Xyrin Empire-Chapter 647 The Queen Who Skipped Work

"Little Hui couldn’t come with us today,"

Mercury Lamp said with some regret during the few minutes we waited for the transport.

"Her family would worry."

I held the doll girl who was gently swinging on my shoulder and wasn’t surprised by this outcome.

"Living in groups, humans always have more troublesome aspects than you guys. She’d have to come up with a way to explain to her parents how she vanished from the Mortal World for a month — thanks to her life-long hospital stays, Kakizaki Kei probably doesn’t even have a friend to cover for her. Maybe she could fudge a few days, but vanishing from now and showing up at the festival half a month later... If this happened to me ten years ago, Big Sister would have been worried sick."

"Moreover, even during the festival, she’ll need to come back frequently," Mercury Lamp said with a somewhat gloomy expression. "Little Hui and I thought up lots of excuses, none of which work. She doesn’t have other friends, and she doesn’t usually have a habit or record of going out. The nearby shopping street and the regular hospital visits are all the places she frequents. So, after the festival starts, you’ll probably have to prepare a special pass for her: unrestricted travel between this world and Shadow City every day, anytime, any reason. Heh, stupid humans, am I being too willful saying this?"

Eh, eh, eh? Since when did the formidable Chairman become so reasonable?

"Stupid humans! Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I didn’t expect you to consider others for once."

Hearing this, Mercury Lamp didn’t speak. Instead, she clung to my neck and gave it a bite.

At that moment, behind us, where a group of curious, nervous, or confused doll girls stood, their crystals began to glow with blue light and a gentle female voice emerged from these seemingly structureless crystals: "Three minutes before transmission. Please prepare for the transfer and ensure no baggage is forgotten. This transmission is via the direct Dimension Hub channel KL-186. There will be no stops en route. Passengers, please confirm your ticket and transmission sequence are correct and without errors. The transfer will be completed instantaneously. Upon arrival, please exit through Gate 60 and be proactive in presenting your clearance to the Hub staff. Thank you for your cooperation during the journey, and we wish you a pleasant trip on your next transmission."

...I suspect this script was lifted directly from a train announcement.

Surrounded by a suddenly spreading white glow amidst my muttered complaints, the atmosphere around us changed instantaneously.

Back in Shadow City.

This must be our shortest business trip record, right? In just half a day, we successfully whisked away five doll girls to their home. Although we didn’t do anything physically demanding like saving the world, why do I still feel waves of fatigue?

Glancing at the two beside me — one a mother of a child who had been in a fuss the entire half-day, and the other a vivacious young girl who dragged me around a shopping street for hours — I immediately found the reason for my weariness.

In the future, I’d rather patrol the base with Pandora than go out with these two physical energy drainers at the same time.

"Um... wowww!! So big... it’s huge!"

It wasn’t until half a minute after the transmission ended that the anticipated exclamations finally rang out. I maliciously wondered if during those thirty seconds, these doll girls were simply too astonished to react.

The first to let out a cry of surprise was a tiny, sweet, and adorable girl named Chu Mei, dressed in a pink frock that made her look like a Barbie doll, because she had turned her head and seen the "door" that had just pulled her from the Other Space.

The Dimension Hub, this kind of super mechanism that could be considered a miraculous architectural feat if placed on Earth, was absolutely mountainous and grandiose in front of this little doll. When the other Rose Maidens were awakened by Chu Mei’s cry of astonishment and began looking around, what they saw were more similar constructions in the distance. These massive mechanical ring structures formed an unprecedented and vast matrix, making the people who had just been teleported onto this seemingly absurdly huge plaza look no bigger than ants.

Yet, these metallic rings were merely a part of the series of limitless grand architectures of the Shadow Fortress. Functionally speaking, these civilian-grade transporters even belonged to the "low-end buildings." When the girls looked around, the majestic buildings that exceeded the human world by who knows how many levels, as well as the low-flying fortresses slowly traversing the sky, unsurprisingly provoked a series of exclamations.

"Humph, don’t make such a fuss like an inexperienced country girl," Mercury Lamp said as she sat majestically on my shoulder, struggling to maintain a disdainful expression that any discerning eye could see was laced with pride, "This place is nothing but our home’s doorway!"

Our Chairman proceeded to show off as planned — she really wanted to see Zhenhong make a fool of herself, didn’t she? Congratulations, you succeeded.

"How amazing, so amazing!" exclaimed Cui Xingshi and Cang Xingshi, hand in hand, blissfully unaware of Mercury Lamp’s words, "We’ve never seen such a sight before! Hey hey, Mercury Lamp, could this ’mediator’ you claim to be our foster father be a great noble here? He says he’s the Great Governor or something; that must be a very high position, right?!"

I couldn’t help but feel that the Rose Maiden with the heterochromatic eyes had gotten something wrong from the start.

However, her misunderstanding of me as Mercury Lamp’s "mediator" was normal. For the Rose Maidens, who regard their revered father as the supreme being, they could never imagine what it would be like for a stranger to take the place of their father in their hearts—In fact, I knew that Luo Zhen still occupied the largest place in Mercury Lamp’s heart, and no matter how close our relationship, in her mind her "biological" father was only Luo Zhen. But I had no complaints about this; after all, that was one of the endearing traits of the Rose Maidens.

