Since the 'Ether Cultivation' class I take on Mondays is, as the name implies, purely about practicing Ether Cultivation, there was no separate exam due to the nature of the course.
Grades were determined entirely by attendance and class attitude.
In short, it was an easy class.
Therefore, with the Martial Arts exam on Friday morning, I had effectively finished all my exams.
However, except for people like me who only take Ether Cultivation on Mondays or simply have a free period, the rest of the students were still frantically preparing for exams even over the weekend.
And so, Monday evening arrived, along with the dinner gathering after the exam period had fully ended.
"Now that exams are over, how about we all go out and hang out this weekend?"
Those words came out of Reisir's mouth.
It seemed he wasn't satisfied with just the two of us talking about novels last Wednesday.
Well, he is eighteen years old. It's the perfect age to go outside and run around.
So after doing nothing but sit and talk, it was understandable that he ended up feeling restless instead.
"Sounds good."
"M-me too...!"
Helga responded without much surprise, as though she had expected this already.
Vigdís accepted Reisir's suggestion while failing to hide her extreme excitement.
Then Ríolíkin glanced around at everyone before carefully opening his mouth.
"I-if it's all together... am, am I included too...?"
"As long as no one objects."
I heard Ríolíkin ended up attending the study meetings too, so perhaps he had managed to close the distance a little.
Or maybe they simply didn't want to become the villains who ostracized a timid classmate.
Neither Vigdís nor Helga voiced any objections.
Reisir looked at the two of them in turn before turning toward me.
"Karvaldr, you're coming too, right?"
"I refuse."
"Why?"
"I never agreed to become your friend, did I? Do not forget that we only agreed to eat together."
Naturally, I refused firmly.
But as expected, Reisir did not back down.
"But we had fun talking about novels together last Thursday, didn't we?"
"What fun? You're probably the only one who thought that."
"No? You listened to my book reviews pretty attentively, didn't you?"
"Th... there was no such thing. You're mistaken."
"Okay, okay. Let's say I was mistaken. But anyway, we already hung out together, right?"
"......"
Maybe I shouldn't have spent time with him back then after all.
Regret washed over me belatedly, but there was nothing I could do now.
Unfortunately, since this world was not my novel, it was impossible to revise past events and erase them.
"This weekend... my schedule is already full. On Saturday, regarding the sky blue ether, a certain professor is helping me, so I can't make time. And on Sunday, I already have swordsmanship training with Vigdís scheduled..."
"I heard the swordsmanship training is only in the morning? We can go out afterward, eat lunch, hang out, and come back after dinner."
"I haven't even accepted your proposal yet, so why are you making plans on your own?"
"Because we agreed to eat together, didn't we?"
"......"
Regret washed over me once again, leaving me speechless.
At some point, every time I talk with Reisir, I end up getting swept along.
No, I am clearly being swept along. Is this the power of the original protagonist?
"And besides... it looks like your familiar wants to go too."
While I was feeling an indescribable sense of indignation, Reisir said that.
My gaze reflexively shifted toward Yor, who was sitting beside me... or rather, floating in the air while occupying the seat next to me.
"Nyat...!"
When Yor noticed my gaze, she startled, quickly turned her head away, and pretended to focus on eating by picking beef and vegetables out of the sinseollo with her chopsticks.
That behavior only made it more obvious.
Just as Reisir said, Yor clearly wanted to go out and play with everyone.
But she knows I'm reluctant to get close to the main characters of the original work.
She's probably pretending not to care while hiding her own desire to go.
'Once Reisir withdraws from the academy, there won't be anyone left who would sincerely suggest going out to play... Then Yor may never get another opportunity to experience something like this.'
I agonized over it long enough to let out groaning noises before finally being forced to say these words.
"...Exactly when and where am I supposed to meet you?"
"Karvaldr, you... you really do cherish your familiar, don't you?! I already knew that, but seeing it again still feels kind of new..."
"Stop talking nonsense."
"Okay, okay. Let's meet in front of the carriage waiting area at 11:30 AM on Sunday. Everyone good with that?"
Reisir announced the time and place while looking around at everyone's faces.
Apparently Helga, Vigdís, and Ríolíkin all had free schedules, because not a single one of them objected.
I don't know whether I should consider that fortunate or unfortunate.
When I shifted my gaze slightly toward the seat beside me, I saw Yor looking at me with sparkling eyes and a bright smile.
Seeing that reaction from the baby dragon made my complicated thoughts feel a little clearer.
'Right. Considering how much comfort Yor has given me, I should at least grant a simple wish like this.'
Carefully controlling my expression to keep myself from smiling, I patted Yor's head a few times before picking up my chopsticks.
And just as I was about to start eating again, Reisir spoke to me.
"By the way, you and your familiar usually eat pretty unusual dishes... But today's food is really incredible. What exactly is that?"
"It's a dish called yeolgujatang."
"Is it good?"
"If you're curious, order it yourself sometime later."
"Hmm... maybe I should...?"
"......!!"
In the past, Ríolíkin had asked about my food and chopsticks too.
However, he never showed genuine interest in unfamiliar dishes or utensils. He merely used whatever caught his eye as an excuse to start a conversation with me.
