Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

To be honest, Ning was very unhappy. This was her second time in the kingdom, and her impression of the last visit wasn't good either; this time it was even worse. It also confirmed what the outsiders had said: the living environment in the kingdom was indeed very poor. The already lifeless cities had become even more stagnant, and the soldiers guarding the city gates were still as annoying as ever.

Adding to the series of events that have occurred since she entered the city, she is in a terrible mood. She doesn't want to do anything and just wants to find a place to stay as soon as possible to end the day.

"Alright, stop being stubborn," Li comforted. "Just think of it as doing it for my sake, okay? Now that we've seen Alice, we can confirm what we've been wanting to confirm. Don't be like this, come help me."

“Yes, yes,” Xiao chimed in. “Xiao doesn’t understand these things and can’t help Sister Li. Sister Ning, could you please help me?”

After much pleading and cajoling from the two, Ning finally gave in.

"Alright, alright, I'm truly defeated by you two," Ning said helplessly. "However, I'll be in charge of everything from now on. You two just need to cooperate with me, understand?"

"Ok!"

Xiao nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation.

"...I have a bad feeling about this..." Li became somewhat uneasy.

“Then I will refuse to cooperate with you,” Ning said decisively.

"Hey, no, I'll listen to you."

I realized from the beginning that she couldn't handle this kind of situation. Normally, she could maintain her composure, but this time was different…

This time, they were facing not Alice from the Sanko Workshop, but Queen Alice of the new kingdom of Alyas. Their positions were vastly different. Even though Ri was speaking to Alice from the perspective of Akihabara, a newly emerging power, Alice carried more weight. Under these circumstances, Ri had no idea what to do. Saying the wrong thing could likely cause trouble for others.

So Ning has always been in charge of handling these matters, but if she doesn't cooperate a little now, things could get complicated... Therefore, they can only compromise. However, Li has a bad feeling. Ning didn't say anything more, but took out the book she was carrying and started reading. And so, the carriage carrying the three of them returned to silence for the time being.

After a while, they arrived at the palace.

"plz follow me."

A maid led the three sisters down the palace corridor. Ning swaggered ahead, while Li followed behind with some concern, also looking after Xiao, who was prone to getting lost. As Li walked towards the audience hall, she observed her surroundings. Many eyes were fixed on the three sisters, some with disdain, others with covetousness.

These gazes made her uneasy, and she silently withdrew her eyes, activating her magical eye to gather information about the palace, while simultaneously constructing a map of the palace and marking the surrounding area. Those watching them were mostly nobles and officials; their intentions were clear: either they had their eyes on the three of them, or they simply found them extremely annoying.

In short, none of them are good people. However, since they haven't done anything wrong, there's no need to do anything extra with them. Besides, Ning has remained calm, and since she's already acted that way, I shouldn't do anything out of line either.

Li had completely grasped the layout of the entire palace, even discovering some hidden areas; it felt like playing an RPG game and searching for hidden elements. However, she also noticed something amiss, because the maid was leading them not to the audience hall…

【Ning.】 Sensing something was wrong, Rin communicated with Ning telepathically, 【Have you noticed anything amiss?】

"I noticed." Ning glanced at her. "You're so slow to react!"

"Huh?!" Li said, somewhat exasperated. "We just turned a corner, right?! This road doesn't lead to the audience hall; the other one does."

"Yes, that's right." Ning nodded quietly. "Is there a problem?"

[This is a huge problem!!! Weren't we going to see Alice? Why are we here? And why are you so calm??]

"Don't worry." Ning's lips curled into a slight smile. "That's what they think, and that's what I think too."

"Ugh! That's why I didn't want you to make all the decisions!" Rin exclaimed in frustration. "Look at what you're trying to do! I have no idea what you're trying to do!"

If you don't understand, just follow along obediently.

