Recaps

Lanchi and Hughberlian completed their return-to-school procedures and spoke with Professor Bora Ao, who discussed Loren’s absence and considered whether to teach Lanchi and Poet of Great Love. The chapter left Bora Ao’s decision unresolved as Lanchi offered to help with the work burden caused by Loren’s problems.

• Professor Bora Ao approved Lanchi and Hughberlian’s return-to-school procedures and unfroze their Shadow World Challenge Licenses.
• Lanchi asked why students never gossiped about him, and Hughberlian suggested that people feared being sent to prison for offending the Duchess.
• Lanchi asked Professor Bora Ao to teach him Magic Engineering next semester, but Bora Ao said Lanchi was better suited to management and questioned whether he could take students.
• Lanchi proposed that Bora Ao teach both him and Poet of Great Love, and Bora Ao said he would consider it because he was busy.
• Lanchi offered to help with Bora Ao’s workload, and Bora Ao said Lanchi had nearly helped him escape a major predicament involving Loren.

Lanchi learned that Loren was facing criticism and political pressure over his leadership, so he resolved to prove Loren’s worth by challenging a Tier 7 Shadow World. He asked Professor Bora Ao for special approval to be treated as Tier 5, leaving Professor Bora Ao wary of the danger and the consequences for Loren if the challenge went wrong.

• Professor Bora Ao explained that Iketerite Academy was falling short of its targets and that Lanchi’s Platinum Tier Card Maker status would not count toward the Magic Engineering Institute’s achievements.
• Professor Bora Ao told Lanchi that Loren was being criticized at home and abroad, partly for allowing Asina to pursue her dream of becoming a chef.
• Lanchi decided to help Loren and asked Professor Bora Ao to obtain special approval for him to be treated as Tier 5 when challenging a Shadow World.
• Lanchi confirmed that he wanted to enter a Tier 7 Shadow World with Hughberlian and Cat Boss.
• Professor Bora Ao warned that failure could worsen Loren’s predicament, while Hughberlian worried about the dangers of the challenge.

Lanchi and Hughberlian planned to enter a Shadow World the next day with Cat Boss, whose excitement about possibly reaching Tier 8 overshadowed the risks. Hughberlian quietly realized that if Cat Boss became a Nation-Protecting Divine Beast, it might serve a different nation than it imagined.

• Lanchi and Hughberlian left Professor Bora Ao's office after arranging to collect their Special Approval Letter and credentials the next morning.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian reminisced about the Shadow World where they first became close friends.
• Cat Boss emerged from Lanchi's shadow and learned that Lanchi had arranged for it to enter the Shadow World as a logistics Magic Artisan.
• Cat Boss eagerly imagined reaching Tier 8, obtaining powerful Magic Cards, and becoming a Nation-Protecting Divine Beast.
• Lanchi encouraged Cat Boss and promised to help it claim rewards, while Hughberlian considered that Cat Boss might protect a different nation.

Lanchi and Talia cautiously reconciled over lunch after their awkward encounter that morning. Their fragile peace collapsed when Cat Boss and Antanas recognized the restaurant’s new abstract painting as a depiction of the three of them tangled together.

• Lanchi, Hughberlian, and Cat Boss went to Cat Boss Restaurant, where Lanchi insisted he was ready to face Talia despite his lingering embarrassment.
• Talia came downstairs for lunch, and the three sat together in silence until Talia apologized and thanked Lanchi for bringing Antanas and the others back.
• Lanchi accepted Talia’s apology and suggested they make up, easing the tension between them.
• Antanas showed Cat Boss an abstract painting she had bought, and they realized its figures resembled Lanchi, Hughberlian, and Talia.
• Cat Boss learned the painting was based on a Sand Painting divined by the Kingdoms United Council, saw the three staring at it, and fled into the kitchen in terror.

Hughberlian, Lanchi, and Talia awkwardly concealed their connection to an embarrassing painting at Cat Boss Restaurant before Lanchi and Hughberlian prepared to enter a Shadow World with Cat Boss. The trio passed the academy’s checks and entered the Void Gate, where the challenge began at the Blood Moon Ruined World’s new anomalous node, “Firefly Glimmer.”

