This Novel is not my Novel

"You were the one who took the treasure notes out of their capsules and hid them on your body, weren't you? And yet you're reacting as though you never expected to be searched like this... I'm the one who's a little taken aback here."

The sheer shamelessness of him.

The protagonist of someone else's novel gave me a look as though he had no idea what I was talking about, then pointed to me as the cause of the problem.

A surge of indignation rose within me, but unfortunately, he was right.

"I acknowledge that 'I' was the one who set this situation in motion. That is precisely why I am not blindly condemning you and distancing myself, but am instead deigning to have this conversation with you, is it not? However..."

"However?"

"I truly did not expect to be subjected to an actual body search. Even if someone discovered that I was carrying the treasure notes separately, I thought I would be able to negotiate with them!"

"How?"

"I intended to ask how many more treasures they needed to meet their quota, then take out that exact number of notes 'myself' and hand them over. Or perhaps propose that we join forces and steal notes from a third party... But to think someone would go so far as to completely clean me out merely because they were determined to make me wear some cheap headband with a childish design..."

"You really didn't prepare yourself for any of this, did you? Then again, judging from what I just saw, Helga seems to be acting just as carelessly."

The protagonist of someone else's novel nodded as though everything now made sense.

I had said all that to blame him.

Apparently, however, he had taken my words as an explanation for my own behavior.

His attitude suggested that his conscience was utterly spotless and that he had done nothing wrong.

"Which is why you should be glad it was me, right?"

Correction.

The protagonist of someone else's novel did not merely believe he had done nothing wrong.

He believed I ought to be grateful to him.

"What exactly am I supposed to be glad about?"

"You saw how Her Royal Highness the Princess suddenly appeared with 【Spatial Leap】 and pounced on Helga without warning, didn't you?"

"I did see that much..."

"She didn't ask permission, and she didn't even give Helga time to prepare herself. She just snatched away the treasure note Helga had hidden. By shoving her hand straight inside Helga's clothes, too."

"I did not see that part. The bushes were in the way."

"I didn't see it directly either, but given the circumstances, that's obviously what happened, isn't it?"

That was true.

Before Helga could even say she would take it out herself, Fjodora had already finished everything and stood back up.

But...

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Compared to Her Royal Highness the Princess, I conducted an incredibly kind, considerate, and polite body search."

"A truly kind, considerate, and polite person would not pin someone down and search them in the first place."

"That's why I added the condition, 'compared to Her Royal Highness the Princess.'"

"......"

"Even though I could have searched you the instant I caught you, just as she did to Helga, I carefully explained through conversation why I had no choice but to search you. And even though there were still places left to check, I stopped midway because you told me that was enough. Right?"

"That is... technically true, but..."

I did not want to admit it, but now that he had laid it out [N O V E L I G H T] like that, I could not deny it.

"Besides, I didn't shove my hand inside your clothes!"

"No, no! You did...!"

"Are you talking about when I slipped my hand slightly between the waistband of your trousers and your shirt? But even then, my hand was still over your shirt. Strictly speaking, that was outside your clothes."

"If the shirt is what we are using as the standard, then I suppose that is true..."

"Right?"

"......"

I was fully aware that I was being swept along by his conversational tactics, yet escaping them was no easy task.

I had already lost on the logic.

I needed to change the subject quickly.

"No matter how much this may be part of the training, one must still maintain a minimum degree of propriety. Her Royal Highness the Princess would never conduct a body search on me, a member of the opposite sex... So telling me to compare your actions to hers and consider myself fortunate is somewhat..."

"You're right. Her Royal Highness the Princess probably wouldn't have. But what about Pret? He would've been worse than her, if anything. Certainly not better."

Pret had handed me one of his own treasure notes instead of taking mine.

That thought surfaced in my mind, but I could not voice it.

Doing so would obviously result in a second body search.

"Who knows? If it were Pret, I suspect he would simply have slipped the treasure note away before I even noticed, rather than holding me down for so long as you did."

"To do that, he'd first have to secretly feel around your body to identify where you'd hidden the note. Do you see no problem with that?"

"No... when you phrase it that way, it sounds extremely problematic..."

"Right?"

"Indeed... it does."

I wanted to argue back somehow, but I had nothing to say.

As I stood there wearing a displeased expression, he spoke with triumphant confidence.

"And most importantly! It's better to be searched by me, someone you're close enough with to exchange a little playful touching, than by someone who's practically a complete stranger when you haven't even known them for two weeks. Isn't it?"

"I do not believe we have become that close either, but compared to a complete stranger..."

"See? You think so too."

"......"

This felt wrong, but I could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong about it.

Still, one thing was certain.

Continuing this discussion with the protagonist of someone else's novel would only put me at a disadvantage.

"...Hmph."

"All right, all right. You want to stop talking about this now, don't you?"

"...If you have finished your business, get lost."

"Get lost where?"

"Anywhere outside my sight will suffice."

"Really? Are you sure that's all right?"

For some reason, the protagonist of someone else's novel widened his visible eye, reacting as though I had said something unexpected.

"Why would it not be all right?"

"Because you know what my goal is, don't you? So if we split up now, then right before lunch, I'll..."

