At the top floor of the Imperial Special Operations Department, in an atrium office enclosed by curved, floor-to-ceiling glass.
"Duke Dex, in my future work, I will never waver. I shall rally closely around the Imperial Special Operations Department under your core leadership, ensuring every command is strictly obeyed, steadfast and unswerving," Lanqi pledged.
"Neither arrogant nor rash, steady and grounded."
Dex listened with keen interest, offering high praise to this promising young magic engineer.
"Discussing work with you really puts my mind at ease. I have to say, you and my student Nikolai are remarkably alike in this regard. You two should be able to become good friends."
Duke Dex offered a gratified commendation.
The two discussed the empire's development, the prospects of Landry's research, and personal ideals and ambitions.
Listening from the side, Kestrel Nikolai's expression turned slightly odd.
He couldn't tell whether Director Dex was complimenting him or insulting him.
In truth, he knew what many imperial citizens called him. For instance, Naila, the secretary to the headmistress of Saint Creti Monastery—that woman with prosthetic limbs and an artificial eye—had practically called him a "hound" to his face.
"Although there are voices within the empire opposing your research results at present, I hope you won't let that affect you,"
Dex said, looking meaningfully at Lanqi.
"Leave those aristocrats dragging their feet to me. As long as you can make contributions to the empire, I will pave the way for you. Your political stance, your true thoughts, your private life—I care about none of it."
At that moment, his eyes seemed capable of piercing through appearances to grasp underlying truths.
Yet he would not constantly suspect Landry as Nikolai did.
A clever superior knew how to feign ignorance; this was another form of trusting those one employed.
"I will certainly do my utmost," Lanqi answered firmly.
His guess had been correct: there would indeed be resistance within the empire.
Aside from a faction of conservatives who feared changes to the world, there were bound to be members of the Blood Clan terrified of humanity suddenly mastering uncontrollable power.
Duke Dex, however, had always been an extreme radical. Whatever benefited the empire, he would achieve at any cost. That was precisely why he occupied this position.
With that, their conversation drew to a close.
Upon parting, Dex patted Lanqi on the shoulder and watched him leave under Kestrel Nikolai's escort.
Lanqi and Kestrel Nikolai walked shoulder to shoulder down the corridor on the top floor of the Imperial Special Operations Department building, heading toward the elevator.
"Your mental state really makes you feel more and more like a secret agent to me, yet at the same time, not like one at all. Duke Dex invited you for afternoon tea, and you actually ate until you were stuffed."
Kestrel Nikolai marveled at Lanqi's mindset.
Such psychological fortitude was not typical of an ordinary person; remaining so completely composed no matter whom he faced was unnatural in itself.
Yet strangely enough, he seemed somewhat gluttonous, having polished off all the refreshments provided by the royal court.
"..."
Lanqi could only chuckle sheepishly.
In truth, Talia had spotted the treats and asked for a bite.
Sensing how ravenous she was, Lanqi hadn't had the heart to refuse, so he agreed to surrender control of his body and let her taste the royal afternoon tea of the Creti Empire.
As it turned out, once Talia took a bite through Lanqi's body and savored the flavor, her cravings only intensified. Lanqi's ears were filled with the sound of her repeatedly gulping down saliva.
In the end, his heart softened, and he compromised again and again, letting her have just one more piece until not a single crumb remained on the tea table—she had devoured it all.
Only then was Talia finally satisfied.
Lanqi now felt completely full without needing lunch; Talia had already stuffed his belly for him.
"Isn't this wonderful? You improved your work efficiency, and I got to enjoy delicious delicacies. Why not leave meals to me whenever possible from now on? I'll help fill your stomach," Talia suggested in Lanqi's mind.
"No thanks, that's way too weird. Every time you finish eating with my body, there's always a lingering aftertaste in my mouth, like leftovers someone already chewed. Do you know what that feels like? It's practically like mouth-chewed sake..." Lanqi retorted, entirely exasperated.
"Stop talking!"
Talia interrupted Lanqi. She had originally thought nothing of eating with his body, but hearing him put it like that made her blush.
Only now did she realize what Lanqi experienced every time after she finished chewing and handed back control of the body!
Lanqi and Kestrel Nikolai took the elevator down to the first floor.
Passing through layer after layer of security checkpoints, they returned once more to the bustling main lobby of the Imperial Special Operations Department.