• Hughberlian, Talia, and Lanchi silently agreed to pretend they had not recognized themselves in the painting displayed at Cat Boss Restaurant.
• Lanchi told Talia he and Hughberlian would enter the Shadow World the next day, and Talia wished him luck before he left.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian obtained the required approvals and licenses, then brought Cat Boss along as a member of their Civilized Exemplar Squad.
• Lanchi explained that entering a Tier 7 Shadow World could divert attention from Dean Loren and Senior Asina, and said he wanted to help them.
• Lanchi, Hughberlian, and Cat Boss registered for a challenge at Iketerite Academy and passed through the Void Gate.
• The trio’s Shadow World challenge began at the Blood Moon Ruined World’s new anomalous node, “Firefly Glimmer,” after its historical projection had been unraveled.

Lanchi entered the Tier 7 Shadow World Darkest Eclipse Demon Realm as the newly appointed prime minister of the Plant Empire, sixteen years after the events of Sanctuary Villain's Banquet. With the Honing Empire poised to invade and the challengers scattered, Lanchi and Cat Boss learned they had 45 days to find a way to defeat the vampires, improve humanity’s odds of victory, and survive.

• The Open-Air Mega Screen showed Lanchi as the new prime minister of the Plant Empire, drawing students at Iketerite Academy to watch his Shadow World.
• Lanchi awoke in his office with Cat Boss and identified the setting as the Blood Moon Ruined World, tens of thousands of years in the past.
• Lanchi explained to Cat Boss that the Shadow World continued the story of Sanctuary Villain's Banquet, sixteen years after the vampires hunted the surviving conspirators.
• The Shadow World revealed that the Honing Empire threatened the Plant Empire and that Lanchi had taken office after years of political maneuvering.
• Lanchi and Cat Boss learned their objectives were to find a way to defeat the vampires, raise humanity's chance of victory above one percent, and keep all challengers alive for 45 days.

Lanchi searched for clues to Hughberlian’s whereabouts and concluded that she might have returned to the Demon Realm. As prime minister of the weak Plant Empire, he learned that the Honing Empire had attacked a neighboring kingdom and began preparing for the threat.

• Lanchi studied the Blood Race and Demon Realm’s history and deduced that Hughberlian might have fallen into the Demon Realm.
• Lanchi explained to Cat Boss that it should usually pretend to be an ordinary cat, then reviewed the Plant Empire’s alarming metrics and its zero odds against the Blood Race.
• Lanchi’s secretary reported that the Honing Empire had begun attacking the northern border of the Bliss Kingdom.
• Lanchi warned that the Plant Empire could be the Honing Empire’s next target and began instructing his secretary on his upcoming schedule.

Lanchi entered a Tier 7 Shadow World as a prime minister while students and political opponents feared the consequences of failure. Duke Akares and Marquis Gasiges saw the crisis as a chance to undermine Loren, unaware of how Lanchi would handle his role.

• At Iketerite Academy, students watched Lanchi and Hughberlian enter a Tier 7 Shadow World and worried that a failure would bring disaster and put Loren at risk.
• Students saw Lanchi, assigned the role of prime minister, chatting with his secretary about matters unrelated to the war and judged him an amateur.
• Marquis Gasiges promised Duke Akares that he would use Loren's decline in education to help impeach him.
• An attendant informed Duke Akares of the Tier 7 Shadow World, and the duke blamed Loren for indulging his students.
• Duke Akares and Marquis Gasiges planned to publicly support Loren while letting the Shadow World crisis and political pressure ruin his reputation.

Hughberlian woke on the Demon King’s throne in the Shadow World and learned she was the Demon Realm’s princess, the last royal able to open the ancestral land. After recognizing Kali Yella as the formidable Fallen Lord, she gave up trying to escape for the moment, though she still hoped to find Lanchi.

• Hughberlian awoke in the Demon King’s Throne Hall surrounded by powerful demons and tried to hide her fear.
• Kali Yella confronted Hughberlian about attempting to flee Demon King City and warned her not to leave again.
• Hughberlian learned that the Demon King had died, leaving her as the only royal capable of opening the ancestral land, and received missions concerning the Bloodkin and the challengers’ survival.
• Hughberlian discovered that Kali Yella was the ninth-tier demon whose Gentle Land she had encountered in Helrom Prison.
• Hughberlian agreed not to trouble Kali Yella by trying to escape, and decided to see what the demons wanted.

Hughberlian faced pressure from Kali Yella to choose a fiancée within a month, as the demon race prepared for a possible conflict with the Blood Race. She proposed choosing based on artistic talent and allowed unnamed Great Demon Races to compete, leaving the outcome of her gamble uncertain.

