This Novel is not my Novel

"Cut the useless talk. What's the conclusion?"

"Pret is definitely not from a circus troupe."

"I mean besides the obvious."

While maintaining my solemn expression, I pushed the role of identifying Pret's true identity onto Reisir.

Though plenty of grounds had been given to suggest that Pret was an informant, there had been no mention of anything that could be called decisive.

Setting aside 【Lip-reading】, 【Ventriloquism】, and 【Voice Modulation】, the rest of his general skills are techniques an assassin could learn.

If I rashly affirmed, "Pret is from an Information Guild," and was met with such a counterargument, I'd be at a loss for words.

That was why I'd left the role to the original protagonist, who had directly read Pret's Status Window.

"He's definitely an informant."

"You seem certain."

"Yeah. A few of his skills overlap with Professor Skati's, but her skill list openly had 【Assassination】 registered, you know?"

"I take it Pret didn't have that skill."

"Right. He does have high-grade 【Dagger Techniques】 and 【Hidden Weapon Technique】 skills. But looking at it another way, it means he's reached this level and still hasn't acquired the 【Assassination】 skill, right?"

"Indeed..."

I nodded, showing that I accepted Reisir's words, and then...

"Since there's a big shot like Her Royal Highness the Princess among the members of the Special Class for Awakened Ones, they wouldn't have infiltrated the academy with someone who doesn't even have the basics. He's definitely not a rookie with no real combat experience. Yet, if he doesn't have the 【Assassination】 skill registered, as you said, then he probably doesn't make a living killing people."

...I added this opinion to give the impression that I was seriously engaged in the inference.

If I just reacted without adding any opinion of my own, the protagonist of someone else's novel might find it strange.

"That's what I thought, so I ruled out assassin as a possibility. After that, the only categories of people who would have those skills are thieves and informants... but for some reason, I don't think he's a thief."

"Is that just a 'hunch'?"

"About half?"

The original protagonist gave an ambiguous answer.

Did he mean that while nothing was certain, he had some idea of what was going on?

"Last semester, when Tryggdrik kidnapped Helga, there was a mercenary who spoke similarly to Pret, right? If that mercenary really was Pret... I'm thinking he might have accepted that request for the purpose of getting close to Tryggdrik and finding out something about you."

For a moment, the question, If that's the case, isn't it possible his goal was to steal something from me? came to mind.

But I decided to refrain from saying it.

The correct answer was already out, and I didn't want to waste time dragging out the conversation by complicating the issue.

"Karvaldr, be careful. The reason he asked me how to get close to you and keeps acting friendly is likely to achieve that purpose."

I already achieved that purpose by making a deal with him.

If the protagonist of someone else's novel were to find out about this fact...

He would not only nag me endlessly but would also persistently grill me on exactly what I had said to Pret.

"Understood. I will keep it in mind."

When I replied as such with a worried expression...

Reisir showed a hint of satisfaction even as he looked at me with concern.

He was probably feeling relieved, thinking that from now on, I would be wary of Pret and keep my distance.

My conscience pricked me.

"By the way... what are you planning to do now?"

"I want to go to Pret and interrogate him about why he approached you, now that I know his identity, but..."

"Is there some kind of problem?"

"Like you said in the library last time, if I pressure Pret into allowing his Status Window to be disclosed, I can prove he's suspicious, but the problem is that it's impossible to determine that he's an informant."

"True... If he's already under suspicion anyway, it's better for him to hold out by claiming he doesn't want to disclose sensitive personal information than to confess his identity."

"Isn't there some way?"

Being asked for help while I was feeling a pang of guilt made it hard to turn away.

Besides, it seemed I would frequently need to obtain information from Pret in the future, including information about the villain who had just appeared.

Thus, whether for the sake of smoothly sharing the information I would learn or to prevent being called a traitor when I was found out later...

It would be better to deal with Pret together with the original protagonist rather than doing it alone in secret.

"...The 【Identification】 skill can't arbitrarily read a person's information, but it can read information from an 'object' without the owner's permission, can't it?"

"Among the things Pret carries around openly, is there anything that could reveal his affiliation?"

"There is."

"What is it?"

"A needle."

"A needle... You mean the one Pret uses as a weapon?"

Reisir asked back with a puzzled expression.

It was the reaction of someone who couldn't comprehend how information about a mere needle could be used as a clue to draw out Pret's confession.

Normally, thinking that way would be natural, but...

