Deal (1)

After working all morning, I finally managed to return to my room.

I'd been moving around constantly in the cold, sweating and then cooling down over and over, so my physical state was a complete wreck.

I could at least keep my expression under control, but... I couldn't help being tense, thinking Alice might have noticed something.

Becoming part of the protagonist's party was a good thing, but the problem was that my stamina couldn't really keep up with those kids. At least Mia Crowfield wasn't someone who fought with physical strength anyway.

As for me... well, strictly speaking, I was also in a position where I just had to shoot from a distance, but there was bound to be a very, very big difference between what the party expected of Mia Crowfield and what they expected of me. After all, I basically had the image of someone who could easily dodge attacks even from people engaging in close combat.

"......."

Claire would definitely come to wake me up first thing in the morning again tomorrow.

Not just tomorrow—probably for the entire time ahead, steadily, just like that. We were resting for now, but once this brief break was over, Claire would come looking for me again.

Of course, if I kept following behind Leo and Claire, I would certainly meet the Sword Saint too. But by then it would be too late. The Sword Saint would show more interest in Leo, or Claire, or Alice, or Charlotte. Or Jake, maybe.

Mia Crowfield and I were far removed from swordsmanship, and in the Sword Saint's eyes we'd be talents that didn't measure up.

But that couldn't happen.

Until the very moment I woke up this morning, I'd been thinking of somehow weaseling out of facing the Sword Saint because I hated climbing mountains. But after actually going through the day's events, I felt keenly that I needed a means other than shooting.

...... Alright.

I, who had been rolling around on the bed, sprang to my feet.

Didn't I have the ability to turn back time anyway? Sending it back several weeks at a time was burdensome and I didn't want to do it, but I'd already experienced spending over a month by sending just a few hours back over and over. When I assassinated Count Crowfield, I'd practiced by devising assassination routes in various ways and extracting information.

I was clumsy in many respects, but time was on my side. Mistakes could be corrected. Even if it was impossible to increase my stamina through training, I could repeat the same thing to the point it became habit.

Fortunately, the sun was still high in the sky.

I rose from my spot, immediately opened the door, and went out.

And headed straight for Jennifer's room.

*

Jennifer's room was quite modest, considering it belonged to the daughter of a ducal house. I'm not saying it wasn't luxurious, but it was neatly organized and there were almost no decorations. No ceramics or small marble statues, and only a single mirror hung on the wall.

The bed didn't even have lace trimmings.

To put it bluntly, the atmosphere was closer to an "officer's quarters" than a duke's daughter's room. Of course, I'd never actually been in an officer's quarters. It was just a figure of speech.

"You want me to let you meet my teacher?"

"Yes, that's right."

Hearing my request, Jennifer looked at me with an expression of interest. Seated in her chair, Jennifer, matching the room's image, seemed entirely unruffled. Back when I saw her at the academy, she'd had a fairly freewheeling air for a former officer, but here she was rather maintaining formality, I suppose.

"Hm."

Jennifer snapped shut the notebook she'd been holding.

"It sounds as if you know who my teacher is."

Perhaps intrigued by my request to be introduced to a teacher she'd never mentioned herself, Jennifer looked straight up at me and asked.

"Isn't it the Imperial Sword Saint?"

Not 'only' the Sword Saint. Jennifer had multiple teachers. But in the game, the teachers directly mentioned by name were only two: the Sword Saint and Jennifer's grandfather, Abraham.

Since Jennifer handled all sorts of weapons, there were naturally many figures one could call her teacher, but if you had to pick the two who had the greatest influence, it would be those two.

"And it seems you're already aware of the fact that I know where he is, as well."

"That's correct. I understand he is staying here in the Winterfield domain."

"In that case, isn't it a matter of you simply going to find him yourself?"

I looked down slightly at Jennifer, who kept questioning me with an amused expression, and answered.

"I don't know the precise location."

Because in the game, that mountain foothill was depicted simply.

But in reality, that couldn't possibly be the case.

"Hmm."

Jennifer rested her chin on her hand, gazed at me quietly for a moment, then rose from her seat.

And strode toward me.

In reality, she was about the same height as me, but due to the intimidating pressure she exuded, she seemed far taller to me than she actually was.

And Jennifer, having come right up in front of me—

Thwack!

"Ow!"

—delivered a high-speed flick to my head.

"Hm?"

Although, after hitting my head herself, she seemed to find it curious.

...... Again!

*

I rewound time three times before I narrowly managed to dodge the high-speed head flick.

