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Chapter 657: Cardinal Lanchi's Departure
Chapter 657: Cardinal Lanchi's Departure
In the living room of Lanchi's dormitory, the world outside was veiled by a gentle, blue haze on this rainy afternoon. The patter of raindrops on the windows and the drip from the eaves created a soothing white noise, like a soft lullaby.
On the sofa, Thalia lay unconcerned by the world's troubles. Her gaze was fixed on the newspaper in her hands as she immersed herself in the day's stories and news from the Horton Times.
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening echoed down the corridor, and Lanchi emerged, luggage in hand.
Thalia glanced briefly at Lanchi.
Her figure exuded an elegant aura under the warm light, her smooth gray tresses cascading over her shoulders, giving her a sense of homely composure.
"I'm ready. We can set off later." Lanchi placed her suitcase by the entrance and took a seat on the other side of the sofa.
"I've been ready," Thalia replied in an even tone.
She had packed light, having prepared her luggage before coming to Lanchi's place.
Although Lanchi had offered her the workshop that used to belong to the Great Poet, Thalia felt it was unnecessary to have a separate room since she would only be staying at Lanchi's place for a few days. Most of the time, she would revert to her form as a magic card to conserve energy.
After all, she had no intention of permanently residing in Lanchi's home.
"Any interesting news?" Lanchi inquired, glancing at the newspaper's front page.
"It seems like the Dimension Bishop and the Destruction Bishop are at each other's throats again," Thalia read aloud from the paper.
Lanchi's interest was piqued, and he sat down next to her to take a closer look at the newspaper.
"Did Torialdo finally win one?" Lanchi exclaimed in surprise.
Although the newspaper didn't explicitly mention the victor, the Kingdom Union's alert was now searching for the Destruction Bishop.
The first time, the Dimension Bishop had enraged the Destruction Bishop by putting a bounty on the head of his son, the Destruction Scion, and had been beaten within an inch of his life.
The second time, the Dimension Bishop had fled, only to be pursued by the Destruction Bishop all the way to the sea, where he had no choice but to fight again.
Later, the Dimension Bishop disappeared from the Southern Continent for half a year, resurfacing only after his injuries had healed.
This was likely the third time in recent years that the two bishops had clashed.
"According to the experts' analysis in the paper, it seems that the Destruction Bishop lost his elite forces from the Destruction Branch, cutting off his intelligence network. At a critical moment, he was ambushed by other bishops, then besieged by the Yarolan Kingdom and the Fate Goddess Church. He was badly injured and finally intercepted by the Dimension Bishop," Thalia recited as she flipped through the pages.
She held no fondness for either bishop. If not for their all-out battle at sea, which had caused a magical storm, Lanchi and Hyperian would not have suffered a shipwreck.
Cat Boss: "..."
"That Dimension Bishop really has no sense of martial ethics," Lanchi commented.
While the Dimension Bishop, Torialdo, was true to his word and honored his promises, his unconventional methods of avoiding direct combat made him an oddity among bishops.
"You're not much better yourself, meow," Cat Boss retorted.
Furthermore, the reason for Destruction Bishop Ivanos' isolation could be traced back to Lanchi.
If this woman ever found out about Lanchi's good deeds, Cat Boss dared not imagine the extent of her fury.
"But how fearsome is the Destruction Bishop? Even after being ambushed, besieged, and intercepted by the Dimension Bishop, he still managed to survive," Thalia remarked, wondering if she would be able to escape such a predicament even if she had multiple lives.
However, she could somewhat comprehend the magnitude of a bishop's power.
If she ever encountered a Cardinal Bishop, she would run without hesitation.
The last time she discovered herself in a battle with the Decay Bishop Famer's alchemy beast, her scalp went numb. If it had been the bishop himself, her hesitation would have cost her dearly.
"Before I left for the Northern Continent, Dean Loren specifically warned me that if I ever entered the line of sight of a Cardinal Bishop, he would be able to completely control me in an instant. Only an Eighth-Rank could defeat an Eighth-Rank, and it would take multiple Eighth-Ranks to stand against a Cardinal Bishop," Lanchi explained, finally understanding the weight of those words.
"You didn't understand jack, meow!" Cat Boss felt that Loren's intention was to warn Lanchi to stay away from Cardinal Bishops, not teach him how to defeat them.
