"Why! Am I not the protagonist?!"
Natsuki Subaru looked at the three people blocking him in the alley, his expression slightly crumbling. He had thought that after transmigrating to another world, he was about to welcome a new life and live as an overpowered protagonist with a harem, but how did he end up getting robbed right from the start?
Where were his cheats? His superpowers? How come he did not have any?!
Originally, Subaru had wanted to rely on the strength he had trained for many years to let these thugs know that a shut-in was not necessarily a good-for-nothing. After successfully beating the other party a few times, one of them suddenly pulled out a knife. At that moment, Subaru knew he could not be impulsive.
The gap between unarmed combat and being armed was too great. If one was even the least bit careless, even an ordinary person could potentially stab a boxing expert to death.
Moreover, in this situation where the era background was clearly medieval, Subaru was also unsure. If he were cut by a knife, and if it was not treated well, it could get infected and inflamed. What if this era did not have any anti-inflammatory drugs? Would he not be dead for sure? That would simply make him the most ridiculously dead transmigrator!
Just as Subaru raised his hands in surrender and was pressed to the ground and beaten by those thugs, a little girl with yellow hair suddenly dashed in. Afterward, with just a few simple wall jumps, she ran to the top of the alley and continued parkour across the rooftops.
The three thugs were only stunned for a moment, then ignored it and continued beating Subaru, who had fallen to the ground.
Subaru, who had originally thought he might get help, completely gave up hope, then curled his body up as much as possible to avoid damage to his internal organs.
"That's enough!"
The three thugs heard this shout and looked over, seeing a half-elf with white hair standing at the mouth of the alley and shouting at them.
"It's a half-elf!"
"What are you afraid of? Even if she's a half-elf, she's just one person. We have three people and knives in our hands. What's there to be afraid of from a little girl!"
The three of them had just mustered up their courage when a small, gray-furred cat appeared beside the half-elf girl. The cat chuckled, and blocks of ice materialized out of thin air, shooting out and striking the thugs, causing them to scream in agony and flee on the spot.
Caelus naturally followed the girl here. He saw a young man lying on the ground wearing a tracksuit and even holding a plastic bag, his attire clearly different from the local dress code.
Could this person also be a transmigrator?
Watching this scene, Caelus suddenly felt that it inexplicably resembled the typical encounter between a male and female lead in novels, though the situation was slightly reversed. Usually, the female lead encounters trouble, and the male lead suddenly appears to resolve it.
Wait, no, the female lead was currently in trouble. Could it be that this male lead would help her resolve it?
"System, is this one of my kind?"
Caelus asked with some curiosity. Could it be that this person, like him, was a Host selected by the System?
[System: "No."]
After the System replied with just that word, it said nothing more. It seemed that saying any more would involve spoilers, which clearly meant this young man held significant weight in fate.
Afterward, Caelus watched as the young man and the girl had a brief exchange before leaving the alley.
"Hero saves beauty, beauty saves hero. Hmm, an old trope, but favorability definitely rises quickly..."
Mem popped up again at this moment. Looking at Caelus, who had been muttering to himself, she placed her hands on her hips and said, "Partner, didn't you also save a beauty before?"
"Who?"
"Bianka."
"That child."
"Partner, just judging by the records in your book, it's clear that child must have already come to regard you as a very important person."
"Yes, I know. I played a relatively important role in her life. When she lost her memory, at her most insecure moment, I played the role of something like a mentor and caregiver to her.
I taught her the knowledge she needed, taught her survival skills for life, and gave her support, allowing her to pursue her dreams. Accompanied by these impressions left from childhood, perhaps that child will continue to regard me as a very important person in her future life."
"Then, Partner, are you going to take her along on your travels in the future?"
"I can't."
Caelus shook his head very bluntly.
"Once that child chose to leave me and embark on her own path, it proved that she would not leave this world to travel with me. During the time Bianka traveled with me, she experienced all kinds of people, saw different scenery, and went through different events. Although she was still young, she had her own set of perceptions.
She loves her world, and coupled with her talent and the status of her parents, she wants to protect that world. Furthermore, her father has not passed away, and there are even more relatives still living in this world.
Even if she has lost her memory now and cannot recall the past, if she were to regain her memory and remember all the ties she still has in this world, would she be willing to put all of that aside, abandon her relatives, her bloodline, and her original family to come with me?
Not to mention that in Schicksal, she might make even more friends and comrades-in-arms. With so many important people, and a world that might require a lifetime of fighting and protecting, could that child really calmly and composedly put all of that aside and come with me?
She wouldn't. Bianka has a strong sense of responsibility. She believes her talent should not be wasted. She believes that with greater ability, one should protect those who need protecting. She believes those beautiful things worth guarding should not be easily harmed... That child is different from me. She is a good person in the worldly sense.
I will not save people without reason, nor will I harm people without reason, but that child will save those in need of help from the bottom of her heart. In this, there is a great gap between us.
She may indeed regard me as a very important person, but we are not people walking on the same path. The paths we are to take are different."
Caelus and Mem followed behind the young man and the girl, and he spoke to Mem.
"I will walk on an endless journey. There will be countless people along the way, and I will experience countless things. Perhaps my casual actions will become unforgettable scenery in the lives of others, but for me, that may truly be nothing more than a line of text or a painting in a book.
In this perhaps endless journey, I originally thought it might only be me and my System, but I did not expect that you would appear later. You originate from me. We both struggled out of nothingness, a fate that is neither accepted nor recognized. The bond between you and me is deeper than anyone else's. In the distant future, even until one day when the System might leave me, only you will continue on with me."
"So, on this endless journey, we only have each other."
"Mem!"
Feeling the emotions brought by these words at this moment, and feeling the joy erupting within her heart, Mem shyly hid herself.
[System: "Wow! The Galaxy Succubus is at it again! You sure can talk! As expected, Trailblazers all have a bit of a succubus attribute, even you, this Trailblazer from another possibility."]
Hearing this, Caelus's interest and attention were immediately diverted.
"Hmm? That sounds like it has quite a story behind it. Can you tell me?"
[System: "Well, that involves the main quest of your next main universe. It is indeed a very wonderful place, and I cannot spoil it. You have to dig into it yourself. On that stage, even the stories of the supporting characters are very interesting."]
Caelus nodded. As expected of the Astral Express, the places it went were all very wonderful.
But I'm not doing too badly myself, right?
Caelus thought to himself, then watched the two as they inquired about the blonde girl from earlier at the fruit stand.
Let me see what kind of story you two will put on next.
(To be continued.)