"...'mnotsayinganotherword."
"Sorry,sorry.honestlywasn'ttryingtoteaseyou.wasjusthappybecauseyoukeptsayingexactlywhatwantedtohear."
"mph."
Reisirapologizedandpiledonexcuses,butitwascompletelyineffective.
Myhearthadn'tsoftenedintheslightest.
simplykeptmylipssealedandansweredwithasnort.
Despitemycoldreaction,Reisircontinuedchucklingforseveralmoresecondsbeforespeakingagain.
"Karvaldr.Youwereextremelywaryofidr,weren'tyou?othepointwhereyouwerestressingyourselfoutoverhim."
"..."
Attheprotagonistofsomeoneelse'snovel'sremark,frowned.
Didheknowwassoconcernedaboutidrthatitwascausingmestress?
Andwasthatwhyhehadthoroughlycrushedhiminthefinals?
owever—
here'snowayReisirwoulddosomethinglikethatjusttogivemeonemorethingtoworryabout,right?
Reisirhadprobablyhandledtheprobleminhisownway.
eknewbetterthananyonehowuglyidrbecamewhenconsumedbyaninferioritycomplex.
Sohemercilesslyshatteredtheprideofsomeoneintoxicatedbyhisownsuperiorityandaccustomedtolookingdownonothers.
"Sofiguredyou'dbecurious.Aboutwhattalkedaboutwithhimduringthematch.Aboutwhydidn'tsimplysubduehimandinsteadendeditwithanattackstrongenoughtoknockhimunconscious."
notherwords,thereasonReisirhadsatnexttomewassohecouldanswermyquestionsifaskedthem.
Whichmeanthadmisunderstoodentirely.
otonlyhadcongratulatedhimandpraisedhim,hadeventhankedhim.
Forabriefmoment,embarrassmentwashedoverme.
Fortunately,rationalthoughtquicklycametomyrescue.
Don'tbeembarrassed.hinkaboutthiscalmly.
here'snowayReisirsatdownherewithabsolutelynodesiretohearcongratulationsorcomplimentsfromme.
houghheprobablywasn'texpectingthanks...
Surely,afterhearingeverythinghewantedtohear,hehadsimplyswitchedtopicssohecouldenjoywatchingmerealizewhathadhappened.
omatterhowlookedatit,hewasafox-likeindividual.
"Whyareyousuddenlyglaringatmelikeyou'redissatisfiedwithsomething?"
"...mph."
"Areyoureallyplanningtokeepthatpromisenottospeakanotherword?owlongexactly?"
hemorehebehavedlikethis,themorewantedtoremainsilentforever.
Unfortunately,thatwasn'trealistic.
Andtherewerethingsgenuinelyneededtodiscusswithhimregardingidr.
Aftersomeconsideration,arrivedatacompromise.
"Yor.ellReisirthatneedtofocusonwatchingthematches,sohavenointentionofspeakinguntileverythingisover."
"Myaang~!"
MybabydragoncheerfullyacceptedthetaskandmeowedatReisir.
ohiscredit,heunderstoodthemessageperfectly.
Althoughheworeadumbfoundedexpressionandletoutahollowlaugh,heeventuallysurrendered.
"henlet'stalklater."
Aftersayingthat,Reisirfinallyfellsilent.
Andthus,afteraconvenientscenetransition—
helocationwasaprivatediningroominanupscalerestaurant.
Reisirhadbroughtusheretocelebratewinningthetournamentandreceivingtheprizemoney.
Personally,wouldhavepreferredreturningtotheAcademyandenjoyingcafeteriafoodinpeace.
Unfortunately,hehadn'tmerelymadeareservation.
ehadorderedafullcoursemealinadvanceforeverymemberofthegroup.
Atthatpoint,refusingtheinvitationwould'vebeendifficult.
"Reisir.fyoukeepspendingmoneylikethiseverytimeyoureceiveawindfall,you'llruinyourselfsomeday."
hetournamentchampion'sprizemoneywassubstantial.
hatwasonlynaturalinanacademyattendedprimarilybythechildrenofnoblefamilies.
venso,couldn'thelpfeelingconcernedthattheprotagonistofsomeoneelse'snovelhaddevelopeddangerouslyloosespendinghabits.
speciallybecausewaspartiallyresponsibleforthem.
