Chapter 29

The next day.

The Demon Realm’s capital, Nicalis.

As the first rays of dawn slanted into the glass-walled lobby, a man and a cat slowly descended the stairs.

“Today is your twenty…”

“Twenty-ninth day in this Shadow World.”

Lan Qi had already learned to answer first.

“Meow.”

The little black cat choked up a bit, interrupted by Lan Qi before it could finish its announcement.

In the McCarthy Palace’s dining hall, a white linen tablecloth and neatly arranged tableware adorned a table by the floor-to-ceiling window, as if awaiting its master.

However, a figure was already seated on the sofa along one side.

Hyperion looked towards Lan Qi, offering him a smile.

Today, she wasn’t dressed in the formal attire of a Demon Realm princess, but rather in more casual everyday clothes.

“You’re up early.”

Lan Qi settled onto the sofa opposite Hyperion, glancing out the window. Without even checking the clock, he could roughly tell the time. The glow on the horizon gradually dispersed the deep purple of the night, the sea was no longer a murky expanse, and the entire Demon King City, Nicalis, was awakening.

“Well, I was dreaming all day yesterday.”

Hyperion lived on the top floor. After waking up this morning, she had carefully passed the third floor, where Lan Qi and the cat boss resided, worried about disturbing them.

However, she felt like the fourth floor also had an occupant.

Because there were signs of life.

While they waited for breakfast, the two chatted idly.

“Good morning.”

Before the servants could even begin serving the meal, a light footstep drew their attention.

A small figure walked down the stairs.

Hyperion looked at the small wolf demon in the distance, then at Lan Qi.

“This is Sigrid, the guide who led me through the Evernight Lands to this Demon Realm. Now she’s our companion,” Lan Qi introduced to Hyperion.

Yesterday, he had been with Hyperion until after dinner and hadn't had the chance to introduce Sigrid to her.

“I see.”

Hyperion immediately understood that this little girl had used transformation magic to become a demon.

In reality, she was probably also from the Brant Empire.

Hyperion immediately felt that this little girl wasn't scary at all. It was rare to see a human in this Demon Realm.

Sigrid trotted over to Lan Qi's side and, without any intention of stopping, pounced onto the sofa.

“This child is so cute,” Hyperion said, watching Sigrid’s expressionless yet lively demeanor.

Although her attire leaned towards boyish, her face was that of a natural beauty, and her light-colored hair was braided like ribbons.

“Loki braided my hair for me,” Sigrid said.

She had only ever casually tied up her hair and stuffed it into a hat. It was only later that Loki started helping her braid her hair every morning like a mother.

After coming to the Demon Realm and changing her attire, she had rarely looked in the mirror and only now realized that she had been completely transformed.

“You can do these things?” Hyperion asked, looking at Lan Qi.

She knew that Lan Qi could draw, sculpt, and do many things, but she didn’t expect that Lan Qi, like Duke Mycenae, could even braid girls’ hair.

“Want me to do yours tomorrow?” Lan Qi asked with a slight smile.

“No, no.” Hyperion waved her hand. She was no longer a little girl who needed an adult to braid her hair.

Although it wasn’t out of the question, she didn’t need it for the time being.

“Are you a princess?” Sigrid asked Hyperion curiously.

She had heard the butler and the servants in the restaurant say that Loki had brought back a Demon Realm princess yesterday. If she wasn’t mistaken, it could only be this lady.

Sigrid had never seen this kind of shining, radiant young lady before.

“Uh, I don’t really want to be a princess…” Hyperion shifted her gaze awkwardly.

She didn’t want to deny her current responsibilities, nor did she want to lie to a child. She was just worried about scaring the child.

“Holy crap, that’s amazing,” Sigrid exclaimed, her eyes widening.

Hyperion was stunned for a long moment.

“She’s been learning to read and studying etiquette recently. I’m still teaching her. I apologize for the spectacle,” Lan Qi said with a helpless smile.

But there was no intention of blaming Sigrid, more of self-reproach.

Compared to Sigrid’s initial way of speaking, she had already restrained herself a lot now.

At first, when he heard Sigrid speak, his reaction wasn’t much different from Hyperion’s.

