Chapter 371
Chapter 371
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 371 – Lan Qi Stood in the Most Eye-Catching Spot Waiting for Her Return
“No problem. I just happen to want to see this fabled, brightly lit Helrom for myself.”
Huperion glanced at the time — it was just a little past seven. Before moving into their new home, they really could buy some daily necessities first, rather than waiting until tomorrow morning to hurriedly shop for whatever they might find themselves missing. She also wanted to take the chance to get familiar with the city of Helrom alongside Mishula.
Moreover, though Mishula’s expression seemed slightly stiff, her gaze was blazing — she clearly wanted very much to take a lap through Helrom’s commercial district with Huperion before heading home.
It was said that between Helrom’s skyscrapers, enormous screens stretched across the building facades, a style completely different from Ikerite’s preference for blending magical screens into glass curtain walls.
Huperion had long been curious about this dreamlike city.
“Let’s go, Mishula.”
She rose gracefully from her seat, her movements smooth and deliberate — first checking her attire, then reaching for the small handbag she had placed beside her seat.
Mishula also stood up, unhurried, calmly checking that neither of them had left behind any belongings, and then they left the compartment.
The final deceleration of the train was accompanied by a series of mechanical releases, the carriage swaying slightly until it finally came to a steady stop at Helrom Station.
The train doors slid open slowly, and the cool night breeze — mixed with the scent of magitek springwater and metal — rushed into the carriage.
Passengers began moving toward the exit in an orderly fashion, and Huperion and Mishula followed suit toward the doors.
Within the station, suffused with a unique orchestral ambience, a transparent mirrored screen came into their view. It captured the expressions of the newly arrived travelers, held the images for several seconds, then they faded away.
“Don’t worry, this is just a barrier spell that checks for disguise magic. That thing on the ground scans our IDs,” Mishula explained as they walked along the platform.
The path under their feet lit up intermittently, glowing faint blue and rippling like stepping across a water surface.
“Then we might get back to school a bit late,” Mishula continued, ticking items off on her fingers as she gave her reminders.“At night, there are singing flowers floating down from the sky gardens above, and ghostly starlight apparitions — those creepy-looking old districts are places we absolutely must not wander into. And the Helrom Alchemy Zoo — we definitely need to stay away from there too…”
The city was full of wonder, but also full of danger. Many of the prosperous districts of the city-state were kept in absolute order by powerful authorities and ancient wards, but farther from those zones, chaos, violence, and crime were frequent.
“The first time I came to Helrom, I got scared several times — and even got laughed at…”
Mishula muttered, sounding a little aggrieved.
In this city, not having a guide could in itself be considered a risk.
Though she usually wore a blank expression as though nothing in the world concerned her, in truth her heart was full of emotions.
“Don’t worry, Mishula. I won’t be scared — you don’t have to worry about me.”
Huperion smiled softly at her sister as she spoke.
She was not only a demon princess, but also a duke’s daughter of the Hedon Kingdom, a clergywoman, and now even disguised as a count’s daughter. At all times she had to remain graceful and composed, no matter what happened — this much she was confident in.
…
Meanwhile—
In the heart of the sleepless city of Helrom, a towering skyscraper stood tall amidst the bustling commercial district. Though its exterior was not particularly flashy, its presence was impossible to ignore. At its top, rows of running lights beamed out across the night sky, proclaiming to every corner of the city its identity as a media giant.
This was the renowned broadcasting tower of the Protos Empire — the birthplace of Helrom Broadcasting Company’s programs, and a place where countless dreams and art converged.
The building’s exterior was clad in austere dark glass curtain walls, which by day reflected the glow of the sky, and by night turned into a massive projection screen, displaying the royal charter’s emblem and clips of programs currently on air.
The entrance at ground level was packed with people hoping to be part of the live studio audience. They held tickets and waited for the uniformed guards at the door to allow them entry. The security hall had additional guards on duty tonight, their expressions solemn, their chest badges gleaming as they maintained order around the broadcasting tower.
Once tonight’s program concluded, they would also be responsible for dispersing the crowds and escorting celebrities safely out of the congested commercial district.
Meanwhile, on the 21st floor of the Helrom Broadcasting Company tower, in the backstage dressing room, the atmosphere was completely different.
Lan Qi stood quietly before the dressing mirror, gently stroking the small black cat in his hands as he waited for the staff to invite him onstage.
The dressing room lights shone especially brightly at this moment, casting Lan Qi’s reflection into the mirror as though fracturing him into countless afterimages — every one of them wearing the same calm, confident smile.
The air was heavy with the scent of foundation powder and perfume, which made the little black cat uncomfortable. But none of that seemed to concern Lan Qi — his gaze pierced through the city’s nighttime brilliance outside the window, fixed on some deeper meaning only he could perceive.
“Meow-meow…”
The Cat Boss shifted restlessly in Lan Qi’s hands, squirming again and again.
“What’s wrong, Cat Boss? Don’t you want to join me on the program later?”
Lan Qi asked with a smile.
He had the feeling that Cat Boss did, in fact, want to see the world a bit — or at least see the spectacle.
It was timid, but curious.
Miss this chance, and there might never be another.
The show he was about to appear on, Helrom Late-Night Show, had first aired back in 1754, when the inaugural host established the core format for late-night talk shows: an opening monologue, celebrity interviews, comedy sketches, musical performances, and more.
Subsequent hosts had infused the program with their own personal style and emotional depth, sharpening its focus on conversation and dialogue. They had carried the program into its golden age, where — thanks to the host’s unique humor and charisma — it became a cultural icon of Helrom’s nights.
The show’s content was wide-ranging, covering social issues, current events, mental health, life stories, and cultural topics.
The talk show would start right at eight o’clock. Judging by the clock here in the dressing room, the studio must already be ready.
“Meow-meow…”
Cat Boss still wore an expression like a crying kitten.
For some reason, the makeup artist had even tied a little bow tie around its neck.
The clearer it became what was about to happen, the more hopeless it all seemed. It had truly never imagined seeing such a scene.
Before coming to the Northern Continent, it had never dreamed things would end up like this.
It had even naively believed this boy was just a little eccentric, and that leaving Ikerite Academy wouldn’t stir up any real trouble.
But after more than two months, it had finally come to understand what Lan Qi really was when Huperion wasn’t there to keep him in check.
A crushing sense of guilt nearly overwhelmed the Cat Boss. Every time it remembered Huperion entrusting it with the task of keeping Lan Qi in line — and how it had taken those words as if they were nothing — it felt like it had committed a grave sin.
“Don’t worry. Didn’t Huperion say before? If we get separated in the Empire, just go to some conspicuous place and wait for her — she’ll find me soon enough. Who knows, maybe I’ll see her tonight.”
Lan Qi, ever optimistic, stroked Cat Boss again and again.
“…”
Cat Boss tilted its head up, its tearful eyes staring at Lan Qi in silence for a long while.
Was it possible she had meant geographically conspicuous — and not this kind of conspicuous?
In the end, it chose to be an ostrich-cat, burying its head.
By now its mindset had shifted completely — from praying for Huperion to return quickly, to praying that she wouldn’t come back at all.
Thankfully, the northern blockade was tight — with Huperion’s strength, it was very unlikely she would slip back into the Protos Empire!
Better they meet again on the Southern Continent!!