After the incident where Senior Elska attempted to forcibly lift Senior Blida, only for the two of them to collapse and start bickering, had finally passed—

Skati glanced at me and cautiously started a conversation.

"Umm, by the waaay... Is your body alright nooow~? Nothing still hurts, does iiit~?"

"Ah, yes. I am perfectly fine, so there is no need to worry."

"That is a relieeef~."

"Yes. It is fortunate."

"..."

I answered with polite formalities and maintained a strictly businesslike attitude.

Skati immediately sensed the distance in my demeanor and looked uncomfortable.

I was noticeably more relaxed around Professor Radvisin and the research students.

Naturally, the difference stood out all the more clearly to her.

It made me feel terrible.

As though I were discriminating against someone for no reason.

But immediately afterward came the thought that it couldn't be helped.

I was simply too cowardly and too selfish.

More importantly—

why was Skati trying so hard to get close to someone like me?

"A-And alsooo~! It was fortunate that the opponent you met in Round 2 was a nice person tooo~! Looking at how the match ended, he caught you so you wouldn't faaall, right~? I don't know who he is, but he seems like such a good kiiid~!"

Apparently determined to keep the conversation alive somehow, Skati desperately searched for a topic.

Unfortunately, the topic she found happened to be the original protagonist.

'Objectively speaking, Reisir really is a kind person.'

That thought naturally crossed my mind.

But I had no desire to admit it out loud.

Not after everything.

The constant teasing.

The endless mischief.

And above all, I wasn't remotely grateful for how he'd handled the ending of that match.

If anything, I was dissatisfied.

Thanks to him, people would forever remember us as:

The two students who danced during the Martial Arts Tournament and then left the arena in a princess carry.

Could there possibly be a darker chapter in a person's history than that?

The mere thought was painful.

Still, I couldn't exactly deny Skati's words and start speaking ill of Reisir.

So I was preparing to mumble something vague like "Well... perhaps..." and move on—

when the research students joined the conversation.

"He isn't nice to everyone. He probably treated Junior Karvaldr specially because they're friends. He was completely merciless to the guy he fought in the finals."

"Exactly! He shocked his opponent unconscious with a Lightning Ability and then immediately turned around and left the stage. He looked unbelievably cold."

The two of them had no idea how much Nidr had bragged in front of Reisir.

Nor did they know the ridiculous things he'd said.

So it wasn't unreasonable for them to assume Reisir had given me special treatment.

"Ahaaa~! So the boy from Round 2 is Karvaldr's frieeend~?! Is he someone I knowww? The black-haired boy with the eyepaaatch? Right~?"

"That is him. However, he is not my friend."

"Whyyy?! Did you fight agaaain~?!"

Just like back in Chapter 71.

The moment I denied being friends with Reisir, she immediately assumed we'd had another argument.

Skati reached the exact same conclusion this time.

"We did not fight. We simply never became friends in the first place."

"Huuuuh~? Reaaally? If you two aren't friends, then what are yooou...?"

"Unless something unusual happens, we eat meals together. Since we were preparing for the Tournament, we also met on weekends several times to spar. That is all."

I paused before concluding.

"We are merely strangers."

"...?"

It wasn't a particularly complicated statement.

Yet Skati tilted her head, completely unable to understand it.

Even so, her reaction was relatively mild.

The research students were far worse.

"Eh...? Senior, what did our Junior just say?"

"Well? He said they eat together every day and spend weekends training together, but somehow he also said they aren't friends. Did I hear that wrong?"

They weren't questioning their hearing.

They were questioning my sanity.

"You heard correctly."

I reaffirmed my statement without hesitation.

Yet the three of them still looked unconvinced.

So, in order to strengthen my argument, I added an explanation.

"Let us assume this were a workplace rather than an Academy. Simply because people eat together and prepare for a team-building event together does not automatically make them friends."

"T-That's truuue~?!"

As an actual working adult, Skati immediately understood my point.

The two young people whose entire lives revolved around flirting inside a laboratory, however, did not.

"Professor Skati! Why are you agreeing with that? This is an Academy!"

"But for me, the Academy is a workplaaace~?"

"That's true, but our Junior is a student! A first-year student at that!"

The two research students promptly sat down on either side of Skati.

Then they launched into an earnest argument claiming that, among students, eating together was practically an unofficial friendship contract.

Their evidence?

Because that's how they'd made friends.

'To think that people called research students would try persuading someone with nothing but personal anecdotes instead of objective evidence and logical reasoning...'

Shaking my head, I picked up my fork.

Since none of them were talking to me anymore, I intended to ignore the discussion and quietly eat my cake.

Unfortunately, I only managed a single bite.

Professor Radvisin sighed and directed a question at me.

