This Novel is not my Novel

I didn't want Valtraus's help, but unfortunately, accepting it was my best option at the moment.

To be honest, my riding skills weren't particularly impressive yet.

Galloping at full speed through city streets crowded with people was out of the question.

If there's a faster and safer way to reach my destination, then of course I should use it.

Right. I was merely making use of Valtraus.

I wasn't accepting his help.

Once I reframed it that way, my reluctance diminished considerably. That allowed me to climb onto the cheetah-type spirit beast's back, but...

"Sit close and hold on tight."

The moment those words left Valtraus's mouth, my reluctance came rushing back.

But what else could I do?

Cheetahs were classified as medium-to-large predators alongside lions and leopards, but they were markedly smaller by comparison.

And since they were animals specialized for speed, their skeletal and muscular structures were naturally sleek.

Laskatl had grown nearly three times larger after activating 【Gigantification】.

Even so, his torso had never been particularly broad to begin with.

There wasn't enough room for two men over six feet tall to sit apart from each other.

"......All right."

Unable to conceal my reluctance, I forced out that answer and did as Valtraus instructed.

I had just finished hurling accusations at him inside the carriage.

Now I had to wrap my arms around the very same person. It was profoundly uncomfortable.

Whether Valtraus didn't care or was simply enduring it as I was, he didn't twist around or otherwise show his discomfort.

Instead, he bent forward and lowered his posture before commanding his spirit beast.

"Laskatl, go."

The instant the order left his mouth, Valtraus's spirit beast kicked off the ground with all his strength as though he had been waiting for it.

At the same moment, the impact made me feel as though I might be flung away, and I instinctively tightened my arms around the waist of the man in front of me.

Clinging to my shoulder in the face of that tremendous speed, Yor shrieked, "Myaa—!"

So there was a reason Valtraus cast a buff on me too...!

A cheetah's muscles were optimized for explosive speed, making them ill-suited to bearing heavy loads.

I could understand why he had buffed his spirit beast.

Obviously, it was to boost Laskatl's Strength so he could bear both our weight.

I had assumed he'd buffed himself and me while he was at it.

Apparently, it hadn't merely been incidental.

Laskatl generated speed by gripping the ground with his forepaws and dragging his body forward as though shoving the earth behind him, then kicking off powerfully with his hind legs, straightening his lower back, and propelling his upper body far ahead.

Since Valtraus was sitting in front of me, he at least shielded me from some of the air pressure caused by our speed.

But the springlike motion of Laskatl's spine—curving like a bow with its string pulled taut, then snapping straight—was transmitted directly into my body.

I was tossed up and down in rolling waves.

On top of that, Laskatl zigzagged to avoid pedestrians and every other obstacle in our path, then changed direction sharply whenever we rounded a corner.

I couldn't spare a thought for anything else and had to focus entirely on keeping my balance.

If I hadn't somehow managed to activate 【Exhortation】 and apply an additional buff to myself, I might have fallen off along the way.

"Whew... we're here."

"Ugh—"

Laskatl finally came to a stop.

Still seated, Valtraus straightened his upper body and let out a long breath.

I immediately climbed down, collapsed onto the ground, and retched as the motion sickness overwhelmed me.

"You don't... look all right."

Valtraus seemed to be in quite good condition as he said that.

Were his physical abilities superior to those of this body? Or was he simply accustomed to riding his spirit beast because this wasn't his first time?

I didn't know which it was, but the mere fact that he looked perfectly fine while I suffered irritated me for no good reason.

"Are you planning to search for your friends as soon as we enter?"

I was pressing firmly on the pressure point inside my wrist that was supposed to alleviate motion sickness and taking deep breaths when I heard Valtraus's question.

I nearly blurted out that they weren't my friends, merely acquaintances.

But...

If I tell him that, will he try to stop me by asking whether I intend to risk my life for people who aren't even my friends?

That thought made me hold my tongue.

Once I entered the Demon Realm, I would have to fight monsters. I couldn't waste all my time and energy fighting someone like Valtraus before I even got there.

"Yes, that's what I intend to do."

"Do you know where they are now?"

"I have nowhere in mind at the moment, but I'll be able to find out once I enter."

"How?"

Although it had come with severe motion sickness, I couldn't deny that I was grateful to him for bringing me directly to the Demon Realm.

But that didn't give Valtraus the right to interfere in my affairs.

So I got to my feet, brushed myself off, and replied curtly.

"Do I really have to explain even that to you?"

"You said we would find out once we entered. I suppose there is no need to waste time on an explanation."

That was the answer I received.

It sounded strangely as though he intended to enter the Demon Realm with me.

"The motion sickness must have made me so dizzy that my listening comprehension has temporarily deteriorated."

"I'm entering the Demon Realm with you."

