Upon arriving at the carriage waiting area, the first thing that entered my field of vision was a father and daughter with wheat-colored hair standing side by side.

It seemed we weren't simply meeting at the dining hall—we were traveling together.

That was probably why Reisir had come directly to my room.

If he had merely suggested meeting at the carriage waiting area at the appointed time, an awkward situation might have unfolded if Djúpr and I had arrived first.

He must have been trying to prevent that.

And he was probably worried that Djúpr, who treasures him like his own son, might say something unnecessary to me out of excessive concern...

Unlike Helga, whose vibrant cherry-colored eyes left a strong impression and who radiated energy and vitality even when pretending to be composed—

Djúpr's sage-green eyes, spectacles, and the traces of age etched across his face gave him a calm and gentle air.

Even now, despite the tension visible in his stiff expression.

There was a reason the original novel described him as possessing an "agreeable demeanor."

"I am Djúpr, guardian of Helga and Reisir, and head of the Vitnir Baron Family. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Karvaldr of the Austri Ducal Family."

"......!"

We were already aware of each other's status.

Since he had introduced himself first and extended proper courtesy, I simply responded in kind.

Yet for some reason, Djúpr's eyes widened in surprise.

I couldn't understand why he was reacting that way when I hadn't said anything unusual.

Asking directly would have been out of character, so I merely tilted my head slightly.

That alone was enough to prompt an explanation.

"You're... speaking politely to me?"

It was an astonishingly trivial reason.

Apparently, he had assumed Karvaldr was an arrogant and ill-mannered young master.

To be fair, the original Karvaldr had indeed been that sort of character.

But even he possessed enough common sense to speak politely to professors at the Academy.

"I heard that you were appointed as a professor this time."

"Ah..."

The sight of him belatedly realizing what he had overlooked was almost absurd.

After all, Reisir had spent so much time talking about how "Lord Djúpr might say something unpleasant to you" that I had expected at least a stern glare and a reprimand the moment we met.

Instead, he was clearly watching my reactions.

Well, it's certainly a misunderstanding if he thought I didn't know how to speak politely to him, but...

No matter how I looked at it, this wasn't the attitude of someone who had come prepared to speak harshly.

Just what had Reisir been worried about to the point of recruiting Helga?

I genuinely couldn't understand it.

"Stop standing around awkwardly and get in the carriage already."

Had she grown bored because Djúpr and I were simply staring at each other from where we stood?

Helga tossed the words out as she boarded first.

Despite still being inside the Academy, there wasn't the slightest trace of pretense in her voice.

There aren't any students nearby, but the coachman is still here...

People often said that modern children treated anyone unimportant to them like background NPCs.

Perhaps that aspect of reality had somehow seeped into Helga, a character in a fantasy novel.

Or perhaps pretending to be refined in front of her father embarrassed her, causing her to momentarily drop the act.

In any case, we followed her lead.

Djúpr naturally sat beside his daughter.

Reisir, however, chose the seat opposite them instead of joining their row.

If I sat beside Djúpr now, I would undoubtedly look strange.

That left me with only two options.

Sit next to Reisir.

Or sit separately with Yor between us.

After pondering the matter for roughly three seconds, I boarded before Yor.

Not only did I dislike the idea of using Yor as a shield, but I also felt it was ridiculous to worry that sitting beside someone would somehow reduce the psychological distance between us.

Unfortunately, I soon regretted that decision.

"For Karvaldr to willingly sit beside me...!"

The protagonist of someone else's novel was making a tremendous fuss.

I had no idea what part of this moved him so deeply.

Or why.

More importantly, wasn't he the one who said Djúpr was worried because he couldn't tell whether I considered Reisir a friend?

The person who said that in Chapter 160 really shouldn't be getting excited over something so trivial.

As expected, deep concern spread across Djúpr's face.

The protagonist of someone else's novel noticed it as well and hurriedly attempted damage control.

Unfortunately, what came out of his mouth was ridiculous.

"Lord Djúpr, please don't misunderstand! This is just a prank. A prank. Usually when I overreact like this, Karvaldr blushes and gets embarrassed, you see? That's so—well, anyway, that's why I ended up teasing him out of habit."

For the first time, I seriously considered switching seats with Yor.

"If that's true, then the young master's face as he looks at you seems completely cold. There's not even a hint of warmth."

"He must be tense today because Lord Djúpr is here."

After muttering his observation, Djúpr received that answer from Reisir.

At the same time, Reisir subtly signaled Helga with his eyes for support.

She responded casually.

"Tsun—... No, I don't know whether Young Master Karvaldr is actually nervous right now. But it's true those two always fool around like that."

In the previous chapter, I had categorized Reisir's announcement about recruiting Helga as "irrelevant news."

