The bright autumn moon cast its light through the floor-to-ceiling window into the room. Outside, red maples were faintly visible against the night.
Lanqi closed his eyes, resting for a quiet moment in the stillness of the evening.
The long journey from the Kingdom of Posen had taken its toll, but now he had finally settled preliminarily within the Creti Empire.
He had no plans or pastimes tonight.
The only thing to do was confirm some information and prepare for his work over the next day or two.
There was no need to guess or fret over tomorrow just yet.
Predicting the course of this trip into the Creti Empire was exceptionally difficult; perhaps even the Goddess of Fate had not yet written out the script of destiny.
Only one thing was certain.
"From now on, I am High Priest Loren playing the part of Landry. One day, I'm going to scare those bastards to death."
Lanqi slowly stood up, walked to the window, and drew back the curtain, feeling the cool touch of the moonlight and the caress of the night breeze.
Learning that Loren had ended up trapped by three War Gods indirectly because he had gone to the Kingdom of Posen to escort him made Lanqi feel terribly uneasy.
Whether it was the Third War God, Sardonyx Guyatt, the Seventh War God, Bloodstone Philip, or the Eleventh War God, Jadeite Simonro, Lanqi felt their victory was entirely dishonorable. If it hadn't been three on one, how could Loren have possibly lost to them?
Chirp, chirp.
Outside the window, a canary perched on a branch, tilting its head to inspect Lanqi inquisitively.
"You're welcome to bring your friends to my yard for a meal tomorrow."
The corner of Lanqi's mouth curved into a faint smile. He waved at the bird, then closed the curtains again.
No matter where he went, his animal friends would never abandon him.
"Time to get ready."
Taking a deep breath, he turned toward the study, his gaze turning resolute.
There, a mountain of teaching materials and documents awaited his perusal.
It would probably take Talia and Boss Cat at least another half-hour or more to finish making dinner.
The lazy spell before dinner had drawn to a close; burdened with heavy responsibilities, he was set to write an entirely new chapter in this unknown land.
He sat down at the desk.
Lanqi picked up the mana-drive tablet Secretary Naila had given him earlier and looked through the materials accessible via his faculty privileges as a professor.
Before long, his gaze paused on a photograph and its corresponding personal profile on the crystal screen.
Among the first-year students at Saint Creti Monastery, there truly was a student sharing Landry's surname.
Named Elsa Washington.
She had been born in an ancient castle on the border of Nixasend in the northwestern reaches of the Creti Empire. Her family had once been prominent aristocrats.
With changing times, the Washington family fell into decline. Fortunately, she received a good home education in the countryside during her youth, learning the family's practical magic techniques and magical engineering. At the age of fourteen, she was sent to a girls' boarding magic school in the capital, Brierda, for advanced studies.
Judging by the photograph, she and her brother had indeed inherited their bloodline's traits. Like her brother, she possessed fine, delicate features and a similar temperament, though she was noticeably younger.
Elsa seemed to have lived in the capital of Brierda for several years without ever returning to the border. She had studied in the capital since high school and eventually matriculated into Saint Creti Monastery on the merit of her outstanding marks.
Judging by her previous group assignments and project work, she appeared far more familiar with commoner students. After all, given the Washington family's financial situation, her accommodations and daily expenses were entirely ordinary; even the cost of traveling back and forth between the capital and her border hometown was exorbitant, setting her apart distinctly from the true nobility of the capital.
The sheer vastness of the Creti Empire's territory was incomparable to that of other kingdoms. Even a purely domestic journey could span distances far exceeding transnational travel across the Kingdom Alliance.
Which was why Landry had never once visited the imperial capital for so long.
Having read this far, Lanqi set down the mana-drive device and sank into thought in his office chair.
The Washington siblings hadn't seen each other in far too long.
Disguised as Landry, he shouldn't show any major flaws.
Yet no matter how you looked at it, he was not the real Landry. He lacked Landry's memories and knew nothing of Landry's past or his childhood back home.
Therefore, within Saint Creti Monastery, it would be best to maintain a proper distance from Landry's sister, using the pretext of avoiding impropriety between professor and student.
Of course, if he kept too much distance from her, it might also arouse Headmaster Violet's suspicions.
As long as he avoided reminiscing about the past and steered clear of those topics, it would be fine. At worst, he had Talia as a safety net to judge whether the sister's words were true or false.
