Free Web NovelI tried posing a question to my imaginary readers for a change, but no semi-transparent window appeared to show me their comments.
To be honest, I expected that.
If this were a web novel, we’d only be just past chapter 6. Even with regular serialization, you’d prepare about 10 chapters in reserve, and for a platform-exclusive, you’d need to stockpile at least 100 chapters before launch.
'So, even on the off chance this is a novel, there’s no way real-time comments would appear yet.' freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Anyway, instead of choosing from the given options, I intended to pick a fifth answer.
Option 4 would destroy Karvaldr’s character traits, and I didn’t want to pick option 3 because I’d have to reveal that I’m the author of that novel.
And if I were to choose option 1 or 2, I’d have to explain to Reisir that the genre of his life is a crazy, bleak, dark fantasy.
"Isn’t the strength of that author’s novels the positive and cheerful protagonist, and the simple sentences that allow for a comfortable read? To speak of that in a negative light means you have no respect for what you like."
I put on a straight face and praised myself.
I thought I needed to say something like this so Reisir would stop his needless worrying and lower his guard around me.
Fortunately, it seemed to have an effect, as he opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.
"I also think that’s the strength of the Star Author’s novels, but when I recommended it to a friend, her reaction was so bad..."
"......"
At present, the protagonist had only one person he could call a friend, and she was a noble.
A typical noble would value dignity.
So it’s understandable that they’d prefer novels that require time and effort to read, like the ones I found at the entrance of the library’s novel section, rather than snack-like novels that can be consumed lightly.
'Besides, this is a fantasy world where educational opportunities are skewed toward the nobles, so only novels catering to their tastes would have developed.'
It’s only natural that the style of a web novel would feel unfamiliar, and what’s unfamiliar is easily ostracized.
Furthermore, web novels not only have many fixed clichés and settings, but they also frequently include descriptions of the "modern era."
My second work, for instance, is a novel set in the modern era itself.
'In other words, the barrier to entry for the people here is incredibly high...'
I had no idea how Reisir ended up reading a novel I wrote.
While I was debating whether to ask this, Reisir threw a question at me.
"Anyway, if you’re really a fan of the Star Author, you must have read 《The Gate in My Novel Devoured the World》, right?"
"I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a fan..., but I’ve read it."
"Then tell me the plot."
Reisir looked at me with an expression that suggested he’d believe me if I passed this test.
As much as "tenacity" is one of the main virtues of a web novel protagonist, this was going too far.
In the first place, shouldn’t I be the one grilling him about that novel?
Yet I don’t know why I’m the one being questioned instead.
"That’s a novel where the story begins with a hunter-genre novel written by the protagonist, who is an author, overlapping with reality, and the ending is that the protagonist’s true identity is actually..."
"Wa-wait! Why are you skipping straight to the end?!"
"Because it would take too long to tell you all the details."
"...You don’t have to be detailed, and you definitely don’t have to tell me the ending."
I knew he’d react like this if I tried to tell him the ending.
From the looks of it, Reisir hadn’t finished reading my second completed work yet.
'But still... it really seems to be right, doesn’t it?'
I had hoped the novel in someone else’s protagonist’s hands wasn’t one I wrote.
But since he didn’t point out any issues with the content, I guess it really was my novel.
"Should I talk about the other works as well? The author’s first work, 《A Healing Life Being Raised by the Protagonist》, is about a reader who gets possessed into a child’s body and is taken in by the original protagonist, a hero, and after acting as his younger sibling, becomes a true family member. The third work, 《How a Repentant Villain Saves the World》, is..."
"Don’t spoil it!"
"I was just about to say that I haven’t read that one yet. I only learned the title just now from seeing you borrow it."
I answered with my head tilted and arms crossed.
The implied meaning was, 'You’re not going to tell me you still don’t believe me after all this, are you?'
I was subtly expressing my displeasure.
To be honest, I wanted to end this conversation quickly and go back to my room to sort out my thoughts.
Survival is what matters, so I’m playing along with the Original Protagonist, but my mind is too complicated. freewebnσvel.cøm
I don’t know why I have to prove to a character from someone else’s novel that I’ve read my own work.
"You’ve really read all of the Star Author’s books, huh? Except for the new one."
"It’s only two works, after all."
"But if you count by volumes, it’s almost 100 books, isn’t it?"
"But they’re light and easy to read, aren’t they?"
"Do you happen to like this kind of novel, besides the ones written by the Star Author?"
"I do, but..."
Why on earth does Reisir keep asking me these questions?
I questioned his intentions while staring at the person in front of me.
In the library, he had bristled like a hedgehog, unable to hide his hostility and wariness.
But now, as if that had never happened, he continued the conversation in a rather calm tone.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at this body I had possessed showed almost no hint of disgust.
'It’s not like he’s treating me in a comfortable and friendly way, but more like a reaction to discovering something strange and unfamiliar.'
Should I say the psychological distance between us seems to have shortened drastically, or describe it as his guard having softened?
Either way, it seemed certain that his assessment of Karvaldr had changed.
Could it be he accepted my false apology, decided to forgive the possessed body, and let go of the past grudge?
Or did the sense of kinship from sharing similar taste in novels break down his wariness...
'Nah, no way. It can’t be that.'
Among the clichés in novels, there’s one that states, 'The thing you think can’t possibly be the answer is the right one.'
Just as I belatedly realized that and thought 'no way, no way,' the Original Protagonist proved the cliché with some nonsense of his own.
