This Novel is not my Novel

"...Why did you come to think that?"

"When we eventually enter a Demon Realm, it's better for everyone around me to be a bit stronger to guarantee our survival. To do that, like I said, I'd have to share the 'condition' with everyone and fulfill it beforehand. But you didn't. And I guess telling them the condition is embarrassing..."

In response to my question, Reisir started rambling on with his explanation before deliberately stopping midway.

Then, he pried my hand away from his face.

He held it tightly, met my eyes, and opened his mouth.

"...I thought it might have been a burden for you."

His golden eyes, gazing steadily at me, held a very serious light, and he had even paused for a moment before bringing this up.

It seemed Reisir was convinced that what he just said was the decisive reason.

"Let go of my hand. Your actions right now are more of a burden."

"I don't think so."

"What do you mean, you don't think so?"

"If the condition to use the 【Encouragement】 skill is to get close to you, and Her Royal Highness the Princess were to learn of this, she'd obviously ignore your wishes and force you to try and get closer to the kids in the special class, right? And she'd pressure the other kids to try and get close to you, too."

Even if I were to one day use the 【Encouragement】 skill on the special class members with the 'My Acquaintance' keyword out of necessity, I had no intention of revealing the specific condition.

Especially the fact that the skill could be 'stacked'.

So I've never once considered what might happen if the detailed information about the 【Encouragement】 skill were revealed to everyone...

The Fjodora in the original novel was truly inept at human relationships.

But the current Fjodora was beyond merely inept.

Was it because she was that much younger, due to her appearance being moved up?

Or was it that the original novel failed to properly shed light on that trait of hers?

Or had that trait been amplified because Author Senna was manipulating her for his own convenience?

There were many possible reasons.

But either way, the conclusion was the same.

It would surely turn out just as Reisir said.

"What's more, in that case, you have to completely open your heart, but the other party only has to pretend, right? It would be a one-sided loss for you... You might even get hurt."

His calm voice was filled to the brim with worry for me.

This wasn't the first or second day he had worried about me.

But watching him think from my perspective, pointing out things even I had overlooked, and hurting on my behalf for something that hadn't even happened yet...

It felt incredibly strange.

"So if a situation like that arose, it would be incomparably more burdensome than me holding your hand like this."

"Well... I suppose so. If, as you say, becoming close is the condition."

"That's not the condition?"

"It's not that it's completely wrong... It just means that being mere 'acquaintances' is enough to meet the condition, so there's no need to intentionally try to get closer."

I said this in the calmest tone possible and coldly shook his hand off.

Reisir readily let go of my hand, but his characteristic persistence hadn't gone anywhere.

"Is that really all? If it's just that, there would have been no need to hide the 【Encouragement】 skill, right? You could just say you have another buff skill that can support the 【Exaltation】 skill and use it."

His sharpness, befitting the original protagonist, was also as keen as ever.

"Does it, perhaps, have an option where the higher the affinity, the greater the effect? If so, people would obviously complain about discrimination, saying some only get a 3-point increase in stats while others get more. In the end, you'd be forced into a situation where you have to get close to everyone."

Though not the correct answer, he was surprisingly close to the truth.

"...You've almost got it. However, since I can arbitrarily adjust the effect, the problematic situation you mentioned won't happen."

"Still, you're telling me this with the intention of using it on me at maximum effect if need be, right?"

Not only could I grant Reisir the 'My Reader' keyword in addition to 'My Acquaintance',

he was the protagonist of the novel that made up this world.

In a critical moment, even a 'very slight' increase in his stats could secure the plausibility needed to turn the situation around.

Therefore, it was an undeniable fact that I was having 'that thought'.

However.

"...Don't talk as if I told you voluntarily when you found out by persistently digging for it."

"If I hadn't asked, were you planning on not saying anything and not even using the skill at all?"

"That's... not exactly it, but..."

I tried to land a sharp retort of my own, but as you can see, the result was disastrous.

Because of that, Reisir looked at my face, stained with reluctance, and spoke in a voice that a third party would have found quite affectionate.

"I won't ask what the specific condition is. It seems you're not ready to talk about it yet. Besides, I've confirmed the fact that you think of me as more than just a simple acquaintance. Should I say I'm already quite satisfied?"

"W-Wait. What's this nonsense now?"

"Nonsense?"

"The part about me thinking of you as... more than an acquaintance."

"You didn't deny that you intended to use the skill on me at its maximum effect. If this isn't you confirming that my stats will increase more than others' when you use the 【Encouragement】 skill because you don't think of me as a simple acquaintance, then what is it?"

I started to wonder if it would be better to reveal that the condition for using the 【Encouragement】 skill isn't the 'degree of closeness', but the application of a specific keyword.

It was something that would be exposed later anyway when the proficiency of the 【Truth-Reading Eye】 skill increased.

There was just one problem.

The thing is, the only other keyword I can grant Reisir is...

As long as Reisir suspected the author of the Special Character Novel to be 'One Who Witnessed the Essence of the World', revealing that I wrote Special Character Novels was out of the question.

Thus, if I couldn't answer what keyword I could use other than 'My Acquaintance',

the being before me would mistakenly assume that keyword was 'My Friend'.

I've hammered it in so many times that we're not friends, so suddenly admitting we are is just... wrong. Unless some special opportunity arises where I have no choice but to accept Reisir as a friend...

