"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Uh, well… I was just passing by. You do know that’s a crime, right?"
Siwoo’s nonsense echoed through the alley.
Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, I forgot all about subduing the two thugs and just stared blankly at him.
Why is this kid here?
What the hell is going on?
[As expected of the protagonist…! He can’t stand by when he sees injustice! So cool!]
No, that’s not the point, author-nim.
He should be at school right now. Why is he here?
It takes hours just to get here.
Plus, this is the kind of place where outsiders get lost easily.
I knew that all too well—I’d zoned out for a second while walking and ended up confused about where I was.
"We know it’s a crime, so beat it. We’re busy."
"Hmm… What do I do…? Hey, what do I have to do to get you to let her go? This is dangerous."
"You wanna die?! Get lost, now!"
"Whoa, whoa, don’t swing that around! It’s dangerous!"
"If it wasn’t dangerous, would I be swinging it, you stupid bastard?! If you don’t wanna get stabbed, get the hell out of here!"
Siwoo tried to reason with the thugs a few times, only for them to snap back at him each time.
Finally, Siwoo shook his head, as if giving up.
"…Didn’t I say? I warned you. It’s dangerous."
"Stop spouting bullshit and get lost! Unless you want to watch this bitch die—"
"You’ll be the one dying, trash."
"W-What?! Since when—?!"
Clang.
The dagger that had drawn blood on my neck split in two—handle and blade separated.
I smirked at the thug staring dumbfounded at the now-useless junk in his hand.
"What should I do with you?"
"H-Hiiik—?! R-Run—!"
"Ah-ah. Stay right there. Unless you want to watch your friend die."
He’d tried to take a hostage earlier.
Guess I should show him what a real hostage situation looks like.
I showed him his partner, now bound and floating beside me, and sure enough, he reacted immediately.
…By turning tail and running without a second glance.
What the hell?
"Mmph! Mmmph! Nnngh!"
"Tsk… Not a shred of loyalty between these guys."
This isn’t even a hostage situation anymore.
I shook my head at the fleeing thug.
Not that it mattered where he ran.
"HAAAAAAH! My—my shoulder! My shoulder—!"
"Oh dear, you’re lucky. One more step and you’d have lost the use of that arm."
"S-Save me… please…!"
"Sure. I’ll spare you."
I bound the thug who’d tried to escape. Unlike his partner, he could still move and talk.
However, I had carefully tied the threads around his fingers and toes.
Hmm, how can I properly convey my thoughts to him…
…Ah. This should work.
-CRACK!
I extracted a thread from the Stockings, then instantly shattered a rock lying on the ground.
Only then did the thug—who had been scheming to escape—seem to understand the situation. His face turned deathly pale.
"Y-Your body is bound with the same thread. If I tighten it like I did with that rock, what do you think will happen to you?"
"Hiiik, hiiik…"
"Speak. Speak, you trash."
"P-Please spare me…"
"I said I won’t kill you. Why would I? …But unless you give me a good reason why you should walk out of here with all your limbs intact, my friend."
"T-That, I mean…"
"If you can’t give me a reason, then unfortunately, you’ll have to say goodbye to a part of yourself forever."
Only then did the thug start cooperating. I gave him a bright smile.
This was how you handled a hostage situation.
If he didn’t want to part with his flesh, he’d have to spit out some useful information, no matter what it was.
"Uh, Arte…?"
"Ah."
This was bad.
My mind went blank, as if my head had been filled with static.
Even if I had let my guard down, the fact that I’d hurt these lowlives—even superficially—had made me so angry that I’d acted without thinking.
And I shouldn’t have.
I’d done it even though I knew Yu Siwoo was nearby.
W-What do I do? Should I try smiling?
I forced an awkward smile and spoke to him. "That was an unsightly display, wasn’t it, Siwoo?"
"Mhm. Yeah. That’s what I told you."
"…?"
"I said it was dangerous, but you didn’t listen…"
Wait, what?
He wasn’t saying *I* was dangerous and that’s why I shouldn’t do it—he was saying *they* were dangerous and that’s why I shouldn’t do it?
I’d almost been touched by that.
"What do you mean? Are you saying *I’m* the dangerous one?"
"…No, that’s not it. You’re a good person."
I’d half-expected him to brush off what he’d just seen, so I’d playfully grumbled in a teasing tone. But his response was nothing like what I’d anticipated.
I’d thought he might be a little flustered, but his reaction completely defied my expectations.
…A good person? Me?
"Hah, you’re good at jokes. Didn’t you just see? I’m actually a pretty bad person."
"You didn’t start it first."
"…Huh? Well, that’s true, but—"
"You’re not a bad person."
