Putting on his coat, Lanqi picked up the law code he had borrowed from the border library and walked out of the room.
As the dawn gradually brightened, the outside world became clearer.
After enjoying breakfast as usual, exchanging a few words with butler Hans, and saying goodbye to maid Floransin, Lanqi walked straight out of the mansion towards the street corner he remembered.
Soon, he saw Talia standing by the wall.
"Good morning, Tata," Lanqi greeted Talia, who had been waiting since early morning.
Earlier, when Lanqi had asked Talia for her name, she didn't tell him her real name.
Instead, she said her name was "Tata."
Although Lanqi already knew her real name, he had to pretend not to know.
Otherwise, accidentally calling out "Talia" would definitely cause big problems.
There was no reason for an ordinary civilian like himself to know the true identity of this demon princess.
So Lanqi naturally called her by the alias "Tata."
"Mm," Talia just nodded, not paying any more attention to Lanqi.
When Lanqi started his schedule for the day, she followed him at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
......
About half an hour later, Lanqi and Talia arrived at the Card Makers Association - South Vantina Border Branch of the Houghton Kingdom.
Before Lanqi could touch the heavy door, a mysterious energy began to spread over the entrance of the Card Makers Association.
Before their eyes, driven by this force, the ancient emblems on the black iron-like metal door gradually began to flicker with a deep blue light, as if they had come to life, pulsing with magical energy.
With a slight vibration, the gap in the Card Makers Association's door gradually widened.
What came into view was a scene completely different from the outside world—
The interior of the association appeared ancient and elegant. Apart from the orderly divided counter areas, there wasn't much elaborate decoration, giving the entire layout a sense of order.
Although it was only morning, the association was already bustling with busy staff. Many visiting guests were waiting at the counters, discussing topics related to magic cards and the Shadow World.
Lanqi had just stepped into this magnificent and spectacular huge building when he suddenly stopped.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
"Tata, I'm not sure when I'll be done today. Why don't you come in with me?" he asked, turning back to look at Talia.
Since making the deal with Talia, he had been telling her in advance about his schedule almost every day, including what time he would leave in the morning and return home in the evening.
And Talia, as a bodyguard, was very professional.
Previously, whether Lanqi went to the border library or the Card Makers Association, Talia would wait outside until he came out.
The guard force in these important places was not weak, and Lanqi had explained to her that there were some places where she didn't need to accompany him.
For example, once she had escorted Lanqi back to the mansion, she didn't need to protect him anymore.
Moreover, Lanqi himself was well aware that Talia didn't have the identity to enter these places.
Currently, she was just an unidentified illegal immigrant in the Houghton Kingdom.
If her identity was investigated for trespassing into these large association branches, it might cause considerable trouble.
"No," Talia's tone was devoid of any emotion.
However, her voice was still as distant as ever.
Lanqi sighed, putting his hands on his hips as he looked at her:
"I might be coming here and staying for a long time every day from now on. If you wait outside for me every day... wouldn't that kind of stakeout be more conspicuous?"
"..."
His words made Talia fall silent, seemingly considering.
"Don't you think it would be much more convenient for your work if you could also freely enter and exit the Card Makers Association?" Lanqi asked again,
"It's like this, I'm going to rent a card-making workshop in the association, and there won't be anyone else in the card-making room except me. You can just pass the time in the card-making room. If anyone in the association asks later, I'll just say you're my bodyguard."
As Lanqi spoke, he took out his savings crystal card.
Obviously, it was the highest level one.
The Card Makers Association in the border city-state wouldn't casually offend such an esteemed guest as him.
"Alright," Talia hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly and followed.
Compared to waiting outside, she had actually wanted to take a look inside the human Card Makers Association for a long time.
Unfortunately, she had lacked legal identity for years.
This human... always managed to accidentally fulfill her wishes.
......
Not long after Lanqi led Talia into the association, a steward came to greet him.
Although he wasn't a registered card maker of the association, the staff knew that Lanqi was coming as a "merchant."
After all, Lanqi's family was the well-known Wilford Trading Company in this South Vantina border region.
"I'd like to rent a high-grade private card-making workshop, and I also need some materials," Lanqi concisely expressed his intentions to the steward, handing him a list.
The steward then bowed respectfully and gestured for the two to follow him.
Under the steward's guidance, they went around half of the association's first floor and reached the third floor via a floating staircase.
The corridor on this floor seemed to have decades of history, but to preserve some artistic sense, it hadn't been overly renovated.
At the end of the passageway, a room with a purple sign hanging at its entrance came into Lanqi and Talia's view.
The steward opened the door for them, then stepped aside, indicating that the two could enter.
"Mr. Lanqi Wilford, the rental fee is 1 pound per hour. You can settle the rental bill when you leave. I'll bring the materials over shortly," the steward operated a small magical device in his hand for a while, then returned the crystal card inscribed with Lanqi's identity to him.
"Alright, thank you," Lanqi chatted with the steward at the doorway.
Talia stood silently near Lanqi, scrutinizing the surroundings.
She could see at a glance that this spacious card-making workshop had a complete set of card-making facilities, all of which were relatively high-end equipment.
Having these things in a border city-state was already quite impressive.
Talia couldn't remember how long it had been since she last touched these familiar tools.
But now she didn't want to touch these things at all.
The magic cards she made, engraved with demonic script, couldn't be traded freely in human countries.
If she left any traces that could be traced by the human kingdom's alliance council, it would only bring deadly trouble...
......
Before long, the staff prepared and delivered the materials Lanqi had purchased on his list as promised.
Besides blank cards, energy crystals, imprinting magic stones, magic core liquid, and other regular materials, there was also a pile of scrolls.
The main materials needed for making the three major types of magic cards were different.
Equipment cards required equipment prototypes and items for enchanting, sealing, etc.
Summoning cards needed materials like magic beast cores or soul crystals.
And making spell cards required magic scrolls as materials, which needed to be processed and rewritten.
For practice, spell cards were undoubtedly the best choice.
Because a large part of the materials and craftsmanship required for spell cards had already been integrated into the magic scrolls.
Compared to creating from scratch, making spell cards was more like a kind of "reprocessing"!
"You can stay here, or leave anytime in between. Just find the steward from earlier and he'll bring you back in," Lanqi moved a chair and placed it not too far from the workbench, indicating it was for Talia.
Talia nodded.
She didn't like standing and waiting all day either.
So Talia walked to this chair and sat down gently, her back straight, hands lightly folded on her knees, like a noble queen.
Her gaze calmly fixed on the front, seemingly not taking in the surroundings.
However, after sitting down, she realized.
It seemed that the only way to pass time now was to watch this kid make cards.