4 Chapter 4

"Again! Play another song!"

"Haha, sorry Miku-chan. It's getting late and I've got some work to do."

"Y-yes that's right. You shouldn't bother His Maje- William-san anymore."

Otohime Kohinata quickly corrected herself in front of her 9 year old daughter, addressing me with my first name (as instructed) before trying to get her daughter off my leg.

I had pretty much invited myself to her household to avoid returning 'home', bringing along dinner and sweets made with my high-level [Cooking] skill, easily making friends with the rest of her family.

The poor lady was frightened to death even as she played along to my "co-worker" persona and initially had the impression that I was going to pull off something fucked up (the Bible Black 'misunderstanding' pervaded longer than I thought), only for me to quickly endear myself to her husband, in-laws and her daughter during my time here, proving her fears unfounded.

After we enjoyed a nice chatty dinner together I started playing a couple of songs on the piano they owned, which resulted in me getting a little fan.

"Mnn….!"

"Listen to your mother Miku-chan. Don't worry, I'll be sure to visit again with lots of treats." I patted the little girl's head then chuckled lightly, "Heaven knows your mother has a sweet tooth. The whole office knows it. It will be a shame"

"That she does." Otohime's husband, Takehito, nodded in a sage-like manner.

"Darling!" The working wife pouted in indignation.

"Takehito-san, I'll send you some of my recipes, go make them for your wife then make sure she works it all off!" I winked at him, after two seconds he grinned and gave me a thumbs up.

His wife blushed furiously and made to shoo me out, something that she wouldn't normally do because of the differences between rank.

"You have to make me sweets too Onii-chan!"

"Of course, of course, keep being a good girl and I'll do just that. Ah, hold on, a gift first."

I reached inside my coat and opened my inventory, taking out one of my newest magical accessories.

[Hair Ribbon of Fortify Learning (Insightful)]

The enchantment would essentially double her Skill EXP gain while keeping her mind feeling refreshed so long as the user's INT score is below 200, it was one of my many successful experiments into creating new marketable enchantments for mortals.

I had originally intended to give these to some of the Hime Miko's assigned to assist me, but those girl's didn't seem like the type to appreciate 'showy' accessories, so I kept this back and created plain bracelet versions instead.

Upon giving the young girl the gift, a smidgen of magic sparked between my thumb and index finger as I rubbed them together, activating the information magic spell to detail the gift's exact and predicted effects to her mother Otohime.

Saying my goodbyes to my 'co-worker' who seemed pleased at the gift, I left their home and walked towards my manor, at a very slow speed.

Activating my "See-Through" spell, the walls within my sight began to disappear, revealing the individuals within their homes for my analysis.

I casted dozens of silent, invisible remote-healing spells, ensuring that the many health symptoms were treated, while making a note on which homes would be considered an 'unhealthy living environment'.

I had power now and I wasn't going to just dismiss the plight of the ordinary civilians as unimportant. While I wouldn't go out of the way to save the entire country the least I could do was to make life a little better for those I pass by.

It helped that I could show my 'concern' for the country I loved (to a certain degree) this way, instead of accepting one of the HCC's many honey traps or their excessive grovelling to get me as their national Campione.

They had gone pretty all out lately, especially after my sister from China had washed her hands off Japan and passed it to me when the HCC inquired with a few territory related questions, without me knowing or the HCC expecting it!

They didn't exactly ask to get kicked out of a Campione's sphere of influence / protection and only inquired on whether there was a problem with me staying here, but it somehow escalated to them getting kicked out of the Chinese Campione's territory.

Luo Cuilian cited that it was too far from the mainland anyways and she couldn't be bothered with the 'faraway district'.

I blame their diplomats. I bet the guy sent over is enjoying their reassignment to one of their least funded branch offices.

Anyways, since then, they've been really stepping up on the "seduce the Campione" plan as they felt my level of Weeaboo-ism doesn't count as sufficient ties to the country.

I'm holding out on fully committing since I'd rather they give me a better deal with better waifus.

Among their current tactics is the rotation of various Hime Mikos and other female 'aides' in my current household, the Four Families have also offered several concubines, but none of them have truly held my interest beyond their physical appearances and talents.

Whether I was being hasty in my judgement by relying on the limited information provided by The Gamer or if I have unnatural high-standards is still something I'm reflecting upon.

