Excel's Woes
"Listen, guys, do we really have to do this?"
"Of course, we do. Otherwise, nothing would ever get done between the two of you."
Souma and Liscia were, as they might put it, very uncomfortable in her room with Rimuru, Testa, and Hinata. Unfortunately for them, Rimuru's previous antics with Hinata did not spare the two from his 'intervention' about how they still haven't seen each other naked yet. The real kicker here is that while Souma knew that Rimuru would both declare and do some pretty ridiculous things, he genuinely didn't count on him actually following through with this sudden intervention idea of his.
"Umm, we can do this later, though, right?"
"Well, we can. Oh! I know! If we wait, we can get Serina's help with this!"
Liscia shut up after Rimuru's sarcastic remark. If there was one thing worse than the situation she was in, it was being in this exact same situation with Serina. It wasn't that she hated the maid, far from it. It was the fact that Serina had practically zero shame. If she did have any, she certainly has maintained a poker face that only someone who could read minds would be able to see past. What this meant was that she simply saw very few topics that were off-limits, and gained what Liscia could only imagine as immense pleasure from watching her squirm whenever she broached the subject of sex or men.
"Listen," Hinata began, "We can both agree that this little 'idea' of Rimuru's is stupid, but the main point that he is trying to make is that you two need to take that extra step in your relationship. Normally, I would bash his head in for even suggesting an idea like this, but your positions don't really allow you to take it slow."
Rimuru didn't even bother to withhold a sigh at Hinata's comment, and Liscia felt quite conflicted from her words. Hinata was ultimately right. If it was just her and Souma that they had to worry about, then they could take all the time they wanted. But as the king and future queen of the country, they not only were being seen as a beacon for the entire country, but the people would also grow on edge if a child wasn't born within the next few years. While that was certainly a long way from now, time had a way to creep up without anyone knowing about it, and if things stayed the same, any progress in their relationship would feel extremely forced and rapid, rather than easing into it.
Now, a case could certainly be made that Rimuru was trying to force them to take that extra step, but it was mainly so that when the time came to produce a child, they would already be comfortable with the sexual acts rather than be bumbling around.
Seeing that there seemed to be only one way out of this mess that Rimuru effectively put them in, Souma decided to bite the bullet and said, "Alright, then. What did you have in mind for us, cupid?"
Rimuru ignored the little barb sent his way and elaborated. "Right. I initially thought that it was an issue of the comfort level between the two of you, but considering that you two have been sleeping together for over a month, that hardly seems to be the case."
He paused after his words to see if anyone had any input, but after a small moment of silence, he took that as his cue to continue. "Since it isn't an issue of comfort, my next best guess is that it is an issue of values." Turning directly to Souma, he then asked, "Assuming you had all the time in the world, forgetting about current events, when would you consider getting more intimate with Liscia?"
Souma took a little to process that question. If I didn't need to worry about the wars, huh?
He gave as honest an answer as he could manage. "To be truthful, I would still much want to wait until I'm older. I just… see sex as something that I'm not completely ready for at my age."
Upon hearing this, Rimuru initially was going to embrace his inner teenager and tease him about it, but Hinata quickly shut any chance of that down with her own words. "I understand that you still keep your otherworldly values at heart, correct?"
Souma simply nodded at this.
"While it's certainly commendable that you have kept on to your traditions, there are certain things that simply can't be compromised on. This is one of them." Without waiting for an answer from him, she turned towards Liscia, and in a manner very Hinata-like, almost commanded, "And you. What's your deal?"
Liscia felt wronged. "Hold on a sec! Why am I getting the rough treatment while you're acting all polite towards Souma?!"
Hinata gave her a look that said, 'are you serious right now?' before explaining, "By all means, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you the one who wanted this out of your relationship? I mean, you made all the first moves, and now that you two are sharing a room, now you get cold feet?"
Liscia was heavily annoyed by the way Hinata was treating her. Even more so was the fact that she couldn't really complain, as everything she said pretty much hit the mark. Besides, if she did complain, Hinata, on more than one occasion, has made it pretty clear during training that she doesn't take a person's rank into account when she's sparring against them, and Liscia had no ambitions to garner any extra 'attention' from the woman in question.
