Morning light filtered through the glass skylight, lingering over wooden beams and bookshelves.
Lanqi sat on a stool opposite Talia’s lounge chair, chatting with her.
"So you came to see me today because of the Shadow World."
Talia stated it without any question in her tone.
"Help me take a look at this material."
Lanqi took out a gemstone with a gradient of pale blue hues from his pocket and laid it flat in his palm.
The faceted jewel instantly bloomed with radiance in the morning dawn. Its color deepened from the center toward the edges, shimmering like the shallows of an ocean.
"..."
Talia cast a brief glance at Lanqi, set down the little fox in her arms, and gently took Caliera's Shadow Weaving Record from his hand.
Holding the chilled, multifaceted gem, she closed her eyes, not bothering to look at it with her eyes, but sensing its magic power.
"Is this... the magic of the great demon Caliera?" Talia murmured in wonder.
Back when the Demon Realm kingdom still existed, there was a Great Demon Trial known as the Gentle Land of the Fallen, which Talia had also attempted.
Now, truly feeling Caliera’s magic power, she found this great demon's energy exceedingly familiar—even somewhat intimate, as if resonating with her.
The last time she had experienced such a feeling was when she held the Wilfort family heirloom, the Hymn of Compassion.
"Right. In this Shadow World, Hyperion and I met Caliera of the Fall from ancient Demon Realm times and formed a bit of a bond with her. In the end, the Shadow World reward turned out to be Caliera’s treasure..."
Lanqi gave Talia a brief overview of what happened in the Shadow World.
"By the way, do you have a Mark of the Fallen?" Lanqi asked at the end.
"I don't. But back before the demon kingdom fell, the Gentle Land of the Fallen trial wasn't difficult for me—it was just very time-consuming, so I chose other mental trials instead." Talia shook her head slightly.
She carried no deep-seated emotional trauma, so the Gentle Land of the Fallen had little effect on her; all she needed to do was spot its flaws to break free.
"Oh!"
Lanqi understood. To complete the Gentle Land of the Fallen trial, one couldn't eat anything before walking all one hundred and thirty-one steps. To Talia, that was outright torture, so of course she hadn't wanted to challenge that trial.
"What kind of torture are you imagining?"
Talia's voice suddenly snapped Lanqi back to reality.
He shuddered and immediately reined in his stray thoughts.
"Anyway, just don't go trying the Gentle Land of the Fallen. Hyperion thought she could breeze through that spell barrier at first, but in the end, she couldn't break free on her own at all," Lanqi said.
"Makes sense," Talia nodded.
She could pretty much imagine what kind of dream Hyperion would encounter, and she knew how difficult it would be for Hyperion to pull herself away from such a dream.
Lately, however, she often felt as though her reality was slipping into the spell of the Gentle Land of the Fallen from time to time.
A year ago, she had been a drifter sleeping rough under open skies, eating one meal only to starve the next, living worse than a stray cat.
Later, she had plenty of money, a registry in the Hutton Kingdom, a cozy dwelling, and had settled into an easy, comfortable life every day. Then, out of nowhere, her niece had been brought to her side, she made friends in this city, and later even an old friend from a century ago had been fetched all the way from the Northern Continent.
All of these absurd developments had unfolded in the span of a single year.
At times, she found herself questioning whether she was trapped in the Gentle Land of the Fallen.
If Lanqi granted another wish or two of hers, she might truly become immune to the Gentle Land of the Fallen—because reality and dreams would be indistinguishable, giving her no reason to lose herself in illusion.
Thinking about it like that, she felt she owed Lanqi a few words of thanks, yet had no idea how to voice them.
"So, you want me to help you craft a card?" Talia handed the jewel back to Lanqi.
Whenever Lanqi came looking for her holding an enigmatic, high-tier material, she basically knew what he was after.
This moment was an exact echo of the past.
It had been the same back at the South Vantina frontier territory when they crafted the Hymn of Compassion together.
"Yes, precisely that," Lanqi confirmed.
"Alright." Talia looked down at the fox rolling around on the floor and agreed without hesitation.
Just like last time.
Besides, she knew Lanqi intended to go to the Creti Empire, and before heading there, he needed more dependable strength.
