"Regardless... thank you."

"For coming all this way to see me... and for telling me you bear me no ill will."

"Thanks to you, this old man's heart is a little lighter."

"It truly is a blessing that you're safe, both in body and in mind, Lord Karvaldr."

Professor Radvisin smiled warmly.

I never know what to say in situations like this.

As I stood there hesitating, he spoke again.

"If nothing comes to mind, you needn't force yourself to answer."

"I was only talking to myself."

"You know how this old professor is, don't you, Lord Karvaldr?"

"I do tend to ramble."

I must have looked thoroughly flustered.

Since the professor himself had said I didn't have to answer, remaining silent wouldn't have been discourteous.

But because he'd shown me such consideration...

I couldn't bring myself to simply let it pass.

Wanting to say something—anything—that might encourage him, I finally managed to force the words out.

"I..."

"I hope you'll always stay healthy, Professor..."

"Hahaha!"

"Then I'd better recover my spirits quickly for the sake of such a wonderful student!"

Strength had already returned to the old professor's voice.

Even his complexion seemed a little brighter than before.

I was glad I'd overcome my embarrassment and spoken.

"In that case, I ought to change my work environment."

"Locking myself away in a tiny office only gives me room for gloomy thoughts."

"It's terribly bad for one's mental health."

I suspected Professor Radvisin had secluded himself precisely so his research students wouldn't see him weighed down by guilt.

In other words...

What he'd just said had the cause and effect reversed.

But there's no reason to point that out.

Thinking so, I walked over to his desk.

I simply intended to help organize the documents scattered across it so they would be easier to carry outside.

"Ah, that's right."

"Lord Karvaldr, you've awakened now as well, haven't you? Just like Professor Skati."

He asked just as I'd almost finished arranging everything.

It sounded like nothing more than casual conversation.

Without giving it much thought, I answered.

"Yes."

I reached for the neatly stacked documents.

"Then you've already confirmed the exact activation condition of your second buff skill through the Status Window, haven't you?"

"...!"

The stack nearly slipped from my hands.

"Th-That's..."

"I mean..."

"Was the skill description difficult to understand?"

"Even so, your Inclination should have been listed."

"Given how sharp you are, Lord Karvaldr, I assumed you'd have deduced the rest."

"Come to think of it..."

"I'm rather curious what your Inclination is."

"..."

Why had the me from Chapter 18 been so diligent when writing that report?

At this moment...

I truly regretted it.

"Is it perhaps something that's difficult to answer?"

"Th-That's..."

"Well..."

"My Inclination is rather... personal..."

"So it's a little difficult to discuss."

"Oh my."

"This old professor was terribly thoughtless."

"My apologies."

"N-No."

"There's no need to apologize."

"It's simply..."

"I'm a little sensitive about it."

I waved both hands in denial while thinking.

If I don't intend to keep 【Encouragement】 hidden forever, limiting it to Yor and myself...

Then perhaps I should come up with an activation condition that can be disclosed publicly.

Besides...

Professor Radvisin would eventually be helping me develop my Ether Attribute Skill.

It would probably be better to explain at least part of it to him.

"The condition is probably..."

"It requires establishing a relationship through a certain word."

"And..."

"I believe a certain level of friendship is necessary as well."

"Something along those lines."

"Then shouldn't you hurry and acknowledge your friends as friends?"

I knew he'd say something like that.

"Even then, the stat increase isn't very large."

"It's only three points."

"To be honest, it's small enough that using it or not barely makes a difference."

"And..."

"I don't think they necessarily have to be friends."

"Being acquaintances should be enough for the buff to apply."

"Lord Karvaldr..."

"Could it be that you..."

"...when it comes to friends..."

"Ahem."

"Never mind."

"Please pretend this old professor never said that."

Prompted by my unusually heated explanation, Professor Radvisin had almost asked something...

Only to abruptly stop himself.

Even so...

He'd already revealed enough for me to infer the rest.

Do you have some kind of trauma related to friendship?

That was probably what he'd intended to ask.

A transfer student approached me before first period and said they wanted to be my friend.

Then, at lunchtime that very same day...

They told me they wanted to take it back.

Would something like that count as trauma?

Back then, that child had apologized.

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't know you were that kind of person."

Even now...

I still didn't know what "that kind of person" meant.

I couldn't bring myself to ask where they'd heard it.

Or from whom.

But I never resented them.

Perhaps they hadn't believed some baseless rumor.

Perhaps they'd simply realized from the atmosphere around me that I was the child everyone ostracized...

...and became afraid that standing beside me would make them the next target.

That possibility had always existed.

Thinking of it that way...

I could understand.

In fact, I ended up feeling guilty for nearly dragging them into it.

And yet...

For this memory to resurface now...

I suppose I really was hurt back then.

I couldn't remember that child's face anymore.

Or even their voice.

Only those final words remained.

Like a thorn lodged somewhere inside me.

Would it have been better if I'd asked what they meant back then?

As that thought crossed my mind...

Yor let out a soft meow and rubbed her face against my cheek.

Only then did I return to myself.

I wondered what expression I'd been making.

Professor Radvisin was looking at me with unmistakable pity.

