Chapter 5

It's nice when a TS original protagonist onee-san takes an innocent boy's first love, don't you think...?

While evading pursuit from the police, I’m here again today, continuing to jot down entries in my Phantom Thief Notebook. I am the Super High School-Level Original Protagonist, T.P. Eight Olishua-chan.

It seems that my appearance in broad daylight during the first encounter with En-kun already made me known to the police. As expected of the righteous man Akatsuki En. After that, it seems he shared the information with his headquarters, making my crimes a bit harder to pull off—though I can’t say I’m struggling that much. After all, I'm a cheat-level original protagonist.

Even if some people figure out my identity, there are plenty of ways for me to continue my activities without any problems. For instance, I could acquire one of the hallmark tools of a phantom thief —the ultimate disguise technique.

The supernatural abilities in this world are incredibly diverse, and after searching for about a day outside the city, I found a supernatural ability user with the "Mimicry" ability, a fitting ability for disguises. It’s common for those with rare abilities to become topics of gossip among local residents.

The supernatural user I tracked down based on the rumors was is from the people I've stolen from before—a regular boy, about ten years old. Other than possessing a rare ability, he’s just an ordinary, everyday kid.

Even I feel a little pang of guilt at the idea of stealing from such a good-natured child.

And to make things worse, there he is, sitting alone on a swing in the park at dusk, looking downcast. Anyone can see he’s troubled, his energy completely drained.

Harming a child like him would be bad in every sense. Why? Because it's the sort of thing done by disposable villains or henchmen. I don’t want to lower myself to their level by acting like that.

As a pure and righteous original protagonist, I should be as kind as possible to children. Though, of course, I’m hoping to get supernatural abilities in return, but here, I’ll play the part of the well-meaning meddler, as a good original protagonist would.

So, I sit down on the swing next to him and peer into his face as I speak.

"Hi. What are you doing out here at this hour? The night is about to fall."

"...eh?"

Right now, I’m not in my usual phantom thief outfit but dressed more casually, like a slightly stylish college student.

Normally, a child would have been startled and run away, but since I appeared as a kind-looking pretty girl, I wasn’t giving off a threatening vibe. As expected of the pretty girl bonus… it’s strong!

The boy, clearly in distress, finally noticed me for the first time. Rather than running, he doesn’t even have the energy to flee, looking down with a worried expression.

"A lonely night can be dangerous. A boy like you, sitting here alone in a place like this—who knows when someone might come to attack you?"

"...Yeah, I know..."

By this point in the timeline, the evil organization PSYence is destroyed, but even so, the world isn’t as safe as Japan was in my previous life. It was genuine concern when I told him that being alone in an empty park at night is dangerous.

"Are you troubled by something?"

"...!"

"I can tell by the look on your face. I don’t mean to intrude, but if you want, you can talk to onee-san. Sometimes it’s easier to speak to a stranger than to your parents."

"Ah...yeah..."

With a fleeting smile, I ease his tension, and little by little, with tears in his eyes at times, the boy begins to speak.

The boy, Shouta-kun, has the "Mimicry" ability. It’s a rare ability that allows him to perfectly mimic any appearance. It’s a coveted ability among detectives and agents, and Shouta-kun himself was proud of it. He used to play with friends, transforming into his favorite heroes and monsters.

But recently, he says, when he uses his ability, "something feels wrong in my head."

When he mimics someone, it’s not just his body—his mind also feels like it’s becoming that person. He’s afraid that if he keeps using his ability, he’ll lose his sense of self.

"Hmm..."

"It didn’t used to be like this... but now when I transform, even after, I don’t know who I am anymore... it’s scary!"

His voice grows more agitated as he speaks, likely because it’s something he can’t even bring himself to tell his parents. It’s a problem that only someone with the same ability could truly understand.

I think the root of the issue is that his supernatural ability grew stronger as he got older. Just as I had mentioned before, supernatural abilities are like blood, growing stronger as the body matures.

His "Mimicry" ability, which had previously only affected his appearance, now extends to finer details. This kid may be even more powerful than rumors suggested.

"If that’s how it’s going to be... then I don’t want this power anymore!"

"..."

It’s a serious problem, being able to turn into anything, but losing sight of who you are in the process. I also role-play often, so I can understand that feeling to some extent. But I’m an adult—yes, an adult—and I know how to draw the line.

In contrast, he’s still just a child. Because his sense of self isn’t fully formed, he’s unable to distinguish between acting and his true self.

As for what I can do to help him... since I can’t think of anything, I decide to play the harp for now.

"...?"

"Music is good. It soothes a troubled heart when they feel like giving up."

While listening to the boy's heartfelt confession, I finish writing in my Phantom Thief Notebook. I quickly don my silk hat and cape, transforming into my mysterious phantom thief outfit in a flash. It wasn’t due to a supernatural ability, just my own quick-change skills. It was only the top I changed, so it wasn’t that hard.

