This Novel is not my Novel

"Why?"

I couldn't help but ask.

Because I couldn't believe that he, who was so cowardly that he wasn't even comparable to me, had made such a decision. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

I was suspicious.

Thinking that he might have simply said whatever came to mind to escape the current situation.

But it seems my prediction was off.

"L... last week's hanging out was... too f-fun... I also liked studying t-together before the m-midterms... So, I w-want to keep living like this g-going forward..."

Surprisingly, despite having an extremely introverted personality, it seemed Ríolíkin was the type who felt lonely when alone and gained energy from being around other people.

If that was the case, then his insistence on squeezing into the study group while I was absent...

Was it not simply because he wanted others to see him as a member of the group, but because he genuinely wanted to join?

"B-but... n-no one... seems to t-think of me as a f-friend..."

It seemed that even if I truly cast him aside,

he had complacently believed that the others, including Reisir, would accept him as a friend.

Then, after seeing Reisir corner him just now, he must have finally realized that reality was not so simple.

'By the way, saying something like that... does Ríolíkin consider the people from the meal gathering his friends?'

That was a bit unexpected.

Since I viewed them as targets to make use of through this possessed body, I thought he would see everyone else as mere accessories attached to it.

It seemed the little friendship game led by Reisir had been quite enjoyable for him.

'But what's even more unexpected is Reisir's words and °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° actions.'

That he worries deeply about my safety and acts sensitively over it...

Fine, that's understandable.

I don't know exactly since when, but Reisir originally cared for me quite a bit, and I even ended up succeeding in the influence event.

Moreover, doesn't this original protagonist carry trauma related to the people around him dying?

Even so, the reason I found it unexpected was because a certain question came to mind.

'At this point, can't Ríolíkin also be considered one of Reisir's people in his own way?'

Yet Reisir had pressured that coward, asking whether he would simply run away if I were faced with a life-threatening crisis.

His attitude clearly showed that he prioritized my safety over Ríolíkin's.

He had assigned different weights to our lives and judged that sacrificing Ríolíkin would be acceptable if it meant protecting me.

That meant not only had Ríolíkin failed to enter the original protagonist's circle.

It also meant he had firmly landed on Reisir's bad side.

'More importantly... did the Thought Acceleration Skill activate just now?'

The moment I realized it, another headache struck.

Still, perhaps because I hadn't maintained the skill for long and hadn't paid attention to the flow of Ether,

the pain wasn't that severe even though my condition hadn't fully recovered.

No nosebleed came, and it was mild enough that I could suppress any groan.

"I-I want to become... t-true friends with everyone. A-among them, I especially want to g-get along with Lord Ka-Karvaldr...! The p-person who told me to o-overcome fear together was..."

"Wait. I never told you to overcome fear together. I only said I would allow you to stay with me on the condition that you overcome your fear. Don't distort other people's words and get moved all by yourself."

"Ah... y-yes..."

I'm really glad this headache isn't severe.

Thanks to that, I managed to avoid attracting unnecessary concern and safely canceled the influence event that had almost been forcibly triggered again.

'Anyway... it seems Ríolíkin has found a clear goal.'

I could tell that he had genuinely steeled his resolve rather than coming up with a temporary excuse to escape the moment.

Even so, Reisir still looked suspicious.

"If you've truly made up your mind, how about we test it right away?"

"Ye...s? By t-testing, h-how...?"

"How else? Through sparring, obviously."

"Uh, uh uh..."

Apparently, making up his mind and being prepared for it were two different things.

Ríolíkin looked at me with a bewildered expression.

Then...

"Kyaooong—!"

Yor let out a sharp roar and glared at Ríolíkin.

The coward, despite his large build, let out a "Hyeek—!" and scrambled backward as he jumped to his feet.

Reisir frowned deeply, as though he found Ríolíkin utterly unreliable.

As for me, Ríolíkin's disgraceful behavior wasn't even worth paying attention to.

