Free Web Novel"Yor, you really are a genius! You solved our communication problem!"
"Nyan nyan nyang~♪"
At my heartfelt admiration, Yor flew around in the air as if dancing, expressing her joy with her whole body.
Seeing her cute behavior, my heart, which had been damp and heavy like a waterlogged sponge, felt lighter and refreshed.
I guess this is why people become so obsessed with their pets.
"The word 'protagonist' you wrote here... were you asking whether the person we met on the stairs earlier was the 'original novel's protagonist'?"
"Nyang!"
I asked while pointing at the words written in the notebook with my finger.
At that, Yor nodded vigorously in affirmation.
She seemed very pleased that I had immediately understood what she was trying to say.
"Yes, you're right. That's Reisir, the protagonist of 《I Alone am the SSS-grade Einherjar》. I never told you what he looked like when you were still in the egg, so it's amazing that you recognized him. Did you figure it out just from my attitude and the atmosphere? Yor, you really are smart, aren't you?"
"Nyaong nyaong, nyan nyan nya, nyaooong~!"
When I spoke with a mixture of admiration and praise, Yor meowed proudly at length.
Then she flipped the notebook page and wrote a new phrase, though the content was very short.
「 Good person 」
For the amount of time she had spent meowing, it was an excessively concise message.
No, it wasn't even a sentence. It was simply a combination of two words.
Was she praising me in return because I had just praised her?
I briefly considered that possibility, but it didn't feel right.
More than that... freeweɓnøvel.com
"Are you talking about Reisir?"
"Yaong!"
"You're right about that too. Reisir really is a good person. Still, there's no reason for him to be good to me..."
Thanks to Yor's bright energy, my mood had improved enough that I didn't sink into a bottomless pit of gloom like before.
But even so, I couldn't stop the bitter smile spreading across my lips.
If Reisir had been the antihero type of protagonist...
And if he hadn't convinced me he was a good person by worrying about me...
No, even if he had simply shown me a friendly but innocent smile...
'I wouldn't be so consumed by guilt right now.'
Unfortunately, Reisir was an exceptionally kind and affectionate person.
Every time I was reminded of that fact, his predestined life of misfortune felt even more absurd, and I grew to despise myself for choosing to remain a bystander.
'At least in fiction, a good person deserves to be acknowledged by many people and live happily ever after, right? Then why...!'
To think the day would come when I resented a novel's author simply because I felt sorry for the protagonist of someone else's story.
I suppose it was unavoidable.
What had once been nothing more than someone else's creative work had now become my reality.
"Yor. Do you think I should save Reisir from his scheduled misfortunes?"
「 Master's heart most important 」
"That means I should do whatever I want... right?"
"Nyaah~."
"But you called Reisir a good person just a moment ago."
「 Impression! 」
"It was just your impression...?"
"Myamya."
Yor answered my questions by writing in the notebook, meowing, or nodding her head.
Perhaps because I was the indecisive type who couldn't become completely coldhearted yet also lacked the courage to act.
I found myself wishing someone else would decide my course of action and push me forward.
As if she had noticed that wish...
...my familiar wrote the following in the notebook.
「 Turning away uncomfortable? Help O
Survival important? Help X 」
This really was a message built around maximum efficiency.
Still, it wasn't difficult to understand what this baby dragon was trying to say.
"If my heart feels too uncomfortable and I can't bear to turn away from Reisir, then I should help him. But if my survival is more important, enough for me to suppress those feelings, then I don't have to help him. Is that what you mean?"
"Nyaaaang~!"
It was a cry that seemed to say, 'Exactly!'
Even after responding to me like that, Yor apparently still had more to say and scribbled in the notebook once again.
「 Respect master's choice. Disappointed NN 」
"Does that mean you'll respect my decision no matter which path I choose, and you won't be disappointed in me?"
"Yaong."
"But... by any chance, is writing a hassle for you?"
"......"
Seeing her quietly turn her head away and avoid my gaze, it seemed that was true.
I suppose that no matter how much Yor's forepaws functioned like hands, they still weren't shaped exactly like human hands.
Holding a pen and writing must be awkward and uncomfortable for her.
Even so, I was grateful that she had picked up a pen for the sole purpose of wanting to communicate with me.
"Anyway, thank you for saying that."
Although she hadn't made the decision for me like I'd hoped, my heart felt much lighter.
It must have been because she told me she wouldn't be disappointed no matter which path I chose.
It seemed that, unconsciously, I had been worried about what would happen if Yor became disappointed in me. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Thanks to that, instead of rushing into a decision as if I were being chased, I was finally able to think calmly.
About what choice would leave me with the least regret.
About what my best option really was.
"Becoming Reisir's companion and following him around to help would be too dangerous, but I also don't want to watch him suffer misfortune right in front of me. So I'll continue keeping my distance like before, but at the very least, I have to prevent his friend from dying at the graduation ceremony."
