52. The Old Layered Cake
【Insight: The fairy Ikaros has seen through Ougilid’s plan!】
With the script appearing and the plan exposed, I had no mind left to be forced into playing silly games like touching ears with Adéve. I immediately grabbed her and rushed toward the inner part of the Kingdom of Prussia!
Earlier, Adéve had told us: Ikaros, who exists like the “core” of the Kingdom of Prussia, has always been hiding within the royal city, protected by various protocols, and is considered an “absolute secret” core area. The location and permissions of this “core area” can only be controlled by Ikaros alone. In other words, as long as this self-disciplined fairy does not want to see us, we can’t even open the door.
The crisis, especially with Ikaros’s death script approaching, forced me to resort to a “last resort” after witnessing the little fox’s abilities. However, did that little fox’s boast of “perfect disguise” even work? The plan had just begun, and Ikaros had already judged that the Adéve acting alongside Kephiel was fake.
Sure enough, as soon as we arrived, we found Kephiel looking utterly dispirited, followed by a “Adéve” who seemed dejected, emerging from deep within the royal palace of the Kingdom of Prussia, seemingly from the interception gate leading to the “core area.” Just as they had left, the automatic door behind them, which appeared to be “encrypted and locked,” slammed shut with a loud bang.
“Kephiel…”
“Sorry, we were discovered, and as a result, she kicked us out.”
Kephiel forced a smile, while the “Adéve” beside her remained silent, seemingly withdrawn. My original plan was to use Adéve’s identity to get close to Ikaros first, then have Kephiel rely on her own abilities to break through and meet Ikaros. However, this self-disciplined fairy’s perception was simply too sharp; she had seen the fact that there were two “Adéves”…
“Then you should go back and rest, Kephiel.”
With the plan failing, I had no choice but to let Kephiel take the “Adéve” beside her back to rest. As for me, I had to do some “cleanup” regarding this matter.
As Kephiel left at my “reminder,” Adéve also approached the cold, silver “automatic door” and knocked. However, it was indeed true that the insight fairy Ikaros controlled the “core” of the Kingdom of Prussia. Adéve’s usual “golden finger” that opened doors with a mere press of a keyboard suddenly failed her. Faced with the display screen clearly marked with the red letters “locked,” Adéve could only sigh and look up at the… camera above?
“Icarus, you’re watching, aren’t you? I’m sorry, but this means that humanity truly has urgent matters to prove to you!”
The voice of Icarus, comparable to GPS, immediately came through the small hole in the door. This sci-fi operation, combined with the long ears of the fairies, left me feeling quite conflicted.
“I can see ‘everything’—my situation, the fairies’ situation. I don’t need any outsiders to explain. Adev, these humans only bring danger; why do you still want to help them?”
Seeing Adev momentarily at a loss for words, I quickly added, “Just because you can see everything doesn’t mean you can avoid all danger. Icarus, right now around you…”
If possible, I wanted to explain, but this fairy’s pride was truly something else; she simply… went silent! It was clear she didn’t want to hear me speak!
In desperation, I gestured for Adev to speak up.
“Icarus! Don’t play dead! In any case, let me meet with you and explain. This man is just waiting by the last defense door and won’t hear what we say. That should be acceptable, right?”
The only response we received was the cold door. After a moment of silence, perhaps out of consideration for Adev, Icarus reluctantly accepted her proposal. The overly high-tech automatic door slowly opened, and I finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Sorry, Euclid, just like I said, wait outside for me for a bit. But you can still come along this part of the way.”
As she spoke, Adev led the way, guiding me into the “core area” of the Kingdom of Pluris, a place I had never been before.
Rather than a “core area,” it seemed more like a “control room” to me. The long corridor was filled with various wires and monitors, and the guards were not fairy sentinels but rather hidden “mechanics” lurking around the corners above—massive, benevolent tubes that could spin 3600 times a minute.
However, not everything here was purely sci-fi machinery. Supporting these circuits—no, these lines—was not some electrical current; it could be said to be colorful magic, using magic as an energy source under the guise of technology. This was likely the reason the Kingdom of Pluris had so much “black technology.”
At the end of the corridor was a door similar to the one before. Though it was called a door, just looking at its thickness and texture made it clear it was not something that could be easily pushed open. After stopping in front of it, Adev sighed softly and looked at me.
“We’ve arrived. Behind this is the ‘core’ of the Kingdom of Pluris, where the fairy of insight, Miss Icarus, resides.”
As if responding to Adev’s words, a projection of Icarus suddenly appeared before us, and Adev immediately apologized.
“Sorry, Icarus. In any case, let me in first, and then I’ll explain everything to you.”
“Stop lying to me, Adev. I can ‘see’ everything. I only allow you to enter; this human man beside you, who only brings danger, is absolutely not allowed!”
“Ah… yes, yes, yes. Just open the door, okay? I forgot my access card today.”
Adev sighed.
In reality, even if Adev were allowed to enter and explain to Icarus, I didn’t think Icarus would believe her about being in danger. After all, some matters, like “prophecies,” were things only I could clarify for Icarus to understand.
Not to mention, I also wanted to bring up Icarus’s powers as a fairy.
As for Zelus, that little fox, she seemed to have matters to discuss with Icarus but ended up hitting a dead end. With the crisis approaching, I had no choice but to devise such a plan.
Indeed, it was out of necessity.
Miss Icarus, please don’t really get angry at me and unleash some world-destroying laser rain.
The door slowly opened, the gap gradually widening, and as the door opened, Icarus’s voice came through.
“Adev, you actually forgot to bring your access card?”
“…”
The response to Icarus was Adev’s silence, and the next moment, Icarus’s voice, which had been emotionless, suddenly turned surprised!
“Wait! No, Adev, you know that as long as I unlock it, you can open the door with your eyes! You don’t need any access card at all!”
—
“You… you are the fake!!?”
【The Insight Fairy has detected the true ‘plan’ of Oujilide!】
The script has appeared, but… it’s already too late, Miss Fairy—
I immediately grabbed Adave, who had sprouted a pair of fox ears on her head, pulling her into the “core area” where Ikaros was, just before her large tail could be caught by the closing door!
As for the plan, Insight Fairy Ikaros, I’ve been carefully observing the script, specially tailored considering your “abilities,” how could it possibly fail?
After all… if I don’t take a firmer stance in meeting you, it will truly be too late, Insight Fairy!
——
PS: Recently, I got bored and wrote a dialogue novel, just on my author account.
Everyone can take a look, as it’s just something I wrote casually, featuring the beautiful fairy Tang Qike (big lie).
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