I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Tutorial (2)

As we moved towards the dining room, a status window popped up.

▶Tutorial I Completed!◀
▶This game is about making the right choices to clear it. Your choices will affect the outcome, even the smallest change can—

It was the message that always appeared after completing the tutorial.

Normally, the scene would end here. The tutorial only explained that even the smallest change could influence the choices, and briefly introduced the concept of Affinity, which I had labeled myself.

So, this scene should have been skipped, moving on to the next one.

But it wasn’t.

I was still in the dining room. The scene hadn’t skipped.

‘This… can’t be a game anymore, can it?’

I had to move. There was no skipping, so I needed to fill in all those missing moments using my own body.

This was my reality now.

As everyone took their seats in the dining room, I naturally sat down next to Claire—it seemed to be Carsein’s usual spot.

Apparently, I was moving too slowly, because Claire chided me.

“Why are you moving so slowly? Mom must be hungry. Hurry up.”

Damn pink-haired bitch.

‘If I could move faster, I would.’

The problem was the cold status ailment. I had taken an icy bath in the middle of winter, so my body wasn’t functioning properly.

As the status window had warned, Carsein was now suffering from a cold, and his already frail body was in even worse shape.

I had wondered why his movement speed was so slow in the game. Now, experiencing it firsthand, I realized how fast it actually was.

“Alright, let's eat. You must be hungry.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Isabella started the meal, seemingly content with a harmonious dining experience. But then…

—Ding!

▶Tutorial II starts now!◀

“Tell me, Carsein, what happened today?”

As the status window announced the start of Tutorial II and Isabella’s voice filled the air, I clenched my jaw without realizing it.

‘Today… again, she says.’

No, it couldn't be.

A wave of dread washed over me, but I pushed it aside. It was just a casual question…

▶Tutorial II Information!◀
▶You will encounter many difficult trials ahead.◀
▶You must gather information carefully, paying close attention to details, and make the correct choices.◀

▶Information will be provided as a tutorial!◀
[Carsein greets Isabella every morning.]

‘…What the hell is this?’

Tutorial II?

I had never seen or heard of this tutorial. I had never encountered it while playing the game.

But the fact that it appeared out of the blue meant…

‘Are they telling me to treat this as a whole new episode and clear it?’

The reappearance of the status window made me gulp nervously. I glanced around at my surroundings.

The eyes around me were sharp, boring into me. Claire and Arina were already glaring, while Flora was blatantly waiting to see what I would say.

I had a bad feeling that one wrong word could lead to disaster.

“Carsein? Is there anything you want to tell me?”

—Ding!

[1. (Pushing back from the table) Do you even know what I went through today?!]
[2. (Seizing the opportunity, slamming your fist on the table) I took a cold shower today. The maid filled the bathtub with ice water!]
[3. You must have had a hard time with the estate. Other than that… (pausing) Nothing happened.]

A crazy selection of choices popped up in response to Isabella’s question.

They were all obvious choices, and the correct answer was clear.

But something about those two options felt true to Carsein’s inner feelings.

She didn’t even look at me, cutting her meat as she spoke. Even this detail felt familiar.

‘That’s right, you’re the same. No matter how much affinity you gain, you’ll never be a true mother to Carsein.’

My course of action was decided.

I had to clear the game, of course, but my priority was getting out of this house.

Just like I had done in my past life.

My body, already starting to feel feverish, I replied calmly, without betraying my emotions.

“Nothing happened.”

Flora tilted her head, while Claire and Arina quickly averted their gazes. Isabella, in turn…

“…Right.”

She replied curtly.

At that moment, I knew I had done something wrong.

‘Wait, didn’t I just select the third choice?’

The cold was making me lose my mind. I had responded with “Nothing happened,” instead of mentioning the hard work she had put in managing the estate.

Come to think of it, when I greeted Isabella earlier, my response had also been cut short before I could finish saying “Mother.”

At the time, there had been no reaction from the game. It meant that even though I had slightly mispronounced my words, there had been no consequences. And now, the same thing had happened again.