• Kali Yella told Hughberlian that the demon race needed her to choose a fiancée soon to safeguard the ancestral land and prepare for a possible war.
• Kali Yella explained that the Blood Race had demanded Hughberlian marry a Blood Race Marquis and warned that she would choose a fiancée if Hughberlian refused to decide.
• Hughberlian tried to set conditions based on hair, eyes, and light attribute, but Kali Yella rejected them as impractical or divisive.
• Hughberlian proposed that the Great Demon Races submit paintings and that she marry whoever drew the best.
• Hughberlian agreed to include unnamed Great Demon Races, and Kali Yella accepted the terms while warning her not to regret them.

Prime Minister Lanchi Wilford called for victory over the Honing Empire and rejected Duke Moretti’s proposal to seek peace talks. He argued that the vampires, rather than the Honing Empire alone, might be the true enemy, leaving the legislators divided and uncertain.

• Lanchi Wilford delivered his first national address, insisting that the Plant Empire had to fight for victory at any cost.
• Duke Moretti and the Conservatives gathered with Lanchi in a conference room, where Moretti criticized the delay and warned that the next month might be their last chance for peace talks.
• Lanchi rejected negotiations and said the Plant Empire could not submit before the Honing Empire attacked.
• Duke Moretti proposed asking the Southern Pruno Empire to help secure negotiations that would preserve the Plant Empire’s freedom and independence.
• Lanchi questioned whether the vampires, who might control the Honing Empire, were the real enemy and warned that they would never grant humans freedom.

Lanchi resisted Duke Moretti’s push for peace talks while avoiding a trap that could have given the Conservative Faction grounds to impeach him. Outside the Shadow World, professors judged his odds of winning to be zero, while Loren grew increasingly anxious about Lanchi and Hughberlian’s predicament.

• Duke Moretti argued that the Plant Empire could not win a war and urged Lanchi to consider negotiations, but Lanchi insisted the empire must resist.
• Lanchi left the meeting without explicitly rejecting peace talks, explaining to Cat Boss that he had avoided giving Moretti evidence to use against him.
• The Shadow World’s public support and finances had risen slightly, while Parliament’s support had fallen sharply and the overall odds remained zero.
• Professors at Iketerite Academy assessed the Shadow World’s indicators and concluded that Lanchi had little time to improve military strength, finances, or diplomacy.
• Loren sat anxiously through the discussion as the Ice Witch worried about Hughberlian, whose situation remained unknown.

Lanchi met Empress Kexiya for their first private luncheon and eased her initial wariness with casual conversation. They discussed his speech about the Honing Empire’s threat, and the chapter left Kexiya feeling guilty for questioning his decision to rally Porant.

• Lanchi arrived at Shaleim Palace and sat down to lunch with Empress Kexiya.
• Lanchi asked whether Kexiya was hungry and explained that he hoped to make their quiet meal less awkward.
• Lanchi offered to answer Kexiya’s questions about the state of Porant and said he hoped the empire would never need his talents.
• Kexiya told Lanchi that the Conservatives regretted choosing him after his speech, then challenged him for not telling the public about the Honing Empire’s attack on Bliss Kingdom.
• Lanchi defended his speech as a way to inspire Public Sentiment and prepare Porant to resist, and Kexiya apologized for not considering the burden he carried.

Lanqi reassured Empress Kexiya that he would support her and resist the Honing Empire, building her trust despite admitting the Plant Empire had no chance of victory. He left Shaleim Palace with her backing and went to his next engagement, while Cat Boss worried that Lanqi was winning people over in a global strategic Shadow World.

• Lanqi and Empress Kexiya discussed her fear of him and her concern about his position in the council.
• Lanqi criticized Duke Moretti, then presented himself as isolated, prompting Kexiya to soften her response.
• Lanqi and Kexiya discussed the war and the nation’s future, and their mutual trust grew.
• Kexiya asked about the Plant Empire’s chances of victory, and Lanqi answered that they were zero.
• Lanqi vowed to sacrifice himself to find a chance of victory, and Kexiya agreed to support him.
• Lanqi left Shaleim Palace for his next engagement as Cat Boss remarked on his influence over others.

After leaving Shaleim Palace, Lanchi weighed how to secure support amid the Plant Empire’s political crisis and decided against a direct assault on parliament. He planned to build a church and restore absolute monarchy for Hughberlian’s sake, but first needed a powerful ally and intended to seek one in the Demon Realm.

• Lanchi left Shaleim Palace, greeted citizens who supported resistance to the Honing Empire, and privately considered how to balance Public Sentiment and parliament.
• Cat Boss feared Lanchi would seize power by force, and Lanchi described a scheme to use Stormtroopers and a staged parliament fire to crush the Conservative Faction.
• Lanchi reassured Cat Boss that he was tired of political struggles and wanted Hughberlian to be happy.
• Lanchi planned to win over imperial nobles, support the anti-vampire church, and transform the Plant Empire into an absolute monarchy and religious state.
• Lanchi decided he needed a powerful ally and would go to the Demon Realm, though finding Hughberlian there came first.