Thankfully, her husband-to-be was quick on the uptake, and dispelling the awkward tension between the two, reminded everyone, "Regardless of that, I still want to hear Rimuru's grand idea for bridging this gap."
Taking a page out of Ramiris' book, Rimuru slightly puffed out his chest and said, "The solution is quite simple. Obviously, we still want you to have a natural progression to these sorts of things, but we need you two to get more comfortable with your own bodies. To that end, something like a hot spring would work wonders."
Honestly, for all the things that Rimuru could've suggested, this was the one that was probably the tamest. For one, it was something that Souma was already intimately familiar with, so there were no real problems on that end. Secondly, he was certain Liscia would be ecstatic at the idea once he explained in detail what it was. Thirdly, who didn't like soaking in hot water? From the times he remembered using them back in Japan, it was like all his worries were expunged from him the moment he stepped foot inside the water. Of course, they would happily cling to him after he got out, but that was neither here nor there.
While Liscia looked slightly confused at the idea, Souma couldn't help but notice one major oversite on Rimuru's end. "As much as I like the idea of going to a hot spring, where, exactly, would we find one?"
As far as he knew, the only thing resembling a bathhouse was a large bath in the castle, but that was meant for the king and queen, and currently, was not used due to Souma preferring a smaller bath, considering large baths to be just a waste of space and water.
Rimuru, however, gave Souma a somewhat pitied look. In fact, he had been in very similar situations when he first reincarnated, so it was understandable that he wouldn't see such an obvious solution to the problem. "Souma, perhaps you forgot, but magic exists. And with that magic, we can fill a place with hot water to soak in."
Realization hit Souma like a bag of bricks, and despite wondering why he never even thought of that, he still accepted the proposal with minimal pushback. Liscia looked like she wanted to say something, but a look from Hinata shut down whatever she had in mind. Thus, they ventured off to the bath, which was still dutifully maintained by the maids, and asked the maids to get people to fill the bath. Sure, Testa could always do it, but if someone went around poking with questions as to how the bath got filled, as unlikely as it was, they would have to derive a pretty creative response from nowhere. Essentially, better safe than sorry.
In any case, with the bath quickly filled up, there was no reason for the trio to stay with the royal couple, and so they excused themselves, leaving the two alone. While Souma was all prepared to fully enjoy the bliss that was a nice hot spring bath, the awkward nature slowly clouded the air as he realized that he was, once again, alone with Liscia.
Several seconds passed before Souma started explaining bath etiquette as he remembered it in his world, albeit with a couple extra stutters and a fair amount of bumbling around. After he finished, a couple more seconds passed before they ultimately decided to undress and prepare in turns. Thankfully, the bath had a separate room for dressing, so there was no real issue there, and Liscia decided to go in first to allow Souma some privacy in the bath. After he finished and got in, he called out to Liscia, who very hesitantly opened the door.
"…No peeking…"
"…What?"
"No peeking means no peeking!"
A slight oversight on their part was forgetting that there was no water in the dressing room. Since rinsing and washing yourself off was part of the 'etiquette' that Souma preached, that meant that Liscia had to do so out in the open, and she wasn't exactly willing to let Souma see that side of her yet.
While she was slowly getting ready, Souma's senses seemed to not adhere to his mind. While his body was feeling all the fatigue simply melt away, his mind was struggling between joining his body in feeling that bliss and hearing the splashes and scrub noises Liscia was making. Part of him was tempted to turn around to check if she was doing it right, and another part of him just said to trust her. However, what really got his blood pounding was when he heard her put down the basin and brush, and slowly heard the footsteps approach the bath.
"…Eyes closed."
"Yes!"
Souma was in far too serious of a state to actually enjoy the bath at this point, and his muscles, once relaxed, started tensing up again. Even more so when he heard the sound of water being displaced when she entered it. After what felt like forever, he finally heard, "You can open them now…"
As his vision once again made itself known, he looked over to where his fiancée was. What he found was an absolutely gorgeous woman, a side of Liscia that he had never even known existed, sitting just out of arms reach of him. Her face, as expected, would match the coloration of a tomato, though he couldn't imagine his face was any different. She was currently looking down, arms over her breasts and legs held tight against each other, but not crossed over.