"Also, in the middle of this month, I need to make a trip to the Bosen Kingdom to shop for materials. But for the high-tier materials, I might need your help to appraise and select them," Lanqi continued.
"You want me to go with you?" Talia asked.
"Yes. It's an official dispatch, so all the travel and lodging for an assistant will be covered by the Southern Continent Card Makers Association. At the same time, you'll hold the title of Examiner's Assistant, which grants extremely high privileges when shopping or sightseeing at the Southern Continent Card Makers Association branch in the Bosen Kingdom." Lanqi nodded.
Moreover, Professor Borao had warned him that things were rather turbulent across the Southern Continent lately, so it was best to bring along a capable bodyguard.
"I see."
She had long heard of the Bosen Kingdom's exceptional cuisine, but compared to domestic travel, the journey was quite far, and since she had to protect Hyperion, she hadn't planned on traveling there.
"Will you bring Pranay and the others?"
"I want to ask them to guard our home base." The Wilfort family had now moved to Ikerite, and their newly purchased residence was not far from Ikerite Academy. After the ambush back in the South Vantina territory, Lanqi had asked Pranay and the others to keep an eye on the Wilfort family's safety from time to time. The Blood Clan likely already knew of Hyperion's connection to the Wilfort family.
Originally, Lanqi had thought about bringing Pranay's group and leaving Talia to watch over things. After all, Talia was well-acquainted with the Wilfort family by now, and wouldn't feel out of place even staying in their house.
But since he had to bring Talia along, he could only have Pranay and the others hold the fort.
Looking at it that way, leaving Hyperion at their base in Ikerite was the safest option; he couldn't casually drag her abroad into danger.
"Understood."
Talia grasped Lanqi's reasoning. If it was just the two of them making a swift round trip, such a short journey wouldn't easily draw the attention of the Resurrection Church or the Blood Clan, making it more than safe enough—since the Resurrection Church's animosity was almost entirely focused on Hyperion.
"How much will the card-making commission fee be this time?" Lanqi asked after a moment's thought.
Last time, it was a ten-year mortgage of seventy-five thousand pounds, and by now he had only paid off roughly the interest, still owing Talia over seventy thousand pounds.
Back then, however, they had crafted a Tier 1 card, whereas this time Lanqi hoped to produce a Tier 6 card. The price would certainly scale exponentially.
He was already braced for Talia to make an exorbitant demand.
"Bring my sister back to me. That will be the payment," Talia replied faintly.
"Uh, but I was already planning to help Hyperion bring Miss Efatia back."
Lanqi hadn't expected Talia to make such a straightforward request this time.
He didn't want to take advantage of Talia; having a black-and-white contract between them gave him far more peace of mind.
"I know, but that is my only remaining wish. As long as you can help me bring my sister back, crafting this card for you—or crafting cards for you forever—is fine by me," Talia said.
She was now thoroughly convinced of what Asna had called Lanqi's "civil service capability." Whenever it came to a missing-person commission, no matter how outrageous, he could basically pull it off.
"Uh..."
Lanqi was stunned.
He hadn't expected this previously unyielding demon princess to become so considerate.
A fake favorability game would flash notifications every time, but when asked, the character hadn't even thought of what the milestone reward should be.
A real favorability game never gave any notification when gifts were brought, but the favorability genuinely ticked up each time—from giving him the cold shoulder at first, to offering to treat him to meals, then letting him hang around her home, and now even agreeing to make cards with him.
"Don't celebrate too early. Collaborative card crafting isn't that simple. Last time, our processes were completely divided, each handling our own part. If you actually want me to work with you like the Poet of Great Love to produce a high-tier card, we'll need plenty of practice," Talia reminded him in a calm tone.
Their natural paces were entirely out of sync; every time Talia watched Lanqi craft cards, she felt like he was just messing around.
All that could be said was that fortunately, Lanqi had been taught by her personally. Compared to unfamiliar card makers, at least they understood each other's card-making habits.
"No problem! I still have a few matters to handle over the next couple of days, but as soon as I wrap them up, I'll come practice with you!" Lanqi answered with a smile, standing up to return to Ikerite Academy.
Over the next two days, he still needed to consult Professor Borao, help the President out of a bind, and help Dean Loren sort out his date.
Once everything at Ikerite Academy was settled, he could dedicate himself wholeheartedly to card crafting!
Chapter 616