NOVPUBBoss Cat Restaurant, slightly noisy and bustling during lunchtime on the first floor.
"Hmm?"
Antanas stood by the wall, looking confusedly at the cat that had disappeared from her hand, and turned back.
But there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Within her line of sight, the three people seated by the distant window were all very normally turned away from her.
Antanas touched her head and, ultimately, returned to her busy work after being reminded by Sinola’s voice.
Today Pranay had asked for leave early, so there was only Antanas as a waitress and Sinola at the front desk, who also occasionally had to serve as a waitress.
At the moment, the three at the bar table by the window were all staring at the tabletop without speaking, starting to sweat from their foreheads.
Fortunately, they quickly came to their senses and didn’t let Antanas notice anything unusual.
"..."
Hugh clung to her head, feeling the flushed cheeks that even her acting skills couldn’t prevent from reddening.
She even wanted to run away using invisibility right now.
But where could she run to?
If what Antanas said was true, that painting might also be seen outside!
The scene that made her want to die, if only seen by the Wilford family, she could possibly forget over time.
But now there was a painting hanging in Boss Cat Restaurant.
As if it was constantly reminding her of the strange things they had done that day.
At this moment, the three had an unusual tacit understanding, afraid of being noticed by Antanas, they were holding out as if they felt nothing about that painting.
Soon, confirming that Antanas had entered the kitchen, just as Tata was about to get up to take down that painting, she was tightly grasped by Hugh.
They exchanged embarrassed glances.
Talia understood Hugh’s look instantly.
So, Talia sat down again.
She looked at Lanci, who picked up his cup and nodded lightly while sipping.
They all decided to pretend they hadn’t noticed the painting.
Since there was no remedy, they might as well persist with the mistake.
As long as no acquaintances discovered that they were the three in the painting, they wouldn’t suffer social death!
It was a good thing Pranay wasn’t here today.
Otherwise, given Pranay’s insight and intelligence, she might have figured something out from their reactions just now.
This gave them all a sigh of relief.
The three exchanged glances once more, at this moment united in spirit, as if their destinies were intertwined, deciding to take this secret to the grave, never to let anyone find out!
"..."
But it wasn’t long before the three of them became awkward with each other again, none knowing what to say.
They had never felt so imprisoned in Boss Cat Restaurant.
"... Tata, tomorrow Hugh and I will go to the Shadow World, and it might be a while before you see us."
Lanci finally spoke up.
"Oh, oh."
Talia responded absently.
She should have felt a bit of loss for their impending trip, but at the moment she only felt a sincere relief that they could give each other some time and space.
If the three of them kept on being together every day, Talia felt their mental states would all go awry.
The following.
The lunch process ended quickly today—
Boss Cat served lunch quietly, they ate quietly, and didn’t speak to each other again.
The three sat in incomprehensible silence for a while longer.
"Then, I’m heading back to school. See you tomorrow, Hugh, and Tata, we probably won’t see each other for at least a week or two," Lanci said goodbye.
"I’ll come to the school to find you tomorrow," Hugh nodded.
"Mhm," Talia nodded in affirmation.
Then she fell into a long silence.
Just as Lanci pushed the barstool under the table, preparing to leave.
As he walked past Talia.
"Hang in there," Talia added under her breath.
"..."
Lanci turned back in surprise, looking at Talia.
"Tata, are you cheering me on?" Lanci pointed at himself, asking.
He had never been treated this way before, or rather, he didn’t expect Talia to start seeming more and more like a gentle woman.
"You heard wrong," Talia’s eyelids immediately drooped, and she spoke coldly.
Every time Lanci spoke, it annoyed her, as if he had a face that just had to talk.
She shouldn’t have communicated so much with him.
"Thank you, Tata. I’ll be back to celebrate your birthday!" Lanci waved cheerfully, bidding them farewell, and walked out of Boss Cat Restaurant.
The sound of wind chimes echoed, and then the first floor of Boss Cat Restaurant was once again enveloped in the white noise of lunchtime.
Talia stared at the clean plate, noticing the corners of her mouth unconsciously curling up into a slight smile.
"Wait a minute..."
She suddenly hesitated.
If Lanci knew her birthday, wouldn’t he also know her age?
After pondering for a moment, Talia shook her head.
Even if Lanci always had some damned things on his mind, he probably wouldn’t do anything too excessive.
"..."
Hyperion stood by, not daring to speak.
She had a feeling that Lanci would buy eight hundred candles that day.
She was already researching how to rescue Lanci in advance.
...
The next day.
The sky was a bright blue, marked with the distinctive clarity of summer.
Ichrite Academy’s campus had awakened, bursting with energy and noise, as students gathered in groups, talking and laughing joyfully.
After a hearty breakfast, Lanci and Hyperion were walking spiritedly on the campus paths.
Their voices echoed through the air, intertwining with the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves.
"This time, the three of us will ’meow-slaughter’ in chaos."
