A summer afternoon.
"Finally done for the day."
"Time to go forage for food, meow."
Having wrapped up their work for the day, Lanqi and Talia stepped out of the School of Magic Engineering's Old Liberal Arts Building and into the garden by the entrance. Boss Cat slipped out of the shadows once more and perched on Lanqi's shoulder.
After saying goodbye to Professor Borao, they still needed to pick up a few things along the way before heading home.
Although the summer days were long, the golden sunlight had subtly begun to take on a tinge of orange-red. In another hour or two, it would likely start sinking west. Shadows stretched long in the late summer afternoon.
Yet no matter how far the setting sun lengthened them, Talia's figure still only came up to his shoulder.
She casually tilted her head up, looking at his face towering above her.
Look at this crafty, arrogant, detestable face.
Compared to when she first met him over a year ago, she clearly found him even more annoying now, yet here she was, still having to stay by his side day in and day out.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, a purple magic card materialized in her hand.
Her sudden halt prompted Lanqi and Boss Cat to stop as well.
"Wait a moment, a call from a friend."
With that, Talia trotted off and sat down on a distant bench.
"Miss Zhuzhu! No, no, you're not disturbing me at all."
"..."
From a distance, Lanqi watched Talia leaning back against the bench.
Though he couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, snatches of Talia's voice drifted over intermittently.
It was rare to see her chatting so happily with a friend.
He ambled over to a large tree in the garden and sat down. At a time like this, it was best to let Talia take her time chatting with her friend without worry; if he stood waiting out in the open path, she would feel bad about making him wait.
Before he could give Talia another thought, however, Boss Cat handed him a glowing communication magic card.
"Meow, Lanqi, you've got a call too," the little black cat announced.
Currently, Lanqi had no free card slots left—every single one of them was dedicated to supporting Tata. Any other magic card that could be unbound had been entrusted to Boss Cat.
Lanqi glanced at the card and saw that the caller was Loren.
He accepted the call immediately.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Love Drillmaster. Here's the thing... I'm having dinner with Juliana again tonight. Is there anything I should watch out for?"
The magic card flickered with purple light as Loren's voice came through.
"Based on my analysis, she'll only be truly happy if you take her out to eat at least three times in one evening. So the key is picking up on her hints and keeping her company as much as possible. Do you have plenty of time today?"
After thinking it over, Lanqi lowered his voice slightly and held the communication magic card in front of him to ask.
During their last date, Loren and Juliana had agreed to have dinner together again, and sure enough, it was happening.
"Oh, right now I've just finished work at the temple and said goodbye to Almis. Then I promised to watch a horror movie with Florence at home tonight—he rented one."
Loren's reply came through the card once more.
Boss Cat's ears twitched on Lanqi's shoulder as he listened.
*You really are striving to be a master of time management, Director Loren.*
From Loren's perspective, treating the Ice Snow Witch Almis as a colleague, Paladin Commander Florence as a brother, and Juliana as more than a friend but not yet official was entirely harmless.
Yet to Boss Cat's ears, it sounded like Loren was brewing nuclear fusion!
"Please hold on a moment."
Lanqi covered the communication magic card, walked back inside the Old Liberal Arts Building, and made his way to a lounge in the Student Service Center.
The soaring ceiling and pillars of the first floor created a spacious view, where dark wood furniture intertwined with textured stone walls.
Lanqi went over to a conversation area off to the side of the main hall. Furnished with several sets of sofas and low coffee tables, the space was lent a quiet elegance by several floor lamps set beside the carpet.
He sat down cradling the little black cat, now comfortably far from Talia.
"Alright, let's continue," Lanqi said in a gentle, thoroughly professional tone.
"Was it inconvenient for you to talk just now, Drillmaster?" Loren asked with a hint of apology from the other end.
"It might indeed be a bit inconvenient over the next few days. An elder has arrived at my home and could overhear me at any time," Lanqi admitted. He pulled a small notebook from his pocket and drew out the pen clipped to it. "So I might not be able to offer real-time guidance. But for now it's fine. From what you've described, there don't seem to be any major issues at the moment. Over the coming period, just play it by ear and be confident. Have there been any unusual behaviors from Almis or Florence lately?"
Maintaining the call, he jotted down key points like a physician taking patient notes.
"Almis seems to have gone through my things. Even though she left no trace, I could faintly sense her mana. It's probably related to work, though—she's always helping me handle church affairs at the temple, so needing to find some documents from time to time is perfectly normal. But why would she even search through my wardrobe...?" Loren muttered somewhat uncertainly to himself.
"What kind of person do you think the Ice Snow Witch, Almis, is?" Lanqi asked, cutting past Loren's hesitant rambling.
"If I had to describe her, she's probably my white moonlight," Loren said, his tone deepening with unmistakable gratitude toward the Ice Snow Witch. "Back when I felt on the verge of collapsing, she was the only one who quietly stepped in to help me, shouldering all the church's affairs. So no matter how cold she usually acts toward me, I'll always believe she's a good person."
"..."
Lanqi remained silent for a moment.
"Just keep pretending you don't know anything. In fact, you can deliberately leave more openings so she can search your belongings as she pleases. Even if you catch her in the act, don't expose her—smooth things over and help her brush it off. Absolute tolerance is the best way you can repay her."
Having analyzed the situation, Lanqi offered his conclusion.
Although the witch route seemed a bit unorthodox in his eyes, it was the Ice Snow Witch who had steadfastly supported Loren during his darkest hours and weathered the storm with him. To Lanqi, such devotion through thick and thin was extraordinarily precious.
Since the witch clearly showed a keen interest in Loren, Lanqi felt obligated to tie this red string of fate.
Boss Cat looked up and glared at Lanqi.
He felt that ever since returning to the Southern Continent, the good news was that Lanqi's matchmaking had become more conventional—no more welding people together. But the bad news was that he had started weaving fabric instead!
"What do you mean?" Loren asked, completely bewildered. "But if I do that, what if she realizes one day that I was only pretending not to know she was rummaging through my things and was even playing along? Won't she think I was deliberately messing with her?"
Loren worried that things would become exceedingly awkward for the Ice Snow Witch if that happened.
"Don't worry. That's called gentlemanly grace and tenderness. When she discovers your tolerance, all that guilt will transform into affection," Lanqi explained.
Chapter 653