‘Edmund!!!’ Leah yelled.

  ‘What? We have so much to tell you, duchess…’ Edmund sat down and looked around.

  ‘Rita is here with tea for us, Edmund.’ She took a sip.

  ‘Ho, we even have snacks; this slave thing is not that bad after all.' He took a bite out of a cookie and a sip of tea.

  Leah and Rita looked at one another and sighed while rolling their eyes. This expression confused the young man, but he continued to have his snack as he noticed Ariadne was entering the door. The head maid made a light bow, and Leah did as well.

  ‘So, peasant, what do you have to show me after your afternoon nap?’ Ariadne gave Edmund a serious look.

  ‘Ah, Leah and I made a lot of progress; yesterday, we finished the vehicle, and I’m calling it a truck because it's easy to say.’ Edmund got up and came closer to the duchess.

  'Yeah, Your Highness, today we discussed the new weapons we can make with the magic crystals, but we just have enough for three trucks because we need spare batteries.’ Leah ?got next to Edmund.

  ‘Humm... can we use those trucks to transport people around the duchy?’ She sat in her chair.

  ‘Well, yes, that wouldn't be a problem at all. Put some seats in, and I think it would be fine.’ He taps his chin while looking up.

  ‘The duchess wants to use it as transportation between the villages? It's a good idea.' Leah smiled.

  ‘Now they are more like towns because of the population increase, but you said that we can only have three right now; why not use this opportunity as a test, one for transport and the other two as supply transport for the army?’ Ariadne smiled at the two.

  ‘That is fine, but we will need the three of them when we go to the dungeon. Anyway, do you want to test it? It will be good to show the city and all, a morale boost, not that is needed or anything.’ The young man shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘Ok, peasant, let’s ride this new contraption of yours.’ The duchess stood up.

  Ariadne walked out of the room, followed by Alya and Edmund. Leah got to the back of the mansion and went into the forest to get the truck. He had already cut down the trees so that it would be easier to drive the vehicle around to the front of the mansion; nobody saw it until it got out of the forest, which impressed the people who were working outside of the mansion, including the soldiers that were going to train in at that moment.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Because of its size, it was a monster coming out of the forest. It had a large front where everyone could see Edmund waving out of it and a large box on its back. As it came closer, everyone stopped what they were doing and came close to the enormous metal masterpiece, but what impressed them the most was that it was floating. Edmund stopped it before the mansion and got out of it with Leah.

  ‘What is this, Edmund? Is it even floating? What is it for?’ A soldier asked.

  ‘We will use this to transport people and supplies. I call it a truck. It can’t fly, but if it doesn’t have obstacles in front of it, it will just cruise through easily.’ He smiled at the soldier.

  ‘So this monstrosity is the final product you showed me months ago, hum? Is not elegant, that is for sure.’ Ariadne put her hand on the front of the vehicle.

  ‘Is functional, Your Highness! On the battlefield, it won't matter if it is ugly, but honestly, it is not that bad.’ The young man turned to the duchess.

  ‘Anyway, I would like to test it with people inside that box in the back; this is for supplies, but just test it.’ The duchess put her hand on Edmund’s shoulder.

  ‘Ok, I don’t see why not.’ Edmund smiled at the duchess.

  Edmund walked to the back of it and opened the doors, reveling in the space with some handles inside. Behind Ariadne were some of the mansion's staff, and the young man looked excitedly at them.

  ‘You guys are going in there. Hold the handles on the side. Don’t worry, I won’t go fast, and it will always be open.’ Edmund pointed at the people behind Ariadne.

  His words took them aback. The duchess turned around and gestured for them to go inside. As everyone got in, some with more fear than others, one maid was paralyzed by her nervousness while holding one hand.

  Three people could fit in the front of the truck, and with the duchess in the middle, Edmund started to drive forward. Ariadne didn’t understand because, to her, she was not moving at all; there was no sound and no bumps. It looked like she was sitting on her chair back in the office, but her eyes were fixed on the circular object Edmund used to control the vehicle. He, too, used his feet to press one of the two plates within reach of his feet.

  ‘I’m not feeling that we are moving, peasant, but my eyes betray what my body feels a little strange.’ The duchess looked around.

  The truck was turning to go down the hill the mansion was built on and toward the city. The people inside the truck's cargo area didn’t feel much movement, only a change in angle as the truck worked its way down the hill. Nothing was to fear; they were all amazed by what was happening.

  ‘This is wonderful; imagine traveling like this; I think I could even sleep while this is moving.’ The maid, who was nervous before, let go of the handle.

  ‘You are right; it seems we are not even moving.’ Another maid spoke.

  There was a straight path to the city; viewing this, Edmund increased the speed. Again, it felt like nothing was happening, only that the view was passing much faster than before for the duchess. The staff noticed their speed increased by looking at the open door inside the cargo.

  ‘How fast we are now, peasants, it doesn’t look fast.’ The duchess looked at Edmund, disappointed.

  ‘We are half of a full-speed horse, Your Highness.’ Edmund smiled at her.

  ‘What? It doesn’t feel like it.’ She looked confused.

  ‘Right? I felt the same, your highness.’ Leah grinned.

  As the city entrance approached, Edmund began to stop. Again, no one inside felt like the vehicle was stopping in its tracks, which confused the duchess even more. There was no sound, not even the carriage's movement when it stopped abruptly or began to slow down.

  ‘Can you make a more luxurious version of this peasant?’ Ariadne looked at him, hopeful.

  ‘Yes, but we can’t make it because the mine of magic stones is inside the dungeon.’ He looked at the guards coming closer to the vehicle.

  ‘We need to make preparations to conquer the dungeon, them. I want one, but a more beautiful one fits me.’ The duchess grinned.

  ‘That is her motivation? Not the demon lord? We are so dead.’ Edmund whispered.

  ‘You said something, peasant?’ She looked at him.

  ‘Just happy we can enter the dungeon soon; you need more training.’ He smiled at her.