Chapter 34: 32 – The Operation’s Aftermath

While waiting for Cornelia to come back with the clothes, we start talking about the responsibilities which the elves will take upon them. First and foremost is of course cleaning duty and all aspects connected to it. None of them has anything against working with that so that’s quite nice. In the future, we’ll also have to deal with the rooms after they are done being used during the service time, which naturally means getting rid of various fluids and other things, but fortunately, they don’t seem to mind too. A lot of the cleaning can be achieved with just some magic alone and that’s a huge plus.

Roseni and Cinra, the girl with shoulder-long brown hair and the one with waist-long silvery hair, inform us that they don’t mind helping with cooking so we decide to place them as Sirgia’s assistants. She agrees to that suggestion. This will allow them to learn and practice at the same time, and having someone to help our dwarf chef is definitely good. The rest of the elf girls can just help with setting up the tables, cleaning dishes and doing other stuff that isn’t specifically about preparing dishes.

We cover a few other areas and pretty much are done with delegating most of the tasks and responsibilities. Near the end of that discussion, one of the girls asks who should be the one to take care of washing me in the bath or if they should just prepare a rotational schedule.

While the idea instantly evokes some interesting thoughts and fantasies and is very much to my liking, I convince them that something like that is not necessary and they do not have to cover that part of the maids care for their master. Cornelia would definitely kill me if she learned that I made all of the new girls take baths with me literally in less than a day after they arrived here. And I don’t think it would matter which side suggested the idea. A few of them seem rather disappointed and I take note of that for the future.

“Well, I guess that would be all for now. Definitely more changes will come while we see how it works out. Speak up whenever you feel like there is a room for improvement somewhere or when you feel like something is giving you a hard time or just doesn’t fit well with you, got it?”

They all nod in unison.

“What about me, Master? I don’t seem to have that many specific tasks when compared to others. I don’t want to feel like I’m being favoured,” Elea asks.

Such a good person. Even though it wouldn’t have been unexpected for her to have a bit less on her shoulders due to her previous position and role, she still doesn’t want to feel special. This tells me a lot about her. No wonder some of the other Elves followed her when she decided to leave the village. She definitely acted the same way back then.

“Don’t worry, it’s not that I’m trying to be easier on you. Instead, I want you to become the Headmaid, as you are best suited for that position. You performed the duty of a Priestess in the past and also instructed your attendants, yes? So I believe that organizing them and their work is best left in your hands. And you can also pass all the questions, suggestions, information or orders onto them and back since you are the most well-versed in Common amongst your group. It’s a good idea to have someone function as a medium while I’m away.”

She bows gracefully with a kind smile. “I’ll fulfil this duty to my utmost ability, Master.”

“I’m sure you will,” I switch to Elvish, “but girls, please, do not overwork yourselves. I don’t want you to slave around without any room for a break or free time. This is now your home, not just a workplace. You are not just my employees but also our friends and members of this small family. Take good care of yourselves. Can you promise me that?” 

I stare intently into the eyes of each of them individually, hoping to convey how serious I am about the previous statements. They all look at each other, nod and smile beautifully.

“We promise.” They all answer as one.

“Great. That concludes our first briefing.” I switch back to Common after that sentence and move my gaze to Sirgia, giving her a few more pats. “Can I leave showing them around and explaining where everything is to you?”

She looks at them and then up at me, a little hesitant. “Me? I think… Cornelia would be better…” She squeezes my hand.

Now, perhaps that’s true, but I want her to begin accustoming herself to them and slowly start to open to not only me but also others. I know this might take long, but there’s no rush. Might not even fully work in the end, but she will definitely get more confident and free when surrounded by more people that only care about who she really is. And I think there are no better people for that plan than other demi-humans.

I pull her a bit closer and brush her cheek with my palm. “I want you to do it, is that bad?”

Sirgia leans her head against my arm and gazes down, visibly conflicted. She must really want to comply just for me, yet her reserved personality holds her back strongly. I lift her chin a bit and place a light kiss on her cheek.

“If you dislike this idea then, of course, that’s fine. But if you do it for me, you can get whatever reward you want.”

I feel another squeeze on my hand. She glances into my eyes, averts her gaze and blushes a little. “I… I can do it…” She snuggles her face into my arm, takes a few deep breaths and jumps off the bed, turning to the elves. “I’ll be your guide then…”

They all stand up and bow a little.

“We are in your hands, Lady Sirgia,” Elea speaks.

