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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Start of the Journey
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"…Everyone's late."
[I suppose so…]
"Why aren't they coming?"
[I'm not sure…]
That's strange.
They were definitely supposed to meet here by now.
Yet, no one's in sight.
Even the Author seemed bored, their words trailing off.
I looked at my watch again, and it was still the agreed-upon time. 2:10 PM.
Just in case, I pulled out my phone to check our messages, confirmed the meeting time was Saturday at 2 PM, and then double-checked the date.
It was accurate. Saturday at 2 PM. No mistake.
…Hmm, I guess they're just a little late. Should I wait?
I considered sending a text to ask when they'd gather at the meeting spot, but decided against it.
They'll be here soon.
"It seems everyone's a bit late. I expected Shiu to be the first one here, though."
[Huh? Why?]
"Well, obviously… If you're a guy, wouldn't you be excited?"
It wasn't just anyone; it was the heroines in their swimsuits.
They say swimsuits, but with that level of exposure, isn't it practically the same as underwear?
Perhaps because they're heroines, Amelia and Dorothy are both beautiful.
Most superhumans are generally good-looking, but is it because they're heroines?
Their looks definitely stood out compared to other students.
"Hmm, for Amelia and Dorothy, shouldn't he be waiting here in advance, saying 'thank you'?"
[…Is that so?]
"Of course! How beautiful are those two!"
Amelia is the quintessential energetic blonde, blue-eyed beauty.
A beautiful girl whose braided hair along her hairline is quite striking.
Her figure is moderately curvy, but she's quite tall, giving her a model-like physique, which makes her beautiful.
And what about Dorothy?
In contrast to Amelia, Dorothy is a beautiful girl with slightly timid-looking brown hair and lovely green eyes.
Unlike Amelia, her ample chest is quite striking.
…Where did he run off to, leaving these girls behind?
"Didn't he wonder about Amelia and Dorothy in their swimsuits…? I even hyped it up for him to look forward to it."
He seemed to be deliberating whether to go or not, so I brought up something that would undoubtedly excite any man.
You can't resist Amelia and Dorothy in their swimsuits. I wouldn't have been able to either.
Sure enough, when I casually mentioned it, he nodded as if enchanted, which was quite memorable.
Boys that age wouldn't be able to resist.
Having been through that phase myself, I know it well. Even if you don't want to care, you can't help but care.
[Why do you think he'd only care about those two?]
"Huh?"
[You're a woman now, too, Reader. Couldn't Shiu be attracted to you?]
"Haha, what a joke. There's no way."
The Author really knows how to joke.
That's impossible.
"Even I think I'm pretty, but it's not like my looks would make the two heroines pale in comparison, right?"
[…Hmm, right…?]
"Besides, I haven't had much contact with Shiu. Even if his gaze fell on me, there's no reason for him to be attracted."
[I-is that so?]
"I'm telling you."
Incidents involving me and Yoo Shiu… What were they?
The first spar, comforting him when he couldn't recover from the shock of his first kill, and meeting him as an enemy during final exams.
Wasn't that about it?
Oh, right, club activities too.
The first spar, we met as enemies, and the final exams were the same, as enemies. Obstacles, really.
Club activities mostly involved the three of us, with Amelia and Shiu spending much more time together.
He must have become close with Dorothy rapidly through 2-on-2 tournament practice.
The only incident that could have brought me closer to Yoo Shiu was comforting him after he killed that chameleon guy, right? …I can't think of anything else, really.
Wouldn't that have been nullified by my sudden outburst when we rode the Ferris wheel?
It was probably perceived as 'that crazy bitch having a fit by herself' or something.
"I was inevitably around during major incidents, but normally I kept my distance."
[Hmm, is that so…?]
"I'm telling you."
The Author's reaction was a bit ambiguous, but I didn't say anything wrong, did I?
"If I were the only pretty person, maybe, but when there are many, attention gets divided, and there are two heroines closer to him than me, aren't there?"
Objectively speaking, nothing has happened that would cause Shiu to be attracted to me.
Comforting him is something a friend would do.
"…However, Author. There's one thing you need to be careful about."
[A warning?]
"Yes. A warning."
In novels where the protagonist is very popular, sometimes side characters or extras try to flirt.
…I can't allow that.
"No strange women should be flirting with him, okay? You were planning to add them in, weren't you, as part of the beach episode?"
[Wha—? H-how did you know…?]
"I cannot tolerate such people approaching him."
Yes, I cannot forgive it.
Shiu is the protagonist. He's the only one of his kind in this world.
…And, he's one of only two humans in this world.
"Amelia and Dorothy. …And, any potential heroines who might appear later are fine."
I can barely tolerate them.
Unless the Author is crazy, they wouldn't just use up heroines who've appeared this much by making them spies for some secret organization.