Lanchi prepared to leave Jerusalem for the Demon Realm to find Hughberlian and seek negotiations with the Great Demon Race. Before departing, he arranged for a trusted subordinate to impersonate him and launched the Shallem Plan as a deception to make the Honing Empire suspect the Plant Empire was developing a secret weapon.

• Lanchi decided to leave Jerusalem the next morning and travel through the Land of Eternal Night to the Demon Realm, where he would find Hughberlian and seek negotiations.
• Lanchi showed Cat Boss the Transformation Art: Human card he had made so a trusted subordinate could impersonate him while he was away.
• Cat Boss reviewed the Plant Empire's worsening situation and worried that Lanchi's planned three-to-four-week absence would leave Loren under pressure.
• Lanchi explained that the Shallem Plan would use the army and magical engineers to make southern spies believe the Plant Empire was developing a secret weapon.
• Lanchi planned to cross the Land of Eternal Night with Cat Boss after his secretary found them a Snowy Plains Driver.

Lanchi prepared to travel through the Land of Eternal Night to the Demon Realm and met Sigrid, the young guide hired to escort him. After confirming her ability and honesty, he agreed to her terms, and they prepared to set out.

• Lanchi waited with Cat Boss at a discreet departure point while the secretary arranged the final details of their journey.
• The secretary introduced Sigrid, a young but powerful guide familiar with the Land of Eternal Night, and Lanchi questioned whether she was experienced enough.
• Sigrid took offense at Lanchi's doubts and started to leave, but Lanchi asked to hire her after recognizing her confidence and abilities.
• After learning that Lanchi's destination was the Demon Realm, Sigrid agreed to escort him through the Land of Eternal Night but refused responsibility for him after they arrived.
• Sigrid promised to protect Lanchi even at risk to herself, and they prepared to depart once the final precautions were settled.

Lanchi arranged to travel to the Northern Border under another identity, taking a job repairing statues in six orc city-states so he could win their support and warn them of the Honing Empire's plans. After reaching the snowy plains with Sigrid, he asked her to find a spacious inn and buy ingredients so he could cook.

• Lanchi's secretary briefed Sigrid on the dangerous route through the Land of Eternal Night and gave her a Red Book of instructions for protecting him.
• Lanchi planned to repair statues for six orc city-states and use the journey to inform their Great Lords that the Honing Empire intended to attack.
• Sigrid muttered that the escort job was a hassle, and Lanchi told the secretary not to make things difficult for her.
• Lanchi and Sigrid traveled by flying dragon to the northern border, rented Snowy Plains Underworld Deer, and continued by sleigh across the snowy plains.
• Lanchi asked Sigrid to find a spacious inn and buy ingredients for him to cook at their stop that night.

Lanchi traveled across the snowy plains with Sigrid, learning about her interests, her need to return to Jerusalem early, and her abilities as a guide and protector. Sigrid agreed to try to get him back sooner, while warning that she might charge extra if he caused trouble.

• Sigrid asked Lanchi about his wealth and work, and he told her he was a painter who also knew sculpture and landscape design.
• Sigrid misread a painting of demons celebrating in hell as children around a bonfire, and Lanchi explained what it depicted.
• Sigrid asked to return to Jerusalem before the four-week deadline, and Lanchi said he would try because he also wanted to go back sooner.
• Sigrid secretly drank Goat Milk Wine while driving, but stopped after Lanchi lectured her about drinking as a minor.
• Sigrid told Lanchi she could get him away safely unless they encountered a very strong Tier 6, and said she understood public relations in lawless territories.
• Sigrid warned Lanchi not to cause trouble and said she might charge extra or refuse to intervene, depending on her mood.

Sigrid brought Lanchi to Small Stone City, where she warned him about possible vampire activity on the snowy plains and the dangers of the route ahead. Lanchi praised her analysis, and they reached the Snow Bear Hotel before their planned meeting with the Great Lord and repair of the city’s deity statue.

• Sigrid delivered Lanchi and their luggage to Small Stone City after traveling through the darkness and snow.
• Sigrid warned Lanchi that vampires might be moving toward the snowy plains as part of an invasion of the Plant Empire.
• Lanchi praised Sigrid’s political analysis and said she was more insightful than the noble lords in the Assembly.
• Sigrid warned Lanchi to stay by her side and not go off alone once they traveled farther into the Land of Eternal Night.
• Lanchi and Sigrid rode through Small Stone City and arrived at the Snow Bear Hotel.

