This Novel is not my Novel

'Just now, Fjodora's gaze went over my right shoulder...'

There was no need to look around. I turned right around and faced that direction.

And there, I saw a faint teal light growing brighter.

This wasn't a guess; I was able to aim precisely at the target and throw the dagger.

Since it was a training dagger with no edge, I figured it wouldn't be dangerous if it hit, so I aimed for her torso.

But the dagger didn't hit her torso; it hit her arm.

She had thrown herself to the side the moment her spatial movement finished, so it was only a glancing blow.

It's not really my place to think this, since I failed to hit my target precisely, but the time it takes to cross space is too long...?

If she gets used to moving her body the moment her 【Spatial Leap】 skill activates, she'll probably be able to dodge most pinpoint attacks like the one I just threw.

The reason I added the restriction of "most" was because...

I felt that if an attack was as fast as Raysir's lightning and thunder, it would be difficult to dodge completely.

And she'd have no choice but to be hit by an area-of-effect attack.

My current confrontation with Fjodora is just part of our training.

When it comes to actual combat, Fjodora will be fighting alongside me on the same side.

Knowing that, I couldn't help but be concerned.

After she completes the goal Professor Radvisin gave her, "to instantly capture a safe location and move there,"

I should probably suggest she try training in a way that reduces her travel time.

It would be a little awkward for me to tell Fjodora directly, so maybe through Professor Radvisin...?

I haven't mentioned it until now because the timing wasn't right, but...

When the 【Encouragement】 buff, which enhances Ether Attribute Skills, is applied to my 【Character Analysis】 skill, maintaining it has become much easier.

So, the Thought Acceleration effect didn't disappear just because a "few" random thoughts mixed in.

But if the random thoughts continued, the 【Character Analysis】 skill would eventually deactivate.

Let's focus on the battle again and carefully observe Fjodora's movements.

Fjodora revealed herself from behind a tree, shot an arrow at me, then moved behind me and attempted a close-range attack.

Then, she reappeared far away and hid behind a tree.

By repeating this pattern—hiding and then moving behind another tree—she induced me to lose track of where she had moved.

Because of that, I actually lost her position a few times.

Fjodora seized those opportunities and shot arrows from outside my field of vision.

Still, it was fortunate that I was able to spot the arrows before they reached me and react, narrowly deflecting them with my dagger or dodging.

However, this was nothing more than barely keeping up with my opponent's movements.

And I was relying on the Thought Acceleration effect of the 【Character Analysis】 skill, which I couldn't maintain for long.

My only successful attack was the first and last one, when I missed her torso and hit her arm.

Since then, instead of using 【Spatial Leap】 right in the middle of close combat, she would retreat to secure some distance, shoot an arrow, and then move.

This was to delay me, preventing me from immediately throwing a dagger at her destination.

As long as Fjodora didn't let her guard down,

I couldn't help but keenly feel that at my current level, defeating her was beyond my abilities.

Just holding on is starting to get overwhelming...

It had been a while since my head had started throbbing.

Would I lose my ribbon to Fjodora, unable to maintain the 【Character Analysis】 skill any longer?

Or would I give it up to Pret, who had returned after snatching Vigdís's ribbon?

I could feel these two endings racing toward me with every passing moment.

And then, the limit was finally reached.

The moment Pret shot out from between the trees and Yor flew into my sight, chasing after him,

my head suddenly spun, my mind went blank, and the 【Character Analysis】 skill was canceled.

When Fjodora used 【Spatial Leap】 to move behind me, I couldn't react at all.

As a result, I took the full force of her swung bow right on my back.

As described above, Yor was flying this way in pursuit of Pret, so...

"Nyaaaalk!!"

Yor, who had witnessed me get hit and fall, let out a scream that was closer to a shriek.

If I knew this would happen, should I have just given up the ribbon earlier instead of holding on until I reached my limit?

That thought flashed through my mind the instant I collided with the ground.

So, to make Yor worry about me even a little less, I hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from my inventory, pressed it to my nose, and sat up.

I wanted to get up completely since sitting on the dirt floor felt a bit unpleasant,

but if I did that and staggered, I'd only make Yor more worried instead of easing her concerns, so this was the best I could do.

As for the reason I covered my nose, well...

It's for the very reason you readers are probably expecting.

"Yaaong, yaoooong..."

Unlike Pret, who had stopped at a distance, Yor didn't stop and reached my side.

The baby dragon examined my condition closely with a worried expression.

She didn't sob uncontrollably like when I had my first nosebleed in Chapter 94, but...

To react like this when I just took a hit during a sparring match...

The thought that it would be a real disaster if I got hurt in actual combat naturally came to mind.

But the problem is, just deciding not to get hurt doesn't mean I can actually avoid it.

As I was wondering how I could reassure Yor,

"Karvaldr, are you okay?!"

