This Novel is not my Novel

Since the result had already been decided, there was no reason to keep the opponent pinned down.

Thus, I quietly removed the foot pressing on the extra's shoulder, but the person lying prone on the floor showed no intention of getting up at all.

"It's all ruined... I wanted to win this match brilliantly and confess to her with a majestic appearance..."

Looking down at the extra, who seemed not only discouraged but genuinely frustrated, I felt apologetic for some reason.

No matter what, was stepping on someone right before a confession a bit too much? Was it too humiliating?

So I slightly turned my head so my face wouldn't be visible from the seats where the original characters were sitting.

While unwrapping the whip from the blade, I dropped a few words.

"If she also has feelings for you, she'll accept your confession regardless of the match result."

"......!!"

The extra abruptly lifted his head with a startled expression.

I had even turned my head on purpose so Reisir wouldn't notice the fact that I had spoken.

It would be troublesome if the opponent tried to continue the conversation, so I roughly tossed his sword aside and stepped down from the stage.

I felt slightly dizzy from the aftereffects of the Thought Acceleration Skill, but I couldn't show it.

Since I hadn't allowed the extra to land a single attack, I wasn't injured either.

Therefore, instead of receiving treatment from a healer, I immediately headed back to my seat.

On the way, I ran into Reisir.

"Karvaldr! You fought way better than I expected?! Honestly, I thought that even if you won, it would be a close match, you know? But you never lost the initiative throughout the entire fight! Really amazing!"

"It wasn't exactly... at a level that could be called amazing, was it...?"

Except for the end, the one who initiated attacks first was the opponent.

I only responded.

So saying that I never lost the initiative was incorrect.

And considering Reisir's skill level, mine was never at a level that could be called amazing.

"No, it was amazing! Especially your reaction speed and instantaneous judgment stood out a lot!"

"That is..., um..."

Since I couldn't talk about the Thought Acceleration Skill, there were no words I could use to refute him.

So when I fell silent, Reisir apparently took it as acceptance of the praise and smiled happily.

"...Stop saying useless things and hurry up and get on the stage."

"No words of encouragement?"

"None."

"Then you'll praise me when I finish the match and come back? Okay, thanks! I'll look forward to it!"

"What...? When did I ever say that..."

It was so absurd that I hurriedly tried to argue.

But—

The protagonist of someone else's novel didn't even listen to my words and strode toward the stage.

Since I couldn't chase after him, grab him, and continue the conversation, I had no choice but to return to my seat.

"Nya nya nyang, nya-a~♪"

As expected, the first one to welcome me back was my lovely baby dragon.

How cute she looked, shaking the whiteboard with 「 Congrats☆ Round of 16 Advancement 」 written on it.

I'm only sorry that all I can show the readers is print.

An impulse came over me to hug Yor and rub my cheek against her body covered in smooth scales, conveying how truly grateful I was.

But I tightly held on to my reason and put the coat I had taken off back on.

As I did so, the two people remaining in the seats offered praise I had never even asked for.

"It w, was cool...! Uh, incredibly elegant, excellent..., and i, it overflowed with composure too! A, anyway, that..., it was amazing...!!"

The first to speak was Ríolíkin.

Like someone who had said he would prepare compliments in advance, there was no real substance in what he said.

"To win so easily against someone possessing an attack-type Ether Attribute Ability while only enhancing your physical abilities with buffs...! I think Kar really has outstanding combat sense!"

The reason I was able to win this match was because of the Thought Acceleration Skill.

And the reason I could utilize it effectively was because the buff skills increased not only my physical abilities but also my mental power.

Therefore, Vigdís's words were wrong.

Accepting only Yor's congratulations and rejecting everyone else's praise like this would not cause emotional agitation.

Therefore, I was able to take my seat while maintaining a composed expression, but...

'Still, if I don't react at all, wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing for the people who praised me...? But according to my character settings, I absolutely can't say thank you.'

At times like this, making a "Hmph!" sound and moving on was the safest option.

Acting on that thought, I lightly stroked the ruff growing along Yor's spine.

My heart wanted to hug my baby dragon like before, but—

'When Reisir returns, I can't risk creating the misunderstanding that I deliberately left the seat beside me empty.'

Besides, I have to eat soon, and I can't exactly eat while wrapping a baby dragon around my body, can I?

There would also be several difficulties for Yor to eat in that position.

So even though it was regrettable, I had to seat(?) Yor in the seat next to me.

"It's already the last match of the First-Year Tournament! The previous matches were excellent as well, but what kind of battle will these students show us?! Isn't it truly exciting??"

The host's voice, notable for its exaggerated tone, echoed loudly through the Ether speakers installed everywhere.

Listening to the audience responding with a loud "Yes~!", the contents of the original work suddenly came to mind.

In the original story, Reisir was still suffering from bullying during this period.

As a result, he had been hindered by Karvaldr and arrived late at the stadium.

However, since he had been assigned the final match just like now, he had barely avoided losing by default due to tardiness.

And in the original work, when Reisir had just arrived at the stadium, the host had made a remark.

As far as I remembered, it was roughly similar to what the host had just said.

No, rather than similar, it was probably exactly the same.

There was no reason for it to change.

The audience responded to the host's words.

Then came a description of the original protagonist seeing the bracket, feeling relieved, and hurrying onto the stage.

