...

There wasn't much to do after ascending the solid staircase, up the floors. I used this opportunity to glance at my reflection in the full-body mirror; my appearance was still identical to the original dictator who ruled over Velder, which was a 'wonderful' thing, for now.

Peering over at the Queen's dresser, filled with a ton of items too feminine for my taste, there was nothing new, except... a package?

Sparkling particles of dust illuminated around this item, as it was only barely starting to materialize. One thing was certain: Aisha had excellent timing. It was almost as if she spent all of her life staring into that crystal ball of hers, watching my every movement... oh wait.

A few seconds passed, the parcel was complete. Attached to its surface was another note.

...

Dearest Rena,

Hi hi! I don't need to be that formal with you anymore, right? We're good buddies, or so I'd like to think. Hmm~! I was unable to come up with this idea until after your first encounter with Elesis, sorry! But, ta-da! Look what I've provided you! Fairy dust with the power to make letters explode, like how I always do! ♪ Destroy all the evidence! Use this for Add, alright? Alright! Be careful, and don't get caught! I wish you the best of luck, you can do it!

Sincerely,

Mysterious Mage.

P.S. I know it's super obvious, but poof! Self-destruct time! ☺

...

I ripped the packaging paper, as well as the box itself, retrieving the bottle of this preeminent 'fairy dust'. Quickly, I scribbled down a note explaining the current situation involving Seris, the corrupted kingdom, my team, including Aisha and Elesis, etc. Last, but not least, the offer to join, as well. With a skilled technical person like Add, it might have been a plausible outcome that we'd achieve victory, for sure.

I popped open the lid of Aisha's bottle, and pinched a small portion of the powdery substance, sprinkling it across the message page.

I was ready and set to go, it would seem.

...

It took a chunk of time to reach Add's laboratory, due to the fact that I admittedly became lost along the way. It was a gigantic castle, I wasn't one to blame!

I knocked on the door, using my free hand to grip onto the letter. "It's me, Queen Seris. May I have a word with you?"

"Whatever. Come in, it's unlocked."

I did as he instructed, twisting the doorknob and pushing forwards to clear the gate before stepping into his space afterwards, closing the door behind me with a rowdy creaking noise.

It wasn't exactly a lab, more of a small room, shoved with shelves of books and machinery scattered about, even Add himself was busy working away, tinkering here and there at a fresh invention, I suppose. Even as I entered the stuffy workplace, he refused to meet my gaze, simply doing his job without a care in the world.

"Add?" I softly called out.

"What were you here for, again? I have a job to perform, please don't waste my precious minutes." he rolled his eyes.

Although he may be a psychopath, he was more... composed compared to Elesis.

I handed him the slip of paper. "Please read this. It's important."

...

Skimming through the words in a hurry, similar to how I did it the first occurrence with Aisha, Add was in a bit of shock when it had exploded, vanishing into thin air.

He finally dared to look me in the eye. "So, you're not the real Queen, hmm?"

I lowered my voice once more, as I did with Elesis. "Yes."

At that very moment, the door swung open forcefully. I turned around, only to see...

Raven.

...

---[CHAPTER 10 - MECHANIC : END]---