This Novel is not my Novel

I have no intention of letting the original protagonist take off his eyepatch and look around, not when the original author is surely watching.

Not that Reisir would be able to do so anyway.

If he took off his eyepatch here in the mountains, the information windows of every blade of grass and tree would obstruct his vision, making it difficult for him to even see what was ahead.

Even if Stage 2 of the 【Truth-Reading Eye】 skill were unlocked, transforming it into an active skill and allowing him to display information only on his chosen target, he would still need to locate the trap first before he could bring up its information window.

In the original novel, the trap detection function was only added to the 【Truth-Reading Eye】 after the skill's proficiency reached Stage 4.

During the early stages of the story, there were no Demon Realms with traps at all.

It was only around the time when traps began appearing in Demon Realms that he encountered Skati and learned how to survey the surroundings to locate and disarm them.

However, since Reisir himself was not an expert in traps, it was impossible for him to find every single one.

That was when Pret joined him as a companion.

Although Pret was not a proper combatant and was much weaker than Skati, he could not only locate and disarm traps but also knew how to turn them against his enemies.

For reference, the reason Reisir was able to turn the traps prepared by Karvaldr to his advantage in the original novel was also because he had learned the method from Pret.

"Traps?"

"I heard that some Demon Realms have traps, so I had the academy administration call a trap expert to install some. There are no life-threatening ones, but some are slightly dangerous, so it would be best to stay cautious."

"Oh...! I see!!"

Pret's eyes sparkled.

He seemed completely determined to use traps in this mock battle.

On the other hand, our team did not have a single person with extensive knowledge of traps. Should I consider this some kind of balancing measure?

That aside, to think a Demon Realm with traps has already appeared...

Among all the knowledge I had from the pre-remake original work, I began thinking that perhaps character settings were the only useful references left.

"Now, this is a map with each team's starting point marked. We'll fire a signal flare in thirty minutes, so get to your respective points and be on standby by then."

Bjorn said that as he handed a piece of paper each to me and Fjodora.

When I unfolded it, I saw only a purple circle drawn at one location. There was no information regarding the opposing team's starting point.

Still, judging from our current location, they are probably at a point roughly the same distance away as our starting point. If one side were too far away or too close, we would not be given equal time to hold a strategy meeting.

With that thought, I folded the map and handed it to Reisir.

It was an action based on my judgment that Reisir, the original protagonist, would naturally take the role of this team's leader, so it would be better for him to hold the map.

However, Reisir only checked our team's starting point before handing it to Sveinn.

The map passed through Vigdís's hands and eventually returned to me.

It seemed they had interpreted my action as meaning, "Let's each take a turn looking at the map."

Handing this back to Reisir now would look a little strange, wouldn't it...?

Judging from the marked location, it seemed we could arrive within ten minutes.

However, since we had to move carefully while watching out for traps, it would take longer than that.

Besides, unlike us, who had unintentionally wasted time passing the map around, Fjodora had immediately departed with her team members after checking the map.

For various reasons, there was no benefit to delaying any longer, so I placed the map into my inventory and immediately started walking.

"By the way, do you guys have anything to eat in your inventories?"

About five minutes after we began cautiously walking while scanning our surroundings, Reisir opened his mouth and asked that question, perhaps because he had grown bored after finding nothing.

At that—

"No, I don't..."

"Me neither... I didn't think to bring any."

—Vigdís was the first to answer awkwardly, followed by Sveinn, who admitted he was the same.

Since neither of them had personalities suited to thorough preparation, it was exactly the answer I expected.

Reisir did not seem to have high expectations from them either. He merely responded with an "Is that so?" before turning his attention to me.

"What about you, Karvaldr? You packed things like an Aether heated blanket and crampons, so you naturally brought food as well, right?"

"I did pack something like this."

"Is this... tasty...?"

"Does it look like it?"

"No..."

When I took out a block-shaped, high-calorie combat ration from my inventory to show him, Reisir reacted with obvious reluctance.

To be fair, even just looking at its crude appearance, anyone could tell it would taste terrible.

"Why on earth would you carry something like that?"

"Can't be helped, can it? Just because something is inside an inventory does not mean food will not spoil. If you are going to store something without knowing when you will eat it, preserved food is the only option. And since inventory capacity is limited, I have no choice but to choose high-calorie combat rations."

"That's true, but..."

"So, what do you have?"

Even after I explained my reasoning, the dissatisfaction on the face of the protagonist from someone else's novel did not disappear, so I turned the question back on him.

In other words, I wanted to see what kind of delicious and refined food he had.

The food Reisir took out was a retort pouch meal and an energy bar from the school store.

