This Novel is not my Novel

After finishing dinner, returning to my room, and taking a shower,

I changed into light casual clothes rather than pajamas and left my room.

The reason was that, as mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 286, I now needed the information Pret had gathered on the confession villain.

And so...

Knock, knock, knock.

I found myself knocking on Reisir's door.

I had no intention of going inside. I only planned to collect what I needed and return to my room.

But even if I was only standing outside his door, this was still my first time visiting someone else's living space, so I was more nervous than I had expected.

Was that why?

"Who is it?"

"Well... that is... It's me, Karvaldr."

At the question from beyond the door, I ended up stammering without meaning to.

The instant I realized what I had done, embarrassment surged through me.

It would have been nice if I had been given time to cool the heat rising to my face, but the merciless protagonist of someone else's novel refused to allow it.

A loud clatter came from inside, and before even five seconds had passed, the door flew open.

"It really is Karvaldr?!"

No. It was a fake Karvaldr.

But I could hardly confess my true identity, so I decided not to correct him and let it pass.

"I came because there is something I wish to borrow."

"From me...? I don't know what you want to borrow, but come in first."

"This is not something that requires a lengthy conversation. I truly came only to borrow an item..."

"Are you planning to go somewhere right now?"

"No. I intend to return directly to my room."

"Then unless you're busy, just come in."

Reisir said that, opened the door wide, and even stepped aside.

As the one who had come to borrow something, I could no longer refuse his invitation.

And so I ultimately set foot inside someone else's living space.

"Don't just stand there hovering near the entrance. Change into the slippers first, then go sit in that chair."

"W-Who are you saying is hovering?!"

"You are, right now. You're even stammering."

"No, that is... I... well..."

I had nothing to say in my defense.

As I silently removed my shoes and slipped my feet into the slippers, I heard Reisir snickering.

The more nervous I looked, the more entertaining the protagonist of someone else's novel would find this.

Knowing that, I deliberately strode over to the chair Reisir had indicated with as much confidence as I could muster and sat down.

"I thought taking off outdoor shoes at the entrance and keeping the floor clean was pretty nice. So I tried doing it too. What do you think?"

Was it thanks to my confident demeanor?

Reisir quickly stopped laughing and asked the question with a faint smile.

Come to think of it, in this world, wearing shoes indoors was the standard custom.

But taking my shoes off at the entrance was so natural to me that I might not have noticed at all if Reisir had not mentioned it.

"Even if you ask what I think, I have nothing particular to say... Do you want me to praise you for doing well?"

"That wasn't why I asked, but I'd like it if you did!"

"I will not."

"Ahahaha! That's fine too. Come visit often instead."

"That will not happen. If I have business with you like today, I may visit again..."

"Right, right. Once you visit on business and end up spending time with me, eventually spending time with me itself might become your business. So please feel free to visit anytime."

If I said no, things would become awkward the next time I had a reason to visit.

But if I simply agreed, there was every chance he would interpret it as a promise to come over often.

That left me with no choice but to give an equivocal answer.

"Well... I suppose I shall at least consider it."

"Puahahahaha!!"

I did not want to admit it.

But judging by the way the protagonist of someone else's novel burst out laughing, my reply must have sounded somewhat coy.

Damn it.

"Ah... I really laughed my fill again today. It's all thanks to you, Karvaldr."

"I do not want to hear that kind of gratitude."

"Mm, mm. That aside, if I'd known you were going to visit like this, I would've prepared some snacks to serve you... It feels a little awkward not having anything suitable to offer."

"Is that really something you should say after stopping someone who only intended to borrow what he needed and leave, then dragging him into your room?"

"I'm not blaming you for showing up without warning. I just feel disappointed and a little sorry. Every time I visited your room, you served me some distinctive drink made with real care... Ah! Come to think of it, I do have that."

I had been about to use the opening to ask him to show me the material he had bought from Pret.

But Reisir suddenly turned toward the miniature Ether refrigerator and opened it.

To add a brief aside, the refrigerator was a standard fixture included in every dorm room.

"I went to the shop a little while ago, and they were selling ingredient sets for a snack called a 'potato chip chocolate block' because it's popular right now. It wasn't particularly expensive, so I bought one out of curiosity and made it. I haven't tried it yet either, so I don't know how it tastes, but if it's popular these days, it must be good, right? Let's try it together."

What the protagonist of a novel set in a fantasy world pulled out as he said this was a cylinder of potato chips with chocolate poured over them and left to harden.

The outside of the tube even had the face of a character with a striking mustache printed on it.

I was rendered speechless and could only watch as the protagonist of someone else's novel peeled away the cylindrical packaging.

