This Novel is not my Novel

The next morning.

Before leaving my room, I took some time to talk with the baby dragon.

"Yor. Do you happen to remember everything I said while you were inside the egg?"

"Nyang!"

At my question, Yor nodded and let out a cheerful sound.

That's good.

It means I can start the conversation right away without wasting time on a long explanation.

"I'm about to go have breakfast, and I'll probably run into Ríolíkin and Tryggdrik in the cafeteria."

Usually, Tryggdrik didn't eat breakfast.

But today was both my possessed body's birthday and the day his familiar was born, wasn't it?

To see the familiar's appearance before anyone else, there was a high chance Tryggdrik would show up at the campus cafeteria early this morning.

As someone who considered himself Karvaldr's closest aide, he wouldn't be satisfied otherwise.

And Ríolíkin was the type to always eat a proper breakfast.

"Since today's morning lecture is 'Understanding and Application of Ether' and doesn't involve physical activity, I could skip breakfast."

"Kyao—!"

"Calm down. I was only mentioning it to explain why I'd go somewhere full of people I'd rather not meet." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Kyaong, kyaoong-!"

As if insisting she had never thought such a thing, Yor fumed angrily.

I quickly added an explanation along with some flattery so the baby dragon's mood wouldn't sour any further.

"I have no intention of avoiding them either. Otherwise, people might misunderstand and think I skipped breakfast because I was embarrassed to show you, even though I truly cherish you and am incredibly proud of you."

"Yaong yaong, nyaaong~."

Yor nodded with a deeply satisfied expression.

She looked as if she were saying, 'Well, obviously you should be!'

"Anyway, I have to eat lunch too, so avoiding Tryggdrik and Ríolíkin altogether is impossible. If it were possible, I would've gotten rid of them long ago. Most importantly, I can't let you starve, so I'm going to eat breakfast."

"Yaong yaong~!"

"This is the important part, and the reason I brought all this up. In front of those two, I'm going to maintain a very arrogant attitude and use a really unpleasant tone of voice."

"Nyah?"

Yor, who had been continuously nodding to show she understood me...

...tilted her head in confusion once we reached the main point.

"I'm acting especially irritable because I want to keep my distance from those two, but even aside from that, I have to maintain this body's personality. So please don't be surprised if I show you a different side of myself."

"Nyaha!"

...Was I mistaken?

It sounded like Yor just said, 'Aha!'

In any case, it seems this baby dragon properly understood what I meant.

So let's just overlook the small details.

"I also won't be able to speak to you in this kind of tone in front of other people. I'll be bossing you around and acting high-and-mighty. It might feel like I'm treating you badly, but that's not how I truly feel, so please don't get hurt. If you're too upset to let it slide, then later when we're alone, you can tell me..."

"Nyan."

"You... can't talk... can you?"

"Nyang."

That won't work if Yor just meows at me later.

Since I can't translate those sounds into human language, it would be difficult to know what I did to upset her.

"Then don't wait until later. Get angry right away. I'll do my best to calm you down on the spot. If that's not possible, then once we're back in the room, I'll apologize properly and try my best to make you feel better. I won't repeat the same behavior again."

I don't want to use my current situation as an excuse to treat Yor badly.

Although I'm asking for Yor's understanding, I have no intention of demanding unconditional acceptance from her.

In this world, Yor is the only being I can treat as my complete 'self' without having to pretend to be someone else.

Therefore, maintaining my relationship with Yor is more important than maintaining Karvaldr's personality.

"You understood everything I said, right?"

"Yaong!"

"Good. Shall we head out now?"

"Nyan nyan!"

We left the room and headed to the campus cafeteria.

Just as I expected, Ríolíkin and Tryggdrik were sitting at a table, occupying it without even ordering food yet.

"Lord Karvaldr! You can sit here!"

"......"

Tryggdrik waved his arm widely to get my attention.

Ignoring him, I turned my gaze toward Yor instead.

"Choose what you want to eat."

"Yaong."

Despite my arrogant posture with my arms crossed and my chin tilted toward the menu, all while keeping a straight face...

...thankfully, Yor didn't seem upset.

I was genuinely relieved to see her focusing on the menu without showing even the slightest hint of surprise.

"Myamya mya."

Before long, Yor's tail tapped the words 'Wild Vegetable Bibimbap.'[N1]

I ordered two portions of the same dish for myself as well and sat down.

I doubt anyone cares, but for the sake of narrative flow, Tryggdrik and Ríolíkin ordered their food while Yor was choosing from the menu.

"Lord Karvaldr, happy birthday. I wanted to buy a gift for your familiar as well, but since I couldn't know exactly what it would look like, I only prepared a gift for you, Lord Karvaldr."

Taking advantage of the moment when Ríolíkin left his seat to collect the food, Tryggdrik was the first to offer birthday congratulations and present a gift.

I had no interest in his gift to begin with.

