This Novel is not my Novel

'So he was keeping them around because they were useful.'

But keeping Tryggdrik around just to handle bothersome conversations was unwise, as he was a seriously flawed character. Moreover, he probably wasn't responding to the extras on my behalf with good intentions.

'He just wants to prevent Karvaldr from getting close to anyone but himself. So that only he can use this body's social status to deceive and manipulate others for his own benefit. Or he plans to take a cut by hinting that if you want to get close to Karvaldr, you have to offer something.'

It seems I should cut ties with him soon, but for now, I'll just have to watch. If I listen carefully to the conversations Tryggdrik has with the extras, I'll be able to find out what the Academy students think about me. There are things I've read in the original, and as a web novel author and reader, I have a rough idea. Still, wouldn't it be better to verify things to be sure?

"But Young Master hasn't said a word for a while."

"Lord Karvaldr is in a bad mood right now, so don't talk to him."

"Oh my, why?"

"It seems he couldn't sleep due to insomnia."

"Did something bad happen to the Austri Ducal Family that he can't sleep comfortably? I haven't heard any such rumors."

"It must be for personal reasons. I haven't heard the details either."

The extras weren't listed in the directory of names and most likely wouldn't even be mentioned in the original story. They conversed with Tryggdrik while glancing at the body I possessed.

As I sipped the water with floating ice and observed their faces, some seemed to have no particular thoughts about me. But a few had a slight sneer on their faces, as if saying, 'Ah, I get it.'

'Of course, there's no way they would have figured out the truth. In the first place, I don't even have insomnia.'

The students gathered at this table had come to strike up a conversation with Karvaldr, so they would have been very interested in the possessed body's academy life. Naturally, they would have known that the student he had been bullying last semester had been suspended. They also knew that the Austri Ducal Family's pressure had played a part in the process.

'In that case, they might have jumped to the conclusion that Karvaldr was scolded by his father for that incident and suffered mentally throughout the vacation, developing insomnia as a result.'

Even though Hárðr hadn't said a single word about it.

What Karvaldr did last semester was something any father with a sound mind would have severely reprimanded him for. But even this is just speculation. Just as they jumped to the wrong conclusion about the cause of my non-existent insomnia and sneered, I was also piecing things together based on the circumstances. There's no guarantee that they actually thought that.

'But anyway, the important thing isn't how they interpreted the insomnia, is it? It's the expressions they couldn't completely hide and unconsciously revealed. And the emotions I sensed from them—that's what's important.'

Whether they knew I was analyzing their words and actions or not, Tryggdrik and the extras conversed among themselves. Meanwhile, Ríolíkin sat silently with his body hunched over. The expression 'huddled up' couldn't have been more appropriate.

—Ding, dong, ding-!

The bell chimed, announcing the top of the hour. According to the Semester Start Party schedule, the faculty would now enter, followed by a speech from the academy head.

The orchestra's music, which had been playing as BGM, stopped. The students, who had been freely chatting and catching up with friends they hadn't seen in a while, stopped their conversations and turned their gazes toward the central hall entrance.

Tryggdrik and the extras were no exception.

And when everyone's attention was focused, the waiters who had been on standby in front of the door unrolled the red carpet, creating a path that led to the center of the hall. At the end of that path stood a microphone, an artifact created using Ether Engineering.

Finally, the faculty appeared through the wide-open doors, including the Academy Head. They were all faces I had seen in the portraits from the directory of names. Once I confirmed that, I lost interest in them.

The head of the academy stood before the microphone and began speaking, but I judged it wasn't something I needed to listen to carefully. In fact, I'm sure that not just me but every student here shares the same opinion. They're probably all spacing out, thinking, 'I hope the speech ends soon so we can start having fun in earnest.'

But I decided not to waste this time and instead use it for productive thinking.

'Judging by the attitudes Tryggdrik and the extras were subtly showing, it seems they think Karvaldr is useful but also look down on him, doesn't it?'

Since the color of one's Ether is revealed in their eyes, the fact that the possessed body didn't fully inherit the family's abilities is no secret. Therefore, anyone can guess that Karvaldr's position within the family remains ambiguous.

'But it's just a guess, not a proven fact. A proper parent would embrace their child even with shortcomings.'

The people working at the Austri Ducal Castle do not speak carelessly about their master, Duke Hárðr's attitude. This isn't just due to loyalty or a strong work ethic. If they were caught talking about their master, they would not only be fired from their current job, but no one else would hire them.

