This Novel is not my Novel

The time I'd arranged with Vigdís was 8 AM, but I arrived at the public training grounds thirty minutes early. My plan was to warm up before the actual training began.

The training grounds were very quiet, perhaps because it was early morning on a Sunday and everyone was still asleep. I could count the students using them on one hand.

One of those few students was Vigdís.

'She arrived right on time yesterday, but today she's out early.'

Vigdís was already swinging a practice sword, apparently having finished her warm-up. She was so focused that she didn't seem to notice my arrival.

Instead of approaching her to start a conversation, I found a spot a reasonable distance away and began stretching.

After all, there were still thirty minutes left until our scheduled time.

And because of Clause 4 of the broken engagement contract we made yesterday, I couldn't speak to her first.

"Ah...! Kar, when did you get here?"

Twenty minutes after my arrival, Vigdís finally noticed me and asked the question.

When I told her, Vigdís looked embarrassed.

"You should have called out to me when you arrived..."

"We agreed that I wouldn't be the first to speak to you, did we not?"

"Ah... so you're really going to stick to that."

"Of course. Did you not warn me with your own mouth that if I wanted to win your love, it would be best to do so?"

"...What?"

Anyone who had heard the conversation Vigdís and I had yesterday would know.

Vigdís never made such a threat.

The reason I told this lie was because, though few in number, there were listening ears around us.

"What kind of reaction is that? You said you'd meet me once a week if I followed that rule... Don't tell me you've already changed your mind?"

"......"

I've often used the expression 'to curse with one's eyes' when writing novels, but today I witnessed it in person for the first time.

Vigdís not only glared at me like that, but...

...she strode up to me with an irritated expression and spoke in a low voice, as if arguing.

"Didn't we agree not to spread strange rumors...? Since we can show we're meeting regularly while you teach me swordsmanship..."

"If I can't speak to you first without reason, wouldn't people think it's strange? Endure it. This is the best way to make it believable."

"That's why I said Clause 4 wasn't necessary."

"But didn't you ultimately acknowledge the necessity of that clause?"

"......"

I lowered my voice as much as possible as I answered.

Since Vigdís couldn't bring herself to refute my words and merely shut her mouth, I had won this argument.

But there was no time to bask in the joy of victory.

The gazes around us were beginning to gather.

"How long are you planning to cling to me like this? Get off."

"Um... shouldn't you avoid glaring at me with such an irritated expression...?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Considering that plausibility you mentioned, shouldn't you be pretending to like me...? So even if a tender look is impossible, I think you should at least smooth out your scowl and try to smile..."

It seemed my warning, delivered while enduring intense embarrassment, had been pointless.

Seeing how she could say something like this, Vigdís seemed to have forgotten that she was supposed to be wary of me.

Judging by her expression and tone, she wasn't completely at ease, but her discomfort seemed to stem more from finding it awkward to deal with me than from genuine fear.

"I can't act."

A lie.

I haven't gone a single day without acting since I possessed this body.

Except when I'm alone or with only Yor, I am always playing the role of 'Karvaldr.'

So far, no one has suspected that I am anyone other than Karvaldr.

...I can confidently say I'm doing a good job.

"Then what was that thing you said earlier? About me having... issued a warning..."

"That's lying, not acting. The two are separate."

But to me, the two were practically the same thing, so this could also be considered a lie.

Well, well.

I don't know whether to be happy about discovering a talent for acting I never knew I had, or to lament how accustomed I've become to deceiving others.

"Sigh... anyway, have you eaten?"

Vigdís sighed with a resigned expression.

Then she stepped back and spoke in her usual tone.

Since we met to train in swordsmanship, she might genuinely be asking whether I had eaten, but it was probably just common courtesy. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Is it because 《NaSE》 is a Korean web novel?

This world also uses 'Have you eaten?' as a basic greeting.

Anyway, I had stopped by the campus cafeteria to eat breakfast before coming here, so I gave a light nod in confirmation.

To be polite, I should have asked her the same question, but...

...since the owner of the body I possessed wasn't a particularly well-mannered person, I asked something else instead.

"More importantly, is it safe to assume the conversation can continue during training?"

"Yes...?"

"I'm asking whether it's okay to speak immediately if I have a question or something I want to say during training."

"Ah..., yes... please speak up right away."

Vigdís answered reluctantly.

I'm the one under the restriction of not being able to speak first, so I don't understand why she's making a face like she's been dragged into something troublesome.

"Then let's start training. First, I need to assess your skill level, so I'll check your basic movements."

