Chapter 121: Afterparty

“…I’m not going to say another word.”

“Sorry, sorry. I really didn’t mean to tease you. I was just so happy you kept saying such nice things to me.”

“Hmph!”

Reysir Daudabina tried to apologize and offer excuses, but it was pointless.

Since I wasn’t at all mollified, I simply shut my mouth and responded with a snort.

Despite my cold attitude, Reysir kept laughing for a few more seconds before he finally spoke again.

“Karbaldr. You were always so wary of Nidhr, right? To the point that you were stressed out worrying about him.”

“……”

I frowned at the Protagonist of Another Novel’s words.

He knew how much Nidhr stressed me out, and yet, he thoroughly crushed him in the finals.

But still….

‘It’s not like Reysir did it just to give me more things to worry about, right?’

He probably thought he was solving the problem in his own way. He knows all too well how ugly Nidhr can get when overcome by inferiority.

So, without hesitation, he stomped on Nidhr’s pride, which looked down on others in his sense of superiority.

“So, I figured you’d be curious about what I talked to him about during the match. Like, I could have subdued him without hurting him, so why did I finish it with a blow strong enough to knock him out…. I thought you’d ask questions about those things.”

In other words, Reysir sat next to me so he could answer any questions I might have.

But I, misreading the situation, ended up offering not just congratulations and praise but even gratitude.

After working through that interpretation, I felt a brief moment of embarrassment, but reason quickly overcame it.

‘Don’t get flustered, analyze it calmly. There’s no way Reysir didn’t expect me to congratulate or praise him, right? Maybe he didn’t expect thanks…!’

After hearing everything he wanted from me—

He was planning to tell me he sat next to me for questions, just to enjoy seeing me get embarrassed.

He really is as sly as a fox.

“Why are you suddenly glaring at me with such a disgruntled look?”

“…Hmph.”

“Do you really mean to keep that promise of silence? For how long?”

Faced with the Protagonist of Another Novel’s antics, I genuinely wanted to keep my mouth shut forever.

But realistically, that wasn’t possible, and I still had to discuss Nidhr with Reysir.

So I decided on a compromise.

“Yor. Tell Reysir that I have no intention of talking to him until all the matches are over, since I want to focus on watching.”

“Myaang~!”

My baby dragon answered cheerfully and meowed at Reysir.

The Protagonist of Another Novel let out a helpless laugh at that, but at least my message got across.

Reysir closed his mouth with a simple, “Let’s talk later then.”

And so, I’ll continue the story after a scene change.

Same day, in the evening.

The setting: a Private Room at a Fine Dining Restaurant.

Reysir had brought us here to celebrate his tournament victory with his prize money.

Honestly, I just wanted to return to the Academy and eat a simple meal in peace.

But apparently, he didn’t just make a reservation—he pre-ordered dinner for everyone.

So, what choice did I have but to come along?

“Reysir. If you keep squandering your windfalls like this, you’ll end up ruined one day.”

As expected of the Academy, where most students are from noble families, the tournament’s prize money was quite generous.

Still, I couldn’t help but worry about how recklessly the Original Protagonist was spending.

Especially since it was my fault he became this way in the first place.

“Are you worried about my future now?”

“There you go again with your nonsense. Why would I be worried about your future? Rather than wasting your prize money on food that’ll disappear as soon as it’s digested, it’d be more reasonable to buy a weapon that matches your skill.”

“Uh…, I’ll try to live more reasonably from now on.”

“Good, you should.”

I nodded in satisfaction at Reysir’s answer.

But that feeling didn’t last.

Because the Protagonist of Another Novel started spouting nonsense again.

“And as for the rest of the prize money, I’ll save it and add some allowance to buy a really good weapon later. So please, don’t even think about buying one for me. That’d be too much of a burden.”

“What…? Why would I ever buy you a weapon?”

“Right, you don’t have to. That’s why I’m telling you not to.”

“No, no. I’m saying I never even thought of doing that.”

“But you kept being bothered by how shabby my weapon was, right? Enough to wish I’d hurry up and change it?”

“Ah… No..! Whether you use a good weapon or not, what does that have to do with me? Hah, unbelievable. How can you think such ridiculous things? Your logic is beyond me.”

Despite my desperate explanations, not a single person believed me.

