Lanqi's Stress Disorder

The capital of the Creti Empire. On the south side of the city-state of Brierda, Saint Creti Monastery. The autumn midday sun bathed the floor-to-ceiling windows of the dining room, lending a touch of warmth to the plain white walls and dark brown wooden furniture. "Whoa." Lanqi sat upright before the dining table as more dishes continued to pile up before him. From time to time, Talia would bring out another plate, filling the dining room with an enticing aroma. "Go ahead and eat," Talia said, glancing back at him as she noticed how stiffly he was sitting. "I'll wait for you," Lanqi replied firmly. In truth, watching Tata eat was even more appetizing than eating himself. "You..." Talia couldn't find the words, so she turned and headed back to the kitchen. Before long, the dishes emerged one after another, carried into the dining room by Talia. The main course was a large platter of golden, crispy deep-fried pork cutlets. Juices sizzled beneath the cuts in the crispy crust, served with lemon slices and minced chives. In a small side dish sat a refreshing, appetizing pickled cucumber salad, its crisp fragrance carrying a hint of spiciness. On the other side, a white porcelain plate held several baked potatoes of various expressions, carved into adorable cat-head shapes, soft and fluffy, exuding the aroma of butter and salt. After bringing out the last dish, Talia took off her apron and sat down opposite Lanqi. "Tata, you're the best, meow!" Boss Cat cried out happily. In the small bowl before it was its favorite cold appetizer of tuna and fresh shrimp, garnished with green seaweed. Tata now cooked more diligently than Boss Cat, and more often than not, the cooking duties of the household had been handed over to her. And true to expectations, she took great care of both Lanqi and Boss Cat. Next came lunchtime. In the kitchen, condensed milk bread and apple cake were still baking. However, Talia had already brought out three freshly baked slices for Lanqi, Boss Cat, and herself to sample. Thick chunks of apple were tucked into the fluffy sponge cake, its surface dusted with cinnamon powder and granulated sugar, sweet and delicious with every bite. The two people and one cat chatted idly as they enjoyed lunch. Outside the window, an autumn breeze blew in occasionally, golden leaves dancing in the courtyard, sweeping away all troubles and exhaustion. In less than half an hour, lunch came to an end. "We agreed: this afternoon, you're going to bask in the sun by the monastery brook, sit on the bench without thinking about anything, and get some proper rest," Talia said to Lanqi as she cleared the plates. "No problem, no problem," Lanqi agreed meekly, leaning back against his chair. When acting as his teacher, Talia would strictly supervise his card crafting; when his workload grew too heavy, she would urge him to rest. As time went on, he almost forgot how she used to look sitting beside him and glaring at him while he crafted cards back in South Vantina. Still, it really was time to unwind his nerves. Lanqi pinched the space between his brows, feeling the drowsiness of a Saturday afternoon nap washing over him. *Ding-dong.* The doorbell rang, interrupting Lanqi's afternoon plans and jolting him awake. He looked toward the entrance. Talia, who happened to be bringing him a slice of apple cake, also glanced toward the foyer. "Go take a look." Lanqi and Talia exchanged a glance, and Talia vanished from the spot for the time being. "No one should have an appointment today, by all accounts." Lanqi was somewhat puzzled, wondering who would come calling at this hour. At his residence, Principal Secretary Naila had also thoughtfully handled the confidentiality measures for him. With a hint of curiosity, Lanqi walked to the foyer and opened the manor's front door. The bright autumn sunlight spilled over the flagstone path in front of the door, casting a soft golden rim around the visitor. Lanqi's gaze fell upon the girl outside, a faint look of surprise crossing his face. The visitor was none other than Elsa Washington, the younger sister of his current identity, Landry Washington. Her long black hair fell loosely over her shoulders. Today, she wore a casual beige blouse and a slate-blue pleated skirt, clearly having dressed up with care. "Brother," Elsa greeted him with a smile. Her tone carried a trace of timidity, yet her gaze was unmistakably affectionate. "It's been a few days—though... I suppose we saw each other in class." "Elsa, what a pleasant surprise." Lanqi smiled back and stepped aside to gesture for her to enter. "Come on in and take a seat. There's some afternoon dessert." "No need, Brother," Elsa waved her hands, politely declining. "I just have a small matter I wanted to mention. No need to disturb your rest by coming