Chapter 864: Lanqi's Journey Home

Two weeks later.

It was late December.

On a winter morning in the south of the Kremlin Empire, the first station of Brillda gradually woke up in the morning light.

The station is located in Duke Osseta Square in the north of Blildha, close to the central city. It was built one hundred and thirty-four years ago and designed by half-demon imperial craftsman Ulti Strzini. Due to the reconstruction and municipal planning issues at the time, it took more than ten years to complete and put into use.

"I had just arrived at the station, and it was Nicholas who received me."

Lanqi was walking in the square outside the station, talking to Ifatia and Migaia who were traveling with him.

"How impressive! The head of the Imperial Special Operations Division personally welcomed you to Brillda."

Ifatia said, clapping her hands.

"As expected of you, my lady-in-law."

Migaia also praised it as did Ifatia.

"No, Your Excellency the Duke, what the hell is a lady's husband?"

Lanqi discovered that these days, Miaiya's way of addressing him would change adaptively in different situations.

If Miaiya was in front of Hyperion, she would act like an elder and call Lanqi by his name.

If Sigrid were present, Migaia would probably treat Lanci as a colleague, get closer to him, and get along with Lanci like Toliado did.

At this moment, since only Talia was there, Miaiya directly called him brother-in-law.

Lanqi suspected that Miagaya was a super actor and was deliberately playing a prank on him. While Ifatia was still worrying about how to address him, Miagaya had already developed an adaptive generation system.

"Nicholas almost put silver handcuffs on you at that time, and you were still receiving guests."

Talia was walking behind, and before Miaiya could say anything, she angrily exposed the truth that Lanqi had said earlier.

She depended on Lanqi that day, and her heart was beating fast as she watched Lanqi and Nicholas fighting wits and courage all the way, but Lanqi's heart didn't beat.

"Meow, back to this station again."

The cat boss was in Lanqi's hand, looking at the first station of Brildad at the end of the square.

The station has towering walls made of light grey sandstone, with clearly-layered steps connecting to the square. The front has eight huge arched windows inlaid with royal stained glass of Cyrus. The patterns on the windows change with the movement of sunlight, depicting the legend of the twelve moments.

On the side of the heavy metal gate of the central entrance stand two majestic black stone lions, guarding the tranquility of the station.

The station roof is covered with bronze copper panels, with smooth lines extending from the towering clock tower to the main building.

When I walked into the station hall, I felt a little reluctant when the moment of departure came.

Today was the day they were leaving Brillda, and they were finally going to set out on the journey back to their hometown, the Kingdom of Hutton.

However, due to different ways of coming to Brillda, there are now three main routes back to Hutton.

The return routes of Hyperion and several other great demons were through the regular channels of the Allied Forces.

They had set out last night for the city of Nistro in the Thuringia Province in the northeast of the Kreming Empire, which was different from Lanqi's return route.

Lanqi and Talia's visas are still in the Person Kingdom, and many of their identity documents are kept with their friend Lieutenant General Nigel in the Flower City Pariel, so they must first go back to Pariel to report to their superior Nigel, and then return home.

Sigrid also had visa issues and wanted a formal customs record of the Kingdom of Hutton, so Toliado needed to send her back to the Territory of Nanwantina.

"Sigrid left last, but she might be the first to arrive."

Talia followed Lanci and the others on the station hall level. She calculated that Sigrid would probably return to Boss Cat's restaurant first. Boss Cat had already written a check-in letter, and Sigrid could give it to Asna and then move in to the second floor with her bag.

Toliado and Abigail, the dimensional branches, also have plans to go to Ikerit, but they are related to the drama, so they are expected to arrive later.

"After all, the Dimension Express arrives immediately after the order is placed. She can go back directly by taking the space gate, so she can leave and arrive at any time."

Lanqi actually considered taking the Dimension Express back, but was rejected by the Dimension Bishop, who was determined not to sell long-distance eighth-level tickets.

"I said we should let Toliado send us all back. It would be so convenient."

Ifatia said with certainty.

"Then he might have really run away."

Mi Gaiya shook her head and looked for the direction of the platform according to the road signs.

It was in keeping with the Dimensional Branch's business practices that Toliado ensured that Sigrid was sent back to Hutton.

If Ifatia caught Toliado and asked him to send everyone back one by one, Toliado would never agree even if he was beaten to death.

"Toliado is a cardinal after all. Those spells are the most advanced strategic resources in the military industry. It's a bit too extravagant to use them for civilian use. We can go back by car soon."

Lanqi thought it would be nice to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Anyway, there is no urgent work now, so I can rest wherever I go.

I have been visiting Brillda every day during this period, and have made up for all the vacation time I missed before.

Although several of the military gods who were familiar with them were also on vacation, the military god's visit to the station would easily attract onlookers, so he came to St. Clement's Monastery to find them last night as a farewell.

