Chapter 122: The After-Party

I carried out the thought that came to me at the end of yesterday’s serialized installment exactly as it was.

For those who might find it bothersome to hit the “Previous Chapter” button and come back, let me restate it:

It means I only brought up the topic of Nidhr when the meal was nearly finished.

“Reysir. What exactly did you say during the match earlier that made Nidhr come at you in a fury?”

“Oh, then? I just asked for an explanation, that’s all.”

“An explanation?”

“He’s physically weaker than me, and he couldn’t even block my Aether Attribute attacks. So, what exactly makes him so special?”

“……You completely crushed his self-esteem.”

“Haha.”

Reysir let out a short, embarrassed laugh at my remark.

He’s always quick to label me as a tsundere, so I bet he misunderstood my comment as another tsundere-style compliment.

The truth is, I’m about to lose my mind because of this other person’s novel protagonist.

‘No wonder Nidhr’s expression was so dark…!’

Back in Chapter 113, he threw out a middle-schooler’s line: ‘I’m different from others. I’m truly special,’ and confidently declared we’d find out why after this tournament ended.

But after being utterly defeated by Reysir in the finals, how humiliating must it have been to hear something like that?

He couldn’t even argue back when his ‘specialness’ was denied.

‘Nidhr was destined to be consumed by inferiority soon enough, so maybe nothing will change… But since he’ll feel it sooner, there’s a chance he might commit his first murder earlier too—maybe even before graduating from the Academy.’

In that case, his target would be an awakened student.

‘I don’t know how many currently enrolled students will awaken, but at least Vigdis, Liolikin, and I are certain to awaken, right?’

Thinking about our Aether Attribute abilities—

If Nidhr wants to kill someone among the three of us at the Academy, I’d probably be the easiest target.

My status as the child of a Dukedom can’t be used as a shield.

No matter who he kills, if he gets caught, he’ll be arrested just the same.

He’ll naturally choose the easiest victim who can be dealt with without leaving evidence behind.

The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.

But even if I worry myself to death, all I can really do is train hard and get stronger.

So, I decided to let go of my worries, just as I reached that conclusion—

“Wait… you didn’t mean that as a compliment?” Reysir asked cautiously, watching me for a reaction.

He must have finally realized, after seeing the troubled look on my face, that I hadn’t made a tsundere comment after all.

“Are you really worrying about someone like Nidhr now?”

“……?”

Correction.

Reysir still insisted on treating me as a ‘secretly soft-hearted tsundere who pretends otherwise.’

“Did you forget how he purposely listed all the side effects of Liolikin’s rampage to inflate your guilt and try to keep you under his control?”

“What?! Th-that really happened?”

“Oh, come to think of it, you and Hailga and Vigdis don’t know about this, right? Liolikin, it was after you fought Nidhr and passed out…”

Reysir quickly summarized the events from Chapter 115.

Coincidentally, just as he finished speaking, a server knocked and came in to clear the empty dishes and serve chamomile tea.

So the reactions from the table came only after the server left the Private Room.

“What kind of trash does that? Instead of worrying or comforting you, he tries to gaslight you?!”

The first to react was Hailga.

She’d been in reserved mode while the server was tidying up, but as soon as the person left, she immediately let her simmering anger spill out.

“Liolikin doesn’t need to worry about side effects, unlike in most cases, right? That’s really a relief. In so many ways.”

Vigdis also looked angry, but she calmed herself and spoke words of relief.

And Liolikin…

“A-anyway. He’s really a piece of work. He kept bothering me, too, trying to ruin the party! A-and when we were alone, he said creepy stuff like he wanted to have me… And then…”

Seizing the moment, he started tattling.

‘Yesterday and today, Reysir was sitting alone in the contestants’ area, so Nidhr must have swaggered over and talked down to him…!’

Reysir hadn’t bothered mentioning what Nidhr had said to him when they were alone.

He just quietly sipped his tea with a disgusted expression, as if merely hearing about it was distasteful.

Based on that attitude, I could guess.

Maybe Nidhr even badmouthed us, or perhaps he insulted Hailga’s family and bragged he’d become her patron.

Either way, it was probably something guaranteed to make us feel sick if we heard it!

Drawing that conclusion, I brought the teacup to my lips.

The gentle aroma of chamomile, calming and soothing, filled my mouth.

“I missed the timing to answer earlier, but it’s not that I was worried about Nidhr.”

“Then what?”

“If someone who’s lived intoxicated by a sense of superiority has that specialness denied, gets completely crushed in front of a crowd, and even passes out… Isn’t it natural for them to hold a grudge?”

“So you were worried about me? That I might get bullied by someone again?”

Who put tsundere filters on the main character’s eyes and ears?

I have no idea.

“As if. I did some things to you last semester—how could you possibly think that?”

“Maybe you think, ‘Only I’m allowed to bully you.’”

“No…!”

‘Why do I always end up feeling so embarrassed when I talk to this guy?’

I must have been born under an unlucky star.