Why switch to phantom thief mode now? Because it’s cooler, of course.

And, well, hearing the boy’s story means I no longer had any qualms about stealing.

"Supernatural abilities, you see… are tied to the heart."

"...eh?"

Well, it’s true that I can't stand seeing the boy so deeply troubled, so I decide to keep up my kind big-sister act.

"An ability is influenced by the state of your heart. It can turn either good or bad depending on how you choose to use it... If you want to lean it towards the positive side, it might be important to face your power head-on once more."

"The state of my heart...?"

That’s true. Source? The original anime. Depending on how a person confronts their ability, its nature can change dramatically. Of course, only a handful of characters in the show were able to do this, but it's not a lie.

"For example, like you said, one option is to lose that power. And look, there’s a bad onee-san right here who’s really good at stealing supernatural abilities."

"The phantom thief...!?"

"Bingo."

"Wapuh!"

Taking advantage of the fact that he said he didn’t need it, I press forward aggressively—true thief style. He seems to have realized my identity, and it looks like my name as the infamous Phantom Thief Olishua is spreading nicely.

Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I get up from the swing, crouch down to meet the boy’s gaze, and gently stroke his head while hugging him—like I’m comforting a child who had been fighting loneliness all by himself.

"My name is T.P. Eight Olishua. I’ll be taking your ability now."

"Ah..."

With my notebook filled and my calling card left behind, the conditions for activating the theft were complete the moment I made physical contact with him. Honestly, I don’t need to go so far as to hug him, but I got caught up in the moment.

My green eyes glow as I confirm the successful theft. To give him the comfort of an onee-san’s hug and the despair of having his ability stolen at the same time—it’s a fiendish act, I have to admit.

When I finally release him, the boy's innocent face flush, and then, realizing that his ability was stolen, his eyes widen in shock.

"A-ah... a-ah..."

Don’t make that face. It makes me look like I did something wrong.

Well, I did do something wrong. Sorry, Shouta, but it’s not all bad for you, either, so please don’t lose your trust in people.

"Feeling a bit better now? But I hope you won’t treat your ability too harshly."

"…!"

Since I stole it, the ability left his body, and any negative side effects should have disappeared, making his mind clearer—or at least, that’s what I assume. I don’t know for sure. Never been in his situation.

However, even if he feels better now, who knows how he’ll feel when his ability comes back. It’s a delicate issue, and I’m not in a position to lecture him. Either way, he and his ability are inseparable, so I hope he’ll learn to accept it and move forward.

"After all, it's also part of what makes you who you are."

"Wait!"

I won’t wait. A phantom thief like me leaves in style.

I gently brush off his hand, swirl my cape dramatically, and walk away.

"Don’t worry, your power will answer you, as long as you keep being yourself... and as long as you hold onto that desire."

"Phantom thief… san…"

Hearing those last words, Shouta-kun stops chasing after me, and I feel relieved.

I got the ability I came for, so there’s no point in staying any longer. The commotion outside the park is growing louder, and I shrug.

"There she is! It's Phantom Thief Olishua!"

"That bastard’s finally turned her poisonous fangs on children!"

Uh-oh, the police are moving faster than I thought. I might have called them incompetent before, but this quick response has me reconsidering.

Still, I’m a cheat original protagonist. There’s no way I’m letting some random prefectural cops catch me, even if it’s the likes of En or his team.

"Well then, good day."

Tipping my silk hat to the boy, I take out my Phantom Thief Notebook and use my usual teleportation ability. In an instant, I’m out of the park and far away in another town.

On a side note, a week or so later, Shouta’s ability returned, but he no longer suffers from the identity crisis like before.

Apparently, during the time he was without his ability, he was able to think clearly, reflecting on himself and how he viewed his ability. He finally accepted it in his own way.

You know how, when you're in a depressive state, your thoughts just don’t flow? But this kid was strong enough to overcome that on his own. Quite impressive for someone so young.

…And after that, Shouta, having become much better at using his "Mimicry" ability, decided to join the police, saying he had "someone he wanted to catch."

Apparently, in ten or so years, he’ll become a rising star as a special investigator for public security. Funny how life turns out, huh?

But, unfortunately, that story is just a side story—one that has nothing to do with the adventures of an original protagonist like me.

Through such events, I managed to acquire the "Mimicry" ability, ideal for disguises, allowing me to efficiently continue my phantom thief lifestyle over the next few days.

Using the mimicry form, I gathered information directly while confusing the investigators, approached the target, and skillfully stole their abilities. My references were legendary phantom thieves of the past. While I'm not as smart as them, I can compensate for my lack of intelligence with supernatural abilities.

Why are cheat original protagonist so strong? It’s because they possess cheat-level powers.

