This Novel is not my Novel

"A-are you okay...? P-please have some water...!"

As soon as I sat down in the seat the employee guided us to, Ríolíkin offered me a cup of cold water.

Is he really worried about me? Or is he just humoring me to get on my good side?

His true intentions were doubtful, but since there was no particular reason to refuse, I meekly accepted the cup and drank the water.

'Helga also has a worried expression, but... considering her setting as a demure character who pretends innocence and the fact that she dislikes Karvaldr, it must be an act, right?'

Yor, leaving her perfectly fine hands idle, nudged my arm with the horn on her head, and when our gazes met, she meowed cutely.

She must have noticed that I didn't actually get motion sickness, but that it was a mood problem.

And in Reisir's case...

"Did something worrisome come to mind?"

As expected of a protagonist.

Unlike Yor, he didn't even know my circumstances, yet he sharply approached the correct answer.

'The atmosphere is a bit... burdensome...?'

I couldn't tell whether Ríolíkin and Helga were sincere or not, but either way, they were gauging my mood.

The remaining members were clearly worried about me.

Everyone must have come out to have fun with happy hearts, but seeing them care about me made me feel guilty.

"That's not it. Didn't I say I just got motion sickness because the carriage ride was rough?"

"But you were fine when we went to save Helga last time, weren't you? It's the same carriage we rode then and today."

"...Actually, I slept badly last night. Because of that, I wasn't in good condition, so I got motion sickness."

It's a lie, though.

As if asking whether he was satisfied after forcing the answer out of me, I put on a grumpy expression and glared at Reisir.

If I say this, there's only one reaction Reisir will show.

Obviously, he'll tease me by saying something like, "Were you looking forward to playing with us so much that you couldn't sleep?"

Since I'm the reason the atmosphere sank.

I said I slept badly, prepared to make myself the laughingstock in order to lift the mood again.

But because the others spoke first and made unexpected remarks, the spirit of self sacrifice I had displayed after a long time fizzled out.

"C-come to think of it... You developed i-insomnia during vacation...?"

"Ah! If it was during vacation...!!"

Ríolíkin's remark about insomnia wasn't a big problem. Anyone could get insomnia.

The real problem was Vigdís's reaction, as if she had some idea about it.

Vigdís even gasped, "Hup!", immediately after blurting those words out, covering her mouth with both hands.

It was a gesture that practically screamed to anyone watching that I had gone through something serious during vacation and that she knew about it.

'What is that reaction...? Did she mistake my insomnia for being caused by the attempted poisoning incident...?'

The only truth was that Karvaldr had consumed poison.

Both the insomnia and feeling a death threat were lies, but to think they'd connect like this?

"Vigdís, do you know something?"

Reisir bothered to ask Vigdís right in front of me, the person involved.

He must have judged that asking me wouldn't get him an answer.

"Ah, ahh, nooo...! I-I don't know. I-I know nothing... I just thought that maybe you developed insomnia during vacation, and that's why you have dark circles that weren't there last semester... That's all I thought...!"

Not only were Vigdís's eyes darting around without settling anywhere, but her eyelids were blinking at an excessively fast speed.

Anyone could tell she was lying.

Watching her, I let out a small sigh, picked up the menu with a nonchalant expression, and handed it to Vigdís.

"Stop the useless talk and just choose what you're going to eat."

"Ah, th-that's right...! If we came to a restaurant, we should hurry and order, since it would be a nuisance to just chat without ordering anything...?"

Vigdís shut her mouth and focused on the menu.

Then, since Reisir's persistent gaze shifted toward my face, I handed him a menu as well.

"I don't know what's going on, but if you have a worry, tell me anytime. Even though I couldn't be of any help when you were worried about Professor Skati's problem, and there's a chance it'll be the same this time too... still, if several people put their heads together, an unexpected solution might come up, right?"

Reisir shifted his gaze to the menu only after saying those final words.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to intend to pry forcibly. The fake motion sickness issue also seemed to have been buried somehow.

'By the way, the title Reisir uses for Skati has gone back to Professor, hasn't it? Has he decided to respect her as a professor?'

There were some ups and downs, but we chose our meals and placed the order.

Then, while waiting for the food, the conversation resumed, and perhaps because Reisir had just mentioned Skati, the topic shifted to stories about her.

"Kar took the lecture of that professor who was said to be a former assassin this week too, right? Um... how was it?"

Vigdís's face as she spoke to me looked molded from anxiety.

I supposed that since she mistakenly believed I developed insomnia because of the attempted poisoning incident, it wasn't unreasonable for her to look like that.

"Come to think of it, I haven't told you yet that the problem with that professor was resolved nicely."

Strictly speaking, the only one currently aware of that fact was Reisir, who had been directly involved in the incident.

I briefly explained what happened on the day of the dagger skill test.

"I already resolved the conflict last Thursday. Because Reisir got angry at Professor Skati, I also got to hear what I needed to hear from her."

