This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

That morning, Rick and Zoey were the first to arrive at the Wilson family villa. Rick even hinted to Samuel about asking Rita to give him the dragon. Samuel found it amusing and a little ridiculous—sure, maybe Rick could ask for money, but a dragon?

Samuel was very clear on this: if he ever had a dragon, it would go to his grave with him, not be given away, let alone sold. Asking for it? Absurd! That's the kind of request that could ruin relationships.

All Samuel said was, "You do know how stingy your sister is, right?" effectively shutting Rick down.

Rick had nothing to say in response. In the past, when they schemed to get money from Rita, they had to take a roundabout route. Asking for a dragon? Unless they killed Rita, but even then, he couldn't beat a level 14 dragon anyway.

The day before, Rick had constantly bombarded Rita with private messages asking how she managed to get the dragon. First, she said it was luck. Then, she mentioned some fortuitous event. By the third time, Rita responded, "Maybe I'm just a lucky charm, huh?"

Rick was left speechless.

That morning when Rick entered the villa, Rita noticed her trust level with him had dropped to 83. She didn't need to ask; it was clearly because she hadn't told him the exact details of how she got the dragon.

But Rita didn't care. 83 was still manageable, and that was enough for now.

The four of them chatted downstairs about the dragon for a while, but Rita quickly grew tired of answering all the questions. She then asked if they wanted to check out the rooftop dungeon. Since she had the morning slot, they could go in and play whenever they wanted.

Rick and Zoey had been curious about the self-serve vending machines that had become somewhat famous at Rita's place, so they put down their cups and headed upstairs.

Nivalis, feeling bored, flew off Rita's shoulder and returned downstairs to continue playing games and snacking.

Nivalis acted this way because the previous day, after Rita had brought her home, she had a very serious conversation with her, saying this place was her home now, and she could do whatever she wanted. Nivalis was the little mistress of the house.

Nivalis could sense that Rita was sincere, so now she felt free to do whatever she pleased.

However, to Rick and the others, it seemed like a confirmation that the dragon wouldn't fully listen to Rita.

Rita pretended not to notice their exchanged glances. She led them to the rooftop, where 10 vending machines stood. She busied herself restocking the machines. What made her vending machines special was the variety of rare items and fair pricing, matching the prices on the Lania Kaia auction.

Most people in the Special Affairs Bureau had been to Lania Kaia and knew the value of these goods.

Zoey and Rick lingered near the vending machine that Shadow.Q had set up, purchasing a few items. When they saw Rita's stock, Zoey directly asked, "Do you take custom orders?"

Rita replied, "Of course. What do you need?"

Most of the items she had listed were rare, highly crafted goods that she had selected specifically to hone her skills in alchemy, engineering, and cooking. If someone was willing to pay for her practice, why not take the job?

She pulled out a notebook and a customized order form, handing them to Zoey. "Here's a list of what I can make or source through my connections. It includes prices, delivery times, and maximum quantities. Just write down what you want and put it in the basket. If I can take the order, I'll email you. Then you can send me the deposit, and I'll ship everything when it's ready."

She pointed to the basket hanging by the door under a light fixture. It was already filled with folded papers. "That's how everyone places orders when they come here."

Zoey glanced at the basket, almost overflowing with orders. Once again, she regretted not getting closer to Rita before the game invasion.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Back then, Zoey hadn't thought much of Rita. Maybe it was that attitude that pushed Rita away.

She remembered how, after the second game beta test, Rita had not only shared the game's details with Rick but had even invited her to join in on the secret.

Now, Zoey deeply regretted her past indifference.

She used to treat Rita with indifference, but now she had to actively seek her favor.

What a reversal of fortune.

Even though she and Rick often criticized Rita behind her back, calling her stingy, selfish, and not caring about her family, deep down, they both knew the truth. When push came to shove, Rita would always protect her family. When Rick had crossed The Jones Family, wasn't it Rita who had stepped in to take the heat?

The ones who constantly doted on their brothers were called *brother-obsessed*, but Rita, who was usually absent yet showed up brilliantly at critical moments, deserved the title of *big sister*.

The more Zoey thought about it, the more she regretted.

Although getting the dragon might be out of the question for now, if the Lopez family ever found itself in trouble, it seemed possible to count on Rita to lend a hand.

With that thought, Zoey hoped the dragon would, in some way, listen to Rita's commands.

After spending the entire morning at Rita's, the group finally left.

Once they were gone, Rita planned to go back to sleep. She was utterly exhausted. The fight with Nivalis had lasted eight straight hours, during which she couldn't let her guard down for a second. Her mind had been on high alert the entire time. Even when Nivalis started to slip up out of tiredness, Rita couldn't afford to relax.

When Nivalis made a mistake, she'd get grazed, but if Rita lost focus, she could end up dead.

If Nivalis hadn't paused for a few meals along the way, Rita wasn't sure she could've made it.

Before sleeping, Rita disguised herself as a goblin and made a quick trip to a Lania Kaia restaurant, buying 10 gold coins' worth of food. She returned, cooked three gold coins' worth of meals, fed the dragon and the cats, then collapsed into bed without even checking the cat nests.

She slept straight through to the next day.

Upon waking, Rita felt a bit dazed. After such intense exhaustion followed by a full rest, she felt both refreshed and drained. She didn't get up immediately but instead opened the game system.

A whole day and night had passed, and yet her name was still trending in the chat channels.

After a quick browse of the game forums, finding no new useful information, she closed it.

There was still plenty to do today. She had to prepare a large quantity of food—after all, she now had a dragon to feed.

On top of that, she needed to attend her classes in Lania Kaia, go to training, and practice both alchemy and cooking.

Even though Rick and Zoey were now in a chaotic state, Rita wasn't about to slow down. Growing stronger had become second nature to her.

Before leaving, she asked Nivalis if she wanted to come along to Lania Kaia, but Nivalis was too engrossed in her games to be bothered, waving her off with a wing and saying she'd stay to guard the house.

Rita didn't push. Having someone at home to watch over things was even better. She wasn't worried about anyone trying to kill her dragon while she was gone.

It would take an army of players to even attempt it, and even then, she could sense Nivalis's status through their contract, allowing her to instantly summon the dragon back to the pet space if necessary.

Besides, Nivalis had her own teleportation and life-saving skills.

With SS-level *Ice Queen* abilities and terrifying stats, even if Nivalis didn't have great combat instincts, there was no way she'd get taken down easily. It had taken Rita eight hours to wear her down with full equipment, food, potions, and high-level skills.

Leaving Nivalis behind at the villa, Rita disguised herself again and headed off to Lania Kaia.

It wasn't that she was particularly passionate about alchemy—she just missed Apache. She wanted to chat with her... about literature... about books... about Lania Kaia's sun...

As she crawled under the bed, Rita had the nagging feeling she had forgotten something... someone... What was it she had said she'd do after the dragon fight?