So for their own future, they have no choice.

Therefore, it was very natural that many students approached Karvaldr. Although it's unclear what kind of treatment he receives within the family, the fact remains that he is the son of a ducal family.

Even if they sneer at him behind his back, calling him a half-baked young master, in front of him they act respectfully, thinking, 'If I get close to him, I might get something out of it.'

'Even if Karvaldr is later cast out of the family, they can just pretend not to know him then, so they must have judged that there's nothing to lose by getting close to him for now.'

The original Karvaldr would have surely noticed this as well, yet he pretended not to know until now. He knows that getting excited and angry would only make a fool of himself. It would be tantamount to admitting that he not only cares about the Ether Defect revealed through his eyes, but also considers it a complex.

'In the end, he couldn't hold it in in the original story and ended up revealing his inferiority complex to the whole world by whipping someone in the dormitory lobby.'

I had a rough idea of how Karvaldr would be treated among the academy students, so I was prepared for it. I expected that there would naturally be people like the extras and Tryggdrik sitting around this table, who looked down on Karvaldr and tried to use him.

'Even though I'm in this body, I'm not the real Karvaldr. Whether others look down on this body or not, those gazes aren't directed at me. It would be weirder to feel intimidated or get genuinely angry.'

And it's not like they can gang up on me, who has possessed Karvaldr's body, and bully me, right? They can only go as far as badmouthing me behind my back. That's nothing. Really, it's nothing.

'And not all the students at Valhalla Academy would treat Karvaldr with the same attitude as these guys.'

There would be far more students who avoid him, considering him a ruffian who bullies others by brandishing his family authority. For those in different grades who are not up to date with rumors, they might not even know that Karvaldr bullied Reisir.

The senior I met at the library is living proof of that. She confirmed the name Karvaldr through my student ID and even witnessed the scene where Reisir was yelling at me. Yet that Library Club member didn't show any particular emotion toward me and treated me normally.

'And in possession novels, it's a bestselling cliché for the people around the possessed target to have a low opinion of them and treat them poorly.'

Not all of them, but most possession novels feature protagonists who possess a ruffian or an insignificant extra character. Why would so many authors have their precious protagonist possess such a body?

The less that was expected of the original, the greater the readers' expectations become for the protagonist who possessed that body. This is because the difference before and after possession is so stark.

In possession novels, the original owner of the body being looked down upon is merely build-up. The surrounding evaluation, which was close to contempt, will be overturned and transformed into praise. The talent that was the epitome of incompetence will bloom brilliantly, and they will be reborn as a coveted individual. As if they were never hated by anyone, everyone will eventually come to love them.

'I have no interest in any of that, and I just want to live a quiet life in a safe place, reading and writing the things I like. I couldn't ask for more...'

Anyway, to summarize my conclusion, it's perfectly natural that a ruffian like Karvaldr was chosen as the possessed body, and there's no reason for me to care about the opinions of those who knew the original owner.

Because no matter how I act, people's perceptions and evaluations of me will inevitably change.

'Still, since I'm not a reader who can just sit or lie down and read words, but have to roll around myself, I should worry a bit about the future. But I'll definitely be fine. So let's not run away. And let's not be scared.'

Just as I had finished understanding the public opinion about me within the Academy and sorted out my feelings, a shower of applause poured down, filling the central hall.

It wasn't that they had noticed my resolution and were sending me praise and support. It was simply that the boring speech of the academy head was over, and the students, excited to finally enjoy the party, were clapping and rejoicing.

The head of the academy and the faculty, who had been standing in the center of the hall, moved to the side, and the microphone stand was also removed.

The members of the orchestra, who had been sitting still, picked up their instruments and began to play a lively dance tune. Then the students, dressed in dresses and tuxedos and holding each other's hands, confidently came out to the center of the hall as if they had been waiting.

On the other hand, people could be seen shyly asking for a dance here and there.

'Attendance has been taken and the head's speech is over, so now I just need to slip out at the right time...'

The problem is deciding when and how to make that appropriate exit. Should I just get up right now? The original Karvaldr wasn't a sociable person, and since he has a reputation for acting as he pleases based solely on his family's name, I think everyone would just assume it's normal.

After that short deliberation, just as I was about to put down the glass with only ice left in it and get up from my seat—

"Are you going to ask your fiancée for a dance in person, not just telling her to come over?"

Tryggdrik looked at me with a puzzled expression and spouted strange words.