So Ríolíkin wasn't exaggerating when he said Yor could scare away almost anything with a single glare...?

The moment the thought surfaced, I found myself looking toward Ríolíkin.

He was trembling from head to toe.

Yet despite that, he showed no signs of running away.

One hand gripped a folding chair as though it were a shield, and 【Armor of Protection】 was already active.

That's a relief...!

The unexpectedly dependable sight eased some of the tension in my chest.

Then I did what I needed to do.

"Everyone, get to the nearest wall!"

Even without my warning, most of the students had already scattered to either side of the auditorium and cleared the boss monster's path.

There were still a few who hadn't managed it.

I shook my wrist again.

The Yeouiju's bell rang out.

Then I cast 【Exaltation】 on the students whose movements were still sluggish.

"Kuh...! Kuwooo...!"

Freed from Yor's intimidation, the boss monster roared once more.

This time, however, the confidence behind the sound was noticeably weaker.

It was wary of Yor.

Come to think of it, what are the professors doing?

In the original novel, Helga died the instant the boss monster appeared.

The professors intervened almost immediately afterward.

Yet now, while the monster stood frozen by Yor's glare, not one of them had stepped forward.

Don't tell me they only move after Helga dies.

Just like in the original novel?

A chill crawled down my spine.

At that exact moment, the boss monster turned its head back toward Helga.

Had it decided Yor was too dangerous?

Or was killing Helga simply the role it had been created to fulfill?

The reason didn't matter.

I couldn't allow everything I'd done to go to waste.

I couldn't let Reisir recover from his panic only to watch his childhood friend die and spend the rest of his life blaming himself.

No.

More than that—

I simply couldn't accept watching someone I saw every day die right in front of me.

This is why I tried not to get involved with the original [N O V E L I G H T] novel's characters...

Grinding my teeth, I threw another dagger.

This time I poured far more Ether into it than before.

The dagger left my hand.

At the same time, the Yeouiju on my wrist produced another clear bell tone.

"Nyaaa..."

Yor immediately hid behind me.

She even put on an act, pretending to be frightened and harmless.

The dagger was swatted aside just as easily as the first one.

But—

"Kuwo! Kuwooo—!"

The boss monster exploded with rage.

Perhaps the bell sound irritated it.

Or perhaps it was embarrassed that it had instinctively frozen before the presence of a tiny divine beast.

Whatever the reason, it abandoned Helga entirely and charged toward Yor and me.

"U-Uwaaaah...!"

Ríolíkin let out a battle cry and leaped forward.

—CRASH!—

The monster's enormous arm collided with the folding chair wrapped in ivory Ether.

The impact produced a thunderous roar.

Fortunately, Ríolíkin endured it.

Unfortunately, the way he staggered backward revealed the truth.

He wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

There's no way I can actually defeat that thing with my own abilities...

That had been my assumption from the start.

The entire plan rested on buying time.

The professors were supposed to handle the rest.

The original novel had described this boss monster as "one of the weaker ones."

But that only meant weak compared to other boss monsters.

As long as it targets me, the professors can't possibly keep standing around forever.

After all, this body belonged to the youngest son of the Ducal Family.

If a boss monster openly attacked me, the professors would have no choice but to intervene.

If for no other reason than fear of Hárðr's wrath.

Still, I can't rely on such a vague assumption and keep playing tag with a boss monster...

My plan was simple.

Lead it directly to the professors.

Force them into a situation where acting became unavoidable.

To hell with the original author's intentions.

Survival instincts would take precedence.

After all, the boss monster had already abandoned its original target and redirected its aggro toward me.

If aggro could change for a monster, then surely professors could act outside their scripted role as well.

Besides, what kind of professor watches a student get beaten to death by a monster?

I had only expected Ríolíkin to block a single attack.

Instead, he blocked two.

On the third exchange, the folding chair shattered.

Ríolíkin was launched through the air and crashed heavily to the ground.

You did more than enough.

Far more than I expected.

If circumstances allowed, I would have rushed over to check on him immediately.

But—

While Ríolíkin was buying time, I had already untied the whip from my waist and wrapped my right hand around it.

The instant he fell, I threw the dagger in my left hand.

The monster can't be allowed to focus on the unconscious Ríolíkin.

Maybe it was too stupid to care.

Or maybe I had become far too irritating after repeatedly pelting it with Ether-infused daggers accompanied by bell sounds.

Whatever the reason, its fury remained fixed on me.

It'll roar.

Then charge.

I activated the Thought Acceleration Skill and attempted to predict its movements.

It didn't work.

Not properly.