Lanchi and Sigrid checked into the Snow Bear Hotel in Small Stone City, where he gave her a shopping list and money for supplies. Before she left for the market, Lanchi warned her to be careful at the next morning’s restoration ceremony, but their exchange left Sigrid annoyed with him.

• Sigrid and Lanchi checked into a two-bedroom suite at the Snow Bear Hotel, and Sigrid carried their luggage upstairs while Lanchi waited in the lobby.
• Lanchi thanked Sigrid for carrying the bags, gave her a shopping list and local currency, and told her to buy food and other necessities.
• Lanchi cautioned Sigrid to show respect when they met the Great Lord and other dignitaries at the restoration ceremony the next morning.
• Sigrid refused Lanchi’s offer to teach her proper etiquette and said she would avoid speaking at the ceremony.
• Sigrid suspected Lanchi had steered her toward that answer, became angry, and left the hotel alone for the market.

Lanchi and Sigrid settled into their suite in Small Stone City, where Cat Boss cooked them dinner before Sigrid warned Lanchi about the risks of repairing the Beastmen’s sacred statue. In the Real World, Sigrid woke from a dream of traveling with the Holy Son and looked forward to visiting the Wilford family during her coming holiday.

• Lanchi showed Sigrid their suite, introduced her to Cat Boss, and left the cat to prepare dinner.
• Cat Boss cooked a lavish meal, and Lanchi encouraged Sigrid to eat her fill.
• Sigrid warned Lanchi that a poor repair of the statue could provoke the people of Small Stone City, and offered to protect him for a fee.
• Sigrid went to bed, while Lanchi adjusted the shopping list to buy more ingredients for the next day.
• In the Real World, Sigrid woke from a dream of being a child traveling with the Holy Son and recalled how he had tricked her into promising to behave during the restoration ceremony.
• Sigrid thought about her upcoming holiday and the gifts and marriage amulet she had obtained from the Goddess of Fate Church for a visit to the Wilford family.

Lanchi arrived at the Temple of Rock in Small Stone City to begin restoring the God of Rock and Shelter Statue, while the gathered orcs welcomed him as a celebrated artisan from the Plant Empire. Sigrid doubted his ability to repair the Sacred-grade statue, and the chapter ended before he began the work.

• Orcs gathered at the Temple of Rock as Great Lord Algom and Priestess Ilena prepared for the statue restoration ceremony.
• Lanchi entered the temple, greeted Great Lord Algom, and met the attending priestesses, nobles, and merchant Sebastian.
• Great Lord Algom presented Lanchi to the crowd as a court artisan whose skills were vouched for by the Plant Empire's prime minister, prompting cheers from the orcs.
• Sigrid inspected the statue's Sacred-grade properties and worried that Lanchi might damage it, while hoping he could complete the job.

Lanchi restored the God of Rock and Shelter Statue in the beastmen temple, earning the Bear Orcs’ admiration and changing Sigrid’s impression of him. The successful restoration left the statue displaying its Divine quality, while Saibas planned to report Lanchi to Earl Gregory after he departed.

• Lanchi entered the temple barrier and began restoring the statue as Saibas questioned his identity and Great Lord Algom defended him.
• Lanchi carefully repaired the statue, and the Bear Orc priests’ doubts gave way to astonishment as its former splendor returned.
• Sigrid watched Lanchi work, revised her impression of him, and left the temple to wait outside.
• Great Lord Algom praised Lanchi’s craftsmanship while Saibas concealed his suspicions and decided to inform Earl Gregory.
• Lanchi finished restoring the statue, and the Bear Orcs celebrated as its Divine quality and magical benefits became apparent.

Lanchi repaired the God of Rock and Shelter Statue and earned Great Lord Algom’s gratitude and friendship before leaving Small Stone City with Sigrid. Their conversation about her gambling left Sigrid quietly considering his advice as they continued toward the next city-state.

• Lanchi explained how he repaired the statue, and Great Lord Algom thanked him and promised the Bear Orcs would help him whenever he needed it.
• Lanchi and Great Lord Algom discussed faith and craftsmanship until dawn, then Algom gave Lanchi a Commemorative Badge as they parted.
• Lanchi changed back into his Protos Empire clothes and found Sigrid playing cards with young beastfolk delinquents outside the temple.
• As they walked toward the Post Station, Lanchi told Sigrid that she could choose whether to improve herself, and she hurried after him in silence.