When I arrived at the carriage waiting area, I saw a father and daughter with wheat-colored hair standing side by side.
It seemed they weren’t just meeting at the restaurant but intended to travel together.
That must be why Reysir came to my room personally.
‘He’s probably worried that Dyuf, who cares for him like his own child, might say something unnecessary to me out of concern…’
If Reysir had simply suggested meeting at the carriage waiting area at a certain time, and Dyuf and I had arrived first, an awkward and uncomfortable situation would have inevitably unfolded.
He was likely trying to prevent that.
Unlike Hailga, whose bright cherry-colored eyes left a strong impression of vitality and energy even when she acted calm, Dyuf exuded an incredibly serene and gentle aura thanks to his sage green irises, his glasses, and the marks of time visible on his face—even now, while his expression was stiff with tension.
There was certainly a reason why the Original Work described him as having a “genial impression.”
“I am Dyuf, the guardian of Hailga and Reysir, and the head of the Bitnir Baronial Family. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Karbaldr of the Austri Ducal Family.”
“……!!”
We were both already aware of each other’s status.
However, since he had mentioned it first to show courtesy, I returned the greeting in the same formal manner.
For some reason, Dyuf’s eyes widened, and surprise washed over his face.
I couldn’t understand why he would react that way when I hadn’t said anything particularly special.
However, asking him directly seemed like it would be out of character, so I tilted my head slightly to indirectly express my confusion.
I soon received the answer from Dyuf.
“You… use polite speech with me?”
It was a truly trivial reason.
It seemed he had assumed Karbaldr was an incredibly arrogant and rude young master.
Of course, the Karbaldr in the Original Work was indeed that type of character, but even he possessed enough sense to use polite language with professors at the Academy.
“I heard you were recently appointed as an Academy professor.”
“Ah…”
It was almost absurd to see him realize what he had overlooked.
Reysir had been making such a fuss about how “Master Dyuf might say something unpleasant to you,” so I expected to be stared down with a look of disapproval the moment we met.
Instead, he was clearly walking on eggshells around me.
‘Well, I suppose it’s a misunderstanding to think I wouldn’t use polite speech with him, but…’
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t the attitude of someone determined to speak harshly to me.
Why on earth was Reysir so worried that he even went as far as recruiting Hailga?
I couldn’t understand the reason at all.
“Don’t just stand there awkwardly. Hurry up and get in the carriage.”
Perhaps she felt bored as Dyuf and I just stood there observing each other.
Hailga spoke as she boarded the carriage first.
Even though we were still inside the Academy, there was no trace of her usual feigned innocence in her tone.
‘Students aren’t around, but there’s still a coachman…’
I had heard that kids these days were problematic because they treated unimportant strangers like background NPCs.
It seemed that modern reality had seeped into Hailga, even though she was a character in a fantasy novel.
Or perhaps she found it embarrassing to speak in a pretentious, affected way in front of her father and had temporarily dropped the act.
Regardless, we decided to follow Hailga’s lead.
Naturally, Dyuf sat next to his daughter, but Reysir sat on the opposite seat instead of joining them in the same row.
If I sat next to Dyuf here, I would be treated like a strange person.
My only options were to sit next to Reysir or to sit with Yor between us to maintain some distance.
I deliberated for about three seconds before boarding the carriage ahead of Yor.
I didn’t want to use Yor as a shield, and I thought it was a bit ridiculous to worry that sitting next to him would somehow close our psychological distance.
However, I immediately regretted that decision.
“To think Karbaldr would choose to sit next to me of his own free will…!”
The protagonist of another novel started making a huge scene.
I had no idea what part of this moved him so much.
‘Wait, didn’t he say Dyuf was worried about whether I actually consider Reysir a friend or not?’
I felt that someone who had said such things in chapter 160 shouldn’t be acting so flighty over something this minor.
Sure enough, I saw a cloud of worry settle over Dyuf’s face.
The protagonist must have noticed it too, because he spoke up to fix the situation, but his words were utterly appalling.
“Master Dyuf, don’t misunderstand! This is just a joke, a joke. Usually, when I overact like this, Karbaldr gets all red-faced and shy. It’s so… anyway, that’s why I teased him out of habit.”
I seriously started considering whether I should switch seats with Yor right now.
“For a joke, the young master’s face looks awfully cold and devoid of any warmth while looking at you…”
“He must be nervous today because you’re here, Master Dyuf.”
At Dyuf’s mumble, Reysir replied and signaled his childhood friend with a glance to help him out.
Hailga responded with her usual nonchalant attitude.
“Tsun… No, I don’t know if Master Karbaldr is nervous right now, but it’s true those two always play around like that.”
In the last chapter, I had defined Reysir’s words about recruiting Hailga as “good news, I suppose.”
But seeing this, I thought it was more appropriate to call it “bad news.”
