Silence lingered in the special cell for a while.
"Leaving the Northern Continent... to go to the Southern Continent? Where Talia is?" Sinora asked, trying her best to sort out her thoughts.
Right now, whenever she thought of Talia, it felt like taking a bite out of a lemon.
She was somewhat afraid to look at Talia's current life.
Yet she couldn't resist wanting to see it.
She knew watching it would hurt, but not seeing it would likely hurt even worse.
"Yes. You can basically treat your time in the Southern Continent as a paid vacation. It might be as short as a few months, or as long as three to five years. However, when the business gets overwhelmed on occasion, you may need to lend a hand. Wages will be paid separately, of course."
Lanqi thought it over and figured this kind of annual leave seemed perfectly reasonable for a long-lived species.
He had decided to bring a few more employees back for the Boss Cat Restaurant.
Every time he visited Boss Cat, the restaurant was completely swamped.
Now that he had found several high-caliber workers capable of lending a hand long-term—with rock-solid security to boot—Boss Cat was bound to be thrilled.
"..."
Sinora wondered if this new life might be a bit too leisurely.
She even suspected for a second that she had been thrown into the Great Demon Trial, the Gentle Land of the Fallen.
No, if it were the Gentle Land of the Fallen, the New King would surely be a handsome man with black hair and green eyes, not a gorgeous maiden with black hair and green eyes.
Yet the more Sinora looked, the more she felt the New King was exceptionally beautiful. It turned out true beauty wasn't limited by gender; it was an inner grace seamlessly intertwined with one's demeanor. Even knowing full well that the New King was female, she began feeling curious to see her true form...
"Is there something on my face?"
The Poet of Great Love touched his cheek, murmuring to himself.
Earlier, Hyperion had also shot him several glances, leaving him somewhat perplexed.
Back at the academy, nobody ever stared specifically at the headmaster like that.
"No, not at all."
Realizing her breach of manners, Sinora hurriedly replied.
Watching the whole exchange, Antanas recalled the earlier conversation between the Second Princess, Hyperion, and the New King. Realizing at once why the New King was bewildered, she curled her lips into a trembling smile.
Why did the dynamic between the New King and the Second Princess feel so subtle?
It seemed a bit beyond simple sisters.
That would never do; Talia would never permit it.
Fortunately, the New King's true form beneath the disguise magic wasn't male. Otherwise, there would probably be catastrophic trouble with the Second Princess.
Antanas was buzzing with restless excitement, eagerly anticipating leaving the prison as soon as possible—
Once she and Sinora were alone later, they would have plenty of gossip to share!
"Then let's leave the cell. We'll have to run fast in a moment. Your phantom is difficult to deal with, so we won't be safe until we reach the exit teleportation hall."
The Poet of Great Love said a final farewell to the Domination priest, then turned to look at Sinora.
"Understood."
Sinora nodded solemnly, the aura around her shifting once more into that of a demon warrior. She knew all too well how terrifying it would be if her phantom caught up with them.
...
Outside the cell, along the labyrinthine corridor of Level B5, some time passed after the Domination priest stepped inside before three figures finally emerged.
In the high-dimensional observation space.
The Ice Snow Witch, who had still been glaring at Loren, now fixed her gaze solely on the female trainee guard who had reappeared.
She rubbed her eyes.
Although the features hadn't changed in the slightest, the Ice Snow Witch was certain that the black-haired lady with closed eyes was none other than Sinora the Spellbreaker!
It had only been ten-odd minutes, and another swap was already complete? How on earth had that kid convinced Sinora to sign a slave contract with him?!
The Ice Snow Witch turned her gaze toward Loren again.
Her expression was complicated.
She shifted her posture slightly backward.
The more she looked at Loren, the more she felt he was the mastermind behind the scenes.
If Talia was right beside Lanqi and Hyperion, that meant Talia was actually in Ikerite as well. Taking it a step bolder, perhaps she was right near Ikerite Academy!
Yet Loren had never mentioned such crucial information to her.
Everything up to this point felt orchestrated. On the surface, Loren appeared completely innocent, but whenever something was amiss, it inevitably had countless threads tying back to him.
Could this fellow... be plotting to unify the Church of the Goddess of Fate and the Resurrection Church into a new Church of Chaos, amass an army, conquer the world, and become the Holy Emperor?
On the other side.
"..."
Loren lowered his head even further. Even though he couldn't clearly see the Ice Snow Witch's gaze through the outline of the light orb, he could sense that piercing glare, as if she were about to revoke his human citizenship.
Even facing off against Bishop of Destruction Ivanos had never subjected him to such fatal pressure.
His only consolation now was that once he survived today, it would all be over...
...
Outside Sinora's special cell on Level B5 of Herrom Prison, the moment the three trainee guards stepped out, they immediately broke into a sprint.
Because the instant Sinora the Spellbreaker left the cell's safe zone, a phantom of her would immediately manifest in the Great Demon Trial's Hopeless War of Extermination. Even if she fled with her head in her hands, completely devoid of fighting spirit, her phantom would still mercilessly brutalize her.
Hyperion grasped the situation the instant she saw the three emerge. Having prepared long in advance, she followed close behind, scooped up the Poet of Great Love over her shoulder, and ran.
Under these circumstances, holding the Poet of Great Love's hand and strolling along was no longer going to cut it.
Antanas's phantom had been manageable; its offensive power couldn't breach Antanas's own defenses.
If Sinora's phantom caught up, however, and Antanas and Sinora failed to block it, it would strike them down one by one with a single slash each.
Sprinting along, Antanas glanced at Sinora's state. It was hard to imagine just how many severe beatings Sinora had endured on Level B5 of Herrom Prison over the years.
On second thought, her own Level B4 was much better; at least she hadn't suffered physical torment.
"..."
Sinora kept glancing back.
Although Sinora felt that the tall young woman who had been waiting outside treated their New King inappropriately—carrying him off with the practiced ease of a human trafficker—since even the New King showed no resistance, she naturally said nothing.
"She is Efatia's daughter," Antanas whispered into Sinora's ear.
"!"
Sinora squinted at Antanas. Thank goodness Antanas had given her the heads-up.
So she was the Second Princess.
Sinora had always thought that Talia and Efatia didn't resemble real sisters in either talent or appearance, but their bond had been exceptionally close.
It seemed the two little princesses were still on great terms.
Wait.
Efatia had married, too?
What kind of man would dare marry Efatia? Lying in the same bed with Efatia, wasn't he terrified she would stab him in the middle of the night?
Hyperion looked speechlessly at the two rescued great demons ahead of her.
Although she didn't sense a shred of the fierce cruelty the Ice Snow Witch had spoken of in Sinora, Hyperion couldn't shake the feeling that this great demon was just as hyperactive as Antanas.
They both seemed like the type who would drive Tata crazy with anger.
Chapter 435