Student Council (5)

"...... Hey, wait a minute."

And so, the awkward encounter in the student council room came to an end.

No, to be precise, it was after school, once classes were over.

Since we weren't so much officially in the student council as in a state of 'we might,' we didn't particularly have anything to do after class.

We did study in the library yesterday, though.

Claire seemed to want to see me briefly after school, but I had too many thoughts to sort out and quickly returned to the dorms. Well, maybe I'd get another chance after my thoughts were settled. If I put my mind to it, I could always rewind time and spend time with Claire.

With the heroines... Hmm, honestly, I had no thoughts of romance.

It was true that I had immersed myself in the game as the character Leo Grace. I wasn't as handsome, wealthy, or talented in swordsmanship as Leo. Honestly, thinking about myself, barely scraping by at a job and spending my spare time on games and comics... comparing me to Leo, who had women flocking to him just by standing still, was simply impossible.

Even so, the character I controlled in the game was Leo. The choices weren't that numerous, and the endings didn't diverge dramatically based on them, but some affection for my alter ego naturally developed.

And then, I ended up inside that very game I played.

I was interested in the pairings. I was a little curious to see who Leo would end up with, and how the changed story would unfold. Honestly, the fact that I was the 'catalyst' for that change was quite amusing too.

Truthfully, from the perspective of a player of the original work, my existence was a character so overpowered it'd make them cough blood.

Infinite regression with zero risk. Even if my physical abilities weren't superhuman, it was an ability that could screw over most reasonably strong characters.

Moreover, because of this ability, I had already read all the information I normally wouldn't have known back in my childhood.

Like entering the Forbidden Archive deep within the Imperial Palace and reading all the so-called Books of Prophecy. I didn't even need to figure out an escape route back. If I could just get through once, I could read the contents and simply return.

...... Anyway.

For that reason, I had just turned down Claire and returned to the dorms.

As befitted a premium dormitory, the facilities were clean and excellent, easily comparable to my room in the Imperial Palace, maybe even better in some ways.

Just as I entered the dorm room and was about to close the door, Alice grabbed the door handle and spoke to me.

I couldn't beat Alice in a contest of strength. Maybe if I had known beforehand and dodged, but...

"......."

Knowing that very well, I let go of the door handle. Alice opened the now-unresisting door ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and walked into my room.

Slam.

The door shut a little forcefully.

She seemed a bit... angry. Or maybe just emotionally intense. Was that the same thing?

"Earlier, the way Crowfield was looking at you didn't seem ordinary."

After firmly closing the door, Alice crossed her arms and questioned me. She seemed to be trying to ask rationally, despite being angry.

"Do you know something about it?"

"......."

What should I do?

Alice would know that Count Crowfield was dead. She might not know the exact cause. The Emperor wouldn't have made it a point to inform her.

She might have a hunch. Alice wasn't stupid; she just lacked information. She would at least suspect that her father might be killing off his political enemies one by one. She had spent her whole life watching what kind of person her father was.

"Answer me. This is..."

Alice, who had been speaking, suddenly shut her mouth. She frowned as if in brief deliberation, then opened her mouth again as if she had steeled her resolve.

"This is a question from the next emperor. Because it seems like information I need to know."

"......."

So that was how she was going to play it.

There was a similar scene in the original. But back then, most people didn't really care about that fact, and Alice's attitude was less serious and more like grasping at straws. Probably because the people she asked were mostly the Emperor's other children.

But the Alice before me now had a very serious expression. She wasn't just using her status to whine; she was seriously staking her authority to ask me.

And the one who made Alice this way... was me.

...... If so, it was only right to respect that authority.

"I killed him."

"......."

Even at my words, Alice just stared at me silently in the same pose for a moment,

"...... Huh?"

Only after about 5 seconds did her expression slacken blankly, and she made that sound.

"The carriage the Count was riding in exploded because I planted a bomb on its floor."

"......."

Alice, who had been standing there slack-jawed, stumbled to my bed and plopped down on it. She looked up at me and asked.

"Why?"

"Because His Majesty ordered it."

"...... At that time, you were......"

"I was twelve."

"...... Since then, have there been other assassination orders?"

"For me, that was the first and the last."

"Then, the others?"

"I don't know. But given the circumstances, it's impossible that an order like that was given only once."

"......."

Alice shut her mouth and sank into thought.

It was a different look from when I had openly stated the facts in the student council room. Probably because Alice hadn't been the only one to hear it there. In that situation, damage control would be nearly impossible.

"...... You... killed that count... just for that reason?"

"......."

The gaze Alice directed at me was mixed with complex emotions.

Alice trusted me. But that didn't mean she knew everything about me. Setting aside my identity as someone who crossed over from another world, she didn't know every single thing I had done in this world.

