I Was A Supporting Character

Chapter 2 – The World is Turned Upside Down (2)

TL/Editor: Alcatraz/Latte

“…What did you say?”

“As I told you before, you are not the main character of my novel. You are the villainess who interferes with the relationship of the male and female protagonists.”

…I am the ‘villain’, the role that interferes with the main couple.

I burst into laughter as I heard her witless claim.

It was ridiculous.

Still, I attempted to reason with the ‘author’.

“I’ll admit that my personality isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But I’ve never had any wicked intentions. I know that some people are jealous of me, but that doesn’t mean I’ve done bad things. You of all people should know.”

The ‘author’ nodded in agreement with me.

“Yes. However, the current you is still nothing but a child.”

The current me? So she meant that I would become a vile, horrible villain in the future?

As if she had just read my mind, the ‘author’ smiled meaningfully and answered, “Yes, according to my novel, you will become a villain in the future.”

I’m going to become a villain? I’m going to be the person who harasses the protagonists of this novel?

But when I thought about it, there’s something odd about the ‘author’s’ words.

“If you hadn’t told me, I would have done everything according to the novel you wrote. Now that you’ve told me, what will happen if I don’t become the ‘villain’?”

The ‘author’ observed me.

“You’re sharp! Well, since I’ve let you know the story in advance, I reckon you will strive to become a better person.”

“Then the story will be different from your novel.”

The ‘author’ nodded in agreement.

“Yes. It will be somewhat different from the original plot. Even I don’t know how great the changes will be.”

Confusion filled my mind. Why was she deliberately twisting the world she created?

“What’s your purpose? Why are you telling me this?”

The ‘author’s’ expression was extremely calm. Behind her calm demeanor and curious eyes. It was as though she was intrigued by the result of her experiment.

“I am curious though. How much are you able to alter the plot? Though, no matter how different the story will be, it will eventually arrive at the same ending. ”

“If the storyline is different, why would the ending stay the same?”

“Because that’s what the contract stated.”

She uttered another foreign word. ‘Contract’, what did that mean?

The ‘author’ sighed and spoke.

“I’ll tell you how I got into this world. I signed a contract with a ‘powerful person’ with some supernatural ability. When I said that I wanted to leave the world I lived in, they asked where I would like to live in, so I said that I wanted to go into the novel I wrote.”

In a word, this ‘author’ came from a world higher than the world I lived in.

The ‘author’ continues, “I wrote a novel about a world, which I thought to be the most perfect and wonderful world. And so I thought going into my novel would make my life more enjoyable.” 

Sensing the lamenting undertone within the ‘author’s’ words, I cut her off, “Then why would you say that the ending will stay the same even when I’ve intervened with the plot?”

“Ah, that’s because it’s my request to that ‘powerful person’. Since it is the world I’ve created, I wanted the important ‘pillars’ of the world to take place.”

She picked up her teacup, took a sip, before she finally continued.

“So, no matter how you try to adapt, the male and female protagonists’ happy ending, the important ‘pillars’ in this world, will come true. Because that’s the ending of my novel.”

The term ‘pillars’ in the novel is probably referring to the major events that make up most of the story. After analyzing her answer, I asked cautiously.

“However, if I don’t become the antagonist of your story, as one of the important characters in your story, won’t my choices affect the storyline?”

“Well, even if you change it, it doesn’t matter since the important thing is that the male and female protagonists have a good and happy ending. You are merely a supporting character.”

Huh, she’s not wrong… I’m so grateful that I’m a supporting actor. So was she saying that it’s okay for me to live my own life? After all, it didn’t matter how I live my life, my fate was sealed.

However, one question remained.

“But why did you approach me? Why didn’t you go to the main characters? Don’t you hate the villain?”

“Well, I’m the one who made you so vicious, that’s why I kind of felt sorry for you.”

Well, I had a choice now. Even if I had lived under the ‘author’s’ control, from now on, I would be able to live a life of my own volition.

Perhaps I’m being too agreeable, that’s why she scrutinized me even more. My gut feeling told me that something was wrong.

“…So why did you approach me?”

It was the same question as before, however we both know that the question had a different meaning. My intuition told me that the answer was correlated to my destiny.

Not surprisingly, the author revealed the truth with an apologetic face.

“Because you are going to die in my novel.”

Oh, this was hilarious. Me? Dead?

My face must’ve shown clear amusement, since the ‘author’s’ expression changed abruptly.

“I’m not kidding.”

“Ahahaha, that’s right. So, you mean I’m going to die soon?”

“Yes. Your death is one of the important ‘pillars’ in this novel, there’s a big chance that it will happen.”

“Will? So you’re not sure?”

“Some of the storyline won’t go according to the novels, but the important ones will. Since I want the major plot to follow the original novel.”

My laughter finally disappeared upon hearing her explanation.

“You made this world, right? So you are the reason I’m going to die?”

