This Novel is not my Novel

"Then I shall take my leave first, so do what you must."

With Djúpr fainting, the lecture had been canceled, and it was unlikely that Helga would now reverse her decision and proceed with the Fake Lover Strategy.

Therefore, I judged that I no longer needed to remain here.

'It might feel like I have some free time right now, but considering I'll have to take a supplementary class later... I shouldn't waste the time I've been given.'

As it happened, today was the day I had a private whip technique lesson with Skati.

And according to what she had rambled on about last week, her schedule was completely free on Thursdays since she had no lectures to teach.

If I went early, I could receive that much more of Skati's instruction.

So, I stood up from my seat and was about to leave the lecture room when—

"Wait a minute!"

Helga called out to stop me.

Surely she wasn't about to ask for help right after declaring with her own mouth that she would no longer pass off her problems to others?

I intentionally let that exact thought show on my face as I turned to look at Helga.

But the words that came from her mouth were—

"Thank you, Young Master."

—just that.

As she spoke, Helga flashed a bright smile, revealing her teeth. It wasn't the appearance of an elegant noble lady.

But it overflowed with vivacity and vibrancy.

That smile looked incomparably more charming than any artificially crafted one.

"Thanks to you, I was able to make a decision that's true to myself, one I won't regret later."

"...Hmph."

Since {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} I had nothing suitable to say in response, I let out my usual reaction and spun around.

Then, worried someone else might try to stop me, I hurriedly left the theoretical lecture hall building.

'But is it really okay to show up three hours early without any prior notice?'

As I walked diligently, that worry suddenly crossed my mind.

But it soon turned out to be unnecessary.

"Whoaa!! What's thiss~? You're here so earlyy~! Grandpa Rabi and his friends said they were busy with some thesis~, so I was all alone and bored~! I'm so happy Karvaldr came earlyy~!!"

Skati hopped around like a child, genuinely welcoming me.

It seemed I had gotten lucky with the timing.

As I focused on my training, time flew by quickly, and soon it was time for dinner.

I planned to continue my training with Skati even after the meal, so I headed to the campus cafeteria with her.

For some reason, a crowd of people had gathered around the building.

"Is there something fun going onn~?! Let's go see, quick~~!!"

Her curiosity piqued, Skati scurried ahead.

I was just as curious about what was going on.

But the problem was that not only running frivolously out of interest, but also squeezing through the gaps in a crowd, was an act that went against Karvaldr's character.

"Hurry, hurryy~!"

I had no choice but to walk at a normal pace, but Skati, who had run ahead, came back, suddenly grabbed my wrist, and started running again.

On top of that, she even took the lead and cleared a path.

Thanks to her, I was able to comfortably reach the front row while preserving the possessed body's character.

But my feeling of gratitude toward Skati was short-lived.

"Ohh~? Hey, isn't that Helgaa~? What's she doing over theree~??"

The moment I saw Helga standing squarely at the entrance of the campus cafeteria building, my mind grew complicated.

Easels were set up on both sides of Helga.

And on those easels were large canvas boards with the following words written on them.

「 Sudden Confession 」

「 Clarification of Rumors 」

What's more, the letters were in red Gungseo font, and the background was painted a bright yellow color, which instantly grabbed one's attention.

'She must have decided to resolve the problem today, before the rumor the villain spread grows into a full-blown scandal.'

I could also guess the reason she was doing this at this time and in this place.

During mealtime, everyone gathers at the campus cafeteria, so there could be no more suitable time and place to gather spectators and correct a rumor.

The answer came to my mind on its own, but...

"I don't know."

"Whyy~? You're friends, aren't youu~?"

"We are not friends."

"There you go againn..."

Considering my duty as a narrator, securing a good spot for watching was definitely a good thing.

But my heart couldn't feel fortunate about it.

Helga was the one who had become a spectacle, yet for some reason, I was the one feeling secondhand embarrassment and shame just looking at her, and I found myself covering my face.

I desperately wanted to be a stranger to her.

Helga herself seemed to be feeling embarrassed, as her face was slightly flushed.

Seeing that, I thought she, too, was probably hoping that no one who pretended to know her would show up.

Therefore—

"Should we go ask Helgaa~?"

"W-w-wait. I think it would be best not to do that."

—for the sake of both myself and Helga, I urgently stopped Skati.

"Whyy~?"

"Because... well... The atmosphere seems a bit... grim, don't you think...?"

"It doess~! Especially the writing over theree~!!"

"...Anyway, let's just watch without interfering. Seeing as it's written that she'll be confessing and clarifying something, she'll probably start her explanation on her own once enough people gather."

"Uh-huh~, then it's best we just wait quietlyy~!!"

Fortunately, the waiting wasn't long.

Perhaps a rumor that something fun was about to happen had spread, as people gathered in an instant.

Helga clutched an Ether microphone, which she must have borrowed from somewhere, with both hands and opened her mouth.

