This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

At this moment, all players had returned to their respective restaurants.

Pine Bloom placed a selection of her favorite fast-food dishes on the cashier counter.

Beside her was a menu handwritten by Rita, though prices had yet to be set.

At least, there were no official prices for their team.

Marmang-Crab, having spent the longest time in the World Battlefield, had seen countless cosmic beings and even bought food in similar games before.

But with so many different currencies in the universe, even he couldn't set prices accurately.

As Rita prepared drinks, she silently asked B80234615:

"Even you can't determine prices?"

B80234615: "Nope. Every cosmic species has its own currency. And more than that, they have different personalities."

"In this game, the difficulty of the [Cashier] role lies in negotiating with customers, trying to obtain currency equivalent to the food's value, and ensuring the restaurant doesn't go bankrupt—or at least has enough funds to buy more ingredients."

The [Chef] role was challenging because it required handling unfamiliar ingredients and turning them into high-quality dishes.

So far, Rita hadn't wasted a single ingredient.

If she hadn't had B80234615's assistance, she would've burned through their stock, leaving the restaurant unable to afford a second restock—getting stuck right at the start.

This wasn't just a theory—just before opening, several waves of players had tried to steal her finished dishes.

Marmang-Crab and the others had worked together to drive them off.

But then, what were the challenges for the [Cleaner] and [Supplier] roles?

Rita glanced at Pine Bloom, who was calmly reading the menu at the register.

She didn't look the slightest bit nervous.

[Pine Bloom – Stage 15 – 100%┃100%┃Mind Like Still Water┃Taboo: To Be Forgotten by the World┃Weakness: None]

No weaknesses?

That was impossible.

Suddenly, B80234615's voice rang in her mind:

"You're focusing on her too much."

Rita's heart skipped a beat.

She was right.

When had she ever paid this much attention to a non-human player?

Marmang-Crab and Black SpringMud Bears were also right there, so why was she constantly watching Pine Bloom?

She subtly glanced at Marmang-Crab and Black SpringMud Bears—both were minding their own business, focused on the shadows shifting in the starry sky.

Rita: "Something's off. Haven't you broken through her disguise yet?"

B80234615: "Nope. That other mechanical race chip isn't weaker than me."

Rita: "Didn't you say you were special?"

B80234615: "Oh, that place? Gods visit there all the time."

Rita: "...You're telling me gods are just hanging out with mechanical race chips for fun?!"

—

The customers finally arrived.

Rita's restaurant was farther inside the food street, and when she had scouted earlier, she couldn't even see the street's end.

But fortunately, customers weren't starting from the entrance—they seemed to have their own selection criteria.

A customer shrouded in mist landed at their restaurant's entrance.

Rita, Marmang-Crab, and Black SpringMud Bears instinctively took a few steps forward, watching as Pine Bloom faced off with the customer.

Pine Bloom pushed forward several samples, saying nothing about the price.

Instead, she casually picked up a piece of fruit jerky Rita had enchanted and took a bite herself.

The mist-covered customer extended a hooked appendage, grabbed a piece of grilled meat, and dragged it into the mist.

A disgusting chewing sound followed—yet Rita inexplicably felt a wave of satisfaction.

It wasn't her own emotion.

The customer finished the samples, then silently turned to leave.

THUD.

A massive white warhammer, almost as tall as Rita herself, slammed into the ground in front of the customer, blocking its path.

The hammer's intricate magic inscriptions glowed with a soft green light.

Pine Bloom spoke a strange-sounding word.

B80234615 immediately translated:

"Ancient Mist Language. It means 'Pay up.'"

Marmang-Crab and Black SpringMud Bears rushed over, standing at the entrance like a pair of debt collectors.

They weren't the only ones dealing with dine-and-dashers—other restaurants had similar problems.

B80234615: "Aren't you going to help?"

Rita: "…What am I supposed to do? Deliver the check?"

Despite her words, she still stepped forward.

They were a team, and she needed to show some presence.

Rolling up her sleeves, she stood behind Pine Bloom, effectively shielding the beautiful Owl Empress from view.

B80234615: "Sigh."

Rita: "Nope. Not listening. I've decided I don't like your commentary anymore!"

B80234615: "Alright, alright."

Pine Bloom neither turned around nor told her to leave.

She didn't even seem annoyed—in fact, her wings slightly spread, shielding Rita completely.

Rita: "..."

Lidian, maybe I can't blame you for everything…

If Maple Syrup or Mistblade were here, they would have ignored her at best—or charged her for "protection fees" afterward.

But Pine Bloom…

Even surrounded by teammates, the misty customer remained calm, speaking in rapid, unintelligible speech.

The moment it finished talking—

Rita's game rule triggered.

B80234615: "It said the food was bad."

Rita tried to confirm:

"I have a rule that says customers can't give my food a bad rating?"

Correct.

Her Rule #4 lit up.

A terrible rule.

No chef could satisfy every customer's taste.

Some rules were impossible to avoid, even when she knew about them.

For example:

[Rule 26: At least 100 dishes must be washed per hour.]

She had already given up on this one.

She had tested washing one dish earlier, and Marmang-Crab's Mischief Score had instantly dropped by 1.

If she washed 100 dishes, his score would hit zero.

If she actually did that, she would completely alienate the team's strongest player.

A bit of point-leeching was fine—Marmang-Crab wouldn't be petty about it.

But if she drained 100 points, that would be pushing it too far.

She could afford to take one penalty per hour.

—

Meanwhile, Pine Bloom continued negotiating in Ancient Mist Language.

She spoke slowly, and Rita suspected she was repeating whatever her mechanical race chip was feeding her.

When it became clear that negotiations were failing, Pine Bloom prepared to let the customer go.

She wasn't willing to take the risk of attacking first—not without knowing the consequences.

Just like with the Mischief Score, she had sent Marmang-Crab to test the waters first.

But then—

Several players a few restaurants away killed a customer.

All nearby players turned to watch.

The moment the customer died, it dropped a pile of strange currency—and the players gained additional benefits!

Rita couldn't see the exact rewards, but Pine Bloom did.

Without hesitation, she lifted her warhammer and swung it down on the misty figure.

Marmang-Crab and Black SpringMud Bears joined in instantly.

Rita stayed put.

She knew she wouldn't be able to steal the kill—so it was better to observe.

Within seconds, the misty customer was obliterated.

But just as it dispersed, Pine Bloom visibly stiffened for a brief moment.