“Why are you coming out alone? Doesn’t the House of Austri usually fight by putting the Familiar in front and acting as support?” Caldrun asked, his eyes fixed on Yor, who remained in his seat.
Before I could even offer an answer, he added, “I need to check the Familiar’s skills anyway, so fight together.”
Even if I told him Yor had never fought before, it wouldn’t make a difference.
Everyone has a first time.
And if he had to have a first time, it was much safer for it to be a spar within the Academy than a real battle in the Demonic Realm.
‘Unless I’m going to leave Yor alone outside when we enter the Demonic Realm, we need to coordinate our combat.’
Regardless, Yor’s will was the most important thing.
If he didn’t seem ready, I planned to ask Caldrun to postpone checking Yor’s skills until next time.
With that thought, I turned my head toward the seats, only to find that Yor had already left his spot and was flying toward me.
He truly was a brave and gallant baby dragon.
As I lightly stroked Yor’s back when he approached, I considered the compatibility between Caldrun’s abilities and my [Weather Change] skill.
Caldrun’s ability was ‘Cold,’ and he couldn’t create water himself.
According to his setting, he fought by freezing and condensing the moisture in the air.
Therefore, using [Weather Change] to create fog or rain would essentially be creating an ideal environment for him to use his powers.
‘Smart Yor won’t overlook this fact and use that skill.’
Though I had reached that conclusion, I spoke anyway.
“I’m counting on you.”
I used the [Encourage] skill on Yor as I said it.
Even though he had been thrust into a sudden spar, he stepped forward bravely, and I wanted to let him know I was rooting for him.
I hoped my belief in him would be conveyed.
‘There are too many listening ears for me to say this directly…!’
In a way, it was a waste of Aether, but this wasn’t even a real battle, so who cared?
Besides, the match wasn’t likely to last long enough for me to run out of Aether.
I would probably lose before then.
“Nyaong, nyaaaa~!”
Did he realize the sentiment behind the [Encourage] skill?
Yor let out a pleasant cry and rubbed his cheek against mine.
Smooth scales and soft down touched my skin.
It was just simple physical affection, not a skill that granted any actual effect.
Naturally, the stats on the Status Window didn’t change either.
Even so, motivation surged within me, and my whole body felt full of vitality.
It must have been because Yor’s kind heart, cheering me on, had reached me.
“Good grief, how is a person without a Familiar supposed to live through this? I get that you two are close, so start getting ready to fight.”
I had only been stroking Yor for a few dozen seconds.
Apparently, as an elite swordsman, Caldrun had used his sharp eyes to perceive Yor’s cuteness and lovability in that short time.
He must have said that because he felt envious of me.
‘I’ve received Yor’s support and made others jealous, so let’s work hard!’
Thinking this, I used [Encourage] on myself.
At the same time, I took my hand off Yor and pulled my whip out of my [Inventory].
Before swinging it to activate [High Spirits], I quickly used [Encourage] again.
The Keywords I assigned to myself were ‘My Possessed Body’ and ‘My Existence.’
The second Keyword had occurred to me suddenly a few days ago, and it worked when I tried it.
While I was at it, I added Yor’s Keywords as well.
I had previously registered four: ‘My Familiar,’ ‘My Happiness,’ ‘My Comfort,’ and ‘My Understanding.’
Now, I added ‘My Salvation’ and ‘My Editor,’ bringing the total to six.
For the record, I had only thought about that last Keyword before, and today was the first time I actually applied it.
‘I started writing Hoe-ak-bang last night, and Yor agreed to check for grammatical errors and typos!’
I hadn’t finished a full chapter yet, so I hadn’t asked him to review it, but perhaps the system counted the baby dragon’s role as a dictionary as editorial work—or maybe it was because I already considered Yor the editor of my novel.
Either way, the Keyword was successfully registered, so I swung my whip and activated [High Spirits].
“I am ready.”
“You’re stepping forward instead of the Familiar?” Caldrun questioned Yor’s behavior as he hid behind my back.
He likely asked because he knew the members of the House of Austri didn’t usually engage in direct combat, only providing support from the rear.
“Yes. My Familiar’s physical structure isn’t suited for melee combat.”
“Was that long body not meant for binding opponents like a rope?”
Caldrun was saying some dangerous things.
Compared to the nonsense about swinging Yor like a whip, it was a much more humane idea, but it still made me turn serious.
If Yor were fully grown with a thick, sturdy trunk and significantly higher strength and defense, it might be different.
But if we tried that now, the baby dragon’s muscles and ligaments would tear under the strength of an opponent trying to break free.
“…Yor’s strength and defense are still too low for that.”
