Book 3: Chapter 1
Knock. Knock. Knock…
The red-haired lady stroked her hair and shouted towards the door: “Come in. You don’t need to knock every time, Elizabeth. You’re the only one who knocks on the door of my run-down shop.”
The empress entered the workshop, looked at the stuff laid out on both sides, then smiled, bowed to salute her and said: “Basic formalities need to be maintained, master. I am here to see you.”
The red haired lady tapped her pipe, then faced Elizabeth, waved her hand and said: “Don’t do that. You’re the empress of humanity now. Only the gods are above you. If people saw you bowing to me, they’d probably tear my workshop down.”
“You jest, master. I do not believe both of my Valkyrie squads together would be able to lay a finger on you. So who would dare to tear down your workshop?”
The empress laughed, then raised her head and said: “I would like to thank you. My son has been disturbing you. Thank you for looking after my son for so long.”
“Stop joking. He didn’t disturb me. Troy made me really happy. Had I known that kid was so smart, maybe not reporting it would’ve been a good move. But when I weighed the cost-benefit ratio of being reported and then being punished by the ruler, I decided it was better to report it.” The pipe the red-haired lady was holding was releasing tobacco. She picked up a clip and burnt the lead inside, then rolled it into a bullet and finally threw it into a small box by the side.
“As long as you did not feel bothered.” The empress looked at the red-haired lady and said: “If it is not too much trouble, could you tell me what my son took from your shop?”
“A gun.”