Empress Echo of the Bestest Empire (which was soon going to be getting a new name) gave one last wave to her adoring subjects and turned to leave the balcony. Two men opened the double doors, bowed deeply, and closed them the moment she was through.

  Five people immediately ran up to her. One had a glass of water on a silver tray, which she accepted and drank from as she warily looked over the other four. It would be extremely rude to interrupt Her Highness when she was drinking, so they had to wait as long as the glass was to her lips.

  The first was Iris, in charge of Echo’s schedule. Unimportant.

  The second was Orion, the person in charge of guilds and whatnot. He was standing next to a young elf, who she assumed was the Runesmith she’d requested.

  And the fourth person was a changeling in elf form whose main magic type was psychic magic. His eyes were dark purple, as dark as they could get without being mistaken for black. He was tall and handsome and always dressed perfectly.

  And, importantly, he wasn't Maki. He was Hades, her fiance.

  Echo put the empty glass back on the silver tray, and the servant hurried off.

  “You did a great job,” Hades said, taking her hand and bowing over it. “You didn't look nervous at all.”

  “Thank you,” Echo said, her voice coming out flat.

  Iris cleared her throat. “Your next appointment is with the Minister of Agriculture in an hour, in the Grey Office.”

  “Thank you,” Echo repeated, shoving the empty feeling aside. She turned to the Minister of Guilds.

  “Your Highness, this is Seph Thyme,” he said. “She is, according to the guild members I spoke to, the most diligent Runesmith under the age of twenty.”

  Echo smiled. She’d specified that age to weed out the older generation and their oldest children. With pride and nepotism out of the way, she’d hopefully found someone who actually had talent.

  “Nice to meet you,” Echo said, nodding to the nervous elf. “Tell me, what does this do?” She pulled a paper from her inventory and held it out.

  Seeing a column of runes, the Runesmith immediately relaxed. She took the paper and scanned it.

  “Oh, these are air runes,” Seph said. “They’d fill a room with breathable air. Might be useful in mines or something?”

  Echo smiled, nodding. Seph had passed the test. She pulled out a second page and handed it over silently.

  “These are…” Seph paused, frowning. “Wait, is this-” She opened a screen no one else could see and checked something. “No way.” Her eyes grew as wide as her smile as she looked back at Echo. “This will make a livable pocket dimension.”

  “It will?” the Minister of Guilds demanded, grabbing it out of Seph’s hand. “Your Highness, we need to get this to the Runesmith Guild immediately! We need to-”

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  “Not yet,” Echo said firmly, removing the paper from his hand. “Seph, come with me to the Grey Room. Iris, make sure we are alone until it’s time for the Minister of Agriculture to enter. Minister Orion, you will kindly wait for Seph.” She hesitated, looking at Hades. He wasn't Maki, but he was smart. He’d been around politics as his career, so he might have insights she lacked. “You may join us, if you wish.”

  Hades seemed genuinely surprised, but accepted with a bow.

  It took them five minutes of walking to get to the Grey Room, where Echo sat at the head of a long table, Hades on her right and Seph on her left. She pulled her notebook out of her inventory and flipped it open before sliding it over to Seph.

  “Will this work?” she asked.

  “What is it?” Hades asked.

  Seph studied the runes, her lips moving as she read them. “It’s a portal to a pocket dimension, but it has… Oh, if you cinch it… Then you’d… It would- oh, duh.” She looked up at them. “It’s a way to get two doors to one pocket dimension. There wouldn't be a spatial limitation between them, so… Instant transportation from one side of the continent to the other, if you want. Yes, it would work.” Her eyes were shining with the possibilities.

  Hades’ eyes went vacant as he thumped back against his chair. “That would change everything.” He looked at Echo. “This was what you were getting when you left?”

  “Not just that,” she said, pulling a large, flat stone out of her inventory. She looked at Seph. “Do you have a coin?”

  “Oh, sure,” she said, pulling a silver coin from her inventory. She handed it over, examining the rune on the stone. “That’s probably the most complicated rune I’ve ever seen. Does it even work? At some point things just get too complicated to be viable.”

  Smirking, Echo put the coin on the rune and infused mana into the stone. The coin flashed out of existence for a millisecond, and then there were two coins on the rune.

  Hades and Seph stared at the coins, eyes so wide they were at risk of permanent damage.

  Echo crossed her arms, snickering at their reaction.

  Seph picked the coins up with trembling fingers. “That’s- It shouldn't- How did- Where- Huh?”

  Hades turned slowly to Echo. “That… is the most dangerous thing in existence.”

  “Not quite,” Echo said.

  “What could possibly-”

  “There exists a rune to make boost stones permanent. And there exists a thousand-level boost.” She turned to Seph. “I wasn't able to get them. But knowing they exist, could you find them?”

  “Uh,” Seph responded eloquently.

  “One thing at a time, of course,” Echo said. “Spend, what, two years on the pocket dimensions and portals, then you can switch tasks and I’ll make sure you’re very comfortably established.”

  “What about the duplicator?” Hades asked.

  “Well, that’s what I want to talk to the Minister of Agriculture about. Seph, I want you here as an expert Runesmith, but I’m going to need at least twenty people with teams dedicated to making sure duplicated food is edible and healthy,” Echo said. “The Runesmiths in Owonyan have already figured out pocket dimensions, so I just need one person heading a small team to figure out their full potential as most Runesmiths just make as many portals as possible. Seph, will you lead that team for me?”

  “Me?” Seph squeaked. “But I’m just- I’m not a-”

  Echo sat up. “I’m nineteen and in charge of a whole empire. I don't want a bunch of old people around who think I’m a little girl who doesn't understand things. I want someone my age to head this, because you won't talk to me like I’m ten. Someone said you know what you’re doing, and you knew what the runes were without explanation, so I trust you.”

  Seph nodded. “Yes. I can do it. I can absolutely spend two years studying pocket dimensions.”

  “Good. Make a list of what you need to get started, and I’ll have someone write up a contract.”

  At that last word, her still-open inventory helpfully scrolled to the one contract it held. Maeve’s contract. The one that asked Echo not to leave. The one that told her she had friends who wanted her around.

  Echo ignored it as Hades started asking questions. She had duties, a country to run and improve, and a fiance. She knew it would be best to take that contract out and throw it away, but somehow she hadn't done it yet. Every time she tried, her hand froze and all she saw was Maki’s eyes.

  So it stayed there, safe in her inventory, as she smiled and continued on with her responsibilities.