I was proud to have dodged it after only three tries. Lucas swinging his sword at me must have been real training. Though it was trickier to dodge because it was a swing infinitely closer to being serious than Lucas's had been.

"......I see."

I didn't know what she read in my expression, but Jennifer seemed to have gleaned something from the look in my eyes.

"How's your stamina, then? To be honest, you have to walk quite a long way to get to where he is. You can go by car to the foot of the mountain, but then you have to walk a long way up the mountain. It'll be the middle of the night by the time you arrive."

...... It was that far, was it.

Well, in the game, you did stay overnight at the Sword Saint's cabin before coming down.

"Even if you tried to learn something properly, a few days would be woefully inadequate... Ah, or is that something that doesn't apply to you?"

For a moment I got chills down my spine, wondering if she'd somehow read that I could turn back time—

"You do seem to have the basic talent. If it's just about hearing some advice, a single day might be enough."

Having said that much, Jennifer grinned as if to provoke me and added,

"No, perhaps not merely a 'basic' level?"

It wasn't the basic level.

In truth, I didn't even have those basics.

Of course, I couldn't say that openly.

"One night will be sufficient."

"......."

Jennifer quietly watched me as I answered like that, then eventually gave a shrug.

"Well, there's a lot I'd like to ask, but I can think about that after you come back down. It's not as if you seem about to leave for somewhere right away."

But she wouldn't have time to ask me such things.

Because she wouldn't even retain the memory of me having said any of this.

Jennifer was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠someone who, once she decided to do something, carried it out without hesitation. True to form, right after deciding to go see her teacher, she immediately brushed past me and walked toward the door.

I turned to follow right behind Jennifer, but just before opening her door, she stopped walking as if something had suddenly occurred to her.

"Ah, right."

And she glanced back at me, standing behind her, and spoke.

"Now that I think about it, giving one-sided assistance to a daughter of the imperial family would be a stain on Winterfield's pride."

.......

As if she normally cared about that sort of thing.

"There is one thing I'd like you to do in return for me introducing you to my teacher."

"......."

"I'm well aware that you're no ordinary teenage girl. It'll be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a far easier and more honorable task, at least compared to assassinating a count."

The look on her face made it clear she was completely certain I had killed the count.

That didn't mean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she was trying to blackmail me with that fact, it seemed. In the first place, it wasn't even something that could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠serve as leverage.

So, this was, literally, a "transaction."

"May I hear the terms of the transaction in advance?"

"There's a troublesome warlord causing havoc in the border region. I'd like you to snipe that warlord's leader. Imperial soldiers have been dying for months."

"...... Is that the battlefield I was originally supposed to go to?"

"Yes."

Jennifer nodded with a serious expression.

"The reinforcements His Majesty promised to send were surely you."

"......."

I couldn't be certain, but the likelihood was very high. In reality, I had indeed been scheduled to go to the northern front instead of the academy.

In the original story, Claire probably would have gone. Though the details weren't shown, she would certainly have earned great merit in dismantling the border-region warlord.

"Understood. I'll do it."

"Thank you."

Jennifer nodded, then opened the door.

*

Leo and Claire were in the dining hall, and Alice and Charlotte were in their respective rooms.

Mia Crowfield was also in her room. As for Jake, I didn't know where he'd gone, but he didn't seem like he was planning to cause a major incident.

Because of that, we didn't run into anyone else on our way outside. A few other Noble Class students were around, but they didn't bother to address an imperial princess and a teacher walking together.

Considering it wasn't just any princess and wasn't just any teacher, but a person suspected of being an imperial family assassin and a former soldier who'd seen action on the northern front, it was only natural they couldn't bring themselves to speak. To anyone watching, it would look like they were heading off to discuss something terribly serious.

"Still, there's a road up to the foot of the mountain. There's nothing like the capital's Red Flag Act here, so you don't have to worry about speed."

As a result of the fierce opposition from coachmen fearing they'd lose their jobs, steam automobiles in the capital couldn't travel faster than 20 kilometers per hour. That was precisely why I hadn't bothered getting a driver's license. To begin with, almost no one actually drove a car themselves.

It would be far better to learn horsemanship instead.

"I'll be driving. That's fine, right?"

Jennifer spoke nonchalantly as she got into the driver's seat.

"It's fine."

I nodded and climbed into the passenger seat.

And it was only after getting into the car that I realized this car had no seatbelt.

Ah.

But by the time I realized that fact, Jennifer was already flooring the accelerator.