This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1266: World Sigh “Marmang”

While Maple Syrup baked cookies, Rita sat beside her, using lightning to set up a desk and work on her history assignments. The ship’s cat vice-captains had already taken advantage of Marmang’s impending destruction to visit the main cities and snap photos.

Marmang’s players dispersed. Those not turning into cookies hurried to pack and rest, while those waiting to become cookies queued up for Maple Syrup—five minutes per batch.

The scent of freshly baked cookies lingered in the air, gradually becoming stronger, almost tinged with a faintly burnt smell.

Rita cautiously glanced at the cookies. Their color was deepening, and it was clear that the baker’s patience was wearing thin.

Between batches, a small sea squirrel, about the size of an oak owl’s head, scurried to her side, holding a glowing orb.

"Inside is ten percent of Marmang’s remaining resources. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Marmang’s beings. Whatever happens to them in the future, we will hold no grievance against you."

Maple Syrup lowered her eyes and reached for the orb. "Understood."

After paying Maple Syrup for her baking, the orderly sea squirrel scurried to Rita’s desk, intending to offer a diplomatic contribution as well.

Rita didn’t refuse. While the resources inside the orb weren’t as much as Marmang Lulumi had given Maple Syrup, they were still substantial. Being transferred in Marmang’s name, she collected it directly into BS, planning to divide it later with Mistblade, Crab, and the others, since everyone had contributed effort.

Nuclear Flash had promised one day—and it truly gave just one day. Not a second more, not a second less.

Maple Syrup wasted no time, continuing to bake cookies. As the beings’ gratitude accumulated, the effect of Whose Afternoon Tea began to subtly change. More cookies appeared, and the baking speed increased.

Still, even after 24 hours, Maple Syrup had only baked nearly 20 million cookies.

This number was far lower than Rita had expected. The war would continue.

The leaders of Nuclear Flash, who had remained quietly waiting, gripped their weapons. Marmang’s forces did the same.

The tension on both sides of the battlefield thickened once more.

Rita and Maple Syrup had hoped to continue baking cookies even during battle, but Mistblade had already reported a new request. A world on the brink of destruction urgently needed Maple Syrup to save some of its beings in cookie form.

Rita summoned Cat’s Ideal. With Marmang Lulumi’s grateful but sorrowful gaze following, she carried Maple Syrup away from Marmang.

They traveled from one war-torn world to another. Some leaders were willing to give them time; others were not. Even those unwilling to halt the fighting quietly allowed Maple Syrup to bake cookies at the rear of the battlefield, ensuring that the area surrounded by her fiery wings was safe from the flames.

The cookies she baked only accounted for a tiny fraction of each world’s population. They arrived quickly amid the chaos and left just as quickly amid the cries of the dying. Worlds had limits on the number of beings they could hold, and killing was inevitable.

She baked more and more cookies each day, but she asked the person sitting slightly behind her at the golden desk the same question every day:

"Do you think this matters? We haven’t changed anything."

The answer was almost always the same.

"Today, twenty million more beings survived in Starsea."

One day... two days... three days...

On one trip to a new battlefield, Rita passed the already shattered Marmang dock. She stopped the ship and plucked the crescent-moon-shaped tail of a sea squirrel, turning it into a golden apple.

...

The beings of Marmang had never known what a vast ocean was. They only knew Marmang.

Later, some of the sea squirrels who went to other worlds learned that "Marmang" meant "great undersea world."

It sounded terrible! In Marmang, the word meant "miracle."

The wonders of Marmang were beyond imagination. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

They had castles and technology, shells that generated electricity, coral that emitted fire for cooking, and kind Sea Ponies.

Their favorite pastime was riding Sea Ponies beneath giant glowing mushrooms, running around joyfully.

A small seashell could get a Sea Pony to take you on a loop through Marmang’s ocean floor. With an extra shell or two, the Sea Pony would sing for you and listen to your troubles. They were like angels of the deep.

Though they had heard of an outsider, none of them had ever seen it.

Marmang had its own hunting logic. They didn’t hunt in the city. If they wanted fresh seafood, they would leave the city and hunt in the deep sea according to their mood.

They also had a principle: they didn’t eat their friends. Any visitor to Marmang would find that every being there loved making friends. The more friends you had, the lower the risk of being eaten.

They were naturally friendly and unafraid of combat, so they adapted well to life after the game arrived.

They sought out worlds similar to Marmang, looking for other underwater beings. They didn’t see it as invasion—it was more like two oceans merging, impossible to tell who absorbed whom.

Marmang welcomed all beings. Marmang accepted all differences. Any visitor to Marmang became a local of Marmang.

Then one exception arrived: a Skycrab named Crab.

He didn’t care about making friends with seafood and had no interest in leading Marmang. He wasn’t even interested in having his own castle.

He preferred to roam Marmang’s wild deep-sea areas.

Eventually, he found Marmang’s only Sea Pony that enjoyed banter. Their pair became legendary—so rare that missing them would make one feel miserable for a day; seeing them could make one feel miserable for a year.

Once, I encountered them in the wild. I enthusiastically suggested they return to the city, assuring them Marmang’s beings were welcoming. The Sea Pony was so surprised it covered its mouth with its tiny hooves.

"Oh my, Crab is from the city! Doesn’t he see we’re excluding him?"

Were they excluding us?

I asked Lulumi, who said it didn’t understand either. Many beings came to Marmang, but Crab quickly accepted being called Marmang Crab instead of Hippie Crab. He even got angry if others called him Hippie Crab.

At the time, Lulumi and I didn’t understand. We thought maybe Crab was just indifferent or living a mediocre Hippie life.

It wasn’t until Marmang shattered that we understood.

Ah... it wasn’t that there was no emotion. From the moment our world broke, we were afraid to hear its name again. Each time we did, it hurt.

We lost Marmang, and from that day on, we could never merge with another ocean.