“It’s not like I tried to hug Karbaldr recklessly. I just opened my arms, yet blocking me like this is a bit much, don’t you think?”
He was essentially saying he had been as considerate as possible in his own way, and it felt unfair and upsetting that it wasn’t being recognized.
It was a somewhat reasonable argument.
However, even after hearing that, Yor shook his head with an unwavering attitude.
“Meow-n, nyope.”
I presumed it meant something like, ‘It’s not too much.’
Even putting my own feelings aside, it would be a complete character break for Karbaldr to walk over and hug Reysir just because he opened his arms with a moved expression. Reysir surely knew that was an impossibility.
The fact that he kept opening his arms and gesturing for me to hug him was undoubtedly a trick to tease me. He probably thought I would show an entertaining reaction if he kept treating me like a stray cat.
“Do not make me out to be someone who goes back on my word.”
“Huh? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“If you tease me one more time, I will revoke my permission for you to use your skill.”
“I didn’t really have any intention of teasing you…”
“Did you truly have none at all?”
“Actually, maybe I did, just a little. I’m sorry.”
Reysir spat out a lie without a hint of guilt, but after I pressed him again, he finally admitted his fault and apologized. His attitude was quite brazen.
However, it didn’t seem right to call him back here later just to tell him to use the **[Truth-Reading Eye]** skill on me.
“I shall especially grant you my forgiveness. Consider yourself lucky.”
I said this while putting on an arrogant expression. But Reysir didn’t mind the condescending look at all; he just responded with a beaming smile, saying, “Thank you!”
It was beyond irritating.
Perhaps sensing my mood, Reysir stopped laughing. With a serious face, he adjusted his eyepatch and spoke cautiously.
“Can I take this off now?”
“Meow, kya-ong.”
At that timing, the baby dragon made a sound that vaguely resembled ‘Wait’ and spread his fingers wide. This was because I had a plan prearranged. Yor pulling out a whiteboard and writing the following was also part of that effort.
[Me first]
If Reysir were to see Yor’s status window as it truly was, without any distortion, he would realize Yor was a ‘dragon’ through the skill name **[Dragon Fear]**. And then I…
‘I’ll be able to secure more time to organize what I need to say regarding my identity!’
Or, I could explain that Yor being born as a dragon was because he was born with Sky-Blue Aether instead of the Purple Aether inherited by the House Austri. Then, I could ask him to delay reading my status window until later.
‘I know this isn’t a good method. But if Reysir shows a strange reaction after seeing Yor’s skill window, I’ll have no choice…’
I thought I had made a firm decision, but seeing this inner conflict suddenly arise, it seemed I wasn’t as certain as I thought. Was it because Reysir looked at me like I was a traitor back in chapter 243?
“Karbaldr. Yor says he wants you to look at his status window first. What should we do?”
“Do as Yor says.”
“Should I share the contents of Yor’s status window with you too?”
In response to Reysir’s question, I gave a slight nod to indicate that he should. Then, Reysir said, “Got it,” and moved past Yor, who was floating between us, to stick close to my side.
I had no idea what he meant by ‘got it.’
“Why are you coming so close?”
“Even if this is a good spot for secret talks, security isn’t perfectly guaranteed, is it? It’s not like we’re the only ones who can enter this Special Genre Novel corner… So, I thought it might be more comfortable for you if I whispered the contents of the status window?”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but nod. Although it was just the beginning, Risi had entered the Special Genre Novel corner in chapter 6. It was unlikely anyone would come here, but there was no harm in preparing for possible dangers.
‘Because it’s possible that the fact that I’m not the real Karbaldr could be revealed right here!’
It was just as I reached this conclusion and tilted my head toward Reysir while tucking my hair behind my ear. Yor thrust the whiteboard and a marker at Reysir.
“Uh… so… you want me to write it here?”
“Meow.”
“Ah, I see… Since no one can eavesdrop if it’s written down…”
“Meow-ng.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of something so obvious…?”
The protagonist of another novel received the whiteboard and marker with an embarrassed expression. Internally, I marveled at the baby dragon’s genius and wisdom. Although I moved my hair back to its original position, I stood side-by-side to his left instead of moving away.
This way, I could read what he wrote on the whiteboard immediately, and my image wouldn’t be caught in his right eye.
“Then I’ll take off the eyepatch now. I’ve warned you, so you can’t poke my eye just because you’re surprised, okay?”
Perhaps to shake off the awkwardness, the protagonist of another novel cracked a light joke and removed the eyepatch covering his right eye.
The moment he looked directly at the baby dragon floating in front of him with his revealed silver eye.
*Thump.*
“Wh——-?”
I saw Reysir’s eyes widen and his pupils dilate. It was a look of unmistakable shock.
‘His reaction is too fast…?’
He shouldn’t have opened the skill window yet. Since the proficiency of the **[Truth-Reading Eye]** was low, it couldn’t be because he saw Yor’s {Transcendental} attribute either. I had already told him in chapter 205 that the Aether levels were high, so that couldn’t be the reason either.
