Chapter 11: The Queen

Compass Carburettor looked around, seeing many people seated on the sides on extravagant seats, seemingly part of the nobility. And, standing behind each were what seemed to be puppets, judging by how they were made of iron and seemed to be moving according to their commands.

The nobility at the end only had one puppet behind them while those closer to the throne had two puppets each behind them. And finally, seated on the throne was the Queen. And standing behind here were five puppets.

A single glance determined that the quality of each of those five puppets far outclassed the rest of the nobility. Judging by the atmosphere of the place, the Queen had absolute authority.

She was tall, standing at six feet, possessing a well-toned body judging by the streamlined arms that were ripped with power. Her orange eyes glinted with authority while her orange hair glistened under the light.

Even though his eyes tried to involuntarily stare at her giant breasts, Compass Carburettor controlled himself, unwilling to act in any manner that might spell him his death. Once he glanced around, an idea began to brew in his mind. So, he was cautious, not looking anywhere else as he made eye contact with the Queen for a moment before closing his eyes to present with a formal bow.

"So," The Queen stared at his figure from top to bottom, looking at the quality fabric of his clothes, his handsome figure, then noticing his slightly dishevelled face and the dirt on his clothes, "How did you appear in my hallway without alerting any soldier?"

"You might not believe it if I said," Compass Carburettor put on a helpless expression as he awkwardly scratched himself. Though, the moment he raised his hand to do that, the guards around him pointed their swords at him while he noticed through the corner of his eye that all the puppets in the place had jerked once, ready to take action.

"I'll be the judge of that," The Queen stared at him without blinking an eye.

"Have you heard about a country named Plottopia?" He started with a question first.

"Are you from that kingdom...Plottopia?" The Queen frowned, unable to recall the name of any place with such a name. She didn't think about it for long, interested to see what the mysterious individual before her would say. She was also ready to strike him down the moment he tried anything funny.

"I'm the prince of that kingdom," Compass Carburettor put on a rather pained expression, using the term prince than a king since appearance-wise, he only looked around twenty years old, "Or at least, I was until now."

Followed by a sigh, he spoke, "I was in a forest with some of my trusted soldiers when we came across a mysterious individual. And for some reason, my soldiers began to drop dead one after another. And before I knew it, I was in this hallway."

"What was the name of this forest?" The Queen stared at him, looking at his expression all along to see any hints of lies.

"Plottopia National Forest," Compass Carburettor said as a matter of fact. As part of the business world, lying was a skill he had learned through numerous trials. So, making up one on the spot was easy for him. And, as he didn't have a clear understanding of their world, he didn't go into any specifics, acting like he didn't wish to spill his kingdom's secrets while still giving vague details based on what he had observed.

It was to make his recount realistic and somewhat believable. He didn't plan on making a perfect story, since if he followed his setting as a prince of a kingdom, talking in a manner that perfectly explained his situation was odd in itself, since he might be mistaken for a spy that tried to infiltrate their palace.

Also, he wasn't sure of the value of a map in the place. If it wasn't in a modern setting like on Earth, maps would have considerable value since they would usually contain details about routes into a kingdom, the terrain, etc. that would be perfectly helpful for an invading country or for spies to infiltrate.

As he was dealing with the ruler of a nation, his actions should be well-grounded but also tinged with a sense of arrogance and natural air a prince of a kingdom ought to have. Compass Carburettor put attention to details as an ex-merchant.

And once he said his piece, he looked at the Queen, giving her a blank stare that made it seem like he was just tired of everything and didn't seem to be plotting anything.

"Let's consider for a moment that everything you said is the truth," The Queen made eye contact, "What will you do next?"

"Return to my Kingdom, of course." Compass Carburettor nodded as a matter of fact, "I still have unfinished business to take care of in that place."

He quickly spoke, "I don't know where I have arrived at, but if Your Majesty can transport me to my kingdom, I will definitely reward handsomely. My father, the King of Plottopia values me the most out of all my siblings."

"Guards, escort this gentleman to one of our guestrooms." The Queen commanded as she looked at Compass Carburettor, "We'll discuss this later."

"I thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty." Compass Carburettor gave her a formal bow as he followed a couple of guards and exited the throne room. All along, the Queen stared at his back, deep in thought.

As Compass Carburettor walked along the hallway, he came across numerous statues along the way, 'Does this world revolve around statues or the sort?'

He didn't ask any question that might look suspicious as he simply followed the guards and was soon escorted to a room within the Palace itself. Upon entering it, he noticed the room was quite luxurious, spanning a length of 10 metres and a breadth of 8 metres.

Once he entered it, the guards left and closed the door.