The morning sky over Ikerite was tinged with a faint cyan-blue; in the newly broken dawn of summer, the air across the entire city was remarkably crisp and clean.
On the ground floor of Boss Cat Restaurant, the fragrant aroma of oats and cheese still lingered.
A moment ago had clearly been a relaxing spell of small talk among the three new employees after finishing their breakfast.
Yet that customary tranquility had been shattered by the arrival of a guest.
"You lot...!"
Talia's pupils contracted, her mouth parting slightly. She couldn't form a complete sentence, but her expression said everything—
It was an amalgamation of astonishment and bewilderment, as though her brain had ceased functioning.
Her body leaned back slightly, instinctively trying to recoil from the source of her shock.
Then her fingers clenched into fists, unconsciously tugging at the hem of her clothes—a self-soothing reflex under severe emotional distress.
Her shoulders were taut, instinctively falling into a defensive posture.
In an instant, Talia made a dozen false starts and feints.
This was mortifying beyond belief. She had never endured such misery in her entire life!
The surroundings lost all significance at this moment. Her entire focus and emotion converged completely on what stood before her, narrowing her world down to this single focal point while everything else blurred into triviality.
Though the three employees inside the restaurant possessed unfamiliar faces, Talia recognized them in an instant from their familiar aura and fluctuations of magical power!
The woman seated before the bar rested a hand gently over her chest with a serene expression, her eyes closed, draped in a black gown like a refined noble lady, her rare movements exceedingly subtle—she was Sinora.
And that casual, jaunty woman with short hair, clad in a leather vest, tight leather trousers, and knee-high boots, was clearly Antanas.
The man wearing a dark brown suit vest behind the dimly lit bar, appearing exceptionally reserved and solemn, was undoubtedly Pranay.
Though their eyes normally carried an innate coldness, when they laid eyes upon Talia at this moment, they too froze in stunned disbelief.
Both sides stared at each other in silence for several seconds.
Finally.
"Talia! Lanqi brought us out of the Protos Empire!"
Antanas lunged straight forward, throwing her arms around the dazed Talia.
"Ah... ah..."
Talia let Antanas shake her back and forth, her mind still completely blank, unable to process what was happening.
She felt as though her brain had frozen completely.
Had someone cast the illusion of the Gentle Land of the Fallen?
She had opened the door only to see Antanas, Sinora, and Pranay?
How could that be possible?
Lanqi had only gone to the Northern Continent for half a year—how could he track down three great demons in the Protos Empire, let alone "bring" them back?!
Talia finally shook her head vigorously and pinched Antanas's cheek.
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Antanas cried out with her eyes shut tight.
"It's not a dream..."
Talia murmured.
"You've changed, Talia! Who taught you to pinch someone else to check if you're dreaming?!"
Antanas's cheeks were flushed, yet tears of joy brimmed at the corners of her eyes as she complained.
Not far away, by the restaurant entrance.
"Meow, Lanqi finally did something good for once."
Sprawled atop Hyperion's head, Boss Cat watched the touching reunion and couldn't resist wiping away a tear.
This was the first time it had ever seen Tata, normally as cold as an iceberg, reduced to utter bewilderment.
"Indeed..."
The Poet of Great Love, who had appeared beside Hyperion and Boss Cat at some unknown point, nodded approvingly, her voice sounding as if she were grinding her molars together.
Having returned to Ikerite ahead of time along with the three great demons, her sudden presence in the restaurant was completely natural.
"..."
Hyperion had no idea why, but a chill ran down her spine.
In her recollection...
Ever since returning from Herrom Prison, the Poet of Great Love had grown taciturn. Whenever Lanqi assigned her tasks, she would carry them out in silence; whenever Lanqi spoke to her, she preferred to answer only with a smile.
Lanqi had commented that this was probably personal growth.
He had felt deeply gratified by it.
Only Hyperion found this version of the Poet of Great Love downright creepy.
The way the Poet of Great Love looked at Lanqi right now was like a predator that had cornered its prey, and the smile curving her lips was a hundred percent flawless fake!
Hyperion couldn't shake an ominous premonition.
