“Ah, right. Come to think of it, I haven’t thanked you yet? Thanks for helping to rescue Hailga safely.”
Feeling somewhat reluctant, I glared silently at Reysir, who suddenly said something like that.
Since Reysir is the Original Protagonist, he should have been able to save Hailga on his own.
So, he probably didn’t really need my help.
“I already said thanks. Didn’t I say earlier in the carriage? I didn’t come here to help you…”
“To avoid the false accusation that you instigated the kidnapping?”
“Exactly. You know me well.”
“Yeah. I’m starting to understand what kind of person you are.”
His answer naturally made me frown.
Looks like he’s going to tease me again, treating me like a tsundere.
I can’t keep falling for Reysir’s wordplay forever.
This time, I must stay calm and respond coolly.
With that resolution, I answered with a sarcastic tone.
“So what nonsense are you trying to say this time?”
“I’m not trying to talk nonsense… Karvald Austri, you shouldn’t live like that.”
“…What?”
I expected him to smile and just tell me to stop being so shy.
But contrary to my expectation, Reysir looked at me with a worried expression and said something blunt with a cautious tone.
‘His expression and tone match, but why is the content so weird?’
My determination not to be shaken by a single word instantly evaporated.
In the end, I stood there blinking in dumbfounded silence.
‘Maybe my reaction was refreshing because Reysir even gasped in amazement.’
“Wow, that’s the first time I’ve seen that expression!”
“……”
“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant. Don’t get mad; I didn’t say it in a bad way.”
“I’m not mad. I’m just dumbfounded.”
“Good to hear that.”
“Enough with the useless talk, explain what you meant by that.”
I quickly wiped the absurd emotion off my face and put on the usual arrogant, prickly attitude typical of the Possession Body.
Reysir’s eyes sparkled with mischief for a moment as he opened his mouth but then stopped.
Looks like he decided it wasn’t the time for jokes.
“When I said you shouldn’t live like that, I meant you should just accept a simple ‘thank you’ once in a while.”
Reysir spoke carefully again with steady eyes.
The atmosphere was serious enough that I suspected he was trying to re-enter the failed influence event where I had stolen his lines earlier.
“Whatever reason you have for resolving this matter, I… no, Hailga and I definitely received help. Without your advice, I would still be anxiously running around trying to find Hailga. If you hadn’t come here, we couldn’t have used the mercenaries Tridrick hired against them, and this would not have been resolved so quickly and smoothly. I’m sure I would have gotten badly hurt, too.”
“Hmm…”
Now that I think about it, he’s right.
As the Original Protagonist, Reysir would’ve naturally handled this incident well on his own.
Because of that confidence, I never considered the hardships Reysir must have faced in the process.
That’s why he concluded there was no need to thank me, but I was wrong.
He deserves my gratitude.
Still, I couldn’t say, “You’re right. You should be thanking me!”
It doesn’t suit Karvald Austri’s character to immediately accept the other’s words so meekly and obediently.
Playing the role of another person in daily life isn’t easy at all.
Feeling uncomfortable, I wondered what Karvald would have said in this situation when Reysir spoke again, looking deeply regretful.
“Nobody’s ever sincerely thanked you for using you like this, so maybe it feels awkward to hear ‘thank you.’ But precisely because of that, you need to receive gratitude even for small things. If you refuse to accept thanks, people will keep using you without feeling sorry, and eventually, they’ll cross the line and harm you.”
‘Why am I, a guy barely out of his teens, getting a lecture like this?’
I know well enough that ungrateful people who don’t say thanks after receiving help should be weeded out quickly.
I can’t imagine the original Karvald Austri didn’t get at least some thanks.
‘What on earth does Reysir think of me?’
‘Could it be that he sees me as a tsundere pushover who can’t even collect a proper thank you despite being used by others?’
“And make sure you get an apology from now on, too.”
That actually makes sense.
But now, on top of not getting thanks, I also have to deal with not getting apologies?
“I think you’re misunderstanding me…”
“Misunderstanding? Then why did you do that to Liolikin? He used you. But you didn’t get an apology—you made him apologize to me and then ended the conversation immediately. That was his only purpose, and he acted like he didn’t need to be apologized to at all.”
Liolikin only used the original Karvald Austri, not me.
So I never even thought about making him apologize to me.
I guess Reysir was concerned about the part I overlooked.
