The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent – 141
EP.141 Rival (3)
Alice hadn’t really expected much.
Even when Sylvia called him “big brother”, she probably hadn’t meant it sincerely—she had just needed Jayden’s power. Alice didn’t know exactly how Sylvia acted before using her ability, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t imagine it.
Sylvia had never directly explained her ability. Alice had never asked her to, either. But remembering what her father had said back then, it wasn’t impossible to infer.
‘What if she could erase her mistakes as if they had never happened?’
Whenever she thought about it, Alice always arrived at the same conclusion—'Do whatever I want first, then take whatever I can from the results.’
But still, it felt unfair.
Didn’t it?
Alice wasn’t the person who had been by Sylvia’s side the longest… but she had been with her for quite a long time. It had taken time, but Alice had come to genuinely see Sylvia as a sister. Calling herself Sylvia’s “big sister” had been, in part, a matter of pride. And besides, hadn’t Sylvia been close only to Alice since childhood?
She had always maintained a cold demeanor toward her other siblings but never hesitated to help Alice.
“Big brother”, she says.
Yes. Honestly, it was a little unfair.
Even if that moment had been erased, Alice still remembered it.
So, Sylvia’s reaction that morning was quite a surprise to her.
“Sylvia?”
It was rare for Alice to have to wake Sylvia up in the morning. Normally, Sylvia woke up before Alice. She didn’t sleep less than others, but she seemed to prefer maintaining a strict routine.
When they were on deployment, Claire, who woke up even earlier, would usually be the one to wake Sylvia.
Alice envied Claire.
The difference in difficulty between saying the word “big sister” and hearing it was like the difference between the heavens and the earth. Calling someone “big sister” was something you could do on your own. But hearing it meant the other person had to accept it and use it on their own.
If Sylvia didn’t want to say it, then that was the end of it.
“……”
Anyway.
The fact that Sylvia had woken up later than Alice meant that something had happened to her.
Even if it wasn’t anything dangerous, it meant that, for some reason, she hadn’t been able to sleep early the night before. And it had to be something she couldn’t just erase with her ability. Or—perhaps she was preparing to go back to a point before she had said “big brother”, so minor inconveniences like oversleeping didn’t matter to her.
Whatever the reason, it was about time to get up. Their master was waiting, and from experience, Alice knew he didn’t particularly like lazy students. She wouldn’t be expelled or anything, but that day’s training could easily become several times more grueling.
Alice raised her hand and knocked on the door again.
“Sylvia?”
No response from inside.
“I’m coming in, okay?”
Even after giving her a warning, she still received no answer. So Alice decided to just open the door and step inside.
And there, inside the room—
She found Sylvia, already fully prepared to leave.
She was dressed in her academy uniform, the one she had been wearing almost every day since starting school. But she was sitting in a chair, staring blankly ahead.
That’s right—blankly.
To Alice, who could read Sylvia’s expressions better than most, it wasn’t exactly expressionless.
“Sylvia?”
Alice only got a response when she stepped closer and called Sylvia again.
Sylvia blinked slowly, as if coming back to reality.
"…Your Highness."
It wasn’t “sister”, nor her name, but Your Highness.
Alice could feel her temper flaring up again, creeping in like an itch under her skin. But she held it back. If Sylvia couldn’t even hide her emotions properly, then the situation had to be serious.
"Did something happen?"
"……."
Alice asked in a grave tone, but Sylvia only stared at her blankly for a moment before suddenly raising a hand and rubbing her face.
"Is it serious?"
"Well…."
Sylvia hesitated.
Seeing that hesitation, Alice’s heart sank once more.
*
‘I can’t go back to before I called you “big sister”.’
How could she possibly say that?
Especially to someone who was looking at her so seriously.
Given the image she usually tried to maintain, she shouldn’t be reacting like this at all. She was supposed to be cool and composed, effortlessly elegant.
Well… she had always known that facade would eventually crack.
But she hadn’t expected it to be in a situation completely outside of her control.
"…It’s nothing."
Sylvia let out a long breath and schooled her expression back into something more neutral. It was already morning. She had slept, but not well.
She had lost count of how many times she had woken up in a panic, haunted by dreams of Jayden grinning and saying, "Go on, say it again—call me “big brother”!" After the third time, it didn’t matter how exhausted she was. Sleep simply wasn’t an option anymore.
"Really?"
Alice still looked serious, but she didn’t press further.
She never did.
She had always given Sylvia space, never forcing her to speak when she didn’t want to.
…Except when it came to calling her “big sister”.
And now, Sylvia couldn’t even undo it anymore.
She barely resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands and roll around on the floor in frustration.
"Yes, really."
Sylvia straightened up and got to her feet.
"Let’s go to Master."
"Ah… yeah."
With as much dignity as she could muster, she strode confidently toward the door.
"Uh, Sylvia?"
Alice’s voice stopped her just as she stepped outside.
She turned her head.
And saw Alice pointing in the opposite direction.
"It’s this way."
"……."
With stiff, mechanical movements, Sylvia turned on her heel and walked past Alice in the correct direction.
Alice still looked serious, but—
‘Over my dead body will I ever admit it’s because I called you “big sister”.’
And she definitely wasn’t about to tell Alice that no matter how many times she had tried since last night, the checkpoint kept updating in real time—
Meaning that masked woman was still nearby.
Because if Alice knew, she would never let that opportunity go to waste.
*
"Big sis!"
As soon as they entered the training grounds, that word rang out loudly—almost as if it would become a trauma.
For some reason, Claire was waiting for them in the training ground.
...Maybe it was time to come up with a nickname for Claire?
If she gave her a flashy name, something like "the Flash" from a light novel filled with middle schooler clichés, maybe Claire would be embarrassed and stop calling her “big sis”?
But at this point, the risks were too high.
Knowing Claire’s cheerful personality... she might just end up giving her a nickname in return.
The thought of it sent chills down her spine again—chills that had already crept up yesterday.
"Claire."
Claire dashed up to them, smiling brightly.
"I got permission from my mother to train here after I found out Master was nearby."
"Though, the condition is that she still have to return home for her bride training in the evenings."
Leo, who had followed Claire, chimed in.
"Bride training?"
When Alice asked in confusion, Leo shrugged.
"Well, we’re from a baron’s family. If we were from a higher noble family, there’d be a line of suitors willing to marry Claire even if she wasn’t particularly feminine, but since we’re from a baron family, unless the other family is of equal status, they’re going to weigh our conditions."
Claire shot Leo a sidelong glance, clearly not agreeing with his formal tone, but she didn’t deny what he said.
"Well, we’ll all be adults someday."
"Tsk tsk."
At Claire’s words, Master Frederick, the Sword Saint, clicked his tongue.
"At that age, you don’t even have the self-awareness to know you’re an adult? When I was your age—"
At the Sword Saint’s words, the expressions of the three who were talking shifted subtly. If Alice hadn’t been managing her expression due to what happened yesterday, she probably would have had the same reaction.
Even though the Sword Saint said that, he stopped Leo from going to the front lines when war broke out.
"Ahem."
He had been about to launch into a lengthy speech but, seeing the expressions on their faces, he cleared his throat and said instead,
"Well, what can we do? Times have changed, so even an old man like me has to follow along."
After that, the Sword Saint looked around at them before saying,
"Now, let’s begin the morning training. We’ll have breakfast afterward. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Their energetic voices rang through the training ground.
Alice glanced toward the soldiers standing by the door.
They were all looking at them with a sense of envy.
...Well, guess just refraining from participating in the training, without saying a word, was praiseworthy on its own.