Free Web Novel"Why are you standing out here alone? Doesn't the Austri Family fight by sending their familiars to the front while their masters provide support?"
Kaldrun asked the question while looking at Yor, who had remained in her seat.
Before I could answer, he continued.
"I need to assess your familiar's abilities anyway, so fight together."
There was no point in telling him that Yor had never fought before. It would not change anything.
Everyone had a first time.
And if it had to happen, it was far safer for her first battle to be a spar at the academy than real combat in a Demon Realm.
Unless I plan to leave Yor outside whenever I enter a Demon Realm, we need to learn how to fight together.
Even so, Yor's feelings mattered most.
If she did not seem mentally prepared, I would have to ask Kaldrun to postpone assessing her abilities until another time.
With that thought, I turned toward the seats, only to find Yor already leaving hers and flying over to me.
She truly was a spirited and courageous Baby Dragon.
As Yor approached, I gently stroked her back while considering the compatibility between Kaldrun's ability and 【Weather Manipulation】.
Kaldrun's ability was cold. He could not create water itself.
Instead, he fought by freezing and condensing the moisture already present in the air.
That meant using 【Weather Manipulation】 to create fog or rain would effectively provide him with an environment favorable to his ability...
Yor is clever. She won't overlook that and use the skill anyway, will she?
That was the conclusion I reached.
"Do your best."
Even so, I deliberately said those words and used 【Encouragement】 on Yor.
I wanted the Baby Dragon, who had bravely stepped forward despite being thrust into a sudden sparring match, to know that I was cheering for her.
I wanted her to feel my confidence that she would do well.
There are too many people listening for me to say it openly...
In a sense, it was a waste of Ether, but this was not real combat, so what did it matter?
The spar would never last long enough for me to exhaust my Ether in the first place.
I would lose well before then.
"Nyang, nyaaa~!"
Had she understood the feelings behind my use of 【Encouragement】?
Yor gave a delighted cry and rubbed her cheek against me.
Smooth scales and soft down brushed against my skin.
It was merely affectionate contact, not a skill that bestowed any actual effect.
Naturally, none of the values displayed in my Status Window changed.
Nevertheless, motivation surged within me, and vitality seemed to overflow through my entire body.
It had to be because Yor's kindhearted encouragement had reached me.
"My, my... How does anyone endure the sorrow of living without a familiar? I can see that the two of you are close, so prepare yourselves now."
In truth, I had spent no more than a few dozen seconds petting Yor.
As an exceptional swordsman, Kaldrun must have recognized Yor's cuteness and loveliness with his keen eye in that brief span of time.
That had to be why he was envious enough to say such a thing.
I've earned someone's envy and received Yor's support. Let's do our best!
With that thought, I used 【Encouragement】 on myself. At the same time, I removed my hand from Yor's back and retrieved a whip from my Inventory.
Before swinging it to activate 【Exaltation】, I quickly used 【Encouragement】 again.
The keywords I assigned to myself were "My Possessed Body" and "My Being."
The second had suddenly occurred to me a few days ago. I had tried it on the off chance that it might work, and it had.
While I was at it, I added more keywords for Yor as well.
The four already registered were "My Familiar," "My Happiness," "My Comfort," and "My Confidant."
Now "My Salvation" and "My Editor" had been added, bringing the total to six.
For reference, the final keyword was one I had merely considered before and was applying for the first time today.
I started writing 《How a Repentant Villain Saves the World》 last night, and Yor agreed to proofread it for grammatical errors and typos.
I had not yet written enough to make up a full chapter, so I had not actually asked her to proofread anything.
Perhaps the system counted Yor's work as a dictionary as part of an editor's duties.
Or perhaps it was enough that I already regarded her as the editor of my novel.
In any case, the keyword had registered successfully.
I swung the whip and activated 【Exaltation】.
"I have completed my preparations."
"You're going to stand at the front instead of your familiar?"
Kaldrun questioned Yor's decision to hide behind my back.
He must have known that members of the Austri Family traditionally avoided direct combat and supported their familiars from the rear.
"Yes. My familiar's body is not suited to close combat."
"Isn't that long body meant for wrapping around an opponent like a rope?"
Kaldrun said something terrible.
Compared to the nonsense about swinging Yor like a whip, it was certainly a more humane suggestion.
Even so, it was enough to make my expression turn solemn.
Perhaps it would be possible once Yor had grown and developed a thick, sturdy torso, with her Physical Strength and Defense Power greatly increased.
If she attempted something like that now, however, her muscles and ligaments would tear from the force of an opponent struggling to break free.
"...Yor's Physical Strength and Defense Power are still too low for that."
"Ah! Now that I think about it, your familiar was born less than a year ago, wasn't she? It may be strange for me to ask after insisting that I assess her abilities, but... can your familiar actually fight?"
