‘Reysir mentioned that he mainly reads hunter novels, and since hunter novels almost always feature status windows… I don’t think this is unrelated…!’
Even though novels featuring status windows had become common, what were the odds that the very first book Reysir opened among the countless volumes here would be one of those?
Furthermore, it would have to appear in the very beginning. Otherwise, Reysir would have lost interest and closed the book before the status window content even showed up.
Well, I could dismiss that much as a coincidence. What was truly questionable was the fact that Hailga had known for a long time that Reysir could see status windows.
‘In that case, Reysir must have clearly mentioned that content when he recommended special character novels to Hailga…!’
Nevertheless, Hailga claimed she had read one and then completely lost interest. Even if the content wasn’t to her taste, she should have found it worth reading a few more times for research purposes. This was especially true if the world began to mirror the typical scenario of a hunter novel — where monsters suddenly appeared to threaten humanity and Awakened individuals began to emerge one by one.
But Hailga still had no interest in special character novels. It was the same for Risi, who practically lived in the library but didn’t realize the space in the novel section was distorted….
It was clear that the inhabitants of this world could not properly perceive matters related to special character novels. After all, these things strictly belonged ‘outside’ of this world. Since they weren’t supposed to exist within this story, their instincts were likely rejecting the perception of them.
I suspected that even if a regular person saw a pen name consisting of special characters, they wouldn’t even think to question it, let alone feel the urge to open the book. They would simply pass it by.
‘Then why is Reysir the only exception?’
Even before he met ‘me’, he had been reading external novels that did not belong to this world. He even had enough affection for them to give them the nickname ‘special character novels’.
Since Reysir was also a person of this story’s world, he shouldn’t have been able to easily reach for a ‘webnovel’ either. Was he uniquely special because he was the protagonist of this world?
“Um…, Karbaldr? Is this a serious matter…?”
The voice questioning me was thick with bewilderment. Only after hearing him did I realize my mistake and took a step back from where I had leaned in.
‘I acted far too suspiciously for someone just asking how he came across a specific genre of novels…!’
It was natural for him to feel puzzled and react that way. However, having asked with such a serious expression, I couldn’t just brush it off as nothing now. Besides, I truly wanted an answer.
But everything had its proper order.
“First…, I’d like to move further inside to talk….”
Instead of answering Reysir’s question directly, I proposed changing locations.
“As you’ve noticed, there’s something strange about this space, isn’t there? Perhaps because of that, if we go deeper inside, we can speak normally without whispering and those in the library won’t hear us.”
“You even conducted an experiment like that…? Anyway, I understand.”
Having secured his agreement, I began to walk briskly again until we reached the end of the path.
“My interest in these unusual books began because this space is not normal. I thought that if I read the books shelved here, I might be able to solve the mystery of this place… but the mystery remains a mystery, and I ended up finding these special character novels entertaining instead….”
If it were Reysir, he would surely try to return the same question to me. Since it was obviously impossible for me to answer him honestly, I decided it was better to link it to the question I had asked him to move past it naturally. I turned around as I spoke those words.
Then, shamelessly, I continued the lie while maintaining eye contact with him.
“I thought you had become interested in the novels here through a similar process. However, it seems you only realized this space was strange later on — and even then, only as a vague guess. That’s why I asked.”
“Ah… so that’s why you closed the distance so suddenly to ask? You were wondering if I had noticed something you missed, and if that something was why I became interested in special character novels.”
“Precisely.”
Fortunately, the lie worked. Instead of finding my attitude suspicious, Reysir showed a reaction of finally understanding.
“To be honest, I’ve been curious for a while too. Karbaldr, how did someone like you become interested in novels with such a strong focus on entertainment? Oh, I’m not trying to disparage the special character novels ‘we’ like. It’s just that you have an image of someone who wouldn’t even glance at a book unless it was incredibly profound, classic, philosophical, and very, very difficult.”
Well, this possession body certainly had that kind of image. From his appearance to the family he was born into, he was the definition of a young lord. Moreover, he had studied hard to look good to his father and always maintained an arrogant attitude so as not to be looked down upon by others.
To use the expression of the Protagonist of Another Novel:
‘A novel written in the first person with a frivolous and distracted character as the protagonist, devoid of any profundity or aesthetic sense. A novel composed of short, simple sentences.’ It was understandable why his liking such a thing would seem strange.
‘No, but even thinking about this again, it’s really too much!’
Recalling the content the Protagonist of Another Novel had said back in chapter six after such a long time made a surge of anger rise within me. Consequently, I narrowed my eyes and glared at Reysir.
Whatever misunderstanding he had, he began to pile on excuses that had absolutely nothing to do with the reason for my anger.
“Just because you like something that doesn’t fit your image doesn’t mean it’s bad at all. In a way, these special character novels are what brought us closer together, so I’m glad you like them. And sometimes, liking something that contrasts with your appearance can actually be a charming point, you know? In my eyes, you’re exactly….”
