Chapter 1

Cheat Protagonist’s Undercover Edition

Handling Multiple Reincarnators is Truly Difficult.

My name is T.P. Eight Olishua. As you can see, I’m a reincarnated person. Like the usual case, I received cheat abilities from a goddess-like person and was thrown into the world of an anime.

According to this goddess-like person, the fanfiction she’s been writing for fun wasn’t progressing well due to writer’s block. To get some new inspiration, she threw me into the world of the story. I have to say, discovering that a god is a stingy fanfiction writer was the biggest surprise after my death.

Of course, even though it’s called a "World of a Story," it's apparently a full-fledged real world governed by a god. It's not like everything is flat like paper. Living there as a local, the sensations are exactly the same as in my previous life. Perhaps, even my previous world was just a story created by a playful god. In that case, I was probably just a background character, carelessly killed off.

Well, anyway, the world I was reincarnated into was from an anime that aired for 26 episodes in my previous life.

This is a world where supernatural abilities are a normal part of life. The story revolves around a group of heroes who belong to a special force that cracks down on supernatural crimes, battling evil organizations and monsters from other worlds. It’s a classic superhero story.

Since it’s based on a shonen manga, the plot strictly follows the themes of friendship, effort, and victory, and it left a reasonable mark on the memories of children of that time. When they grew up and saw the reruns, they’d think, "Oh, yeah, I remember this anime," to the extent that it was a moderately popular work.

Most likely, the reason this goddess-like person reincarnated me was because I was a fan of that anime, Fairy Savers (tl note: sabers? savers? Not sure). The role she assigned me? It was probably to be a classic "cheat protagonist with knowledge of the original story" — a golden trope in fanfiction.

I can’t say what her intentions were beyond that, but I was given a stylish cheat ability: the power to steal other people’s supernatural abilities and record them in a notebook to use them later.

Thrown into the world of Fairy Savers as an original protagonist, I received no further instructions from the goddess-like person. Instead, she said that giving the original protagonist the freedom to act however they like would be the best way to gather new inspiration.

I could choose to straightforwardly intervene in the original story and make a big splash, or I could live a quiet, lonely slow life without interfering at all. She even said that it would be perfectly fine if I just lazed around with my cheat abilities. Fortunately, this goddess-like person was a laissez-faire type.

…So, with no constraints, I had to decide my actions based on my own will — and I was overjoyed.

I mean, think about it... I’m an original protagonist! An original cheat protagonist, to be exact. It’s like something out of a teenager's dream.

This life, which already ended once, may be nothing more than a convenient joke to the goddess-like person, but now that I had become an original protagonist, I was determined to enjoy it. And enjoy it I did.

I enjoyed it so much that I went around flaunting my cheat abilities against thugs, mafia members, and corrupt cops in the city, stealing their supernatural abilities left and right.

As a result, I evolved into an all-powerful cheat woman, wielding a wide variety of supernatural abilities. With this new power, I eagerly headed towards the town where the protagonist lived, ready to intervene in the original story as a cheat protagonist. (another tl note: original protagonist and protagonist are different people)

Oh, I forgot to mention, my gender is female. The body the goddess-like person gave me is that of a beautiful tomboyish girl with a short haircut, making me a “TS original protagonist.” She has excellent taste.

But I digress. Back to the story — I was quite enthusiastic about intervening in the original plot.

I loved Fairy Savers as a kid, and in my previous life, I had aspired to become an actor. So, dedicating my entire life to playing the kind of protagonist that would delight the goddess-like person seemed like fun.

Maybe it's because my brain is adjusting to this fictional-like situation, but it feels like my old case of chuunibyou flared up again. In any case, I'm fully embracing my role as an original protagonist at a level beyond mere make-believe.

The strange name, T.P. Eight Olishua, is something I came up with myself. Being called "Eight" didn’t seem too out of place for the world, and I must say, I think it's a pretty good name. (tl note: オリ主 or orishu is the shortcut of オリジナル主人公 which means original protagonist. Her name is just orishu with one extra letter)

As for my role, I fully intended to be a strong ally to the protagonist. I liked the protagonist, and I wasn’t a fan of those anti-fanfics that follow the antagonistic route.

