This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

This had nothing to do with her.

The only thing that stood out was the noble girl being conned—Sheera. Somehow, she had discovered Rita hiding in the building.

Sheera had never actually seen her, but she clearly sensed Rita's presence. Every day, she left a beautifully arranged meal in a corner of the attic.

At first, Rita thought Sheera was just feeding stray cats or dogs. But the next day, she left another meal—this time with a note: "Not a fan of salad? How about some lamb chops?"

Not only that, a cloak was added.

Rita didn't touch any of it.

She wasn't about to expose herself. If she ate the food or took the cloak, that would be admitting she was there. She wasn't stupid.

And she certainly never considered warning Sheera in return for her kindness.

Sure, Sheera might be a good person—but her kindness was cheap.

The thought struck Rita like a slap. For a split second, she panicked, horrified by her own coldness, as if she'd caught herself becoming one of the bad guys.

But then, the image of Lightchaser's cold gray-blue eyes surfaced in her mind.

Her panic faded.

She wasn't wrong.

Sheera's kindness cost her nothing but a bit of food. But accepting that kindness could cost Rita her cover.

If she even considered repaying that kindness by warning Sheera about Margot's trap, the price could be far worse.

Sheera was impulsive. She'd already gotten into several shouting matches with colleagues. If she found out Margot was scamming her, her first reaction would probably be to hunt down Rita and drag her out to confront Margot.

And in the face of real stakes, that shallow kindness wouldn't hold up.

After dozens of battles in the arena, Rita had learned to calculate every move based on whether the payoff was worth the risk.

During her time observing the people in this building, she'd also started to model their behavior and predict their decisions based on personality.

But it didn't end there.

As she gathered more intel, she learned that the skill being exchanged in the shady deal wasn't just any technique—it was one of the forbidden ones, banned from public markets. A disguise skill ranked no lower than S-class.

Such high-tier disguise skills were extremely difficult to counter. If someone used them to infiltrate a noble family, the damage could be catastrophic.

Even worse, the one being traded was allegedly SSS-tier.

Rita's heart skipped a beat.

The few skills Lightchaser had taught her were already top-notch. According to her, even if you maxed those out, they were still just S-rank.

SSS? That had to be ridiculous.

In reality, though, the skill Margot planned to sell Sheera was only SS-ranked.

Margot had used a temporary item to make it appear as SSS-level.

The exchange was set for tomorrow after work. Sheera's relatives would be picking her up—and handling payment and inspection. Margot was supposed to bring the scroll in.

Rita wasn't sure why they didn't just trade at home—something about Sheera's siblings?

Margot planned to learn the skill immediately.

She was also bringing family, probably to make sure she wasn't murdered on the spot.

Hiding in the chimney, Rita's heartbeat quickened.

This wasn't about whether she should warn Sheera anymore.

Now it was about how she could intercept the scroll first.

What? Was this theft? A crime?

Should she feel ashamed?

Rita clasped her hands together and looked up at the sky visible through the chimney.

"Dear heavens, if someone needs to be struck by lightning, please start with Lightchaser."

After all, everything she'd learned—the disregard for law and justice—she learned from that wicked elf.

Tonight, she was going to test the skill Temporal Stroll to prepare for her escape.

…

Day 20 of the Trial.

Rita had been tracking Margot ever since she'd started working at the office.

Unfortunately, even a brat like Fat Goose had space gear, so of course Margot did too. Help us out by reading on M|V|LEM5PYR.

Still, she couldn't afford to wait until the actual exchange.

Twenty-one days of arena combat had taught her well.

She'd learned that the perfect opportunity doesn't just show up—you create it.

Or better yet, you make any opportunity into the perfect one.

She waited patiently for a moment when Margot was alone.

She pressed her palm to the ship's helm tattoo on her left hand.

It was time to use No Logic—the skill she once thought was too expensive for its three-point Luck cost.

Was she lucky? Maybe.

She'd met two good friends during her days as a vagrant. And after that, she met a powerful teacher who changed everything.

Even though most of her time in this world had been pain and struggle, she'd once asked herself late at night: if given the choice, would she still follow Lightchaser again?

Yes. She would.

She'd rather fight in the arena, endure trial after trial, and deal with that elf's awful face and temper… than waste away in obscurity by the riverside under the bridge.

She considered herself lucky.

Three points of Luck for a skill? She could afford that.

And in seven days, it would regenerate—assuming the Starsea's days aligned with this world's.

The moment Margot shut herself into her private lounge, Rita whispered under her breath:

"The skill scroll should be next to the boots she just took off."

The sound of crashing waves echoed from around the corner. A shimmering Deep Blue Helm appeared in front of her.

Even though she expected the flashy effect, it still startled her.

Panicking, Rita frantically waved at the illusion, trying to disperse it before it drew attention.

Luckily, Margot didn't come out.

Ten seconds passed.

Rita activated the Stealth skill on her earring and stepped out from the corner, invisible.

She slipped into Margot's private lounge without a sound.

Every employee in this building had their own rest quarters—complete with private bath, vanity, toilet, and bed. A tiny studio, basically.

There was no chance anyone else would just walk in. Nobles were annoying, but their sense of personal boundaries? Surprisingly comforting.

Bending down, she picked up the three scrolls placed neatly beside Margot's enchanted boots, then left without looking back.

Back at Hideout 15, she finally checked their names.

Not Real ID, Wait, I Can Still Be Healed, and Stun.

An SSS-tier disguise skill, an A-tier healing spell, and an A-tier melee control skill.

She wasn't a newbie anymore. She hadn't awakened her mana yet, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn and use skills.

Just like magical items, as long as a skill didn't require mana, she could use it.

Only the first and third scrolls could be opened.

She stored the healing scroll for later, then instantly learned the other two.

The disguise skill revealed its real description upon activation:

Not Real ID (SS): Allows the user to disguise themselves as any being they have been in contact with for over 24 hours. Duration: 2 hours. If no suspicion is raised during that time, the skill's duration is immediately refreshed. During disguise, all detection skills below SSS-tier are nullified. Each use consumes 5% of user's max HP. Cooldown: 4 hours.

Stun (A): Strike a target to inflict a 50% chance of stun for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.