Time continued to pass.

This car was much different than the last one.

The last car had one door on each side.

This car had two.

The last car had a single bench for people to sit on.

This car had two.

The last car was blue.

This car was the silvery color of unpainted metal.

The last car ended just past its bench seat.

This car had a small area for storage behind its second bench, along with another door to access it.

The last car was capable of being driven.

This car wasn't.

Mina claimed she'd fix that later tonight after resting, but she was lying.

Volcatia wondered how she planned to fix it.

The last car had been a lot of fun.

This car wasn't.

Yet.

Maybe it would be?

Volcatia hoped so.

Riding around on top of the last car had been really fucking fun.

She wondered how much fun it would be to drive something that fast.

She'd driven normal cars before, but they were all too slow.

Why bother with a vehicle that was so fucking slow?

She thought about it, but she couldn't figure out a reason.

Maybe another question for Smart people.

She remembered something important.

Volcatia stood up from her chair and stretched. "Carl, I have something for you," she said, beckoning him to come closer while Mina continued to finish the last few bits of building the car.

Carl walked over to her. "What's up?"

"Thought you might want this," Volcatia said as she took the helmet out of her Inventory.

Carl stared. "That's so freaking cool!" he exclaimed after a moment, a big grin spreading across his face.

Was it?

It was a shiny, silvery helmet, owing to the metal used. There was a metal visor to protect the face while granting sight. Around the top was a thin, delicate circle of gold with points rising up at set intervals.

It was a crown.

A crown for racing.

Volcatia wouldn't ever wear something so fucking shiny.

She also didn't bother wearing armor though.

Carl took the helmet and turned it around in his hands. "Thanks, Vol," he said quietly. He brought a hand up to dab at his eyes. "I totally forgot about this. Really. Thanks."

Was he…

Was Carl crying?

Weird.

It was just a helmet.

He took a few breaths before turning around, shifting to hold the helmet behind his back as he walked back to stand next to Mina. He leaned down a little and spoke into her ear, causing her to look up at him with a curious expression. "What do you think?" he said a little louder, bringing the helmet around in front of him to show her. "A racing crown for a queen of racing."

Mina's hands rose up quickly to cover her lower face as she looked down at it. Tears started to stream from her eyes, and she moved forward, wrapping her arms around Carl's middle. "Thank you so much, Carl," she said, her voice cracking as she started to cry too.

Volcatia moved to the roof.

Fine.

Maybe Carl wasn't really Mina's father, but it didn't seem that weird when they both behaved like he was.

The spot Volcatia had used for her chair was clear now, so she lay down in it, crossing one leg over the other and her arms behind her head.

She tapped her foot in the air.

If she'd never asked, she might believe the two actually were father and daughter.

Did it matter that they weren't if they both wanted to be?

She thought about it, but she had no way to find an answer.

Who decided shit like that anyway?

Maybe that was something Aquila could do.

An imperatrix decided about everything.

Her decisions kept the Empire alive.

And she did it while being human.

Amazing.

Volcatia wondered again whether she'd have been able to succeed if she hadn't given up being human.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Eh.

Not a fucking chance.

What to do now though…

She needed to waste some time.

What time was it?

She had no fucking idea, obviously.

Maybe…

It must be close to nighttime.

She stood and moved to stand on top of a small building in D-two.

It wasn't too early, was it?

Nah, it couldn't be.

She dropped off the front of the building.

It was the first time she'd come here, but she still knew where she was.

Most gladiators did.

She knocked on the door.

It opened after a brief delay.

"Hey," Volcatia said, her gaze already dropping downwards.

Laberia Salonina looked down at her. "You're earlier than I expected."

Volcatia licked her lips.

She'd had these same legs on her mind all fucking day.

She reached up and pushed Salonina backwards into her home as she advanced, kicking the door shut behind herself.

This was going to be fun.

----------------------------------------

Laberia Salonina shivered. "How are you still so fucking energetic?" she asked quietly.

Volcatia sat on a bed with the older woman's sweaty legs across hers and squeezed one of them just above the knee with both hands.

Salonina's legs were just too good.

It didn't make any fucking sense!

She'd thought they were good before, but they were even better than that!

Her fingers brushed over the thick ropes of tendon on the back of the leg she was caressing, and she let out a soft moan from the feel of it.

Salonina squirmed a little. "That tickles."

Volcatia walked her fingers back down to the inside of the knee.

What a great day.

She'd woken up with Sylmare, and now she'd seen Salonina in the same day?

It was the best day of legs she'd had in…

Years, probably.

There weren't many legs in existence that could add to a day like this.

A day like this…

She was forgetting something.

"I think I could sleep for a month," Salonina groaned. "Feels like I just fought a thousand gladiators in a row."

"Did you win?" Volcatia teased.

