This Novel is not my Novel

"Ooh~, well, look who it is! Isn't that Fire Fist Helga?!"

Friday, Mock Battle and Survival Training.

Instead of greeting the students or announcing the start of class, Professor Bjorn appeared with those words.

Here, "Fire Fist" was Helga's newly acquired nickname.

Partly because her Ether Attribute Ability involved controlling fire.

And partly because, when she had beaten the villain to a pulp yesterday, the red Ether coating her fists had brought flames to mind.

"Please don't call me that!!"

Helga's face reddened as she shrieked.

After yesterday's incident, she had decided to drop her pretense completely.

Still, it seemed she was embarrassed to be called by a nickname that sounded like it belonged to some third-rate thug prowling the back alleys.

"Why? Fire Fist sounds cool, doesn't it? It makes you sound incredibly strong, too."

"I hate it because it sounds tacky!!"

"Doesn't it have a nice, familiar ring to it...?"

Bjorn looked utterly unable to understand why Helga hated it so vehemently.

Apparently, he sincerely thought the nickname "Fire Fist" sounded cool.

"Anyway, from now on, give me a heads-up before you do anything that entertaining. I only heard everyone talking about it afterward, and I was so disappointed I didn't get to see it myself.... Tsk."

"Professor Bjorn, weren't you near the cafeteria yesterday evening?"

"No. I needed something for today's class, so I went out to buy it and had dinner outside while I was at it. With a beer, for the first time in a while."

That explained it.

Given Bjorn's personality, if something like yesterday's incident had happened while he was there, he would have volunteered to observe it without hesitation.

Yet the one who had actually taken on that role alongside Skati was the swordsmanship professor, who had yet to make a proper appearance.

I thought Author Senna had deliberately excluded Bjorn because she wanted to introduce the swordsmanship professor as soon as possible somehow....

Apparently, Bjorn had simply not been there, making it impossible for him to step forward.

Either that, or the original author had briefly forgotten Bjorn existed.

Then, while planning the next episode, she had remembered him and hastily added the detail that he had gone out.

Either way, it had already happened, so the reason did not matter much.

What mattered was the present.

Bjorn was unable to hide his lingering disappointment as he took an object out of his Inventory.

A capsule...?

He had said he had gone out to buy something, so I had wondered whether he had bought ribbons in colors other than teal and purple.

Instead, something entirely unexpected appeared.

"Since the subject has come up, shall I explain today's lesson?"

Bjorn began speaking as he tossed and caught a capsule slightly smaller than his fist.

It was the sort of remark that made one want to ask whether he had intended not to explain the lesson if the subject had not come up.

But Karvaldr was not the sort of person who would say such a thing, so I silently kept my mouth shut and waited for him to continue.

"Early this morning, capsules identical to this one were hidden all over this mountain. You must find as many as possible and return here before lunchtime. However! It wouldn't be much of a training exercise if you all just got along and searched for treasure together, would it?"

In other words, he wanted us to fight one another and steal them.

Sure enough, Bjorn continued.

"If finding them yourself is too difficult, you may take the ones other people have found. For reference, anyone who has fewer than five 'treasures' when I check at lunchtime will receive a punishment, so you'd better work hard to collect them. Because some of these are 'duds.'"

During the previous class, a "penalty" had been mentioned, but I had not been particularly curious since all we had to do was follow the rules.

This time was different.

No matter how carefully I followed the rules and searched for capsules, if all of them contained "duds," I would inevitably receive the punishment.

I could not have been the only one worried about that.

I did not think there was any need for me to ask, so I waited quietly, and sure enough, someone raised the question.

"Professor! What exactly is this 'punishment'?"

"You'll have to wear this on your head throughout the entire afternoon class, and instead of your name, everyone will call you whatever is written on it."

Answering Pret's question, Bjorn took a headband out of his Inventory.

Except the words written on them were "★Cool Guy★" and "☆Pretty Girl☆."

I had no idea why something like that existed in the world of a fantasy novel.

I understood even less why it had to appear during an academy class.

Is Author Senna... out of her mind?

That question alone filled my head.

If this was an attempt to change the genre of 《NaSE》 into a "comedic slice-of-life academy story," then it was certainly welcome.

Still, there was also a chance she had simply chosen it without much thought because she could not come up with an appropriate punishment that suited the setting.

Or perhaps, regardless of Senna's intentions, Bjorn had simply happened to find it and bought it because it looked amusing.

"Anyway, to continue, putting the capsules in your Inventory is forbidden. I shouldn't have to explain why, right? Instead, I'll give each of you a bag. Carry them in here or hide them somewhere else. Do whatever you want, as long as you don't put them in your Inventory."

If the capsules could be placed inside an Inventory, the rule allowing people to fight and steal them would become meaningless.

It was an essential rule.

"Ah! For reference, I wasn't the one who hid the capsules. Trap installation experts did. So you'd better be careful."

That meant some of the capsules might activate traps when touched.

