Unlike the Academy infirmary staff, who could only treat external injuries, the Healer hired during the tournament was extremely skilled.
Not only did he instantly cure the aftereffects of electric shock,
He also stopped my nosebleed and brought down the fever in my head in no time.
Although he couldn’t do anything about my chronic sleep deprivation.
After the treatment, my headache completely vanished and my mind felt refreshed, so it seemed the overload on my brain had definitely been resolved.
“That kid had a fever in his head and a nosebleed like that before, too. Why is that? He doesn’t have some illness, does he?”
As I wiped the blood from my nose with a wet towel handed over by the tournament staff, Reysir was holding onto the Healer and asking such questions.
Anyone would think he was my guardian.
He should be worrying about the weapon he left behind on stage, not about me.
“It looks like fatigue has accumulated in his brain, resulting in overload. If he avoids stressful situations, takes plenty of rest, and sleeps 7~8 hours a day, he’ll be fine.”
Out of a fantasy novel Healer’s mouth came advice more fitting for a modern doctor.
Seems like stress and lack of sleep are the root of all illness in this world, too.
‘The reason I accumulated enough fatigue in my brain to have a nosebleed is entirely because I forced myself to use the Mental Acceleration skill too much. Even if I sleep soundly, it won’t make any difference!’
But I didn’t particularly want to reveal that, so I quietly kept my mouth shut.
I could feel Reysir looking at me with a gaze full of pity, but what can I do?
It’s not like I can say I don’t have insomnia, I just cut down on sleep to study.
‘And this body of mine, even with just a little less sleep, gets dark circles right away!’
I returned the wet towel I’d used to wipe the nosebleed, thanked the Healer for the treatment, and stood up from my seat.
It’s time to return to the seat where the cute baby dragon is waiting for me.
I hurried on my way, but the Original Protagonist, who was late to catch up, called out to stop me.
“Karbaldr, you need to get your daggers!”
Reysir, who had received several daggers along with his spear from the event staff, pushed them toward me.
Only then did I realize that I, too, had left my weapons on the stage.
It was because I was so desperate to hurry and get some Yor therapy for healing.
“I thought they’d be damaged, so I deliberately left them there planning to throw them away, but they seem surprisingly intact.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed at my forgetfulness, I made up excuses as I took my daggers, and Reysir let out a snicker.
He must have noticed I was just making up excuses to hide my embarrassment.
Was it because I was rambling explanations that no one had asked for?
“Anyway, you’re really amazing.”
As I realized my slip-up and reflected on it, Reysir suddenly started praising me.
He must be talking about the match we just had.
He was holding back the whole time and took the win when he wanted, yet he’s still saying I’m amazing.
“Judging by that sullen look on your face, it seems my words don’t reach you at all. But I really mean it.”
“Yeah, right.”
“You, not long ago, found it overwhelming just to attempt a preemptive strike, didn’t you? But today, you had your next move ready in case your first attack failed… and every attack felt thoroughly planned.”
“……”
“In just a month, you’ve gotten incredibly skilled.”
“…….”
I had to press my lips tightly together and work hard to keep my facial muscles in check.
If I didn’t try hard to control my expression, I felt like an uncontrollable grin would break out.
Reysir… no, not just at that level, he was saying things I really wanted to hear.
“And you blocked my Aether Attribute ability too. I lowered the power, but I didn’t slow it down at all. You didn’t just wrap yourself in random Aether for defense, but you blocked precisely and efficiently, pinpointing every attack! I was honestly amazed.”
“W-well… In the end, I still got hit by your attack.”
“Ah, right. So even when your body was paralyzed, you still grabbed your dagger and tried to respond. That was really impressive.”
“……”
“Even at the moment you collapsed, you didn’t give up and tried to throw your dagger. If your condition had seemed okay, I would have wanted to keep going with the match. Such a shame.”
He picked out only the parts I was actually proud of, and spoke with genuine expression and voice.
I was overwhelmed by the shower of praise.
“And through this match…”
“S-stop.”
“Hm?”
“Enough. That’s enough.”
When he mentioned the last part, I thought it was finally over, but there was no sign of stopping.
I couldn’t help but cut off the Original Protagonist’s speech.
Reysir just nodded with a beaming smile.
“Yeah, I’d better stop. Your face is so red, you’ll get another nosebleed at this rate.”
“There’s no way that’ll happen, all right?”
“Want me to keep going then?”
“……”
Maybe the endless praise was just to tease me after all?
That thought flashed through my mind for a moment.
But he promised not to tease me in front of a crowd, so it couldn’t be.
And his words were sincere praise, nothing more.
‘Maybe I’m just awkward and embarrassed because I’m not used to being complimented…?’
I took a deep breath and forced myself to regain my composure, calmly analyzing my emotional state.
Karvald Austri used to get flattered a lot, but I never even heard that much.
Even my mother expressed more gratitude and apologies than compliments.
It would actually be strange for someone with my upbringing to accept praise naturally.
Though I did occasionally find praise comments from readers when serializing the novel… but seeing it in text and hearing it aloud are different.
“…Sniff.”
After using my usual all-purpose coping method, I quickened my pace and headed back to my seat.
“Meow meow~, meow meow meow~!”
Of course, the first to greet me was Yor.
Even the way he repeated ‘meow’ so honestly was cute, but it was a bit of a shame that I couldn’t see the scrawled letters and hear the various cries he left on the Whitenboard.
