Reverse Villainess

That Cube.

As the group entered the room behind the door, they couldn't help but marvel at the sight before them. Puzzles of all shapes and sizes were scattered about, each one seeming more challenging than the last. And at the end of the room, sitting on a magnificent throne, was the woman they had been searching for - the dwarf Empress Gaia.

Her size was astounding, easily double that of a normal human. Even the dwarf guards surrounding her looked small in comparison. But what caught their attention the most was her hair - it flowed down her back in waves of shimmering gold, just like the woman on the poster they had seen before.

"Welcome," Gaia's voice boomed across the room, "Three challengers this time, I see. Two humans and one dwarf--an interesting group this time around. I am Gaia, the empress of this kingdom."

Aurora, Ruby, and Lumi stepped forward and introduced themselves, trying to hide their nervousness.

Gaia studied them carefully, her eyes piercing through them as if she could see straight into their souls.

"You have come seeking a challenge," she said finally. "So I expect all of you to be ready for it."

Without another word, Gaia waved her hand, and the dwarves appeared, carrying tables and chairs. They placed them at the center of the room and gestured for Aurora and the others to sit down.

"Prepare the puzzle," Gaia said, and the dwarves bowed before disappearing.

Not long after some dwarves come back with something hidden behind black cloths. They then put it on the table, right in front of Aurora, ruby and Lumi. The black cloths was lifted, and they saw something small on the table.

Aurora blinked in confusion. 

This was the impossible puzzle? Are they joking? she thought to herself.

Aurora grabbed the cube in front of her. It was exactly what she had thought, a 3x3 Rubik's cube with randomly scrambled colors.

She glanced at Ruby, who looked confused, and then at Lumi, who groaned in pain. Unlike Ruby, Lumi obviously knew what it was.

Watching Lumi frustrated like that made Aurora understand the situation.

That's right. Aurora was thinking in a modern human way. She remembered that in the past, people believed that someone who could solve a Rubik's cube was a genius.

That actually made sense. If you gave someone a Rubik's cube and told them to solve it blindly, like if she had told Lumi to do it, it was almost impossible to do, unless you were smart enough to come up with your own algorithm.

In modern-day, being able to solve a Rubik's cube was trivial. Even kids could do it. But that was only because the manufacturer noticed that their customers actually wanted to be able to solve it. So they started to pack their product with instructions on how to solve it.