Lunch with a Red-Haired Time Bomb

I walked out of the men's restroom with a staggering gait but my chin held high. It was my new skill: walking like an emperor even though my knees were trembling like jelly.

It was already noon. My stomach growled. Of course, I had emptied the contents of my stomach twice today (once from nausea seeing the Imp, once from coughing up blood).

"VIP Cafeteria," I muttered. "I need red meat. Iron."

At Helios Academy, Caste determined everything. Including the lunch menu.
The common cafeteria served bland pasta and rock-hard bread.
The VIP Cafeteria served Grade A Minotaur Steak and Mana Recovery Wine.

The problem was, the VIP Cafeteria was also a social battlefield where nobles stabbed each other in the back while smiling.

As I stepped into the marble-lined dining hall, the atmosphere suddenly went silent.
The sound of clinking forks and knives stopped.

All eyes were on me. The "Dream Hero" (read: Imp Monster) who earlier this morning made the crazy lecturer Viktor laugh.

I ignored their stares and sat at an empty table near the window. This table was strategic; I could see who was coming and the sunlight was bright enough to hide my pale face.

"Minotaur Steak. Medium Rare. And a bottle of stamina recovery elixir," I ordered from the robot waiter.

The food arrived in three minutes.
Just as I was cutting into the juicy meat...

SLAM!

An iron tray was slammed onto my table with enough force to make my wine glass jump. My expensive elixir spilled a little.

I put down my knife and fork slowly. Click. Then I looked up.

Fiery red hair. Cute freckles on a face that was furious. Burning orange eyes.

Eylia Vulcan. Sword Princess. Muscle Heroine.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss Vulcan?" I asked coldly, grabbing a napkin to clean the spill on the table. "Or do you just have a habit of ruining other people's appetites?"

"Don't act calm, Zeroth!" Eylia pointed a spoon at my face. "In class earlier! What did you mean?! You made me and Sylvia bait while you just shouted from the back!"

"That's called 'Tactical Command', Vulcan. Not everyone has to be an idiot who charges forward and gets beaten back."

"What did you say?!" Eylia slammed the table again. Several other students started whispering, enjoying the free drama.

"Listen," Eylia straightened her body, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't accept it. That Grade A... feels undeserved! I, Eylia of the Vulcan Clan, do not need a victory resulting from your cunning assistance! I challenge you!"

Oh, no. Duel. The most annoying cliché mechanic in the Academy Arc.

"I challenge you to a one-on-one duel in the Arena at 4 PM today!" Eylia exclaimed loudly. "Prove that you deserve to be in Class S not just because of your big mouth!"

The system in front of my eyes blinked frantically.

[EVENT: DUEL REQUEST]
[Opponent: Eylia Vulcan (Level 9 Knight)]
[Chance of Winning: 0.0001%]
[Estimated Survival Time: 3 seconds before ribs are broken.]

If I accepted, I'd die in the hospital.
If I refused, the 'Strong Villain' reputation would crumble, and everyone would attack me.

I had to refuse in a way that made her feel like she was the one not yet worthy to fight me.

I went back to cutting my steak calmly. Small, neat, precise cuts. I put it in my mouth, chewed slowly, then swallowed.
Ignoring Eylia for a full minute was the best mental attack.

Eylia started getting restless. "He-hey! Answer me!"

"Refused," I answered briefly without looking at her.

"What?! Are you scared?" Eylia sneered.

I put down my knife with a sharp clink.
Slowly, I looked into her orange eyes with a Despair gaze (active thanks to Passive Skill).

"Scared?" I repeated with an amused tone. "Vulcan, let me ask you one thing. When you slashed the Imp's knee earlier... why did you rotate your wrist 15 degrees to the left at the end of the slash?"

Eylia gaped. "H-huh? That... that's my family style! Vulcan Blazing Style!"

"Wrong," I cut in sharply. "That's not Vulcan style. That's your bad habit because you rely too much on your shoulder muscles rather than your hips. It creates a 0.5-second gap after the attack. Against an Imp, you survived. Against me?"

I picked up a dinner knife (which was blunt), then with a casual movement pointed at a spot on her neck, her heart, and her solar plexus sequentially.

"In that 0.5-second gap, I could kill you three times before you realized your sword missed."

That was 100% bluffing.
The theory was correct (I memorized the animation in the game), but my body was too slow to execute it. But Eylia didn't know that.

Eylia paled. She held her own wrist, recalling the movement earlier.
"Impossible... You saw that? In the middle of that chaos?"

"My eyes see everything, Little Girl," I said, drinking my elixir again. "You aren't ready. Your sword is still hesitant. It's embarrassing for me to draw magic against an opponent who hasn't even mastered their own basic stance."

I waved my hand, shooing her away.
"Leave. Practice your hip stance 1000 times. Then come to me again when you aren't disgracing the name 'Vulcan'."