“Eh? Lady…” She looks back at me not knowing how to respond. I just smile at her. She starts to panic a little while looking between us so I gesture towards my throat. She copies the movement and her fingers run across her crystal badge. “Umm… I’m also Master’s servant so just Sirgia is fine…”

“Understood. Then please call me Elea too.”

Giving me one last glance, she leaves with the squad of elf girls behind her. She looks so small amongst those tall and gorgeous beauties but tries to act composed as their guide. I guess thinking of herself and others as my servants can ease her pressure a bit. Quite the unique way to achieve that, but whatever works for her is fine. I’m not going to force them to not regard me as their Master.

While they are busy sightseeing, Cornelia makes her return and arrives in the room where only me and the slimes are left. She’s not even a little bit surprised by the fact that Emi went all over me the moment others left and is currently showering me in hugs and kisses. I tear her off me to be able to speak and briefly summarize what we went through with Elea and her friends.

She rolls her eyes. “I knew that would happen. I should have ordered the uniforms on my way back as my gut feeling was telling me to.”

“I mean, you couldn’t know. They might have been homesick and wanted to return immediately. Not everyone that we somehow save will always be like this.”

“It was obvious from the start. Did you not notice how some of them looked at you? Elea was quite happy and willing to follow any orders even back in the den.”

“They may feel slightly attracted to me due to the skills and titles and thus the reactions.”

Cornelia shakes her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I’ve thought about this a lot and came up with a thesis saying that it doesn’t work that way on people who already have a good image of you in their heads or some positive feelings in their minds. The women back there fawned over you like some mindless dolls, but when it comes to people closer to you, they just experience a nice and pleasant feeling, like smell for example, without affecting their will or thoughts too much. Or like in Sirgia’s case when your saliva just eased—… her… pain... a little bit…”

I raise my brow when she mentions the cute dwarf and she instantly realizes what she has just revealed. She starts getting all red under my curious gaze and a knowing smirk. There’s no backing away from this and we both know that. 

I start considering if I should bully her a little with this little slip-up or spare her this time. Well, I can’t be mean to her in every single situation, so let’s leave it as is. It’s nothing unexpected. I’m actually quite happy that the girls find themselves close enough with each other to share even such experiences. I gesture at her to continue.

“Ermmm… yeah… cough… The point is, people that like you seem to have a somewhat higher resistance to those effects, leaving only the harmless and pleasant ones not nullified…” She squirms a little, still embarrassed by her mistake.

“I see… Shall we test that theory then? I haven’t completely stopped blocking my Class effects yet,” I say with a mischievous smile.

Cornelia’s eyes flicker a little with a spark of her scientific curiosity, but she starts taking a few steps back while smiling nervously. Even her thirst for knowledge can’t completely suppress the worry for her own body and I’m quite reassured seeing that.

I chuckle and wave at her. “I’m joking. Why are you even considering the possibility that I’d do that to you?”

She stops and realizes her actions. “I’m sorry… It was just a subconscious reaction—”

“Don’t apologize. I was the one who overstepped the boundaries a little. Saying that, I’m glad to know that you value yourself higher than possible knowledge. I respect that. A lot. Sorry for startling you.”

She sighs. “Really, I should have gotten used to it long ago…”

“Why don’t you do it too then?”

“Eh? Do what?”

“Tease me. It’s not like you don’t get the chances and I certainly won’t mind. You can get back at me easily,” I suggest honestly.

She looks to the side hesitantly.

“I hope you don’t think you can offend me with just a few words spoken jokingly. And don’t tell me that it’s not your style or I’ll have Safi here tell me in detail what you’ve taught her in private,” I say to her while recalling the sapphire slime’s advances on me when we were searching through the hotel rooms.

She chuckles. “Okay, okay, fine. There’s no need for that. I’ll think about it,” she says with a beautiful smile.

“Good. And as for the theory, I would actually be willing to test it a bit, but in a controlled and safe environment. I don’t want to do anything weird to you as much as you don’t want to do anything weird to me under the Class’s influence.”

“Hummm… And how would that be?”

“Don’t know, perhaps we could tie you up to something so that you don’t throw yourself at me like a Beastkin in a heat?”

She chuckles again. “Let’s leave it for later then. I don’t mind helping you out with your skills. There aren’t many people you can ask and not having any information on them is only detrimental to you. Before that, let’s go to the castle. I’ve heard that they’ve dealt with everything already.”

“Oh? I guess we should pay a visit to a certain friend of ours then.”