‘Right. This is my body. I’m not Carsein anymore.’

My acceptance of this situation meant that I could affect the events.

The clinking of cutlery echoed through the dining room. The daughters and their mother chatted casually.

Meanwhile, I was fixated on the status window.

▶Tutorial II information is being provided!◀
[Carsein's meal has been prepared by Flora, with the help of a maid, to include an excessive amount of salt, unlike the rest of the family's meals!]
[Caution! Consuming this food will worsen your health!]

▶Will you eat breakfast?◀
[1. Eat.]
[2. (Shouting) Flora, did you mess with my food again?!]
[3. (Throwing the bowl at the maid who added the salt) Eat this yourself, you bitch!]
[4. Don't eat.]

‘Ha. A family meal where only my food has been tampered with.’

The memory of that unpleasant experience kept recurring. Why did I have to go through this twice?

It was uncanny how similar it was to my past life. The youngest sister, Flora, was playing the same tricks with my food, and the situation was just as hopeless as before, with no one daring to speak up against her.

‘No. That might actually be the case.’

The sisters who hated me for being adopted, the mother who had brought me home because of her mental illness… it was all the same.

Perhaps I was even finding this situation more bearable.

Because I had already experienced it once, it wasn’t as scary the second time around.

—Clang.

“...!”

I picked up my cutlery and shoved the salty food into my mouth, forcing it down. Flora’s eyes widened in disbelief, her gaze flickering rapidly.

The status window information was spot on. This was clearly Flora’s handiwork. Her eyes were wide with shock as she stared at me, wondering why I was eating it.

But I continued to eat, deliberately.

▶You have consumed food with a high salt content!◀
▶Warning! Your health is deteriorating!◀

The status window flashed its warning, but I couldn’t resist. There was a “hunger” status ailment displayed directly below the warning.

I had already seen the “starvation ending” countless times in the game, dying from hunger. So, I had to eat when I could.

Another window soon appeared.

▶Hunger status is recovering!◀

I had assumed that the soup, being mostly liquid, would have less salt. I had eaten about half of it when the “hunger recovery” message popped up. That was enough.

"I'll excuse myself from the table now."

I dabbed my mouth with a napkin, wiping away the remnants of the soup, and stood up from the table. My body, already burning with a feverish cold, was starting to give way, and a wave of dizziness hit me.

***

Claire watched Carsein leave the dining room, her face contorted in displeasure.

Arina was no different. She diverted her gaze from Carsein to the cutlery, her tongue clicking in disapproval.

They were both clearly annoyed, but they restrained themselves, knowing they couldn’t show it in front of their mother.

Flora, however, was not holding back.

She stared blankly at Carsein’s soup bowl, her expression full of resentment. She even dropped her cutlery in frustration.

—Clang!

“Flora, what’s wrong? Don’t you feel well?”

Startled by Claire’s sudden question, Flora quickly regained her composure.

“Ugh, I guess I’m not feeling very hungry.”

“You need to eat. You won’t grow tall if you keep skipping meals.”

“I’ll eat lots later, not now. Ugh.”

Arina and Isabella chuckled at her response. She had managed to hide her displeasure.

Meanwhile, Flora, thinking about “later,” decided to give up on breakfast altogether.

“What? You only had a little bit!”

“But I don’t want to eat anymore.”

Her whining paid off.

“How about we make a promise, sis? You can skip breakfast, but you have to make sure to eat a proper lunch.”

Arina, the eldest sister, extended her pinky finger, granting Flora permission to leave the dining room.

Flora immediately hooked her pinky finger around Arina’s.

“Okay, promise!”

The moment she was out of the dining room, she let her true feelings show.

‘How? How could he just eat that?’

He knew that I had tampered with his food. Despite knowing this, Carsein had eaten half of that salty soup.

‘Could it be that Camilla didn’t put enough salt in?’

It was the only explanation that made sense at the moment.

Her plan had gone awry. It was a rare opportunity.