‘Still, from tomorrow I’ll be watching the matches from the general student area, so Nidhr won’t be able to come find me. Then Yor can act like his usual self.
Maybe it’s actually a relief I met Reysir in the second round and got eliminated.
With that thought, I hugged the baby dragon and started enjoying a healing time, but the humans had to butt in and interrupt.
“Ka-Karbaldr-nim. Y-you were really amazing! T-the lightning kept flashing, and you blocked a-all of it… You swung your Whip and even threw daggers…”
“You’ve got more grit than you look like.”
Liolikin’s comment was less praise and more just a listing of what he’d seen.
Nidhr’s words wore the skin of a compliment, but underneath were only prejudice and disdain.
‘Karvald Austri only caused trouble after entering the Academy, but how hard did he study and work on his refinement to get his father’s approval…
Because of that, neither of their words felt like genuine compliments.
Unlike when Reysir praised me, I didn’t feel anything and just moved on.
“And Reysir, you’ll probably meet in the finals.”
Nidhr’s attention quickly shifted to the Original Protagonist.
There was a glint of rivalry in his eyes, but his expression remained as confident as ever.
He must think blocking Reysir’s lightning several times was an easy feat.
“I’ll be looking forward to it. I hope you show just how special you are.”
Reysir smiled, curling up only the corner of his mouth as he stared coldly at Nidhr.
Even throwing in a jab using Nidhr’s words from chapter 113.
Watching that, it felt like all of Nidhr’s annoying antics so far were laying the groundwork for a satisfying comeuppance.
It stirred up the anticipation of how the Original Protagonist would utterly defeat that guy.
But the problem is, after that, this Original Protagonist is just going to drop out of school…
It’s like letting all the fizz out of soda before you drink it.
And someday, when Nidhr becomes a monster and misunderstands Reysir and I as close friends, he might try to take me hostage before fighting him.
I glanced sideways at the person sitting next to me.
Since I can’t talk about the original plot, I can’t even tell Reysir to just lose to Nidhr.
The more I think about it, the more anxious I get.
“Are you okay? Is your head hurting again? Did the treatment not work?”
Reysir stopped his staredown with Nidhr and suddenly worriedly checked my complexion.
It was because I had subconsciously rubbed my temple while agonizing.
Judging by his reaction, if anything happens, he’ll probably pick me up and rush me back to the Healer.
“It’s not that, so mind your own business.”
“Then what is it?”
“I just suddenly remembered something troublesome.”
“What is it?”
“…It’s a personal matter that has nothing to do with you, so don’t meddle.”
Though actually, it had everything to do with him.
But to make the persistent Reysir give up, I had no choice but to lie.
“If you ever need my help or want to talk to someone, just tell me anytime.”
He didn’t seem to have given up completely,
But for now, at least, he was backing off, so I decided to count that as a win.
“Karbaldr, I have something I’m curious about… Why is he so devoted to you?”
Suddenly, Nidhr posed a question.
I couldn’t tell his intention, nor did I understand why he was asking me and not Reysir himself.
So I frowned, giving him a look as if asking what nonsense he was spouting, and he started to elaborate on his curiosity.
“How in the world did you win him over, to the point where someone who used to torment him now genuinely worries about you?”
If someone had asked Reysir why he not only forgave Karvald Austri but even became fond of me, I would have said I didn’t know.
And honestly, I’d want to ask the same question myself.
But whatever his intent, on the surface, he was asking why Reysir worried about me.
“If a person has compassion, isn’t it only natural to worry about someone who’s hurt?”
I answered lightly without much thought.
That’s just common human decency, and a trait a novel’s protagonist should possess.
Unless you specifically wrote them as a sociopath, there’s no protagonist who doesn’t care at all about someone close to them being hurt.
“Do you think that’s why I asked?”
“Then ask properly. And why are you asking me about Reysir’s mindset with him sitting right there?”
“Don’t tell me you really don’t know? Liolikin said you have some kind of incredible charm that draws people in, but Reysir told everyone to keep it a secret between themselves and not tell anyone else.”
Since he knew Reysir wouldn’t answer, he came to me to ask.
I wondered what kind of conversation Liolikin and Nidhr must’ve had while Reysir and I were away.
So I glared at the one who would know best.
“H-he, he asked me to become his subordinate… but I said I didn’t want to follow someone who doesn’t even have friends. Then he explained that the ones clinging to Karbaldr-nim only care about your ducal family background, and that they just don’t know your charm… and as I tried to explain…”
Hearing that, I was dumbfounded and at a loss for words.
I’m just as friendless as him, and all the ones sticking to this body really do care only about the ducal background… so why was he trying to explain?
Wait, does that mean…
‘Nidhr, was he asking me for advice on how to make friends?’
He couldn’t have picked a worse person to ask.
If you ask me, I’m someone whose “age = years without a single friend” equation holds true.
“Anyway… that conversation between Reysir and Liolikin is news to me. If you wanted to refute the claim that everyone sticks to me just for my family, but couldn’t think of my good points, Liolikin probably just made something up. Otherwise… well… I don’t really know either.”
I didn’t want to bring up the conversation from chapter 112 myself.
So I went with a strategy of feigned ignorance, and it worked perfectly.
Nidhr didn’t ask me anything more after that.