This Novel is not my Novel

"I cannot make that promise."

"Why not?"

"Because depending on the circumstances, I might not have an opportunity to tell you."

That was merely an excuse.

What happened today was proof enough. It was not as if I had lacked any opportunity to tell him, yet I had not said a single word.

If I shared my plans with the original protagonist, there was a considerable chance that the original author would learn of them as well.

The original author might create circumstances that would inevitably derail my plan in order to force the "supporting character death event" to proceed somehow.

Or perhaps the situation itself would remain unchanged while the enemy’s stats were dramatically increased....

Instead of the supporting character originally meant to die, the author might try to eliminate me for interfering with the planned development.

For that reason, I believed there would be far more situations in which I could not share my plans with Reisir, the original protagonist, than situations in which I could.

That would be especially true when I needed to draw the enemy’s aggression toward myself, as I had today.

After all, keeping quiet would help ensure my safety.

"Ah, I suppose that’s true. There might be times when you have to come up with a plan on the spot and put it into action immediately...."

Fortunately, Reisir appeared to accept the excuse without difficulty.

Even though, unable to explain the real reason, I had offered him a careless, halfhearted excuse.

"If you ever find yourself in another situation where you have to risk your safety like today, come to me. I’ll read the situation and protect you."

"Myaaow!"

My baby dragon raised a thumb toward Reisir.

She seemed very pleased with his answer.

Instead of thanking him, however, I suddenly felt the urge to ask, What if you and I are too far apart?

But as the fact that I am describing the question in narration instead of placing it between quotation marks and turning it into dialogue should make clear, I did not voice it.

Demanding an answer about a hypothetical situation in which nothing could be done seemed less like raising an issue so we could discuss countermeasures and more like spite or petulance.

It also made me wonder when I had begun living a life in which I relied on others.

If such a situation ever does arise... I’ll simply have to handle it myself.

To keep my thoughts from showing, I pressed my lips together to suppress the bitter smile threatening to spread across them and merely nodded.

The protagonist of someone else’s novel—

"Hahaha! Look at you, getting embarrassed."

—laughed because he thought I had answered with a nod out of embarrassment.

How absurd. His last statement had been a promise to protect me, so shaking my head would have amounted to refusing.

I had only nodded in agreement for the sake of my own safety.

"...Is it not time to move on to the next subject?"

"Yes, yes. I was about to."

If he started spouting irrelevant nonsense again, I intended to glare at him with all my might and refuse to continue the conversation.

But perhaps Reisir was growing eager to discuss his newly acquired skill as well, because he immediately opened his skill window and read through everything displayed before him.

Thus, I learned the information my dear readers had known since Chapter 311.

And a question occurred to me.

"Did you deliberately omit the part explaining that it was a skill derived from your {Disposition}?"

"Hm? No."

"...No?"

"No. There’s nothing like that in the skill description."

"......!"

What was going on now?

Unless an Ether Attribute skill was granted by default, its description always included the sentence, "A skill derived from the reflection of {Disposition}."

At least, that had been the case in the original novel I had read.

"When you used that skill on the Boss Monster, what did you see?"

"A small cluster of light was sparkling near its shoulder. The moment I saw it, I knew. The ‘power mechanism’ containing its magic core had to be there."

Seeing something luminous was identical to what happened when the "targeting" option of 【Truth-Reading Eye】 was activated in the original work.

"Did you try using 【Truth-Reading Eye】 on that cluster of light?"

"Uh...? No, I didn’t."

"...Well, the situation was urgent, so you would hardly have had the leisure to study the skill at your own pace. Try it if you get another opportunity. It might show you information different from what you see when using 【Truth-Reading Eye】 by itself."

Reisir had not used 【Truth-Reading Eye】 on the cluster of light, so it had not been conclusively proven yet.

Even so, I was certain that doing so would have allowed him to read information about the "power mechanism."

Something might change as 【Truth-Reading Eye】 developed later, but for now, it was safe to assume that its functionality did not differ significantly from "targeting."

No. Rather than saying there’s no functional difference, it would be more accurate to say that the option split off from the existing skill and became established as a new skill.

Despite being an Ether Attribute skill acquired after awakening, perhaps that was why 【Truth-Reading Eye】 was treated as a default skill rather than one derived from his {Disposition}.

Could 【Encouragement】 have influenced it somehow?

That thought flashed through my mind.

【Encouragement】 was a skill created through the reflection of {Disposition: Author}.

Alongside the sentence, "Through the author’s words, the narrative flows and the characters advance," its description also stated that it drew out the target’s potential.

However....

There’s no evidence, and the possibility is remote.

I was merely interpreting matters to suit myself and forcing the pieces together however I pleased.

It seemed more likely that Author Senna had simply forgotten to include the phrase about the skill being derived from a {Disposition} when writing its description.

"Karvaldr, you really are amazing."

"...Why are you suddenly saying that?"