Curiosity got the better of him, or at least that's what he told himself, as his gaze shifted down and took in the parts of her body that she always kept covered up. The most he ever saw of her was when she would wear a tank top, but even then, such sights were a rarity for him. Now, however, he was able to see her sides, her stomach, her navel, her modest yet ample bosom that she unwittingly propped up in an attempt to cover her breasts, and this continued down to her thighs and legs.
Unfortunately, his admiration was cut short when she glanced up at him, panicked, and hurriedly said, "That's enough!"
Quickly turning his head away, he practically yelped, "Sorry!"
With the stiff atmosphere quickly closing in, there wasn't any other conversation between the two of them for almost half a minute. During this time, Liscia would steal glances at Souma's body. For his part, he certainly wasn't anywhere near as built as some of the others who courted her, but that was never really her type anyway. Besides, maybe as a side-effect of his lifestyle, his body was quite lean, nothing like how some of the ministers or her father were, which she appreciated.
Finally, however, she realized that Souma was still sitting as stiff as a board, and she mentally sighed. If there was one thing that I would change about Souma, it would be his assertion.
While Liscia admired just about every other quality that Souma has, being assertive during times like these was just not something in his repertoire. Fortunately, such things could be learned, but for now, she would have to do the heavy lifting.
Steeling herself up, she quickly moved next to him, giving him little time to react, and touched shoulders and thighs. Unfortunately, this was all she could do before she felt the wind get knocked out of her sails from embarrassment as she felt Souma practically jolt.
Souma, for his part, was feeling a few choice emotions. Initially, for a very quick moment, he wanted to move away, but that option was quickly shut down when he chastised himself. Though the physical contact was causing some… issues for him… he'd be hard-pressed to say that he was anything but happy. The other main emotion was a sense of shame, not because he was next to a naked woman, but because he didn't make the first move. Though he preferred to take things slow, he still wanted to be the one to initiate, which put him in a bit of a conundrum when faced with assertive women. While it was definitely a silly reason, it was one that was rooted in his morals that he learned from his grandpa, and therefore was one that he cherished.
In an attempt to regain some of his lost pride, and to make Liscia feel more comfortable, he slowly moved his arm from where they were touching and draped it around her shoulder. Normally a simple and romantic gesture if not for the fact that he was still as tense as a ball of rubber bands.
A few more seconds passed before eventually Souma opened up a conversation topic. It wasn't anything relevant, really, but it was something to hopefully take his mind off the situation at hand. Fortunately, Liscia responded in kind, and it took virtually no time at all to dispel the current atmosphere for a new and much calmer one.
As the royal couple were enjoying each other's company, there was another, much more troubled discussion occurring.
If you ask anyone in Elfrieden about Landel, they will tell you that it is a city that, at least before Souma took the throne, rivaled that of Parnam. Though some of the architectural intricacies were lost when building the city, it still was a popular attraction that most people would want to visit at least once. After all, it is the capital of the Carmine Duchy, who is perhaps the most respected of the Three Dukes, and is not only a household name, but also represents a figure, an ideal, if you will, to aspire towards.
However, in this city, in the small castle that houses the aforementioned duke, was currently the host of a discussion dealing with some of the highest powers in the country, that being Duke George Carmine, Duchess Excel Walter, and Duke Castor Vargas.
Duchess Walter is the current head of the navy after she joined the kingdom, casting aside her pirating days for land ownership and a vow to protect the country. However, her looks certainly do not betray her experience. Wearing a low-cut light pink kimono, one could certainly not be faulted for thinking her attire was for attention. After all, it clung to her in all the right places while still showing an ample amount of cleavage. However, the reality of it was that in a world where men often held high-power positions, she used every advantage she had in order to get what she wanted and needed. If that meant showing off some skin for a more favorable deal, or better yet, causing them to make a critical oversight, then it was a small price to pay.