Early in the morning, the three of them went to the Magic Engineering College and got Lanci’s rank approval letter and Cat Boss’s logistical Magic Artisan Challenger license, and they also gave Cat Boss a team card for their Civilization Example Team.
"Don’t worry, Cat Boss, I will help you break through to the eighth-order, you must become the pride of all cats."
"Meow-haha, I will expand, meow!"
Hyperion listened to the Cat Boss’s laughter, feeling that it might not yet grasp the weight of its destiny.
But then again, neither did she.
Knowing that the farther she stayed with Lanci, the further away her own citizenship would drift, she had already decided to accompany him forever, regardless of whether the future held danger or stability.
In mid-June, just after 8 a.m., a warm breeze blew across the school’s grass.
The two of them and the cat quickly arrived at the very heart of Ichrite Academy—
Even on an early morning at the end of the semester, layers of the highest standard Barrier Formulas still sealed the dark blue iron walls of the Magic Cube where the Void Gate stood, emanating a strong sense of isolation as the members of the Royal Palace Knights stood alert, patrolling the surroundings.
They arrived at the first security checkpoint at the entrance of the building and passed through the only official entrance using the registered Challenger license. Then came a series of security checks.
"If we enter a sixth-order Shadow World, nothing will happen, but if it’s truly a seventh-order, Dean Loren might face new queries, and even the rumors about Senior Asina might be overshadowed."
Lanci whispered in the corridor, his voice accompanied by a slight echo in the spacious passage,
"However, this is also a strategy to divert attention. Those wanting to impeach Loren won’t keep bringing up Senior Asina’s case anymore. I believe Dean Loren would rather be bound with me than to drag the innocent Senior Asina into this. Let me help both Dean Loren and Senior Asina."
"..."
Hyperion felt that Dean Loren might not wish for that.
Lanci, however insignificant he may seem, when his capacity to attract is maximized, all enemies will lose their sanity and come after him like crazy.
And now, Loren sometimes gets to share this attraction at critical moments.
The shadows of the two humans and one cat stretched along the silent hallway until they finally stepped deeper into the building that led to the Shadow World.
Atop the distant plaza’s high platform, the door that connected to the Shadow World still shimmered with deep purple starlight on its mirror surface.
"Boss Cat, have you secured our Civilization Example Team’s registration card yet?"
Lanci looked at the final checkpoint and workbench ahead, then glanced at the deserted hall early at the end of the semester, and asked Boss Cat.
They only needed to register their challenger’s licenses, let the staff of the South Continent Shadow World Management Association check their [Shadow World Record Program] wearables, and then they could proceed to the Void Gate ahead to match for a challenge.
If they also wanted to use the [Shadow World Collaboration Program] for a team challenge, there would be one more step to register team information.
"Brought it, meow."
Every time Boss Cat remembered their team name, Civilization Example Team, he didn’t know what to say.
All that stuff about Sanctuary Evil Banquet, these people would just go ahead and remove someone’s organ from the Blood Clan, what kind of example was that!
But then again, being able to mix through such a magical and super difficult danger zone like Shadow World made Boss Cat excited and agitated to the extreme.
Lanci nodded.
After that, the two of them and a cat handed over their licenses and Tool Magic Cards to the staff at the checkpoint workbench, waiting quietly for the staff to complete their registration procedures.
"Could you let..."
The young female staff member looked at the Little Black Cat with curiosity.
At first, she wanted the challengers to dispel their Transformation Magic and register for the challenge in their original form.
Upon seeing Boss Cat’s identification clearly, she was completely stunned.
She didn’t expect the cat to be the original body, and moreover, a high-ranking Seventh-order.
In all her years of work, she had never seen a Seventh-order cat.
"No problem, when you come out, just let me read the [Shadow World Record Program] once, and you can get your challenger’s licenses back."
The staff member smiled and handed back their Tool Magic Cards, and the gate in front of them opened.
Her gaze still lingered on Boss Cat, as if she really wanted to pet the Seventh-order cat.
But at this time, Boss Cat could not be lent out.
The two and the cat thanked her and retrieved their Tool Magic Cards, heading straight toward the direction of the Void Gate.
Covering the distance of about a hundred steps, they passed by as they chatted.
The Void Gate still resembled an unfathomably deep black hole, but standing not far from it, one could feel an invisible pull, as if all life that approached would be sucked into this endless unknown world.
"Hyperion, Boss Cat, it’s time to start the challenge in Shadow World."
Lanci said to Hyperion and Boss Cat with a smile.
"I’m ready."
Hyperion nodded; she was now an experienced worker.
"Meow meow, no problem!"
Although Boss Cat visibly became nervous, he swallowed hard and bravely straightened up.
Accompanied by his words, Lanci stepped through the Void Gate as if crossing through water. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
What followed was a phase of complete darkness, where perception was lost; nothing could be seen, not even the sound of a heartbeat.
Countless gears began to turn and intertwine, their rumbling resounding through this pitch-black space.
[Blood Moon Bad World, new strange node "Firefly’s Gleam," historical projection has unraveled.]