In other words—

Since there was still a chance that I might find at least five treasure capsules in the remaining time,

he was telling me to choose between staying with him until the end or being subjected to another body search later.

"...Just remain somewhere I can see you."

"If that's what you want."

The way he grinned was extraordinarily irritating.

He did not seem this bad when I had first possessed this body.

I had no idea how he had become so sly in a mere half year.

"Haaah—"

"Where are you going?"

When I let out a deep sigh and began trudging away, the protagonist of someone else's novel fell into step beside me and asked where I was headed.

I was in no mood to answer him.

But if I simply kept my mouth shut, the relentlessly persistent man would obviously keep questioning me until his curiosity was satisfied.

"I cannot simply sit still and do nothing for the rest of the time, can I?"

"So?"

"There is a high chance the treasure hunt will continue in the afternoon, so I intend to locate the hidden capsules in advance."

"So you've decided to give up on the morning treasure hunt after all?"

"Because of you!"

"Ahahahah..."

When I snapped at him, the protagonist of someone else's novel laughed with an awkward expression.

Watching him, I was suddenly struck by a sense of unease and could not stop myself from asking the following question.

"Surely you are not planning to deliberately steal my treasures again this afternoon?"

"Absolutely not. If I interfere every time, you won't be able to properly participate in the training."

"And you know that, yet..."

"Once you've fully recovered before lunch, let's spar again."

Since he had effectively deprived me of the chance to fight others over their treasures, he meant to make himself my sparring partner instead.

It was nowhere near enough compensation for the punishment I would receive later.

But as compensation for interfering with my training, it was not bad.

"My condition is fine even now."

"Still, doing it again immediately would be a bit much. Let's wait about ten minutes. Fighting back-to-back would be taxing, wouldn't it?"

After answering, Reisir silently mouthed the words, 'Because of the skill.'

He was likely taking into account the side effect of 【Character Analysis】, which he mistakenly knew as 【Person Analysis】—the severe fatigue and headache caused by overloading my brain.

He certainly is considerate...

Before lunchtime arrived, I sparred with the original protagonist two more times.

Naturally, there was a period of rest between the two matches, and I lost both.

I also found eight capsules, though I had no idea whether they were treasures or duds.

I had no desire to share the locations of the capsules I had painstakingly discovered with the protagonist of someone else's novel, so I did not touch them and simply pretended not to have seen them.

"We should head for the entrance to the mountain now."

"We still have a little time left... but shall we?"

Perhaps he interpreted my words as, 'There isn't enough time left for another spar, and we have nothing else to do, so we might as well head back early.'

Reisir followed me without asking why.

However, after we reached the mountain entrance,

and I stopped just before a sign that had undoubtedly been erected by Bjorn, bearing the words, 「 ※ No Combat Beyond This Point ※ 」, he became suspicious.

"Are you planning to wait here and intercept someone else's treasure? Then if you manage to cross that line before I catch you, you'll avoid the punishment?"

"You would prevent me from even attempting to intercept someone else's treasure..."

"You understand me well."

The unspoken question was why I had stopped here, then.

I noticed it, but instead of explaining, I tightly shut my mouth and glared at the protagonist of someone else's novel.

Perhaps he thought I would grow angry if he kept asking, or perhaps he believed he would find out soon enough anyway.

Reisir chose to wait quietly rather than question me relentlessly.

They're starting to arrive one by one.

Fjodora was the first to cross the sign.

Perhaps wary of us standing near the entrance, she used 【Spatial Leap】 to appear beyond it in an instant.

Pret arrived next, and ever since reaching the entrance, he had been standing directly behind the sign, watching us as though observing our behavior.

When Ríolíkin spotted us, he hesitated uneasily. Only after Reisir promised not to steal his treasures did he pass us and head beyond the sign.

Vigdís did the same.

But why does Vigdís look like that?

She had been perfectly neat when she encountered me earlier.

Yet for some reason, bits of fallen leaves were caught throughout her short hair, and her formerly white training shirt was stained with dirt and grass.

Did she accidentally trigger a trap and struggle to escape...?

The question crossed my mind, but I soon pushed it aside after thinking, Is this really the time for me to be worrying about someone else?

The instant Vigdís passed the sign, she swept a hand over her chest in relief.

She must have collected at least five treasure notes...

Just as I thought that and felt a stab of envy,

Lissy frantically sprinted past the sign, kicking off the ground so powerfully with her short legs that she left deep dents behind.

Judging by the depth of the footprints, she had clearly used 【Giant's Strength】, a skill that increased physical power.

And considering she failed to notice Reisir and me standing here in plain sight... is someone chasing her?

As though proving my guess correct,

Helga appeared shortly afterward, running with gritted teeth. The moment she spotted the sign, she collapsed onto the ground.

Judging by the situation, Lissy and Helga had fought, and Lissy had been the one to win and claim the spoils.

Still, the state of those two... They look far worse than Vigdís. At least Vigdís had straightened her clothes...

Perhaps because they had just come from a fight, they were truly a sight to behold.

Like Vigdís, they had bits of fallen leaves stuck to them and stains across their clothes, but their hair was thoroughly disheveled and their outfits were in complete disarray.

One of Helga's sleeves had even been half torn off and was hanging in tatters.

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