NOVPUB"I’ll give you a few more Magic Cards."
Lanci thought for a while and still felt that providing Elsa with some highly effective protective Magic Cards would be better.
The few Magic Cards he had created himself were not suitable to be taken out, as they could easily reveal his identity as a Kingdom person. However, since arriving in the Empire, he had purchased some high-performance Magic Cards at various high-end exchanges.
"Don’t worry about me," Headmaster Violet once secretly gave me a Life-saving Magic."
Elsa understood her brother’s concerns and, with a smiling gesture and without any reservation, took out her Magic Cards and jewelry to show Lanci.
"You, a Priest, carrying all Life-saving Magic?"
Lanci did not hesitate to take those Magic Cards and looked at them before raising his head to ask Elsa.
Among them was even an accessory of Pink Holy Level, the "Mirror of the Moon Goddess," presumably the Life-saving Magic given to Elsa by Headmaster Violet.
Such Magic Devices related to the Moon Goddess and ancient relics were treasures that were difficult to replicate.
Furthermore, Elsa also carried Invisibility and speed-boosting Magic.
"Headmaster Violet said that my healing output becomes specialized at night, so I shouldn’t worry about it being insufficient. My physical constitution is also far stronger than that of typical Magic System practitioners, so stacking Magic Strength would cause healing overflow. I focused entirely on resilience so that the front line doesn’t have to worry about me during team battles," Elsa answered.
"Uh."
Lanci handed the cards back to her and smiled with relief.
He had taught Hugh the same way in the past, eventually turning Xiu Bao from a fragile Magic Assassin into a dodging tank.
"What are you laughing at, brother?"
Elsa noticed her brother’s expression and asked with confusion.
"You remind me of a beautiful escapee."
Lanci relaxed and glanced northward, muttering to himself.
"..."
After observing her brother’s expression for a moment,
"Is it your fiancée?" She asked curiously, probing.
"Cough, this..."
Lanci didn’t know how to respond for a moment and withdrew his hand from the doorframe, shifting his standing position a few times.
There indeed had been talks about his fiancée coming to Brilda recently, but Elsa’s thoughts were too scattered; she had no idea that there was also a Talia, and how deadly it could be to ask such a question in her presence.
"Lanci, say something."
At the same time, Talia’s voice echoed in his mind. Her tone seemed light, yet as if biting deeply.
Although she knew that Lanci and Huebelle might have a certain degree of affectionate understanding, she could hardly imagine the picture of Huebelle being supported by Lanci in the future.
If Lanci and Huebelle were merely maintaining a healthy relationship, she would surely support it. However, if they were hastening towards discussing marriage, Talia felt it was too premature.
If such a process was indeed unstoppable, she needed to first certify this man as a suitable husband for Xiu Bao.
"What can I say?"
Lanci asked her in his mind.
He felt Talia’s emotions were all over the place in that instant.
"Aren’t you also incoherent?" Talia countered.
"With national disasters looming, how can we discuss romantic affairs? Even if there is a girl I like in my heart, I would not disclose it. Everything will be faced openly after the mission ends!"
Lanci responded confidently.
"..."
Talia suddenly fell silent.
She did not know who the girl Lanci spoke of as favored.
But on the face of it, she was the only girl residing in Lanci’s heart.
Her mind seemed more confused, yet oddly pretended to be asleep and stopped sharing thoughts with Lanci.
Lanci breathed a sigh of relief.
Before the fate of the homeland, personal feelings were secondary; Tata clearly understood this reasoning.
It seemed he had indeed relaxed too much because chatting with Elsa itself wasn’t stressful, making him not want to be too guarded around this child.
But Elsa was entirely naive, tossing out life-threatening topics nonchalantly, making it necessary for him not to act too casually around her in the future.
"After all, brother, you’ve always been very popular, and you’ve shown great flair here in the capital. Everyone says you must have more than one fiancée, don’t be shy, no matter how many you marry, I’ll support you," she remarked.
Seeing Lanci bewildered and slightly panicked, Elsa couldn’t help but laugh.
"Who started this rumor?"
Lanci hadn’t relaxed fully when he widened his eyes.
A bad feeling surged in his heart.
As everyone knows, some words get twisted as they spread.
In the beginning, he had only mentioned in an interview that he would bring his fiancée from the Northern Border Nixasende here, completing the instructions of Duke Dex.
But he definitely never mentioned having multiple fiancées!
"This..."
Elsa stammered, seemingly unable to articulate it.
"Tell me, what version did you hear?"
Lanci asked seriously, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"They... they say you’ve always been ambiguously involved with several women from the Northern Border Nixasende, and coming to the capital Brilda seemed like a temporary reprieve from your engagements with them. In reality, you’ve kept in touch with each of your fiancées, exploiting the geographical distance for a multi-threaded romance. Not only are you deeply in love with each fiancée, but you also sweet-talk them into complete satisfaction, truly deserving the title of ’Casanova.’ However, such extreme maneuvering comes with risks, and the next time you meet, it won’t be you conquering them, but them conquering you," Elsa hesitated, then answered while hugging the cat.
The students at the Saint Kray Temple had spread it all around.
Just because her brother always interacted with the outside world, focusing all his mind on his duties, he hadn’t noticed that he had become the center of gossip.
"What kind of nonsense is this! Is there even a single truth in these rumors?!"
Lanci’s mentality exploded.
He just felt it was fucking ridiculous. If this spread back to the Posoen Kingdom, even Nigel might not be able to handle it.
He was a Magic Engineer devoted to academics, yet why should he have so much tabloid news?
Rumors really were terrifying.
"Meow, you’ve finally become like him..."
Cat Boss disengaged from its spherical form, watching Lanci speechlessly.
Lanci, you’ve had this day coming.
You really invited too much spirit that it might rebound on you.
"Heh."
Facing Cat Boss, Lanci laughed it off with a tough expression.
Dean Loren had been deeply embroiled in a maelstrom of public opinion, ultimately because there was a grain of truth in the rumors, making them indelible.
But he was different.
No matter how many fiancées came at him, his expression wouldn’t change.
Seeing her brother and Little Black Cat sizing each other up with their eyes, Elsa’s worries eased a bit. Her brother was more energetic than she imagined, and a lively cat was there to keep him company, so it seemed she didn’t need to worry about him being lonely.
"I’ll take my leave first, and I’ll bring Little Black Bread back later."
Elsa said while holding the cat and slightly bowing in thanks.
Perhaps there was no need for such formality between siblings, but having not seen each other for several years, she always subconsciously felt her brother was a bit unfamiliar.
"Have fun with Ursula."
Lanci waved.
He watched Elsa say goodbye and leave.
The autumn wind blew, lifting the hem of Elsa’s clothes as her silhouette gradually disappeared into the golden tree shadows, leaving Lanci alone at the door.
"Lanci, don’t forget you are a person of the Kingdom. Although Elsa is a nice girl, you aren’t really a Landry. Strictly speaking, she is from our enemy’s country."
Talia seemed to sense Lanci’s reluctance to reveal the truth about Landry’s death to Elsa in the future, so she consoled him in another way.
The boy could be exceptionally decisive at times, yet at other times, he could show unwanted compassion, even though she knew they should steer clear of Elsa rather than catering to her feelings and playing a competent brother.
"I think I can’t save everyone, but still, I want to save as many as I can."
Lanci leaned against the door frame again, looking at the sky, and muttered to himself.
