This Novel is not my Novel

Because the Demon Realm Generation Phenomenon had forced everyone to evacuate and left the roads inside the academy in ruins, classes had ultimately been suspended as well.

Taking a carriage from the academy carriage stand as usual was impossible.

I had been privately worried that we might have to walk all the way to the commercial district.

But as though those concerns had been entirely unfounded, the moment we reached the main gate, I spotted a carriage bearing the academy crest approaching from the distance.

Judging by how no one else showed any particular delight at the sight, apparently I had been the only one worried about transportation.

As if to prove it, the person who opened the door of the carriage once it stopped and revealed himself was none other than Dyuf.

"Ah, Young Lord Karvaldr is with you as well?"

Judging by those words from Dyuf, his arrival here in a carriage was evidently planned rather than a coincidence, just as I had thought.

Did he ride to the security corps with Fjodora in an academy carriage, hand the villain brothers over, and then come straight back?

In any case, judging by his reaction, Dyuf also seemed puzzled that I had not gone to eat with Baltraus.

He had not asked about it yet.

But waiting for the question before answering would only drag out the conversation, so I immediately gave him the answer he was wondering about.

"Yes, well.... That's how it turned out. My brother said he had matters concerning today's incident to discuss with Father."

"Ah, I see."

Dyuf nodded as the question faded from his face, proving that my guess had been correct.

First Reisir and Helga, and now Dyuf had wondered about exactly the same thing.

Though one of them was not related by blood, family was family after all.

"Her Royal Highness the Princess went to the imperial palace for the same reason."

Since Dyuf had been the only person in the carriage, I had already expected as much.

Besides, had Fjodora not mentioned in Chapter 286 that there would be an imperial gathering this weekend?

She had remained at the academy today, Saturday, so the gathering was probably scheduled for tomorrow.

And the main item on its agenda is the compensation Helga will receive for the duel, isn't it?

Sure enough.

Once everyone had boarded and the carriage began to move, Dyuf looked at Helga and said,

"Her Royal Highness said that after what happened today, Count Ofraushi's family would have no attention to spare for the matter of the duel compensation. She also said that even if they did, no one would be willing to side with their family."

In other words, Helga could look forward to receiving a great deal of compensation.

That made sense. The acid villain had attempted to harm Karvaldr, the son of a duke.

What was more, the acidic solution used in the attempt had been prepared in advance by the villain brothers for the purpose of throwing it at Helga, the victor of the duel.

If they accepted Count Ofraushi's family's requests for special treatment and set the compensation low, it would be no different from slighting a ducal family.

Not only House Austri but the other ducal houses would obviously take offense as well.

That must have been why Fjodora could sound so certain.

Moreover, matters had escalated this far because the acid villain had refused to accept the result of the duel and reflect on his wrongdoing, choosing instead to plot revenge.

They were bound to punish him more harshly for his insolence as well.

"Wow! When I found out that bastard Dremby had planned to throw acidic solution in my face, it scared me half to death.... But since no one got hurt and it only led to a good outcome, I'm almost grateful that he came up with the plan."

It was only natural for Helga to be delighted by the news Dyuf had brought.

The problem was that her remark was somewhat ill-advised.

"Please do not say such things, even in jest. Your father still cannot put his mind at ease."

"Ah.... Sorry."

"This must all be because your father is poor.... I am the one who should apologize."

"No, no! I spoke without thinking! Who cares about some stupid compensation...!"

Not only did Helga have to spend quite some time trying to console her father....

"Helly

The Demon Realm Generation Phenomenon had forced everyone to evacuate and left the roads within the academy in ruins, ultimately leading to the suspension of classes.

That made it impossible to go to the academy’s carriage station and take a carriage as usual.

I had privately worried that we might have to walk all the way to the commercial district.

But as if to prove those worries unfounded, we arrived at the main gate to see a carriage bearing the academy crest approaching from afar.

Judging by how no one else seemed particularly pleased, apparently I had been the only one worried about transportation.

As if to confirm that, when the carriage stopped and its door opened, the person inside was none other than Dyuf.

"Ah, Lord Karvaldr is with you as well?"

From what Dyuf said, it seemed his arrival here by carriage had indeed been planned rather than coincidental.

