ago.”
Sometimes, even when there’s no particular reason to dislike each other, there can still be dislike, and sometimes a small misunderstanding can derail a relationship from the very start.
And when that happens, I’m the one who ends up with the biggest headache. If one side has made a huge mistake and I feel resentful or need to cut ties, I can just end it cleanly. But if a relationship derails for a reason that I don’t see as a big mistake, I find myself in a very uncomfortable position.
At least, it’s a relief that I wasn’t the cause of the conflict before I got to know the two of them.
After finishing my conversation with Jake and Roti, I stepped out onto the terrace, and there, Sofia and Rena were wrestling.
Sofia is ‘currently’ a Velbur citizen and a person of certain status, so I can let that slide, but Rena was a person from a much more distant country according to Velbur standards. It’s not that she has to cross the entire Empire, but the distance between Velbur in the east and the Riclant Autonomous State in the north isn’t exactly short.
Moreover, the autonomous state was in a complicated situation when it came to engaging in serious diplomacy with other countries outside the Empire. As you can tell from the name ‘autonomous’, it’s not a country with a grand monarchy or a deep history. If it had a voice in international affairs, it would almost be serving as a mere puppeteer for the Empire.
The reason Rena came to the academy was to keep an eye on me and the Empire’s movements. But since Rena herself was showing friendliness towards me, she was also a target of surveillance like other Empire folks according to Velbur’s standards.
In fact, there was a servant in the hallway. But I didn’t intervene in the argument between Rena and Sofia.
“It seems like my name has come up in the conversation. What’s going on?”
Since I was planning to find the two of them anyway, I approached them directly and spoke. For a brief moment, Sofia’s expression reflected surprise when she heard my voice. Rena was still glaring at Sofia.
“This person has been following the Crown Princess.”
“She says it’s not following, but…”
While Sofia repeated the same answer as before to Rena, her tone seemed to have lost some of its sharpness. It seemed she was a bit hesitant to give the same answer with me right there.
Looks like she really was following me.
Although I had already reached that conclusion in my mind, I didn’t let it show on the outside.
Honestly, I didn’t think that Sofia was the only one trailing me. If Rena hadn’t followed me, then the two of them wouldn’t have had a reason to meet like this.
Thinking that, I maintained a neutral expression and said.
“This is good timing. I was thinking both of you should meet and talk.”
Only after saying that did their gazes turn toward me. Sofia’s expression flickered with a hint of anxiety again, while Rena’s face remained expressionless. But somehow, her eyes seemed to shine a little while looking at me.
Rena’s fascination with me hasn’t diminished over time. Rather, it seems to deepen as time passes. I mean, every time I run around in front of her, the enemies keep falling like thud!
The same goes for Sofia. Even if we were to spar solely based on skill, I wouldn’t have a way to win against her. But… Sofia witnessed me knocking out a bunch of cathedral knights just the other night. Even if it was through a time manipulation trick, the outcome itself was still my victory, so it’s not unreasonable for her to be tense like this.
“Both of you, please follow me.”
I hurriedly said that before either of them could voice any complaints since otherwise, I might find myself in a situation where I’d have to meet with each of them separately.
There was no need to go to either Sofia or Rena’s room. Since it wasn’t one that either of them had been using all along, visiting one of their rooms wouldn’t yield anything particularly interesting.
As I started walking without waiting for a response, I heard footsteps following behind me after a brief pause. The footsteps that came later were likely Sofia’s.
It was a bit of a distance from here to my room.
I could sort out my thoughts during that walk.
*
“Neither of you are citizens of the Empire.”
No response came to my statement.
Although I clumsily poured a cup for both of them, it seemed neither was in the mood to drink tea.
Sofia was frozen stiff with tension the moment she entered the room, while Rena seemed to radiate a sharp atmosphere as she kept a watchful eye on Sofia.
I briefly contemplated whether it was right to point out their behavior, but I decided to just pretend I didn’t notice and continue the conversation. I had a somewhat naive thought that if I stammered my way through, it might get better.
…And that thought turned out to be incredibly naive.
“Therefore, there’s no need for you to fulfill my request. Even if you are acting as a student of Amoria Academy and have been treated the same way as the Empire’s academy students, you can’t just abandon your ideas or identity.”
“……”
Neither of them answered, but at least their gazes were directed at me.
“Rena is a student who came here from the autonomous state. In fact, bringing her this far might have been a mistake. I might have entangled her too deeply as a single foreign student.”
Rena seemed to want to say something in response to my words, but I quickly followed up to cut her off.
“Now that you’re studying in the Empire, and thinking about your parents’ position, it implies that the autonomous state has certain expectations from you, Rena. However, I can only ask you to keep quiet about things that will occur in the future. And that might directly conflict with the national interests of the autonomous state.”
“……”
Now that I said all this, it seemed difficult for Rena to easily reply with, “But I’ll still follow you.”
It’s hard to know if Rena’s parents directly told her about her mission. However, whether they spoke of it or not, the only reason they sent Rena to study in the Empire was to monitor me and report on my activities. They might have subtly inquired about me during break or outright commanded her to report back.
Though Rena has a fundamentally diligent and loyal personality, whether she can refuse such parental orders remains uncertain. If she were like the characters in the original story who can see into places the protagonist cannot, then I could have trusted that personality completely, but Rena had never appeared as a character in the game I played.
But that doesn’t mean what I wanted to say was, “This secret is too important, so I can’t take you along.”
“I need power. And the one who possesses that power must also be someone I can trust. Rena, you are someone I can trust. I know it’s shameless to put such unfavorable conditions, but could you help me?”
I could firmly believe in Rena’s skills. She wasn’t just a conceptual character; she was the only person who absorbed my fighting style directly and developed it into her own.
If Rena, trained in using a gun, supported me in that way, it would truly give me an advantage in battle.
So, I hope that one of the people fighting alongside me at the last moment would be her.
…Besides, honestly, what would happen if Rena learned about the Emperor’s plan and started talking about it to others?
It’s not like the Velbur nobles were oblivious to certain situations.
Even if the autonomous state became aware of the situation, they wouldn’t have the strength to retaliate against the Empire. I had already seen the scale of the bombardments happening at the border area.
Could the Emperor have launched such a strategy thinking about that?
I think there’s a possibility.
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