Even before I was possessed as Jack, I liked books, especially genre fiction. That was still the case now. That was why I was searching for the protagonist of this world. To enjoy an interesting story in real time.
But there’s no law that a person can only read one book at a time, is there? Whether serialized or standalone, one was far from enough to enjoy.
So I often spent my wages to buy books. The advantage of this world was that most books were written in a common language, and with technological advancement and a low illiteracy rate, books had become popularized. Thanks to that, I could read novels from various countries. Not having to worry about foreign languages was truly the best advantage.
Of course, having the technology to mass-produce paper was also an advantage. If not for that, it would have been difficult to enjoy hobbies with my meager wages and allowance.
But even though book prices weren’t high, my wallet was always on the poor side. Because I bought books recklessly as soon as I earned money.
“There shouldn’t be much to read in my room…….”
Yet the books in my room didn’t amount to much. Because I always lacked money to buy books, I sold them secondhand after finishing them. And I repeated buying more books with that money.
The few books remaining in my room were ones I had read enjoyably. Those books were all too much for children Belly’s age to read. In modern times, they would have been marked as 15+ only.
“What’s in my room would have been difficult for Belly to read……. How was it, Belly? Wasn’t it difficult?”
Among the books I read, there were also sticky books that adults read. I was really fortunate there was no adult verification in this world. If I said it was an errand, the owner would give me books readily. The owner might have thought I was a servant from some rich household.
I didn’t mean to look down on Belly, but since he looked younger than me, books that adults read would definitely be difficult. But perhaps his pride was hurt by my words, because Belly sprang up from his seat and glared at me while saying.
“It’s not difficult! Don’t look down on me!”
“Really? Was it interesting?”
“…….”
Belly’s face turned red as he sharply turned his head away. Ah, is his face red not from fever but from embarrassment? What’s so embarrassing about reading a book?
I examined the title of the book Belly had been reading. <The Lily of Enchantment>. It was a gothic genre book dealing with the story of a gloomy and peculiarly charming master and a forlorn maid, set against the backdrop of a dark mansion.
Aha. It must have been embarrassing because it was a romance novel.
“This is a novel I like. I love how Lily treats her master respectfully. It would have been good if it were reversed too. A young male servant and a bewitching mistress.”
“…….”
“Especially what was discovered in this basement—”
“I haven’t read that far yet!”
Belly shouted while looking at me with a flushed face. The blush from embarrassment made him look like a cute boy. I smiled brightly and said.
“Right, spoilers are forbidden. Sorry.”
Unable to contain the cuteness, I stroked Belly’s hair. The soft hair felt like a well-maintained puppy, satisfying to touch.
Come to think of it, I’ve never given him a bath, so does he wash himself? There was no grease or smell on his body at all.
How long had I been lost in thought while absentmindedly stroking his hair? For some reason, Belly didn’t shake off my hand and just quietly blushed. However, that peaceful time was brief. Belly revealed his sharp teeth and glared at the doorway, quietly murmuring.
“……Outside.”
“Hm?”
I stupidly looked toward the door. Belly continued as if whispering.
“Someone’s outside.”
Outside? But there’s no one who would come to my room. It’s not like I have any friends.
Without much thought, I walked to the door and opened it, but contrary to Belly’s words, there wasn’t even a baby ant. I checked around once and closed the door.
“There was no one.”
I had been careful not to be noticed by others since I brought Belly to the dormitory. At first it was action based on intuition, but later it was because I knew there would be trouble if his being a beastman was discovered.
Until recently, I had no particular worries. Since there was no one who would come to my room, and no one who was interested in me. In the dormitory, I had quite little presence. If not for Carl who occasionally talked to me, I might have truly evolved into an invisible person.
But even though there were no guests coming to find me, Belly frequently mentioned people outside the door after that. I didn’t notice, but it seemed someone kept coming. Belly even hid under the bed when I wasn’t there. To dismiss it as simple neurosis, Belly was too convinced there was an unwelcome visitor.
“Are you really sure you didn’t mishear, Belly?”
“There’s no way I’m wrong.”