“I was only worried about myself. Since Nidhr mistakenly thinks you and I are friends, he might take out his anger on me.”

“Pfft…! No matter how you try to explain it, what kind of nonsense…”

Reysir must think I just blurted something out to cover up that he hit the mark.

He was the only one to laugh out loud, but the others didn’t react much differently.

Because this possessed body is the youngest son of the Austri Ducal Family, they’re all convinced Nidhr wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me.

‘He might not be able to openly bully me, but he could certainly try to kill and cover it up…

But if I voiced that, they’d think I was still traumatized by that poisoning attempt and trembling with anxiety.

It’s better to endure embarrassment than to get pitiful looks from everyone.

With that, I pressed my lips shut and shot a glare at the one responsible for making everyone treat me like a tsundere.

“Well, if you considered the possibility that Nidhr might harm those close to me… I guess it’s natural for you to be concerned.”

Reysir only changed his mind after seeing my serious expression, agreeing with my opinion—but only partially.

So now, I became someone who worried not just about Reysir but about everyone present.

Still, one thing to be grateful for: because Reysir immediately kept talking, I avoided being teased by everyone as a group.

“But I don’t think Nidhr would go that far. He’s got so much pride, always declaring how special he is—would someone like that do something so petty as to go after those around someone he doesn’t like?”

There was nothing reassuring about such optimism.

Did he forget that he himself crushed that pride?

“Besides, he doesn’t seem like the type to scheme behind people’s backs. He doesn’t have any friends, let alone subordinates, so he can’t order anyone to bother me. At most, he’ll pick a fight or keep challenging me to duels. But after today’s match, with such a big gap in skill, he might not even do that.”

Since Reysir doesn’t know the future, he can only think that way.

If I hadn’t read the original novel, I’d have come to the same conclusion.

Who could have predicted that a chuunibyou character would suddenly become a serial killer, get approached for illegal human experiments by a suspicious group, accept, and then transform into a monster?

“Don’t be so sure. Some pride is just a flimsy mask—peel it away, and you’ll find the inferiority complex hiding underneath.”

“Karvald Austri, you really think deeply, huh?”

“W-what are you saying all of a sudden…”

The main character of someone else’s novel launched an unexpected compliment attack.

It threw me off so much I couldn’t even judge whether he was being genuine, and I stuttered my reply without thinking.

No need to describe how my expression must have changed.

“Anyway, now that you mention it, you’re right. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

What about all the stuff that’s already happened, though? The words rose up in my throat.

But only I know how vile Nidhr can get, and that’s not something I can share with everyone.

If I say any more, they’ll just think I’m slandering someone I dislike without any basis, so I decided to end the conversation there.

I gave a small nod and grasped the teacup handle.

Then, as I’d learned back in my possessed body’s family home, I elegantly lifted the cup, sipped its contents, savored the aroma in my mouth, quietly swallowed, and set it down.

Suddenly, the protagonist of someone else’s novel threw out a completely nonsensical question.

“Karvald Austri. Want to come sleep in my room tonight?”

Should I be thankful he waited until I’d swallowed my tea before speaking?

If he’d said it a moment earlier, I might have instinctively opened my mouth and spilled tea everywhere.

“…What’s with that nonsense out of nowhere?”

“You said you had insomnia, right? But you slept just fine during Tuesday’s ‘History and Ethics’ class… So I thought, maybe you can only sleep well where you don’t have to worry about being assassinated?”

Chamomile tea is known for soothing anxiety and helping with insomnia.

But it also calms the stomach and aids digestion, so many people drink it after meals without a second thought.

‘Did he actually order this tea thinking of my fake insomnia…?’

Suddenly uncomfortable, I took my hand off the teacup I’d been fiddling with unconsciously.

“There’s only one bed, so maybe it’s weird to sleep together in the same room? Then I could just wait in your room until you fall asleep, and go back to my own room afterward. Which do you prefer?”

“Neither. If having someone nearby could cure my insomnia, it would have been solved as soon as Yor was born.”

“I know Yor is a very smart and promising Familiar, but he’s still just a baby who needs to be protected, right? Maybe you subconsciously can’t let your guard down yet?”

Reysir’s logic sounded oddly plausible.

If I really did have insomnia, I might have nodded in agreement.

“…The reason I could sleep during ‘History and Ethics’ was because the class before that was ‘Basic Physical Training.’ My body was exhausted, and the professor’s slow, boring voice just made me doze off. Who wouldn’t fall asleep in that situation?”

“So, after dinner, should I work you hard until you’re completely wiped out, then read you a boring book really slowly? Would that help?”

“Don’t you dare. I’d rather not sleep at all…”

“I thought I was coming up with a nice idea for your sake, but you’re really rejecting it.”

“It’s because you’re saying things worth rejecting, that’s why…!”

All because of this fake insomnia, I had to bicker back and forth with someone else’s novel protagonist for quite a while.

The result was my victory. Obviously.

After all, there’s no way Reysir could force me to exercise, break into my room, and read me a book.