This Novel is not my Novel

"Miss Lissy is merely strong. Her training period has been so short that she is not accustomed to handling a weapon, and she often loses her balance and staggers whenever she swings that hammer. She also has a habit of reflexively closing her eyes when an attack comes at her. So I ask for thy understanding."

"......I understand."

Valtraus nodded, though his expression suggested less that he understood and more that he was wondering whether this was truly acceptable.

He had heard that one of them had trained for only two weeks, but apparently he had never imagined that person would be this inexperienced.

What Fjodora had said was effectively a declaration that Lissy's flaws made her completely useless in combat and more likely to cause harm than help.

Despite that, Lissy's face brightened.

She seemed purely delighted that she would not have to participate in an exceedingly dangerous Boss Monster raid.

And so, leaving Valtraus, his spirit beast, and Lissy behind, we headed toward the cafeteria.

"While we are moving, I would like to hear how you have dealt with the monsters here thus far."

"I'll explain!"

I already had a rough idea, but it would be best to confirm it.

When I addressed the group at large with that thought in mind, Reisir promptly volunteered.

Perhaps being the protagonist of a novel made him greedy for dialogue.

"At first, we fought them the conventional way. But no matter how many times we smashed the rocks, they kept coming back together. Just as we were starting to despair at the sight..."

"Summarize the conclusion."

"The monsters here have distinct weak points, but the location differs for each individual. Finding and destroying them takes too much time and effort, right? So after a while, we started having Sveinn seep water into the cracks between the rocks, and then I would call down lightning."

The original protagonist's explanation matched my expectations perfectly.

It was, after all, the only way to kill a golem with a single bolt of lightning.

"There have been quite a few lightning strikes. Do you still have enough Ether remaining?"

"Yes. Her Royal Highness gave me an Ether Potion, so I drank it."

"When?"

"Just before we ran into you."

The dear readers should already know from its repeated mentions that the effect of a Potion was halved after the first use.

This applied not only to Healing Potions that treated injuries, but also to Ether Potions.

However, reduced effectiveness was not the only problem with Ether Potions. They also came with side effects.

Taking more than one could cause Ether to flow backward, potentially producing symptoms comparable to qi deviation in a martial-arts novel.

And with every additional dose, the probability doubled.

With a Healing Potion, even knowing that its effect would be halved, one could safely drink another if immediate treatment was necessary.

But the side effects of Ether Potions were so lethal that rest was always recommended instead.

But it isn't always possible to rest when you're running low on Ether.

One of the supporting characters in the original work had even died from the side effect I had just mentioned.

The original Reisir had also suffered from it, but like the protagonist he was, he had overcome it without issue.

I expected the same would hold true in the remake, but...

That doesn't mean I can tell him to drink another Ether Potion after the Boss Monster fight and risk his Ether going out of control.

I expected another crisis to occur after the Demon Realm was cleared.

The others, however, would believe everything was over the instant the Boss Monster died and let down their guard.

Well... never mind. The confession villain is only an ordinary person, after all.

As long as I prepared in advance, I should be fully capable of stopping his unexpected actions by myself.

There would be no need to enlist the help of the protagonist of someone else's novel.

"But... don't you have anything else to say?"

"What do you mean?"

"Or maybe you're feeling resentful?"

Just as I was steeling myself, Reisir said something that was not only abrupt but utterly incomprehensible.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"While you were gone, Sveinn and I worked together, didn't we? Spraying water is something you can do too. So I wondered whether you might be jealous."

"......"

I was so dumbfounded that I could not speak. I even stopped walking without realizing it.

Apparently, the protagonist of someone else's novel was still laboring under the same misconception.

He thought I was wary of Sveinn because I was afraid Sveinn might become friends with him before I did.

No, if I were worried about something like that, why would I bother keeping Sveinn in check...? I could simply accept Reisir as a friend.

Perhaps because he was the protagonist of someone else's novel, his thought process was so far removed from common sense that I could barely comprehend it.

What could I possibly say to free him from this absurd misunderstanding?

While I was contemplating that...

"What excellent timing. We have stopped at precisely the right place. I was just about to suggest that we do so."

Fjodora spoke up and informed us that we had reached the vicinity of the Boss Monster's territory.

Thanks to her, I could postpone my defense until later.

"Where is the Boss Monster, though? Please don't tell me those unusually enormous rocks blocking the cafeteria entrance are the Boss Monster. Those are simply part of the terrain, aren't they? Right?"

Pret's exaggerated commotion made it obvious that the pile of rocks before us was on an entirely different scale from those forming the ordinary golems.

Each boulder looked several times larger and harder, and there were far more of them.

