Free Web Novel"Senior, could we talk for a moment?"
"What is it about...?"
Should I call it fortunate, or simply inevitable?
The supporting character whose name still hadn't been revealed looked up and answered the original protagonist.
"Brooding over it isn't going to change anything, is it? So I thought maybe we should try to brighten the mood a little."
Reisir flashed a grin, then turned around and sat in the chair facing the Library Club member.
The seat beside her was empty, yet he deliberately chose the more awkward position across from her. He was probably trying to avoid intruding on her personal space.
As a result, I could no longer see Reisir's expression.
Fortunately, our seats were positioned diagonally behind him. His body didn't completely block my view of the Library Club member, so I could still observe her expressions and reactions.
"So you're telling me I should force myself to smile because I'm ruining the atmosphere?"
The bitterness in her voice was matched by the resentment written across her face.
It was the warped reaction of someone thoroughly consumed by negative emotions.
Even so, the next thing the original protagonist said caught her completely off guard.
"No. I only said it because I was worried about you, Senior. If you let sorrow swallow you whole, the one who'll suffer the most is you."
"H-huh...? W-what...? We've... we've never met before, have we...?"
"Well, technically this isn't our first meeting. We've crossed paths in the library quite a few times."
"Ah... I-I'm sorry. I... don't really pay attention to other people, and so many students come to borrow books..."
"Then let's just get to know each other from now on. There's no need to apologize."
Perhaps because he'd realized how emotionally fragile she was, Reisir's voice became remarkably gentle and patient.
Maybe that was why.
The Library Club member flushed bright red in embarrassment—
"Is this what they call hitting on someone?"
"...Who knows? I have no idea what he's trying to do, but I wish he'd do it somewhere I couldn't see."
—Vigdís and Helga whispered to each other.
Vigdís's eyes sparkled with innocent curiosity, while Helga wore the expression of someone who'd accidentally witnessed something she absolutely shouldn't have.
From my perspective, it looked like nothing more than the opening scene of a standard character influence event.
Apparently, it looked very different to them.
"Anyway, what I wanted to say is this. I actually don't think the creation of the Special Class for the Awakened is necessarily a bad thing."
"W-what do you mean...?"
The Library Club member's face somehow turned even redder.
It seemed she'd also fallen under a rather bizarre misunderstanding.
If that was the case...
Then this was definitely °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° that trope.
The classic misunderstanding where a supporting character convinces herself the protagonist is interested in her, panics on her own, and eventually falls for him.
It was a staple setup for comedy.
There hadn't been any female characters who followed that route before the remake.
Did that mean this character hadn't existed in the original version at all?
Or, judging from the lines Reisir was delivering, had he simply decided a misunderstanding romance would be useful here and started improvising a brand-new storyline?
"Senior, you were planning to hide the fact that you'd awakened, weren't you?"
"Y-yes...? That was my plan, but..."
She looked utterly confused.
She'd probably been expecting something embarrassingly cheesy, like:
"Because fate has brought us together today."
Instead—
"Now that technology capable of identifying the Awakened has been developed, you would've been discovered eventually, even if today's incident hadn't happened. In that sense, being found now might actually be fortunate."
Whether she had been blushing from embarrassment or simply misunderstanding his intentions only moments ago...
The original protagonist paid none of it any attention.
He continued speaking in a calm, serious voice.
"If your awakening had been exposed only after clearing Demon Realms became an official obligation for the Awakened, people could've argued that you deliberately avoided your duty while everyone else risked their lives. They might've forced you into one of the Demon Realms everyone else avoids. On top of that, both the Awakened and ordinary people would've condemned you for it."
"...I suppose... that does make sense, but..."
As Reisir continued explaining, the flush gradually disappeared from her face.
The warmth drained away until her expression became cold and rigid.
Even when she admitted his reasoning made sense, intense hostility lingered in her eyes.
"How can you say something like that so casually...? We're about to be forced into combat training we never wanted and eventually thrown somewhere we're almost guaranteed to die...! I guess none of this frightens you. Otherwise you couldn't stay so rational and call this situation fortunate."
Perhaps she'd become even more twisted because the person she'd almost mistaken for a potential romantic interest completely failed to understand her feelings and instead praised the Special Class for the Awakened.
Unable to suppress the resentment building inside her, she lashed out.
Reisir answered quietly.
"Ten years ago, a Demon Realm appeared... and I lost every member of my family, along with everyone else who was precious to me."
"...!!"
"It happened right in front of my eyes."
"......"
"More than half the people in this room are now precious friends to me."
"My guardian, who spent the last ten years raising me, also awakened just a week ago. Today he was introduced as one of the professors who'll be leading students into Demon Realms."
"Even though he's someone who's spent his entire life as a scholar... someone who's never even held a weapon."
"......"
"With my circumstances, how could I not be afraid?"