If he had gotten angry and continued to irritate their mother and two sisters, Carsein might have been truly kicked out of the Bagrand Duchy.

Then, they could return to being the original family.

‘Ugh! This isn’t how it was supposed to go!’

Flora hurried to find Emma, the head maid.

“Welcome, Miss Flora.”

Seeing the youngest lady’s face full of dissatisfaction, Head Maid Emma realized that things had not gone well.

After a moment of silence, Flora spoke up, brimming with irritation.

“Camilla, did she really put enough salt in Carsein’s food?”

“Excuse me? What happened in the dining room, Miss?”

“He ate half of the soup! And he didn’t even complain about taking a cold bath. I doubt Camilla actually used cold water!"

It was a hard story to believe. If he had noticed the salt, he would have barely eaten, or not at all, but he had eaten half.

It was also strange that he hadn’t complained about the cold shower, remaining silent.

“Ugh, this is so frustrating! Things were going so well! Do whatever you have to, make her do it again! And if she’s lying to me, tell her to prepare herself for the consequences!”

“Yes, Miss Flora. I’ll make sure the outcome is satisfactory.”

A cold smile crept across Emma’s face.

***

“...Damn it.”

I dragged my burning body back to my room, finally letting out the curse I had been holding back.

My current situation wasn't bad, all things considered. I had navigated the crisis without any incidents, gathered some useful information, and even managed to satisfy my hunger, the most dangerous status ailment, by eating the salted soup.

I had cleared the tutorial smoothly, just like I did in the game.

But I couldn't shake the feeling of being back in the hands of this godforsaken family.

The curse had come out involuntarily, a testament to how similar my current situation was to my past life, a situation that made me intensely uncomfortable.

I threw myself onto the bed, my body aching.

“Status window.”

Despite the dizziness, the status window remained clear.

There were only two lines of text on display:

■ Upon clearing the game, a special reward will be granted! ■
▶Reward: One wish of your choice.

Once I cleared the game, I would use that reward to beg to be sent back home. I would survive this, no matter what, and return.

But then, the status window took it upon itself to open another one.

—Ding!

▶Tutorial II completed!◀
▶You have successfully triggered a result that goes beyond the simple selection of choices!◀

“Beyond the simple selection of choices?”

▶Calculating rewards…◀
...
...
▶Reward calculation complete!◀
▶Based on the player's needs, it has been decided to display the status gauges of other characters numerically!◀

■Reward
▶Permanent acquisition of affinity boxes
[From now on, the Affinity Box will be displayed with numerical values!]

Normally, I would be thrilled with the reward. But this… it just felt like a small consolation prize for completing the tutorial.

But I had already obtained the greatest reward of all.

There was an unbreakable rule in this game. When a choice window appeared, you couldn't avoid the situation Carsein was facing.

For example, remember the timer? If I didn’t make a choice and just waited, there was a high chance of getting a bad ending.

But my situation, in real life, was different.

A result beyond the selection of choices. The ability to act even without selecting from the choices. This was an incredible advantage, allowing me to control the narrative in a way that Carsein couldn’t.

“If I can subtly influence events, I can circumvent the restrictions of the choices.”

However, I wasn’t sure if I could completely negate the choices altogether. I’d have to test that out later.

▶You can now view your basic stats!◀
■Carsein Bagrand■
Lv. 1
▶Strength: 2.09
▶Agility: 3.11
▶Stamina: 3.50
▶Health: 1.33
▶Immunity: 0.87
▶???: 0

This was part of the previously inaccessible information. The stats screen often made me ponder while playing the game.

"Alright. This is enough. Now I just need to sleep..."

Confirming that there was nothing significantly different from the game, I felt no need to look further. But I quickly realized that wasn't the case.

"Wait a minute. Carsein lying in bed... right after finishing a meal?"

Just as a sense of unease started to creep in, the episode progress window appeared.

▶Episode I. The beginning of malicious bullying!◀

—Knock, knock.

“Young master, I’ve brought dessert.”

The skipped time had ended, and the main episode was starting.

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