"A week has passed, meow. Today is the forty-fourth day since your arrival in Brillda, capital of the Creti Empire."
Lanqi sat in the dining room on the ground floor of the villa, reading the morning newspaper bright and early, making no move to stop the Tier 9 divine beast's favorite morning broadcast.
Don't ask why he didn't stop it.
If you asked, the answer was simply that he couldn't win the fight.
"Captain Maguire has been turning to you for help quite often these past few days, and the dark circles under his eyes have grown heavier and heavier.
"Meanwhile, thanks to your unwitting hints, Kestrel Nikola also picked up on Maguire's suspicious behavior and reported to Director Dex that Maguire has recently been investigating the director's movements.
"Seeing Dex treat Maguire with ever-increasing gentleness, you figure the Imperial Special Operations Department is about ready to turn up the heat and reduce the sauce, meow."
Boss Cat sprawled across the dining table, and as he reached this point, he looked once more toward the banner on the wall—
[Loyalty and Valor Foremost, Defend the Nation with Iron and Blood]
It remembered vividly that ever since Lanqi arrived in the Creti Empire, everything he had done was the work of a loyal Creti minister.
Upon discovering Maguire's disloyalty to the empire, Lanqi had immediately set to work helping the empire weed Maguire out.
He truly lived up to every word on that pennant.
Every day now brought seismic shifts within the Imperial Special Operations Department.
If one were to recount those seven days in full detail, it would take dozens of chapters, so Boss Cat simply summarized it all.
"Lanqi, meow, will you take this banner back to Ikerite later?" Boss Cat pawed at Lanqi's cuff and asked.
"Take it back and hang it in the Boss Cat Restaurant?" Lanqi looked at the pennant, somewhat reluctant to part with it.
An official honorary banner conferred by the Creti Imperial Special Operations Department was something one could only dream of obtaining across the northern nations, possessing an aura of dramatic romance.
"I don't want my restaurant seized and shut down, meow!" Boss Cat cried hastily.
Hanging that banner in the Boss Cat Restaurant would be an egregious offense—he'd basically become a war-criminal cat.
Besides, if Hubao saw it, she would probably completely lose her composure.
Being presented with this banner by Kestrel Nikola, a secret service section chief, was practically official certification. For over a month now, word had spread across Saint Creti Monastery that any true patriot ought to follow Professor Landry's example—praising Professor Landry for daring to lead the way, bravely riding the crest of the wave, and excelling in both virtue and talent.
"Hahaha!"
Over on the sofa in the distance, Iphatia seemed to have spotted something hilarious, giggling uncontrollably as her legs kicked against the cushions.
"Kitty, kitty! Could you pass me the potato chips? The lime-flavored ones!" Iphatia lifted her head toward the dining-living area and called out.
Lying sprawled on the sofa, she was watching an imperial program on the magical crystal screen with rapt attention. Not wanting to get up and move, she had suddenly remembered that the household had an elf cat adept at telekinesis.
"No problem, meow."
Boss Cat gave his tail a flick. The cabinet door in the living area swung open, and a snack bag nestled inside floated slowly toward Iphatia, who plucked it out of the air.
"Thank you!"
Iphatia beamed her gratitude, tore open the chips, and leisurely popped one into her mouth.
Boss Cat found it difficult to imagine that this was the legendary Duchess of House Aransal.
By now, Iphatia had also altered her appearance with a brand-new transformation card, looking just like an underclassman one might encounter anywhere at Saint Creti Monastery.
"Iphatia, you've only just recovered from your wounds. It's better to go easy on snacks right now. If you want pastries or nutritious treats, your sister can make them for you anytime," Lanqi shifted his gaze halfway from the newspaper and addressed Iphatia on the living room sofa.
Talia had gotten up early and was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast; she could whip up whatever treats Iphatia craved.
The prolonged erosion of the Blood King Divine Fire was effectively equivalent to a severe illness; having finally recovered with great difficulty, she needed even longer to nurse her body back to health.