"I guess it won't be so easy to see you guys in the future, meow."

Boss Cat missed these temporary comrades quite a bit.

We all shared life and death and only then did we get through the final difficult time.

What impressed it the most was the cat-man sister, who was inexplicably kind to it, making it feel embarrassed.

After it was convinced that the God of War was no longer an enemy, it was no longer so afraid of him.

"Well."

Lanqi observed the cat boss and roughly guessed what the cat boss was thinking.

Bianca, the 12th military god who was on vacation, always looked around in the Monastery of St. Cremona during this period, and then left with a look of confusion and regret.

It was like she was looking for something, but couldn't find it.

According to Lanqi's guess, although Lanqi had never seen the Cat Boss transformed into a human, he could roughly guess that the Cat Boss had transformed into a cat-man during the Moon Goddess Festival that day and was also captured.

"Lanqi, what's wrong, meow?"

The cat owner didn't understand why Lanqi just looked at it without saying anything.

"nothing."

Lanqi forgot to tell Boss Cat that when Loren gets his vacation and returns to the Kingdom of Hutton, he will first go to his hometown, Klantel County, the main destination of his home visit. Secondly, he should at least go back to Ikerit. During this period, the God of War may accompany him, but Lanqi will not spread uncertain news.

It is likely to be the military gods who are currently relatively free.

In the name of protecting the emperor, but in reality they were probably afraid that the emperor would run away.

If at that time Emperor Loren suddenly refused to return to the Hutton Kingdom and expressed his intention to surrender to the Hutton Kingdom, the military gods would be really overwhelmed and would not even be able to accuse Loren of treason.

"To be honest, meow, it's amazing that they didn't insist on walking with you, meow."

Boss Cat raised his head and whispered to Lanqi.

Thinking back to the day when Talia and Sigrid first met in Briel, the cat boss was still trying hard to save Lanqi.

Even though Lanci finally overcame the difficulties, Talia and Sigrid still held on to Lanci and refused to let go.

"Thank you, Boss Cat. I have nothing to fear as long as you are here."

Lanqi looked down at the little black cat, his eyes full of trust.

It was not until the end that he realized that he was likely to fail miserably, and that Boss Cat had always been his most trustworthy friend.

"Don't look at me like that, meow."

The cat boss shrank his head and muttered. He had thought that Lanqi would be scared after seeing him go through a harsh life-and-death situation, but he didn't expect that it was he who gave him the courage. This caused an ominous premonition to surge in his heart again.

Chatting all the way.

Soon, the four of them and the cat arrived at the platform of the first station of Blildad and sat down on the bench.

The vehicle they were waiting for had not arrived yet.

A magic rail train has already arrived at the station on the opposite track.

Lanqi sat on the bench, subconsciously looking at his reflection in the reflective glass of the carriage. He carefully examined his outfit and repeatedly confirmed that there were no flaws. Only then was he completely relieved.

"No, Lanqi, why do you feel like you're going to be a spy when you return to the kingdom now?"

Talia turned her head and stared at Lanqi in surprise and asked.

"Is there?"

Lanci asked Talia.

"When you came to Brillda, you integrated perfectly. Even though you had never been a spy before, you didn't show any guilt or flaws when you were caught by Nikolai, the Red Falcon of the Imperial Special Operations Department. At that time, I thought you were an ace agent who remained calm in times of crisis."

Talia didn't know what to say, and gestured with her hands.

"But don't get me wrong, I definitely didn't mean to say you were handsome, and I wasn't moved at the time. Anyway, I wasn't complimenting you just now."

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

They sat on a bench and chatted.

The benches in the waiting area on the platform level are also made of classic wood, and the divine patterns carved on the backrests allow passengers to feel the classic charm of Brillda while waiting.

The chats of fellow travelers while waiting for the train, the farewell words of relatives and friends, and the news of train arrival and departure from the radio, all mixed together to form the unique melody of this space.

“…”

Miaiya sat on another adjacent bench, silently watching Lanqi and Talia chatting, thinking.

Brother-in-law, son-in-law, or colleague, that's a question.

Now he had some idea of ​​the content of the agreement between Hyperion, Sigrid and Talia.

At the beginning, the strategies chosen by the three of them seemed to be in a certain equilibrium state. The strategy combination that exists in non-cooperative games ensures that no matter what others choose, they will make the most advantageous choice for themselves.

Regardless of whether your opponent is trying to run away secretly, it is definitely right for you to choose to run away secretly. Just like when you hear news of a bank run, regardless of whether the run is true or not, it is equivalent to having already happened. If something goes wrong, the one who runs away late will definitely suffer the most.

Later, at a certain point, Hyperion and the others tacitly changed their strategy and began to refrain from interfering with each other and engaging in internal conflicts.

In theory, this is the overall optimal strategy for the three of them.

But this requires great mutual trust. Once any party changes its strategy, the other two parties will adopt the worst strategy.

