Chereads / The Peculiar Life of The Unsuspecting Protagonist / Chapter 2 - chapter 2: I'm just your loveable narrator!

Chapter 2 - chapter 2: I'm just your loveable narrator!

Ahem! We apologize for the interruption before. After speaking with our producer, we have finally reached an agreement. Now, we shall hurry along with the story in order to satisfy our dear readers. I sincerely hope you can forgive us for our blund-

-My blunder from earlier. Now, let's get back to it shall we?

Alick had finished all of the chores, he scratched his round stomach before sitting down by the fireplace. He glanced outside through the window toward the setting sun in the distance. Mom will be here soon.... He thought. I wonder if we'll eat tonight... He then stood up stretching his arms above his head. Well, nothing to do until mom gets back. Maybe I should go look at dad's old sword! Alick thought as he happily walked toward his parents room.

After pushing open the door, Alick walked toward his parents closet and opened the door. Inside, he saw what he was looking for.

Hmm? Is this it? Is is some kind of family heirloom that his father had taken care of, and his father before him? Does it contain some kind of awesome power hidden within that only the blood of our hero will be able to unlock?! Is this the moment he takes his first steps into becoming a main character!!!?? I need to see this mighty blade!!!

Alick stretched out his hand, grabbing hold of the rusty old sword. Pulling it out, it was just a standard blade. There was absolutely nothing strange or unique about it. You could find it anywhere at your standard blacksmith. The blade had been dulled and rusted over due to the poor living conditions it had found itself within. If the blade could cry, it would be in tears over the unfairness of life. It was a sword, it was meant for battles and fighting!! But in the end, it found itself tucked neatly away in a closet collecting dust.

...I don't even know what I was expecting anymore. I should be used to this, nothing interesting has happened since I started watching this guy. So why should now be any different? Author-san! Is it really too late to change to someone else?!

<...>

sigh, I guess it is. Okay, let's not get disheartened!! He's only 6! There's bound to be something interesting that happens later on in his life!!

<...>

Eh!? Did I set off a flag? Nooo! I take it back, don't let this flag activate!! Author-san! Please! I'm begging you, don't make our hero's life uninteresting!!

Alick gently rubbed his hand against the rusty blade, careful not to accidentally cut himself. While for the most part, he was content with a peaceful and uneventful life. There was a small part of him that desired to experience a grand adventure, the kind children would hear in fairy tales. Then he chided himself for thinking of such things, and gently placed the blade back inside where he had found it. Day dreaming about those kinds of adventures were one thing. actually contemplating it was another. He just didn't have the time to think about it, especially since he needed to help take away some of the stress his mother was burdened with.

Alick got up and left the room, then he opened up the front door of his home and stepped outside. He breathed in the crisp air and sat down on the front deck, watching the sun slowly set over the horizon. The light slowly receding as the darkness of night set in. He wondered when his mother would arrive, usually, she would have been back by now. But on occasion, she would end up being late for one reason or another. Hopefully, nothing bad had happened and she was just running late.

.... Oi! That was a flag! You just raised a death flag for your own mother!! Let's quickly look over to see if she's alright!!

Sylvie was breathing hard as she slowly made her way up the mountain. She knew that as time passed, the trip would only become increasingly more difficult for her. But Alick was still too young to make such a journey. She couldn't bare for anything to happen to him, so despite her body constantly being in pain, she pushed herself to make the trip.

Whew, looks like nothing is out of the ordinary, that's a relief. But seriously, our hero needs to learn what a death flag is so he can avoid those. I almost had a heart attack from worry. But it seems I was worried over nothing.

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...

<...>

OH COME ON!!

Just as Sylvie managed to climb over a ridge she came to a dead stop. Right in front of her was a large beast, it stood on four legs and had the head and neck of a snake with the body of a tiger. The beast had a height of 3 meters. It was busy consuming the bodies of several men that were torn to pieces. From the looks of things, it was a small merchant group that had made an unfortunate encounter with beast. Thus coming to their untimely demise, and now that scene of the beast devouring their bodies was in full display of Sylvie.

She stood rooted in place, her voice caught in her throat as she desperately screamed inwardly for her body to move. Regardless if you called it lucky or unlucky, the beast didn't appear to have noticed her. But the mere presence ot it was enough to cause her to be consumed by fear.

All of a sudden, Sylvie could hear the sound of something breaking. She wasn't completely sure what it was, but she had a guess, and it didn't make her feel any less afraid. Just the thought of it made her almost vomit, but she quickly swallowed it back down in order to not attract the beast's attention.

... So is this where she dies? How will our hero find out what happened? What can he even do against a creature like this? Author-san, haven't you set the bar too high?

Alick decided that his mother was simply running late, so he got up and went back inside. Then he got to his room and crawled up into his bed. He glanced out of the nearby window and looked up at the sky. He thought to himself for a moment before deciding on making a wish. Please grant me the ability to make life easier for my mother! Alick wished with all his might, his eyes closed tightly. Up in the sky, a shooting star flew by, unnoticed by many.

Umm, Author-san... Are you not going to grant our hero his wish?

<...>

Eh? What do you mean I should grant it? You're the boss here, I'm just your loveable narrator!

<...>

Eh? Just let things play out? If you say so...

Soon, Alick finished making his wish and then laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

******

After several seconds passed by, which felt like years, Sylvie had finally managed to make her body move. She tried her hardest to make sure she didn't make any noise as she slowly backed away from the scene. She never took her eyes off of the creature, as she was afraid of it seeing her if she turned her back on it.

Soon, after what felt like an eternity, she was no longer able to see the creature. But still she kept moving away, going down the mountain. She had to find some way around, but she didn't know of any alternative routes she could take. Her only option was to either wait for the creature to leave on it's own. Or find a path through the forest.

While the wisest option would be to wait and let the creature leave on it's own after it had finished eating. Sylvie couldn't help but fear for her own child's safety. After all, there was no telling what happened while she was away, if a creature such as this had found it's way onto the main path. Then it meant there was a possibility of another creature finding it's way to their home. The more she thought about it, the more that fear rooted itself into her mind. Causing her to become increasingly more worried about Alick.

An interesting thing about humans, is their fear of the unknown. Despite there being little to no evidence supporting that anything bad had happened, the mere idea of it being a possibility is what creates the fear. Then, the lack of knowledge and the increasing anxiety only perpetuate the fear, making it become increasingly worse. It's the same as someone being in an empty room, but suddenly turning the light off. Even though that just before the light had turned off, they had confirmed that no one was in the room with them. The moment they lost their vision, and couldn't confirm it, that seed of doubt was planted. The idea of another person being in the room with them, watching them, would terrorize the individual.

This situation is quite similar to what Sylvie was experiencing. Even though she had no proof or evidence, and it was just as likely that nothing had happened to Alick. She couldn't stop her own anxiety and fear from eating away at her mind. Combined with her near escape from death, caused her to make a risky decision. Sylvie decided in that moment, that she would try to find a way around the beast through the forest.

After making up her mind, she began walking into the gloomy forest. All in an attempt to make certain that her son was safe.

... Author-san, I think you're giving me anxiety. What's with the sudden tone shift? Last time seemed pretty cheerful, but now things seem really dark! Why are you doing this Author-san?!