Different World Bumpkin

“So this kind of cliché finally showed up… But why me? I’m not some overpowered protagonist.”

Blocked outside the door, Su Mo felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen this scene before in those brainless power-fantasy novels from his previous world.

In those stories, the protagonist always tries to enter some important place, only to be looked down on by the guards who refuse to let him in for various reasons.

Then, powerful big shots suddenly show up to vouch for the protagonist.

In the end, the guards kneel down in fear, and the protagonist flashes a wicked smile before swaggering in.

Sure, those brainless stories could feel satisfying to read.

But the problem is… he wasn’t the protagonist!

Shouldn’t this cliché be happening to Lophiel, that overpowered female lead?

Just as Su Mo was about to pull out the invitation from his pocket, one of the guards suddenly spoke.

“Wait! Are you Young Master Noah?”

The unexpected question froze Su Mo’s hand midway through pulling out the invitation. Then he nodded slightly.

Seeing Su Mo nod, the two guards instantly became flustered, lowering their heads in panic.

“Our apologies! Because your hair color is different from before, we didn’t recognize you right away.

Her Highness the Princess has already informed us in advance—if it’s Young Master Noah, even without an invitation, you are allowed to enter.

Please forgive our earlier rude behavior.”

Su Mo looked at the two guards bowing to him, still feeling a bit awkward, but it did show how much they feared the former Noah.

“It’s fine, you were just doing your job. No need to apologize.

Since there’s no issue, I’ll go inside now.”

Su Mo didn’t lose his temper, which made the two guards exchange a glance of relief before quickly stepping aside to let him through.

Only after Su Mo entered did one of the guards whisper.

“Just like Her Highness said, Young Master Noah really has changed a lot…”

……

Inside the doors was an open-air venue, with a huge fountain at its center.

Everything around had been meticulously arranged.

A long table stretched through the center of the space, laden with all kinds of delicately prepared dishes and fruits.

By now, many guests had already arrived, all young people about Su Mo’s age.

After all, this was Alice’s coming-of-age ceremony, and she had only invited the younger generation to her banquet.

As for the older nobles, they had already attended the banquet held earlier by the king for Alice.

Looking at the food laid out on the table, Su Mo suddenly remembered he hadn’t eaten for two days.

Even though he hadn’t felt hungry until now, seeing so much food made him feel an irresistible urge to taste something.

He glanced around. He didn’t recognize any of the nobles here, but it didn’t matter—most of them were basically NPC-level characters in the game, so who cared?

There were still two hours before the official start of the banquet, so everyone was free to chat or make connections for now.

Su Mo walked up to the table. Seeing a perfectly roasted chicken glistening before him, he couldn’t resist cutting off a piece and putting it in his mouth.

However, the delicious taste he imagined never came.

Instead, a flavor like chewing wax exploded in his mouth and shot straight to his brain.

Barely resisting the urge to spit it out, Su Mo forced himself to swallow.

By the time he finally got it down, he felt as exhausted as if he had just run a marathon, gasping for breath.

Looking at the food on the table, he finally understood why, despite so many people being here, no one else was playing the role of a greedy cat like him.

“So this is what Western fantasy world food tastes like? Love it, love it… Yeah, right!

It looks so good, but why does it taste so horrible?!

Even if this world is modeled after medieval Europe, they didn’t need to copy the terrible food too!”

His earlier appetite instantly vanished into thin air.

He backed away from the table like he was avoiding something dangerous.

Then, his eyes fell on the dessert section. Just as he was about to head over and see if the sweets tasted any better—

A voice suddenly sounded behind him.

“I saw someone I didn’t recognize hanging around the table earlier.

I thought some thief snuck in.

But now I see—it’s Noah.

Why aren’t you glued to Princess Alice’s side today?

Did she finally get tired of you and throw you away? Hah! Figures.

Trash like you has no right to stay by the Princess’s side!”

Hearing that typical tone of a disposable villain and those “won’t-survive-three-episodes” lines, Su Mo stopped walking and turned to look at the speaker.

Standing before him were three people, arranged in a classic formation—one in front, two behind.

The leader had green hair and wore a mocking grin on his face. The two lackeys behind him were also eyeing Su Mo with malice.

‘Wow, a classic combo—one master and two goons. But this time they’re picking a fight with me instead of the overpowered protagonist?

So where the hell is that lunatic Lophiel?’

Su Mo remembered that in this scene, Lophiel was supposed to be here too.

She had been provoked by similar NPCs and promptly annihilated them.

Meanwhile, Lophiel was actually hiding in the crowd, her gaze never leaving Su Mo since he arrived.

Hearing him call her a lunatic in his heart again almost made her charge out and punch him on the spot.

She still hadn’t fully recovered from that day. Edenia’s impact on her had been far too great.

So great that her mind was now filled entirely with Edenia’s image, leaving no room for any other pretty girls.

Afraid that getting too close would make her lose control and pounce on him, she kept her presence hidden, avoiding detection.

Back on Su Mo’s side, the lame provocation was nothing more than a tickle to him. He replied flatly.

“So what?”

“What?”

The green-haired guy clearly didn’t expect such a calm response.

Normally, being insulted like that would have made Noah explode in anger and lash out.

That was the whole point—to bait him into a duel challenge and humiliate him in front of Alice.

But Su Mo wasn’t following their script at all, leaving them momentarily at a loss for what to do next.

“More importantly, who even are you? Do we know each other?

And when did you float over here? You didn’t make a sound walking—are you paper figurines?

In that case, you better stay away from the torches around here, or you might catch fire.”

Even though people in this world didn’t know what “paper figurines” meant, the tone made it clear he wasn’t saying anything good.

‘You think you can out-trash-talk me, a veteran netizen? Dream on, backwater peasants.’

Looking at the three already stunned guys, Su Mo sneered inwardly.