Free Web NovelThe moment the question was asked, Vigdís stared blankly into space and tilted her head. She was probably looking through her Skill Window, carefully reading the description of 【Iron Blood Steel Body】.
Lissy kept glancing at Vigdís, trying to gauge the mood. When it became clear Vigdís wasn't about to answer, she reluctantly spoke first.
"Well... my skill is an additive-type enhancement..."
"In that case, Ms. Lissy, it would be best to activate your own skill first and only then receive Young Master Karvaldr's buff."
Fjodora reached the obvious conclusion and glanced in my direction.
She was telling me that once we entered actual combat, I shouldn't activate my buff carelessly. I should first confirm whether Lissy had already used her body enhancement skill.
I nodded to show I understood, and Fjodora turned back toward Vigdís.
"And you, Ms. Vigdís? What about your skill?"
"The description of 【Iron Blood Steel Body】 says, 'The body's hardness enhanced by this skill is influenced by Defense Power.' Does that mean the effect increases in proportion to my current Defense Power...?"
"I would assume so. If it were calculated additively, it wouldn't be described as being 'influenced' by the existing value."
That assumption was mistaken.
Because as far as I knew, Vigdís's skill didn't actually modify the stat itself—
"Then there's no need for Ms. Vigdís to worry about the activation order of her skill..."
"Wait."
I had to cut Fjodora off before she could finish.
"I'd like you to hold off on reaching a conclusion. Something about that bothers me."
"What exactly?"
"Having high Defense Power doesn't suddenly make your bones, muscles, and skin as hard as steel, does it? That number is merely an indicator of how much damage is reduced. But Vigdís's skill actually hardens the body. Which means..."
"Which means?"
As I deliberately paused, the princess urged me onward.
But instead of answering, I simply looked at the person seated beside me.
I needed Vigdís's cooperation before I could continue, yet I couldn't address her first unless absolutely necessary.
"...?"
"..."
"...Ah! Why?"
She really needed to start remembering Clause Four of the broken engagement contract.
Judging by that delayed reaction, my contractor still hadn't fully drilled it into her head.
"Vigdís. Activate your skill and tell us whether the values shown in your Status Window change."
"Just a moment... Hmm... All right. Next to my Defense Power, there's now a '+17' written in parentheses."
"So that's how it works..."
In reality, I was only confirming something I had already known from the original novel.
Still, I deliberately muttered as though I'd just verified a hypothesis, even nodding thoughtfully to make it look like a perfectly natural reaction.
"What do you mean?"
"Your skill only increases the hardness of your body. The number in parentheses is simply its correction value—it doesn't actually raise your Defense Power. My buff, on the other hand, changes the stat itself."
To demonstrate, I borrowed Yor's Dragon Pearl and activated 【Exaltation】.
Not just on Vigdís.
On everyone present.
It would be far easier for them to understand once they saw the numbers in their Status Windows change with their own eyes.
"I see. The values displayed in the Status Window really have changed. Ms. Lissy, is that how your skill functions as well?"
"Yes..."
Apparently Fjodora had already grasped what I was getting at, because she immediately turned to confirm how Lissy's skill was applied.
"The Ether stats remain unchanged..."
"Naturally. A buff that increases someone else's Ether reserves? I've never heard of such a thing."
Pret casually answered Sveinn's observation while quietly adding another piece of information about how this world's systems worked.
"Vigdís. Did the number in parentheses change?"
"No."
"And what about the increase to your Defense Power itself? My buff currently multiplies the existing value by 1.25. Did it increase by more than that?"
"It was originally 43. Now it's 53."
Forty-three multiplied by 1.25 equals 53.75.
Since the Status Window discarded decimal places, the displayed value was perfectly correct.
However—
"Don't casually reveal your own stats in front of people you've only just met."
"But... we're going to fight together anyway. Aren't we... comrades? Teammates?"
"Being on the same side doesn't mean you can trust someone unconditionally. There's nothing more dangerous than an unreliable ally. They could stab you in the back without warning."
Though the traitor here would be using a spear rather than a knife.
Either way, if you weren't careful, you still died.
"Back to the main point. Since your stats changed like that, my buff only affects the base value, not the correction shown in parentheses. Turn off 【Iron Blood Steel Body】 and activate it again."
"...Ah! The number in parentheses got bigger!"
"Then you should activate your skill after I cast my buff."
"Yes. That's what I'll do."
After finishing my explanation to Vigdís, I turned toward Fjodora.
The matter had already been settled.
Still, since I'd interrupted the princess earlier, I felt I should at least explain why.
"The skill description said it was 'influenced by Defense Power,' not that it 'increases Defense Power.' I thought the distinction was important."
"Now that you mention it... that wording is rather subtle. Well done."
