This Novel is not my Novel

"Now that we're done here, I'll head to my training ground."

"Can't I come with you? This place isn't exactly a great environment for sleeping, considering the clay powder from all the discs you popped is scattered everywhere."

Reisir jumped to his feet, ready to follow me.

Although his reason was quite valid, it wasn't my concern.

So I refused.

"If you can't sleep, sit down and do Ether Cultivation. I intend to do that anyway."

"You made someone else's personal training ground this dirty, and now you're planning to move to a clean place all by yourself?"

"Didn't this place end up like this because you wanted to watch my training? And in case you've forgotten, this is also a training ground I rented with my own money."

"Ah, right...?"

Had he run out of arguments?

Reisir accepted my words and plopped back down.

Then he made a meaningful remark.

"You're going to shower when you get to your personal training ground, right? Take a close look in the mirror then. Something will have changed."

"Nyaooong~? Nyaha!"

"...?"

Yor stared intently at my face, then reacted as though he had noticed something.

It seemed something really had changed.

'Don't tell me I've become odd-eyed because I separated the Ether...? Having two odd-eyed characters in one novel seems a bit much...'

I was about to ask Reisir what had changed and how, but stopped myself.

If he wanted to tell me because I was curious, he would have said it directly instead of speaking like that.

Since I would be able to check for myself soon enough, I didn't want to say anything needy to the protagonist of someone else's novel.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Yep, then see you later this morning~!"

"......"

To maintain a consistent character image, I ignored Reisir's farewell again today and immediately left for my personal training ground.

Upon arriving, I entered the shower room and faced the mirror first.

Naturally, my facial features were the same, and the dark circles under my eyes hadn't changed.

Nor had I become odd-eyed as I had feared.

But when I looked closely into my pupils, I could tell what change Reisir had been talking about.

Originally, this body's pupils were sky blue, smeared across a purple base like a stain.

But now, befitting the name "Pie Eye," the sky blue had clearly secured its own territory, resembling a slice of pie.

The area occupied slightly less than one quarter of the whole.

'It's such a subtle change that you'd really have to look closely to notice it...'

Still, while preserving its unique mysterious feeling, the impression was more organized than before, so I was satisfied in my own way.

Today was Tuesday, the day of my scheduled private lesson with Professor Radvisin.

So after demonstrating how I could use the sky blue Ether without consuming the purple Ether, those were the words I heard.

For reference, judging by his use of the phrase "becoming accustomed to it," I hadn't told him about the core in my head.

No, I couldn't.

'Because I can't say I received help from Reisir.'

At present, Reisir is keeping the silver Ether a secret.

Naturally, the core in his head that contains that energy is also a secret.

I couldn't go around carelessly revealing information about it.

And above all—

I wanted to avoid anything that might draw Professor Radvisin's interest toward Reisir.

If, by any chance, he were to die because he became involved with the original protagonist, the responsibility would inevitably fall on me.

Of course, considering Professor Radvisin's age, he wouldn't suddenly abandon his professorship and wander through the Demon Realms following Reisir.

But among the supporting characters who died in the original work, quite a few were non-combat personnel who never even entered the Demon Realms.

Therefore, I absolutely could not let my guard down.

'Besides, Professor Radvisin and the senior research students have nothing to do with the original work, so they're relatively easy to deal with. I don't want to introduce the original protagonist into gatherings involving them.'

Hadn't I already felt a bit of regret the day I brought Vigdís to the research lab to break off the engagement contract?

If I brought Reisir, it definitely wouldn't end with merely "a bit."

'Anyway, if I leave Reisir out of the story, wouldn't I just become someone who shoved Ether into his own skull for no reason?'

It was the perfect way to invite comments about having a death wish.

That's why I couldn't explain that I had separated the sky blue Ether and purple Ether into two different cores.

"It somehow worked out that way... Anyway, thank you for the compliment."

In the end, that was all I could say.

Professor Radvisin must have mistaken my behavior for shyness, because he looked at me with warm eyes and a pleased smile.

To think he would respond so warmly to a thank-you I had hurriedly pieced together out of excuses.

For some reason, I felt somewhat embarrassed.

So this time, I bowed deeply and expressed my sincere gratitude.

"And... thank you for all your help up until now. Thanks to you, I learned that I wasn't defective, but simply possessed abilities different from my family's. And I was able to learn how to handle that power."

Although the original owner of this body had a very arrogant and authoritative personality, I don't think this action was excessive.

Because the defect in the purple Ether ability had been his long-standing complex and weakness.

Even if the real Karvaldr, rather than me, were standing here, he would have thanked the professor with a respectful attitude.

"Considering the possibility of a second Ether and mastering that power are things Karvaldr-gun accomplished himself. I merely watched from the side."

"However, thanks to the Professor's guidance, my conjecture became certainty, and I was able to safely handle the sky blue Ether."

"Hohohoho! Yes, yes. Thank you for acknowledging this professor's hard work."

I thought it was very fortunate that Professor Radvisin was the one teaching Ether Attribute Theory.

While I was at it, I also thanked the senior research students.

Unlike with the professor, I didn't bow, but the seniors didn't seem to mind at all.

