The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent

No way,
why am I being sent when the Empire has a Chancellor? I only read a few books and took a couple of practice exams. How could sending me yield good results?

No way,
more importantly, why didn’t the Chancellor say anything after hearing such insane things? He’s the Chancellor! If the Emperor says something crazy, shouldn’t he be like, “Have you lost your mind?” Shouldn’t he be doing his job, being the highest-paid civil servant?

No way,
so why would they send someone like me, who’s barely even mentioned in the three-country summit discussions and is rumored to be linked to the Emperor’s assassination squad—based on facts, mind you? Is it some sort of threat like, “If you don’t behave, you’ll end up like him”? How is the Emperor going to send someone from the Papal State or the Kingdom to assassinate me? Surely, he wouldn’t be sending me to do it, would he?

No!
I’ve shouted “no” in my head countless times, but I couldn’t arrive at a proper conclusion.

“……”

I stared directly into the mirror.

The meeting is taking place in the Kingdom of Velbur, Lutetia. The distance to the Runedarium is a little over 400 kilometers. It’s because the Empire has a capital that’s somewhat skewed to the east, resulting in such a distance. The actual size of the countries is at least six times larger than that of the Empire. The population disparity is even greater, let alone military strength.

The Empire has a handful of colonies, but the Kingdom doesn’t even have a somewhat decent colony. It seems they try this and that, but none have resulted in anything substantial.

The Papal State is right next to that Kingdom, but it’s even smaller. I mean, if we’re being strict, it’s almost the size of a city. Sure, the words of its Pope can influence the world, but the Empire hardly cares about it at all.

Not just the Kingdom and Papal State, but even if other countries teamed up, the Empire boasts overwhelming technological prowess and military strength to stand firm.

So, the Emperor having such an absurd goal isn’t entirely unfathomable.

…Thinking about it this way, sending me to that important three-party summit could be seen as a strategy to “disregard the opponents.” It’s not totally ridiculous.

In the mirror, I still looked like a child. It’s not just that I looked young; I genuinely looked like a kid. No matter how you cut it, I look like a middle schooler, or at the most, someone who just started high school. Maybe I’ll grow another year or two.

Sending such a little kid as a representative to a summit clearly displayed the Emperor’s intention of “we have no intention of having a proper conversation with you.” Well, I suppose sending me doesn’t seem that unreasonable.

The issue is, I have to endure the gazes of the representatives from other countries.

I glanced at the clock hanging over the bathroom window. One o’clock in the afternoon. There are about two hours left until arrival.

The steam train I’m on travels at a speed of 100 km/h. Its maximum velocity is 130 km/h, but they say this range is reasonable for maintaining stable speed.

For reference, in this world filled with over-the-top technology, where steam engines still reign, high-speed trains are already in trial operation. They reportedly have steam trains that can easily maintain 200 km/h, and in the game, we can use them from a certain point in the main story.

Even a high-speed train traveling at 200 km/h would still take hours to cross the Empire, and of course, it couldn’t always maintain that maximum speed, but due to game allowances, the main character’s group can cross regions from one end of the Empire to the other several times in a single day. Well, that’s naturally impossible in “reality.”

For reference, all the events that happened in those regions are neatly organized as having occurred in “one day” in the setting guide.

So… if the main character wishes to clear all unnecessary side quests, they’ll have to thoroughly and diligently poke around each region, which is a huge hassle.

But that’s not how it really works in reality.

“…Phew…”

Well, I don’t need to worry about the main story that hasn’t even started yet.

No, actually, the protagonist’s group will likely figure things out just fine without me interfering. As long as I guide the heroines who are at risk of dying to a safe route, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

So right now, shouldn’t I focus on my own worries first?

“……”

I looked into the mirror and began erasing the worries on my face one by one. I furrowed my brows without realizing it and relaxed the tension tugging at the corners of my mouth. After massaging my face a few times to relieve the tension, I looked in the mirror once more.

“Alright.”

Let’s keep calm.

Well, if the Emperor really intends to send me as a means to disregard the other side, then all I have to do is follow his wishes.

I could just shut my mouth and come back without saying anything.

“Alright.”

With my mind settled, I stepped out of the bathroom.

“Yo, little sister!”

