She opened her eyes to the dream library. The familiar endless rows of glowing books stretched out in every direction. But this time, she had questions.
"Truck-kun." Her voice echoed through the stacks. "I know you're here. We need to talk."
A distant engine revved nervously.
"I'm not mad. I just want answers."
From behind a shelf, a shape appeared. Truck-kun, shrunk down to toy-size to conserve energy in the dream space. "Uh," he said. "Hi?"
She walked toward him. "You knew I had powers." Then she stopped in front of him. "So what does that make me? What role am I playing here?"
Truck-kun's headlights dimmed slightly. "What do you mean?"
She gestured around the library at all the glowing books - every manhwa, manga, and web novel she'd ever read.
"I've read enough stories to know how this works. There are roles. The protagonist gets a lots of things. The ones who get isekai'd usually get something special. A system. Knowledge of the plot. A cheat ability. Insider information. Something."
"Okay, but—"
"And I got nothing!" Her voice rose. "Do you know how many times I tried calling for a system? When I was lying in that crib with nothing to do?"
Truck-kun's engine made a sympathetic sound. "Yeah, you don't have a system."
"I tried! So many times! Status window, open! Nothing. System, activate! Nothing. Show me my stats! Nothing! Inventory! Skills! Quest log! I went through every variation I could think of!"
"Not every isekai has a system though."
"But the ones without systems usually have something else! They remember they're in a novel! They have special knowledge! They have some kind of advantage!" She looked at it. "I have a therapy-attending truck who shows up in my dreams to be vague and unhelpful!"
"Hey!"
"It's true! You won't even tell me what role I'm supposed to be playing! Am I the protagonist? The villainess? A side character? WHAT AM I?"
Truck-kun was quiet for a moment. "Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters! If I'm the protagonist, I need to be cute and win my father over and probably avoid assassinations. If I'm the villainess, I need to avoid my bad ending and figure out which male leads are going to be involved. If I'm a side character—" She paused. "Actually, if I'm a side character, that might be worse. Nobody remembers the side characters. They just exist to make the protagonist look good."
"Who says you have to be any of those?"
She blinked. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh. OH. Wait, what if I'm in a reverse harem story?"
Truck-kun's headlights flickered with alarm. "What..."
"No, listen! I just realized something!" She started pacing, gesturing wildly. "If the people I've met so far are this beautiful - like my father is dangerously handsome, Leonarth is gorgeous, even the emperor looks like he walked out of a painting - then what about everyone else in this world?! Even Kofery is pookie handsome."
"I... what?"
"Truck-kun, I think I'm doomed!" She clutched her head dramatically. "If the baseline for attractiveness here is that high, and I'm already weak to pretty faces, then what am I supposed to do when they start chasing me?! How do I refuse anyone?!"
Truck-kun's engine made a sound like it was choking. "They're not going to—you're one month old—"
"Not now! Obviously not now! But later! When I grow up! If everyone in this world is that beautiful, I'm going to be a MESS! I have no immunity! No resistance! What if I'm going to say yes to everyone?!"
"That's not—you can't just—"
"I spent twenty-four years reading manhwa about beautiful people!" She waved her hands. "Do you have any idea what kind of content that includes? The educational value of certain illustrated works? I have done extensive aesthetic research that I definitely didn't mention to Dr. Kim!"
"OH GOD, PLEASE STOP TALKING."
"I'm just saying, my standards are completely broken! If someone with a nice face asks me literally anything, I'm going to be so easy—"
"DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE."
"—to manipulate! I was going to say manipulate!"
"SURE YOU WERE."
"But also yes to the other thing probably."
"LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Truck-kun's horn was honking in distress. "LALALALA NOT LISTENING LALALALA!"
She grinned, clearly enjoying his distress. "And it's not just faces! What if someone has really nice hands? Or that thing where they roll up their sleeves and you can see their forearms—"
"LALALALA STILL NOT LISTENING LALALALA!"
"You're the one who isekai'd me! You should have considered that I'd bring my entire reading history with me!"
Truck-kun's engine was making sounds like a dying animal. "This is a nightmare. I'm in an actual nightmare."
"My point is," she continued, "if this world is full of beautiful and handsome people, and I have the aesthetic appreciation of someone who's read... let's say a diverse range of illustrated fiction... I'm going to have problems."
"You already have problems!"
