Chapter 289: An Unexpected Visit

After finishing dinner and returning to my room, even after showering,

I changed into light casual clothes instead of pajamas and left the room.

The reason, as mentioned in the early part of Chapter 286, was that I needed the information about the Confession Villain that Pret had investigated.

So…

Knock knock.

I ended up knocking on Reysir’s door.

I had no intention of going inside. I just planned to receive the necessary items and return.

But even though it was just at the door, this was my first time visiting someone else’s living space, so I was quite nervous.

Was that why?

“Who is it?”

“Well… it’s me. Karbaldr.”

To the question from beyond the door, I found myself stammering.

The moment I realized this, embarrassment washed over me.

If only I had been given time to let the heat in my face subside, but the ruthless Protagonist of Another Novel did not allow it.

After a clatter from inside, the door flew open in less than five seconds.

“It really is Karbaldr?!”

No, it’s a fake Karbaldr.

But I couldn’t reveal my true identity, so I decided to let it pass without correcting him.

“I came to borrow something.”

“From me? I don’t know what you want to borrow, but come in first.”

“It’s not something that requires a long conversation. I really just came to borrow something…”

“Are you planning to go out now?”

“No. I’ll go straight back to my room.”

“If you’re not busy, just come in.”

Reysir said this, opening the door wide and stepping aside.

Since I was the one asking to borrow something, I couldn’t refuse the offer any longer.

For that reason, I eventually set foot into someone else’s living space.

“Instead of hovering near the entrance, change into slippers and go sit over there.”

“Who, who was hovering?!”

“You’re doing it right now. And stuttering too.”

“No, that’s… well… hmm…”

I had no defense.

So I silently took off my shoes and slid my feet into slippers. I heard Reysir chuckle.

The more I showed my nervousness, the more this Protagonist of Another Novel would enjoy it.

Knowing that, I deliberately walked confidently to the chair Reysir had pointed to and sat down.

“I really liked how you leave your outdoor shoes at the entrance and keep the floor clean. So I tried it too. What do you think?”

‘Perhaps thanks to my confident attitude?’

Reysir quickly stopped laughing, and with a light smile, asked me this.

Come to think of it, in this world, it was the default setting to wear shoes indoors.

But for me, taking off shoes at the entrance was so natural that if Reysir hadn’t mentioned it, I would have missed it without noticing.

“What do you think?”

“Even if you ask, I don’t have much to say… Are you hoping I’ll praise you for doing well?”

“That wasn’t my intention, but if you did, that would be nice!”

“I won’t.”

“Ahahaha! That’s fine. Instead, come visit often.”

“That won’t happen. If I have business like today, I’ll visit again…”

“Yeah, yeah. Since you came with business, if you hang out with me, eventually hanging out with me itself might become the business. So feel free to come anytime.”

If I said no, it would be awkward later when I visited with business.

If I said yes obediently, it could be interpreted as meaning I would visit often.

So I had no choice but to give a vague answer.

“Well, I’ll consider it.”

“Puhahahaha!!”

I didn’t want to admit it, but seeing the Protagonist of Another Novel laugh like that, my answer must have sounded somewhat coquettish.

Damn.

“Ah… I really laughed a lot today. Thanks to you, Karbaldr.”

“I don’t want to hear that kind of thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, if I had known you’d come visit like this, I would have prepared some snacks to serve. I feel bad that I don’t have anything proper to offer.”

“Is this something to say to someone you dragged in just to borrow something? I wanted to borrow it and leave.”

“I’m not blaming you for coming without notice. It’s just that I’m disappointed and sorry. Every time I visit your room, I’m always treated to unique and heartfelt drinks. Ah! Speaking of which, I have that, right?”

Just as I was about to ask for the materials Pret purchased, Reysir suddenly turned and headed to the Aether Mini Fridge, opening it.

Let me add a side note: this fridge is a basic option included in the dormitory room.

“I went to the store the other day, and they were selling a set of ingredients for a snack called ‘Potato Chip Chocolate Block’ since it’s trending. The price wasn’t too burdensome, so out of curiosity, I bought it and made it. I haven’t tried it yet, so I don’t know the taste, but since it’s popular these days, it must be delicious, right? Let’s try it together.”

The protagonist of a novel set in a fantasy world said this, pulling out a cylindrical container filled with potato chips hardened with chocolate.

Moreover, on the outer surface of the container, the face of a character with a distinctive mustache was printed.

I was left speechless, silently watching as the Protagonist of Another Novel tore open the cylindrical packaging and peeled it off.