in." "Is that so?" Lanqi was a bit surprised, but respecting Elsa's wishes, he leaned against the doorframe and said gently, "Go ahead, then. Is there something you need my help with?" "..." Elsa lowered her head, her slender fingers twisting the fabric of her skirt, seemingly weighing her words. A moment later, she looked up. "I want to visit the Pantheon this afternoon, and there's a performance at the Imperial Opera House tonight. Ursula and I made plans to go see it together." Elsa took out two theatrical tickets, holding them out before her to show her brother. It was said to be adapted from *Holy War Romance*, written by the playwright Sido Arendelle from the southern coast of the Northern Continent. Her violet eyes harbored unspoken words. Lanqi glanced at the tickets and roughly grasped Elsa's intention: she probably wanted him to go with her. Ursula, the daughter of Marquis Roland, seemed to be on very good terms with Elsa. They were often seen chatting after class, and seeing Elsa make friends put Lanqi at ease. Suddenly, Lanqi caught something and locked his eyes on the theater details on the ticket stub. "Wait, Sido Arendelle?" Seeing that title gave Lanqi a sudden trauma response. *Holy War Romance*—wasn't that the very book Talia had held a knife to his throat to make him read? He wasn't sure if the performance would include that line about "so cute I want to eat you up," or whether, if that scene really played out on stage, he would be able to remain seated in the audience. And that wasn't even the main issue. He saw a familiar name— Back in the Protos Empire on the Northern Continent, he had spent a lot of time at school with Associate Professor Sido. In the end, the key factor that backed Duke Morotian into a dead end before the Protos Imperial Parliament Building had been the indispensable testimony and evidence Associate Professor Sido Arendelle left behind for the military. "Yes! Brother, have you read Professor Sido's books?" Elsa asked curiously. The Protos Royal Magic Academy was one of the premier overseas academies recognized by the Creti Empire's Department of Overseas Education. As a historian who traveled frequently on scholarly tours between the Northern and Southern Continents, the author Sido held formal status as an overseas academy professor and had a permanent residency permit in the Creti Empire. "I have," Lanqi answered with some difficulty. He had "read" it, quite literally. Back then, Associate Professor Sido had been targeted by Duke Morotian and vanished. Even after Duke Morotian fell from power, Sido had never resurfaced. It turned out Sido had crossed the sea and fled to the Southern Continent—no wonder Duke Morotian couldn't find him. Lanqi thought to himself. "Then could we go together today? Ursula gave me extra tickets," Elsa said, her violet eyes instantly brightening as she plucked up her courage. If her brother was already a fan of the original work, he would very likely be interested in this theatrical adaptation. "I'm sorry... I might have to attend to some official business," Lanqi hesitated slightly before shaking his head with an apologetic look. This was the truth. He also wanted to avoid being alone with Elsa. If she casually brought up the past and Talia failed to read her mind in time, his cover might easily be blown. "Okay." Elsa didn't show disappointment; she merely nodded obediently and replied. Even so, seeing her lower her head and watching the light in her eyes dim slightly made Lanqi feel a twinge of guilt. If only Elsa were a bit more demanding, or showed a bit more disappointment. Yet she was the kind of person who cared more about others than herself. "Then I'll head out first. When you're done with your work, Brother, we can chat another day." Elsa quickly regained her cheerful composure, not wanting her brother to overthink things. She took half a step back and smiled at him. "Alright." Lanqi nodded, waving his hand to bid her farewell. After a brief thought, however, he hesitated. "If you're leaving the monastery, take this cat with you." Lanqi bent down in the foyer, plucked Boss Cat out of the shadows, and handed it to Elsa outside the door. Ever since he had the little gray cat by his side, the usefulness of the little black cat had drastically decreased. *Who's a little gray cat?* A chilly voice echoed in Lanqi's mind. *Someone who always likes to jump on me, cooks, does housework, drools at the sight of food, and is also a bit heavy...* Before Lanqi could finish, Talia gripped his heart, choking his voice and cutting him off. "Brother, what's wrong?" Elsa looked with concern at the black-haired, blue-eyed young man, whose condition seemed suddenly off. For a moment, he appeared unable to breathe, only recovering after a short while as his breathing smoothed out. "Nothing. I've been a bit too exhausted lately, and my chest felt a little tight," Lanqi said, shaking his head to brush it off before the girl. *Lanqi, you deserve to die!