Chapter 126: Concern I Reject

“Haa….”

“Why the sudden sigh? Do you have something on your mind?”

Suddenly remembering what happened yesterday, I unconsciously let out a sigh, and the main character from someone else’s novel responded swiftly.

Last time—meaning in Chapter 63—it was about a supporting character from the original, so I confided my worries in the main character.

But this time, I don’t intend to do that.

No matter how much of a main character someone is, it’s already been proven that you can’t intervene without satisfying narrative logic.

Besides, this issue is the kind that’s utterly impossible to foist off on someone else for them to solve. I can’t reveal my circumstances or the contents of the original work, so I can’t even ask for advice.

‘If I wanted counseling!

There’s someone who’s about to die soon, and that person mistakenly thinks they left me with a trauma.

So, they say they’ll try to help me overcome that trauma.

They blame themselves so much that if I don’t show them I’m overcoming it, I feel like they’ll die with regrets.

But to show them what they want, I have to open my heart to them.

And if I do that, it’ll be too painful when I hear the news that they’ve died.

So, I can’t open my heart.

That’s what I’d have to say, right?’

There is a way to talk about this using a fictional terminally ill character, without revealing that the person is Skadi, and relay the story in a modified form.

But.

Worrying about the regrets someone else will carry to their death is, in any case, behavior that goes against their character.

I’d just end up hearing people say I’m soft-hearted or too sentimental.

So, for many reasons, it was impossible to confide in Reysir.

Ra.”

“There’s nothing going on, and even if there is, I won’t talk about it. So stop paying unnecessary attention to me.”

“You’re just as interested in other people’s business, aren’t you? And yet you call it unnecessary?”

“When have I ever… that… um….”

I reflexively wanted to protest that I never pried into others’ affairs, but there were too many examples that came to mind, so I had to close my mouth halfway.

Feeling my face grow hot, I glared at Reysir with a look of blame for no real reason.

That infuriating main character from someone else’s novel burst out laughing, ‘Puhaha!’

‘…Fine, laugh all you want for now. Starting next year, there won’t be many chances for you to laugh.’

With that thought, all my irritation faded away, replaced by a solemn mood.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but you do talk to Yor about it, right?”

Was it my solemn expression that led to this misunderstanding?

Reysir asked with a rather worried look.

“…What if I do?”

“That’s a relief. It means you’re not bottling it all up by yourself.”

“Meow meow.”

At Reysir’s words, Yor stood with his hands(?) on his hips, nodding triumphantly.

As you can see from his attitude,

I confided all my worries and anxieties to Yor.

‘To be honest, I didn’t really want to do that…

Yor was only born a few months ago.

No matter how wise my proud familiar is, he’s still just a baby.

So I didn’t want to share my negative feelings with him if I could help it.

Before Yor was born, I thought a familiar would be born just a little smarter than an ordinary animal, so I vented my feelings without worry, but Yor’s intelligence is way beyond that…

I didn’t want to be an adult who expected maturity, understanding, and comfort from a child.

I know all too well how burdensome that is from the child’s point of view.

But Yor, so admirably, was willing to help bear my burden even though I hadn’t wished for it.

If I stayed quiet, he’d start meowing at me, nagging.

I couldn’t understand his meowing, since he’s a cat, but

Even so, it’s not like I couldn’t sense I was being scolded.

So instead of keeping negative emotions bottled up inside, I began to speak them out loud.

While stroking his body, covered in smooth scales and soft mane.

‘If it weren’t for Yor, how would I have endured…’

I hugged and stroked my beloved baby dragon, then spoke up.

“If you’re thinking of finding out my worries through Yor, give up. Yor never leaks my secrets carelessly.”

“Myang, myang!”

“I wasn’t thinking that at all. I was just worried you might be suffering all alone, with no one to rely on.”

The urge to retort, “Why are you worrying about that?” rose up to my throat, but I swallowed it back.

If I said it, Reysir would surely reply, ‘Because I’m your friend.’ And I’m not in a position to refute that.

I didn’t want to get into any unnecessary arguments with a main character from someone else’s novel.

As always, I just made a ‘hmph’ sound and turned my head away, cutting off the conversation. A minute or two passed like that.

Knock knock—the staff entered and set our ordered drinks and food on the table before leaving.

For readers who might be wondering, ‘Wait, what staff? Where are they, anyway?’ let me explain.

First, it’s not just me, Yor, and Reysir here.

Vigdis, Liolikin, and Hailga are here too.

I omitted it because it wasn’t important, but just a moment ago, they were chatting quietly among themselves.

When I sighed and Reysir and I started our serious conversation, they closed their mouths and switched to spectator mode.

So why did we all gather here?

If you have a good memory, you might have already guessed.

It’s for Liolikin’s celebration party Reysir mentioned—a get-together set up back in Chapter 15.