"Your Majesty, welcome hom-"

"Stop that. Read the sign that specifically states that no excessive bowing or kneeling is to take place in this household. Please and thank you."

I sighed and quickly moved past the unlucky young girl waiting in front of my doorstep. She already had a boyfriend and I wasn't planning to cuck anyone unless their male partner treats them like crap, even then, I would probably just remove them from the situation and deal with the abusive slime myself.

Is the HCC running out of single women to throw at me? Did I arrive too early in the timeline for high quality waifu candidates to be born?

If they send in a girl under twelve I'm honestly going to flip an island over or two…!

Heading towards the workshop area, I called for some of the aides to give me an update.

"-an order for another twenty [Ring of Sustenance] and a dozen [Amulet of Greater Condition]."

More of the popular items huh? The Rings of Sustenance were usually desired by the field agents and a few magic warriors, it was the same with my Amulets that granted an additional 25 in all status except Luck. For squishy humans with anywhere from average to above average intelligence, such a magical item made them 'more than human', and it quickly became one of the most desired items in my 'item shop list'.

Needless to say, the prices set for that item was a direct reflection of it's worth.

"Hmm, alright. I can get that done by tonight, what is your organization offering in return?"

I kept my eyes on the level-headed young woman as she listed down a large amount of money among various pieces of properties sitting on prime magically powerful land, I began to wonder whether I had already wrung out all the low-hanging yet highly valuable resources from the organization already.

I had already become a master in my own right in various arts, sciences and languages over the course of two weeks. My INT score apparently makes me a super genius, who would have thought? Admittedly I still have to put in effort to understand everything and make relevant insights for my skill level to go up, so not all skills leveled up at the same pace.

With the help of my ability to wring secrets out from the dead (and a whole lot of cheating to get a self-made meat puppet to be 'recognized' as a long dead person's corpse for the spell to work), the hired master blacksmiths and I managed to advance our skills beyond mortal limits by having Sengo Muramasa teach us his secrets.

And so I also had a very high [Blacksmithing] skill where I could even create cursed weapons the old fashion way should I choose to do so.

My skills in electrical engineering eventually allowed me to create one of my most useful quality of life enhancements.

Namely, a proper charging wire and adapter for my phone, a phone that is two decades ahead of phones in this world and had long run out of battery until I made a breakthrough to developing my own phone charger.

… I was a bit obsessed over that little project for a while.

"Haa… I'll take the money, a regular sized manor in Sapporo and… actually, can you see about getting shares in several anime production companies like Sunrise and JC Staff? You can take some off the offered money if need be."

"Yes, your Majesty, I will convey your decision to the organization."

"Yeah, you do that… oh yeah, Maiya-chan?"

"Did I displease you?"

I sighed again after a status check reminded me of the ring on her finger.

"Not at all. But tell me… why the hell is a married young lady doing here? You do realize what the History Compilation Committee wants right?"

Without missing a beat she quickly laid out the matter succinctly.

"My husband has displeased my family after we eloped together to escape an arranged marriage of mine. They had planned to save my hand for an advantageous marriage but… they wouldn't complain if the newest Campione were to request for me."

For fucks sake Japan!

"And forcefully break your marriage… Does your husband have a job in the HCC too?" I asked 'calmly', a bit of cold anger seeping into my tone.

She answered my question without flinching the slightest, "He works as a low-ranking officer in the organization. His past as a smuggler of magical items is being used as an excuse to deny him a higher position, at least that's the official reason."

Left unsaid that it was done out of spite and him being of non-magical stock, especially given that Maiya was a sufficiently skilled Hime-Miko.

"You're being pretty honest about this. Why is that?"

"My husband always believed that honesty should be given to those that need it. Even accounting for your eccentricities, you have been nothing but a reasonable King to everyone within this household and beyond it. In addition to that, the organization has been kept busier investigating various "miraculous healings" in every place that you visited as well..."

"W-well, I needed some practice healing, after all."

"Of course. I'm sure."

"Hmm… I want to meet your husband, tomorrow morning, if possible."

I hired Maiya and her husband, Daigo Serizawa, as my permanent assistants after an interview lasting half an hour. Deciding to give them a symbol of their association with me, I took out two of the identical golden rings produced by Draupnir, one of the many things I've looted from Odin, and bestowed it upon them.

The golden rings by itself had no magical effects, but it was still a golden ring of the highest purity possible, which made it possible for me to layer many powerful enchantments upon them to ensure the couple could defend themselves.