"Now I get it... You wanted to read a book you like with someone and talk about it, and I just happened to catch your eye, didn’t I?"
Reisir said this as if he were talking about someone else.
"So you wanted to get close to me, but since I didn’t approach you first like the other kids, you had to come to me. You didn’t know how, so you bullied me to get my attention!!"
This wasn’t a self-introduction, but simply him jumping to the wrong conclusion.
To say such nonsense with that much confidence.
If someone heard this and started a rumor, I’d be the only one embarrassed.
So I reflexively looked around.
Thankfully, there was no one passing by in the hallway in front of the library.
"Karvaldr. That’s not how you make friends."
Reisir looked at me ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ with a pitiful, almost sympathetic expression.
Seeing him like that, the words 'I know that too, you dumb motherfucker!' rose to my throat.
But I held back, because I didn’t want to get into a pointless argument.
'To think he would misunderstand me wanting his attention like that...'
As someone who writes, I knew the importance of sentence structure, but I never thought he would misunderstand this badly.
You don’t usually harm someone you want to befriend and then frame them for an accident they caused to get them suspended, right?
That’s something you do to get rid of someone you hate, not to keep someone you like by your side.
I thought he’d be able to read between the lines and figure out something like, 'There were rumors his position within the family was unstable, so that must be true. He tried so hard to get his father’s attention.'
I let out a heavy sigh, feeling a throbbing headache.
Then I pushed back my bangs and met Reisir’s eyes.
"I have no intention of becoming friends with you. In fact, I hope to be an extra in your life."
"You want to be an extra...?"
"I don’t want to get involved with you ever again. I want us to have a relationship where we just pass each other by like part of the scenery, even if we run into each other in lectures."
"Weren’t you the one who randomly approached me, picked fights, and bullied me when I was trying to live like that?"
The Original Protagonist, who had been bullied by Karvaldr for a whole semester, wore a baffled expression.
Since I couldn’t make excuses while wearing this body, I chose to change the subject instead of refuting him.
"Anyway, I’m the type to keep my thoughts about books to myself, so I’ve never thought of discussing them with anyone. Cut it out with the weird talk about me bullying you because I want to be friends. It’s creepy to think someone might hear it and take it at face value."
"So... are you embarrassed because I found out your true feelings?"
"Do I look like it?"
"No... But if that’s not it, then I don’t get it."
If it’s not, then just leave it at that.
I don’t know why a "but" has to follow.
If I leave this misunderstanding as it is, I might be forced into the "protagonist’s reading friend" role that wasn’t even in the original story.
And then one day, I’ll die.
Even if I somehow avoid death, other problems will be waiting for me.
If I stay by the side of this killing-novel protagonist who brings death with him, I’ll inevitably form connections with people who are about to die.
When the protagonist suffers from their deaths, I’ll have to suffer alongside him.
To avoid such a disaster, I have to correct this misunderstanding right here and now.
"What part don’t you understand?"
"You bullied me for a whole semester, even though I had nothing to do with you. Then you happened to find me standing in front of that bookshelf, revealed that you liked the author of the book I was holding, and apologized. And then you even added that you realized you couldn’t get attention no matter how much you bullied me, and you’re telling me my guess is wrong?"
Hearing Reisir’s summary, it seemed natural that he would misunderstand.
The place and timing of our meeting were too coincidental, and in the midst of it all, I really did speak in a confusing way.
To have expected him to understand me perfectly after all that was unreasonable, and I reflected on my actions.
'What should I do now...?'
I brought up the options in my head and ran a simulation.
[[ Option 1. Say that his guess wasn’t wrong. ]]
In this case, I could easily predict the result without thinking too deeply.
He might be extremely afraid of getting close to people later on, after those around him keep dying, but the current Reisir would try to befriend me no matter what, in order to hold a book discussion.
'And as I mentioned before, Reisir currently has only one friend.'
That’s because the other kids avoided him last semester when he was the target of Karvaldr’s bullying.
So if he becomes friends with Karvaldr, he can calculate that the others will stop keeping their distance.
A friend of the same gender who can not only improve his ruined relationships but also shares his reading tastes?
That’s a condition he really wouldn’t want to miss.
'...Let’s move on.'
[[ Option 2. Tell him everything as it is, from the possessed body’s perspective. ]]
Karvaldr was jealous of Reisir.
Because Reisir’s parents died protecting him, and now his guardian truly cares for him and treats him like their own child.
So Karvaldr, in an attempt to get his father’s attention, took out his frustration on the innocent Reisir by bullying him.
If I explain this to Reisir, he’ll feel wronged and get angry at first.
But being a kind protagonist, he’ll eventually try to understand Karvaldr’s loneliness and forgive him.
And since their reading tastes match so well, he’ll readily try to befriend him.
'Whichever option I choose, it just ends with a reading-friend ending... what should I do?'
It seems that telling Reisir I like my own novel was a bad move.
A very bad one.
If so, then...
[[ Option 3. On the day of the semester start party, when many students are gathered, I’ll clench my eyes shut and insult both my novel and Reisir together. ]]
My survival instinct strongly warned me.
I should never, ever choose this one.
Because Reisir’s grudge would shoot through the roof.
On top of what the possessed body has already done, a crime of deception would be added, and it’s obvious that a powered-up Reisir would come to judge me in the future.
Of course, the verdict would be a death sentence.
And if many people join in criticizing my novel, my fragile heart would be torn to shreds.
In other words, if I choose this option, not only will my body die, but my spirit will die too.