“Just how long do you intend to ramble on about things unrelated to the main point?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Only after I questioned him in a slightly annoyed tone did Reysir stop his nonsense and apologize. Looking at him, as he appeared strangely pathetic, I let out a deep sigh and bowed my head.
I brushed back the hair that had fallen forward, then raised my head again to look him directly in the eye with a gaze that urged him to continue.
When I did so…
“I’m not sure how to start this…” he murmured.
The way he was lost in thought looked quite serious, so it didn’t seem like he was stalling on purpose just to see me get anxious. This meant there was a significant ‘story’ behind it, rather than a simple ‘coincidence’.
The moment I realized this and reflexively swallowed hard…
“Karbaldr. I think you’ve already noticed, at least roughly, what kind of power my ‘Silver Aether’ can exert…. Right?”
Reysir asked tentatively, lowering his voice significantly as he had before. It was a complete non sequitur, but I didn’t feel like pointing that out. It was a topic that touched upon my original goal for bringing him here.
“Why do you think that…?”
“I once told you that Professor Skadi was an incredibly skilled assassin, didn’t I? And during the Bimu Tournament, when Riolikin gained the [Berserk] ability, I lifted my eyepatch to examine him and then assured you that you didn’t need to worry.”
I had intended to use those very reasons to make Reysir confess about the [Truth-Reading Eye], but even without prying, the result I wanted was handed to me. While I felt relieved, I also felt a bit stunned.
“And more than anything. You… every time I tried to take off my eyepatch, you’d get wary and try to poke me in the eye, didn’t you? You actually did it once, too.”
“That was… didn’t I apologize for that…?”
“I’m not bringing it up to get an apology. I never thought you did anything wrong in the first place, you know? You suspected I might have a way to check other people’s abilities, and then you realized it the moment I took off the patch and revealed my silver eye, right?”
The [Truth-Reading Eye] was not just at a level where it was better off unknown; it was a skill that could lead to being harmed if its existence were revealed. Perhaps because he was aware of such risks himself?
Even though I had told him that no one could hear us here, Reysir whispered the following into my ear in a voice that was barely audible, as if letting his guard down was forbidden.
“I can read the information of others with this right eye.”
“……Yes. Though it was the day Riolikin gained the [Berserk] ability that I became certain.”
“Even so, you didn’t press me and waited for me to tell you first…”
That wasn’t it. I had just found it more convenient to play dumb until now. Moreover, because I had intended to interrogate Reysir today out of necessity, his voice, which was tinged with emotion, pricked my conscience.
“Oh, right. On the day I revealed the existence of the Silver Aether to you, I told you the Inventory was a characteristic ability of the Silver Aether. I didn’t do that to deceive you on purpose. I was mistaken too. I didn’t know it was a basic ability given to all Awakened, so I thought it was part of the Silver Aether’s characteristic ability.”
Seeing him add such words as an excuse, it seemed Reysir felt a pang of conscience as well. For some reason, I felt like I should make a confession of my own, but I couldn’t do that yet. Thus, I pushed back the person who had grown close due to the whispering and changed the subject.
“So… why did you suddenly bring up your ability while you were about to explain how you came across the special character novels?”
“This Valhalla Academy Library is famous for being the ‘Library of the Greatest Knowledge’, isn’t it? So as soon as I entered the Academy, I looked for the library first. I thought I might be able to find data regarding what happened in our fief. Even though the Imperial Family took the fief under the guise of an investigation, they haven’t told me anything.”
Reysir answered as he stepped back obediently. His voice was louder than when he spoke directly into my ear, but it was still much quieter than usual.
“But when I actually arrived, there were just too many books. I wasn’t even sure which field of books I should look through. So I felt very overwhelmed…”
“And then?”
“It suddenly occurred to me that if I used my Silver Aether’s characteristic ability, I might be able to grasp the general content of a book without actually opening and reading it.”
“So?”
“I went to a corner of the library and peeked out from under my eyepatch, but I could hardly see what was in front of me because so many information windows were overflowing.”
If his goal was research on the Demonic Realm, he wouldn’t have gone to the novel section on purpose — especially if there were many books he needed to check. If Reysir hadn’t mentioned the [Truth-Reading Eye], I might have pestered him to get to the point quickly.
“While that was happening, I saw a dangerously bright red light amidst the information windows blocking my view. So I moved by repeatedly checking the direction and covering then uncovering my eye…”
“Don’t tell me…. Is this the place you arrived at after doing that?”
“Yes. And when I look at other books with this right eye, I can see the author, publication date, publisher information, and a summary of about three or four lines. However, the books here all had the same phrase written in a window emitting a bright red light. It said, **[You do not have permission to read this]**….”
“……”
The feeling that his low-pitched voice was eerie lasted only a moment. As I chewed over his words, a sense of absurdity washed over me.
Even though he had witnessed what was clearly a warning window, and even though he said he felt danger from the bright red light radiating from it… This Protagonist of Another Novel not only enjoyed reading the books here simply because they were fun, but he had even recommended them to his childhood friend.