Cornelia leaves to give the elf girls their new clothes, mostly just bigger shirts and better-fitting trousers. She also brought a few hair accessories so they can arrange their heads a little. I spend some more time with my lovely slime girls, instructing them to help the elves as their seniors too. They wobble cheerfully and assure me that they’ll do their best to not only assist them but also learn how to do more things themselves. Such lively and devoted creatures. I shower them with lots of mana-pats.

I get into my adventuring gear since the butler outfit got almost completely obliterated and we leave the mansion with Cornelia. This time we decide to go through the city to visit a few places. 

First, we stop by the artisan who works on our uniforms and collars. We both agree that the crystal badges should match the new owners’ hair so we place an order for six more. Same goes for the maid clothes. The tailor scratches his head while looking at the long list of things he’ll have to work on now. And also, he finished Sirgia’s one so we take it with us. I can’t wait to see her wear it. The levels of adorableness will certainly shoot through the roof.

Next, I guide Cornelia to the place where I’ve gotten my suit previously. I show the remains of it to the clerk and he catches his head with his hands, his eyes widening in shock. I ask him to repair it or salvage what is possible and make like a few more copies, just in case. Ten should be enough. Now that I think of it, we’ll need to order spares for the girls too.

While we are still there, I notice Cornelia looking through hair ornaments. I walk closer and stop by her side.

“So, this is where you got her that flower.” She points at the same hairpin I bought Sirgia the last time.

I glance through the display in hope of finding something that would match my beautiful magician. I’m not a pro stylist, but I don’t think a similar type fits her hairstyle. I move a bit further from her, racking my brain over the countless possibilities.

Then, I finally spot it. A hairpin, or rather a small comb, with a beautiful representation of a lavender flower. It instantly reminds me of the first day when I was met with its scent when following Cornelia out of the throne room.

She catches up to me. “Are you looking for something? If you tell me what for, I can—”

I pick it up and turn to her with a wide smile. Before she has any chance to react, I take a step to the side and place the accessory on the side of her hazelnut bun. The bottom part sinks in hiding itself in her well-cared-for hair, and only the violet flower remains visible. I stand behind her and lead Cornelia to the nearest mirror.

“What do you think? A symbol of grace, maturity and devotion. At least it was, the last time I checked. I say it suits you perfectly.”

She examines the ornament from a few angles and smiles charmingly.

“You don’t have to…”

“I want to.”

I give her a warm hug from behind. She blushes.

“I guess it would be rude to decline. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing when compared to all your help. Feel free to spoil yourself from time to time with the funds the King has given me. You deserve it.”

She laughs softly. “Watch what you are asking for. I might as well do it.”

We leave the shop with Cornelia in a pretty good mood. It makes me happy to see her like that. On our way to the castle, we step into a few more stores so I can pick up some materials and other things that Sirgia has recently begun to write down for me. I’ll have to look around for some builders and carpenters soon too. We can slowly start with the workshop project. And perhaps something else could be made down there… Plenty of space to use…

After everything is taken care of, we finally move to the castle. Looks like the King is currently discussing something with his advisors so we wait together in one of the chambers. While gazing at the city from the balcony, we talk with Cornelia about some past events. The time we spent together in that short year was really fun for both of us. While we are arguing which one of us was luckier to meet the other one, the King finally arrives with his iconic, friendly smile.

We sit on the sofas around a coffee table.

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“I’m glad to see both of you safe and sound. I’ve heard that it got quite hectic down there at one point,” he starts the conversation.

“Yeah, a lot was happening at once with the fighting in almost every chamber. I even got my back tanned a little by a stray Firebolt.”

“By the Goddess! Are you fine? Do you need any medical help?”

“I’m fine. I was lucky to stumble on someone who knew a little bit of healing magic. I don’t mind having a Priest look at it later though.”

“Good, we’ll organize that shortly.”

He looks visibly relieved to know that I wasn’t seriously hurt. Seems like he really has been worrying himself the whole time I was down there.

“I also know that you were a big help in dealing with a few guys that put up a fight. I thank you for that. You definitely saved a lot of lives. Many soldiers were impressed by your achievements.” He bows his head gratefully.

“No need to thank me, I didn’t want to join the fight, it’s just that they literally were on our path outside. I’d have avoided clashing against them if that was possible.”

“Naturally, but the fact still stands. It wouldn’t be possible to conduct the operation this well without you.”

“And Cornelia.” I nod towards her, sitting to my right. “I would be a bloody stain on a wall if not for her saving my ass. You better not forget her input into this.”