Did he ride an academy carriage to the city guard with Fjodora, hand the villain brothers over, and then come straight back?

In any case, judging by his reaction, Dyuf also seemed puzzled that I had not gone to eat with Baltraus.

He had not actually asked about it yet.

But waiting for him to pose the question before answering would only drag out the conversation, so I immediately addressed what must have been puzzling him.

"Yes, well.... That is how things turned out. My brother said he had matters concerning today’s incident to discuss with Father."

"Ah, I see."

Dyuf nodded as the puzzlement vanished from his face, proving my guess correct.

First Reisir and Helga, and now Dyuf had wondered about precisely the same thing.

Although one of them was not related to me by blood, family was family after all.

"Her Royal Highness the Princess went to the imperial palace for the same reason."

Since Dyuf was the only person in the carriage, I had expected as much.

Besides, had Fjodora not mentioned in Chapter 286 that there would be an imperial gathering this weekend?

She had remained at the academy today, Saturday, so the gathering was probably scheduled for tomorrow.

And isn’t the principal matter on the agenda the compensation Helga will receive for the duel?

Sure enough.

Once everyone had boarded and the carriage began moving, Dyuf looked at Helga and said,

"Her Royal Highness the Princess said that after what happened today, Count Ofraushi’s family would have no attention to spare for matters concerning the duel compensation. She also said that even if they did, no one would be willing to take their side."

In other words, Helga could look forward to receiving a very large sum.

It made sense. The acid villain had tried to harm Karvaldr, the son of a duke.

What was more, the villain brothers had prepared that acid solution in advance for the express purpose of throwing it on Helga, the victor of the duel.

If they accepted Count Ofraushi’s family’s request for special treatment and set the compensation too low, it would be tantamount to showing contempt for a ducal house.

Not only House Austri, but the other ducal houses would obviously take offense as well.

That was probably why Fjodora had been able to make such a confident assertion.

Moreover, matters had escalated this far because the acid villain had plotted revenge instead of accepting the outcome of the duel and reflecting on his wrongdoing.

His brazen conduct would undoubtedly count against him as well.

"Wow! When I found out that bastard Dremby had planned to throw acid in my face, I was terrified.... But since nobody got hurt and it only led to a good outcome, I almost feel grateful that he came up with the plan."

It was perfectly natural for Helga to be delighted by the news Dyuf had brought.

The problem was that what she had said was rather ill-advised.

"Do not say such things, even in jest. Your father still cannot put his mind at ease."

"Ah... sorry."

"This must all be because your father is poor.... I am the one who should apologize."

"No, no! I spoke without thinking! Who cares about some compensation...!"

Not only did Helga have to spend quite some time trying to console her father....

"Helly, shouldn’t you apologize to Karvaldr too? Karvaldr was the one who was actually put in danger."

"I’m sorry, Lord Karvaldr."

After her childhood friend pointed it out, she also had to bow her head and apologize to me.

It was an apology I had never wanted.

No, to be more precise, I wished the subject had never come up.

Because—

"Oh! Come to think of it, I have yet to thank Lord Karvaldr."

—of course it would prompt Dyuf to say something like that.

"If you mean to thank me for what happened today, I’ve already heard more than enough from Helga herself. Let’s leave it at that. It’s not as if I did it for Helga in the first place."

"Even so, I am still grateful."

"Then continue being grateful."

"What? Ah, hmm.... All... right."

He had firmly rejected my suggestion that we simply move on and insisted on repeating his gratitude, yet the moment I changed my approach, the result was entirely different.

The restless expression of someone who did not know how to repay a debt of gratitude turned sour.

I can’t believe that really was the right answer...!

I should respond this way whenever anyone thanked me in the future.

It suited Karvaldr’s characterization, and I would not have to feel embarrassed.

I had found the perfect solution.

"Ah! Come to think of it, there is something I need to tell you."

As I stroked Yor and worked to keep my face blank so that no trace of satisfaction showed, Dyuf spoke again.

"Her Royal Highness the Princess said that starting tomorrow, catering services will be provided in the dormitory lobbies until the suspension of classes ends."

"What about you, Dad?"

"Of course I will go there at mealtimes as well. The other professors remaining at the academy to assist with your training will also dine there with us."

That was welcome news indeed.

I had already been thinking that going out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day would be far too much trouble.