"The moment I told you I saw something glowing, you immediately thought of a way to use it in conjunction with an existing skill."

"Is that truly so remarkable?"

It was an idea anyone could easily have come up with, and in my case, I had not even devised it myself.

I had read the original novel and already knew about the "targeting" option of 【Truth-Reading Eye】.

That was why I could scoff and answer so dismissively, but the protagonist of someone else’s novel seemed rather surprised by my reaction.

He must have expected me to blush in embarrassment at his praise. Not a chance.

The sight of him blinking in confusion was quite a spectacle.

Even though we had not been competing, I somehow felt as though I had claimed victory.

But the moment I let that feeling show, I would fall from victor to object of ridicule.

Keeping my expression perfectly composed, I speared a bite-sized miniature honey cookie with my fork, placed it in my mouth, and chewed.

Its rich, sweet flavor danced across my tongue.

Just as I was savoring it with satisfaction....

"Then again, I suppose it makes sense that you’d see it that way. I only acquired 【Truth-Reading Eye】 because I followed the advice you gave me. You must have already thought through every way the skill could be used, so naturally none of this would seem particularly remarkable to you."

An incomprehensible statement emerged from the other person’s mouth.

I was more than a little bewildered.

Had my mouth not been full, I probably would have immediately demanded to know what kind of preposterous nonsense he was talking about.

"I might not have immediately thought of a way to apply it and put that idea into practice, but as you said earlier, the situation was urgent. So please understand and don’t treat me like an idiot."

"I... haven’t treated you like an idiot...."

I hurriedly chewed and swallowed the food, then answered with an expression that demanded to know what on earth he was talking about.

Yet the protagonist of someone else’s novel was not finished with his nonsense.

"Then will you praise me?"

"What kind of utter bullshit is that?"

"I successfully completed the incredibly difficult assignment you gave me! You gave me only one hint—‘the power to perceive truths that cannot be discovered merely by looking with the naked eye’—and expected me to create a useful skill on the spot. An ordinary person couldn’t do something like that!"

I could not begin to understand when I had supposedly given him such an assignment.

I had merely applied a buff that strengthened Ether Attribute Abilities and told him to try using an option that his existing skill would eventually gain after developing.

Taking that as an assignment to create an entirely new skill is a problem with his own comprehension, isn’t it?

And what did he mean by saying an "ordinary person" could not do it?

Was he demanding special treatment because he was no ordinary person?

Had Nidr’s delusions of grandeur rubbed off on him?

"It may not seem like much to you, since you independently mastered three entire buff skills by studying the nature of Ether and can even give others appropriate advice. But this truly is extraordinary! If people found out, it would turn the entire academic field on its head!"

"?!??!!"

I almost wished he had merely caught Nidr’s delusions of grandeur.

As it turned out, the protagonist of someone else’s novel was laboring under an enormous misconception.

He thinks I created Ether Attribute skills myself...?

As my dear readers who have followed this novel thus far will know, I had done no such thing.

Whenever I opened my skill window after awakening, all I had done was repeatedly startle at the unexpected skills within it and fall into confusion.

I had no idea what chain of reasoning had led him to that conclusion.

But I do know what I absolutely must say right now.

I could not attract everyone’s attention over something I had never accomplished and turn an innocent academic field upside down.

"Reisir."

"Yes?"

"I think it would be best to say that the skill you created today was the product of coincidence, or perhaps a miracle caused by a temporary awakening brought on by adrenaline in a crisis.... Something along those lines."

I spoke with heartfelt desperation.

By tremendous good fortune, the protagonist of someone else’s novel appeared to agree with me.

"I was already planning to do that. If people discovered not only that you created skills yourself, but that I also gained a new skill as a result of your precise advice, countless people would begin pestering you. The imperial family in particular would use both its authority and the greater good as justification to pressure you. They might even covet your very existence so much that they abducted you, locked you away, and forced you to do nothing but conduct research...."

Allow me to correct myself.

I had thought our lines of reasoning were similar, but not only had his veered slightly off course, it had gone far too distant.

His words left me rather uncomfortable, but the possibility was not entirely nonexistent.

I therefore agreed with the protagonist of someone else’s novel.

"Uh... hmm.... Yes.... Even when given a hint, creating a skill through sheer willpower is not something just anyone can do.... And honestly, I have no idea what kinds of skills other people might create.... Perhaps you are an unusual case? In any event... it would be extremely troublesome if people asked me to advise them on how to create new skills."

"Right. Then if anyone asks how I managed to create such an appropriate skill at exactly the right moment, I’ll tell them it was a miracle born from my desperate desire to live up to your expectations."

"What...?! That seems... rather inappropriate, does it not...?"

"It isn’t inappropriate at all. If I want everyone to understand why I acquired a skill that perfectly matched what you asked of me, I think that’s the best explanation."

The protagonist of someone else’s novel looked far too resolute as he spoke.

I could sense his determination to carry out exactly what he had said, no matter what happened.

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