After a bout of tussling, Lanqi brushed off his sleeves and sat down beside Talia once more.
"Sorry about that. How much mana do you have left?"
Talia seemed to realize that their scuffle just now had technically counted as entering a combat state.
Although it wasn't a full-blown combat state against an actual enemy, the mana consumption was definitely much higher than usual.
"More than half left. It's fine if we're just talking. If there's anything else, let's communicate and sort it out quickly."
Lanqi shook his head weakly.
"By the way, why did I still get slightly stronger?"
Sensing her own condition, Talia asked him in confusion.
Even though her final stats were supposed to be her stats plus the Poet of Great Love's multiplied by one hundred percent, the Poet's base stats were practically negligible.
"Maybe it's the [Mark of Hopelessness]? The mark of the ancient Tier 9 great demon Satia of Hopelessness slightly strengthens all of the user's summons,"
Lanqi pondered for a moment and answered.
If versatility was the measure, this was the strongest great demon mark he had seen so far.
"I've always wanted that mark, but the battle of extinction against Hopelessness was far too difficult, so I gave up on ever getting it... Huh? Wait."
As Talia spoke, she suddenly noticed something amiss.
She had assumed Lanqi learned about the mark's effects from Pranay.
Hurriedly, she inspected her soul space.
The next second, she checked it again.
She suspected her eyes were playing tricks on her.
How on earth did she have nine great demon marks?!
"One, two, three, four... eight, nine."
After counting them one by one, Talia sat on the edge of the bed in a daze.
Must have gotten out of bed too fast—she had turned into the Demon King.
"What's wrong?"
Lanqi waved an open palm before Talia's eyes, slowly bringing her gaze back into focus.
"Th-these great demon marks... what is going on with them?"
Talia asked, questioning her entire demonic existence.
"When I went to the Northern Continent, circumstances forced my hand, so I took six. Added to the three you already had, it looks like it totaled nine," Lanqi replied with a shake of his head.
In fact, of all the demons at Boss Cat's Restaurant, Talia was the only one who didn't know he had six great demon marks. After all, while everyone else was on the Northern Continent discussing the grand cause of restoring their kingdom, she was happily enjoying herself on the Southern Continent, not giving a single thought to her demonic kind.
"How could great demon marks be so easy to obtain?"
Talia still couldn't comprehend it, momentarily forgetting even the infuriating thoughts Lanqi had just entertained.
She could guess that the [Mark of Protection], [Spellbreaker Mark], and [Mark of Truth] were the marks of her old friends. If Lanqi had used the Poet of Great Love's demonic body, he might indeed have been able to obtain great demon marks and house them within the Poet's spiritual foundation.
But what about the [Mark of the Fall], [Mark of Hopelessness], and [Inverted Mark]?
"Caliera of the Fall acknowledged me in person. Isn't it only reasonable that I passed her trial and took her mark?" Lanqi asked, puzzled.
"I suppose..." Talia murmured.
According to Hyperion, Caliera got along quite well with the two of them, almost as if she had replaced Talia's own position.
"Don't worry, Tata. Miss Caliera is different from you—at least she possesses a clear sense of self-awareness," Lanqi said, looking at Talia with pity.
"..."
Talia felt her fists clench again.
Even though she hadn't caught whatever thought he had just had, she knew he was definitely taking a sly dig at her!
"The other two marks did involve a bit of luck, but rest assured, both are authentic demon goods acquired from the Great Demon Trials in Herrom Prison. After all, as a demon, you ought to feel the boosts the marks grant far better than I can," Lanqi quickly cut into her train of thought and continued.
"...Yes," Talia confirmed with a complicated expression.
Perhaps those six marks didn't truly belong to her, but while fused with the Poet of Great Love, she genuinely became a nine-marked great demon—in other words, a Demon King.
At this moment, her Demon King bloodline was no longer merely inherited from previous generations; she had awakened the unique constitution of a Demon King within herself.
How could something so absurd happen?
She had thought Lanqi bringing her three great demon old friends back was already more unreal than a dream.
Now, she wouldn't even dare to dream of something like this.
Sitting at home minding her own business, and the mantle of a Demon King drops straight from the sky?
Still feeling unable to distinguish reality from illusion, she reached out and pinched Lanqi's cheek.
