"A large portion of his grey income came from real estate," Sigrid explained briefly to Lanqi. "Of course, on the surface, that was only a semi-legitimate business. Behind the scenes, the Extinction Branch would still do anything and everything. After all, you saw the tragic state of Bandera City.
"Askesan was a villain, and the Extinction Sect often carried out violent forced demolitions—wiping out an entire district if anyone refused to comply, just like Bandera City on the northern border when we went there. But he always paid his subordinates their wages on time, and he usually delivered on what he promised. That's why some remnants of the Extinction Branch ended up actually missing him."
As for the handful of clergymen who remained loyal to Askesan until the bitter end, Sigrid hadn't absorbed them into her ranks, nor had she purged them. Instead, adhering to the principle that members of the Resurrection Church should avoid slaughtering one another whenever possible, she had simply let them go.
The real estate under Askesan that could be legitimized had basically been taken over by the Tyrant Branch.
Just when she had been short-handed, Lanqi sent over a contingent of Resurrection Church elites from the Southern Continent, which helped her tremendously.
"It's just as well that you didn't take in the Extinction Branch remnants. On one hand, they were terrified of you to begin with; on the other, they could have easily become a Trojan horse for other enemies," Lanqi said with a nod.
He wasn't surprised by Sigrid's decision. She favored people with loyalty and backbone.
Thus, she had spared those Extinction clergymen who would rather die than surrender.
"Come to think of it, I was involved in urban planning in Herrom too, and I'm quite skilled at demolishing illegal structures. For example, back in Brillda, the capital of Creti, I was constantly looking into how to tear down Blood Moon City," Lanqi murmured to himself.
Gazing down from the floating garden at the city blocks of Herrom below, he recalled leaving behind quite a few municipal planning proposals before his departure.
"All paths pursue the same ultimate end," Sigrid remarked with emotion.
Though one of them conducted illegal forced demolitions and acquisitions, while the other was a professional urban planner and designer.
"Our time together was so brief. Why... why didn't I get to know him better?" Sadness welled in Lanqi's eyes.
"Yeah, why indeed," Sigrid replied, utterly speechless.
"You really didn't pick the wrong major back then, but too bad you still got reassigned," Sigrid said, poking Lanqi's shoulder with the smug air of a victor, like someone who had just saved an errant youth from going astray.
"Sigh. You haven't paid me a single copper in wages—all you do is make empty promises. But the Extinction Branch actually wired me money back then," Lanqi sighed repeatedly, lamenting the injustice.
"Hey, you got yourself a wife out of the deal! Are you seriously still quibbling over that measly salary?" Sigrid poked him even harder.
"Your Eminence was pretty disgusted when you first took me in. You're probably just fooling me right now..." Lanqi muttered aggrievedly.
"Fucking hell, you're the one playing the victim now?" Half-amused and half-annoyed, Sigrid wrapped her arms around him at last. "You're not allowed to call me 'Your Eminence.' You have to call me by my name. You can also call me 'darling,' and you can do whatever you want to me..." she whispered, holding Lanqi tight.
The midday sun was gentle, and the breeze blew mild.
As they resumed their leisurely stroll along the paths of the floating garden, the sun over Herrom had already crested the zenith, approaching noon.
Without a word, both slowed their pace. No longer in any hurry to seek out their next destination, they ambled idly through the garden's shopping promenade.
Their steps came to a halt before a grand, elegant building.
It was a three-story bookstore blending classical and modern architecture. Emerald vines crept across the red-brick facade, the arched glass windows were polished spotless, and the signboard above displayed the name "Tsutaya."
They pushed open the glass door, and a brass wind chime overhead chimed melodiously.
Unlike the bustle outside, the interior of the bookstore was a warm, serene realm where the fresh ink of new volumes, the quiet scent of aged paper, and the rich aroma of coffee mingled together.
It was the perfect place to spend their remaining moments.
Sigrid led Lanqi up the escalator to the second floor, weaving through the bookshelves of the history section.