"Okay, Big Brother! Just this one bag!" Iphatia promised obediently.
She had eaten snacks every single day even while being consumed by the Blood King Divine Fire, so now that the fire poison was gone, snacking shouldn't be an issue at all.
Besides, seeing as her sister ate like that without gaining an ounce, there was no need to worry about putting on weight over a few snacks. The genetics of their Demon Realm royal bloodline were simply too overpowering.
At the dining table, Boss Cat suddenly seemed to sense something amiss.
"Wait, Lanqi, meow, why are you talking like you're actually her big brother?"
Boss Cat realized that after a week together, the dynamic between Lanqi and Iphatia had quietly shifted without either of them noticing.
It was as though Lanqi had been assimilated and led astray by Iphatia.
"Hiss."
Lanqi set down his newspaper, pondering his words from just now.
That wasn't right.
His original intention was that now that Iphatia had moved in, she needed to understand the generational hierarchy—her seniority was higher.
Yet somehow, through chatting back and forth, things had turned out like this.
"Lanqi, maybe you should start thinking in advance about how you're going to explain this to Hubao, meow," Boss Cat suggested, feeling the situation was hopeless.
It was entirely because Iphatia exuded far too much little-sister energy, while Lanqi had always possessed that headmaster-like disposition of caring for students.
When the two of them interacted, it was practically impossible not to turn into little sister and big brother.
"Don't joke around, Boss Cat," Lanqi said, picking up the little black soot sprite and giving him a shake.
Not only was Boss Cat offering no solutions, he was jumping straight to preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Right now, Lanqi felt that in critical moments, only the kitty could be counted on.
"Meow, meow, you have to find a way yourself, Lanqi."
Boss Cat had always thought Lanqi couldn't be won over, but ever since he went all out to rescue Lanqi last time, Lanqi hadn't once stopped his morning broadcasts.
Turns out the kid had a heart after all.
"Breakfast will be ready in a moment."
Talia began bringing the baked dishes out of the kitchen first, placing them on the dining table as she called out to Lanqi, Boss Cat, and Iphatia on the far sofa.
"Kitty!" Iphatia raised her hand high.
Boss Cat nodded understandingly, using his telekinesis to send a steaming bacon-and-egg-yolk pastry—sprinkled with chopped chives and grated cheese—gliding over from the metal tray toward the sofa.
"Sister, you're amazing!" Taking a bite, Iphatia showered praise upon Talia's fresh-from-the-oven baking.
"Eat slowly. There's plenty more still cooking in the kitchen." Seeing Iphatia so delighted, Talia showed a faint smile.
If she lived alone, she probably wouldn't cook with such diligence, more often buying ready-made food. It was only when cooking for people who mattered to her that she truly put her heart into it.
"Speaking of which, how did Maguire actually lose his badge?" Talia looked down toward the newspaper beside Lanqi's hand and asked.
While in the kitchen earlier, she had faintly overheard Boss Cat and Lanqi's conversation.
Only later had she learned that Maguire had lost his ID holder as well, which made it look even more like Dex was framing Maguire.
Ever since Talia stopped possessing Lanqi, Side was sometimes the one accompanying him to work—the two of them taking turns seeing their husband off—so Talia didn't know everything that occurred during Lanqi's workdays.
"Toliado did it," Lanqi said, shaking his head.
In truth, the moment he heard Maguire had lost his badge, his immediate guess was that Toliado had lifted it off Maguire after being cuffed by the Special Operations squad.
Maguire probably never dreamed in his wildest fantasies that the man he had detained that day was Toliado, the Cardinal of Dimensions.
And Toliado had undoubtedly been seething with fury.
If Toliado didn't make life difficult for Maguire, it wouldn't be him.
"He really does possess that sort of petty-thievery spatial magic..." Talia recalled events from a century ago and nodded in agreement.
Back in the Demon Realm, Yabo was always saying that borrowing things was effortless with a few spatial parlor tricks.
