The Original Protagonist stared at Svein with a puzzled look for a moment.
He must have decided it wasn’t worth pressing, as he continued with what he was saying.
“Next, since Pret is supposedly from a circus… I expect he’ll show erratic movements using the terrain, like swinging between trees.”
There was a subtle pause after he mentioned Pret’s background before he uttered the next sentence. This confirmed that Reysir didn’t fully believe the circus story and was still suspicious.
‘Even so, I don’t know why he isn’t using his [Truth-Reading Eye] skill on him!’
I didn’t think there was any chance Reysir had stolen a look at Pret’s status window behind my back. If he had, he would have whispered a warning to me that Pret seemed to be from the Information Guild, much like how he mentioned Skadi being a high-level assassin back in Chapter 68.
And above all else, if Reysir had seen Pret’s information window—
“Still, the [Camouflage] skill becomes obvious once the user moves, and it can’t hide footsteps. If we stay focused on sounds and keep a close watch on our surroundings, he won’t be able to snatch our ribbons unexpectedly.”
Or—
“Furthermore, while Pret is quick, he can’t leap through space like the Imperial Princess. I think it’s entirely possible for us to take his ribbon instead.”
—he wouldn’t have been able to say such things so easily. That was because Pret had the following skills registered in his normal skill window:
【Trap Master】, proof that he could manipulate traps at will. [Phantom Glide], which described his ability to move as silently as a ghost anywhere.
With these skills in his arsenal, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that a setting like “mountains littered with traps” was a stage built specifically for Pret. Therefore, the member of the opposing team we had to be most wary of wasn’t Fjodra, but Pret.
‘But I can’t say that.’
When Reysir spoke about Skadi, I let it slide without prying into his sources. So, if I asked him to let this go without questions, Reysir would likely do the same. Even knowing this, the reason I couldn’t speak about Pret’s abilities was…
‘Because of the original author who’s writing this while observing the situation!’
Besides, Vigdis and Svein were here with us as well. Thus, I simply nodded in silence, pretending to agree with the Original Protagonist.
“Also, while Hailga’s ability to handle fire is a threat, that’s exactly why she’ll hesitate to attack us with her Aether Characteristic Skill. Plus, we have Svein on our team who possesses water-attribute Aether, don’t we? Her physical abilities are also weak… It feels a bit wrong to say this, but we can probably take her lightly.”
As he spoke the last sentence, Reysir looked around unnecessarily before lowering his voice significantly. Even though he knew Hailga couldn’t hear our conversation, he seemed to feel guilty for speaking ill of her.
“Finally, I’m not sure what the exact level of Senior Risi’s strength increase is from her Aether Characteristic Ability since she hasn’t revealed it. Regardless, I don’t think we need to worry. No matter how strong someone is, it’s useless if they don’t know how to fight.”
After finishing his explanation, the Original Protagonist glanced over us. It was a gesture inviting us to speak if we had any opinions.
Svein subtly shifted his gaze toward the distance, signaling that he didn’t want to be called upon. Vigdis, on the other hand, didn’t even seem to realize why Reysir was looking at us. She appeared to be simply recording the explanation the Original Protagonist had just given in her mind.
“Karbaldr. Do you have anything to add?”
Reysir singled me out again to ask for my opinion. I wondered if I should start feigning ignorance like Svein from now on.
“The other team surely knows that Hailga and Senior Risi are weak. Since there’s a chance they’ll use those two as bait, it would be dangerous to rush in recklessly just to target their ribbons.”
“I agree. Pret and the Imperial Princess could use [Camouflage] to hide nearby and wait for us to charge at Hailga or Senior Risi, then snatch our ribbons instead.”
“If they happened to find a trap, they might position Hailga or Senior Risi near it to lure us into a snare.”
“Ah! I should consider that possibility as well.”
I dropped a hint within the limits of what Senna the author wouldn’t find suspicious for “Karbaldr” to say. Judging by Reysir’s reaction, he didn’t feel any sense of incongruity from my statement either.
“I actually thought maybe Hailga and Senior Risi would just stay at their Starting Point without leaving, while the rest of their teammates moved out to block us from getting there…”
“So that those two don’t lose their ribbons at all?”
“Yeah. Once the battle starts, if they lose their ribbons, they have to head back to the Starting Point, right? But if we occupy the Cyan Team’s Starting Point, they’ll lose their ribbons every 10 minutes. Since they have to defend the Starting Point anyway, I thought they might just stay there as a precaution.”
“That certainly seems possible.”
I also thought Hailga and Risi would camp at the Starting Point, so I nodded to show my agreement. However, I didn’t agree with the overall thrust of Reysir’s opinion.
