This Novel is not my Novel

When I opened my eyes, a familiar ceiling filled my vision.

The feel of the blanket against my body was also exceedingly familiar.

I blinked vacantly until I realized that this was my room.

"Myaaaooow~~!!!"

The familiar, adorable cry of a baby dragon reached my ears.

Yor flung back the blanket covering me and slipped straight into my arms.

Then she rubbed her cheek against mine, expressing her joy and affection.

My hazy mind cleared completely, and only then did it truly sink in.

"Ah...... I'm... alive...?"

"Meow meow, meow meow, myaa, myaa~!"

I could not understand what she was saying, but from her intonation, I could tell that Yor was pouring out her grievances to me.

My wise baby dragon must have guessed why I had deliberately taken the sleeping powder in place of the protagonist of someone else's novel.

But that did not mean she had not been frightened.

No, that must have made it even more frightening. She probably realized that the original author had set everything up to kill me.

After I fell asleep, Yor must have bravely fought through the adversity despite her anxiety.

Just imagining it made me tremendously proud of her.

Moreover, the fact that I was alive was itself proof that Yor, as an irregular, had struggled to defy the original author's will.

"Yor, are you hurt anywhere?"

The concern buried beneath my relief at surviving made its presence known.

I sat up in bed, laid Yor down, and rolled her from side to side as I thoroughly inspected her from the tips of her horns to the tip of her tail.

Apparently, she had been too worried about me after I inhaled the monsters' sleeping agent and fell into a deep sleep to leave my side long enough to wash. She was somewhat grubby.

"Phewww..."

I stroked my chest and released a long breath.

Although she was covered in dust and her mane was tangled, I had confirmed that there was not a single drop of blood on her body.

It was not that she had been injured and healed herself by drinking a Potion.

She had never been injured at all.

"Meow meow, myaaa~!"

Yor abruptly floated into the air, spun in a circle, then bent her forelegs and struck a pose as though showing off muscles she did not possess.

Apparently, she wanted to tell me that she was perfectly healthy and that I had nothing to worry about.

Although I had sighed in relief, she must have worried that I might not fully cast aside my concern and would be left with a lingering knot in my heart.

I was profoundly grateful for her thoughtfulness.

Moreover, what she had just done was incredibly, exceptionally adorable.

"Yor, you truly are the best...!"

Praising my baby dragon, I spread my arms wide.

Yor immediately flew over and wrapped herself snugly around me.

A baby dragon's body temperature was lower than a human's, so she felt pleasantly cool. Even so, holding her warmed my heart.

And then—

"Prrr, meow meow, purrrrr~♪"

—Yor began humming a purring tune in such an adorable voice.

The corners of my mouth rose on their own.

Yor and I are the only ones in this room anyway, so there's no need to control my expression.

With that thought, I relaxed and laughed aloud.

That was when I noticed someone standing beyond the slightly open bathroom door.

"Huup...!"

Our eyes met, and I inhaled sharply in surprise.

Then I froze, ceasing every movement, including my breathing.

"Ahahaha! Sorry if I startled you."

The person inside the bathroom opened the door wide and stepped out.

His expression showed no trace of remorse.

To make matters worse, not only was his hair soaking wet, but he was also naked except for a towel around his waist.

This is definitely my room... isn't it?

Just in case, I turned my head and looked around.

It was indeed my room.

In other words, the protagonist of someone else's novel had ignored his own room and gone out of his way to shower in someone else's.

As if that shameless act were not enough, he had secretly watched Yor and me enjoying our emotional reunion.

There was no way the look I gave the protagonist of someone else's novel could have been friendly.

Despite that, he maintained his sly smile and spoke.

"Sleep well?"

"......Why are you emerging from there in that state?"

"I inhaled the sleeping powder too. When I woke up, I found myself here. I wanted to wash, but I also wanted to see you wake up, so I asked Yor's permission to use your bathroom."

The key to this protagonist of someone else's novel's room was presumably inside his Inventory.

Yor, on the other hand, also had a key to my room.

Apparently, whoever had rescued us had brought me here and tossed Reisir in along with me.

Yor must not have told me he was here because she was so delighted that I had woken up that she forgot all about him.

Or perhaps she simply never imagined that the protagonist of someone else's novel would realize I was awake yet remain in the bathroom, watching us instead of coming out.

Either way, Yor had done nothing wrong.

The protagonist of someone else's novel was the problem.

"......How long, exactly, have you been watching Yor and me?"

"I heard Yor crying happily just as I finished my shower."

"Does that mean...?"

"Karvaldr. You really did try to save me even at the risk of your own life, didn't you?"

I did not know why he had added "really."

In any case, it meant he had been watching ever since the moment I opened my eyes and uttered my first words: "I'm alive?"

