Chapter 1 Morning in the Capital Ikrith

The morning in the royal capital of Ikrith was filled with a faint blue hue, and the air throughout the city was particularly fresh in this cool autumn season.

On the east side of the Ikrith Academy, across two streets, there were many shops.

Smoke and the aroma of oatmeal and cheese drifted from a small restaurant.

Lanchi stood in front of the store with a slightly puzzled expression, looking up at the typical two-story wooden building. A sign hung at the entrance, with the words "Cat Boss Restaurant" carved on it.

Although the entire building was constructed of slightly rustic brown wood, its style and decoration were full of old Victorian charm. The large roof curved gracefully, and the eaves extended far beyond the walls, giving a sense of spaciousness. The space under the eaves formed a balcony where people could relax, chat, and even dine. A string of wind chimes hung under the deep eaves, producing a pleasant sound whenever a breeze passed by.

This was the new address Talia had given Lanchi.

It seemed that although it was a restaurant, the second floor was also rented out as a hostel.

If renting here for a long term, the rent should not be too high. Most importantly, Lanchi believed that the food here must be very special and delicious to be favored by Talia, the food detector.

As soon as Lanchi pushed open the door, a delicate pavilion-like structure came into view with a "ding-a-ling~ ding-a-ling~" sound. The simple layout divided the tables and chairs on the first floor into several areas. Besides the counter at the entrance, there was an entrance to the back kitchen or the second floor.

It seemed that this restaurant did not focus on breakfast, so there were not many customers at this time. Even the clerk behind the counter had to double as a waitress to deliver food.

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

Lanchi waited leisurely at the counter for a while until the waitress who delivered the food returned behind the counter before asking.

"Miss Tata... I'm sorry, I just started working at this restaurant recently, and I'm not very familiar with the guests who live here."

The waitress looked slightly puzzled, then apologized and explained to Lanchi.

She looked very young, about the same age, and was working here part-time.

"If you can describe her characteristics, although I can't tell you which room the guest lives in, I can go upstairs and look for her for you."

The waitress said kindly.

She felt that Lanchi did not seem like a bad person. He looked like a very kind and gentle young man.

"Uh, she is very beautiful, 168 centimeters tall, looks about 20 to 25 years old, has gray long hair and golden eyes, and has an ideal healthy figure. She has never had children, speaks very little, and never smiles."

Lanchi began to vividly describe Talia's characteristics.

Last time in his hometown of South Wantina, he was unable to successfully describe Talia to the steward using words. Since then, Lanchi had been thinking about how to describe her in as much detail and as perfectly as possible through written information.

Before Lanchi finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill down his back for some reason.

Soon, an icy hand was placed on his shoulder.

Behind him seemed to be a pair of indifferent golden eyes of an absolute superior, emitting terrifying magical power that oppressed his whole body.

The waitress felt as if the temperature of the entire restaurant had dropped by two degrees. She rubbed her shoulders, shivering slightly.

"Are you talking about the lady behind you?"

She raised her hand slightly, pointed to the side of Lanchi, and asked cautiously.

"...I guess so."

Lanchi maintained an unchanged smile and slowly turned his head.

Only his head could move. His body could not move at all as if it was being pressed down by a mountain.

Lanchi saw Talia standing behind him.

Her slender hand seemed capable of crushing his shoulder at any moment, while the other hand was holding a paper box of Ikrith sea salt flavored cheese crackers.

These crackers were easily sold out every morning, so people in the capital had to get up early to queue up to buy them.

"Good morning, Teacher Tata."

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

It seemed that she had a good time in the past two days when he was away.

He was just a little worried that she would gain weight.

After all, she was so old and had a bad personality. If she also became obese, it would be even more difficult for her to get married.

"Come with me."

Talia slowly released her hand, her voice devoid of emotion.

But every word carried killing intent.

Next, Lanchi thanked the waitress and did not dare to say anything else. He obediently followed Talia, walking up the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor.

They walked all the way to the deepest part of the corridor. Talia took out a key from her pocket and opened the door to her new residence.

"Go in."

Talia said coldly.

Lanchi naturally did not dare to hesitate and quickly stepped into the room.

"Tata, you have good taste..."

He looked around the small house and couldn't help but exclaim.

The ceiling was made of wooden planks and sloping beams, with glass skylights. The sloping angle filled the room with a sense of terrace where you could look up at the stars at night.

The walls were painted in a soft blend of cream, light orange, and beige, warm and bright. After careful polishing by the owner of this restaurant, the wooden furniture presented a natural texture.

Talia ignored Lanchi, walked past him, and sat down on the only wooden armchair in the living room.

Lanchi looked at the small coffee table next to the armchair and the several newspapers and magazines placed on it. He could roughly imagine what Talia usually looked like at home in her retirement.

As Lanchi was thinking, Talia's gaze turned to him again.

Although Talia had no evidence, she now had a strong intuition that Lanchi was always thinking about particularly damnable things in his mind.

Under the curiosity and stimulation that had accumulated over time, the feedback from her talent magic became increasingly strong. At least she was now certain that every time Lanchi was with her, this guy's mental activity was unusually active.

Besides the restoration of her kingdom, the only thing Talia wanted to do now was to break through her talent magic from lie detection to the point where she could read minds and see what Lanchi was thinking in his heart.

"What did you come to me for?"

Talia asked with a cold expression.

She had actually wanted to find Lanchi to inquire about the shadow world of the Demon Realm two days ago.

But as soon as she thought that Lanchi might be smiling on the surface every day while thinking about things that deserved to be killed in his heart, she felt furious.

So she had not decided when to contact him, and simply waited for him to come to her.

She didn't expect Lanchi to take the initiative to come so quickly.

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

But as expected.

Seeing him, she felt unhappy again.

(End of this chapter)