This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Nivalis nodded as if she understood, then curiously asked, "So what happened after that? Did she teach you anything else?"

Rita replied, "After that, I didn't see her for more than ten years because she said she felt embarrassed to come back. She told me that since she chose to live for her own happiness and let go of traditional responsibilities, she shouldn't come back and meddle in my life."

A light seemed to go on in Nivalis's head, and she exclaimed with sparkling eyes, "Oh! So, is it like how elder dragons in the nest push their young ones away while secretly hoping they grow strong quickly? Is it one of those 'say one thing, mean another' situations?"

"Not at all." Rita crushed Nivalis's fantasy without hesitation. "She's not the type to say one thing and mean another. If she says it, she means it."

Young Rita hadn't understood this, but as she grew older, she began to understand Eleanor's mindset more and more — if she didn't raise or take care of me, she had no right to act as an elder and judge my actions.

In a way, they shared the same stubborn streak.

Rita knew Eleanor had never remarried; she had always known. Adults might underestimate the connections kids could make, but Rita had her own ways. A quick call to some friends in B City or the neighborhood grannies could get her the scoop, paid for with a bit of pocket money.
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Of course, she didn't actually care whether her grandmother had found herself a new husband. That was Eleanor's business, not hers. But she couldn't help being curious. If her grandmother had split from her father over finding a new companion, why hadn't she remarried and reunited the family?

"Yeah, why not?" Nivalis asked.

Years later, Rita could finally answer that question: "Because she didn't care about Samuel."

Nivalis continued, "So… does that mean she didn't care about you, either?"

Rita sighed, "I don't know. It's hard to say… I'm not sure. All I know is she never allowed herself to be wronged."

And there was nothing wrong with that.

Even if Eleanor had spent less than an hour with her, that one colorful hour left a bigger mark than all the teaching Samuel had tried to give her during her upbringing.

It was unclear whether it was a survival instinct that kept her from following Samuel's misguided orders or Eleanor's influence.

As long as she remembered Eleanor's name, she would remember that conversation in the shade of the tree.

After finally getting home at 2 a.m., Rita threw the cat nest, which she had hidden while chasing PhantomDancer, back into the backyard. After changing her clothes, she disguised herself as an old lady and headed out to where Brooks was working his night shift.

She had figured out that people who got involved in shady business typically worked at night while keeping a respectable facade during the day.

This time, Rita went straight to Brooks and exchanged gold coins for five **[We're Not Familiar, but That's Okay]** skill stones, and she also bought some intel on Ezra. Unfortunately, by the time she could act on it, it was too late — while she was busy sending her "gift" to the Taylor family, Ezra and Aaron had already run off.

Rita had to put that matter aside for now. She asked Brooks to notify Special Affairs Bureau about a level-12 moon fox that had escaped the dungeon, earning herself some merit points, and Brooks didn't even charge her for it.

As she left, Rita reminded him, "Be careful who you sell skills to in the future. Try not to sell to unfamiliar people; it could come back to bite you."

Brooks looked like he wanted to take back the five skill stones he had just given her. Seriously, lady! We're not exactly friends, and you just sounded like a serial killer leaving a calling card! But before he could fully process it, the old lady had sprinted away like she was in an Olympic race.

With the skill stones in hand, Rita headed home and went straight to the bathroom. Taking out **Wrathful Moon**, she used **[Walk Through Time and Space]** to return to the morning of the 15th. She left a **[We're Not Familiar, but That's Okay]** skill stone by the bathroom sink and canceled the skill, returning to her present time. The entire trip took only a few seconds, so it was no wonder her past self hadn't noticed anything unusual that day.

She didn't have much time left on her disguise, so she needed to make every second count. There was still one important task she had to complete tonight.

Four days had passed since the Black Jade incident, and the initial tension had subsided. Rita summoned several undead spiders, and while her disguise was still active, she activated **Invisibility** and **Phantom Shift** to deliver them to the Lopez family.

Although she could have asked Shadow.Q or Rick for Black Jade's location, she had Nivalis test it out, and even the smallest of spiders had a detectable scent once it entered Nivalis's territory.

It was likely an instinct or innate talent of these creatures.

Rita didn't want to risk whether Black Jade shared that talent, so she decided to observe the Lopez family instead. Since her vision of the future had shown Rick still working with them, keeping tabs on their activities should provide plenty of insight.

Unfortunately, the Lopez estate was surrounded by a **[Veil Screen]**, so her little spiders could only linger at the perimeter.

She placed three spiders labeled **"Rick's Fiery Little Pets"** on the estate's iron gate, waiting for the right moment for an important Lopez family member to leave for a dungeon, so they could hitch a ride.

Swapping skill stones, delivering a stone to the past, finding and killing spiders (while keeping them intact), renaming them while giggling to herself, and sending the little spiders on their mission to the Lopez family…

Ever since she returned home, Rita had been bustling around with a head of gray hair, sometimes donning a helmet and changing outfits.

Meanwhile, Nivalis sat on the couch, sipping juice and snacking. Each time Rita passed by, she would pause to stare at her with a very peculiar expression.

Finally, around 3 a.m., Rita finished everything. Her disguise skill wore off just as she plopped down on the couch, her appearance returning to normal. She grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge, opened it, and took a long, relieved sip.

She was exhausted. Rita let out a long sigh.

At the exact same time, Nivalis also let out a long sigh.

Rita raised an eyebrow. "What's with you?"

Nivalis slumped over on the couch, wiping her imaginary brow with her tiny paws, and said, "Finally done! That really wore me out."

Rita: "…"