"Ouch!" Lanqi yelled indignantly.
"So it really isn't a dream..." Talia murmured as if sleepwalking.
"Wait, we have a natal contract now; are you still worried about falling into an illusion? With my resistance, I could wake you up at any time," Lanqi asked her, utterly bewildered.
Last time when Talia pinched Antanas, he didn't say anything.
This time when it was his turn to be pinched, he didn't say anything either.
What can I say?
"Does that mean I can also use all of your summons?"
Talia suddenly snapped to, asking him.
She recalled that the Poet of Great Love could use Lanqi's magic cards. Although Lanqi couldn't use the Poet's summon abilities through his own body, the Poet could act as Lanqi's avatar to activate cards placed alongside her on his behalf.
"That should be right. Aside from her low mana consumption, the Poet of Great Love has basically been made redundant by you now," Lanqi nodded.
"This..."
Normally, when encountering magic cards soul-bound to another person, it was virtually impossible to activate them at will unless they were trigger-type or self-aware magic cards. But now, Talia was certain that Lanqi's cards were also her cards.
Having acquired Demonic Voice, immortality, the Demon King marks, and the right to use those bizarre spells, she felt she had suddenly become vastly stronger than before.
If not for the fact that her mana provider could only support her in combat for a very brief time, she might have actually believed she was a true Demon King.
"Not bad. Although having my freedom restricted makes me very unhappy, for now, I can accept it," Talia sighed.
After fusing with the Poet of Great Love, life for the near future would inevitably involve some trouble and adjustments, but for now, she could only accept reality.
'How wonderful would it be if this guy had an Original Slate? That would mean I could reap the benefits too,' she couldn't help thinking greedily.
However, she remained lucid; right now, there was no way they could obtain something like an Original Slate, which belonged only to Tier 8 supreme powerhouses.
"So Tata, please turn back into a magic card quickly and let me regenerate some mana."
Lanqi had never felt so strapped for mana in his life.
If they kept chatting, his mana really was going to bottom out.
"Alright. Wait until I leave a note for Hyperion saying I have to travel far for a few days, telling her to take good care of herself at home."
As Talia spoke, she took a notepad from the cabinet and began writing.
"Are you planning to take Lanfu's place?" Lanqi asked, looking at her back.
"What, should I tell them I've turned into your natal waifu card?" Talia glanced back, gave him a cold glare, and asked flatly.
She would rather vanish into thin air than let her friends find out about this.
Forming a natal contract through such a bizarre stroke of fate and having to live together for a while was indeed far too awkward for both of them.
"Understood." Lanqi nodded nervously.
A secret like this was best taken to the grave.
"Anyway, Lanfu usually stays as a magic card or hangs around your dorm with nothing to do. Pretending to be her will be as simple as can be," Talia said, her back to Lanqi as she kept writing the note.
"Indeed."
Lanqi felt it was wonderful that Talia had figured this out on her own.
The two of them had reached a rare consensus.
As she wrote, Talia cast a reluctant, lingering look at the sealed food containers on her oak cabinet. Beneath the transparent lids lay various snacks—sea salt cocoa cookies, oat coconut cakes, pineapple pastries, and more. She would just have to let Antanas share them with everyone so they wouldn't go to waste.
Just as Talia continued writing, Lanqi suddenly seemed to recall something and sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
Professor Borao had mentioned that the Academic Regulatory Committee's inspections had been rather strict recently, so Lanfu shouldn't skip classes if possible; he had told Lanqi to supervise Lanfu closely and make sure she clocked in and out of the laboratory every day.
Ikerite Academy did not merely belong to the Kingdom of Hutton; it was also officially certified and directly supervised at the highest level by the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association and the Southern Continent United Kingdom Council. Along with its numerous privileges and conveniences came the obligation to meet corresponding performance metrics, demonstrating results in return for the Association's backing.
Lanqi had solemnly promised that he would make sure Lanfu attended school properly.
The earlier reason Professor Borao had hesitated to take him on as a student was precisely the academic review pressure facing Ikerite Academy.
'I'm doomed.
If I tell Talia that she has to wear a school uniform and go to school with me every single day for the next few days... will she kill me...?'
Chapter 646