As the days closed in on the deadline for the three to leave back to the world of Io, two demons were having difficulties on what to do about their dilemma. Carrera and Ultima have asked almost every single person in the harem besides Ciel, and each person pretty much told them the same answer: 'As long as you're sincere, he will accept you.'
While that answer would satisfy most people, for the two demons, it was anything but. The main problem that they had was to somehow show Rimuru that they were being sincere, but that was far easier said than done. If you ask anyone about Carrera and Ultima, one of the most prominent answers that you'll get will include them being described with words like 'impulsive.' The additional thing is that they both knew that was the case, and they also knew that Rimuru most likely saw their most recent antics as such.
However, one thing that they really struggled with was patience. The surface world was certainly tantalizing to most demons, and even the primordials were no exception to this. The important thing to note, however, is that mainly due to their position as one of the strongest demons in the underworld, they were extremely used to having things immediately, and especially in Carrera's case, more power=better.
This led to them wanting to finish up and ask Rimuru right away, as while one of his bodies would remain in Tempest, they both wanted to take up Testa's offer for her to vouch for them. If they missed their chance now, who knows when the next time she will be in Tempest.
All of this culminated on the last day when the two decided that now was the time and gathered Testa to enact their plan. They intimately knew Rimuru's schedule, and as a result of Diablo's… excessive dialogues on the slime, they knew that he was often at his most responsive early in the morning, before a boatload of work was piled on him for the day. If they got to him any later, while he would certainly hear them out, he would most likely ask them to reschedule at a later day.
Rimuru got to his office bright and early right as the sun began greeting the horizon. He certainly had plenty of gripes about working, but Shuna unfortunately made the painstakingly obvious case that if he were to laze off and do nothing for the entire week, he would be woefully behind schedule. Of course, he could always pass it on to future Rimuru, but future Rimuru would no doubt curse present Rimuru for his actions as he has done so many times in the past.
As he sat down in his chair and was ready to begin the day, his morning was interrupted by a knock on his door. Normally, the only people that would come to the door this early were either there to assist him with his work or tell him something along the lines of a schedule change for his day. Of course, this week was different, and his expanded senses affirmed what he already correctly guessed, which were Carrera and Ultima. The part that was somewhat surprising to him was Testa with them, but he could guess that she was there to facilitate helping them join.
"Come in."
A hint of anxiousness spread around Carrera and Ultima as they heard those words. While it was infinitely better than the words 'come back later' or simply 'leave,' there was something about the way those words were said that made it seem like something was amiss. Trying to suppress their hearts pounding in their chests, they steadied their breath and entered the door.
Unfortunately, what awaited them was something not entirely in their expectations. Rather, it was something that Ultima brought up, but Testa ultimately refuted on the basis that it was incredibly rare to see happen. The scene that greeted them upon opening the door was the familiar sight of their lord in all of his majesty, yet the one thing that was off about it were the red hexagonal eyes that replaced the usual golden ones.
Ciel was someone who Testa was somewhat familiar with, but for the most part, rarely ever showed her face to anyone unless it was during sex with Rimuru, or an incredibly important event. The reason why Testa refuted Ultima's concern about whether or not Ciel would be the one greeting them was for one simple reason: She knew Rimuru and Ciel always previously discuss who could join the harem among their subordinates, so they would really only meet Ciel for formalities sake.
{Welcome. I would ask what you are here for, but I believe it best to skip the formalities and get right to the point. You two, Carrera and Ultima, wish to join the harem, correct?}
""Yes, Ciel-sama.""
{May I ask why? From what I understand, your hasty actions were mainly out of jealousy of Testarossa.}
The two were having trouble formulating a response. What Ciel said was initially correct. The main reason why they rushed to Rimuru was both out of jealousy, and also came from a fear of being left behind. At that time, they weren't trying to get to Rimuru due to any real romantic interest, though they certainly highly respected the slime. It was primarily out of their own competitive natures and outdoing each other.
Fortunately, a saving grace in the form of Testa answered for them. "Ciel-sama, I mean no disrespect, but don't you normally talk these kinds of things over with Rimuru-sama first?"