I didn’t bother explaining to Cui Xingshi that the Supreme Governor of the Time-Space Administration was the highest leader of this realm. The Rose Maidens were here as Mercury Lamp’s sisters, merely to visit. They were free to enjoy themselves however they wished: all I had to do was ensure they were returned home in one piece after the carnival, as we had agreed before.

"There will be plenty of time for leisure later; it’s getting late, let’s go home for dinner."

I bent down to pick up Mercury Lamp and looked down at a group of curiously gazing Rose Maidens like little treasures, "It seems we’ll need to prepare a feast this time—Qianqian, go let the family know to gather at Avalon for the meal, and tell Anwina and Sayaka to bring the food over."

With such a large family, dining at home was always like a banquet, and when guests arrived, the scale was even more extravagant, often turning into a meal for dozens of people. So, when there were many of us, we would host small family banquets in Avalon, amid the picturesque Immortal Realm, where we would savor fine wines, taste exquisite dishes, and discuss history—at least that was the more poetic way to put it. If you had Sandora at your table and still wanted to engage in lofty ideals during dinner, you’d probably starve to death.

In any case, Lilina would label this as "the decadent life of an evil, corrupt, fallen feudal monarch who rides on the people’s necks and sucks their blood and sweat," and she would always claim she was joining the feast with a critical eye...

"Hey hey! Will there be berry daifuku for dinner?"

As we were leaving the Dimension Hub, Chu Mei, who had been curiously looking around, suddenly jumped up and asked loudly.

This girl, who was the very image of a standard doll, was probably Mercury Lamp’s youngest sister (not counting the yet-to-emerge Xue Huajing). Such an innocent soul, she had already truly immersed herself in the emotion of "going to her sister’s house to play," and although she wanted to speak to Mercury Lamp several times but didn’t dare to, she seemed to have no discomfort with the strange environment around her.

"As expected of a hopeless little brat, wanting to have dessert for dinner," sighed Cui Xingshi, pretending to be mature, yet her curious gaze remained fixed on me, "Hey, human, who exactly are you?"

"Family head."

I replied succinctly: whether as Leader, Emperor, or military political leader, in the current context, was I not Mercury Lamp’s family head? freewebnøvel.coɱ

The little doll on my shoulder kicked me.

Shadow City’s Dimension Hub is the densest place for all sorts of Space Transmission Gates. There’s even a direct Teleportation Gate to Avalon. By the time we had finished talking, we had arrived in front of a Space Gate surrounded by a large number of Soldiers on guard and watched over by turrets. The Golden Canary looked up, saw the situation, and immediately shrank her neck. "Uh, Soldiers and arms again, feels like being in a barracks."

"This is a barracks," the Mercury Lamp said without turning back, and she nodded slightly to the Imperial Soldiers who saluted us: After such a long time, she had learned some Etiquette.

Passing through the Dimension Hub’s Space Gate, the scene before us changed dramatically, as if a steel jungle had transformed into the Immortal Realm beneath the setting sun.

After having gone through one world transfer, the Rose Maidens believed they wouldn’t shout in a manner unbecoming of their status like they did when they first completed the Transmission, but after arriving in Avalon, they couldn’t help but cry out in amazement.

Such a reaction was normal for most, so I, familiar with the sight, whistled nonchalantly and beckoned over a group of Unicorns that offered short rides.

Having gotten familiar with Lilina, I had picked up some experience. These Unicorns all priced the same.

"I bet you’ve never ridden a Unicorn." I waved a bag of popped corn in my hand triumphantly to the group of Doll girls who were gaping in astonishment.

The place chosen for the banquet was one we frequently visited: the shore of Fairy Lake, a scenic gem of Avalon often used for family banquets by the Leaders and where the Heroic Spirits would picnic or enjoy a drink. Even Artemis, a devout God follower, considered the nearby areas a holy place for Holy Meals. Around this prized land, divided and governed by distinguished individuals, lived pampered fluff bunnies and "Qiu Lu Ka"(small-earth-yellow fluffy beasts similar to rabbits but with large heads, native to Avalon, clever and endearing, enjoying living with Heroic Spirits, and urinating upstream of the fluff bunny’s water source. Due to their second habit, they are often beaten by other small wild animals in the vicinity). The playful Chu Mei was immediately attracted by the little wild animals that bolted through the grass, fearless, and happily ran off to play with them.

The banquet table was ready, covered with a snow-white tablecloth and laden with culinary creations from Anwina and Monina. The two girls with MAX cooking skills had significantly elevated our dining standards after entering duel mode, to the point where Sandora was considering passing a law to mandate four meals a day for the Empire.

By the way, the big table in front of us was shipped from Stormwind City. These heavy, luxurious dining tables are specifically used for banquets held by Human Nobles in that world, and the reason why I had taken a fancy to this piece: It was indeed large enough.

