“……It was because of Bella.”
At Claire’s words, Alice and I exchanged a glance for a moment.
Could it be that Leo and Claire were suspecting Bella’s true identity? Honestly, I thought Bella’s acting was flawless.
“Well… this might sound like prying, but I felt something when I met Bella yesterday. We wanted to help her.”
It seemed our plan was working much too well.
I could feel Alice’s shoulders relaxing a bit from their previously tense state.
“But we couldn’t find Bella, so somehow we ended up here.”
“You recognized us well.”
“Isn’t it odd if you don’t?”
Claire chuckled and looked at me.
While I wasn’t sure about Alice, I felt confident I could recognize them. Then again, thinking back, Claire must have recognized Alice instantly since they all burst in together even before I turned back time. In the original story, Leo passed it off as ‘It couldn’t be,’ but Claire should have definitely picked up on it.
“……”
The conversation paused for a moment, not for any specific reason, but because a bunny girl was passing by in the hallway. She glanced discreetly at our unmasked faces but didn’t pay much attention as she walked on. She probably noticed the bills still in my hand.
Wearing a mask isn’t mandatory. After all… most people dressed like this just didn’t want to reveal their true identity.
If they were getting paid, they could at least show their faces.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
As we stared at the passing woman, I guess Claire determined that the sound of their voices was now far enough, and she opened her mouth.
“…Even if I ask you to leave, you won’t, will you?”
“Nope.”
Alice’s words made Claire nod. She then glanced at Leo, who, receiving Claire’s gaze, nodded seriously in return.
“Hah.”
Alice let out a sigh, though it wasn’t a particularly unpleasant expression.
“Then, will you cooperate with me?”
At Alice’s suggestion, Claire and Leo exchanged quick glances before looking back at her and nodding.
“Sure.”
“Willingly.”
Hearing their responses, Alice nodded back.
“Alright. You two… well, not only do you have skill, but you’re from Grace’s estate as well.”
And thus, she continued with her explanation.
“According to the information I gathered, there’s a spy hiding here.”
“A spy?”
The moment she said ‘spy,’ Claire’s expression immediately turned serious. Leo’s did too. Just moments ago, he seemed unsure of where to glance, but now he was looking at us directly.
So it’s Grace’s estate! One of the Emperor’s true loyal families.
“Yeah. But I don’t know exactly what this spy is trying to do. However… considering their origin, it’s likely related to some sort of regional issue.”
Bella couldn’t have provided that detailed information, but Alice had come to a pretty close conclusion based on her own deductions.
Well, if you know how the Papal State operates, such reasoning shouldn’t be too difficult. The imperial intelligence agency wasn’t exactly foolish either.
“Regional issue?”
Yet with the lack of access to such information, Claire and Leo both looked somewhat perplexed.
“…I’ll fill you in on the details later. For now, catching the information source in front of us is the priority.”
“Do you know who the source is?”
“Yeah.”
Alice nodded. Her eyes burned with determination.
“I saw them a moment ago. If we leave now, they might still be there. Leo, I need you to do something for me.”
At Alice’s call, Leo blinked.
Before he could even respond, Alice snatched the pound note I had still been holding. And then she handed the now cold bill to Leo.
“…Can I borrow this?”
And she said that while looking at Claire. Claire seemed to understand what Alice was implying and nodded silently.
…Hmm.
I understood what it meant, but… thinking that it was the money stuck between my chest made me feel a bit uneasy. Surely, that isn’t just my strange way of thinking?
*
After that, surprisingly, the situation flowed similarly to when I first arrived here.
In the original story, it didn’t really specify what Alice was doing on the day Leo first encountered her. It’s likely that after the story continued, there wouldn’t have been much gain either.
But here, there were quite a few people willing to help. Especially since a very much male Leo was mixed in.
“Wanna grab a drink?”
“…Shut up.”
Claire quietly asked a fully tense Leo. Unlike before, Claire was now wearing a mask. It wasn’t legitimate; she must have picked it up after stumbling and finding it while drunk.
With that mask on, and unbuttoning a few buttons on her school uniform as if she needed to present a slightly decadent appearance, Claire oddly radiated a hint of the original Claire’s ambiance.
Of course, it was only a hint, considering the earnest aura around her couldn’t be hidden. That vibe probably wouldn’t come unless she let her hair down.
“There she is.”
“Ah, that person…”
Once again, the bunny girl who regained her composure after putting on the mask pointed to Kiara Verati, making Claire gasp in surprise.
Which made sense. If someone who initially seemed so clumsy was actually part of the Order of Knights, anyone unaware of the fact would be shocked. Plus, all women from the Order of Knights were nuns too.
If someone like that is wearing a bunny girl outfit and throwing sparkles on their chest, no one would be the wiser.
From that perspective, the Papal State truly picked just the right person for this role. Other zealots likely wouldn’t willingly take on such a role, but someone just cosplaying as a believer would jump at the chance.
If they could fight for their lives, they’d gladly do it.
“……”
I thought of this spot as Alice’s domain, and I said nothing. After all, the reason I had suffixed myself with a bunny girl outfit was also to cater to Alice’s wishes.
Well, at least we managed to find someone suitable.
Thank goodness the imperial intelligence agency wasn’t incompetent.
Or maybe Bella was just really capable.
“How about it? Can you do it?”
To Alice’s question, Leo nodded despite his face looking rigid from tension.
“Okay, then…”
Alice said that and moved a bit away from Leo. I was positioned close enough to Alice, ready to rush in if needed… while Claire was very close to me.
….
Hmmm.
I felt a bit uncomfortable.
It was like Claire was trying her best to protect me, which made me feel somewhat uneasy. After all, she was just a kid who seemed much younger than me trying to shield me…
Get a grip.
Right now, I have to focus on the task at hand. I can feel the uneasiness later.
I could rewind if things went wrong, anyway.
But why was that?
At this very moment, I didn’t feel like wanting to rewind time. Even if Leo or someone else here made a mistake.
Feeling that way, I quietly observed Leo, who was moving forward with both legs and arms at the same time, a hint of anxiety creeping into my heart.
*
Looking at the results, the operation was a success.
However, it seemed Leo’s mind suffered irreparable damage.
Imagine paying a bunny girl with money but being too far to slip it into her chest and dropping it instead, making the bunny girl pick it up with a stiff face. How embarrassing would that be?
I contemplated whether I should rewind time with minimal mercy and give him another shot, but it was obvious that if the same person saw the same thing again, they’d likely repeat the same mistake, so I decided to just ignore it and move on.
And thinking about it, it wasn’t entirely Leo’s fault. One problem was that the bills had absorbed too much moisture while stuck between my chest and weren’t stiff enough.
The fact that the banknote was damp might also have been a reason why Kiara Verati’s expression looked so sour.
Still, even if she had noticed us from behind earlier, she chose to follow us quietly along.
Then, after going around in circles, we ended up back at the place I had been before I rewound time.
The attire and the person leading the conversation had shifted, however.
“So, what’s a Crown Princess doing in that getup?”
Kiara Verati asked that, her eyes subtly glancing at me.
“Or should I say, ‘Crown Princesses’?”
She corrected herself.
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