Autumn nights came early in Creti.
The briefly visiting red sun slipped quietly away before long.
As if dyed with a wash of pale ink, the night sky was draped with stardust and a white moon.
Following his meeting with Headmaster Violet, Lanqi left her office. Escorted by Secretary Naila, he made his way to his residence within Saint Creti Monastery.
"Did Professor Landry's interview with the headmaster go smoothly?"
Naila's car drove Lanqi away from the district where the Main Sanctuary was located.
"There were no problems," Lanqi replied, gazing out the window at the monastery scenery.
"At first, I thought you might be a bit nervous meeting someone of the imperial War God caliber, Professor. After all, that realm can already be called near-divine. Some professors would rather deal with me than go directly to the headmaster," Naila remarked.
Many felt an instinctive dread toward Headmaster Violet.
"Could it be that you've encountered eighth-tier powerhouses in the north before, Professor?"
In her view, the northwestern frontier where Landry hailed from shouldn't have had any local beings who had attained such transcendent sanctity.
To say nothing of a War God, a creature standing at the absolute pinnacle of the eighth tier.
For someone like Landry to reach the sixth tier entirely on his own was already practically the peak of human capability.
To take another step forward, one had no choice but to leave the remote frontiers for the imperial capital. Most frontier inhabitants would never see an eighth-tier existence in their entire lifetimes.
"Yes. He was a man I can never forget."
A trace of nostalgia unconsciously colored Lanqi's eyes.
"It seems you have had quite a few remarkable encounters, Professor." Naila's interest was piqued by his words; this professor truly had plenty of stories. "What kind of man was he?"
Behind the persistent aura of mystery surrounding Professor Landry, an entirely ordinary past would have seemed implausible. His open admission only made Naila even more curious.
"He was fond of wearing a gray overcoat. An absolute powerhouse who accumulated immense loneliness because of it. Fortunately, in the end, I taught him love."
Lanqi lightly curled his fingers into a fist, looked down at his hand, and spoke with profound gratification.
"You didn't teach him a damn thing about love! He probably hates you to death!"
Talia, who had remained silent in Lanqi's mind for a long while, finally couldn't hold back.
At first, she thought Lanqi was speaking of Loren and was getting ready to comfort him.
Then she realized he was talking about Old Sang.
"To be hated by him to that extent isn't really any different from love, is it?" Lanqi answered Talia in his thoughts.
"..."
Talia was speechless.
Though she didn't understand much about love herself, she felt Lanqi's definition of love was undeniably twisted.
The vehicle pulled to a stop before a distinctive residence.
Putting the matter aside, Talia looked out through Lanqi's eyes.
She could hardly believe it—the lodging Saint Creti Monastery assigned to Landry was a two-story villa.
One had to realize that while accommodations at Ikerite Academy were hotel-grade, they certainly didn't hand out private villas.
This clearly demonstrated Saint Creti Monastery's immense wealth, as well as the generous treatment and respect it afforded its professors.
On second thought, however, Talia felt it was quite nice.
Under Lanqi's original cover identity, the publisher Lovia wasn't particularly wealthy. After arriving in the capital, he definitely couldn't have rented lodgings that clashed with his financial status without raising suspicion, meaning he would have had to live somewhat modestly.
Now that Lanqi had taken over Landry's position, living in lavish comfort would raise no eyebrows whatsoever. Sharing such comfortable quarters with him suited her just fine.
"Professor Landry, we've arrived. This will be your residence from now on."
Secretary Naila had already stepped out of the car with practiced swiftness, opening the door for Lanqi and handing him his key.
"Thank you, Miss Naila."
Lanqi accepted it, picked up his suitcase, and stepped out.
A classic-style, two-story building came into view. Its cream-colored walls gave off a soft glow under the monastery's streetlamps, while the deep blue tiled roof and dark brown window frames gave it the look of decades of architectural history.
"Is there anything else you require assistance with?" Naila asked him.
"Could the school send over some fresh ingredients? About a week's worth—er, make it two weeks."
Lanqi pondered for a moment, estimating that between him, Talia, and Boss Cat, two weeks' worth of groceries would be just enough for a single meal.
"So you are accustomed to cooking at home, Professor? Inside the residence, you can use the monastery's smart magic engineering system to purchase whatever you need. Daily necessities, ingredients, and beverages usually arrive within minutes of placing an order. However, since it is late and you must be hungry, I'll go ahead and place the order for you this time. The school staff will deliver it shortly."
Secretary Naila drew a portable magic apparatus from her pocket and spoke to Lanqi while contacting the staff department.
"If you run into anything you don't understand going forward, feel free to contact me via communication apparatus at any time. Also, you will officially assume your duties the day after tomorrow, Professor Landry. Please use these next two days to rest well and familiarize yourself with your new surroundings in the monastery."