As for the woman herself, outside of her racial traits, she could have very well passed off as Juna's older sister. Carrying the same blue hair and eye color, the main difference between the two was, again, Excel's age, or rather, experience. While Juna certainly possesses a seductive appeal about her, Excel increases on that with her mature allure, something that many men would pine for. That, coupled with her sea serpent traits of having small antlers on her forehead, reminiscent of where Shuna's horns are, and her scaly tail, round her out to be both exceptionally beautiful and exotic. Despite slightly falling out of the limelight thanks to newcomers like her granddaughter, the summoned Testa, and oddly enough, Rimuru, there were still no shortage of men who would line up to try her hand in marriage. Fortunately for her, the only ones bold enough to approach her were those of equal standing, meaning either another Duke or the king himself. Otherwise, the only way you were getting to her was if she chose you.
Castor Vargas, on the other hand, is a dragonewt. However, instead of resembling someone like Gabil, he much more closely resembled Benimaru. Almost scarily so, in fact, as they shared the same hair color and horn placement, with Castor's being slightly larger than Benimaru's. Though in similar fashion with Gabil, he did possess a scaly tail and even wings to boot, giving further credence to his claim as 'king of the skies.' Castor is a very handsome man, leader of the air sector of the army, and oddly enough, son-in-law to Excel. Though he was one of the very few who tried his hand with the beautiful woman, Excel didn't reciprocate his feelings, and so he backed off. Though maybe due to an infatuation to a certain kind of woman, he fell for Excel's daughter, Accela, and they quickly married, having two children, a son and a daughter, named Carl and Carla, respectively.
Finally, the last person who was at their summit was George Carmine, leader of the land army. For Carmine, the only word that seemed to suit him was 'warrior.' After all, his beastly traits closely resembled that of a lion, one that is still renowned as the king of the jungle, and his entire demeanor reflected that. Imposing a large figure, his face resembled that of a lion, and through his eyes, it was clear that the man had seen more than his fair share of battles. The fact that he came out of those at the age of fifty is testament to his prowess as a fighter. In fact, despite being over 200 years younger than the others, his presence carried the most weight over the two.
As to why these three powerhouses were convened…
Excel was wondering what the hell she was doing here. The three had agreed to meet at Duke Carmine's castle to discuss plans moving forward with the new king. Obviously, there was some dissidence among the three, and while that in of itself was a problem, the real issue was their neighbor Amidonia practically salivating at the mouth, ready to attack at a moment's notice. There was absolutely no reason as to why any infighting should be happening at this time.
And yet… "I thought we were here to avoid fighting." Excel sighed. "Why are you both acting like statues?"
"Well, why are you so damn afraid of conflict? Does that kid really scare you?"
Though Castor was intelligent on the battlefield, he was quite the hothead in plenty of other situations, and this was no different. In fact, he was the primary reason behind Excel's recent headaches.
"First off, Castor, you don't talk to your mother like that. Secondly, are you really so against the new king?"
While he deflated at the first half of her words, the second half was something that he felt passionate about. "Yes! Of course, I am! That man practically took power for himself and may as well have forced himself on the princess!" Though one could commend his flawed reasoning, the current reality was very different. Ignorant of this, he continued, "Who the hell in their right mind would ever serve someone like that?!"
Excel pinched the bridge of her nose. This idiot, I swear. It's a miracle as to how he hasn't gotten himself killed yet.
"Castor, need I remind you that the king abdicated of his own volition? The only people propagating that story are the corrupt nobles who were purged. Besides, how does a violent transfer of power occur in just two days by one person?"
Castor, for his part, was not hearing it. "I don't care what kind of shit he's spewing! It could just be propaganda for all I care! My issue is, if he had plans to rebuild this country, why not do it as a vassal?! Hell, even if King Albert didn't want to rule anymore, he could have just handed the throne over to Liscia! And I don't trust those other two summoned either! Having them as Souma's vassals just makes things way more suspicious!"
