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Chapter 824: Lan Qi's Intention (Part 1)
Chapter 824: Lan Qi's Intention (Part 1)
The next morning, in the dining room of Professor Landry's mansion, the crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling sparkled with hundreds of crystals, reflecting dazzling light onto the polished marble floor, which mirrored the silhouettes of the people seated on either side of the dining table.
They were waiting for Xiao Hei Mao to prepare breakfast while discussing the events of the past few months.
The mansion's doors were tightly shut, and the world outside seemed to have quieted down. Even the gentle patter of the morning rain and the sound of the stream in the courtyard had softened.
After several minutes of recapping...
"I tried to convince Miss Unita that I was on her side, and Talia witnessed it all. But for some reason, she didn't believe me and thought I was an Imperial. So, I had no choice but to play along as an Imperial and cooperate with her, which also allowed me to seamlessly integrate into the Special Operations Division. And then, of course, you all showed up to assassinate me last night."
Lan Qi sat at the dining table, summarizing the key events from Flower City to their arrival in the Creedentia Empire for the four powerful demons.
"Hmm, hmm."
The dining room was filled with the aroma of cotton candy by the fireplace, white mint latte, and hot cocoa with cream.
Antanas and Sinora held their mugs, sipping and listening to Lan Qi's story.
Armis and Pranae, on the other hand, appeared more composed, quietly listening.
"It had to be you, after all."
Pranae still felt that Lan Qi's cross-dressing skills were beyond her reach.
Just as in the Northern Continent's Protos Empire, no one had ever suspected that Loki McCassi was an outsider, and they regarded him as the leader who would realize their dream of a new empire.
"I have a question."
Antanas raised her hand.
"Ask away."
Lan Qi gestured for her to proceed.
"Why is Ifatiya here?"
Antanas looked at the drowsy little cutie sitting next to Lan Qi.
She still found it somewhat unbelievable that Lan Qi had already helped Houbailian find her mother.
His efficiency was truly astonishing.
Even when Lan Qi helped Talia bring back their three old friends from the Northern Continent, his ability to find people was already impressive. But after repeated verification, Antanas felt that it was getting more and more unbelievable.
Now, all that remained was for Lan Qi to help Houbailian find her father, Duke Migaya, and his main quest would be complete.
"Ifatiya... Miss, she had been hiding deep within the Brillada Black Hand, waiting for the moment to strike back at the vampires. And since our goal was to uncover the vampires hiding in the Creedentia Empire, we happened to meet due to an accident."
Lan Qi finished saying Ifatiya's name and added the honorific he often used.
After spending some time with Ifatiya, he had gradually started addressing her without any honorifics.
"So, you didn't fight when you met?"
Antanas asked anxiously.
She was well aware of Ifatiya's personality.
Although Ifatiya seemed harmless in the demon realm, she could be extremely cruel to her enemies.
If they had run into Ifatiya by chance without gaining her trust, she might have attacked without hesitation.
"It's a misunderstanding... Lan Qi brought Sister Talia to find me, so we had a brief fight before realizing we were on the same side."
Ifatiya tried to rephrase her words, but she still unconsciously wanted to call Lan Qi 'brother'.
"Cough, it's a good thing Talia was with me that day, or I might have been captured for real."
Lan Qi shuddered, letting out a light cough.
Fortunately, Ifatiya didn't call out to him, or else it would have been embarrassing in front of the other familiar demons).
By now, Ifatiya must have clearly understood the current interpersonal relationships in Icrite from Armis.
"I see."
Sinora and Antanas nodded in understanding.
"It's a good thing Talia was with you; otherwise, Ifatiya might have tied you up on the operating table and given you a 'makeover'."
Armis sighed.
Talia was indeed the most dignified and useful princess of the demon realm, proving her importance at every turn.
"Yes, yes."
Ifatiya's heart was filled with complex emotions as she agreed.
"Ifatiya, don't worry. We almost attacked Lan Qi too, so he won't mind."
Antanas naturally assumed that Ifatiya's awkward expression was due to feeling embarrassed about her encounter with Lan Qi.
"Moreover, Houbailian is actually an angelic girl, and we all adore her the most. Yesterday's incident was because she used the ancient demon king Melogas' profanation power, and she doesn't remember anything that happened. So, you don't need to worry."
Sinora reassured Ifatiya about Houbailian.
As Houbailian's closest friend, Sinora always stood up for her.
"Rest assured, I explained it to Ifatiya this morning."
The Ice Maiden, Armis, added.
"Hmm, hmm."
Ifatiya nodded vigorously, avoiding eye contact with the other old friends.
