The streets outside Ikerite Academy were relatively quiet, lined with small shops and cafés that were open for business.
At this hour on a weekday morning, the shop lights glowed softly against the daylight as staff prepared to welcome the midday crowd. Every now and then, a clerk or two could be seen wiping down glass windows or tidying shelves, getting ready for the day that had only just begun.
Hyperion and Talia walked at a leisurely pace, soaking in the stillness of winter.
"By the way, Lanqi's father, Mr. Noe, has already headed back to the South Vantina frontier territory. You came from South Vantina as well, didn't you, Tata? Can we go back together next time?" Hyperion asked.
Tata had left early on the day of the match and hadn't gotten the chance to meet Lanqi's father afterward.
Mr. Noe had declared that the match was something he would never forget for the rest of his life, and that his greatest regret in this world was buying Lanqi a carriage ticket to the royal capital.
Still, what was done was done.
Noe hoped Hyperion would visit the frontier territory with Lanqi during the holidays. He thought exceptionally highly of this girl, who was Lanqi's age, possessed stellar academic and moral standing, and held an unyielding conscience.
"..."
Although Talia was not originally from South Vantina, the identity Lanqi had arranged for her did indeed list her household registry in that frontier territory.
Even so, Talia had a fond impression of South Vantina. Her decades of wandering had reached a turning point there, and everything that followed had felt like a dream.
Hans, the housekeeper at Lanqi's home, and the maid Francine had both treated her very well too. She hadn't seen them in quite a while.
"Let's go back together next time. I'll show you around South Vantina. Besides, there's something I've been curious about..."
As she spoke, Talia seemed to drift into deep thought.
"What is it?" Hyperion asked curiously.
"Didn't you say Lanqi is very good at painting?" Talia had noticed as much from observing him craft cards.
"Yeah, he seems absurdly skilled at it, though I've never seen him paint anything seriously," Hyperion agreed with a nod.
"When Housekeeper Hans saw us off at the South Vantina station back then, he mentioned that Lanqi had once painted a portrait, and that it was a real shame I didn't get to see it... I didn't think much of it at the time, but for some reason, I find myself growing more and more curious about what kind of painting it was," Talia murmured.
Yet Lanqi insisted it was merely a portrait of a poor, pitiful old woman.
She couldn't imagine there being anything remarkable about it.
Chatting as they went, the two turned the corner onto a broad avenue in downtown Ikerite, where things grew slightly livelier. In the windows of florists, winter flowers of every color were on vibrant display, and the gentle melodies drifting from cafés playing light music blended into the chilly air, weaving a cozy, lingering warmth.
At last, they crossed two more streets and reached their residence, the Boss Cat Restaurant.
Passing through the familiar hallway beneath the chandelier and ascending the vintage wooden staircase bathed in warm yellow light, they soon arrived at the door of the room at the end of the second floor.
What greeted them was the same exquisite attic framed by wooden planks and slanting beams, with bright daylight streaming through the glass skylight and an aromatherapy scent bearing a hint of fruit wine sweetness wafting toward them.
Yet out of the ordinary was Lanqi, sitting at the table in the center of the spacious living room. He held a magic carving knife and a hot-stamping modification tool firmly in his hands, looking as though he had just been engrossed in refining a piece of art.
On the tabletop lay a magic card with sleek, flowing lines, radiating a soft pink light.
"Lanqi," Hyperion greeted him with a smile.
Having lived here for the past month, Hyperion had grown used to this. During the day, Lanqi would occasionally come over to Tata's place to study card crafting with her.
Over the past several days, however, exam week had arrived. With no student council duties to attend to, Lanqi had practically vanished instead.
He had been pouring himself into a massive project, locking himself away in his dormitory workshop for hours on end.
Today, she was finally seeing him again.
Having skipped the exams, Lanqi had come to Tata's place early in the morning. Since Tata had to go pick up Hyperion, she had left Lanqi home alone.
"You're back." Lanqi noticed their arrival and stood up to face them.