Now I realized it might be more accurate to call it "bad news."

Disguising something like this as good news was unforgivable.

Thus, I resolved to move away from the protagonist of someone else's novel by exchanging seats with Yor.

And immediately put the plan into action.

"There's no need to switch seats over this, is there?!"

"Hmph."

Under normal circumstances, I would have sharply turned my head away, folded my arms, and even crossed my legs.

However, there was an adult sitting across from me today.

Taking such an ill-mannered posture would have been awkward.

So I merely snorted.

Yet because of that—or perhaps despite it—

My reaction differed slightly from usual.

Unable to tease me for acting prim as he normally would, Reisir stared at me with an expression full of uncertainty.

He seemed unable to tell whether I was genuinely angry.

Truthfully, I wasn't offended enough to describe my feelings as hurt.

But explaining that would have felt strange.

So I simply remained evasive while absentmindedly stroking Yor's fur.

"Um, Young Master Karvaldr...?"

The silence, which had lasted a respectable amount of time, was finally broken by Djúpr.

Personally, I had been hoping no conversation would occur until we reached our destination.

Although it was unfortunate that the silence ended, I still responded.

"Yes?"

"First of all... I would like to thank you for saving my daughter on the day of the graduation ceremony."

The man who had nearly lost his child expressed his gratitude with utmost sincerity.

If I brushed it aside and said it was nothing, would it sound as though I considered Helga's life insignificant?

Yet given the possessed body's established character, I couldn't exactly answer that I had merely done what anyone would have done.

"Ah... yes..."

Caught off guard, only that short reply emerged.

The moment it left my mouth, I realized it might have been better to simply say there was no need for thanks.

The other party seemed equally flustered by my response.

"Ah, hahaha... He's already shy by nature, so he doesn't know how to react when someone thanks him. And with the added tension, I think he's malfunctioning a little."

Reisir desperately threw together whatever excuse came to mind.

Somehow, he seemed to be the most nervous person in the carriage.

His guardian stared at him for a moment, caught between disbelief and bewilderment, before shifting his attention back to me.

"Thank you as well for granting Ray's long-cherished wish. As his guardian—and as someone who was close to his father while he was alive—it was something I should have accomplished myself. Yet I lacked the ability and could only tell Ray to give up. In that sense, Young Master, what you've achieved at such a young age is truly remarkable."

It was true that Djúpr had advised Reisir to give up.

But that didn't mean he had done nothing.

Out of pity for the child who had lost his family, he had submitted petitions requesting the return of the land where that child's family had once lived.

He had requested permission to investigate the Daudabiner Territory in hopes of proving that the Demon Realm was not an artificial phenomenon.

When even that failed, he painstakingly saved every spare coin he could to purchase rare medicinal herbs sold by the Imperial Family and analyze them for anything unusual.

Among all the people he knew, he had even gone to the one with the highest status and shamelessly begged for assistance.

Yet despite all those efforts, he had failed to produce results.

And because of that failure, he decided that only he should continue clinging to an impossible task, suffering disappointment and helplessness.

So he told Reisir to give up.

As someone who knew those circumstances through the original novel—

Seeing him blame himself while comparing himself to me left me unable to remain silent.

"Not really..."

"Yes?"

"The only reason I was able to voice an opinion regarding the return of the Daudabiner Territory was because circumstances happened to support it. Since Demon Realms appeared in foreign nations as well, I could argue that returning the territory would benefit the Empire. The Imperial Family simply chose to listen."

"...Ah?"

"And from the beginning, I did not raise the issue for Reisir's sake. As someone belonging to one of the four pillars supporting the Empire, I merely conveyed an opinion that would aid the Empire's future to Her Royal Highness the Princess. Reisir simply happened to benefit from it."

"Um..."

"Therefore, I do not believe it warrants gratitude or praise."

"......"

An indescribably complex emotion settled across Djúpr's face.

The emotion on Reisir's face, however, was far easier to identify.

"See?! This is exactly the kind of person Karvaldr is! Cold on the outside, but incredibly warm underneath!"

His delight was painfully obvious.

"He just said he didn't do it for me. But Karvaldr has been concerned about my situation since long before that. He even told me that I absolutely had to reclaim my territory and restore my parents' honor."

I had no idea why the protagonist of someone else's novel looked so proud while talking about me.

"In other words, the reason Karvaldr said all that was because he wanted to tell Lord Djúpr not to blame himself."

"Why would I do that? Stop interpreting things however you like."

"If that wasn't your intention, then why say something you didn't need to say?"

"That's..."

"Did I misunderstand?"

If it was Reisir, then no matter what excuse I came up with, he would stubbornly refute it and eventually corner me into admitting I was a good person.

Knowing that, I merely muttered—

"...Hmph."

—and quietly looked away.