“Do Familiars normally have a large amount of innate Aether?”
Reysir Daudabina asked cautiously, having finished checking his surroundings.
I pushed the thoughts lingering in my mind to the side and opened my mouth to answer his question.
“I know they’re generally born with more Aether than humans. However, even considering that, Yor’s Aether levels are likely at an exceptional level.”
“I guess… thinking about the Imperial Princess’s Familiar fighting, it seems like it. Since she can control the wind, she doesn’t need to compress Aether, so her consumption would be much lower than Yor’s, yet she couldn’t launch an all-out assault, could she? And she looked quite exhausted toward the end of the lecture?”
It seemed Reysir had not checked Lausa’s status window yet.
If he had, he wouldn’t have bothered asking about the innate Aether levels of Familiars.
“Anyway, it’s a bit… No, it’s very touching. Yor’s Aether stat isn’t just within the normal range, it’s at a level that far exceeds it. You should have kept it a secret even more because of that…”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it touching… Isn’t it a fact that anyone could guess Yor’s Aether stat is high?”
“But revealing the specific numbers is a different matter, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s true… but you don’t seem like the type to go around blabbering about this to others at will…?”
“So you trusted me?”
“……”
That statement prickled my conscience.
I had only mentioned Yor’s Aether stat to test him, suspecting he might have used his [Truth-Reading Eye] to steal information about me and Yor.
Unable to meet Reysir’s eyes, which were shining with joy, I subtly shifted my gaze toward Yor.
I also had something I absolutely had to say to this baby Dragon.
“I’m sorry. I gave away your personal information to someone else without your permission…”
“Meow, mrow, mew~. Nyaa, nyaa~”
I didn’t know exactly what he was saying.
However, seeing him patting the back of my hand lightly with a bright smile, I suspected he was telling me not to worry because he didn’t mind.
Since Yor was a wise, clever, and generous Dragon, he likely realized why I had revealed his Aether stat to Reysir and understood me.
‘I suppose this must be what the expression “touching” is used for.’
Feeling my heart swell, I rubbed my cheek against Yor’s scales.
I only snapped back to reality when I heard a snicker from beside me.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“Is it called head bunting? I heard cats express affection and trust by rubbing or bumping their heads and faces against things, and I see it’s true?”
“……”
Until just a moment ago, I had felt some lingering guilt toward this Protagonist of Another Novel, but that feeling vanished completely at his last remark.
At the very least, I had never doubted the fact that his race was human.
“Anyway, Yor is truly amazing! Even though it was his first time fighting today, he made Professor Caldrun focus on defense. If he gets used to combat and gains sharpness, he’ll be capable of truly terrifying attacks.”
As I glared at him with disgust, Reysir suddenly began to praise Yor.
If he thought this would make me feel better, he was mistaken.
“How can he be this strong when he’s less than a year old? Plus, he’s cute and even smart. Yor must be the greatest genius in the history of Familiars. Karbaldr, I can see why you’re so head over heels for him. In that sense, I’ll take back what I said about you being a doting fool last time. You weren’t being overdramatic back then; you were just stating facts.”
Was he not mistaken?
A sense of pride welled up from deep within my chest, and my shoulders squared themselves.
Even the corners of my mouth twitched, trying to curl upward on their own, so I had to concentrate on pulling them back down.
‘Was I a simpler person than I thought…?’
I must have noticed that my mood had improved, as a soft smile appeared on Reysir’s face.
“Now that I think about it, predicting an opponent’s movements is your specialty, right? If Yor learns that from you, he’ll be able to launch sharp attacks in no time.”
It was only possible for me to scrutinize and deliberate on my opponent’s movements because of the Mental Acceleration effect of my [Character Analysis] skill.
However, since Yor was a genius baby Dragon, he would be able to do it well enough without such tricks.
As I nodded along with that thought…
“While we’re on the subject of you… Karbaldr, I think your ability to handle situations is incredibly outstanding.”
Reysir suddenly brought this up.
I could bet that he wasn’t saying this just because the topic “happened” to come up.
‘He’s probably saying those things on purpose just to watch me get embarrassed after being praised…’
I considered shutting Reysir’s cheeky mouth but decided against it.
I figured if I listened with my heart fully prepared, I could move past it without feeling embarrassed.
Then it would be impossible for the Protagonist of Another Novel to tease me with a praise attack any longer.
“Pfft!!”
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“Because you have an expression like you’re prepared for something monumental?”
“……!!”
Since I hadn’t expected this kind of teasing, I couldn’t stop my face from heating up.
“Anyway, I’ll finish what I was saying? Since you seem to be looking forward to it.”
“I never looked forward to it.”
“Earlier, I saw that you didn’t look flustered for a single moment, even when you slipped and your body tilted. I was so flustered that I was busy trying to regain my balance, but you used the fact that your body was tilted to launch a suppressing attack instead. And you even straightened your body with a follow-up movement to launch an immediate attack… It was only because Professor Caldrun is so strong that he could counter it; most people wouldn’t have been able to respond at all.”
