The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Chapter 217

“......”

My words hung in the air, and for a moment, the room was engulfed in silence.

“War...?”

Charlotte, who had grown up in this very kingdom, mumbled in disbelief, her voice almost a whisper.

“No, that can’t be!”

Sophia flinched at Charlotte's mumbling and immediately stepped forward, defending her kingdom.

“There’s no reason for the Holy Kingdom to go to war with Belvur! Yes, there have been issues in the past, but those were resolved a long time ago through diplomatic agreements!”

“I didn’t say the Holy Kingdom was preparing for war with Belvur.”

“Then who?”

Alice, who had been lost in thought with her arms crossed, spoke up.

“Perhaps... they were preparing for a war with the Emperor.”

At my words, Alice let out a soft groan, clearly taken aback.

“...What are you talking about? A war between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom? Why would they be preparing such a war here, beneath Lutetia?”

Unable to hold back, Charlotte interrupted as she overheard my conversation with Alice.

“It’s not a war between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom, it’s a war between the Emperor and the Holy Kingdom.”

At my words, the room fell silent again.

In the original story, the Emperor had prepared for war—and eventually carried it out. In two months’ time, this world would be a battlefield.

The practice in Lutetia was a consequence of my arrival in this world. In the original story, Alice had failed to grow fully until the very brink of war, and during the several months leading up to it, tensions between the Empire and Belvur escalated. Charlotte’s temperament became more sensitive as well.

No, the truth was that Charlotte and Alice had never been friends from the start. They met at the academy, gradually grew closer, and then, because of the war, their relationship fractured. They would only become friends again when they united to stop the Emperor.

“They were preparing to stop the Emperor.”

“Stop the Emperor? Why would you need to stop him? Is the Emperor preparing for war?”

No.

Well, more accurately, he had been. But because of me, that war was stopped, and his plans shifted. I didn’t know exactly what those plans were, though.

“The Emperor—”

I opened my mouth but then glanced at Alice and Sophia.

Alice nodded, while Sophia, her face pale, appeared as though her emotions were entirely mixed. It was honestly harder to read her emotions than Alice’s, who was trying to hide hers.

In truth, he was far more concerned with bloodline than he let on, sowing his seeds far and wide and selecting capable heirs. He didn’t care much about things like ‘purity’ or ‘honor.’ Just look at Claire in the original.

“But I don’t think the Emperor truly gave up on his plans. The last time we met, he made it sound like he had abandoned them entirely, but I suspect it’s a smokescreen. And I believe the Holy Kingdom thinks the same. I only realized this after coming here and seeing things for myself.”

“......”

When I finished speaking, silence once again fell over the room.

“So...?”

Sophia spoke up, her voice calm but filled with confusion.

“Are you saying that, whether back then or now, you’ve been working to extinguish the spark of war?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

This much was clear.

Of course, I hadn’t done it for some noble reason. It wasn’t about stopping the war to save lives or prevent sorrow. I had no right to think that way.

I had only acted to save the characters I liked.

If, on the other hand, war had been necessary for that, I wouldn’t have hesitated to start one. But that path would lead to a much harder road to a happy ending.

“So, I need to know more about this situation. Where are these beasts coming from? Is the Holy Kingdom really behind this? And if so, how exactly are they doing it?”

I had a general idea of what was happening. After all, I had already navigated through many dungeons. There was no way we’d take an unexpected turn—especially not to a place that hadn’t appeared in the original story.

But even though the world was clearly influenced by the game, it was far more real than any virtual world.

So, if there were any unexpected variables, I needed to understand their origin. That way, I could figure out how to deal with them—whether now or in the future.

I had barely finished speaking when everyone in the room continued to stare at me in silence.

There were no loud responses, no one nodding eagerly.

Click.

The silence was broken by a small metallic sound.

“We’re ready.”

Rena stood up, holding her pistol.

I nodded at her.

“Then, shall we go?”

Not a single person objected.