At least I managed to secure a pair of competent assistants that will be deeply loyal to me for the foreseeable future.

With everything settled in the morning, I went out to a particular training ground where a few of the Japanese warriors that were the equivalent of the European "Great Knights" waited for me.

All of their equipment, for real battle and training purposes, were provided by me. They had lots of Skill EXP increasing equipment for training while their actual battle equipment would allow them to survive against my normal slaps.

Putting on all my [Personal Gravity Multiplier] equipment, I began the training session (survival against me) in earnest with a surprise magical Kamehameha then started dual-wielding all sorts of weapons. Thanks to my relentless and near-instant restoration of their HP and stamina with magic, we managed to get in four hours of intense battle training non-stop.

Gaining access to Japan's finest warriors to increase our mutual battle capabilities on a regular basis cost me little, and more often than not, I seem to be gaining favor with them instead.

It helps that I impressed them by fighting evenly against all of them whilst restrained to their battle output. Though I had to increase the output of my restraining equipment with every session, I was now up to Twenty-times Earth's gravity and I still had a long way to go until I reached the physical stats needed for the [Demigod] tier passive skills.

After bringing them all out to try out a famous Ramen store (my treat), I returned back to my manor feeling satisfied with finally maxing out [Sword Mastery], getting awarded the [Transcendent Sword Mastery] skill then gaining more than 10 status points each in STR, DEX and AGI.

It feels like my childhood fantasies of becoming one of the greatest sword masters in another world just came true. I felt a great sense of joy that made me hum various anime opening songs as I distractedly went through some paperwork.

"You seem very pleased with yourself, my king. Killed a Heretic God on your way back?" Daigo inquired of me as he entered my office, carrying several important looking documents.

"Hahaha, I wish! Ah, that would be a good story to tell my kids, it'll go something like 'I was walking back home one day when a Heretic God popped up in front of me, but thankfully I managed to kill him before dinner to eat your mother home-cooked dinner'. Now if only I can solve the missing mother part… Any tips on how to find someone you would like to spend the rest of your life with?"

"With all due respect, your circumstances are very different from my own. Any advice I can give you in that department may not be valid, that said, I think the fact that we don't always choose the ones we fall in love with would apply to us both."

"... Hmm, yes, I hope that it applies to me in a positive way though. Now, any news? How goes the search for Zeus? I believe the reports should be in by now."

Daigo grimaced slightly and I knew it wasn't going to be particularly positive.

"Unfortunately, the reports of other mage associations come to the same conclusion. Zeus seems to have calmed down somewhat… or he is biding his time to recover divine power or from injuries, possibly both."

"And no one has a clue on where he is. Figures. Not even the Hime Miko's are of any help. Can't even get a consistently strong connection to the Netherworld long enough for me to trace the connection…"

I know that it was unfair of me to be frustrated with them… limited capabilities, as otherwise, they would be too OP in their divination abilities. But I really wanted to get my Netherworld Phone working, I mean, my Underworld Phone is working just fine but I simply couldn't get my hooks into the Netherworld!

"As for the good news-"

"There is good news?"

"-I have taken the liberty to reach out to my… old connections, don't ask, and successfully secured an appointment with perhaps one of the strongest Hime Miko's out there that may assist you on both those fronts, in your name of course."

"Daigo I could fucking kiss you!"

"Please don't. My wife has BL manga."

"Totally Platonic Bro hug then."

After that was over he started walking me through on where I needed to go and who I was to meet.

"Okay, let me get this straight, this 16 year old Hime-Miko is also the Spokesperson for the Wizenagemot, which is a Mage Association in-name-only and closer to a mutual help organization between the traditional mages of noble lines and wealthy people. And it's in London, the territory of my older brother?"

"Alexandre Gascoigne is technically all the way across the world now, he's currently exploring Australia, of all places… though with his 'godspeed' he could reach London relatively quickly."

"How did you confirm his location in Australia?"

"There was a museum break-in, all covered up by the local mage association."

"Oh."

As expected of my kleptomaniac, career criminal older brother.

"Your appointment will be in two hours, just after their lunchtime if I recall the time difference correctly."

"Wait, today?"

"At her mansion, in Hampstead."

"That expensive place? Why am I not surprised… wait a second, why did you arrange it for today?"

