This Novel is not my Chapter 136: Graduation Ceremony (8)

Novel: This Novel is not my Author: 별볆볆별명 Updated: Jun 16, 2026

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Now reading: Chapter 136: Graduation Ceremony (8) from This Novel is not my, a Action novel by 별볆볆별명.

"By the way, are you all sure you don't need to stop by the dormitory first? I left so luggage in my room, so I think I need to go pick it up..."

"Sa here. Dragging a suitcase all the way to the graduation ceremony sounds like a hassle..."

"I-I need to stop by too...!"

On the way to the carriage waiting area—

For those reasons, Helga, Vigdís, and Ríolíkin headed toward the dormitory.

Yor and I had stored our belongings inside the Yeouiju, while Reisir had his Inventory, so neither of us had any reason to go.

"Karvaldr. Should we get a carriage first and wait for them?"

And so I ended up sitting across from Reisir in a carriage.

While we waited for the three who had gone to the dormitory, the Protagonist of soone else's novel refused to leave in peace.

"By the way, the reason you've been denying that you're friends with us all this ti... could it be—"

"Don't talk nonsense."

"I haven't even said anything yet?"

"You were about to start talking nonsense about that professor's comnt earlier, weren't you? That remark has absolutely nothing to do with . It was rely her personal opinion."

"Really? It's not because you've never had a proper friend before and developed fantasies and romantic notions about friendship?"

"...!"

I could have simply admitted that everything I knew about friendship ca from books.

Yet for so reason, this ti I couldn't.

Had words like fantasy and romantic notion always been this embarrassing?

"Yep, yep. I get it now. So that's what it was."

"N-No...! Why are you deciding things on your own?!"

"You think a verbal denial works when your face is bright red?"

"My face only got hot because you were saying such ridiculous things! I'm angry, that's all! I'm not embarrassed...!"

"Puhahahaha!!"

As usual, the Protagonist of soone else's novel didn't believe .

Worse, when I beca flustered and indignant, he laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.

I couldn't help feeling choked up.

"Stop laughing...!"

"Haha... ha..."

"...?"

"..."

The man who had been clutching his stomach and laughing uncontrollably suddenly went quiet.

He remained bent forward without moving.

I had told him to stop laughing.

But seeing soone who normally laughed no matter what I did abruptly beco like this was not rely bewildering.

It was frightening.

"W-What's with you all of a sudden...?"

"Talking with you like this... so normally... it's hard to believe what happened earlier actually happened."

"Shouldn't that be a good thing? If things have returned to normal, shouldn't you feel relieved? Why have you beco so gloomy instead?"

"If I hadn't been able to save you back then, I wouldn't even be sitting here talking and laughing with you now, would I?"

His voice grew quiet.

"When I thought about that... it felt like my heart dropped for a mont."

Maybe I should have just let him keep laughing.

But was pretending not to notice and burying the trauma really the right choice?

If I left him alone, he would continue sinking into negative thoughts whenever they surfaced unexpectedly, just like now.

Besides, Reisir is destined to lose his loved ones several tis in the future, isn't he?

His wounds would not heal with ti.

They would only deepen.

I concluded that I couldn't simply leave him like this.

And if the last image I rembered of him was this miserable state, it would linger in my mind for a very long ti.

"I think it's perfectly natural to feel shaken after nearly failing to prevent an acquaintance's death. I also understand worrying about soone's safety."

"...Hmm?"

The Protagonist of soone else's novel looked up, puzzled.

eting his gaze, I continued.

"However, feeling responsible and blaming yourself for it is another matter."

"Another matter...? What do you an?"

"I witnessed it myself. You're strong enough to defeat a monster like the one that appeared today without difficulty."

I paused.

"But despite that, you're still a student who ought to be protected. Protecting students is ultimately the professors' responsibility. Therefore, that burden of responsibility is not yours to bear."

"Then why did you try to save Helga? You weren't obligated to either."

A crease ford between Reisir's brows.

His voice sharpened.

The reaction was entirely expected.

"I only stepped forward because it looked like I could save her. Not because I felt obligated."

I lightly dismissed his argunt before continuing.

"So even if I had died, that would simply have been the result of my own choice. And if bla must be assigned, it should be directed toward the professors—not you."

"That's... true, but..."

"Even if Helga had died, it would have been nothing more than a tragic accident. There had already been nurous warnings about terrorism. Fortunately, I happened to have borrowed the pearl that rings like a bell from Yor, allowing to activate a Buff Skill whenever necessary. If not for that coincidence, I wouldn't have been able to save Helga either. The monster appeared too suddenly."