The good news was that her daughter hadn't turned bad.
The bad news was that her daughter and sister had fallen for the same man.
If Lan Qi became her son-in-law, what would Houbailian think if she accidentally called him 'brother' in the future?
But after spending time with Lan Qi, she had come to see him as an incredibly reliable older brother. If she had to address him as an elder, Ifatiya couldn't bring herself to say it, and even calling Lan Qi by his name felt disrespectful.
"Alright, let's skip this topic for now."
Lan Qi clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
He had noticed Ifatiya's unease.
"..."
This made it even harder for Ifatiya to speak up.
Lan Qi was still considering her feelings at this moment.
It made her long for a brother like him even more.
After a brief silence...
"I have a question too."
Sinora also raised her hand.
Xiao Hei Mao's restaurant in the Creedentia Empire seemed to be officially open for business.
All the old employees had gathered in the dining room.
"Go ahead."
Lan Qi gestured for Sinora to ask.
"How did Sigrid get here?"
Sinora asked Lan Qi, puzzled.
Even if Bishop Sigrid had finished her business in the Northern Continent and wanted to visit Lan Qi in the Southern Continent, she should have first gone to Xiao Hei Mao's restaurant.
In that case, she would have either met them earlier or arrived later, but it was impossible for her to arrive before them and quickly join Lan Qi, who was disguised in the Creedentia Empire.
After all, even they didn't know that Professor Landry was Lan Qi, but Sigrid seemed to have obtained precise positioning information.
"This brings us to Abao. You should be familiar with him."
Lan Qi turned to look towards the kitchen,
"It was him who directly used space teleportation magic to bring Sigrid to Brillada."
This morning, Sigrid rarely offered to help Xiao Hei Mao in the kitchen.
Houbailian was still resting upstairs, and Talia was upstairs watching over Houbailian, so it was up to Xiao Hei Mao to cook again.
Moreover, Xiao Hei Mao hadn't seen his lovely employees for several months, and upon hearing that there would be a new singer, he was overjoyed and insisted on cooking himself.
As for Sigrid, while she claimed to be unfamiliar with Houbailian, Lan Qi knew that Shadow World's Xigelei was actually Sigrid, and she was definitely concerned about Houbailian in her heart, but she didn't know how to get closer to Houbailian, so she could only silently prepare a breakfast meal for Houbailian.
When Sigrid delivered it upstairs later, she certainly wouldn't let Houbailian know it was her doing.
"Abao? You don't mean that surrender-minded great demon general of ours, do you?"
"Is he also in the Creedentia Empire?"
Upon hearing the name casually mentioned by Lan Qi, Antanas and Sinora were so shocked that they put down their mugs and stood up.
"Wait a moment, I'll call Abao over, and you'll understand the situation. He's now a Dimensional Bishop, and his real name is Torliado."
Lan Qi nodded and used the Holy Communication Magic to contact Torliado.
Only the Bishop's Certificate would reveal the true name.
Lan Qi had also invited Dimensional Saint Abigail to install a space barrier device in his mansion in the Creedentia Empire.
If they wanted to use Torliado's space magic to connect the Brillada Opera House and his home dining room, it wouldn't be difficult, and they wouldn't have to worry about the eighth-rank space magic being detected by the Divine Generals.
"..."
Pranae's expression changed slightly when she heard Abao's name.
"I never thought Abao was still alive. After all these years, he hasn't managed to kill himself."
He muttered to himself.
"Are you two not on good terms?"
Lan Qi asked Pranae as he waited for the communication to connect.
Pranae didn't know how to describe her attitude towards Abao.
"They actually had a very good relationship. Initially, Pranae believed that the odds of winning in the Demon Realm were low, and he was considered timid and demoralizing the army. Among the generals, only Abao was willing to believe in him."
Ice Maiden Armis spoke of the old Demon Realm's past.
"It's just that Abao was too reckless, and my brother was too cautious, so sometimes my brother would get dragged into trouble by Abao."
Sinora spread her hands.
"Oh, I see."
Lan Qi could understand.
When faced with danger, Pranae would probably run as far away as possible, while Torliado would get as close as possible.
In terms of their views on life and death, the two were at opposite extremes.
"Do you remember a history associate professor named Xido at the Protos Royal Magic Academy? He was Abao, and he had been planning to rescue you three from the very beginning, but he seemed to be afraid of the trial of the great demon in one of the prison layers, so he couldn't infiltrate the prison to find you."
Lan Qi looked at the communication magic in confusion and continued to speak to his friends at the table.
Usually, Torliado would have connected by now.
"Abao is a great friend. I knew he wouldn't forget us."