"Well, everyone is quite aware of your capability to move across countries near instantly, so they have taken that into account when it comes to scheduling appointments."

"Fine then. Guess I'll get a move on. I'll just go get my case of magic rings, after all, I won't know what would make a good gift or payment until I reach there so I may as well bring lots of different stuff."

"Might I also suggest that you wear something gentlemanly, my king. She is popularly known as a Princess, in her own right."

"Considering that I'm asking for quite a bit of her time and effort I will endeavor to dress appropriately."

I know damn well when NOT to wear my funniest equipment combos.

After getting ready I teleported to the nearest dungeon and exited from the banking centre of London, once I applied the proper runes to keep my clothes clean and being damaged from high-speed movement, I took my time in making my way to her mansion, healing as many people as I could on the way there.

Her home had an appearance like an ancient castle. The wide open gardens were clearly attended to by servants, the main building was as high as four-stories, and it also had four towers… it was rather grandiose.

Their wards were pretty decent all things considered. Strangely enough, there was also a barrier to seal in ectoplasm.

I rang the doorbell. Then I rang it again.

No one seemed to be coming out. I focused on the conversations within the mansion using my super hearing.

The servants of the mansion were having a discussion about whether to answer or not, apparently the owner's Chief lady-in-waiting was trying to prevent her lady from escaping.

Wait a second, wasn't it the case that I was supposed to get into the mansion to speak with her? What is going on? Was there a miscommunication somewhere?

I spammed the doorbell.

Aren't they scared of the typical tyranny as expected from a Campione?

Umu… the servants seem to be pretty normal, and if I just waltz in there they would probably be freaked out… from the conversations within, it sounds like it's the Chief lady-in-waiting that has issues with Campiones.

Well, it can't be helped.

I just have to sneak in then.

Usually, a reckless Campione could just walk through these barriers like paper, but I didn't want to do that and prove myself to be a savage trespasser.

Nay! I must be the gentleman thief!

If I break in I shall do so quietly and in style.

I carefully moved away from the mansion until I was out of the surveillance areas, then I applied several spells that would conceal me before using a semi-divine runic chain that would allow me to 'slip' through the wards without breaking it.

After that I simply jumped into her mansion, walked right through everyone with them none the wiser and knocked on the owner's bedroom. Finding it was pretty easy since I could see through walls.

I grimaced slightly at the girl's condition. In what kind of world should a Hime Miko have to pay for her powers with her health? Honestly, the power systems of this world are kinda wonky.

"Good afternoon, this is William Gump. Is my appointment still on or was there a miscommunication issue somewhere?"

"Yes, this is Alice Louise speaking. I do apologize for the slight change of venue. I was hoping to walk around Hampstead while we speak but Miss Ericson didn't quite approve of my plans. Please, do come in."

Noticing an alarm spell on the door knob, I used a combination of runes whilst concealing the mana to teleport myself in. Utilizing another runic chain, this time using my DMP, I created a barrier that would isolate us from the rest of the world, ensuring that our conversation and any magic used won't be noticed.

Alice Louise of Naverre was lying down in her bed, her body weak and frail.

That will not stand.

She was using a mouth made out of ectoplasm through a fake body to speak.

"I apologize for speaking with you like this, but if I used my real body then I might not be able to sustain a particularly long conversation."

"All is forgiven. Besides, you won't have to deal with that any longer."

"What do you mean by-"

"I hold all the secrets of the Runes, for I have usurped the sacrifice of Odin, a sacrifice of himself given to himself."

The spell words were completed in half a second thanks to [High Speed Incantation].

"I declare you healed from all sickness and weakness."

I used up one of my eighteen chants. Using one of Odin's spell songs, so long as it is within the scope of interpretation, would use up one of eighteen "chant" counts that would refresh every 24 hours.

The refresh counter was separate for each "chant" count, so if I used a "Chant" early in the morning and one in the night they would both refresh the next morning and night respectively.

In addition to that, this Authority also allowed me to enhance any Runic Chain or effect to Divine Authority levels by spending two-three "Chant" counts at once.

The image of the blonde princess collapsed as her real body shot up immediately, as she spent most of her time sleeping in the day and interacting with others through a spirit-controlled body, she was still wearing an elegant night-gown on her.