Casting large-scale spatial magic would certainly be detected, but with low-tier spatial tricks and Toliado's level of mana control, unless an even stronger mage was beside him, no one would likely realize he had invoked magic at all.
"This morning, there are far fewer Imperial Special Operations Department lookouts around Saint Creti Monastery. Almost all the main forces from the Countermeasures Division have pulled back. Looks like they're making a big move."
Talia glanced at the clock, judging that she didn't need to return to the stove in the kitchen just yet.
She probably had another minute or two to chat with Lanqi.
She had constantly been sensing the perimeter around the villa and even farther across the campus.
Although those observers had never posed a threat to a household anchored by a Tier 8 combatant from the start, she still made sure to keep Lanqi informed of the situation.
"The Countermeasures Division is probably moving against Maguire," Lanqi analyzed.
Kestrel Nikola was no gentle soul either; he spent every day arresting people across the empire, and right now he seemed dead set on apprehending the bizarre serial killer suspected of being the Decay Cardinal, Farmer.
If Nikola dared hunt down a suspect believed to be the Decay Cardinal, then given an opening, he certainly wouldn't let Maguire off the hook.
"Sigh. Who could have imagined that the one actually leaking imperial scientific intelligence was you? Such a thing is utterly illogical," Talia remarked wistfully.
Yesterday afternoon, after Lanqi lured Duke Dex and Kestrel Nikola away, he knew Maguire would seize the opportunity to inspect Director Dex's office.
And stored in Director Dex's office was a copy of the new magic-energy research findings that Lanqi had submitted just yesterday.
Then, that evening, Lanqi contacted Toliado, having Toliado tap into his sneaky instincts to plant a rubbing copy of the new research document inside Maguire's home.
This morning, they would probably catch him red-handed with the loot.
As the two humans and one cat chatted in the dining area, the scuffling sound of slippers dragging along the floor drifted over from the distant staircase.
"He really is bad luck incarnate, running into you two."
Sigrid yawned as she entered the dining room. Having overheard their conversation, she picked up a bottle of purified water, took a gulp, and delivered her appraisal of Lanqi.
She had long been familiar with just how hazardous Lanqi and Toliado could be.
Another victim who had suffered the same fate was Duke Morothian, holder of the [Original Slate - Undead] from the Protos Empire on the Northern Continent.
He, too, had been thoroughly undermined by the combined efforts of Sido and Rocky.
If even Morothian, an imperial arch-schemer of grand ambition, couldn't endure it, there was hardly any hope for a mere operations squad captain like Maguire.
"Don't look down on our Cardinal bond. You had a hand in it too, Side."
Lanqi had always considered Sigrid the undisputed MVP among his allies.
When it came to damage output and damage tanking, Sigrid was in a league of her own.
"Whoa... Well, if we're voting for team MVP, my vote goes to you," Sigrid praised her Holy Son.
Her eyes were still heavy with sleep.
She hadn't slept this comfortably in ages.
In the past, not only had she been plagued by constant nightmares, but being on sea voyages had never allowed for such peaceful rest.
"Side, go wash your face. Breakfast will be ready in a moment," Talia said to Sigrid.
Talia woke early every day, while Sigrid slept until she woke naturally. As for Iphatia, she might not even have gone to sleep yet.
"Tata!"
The moment Sigrid spotted Talia, she hurried behind her, draped both arms over her shoulders, and clung to her back like an ornament.
"Let me have a sniff."
She blatantly breathed in Talia's scent.
"I'm going to report you," Talia warned, walking toward the kitchen.
Although she didn't dislike Side's unsolicited affection, Side sometimes paid no heed to the setting or whether anyone around was watching.
"Ho-ho, you can't report me. According to imperial law, my conduct is entirely within appropriate bounds."
Sigrid refused to let go.
"..."
Unable to shake her off, Talia could only resign herself to carrying a giant accessory on her back as she returned to the kitchen to finish breakfast.
It was truly exasperating.
