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

Thin, almost transparent leaves were pasted on the windows, allowing the morning sunlight to filter in softly and warmly.

The entire room was filled with a refreshing woody fragrance.

A cool breeze from the courtyard gently brushed against his body, making him shiver slightly. His eyes opened involuntarily.

What caught his attention wasn't the modern European-style furniture in the room.

Instead, it was the mirror not far away, reflecting a handsome face with clear, emerald-green eyes that couldn't hide a hint of confused sleepiness.

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

He raised a hand and touched his face.

The black-haired, green-eyed young man reflected in the mirror made the exact same movement.

"Where is this...?"

Lanchi murmured.

It seemed he had transmigrated.

The familiar appearance in the mirror was one he knew all too well – a character from Thorn Lionheart, a new game developed by their company.

As the lead artist for the game, he had been organizing colleagues at the company to offer incense to the planner's mother. He had only felt his vision go black as if his brain had disconnected, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw everything before him now.

At the same time, a flood of information poured into his mind like a tide. He struggled to understand the current situation.

Immediately, his brows furrowed deeper.

Because he hadn't transmigrated into some hero with infinite potential or a heinous villain.

Instead, he was a cannon fodder character who died instantly in an extra story of the game, Talia's Rise.

This young man named "Lanchi" had no other characteristics besides being good-looking, having a rich family, and not being very smart!

Since the character portrait for the important game character "Talia" had been assigned to him, all the characters in "Talia's" related storyline, including "Lanchi," were also drawn by him.

He never expected that he would now become the cannon fodder Lanchi...

Fortunately.

He had drawn Lanchi very handsomely out of professional dedication.

He covered his chin and couldn't help but start thinking.

"Speaking of which, why did this rich young master die so quickly..."

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

Soon, he remembered—

Someone would target the life of "Young Master Lanchi."

And that person was the protagonist of the extra story and the planned major antagonist in the later stages of the game – the The Demon Race's Last Princess, Talia.

At this point in time, although the great Demon Race Talia had not yet risen and appeared to be just a destitute refugee girl, her strength was already formidable.

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

Only when pushed to the brink would they be unable to suppress the violent and brutal nature within them.

In the side story plot.

"Lanchi" was the first human to provoke Talia into an outburst of anger after her exile.

The fuse that ignited their feud was "Lanchi" shooting down the Dark Dove, a familiar Talia had sent to scout for information, treating it as prey.

When Talia found "Lanchi" two days later.

The young noble, who had not yet understood the seriousness of the situation, not only failed to apologize but also mocked Talia, who looked like a beggar, with wild abandon.

He even threatened to roast her other familiars as well and throw her a super—great barbecue party!

Ultimately.

The death-seeking "Lanchi" got what he asked for, was instantly killed by Talia, dropped a large pile of gold coins, and had the ancient relic [Poem of Compassion], a treasure of his family, taken away.

This plundered wealth also became incredibly important startup capital on Talia's path to restoring the Demon Race.

In a sense, our living Bodhisattva, Mr. Lanchi, was indeed a great benefactor to Talia.

"I don't want to be Talia's top supporter—!"

Sitting on the bed, Lanchi covered his head as if waking from a nightmare.

Calm down.

Think positively.

Things weren't actually that bad.

Since he knew about "Lanchi and Talia's feud," all he had to do was avoid it!

Don't anger this Demon Race big shot, safely send her out of his territory, OK!

At this moment, in this brand new world.

Lanchi felt a long-lost drive and spirit!

It must be the good fortune from his previous life of abiding by the law and accumulating good deeds.

Next, the wonderful life of a rich young master begins!

Financial freedom, no more overtime! Rich and powerful, how dreamy!

Just then.

A light knock sounded, interrupting his thoughts.

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

Seemingly hearing movement inside the room, a faint female voice came from outside the door.

"I'm awake."

Lanchi replied, got out of bed, and almost tripped over a pile of wine bottles at the foot of the bed as soon as he stepped onto the floor.

He was stunned for a moment.

That's right.

Ever since his previous body turned 16 last month and became an adult, he had developed a bad habit of drinking.