"Okay, that should do it for now. Your sickness may come back in a couple of years time however, so please put these magic rings on. This one gives you regeneration, this one straight up increases your vitality, this one is for continuous sustenance which is very popular among Hime Miko since it keeps their body healthy if they go out of commission during their visions and lastly one to increase all your parameters so that you can still move around even if you were sick."

"H-huh what? My apologies. I have no doubt that these magical items do as you say, but I was under the impression that these would be part of our negotiations going forward."

So my prowess at healing and all sorts of miracles have made their way across the world? Nothing I didn't expect, so this was merely confirmation.

"My lady Alice, I heal people off the streets whether they want it or not, all these things I do for free simply because I have the power to do so. Any further exchanges of services shall only be done without your previously ill state in consideration. Long story short, I don't hold someone's life and health hostage."

Honestly I was getting tired of being too formal already. I'm more of a blunt guy that can maintain my politeness when required, but if I could drop it, I would do so in an instant.

Alice slipped on those magic rings then proceeded to ungracefully jump on her bed a few times before sitting down elegantly.

"Hahaha, dear me, I showed you a rather disgraceful sight."

"I really don't see why being happy should be considered disgraceful."

Alice smiled wryly and gestured for me to take a seat, which I did.

"Alexander might beg to differ. He always has an unfriendly face on him and he never smiles."

"Sorry, it sounds like my older brother has been a huge pain. I heard he just stole from a museum in Australia, ah, normal parents would scold him but mom loves him despite his kleptomaniac tendencies."

"Older brother? Ah, so you do consider yourself Pandora's child in spirit and in truth."

"I have never tried to hide that fact." I said with a smile, "She's the only family I have left, besides this new dysfunctional one, that is. I haven't actually met the rest yet, although Luo Cuilian left a single sentence about "getting some merits" before coming to talk to her."

"Cult Leader Luo Hao… your brother likes to refer to her as China's Freakishly Strong Girl and Advocate of Ultimate Brute Force."

"For the sake of avoiding kin-slaying I am not going to refer to her like that and do so respectfully."

"You have already shown more tact and social intelligence in five minutes than Alexander has ever shown in the past four years we have known each other."

"That's a low bar and I resemble that remark."

"Haha… oh my, we seem to have gone off topic quite a bit."

"You don't say?"

"It must be your actually existent sense of humor."

"What kind of socially awkward guy is Alex!?"

"The worst. Right, I welcome you today, William Gump. Your Majesty."

"Wait, stop, please don't bow."

"I never have been strong enough to bow properly so please give me this."

I got the feeling that she also enjoyed making me feel uncomfortable, just to a point where we can all have a laugh about it, however.

"And also… I thank you sincerely with all my heart. In all these years, my father and I have been searching for a way to ease the burden of this weak body of mine. In the end, I made my peace with living with such a weak body so long as I could help others with my powers, but even so… there are a lot of things I want to experience for myself. And you have given me that chance to live the life that I thought was to be denied to me."

Before this she could barely make a physical trip without exhausting herself and feeling sick for days, I suppose it makes sense for her to feel this happy about it.

"You're welcome. Um, I'm not exactly good with excessive gratitude so uh…"

"Ohoho! You're very different from the other Campiones I know off. Alexander revels in the fear his presence causes, but you can't stand attention."

"That's not quite accurate. I don't mind certain types of attention, but receiving gratitude for something I would have done regardless of another person's opinion and cost me next to nothing just feels… unbalanced, or something close to that."

"It may be presumptive of me, but I will say that Equivalent Exchange is in the eyes of the beholder. My advice for you is to simply get used to the fact that your actions might mean one thing for you, but a whole different thing for another. You already have a good level of empathy, the next natural step for you is to put yourself into someone's shoes, so to speak, on a deeper level."

Easier said than done. Then again, the problem is largely on my own willingness.

"And also, regardless of the exchange made… I am certain that you wouldn't mind receiving attention from a lady like myself."

"That is… true, I'm not complaining. I mean, usually I would, at least when it comes to the endless honey taps placed by the HCC and Four Families. That kind of womanly attention is… uncomfortable."

"Ah, well, you won't have to worry about that anymore."

"How so?"

"Why, I accept your marriage proposal!"

"Blimey! That escalated quickly! Wait, what marriage proposal…"

Don't tell me Daigo tried to hook me up on his first day of work! At this rate I'm going to run out of promotions and rewards to give him!

"You gave me all these pretty rings."