"Hmm... Then what does Lord Karvaldr believe is necessary for two people to become friends?"

The old professor's expression was surprisingly serious.

So I answered just as seriously.

"I believe there must be a trigger. Something that allows two people to open up to one another and acknowledge each other as friends."

"An interesting perspective indeed. Then what sorts of things qualify as these triggers?"

"Overcoming a life-and-death crisis together. Freeing someone from long-term mental or physical suffering. Saving a person who stands at death's door. Or perhaps—"

"Wait, wait. Lord Karvaldr."

Professor Radvisin quickly cut me off.

"Don't you think the hurdle for friendship is a little too high?"

As a result, I never got to say the most important example:

Saving someone's life.

I reluctantly swallowed the words.

"Junior... Did you learn about friendship from novels or something?!"

Senior Blida stared at me in disbelief.

And honestly—

she wasn't wrong.

I'd never had friends.

So I learned about friendship through novels.

Therefore, my conclusion was correct.

This was a world inside a novel.

And Reisir was the original protagonist.

'There is no friendship without narrative. The more dramatic the narrative, the deeper the friendship becomes.'

I wasn't saying this merely because I refused to acknowledge Reisir as a friend.

A web novel protagonist simply couldn't make friends that easily.

Friends because they shared a few meals?

I absolutely could not accept that.

The plausibility wasn't merely weak.

It was nonexistent.

Hadn't this body bullied Reisir?

'And all I've ever done is vaguely imply there was some personal reason behind it. I've never properly explained anything.'

Before Reisir could become friends with Karvaldr, he first needed to learn why Karvaldr had acted the way he did.

He had to understand his loneliness.

Reach out to him.

Pull him from his isolation.

Even though Karvaldr was the one who had done wrong.

The fact that the victim, Reisir, was expected to put in the effort was absurd.

But what could you do?

That was simply the burden carried by protagonists.

'And besides, I have no intention of telling him Karvaldr's story. Even if we went through all of that, I'm not the real Karvaldr anyway. It's not like Reisir can save me.'

The only beings with whom I could share thoughts like these were Yor—

and my dear readers listening to this narration.

Which meant there was no way I could explain any of it here.

So I deliberately put on a sulky expression and silently ate my cake.

"...Junior? Are you sulking right now? Because we asked what you thought, and when you answered honestly, it feels like nobody took you seriously?"

As expected.

That reaction again.

I had anticipated it, but hearing someone ask whether I was sulking still embarrassed me.

Because no matter how I looked at it, they were treating me like a child.

"Miss Blida is at fault."

Professor Radvisin suddenly interjected.

"Asking whether he learned friendship from novels? One should not say such things to a teenager with a rich emotional sensitivity."

"Wh-What?! But you also said his standards for friendship were too high, Professor!"

"Hmm. This professor cannot help but feel disappointed."

The old man shook his head dramatically.

"We have spent so many years together, yet you still fail to understand my true intentions. I merely created an opening so I could tell him that friendship is not some distant obstacle beyond reach, and that he needn't overthink it."

Then he pointed toward Blida.

"And yet you compare that to asking whether he learned friendship from novels?"

"..."

Faced with the professor's rhetoric, the doctoral researcher immediately surrendered.

It seemed winning an argument against Professor Radvisin was no simple task.

I needed to avoid being talked into anything strange.

Therefore, I decided to continue pretending to sulk and remain silent until the topic changed.

Fortunately, that moment came quickly.

"Let us leave this discussion here for now. It is a matter that time will resolve."

Perhaps noticing that I didn't wish to continue discussing friendship, Professor Radvisin neatly wrapped up the conversation.

Up to that point, everything was acceptable.

Then his gaze shifted toward Skati.

"However, time does not solve every problem."

His voice grew quieter.

"You should remember that some problems become harder to solve the longer they are left unattended."

It was unmistakable.

A warning.

And advice.

Professor Radvisin was not the type to say something like that without reason.

'Did Skati consult Professor Radvisin without me knowing?'

That conclusion came naturally.

Otherwise, there was no reason for him to urge her to resolve something quickly.

And that problem—

with an extremely high probability—

no, almost certainly—

was me.

Back in Chapter 88, Skati had begged me not to refuse her instruction.

While apologizing, she'd said that helping me made her feel more at ease.

In response, I'd brought up the subject of compensation.

Anyone hearing that exchange would naturally be confused.

Especially Professor Radvisin, considering that back in Chapter 66, I'd openly stated that I wanted to help Skati.

'Is that why he questioned her? Asking exactly what she'd done to me.'

Skati had probably answered willingly.

After all, she genuinely believed she'd emotionally wounded me.

And she believed the wound still hadn't healed.

Most likely, she'd actively sought advice on what she should do to make amends.