But what can I do? No better solution comes to mind.

I hadn’t considered learning swordsmanship at this point. Even if I started now, who knows how far I could progress?

…No, would I even reach a level that could be called “mastery”?

The Empire has not only various schools of swordsmanship but also a military-style sword training. While firearms are gradually replacing swords on the battlefield, there are still plenty of monstrous swordsmen whose prowess is unmatched. Some could take on hundreds of enemies alone, true masters in every sense.

Guys like Lucas would rush across the battlefield, cutting down enemies without hesitation, proving that the sword still had its place.

Even so, isn’t it better to rely on pistols or shotguns to deal with close-range threats? Then again, firing a gun at a swordsman deep within enemy lines, where soldiers are entangled, could lead to friendly fire.

Though I’d seen similar scenes in 3D CG, the animations weren’t great, so I couldn’t precisely tell how the fighting unfolded. Given that even anti-air gunfire was poorly depicted in the game, it’s impossible to say what it would actually look like without seeing it firsthand…

But that doesn’t mean I thought the fights shown in the original were impossible to pull off here—

“Sylvia!”

—especially with people like that around. Lucas, for example, could certainly hold his own on the battlefield.

I thought I’d come out early, but some people were out even earlier than I was.

“Claire.”

I responded, waving cheerfully to Claire, who was calling out to me.

“Leo.”

“Hello.”

It seemed that after three weeks of seeing me without incident, Leo had relaxed somewhat around me. Though he wasn’t entirely free of tension.

Thankfully, Mia Crowfield was keeping my secret well. Otherwise, Leo wouldn’t be even slightly relaxed around me.

In the original story, Leo was always friendly to those he didn’t have any reason to suspect. I mean, he is the protagonist of a harem story, so it’s part of his personality.

“Out early, completing requests again, I see.”

They must have started around three in the morning.

This week’s request was something I hadn’t seen before. Just because the academy was the main setting didn’t mean every single day was faithfully recreated in the game. Some events were skipped over without much detail.

Though if I looked at the request sheet, I could probably figure out the task and reward…

“…”

“What do you think? I’ve gotten to know the terrain around here, so I optimized our route to make a full loop!” Claire said with a sparkle in her eyes.

Indeed, around Claire and Leo lay the bodies of six beasts, neatly stacked. They were technically animals, but they could easily be called “monsters” if you encountered them on Earth.

There was a huge eagle with feathers still smoldering, a bat large enough to “hug” a person if it spread its wings, a massive bison with absurdly large horns, and three other beasts.

All were perfect targets for extracting Marmaros.

…Didn’t the original have simpler tasks? Like errands?

“Oh, we also took down a few dangerous-looking beasts along the road. They said they’d reward us appropriately if we brought back proof.”

I see.

In the original, you’d get rewards immediately upon defeating monsters, but that’s not how it works here. You can’t exactly butcher a beast’s carcass on the spot.

Here, at least, you’d need to bring the body back to receive a reward.

“Couldn’t you just bring back a part of the beast instead?”

“Huh? But leaving the bodies lying around wouldn’t be very pleasant for people passing by.”

“…”

Well.

I’m not sure if I should call them diligent or just plain soft.

It seems like someone’s upbringing really shapes them. In the original, Claire’s words were always so frustrating to hear, yet she turned out admirably well.

Perhaps she grew up a bit too well, if anything.

“…”

When I looked silently at Leo, he shrugged and said,

“She has a point. If we don’t clean them up, blood will start leaking from the bodies, making things messy for the folks who manage the road.”

It’s not like they dumped garbage on purpose; they were clearing the path for others. Nobody would mind a little mess if it meant helping people. But they seemed really bothered by it.

“But why are you here at this hour, Sylvia?”

I didn’t think being out at this time was unusual.

At least compared to them. It was already eleven in the morning.

…By their schedule, they’d probably been out for almost seven hours.

“Have you had breakfast?”

“Yup! Leo and I packed lunch and ate here.”

It wasn’t exactly a leisurely stroll.

“…Just so you know, we’re not like that,” Claire added, as if anticipating something.

“…Who said you were?” Leo retorted with an annoyed expression. It wasn’t the usual playful banter you’d see in a game or anime; he genuinely looked disturbed, like a brother whose sister had mistaken their closeness.

In the original, Claire wasn’t exactly a romance option… well, not quite. It’s just that she had a set tragic fate, so there was no final “route” for her.