‘Thinking the opposing team will just defend their Starting Point is a misjudgment born from a lack of information!’
They weren’t going to defend the Starting Point; they were only going to pretend to. Pret would have disarmed traps found elsewhere and reinstalled them around their team’s Starting Point. Rather, they were likely hoping we would all swarm there together and get caught in the traps as a group.
‘The original author probably wants that kind of development too.’
Readers who had read the pre-remake version of *Nas-e* would know that Pret could handle traps. However, the new readers would have no idea. Looking only at the team assignments, they would expect our team to win a crushing victory.
Even without that reason, it was only natural for the protagonist’s team to win. If it were a situation where the protagonist was facing many opponents alone, the readers would feel a sense of catharsis and satisfaction seeing the protagonist use overwhelming force to achieve a one-sided victory.
‘But right now, we’re in a four-on-five team battle, and two members of the opposing team are absolute novices who haven’t even sparred before.’
So, if our team won in a landslide, Senna’s readers wouldn’t think the Original Protagonist won because he was particularly skilled; they would just think he got lucky with the team assignments.
‘And they would find the plot far too predictable and boring.’
That was likely why the author added the “traps” element to create an environment where Pret could shine. If the story progressed such that the tide temporarily favored the Cyan Team before we turned it around, the readers would be intrigued, wondering, ‘How will the protagonist overcome this?’ and they could experience the thrill of a comeback.
“Um… excuse me… is it really okay to stay at the Starting Point without participating in the battle…?”
Svein was the one to ask this question in a cautious tone. Although he had avoided Reysir’s gaze earlier when he was looking for opinions, it seemed he wasn’t entirely uninterested in participating in the strategy meeting.
“Why? Do you want to do that too?”
“No, no! I just thought that since the professor said we have to reattach our ribbons within 10 minutes, not participating in the fight wouldn’t fit the purpose of the training.”
When Reysir tossed out the question jokingly, Svein was startled and waved his hands frantically in denial. Was that reaction funny to him?
“Ahahaha! I was just joking, just joking.”
The Protagonist of Another Novel let out his signature refreshing, yet strangely irritating laugh. It was a sight that made my brow furrow automatically.
“A joke?”
“I’ve seen you train hard in other classes. There’s no way I’d misunderstand and think you’re trying to skip out on training now.”
“Oh…”
Even though it wasn’t anything special, I could see the tension leave Svein’s face as a glimmer of admiration entered his eyes. In the original work, he genuinely admired Reysir before suddenly betraying him. Because of that, this was by no means a good sign.
“I think you’re being too tense and finding us difficult—”
“We don’t have much time left. Can we stop the small talk?”
Lest the Original Protagonist tell him to treat us comfortably, I cut him off and joined the conversation. To ensure their exchange didn’t continue any further, I decided to answer the question Svein had raised myself.
“There likely won’t be a penalty as long as the ribbons are worn properly, even if one doesn’t participate in the battle during this round.”
“Is that… because the professor didn’t mention any related rules…?”
“Why do you think the professor would have overlooked that? Since this lecture also serves as ‘survival training,’ he might have decided that surviving by any means is what’s important. Or he might have thought that protecting a teammate staying at the Starting Point is similar to protecting a civilian rescued from a Demonic Realm, and thus a good experience in its own right.”
“Ah… I-I see. I think you’re right, Senior.”
Svein bowed his head deeply, reacting like someone cowed by unjust, authoritative violence. I had merely explained the reasoning behind the question from various perspectives.
‘Did he feel I was embarrassing him because I was using the arrogant tone of an Original Villain who looks down on others?’
‘There’s no benefit to being hated by the original villain… wait, the original traitor…’
I knew this was unavoidable since I had resolved to sabotage his friendship with the Original Protagonist. Regardless, seeing him shrink away like that made a touch of unnecessary pity rise within me.
It would have been easier on my mind if Svein were a character completely filled with malice, like Tridric, who enjoyed tormenting others and even went as far as kidnapping Hailga. Then I wouldn’t have to feel conflicted over things like this.
“However, as you said, staying at the Starting Point goes against the original intent. The professor will likely add relevant regulations for the afternoon to ensure everyone is forced to participate in the battle.”
“Yes, I see…”
By agreeing with what Svein had said earlier, I wanted to leave him with the impression that I wasn’t hostile toward him.
But instead of cheering up, his expression and voice only grew more awkward. No matter how I looked at it, he had clearly taken my words negatively.
‘Don’t tell me he thinks I’m showing off by snatching his idea, tweaking it slightly, and acting like I came up with something new…?’
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