* Just remembering how Lanqi was always secretly gauging her weight made Talia want to drag him down to the grave with her. No matter what, at a height of 168 centimeters, 53 kilograms was considered very slender—not heavy in the slightest! *So, Tata, you're 53 kilograms now...* Lanqi had an epiphany. He remembered that when he fed her back in the Kingdom of Posen, she was still 52.6. *Ahhh! Go die!* Talia had no idea why this man was always fixating on such things; she was on the verge of losing her mind. Lanqi bickered with Talia in his mind, but his expression had already returned to normal. "Brother, you still need to get some rest. Working too hard isn't good for you." Seeing that her brother was fine, Elsa was relieved. She then looked in pleasant surprise at the adorable little black cat. Originally, she had assumed her brother wouldn't let anyone touch this cat. A tier 5 contracted beast was far stronger than a tier 2 like herself. For her brother to entrust her with a cat capable of combat, he was clearly concerned about her safety outside the school. "What's its name?" Elsa reached out to gently stroke the little black cat's back, asking her brother. Even though she knew full well the cat's tier was far higher than her own, Elsa didn't feel the slightest bit afraid; it was as harmless as a domestic pet. "Little Black Bread," Lanqi answered. "Meow!" Boss Cat let out an indignant yowl. *You're bread! Your whole family is bread!* It was about to protest, but remembering that it did need an alias in the Creti Empire, it endured the indignity. If it rejected this name, Lanqi might come up with an even worse one. Looking at it that way, Boss Cat figured Little Black Bread wasn't too bad after all. "I'll leave it to you, then." Lanqi gave Boss Cat a wink. Suddenly, Boss Cat understood Lanqi's intention. Who would be on guard against a little black cat like it? Elsa would only love it by extension because it was her brother's cat. Perhaps Elsa would soon pour out all her inner thoughts to it, including her memories with her brother. This move was dispatching it, Captain Cat, on a reconnaissance mission! All it needed to do was naturally keep Elsa company, chat with her, and listen to her talk about her past with her brother! Thinking of this, it found Lanqi utterly devious... Completely taking advantage of a young girl's heart. "By the way, take this." Lanqi hooked his finger at Boss Cat, beckoned it back to his side, and handed it a purple rare magic card. [Metamorphosis: Human] [Category: Spell Card] [Quality: Purple Rare] [Affinity: Concealment] [Tier: 2] [Effect: Upon use, alters race to human without changing the user's true attributes or facial features. Cooldown: 24 hours.] [Note: Classic reprint edition.] "Meow?" Floating in the air, Boss Cat looked at the all-too-familiar translucent purple card. It possessed an unknown fear of changing its form, worried that walking on two legs would make it trip, and felt that turning into a human would be weird. Thus, even though it knew Lanqi had countless copies of [Metamorphosis: Human], it had never asked him for one. "Don't transform unless it's absolutely necessary. I registered you as a faculty contracted beast of Saint Creti Monastery. If someone discovers your tier, explaining it later will be a huge hassle," Lanqi whispered into Boss Cat's ear. In cat form, Boss Cat was far too harmless and docile, lacking any wildness whatsoever, possessing only the mild temperament of a house cat. Unless someone used tier 8 magic or locked onto it with extremely powerful appraisal magic, no one could detect its true tier. However, in human form, as long as it tapped into its tier 8 telekinesis, it would exude an instinctual aura of dominance that intimidated those of the same race. Even if its mana intensity wasn't high, its overbearing presence would leak out. At critical moments, transforming into a human could scare off enemies. "Meow." Boss Cat understood and put away [Metamorphosis: Human]. Although public security in Brierda was fairly good in broad daylight, the fact that a terrorist organization like the Silver Moon Restoration Society could pull off successful assassinations of imperial dignitaries proved danger still lurked. Having hung around Lanqi for so long, Boss Cat was something of a master bluffer itself; it certainly knew how to put on a show of bravado. "Don't worry, meow! With this divine beast here, there's no need for you to worry or lift a finger! Anyone who dares challenge me, I shall end their life! Legendary deck loaded with one click!" Boss Cat held its head high, swishing its tail, and declared confidently to Lanqi and Elsa.