NOVPUBThe tranquil afternoon sunlight quietly seeped through the gaps in the curtains of the second floor of Boss Cat Restaurant, casting faint silhouettes on the beige floor.
"What? Going to school?"
Talia, who was writing in front of a cabinet, turned her head as if she had heard something unexpected and looked at Lanci, who was sitting in the room.
"The Great Love Poet is now a student at the Magic Engineering College, and not just any student, but a special recruit of Professor Bolao. It’s been several years since Professor Bolao took on any students."
Lanci suddenly felt restless.
He now only dared tell the absolute truth.
Before Talia and the Great Love Poet parted ways, it was practically impossible to keep anything hidden between them.
"Anyway, you have to go with me to register for the official trip to the Poseen Kingdom at the Magic Engineering College tomorrow. We might as well go meet Professor Bolao together, and you can ask him some questions about modern Magical Engineering. Don’t you sometimes read human Magical Engineering books? We need to put on an act for the next few days since we are about to head out to the Poseen Kingdom soon."
Lanci felt a tingling in his scalp and added hastily.
"That makes sense,"
Talia hesitated slightly but nodded.
If she had to stay in Lanci’s dorm every day without leaving, that would actually make her rather uncomfortable.
She still liked to take a stroll every day.
The Great Love Poet had her own independent identity and could move freely around Ichrite Academy, which seemed like a good thing for Talia in the coming days.
"Is Lan Fu’s social life complicated at Ichrite Academy?"
Talia asked.
"Not at all. At school, she mainly knows me and Professor Bolao. She doesn’t have much interaction with Hyperion because they’re in different departments, and she probably has some contracts with the Music Affairs Office of the Magic Engineering College. However, Professor Bolao has already informed the office in advance that Lan Fu and I will be traveling far, so there won’t be any work or planning scheduled for her for the next while."
Lanci shook his head.
Professor Bolao was aware that the Great Love Poet’s work calendar coincided with Lanci’s, so the vacation to the Poseen Kingdom was also personally signed off by Professor Bolao, naturally causing the office to schedule around that assumption.
Of course, once they returned from the Poseen Kingdom, Lan Fu, who aspired to be a big star, would probably become very busy.
"I see. Well then, since we’re acting, let’s go all the way. I’ll just be the Great Love Poet for a while; I’ll even dress like her on a daily basis."
Talia stated with conviction.
She looked exactly like the Great Love Poet, and she could communicate telepathically with Lanci, asking him any questions about the Great Love Poet whenever necessary, so it shouldn’t be very difficult.
Lanci felt like saying something but ultimately held back.
He didn’t know where Talia got her confidence.
Oh well, he’d back her up anyway.
They were in this together; their fortunes and misfortunes were shared, so teamwork should pose no problem.
Talia turned back and wrote for two minutes. Finally, she finished, set down her pen and notepad.
After some thought, as if she still had concerns, she opened the cabinet and took out a quilt.
"What’s up?"
Lanci observed Talia, who appeared to be doing household chores.
"The weather might turn cool in the coming period, and I’m worried that Hyperion will catch cold. I’ll change her quilt and leave it by the bed."
Talia said, organizing the quilt cover.
"You and the Great Love Poet really are complete opposites."
Lanci remarked.
"What do you mean?"
Between unfolding the quilt, Talia glanced at him quizzically.
"The Great Love Poet is fine in every other way, but she absolutely refuses to do household chores, yet here you are willing to do them. I’m shocked to see my summon doing housework," Lanci said with a shrug.
"…"
Talia frowned slightly.
At first, she thought he was complimenting her.
But the implication of "you and the Great Love Poet are completely opposite" combined with "The Great Love Poet is fine in every other way" seemed to suggest that she wasn’t good at anything, didn’t it?
"Heh."
Talia simply focused on the task at hand and just snorted coldly.
Once she had neatly finished with the bedding and organized her travel luggage, she picked up her compact suitcase and walked over to Lanci.
"Then, how about when I get to your place, I help you with the housework every day?"