With that, Secretary Naila offered a courteous bow and returned to her car.
"It seems the academy went to great lengths. I'll have to do my job properly, then."
Lanqi watched Secretary Naila's car vanish into the night.
Even in parting, she remained exceptionally polite—a veritable model of ladylike poise. Yet at the same time, she was remarkably easy to get along with, never projecting a sense of cold distance.
"Why is it that every time you arrive in a new place, you immediately find a mountain of work?" Talia asked him telepathically, utterly bewildered.
"Perhaps everyone just needs me."
Lanqi recalled his arrival on the Northern Continent; back in Herrom, he had ended up with four jobs almost right away.
"Retiring at twenty wouldn't be unreasonable for you at all. You've already experienced a rich and colorful enough life," Talia sighed. If she could manifest physically right now, she would have patted Lanqi on the shoulder.
Perhaps for someone whose talents were practically spilling over like Lanqi, it wasn't that he was looking for work—the work was looking for him.
Carrying his small suitcase, Lanqi stepped into the courtyard.
Saint Creti Monastery's architectural style was distinct, dotted everywhere with marble towers and flying buttresses.
The main areas of the campus were traversed by verdant, tree-lined avenues, alongside which a clear stream babbled. Standing in the courtyard, one could hear the water flowing not far away.
Lanqi felt very little of the tension expected of a spy.
His start here in the Creti Empire was already leagues better than his debut on the Northern Continent.
Weary from travel, nothing was more important right now than getting a good rest.
From this moment on, he was Landry Washington.
Whether it was Landry's work or his personal relationships, Lanqi would see to them on his behalf.
Lanqi pushed open the heavy front doors and stepped into the villa that would now be his.
"Meow, meow, meow! There has never been such a marvelous start, meow!"
Boss Cat popped out of his shadow at once, eagerly inspecting the residence. It had long been curious about what their new home would look like.
Unlike Tata, who couldn't easily show herself, appearing as a spirit beast posed no problem at all.
A sixth-tier professor like Landry keeping a contracted spirit beast weaker than himself was entirely reasonable.
A bouquet of moth orchids sat on the coffee table beside the off-white sofa, adding a touch of vitality to the parlor. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows lay a meticulously tended garden, the warm yellow ground lamps still illuminating the path Lanqi had walked along.
Lanqi briefly inspected the ground-floor kitchen, dining room, and laundry room before heading up the stairs behind Boss Cat to the second floor.
Aside from a sitting room somewhat smaller than the one downstairs, this floor was arranged for daily living.
The first room the man and cat encountered was a study lined with bookshelves on all four sides. Before the desk sat a leather armchair that looked exceptionally comfortable, offering an unobstructed view of the scenery outside.
"Why do I feel like your life in Brierda is even better than before, meow?"
In the bedroom, the king-sized bed was dressed with soft linens, bathrobes hung neatly in the wardrobe, and a bathtub rested beside the window. When Boss Cat curiously twisted the tap, steaming water gushed out.
"Naturally. After all, I have to take good care of my w—"
Lanqi had barely gotten a few syllables out before his voice caught, the rest of the sentence refusing to leave his throat.
"Take good care of your what?"
Talia had already coalesced into physical form from orange motes of light beside Lanqi, looking at him.
"Teacher! My dear, revered teacher, the master among masters, King, Great Archmage!" Lanqi answered instantly.
"Hmph. I've basically checked over the villa. There are no issues. Setting up some reconnaissance-blocking magic apparatuses to unfold a barrier will make it even safer. I'll write you a shopping list tomorrow; buy the components, and once I modify them, they'll be ready to use," Talia said, crossing her arms.
Such items might not be available for purchase inside the monastery.
"All right," Lanqi nodded.
Boss Cat's inspection was mostly just for fun; when it came to truly ensuring safety, one had to rely on the eighth-tier Queen card.
In other words, the very fact that Talia was willing to manifest proved she had deemed the interior environment secure.
"By the way, what do you plan to do next?"
Finally able to have a proper conversation with him, she asked the question on her mind.
So much had happened today that Lanqi's infiltration plan had veered drastically off course.
"First, establish solid roots here at Saint Creti Monastery. Be pragmatic, be a good teacher, and be a law-abiding citizen of the Creti Empire. Given a little time, I will certainly locate Duke Mikhail and Miss Iphatia," Lanqi replied.
Finding people had always been his greatest specialty.
Or rather, his primary objective in coming to the Creti Empire—dealing with the Blood Clan—was inextricably tied to this civil commission of tracking down Mikhail and Iphatia.
"Speaking of which, didn't you know someone from the Creti Empire named Alexia?"
Talia remembered Hyperion mentioning her.
During the second Shadow World, the Banquet of Sanctuary Villains, the three women they encountered formed a team: Adelice, Saintess of Destruction lurking within Saint Creti Monastery; Sticela, a direct retainer of the Destruction Branch; and the Third Imperial Princess of the Creti Empire.