I'll have to accept a certain amount of risk in the process.
Anyway, if Reisir still hadn't let go of his resentment toward Karvaldr, wasn't I originally planning to settle the balance between favor and grudge by saving that friend?
So it wasn't exactly a loss.
"In the original novel, Reisir dropped out of the academy to investigate the Demon Realms that had begun appearing all over the world. They had killed his parents and his childhood friend, and it wasn't only him—other people had also lost loved ones because of them. He wanted to uncover the source of the Demon Realms and stop them from appearing."
Although up until the day the original work went on hiatus, there had been nothing that could really be called a result.
There hadn't even been any foreshadowing regarding the cause of the Demon Realms' creation, so there were comments saying the author seemed to be writing without any concrete setting in mind.
Even in that situation, Reisir never gave up investigating the Demon Realms.
"Even if his friend doesn't die on graduation day, the fact that his parents died in the past won't change. So this time too, Reisir will leave the academy and wander the world investigating the Demon Realms."
And while doing so, Reisir would form new bonds with various people.
And he would repeatedly experience the pain of losing loved ones in proportion to the number of bonds he formed.
But how could I possibly do anything about misfortunes happening in places where I wasn't even present?
"I want the last image I have of him to be a brightly smiling face. So when Reisir leaves this academy, I don't want /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ him drowning in grief and blaming himself for his own helplessness. I want to help him move forward with renewed resolve for the greater good."
This was the choice that made my heart feel the most at ease.
Although I ended by saying, 'I want to help him,' in reality it was a conclusion I reached while thinking only about myself.
And yet, as if cheering me on, Yor meowed brightly and gently patted my back with her long tail.
'I wanted to become a dependable guardian my familiar could rely on once she was born, but it feels like I'm the only one being comforted...?'
It's wonderful that my baby dragon is smart and reliable, but because of that, I'm worried she might end up stealing my guardian role.
Since I'd decided on a new course of action, I would have to try showing a more mature side of myself starting tomorrow.
That "tomorrow" came very quickly.
After all, it was the next day.
But there was no opportunity to show a more mature side of myself.
Still, looked at another way, nothing problematic happened, so I decided to take it positively.
So why am I bothering to describe today instead of skipping over it?
Just because no problematic incident occurred...
...doesn't mean there wasn't something worth turning into an episode.
"Mr. Karvaldr. I am busy today, so I do not have time to assist with your training. I believe you will have to draw out your Ether using the crystal sphere in my research laboratory. Would that be alright?"
Right after the afternoon lecture on "Ether Attribute Enhancement" ended.
As the students were leaving the lecture hall, Professor Radvisin spoke to me with a deeply apologetic expression.
But I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
On Thursdays, I had usually already exhausted most of my Purple Ether during the regular attribute enhancement training lecture anyway.
Since the amount of Ether I could use was small, the private lesson ended quickly.
Today was the same, with little Ether remaining.
In effect, the only thing that had changed was the location where I would refill my depleted Ether Core—from the lecture hall to the research laboratory.
"Of course, that is fine."
"Ah! But it would be a shame not to check your familiar's abilities, wouldn't it? Especially since it was born with Sky Blue Ether."
"Thank you for your consideration despite being busy. However, I do not wish to trouble you, Professor..."
"A bother?! Absolutely not. I am simply curious."
Professor Radvisin cut me off as he practically jumped in surprise.
What he said about being curious regarding the attribute of Sky Blue Ether was surely true.
But his suggestion to check Yor's abilities wasn't solely to satisfy his curiosity.
'He must want to examine the attributes of Sky Blue Ether in advance so he can develop a training method ahead of time. In preparation for the day I can use that Ether whenever I want.'
He truly was a thoughtful mentor.
The words 'It's really alright' rose to my throat, but Professor Radvisin didn't seem likely to back down easily.
So I decided to stop wasting the professor's time on a pointless argument.
"Yor, use your ability. But don't cover the ceiling like yesterday—make the cloud small. And of course, we must not get wet."
"Myaaang~!!"
I immediately instructed Yor to use her ability, and she let out a cute catlike cry while flipping through the air.
Since the movement differed from yesterday's, it seemed the flip wasn't mandatory.
Apparently, it was purely for expressive purposes, which was a great relief.
"Hoh...? Mr. Karvaldr, did you say cloud? And getting wet? Could it be that the ability of Sky Blue Ether is making rain fall?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"To think the attribute of Sky Blue Ether is related to the sky! Seeing this, there truly must be some correlation between an Ether's attribute and its color..."
"......"
I felt sorry for giving my mentor false hope.
But directly denying his words and getting into a logical debate with him would have been no different from declaring, 'I want to become your research student.'
So I kept my mouth shut and watched the cloud forming in the air.
