NOVPUBA week later.
"Today is another hopeful day."
"A new weekend, meow, you’ve been in the capital Bulerida of Crystal for 15 days now, October 14th of the solar calendar. During deep autumn, the leaves outside are already turning yellow."
"Winter is getting closer and closer, you know it will be a particularly tough winter for the Allied Forces... Meow meow mew."
Its speech was cut off halfway when Lanci placed a small dried fish by its mouth.
Cat Boss could only eat its favorite dried fish first.
Before it finished eating, Lanci pressed down on its head.
"Cat Boss, that’s enough for today’s broadcast," Lanci said to the astonished Cat Boss.
"Meow?!"
It hadn’t expected Lanci to find a countermeasure to the Meow Meow Fist so quickly.
"You two really are boring."
Talia, wearing an apron, leisurely carried the tray back and forth between the kitchen and the dining table, cleaning up after today’s breakfast. Observing the daily interactions between Lanci and Cat Boss, she couldn’t help but comment.
Cat Boss wasn’t wrong; the climate in Bulerida was easily chilling in the coming days, with significant temperature differences between day and night and frequent cold winds at night, necessitating warm clothing.
On this weekend morning, Lanci sat leisurely on a soft, off-white sofa in a one-story villa, enjoying a moment of tranquility.
"Lanci meow, you’re quickly becoming the era’s most watched new star in Magical Engineering from a promising professor at Saint Kray Temple."
Little Black Cat patted Lanci with its paws on the sofa, encouraging its driver.
The feeling he had back in the Northern Continent had returned.
Indeed, their Lan Cat combination was fiercely ruthless.
With this week’s efforts, and with active support from Abigail, his theory of Magic Energy Fission not only accelerated in the Empire’s Magical Engineering but also became increasingly valued by the nations of the Allied Forces, forcing the Crystal Empire to overturn the opposition, investigate the source of intelligence leaks, and accelerate its practical research.
Professor Landry conducted several lectures in Bulerida, visited daily by many officials from the Empire’s Special Operations Department and military experts.
"Ah, I wish I had a Ninth Order Divine Spirit Beast to shelter me; it’s terrifying every day."
The assassination attempts on him had increased lately; whenever he left Saint Kray Temple unmasked as Professor Landry, vehicles from the Imperial Army followed him.
On one hand, they might be monitoring him but also protecting him.
At this time, Professor Landry was, to some extent, perfect bait.
Following him, catching anyone plotting against him would undoubtedly raise major suspicion of being a spy from enemy countries.
The Empire’s Special Operations Department now had an important task ordered directly by Emperor Saint Baldo and executed by Duke Dex, which was to identify the spy in Bulerida who had been keeping an eye on the latest research success of Magic Energy Fission and passing it to the Allied Forces.
"You meow, aren’t you really uneasy working in the Empire’s Special Operations Department?"
Cat Boss watched Lanci blatantly lie; he reassured Duke Dex he would thoroughly monitor anyone suspicious around him and show no mercy to anyone threatening the Empire.
Strategies Director Red Falcon Nicola and Captain Maguire of the operations team were both constantly watching Lanci, Nicola appearing genuinely suspicious of Landry, while Maguire was trying to find an Allied spy among Landry’s associates but could not find the slightest clue.
During the week, besides academic work, Lanci often found himself dealing with Dex, Nicola, and Maguire in the Empire’s Special Operations Department.
"There’s no choice, there’s a rumor now that Duke Dex of the Empire’s Special Operations Department has intentions of stepping back, and the next chief will either be Nicola or Maguire, but since Nicola is a lieutenant colonel and Maguire a colonel, logically it should be Maguire. However, before Duke Dex officially settles this, if Nicola achieves a great deed and gets promoted to be on the same level as Maguire, Duke Dex might give the opportunity to his protégé Nicola, so both Nicola and Maguire are eyeing me lately."
Lanci put down the newspaper he was reading and spoke to Cat Boss.
A trip to the Shadow World might be good.
At least it would shift the Empire’s Special Operations Department’s gaze away from him temporarily.
"Why wouldn’t Duke Dex continue at a time when the Empire needs him?"
Cat Boss asked Lanci, puzzled.
It hadn’t understood this issue while following Lanci these days.
"It might be because the recent operations by the Empire’s Special Operations Department in Bulerida have been too frequent, causing public unrest, and its power is so great that it even has execution priority over the military, causing dissatisfaction among both the public and the nobility. Emperor Saint Baldo now wants to take personal control of the Empire’s Special Operations Department, partly to eliminate some of the domestic negative feedback and partly to place Duke Dex in a higher position close to him, balancing the highly influential General Hesintos, as Duke Dex’s authority in the military has always been evident."
Lanci folded the newspaper, picked up Cat Boss,
"Rather than saying Duke Dex doesn’t want to continue, it’s better to say he’s anticipated Emperor Saint Baldo’s next move and thus proactively hinted at his intention to retire. This way, when Emperor Saint Baldo later asks him back, as you said, ’the Empire is indeed in need of his service, please, Duke Dex, contribute to the Empire once more,’ it will naturally grant him even more authority, making everything look natural and not like Emperor Saint Baldo intentionally suppressing Hesintos."
