"...They’re late, everyone."
[Yeah...]
"Why aren’t they here yet?"
[Who knows...]
This is strange.
We were definitely supposed to meet here around this time.
But no one’s in sight.
The author also seemed bored, dragging out the end of their words.
I checked the clock again, but it was still the agreed time. 2:10 PM.
Just in case, I pulled out my phone and skimmed through the chat. The meeting time was confirmed as Saturday at 2 PM. Then I double-checked the date.
Yep. Saturday, 2 PM. No mistake.
...Hmm, maybe they’re just a little late. Should I wait?
I thought about texting to ask when they’d arrive, but decided against it. They’d probably show up soon.
"Looks like everyone’s running a bit behind. I was hoping Yu Siwoo would be the first to arrive."
[Huh? Why?]
"Well... wouldn’t any guy be excited?"
It wasn’t just any outfit—it was swimsuits. And honestly, at this level of exposure, it was practically the same as underwear.
Maybe because they were heroines, but Amelia and Dorothy were both stunning. All the heroines were.
Most superhumans were good-looking, but maybe it was the heroine effect?
They definitely stood out more than the other students.
"Hmm, shouldn’t Yu Siwoo be thanking his lucky stars and already waiting here for Amelia and Dorothy?"
[...Do you think so?]
"Of course! Those two are gorgeous!"
Amelia was the classic blonde, blue-eyed, energetic beauty. The braided hair framing her forehead was especially striking. She had a balanced figure, and her height gave her a model-like elegance.
And Dorothy? She was the opposite—shy, with beautiful brown hair and green eyes. Unlike Amelia, her most notable feature was her large chest.
...So where the hell did they go?
"Aren’t you curious about Amelia and Dorothy in swimsuits...? I even fanned the flames for you."
He seemed hesitant, so I brought up the one thing that would get any guy’s attention.
No one could resist Amelia and Dorothy in swimsuits. I wouldn’t be able to either.
Sure enough, when I casually mentioned it, he nodded like he was under a spell. That reaction was memorable.
Guys that age couldn’t help but be affected. I knew from experience—you couldn’t *not* think about it, even if you didn’t want to.
[Why assume he’d only care about those two?]
"Huh?"
[You’re a woman now too, right? Maybe Yu Siwoo could be into you?]
"Haha, very funny. As if that’d ever happen."
That can’t be right.
"Even I think I’m pretty, but I’m not so gorgeous that two heroines would feel threatened by me, am I?"
[…Hmm, is that true?]
"I haven’t even had that much contact with Yu Siwoo. Sure, people might look at me, but there’s no reason for him to be drawn to me."
[I-I see…?]
"That’s just how it is."
What incidents have I even had with Yu Siwoo…? Let me think.
The first sparring match, him comforting me when I couldn’t recover from the shock of my first kill, facing him as an enemy during finals.
Roughly those, right?
Oh, and club activities too.
The first sparring was as enemies, and finals were the same—he was an obstacle.
For club activities, it was mostly just me, Amelia, and him moving together, and even then, Amelia and Siwoo spent way more time together.
And with Dorothy, they must’ve gotten close fast through 2v2 tournament practice.
The only time I got close to Yu Siwoo was when he comforted me after I killed that chameleon bastard… I can’t think of anything else. …Was there?
But that probably got canceled out when I freaked out on the Ferris wheel, right?
He probably just thought, *That crazy bitch is having a meltdown.*
"Even if I was around during major events, I usually kept my distance otherwise."
[Mmm, I suppose…]
"That’s just how it is."
The author’s reaction was a little vague, but I wasn’t wrong, was I?
"If I were the only pretty one, maybe, but with multiple beautiful women around, attention gets divided. Plus, there are already two heroines closer to him than I am."
Objectively speaking, nothing happened that would make Yu Siwoo feel drawn to me.
Even the comforting part was something any friend would do.
"…But, Author-nim. There’s one thing you need to be careful about."
[Something to be careful about?]
"Yes. A warning."
In stories where the protagonist is popular, sometimes side characters or extras start hitting on him.
…That’s unacceptable.
"No random women should be flirting with him. Were you planning to shoehorn some beach episode in or something?"
[Huh?! H-How did you—]
"I won’t tolerate that kind of thing."
Right. It’s unforgivable.
Yu Siwoo is the protagonist. The one and only existence in this world.
…And one of only two humans in the world.
"Amelia and Dorothy… and any future heroine candidates are fine."
I can *barely* tolerate them.
Unless the author’s gone mad, they wouldn’t waste a heroine who’s appeared this much by revealing her as some secret organization’s spy.
…Someone might bring up Laira as a counterexample, but that’s different.
