This Novel is not my Novel

The Next Day

I woke before dawn and headed to the First Small Auditorium, where the Martial Arts class was held.

According to the syllabus, Basic Physical Training was held there as well.

That's... a little strange.

The moment I arrived, however, my confusion disappeared.

The interior of the auditorium had been remodeled into something resembling a practical training hall.

Instead, a new question arose.

If they were going to do this anyway, why not simply use one of the practical training halls...?

Even the smallest auditorium occupied an entire building.

Its floor space far exceeded that of a normal training room, and the ceiling was incomparably higher.

Yet the Special Class for the Awakened consisted of only nine students.

Since the instructor needed to supervise everyone, the students couldn't even spread out very far.

As a result, even the punching bags—presumably installed for the Martial Arts class—had all been clustered together in one corner.

Training had not even begun, yet the wasted space was impossible to ignore.

Besides, when I learned martial arts last semester, we never used equipment like this. We just practiced punches and kicks in the air...

These weren't ordinary heavy bags, either.

Each one had a speed bag and a rotating strike bar attached.

Since the class was preparing students for real combat, they had apparently decided to incorporate striking drills as well.

“Karvaldr!”

After taking a slow look around the auditorium, I absentmindedly poked one of the punching bags.

Just then, someone called my name.

Turning around, I saw Reisir hurrying toward me after entering the auditorium.

“You're here early! Perfect timing!”

“...What do you mean by 'perfect timing'?”

“They say exercising on an empty stomach causes muscle loss, lowers performance, and can even lead to hypoglycemia, right? So I brought something.”

As he spoke, Reisir produced an energy bar.

“It isn't anything made by an expert. It's just a mass-produced one from the academy store, so it might not suit your tastes... but it's still much better than exercising without eating.”

He was explaining himself so earnestly that it almost sounded like a plea.

At this point, refusing would only make me uncomfortable.

Not him.

Whenever I skip a meal, he shows up with a lunchbox. Now he's even bringing things like this...

Knowing Reisir, there was no way he had brought one only for me.

He had undoubtedly prepared enough for everyone in the Special Class for the Awakened.

I knew that.

Even so...

For some reason, my chest tingled warmly.

“Well... since you insist... I'll accept it in recognition of the devotion it must have taken to visit the school store this early.”

“Good. That's the right answer! Oh, Yor, would you like one too?”

“Meow~!”

Maintaining an intentionally arrogant tone, I accepted the energy bar.

Reisir smiled in satisfaction before offering another one to Yor, who accepted it without hesitation.

...I should probably thank him.

The mere thought of the protagonist of someone else's novel teasing me afterward made me feel inexplicably embarrassed.

Kind intentions were one thing.

But if he somehow concluded that I simply accepted everything he did without even expressing gratitude...

Eventually, he might grow tired of looking after me.

He might even rethink becoming my friend.

“Ah! To open it, you just grab this pointed corner and tear here.”

While I stood there absentmindedly rustling the wrapper, hesitating over my words rather than the packaging itself, Reisir apparently misunderstood.

Thinking I simply didn't know how to open it, he demonstrated with his own energy bar.

Now if I thank him... it'll sound like I'm thanking him for teaching me how to open a wrapper.

Before I realized it, I was glaring at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden?”

“You don't need to explain how to open a wrapper. Anyone can figure that out by looking.”

“Ah... were you offended because you thought I was treating you like an idiot? I didn't mean that. I only explained because I thought you'd never eaten one of these before... and you kept staring at the wrapper like something was bothering you.”

“That was... because... I was trying to say... thank... you... and... I hesitated.”

“Pfft—”

Reisir hurriedly turned away and covered his mouth.

His trembling shoulders betrayed him completely.

He was laughing.

“If you're going to laugh, at least do it openly.”

“Pwahahaha!”

“...It was better when you were trying to hold it in.”

“Khh—”

Why was it...

That even when the other person listened exactly as I wanted...

I still somehow ended up feeling dissatisfied?

Reluctantly, I unwrapped the energy bar and took a bite.

It tasted neither especially good nor especially bad.

Just...

An ordinary energy bar.

“So? Is it edible?”

At some point Reisir had stopped laughing.

Now he watched me with faint nervousness.

I stared at him for a long moment before sighing.

“You seem to believe that because I was raised as a noble, I refuse to eat anything that isn't luxurious. That isn't the case.”

“...Really?”

“Indeed. This was made to be eaten by people, was it not? It's sold in the academy store of an institution attended primarily by nobles. The same applies to the restaurants in the shopping district. They may not all be high-end establishments, but because academy students frequent them, they cannot afford to prepare food carelessly. So in the future, you don't need to be so cautious every time you offer me something to eat.”

