I was accompanying the Queen to head to the place where she was holding the guard that was being controlled by the Off-Worlder.

On the way there, a stray thought crossed my mind.

"Ma… Mama?" I called out. "I wasn't actually thinking about it until now but… Couldn't I use the [Ring Of Searching] to find this Off-Worlder by looking for the bangle?"

The Queen turned to me with her eyes sparkling, "Oh my, oh my~ Could Aster call me that again?"

And here I thought she was excited because I told her a great idea…

"Mama…" I repeated.

She giggled, "Ufufufu~ Ahhh~ Aster truly is the cutest!! To answer your question… That is a great idea! In fact, you could search for the masks as well to see if there were any others being controlled in the palace, right? Or maybe you could see if there were any bombs he might have planted elsewhere besides that room?"

Oh yeah… I didn't actually think of that…

Hey, cut me some slack, ok? I was only thinking about using the ring to look for the girls in case they ever get lost and to also look for sweet shops… I definitely did not expect to be using it for something like this…

Anyway… Since I have the Queen's blessing to do so, I stopped walking to pull out the ring from my pocket to slip it on my finger.

I then concentrated on the image of the bomb first in my mind, remembering its shape, size and form before pouring my mana into the ring.

I thought that since we were still in the palace, finding any additional bombs would be a priority here.

The moment the ring activated, I felt something tugging at me to a specific direction.

I instantly realised that it was the effect of the ring trying to point me towards what I was trying to locate and the feeling was pointing me to… Behind me?

I spun around in a panic, thinking that there was someone behind me throwing one of the bombs at me.

When I turned around though, there was no one there.

Ah, that must mean that the bomb the ring found is far awa-- Wait… The direction is still pointing behind me?

I turned around once again, only to figure out that the direction the ring was pointing at constantly remained behind me.

What the heck? Why is it-- Oh…

I took out my Pack of Folding and I realised the ring was pointing at the bag itself.

I then reached in and pulled out one of the discs, shaking it to transform it back into the bomb I found in Lisa's class.

Right… This was the bomb closest to me so that's where the ring pointed to…

Could I maybe specify it to point at bombs that the idiot Off-Worlder planted instead?

I tried to picture that requirement in my head and used the ring once again.

The enchantment came into effect and… It was pointing to the bomb I was already holding in my hand.

Ah crap… I guess that's one of the limitations of this ring…

Alright fine… Let's go with the mask next… Now imagine the shape and the likeness of the mask and then pour my mana into the ring to activate the enchantment. ȑАɴó𝐁Ęş

The ring pointed me towards the direction where the Queen had been leading me towards in the first place before I stopped to test this.

I turned to Levianne, "Well… The ring would only point me to the nearest object and the nearest mask is straight ahead… Which I assume belongs to the guard we are going to see."

The Queen however, was looking at the bomb I still held in my hand, "Aster… Where did you get that?"

Oh yeah… I didn't tell her about that.

"The Off-Worlder tried to bomb my class today. This was one of the bombs that I managed to secure before it exploded. That's actually why I came to look for you today to see if there was any progress in finding him."

Levianne frowned, "He tried to attack you in school?"

I nodded, "Yeah… He planted a few of them in my class and I was quite lucky that one of my classmates found it, which gave me enough time to deal with the bombs before they exploded."

The expression on the Queen's face changed and she took me by the hand to start pulling me alongside her as she resumed walking.

"This will not do. Had I known this little waste of space would attempt something like this on Aster… I need to change some of my plans now…"

Eh? What is Levianne talking about?

"What's wrong, Mama?" I asked.

"This little… No… It's alright now Aster, Mommy is here to protect you, there's no need for you to worry."

"Umm… Ok, but… Should I use the ring to track the bangle now?"

She suddenly stopped in her tracks and I would have bumped into her had I not skidded to a stop myself as well.

"Oh, of course~ Go ahead and do that first, Aster~ We might even be able to catch him before he realise that we're on to him~"

Alright, let's see now… First project the image of the bangle in my mind and then direct my mana into the ring and… Oh, there we go.

This time the ring seemed to be pointing towards the direction of the city so I believe we got him.

"He's somewhere in that direction," I announced, pointing in the direction that the ring was telling me.

The Queen clapped her hands together, "Perfect! In that case, let's go find him right now!"

I turned to her, "Wait… 'Let's'? You don't mean you're also coming along as well, are you, Lev--- Mama?"

She tilted her head at me, "Why not? Of course I would come with Aster! There's no way I would let you go off and face someone so dangerous by yourself!"

I wanted to remind her that I was also an Off-Worlder as well but then I remembered that not too long ago, she had managed to stop me from moving and casting spells when the Off-Worlder was trying to frame me for planting the bomb.

I had thought it was some kind of skill that he had which he was using through the Queen to freeze me in place. But now that I know Levianne wasn't being controlled by him from the start, it means that she actually possesses the skill herself and it wasn't because of the Off-Worlder.

So even if a fight were to break out, she's not completely defenceless.

But still…

"Isn't it dangerous for the Queen of the kingdom to go there personally? What if something happened to you?" I asked.

She giggled, "My, my, Aster~ Are you worried about your Mama? Fufufu~ That is so sweet~ You don't need to worry about me, I can take care of myself~ While Justinia may be a King famed for her blade, I can match her with my magic just fine~" Find more chapters on m_v l|e-NovelFire

I narrowed my eyes at her, attempting to use [Screened] on her.

But the result was an entire stats screen that was filled with question marks.

She seemed to realise what I was trying to do and giggled, "Ufufufu~ I apologise, Aster~ But there's an enchantment on me to prevent that skill from working. It was a necessary precaution since we were employing Off-Worlders here after all~"

"Did Mot-- I mean… Did my mother make this?"

"Oh no, I am not that great of a mage~"

I was just about to specify that I was talking about my birth mother when she patted me on the head, "I'm joking Aster~ Yes, it was placed by Madam Nilm. I'm sure you must have realised it had the same effect when you tried to use it on her, yes?"

I nodded, remembering the first time I received that ability and I thought there was some kind of limit on it or maybe it was even broken…

"Now… Why don't Aster use that ring to lead us to that pesky Off-Worlder and we can get rid of him as quickly as we can so that I can bring you back home to celebrate?"

I ignored the last part of her words, "We're not really just going by ourselves, are we? Because I'm not sure how strong this guy is and if I have to fight him seriously… Things might get a little ugly…"

"Fufufu~ Don't worry, Aster! You would not only have my support but also the Royal Guards who have already been stationed there~ Once we reach the area, they would join us on this subjugation quest~"

I see we're already treating this guy like a monster to be exterminated…

Well, I won't lie… I also want to get rid of him as soon as possible so I guess let's just get this done and over with…

And that's not just because I want the reward from the Queen, mind you…

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