Ning remained unchanged, offering no explanation for her actions. This made Li extremely uneasy, as Li couldn't understand Ning's intentions. Ning had always acted this way, and now there was no going back; Li could only obediently follow her lead. After walking for a while, the maid stopped in front of a room.

"This is it. Please come in, gentlemen."

After a brief explanation, the maid opened the door for the three sisters and gestured for them to come in. In other words, they were to be allowed to enter... Ning had already gone inside, and Xiao followed her in. Only Li hadn't gone in yet, instead casting a suspicious look at the maid.

"Excuse me," Li finally asked, "why are we here instead of going to the audience hall?"

“Her Majesty the Queen instructed me to bring the three of you here for a short rest,” the maid explained. “Once Her Majesty is ready, she will come here to find you. Please do not leave this room. We will have the royal guards stand guard outside to ensure your safety. If you need anything, please knock on the door and inform the royal guards outside.”

"……Thanks."

Li entered the room with some skepticism. The room was basically the same as the rooms used by the Borg Chamber of Commerce to entertain guests, but it gave Li a strange sense of unease. After she entered the room, the door was already closed. Ning casually found a place to sit down and started reading, while Xiao simply picked up the fruit on the table and began to eat.

"Don't you find this strange?" Li asked.

"Hmm... if you mean the magic suppression array, that was already deactivated before I came in."

Ning described it lightly and naturally.

"Huh!?" Li exclaimed in surprise, "So you're saying there's a problem with what you're saying?"

"Well, there's nothing to worry about," Ning said calmly. "Besides that, I've also dispelled several other magic circles, such as those cast by the Lustful Rune..."

"I shouldn't have trusted you..." Li's headache was getting worse. "So? What are you planning to do?"

"Well, let's wait for that person to come." Ning smiled. "I encountered the same trick when we went to church last time, didn't I?"

"Huh? You've encountered something like this before?" Li asked incredulously.

“Yeah, that’s right…” Ning withdrew his gaze. “He’s an idiot, isn’t he… Anyway, this little thing can’t do anything to us, right? All we have to do now is wait for the guy who set the trap to come over. By the way, do you still have any rune stones? You know, those stones that can preserve magic.”

"Ah... well... I do have some, but I probably can't withstand your magic."

"It's alright, it's just a simple spell."

Chapter 39 Pressure

The group waited peacefully in the room for a while. Li was initially very nervous, but under the influence of the other two who were completely unfazed, she simply let her guard down. She didn't care what kind of mess might happen next; since Ning had said so, she would let her handle it herself.

She sat next to Xiao, leaning back on the sofa and staring at the ceiling, letting her mind go blank. Some time passed like this... nothing changed, but Li did make some new discoveries.

The magic eye highlighted several subtle spots on the ceiling in Li's field of vision.

On the ceiling was a mural that looked incredibly expensive. The Demon Eye had listed the relevant information from the mural: it depicted the events surrounding the Guardian Beast incident. A roaring, enormous white fox attacked a city from outside, while a figure standing on the city wall wielded a glowing sword, parrying all the attacks…

etc…………

This isn't...?

Li's gaze slowly moved to Xiao... Yes, she had seen that giant white fox before. It was the white fox she had seen in a seal deep within the labyrinth, and it was also Xiao's mother... That great mother had protected her flesh and blood until a destined person took her away. It was also because of that mother's death that Xiao had the opportunity to see the light of day again.

This also means that the Kingdom does indeed have intelligence related to Akatsuki, and coming here was the right choice. With the country currently stable, their investigation will be much easier.

Rin also had some questions about this, and her gaze returned to the mural. As the kingdom's guardian beast, why did Akatsuki's mother ultimately attack the city she was supposed to protect? This was one of the mysteries, and something they needed to figure out, but what exactly happened back then? Hopefully, they could find some relevant information in these few short days...

"Eh?"

Li subconsciously let out a soft "Eh."

Because in her demonic eyes she saw something—the fox in the mural was indeed spitting something out, but it wasn't something from the mural…it was…

Yarux's concentrated stock solution.

