The following day.
In this era when flames of war consumed the Southern Continent.
From the Knox Mountains to Paldon Obsidian Island, from the Blin Dusk Snow Canyon to Isanti Starfall Bay, the homelands and strategic redoubts of the eastern kingdoms were scarred beyond recognition. Towns had been razed to the ground, harvests stripped from the fields, the wealth of city-states plundered clean, and innocent civilians ruthlessly slaughtered. The enemy was savage and merciless, yet ironclad warriors continued to throw their blood and bodies against the onslaught.
Even as distress calls flooded in from across the southern front of the eastern United Council of Kingdoms, the Hutton Kingdom’s heartland—Ikerite—remained the safest sanctuary.
At dawn, a faint greyish-blue mist drifted across the horizon. On this crisp autumn morning, the entire city seemed far more somber than usual, as if winter would arrive especially early this year.
In Ikerite’s Eastern District, beside a wooden house standing along a street just east of Ikerite Academy.
In the courtyard garden of Boss Cat Restaurant, blossoms of every vibrant hue were in full bloom, their fragrance carried on the breeze.
It was not yet time for business.
Inside a second-floor room, the walls were coated in gentle hues of cream, light orange, and beige. The wooden furniture, hand-polished by Boss Cat, radiated a warm, natural texture.
"The south wind brings a cool delight~"
"The nightingale softly sings in the night~"
"Beneath the moon, the blossoms dream away~"
Hyperion leaned back in a carved wooden chair, holding a cup of fine flower tea. She took a delicate sip, the fragrant brew lingering across her lips and teeth.
Beside her, an antique magic phonograph was softly playing a tender melody. Its melodious cadence drifted through the air, seemingly transporting one back into the gentle, enchanting days of old Ikerite on this quiet morning.
"Hah, I can't even step out the door."
Hyperion was dressed in a loose silk dress of an elegant beige base, adorned with the embroidery of her ducal house.
Her long silver hair was gathered into an easy-to-manage bun, with two slender locks resting against her shoulders.
Nowadays, even if she wanted to go outside, she had to bring at least two great demons along to ensure no imperial spy infiltrating Ikerite could set sights on her.
With Antanas and Sinora accompanying her, no enemy trick could bypass two great demons at once or manage to lure one away to leave Hyperion vulnerable.
For now, any tier-six imperial assassin coming after Hyperion would practically be walking into a death trap; being guarded by two tier-eight demons was excessively secure.
Even her explorations beneath the ducal estate had been put on hold.
She had been just one step away from opening the underground vault of House Aransal, but taking safety into account, Pranay had forbidden Antanas and Sinora from indulging Hyperion’s antics.
Hyperion couldn't help but miss the days when she could go wherever she pleased.
While being thoroughly protected by three great demons brought peace of mind, it felt virtually no different from back when she had stayed in Naicalis, the Demon King's Castle. Boss Cat Restaurant had essentially become another miniature demon king's fortress.
A while ago, Antanas and Sinora had loved visiting the ducal manor together to try on all sorts of dresses, and they also took great pleasure in styling Hyperion according to their whims. Over time, Hyperion had given up resisting, simply letting them have their fun.
Her present styling was courtesy of Antanas.
With Talia away from home, either Antanas or Sinora would sleep in her room, providing round-the-clock protection.
Pranay, on the other hand, frequently checked in on the Wilfort family.
Whenever he went to subtly reinforce the boundary around the Wilfort residence, he would be hailed by the head of the house, Noe. He would be warmly entertained, invited to chat about the war, and made to listen to Noe grumble about his son Lanqi running about during wartime. Then Noe would praise him profusely: "Ah, Pranay, you really are wonderful! As expected of an old friend from Tata's hometown—polite, cultured, and dependable!" Pranay was practically becoming an honorary member of the Wilfort family.
"It’s a relief the Wilfort family moved from South Vantina to the royal capital so early. It’d be great if they just stayed in Ikerite permanently from now on."
Hyperion picked up the newspaper from the side table and began reading.
Although South Vantina was lovely, she honestly preferred Ikerite.
Besides, based on everything she knew about Lanqi, he was definitely the type who would happily marry into his wife's household, so long as it let him comfortably retire at twenty. Even looking far ahead, he would in all likelihood choose Ikerite.
"Goodness, what on earth am I thinking about?"
Hyperion vigorously shook her head.
Sitting alone in a room made it far too easy for her thoughts to wander.
