“Anyway, I understand the situation well. So, I just need to go talk to that professor, right?”
I hadn’t said a single word yet about Skadi’s contradictory attitude or her past.
And yet, he already figured out her circumstances?
This is supposed to be a scene demonstrating the protagonist’s superior intelligence and insight, where the easiest way is to deduce the truth from insufficient clues.
‘No matter what, this is a bit too much. It’s not just a lack of clues; it’s almost as if there aren’t any.’
I felt a wave of embarrassment wondering if this kind of lack of plausibility was acceptable…
To cut to the chase, I was mistaken.
And Reysir was mistaken too.
“Don’t worry so much. You might have annoyed me, but you sincerely apologized and promised you wouldn’t do it again, right? You even stepped in to help when Heilga was kidnapped.”
“……?”
“Your tone is sharp, but I think you’re naturally kind-hearted. Sure, you went off the rails last semester, but that was because you had a guy like Tridric hanging around you, so there’s some room for understanding.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“What do you mean ‘what am I talking about’? I’m saying you’re definitely not a bad person, and I’ve already forgiven you. I’ll talk to the professor properly. I don’t know who he is exactly, but if he’s a decent adult, he’ll surely understand you and look at you with leniency.”
Hearing Reysir’s words, I realized something.
Because he was the Original Protagonist, I had overestimated him.
No wonder he seemed to pick up on things so quickly—it was actually the opposite.
He hadn’t grasped Skadi’s situation at all, nor what I wanted.
“You, the victim, defending me, the perpetrator—what are you trying to do?”
“What are you even saying? Should I defend you or have that professor join in on insulting you?”
“They might not insult you, but they should at least empathize.”
I sighed deeply, holding my forehead.
Reysir looked baffled by my reaction.
“I don’t get it. Weren’t you worried that the professor disliked you and might deliberately give you failing grades?”
“The exam will probably be fine. Since it’s a practical test, there will be many eyes watching. There’s a limit to how much personal feelings can influence the scoring.”
“So you’re confident in that professor’s class?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
I had thoroughly analyzed and reviewed the movements learned in Dagger Arts class to apply them to Whip Technique.
I thought about telling Reysir this, but there was no need.
“No, Dagger Arts isn’t exactly easy to learn. So if you’re confident about the exam, it means you concentrated well in that professor’s class and studied hard… You must feel uneasy now that you suddenly dislike him.”
“……”
Even without me saying anything, Reysir noticed my efforts and accurately guessed how I felt.
I thought only Yor would understand me like that.
Sure enough, if the right clues are given, the protagonist’s unique insight works flawlessly.
“To get back to the point, I suspect Professor Skadi is currently being ostracized to a degree bordering on harassment by her fellow professors. It’s just my personal guess for now, but considering the circumstances, the possibility is quite high.”
Before Reysir could start another sympathy event, I quickly steered the conversation back to the original topic.
But the novel’s protagonist wouldn’t cooperate with my plans today either.
“You seem to like that professor a lot.”
“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?”
“I told you not to defend yourself in front of him. Since you have at least a human fondness for him, wouldn’t it make more sense to prioritize understanding his feelings rather than defending yourself?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then you gave up defending yourself for someone you don’t even particularly like?”
“Stop with the unrelated talk. You’re the reason this conversation isn’t progressing.”
“Are you annoyed because you have no comeback?”
“……”
Because I’d read the original novel, I couldn’t help but like Skadi as a character.
But since I knew she was destined to die soon, I was always aware that I shouldn’t like her as a person.
‘Human fondness?’
Absolutely not.
‘I can’t. I mustn’t.’
“Sorry…?”
“What are you sorry for?”
“Well… I don’t know. Seeing your expression, I just felt like I should apologize…”
“……”
I didn’t have the nerve to ask what kind of expression I was making.
So I just quietly looked down and walked forward.
The conversation wasn’t over yet, but since I’d conveyed the important information to the Original Protagonist, I expected Reysir to handle the rest.
“But now that you’ve finally shared your worries, I don’t think there’s anything I can do to help.”
Reysir’s words shattered my hopes, forcing me to stop dead in my tracks.
“You won’t get involved? Someone might be going through a similar ordeal to what you experienced last semester. Doesn’t that bother you at all?”
“It does. But what can a mere student do by interfering in professors’ affairs?”
Regrettably, that wasn’t wrong.
