“Senior, could we talk for a moment?”
“Talk about what…?”
Whether it was luck or simply to be expected, the extra, whose name had yet to be revealed, lifted her head and responded to the original protagonist.
“Just because you’re wallowing in depression doesn’t mean the situation will change, right? So, what do you say we try to change the mood?”
Reysir flashed a grin as he spoke, sitting backward in the chair in front of the library club member.
Even though the seat next to her was empty, he chose that awkward position—likely to avoid invading her personal space.
Because of that, I could no longer see Reysir’s expression.
However, since their table was diagonal to mine, his body didn’t completely block the library club member from view.
It was still possible to observe her expression and reaction.
“Since I’m the one ruining the mood, are you telling me to just force a smile?”
Resentment was palpable, not just in her voice but in her facial expression as well.
Her response was twisted, typical of someone drowning in negative emotions.
However, even she faltered at the original protagonist’s next words.
“No. I’m just saying this because I’m worried about you, Senior. If you stay submerged in gloom like this, you’re the one who suffers the most.”
“Wh-what? What do you…? Isn’t this… our first time meeting…?”
“Huh? Strictly speaking, it’s not our first time. We’ve run into each other often at the library.”
“Ah… I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t really paying attention to people, and there are so many people who come to the library to borrow books…”
“We can just get to know each other from now on. You don’t need to apologize.”
Perhaps because he realized how sensitive she was, Reysir’s voice was remarkably generous and kind.
Was that why?
The library club member blushed in embarrassment—
“Is that what they call ‘hitting on someone’?”
“I don’t know… I’m not sure what he’s trying to do, but I’d prefer he didn’t do it where I can see.”
Vigdis and Hailga whispered to each other.
Unlike Vigdis, whose face was full of pure curiosity, Hailga looked disgusted, as if she were watching something she shouldn’t have to see.
To my eyes, it looked like nothing more than the introductory scene of a standard “influence” event, but it seemed to appear differently to them.
“Anyway, I’m saying this because I want you to cheer up, Senior. Don’t you think the creation of the ‘Awakened Special Class’ might not necessarily be a bad thing?”
“Wh-what do you mean by that…?”
I could see the library club member’s face turning even redder.
It seemed she was suffering from the same strange misunderstanding as the others.
If that was the case, then this was definitely “that.”
‘The cliché where a character mistakenly thinks the protagonist likes them, makes a fuss about it, and then ends up actually falling for the protagonist.’
Since it was a repertoire often used for comedic relief, there hadn’t been any female characters who took this route before the remake.
Does that mean this person didn’t appear in the original work before the remake?
Or, judging by the lines Reysir was feeding her, did he think she’d be perfect for a “misunderstanding” trope and started improvising a new narrative on the spot?
“Senior, you were planning to live while hiding the fact that you’ve Awakened, weren’t you?”
“Yes…? That was my intention…”
The library club member looked bewildered.
She probably expected something greasy to come out of Reysir’s mouth, like, “Because we’ve finally come face-to-face like this.”
“Since a device to identify the Awakened has been developed, you would have been caught eventually, even without today’s events. If that’s the case, it’s actually a relief that you were caught early on.”
Regardless of whether the person who had been exuding a dark aura just a moment ago was blushing in confusion or looking bewildered, the original protagonist continued his speech in a serious voice.
“Imagine if you were caught after it became an obligation for the Awakened to clear the Demonic Realms. You might have been forcibly deployed to a Demonic Realm so dangerous that everyone avoids it, all because you ‘shirked your responsibilities’ while other Awakened were fulfilling theirs. Not to mention the criticism you’d receive from both the Awakened and the non-Awakened alike.”
“Certainly, that makes sense, but…”
As Reysir spoke, the girl’s flushed face gradually cooled until it froze as cold as ice.
Even when she finally agreed that his words “made sense,” her expression showed intense repulsion.
“How can you say that so easily…? From now on, I’ll have to undergo unwanted combat training and be pushed into places where I’ll clearly die…! Are you not afraid of this situation? How can you think rationally and consider it a relief in a situation like this?!”
Was she upset because her “potential love interest” didn’t understand her feelings and was instead praising the Awakened Special Class system?
The library club member couldn’t suppress the surge of anger and spat out aggressive words.
To that, Reysir replied—
“I lost everyone close to me, including my family, to a Demonic Realm that appeared about ten years ago. And it happened right before my eyes.”
“……!!”
“Furthermore, more than half of the people in this room are my precious friends. And even my guardian, who raised me for the past ten years, was introduced today as a ‘professor who will lead students in the Demonic Realm’ because he Awakened a week ago. This is a man who has lived his whole life as a scholar without ever holding a weapon.”