Intrusive thoughts kept interrupting my concentration.

Was I too reckless?

What if I trip over one of those folding chairs while dodging?

I'm scared.

...

I haven't mentioned it until now because I didn't want to disrupt the flow of events.

But the truth is, I had been trying to maintain the Thought Acceleration Skill for quite a while already.

It kept collapsing after only a few seconds.

Honestly?

I wanted to cry.

A little.

No.

A lot.

"Kyaoooong—!!"

Yor hissed again and glared at the boss monster.

This time the effect barely lasted.

One second.

Maybe two.

The monster merely flinched before continuing forward.

Had it developed resistance?

At this rate, I'd be beaten to death before I managed to regain enough focus to properly enter an accelerated thought state.

Then suddenly—

The monster's shadow swallowed me.

A single stride had closed the distance completely.

Its arm was already within striking range.

Seen from this close, the thing was terrifying.

First, restrain it with the whip—

No, dodge first—

The two thoughts collided.

My mind went blank.

And then—

A streak of golden light shot past me.

"Keheok...!!"

The monster was struck.

Its raised arm froze in place.

No.

Not froze.

Its entire body was trembling violently.

It simply couldn't move forward.

Couldn't swing.

Couldn't approach.

"Ah..."

A sound escaped my lips before I realized it.

There was no way I could mistake that golden light.

As expected, the person I had been hoping for stepped between the monster and me.

A spear crackling with golden sparks rested in his hands.

Is it possible to feel this relieved at seeing the protagonist of someone else's novel?

The absurd thought surfaced the instant the crushing pressure vanished.

In my vision, Reisir thrust his spear forward.

The golden weapon pierced the monster's heart.

PZZZZZT—!

A sound like high-voltage electricity exploded through the auditorium.

Then—

CRACK!!

Something hard shattered.

The Demon Core.

The crystal that sustained the Demon Realm.

Its destruction was essential.

The details could wait for another time.

This wasn't the moment for a lecture on worldbuilding.

"Reisir... You've come back to your senses."

"Mm... I kept hearing a clear bell ringing somewhere..."

He blinked sluggishly.

"And Vigdís kept slapping me."

Sure enough.

When he turned around, a vivid handprint could be seen on his cheek.

An extremely vivid one.

The reason I had buffed Vigdís was so she could evacuate the incapacitated Reisir somewhere safe.

Instead, she apparently used her enhanced physical strength to repeatedly smack him across the face.

Maybe I should have given more specific instructions than 'take care of Reisir.'

Still.

The result was good.

So everything worked out in the end.

Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief—

"I thought I was going to lose you again...!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

—the protagonist of someone else's novel suddenly dropped his spear and pulled me into a crushing embrace.

"W-What are you doing?! Let go—!"

Naturally, I struggled with all my strength.

I even removed the buff from him.

It didn't help.

The difference in physical strength was overwhelming.

"I promised myself over and over that I would never lose anyone again..."

His arms tightened.

"I was such an idiot... I almost lost another precious person..."

"N-No, listen..."

The arms wrapped around me were trembling.

His voice was wet.

Shaking.

He's crying.

The realization struck me belatedly.

Should I comfort him...?

Without thinking, I raised a hand toward his back.

Then I immediately came to my senses and resumed struggling.

The warmth of another person's body was unexpectedly overwhelming.

If I stayed still, it felt as though all my affection might spill out.

"Let go first and talk!"

"Do you really have to be this cold even now?! Can't you show a little affection? Do you know how terrified I was?!"

"I was terrified too! The ground started shaking, plants appeared everywhere, and some giant monster suddenly showed up—"

"If you were scared, then why were you facing that monster alone?!"

His voice cracked.

"The first thing I saw after regaining consciousness was that scene..."

The grip around me tightened again.

"When I think about what would've happened if I'd woken up even a little later..."

His voice dropped to a whisper.

"I was so scared..."

I had been wondering why he came to me instead of immediately checking on Helga.

Now I understood.

He didn't even know Helga had been the original target.

Which, considering he'd only just recovered from a panic attack, made sense.

"Hurry up and check on Helga. That monster appeared right beside her."

"Huh...?"

Reisir blinked.

"Then the reason you confronted it was..."

"That's not important right now. Let go already. I need to check on Ríolíkin."

"Ríolíkin? Why him?! Don't tell me—"

"Ask Helga for the details. She was standing on the rostrum. She saw everything."

Only after saying all of that did I finally manage to escape the protagonist of someone else's novel.

For some reason...

I was utterly exhausted.

And I honestly couldn't tell whether the cause was the boss monster—

Or Reisir.