On the north side of the Protos Royal Magic Academy, at the Redmond Building.
From the entrance of the masonry building adorned with dark gray reliefs, a figure with black hair and green eyes stepped out.
The two o'clock afternoon sun lazily bathed the architectural complex of the Royal Magic Academy, casting leisurely shadows between the spires and stone eaves.
After seeing off Warden Bakas, Luoqi McCarthy had returned to the Redmond Building to change his outfit slightly. Then he departed this administrative building of the Protos Royal Magic Academy and headed toward the residential area on the other side of the academy's northern sector.
Whenever Lanqi visited Sigrid at the academy, he would first disguise himself as a student of the Protos Royal Magic Academy before heading to the Domination branch's base of operations there—the residence of her direct retainer, Gloria.
He crossed the academy's bustling main thoroughfare and entered an area lined with courtyards and manors on both sides, where the surroundings grew noticeably quieter.
Even without Sigrid to lead the way, he easily found the manor belonging to Gloria, the direct retainer of the Domination branch, by checking the house numbers, and rang the doorbell.
The chime echoed within Gloria's manor for a moment. Accompanied by approaching footsteps, the front door swung open, revealing a young woman whose expression showed no surprise.
"Please come in," Gloria said, maintaining her aloof demeanor as a senior student.
Once the door was closed, however—
"Lord Holy Son, you have returned."
Gloria hurriedly bowed to Lanqi in deep deference, looking like a terrified girl afraid her stepfather might cast her out of the house.
"How about you treat me like you used to... I'm really not used to this..."
It wasn't that Lanqi sensed any insincerity in her attitude; he just felt she was being a bit excessively deferential...
Without lingering in idle chatter, Lanqi followed Gloria to the living room.
There, Sigrid was reclining on the sofa, engrossed in a book.
Noticing his arrival, she looked up.
Instead of speaking, she merely crooked a finger toward Lanqi with keen amusement, then tapped the empty cushion beside her on the sofa.
"What orders does the Lord Bishop have for me this time?" Lanqi walked over to the spot Sigrid indicated, sat down, and asked.
The instant his eyes met hers, he felt that she already understood—he had come to let her know he had successfully rescued the great demons, so there was no need to say it aloud.
However, Sigrid clearly had something else she wanted to ask him.
"By the way, why do you always take this form every time?" Sigrid studied Lanqi's appearance and asked.
She knew that if anyone noticed Luoqi McCarthy frequently visiting a student's residence, suspicions would inevitably arise.
The issue was that this black-haired, green-eyed look happened to suit her tastes all too well.
During their flight across the northern snowfields earlier, she had briefly caught a glimpse of this disguise with black hair and green eyes.
Back then, she had already wanted to tell her Holy Son not to look quite so conspicuous.
"Because I don't have any other transformation cards left," Lanqi spread his hands helplessly.
Over the past few days, working around the clock to craft the corresponding [Polymorph: Human] and [Polymorph: Demon] cards for the three great demons had barely left him enough time to finish before the deadline.
Any surplus disguise cards had either gone to Hyperion or to Sigrid.
Aside from his targeted [Polymorph: Human] to become Luoqi McCarthy and another targeted [Polymorph: Human] that turned him into the Holy Son of Extinction, all he had left was an original version of [Polymorph: Demon] that turned him into a Glow Demon.
He had no choice but to use his true appearance.
Sigrid hesitated for a moment.
She had originally intended to tell him to let fewer people see this black-haired, green-eyed "disguise" of his in the future, but on second thought, her Holy Son truly hadn't had a single moment of rest these past few days.
"You've worked hard," she finally said.
Throughout these days, Sigrid had been watching the Holy Son craft cards.
It seemed that having her company substantially boosted his crafting speed, though the corresponding costs multiplied several times over as well.
"It's nothing. At an age where one ought to strive, I naturally cannot slack off," Lanqi nodded.
Once he returned to the Southern Continent, he wouldn't even have a chance to hustle like this—things were far too peaceful over there.
"Speaking of which, just how old are you, really?" Sigrid asked with curiosity.
Truth be told, she had wanted to ask this for a long time.
Between identification documents, appearances, and identities, she had seen several different versions of her Holy Son by now, leaving her increasingly unsure of his actual age.
She knew her Holy Son was young, yet she always felt he was as steady and composed as an old headmaster, carrying an innate air of someone from an older generation.
What if he really was in his twenties?
"If we're talking mental age, probably about the same as yours," Lanqi answered with a smile.
"...Are you saying I'm old?"
Sigrid pondered his words for a moment before the realization hit her.
Her fists clenched.
Although the answer was reasonably satisfying, she felt the Holy Son really shouldn't have flashed that smile just now.
That polite-looking yet utterly mocking smirk of his was infuriating.
"..."
Standing beside the sofa listening to the two of them talk, Gloria hung her head and trembled. Never before had she seen anyone chat with the Bishop of Domination like this.
Yet lately, the Holy Son and the Bishop bantered back and forth like this every single day.
Pouting slightly, Sigrid scooted a bit farther away from Lanqi, deciding to ignore him for the moment.
"Oh, right. Boss Cat, keep Side company for the afternoon."
Lanqi summoned Boss Cat from his shadow, scooped it up, and placed it beside Sigrid.
Sigrid already had life-saving magic cards, and with Boss Cat and the academy barrier added to the mix, she would be even safer.
Boss Cat tilted its head, looking back and forth between Lanqi and Side, uncertain whether Side was genuinely upset or just putting on an act.
"By the way, Boss Cat, isn't your shop always short on staff?" Lanqi asked, looking down at the little black cat on the sofa.
"That's right, meow."
Boss Cat felt as though nearly four months had passed since leaving the Southern Continent; it had been so long since it last saw the Boss Cat Restaurant.
Most of its employees were part-time temporary workers. Whenever someone resigned and no replacement could be found in time, the place would descend into chaotic frenzy.
Previously, it had been the sole head chef, but now it had gained another head chef, Asna.
Once it returned to the Southern Continent, the pressure in the kitchen would naturally lessen by a good deal, but the front desk and servers would still be swamped.
"Don't worry. In the future, I'll arrange an enthusiastic and diligent waitstaff, an elegant and gentle receptionist, and a steady, capable manager for you," Lanqi smiled as he shared this wonderful news with Boss Cat.
"Meow, meow, meow! Really?!"
Boss Cat's head snapped up at once.
Though it had already tasted the price of destiny once before...
...this time, it sounded genuinely fine!
After all, student council vice president Asna, whom Lanqi had introduced, had been an enormous help.
Setting aside the bizarre and unhinged Northern Continent Lanqi, it felt that Southern Continent Lanqi was still exceedingly reliable when it came to recommending talent.
"But meow..."
As it pondered, Boss Cat grew somewhat hesitant again.
With so many unfamiliar faces suddenly appearing in the shop, wouldn't Miss Tata feel uncomfortable?
Boss Cat was very fond of Tata, and through their time together, it had noticed she was slightly reclusive by nature.
Asna and Tata already had some contact because Asna had gifted Tata pastries previously, and the two got along quite harmoniously.
As for anyone else, Boss Cat wasn't so sure.
"Don't worry. They're all childhood friends of Tata's," Lanqi stroked Boss Cat's head and said reassuringly.
"Is that so, meow? That's wonderful!"
Hearing that, Boss Cat's worries instantly vanished.
A wonderful girl like Tata, whose background was completely transparent—her friends were bound to be great as well!
Chapter 455