“……”
Had the barrier of my heart collapsed because I had already felt the embarrassment?
Even though I had expected the praise attack, shame came rushing in.
This was true even though I had already heard praise for that specific movement from Liolikin.
It felt different having Reysir, who possessed outstanding martial prowess, explain it in detail and heap on the praise.
“You’ve only recently started receiving combat training, so how can you think of movements like that? Were you born with combat instincts? Or is it thanks to your excellent judgment?”
“…Stop it now.”
“Why? Weren’t you prepared for this?”
I was, but it was useless!
I clamped my mouth shut to prevent that cry from my heart from escaping by mistake and glared at the Protagonist of Another Novel.
At my reaction, Reysir burst into a loud laugh.
“…You made a bet with Professor Caldrun. Is it okay for you to waste time teasing me like this? Wouldn’t it be better to spend this time studying magnetic fields?”
“Do you think I asked to talk just to enjoy watching you get embarrassed? And yet you accepted the request?? Which means you…!”
I slapped his annoying lips as they tried to babble some nonsensical trash.
The Protagonist of Another Novel stopped mid-sentence and let out an “Ouch!”
I knew he wasn’t actually in pain and was just exaggerating, but since it felt like a successful retaliation, I was satisfied.
“I followed you thinking you were going to say something important, but you’ve just been teasing me. Isn’t it natural for me to complain?”
“Ah, was that it?”
“It was. So if you have a point, get to it.”
Did my stern tone work?
Or was the Original Protagonist just thinking it was time to end the joking?
Reysir’s smile faded, and he spoke with a serious expression.
“When I sparred with Professor Caldrun today, I was a bit flustered… and I looked quite pathetic, didn’t I?”
“It wasn’t to the level of being pathetic. You managed to keep your balance somehow on the slippery ice and continued the spar for a while. If anything, it should be seen as impressive.”
“Did you just say I was impressive? Thanks for the compliment…!”
Reysir was overjoyed by the observation I had tossed out without much thought, and his eyes sparkled in a burdensome way.
I really couldn’t say anything to him.
“No, well… just continue with your point. Don’t we need to finish the conversation before lunch is over? LF?”
“Right, right. Anyway, that’s why I wanted to get your advice.”
“Me? Specifically?”
Wasn’t it just that he requested a conversation to tease me, and then made up a reason on the spot when I made an issue of it?
As I narrowed my eyes with suspicion, Reysir hurriedly explained the reason.
“I know I could just apply an anti-slip treatment to my shoes like Pret did, but I don’t think that’s the best way. Just like how Professor Caldrun avoided Yor’s attacks by sliding across the ice, a slippery floor can be used to one’s advantage.”
“So you don’t want to use an anti-slip treatment because it feels like giving up a potential strategy?”
“Yes!”
Reysir nodded quickly and looked at me with expectant eyes.
He seemed certain that I would find a solution.
Well, I already knew the answer without even having to look for it.
“It’s not a particularly difficult problem. Wouldn’t it be better to think of it yourself?”
“Didn’t you just say with your own mouth not to waste time? Seeing as you say it’s not a difficult problem, haven’t you already found a way? If so, hearing the answer from you is the shortcut to saving time.”
It was a logical point.
To share the answer I knew, I pulled out the Crampons from my Inventory and showed them to Reysir.
“This is equipment that attaches to the soles of shoes to prevent slipping on icy roads. I bought it in preparation for entering a Demonic Realm with a snowy environment.”
“So you had these, but you didn’t wear them during the spar with the professor?”
“If I wore these openly, the professor wouldn’t have created ice under my feet.”
“No wonder you looked so calm the moment you fell! You intentionally induced the professor to create ice under your feet?? Thinking about it like that, it feels even more amazing!”
“……Don’t interrupt me.”
“Okay, okay! Got it, got it.”
“There’s no need to repeat the same thing twice.”
“Right, right.”
I glared at Reysir for a moment before speaking again.
“You’ve likely realized it already, but to finish the explanation. If you gather Aether at the soles of your shoes and create sharp, thorn-like shapes like this, you can prevent yourself from falling. When you want to slip on purpose, you just have to withdraw the Aether.”
“To be able to catch someone off guard just by preventing a slip that way would have been enough. But you showed yourself falling on purpose to engage in psychological warfare so the professor would let his guard down completely?! It was a really good strategy, and it seemed to work perfectly on the professor, so it must have been a real shame that the attack failed.”
The way he said it with a bright smile was truly, truly annoying, but the content of his words was oddly pleasing and comforting.
I didn’t know if I should say I was annoyed or unsettled.
A hard-to-define emotion rushed over me….
“……”
I let out my usual sound and abruptly turned my head away.