Sinora was in the adjacent room. All three of them lived on the second floor of Boss Cat Restaurant, effectively neighbors. Early this morning, Antanas had finished styling her hair before heading downstairs to hunt for breakfast, and she would be back soon.
Having female companions around felt surprisingly dreamlike to Hyperion—at least, it was something she had never experienced growing up.
"Yip, yip!"
A fox’s yip caught Hyperion’s attention, drawing her back to reality.
Curled by her feet was a glossy black fox. Its golden eyes were lively, its frame light and graceful, looking up at her obediently.
Hyperion gently lifted a delicate pastry from the silver platter on the small round table and offered it to the fox's mouth.
The fox accepted it daintily, relishing the treat as it wagged its head in delight.
What Hyperion hadn't noticed was that Antanas had already returned to the doorway carrying a carton of breakfast.
"..."
Antanas watched Hyperion listening to the tune, feeding the fox, and reclining in the armchair while perusing the newspaper.
She felt a lump in her throat, as if she were looking at an old acquaintance.
"Hubao, don't you feel like you've completely Tata-fied?"
Antanas finally stepped into the sitting room, coming up beside Hyperion to tease her.
Over the past two months of Hyperion living here on her own without Talia around, she had begun acting more and more like Talia.
The only difference was that Hyperion possessed an innate noble poise. Rather than looking like a retired gentlewoman, she looked more like the pampered concubine of a wealthy tycoon.
"Really? Could I actually become like Tata?"
Hyperion considered it, asking with genuine perplexity.
Her ideal woman was someone like Talia: noble, aloof, yet carrying a maternal warmth mellowed by time. No matter how closely one looked, Tata seemed like the perfect woman.
She felt the difference between herself and Tata remained vast—at the very least, Lanqi would never mistake the two of them.
"Never mind, let's eat first," Antanas said, shaking her head.
There was no denying that, despite the tense war raging outside, Lanqi’s explicit instructions for Hyperion had been to ensure absolute safety.
Thus, Hyperion staying in Ikerite and doing nothing at all had become the optimal solution.
Just as she opened the food carton, Hyperion seemed to hear something. She took out a translucent communication card shimmering with purple light.
Someone was reaching out to her.
She accepted the call, and a cool, collected voice came through—
"Hyperion, it's me."
Those simple words caused Hyperion's eyes to widen.
"Teacher Almis, I missed you so much!"
Hyperion sat up straight from the recliner at once, her voice brimming with pleasant surprise.
Back in the Northern Continent when Tata hadn't been around, the Ice Witch had been her sole emotional anchor. She had constantly hoped her teacher would reach out.
However, the Ice Witch was even busier with official affairs now, having virtually taken over all of High Priest Loren's responsibilities in the Hutton Kingdom, so Hyperion hadn't dared to disturb her.
Furthermore, for some reason, her teacher had previously seemed to deliberately avoid her—as though putting on a performance for someone, demonstrating that her connection with Hyperion wasn't close so that no one would think to use Hyperion as leverage against her.
Before Hyperion could reminisce further, the voice spoke again:
"Where are you right now? I'm coming to see you."
The Ice Witch's voice carried a trace of exhaustion and solemnity.
"East of the Yala Moat, 34 Geddon Street, Boss Cat Restaurant," Hyperion answered immediately.
Her heart beat faster, thrilled that Teacher Almis was coming to visit.
"Give me a quarter of an hour," the Ice Witch replied, and the communication spell clicked off.
For several seconds after the call ended, Hyperion stood there dazed, before leaping up from the recliner in sheer delight.
"Hyperion, tell me, do you have some passive skill where, whenever nobody is looking after you, you summon a demon mommy?" Antanas teased, feeling Hyperion’s joy radiating across the room.
"No way! Sometimes neither Talia, Almis, nor Caliera could possibly come take care of me!" Hyperion shot Antanas a mock glare, thoroughly rejecting the idea of a 'call mommy' passive trait.
"Uh, if you end up in a desperate pinch and can't summon a demon mommy, you pay some merit and summon a male mom instead," Antanas added after careful consideration.
"..."
Hyperion found herself unable to retort.
That actually seemed... pretty accurate.
"B-but no matter what, that's not called a male mom..." She lowered her head, speaking with bashful reluctance.
"Then what is it called?" Antanas winked, visibly intrigued.
"Th-that's... called..."