Ríolíkin had never once ordered the same thing as me.
And although I observed what students ate every meal, not a single person ever ordered menu items that didn't fit this world's setting, including Korean dishes.
Yet they all bought and ate snacks sold in stores just fine. I have no idea what the difference is.
Anyway, given the current situation, the protagonist of the novel that formed this world wants to try royal court cuisine from the Joseon Dynasty?
'Well... I suppose... He's a guy who even reads paperback versions of web novels, so maybe this isn't anything new...'
Come to think of it, the web novel genre Reisir likes is the hunter genre, and most hunter novels are set in the modern era.
Then shouldn't he at least know dishes with kimchi in the name, like kimchi fried rice or kimchi stew? Or at minimum, gukbap?
Even if the real thing were right in front of him, he probably wouldn't recognize it because he's never actually seen it before.
'Looking at the names written on the cafeteria menu board, maybe he even ordered something once simply because he recognized the name of a food he saw in a novel...'
I looked toward the letters covering one wall of the campus cafeteria.
With a menu board like that, it seemed impossible for Reisir to discover the names of foods he had seen in web novels.
But if I subtly gave him a hint, that would change things.
'If there's a problem... it's probably that the moment I tell him this, the sense of closeness Reisir feels toward me will inevitably grow even stronger...'
Just because Reisir learns that foods from novels exist in reality doesn't mean the world will drastically change or Senna's influence will disappear, so I should just stay quiet.
In the end, I had no choice but to helplessly face Sunday.
At present, Vigdís and I were leaving the Training Tower and walking toward the carriage waiting area.
For reference, today's swordsmanship training ended earlier than usual.
After splitting up to our respective personal training grounds, we washed in the attached shower rooms and changed into plain clothes. Even so, neither of us particularly stood out.
I suppose that was because it was the weekend immediately after exams.
Since many students were planning to go out and have fun, students wearing plain clothes were a common sight.
"Uh... what should I do...? It's my first time going out with friends, so I-I'm nervous...!"
As if to prove her words, Vigdís stomped her feet with clenched fists and an expression full of uncertainty.
Yet on her feet were heeled shoes.
Her skirt didn't drag on the floor and ended around her ankles, allowing for some mobility, but it was still an aristocratic-style dress.
It didn't look very suitable for running around and playing.
'According to the original work, Vigdís prefers neat pants outfits with minimal decoration rather than dresses like this... Did she dress up because it's her first outing with friends? Or is Count Sjalfráði interfering even with her clothing choices?'
The thought, 'Should I buy her some clothes?' briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it away.
No matter how pitiful her circumstances were, giving her clothes would be crossing the line.
"Aren't you nervous, Kar? It's your first time leaving the academy to hang out with friends too, isn't it? Ah... or not? Even if they weren't friends, have you gone out with classmates before...?"
"I have no experience going out in a group, and neither do Yor, you, Reisir, or Ríolíkin, so calm down."
"When you put it that way, it sounds like we've formed some kind of loner group, so it's a little... yeah..."
After hearing my words, Vigdís made an uncomfortable expression.
Her tightly clenched fists loosened, the excessive tension left her body, and she stopped anxiously stomping her feet.
It felt less like she calmed down and more like she became solemn, but regardless, her tension had eased, so that was fine.
"By the way, didn't you have lighter and more comfortable clothes? Or did you dress up on purpose?"
"If we're talking about dressing up, you're far more dressed up than I am, Kar...?"
"This is my simplest outfit."
"Ah... I see... Me too."
"If your father is restricting your clothing choices, then use my tastes as an excuse and buy clothes you can wear comfortably."
Giving clothes as a gift felt inappropriate, but saying something like this shouldn't burden her either.
I tossed out the words lightly while thinking that, but Vigdís reacted strangely.
"Yes... eh...? Uh... uhh...??"
"Why are you suddenly malfunctioning?"
"No, it's just, uh... um... I thought you were going to criticize me for wearing something like this to go play with friends..."
"Why would I criticize that? Even if it's uncomfortable, you're the one who's uncomfortable, not me."
"But because you cared that I was uncomfortable, you told me to buy comfortable clothes and use you as an excuse... didn't ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ you?"
"......"
It's not that I couldn't think of a rebuttal, but there were no words I could actually say.
Well, in a world where a Demon Realm could appear at any time or place, clothing choices affected survival chances.
Or I could say that personally, I thought Vigdís wearing a dress was out of character.
But I obviously couldn't say things like that.
"A-anyway, thank you. Considering my family situation, I didn't expect you to care even about details like this... By the way, how did you notice? That I don't really have a choice but to wear clothes like these..."
"Unlike the other students who wear all sorts of accessories, you don't even wear small earrings, let alone decorate your uniform. Even though your family isn't lacking money. So I just assumed you disliked cumbersome things."
"You pay a lot of attention to me...?"
"I did. Last semester."
"Ah......"
Maybe because I reminded her of Karvaldr's obsession after so long, Vigdís suddenly became speechless.
It wasn't as though I wanted to continue talking with her either, so we walked in silence until we arrived at the carriage waiting area.