Still, the subsequent development was somewhat different from the original novel.

Because the current Reisir was already standing on the stage.

Instead of searching for a participant who hadn't appeared and counting down toward disqualification, the host immediately announced the start of the match.

As I recall, Reisir didn't use his Ether Attribute Ability in Round 1.

It wasn't because, like Nidr, he wanted to show off his skill by winning solely through the weapon techniques he had honed.

He simply didn't feel the need to use it.

But now...

—Kwa-gwang!

The moment the match began, Reisir struck a lightning bolt at his opponent's feet.

Naturally, the opponent was startled and scrambled backward.

It must have been a reflexive reaction.

Therefore, immediately realizing that widening the distance was a mistake, he was soon seen rushing toward Reisir.

In the original work, Reisir's Round 1 opponent was a student born with an Acceleration Ability among the physical-enhancement attributes.

Perhaps that hadn't changed even now, as the opponent's movements were very fast.

But no matter what, he couldn't be faster than lightning.

As Reisir leisurely extended his palm forward, a small bolt of lightning shot from its center and struck the opponent directly.

Since this was only a tournament, he had certainly lowered the output on purpose.

Even so, it was enough to paralyze the body of an ordinary person.

'...Isn't that ridiculous? How are you supposed to beat something like that?'

Although the original work had mentioned several times that the Lightning Ability was absurdly powerful, it had never really sunk in.

The beings Reisir mainly dealt with were monsters, and they possessed some degree of resistance to various elemental attacks, including lightning.

And most human villains possessed skills or methods capable of countering the Lightning Ability.

As a close example, Karvaldr possessed a human shield called Ríolíkin.

'So I never realized the Lightning Ability was this much of a cheat ability...'

Even if the opponent was merely a first-year Academy student.

Just by standing still and making a few hand gestures.

Witnessing him immobilize the opponent without exerting any effort at all left me speechless.

If even I, watching from afar, had that impression, then how much worse must it have been for the opponent who had only been lightly electrocuted once?

Raising a trembling hand while the paralysis had not fully worn off, the opponent appeared to say something to the host.

Although I couldn't hear the extra's voice, it wasn't difficult to guess what he was saying.

'Since it seems he'll just keep getting electrocuted if he continues the match, he must have decided to withdraw.'

As expected, the host declared Reisir's victory.

It was a natural outcome.

But Reisir himself wore an awkward expression, as if he hadn't expected this result.

"Withdrawals were surprisingly common in the martial arts tournament...?"

"Th, that's what I'm s, saying. Those g, gutless guys... If they were going to w, withdraw, why did they e, even enter the competition..."

As Vigdís expressed that she couldn't understand those who withdrew, considering she had fought to the end without giving up even when she knew her opponent was overwhelmingly stronger.

Ríolíkin, who was in a position where he couldn't withdraw even if he wanted to, showed a reaction that made it hard to tell whether he was angry or envious.

Still, the two offered sincere praise to Reisir when he returned to his seat.

"Reisir's Ether Attribute Ability was lightning! Combined with high-level spear techniques and a fast and powerful Lightning Attribute... It's no wonder you're confident of winning."

"I c, can sympathize too...! Not only your s, spear techniques, but your attribute is th, that strong too..."

The atmosphere was quite different from when I had returned after advancing through the preliminary round with forfeits.

Back then, I had heard things like winning without fighting is the best.

What meaning does that even have in a competition that compares skill rather than warfare?

For some reason, I felt sulky, but if I showed it, it was obvious that the protagonist of someone else's novel would tease me by asking whether I was sulking at him.

Thus, trying hard to maintain my usual attitude, I asked the following question.

"Why did you go out of your way to use your Ether Attribute Ability?"

"I know what your Ether Attribute Ability is. So shouldn't you also know mine, so we can have a fair match in Round 2?"

Reisir said it in a tone suggesting the answer was obvious and grinned.

However, since I already knew his ability very well, I wasn't particularly grateful.

I also wondered whether a fair match could truly exist when the gap in skill was so extreme in the first place.

Therefore, I had no intention of revealing the Thought Acceleration Skill in pursuit of the fairness Reisir spoke of.

Even while hiding it, I was already overwhelmingly disadvantaged, so why would I tell him?

Thinking that, I was just about to turn my head and end the conversation with a "Hmph!"

When—

"By the way, Karvaldr, when are you going to praise me?"

...I thought I could quietly move on without doing that.

As expected, Reisir was a tenacious and persistent person.

"Come on! Hurry up and praise me!"

"...Didn't you already hear enough from Vigdís and Ríolíkin?"

"Praise from you is different from theirs."

That was true.

With words, even if the content is the same, the value and meaning inevitably change depending on whose mouth they come from.

Praise, as a type of word, would be no different.

"As Vigdís said, lightning is a fast and powerful ability, so it won't be easy to deal with."

"Can't you say something like you did for the other kids? Something I can immediately recognize as praise the moment I hear it? Not some ambiguous statement that makes me wonder whether you're praising me or just being cautious."

"Fine. You're truly great. Are you satisfied now?"

"It sounds completely sarcastic, but I'll let it pass for today!"

"......"

'For today' means he intends to get praise from me every time he finishes a match in the future, right?

Do I need to prepare compliments in advance too, like Ríolíkin did?