"That is not just a needle, but a 'weapon.' And since you've used a good weapon yourself, you should know by now. If a weapon's balance is off, you can't exert your full skill. If the material quality is poor, you can't channel a large amount of Ether, so you can't use your full power. And if it's poorly processed, the resistance value increases, leading to greater Ether loss."

"Right! I wondered how different it could be, but the difference I felt was truly enormous."

"It's even more so since you went from using a consumable item supplied to common soldiers to using a weapon crafted by a master craftsman."

"Hahaha..."

Reisir let out an awkward laugh and slightly averted his gaze.

It was because there was no way he couldn't know that he had been unnecessarily stubborn until now.

"Anyway, so?"

"Therefore, Pret would also have commissioned a skilled blacksmith to craft his weapons. Since they're specially produced to suit his Ether Attribute, and commissioning a large quantity of weaponized needles could risk starting rumors, that blacksmith is surely someone trustworthy."

"In that case, it's highly likely that the blacksmith is also part of the group Pret belongs to...?"

"Undoubtedly so. To use needles as weapons, each one must be meticulously polished. What skilled blacksmith would accept such a troublesome request? In that time, they could make more money and gain fame by crafting a weapon ordered by a noble."

This wasn't just conjecture, but a confirmed fact.

Because in the original novel, when Reisir examined Pret's needle with 【Truth-Reading Eye】, the following description appeared.

==========

[Hyeonchim]

: A special weapon crafted with devotion, one by one, by an artisan belonging to the Hrafnin Information Guild.

==========

At that time, the original protagonist had unlocked Stage 2 of the 【Truth-Reading Eye】 skill.

If the current Reisir were to examine Pret's needle using that skill, he should be able to read the same content.

"Pret scattered a ton of needles during the lecture earlier, right? Do you think we could find one if we go to the small auditorium lecture room now?"

"Pret would have recovered some of them, and it's probably been cleaned by now, but since needles are so unnoticeable, we might be in luck. And since you can now form a magnetic field..."

"Karvaldr, you go on ahead to the biology lecture room. I'll stop by the small auditorium lecture room on my way!"

He could have just quietly grabbed one during the "Mock Battle and Survival Training" lecture.

But unable to wait until Friday, Reisir shot up from his seat and ran toward the First Small Auditorium.

As you can tell from the original protagonist's words, the temporal background of this narration was once again lunchtime.

Although Reisir had succeeded in obtaining Pret's needle during lunchtime yesterday...

Reisir had spent the time after yesterday's lecture repeatedly sparring with Professor Kaldrun, and today, he was scheduled to spar with other professors.

Thus, we were making use of lunchtime like this again.

"Who are you referring to when you say 'we,' Senior Reisir?"

"Me and Karvaldr."

For reference, Reisir had never asked me to "be there when you interrogate Pret."

Nevertheless, this protagonist of someone else's novel had spoken as if I would naturally be with him.

I stared at him, finding it absurd, and he added this.

"Ah, and Yor too."

Forgetting Yor was also a problem, but that wasn't why I was dumbfounded.

In any case, I was curious about what the two would discuss, and to fulfill my duty as the narrator, I needed to be present where they talked.

So I decided to be generous and let it go just this once.

"All right, then! I'm a bit of a busy man, but if Senior Karvaldr wants a conversation with me, I must make time for it."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't forget that I'm the one who brought it up."

"We'll talk after the meal, right?"

"......"

With that, Pret and Reisir stopped talking and focused on eating.

Yor and I also tried to match their speed as much as possible, but gobbling down food in a hurry would be a character collapse, so it was impossible to catch up.

Still, Reisir noticed and—

"Karvaldr. I've prepared some snacks just in case, so don't try to eat everything in a rush. Just eat a moderate amount and leave the rest."

—thanks to those words, I was spared from getting indigestion.

The thought did occur to me that if he was that prepared, he could have given me a heads-up.

But since I had decided to let it go this time, "I" chose not to pick a fight.

But someone else did not act the same.

"Can't I join that conversation...? I want to hang out with my close friends and eat snacks during lunchtime too... Why Pret, and not me...?"

"I asked to talk with Pret today because it's for something really important. I'll hang out and eat snacks with you during a different lunchtime."

"Will Lord Karvaldr and Lord Yor be joining us, then?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Then, okay, got it."

As Ríolíkin whined and complained in a tone that didn't suit his build, Reisir placated him with a slightly perplexed expression.

In that process, another schedule I hadn't agreed to was created.

But to secure time to talk with Pret, we had to finish our meal quickly.

And if I exercised my right of refusal now, Ríolíkin might start begging to join in on this important business.

Considering the situation, I decided not to argue.

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