Two maids fluttered around the dining table like joyful butterflies at this moment, distributing tableware to everyone. Those shiny silver utensils had come as a free gift with the table. The Stormwind City merchant who sold the table had declared that he would forever provide noble silverware that matched this prestigious table for free. I wondered if the merchant regretted his decision by now: Sandora had already gained back the investment through those dishes and cups.

A little further away, a group of people was gathered; they were the Heroic Spirits who were accustomed to dining here, including great eaters like Altoria, who ranked just after Sandora, and the perpetual fisherman of Fairy Lake, Cu Chulainn, along with dozens of familiar faces. As we arrived, these Heroic Spirits who had come here earlier all turned their heads to nod in our direction.

The shore of Fairy Lake is not some sort of private royal land; compared to us, who occasionally dine here, the Heroic Spirits are the regulars.

Although usually a bunch of free and easy individuals, these mostly ancient Heroic Spirits still greatly valued basic sovereign-subject Etiquette (with some exceptions, like Cu Chulainn who was frequently struck by lightning for blaspheming the names of Gods, and Sister Jier who referred to her boss as a commoner but actually had the same status as Little Baobao’s Doll). We were the ones who suddenly decided to hold a family banquet here, but the Heroic Spirits who arrived first were still politely waiting for us to start the feast. As a result, the arrival of me and the group of Doll girls inevitably sparked a round of salutations—this was also why I wasn’t keen on dining with my more rigid subordinates; who wants a bunch of eyes performing salutations while you’re trying to slurp your soup?

A group clad in garb spanning thousands of years of Human history, looking like ancient Heroes straight out of history books, stared intently at our side. Several Rose Maidens, despite feeling very uncomfortable and confused about their first visit, didn’t have much to say. Only the Mercury Lamp immediately raised her fists and began to scold, "Hey! What are you looking at! Just eat your own food, will you!"

"Ha ha," laughed a burly Medieval General, his armored plates clanking loudly, lifting his cup in a toast towards us, "To your health, Princess!"

This gesture from the Roman General seemed to signal the others, and the other Heroic Spirits—who were not accustomed to complex Etiquette—immediately raised their glasses one after another. The Kings and Generals from countless cycles of Human history began to shout haphazardly, "To the health of the King!" "To the beauty of the Princess!", "A toast to the victory of our King!" "A salute to the King!" "A toast to the Goddess!" "May the Princess be auspicious!" "Achilles, when will you pay back the money you owe me?" "Pericles, you’re blocking my view!"

Amidst the echo of toasts, though mixed with some peculiar additions, the Mercury Lamp now had her moment of fame among her sisters...

"Go sit over there and have a good chat," I instructed as I set the Mercury Lamp on the ground and pushed her toward a group of sisters who clearly had something to say, providing them with an excellent opportunity to mend fences—provided the Chairman didn’t start a fight with the sisters again.

Zhenhong stared blankly at the Mercury Lamp as she was pushed in front of her, then suddenly revealed a strange smile, "Looks like you’ve got quite a few stories to tell, my ’Princess Big Sister.’"

Lilina, who had drifted over at some point, muttered next to me after a few doll girls had left, "Well, that’s sorted. Six at once; you’re in deep now. You didn’t manage to find Xue Huajing, but having collected a full set, are you planning on conquering them all?"

"Watch your mouth!" I snapped, smacking Lilina on the head. "They’re just here to have fun at our place!"

"Tch, who knows when you might allure them over, like those boxes in a rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple... Damn it, you’d crush yourself getting out of bed in the morning!"

"Although I don’t understand what you’re saying, I can feel some kind of grudge that transcends time and space..." I shuddered all over, feeling as if a chill had possessed me.

"Always so keen in the weirdest places," scoffed Lilina, tugging at my arm and pointing in the direction of the heroic spirits, "Look who’s here."

Following the direction Lilina pointed, I noticed a female figure cloaked in black. I had actually been aware of her presence shortly before. There didn’t seem to be a cloaked female among the heroic spirits in my memory, yet she evoked a sense of familiarity—especially when she noticed us looking and purposely stood up to walk my way; the familiarity intensified.

"I salute you," she said, removing her hood in front of me, revealing a face that, though a bit pale, had the characteristic delicacy and beauty of the Elf Clan emerging from the shadows.

"Sylvanas?" I was taken aback.

When had she arrived? And not a word to announce herself?

"I got here later this afternoon, but hearing that you had gone to another world, I decided to spend time with these heroes, finding their stories very intriguing," spoke the Undead Queen, her pale complexion untouched by emotion, "They are individuals of great achievements."

"You are no different," I smiled. "What brings you here ahead of time?"

"Azeroth is at peace now, and there’s not much to attend to in the Salvation Army—I’ve snuck out," declared the Undead Queen with a matter-of-fact tone.

"The festival plans for The Forgotten have been drafted; I am confident I’ve got a head start on Varian this time."

Me: "..."

If circumstances permit, can I start cracking jokes now? (To be continued. If you like this work, feel welcome to vote, recommend, and support me on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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