The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Chapter 151

“Then why are we supposed to start calling each other by our names?”

When I asked this, the already awkward atmosphere froze completely.

“Ah, well...”

Sophia Bianchi’s eyes darted around before settling back on me.

“Do you not want that?”

Of course, this was an act. It had been the same in the game. Until her true nature was revealed, no one could guess it. She must have been very skilled at acting, and her performance was probably excellent.

Perhaps there was a little truth mixed in, though. Considering how she kept following me around, it seemed like she wanted something from me, and it would be troublesome if that didn’t happen.

“Lady Crowfield.”

Instead of answering her, I called out to Mia Crowfield, who was sitting at the table with us.

Mia flinched and cautiously looked at me.

“Have I ever called you by your first name?”

“No, I haven’t...” Mia shook her head vigorously at my question.

I turned my gaze back to Sophia.

“It’s been a semester since I met Lady Crowfield. But I’ve never called her by her name. This isn’t about whether I like it or not; it’s about how familiar we are with each other.”

In this group, excluding me, everyone else called Mia by her name. Even Alice, who had continued to call her "Lady Crowfield" after what happened during the last vacation.

Once I finished explaining, I picked up my spoon and began eating my parfait again. Honestly, the weather had gotten quite chilly, and most of the people at the table had ordered warm coffee, so I must have been the strange one.

But what could I do? It was delicious.

“Is that so...?”

When I bluntly put it like that, Sophia Bianchi looked bewildered. Her expression wasn’t exactly one of disappointment or frustration, but rather something closer to being dazed.

Perhaps there was a little sincerity in her reaction.

---

**“Sylvia.”**

Even though the situation was awkward, I didn’t stop eating my parfait. After scraping the spoon all the way down to the bottom of the cup, I left the café and returned to my room.

Before I could gather my thoughts, Alice arrived.

“Do you know anything about Sophia?”

Alice asked with a serious expression.

“Sophia Bianchi is a spy sent from the Law Country.”

“A spy?”

“To be more precise, she belongs to the Order of the Cathedral Knights.”

At my words, Alice’s expression froze for a moment.

She was standing there, her lips moving as if about to speak, then sighed and wiped her face.

“Well, I won’t ask how you knew that,” she said.

I was thankful for that. It was difficult to explain this information even if I rewound time, as I had no other way to explain it except by using knowledge from another world.

“Do you have any thoughts on it?”

When I asked, Alice hesitated and gave an uncertain answer.

“Ah? Uh, yeah... I think I do.”

But she didn’t give a clear answer.

“If you have any thoughts, please share them with me.”

“Ah, no.” Alice quickly shook her head.

Then, standing up, she said,

“Thanks. That cleared up a lot of things. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on Sophia.”

“Okay...”

I watched Alice leave, still dazed, as she left with a “See you tomorrow!”

...Wait, what just happened?

---

**Sylvia has a special ability. Maybe she can turn back time.**

As the teacher mentioned, time is something even the Goddess cannot reverse.

But, according to the explanation I heard back then, if time could simply be adjusted, like rearranging objects, then that would truly be divine power, wouldn’t it?

I wasn’t sure if she realized this or not. From Sylvia’s expression, it seemed she didn’t think of her power as “the Goddess’s power.”

The first time Sylvia’s abilities seemed to change was when she went to the place with the *jibo*.

She had met the mysterious being wielding strange power. After that being disappeared, and the *jibo* was taken, Sylvia’s powers seemed to return to normal. Since then, she hadn’t shown signs of confusion or loss.

And now, in the imperial palace...

Power, Goddess, *jibo*, Law Country.

Considering these four keywords...

“Could it be?”

Alice’s face turned pale.

Maybe, in the Law Country...

...

No, no. I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts. While there were lingering suspicions at the back of my mind, I was beginning to calm down.

Even if it was the Goddess’s power, her abilities were far too limited. Most importantly, Sylvia didn’t know how to heal or protect others like the priests of the Law Country.

Still, even so, I now understood why the Law Country had come.

“That’s it.”

Lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, Alice murmured.

...

It was time to solidify my thoughts.

Whether I heard it directly from Sophia or from the people behind her.