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According to the background of the Shadow World, the Calila magic power on him was probably left by Calila many years ago, and the permissions here were set up by Calila more recently, so it’s normal for the key to not match.
Lanci looked down at the little cat in his pocket.
As someone also bestowed with Calila’s magic power, if the key wasn’t with him, it could only be with the little gray cat.
Lanci couldn’t quite understand why Calila had guided the little gray cat to meet him.
However, given Calila’s reliability...
The use for this little gray cat was probably more than just opening a door at this moment.
"Tamisha, do you feel which direction we should go?"
Lanci asked the little gray cat softly.
"..."
Tamisha gave him a glance but did not reply.
This Phantom Demon of the same kind as Calila likely saved her yesterday, a member of the Demon Race.
She could guess Calila had left some treasure here, and this Illusion very much desired it.
Since Calila had given the key to her and not directly to this Illusion, it implied Calila wanted her to decide whether to open it.
"This little guy seems a bit distrustful of you, observing you,"
Talia said to Lanci in her mind.
It wasn’t necessarily distrust, more like the little gray cat just didn’t understand Lanci at all.
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After all, the little gray cat and Lanci had only met a few hours ago, and now it was to help Lanci open the treasure left by Calila.
"It’s just like that little gray cat I met on the city walls of Nanwantina, which was also very wary when we first met, quite dismissive too, seeming hard to befriend,"
Lanci recalled, speaking to himself.
Talia thought about it too.
Nanwantina, city walls, very wary, dismissive attitude...
"Are you talking about me? I’m a gray cat, your whole family are gray cats!"
Talia suddenly understood who Lanci referred to as the gray cat and retorted.
So, it turned out Lanci had included her when talking about feeding cats on the wall!
"So, if it were you, how could I quickly earn your trust?"
Lanci sought answers from Talia.
Tamisha was somewhat reclusive; she never spoke.
No matter how one tried to communicate with her, it was of no use.
Even though Hyperion had grown quite close to her during the journey, she never said half a word to Hyperion.
"Well... you can’t rush it, but if you keep interacting with it, maybe over time, it might open up to you... But isn’t it just about gaining this little gray cat’s trust? I’ll help you with that,"
Talia said, then confidently made herself visible.
The Celestial Spirit-like gray-haired witch landed in the corridor.
"Tamisha, I’m over here."
She bent down and spoke softly to the gray kitten in the pocket of Lanci’s coat.
Now that Calila herself had appeared, the problem should be easily solved, right?
"..."
The little gray cat stared at Talia, appearing quite puzzled.
Yesterday, it had seemed to see Calila.
But that Calila was surprisingly weak and couldn’t even defeat Melogas.
"How about we eat something first? Otherwise, once we reach the Inverted Corridor Mirror, if you fall asleep, you might go hungry for a long time,"
Talia’s gaze shifted to the four-tiered lunch box Lanci was holding.
Although she didn’t recognize the specific dish names, Lanci’s orders included charcoal-baked potato balls and smoked eel, the sauces akin to smoked onion sauce and clear eel broth, garnished with refreshing dill.
There was also a black chocolate soufflé, the fluffy warm black chocolate pastry topped with ice crystal-like custard sauce, promising a taste alternating between hot and cold, rich yet light.
Just thinking about it made Talia swallow her saliva.
Last night, Talia had taken Siegler to the Demon King’s Restaurant for a late-night snack, and these limited dishes had sold out. They were newly available today.
She didn’t know what kind of spirit interference effect the area with overlapped magic powers of the Inverted Lord and the Fallen Queen would have.
Lanci could probably handle it.
Tamisha, not so much.
When it comes to getting along with a child, offering delicious food is always a timeless strategy.
"..."
The little gray cat turned its head away in disappointment.
Its favorability decreased.
It could tell at a glance this was a Fake Calila. Find exclusive stories on freewebnovel
Though this Fake Calila seemed not bad, it disliked mysterious Demon Race entities that approached with well-intentions pretending to take care of it; it didn’t need other Demon Race’s pity, it could do just fine on its own, not lonely at all.
"Umm..."
Talia looked up at Lanci in bewilderment.
Lanci spread his hands.
As a child raised by Calila for nearly three years, Tamisha might have a more unique way of sensing Calila, and even though Talia now closely resembled Calila, Tamisha still saw the essence was different.
"Sorry, Lanci..."
Talia felt a bit dejected, as if she had been a hindrance.
It was only because Hyperion and Siegler had been separated from Calila for too long, so a slight flaw was enough to completely deceive them, but for Tamisha, who had recently been by Calila’s side, this trick wouldn’t work.
"It’s okay, Master, leave it to me,"
Lanci consoled Talia.
After Talia’s attempt, he had some idea how to interact with Tamisha.
"Hmm, go for it."
Talia, hanging her head and not wanting to make eye contact with Lanci, nodded and vanished on the spot, returning to Lanci.
When she was happy, Lanci liked to say annoying things; when she was downcast, Lanci, on the contrary, tended to be very gentle.
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