“Besides, that guy didn’t even say thanks to you! Even though you gave him the chance!”
I thought it wasn’t something to be thankful for, so I let it slide.
If Liolikin decided to use me as a mental shield, I was planning to use him as a physical shield in return.
Since I decided to keep him by my side anyway, I might as well make use of him.
He’s pretty cowardly, so I do worry if he can even move without freezing in front of monsters.
But in the original story, he played the tank role in Karvald’s Demonic Realm Conquest team, so maybe it’ll work out somehow?
Though I shouldn’t trust him too much since he’s the kind to run away at critical moments.
‘There’s not much time left until the Graduation Ceremony. Instead of training myself, it’s probably faster to train Liolikin’s mindset!’
My plan is to have him take aggro from the boss monster just once when it targets me.
That would be enough.
The awakened professors present would somehow handle the rest, just like in the original.
***
While thinking this, Reysir muttered with a heavy expression, “Why are you so calm about it? It’s your problem…”
Maybe because this is the Possession Body’s business, it feels halfway like someone else’s to me?
That thought briefly crossed my mind but quickly subsided.
After all, someone right in front of me was emotionally stirred despite it being completely someone else’s problem.
That’s probably why I almost revealed my honest feelings without realizing it.
“I don’t know how to react… No, it’s nothing.”
As a person with a conscience, I’ll correct myself.
Anyone can clearly see that I didn’t almost say it—I actually said it.
Yor, standing beside me, tapped his forehead and used the gesture he learned from Professor Radvisin once again.
“You…”
“It’s a misunderstanding. It’s not that I find it strange or awkward that others worry about me. It’s just that what you said was so ridiculous it stunned me. There’s no way I’m the kind of person who refuses to accept thanks or apologies. What a pointless interference.”
“……”
“In Liolikin’s case, I just overlooked it. Since he was so submissive, I naturally assumed he said thank you or sorry.”
“……”
No answer came back.
He looked like he was at a loss for words, feeling sorry for me.
“So… you still don’t believe me?”
“No, I believe you. Yeah, definitely.”
“……”
“……”
Judging by the solemn atmosphere, there’s no doubt he doesn’t believe me.
I blamed myself for the frequent slips of the tongue today and irritably ran my fingers through my hair.
I hope I didn’t get unintentionally influenced. That would be a problem.
“If you’re done talking, I’ll be going back now.”
“There’s still more.”
“……”
“Just a very, very short while. Can you at least stop making that annoyed face?”
If he’s going to say it’ll only be a moment, he should just finish what he wants to say quickly instead of wasting time.
Having no reason to comply with Reysir’s request, I relaxed my facial muscles slightly but glared even more sharply.
Reysir’s face stiffened a bit as he finally spoke.
“Um, from now on, for meals… in the Dining Hall…”
“Do you really need my permission?”
“…No?”
“……”
He told me I couldn’t even accept thanks or apologies, yet he can’t confidently claim the rights he deserves without worrying about others’ opinions.
Thinking that, I looked at Reysir with disdain, then turned silently to go get on the carriage.
Unaware that I was mistaken.
“Karvald Austri, what time do you usually eat breakfast and dinner?”
It’s Monday today, and now it’s lunchtime.
And sitting across from me was Reysir.
I never expected that after saying “from now on, meals in the Dining Hall,” the omitted phrase would not be “is that okay?” but “shall we eat together?”
‘Why did you have to say it in such a confusing way from the start?! If you’d just plainly said, “Let’s eat together from now on,” I could have flatly refused! Or at least finish your sentence properly instead of trailing off!’
I couldn’t shake the suspicion that he did it on purpose.
Annoyed that I fell for his wordplay again, I ran my fingers through my hair to calm down.
Then a voice came from a diagonal direction.
“If your hair is bothering you while eating, would you like to borrow my hair tie?”
Hailga was holding out what’s called a scrunchie.
Not only had the protagonist from someone else’s novel joined me at the table, but he also brought along his childhood friend.
I ignored the hair tie she offered and glared at Reysir.
“Hailga also wanted to say thank you to you.”
“……”
“You’ll accept it, right? The thanks.”
If I said I didn’t need it, the misunderstanding would deepen, and Reysir would give another long speech.
A perfect catch-22.
“…Say whatever you want.”
I know this line sounds a bit snippy.
But to maintain the character of the Possession Body, this was the best response.
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Lmao he got dragged into friendship