Free Web Novel"Well now... I was planning to tell Reisir to come receive instruction from me every Wednesday after the afternoon lecture. At this rate, it'll look as though I'm after the incentive."
Marquis Isvald, who had money to burn, tossed out the joke in a light tone.
Then he looked at the original protagonist with a meaningful smile and continued.
"Ah, right. If you manage to land even one attack on me this month, I'll give you the entire incentive I receive. Does that motivate you?"
As expected, it seemed Kaldrun intended to play the Giving Tree in this remake as well.
I had suspected as much ever since he told Reisir that he would buy him a new weapon if his current one broke, so it felt perfectly natural.
Unlike me, Reisir seemed genuinely startled by Kaldrun's extraordinary offer.
His eyes widened as he asked in a bewildered voice,
"I-Is that... really all right...?"
"Why wouldn't it be? I'm merely saying I'll spend the money I earn however I please."
Kaldrun said this while looking toward Fjodora, as though asking whether she had any objections. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Naturally, Fjodora said she had none.
"Or are you not confident you can do it? You only need to hit me once."
Kaldrun turned his gaze back to Reisir and deliberately provoked him.
As though trying to hand over the fruits of his own labor to the original protagonist were not enough, he was even giving him a convenient justification for accepting it.
Truly, he was a model helper-type supporting character.
"No, sir! I'm confident!"
"As you should be."
When Reisir reflexively shot back, Kaldrun nodded with satisfaction.
That expression did not come from a teacher sincerely rooting for his student's growth.
It came from the anticipation of watching a promising sprout grow quickly enough to become an entertaining sparring partner.
"Now then, let us begin the lesson in earnest."
During Practical Combat Preparedness Skill, two students would spar with all their strength.
The remaining students would observe them, broadening their perspective and developing their tactical judgment.
Afterward, Kaldrun would point out their weaknesses and suggest directions for improvement.
If the space were divided properly, there would have been no issue with two or three pairs fighting simultaneously.
Even so, the class followed this format for reasons beyond the benefits of observation mentioned above.
It was also meant to ensure the students received enough rest and to reduce the risk of accidents.
The skill-assessment scene that began in Episode 200 continued all the way through Episode 204.
The amount of narration required to describe every sparring match that took place over the remaining three hours would have been immense.
Therefore, I will postpone narrating the students' matches against one another until later.
And during lunch—
"Professor Skati said she'll meet each of us twice a week, so she asked us to decide which days we prefer and tell her tomorrow."
—Helga delivered that message, prompting us to discuss the matter.
To state the conclusion simply, I decided to receive Skati's private instruction on Mondays and Thursdays, Helga chose Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Pret took Fridays and Saturdays.
The next afternoon class was Biology.
This would normally have been the appropriate moment to insert a scene break and move on to the next day's narration.
However, the protagonist of someone else's novel brought that plan to a halt.
"Karvaldr. If you're not busy, would you like to talk for a moment before the next class begins?"
"Aren't you going to the library today?"
"No. I still haven't finished the books I borrowed last night."
In that case, should he not have been finishing those books instead of talking to me?
The thought crossed my mind, but I nodded to show that I understood.
I concluded that he must have asked to speak with me because he had something more important to discuss than reading or studying material related to magnetic fields.
I followed Reisir to a secluded section of the walking path.
It was the same place from Episode 158.
I didn't think much of it at the time...
To think there was a bench sitting in a place like this.
It had to be a location created for the original author's convenience.
In other words, it was a space governed by the setting: No background characters will appear while the protagonist is speaking with a supporting character here.
Put another way, there was a high likelihood that Senna would observe any conversation held in this spot.
I parted my lips nervously.
"So? What did you want to discuss?"
"During class earlier, there were a lot of students around whom we're not close with, so I couldn't say anything because I thought it might make you uncomfortable. But you and Yor were both incredible."
"......?"
What had the protagonist of someone else's novel just said?
I had assumed he had important business, yet he had asked to speak with me privately merely to say something like this?
I was so thoroughly bewildered that I could only stare blankly at him.
At that, the protagonist of someone else's novel smiled brightly and continued.
"You said before that Yor isn't the type to fight on the front lines because she's special and extraordinary, right? To be honest, I didn't completely understand what you meant at the time, but after seeing Yor fight today, I realized you were absolutely right."
"......"
"You fought amazingly well too, even without using an Ether Attribute Ability. I was really surprised! Normally, if someone fired that many arrows made from compressed pure Ether, they would immediately suffer Ether exhaustion, wouldn't they? But Yor was still perfectly fine even after using several attacks like that. Just how much Ether does she have?"