Come to think of it, Belly was a beastman different from me, an ordinary human befitting an extra. Beastmen strongly possessed animal characteristics and had keen senses different from people.
Moreover, I belonged to the rather insensitive side. A dunce who couldn’t catch even a hint of people’s presence even when learning martial arts. So surely Belly’s words weren’t wrong.
“Hmm…….”
But the only measure I could think of now was adding another sturdy lock to the door. Although it wasn’t entirely my own room, they allowed it perhaps because it was for safety reasons. Only then did Belly seem somewhat relieved.
If he were in lizard form, he would be small enough to fit in a pocket so I could take him out, but that was impossible now. It was because of his physical condition.
I glanced at Belly. He was curled up lying on the bed because his fever had risen again. There was no sign of complete recovery as to what on earth was wrong with Belly’s body. Even when he got better occasionally, fever would rise.
Medicine was only a temporary measure. Perhaps due to the fever, he couldn’t hide his beastman characteristics, and it seemed he couldn’t freely transform his body either. Unless we knew the fundamental cause, it didn’t seem he would get better.
“Oh my, you’re soaked in sweat again…….”
“…….”
Belly weakly lifted his eyelids and looked at me. His eyes wet with tears were as docile as a deer. Having entrusted his body to me for several weeks, he seemed to have relaxed somewhat.
The days I had struggled until he became this docile flashed before my eyes in an instant. Feeling somewhat proud, I more carefully wiped Belly’s body with a wet towel. Then suddenly, I obtained a realization as if I had been hit on the back of the head.
Am I…… in big trouble?
My current course of action was extremely dangerous. I picked up an unknown being collapsed in an alley. Just this alone was the opening of a novel. Usually, the character who picks up such a unique being had a high possibility of being a major character. And they build a narrative and continue the relationship. It would be either a bad connection or a good connection, one or the other.
But…….
“That’s only if I’m an important character…….”
I grabbed my head and crouched by the bed. Characters in important positions like protagonists don’t die easily. Sometimes even dead characters come back to life. Like characters such as Sherlock Holmes.
However, I’m an extra. In an action story, I’d be an unnamed citizen who dies caught up in an incident, and in a modern story, I’d be unnamed passerby #1 walking down the street. In the story, they have less value than pebbles on the roadside.
Someone might say my self-evaluation was too low, but I wasn’t born with anything to occupy an important position in a novel. What would happen if such an ordinary person got entangled with an important character like this?
“I’m a candle before the wind…….”
Character #1 who appeared in characters’ unfortunate pasts. A consumable character who would be lucky to get one line while talking about the past around a campfire where everyone gathered—that’s clearly what I would become.
“Haaah…….”
Should I kick Belly out for the sake of my own safety? I looked at Belly, who was curled up on the bed, dripping cold sweat.
A beastman of unknown identity whose real name I still didn’t know. A child who was clearly an important existence in this world. Otherwise, there’s no way he would be collapsed in an alley suffering from such an illness of unknown cause.
In reality, it wouldn’t be such a strange thing, but in novels, this was a cliché among clichés. It was so common that if I were to list stories that start this way, I could list them endlessly.
Anyway, even though my life could be in danger, would it be the right choice to be by such an important person’s side?
I pondered for a moment then smiled brightly. It was a refreshing smile that made my brooding seem pointless.
Of course it’s fine. Because I was clearly born into this world to enjoy it. To enjoy this novel.
Geniuses lead the world in a better direction. Not because geniuses wish for it. Even if they don’t wish for it, their innate abilities make the world better. That is the role of a genius.
As a reader, I was reborn as an extra in this world. I was born into this world as a dunce, neither genius nor mediocrity. I can’t even properly remember my past life, but why do I perceive this world as a novel? What is my assigned role in this world? Precisely, to enjoy this world.
As my complex mind, which had been rolling around busily like pebbles, became organized, I felt as if my vision had brightened. A refreshing feeling like foggy eyes becoming clear not long after waking up. Before such eyes of mine, a translucent window suddenly appeared.
“Th-this is……?”
It was right that when you’re too surprised, words don’t come out properly. The window that appeared before my eyes looked like a translucent plastic panel. To be precise, it looked like a game UI window.