She pulled a thick tome of Protos Imperial script on legends of the Age of the Gods from a shelf, casually flipped through a couple of pages, and then playfully turned her head to look at Lanqi beside her.
"Speaking of which," Sigrid said, deliberately holding the book up in front of her face so only her laughing purple eyes showed, "it's really been tough on you today—dating Side instead of the real Sigrid."
Ever since they arrived in the Herrom created by the Dust-Forgetting Star, she had naturally assumed the disguise she wore that day: her classic Side persona.
"You're not going to keep calculating the affection score from back then, are you? If it drops too low, will you refuse to let me see the slate?" Lanqi asked, playing along as he flipped through a book.
In his memory, Sigrid had a unique algorithm for it—adding or deducting points on a whim, with no clear tally, and no indication whether Side and Sigrid were calculated separately or together.
"Hey, affection scores are very important! Don't you dare be so dismissive!" Sigrid admonished him earnestly.
"Then let me ask you: between Sigrid and Side, whose affection score for me is higher?" Lanqi posed a paradox.
Sigrid froze for a moment.
Her left and right hemispheres seemed to be locked in mortal combat.
"What on earth are you talking about? I don't understand," she finally said, choosing to give up entirely.
Immediately afterward:
"Um... My name is Side. I'm a second-year student at the Protos Royal Magic Academy, nineteen years old. Look, here's my student ID."
Sigrid winked her right eye and spoke with vibrant energy.
She was forcibly rebooting the conversation.
"..."
Lanqi was choked into silence.
Last time, Sigrid had brushed him off in the exact same way.
After all this time, even her dodges were just as perfunctory as ever.
"Are you turning yourself in to the headmaster for forging a student ID?"
Lanqi turned her own tactics against her.
If you use a formulaic approach, so will I.
"Just try revoking my student status and see what happens," Sigrid whispered, leaning close to poke Lanqi.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Lanqi wasn't bold enough to push things that far. "Speaking of which, could you reenact that line from back then? You know, 'Side is tier five, she's always been tier five'?"
He could feel the magic of the Dust-Forgetting Star growing weaker and weaker.
In these final moments in Herrom, he wanted to see Sigrid's slightly comical act of playing young one more time.
"Hmph." Sigrid gave a light snort, clearly displeased with his request, but she still set down the tome. "What was it you said back then that prompted me to say that?"
She searched her memory for the feeling of that moment.
"First, you asked me, 'By the way, after not seeing each other for so long, don't you have anything you want to say to me?'" Lanqi reminded her.
"Your memory is way too good..." Sigrid grumbled as the memory began coming back to her.
"'Congratulations to Your Eminence on being closer to the ninth tier—'" Lanqi recited his response from back then, prompting her.
"Fifth tier!" Sigrid snapped.
"'—closer to the ninth tier by one—'" True to an actor's professionalism, Lanqi insisted on finishing his line.
"Fifth tier!" Sigrid interrupted again. "Side is tier five, she's always been tier five! If you work hard, maybe you'll even become stronger than her!"
She glared at him in utter fluster and exasperation, her voice loud and ringing with unquestionable firmness.
Yet it was precisely this heartfelt outburst that made Lanqi burst into helpless laughter on the spot.
"Hahaha."
Lanqi covered his mouth, laughing uncontrollably.
"What are you laughing at?"
Sigrid had rarely seen Lanqi laugh so joyfully. Even knowing the Dust-Forgetting Star was about to expire, he still laughed with complete abandon.
"Your Eminence is just too cute."
Seeing her puffed-up cheeks and adorable demeanor—looking angry yet unwilling to actually hit him—Lanqi finally stopped teasing her.
He led Sigrid out to an empty bench on the second-floor terrace.
Beyond the terrace railing lay an incomparable panoramic view of Herrom beneath the floating garden.
They waited as this wonderful journey through the illusion approached its end.
Every scene gradually overlapped with that day in their memories, yet took on vibrant new colors thanks to their changed hearts.
Chapter 891