She leaned in, whispering in Lanci’s ear.
"No, no, no! Rest up, please don’t lift a finger, I’ll do the chores!"
Lanci had started by nodding in agreement.
Suddenly realizing the grave implications, he quickly shook his head and waved his hands in objection.
Having Talia do chores would send his mana bar plummeting straight off a cliff.
The fatigue caused by the expenditure of mana didn’t compare to the hassle of doing household chores himself!
"Let me help you with the chores, you seem quite eager for your summon to assist you. After all, ’the Great Love Poet is good at everything, but she would rather die than do household chores,’ right?"
Talia repeated Lanci’s words without a hint of anger.
"No, no, no, no, I spoke wrongly."
Lanci firmly denied.
"Then let’s go."
As if she got the answer she desired, Talia’s lips curled into a slight smile. She picked up her suitcase, glanced around her bedroom one last time, and went to the door to turn off the soundproof magic.
"Let’s set off."
Lanci nodded and followed Talia out of the bedroom. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
It would be much less convenient once Hyperion and Sinola returned from the Duke’s Mansion.
Now, the two of them always enjoyed heading to the Duke’s Mansion, as if on an adventure.
No sooner had Lanci and Talia walked back into the living room than they spotted the Cat Boss stuck to the wall.
It seemed immensely curious, a pity that it couldn’t hear a sound from inside the room.
Lanci helplessly went to pick it up.
"Meow meow?"
It asked tentatively, yet didn’t dare to inquire further.
After a mutual glance confirmed understanding between Lanci and Talia, both remained silent for a while, before Lanci said to the little black cat:
"We’ll tell you what’s going on when we get home later."
The upcoming trip to the Poseen Kingdom would have to include his black cat, that backpack full of souvenirs and hardships, his array of Magic Cards and functional cards now all had to be left with the Cat Boss. It was practically a necessity for any long journey.
"Why are you two able to communicate with just a look, meow?"
The Cat Boss asked, puzzled.
It suspected that it was left out of the team’s voice chat.
"Cat Boss, just think of her as Tata who now possesses all of the abilities of the Great Love Poet."
Lanci briefly explained.
The Cat Boss pondered for five or six seconds.
"Meow?!"
The Cat Boss had already found Lanci and Lan Fu’s mind-reading abilities quite dangerous.
They might end up in prison together!
Luckily, Between the two innocents, there was no suspicion, so for them, this ability was essentially no different from Communication Magic.
But if the position of the Great Love Poet were replaced by Tata, things would be different for the Cat Boss.
From now on, it planned to stay away from Lanci.
It wouldn’t want to get splattered with blood if he died one day!
"Tata, it’s about time we left."
Lanci glanced at the Cat Boss in his hand, which had shrunk into a ball of black bread, and then turned to Talia.
Talia looked back at her home with eyes full of reluctance.
"My little fox..."
Talia murmured sadly.
She had thought she wouldn’t have to say goodbye to it until she left for the Poseen Kingdom in a few days, but now she had to bid it farewell unexpectedly.
"Don’t worry, it will be well taken care of at the Boss Cat Restaurant by Antanas and the others..."
Lanci consoled.
It might even be fatter when she returned.
Lanci hadn’t finished speaking cheerfully when he broke out in a cold sweat under Talia’s gaze and fell silent.
He was not yet fully accustomed to the mind connection with Talia.
Sometimes, thoughts arose subconsciously, before he even had time to analyze them, they began to form.
From now on, every day would probably be like quitting poison.
"Tch."
Talia clicked her tongue privately.
She knew what Lanci meant by ’setting off’—she was to transform back into his Magic Card.
In a flash, the "Mad Love Demon King" disintegrated into points of light, reconvening in Lanci’s hand and turning back into a Magic Card enveloped in the orange mist of twinflower petals.
"Weakling. You need to become stronger quickly, so that I can freely wield my new powers."
Talia’s fading voice echoed in the living room.
Lanci pocketed this brand new Life Card, picked up the cat along with Talia’s suitcase, and left.
