This Novel is not my Novel

Immediately after arriving at my dormitory room, I sat down at my desk and took out the novel and writing implement I had borrowed from the library.

From now on, I planned to do a careful reread of How a Repentant Villain Saves the World—or HVRW for short—and copy down any foreshadowing or important settings into notebooks.

Why was I doing this?

The answer was simple.

Because I had completely neglected HVRW for more than half a year, the contents had become hazy in my memory.

The reason that suddenly became a problem was that I had decided to continue writing the novel.

I wonder if the Readers (polite) are thinking, "With Demon Realms appearing all over the world and crises capable of striking at any moment, in a situation where even spending all day training for combat isn't enough, what exactly are you doing?"

In case any Readers (polite) felt dissatisfied, I should explain properly.

Continuing my writing was also a form of training that helped in combat.

【Character Analysis】.

As the name implied, this skill was an ability that activated when analyzing a "character."

Not a person.

Which meant I didn't necessarily need to observe living people and painstakingly infer their thoughts.

Analyzing fictional characters is enough... no, this is probably the intended use of the 【Character Analysis】 skill.

By presenting a specific incident, imagining how characters would think and act, and then writing it down, I could raise the skill's proficiency.

Skill growth and a hobby. When a revolutionary training method that kills two birds with one stone is sitting right in front of me, why wouldn't I use it?

Moreover, if I made proper use of this skill, the time required for writing would decrease dramatically.

Coursework.

Personal training.

Writing.

Balancing all three would no longer be impossible.

In that sense, for me—the Author—there could hardly be a more useful skill.

In fact, since 【Character Analysis】 existed as a support skill for 【Writing】, I suspected I had been using it incorrectly all this time.

No wonder my brain felt more strained whenever I tried slowing my thought speed down for combat purposes instead of leaving it at maximum output.

Apparently that wasn't the skill's intended usage.

But what can I do? I personally experienced during the Martial Arts Tournament just how useful the Thought Acceleration function of 【Character Analysis】 is in combat.

I couldn't give up such a convenient trick anymore.

That was why I intended to continue steadily practicing control over my thought speed.

When writing with 【Character Analysis】 activated, it would probably be most effective to place a stopwatch in front of me and train while measuring my time.

At the very least, that's the immediate benefit I can gain from continuing to write HVRW...

Even taking into account the future activation of 【Writing】, I concluded that I needed to keep writing consistently.

It was a G-rank skill that had never even been mentioned in the original work.

But if I lost my writing sense and became incapable of properly using such a high-grade skill, nothing could be more absurd.

And above all—

The inclination displayed in my Status Window was "Author."

Not only 【Character Analysis】 and 【Writing】, but also 【Encouragement】 were derived skills born from that inclination.

Does that mean... if I stop being an Author, those skills could disappear or become unusable?

Ordinarily, an inclination recognized by the Status Window was an innate nature that almost never changed, so there would be no need for concern.

But where in this world could there possibly be someone who had been born an Author?

The moment I completely abandoned my pen, I would cease being an Author and become someone who used to be an Author.

Therefore, I reached the conclusion that if I wanted to maintain my inclination, I must never stop creating.

For reference, the reason I kept referring to Yor as my Baby Dragon was similar.

Possessiveness isn't originally my inclination. It's more like a remnant left behind by the original owner of this body.

And if that remnant vanished, I would lose access to the derived skill born from it—【Encouragement】.

That was why I consciously reminded myself that Yor was "a being in my possession."

Originally, possessiveness was a universal human emotion.

Perhaps I didn't actually need to make such an effort.

Maybe I simply hadn't realized it yet.

I might not be on Karvaldr's level, but perhaps I too possessed strong feelings of ownership.

I don't think I'm materialistic, but when it comes to living beings rather than objects, I can't be sure. After all, I was always alone...

Still, I couldn't afford to act carelessly based on uncertain assumptions.

For now, 【Encouragement】 might only be a B-rank skill, but its growth potential remained open.

Keyword stacking was possible.

Skill enhancement through 【Encouragement】 was possible.

It was simply too valuable a skill to lose.

I think that's enough consideration regarding skills and inclinations. It doubles as an explanation for the Readers (polite), too...

It was finally time to open the book.

I placed my hand on the front cover, closed my eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath.

Beyond this hard cover lay nothing more than ink etched onto thin sheets of paper.

And yet—

Because the possibility was extraordinarily high that an actual world existed beyond those printed words...

It felt less like reading a book and more like waiting for a reunion with people I missed.

My excitement and nervousness were so intense that my heart wouldn't stop pounding.

"I'm reminded of a promise I made in the past..."