"Noooooo!" Salonina's reply turned into a whine when Volcatia's fingers ran across her calf muscle. "Too sensitive!"

This Salonina was fun too.

Volcatia had remembered what she'd forgotten though.

With great reluctance, she slid her legs out from under the amazing pair she'd had the luxury of spending the past however the fuck long with. "Okay, I'm gonna leave."

She continued to trace lines along the bronze, statuesque legs.

So fucking great.

"Probably for the best," Salonina said. She pulled another pillow under her head to look up over her unbound breasts. "I think I'd die if you kept going." She gave a lazy smile. "Seems like you've found victory over me again, Scipio."

"Let me know when you want a rematch," Volcatia said.

She stood up and opened her Inventory, rummaging for her clothes.

None of the ones she'd worn here had survived.

Salonina's hadn't either though, so their battle had been a draw in that sense.

"Give me a while to recover first," Salonina said.

"Are the stories true?" Volcatia asked abruptly.

It was something she'd always been curious about.

Salonina raised an eyebrow.

"About your name," Volcatia said. "That you shatter the gladius of the weaker men you fuck?"

Salonina stared for a moment, then tipped her head back and started to laugh loudly.

Was it really that funny?

"I did to them what you just did to me," the older woman said when she stopped laughing. "They were so tired they couldn't even lift a gladius in their arena battles."

Volcatia chuckled.

It had been before her time, but she could imagine it.

She crackled, and her body was once more returned to its natural state.

"I didn't know you could do that with your whole body," Salonina said.

There was a lot Salonina didn't know.

There was a lot nobody knew.

Volcatia shrugged, then started putting on a new set of clothes. "Never needed to use it."

Partly true.

She hadn't been able to do this back then.

She'd had a human body at the time.

She pulled her trousers up and took out a shirt.

"You…have a skill for storing clothes?" Salonina asked, sounding both tired and confused.

"Don't worry about it," Volcatia said. She straightened her shirt out and took a last look at the glorious, uncovered legs of Laberia Salonina.

The older woman reached for a nearby cup of water with one hand and held her other up to wave. "See you around, Scipio."

Volcatia reached out and gave the nearest bronze-colored thigh a little squeeze. "I had fun, Salonina."

"Mmm, me too," said Salonina as she put the cup back down.

Volcatia moved back to the main floor of the workshop.

Carl was asleep in his chair.

She pulled her own chair back into her Inventory.

It had been a total defeat for her that she'd forgotten to bring it with her when she visited Salonina.

She couldn't begin to imagine how fucking amazing it would have felt.

Maybe next time.

She moved to the second level of the workshop.

"Ah, I'd wondered if you'd planned to visit tonight," Mina said, once again seated on the floor with papers scattered around her.

Volcatia put her chair down and sat back in it. "Said I would, so here I am."

"Here you are indeed," Mina said. She scrawled a weird shape on a paper.

"You were lucky last night," Volcatia said. "Salonina would've killed you if she caught you stealing."

Mina looked up at her with a surprised expression and began stroking her chin. "You're perhaps quite a lot more clever than I'd thought," she murmured.

The Volcatia of the past would have been furious, but now she was just amused.

Why the fuck would she care what anyone else thought of her?

"You're more annoying than I thought," she said with a smirk.

Mina's expression grew panicked. "I'm so sorry! I'd not meant to say that…" She clenched her hands and looked down. "Ooh, this is so difficult!"

Volcatia didn't really care what the girl was talking about.

She wasn't here to hang out.

"You have a plan to win the race tomorrow?" she asked. "What else do I need to do so you'll win?"

Mina frowned up at her. "What else? Surely there's nothing? So long as my chariot of steam is capable of driving without being destroyed by the machine which drains magic, I've no doubt that victory will be mine."

Huh.

Surprising.

When she'd said she wanted to win, Volcatia expected she'd want to have the race won for her.

Volcatia tapped her chin while she thought.

All she needed to do was make sure the girl could get in, it seemed.

Easy.

If she had to, she could stand on top of the fucking car to make sure nobody tried to stop it.

"I'm truly grateful for your assistance," the girl continued earnestly. "I've no method of repaying you, but if ever you've a need for something I'm—"

"Yeah, yeah," Volcatia said, waving her hand. "You asking a question tonight, or should I leave?"

Mina hesitated.

She could see it in the girl's eyes.

"Would… I've…" Mina took a breath. "I've heard tales of you from my tutors," she said. "But none were knowledgeable in how you became…"

"A living legend?"

"Yes, that," Mina said, her brows drawing down. "I'd like to know the story of it, if you'll tell me."

Volcatia sighed.

It was what she'd expected.

Everyone always wanted to know.

She'd told parts to a few who asked, but it had been years since the last time.

Why not.

Fine.

She was Volcatia Scipio, and this was her story.