"Hello, I'd like to check in to the Yagrota Palace Hotel."
After successfully destroying the Decree-defiling Mirror of Nightmare at the Cathedral of Mercury, Noah arrived at this familiar hotel for the third time.
This time, he was genuinely going to rest.
From the moment he encountered Aalto with Zhezhi out at sea until now, he had gone more than forty-eight hours without sleep.
In between, he was either fighting Slaughterblade of Carnage or matching wits and courage with Leviathan. And there was still the inverted tower waiting for him afterward.
"Sorry, due to the festival…"
Before the concierge could finish, Noah raised a hand to stop him:
"I'll pay extra."
"Got it! We just happen to have one presidential suite left."
After completing the check-in formalities, Noah smoothly entered his room. Without even washing up, he collapsed face-first onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.
At some point, dark clouds had completely covered Ragunna's sky. Moist air drifted into the room along with the sound of raindrops, letting him sleep especially soundly.
…
At the first light of dawn, the rain that had fallen all night in Ragunna had turned into a downpour.
Last night had been Christmas Eve.
"Cristoforo's third script should be ending soon, right?"
Noah rubbed his empty stomach, grabbed the complimentary umbrella from the hotel, and headed out to Trattoria Margherita for breakfast.
By the time breakfast was over, it would probably be time for the next script to begin.
He planned to find whoever Cristoforo had chosen as the protagonist in the next script and help them break free from the fate the script had planned for them.
So… who was this protagonist?
The eldest son of the Seven Hills Motley family seemed like a strong candidate, but it could also be someone else.
It couldn't possibly be him, right? Would Cristoforo really be that bold?
Unfortunately, he wasn't Rover, so Phrolova wouldn't send him a dream to deliver the script.
Still, it didn't matter. As long as he prevented Leviathan from reconstructing its body, that would also count as breaking the script. He just didn't know how many times he'd have to do it before returning to reality.
Leaving the hotel, he was immediately hit by the torrential rain—like the heavens had been torn open, letting an endless heavenly river pour down.
"Boss, one Margherita steak, and one Pizza Tropicale."
"Got it, chuu! Your food will be out shortly, chuu."
Soon, the petite Margherita brought the two dishes.
Though the sky was only just brightening, the streets were already filled with people of all kinds.
"So many office workers… good thing I don't have to work."
While devouring his meal, Noah opened his panel and glanced at the newly refreshed daily quest.
[Daily Quest: "Working to Support the Family"]
"Cough—cough cough!"
He suddenly choked on the pizza, coughing for quite a while before recovering. His eyes moved down from the quest title.
[Quest Description: In this world, there are always such precious people. They may not be able to protect every little flower, but they will guard their own one well. (Go to the designated location to accept a part-time job: Transport 3000 short brown logs.)]
[Rewards upon completion: Astrite ×800, Shell Credit ×10,000.]
[Challenge (Optional): Complete the task using only base abilities with the character Youhu, without equipping any weapons or Echoes. Rewards for this run will be doubled.]
This daily quest actually came with a very tempting reward-doubling option.
But…
After serious consideration, Noah decided to give up.
Never mind the fact that he was still inside Cristoforo's script—how was he supposed to clock in for work?
Even if he weren't in a script, there were far more important things waiting for him than this daily quest. The Black Shores still needed saving.
While closing the panel, a white-collar demon-horned woman in a formal women's suit happened to sit down across from him. Her eyes, ringed with heavy dark circles, looked over:
"Friend, every other table is full. Mind if I share yours?"
[Limited Banner "Walking Between Light and Shadow" and "Judgment of Blazing Light" now open.]
"Of course not."
Noah gave a slight smile, paused eating, and sized up Zani sitting across from him.
Big DPS Zani—pull or skip?
Eh, forget it. Zani with Phoebe is indeed strong, but Zani without Phoebe is just roadside trash.
Especially since his Rover (Spectro) didn't have any Eternal Radiance, so he couldn't even support Zani properly.