"......!"
Just as I thought.
The original protagonist had not brought me here simply to praise us.
The praise was only an excuse. His true purpose was to find out how much Ether Yor has?
I reflexively tightened my arms around Yor.
Perhaps sensing the wariness in my posture, the protagonist of someone else's novel gave an awkward look.
"I was only praising you because I thought you were impressive. I wasn't trying to pry into Yor's Ether stat."
Of course not.
If he needed to, he could simply check it himself with 【Truth-Reading Eye】.
No way... Did he already see it? Did he secretly lift his eyepatch during our spar?
It was possible.
Reisir had previously attempted to examine Yor's Yeouiju with 【Truth-Reading Eye】, but he had never tried to look directly at either Yor or me.
I had assumed he was respecting our privacy out of consideration for me.
Perhaps the truth was merely that he could not use the relevant skill on us because he was afraid we would jab him in the eyes again.
Had he been waiting for an opportunity all this time?
Or had he looked at our Skill Windows under the influence of the original author's will?
And now he's trying to sound me out...
Whatever the reason, if he had already confirmed all our information and become suspicious of my identity, the first question he would likely ask was this:
Is Yor really a feline familiar?
Telling a suspicious entity occupying someone else's body that he possessed 【Truth-Reading Eye】 and knew I was not the real Karvaldr would be far too dangerous.
He would first want to confirm whether what he had seen was true.
He would start by questioning the species of Yor, who looked nothing like a cat and possessed 【Dragon Fear】, then use my response to probe further.
"I thought you'd be happy if I praised Yor..."
Had he decided to retreat because I was acting too guarded?
Or had my assumption that the original protagonist used 【Truth-Reading Eye】 on Yor and me been wrong from the start, and Reisir had truly only meant to praise Yor's ability?
A strange bitterness showed on his face as he smiled awkwardly.
He looked exactly like someone saddened by the distance my attitude had placed between us, and my heart dropped with a jolt.
What if I was suspicious for no reason...? What if Reisir decides that getting close to me is impossible after all and starts distancing himself...?
I stole a glance at Reisir's expression.
No matter how I looked at it, he seemed lost in thought.
If the conversation ended like this, my anxiety would continue swelling until it swallowed me whole.
"...A little over six hundred."
Partly to observe the original protagonist's reaction and confirm whether he had already seen Yor's Skill Window.
And partly to soothe Reisir's wounded feelings.
I revealed Yor's Ether stat while carefully watching the expression of the person beside me.
"Huh...? What is?"
"The thing you just claimed you had no intention of prying into."
"So... Yor's Ether stat...? Is over six hundred...?"
Astonishment flooded his face.
Not only that, but the disbelief in his voice intensified, and his volume rose with each successive phrase.
"Lower your voice."
"Ah...! S-Sorry. I was just so surprised..."
At my warning, Reisir hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth and looked around.
Judging by that entire sequence of reactions, he appeared to have learned Yor's Ether stat only now.
Reisir was not a poor liar or actor, but deceiving someone with such an impassioned performance did not suit his temperament.
What a relief... It seems my pointless anxiety got the better of me, and I was mistaken.
I felt reassured for the moment, though my worries had not vanished entirely.
At present, Reisir could not control 【Truth-Reading Eye】.
Because information windows appeared at random and obstructed his vision, he had no choice but to wear an eyepatch.
However, as he entered and left Demon Realms and read more information, his proficiency with 【Truth-Reading Eye】 would rise until it transformed into an active skill.
Just as in the original work before the remake, Reisir would remove his eyepatch immediately.
Covering one eye impaired depth perception and narrowed the field of vision, greatly reducing combat performance.
Once he stops wearing the eyepatch normally, there'll be no way to tell whether he's activated 【Truth-Reading Eye】...
I could hardly jab him in the eye every time he removed the eyepatch just to stop his proficiency from increasing.
There was no guarantee I could always manage it, either.
Worrying over whether he had read Yor's and my Skill Windows would become exhausting before long.
Should I simply let him see them? Just as he mistakes a dragon, which is plainly nothing like a feline creature, for a cat, perhaps he won't be able to perceive my real name or Yor's 【Dragon Fear】 properly either.
Rather than trembling with anxiety and remaining wary of Reisir, only to cause unnecessary misunderstandings, it might be better to accept the risk and gamble on the outcome.
Not that I intend to act immediately...
I would have to do it when Senna could not observe us and when I could control the situation.
At such a time, I would try to induce Reisir to use 【Truth-Reading Eye】.
