All I Wanted Was To Be A Side Character!

"If you were summoned to another world, what would you want to be?"

On an ordinary afternoon in the park after just another day of school, I, J, was presented this unusual question by my childhood friend Beatrice.

"Me?" I thought for a moment. "A side character, probably."

Being the adopted son of a billionaire businessman, I was always in the spotlight, whether it was at the private school I attended or parties. As a result of this, I found that there was a certain distance between me and the rest of my class, and the few friends I made were the ones who just didn't care. For that, I respected them.

"you're weird." She said. "What kind of a highschool boy wouldn't want to be the all-powerful main character?"

Triss, that's what she prefers to be called, was just an average public school student who didn't have many friends because of her nerdy hobbies. In other words, she was the exact opposite of me. How we became friends, even I had forgotten.

"What even brought this on? That was so random." I pointed out.

"I was just curious, that's all."

Something about her answer seemed a bit fishy, so I returned her question.

"What about you?" I asked. "what would you want to be?"

Triss thought for a moment.

"I guess a side character, too."

"At least be original." I complained.

"But I would!" Triss insisted. "Side characters get more of the action and excitement! Being powerful enough to stand at the center of the plot would be so boring!"

I wasn't surprised that her motivation was the exact opposite of mine. Unlike me, Triss wished to be in the spotlight, but not as the main focus of it, and instead just enough to feel the excitement of it. In that sense, it was pretty clear that she would want to be a supporting character rather than the one who holds the entirety of the plot on her shoulders.

"I think you're the strange one here." I commented.

"Then why do you want to be a side character?" Triss asked, as if her reason was the only logical one.

"If being the main character means I'll stand above everyone else, then how is that any different from where I am right now?" I reasoned. "I want to be someone who's less important, so I don't have to deal with the responsibilities or problems of someone who stands out so much."

In other words, I just wanted to slack off. My life as the son of a billionaire put me under unreasonable expectations and insane mental stress, and I couldn't even relax for a second without some old lady pointing her bony finger at me and whispering some judgement to her friends. If I had the option to leave all of that behind me and start as just another member of the general population, I totally would have.

In the modern world, a place filled with books, manga, and anime about teenagers traveling to alternate worlds and becoming a hero tasked with defeating a tyrannical Demon Lord, plenty of people have fantasized about such a thing happening to themselves. Being sent to another world, pulled out of the boring lives they were leading in their previous one, and granted powers unequaled by any other being. Triss was right, no normal kid my age could refuse such an opportunity. But after seeing how much someone at the top in a "boring" world had to worry about, I did not want to take on the responsibilities of someone at the top of a fantastical and "fun" world.

"You could at least dream a bit, J." Triss gestured towards the sky. "We're just talking hypotheticals here. You're free to go crazy with your imagination."

"If you're friends with me because of my imagination, you probably got dropped on your head as a kid." I joked.

"Can't argue with that." Triss agreed.

"It's getting late." I moved onto a different subject. "Want me to walk you home?"

"I'll be fine. Worry about yourself." Triss warned jokingly. "who knows what creepy old people will be waiting around for the son of a billionaire to show up to kidnap for ransom?"

"Alright, see you tomorrow." I chuckled.

"Yep."

As Triss disappeared around the corner, I called my driver to pick me up. I did not live within walking distance of the park, which was disappointing considering how nice of a place it was.

It would have sucked if i wasn't able to visit the place whenever i wanted anymore.