If they assembled into the shape of a golem and rose to their feet, it would probably stand nearly as tall as the three-story cafeteria building.

"Regrettably, those boulders are indeed the material composing the Boss Monster's body. I hoped otherwise as well.... Yet when I attempted to approach during my earlier reconnaissance, they shifted and began to move."

Fjodora's expression was bleak as she spoke.

Everyone who heard her seemed to feel the same.

"The centipede-shaped Boss Monster we saw before was enormous too. Are all Boss Monsters naturally that big?"

"If that is truly the case... then the monster we saw on the day of the closing ceremony must have been exceptionally small for a Boss Monster."

"I-It was already really hard for me to block that monster's attacks back then...! I can't block an attack from a giant rock monster like that. Absolutely not!"

Helga looked overwhelmed, Vigdís clicked her tongue with an appalled expression, and Ríolíkin trembled in fear, close to tears.

As for me—

Even if this is supposed to prevent us from killing it in one hit, isn't this going too far?!

—I could not help thinking that the original author had forced the matter.

In terms of total length, the centipede-shaped Boss Monster we had encountered before had been much longer, measuring roughly fifteen meters.

But back then, Dyuf had restrained the Boss Monster with plant stems, limiting its movements.

We had also known the precise location of its magic core, making it possible to kill the creature in a single blow.

And because it crawled along the ground, its head was low enough that we did not have to crane our necks to look up at it. It had not felt particularly imposing.

It was just... revolting.

The location of the golem-shaped Boss Monster's magic core, on the other hand, would constantly change.

Even if Helga tried to restrain it with her wire, the wire would probably snap before lasting even 0.1 seconds.

Since it was made of rock, it could neither be burned nor electrocuted.

"I dearly hope we can defeat this Boss Monster using the same method as before."

Fjodora spoke with palpable desperation.

It sounded exactly like foreshadowing that we would not be able to do so.

"But for the Boss Monster to be blocking the building's entrance like that.... Surely no one is still trapped inside...?"

This time, Sveinn voiced his anxiety and said something ominous.

If that was foreshadowing as well, we had a serious problem.

Given the Boss Monster's current position, the building would inevitably collapse if we fought it there without luring it away first.

Even if we somehow succeeded in drawing the Boss Monster away from the building, the impact of the ensuing battle could still reach the structure and bring it down.

If anyone were crushed to death, we would bear responsibility.

"That is absolutely impossible. The entire cafeteria building lies within the Boss Monster's detection range, does it not? If anyone remained inside, the Boss Monster would not be sitting there motionless. It would have destroyed the building, found the person within, and killed them."

I hurriedly presented evidence that no one remained inside the building.

"The Demon Realm appeared well after lunchtime, so there would have been no students using the cafeteria in the first place. The staff likely escaped through the employee entrance at the rear of the building when the preliminary signs of the Demon Realm's formation began."

I explained that they had possessed ample time to escape and that their route had not overlapped with the location where the Boss Monster formed.

"Buildings are generally safer than the outdoors, but there is no guarantee that monsters will not appear inside them. Moreover, numerous professors with combat abilities are permanently stationed at this academy. Would it not be more reasonable for the staff to seek out help they knew existed than to place their hopes in uncertain luck?"

I offered further reasoning to make them understand why the staff would have gone outside instead of barricading themselves in the building.

And finally—

"Still, it would be best to confirm, just in case. If we attempt to enter the building ourselves, however, the Boss Monster will begin moving...... Your Royal Highness, could you use 【Wind Control】 to determine whether there are any sounds indicating someone is inside?"

I made that request of Fjodora.

"The distance is likely too great from here.... I shall approach from behind the building and investigate. As thou hast said, I doubt anyone remains inside, but leaving the matter unconfirmed would trouble me."

After answering, Fjodora sent her spirit beast to investigate instead of going herself.

Taking a wide detour to avoid the Boss Monster's detection range would consume a fair amount of time.

She could shorten the journey by lifting herself high into the sky with Wind Attribute Ether, but...

Lifting a human body using nothing but the power of wind requires an enormous amount of energy, doesn't it?

In other words, it consumed a great deal of Ether.

If I had to guess, Fjodora must have drunk an Ether Potion earlier for that very reason when she went to confirm the Boss Monster's location.

With a battle against the Boss Monster ahead of her, she would not want to waste any more Ether unnecessarily.

Wait, though. If she sent her spirit beast out and it found the Boss Monster's location, why did she bother going there herself to verify it? Was that another action influenced by Author Senna's will?

If only Lausa could write and communicate her intentions clearly like my clever baby dragon.

She could have pleaded with her master to trust her and prevented Fjodora from wasting her time.

It was truly regrettable.