Because someone far more important had moved.

"Yor. Are you feeling a little better now?"

I stroked the baby dragon's back and spoke quietly and calmly.

There were too many people listening for me to speak harshly to Yor after he had been crying so loudly just moments ago.

Besides, I had shown a similar side to Reisir and Vigdís before, and I was still maintaining Karvaldr's usual way of speaking.

It shouldn't seem strange.

"Kyaooo...!"

Isn't Yor's reaction what's actually strange right now?

I have no idea why my cute and harmless baby dragon is grumpily crying at me.

I was genuinely bewildered.

"Yo, Yor...?"

"Mwe-yalk!"

"Are you angry...? Because I failed to manage my condition and overdid it again?"

"Kyaoo, kyaong, kya-ark! Myamyamyak, myamyak!!"

Suddenly Yor flew into a rage.

Judging from his behavior, the word "perhaps" wasn't necessary at all.

That was exactly the correct answer.

"Sorry for making you worry again."

"Myaooo—, myaa! Yaong, yaoong—!"

I couldn't understand a single thing he was saying, but judging from the sorrowful cries, it was obvious he was blaming me.

At that point, cold sweat ran down my spine.

Right now, he was only clinging affectionately to me and meowing because his worry outweighed his anger.

But later, he might refuse to let me touch him until he calmed down.

That sense of crisis made me immediately adopt a submissive attitude.

"Okay, okay. It's all my fault. I'll be more careful from now on. So please forgive me, hm?"

I earnestly pleaded in a whisper while diligently stroking Yor's back with both hands.

Fortunately, the generous baby dragon did not reject my efforts.

"Nyaaa, nyang nyang. Miyaong."

"You're forgiving me...?"

"Yaoong~."

Finally, Yor loosened himself from around my body and settled in front of me.

Even his answering cry was as charming as ever.

If there hadn't been so many eyes watching, I might have kissed his cute little nose.

"......"

"......"

"......"

Amid the heavy silence that followed, three pairs of eyes became fixed on me.

Reisir wore a faint smile, as though he had witnessed something heartwarming.

Vigdís stared blankly in disbelief despite having seen me treat Yor gently before.

Ríolíkin's expression strangely looked envious for some reason.

"...What are you all staring at so intently for? You said you'd spar. Aren't you starting?"

I briefly considered pointing directly at Ríolíkin and asking why he was making that face, but decided to act as though nothing had happened.

Just like that day when I ran into Reisir on the stair landing.

To maintain a consistent character, I needed to maintain a consistent attitude.

"Yor was upset and angry, so you hurried to comfort him without paying attention to your surroundings. But now that everything's settled, the embarrassment is hitting you afterward, isn't it?"

As expected, Reisir teased me with a mischievous grin.

I think that side of his personality is remarkably consistent too.

Since it was exactly the reaction I had expected, rather than feeling genuine embarrassment, I simply snorted.

"Hmph!"

Then I sharply turned my head away, feigning indifference.

"Ahahaha—!"

Reisir found my reaction amusing and laughed cheerfully.

Then Ríolíkin awkwardly rolled his eyes around and laughed along with him.

"Uh... h-hehe..."

"......Let's start the sparring."

As though he had never laughed at all.

Reisir immediately put on a cold, serious expression and dragged Ríolíkin to the center of the training ground.

"Since you didn't bring a weapon, I'll spar with you barehanded today."

"Uh, uh uh..."

"I'm being considerate, aren't I? You should say thank you."

"T-that is... th-thank you...?"

It seemed this protagonist of someone else's novel intended to provide etiquette lessons while fixing Ríolíkin's mindset.

Teaching him to say thank you even for small things.

Whether that would actually have any effect, I didn't know.

Something like this was supposed to be a long-term process, but Reisir would be leaving the academy in only a few months.

"Then shall we begin?"

