This Novel is not my Novel

"Karvaldr. Do you still believe Her Royal Highness the Princess is on our side?"

This was a continuation of the conversation we had shared in Chapter 176.

Reisir was bringing it up now because Fjodora had rebuked us in the previous chapter, demanding to know why we had concealed our abilities.

"Only two weeks have passed since the semester began, so I believe it is still too early to reach any conclusions... Have you already reached one? That she is not?"

"I haven't reached a definite conclusion yet either. But honestly, I don't think I can view her favorably."

"Even though Her Royal Highness expressed a desire to help Helga and even gave her combat equipment as a gift?"

"Her Royal Highness herself said that giving her the equipment was also a measure taken for her own safety. Aside from that, what help has she actually offered? Hasn't she done nothing but say that she wants to help, but probably can't because of her position?"

"Hmm......"

That was difficult to deny.

"She said today that Dyuf should be able to secure substantial compensation for Helga, but it felt like she was merely trying to claim credit. Regardless of whether Her Royal Highness intervenes, today's events have already made that outcome inevitable."

"Well... that is true..."

"Even if we give Her Royal Highness every possible benefit of the doubt and assume she sincerely wanted to help Helga, I don't know whether that was because she genuinely pitied her or because she wanted Helga to focus solely on training and become an outstanding combatant as quickly as possible."

According to the setting of 《NaSE》, Fjodora was the only member of the imperial family who possessed any genuine compassion or conscience.

Moreover, in the original work, she remained on Reisir's side and tried to help him until the very end, despite his hatred of her.

As a result, she lost the Emperor's favor and was eventually killed.

Knowing that, I would prefer the two of them to establish an amicable relationship...

The problem was that I could not blindly defend Fjodora.

Just as Reisir had said, Fjodora had only expressed a desire to help. She had repeatedly prioritized her own position while saying that she could not actually do so.

I believed that her attitude was caused by the original author's intention to push the fake-lovers scheme being reflected in the story.

But I could hardly tell Reisir that.

Compared to the pre-remake original work, Fjodora does seem less determined to offer active assistance.

Given her attitude, I had no evidence to present even if I tried to prove that she was a good person.

"And... do you remember how I didn't put my blindfold back on immediately after we defeated the Boss Monster earlier? I left it off for a while."

"Did you inspect Her Royal Highness's status window then?"

"Yeah."

There was nothing surprising about that.

When Fjodora and Reisir spoke in Chapter 313, the direction of Reisir's gaze had convinced me that he had done precisely that.

I had also inferred something from the expression he wore at the time.

"Karvaldr, did you know that when a member of the imperial family cooperates with someone else who possesses 【Spatial Leap】, not only can they travel without being limited by their field of vision, but the distance increases tremendously as well?"

So he had read that information after all.

As a reader transported into the novel, I naturally knew what he was talking about. But it was not information my possessed body should possess, so I shook my head.

Reisir let out a deep sigh and elaborated.

"Judging by the skill description, it doesn't seem as though they can simply travel to any location they want. They can only travel to where the other person is. My ability is still lacking, so I couldn't determine the exact maximum distance even with your 【Encouragement】 buff strengthening the skill... But it could still be used strategically, couldn't it?"

Even today presented an obvious example.

When Lausa returned from scouting and Fjodora went to verify the information herself, using that ability would have saved both Ether and time.

If she had, the Boss Monster battle would have begun before I could join them, so I was exceedingly fortunate that she did not use it today.

But this was not something I could dismiss simply because the outcome had been favorable.

Not only had she demanded that we refrain from concealing our abilities, but she had even reprimanded Reisir and me in a forceful tone.

Yet now it had been revealed that she, too, was hiding an ability.

"If she'd at least told you about it, since you're from a ducal family, I could have tried to understand. I could have told myself it was too soon for her to trust all of us and that she couldn't carelessly reveal an ability unique to the imperial family... But instead, she criticized you for not disclosing 【Encouragement】 in advance, didn't she? Even though you, as a member of a ducal family, also inherited your Ether Attribute through your bloodline."

Reisir's anger was unmistakable in both his expression and his voice.

I understood. If the others learned that Fjodora had not disclosed the full extent of her abilities, they would react exactly as Reisir had.

They might be unable to protest openly because of her status as a member of the imperial family, but that would only cause their resentment to grow twice as strong.

"Her Royal Highness's tendency to wield her authority and make demands is certainly problematic. It foments discord."

"Isn't that beside the point?"

"You mean her hypocritical attitude is the problem? That she conceals her own abilities while insisting on learning everything about other people's?"

"Why does that... sound as if you're saying it isn't a problem?"

Beginning with his belief that I was a tsundere, Reisir had misunderstood a great many things.

This time, however, he was not mistaken.

"Do you not conceal your own ability while forcibly uncovering those of others?"

"......!"

"You possess 【Truth-Reading Eye】, allowing you to secretly obtain whatever information you desire. Her Royal Highness possesses no such skill, so she merely seeks to hear that information from the people themselves. The only difference lies in the method."

At present, Reisir at least used 【Truth-Reading Eye】 selectively. That had not been the case in the pre-remake version.

Once he learned to control the skill and discarded his blindfold, he opened other people's status windows without hesitation.

It made no difference even when those people were his "comrades."

To minimize casualties, he had to know and compare the abilities of both his enemies and his allies with absolute precision.