"......Either that, or something has gone wrong with your command of language or your judgment."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because the man who demanded to know whether I wanted to die when I said I was entering the Demon Realm has suddenly announced that he will join me. I can hardly help suspecting that you've temporarily lost your mind."

I answered halfheartedly while opening my status window.

Before entering the Demon Realm, I wanted to check how much Valtraus's 【Exaltation】 had increased my stats.

If the increase was minor, I intended to ask him to release it and apply my own buff instead.

That didn't seem necessary.

The figures before me were higher than when I activated 【Exaltation】 after using 【Encouragement】 and 【Exhortation】.

After excluding the six points added by 【Exhortation】, I determined that Valtraus's 【Exaltation】 had increased my stats by an astonishing fifty percent.

My 【Exaltation】 can only increase them by twenty-five percent so far...

It seemed Valtraus's 【Exaltation】 was a higher rank than mine.

Then again, he had lived seven years longer than Karvaldr, so he had naturally accumulated that much more proficiency.

He was also competing with his sister for the position of heir, so he could hardly have neglected his training.

For reference, Valtraus's and Karvaldr's 【Exaltation】 could not be stacked.

As you know, dear readers, unlike 【Exhortation】, 【Exaltation】 was a non-stackable skill. Moreover, every member of House Austri was born with the same purple Ether.

In effect, it was no different from the same person using the same skill twice.

Then again, a multiplicative buff that could be stacked would be absurdly overpowered.

However, it was possible to expend Karvaldr's Ether to extend the duration of Valtraus's 【Exaltation】.

Valtraus must have known that too, but I still couldn't understand why he insisted on following me.

"What would people think of me if I came all this way only to push my younger brother into a Demon Realm and turn my back on him?"

That wouldn't have been an issue in the first place if he had simply lent me a horse.

Yet instead of taking that easy path, Valtraus had put me on the back of his spirit beast.

Did he offer me a ride because he intended to follow me into the Demon Realm from the very beginning?

Considering how he had raised his voice in anger when I said I was going to the Demon Realm, there was no doubt that he didn't want his younger brother to die.

So he certainly wasn't holding a grudge over the accusations I had hurled at him in the carriage and planning to use the confusion to kill me.

His beloved mother had died long ago.

Perhaps he had grown desperate to preserve at least the life of the final person she had left behind.

In truth, that person was already as good as dead, and the one standing here now was a complete ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) stranger with no connection to her whatsoever.

What should I do?

If he had no intention of harming me, bringing him into the Demon Realm would be nothing but beneficial.

Valtraus's personal combat ability wasn't worth expecting much from, but his spirit beast Laskatl's combat capabilities might prove useful.

The ride might cause motion sickness, but Laskatl's speed and excellent ability to change direction would give us mobility even inside the Demon Realm.

If Yor and I enter the Demon Realm alone, it will take ages to join the original work's main and supporting characters even after locating them.

And that wasn't all.

If we encountered monsters along the way, we would be delayed even further.

My life might even be put in danger.

Besides, Valtraus isn't an Awakened One, so neither he nor his spirit beast can attack the Boss Monster directly. But he can still buff the Awakened Ones...

Even during the boss battle, he would be far more useful than an Awakened One with mediocre abilities.

At this point, I was starting to think it would be foolish to leave Valtraus behind.

Instead of trying to stop him, I took a whip and a dagger from my Inventory, grasped one in each hand, and gave him a warning.

"......If we're unlucky, a monster may attack the moment we open the entrance. Be prepared."

At my words, Valtraus tightened his grip on the handle of his whip.

The enormous cheetah, still in combat mode, moved in front of him protectively.

My baby dragon remained small and adorable as she quietly placed a paw on my shoulder. The gesture probably expressed her determination to protect me if anything happened.

"Is your spirit beast not going to enter combat mode?"

"Perhaps because she only recently hatched, there wasn't much difference in either size or stats."

"When she hatched shouldn't matter."

"Why wouldn't it matter? Building skill proficiency takes time. Besides, Yor is still a young spirit beast who hasn't even reached adulthood, and she specializes in ranged combat to begin with, so there is little point in making her larger."

"She can fight at range...? Didn't you say your sky-blue Ether ability was to make it rain?"

"You'll see for yourself shortly, so I'll spare you the explanation."

With that, I cut off the conversation and extended the hand holding the dagger.

The moment my skin touched the pitch-black membrane surrounding the Demon Realm, a chilling sense of revulsion swept over me.

I wanted to pull my hand away immediately, but...

"Inhale... exhale—"

I forced the unpleasant sensation aside with a deep breath, drew up my Ether, and pushed it into the Demon Realm's barrier.

Then, just as the original novel had described, a hole appeared in the pitch-black membrane.

It gradually expanded, forming an arched entrance.