Did he decide it would take forever for the cowardly Ríolíkin to get into a proper stance again?

Immediately after speaking, Reisir threw a punch.

—Per-uk—!

The impact was heavy enough to produce a loud thud.

I saw Ríolíkin let out a breathless "Keu-huk—!" and collapse instead of merely being pushed backward.

It meant Reisir had struck with enough force to make Ríolíkin's sturdy physique and hardened muscles meaningless.

If this body had taken that hit, I was pretty sure bones would have cracked.

"You'd better get up quickly."

Although Reisir personally gave a warning, he didn't wait for his opponent to stand.

A kick flew toward Ríolíkin, who was curled up while clutching the area that had been struck.

This time too, a loud "Puk!" echoed through the training ground, followed by a scream.

"Agh!"

"You said you'd try to make an effort, didn't you? Did you really make up your mind? Then why aren't you getting up?"

His voice remained cold.

At the same time, Reisir pulled one foot back.

Preparing to kick again.

Seeing that, Ríolíkin sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hi-ik...!"

Then he scrambled desperately to his feet.

But Reisir completed the motion without hesitation and kicked him directly in the shin.

"H-heu-uk...! It... it hurts too much..."

"Then you should have watched my movements carefully and defended yourself properly."

Even though tears had gathered in Ríolíkin's eyes, Reisir only continued speaking coldly while throwing another punch.

The original protagonist wasn't wrong.

His tone was harsh, but the content itself was proper advice.

Though every strike carried substantial force, Reisir wasn't relentlessly overwhelming him.

If anything, he was moving much slower than when he sparred with me.

'At that level, he's going incredibly easy on him.'

Yet because the opponent never properly countered, the scene looked no different from a one-sided beating.

Which made it difficult to watch.

In any case, because of the headache, I was no longer in any condition to practice controlling the Thought Acceleration Skill today.

So instead of analyzing Reisir's movements in detail, I hugged Yor and closed my eyes.

For several minutes, I focused on the texture of the baby dragon's fur tickling my palms.

Pretending to rest while trying to ignore the sounds of impacts and cries of pain reaching my ears.

"Th... this... doesn't seem like sparring... Shouldn't we stop him?"

Vigdís spoke to me in a trembling voice.

If I pretended not to hear even that, it was obvious she would step in and try to stop him herself.

So I opened my eyes and looked at her.

"There's no need. If he truly can't endure it, Ríolíkin will say he wants to quit on his own."

"But... couldn't he be so scared that he can't even say those words...?"

Considering Ríolíkin's personality, it was a reasonable concern.

Even so, meaning to stop her from intervening, I lightly caught her restless wrist.

"Ríolíkin is the type of person who interprets even a passing glance as a threatening glare. Right now, he's disguising sparring meant to help him grow as one-sided violence. It's the same as turning an innocent person into a villain because he's afraid and wants to avoid reality."

The reason Reisir kept relentlessly attacking him...

Was to warn him that if he wanted to volunteer to stay by my side as an escort, he had to be capable of overcoming at least this much.

And if he couldn't, then he should quit right now.

Because Reisir sees me as an incredibly naïve person.

He's afraid that when a real crisis comes, instead of being protected by Ríolíkin, I'll die trying to protect him.

"So don't think about stopping Reisir. Doing that would be no different from validating Ríolíkin's victim mentality and turning Reisir into the wrongdoer."

"Ah......"

Judging from her reaction, she seemed to understand properly.

I released her wrist and closed my eyes again.

"Since this is sparring that isn't worth watching, I'm going to get some sleep. Don't bother me unnecessarily."

"Uh... if you're going to rest, wouldn't it be better to lie down? If you need it, I could give you a lap pillow..."

"I don't need one."

"Ah, yes..."

Even after our conversation ended, the sparring that barely resembled sparring continued for quite some time.

Until the moment Ríolíkin finally blocked one of Reisir's slow attacks head-on.