Over this past week, as long as she didn't look at Side and merely heard her voice and felt her touch, she would always feel as though this were her Xigelei.
"Mm, sister, you smell so good..."
Sigrid savored it, growing dazed and nearly drifting off to sleep again.
It felt like being carried on her mother's back to sleep.
If only it were that distinct floral fragrance she had smelled back in the era of the Blood Moon Ruined World, it would surely convince her that this was Caliera.
"How are you even more of a pervert than Lanqi?!"
Talia finally couldn't bear it any longer, asking Side in exasperated astonishment. Even Lanqi was far more restrained than Side.
"Oh? What has he done to you?"
Sigrid snapped awake a bit, questioning Talia.
While she had to admit the Holy Son had taste, she now felt an urge to punish him.
"N-nothing."
Talia's head drooped.
If Lanqi ever dared hug her from behind and sniff her like this, then she... then she...
Talia didn't dare pursue that train of thought.
She didn't know whether she would instinctively resist, or completely lose the will to resist.
The two of them bickered and teased all the way back into the kitchen.
"Doesn't it feel like the big grey cat and the big wolf hound fooling around at home, meow?" Boss Cat remarked, gazing in their direction.
"Why does it feel like this house is turning more and more into a zoo..."
Prompted by Boss Cat's comment, Lanqi couldn't help sharing the sentiment.
"Lanqi, your passive ability to attract small animals has never failed, meow."
Boss Cat was deeply gratified.
Life was growing more harmonious with each passing day—not a bit inferior to their days back in Ikerite.
Sigrid and Talia, the two he'd originally expected to clash the most in this house, were surprisingly getting along splendidly.
It really took Master Lan's miraculous touch.
At first, he had doubted Master Lan's capabilities, but now he was a believer: any asura field that failed to destroy Master Lan only made him stronger.
"It's already November twelfth, meow. The Moon Goddess Festival at Saint Creti Monastery should be coming up soon, right?" Boss Cat pondered for a moment and asked Lanqi.
If Boss Cat remembered correctly, the Moon Goddess Festival fell in the middle of the month—November fourteenth.
"Yeah, the day after tomorrow," Lanqi said, glancing toward the calendar.
Violet, the principal and high priestess of Saint Creti Monastery, would be exceedingly busy that day.
In recent days, even the principal's secretary, Miss Naila, had been swamped with work, practically serving as Violet's clone.
Lanqi felt bad about bothering Naila.
It was Secretary Naila who had received him from Brierda First Station to Saint Creti Monastery and helped him quickly integrate into the monastery.
Even so, Secretary Naila had still arranged a private meeting between Lanqi and Principal Violet.
The Third Imperial Princess Alexia had been out of contact for several days now, much like Lady Cloris under house arrest back on the Northern Continent, making one worry for her safety.
Perhaps he could glean some news about Princess Alexia from Violet, the Sixth War God of the Chrysoberyl Seat.
"And the decisive battle on National Day at the end of the month is drawing near as well," Lanqi added, the remaining days of November on the calendar reflected in his emerald-green eyes.
Once the Moon Goddess Festival concluded, it would just about be time to settle accounts with the Blood Clan.
"This imperial journey—you could call it long, or you could call it short, meow. Before we knew it, it's nearing its end," Boss Cat agreed, his eyes following Lanqi's gaze.
It was just like final exams, which always crept up unawares.
And in the two weeks leading up to exam week, aside from tension, one would surely feel a glimmer of anticipation for the relaxing vacation to follow.
Lanqi, however, never felt tense. Thus, he was in high spirits right now, keeping himself in prime condition at all times.
"Indeed. My vacation is getting closer and closer. Looking back, this journey has been so very long, yet to think we're nearly at the end."
Lanqi was confident that his headmaster's holiday was not far off.
"Meow."
Boss Cat rested comfortably on the table, waiting for breakfast.
The eve of the decisive battle, unexpectedly, brought him peace.
Beside Lanqi, there wasn't the slightest trace of that looming storm before the deluge.
Chapter 818