I had hoped the discussion would end there so everyone could disperse.
Unfortunately, Fjodora introduced another topic.
One that would be extremely inconvenient for me.
"By the way, Young Master Karvaldr, you mentioned that your familiar's sky-blue Ether can only produce rain, correct? If Mr. Sveinn can manipulate the water created that way, then all the Ether and mental energy he normally spends generating water could instead be devoted entirely to offense. Wouldn't that be a far more efficient fighting style?"
I'd been the one who had claimed that the sky-blue Ether could only create rain.
From Fjodora's perspective, she was simply trying to find a practical battlefield application for it.
But the moment I heard the suggestion, my mood soured.
My brow furrowed before I even realized it.
"So you want Yor and me to become water carriers?"
"I was merely speaking from the standpoint of efficiency. To ensure our battles proceed as safely and reliably as possible."
"I know full well that Your Royal Highness is trying to devise strategies based on everyone's Ether Attributes because you want us to survive once we enter the Demon Realm."
"So you understand my intentions... yet you still dislike the proposal."
In my case, the revulsion came from knowing that Sveinn was the original novel's traitor.
The last thing I wanted was to strengthen his combat abilities.
If the original Karvaldr had heard the same suggestion, however, he would have flown into a genuine rage.
How dare anyone ask the direct descendant of a Ducal House to fetch water for a mere commoner?
"You didn't bring this up without realizing I would find it offensive, did you?"
Given Fjodora's personality...
She was probably being driven by a sense of responsibility. She believed it was her duty to lead everyone safely.
If there was any way to maximize the synergy between the students' abilities, she would push for it—even if everyone ended up resenting her.
But no matter how noble the intention...
At this rate, it's no different from how the Imperial Family assembled the special class while disregarding the students' own wishes.
Was that simply the mentality of someone raised to command from above?
Or had Fjodora unknowingly absorbed the Imperial Family's authoritarian mindset simply because it was all she'd ever seen?
"This isn't a discussion where everyone is freely exchanging ideas. Even if it were, deciding everything yourself first and then announcing that this is the better option isn't a recommendation."
"It's coercion."
The only reason I could say something like that...
...was because the body I inhabited belonged to Karvaldr, a direct descendant of a Ducal House.
The other students occupied positions where they couldn't voice even the smallest complaint against the princess.
All they could do was obey.
"Does Your Royal Highness intend to rule us through authority? Or did you think that by willingly playing the villain and accepting everyone's resentment yourself, we'd become comrades bound together by hardship?"
"If it's the former, I have nothing more to say."
"But if it's the latter..."
"Then you're mistaken."
"Hm... Before anything else, I'd like to hear your reasoning."
She could easily have insisted she was right and cornered me by asking whether I simply refused to support a commoner.
Instead, Fjodora asked for an explanation before deciding whether my criticism had any merit.
Perhaps she thought there might still be something she had overlooked.
"I'm only able to speak this openly because I come from a Ducal House. The others may grow dissatisfied, but they can never show that dissatisfaction to Your Royal Highness. They can't even discuss it openly among themselves."
"If that's the case..."
"Where do you think those feelings will go?"
"Young Master... you believe they'll turn that resentment toward those around them?"
"Exactly."
"People only help each other endure hardship when they believe they'll eventually escape it. Without that hope, they're pushed to their emotional limits. Before they realize it, they grow defensive... and end up hurting the people closest to them."
While I spoke, Fjodora watched my face so intently it became uncomfortable.
When she finally responded, she asked quietly,
"But... how do you know something like that, Young Master?"
Experience.
At the height of the bullying I endured at school...
I had begun blaming my innocent mother without realizing it.
Crushed by the overwhelming stress at her own workplace, she had lashed out at me with harsh words.
We hurt each other.
Then, much later, we recognized our mistakes and apologized.
But we both understood something instinctively.
Some thorns lodged too deeply to ever be completely removed.
Every so often, they would resurface from the corners of our hearts...
...and hurt us all over again.
The memory surfaced without warning, tightening my chest.
I forced myself not to let it show.
Wearing Karvaldr's usual arrogant expression, I answered,
"Isn't that simply human nature? Anyone who has lived long enough learns something so obvious."
"...Is that so? Perhaps because I spent my entire life inside the Imperial Palace... my perspective has always been narrower than everyone else's."
"To think I was ignorant of something so fundamental..."
Whether she believed my explanation or not, Fjodora lowered her eyes with an embarrassed expression and quietly offered the excuse.
Then she fell into deep thought.
After sitting in silence for quite some time, she suddenly looked up, glanced at the clock on the wall, and made an unexpected announcement.
"It's still a little early..."
"But let's all go have dinner together."
"All of us."
"As an opportunity to get to know one another better."
