"A blanket... and a pillow?"

Maybe it was because I'd only just regained consciousness after fainting, but my thoughts were still sluggish.

It took me a while to realize that Yor hadn't merely slipped a pillow beneath my head and covered me with a blanket. He had even taken off my shoes and neatly set them aside.

"Myaoo..."

As I sat there blankly, trying to understand the situation, Yor let out a timid cry while anxiously searching my face.

Only after seeing the baby dragon's worried expression did it finally occur to me.

He must have been terrified while I was unconscious.

How frightened must he have been, watching me stare vacantly after waking up, unable to gather my senses?

"When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on the floor, so I was just a little dazed because I couldn't understand what had happened. I'm fine now, so you can stop worrying."

"Yaong...?"

"I'm sorry for making you worry. This hyung is really all right now. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

I forced a gentle smile, hoping to stop the baby dragon from trembling with anxiety.

Perhaps that smile finally reassured him.

"Nyaa... myaaang—!!"

Just as I thought his eyes had grown misty, tears suddenly spilled over.

"Oh dear... You must have been so scared."

I gently stroked his head.

"And yet you still stayed calm enough to take care of me. My baby dragon is incredible. You brought me a blanket and a pillow, and you even took off my shoes..."

I smiled warmly.

"That must be why I don't ache anywhere, even though I collapsed onto the floor. Yor, it's all thanks to you."

"Thank you."

"Nyaooong! Myaat, nyaang...! Yaooong...!"

"Mm. That's right."

"You have no idea how much strength you give me just by staying by my side."

"Myaaaaa... nyaaaaa..."

Unable to hold them back any longer, Yor broke down into loud, sorrowful sobs.

I quietly gathered the baby dragon into my arms and gently patted his back until he finally calmed down.

【Reason】

Some time later.

Once Yor had stopped crying, he slipped free from my embrace and wrote a single word across the whiteboard.

He wanted to know what had shocked me so badly that I'd actually fainted.

...Should I tell Yor?

For a moment, I hesitated.

What if learning the truth frightened him too?

Yor was the only being in this world who knew I'd transmigrated into a novel.

If I couldn't even share my worries with him, I'd truly become completely alone in this unfamiliar world.

Besides, my clever baby dragon had probably already guessed most of it anyway.

Yet the reason Yor was asking me directly...

...was probably his own way of telling me not to bear everything alone.

He wanted me to ease my fears by confiding them to him.

"Well..."

I let out a slow breath.

"I think the world I've transmigrated into is actually the remake version of 《NaSE》."

"As for why I came to that conclusion..."

As I began explaining everything, Yor listened with complete attention, nodding seriously from time to time.

His calm composure was deeply reassuring.

Yet somehow...

...it also made my chest feel heavier.

To think that someone who was normally this calm and dependable would tremble in fear and cry whenever something happened to me...

"The biggest problem is that I can already tell Author Senna intends to write another despair-filled story."

I sighed.

"Creating a Special Class for the Awakened in such a coercive way... That's the last thing you'd do if you wanted to write a bright academy story."

If the goal had truly been to prepare students in case another Demon Realm appeared...

...they could simply have required everyone to take a few combat-related classes.

That alone would have created an environment where students could train without resistance.

After that, they could separate everyone according to combat ability, Awakening status, and similar criteria.

Or they could simply place all the major characters together under the excuse of practicing group battles.

There were countless better options.

Yet instead...

...they deliberately staged events so that the Imperial Family—which intended to sacrifice the protagonist's group—would be praised.

Because of that, the students in the Awakened Class were forced into training they never wanted.

Every day, they now lived in fear of the moment they'd be sent into a Demon Realm to gamble with their lives.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

They'd also been robbed of the chance to choose, of their own free will, to save others...

...to overcome their fears...

...and to grow stronger because of those choices.

"On top of that, they've even introduced a 'traitor' character."

"Maybe he won't actually betray everyone this time..."

"...but I don't think that's very likely."

"The moment Author Senna decides the story needs more tension, they'll use him to trigger an incident that completely shatters Protagonist Reisir's state of mind."

Just like what happened on the day of the graduation ceremony.

Just as Helga had nearly been killed in the original version before the remake...

...it would be the perfect way to destroy the peaceful atmosphere in an instant.

"So..."

I lowered my voice.

"I suspect Author Senna either has no idea I've transmigrated here..."

"...or they see me as someone who's ruining the story they want to write."

"I mean, just look at the evidence."

"They don't seem to have the slightest intention of creating a peaceful, safe world for the person trapped inside the novel they wrote."

"Nyaong... myaong..."

"And the biggest problem..."

"...is that regardless of whether Author Senna knows I've transmigrated or not..."

"...there are already more than enough reasons for them to kill Karvaldr."

From the perspective of readers familiar with the remake...

My sudden apology to Reisir would have seemed completely absurd.

It came out of nowhere.

There had been absolutely no foreshadowing.

But Reisir had gone even further.

Not only had he forgiven the person who bullied him...

He'd claimed he felt strangely comfortable around him...

...and even asked him to become friends.

