Raid (5)

When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling of my own room.

Naturally, the place I was lying was my own bed. I knew it without even having to get up and look. It was the bed I had used steadily for the past ten years, now nearly eleven, and the blanket I had slept under every day.

Well, the blanket had been changed at some point, but still, it was definitely one I had been using for quite a while.

Was it... over?

Had Lucas been captured? Had the emperor figured out what the object Lucas possessed really was? Those were the thoughts that surfaced first.

I didn't feel like I'd actually slept. I had simply closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was lying in bed like this.

"Sylvia?"

A voice spoke beside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

When I turned my head slightly, I saw Alice's face, her eyes wide with a startled look.

"Sylvia!"

As I heard Alice shout, clutching my arm tightly, Claire's shoulders jumped. She had been doing something over by the table.

"Sis?"

Claire spun around, visibly alarmed, and her expression wasn't much different from Alice's. I didn't see Leo or anyone else. Were they all busy with something?

Well, if they had caught Lucas, that would certainly keep them busy... although I wasn't sure what exactly Leo was off doing.

"Lucas...?"

"That's not what's important right now."

No, it was important.

Because I hadn't been able to ask him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet. We'd started fighting the moment we ran into each other.

.......

Thinking back on it, I'd been pretty stupid. The fact that Lucas, who had vanished, returned again probably meant he'd come back to fight.

I sat up, and Alice, looking anxious, started to stand before sitting back down.

I felt refreshed.

When I lifted my arms to examine them, I saw no sign of wounds. Even without analyzing it, as an imperial princess I had obviously received the highest-grade treatment. Most of the injuries on my body had been scratches, so the healing itself couldn't have been difficult. The reason I collapsed was probably exhaustion.

After lying in a soft bed for several hours, it made sense that my body felt refreshed. I hadn't been able to sleep properly before that anyway, because of the nightmares.

And mentally, I was much better too.

"What happened to that masked woman?"

The last time I'd checked, she had still been tangled up in the fighting, swinging her blade at someone else. Even though her wounds had remained.

"She vanished while the situation was being dealt with."

Again.

I knew she'd been in a state where she couldn't use her abilities. If so, then disappearing that way was an entirely separate matter.

Was vanishing like that her own will? Or was she fixed to a specific Timeline, making it so she could only manifest that way?

Whichever it was, it wasn't a welcome prospect.

"Sis, water."

While I was talking with Alice, Claire abruptly held out a cup.

Only when I saw the water cup did I realize my lips were parched dry.

I gratefully accepted the cup Claire offered, wet my throat, and then asked again.

"What happened with Lucas?"

At my question, Alice and Claire briefly exchanged glances before speaking.

"...... He got away."

"In the state he was in—"

I stopped mid-sentence and shut my mouth.

Now that I thought about it, since it was Lucas, it seemed possible. Especially considering the clothes he'd been wearing. He'd withstood the Sword Saint's and the emperor's sword-force and even shrugged off bullets; he could probably take hits from regular knights while escaping.

Though he definitely wouldn't have gotten away unscathed.

"The people who were downed...."

"......."

At my words, both Alice and Claire averted their eyes.

So that's how it was....

"How much time has passed?"

It wouldn't have been strange if I'd been asleep for around a day. That would explain why my throat was so parched.

But the answer that came back was spoken in a slightly hesitant voice.

"It's been almost two weeks."

"...... Excuse me?"

For a moment I thought I had misheard it as two days.

"Two weeks, Sis. While you were unconscious, August nearly ended. Classes start again tomorrow."

"......."

For a moment I couldn't keep the blank look off my face.

"Classes start... tomorrow, you said?"

"Yes."

At my question, Alice nodded with a serious expression.

"Then, what of the Sword Saint?"

"He's still at the imperial palace. He's got this... weirdly joyful expression, so it's kind of terrifying, I suppose."

Claire spoke with a somewhat hesitant look.

"...... What about Leo?"

"Training right now. Obviously, leaving your care to a man would have been awkward."

Considering the comfortable clothes I was wearing, someone must have changed them for me.

"If I was lying here for two weeks, how did I take meals and water?"

