The man had unusual orange hair fading into bright blue at the ends, a dark green top hat with deep purple flowers as an accent and multiple cartilage earrings. His clothing was questionable too, but that didn’t matter to Robin. After all, he was...

“Mad Piper, do you think you’ll be able to produce identification cards for all 200 people?”

The name is cheesy too.

Saying his name left a weird taste in her mouth almost as if calling a person who had the name, Helga. The game offered a hybrid breed between Alice’s Mad Hatter and the classic nursery rhyme which may or may not have a darker theme as the castle advisor. But why did her own brother choose him as the advisor?

He retreated his long row of spectacles, as in a glass layered on top of a few other lenses, which seemed really unnecessary looking through the notebook. “Ah yes! Of course, I can!” And with a spring in his step, went inside a hunky compartment rivaling that of Dr. Seuss's fictional machines.

The machine rumbled, a few clanks and engine grunts could be heard. As a matter of fact, the whole room was filled with these weird machines and whatnots. As the rumbling became louder, Robin took a few steps back worried the large machine would explode at any moment.

It was only until a loud boom resounded throughout the room, did Robin gave a small yelp.

A puff of gray smoke came out of the cone-shaped opening, the stench of CO2 diffusing into the room tickling at her nostrils. Piper came out from the small compartment with a loud swing of the door. He gave her a huge grin showing his perfectly straight teeth, and the circular goggles enlarged his eyes presented an almost comical view.

With long strides, he went to the very end of the machine where the finished product laid and quickly handed the box of plastic identification cards.

“These?”

“Faces! And their country of origin, plus their date of birth!” he finished. He happily clapped his gloved hands at the stunned expression etched across Robin’s face.

“Explain.”

He deeply bowed to the point where it seemed he was trying to touch his toes, “Of course Mademoiselle. The Machinotron 6000, has the capability of identifying and producing numerous amount of things from the information it is given. All I have to do is press some buttons to tell it what I want and the thing is made! Amazing is it not?” He wiggled his brows in delight, displaying a satisfying grin.

“...”

Forget it. It’s like trying to ask Suess of the actual science behind his machines or where babies come from.

“Furthermore, these plastic cards can’t be cut, ripped, burned, drenched, or harmed in any way!” he added.

The cards had the same sort of texture like the identification cards she received but also included a picture, country of origin, and date of birth. Basically, it was exactly the same as any other resident card or driver license.

“By the way, you wouldn’t mind if I came to consult you about the starting foundations just outside of the castle, would you?”

“Oh! Of course! What do you plan on creating?” he pondered out loud.

“I want to create a basic community or something along the lines of a capital if possible, but for now focus on the underground structure of how the city will be, including waste disposal, an underground waterline, a large-scale public electricity generator and recreational areas.”

If Robin were to create a country, she might as well expend the best resources like anyone would in S*m C*ty on cheats. Happier people meant better productivity.

“If possible, I also want you to create a team of researchers to create a way for harvesting magic power continuously and connect it to all parts of the city. Essentially, an electricity grid but instead uses mana, if that makes any sense." Robin took a nearby pen drawing a box that represented where the main source of energy was created and connected it to the crappily drawn house.

What Robin imagined was creating sectors in parts of the to-be-city that produced some form of reusable energy to be used in homes and such. She stopped and tapped the pen a few times before realizing something very important.

Could I use the dark magic stones as waste disposal? Create a small vacuum and is very similar to a black hole.

It was if an epiphany struck her at odd times, but nonetheless a very interesting idea. Hypothetically she could use it, as long there was a magic outlet connecting to it. As for whether it posed a threat or not, made Robin think of future implications.

“Actually, for now I want you to test a little hypothesis for me regarding the dark magic stones,” she tore away the page and handed it to Hatter. He simply hummed looking at the wrinkled paper.

“Interesting. Mmhm. Interesting.” Tapping at his long painted nails against his cheeks.

She quickly glanced at her own nails before speaking, “I’ll leave that to you for now. I have something to do for the meanwhile.”

Robin left Hatter to ponder with his own thoughts and would eventually consult him at a later date. It was dusk, at least it’s what Robin assumed from the dark skies. The rain stopped a long time ago, with the sky clear and darker than ever. Maybe it was evening but one thing was certain, Robin was starving.

She headed towards the kitchen and was greeted by Quinn again halfway to her destination. A faint scent of roses always accompanied Quinn, a bit of an addicting scent that distracted her hunger for just a tad bit.

“Master, dinner has been served in the dining room.”

“What about the guests?” Robin asked, redirecting her route towards the dining room.

“They will be served in their respective rooms this time around and prohibited to leave for the time being,” Quinn replied.

Robin hummed in response. “I’ll head to their quarters to give them their identification cards after dinner then. As for the candidates I requested…”

“No worries, Master. I have found two very suitable candidates and are currently awaiting your arrival in the dining room.”

Great. Then the plan can be settled faster than I expected.

She hoped her plan would be a success because Robin did not make or propose a plan B. She felt as though she was pushing her plans a bit too fast, but time was precious after all.