To defend myself, I’ve never actually done it.
I only thought about it. Just thought.
Like when I was considering installing a bomb in the sewers to prepare for the time I need to assassinate Emperor Arthur III during the story, you know?
Of course, if a building is high, you have to dig deep underneath to support it; the same goes for the Imperial Palace.
It’s hard to collapse the palace itself by laying a bomb on the floor. The sewers don’t just loop around the palace, either.
Even if it collapsed, only a part would go down.
“……”
“……”
Alice and Claire stared at me.
“I understand what you’re thinking, but I’ve never done that.”
“Really?”
Alice narrowed her eyes skeptically as she spoke.
“It’s true. I only considered it.”
“Considering it doesn’t mean you haven’t! Don’t tell me you knew about the Dreadnought’s interior because you sneakily went inside?”
“……”
Hmm…
I might know a lot more, not just about the Dreadnought. Like the hidden secret library inside the Imperial Palace or how quickly soldiers and knights move when the bomb explodes… I’ve done a lot of experiments.
As I looked away, Alice pressed her forehead with her hand.
“Still, you’re saying you’ve never tried to explode something?”
“The collateral damage would be too great.”
To calculate something, the damage can’t be too large. I need to confirm whether I can control it, but if it takes too long to confirm, it tires me out too.
But it seems that the version of Sylvia in the game doesn’t think that way.
[Wait a minute!]
Just as Sylvia turned around, Leo shouted.
[…….]
[Wait, wait. Sylvia, hold on for a second.]
[Leo?]
Alice looked at Leo with wide eyes, surprised. The character design hadn’t changed much, but there seemed to be some motion added. It was a rare motion I hadn’t seen before in this game, which tends to recycle animations from previous works endlessly.
[Sylvia, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it seems like you have a way to escape even after being caught by us.]
[……On what certainty do you say that? I could just be panicking.]
[No, that’s not it.]
Leo shook his head.
[You haven’t even thought about ‘escaping.’ I may not be as skilled as Father, but I’ve trained in swordsmanship, so I can sense that much.]
[…….]
[And regardless of what method you use, we probably won’t remember.]
[Leo?]
This time it was Claire responding.
[I’ll ask again; what assurance do you have of that?]
[……It seems like you have some kind of method, right?]
Leo took a step closer to Sylvia as he spoke.
[Are you worried that I might know something?]
Leo?
Hmm, I don’t think that’s the case.
I only realized the things I know after coming out, but if Sylvia were aware of her own identity, she wouldn’t be fooled by that statement.
The only beings capable of opposing the Goddess’s powers are these guys, who have Fanggriffon blood flowing in them. And among those, it wouldn’t matter unless they were suitable with a strong enough lineage.
It wouldn’t work unless it was Claire standing right next to Leo; there’s no other way to resist in the same era.
……And that Claire died in the original.
But if Leo is unconsciously sensing something like he did when he was in the fantasy world, the story could change.
The Leo who first met Alice and me had turned pale.
But the Leo created by the Goddess, as if it was only natural, treated Alice and Claire in a very natural way.
It might have been influenced by me being siblings with them, but I think the bigger possibility is that Leo is feeling the ‘previous timeline.’
If this world was repeatedly forged enough times to create such side effects, it’s plausible that Leo, at the center, would sense something strange.
If I were to recall a famous line from this kind of cliché, it would be, “Huh, why are there tears…?”
It isn’t just about reversing time but also changing what has moved back to its original position and erasing and fixing memories made. If repeated enough, there would be parts too deeply etched to erase.
[……No, you don’t know anything.]
Actually saying that, there seemed to be some doubt in Sylvia’s voice. I wonder if she thought of the same doubts as me or if it’s truly because she doesn’t know yet.
[Are you trying to explode that bomb?]
[…….]
[If we don’t go out together now, I’ll stay right here. If I don’t want to get caught in the explosion you’ve installed, come out with us.]
[Don’t you think that if the ‘method’ you mentioned exists, I could just kill you here and reset everything?]
[Sylvia?]
Alice called to Sylvia in disbelief.
Sylvia was glaring at Leo, not looking at Alice.
As if she didn’t want to care about her.
……And I feel like I can understand that feeling.
[No.]
Leo said.
[You can’t do that. You don’t want to. If you really wanted to, you would have already pressed the button on the detonation device.]
That was truly a line straight out of a shonen manga.
……But it was also true.
I wouldn’t have done it.
Neither Leo nor Claire nor Sylvia nor Charlotte would want to kill.
It wouldn’t make sense for me to gamble their—people I cherish lives just because I could reverse time.
[…….]
Sylvia fell silent for a moment.
[Claire…….]
Looking briefly at Claire who called her, Sylvia said,
[……Is that so? You really are too sharp.]
[Are you going to listen to what I have to say?]
[No, I’ll have to find another way.]
[What do you mean by that—]
[A sure way to excise only the unnecessary parts without being caught by you.]
[Sylvia!]
Feeling something from Sylvia’s desolate statement, Alice stepped forward.
And she reached out her hand toward Sylvia.
But even before that—
[……Again.]
Sylvia spoke.
*
Boom.
[Huh?]
At the sudden loud noise, Leo turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.
[Was that…?]
A massive explosion erupted from the Imperial Palace.
A few aware citizens screamed. In an instant, the surroundings turned into chaos—
[……Father?]
Alice, nearby, muttered blankly—
And then—
*
[……Huh?]
[Leo, are you not focused?]
The entire scenery changed, and this time Leo and Claire, along with Alice and Charlotte, were seated in a café.
[What are you doing daydreaming during your review? You’re not thinking the exam is still far off, are you? If you do that, it’s going to be a big deal during test time.]
At Claire’s scolding, Leo blinked a few times and then chuckled.
[Ah, sorry. I guess I zoned out for a moment.]
[What were you thinking so deeply about?]
[Umm… what was I thinking about again?]
As Leo muttered with a slightly dazed expression, Claire took a deep, exaggerated sigh.
[Are you saying you were just spacing out…?]
“Don’t be too harsh, Claire.”
Charlotte chimed in playfully.
[Sometimes, you need time to clear your head. How about we take a little break with a cup of tea?]
[Yeah, I agree with that.]
Alice responded to Charlotte’s words.
[Then after a short break, shall we continue studying?]
[Sure…….]
Leo’s expression while answering Alice was smiling, but his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if something was unsettling.
*
“……”
“……”
“So I said no.”
Even after turning off the broadcast, Claire and Alice continued to stare at me. I reiterated my explanation once more.
“I’ve turned back time several times, but I’ve never caused such a massive incident.”
“Isn’t throwing a bomb right in the middle of the Imperial Palace a massive incident?”
“That’s to know how quickly the palace soldiers would react… right?”
At Alice’s unexpected question, I momentarily appeared taken aback.
“You planned on thinking about your next move while fighting with swords and magic?”
Claire added, and I gaped.
“……How do you remember all that?”
“Um… well, actually I’ve had my memories scrambled until now, so I couldn’t be certain—”
“After coming over here, it seems like I took time to remember my memories and figured out some laws to them. I feel the same way.”
“……”
Ah, no way.
Could it be that as we distance ourselves from the Goddess’s power, we’re slowly beginning to remember the past timelines?
“Actually, it’s still a little vague.”
“Yeah. That’s why it’s also more confusing.”
It seems the Goddess’s power hasn’t fully left us yet, so the memories are not perfectly clear.
And if we went back to that world, and the Goddess’s power fully left this world—
Does that mean all those memories would return to those people, too?
……Should I consider the option of not returning?
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