As soon as I stepped outside, I heard a blood-pressure-raising voice.
Since I was in the position of the Emperor’s representative, this train operates solely for me. They ditched all the unnecessary baggage to ensure the train runs at maximum speed in case of emergencies.
Plus, to protect me, they even assigned the Empire’s top two knights to me—
“Come over and sit, we’ve got plenty of time, let’s play some poker together.”
— and those two were Jayden and Lucas.
The relaxed way Lucas called out to me made me wonder if he even remembers why we are on this train in the first place. It felt like we were all just out for a picnic.
Well, I guess I shouldn’t feel too heavy-hearted about it. After all, Jayden and Lucas are on this royal train, and I’m not an easy opponent either. Plus, there’s the Imperial Guards in the other compartments as well.
Before the train departed, we checked the personnel and luggage repeatedly, and all the stations on the tracks are set to let this train pass first. So it makes sense to be at ease like this.
“What are you trying to teach a kid?”
Jayden chided Lucas, who was holding a card in his hand.
“Hey, don’t be like that, okay? Let’s just pass the time with us. There’s nothing to do anyway, right?”
I glanced over at the table they were sitting at, and Lucas had way more chips than Jayden. Jayden looked at me with a slightly worried expression, as if he feared that if I sat down, he might lose all of his chips.
…Wait, did they really bet some actual money?
Well, considering how skillfully they set up their chips, that could be a possibility. Or maybe this train even has a casino car.
“I’m not interested.”
At my words, Jayden made a resigned expression.
“Why?”
Lucas asked, sounding genuinely curious. Seriously, after almost ten years, is he still surprised when I don’t join them? How many times have I played along while they were playing?
…Okay, I might have participated a few times, but they were never at my own will.
“……”
Instead of answering, I directed my gaze toward a corner of the train.
Actually, even looking over there, all I could see was behind the seat.
But Lucas shrugged, almost as if he knew who was sitting there.
“You’re really dumb sometimes. Why do you keep wrapping yourself around someone who doesn’t even care?”
“……”
I passed by him as if I had no worth answering him. Lucas didn’t seem particularly interested in my reply either, just shrugged again.
“Don’t be too harsh on her. After all, she’s the only same-age sibling you have.”
“Even if we’re the same age… let’s not talk about it, alright?”
I could hear Jayden and Lucas talking, but I didn’t pay much attention and walked over to where Alice was sitting, looking all prim and proper.
“Why not play with your brothers?”
With that spoiled tone, I didn’t bother responding and just took my seat.
…Of course, part of the reason I didn’t want to play poker with those two is that hanging out with them made me uncomfortable, but it was also because the game they were playing was “poker.”
Even though I have the ability to turn back time, I’m extremely weak when it comes to things that involve randomness, like rolling dice or picking cards. The finer the variables get, the more the results can swing dramatically from very small factors. If I say something during the card-shuffling process or pick a card a little late for some reason… anyway, every little thing I do becomes a variable, leading to endless entanglements.
But I suppose as long as I’m not aiming for a total victory, I might not lose. If I meticulously calibrate the time-turning parameters and rewind whenever I draw a card, considering what cards my opponent has, I might have a chance to fold or bet after that.
But Lucas is my opponent, after all.
If he uses his superhuman skill to pull off a clever trick, I wouldn’t have an answer to that. To prove that, I’d need hand skills on the level of Lucas, and I don’t have that capability.
And that’s where the real danger lies.
The reason Emperor trusts me until now is because of that image of “never making a mistake and definitely succeeding in whatever I do.”
But what if that image crumbles just because of a game of cards?
Even if I learned the skills to pull off a card trick and dealt the cards myself, that would be something else entirely.
Not that I have any intention of going that far. Considering all that effort, it’s actually more beneficial just to avoid poker altogether.
“I’m more comfortable sitting here.”
So saying, I picked up the newspaper I had stowed away before I left my seat.
What I really needed was information.
There’s no smartphone or internet in this world. While important information might fly to the royal palace, it definitely won’t contain detailed content.
So I had to absorb whatever information I could to minimize the variables for what would happen next. Otherwise, I might end up needing to turn back time by several years.
If predicting poker cards is hard enough, then turning back time that drastically would render my intentions much less effective. A few years would be ample time for a person’s thoughts and values to change.
“……”
“……”
For a while, all that could be heard was the crinkling sound of me turning the pages of the newspaper.
“Hey, you.”
“Yeah?”
Alice spoke up to me, so I answered while keeping my gaze on the newspaper.
“Am I annoying you?”
“……”
I lowered the newspaper from my hands slightly to look at Alice. She was glancing between the window and my face, appearing unsure about where to direct her gaze.
Strictly speaking, I was the one headed to the conference. Even Alice, as the Crown Princess, can’t attend the conference without the Emperor’s command.
But… seeing that Alice feels jealous for various reasons and knowing I’m heading to that conference, she insisted on following me and boarded the train.
Perhaps expecting such a scenario, the Emperor never told Alice about this until the very end, making her desire to board the train even stronger.
Had the Emperor directly confronted Alice and asserted sternly, she might have slumped down in defeat. But conveniently, he was across the Empire at that time.
Plus, Alice had thrown a tantrum just before departure, and if things went wrong, we could end up late for the conference, ultimately resulting in me boarding the same train as the Princess under my responsibility.
So I easily understood why Alice was speaking to me in the first place.
“I’ve never thought so, even once.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, really.”
I was sincere.
Well, to be honest, this was a bit of favoritism.
In the original, Alice was the character who traveled alongside the main character across the Empire, supporting him against the Emperor’s opposition. Now, she’s acting somewhat naïve, but her confident self from the main story is beginning to show.
And I held affection for all those characters, including the main character.
So, what can you do? Truth be told, the undesired guest is actually me.
“The Crown Princess will eventually assume that the Empire itself will have to become part of its core. I think it wouldn’t hurt to understand the atmosphere of a conference at least a bit.”
“…Really?”
Upon hearing my praise or whatever you’d call it, Alice’s expression quickly brightened up.
In the original, this was the kind of character who thrived on this kind of dialogue early in the story.
High pride, low self-esteem. Often feeling inferior to her half-siblings who share the Emperor’s blood. In the original, she suffered from low self-esteem, exacerbated by the existence of Claire. Frankly, she’s been growing significantly from her current self compared to the original.
“However, even if you want to enter the conference room instead of me or say you’d like to go in together, I can’t allow that. It’s the Emperor’s command.”
“Ah, I know.”
Alice replied, blushing at my words.
Well, she’ll be fine. The reason she put up a scene this time is likely neither out of panic nor to come here hoping for a chance.
It’s merely a series of coincidences that led her to end up here.
Moreover… even if she doesn’t enter the conference room, Alice still has quite a few people she’ll meet.
The Emperor’s direct bloodline can’t avoid meeting anyone in that place, so Alice will also have a fruitful time. Just one of Jayden or Lucas at hand will ensure her safety.
Hmm… I wonder if she’ll meet the Kingdom’s princess there.
In the original, there was a scene where the princess met the Emperor, and this could very well be that moment.
…By the way, what did the original protagonist even do in his past life to end up entangled with the Crown Princess and the princess of another country, while being a Baron himself?
Well, aside from that, it seems the romance line flows similarly to a school harem story.
That’s somewhat enviable.