How unbelievable would that look?

And it didn't stop there.

Reisir constantly insisted I was just a tsundere...

...that I was actually a shy child who expressed affection awkwardly.

No.

He didn't merely suggest it.

He actively went around telling everyone exactly that.

He even insisted that I'd been the one who saved him.

My readers...

Knowing I wasn't the real Karvaldr...

...would probably have accepted it without making too much of a fuss.

But Author Senna's readers couldn't possibly react the same way.

Because what they'd see...

...was the protagonist—

...the victim of school bullying—

...personally glorifying his own abuser.

School violence is a serious social issue.

If you portray it like this... what reader could possibly accept it?

At that point...

...the criticism wouldn't simply be directed toward the character Karvaldr.

There would be more than enough backlash aimed directly at Author Senna as well.

"...Wait."

I suddenly froze.

"Does that mean Reisir's favorable opinion of me has nothing to do with Author Senna's intentions...?"

"Yaong?"

Seeing Yor tilt his head, I carefully explained the train of thought that had led me there.

After listening, Yor quietly wrote a single symbol on the whiteboard.

【＝】

He had reached exactly the same conclusion.

The moment I realized this world still existed within Author Senna's influence...

...I'd secretly been terrified.

Terrified that everyone's feelings toward me...

...might simply be part of Author Senna's puppet show.

So... Reisir really chose his own actions.

Of his own free will.

Instead of burying my anxiety and pretending it didn't exist...

...I needed to examine each concern one by one...

...sort through them carefully...

...and search for whatever hope lay hidden beneath them.

A genuine sense of relief finally washed over me.

"It's a relief..."

Author Senna might be a god-like existence within this world...

...but apparently they couldn't completely control the characters.

Not even the original protagonist, Reisir.

Come to think of it...

When I used to write novels, I couldn't perfectly control every one of my characters either.

I'd wager most authors experienced the same thing.

For characters to act beyond an author's expectations...

...their actions still had to make sense.

That plausibility came from their personalities...

...and from the relationships they built with the people around them.

"Author Senna can manipulate the world itself and force incidents to happen."

"But when it comes to influencing the characters..."

"...doesn't that mean I actually have the greater advantage?"

"Nyaong nyaong! Nyan nyat, myamyang!"

"Because I can interact with them directly..."

"...guide their choices..."

"...and change the outcome through my own actions."

"Yaooong~!"

"Come to think of it..."

"I managed to save Helga during the graduation ceremony."

"So even if another crisis like that happens..."

"...I'll find a way to overcome it."

"Nyan nyan nyan!!"

"And besides..."

"I can still move through the spaces between the lines..."

"...places the original author never actually observes."

"Maybe..."

"...there's some way to use that."

Just as Yor's encouragement was finally beginning to dispel the anxiety clouding my heart—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Someone rapped on the door.

There was a very high probability it was the original protagonist...

Reisir.

After orientation had ended, he'd probably noticed I didn't look well on the way back to the dormitory and had come to check on me.

If I open the door...

If I talk with him...

Will that conversation become something Author Senna observes and records as part of the remake?

Given the circumstances...

My condition would naturally be interpreted as the result of the newly established Special Class for the Awakened.

Karvaldr's current character setting was someone so terrified of dying that he'd even developed insomnia.

Naturally, someone like that would be under greater stress than anyone else when faced with the prospect of risking his life against monsters.

They'll definitely show this.

If nothing else, it'll emphasize how hopeless the situation is and reinforce the story's atmosphere of despair.

Just as I reached that conclusion—

Knock. Knock.

The visitor knocked again.

This time, they also spoke.

"Um... Yor?"

"It's me, Reisir."

"Could you open the door for a moment?"

I had no idea why he was asking for Yor instead of me.

But my guess had been correct.

The visitor really was Reisir.

At this point...

...in case any of my dear readers are wondering whether Reisir overheard my conversation with Yor—

Don't worry.

Normally, the rooms in this dormitory are perfectly soundproof.

However, for a brief moment after someone knocks from outside, that soundproofing weakens.

In fact, it isn't limited to this dormitory.

Almost every indoor space in this world follows the same strange rule.

Otherwise, even if you were peacefully discussing secrets inside a room, you'd never be able to hear someone calling for you outside.

It wasn't the result of Ether Engineering or some advanced technology.

It simply originated from one of the contradictions Author Senna introduced for the sake of narrative convenience.

Think of it as an odd law of physics that exists only inside this fictional world.

"...What brings you here?"

I opened the door only a crack—just enough for half my face to peek through—and looked at the visitor.

The instant our eyes met...

A flash of relief crossed Reisir's face.

It disappeared almost immediately, replaced by unmistakable concern.

"When I came earlier, Yor slipped a note under the door saying you were asleep..."

"...Did I wake you?"

So that was it.

No wonder he'd called for Yor first instead of Karvaldr.

This was already his second visit.

When I glanced back...

Yor was holding up a whiteboard.

Written on it was a single word.

【Forgot】

The sight was so irresistibly adorable that I decided to let it slide without saying anything.