Chapter 59

It Seems the Original Protagonist and the Reincarnation Goddess Are Doing a Double Act

In the pure white world, I reunited with the goddess-like person and was informed with a shocking revelation.

 

Just a moment ago, the goddess-like person, who greeted me, suddenly came out with, "Let me show you the truth," and summoned a TV and a Blu-ray player into the pure white space, casually inserting a disc.

 

Having this doll-like silver-haired beauty that’s disconnected from reality performing such an ordinary action with a straight face was, to say the least, surreal. But when I saw the anime that began to play, I was extremely surprised.

 

The characters that started moving with the latest, stunning digital animation unmistakably was, no matter how you look at it, Akatsuki En, the protagonist of Fairy Savers.

 

While I was still dumbfounded, the anime’s title appeared on the screen, accompanied by a lively opening song following the avant title. (tl note: avant title is the scene before the opening credits)

 

【Fairy Savers ∞】

 

As I looked at the title screen that suddenly spread out with the radiant sun as a backdrop in the blue sky, I finally understood.

 

It was a work that was broadcast in the world after I died.

 

 

 

──It seems that sometime after I died, a new series of the anime “Fairy Savers” began airing.

 

Even though I had recently stood at my own grave and solemnly confirmed that the flow of time won’t change just because I’m dead, this fact astonished me more than anything.

 

I mean, seriously… isn’t it a show from over 15 years ago? I bet that lolicon otaku must be overjoyed. Back in our student days, I vividly remember heated discussions with a friend about Malkuth-sama-chan’s sublime almost-but-not-quite-visible absolute territory.

 

Sure, even when I was alive, there were instances of older anime being remade with digital animation, but I never imagined Fairy Savers would become one of them. As a real-time viewer, it fills me with equal parts joy and bewilderment.

 

The well-known to a few, chuunibyou battle anime Fairy Savers falls short to becoming a long-running anime on a national level, but it had a strong cult following among boys who adored its stylishness, like myself back then.

 

Perhaps the generation influenced by the series had grown up, started working in the anime industry, and risen to influential positions, getting plans for a reboot approved.

 

Thinking about it, I couldn't help but become self-conscious of my age.

 

Well, it hasn't even been a year since Eight-chan was born! Wait, was I a baby...?

 

And now, I’m here with the goddess-like person──a silver-haired woman who called herself "Charon," who is holding a plush carbuncle-shaped cushion, as we watch the anime side-by-side.

 

Watching anime while lying face down like this is a time of supreme bliss, but Goddess-like person, is it okay to have your already long hair touching the floor because of that posture?

 

『It’s fine』

 

I see. (tl note: In Osaka dialect)

 

Well, there’s nothing at all in this pure white world, so dust probably doesn’t stick, but I was more concerned about me watching next to her than anything else, so I decided to tie her hair up.

 

Wow, as expected of a goddess-like person! Her hair is as smooth and soft as beach sand, rivaling Mea-cha’s or Binah-sama’s. It looks wavy, but it’s an interesting hair type.

 

This is... a two-side up hairstyle would be good.

 

It’s barely sufficient, but it would drag on the ground less that a straight hairstyle.

 

『I appreciate it.』

 

No need to thank me.

 

Believe it or not, I’m used to dealing with girls’ hair thanks to my sister’s. Unlike me, she’s totally helpless in the mornings, and back when we were in middle school, whenever I was feeling well in the mornings, I’d always help her tie her hair.

 

Even in this world, on our way to Elohim, I was the one who helped take care of Mea-chan’s hair. My own hair isn’t that long and doesn’t have any curl to it, so there’s not much to do with it, but Eight-chan’s finges are genuinely very dexterous.

 

As I was tending to the goddess-like person, feeling gratitude for my reincarnation and expressing it by providing her my service, my hands suddenly froze when a character's face appeared in several cuts during the opening movie that played on the TV screen.

 

Eh? Just now was… Eh…?

 

It was a someone who didn’t exist in the “Fairy Savers” I knew──the existance who I thought was just another original protagonist, Mea-chan.

 

『Mea is a resident of this world.』

 

Wha…

 

What did you say!?

 

Shocked by this revelation, my eyes widened, and I locked eyes with the goddess-like person, who was lying face-down.

 

A resident of this world… that means she’s a native, right?

 

Certainly, from my interactions with her, I’d already stopped thinking she was a reincarnated person with lost memories like I’d initially suspected and started to wonder if she might be an original protagonist who was a local, but was Mea-chan not even your original character?

『That’s right… Mea is not a Tuner.』

 

Aiyah, well, this is a surprise.

 

It shocked me more than the reboot of ‘Fairy Savers.’ Honestly, I feel like I’ve been bombarded with surprises over the past few dozen minutes. In fact, ever since arriving at El, I feel like I’ve been on the defensive this whole time.

 

Grrr… this is a serious situation. I want to be the perfect cheat original protagonist, not some useless reaction comedian.

 

Still… Mea-chan wasn’t an original protagonist, huh.

 

According to the goddess-like person, Mea is an official existance I wasn’t aware of.

