NOVPUBEnd of September.
Cerryti Empire in the south, Botswana Province.
Golden leaves were falling in the breeze, sunlight pierced through thin clouds, and together with the autumn foliage, landed on the roof of the magitech train. The train slowly pulled into the station, and passengers began flooding toward the doors.
At the end of the line of passengers, an old gentleman carrying a suitcase in one hand stood unrushed, waiting while the other passengers gradually boarded; he remained on the platform.
He wore gloves, leaned on a cane, and stood tall, appearing to be around sixty but still maintaining an erect posture.
His sharply contoured face, high cheekbones, and deep-set eye sockets gave his eyes a spirited look; although wrinkles had started to crawl by the corners of his eyes, they did not obscure the brightness of his gaze.
His salt-and-pepper hair was slightly curled, well-trimmed, neatly combed, and tied into a small braid at the back of his head.
The old gentleman took a deep breath of the cool autumn air, standing motionless like a piece from a chess game.
[Old Mr. Lovia, a man from Granweifley on the Northern Border of the Cerryti Empire, a sixty-two-year-old publisher with a bit of savings—a border civilian wishing to conduct some business in the Imperial Capital Bulida.]
—This was his new identity after coming to the Cerryti Empire.
Honestly, Lanci had never played the role of an old man before; he could only try to mimic the usual demeanor of Professor Bolao, with whom he was most familiar.
Lanci examined his own reflection on the train carriage once more, ensuring there were no flaws in his disguise, before casually walking toward the train.
Inside the carriage, in the aisle, there were already far fewer passengers than when the train had arrived.
Carrying his luggage among them, Lanci felt quite spacious.
"Sir, please show your ticket."
A polite attendant up ahead stopped Lanci.
He calmly took out his ticket from his pocket and handed it over.
"Welcome aboard the Bulida magitech train, room 404. Please proceed straight to the fourth carriage, the fourth room. I wish you a pleasant journey!"
The attendant took another look at the handsome old man, verified the ticket with his device, and then stepped aside to point Lanci in the right direction.
"Thank you."
Lanci nodded in acknowledgment and took back his ticket. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
The train’s interior was decorated in a quaint and elegant style, with wooden boxes carved with patterns emanating the subtle fragrance of aged wood.
"Four zero three, four zero four..."
Lanci walked along the aisle, muttering the numbers on the doors under his breath, quickly finding his compartment.
He opened the door and went inside.
Since it was a short-distance train, it had no berths, and each compartment should have two passengers, but correspondingly, it was quite luxurious and comfortable, with spacious seats and abundant storage racks.
Lanci placed his luggage on the rack and sat down on the soft cushion, feeling relaxed in body and spirit.
At this moment, he was dressed in an exquisite Cerryti-style black coat, with dark gold patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs, and an ink-green shirt underneath, looking like a businessman—at least like a publisher, though the significance of that was unclear.
The original spy of the Poseen Kingdom maintaining this identity, Old Mr. Lovia the publisher, was well-educated and insightful, whether in literature, history, or philosophy, he could speak at length. Fortunately, Lanci also knew a bit about these subjects and could play the role competently.
If only there was a more convenient identity.
Lanci couldn’t help but rest his chin in his hand and look out the window, thinking.
Once he entered the Capital Bulida, it would be more troublesome to acquire a new identity and change it. A massive amount of information and preparation were needed, and there was a risk of being discovered if he was not careful.
Suddenly he missed Frey. Investigative verification and intelligence gathering were Detective Frey’s expertise. Back in the day when he was working on cases with Frey in Capital City Ekrite, there was never a lock Frey couldn’t open or evidence he couldn’t obtain.
It had been almost a year since he saw Frey before heading to the Northern Continent.
Whenever he asked acquaintances at Ichrite Academy about Frey, both President Monasite and Secretary Lavisseir remained tightlipped, with only the President hinting to Lanci that Frey might have headed south upon his departure.
The south of the Hutton Kingdom was either the Nanwantina Border lands or the vast territories of the Cerryti Empire.
Outside the train window, the green mountains were endless, the autumn colors pervaded the mountains, an expanse of stunning beauty.
The double-layered composite glass also reflected back his new visage.
Lanci slowly withdrew his hand from propping his chin; such an action was not quite fitting for an old man.
He should be more mature, more dignified.
And touching the mask with a gloved hand always felt a bit unusual.
Yet, for the sake of blending in, all of this was necessary; makeup alone was insufficient to transform into a man in his sixties.
"Playing an elderly human must be uncomfortable for you?"
Talia’s thoughts reached Lanci’s mind.
She found watching Lanci apply makeup every day to be a hassle.
Though Talia, now the Mad Love Demon King, was not as lively as the Great Love Poet, most of the time after arriving in the Cerryti Empire, she had to maintain her Magic Card form—other than waking, she seemed to have no other pastime than chatting with Lanci.
"At least it’s a relief it’s not a woman."
Lanci sighed inwardly.
Nigel had said from the start that suitable identities were not guaranteed for absolute safety and reliability, and since Lanci had also requested Nigel to expedite the process, in the end, this was the only identity that was absolutely safe and barely adequate.
This elder publisher named Lovia was originally a spy deployed by the Poseen Kingdom in the Cerryti Empire. Among the safe identities Nigel could find for Lanci, only this military man’s physique matched Lanci’s closely, allowing for the minimization of the difficulty of disguise.
