Chapter 001 – An Awakening Event is considered Common Sense [B]
He was faster than me, the protagonist… How could that have happened? I was the protagonist, right?
Alright, calm down. That one just now was a fluke. That was definitely it… In that case!! I stood up and faced Tlue. Although I was supposed to have attacked him with a speed that cuts the wind… he easily evaded it and, once again, his slash hit my abdomen.
It happened again, and again. Regardless of how many times I tried, I wasn’t a match for him. Why was that?
As I fell to the ground, Tlue’s victory appealed to the people around him…and the orphans praised his deed.
I was supposed to be the protagonist… However, I couldn’t win against him no matter what I did… Hm? I couldn’t win no matter what… Indeed, it seemed I had no way to achieve victory.
At that moment, thunder boomed in my head. Ah, was this the awakening event? It was something that commonly happened. It was the trope where during the early stages of the story, a powerless protagonist awakens special powers during a crisis; that kind of event!
I see. So that’s how it was. No wonder I couldn’t win. For this situation, I had to endure and never give up until my awakening concluded. It was a blind spot I didn’t take into account. So the process of the plot began before the main plot, which happens two years later when I become active as a paladin.
In that case…
“Not… yet… the match isn’t over… it’s not over yet!”
“—!”
What happened after could hardly be considered a battle. I couldn’t win against Tlue’s combat ability no matter how much I tried. However, I believed in the awakening that awaited me, and kept standing every time I fell.
Are we there yet (excited) are we there yet (excited) okay, come on, come on, I kept wishing for it fervently.
But perhaps our duel was getting too intense.
“That’s it! What are you doing?!”
Maria stopped the unscathed Tlue and me, who was wounded all over. My battered body failed to sustain itself, and I fell into deep unconsciousness without achieving my awakening.
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For the boy named Tlue, Fay was an unlikable boy. Despite how everyone else cared for and respected others in the orphanage, he alone was self-centered and made derogatory remarks toward others.
Therefore, not only Tlue, everyone in the orphanage didn’t like Fay, and Sister Maria also found him hard to deal with. No, perhaps Fay already went beyond her control. Every time something happened, Tlue had to stop Fay’s barbaric acts and built a tremendous amount of trust within the orphanage.
Indeed, Fay was beyond one’s control.
Until that one day, Fay was struck with a high fever when he was 13…
Fay, who always did as he liked without care for others, suddenly began to practice swordsmanship every day on his own for some reason. As for Tlue, his parents were attacked and slain by monsters. Therefore, he had trained himself since young to become a paladin to prevent others from experiencing the same pain and protected all he could.
His talent was also tremendous, comparable to a diamond in the rough.
Indeed, Tlue felt that he was a special person and didn’t doubt himself. That was why he asked Fay for a duel to teach Fay of his own wrong doings.
The difference between Tlue, who already trained from an early age, and Fay, who only began training recently, didn’t need to be said. The result was already clear. Neither Tlue nor the orphans at the orphanage doubted Tlue’s victory.
“I challenge you to a duel. If I win, I’ll have you explain to me everything!”
The duel began. Indeed, what happened was exactly as expected. The point difference of 1 and 10 was obvious without needing to be mentioned.
Tlue lightly hit Fay’s abdomen with his sword. Kindness was considered Tlue’s strong point. Regardless of who he fought against, he would show mercy and didn’t resort to underhanded means. However, that was Tlue’s naivety, or rather, his arrogance.
“—Is-isn’t this enough?”
“Not yet…”
It was the gaze of a man who sought desperately for something. Regardless of how many times Fay fell to the ground and was beaten down. Even if Tlue only used gentle strikes to hit Fay, it had to still feel painful nonetheless.
“I won’t… be defeated here.”
“Why!”
Tlue naturally increased the strength of his grip. It was out of fear. The thing that was happening at that moment was something unacceptable to him.
—Those were the eyes of people, nay, starving wolves who sought power.
Within Fay’s eyes, Tlue felt something similar to a muddy abyss.
The orphans around were also baffled. Was that a face of Fay they never knew of before? It was totally different, a downright foreign thing.
“Not… yet… the match isn’t over… it’s not over yet!”
“—! Uh- uwaaaaahh!”
It was fear. It was a vague, underlying sense of great terror. It was the first time Tlue, nay, the main protagonist of Round Table Heroes, learned to fear something beyond his understanding.
The person in front of him appeared to be a monster.
Tlue desperately tried to erase the overlapping image from his eyes, swinging his sword more vigorously. But they were stopped by Sister Maria.
“That’s it! What are you doing?!”
When the person who Tlue considered his elder sister and loved as family came to the scene, he came back to his senses. Tlue was ashamed of himself as he knew he had gone too far. \nNow as he looked at what he had done, he could see Fay before him, wounded all over.
“Tlue, why did you do that!?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Fay! Are you…”
“—No way, he fainted while he was standing…”
Both Sister Maria and Tlue were at a loss for words. Fay must have reached his limit and fainted. Even so, this person still stood upright in his spot. He went beyond his limit and still stood due to the obstinacy of his soul.
Was there anyone who went that far for power?
The protagonist Tlue never forgot about the events of this day for it carved a fear deep into his memory.
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T/N:
For the people who are new here, welcome! For those who have already accompanied me for some time, it’s my honor!
Anyway, due to the drop in the number of patrons, I decided to pick up this series as a patron exclusive, to give early access for the novel translation. Well, maybe the novel will eventually be released for the public, but that will be after I secured enough chapters for the patreon side and assembled enough people willing to help with editing and QC-ing the stuff, so it will take quite some time. Also, the public release will be split due to chapter length, so the update speed for later may vary.
Well anyway, leaving my circumstances aside, I picked this novel due to how it interests me, the usual comedic misunderstanding which is right up my alley. I think people will enjoy it.
As for the names, leaving the obvious “Maria” aside, “Tlue” is basically “True,” it’s just me changing r to l to avoid confusion if true appears not as a name. As for “Fay,| it came from both “Fake” and the Fay of Morgan Le Fay, its a round table heroes game and so, Arthurian names will appear after all.
Well then, this series might last for some time, but have fun while it lasts!