"Combat training?"

"The thing is, I got in through the Awakened Special Admission, you know? And the perks are incredible. My tuition's waived, they provide our uniforms, and they even give us a monthly stipend! Why else would the Imperial Academy go to such lengths to recruit the Awakened?"

"The Imperial Family... intends to cultivate specialists for conquering the Demon Realm... here at the Academy?"

"That's only my conjecture."

While I was contemplating whether to withdraw from the Academy, the conversation between the original protagonist and the original supporting character continued.

"By the way... your way of speaking sounds oddly familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Oh my! Where did you pick up such a cheesy line? I'm sorry, Senior, but you're not my type."

"You're not mine either. I only asked because your manner of speaking reminded me of someone I've met before. It wasn't a pick-up line."

"Oh? Is that so? People are always telling me I have a charm that drives everyone—regardless of age or gender—absolutely crazy. I thought perhaps I'd unknowingly claimed another victim."

That line about people of all ages and genders had appeared in the original work as well.

Everyone around him used the phrase "going crazy" to mean they were so irritated they couldn't stand it.

But Pret, fully aware of that, deliberately acted as though it meant people liked him so much they were crazy about him.

That way, they become so dumbfounded—and even more irritated—that they lose all desire to keep talking.

Exactly as expected.

Reisir ended the conversation by turning away with a look of open disgust.

Apparently, he had given up trying to figure out why Pret's speech sounded so familiar.

Leaving that aside... if even Reisir felt a sense of déjà vu... then the mercenary from the kidnapping incident really must have been Pret.

I still couldn't understand why the successor to the Information Guild would accept a request like that.

I'm sure you readers are wondering the same thing, so I'll have to sound him out indirectly at some point.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, a nervous-looking freshman with brown hair and a gentle appearance stepped onto the black carpet.

"Judging by how carefully he's watching his feet, as though he's afraid of leaving footprints on such an expensive carpet... he must be a commoner like me."

This, from the same man who had marched across it without the slightest hesitation.

Pret offered that observation with complete confidence.

Though I wasn't even sure it counted as an observation.

He's probably just disguising information he already uncovered in a background investigation as a guess.

Perhaps it was only natural for someone from the Information Guild.

He seemed like the sort of person who couldn't rest until he knew every personal detail about everyone around him.

There was no way someone like that hadn't already investigated another student admitted through the Awakened Special Admission.

He's probably already finished looking into both Reisir and me now that we've been confirmed as Awakened.

And it certainly wouldn't stop there.

There was a high probability he'd already gathered information on Helga, Vigdís, and Ríolíkin as well.

After all, Pret's defining characteristic was his obsessive desire to collect information.

It was enough to make you believe he'd been chosen as the Information Guild's successor precisely because of that personality.

Because of those habits, many readers of the original novel disliked him.

His constant background investigations made him come across as gloomy and unsettling.

As always, that eventually earned him an early death.

"It seems you seniors are the quiet type. If one of you had said, 'Hey, you just walked all over the carpet without a care,' I was planning to answer, 'Well, wasn't it laid there to be walked on?'"

Pret kept rambling, but none of us reacted.

Helga seemed too distracted by the mention of the Awakened Special Class to care.

Reisir was still thoroughly disgusted with Pret.

As for me, besides needing to preserve Karvaldr's personality, I simply had no desire to respond to such nonsense.

"My classmate has arrived, so I should go introduce myself. Building connections with you seniors is important, of course, but I'll probably be seeing people from my own year much more often..."

Perhaps he decided forcing the conversation any further would cost him more than it was worth.

The Information Guild's successor put on an unnecessarily awkward smile before rising from his seat.

The new freshman, unlike Pret, had chosen a seat several places away from us instead of right beside us.

"Hello. You were admitted through the Awakened Special Admission too, weren't you?"

"Uh...? You too? Then... are you a commoner?"

"Yep. That's right. I'm Pret Hulid. What's your name?"

I hoped I was wrong.

But perhaps this freshman was another original supporting character.

So I quietly sharpened my hearing and listened in on their conversation.

"My name's Sveinn Oddr. I was worried I'd be the only commoner here, so it's a relief there's another one among the new students. And you're an Awakened too. It's really nice to meet you!"

As expected.

It was a name I recognized.

Worse still, unlike Pret, he wasn't even someone who could be considered firmly on the protagonist's side.

Back in Chapter 81, I briefly mentioned that there had been a traitor in the original story.

This was him.

And that isn't even the biggest problem.

Pret's awakening had never been given a specific point in the original story, so I could overlook the fact that he was already Awakened.

Sveinn was different.

The first time he appeared, he met Reisir in the Demon Realm and claimed he had only recently awakened.

That was shortly after Djúpr died, wasn't it?

