This Novel is not my Chapter 6: The Academy Library (4)

I tried posing a question to my imaginary readers for a change, but no semi-transparent window appeared to show their comnts.

To be honest, I expected that.

If this were a web novel, we’d only be just past chapter 6. Even with regular serialization, you’d prepare about 10 chapters in reserve, and for a platform-exclusive, you’d need to stockpile at least 100 chapters before launch.

'So, even on the off chance this is a novel, there’s no way real-ti comnts would appear yet.'

Anyway, instead of choosing from the given options, I intended to pick a fifth answer.

Option 4 would destroy Karvaldr’s character traits, and I didn’t want to pick option 3 because I’d have to reveal that I’m the author of that novel.

And if I were to choose option 1 or 2, I’d have to explain to Reisir that the genre of his life is a crazy, bleak, dark fantasy.

"Isn’t the strength of that author’s novels the positive and cheerful protagonist, and the simple sentences that allow for a comfortable read? To speak of that in a negative light ans you have no respect for what you like."

I put on a straight face and praised myself.

I thought I needed to say sothing like this so Reisir would stop his needless worrying and lower his guard around .

Fortunately, it seed to have an effect, as he opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.

"I also think that’s the strength of the Star Author’s novels, but when I recomnded it to a friend, her reaction was so bad..."

"......"

At present, the protagonist had only one person he could call a friend, and she was a noble.

A typical noble would value dignity.

So it’s understandable that they’d prefer novels that require ti and effort to read, like the ones I found at the entrance of the library’s novel section, rather than snack-like novels that can be consud lightly.

'Besides, this is a fantasy world where educational opportunities are skewed toward the nobles, so only novels catering to their tastes would have developed.'

It’s only natural that the style of a web novel would feel unfamiliar, and what’s unfamiliar is easily ostracized.

Furthermore, web novels not only have many fixed clichés and settings, but they also frequently include descriptions of the "modern era."

My second work, for instance, is a novel set in the modern era itself.

'In other words, the barrier to entry for the people here is incredibly high...'

I had no idea how Reisir ended up reading a novel I wrote.

While I was debating whether to ask this, Reisir threw a question at .

"Anyway, if you’re really a fan of the Star Author, you must have read 《The Gate in My Novel Devoured the World》, right?"

"I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a fan..., but I’ve read it."

"Then tell the plot."

Reisir looked at with an expression that suggested he’d believe if I passed this test.

As much as "tenacity" is one of the main virtues of a web novel protagonist, this was going too far.

In the first place, shouldn’t I be the one grilling him about that novel?

Yet I don’t know why I’m the one being questioned instead.

"That’s a novel where the story begins with a hunter-genre novel written by the protagonist, who is an author, overlapping with reality, and the ending is that the protagonist’s true identity is actually..."

"Wa-wait! Why are you skipping straight to the end?!"

"Because it would take too long to tell you all the details."

"...You don’t have to be detailed, and you definitely don’t have to tell the ending."

I knew he’d react like this if I tried to tell him the ending.

From the looks of it, Reisir hadn’t finished reading my second completed work yet.

'But still... it really seems to be right, doesn’t it?'

I had hoped the novel in soone else’s protagonist’s hands wasn’t one I wrote.

But since he didn’t point out any issues with the content, I guess it really was my novel.

"Should I talk about the other works as well? The author’s first work, 《A Healing Life Being Raised by the Protagonist》, is about a reader who gets possessed into a child’s body and is taken in by the original protagonist, a hero, and after acting as his younger sibling, becos a true family mber. The third work, 《How a Repentant Villain Saves the World》, is..."

"Don’t spoil it!"

"I was just about to say that I haven’t read that one yet. I only learned the title just now from seeing you borrow it."

I answered with my head tilted and arms crossed.

The implied aning was, 'You’re not going to tell you still don’t believe after all this, are you?'

I was subtly expressing my displeasure.

To be honest, I wanted to end this conversation quickly and go back to my room to sort out my thoughts.

Survival is what matters, so I’m playing along with the Original Protagonist, but my mind is too complicated.

I don’t know why I have to prove to a character from soone else’s novel that I’ve read my own work.

"You’ve really read all of the Star Author’s books, huh? Except for the new one."

"It’s only two works, after all."

"But if you count by volus, it’s almost 100 books, isn’t it?"

"But they’re light and easy to read, aren’t they?"

"Do you happen to like this kind of novel, besides the ones written by the Star Author?"

"I do, but..."

Why on earth does Reisir keep asking these questions?

I questioned his intentions while staring at the person in front of .

In the library, he had bristled like a hedgehog, unable to hide his hostility and wariness.

But now, as if that had never happened, he continued the conversation in a rather calm tone.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at this body I had possessed showed almost no hint of disgust.

'It’s not like he’s treating in a comfortable and friendly way, but more like a reaction to discovering sothing strange and unfamiliar.'

Should I say the psychological distance between us seems to have shortened drastically, or describe it as his guard having softened?

Either way, it seed certain that his assessnt of Karvaldr had changed.

Could it be he accepted my false apology, decided to forgive the possessed body, and let go of the past grudge?

Or did the sense of kinship from sharing similar taste in novels break down his wariness...

'Nah, no way. It can’t be that.'

Among the clichés in novels, there’s one that states, 'The thing you think can’t possibly be the answer is the right one.'

Just as I belatedly realized that and thought 'no way, no way,' the Original Protagonist proved the cliché with so nonsense of his own.