"Losen is truly powerful. With his full stats and that sealing ultimate move in his locked state, who could withstand him?" Lanchi and Cat Boss argued back and forth.
Excluding oddities like the Dimension Bishop, a conservative estimate placed the average bishop's strength at three towers or more.
If possible, Lanchi really didn't want to fight another bishop.
"Hmm?" Thalia furrowed her brows, confused by the mention of "Losen" and the unit "tower," which were unfamiliar to her.
Thalia seemed to vaguely understand what Lanchi meant.
A murderous intent began to rise in the humid air of the summer rainy season.
As if suddenly realizing something, Lanchi abruptly stopped speaking, slowly picking up Cat Boss, and sitting quietly.
Thalia shook the newspaper and continued reading.
The living room fell silent for a long time, with only the sound of raindrops tapping on the window clearly audible.
"By the way, Thalia, my Platinum-level status is confidential. Aside from those in the know like Dean Loren and Professor Borao, only a few individuals in the Card Maker's Association's branch and the Kingdom's Senate of Elders are aware of it in the Bosen Kingdom," Lanchi said, as if remembering something.
"So, our travel arrangements this time are a little different from the other Platinum-level examiners. While we'll be staying in high-end hotels, the bookings aren't made under the Card Maker's Association of the Southern Continent," he added.
Lanchi's Platinum-level status had been kept confidential ever since he obtained it, even Carlien from the Yarolan Kingdom had never found out.
Considering the recent instability in the Southern Continent and Bosen's concerns for Lanchi's safety, it was decided that his identity would remain undisclosed during this examination.
He would wear a mask and act as a "mysterious Platinum-level Card Maker" for the exams.
Unless necessary, the Bosen Kingdom would not reveal his personal information.
They would only start the standard process of announcing the new Platinum-level Card Maker's information after safely escorting Lanchi back to the Horton Kingdom.
"So, technically, I'm just going on a vacation, right, meow?" Cat Boss asked.
"That's the idea, and that's why Professor Borao wanted us to keep a low profile on this trip, to avoid getting entangled in the potential turmoil caused by the undercurrents of various factions in the Bosen Kingdom," Lanchi confirmed.
"Got it. I've always kept a low profile, unlike someone who's always stirring up trouble," Thalia said with a cold smile.
Lanchi was about to retort when he saw Cat Boss staring straight at him.
As if there was no question about who Thalia meant by "someone."
In the end, Lanchi swallowed his words.
"I'm a little worried about Hyperian," Thalia said, putting down the newspaper and gazing out at the rainy mist.
Especially since the weather was turning cooler.
Sometimes, when she woke up in the middle of the winter nights, she would find that Hyperian had kicked off the blanket or crawled out of bed, and she would have to cover her up again.
"Don't worry, Cynora is with Hyperian all the time now, and Hyperian also has a teacher, Almyris, who came to Ikelite," Lanchi said.
Ever since Hyperian and Cynora visited the Duke's mansion, they seemed obsessed with unlocking the mansion's secret rooms. There was said to be a Duke's treasury that even Hyperian hadn't seen, and their goal was to open it.
Lanchi was now a little worried for Duke Demiya.
What if it wasn't treasure inside, but something that would drive the Duke crazy?
"Almyris..." Thalia murmured.
She hadn't heard that name in a long time.
Previously, when Hyperian returned from the Northern Continent, she mentioned that she had received a lot of care from the Ice Snow Witch, and now Almyris was also in the Horton Kingdom.
"Yes, Hyperian thinks it would be nice to have Almyris as a mother, so she'll be well taken care of even when you're not around," Lanchi said.
"..."
Thalia suddenly looked saddened by those words.
It was the first time Lanchi had seen Thalia like this.
"But Hyperian still likes you the most, even more than Caliera," he added.
"Really?" Thalia looked up at him.
"Of course," Lanchi smiled helplessly, as if to say, I can't deceive you.
"I'll take your word for it this time," Thalia said.
The two of them chatted to pass the time.
"Let's go, we should head to the station a little early," Lanchi finally said, glancing at the clock on the wall and standing up.
Although their chemistry was still far from perfect, and the prospect of turning the [Shadow Weaving Record of Caliera] into a magic card seemed distant, for now, all they knew was that—
Their brand-new journey to Bosen had begun.
(End of Chapter)
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