When she heard this question, she gave a light sigh. {The truth of the matter is that we are slightly conflicted on the matter. My master, as you know, is lenient. As such, he has already accepted the two of you. I'm more so questioning why you want to be romantically involved with him. Again, from what I understand, as long as you get to serve him, all is well.}
Again, for the two demons, they found themselves at a loss for words. They were beyond ecstatic to hear that Rimuru had already accepted them, but the unfortunate matter was that Ciel didn't seem to completely share the same sentiment. Though she was incredibly hard to read due to her not expressing any real emotion, and her eyes remained as calculative as ever, what they could discern from her words was that she struggled to understand what more they would gain from romantic involvement.
On Testa's side, she found Ciel a little overwhelming. Not necessarily in terms of power or pressure, but more in terms of how she was presenting her argument. Hinata confirmed what she already knew about Rimuru, which was that while he could be ruthless when necessary, he normally always opted on the side of leniency, especially when it came to his subordinates, almost regardless of the challenges that would undoubtedly lay ahead of him.
The thing she noticed with Ciel, however, was that she was basically the polar opposite of Rimuru. Where he would act more on emotion, she would evaluate most things off pure logic. This was great whenever it came to covering for Rimuru's weaknesses but would sometimes be a pain to deal with in cases like now, where she felt that she needed a palpable reason to understand why the two demons beside her wanted to be with Rimuru.
Carrera took the opportunity to speak for herself and said, "It is true that we both confessed out of jealousy, but things have changed now. It's also true that serving him brings us great satisfaction, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that if we can be closer to our lord, than the natural option is to do anything in our power to do so."
Ultima felt quite pleased with the answer that her rival gave while Testa was taken slightly aback by her eloquence. Sure, they practiced what to say and how to say it, but that was mostly thrown out the door when Ciel was the one who answered. As for Ciel, she felt that answer was commendable, but she was able to point out one major flaw in it.
{I see. Though if you wanted to be closer to him, you've had a little over twelve years to do so. Why is it so important to you now?}
All three of them expected this question to crop up, and they all had their various answers to it, but one thing remained constant among all of them. When Diablo first recruited them, none of them really wanted to go see what all of the fuss was about. They knew that Diablo was a weird one among them, so even though he had found a master to serve, they just chalked it up to him being him. After all, it wasn't completely out of the question for Diablo to serve a weaker being if it meant that they were interesting enough to deserve his skills.
The only reason that they joined him was because of how long they've known him, and also that they would have leverage if they ever needed help if it wound up being a bust. What transpired instead was that Testa, who initially was just going to kill Rimuru if he wound up being too weak and uninteresting, was the first to swear loyalty to him. Ultima quickly followed while Carrera, who decided to 'test' him by flaring out her aura, was surprised to see that he was completely unphased by it.
Of course, the main reason for this was because Rimuru had no idea what the hell a primordial even was. The only thing he was able to discern from the trio was that they were powerful demons, but he, or rather Raphael, had complete confidence that they could be subdued if need be. When he was finally made aware as to exactly what a primordial was, he figured that he was in too deep to change anything, and so just decided to roll with it.
The truth of the matter did eventually come out to the four of them, but since Rimuru didn't make a big deal out of it, they felt that they should follow his example and not make such a huge deal out of it either. However, the only caveat was that since they knew he was a former human, he still carried many of his former human values, the biggest one being his morality, something that most demons, who are solitary by nature, heavily lacked.
Despite knowing that Rimuru had killed more people than them, his reason vastly differed from their own. He did so out of necessity to revive his comrade and to fend off his attackers. They mainly did so just because it was fun, and it was something to pass the time before the next time someone stupid enough were to summon them into the physical plane.
Put simply, that, combined with the fact that they were still inexperienced with many of the emotions that other people dealt with, made them hesitant to really make any huge leaps or changes in their relationships with him. Just the fact that he gave them plenty of freedom and promoted them to executives was plenty enough. If he wanted more out of their relationship, then so be it, but their main mentality was to simply be available, but not assertive, and this was something that Shuna helped Testa with initially. And it was something that Ultima was able to articulate quite well.
"We initially thought that serving Rimuru-sama was the greatest thing in the world. That nothing better existed. Of course, as time passed, we were able to see newer heights that could be reached, but for the most part, restrained ourselves due to our history. However, after seeing Testa with Rimuru-sama, and hearing how it happened, we felt that if it worked for her, then we should also give it a try."
