Rita's Arrival

Zhao Bai waved his hands in surrender, and the matter was dropped. To be honest, having all his ribs fractured sounded serious, but it did not really count as a severe injury. He just had to be careful not to sleep on his stomach for the next few months.

Zhao Bai did not write that Kiana had personally pressed his ribs until they broke.

Although doing so might have gotten him compensation from the girl, Zhao Bai felt that something would be missing if Kiana could no longer afford to eat at the restaurant after paying him.

On a pitch-black night, an unremarkable electronic task report was sent from the Far East Branch to headquarters.

The hand moving the mouse suddenly stopped.

She was a woman who radiated elegance from head to toe. Noble black lace gloves, a ruffled maid uniform, close-fitting stockings, long legs crossed together, and black high heels that occasionally tapped the floor with a drumbeat-like sound. A scythe hung on the wall, entwined with vines and rose branches, its rose blossoms dim.

Rita Rossweisse.

The vice-captain of Immortal Blade. Ordinarily, such a low-level task report would never reach her hands, but this young lady had a particular fondness for roses and often searched for the term on Schicksal's internal network. That was how she found this report.

"A Honkai Beast with roses growing from its back. Hideous beyond words..."

Rita smiled as she commented upon seeing the photo of the dead Honkai Beast. Then she suddenly noticed the wounds and the scorch marks on the ground. They seemed somewhat familiar, making Rita think of something astonishing.

"This seems rather interesting, doesn't it?"

She checked the list of operatives once more. It included Kiana Kaslana and a man from Shenzhou named Zhao Bai.

Kiana was automatically ignored. Schicksal knew everything about her. What mattered was this man from Shenzhou. Rita continued searching and discovered that he ran a restaurant at St. Freya Academy, with Theresa as its brand ambassador.

Rita knew it was time to depart.

Author's Note: After I finished updating last night, I started baking bread. The ingredients were flour, sugar, milk, eggs, and dried cranberries. My mom always says bread that's too white is unhealthy, so I added some brown sugar bits for color. It came out looking almost like whole wheat bread from outside.

Who would have known that when I woke up this morning, I found faint black residue under my nails? I instinctively licked it, and it turned out to be facial cleanser!!!

Waking up in the morning and taking a bite of facial cleanser.

Who could handle that?

Since I'm suffering this much, give me a triple combo, okay?

Rita's Arrival

Zhao Bai had been extremely busy these past few days, but his life had also been very fulfilling. The restaurant stayed open from morning to night, with customers every day and a creative "Today's Special" every day. Only the flow of customers remained unchanged.

Until this day, when he finally landed himself in serious trouble.

Zhao Bai sat behind the counter with his apron half undone, watching a video about how slaughterhouse workers aged beef. Suddenly, the door curtain was lifted, and an intoxicating floral fragrance lingered around his nose. Zhao Bai abruptly raised his head while holding his breath. He saw a woman standing in the doorway, dressed in a maid uniform and giving a slight bow.

"It isn't mealtime yet, ma'am, and you don't look like someone with a big appetite."

"I'm here to apply for a job."

"Hm?"

Zhao Bai's heart trembled. He shut off the video, rose to his feet, and examined the elegant head maid. According to the original setting, she should have been in distant Europe and would not board the Hyperion until several years later. Her appearance here now meant something had definitely gone wrong. Something Zhao Bai had done had caused the timeline to shift.

Rita Rossweisse.

Cold sweat broke out across Zhao Bai's forehead, but Rita keenly caught the change in his emotions. She gently brushed back her hair, revealing the wine-red left eye hidden beneath her ash-gold bangs, and spoke softly: