NOVPUBShe felt a lump in her throat, as if she had seen an old friend.
"Huebelle, do you feel like you’ve become Tata?"
Antanas finally walked into the living room, came to Huebelle’s side, and complained.
Over the past two months, Huebelle had lived here alone, without Talia by her side, and she had grown more and more like Talia.
The only difference was that Huebelle carried a natural dignity that made her seem not like someone who had retired, but rather like a wealthy aunt. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
"Really, can I become like Tata?"
Huebelle thought about it and asked, not understanding.
The ideal woman in her heart was like Talia—noble, aloof, with the maturity of years, and she always felt that Tata was a perfect woman.
She felt that there was still a big difference between herself and Tata; at least Lanci would not confuse the two of them.
"Let’s eat first."
Antanas shook his head.
It was undeniable that, although the outside war was tense, Lanci’s instructions to Huebelle were to ensure absolute safety.
So, in the end, it became the optimal solution for Huebelle to stay in Ichrite and do nothing.
Just as she opened the box, Huebelle suddenly heard something, and she pulled out a translucent communication card glowing with purple light.
Someone was contacting Huebelle.
She connected it, and a cool voice came through—
"Huebelle, it’s me."
These simple words made Huebelle’s eyes widen.
"Teacher Almis, I’ve missed you so much."
Huebelle quickly sat up from the lounge chair, her voice filled with surprise.
Back in the Northern Continent when Tata was not around, the Snow Witch teacher was her only emotional solace, and she had always hoped that the teacher would contact her.
But now, the Snow Witch’s duties had become busier, almost taking over all of Great Priest Loren’s work in the Hutton Kingdom, so Huebelle couldn’t disturb the Snow Witch.
Moreover, for some reason, the teacher seemed to have been deliberately avoiding her, performing for someone to show that her relationship with Huebelle was not that close, so nobody should try to threaten her using Huebelle.
Before Huebelle could reminisce too much.
"Where are you now? I’ll come to see you."
The voice of the Snow Witch carried a hint of fatigue and solemnity.
"East of Yala Moat, No. 34 Geddon Street, Boss Cat Restaurant."
Huebelle immediately responded.
Her heart raced, feeling that the Snow Witch teacher was coming to find her.
"Wait for me a quarter of an hour."
The Snow Witch responded and hung up the communication magic.
A few seconds after ending the communication, Huebelle looked hesitant, then she stood up from the lounge chair and cheered.
"Huebelle, do you think you have a passive skill where you can summon a demon mom when no one is taking care of you?"
Antanas felt Huebelle’s joy through the air and teased.
"Not at all, sometimes neither Talia, Almis, nor Calila can come to take care of me."
Huebelle glared at Antanas with feigned anger, disapproving of this "calling mom" passive.
"Uh, if you’re in a desperate situation and can’t summon a demon mom, then you’ll pay merits to summon a male mom."
Antanas thought carefully and added.
"..."
Huebelle found it hard to refute.
It seemed indeed...
"But either way, it’s not called a male mom..."
She bowed her head and mumbled shyly.
"What do you call it then?"
Antanas, with playful curiosity, asked eagerly.
"Uh, it’s called..."
Hyperion fumbled with her fingers, her face flushing red but unable to utter a word.
It wasn’t until she whispered something inaudibly that Antanas couldn’t make out, and then she took advantage of his daze to quickly run away.
…
More than ten minutes later.
A slender figure approached the door of Boss Cat Restaurant.
Wearing sunglasses, the dark lenses occasionally reflecting the sunlight on the wooden restaurant’s glass, her long white hair fluttered in the wind, soft as snowflakes.
Her hand paused before it could touch the doorknob.
Inside the store was an exceedingly powerful isolation barrier.
It was as if it was a black box; before entering, one couldn’t detect anything inside the shop through any magic.
Undoubtedly, this was the handiwork of Antanas, Sinola, and Pranay.
The restaurant was unusually close to Ichrite Academy. Even Asina, a student from Loren, worked here as the head chef. The Snow Witch could hardly believe that Loren was unaware that a Demon Race stronghold hid right under his nose.
Back when Loren was still around, the Snow Witch believed that Asina being a chef was but a facade, merely to serve Loren’s will and bridge connections with the Demon Race.
However, now that the news of Loren’s death had arrived, the Snow Witch was stunned for a long time.
She investigated all night, and the result she came to was that Loren had indeed lost to the three War Gods.
She constantly felt a void in her heart, even realizing she might have been too caught up in her own cunning, misunderstanding Loren, this good man.
She always firmly believed that Loren had planned everything, that he would surely win everything through a final reversal, but this time, when the Snow Witch looked at the investigation report from the Yarolan Kingdom, her heart cooled.
For some reason, she still couldn’t let go of that last ray of fantasy, suspecting that this man might have faked his death and had already embarked on a dark path in the Cerryti Empire.
But the cruel fact was, she would never see this man again, how silly of her to have always doubted such a kind-hearted person.
The Snow Witch wiped her tears away, her gaze once again firm as she pushed the door open.
She too had her mission.
The restaurant’s ground floor still held the scent of oatmeal and cheese.
It was clearly a moment of relaxed chitchat shortly after the permanent staff had finished breakfast.
They were talking with Hyperion downstairs.
Suddenly, the wind chimes of Boss Cat Restaurant rang, breaking the usual tranquillity.
A distinctive feature of this cabin was the extensive curved roof, whose eaves stretched far beyond the walls, and beneath the deep eaves hung a string of wind chimes that produced pleasant tinkling whenever a breeze passed or a customer arrived.
They all looked toward the entrance.
It was clearly off-hours, so the ringing of the wind chimes meant someone had returned.
Of course, for the three Great Demon Clans, they had already noticed the visitor at the door even without the sound of wind chimes.
The figure with white hair and light eyes pushed open the door and stepped into the restaurant.
She immediately paused.
She felt the uniqueness of this place.
On the surface, the restaurant’s interior was simple, with wooden tables and floors emanating a faint pine scent, and some handicrafts and old books were placed in the corners.
But she quickly noticed that the wooden building was filled with meticulously constructed ancient barriers of the Demon Race. Even stepping into here, trying to take action within this building could mean no return, only achievable by the collaboration of several members of the Great Demon Clan.
Clearly, this was the result of the modifications made by Hyperion, brought from Herram Prison in the Northern Continent by the three Great Demon Clan members and Talia after much time.
This was no longer the standard of an ordinary restaurant.
To call this a Little Devil King’s palace, she would believe it.
But now Loren was dead, all misunderstandings cleared.
"Hyperion, long time no see."
The Snow Witch, looking at the familiar young figure who was already staring at her, and those three seemingly-employee figures behind in the restaurant.
No matter how complex the magic environment here was, she believed it was all about keeping Hyperion safe.
"Teacher Almis! I thought you didn’t want me anymore!"
Hyperion was initially timid, only hastening her pace and excitedly throwing herself into a hug with the Snow Witch, Almis, as she confirmed her gentle gaze.
Though she didn’t know why Teacher Almis had come to find her today, the moment of their reunion as teacher and student filled Hyperion’s heart with reassurance.