"Now I get it... You wanted to read a book you like with soone and talk about it, and I just happened to catch your eye, didn’t I?"

Reisir said this as if he were talking about soone else.

"So you wanted to get close to , but since I didn’t approach you first like the other kids, you had to co to . You didn’t know how, so you bullied to get my attention!!"

This wasn’t a self-introduction, but simply him jumping to the wrong conclusion.

To say such nonsense with that much confidence.

If soone heard this and started a rumor, I’d be the only one embarrassed.

So I reflexively looked around.

Thankfully, there was no one passing by in the hallway in front of the library.

"Karvaldr. That’s not how you make friends."

Reisir looked at ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ with a pitiful, almost sympathetic expression.

Seeing him like that, the words 'I know that too, you dumb motherfucker!' rose to my throat.

But I held back, because I didn’t want to get into a pointless argunt.

'To think he would misunderstand wanting his attention like that...'

As soone who writes, I knew the importance of sentence structure, but I never thought he would misunderstand this badly.

You don’t usually harm soone you want to befriend and then fra them for an accident they caused to get them suspended, right?

That’s sothing you do to get rid of soone you hate, not to keep soone you like by your side.

I thought he’d be able to read between the lines and figure out sothing like, 'There were rumors his position within the family was unstable, so that must be true. He tried so hard to get his father’s attention.'

I let out a heavy sigh, feeling a throbbing headache.

Then I pushed back my bangs and t Reisir’s eyes.

"I have no intention of becoming friends with you. In fact, I hope to be an extra in your life."

"You want to be an extra...?"

"I don’t want to get involved with you ever again. I want us to have a relationship where we just pass each other by like part of the scenery, even if we run into each other in lectures."

"Weren’t you the one who randomly approached , picked fights, and bullied when I was trying to live like that?"

The Original Protagonist, who had been bullied by Karvaldr for a whole sester, wore a baffled expression.

Since I couldn’t make excuses while wearing this body, I chose to change the subject instead of refuting him.

"Anyway, I’m the type to keep my thoughts about books to myself, so I’ve never thought of discussing them with anyone. Cut it out with the weird talk about bullying you because I want to be friends. It’s creepy to think soone might hear it and take it at face value."

"So... are you embarrassed because I found out your true feelings?"

"Do I look like it?"

"No... But if that’s not it, then I don’t get it."

If it’s not, then just leave it at that.

I don’t know why a "but" has to follow.

If I leave this misunderstanding as it is, I might be forced into the "protagonist’s reading friend" role that wasn’t even in the original story.

And then one day, I’ll die.

Even if I sohow avoid death, other problems will be waiting for .

If I stay by the side of this killing-novel protagonist who brings death with him, I’ll inevitably form connections with people who are about to die.

When the protagonist suffers from their deaths, I’ll have to suffer alongside him.

To avoid such a disaster, I have to correct this misunderstanding right here and now.

"What part don’t you understand?"

"You bullied for a whole sester, even though I had nothing to do with you. Then you happened to find standing in front of that bookshelf, revealed that you liked the author of the book I was holding, and apologized. And then you even added that you realized you couldn’t get attention no matter how much you bullied , and you’re telling my guess is wrong?"

Hearing Reisir’s summary, it seed natural that he would misunderstand.

The place and timing of our eting were too coincidental, and in the midst of it all, I really did speak in a confusing way.

To have expected him to understand perfectly after all that was unreasonable, and I reflected on my actions.

'What should I do now...?'

I brought up the options in my head and ran a simulation.

[[ Option 1. Say that his guess wasn’t wrong. ]]

In this case, I could easily predict the result without thinking too deeply.

He might be extrely afraid of getting close to people later on, after those around him keep dying, but the current Reisir would try to befriend no matter what, in order to hold a book discussion.

'And as I ntioned before, Reisir currently has only one friend.'

That’s because the other kids avoided him last sester when he was the target of Karvaldr’s bullying.

So if he becos friends with Karvaldr, he can calculate that the others will stop keeping their distance.

A friend of the sa gender who can not only improve his ruined relationships but also shares his reading tastes?

That’s a condition he really wouldn’t want to miss.

'...Let’s move on.'

[[ Option 2. Tell him everything as it is, from the possessed body’s perspective. ]]

Karvaldr was jealous of Reisir.

Because Reisir’s parents died protecting him, and now his guardian truly cares for him and treats him like their own child.

So Karvaldr, in an attempt to get his father’s attention, took out his frustration on the innocent Reisir by bullying him.

If I explain this to Reisir, he’ll feel wronged and get angry at first.

But being a kind protagonist, he’ll eventually try to understand Karvaldr’s loneliness and forgive him.

And since their reading tastes match so well, he’ll readily try to befriend him.

'Whichever option I choose, it just ends with a reading-friend ending... what should I do?'

It seems that telling Reisir I like my own novel was a bad move.

A very bad one.

If so, then...

[[ Option 3. On the day of the sester start party, when many students are gathered, I’ll clench my eyes shut and insult both my novel and Reisir together. ]]

My survival instinct strongly warned .

I should never, ever choose this one.

Because Reisir’s grudge would shoot through the roof.

On top of what the possessed body has already done, a cri of deception would be added, and it’s obvious that a powered-up Reisir would co to judge in the future.

Of course, the verdict would be a death sentence.

And if many people join in criticizing my novel, my fragile heart would be torn to shreds.

In other words, if I choose this option, not only will my body die, but my spirit will die too.