In that case, was it because his mental strength and attribute resistance stats were too high, even if they weren’t as high as his Aether? If it wasn’t even that…
‘Could it be… that a message saying **[You do not have permission to read this]** appeared?’
It seemed it had finally happened. Even after seeing such a warning message, Reysir had read the Special Genre Novel just fine. Even if a dangerous-looking red window appeared when looking at Yor and me, he wouldn’t distance himself from us by treating us as unknown entities, right?
I thought it would be okay, but that was more of an expectation or a wish than a certainty. Consequently, feeling my mouth go dry, I waited for Reysir to speak with a heart full of anxiety…
“Wait, was ‘Yor’ a nickname? His name is showing up as ‘Jormungand’…?”
I felt the tension drain out of me. I felt a sense of futility, wondering why I had been so anxious.
“What’s with that ‘this is unbelievable’ reaction? I’m the one who’s bewildered here.”
When I let out an accidental sigh, Reysir complained while glancing at me with only his right eye closed. If that had been all, I would have let it slide. However, I couldn’t do that because my baby dragon looked quite shocked.
“Yor’s true name is indeed ‘Jormungand.’ Since everyone was calling him Yor as if it were natural, I didn’t think to introduce him formally.”
“I understand. Even when Yor was first born, we weren’t close enough for you to formally introduce your familiar. But while you don’t allow me to call you by a nickname, you don’t mind me calling your familiar by one? That’s a bit unexpected…?”
“Well, unless Yor disliked being called by a nickname by others… I simply left it alone out of respect for Yor’s wishes.”
I spoke calmly as if it were no big deal, but internally, I was frantically checking Yor’s mood. The generous baby dragon glanced at me and then lightly patted my shoulder with his tail to signal his forgiveness.
For a moment, a wave of emotion washed over me, and I felt an impulse to tightly hug the merciful and lovely baby dragon. However, I endured it because Yor shook his head with an expression that said now was not the time.
‘Once we finish talking and return to the room, I’ll give him a proper apology and a big hug!’
Around the time I was making that resolution, Yor tapped the whiteboard with his index finger. He was telling Reysir that if his question about the true name was resolved, he should hurry up and write down what he had just seen.
Only then did Reysir’s hand, holding the pen, begin to move, and he soon wrote the words **[Name] Jormungand**. The stats were listed immediately below that.
“But do we have to do this verification here? Because of the Special Genre Novels around us, bright red windows are popping up all over my field of vision. My eyes hurt and it’s distracting… Can’t we move to my room?” Reysir suggested.
I couldn’t see what was in his sight, but it sounded chilling and uncomfortable just from his description. Thus, while I could understand his hardship, accepting the proposal was a separate matter. I hadn’t yet confirmed whether Yor’s **[Dragon Fear]** skill was visible without any cognitive distortion.
“My mind might change while we move. Are you okay with that?”
“I’ll just finish checking here.”
“Good choice.”
“You read everything I wrote here, right? I’m erasing it and moving on to the next part.”
“Do so.”
‘Was it because I had already planted a seed by saying there were skills I hadn’t mentioned?’ As if he had never complained, Reysir changed his attitude, wiped the whiteboard clean, and then moved his hand quickly to write the description of Yor’s Aether Attribute Skill.
***
**[Weather Change]** — (S)
: A skill to control atmospheric phenomena.
***
The description was so obvious from the name alone that it barely deserved to be called an ‘explanation.’ There wasn’t even a mention that he could only create rain clouds at his current stage. No matter how low the proficiency was, I wondered if it was okay for a skill with a name as grand as **[Truth-Reading Eye]** to be like this.
‘It’s a huge relief for me right now, so I have no complaints!’
Thinking that, I watched Reysir’s expression closely. Since he couldn’t read **[Attribute]** or **[Disposition]** at his current level, and many things were omitted from the skill descriptions, he obviously wouldn’t be able to read the **[Crustal Movement]** skill, which remained unawakened.
So, the next thing Reysir would see was Yor’s list of general skills, and since **[Dragon Fear]** fell into that category, he should have been very surprised if he saw it…
“Haha.”
Reysir let out a light laugh. Just as I was about to ask why he was laughing at that mysterious reaction, his hand wrote the following.
***
**[Enlargement]** — (D)
: Increases physical size.
***
As seen in chapter 143, Yor did not have an **[Enlargement]** skill. Instead, he had a **[Miniaturization]** skill that was always active. Moreover, its rank was ‘S’, not ‘D’.
I knew immediately. The **[Truth-Reading Eye]** was showing distorted content that did not live up to its name.
‘But still, this is too much.’
After erasing what he had just written, Reysir seemed to be manipulating the window visible only to him before making a strange sound, “Pfft—!” The phrase he wrote with a trembling hand while gritting his teeth was beyond ridiculous.
***
**[Cat’s Spirit]** — (C)
: When the kitty looks at you, you go ‘aww.’
***
It was absurd enough that **[Dragon Fear]** had turned into **[Cat’s Spirit]**, but the skill description wasn’t normal at all. At this rate, I couldn’t even scold Reysir for laughing. On the contrary, I felt like I should thank him for trying so hard to hold it in.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.