Hyperion twiddled her thumbs, her face flushing crimson, completely unable to say it out loud.
Finally, she muttered a few words in an almost imperceptible whisper that Antanas couldn't make out at all, before darting away while Antanas was still caught off guard.
...
A dozen or so minutes later.
A slender figure arrived before the entrance of Boss Cat Restaurant.
She wore dark sunglasses. Beneath the tinted lenses, silver pupils faintly reflected the sunlight gleaming off the wooden restaurant's glass windows. Her pure white hair danced gently in the breeze, soft as falling snow.
Before her hand could touch the door, she paused.
An extraordinarily formidable barrier of isolation enveloped the establishment.
It was like a black box; before stepping inside, no magic could probe the conditions within.
Without a doubt, this was the handiwork of Antanas, Sinora, and Pranay.
This restaurant sat remarkably close to Ikerite Academy, and even Loren's student Asna worked here as head chef. The Ice Witch found it impossible to believe Loren wouldn't know a demon fortress was hidden right beneath his nose.
Back when Loren had still been around, the Ice Witch would have assumed Asna’s role as a chef was merely a facade, an assignment carried out under Loren's orders to build a bridge with the demons.
Yet when the news of Loren falling in battle arrived, the Ice Witch had stood frozen for a long time.
She had investigated through the night, but the final outcome remained the same: Loren had truly fallen to the three war gods.
She couldn't shake a hollow ache in her chest, wondering if she had spent far too long waging an imaginary battle of wits against empty air, entirely misunderstanding a genuinely good man.
Every time before, she had firmly believed Loren had everything calculated, that he would pull off an ultimate reversal and claim total victory at the very end. Only this time, reading the intelligence report from the Kingdom of Aloran, she had felt only a chilling despair.
Even now, for reasons she couldn't explain, she still clung to a lingering fantasy, suspecting whether this man might have faked his death on purpose and was already carving out a sinister path in the Creti Empire.
Yet the harsh reality was that she would never see him again. How foolish she had been, constantly doubting someone so kind-hearted.
The Ice Witch dabbed away her tears, her gaze turning resolute once more as she pushed the door open.
She had her own mission to fulfill.
The scent of oatmeal and cheese still lingered on the first floor.
Clearly, the resident staff had only recently finished breakfast and were enjoying a relaxed moment of casual conversation.
They were chatting with Hyperion on the ground floor.
The wind chimes of Boss Cat Restaurant suddenly chimed, breaking the customary tranquility.
A prominent feature of the wooden building was its broad, curving roof with eaves extending far past the walls. Beneath the deep eaves hung a string of wind chimes that would ring melodiously whenever a breeze swept by or a patron arrived.
Everyone turned toward the door.
At this hour, the restaurant was clearly not open for business. The ringing of the chimes signaled that someone had returned.
Of course, for the three great demons, they had already sensed a guest at the doorstep long before the chimes rang.
The figure with white hair and pale eyes stepped through the door into the restaurant.
In an instant, she froze in her tracks.
She seemed to immediately sense the anomaly of this place.
On the surface, the interior decor was simple. The wooden tables, chairs, and floorboards gave off a faint scent of pine, with handcrafted trinkets and old books arranged in the corners.
In reality, she quickly discerned that the wooden structure was interwoven with meticulously constructed ancient demon barriers. Even for someone of her caliber, attempting to engage in combat inside would likely mean there was no coming back out alive. Only the combined efforts of multiple great demons could orchestrate such a feat.
Evidently, this was the result of extensive modifications carried out by Talia and the three great demons Hyperion had brought back from Herrom Prison in the Northern Continent.
This was no longer within the specifications of what a restaurant ought to be.
If someone told her this was a miniature demon king's palace, she would readily believe it.
Yet Loren was dead, and all misunderstandings had dissolved.
"Hyperion, long time no see."
The Ice Witch looked at the familiar young woman gazing back at her, and at the three figures behind her in the dining hall who masqueraded as ordinary employees.
No matter how intricate the magical environment here was, she believed it was all meant to keep Hyperion safe.
"Teacher Almis! I thought you didn't want me anymore!"
Hyperion had looked slightly timid at first, but upon recognizing the gentle warmth in her teacher's eyes, she hurried forward and threw her arms around the Ice Witch Almis in an emotional embrace.
Though she had no idea what had brought Teacher Almis to see her today, the instant master and disciple reunited, Hyperion's heart was flooded with profound relief.
Chapter 723