Chirp chirp—
The sound of birds singing outside the window.
"Ugh..."
He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night.
It would've been weird if he had slept peacefully. Not only was he dealing with the ridiculous reality of being inside a novel, but he'd become a doomed supporting character with a guaranteed death in the early chapters.
Grumble!
Thunder rumbled from his stomach.
Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. Realizing this made him feel even hungrier. Well, they say you can't think on an empty stomach—let's eat something first and then think.
Creak—
He opened the old door and headed down to the first floor.
The floorboards creaked loudly as if proving just how old they were. When he sat down in a reasonably quiet spot and looked at the innkeeper, he got a gruff response.
"Right now we only got bread and stew."
"I'll take that then."
He pulled out a silver coin and tossed it over.
The innkeeper's face lit up with joy.
A little while later, after wolfing down his meal, he quietly looked up at the ceiling.
"Ferda Inosid, huh..."
He spoke the name softly.
He'd been thinking about it all night. Finally, around dawn, he'd managed to accept it.
That this world was inside a novel.
That SSS-rank hunter Kenny Bark no longer existed.
Once his thoughts were sorted out, he felt much better.
After taking a sip of the coffee that came for dessert, Ferda quietly muttered.
"So I'm gonna become a tutor in two days?"
He let out a small laugh.
He'd been a teacher on Earth too, and now he'd be doing something similar here.
"Should I just run away?"
His first thought was to forget about being a tutor and just escape.
Then he wouldn't get involved with the protagonist, and he wouldn't take a sword meant for the protagonist either.
But there was one problem.
"But what happens if the protagonist dies?"
The Savior's protagonist, Silvan Arcdute.
If the protagonist of the novel died, what would happen to this story?
The answer to that question came to him pretty quickly.
"Wait a minute. Come to think of it..."
As far as he remembered, during the eight cycles that repeated, The Savior had never once reached a proper conclusion.
Instead, whenever one cycle ended and the next began, there was always one common factor.
The protagonist would meet his death.
"...Son of a bitch."
Ferda's face crumpled.
The protagonist dying meant the novel would end.
Then his own future was pretty obvious too.
He had to avoid dying in place of the protagonist while keeping the protagonist alive.
For that, there was only one way.
"Guess I have no choice but to get directly involved?"
Ferda knew how the novel's plot unfolded.
Of course, since it had never been completed, he didn't know everything. But he could at least interfere directly with the novel and change how things played out.
No matter how he looked at it, this was the only answer.
Just as his eyes took on a serious gleam—
Bang!
"Innkeeper! Two beers over here!"
New customers entered the shop.
They wiped the sweat from their foreheads as they chatted.
"It's still spring but why's it so muggy?"
"Tell me about it."
"Oh, by the way, you drinking tonight?"
"Of course! What kind of question is that?"
"True. You gotta go hard from the first day of a festival to really enjoy it."
At that moment, Ferda perked up his ears.
'Festival?'
The mention of a festival brought something to mind.
"That night, the city held a festival for the spring goddess. Even the back alleys that were always dark and gloomy were caught up in the festive atmosphere.
Thanks to some big spenders buying everyone a round of beer. But Ferda didn't know at the time. That it was all planned."
Now he remembered.
What was going to happen tonight.
"Ah, right. That's right."
The corners of Ferda's mouth twitched.
"Come to think of it, there was something like that."
The first event where he could interfere with the novel and change the plot.
Ferda's eyes sparkled.
***
"Drink up! We're buying for everyone tonight!"
"To the spring goddess! Cheers!"
That night, there was a party at the inn.
Thanks to some 'big spenders' who appeared out of nowhere and ordered all the booze and food.
It was exactly the same development as in the novel.
But Ferda wasn't interested in this. Actually, he couldn't afford to pay attention to it.
Because something more important had appeared right in front of him.
"...What the hell is this?"
A semi-transparent system message.
[The 8th cycle has ended.]
[The 8th cycle's author, Sword God John Mavin, has designated you as the next author.]
The content of the message was extraordinary.
But there was something even more concerning.
"Why is the Yggdrasil system..."
Ferda's eyes trembled slightly.
The Yggdrasil system, exclusive to hunters.
The system that had disappeared when the monsters vanished had revealed itself to the world once again.
How should he process this?
[In two days, the 9th cycle of
He'd just barely come to terms with being inside a novel.
And now there was a system too?
Plus, the original The Savior didn't even have a system setting?
While Ferda was making a complicated expression—
"Hey, buddy."
Someone called out to him.
It was the 'big spenders' who were throwing money around like water.
"What're you doing all by yourself?"
"Come on, let's drink together. Today's a good day!"
They quickly approached Ferda.
And then.
Click—
A sharp blade touched his body.
"...Get up from your seat. Slowly."
Hearing the cold voice snapped him to attention.
This was a development from the original novel. And also the 'incident' he'd been hoping for.
"Keep your mouth shut and follow us to the back door."
"Don't try anything funny. Not if you want to live."
They looked ready to stab him without hesitation if anything seemed suspicious.
Right, this comes first.
He'd think about the system later.
After organizing his thoughts, Ferda stood up from his seat.
Then he obediently followed behind them.
***
The place Ferda arrived at was a deserted alley.
Nearby was a sewer that looked like it had been closed off quite some time ago.
The eerie atmosphere made it seem like you could hide several corpses without anyone finding them.
While he was looking around, a man walked out from the distance.
From his appearance, he looked like a knight.
"We brought him."
The man beside him spoke respectfully.
The knight nodded. Taking that as a signal, the men withdrew outside.
Now free, Ferda met eyes with the knight.
Soon, an episode from the novel came to mind.
"Ferda gulped nervously. The knight before him was strong. At least an intermediate Expert. It would be hard to guarantee victory even in a one-on-one fight, and he'd have to fight the others surrounding him too?
Then it would be a certain defeat. While having such thoughts, the knight suddenly spoke."
"Ferda Inosid. Is that right?"
"..."
He kept his mouth firmly shut and didn't answer.
Seeing this, the men around them raised their eyebrows.
"This bastard. Got something stuck in your ears?"
"Answer quickly!"
They looked ready to stab him in the gut if he didn't speak up immediately.
Oh my, how scary.
Ferda shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, basically."
At that answer, the knight suddenly sighed.
A confused face mixed with irritation.
"I don't understand the Count's thinking at all. Even if he's a bastard son, this kind of beggar..."
He apparently didn't care about how the listener felt.
After a moment, the knight spoke in an authoritative tone.
"I won't drag this out. Come under my command."