Liolikin Tremmler looked at Reysir with envious eyes and muttered, “K-Karvald Austri-nim worrying about you… That must be so nice.”

Hailga and Vigdis Shalbrady had their own conversation.

“Vigdis, what do you think about your fiancé’s remarks?”

“He seems very concerned. About both Reysir’s future and his weapon.”

“Right? So it’s not just me. I mean, to follow up ‘I’m not worried about your future’ with advice to change your weapon—that’s a classic tsundere move.”

Apparently, to everyone else, my words sounded like tsundere-style concern.

All I wanted was to fix the Original Protagonist’s ruined sense of money—something that was my fault.

But I couldn’t just tell him to pinch every penny, could I?

That’s why I emphasized reasonable spending and told him to get a better spear….

‘Even if I explain it like this, the readers are never going to believe me. They’ll just say I’ve been consumed by the tsundere concept.’

It’s frustrating.

I’m the one who wants to get rid of this damned tsundere image more than anyone.

“But tsundere Young Lord isn’t exactly wrong.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I saw the weapons everyone brought to the tournament—they all looked expensive and nice…. Rey, your spear is the same kind issued to our territory’s soldiers, right? You might think as long as it works, who cares how it looks. But as your friend and family, I felt uneasy the whole time.”

Hailga ignored my protest and spoke to her childhood friend, deadly serious.

She used that mortifying nickname not to tease me, but out of genuine concern.

That only made me feel even more embarrassed.

So much so, I no longer wanted to defend her father.

Still, as the narrator, I must explain.

Baron Diyuf Bitnir didn’t withhold a decent weapon from Reysir out of stinginess.

His guardian actually wanted to buy him a new weapon as a present for entering the Academy.

But Reysir stubbornly refused, insisting he liked the one he was used to.

He’d received so much from Diyuf that his gratitude turned into a sense of debt.

And he’d never experienced a weapon of truly exceptional quality, so he couldn’t appreciate the difference.

With ‘all weapons are the same anyway’ stuck in his head, it was only natural he kept seeking good value.

‘There’s even an Original Work episode where he breaks that mindset after receiving a weapon from a skilled blacksmith…

But that happens long after he drops out of the Academy.

By then, Reysir and I will be completely out of touch, strangers to each other.

So, I decided not to dwell on it and focus on the present.

“Anyway! My point is this: excessive consideration for others can actually make them uncomfortable, so go easy. Even the tsundere Young Lord worried about your spending habits. He only noticed because you reserved an expensive restaurant!”

I wanted to say, ‘I’m not a tsundere Young Lord and I never worried about Reysir’s spending habits,’ but swallowed those words instead.

If I said that now, they’d just tell me to go easy, too.

So I just quietly ate, waiting for this moment to pass.

“…I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“Still, if my dad offers to buy you a weapon, you’ll refuse and use your prize as pocket money, right?”

“Well, it’s just… I already have money, so getting help feels a bit…”

“We’re family, you know. Have you ever thought about how much that would upset my dad?”

“…No. I was only thinking about how I felt, and didn’t consider Diyuf-nim’s feelings.”

Reysir hung his head, mumbling in regret. Seeing that, I was struck by a strange feeling.

Not even the Original Work ever had a scene like this.

Meaning, the only person who can hit the Original Protagonist with hard truths is Hailga—but Senna, the author, wrote her out early in the story.

A blunder if ever there was one.

“My dad sent you money for winning the tournament, so you could eat something nice with your friends. I’m paying for dinner tonight with that money, so don’t you dare refuse. If you really think of me and my dad as family.”

“Alright, I’m sorry. I was wrong. Just, don’t misunderstand and think I don’t see you and Diyuf-nim as family.”

Hailga, watching Reysir’s surrender, looked as relieved as if a bad tooth had been pulled.

To her, Reysir was clearly family.

But his constant attempts not to be a burden must have grated on her for a long time.

‘Still, when we got here, I planned to talk to Reysir about Nidhr…

Truly, this world from someone else’s novel is impossible to predict.

All I did was warn him not to squander his money, but it turned into a family drama starring Reysir and Hailga.

I haven’t even gotten to the main topic yet.

Still, now that the family drama has ended on a warm note, it’s all good. As a healing novel writer, I’m more than satisfied.

‘I’ll ask my questions near the end of the meal. No need to ruin this good mood with talk about the Original Work’s villain.’