Raysir rushed over, nearly tripping as he knelt before me, and asked the question.

Could it be that he was so worried watching me fall that he momentarily exerted power beyond his abilities and broke free from Ríolíkin and Lausa's guard?

I thought that was entirely possible.

Having your potential explode and suddenly getting stronger the moment you see an ally in crisis is a special skill that any protagonist of a fantasy novel would have.

I was sure that was the correct answer, but...

"Raysir, you... What happened to your ribbon?"

I couldn't help but ask, because the neck of the protagonist of someone else's novel was bare.

"Ah, hahaha..."

"It was taken by the princess's familiar, sir. I got distracted when Lord Yor screamed."

It was Ríolíkin who explained the situation, speaking for the protagonist of someone else's novel who was trying to laugh it off.

I looked at Raysir, my face showing my doubt as to whether that was true.

"......Yeah, that's what happened."

And I took in the sight of his face, which wore an awkward smile as he spoke.

It was so absurd that I was speechless.

The owner of that face was silent, having no words to say.

It was Fjodora who broke the silence that followed.

"A-Are you okay...? I naturally assumed you'd be able to dodge it this time, too..."

Her expression was full of bewilderment, telling me it wasn't an excuse; she had genuinely thought that when she swung her weapon.

She even seemed to have forgotten that she was supposed to take my ribbon.

There was no room to doubt her sincerity.

"It's fine. It's natural to get hurt during training, is it not? If Your Royal Highness the Princess shows such an expression, then neither I nor the other students can face you with our full strength. We would be afraid of the repercussions of accidentally harming you."

"......!"

At my remark, Fjodora flinched, then completely wiped the apologetic, flustered look from her face.

Fjodora is a character whose setting states she is adept at hiding her emotions and managing her expression.

Knowing this, I only found her quick change in expression interesting, but...

To others, isn't this a situation where they might mistake her previous show of bewilderment for an act...?

Just as a wave of regret was about to wash over me, wondering if I'd said something unnecessary,

Fjodora fortunately took out a glass bottle filled with a red, transparent liquid from her inventory.

It was the highest-grade healing potion, which Yor had used on Ríolíkin back in Chapter 134.

"You must have hit your nose when you fell. As the bleeding does not seem to be stopping, drink this. How else are we to continue the training?"

I couldn't help but think it would have been better if she'd just silently handed me the potion.

I had a potion myself, so I considered refusing, but I reached out with my unstained hand, pretending to take it.

And I snatched Fjodora's wrist and pulled.

Fjodora, unprepared for the surprise attack,

was forced into the same kneeling position as Raysir, though unlike him, it was not of her own will—

"What is this—!"

The moment Fjodora reflexively started to get angry at my sudden action,

I quickly snatched her ribbon.

Then, the anger on Fjodora's face vanished, replaced by dismay.

"Ah... heavens... I'd forgotten I was supposed to take your ribbon."

"Your finish was sloppy."

That wasn't me who just replied.

It was Pret, who said it as he pulled on the tail of the purple ribbon around my neck, untying it.

He was standing far away when I saw him earlier; I have no idea when he started crouching next to me.

"You let your guard down too, Senior Karvaldr."

As he said that, Pret dangled the ribbon he had just undone.

My body wasn't in any state to enter combat right now anyway, so I didn't feel the slightest bit of regret.

In the end, I did lose my ribbon to Pret, but I succeeded in taking Fjodora's before that.

I was able to seize it because Fjodora was flustered by the fact that I not only got hit and fell, but also got a nosebleed.

It was practically handed to me, so I wasn't exactly satisfied.

Still, it was some comfort.

"Then I'll go free Senior Vigdís from the trap and untie her ribbon, too. I left Senior Vigdís in the trap because I wanted to join up with Senior Fjora quickly."

With that, Pret stood up and headed back the way he came.

Does that mean Yor also left Vigdís caught in the trap...? Then again, it's not like she was in any particular danger even if she was trapped, and Pret was heading my way. Yor must have decided that helping me was the priority.

As I was thinking that, Yor pushed the potion at me and meowed.

When I had taken Fjodora's ribbon,

Yor had taken the potion for me, opened the lid, and was now handing it to me.

I took it and drank, and not only did my throbbing headache disappear, but my nosebleed also stopped immediately.

It's just a shame that there's a setting that you can't overuse potions because their effect is halved for a while after one use.

By the way...

"You told me to fix my habit of swallowing my screams, so you could help me in time when I'm in danger. Yet you couldn't even focus on your own fight when you heard Yor scream, and got your ribbon stolen?"

I said, glaring at the protagonist of someone else's novel.

He, who had been glancing at me furtively as if he knew his fault, once again showed an awkward smile.

He must think I'm the type to go easy on a smiling face.