This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

After just an hour, Rita had a clear idea of how to brew a low-cost version of [Melting Time]. What amazed her was that Lucia hadn't directly handed her the solution—she had skillfully guided Rita to figure it out on her own.

More importantly, Lucia—a legendary alchemist—had even complimented her efforts!

Pre-lesson Rita: "I'm just here to deliver something, don't try to involve me in anything else."

Post-lesson Rita: "Hello, Lucia, I came to Lania Kaia just to meet you!"

Rita smiled, thanked Lucia, and prepared to leave.

Lucia chuckled. "Still pretending you don't know what I want?"

With a sigh, Rita sat back down. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

"What do you want me to do? Could you tell me first?"

Lucia took out a potion bottle filled with swirling silver mist. "This tells me you've been exposed to moonlight."

Rita scratched the back of her bovine head with a sheepish smile. "Haha, this is Eternal Night Fortress. Moonlight is everywhere. What do you mean?"

She refrained from putting her pocket watch, containing the [Wrathful Moon], into her bag. Keeping things steady was the best approach for now.

Lucia stowed the silver potion and instead placed a cobalt blue potion in front of Rita. "This is a gift, a reward for not wasting your talent."

Rita internally groaned. Stop being so charismatic!

She silently picked up the potion.

[Gold-Class Assassin]:

- For one natural day, your charm will be set to 5.

- All creatures will be unable to perceive your true charm and will instinctively overlook you.

- Within 1 minute, they will forget your appearance.

Rita pushed the potion back. "I really don't know what moonlight you're talking about," she said, pointing at the glowing moon overhead. "From my perspective, there's moonlight everywhere."

Lucia showed no irritation, only smiling as she pushed the potion back toward Rita. She then shifted the topic.

"The theft at the Moonfox City Library… Hecipah sent you to do it, didn't she? Mistblade came to me recently, issuing orders across all territories to keep an eye on suspicious individuals with maxed-out charm stats."

Before Rita could deny it, Lucia smoothly changed the subject again. "If you can evade Mistblade's pursuit, then I'm sure you can escape Peach's grasp."

Rita blinked. Peach?

She nearly burst into laughter. Was Lucia referring to the oak owl royalty—Peach, one of the three ruling families alongside Maple and Pine?

Her expression twisted with disbelief as she closed her eyes, unable to bear hearing any more. She'd known that whenever important figures sought her out, trouble was inevitable.

Lucia reached out to gently pry Rita's eyes open, forcing her to listen. "He is the oak owl royal responsible for guarding Moon Sand. Most of the time, he resides at the top of the tallest tower in Eternal Night Fortress. See the clock hanging from the highest branch? The three hands of the clock are filled with moon sand.

"If you can figure out how to get me 50 grams of moon sand, I'll teach you how to brew [Gold-Class Assassin]. For every 100 grams of moon sand, I'll teach you one of my custom potion or gemstone recipes, any below the epic grade."

These two... Rita thought. Hecipah and Lucia really have a knack for provoking royalty, don't they? And they always rope me into it!

While the rewards were tempting, Rita wasn't sold. She could find items or skills to resolve her charm issues. Plus, it wasn't as dangerous as Mistblade's pheromone obsession. She didn't believe maxed-out charm was that rare among Lania Kaia's diverse races.

As for the custom recipes… she was tempted, but she was realistic about her current skill level. She was still struggling with high-grade potions. There was no need to rush into legendary-grade work. Lucia's enticing promise of rewards didn't sway her.

With a goofy grin, Rita switched to her most theatrical performance, pretending to be a dimwit. "Peach cookies are so tasty! I love peach cookies!"

Lucia: … How did Hecipah resist slapping this student?

Still, she couldn't help but admire the kid's slippery demeanor. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Lucia sighed. "I only mentioned the rewards. I haven't discussed payment yet.

"Whether you succeed or not, I'll pay you 50 bottles of [Gold-Class Assassin] upfront, simply for agreeing to help. I don't have much useful intel, so I'm giving you a year to try. All I ask is that you make three serious attempts. You don't have to succeed, just try your best.

"If you agree to this, we can settle it with an oath, and I'll give you the rewards immediately."

Rita's demeanor shifted. Her eyes sharpened, brimming with interest.

For someone with a resurrection skill, the task's lenient terms were hard to resist. Lucia didn't demand success, only effort. But Rita still had reservations…

Lucia took out a round gemstone and handed it to Rita. "I know you don't want to share your real name with me. This is an Oath Stone. Make your promise to it. The penalty for breaking the oath is returning the rewards. If you've already used them, you can repay the equivalent value in gold coins."

Rita marveled at how thoroughly Lucia addressed her concerns. Lucia was clever, accommodating, and kind.

But admiration and goodwill didn't dull Rita's caution. She inspected the stone with detection skills, then briefly listed it on the auction house to verify its description. Only after confirming its legitimacy did she swear her oath.

In a game-like world, swearing oaths was as routine as signing contracts.

After the agreement was finalized and she received her rewards, Rita asked out of curiosity, "Do you want moon sand because it contains moonlight? Is it for crafting moonfox-exclusive potions?"

Her deduction wasn't hard to make. From the unfinished potion Lucia had shown her, it was clear she was already experimenting with moonlight alchemy. Perhaps Hecipah's fascination with moonfox alchemy had originated with Lucia.

"Yes," Lucia confirmed, pulling out a fingernail-sized transparent container. Inside was a small amount of silvery sand, beautiful and mysterious, like a tiny scoop of the galaxy sealed away.

"This is what 1 gram of moon sand looks like," she explained, holding it out to Rita. "Take a look."

Rita reached out to accept it.

Just as her hand neared, Lucia pulled the container back, her expression turning serious.

"You're right. I'd better hold onto it myself."

Rita: ???