This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 309 High Tower · Calm and Routine Days – Two Years for Rita

Rita really wanted to say she had bled for the Oak Owls!

But then she thought about it and realized it wasn't really necessary to risk her life for them. She quickly dove into the kitchen, where she was tasked with starting the fire for the chefs. With her Divine Gift, which was particularly good at controlling flames, it was a skill perfectly suited for the kitchen—no need to waste it on the battlefield...

In just a few minutes, Rita figured it out. Perhaps it was because her last name was Peach that, despite having killed so many enemies, she was still sent to this place. This meant that the battle had likely already passed the halfway mark, and at least Peach Crown—who she still didn't know exactly what relationship she had to him—had made quite a name for himself, so now all the Oak Owls were beginning to treat the Peach lineage with extra favor.

Well, kitchen work was kitchen work. At least here, she could organize her thoughts about Spring Not Late and Gold-Class Assassin. Whether it was training her body or her mind, she had a lot to do. What she was most lacking was time.

The wooden house where Rita worked had an enormous interior, housing at least a hundred chefs. There were hundreds of these cooking houses scattered throughout the camp, all responsible for feeding millions of soldiers.

Rita had been stoking the fire for a whole month.

She had initially held onto a glimmer of hope, thinking that maybe she would meet a culinary master hidden in the logistics team who would recognize her talent and teach her secret recipes, ultimately helping her reach the pinnacle of her life!

But soon, she realized that although most of the chefs here were advanced in their culinary skills, they were only responsible for the soldiers' meals. They focused on efficiency, not excellence. The goal was simply to prepare food as quickly as possible, with just enough effects to provide basic buffs.

After watching for a while, Rita thought the meals here weren't even as refined as the meat soup she made for the cat in her backyard. So, she simply focused on her own tasks.

Before the small Oak Owl could respond, the chef in front of her, who was frying vegetables, laughed and said, "How could that be possible? Only D-rank and below Divine Gifts can advance. C-rank or higher are just enhanced versions of their abilities." His tone held a sense of regret.

Rita glanced at the Oak Owl's Divine Gift—Cooking Adventure, C-rank.

Besides that, she also overheard some news: Pine Bloom had obtained a dragon called Lidian in the year 7200 of Ruin Cole.

Wait, wasn't that the former owner of Final Moment? And didn't Emperor Umbrella say that Lidian wasn't needed anymore? Had Pine Bloom fallen out with Li Zhou, or had Pine Bloom died?

With all this on her mind, Rita settled comfortably into the kitchen. But to ensure she didn't let her combat instincts rust, she would take a break every few days to visit the battlefield. Don't ask why—just ask if she could afford to let Peach Crown down!

This was obviously against the rules, but who could say anything to her when she was a Peach? Besides, no one could argue with her choice to voluntarily join the battlefield.

She discovered that her wings might have some sort of power, but she couldn't use them. It was like getting a locked phone—she knew it contained games and treasures, but she couldn't unlock it.

Since she was new to this place, she didn't dare ask the other Oak Owls, because it seemed like they all knew how to use their wings' abilities, and each of them had different powers. Though the Oak Owls didn't have technology, they had fought against Lania Kaia's forces to this day, relying on the powers of their wings and fruits.

When not cooking, Rita would experiment with the Oak Owls' magical fruits, testing ideas she had about Gold-Class Assassin in her mind. She would also use fruits with similar effects, properties, and textures to experiment with Spring Not Late's herbology methods.

This peaceful and routine life lasted for two full years for Rita.