As soon as Vigdís finished speaking...

...I drew the practice sword from its scabbard while glancing at the clock tower near the public training grounds.

The minute hand had passed twelve and was moving toward one.

'So Vigdís spoke to me around 7:50... meaning we've spent nearly ten minutes chatting?'

It seems Vigdís wasn't the only one who had let her guard down.

I need to pull myself together too.

With that thought, I began performing the basic movements I had learned in introductory swordsmanship class.

"Uh..., I mean... Kar, it's only been three weeks since you started learning swordsmanship, and you haven't practiced every day, so... hmm... yes. This much is..."

Vigdís rambled awkwardly, but the meaning behind her words was simple.

'You're terrible at this.'

That was probably what she wanted to say.

Even I could feel how clumsy my movements were, so how awful must they have looked through Vigdís's eyes?

No wonder she couldn't even bring herself to offer empty praise and ended her sentence awkwardly instead.

But.

"Kar, when you do a downward slash, you have to tense your muscles here and there and go 'whoosh and thwack!' Not 'whiish,' but 'whoosh and thwack!'"

No matter how I think about it, Vigdís's ability to explain things seems far worse than my swordsmanship skills.

Come to think of it, creative works often portray geniuses as having no talent for teaching others.

And for some reason, in those cases, they always use bizarre onomatopoeia, which was exactly what Vigdís was doing now.

'She speaks perfectly fine during normal conversation, so why does her linguistic ability deteriorate this badly when explaining movements? With what confidence did she offer to teach me swordsmanship...?'

I really feel like I've been scammed.

If I had known she was this bad at teaching, I never would have accepted Vigdís's offer to instruct me in swordsmanship.

No, I wouldn't even have considered learning from her in the first place.

"And during a diagonal slash, it's important to go 'wham!' then 'thump-thump,' and 'shhh-aaaak-!'"

I wonder if I should just tell her right now that I'm quitting swordsmanship lessons.

But since I've already told people I'd be meeting Vigdís regularly, I can't exactly take it back now.

'Should I just settle for observing Vigdís practice swordsmanship and analyzing her movements as a swordsman...? I wasn't planning to seriously learn the sword anyway...'

Still, it's a shame.

If Vigdís's explanatory ability is really this poor, then even if she notices flaws in my movements during sparring, she won't be able to explain them properly, will she?

"What exactly is the problem?"

"So, Kar, you..."

"No, not me. You. You're the one with the problem, Vigdís."

"What?"

Leaning on the practice sword like a cane, I thought about why Vigdís was incapable of properly explaining swordsmanship movements.

And I found the answer in her upbringing.

"Come to think of it, you didn't learn much at home, did you? I heard that aside from embroidery, flower arranging, and social dancing, you were only taught very basic general knowledge."

To be precise, I didn't 'hear' it. I 'read' it.

It was briefly mentioned in the original novel, and the information was also written in the character directory.

So in short, Vigdís's poor explanatory ability stemmed from a lack of knowledge.

"Wh-why are you suddenly bringing that up...?"

"I hope you'll read books whenever you have time to improve your vocabulary. No, before that, study anatomy and memorize the names, locations, and functions of muscles. That would greatly improve your swordsmanship as well."

"Could it be... that I'm not very good at explaining things?"

"To ask that, are you perhaps lacking a conscience?"

"......"

At least until Vigdís thoroughly studies anatomy, learning swordsmanship from her seems like a distant dream.

But since there was still plenty of time left in the morning, today I would have to spend it carefully observing Vigdís's basic movements and engraving them into my mind.

Just as I was making that plan,

"Karvaldr, hello! How have you been?"

Someone called out to me from behind.

It was a somewhat awkward tone tinged with familiarity, a voice I hadn't heard often yet already found strangely familiar.

Without even turning around, I knew who it was.

After the 'Lobby Backbiting Event,' we did briefly run into each other during Friday's martial arts class, but since he passed by without acknowledging me, I thought he had finally lost interest in me.

For a moment, I considered ignoring him and pretending not to hear.

But the thought quickly faded.

Because I know the persistence of the original protagonist.

He would definitely keep calling me until I responded.

Yes, I knew there was a high probability I would run into Reisir here.

That's why I also brought the personal training grounds key that still hadn't found its owner, though I don't know whether I'll be able to give it to him.

This was something I had anticipated.

So it's not as though I was unprepared, but I don't know why I feel so nervous.

I deliberately arranged my face into an expression of boredom before turning around to answer.

"I don't think we're close enough to ask after each other's well-being, are we?"