Outside, the azure sky stretched out unobstructed.
Stepping out of the main entrance, a magnificent flight of steps came into view, the broad stairs extending all the way to the edge of the plaza. Lanqi walked slowly down the steps, with Kestrel Nikolai following closely behind.
"So, Professor Landry, what do you think of our Imperial Special Operations Department?" Kestrel Nikolai asked.
"Most impressed. Duke Dex's words were deeply inspiring. I will work even harder to live up to his expectations," Lanqi replied.
"Then I'll have my subordinates escort you back. I still have official duties to attend to, so I won't accompany you back to the academy, Professor Landry." Kestrel Nikolai nodded.
If he personally escorted Landry back to Saint Creti Monastery, he would have to make another trip back to the Imperial Special Operations Department.
"No problem."
Soon after, a brand-new magitech vehicle pulled up before them. Nikolai held the door open for Lanqi. Lanqi offered a slight nod of acknowledgment before stepping inside.
The door closed, and the magitech vehicle set off smoothly, quickly vanishing down the streets of central Brierda and merging into the ceaseless flow of traffic.
In the front seat, the non-commissioned officer from the Countermeasures Division serving as the driver didn't dare initiate conversation with the professor in the back.
For the moment, the man behind him was essentially his superior.
Kestrel Nikolai had also warned him not to utter a word to Professor Landry under any circumstances, aside from standard courtesies.
Lanqi sat in the back, unbothered, quietly whiling away the time by looking out the window.
He had many things to consider.
A fiancée was indeed a predicament he had never anticipated.
Fortunately, there was no immediate rush.
It wasn't as if Landry's beloved had to arrive from the frontier right away; he had a buffer of preparation time.
For one, the journey was long. Furthermore, marriage was no trifling matter; the affairs of his fiancée back in the northwestern frontier territory of Nixassend had to be properly settled before she could relocate to the capital.
Judging by Duke Dex's overt and subtle hints, alongside Lanqi's own deductions, the plan would be put into effect by early November at the earliest.
Thus, it was best to have the fiancée in place by the end of this month. At the same time, Landry needed to demonstrate his orthodox faith to the empire, rack up more achievements, and secure additional endorsements in the near future. That way, there was a strong chance he could overcome his lack of seniority and be chosen as the leader of the project.
Before he realized it, the magitech vehicle slowed to a halt across the street from a building inside Saint Creti Monastery.
The driver stepped out first and walked around to open the door for Lanqi.
Lanqi thanked the soldier for his courtesy, then stepped out onto the monastery's stone-paved path, bathed in the midday sun.
Even though Nikolai hadn't accompanied him, Lanqi's every move for the near future was likely under that agent's surveillance.
Only inside Saint Creti Monastery was it difficult for Kestrel Nikolai and his subordinates to keep an eye on him.
To avoid showing any flaws, Lanqi headed straight for his workplace: the Sport Building in the eastern sector of Saint Creti Monastery.
This building was distinctly older, dating back several decades, but its interior had been renovated multiple times and still felt quite comfortable. Currently, the lower floors were used for small tutorial seminars, while the seventh floor and above were primarily office space.
Lanqi made his way smoothly up to the eighth floor and entered his office.
Outside the window, a lush, verdant campus panorama stretched before him, and a pleasant breeze drifted in from time to time.
"No matter where you are, you have to work hard."
Resting his eyes for only a moment, Lanqi sat down at his desk and began processing the mountain of letters and lecture notes.
Surrounded by tranquility, he soon lost himself in the demanding rhythms of teaching and research.
That afternoon, several professors visited in succession to engage in in-depth academic discussions with Lanqi.
A number of professors from the School of Magic Engineering had reserved time with him well in advance; all of them were experts in their respective fields. If the project Duke Dex mentioned came to fruition, professors from the School of Magic Engineering and other departments at Saint Creti Monastery were very likely to be selected as members.
They sat circled around the sofa, disregarding differences in age and seniority, pacing between their seats and the small whiteboard in the office to debate theoretical feasibility.
Not until the sun sank and crimson clouds painted the sky did the professors bring their brainstorming session to an end, still eager for more, as Lanqi saw them off one by one.
After bidding farewell to the professors, Lanqi tidied his documents, locked his office door, and walked out of the Sport Building.
Taking a deep breath of the fragrant autumn air, he seemed to relax.