Honestly...

What a pointless thing to worry about.

Reisir quietly chewed his own energy bar while thinking it over.

Eventually, he nodded.

“Even so... I'm not going to feed you just anything. If I can, I'd rather give you something good.”

Since he genuinely wanted to do that, there was little point arguing.

Especially considering Yor would be eating it too.

So I merely replied,

“Do whatever you like.”

Then I finished the rest of the energy bar.

“Oh? I expected to arrive first, yet there are already two students even more diligent than I am.”

Fjodora entered the auditorium as she spoke.

Her admiration was understandable.

The dawn class began at five o'clock.

It was still twenty minutes before the lesson started.

“So the two of you came early to warm up as well. Admirable.”

“Yes...”

“Yes...”

Reisir and I answered simultaneously.

I only responded because royalty had addressed me.

Expressing gratitude out of politeness never even crossed my mind.

Judging from his expression, Reisir seemed to feel much the same.

“But... what exactly were you eating?”

“An energy bar from the academy store.”

“Oh? They sell such things?”

Fjodora sounded pleasantly surprised.

“I was concerned students might begin training without eating, given how early these classes start. This is excellent. If they're reasonably tasty, perhaps we should provide one to every student in the Special Class each morning.”

“Yes...”

Reisir's smile stiffened noticeably.

He was probably thinking exactly what I was.

If you were that concerned, perhaps you shouldn't have scheduled mandatory training before dawn.

“Then... would you happen to have another one?”

“...Here.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Despite Reisir's obvious reluctance, Fjodora accepted it without the slightest hesitation.

She unwrapped it.

Took one bite.

Then immediately frowned.

“What an unbearably crude taste. To think students at an academy operated by the Imperial Family are eating something like this... And this black coating—is it truly chocolate? It has none of chocolate's characteristic bittersweet flavor. Instead, it leaves an oddly greasy film on the tongue.”

I flattened the wrapper in my hand and examined the ingredients.

Palm oil.

So it used compound chocolate rather than real chocolate.

I'm almost impressed she noticed that immediately, considering there isn't even much chocolate in it.

...No, more importantly...

Is it really acceptable for a world modeled after medieval Europe to have ingredients like dl-α-tocopheryl acetate in processed food?

Exactly where...

And how...

Were the academy store's processed foods actually manufactured?

The more I thought about it, the more curious I became.

Still, another issue demanded immediate attention.

“Isn't this a product manufactured and sold under Imperial supervision? It even bears a Food Safety Management certification seal here. Calling it junk food might be somewhat inappropriate.”

“That certification merely guarantees it is safe to consume. It says nothing whatsoever about quality or taste.”

Apparently, to Fjodora, any low-quality food qualified as junk food, regardless of whether it was actually unhealthy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Reisir.

His complexion had become remarkably gloomy.

After all...

He had just unknowingly fed junk food to both a princess and me.

Apparently oblivious, Fjodora continued.

“At any rate, Young Master, you seemed perfectly content eating it.”

“My palate simply isn't as refined as Your Royal Highness's.”

“Even so... this hardly seems appropriate. Perhaps I should arrange for a proper bakery to open inside the academy, so students can purchase suitable refreshments whenever they wish.”

Had she simply declared,

"I refuse to eat such rubbish ever again,"

I would have found her thoroughly unpleasant.

Since she instead concluded that student welfare should be improved...

I was willing to cut her some slack.

Unfortunately...

After saying that, she looked down at the half-eaten energy bar in her hand, hesitated, and quietly stored the remainder inside her inventory rather than finishing it.

I immediately withdrew that charitable assessment.

Come to think of it... before the rewrite, didn't Fjodora suffer terribly whenever food became an issue after leaving the Imperial Palace...?

She had struggled especially with preserved rations inside the Demon Realm.

I wondered whether that would happen again this time.

Or perhaps...

Since she now enjoyed the Imperial Family's full support...

Someone had prepared luxury-grade field rations for her.

More importantly...

It's a good thing I already told Reisir that I'm not particularly picky about food.

Even so...

His expression remained painfully gloomy.

Had I not said that earlier...

He would probably be apologizing to me over and over again right now.

“If we've finished speaking, may I begin warming up?”

“Oh dear. I've taken up more of your time than intended. This humble one should warm up as well, so please don't mind me.”

Once Fjodora gave her permission, I quietly tugged on Reisir's sleeve.

It was simply my way of telling him—

Forget what the princess said.

Let's just start warming up.