"... oh yeah. Just for your information, if it was an actual engagement ring, I wouldn't have kept the enchantments to such a basic level. Wait a second… you're sixteen, aren't you a bit too young to be thinking about such things?"

"Oh don't be silly. The minimum age is sixteen with consent from my legal guardian. I can just forge my father's signature then we can elope on the grounds of a honeymoon. Excuse me, I meant to say long term business trip."

"I want to name you a liar unfortunately my [Detect Lie] skill says you're not lying."

"I believe the spell is called [Discern Lie]."

Yeah, let's just go with that.

"You play DnD?"

"I am familiar with the handbooks but I don't exactly have any such friends to play with."

We ended up chit-chatting on various entertainment before I discussed what I wanted to get out of this meeting.

"A Netherworld Phone?"

"Yes, I want to speak with mom again. Once I have the phone done I can move on to video call and more advanced stuff. It works with the Underworld already thanks to my own specialties, you know, having killed a God of Death and Magic. I thought the Hime Miko's connection to the Memories of the Void, located in the Netherworld, would help me lock on to that realm but the connection has never been consistent nor long enough for me to work with."

"I see, so you simply need me to have my mental waves transcend the gap between the earth and the other world. Such a feat is only possible for Hime Miko's whose spirit powers of Spirit Sensing develops to a very high degree… fortunately for you, I can do that easily enough."

"Great. What would you like for that? I have various Amulet's, magic swords, enchanted armor-"

"You have to make me your wife."

"... I… am honestly not against it, but you're the one that is supposed to be rewarded for your services."

"I know."

"... I am not good with this. I do like you a lot. I accept on the condition that we start dating and see if we are happy with each other."

Those were my honest feelings about her. I know that this is a battle harem light novel, I do in fact want a harem of beautiful women, but with lots of quality control, and quite frankly the young lady in front of me is one of the most qualified woman in terms of useful talents, political power and a personality I could grow to love.

"Wonderful. I will make sure to let everyone know-" At least this will also work as an object lesson to other mage associations, "-now, as for your other request. I believe you seek Zeus, am I correct?"

"Yes. I am taking up Odin's grudge in this and I plan to kill Zeus. Preferably, with less damage than what happened in my battle, though I don't have high hopes."

"Out of curiosity, how did you survive such a horrendously destructive battle long enough to kill the Heretic God Odin?"

"Oh, you know, he casted magic on me and I blocked enough of it to survive. Then he used that unnamed crossbow where it's arrows can chase after me and blow up everything it hits, so I survived that. After that he tried to tag me with Gungnir but I stayed out of range until I baited him into using his Authority and threw Gungnir for a sure kill strike. Knowing he would gouge out my heart, I ran at him then ripped out my own heart, tossed it to the side so that Gungnir would miss me then stabbed my sword down Odin's throat. He's not so invincible on the inside as much as the outside."

"... I see. You may not be a barbarian like Alexander but you certainly are a Campione. I honestly do not know what else to say, except for more details on how any of that is remotely possible."

"Well… I'll tell you after the wedding night."

She pushed one of her pillows into my face and I responded by escalating into a pillow fight.

After that, I enchanted her pillows with all sorts of effects, including the power to give her sweet dreams, more rest, detect intruders and protect her from harm.

"I can scarcely believe you just turned my pillows into an item just a step below that of a Divine Item in a manner of seconds."

"You'll get used to it. Anyways, so on Zeus…"

Alice had a delighted expression on her face.

"I know where he is. At least, I have seen him in one of the strongest possible futures."

"Great. Where is he?"

"I will tell you if you promise to bring me with you."

"You just want to go out on a holiday, don't you?"

"Oh my, are you accusing a lady such as myself of wanting to escape the prison that is my home? It seems more likely that a brutish Campione had decided to kidnap me~"

"... You know what? I always wanted to add 'kidnapper' to my resume. It will give me something in common with my career criminal older brother… Say, are you attached to this carpet?"

Alice looked at the fancy, expensive carpet in her bedroom and shook her head.

"No, not at all. What are you planning to do with it?"

"Well I am going to show you the world so I may as well do it in style…" I began to weave the enchantments into it, then stepped right on it as the carpet began to hover above her bedroom floor.

"Do you trust me?"

I held out my hand to her and all but shrieked in delight before grabbing my hand.

"Yes."

We heard the screams of Alice's lady-in-waiting as we flew off on a magic carpet ride to Macau.