"Areyouworriedaboutmyfuturerightnow?"
"Don'tberidiculous.Whywouldworryaboutyourfuture?'msayingthatbuyingaweaponappropriateforyourlevelwouldbefarmoresensiblethanwastingprizemoneyonfoodthatdisappearsafewhourslater."
"Yeeeaah...'lltrylivingamorefinanciallyresponsiblelifefromnowon."
"ood.hat'sthecorrectattitude."
Feelingsatisfiedwithhisanswer,nodded.
Unfortunately,thatsatisfactionlastedonlyamoment.
Becausetheprotagonistofsomeoneelse'snovelimmediatelystartedtalkingnonsense.
"And'llsavetherestoftheprizemoney,addsomeofmyallowancetoit,andbuyareallygoodweapon.Sopleasedon'teventhinkaboutbuyingoneforme.hatwouldbetoomuchofaburden."
"What...?Whywouldbuyyouaweapon?"
"xactly.here'snoneedforyouto.hat'swhy'mtellingyounotto."
"o,that'snotwhatmean.neverhadanyintentionofdoingthatinthefirstplace."
"Butmyweaponlookedsoshabbythatitkeptbotheringyou,right?noughthatyouwantedmetoreplaceitassoonas★𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭★possible."
"-o!Whetheryouuseagoodweaponornothasabsolutelynothingtodowithme!onestly,thisisabsurd.owdoesyourbrainevenarriveatconclusionslikethat?genuinelycannotunderstandit."
Despitemydesperatedefense,notasinglepersonatthetableappearedconvinced.
RíolíkinlookedatReisirwithopenenvy.
"-othinkordKarvaldrworriesaboutyou...-hatmustbenice."
Meanwhile,elgaandigdísbegantheirowndiscussion.
"BigSisterigdís.WhatdidyouthinkoftheYoungMaster'scomments?"
"eseemsveryconcerned."
"Right?"
"AboutbothReisir'sfutureandhisweapon."
"xactly.wasn'timaginingit.eclaimsheisn'tworried,andthenimmediatelystartsgivingadviceaboutreplacingweapons.t'scompletelytransparent."
Apparently,everyoneinterpretedmywordsastextbooktsundereconcern.
venthoughallhadwantedwastostoptheprotagonistofsomeoneelse'snovelfromdevelopingterriblespendinghabitsbecauseofme.
Butwhatwassupposedtodo?
couldn'texactlytellhimtosavemoneywithoutelaborating.
Sohadmentionedbuyingaproperspearasanexampleofsensiblespending.
venifexplainallofthis,readerswillprobablyconclude'vebeencompletelyconsumedbythetsunderearchetype.
owunfair.
obodywantedtoescapethiscursedimagemorethandid.
"Still,thesundereYoungMasterwasn'twrong."
"Pleasestopcallingmethat."
elgaignoredmyprotestcompletely.
"Justlookingattheweaponsusedbytheparticipantsinthistournament,mostofthemwereobviouslyexpensive.Ray,yourspearisliterallythesamekindissuedtosoldiersinourterritory,isn'tit?Youmightthinkaweaponisaweaponaslongasitworks,butasyourfamilyandyourfriend,itmademeuncomfortablethroughouttheentiretournament."
Shespokewithcompleteseriousness.
Whichsomehowmadethingsworse.
hefactthatshecouldusesuchanembarrassingtitlewithoutintendingtoteasemeatallfilledmewithprofoundshame.
Atthatmoment,alldesiretodefendelga'sfathervanishedcompletely.
owever,asaresponsiblenarrator,shouldexplainthesituation.
BaronDjúpritnirhadn'tneglectedtobuyReisiraproperweaponbecausehewasstingy.
nfact,hehadofferedtopurchaseoneasagiftwhenReisirenteredtheAcademy.
Reisirwastheonewhostubbornlyrefused,insistingthathiscurrentweaponfeltfineinhishands.
