Inside a small tavern in Zanga, the elf dragged a bag of gold coins from in front of the dwarf over to herself.

"You lost. She didn't help her."

Then she dragged away a second bag.

"And it wasn't even midnight—she already got it. Plus a little bonus."

The dwarf replied, "Now I just want to steal her for myself. So, what if she gets caught? Are you going to rescue her?"

Lightchaser crossed her legs and looked completely unbothered.

"She won't get caught."

The kid could block divination—probably thanks to those two magical items she carried. But this wasn't the place to talk details, so Lightchaser kept that part to herself.

…

The moment Rita learned Not Real ID, she abruptly stopped in her tracks, turned around, and flew straight back to Margot's room.

Pushing the door open once more, she dashed past the sound of a running shower and headed into the bedroom. With just twenty seconds of stealth left, she slipped under the bed.

As she crawled underneath, a strange sense of comfort settled in her chest.

Home. It actually felt like coming home.

At peace under the bed, the little owlet immediately activated Not Real ID—and turned into a silkworm.

She'd raised silkworms for a school project last year. That counted for well over 24 hours of contact.

It was the safest form she could think of.

And this was, relatively speaking, the safest place.

Once they realized the scroll was missing, the building would be searched top to bottom. If there was any place they might overlook, it would be the scene of the crime itself.

After using both Stealth and Not Real ID, which consumed portions of her HP, Rita began to feel faint and hungry. But it was manageable. She crawled deeper beneath the bed.

Three minutes later, No Logic wore off.

The sound of running water stopped, followed by a disbelieving gasp.

Then frantic footsteps. Then a string of curses.

Clothed in a hurry, Margot bolted out of the room.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Rita moved. She started crawling out from under the bed—only for the door to swing open again. Margot had doubled back.

Rita froze mid-crawl, stiff as a board.

Luckily, she was still a silkworm, and silkworms don't move fast.

Margot stomped around the room a bit more, cursing, then finally stormed off again.

Rita burned that lesson into her memory as she continued her escape. She scuttled to the window, pried it open, climbed out, and shut it behind her.

From there, she started scaling the outer wall toward the roof, planning to wedge herself between two shingles.

Her stubby little legs worked furiously. It was going to be a long climb.

The whole building was in chaos that day.

Just as she predicted, once Margot realized the skill scroll was missing, Sheera immediately reported that there was a parasite hiding in the building.

As Rita climbed between the second and third floors, she clearly heard Sheera snitch—with a tone that could only be described as vicious.

Rita wasn't mad.

She actually saw the betrayal as a kind of compliment.

She wasn't wrong. She'd made the right choice.

To be fair, she didn't think Sheera was wrong, either.

If Sheera had tried to hide Rita's presence out of kindness at a moment like this, Rita would've assumed the girl had been hit in the head by Lightchaser.

Even one minute of hesitation would've been disrespectful to the scrolls.

Thanks to Sheera's tip-off, the whole building was sealed off in a pale purple barrier.

Rita: …This level of lockdown feels like I just raided Orochimaru's lab.

Waves of magic pulsed through the building, and shimmering notes of magical detection spells flew down the halls.

Even with her limited experience, Rita knew what this was.

A search.

She couldn't stay here any longer.

Temporal Stroll: Allows the user to briefly travel into the past or future. Time range (days) must not exceed the user's level. Duration (minutes) must not exceed the user's Intelligence stat. Cooldown: 12 hours.

This skill was incredibly unpredictable.

Did she even have a level? No.

But what if she only went back to earlier today?

Did she have Intelligence? She hadn't always paid attention in class, but she still ranked in the top five. Her IQ might not be 120, but at least 110—surely enough to get her out of the building.

She had tested the skill last night, after all the nobles had gone home.

She could only go back to the same day, but she could stay there for ten minutes.

That confirmed it: her Intelligence stat did have an effect.

It was that test run that gave her the confidence to act today.

Temporal Stroll was her ace in the hole. This is part of a series from My Virtual Library Empire (M|V|L1EMPYR).

She dropped back into the chimney, watching as glowing music notes floated upward toward her.

Then she activated the skill, setting her destination to 3:00 a.m. earlier that day.

Darkness swept the world—except for the faint light flickering inside the chimney.

By the time the search team reached the scene, it was already empty.

…

Rita didn't have a bad habit of lingering at crime scenes.

After leaving the building, she casually strolled through the city of Zanga.

She didn't know how to contact her teacher, but she was sure Lightchaser would find her.

Given the state of the building, she wasn't sure how tomorrow's exam would even proceed…

But knowing Lightchaser—even though they hadn't been together long—Rita had already figured out her teacher's bossy personality. If she knew Rita had not only stolen an SS-rank disguise skill but also escaped clean, she'd definitely be satisfied.

Just as she was thinking about it, she bumped into an elderly woman—shorter than Rita by half a head.

A dwarf?

Rita instinctively steadied the woman, then stepped back. Her right hand slid behind her back. If needed, she could draw her dagger in under a second.

The arena had taught her: children and old people were the most dangerous. The only two times she'd hesitated, they were involved—and both had ended in disaster.

As she watched the woman warily, the old dwarf gave her a warm, wrinkled smile. The kind of smile elders gave to children they liked.

It reminded Rita of Fàn Xiangxiang.

But she still took another step back.

The woman only smiled more, didn't speak, and tapped her staff—taller than Rita herself—before walking away.

Rita stepped aside, never showing her back to the strange dwarf.

She didn't relax until the woman had vanished from view.

Only then did she keep walking.

After a few steps, she saw a certain tall elf leaning against a wall, arms crossed, trying to look cool.

Rita looked around, trying to be sneaky. Under Lightchaser's disapproving stare, she jogged over and looked up—neck straining, as always.

"I, uh… there was a bit of an incident," she said.

Lightchaser raised an eyebrow. "I'd say more than just a bit."

Rita blinked. "Huh?"

"Check your bag."

A chill ran down Rita's spine.

She yanked open her collar, pulling out her little four-slot satchel.

The healing scroll was gone!

Rita stared into the bag like the sky had just collapsed.

Was it that old woman?!

She stomped her foot in frustration. "I knew it! I knew kids and old people are the worst!"

Lightchaser actually sympathized—for a second.

Granny was like that. Generous, yes. But miss your chance, and she'd snatch her gifts right back.

If Rita hadn't already learned the disguise skill, that scroll would've been gone too. No mercy.

And if she went looking for the dwarf?

She'd probably get scolded: "I gave you a chance. Who told you not to use it?"