This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1175: The One Above

Nivalis only went home after she’d had her fill of Dragon Island. The moment she stepped through the door, she saw Mistblade sitting on the sofa with three swords on her back.

Mistblade glanced past Nivalis and asked, "Where is she?"

Nivalis lifted her chin and adjusted an imaginary tie. "Do you have an appointment?"

"..." Mistblade’s hand lightly rested on her sword hilt. The more she thought about BS Rita’s pet, the more speechless she felt, and she couldn’t help but give Nivalis a crooked smile.

Nivalis clasped her hands and gave a small bow. "...Please wait a moment!"

With that, she vanished—clearly heading into the pet space to look for Rita.

When she returned from the pet space, Nivalis appeared instantly in the captain’s cabin.

The room was quiet and warm. The lantern hovered calmly above the desk. Four cats and a small robot crowded the not-so-small tabletop, yet by some tacit agreement they left ample space for the person who was intently writing.

Rita’s brows were lightly furrowed. Her shirt sleeves were rolled to her elbows, long hair spilling onto the desk and curling across the pages. Without looking up, she spoke softly as Nivalis arrived:

"You’re back?"

For a moment, Nivalis felt as though that Rita had returned.

Her expression was full of sighs and compassion, grief and quiet emotion—rather than the cold emptiness that followed endless mechanical battles.

A thought crossed Nivalis’s mind:

Rita really was more suited to Uncharted Star Sea.

Quiet Mountain was too perfect—no danger, no tragedy. And its demands of demon game players amounted to only one thing: strength.

How perfectly that aligned with Rita’s life goals.

Add QM Rita’s stimulation to that, and perhaps Rita had indeed been satisfied when she emerged from the demon game.

But it had been too cold.

No matter what Rita became, Nivalis would always stay by her side—but she still preferred the Rita in front of her now, wrapped in worries and sorrow.

Those moments when Rita struggled between reason and emotion were the most beautiful of all.

Only the Rita of Uncharted Star Sea swung like a pendulum between power and feeling.

She was never wholly rational, nor entirely emotional... and that made everyone who knew her feel an inexplicable anticipation and curiosity.

Nivalis answered irrelevantly, "Let’s never go to Quiet Mountain again, okay?"

The pen paused. Rita looked up at Nivalis in mild surprise.

Nivalis immediately changed the subject. "Mistblade’s looking for you. Super fierce. She even threatened me."

Only then did Rita notice the time. She had been writing for a full eighteen hours. Her gaze returned to the World Sigh.

She wrote the final sentence, placing a period on that world.

Then she drew the golden notebook into her brow and declared, "Curtain call."

The helm turned softly. Amid the disappointed meows of the cats, Rita vanished from the captain’s cabin.

Two seconds passed without Y128 being summoned by Adjudicator authority. The little robot immediately jumped onto Nivalis’s back.

"Take me with you!"

Nivalis snapped back, "First tell me—where did you learn that super disgusting line, ’Were you thinking of me too?’"

Y128 hesitated. "...The internet."

Nivalis: "Impossible. If it were online, Sea Pony and I would’ve learned it first."

Seeing Y128’s cube head start spinning wildly, Nivalis said, "Tell me. I promise I won’t tell anyone else."

Y128: "Uh... it was before, when you were busy taking BS everywhere. Pine Bloom passed by our door a lot. Once Lidian saw her and said that line."

Nivalis: "......"

Oh, really now. Acting all high and mighty in front of Holy Cup—look at her!

Curious despite herself, Nivalis asked, "What did Pine Bloom say then?"

Y128: "Y1130 zapped Pine Bloom once, and she blinked away."

Nivalis: "......" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Yeah. Pine Bloom’s home really was a bit crowded.

Rita’s place was crowded too—but her Rita balanced things perfectly.

The more Nivalis thought about it, the prouder she felt. She tucked Y128 under her arm and flew toward the world pier. With Y128 in tow, this was the only route.

Y128 nodded in satisfaction. "Since you kept your word, I’ll set aside our differences and warn you about something. A crisis is approaching you."

High above BS, Nivalis could already hear the cheers and screams of players on the ground when they spotted her. She tossed her head into the wind.

"I’m Her Dragon. What kind of crisis could I possibly have?"

Y128: "B80 is helping Dragon Island get online."

Nivalis: "???"

Y128: "Lidian gave every dragon a phone. Said it would help them understand BS—and understand your life in BS."

Cold sweat broke out.

The BS auction house was still listing Her Dragon dung and dragon tears. That was her biggest source of pocket money...

After a brief silence, Nivalis suddenly relaxed.

So what?! Worst case, she’d hide in Rita’s pet space forever. Was there anywhere in BS safer than that?

She imitated Mistblade’s deadpan elegance and smiled calmly. "It’s nothing. You just don’t understand what a great adventure Rita and I went through in Quiet Mountain. Dragon Island getting online is trivial."

Y128: "Oh."

In that case, B80 giving Nivalis’s mother a full set of Nivalis Handshake Coupons, Feed Nivalis Coupons, and other merch probably wasn’t a big deal either.

—

Meanwhile, Rita had completely forgotten to keep Y128 with her.

She placed a cup of coffee in front of Mistblade and sat across from her, legs crossed. A coin danced nimbly between her five fingers.

Rita went straight to the point. "What is it?"

Mistblade’s brow twitched slightly. She carefully studied BS Rita.

Her aura carried a softness and compassion entirely different from the Rita who had fought to the death in Quiet Mountain. Sighs were hidden between her brows.

It was like before Quiet Mountain.

But only like.

She had become far more forceful.

Not the domineering arrogance of one looking down from above—BS Rita showed no disrespect despite now being stronger. She had rushed over the moment she learned Mistblade had arrived. She even made the coffee herself.

What had changed was her stance toward matters.

An extremely subtle shift—her tone, her expression, her posture.

In the past, such a formal visit would have put doubt and caution in BS Rita’s eyes. She would have wondered whether some new trouble or problem had arisen.

But now—there was no worry at all. Not even suspicion.

Her mind was on things far more important.

Her strength meant she no longer needed to spend energy guessing every situation or analyzing every person. Whatever problem appeared, she could solve it.

And even if she couldn’t solve it immediately—so long as she wished, she could find an answer and a path forward.

A word surfaced in Mistblade’s mind:

The one above.