The general public was completely unaware of the steam engine patent sale, but undercurrents stirred in the manufacturing industry. Being unaware and not being reported through the media, there was absolute stillness among the people. All the social circles only talked about the Ultimate Kho Kho that was going on and nothing else, but in such a situation, like water being poured into boiling oil, the release of Kavya's next novel was announced.

" Oh my God, I'm so excited," a young teenager laughed with giddiness as she told her classmates about the new novel of the Empress.

" Add me to the list, the Empress's last novel was perfect, and the climax she gave left me wanting more. I cannot wait to read this new book," a friend laughed and joined in.

Uday, an avid novel reader, had been promoted to Deputy Director within the Ministry of Standards and no longer had to visit various industries for inspection. As he sat in his office reading the newspaper, his lips involuntarily curled up. A tinge of nostalgia hit him, and he couldn't help but remember the first time he read Her Majesty's *Bahubali* novel and lament how much things had changed since then.

Raghavindra Kulkarni had grey hair. He was no longer the researcher advancing human technology but had taken up a post as a professor of practical chemistry at Dhayanand Sagar University, a first-tier university in Vijayanagar. As soon as he heard from his students that Her Majesty was going to release her new novel in a few days, he couldn't help but put his class on hold and join them in their lively discussions.

Edward Harrington was still an English language teacher at BIT Kozhikode, and he laughed out loud in his office after reading about the release of the Empress's new book.

In a similar way, all the novel admirers and avid fans of Kavya's works rejoiced upon realising that Her Majesty Kavya was finally releasing a novel after two and a half years.

"I wonder what kind of story Her Majesty has written that took her so long," they all thought in their hearts, which only increased their anticipation even more.

Restlessness took over the hearts of the novel geeks, and the people living on the streets with bookstores could clearly feel and see it, for every day several boys and girls came near the stores. If the shop was open, they went inside and came out just as quickly, their faces showing disappointment as they left.

This happened several days in a row. The people who knew what was happening simply smiled and did not take it to mind, but the people who did not were confused, and Tokugawa Tenobu, along with his group, were among them.

Over the last half a month, they had travelled through several cities across Cholapuri and then moved on to Cheranadu. Initially, Tokugawa's idea was to contact the Ministry of External Affairs to see if they could establish diplomatic relations with this country, believing they had seen everything. But who would have thought that, just as they entered Cheranadu, they would find themselves in what felt like a completely different nation? It was the same feeling they experienced when travelling from one vassal kingdom to another. The language was entirely different, the culture had countless distinctions, the architecture varied, the writing was different, and even the way people spoke Bharathi carried a distinct accent.

The first time Tokugawa realised that he was not in a country but in a continent dressed as a country and a country dressed as a state, he keenly realised that the Bharatiya Empire was an empire that unified a continent.

Coming back to his senses, Tokugawa, along with Nishikawa, an astronomer and geographer, entered the bookstore right down the street from the hotel they were staying in. Driven by curiosity, they looked around to see if there was anything special, but they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

" Excuse me, shopkeeper, could you please tell us why so many people come here every morning and go back without purchasing anything? " Tokugawa took the initiative to come forward and ask.

The shopkeeper, a thin but athletic middle-aged man, nodded and took out a poster, " It's because the novel of Her Majesty the Empress is about to be released in a few days. All those kids come daily to see if they can purchase a copy if we have received the stock beforehand."

Tokugawa nodded in understanding and took a look at the poster, and he was immediately attracted. The poster contained the back view of a man, but this man was wearing clothes he had never seen before, clothes not even the people of the Bharatiya Empire had worn. The clothes had a lot of Bharati inscriptions that he could tell, but they shone with a metallic lustre, something which he could not understand, and what was more surprising was that in front of this man were a lot of button-like things and various meters showing various readings. It looked extremely futuristic, and what was more, in front of this man was a huge transparent glass shield, and what could be seen from this shield was breathtaking. It was a huge green planet within the background of countless stars.

" What is this? " He couldn't help but question in a low voice as he was unable to comprehend the meaning behind this picture.

Looking to his side, Nishikawa was in a worse condition than he was. His eyes were completely fixated on the image, and his mouth was wide open. It did not close until the shopkeeper took back the pamphlet, and his eyes finally regained clarity.

" Tokugawa-san, it's amazing," Nishikawa spoke out, his eyes wide open and his face unable to control his excitement. " The stars drawn on that poster don't appear in our sky at all. There was no constellation I could recognise, but similar to our stars, there are patterns connecting the stars in that image, forming its own constellation."

Hearing these words, not only was Tokugawa surprised, but even the shopkeeper was taken aback. He quickly took out the poster once again and humbly asked, " Could you please show me, sir? As a favour, I will reserve a copy of the book when it comes out."

Nishikawa quickly put a finger on one of the stars in the background of the planet and started to drag it along other stars.

" Look, this forms a horse-like constellation, and this here, although it has been cut off, I can tell that it is part of a constellation as well."

The shopkeeper excitedly turned around the poster and thanked the two people profusely, since he suddenly knew something no one else knew. He was dying to contact someone to let them know and brag.

" Excuse me, sir, you haven't told me what the depiction in the poster is," Tokugawa felt like his question had been forgotten by the shopkeeper, so he asked again, this time in a louder voice.

The shopkeeper was startled awake, and hearing the question once again, he answered, " I'm not too sure either, but from what I understand from the distributor I am in contact with, this is a story that takes place in a far distant future, in the year 2012, where humanity has the ability to leave Earth and travel to distant planets. Apparently, Her Majesty has imagined there are other living creatures on different planets, so most probably this story will be about space exploration and adventure."

Both Tokugawa and Nishikawa were shocked beyond belief. They had never seen someone imagine so boldly before. Mankind leaving Earth and travelling to distant planets? How amazing is that! What's more, that day is only 300 years away, is it possible?

It wasn't until they went back to their rooms that they were able to calm down, but what they did not realise was that the interaction they had with the shopkeeper had inadvertently become the biggest publicity campaign for the novel.

As the shopkeeper bragged about what he knew with his friends, his friends spread the word to other people, and finally, a person who was connected with the media gave an interview as to why he was so excited to read the new novel of the Empress.

" You are not a novel lover if you have not read the works of Her Majesty the Empress. Each of her works continues to expand the horizon of what a novel can do and how a novelist can imagine, but this new rendition of her work might just be the best Her Majesty has put out yet."

" Imagining about leaving our planet and journeying to other planets is one thing, but being so rigorous as to even make up a constellation of the fictional world, you can see how much effort Her Majesty has put into this new book, so it is bound to be an excellent work."

" What do you mean, constellation? " the journalist asked, confused.

" Yes, in the newly released poster, there are countless stars in the background, and these stars do not have any constellations that our sky has, but they have their own patterns and their own constellations. The one in the poster alone has one horse constellation and one half-cut constellation, which cannot be recognised."

" That's amazing," the journalist exclaimed.

" Yes, that is why I'm so excited. I want to read the work of Her Majesty and see if there are interesting elements that bring people new ideas and inspiration. Who knows, the work of Her Majesty might be used as a reference to work towards a technology that we may need."

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