Rock Confluence Station, base level.
Lanqi led the way in silence, holding the chain of the handcuffs that bound a slender woman's wrist at the other end.
They made their way through the secluded stairwell corridor. The metal links of the handcuffs clinked softly now and then, falling into a scattered rhythm with their footsteps.
At the end of the passage was a ramp leading up to the sunlit platform level.
Lanqi narrowed his eyes slightly, while Side walked beside him with her head bowed, making it difficult for anyone to catch the look in her eyes.
Beams of natural sunlight filtered through the glass canopy overhead, dappling the ground like scattered gold coins that were trampled beneath their alternating steps.
Few passengers were waiting on this platform at this hour. Some sat on benches looking faintly uneasy, while others stood at the edge of the platform, gazing down the tracks into the distance.
Before the two had even come to a full stop, a mana rail train at the far end of the tracks roared into the station, dragging a long line of cars behind it.
The gleaming metallic finish of the train body intertwined with reflections from the windows. As each carriage flashed past, the steel crest stamped into every side bore the insignia of the Protos Empire.
Lanqi and Side stood waiting behind the painted line on the ground.
The train gradually decelerated and pulled to a steady stop. When the doors slid open, a faint, translucent mist drifted out from within the cars as residual heat released by the mana regulators slowly dissipated.
"Get on," Lanqi commanded in a slightly cold tone.
After that, even without Lanqi tugging on the handcuffs, Side naturally followed in his footsteps and stepped into the car.
Silent as a doll, she complied with absolute obedience, making distant passengers avert their eyes and shudder to imagine what grim fate awaited this captive girl.
The two made their way into a dedicated carriage at the rear of the mana rail train.
Unlike the standard cars ahead, this section was built far more sturdily and securely, boasting specialized defense and seclusion. Even the train crew required clearance and permission before entering its inner compartments.
Once they stepped inside one of the private compartments, the door behind them slid shut with a heavy metallic clack that echoed through the spacious interior.
"Phew—off the clock!"
Both walked over to the seats and collapsed back against them, looking for all the world like two people who had just finished an exhausting journey.
Lanqi did not want to move a single muscle; spending the whole morning doing odd jobs on Askesan's behalf had truly worn him out.
"When are you taking this off?"
Side lifted her right hand from the armrest, rattling the handcuffs with a metallic chime.
"Once the attendant brings lunch, I'll unlock it. We have to keep up appearances."
After all, they still had to maintain the appearance of an officer on official duty escorting a prisoner. Until they transferred to the next train and reverted to their original appearances, they had to play the part without leaving any flaws.
Still, having made it this far, their investigation tour through the northern reaches of the empire was finally at an end, and they could relax on their journey back to the familiar imperial capital of Herrom.
"Ah, it really has been a rough journey," Lanqi sighed, as though reminiscing over everything they had gone through over the past month or so.
Side looked at him without comment.
"It was rough for me. You didn't get hurt at all."
In the end, she could only roll her eyes and look away.
This guy had barely even gotten his clothes dirty the entire way.
Back on the snowfields when they fought the Spectre Party, she had been the one knocking them down one by one with her fists, while Lanqi stood behind her like an overseer, doing nothing at all.
"You said you'd protect me," Lanqi said with a matter-of-fact smile.
Side glared at his face again. She clearly felt he was shamelessly playing the innocent victim and was just about to deliver a biting retort when, after a moment's hesitation, she let it slide.
That artless smile of his seemed to say: *Thank you for protecting me so well.*
"You bastard, it's a blessing you're not a woman. If I'd taken you in as my Saintess, your innocent act would've driven me insane."
Side threw up her left hand with an expression of defeat.
At first, she had actually thought it would be even better if the person she had chosen were a woman. Now, she felt only relief that he wasn't.
"By the way, how much of your strength have you recovered?" Lanqi asked after a moment's thought.
Seeing that she no longer looked as exhausted as she had on the snowfields, she seemed in much better spirits.
"Around Tier 5. That's probably my limit for now. The more I recover, the more I can feel the shackles of the sealing power. It's like it has locked my state in place."
Sigrid's expression abruptly turned solemn as she answered.
Protecting herself in the imperial capital of Herrom was doable, but compared to her former self, she was unimaginably weak.
"Still, if I can break this seal, I might end up even stronger than before," she muttered, clenching her fist.
This was a tribulation, but it was also a trial. Whatever didn't kill her would only make her stronger.
Yet seeing Sigrid looking completely undaunted, Lanqi's only verdict was:
"Please, don't."
A trace of pity crept into his eyes.
She was already so strong no one would dare marry her; if she became even stronger, she'd definitely be single for life.
"..."
Side bit her lip, her fists trembling with rage.
If not for the fact that a prisoner suddenly beating the Holy Son of Extinction to a pulp might be seen by people out on the platform through the window, she would have already thrown hands.
"Holy Son."
"Hmm?"
"If you ever run into a woman who can read minds, run. Turn around and sprint. Don't ask questions, and don't think about anything."
"Why?"
"Because in this world, I'm probably the only one who would ever put up with you."
Side sneered with a stiff grin, practically grinding her teeth as she spoke.
Even though she had warned him several times, she always had the feeling this idiot had an uncanny tendency to tempt fate. He would either push his absurd stunts to the absolute limit and never crash, or the moment he crashed, it would be an apocalyptic disaster. She really had no desire to visit a crematorium to identify her Holy Son.
"Don't worry. A pinnacle mental magic like mind reading isn't something even Zestira, my most ambitious disciple, could master in a few years," Lanqi said with supreme confidence, waving a finger. "No one understands the demon race's talents better than I do."
Compared to humans, demons were far more likely to roll such epic-tier mental magic through their innate magic. Yet in this world today, pure-blooded demons blessed with that level of talent were exceedingly rare.
"..."
Side looked at Lanqi's smug confidence and said nothing more.
She had seen that young girl, Zestira, during the live projection of the Monthly Evaluation Day at the Protos Royal Magic Academy, back when Sigrid was watching her Holy Son mentor his students from the residence of her direct retainer, Gloria.
Even if Zestira did learn mind reading in the future, she posed no threat to Lanqi, given how deeply she respected her teacher.
But if he ever ran into an older, experienced demon one day, Sigrid dreaded to imagine what would happen.
During the brief silence that settled between them, a series of clear announcements rang through all the carriages—rhythmic, formal, and signaling the start of the journey.
As the broadcast ended, a gentle tremor passed through the carriage, followed by a slight pressing force from the back of the seat.
Lanqi gazed out through the windowpane.
At first, everything on the platform shifted at an indolent crawl. The signs and benches along the edge seemed to glide backward at a leisurely pace, while sunlight painted shifting ribbons of glare across the glass.
The scenery outside steadily fell away, widening the gap between them.
Across on the opposite platform, the passengers and station staff who had just been within sight were now slipping past, one by one, disappearing behind the departing train.
Until a familiar figure caught his eye once more, and through the glass window, his gaze met that of Count Milford's eldest daughter, who was waiting on the opposite platform for another train.
Chapter 363