Ciel looked at the duo, then at Testa. While she did still harbor some reservations about letting them join, at the end of the day, she would still choose to support her master through any endeavor as long as it wasn't something absolutely reckless. In truth, while Testa did somewhat hit the mark when it came to her intentions, she mainly wanted to see if it was something they were doing out of servitude or something they chose themselves. Since it was the latter, she saw no reason to refute them.
Other than, of course, the multiple headaches that would undoubtedly follow if they were ever in a bedroom together.
She certainly wouldn't enjoy 'teaching' with them.
Not one bit.
In any case, she felt that it was time to wrap things up. {I see. Well, I suppose there is much more of a case to accept you than not, so congratulations.}
"You mean we're in?!"
{Yes.}
Though they remembered to contain themselves, Testa was still surprised by Carrera's sudden hug, and both her and Ultima did their own little victory poses. Before they left, however, Carrera wanted to clear one thing up.
"Umm… Ciel-sama, when can we see Rimuru-sama?"
The reply came almost instantly. {Later today.}
"I meant for… you know… the nights-"
{Don't push it.}
"Yes ma'am. Sorry."
With nothing else to say, the three demons left in high spirits, and Ciel relinquished control back to Rimuru. "You know, I didn't really see the problem with me talking to them."
{As I said, master, you are far too lenient.}
"Hey! I can put my foot down if need be!"
{You and I both know that when it comes to your subordinates, you are woefully soft on them. Honestly, for any sort of punishment, you always refer them to their direct subordinates so that you don't have to do it yourself.}
"Well, that's just because I can't think of any. And besides, in a way, that's putting my foot down."
{…You are also horrible at saying no.}
"Well… I mean… I say no to Diablo a lot…"
{That's because whenever someone does something that he sees as even slightly offensive to you, he recommends to just kill the perpetrator.}
"…"
Ciel still wanted to give him a hard time, but unfortunately, in a somewhat ironic saving grace, one of the ministers in the office was closing in on the door to hand Rimuru his plans for the day. With nothing else eventful happening throughout the day, everyone finished up his duty, and he met up with Hinata and Testa to return to the world of Io. Now, it was a matter of if they wanted to indulge in themselves tonight or simply just return, and Hinata wasn't willing to pass up an opportunity any time soon.
In the outskirts of Parnam, there was a neat home on the countryside which would certainly be considered big by today's standards, but mostly modest for the nobility, especially for the couple who currently reside in it. The location is idyllic, and while it is almost an hour walk to the marketplace, being fairly isolated makes it a peaceful living space.
The house itself only complimented the landscape. Perhaps it was a testament to the builders and construction workers, or maybe it was simply due to its location, but since the house was built with old wood that was heavily resistant to rot, as well as brick, stone, and marble, the entire house had a very nice, homely feeling that just about anyone, even the guests, would feel immensely comfortable in.
Unfortunately, the same night that Rimuru and his wives were enjoying themselves, the couple inside were not having the best of nights. In the king-sized bed, a mature and beautiful woman was having trouble falling asleep. This was a stark contrast to most nights, where all it would take was simply being next to her husband before she would feel drowsy almost immediately. Instead, no matter how much she tried, even despite the medication prescribed by their apothecary, she struggled to get any more than a couple hours of shut eye at a time.
"Elisha, dear, what's going on? Is it another episode?"
The former king, Albert, was talking to his beloved and former queen, Elisha, about her current state. While she knew exactly what the episodes she was referring to were, she refuted his worries, stating, "Thank you for your concern, but I think it is just a restless night."
Normally, her episodes leave her in a much worse condition, with cold sweats and extremely heavy breathing. When they first started, it was like she had seen a ghost, but now that she has grown older, she knows specifically what they are, and how to go forward after experiencing one. This time, however, it just didn't feel like one. When she tried to remember it, it was just complete haze. Nothing was really coming to mind, which she interpreted as just a restless night. Of course, she did think that it was a bit weird that she would be experiencing these sorts of things after years with only one episode to speak of, but without anything to go off, she couldn't really do much about it.
On the extreme off-chance that it was an episode, that would throw an extreme wrench into their plans. Currently, they were all-in in regard to their current endeavors, and changing things this late would require some serious sacrifices, so all of her was desperately hoping that it was just a passing night. However, they did agree that, in the event that her episodes do continue the following night, they would need to immediately inform the current members involved in their plan. If tonight truly was another episode, then time was most certainly their enemy unless some sacrifices were made.