"What are you thinking about, husband?"

Ifatia observed Migaia's face and looked up at him and asked.

“Analyzing the stock market.”

Migaiya raised her hand to cover her cheek and said to Ifatia.

Love is finance, and it’s all part of the game, so it’s completely correct to call this stock market analysis.

In this brief moment of silence, in the distance, a vague outline appeared at the end of the track accompanied by the sound of a whistle.

Soon, the vibrations on the track intensified, a low rumbling sound was heard, and the shape of the train became clearer. The morning sunlight shone on the body of the train, and the lights on the head of the train gradually became brighter, penetrating the layers of morning mist and guiding the steel behemoth to its destination.

The fine snow on the track disappeared in an instant under the wheels, the train slowly slowed down, and finally stopped steadily next to the platform.

Passengers walked towards the door one after another. Suddenly, the platform was crowded with people, and the sounds of footsteps and voices could be heard one after another.

At the end of the line of passengers, Lanqi, holding a dark brown suitcase, stood up calmly with Miaiya and the others.

"Are your two tickets for room 501?"

Lanqi looked at the ticket in Miaiya's hand and asked.

"Yes, it looks very close, but in fact, Ifa and I are going to get on carriage number five."

Miaiya looked towards the carriage on the left side of the platform and said to Lanqi and Talia.

There are private rooms for single guests as well as double rooms, which are considered to be the more upscale types, and are the same type of rooms that Lanci took when he arrived, the Brillda.

Ifatia expressed her desire to be with Migaia, so her sister Talia had to reluctantly stay with Lanqi.

"Is that so? See you later then."

Lanqi waved goodbye to Migaia and Ifatia.

"See you later!"

Ifatia also raised her hand and waved at them.

They would meet again later at the transfer station, as this was only the first train out of Brillda.

"Our carriages are quite close."

Lanqi waited quietly for the bustling crowd in front of him to gradually clear out before he took a step forward, and Talia followed.

"We both rode together in the car at first."

Talia recalled the first time she met Ranch. After staying with him for a while in Nanvantina, she boarded the magic rail train with him to the royal capital Ikerit.

This moment is just like that moment.

"You didn't even want to talk to me at that time. You were really cold."

Lanqi remembered that unless he asked Talia questions along the way, Talia just sat there and looked at him coldly as if he owed her money.

"You do owe me money."

Talia read Lanci's mind and spoke with reason.

"Hiss, we are so familiar with each other now, do you still remember how much money I owe you now?"

Lanqi almost forgot about the debt because Talia hadn't reminded him of it for so long.

He really didn't make much money. Whether he was the president and governor of the Northern Continent or a professor and consultant in the Kreming Empire, he was always honest and upright. He only took a basic salary and reimbursed all the money as required. All the funds were used to build the campus and do research. The only things he actually spent on himself were family expenses and so on.

"At that time, the production fee of the Great Love Poet we negotiated was 75,000 pounds. Since it is difficult for the Wilford Chamber of Commerce to directly take out so much liquid cash, we can only wait for you to slowly make money to repay Talia. According to the annual interest rate of 4%, if you want to pay it off in 10 years, you need to pay me at least 9,247 pounds every year. If you can't pay it back, plus the late payment fee, the principal and interest will continue to increase. You have already paid two installments on time, which means that if you want to pay it off within this year, you still need to give me 62,256 pounds."

Talia calculated in seconds.

"...No, Tata, are you really that good at math?"

Lanqi always thought that Talia was not very smart, but now he realized that when he talked to her about the debt, she could come to a conclusion instantly.

"What do you mean I'm not very smart? I can even teach you magic engineering. How can I not understand the calculations?"

Talia accurately grasped Lanqi's thoughts, and she only used the simplest method to roughly calculate. If the interest is calculated on a daily basis, it will be higher than 62,000. "Oh, by the way, if you think of such impolite things to me again, I will raise your interest rate."

She suddenly seemed to have thought of an idea and smiled slightly.

One of the terms they signed at that time was that the two parties could adjust the interest rate after negotiation based on future fluctuations in the interest rate of the Federal Bank of the United Parliament of the Kingdom of the Southern Continent.

"No, no, Sister Tata, you are the smartest, don't raise the interest rate."

Lanqi quickly said to Talia.

"But then again, if you want to settle this debt directly, there are legal means to do so..."

Talia muttered, thinking deeply.

"What is the solution?"

Lanqi felt his scalp tingling just thinking about the 60,000 pounds. The Wilford Chamber of Commerce might not be able to come up with so much money now. If Lanqi was an honest and upright principal, he would not be able to make so much money without a side job. If it really didn't work out, he could only make cards and sell paintings, but to be honest, he didn't want to do art just to make money.

"Think for yourself."

Talia snorted barely perceptibly and turned her head away to stop reminding him.

(End of this chapter)