She blushes a little and averts her gaze under my smile. It’s true. I’m only alive thanks to her.

“You’d have definitely figured something out…” She tries to bring down her contribution.

“Hahaha, you are overestimating me too much. After dealing with the butler and the Berserker, I was barely dragging my feet over the floor. I have a huge life debt to repay.”

“Hmmm… I’ve read about the Berserker, but what’s with the butler?” the King asks curiously.

I shortly tell him how I clashed against an older man who was protecting some crazy young noble and how I barely managed to win in that struggle rather than a fight. 

“While we are at it, do you maybe know who that was? That dude was acting like he owned half of the capital. He seemed a bit out of his mind. Had to literally split the man into two or he’d have killed an innocent bystander.” I ponder and ask Ross.

He furrows his brows and stares at me for a moment. I raise my brow questioningly. A few beads of sweat can be seen forming on his forehead. He joins his hands under his chin and drops his gaze to the table with a concerned expression.

He looks around as if checking if we are alone, returns to his previous position, and then lifts up just his eyes to glance at me. “Did I hear that part right? You were the one who killed that noble?” 

“Erm… yeah?” I start getting a very bad feeling about this.

“Did anyone see you do it?” He pries further.

“There were a few people fighting on the other end of the chamber, but I don’t think they even realized something was happening where I was. And later, they scattered to other rooms.”

“Good. There was nothing about the killer in the official reports too.” He sighs to release the pressure he built up and rubs his forehead. “That guy was a son to one of our subservient kingdoms monarchs.”

“... Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“Wait. So he was basically a prince?” Cornelia looks between us.

“Yes. He was. Now he is not. And some people may not exactly be happy about that small detail, so better completely forget that ever happened,” Ross answers.

“There’s no way they will just let it go, no matter the fact what he was doing there in the first place. Some king’s son died. And I’m pretty sure there weren't many casualties amongst the civilians, right?” I ask him.

“Some were injured, but only he is dead. It is as you said, they will definitely investigate. Just so we are clear, I don’t blame you. You had to have a really good reason to resort to killing him. I know you’d try other ways if given the chance.”

“Thanks, but what are we gonna do?” I turn to him again.

“You? Nothing. This is my problem and I’ll deal with it. It’s a matter between kingdoms. I’ll think of something. You two just stay out of it.”

I swipe over my face with my hand and sigh heavily. “This fucking kid…” Cornelia places hers on my shoulder and rubs it reassuringly. “Okay, you know better when it comes to stuff like this. Let’s move on. What about the slaves I stole during the fray?”

He sits back and leans into the sofa, relaxing a bit. “That was already taken care of. I made sure that all the reports don’t have even a word about them. As for the slave records held in that building, they suddenly caught on fire due to some safety mechanism and only part of them was recovered. The lost half was recreated based on the slaves found around the area and there weren’t any Dark Elves mentioned there if I recall correctly.” He smiles proudly.

“Thank you. A lot. But how did you know how many and what slaves ran away with me?”

“I instructed Cornelia beforehand, to leave a message for my trusted man near the exit you used to extract yourselves. He delivered it instantly after your escape.”

I look at her with a thankful smile. She averts her gaze, playfully acting like she knows nothing of this. I send her a mental thanks, making her shiver a little and stare at me from the unexpected, sensual message. She jabs me in the side with her elbow while her cheeks get a little rosy.

“Hahaha, I’ve never seen the famous Ice Witch acting so frisky towards anyone.” 

Ross starts chuckling. He stops when suddenly an ice spear emerges from the floor under his sofa and pierces it just between his legs. He stares at the pillar with wide eyes. I glance at Cornelia who is glaring at the King with an angled gaze, with her fist clasped in front of her face. I chuckle too, grab her fist and shake my head with a smile after she looks at me. She sighs, relaxes it, letting go of the spell, and smiles back.

“For the future, it’s Ice Queen now. Better remember that,” she says to him and sends a wink at me.

“I will…” He smiles wryly. 

I give him the look saying ‘better watch your words’. Only I get to tease this beautiful and powerful magician without risking losing my life. Or something much more important than that.

“So, what about the other slaves though?” I redirect the discussion back onto its tracks, asking about something that won’t stop bugging me.

“Not much I can do for them, unfortunately. I might have been able to smuggle those six out, but if I try to interfere too much, someone will finally notice. Everyone else besides your prize has been caught while running away. They will get sold to the law-abiding slave companies. I’m trying to pick the most trusted ones, but you should know how it is almost everywhere. I’m sorry, but I can’t overstep my boundaries too often.”

