CH 183.1

Chapter 183.1. Intervener

-Masatoshi’s POV-

“Guahh!”

An electric shock ran through Masatoshi’s body, accompanied by intense pain. Groaning in agony, Masatoshi collapsed onto the concrete floor, rolling over.

Feeling the rough sensation of the concrete against his cheek, Masatoshi vaguely saw his wristband, which served as makeshift magic armor, emitting smoke and breaking.

Although the magic barrier prevented fatal damage, his body was paralyzed and unable to move due to the aftereffects of the electric shock.

“As expected of the genius child of the Aguni Dukedom, that was a close call.”

The ninja in front of them swung their sword again, walking confidently, believing they had won.

“Masatoshi-san!”

“Masatoshi!”

The voices of Sena-san and Mion, filled with anguish, reached Masatoshi, who couldn’t help but smile faintly.

It felt like something out of an anime. I never imagined someone would call me like that. No, I had fantasized about it.

If I were the protagonist, I would awaken to an unknown power here. Hidden skills and magic would activate, making me instantly stronger, easily defeating the enemy.

However, Masatoshi was merely a mob in this world, a supporting character.

I felt no such power. There was no sign of awakening.

“Hm? You can still move?”

The enemy stopped abruptly, surprised as they looked at Masatoshi.

“You…you guys can’t…match…me anymore.”

But Masatoshi, leaning on his sword, stood up despite stumbling.

Without awakening, he uttered the lines often spoken by protagonists, trembling with his body and smiling defiantly.

I’m standing up like a protagonist even without awakening. I wanted to say such lines in front of the main heroine.

Even if I didn’t awaken to overwhelming power. I had things to protect.

This was a world of novels, but it was also the real world.

Masatoshi learned that at the Coming-of-Age party.

He understood it when Mion died.

“I have power…now! It’s a power I didn’t have before!”

I was born in this world as a magician. Prioritizing living freely was essential.

But maybe it was okay to protect others just a little.

Just a little bit. I considered living coolly as a powerful magician.

Knowing that it was due to the newfound strength, I thought that way.

Rather than an embarrassing past life, he wanted to live cooler than before.

That’s why Masatoshi couldn’t afford to fall here.

“Co-come at me!”

Using crimson crystals to float around him, enduring the fainting consciousness by biting their lip, Masatoshi readied his sword again.

“…Impressive…that’s why you’re worth killing!”

The ninjas surrounded Masatoshi, preparing their weapons without leaving any openings.

He seemed completely devoid of carelessness.

“Attack together!”

As the ninjas approached smoothly, Masatoshi tried to give instructions to the crimson crystals, but their consciousness was hazy, and they couldn’t send their thoughts properly, failing to get a response.

[Thunderous Lightning Triple Strike]

Purple lightning surged through the swords of the three ninjas, closing in on Masatoshi like the wind.

“O-Override!”

Despite staggering, Masatoshi still tried to send his thoughts, but his actions were too slow. The ninjas simultaneously swung their swords down.

As he faced death, Masatoshi felt a sense of regret and looked at the sword in front of them.

Sena-san was about to release her [Holy Cocoon] and gather mana to help Masatoshi, shading her hand, and Mion was about to scream, placing her hand over her mouth.

And then, the enemy, confident of their victory, wore a smirk on their face… but…

“What?!”

“What’s this?”

“My body… I can’t… move!”

“You fool!”

With expressions of astonishment, the ninjas stopped their movements while still in the position of swinging their swords.

“What… what’s happening?”

Masatoshi was equally surprised, squinting their eyes in confusion why the ninjas had stopped moving.

“Thread?”

I noticed threads entwined around the ninjas, taut and stretched. And then, as if coming out from space, steel-colored threads appeared.

They covered the rooftop like countless spiderwebs.

The ninjas were entangled in the webs, unable to move a muscle no matter how much strength they exerted.

“Well, well, I was observing because I thought it might be a trap, yes. I apologize for the inconvenience, yes.”

While Masatoshi and the others were astonished when the web had been deployed, he heard a male voice and a person emerge from space.

He was wearing a suit and was heavily overweight, resembling a sumo wrestler. He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, whether from sweat or habit.

His face, sagging with excess flesh, appeared timid. He had the look of a struggling middle manager.

“Well, serving the palace is quite challenging, isn’t it? Yes. Oh, are you all right with your injuries?”

“A-Ah…”

If he were an enemy, he wouldn’t be helping them here. Feeling a sense of relief, Masatoshi slumped down. The wound on their shoulder from being slashed wasn’t too severe, but they were quite tense, and their entire body ached from forcibly releasing magic.

“Who are you?”

Inside the [Holy Cocoon], Sena-san asked with a tense expression. He did seem incredibly suspicious.

But Masatosi thought it would be fine if Sena-san came running and said, “Are you okay, Masatoshi-san?” They thought it would be a development like that. They sighed and felt disappointed as if Shin would have had that kind of storyline.