When the gentle-mannered, black-haired young man placed his hand on the door handle of Boss Cat Restaurant, a string of bells chimed merrily, as if welcoming his arrival.
The moment he pushed the door open, the scent of fresh, fragrant fruit tea drifted toward him. Mingling with the chill of the winter air, it felt crisp and inviting.
Carrying a small suitcase, Lanqi stepped into Boss Cat Restaurant.
Before Lanqi could even glance around the dining room, he saw Hyperion and Talia waiting for him at a table near the entrance on the first floor.
The lazy afternoon sunlight slanted across the wooden table by the window.
Talia rested her chin in one hand as she gazed out the window. She glanced at Lanqi once, then looked away, paying him no further attention as usual.
Hyperion, on the other hand, cradled the little black cat in one arm, picked up her luggage, and walked over to Lanqi with a smile.
Outside the window, the wind chimes beneath the eaves rang once more, as if softly murmuring, "You're here."
"Lanqi, should we get going?"
Since childhood, she had rarely left the royal capital.
Venturing so far from home made her slightly nervous.
Yet when she thought about it carefully, it wasn't all that different from entering a Shadow World.
A Shadow World was just an ultra-long-distance trip that skipped the travel time...
"Yeah, we have plenty of time," Lanqi replied after double-checking the departure time on their tickets.
A moment later, his gaze shifted to the little black cat in Hyperion's arms.
"Do you plan to bring Boss Cat along?" Lanqi asked, puzzled when he saw that Hyperion showed no intention of putting the little black cat down.
"Boss Cat says he wants to go traveling too." Hyperion glanced at Boss Cat.
Whether they could actually bring him along depended on Lanqi's decision.
"Meow! I might be weak in a fight, but I'm a genuine Tier 7 spirit beast!"
Boss Cat raised his tail proudly.
The boy and girl were setting off on a journey, and he wanted to keep a close eye on them!
Besides, the human he was raising was far too weird.
Just one look, and then another...
"Uh..." Lanqi wore a troubled expression at that.
"Lanqi, Hyperion... Am I being a bother? I can cook for you and take care of you..." Boss Cat asked timidly in his youthful voice.
He was very good at looking after people.
"No, I'm just wondering what kind of ticket I should buy for you."
A law-abiding citizen like Lanqi would never dream of evading a fare.
He was simply struggling over whether to buy Boss Cat a child ticket, an adult ticket, or pay a freight fee for a pet or luggage.
For a Tier 7 spirit cat, it really was hard to say which category he fell into.
"Why do I feel like you're thinking something very impolite..." Boss Cat paused, then grumbled under his breath.
Hyperion shook her head.
That was just how Lanqi was.
He always managed to express his rudest thoughts in the most polite manner.
Still, on second thought, having an executive chef tag along on a long journey was undeniably wonderful.
Back in the Sanctuary Shadow World, it was fortunate that the merchant guild young master's bodyguard siblings were skilled cooks; otherwise, with none of them being particularly good at cooking, their final four days would certainly have been far less pleasant.
Moreover, there was no need to worry much about Boss Cat's safety.
Although his combat strength was virtually nonexistent, his innate spell [Shadow Meld] was a formidable survival technique. A composite spell of the dark and space attributes, as long as his host remained alive, he was practically immune to danger.
In this world, encountering a being with an affinity for space magic was a once-in-a-century occurrence, and surviving records of space magic were exceedingly rare—only certain races had a chance of drawing it as an innate talent after reaching Tier 6.
"But what about your restaurant?" Lanqi wondered how Boss Cat Restaurant could operate normally when it was already constantly short-staffed and its head chef was leaving.
"I've left it to Asna and Tata! Asna is my apprentice now, so the two of them will keep the place running smoothly!" Boss Cat pounced, landing on Lanqi's shoulder as he declared proudly.
"Senior Asna, huh? She's very reliable."
Ever since Lanqi and Hyperion had asked Asna for desserts to bring when visiting Talia, Talia had given them glowing praise.
Asna then asked Hyperion to keep bringing Talia new pastries. One thing led to another, and Hyperion brought Asna to Boss Cat Restaurant to talk with Talia in person. Aspiring to become a top chef, Asna quickly hit it off with Talia, the discerning food critic.
Now that Ikerite Academy was on break, Asna had little work left as the student council vice president, and she had planned to dedicate her vacation to honing her culinary skills anyway.
"Don't you two also have a friend named Monaster?" Boss Cat asked.
"Yeah, he's our president." Lanqi hadn't realized Senior Monaster knew Boss Cat as well.
"Monaster is wonderfully steady and a top commerce student from the School of Alchemy! He said he's grateful to me for looking after Asna, so while I'm away for these few months, he'll lend a hand and try to boost the restaurant's business, meow..."