"Doesn't the food in that pouch give off a strong smell when you open it? You would not be able to open it in a Demon Realm with monsters sensitive to scents. It would be better to carry more energy bars or biscuits instead."

"Alright. In that case, let's eat what you have, and when that is not enough, we can share what I have."

The protagonist of someone else's novel spoke as if sharing food with one another was the obvious thing to do.

The sheer naturalness of his statement left me so stunned that a hollow laugh escaped my mouth.

I do not know how he interpreted my reaction, but Reisir immediately started saying something unrelated with an "Oops" expression.

"Ah! Of course, winning today's match and having food from the campus cafeteria delivered is the best option. I have not forgotten that, so don't worry."

I was not worried about that at all.

Because Author Senna would not allow Reisir to lose a mock battle that was merely between students.

It could be said that our team's victory was already a predetermined outcome.

As long as I, a being who escaped the original author's control, do not make a series of mistakes.

That aside...

"Helga is on that team, and you still intend to win?"

"Because our team has you instead?"

"......?"

Does this body look that weak in Reisir's eyes?

Does he think I will collapse if I am not properly fed?

But Helga does not exactly have a particularly sturdy physique either.

As I made an expression showing that I did not understand his reasoning, Reisir suddenly burst into laughter.

"Pfft!"

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because it is funny seeing someone as smart as you make an expression like you cannot understand something so obvious."

"......"

"If I were to lose on purpose just because I am conscious of Helga, it would inconvenience you and the other members of our team. Besides, the professor restricted proper meals to only the winning team because he wants us to compete seriously. That would go against his intentions as well."

Listening to him, I realized that it truly was such an obvious thing that embarrassment washed over me.

My face grew hot, so I hurriedly turned my head away.

"I am only saying this in case anyone is worried about the other team starving, but I also put plenty of food into Helga's inventory. So let's not get soft-hearted and all do our best!"

Perhaps because Sveinn was with us?

Reisir, who would normally have teased me further, did not do so. Instead, he continued the original conversation and encouraged the team members.

The moment I felt relieved about that—

"......!"

"Nya-ark!!"

Just as I felt something grab my ankle, my body was lifted into the air.

By the time I realized I had been caught in a trap, I was already hanging upside down, my ankle tied by a rope.

I could not tell whether my face was hot because blood was rushing to my head or because my embarrassment had returned.

"O-Oh my goodness...! Kar, are you alright?!"

"...The sudden force applied to my ankle was surprising, but thanks to my boots, the joint was not twisted. I will need to check properly once I am down, but judging by how it feels now, there does not seem to be any damage to my ligaments either."

"Ah..., that's a relief. It really is a relief, but... aren't you a little too calm...?"

It seems Vigdís could not even see my humiliated expression.

The calm one was more likely the original protagonist than me.

"Yor, can you go up and cut the rope? I will catch your master from below, so do not worry."

Just look at him.

He calmly gave that order while taking a dagger out of his inventory and handing it to Yor.

"I can land on my own, so stop standing around and move out of the way."

"How are you going to land on your own while hanging upside down?"

"This height is enough to flip my body the moment I fall. Then, by landing in sequence from my toes to my heel and bending my legs at the correct timing, I should be able to disperse the impact."

I had no actual experience doing it, but in theory, it was possible.

If I activated the 【Character Analysis】 skill and accelerated my thoughts, hitting the exact timing would not be difficult.

Besides, there might be other traps of the same type installed elsewhere.

Since I was already caught in one, it would be useful practice to learn how to escape on my own.

So while waiting for Reisir to step back, I was thinking about what thought I should use to activate the 【Character Analysis】 skill...

"Karvaldr. You do not need to go that far to prove that you are a cat."

The protagonist of someone else's novel said something absurd with a bewildered expression.

He was the one saying ridiculous things, yet for some reason he was the one making that face.

"Stop saying strange things and just move aside."

"Did you not just say yourself that you were not sure whether your ligament was injured or not? It is safer for me to catch you."

Should I not have mentioned that I needed to check after getting down?

The moment I regretted my words—

Just as I felt the weight around my ankle disappear, my body fell.

Like when I had been lifted into the air, it happened so suddenly that I was completely unprepared.

Because of that, I could not even flip my body, much less land properly.

However, it seemed that the protagonist of someone else's novel waiting below had prepared himself properly.

Reisir safely caught my body, exactly as he had confidently declared.

He wrapped one arm around my falling shoulder while supporting the hollow behind my knee with the other.

Because of that posture, my gaze naturally turned toward the sky, where I saw Yor floating beside the rope, holding the dagger in her tiny hands.

So she was convinced by Reisir's words that it was safer for him to catch me...?

She had even let out a startled cry the moment I was caught in the trap.

I felt sorry, thinking that my unnecessary stubbornness might have only caused her more worry.