If that explanation felt unnecessarily long—

That was not your imagination.

It was an excuse.

Specifically, an excuse intended to prevent the Protagonist of soone else's novel from suspecting that I knew about the Demon Realm Transformation.

I briefly considered ntioning the dagger hidden inside my clothes and connecting it to the poisoning incident.

But that seed like it would only make more suspicious.

Besides, even without making elaborate excuses, he'd probably misunderstand things on his own anyway.

"Even so, I was able to prepare. Because I experienced that anomaly ten years ago. First ca the suffocating feeling and the nausea. Then the surroundings changed. And shortly afterward, a monster erged from a shimring distortion in space."

"Do you really think it's reasonable to criticize soone who was so injured they couldn't even move? To bla them for failing to save others while they were suffering themselves?"

"A problem... isn't entirely absent, but... why are you suddenly saying that?"

"Because that's exactly the state you were in."

His eyes widened.

"At the ti, an old ntal wound had resurfaced. You were barely able to breathe. Holding soone in that condition responsible for not saving others simply isn't reasonable."

"..."

"In other words, you bear no fault whatsoever."

"..."

Reisir looked at strangely.

It resembled the expression of soone about to cry.

Yet there were no tears.

No visible sadness.

He rely pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long ti.

Eventually, I spoke again.

"It's natural to regret failing to save soone you care about. But stop blaming yourself for things beyond your control. If you continue driving yourself this hard, you'll exhaust yourself before long."

"Yeah... I'll rember that."

Even if he said that, I knew this Protagonist of soone else's novel would shoulder the bla again the next ti sothing similar happened.

Still—

I hoped he would rember this conversation.

Even if it reduced his guilt by only a little.

Even if it lessened his pain by only a little.

"Karvaldr."

"...What?"

"Thank you for worrying about ."

"Hmph! Don't misunderstand. I wasn't advising you because I was worried. Your pathetic state was simply irritating to look at."

After saying that, I sharply turned my head away.

I had already said everything that needed to be said.

There was no reason to keep facing the Protagonist of soone else's novel.

Certainly not because I was embarrassed.

Or shy.

"It irritated you because you were worried, wasn't it? If you truly didn't care, you wouldn't even have paid attention to whether I was depressed."

"You have a very strange way of speaking. Since when have I ever paid attention to you?"

"You have, though."

"I have not."

"You have. Since last sester."

Reisir grinned.

"That's why you kept poking at for no reason, then apologizing afterward. You overreact whenever I say sothing casual and get embarrassed. You worry about my financial situation. You worry about whether my future self will be exhausted and suffering. You pay attention to my mood, my trauma, and my future."

"Y-You really... have a very strange... way of talking..."

I was so dumbfounded my voice shook and the words refused to co out properly.

How could he say such absurd things so confidently?

...Though if I wrote that down, nobody would believe .

"Ahahahaha! Are you flustered because I hit the mark?"

"I am not...!"

"Then are you deliberately pretending to be flustered because you know it makes laugh?"

It was such outrageous nonsense that it felt innovative.

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open.

For several monts, I couldn't even formulate a rebuttal.

"What kind of ridiculous logic is that...?! That's even less true! Why would I deliberately act like a clown for your amusent?!"

"Because you consider a friend and like very much."

"Stop presenting your fantasies as fact!"

"If it's only a fantasy, then why did you go so far to tell exactly what I needed to hear?"

"Because you keep getting on my nerves...!"

"Pfft—! Ahahahahahaha!!"

The mont those words burst out of , the Protagonist of soone else's novel erupted into laughter once more.

"J-Just because soone gets on my nerves doesn't an I'm worried about them...! Didn't I already explain? It was simply frustrating to watch you acting so pathetic..."

"I already refuted that argunt."

"..."

"Ahahaha! Karvaldr, your face is as red as a perfectly ripe persimmon. Can I poke it?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not? Are you afraid it'll burst?"

"..."

The Protagonist of soone else's novel laughed so hard I briefly wondered whether he might actually suffocate.

Fortunately, he finally stopped.

Specifically, he stopped when the carriage door flew open and the others returned from the dormitory.

"Ah... my stomach hurts from laughing so much..."

"While we were gone getting our luggage, what exactly happened...?"

"I-I'm c-curious too...!"