Chapter 1: Since Things Have Come to This, Let's Eat First

Thin leaves, almost transparent, were pasted on the window, allowing the morning sunlight to gently and warmly penetrate the room.

The entire room was filled with a refreshing and invigorating scent of wood.

A cool breeze from the courtyard softly caressed his body, making him feel a chill, and his eyes involuntarily opened.

What caught his attention was not the modern European furniture in the room.

But rather, the reflection in the nearby mirror, showing a handsome face with cold, emerald eyes that couldn't hide a hint of confusion and drowsiness.

It was as if he wanted to keep people at a distance while still appearing harmless.

He raised his hand to touch his face.

And the black-haired, green-eyed youth in the mirror made the same gesture.

"Where is this...?"

Lanqi murmured.

It seemed he had traveled through time.

The familiar appearance in the mirror was none other than a character from the new game "Thorned Lionheart" that his company had developed.

As the lead artist, he had been organizing colleagues to pay respects to the mother of the game designer when he suddenly felt a blackout, and when he opened his eyes, he saw everything as it is now.

At the same time, a flood of information surged into his mind, and he struggled to understand the situation.

His brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Because he had not... traveled into the body of some limitless hero or a notorious villain.

But rather, into a minor character in the side story "Thalia's Rise" who met a quick and tragic end.

This young man named "Lanqi" was good-looking and came from a wealthy family, but he was not very bright and had no other notable qualities!

Since the important character "Thalia" in the game was assigned to him for illustration, he had also drawn all the characters in Thalia's related storylines, including "Lanqi."

He never imagined that he would become the minor character Lanqi...

But it was okay.

He had drawn Lanqi to be very handsome, out of professional pride.

He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

"Speaking of which, why did this rich young master meet such a tragic end..."

Although he belonged to the art department, he had played the game and had access to some character design documents.

Soon, he remembered—

Someone was after the life of "Rich Young Master Lanqi."

And that someone was the protagonist of the side story, and the game's future major antagonist—Thalia, the princess of the demon race.

At this point, the powerful demon Thalia had not yet risen and appeared to be just a destitute refugee girl, but she was already very powerful.

To survive in the human kingdom, she had been working hard to disguise herself.

She would only reveal her inner brutality and cruelty when pushed to the limit.

In the side story,

"Lanqi" was the first human to provoke Thalia to the point of anger after her exile.

The trigger for their enmity was that "Lanqi" had hunted and killed the dark raven, a familiar Thalia had sent to gather information.

When Thalia found "Lanqi" two days later,

The young master, who had not yet realized the severity of the situation, not only refused to apologize but also mocked Thalia, who looked like a beggar.

He even boasted that he would roast her other familiars and throw her a "super—great" barbecue party!

In the end,

The reckless "Lanqi" got what he deserved, being killed by Thalia, who looted a large amount of gold and the family's ancient relic, the "Lamenting Poem."

These stolen riches became a crucial starting fund for Thalia's quest to revive the demon race.

In a sense, our benevolent Mr. Lanqi was indeed a great benefactor to Thalia.

"I don't want to be Thalia's top benefactor—!"

Sitting on the bed, Lanqi clutched his head as if waking from a nightmare.

Calm down.

Think positively.

Things weren't that bad.

Since he knew about "Lanqi and Thalia's enmity," he could avoid it!

Don't provoke this demon lord, and safely escort her out of his territory, and it would be fine!

At this moment, in this new world,

Lanqi felt a long-lost sense of motivation and spirit!

It must be the reward for his past life of abiding by the law and doing good deeds.

From now on, the wonderful life of a rich young master began!

Economic freedom, no more overtime! Wealth and power, such a dream!

Just then,

A light knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Master, are you awake? You asked me to wake you up early yesterday..."

A weak female voice came from outside the door, seemingly in response to the sounds inside.

"I'm awake."

Lanqi replied, got out of bed, and almost tripped over a pile of wine bottles by the bed.

He was taken aback.

That's right.