I suspected that a considerable number of my dear readers had wondered the same thing as Kaldrun.
Especially since I had already explained that 【Weather Manipulation】 could not be used against him.
Still, the perceptive readers had probably guessed how Yor intended to fight.
The clue had appeared in Episode 18.
Back then, I had explained that compressing Ether after filtering out its attribute produced physical force, allowing it to be used in a manner similar to telekinesis.
I had also mentioned that the method consumed an enormous amount of Ether and Mental Power, making it terribly inefficient.
That's why I only use it to alter the whip's trajectory in specific situations...
As you readers already know, Yor's Ether and Mental Power were not merely high.
They were extraordinarily high.
That meant Yor could actively employ such an inefficient method in combat without placing herself under much strain.
As expected, even a baby dragon is still a dragon.
In that sense, even if Reisir had not regained consciousness on the day of the graduation ceremony, I probably would not have been in danger.
Whether Yor formed a shield around me with her immense quantity of Ether or launched a direct attack herself, she would have protected me somehow.
"There will be no problem."
"If her master can say that with such confidence, then I will allow you the first attack. Come at me."
Given the nature of my weapon, I was not particularly grateful that he had conceded the first move.
It was not as though I could successfully counterattack if Kaldrun moved first, so the outcome was the same either way.
Besides, asking him to fight in a manner advantageous to me felt somewhat improper.
I immediately charged at Kaldrun, extending my arm outward from the inside and swinging the whip.
The attack was not meant to land.
It was intended to test his reaction.
Will he retreat, or close the distance?
I saw Kaldrun lower his upper body.
Since the whip was sweeping horizontally, he was likely planning to duck beneath it and rush me.
That was how I predicted his movement.
Within the flow of time slowed by the Thought Acceleration Skill, I followed him with my eyes while fumbling through empty air with my left hand.
Then I abruptly threw the object I had seized.
A dagger appeared without warning and flew toward his head.
Kaldrun flinched and threw himself to the side.
His mouth opened in surprise, so I briefly deactivated 【Character Analysis】 to hear what he was saying.
"Did you just retrieve that from your Inventory? How did you take out exactly what you needed without even looking inside?"
"I practiced."
"What a remarkable idea. To think you would incorporate a function meant merely for storing luggage into combat..."
Although I had been praised, I felt only an uneasy sense of guilt.
Using a dagger in this manner was not a combat technique I had devised.
It was something Skati had taught Reisir in the original work.
Wait... Aren't Author Senna's readers who read the version before the remake going to curse me for this? They'll say she not only gave a character with a history of school violence a tsundere portrayal, but also built him up by handing him an idea that originally belonged to someone else...
The realization came too late.
The water had already been spilled.
Since nothing could be done about it now, I could only hope that the original author would skip over the spar between Kaldrun and me instead of narrating it.
I pushed the concern from my mind.
"Why does the person being praised look like that?"
"I do not know what you see in my expression that would prompt such a question."
"What a dry response. Did you inherit your personality from His Grace Duke Austri? Looking at your face, one might think the Duchess gave birth to you entirely on her own through budding..."
Kaldrun was currently in his mid-forties.
According to his background, he had lost his parents at a young age and inherited the title of Marquis as soon as he came of age.
Naturally, he would have had dealings with Duke Hárðr.
It also made sense that he remembered the late Duchess Austri.
But isn't that far too cruel?! How could he say my personality resembles Hárðr's?
I deeply regretted deactivating 【Character Analysis】 and listening to Kaldrun.
To think he would spew such slander directly to my face.
The moment displeasure made my expression crumple without my realizing it—
"That's strange. Isn't Kar usually very susceptible to compliments?"
"He simply ignores compliments he cannot accept without reacting."
"Ah...! Lord Karvaldr kept ignoring my compliments because of that? Then Professor Kaldrun must also lack talent for compliments, just like me. That must be why he could not get a reaction from His Grace Duke Austri either."
I heard Vigdís, Reisir, and Ríolíkin whispering among themselves.
Kaldrun, who had suddenly been branded a man with no talent for compliments, developed a sour expression.
"...Let us resume the spar."
"Yes."
I charged at Kaldrun once more, swinging the whip in exactly the same manner as before.
He lowered his stance and rushed in, and I threw the dagger, perfectly recreating the previous exchange.
From this moment onward, however, things changed.
Instead of throwing himself aside and stopping to speak, Kaldrun merely tilted his head and allowed the dagger to pass beside it.
The distance between us vanished in an instant.
Even so, I did not hastily retreat in an attempt to create space.
"Yor."
I spoke the Baby Dragon's name in a low voice and swung the whip without moving from where I stood.
A sharp cry rang out from behind me.
"Kyaoooong!!"
Kaldrun, who had been charging straight toward me, suddenly jolted to a halt.