The sun finally peaked its head over the horizon, signaling the start of a new day. This also meant that it was time to rise and shine for many of the maids, and the start of the day for Souma. Of course, no matter how much he tries to deny it, just about everyone around him has him pegged as a workaholic. Though it is true that it was necessary for the first few months since he was summoned, the workload was finally lessening, and there was finally a small trickle of new people who had both the capability and the loyalty to work inside the castle walls.
However, rather than the day that he was expecting, which was much the same of going through budget paperwork, overseeing various projects, and preparing for the upcoming war an annoyance in the form of a letter was presented to him, courtesy of Marx and Hakuya.
"Sire, I'm sorry. I told him that we don't have time for this, but he insists that it is necessary."
Marx gave the black-robed minister a sidelong glance, but gave him his proper courtesies and said, "Thank you, Prime Minister Hakuya. Now, Your Highness, I know that this is something you hate dealing with, but I insist that it requires your immediate attention."
Souma gave a sigh and held out his hand, and Marx promptly put the letter in his outstretched palm. When Souma read the letter, he was quite peeved. "Why, exactly, do I need to cater to them right now? Surely even they aren't stupid enough to not realize our current situation?"
Hakuya gave a look that said, 'as I expected,' and Marx was quite close to joining him in expressing that look. Unfortunately, he has an obligation to see this through. "I understand your query, my lord, but this is something that we've been brushing off for quite a while now. I'm afraid that the remaining nobles may harbor some misgivings if we keep putting this off. While they might not withdraw their support, they may be very difficult to work with regarding any of your future projects."
Souma heaved a heavy sigh, remained silent in thought for a brief minute, and then nodded his head. "Let's get this finished sooner rather than later. Tonight, if possible."
Marx replied, "I don't know if we can get everything ready tonight, but most certainly by tomorrow night."
"Good enough. Please get to it."
"At once."
As the two left his office, Souma was silently cursing the nobles' idiocy. What they were essentially pressuring him to do was something Liscia had warned him about a mere two weeks after he became king, which was the prospect of nobles organizing social gathering events such as parties, which is one that they requested just now, in the hopes of getting in the king's good graces, as well as any of his ministers. The other reason, of course, is to introduce and hopefully marry off their sons and daughters to those high-ranking officials.
For many of the nobles, few of them had any connections in the capital, and if their children were to have children with the king or someone else in high standing with the king, their house would enjoy plenty of added status, as well as potentially a legitimate claim to the throne. Now none of them harbored any delusion that they would be able to claim the throne as it is, as they all expected Souma to have a child with Liscia, but being able to influence things like lawmaking or taxes would be a huge boon to them.
Unfortunately for them, Souma had absolutely no interest in taking in any wives, as he still has yet to truly lay his hands on Liscia. They have slept together these past two nights, but again, that was only for the purpose of sleeping. Additionally, something a bit unexpected, was that due to both of them wearing pajamas, they had to take all but a sheet off her bed in order to not feel like the heat was suffocating them.
Nevertheless, this was something that he had to deal with as he was the current king.
At the very least, I can take pleasure in Rimuru having to go through the same suffering as me.
Though it was a slightly sadistic thought, there was no way the nobles weren't going to try and form connections with him and Testa, as they were both considered the closest to the king right after Liscia. He personally didn't see Rimuru as the type of guy that would accept women being practically thrown onto him, so he'll get to see him try and worm his way out of that situation.
After informing all the parties involved, Marx insisted that everyone serving under the king, save for Tomoe, show up to the party. Pretty soon, the next day arrived, and the party was set for the late afternoon/early evening. A few hours before the start time, there were a couple people preparing what to wear for the gala.
"I absolutely hate these damn things. I swear, this is why I joined the military. At the very least, I wouldn't have to…force my way into these things!"
"Please relax, princess. You need to be king Souma's shining star, and for that, you need to dress the part."
Liscia and Serina were currently helping the former get into proper attire, and while men had a couple options to choose from, for women, at least as far as tradition went, it was almost always a puffy dress that included a corset which she swore seemed to do its best to constrict her breathing. Despite Serina's best attempts to loosen the corset, she could still not even take a full deep breath without feeling pain.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Please, princess. I gain no enjoyment from watching you suffer. At least due to your duties."
"…So, if this was just for fun, you'd bask in every moment?"
"You know me so well."