“No one’s making assumptions, so you can relax.”

“Oh, good.”

“Seriously, who brought this up first?”

Leo growled, but Claire brushed it off without a care.

…Well, anyway.

“I’m glad to see you two getting along.”

“What?”
“Me?”

Claire and Leo responded almost in unison.

“With each other?”
“With her?”

It was such a classic reaction that I had to stifle a laugh.

Still, seeing this scene play out right in front of me was quite enjoyable.

After all, they were both characters I’d liked.

---

Not only Claire and Leo, but the entire protagonist’s party in this game was diligent.

Even Jake, who seemed lazy on the surface, was like that. He only appeared to be slacking off, but in reality, he was always studying or working hard. Especially since he was romantically involved with someone from a race foreign to this world. He needed to be well-informed to defend her from the judgmental remarks of others.

In that sense, am I the laziest one?

Whenever I get a chance to rest, I rewind time as much as I want to relax fully.

Of course, rewinding time doesn’t retain any of the rest I’d accumulated, and the fatigue returns when I rewind.

But it was still nice to have a “five more minutes” button on hand.

Whenever I had an hour to rest, I’d rest deeply for that hour.

Then, I’d rewind thirty minutes. Since I always wanted to relax, this wasn’t too hard to do.

No matter how tired I was, thirty minutes of rest would usually bring some relief, as long as I wasn’t gravely injured.

So, I’d extend my rest by repeatedly rewinding that improved thirty minutes.

Sure, my body only recovered as if I’d rested an hour, but mentally, I’d feel ready to face whatever came next.

And if any urgent tasks came up, I’d have time to handle them.

“…”

Like now. I rewound time for the fifth time, driven by a single desire to avoid the approaching Monday.

As I lay sprawled on the bed, contemplating the days ahead, new ideas would occasionally pop into my head.

Most of these thoughts were short and fleeting, but when combined, they’d often lead to a promising conclusion.

For example, the ideas that crossed my mind right now went like this:

I already had a schedule for the academy’s first semester.

So, I knew that starting in the second week of May, there’d be a field training exercise.

The field training would run from Thursday to Sunday, a total of four days.

The destination: Winterfield. Although it’s far from the active battlefront.

This is the academy information I knew; the rest was from my knowledge of the game’s lore.

Winterfield is located in the Empire’s far north, where there’s always snow—hence the name.

Maybe because of its image, or the established fantasy world conventions, the Empire’s most renowned warriors usually hailed from this place.

Not just Winterfield, though.

Several prominent names come to mind, each significant to the story and lore.

Among them, one of the most famous swordsmen hails from Winterfield.

“...Oh?”

In that instant, I shot upright.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.

The Sword Saint hadn’t died in the story yet. Unless my presence had somehow accelerated things, making Lucas seek out the Sword Saint sooner.

The reason Lucas sought out the Sword Saint was because, at that point, he was confident in his abilities. He believed he could challenge and defeat him. Though developers had hinted that Lucas was stronger than the Sword Saint by now, Lucas wouldn’t actually commit until the second installment of this world’s storyline.

The Sword Saint, although older, was still very much alive and active.

If I wanted to, I could meet the Sword Saint next week.

If I could meet him before Leo or Claire, I might learn a few unique training methods—like meditation techniques that reduce the need for sleep. With my ability to rewind time, I could repeatedly train… though my physical state would reset each time.

“…Ah.”

No, maybe it wasn’t so simple.

I knew where the Sword Saint resided… but he was located on a mountainside.

In the lore, the Sword Saint cut himself off from the world and lives in seclusion, so you couldn’t just meet him by conventional means. But there were hidden quests that would eventually lead you to him.

“But I’d have to climb a mountain.”

I pressed my nose bridge between my thumb and forefinger.

Just as the roads here look different

 from the game, the mountain likely wouldn’t be the same, either. Climbing a mountain isn’t easy.

Just think about it: even climbing Mount Seorak would take over ten hours, and the mountain where the Sword Saint resides is much harsher.

“…Wait a minute.”

I thought of Leo and Claire, the two who had piled up six beast corpses with such bright smiles this morning.

…Even if I didn’t want to climb up there, wouldn’t these two eventually set out to find the Sword Saint?

They both seemed eager to learn swordsmanship.

And they’d probably bring along Alice or Charlotte, too.

…If Alice is there, then so will I.

"…"

If someone had seen my face at that moment, they probably would’ve been startled by how pale I’d turned.