Over by the restaurant counter.
"Talia..."
Unlike Antanas's carefree and outspoken nature, Sinora seemed not to have recovered from her shock yet. She found it hard to imagine how, when Talia walked through the door just now, she appeared completely transformed into a foodie who had seamlessly blended into human society.
Was this truly the Talia she knew?
Sinora glanced toward her elder brother.
However...
Pranay was already wiping a glass with practiced ease, pretending as though nothing had happened.
He possessed top-tier survival instincts.
"..."
Seeing the reaction of the siblings, Talia felt her cheeks flush crimson.
If they had sneered or mocked her right now, Talia might have found that an acceptable punishment.
Yet...
Their evasive attitude made Talia feel that all was truly lost, as though she were sitting on pins and needles!
Her mortification had now grown so excruciating that it made even them feel awkward!
"You. Come with me."
Talia grabbed Antanas's shoulders and pushed her gently aside, looking toward Lanqi. Her tone gave away neither anger nor joy.
Yet every single word carried a tremor.
"Tata."
Lanqi was still smiling innocently, appearing utterly guileless.
Yet he cut himself off midway.
Currently, only his head could move. His body was pinned down as though bearing the weight of a mountain, completely paralyzed.
Talia stood right beside him, using mental magic to commandeer his body.
Talia's golden eyes bore into him like a hawk's. Completely ignoring how weak, pitiful, and helpless he appeared, her gaze asked only one thing: would he walk on his own, or did she need to help him walk?
She quickly turned around and headed toward the stairs.
"I have some business to discuss with Tata in private..."
With his heart rate accelerating slightly, Lanqi gave a polite greeting to the three great demons, leaving behind the bewildered trio and a ground floor that had suddenly turned excessively quiet. He followed behind Talia, heading up to the second floor along the creaking wooden staircase.
Walking all the way to the deepest end of the corridor, Talia produced a key from her pocket and unlocked the door to her home.
"Get in."
Talia said through gritted teeth.
Before Lanqi could even hesitate, Talia shoved him into the room.
"Tata, you..."
Stumbling a couple of steps before regaining his footing, he looked around the familiar little apartment and spoke up.
The walls were painted in soft shades of cream, pale orange, and beige—warm and luminous—while the wooden furniture, meticulously polished by Boss Cat during the shop's construction, showed off its natural grain.
Yet at this moment, inside the tightly shut room, the heartbeats of both occupants were anything but calm.
"You!"
Talia seized Lanqi's necktie, the expression in her eyes shifting from indignation to resolve, and finally to deep emotion.
Her sudden, overwhelming social death just now had momentarily stirred an urge to perish together with Lanqi.
Yet the appearance of the three great demons left her knowing not what to express toward Lanqi besides profound gratitude.
"What on earth did you do in the Northern Continent?"
Talia's mind was in utter turmoil.
She couldn't read Lanqi's mind.
She didn't know whether this fellow was truly doing it for her sake or simply wanted to watch her make a fool of herself.
Yet that was secondary for now. All she wanted was to understand Lanqi's bizarre, fantastical experiences in the Northern Continent.
How on earth had he managed to bring back three great demons just from a single trip to the Northern Continent?!
The most terrifying thing in the world was when someone you knew spent ages interacting with another group of your acquaintances behind your back, casually sharing laughs over your dark history!
"That starts with the political situation in the Protos Empire. It's very complicated. Calm down first, and let me explain it to you slowly."
Lanqi raised both hands, signaling Talia to take deep breaths. Her emotions were too volatile right now; if the Poet of Great Love inadvertently provoked her on top of this, Lanqi didn't dare imagine what would happen.
His heart was only beating slightly faster, but he remained steady. Everything was well within his grasp.
Thankfully, Talia had no idea that in the beginning over in the Protos Empire, the great demons had nearly mistaken him for her husband; otherwise, there would be no explaining his way out of that.
"You... Protos Empire... my husband?"
Talia said, her voice trembling.
Lanqi: "???"
Since when did she know mind reading?!
And why did you only read half of it?!
Chapter 519