After pondering it carefully,

I came to the conclusion that it was for the best to leave things as they are, letting Reisir think of our relationship as 'more than acquaintances, less than friends'.

"I'd like to stop talking about this and move on to the next skill..."

"Yeah, okay."

The other party readily answered and erased the skill description for 【Encouragement】 written on the whiteboard.

Then, what he wrote next was this.

==========

【Exhortation(激勵)】 - (S)

: A buff skill derived from {Disposition}. It strengthens Ether Attribute Skills.

==========

I thought I might get away with the existence of this skill going unnoticed, but no such luck.

It seemed the 【Truth-Reading Eye】 could read even skills the original author wasn't aware of.

After all, Author Senna couldn't possibly have configured every single skill for all the extras, but Reisir can read the status windows of everyone in this world with his 【Truth-Reading Eye】.

Thinking about it from that perspective, this did seem more natural.

For now... should I be glad that it doesn't have a weird description attached like 【Cat's Mettle】 or 【Exaltation】?

Strictly speaking, it wasn't just fortunate. It had to be seen as a blessing in disguise.

The reason, of course, was—

"Karbaldr, you... You had such an amazing skill, so why have you never once used it until now?"

—because I had expected to be asked this very question.

Just thinking about explaining the reason made me sigh.

But when Reisir pressed me about the 【Encouragement】 skill,

I had tried to avoid answering, only to be swayed by his eloquence into a long conversation, and had to feel the full brunt of the embarrassment.

To get over the embarrassment quickly, the best way would be to confess the reason quickly, then hurry him to check the next skill.

Humans are beings who learn from past mistakes and grow.

Therefore, being human, I immediately put my newfound realization into practice.

"The skill proficiency is still low, so the effect is incredibly minuscule, making it pretty much the same whether I use it or not. Besides, to use this skill on others, I have to actually give encouragement... Not with actions, but with actual words... For that reason... it couldn't be helped."

"Pfft... I see, it couldn't be helped. Uh-huh, right. For you, it really must have been something that couldn't be helped."

"If your curiosity is satisfied, stop it and check the next skill."

"Karbaldr, do you realize how incredibly red your face is?"

"......I know, so don't bother pointing it out."

"Pffft..."

Reisir not only clamped a hand over his mouth but also squeezed both his eyes shut.

Then he sank to the floor as if sliding down, his shoulders shaking as he swallowed his laughter.

It occurred to me that anyone who didn't know the full story would see Reisir like this and easily mistake him for sobbing.

Was it in the nature of embarrassment to be accompanied by violence, or was it because Reisir was curled up like a ball?

I was struck with the impulse to just kick him and send him rolling.

They say that three 'patience' characters can prevent a murder, but this time, I just couldn't endure it.

Still, I can't leave a footprint on his pure white school uniform jacket...

I mustered my last bit of patience, took off my shoes, and then gave in to the impulse.

Watching the person who teased me fall sideways and roll on the floor, I felt incredibly gratified.

"Stop laughing already."

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to, but your reaction..."

"Don't tease me while pretending to make an excuse."

"I didn't intend to, but if that's how you felt, I'm sorry."

"Hmph..."

As I put on my shoes with my head turned sharply to the side, I sensed Reisir getting up and dusting himself off.

And—

"Then I'll get back to what I was doing."

—I heard those words.

I turned my head back toward Reisir and took in the letters he had written.

==========

【Person Analysis】 - (S)

: A skill derived from {Disposition}. Grants a thought acceleration buff to oneself while analyzing someone.

==========

The 【Character Analysis】 skill had been disguised as the 【Person Analysis】 skill, but I wasn't the least bit surprised.

After 【Dragon Fear】 was transformed into 【Cat's Mettle】, this was practically gentlemanly.

The description was also perfectly normal.

By the way, it's a skill that consumes sky-blue Ether, yet the word 'buff' is in there...

If it were just that, it wouldn't be particularly strange.

When Reisir asked me if I had a 'time-deceleration buff skill', I talked about thought acceleration but didn't correct him that it wasn't a buff skill.

However—

"You have four skills you can use with purple Ether, and three of them are skills that empower others. And the last one is a skill that's exerted when you try to learn about others... It seems the reason you don't have a poison-handling skill is because you're too affectionate and kind to harm others."

—there was a clear sense of incongruity in that line.

"Just now, what did you say...?"

"You're very affectionate and ki—, Mph!"

Reisir couldn't break his old habit and was trying to initiate an influence event,

so I blocked his mouth with my palm and replayed the remark he had just made.

He said I have four skills usable with purple Ether...?

This meant that the 【Person Analysis】 skill was classified as a purple Ether skill.

Despite it being classified as a sky-blue Ether skill in my skill window, and actually consuming sky-blue Ether when used.

This is actually a fortunate thing for me.

As sky-blue Ether is known as the power to change the weather,

it has nothing to do with analyzing someone and accelerating thought speed.

I would have been in trouble if Reisir had asked for the exact designation of sky-blue Ether and persistently dug into its powers and attributes.

The need to make up excuses and talk my way out of it had disappeared, so this was an incredibly good thing.

Although my faith in the 【Truth-Reading Eye】 had plummeted and hit rock bottom.

I thought it was some incredible skill since he said it displayed a bright red warning window when he saw a Special Character Novel, but it seems it's nothing special.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!