—
Zymart Town.
Will greeted the first rays of sunlight as they filtered through the window.
Carefully, he lifted the old, dusty blanket covering him, trying not to make a sound as he slid off the couch.
He glanced over to where Shuna lay, her back turned to him, wrapped snugly in her blanket, seemingly fast asleep.
Perfect!
He had noticed before that Shuna had been evasive about their next destination, giving him the impression that she intended to follow him no matter where he went.
Of course, she was strong—having her accompany him to the royal palace would certainly provoke Treya’s jealousy, but if a crisis arose, she’d be soone he could rely on. She was soone whose strength he could lean on.
Sigh...
But all of this was based on the assumption that “Shuna” was a character who didn’t exist in the original story.
Now, without a doubt...
She was “Shuu,” the original protagonist. And Will... well, thanks to their correspondence and the bond they had ford, there was a 99% chance that he had been relegated to the “best friend” role.
It wasn’t surprising that all the affection points had flowed toward him—after all, the protagonist wasn’t even on the right path and hadn’t t those three girls yet!
So...
Traveling with Shuna suddenly beca much riskier.
In the original story, the “best friend” died during a dungeon exploration with Shuu.
Will wasn’t about to let that happen to him. He couldn’t afford to keep accumulating uncontrollable death flags!
And yet, after all this ti—after years of corresponding with “S” and their adventures together—he couldn’t deny that Shuna had beco soone “special” to him.
That’s why he decided to slip away while she was asleep.
Because he didn’t want to say another rejection to Shuna, who had already been pushed away once and reunited with him. That would be too cruel.
But what would be even crueler for him...
Was if Shuna truly turned out to be the protagonist he had spent so much effort planning to defeat with his “darkened loser” Plan B. No wonder this was his second-deepest fear.
He had left her a letter—one addressed to “S,” just like in their old correspondence. He had slipped it under her belongings while she was showering the night before.
In that letter, he still signed off as “W” and addressed her as “S.”
If he stopped here—if he returned to how things were at the beginning—he felt like he could successfully deceive himself!
Deceive himself into believing that the “protagonist” had disappeared. From now on, the story’s focus would be on him. He wouldn’t be dragged into a fate tightly bound to the protagonist anymore.
After all, he was about to face soone whose affection points he had maxed out—just like with Leah.
This way, he could convince himself...
That those who cared for him weren’t part of the story’s “fate,” weren’t tied to Shuu, and weren’t the heroines listed on the final page of The Quest System’s rewards.
That was what gave him the motivation to respond to their feelings.
Will took one last look at Shuna’s sleeping figure.
“Goodbye. From now on, I’ll go complete my own story,” he whispered softly.
“...You’re not the protagonist. I can pretend you don’t exist...”
But as he turned away after saying those words...
A strange sensation washed over him—a flood of mories with an uncanny sense of déjà vu surged into his mind—
—Do you long for a heroine...?
—A strong and mysterious heroine.
—A heroine created just for you!
...
Weird.
Will froze in place.
For the first ti in his two lifetis of jumbled mories, sothing surfaced that felt both familiar and completely out of place—a mory so vivid it shouldn’t have been appearing for the “first ti.”
“What did you just say doesn’t exist?”
And then...
When Will turned back around, it was like sothing out of a horror story.
Shuna stood leaning against the doorfra, holding his letter between her fingers.
“Ah?!”
As Will spun around in panic, his precariously balanced pillow finally slid off the couch and hit the floor with an unceremonious thud.
“I usually wake up pretty early—you’ve been sharing a room with for days now. When have you ever woken up earlier than ? You’re awfully confident,” Shuna said casually.
She wasn’t wrong.
Every morning when Will woke up, he saw the sunrise...
And Shuna already awake, watching it.
He had no idea when she actually woke up—how could he possibly beat her to it?! Even sneaking out with an alarm clock hidden in his inventory ring hadn’t worked!
“The mont I woke up and saw your ‘W letter,’ I knew you were up to no good. So I waited here for you,” she said lightly. But Will knew she must have guessed it—
That he had planned to leave without saying goodbye...
“Never mind. Pack your things; let’s get going. The guild master will be here soon to open up shop,” she added with a sigh.
—
Will followed Shuna down the street like a child caught doing sothing wrong.
The sunlight stretched their shadows behind them—the capital lay in Entark Empire’s midwestern region. To get there, they’d need to walk westward until they reached a road where they could catch a ride.
But Will wasn’t thinking about how far they’d have to walk. His eyes were fixed on Shuna’s back as she carried both their bags effortlessly on her shoulders. She was strong enough that even carrying luggage for two seed easy for her.
Still... watching her hoodie-clad figure illuminated by sunlight, Will felt uneasy when she suddenly stopped walking.
“This is where we leave town,” Shuna said quietly.
Zymart Town sat on a mountainside. Beyond its edge lay a winding downhill path that stretched toward a distant river glimring in the morning light.
The sun had only just risen, and its reflection sparkled on the water’s surface.
“Shuna...?”
“If you’re traveling alone, be careful on this road. But at this point, you should be able to handle ordinary bandits without any trouble,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Yeah...” Will replied hesitantly. Sothing felt off...
“And don’t underestimate Treya. Based on what we’ve discussed, I feel like your relationship with her isn’t one of marriage—it’s more like two equals playing chess on opposite sides of a board. And if it’s chess... rember, you’re not always in control of the ga.”
“Why so cryptic? Don’t worry—I got caught off guard last ti because I didn’t expect it. This ti, I’m prepared. Nothing will go wrong,” Will said confidently.
“Hmm...”
Shuna humd softly in acknowledgnt before pausing as if deliberating sothing. Finally, she asked:
“So... am I the biggest obstacle in your ‘fate’?”
“...?!”
When did she figure it out?
No... Will realized he hadn’t exactly been subtle about it.
He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.
This wasn’t sothing he wanted to admit out loud.
After all...
He was the only one who saw the “protagonist” as an enemy. Shuna had walked alongside him for so long—protecting him in dungeons and even saving him from Leah’s clutches.
How could he possibly say sothing like: “In my dreams, you’re the protagonist I’ve spent years plotting against.”
“You don’t need to explain,” Shuna said softly. “You’ve been avoiding certain topics—I can see it plain as day.”
She lowered her hood, letting the wind tousle her long hair freely as she turned toward him.
Facing the sunlight, Will could clearly see her slightly reddened eyes.
Co to think of it...
When they first left together, they’d watched a sunrise from a train window too.
In that mont, Will thought he caught a glimpse of sothing deeper in Shuna’s expression—a subtle emotion that wasn’t directed at him as just a “best friend.”
But as sothing more...
“Well then,” Shuna said with a sigh as she handed him his luggage, placing it heavily into his hands. “Captain of Morning Star, go fetch our team’s princess—and don’t get yourself killed.”
She patted his shoulder before brushing past him.
“But since you’ve already brand as soone like that, if you get captured again this ti... don’t expect to co save you.”
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