The scenery outside the carriage window shifted continuously.
Summer in Ikerite was familiar only to Hyperion and Boss Cat.
Even during the hottest two or three weeks, temperatures never rose too high. Thanks to the considerable difference between day and night, no matter how scorching the midday sun became, the nights were always wonderfully cool.
Yet for great demons like Antanas, this liveable metropolis filled with order and harmony felt entirely novel.
From Ikerite's ancient landmarks—such as Ikerite Central Station and Saint Brian Cathedral, headquarters of the Church of the Goddess of Fate—to modern buildings with magical glass curtain walls, such as Hutton Pedestrian Plaza where the Card Makers Association stood and Erica Magic Tower where scholars gathered, the diverse architecture added rich charm to the cityscape of Ikerite.
Antanas had already spent the entire journey planning all the places she wanted to visit with Sinora.
Of course, they wanted Hyperion to join them as well.
Faced with the eager gazes of the two great demons, Hyperion nodded and replied with a hint of bashfulness, "Sure, no problem! I've actually never toured the sights in Ikerite with friends before."
For some reason, locals rarely visited attractions in their own hometowns unless friends from out of town came by and needed a guide.
"I love you so much! To think I'm friends with a duke's daughter now!" Antanas found the Second Princess increasingly adorable and couldn't resist throwing her arms around her. "If any of those spoiled noble brats from the Hutton Kingdom ever dare pick on you again, just see if Sinora and I let them get away with it!"
"Wait, no, no, don't!" Hyperion waved her hands frantically.
These two pure-blooded great demons had only just arrived in human society and had no sense of restraint whatsoever. Back at Purgatory Corridor Academy, conflicts between demons were settled simply by slaughtering the other party on the spot.
Her reputation in Ikerite was already close enough to that of a villainous noble lady—it absolutely could not get any worse!
"Why not?" Sinora asked, looking puzzled, as if she couldn't understand why trash shouldn't just be tossed into the dump.
"You just can't resort to violence so casually!" Hyperion found it nearly impossible to explain to them. She cared deeply about her precarious reputation.
"Lanqi, help me out here! Say something!" Hyperion quickly looked toward Lanqi in the front row. Only Lanqi could rein in these two great demons.
Lanqi was absorbed in reading the Hutton Times.
Holding up the newspaper, he said, "When the two of you run into anyone bullying Hyperion, just exercise a bit of moderation. Otherwise, even I won't be able to bail you out."
"...?!"
The first part sounded normal enough to Hyperion, but what was with that last line?!
"Understood. Rest assured, milord," Sinora replied with a nod.
"No, no, no, you don't understand at all!" Hyperion wanted to cry. She realized she truly had turned into a villainous young lady surrounded by Tier 8 demon bodyguards.
In the past, perhaps people had merely been prejudiced against her.
Now the rumors were about to become undeniable reality.
She had no idea what Duke Mikhail would think when he returned to find his ducal estate turned into an imperial demon palace.
"Boss, is there any interesting news?" Antanas suddenly asked, glancing toward Lanqi. He had been reading the paper this entire time.
"It says here that the Destruction Branch launched a massive assault on the Hutton Kingdom's Church of the Goddess of Fate, but High Priest Loren suppressed every single one of them," Lanqi said leisurely. "Apparently, they launched the raid thinking Loren was away, and when Loren showed up, they looked like they'd seen a ghost."
"What happened exactly?" Antanas's interest was piqued at once.
Though she had yet to meet the legendary High Priest Loren in person, she had constantly heard tales about him. Even the demons she knew were all somewhat connected to Loren.
"I'm not sure either. Most of the report consists of media speculation. However, according to expert analysis, the Cardinal of Dimensions may have provided false intelligence that severely misled the Bishop of Destruction," Lanqi read from the newspaper in his hands.
Of course, it was also possible that the Cardinal of Dimensions had spent the past six months nursing his injuries, and now that he was fully healed, he was itching for trouble again, seeking amusement at the cost of his own life.
Half a year ago, when the Bishop of Destruction had put a bounty on Lanqi over the incident involving the Saintess of Destruction, the Cardinal of Dimensions had declared that if Lanqi killed the Son of Destruction as well to satisfy his obsessive-compulsive disorder, he would donate a 20,000-pound charity fund to Ikerite Academy. That incident had subsequently triggered a series of clashes between bishops across the Southern Continent, along with a mana tsunami between the northern and southern continents.
"Also, the United Council of Kingdoms recently issued a warning stating that an unidentified cardinal is traveling south. Their destination may be the Hutton Kingdom, or they might be passing through the Hutton Kingdom to enter the borders of the Creti Empire. The United Council advises residents of the Hutton Kingdom to stay vigilant," Lanqi continued reading as he turned the page.
"A cardinal... like Askesan, the Bishop of Extinction?" Sinora asked nervously.
A cardinal who had been severely injured, far from peak condition, and armed with the wrong counter-cards had still cost three Tier 8 great demons considerable effort to defeat. That battle had left them with a profound respect for the strength of the Resurrection Church's cardinals.
"Yes. Either way, we just need to be a little cautious. With High Priest Loren presiding over the royal capital of Ikerite, it is very safe," Lanqi nodded in reassurance.
He glanced back at Hyperion and noticed her face had grown noticeably pale.
She seemed to wonder whether this cardinal had come for her.
"Don't worry, Hyperion," Lanqi said, lowering the newspaper and giving her a warm smile.
His gaze seemed to convey: *No matter how many dangers arise, I will protect you.*
"Mm," Hyperion nodded, clenching her hands tightly.
Although situations requiring her to protect Lanqi were rare, she made a silent vow that whenever Lanqi was in danger, she would protect him at all costs.
"By the way, the news also mentions that because the Destruction Branch's ambush failed, the Bishop of Destruction's movements are shifting away from the Hutton Kingdom. With the defensive pressure on the kingdom eased, many scheduled events between eastern realms like the Hutton Kingdom and the Aloran Kingdom are set to resume," Lanqi said, moving on to lighter topics to ease Hyperion's mind.
Hearing this, Hyperion looked up blankly.
She still remembered how, thanks to the 'efforts' of their student council, the academic delegation from the Aloran Kingdom had nearly ended in a tragedy where no one survived.
It was clearly good news, yet hearing it come from Lanqi's mouth inexplicably terrified her!
Even now, there had probably been no follow-up to that date between Dean Loren and Knight Commander Juliana, which Lanqi had orchestrated single-handedly.
"Ikerite has quite a few summer festivals and activities..."
As Lanqi read through the news for them, afternoon crept up unawares.
The carriage they were riding slowly glided past the vicinity of Ikerite Academy.
Chapter 491