I thought it would be fun to introduce myself casually and aim to be a friend, or perhaps take on the role of a rival where we push each other to improve. Either way, I planned to ally myself with the protagonist and stand out using my cheat abilities in a cool way.

…But when I arrived at Akebono City, the main setting of the original story, what I found was an unexpected sight.

Yes, that was the “Element Wyvern,” the holy beast from another world that appeared in the first episode of the second cour. As I sorted through the timeline by recalling my surprisingly clear knowledge of the original story, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

──I’m completely late to the party!

Ideally, I would’ve liked to make contact with En before the first episode even started.

Judging by the situation, the story had already entered the second cour. While this is within my expectations, it's far from the best-case scenario.

Akatsuki En, the protagonist, despite his fiery name (tl note: En means fire), was a quiet and reserved high school student when the story began.

Originally, he had a passionate heart, but his father was murdered by an evil organization when he was a child, and this trauma froze his emotions. To exact revenge, he joined the supernatural special forces unit “Savers” to pursue the evil organization, eventually facing off against its leader, who was responsible for his father’s death.

It’s a classic scenario, but the key is in the process. In the early stages, En didn’t open his heart to anyone, but through his bonds with the devoted childhood friend heroine and his team comrades, he overcame his trauma. The scene where he punches the evil organization’s boss with his awakened supernatural power is simply exhilarating. That final scene from the first cour is my absolute favorite.

However, it seemed that this scene had already passed, and the story had moved on to the second cour.

As a fan of Fairy Savers, missing the chance to be involved in En’s awakening scene is a huge blow. But what hurts even more is not being able to get involved in the protagonist’s growth events.

Most of Akatsuki En’s character development happens in the first cour.

By the second cour, after overcoming his trauma, he’s a rock-solid leader of the Savers, embodying the fiery spirit his name suggests as he leads the team with unwavering strength.

At the start of the story, he barely spoke, and when he did, it was usually an awkward line or strange behavior, making people wonder if he really was the protagonist. He was more of a joke character. But by the second cour, he had matured into a full-fledged hero, a true nice guy. His occasional moments of naivety were even responsible for turning my sister into a hardcore fan.

But with En’s growth, there's no longer any opening for me as the original protagonist...

This is just my theory, but I think that the more unstable the protagonist is, the more convenient the story is for the original protagonist to insert themselves. If the protagonist has flaws in their personality or abilities, it creates opportunities for the original protagonist to take on a role.

For example, if the protagonist is indecisive in a harem story, the original protagonist can step in and resolve things, creating changes in the relationships. They could even end up with one of the leftover heroines.

Or, if the protagonist is weak in battle, the original protagonist could take on a mentor role and train them, or steal the spotlight during key moments of the action.

In any case, these are ways to become the ideal original protagonist, filling in the gaps left by the protagonist. Akatsuki En in the first cour had such gaps, but by the second cour, he had become a solid character.

As for his romantic interests, there was no question—it's his childhood friend, who has always been by his side, even when he was withdrawn. In the final episode, he rescues her from the clutches of the final boss and confesses his love like a true man, heading towards a hopeful future. This makes it impossible for me, in my gender-swapped form, to aim for the heroine position.

When it comes to fighting ability, by this point, he's already one of the top three supernatural users in Japan, and in the final episode, he even wins a fistfight against a god from another world.

So, as you can imagine, stepping into the mentor role at this stage is out of the question.

Now, what should I do? Eight-chan planned to aim for a companion or partner role, a symbol of everyday life, but right from the start, my plans have been thrown off track.

Even so, this is still within my expectations. I had plenty of ways to make a good connection with him, even starting from the second cour... But the biggest problem, the one that threw all my plans out the window, is the presence of an unfamiliar girl standing besides him.

She is, without a doubt, not a character from the original story.

Someone I don’t know is fighting alongside the protagonist...

“Who!? Who is that!?”

