This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

On the 9th, Rita realized it had been ten days since she stole those books from Moonfox City. She wanted to return to Lania Kaia—not just for Apache's lessons, which were a minor reason—but to gather information about the Moonfox Clan's situation and, more importantly, to relocate her teleportation array to a place only she knew about for her peace of mind.

Before doing that, she decided to ask Shadow.Q about the current situation in Lania Kaia.

**[Rita]:** Have the people captured in Lania Kaia been rescued?

**[Shadow.Q]:** If you're planning to go to Lania Kaia soon, you could wait a couple of days and join our Special Affairs Bureau group from LA.

**[Rita]:** Oh? Another raid? Is this a nationwide operation or just your LA branch?

**[Shadow.Q]:** It's just the LA branch. Each branch manages its own affairs.

**[Shadow.Q]:** We've established a new base underwater in Lania Kaia, near a seabed volcano.

**[Rita]:** Seabed? Isn't that the territory of the sea siren clan? Isn't their main city underwater?

**[Shadow.Q]:** The base is near an underwater volcano, a dead zone with no magical energy. It's a barren land for the tribes, so the sirens don't go there. The nearest major city is two hours away, Moonforest City on land. If you can breathe underwater, you can reach the underwater city, Yas City, within an hour.

**[Rita]:** The Special Affairs Bureau is my best friend! ∠(°ゝ°)

**[Shadow.Q]:** Are you paying your fare upfront or settling it later?

**[Rita]:** (°ゝ°)

**[Shadow.Q]:** What's that supposed to mean? No respect?

**[Rita]:** Huh? I was just scratching my head, no salute! Who's saluting?

**[Shadow.Q]:** Haha, it's free! Are you coming or not?

**[Rita]:** ∠(°ゝ°) Anytime, anywhere, I'm always ready!

**[Shadow.Q]:** (°ゝ°)

**[Rita]:** So how do you deal with the Dark City's vice-mayor, who can see a person's last 30 days of memories with his Divine Gift?

**[Shadow.Q]:** No solution yet. We managed to get a picture of the Dark City vice-mayor. For now, we're just avoiding him. I'll send you his photo later, keep an eye on your phone.

**[Rita]:** Got it. By the way, why don't you just ship the resources via mail instead of transporting them? Seems risky.

**[Shadow.Q]:** That's how you can tell you've never worked a proper job and been held accountable... When it comes to valuable resources, they need to be handed over in person, with witnesses or surveillance, to avoid blame if things go wrong.

**[Rita]:** Sounds like a story there.

**[Shadow.Q]:** More like a series of accidents.

Only those thoroughly vetted were allowed into Lania Kaia now, split into two groups: spies gathering intel and resource procurement specialists. Rita was the only independent player invited by the Special Affairs Bureau, mainly to familiarize her with their base there, so that if she ever came across relevant information, she could report it immediately without hesitation.

If she discovered something critical about the base but didn't know it belonged to the Special Affairs Bureau and missed the chance to report it, that would be a nightmare for everyone involved.

Since Shadow.Q mentioned waiting a few days, Rita decided to wait. If the underwater volcanic area proved safe, she could move her teleportation array there. For most people, a two-hour journey was long, but for her, it was just a **Phantom Shift** away.

Rita tossed Nivalis onto the couch and headed to the cat nook. Last time, she had found a whistle and a soda can—good finds—but her favorite discovery was still the turtle jade from the wishing pool. She hadn't used it recently since she hadn't been to Lania Kaia much.

After petting all the cats that rubbed against her legs, she squeezed her way to the cat house and crouched down to reach inside. Her hand touched...a wooden plaque?

With high hopes, she pulled the plaque out. It looked old, about as long as her forearm and slightly wider than her palm. On it were engraved characters: **A Century-Old Brand**.

Then she read the item description…

**[A Century-Old Brand] (Curio):** Hold this plaque above your head and shout, "This is a century-old brand!" Afterward, the first dish you cook will have its rating increased by 10 points. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Rita fell silent.

It felt like the time her agent told her she had blown up on the trending charts, only for her to check and realize it was because all her viral clips were comedy outtakes. Famous? Sure. But not for the right reasons.

She stuffed the plaque into her bag, placed her hands behind her back, and calmly walked back into the house. As she passed Nivalis, who was enjoying her ice cream, she smiled warmly and said, "Enjoying it?"

Then she turned and headed for the stairs, making a beeline for the study.

Nivalis, spoon in hand: "?"

Something wasn't right. The vibes were off. Enjoy more content from empire

Why did it feel like the house had been robbed?

Why was Rita acting so guilty?

Suspicious, Nivalis put her ice cream back into her storage space, flapped her wings, and flew upstairs. She arrived just in time to hear the study door lock.

Nivalis: !

She quickly circled around, shrank down, and shrank even more until she was the size of a coin. Then she slipped in through the second-floor balcony door.

Silent as ever, the tiny dragon hugged the corner of the balcony, pressing herself against the wall as she inched closer to the floor-length window. Finally, she peeked around the corner to spy inside.

Rita had cleared off the desk and was pulling various cooking tools and ingredients out of her game inventory, setting them all in place. She then took out the wooden plaque, took a deep breath, and raised it high above her head, shouting, "This is a century-old brand!"

Nivalis: "..."

Nivalis: "Pfft."

Rita: "..." She slowly turned her head, scanning the room, and finally spotted a tiny head peeking out from the corner of the balcony window.

Nivalis bolted.

Rita rolled up her sleeves and charged after her. "If I don't beat the ice cream out of you today, I'll take your surname!"

Nivalis zipped around, flying back and forth. "I~ am~ a~ century-old~ brand~!"

Rita: "..." You're dead.

The two of them ended up fighting for two hours, with Rita's **Magic Missiles** constantly targeting Nivalis' behind.

Nivalis wised up quickly, refraining from using big spells and instead opting for quick-casting skills. But even so, they all missed. The moment Nivalis' attack launched, Rita would teleport away.

Even when Nivalis rewound time to predict Rita's movements, it didn't help. Rita's escape skills were unparalleled. Even when her teleport landed her in the path of an incoming attack, she could lean back just enough to buy herself half a second to dodge again.

Nivalis: So shameless!