I sigh dejectedly. “You are already doing a lot. Thank you.”

“Speaking of slaves, how are you doing with your little project? Do you need any help? Perhaps the elves require something special?” He barrages me with questions supposedly out of genuine concern, but I can clearly see the hidden meaning here.

I smile at him while shaking my head. “Good. We are almost at the opening stage. The elves began their maid training recently, so they are fine with just that for now.” I glance at him to see if he deciphers my message and he definitely does as his shoulders slump down a bit. “I could use some help though. I’m making a small forge-workshop in the underground area and wouldn’t mind some recommendations of trusted craftsmen.”

“I’ll naturally see what can be done! You can expect the best of the best to come for whatever you need there!”

We exchange some more words about random stuff and end our meeting. Cornelia goes with Ross to talk about something and I move with a servant to the medical quarters to get myself checked. After that, I begin my journey back home. I decide to use the tunnel, there’s nothing I can think of that needs my attention in the city.

I walk through the castle’s corridors while deep in thought about what to do next. We need to slowly start preparing to open the business. Or I could wait a bit more and hope for more girls to arrive and agree on working in the service department. So far, it’s only Safi and Emi that are willing. But on the other hand, that’s quite plenty already. I don’t expect people to flock on an opening day. Hell, I don’t expect anyone to even peek their head in during the first few weeks. 

Before we do that, I need to sit down and prepare a very detailed set of rules and terms of service. They can’t be long but need to be strict and clear, covering all important aspects of the service to assure the girls' safety and wellbeing. I’ll have each customer go through them and explicitly consent to follow them in front of me. The punishment has to be deterring enough but not too scary as to not push the clients away. There’s so much to do. I thought we are getting closer, but it seems like we are just getting to the hardest part.

And I need to host more training sessions with the slimes. This time with much more teaching and less letting them just have their own way with me. The more they know about the Human body, the more pleasure they can give others and the safer it gets for them. Possibly, also reducing the time they have to spend doing the thing.

I’m lost in thought and almost walk into another person coming from the corridor on my side. I quickly jump away to not crash into them after I spot the movement with the corner of my eye.

“My apologies, I wasn’t paying attention to where I’m going. I hope I didn’t—”

I look at the woman whom I almost bumped into and hastily make a courteous bow with a hand over my heart.

“Your Majesty.”

“Raise your head.” A mature but soft voice leaves her lips.

Raising my posture, I glance at the figure in an amazing dark-sapphire dress. A mature woman dons it. Her skin is of a porcelain-white complexion and she has beautiful, long white hair. Her eyes are also of a deep blue colour and her face resembles that of an unaging angel, which strongly contradicts with the fact that she is the previous Queen and the mother of Rossberg, having lived her dose of life already.

“There’s no need for such titles, Sir Carter. I’m no longer a Queen.” Her angelic voice wanders through the corridor again.

“With all due respect, My Lady, but once a Queen, always a Queen.” I nod my head with a polite smile.

“As courteous as ever.” She shows a smile of her own. “ I hope my son doesn’t inconvenience you too much. I’ve heard that you have been visiting the castle quite often recently.”

I wave my hand. “Oh, no, no. There’s no such thing. It’s for mutual benefit and even if it wasn’t, Ross is my friend and I’m glad to call him that. I’m always willing to go out of my way to help my acquaintances.”

She smiles beautifully. “You are a good man, Sir Carter.” She sighs softly. “You resemble my late husband a lot.”

“I’m honoured to receive such exquisite praise from you, My Lady.”

“As much as I’m enjoying this little chat, I, unfortunately, have things to tend to, so if you excuse me, I hope we’ll meet again in a more favourable situation, Sir Carter.” She nods her head, I follow with mine and the Queen walks away.

I get on my way too. Who would have thought that I’d run into the Queen? We haven’t spoken with each other for more than five months I think. She always seemed so busy. She’s a very strong person. Even after the death of her husband, she didn’t fall into despair but continued to proudly support the kingdom until she passed the sceptre to her son.

「Today although, I feel like she was a bit more hesitant when speaking to me. My Class may be the reason, she definitely has been informed about it. She didn’t seem repulsed though, just a bit more reserved. Eh, who knows what she is thinking. Definitely nothing bad if she looks forward to meeting again.」

I shrug and head for the secret tunnel. Time to get to work. Hard.

Saileri

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