"You explain the events of that day so briefly?"

Reisir reacted as if it were absurd, but this was the best I could do.

Because I couldn't exactly say with my own mouth that I tried hard to understand Skati, defended her, and helped her forgive herself.

I didn't feel the need to, either.

But Reisir was not only able to talk about my actions that day as much as he wanted, he was also determined to make them known.

Until the ordered food arrived and the meal was well underway, Reisir's explanation continued.

It was so embarrassing how he praised me in the middle of it all.

"Why on earth are you even telling stories like that?"

"I wanted the people gathered here to at least know what kind of person you really are."

"Why do you care about that?"

"Because you don't."

"So why on earth do you..."

I was about to argue with Reisir again, but stopped midway.

Because I could roughly guess why he had stepped forward.

Helga, who still hasn't shaken off her prejudice against this possessed body.

Vigdís, who was once tormented by Karvaldr but is now unintentionally using their engagement.

And Ríolíkin, who is clinging to me just to use me.

He probably wants those three to genuinely come to like me.

And he must think it would be even better if I also grew attached to them and opened my heart.

'So this is the result when the protagonist's unique meddlesomeness meets excellent sociability.'

If there had been a child like Reisir by my side during my childhood.

No, I don't even need to go back to the past. If only I didn't know that what lay on the path Reisir must walk in the future wasn't a flower field, but a field of gravestones.

I thought I might have actually been quite pleased by Reisir's meddling.

Because at one time, I too yearned for a school life filled with laughing and chatting with friends.

"Let's stop talking about this. Didn't we decide to come out of the academy to play and clear our heads in celebration of the end of exams? Then we should talk about topics everyone can enjoy and relate to."

"Karvaldr, you... Even though you don't seem like it, you surprisingly have good social skills."

"So, do you have a complaint?"

"No, no! I mean, that's a really good thing."

Reisir waved his hand and smiled brightly.

Feeling that if I kept looking at that face, I would inevitably grow attached, I turned my head away with a "Hmph!" snort.

"Right! Come to think of it, have you all heard the news that the technology called 'photography' was recently commercialized?"

Helga, the only one among us with numerous friends, clapped her hands with a "Clap!" and chased away the silence that had begun creeping in.

The topic she chose was also very appropriate.

It was the kind of topic that would begin as a small curiosity for those who didn't know what photography was, but naturally become interesting once they heard the explanation.

And those who already knew about photography would inevitably become even more interested.

"Photography? I feel like I've heard that word somewhere...? Isn't it the technology that produces images much more realistic than portraits in just a few seconds?"

Reisir, an avid reader of hunter genre novels set in the modern era, looked greatly surprised.

From his perspective, it was as if a fictional product that had only existed in novels had suddenly appeared in reality, so his reaction was only natural.

However, despite her childhood friend's earnest recommendation, Helga hadn't read web novels.

Even though she had no reason to expect Reisir's reaction, she accepted it naturally.

"Oh my, Reisir knew about it too? Well, since the concept itself was proposed long ago and it's been quite a while since it was successfully developed, it's understandable. But you didn't know there was a shop nearby where you can experience photography, did you?"

"I didn't know that at all!"

It seemed Reisir concluded that novel writers had advance information about photography and simply reflected it in their novels.

Seeing all doubt vanish from his face, leaving only admiration and anticipation.

"After we finish our meal, shall we all go and try getting a photograph taken?"

"I'm totally in favor!"

Reisir seemed excited that he could directly experience a technology he had only seen in novels.

"I, I'm good with it too!"

Ríolíkin was probably welcoming it because if he had a photo, he could prove anytime that he knew me.

"Me too...!"

Vigdís seemed happy that she could preserve the memory of her first outing with friends in a photograph.

"Nyaoo~!"

Yor was cute as always.

For me, documenting today's gathering with a photo felt somewhat burdensome, but I could just choose not to look at it again.

I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere that had only just recovered, so I petted Yor's fur and stayed quiet.

"There's no one... opposed, right?"

"If Yor approves, Karvaldr approves too."

Reisir gave that hint to Helga, who had been waiting for my answer.

It was true, but for some reason, I felt reluctant.

Still, as I quietly chewed my food, Reisir spoke to me with a pleased expression.

"How does the food taste? Is it to your liking?"

"...It's fairly decent."

"That's a relief. I was quite worried, since you must have always eaten only expensive and delicious food."

It was a needless worry.

Unlike Karvaldr, the scion of a noble family, the environment I grew up in wasn't nearly as good.

Besides, I was also the type of person who didn't pay much attention to the taste of food.

Of course, delicious food is nice, but even if it wasn't tasty, I would eat it as long as it provided nutrition.

My tastes were very simple, but I decided to refrain from revealing that fact to Reisir.

Because I shouldn't encourage any more intimacy.

I should just quietly eat my meal without saying anything.