Yarux is a man-eating plant in this world that parasitizes adolescent girls, stealing their nutrients to grow.

It looks very unappealing and should be a plant that people would avoid, but its concentrated extract is quite valuable because it is a very strong aphrodisiac. It is colorless and odorless, and just a little bit of its scent is enough to ignite a burning desire in people. The effect is very strong.

This plant has been boycotted by many countries due to ethical concerns, but its enormous profits continue to lure unscrupulous individuals with malicious intentions. It is rumored that specialized organizations engage in such activities. The arux only grows in the summer, at which time its seeds, buried under the grass, become active and seek hosts. These organizations abduct adolescent girls from various locations before the arux mature, eventually gathering together to travel to the arux's growing area.

Arux has very discerning tastes, only choosing girls he likes. As a result, many of the large number of girls he brings with him end up being useless. What happened to those girls afterward is self-evident...

Rin had never heard of such a thing from her older brother. She wasn't quite sure how she had overheard it, but this stuff was terrible, wasn't it?! If it weren't for Rin's convenient ability of the Mystic Eyes, she wouldn't have known that this concentrated essence of Arux was starting to fill the room.

Thinking of this, Li quickly covered Xiao's mouth and nose.

"Sister Li?"

Xiao asked sullenly.

"Ning, something's wrong," Li said to Ning, who was reading a book.

"Hmm? Ah... I'm sorry," Ning smiled sheepishly, "I was so focused on reading that I didn't notice... You pointed out the problem, right..."

Ning closed her book and, prompted by Li, looked up at the mural above her head. Xiao naturally looked over as well, and Li didn't have time to stop her.

"Oh—what a big fox!" Xiaotian exclaimed innocently.

Hearing Xiao say that, Li finally felt relieved. Yes, why was she so nervous? The mural above her head depicted the figures in a very casual way; it was understandable that Xiao wouldn't recognize it. But Li was able to distinguish what it was from certain features… all thanks to Nao…

"I see..." Ning said uninterestedly, "It's the same old routine again... I thought those nobles would come up with something interesting, but it's just a different kind of medicine at best..."

"You make it sound so easy... What exactly happened back then..." Li was speechless.

"Well, it's better if you don't know," Ning smiled mysteriously. "However, this whole series of arrangements is probably just to make us someone's prisoners."

"Woo..."

Li's vision began to darken. She inadvertently recalled what had happened, and a wave of dizziness, nausea, and vomiting washed over her; the feeling was incredibly unpleasant. Noticing Li's strange behavior, Ning immediately went to her side, took her hand, and tried to calm her down.

"Calm down," Ning said softly. "With me here, I won't let that happen again. Don't worry..."

"Hmm... I'm just feeling a little unwell..." Li rubbed her head and leaned back on the sofa to make herself feel better.

Ning also began to feel annoyed. The reasons were obvious. She silently activated the magic stored in the runestone, then left Li's side and walked to the door. She symbolically opened the door, but the two locked doors were too strong for a young girl to open, and Ning didn't want to. She then knocked on the door and symbolically called out to the guards outside.

There were obviously no royal guards outside; it was just a trap set by those nobles. After taking a liking to the three sisters, those nobles bribed the maids to bring them to this special room, which served a similar purpose to the so-called baptismal chamber in the church.

These nobles use these methods to bind the women they desire with lewd markings, enslavement spells, and other forms of bondage, making them solely obedient to the nobles. After that, their fate is irrelevant, as these women are now the nobles' toys, and anything can happen to them. However, who is behind this remains a mystery.

Ning had already noticed something was wrong, but she didn't say anything directly. Instead, she played along, continuing to go along with the other party's intentions until she lured them out. However, Li now seemed to be feeling unwell. Aphrodisiacs didn't seem to have much effect on her, probably due to other issues. In any case, she had lost patience with this.

