This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

In less than a year, Maple Syrup, who was already ranked in the top three of the leaderboard, managed to pull all three of her daughters into the top 100, with impressive combat abilities. Even the "weakest" of them, Maple Burn, was now exceptional at surviving and dodging skills.

Those Oak Owls who had left Maple Syrup before now wanted to return. Many were attempting to join Maple Syrup's team again. Coincidentally, Maple Syrup received another Legion Commander's Seal and decided to create a new legion, naming it "Afternoon Tea."

She quickly added her three daughters to the legion and accepted all Oak Owls' requests to join. Even those who had criticized her previously were welcomed back into the fold. However, every time an Oak Owl joined, Maple Syrup would make it clear that Maple Burn's resurrection skill would not be used on anyone except Maple Syrup herself.

Despite this, Maple Syrup's strength continued to draw Oak Owls to follow her.

One evening, while the four of them were having dinner together, Maple Cang asked curiously, "Aren't you angry with them? They spoke badly about you, saying you were heartless and cold-blooded, not fit to be a leader."

Maple Mu continued eating as usual, while Rita immediately adjusted her expression, looking at Maple Syrup with innocent curiosity.

Maple Syrup patiently taught her daughter, "No one wants to follow an Oak Owl who holds grudges, is petty, or narrow-minded. Sometimes, if you're too unwilling to make sacrifices, you'll lose even more. I can't just rely on my strength to gain their trust. That would be too arrogant and only make them fear me."

She smiled as she put some green chili, which Maple Cang hated, into her bowl. "Right now, I need them, so I have to feed them something sweet. But once I have all the power, I'll make them eat something spicy—even if they don't like it, they'll have to swallow it with a smile."

She then placed the green chili into Maple Burn's bowl, as the little owl loved it. "Do you understand?"

Rita nodded, understanding the lesson. "I get it! To harvest the fruit, you first need to water and fertilize it. When it's grown, you can prune the branches you don't like."

Maple Syrup patted Maple Burn's head. "I knew Maple Burn was smart, she just prefers to keep a low profile."

Maple Mu rolled her eyes from across the table. Rita immediately pointed at her. "Mom! She rolled her eyes at me!"

Maple Syrup replied, "Then you should roll your eyes back at her."

Rita thought about it but remembered what Maple Cang once said: "Maple Mu likes to make Maple Burn angry, but Maple Burn never fights back. When they were younger, I thought Maple Mu didn't like her younger sister, but as they grew older, I realized that Maple Mu loves Maple Burn too much. She probably enjoys seeing Maple Burn sulk because it's so cute."

Maple Mu smiled and looked at Maple Burn, waiting for her to roll her eyes back. In the battle between anger and submissiveness, Rita chose to maintain her image of being the one who sulks.

She took a deep breath, ignoring Maple Mu, and began to eat. Maple Syrup and Maple Cang both laughed at the scene.

After the legion was established, Maple Syrup's influence grew rapidly. Compared to other legion leaders, she was strict, but generous. She wasn't the type to eat all the meat and leave only the bones for others. Maple Syrup's "Afternoon Tea" soon became just as strong as Pine Bloom's "Rosewood" and Peach Crown's "Crown." Together, the three legions controlled 50% of the resources and talents of the Forest Sea.

Meanwhile, Maple Mu quickly rose to prominence within "Afternoon Tea," and her reputation was only second to Maple Syrup's.

Unlike Maple Syrup, Maple Mu wasn't unbeatable in battle, but her combat talent was as extraordinary as described in the books. Rita compared her abilities and realized that she was probably a 60-40 split between Maple Mu and herself, with Maple Mu having the 40.

This wasn't self-praise; rather, it was an expression of admiration for Maple Mu's talent. After all, Rita had been training for nearly 300 years in Tower combat. Even if you subtract the time she spent on cooking and alchemy, she had at least 70 years of battlefield experience.

But how long had Maple Mu been fighting? How old was she? How long had she been battling?

Despite that, Maple Mu was already an exceptional leader in every way. No matter the dungeon or the battle, she fought until the very last moment and was always the last one to retreat in a crisis.

She might not shine as brightly as Maple Syrup, who was like the brightest star in the Forest Sea, but in many ways, she resembled Maple Syrup. Her every word and action reflected her effort to learn from her mother.

However, Rita noticed that Maple Mu's life goal didn't seem to be about achieving great feats; rather, it was to never bring shame to Maple Syrup. The Oak Owls' following and worship didn't compare to a single compliment from Maple Syrup.

Maple Syrup's ideals were her ideals. Whatever Maple Syrup wanted, she would alter her plans to obtain it as quickly as possible. If Maple Syrup wanted to kill an Oak Owl, even if Maple Mu had fought beside them the day before, she would not hesitate to eliminate them.

During the Hazelnut Festival of 7196 in the Ruin Core year, Maple Syrup stayed in her cabin with her daughters. After dinner, she took out nine tiles of a game that Rita was very familiar with. Among them was the "tongzi" tile, but unlike the ones Rita knew, these had fish tails instead of acorns.

Maple Syrup explained what these tiles were, what functions they had, and their features. She also mentioned that she would soon be heading to the world battlefield but wasn't sure if she would return.

She then took out three 30-slot game bags made by Maple Mu and began pulling out equipment, items, and coins, introducing them one by one before placing them in the bags.

"These are the fruits of my labor over the years, my love as a mother. I will divide them equally among you. No matter how talented you are, whether you are brave, gentle, or loyal only to family, or whether you have my personality or not, I love you all."

She then pushed the three bags toward Maple Mu, Maple Cang, and Maple Burn, respectively. "And 'Afternoon Tea' is my responsibility as the leader of the Maple lineage. I can only pass it on to the daughter best suited to be the leader. Maple Cang, Maple Burn, do you understand my intentions? I promise, this is the first and last time I will show favoritism."

"If I don't come back, 'Afternoon Tea' will be passed on to Maple Mu."

Maple Cang and Rita had no objections. The former was naturally gentle and had no interest in power, though this didn't mean she wasn't clever. Within "Afternoon Tea," her role was more about research and creating jewelry, as long as Maple Syrup could find the materials. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

As for Rita, most of the time she fought alongside Maple Mu in dungeons, and her nature was not inclined toward scheming or managing.@@novelbin@@