While there were plenty of flaws in his reasoning, Excel didn't have a clear-cut answer. The main issue behind this was that the former king and queen, while still very much alive, were in fact acting quite suspicious. Though they would entertain visitors, if questions came up regarding the reasoning as to why King Albert gave up the throne, the resulting answer was a simple, "He's a better fit than me." Beyond that, there seemed to be no other reason, which anyone would view as confusing beyond all hell.
Secondly, there was the issue of Rimuru and Testa. While there was nothing inherently wrong with them serving Souma, the timing of it was also something that was just suspicious. The fact that the three got summoned at the same time and also gained an exorbitant amount of political power would certainly arouse suspicion in anyone.
The real misfortune here is how the Three Dukes are operated. Since they are meant to be a defender both from outside threats and internal ones, a decision was ultimately made to not have any receivers for the Broadcasting Jewel. While the reason for this was to let the duchies operate independently, the other reason was to shut down the spread of propaganda in their respective duchies should there be a time when a malicious king rose to power. Each of the Three Dukes had their own personal Broadcasting Jewel for their people, and so communication could easily be done between the duchies and the kingdom, if need be, in this particular instance, it really backfired on them.
"Besides, I received a letter from that man that basically just said, 'Serve me.' Does he seriously think I'm just going to bend over for him?!"
"…I'm pretty sure it was, 'Help with my reforms and I will assist you in food and infrastructure.'"
The food shortage had seriously hit the two landlocked duchies quite hard during King Albert's reign. The main reason as to why Excel's region wasn't hit as hard was due to her having a port city that could use sea trade routes, which allowed her to, for the most part, weather the shortage quite well. However, she knew that Castor's and Carmine's duchies were fairing quite poorly. Carmine's duchy in particular was doing horribly thanks to him sheltering many of the nobles that ran away due to their corruption scandal.
In any case, while Excel simply corrected him with the contents of the letter, that only seemed to set Castor off. "Why are you defending him?! I know you don't like him either, considering that you also ignored him!"
"Believe me, Castor. I have my own reasons. Furthermore, why haven't you responded to him? If anything, he has, for the most part, solved the food crisis in the kingdom. Why haven't you taken him up on his offer?"
"…Did you not just hear me explain why? I told you-!"
Excel's voice took on a more serious tone. "Castor. You are a duke. You can't let your personal feelings get in the way of aiding your people, especially when those views of yours aren't even based in fact. You haven't even met the guy yet!"
"And what if he's everything I warned against? Yes, the problem might be solved in the short term, but I may as well be giving my territory to a damn tyrant!"
Excel just sighed. This isn't going to go anywhere.
Mentally excusing herself from that conversation, she changed topics to the main reason as to why they convened. "In any case, we first need to deal with the main problem of Amidonia."
"Ah," Castor muttered. "Bunch of idiotic opportunists. I'm sure both us and the new king got the same message from them."
The message was essentially just trying to sow more discord amongst the Three Dukes and the King. To Souma, the message was offering support to fight against the Three Dukes, and to the Three Dukes, the message was the exact opposite.
"All the more reason as to why we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves right now. It's completely pointless to show ourselves as a bumbling mess with them at our doorstep."
Though Castor looked like he wanted to say something, he just harumphed and rested his head on his hand. Excel then looked to George and almost snapped, "What do you make of all this?"
George Carmine, for his part, hasn't said a word throughout the entire meeting. Though neither of the other two knew what was going on in his mind, or why he has been staying silent, they initially paid it no mind, mainly due to their squabbling. While Carmine could just remain silent, as he almost did look like he was sleeping, he decided to participate in their discussion.
"What do you mean, 'what?'"
Excel sighed again. "Well, for starters, why are you against the king, and how do you propose we deal with Amidonia?"
George closed his eyes again, this time to think. After a moment passed, he explained, "For Amidonia, we will fight them off, as we have in the past. They have been hit even harder by the food shortages, so I can't imagine they would have enough resources to feed and support a full army."
He paused to gauge the reactions of the others. When he was met with silence, he continued, "As far as the new king, I am against him because I judge him unfit to rule this country. No other reason."
Excel could only look at him like an even stupider version of Castor. George had always been the kind of person to look at both sides, the kind of person who would always give others a chance. She could only wonder what the hell changed.
