"But... are you planning to continue attending the academy?"
I began with that question partly to change the subject.
The situation had already diverged from the original story in countless ways, so there would be nothing particularly strange, from a plausibility standpoint, if Reisir chose to remain at the academy.
Even so, I wanted to confirm his true intentions regarding continuing his studies here.
And yet—
"Karvaldr, don't tell me you're thinking about withdrawing from the academy?!"
For some reason, Reisir's expression stiffened as he blurted out something completely absurd.
He had taken my words with utmost seriousness and somehow arrived at a conclusion entirely unrelated to what I meant.
How exactly had he managed that?
The answer appeared in the very next sentence.
"Is it because of the anomalies...? Because you never know when or where a Demon Realm might appear? Because you can't trust the professors, and you can't bring an Escort Knight with you? Have you become afraid of continuing your studies here...?"
There are three things, my dear readers, that can be learned from the statement above.
First, the reason Reisir considered the possibility of my withdrawal to be so high.
Second, the fact that he had become extremely anxious because of it.
And third—
The term Demon Realm has now become officially established.
"Now that I look at you, you've got dark circles under your eyes again, don't you? Even though you were at your family's main estate until yesterday and only arrived today... Have you been losing sleep trying to decide whether to withdraw?"
I was so dumbfounded that I sat there speechless while the protagonist of someone else's novel forcefully advanced the plot of an entirely different genre through sheer misunderstanding.
"It's only natural for you to be worried if you think the academy isn't safe. But... whether I should call it my personal wish or my selfish desire... either way, I want you to keep attending the academy with me."
As he said that, Reisir suddenly grabbed one of my hands.
This had become absurd beyond all reason.
"No matter what happens, I'll protect you. I swear I won't be too late again because I got distracted like last time. So... alright?"
If I allowed this to continue, I began to wonder just how far he would take it.
But the pressure I felt outweighed my curiosity, so I decided to correct the misunderstanding before his emotions escalated any further.
"I have absolutely no intention of leaving the academy."
"Really...?"
"Think about it logically. If I genuinely doubted the academy's safety, would I have come here an entire week early just to borrow a book from the library? I would have arrived on the first day of the semester."
"Ah...!"
"Now that you've realized your misunderstanding, release my hand."
Unlike last time, when he had stubbornly clung to it until the very end.
Today, Reisir immediately let go and showed an awkward smile.
"Sorry. I overreacted. It's just... I kept thinking that if you withdrew from the academy, our connection would end just like that. No matter how hard I tried to stay in touch, it wouldn't matter if you refused to accept it. And you don't really seem like the type who enjoys keeping in contact over personal matters..."
"..."
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
If I were ever given a chance to sever ties with him, I would seize it without hesitation.
Perhaps he had sensed that somehow.
I couldn't bring myself to deny it, so I merely stroked Yor's fur and avoided answering.
Seeing that, Reisir did not ask why I remained silent.
Nor did he ask me to offer even a token reassurance.
Instead, he smoothly changed the subject.
"But if you weren't considering withdrawing, why did you ask whether I planned to keep attending the academy?"
"I meant exactly what I asked. I wanted to know your intentions."
"No, I mean why? Did you think I was going to leave?"
It wasn't that I thought he would leave.
It felt obvious that he would.
"Isn't the Demonization phenomenon occurring frequently all over the world right now? I assumed you'd leave the academy and travel around investigating the Demon Realms appearing everywhere. To discover the cause behind them. To prevent others from suffering the same tragedy you experienced as a child. And at the same time, to save the people trapped in Demon Realms and facing death."
"So that's the image you have of me."
"Well... you do have a strong sense of responsibility. Besides, the fact that you've spent a month at the academy researching books and investigating the auditorium tells me you aren't completely free of that desire. Was I wrong?"
In the original story, Reisir practically devoted his life to uncovering the truth behind Demonization.
After losing everything to a Demon Realm and surviving alone as a child, he came to believe that his specialized investigative ability, 【Truth-Reading Eye】, had appeared as a form of divine providence.
He felt a mission to uncover the true nature of Demon Realms.
That was why I had always been certain.
Even if I successfully prevented Helga's death during the closing ceremony—
The original protagonist would still leave the academy and dedicate himself to investigating Demon Realms.
"You're not entirely wrong. I do want to investigate Demon Realms. And I don't want anyone else to suffer what I did."
Reisir paused.
"But."
The conjunction lingered in the air.
It was an intentional silence.
He wanted me to pay attention to what he was about to say.
I could see through the tactic completely.
Nevertheless, I was curious.
So I met his eyes, silently indicating that I was listening.
Only then did he continue.
