I Favor The Villainess Chapter 104

"Stop n.o.bles' misgovernment!"
"No to the tax increase!"
"Bring back the Royal Family!"

From the academy dormitory where we could see the main street of the Royal Capital, we observed the state of the demonstration in detail.
People holding placards marched in the direction of the parliament building housing the House of Lords.
At present there are no people holding weapons.
It's still in the demonstration stage, it seems to not have developed into a riot yet.

"I shall go stop it!"
"It's useless. It'll be meaningless, the timing is too inopportune"

I hurriedly stopped Claire-sama who tried rushing out of the room.

"Why is that!? I have received a certain evaluation from the people, right!? If I address them, my intent should be transmitted more than other n.o.bles'!"
"Certainly, if Claire-sama goes out now, they may calm down for now"
"Then!"
"In exchange, Claire-sama will be ultimately considered the ally of n.o.bles. The trust you've built among the people until now will collapse"

At my words Claire-sama's face grimaced in vexation, and with a bang she hit the desk.
For the well-raised Claire-sama to hit something, it truly is something else.

"Be considered the ally of n.o.bles, you say!? I am a genuine n.o.ble!?"
"Does Claire-sama only want to be an ordinary n.o.ble? Or do you want to save people?"
"… Kh…!"

With persistent composure I replied to the furious Claire-sama.
Claire-sama is a sensible person.
She lost her cool for an instant, but recovered right away.

"Yeah, that is the case. You are right, Rei. I do not wish for merely social status. I want to become a good example and help people"
"Yes. For that reason, we shouldn't move now. Let's watch the situation. Perhaps the provisional government may change their way of thinking"
"I hope it will"

Claire-sama looked at the crowd outside the window anxiously.

"But… Why so suddenly? I have read all newspapers and there have been no calls to demonstrate"
"Likely an unfavorable situation has developed"

I answered to Claire-sama's doubt.

"That means?"
"There is someone inciting the people"
"! … Resistance!"

"That's the façade, but the situation is more serious. Salas… Moreover, behind him the Naa Empire are the masterminds"

This past few days, thanks to actions Claire-sama volunteered in, commoners' complaints were kept down at a certain level.
It going in the direction where Claire-sama would resolve the complaints as is- is thinking of it overly optimistically, but it must've appeared like a demonstration wouldn't occur for a while.

Actually, this demonstration is strange.
If it was a spontaneous small demonstration that'd be one thing, but the demonstration now seen outside the window appears to have no less than a thousand partic.i.p.ants.
It's unlikely for a demonstration on this scale to occur without any meetings or preparations.

"Are you saying the empire is pulling the strings behind the scenes?"
"Yes"
"…"

With my reply, Claire-sama's gaze sharpened.

"Until now I have been giving in to you, however I cannot do it anymore. Rei, where did you learn of this information?"
"No, I've just happened to hear it"
"Stop deceiving me. There is no way such important information would slip out like that"

The tone Claire-sama questioned me with was severe, but before long it weakened,

"Rei, I trust you. Why do you never explain anything? Why do you always have the knowledge of things you should not have?"
"…"

Claire-sama is serious.
If I deceive her any more, I may very well lose her trust.
I prepared myself.

"I'm not confident whether you'll believe me…"
"For now, try explaining"
"Then. I am not a person of this world"
"… What do you mean?"

Claire-sama made a puzzled face.

"I came from another world. I lived in a country called j.a.pan on a different earth"
"j.a.pan…"
"Yes. I had lived there once, perhaps I'd died there. Then, before I noticed I was in this world"
"…"

Claire-sama kept silent and urged me to continue.

"To a certain extent I have a foresight as to what will happen to this world. I'm aware of it from my previous world"
"Is there any relationship between Rei's previous world and this one?"
"Yes. In my previous world there was something like a prophetic book of what may happen in this world"

I intentionally left out the part about the game's world.
I spoke of it carelessly to Misha, but thinking of it, she could be more or less shocked being made aware she's a character in a story.
I persistently described this world as a real world and spoke of 「Revolution」 as a prophetic book.

"Then, you can predict to a certain extent what will happen from now?"
"Yes"
"… What will happen?"

Claire-sama nervously asked.
Being afraid means she's believed my story to a certain extent.

"I cannot say it"
"Why is that"
"To know the future means to interfere with it. I cannot explain in detail, but were Claire-sama to know the future, the future I know of would change"
"…"
"I've taken various measures to change the bad future awaiting from now on. I can't afford to lose the advantage of knowing the future now"

The part about Claire-sama knowing the future is half-nonsense.
I simply don't want to tell Claire-sama about the revolution lying ahead.
If Claire-sama knew the revolution couldn't be avoided, I can't predict what actions she would take.

The future will change.
However, in the direction where Claire-sama can survive.

"I cannot reveal any more"
"… I see"

Claire-sama slightly nodded.

"Are you convinced?"
"I have no choice but to be convinced. Until now I have witnessed a scene where you knew something you should actually not be aware of on countless occasions"
"I see. It's love, huh"
"Listen to what people say"

Claire-sama flicked my forehead.
It hurts a little.
For me it's a reward.

"Besides, Rei was spirits' lost child"
"Yes"

That was also pointed out before, when I revealed my situation to Misha.
In this world there's a legend of a loitering baby with no relatives suddenly appearing.
These children are said to be spirits' lost children and many of them are endowed with mysterious powers.

"Are all spirits' lost children visitors from Rei's world, I wonder?"
"I don't know this much. But, in the world I lived there was no convenient power like magic"
"Is that so? Considering that, Rei's magical power is considerably high"
"I don't understand how that works. Isn't that what only G.o.d knows"

The story of my life ends here.

"I understood your story for now. But anyway, if the empire is involved in this development, I have to do something"
"What are you thinking of for example?"
"I will advise Father. If the empire is backing the demonstration behind the scenes - ah…"
"Yeah, with the demonstrators being considered rebels they could be suppressed"

There's nothing we can do, to a surprising degree.
The empire is moving extremely cunningly.
That's why I don't like politics or succession struggles.
If Claire-sama's life wasn't on the line I would never get involved and would escape to a different country.

"Is there nothing we can do…? Rei, do you not have any typical ingenious idea?"
"Not for now. The flow won't change for a while longer"
"But, if we continue dawdling, the revolution will――"
"It's okay, Claire-sama"

I spoke in a calm voice to rea.s.sure Claire-sama.

"I will protect Claire-sama. No matter what happens. Absolutely"

These words aren't a lie.
However, they aren't the whole truth either.