Laira had no real connection to me or Siwoo, and it was early after enrollment.
We didn’t even know what kind of person she was back then.
Honestly, deep down, I hope no new heroines ever show up.
Because they’re easy for the Author to tweak however they want.
It’s different with Amelia or Dorothy—people whose personalities and backgrounds I already know.
What if some new villain organization suddenly appears out of nowhere and kidnaps Yu Siwoo…?
Ugh…
[…Reader?]
"Ah, it’s nothing."
Either way, that kind of thing must never happen.
He’s someone I wouldn’t trade for anyone else in this world.
Both the Author and I want Yu Siwoo to survive, but…
What if Yu Siwoo—the protagonist—dies?
The Author said they can’t interfere with him directly.
…People are always exposed to all kinds of dangers. An accident could happen, and he could die.
I don’t even know what the Author truly is.
Whether they really have the job of an author, how they manipulate this world at will, or if they’re even human.
The only thing I’m certain of is that they’re an existence close to omnipotent.
Even if the Author wants Yu Siwoo to survive…
What if—just hypothetically—Yu Siwoo dies?
What if, like authors who abandon their works to start new ones, the Author abandons this world?
If that happens, what would become of the world?
Would it break? Or would it just keep going as if nothing happened?
He’s the only other person I’ve found in this world besides myself.
If I lost him, could I even keep my sanity?
…If I’d never noticed his existence in the first place, maybe. But now?
I’m sure of it.
I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
"…In any case, it’s cliché for extras to get close to the protagonist, so it’s not allowed. Understood?"
[Hmm… Is that so…? The Reader is always right, after all… Okay! I understand!]
The Author isn’t exactly meticulous.
They tend to act first, then realize their mistakes when problems arise.
…What if such an Author accidentally kills the protagonist?
That must never happen.
I’ll save him. No matter what.
I couldn’t leave Yu Siwoo in danger.
What if some extra starts causing trouble, and the Author suddenly thinks it’d be fun to give a villain the trait of loving ambushes?
…No! That can’t happen!
I didn’t even remember that Yu Siwoo has an ability close to immunity against ambushes—his instinct.
All I could think about was how dangerous the world is.
At least the people around him so far have been trustworthy. But others? No.
I need to pull myself together…! Absolutely, under no circumstances can anything dangerous—
As the thought spread, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
…Why isn’t he coming?
Did the author do something behind my back again?
Or did the protagonist get attacked out of nowhere in a place the author didn’t set up?
No way… has he already been put in danger…?!
"Hey, Arte."
"That, that can’t be… it absolutely can’t be…!"
"Arte?"
"Ah."
At that moment, I heard Yu Siwoo’s voice from behind me and hastily turned my head.
I’d been spacing out while waiting, so I hadn’t noticed anyone approaching from behind.
Fortunately, the voice I heard was a familiar one.
Yu Siwoo. The protagonist.
I’d been considering sending my subordinates to scour the city for him, but it seemed he was fine after all.
"Sorry, I was just zoning out…"
"No, we’re the ones who should apologize. Sorry we’re late."
"…"
Suddenly, I felt awkward.
And then I realized why all three of them were late.
"What in the world did you do to look like that?"
"…Ah, you noticed?"
"I’d have to be an idiot not to."
No matter how I looked at it, they were different from usual.
…It was like they’d gotten styled at some high-end salon or something?
I’d never been to a place like that, so I couldn’t describe it properly, but it felt like they’d slathered money all over themselves.
"Miss Dorothy, why didn’t you stop them…?"
"I tried telling them they’d be late, but they wouldn’t listen."
"Haa…"
There was only one person those two would let drag them around like that.
I shot a glare at Amelia, and she hastily spewed out excuses.
"S-Sorry we’re late! But don’t we look good?! I-I thought, since we were going anyway, we might as well dress up a little! Everyone arrived earlier than expected, so…!"
"…You two didn’t even dress up."
"We ran out of time! S-So we just did Siwoo first! I’ll do you next, okay? What do you think?!"
"Haa."
It sounded like an excuse, but I decided not to press further.
It was somewhat understandable, and well… it was Amelia.
I trusted that she wouldn’t do anything strange to Siwoo.
"C’mon, c’mon! It’s getting late, so let’s go! The car’s ready!"
"Yeah! L-Let’s go quickly!"
"…Hmm."
Urged on by Amelia and Dorothy, I let them push me toward the car, which looked expensive at a glance, and got in.
And only then did it finally sink in.
…This is the start of the trip.
The author had said there wouldn’t be any fights with anyone this time.
I loosened the reins of my tension and decided to relax.
It had been a long time since I’d had a real vacation.