I originally estimated that the nobles would start their plan in a little while, but I didn't expect these guys to be so cautious. It's terrible. They've only made a move now. Are these guys pigs?

Ning returned to Li's side, turned on her headphones, connected to someone's channel, tossed them aside, and then patted Li and Xiao on the shoulder.

"You two rest for a while... I'll wake you up after we're done..."

The magic attached to their hands took effect instantly, and Li and Xiao became drowsy before leaning against each other and falling into a deep sleep. They would know nothing of what happened next. To make them appear more like they were in heat, Ning did something subtle: she reconcentrated all the remaining potion in the air and casually tossed it into her mouth, drinking it all down.

Drinking more than three drops of Yarux's concentrated essence is something no normal person would dare to do; such a crazy act would probably turn a person into a beast driven by lust for life. But for Ning, it was at most just drinking a sip of a highly nourishing medicine. Although the ingredients were disgusting, only in this way could she feel any emotion towards those men.

After taking the concentrated serum, Ning's body began to radiate heat, her complexion turned rosy, and she exhaled a few hot breaths. Her consciousness was somewhat hazy, but that was enough. She lay on the sofa, her clothes disheveled, closing her eyes and waiting for the right moment…

After a while, the door to the room opened...

"Hmm... well done, this is for you."

"Thank you, sir. Then I will take my leave."

"Get out of here, everyone else, come any closer."

The maid seemed to be talking to a man, so she had indeed been bribed. Judging from the magical fluctuations, the people who came into the room were one tall and one short, one fat and one thin. They really were the standard setup for a scumbag noble NPC.

The footsteps drew closer, and both of their eyes first fell on Ning.

"Whoa... Big brother, big brother! Look at this woman!!!"

"Oh, oh, oh~ This is really good stuff... Looks like we two brothers have struck gold... Look at these big, white breasts..."

"Hmm, but big brother, I prefer that pink-haired woman over there..."

"Hey, don't you dare do anything reckless. She's my prey. You don't know, those seemingly ordinary women are incredibly formidable once they take their clothes off."

"As expected of the eldest brother! He knows so much!!!"

"Hmph, you still have a lot to learn! Hehehe... This bottle of Yarux Essence was definitely worth the money. If we had bought these three at the slave market, it would have probably bankrupted us brothers..."

"Huh!? Is it that profitable!?"

"Yeah! That's why I said we made a profit... Although I don't know why the magic suppression array and the lustful runes didn't work, this bottle of Arux's essence alone is enough to make them burn with lust."

"Haa...you guys are really stupid..."

"Huh!? What!?"

At that moment, a girl's voice mingled with theirs, and the tall, slender nobleman only then noticed Ning was awake. Startled by Ning, the two quickly retreated to the doorway, both looking utterly panicked, as they had certainly never encountered anything like this before. Ning ignored them, snapped her fingers at Li and Xiao to dispel the magic on them, and then straightened her clothes and hair.

"Big brother, big brother, big brother!! What, what, what's going on?!"

"No, no, no, no, don't panic, little brother! How could those three possibly handle us nobles!"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!"

"Watch closely! The Lustful Mark is activated—!"

The tall, thin nobleman shouted and raised his magic wand, trying to activate the effect of the erotic rune, but the room remained silent, and nothing noticeable happened. It was Ning who broke the silence by yawning.

"What?! What's going on?!" The tall, thin nobleman stared at the staff in disbelief. "Why! Why isn't it working?!"

"Didn't you just say that those magic circles didn't work?" Ning said calmly.

"Huh?? Is that so... Wait, wait, wait! What kind of attitude is this, woman, using to talk to us?!" The tall, thin nobleman became furious.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!" the short, stout nobleman stammered, "We are nobles!!! Commoners like you should kneel down!!"

"Are you two alright?"

"Ugh... I feel a little dizzy..."

"Hmm? Sister Ning, there are two middle-aged men over there?"

"Don't worry about them."