Chapter 229
Chapter 229
Chapter 229
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 229: Huperion Tearfully Thanks Lan Qi
The streets outside Ikerite Academy were relatively quiet, lined with small shops and cafés in business.
At this weekday morning hour, the lights from the shops glowed softly in the dim daylight, preparing for the lunch crowd. Occasionally, a clerk could be seen wiping glass or arranging shelves, readying for the day.
Huperion and Talia walked slowly, leisurely immersed in the stillness of winter.
“By the way, Lan Qi’s father, Mr. Noe, has now returned to the Mantina borderlands. Talia, you’re from Mantina too, right? Next time, could we go back together?”
Huperion asked.
That day of the match, Talia had left early and didn’t get the chance to meet Lan Qi’s father after the competition.
Mr. Noe said that match left an impression he would never forget. The greatest regret of his life was buying Lan Qi a ticket to the royal capital.
But since things had already come to this, there was no undoing it.
Mr. Noe hoped that during vacation, Huperion could visit the borderlands with Lan Qi. He had a very favorable impression of Huperion—a girl Lan Qi’s age, excellent in both character and academics, with a steadfast moral compass.
“……”
Though Talia wasn’t truly from Mantina, the identity papers Lan Qi arranged for her did state the borderlands as her place of residence.
Her memories of Mantina were fond, though—it was in those borderlands that her decades of wandering life took a turn, becoming like a dream.
Lan Qi’s family butler, Hans, and the maid, Francine, had treated her kindly as well. It had been a long time since she saw them.
“Next time, let’s go together. I’ll show you around Mantina. And… there’s one thing I’m curious about.”
As she spoke, Talia seemed to drift into thought.
“What is it?” Huperion asked curiously.
“Didn’t you say Lan Qi was very good at painting?”
Talia had already seen hints of this through Lan Qi’s card-making.
“Yes, he’s absurdly good at it… though I’ve never seen him take painting seriously.”
Huperion nodded.
“But when we were at the Mantina train station, Butler Hans said Lan Qi once painted a picture. I never got to see it—such a pity… At the time I didn’t think much of it, but now, I’m becoming more and more curious about what kind of painting it was.”
Talia murmured.
Lan Qi himself had said it was just a portrait of a pitiful, impoverished old lady.
So, she didn’t really expect it to be anything impressive.
The two kept chatting as they turned a corner onto a broad avenue in Ikerite’s city center. The atmosphere grew livelier: a flower shop with windows full of vibrant winter blooms, a café spilling soft music into the crisp air, weaving a cozy and melodic warmth into the season’s chill.
Finally, after crossing two streets, they reached their residence—the Cat Boss Restaurant.
Through the familiar hallway with its chandeliers, and up the vintage wooden stairs bathed in warm yellow light, they arrived at the room at the end of the second floor.
What greeted them was the same exquisite loft, with wooden beams and slanted ceilings, bright skylights, and the faint sweet scent of fruit wine incense in the air.
But today, there was something different:
At the center of the spacious living room, Lan Qi sat at the table, both hands steady on a magic carving knife and an embossing tool. It looked like he had just been focused on crafting an art piece.
On the table lay a magic card, glowing with pink light and etched in smooth lines.
“Lan Qi.”
Huperion greeted him with a smile.
She’d gotten used to living here this past month. Sometimes, during the day, Lan Qi would come to Talia’s home to work with her on card-making.
But recently it had been exam week, and with no student council duties, Lan Qi had gone missing.
He had locked himself away in his dorm workshop, absorbed in a large-scale project.
Today, at last, Huperion saw him again.
Lan Qi hadn’t taken exams—he came early in the morning to Talia’s house instead. But Talia had gone out to fetch Huperion, leaving him alone here.
“You’re back.”
Lan Qi noticed their arrival, standing to greet them.
“Mhm.”
Talia answered softly and set down two boxes of cakes on the table.
“I already ate at Ikerite’s shop. These are for you two.”
Lan Qi hesitated at her words.
“Talia, if you want some, you should eat this piece instead.”
He had noticed her eyes still lingering on the cakes even after speaking.
Her stomach could never truly be satisfied. If it weren’t for her self-restraint as an unmarried woman, those two cakes might not have made it here at all.
“……”
Talia turned and stared at Lan Qi.
Lan Qi immediately lowered his head and said no more.
He quietly picked up the disposable knife included in the box and cut off one-third of the cake.
Huperion chuckled helplessly, understanding what he was doing. She grabbed a small plate and fork from the cabinet, cut off a third of her own cake, and set it beside his slice.
“Talia, let’s share.”
Huperion handed the plate with the two small pieces to her.
“……”
Talia silently accepted the plate.
After a slight hesitation, she began eating expressionlessly.
Human ways of thinking were strange, she thought—doing these pointless acts of sharing.
Yet, strangely, this two-thirds of a cake tasted a little more delicious than the whole ones she’d eaten at school.
“By the way, Lan Qi, what were you working on just now?”
Huperion sat beside him and looked at the card he’d been fiddling with.
It was still an unbound sealed card.
“Oh, this? One of the masterpieces Talia successfully made in recent days. This morning I finished preparations with the wolf, so I came here to pick up another card. But the name of this one didn’t feel right, so I made some edits.”
He handed the card to Huperion.
【Elegant Styling】
Category: Spell Card
Grade: Pink Sacred
Attribute: Alchemy/Poison
Tier: 4
Effect: Can only be used on a touched target. Alters hairstyle—can remove hair, change its color, or slightly harden/soften it.
Note: “This hairstyle doesn’t suit you. Let me fix it.”
“……”
Huperion didn’t know the original name of the card.
But she felt… maybe it was better left unaltered.
“Don’t change my cards at will.”
Talia frowned, a little annoyed.
She had only gone to fetch Huperion, and already the card’s name and note had been tampered with by Lan Qi.
But she didn’t press it further. Without realizing it, her tolerance toward him had grown.
Anyway, the card—originating from Purgatory Corridor Academy—belonged to Lan Qi by their trade agreement. He had already paid with Shadow World recording intel.
“Huperion, this card is for you.”
Lan Qi placed 【Elegant Styling】 before her.
He had been waiting for her return to give it to her.
In combat, he rarely touched enemies, and didn’t want them touching him.
It was better suited for Huperion—with her death immunity, shields, and invisibility.
She could use it when taking damage, or even sneak in while invisible to alter someone’s hairstyle.
“N-no, that’s not necessary.”
Huperion nearly dropped her fork, frantically waving her hands.
This card was max-level mockery! She didn’t dare accept it!
Compared to silencing or kneeling debuffs, nothing drew more hatred than forcing someone into a bald patch.
Once used, no opponent would rest until the caster was dead.
In essence, this card was like 【Destruction Spark】—a suicidal tool in disguise.
“Huperion, this time to the Northern Continent it’s only the two of us. Your strength is my strength. Our battle power is bound together now.”
Lan Qi looked at her sincerely, pushing the card a little closer.
“……”
Huperion stared at the card for several long seconds, tears almost spilling. It felt like Lan Qi was sentencing her to death.
“…Fine.”
With tears in her eyes, Huperion accepted the hairstyle-modifying card.
She felt she had just chosen her path to doom.
(End of Chapter)