"To be just a mob character in class, and then, in a moment of crisis, a mysterious and majestic figure suddenly appears—ahh, I knew it. My path as a ruler in the shadows is just too cool..."
muttered a student lost in daydreams, before a girl's voice snapped him back to reality.
"O-to-shi! Miss Chizura's calling you!"
said the girl, smacking Otoshi on the head to get his attention.
Standing up with no idea why he was being summoned, Otoshi became the target of laughter from his classmates. But instead of feeling embarrassed, he looked oddly excited—he thought this was the perfect script to begin his journey as Mob A in a comedy novel: the class clown who cheers up the main character. In other words—
"S-s-sorry!!—CLASS CLOWN TECHNIQUE: The Normie who breaks the tension!"
he imagined dramatically, right before the school bell rang out in alarm.
Outside, students could be seen running in a panic. No one in Otoshi's class knew what was going on—until three masked individuals suddenly barged in, brandishing firearms.
The classroom erupted in chaos. Screams echoed.
But Otoshi... was thrilled.
This trope—the timing—it was too perfect.
"No way... no way they're really doing this! They're going to take the most influential student hostage, and then, the mob characters like us wait for the dashing hero to arrive and save the day—IT'S PERFECT!"
he thought with glee, feeling like his long-awaited fantasy was finally coming true.
Just then, Otoshi rushed forward to fulfill the next part of the trope:
"SO HE WAS HIDING HIS POWER ALL ALONG?!"
But before he could finish his heroic pose—
a bullet struck him right in the head.
Panic flooded the room.
Otoshi, however, felt... nothing. Just a sharp sting in his head. His body wouldn't move properly.
Still, he believed—this must be part of the prophecy. Surely, mysterious powers would awaken in him now.
---
"And now, here I am—standing atop a clocktower, watching over my new world. It's been fifteen years since I was reborn in this land of fairy tales. And no, I haven't given up. If anything, I might just owe a thank-you to whatever god or force brought my soul to the place it truly belongs."
spoke Otoshi, now clad in a black suit, wearing a masquerade mask of his own design—
with ten cloaked figures standing silently behind him.