This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The process was too cumbersome, and Rita couldn't keep pulling coins from thin air in front of everyone. However, with the upcoming early notice about converting gold, she was already planning on getting everything out of the Special Affairs Bureau. She couldn't leave it there indefinitely, in case it got used up.

The truth is, being a lone wolf is the hardest path. No organization to restrict you also means no organization to protect you, and you must deal with everything yourself.

If she was too agreeable, it would be easy to be taken advantage of. If she was too assertive, the Special Affairs Bureau would think of her as too rebellious, only looking after her own interests. Letting her rise independently might cause more harm than good—they'd be more likely to use her, perhaps even force her to teach alchemy courses, since she was sure the Bureau suspected she had a mentor in Lania Kaia. They might even wield a sense of righteousness against her, with the government invoking patriotism, which no individual could resist.

The Special Affairs Bureau isn't the forever-heroic, ever-noble figure from a fairytale. And Rita? She wasn't a self-sacrificing, innocent little bunny.

It was all perfect because pure, eternal heroes and altruistic bunnies rarely survive until the end.

About twenty minutes from Yaslan City, Rita used her ability to transform into an undead—currently, she knew more about them than any other race except the moon foxes. She changed her gear and clothes entirely, while Nivalis temporarily returned to her pet space.

Approaching the city gates, Rita noticed the tense atmosphere. First, there was a new wanted poster, showing a fox who was clearly innocent, but she tried not to dwell on it. Second, every visitor, no matter their race, was thoroughly questioned by the sea elves guarding the gate. Furthermore, the lanterns that lined the gates were replaced by scented candles instead of the engineering-powered energy lamps.

After her time exploring the moon fox library, Rita wouldn't underestimate anything scented. She caught sight of a strange floating fruit by the gate, resembling a black tomato with melon-like stripes. Even with her knowledge of over a thousand types of herbs, she didn't recognize it immediately.

This reminded her of the Scryl race, who loved cultivating strange plants and using them as weapons.

Surely the heightened security wasn't just about a few stolen books and a "mahjong tile"...

---

Meanwhile, at the palace of Mistblade Moon Emperor…

Three six-tailed moon foxes stood before the throne, reporting recent search efforts in all the major cities.

Soon after the books were stolen, a team was sent to the Frosttail Clan, where they found a two-month-old kit named Frost Embroiderer. They also investigated every Frosttail six-tailed fox and found no indication of any suspicious activity. All had verifiable alibis for that day.

Despite thorough tracking with every available scent, they hadn't found the fox anywhere in the major cities. The Scryls were assisting in the search, but thus far, nothing had turned up...

Mistblade Moon Emperor sat silently, listening with an impassive expression.

Once the reports concluded, she asked, "Has the potion been retrieved?"

The fox in the center held a bottle with both hands. "It's already been repurchased from the previous buyer."

Behind her, the misty form of the Emperor stirred, and with a flick of her tail, she pulled the potion closer, enveloping it in a gray cloud. A potion worth 200 gold pieces vanished, dissipating into the air as smoke.

Mistblade addressed the group, "Send a squad to Dark City and keep an eye on Apache."

She couldn't locate the audacious thief, but she knew only one fox in all of Lania Kaia would dare try to steal the Moon Fox's alchemy secrets—Apache, that foolish troublemaker! Who else would send someone to mock and taunt her?

And she had the gall to sell the rewarded potion for cash!

The Emperor suspected her stolen **Six Dots** was also the work of that thief.

"...Assign another squad to keep an eye on Lucia in Polar Day City. Don't interfere, just monitor any unfamiliar visitors who approach her," she said after a pause.

A moment later, she sighed and added, "The same for Taosu in Polar Night City, and Pinecone in Four Seasons City..."

As she went on, Mistblade rubbed her temples. There was just no end to it.

---

At Dark City's alchemy shop…

Apache was seated by the window reading, though the cover, *Falling in Love with Alchemy Just Like Falling in Love with You,* disguised the *Moonlight Elixirs: The Alchemist's Key,* Volume 18, beneath. She spotted a hint of a fox's tail around the street corner, smirking. She was far too cautious to make such rookie mistakes. The more tense things got, the less likely she'd go into seclusion—that would only give Mistblade the impression she'd gotten her hands on something valuable.

Still, she had no spare energy for lessons with Rita.

Just as she thought of her student, a figure in a hood appeared at the window. The hooded figure, an undead warlock, looked down at Apache's book. "Hey there, so you like this epic too?"

Apache checked the figure's name—[Rokwenra]. Experience new stories on empire

Apache: "...Get in here, now."

Rokwenra: "Sure."

Rita slipped into the shop and took a seat beside Apache. "Teacher, I've only got twenty minutes."

Apache handed her a notebook from under the table. "These are notes on ingredient prep for *Melting Time.* Go learn it yourself."

Self-study? Wasn't she getting one-on-one lessons before?

Rita gave her a strange look. "Teacher, I didn't expect us to drift apart this quickly."

Without missing a beat, Apache flipped a page. "Mistblade will have people watching me. If you're not afraid, come as much as you like."

Rita accepted the notebook and stood up. "Teacher, I have other things to do, so I'll go now."

Apache chuckled, repeating, "Didn't expect our bond to fade so quickly."

Rita: "See, now you're getting all emotional."

Apache: ?

Rita was promptly smacked out of the shop with a bottle.

She then headed to the auction house to search for any available S-rank skills, but finding none, she left. Using a portal, she returned to Yaslan City, activated *Invisibility*, and phased directly to the volcano crater on Blue Star.

Though it was a hassle, *Phantom Shift* made it bearable. It used to take only three minutes to reach the alchemy shop, but now it required an eight-minute detour, and the travel cost was 5 gold.

But for Rita, it was worth it; despite the hassle, the volcano gave her far more peace of mind.