Sneaking up on targets with my “Mimicry”, then teleporting away — with these two and clairvoyance, I never found myself in trouble with the police. Thanks to that, I was able to steadily prepare for my intervention into the original story.

The number of victims kept growing, and with suspicions rising that I might be involved with the holy beasts, the Sabers finally began to act, but unfortunately, they were too late.

"They’re here..."

By organizing the timeline of the original anime, I know the exact moment "that time" would arrive. I stand alone atop Akebono Tower (a structure like Tokyo Tower), overlooking the glittering nightscape lit by streetlamps and illuminations, and muttered as I gazed up at the night sky.

While a line like, "Impossible… It's too early…!" would be classic, I'm the cheat original protagonist who knows everything. Whether things go as planned or not, I always remain composed — that's my style.

And there, in the clear night sky without a cloud in sight — a door opens.

It’s a gate connecting this Earth to the holy beast world known as "Fairy World." This is the scene that marks the beginning of the isekai arc in “Fairy Savers”.

The story went like this:

From the interdimensional gate, spanning 50 meters in diameter, a giant bird-like holy beast suddenly appeared.

En and the others, prepared for yet another holy beast rampage, rushed into action, but the giant bird holy beast was suddenly attacked and shot down by another angelic holy beast named "Chokmah." It turned out that the holy beasts were fighting amongst themselves.

The angelic holy beast, now alone on the scene, used telepathy to declare war on humanity: "You humans have incurred the wrath of God. Prepare to face our judgment," or something like that.

This was the first time a holy beast capable of communicating with humans appeared on Earth, and it clearly expressed hostility by starting to burn the town. Naturally, the usual trio of En, Chouta, and Tsubasa fought back, but the angelic holy beast was far stronger than any opponent they had faced before, and the Savers were quickly cornered.

That’s when the main heroine of this story, and En's childhood friend, Akari Mitsui, came to their rescue. In the first cour, she symbolized the civilian side of the protagonist’s everyday life, and was a rare powerless human in a world of special abilities, but starting from the second cour, she would become deeply involved in the main story.

While following evacuation orders, Akari suddenly heard a voice echoing in her head, saying, "Help me..." Responding to that voice, she found the giant bird holy beast that had been shot down earlier by Chokmah.

That giant bird holy beast, Chesed, is the key figure of the otherworld arc, and as I mentioned earlier, one of the moderate holy beasts.

Chesed, mortally wounded by Chokmah’s attack, told Akari that it could survive by forming a contract and merging with her.

Though Akari was bewildered, she trusted Chesed's words that if they fused, she would gain the power to help En and the others, who were in dire straits. In the heat of the moment, she made the decision to form the contract.

This magical-girl-esque twist is how Akari became an additional warrior for the Savers.

Akari, now hosting the holy beast Chesed within her body, rushed to the En’ aid, and together, the four of them barely managed to repel Chokmah.

…So, through Chesed, who resided within Akari, the Savers learned that the god of the holy beasts’ world was preparing for an all-out assault on Earth. This is the flow of events in that episode.

In short, this is an incredibly important episode, marking a major turning point in the anime “Fairy Savers”. Naturally, I’m ready to record it.

Even I’m getting nervous. Not only is this a pivotal episode, but this is also the episode where Eight-chan, my character, would be revealed to the Savers other than En.

The angelic holy beast, Chokmah, who they would be fighting in this episode, was an incredibly impactful new enemy. It was clear how strong he was, as even the most powerful ability users couldn’t defeat him, and it was only with the addition of Akari that they barely managed to hold him off.

"I’d love to dominate this as the original protagonist, but… Ma-kun's pretty strong..."

Indeed, he’s the perfect opponent for my debut battle. Most of the abilities I stole up until now had been chosen with him as the hypothetical enemy in mind. From the moment I learned my intervention would begin in the second cour, he has always been a daunting presence.

"Still, I’m excited to see Akarin’s awakening scene. I wonder if magical girls really transform while being completely naked…"

Muttering to myself, I wait for the two holy beasts to emerge from the open gate.

I want to remain flexible in deciding when to intervene, but as a fan of the original anime, I suspect I might end up just watching when the moment finally comes.

And so, from the gate I’ve been watching, it appeared.

The angelic holy beast "Chokmah," in the form of a beautiful young man with eight wings.

Emerging alone from the gate, he immediately fires a beam of murderous light at the town below.

"Eh?"

Impossible... It’s (burning the town) too early!

Eh, why? Why is Chokmah alone?! Where’s Chesed?! Where are you, Chesed?!

Is it a memory lapse? Is my knowledge of the original work wrong?

Or perhaps the butterfly effect caused by my existence or Mea’s altered the original course of events.

Either way, what’s unfolding before my eyes is clearly different from the plot of the original work.

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