"Mm." Talia offered only a soft reply as she placed two boxed pastries onto the table. "I already ate at the shop in Ikerite Academy. These are for you two."
Lanqi hesitated for a moment upon hearing that.
"Tata, if you want some, you should have this piece." Lanqi noticed that even after she spoke, her gaze hadn't drifted away from the cakes.
Her appetite was a bottomless pit. If not for her conscious effort as an unmarried lady to manage her figure, those two cakes likely wouldn't have survived the trip here.
"..."
Talia turned her head and glared at Lanqi.
Lanqi obediently lowered his head and kept his mouth shut.
He picked up the small disposable knife attached to the edge of the box, then quietly sliced away a third of his cake.
Hyperion smiled helplessly, catching on to Lanqi's intent. She fetched a small plate and fork from a nearby cabinet, cut a third from her own cake as well, and set it on the plate.
"Tata, let's share it," Hyperion said, offering the small plate bearing the two slices to Tata.
"..."
Talia silently accepted the plate.
After a brief hesitation, she began eating without any expression.
She found human logic truly bizarre—sharing like this offered no practical benefit.
Yet for reasons she couldn't explain, these two combined thirds of cake somehow tasted just a tiny bit more delicious than the whole pastry she had eaten back at the academy.
"By the way, Lanqi, what were you working on just now?" Hyperion asked, sitting down beside him and looking toward the card he had been tinkering with on the table.
She could see that it was still a sealed card, yet to be bound by anyone.
"This? It's a masterpiece that Tata successfully crafted over the past few days. I just finished the preparatory work on the wolf this morning, so I had some free time to drop by Tata's place and pick up the other card. The original name was a bit unfitting, though, so I made some minor tweaks just now."
He pushed the card in front of Hyperion.
[Elegant Styling]
[Type: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Pink Sacred]
[Tier: 4]
[Effect: Usable only on a touched target. Modifies their hairstyle; capable of removing hair, changing its color, and slightly hardening or softening it.]
[Remarks: This hairstyle doesn't suit you. Let me fix it for you.]
"..."
Even though Hyperion had no idea what the card had originally been called, she had a strong feeling it would have been better left untouched.
"Don't go messing with my cards," Talia said, her brow furrowing in mild annoyance.
She had stepped out for just long enough to pick up Hyperion, only to return and find that Lanqi had altered both the card's name and its remarks.
Still, she didn't press the matter further. Without realizing it, her tolerance for Lanqi had grown considerably.
Besides, according to their deal, this spell card—whose underlying principles had been acquired from Purgatory Corridor Academy—belonged to Lanqi anyway. He had already paid for it with intelligence regarding the Shadow World Recording Program.
"Hyperion, this card is for you." Lanqi set [Elegant Styling] directly before her.
He had been waiting for Hyperion to return for this very reason.
In combat, he almost never made physical contact with enemies, nor did he want enemies touching him.
Hyperion, equipped with death immunity, shields, and invisibility, was by far the best candidate to wield this card.
Not only could she trigger it while taking a hit, but she could also activate invisibility and sneak up on people to reshape their hair.
"No, no, no, there's really no need!" Hyperion gasped in alarm, dropping her fork and waving her hands frantically.
She wouldn't dare take a card with this level of aggro potential!
Mute, forced kneeling—put them all together, and they still couldn't draw as much raw hatred as using this card to give someone a balding ring around their crown...
The moment it was used, the victim would never rest until they had slaughtered the caster.
At its core, this card was practically identical to suicide cards like [Spark of Destruction].
"Hyperion, this trip to the Northern Continent is just the two of us. When you get stronger, I get stronger. Our combat strength is bound together now." Lanqi gazed at her with utmost sincerity, nudging the card another half centimeter toward her.
"..."
Hyperion stared at the card in dead silence for several seconds, tears nearly welling in her eyes. It felt as though Lanqi were handing down her death sentence.
"...Fine."
Hyperion could only accept the hairstyle-altering card with tears in her eyes.
She felt as though she had already paved her own road to ruin.
Chapter 228