If a depressing thought crosses your mind and you know it can’t change anything, it’s better to simply not dwell on it.
Not that I’ve been plagued by guilt over the past few years. I’ve rely accepted it as sothing inevitable.
This applies not only to the children I couldn’t save but also to Count Crowfield, whom I killed, and the countless naless individuals I’ve faced on the battlefield. This is the kind of world we live in. It would have been naive to think I could avoid killing in a world based on a ga where death is a common the.
“Sylvia?”
I blinked at the sudden voice calling my na.
Charlotte was looking at with a concerned expression.
“Is sothing wrong? Do you not like the food?”
“No, it’s not that.”
I quickly answered.
I had just briefly recalled my conversation with Alice from the night before. It wasn’t that the food was bad or that I’d forgotten how to speak because of it.
In fact, the food was delicious.
The als served at the Academy or the Imperial Palace were already quite good. Despite the internet s about "British cuisine," even the Empire’s aristocrats wouldn’t tolerate eating unappetizing food.
Well-cooked steak, hearty English breakfasts, a variety of desserts for tea ti—they all tasted wonderful.
Besides, the Empire didn’t strictly stick to traditional Imperial cuisine. Just as people in Korea eat a variety of global foods instead of Korean dishes every day, the Empire embraced culinary diversity. Complaining about food was rare when you attended the Academy.
In that context, I had always been curious why Charlotte often expressed dissatisfaction with Academy als. How much better could Belvurian cuisine possibly be?
...It turned out, it was genuinely excellent.
Not to the point of being so mind-blowing that I’d never eat anything else again, but there was sothing subtly different about it. The texture of the at, the delicate aroma infused into it, the sweetness and consistency of the sauce—everything ca together in harmony.
Eating the sa dish felt like an entirely new experience.
“It’s excellent.”
“Is it?”
Charlotte replied in a tone that was polite but devoid of emotion, much like a noblewoman responding out of courtesy. Still, her gaze briefly flickered toward Alice.
Alice wore a slightly frustrated expression.
...Why was she reacting like this to my opinion? It wasn’t as though I were so renowned food critic.
Perhaps it was my notoriously neutral expression at work. Maybe they thought, “If even she breaks her composure, this food must be exceptional!”
The easiest way to break my expression would’ve been to put a plate of jellied eels in front of , but I wasn’t about to tell them that.
It wasn’t just , Alice, and Charlotte at the table. Claire, Leo, Mia, Rena, and Sophia were seated with us. Jake and Lottie had chosen to dine separately. Leo’s face briefly fell at the idea of being the only man surrounded by won, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
Claire was eating with sparkling eyes, Rena was her usual composed self, carefully wielding her knife and fork. Sophia seed the sa as always, though she occasionally cast fleeting glances at Leo. anwhile, Mia was happily munching away, her cheeks puffed out with food.
...For a mont, I wondered if I should eat like Mia. After all, I could just rewind ti afterward.
But I quickly gave up on the idea.
Steak was sothing I ate regularly anyway. If I started rewinding ti for every al Charlotte introduced, it could beco a slippery slope.
Charlotte had a determined look on her face, as if she’d prepared extensively. If I were to rewind, it should be for sothing truly extraordinary.
Watching Charlotte’s confident smile directed at Alice, and Alice’s begrudging glare in return, I turned my focus back to the plate in front of .
“Sis, look at this!”
After finishing our al, Claire tapped my shoulder as we walked along the road.
“Tada!”
She proudly presented a cara.
It was a far cry from the digital caras of my old world—a bulky, antique-looking device at first glance.
Of course, "antique-looking" was my perspective. For this era, it was cutting-edge technology. A portable cara like this was a marvel. According to the ga developers, its design was inspired by a legendary modern cara brand.
“I brought it since we’re traveling abroad! What do you think?”
“I heard it’s quite expensive.”
I wasn’t particularly interested in caras. I only knew about this one because I’d considered whether it could be useful for espionage.
Unlike digital caras, film caras didn’t allow for quick editing or easy storage on mory cards. They lacked stealth and imdiate photo previews, making them inconvenient for covert use.
Developing film required a darkroom and chemicals. It was a hassle for sothing classified, especially since anything gained would disappear if I rewound ti.
Still, it seed useful for preserving mories.
“Hehe.”
Claire laughed mischievously, her deanor reminiscent of Charlotte, and puffed out her chest proudly.
“I worked hard hunting to afford this. I sold everything I didn’t absolutely need, except for a few essential marbles.”
This was a notable difference from the ga.
In the ga, even if you earned a lot of money, you couldn’t buy anything outside event-specific items, healing recipes, or equipnt. But in this world, money could buy practically anything.
Charlotte’s gaze briefly fell on the cara, clearly made in the Empire, before turning back to Alice.
Alice was smiling smugly.
For a mont, Charlotte’s expression turned frustrated.
...Why were they getting competitive over sothing that wasn’t even theirs? I had thought they’d matured sowhat, but they were still kids in many ways.
“So, can we take a picture together? Since we’re here, I want to capture the mory properly.”
Claire’s suggestion seed to break the tension between Alice and Charlotte.
After all, despite their bickering, everyone here was a friend.
“An excellent idea.”
My words sealed the deal, and even Charlotte and Alice nodded in agreent.
The cara, of course, had no selfie function. Everything, from the rangefinder to the focus, had to be adjusted manually. No one passing by seed skilled with a cara.
Fortunately, Claire had anticipated this and pulled a tripod out of the large bag she’d been carrying since morning.
Setting up for the photo, we stood in a line with Lutetia Palace visible in the background.
“Okay, ready!”
Claire shouted as she pulled a lever on the cara and quickly dashed back to us with the agility of a swordswoman.
Sliding between and Alice, she hooked her arm through mine.
“Ah—”
Before Alice could complain, the shutter clicked.
That evening, when the photos were developed, the result showed Claire beaming brightly at the cara while everyone else looked slightly startled, glancing in her direction.
Still, it was a good picture—everyone’s faces were clear, and the mood was cheerful.
...If not for the shadowy figure that had accidentally crept into the corner of the fra.
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