"Basically, we handled it, and the attendants helped."

"They minced the food fine and trickled it in little by little, and they did the same with the water."

Alice and Claire explained in turn, calmly, as if they were afraid I might panic.

"......."

I lay back down on the bed just like that.

Hah.

I was lying here for two weeks?

While being waited on hand and foot by other people?

The explanation had been concise, but in reality an enormous number of things must have happened in the meantime. If Lucas had escaped, a wanted order would have been issued, and since gunshots and the like had echoed through the tower, rumors would have spread, at least around the imperial capital. the imperial capital had many diplomats and legations. And if you counted the spies planted in them, stopping the rumors entirely would be impossible.

Even if they concealed that Lucas was the one who caused the incident, they couldn't prevent the fact that an incident occurred. Moreover, if Lucas had already stirred up the Holy State, the Holy State might also have a rough idea what it was about.

I could almost hear cracks spreading through the impregnable prestige the Empire had maintained.

How would the emperor respond? By my standards, it didn't seem likely he'd react favorably.

"W-well, the situation itself has been mostly dealt with. At least the functions of the imperial palace are unimpaired...."

Alice spoke as if making an excuse, but so many knights had fallen that things couldn't possibly remain exactly the same.

"...... Um."

As I stayed silent, lost in thought, Alice cautiously opened her mouth.

"......I'm sorry. I was the one who suggested we go inside."

"No."

Claire quickly cut in at Alice's words.

"I was the one who said we couldn't just wait down below."

I stared blankly at the two of them. Both looked as if they wanted to hide somewhere.

"What I mean is—"

"No."

I cut Alice off in the middle of her sentence.

"I was the one who failed to explain how the situation was developing or what I was trying to accomplish."

At my words, neither of them could say anything.

Their expressions did look as if they had a great deal they wanted to say, though. Probably mostly apologies.

But I didn't want to accept those apologies. Not because they had wronged me and I couldn't forgive them. It had never been something they needed to apologize for in the first place.

It was just that the situation had gotten twisted and tangled. Mostly because of the existence called me.

I was the one who'd said I was going to save all the heroines or whatever, and yet I was the one who'd put them in danger.

"......."

I lay flat on my back again and stared quietly at the ceiling. As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I gazed at the antique Victorian-era ornamentation, worlds away from the word minimalist, a thought suddenly struck me.

Ah, the entire rest of my vacation had just vanished.

*

I considered rewinding the whole vacation period all over again, but I stopped.

Even rewinding briefly had been painful enough to make me lose consciousness. If I tried to go back further than that, well....

If I wasn't careful, wouldn't I end up like an egg smashed against a rock?

Actually, what I'd done in the first place had been an incredibly, unbelievably reckless act. What if I'd actually died doing it?

.......

Right, what then?

It was better than Alice dying. I had originally been an existence closer to a bonus character in this world anyway. More precisely, a character whose true nature I had no clue about.

... Well, since no one died, I supposed it was fine.

"Hmm."

I heard that nasal sound and lifted my head to see Charlotte there. It seemed nothing unusual had happened to her over the vacation; she didn't look much changed.

"Good to see you looking well."

"I'm glad to see you looking well too, Your Highness."

"Our forms of address have reset again, I see."

Charlotte smiled wryly and sat down in her seat.

Then she stared at me for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

She'd probably heard about what happened in the imperial capital, either through the newspapers or through the Belbur royal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠family's information network, but she didn't press further. Matters inside the imperial palace were matters of the imperial family. Conversely, it would be a breach of etiquette for our side to ask about them.

"Hello, Charlotte."

"Have you been well, Alice? Though we already exchanged greetings in the hallway."

When Alice, who had entered a little late because she'd been receiving greetings from other nobles, greeted Charlotte, Charlotte answered with a smile.

"Well, a greeting in the classroom is different. There were a lot of other people in the hallway."

With that, Alice sat down in the seat behind me.

"The vacation was so long."

When Alice spoke in a voice mixed with a sigh, Charlotte replied, "You can say that again."

You really could. It had been so long.

So long that feeling a peaceful atmosphere like this truly felt like the first time in ages.