Preparing meals in advance was an option, of course.

The problem is that cooking appliances like Ether induction cooktops aren’t standard dormitory fixtures.

Preparing meals for everyone else would violate my characterization.

But while everyone else repeatedly made the exhausting trip outside or made do with preserved food, I would have felt too guilty if only Yor and I enjoyed convenient, proper meals.

I had resigned myself to wasting the time, so this worked out perfectly.

Besides, this means I won’t have to take care of Professor Skati’s meals myself, either.

I did not know whether this had been Fjodora’s decision or Author Senna’s, but for once, one of them had done something useful.

Dyuf was very interested in what sort of training we had undergone over the past two weeks and how it had been conducted.

Helga and Reisir chattered about it throughout dinner, but my dear readers should already know all of that.

So I shall omit everything from our arrival and meal at the restaurant to our return to the dormitory, washing up, and so forth, and resume the narrative from the moment the protagonist of someone else’s novel knocked on my door.

"......"

"W-Wait! Why are you closing the door again?!"

"Do you truly have to ask?!"

The shameless protagonist of someone else’s novel was doubtless pretending not to know despite knowing perfectly well, but my readers truly would not know, so I shall record the reason here.

The problem was how the protagonist of someone else’s novel was dressed.

Not only was he wearing pajamas, he had a pillow tucked beneath one arm. He had not even put it in his Inventory, instead carrying it openly as if determined to make sure I saw it.

If I let him in after seeing him like that, it’ll be no different from giving him permission to sleep in my room!

We could easily have spoken immediately after returning from dinner.

Yet the protagonist of someone else’s novel had insisted that we talk after we had washed and changed into comfortable clothes, suggesting that he come to my room an hour later. I should have realized then.

No, before that—

"The girls are having a pajama party tonight."

"I know. I was there when the two of them discussed it."

—I should not have dismissed Helga and Vigdís hitting it off in the carriage on the way back as something that had nothing to do with me.

Regretting my mistake, I kept one hand on the doorknob and glared at the protagonist of someone else’s novel.

"The fact that they are having a pajama party does not mean we must do the same."

"Are you worried Ríolíkin might feel left out if he finds out later?"

"You seem to think I’ll deny it with an embarrassed look and let you into my room if you say that. Dream on."

"Ah...."

My guess must have been correct because the protagonist of someone else’s novel looked visibly disappointed.

But if we can’t talk now, I’m the one who’ll be disappointed, aren’t I?

He could have used information about his newly acquired skill as leverage, but apparently he had no intention of stooping that low.

That was fortunate for me.

"If you promise to return to your room as soon as our conversation is over, I will permit you to enter."

"All right. I promise."

I knew just how persistent the protagonist of someone else’s novel could be, so I had made the offer prepared for a long argument.

Yet contrary to my expectation that he would cling stubbornly to the issue, he answered without protest.

That only made me more suspicious.

"...You aren’t thinking you can simply refuse to leave once you’re inside, are you?"

"If I were the kind of person who would do that, wouldn’t I just force my way in instead of asking your permission?"

Now that he mentioned it, he did have a point.

He had also allowed himself to be thrown out without resistance during the transition from Chapter 233 to Chapter 234.

"If you’re convinced, will you let me in now?"

"......Very well."

When I released the doorknob and stepped back, the protagonist of someone else’s novel entered, closed the door, and changed into indoor slippers.

The entire sequence was so effortless and natural that anyone who did not know better might think he wandered in and out of my room at all hours.

"But you aren’t wearing pajamas."

"I was told I would be receiving a guest."

"Not because you’re embarrassed to wear your nightshirt?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then there’s no reason you can’t put it on, is there?"

"......"

Although he had given up on staying up all night, it seemed he still wanted the atmosphere of a pajama party.

Back in Chapter 231, I had let him into my room while wearing my nightclothes and declared that attire had nothing to do with intimacy. It would be awkward to contradict myself now.

And since he had already conceded one point, I decided to grant him what he wanted.

I prepared pajamas just in case, anyway.

I took the new pajamas I had carefully stored in my wardrobe and went into the bathroom.

But when I emerged after changing....

"So you were embarrassed to wear your nightshirt after all."

The protagonist of someone else’s novel stared at me in disbelief as he said it.

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