In the morning of the capital city Icerite, a faint blue hue permeated the sky. During this cool autumn season, the air throughout the city was exceptionally crisp.

  East of Icerite Academy, past two streets, the area was predominantly filled with shops.

  From a small restaurant wafted cooking smoke and the aroma of breakfast oatmeal and cheese.

  Lanqi stood at the entrance with a slightly puzzled expression, looking up at this typical two-story wooden building. A sign at the entrance read "Cat Boss Restaurant."

  Though constructed from rustic brown wood, the building's design and decorations were full of old Victorian charm. The rge roof curved elegantly, with eaves extending far beyond the walls, creating a spacious feeling. Under the deep eaves, a wind chime hung, producing melodious tinkling sounds whenever a breeze passed by.

  This was the new address Talia had given to Lanqi.

  While it was a restaurant, the second floor apparently also served as a boarding house.

  The rent for long-term stay shouldn't be too high here, but most importantly, Lanqi believed the food must be uniquely delicious to have earned the approval of Talia, the food detector.

  As soon as Lanqi pushed open the door, accompanied by a "ding-ling~ding-ling" sound, the restaurant's elegant pavilion-style interior came into view. The simple yout divided the first floor's tables and chairs into several sections, with a counter near the entrance and passages leading to the kitchen and second floor.

  Since this establishment didn't primarily serve breakfast, there weren't many customers at this hour, and even the counter staff had to double as servers.

  "Hello, I'm looking for Miss Tata who's staying here."

  Lanqi waited leisurely at the counter until the waitress returned from delivering food before asking.

  "Miss Tata... I'm sorry, I just started working here recently and am not familiar with the residents," the waitress apologized and expined.

  She looked young, seemingly around Lanqi's age, working here part-time.

  "If you could describe her features, although I can't disclose which room she's in, I could help look for her upstairs."

  The waitress said kindly.

  She felt Lanqi didn't seem like a bad person, appearing to be a very gentle and friendly young man.

  "Well, she's very beautiful, 168 centimeters tall, looks about 20 to 25 years old, has gray hair and golden eyes, has an ideally healthy figure, hasn't had children, rarely speaks, and never smiles."

  Lanqi began vividly describing Talia's characteristics.

  Having failed to properly describe Talia to the butler back home in South Vantina, Lanqi had been contempting how to portray her as thoroughly and perfectly as possible through words.

  Before Lanqi could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

  Soon, a cold hand pressed on his shoulder.

  Behind him seemed to be a pair of cold, golden eyes of an absolute superior, emanating terrifying magical pressure throughout his body.

  The waitress, feeling the temperature in the entire restaurant drop by two degrees, shivered and rubbed her shoulders.

  "Are you referring to the dy behind you?" she asked cautiously, pointing slightly to Lanqi's side.

  "...Probably."

  Lanqi maintained his unchanging smile and slowly turned his head.

  Only his head could move; his body felt as if it were pinned down by a mountain.

  Lanqi saw Talia standing behind him.

  Her delicate hand seemed capable of crushing his shoulder at any moment, while her other hand held a paper box of Icerite sea salt fvored cheese cookies.

  These cookies typically sold out early each morning, so locals had to queue up early to buy them.

  "Good morning, Teacher Tata."

  Seeing that Talia's appetite was still as good as ever, Lanqi felt relieved.

  It seemed she had been enjoying herself during the two days he was away.

  Though he was a bit worried she might gain weight.

  After all, at her age and with such a difficult personality, if she were to become plump as well, it would be even harder for her to get married.

  "Come with me."

  Talia slowly released her hand, her voice betraying no emotion.

  But every word carried killing intent.

  After thanking the waitress, Lanqi didn't dare make another sound and obediently followed Talia up the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor.

  They walked to the end of the hallway, where Talia took out a key from her pocket and opened the door to her new residence.

  "Get in."

  Talia said coldly.

  Lanqi naturally didn't dare hesitate and quickly stepped into the room.

  "Tata, you have good taste..."

  He looked around the small room, admiring it.

  The ceiling was made of wooden boards and diagonal beams, with gss skylights. The snted angle gave the room a terrace-like feeling, perfect for stargazing at night.

  The walls were painted in a blend of soft cream, light orange, and beige colors, creating a warm and bright atmosphere. The wooden furniture, carefully polished by the restaurant owner, dispyed a natural texture.

  Talia ignored Lanqi and walked past him, sitting in the only wooden armchair in the living room.

  Looking at the small tea table beside the armchair and the newspapers and magazines pced there, Lanqi could imagine how Talia spent her time rexing at home.

  As Lanqi was thinking, Talia's gaze fell on him again.

  Although Talia had no evidence, she increasingly had a strong intuition that Lanqi was always thinking about particurly damnable things.

  Over time, her curiosity and stimution had strengthened her innate magical feedback, and she could now at least be certain that whenever Lanqi was with her, his mental activity was unusually active.

  Currently, besides restoring her country, the only thing Talia wanted to do was to quickly advance her innate magic from lie detection to mind reading, to see what Lanqi was really thinking.

  "Why are you looking for me?"

  Talia asked coldly.

  She had actually been pnning to seek out Lanqi to inquire about the events in the demon Shadow World from two days ago.

  But whenever she thought about how Lanqi might be smiling on the surface while thinking unforgivable thoughts, she became furious.

  So she hadn't decided when to contact him and simply waited for him to come to her.

  Unexpectedly, Lanqi came looking for her so quickly.

  It seemed this human was more dependent on her than she had imagined.

  But sure enough.

  Seeing him had put her in a bad mood again.

  (End of Chapter)

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