...Right. At least they avoided naming the brand outright and just called them potato chips.

By the time I had managed to accept it,

the protagonist of someone else's novel was watching me with an awkward expression.

"Uh... how do we eat this? Would cutting it with a dagger be a little unhygienic...? I suppose it would be fine if I cleaned it thoroughly and coated it in Ether..."

"No, that will not be necessary. I recently decided that I should start carrying cooking utensils, so I had Yor keep whatever I already possessed for the time being."

"Meow!"

Yor took a kitchen knife and cutting board out of the wish-granting orb and handed them to Reisir.

Reisir accepted them and cut the hardened potato chip chocolate block. Then, just as I thought he was going to offer one of the pieces to me, he popped it into his own mouth.

What in the world had he just done?

"I thought it might be better for me to try it first since neither of us knows how it tastes... Hahaha! Anyway, this feels like it would go better with a carbonated drink than tea. Do you drink things like this too?"

The "thing like this" that the protagonist of someone else's novel took from the refrigerator was a can of cola.

I had expected a day like this to come eventually, so instead of acting surprised, I nodded naturally.

"You look like you wouldn't even spare a glance for anything that wasn't handcrafted ade made from freshly squeezed fruit, so this is surprisingly unexpected. Ah! Like I explained last time, you know I don't mean that in a bad way, right? I wanted to say that these unexpected sides of you make you feel more approachable, and I like that. The technical term for this is gap—"

"No, I do not need that sort of explanation. I did not come here to listen to such nonsense."

I quickly cut him off before the protagonist of someone else's novel could utter an otaku term disguised as technical jargon.

Fortunately, rather than continuing what I had interrupted,

Reisir opened the cans of cola, placed one in front of me and another in front of Yor, then asked,

"So what did you want to borrow from me? I can't imagine I have anything you don't..."

"You still have the material you purchased from Pret yesterday, correct?"

"You mean the information about Dremby?"

"Did you purchase any other information?"

"No, but I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to see it... Ah! Are you worried he might personally retaliate against Helga, or that his family might try something with the compensation? Is that why you want to help somehow?"

An accurate prediction.

But if I admitted it, the protagonist of someone else's novel would grin and tease me by calling me kind until I was squirming with embarrassment.

So I put on the haughty expression I had practiced countless times and replied,

"What a strange assumption. I merely intend to make him pay for the insult I received. Not only did that bastard dare to forget his place and presume himself my equal, he even treated me as though I belonged to the same vulgar sort as him."

"Ah! Come to think of it, I should've comforted you back then too... If it isn't too late, even now...?"

The protagonist of someone else's novel spread his arms wide as though inviting me into his embrace.

I was so dumbfounded that I lost my words, but I still had to say something.

"Enough. Put your arms down."

"Was I too late after all?"

For some reason, I felt as though I could read the thought on the protagonist of someone else's novel's face.

If I could go back to that moment, I'd pull Helga and Karvaldr into my arms at the same time and comfort them both...

It was probably just my imagination.

Still, something similar could happen again in the future, and one could never be too careful.

"I was not hurt by something so trivial, and even if I were, there would be no need for you to comfort me. Yor is always by my side."

I pulled Yor into my arms and gave Reisir a triumphant look.

I wanted him to understand that I had no need for anyone else's comfort.

Regrettably, however, the protagonist of someone else's novel refused to accept that.

"Even so, don't you think there might be times when you need human warmth? Yor must be a great comfort to you, but her body temperature is far too low for a cat."

That was because she was not a cat.

The words rose to my throat, but not only could I not say them, they would also have been irrelevant to the point.

Either way, I needed to give him another answer.

"It does not matter. Yor's heart is exceptionally warm."

"But there might still come a time when you need warmth you can feel not only in your heart, but physically too."

"Good grief... Fine, I understand. If such a time ever comes, I shall ask you for help. Now stop this and hand over the material."

"Okay!"

Only after the protagonist of someone else's novel heard the answer he wanted did he take a bundle of papers from his Inventory and hand it to me.

I stroked the baby dragon nestled snugly in my arms a few times, then let her go.

With my hands now free, I accepted the material and began reading. Yor picked up a piece of the potato chip chocolate block in her tiny hand and held it to my lips.

She was feeding me so I could eat while I read.

How very considerate of her!

Yor continued placing snacks into my mouth after that.

Thanks to her, I was able to keep my hands clean and free of chocolate as I rustled through the papers and read the material to the end.

And within it, I found useful information.

If everything goes the way I think it will, this might be resolved easily.

Things in this world did not always go according to plan, and with the original author around to interfere, I could not afford to relax.

Still, it was better than being at a loss with no solution in sight.