Antanas laughed and clapped his hands.
"I never imagined that there was a great demon in the Protos Empire."
The Ice Maiden also showed an incredulous expression.
But upon thinking about it, she realized that the Dimensional Bishop at that time should have been in a severely injured state, and even if he wanted to help the Archbishops, he couldn't have done much. Yet, in the end, it was Associate Professor Xido who held back the ambitious Duke Morotian, and he delivered a crucial blow to Duke Morotian in the Capitol Building—the evidence of the Duke Berinhard family submitted to the military.
"Regardless, Torliado is very reliable at critical moments."
Pranae sighed in relief and spoke.
With Torliado, the last demon general, helping them, their combat strength in the Creedentia Empire had greatly increased.
The option of breaking through Bloody Moon City, which had seemed hopeless to him, had soared past the minimum combat strength threshold after joining forces with Lan Qi.
Just then, Lan Qi's communication magic connected.
"..."
The other end of the communication didn't speak.
There was only the unstable buzzing sound of the signal.
"Torliado, I have some great news."
Lan Qi immediately spoke to the Holy Communication Magic card.
Calling Torliado usually meant he would arrive as soon as he hung up.
"Wait a moment, if it's not urgent, I'll come to you tomorrow."
Torliado lowered his voice, as if he was in a very dangerous location.
He shouldn't have answered the call at all.
But since it was Lan Qi calling, he took the risk and answered.
"It's not urgent."
Lan Qi rarely heard such a serious tone from Torliado.
After all, tomorrow was the Moon Goddess Festival, and Torliado would likely return to the Saint Creedentia Monastery to enjoy the festivities, as his personality was to always gravitate towards excitement.
Upon hearing this, Torliado immediately hung up the communication.
"Huh? He can't come?"
Antanas looked slightly disappointed.
Among the remaining great demons of the old Demon Realm, only she, Ifatiya, and Abao had outgoing personalities, while the other four great demons were more introverted.
So the three of them got along well.
"I don't know where he went, but tomorrow we should be able to meet the other partners in the Creedentia Empire."
Lan Qi shook his head regretfully and put away the communication magic.
Torliado appeared carefree, but in reality, with the end of the month approaching and the decisive battle in Bloody Moon City, and their side lacking in strength, it wasn't surprising for Torliado to be in a hurry to get things done.
In the case of Maquil's documents being stolen, it's hard to discern whether Torliado is throwing a tantrum or deliberately orchestrating a plan.
"Tomorrow is the Moon Goddess Festival, let's take a stroll around the school. This is probably our only chance to rest before the end-of-month battle. We can also seek the blessings of the gods, which is a necessary preparation... May our final battle go smoothly. I'll probably be working on the Empire's energy research in the morning, so you guys can have fun without me."
Lan Qi addressed the other great demons.
They had traveled a thousand miles to the heart of the Kreithian Empire, providing crucial assistance at a critical moment, and Lan Qi was grateful for their support.
He felt that they had endured a lot.
"No, we haven't been busy these days. It's you and Abao who have worked hard."
Antanas waved his hand dismissively.
Since Lan Qi's arrival in the Kreithian Empire, even though he had assumed Landry's identity, he must have worked day and night without rest to achieve their current strategic position.
In this world, those who know what they want to do are fortunate, for they will never experience the pain of work. But there are also a small number of people who don't know if they are lucky or not. They have found what they must do, what captivates them, and what would drive them mad if they didn't do it.
And Lan Qi was one of them.
At the end of the day, Baby Bus was driven by a dedicated driver, and he was the one who needed rest the most.
"I promised you that I would rescue you, not to make you suffer or face danger. Don't worry, I'll handle it. Just focus on fighting."
Lan Qi replied with a smile, feeling no fatigue.
"By the way, Lan Qi, I have one more question."
Antanas lowered her head and remained silent for a long time before gathering the courage to look at Lan Qi again.
Even though her question might not be appropriate at this time, she felt that as Lan Qi's friend, not just a contractual partner, she needed to ask.
She was also doing it for her other friends.
"Ask away."
Lan Qi replied casually, willing to answer any question before the decisive battle.
"How do you really feel about Houbailian, Talia, and Sigrid?"
Antanas stared at Lan Qi as she asked.
The other great demons were surprised by Antanas's blunt question. They looked at her, then at Lan Qi, not knowing how to respond, and held their breath.
They had all realized, sooner or later, or even long ago, that the relationship between these three women was complicated by a love that was difficult to define.
Even considering their past lives in the Shadow World, the three were destined to be the Black Sun's true consorts, and none of them had a happy ending with him.
(End of Chapter)
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