 

She’s one of the heroine characters that appear in the 20th-anniversary reboot of “Fairy Savers,” titled “Fairy Savers ∞.”

 

──When I actually watched the anime, sure enough, Mea-chan appeared plentifully.

 

She appeared early in episode three, and she even had a pretty great position in the ending credits, appearing third right after Akari-chan.

 

Well, what do you know! I was completely mistaken.

 

What a needless worry. What was so difficult about multiple reincarnators and multiple original characters? Sorry about that.

 

Playfully laughing with a ‘teehee,’ I tapped my own head lightly. Please forgive clumsy Eight-chan.

 

Honestly, though, if that’s the case, it would have been great if the goddess-like person just told me sooner. That’s so mean of her!

 

So, that means I’ve been wrong about a lot of assumptions up until now.

 

I’m not an original protagonist of “Fairy Savers” but an original protagonist of the new Fairy Savers anime, “Fairy Savers ∞!”

 

Yeah, there’s no way I could’ve realized that.

 

This is a common trope in misunderstanding stories, but the punchline is that the original protagonist themself was mistaken on a deeper level than anyone else. I messed up. This is clumsy Eight-chan.

 

…Hmm? But in that case, what was that spark I felt when I first met Mea-chan?

 

Ah, maybe it was that.

 

Maybe it’s because her aura is just a little similar to the goddess-like person.

 

When I first met her, I was just a soul, so I didn’t have the luxury of observing the goddess-like person’s appearance in detail, but looking at her like this, I realize there’s a slight resemblance in their unique presence and calming, relazing aura.

 

As for physique, Mea-chan is still a child, so there’s no comparison yet, but maybe in about ten years, she’ll grow into someone very similar.

 

Looking at the mysterious, calming, straight-faced, silver-haired beauty in front of me, I nodded to myself. It’d be nice if Mea-chan grew up to be such a transcendental beauty… you can never have too many beautiful women, after all.

 

The goddess-like person, with her golden eyes fixed intently on the anime playing on the screen, spoke quietly,

 

『The story has diverged. Your (thou) intervention has brought new possibilities to the observed world.』

 

Yes, of course.

 

With me, an original protagonist, intervening, it’s only natural that the plot of the original anime “Fairy Savers ∞” would change.

 

But that makes it scary not having any knowledge of the original work.

 

From what I can see, it feels like a remake that just adds new characters, so I don’t think the outline deviates too far from the Fairy Savers I know, but… it’d be troubling if my intervention has made everything worse than it originally was.

 

What do you think about that, Goddess-like person… no, Charon-sama?

 

『Your intervention has improved matters. I have observed all possibilities, and the world you have tuned is beginning to shine in ways never seen before.』

 

So, thanks to my intervention, things are moving toward an even happier ending than the original.

 

Despite my mistaken assumption that I was in the old Fairy Savers world, I still managed to intervene effectively. Luckily, I’ve been moving carefully.

 

Well, that’s because I’m a cheat original protagonist, right? Quite literally, I’m on a different level. Ahem.

 

…Still, Charon-sama’s way of speaking is kind of a pain.

 

Her phrasing is so peculiar that it takes me time to digest what she’s saying.

 

It's not fair, since she can read my mind.

 

『…My mind-reading is not perfect. If you can speak, I would prefer you to do so』

 

"Ah, I see."

 

Since Charon-sama is the goddess-like person, I can communicate with her just by putting a thought into my head.

 

However, I still want to have a conversation with her because in the end, there is no better way to communicate than words.

 

Come to think of it, when we first met, I was just a soul. This is the first time I’ve met her with a body capable of speaking.

 

“Well then, let me do this formally. I am T.P. Eight Olishua, the one who guides your story.”

 

『I know. You have left more contributions on my world than I had imagined.』

 

"I still have a long way to go. There’s still so much more I want to do, and I want to repay you in many ways, too.”

 

『I see…』

 

Even though my heart is probably an open book to her, I’ll say it out loud anyway.

 

I aim to be a perfect, cheat original protagonist. That is perfection for me, but also perfection for her.

 

This is story we started from our shared intentions. So both Charon-sama and I need to be satisfied with it.

 

The thing called fanfiction is… something that no one can interfere, something free, and, how should I put it, something that brings salvation.

 

The world we live in is also undoubtedly reality, but as long as I’m living as an original protagonist, I’ve always believed that.

 

Charon-sama closed her eyes as if deep in thought and spoke to me.

 

『However, you still love your previous world. If you wish, I can use my power to return your soul to that world…』

 

“It’s too late for that, Charon-sama. -- is already gone. Back then, he died satisfied with having lived.

So, it’s fine… Thank you for the wonderful reward. Thanks to you, I got to see the cute niece I would never have been able to meet in my lifetime.”

 

『I, see…』

 

Yeah. From the way you’re speaking, it really does seem like it was your goodwill that sent me to that world.

 

Giving your subordinates the reward they’d be happiest with, what an ideal boss.