Yu Siwoo’s words made a faint smile slip out.
He didn’t know I’d killed multiple villains.
That was why he could react like this, I supposed.
"That’s an interesting take. I wonder how many people would say that after seeing what just happened."
"That guy attacked you first. You’re not the kind of person who hurts others without reason."
"···."
It was absurd.
Even after seeing that. Even after seeing me threaten someone. He still believed in me.
I had pointed out the incident he was trying to overlook and spoken to him, yet his reaction remained the same.
He trusted me. He thought I wasn’t the kind of person who would do that.
"You know, Yu Siwoo, I’m not as good of a person as you think. You don’t know this, but I’ve done all sorts of bad things."
"I know."
"···Huh?"
"I know you’ve been up to all sorts of things."
"Y-Yes?"
"I also know that you’re Arachne."
"Wait, w-what did you just—."
[···Huh? What did I just hear? Huh?]
I was confused.
Wait, what? How?
I wasn’t the only one thrown into confusion.
The Author was also completely flustered, letting out a dazed voice.
Yu Siwoo’s words had left both me and the Author utterly bewildered.
···This was a disaster. A real disaster.
W-What do I do?
Kill Yu Siwoo? No, I can’t. He’s the protagonist. Plus, he’s the only person here. Killing him is impossible.
Knock him out? ···No, that won’t work either. How? Yu Siwoo’s Ability is intuition. Sneak attacks don’t work on him.
Hadn’t I seen with my own eyes how he evaded my attacks even when I cut off his senses?
[A-Author-nim···? Isn’t this a huge problem···?]
"H-How? How···."
Yu Siwoo didn’t answer my question.
He just looked at me and said what he wanted to say.
"I know you killed the villain."
"W-Wait, that···."
"I also know you hacked the Academy’s database."
"Y-Yes?"
"And I know you were involved in the Beast incident."
[This is bad. Hmm, what should I do? Replace the protagonist? No, those guys would cause a mess. And replacing the Author-nim would be···]
The Author muttered something, but I couldn’t understand a word of it.
My mind was completely consumed by what Yu Siwoo had said.
He knew everything. How did he find out?
No, that didn’t matter anymore.
I plopped down onto the floor.
"A-Arte···?"
"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do···."
Yu Siwoo had noticed something was off about me.
Maybe he had for a long time now.
So how was I supposed to fix this?
The Author said they couldn’t modify the protagonist.
And he’s the protagonist. I can’t kill him.
···Then, what happens if the protagonist discovers that the Observer is strange?
You can’t change the protagonist.
So then, who changes?
As that thought struck me, I couldn’t keep my mind together.
"H-Hey, Author-nim. I was wrong."
"Arte?"
"I’ll do better. Right? I’ve been doing well so far, haven’t I?"
I don’t want to die.
Not in a place like this.
Even after my name was ripped away and my appearance was twisted, I’ve been trying my hardest, haven’t I?
I-I’ve even killed people.
Not just one or two.
All those useless villains the Author-nim created—I took care of all of them, didn’t I?
I killed them all!!!
"No, please. Please… That can’t be…"
"Arte."
"I-I tried. I really did. So why? Why is this happening?! Where did I—where did I go wrong?!"
"Arte!"
"H-Hiiik?!"
Thump.
Yu Siwoo pulled me into his arms.
It took a long time before I even realized what had happened.
"…Arte. It’s okay."
"W-What…? T-This… what is…?"
"Don’t worry, Arte. Everything will be fine. You won’t die. Don’t worry."
I felt his warm hands stroking my head.
"Don’t worry, Arte. It’s okay. It’s okay…"
"B-But…"
Yu Siwoo doesn’t know anything.
He doesn’t know the truth of this world, or that he’s the protagonist.
He doesn’t know that this world shifts and changes at the whim of a god’s hand.
That it’s a world as fragile as a castle made of clay—he doesn’t know.
So his comfort should mean nothing.
It should. That’s how it should be. That’s how it *has* to be.
…So why does my heart feel so at ease?
"It’s okay, Arte. You’ll be fine."
"B-But how…?"
"I’ll help you, Arte."
Yu Siwoo swore it to me.
Like a knight swearing to a princess.
"I’ll help you stop doing bad things. I’ll help you stay safe."
"…"
"So, Arte. Don’t cry."
For a long time, I could do nothing but stay in his arms.
I couldn’t find the courage to pull away.
Because the moment I left his embrace, I felt like my existence would be erased from the world.
"Hah, hah… Hey, Yu Siwoo! Where the hell are you?! You left me behind and went where?!"
"…Ah. Amelia. I forgot about her."
I finally came to my senses when Amelia’s furious voice echoed through the alleyway.