Just as Lanqi was deliberating, two soft knocks sounded against the open study door.
"What, thinking about me?"
Talia's voice rang out from the entrance of the study.
Lanqi turned his head and saw Talia holding a tray, having brought a glass of juice up to the second floor.
She walked over and placed the juice beside Lanqi's desk.
"I was considering that if I run into Landry's sister at school over the next day or two, I'll probably need your help to discern what's true or false."
Lanqi looked at the juice. For a moment, he didn't reach for it, instead shifting his gaze slightly with a look of mild disbelief as he observed Talia.
Talia, serving him tea and bringing him drinks?
Why on earth was he having a dream like this?
"Don't drink coffee or tea at night. It's a blended juice I freshly squeezed from fruit and vegetables," Talia said.
She had seen with her own eyes how hard and attentively Lanqi worked.
She felt that here in the Creti Empire, apart from looking after Lanqi's daily needs, she probably couldn't be of much help most of the time. Only at critical junctures would Lanqi likely call upon her eighth-tier power.
"Oh, right."
Lanqi gathered his wits, picked up the glass, and took a sip, his gaze drifting out the window facing the desk.
Leaves rustled softly, swaying gently in the crisp autumn breeze.
Now and then, a stray crimson maple leaf fluttered down on the wind, casting dim shadows in the moonlight.
As night fell deep, insects chirped, accompanied by the distant, faint sound of the Great Monastery's flowing brook.
Most of the time, he was the one taking care of others, so being looked after felt like quite a novelty.
"An addictive flavor."
Lanqi set down the empty glass—having finished the juice without even realizing it—and spoke to Talia.
It had a pleasant sweetness balanced by just the right amount of tartness, mingling with the crisp freshness of vegetables.
Even though she hadn't asked for a review, offering praise upon receiving wonderful food was always the right thing to do.
"Then I'll stick to this recipe next time. The fruits and vegetables grown in Saint Creti Monastery's own fields really are quite high in quality."
Talia's expression didn't change, but her tone lightened by half a notch.
"Are they different from Hutton?" Lanqi asked her.
"They're different. I can tell at a glance. The vegetables at Saint Creti Monastery are unique. If most ingredients you can buy in Icorite shops are Blue Precious quality, the produce in Saint Creti Monastery is probably Purple Rare grade. They're much better for preparing magical cuisine," Talia analyzed earnestly.
Seeing Talia turn dead serious the moment food was mentioned, Lanqi instinctively felt an urge to smile. But if she could eat well, that was a wonderful thing. Her happiness was pure, almost contagious to those around her.
"What are you thinking about?"
Noticing the look on Lanqi's face as he stared at her, yet unable to sense any actual thoughts in his mind—as if he were simply zoning out while looking at her—Talia broke off and asked.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that in the next Shadow World, with you looking after Hyperion, I can rest easy no matter how dangerous it gets. At the very least, her mood will be wonderful," Lanqi sighed with a chuckle.
"Naturally. Her favorite is me; her male mom comes second," Talia said with a hint of pride.
She settled casually into another chair in the study and chatted with Lanqi.
Dinner would still take a little while, but Boss Cat keeping an eye on the stove downstairs was more than enough.
"Right, how goes your study of this Landry identity?"
Remembering serious business, Talia cast a temporary perception-blocking barrier and asked Lanqi.
"His personal luggage was just what was in his suitcase. I went through all of it. Basically, he intended to buy new daily necessities after arriving in the capital, Brierda. The only slightly unusual things are his magic cards."
Lanqi took out a stack of magic cards as he answered.
These were all the magic cards Landry had carried.
His own combat ability shouldn't have been weak; it was just that Unity, the Allied forces' top tier-6 assassin whom he encountered, was too powerful. A squishy caster of the same tier caught in an ambush by her could easily be taken down in an instant.
Landry's own best attribute was likely [Appraisal].
Reconnaissance and insight magic mostly belonged to the [Appraisal] attribute. Pranay, for instance, excelled at it—it was Pranay's secondary attribute—and it often granted a massive intelligence advantage in battle, while also being remarkably convenient in scientific research and lifestyle professions.
Although Lanqi wasn't particularly skilled in appraisal magic, having an eighth-tier guardian spirit like Talia meant his appraisal abilities were by no means lacking, and he could simulate Landry's appraisal magic to a certain degree.
