This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1198: Divine Game, Divine Instruction 12

Where do the gods live? As she walked through the air, the answer naturally came to mind—Starsea.

Like fireflies, fragmented stars floated in the sky, glowing even in the early morning. Last night, while they waited by the window for their toys to give them haircuts and skincare treatments, they had witnessed the phenomenon Foolishness had referred to as the "turning of Starsea."

As evening came, these fragmented stars gathered into a river, swirling and rushing in the dark blue night sky. The stars would rush towards the homes of every god, swirling around them, sometimes transforming into butterfly wings, vines, candle flames, or fox tails, adorning the gods’ islands.

It was a breathtaking and artistic scene. Even as they ran back to the classroom, the five of them couldn’t help but discuss their feelings. When they returned, they immediately opened all the windows in the classroom.

The toy palace and the cloud palace flower island were not very far apart. Even though their current attribute averages had been suppressed to just 1000, they could reach it in half an hour of flying.

During their journey, Foolishness’s flying balls still hovered around them, occasionally launching surprise attacks. Rita adjusted the glasses on her face. These toys were called [Foolishness Glasses V]... At least half of the toys in the palace were named after [Foolishness], like a brand name.

In comparison, the wind flute, called [The Rain in the Wind], felt like an anomaly. Rita wasn’t sure if Foolishness had just come up with the name on the spot or if she had heard the voice of a lost friend while testing the flute’s effects.

The closer they got to the flower island, the more often Dawn Cicada glanced at Rita. Not just her, but the other players too. Even Fury Prayer, usually silent and scholarly, couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at her.

Dawn Cicada’s vine tapped Rita’s right shoulder. Rita turned to look at the vine, confused, before casually glancing at Rita.

"...?" When Dawn Cicada’s vine started acting up, Rita waited for the inevitable. As Dawn Cicada looked at her, Rita stared back directly, asking, "What are you looking at?"

After a brief moment of awkwardness, Dawn Cicada stopped pretending. She asked, "Do you feel guilty?"

"Guilty about what?"

"She saved you in Quiet Mountain, right? Just that her method wasn’t to your liking, but you still sought revenge. Do you feel guilty?"

"No." Rita’s expression turned cold in an instant. She didn’t know how Dawn Cicada found out, but the question made her laugh. "Why would I feel guilty? Maybe you consider her control an honor, but to me, it’s just the same as the constant repetition of the shrine."

"But she taught you."

"Those are just pieces of evidence that she deceived me!"

After the Shrine Quiz, every word Deceitful Bloom spoke became a betrayal, and every lesson she gave turned into proof of her ulterior motives.

"...But she saved you." Dawn Cicada’s voice softened.

"But someone else would have done it!" Rita snapped, and though she immediately tried to calm herself down, her emotions slipped. "I didn’t ask her to save me! Uncharted Star Sea needed me to return to Starsea!"

She had every right to refuse! She had known all along that she couldn’t forgive this manipulation, but she still chose to control it, to allow herself to fully trust her, and make herself feel like a fool, grateful. The old wounds hadn’t healed, and she had made new ones herself.

Rita slowly exhaled, her gaze now calm as she looked ahead at the flower island. Her voice was so soft it was as if she were whispering in someone’s ear, "Stop asking these pointless questions. Stop saying ’but.’ The bell has tolled, and these questions no longer matter."

Nivalis and B80 lightly landed on Rita’s shoulders, heavy with meaning.

The group grew quiet.

Perhaps they were convinced by Rita’s reasoning, or maybe they could hear her resolution and lack of regret, or perhaps they simply found her impossible to understand, but Dawn Cicada didn’t push the issue any further.

After the brief disruption, the group soon arrived at the cloud palace flower island. Above the cloud palace, swirling clusters of white clouds floated, standing out against the deep blue of the Starsea, their contours clear and distinct.

They passed through several clusters of clouds and landed on the flower island. There, they saw Sea Pony, dressed in a black suit, waiting for them at the edge of the flower field.

As soon as Sea Pony saw Foolishness’s group, it drifted toward them, hands clasped in front of its little belly, bowing slightly, "Welcome, honored guests."

Foolishness’s eyes lingered on Sea Pony for a moment, as did Fury Prayer and the others. Even Rita, who had been sulking and looking lethargic, opened her eyes wide in surprise.

All the students instinctively touched the blue gemstone on their glasses, activating the toy’s detection function.

[BS Sea Pony, combat level 16, BS mascot, owner: BS Crab]

It was definitely it...

Nivalis and B80 had also activated their detection skills. Unlike the lively and energetic atmosphere they had encountered earlier, both of them became tense, eyes scanning the flower island beneath the cloud layers.

With Sea Pony having been modified like this, there was clearly something dangerous here!

A burst of sweet floral fragrance filled the air, overwhelming Rita and Dawn Cicada’s flower scent, forcefully occupying everyone’s sense of smell.

Unlike Foolishness’s usual visits to play, this was a formal joint training session. As the master of the island, Deceitful Bloom had come to personally greet them.

Dressed in a deep wine-red robe and black accessories, she appeared two steps away from Foolishness. Both were 171 cm tall, but whenever Deceitful Bloom and Foolishness stood together, Deceitful Bloom’s vine would move to her head, curling into a crown, and the tip of the vine would raise like an antenna, making her slightly taller than Foolishness.

Now, the vine was once again at the top of Deceitful Bloom’s head, raised like an antenna.

Foolishness tugged at the corners of her mouth, "With so many students, are you sure?"

Deceitful Bloom casually replied, "I told you, it’s not me controlling it. It does this on its own."

Her five students stood quietly behind her—Mistblade, Ash Cinders, NightFury, JE, and Crab.

Deceitful Bloom glanced over the five students behind Foolishness without lingering on anyone. She turned to lead the way. "Come."

Mistblade and the others cleared the way. After Foolishness and Deceitful Bloom passed, Rita and the others followed behind them, with the group of players gathering together.

Sea Pony, wearing a little suit, was surrounded by Nivalis and B80, one on each side.

"Sea Pony, are you okay?!" Nivalis waved a hand in front of Sea Pony’s eyes.

Sea Pony raised its almost invisible index finger to its mouth and shook its head, then pointed to itself and made a "20" gesture.

Neither Nivalis nor B80 could figure out what Sea Pony meant. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Crab, walking ahead with the others, seemed to know what they were talking about. He explained, "It’s only allowed to say 20 words a day now. It’s really precious. It generally doesn’t speak anymore."

Rita asked curiously, "Does that ’welcome, honored guests’ count in that?"

Sea Pony’s eyes widened—It hadn’t asked that question—but quickly shook its head. It shouldn’t count, of course it didn’t count! That was work.

Just then, a lazy voice called from the front: "It counts."

The tone dragged out the word, taking almost two seconds to say.

Rita kept her gaze down as she walked. After being elbowed by Dawn Cicada a few times, she finally muttered, "Oh."