Tave and Lily were quietly having lunch in the dining room, the scent of warm food drifting through the air while the little Fang darted around the room in excited circles.
Lily had placed a plate with a chunk of at on the floor for him, but the pup kept running past it—pausing only to glance around with alert, curious eyes—before hopping and skittering about again. It was like he couldn't decide whether to eat or keep playing.
The soft clinking of utensils against ceramic echoed faintly in the room, a subtle rhythm underlining the silence between them.
Not an awkward silence. Just... still.
Tave's mind was simply elsewhere. Filled to the brim with thoughts—plans, problems, questions—and so full that there was barely any room left to start a conversation.
It was Lily who finally broke the quiet.
"There's going to be a visit from people of the Vensalor Kingdom," she said, casually.
Tave lifted his gaze, blinking as he processed what she just said.
Right... that was normal, wasn't it? People from Vensalor did visit from ti to ti.
"And?" he asked.
"What do you an 'and'?"
"Huh?" he furrowed his brows in confusion.
"That's your job."
"My job?"
Tave frowned, trying to dig through mories that didn't exist.
Because in truth, this version of Tave—the character whose body he now inhabited—was never clearly detailed in the original story. Not in any aningful way.
His routines, his daily tasks, his role in the bigger picture... it was all vague. Background noise.
So yeah—he had no idea what Lily was talking about.
"You're the one assigned to run errands for them," she said plainly, sipping her drink.
"Ahh... sorry... hehe." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Ever since the breakthrough yesterday, my head's been a little off. I think I forgot a few things, Lil."
Lily just sighed and shook her head slowly.
"So... I'm the one running errands for them?" he repeated, rubbing his temple.
She nodded without looking up.
Oh, isn't that kind of nice? If the original Tave had been soone who regularly accompanied the forest elves of Vensalor during their visits, then maybe this job wouldn't be so bad after all.
Well... more precisely, their visits usually revolved around Rift Expeditions, as well as trade and information exchanges.
If he could build a stronger relationship with them, there could be so real benefits, connections, access to resources, maybe even information that others didn't have.
The only problem?
He didn't rember anything.
Not clearly, at least. Not about how this Tave had acted around the forest elves in the past—whether he was friendly, awkward, invisible, or a complete idiot.
But if his role was only about running errands, then he could guess what that entailed: helping them settle into the right inn, arranging supplies, preparing for the expedition, organizing transport...
In other words—grunt work.
No wonder he had barely any mory of aningful interactions with the elves. The old Tave probably blended into the background.
"When exactly is that happening?" he asked.
"One month from now," Lily replied, casually spooning another bite of food.
He gave a small nod. That was enough ti.
He had one month to level up, to push himself toward Gaia Guardian, and to take the selection test.
Until then—this was on the schedule.
"Well, Tave, the reason I'm telling you this..." Lily continued, her voice a bit more serious now.
Tave turned his focus back to her. "Yeah?"
"Father said there's a possibility that one of the Imperial Knights of the Vensalor Kingdom will be part of the visit."
Tave froze.
"Imperial Knight...?"
The words hit him hard.
Because that title? That wasn't sothing you heard every day.
In the hierarchy of knighthood across most kingdoms, the progression usually looked sothing like this: Page Knight, Squire Knight, Knight Bachelor—the standard and most common kind—followed by Knight Commander, then Knight Grand Cross.
And at the very top...
Imperial Knight.
Their father, a Knight Commander, already had his own squad under his command—an impressive feat.
But Knight Grand Cross were elite—war commanders, heroes of battle, nas sung in songs.
Imperial Knights, however?
They were legends.
Each kingdom rarely had more than a handful—one or two at most. The number of Imperial Knights a kingdom had was often considered a direct asure of its military might.
And the Vensalor Kingdom?
They had five.
Five Imperial Knights.
Two n. Three won. Each with their own distinct traits, abilities, and roles within the kingdom.
Tave rembered every one of them from the original story. Their nas, their presence, the sheer impact they had on the world.
But now, one of them was coming here.
His mind reeled. Which one? Who would it be?
"Which Imperial Knight?"
Lily let out a soft sigh and answered quietly, "I don't know... but Father said it's a female Imperial Knight."
Tave went still again.
His mind imdiately began cycling through the profiles of the female Imperial Knights of Vensalor.
There were three—each unforgettable in their own way.
One was a cold, emotionless executioner, a woman without rcy who judged life and death by her own brutal standard.
The second was a perfect warrior, emotionless not from cruelty, but obedience—a machine in elf form, who followed orders with deadly precision and without hesitation.
And the third... She appeared gentle and graceful, the kind who smiled often and spoke softly. But beneath that kindness was a sharp, cunning mind, full of sches and layers of manipulation.
Tave exhaled deeply at the thought of dealing with any of them.
Let's see how this eting plays out...
But the more ti he spent in this world, the more he felt its depth.
He had written this story—he'd built the skeleton of this world—but now, living inside it, he realized just how much he hadn't defined. So much existed outside the protagonist's path—places, people, events that had never been detailed, but were now real.
Even this visit from an Imperial Knight...
It could very well be connected to a major event from the story—sothing he might have glossed over, or only implied. He couldn't rember everything. There were too many moving parts.
But one thing was certain.
If an Imperial Knight was leaving their territory to visit a smaller region like this...
Sothing big was coming.
Sothing unusual.
He could only hope the world wouldn't fall into chaos too soon. Not before he was strong enough.
Strong enough to stand his ground.
To survive.
But as he mulled over the thought of the Imperial Knight, another realization struck him—sothing deeper.
He had written more than one story in this world!
Tave had created side stories, little spinoffs that expanded the setting. He'd even crafted a shared universe, stories that ran parallel to the main one—different protagonists, all existing in this sa tiline, this sa world.
Wait...
If that was true—
Wouldn't those protagonists also be here?
He paused, heart skipping a beat at the thought.
They should be. They were supposed to exist in the sa world. The sa era.
He began to recall their roles.
So of them were simple—main characters in light-hearted harem stories, who didn't contribute much to the world's balance aside from collecting wives and triggering drama.
Others were villains—full-fledged antagonists from dark fantasy threads he'd once explored, characters who took joy in chaos and twisted morality.
And then... there were the joke protagonists. Characters from his cody slices, living slow, carefree lives, surrounded by food, cats, or quirky roommates.
He stared at the floor, blinking.
No hope?
Was this world... already crawling with his unfinished ideas?
"Great," he muttered under his breath. "A world full of protagonists... and I'm just an extra."
He turned his head slowly to look at Lily, his expression unreadable.
She blinked at him, clearly catching the shift in his gaze.
"...What?" she asked.
"Lily," he said, keeping his voice low and serious. "Lend so money."
There was a pause.
Then, "What?!"
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