The clamor in the dining car gradually quieted down.
The crowd instinctively parted to both sides, revealing a complete mess in the middle of the aisle. An exquisite white porcelain plate lay shattered to pieces, and thick soup mixed with bread and fried meat was spilled all over the floor, still steaming hot.
Standing next to the plate was a white-haired girl.
Her long silvery-white hair was tied back with a simple black cloth band, with a few stray strands falling beside her pale cheeks.
Her light purple eyes were staring at a steak that had landed in the soup, her brow furrowed in distress.
A longsword was slung diagonally across her back. Her clothes could hardly be called luxurious, and the collar of her plain shirt was even a bit faded from washing.
She squatted down and poked the steak on the floor with a fork, seemingly trying to perform a last-minute rescue.
“Commoners will be commoners, actually picking up something so filthy.”
A haughty voice rang out from in front of her.
A brown-haired youth clad in a luxurious magic robe was frowning, looking at a few spots of soup on his tall boots with utter disgust.
As he spoke, he puffed out his chest, 'inadvertently' displaying the prominent noble crest on his chest.
...He really was the textbook definition of an otherworld noble young master.
Wealthy, backed by a powerful background, and accompanied by two lackeys who were always ready to play the hype men.
Add to that the overall aura of “I am an EXP pack” radiating from head to toe... absolutely perfect!
“Hey, commoner.”
The brown-haired youth tapped his staff against the floor, demanding in an unfriendly tone, “Don't you have eyes when you walk?”
The white-haired girl finally gave up on the unsalvageable steak and stood up with regret.
“You were the one who bumped into me just now.”
She gestured to where she had been standing earlier and explained earnestly, “I was holding it very steadily. You suddenly took a step to the left, and your shoulder hit the plate.”
“Are you saying this is my fault?”
“Yes.” The girl nodded firmly.
“So you should apologize to me and then compensate me with a breakfast. Two steaks, three eggs, and four slices of rye bread.”
She recalled for a moment, then earnestly added, “The bread needs to be on the thicker side. The slices from just now were very thick.”
The carriage fell into a brief silence.
The brown-haired youth froze, seemingly encountering a commoner who was so completely oblivious to social cues for the very first time. The lackeys behind him couldn't help but burst into sneers.
“Do you have any idea who you are talking to?”
“I do.”
The girl blinked. “The person who knocked over my breakfast.”
“You...”
“How dare you!” An angry shout came from behind the brown-haired youth.
Two youths dressed as nobles, one fat and one thin, flanked the brown-haired youth like sycophants. “How dare you speak so insolently to Lord Levi!”
“Levi?” Irene tilted her head in confusion.
“That's right.” The brown-haired youth flipped his hair, giving the cute girl before him a smile he thought was handsome but was actually just greasy.
The fat and thin duo immediately chimed in, one after the other:
“The one standing before you is none other than—”
“A genius ranked on the Imperial Elite List—”
“An expert in ice magic at such a young age—”
“The one known as the ‘Light of the North’—”
“Lord Levi Sah!”
They struck exaggerated poses, even using wind magic to help style Levi's hair.
The entire carriage froze in secondhand embarrassment, falling into a dead silence.
Seemingly very pleased with his lackeys' flattery, Levi laughed out loud.
“Commoners will be commoners, but... it's not like I can't give you a chance~”
He reached into his robe, fished out a silver coin, and tossed it casually at the girl's feet.
The silver coin rolled a few times on the floor, finally landing in the greasy soup.
“Kneel down and pick it up.”
The youth lifted his soup-stained boot, a malicious smile appearing on his face. “Then wipe my boots clean. This silver coin should be more than enough to buy that pathetic breakfast of yours, right?”
Whispers rippled through the surroundings.
Some showed looks of pity, but no one stepped forward to speak up.
Irene looked down at the silver coin.
She didn't bend down. Instead, she pursed her lips and stepped right over the silver coin.
“I don't want it.”
“Think it's too little?”
“No.” The girl shook her head. “I only want you to apologize to me and compensate me with the same breakfast as before.”
As she spoke, her back was perfectly straight.
Her voice wasn't loud, but there wasn't the slightest hint of backing down.
She was like a little hedgehog that had been fretting over its lost breakfast, only to quietly raise its quills upon sensing approaching malice.
Lynn's chewing slowly came to a halt.
Those violet eyes, and that dazzling, pure white hair.
And that all-too-familiar, slightly ditzy tone of voice.
“Irene Durandal?”
The undisputed protagonist of the game Dawn, an ultimate cheat character with maxed-out stats.
At the same time, she was Lynn's greatest tormentor in the storyline, the main contributor to his various elaborate death CGs.
‘Isn't she supposed to be on the train from the Eastern Territory to the academy? Why is she in the North?’
‘And this scene... is simply all too familiar...’
‘Isn't this the fucking opening sequence of the game?’
Although the train Irene was on had somehow changed from the Eastern Territory to the North, her constitution for attracting villainous mockery remained as strong as ever.
If events followed the game's plot: Irene, riding the magic train to the academy for the first time, would be harassed by a noble student due to her commoner status. Accompanying the other party's aggressive words, the game screen would gradually fade to black.
Immediately after, three options would float before the player's eyes.
【Endure: Apologize to the noble of your own accord and compensate them for their losses.】
【Ignore: Stop wasting time with the other party and turn to leave.】
【Retaliate: Make the other party pay the price for their actions.】
As a tutorial scenario designed to familiarize players with the game mechanics, these three choices wouldn't heavily impact the main storyline, but they would add different personality traits to Irene and alter the initial favorability of certain characters.
Back then, Lynn had thought for less than a second before choosing 【Retaliate】 without any hesitation.
What a joke.
What was the point of playing a female-protagonist power fantasy if you didn't pick the wildest options? It would be like buying an iced tea but asking for no ice.
‘But right now, there is no so-called player to make the choice for Irene.’
There was no text floating out of thin air, much less an opportunity to load a save file if things went wrong.
He silently watched the white-haired girl, who kept her head slightly lowered and remained quiet.
‘So, what will you do?’
Rate on N.U.