“…Yes.”

“…What? Why? Why do you have to kill me?!”

If a passerby heard my words, they might think that there was an assassination attempt. However, in my desperation, I no longer care about passerbys.

Thus, I blurted out the question without any filter. 

The ‘author’ replied self-assuredly.

“My novel is perfect. I don’t want my novel to change. The world in this novel is the world I wanted and dreamed of. I made it the way I wanted!”

She claimed without any sense of shame.

“So the important parts of the story cannot be changed.”

“But I will change it!”

“You won’t be able to. If the ‘powerful person’ fulfills my contract properly, the ending will come true as I wish.”

What’s with her carefree tone? How could she control my life like that?

I shout at her angrily, “I won’t die! You’ve told me about my death, I’ll definitely live on!”

However, the ‘author’ responded profoundly without raising a single eyebrow.

“Do as you wish. But you’re going to die anyway. That’s why I told you the truth readily.”

“Anyway, all the people in this world will die someday. You just have your death included as an important point in my novel. And I chose you to be experimented with, I want to see how much you can change this story.”

“You said you created the perfect world, so why do you want to do this experiment?”

“Because it’s entertaining.”

The answer was simple. However, despite the simplicity of it, she still convinced me so easily. The motive behind someone’s action didn’t necessarily have to be grand. 

Something very trivial can sometimes be someone’s driving force.

Nonetheless, the wave of sadness that came with truth is unavoidable. In the end, I am just a tool for this ‘author’.

My life, the life I’ve lived so proudly as a noble, was merely a make-believe. My purpose was to be sacrificed for the entertainment of the ‘author’.

As silence fell, the ‘author’ began to comfort me.

“Think about it in a more positive outlook. You know your end is not far away, so you can live without any regrets. You can do whatever you want to do before you meet your end.”

I see. It was similar to those people who try to fulfill all their desires on their verge of death. So this is the feeling of people who were on their deathbed. 

The ‘author’ continued, “Anyway, since my novel has a perfect ending. I was intrigued whether my involvement in it was going to alter it. To influence the story, I thought it would be best to involve a character with certain influence within my novel.”

“And that character is me….”

I give up.

The ending had already been decided anyway, so what was the use of her telling me all of this? How would these even be of help to me?

I smiled as the ‘author’ stared at me, wondering the reason behind my humor.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Ah, isn’t it funny? No matter how hard I try, the world won’t change. What am I supposed to do then?”

However, the ‘author’ replied calmly.

“Did you think you could change the world? Whatever you do, the world won’t change. Whether you attempt to change the future or not, it’s your choice. However, even if you do, this world will progress as it should. If I were you I’d leave some meaningful legacy behind.”

“You are so cruel.”

With my mental capacity strained, that’s the only reply I managed to muster. Yet, she lightly shrugged it off, as if nothing was wrong.

“You aren’t entirely wrong. I am a ‘author’, and I can write novels at my own will.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. In any case, now I understood the outline of my life.

To sum it up, I am the supporting actor of this world.

I had no power to change this world. Whatever I did, the world wouldn’t change.

Regardless of whether I become a villain or not, the male and female protagonists would achieve their happy ending.

And, I would die soon.

I would be leaving this world. Soon, my death would be due, and I am going to die….

My heart that was beating violently sank in peace. Understanding the end, it felt like that I had finally resigned to my fate, 

I asked the ‘author’ in a calm manner.

“When and how do I die?”

“I can’t tell you that! It’ll be a spoiler!” The ‘author’ refused me vehemently.

It was the first time I had ever heard of such a word.

“Spo-… pardon?”

“Ah, it’s a word we use in my world. It means if I tell you an important part of the story in advance, the story becomes uninteresting.”

This woman was driving me crazy. Was she saying that she wouldn’t tell me the most important information about my life?

The moment she saw my flabbergasted expression, the ‘author’ replied apologetically. 

“All I can tell you is that you will die in the middle of this novel. The epilogue is the happy ending of the male and female protagonists, which means you will die before that. Of course I know when and how you die, since I wrote the novel, however I’m not going to tell you.”

She had told me a lot of ridiculous things today. This ‘author’ was really an annoying one. She wouldn’t even tell me the most important details, wasn’t this too much?!

Though, I also thought that it was better. If I knew of my death exactly as it was, the days I go through would become less meaningful.

The less I know, the more rewarding and beautiful my life will be.

“… I must say thank you. You made it possible to end my life without regrets.”

“I did? Well, I guess so.”

The ‘author’ replied indifferently. However, as this ‘author’s’ creation, what could I say? If she commanded me to die, what could I do other than abiding to her commands?

Comfort comes as the reality sinks in.

In the end, I decided to ask something that had been gnawing at the back of my mind. 

“Then can I ask this?”

“What do you want to ask?”

“In this world, who are the protagonists?”