The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent-Chapter 356

You know something?

Claire is adorable.

Honestly, there’s no way she wouldn’t be. She’s one of the game’s heroines, so of course she had a pretty face, a great figure, and a bright, likable personality. It would be impossible for her not to be cute.

The same went for Alice. On the outside, she always acted tough and a bit overbearing, but inside, she was soft-hearted. And once she got close to you, she became incredibly warm and affectionate—that gap made her ridiculously cute too.

But their stamina?

Yeah, that part’s not cute.

Claire and Alice both.

A bicycle, in my opinion, is the most enjoyable exercise tool out of all the ones I know. With just a little effort, you can ride far and fast, so it’s easy to feel a sense of accomplishment. That “Wait, I didn’t even pedal that much, but I came all the way here?” kind of feeling.

And from what I’ve heard, it’s also gentle on your joints. Other workouts can strain them if overdone, but biking is considered pretty safe on that front.

The problem was that I underestimated Claire’s stamina.

I figured that since it was our first day on bikes, we’d just cruise around a bit and call it a day. And to be fair... I was half right.

Half.

“Unnie! Why are you stopping here? Come on, just a little farther! You can do it!”

How many times had I heard that already?

The wildest part was that Claire wasn’t saying this while riding beside me.

No, she’d zoomed off all the way across the park, taken a wide turn, looped back near me, and said it with sparkly eyes.

“I—I’m coming. Please, go ahead without me.”

That was all I could manage to say in response.

And then Claire would chirp, “Really? Then I’m going ahead!” and zoom off again.

Thankfully, neither Claire nor Alice were the type to recklessly ignore what I said and do something dangerous, but they weren’t exactly “calm and reserved” either.

Still, they’d followed my rule about staying inside the park on our first day.

The problem was... Yeouido Park was not small by any stretch of the imagination.

Claire had gasped with wonder the moment we arrived. It was just that wide open.

Sure, it wasn’t massive on a global scale or anything, but it was definitely bigger than any standard school field.

And chasing after Claire as she made huge laps around the open park? That wasn’t easy.

She was keeping her speed at a level she could control, aware of the people around her—but still, when someone keeps riding like that for a long time, anyone following behind is bound to get worn out.

“Sylvia, tired already?”

And eventually, I’d hear that voice from the side again.

It was Alice.

Unlike Claire, she didn’t race ahead of us. She stayed just slightly ahead of me, occasionally glancing back to ask how I was doing.

It was Alice’s first time on a bike, but she honestly seemed to be riding better than I was—who hadn’t ridden in years.

Unlike me, whose front wheel kept wobbling side to side from sheer exhaustion, Alice was smoothly riding along without a hint of unsteadiness.

“I’m... fine.”

It wasn’t like I was out of shape. I’d trained under the Sword Saint, I knew how to wield a blade, I’d served as a soldier, and I’d even survived bullet-filled warzones and led my unit to victory.

The problem was... I’d only ever won those fights because I meticulously managed my stamina and calculated every move.

Having the strength to win a single battle was one thing—but riding a bike endlessly between two people with clearly higher stamina than me, with no time magic or optimal route planning? That was a completely different story.

“If it’s too hard, it’s okay to stop, you know? How about sitting down on that bench we just passed?”

Alice said that, glancing toward the bench we’d just cycled by.

She was totally teasing me, wasn’t she?

She was making fun of me for riding worse than someone I taught.

The smile on her face as she subtly stabbed at my pride looked way too delighted.

Wait... was she finally getting revenge for losing to me so often as a kid?

“In that case, shall we go rest together?”

“Huh? Nah, I’m actually really enjoying this. If you want to rest, go ahead. Don’t worry about me. I’ll stick close enough that I won’t leave your sight.”

In other words, she was going to keep teasing me from within visual range the whole time.

“......”

I clenched my teeth.

Maybe I couldn’t catch up to Claire, but I wanted to at least overtake Alice once.

“If you want to keep going, then go ahead.”

And as if she’d sensed my resolve, Alice smiled and replied with that line.

*

In the end, the one who collapsed was me.

It couldn’t be helped. Of the three of us, I was the least interested in physical training.

Still, seriously—after eating all those burgers earlier, how are those two not having any stomach issues? Are people from Azerna built differently on the inside from people on Earth?

...But then again, I guess my organs would be the same too. This body I’m using now isn’t even my “original” body.

“Oh dear, poor girl, you’re all worn out like that? Tsk, tsk.”

While I was sitting on a bench catching my breath, I heard a voice from above.

I lifted my head from where it had been hanging low.

An elderly woman with a kind face was speaking to me, handing me a water bottle. It was a 500ml plastic bottle.

“No... I’m all right...”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Oh come now, don’t be like that. If you exercised, you need to hydrate.”

“......”

I stared at the old woman for a moment, then finally took the bottle.

It was a fresh bottle of mineral water.

“Thank you.”

After a quick bow, I took a sip, and the old woman spoke again.

“You just reminded me of my granddaughter. She’s studying abroad right now. Are you a student studying here in Korea too?”

I swallowed the water in my mouth.

“Ah... I’m Korean.”

“Oh, really?”

Her eyes widened slightly.

Claire and Alice, who had been riding around at a distance, must’ve noticed I was talking to someone, because they soon came over.

“They’re Korean too.”

All three of us had brought our wallets just in case, so we could’ve shown ID if needed... but that didn’t seem necessary. She wasn’t a cop, just a passerby.

“Oh my, I must’ve been mistaken. I’m sorry.”

The old woman looked genuinely embarrassed.

If we were actually Korean with some mixed heritage, maybe we would’ve been annoyed. But given the truth—that the three of us were, in fact, not from this world—it wasn’t ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) something we took offense to.

Really, our IDs just appeared out of nowhere, so technically, we were deceiving people about our nationality.

“No, it’s okay. It happens a lot.”

I glanced at Claire and Alice as I said that, and the two of them smiled awkwardly. The old woman must’ve thought we were annoyed by being mistaken for foreigners, because she quickly tried to change the subject.

“Oh, are you three sisters then?”

How could she say that when we all had completely different hair colors?

Well, I guess she could assume Claire dyed hers.

“Yes! How did you know?”

Claire immediately responded.

“Aww, you all look alike! So who’s the oldest?”

That question left all three of us speechless.

Claire called me unnie, Alice claimed she was the older one, and I’d never bothered to correct her—so maybe Alice really was the eldest? But I didn’t really feel like confirming it.

“She’s the youngest, and we’re still arguing about which one of us is the oldest.”

I pointed at Claire as I said it.

She didn’t seem thrilled about being treated like Alice’s younger sister, but she also didn’t push the issue further.

“So this one’s the youngest, and the other two are twins?”

Alice chuckled at that.

“Do we look that alike?”

To her question, the old woman replied without a trace of doubt.

“You’re all the spitting image of each other. No matter where you go, people would say you’re sisters.”

Didn’t she not even recognize us at first?

But I didn’t feel the need to nitpick.

“Yeah, we get that a lot.”

Alice responded with a bright, pleased smile. Claire looked just as happy.

Sisters, huh...

Strictly speaking, I wasn’t related to either of them by blood.

That thought crossed my mind for a brief moment, but watching the two of them chatting so happily with the old woman made it clear—none of that really mattered.

If that’s how we looked to others, then that was enough.

Seeing how genuinely happy they were to be called sisters made me feel warm too.