This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

If the white food tent represented the oasis restaurant, then the blue food tent was like an ice restaurant.

Inside, the tables and chairs were carved from ice, and there were ice columns with hanging ice lamps. There were two stalls, and behind them sat players on ice stools, with their ice tables full of items. The stall owners and other players inside the restaurant were now all sizing up BS-Rita.

Just like the oasis restaurant, every player in this restaurant was of a different race, and every customer had a different form. This wasn't that surprising, considering that the World Battlefield had countless races, and although players of a single race like Rita might be rare, it wasn't unusual for races to have a player or two involved in any given Divine Game.

It was rare, however, that players of the same race all participated in the same Divine Game.

Take the Moon Foxes for example. Out of the nine great Moon Emperors, only four showed up for this game. It was even more improbable for them to all meet in the same restaurant.

Just then, there was movement behind Rita. A player had entered, and Rita immediately recognized him: Ghost·Sang Cup, a 16th-level Demon King from the Ghost World, belonging to the Needle Drop Tribe.

The Needle Drop Tribe had a similar appearance and body structure to the human race, or rather, many races in the World Battlefield resembled humans to some degree, with only slight differences in details. For example, Lania Kaia's 12th Alien Tribe races all had similar bodily structures to humans, despite their other distinct traits. The same could be said for the Needle Drop Tribe, whose standout feature was their dark green hair, which stood upright like pine needles.

After entering the restaurant, Ghost·Sang Cup didn't immediately take any action. He didn't attack Rita, nor did he use any binding or mental skills to drag her out of the restaurant. In fact, like Rita, he didn't speak a word.

The restaurant on the ice was eerily quiet.

Ghost·Sang Cup made no attempt to greet Rita, but she had other plans.

Rita used [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] several times on herself, consuming the overflow of health gained from the food, to prevent wasting it.

Ghost·Sang Cup noticed Rita's actions. Although he couldn't see her skill icons, he had a pretty good guess about what was going on. His face turned the same shade of green as his hair, and out of sheer frustration and disbelief, he even laughed a bit. Then, without further ado, he jogged into the restaurant.

When he left, Rita didn't stand still to observe or wait for an opportunity to steal. That would be too risky. Instead, she made her way toward a player she had her eye on. She sat beside him, not speaking, but simply staring at him.

She knew this player: Emerald Crane·Gale, a 14th-level Abyss player from the Lost Tribe. Nivalis had mentioned his gossip.

Apparently, Emerald Crane·Gale's divine talent was related to forging, and many players had asked him to help modify their weapons. Pine Bloom's hammer was one such example.

His reputation was decent; so far, no one had complained about him not being trustworthy or sabotaging their weapons.

At that moment, a menu was slapped down in front of her.

Rita looked at the player standing at the table, a member of the Mung Bean Tribe. She pointed at the other customer next to her and mimed, "I'm with him."

Emerald Crane·Gale:

...

Mung Bean Tribe:

...

Even Ghost·Sang Cup, who had been quietly watching Rita from the stall, went silent.

Seeing Emerald Crane·Gale and Mung Bean Tribe both look at her like she was an idiot, Rita sighed, realizing she had to give a little now.

By "give," she didn't mean to offer something. She started using [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] on Emerald Crane·Gale, making sure to raise her arm high so he could clearly see the skill in use.

Players who didn't have access to the full range of information might not understand her, but Emerald Crane·Gale, a player who dared to conduct forging business on the World Battlefield, surely knew better. He would have gathered all sorts of information and wouldn't be unaware of what Rita could do.

If he had enough intel, he would know Rita possessed Thief skills.

At that moment, Rita wasn't afraid of others knowing; she was afraid of them not realizing what she was capable of.

The only uncertainty with Emerald Crane·Gale was that he was just a customer, not a stall owner or chef, and as a result, this move might not work as expected.

While Rita was considering her next target, she noticed Emerald Crane·Gale's expression. His scalp seemed to nearly explode. Of course, he knew BS-Rita.

With a mix of helplessness and fury, he pulled out a piece of paper and a quill, attempting to stop Rita's actions with one hand while writing hastily: "Stop! What do you want?"

He handed her the paper.

Rita stopped.

She had chosen Emerald Crane·Gale as her target because she knew the Lost Tribe's language.

After reading the paper, she felt a bit regretful, as she had already planned on turning on him after gaining what she wanted.

She didn't use Emerald Crane·Gale's pen, instead taking a piece of animal skin from her backpack and using a chopstick dipped in animal blood to write down the most urgent questions:

"Should I order now?"

"How do I order?"

"What's the highest rule here?"

Emerald Crane·Gale answered:

"At least three dishes, the highest rule is 'Don't talk.'"

Rita's eyes flashed. She sensed a trap.

Earlier, Emerald Crane·Gale had written hastily, but he hadn't made a sound. He was too cautious, afraid the pen's tip would make a noise as it scratched across the paper.

Rita didn't reveal that she had noticed this, and instead asked:

"Are there any 'low-quality ingredients' on the menu? Which dishes shouldn't I order?"

Emerald Crane·Gale wrote:

"I'm sorry I threatened you earlier. I'll pay currency for your information. You can name your price."

The second sentence made Emerald Crane·Gale's expression soften considerably.

No one liked to be threatened.

He wrote:

"500◆ per piece of information."

After seeing the price, Rita raised her arm again, signaling that she would continue with the threat.

Emerald Crane·Gale: "..."

Rita didn't push him further. She looked at the dishes in front of the other four customers, most of them ordering 3–5 dishes.

She scanned the menu thoroughly, noting down the dishes ordered by all the customers in the restaurant, from the types of dishes to the prices, running them through her mind.

Then she ordered a juice and two desserts.

The total price was roughly equal to the average of what the five customers had ordered.

As for why she chose juice and desserts—it was because she knew the recipes for these dishes, and since they were based entirely on fruits and vegetables, they theoretically wouldn't require the use of the "low-quality ingredients" players turned into.

The other customers' dishes were all similar: either all spicy, all meat, or all vegetarian. Whether it was a coincidence or not didn't matter to Rita.

After placing her order, she handed the menu back to Mung Bean Tribe, then wrote down a new question:

"Do I pay for the meal upfront or afterward?"

Emerald Crane·Gale didn't want to answer.

Rita raised her small arm, gently brushing her skill keys.

Emerald Crane·Gale reluctantly wrote:

"Pay upfront."

As Rita counted the money, B8017913 asked in her mind: "You and Nivalis didn't say this. She said you used to always be afraid of offending people."

Rita explained: "It's like when it's just rained, and I'm dry all over. I'm cautious because I don't want to get wet, but now that I'm soaked through, why should I hide from the rain? 913, you've come at the perfect time!!"

B8017913: "?"

Is that how "perfect timing" works?!