The location is the Room Cafe.

Since it caters to noble students, it gives off the vibe of prioritizing emotional satisfaction over value for money.

But that’s just how the market is here.

Still,

‘Seeing as Reysir didn’t rent out a party room, it seems he really has fixed his habit of overspending.’

By the way, we agreed to split the bill evenly today, so I’ll end the informational aside here.

Back to the current situation.

“……”

I guarded my iced Americano from Vigdis.

Why the sudden narration about this? Because Vigdis tried to slyly swap her coffee with mine.

Because of that, I almost forgot about clause 4 of the Disengagement Contract and nearly scolded her first.

“Please, don’t misunderstand…! I wasn’t trying to poison you. If you don’t trust me, I can drink it right now.”

“I wasn’t suspecting you of that, so just explain what you were trying to do.”

“I was trying to secretly switch my decaf coffee with Kar’s regular coffee.”

“Why?”

“Kar, you have insomnia. And yet you insisted on ordering caffeinated coffee, so I thought I should quietly switch it…”

I have no idea how her train of thought works.

Wouldn’t it have been more normal to just suggest I drink decaf when ordering?

Of course, even if she’d done that, I would have flatly refused and ordered as I pleased.

“Unnecessary meddling.”

“Ah…, I thought you’d say that, so I tried to switch them secretly…”

Vigdis didn’t try to persuade me with logical arguments, but just mumbled gloomily and gave up.

I was pleased for a moment that I’d protected my precious caffeine, but that was short-lived.

“Karbaldr. You can’t sleep because of insomnia, so it’s natural to crave caffeine when you’re tired. But if you take caffeine, it’ll make your insomnia worse at night. So shouldn’t you refrain, if only to break the vicious cycle?”

That relentless main character from someone else’s novel stepped in to take Vigdis’s side.

“If you don’t like decaf coffee, how about swapping with the chamomile tea I ordered?”

Correction.

It seems Reysir also intended to swap my drink with his, but Vigdis beat him to it.

Unlike Vigdis, who lacks the force to push her opinion, Reysir never backs down.

“…Vigdis.”

“Ah, you’ll swap with my decaf coffee? Good decision.”

I handed the caffeinated coffee I’d been cradling with both hands to Vigdis and received the decaf drink in exchange.

I could always drink the caffeinated coffee back at the dorm anyway.

With that compromise, I sipped the decaf coffee. It tasted bitter.

She’s my older sister’s tsundere fiancé, so worrying about me is natural. But Rey, Vigdis—

“You…”

Hailga shot a sidelong glance at Reysir with a sour expression as she said this.

I really didn’t like being referred to that way.

But if I complained, Hailga would surely ignore it, so I stayed silent.

“I’m Karbaldr’s friend. Isn’t it normal to worry about a friend’s health?”

“There’s nothing strange about it. But I’m his friend too, you know? And I’ve known him way longer than that tsundere princeling.”

“Helli, are you… sulking? Do you feel neglected because I’ve been paying attention to my new friend instead?”

“Yup. Is that a problem?”

“Uh…? I-I mean, it’s not a problem, but…”

At Hailga’s brutally honest reply, Reysir looked visibly flustered.

And then, Hailga—

“Ahahaha! Just kidding, just kidding~! Ever since I enrolled in the Academy, I’ve also spent a lot of time hanging out with new friends instead of you!”

She burst out laughing, as if she’d never worn a sullen face.

But that doesn’t mean she really wasn’t bothered.

Maybe she brought it up half in jest, but the other half was probably a genuine expression of feeling left out.

Reysir seemed to realize that too, showing a slightly sheepish expression.

“Still, sorry. From now on, I’ll pay more attention to you too, Helli. If you ever have any worries, just tell me anytime!”

“That’s enough, that’s enough~. No need to beg for forgiveness or anything, geez….”

Hailga shot back with a snort, but she couldn’t hide the satisfied smile spreading across her face.

She must have liked Reysir’s response quite a bit.

‘Still, even as a figure of speech… isn’t it weird to talk about “bowing down and receiving an apology” in this world?’

It’s just as odd as using ‘let’s eat rice’ to mean ‘let’s have a meal,’ even though rice isn’t the staple food.

And in a world where the concept of ‘bowing’ doesn’t even exist, can an expression like ‘groveling for forgiveness’ even be a thing?

But then again, thinking back to Chapter 37, where an extra knelt and banged their head on the floor, maybe it’s not so far-fetched after all.

-!!”

“I-I…! U-uh, Karbaldr-nim is always my number one…! R-right now and a-and forever…”

Just as I was getting lost in a serious analysis, despite knowing how shoddily constructed this world is.

Liolikin, who’d been watching for a chance to join in the conversation, suddenly spoke up in a loud voice.

Technically, today’s party is for Liolikin, so he must really have wanted to get some attention.