The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent-Chapter 327
“Are you feeling anxious or something?”
“What are you worrying about? Hah.”
If only the “Hah” at the end were removed, it would have sounded like a pretty convincing act.
From the outside, it seemed like Charlotte was at a clear disadvantage in this fight.
First of all, Charlotte was a foreigner. No matter how highly she was rated within the academy, the student council president election was not a popularity contest—it was a battle of influence.
Charlotte would eventually become the Queen of Belvur. In fact, even before she ascended to the throne, I probably wouldn’t cross paths with her again.
How many times do you think a noble from the Empire would meet a princess or king from another country? At least with Alice, there was a chance we might run into each other at a ball or a banquet, but Charlotte was different. Only diplomats from Belvur could attend foreign balls or banquets, and only high-ranking nobles would ever be invited to weddings or similar events.
So, honestly, sticking with Alice was far better than aligning with Charlotte. Alice was from the same country, and being from the same academy made a solid excuse. Later on, at a banquet, you could casually say, “Your Highness, do you remember me? We were in the same grade at the academy. I voted for you back then.” That was a definite advantage.
Of course, the votes were anonymous.
But nobles would usually know who voted for whom after the election. It’s just like how people casually talk about who they voted for after elections in modern times—nobles were no different.
If you were lying about it, it would be obvious. The difference in behavior would give it away. Sure, maybe someone could hide it until the end, but it would be hard.
“I’ve never once thought I’d lose. This isn’t the ‘Royal Lutetia Academy,’ it’s the ‘Imperial Rondarium Academy.’ I’m obviously at an overwhelming advantage.”
“Really?”
When I asked her again, Alice shrugged and said,
“Well, I’m going to win anyway, but I can’t just sit back. It wouldn’t feel good for the opponent if I just won without doing anything. It wouldn’t be proper. So, I’ll fight with everything I’ve got.”
Watching Alice as she spoke with her chin raised, I thought to myself.
She’s anxious.
No matter how much her personality had softened, Alice hadn’t let go of her pride in her bloodline or her self-respect.
Of course, if she was up against someone like Charlotte, she’d go all out. She would have to, or she might lose.
I wasn’t sure how Charlotte would fight, but she probably thought she had a chance, so she was willing to take it on.
Honestly, whether Alice won or Charlotte won didn’t really matter to me. But if Alice lost, I’d be dealing with a lot of trouble for a while, so for now, I’d do my best to help her.
As I watched Alice brace herself, I made up my mind.
*
“Where’s Charlotte?”
The next day.
When Charlotte was nowhere to be seen in the classroom, Alice looked around and asked.
“Charlotte? She wasn’t here when I came in either,” Claire, who had arrived earlier to prepare for class, answered.
“...”
Alice glanced around the almost empty classroom before sitting down in her seat. Claire, who usually sat in front of Alice, turned around to face her, hugging the back of her chair. With a mischievous expression, Claire leaned in toward Alice and asked,
“What? Are you feeling anxious?”
She asked the same question I had asked Alice the night before, not missing a single word.
“Anxious, huh?”
Alice confidently sat up straighter and tilted her head, but Claire continued to tease her with a look of amusement.
Even though Claire had returned to being the person I knew after her memory came back, there were still some things that had changed.
Her personality hadn’t changed much, but... well, I guess you could say she had gotten a little closer to Alice.
In the illusion created by the goddess, Claire had lived with Alice in my place. From the stories I later heard from the two of them, it seemed Claire hadn’t treated Alice as well as I did.
That said, it didn’t seem like she outright tormented Alice, but she probably teased her, complained, or argued with her quite a bit.
Of course, the Alice that Claire knew wasn’t the same as the Alice I knew back then. The Alice who had grown by now didn’t hold onto those teasing remarks and get bitter about them.
“Hm, is that so? But Charlotte’s learned some politics too, right? Actually, as far as I know, you didn’t really get involved much in politics.”
...Wait, is Claire teasing Alice because she knows more about her past now?
Before, they hadn’t known much about each other, even though they had me between them, and they treated each other with a level of formality. But now, that wall seemed to have disappeared entirely.
It was probably a good thing...
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“You really don’t have to worry about it, do you?”
When Alice narrowed her eyes and glared at Claire, I wondered if it was really all that good. It didn’t feel like a genuine fight, but it didn’t exactly seem like they were getting along either.
It would’ve been nice if they had become a bit closer while living together.
“Why, you worried about your sister?”
Claire grinned at Alice, then turned her ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) head slightly and looked at me, sitting behind Alice.
“How about you? Do you want Alice to win?”
“...”
“Why can’t you answer right away?”
When I hesitated for a moment, Alice said, sounding incredulous.
I wanted Alice to win, but if Alice wins, I’ll become the vice president.
Well, the vice president position doesn’t exactly come with much work, but still, there’s the sense of having a responsibility.
If one of the teachers, like the Sword Master or Jennifer, gives me a task, I won’t be able to get out of it.
“...Sigh, fine. I’ll win anyway. I’ve been thinking of a few methods since yesterday.”
“Oh, like what?”
“I’m planning to meet with the student council members first and listen to what they have to say.”
“Do you think that will work? Wouldn’t Charlotte do that too?”
“Having a princess from a foreign country listen to you is completely different from having a crown princess from this country listen to you.”
When Alice said she would “listen,” it meant she’d remember even if some “family matters” came up during their conversation.
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From the perspective of the noble students, there was nothing bad about that. Family feuds, or situations where a family tried to interfere with the actions of a branch family that had become independent.
From Alice’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad idea to listen to these things either. It could be useful later when implementing policies.
“Is that so?”
Claire tilted her head but looked as though she already knew that much.
“What, don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Claire grinned as she spoke.
“I was just wondering if you forgot something.”
“Forgot something?”
“Think about it carefully. What do you need to do to win votes? ...Well, coming up with that is probably up to the next student council president.”
It seemed Claire wasn’t going to tell me anything.
“...”
“Why are you being like that?”
Noticing that I was silent, Claire looked at me, tilting her head, and asked.
“No, it’s nothing.”
I was just having a PTSD moment.
In the original story, Claire appeared almost as if she hated Alice at first, but when I think about it, maybe she already liked Alice quite a bit back then.
Because now, the way Claire reacts to Alice is almost the same as the way she reacted back then.
Though, to be fair, back then it was a lot more intense. It didn’t end with just lightly teasing like it does now.
Over time, things improved, and by the time of her death in the game, there was almost a reconciliation between her and Alice. When she learned about her father’s plan, it was like a moment of clarity—maybe she just wanted to get along with her sister a bit more.
Even though she died without ever realizing they were actual sisters.
“Hmm?”
When I shook my head, Claire tilted her head in confusion.
Well, at least there’s no death involved now, so I can relax.
*
Charlotte and Mia only entered the classroom just before the lesson started.
“Where have you two been?”
“We went to a very important place to become student council president.”
“...A very important place?”
Alice glanced at Mia, but Mia just averted her gaze.
“It wouldn’t be good to pressure Mia. It’s not very gentlemanly to use threats to find out the strategy, is it?”
Charlotte calmly smiled and preached, and Alice reluctantly looked away from Mia.
In the end, we didn’t learn anything that morning.
Alice looked a little anxious, but she still managed to hide her feelings fairly well on the outside.
