Chapter 74: If It's Difficult, Then Don't Do It
The hour of Xu. Seven o'clock in the evening.
Everyone was already seated around the long dining table on the second floor. Even though the butler's attitude had undergone a drastic change and there was no longer a need to fight for seats, none of them dared to be late. The thought of having that man personally come to fetch them was a chilling one.
Right on cue, the butler appeared, pushing a serving cart. He surveyed the orderly scene, and the artificial smile plastered on his face seemed to deepen, stretching just a fraction too wide. However, as his gaze swept over the four empty seats on the left side of the table, the muscles around his mouth stiffened for a near-imperceptible moment.
He calmly placed each dish on the table, the porcelain clinking softly in the tense silence. Once done, he turned and walked toward the corridor on the right.
The other players could feel it in their bones—the butler's mood had soured in that instant.
But what could they do? Haruto's group possessed monstrous strength and had the audacity to confront the butler head-on. They, on the other hand, were just ordinary players who could only tread with the utmost caution, praying they didn't draw any unwanted attention.
Five minutes crawled by before the butler reappeared at the restaurant's entrance. He glanced back at the empty corridor behind him, and the smile on his face froze again, becoming a brittle mask.
"Awesome," Liu Haoran muttered under his breath, unable to stop himself from giving a discreet thumbs-up. He hadn't admired many people in his life, but Haruto was definitely one of them.
Just as the butler's expression began to darken, a prelude to him turning back to retrieve the missing guests, footsteps finally echoed from the end of the hall.
Haruto and his group ambled into view. A collective, silent sigh of relief seemed to pass through the room as the other players' taut nerves loosened ever so slightly.
The muscles in the butler's face twitched. With a visible effort, he forced his lips back into a smile so standard it was practically printed on, and he personally pulled out a chair—the one at the head of the table.
"Esteemed guests, please take your seats promptly."
Haruto acted as if he hadn't seen the gesture at all. He walked straight past the offered seat and sat down next to Xie Lin. A girl with an air of detached royalty, Kaguya, followed closely behind him, while Lin Xuelao and Yotsuya Miko took their seats in turn.
The air, which had just begun to thaw, instantly refroze.
The butler remained frozen for a long moment, his hand still on the back of the empty chair. Then, without a word, he silently pushed it back into its original position.
Haruto picked up his chopsticks, his gaze sweeping over the relatively exquisite dishes on the table. He was just about to reach for a piece of glistening roasted meat when a fair, slender hand suddenly reached out and pressed down firmly on his wrist.
He paused, turning his head in confusion.
Kaguya simply raised an elegant eyebrow. Her gaze drifted casually across the several meat dishes, and she gave a slight, dismissive shake of her head.
"I will not be eating."
Those five simple words caused the atmosphere, which had only just relaxed, to snap taut once more.
Wait a minute, the other players thought in unison. Are they really going to be this confrontational?
Haruto paused, a flicker of understanding dawning in his eyes. He glanced over the dishes again and noticed that every single one, without exception, contained some form of meat. He slowly retracted his chopsticks.
The butler's smile remained fixed. He gave a slight bow, his voice unnervingly steady. "Are the dishes not to the esteemed guests' liking? I can have them remade immediately."
"There is no need," Kaguya replied without even gracing him with a look. "They look disgusting. It is all meat. No matter how many times you remake them, the result will be the same." She paused, her eyes sweeping over the other players. "Please, enjoy yourselves."
Her words were directed at the butler, but they were a clear warning to everyone present.
The players watched, their expressions a mixture of awe and terror, as Kagu-ya directly challenged the monstrous NPC.
Couldn't you at least take a symbolic bite? someone thought desperately. Even if it was just for show, it might have given the butler a way to save face.
But this was far beyond that. Not only had she refused to even touch her chopsticks, but she had also outright declared the food disgusting. This had long surpassed mere 'rudeness'; this was grabbing the butler by the collar and slapping him, hard, across the face.
The fake smile on the butler's face finally vanished completely, the polite facade crumbling to reveal something cold and sharp beneath. "You two are making things very difficult for me."
