The lingering fragrance of lunch still floated through the room. Sigrid stood up and gently smoothed her skirt.
She walked over to the mirror and checked her appearance. Satisfaction and relief shimmered in her now-bright purple eyes.
Lanchi had not moved. He was still sitting beside the small round table, seemingly lost in thought.
Mist drifted from the teacup beside him. His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop, and his gaze seemed to pass through the window toward the distant snowfields.
Between the two of them, Cat Boss paced back and forth, its tail held high like a lively banner urging them to set off on time.
"Cat Boss, don't separate from me again for the rest of the journey."
Lanchi lowered his head to look at Cat Boss on the floor and reminded it.
They were no longer very far from Snowfield Province, but the journey was becoming increasingly dangerous.
Lanchi still could not directly contact the lords of Snowfield Province through the Super Long-Distance Communication Magic carried by Cat Boss. They would have to cross the mountains and travel some distance farther toward Snowfield Province.
Without relay stations, Super Long-Distance Communication Magic had a maximum range of only a few dozen kilometers.
To communicate over greater distances, they needed terminals and preinstalled relay facilities.
Just as when Adams of the Yarolan Kingdom's Academic Visiting Group had wanted to contact Juliana Knight Commander in the distant Yarolan Kingdom from the Sage Institute at Iketerite Academy, he had needed to insert the Super Long-Distance Communication Magic Card into a terminal provided by Iketerite Academy. Only after passing through the many relay stations established across the Southern Continent by the Kingdoms United Council could the international communication be completed.
The terminals established in the northern part of the Empire were now