This Novel is not my Novel

Reisir said he mainly reads hunter genre novels, and most hunter novels feature a status window. I doubt this is unrelated...

Even if novels with status windows had become common.

Among all the many books here, what were the chances that the first one Reisir opened would feature a status window?

And it had to appear at the very beginning.

Otherwise, Reisir would have lost interest and closed the book before any mention of a status window even appeared.

Well, I could still chalk that much up to coincidence.

What was truly puzzling...

...was the fact that Helga had known for a long time that Reisir could see a status window.

So, when Reisir recommended the Special Character Novels to Helga, he must have mentioned that part...

And yet, Helga said she read one once and then completely lost interest.

Even if the novel's content wasn't to her taste, it would have been worth reading a few more times for research purposes.

Especially since, just as was common in hunter genre novels, monsters had suddenly begun to appear and threaten people, and the Awakened were emerging one by one in their reality.

But Helga still had no interest in the Special Character Novels.

The same went for how Lissy, despite practically living in the library, had failed to notice anything strange about the novel section...

The beings of this world clearly could not properly perceive matters related to the Special Character Novels.

After all, they were strictly from "outside" this world. Things that shouldn't exist in the world of this novel.

They must have been instinctively rejecting the perception.

I conjectured that...

...usually, even if they saw a pen name made of special characters, they wouldn't even think to open the book, let alone question it, and would simply pass by.

Then why is Reisir the only exception?

Even before he met "me," he had been reading novels that were not of this world.

He even had enough affection for them to give those novels the nickname "Special Character Novels."

Since Reisir was also a person from this novel's world, he surely wouldn't have readily reached for a "web novel."

Was he simply that special because he was the protagonist of this world?

"Um... Karvaldr? Is this... an important problem?"

His questioning voice was tinged with clear bewilderment.

Only after hearing it did I realize my mistake and take back the step I had taken forward.

For someone merely asking how he got into a certain genre of novels, I was acting far too secretive...

It was no wonder the other party felt puzzled and reacted that way.

But after asking with such a serious expression, I couldn't simply brush it off as nothing. I definitely wanted an answer, too.

Still, there was an order to everything.

"First... I'd like to go a little deeper inside to talk..."

Instead of directly answering Reisir's question, I suggested that we move.

"As you're aware, this space is somewhat... strange, isn't it? Maybe that's why, but if we go farther in, we can talk normally without whispering like this, and no one in the library will hear us."

"You even ran an experiment like that...? Anyway, I understand."

Having received his agreement, I began walking with long strides again.

Until I reached the dead end.

"The reason I became interested in these peculiar books is because this space isn't normal. I thought that by reading the books here, I might be able to solve the mystery of this place... The mystery remains a mystery, but I've unexpectedly taken a liking to these Special Character Novels..."

Reisir would surely turn the same question back on me.

And it was, of course, impossible for me to answer that question honestly.

I judged that it would be better to link it to the question I had asked him and move on naturally, so I turned around as I said the words above.

And shamelessly, I continued the lie while meeting Reisir's eyes.

"I thought you had become interested in the novels here through a similar process. But it seems you only realized that this space was strange later on. And even then, only as a vague suspicion. That's why I asked."

"Ah... So that's why you abruptly closed the distance and asked? You were wondering if I had noticed something you hadn't, and whether that something was the reason I became interested in the Special Character Novels."

"Indeed."

Thankfully, the lie worked.

Far from finding my attitude suspicious, Reisir reacted as though he finally understood.

"To be honest, I've been curious for a while, too. About how you, Karvaldr, came to be interested in novels with such a strong entertainment-oriented inclination. Ah, I'm not trying to disparage the Special Character Novels 'we' like. It's just that you have this image of someone who wouldn't even glance at a book unless it was profound, classical, philosophical, and very, very difficult?"

I supposed this possessed body did give off that kind of image.

With his looks and the family he had been born into, he was the very picture of a refined young master.

He studied diligently to look good for his father and always maintained an arrogant attitude to keep others from looking down on him.

To borrow the words of the protagonist of someone else's novel...

...it would seem strange for him to like "a novel written in the first person with a frivolous and chaotic character as the protagonist, completely lacking any profundity or aesthetic sense, and composed of short, simple sentences."

No, but thinking about it again, that's just too harsh, isn't it?

Recalling the words the protagonist of someone else's novel had uttered in Chapter 6, I felt a surge of anger for no reason.

So, I narrowed my eyes and glared at Reisir.

But whatever he was misunderstanding, he began offering an excuse completely unrelated to why I was angry.

"Just because you like something that doesn't fit your image, that absolutely isn't a bad thing. In a way, you could say these Special Character Novels were what brought us closer, so I'm glad you came to like them. And liking something that doesn't match your outward image can sometimes act as a charm point, you know? The way I see it, you're exactly..."

"Just how long do you plan on rattling on about things unrelated to the main point?"

"Ah, sorry."