Instead of opening the wrapping to check what was inside, I casually pushed it aside and carefully examined Tryggdrik's expression.

'Is he dumbfounded? Or is he looking down on me?'

It was obvious he was trying to control his expression, but he was terrible at it.

Tryggdrik's gaze remained fixed on Yor's eyes, and the corner of his mouth twitched repeatedly.

And whatever thoughts were [N O V E L I G H T] running through his head, he didn't even notice me carefully observing every movement of his facial muscles.

"L-Lord Karvaldr. Uh, um... h-happy birthday. I-I have a gift for you too."

Ríolíkin, who had returned with the food, placed four trays on the table.

Then, despite not being in any particular hurry, he hastily fumbled through his pocket, took out a small gift box, and handed it to me.

I placed it on top of Tryggdrik's box without opening it as well.

"Uh, um... your familiar's eye color...?"

Perhaps because he only noticed Yor's eyes after sitting down, Ríolíkin expressed his surprise belatedly.

Then he flinched and openly watched my reaction.

Unlike Tryggdrik, who at least awkwardly attempted to manage his expression, Ríolíkin didn't even seem to consider hiding his thoughts and emotions.

'But why is he only reacting now? You might not notice the eye color unless you're looking directly at them, but the appearance itself should've been obvious, shouldn't it?'

The campus cafeteria was very quiet at this hour, since many people apparently skipped breakfast to sleep a little longer.

Still, it wasn't completely empty.

Naturally, I had expected the entire place to erupt into murmurs the moment Yor and I appeared.

'But it was quiet, wasn't it...?'

Most people had already guessed there was a flaw in Karvaldr's Ether Ability.

Yet when I revealed that I couldn't use the Poison Ability, everyone present became visibly agitated.

A familiar from the Austri Family not being feline should have been an even greater shock than that.

But strangely, there had been no reaction at all.

Only after Ríolíkin mentioned Yor's eye color did people begin noticing us, and the murmuring started.

Unable to understand why, I furrowed my brow.

"Gasp...! It's h-holding a spoon and eating f-food...! E-Even though it's a cat!"

"How can he...? Ah! As expected of Lord Karvaldr's familiar! Its dignity is exceptional, just like yours, Lord Karvaldr!"

Seeing Yor hold a spoon and mix her wild vegetable bibimbap shocked Ríolíkin.

Tryggdrik looked equally surprised, but he still didn't miss the chance to flatter me.

Those who had been craning their necks to see Yor's eye color also gasped in admiration.

And I, for my part, couldn't help feeling dumbfounded.

Not for the same reason as everyone else, since I had already seen Yor eat cake with a fork.

If she could hold a Yeouiju, why wouldn't she be able to hold a fork or spoon?

I had dismissed it as completely natural.

'What did Ríolíkin just say? Even though it's a cat...? He sees Yor as a cat?!'

I turned my gaze toward my familiar, who, no matter how I looked at her, could only possibly be a dragon.

Just then, Yor, diligently eating her wild vegetable bibimbap, met my eyes and tilted her head.

Her pupils were round rather than vertically slit.

Let's say that's acceptable, since large felines active during the day, including tigers, are the same.

But she doesn't even have eyelids.

She can't blink, so she can't even give eye kisses.[N2]

'What kind of feline creature in the world looks like that?'

From head to toe, Yor didn't resemble a cat in the slightest.

Even Hárðr's familiar looked like an ordinary lion aside from its white fur and purple eyes.

So there was no way the felines in this world naturally resembled dragons.

'Could Sky Blue Ether have some kind of perception manipulation or illusion attribute? Is Yor unconsciously using her ability right now to deceive everyone's eyes?'

That hypothesis occurred to me, and I focused on the flow of Ether.

Since Yor is my familiar, I should be able to sense it if she used her Ether Ability, but I felt nothing.

Which meant my baby dragon hadn't done anything.

"What exactly is so surprising that you're all making such a fuss? My familiar's eyes are sky blue because I possess not only purple Ether but Sky Blue Ether as well. And using a spoon is nothing more than basic table manners."

"Myaaah~, myamya myat."

Could it be that Yor only appears as a dragon to me?

Even while entertaining that suspicion internally, I didn't let it show.

Maintaining a composed attitude, I scolded Ríolíkin and Tryggdrik.

If I could have done as I pleased, I would've immediately asked what Yor looked like to them, but...

'All eyes are on us right now. So I should avoid saying or doing anything that might seem strange.'

What Yor looks like to other people is something I'll naturally learn over time.

Or I could subtly ask Professor Radvisin a leading question during the special lesson I'll receive from him after class tomorrow.

Having organized my thoughts, I scooped up a neat spoonful of wild vegetable bibimbap and put it into my mouth.

'It tastes good, but... maybe because there are so many eyes on me, I feel a little nauseous.'

In the end, I barely ate anything. After confirming Yor's bowl was empty, I rose from my seat.

At least Yor finished her meal properly, which was a huge relief.