Irena

Though bitter, Black had no choice but to leave the mess hall—out of sight, out of mind!
“Grumble… grumble…”

But his stomach wouldn’t be ignored. He hadn’t eaten all day.

Tightening his belt, Black muttered to himself:
Just endure it. Endure a little more. Once the prologue ends, I’m going back to the fishing village, marrying the village beauty—no more of this crap on this damn ship.

He found a clean spot on the deck and sat down—when suddenly, he heard soft sobbing.

He froze.
Creeping around the wall, he spotted a girl sitting with a tray, eating while crying.

Tears dripped into her soup, but she didn’t seem to notice.

She had long, pale golden hair flowing over her shoulders, adorned with an elegant iris hairpin.
Her eyes were a soft violet—clear, bright, filled with innocence.
Dressed in a dark gown with golden trim and a delicate bow, she looked refined, graceful.

Her exquisite beauty, dotted with tears, made Black’s heart ache.

The moment he saw her face, he knew who she was.

Elaina—the protagonist of the novel The Girl Who Slayed Dragons Longs to Be Loved.
In many ways, compared to Jiaye, she was the true main character.

But this wasn’t the novel’s world.
This was the game’s world.

And in this world, Elaina’s fate was death.

So, seeing her like this, Black couldn’t help but feel pity.

Watching her cry, he recalled the scene from the original story.

Yes—there was a scene where Elaina cried while eating.

She was a bastard duchess, born to a servant mother.
Constantly bullied by her legitimate sisters—a classic Cinderella story.

But unlike Cinderella, Elaina was stronger.
She only cried in private, never showing weakness in public.

And after every tear, she grew tougher, wiser, faster.

She wasn’t a fate-blessed prodigy.
She was a growth-type protagonist.

As someone who’d read the novel and played the game, Black couldn’t say whether he admired Jiaye or Elaina more.

After watching quietly for a moment, he noticed Elaina’s sobs were tiny.
She was clearly heartbroken—but afraid of being heard.
Such a poor little thing.

For some reason, even though he knew interfering with the plot was dangerous, Black felt an irresistible urge to comfort her.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“Hey. What’re you crying about? You’ve got food—so why cry? Me? I haven’t eaten at all. Should I just jump into the sea?”

“……!”

The sudden voice made Elaina freeze.
She wiped her tears with her sleeve, her expression shifting from sorrow to cold, guarded hostility.

She wouldn’t let anyone see her weak.

That was what her late mother had taught her.

“Who are you?”

Elaina stared at Black, voice sharp.

Then she recognized him.
“You’re that pirate from earlier? What are you doing here?”

“Heh. I’m the deck cleaner. This whole deck is my territory. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

Black answered with fake seriousness.

“But you—aren’t you a duchess? Why are you crying so hard?”

“I’m not crying!”

Elaina stubbornly denied it.

Oh? Still got fight in you, huh?

“Heh. Why don’t you go look in a mirror first? See those puffy, swollen eyes—then tell me you’re not crying.”

Elaina flushed red with embarrassment, her lips pressed into a tight line.

“Don’t tell anyone!”

“Tell anyone what? The fact that you’re crying like a little bunny?”

Black found her adorable—like a tiny rabbit baring its fangs at him.
No matter how fierce she looked, she just seemed adorably dumb.

But he didn’t expect this to push her over the edge.

Elaina gritted her teeth, glaring at him—hard.

Then—whoosh!

She hurled her fork like a dagger—stopping just an inch from Black’s heart.

Even rabbits bite when cornered!

Black jumped.
Why are all the girls in this world violent maniacs?!

“Alright, alright! I swear—I won’t tell anyone you were hiding here, crying like a baby!”

Only then did Elaina pull back the fork, sitting down with a huff.

“Come on, spill it. Who bullied you?”

“None of your business! I wasn’t bullied!”

Elaina shot him a glare, refusing to admit she’d been reduced to tears.

“I bet it was your dear sisters, right? Dear duchess?”

“How do you know?!”

Elaina was shocked. No one should’ve seen it.

“Not only do I know—I also know you’ve been stuck at Level 19, unable to break through to 20—that’s why they mocked you.”

That stopped her cold.

“You’ve been stalking me?!”

“No, no, no! I guessed! Wait—figured it out!”

Black hadn’t expected her to jump to that conclusion.

“Liar! How could a Level 10 person know I’m stuck at 19?!”

Elaina now seriously suspected he was a creepy stalker.

“…Ahem. Just—don’t ask how I know. To make up for my rudeness earlier—I know a way to help you break through to Level 20. Right now.”

Black leaned in, voice low and mysterious.

“Interested?”

“…No.”

Elaina’s reply was firm.

A guy her age—lower level than her—how could he possibly know how to break through?

He was definitely up to no good.
She wasn’t some naive, innocent girl.

Seeing her disbelief, Black didn’t back down.

“What if I told you… I know where on this ship you can find Obsidian Nectar?”

At the words “Obsidian Nectar”, Elaina reacted instantly.
She turned her head away, but her ears—like a rabbit’s—perked straight up.

Got her.

“And I guarantee—if we work together, we can get our hands on it.”

Black spoke slowly, dripping with temptation.

Elaina hesitated—only for a moment.
Then, she made her decision.

“…Fine. I’ll trust you once. But if you try anything, I won’t let you go.”

Pfft.
A little bunny’s threats are never scary.