The morning sky of Ichrite was saturated with a faint azure blue. In the just-dawned sumr, the air of the entire city was exceptionally fresh.
The scent of oats and cheese lingered on the first floor of the Boss Cat Restaurant.
It seed to be a relaxed mont of casual conversation following breakfast for the three new employees.
However, the arrival of a visitor shattered the steadfast tranquility.
"You all...!"
Talia’s pupils contracted and her mouth slightly opened. She couldn’t utter a complete sentence, but her expression said it all—
It was a mix of astonishnt and confusion, as if her brain had ceased to function.
Her body leaned back slightly, instinctively wanting to retreat from the source of her shock.
Then her fingers curled into fists and started tugging at the hem of her clothing unconsciously. This was self-comforting behavior in response to extre emotional distress.
Her shoulders tensed up, instinctively going into a defensive reaction.
In an instant, Talia made a dozen feints.
It was so awkward, she had never suffered this much in her life!
At this mont, the surroundings lost their significance. All her spirit and emotions were wholly focused on what was before her, making her world temporarily consist only of this focal point, rendering everything else blurred and secondary.
The three employees in the restaurant, though strangers to her, possessed a familiar aura and magic fluctuation that Talia recognized instantly!
The woman sitting at the bar caressed her chest with a serene expression, her eyes closed, and her black dress resembling that of a noble lady, her occasional movents light—it was Sinola.
And that casual yet playful short-haired woman, dressed in a leather vest, tight leather pants, and high boots, was obviously Antanas.
The man in a dark brown suit vest, who appeared particularly composed and deep in the dim light of the bar, had to be Pranay.
Although all three had a natural chill in their eyes, they all beca completely dumbfounded when they saw Talia at this mont.
They looked at , and I looked at you, locking eyes for several seconds.
Finally.
"Talia, it was Lanci who brought us out of the Protoss Empire."
Antanas rushed over and hugged the stunned Talia.
"Ah... Ah..."
Talia let Antanas keep shaking her, but her mind was still blank and couldn’t snap out of it.
She felt like her brain wasn’t working.
Was this so illusion of the Fallen Wonderland that soone had cast?
She had opened the door to see Antanas, Sinola, and Pranay?
How was that possible?
Lanci had only been to the Northern Continent for half a year. How could he have found the whereabouts of these three mbers of the Great Demon Clan in the Protoss Empire, and how did he "bring" them back?!
Finally, Talia shook her head sharply and pinched Antanas’s face.
"Ow, that hurts!"
Antanas exclaid with her eyes closed.
"It’s not a dream..."
Talia murmured.
"Talia, you’ve changed! Who taught you to pinch soone to distinguish if you’re dreaming?"
Antanas complained to Talia, her cheeks reddening but with tears of joy brimming in her eyes.
Not far from the restaurant’s entrance.
"ow, Lanci finally did sothing good."
Cat Boss lay on Hyperion’s head, wiping away tears at the sight of this touching reunion.
It was the first ti he saw the usually icy Tata looking utterly dumbfounded.
"Indeed..."
The Great Love Poet, who had sohow already made his way to Hyperion and Cat Boss’s side, also nodded affirmatively, his voice as if he were biting his molars.
The Great Love Poet had returned to Ichrite first with the three mbers of the Great Demon Clan, so his sudden appearance in the store was also quite normal.
"..."
Hyperion didn’t understand why, but she felt a chill run through her.
In her mory.
Ever since the Great Love Poet returned from Herram Prison, he had beco an infrequent speaker. When Lanci asked him to work, he would do so without a word, and when Lanci spoke to him, he preferred to answer with a smile.
Lanci said maybe that’s just growth.
And he was pleased with this.
Only Hyperion felt that this version of the Great Love Poet was sowhat eerie.
At this mont, the way the Great Love Poet looked at Lanci, it was as if he had spotted prey, and that smile at the corner of his mouth, it was a hundred percent perfect fake smile!
