What is a protagonist?
On this topic, countless forebears have risked their lives—offering up blood and tears—to compile the most comprehensive criteria for identification.
Orphaned parents. A younger sister. A house. A penchant for saying, “The river flows east for thirty years, west for thirty more.” Skilled in hidden weapons and guilt-tripping techniques passed down by their dear mother.
A mysterious old man living in a ring. And inevitably, a long-lost blood relative who really wants to dig out your bones.
As luck would have it, Taliya ticked every single box.
When she was young, her half-sister dug out her magical core—known as the Source—effectively crippling her ability to become a mage.
Taliya, before disappearing, left behind a dramatic vow about the thirty years east and west.
She spent the following years living in hardship with her mother, who had been abandoned by their father.
Everything changed when a Sacred Relic chose her to be the next Hero.
With the help of the relic’s guardian spirit, Momo, she not only restored her Source but evolved it—unlocking even greater potential.
She returned home in triumph, beat her sister (the one who stole her Source) into a swollen pig-head, and used the mother-taught technique of “Mom’s Blade” to drive off her deadbeat father—who had married his mistress after dumping her mom.
Then, hand-in-hand with her mother, she reclaimed everything they had lost.
This act of vengeance propelled her to fame across the entire Kingdom of Silicis.
Most recently, the hottest gossip surrounding this unbeatable heroine was how she delivered justice for the people by driving away the Duke’s son and banishing Kane to the borderlands.
Mind you, Kane was the only son of a duke who controlled half the kingdom’s economy.
So yeah—Taliya’s reputation soared to new heights. She was now second only to the First Hero in fame, and had become the idol of every young man and woman in the land.
Kane, recalling the many tales about Taliya, fell into a moment of quiet reflection.
Then he turned his gaze to the other side of the fire.
Taliya was holding a roast chicken in both hands, her greasy face buried deep in the chicken’s rear end, cheeks puffed out like balloons.
Her once-beautiful hair, now soaked by rain, was plastered to her face and streaked with oil.
Like a starving ghost, Taliya gnawed on the chicken bones with fervor, sucking them clean of every last scrap of meat—and even the marrow inside.
Children, know this: when a man is truly speechless, all he can do is laugh.
“…Slow down a little. There’s more if you need it.”
After some hesitation, Kane finally pressed down the corners of his lips and offered a gentle reminder.
He was genuinely worried she’d choke herself to death.
Because dying by roast chicken under the gaze of a villainous noble? Not a funny joke, kids.
“S-Sorry, I—mmph, mmph—haven’t, haven’t eaten—”
“…Why don’t you swallow first before you talk?”
Kane looked on in disbelief as Taliya struggled to speak through a mouth crammed full of oily meat.
“Oh.”
Taliya obediently gave a muffled response and pounded her chest twice, craning her neck as she forced herself to swallow with dramatic effort.
Kane turned away, unable to bear watching, and silently handed her a water cup.
Taliya grabbed the cup and guzzled it in one go.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Then immediately choked on it from drinking too fast.
But afraid to spit out the chicken in her mouth, she held it in with all her might, her flushed cheeks puffing redder by the second.
Her wide amber eyes were practically popping out of her head.
No matter what angle you looked from—it was comedic gold.
I got plot-armored to death because of this clown… Kane thought with a complicated expression, the weight in his chest growing heavier.
“There’s more. Don’t rush…”
With a sigh, Kane pulled out the remaining half of his roast chicken—the one he’d been saving for a midnight snack and placed it over the fire.
“Kun’er, thank you so much! You’re honestly the most beautiful goddess in the world!”
Taliya wiped at the corners of her eyes with her greasy hands, her face overflowing with emotion. Shyly and sweetly, she added:
“I have no way to repay such a great kindness… so this humble girl will offer herself in marriage.”
“……”
Thanks, but no thanks.
Kane chose to ignore her shameless attempt to take advantage of the chaos and shifted the topic:
“Miss Taliya, you—”
“Don’t be so formal. Just call me Lia—or better yet, something more intimate. You can call me Yaya~”
Taliya scooted closer, her sticky hands snaking around Kane’s waist and sliding down toward his thigh.
Tsk. This pervert!
“Lia, what brings you here?” Kane asked, pretending not to notice her antics as he casually got up to toss some pine branches into the fire and then sat down on the other side of the flames.
Taliya regretfully withdrew her empty hand but didn’t give up.
In her mind, her beloved Kun’er was just being shy.
Girls like this always had a process, a phase to work through.
Sure, she hadn’t succeeded once yet—but she was determined.
“Obviously, it’s because of love!”
Taliya declared passionately, a sea of roses blooming behind her as she winked playfully at Kane.
She was flirting.
Like, full-on zap-zap electricity flirting.
To be fair, ignoring her chaotic personality and overly eager behavior, Taliya’s appearance was top-tier—on par with Vanessa, the most beautiful female lead in the game and widely regarded as the king of male-disguised beauties.
Getting directly flirted with by a girl like that—it was hard not to be moved.
Unfortunately for her, Kane had already been scarred by the obsessive affections of the yandere Enya.
For him, beauty in a girl had become a red flag.
“Thank you. You’re a nice person.”
Kane responded with a polite but unmistakably awkward smile and promptly handed over a Nice Guy Card.
Better to set boundaries early before his real identity got exposed and caused unnecessary drama later.
But Taliya was not the type to back down easily.
Fired up by emotion, the girl grew even more determined to declare her love:
“Kun’er, my love for you is like a river—unceasing and eternal! Like the flooding Yellow River—wild and unstoppable! You are the wind! You are the lightning! You are the one true legend! My love for you is—ow!!”
Halfway through her speech, Taliya suddenly clutched her head and let out a sharp yelp, like her brain had been electrocuted.
Kane, however, saw what happened.
The Starry Night Sword, her Sacred Relic, had floated up and bonked her on the back of the head.
It was her guardian spirit, Momo, taking action.
Though Kane hadn’t met Momo face-to-face in reality, the game had described how the spirit constantly worried about Taliya’s “twisted orientation”—so a surprise smack like this made perfect sense.
Good hit. Stop this pervy delinquent from harassing innocent young maidens—cough, young men.
“Okay, okay, I get it! Geez, can’t you let me keep a shred of dignity in front of Kun’er…”
Apparently, Momo had sent Taliya a private telepathic message.
Rubbing the back of her head, she grumbled at the Starry Night Sword.
The sword lifted its hilt again, ready to smack her a second time.
Taliya instantly sat up straight, cleared her throat, and for the first time wore an expression of genuine seriousness.
“Miss Kun’er, remember that money I gave you last time? There was a Tear of the Angel inside. Could you return it to me?”
Kane: “……”
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