Lanqi strolled aimlessly toward an open-air cafe on the perimeter of Saint Creti Monastery, took a seat outdoors, and ordered a cup of mint tea.
The glow of the setting sun and the distant maples reflected similar hues upon the wooden table before him.
The evening breeze carried the fragrance of soil and the crisp chill of stream water. In the distance, Saint Creti Monastery stood surrounded by multicolored woods, a panoramic display of autumn's splendor.
Lanqi leaned against the back of his chair, sipping his mint tea, and pulled out his work log once more, looking just like a professor indulging in aimless leisure while still unable to set aside his research.
Dusk deepened.
There were few patrons in the cafe, mostly monastery faculty and staff who had come to take a brief breather and enjoy a fleeting moment of peace.
With dinner approaching, many had already departed, leaving only a scattered few strolling through the garden or conversing in hushed tones.
Just as Lanqi seemed absorbed in his own thoughts, a woman in a black dress quietly approached the table behind him and sat down.
She had an attractive figure, with raven-black hair draped behind her shoulders, gleaming with a soft sheen under the fading sunset.
Her arrival did not seem to perturb Lanqi in the slightest; he remained seated in silence, eyes fixed on the work log in his hands.
Right then, an abrupt hush fell over the surroundings.
The whisper of autumn wind, the gurgle of the stream, and the faint clatter of cafe cups all vanished from Lanqi's ears.
An invisible, small-scale soundproof barrier had unfolded silently, shutting out every scrap of external noise, leaving only Lanqi and the woman behind him.
Lanqi did nothing; the soundproof barrier was triggered by a magic apparatus carried by the other party.
"You're finally here."
Lanqi's lips didn't move. He was already wearing the thought-vocalization ring Professor Polao had crafted for the Poet of Great Love.
Lifting his glass, he took a gentle sip, appearing not the least bit surprised by the arrival of the woman in black.
"I thought you would be more cautious, Professor Landry Washington," the woman in the black dress said coldly.
"This spot is plenty safe. Doesn't your willingness to show yourself prove as much?"
Lanqi did not look back at her, but the voice was all too familiar.
It was none other than Unity, the Allied female spy he had encountered that day aboard the Brierda.
Back then, she had worn a white porcelain mask. Today, though unmasked, her features were undoubtedly disguised.
"..."
Unity, dressed in black, remained silent for a moment.
She picked up her coffee cup.
The man had clearly anticipated that she would seek him out, waiting here intentionally. The feeling that everything was within his predictions made her profoundly uncomfortable.
She had indeed wanted to find this man as quickly as possible, for according to intelligence from her comrades, this guy masquerading as a professor had already revealed something utterly earth-shattering within the empire.
Confirming that he had visited the Imperial Special Operations Department today only cemented Unity's conviction that he was an imperial hound—the foremost hound among hounds.
Even if he had engaged with the Allied forces for unknown motives, his inherently sinister nature was beyond question.
While she was lost in thought, Lanqi suddenly spoke, his words reaching Unity behind him:
"When you go up to pay the bill later, take a look at the coffee mugs on sale in the shop. I will hide an invisible recording crystal inside one of them. You'll be able to find it by sensing its mana at close range. Buy the mug along with it."
"...What is inside?"
Unruffled, Unity spoke, though suspicion tainted her voice.
She had no need for magic apparatuses; as a well-trained operative, she was already skilled in ventriloquism.
"What you want: my research results," Lanqi told her plainly.
"Why are you handing these over to me?"
Unity couldn't fathom it.
While she was still contemplating how to strike a deal with this man, he had already taken the initiative to offer what she wanted?
Accomplishing the mission so easily only made her more uneasy.
"Because this power must not belong to the empire alone," Lanqi replied simply.
It was difficult to explain the concept of the "balance of terror" in just a few sentences.
Often, only when the world truly changed would people come to understand.
"Then I will take it."
Unity did not hesitate for long. She first strolled into the cafe, found the coffee mug Landry had mentioned, and purchased it to prevent another customer from happening to buy it while they spoke.
Indeed.
Without the Allied forces acting as competitors, the empire wouldn't feel a sense of urgency, and would therefore value Landry even more.
This man's ambition was truly terrifying; for the sake of his own status and power, he was actually willing to sell out the empire on his own accord.
After settling the bill with utter naturalness, Unity prepared to leave, only to hear Landry's voice again:
"Do me a favor."