“……”
“Given my situation, how could I possibly not feel fear?”
“……”
“I am afraid too. I’m afraid I’ll lose my loved ones in a Demonic Realm once again.”
I felt relieved that I couldn’t see Reysir’s face.
I suddenly remembered how he collapsed and how broken he became in the original novel before the remake.
Just hearing his voice tremble with grief made my heart feel so heavy; if I had seen his fear-stricken face, I wouldn’t have been able to bear the pity.
“I-I’m sorry… I think I spoke too lightly…”
Her apology and reflection were incredibly swift.
I wondered just how pained the face she was looking at must have been for her to react that way.
“It’s all right. You just made a mistake because you didn’t know my situation.”
Reysir replied to her second apology with a generous and kind tone once again, but his voice, which had sunk into gloom, didn’t regain its previous brightness.
“I don’t fully understand your situation either, Senior, but I want to say something that might be helpful within the scope of what I do know.”
“Yes. Please, I’m listening.”
The library club member watched Reysir’s face with a very polite attitude.
Reysir’s way of speaking also became much more cautious.
“Just because you’ve Awakened doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly become strong or gained a special ability useful for combat. It’s only natural that you feel it’s unfair to have to fight monsters just because you can now see a window floating in the air.”
Instead of blindly explaining, “It’s like this, so consider yourself lucky!”, he first emphasized with her thoughts before adding what he really wanted to say.
“Still, it’s not like we’re being thrown into a Demonic Realm without any preparation, is it? Even if it’s learning we never asked for, we can at least learn how to fight. Besides, we’re still students, so they won’t just throw us into any random Demonic Realm. Losing growing talent is a huge loss in many ways.”
“……I suppose you’re right.”
“So, Senior, I hope you don’t give up thinking that death is inevitable. Instead, I hope you’ll resolve to do your best to survive and work toward that.”
“Yes, I’ll try.”
The library club member gave a hopeful response, nodding even though her face was still filled with worry and anxiety.
Perhaps deciding he had fulfilled his role, or perhaps because he had nothing more to say, the original protagonist stood up.
“Then, I’ll head back to my seat now.”
“Yes… Thank you for your words.”
The two exchanged these greetings and shared a light bow.
But the conversation wasn’t entirely over.
It was because Reysir, who had been walking toward us, suddenly stopped, turned back, and tossed out one last remark.
“Ah, right. Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves. My name is Reysir Daudabina. May I ask your name, Senior?”
“Ah…! I’m Lisi Styrkr.”
“I see. I look forward to working with you, Senior Lisi.”
This time, their conversation truly ended, and I swallowed a groan inwardly.
Lisi Styrkr.
That was the name of the character that had come to mind when I saw the library club member in chapter 171.
My suspicion had turned out to be correct.
‘Wait, but her image is way too different, isn’t it…?’
Unlike the current Lisi, who reminded everyone of words like “model student” or “literary girl,” the Lisi in the original work I read was dissatisfied with society and spoke crudely.
Looking at how she picked fights everywhere as easily as breathing, it seemed like she had nothing to lose.
Moreover, the version of Lisi before the remake didn’t wear glasses, but she was wearing them now.
‘Could it be that she acted that way because she literally couldn’t see anything without her glasses…?’
For reference, the description “a female character who uses a giant hammer as a weapon and has a Strength stat of over 150,” mentioned in chapter 140, also referred to this person.
And since this character had a backstory where “she intentionally hid the fact that she had Awakened, was later discovered, faced nothing but insults, and was deployed to dangerous Demonic Realms every time,” it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the creation of the Awakened Special Class was more than just a relief—it was a stroke of luck.
Though the person in question would likely never realize that fact.
‘That aside… there was no information about Lisi being from Valhalla Academy in the original work before the remake… And there was no sign of the two recognizing each other when they first met, right?’
The current Lisi had her long hair in two braids and wore thick glasses, but the Lisi back then had roughly chopped short hair and didn’t wear glasses.
It wouldn’t be strange if the Reysir in the original work failed to recognize her.
As for why Lisi didn’t recognize Reysir, the answer was obvious given how she just mistook him for a stranger.
‘The background settings are so flimsy, so why are the character settings woven together so meticulously? Especially since they’re just going to kill them off anyway…’
When I managed to brush aside the unsettling thoughts in my head, Reysir sat down in his original seat.
As if she had been waiting for that moment, Fjodra opened the door and entered the seminar room.
Considering Fjodra’s personality and the timing of her appearance, the probability that she had been eavesdropping on the conversation using wind-attribute Aether was 100%.