[CRITICAL HIT (VERBAL)!]
[Target: Eylia Vulcan]
[Mental State: SHOCKED & HUMILIATED]
[Relationship: Hostile -> Respectful Rivalry (+5)]

Eylia stepped back, her face crimson. Not from anger, but from shame. As a swordsman, having her mistakes pointed out in detail was the hardest slap.

"Y-you... Just watch! I'll prove you wrong!"
Eylia turned and ran out of the cafeteria, forgetting her lunch. Maybe she really ran to the dojo to practice 1000 times.

Phew... I let out a long breath. My legs under the table stopped trembling.
"Two Heroines neutralized with words," I thought grimly. "How much longer can I survive on just bullshit?"

Late Afternoon - School Gate.

The sun set, coloring the Neo-Arcadia sky with purple and orange hues. School hours ended.
Most students felt relieved. Me? I felt like a prisoner being returned to solitary confinement.

At the gate, the shiny black car was already waiting.
Luna Artoria stood beside the rear passenger door. Flat face, upright posture.

The number above her head was still terrifying. [Killing Intent: 65%]

The number hadn't gone down since this morning. Meaning, she was still planning something for tonight. Poison tea failed, so what's next? Pillow while sleeping? Snake in the mattress? Poison gas?

I walked closer.
"Good afternoon, Young Master," Luna greeted.

"Drive," I ordered briefly, getting into the car.

On the way home, the silence felt suffocating.
I glanced at Luna through the rearview mirror. Her eyes watched the road, but her focus was split. I knew Luna's background story. She wasn't a machine. She had a secret hobby that became the only escape from her miserable life as a contract slave of the Zeroth family.

In the Official Fanbook I read five years ago, it was written: "Luna loves sweets, especially Strawberry Macarons from a small shop in Sector 9. It reminds her of her mother."

One small piece of useless info for a Combat Player. But golden info for a Roleplayer like me.

"Luna," I called suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Yes, Master?"

"Turn around at the intersection ahead. Enter Sector 9."

Luna's brows furrowed slightly—very slightly. "Sector 9? That's a slum area, Master. Not safe for..."

"I want to buy something. Don't argue."

Ten minutes later, the luxury limousine parked awkwardly in front of an old bakery with peeling paint. 'Mama's Bakery'.

"Wait here," I ordered. I got out of the car, ignoring the strange looks from people in the slum street seeing my noble uniform.

I went in, bought a box of 12 Premium Strawberry Macarons, then returned to the car.

I threw the box onto Luna's lap in the driver's seat. Thud.

Luna jumped in surprise. "Y-Young Master?"

"Eat," I said while leaning my head back and closing my eyes, pretending to sleep. "There's a board meeting tomorrow, I need my head clear. But the sound of your stomach growling since earlier is disturbing my concentration."

Lie again. Luna's stomach didn't make a sound at all. Assassins can withstand hunger for three days.

Luna stared at the box. She opened it slowly. The sweet smell of strawberry filled the air-conditioned car.
Those empty blue eyes of hers... trembled.

Her pupils dilated.
She turned towards me, then back to the macaron box.
This was her favorite flavor. Specific shop. How did this demon Young Master know?
Is this a test? Are these macarons poisonous, like the tea she made this morning?

"Why are you just sitting there?" I mumbled lazily without opening my eyes. "It's not poisonous. I'm not a coward like you."

Stab. A subtle jab about the morning tea.

Silence for a moment. Then the sound of a small, hesitant bite was heard. Crunch. Then a second bite that was faster.

System notifications appeared in the darkness of my closed \

eyelids.

Ding! Ding!

[Killing Intent: 65% -> 40%]
[Confusion: +80%]
[Trust: 10/100 -> 15/100 (Skeptical but Moved)]
[Note: Target feels confused by the 'Random Act of Kindness' from her oppressor.]

40% Killing Intent.
That meant tonight she wouldn't kill me. Maybe she would just... spy on or suspect me. But not kill.
Enough. That was enough for one night of sound sleep.

"Thank you... Young Master," Luna's voice sounded very quiet, softer than usual.

"Drive the car," I replied coldly.

As the car moved again, I smiled faintly inside.
Survival Day 1: Success.

But I knew, the real challenge was just beginning.
Tomorrow was the schedule for Elemental Magic Practice. And with my body condition like trash, I had to find a way not to blow myself up in front of the class.

But before that... I touched my chest. Inside my inner jacket pocket, there was a golden key I stole from my Father's study (theoretically, hasn't happened in the story yet, but my knowledge said the key was there).

The key to the Zeroth Forbidden Library.
Where there was one ancient magic book that could manipulate the display of someone's status window.

"Tonight will be long," I thought. "Let's start the real Grinding."