Lanqi's request brought Unity back to the seat behind him.
"What is it?" Unity asked with a stern expression, her back still turned toward him.
Professor Landry's research was currently only in its infancy. If she wanted to smoothly acquire intelligence on his research, long-term cooperation would be required. Since he had a need, she would have to provide corresponding bargaining chips.
"I need a fiancée. She must be from the northwestern frontier territory of Nixassend. It would be best if a clever Allied spy could play the role. If you don't feel safe with that, I only need the identity, not the person," Lanqi said.
"..."
This plunged Unity into ten seconds of absolute silence.
She was analyzing whether this man genuinely needed it for a mission or was simply acting out of lechery.
This imperial bureaucratic vibe made her feel increasingly disgusted.
After all, given his formidable strength, if they truly lived under the same roof, the safety of an Allied comrade would be very difficult to guarantee.
The woman in black tapped her fingers lightly on the tabletop, seemingly still weighing the matter.
Lanqi did not look back at her; in the eyes of any onlooker, they were strangers sharing no communication whatsoever.
The sun sank another fraction.
Finally:
"I cannot guarantee success. Even if an identity exists, I would need the person's consent. But I will do my best to find a suitable identity for you. In return, you must maintain your cover as Landry and continue cooperating with me," Unity said in a low voice. With that, she rose to her feet and left.
In principle, she would never cooperate with anyone from the Imperial Special Operations Department.
Yet compared to the brutal front lines, espionage was equally a battlefield bearing countless lives; there were matters where she had no choice but to weigh the scales.
A single piece of intelligence, a single hour, might decide the fate of an entire division.
The current situation on the front lines kept her tossing and turning every night. Even her nightmares were filled with her homeland being engulfed in flames, waking her drenched in cold sweat.
Even a careless word spoken in her sleep could expose her identity and doom an entire network of comrades.
She did not know when she would die, or whether any trace of her body would remain; her only fear was dying in vain.
The intelligence inside the mind of the ambitious man behind her was irreplaceable. Gathering information on him through other channels carried risks as well—perhaps even greater ones—and after passing through several hands, there was no telling how complete it would be. Procuring intelligence directly from him was undoubtedly already a dream scenario.
Much later, at the outdoor table of the open-air cafe:
"...I seem to have been rather deeply misunderstood," Lanqi thought wryly, relaxing once he sensed the Allied spy had gotten far enough away.
With Unity's response, he had essentially achieved his goal.
As for Unity's suspicions, he had gradually stopped fretting over them.
If everyone took him for an imperial hound, it was actually a testament to his acting skills.
If he could deceive even his own side, fooling the enemy would be child's play.
All the misunderstandings—he would bear them, he would shoulder them.
"Is it possible that you being misunderstood is largely your own fault?"
Talia felt one really couldn't blame Unity.
If she were Unity, she would also find it difficult to believe that Lanqi was on the Allies' side; his performance was simply too professional.
"Impossible. Behind glory always lies a stroke of loneliness; that was how Dean Loren endured back in his day," Lanqi immediately denied.
"Do you want to go ask Loren why he was subjected to so much suspicion back then?"
Talia was almost laughed to irritation.
She now had to admit Loren was genuinely an honest, generous soul. What kind of saint could remain so gentle toward Lanqi through it all?
"When I came out of the Tier 7 Shadow World, the Darkest Solar Eclipse Realm, I actually did ask him. He only smiled and said nothing, which proves he thought the exact same thing as me," Lanqi replied with righteous conviction.
"..."
Talia choked up.
It seemed Loren truly had no complaints.
"Pack up, time to go home."
Lanqi tucked away his work log and pushed his chair back under the iron table.
The intelligence network of the comrades in Porson was clearly not as vast as that of the Allied spies represented by the Kingdom of Canbera. Contacting Porson's intelligence operatives would still take time, so asking Unity was his best first resort for securing a fiancée.
As long as the Allies could arrange an identity, whether they sent an actual agent or let Talia disguise herself, everything would go smoothly.
Although this old geezer might not be able to pull off playing a fiancée of his age, being full of flaws was practically equivalent to having no flaws at all. Leaning into Talia's natural foodie traits would actually make her far less susceptible to suspicion.
"...?"
Talia felt Lanqi was growing increasingly insolent.
Insolent disciple, who says I'd even want to be your fiancée? she grumbled inwardly.
Chapter 729