Hyperion had a foreboding feeling.
On one side of the restaurant’s bar.
"Talia..."
Unlike the carefree nature of Antanas, Sinola seed to still be reeling from shock, unable to fathom how Talia had walked in the door and appeared to have seamlessly integrated into humanity as a food lover.
Was this really the Talia she knew?
Sinola looked toward her brother.
However.
Pranay had already proficiently started polishing glasses, pretending as if nothing had happened.
He possessed top-notch survival instincts.
"..."
As Talia saw the siblings’ reactions reflected in her eyes, her cheeks instantly turned red.
If they had shown ridicule at this mont, that would have been an acceptable punishnt for Talia.
But.
Their evasive attitude only made Talia feel like all was lost, as if sitting on pins and needles!
Now, her awkwardness had made them feel awkward too!
"You, co with ."
Talia grabbed Antanas’s shoulder, gently pushed her aside, and looked at Lanci as she spoke, her voice betraying no emotion.
But every word was trembling.
"Tata."
Lanci was still smiling innocently, his thoughts seeming utterly pure.
However, his words stopped midway.
He was now only able to move his head, his body immobile as if crushed by a mountain.
Talia stood beside him, controlling his body with spiritual magic.
Talia’s golden pupils stared at him like that of a falcon, completely ignoring his frailty, helplessness, and simply asking whether he would walk on his own or if she needed to assist him.
She quickly turned and headed towards the staircase.
"I have sothing to discuss with Tata in private…"
Lanci’s heart rate suddenly picked up a notch, politely greeted the three mbers of the Great Demon Clan, leaving behind the confused Great Demon Clan and the suddenly overly quiet first floor of Boss Cat Restaurant, he followed Talia up the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor.
They walked all the way to the furthest end of the corridor, where Talia took out a key from her pocket and opened her family’s door.
"Go in."
Talia said through gritted teeth.
Before Lanci could hesitate, he was pushed by Talia into the room.
"Tata, you…"
He staggered a couple of steps before steadying himself, looking around the familiar cottage and couldn’t help exclaiming.
The walls were painted in soft cream, light orange, and beige colors, warm and bright, while the wood furniture had a natural texture, carefully polished by Cat Boss during the restaurant’s construction.
But at this mont, the hearts of the two people in the closed room were anything but calm.
"You!"
Talia seized Lanci’s tie, her eyes showing expressions from anger to resolve to being moved.
The social death that had caught her utterly off guard just a mont ago had even sparked in her the fleeting thought of perishing together with Lanci.
Yet the appearance of the three mbers of the Great Demon Clan had left her unsure how to express anything towards Lanci besides gratitude.
"What exactly did you do in the Northern Continent?"
Talia was completely flustered at the mont.
She couldn’t read Lanci’s thoughts.
She didn’t know whether this guy really had her best interests at heart, or if he was just in it for the laughs at her expense.
But that didn’t matter for now, she just wanted to get clear about Lanci’s magical experience on the Northern Continent.
How did he manage to bring back three mbers of the Great Demon Clan after just one trip to the Northern Continent?
The most terrifying thing in the world is having acquaintances spend a long ti together without one’s knowledge, talking and laughing about one’s dark past!
"This starts with the issues facing the situation in the Protoss Empire, which is very complicated. You need to calm down first, and let explain it to you slowly."
Lanci raised his hands, signaling Talia to take deep breaths. Her emotions were too unstable right now, and if the Great Love Poet was accidentally provoked, Lanci dared not imagine what might happen.
His heart was beating a little faster now, but it was still steady, everything under his control.
It was just as well that Talia didn’t know that in the Protoss Empire he had almost been mistaken by the Great Demon Clan as her husband, otherwise, it would be an even bigger ss to explain.
"You… the Protoss Empire… my husband?"
Talia’s voice trembled as she spoke.
Lanci: "???"
Since when could this guy read minds?!
And why did you only read half of it!
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New Year’s addition! Begging the lords for your monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!
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