Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 25: Scapegoat

"Psst...Colette, I know you’re having a crisis in your head right now, but could you help me out of these?"

Colette, who was deep in thought, suddenly flinched.

"Oh, alright."

Using a modified version of [Magic Bullet], she used it like a hot plasma knife, cutting directly through the metal brace instead of the Red Logicite itself.

And before long...

SNAP—!

’Her Control is pretty good as well, huh?’

I rubbed at the faint red markings on my wrist, feeling the Logos running throughout my body once more without a hitch.

’Alright, how the hell am I going to get these people out of here...?’

The original plan was for me to act more like a bodyguard in case they wanted to do something with Colette.

But it was clear to me now that something was amiss, so I decided to hurry up with the plan and not rely on Aidan to come.

"Colette, break the others out of their shackles as well. I’m going to take a quick scan around."

"Mmm."

With the confirmation, I took a peek from under the half-opened store shutter, but what I saw was definitely not expected in the slightest.

The mall was actually surrounded by guards, but not well-dressed and equipped ones. No, they looked like people taken from the Muspel slums and given a job.

Some held their Spell Drivers shakily in their hand while others looked like they could barely walk because they were so thin.

’Shit...were there no actual guards?’

That was when White Noise’s plan all clicked together inside my head.

I had been wondering if the route had changed. But no, it had stayed exactly the same.

If the only people here guarding the hostages were a bunch of ragtag slum-dwellers and Tina Valentine, their motive was clear:

Pin everything on Tina, who was an Astaron Cadet.

She had been the scapegoat all along. Nothing in the route changed at all.

I had failed to realize that, once again, the route and information from this event all happened after the fact.

Things could still happen in-between without me knowing any of it.

But then...what was White Noise after? Is this all they’re trying to do? No, it can’t be that simple at all, something must’ve happened behind the scenes.

’I need to get everyone out of here first.’

Thankfully, Colette had somehow calmed everyone down after breaking them out of their braces. Most of them were Astaron cadets, who definitely felt betrayed.

However, they couldn’t do anything about it. Even if they were fully capable of busting themselves out of here, the conflict they could create would lead to misunderstandings, ones already fueled by Tina.

I could already see the headline writing itself honestly.

"Operator Cadet from Astaron Attacked Muspel Civilians?!"

The public needed a name who could cause damage and be labeled as the "rescuer" instead of the "attacker".

A name, which...Midgard, conveniently fit.

If everyone here saw Nolan Midgard leading the breakout, then White Noise couldn’t easily sell the story that Astaron cadets revolted.

The public would praise the Midgards for successfully rescuing the people, which would shine a more positive light on the Astaron cadets as well.

Ahhh...it’s such a hassle.

Putting myself out there was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do.

Sigh...

’I guess it can’t be helped.’

Dispelling [Distort], the black hair hanging down my face reverted back to its dark blue color.

The crowd reacted instantly.

"Wait...isn’t that—"

"...Nolan! You were here as well?!"

Rallying everyone together, I managed to maintain an utmost calm exterior. But inside...really, I was about to throw up.

"Everyone, hear me out. This place isn’t that heavily guarded, but we still need to rescue the others as well. Make sure not to harm anyone."

One of the hot-headed male cadets responded instantly. "They kidnapped us and you expect us to do everything quietly?! Not a chance!"

"Look," I pointed outside. "The people out there aren’t the ones who did this to you. They’re likely just desperate hired hands. Tina was probably placed here for a similar reason."

The same person instantly flinched. I remembered vaguely seeing his face at the Public Relations club as well, so it made sense that he would be shocked.

"Why would she..."

"It doesn’t matter now," I shook my head. "If you attack them without me, everyone here, including Tina, will be blamed for the incident. That’s what White Noise wants."

"Then...what should we do?" a timid girl in glasses asked from the back.

I looked over at the half-opened shutters. "You guys prioritize rescuing the other civilians, I’ll handle the ’guards’."

The plan passed without much objection from anyone.

Well, all except one person.

Colette pulled on my sleeve, her face filled with determination. "Let me come too. I want to help do something...anything."

My instincts wanted to say "no, it’s dangerous", but for some reason, I was inclined to believe her.

I mean, she was a heroine after all. Maybe the part in me that was a gamer, wanted to see the scene from a game I loved play out in real time.

"Sure, but stay close."

"Yeah."

We stood underneath the half-opened shutters, but my heart was beating out of my chest. It was the same feeling when I was trapped in the Dungeon Outbreak zone from the prologue.

Was it the sense of fulfillment? Did I actually...want to become the protagonist of this game after all?

Regardless of the questions or answers, one thing was clear. Without Leon, it fell onto me, and I would do my best to save all the heroines.

No matter the cost.

"Go!"

On my command, we spilled out from under the shutters like a tidal wave, scattering everywhere.

Two guards, likely unregistered low-level Operators, stationed on the ground floor turned, panic settling on their faces as they didn’t expect a break-out to happen.

One of them pointed their Spell Driver at me, but his Processing was so slow that I managed to close the distance in time.

[Push]

I placed my hand onto his chest, sending him flying with a single attack.

I did realize that the spell was considerably weaker without a Spell Driver, but the man flew straight into a wall and passed out nonetheless.

Turning to the second guard, I was surprised to see that he was already falling to his knees, eyes rolled back.

Colette was standing on his side, a hand raised to his ear before lowering it back to her sides slowly.

She must’ve caught my expression, immediately stammering and explaining. "Ahh, I didn’t kill him or anything. It was just a compressed sound wave aimed at his inner ear. It disrupts balance and breathing for a few seconds..."

’Heroines really are scary...’

After a bit, a few Astaron cadets came back with Ygg citizens, who were just as surprised as they were that I was here...

And also at the state of the problem itself.

"I think I found out where they’re keeping our confiscated Spell Drivers," an Astaron cadet in glasses hurried up to me, pointing to the first floor of the mall complex.

But before I could answer, out of nowhere, beams that looked like they were made from solid light wrapped around Colette and pulled her upward.

"AHHHH!"

I turned to see the spell pull Colette towards a woman with long flowing hair. But what made her stand apart was her white cape, a symbol I had recognized way long ago—

White Noise.

"Seems like our plan has fallen apart?" she questioned in an amusing tone, putting a finger on her lip. "But no matter, I’ll be taking this one with me."

"Toodaloo!"

The woman turned, disappearing deeper into the mall complex, dragging Astaron’s first princess right behind her.

’Damn it...are things finally starting to become serious?!’