“Ah! Come to think of it, your Familiar is not even 1 year old, is he? It’s a bit odd for me to ask this after saying I needed to check his skills first, but… can your Familiar actually fight?”
I suspected many of my readers might have the same question as Caldrun.
Especially since I had already explained that I couldn’t use [Weather Change] against him.
Still, the quick-witted readers would have guessed how Yor would fight.
The hint was in chapter 18.
Back then, I wrote that compressing Aether stripped of its attributes creates physical force, allowing it to be used like telekinesis.
I also mentioned that the efficiency was terrible because it consumed massive amounts of Aether and mental power.
‘That’s why I only use it to turn the direction of my whip in specific situations, but…’
As the readers knew, Yor’s Aether and mental power stats weren’t just high.
They were astronomical.
This meant that even if he used this inefficient method actively in battle, it wasn’t a big burden for him.
‘As expected, even a baby dragon is still a dragon.’
In that sense, even if Reysir hadn’t regained his senses on the day of the Graduation Ceremony, I don’t think I would have been in any danger.
Whether Yor created a shield with his massive Aether to surround me or attacked directly, he would have protected me somehow.
“It won’t be a problem.”
“If you, his master, are so certain. Then, I’ll let you have the first move. Go ahead and attack.”
Given the nature of my weapon, I wasn’t at all grateful for the first move.
But it wasn’t like I could succeed in a counterattack if Caldrun struck first, so it was all the same.
It also felt wrong to demand a style of fighting that favored me.
Thus, I immediately rushed toward Caldrun, swinging my whip by extending my arm from the inside out.
It wasn’t a strike intended to land, but one to gauge his reaction.
‘Will he step back? Or will he dive in?’
I saw Caldrun lower his upper body.
Since the whip swung horizontally, he was likely trying to dodge it and charge at me.
I predicted his movement accordingly.
While following his movements with my eyes in the flow of time slowed by [Mental Acceleration], I fumbled in the air with my left hand.
Then, I hurled the object I grabbed.
A dagger suddenly appeared and flew toward his head, causing Caldrun to flinch and throw himself to the side.
He opened his mouth with a look of surprise, so I briefly deactivated [Character Analysis] to hear what he was saying.
“That just now—did you pull it from your [Inventory]? How did you pull the exact item you needed without even looking at the slots?”
“I practiced.”
“An impressive idea. To think of using a function meant for mere storage in combat…”
I received a compliment, but I only felt uncomfortable.
Using daggers this way wasn’t a combat style I came up with; it was something Skadi taught Reysir in the original work.
‘Won’t Senna’s readers who read the pre-remake version curse me for this? They’ll ask how I could not only package a character with a history of school violence as a tsundere but also give him ideas originally conceived by another character…’
I realized it too late, but the milk was already spilled.
There was nothing I could do, so I wiped the worry from my mind, hoping the original author would skip describing this sparring scene between me and Caldrun.
“Why is the person who just got complimented making that face?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by ‘that face.'”
“Such a dry reaction. Is your personality like His Grace, the Duke of Austri? Looking at your face, I’d think the Duchess gave birth to you alone via budding…”
Caldrun was currently in his mid-40s and had inherited the title of Marquis as soon as he became an adult due to the early death of his parents.
As such, he not only had a connection with Hard, the Duke, but he was also likely to remember the late Duchess of Austri.
‘But isn’t that a bit much?! My personality is like Hard’s?’
I deeply regretted deactivating [Character Analysis] to listen to Caldrun.
To say such a wicked thing to my face.
The moment I instinctively scowled in displeasure…
“That’s strange. Isn’t Kar usually very weak to compliments?”
“He tends to ignore compliments he can’t accept.”
“Ah…! So that’s why Master Karbaldr keeps ignoring my compliments? Then it seems Professor Caldrun is also talentless at giving compliments like me, which is why he couldn’t get a reaction out of the Duke of Austri.”
The whispering voices of Vigdis, Reysir, and Liolikin drifted over.
Caldrun, who had suddenly become someone talentless at giving compliments, took on a sour expression.
“…Then, let’s resume the spar.”
“Yes.”
I rushed toward Caldrun again and swung my whip in the same manner as before.
As expected, he lowered his stance and charged, and the previous situation repeated itself perfectly as I threw a dagger.
The difference started from this moment.
Instead of leaping to the side and stopping to talk, Caldrun lightly tilted his head to dodge the dagger.
The distance closed in an instant.
However, I didn’t scramble to back away or try to widen the gap.
“Yor.”
I softly uttered the baby dragon’s name and stood still, swinging my whip.
Then, a sharp cry of “Gyaooong!!” echoed from behind me, and Caldrun, who had been charging before my eyes, abruptly jerked to a halt.
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