"That's all for the explanation. Now take a bag and head into the mountain."

With those words, Bjorn took waist bags out of his Inventory.

They were designed to be worn around the waist like belts, but the students who received them naturally slung them across their bodies like sling bags.

I wore mine the same way, with the bag crossing my torso from one shoulder to the opposite hip.

It was not because I did not want to fall behind the trend.

Wearing it around my waist would make it easier for someone else to secretly take its contents, so I was trying to prevent that.

Only Ríolíkin wore his in its proper position, and even that was not because he wanted to.

His chest was so broad that the strap was not long enough to wear it across his body, leaving him with no other choice.

"Um... are we not dividing into teams today...?"

The one who asked was none other than Lissy.

It was the first time I had ever seen her step forward and ask a question like this.

She probably thought she was the weakest person here in terms of combat ability.

Even if she found capsules, they would clearly be taken from her, and since the punishment was quite humiliating, she seemed to be hoping for a team battle in which she could receive help from others....

"For now, it's an individual competition."

"By 'for now'... you mean...?"

"I'll explain the details later, once we gather here again. In any case, the treasure hunt is an individual competition, so don't concern yourselves with teams for the time being."

Bjorn mercilessly crushed Lissy's hopes.

"If you still have questions, I don't mind if you stay and ask.... But don't you mind? The sooner you leave, the more likely you are to find at least one additional capsule."

There was nothing else worth asking, and after hearing that, no one was willing to remain there and waste time.

Everyone rushed into the mountain as though racing one another.

I was one of them.

The entire afternoon class means a full four hours...?!

No matter what happened, I had to avoid the punishment.

I could wait until someone else found capsules and then steal them, but if I acted leisurely and relied on that method alone, I would be in for a rude awakening.

Although the chatter about Fire Fist and the explanation of the treasure hunt rules had delayed us somewhat, the morning class also lasted four hours.

Yet the threshold for punishment was only five?

If there were plenty of "treasure" capsules to begin with, why would anyone bother stealing from someone else?

Either most of the capsules are duds, or there are very few capsules in total. It must be one of the two.

That was why I decided I needed to find as many capsules as possible first, and my judgment proved correct.

After searching diligently with Yor for an hour, I found fourteen capsules, and every single one was a dud.

"Phew—"

After checking the fifteenth note marked "Dud," a sigh escaped me.

By this point, I was beginning to doubt whether the "treasure" capsules even existed.

For now, I should keep the capsules I've found in my bag instead of throwing them away. Someone might approach after seeing the bulging bag, so I can use them as bait....

Anyone desperate enough to target someone else's bag would likely be lacking in "treasures" themselves.

But who knew? They might have one or two.

Just as I was about to resume the search with that thought in mind—

"I-I found...! Gasp!"

A voice came from somewhere nearby.

Someone who had been disappointed by countless dud capsules had finally found a treasure and inadvertently cried out in excitement.

The owner of that voice was probably....

Sveinn?

I turned to look at Yor.

With an extremely dependable expression, Yor nodded once, then shot toward the source of the sound like an arrow.

By the time I ran after her and arrived at the scene, the capsule was already in my baby dragon's hand.

"Hoho, meow meow."

Holding the wish-granting orb in one hand and the capsule in the other, Yor proudly showed off her triumphant pose.

Sveinn had been crouched down tightly, but with a startled gasp, he sprang upright and stared at his now-empty hand, unable to hide his bewilderment.

Judging from his behavior and deathly pale complexion, he seemed to have been struck by 【Dragon Fear】.

So she can use it without screaming...?

Just as we had come here after hearing Sveinn's voice, others might also gather.

Yor must have subdued him as quietly as possible to prevent that.

My baby dragon truly was exceptionally capable.

"I only just managed to find that...!"

Since I knew how difficult it was to find a treasure capsule, I did not feel entirely comfortable taking the only one he had barely managed to find.

It also bothered me that my opponent was the traitor from the original work.

However.

"Isn't this how this kind of training works? Besides, you practically shouted for someone to come and take it from you, so you can hardly resent me."

"......"

"Hurry along. The next time you find a treasure capsule, don't announce it like you're boasting."

"......Yes."

Apparently lacking the confidence to attack Yor and me to recover the capsule, Sveinn stared regretfully at the one in Yor's hand before quietly turning away.

He could have deliberately shouted that there was a winning capsule here to lure someone into stealing it from me.

Seeing him retreat obediently without doing so made me feel needlessly guilty.

"...Still, we should check what the 'treasure' actually is."

"Meow."

When I spoke while looking in the direction Sveinn had disappeared, Yor immediately opened the capsule.

Inside was a piece of paper folded twice.

The notes marked "Dud" had looked exactly the same, so the thought, Did Sveinn trick me? flashed through my mind.

Fortunately, when I unfolded the paper with some doubt, the words written on it were not "Dud."

"Seasoning Set"

At the very least, it definitely was not a "dud."

But I was not sure whether this could really be called "treasure."

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