Which meant...

Either Sveinn had awakened much earlier in this timeline...

...or the Sveinn from the original story had deliberately lied to Reisir.

Those were the only two possibilities.

Nothing but troublesome developments, one after another, on the very first day of the semester...

My desire to withdraw from the Academy only grew stronger.

Yet another thought began pushing back against it.

The traitor from the original story had entered the Academy.

And there was a very high chance he would betray Reisir again.

And I was the only one who knew.

Doesn't that make me the only one who can stay on guard against him and prepare for his betrayal?

In the original story, Reisir had regarded Sveinn as a close friend and trusted him without reservation.

That was why he didn't realize Sveinn had betrayed him until after two of his companions had already died.

Knowing that history might repeat itself...

Especially when the companions who might die this time were people I actually knew...

At least there's one saving grace. The Information Guild's successor just happens to be nearby.

The original novel never revealed why Sveinn betrayed Reisir.

He kept his mouth shut until the moment he died.

Most readers concluded that Author Senna had simply decided, on a whim, to make one of Reisir's companions a traitor for the sake of tormenting the protagonist, without ever bothering to create a proper motive...

If I handled this carefully, I might be able to discover Sveinn's reason for betrayal through Pret.

And if I learned the reason...

Perhaps I could prevent the betrayal altogether.

Even if I couldn't uncover anything useful and Sveinn still attempted to betray Reisir...

I should at least be able to avoid the worst possible outcome.

All I'd have to do was ask the Information Guild's successor to keep a close watch on Sveinn.

That way, I'd know in advance when he intended to betray us, how he planned to do it, and who he meant to sacrifice.

I'd have time to prepare.

As for stopping Reisir from ever seeing Sveinn as a trusted friend... couldn't I interfere somehow? If I prevent them from building that friendship in the first place...

If I managed that...

Then unlike the original story, Reisir wouldn't have to suffer the betrayal of someone he considered a friend.

Nor would he be forced to kill that friend with his own hands.

I'll postpone my withdrawal until after I've dealt with this. If I leave now while pretending I know nothing about the traitor... I'd have nightmares bad enough to give me insomnia.

I wasn't sure whether thoughts like these also counted as Character Analysis, but the Thought Acceleration Skill had been active for quite some time.

Even so, only a few minutes had actually passed.

That was when Vigdís and Ríolíkin arrived.

"I didn't expect the two of you to come together. That's unexpected."

"We happened to run into each other while waiting for a hired carriage at the Gate Facility."

"Y-yeah. S-so... we shared the carriage... and came together."

Vigdís and Ríolíkin answered Reisir's question.

After the succession of unfamiliar faces from the original story had left me increasingly uneasy, seeing familiar ones brought me an odd sense of relief.

Though, when you thought about it, they were also characters from the original story.

"Lord Karvaldr. Did you have a pleasant vacation, s-sir?"

"It was... acceptable."

"I've... been doing well! I also kept training... without slacking. And I've been working hard... to fix my stutter!"

"It has improved considerably."

"Ehehe... it's all thanks to you, Lord Karvaldr."

I had only told him to work on it.

He was the one who overcame his stutter through his own effort, so shouldn't the credit belong to him?

The thought crossed my mind.

But I couldn't say it aloud.

Not only would it go against Karvaldr's established personality...

It would also inevitably make everyone think I was being tsundere.

"Hmph..."

Once again, I escaped the situation using my universal solution.

As my exchange with Ríolíkin came to an end, Vigdís spoke next.

"It's been a while, Kar."

"Indeed."

"I received the gift. And the letter as well. I wrote it in my reply, but I wanted to thank you in person. I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness."

At that line, I'm sure every one of you readers raised an eyebrow.

Allow me to explain.

I was worried that if Vigdís heard nothing from Karvaldr during this vacation as well, Count Sjalfráði would torment his daughter again.

So, using Karvaldr's name, I sent her a set of daggers as a gift, since she still lacked a proper secondary weapon.

As for the letter...

"Forget the gift—a letter? Karvaldr actually wrote to you during the break? You two kept in touch the whole vacation?"

"Technically... yes."

"What do you mean, 'technically'?"

"Kar only signed the envelope. Yor wrote everything inside."

...Just as Vigdís explained to Reisir.

While I diligently maintained my distance from my prospective fiancée, Yor had gone to the trouble of writing in my place.

"Ah, I see. So if I write letters to Yor, I can hear news about Kar during the holidays too? Why didn't I think of that?"

"Next vacation... I-I should also write... to Lord Yor."

Listening to Reisir's and Ríolíkin's musings, I had the overwhelming urge to tell them to stop bothering Yor.

But considering I wasn't exactly in a position to criticize anyone...

I wisely kept my mouth shut.