Stupefied, but hiding her expression behind an elegant poker face, she prodded, "Mind explaining yourself? The new king, the one who pulled this country from the brink with new economic and food policies, is unfit? Surely there's a reason as to why you think he is unfit."
Once again, he closed his eyes to think, this time for a slightly longer length of time, before opening his eyes and explaining, "The new king is summoned. This means that he has no attachment to this world and will therefore use and dispose whatever he deems unnecessary."
When he paused this time, Excel had a response. "Yes, but an Elfrieden that survives is better than no Elfrieden at all."
He scoffed at this. "Will you be saying that after he casts aside cherished traditions? Long-standing customs and heritage? So far, all he's done is gotten rid of personnel and changed policies. Yes, this has made the food problem and economy better, but he also sowed the seeds of where we are now."
To the first half of his words, Excel simply didn't have a response. Would Souma be the kind of person to dispose of anything or anyone that isn't useful? While that may make an efficient king, and perhaps even a great one, even she shuddered at what that would cost. To the average human, Souma's rule may be viewed favorably, but to those who are a more long-lived species, such as her and Castor, they would basically be seeing their home, everything they've worked for, be uprooted in favor of something else. While she understood that change was necessary, she still clung to the hopes that it wouldn't be something that drastic.
The second part of his speech, however, was something that Excel wanted to tackle. "Yes, George. He's gotten rid of corrupt personnel. Who, I might add, you are harboring. Now, even with all my experience, I can't even fathom as to why you would ever do such a thing."
George practically sneered at her words. "It's because we have a common interest in getting rid of the new king. Of course, after the new king is gone, I have no intention of reinstating them. If anything, I should thank him for getting rid of those pests for me."
Despite her attempts to maintain a poker face, Excel's eyes couldn't help but widen when she heard him. If her ears weren't playing tricks on her, what she garnered from him was that he plans to kill all of the nobles once he's done with them. A simple feat considering they already were convicted of corruption. But that's not the thing that shocked her so.
No. The thing that shocked her the most was that, if she heard him correctly, he seems to be pining for the throne.
Not even attempting to hide her emotions, she shouted, "George! Have you lost your mind?! Do you seriously intend to claim the throne for yourself?!"
Before things could get too out of hand, Castor intervened, attempting to calm Excel. "Whoa, hold on. I'm… I'm sure George doesn't want the throne." Looking to George, he asked, "Right?"
"Hmph." Came the response. "Of course not. Once the new king is out, I plan on reinstating Albert."
Though she calmed down, she still remained on guard towards George. She could only curse Castor's short-sightedness for his willingness to follow him. The main reason, outside of respect, is that Castor shares a deep friendship with George, and since George is, normally, a very reasonable person, Castor is mainly just along for the ride. However, this time, she feels that things won't go down nearly as well as George predicts.
If that's the case…
"Castor. Cut all ties with Accela, Carla, and Carl."
To say Castor was shocked would be an understatement. "Where the hell is this coming from? Why do you want me to cut ties with my family?"
"In the event that you lose-."
"I'm not going to lose against some whelp!"
"And I'm not risking my daughter and grandkids because your fucking pride!"
Silence soon filled the room after her outburst, and Castor quickly backed down. Taking a breath, he explained, "I can probably disown Accella and Carl, but Carla is stubborn. Once she sets her mind on something, nothing can change it."
Excel was worried that this would be the outcome. While she didn't know Carla as well as her father, she knew her well enough to know how stubborn she could be.
Excel, having calmed down after her previous words, sighed and hung her head. The future would indeed be a very trying one for her.
(A/n: I hope that the first half was as awkward to read for you as it was for me to write. On a more serious note, believe it or not, I actually do want to continue writing this story, but good god has my schedule just filled up with shit I didn't even know I had to do. I'm currently in community college and got accepted into my dream four-year university, but getting all the documents in, finding housing arrangements, and still going to school along with work unfortunately leaves me with not a lot of free time to devote to other things. In any case, I certainly hope to get a chapter out a week for the foreseeable future. Until then, cheers!)