An unexpected heroine who shouldn’t exist!

I was observing the battle using one of my stolen abilities, “Clairvoyance,” but the moment I saw that unfamiliar girl, I shouted out loud for the first time.

I almost slipped from the radio tower I had been standing on, shocked by the mysterious presence beside the original protagonist.

In Fairy Savers, there are a few female characters besides the childhood friend heroine, but none of them fight alongside the protagonist.

Although the anime is old, I’m confident in my knowledge of the original story, at least when it comes to important scenes. There weren’t that many female characters to begin with, and if one existed, I would definitely remember her.

So, without a doubt, that girl is not from Fairy Savers…

"No way... is she a dream girl!?" (tl note: Dream girl (Yume Joushi) is another kind of original protagonist. It refers to women who fall in love with two-dimensional characters that mainly appear in anime and manga . Just as they fall in love with real people, they fantasize about things like "If I could go on a date with so-and-so" or "What would I do if he confessed to me?")

En’s dream girl, in other words, an original character.

What is going on here, goddess-like person!? I never heard that you sent in another original protagonist besides me...!

With a bitter expression, I protested to the goddess-like person while focusing on the appearance of that girl.

She had silver hair and blue eyes. Her otherworldly, fragile beauty is both ethereal and striking. Also, she has a flat chest—about the same size as mine.

The percentage of original protagonists with small chests is high. And the percentage with silver hair too. Considering these factors, it’s clear that she’s a female original protagonist.

What a disaster...! The presence of this girl was an irregularity that makes all the small issues I was worrying about seem trivial.

The fact that "there are two original protagonists" is something so potentially fatal to me, someone aiming to be the original protagonist.

If she’s a native character created by the goddess-like person, that would be fine, but the worst-case scenario would be if she’s a reincarnator like me. If that’s the case, then my very reason for existing would practically be null and void.

Multiple reincarnators—it's one of the most difficult themes for fanfiction writers to handle.

People call that a "landmine element."

In fanfiction, multiple reincarnators are considered a landmine element. The reason is that it’s incredibly difficult to handle properly.

Why is it so difficult to handle? Because there's a high risk of leaving the readers behind.

An original protagonist is, in a way, like a spice. Adding a little to the completed dish that is the original story can change the flavor and allow the reader (the customer) to enjoy a new taste, different from the original ingredients.

But having multiple reincarnators is like overloading the dish with too much spice. The dish becomes buried in seasoning, to the point where you can no longer taste the original ingredients. It becomes a concoction beyond what the customer expected.

While it’s possible to discover that it tastes good in its own way, most customers came expecting a dish based on the original story with just a dash of spice. When they’re suddenly hit with an unexpected flavor, most will be startled and leave... Sorry, that analogy got a little confusing.

In short, casually adding more reincarnators to the story risks breaking the world of the original and ruining the immersion. Of course, there are plenty of well-handled fanfictions that use this theme, but in any case, it requires great care to manage.

Not only is it essential to give a thorough warning beforehand, but at the very least, you need to provide enough foreshadowing and background to satisfy the readers.

I’ve seen plenty of works fail at handling multiple reincarnators and end up abandoned, and I’ve written them myself. Yes, one reason I’m so cautious about multiple reincarnators is because of my own experience writing fanfictions.

I don’t want to see the fanfiction written by the goddess-like person, who’s blessed me, turn into an abandoned or terrible work.

But if she insists on writing about multiple reincarnators, then I’ll have no choice but to follow her will.

In that case, I’ll need to quickly revise my plans. First, I need to confirm whether that girl is a reincarnator or not, and then...

I’m not too eager about it, but... in the worst-case scenario, I could just be a stepping-stone reincarnator. In that case, I’d be assigned as a rival original protagonist to the protagonist, which makes me extremely anxious.

Well, no helping it. For the sake of the goddess-like person, I’ll do my best to play the part.

"I’ll make it happen... after all, I’m a cheat original protagonist."

Thus began my reincarnation life that left me thinking, "What even is this...?"

Ah, handling multiple reincarnators is truly difficult.

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