Mr. Death in the Steam World

There was nothing they could do; the white rabbit held the power of discourse, so the two had no choice but to patiently listen to it.

Moen looked at the pocket watch in the sky again. Two hours had passed since their arrival, and time was running out.

They were unfamiliar with the area, and ignoring the white rabbit and acting on their own was not a good choice, so Moen decided to hold back for now.

"Listen up, my good friend Mr. Hat just finished brewing his tea and asked me to take some over to him. Here it is."

As if by magic, the White Rabbit conjured a packet of tea leaves from thin air and tossed it to Moen.

"But I think I'm going to be late again, could you please deliver it to me?"

With that, the white rabbit snapped its fingers, and the bag opened automatically, sending two tea leaves flying to the two people, one on the left and one on the right.

"As payment, besides guiding you, I'll also give you these two tea leaves. As for their effects, you'll find out once you swallow them."

Moen naturally wouldn't take this unfamiliar thing, but Phils's eyes lit up.

"W-Could this be?!"

She tentatively took a bite of the tea leaf, and immediately a look of pure bliss appeared on her face.

"No, Miss Ignis, you!"

Moen stared at Phils in shock.

"Oh, Mr. Marcus, don't worry, I know what this is. Every student at the Magic Academy knows what this is."

She opened her pocket, inside were three butterfly-shaped candies.

"Look, the essence of that tea is just like these candies; it's made with spirit, and eating it is entirely beneficial!"

To prove her point, Phils took another small bite and raised her hand, conjuring a ball of flame.

The flames burned brighter and brighter, clearly indicating an improvement.

Seeing that Phils was so certain, Moen reluctantly accepted the tea leaf.

However, tea made from spirits...

He secretly communicated with the Death Note through his consciousness and received a satisfactory response:

If this tea leaf is fed to the Death Note, the resulting life force will be enough for him to use the Harvest Form again!

"Thank you, Mr. White Rabbit. May I ask where the Mr. Hat you mentioned is?"

"Fils asked happily."

"Hmph, it's always more pleasant to hear a young girl's words!" White Rabbit glanced at Moen. "Unlike some people who get the benefits and then act innocent."

"That guy in the hat's tea party is over there, just across this mushroom forest, only a few kilometers away, but..."

The white rabbit revealed a sinister smile and snapped its fingers again, causing Moen and the others to slow down once more.

"I'm late, and you can't be late. You must arrive at the tea party before tonight, or the night in Wonderland will..."

He deliberately didn't explain clearly, smacked his lips, and ran away.

Watching the other person's smug back, Moen couldn't help but clench his fists—damn riddle man!

With this movement, Moen discovered that although their speed had slowed down, it wasn't as exaggerated as it had been at the beginning; it had only roughly offset the boost from "Meow's Swiftness."

But Philse was different; she struggled to move her feet and looked at Moen with an embarrassed expression.

"Um, Mr. Marcus, I—"

Without a word, Moen scooped Philse up in his arms as if she were a baby.

"!!!???"

Phils struggled in his arms in surprise, but was too slow and was easily subdued by Moen.

"No, Marcus, although I'm slower, but..."

She couldn't help but blush. As the second young lady of the prestigious Ignis family, this was the first time she had ever been so intimate with a man.

Moen didn't seem to feel anything, and simply said:

"I'm sorry, Miss Ignis, at your snail's pace, we might not even make it by nightfall."

"Judging from that guy's tone, there's probably some danger here at night. Just in case, it'll be faster for me to carry you."

"you--!"

Phils struggled a couple more times, but she knew that Moen was right, and soon stopped moving.

"That's so inelegant. At least try a different pose, like a back hold, or a male/female hold..."

"What a hassle."

......

It must be said that although White Rabbit looks arrogant, its strength is indeed remarkable.

From the bright sunshine to the crescent moon, even Moen's dead body was sweating, but the slowing effect applied by the White Rabbit remained undiminished.

The "fairyland" is now undoubtedly in the night, and they are late.

Remembering the danger the white rabbit had mentioned, Moen frowned.

Continuing like this wasn't a solution, so he sighed and decided to take a break.

"Mr. Marcus, I think I know how to break that rabbit's ability!"

Fils made a startling statement as soon as she got off him.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

She puffed out her non-existent chest with smugness and said confidently:

"On the way here, I kept thinking, how could a mere Level 5 containment object have such powerful abilities?"

"Then, I remembered that it was mentioned in the fourth-grade course 'Containment Ritual Studies'..."

Moen selectively ignored her words.

"...The internal space of these types of containment objects often contains certain rules, so it's not actually the White Rabbit that's powerful, it's 'Wonderland' that's powerful."

"In other words, as long as we're no longer in the fairyland, we won't be affected by it!"

Moen, who was feeling drowsy, nodded reluctantly and asked sincerely:

"So, Miss Ignis, what should we do to resolve our current predicament?"

"Hmm... if I'm not mistaken, making a simple ritual prop should be enough."

Phils reached out and untied her red hairband, then pulled out a quill pen and ink from somewhere on her person and began to draw.

Moen could see that where the pen tip touched, it seemed to emit tiny sparks of starlight.

Soon, Phils tied the headband back on her head, and to Moen's surprise, her movements returned to normal.

"I drew a small ritual circle on the headband. Once the ritual takes effect, I can be considered to be outside of the fairy realm."

She sighed regretfully.

"Unfortunately, my magic power is not strong enough; it should only last for about one or two hours."

Moen looked at Phils with a serious expression:

"In that case, why don't you give me the hair tie? I'm much faster than you."

He felt his suggestion made perfect sense, but for some reason, Phils rolled her eyes at him.

Women are such a hassle.

With the hairband wrapped around his hand, Moen immediately felt a sense of relief, as if he had unloaded an invisible burden.

As the night deepened, a chill gradually rose and enveloped the two of them.

He carried Phils on his back and ran all the way.

Half an hour later, the scenery ahead finally changed. The mushroom forest gradually thinned out, and Moen's spirits lifted, so he quickened his pace.

No one noticed that behind them, a cat's face with an exaggerated smile slowly emerged.