Back then, all three had been third-year students at Saint Creti Monastery.
"Indeed. But right now isn't the right time to seek her out. She should have graduated by now, and her standing within the imperial palace is rather sensitive. Approaching her rashly would only arouse suspicion. I'll have to find someone trustworthy who knows her first to reestablish contact."
Lanqi had promised to come to the Creti Empire to save Alexia, and he naturally had not forgotten his word.
This vital anti-Blood Clan ally could provide him with a wealth of intelligence, but her own situation was precarious. Inappropriately asking Princess Alexia for help might end up putting her in danger instead.
Furthermore, Sticela, the direct retainer of the Destruction Branch who had defected to him back then, was likely still languishing in an imperial prison.
Since the Creti Empire and the Resurrection Church were currently cooperating, there should be a legal avenue to secure Sticela's release. He merely needed to find an intermediary within the Resurrection Church to bail her out under the banner of another branch.
A well-trained direct retainer native to the empire would be of immense help to him—after all, she was a talent personally groomed by Ivanos back in the day.
"What's important right now is building an organization of our own within the empire. The three of us are far too isolated at the moment. We need to expand our enterprise and make it formidable here. That way, whatever we do, we'll have convenience, channels, and leverage," Lanqi added resolutely.
His greatest realization from the Northern Continent was that one had to possess reliable accomplices to back them up; otherwise, they would end up meeting a fate like Old Sang's.
A bare commander left entirely on his own was truly too pathetic.
Those who uphold justice find ample support, while those who stray find little—it was as simple as that.
"...Best of luck to you, then."
Talia gave a dismissive wave. She had never actually seen what Lanqi's entrepreneurial skills were like.
Still, she had to admit that having ambition was a positive quality in a man—provided he also cared for his family. Striking a balance between the two was ideal.
Wanting a man to care solely for the household with zero ambition, the way Hubao did, was far too extreme; Talia had never quite understood Hyperion's mindset.
"Just live comfortably here in Brierda. Don't worry about anything else. The only thing I might trouble you with in the future is taking you into the Shadow World," Lanqi assured Talia.
Although Talia's eighth-tier strength could back him up, there were few urban occasions within the Creti heartland where martial force could be openly deployed. For the vast majority of his activities under the identity of Landry, acting like an ordinary sixth-tier was more than enough.
As for challenging the Shadow World, two months had passed since their last attempt, meaning most of the cooldown had already elapsed. Before departing for the Creti Empire, Lanqi had used a communication device in the Kingdom of Posen to coordinate with Hyperion. They agreed to enter the Void Gates from their respective locations at an appointed time in October to challenge the final Blood Moon Ruined World.
Saint Creti Monastery also housed a large-scale Void Gate capable of accessing the Shadow World. Operating under the Landry identity made utilizing those access privileges straightforward, eliminating the need to carry an extra recording routine within the Creti Empire.
Beyond that, temporary small-scale Void Gates occasionally manifested in the wild, which was how illicit challengers typically gained entry.
Technically speaking, for a Shadow World bound to them like the Blood Moon Ruined World, even if Hyperion didn't travel to a permanent Void Gate in Ikerite, as long as Lanqi entered, a temporary small-scale Void Gate would appear on her side. Still, entering simultaneously remained the safest approach.
"Then Boss Cat and I will go prepare dinner. Come down to eat once you've rested a bit," Talia said, scooping up the little black cat from the floor.
"No problem."
Lanqi watched Talia and Boss Cat leave, feeling as though another cat had joined the household. As everyone knew, a cat's primary trait was the ability to cook.
Come to think of it, if Talia could turn into a little gray cat, it would probably be quite cute.
Yet the moment the thought crossed Lanqi's mind, Talia turned back to glare at him. Those golden eyes chilled the surrounding air so sharply that Lanqi hastily cut off his train of thought.
Her death glare, fraught with mingled shame and fury, seemed to declare that she would never turn into a cat.
If what had happened previously ever came to light, she would rather perish together with Lanqi.
Talia soon withdrew her gaze and continued downstairs, leaving Lanqi alone on the second floor.
"I want to retire so badly, but the work isn't done yet."
Lanqi leaned back against the plush, comfortable sofa in the second-floor sitting room.
The retirement plan he had formulated over a year ago was drawing closer and closer to fruition, and Mikhail's whereabouts were practically within reach.
Duke Mikhail was almost certainly somewhere in this city of Brierda. It was just that without any leads, tracking him down was no different from searching for a needle in the ocean.
Not that it mattered!
As an expert in urban planning, give him some time, and he would sooner or later locate the coordinates of that illegal construction known as Blood Moon City—and demolish it, stroke by stroke by stroke.
Chapter 715