Because of this, the memories of the past month or so always felt a bit disjointed.

It seemed like his previous self often acted out and did foolish things when drunk.

He wondered if the "Lanchi provokes Talia" incident in the original plot was also because he was drunk.

So, drinking really is harmful.

Lanchi sighed with emotion as he changed his clothes.

As soon as he walked out of the bedroom, he noticed the maid standing trembling by the door.

The maid seemed forced to complete the young master's task, yet also afraid that the young master, if woken up, would fly into a rage and scold her.

"Good morning." Lanchi said in a calm tone.

"Huh?" The maid showed a surprised expression and instinctively made a sound.

She seemed to be assessing Lanchi's mood today.

Then she reacted and quickly said to Lanchi, "The master is already waiting for you in the dining room."

Lanchi nodded.

He knew that his previous self's parents were still alive and that he wasn't an orphan.

It was just that they were busy with the affairs of the merchant guild and had adopted a hands-off approach to Lanchi in recent years.

Even his father returning home these past few days was considered a rare occurrence in his previous self's memory.

While thinking, Lanchi walked down the corridor of the mansion.

Without exception, all the servants would shrink back, bow deeply, and then quickly leave as if fleeing.

It seemed his previous self had caused a lot of trouble for the people around him on a daily basis.

Lanchi sighed in his heart.

Although he didn't have many memories of being drunk, his previous self seemed to become irritable and smash things when drunk, so it was inevitable that the servants were afraid.

Soon, Lanchi arrived at the dining room.

He saw a middle-aged man sitting at the end of the long table, who was Lanchi's father.

"You're late again today."

His father didn't mean to scold Lanchi, merely stating a fact.

"Sorry, I won't drink anymore in the future."

There was no need to give up on himself anymore.

Lanchi was very satisfied with the life of a rich young master.

He had only one life goal—

To live freely, steadily, and peacefully.

"Sit."

Clearly, all the servants in the hall were surprised by Lanchi's attitude.

After a slight pause, his father still nodded in response.

"Okay."

Lanchi looked at the lavish food on the table that didn't fit his definition of breakfast and sat down in his seat.

For some reason.

He felt something was strange.

Then, subconsciously, he raised his head and stared at a cooked dish in the center of the long table.

—On the plate was a roasted pigeon, golden and crispy on the outside.

It was evenly coated with a layer of fragrant seasoning and still presented a perfect shape after being cut.

"This is..."

Lanchi's expression was strange as he slowly raised his finger and pointed at the pigeon, asking.

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

His father didn't respond immediately, and the distant attendants also looked at Lanchi with puzzled expressions.

Today's Lanchi seemed very strange to them, in short, very gentle.

"It's the pigeon you brought back yesterday. The servants made it into today's breakfast according to your request."

His father raised his head and glanced at Lanchi, saying lightly,

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

Lanchi: ""

Yesterday?

The pigeon I brought back?

Feeling extremely uneasy for a moment, Lanchi quickly reached for a dish he didn't recognize with his fork, pretending to be calm.

Even though the roasted pigeon on the plate was already unrecognizable.

But upon closer inspection of its shape and outline.

This finally made Lanchi absolutely certain that it was the The Demon Race's Last Princess Talia's dove.

After all, Talia's familiar was also drawn by him.

"Are you alright?"

Lanchi's unusual behavior couldn't escape his father's eyes.

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

Lanchi smiled and glanced at his father, then continued eating breakfast.

Catching sight of Talia's familiar's miserable state, Lanchi felt a lump in his throat.

You were truly a novice in your previous life...

To turn someone's familiar into this state.

And then you still wanted to mock her like that.

If she didn't kill you, she wouldn't be worthy of being a Demon Race monarch!

Lanchi couldn't help but wonder if there was any saving the pigeon that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

The answer was no.

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

He should completely destroy the evidence and cheer up, recovering from his hangover.

Thus, he finally reached out, picked up the pigeon leg, and put it in his mouth. He took a bite of the salty, crispy roasted meat that had absorbed the oil. Just like that, the wonderful taste spread in his mouth.

He was satisfied.

He'd give the bones to the dog later.