"A buff that can only be granted to those close to you..."

"It seems you're the sort of person who doesn't give your affection away easily."

"But once you accept someone as your own..."

"You treasure them with everything you have."

"Hahaha."

Just as I'd chosen not to point out that he'd reversed cause and effect earlier...

He likewise chose not to mention what he'd noticed.

Instead, he gently changed the subject.

I appreciated the thought behind it.

Even so...

The words themselves were embarrassingly sentimental.

I could feel my face growing warm.

No... wait a minute.

The one who created 【Encouragement】 wasn't me.

It was the original Karvaldr.

There's no reason for me to be embarrassed.

According to the dictionary, encouragement didn't merely mean supporting or urging someone on.

It also carried the meaning of driving someone forward—almost like a whip.

Until now, I'd simply thought the original Karvaldr had come up with an oddly fitting skill.

But hearing Professor Radvisin describe it that way...

I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the original owner of this body.

"By the way..."

"Did you come only to greet me today?"

"Or were you planning to have lunch together as well?"

After I'd carried the documents out into the laboratory, the professor asked.

It was still more than two hours ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) before noon.

He had probably assumed I'd deliberately chosen an earlier hour.

"No, Professor."

"I wasn't sure what time you usually ate during the vacation."

"And I thought suddenly appearing at lunchtime to ask if I could join you would be rather impolite."

"So I came early instead."

"That might be true for someone else."

"But you're always welcome here, Lord Karvaldr."

"So you needn't worry about such formalities."

Having said that, Professor Radvisin looked toward his research students, silently seeking their agreement.

In response—

"Ugh... ughhhh...!"

The laboratory filled with another chorus of zombie groans.

What exactly was I supposed to have heard?

Suppressing the urge to ask, I simply answered politely.

"Ah... yes."

Fortunately, the professor didn't notice my empty agreement.

"As for meals..."

"In the past, I'd become so absorbed in my research that I'd completely lose track of time."

"I often ate at irregular hours."

"Sometimes I skipped meals entirely."

"But thanks to Professor Skati..."

"I've maintained a proper schedule throughout this vacation."

"I leave the laboratory at exactly twelve every day."

"So if you visit again in the future, please keep that in mind."

"Does Professor Skati eat with you?"

"Or does she simply remind you what time it is?"

The question occurred to me naturally as I listened.

The moment I asked—

"Oh my..."

"Those are exactly the sort of words that would make Professor Skati cry if she heard them...!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Thaaat's riiight~!"

"I am huuuurt~!"

—I hurriedly explained myself.

"The campus cafeteria is closed during vacation."

"And until recently, Professor Skati wasn't allowed to leave the Academy."

"So I was wondering how she managed her meals."

"Ahh, so that's what you meant."

"You don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Professor Skati is allowed to go out now."

"The official order says I can leave the Academy as long as I'm accompanied by at least one other professor~!"

"And I have Grandpa Rabi~!"

"So those miserable days of buying piles of instant meals and frozen food from the campus shop before vacation..."

"...and surviving on nothing but those..."

"Are fiiiinally oooover~~!"

"I've said bye-bye to them forever~~!!"

I'd often wondered how someone forbidden from leaving campus had managed to eat throughout the vacation.

Now I finally had my answer.

So she does receive a monthly salary after all, considering she bought food from the campus store.

Still...

Closing both the cafeteria and the campus shop during vacation while simultaneously forbidding her from leaving the Academy had been absurdly unreasonable.

For someone with nowhere to go and no opportunity to spend money, they might as well have skipped paying her and simply provided meals instead.

Now, however, the restriction had finally been relaxed.

Considering that...

Receiving a salary was undoubtedly the better arrangement.

Perhaps it really had turned out for the best.

"Aaand~!"

"Now I can attend all kinds of events too~!!"

"I can finally watch the closing ceremony and the graduation ceremony properly~!"

"And I can even go see the Martial Arts Tournament outside the Academy~!"

"Isn't that wonderful~?"

"Isn't it amaaaziiing~??"

"Yes."

"It truly is."

"Congratulations."

"Hehe!"

"Oh, right!"

"Karvaldr, are you going to dance at this year's Martial Arts Tournament too~?"

"I'm not."

"And I didn't dance at last year's tournament either."

"Aww..."

"That's too bad..."

"I really wanted to see iiit..."

"..."

For a fleeting moment, genuine disappointment crossed Skati's face.

But it disappeared just as quickly.

Perhaps she regretted missing last year's tournament.

Or perhaps...

She was simply looking forward to all the future opportunities she would now have.

"Oh!"

"Did you practice your whip and dagger techniques a lot during the vacation~?"

"How about I take a quick look before we head out for lunch~??"

It wasn't merely an offer I had no reason to refuse.

It was one I had every reason to accept.

Until now...

I'd always assumed that, just as in the original story, Skati would eventually leave the Academy and die somewhere in the Demon Realm.

That's why I'd consciously kept an emotional distance from her.

So...

How should I treat her from now on?

It wasn't a question I could answer immediately.

After all...

There was still no guarantee the original storyline no longer held any influence.

For now...

I decided to watch how things unfolded.

There was no need to rush my conclusion.