Lidia and Slimo were walking towards the main entrance of the palace, a solemn, cool expression painted their faces. Slimo in particular fastened his helmet on tight before coming closer to the palace guards. He had already been so easily recognized by a random person in town, there was no doubt that whoever was in charge of the kingdom would recognize him immediately... or already had.

He slid his visor over his eyes and looked at Lidia. Lidia’s powerful figure looked even more alluring being hugged by the shining iron armor. Lidia felt his gaze and smiled softly back at him.

"I wonder what the king of the palace will be telling us to do today. I mean, I’ve hardly seen any sort of danger living in these walls. Not even the people seem to fight each other."

Slimo exhaled slowly.

"Whatever our assignment is, we need to find a way to gather information."

The guards stopped them both before entering the palace. Both Lidia and Slimo got on one knee and bowed their heads.

"We’ve come to see the king of the palace. We were told they would be assigning us tasks to do today."

The guards studied Lidia carefully, trying to gauge if she was lying or posed any sort of threat. Eventually, one of the guards walked over to her and took a sword away from her hip.

"No weapons allowed in the throne room. You must drop them here or leave."

"Very well."

Both Lidia and Slimo slowly emptied the weapons attached to themselves. However, Slimo left a small dagger hiding in his metallic boot, just in case. The guards allowed them to pass freely after a short while and escorted them to the throne room. The giant wooden doors of the palace creaked open, revealing a pristine marble hallway, reflecting rays of sunlight off its polished surface. The walls were made of finely chiseled stone and glowed a strange purple hue in their cracks.

Their footsteps echoed around them as they approached a small iron door at the end of the hallway. Each guard took out a key and slid it into a different hole in the door. With two loud clicks, the door slowly opened, revealing the royal throne with the king sitting on top. The room and throne were like nothing Lidia had ever seen before. The floors, the walls, and even the ceiling all shimmered with a golden glow. Large stacks of treasure littered the room. Hundreds of thousands of gold coins worth of loot sitting around like it was trash meant to be thrown away. Lidia couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

The king looked down at them with his elegant figure. He was wearing dark blue robes fitted with onyx tassels wrapped around his shoulders. His short blue hair covered his eyes as he rested his sharp chin on one of his knuckles. In his other hand, there was a long emerald staff vibrating with energy. Lidia couldn’t tell what kind of power the thing possessed, but her senses were screaming at her to avoid being on the other end of it. Slimo had his glasses on under his helmet, but he was unable to read the words appearing next to the king through his visor. It was as if the glasses required a perfect view of the target to work.

After Lidia and Slimo dropped to their knees, they awaited to hear the king’s orders. A soft, graceful voice flowed over them.

"It is such a pleasure to be in your presence once again. Both of you. Are you both ready for your assignments today?"

Lidia and Slimo stayed quiet for a moment before finally speaking.

"Yes, my king."

A small, playful chuckle sounded from the throne. The king slowly stood up and walked toward them with short steps. Neither Lidia or Slimo allowed themselves to look up and meet the kings gaze. A soft, pale hand caressed the visor of Slimo’s helmet. The king was leaning forward with their whole body, getting uncomfortably close to Slimo as if trying to peer through the visor. His azure eyes sparkled in the light reflecting against its surface.

"What’s the matter? You seem afraid to show that beautiful face of yours today."

Slimo remained silent for three moments.

"I assumed my assignment may require me to have my full set of armor today, my king. Please forgive me. I never meant any disrespect."

The king walked around Slimo and slowly rubbed their arm around his neck in a coy manner. Lidia was trying her best not to look, but the king seemed to be getting strangely touchy with Slimo.

"Ah. That’s such a shame. You just have such an amazing face. It’s such a crime to be covering it up, hiding it from the world... hiding it from me to see. Oh well. Do what you please."

The king slowly let their hand fall from Slimo’s armor before walking back in front of them. Suddenly, they took off their blue robe to reveal something that made both Lidia and Slimo choke on air. The king’s figure was much slenderer than they had anticipated. They had a thin waste and large hips. However, the feature that shocked them the most was located around their chest.

"That’s much better. This feels much more freeing. Oh, and did I forget to tell you last time? I’m not a king. I am a queen. Queen Chronos."

The clothes under the queen’s robe were a much tighter fit. It was a white, silky dress that covered all of her figure adequately. A small pit of anger surged in Lidia’s gut. She didn’t understand why but punching the queen in the face felt like it would make her feel amazing. Slimo was the first to speak between them.

"I-I’m incredibly sorry, my queen. Please forgive us. We had no idea."

The queen puffed her chest flirtatiously in front of Slimo.

"You are forgiven. Now, what shall I have both of you do, hm?"

She tapped her foot against the polished floor as she leaned forward using her staff, staring at both of them. After a short while, she banged the bottom of her staff on the floor.

"I got it! How about this girl over here can look around the palace and kingdom to search for any gaps in the enchantments. That is never a bad thing to look over! We need to keep the people safe here after all."

"Yes, my queen."

The queen looked at Slimo with a sly grin.

"As for you, I have a different task I need from you."

Lidia furrowed her brows, fearing for what the queen would request of her new boyfriend.

"I need you to follow my right hand around and make sure he doesn’t kill anyone today. Can I trust you to do that?"