It would probably take a lot of time to teach Sigrid to become a noble young lady worthy of a prime minister's family, but Lan Qi felt that Sigrid didn’t need to become like that. She was born with a wildness that shouldn’t be tamed by anyone. If he had to say, she was born like an emperor, not liking to be restricted by any rules.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Hyperion asked.

Although Lan Qi was Sigrid’s teacher, she always felt that Lan Qi was a bit like a single father raising a child.

It was just like Duke Mycenae raising her when she was young.

Hyperion couldn’t bear it and wanted to lend Lan Qi a hand, and to take care of Sigrid, a little girl who shared a similar shadow to herself.

“That would be a great help,” Lan Qi said with a sigh of relief, smiling.

For a child Sigrid’s age, she needed more than just one person's companionship.

“When I’m not around, you can have Hyperion teach you. She’s a genuine noble lady. For things like writing letters, she might be even better than me,” Lan Qi introduced to Sigrid.

“Okay,” Sigrid nodded.

After that, she fell silent.

It seemed that she was a little reserved with Hyperion, whom she had just met. Compared to Hyperion, Sigrid still preferred to cling to Lan Qi.

“Let me tell you, Hyperion also hates the vampires very much,” Lan Qi whispered in Sigrid’s ear.

“How much?” Sigrid asked, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

“Go ask her.” Lan Qi patted Sigrid’s head.

Sigrid thought for a moment and trotted over to sit next to Hyperion.

“Hyperion, do you hate vampires?” Sigrid asked, looking up.

“Of course I hate them. If it weren’t for the vampires, my father wouldn’t have…” Hyperion's eyes betrayed a hint of hatred, her voice gradually softening until she couldn't speak.

Sigrid looked at Hyperion, not saying anything for a long time.

She felt like she had found a kindred spirit and hugged Hyperion's slender waist.

“Sigrid, could it be that your father also died because of the vampires?” Hyperion asked, looking at Sigrid in surprise. After a moment, she finally understood why Sigrid had reacted that way.

“Yes.” Sigrid buried her head in Hyperion's body, responding softly.

As if comforting Hyperion, and also seeking her comfort.

“Don’t worry, Sigrid, the vampires will be defeated. The Demon Realm has now decided to formally declare war on the vampires,” Hyperion said, gently stroking Sigrid’s hair.

Hyperion knew that Sigrid's closeness was all because Lan Qi's words had started the conversation.

How could Lan Qi be so normal when interacting with children?

Hyperion wondered in confusion.

This was one of the few times when Lan Qi looked like a normal person, and actually was a normal person.

“Really?” Sigrid asked, looking up at Hyperion, her voice filled with incredible excitement.

She used to read the newspapers every day, trying her best to understand even if she didn’t.

Hoping that one day, the unstoppable vampires and the Hohenheim Empire would be defeated.

She hadn’t expected that now, there was finally such an exciting piece of news.

“Would the words of a Demon Realm princess be false?” Hyperion asked her with a smile.

“Come, Sigrid, let me explain it to you slowly.” Hyperion had Sigrid sit next to her and asked the servant to bring her a copy of the Nicalis Morning News, and began to tell Sigrid about the current situation in the Demon Realm.

She felt that Sigrid was really too cute, just like she had been when she was a child.

Hyperion was now certain that the four nodes of the Crimson Moon World Ruin were all connected in each Shadow World. As long as they gained an advantage in the previous Shadow World, they could influence the next Shadow World.

The reason she and Lan Qi were able to meet in the Demon Realm was because of the shifted ending of the second Shadow World.

However, the limitations of the maps and time in the first two Shadow Worlds were too great, and their interference in the subsequent Shadow Worlds was limited.

But now, this Shadow World, the Dark Eclipse Demon Realm, was a completely open map with a very long time span. Any operation could lead to a significant shift in the story line of the final Crimson Moon World Ruin Shadow World.

The next Shadow World might be a dozen years later in this era.

When she and Lan Qi came to the Shadow World from the real world again, Sigrid would be grown up.

At that time, Sigrid would become a very reliable teammate for them.

Hyperion couldn’t help but look forward to what Sigrid would be like as an adult.

If only she could bring her back to the real world as a younger sister. Unfortunately, that was impossible.

(End of Chapter)