"If you had already finished showering, you should have gotten dressed and come out immediately! Why are you still standing there like that...?!"

"It would have been such a shame if I missed the sight of you relaxing and playing all lovey-dovey with Yor because I was busy getting dressed."

"Do not say such ridiculous nonsense with a serious expression!"

"Ahahaha! Still, thanks to this, you can personally confirm with your own two eyes that I'm perfectly fine and don't have a single injury. Doesn't that reassure you?"

"......"

As if the protagonist of someone else's novel were not already an embarrassment wherever he went, he was standing there in a shameful state, spreading his arms wide and spouting nonsense.

He was clearly mocking me for making such a commotion while rolling Yor around to inspect her.

I felt embarrassed.

But I struggled to conceal it, glared at him with contempt, and climbed out of bed with Yor in my arms.

"Move. I need to wash too."

"Sure, sure. Go wash up. I'll wait for you."

The protagonist of someone else's novel stepped aside from where he had been blocking the bathroom entrance and gave me that response.

Apparently, he still had no intention of returning to his room.

It was the school break, so there probably was not anyone in the corridor anyway.

I considered shouting at him to leave immediately and throwing him out, but decided against it.

A civilized man of refinement could not possibly converse at length with a naked barbarian.

I simply kept my mouth shut, entered the bathroom, and locked the door.

Then, while taking off my clothes, I noticed something.

Why is there blood on them?

There had not been a single drop of blood on Yor's body, so I found it strange.

But I soon understood.

The original author had been determined to kill me.

The monsters must have relentlessly targeted my life, and if so, it would not have been strange for me to suffer one or two wounds.

Far from feeling pain anywhere, my body felt exceptionally refreshed after sleeping so soundly.

Yor must have fed me a top-grade Potion while I was asleep.

I thought little of it and was about to dismiss the matter.

Then something odd caught my attention.

"If I was injured badly enough to bleed this much, my clothes should have been torn..."

Unless the monsters possessed an ability that allowed them to pass straight through clothing and pierce only the body, that should naturally have been the case.

But although the clothes I had been wearing were covered in blood, they were neither torn nor punctured.

That left only one possible conclusion.

「 RSR 」

Yor took out a whiteboard and wrote Reisir's initials on it.

Apparently, the conclusion I had just reached was correct.

"This... is Reisir's blood...?"

"Meow."

"......Did he look badly hurt to you?"

"Meow."

"Was it... because he was protecting me?"

"Myaaow..."

Each time I asked a question, the baby dragon's little head bobbed up and down.

I could not help reviewing my behavior from earlier to determine whether I had treated Reisir too coldly.

Then I felt relieved.

Phew... I'm glad I didn't throw him out.

The protagonist of someone else's novel might have looked like a barbarian and spouted utter nonsense.

But if I had thrown out someone who had fought and bled in his efforts to protect me, I would have been too ashamed to hold my head up.

Moreover, had he not been naked except for a single towel?

Well... the fact that he was dressed like that was entirely his own doing.

In any case, I carefully washed Yor, then thoroughly scrubbed the body I possessed.

Afterward, I changed into clean clothes and finished grooming my hair.

I usually cleaned the bathroom before leaving, but someone was waiting outside today, so I decided to postpone it.

"I couldn't ask earlier because the circumstances weren't exactly favorable, but how are you feeling? Are you all right?"

When I opened the bathroom door and stepped out, the person who had finally assumed the appearance of a civilized man asked me this.

I wondered why he was saying what I should have been saying, while gratitude and guilt welled up inside me.

I could not fail to understand that I was alive now because Reisir had done everything he could to protect me.

I'm completely unharmed, while Reisir was injured badly enough to shed that much blood... Did the original author decide that it would be impossible to kill only me while leaving Reisir alive?

His seemingly joking remark about how reassuring it was for me to confirm with my own eyes that he was unharmed suddenly felt different.

Perhaps he had deliberately acted that way because he was worried I would notice the bloodstains on my clothes, realize he had been injured, and become concerned.

"Hmph... Weren't you the one who created those 'unfavorable circumstances' in the first place?"

"Ahahaha! That's true too."

Someone might have shown hurt if the person he had protected with all his strength responded with barbed remarks instead of bowing his head in gratitude.

But Reisir merely laughed it off as though he found it amusing.

That made me even more grateful, and I could not leave it unexpressed.

"......I am fine. Thanks to someone."

"Really? That's a relief!"

".........What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Reisir. I asked whether you are all right."

"Are you worried about me? Even after confirming with your own two eyes earlier that my body is perfectly fine?"

The protagonist of someone else's novel curled the corners of his mouth into a mischievous grin.

Would it kill him to let it pass just once?

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