Only after I questioned him in a slightly annoyed tone did Reisir stop his nonsense and apologize.

At his strangely pathetic appearance, I let out a deep sigh and lowered my head.

Sweeping back the hair that had fallen forward, I raised my head again and stared directly at him with an expectant gaze.

At that—

"How should I start this story..."

He murmured.

His pensive expression was quite serious. It didn't seem as though he was deliberately dragging his feet just to see me grow impatient.

In other words, it wasn't a simple "coincidence," but a significant "personal story."

The moment I realized this and unknowingly swallowed dryly...

"Karvaldr. I think you'd have at least a rough idea of what kind of ability my 'Silver Ether' can exert... am I right?"

Reisir asked indirectly, his voice lowered just as before.

It was an answer completely unrelated to the question, but I didn't feel like pointing that out.

Because it was connected to the main purpose for which I had called him to this place.

"Why do you think that...?"

"I told you before that Professor Skati is an assassin with incredible skill, right? And during the martial arts tournament, when Ríolíkin gained the 【Frenzy】 ability. After I lifted my eyepatch and examined him, I assured you that you didn't need to worry."

I had been planning to use those very reasons to make him confess about his 【Truth-Reading Eye】 anyway.

And yet, the desired result had fallen into my hands without me having to force it out.

While I felt fortunate, I also felt bewildered.

"And most of all. You? You were always on guard whenever I tried to take off my eyepatch, and you even tried to poke my eye, didn't you? You actually did poke it once."

"That... I apologized for that, didn't I...?"

"I didn't bring it up to get an apology. In the first place, I don't even think you did anything wrong. You suspected I might have a way to check other people's abilities, and the moment I took off my eyepatch and revealed my silver eye, you realized it, right?"

The 【Truth-Reading Eye】 was not merely a skill that was better kept unknown. It was a skill that could get its owner harmed if its existence became known.

Was it because he himself was aware of that risk?

Even though I had told him that no one could hear us if we spoke comfortably here...

...as though lowering his guard were taboo, Reisir whispered the following into my ear, his voice barely audible.

"That I can read information about others with this right eye."

"......Yes. I became certain on the day Ríolíkin gained the 【Frenzy】 ability."

"And you still waited without questioning me? Just hoping I would tell you like this first..."

That wasn't it.

It had simply been more convenient to feign ignorance until now.

Besides, I had been planning to interrogate Reisir today out of necessity, so the emotion in his voice stabbed at my conscience.

"Oh, right. The day I told you about the Silver Ether. When I said the Inventory was the Silver Ether's attribute ability, I wasn't deliberately trying to trick you. I was mistaken, too. I didn't know it was an ability basically given to all the Awakened, so I thought it was part of the Silver Ether's attribute ability."

Seeing him add such an excuse, it seemed Reisir also felt a pang of guilt.

For some reason, I felt as though I should make an honest confession too, but I couldn't. Not yet.

So, I pushed away the other party, who had moved close to whisper, and changed the subject.

"S-So... you were about to tell me how you came across the Special Character Novels, so why on earth did you bring up your ability?"

"This Valhalla Academy Library is famous for being the 'World's Largest Treasury of Knowledge,' right? So as soon as I was admitted to the academy, I came looking for the library. I was hoping I could find some materials about what happened in my territory. The Imperial Family took my territory under the pretext of an investigation, but they never told me anything."

Reisir readily stepped back and answered.

His voice was louder than when he had spoken directly into my ear, but it was still much quieter than usual.

"But when I got here, there were just too many books. I didn't know which field I should even start looking in. So I felt completely lost..."

"And then?"

"It suddenly occurred to me that if I used my Silver Ether's attribute ability, I might be able to grasp the general contents of a book without having to open it and read it..."

"And so?"

"I went to a corner of the library and peeked out from under my eyepatch, but a flood of all sorts of information windows made it hard to see ahead, you know?"

If his goal was to investigate the Demon Realm, he wouldn't have bothered setting foot in the novel section.

Especially if there were a great many books he needed to check.

If Reisir hadn't mentioned his 【Truth-Reading Eye】, I might have simply pestered him to get to the conclusion quickly.

"While that was happening, I saw a crimson light that felt incredibly dangerous through the information windows obscuring my view. So I moved by checking only the direction, covering my eye, and then revealing it again, repeating the process..."

"No way... The place you arrived at by doing that was here?"

"That's right. And when I look at other books with this right eye, I can see the author's name, publication date, publisher information, and a three- or four-line summary, you see? But the books here all had the same phrase written in a crimson window. It said, [You do not have permission to read this.]..."

"......"

For a moment, his low voice felt eerie.

But as I mulled over his words, a wave of bewilderment washed over me.

This protagonist of someone else's novel had witnessed what anyone could see was a warning window.

He himself said that he had sensed danger from the crimson light it emitted.

And yet, not only did he enjoy reading the books here simply because they were fun, he had even recommended them to his childhood friend.