To disguise something like this as “good news.”
He was incredibly shameless.
Thus, I decided to sit away from the protagonist by switching places with Yor and immediately put it into action.
“There’s no need to go as far as switching seats!”
“Hmph.”
Normally, I would have turned my head, crossed my arms, and even crossed my legs.
But since there was an elder sitting across from me today, I felt it would be rude to take such a posture, so I just huffed through my nose.
Even so—or rather, because my reaction was subtly different from usual—Reysir couldn’t tease me about being coy as he usually did.
Instead, he watched my reaction with a very troubled expression.
He seemed confused about whether I was genuinely angry or not.
Actually, it wasn’t to the point of being offended, but I felt it would be strange to confirm that, so I just fiddled with Yor’s fur and looked away.
“Um, Master Karbaldr…?”
In the midst of the lingering silence, Dyuf broke the quiet and spoke.
I had been hoping we would reach our destination without any conversation, so I felt a bit of regret that the silence was broken, but I responded to the dialogue by saying, “Yes?”
“Well…, first, I want to express my gratitude for saving my daughter on the day of the Graduation Ceremony.”
A man who had almost lost his child expressed his thanks in a polite manner.
If I told him it was no big deal and there was no need to thank me, would it sound like I was treating Hailga’s life lightly?
On the other hand, given the character setting of this body, I couldn’t exactly give a humble response like saying I only did what was expected of me.
“Ah, yes…”
I was at a loss for words, so only that short response came out.
Only after I said it did I think that saying it was no big deal might have been better.
The other party also seemed flustered by my reaction.
“Ah, hahaha… He’s already very shy, so he doesn’t know what to do when he hears someone say thank you, and I guess the added tension has caused him to malfunction.”
Reysir blurted out whatever came to mind in an attempt to defend me.
I began to think that out of everyone in this carriage, he was the most nervous one.
His guardian looked at him for a moment with an expression mixed with displeasure and absurdity, as if he didn’t know how to take that nonsense.
Then, he shifted his gaze back to me and spoke again.
“Thank you also for resolving Rei’s long-cherished wish. Whether as his guardian or as someone who was close to his late father, it was something I should have done… but I didn’t have the ability, so I could only tell Rei to give up. In that sense, you are quite remarkable for being so young.”
It was true that Dyuf had encouraged Reysir to give up.
However, that didn’t mean he hadn’t made any effort.
Pitying the child who had lost his family, he had submitted a petition asking for the return of the land the boy had shared with his parents.
He had even requested permission to investigate the Daudabina Territory so he could prove that the Demonic Realm wasn’t an artificial phenomenon.
When even that was rejected, he saved every penny he could from his spare funds to buy rare herbs sold by the Imperial Family to analyze them for any anomalies.
He had even sought out the person of the highest status he knew and begged them blindly for help.
But because he had gained nothing despite all those efforts, and because he felt that he alone was enough to be discouraged and feel powerless by clinging to a lost cause, he had no choice but to tell Reysir to give up.
As someone who knew those circumstances clearly through the Original Work, I couldn’t help but retort when I saw the man before me not only blaming himself but even self-deprecating by comparing himself to me.
“Not really…?”
“Pardon?”
“The reason I was able to voice an opinion regarding the return of the Daudabina fief was purely because the situation supported it. Since a Demonic Realm occurred in a foreign country as well, I was able to argue the justification for the return of the territory, and the Imperial Family listened to me.”
“…Ah?”
“And in the first place, I didn’t bring it up for the sake of Reysir. I simply passed an opinion to Her Imperial Highness the Princess that might be helpful for the future of the Empire, as one belonging to the Four Pillars of the Empire. Reysir just happened to benefit by luck.”
“I see…”
“So, I don’t believe it’s something worthy of a special thank you or being called remarkable.”
“……”
I could see a complex, indescribable emotion settle on Dyuf’s face.
On the other hand, the emotion on Reysir’s face could be clearly defined.
‘See? This is the kind of person Karbaldr is. He acts cold on the outside, but you saw his inside, right?! It’s so deep and warm!’
His joy was excessively vivid.
“He just said he didn’t do it for me, but Karbaldr has been concerned about my situation since much earlier. He even told me before that I must reclaim the territory and restore my parents’ honor.”
I didn’t know why this protagonist was acting so proud while talking about me.
“In other words, the reason Karbaldr said this was to deliver a message to you, Master Dyuf, telling you not to blame yourself.”
“Why would I do such a thing? Don’t interpret it however you like.”
“If that wasn’t your intention, then why would you say something you didn’t need to say?”
“…….”
“Did I really interpret it wrong?”
No matter what excuse I made, Reysir would relentlessly argue back and paint me as a kind person.
Knowing that, I simply let out a “…Hmph” and quietly looked away.