Since the previous Lanqi turned 16 last month, he had developed a habit of heavy drinking.

As a result, his memories of the past month were fragmented.

It seemed the previous Lanqi often got drunk and acted foolishly.

The "Lanqi provoking Thalia" in the original story might have been due to his drunken state.

So, heavy drinking is harmful.

Lanqi sighed as he got dressed.

As he walked out of the bedroom,

He noticed a trembling maid standing by the door.

The maid seemed to be reluctantly completing the young master's task, fearing his wrath upon being woken up.

"Good morning."

Lanqi said calmly.

"Huh?"

The maid looked surprised and instinctively made a sound, trying to gauge Lanqi's mood.

Then she realized and quickly said to Lanqi,

"Your father is waiting for you in the dining room."

Lanqi nodded.

He knew his parents were still alive, and he wasn't an orphan.

They were busy with the guild's affairs and had adopted a laissez-faire approach to raising Lanqi in recent years.

Even his father's presence at home these days was rare in the previous Lanqi's memory.

As he thought, Lanqi walked down the hallway of the mansion.

All the servants would shrink back, bow deeply, and quickly leave, as if fleeing.

It seemed the previous Lanqi had caused a lot of trouble for those around him.

Lanqi sighed inwardly.

Although he didn't have many memories of being drunk, the previous Lanqi seemed to become irritable and destructive when drunk, which naturally frightened the servants.

...

Soon, Lanqi arrived at the dining room.

He saw a middle-aged man sitting at the end of the long table, his father.

"You're late again."

His father didn't scold Lanqi but merely stated a fact.

"Sorry, I won't drink excessively anymore."

There was no need to give up on himself anymore.

Lanqi was satisfied with the life of a rich young master.

His life goal was simple—

To live freely, peacefully, and comfortably.

"Sit down."

All the servants in the hall were surprised by Lanqi's attitude.

After a brief pause, his father nodded.

"Alright."

Lanqi looked at the abundant but not breakfast-like food on the table and sat down in his seat.

For some reason,

He felt something was off.

Then, he instinctively looked at a dish in the center of the long table.

—A golden, crispy roasted pigeon was placed on the plate.

It was evenly coated with fragrant seasonings and still maintained a perfect shape after being cut.

"This is..."

Lanqi's expression was strange as he slowly pointed at the pigeon and asked.

The more he looked, the more he felt a sense of déjà vu.

His father didn't immediately respond, and the distant servant looked at Lanqi with confusion.

To them, today's Lanqi seemed very strange, unusually gentle.

"This is the pigeon you brought back yesterday. The servants prepared it for breakfast as you requested."

His father glanced at Lanqi and said calmly,

"You were very drunk last night, don't you remember?"

Lanqi: "…"

Yesterday?

The pigeon I brought back?

Feeling extremely uneasy, Lanqi quickly reached for a dish he didn't recognize, pretending to be calm.

Even though the roasted pigeon on the plate was unrecognizable.

But upon closer inspection of its shape and outline,

Lanqi was certain it was Thalia's pigeon.

After all, he had drawn Thalia's familiars.

"Are you okay?"

Lanqi's unusual behavior didn't escape his father's notice.

"I'm fine, just the aftereffects of drinking. Drinking is harmful."

Lanqi smiled at his father and continued eating breakfast.

Seeing the miserable state of Thalia's familiar, Lanqi felt a lump in his throat.

The previous Lanqi was truly naive...

To have turned her familiar into this state.

And then mock her like that.

She wouldn't be a demon queen if she didn't kill you!

Lanqi also wondered if there was any way to save the pigeon in front of him.

The answer was no.

So, the most reasonable thing to do now was clear.

He should thoroughly destroy the evidence and get his body back in shape after the hangover.

So, he finally reached out, picked up a pigeon leg, and put it in his mouth, biting into the salty, crispy, and oil-absorbed roasted meat. The delicious taste spread in his mouth.

Satisfied.

He would feed the bones to the dogs later.

...

(End of Chapter)