…You might ask if Laira wasn't changed, but that's different.
Laira had no particular connection with me or Shiu, and it was early in our enrollment.
It was a time when we didn't really know what kind of person she was.
Honestly, deep down, I wish there wouldn't be any new heroines who might appear someday.
Because their settings can be easily changed according to the Author's wishes.
It's a different story with Amelia and Dorothy, whose personalities and backgrounds I already roughly know.
What if some newly formed villain organization suddenly kidnaps Yoo Shiu…?
*Grit.*
[…Reader?]
"Oh, it's nothing."
Anyway, such an incident must not happen.
Because he is an irreplaceable being in this world.
Both the Author and I wish for Yoo Shiu to survive…
But what if Yoo Shiu, the protagonist, were to die?
The Author said themselves that they couldn't touch Yoo Shiu.
…Humans are always exposed to all sorts of dangers. You never know what kind of accident might happen and kill you.
I don't know exactly what kind of being the Author is.
Whether they truly have the profession of an author, how they manipulate this world at will, or if they are truly human.
The only thing I am certain of is that they are a being close to omnipotence.
The Author probably also wants Yoo Shiu to survive…
But what if, just what if, Yoo Shiu were to die?
What if the Author were to abandon this world, just as authors abandon their works and move on to the next?
If that were to happen, what would become of this world?
Would it break down? Or would it simply continue as if nothing had happened?
He is the only person I've found in this world, besides myself.
If I were to lose such a being, would I truly be able to maintain my sanity?
…If I hadn't noticed his existence from the start, perhaps, but as it is now, I can say with certainty.
I wouldn't be able to bear it.
"…Anyway, it's cliché for such extras to approach the protagonist, so no, okay? You understand?"
[Hmm… Is that so…? Well, you're always right, Reader… Alright! I understand!]
The Author tends to be rather careless.
They're the type to just do things haphazardly and only realize their mistakes when problems arise.
…What if such an Author were to accidentally kill the protagonist?
That, above all, must not happen.
I will save him. Absolutely.
I couldn't let Yoo Shiu be in danger.
What if extras start flirting, and then the Author suddenly decides it would be 'fun' and adds a setting where they're villains who love surprise attacks?
…No!
It didn't even occur to me that Yoo Shiu possessed an ability like intuition that made him practically immune to surprise attacks.
All I could think of was that the world was dangerous.
At least the people who've been around so far can be trusted. But not others.
I must stay alert…! Absolutely, absolutely, nothing dangerous must happen…
As my thoughts spiraled to that point, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
…Why aren't they here?
Did the Author do something behind my back again?
Or, did the protagonist suddenly get ambushed and attacked in a place not set by the Author?
Could it be that he's already in danger…!
"Um, Arte."
"That, that alone must not happen… Absolutely, it must not…!"
"Arte?"
"Oh."
Suddenly, I heard Yoo Shiu's voice from behind me and spun my head around urgently.
I'd been spacing out while waiting, so I hadn't noticed the people approaching from behind.
Fortunately, the voice was a familiar one.
Yoo Shiu. The protagonist.
I was just debating whether I should unleash my subordinates to search the entire city, but thankfully, he seemed perfectly fine.
"Sorry, I was just spacing out for a bit…"
"No, it's us who should be sorry. We're sorry, we're a little late, aren't we?"
"…"
Suddenly, I felt an awkwardness.
And then I realized why the three of them were late.
"What on earth did you do to yourselves?"
"Oh, you noticed?"
"I think I'd be an idiot not to notice this."
No matter how I looked, they were different from usual.
…It was like they'd had some professional styling done somewhere…?
I haven't been to such places, so it's hard to explain properly, but it felt like they'd splurged a lot of money.
"Dorothy, what were you doing without stopping them…?"
"I told them we'd be late, and I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen."
"Haa…"
There's only one person those two would be dragged along by.
When I glared at Amelia, she quickly blurted out an excuse.
"S-sorry we're late! But doesn't he look cool?! I-I just wanted to doll him up a bit since we were going anyway! I thought everyone would arrive earlier than they did…!"
"…Even though the two of you didn't doll yourselves up?"
"We ran out of time! S-so we just did Shiu for now! We'll do you later, Arte. How about it?!"
"Haa."
It felt like an excuse, but I decided not to press further.
It was somewhat understandable, and well, it was Amelia.
I had a feeling she wouldn't do anything strange to Shiu.
"Alright, alright! It's getting late, so let's go quickly! The car's ready!"
"Yes! L-let's go quickly!"
"Hmm."
Pushed from behind by the urging Amelia and Dorothy, I got into a car that clearly looked expensive.
And only then did it truly sink in.
…This is the start of our journey.
The Author had said there wouldn't be any fighting on this trip.
I decided to loosen up and get some good rest.
It was a long-awaited vacation.