Story of a Cannon Fodder who Firmly Believed He was the Protagonist, Misunderstood the Actual Protagonist as the Cannon Fodder, and Ended up Victorious
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Frozen Ink
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 003 – The Protagonist Named Arthur [B]
Arthur. It was the name that everyone who played the novel game “Round Table Heroes” knew. She was one of the protagonists, which put her on the same level as Tlue. This novel used the Round Table as a hidden main theme where everyone would be equal and could be considered as the protagonist by their own right.
Of course, that didn’t mean every character involved could have a tremendous amount of plot episodes, so the game treated Arthur and Tlue as the main protagonists, while the other sub-protagonist also existed.
And, the plots regarding those sub-protagonists were further explored in DLCs, giving further depth to the overall plot.
Therefore, Sister Maria could be considered both heroine and sub-protagonist. The DLC regarding the story from her perspective had also become the extra fun of this game.
That was why the game was so popular. And among those characters, the person who held the popularity poll of eternal second place was the girl named Arthur.1
However, this Arthur… was holding a lot of depressing pasts and wasn’t used to communicating with others. Therefore, on the first test known as the entrance exam for the Knights of the Round Table, she was wondering who she could talk to.
What should I do… this should be the place for the enrollment test, right?
She looked around and confirmed children of similar age were gathering. Arthur was relieved when she eavesdropped on their conversation and found out she was at the right place.
But she wondered why? The children around her age were laughing happily around. Perhaps they were trying to relieve each other’s tension before the exam. As she saw that, she remembered a little of her sad past. However, she shook her head and switched her thoughts. She found it hard to stay calm in this spot.
Is there any quiet place somewhere…
At that time, Arthur’s eyes were nailed at a certain spot. There was a single tree nearby. There, a boy folded his arms, leaned against the tree, and quietly closed his eyes.
He stood there alone… quietly. Arthur felt that the spot alone belonged to a different world. While everyone else was busy talking, that boy was feeling the wind alone.
Arthur didn’t know why, but she was naturally drawn to that spot. It wasn’t like she had anything to talk about, just feeling the little sunlight leaking through the leaves. The sound from the surrounding area was isolated. Arthur naturally opened her heart due to the situation.
This person feels mysterious… he feels like a deviant… just like me…
Arthur glanced at a boy she never talked to before. However, the boy noticed her presence when she first glanced at him and their eyes met before he closed his eyes once again.
The boy was showing his aloofness among all the people around. While everyone was feeling nervous due to the exam and tried to mingle with others, this boy stood there alone. Looking at his figure, Arthur honestly felt the boy was amazing.
Amazing… I also wanted the same mental power as him.
For Arthur, her greatest weakness was that she harbored a fragile mentality. Although Arthur possessed all sorts of talents, she lacked the mental power to use it to the fullest.
I wonder, how I could become as aloof as him… I want to know his secret.
Arthur wondered what the boy’s name was. Such a question naturally ran through her mind. Then, the time went on without her managing to talk to him and the paladin who was responsible for the examination appeared. There, the applicants heard the outline of the test which made them lose their tension at once. After all, they were told that they had already passed the exam.
Oh… so it was that simple.
Arthur also had sloppy thoughts at first. But the boy in front of her showed no such sign at all, and his face tightened more than before as he squinted his eyes.
Why? Even though we are told that we already passed the exam…
That’s right. Let’s use this as a topic to talk to him. Arthur called out to the boy.
“Hey.”
“…”
Did he not hear my voice? Is it because he is so focused that he couldn’t be bothered with anything else? Or I was just ignored?
“I’m talking with you…”
“You mean me?”
“That’s right… is there anyone else instead of you here?”
“I see… and what of it?”
Err, umm…even though we are already guaranteed to pass the exam and there shouldn’t be any need to focus that much, then why are you so focused that your face tightens and you squint your eyes…? Perhaps that’s too long for a sentence?
I will be thought of as a weirdo if I suddenly ask him with a long sentence.
Err, let’s try to be more concise…
“Why do you wear such expressions?”
“What do you mean?”
Ah, he didn’t get what I meant. I should elaborate on it.
With that in mind, she gave him a longer explanation this time. The boy then naturally concluded, saying what she asked was an obvious thing.
“Why are you asking for obvious things? One can’t grow unless they are always trying to surpass themselves. That’s all to it.”
…Amazing. To think he always thought that way … but that kind of thinking should be considered heretical. I think he was the same as me, all alone…
Perhaps… if it is with him… we could become friends…
Such a faint feeling arose for a similar person to her. It was a lonely girl (Arthur) and an aloof boy who nobody approached. 2
Even though this person held such noble thoughts, he was still so serious about this… there should be a reason why … ah…
Then she recalled what the examiner said earlier. Although that man named Marumaru said everyone has already passed the exam, he never said he wouldn’t rank them based on performance.
Amazing, to think this boy managed to reach such a conclusion just from those words…
Arthur honestly asked the boy whether he noticed that.
“—Did you notice such hidden evaluation from the start?”
“…Fuh, obviously.”
He answered as if it was the most obvious thing to do. There was no lie there, or overestimation and underestimation for that matter. The boy truly thought the thing he said was obvious from the bottom of his heart.
Perhaps his criteria for success is different from normal people… he wouldn’t accept merely passing. He always treats standards greater than asked for as passing grades.
What is his name?
Fay… that’s a good name…
Is he willing to pair up with me?
Yay.
Originally, it was supposed to be the exam where main protagonists Tlue and Arthur met each other. Because Arthur, who was all alone, was called out by the cannon fodder Fay, which was then stopped by Tlue.
Then, Arthur was supposed to be paired with Tlue.
However, because Tlue was scared of Fay, he didn’t want to approach him. As a result, it created a deviating path where Arthur approached Fay by herself. This would create a big ripple later on.
This day marks a great turning point.
And because Tlue didn’t call out to Arthur, it also became the day where Arthur’s route disappeared from Tlue’s side of the story.
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Is he willing to pair up with me?
Yay.
OMG this is sooo relateableee
hey with arthur and this round table thing. how could person whose name close to morgan (fay) only a canon fodder. he should be at least antagonist.
he is cannon fodder who supposedly grew to minor antagonists. there was another morgan later, so keep in mind that at least for now, morgan is NOT fay
I pretty slow with my minds but what does that last sentence mean exactly
in game version, Arthur is fellow main prota like Tlue and often act together. but because of Fay, her interest shifted to him instead, so the original partnership cease to exists
and being main prota, Arthur is the closest thing to main heroine of the story. this time supposed to be the event of their first meeting but as i say above, her focus is now on Fay, so Arthur route on Tlue side of story is gone
Ohhh I see now, good to know there is actually consequences for bringing in a chunni in the role of a Cannon fodder in game, the god will for sure baffle at this
this story is about that. mix chuuni in that make the story less depressing than it supposed to be. no one there, including fay, aware of original plot so they don’t feel it, but gods who have fun watching him will refer to original plot from time to time and make comparison