 

Yoh, Charon-sama! So kind! So beautiful! So cool! The best in the world! Ah, and the two-side-up hairstyle is finished now. I tried it out mostly by intuition, but it really suits her so well. Unlike twin tails, it doesn’t overly give a childish impression, which matches her appearance perfectly. She feels just like a sheltered beauty. She's so pretty!

 

『…It’s not that much.』

 

When I showered her with every possible word of praise in my mind, Charon-sama’s doll-like, expressionless face smiled just a little bit.

 

She looked kind of embarrassed, which was cute. No, is it disrespectful to think that? The, you look lovely de gozaru.

 

The goddess-like Charon-sama averted her gaze again and watched the anime.

 

I also had been watching the anime “Fairy Savers ∞” while talking to her──and damn, this is interesting!

 

It’s still the early stages, and the plot hasn’t diverged much from the old series yet, but as a remake, it’s really close to perfection. Even as someone who prefers cel animation, I was blown away by the latest digital animation techniques.

 

As I silently watched the screen, episode four, where "Tsubasa Kazaoka" first appeared, came to an end, and a pleasant ending played. So the new series takes four episodes just to bring the usual trio together... Maybe the runtime is more generous than the last one. If I had still been alive in my previous world, I might have looked forward to this every week like a child. Though such a supposition is impossible.

 

『Tuner Eight, did you not have something you wanted to ask me?』

 

──Oops, that's right. Wait, calling the original protagonist "Tuner" is such a stylish and cool way to refer to them. I’ll try using it myself sometime. I play the harp, so it’s just the right description.

 

Wouldn't it be awesome if I flip my cape in the darkness, appearing from nowhere, and saying with a dignified face, "I am Eight... just a Tuner," with a dignified expression? What do you think, Goddess-like person?

 

『I don't know.』

 

Come on, as a fanfiction writer, you ought to understand stuff like this, or it’ll become a problem later, you know?

 

In the end, readers like me are pretty persistent, so it’s important to cater to those demands.

 

『I don't know.』

 

Hmm… I guess it can’t be helped.

 

Oops, I got sidetracked again. No good, no good.

 

Discovering the existence of this new anime, "Fairy Savers ∞," for the first time seems to have turned my brain into a Happy Meal*. Ah, we’re back to the main menu. That’s the end of this disc. Four episodes on one disc, that’s more than enough for an anime Blu-ray. (tl note: No clear definition. Closest I could fine is “refers to the brain of someone who doesn't try to think for themself.")

 

I’d love to see more, but before that, there’s something I wanted to ask the goddess-like person.

 

Originally, I intended to ask the "Wisdom of Kabbalah" about it, but since I managed to meet her, that saves me some effort.

 

Hmm? Wait a second... Something feels off. If I'm not mistaken, Binah-sama said that the Wisdom of Kabbalah was a fragment of the root of the World Tree Sefira, right?

 

...And when I accessed it, something strange happened, transporting me to the world of my previous life.

 

Now, something strange happened again, suddenly moving me to a pure white world where I’m face-to-face with the goddess-like person.

 

…Fumu

 

This is just my guess, but…

 

Could it be that the true identity of the goddess-like person──Charon-sama be…

 

"Are you Sefira?"

 

I asked her as I watched her remove the now-finished disc while lying down.

 

At that moment, her body froze in place. …No, don’t freeze in a position where you’re sticking your rear out, that’s improper. I can see under your skirt.

 

As I mentally pointed that out, she gave me a blank look, then sat down with a plop. Shifting from her lying posture to a girl sitting position, she faced me.

 

A mysterious beauty, huh! Honestly, you’re so unique that you could easily pass as a character in Fairy Savers.

 

...No, in a sense, she is a character in Fairy Savers. I just realized that fact a moment ago.

 

『Why do you think so?』

 

"Based on the situation so far, really. You weren’t exactly trying to hide it, were you?"

 

『Fumu.』

 

The moment I prayed to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, that can tell me anything, she appeared before me.

 

Considering that fact and everything that’s happened up to now, I deduced that she’s likely the control persona of the "World Tree Sefira."

 

I mean, everyone loves it, right? A control persona residing in an inorganic substance holding incredible power and taking the form of a beautiful woman. I don't know if the World Tree is inorganic or organic, though.

 

However, a silver-haired beauty with that kind of element is practically dripping with unfortunate heroine vibes, isn’t she? It’s a shame she overlaps so much with another silver-haired character, Mea-chan.

 

As I gazed at her with sympathy, feeling sadness for that fact, she responded in a voice that lacked much inflection.

 

『Indeed. I am the spokesperson for the World Tree... the very will of Sefira.』

 

…One thought crossed my mind.

 

Saying something like that while holding a disc with anime illustrations on it removes any gravitas and makes it look utterly uncool. I mean, this revelation should have been quite shocking for me, right?

 

But the surreality of her actions overshadowed the impact, leaving me unable to feel as surprised as I should have, which was a bit disappointing.

 

That won’t do… That mysterious play won’t do at all, Charon-sama… I was glad that I was the only one watching, I thought to myself in my heart.

 

(author: Personally, speaking of a silver-haired heroine’s eye color, I tend to imagine them as gold.)

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