The next day.
In the eastern part of the city-state of Ikerite, at the new Wilfort residence.
Inside the spacious, brightly lit first-floor dining room, the early morning sun filtered through the window lattice, casting the gentle contours of tree leaves across every corner.
Out in the courtyard, an occasional summer breeze drifted through, carrying the delicate blended fragrance of assorted flowers from the distant garden.
Today’s breakfast at the Wilfort home differed slightly from usual.
At one side of the dining table, in addition to the head of the family, Noe, sat a rather unusual figure.
“Dad, could you give me some money?”
“Not a chance!”
Sitting at the head of the table, Noe Wilfort wore his usual stern expression, though his eyes betrayed mixed feelings as his gaze fell upon Lanqi.
Just thinking about it made Noe bristle. Thanks to this brat, the numbers in his accounts had plummeted precipitously over the past year. On top of that, the company’s cross-border trade had shrunk by more than half, and purchasing this new residence in Ikerite had cost another fortune.
Had Lanqi not excelled so thoroughly in his studies, he would have been indistinguishable from any typical good-for-nothing spendthrift!
“Fine.”
Lanqi knew he had already fleeced quite a bit from his old man over the past year; the well had finally run dry.
Yet he truly was strapped for cash at the moment.
Aside from the bonus he had received from the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association for completing the Tier 7 Shadow World, plus the meager savings he had left, he had virtually no other funds.
He had brought back plenty of rare-grade sealed magic cards from the Northern Continent, but when passing through Southern Continent customs, he hadn’t declared them, which defaulted them to personal use. Trying to trade them would not only be a bureaucratic nightmare to list, but would also incur exorbitant back taxes.
What was more, those cards were indeed his reserve fuel. He would be heading to the Creti Empire soon, so he had no wish to part with them.
Next, when he traveled to the Bosen Kingdom, purchasing the auxiliary crafting materials for Caliera's Shadow Loom Record would cost a pretty penny.
Although he received a generous salary and privileges as a Platinum-rank card maker invigilator, along with steep discounts when buying materials at the Southern Continent Card Makers Association, having as much money on hand as possible before departing for the Bosen Kingdom was still the wisest course.
He could hardly go to Hyperion and say, “Hyperion, I’ve run out of cash. Lend me some spending money, will you?” That would feel completely wrong.
Her ducal house was wealthy, to be sure, but all that money sat in Duke Mikhail’s accounts and couldn’t be touched until she inherited. Her personal funds were what she had scraped together by living frugally since childhood; in truth, she lived more modestly than the vast majority of noble ladies.
In order to earn some money, Lanqi had even begun accepting card-crafting commissions.
Of course, the compensation offered by the president’s elder sister was quite handsome, fully matching his rates as a Platinum-rank card maker.
Yet commissions like that were rare, and unless it was someone he knew well, he would never casually craft transformation cards—a proprietary secret of his—for just anyone.
The dining table, carved from fine mahogany and coated in a delicate layer of glossy lacquer, reflected the silverware, glass goblets, and Lanqi’s pensive expression.
While he pondered, dishes brought from the kitchen gradually filled the table with a hearty breakfast.
“How have things been at school lately?”
Noe gestured for Lanqi to eat, picking up his utensils with practiced ease as he asked.
“Now that I’m in my second year, things are considerably more relaxed overall. There isn’t as much student council business, and all I really have to do each day is study in Professor Borao’s workshop. It’s just these next few days that might be a little busy,” Lanqi replied, extending his fork toward the Wilfort family dishes.
Today was Friday; tomorrow was the weekend.
Yesterday, after returning home, he had finished crafting the card for Miss Florence to transform into a youth. When he headed to the Old Liberal Arts Building shortly, he could simply stop by the third floor first and leave the card in the student council room.
Lanqi hadn’t been back home since returning from the Shadow World.
His father and the household had temporarily relocated from the South Vantina frontier territory to the royal capital of Ikerite. Their residence stood east of Boss Cat’s restaurant, nearer to the commercial district around the Southern Continent Card Makers Association, close to the Erica Magic Tower and Hutton Pedestrian Plaza on the east side of the capital.
So after leaving the student council room yesterday evening, Lanqi had gone straight back to the Wilfort residence.
Since Professor Borao had told him that arriving at the lab before nine-thirty was plenty early enough, Lanqi could leisurely enjoy breakfast at home and head back to school without any rush.
As for the Poet of Great Love, she had the key to Lanqi’s dormitory room. She hadn’t left campus with him yesterday; after clocking out at the lab, she had gone straight to the card-crafting workshop in his dorm. She had likely headed off early to the School of Magic Engineering this morning.
“That’s good. Seeing how well you’re doing now truly fills me with emotion.”
Noe glanced toward the side of the dining room and sighed sentimentally.
Now that Lanqi had stopped binge drinking, a new liquor cabinet had been installed in the dining room of their new house, showcasing fine vintages from all over the Southern Continent.
Whenever the brat drank until he blacked out, he had zero recollection. According to Hans, on that day he had shot a pigeon, gotten excessively giddy, and stumbled into the Church of the Goddess of Fate by sheer accident, knocking a gemstone off the sacred statue and causing no end of trouble for the priests.
Fortunately, the benevolent and noble priests had not held his transgression against him, declaring that it was its own kind of destined connection.
While father and son conversed, the household magic apparatus Noe had turned on earlier began broadcasting a new program.
“From the Hutton Times Channel, today’s Morning Melody comes courtesy of Lanfu Wilfort, a newly signed artist under the Ikerite Academy School of Magic Engineering.”
The spoon in Lanqi’s hand trembled slightly.
Immediately after, that familiar, cloyingly sweet voice echoed through the Wilfort dining room:
“Darling, you look so cute today too~
“So cute I want to eat you up instead of breakfast~
“The words so hard to say, now I can tell you without holding back~”
“Wilfort? Isn’t that the same surname as ours?”
For a moment, Noe had thought it said Lanqi Wilfort.
“Is this the sort of song popular with young people nowadays? Still, the voice sounds a bit like Miss Tata,” Noe remarked after listening to a few lines.
“Just being near you makes my racing heartbeat surge with sweetness, helpless to stop~
“Your darling face leaves me utterly intoxicated; before memories begin to fade, I want to stay by your side forever, like a waking dream~”
“Unlikely. Miss Tata’s tone of voice is nothing like this.”
Butler Hans, approaching with a tray, furrowed his brow slightly as he listened and replied.
He was only passing by.
Setting down the dishes, he departed once more.
“Oh~ I feel like I’m suffocating, but you are my air; I can’t wait a single second more~”
“I still think it sounds just like Miss Tata’s voice,” Noe said, setting down his utensils and closing his eyes to savor it.
“Lanqi, why are you so quiet?”
Noe suddenly looked over at Lanqi, who was sitting frozen beside the dining table.
Chapter 619