NOVPUB"Oh, oh."
Lanci snapped back to reality, took a sip from the glass, and his gaze followed to the window directly in front of the table.
The branches and leaves gently swayed in the cool autumn wind, rustling softly.
Occasionally, one or two fiery maple leaves would fall with the wind, casting dappled shadows under the moonlight.
The night deepened, insects chirped, bringing the faint sound of the stream from the distant Great Monastery.
He was usually the one taking care of others, so being taken care of himself felt rare and cherished.
"The taste is quite addictive."
Lanci put down the glass, which he had unwittingly finished, and said to Talia.
Sweet with just the right amount of sourness, and mixed with the freshness of vegetables.
Although she didn’t ask for his opinion, receiving such wonderful food meant that expressing appreciation was definitely the right thing to do.
"Then next time I’ll make it according to this recipe again. The vegetables and fruits produced by the fields of Saint Kray Temple really are of exceptional quality."
Talia’s expression didn’t change, but there was a hint of lightness in her tone.
"Is it different from Hutton’s?"
Lanci asked her.
"Yes, it’s different. I could tell at a glance. The vegetables of Saint Kray Temple are very unique. If most of the ingredients available in the Ichrite store are of Blue Preciousness quality, then those from the monastery are likely of Purple Rareness grade. Using them for magical cooking would be even better."
Talia analyzed seriously.
Seeing Talia get so earnest about food made Lanci subconsciously want to laugh, but he thought it was good that she could enjoy her meals. Her happiness was pure and seemed infectious.
"What are you thinking about?"
Talia noticed the expression with which Lanci was watching her, yet she couldn’t perceive if he was actually thinking about something or just blankly staring. She stopped speaking and asked him.
"Nothing much. I just think that next time in the Shadow World, having you take care of Hyperion, no matter how dangerous it is, I can be at ease. At least her mood will be good."
Lanci remarked with a smile.
"Of course, she likes me the best. After me, it’s mommy man."
Talia said with a hint of pride.
She also made herself comfortable in another chair in the study and struck up a conversation with Lanci.
Dinner was still a while away from being ready, but with Cat Boss watching over the stove, it would be fine.
"By the way, how’s your research on the Landry identity?"
Talia suddenly remembered the important matter at hand, cast a temporary barrier to isolate from prying eyes, and asked Lanci.
"The luggage he carries is just what’s in his suitcase, which I’ve looked through. Basically, he planned to buy new living supplies when he arrived at the capital Brilda. The slightly special thing is his Magic Card deck."
Lanci took out a deck of Magic Cards and replied.
These were all Magic Cards belonging to Landry.
His combat strength shouldn’t be weak, but he encountered the Sixth-order top assassin Unity from the Allied Forces, who was too strong. Once a fragile Magic System mage of the same class got ambushed by her, they could be taken down instantly.
Landry’s utmost proficiency lay in [Identification].
Scouting spells and those that penetrate illusions are mostly of the [Identification] attribute. Someone like Pranay excelled at this—it was also Pranay’s secondary attribute—and often secured a significant information advantage in battle. It was equally convenient in scientific research and life professions.
Although Lanci wasn’t very skilled in Identification magic, with a backer like Eighth-order Talia, his Identification abilities wouldn’t be weak. He could also, to some extent, simulate Landry’s Identification spells.
Because of Landry’s own excellent information gathering capabilities, he wasn’t too afraid of intelligence battles and flashy enemies. His Magic Card selection was based on high-output Elemental Magic and a portion of defense and healing spells, following an all-rounder mage path.
"His card deck’s cost-effectiveness and flexibility are quite high, but what surprised me is that almost all of his Combat Magic Cards are of Purple Rareness, yet he’s willing to have a Pink Holy Level Communication Magic Card..."
Lanci pulled out a pink translucent card from the radiant deck of Magic Cards, a Holy-grade Communication Magic spell that he had never seen before.
[Ultra Long-Distance Communication Program-7]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Grade: Pink Holy]
[Class: 6]
[Effect: Compared to general Super Long-Distance Communication Magic, offers greater communication distance and better resistance to interference.]
[Note: Imperial justice summons everyone to the trial platform.]
"I’ve seen plenty of super long-distance communication magic, but this is my first time seeing one of the Pink Holy Level," said Talia, appraising the magic card next to her and finding the Pink Holy Grade communication magic to be extravagantly luxurious.
Using this card, one could potentially avoid many relay stations and directly use a high amount of mana for communication, which would certainly not come cheap, or rather, its craftsmanship remained a mystery.
If it could be mass-produced, it would surely become a military special item, but clearly, there was almost no possibility of mass-production for items of Pink Holy Level.
"This communication magic actually received a message once, becoming only a prompt in my ear, but I was busy all afternoon and didn’t pay attention to this communication card," Lanci said after disguising himself as Landry, he promptly attached his key magic cards to avoid any oversights.
This card was, certainly, the most important core among them.
The communication magic card could not only facilitate instant communication but also send messages and leave voicemails.
Now that they finally had the space and time, Lanci and Talia together investigated the card.
"Take a look."
Talia said.
Lanci nodded, lightly touched the card with his fingertip to activate it.
Translucent ripples of breath-like pink began to sway on the card, and information gradually streamed into their minds.
[Truth (2): Have you arrived in Brilda yet?]
Just one message like this, appearing before their eyes, visible only to them.
Lanci & Talia: "?"
The two exchanged glances, both not understanding what this meant.
As Talia, who had inherited the characteristics of the Great Love Poet, it was normal for her to share Lanci’s magic cards. What puzzled her was the content of the message received by Landry.
If she wasn’t mistaken, Landry had told Lanci in the train compartment that he had no acquaintances in Brilda, the Imperial Capital.
Talia was also certain this was true since she had heard it while on Lanci’s body.
But looking at this message, it seemed that even before Landry had arrived in Brilda, there was a mysterious contact asking about him.
"Could it be that he had secrets in Brilda, too...?"
Talia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she asked Lanci.
"Not that I know of,"
Lanci shook his head.
Right now, the two of them were starting to feel that there was something off about this guy Landry!
It seemed like the secrets surrounding Landry Washington were far more numerous than the two of them had imagined, but Landry’s disguise was equally exquisite, preventing them from noticing anything previously!
This identity they’d stumbled upon was no ordinary one.
Compared to that envoy from the Purgatory Corridor Academy at the Demon King’s Castle, Landry’s secrets seemed more numerous and possibly even more dangerous.
Lanci swiftly examined the contact’s information and found no additional notes.
"You try sending a message back."
Talia, having checked the communication magic card again for Lanci and confirming there were no other hidden messages, suggested.
"I’ll try."
Lanci nodded, typed in the information, and sent it.
[Justice (7): Just arrived.]
The communication magic card displayed the message.
From this point, Lanci and Talia tentatively confirmed something.
The contact in Landry’s mysterious communication magic card did not use real names for notes but only a title.
Landry’s title was "Justice," while the person he was conversing with was called "Truth."
On closer inspection, this communication magic card could also add notes to contacts. "2" seemed to be the default note for "Truth," and Landry had not modified it.
And they finally understood what the "-7" suffix at the end of Landry’s [Ultra Long-Distance Communication Program] meant.