"You once told me that I'm still a student. That responsibility isn't mine to shoulder yet. I'll be an adult soon, but there are still many things I need to learn here, and I'm inexperienced in countless ways. For now, I think it's too early. So I've decided to leave that matter to the experienced adults until I graduate."
He was quoting something I had said near the very end of the closing ceremony arc.
Chapter 137.
"Besides, everyone I want to protect is here at Valhalla Academy. Wouldn't it be strange to abandon this place in order to save complete strangers?"
"..."
"And more importantly, academy life has become fun. Preparing for the martial arts tournament was fun. Spending weekends together was fun. If I stay here, I know I'll be able to create countless memories like that. So why would I leave?"
That reasoning was perfectly understandable.
I found myself nodding unconsciously.
At that moment, I noticed the playful curve of Reisir's gaze.
It was obvious what that expression meant.
See? You thought the same thing too, didn't you?
The problem was that he hadn't actually voiced the question.
Which meant I couldn't preemptively tell him not to misunderstand.
If I did, I would only be exposing myself.
So all I could do was wrinkle my face in dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately, that only caused the smile on his face to widen further.
"The fact that you couldn't sleep peacefully even while staying at your family's main estate... surely that wasn't because of me, was it? Were you worried about what would happen if I left the academy?"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about now?"
"To someone who supposedly wants to remain close to me in the future, asking whether I plan to leave the academy is a pretty strange question. Doesn't that mean you've been carrying that concern around for a while and were simply waiting for a chance to ask it?"
That was a massive leap in logic.
My lack of sleep had absolutely nothing to do with whether Reisir withdrew from the academy.
But if I denied him now, he would undoubtedly ask why I hadn't been sleeping well despite staying at my family's main estate.
And explaining the real reason was impossible.
Nor did I have any alternative excuse prepared.
My plan had been to blame my dark circles on insomnia returning during the week I spent at the academy after the semester began.
I desperately searched for an explanation.
Unfortunately, the protagonist of someone else's novel was faster at reaching his own conclusions.
"I see. So you enjoyed spending time with me too. I wasn't the only one hoping we'd remain close in the future... Honestly, what am I supposed to do with a tsundere who keeps sending such confusing signals?"
"You're the one misunderstanding everything, so just leave it alone...!"
"Ahahaha!!"
The protagonist of someone else's novel laughed for quite some time.
And as though he still hadn't regained his senses, he continued his nonsense.
"Wait. Could your coming back to the academy early and visiting the library also be related to me? Because you promised to recommend me a Special Character Novel next semester? Did you come here early to carefully choose one for me?"
"Absolutely not. The novel I borrowed today is one you've already read."
Fortunately, this time I possessed concrete evidence.
I casually pulled the book I had borrowed from my inventory, showed him the cover, and returned it.
Speaking of which... I really do have to recommend a novel, don't I...?
I had only said that to escape the situation at the time, assuming Reisir would leave the academy anyway.
I had completely forgotten about it.
The problem was that recommending a novel would naturally lead to discussing it afterward.
That was becoming a serious problem.
"You're only reading that now?"
"How is that any of your concern?"
"Why wouldn't it be? Once you catch up to the latest volume, we can have exciting discussions and speculate about what happens next."
He wanted to discuss the future developments of my own novel with me.
The only reason he could say that was because he had no idea what that actually meant.
"I might be willing to listen to you ramble about it by yourself, but I refuse to discuss the Star Author's novel."
"Why?!"
"If there are novels whose impressions you want to share with others, then there are also novels whose impressions you want to keep entirely to yourself. The Star Author's novel belongs to the latter category for me."
It was complete nonsense I had invented on the spot.
Yet Reisir nodded with a deeply thoughtful expression, as though he had just heard profound wisdom.
Then he quietly murmured,
"I hope I find a novel like that someday."
"Anyway, I'm leaving. I need to read the book I borrowed. You should go do whatever you came here to do."
I was about to stand and leave when Reisir hurriedly called out.
"Wait! Come to dinner with me tonight. I'll come get you at seven."
I had expected this.
At this point, refusing to eat together would accomplish nothing.
So I was just about to nod without thinking too deeply about it.
Then—
"There's someone I want to introduce you to."
Reisir added those words.
A single person immediately came to mind.
No, more accurately—
At this point in time, the original protagonist's social circle was extremely limited.
If he intended to introduce someone, there was only one possibility.
"...Who?"
"It's my guardian. Lord Djúpr. Heli's father, and someone who's basically a father to me as well."
The exact name I had expected emerged from Reisir's mouth.
But I couldn't simply accept it and move on.
Surely he wasn't planning to use a Gate, return home, and bring Djúpr back to the academy before evening.
If that's not the case, then that means he's already here at the academy...
But why?