"......"
"I'm terrified."
"Terrified that I'll lose the people precious to me in a Demon Realm all over again."
I was grateful I couldn't see Reisir's face.
Because I remembered what became of him in the original novel before the remake.
How completely he'd broken.
How utterly ruined he'd become.
Just hearing the grief trembling through his voice was enough to make my chest ache.
If I'd also seen the fear on his face...
I don't think I could have endured it.
"I... I'm sorry..."
"I was the one speaking carelessly..."
Her apology came immediately.
Just how agonized must Reisir have looked through her eyes for her attitude to change so completely?
"It's alright."
"You only said those things because you didn't know what I'd been through."
When she apologized again, Reisir answered with the same gentle patience as before.
But once his voice had sunk into grief, it never quite regained its earlier brightness.
"I don't really know your circumstances either, Senior."
"But there is something I'd like to say. I hope it might help, at least a little."
"Yes... I'm listening."
The Library Club member straightened her posture, becoming almost excessively polite as she waited for him to continue.
Reisir also chose his words even more carefully.
"Awakening doesn't suddenly make you stronger."
"It doesn't automatically give you an ability suited for combat."
"You're being ordered to fight monsters simply because you can see a window floating in the air."
"So it's perfectly understandable that you think all of this is unfair."
Instead of immediately insisting,
"You should think of it as fortunate because..."
he first acknowledged her feelings.
Only after showing genuine understanding did he finally say what he'd originally wanted to tell her.
"Even so, they aren't sending us into a Demon Realm completely unprepared."
"We may be forced to learn things we never wanted to learn, but at least we'll have the chance to learn how to fight."
"And we're still students."
"They won't recklessly throw people with so much potential into just any Demon Realm."
"Losing talented individuals who are still growing would be a tremendous loss."
"...I suppose that's true."
"So rather than convincing yourself you're destined to die..."
"I hope you'll resolve to survive instead."
"And do everything you can."
"...Yes."
"I'll try."
Though anxiety and worry still lingered across her face, she nodded with genuine determination.
Perhaps he felt he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do.
Or perhaps there simply wasn't anything left to say.
The original protagonist rose from his seat.
"Then I'll head back now."
"Yes... Thank you."
They exchanged a final nod.
At least, it should have ended there.
But as Reisir was walking back toward us, he suddenly stopped.
Turning around, he spoke again.
"Oh, right."
"We never introduced ourselves."
"I'm Reisir Daudabiner."
"What's your name, Senior?"
"Ah...!"
"I'm Lissy Stirkr."
"I see."
"I look forward to working with you, Senior Lissy."
Only then did their conversation truly come to an end.
I silently groaned.
Lissy Stirkr.
That was the same name I'd remembered the moment I saw the Library Club member back in Chapter 171.
So the answer to my No way... had turned out to be...
Yes.
No, but she looks completely different...
The current Lissy gave off the unmistakable impression of an honor student.
A quiet, bookish girl.
The Lissy I remembered from the original novel was nothing like this.
She was full of resentment toward society.
She spoke harshly.
Starting fights was as natural to her as breathing.
She seemed incapable of fearing anyone.
There was another difference.
The Lissy before the remake had never worn glasses.
The one sitting here now wore thick lenses.
...Don't tell me she acted like that simply because she was practically blind without them?
For the record, the "female character whose Strength stat exceeded 150 and who fought with a giant hammer," mentioned back in Chapter 140...
Had also been referring to her.
Her original storyline was equally tragic.
She'd deliberately concealed the fact that she'd awakened.
When she was eventually exposed, she was branded with every insult imaginable before repeatedly being assigned to the most dangerous Demon Realms.
For someone like her, the creation of the Special Class for the Awakened wasn't merely fortunate.
Calling it an incredible stroke of luck wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Unfortunately...
She would probably never realize that herself.
More importantly...
The original novel before the remake never mentioned Lissy attending Valhalla Academy.
And when they first met, there wasn't even the slightest hint that either of them recognized the other.
The current Lissy wore her long hair in twin tails and hid behind extremely thick glasses.
The Lissy from back then had roughly cropped short hair and no glasses at all.
It wasn't strange that the Reisir from the original work hadn't recognized her.
As for why Lissy hadn't recognized Reisir...
The answer had already revealed itself when she'd mistaken him for a complete stranger only moments ago.
How can the background setting be this sloppy... while the character writing is put together so brilliantly?
Especially when they're just going to kill her off in the end...
I forcibly pushed that unpleasant thought aside.
Just as Reisir returned to his seat—
The seminar room door opened.
Fjodora stepped inside as though she'd been waiting for that exact moment.
Considering both her personality and the timing of her entrance...
There was a one hundred percent chance she'd been using her wind-attribute Ether to eavesdrop on everything that had just been said inside the room.