Partofitstemmedfromthegratitude—andcorrespondingsenseofindebtedness—hefelttowardDjúprforeverythinghehadalreadyreceived.
Anotherreasonwassimple.
ehadneverusedatrulyhigh-qualityweaponbefore.
Sincehehadneverexperiencedthedifferencefirsthand,hehadconvincedhimselfthatallweaponswerebasicallythesame.
Asaresult,heconstantlyprioritizedcost-effectiveness.
here'sactuallyanoriginalstoryarcwhereamasterblacksmithlatergiftshimaweaponandcompletelyshattersthatmisconception...
fcourse,thathappenedlongafterReisirlefttheAcademy.
Bythen,ourconnectionwouldbecompletelysevered.
Wewouldbestrangers.
Decidingnottodwellonit,returnedmyattentiontothepresent.
"Anyway!hepointisthis."elgapointedatReisir."fconsiderationforothersbecomesexcessive,itonlymakesthemuncomfortable.WouldthesundereYoungMasterhavebroughtupyourspendinghabitsotherwise?enoticedyoureservedanexpensiverestaurantbecauseofhim."
amnotasundereYoungMaster.
AndhaveneverworriedaboutReisir'sspendinghabits.
hosewordsrosetomythroat.
henswallowedthem.
Becauseitwaspainfullyobviousthatifarguednow,wouldimmediatelybetoldtostopoverdoingitmyself.
Sochosethewiserpath.
quietlyatemyfoodandwaitedforthestormtopass.
"...'llbemorecarefulinthefuture."
"Besides,Dad'stheonewho'sbuyingyourweapon.fhetellsyoutokeeptheprizemoneyasspendingmoney,you'regoingtorefuse,aren'tyou?"
"Well...acceptinghelpwhenalreadyhavemoneyfeelsabit..."
"We'refamily.aveyoueverconsideredhowsadDadwouldfeelifyouactedlikethat?"
"..."
Foramoment,Reisirfellsilent.
henheloweredhishead.
"o.wasonlythinkingabouttheburdenfeel.didn'tconsiderordDjúpr'sfeelings."
isapologywashesitantandsincere.
Watchingitunfoldfeltstrangelyrefreshing.
Afterall,thiswasascenehadneverwitnessedintheoriginalnovel.
Whichledmetoarealization.
heonlypersoncapableofdefeatingtheoriginalprotagonistwithpurefactsandlogicwaselga.
DidthatmeanAuthorSennahadremovedsuchadangerouscharacterfromthestoryatanearlystage?
fso,itwasanunforgivablemistake.
"YouknowDadsentextramoneyandtoldustocelebratewithfriendsifyouwonthetournament.'mpayingfortoday'smealwiththatmoney,sodon'trefusethiseither."
hensheaddedquietly,
"fyoureallythinkofDadandmeasfamily."
"kay.'msorry.waswrong."
Reisirimmediatelysurrendered.
"Sopleasedon'tmisunderstand.dothinkofyouandordDjúprasfamily."
hemomentheraisedthewhiteflag,elgavisiblyrelaxed.
ikesomeonefinallyhavingatroublesometoothpulled.
oher,Reisirwasunquestionablyfamily.
Watchinghimconstantlyactlikealodgerandgooutofhiswaynottoinconvenienceanyonemusthavefrustratedherforyears.
Bytheway,hadplannedtoaskaboutidrthemomentwearrivedattherestaurant...
ruly,lifeinsidesomeoneelse'snovelneverallowedapersontoseeevenaninchahead.
hadmerelycommentedthatReisirshouldn'tspendmoneyrecklessly.
YetsomehowithadevolvedintoanemotionalfamilydramastarringReisirandelga.
Becauseofthat,stillhadn'tmanagedtobringuptheactualsubjectwantedtodiscuss.
Still.
hefamilydramahadreachedaheartwarmingconclusion.
Asanauthorwhospecializedinhealingstories,founditimmenselysatisfying.
'llaskoncethemealisalmostover.
'drathernotruinsuchapleasantatmospherebybringinguptheoriginalvillaintooearly.
