Making a Living by Acting

Kingdom, Prince, Count.

Amid a heap of flashy, empty rhetoric, Nami, who valued money as dearly as her life, saw only two glaring words:

Pay up.

She was supposed to pay.

She, an orphan living on welfare in a remote fishing village, exploited by wealthy tycoons and local gentry, was supposed to pay a hereditary aristocrat of the Nth generation who lived a decadent feudal lifestyle.

"You want me to pay?"

Nami's expression changed at once. "Don't you have any money on you?"

"No. Not a single penny."

Garen answered honestly.

"You came to a restaurant like this with no money?"

Her act falling apart, Nami slapped the table in irritation.

"Do you know how expensive the food here is?"

"I hesitated at first too, but the waiters invited me in themselves."

Garen spoke with complete seriousness.

"Besides, when you're hungry, you have to eat. You can't let money starve you to death."

Seeing Nami's somewhat gloomy pretty face, he added hopefully,

"Luckily, I ran into you. You'll help me, right?"

Nami was speechless.

For some reason, the guy in front of her had suddenly shifted from a slightly awkward social novice into the mode of a shameless deadbeat friend.

Are we even that close?

Nami was so angry that veins bulged on her forehead.

She had thought this Iron Can was a naïve nobleman loaded with money. Who would have thought he was an old hand shameless enough to dine and dash?

There was no need to continue her plan to swindle more money out of him.

She couldn't seriously pin her hopes on that Demacia Kingdom behind him, wherever it was, could she?

But thieves never left empty-handed.

Nami's gaze silently settled on the only piece of property she might still be able to obtain—

The ornate Greatsword Garen had casually laid across the table.

Selling that sword would still let her achieve her small goal of one hundred million.

"So, you want me to help you cover the cost of this meal?"

Nami's voice suddenly turned dangerous.

Trying to get money out of Cat Burglar Nami? Impossible.

"Mm!"

Garen nodded honestly.

In truth, he had no other options.

If Nami refused to help him out in his time of need, then when the bill came, he could only activate his Q Skill and run for it.

"No problem!"

Nami abruptly stood up, making up for the difference in their height.

She looked down at Garen and smiled.

"I do have a way to help you solve the problem of paying for this meal."

"But you have to cooperate properly."

"What do you mean?"

Garen was utterly confused.

Nami ignored him and lifted the ornate Greatsword lying across the table with both hands.

The sword was heavy, and she struggled a little when she first picked it up.

But Nami was no delicate noble young lady. This kind of weight was no challenge for her.

It took her only a few seconds to get used to the weight of the two-handed Greatsword. The Sapphire on its hilt shone brilliantly, filling Nami with endless strength out of nowhere.

"What are you doing?"

Garen asked blankly.

Nami did not answer. She merely gripped the Greatsword, and then—

She unleashed Oscar-worthy acting.

Her clear orange eyes instantly brimmed with glittering tears. Her lips curved into a pitiful, aggrieved expression, while a complicated mix of fury and disappointment filled her brow.

Then she brought the sword down.

With a thunderous crash, Nami split the entire table apart with the Greatsword.

The whole restaurant was alarmed. The duty manager, waiters, male and female diners alike all turned their eyes toward them.

"What are you doing?"

Garen stood there in stunned disbelief.

"You... you!"

The tears in Nami's eyes had already burst into a flood. "You still have the nerve to ask what I'm doing?"

"What exactly is going on between you and Mary next door?"

"What?"

Garen was completely dumbfounded.

What kind of melodramatic prime-time youth romance was this?

Yet this sort of melodramatic plot was the most captivating, especially when it unfolded in real life.

Everyone in the restaurant eagerly awaited the next move from this infatuated man and resentful woman.

"How could you do this?!"

"She's my best friend!"

Nami continued playing the emotionally shattered official girlfriend, wildly waving the Greatsword clenched in her hand through the air.

The boyfriend had hooked up with the best friend, and the official girlfriend was confronting him after catching them cheating?

And the female lead was a pretty, charming young beauty, while the male lead was a noble knight of no low status.

This kind of story was incredibly compelling in real life, appealing to both refined and common tastes alike.

The spectators' eyes gleamed with excitement. Whether wealthy merchants or waiters scraping by on wages, all watched the spectacle with rapt attention.

The plot was growing more and more melodramatic, but Garen, the male lead, could not follow the script at all.

"Calm down, calm down!"

Garen could only force himself to say, "Put the sword down first!"

"Put the sword down?"

Nami's tears became even more fierce, and her voice choked with sobs.

"You care more about this precious sword than you care about me!"

"Hahaha..."

Nami suddenly laughed in a near-breakdown. Her tearful smile made every man present feel a touch of pity for her.

Then Nami stared silently at Garen's dumbfounded face. Anger, disappointment, and pain fermented in silence, perfectly recreated across her features through Nami's masterful microexpressions.

When every spectator could feel the atmosphere had been built to its peak, Nami abruptly turned around.

With one hand, she wiped the crystalline tears from her cheeks. With the other, she tightly gripped Garen's Greatsword. At last, sobbing all the while, she fled out of the restaurant.

Nami ran fast, almost kicking up a whirlwind through the corridor.

Yet not a single person had any intention of stopping her.

Everyone was still immersed in that simple, classic story.

"What the hell?"

Garen still stood there stupidly, unable to react.

An amiable elderly man in a suit, with a head full of silver hair, slowly walked over to Garen with a wistful smile. He heavily patted Garen's shoulder armor and said earnestly,

"Young man, hurry and win back the girl you love!"

"If you don't chase her now, you may regret it for the rest of your life."

As he spoke, the old man let out a sorrowful sigh. He was clearly a man with a story.

But Garen's eyes lit up as he understood the purpose of Nami's exaggerated performance.

Of course!

What an ingenious plan!

While everyone was absorbed in the act, he could chase after Nami and run out of the restaurant with her. Wouldn't that mean he had successfully eaten without paying?

So Garen's face immediately turned solemn and sorrowful too.

He had never experienced a girlfriend running away, so he could only draw upon the feelings from when his family dog had gone missing years ago.

"Thank you!"

"I was the one in the wrong. I'll go after her right now!"

Garen bowed deeply to the old man, then chased after Nami in the direction she had fled.

His footsteps were swift, as though he were running for his life.

Garen ran out through the restaurant's front doors without a hitch, shouting Nami's name emotionally as he ran.

Likewise, no one stopped him.

Even the duty manager was immersed in the drama and failed to notice at all.

This guy had not paid a cent!

Even after Garen escaped the restaurant, he did not slow down. At a street corner near the entrance, he caught a fleeting glimpse of Nami's back.

To make absolutely sure he escaped the bill, he continued playing the lovestruck boyfriend who had made a mistake and raced after Nami's figure with the wind beneath his feet.

Only after crossing several unfamiliar blocks and plunging into a bustling, prosperous market did Garen finally stop in relief.

Those restaurant employees probably could not catch up with him now.

But Nami had disappeared too.

That was only natural.

As Cat Burglar Nami, who had traveled the seas for years, Nami knew the islands along these routes extremely well. Otherwise, she could never have escaped alive from bloodthirsty pirates time and again.

Familiar with the terrain, nimble, and deliberately hiding herself, Nami was naturally impossible for Garen to catch.

But Garen still had not realized it.

He merely looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and smiled in relief.

"Haha."

"I never thought I'd have a day when I could make a living with acting!"

As he laughed, Garen subconsciously made a motion to draw his sword.

His hand was empty.

Garen suddenly woke up.

"Where's my Greatsword?"