If professors were to physically assault Skadi in front of students, then those professors might get disciplined or expelled and the problem would be resolved.
But if it’s just discreet workplace bullying, a student stepping in won’t help.
Even if a complaint is made, the Academy would likely ignore it.
“So, we have to help Professor Skadi overcome this on her own.”
Skadi was a formidable figure—she even assassinated the leader of an assassination guild.
Yet, she’s being bullied, which means her own mindset is probably the problem.
She must be punishing herself with guilt for the murders she committed in her past as an assassin, thinking she deserves the suffering.
“How?”
“You just need to use your specialty.”
“What specialty?”
“Deeply empathizing with the other person’s story and delivering words that shake their heart, inspiring them.”
“I have that specialty? I’m hearing that for the first time. Karvald, have you ever been moved by anything I said? So you’re inspired?”
“……!”
Realizing I had dug my own grave, I belatedly regretted it, but it was too late.
Instead of the Original Protagonist stepping up to solve the problem, he gave up without even trying.
So, in a moment of frustration, I unintentionally caused trouble.
“Oh, really? You always deny being close, so I didn’t even know.”
“You’re saying I’m inspired by you? Ha! I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s such a thing as too much misunderstanding, and this is borderline pathological.”
“Is it really a misunderstanding? Then why did you say inspiring others is my specialty? And you said it like it was an obvious fact.”
“Ah, cut it out! Stop with the off-topic remarks!”
His teasing smile so close to my face made me angry.
I couldn’t help but push Reysir’s face away with my palm and raise my voice.
Even the original Karbaldr would’ve reacted the same way in my position.
That was how annoying Reysir’s behavior was just now, so I don’t think I was out of character.
“Yeah.”
“Being from a family that’s accompanied by felines and spirit beasts for generations, you sure react like a cat.”
Reysir didn’t seem to see my reaction as out of character either, but instead of relief, I just got more annoyed.
Not only am I treated like a tsundere, now I’m being treated like a cat.
***
Meanwhile, Yor looked at me with a sympathetic expression, meowing softly, so I couldn’t even get mad.
So I glared at Reysir silently, and he wiped the smile off his face, returning to a serious tone as he continued the original conversation.
“Thanks for discovering a specialty I didn’t even know I had. But I still don’t think I can help.”
“…Why not?”
“Well, I don’t even know that professor. Isn’t it weird to just go to him and say, ‘I heard you’re being bullied by your colleagues. That must be tough’ out of nowhere?”
“……”
“Besides, I’ve already reconciled with you. I’m not only free from bullying, but I’m on good terms with you, the perpetrator. Wouldn’t it be deceitful to offer sympathy and comfort to someone who might still be suffering from bullying?”
“……!!”
He was right.
Leaving it to Reysir to solve Skadi’s problem was impossible from the start.
This is a world inside a novel, so I vaguely assumed the Original Protagonist would naturally handle things well.
That idea was fundamentally wrong.
‘No matter how much he’s the Original Protagonist, if the plausibility isn’t there, he can’t even begin to solve the incident… because this is a world inside a novel.’
For Reysir to get involved and solve this, two conditions must be met at minimum:
First, the two of them must know each other.
Second, Reysir must still be exposed to Karbaldr’s bullying.
Maybe the original author planned to have these two meet at the Academy eventually.
So that Reysir wouldn’t just unilaterally save Skadi, but both would grow together and solve their problems on their own…
Perhaps was intended to be an academy story from beginning to end.
But the author might have struggled to write it as an academy story.
So, they hastily made the protagonist drop out and sent him spinning through the Demonic Realm instead.
If that’s why the path for Reysir and Skadi to bond over shared suffering and grow together was blocked…
‘Isn’t it quite natural that the setting of “Skadi being ostracized by fellow professors” exists but isn’t described in the original?’
‘More importantly, what should I do now? If I can’t leave Skadi’s problem to Reysir…’
First, I should investigate whether Skadi is really being bullied.
‘There’s no guarantee my guess is correct. No matter how much of a web novel author I am, this isn’t my novel.’
Therefore, there’s plenty of room for my speculation to be wrong.
If anyone reads these thoughts, they’d probably say I’m escaping reality.
But for me, I have no choice but to cling desperately to this hope.
If I don’t have to get deeply involved in Skadi’s affairs, and Skadi hasn’t suffered, ‘What better outcome could there be?’
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