Hearing this, Kaguya didn't grow angry. Instead, a sharp, mischievous glint flashed in her eyes as she turned to look at Haruto.
At that exact moment, Haruto subconsciously frowned, repeating the butler's words with a hint of confusion. "Difficult?"
The instant his voice fell—
BANG—CRASH!
Kaguya shot to her feet. With a single, sweeping motion of her arms, she flipped the entire heavy dining table over.
Exquisite plates, silver cutlery, and steaming hot dishes went flying. Soup, sauces, and shattered porcelain scattered across the second-floor platform in a chaotic explosion of noise and mess.
"Difficult?" Kaguya's voice rang out, laced with an irrepressible excitement. She tilted her chin up, her posture the very picture of arrogance.
"Then don't do it!"
The entire restaurant fell into a dead silence.
All the players were stunned into immobility. Some instinctively scrambled back in fear, while others simply held their breath, staring at Kaguya in utter disbelief.
Liu Haoran silently gave another thumbs-up. He admired few people in his life; Haruto was one, and now, Kaguya was definitely being added to that list.
Even Yotsuya Miko and Lin Xuelao, who were on the same side, hadn't expected Kaguya to flip the table without a moment's hesitation.
Haruto was just as dumbfounded.
"...You idiot princess, are you really that bold?"
"Did you not tell this one to flip the table?" Kaguya retorted, her tone suggesting it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Haruto pointed at himself, flabbergasted. "Me?"
Kaguya nodded as if it were a matter of course. "That man said you were making things difficult for him. This one looked at you, and you immediately followed with, 'Difficult?' Naturally, this one had to follow your lead."
Hearing her explanation, Haruto's expression gradually froze. He'd been wondering why the exchange felt so familiar—it was the classic line from that old movie, Crows Zero. The one that always ended with a table getting flipped. Thinking back, it seemed this really was his fault.
The butler stood stiffly in place, his crisp suit now splattered with flying meat juices and greasy soup, making him look both comical and wretched. He stared intently at them, his eyes burning with cold fury. After a long, drawn-out pause, he spoke again, his voice a low growl.
"I wish you a pleasant evening."
He didn't say another word. He didn't even bother to clean the filth from his uniform. He simply turned and walked, step by deliberate step, toward the upper floor, leaving a group of terrified players staring at each other in the wreckage.
Any discerning person could recognize that for what it was: a threat.
"Why!" a male college student named Huang Dao suddenly cried out, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and anger as he pointed a shaking finger at Kaguya. "It's all because of you! If we had just finished this meal peacefully, nothing would have happened!"
Xie Lin frowned. "Kaguya must have her reasons for doing this. Even if there's retaliation, it will mostly be aimed at her and Haruto. You don't need to panic."
"She won't target us tonight? Can you guarantee that!?" Huang Dao shot back, completely unappreciative. He felt that Xie Lin was simply taking their side.
Xie Lin was momentarily at a loss for words.
Liu Haoran, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it any longer. He lunged forward and grabbed Huang Dao by the collar. "Are you looking for trouble, punk? Who the hell can guarantee something like that? Keep shouting and see if I don't throw you out to feed the monsters!"
Liu Haoran's sturdy build, coupled with the ferocious tattoos covering his arms, made the color drain from Huang Dao's face. He suddenly recalled that Kaguya was by no means just a pretty face; as Xie Lin had said, she was a ruthless character no less powerful than Haruto himself. But since the harsh words were already spoken, he could only bite his lip and remain silent, fuming.
Seeing his cowardly demeanor, Liu Haoran shoved him away in disgust.
Kaguya paid no attention to the farce whatsoever. She and Haruto shared the same thought: tactless bystanders like him would eventually get themselves killed in the instance one way or another. There was no need to single them out and waste energy.
Her gaze swept over the mess on the floor. She bent down gracefully and picked up a plate that still held a whole, intact cut of meat.
She handed the plate to Xie Lin, a meaningful, almost predatory smile playing on her lips.
"Why don't you all guess... what kind of meat this is?"
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