‘…Right. At least he didn’t mention the brand name directly and just said potato chips.’

Just as I came to that realization,

The Protagonist of Another Novel looked at me with a troubled expression.

“Uh… but how do we eat this? Would it be unhygienic to cut it with a dagger? If I clean it and wrap it in Aether, it might be okay…”

“No, there’s no need for that. I’ve been thinking I should start carrying cooking utensils, so I told Yor to pack some.”

“Meow!”

Yor took out a kitchen knife and cutting board from the Yeouiju and handed them to Reysir.

Reysir received them, cut the hardened Potato Chip Chocolate Block, and after handing one piece to me, put one into his own mouth.

I wondered what he just did.

“I thought it would be better for me to taste it first since we don’t know the taste… Hahaha! Anyway, this feels like it would go better with carbonated drinks than tea. Do you drink this kind of thing?”

The ‘this kind of thing’ that the Protagonist of Another Novel took out of the fridge was canned cola.

Since I had expected this day would come, I didn’t act surprised and just nodded naturally.

“You look like you wouldn’t even glance at anything unless it’s homemade fresh-squeezed fruit juice, so this is surprising. Ah! As I explained last time, you know I don’t mean it in a bad way, right? I wanted to say that unexpected sides like this make you feel more approachable. In technical terms, this is a gap-”

“No, that explanation is unnecessary. I didn’t come to hear that kind of talk.”

Before the Protagonist of Another Novel could spew out otaku terminology disguised as technical jargon, I quickly cut him off.

Fortunately, Reysir didn’t continue the interrupted topic.

Instead, he opened the can of cola and placed one in front of me and one in front of Yor, saying the following:

“So what did you want to borrow from me? I don’t think there’s anything I have that you don’t…”

“You still have the materials you bought from Pret yesterday, right?”

“You mean the information on Drembi?”

“Is there any other information you purchased?”

“No, but I’m curious why you suddenly want to see that… Ah! Are you worried that he might personally harass Helly or that his family might pull some tricks regarding the compensation? So you want to help in some way?”

An accurate prediction.

But if I admitted it, the Protagonist of Another Novel would grin and tease me endlessly, saying nice things until I was embarrassed.

So I put on the haughty expression I had practiced countless times and answered:

“You’re making strange assumptions. I just want to make him pay for the insult I received. That bastard dared to stand up to me without knowing his place, and even treated me as if I were the same low-class sort as him.”

“Ah! Come to think of it, I should have comforted you back then. If it’s not too late, even now…”

The Protagonist of Another Novel spread his arms wide as if to invite me into his embrace.

I was so dumbfounded that my words stuck in my throat, but I had to say something.

“Enough. Put your arms down.”

“Is it too late after all?”

I could somehow read the thought on the Protagonist of Another Novel’s face: ‘If only I could go back to that moment, I would hug both Helly and Karbaldr at once and comfort them simultaneously…’

I thought it was probably just my imagination.

But since something similar might happen again, and there’s always a chance.

“I wasn’t hurt by that trivial matter, and even if I were, I don’t need you to comfort me. I always have Yor by my side.”

I hugged Yor and looked at Reysir triumphantly, trying to let him know that I don’t need comfort from others.

But unfortunately, the Protagonist of Another Novel didn’t seem to acknowledge that.

“Still, sometimes you need human warmth, don’t you? Yor is certainly a great comfort to you, but for a cat, its body temperature is too low.”

That’s because he’s not a cat.

These words rose to my throat, but not only was it something I shouldn’t say, it was also out of context.

I had to give a different answer anyway.

“But Yor’s heart is very warm, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Still, there might come a time when you need warmth you can feel not just in the heart but with your body.”

“Ugh… Fine, I understand. If that ever happens, I’ll ask for your help. Now stop talking and hand over the materials.”

“Yeah!”

Only after hearing an answer that pleased him did the Protagonist of Another Novel take out a bundle of documents from his inventory and hand them to me.

I patted the baby dragon snuggled in my arms a couple of times and then let it go.

With my freed hands, I received the materials and started reading. Yor brought a piece of Potato Chip Chocolate Block to my mouth with its tiny hand.

It was feeding me so I could eat while reading.

‘How kind!’

After that, Yor kept putting snacks into my mouth.

Thanks to that, I was able to keep my hands clean without getting chocolate on them, flipping through the papers and reading the materials to the end.

And I found useful information in there.

‘If it goes as I think, maybe I can solve this easily?’

Not everything in life goes as planned, and with the Original Author as a meddler, I can’t let my guard down.

But it’s better than being at a loss with no solution in sight.