The Emperor might think of me as a troublesome tool, but Alice didn't think of me as a tool. You could tell just from how horrified she was when she saw the Morphine I had stashed away.

"The Count was running an opium business in his territory."

"......."

Alice looked at me as if waiting for me to continue, so I went on.

"And he would take children and build brothels. He frequently used those brothels himself."

I didn't know whether he built them himself or received something in return for turning a blind eye. But at the very least, Count Crowfield frequently used those places.

It wasn't just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a single observation. I rewound time repeatedly to verify it myself. I even heard it directly from the Count himself.

"They were children from orphanages."

"......."

"And I am also from an orphanage."

"......."

Alice, who had been looking up at me quietly, let out a small sigh as if slightly relieved.

"Then... let me ask one last thing. If that count had truly been innocent... if Father had tried to kill him purely for power, what would you have done?"

"I wouldn't have killed him."

I didn't know what I would have done after that. Whether I would have revealed the truth and helped him fake his death, or just let him be since I wasn't the one to kill him. Since that never happened, I couldn't say for sure.

But one thing was certain: I would not have killed him. Although I knew what Count Crowfield was doing from playing the game, the reason I double-checked was precisely that. Because for any number of reasons, his actions could have been different from the game.

Though the conclusion I reached was to kill him.

"Okay."

At my words, Alice let out a long breath and nodded.

"Is that so."

She closed her eyes and sat still for a few seconds, then stood up.

"Good."

Standing up, Alice looked straight at me and spoke.

"From now on, there won't be that kind of thing."

Huh?

As I stared blankly, wondering what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she meant by those sudden words, Alice looked at me with a face full of firm resolve and said,

"From now on, there's no need for you to stain your hands with blood."

"......."

Uh, well.

That...

"Because I, who will become the Emperor, won't make you do that kind of dirty work."

Hm.

Still, I couldn't imagine that someone as high up as an Emperor would completely abstain from that kind of dirty work.

Didn't even modern national leaders often order soldiers or spies to do dirty work, even if it wasn't outright assassination? After all, reality didn't run on chivalry.

"If His Majesty gives the order directly—"

"Ignore it. I'll handle it somehow."

"......."

What's this.

Had my words pressed some kind of button inside her?

Alice's words seemed lacking in realism in many ways. Honestly, it wouldn't be strange to call it the whining of a child. No matter how much of a candidate for the next Emperor she was, the current Emperor was still in excellent health. Even if she inherited the throne, it would take decades.

If she was telling me to refuse the orders of an Emperor who was still very much alive, what was I supposed to say?

...... Even though I thought it was absurd.

"...... Understood."

For some reason, I wanted to answer that way.

I didn't think for a second that Alice's words would be perfectly upheld. But separate from that, I could tell she was being sincere. I could clearly feel that Alice genuinely intended to smooth over the Emperor's orders if it came to that.

And that side of Alice secretly made me feel proud.

"...... Why are you making that face?"

Alice looked at me and said curtly, as if displeased.

Huh?

"...... What face are you talking about?"

I should have had a blank expression. If my expression had changed, I would have noticed. The part I had trained the hardest was consciously maintaining a blank face.

I felt the urge to lift my hand and touch my face, but I suppressed it. If that was a feint, I'd be falling for it. It was better to just look at Alice quietly with confidence that I had no expression.

"Hmph."

Looking at me, Alice made that humming noise, then turned around.

And without a single shred of hesitation, she strode towards the door.

The door opened with a click.

...... Was it locked?

"Well then, rest well."

After saying that, Alice closed the door.

"......."

I was planning to rest comfortably even without her saying that.

I went over to my bed and sat down.

Originally, I was thinking of organizing my thoughts for a bit, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then rewinding time to have a cup of tea with Claire......

I felt bad for Claire, but I had to give up on that. Rewinding time after having that kind of conversation with Alice felt like a bit of a waste. Even if I returned after having tea with Claire, maybe Alice would still ask those questions and I would still answer... But I, who had turned back time multiple times, could guarantee that time never flowed exactly as I wanted.

If my actions changed even slightly, the outcome would differ dramatically. If I already knew the desired ending from experience, to reach that exact same ending I had to perform the exact same actions without a single centimeter of deviation.

"Ignore the Emperor's words, huh."

Did Alice somehow get a hold of the Emperor's weakness? Or was she planning to use what I told her today as leverage?

Neither seemed very likely.

If so, it seemed Alice simply intended to push forward on her own.

...... Thinking that, I felt proud of Alice once again.

It seemed I hadn't lived in vain coming to this world.

I lay down on the soft bed, a pleased smile spreading across my face.