This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1272: Tiger Ear Quex

"What are you planning to do?"

"I’m going to have Dark Reef descend on Tiger Ear. Then I’ll help Dark Reef shatter Tiger Ear and merge its population into Dark Reef. I heard you can save one hundred million players per world. I want you to make one hundred million cookies in both Tiger Ear and Dark Reef and take them away."

Rita carefully studied Quex’s expression.

"Do you understand what the consequences of this plan are?"

Quex’s eyes reddened, yet she smiled with an almost reckless ease.

"I do. I’ll be betraying my world again. I’ll be seen as a traitor by every player in Tiger Ear. I’ll become the only player in all of Unordered Starsea who has betrayed her own world twice."

Unlike her past where she simply switched worlds for work, Tiger Ear Quex had earned her reputation because she always fought seriously for whichever world she served.

She would never sacrifice her life outright, but she did fight with everything she had. Only when a world shattered would she leave and move on.

As the leader of Tiger Ear, and currently ranked fifth in all of Starsea, her presence alone deterred Dark Reef from invading. The logical choice for her had been to sever the sequence during the Bell and protect Tiger Ear.

But this time, she was doing the opposite. She would initiate the war herself and even help the invading side, Dark Reef, destroy Tiger Ear before the Bell arrived.

It was easy to imagine what would happen. She would protect the Celestialkin during the war.

It made sense. It was logical.

But it was also a clear betrayal.

She was betraying Tiger Ear, a world that had no grudge against the Celestialkin. She was betraying the name Tiger Ear Quex, and the identity of its leader.

"I’ve been thinking about what I did wrong back in Midsummer," Quex said. "Over and over, I imagined it again and again. If I could go back, what would I do differently?"

She paused briefly.

"I’ve thought about it for years and never found the best answer. But I finally understood something."

"What is it?" Rita asked.

"I can’t be fair to everyone."

Quex grabbed Rita’s arm tightly, as if that was the only thing keeping her standing.

"I can’t be fair to everyone!"

"I just don’t want to regret it anymore. I’m not that weak, hesitant Midsummer Quex anymore. If I want to do something, I’ll do it. I don’t need to ask anyone whether it’s right or wrong."

Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

But her eyes were wet, and above her head, clouds gathered as a light rain began to fall again.

She said she didn’t want to question right or wrong anymore, yet her gaze and the rain above her betrayed the very question she refused to ask.

Rita reached out and pulled her hood over her head.

"You’re right," she said. "We can’t be fair to everyone."

A few hours later, she left Tiger Ear with Quex and a cookie house shaped like an ear, heading for Dark Reef.

By the time she finished a full day of work and returned to pick up Maple Syrup, who had been baking cookies all day, Maple Syrup was on the verge of exploding.

"Didn’t I message you to come back and take me to Lania Kaia first?!"

She hadn’t arrived in these worlds through normal means. Unlike before, when she could travel back from Black Spring on her own, she now relied entirely on Rita’s ship to move around Starsea. Without Rita picking her up, she had no way to return.

She used to have bound items for travel, but after the game update, none of her marked magic items included anything so basic.

Rita grabbed the cow-cat away from the helm and took control herself, pretending to focus on steering. Her tone lacked confidence, but she still sounded bold.

"Lania Kaia is fine. Dawn Cicada is just moving people. She’s not starting a war. If there was an actual fight, would I not come get you?"

"It’s been many years since anyone dared ignore what I say."

"...Haha. Feels new, right?"

"..."

By the time Maple Syrup had already drawn her spear, the ship had reached Lania Kaia’s sky. Rita turned the helm sharply and left without even saying goodbye, taking the ship and her cats with her, leaving the oak-owl alone in the sky.

When Rita returned to BS and saw Nivalis, she even complained that Maple Syrup’s temper was getting worse.

The moment she walked into the room, she met Mistblade’s gaze from the sofa. The moon fox’s expression was equally strange.

"What?" Rita asked.

"You really let the Vineborne migrate into BS?"

Rita glanced up at the ceiling.

"Yeah. Either way, I definitely don’t owe the Vineborne anymore. Now they owe me."

...

Demon Tavern. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Deceitful Bloom rubbed her ears, looking helpless.

"Can someone tell her I heard that?"

Foolishness replied, "You could do what the captain did. Pay a price and have Unordered Starsea deliver the message."

Hearthsmoke added, "And then she’ll shut you down just like she did to the captain."

Boiling Orange, who usually chimed in eagerly, stayed quiet this time. Instead, he kept glancing at Mischief.

Midsummer Mischief sighed. He waved his hand, scattering the drizzle above his head into soft snow that fell into his drink.

"Why do you keep looking at me?"

Boiling Orange asked, "You seem unhappy. Is it because you think Tiger Ear Quex made the wrong choice?"

Mischief shook his head.

"She did well."

Foolishness answered for him, "He feels bad for her."

"Why? I think she’s grown. If the current her went back to Midsummer, she’d definitely handle things better," Boiling Orange said, instinctively defending Quex. To him, strong players deserved praise, not pity.

"She might do better," Mischief said quietly, "but she wouldn’t feel much better."

"She’s still Midsummer Quex. No matter how many people she’s been fair to, the ones she keeps thinking about are always the ones she failed."