Boss Cat said blissfully, "I can't help daydreaming that by the time I get back, revenue might even jump by twenty percent!"
"..." Lanqi didn't say much to that.
"Then feel free to look forward to it."
Hopefully, it wouldn't turn into Boss Cat Bank by then.
It seemed that while he and Hyperion were away, Tata would have friends keeping her company most of the time.
Without realizing it, Tata was living more and more like an ordinary person in the royal capital.
If anything, Lanqi was slightly worried that with Asna as the head chef and Tata as the poster girl—one loving to cook and the other loving to eat—Tata might use taste-testing as an excuse to devour all the ingredients before the restaurant even opened...
"..." Talia looked up at Lanqi, saying nothing.
And so,
after Lanqi chatted briefly with Boss Cat by the front counter,
"Goodbye then, Tata." Standing by the entrance, Lanqi and Hyperion waved to Talia sitting nearby.
"Goodbye." Talia maintained her usual indifferent attitude.
"..." Yet after speaking, she seemed slightly hesitant.
Lanqi smiled, his hand resting on the door handle without pushing it down, as if waiting for something.
At last, Talia stood up, strode over, and embraced Hyperion.
"Tata?" Hyperion parted her lips in surprise, then slowly placed her hands on Tata's slender back, closing her eyes in peace as a faint smile touched her lips.
"..." Talia said nothing, only stroking Hyperion's hair.
It was said that when human mothers saw off their daughters, they would give them a hug.
As for what words to say at a time like this, she didn't know.
Without lingering, Talia released Hyperion.
"Lanqi, Hyperion, be safe on the road," Talia looked at the two of them and added.
"Mm, don't worry, Tata."
"Understood!" Lanqi grinned as he replied to Talia.
This old hag really was becoming more human by the day.
At last, he pushed open the door and left the restaurant with Hyperion and Boss Cat.
The empty restaurant fell quiet all at once.
"..."
Yet, after Lanqi and Hyperion disappeared from sight, Talia remained standing in place, her brows furrowing.
"Old... what..." Talia murmured under her breath.
"Still couldn't quite hear it clearly..."
Never mind. It wouldn't be long before she mastered mind reading. Soon enough, she would hear every little thought in that brat's head.
...
The clatter of horse hooves echoed through the streets of Ikerite, wheels humming as the bustle of the city center faded into the distance.
Afternoon sunlight bathed the gently swaying sightseeing carriage. Lanqi and Hyperion were set to arrive at Ikerite Central Station before nightfall.
Looking into the distance, ripples spread across the winding canal, reflecting the glow of the setting sun.
In truth, they had never toured the royal capital of Ikerite together.
Now that they could relax, this city—both classically antique and brimming with modern vitality—felt exceptionally wonderful.
Once they left Ikerite, they would adopt the new identities they had prepared.
Hyperion's disguise gave her black hair and dark eyes like her father, Duke Mikhail, while Lanqi chose light brown hair like Dean Loren's without changing his eye color.
As for their aliases, Hyperion decided on Milian, borrowing the opening syllables of her father's name.
Lanqi followed her naming pattern and chose Luoqi in homage to Dean Loren.
Although Hyperion could see Lanqi's admiration for Loren from this, she couldn't shake the feeling that him imitating Loren too much boded ill...
"Lanqi, I'll definitely keep a close eye on you." Cradling the little black cat in deep thought, Hyperion finally turned to Lanqi and spoke solemnly.
"You've always looked out for me. It gives me peace of mind." Lanqi leaned back leisurely against the seat, the evening glow across the horizon flitting past his eyes.
Hyperion paused for a second.
"In combat, of course I'll watch your back—I promised you that the very first time we teamed up. But outside of battle, I'm going to keep you on a tight leash and make sure you don't do anything reckless!" She systematically explained the different meanings of keeping an eye on him.
Support him, never let him run wild, and of course, help him wholeheartedly when it mattered most.
"How could I ever do anything reckless..." Lanqi smiled as he looked at Hyperion.
At that moment, the sky behind her was an interwoven tapestry of pink and amber, framing her cheeks. Her clear eyes shone radiant and dazzling; even without lamplight, she seemed to glow, as if time itself stood still for her during this golden hour that belonged to her alone.
"Still... if you ever think I'm getting reckless, feel free to rein me in," Lanqi turned his gaze back to the road ahead and continued.
Ambitious and resolute though his ideals were, he was not arrogant or obstinate. Hyperion was his dependable partner, and he would naturally heed her advice.
Yet all that lay far in the future.
For now, the only thing that mattered was—
Their brand-new journey to the Northern Continent was about to begin!
Chapter 236