"Ah... hello...! Thank you all for gathering! First, to introduce myself, my name is Helga Vitnir!"

She had even stood on the stage as the grade-level representative and given a speech at last year's graduation ceremony.

But facing all these curious gazes after dropping her pretense must have been nerve-wracking, as a slight trembling could be heard in Helga's voice.

"Perhaps... no, I'm sure you're all curious as to why I'm standing here like this. The reason is this way... no, the other way, huh? Anyway! As it's written here, it is to clarify a rumor!!"

Helga pointed to the canvas that said 「 Sudden Confession 」, then hastily moved her hand to the 「 Clarification of Rumors 」 side.

At her action, a question popped up from among the spectators asking if she wasn't going to confess, then.

"Of course, I'll be confessing too! But it won't be a sweet confession in the sense you're all thinking of!"

Sounds of "Aww..." drifted from here and there.

But no one left their spot in disappointment.

If anything, they showed even greater interest and curiosity.

"To continue! The rumor I wish to clarify is that I like 'Drembi Ofrausir'!!"

After hearing Helga's shout, the emotion that appeared on the spectators' faces was bewilderment.

"Was there such a rumor? I haven't heard it."

"I have."

"Is she saying she likes that Drembi guy?"

"Since she said clarification, doesn't it mean she doesn't like him?"

"So what am I supposed to do with that?"

"She's doing this clown act over a rumor like that??"

The sound of murmuring filled the surroundings.

Helga must have naturally expected this kind of reaction.

Indeed, she didn't show a single hint of being flustered and calmly continued speaking.

"I know, I know it might seem like a 'mere' matter to others! You might think I should just disregard it since it's only a rumor! But to me, it's a very, very serious problem! Because!! I really, really hate that Drembi, that bastard—!!!!"

The moment Helga raised her voice and screamed, a

'Beeeep—!'

sound echoed from the Ether microphone.

A feedback phenomenon had occurred due to the excessive volume.

At that sharp noise, the murmuring spectators reflexively shut their mouths.

But perfect silence did not fall.

It was because the last part of the words Helga had just spat out echoed repeatedly.

'...hate him—, ...hate him, ...te him, ...him, ...im.'

It seemed Helga's shout was output through the speaker via the microphone, and that output sound re-entered the microphone, creating a feedback loop.

"I really hate Drembi, that bastard. I hate him so much! To the point that it's disgraceful just to be associated with him in a rumor! It's truly terrible!!"

Once again, the word "hate" came out of Helga's mouth and was repeated.

"Was this the confession?"

"It's certainly not a sweet one."

"But what kind of person is this 'Drembi' for her to feel such disgust toward him?"

"Does anyone know who 'Drembi' is?"

Interest in Drembi grew.

Of course, in a negative sense.

"Aaah—! Is that Drembi, the senior, by any chance?? It is, right, right?!"

It was then that such a voice was heard from the back.

The voice was utterly unfamiliar, but its exaggerated tone was quite familiar.

It was probably Pret, who had spotted Drembi in the crowd and deliberately shouted to draw attention.

"What, that Drembi kid was here?"

"Where, where is he?!"

"There he is, over there!"

"That's the Drembi guy?"

Perhaps because the Ofrausir Count's family didn't have much prestige, or because everyone here had become part of the crowd, no one paid any mind to Drembi's status and instead sought to drag him out as a spectacle.

Those who knew Drembi's face pointed their fingers at the man.

Those standing by the villain's side, knowing that getting involved in this would do them no good, scurried back and distanced themselves from him.

"Hey, hey! Move aside, move aside! He must have a lot to say too!"

Those in the front parted to both sides, creating a path leading to where Helga stood.

Thanks to that, the villain's face, flushed bright red, came right into view.

Because he was fuming with his face all scrunched up, his already below-average face looked even uglier and meaner.

Perhaps he thought that if he left now, he would be an object of ridicule until graduation... no, maybe for his entire lifetime.

Or maybe his anger had reached its peak, and he couldn't stand not confronting her.

The villain strode forward with long steps and stood facing Helga.

"Helga...!! What do you think you're doing right now?!"

"What am I doing? It's written right here, isn't it? 「 Clarification of Rumors 」, 「 Sudden Confession 」. I'm clarifying the ridiculous rumor that I like you and confessing what my true feelings for you are."

"You, you...!"

"I prepared an extra microphone just in case. Do you want to use it?"

Her opponent raised his voice.

But unlike when she had faced him behind some building, Helga was not intimidated in the slightest.

On the contrary, she even showed the composure to take out another Ether microphone from her Inventory and offer it to the villain.

The bastard's face twisted even more hideously...

"Wow... I get why that girl is doing this now. It's understandable to feel wronged if a rumor spreads that you like a face like that."

"He looks like he has a really bad personality."

"Totally agree."

Such words were heard from here and there.

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