"Hearing you say that somehow makes it feel like this is the last time we'll see each other~?"

"Junior, surely you aren't planning to stop visiting the research lab just because you can handle the sky blue Ether properly now?"

Senior Elska and Senior Blida spoke jokingly, both wearing playful smiles.

But I couldn't readily say that wasn't the case.

Because...

"The Professor and the seniors must all be busy, so I'm not sure whether I should continue taking up your time."

"There's no way helping an excellent student could be considered a waste of time. However, I do have my own research to conduct, and Miss Blida and Mr. Elska are at a stage where they need to devote themselves to their studies. So it would be best to reduce the frequency of your guidance."

The original objective had been achieved once I became capable of freely drawing out and using the sky blue Ether.

Even so, he intended to continue providing guidance outside of regular lecture hours.

"Will you... continue helping me in the future...?"

"Of course. Just because you can draw out the sky blue Ether whenever you want doesn't mean using that ability well isn't a completely separate matter, does it?"

"Ah..."

"Since Karvaldr-gun has no reason to rush anymore, let's supervise your training once a week, only on Saturdays."

I felt grateful, but also burdened.

I had no intention of becoming a research student, so I wondered whether this was really okay.

But if I wanted to survive until the end of this novel's story, I needed to develop my abilities as much as possible.

"Then please continue to take care of me in the future as well."

I had no choice but to set aside my embarrassment and answer like that.

Thus, after a brief discussion with Professor Radvisin, I set reducing the time required to create clouds as my new training objective and immediately began practicing.

Since this wasn't an ability that targeted people, I didn't need the help of the senior research students.

They had originally been called in to assist with purple Ether consumption training and buff enhancement practice.

Although they could have returned to the research lab now, they remained as spectators.

The ability to manipulate weather was something that had never appeared before, even in this fantasy world.

As people researching Ether attributes, it was only natural that they would be interested.

"Now~, let's wrap up today's training here and go get some dinner."

While training was in full swing, Professor Radvisin clapped his hands and declared the session over.

Although dinner time was approaching, the real reason was probably that he had noticed the signs of exhaustion on my face.

The problem was that while creating clouds required a considerable amount of Ether, the amount of sky blue Ether I possessed was limited.

Since I was aware of that myself, I created only small clouds, controlling them as carefully as possible to minimize Ether consumption while using the ability.

Even so, the upper dantian emptied quickly.

Yor also participated in the training, and despite creating clouds several times larger than mine, the baby dragon still looked completely energetic.

The contrast between us was truly stark, considering I was utterly exhausted.

'If I ever end up using this ability in real combat, it would be far more efficient to have Yor create the clouds while I simply pull the trigger and make it rain at the appropriate moment.'

Having reached that conclusion, I followed the professor and seniors to the underground campus cafeteria.

While waiting for our food and exchanging small talk, the following topic came up.

"Ah, right! Come to think of it, they started accepting applications for the Martial Arts Tournament yesterday."

"You're participating too, right, Junior?"

Using Ether was permitted in the Martial Arts Tournament.

It was an excellent opportunity to observe Ether abilities of many different attributes.

Although research students couldn't participate in the tournament themselves, it was perfectly natural for the seniors in front of me to know the schedule.

However, the assumption that I would participate was anything but natural.

"I'm not participating."

"Why not? Didn't you say you consumed purple Ether while practicing whip techniques, even when you were practicing drawing out sky blue Ether by yourself? So I thought you intended to enter the tournament."

"The whip techniques I learned are strictly for minimal self-defense and are not suitable for actual combat. So I devised various plans myself and trained in my own way, but... some time ago, I happened to spar with a student I know and suffered a completely one-sided defeat. That experience only convinced me that self-study is impossible."

"Ah... that must be disappointing..."

Thinking about how I hadn't even managed to brush Reisir's clothes during our sparring match, I unconsciously let out a sigh.

In response, Senior Elska looked sorry for bringing up the subject.

Professor Radvisin quietly murmured, "Oh dear..."

Senior Blida also seemed to pity me considerably.

I must have been giving off quite a dispirited impression.

'It can't be helped. The reason I became absorbed in training wasn't to prepare for a tournament, but to prepare for survival.'

Thinking that, I sensed a wry smile spreading across my lips.

At that moment, someone with a very distinctive tone of voice interrupted the conversation.

"Then shall I help youuu~?"

The owner of that line—which would probably have tildes attached to every sentence if written out—was Skati.

Judging by how boldly she had appeared in the professors-only cafeteria, it seemed the bullying issue with the other professors had fortunately been resolved.

But right now, I couldn't focus on that.

What she was saying was far more important.

"Actually, I don't just use daggers by themselveeess~. I attach them to wires and use theeem~. That's why I learned whip techniques too, to learn various application methods~? Besides that, I can use all sorts of weapons, but the ones I'm best with are wires and daggeeers~! And after those comes exactly, exactlyyy~, the whiiiip~!"

"......"

"Wellll~? How about iiit~? Do you want to learn whip techniques from meee~?"

Although I knew I should keep my distance from Skati,

this was a golden opportunity I simply couldn't refuse.