"Myaong?"

"That if I ever found some room to breathe, I would continue writing this novel. The world I created. The characters who live within it. And the protagonist who stands at the center of that world and serves as the focal point of all those characters..."

I slowly opened my eyes and voiced aloud the thoughts that had existed only in my heart back in Chapter 119.

By doing so, I shared a determination I had kept to myself with my wise confidant.

"I have to lead all of them to a happy ending."

"Yaong!!"

"Isn't it fortunate? That I don't have to leave them frozen in place, waiting for a long time?"

"Yaong!"

And that wasn't the only fortunate thing.

For a novel to become a complete story rather than merely a collection of printed text, there needed to be someone who read it and brought it to life through interpretation.

In other words, a Reader absolutely had to exist.

There was a reason readers were often called co-creators of a novel.

With web novels, this characteristic became even more pronounced.

Through comments, readers delivered their reactions and impressions to the author in real time.

However, as all of you reading this narration already know—

In this world, which exists inside someone else's novel, I currently have only one Reader (polite).

Even if I asked Yor to become a reader as well, that would merely raise the total to two.

It was a genuinely regrettable situation.

You are also my Readers (polite).

The people who read my novel in the world I originally lived in are also my Readers (polite).

But none of you can read °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the sequel to How a Repentant Villain Saves the World that I intend to write and show me your reactions.

As a transmigrator, seeing the original protagonist still remaining at the Academy stirred complicated emotions...

But speaking purely as an author— 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

I was simply grateful and fortunate that my Reader (polite), who existed in the same world as me, had not left the Academy.

Of course, even so, I had absolutely no intention of telling Reisir that I was Star Author.

Once I accumulate enough material for a volume, I'll have it bound and quietly place it in the library.

The cover design was a bit of a concern, but there was no need to think about that yet.

Writing the novel came first.

I took another deep breath to settle my mind and turned the page.

And so, while reading Volume 1 of How a Repentant Villain Saves the World—

I organized character settings, worldbuilding details, and foreshadowing into three separate notebooks.

Meanwhile, Yor sat beside me, tapping away at a typewriter as she transcribed the contents of Volume 2.

The typewriter was something I had purchased after deciding to resume writing, and having my Baby Dragon handle the transcription was a task I had personally assigned to her.

Simply recording important details in notebooks wasn't enough.

This was only preparation to prevent setting inconsistencies and ensure I wouldn't forget details that absolutely needed to be written later.

When you're writing, there are surprisingly many occasions when you need to reference previous dialogue or narration. I can't exactly borrow the earlier volume from the library every single time.

For a long while, the room was filled only with the sound of turning pages, the scratch of a pen across paper, and the rhythmic clatter of typewriter keys.

Then—

At some point—

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A loud sound abruptly shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

The Ether Alarm Clock I had set for 6:50 PM had gone off.

I immediately stopped what I was doing, cleaned up my desk, and straightened my clothes in front of the mirror.

Yor also finished tidying up, storing both the typewriter and the novel inside her Yeouiju.

Knock. Knock.

The knocking came just as the clock's hand pointed to 6:57 PM.

He had arrived before the appointed time, but not excessively early.

When I opened the door, my Reader (polite) stood there wearing a bright smile.

"Karvaldr! Listen, I have some really good news!"

"Did your guardian refuse the professorship and decline to meet me?"

"That's not it."

I had expected as much, but hearing the denial was still deeply disappointing.

Suppressing my dejected expression, I stepped out into the hallway and locked the door behind me.

Meanwhile, Reisir delivered his "good news."

"Actually, Heli was at the Academy too. So she's joining us for dinner, and I recruited her!"

"Recruited?"

"It means that if Lord Djúpr has any misunderstandings about you, Heli agreed to take your side and help clear them up."

The protagonist of someone else's novel seemed to have omitted a very important word.

This wasn't good news.

It was irrelevant news.

"Why do you look so reluctant?"

"It's nothing."

Rather than explain the subtle change in my facial expression, I turned around and began walking with long strides.

Reisir quickly caught up and walked beside me, chattering endlessly about Djúpr.

That his guardian still viewed both him and Helga as children.

That his protective instincts always came first, making him worry excessively.

That even if Djúpr remained wary of me, I shouldn't take it personally.

And that he hoped the two of us could see each other as good people and build a positive relationship.

He probably gave Djúpr a similar speech as well.

The effort he put into it was genuinely admirable.

In truth, even if Djúpr thought poorly of me, I didn't care.

More accurately, I considered it understandable and could accept it at any time.

And most importantly—

I had no desire whatsoever to increase the number of original characters wandering around in my immediate surroundings.