Because Landry's information-gathering abilities were so outstanding, he had little fear of intelligence warfare or flashy, tricky opponents. His choice of magic cards largely consisted of high-output elemental spells alongside some defensive and recovery magic—he walked the path of an all-around mage.
"The cost-effectiveness and flexibility of his card deck are quite high. What surprised me, however, is that while almost all his combat magic cards are Purple Rare, he was actually willing to keep a communication spell card of Pink Sacred grade..."
Lanqi drew a pink, translucent card from the radiant stack of magic cards. This was a Sacred-grade communication spell even he had never seen before.
[Ultra-Long-Range Communication Program - 7]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Grade: Pink Sacred]
[Tier: 6]
[Effect: Possesses greater communication range and anti-interference capabilities than ordinary ultra-long-range communication magic.]
[Remarks: The justice of the Empire summons every soul before the judgment seat.]
"I've seen plenty of ultra-long-range communication spells, but this is the first time I've ever seen one of Pink Sacred grade."
Talia examined the magic card from the side, also finding a communication spell of Pink Sacred quality far too extravagant.
Using this card probably bypassed the need for many relay stations, allowing direct communication at the cost of massive amounts of mana. Correspondingly, it would never come cheap—if its crafting methodology wasn't entirely a mystery to begin with.
If it could be mass-produced, it would undoubtedly become a specialized military item. Obviously, however, items of Pink Sacred grade had virtually no possibility of mass production.
"This communication spell actually chimed with a message once, sounding only as a prompt in my ear. But I was busy all afternoon, so I didn't pay attention to it."
After disguising himself as Landry, Lanqi had immediately bound Landry's crucial magic cards to himself to avoid any oversights.
This card was naturally the most vital core among them.
Besides real-time communication, communication magic cards could also send messages and leave memos.
Now that they finally had some breathing room, he could study this card together with Talia.
"Let's see it," Talia said.
Lanqi nodded and lightly tapped the magic card with a fingertip to activate it.
Pink ripples began pulsing rhythmically like breaths across the translucent surface of the card, and information gradually welled up in their minds.
[Truth (No. 2): Have you arrived in Brierda?]
Just a single message appeared before their eyes, visible only to them.
Lanqi & Talia: "?"
The two exchanged a glance, neither understanding what this meant.
As Talia possessed traits inherited from the Poet of Great Love, sharing Lanqi's magic cards was completely natural. What puzzled her was the content of the message Landry had received.
If she remembered correctly, Landry had told Lanqi in the train compartment that he had no acquaintances in the imperial capital, Brierda.
Talia was also quite certain that had been the truth, as she had been listening right from within Lanqi.
Yet judging by this message, before Landry had even arrived in the capital of Brierda, a mysterious contact had already been inquiring after him.
"Could it be that his trip to Brierda had a hidden motive too...?" Talia narrowed her eyes slightly and asked Lanqi.
"Beats me."
Lanqi shook his head.
Right now, both of them suddenly felt there was something very off about this Landry!
The secrets harbored by Landry Washington seemed far more numerous than either of them had anticipated—it was just that Landry's own disguise had been so exquisite that neither of them had seen through it earlier!
This identity they had picked up off the ground was anything but ordinary.
Compared to the special envoy from the Demon King's Castle back at Purgatory Corridors Academy, Landry had even more secrets, and he might well be even more dangerous.
Lanqi quickly checked the contact information and found no other notes or remarks.
"Try sending a reply," Talia said. She had also checked the communication magic card on Lanqi's behalf, confirming there was no other hidden information within it.
"I'll give it a shot."
Lanqi nodded, typed in a message, and sent it out.
[Justice (No. 7): Just arrived.]
Such a message appeared within the communication magic card.
At this point, Lanqi and Talia confirmed one initial detail.
In this mysterious communication magic card of Landry's, contacts were not identified by real names, but only by a title.
Landry's title was "Justice," while the person conversing with him bore the title "Truth."
Upon closer inspection, this communication magic card also allowed custom notes for contacts; "No. 2" appeared to be the default note for "Truth," which Landry had never altered.
And they finally understood what the "-7" suffix on Landry's [Ultra-Long-Range Communication Program] meant.
Chapter 716