Morning in the royal capital of Ikerite brought a faint wash of pale blue to the sky, and in the cool autumn air, the entire city felt exceptionally crisp and fresh.
Two streets east of Ikerite Academy, the avenue was lined mostly with shops.
From a small diner drifted wisps of cooking smoke, accompanied by the morning aroma of oats and cheese.
Lanqi stood before the storefront with a slightly puzzled expression, gazing up at the typical two-story wooden structure. Beside the entrance hung a signboard carved with the words: "Boss Cat Restaurant."
Though built from somewhat quaint, tea-brown timber, its shape and ornamentation brimmed with old Victorian charm. The broad roof curved gracefully, eaves extending far past the exterior walls to create an airy sense of space. Beneath them stretched a veranda suitable for relaxing, chatting, or even dining. Hanging deep beneath the eaves was a wind chime that chimed merrily whenever a breeze drifted by.
This was the new address Talia had given Lanqi.
It seemed that although the ground floor was a restaurant, the second floor was leased out as lodgings.
A long-term rental here likely did not cost much. Most importantly, Lanqi was certain that their food had to be both unique and delicious—otherwise, it never would have won the favor of Talia, the walking gourmet radar.
The moment Lanqi pushed open the door, a cheerful jingle of bells sounded, and the restaurant's exquisite, pavilion-style interior came into view. A simple layout divided the ground-floor tables and chairs into several seating areas. Aside from the front counter, there were only the entrances leading back toward the kitchen or up to the second floor.
It appeared breakfast was not the establishment's primary focus, so there were few patrons at this hour. Even the clerk behind the counter had to double as a server carrying out meals.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Miss Tata who stays here."
Lanqi waited leisurely by the counter for a moment until the young woman finished delivering a meal and stepped back behind the register before speaking up.
"Miss Tata...? I'm sorry, I only recently started working here, so I'm not very familiar with the long-term guests."
The clerk wore a faintly apologetic look as she explained. She appeared quite young, likely a peer working part-time.
"If you could describe her, I can't tell you which room she's in, but I could head up to the second floor and look for her for you," she added kindly.
To her, Lanqi did not seem like a bad person at all. In fact, he appeared to be an exceptionally gentle, pleasant young man.
"Ah, she's very pretty, about 168 centimeters tall, looks around twenty to twenty-five, has long gray hair and golden eyes, an ideally healthy build, hasn't had kids, barely talks, and never smiles."
Lanqi launched into a vivid description of Talia's features.
Ever since he had failed to describe Talia effectively to his butler back in his hometown of South Vantina, he had spent considerable thought on how to capture her in words as thoroughly and perfectly as possible.
Before Lanqi could finish, a sudden chill seized the back of his neck for reasons unknown.
Immediately after, an ice-cold hand clamped down on his shoulder.
Behind him loomed what felt like the indifferent golden gaze of an absolute sovereign, exuding a terrifying aura of magical pressure that pinned his entire body.
The clerk felt as if the temperature in the entire restaurant had plummeted by two whole degrees. Rubbing her chilled arms, she could not help but shiver.
"Do you mean... the lady behind you?"
Puzzled, she raised a hand slightly, pointing toward Lanqi's flank as she asked with utmost caution.
"...Probably?"
Keeping his smile frozen in place, Lanqi slowly turned his head.
Only his neck could move; the rest of his body was utterly immobilized, as though crushed beneath a mountain.
Lanqi saw Talia standing right behind him.
Her slender hand felt capable of crushing his shoulder to powder at any second, while tucked under her other arm was a paper box of Ikerite sea-salt cheese biscuits.
These biscuits tended to sell out early every morning, forcing the capital's locals to wake up at the crack of dawn to queue for them.
"Good morning, Teacher Tata."
Seeing that Talia's appetite remained as vigorous as ever, Lanqi felt relieved.
It seemed she had spent the past two days happily in his absence.
His only worry was that she might put on weight.
After all, she was already so old, possessed a terrible temper, and if she gained weight on top of that, finding a husband would be even harder.
"Come with me."
Talia slowly released her grip, her voice entirely devoid of emotion.
Yet every single syllable dripped with murderous intent.
After thanking the clerk, Lanqi did not dare make another peep. He followed obediently behind Talia, ascending the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor.
They walked to the very end of the corridor, where Talia drew a key from her pocket and unlocked the door to her new residence.
"Get inside," she said coldly.
Naturally, Lanqi dared not hesitate and hurriedly stepped into the room.
"You've got quite an eye, Tata..."
Looking around the small apartment, he could not help but marvel.
The ceiling was fashioned from timber planks and angled beams, fitted with a glass skylight whose pitch gave the room the feel of a terrace from which one could gaze up at the night sky.
The walls were painted in soft, interwoven shades of cream, pale orange, and beige, making the space feel warm and bright. The wooden furniture, carefully polished by the restaurant's owner, radiated a natural, rustic grain.
Ignoring him, Talia walked past Lanqi and sank into the living room's solitary wooden recliner.
Glancing at the small side table beside the chair and the few newspapers and magazines resting upon it, Lanqi could easily picture Talia's daily routine of living like a retired pensioner.
As he mused, Talia's gaze settled on him once more.
Though she had no proof, an increasingly sharp intuition told her that Lanqi was always harboring thoroughly damnable thoughts in his head.
Spurred over time by curiosity and irritation, the feedback from her innate magic had grown stronger by the day. At the very least, she was now certain that whenever Lanqi was around her, his mental activity surged to abnormal heights.
Aside from reclaiming her lost realm, the only thing Talia wanted to accomplish right now was to advance her innate magic from lie detection to full mind reading as quickly as possible, if only to see what this fellow was actually thinking.
"What did you come here for?" Talia asked, her expression frigid.
She had actually intended to seek Lanqi out to inquire about what had happened in the Demon Realm Shadow World two days ago.
Yet the mere thought that he might be smiling on the outside while thinking thoughts worthy of ten thousand deaths on the inside made her blood boil.
Unable to decide when to contact him, she had simply resolved to wait for him to come to her.
She had not expected him to seek her out so quickly.
It seemed this human was even more dependent on her than she had imagined.
And yet, predictably enough...
The moment she laid eyes on him, her mood soured all over again.
Chapter 89