Liscia sighed, a task that she could still feel through her corset, and aided Serina as best as she could in getting in her wardrobe. Fortunately, the heels were somewhat familiar to her, as she would sometimes wear them around whenever she wasn't patrolling, but she still felt the entire wardrobe to just be…excessive.
Eventually, once she was done, with only forty-five minutes to spare, she exited her room and finally saw Souma who, for the first time ever, was wearing proper attire fit for a king. Much like the previous king Albert, Souma was wearing a gold buttoned top with similarly styled pants, along with a cape and black belt. The main difference was the color scheme. While Albert went with more of a blue coloration, Souma's shirt and pants were black, and he had a red cape to boot. All in all, he looked confident, handsome, and someone whom she just absolutely admired.
Judging by his look, Souma was feeling the exact same when he laid eyes on Liscia. For her wardrobe, she was wearing a beautiful lilac dress with ornate gold markings on the top of her dress and transitioned into a lighter shade as the dress flowed out near the floor. While there was absolutely no denying that she looked absolutely stunning, one thing stood out in his mind.
"You look positively radiant, Liscia. However, I thought your military uniform would be enough, no?"
She lit up at the first half of his comment, and replied to the second half, saying, "I probably could have gotten away with it, but I wanted to dress as best as I possibly could. I'd say that I did pretty well, given your reaction."
She punctuated her last words with a beautiful smile and a wink, causing Souma to blush and turn his head away. Not letting him compose himself, she quickly grabbed his arm and said, "Let's go meet the others quick. I want to go over everything to expect, assuming that Marx isn't boring their brains out yet."
Souma chuckled at the comment and the two left as Serina saw them off with a bow. When the two got to the main room, however, they were in for a bit of a surprise. Not necessarily something that was beyond shocking, but still jarring, nonetheless. They saw Hakuya and Poncho wearing their formal attire, but Aisha was sticking to her normal battle raiment, which garnered an envious glare from Liscia, no doubt due to the comfort level she got to enjoy. That same glare was also directed to Hinata, who, due to her position as bodyguard, elected to wear her normal paladin clothing and stuck with her boots, jacket, and pants.
When she saw Testa, however, she was staring for a different reason. Instead of the complicated mess that she was wearing that somehow worked, Testa elected to take things far simpler, wearing a thin silk red dress that, for some odd reason she just couldn't explain, sparkled whenever light was shone upon it. Her minimalistic approach to the gala only included the dress, a ruby broach around her neck, and black shoes. Her hair was also completely untouched, simply letting it wave down to her back. She looked elegant, refined, beautiful…
And most importantly to Liscia, comfortable.
She quickly made a beeline to the woman and immediately struck up a conversation, mainly talking about where she can procure her own dress like that and how in the world it seems to sparkle.
As for Souma, while he also looked at the people around, and perhaps his eyes lingered a bit longer on Testa's very modern attire than the others, there was one serious thing that was missing, and the main thing that surprised him. That main thing, of course, was the lack of a certain androgynous man with blue hair and golden eyes.
Pulling aside Marx, who was also wearing his best, he asked calmly, but firmly, "Where, exactly, is Rimuru?"
This time, a rare sigh from Marx emerged, and after he finished combing his hair with his head, he replied, "He said, and I quote, 'I have a prior appointment. Have fun and save some food for me.'"
Souma could feel his eye twitch at Marx's comment. When he asked what this 'prior appointment' was, all Marx replied with was, "He wouldn't say."
Oh… you've done it now. I'll make sure to send every damn noble wanting something directly to you after this…
Around the same time the gala started, Rimuru was in front of a beautiful home in the countryside, the same one belonging to Albert before he married into the royal family, and the current residence of the former king and queen. The door opened and he was led into the living room area, where he met both Albert and Elisha.
"Welcome, Sir Rimuru. I'm glad to see you in good health."
"Likewise, Your Highness. And you can drop the Sir. Just Rimuru is good."
"Ah," Elisha replied, "then let's just skip the formalities altogether."
Rimuru looked at them for a bit, then shrugged his shoulders and sat down in one of the chairs. "Alright. Fair enough."
The other two sat down in their respective chairs, and Albert started off. "Well, what can we help you with. Ah! Just know that if this is about the issue with the Three Dukes, we will tell you the same thing we told Liscia, which is that we wish to remain a neutral party."
"Don't worry, it's nothing regarding that… actually, I may as well just be blunt here. Which of you two has the precognition?"