Bond characters are powerful, but he personally preferred standalone DPS.
"Thanks."
Zani looked like she hadn't woken up yet—her eyelids were so heavy she could barely keep them open. She lazily turned her head and called out:
"Boss, one Ragunna espresso, and one cloud-consommé meat sauce pasta."
"Got it, chuu! Coming right up, chuu."
After getting a response, Zani gave a slight nod, folded her rain-drenched umbrella, and closed her eyes for a quick nap in her seat.
Soon, her head began nodding up and down rhythmically.
"Miss, if you're really that tired, you can take a quick nap on the table."
Noah's kind reminder startled Zani awake. She shook her head vigorously, her face still full of exhaustion from lack of sleep:
"No, thanks for the kindness. I still have to work soon—I can't sleep yet."
Zani turned her head, forcing her eyes wide open as she stared out at the massive curtain of rain beyond the seat. Before long, even breathing became steady.
She had fallen asleep with her eyes open.
Noah took another bite of steak and suddenly thought of a brilliant idea to wake Zani up.
He lightly poked her elbow with the handle of his fork. She woke again and looked at him in confusion.
"If you don't want to sleep, how about chatting with me for a bit?"
"…Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
Noah pointed at the downpour outside and asked with obvious interest, pretending he didn't already know the answer:
"It's pouring like this, and you still have to go to work?"
"Yes." Zani nodded weakly, looking as though her soul had been drained.
"Wow." Noah clapped lightly and gave her a thumbs-up:
"Then you really must love your job!"
One sentence, and Zani's eyes widened.
Zani: ?
"Is your monthly salary super high? Otherwise, why would you brave such heavy rain to go to work?"
Zani: ??
"I'm so jealous. Your boss must really value you!"
Zani: ???
"Cough—cough cough."
It was as if invisible arrows had pierced her heart. Zani started coughing.
Now she actually felt much more awake—just with a sudden urge to hit someone.
No, no, it's not evening yet.
"If it weren't for hardworking nuts like you holding the line up front, that potato mine would've exploded ages ago."
Finally, a sentence she could respond to.
Zani answered without thinking:
"Not really. My boss could just hire more high-grade nuts."
After saying it, Zani somehow felt even more heartbroken.
"Ohhh—"
Noah drew out the sound, about to continue, when a line of small text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Main Quest: "The Sacred Breeze So Often Breathes" — Completed.]
[Current rewards: Radiant Tide ×100, Lustrous Tide ×50, Astrite ×10440, Shell Credit ×6.79 million.]
He habitually closed his eyes.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Huh?
The familiar feeling of sunset glow didn't appear.
A greeting came from across the table.
"Sir, are you also tired? How about chatting with me to wake up a bit?"
Noah opened his eyes and saw Zani still sitting there. The sound of pouring rain continued to roar outside.
He quietly pinched his thigh and felt the sharp pain. Suddenly, he realized—
It seemed… he had already escaped the script. Otherwise, from the moment the quest was completed, he should have returned to the harbor under the setting sun.
That meant yesterday, when he pinched the face of "first-meeting" Phoebe… oh no. He had become a total creep.
Across from him, Zani suddenly became interested. Imitating Noah's tone, she said:
"It's pouring like this, and you still have to go to work?"
Noah shook his head and smiled back:
"I don't have to work."
Zani: ?
Like an invisible arrow stabbing her heart, her expression froze. She continued:
"If you don't have to work, then you must have a lot of money, right?"
"You could tell?"
Zani: ??
"If you don't work, won't you eventually eat through your savings?"
"Maybe. I haven't really calculated it. Anyway, it just keeps growing day by day."
Zani: ???
At that moment, Margherita timely brought the coffee:
"Zani chuu, seeing you so sleepy, I brought your espresso first, chuu."
"Thanks."
Zani gently pushed the coffee aside:
"I'm not sleepy at all anymore."