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CHAPTER 1 – MULTIPLE STARTING LINES
PART 03
——
“Young man, could you please leave her alone?”
A bright voice called out, sounding as if the speaker was reciting from a script.
I turned around to see a man with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in expensive-looking clothes and a wine-colored cloak draped over his shoulders, standing behind us.
He seemed to give off
a strange aura. And where did he come from?
I shifted to shield Satsuki with my body as I glared at the man.
“Who are you?”
“And who are you? Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking the name of another? That’s what I learned when I was researching your country’s culture, preparing for when I would come to get her.”
“I’m Namidare Rekka, Satsuki’s childhood friend.”
“Oh
” The man exclaimed in a showy voice as he nodded.
“So, who are you?”
“Oh dear, how hostile of you. I don’t think I’ve done anything to warrant such attitude.”
“You’ve scared Satsuki.”
“She scared herself. Why would I do anything to harm my precious bride?”
“Huh? What?”
“My bride—. She will be the bride of Messiah Candystraps; the woman who will grant me omnipotent knowledge.”

I don’t get half of what he’s trying to say.
Just then, a few pieces of debris landed on the man’s shoulder.
“

?”
A hole in the roof?
Countless cracks ran across the concrete roof of the factory, converging upon a hole large enough to fit a person right above the Messiah guy. It seems as if he had created the hole to enter this room.

Is he an idiot? He should be gravely injured after falling from such a height. Anyway, just how did he make such a large hole in the roof?
But there was no doubt that the hole was connected to his presence.
“
You’re not an ordinary human, are you?”
Just what are you
? At that moment, it surfaced from the back of my mind.
The “Namidare Lineage”.
According to my old man and R, I have special blood running in my veins.
There must be some connection between that and what was happening now.
“Alright, now that the introductions are over, would you step away please, young man?”
“No.”
“Oh, why is that?”
“I told you, you’re scaring Satsuki. Anyway, why is Satsuki your bride?”
“My relationship with her has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me, you bastard. She’s my childhood friend. We’re so close that we even know how many moles the other has on their body. It’ll be different if you can make Satsuki happy, but I don’t think that’s the case. If you’re going to force Satsuki to do things against her will, then of course I’ll be here to protect her.”
“Rekka
”
Satsuki whispered from behind me. Her teeth had stopped chattering.
“
It seems like you’ll be causing me some trouble, young man.”
Suddenly, Messiah pointed a finger at me.
“—Messiah!”
Satsuki let out a cry, as if detering the man from doing something, just as a powerful impact hit me in the side.
The force knocked me into the air, before I slammed into the dirty wall of the factory.
“Urgh!”
I let out a grunt as the hit knocked the air from my lungs.
“Rekka!”
“Don’t move an inch, daughter of Creation.”
Messiah’s words stopped Satsuki in her tracks as she made to run to me. What did he just call her? Daughter of Creation?
“Uuh
 You’re definitely not an ordinary human.”
Just then, a sharp pain ran through my back and left side as a weird shock overwhelmed my body, causing my muscles to spasm.
What is happening
? What is he doing to me?
“Oh dear, are you alright, Rekka-san?”
“R
”
That’s right. R said that she can’t move more than five meters away from me. I wonder if she was dragged through the air with me when Messiah’s attack flung me across the room.
“Oi, what did Messiah do to me?”
“By right, I’ve been programmed to be fair in my treatment of all the ‘heroines’ you meet. Speaking arbitrarily, if I render aid to any ‘heroine’, the action could change the future. That’s why I won’t be able to help you in any of the ‘stories’.”
“
So you won’t help me because that guy is a villain in one of those ‘stories’ my old man said I’ll be dragged into?”
“Wow, you learn fast. So you can be smart despite being an idiot, Rekka-san
 True, due to my mission, I can tell when you’ve been dragged into a ‘story’.”
“Can you tell me that now?”
“Yes, but only if it will not affect the story’s ‘resolution’.”
It seems like I won’t be receiving any help from R, nor will I get any information about the “daughter of Creation” from her.
But what was that? Messiah hadn’t touched me at all. It was as if he’d used magic— Wait, could it be
real magic?
That’s a wizard right there. Old man, this is really starting to sound like a manga or novel plot.
But magic is just too much. Even without trying to come up with rational explanations, such things definitely are extraordinary. My beloved ordinary life is finally being utterly destroyed
 Damn it.
“Oh, can you stand?”
“Of course. I have to protect Satsuki.”
To be honest, my body felt exhausted, but I ordered my limbs to push myself up.
“I don’t really get what’s happening, but if Satsuki is in danger, I won’t hesitate to help her.”
“
Oh?”
I heard R heave a sigh, either in annoyance or resignation, as I finally pulled myself to my feet.
“Oi, sorry to keep you waiting, bastard!”
I shouted as I hurled a metal pipe I had picked up at Messiah, but the pipe bounced away harmlessly before the wizard, repelled by some unseen force.
“Oh, you’re really hardy.”
Messiah whispered as he turned around, sounding like he was praising an infant.
“That’s my line.”
“Well, a Defense Barrier surrounds my body at all times, so such things will never hurt me.”
“You’re a filthy cheat
”
I taunted, trying to buy some time, though I knew he suspected that was what I was doing.
“Rekka!”
Satsuki suddenly called out as she tossed a palm-sized object towards me.
I grabbed the object. It turned out to be her mobile phone.
“Take that and run! I’ll be alright!”
“No!”
Is this supposed to be a momento? There’s no way someone who’s as bad at sports as you is going to match up to a wizard like Messiah.
Watching our argument, Messiah laughed lowly.
“I knew you would be a major obstacle between us. Since you’re so ready to die for her, why don’t I grant your wish?”
Messiah raised his hand above his head, and the air suddenly shivered before bursting into sparks. The sparks soon grew into tiny lightning bolts, dancing in the air like writhing snakes. The snakes then wound together, becoming a dazzling mass of light.
Or a ball of lightning.
I could find no other words to describe what I saw as it swelled even larger, eventually growing to a size large enough to engulf a human.
“I’ll leave no trace of you, so don’t worry. Nobody will ever know how tragic your death is.”
“I don’t need your concern
”
Seems like Messiah really is a wizard.
My instincts were telling me to run, and to be completely honest, I was terrified. I would definitely die if Messiah threw that thing at me.
But to abandon Satsuki and escape; how would I ever live with myself
?!
Standing firm on my trembling legs, I refused to budge.
Damn it. I don’t even understand what the “Namidare Lineage” is all about, and I’ve already been thrown into such a huge challenge.
Just as I was cursing my fate

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
As if to further complicate matters, “something” chose that exact moment to fall upon us from the sky.