"I know! That's what I'm saying! This is a legitimate crisis!" She sat down. "And the age thing is concerning too. If my father is over two hundred years old, and Leonarth probably is too, and the Emperor is definitely ancient, then the age gaps are going to be—"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT AGE GAPS."
"—a standard genre trope actually! The immortal love interest is a whole category!"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU."
"Look, I'm just being realistic about my weaknesses! Having something nice to think about is my coping mechanism! Especially after you gave me a father who ignored me for a month!"
"So now I'm the villain?"
"You hit me with a truck!"
"YOU JUMPED IN FRONT OF ME SEVENTEEN TIMES!"
"And you finally succeeded! So the least you can do is not judge my survival strategies!"
"Your survival strategy is concerning."
"It's honest." She stood up, addressing the library itself now, as if speaking to an invisible audience. "And if there are readers out there watching this conversation, they should be warned. I'm a disaster. I have no system. I'm weak to beautiful people. I've read way too many different genres of illustrated fiction. And I'm probably going to make questionable decisions based on aesthetics."
Truck-kun's headlights flickered. "Are you... talking to hypothetical readers now?"
"If they exist, they should know what they're getting into!" She pointed at the invisible audience. "I'm going into this completely unprepared! I'm going to be attracted to inappropriate people! I'm going to make a mess of whatever story you think this is! And it's not my fault everyone here is unfairly attractive!"
"I think I'm having a breakdown."
"You're a truck. You can't have breakdowns."
"I'M HAVING ONE ANYWAY."
She sat back down, looking satisfied. "Okay, I'm done now."
"Thank The God."
"But seriously, Truck-kun. What role do you think I am?"
Truck-kun was quiet for a long moment. "I think," he said slowly, "that you're whoever you decide to be. Protagonist. Villainess. Side character. Disaster magnet with questionable taste. Whatever."
"That's not helpful."
"It's the truth." His headlights brightened slightly. "You spent twenty-four years where you had no control. Where your parents forgot you existed. Now you're in a world where you have magic, a powerful father who actually acknowledged you publicly, and apparently way too many attractive people for your own good."
"See? You understand."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I'm taking it as one." She smiled. "So it's my story. I'm writing it as I go. Whether people are reading or not doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm actually living it this time."
"Yes. Exactly. Thank you for finally—"
"But I'm still going to appreciate beautiful people, and make questionable decisions."
Truck-kun's engine sighed. "I know."
"And have thoughts I probably shouldn't about people I definitely shouldn't."
"I really didn't need to know that."
"Just being transparent!"
"Too transparent. Way too transparent."
The dream library started to fade. "Wait," she said. "One last thing."
"What now?"
"You said I could be any of those roles. Protagonist. Villainess. Whatever."
"Yes."
"What if I'm all of them? Like, what if the story changes depending on who's reading it? What if I'm the protagonist to some people and the villainess to others and just a side character to someone else?"
Truck-kun's headlights flickered with something like approval. "Now you're getting it."
"So it really is up to me. Just... me and my questionable taste in men, apparently."
"I didn't say that last part."
"I think they're figuring that out already." The dream faded completely. "See you next time, Truck-kun!"
"Please try not to teleport into any more monster caves! And please develop standards!"
"No promises!" And then she woke up.
Kofery's face was the first thing she saw. He was leaning over her crib, dark circles under his eyes, his hair even messier than usual. "Oh thank God, you're awake. I've been watching you all night to make sure you didn't teleport again. Do you have any idea how terrifying it was when you just vanished? I thought I lost you."
The door to the nursery opened. Dravin walked in. He looked the same as always. He was carrying books. Three thick volumes that he set down on the table near her crib. "We're starting now," he said.
Kofery's mouth fell open.
"Master, she just woke up!"
"So? She woke up to learn Mana control."
"She's one month old!"
"And she can teleport." Dravin looked down at her. "Which means she's dangerous to herself and everyone around her until she learns control."
He reached into the crib and picked her up. She looked up at him. Dravin's eyes met hers.
What? Are you challenging me? Then prepare father dearest. I am going to write my own fate.
"Let's see what you can do, Hania," he said quietly, then carried her to the first lesson of what would become the most intensive magical education any infant had ever received.
Kofery buried his face in his hands. "This is completely insane. She can't even hold her head up properly yet."
But neither of them were listening. They were already focused on each other. Teacher and student. Father and daughter. Ready to begin.
This is Truck-kun's fault somehow. I'm sure of it.