People had continued to die despite that.

But if he did not at least do that much, his anxiety became utterly unbearable.

Fjodora might not be as desperate as Reisir had been then, but she was likely asking us to share information about our abilities out of a similar state of mind.

"Therefore, although I do not particularly enjoy seeing her behave as though she has no respect for us, I do not wish to condemn her for her hypocritical double standard."

I felt uneasy even as I spoke.

Reisir was angry about Fjodora's contradictory attitude, and I had essentially told him, You are no different from her.

Ordinarily, that would have been more than enough to offend someone.

Yet the protagonist of someone else's novel reacted in a way that once again soared far beyond my expectations.

"So what you're saying is... condemning Her Royal Highness for that would be the same as condemning me, and you can't bring yourself to do it? Even though, if you considered only your own position, you'd have every right to be angry...?"

The protagonist of someone else's novel suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion and gazed at me with misty eyes.

Unable to contain my dismay, I reflexively slammed both hands onto the table, shot to my feet, and raised my voice...

"N-No!! Th-That is not what I meant...!"

"Karvaldr. Why don't you think carefully about what you just said, then tell me again whether that truly isn't what you meant?"

"Why should I have to do that? I said it was not because it truly was... not......"

...Was it not?

As far as my innermost thoughts were concerned... Well, fine. I would admit it.

I could understand Fjodora's behavior because I understood how Reisir had felt in the pre-remake version.

Even so, outwardly... I did not... uh... hmm......

I should not have said that her behavior made me uncomfortable as well, or that I did not want to condemn her.

I had been afraid Reisir might react by asking, Are you criticizing me just so you can defend someone else?

I did not want to fight with him.

I had tried to add a remark that would soften the impact, only to maneuver myself into a trap.

"Myaa..."

Yor smacked a paw against her forehead and shook her head.

It seemed even my wise baby dragon could find no way out of this predicament.

"Now that you've finished thinking, would you like to answer?"

"......"

The protagonist of someone else's novel stared directly at my face with a broad smile.

I quietly sat back down, then hurriedly gathered the hair at the side of my head and used it to hide my face.

"I doubt you brought up Her Royal Highness merely to gossip about her behind her back. What is it you truly wish to say?"

"Ah, you're just changing the subject."

"......Hmph."

"All right, all right."

His tone sounded remarkably like he was humoring me, which was quite irritating.

Still, the protagonist of someone else's novel proceeded directly to the point, so I decided to let it pass.

"The imperial family promised to return my territory, but that hasn't erased all the resentment I've accumulated over the years... I don't know how I should treat Her Royal Highness."

The fact that he said this meant he understood that antagonizing Fjodora would do him no good.

The problem was likely that he found it difficult to control his feelings.

Especially when Fjodora kept saying and doing things that provoked his resentment.

"Perhaps I should not have told you that she might be a good person."

"Huh...? What do you mean?"

"Because that gave you expectations. You began trying to understand her and watching her words and actions more closely. As a result, it seems you have only grown more resentful of her."

I released the hair I had been clutching and sank into thought while sipping my five-flavor berry tea.

At this rate, the two of them would eventually clash in a major way.

Then not only would we have to train in a hostile atmosphere, but we would also enter the Demon Realm while distrust ran rampant among us.

I could not help worrying that someone might be killed as a result.

"Do not deal with her as one person dealing with another. Treat your relationship as strictly official. The special Awakened class was never formed for socializing in the first place, was it? At present, she appears so consumed by the weight of her responsibilities that she has no room to consider our circumstances. For the time being, I doubt anything would be gained by your trying to understand her or approaching her first."

"Ah..."

"Alternatively, you could follow your childhood friend's example and put on a pleasant facade. Helga has watched over you for many years and must sympathize deeply with the injustice you suffered. She may not resent the imperial family as much as you do, but she cannot be free of discontent. Yet she manages to act perfectly untroubled in front of Her Royal Highness, does she not?"

In truth, what Reisir needed might not be my advice at all, but an apology from the imperial family.

It had not been Fjodora who seized Reisir's territory and falsely accused his parents. In fact, she had argued that it should not be done.

Even so, if she apologized for the imperial family's wrongdoing as a member of that family, Reisir's heart might find some measure of peace.

And Fjodora might be able to relinquish some of her authoritative manner along with the guilt she carried.

"That is all I can tell you."

"Thank you. That helped a lot. As expected, you're profoundly thoughtful and truly kind, Karvaldr. You're impossibly coy most of the time, but whenever we have a serious conversation, you show such a surprisingly mature air—"

"Leave."

"Huh...?"

"I said it is time for you to leave."

Lest my dear readers misunderstand, allow me to clarify that I was not throwing the protagonist of someone else's novel out because his torrent of praise had embarrassed me.

Our private conversation simply seemed to be dragging on for too long.

I was doing this to advance the story and move on to the next scene.

"There are still more things I want to discuss..."

"Must they be discussed this very moment?"

"Uh...... no, I suppose not. The academy is closed, so we have plenty of time anyway."

Reisir appeared to consider it briefly before putting the blindfold he had left on the table back on and obediently rising from his seat.

He changed his shoes and was about to leave the room when he paused.

With one hand on the doorknob, he turned back toward me and offered the following farewell.

"Good night, Karvaldr. Sweet dreams."

"......Hmph. You too, if you wish."

"Puahahaha—!"

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